In Louisiana, 103,298 more doses of COVID vaccines have been administered, according to a noon update from the Louisiana Department of Health. There are 966,365 people who are fully vaccinated and 1,373,685 people who have received at least one dose of a vaccine. The total number of administered doses is now 2,255,300. Most of those shots are part of the two-dose regimen recommended for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which is why the total number of people who have received at least one dose is lower than the total number of doses. Out of Louisiana's entire estimated population, 29.55% of people have received at least one dose and 20.79% of people are fully vaccinated. Looking for a vaccine appointment? Click here for a list of providers and community vaccination events. The Louisiana Department of Health reported 722 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 13 more confirmed deaths in its noon update Monday. The number of hospitalizations increased by 11, and the number of patients in need of ventilators increased by one. These are another few key statewide statistics as of Monday: Total confirmed cases: 383,199 Total "probable" cases: 66,628 Total confirmed deaths: 9,366 Hospitalized: 308 On ventilators: 44 Vaccine series initiated: 1,373,685 (updated twice weekly) Vaccine series completed: 966,365 Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Note: The Advocate and The Times-Picayune staff calculates daily case count and confirmed death increases based on the difference between today's total and yesterday's total of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The Louisiana Department of Health releases a daily case count on its dashboard that includes probable cases as indicated by a positive antigen test. That case count can be different than the one listed here. +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 Here are some of the parishes with the highest single-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, based on the Monday report: East Baton Rouge: 76 Jefferson: 68 Lafayette: 65 Calcasieu: 51 Orleans: 40 St. Tammany: 38 Caddo: 36 Can't see chart below? Click here. Can't see chart below? Click here. Louisiana began reopening for Phase 1 on May 15-16 then moved to Phase 2 on June 5. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards extended Louisiana's Phase 2 restrictions twice in August before moving the state to Phase 3 on Sept. 11. The governor then moved the state back to a modified Phase 2 near the end of November before putting Louisiana back in a modified Phase 3 on March 2, 2021. This is a developing story. More details and analysis to come. After a two-month, 16,000-mile trip, BPs new Argos offshore platform arrived Monday near Corpus Christi, bringing hundreds of jobs to the beleaguered Gulf Coast offshore industry. The floating semi-submersible, as tall as a 27-story building and with a deck the size of a football field, is one of BPs largest oil production platforms. It is the centerpiece of the British oil majors $9 billion project to extract oil from the Mad Dog 2 field in 4,500 feet of water almost 200 miles south of New Orleans. The platform is BPs fifth in the Gulf and first addition since 2008, before the deadly Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil leak 2010. (Argos) will bring forward a very high quality and efficient development, many years in the making, and were excited about it, said Starlee Sykes, senior vice president of BPs Gulf of Mexico and Canada operations. Argos arrived at Kiewit Offshore Services fabrication yard in Ingleside as the offshore industry is coming out of the worst oil bust in decades and as BP moves from fossil fuels to prepare for a low-carbon future. Offshore companies during the pandemic have shed hundreds of jobs and scrapped relatively new drilling rigs. Like most platforms,Argos is designed to operate for the next 20 to 30 years. It will support 800 workers at Ingleside and 250 jobs in the Gulf. SCRAPPING RIGS: Even new offshore rigs aren't immune to the pandemic oil bust BP executives say Argos is a major step in a significant project that will extract low-cost, low-emission crude that will help fund BP's growing renewable energy business and meet its 2050 net-zero emissions goal. The timing is good, Sykes said. We have a long horizon on it; were not driven by short cycle pricing issues. Were excited to get out there and start producing next year. Itll be at the right time for the company and for the world. BP said its existing Gulf of Mexico fields can break even with crude prices as low as $30 a barrel, making it some of the lowest-cost oil in the world to produce. Offshore oil platforms also usually burn off less natural gas than onshore shale production, although oil spills remain a risk. The platform will be able to produce up to 140,000 barrels of oil and gas per day, boosting BPs output in the Gulf by about a quarter. For us, its not about volume. Its more around the best barrels that the world needs as we progress to the energy transition, Sykes said. And its really those barrels that will help fund and fuel that transition. ENERGY TRANSITION: How oil giant BP is prepping its next step toward cleaner energy Argos, was built over three years by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. It features digital technology to allow onshore maintenance crews to diagnose platform issues remotely. BP learned a lot from the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill in 2010, Sykes said, and incorporated its safety findings into the new platform's development. Pakistani police say a journalist has been shot dead by unknown gunmen in the country's restive northwest. Police said Waseem Alam's body was found late on April 10 in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Alam was a journalist and editor at the local newspaper, Sada-e Lawaghir. Police said Alam was returning home on his motorcycle when he was shot. He was rushed to hospital but was announced dead upon arrival. Mehmood Khan, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on April 11 condemned Alam's killing. Alam's killing came as Pakistan's free press finds itself under unprecedented pressure from the authorities. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a poor, violence-stricken, and religiously conservative region that was once a stronghold of militant groups like Al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban. Pakistan is one of the world's most dangerous countries for reporters. In 2020, it ranked ninth on CPJ's annual Global Impunity Index, which assesses countries where journalists are killed regularly and their killers go free, with 15 unsolved murders. On March 18, Ajay Lalwani, 31, a reporter for a local television station and an Urdu-language newspaper, was shot multiple times while having his hair cut at a barber shop in the southern province of Sindh. Based on reporting by Dawn and Radio Pakistan .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Sombra Natural Wellness Products will donate over $250,000 in hand sanitizer and pain relieving gel to the city of Albuquerque, according to an announcement earlier this month. The products will be distributed throughout the community, including to homeless shelters, small businesses, and at various city facilities. Distribution of the large donation will be shared among different city entities and communities, including the Gateway Center, homeless shelter partners, Albuquerque small businesses, and to chambers of commerce. Sombra Natural Wellness Products has been manufacturing in New Mexico for 47 years, including production for other local companies, as well as resellers worldwide. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ [Minnesota officials said the police officer who fatally shot a Black man at a traffic stop did so accidentally, and meant to fire a Taser instead. Read the latest updates here.] BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. A 20-year-old Black man died after a police officer shot him during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb on Sunday, sending hundreds of people into the streets where they clashed with police officers into Monday morning. The protests in Brooklyn Center came hours before the 11th day of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who has been charged with murdering George Floyd, began in a courtroom less than 10 miles away. Outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday night, smoke billowed into the air as a line of police officers fired rubber bullets and chemical agents at protesters, some of whom lobbed rocks, bags of garbage and water bottles at the police. Mayor Mike Elliott of Brooklyn Center ordered a curfew until 6 a.m., and the local school superintendent said the district would move to remote learning on Monday out of an abundance of caution. On this weeks episode of Working, Isaac Butler spoke with Anthony Fortenberry, the chief nursing officer at Callen-Lorde, a New York City-based community health center that provides services to the LGBTQ community and people living with HIV/AIDS. They discussed how LGBTQ health care aims to address the medical discrimination queer and trans people face, how helping patients with HIV/AIDS shaped Callen-Lordes response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what lessons he hopes we will take as we return to normal life. This partial transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement Isaac Butler: One of the reasons why I really wanted to have you on Working is because creativity isnt bound by a particular job. It strikes me that your day-to-day life is filled with all sorts of creative challenges. Is that how you see it, or am I totally wrong? Advertisement Advertisement Anthony Fortenberry: Yes. I feel like the last year of my life has been waking up to see what random, out-of-left-field problem are we going to have to solve today? When you talk about having to get creative and come up with strategies that are totally outside of the box of our everyday lives, no one trained us on how to convert a hotel into an isolation clinic, right? The things that have come up in the past year, Ive had to lean on any creative juices that I had. I think everyone in the health care field has. Advertisement Lets go step by step through some of those creative challenges. If we could whisk back in time to late February, early March 2020, when its becoming clear how bad things are going to start getting, what were the challenges you were facing, and how did you face them? How did you figure out what to do? It felt like a lot of the areas that were really important to ensure we maintained operational were all my areas. Triage at the front desk: we needed an RN who was going to make sure that no one came in who had symptoms. Occupational health for our staff who were becoming infected with COVID. All of the supply chain issues. We were running out of masks; we were running out of everything that we needed to keep people safe. We did not have a robust telehealth program. So you think, Thats fine, they could do some telehealth and video conferencing, but not everybody had a laptop at home. Not all of our patients have smartphones. Many of our patients dont have stable WiFi. Advertisement Advertisement It was just a lot of moving pieces. At the same time, many of our staff really wanted to volunteer at the hospitals. Primary care had essentially paused, outside of medication support, so its all urgent care. Then this opportunity arose where the city came to us and said, we have patients that are homeless, and they have been diagnosed with COVID but theyre stable, and we need them to be isolated rather than going back to congregate housing at the shelter, because they didnt want them to infect everyone else. They essentially handed over this hotel in Long Island City, and we had 24 hours to turn it into an isolation clinic. How did you even begin to figure that out? What was the creative process of, Oh my God, we have a hotel, and we have to turn it into an isolation clinic? Advertisement My process in problem-solving is always prioritization. What is the most important thing to come out of this when were done? Getting buy-in from people to build a vision for what youd like to see happen. Then its just one decision at a time until you build that larger picture. I think that strategyat least in coming up with a creative way to solve each individual questionis always something that at the end, you look back a week later and youre like, I dont know how I did that. Advertisement This is so fascinating, because Ive worked in the past as a theater director and that is actually not that different from what a theater director does. The thing youre trying to do is not save lives, but you have a group of people, you have to get them to buy into it, and then you break the show down into its component parts and the questions of those component parts. And you try to go through them in sequence until the whole thing comes together. Its amazing that its the same in your line of work. That totally makes sense to me. At the end of the day, its never exactly how you thought it was going to be when you started. There are people that love it, and there are million little decisions that you mightve done slightly differently. To listen to the full interview with Anthony Fortenberry, subscribe to Working on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or listen below. People in Bangkok received shots of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine Monday, as Thailand reported its highest daily COVID-19 caseload since the start of the pandemic. Authorities recorded 985 new coronavirus cases on Monday, and health officials said they were worried the number of new infections could be far higher after this week's traditional Thai New Year holiday. Health experts said the third major surge in the country was proving more difficult to control as it was mostly a variant of the virus first found in the U.K., and has mostly affected younger people because it broke out at nightclubs and bars. Millions of Thais are travelling around the country - often from urban areas to rural villages - for this week's annual Songkran new year festival. The government has not prevented people from travelling, as it did when it cancelled the festival last year. The current surge - which has infected at least one cabinet minister and forced a number of others into self-quarantine - is increasing criticism of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ochas government and its handling of the pandemic. While Thailand has only recorded 33,610 infections and 97 deaths, critics say the vaccination drive is too slow - less than 1% of the population has received a jab - and there's little support for people whose livelihoods have been affected by the pandemic. So far, Thailand has been using a relatively small supply of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines, until a local plant can start producing and distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine in the summer. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Pictured: Andrew William Summerfield A one-time Rebels bikie boss has been blasted as 'idiotic' in court after 'hooning' outside jail while on bail. Andrew William Summerfield was sent to Darwin's Holtze Prison for seven years after he attacked a rival with an axe in an act of revenge in 2017, which was carried out on the wrong person. The victim was left with multiple skull fractures, a chipped vertebrae, almost lost a finger trying to defend himself and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. On January 2, days after making a successful parole application having served three years and six months of his sentence, the 27-year-old drove his Holden Rodeo Ute into a restricted section of the prison to deposit money into an inmate's bank account. During the jaunt, Summerfield revved his engine and caused a disturbance when he yelled at inmates. Pictured: Former Rebels president Andy Summerfield being arrested in 2017 by officials in army fatigues Judge Richard Wallace described the scene as 'one of the more idiotic offences I've dealt with,' according to the NT Times. The court heard the ex bikie boss was on prison grounds to deliver funds, but decided to drive past the low security area which was surrounded by fences and signs. His parole was revoked on January 5 and he was arrested on January 6 and faced a further six months in jail. Andrew William Summerfield was sent to Darwin's Holtze Prison for seven years (pictured) 'On face it seems to be pretty harmless, (committed) on high spiritedness,' Mr Wallace said. 'I hope you've learnt your lesson, that it won't happen again.' He was convicted and ordered to pay a $150 victims levy fee for trespassing. Kabul, April 12 : At least 65 people were killed in clashes and terrorist attacks in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, an independent war monitoring group said on Monday. "Over the past 24 hours, our team has documented 65 deaths, including six civilians, 12 Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) members, and 47 Taliban militants," the group, Reduction in Violence (RiV), said on its Twitter account. The group said 35 people, including 18 Taliban militants, 12 security forces and five civilians, were also injured during the cited period, reports Xinhua news agency. The deaths and injuries took place following 12 security incidents in six provinces of the conflict-torn country's 34 provinces. WASHINGTON A group of pro-life Democrats and other pro-life activists gathered on Capitol Hill and across the country Saturday to oppose the exclusion of a long-standing ban on federal tax dollars being used to fund most abortions in a recently passed spending bill. The Democrats for Life of America hosted a Save Hyde National Day of Action." The flagship rally took place in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, with the U.S. Capitol Building in the background. Satellite events took place in 21 different locations nationwide. Dan Green, DFLAs national communications director, estimated in an interview with The Christian Post that up to 1,000 people would likely attend the events. The day of action comes just one month after President Joe Biden signed into law a coronavirus relief package that did not have Hyde Amendment protections guaranteeing that federal tax dollars can't be used to pay for abortions in most cases. Source:The Christian Post Aditya Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 11,509 Thanked: 51,528 Times View My Garage Hyundai Creta with 1.15 lakh km | AT gearbox fails, quote of 7.1 lakhs | EDIT: Resolved (page 4) Jolly Joseph for sending this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via Quote: It has been close to 5 months now that our vehicle - a Creta is in your Hyundai Authorised Service Centre. We, honestly, are not even sure if the vehicle is with you or it has been moved elsewhere. It has been months now and it is unfortunate to see no proper communication regarding our vehicle from your end. No one is taking the responsibility or even reverting to our emails - just some random communication by telephone with no clarity on where the car is currently and what you are doing at your end to solve the problem that is actually a manufacturing defect. There is no proper solution despite repeated requests. I have also been given to understand that the vehicle has been shifted to another location. I have not approved or given permission for any such movement of my vehicle and even now, there is no clarity on where my car is. Is it even in Bangalore? I am absolute disappointment due to the lack of official communication and negligence in handling my car. Initially, there was an email sent stating that I have to pay Rs. 7 lakhs and get the car repaired. Then, after months, there was another email saying the amount has been reduced by Rs. 1.5 lakhs and recently, there was a telephonic conversation with Siddaramaiah from ASC, to reduce it by Rs. 3.5 lakhs (representative tagged in the email). I still dont understand why I am being asked to pay for a faulty gearbox of an automatic car. I have brought the issue to Hyundai s notice from the time it had run 43,007 km. Thereafter, I have reported the issue several times, but no one has checked the concerned problem. This is a serious concern. I will bring this matter to the notice of the public and take legal action for keeping me in the dark. It is unheard of to keep a car in ones custody without proper official communication and without taking care of it. Waiting for a communication from you. I need the car fully repaired or the entire money of the car back. Quote: Please find my earlier dated emails to the Hyundai Service Centre below Mail Dated :Jan 18, 2021, 7:15 PM Quote: Dear Sir, This mail is with reference to the bad service experience and an extremely serious quality issue with my Hyundai Creta - KA 51 MH 7022. I am a Hyundai customer since 2006 with my Hyundai Santro, and I have told quite a few people to buy Hyundai vehicles. In my family, we have an i20 for my daughter and my brother owns a Verna. I request you to help me sort this problem out at the earliest. Details of the vehicle: Hyundai Creta SX - 1.6 Diesel Automatic Purchase Date - 27 - 01- 2016 Mileage 1,15,339 km Problem in detail: On 11 Nov 2020 (2 months back) I had an issue with the transmission, where there was a jerk during gear shifts. I took the vehicle to the ASC - Advaith Hyundai, Mahadevapura. They told me it was some minor transmission issue and shall be repaired soon. Today I received an email that states the gearbox assembly has completely gone and needs to be replaced, and I need to pay Rs. 7.1 lakhs for the same (with Rs. 1.5 lacs discount from the company). Also automatic gearbox getting completely damaged in less than 5 years is not acceptable, when I have done all the periodic maintenance at the Hyundai Authorised Service Centre itself, always. If it was a manual gearbox, it can be possible due to my driving style, but in an automatic gearbox this cannot be human error. I drive mostly on highways, and I am a senior citizen who drives in a very prudent fashion. Also, there have been persisting issues with the gearbox in the past. In Jun 2017, while I was driving to Coimbatore, there was an issue that I got fixed from the ASC (Hyundai Authorised Service Centre in Coimbatore). The car had only 43,007 km on the odo. I was told that it was a minor issue. Again in March 2020, the gear was not engaging and it had to be towed to the nearest Hyundai Authorised Service Centre. In both cases I got bills for service and some external lathe work. From all this, its evident that the problem is either a. a pre-existing manufacturing defect in the gearbox (OR) b. a faulty service from one of the ASCs which shot the gearbox. If it was a mechanical issue with the gearbox associated with normal wear and tear, I am sure that that specific part can be replaced at a nominal cost. If the entire gearbox needs to be replaced, it cannot be accepted in the normal course of usage, it must be a problem with the gearbox, and I urge you to repair the vehicle at the company's cost, at the earliest. For the past 2 months, I have not been given a satisfactory response on the issue or the solution. This is not the response I would expect from the ASC of a brand like Hyundai. Apart from that, the vehicle has been moved to some other location, and is not available at the service centre I dropped it at. I am suffering these days as I am having to travel in taxis and public transport. It is a huge risk I have had to take for more than 2 months, and its all because the ASC took 9 weeks to even give a response regarding the service required. I am a 65 year old senior citizen and I am taking a huge risk by using these modes of transport, where I could have used my own car for safety. So, I request you to direct the ASC to provide me with a replacement vehicle for the period until I get my vehicle repaired, at the company's cost. I also want the ASC to compensate me for the travelling costs for the past 2 months and for the mental trauma I have had to go through. Despite multiple calls to the service advisor and the service centre, I have not been given a proper response. So I request you to help me sort this issue out. If this doesn't work, I would be forced to go to the consumer court for suitable legal recourse. P.S.: Please find the detailed service history attached herewith. You can see the past instances where the gearbox assembly had problems. It clearly shows that it is a pre-existing manufacturing defect. You cannot expect me to pay Rs. 5.6 lakhs for a manufacturing defect. Mon, Jan 18, 2021 at 5:46 PM Service ITPL wrote: Quote: Dear Sir With reference to your Creta Vehicle bearing Reg No KA51MH7022 reported on 11/11/2020 for gears not shifting after some km of driving. After thorough inspection, we found that the issue is inside the transmission Assy & needs to be replaced with a complete Assy. The cost of the New Auto transmission Assy is Rs. 7,10,121. Same thing has been updated to Hyundai & support requested for this vehicle. They agreed to support with Rs. 1,50,000. Therefore, kindly take a decision for the same and provide approval for ordering the parts. Kindly do the needful on priority basis. Mail Dated Feb 5, 2021, 10:50 AM Quote: Good morning Team Hyundai, The vehicle in discussion Hyundai Creta KA51 MH 7022 has been in the service centre for over a quarter of the year. The issue with the vehicle was regarding the transmission system of an automatic vehicle. We have only used official Hyundai Service Centres from the beginning from the purchase of this very vehicle. This is to inform you that the issue had first appeared well before the one lakh km mark (43,007 km) and had been duly recorded in our vehicle history with Hyundai. We have experienced similar issues since then and have brought the vehicle to the service centre multiple times which is also clearly shown in our vehicle history. This only proves that the vehicle has experienced this issue well inside the warranty period. This vehicle has cost me Rs. 18,00,000+. I have used it for 5 years, and now to further continue to repair my vehicle, I'm asked to bear almost all of the vehicles cost after depreciation for no fault of mine. There are two things very apparent from your email. The issue mentioned is normal wear and tear after one lakh km and it is expected of a customer to face this very issue as a Hyundai vehicle owner. (Please note: We have already established that in our case, it has first appeared before that mark of one lakh km) The cost of the parts and replacement in comparison to the vehicle cost is too high (almost equivalent to the depreciated value of the vehicle as of now). I would like to get a written confirmation, if every Hyundai vehicle can expect similar issues due to normal wear and tear. I suspect that the issue was not attended to well enough since our first reporting it. It was deliberately made to wait until the vehicle crossed the warranty mark to make this claim. However, the history of the vehicle recorded will show us that the issue has been persistent for a long time now. This is clearly therefore an error of Hyundai and I can almost surely confirm that it cannot be the fault of regular wear and tear after one lakh km since we established the fact that it has happened previously and has been recorded in our history. This could either be a one-time issue only with my vehicle due to negligence from the Hyundai team OR this is an issue that will occur in all unsuspecting Hyundai vehicle owners. If this is a case of negligence, I request you to rectify the entire issue at Hyundai's expense for the negligence, replacement of the part done immediately and vehicle delivered in working condition to me at the earliest. If this is a regular issue to be expected after usage, then this information needs to be reported to other unsuspecting Hyundai vehicle owners. If, as you say, the transmission is to fail and has to be replaced, then the customers ought to know the issues that may arise after 40,000 km of usage and will be considered null of warranty after one lakh km of usage. Therefore, it is in my personal interest to spread this information about what has happened to me on social media accounts, so as to inform the vast majority of Hyundai users online regarding our proceedings. It has been over 3 months now and I have had to use public transportation due to the issue and have been requesting this to be resolved for a long time now. Please confirm your form of redressed of this issue by email immediately. We will be using social media channels (Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Google , YouTube primarily) to fully disclose our issue with this vehicle clearly and our experience and service history with Hyundai Service Centres so as to inform the general public about the Hyundai cars. This will only include facts and it is an act to convey genuine concerns as a Hyundai vehicle owner, to other owners or new buyers. This information will be passed on to relevant portals/higher authorities / popular car reviewers, etc to gain maximum viewership. Waiting for your favourable response to proceed further. Regards, Jessy Jolly & Jolly Joseph Unsatisfied Hyundai Customers KA51MH7022.pdf Thanks tofor sending this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page Last edited by Aditya : 9th April 2021 at 12:16 . PRESS RELEASE REGULATED INFORMATION Information regarding the total number of voting rights and denominator Cambridge (UK) 8 April 2021: Global Graphics PLC (Euronext: GLOG) discloses voting rights information in accordance with article 15 of the Belgian Law of 2 May 2007. With effect from 18 March 2021, pursuant to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union and in accordance with Directive 2004/109/EC, the Company declared Belgium as its home Member State. Status as of 18 March 2021: Total share capital 13,163,895 Total number of ordinary shares 32,909,737 Total number of shares held in treasury * 112,996 Total number of voting rights (the denominator) 32,796,741 Total number of bonds convertible into securities conferring voting rights none Total number of rights, whether or not embodied in securities, to subscribe for securities conferring voting rights yet to be issued none Total number of shares without voting rights none * The company holds shares in treasury to satisfy obligations under employee share plans. These shares are included in the total number of ordinary shares and are excluded from the total number of voting rights (the denominator). Notifications: The threshold at which a shareholding needs to be disclosed is set at 5% and each 5% in either direction thereafter. Notifications of significant shareholdings should be sent to investor-relations@globalgraphics.com , as well as to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) at trp.fin@fsma.be. About Global Graphics PLC Through its operating subsidiaries, Global Graphics PLC (Euronext Brussels: GLOG) is a leading developer of integrated hardware and software solutions for graphics and industrial inkjet printing. Customers include press manufacturers such as HP, Canon, Durst, Roland, Hymmen and Mark Andy. Global Graphics PLC is headquartered in Cambridge UK. Its subsidiary companies are printing software developers Global Graphics Software; the industrial printhead driver solutions specialists, Meteor Inkjet; pre-press workflow developers Xitron and enterprise software developer HYBRID Software . Contacts By Ritah kemigisa President Museveni has described the signing of the East African Crude oil pipeline project, EACOP on Sunday as a triple victory for Uganda and Tanzania both economically, politically and militarily. On Sunday, President Yoweri Museveni and Tanzanias Samia Suluhu Hassan and other stakeholders including; Total E&P and CNOOC signed three key agreements paving way for the implementation of the proposed East African Crude Oil Project, EACOP. The historic event for the $3.5 billion project took place at state house Entebbe. The key agreements signed include; the Host government agreement between Total E&P and governments of Uganda and Tanzania , the shareholders agreement between all the shareholders plus the Tariff and transportation agreement. Speaking during the signing ceremony, Museveni said he is satisfied that the project will make a modest contribution to the development of Tanzania much as it will not compensate for what they did to liberate Uganda from Amin. He says much as Kenya is Ugandas brother country, Tanzania played a unique role for Uganda. Forty two (42) years ago, this same day, is when the Tanzanian troops of 20 Division captured Kampala and enabled a Ugandan Army officer, Oyite Ojok, to announce the fall of Idi Amin on Radio Uganda, he said. At that very moment, with my rapidly growing Fronasa troops, operating with another TPDF division, the Task Force division under Major-General Silas Mayunga, I was on the Mbarara Front, the 20 Division was under General Munguri. Today, therefore, is a triple victory for Tanzania and Uganda: military, political and economic, Mr Museveni added. He meanwhile said the oil pipeline will be key in the discovery of more oil reserves in the Albertine region and Karamoja. According to Museveni, the project will also be instrumental in the development of the East African region and Africa at large. He said This project should, in addition to what we have said, serve to awaken all Africans that prosperity and strategic security are only possible if we use the Pan-Africanist approach that gives us a bigger market and rationalizes economic linkages. Every ten years States must redistrict to account for population shifts and ensure that districts contain equal population. Traditionally, States have used a "total population" measure as the basis for redistricting. But total population is riddled with problems. A total population measure is what it sounds likedistricts are drawn on the basis of raw population, without regard to citizenship or voting eligibility. This means that districting can be distorted by the presence of non-voters in districts, such as non-citizens, children, and incarcerated prisoners. Moreover, using total population as the basis of redistricting contributes to the growing underrepresentation of rural voters and has been shown to disparately harm African Americans, who are overwhelmingly voting-eligible citizens. To counteract these harms, many have been advocating for States to replace total population with "citizen voting age population" (CVAP) as the basis of redistricting. CVAP is a long-established measure of eligible voters that is widely used by courts, the Department of Justice, and state and local governments. It leads to more equal representation by ensuring only eligible voters are countedunlike total population, which creates significant disparities in voting power among eligible voters. CVAP also promotes good government by imposing a straightforward standard to apportion seats that significantly reduces opportunities to engage in race-based manipulation of districts and gerrymandering. Additional studies and amicus briefs exploring this issue are attached. The Project on Fair Representation is a nonprofit legal defense foundation based in Arlington, Virginia. The mission of POFR is to provide legal support to individuals and jurisdictions that wish to challenge governmental distinctions based on race and ethnicity. Established in 2005, POFR has provided counsel in many lawsuits, five of which were argued before the U.S. Supreme Court including Fisher v. Univ of Texas, Shelby Co. Ala. v Holder and Evenwel v Abbott. Attachments: https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Demographers-Amicus.pdf Contact: Edward Blum [email protected] 703-505-1922 SOURCE The Project on Fair Representation Related Links http://www.projectonfairrepresentation.org People arriving in from the United States and 15 other countries and regions will have to complete a 14-day mandatory quarantine at a government-designated facility starting from 4 a.m. (Irish time) on April 15, according to a latest decision of the Irish government. The 16 countries and regions, which are deemed as high risk for Covid-19 transmission, include the United States, Canada and Bermuda in North America; France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Ukraine and Armenia in Europe; Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives in Asia; Kenya in Africa and Curacao in South America, according to a list published on the government website, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. People coming from or through the above-listed areas must pre-book their accommodation at a government-designated hotel online and make the payment for their accommodation and food in advance, according to the relevant regulations. The standard rate for an adult is 1,875 euros (about $2,230) for the quarantine period. Those who refuse to be quarantined or leave the designated hotel for mandatory quarantine without authorisation will face a fine of 2,000 euros, or a sentence of one-month imprisonment, or both. People can leave the designated facility for mandatory quarantine if they are tested negative on the tenth day of their arrival in Diplomats, aircrew and maritime crew, among others, can be exempted from such a mandatory quarantine if they can meet the other public health requirements of Ireland started to implement a mandatory hotel quarantine regime on March 26. To date, a total of 75 countries and regions have been placed by the Irish government on a list which requires a mandatory quarantine for travellers coming from these areas. The list, which is subject to change, can be found on various websites of the Irish authorities including the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Irish Department of Health on Saturday night said that a total of 240,643 people had been infected with Covid-19 in Ireland and 4,783 of them had died from the virus. As of April 8, a total of 1,018,264 people in the country had been partially or fully vaccinated against Covid-19, accounting for over 20 percent of Ireland's total population, according to the department. Vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca are being used in Ireland with Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine to be available here soon. As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with the already-authorized vaccines. Meanwhile, 273 candidate vaccines are still being developed -- 87 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Friday. --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.) (Getty Images) The weirdest of many weird passages in Beautiful Things, the confessional memoir of Joe Bidens tormented son Hunter, begins in October 2016, when he books into a wellness ranch in Sonoma for addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine. Arriving at Dulles Airport in Washington at 7am the sometime lawyer and lobbyist misses flight after flight smoking rocks in his car, then drives 651 miles overnight to Nashville where he buys crack on the streets. After three zonked days he makes it to LA but misses a connecting flight from LA because he leaves the terminal to smoke crack, and ends up on a six-day bender in Marina del Rey with a bunch of dealers, addicts and hookers. At one point hes talked out of a fight by a giant called Little Down who is related to the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E of Samoan gangster rappers. Hunter who by now has barely slept for two weeks - then rents a car for the 500 mile journey to Sonoma, wrecks it and almost kills himself running it off the freeway, hires a Jeep, and drives the wrong way for two hours. At some point the crack lost its oomph, but I kept lighting up anyway, out of force of habit, he writes, matter-of-factly. For some miles he follows a giant owl in his headlights. After checking in to not one but two spas and tapering off the crack, Hunter calls Hallie, the widow of his adored brother Beau - who died of a brain tumour I7 months earlier to fetch him. By the time they got back to Delaware we were a couple. Kathleen, his long-suffering wife and mother of his three daughters, discovers their text exchanges. Everything blew up after that, Hunter sighs. You can see why Donald Trump, with his instinct for an opponents tender parts, targeted Hunter when fighting Joe Biden for the presidency. If the Bidens echo the Kennedys in some ways Catholic, close, marked by tragedy and driven by a sense of political entitlement then Hunter is Ted: the one whose lapses reveal the base desires beneath the mask of American nobility. Story continues But Hunter spiked Trumps guns with a tell-all New Yorker article about his addictions, shortly after his dad announced his candidacy. The MAGA crowd were left with vague allegations about Hunters lucrative seat on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, and a phantom laptop supposed to contain horrors. This book puts it all out there again, in greater detail, to pre-empt those gunning for Joe in office. It is very frank and littered with f***s but also po-faced and prone to tip into bathos (politics is not the family business service is). It is a barely believable story of redemption, in which a fragile man whose life is punctuated by loss is saved by the right woman (spoiler alert: its not Hallie). It also tells you an awful lot about crack. AMERICAN TRAGEDY On Dec 18 1982 Hunter, aged two, and Beau, three, were severely injured in the car accident that killed their mother Neilia and baby sister Naomi. Aunts, uncles, and grandparents pitched in alongside their grieving, loving father. Five years later teacher Jill Jacobs became their mom (Neilia remained mommy) and gave them a stepsister, Ashley. The Bidens seem tactile there is lots of hugging and kissing but their verbal exchanges rarely go beyond declarations of love or exhortations to be the best you can be. The bereavement is never discussed. The family gathers again to switch off Beaus life support system together on May 29 2015. Hunter does not show his father his eulogy for Beau before the funeral: later, he will not tell his father, the presidential candidate, about his tell-all New Yorker interview. Biden's sons, Beau and Hunter, hold the Bible during a swearing in ceremony, 1985AP MY BROTHERS KEEPER Hunter takes his first drink at eight, and has his first hangover at 14. Beau waits until hes 21 and legal, and quits booze at 30. Hunter marries Kathleen, who he meets through Jesuit volunteering groups while studying in Chicago, after she falls pregnant. Beau marries childhood friend Hallie at 33. Both brothers study law. Beau becomes attorney general of Delaware, and twice defers fatally, it turns out his chance to run for the Senate seat left vacant when his father becomes Vice President. Hunter works for a bank and the US Department of Commerce before becoming a lobbyist and an advisor to investment funds (he also works for the World Food Programme and Amtrak). Beau trains judges in Kosovo during the war in 1999 and serves as a major in the 261st Signal Brigade in Iraq. Hunter is discharged from the US Navy Reserve in 2014 after failing a drug test, having already been busted for cocaine possession as a senior year in high school. Yet the boys remain close, from whispered goodnights after the death of their mother, to Beau taking Hunter to rehab, to Hunter helping Beau use the toilet in his final months. The books title refers to the beautiful things they hoped to see and do together. THE BUSINESS OF POLITICS Joe Biden hovers over the book as a strict but affectionate working man who strips asbestos from the pipes of the family home himself, and whose office just happens to be the Senate. Milestones occasionally loom: from his withdrawal from the 1988 presidential campaign for loosely appropriating a speech by Neil Kinnock to becoming Obamas wingman. The family unconditionally support each others chosen paths, but again, they dont talk. Joe apparently doesnt ask Hunter about his lobbying clients; Hunter doesnt tell. When dad becomes VP, Hunter has to quit lobbying so becomes an advisor to investors. His appointment to the Burisma board in 2014 catapults him into grey areas of international business - where people are hired for influence or as reputational fig-leaves - and subsequently into the frontline of the Trump/Putin disinformation wars. The whole business is covered in defensive, stultifying detail in chapter eight of the book. Whats important is that when Hunter, a functional alcoholic since 2003, descends into hardcore drug addiction after Beaus death, and begins to lose work, the Burisma money enables him to buy crack. Hunter quit role as a lobbyist when father Joe became Obamas VPGetty Images THE POLITICS OF CRACK Crack strips Hunter of shame. Its normal, he explains, to offer a stranger $100 to buy crack for you, on the promise hell get more cash to feed his own habit when he returns (nine times out of ten he wont, even if hes left you one of his shoes for security). Its normal to have guns pointed at you. Its normal to have a sick, elderly, female crack addict move into your apartment because shes a secure route to a fix, and borrows rather than steals your credit cards. Its normal to smoke bits of parmesan or cheddar popcorn in the hope they are spilled crumbs of crack. While excoriating his past, Hunter seems oddly proud of his ability to find crack in any city he might find himself, and of his capacity for intoxication while at the Chateau Marmont, compared to previous residents Jim Belushi and Doors vocalist Jim Morrison. Morrison was a f***ing piker compared to my shenanigans. Indeed, after years of abuse even some of his rehab sessions involved psychoactives and ketamine infusions - its astonishing that Hunter has retained his capacity to function, and his looks. Hunter with wife Melissa CohenGetty Images THE SAVIOUR Hunter paints his now ex-wife as angry go figure and the relationship with his sister-in-law as an aberration. While acknowledging again the debt of love to his dad, Jill, Beau and the extended Biden clan, his current, clean state is entirely down to his second wife Melissa Cohen, a South African activist. Their improbable courtship is the second weirdest part of the book. Given her number by a stranger, a totally wasted Hunter texts her after midnight. She bats him off but meets him for a 5.15 dinner the next day (he wears a Canadian tuxedo: a denim jacket and jeans). Hes 49. Shes 32. The first thing he says is that her blue eyes are exactly like Beaus; the second, that he loves her. An hour later, she says she loves him. He admits hes a crack addict. She says: Well, not anymore. They go to a party. He sneaks off, smokes crack, conks out. But Melissa takes charge of his phone, computer and wallet, polices his every bathroom visit, and faces down the hoodlums and whores who come after him. He gets clean. Weeks later they have a quickie wedding. Typically, Hunter doesnt tell his dad until the morning of the ceremony. But he and Melissa do furnish Joe with a seven-month old baby grandson to hoik aloft, Lion King style, after his victory speech as president-elect. His name? Beau. Read More Hunter Biden speaks on his addiction and Ukraine ahead of memoir release The most fashionable First Family? Joe Bidens granddaughters are instant style stars You probably havent noticed what Jill Biden wears, and thats very much the point Single Mom Saves $750,000 in 4 Years Thanks to These 6 Money-Managing Tips Single mom Lakisha Simmons was set on obtaining financial security after getting divorced in 2017. Turning to literature on smart finance, she began saving, investing, and managing her outgoings like never before. She saved an impressive $750,000 in just four years. By implementing the tips she learned, the mom of two is on track to become a millionaire by the end of 2022. I knew I had to do something, Simmons, 41, told People, because I put myself in a position where I could potentially not take care of myself and the children. Having a difficult childhood, Simmons wanted to keep her 5-bedroom family home in Nashville, Tennessee, so as not to uproot her two young sons. Keeping up with mortgage payments and utilities on her sole income weighed heavily. And there was the stress of not having a financial safety net. She latched onto a movement called FIRE: Financial Independence, Retire Early. After having reached her goal within just four years, Simmons, an associate professor of analytics at Belmont University and founder of BRAVE Consulting, is sharing the six crucial tips that got her there. Read Personal Finance Books Knowing little about personal finance, Simmons turned to blogs, articles, and books for tips. The concepts of FIRE were expounded in relatable terms on blogs Mr. Money Mustache and Millennial Revolution. Easy-to-access information allowed her to feel in control of her money-saving journey. Downsize Simmons severed ties with the family home in Nashville when she admitted it was her biggest expense. She and her sons downsized to a 1,000-square-foot (approx. 92-square-meter), two-bedroom apartment, saving $12,600 a year. Net profit from the sale of the house went directly toward a brokerage account to be invested. To become financially independent, I just needed to switch my mindset from spending money, to saving money, to investing money, she told Business Insider. Track Your Spending Using a three-step method, Simmons gained control over her spending and financial status: First, she lists her yearly expenses in a Google spreadsheet so that she can accurately divide her income between spending, saving, and investing. Second, she uses a budgeting app called Mint to log all monetary transactions, enabling her to see, on a month-by-month basis, exactly where her money goes. Third, she opened an account with California-based finance management company Personal Capital, helping her keep track of her net worth as time goes by. Switch Utilities Simmons found numerous ways to reduce her outgoings. The savvy mom of two changed her usual grocery store to a less expensive franchise, gave up her cable TV subscription in favor of Netflix and Amazon Prime, and changed her cellphone planaltogether saving thousands annually. She readjusted her insurance policies to make monthly payments more affordable, and even learned how to cut her sons hair to save on trips to the barber. Build Retirement Funds In addition to a 403(b) retirement fund, Simmons discovered her employer also offered a 457(b) tax-advantaged, deferred compensation plan. By paying pre-tax dollars into the latter, Simmons maxed out both funds and moved her remaining money to a Roth IRA (individual retirement account), setting herself up for a financially stable future. Start a Brokerage Account With no plans to retire from the job she loves just yet, Simmons began diverting whatever was left from her personal monthly budget into a Vanguard brokerage account to be invested into index funds and exchange-traded funds. I just make somewhat [of an] above-average salary, [but] Im by no means rich in terms of my salary, Simmons explained to People, crediting her $750,000 gain to stock market growth since 2017. Your number may not be my number and thats okay, she continued. There are some things that we can change in our lifestyle. I want people to know that you can do it. 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 New Delhi, April 12 : Indian actor Adarsh Gourav earned global spotlight with his nomination at the 74th British Academy of Films and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for his performance of Balram Halwai in "The White Tiger", in the Leading Actor category. Although he did not win, he is not upset. Adarsh was in competition with veteran names such as Anthony Hopkins, the late Chadwick Boseman, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen and Tahar Rahim. The veteran Hopkins won for his role in "The Father". Getting nominated with such names is as good as a win, says Adarsh, who says he had no expectations. "I feel this is my first international film and just being nominated alongside people like Sir Anthony Hopkins, Mads Mikkelsen, Chadwick Boseman. These people have been such a strong source of inspiration for me throughout my career. I feel a nomination is as good as a win for me," Adarsh told IANS. He added: "I did not have any expectations." Adarsh is happy that Anthony Hopkins took back the award. "I am really happy that Sir Anthony Hopkins won it for 'The Father'. it is a brilliant film and he was magnificent in the film. I am just so happy that he won a BAFTA for the film," he said. Now that he is known globally, does he feel like he is a star? "It is nice to have a film that is released in so many countries. The crest completely goes to Netflix and (director) Ramin (Bahrani) to give me this opportunity to be a film that was made on such a big scale and released in so many countries. I think they really trusted me with the part and I guess it worked out," he said. Now that "The White Tiger" has released and created waves, what kind of work is Adarsh looking forward to doing? "No particular genre of work but just like anything any story that I personally related to or get inspired by. I just want to work for myself," Adarsh told IANS. He has a bucket list. "There are a few directors and filmmakers in India as well as in the West I really want to work with and I hope that it happens someday. 'The White Tiger' has definitely helped me get in touch with some of them. I have been auditioning for a lot of parts and I hope to convert some of them and begin working on something exciting really soon," Adarsh signed off. (Durga Chakravarty can be contacted a durga.c@ians.in) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Drawn by the challenges and opportunities of making a difference in a resilient and multicultural city, Stephen Ives took the helm as CEO of YMCA of Greater Houston two years ago, having played the same role at the organizations outposts in Columbus, Ohio, Lawrence, Mass. and Biddefort, Maine, during his 28-year tenure with the nonprofit. This is where we figure it out, Ives said in reference to the YMCA. Figure out how to be a thriving community that is also diverse and multicultural. The notion of being part of that as a capstone in my career was really aspiring to me. The YMCA is positioned to accelerate equity initiatives in Houston, thanks to an $18 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in December. Scott, an author and ex-wife of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, is one of the worlds wealthiest women. The gift also enabled the Y to lift its entry level wages for frontline employees to $15 an hour, demonstrating its commitment to equity and a more livable wage. Ives spoke with the Chronicle about the YMCAs role in building strong communities and pursuing a brighter future. Q: What will MacKenzie Scotts gift do for your organization? A: That arrived in late November at a time when we had depleted nearly $9 million of our reserves and were anticipating an operating loss of $10 million to $12 million. It certainly allowed us to have some confidence in moving forward the initiatives under way around repositioning the Y to engage more people, redesigning many of our programs to have them make sense and be valid post COVID. Its going to help us get through the next year of continued disruption. Were readjusting our staff and our overall cost structure. Weve eliminated our corporate headquarters and are working virtually and/or in one of our centers. Q: So no more headquarters? A: We were in leased facilities where we housed administration services, our leadership team and back office operations. That lease ended and we did not renew it in January. Were no longer in need of a central headquarters. Q: How big a hit did operations take during the pandemic? A: March 16 (2020), we were forced to shut our doors without any sense of how long that would be or what kind of long-term impact that would have. I believed at that time that it was not going to be a short interruption and began to position ourselves accordingly. We put thousands of people on furlough and re-positioned our staff to do different kinds of work that were most needed. That included food distribution in a partnership with the Greater Houston Food Bank. At one point we had about 200 staff working on that initiative. School was canceled, so essential workers needed a place where their kids could be that was safe that had some educational component to it. We redeployed our buildings and our staff to that purpose. We also were very actively involved in reaching out to shut-in seniors to make sure they had access to the virtual YMCA content that was being built and also had a call from a caring citizen in the community to check in on them. Q: I imagine membership was impacted. A: We saw about 50 percent of our membership stay engaged. As a result, between both membership depletion and school-age childcare interruption and school-based program interruption, more than $50 million worth of operating revenue disappeared. Q: What has that done to your budget? A: Its about $100 million now. Pre-COVID was $140 million. Q: How did you respond? A: We kept on doing the right things. We kept on being there where we could, finding philanthropic support, some government funds and through partnerships being able to really expand our food distribution work, essential care, childcare and our outreach to older adults and the building of virtual content to make it available for community members. Q: How many facilities do you operate? How many people do you serve? A: Pre-COVID, 26 facilities and 175,000 people in membership. Closer to 500,000 in all of our programs. Q: And now? A: In membership, it would be half that number and probably a third of the 500,000 total people served. Nearly 1 million people in food distribution. We've seen a huge uptick in people served when it comes to access to healthy food and nutrition. Because we didnt have it before, we had a significant uptick in people participating in virtual programs and initiatives. Q: How many employees do you have now? A: About 1,200 to 1,300. Right around 400 or 500 full-time. The gift has certainly helped us to reset and stop eliminating positions and start to rebuild. Q: What are top initiatives of 2021? A: We have some staff positions were bringing back, primarily in childcare, youth programs and our Equity Innovation Center. We are also able to commit to a $15-an-hour entry-level pay for all of our frontline workers that are full-time going into the new year. Q: What kind of funding do you receive from businesses? A: We receive funding from businesses in a few ways. One is through corporate sponsorships and partnerships and membership agreements and philanthropy. Q: How has that been affected by the pandemic and recession? A: Now, 30 percent is membership dues, 20 to 25 percent philanthropy, grants and sponsorships, 20 percent government funding for our international services division, 20 to 25 is program, child care, summer camp swim lessons, etc. My answer to that would have been very different a year ago. Q: A year ago, what would it have been? A: More than 40 percent membership and less than 20 percent philanthropy. Thats the big shift where this happened. Q: With some companies struggling during the pandemic, is it difficult to secure philanthropic and corporate donations? A: Yes and no. Obviously, people have limitations of funds. The things that companies are about are so aligned with the work we are doing with equity, community health and community strengthening. Q: Has this affected your mission at all? A: Absolutely not. For 135 years, the Y has been committed to strengthening the foundations of the community. For more than a decade, social equity has been a strategic priority to the Y and our board of directors. Q: What are some of the things youre doing to address equity? A: We launched late summer what we call our Equity Innovation Center in partnership with Reliant. Its a hub to coordinate, coalesce and curate opportunities for businesses and for individuals in the community to learn more about being an equity-minded citizen or leader in the community. Phase 1 of our roll out has been almost entirely internally focused. Weve been having conversations internally with our staff around race, around unconscious bias and around white privilege. Our belief is that we arent the experts on this, but were really good at doing the work first internally and then sharing what were learning with others along the way, so thats how weve been approaching it. Publicly, we did a virtual freedom tour for adults that was a virtual experience of the civil rights movement in Houston. We did a Sunday Supper, the Sunday before Martin Luther King Day, which was well attended. Weve done a series of workshops in partnership with others. We found more than 15 other partners in the community that are doing great work in this space that were helping to elevate their work and bring it up front and center to be more accessible to more people in the community. Q: Tell me about the Be Why campaign. A: Its a communication campaign to tell the story and clarify in peoples minds what the Y is and what were about. The Y is not a place, its a purpose. When you engage as program participant, member or volunteer, you are participating in the social impact work of the YMCA. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Homegrown Albuquerque firm Aspen Avionics has joined forces with the AIRO Group, a recently formed aerospace conglomerate thats seeking to go public on a U.S. stock exchange. Aspen, a venture capital-backed firm that launched in 2004, merged last fall with the AIRO Group, which now unites nine diverse companies that are pooling their individual strengths in commercial and military markets for unmanned operating systems and aircraft. The AIRO Group, in turn, announced in March that its exploring options for a public listing through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, potentially putting AIRO Group members on a joint fast track to begin publicly selling stock as a single entity with a diverse array of operations. The merger with AIRO and imminent prospect of public listing could place Aspen Avionics on a high-growth trajectory going forward, said Brian Birk of Santa Fe-based Sun Mountain Capital, which manages the New Mexico State Investment Councils investments in local startup companies. To date, Aspen has raised nearly $50 million in private equity, including at least $8 million in SIC money channeled through Sun Mountain. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ This is an excellent opportunity for the company to tap into public markets to raise money and fund future growth, Birk said. Pardon the pun, but for Aspen, the skys the limit. Were very excited about the prospects. Going public would provide an exit opportunity for Aspens venture backers if they choose to recover their original investments in the company with potentially significant returns, said Aspen president and CEO John Uczekaj. Others may decide to stay on as Aspen grows in new markets. For now, things remain as they are, but when we go public, it will provide exit opportunities for our venture capital investors who have stuck with us through both good times and difficult periods, Uczekaj told the Journal. Their backing has been critical to getting us to where we are today. Its been a long road for Aspen, which has grown over 17 years from a startup into a well-established avionics firm with national and international brand recognition. The company is a pioneer in the global transition from analog systems to digital avionics for small commercial and general aviation aircraft. It developed some of the industrys first digital flight displays as drop-in replacements for aging mechanical gauges and controls, allowing general and commercial aircraft owners to install modern cockpit panels at an affordable price. Its Evolution Flight Display System, or glass cockpit, offers a full suite of real-time data on things like altitude, air speed and weather, plus navigational data to increase a pilots situational and terrain awareness with photo-quality moving maps and traffic displays. Those systems are now installed in some 20,000 aircraft across the globe, Uczekaj said. The displays are certified for installation worldwide in both planes and helicopters. The U.S. and Canada account for about 74% of sales. About 26% of our business is in international markets outside the U.S. and Canada, Uczekaj said. Our biggest regions are Europe and Australia, with emerging growth as well in South America. The company faced rough times following the 2008 recession. But it emerged from that downturn with solid markets and sales, pushing annual revenue up to $14.2 million by 2012, when it topped the Journals Flying 40 list of fast-growing technology companies. Prior to the pandemic, Aspen was approaching $20 million in annual revenue, Uczekaj said. But the crash in air travel during the coronavirus sliced away about 25% of the companys market last year. The industry took a big hit in the pandemic, Uczekaj said. Still, we managed to remain profitable without laying anybody off, and the markets are coming back now. Weve seen slow but steady growth since November and December. The company currently employs 47. It operates out of a 15,000-square-foot facility at Indian School Road near San Mateo. In recent years, Aspen added new products that helped accelerate growth. That includes a touchscreen GPS navigational system that connects with the companys digital cockpits. That allows customers to comply with new Federal Aviation Administration mandates that require all general-aviation aircraft to have systems that can automatically send critical flight information on things such as altitude, direction and speed to air-traffic controllers. It also developed a product to connect iPad applications with digital cockpits, allowing pilots to prepare flight plans on mobile devices for transfer to cockpit avionics. And the company has continuously upgraded its digital flight displays over the years, adding fresh capabilities for both new and existing customers. Weve built real loyalty, with almost 100% uptake on our upgrades by existing customers, Uczekaj said. In todays world, brand still means something. Our customers are not choosing to replace us with competitors. Now, by merging with the AIRO Group, Aspen is broadening its markets to aggressively enter the unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, space for both commercial and military aircraft. The AIRO Group is focused on three high-growth sectors in the commercial aerospace and defense industries, including drone and urban-air-mobility technology, advanced avionics, and products and training for military systems. Until now, Aspen had focused fairly exclusively on the general and business aviation sectors, first as a pioneer in the shift to digital systems, and then as a go-to brand in whats now a well-established analog-to-digital evolution in the aerospace industry. Those areas will remain central to Aspens business model going forward, but through AIRO, it will now expand its avionics expertise into rapidly-emerging UAS markets, Uczekaj said. The emergence of drone technology and a maturing regulatory environment to start flying cargo and passengers encouraged us to move forward with the AIRO Group, Uczekaj said. We see big growth in that area. The nine companies united in AIRO are all small firms that have built solid foundations in their individual sectors. They bring together a range of expertise in everything from manufacturing and integration of airframes, products and avionics to providing services and building innovative artificial intelligence capabilities for autonomous flight. Together, they constitute an unparalleled ecosystem for end-to-end drone solutions, said AIRO Group CEO Joe Burns. Through our internal synergies and external partnerships, we are poised for the long-term operation of a drone ecosystem that will serve as a backbone for moving freight and people, Burns said in a prepared statement. Aspen brings needed avionics expertise to the table. We help fill out the groups vertical integration by providing the avionics for everything, including sensors, electronics and manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities, Uczekaj said. Most industry players just bring one or two things to the market. The AIRO group is unique in the range of things it offers through vertical integration. The next step is raising funds by going public, something made easier by the recent surge in initial public offerings through special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs. Those are shell companies created by investors and listed on a stock exchange to later merge with a real company like the AIRO Group that wants to go public. The AIRO Group has hired private investment banking firm Stephens Inc. to explore a SPAC-based business agreement. The emerging SPAC environment provides opportunities for the AIRO Group to raise capital to go to the next level, Uczekaj said. Aspens merger with AIRO is positioning the company on the leading edge of the global drone revolution, said Birk of Sun Mountain Capital. The AIRO Group has a very exciting future ahead of it, Birk said. Its targeting some of the highest growth sectors in the aerospace industry, and Aspen will be an integral part of that. Kevin Robinson-Avila covers technology, energy, venture capital and utilities for the Journal. He can be reached at krobinson-avila@abqjournal.com. Highlights The telco notes that this is an industry-first integration and will give 24x7 real-time customer service to Vi users. Last year, Vi introduced the service chatbot for consumer assistance. It recently integrated payment of bills and recharges through WhatsApp.. Vi has integrated its VIC Chatbot with Google's Business Messages to give assistance to Vi users on smartphones. The telco notes that this is an industry-first integration and will give 24x7 real-time customer service to Vi users. The AI-powered VIC is enabled with a live agent connect for assisted services which has now been extended to Google's Business Messages. Vi further noted that this will enable users searching for Vi or Vi Stores on Google Search or Google Maps to find 'Chat' or 'Message a Live Agent' button against search results through which they can interact with the virtual agent, VIC, to get their queries answered instantaneously. Last year, Vi introduced the service chatbot on WhatsApp and recently integrated payment of bills and recharges on WhatsApp through VIC. VIC enables Vi customers to get instant response on a host of service requirements including bill payments, recharges, VAS, plan activation, new connection, data balance, bill requests among other things. Users will be able to do their recharges and pay bills from any location and also through WhatsApp. The payments service will work for both postpaid and prepaid customers and will work across all payment gateways or UPI. Vi customers can recharge with any pack instantly in just two clicks using the virtual agent. Vi users will receive a link via SMS to make their payments and recharges using VIC. They can also experience the same by sending Hi on VIC number 96542 97000. "VIC enables VIC to be intuitive, simple-to-use, secure, and allows customers to converse with Vi by leveraging the power of AI," Vi had noted."Vi customers can now enjoy on the spot seamless payments and recharge through its AI-powered Virtual Agent VIC on its Digital Assets and also on WhatsApp." Last week, Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL)'s business arm, Vi Business launched integrated Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for enterprises. Vi noted that this is an industry-first initiative and that it has become the only telecom company in India to offer "a secure end-to-end IoT solution offering that comprises connectivity, hardware, network, application, analytics, security and support." Vi noted that it has further strengthened its IoT portfolio by providing a comprehensive range of IoT solutions across Industries for smart infrastructure, smart mobility and smart utilities, on its 5G-ready network. With Vi Integrated IoT Solutions, an enterprise can now focus on its core strength, thus simplifying and accelerating IoT Innovation. The symposium in ancient Greece was a formal postprandial drinking party for men, during which topics of interest were discussed as tongues were loosened. Plato has famously documented it. In its series, Archaeology Abridged, the Archaeological Institute of America is offering a Zoom lecture by Kathleen Lynch, a professor of classics at the University of Cincinnati, to explain the symposium and the influence of drinking on ancient pottery shapes. A Toast to Ancient Greek Wine Drinking, 1 p.m., about 45 minutes long, April 15, free, archaeological.org/archaeology-abridged-webinars. Follow NYT Food on Twitter and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Get regular updates from NYT Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice. Click here to read the full article. Harvey Weinsteins attorneys objected on Monday to the paperwork submitted to seek his extradition to face sex assault and rape charges in Los Angeles. A judge in Buffalo, N.Y., set an April 30 court date to hear the objections. Mondays hearing was only the second time Weinstein has appeared in court since being sentenced in March 2020 to 23 years in prison. He appeared remotely from Wende Correctional Facility, the maximum security state prison where he is serving his sentence. He used a walker, but smiled while chatting with his attorneys before the hearing. He answered a few simple questions from the judge but otherwise did not participate in the proceeding. Los Angeles prosecutors are seeking to have Weinstein brought to Los Angeles for trial on 11 charges, which could bring up to 140 years in prison. The extradition process has been delayed several times over the last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the latest wrinkle, L.A. prosecutors have filed a sealed indictment against Weinstein. The indictment mirrors the charges that have already been filed, but it allows prosecutors to avoid an evidentiary hearing, which would slow down the process. Once Weinstein is brought to L.A., prosecutors would have 120 days to bring him to trial. Fox News first reported the indictment on Sunday. Norman Effman, a New York attorney representing Weinstein, argued that the indictment means that the extradition request is now out of date. I have nothing on the indictment level that shows that a judge signed this request, Effman argued. Colleen Curtin Gable, an assistant D.A. in Erie County, said that Effmans opposition came as a little bit of a surprise. She also argued that a timely extradition is important for all parties, including the victims in the Los Angeles case. At a press conference following the proceeding, Erie County D.A. John Flynn accused Effman of engaging in a sandbag move. Obviously its a stalling technique, Flynn said. He wants to keep his guy here as long as possible, and prevent him from going to California to face what hes accused of out there. If Judge Kenneth Case approves the extradition request which is typically a formality Weinstein would then be able to appeal to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who will have 30 days to decide whether to intervene. Effman also suggested that Weinstein could stay in New York and appear remotely for pre-trial proceedings in Los Angeles, but said that request had been turned down. We know where he is, Effman said. Hes not going anywhere. Effman also argued that Weinstein is suffering from a variety of medical problems, which require extensive treatments. He said that Weinstein has from dental problems, and has had four teeth removed. Effman said he is also experiencing cardiac issues, back issues, sleep apnea, and is nearly legally blind. Effman said that Weinsteins Los Angeles attorneys were seeking to work out a deal with the D.A.s office on extradition. Those negotiations have failed. Effman was given until April 20 to file his objections in writing. The Erie County D.A.s office will respond by April 27. Weinsteins attorneys filed an appeal of his conviction in New York last week, arguing that the judge should have disqualified a juror who had written a novel dealing with themes of sexual predation. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The European Union believes that the deteriorating situation in eastern Ukraine due to the movement of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border will not escalate into a conflict and call on the Russian authorities to fulfill the Minsk agreements. Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano said this in Brussels on Monday, commenting on the deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine. He said the EU believes that there will be no escalation and there will be no conflict, as it will be truly unacceptable. All contacts and diplomatic efforts that are ongoing now are aimed at preventing this. Stano said the Ukrainian issue will be on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers, which will be held in the format of a video conference next Monday, April 19. The EU, its member states and institutions are following very closely, with grave concern, the deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine, the movement of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and also in the illegally annexed Crimea. The representative of European diplomacy said the EU has called on several times through the High Representative and individual leaders of the member states to relieve tension. According to the EU full implementation of the Minsk agreements is the only way forward and a guarantee of a political and peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In this context, Stano said the EU welcomes the efforts and important steps that Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky are taking. The EU calls on the Russian authorities to refrain from any steps that could lead to a further deterioration of the situation and to make efforts to fulfill the Minsk agreements, he said. New York will no longer require international travelers arriving in the state to quarantine though it continues to recommend they do so, according to new guidance released by the Health Department. The change was intended to bring the state in line with travel recommendations issued earlier this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In that guidance for international and domestic travel, the C.D.C. said that people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus could travel safely at low risk to themselves but should still follow health precautions in public such as wearing masks. Federal health officials also said that they preferred all people avoid travel while the threat of the virus remained so high in the United States. The C.D.C. also cited a lack of vaccine coverage in other countries, and concern about the potential introduction and spread of new variants of the virus that are more prevalent overseas. The C.D.C. requires all international travelers arriving in the United States to show proof of a recent negative test result before boarding their flights. When fully vaccinated Americans travel abroad, they only need to get a coronavirus test or quarantine if the country they are going to requires it. However, the guidance says they must have a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight back to the United States, and they should get tested again three to five days after their return. At a meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the ambassadors of the G7 countries stressed the importance of Kyiv's fulfillment of the conditions under the IMF Stand-By Arrangement and EU macro-financial assistance. This was said in a statement posted on the Twitter account of the UK Presidency of the G7 Ambassadors' Support Group in Kyiv on April 10. "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 statement reads. G7 Ambassadors met PM @Denys_Shmyhal yesterday for a wide-ranging discussion. They reaffirmed support for s reform efforts and the importance of meeting the agreed conditions for the IMF stand-by arrangement & EU Macro-Financial Assistance 1/2 G7AmbReformUA (@G7AmbReformUA) April 10, 2021 In addition, the G7 ambassadors acknowledged the ongoing challenges of COVID-19. "They discussed the reform of Ukraine's military industrial complex; the importance of good governance across the full range of economic activity; and encouraged Ukraine's further contribution to global action on climate change," the report says. As Ukrinform reported, on February 12, the IMF mission completed its work in Ukraine, but the decision to review the Stand-By Arrangement was not made. On June 9, 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved a new 18-month Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine with total funding of USD 5 billion. Ukraine received the first tranche of USD 2.1 billion on June 12. ish Army engineers rushed to prepare two modified hybrid Land Rovers Prince Philip had personally designed as 'open top' hearses for his funeral just hours after he was admitted to hospital in February, it was revealed today. A team from the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) were deployed from their base at MOD Lyneham, Wiltshire, when the Duke of Edinburgh went into the King Edward VII's Hospital in Marylebone in February. Once he fell ill two months ago Army mechanics replaced parts and ran safety checks on the vehicles - one black and one green - at an unnamed site where they have been kept in storage for several years, according to the Daily Telegraph. The vehicles have never been seen in public but Philip, Colonel-in-Chief of REME, is believed to have designed the two vehicles personally, including an open roof for use in good weather. One MoD source told MailOnline that the vehicles are both likely to have been armour-plated. It is not clear which one of the vehicles, believed to be hybrids, will be used on Saturday but claims that the eco-conscious duke will be carried in 900 wool coffin because they are sustainably made has been dismissed by palace sources. Philip is believed to have worked with soldiers from REME to modify two Land Rover Defenders to carry his coffin 'some time ago', having famously told his wife the Queen: 'Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor.' The Duke of Edinburgh's funeral has been massively scaled back because of the Covid-19 pandemic. A special Land Rover would have carried the Dukes body 23-miles from Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner to St Georges Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Now it will only travel from the castle to the church, where only 30 guests are allowed. A team of Army engineers are said to have been working on Land Rovers modified by Philip to be a hearse as soon as he was admitted to hospital two months ago. The Duke helped design two - one black and one green. Prince Phillip's Land Rover Defender 130 Gun Bus pictured being driven around Sandringham in Norfolk by Princess Anne's husband Timothy Laurence in 2020, and is likely to be a similar design to the hearse Prince Philip is seen in a Land Rover talking to Queen in 2018, having already planned and designed the unusual hearse that would carry him, including an open top design Prince Philip was Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), who are based at MOD Lyneham in Wiltshire (pictured), who have maintained the hybrid vehicles Having spent most of his life breaking the royal mould, the Duke of Edinburgh will do so again one last time this Saturday when he takes his final journey on the back of a Land Rover he helped design as a hearse 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 Princes William and Harry and other senior members of the Royal Family will follow on foot as it driven to nearby St Georges Chapel before Saturdays funeral. The Queen will not take part in the procession. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced he will not be present to allow as many of Prince Philips family as possible to attend amid Covid-19 restrictions, which limit the number of guests to 30. In a royal funeral like no other, the Queen and her family will wear face masks and maintain social distancing at the service, which will be televised live. But a Buckingham Palace spokesman insisted that the send-off still reflects the personal wishes of Prince Philip who had meticulously planned his funeral. The spokesman confirmed that it would not be a state occasion, which are normally reserved for sovereigns, but a ceremonial royal funeral in line with the Queen Mothers in 2002. 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 Dukes funeral will take place entirely within the grounds of Windsor Castle, he said. 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 Dukes life and his more than 70 years of service to the Queen, the UK and the Commonwealth. Buckingham Palace will release full details of the service and guest list on Thursday, when it is understood there will be a dress rehearsal. The Duke currently lies at rest in the private chapel of Windsor Castle. His body will not lie in state - where members of the public would have been able to view his coffin. On Saturday, the Dukes 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 Queens Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. The party will place the coffin in the Land Rover - believed to be a modified Defender 130 Gun Bus that was commissioned in 2005 - at 2.40pm. A senior Palace official said: The Duke of Edinburgh had a hand many years ago in the design of these vehicles. He added that there were two Land Rovers for belt and braces. On the grass in the Castles Quadrangle will be representative detachments drawn from Philips military special relationships. The Quadrangle will also be lined by the Household Cavalry and The Foot Guards. At 2.45pm the Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years, will lead the eight-minute procession to St Georges Chapel. They will be followed by the Major Generals Party, and then the Service Chiefs, reflecting His Royal Highnesss close relationship with the military. The Prince of Wales and other senior Royals will follow the Land Rover bearing the Dukes coffin - draped in his personal standard, a wreath of flowers and his naval cap and sword - on foot. Philips private secretary, Archie Miller Bakewell, one of his protection officers, two of his pages and two of his valets will bring up the rear of the procession. Buckingham Palace announced that a 'specially modified' Land Rover Defender, 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 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 Minute guns will be fired by the Kings 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 procession will end at nearby St Georges Chapel for the service, which will begin with a national minutes silence at 3pm. The no-frills service will be attended by just 30 members of the Royal Family - including the Dukes children and grandchildren. Prince Harry will fly from the Sussexes Californian mansion but Meghan, 39, who is heavily pregnant has been advised by her doctor not to travel to the UK. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and David Conner, the Dean of Windsor, are expected to officiate at the service. After the service, the duke will be interred in the Royal Vault of the chapel. JASPER, Ind. (AP) The bees would have to wait. The 8,000 or so bees arrived at their new home Sunday after being lugged all the way from Georgia. But theyd still have to wait another day or so. The temperature was set to drop below 30 degrees that night, and after losing more bees this past winter than hed ever lost in 62 years of beekeeping, Jerry Apple didnt want to risk it. I love my bees, he said. I dont want to do that to them. The past year had already been hard enough on Jerry, between nearly half of his bees freezing, navigating his small business through a pandemic, and losing his wife Alice, his best friend and queen bee," as he called her. These bees were arguably more important than a typical shipment. Jerry needed a win. So he left them to sit in their boxes in his garage until the weather could warm up, went inside and called it a day. Bees have been a constant in Jerrys life for the majority of his 85 years. In Dubois County, Jerry is known for his work. Hes the one who traveled to all the schools to talk to kids about beekeeping, the one who sold honey at the farmers market with his wife for years, the one that has signs at his home along Sixth Street in Jasper that read fresh bee pollen and local honey for sale and a beehive-shaped mailbox. Even people from places outside the county, such as French Lick and Vincennes, have always told him, You have the best honey, he said. Jerry has two main jobs as a beekeeper: to sell honey and to collect hives from people who want them removed from their property. Beekeeping has been such an integral part of Jerrys life that nearly every inch of his home reflects it. The dining room table is filled with mason jars to store honey. The kitchen has a small pantry specifically to store bottles of it. The floor mats, the fridge magnets, the clocks, the knick-knacks and even his cloth face masks are bee-themed. Right outside are abandoned birdhouses and such that people around town called for him to remove. Jerry keeps the honeycomb skeletons that were stuck inside of them. Pretty much every day, he uses honey in his coffee and oatmeal. He loves to slide punny phrases, such as, dont worry, bee happy or bee all that you can bee into conversation. He sees his bees as kids, he said. Some are shy and hardworking while others are always getting into trouble. And they may want to be independent, but hes got to devote a lot of time to caring for them. Things like pesticides and cold weather are always threatening bee colonies, but this year was especially bad, weather-wise. Even if it didnt seem too bitterly cold to us, it had a devastating effect on them. Wed never had a winter like this, Jerry said. It can take a while to recover from something like that, he said. So Sundays new shipment of bees was a start of something new, an opportunity to put the past where it should be. In Jerrys life, theres arguably only one thing more important to him than his bees. Thats his family, and especially his wife, Alice. The two didnt marry until later in their lives, in November 1993, but they spent their time together fiercely loving each other. One of Jerrys fondest memories of Alice is dancing with her at their grandsons wedding a few years ago. Someone took a picture of it, and they loved it so much that they framed it. Alice passed away in November 2020. Now, Jerry has a holographic cube of the photo sitting on the kitchen counter. He usually pats the top of the cube three or four times every day. Every time he enters the kitchen, he imagines himself slow dancing with his wife right next to the fridge, just like she always loved to do. Shed always lock her fingers together behind my back so I couldnt get away, he said, laughing. It was always hard to argue with her when she did that. Alice always helped with the beekeeping business, too. She was his right-hand man and his left-hand man, Jerry likes to say. The bottles of honey sitting in the pantry are still labeled with both their names. Shed help bottle and sell the honey and would always invite customers inside to chat, never treating anyone like a stranger. It was never just, Heres the money, heres the honey, Jerry said. Jerry lives alone now. Luckily, he still has seven children, three-step children and a big family network to lean on. His daughter, Lisa Knebel, likes to come by and help bottle the honey. Hed be lost without her, he said. He also has Dan Schroeder, another beekeeper whos worked with him for the better part of the past decade. He does a lot of the things Im too old to do now, Jerry said. Hes a real intellectual you can tell hes in it for the long haul. Still, his kids are adults that have lives of their own. On a typical day, Jerry will usually get calls or visits from several of them. But its not the same as living under the same roof as someone. This past week, Jerry and his step-daughter Robin McDonald drove past the cemetery where Alice is buried. Jerry didnt get out of the car because it was too cold and he wasnt dressed warm, but Robin got out and left a marker at her mothers grave. Jerry couldnt quite remember the exact wording, but it said something along the lines of this: God was ready for your wings, but my heart was not. Its a warm and sunny Tuesday, which means its time to move the bees to their new home in Jerrys backyard. Its a little windier than ideal, but itll have to do. Jerry and Dan are ready to don their suits and mesh veils. When theyre let out of the boxes, some of the bees are going to escape and swarm around, confused by their new setting, Dan said. He has a smoker to calm them the smoke makes them think theres a fire, which changes their attitude and helps them realize they dont need to attack anyone to protect the queen bee, he said. Once theyre put in their hives, theyll be given more sugar water to eventually start making honey. The bees that escaped in the transition will slowly be lured back by the queens pheromones. For now, the queen is in a small cage within the box to protect her. Then, in three days, well come back and let the queen out of the cage, Dan said, and theyll live happily ever after. Jerry can still hold his own, but Dan also does a significant amount of the work. Hes younger and stronger, and he knows what hes doing, too. That doesnt mean Jerrys planning on slowing down, though. He doesnt want to be one of those people who retires and then is left wishing they would have done more with their time, he said. A lot of people ask him how long hell beekeep. And just as he does in almost every situation, he has a witty go-to response: Until they throw dirt on my coffin, he tells them. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 14:02:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A senior military doctor and an army officer were killed in a shooting in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province on Monday, the latest in a string of targeted killings in the conflict-torn country, local police confirmed. "Dr. Mohammad Samim and an army officer were martyred when gunmen fired on an army's four-wheel-drive vehicle in Kart-e-Ferdowsi in Police District 5 of provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif city during morning rush hour," Adil Shah Adil, provincial police spokesman, told Xinhua. Samim served as the physician in-chief at army's Shaheen 209 Corps, he said. The vehicle caught fire and the attackers fled the scene after the shooting. No group has claimed responsibly for the attack so far. The Taliban militant group has conducted scores of targeted attacks against civilians and military officials in recent years. The armed outfit considers anyone working for the government and NATO and U.S.-led troops as target. Enditem A man has been taken into police custody without incident after streets in Brisbanes bayside were locked down. Streets in Capalaba, south of Brisbane, were locked down after police were called to a Finucane Road address about 9.30am on Monday. The exclusion zone at Capalaba encompasses Ingham Street, north along Abelia Street to Remita Court and across Valentine Park to Willard Road. Credit:QPS Police had declared an exclusion zone about 1.30pm, as authorities negotiated with the man, who had allegedly threatened officers. Police said the unarmed man was the only person in the house. Specialist officers, including the Public Safety Response Team, were on scene negotiating with the man. 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 Opinion Columnist Elizabeth Groening is an opinion columnist and a journalism graduate student at the University of Oregon. She specializes in lifestyle, covering everything from fashion trends to K-pop. Check out more of her work at elizabethgroening.com. Study: "Paying for Whose Performance? Teacher Incentive Pay and the Black-White Test Score Gap" Authors: Andrew J. Hill (Montana State University), Daniel B. Jones (University of Pittsburgh) This study was published today in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Key Finding: Teacher incentive pay programs that focused on raising student achievement in high-need high schools expanded the test score gap between Black and White students by between 64 percent and 85 percent. Details: The Black-White test score gap has proven to be one of the most persistent phenomena in American education, for reasons that cannot be entirely explained by student characteristics or school and teacher quality. Teacher performance pay is increasingly common in the United States and often introduced with the goal of reducing gaps in test scores across groups of students. Performance pay aims to directly increase the effectiveness of teaching within high-need schools. The authors used robust administrative data available in North Carolina to study the impacts of teacher incentive pay programs introduced for teachers in several districts in the state during the 2000s. Teachers in 34 high-need high schools were offered bonuses if their classroom test score averages increased sufficiently on state standardized tests over the course of the school year. The authors found that performance pay had little impact on average student achievement overall. However, they found a considerable difference in the effect on Black students relative to White students. Black students experience significantly smaller gains than White students under performance pay, and in some cases actually suffer as a result of the reforms. The result was that the gap in test scores between White and Black students, controlling for other factors, expanded by between 64 percent and 85 percent. The authors also found some evidence that Hispanic students, like Black students, experience smaller gains than White students. Asian students are not impacted differently relative to White students. "One potential explanation is drawn from existing work documenting that teachers' expectations of students differ by student race," said Andrew J. Hill, an associate professor of labor economics at Montana State University. "When average student achievement is incentivized--as is common in the U.S. and in the programs we studied--teachers may target their attention toward students they expect to achieve higher levels of growth. This may cause gaps to grow between groups of students, potentially by race." The authors note their results should not be taken as evidence that performance pay, generally speaking, cannot have a positive impact on reducing test score gaps. Rather, they provide implications for how performance pay programs should be designed to meet the objectives of policymakers. "We know from previous research that when performance pay explicitly incentivizes helping the lowest performing students, it leads to more attention from teachers and large gains among those students," Hill said. To talk to the study authors, please contact AERA Communications: Tony Pals, Director of Communications, tpals@aera.net, cell: (202) 288-9333; Tong Wu, Communications Associate, twu@aera.net, cell: (202) 957-3802 ### About AERA The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today (April 11) launched 100 Million Meals campaign to provide food parcels for families and people in need across 20 countries during the holy month of Ramadan. Being implemented in co-ordination with the Food Banking Regional Network and local humanitarian organizations in beneficiary countries, it will see food parcels being delivered at the doorsteps of vulnerable individuals and families. The campaign is part of UAEs response to global efforts to combat world hunger, a major challenge that has been exacerbated by outbreak of Covid-19 that has pushed millions of disadvantaged populations to greater insecurity, poverty and unemployment. Launched as an expansion from last years locally-held 10 Million Meals campaign that empowered Covid-19-hit communities across the UAE, the 100 Million Meals campaign will provide food support for the vulnerable in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It has called upon businessmen, companies and the general public to make financial donations to the campaign that will distribute food parcels, sufficient to provide 100 million meals, in countries including Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, Angola, Uganda and Egypt. The campaign also aims to support the international community in achieving the second of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to end hunger by 2030. A donation as little as AED1 is enough to secure one meal for underserved communities in the targeted countries, said a statement from Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI). The MBRGI will carry out the campaign in collaboration with the UN World Food Programme, the Food Banking Regional Network, humanitarian and charity organizations in beneficiary countries, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment (MBRCH), and UAE federal and local entities. Annoucing the launch, Sheikh Mohammed said: "Providing food during Ramadan is the best we can give from the UAE to humanity. We will work with humanitarian organizations, companies, entities and humanitarians to join us in securing 100 million meals to bring a sense of safety to underserved homes across the world." "Philanthropy is an integral part of the UAEs philosophy since its inception," remarked Sheikh Mohammed, stressing the need to unify efforts and leverage necessary resources to combat world hunger. "Four hours away from us are 52 million people battling hunger. We need to take urgent action to empower underserved communities," remarked Sheikh Mohammed. "Today, we have the opportunity to send 100 million messages of peace from the UAE to 20 countries across the world," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Since the start of the school year, parents who did not want their children in the classrooms during the pandemic, could learn remotely from home. Thanks to donations from St. Isaac Jogues parishioners, the school upgraded its technology, so students at home heard and saw their teachers in the classroom teaching the students who were in-person. They received the same instruction at the same time via a livestream, Burlinski said. Students at home and in school could see and talk to each other, she said. Pipeline 12 April 2021 Banyan Tree has signed a hotel management agreement with Pegasus Investment and Consultancy to operate a new Dhawa resort in Quy Nhon, Vietnam. Scheduled to open in 2023, the Dhawa Quy Nhon Vietnam, inspired by paddy terraces and sitting on 10.5 hectares of land, will offer 240 rooms spread out on tiered platforms in a step-down manner towards the seafront. With an estimated total investment value of S$100 million, Dhawa Quy Nhon Vietnam is the second phase of Pegasus Education Tourism Development. The development's first phase kicked off with the opening of Outward Bound Vietnam (OBV) in 2016 and its third phase will comprise eco-residences. Pegasus Education Tourism Development spanning about 60 hectares with its own beach front is part of Pegasus Chairman Mr Ricky Tan's vision to combine educational facilities with resorts and residences. Octopus Titan VCT plc 12 April 2021 Director Appointments Octopus Titan VCT plc (the Company) is delighted to announce the appointment of Lord Rockley as an independent non-executive Director with effect from 8 April 2021. The Company also announces the intention to appoint Gaenor Bagley as an independent non-executive Director subject to the approval by shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting of a resolution to amend the Company's Articles of Association to increase the aggregate annual remuneration of directors to allow for her appointment. Lord Rockley Anthony is a qualified chartered accountant and former partner at KPMG. He joined KPMG in 1983 and held various positions throughout his career most notably within the banking sector and latterly as the lead audit partner in KPMGs Private Equity Group (PEG) which he was instrumental in establishing. He led PEG Audit for 15 years until his retirement in 2015. Anthony was a member of the British Venture Capital Association working party and was key in the development of the first valuation guidelines for the industry. He was also a member of the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Guidelines Board between 2005 and 2014. He has a MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. Gaenor Bagle y Following a 30-year career in professional services, where she held a variety of leadership positions including at Board level, Gaenor now has a portfolio of Non-Executive Director roles. Her other current roles include: Non-Executive Director, Chair of Audit Committee, Chair of Remuneration Committee , Zopa Bank Ltd Non-Executive Director, National Audit Office Chair, TKAT Multi-Academy Trust External Member of Council, Cambridge University The majority of Gaenors professional career has been as a M&A tax advisor with PwC as part of the tax practice. In 2011 she was appointed to the Executive Board of PwC UK to be Head of People, with responsibilities for developing the firms People and Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. Alongside this role she was the Global Head of Learning and Development, responsible for the development strategy for the PwC network firms. From July 2016 until her retirement in December 2017, Gaenor was Head of Corporate Purpose at PwC UK, leading on PwCs Corporate Social Responsibility agenda. Prior to joining PwC, Gaenor was a Corporate Finance Advisor at S.G. Warburg. She joined from EY, where she qualified as an accountant in 1989. John Hustler, Chairman of Octopus Titan VCT plc said: We are delighted to welcome Anthony and Gaenor and know that they will make a great contribution to the Board. We look forward to benefitting from their wealth of experience in the sector. There is no additional information required to be disclosed pursuant to Listing Rule 9.6.13 in relation to the appointment. For further information please contact: Katherine Fyfe Octopus Company Secretarial Services Limited Tel: 020 7710 280 Pam Leiter is assistant director of the museum and education department at the Champaign County Forest Preserve District. She manages the Homer Lake Interpretive Center and oversees the environmental programming throughout the district. Email her at pleiter@ccfpd.org. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:42:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- "Africa must put in place resources and measures to ensure it produces its own vaccines for the current crisis and the future," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said during Africa's vaccine manufacturing virtual conference on Monday. During the conference, leaders including African countries' presidents and those from health and business world noted that producing their own vaccines would lead to the continent's health and economic security. Okonjo-Iweala explained that to achieve the goal of vaccine production, different manufacturing centers of excellence should be established in various parts of the continent. "A vaccine needs many components and each doesn't need to be manufactured at the same place. They can be manufactured in different countries which is why we need to look at and establish centers of excellence on the continent," she said. Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said in countries where vaccines are available, there has been a huge turnaround in their economies. "This is an example Africa needs to emulate by producing its own vaccines so that it does not rely on imports," she said. Songwe observed that the continent should not only produce its vaccines but also the entire inputs like syringes, reagents and drugs. "The vaccine value-chain can create six million jobs in Africa. It is not only a discussion about our health, but also our economy and livelihoods," she said. According to Songwe, in Africa, there are about 6,000 pharmaceutical value chain players, which are producing healthcare materials. "The continent, therefore, has its own expertise to produce vaccines," she said. Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) noted that Africa imports up to 70 percent of pharmaceutical needs while produces only some 1 percent of its vaccines. "We should take this opportunity and turn it around to produce our own vaccines. To achieve public health security, African countries should aspire to boldly produce their own vaccines and drugs," Adesina said. He said AfDB is working on a strategy for the pharmaceutical industry, which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are ready to offer financial support to governments to build at least two vaccine production hubs across Africa. We can also partner with China and India so that they relocate some production work to Africa to work with local manufacturers," he said. John Nkengasong, director of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said there is hope in vaccine development in Africa. "Starting September, Algeria would start producing Sputnik V vaccine," he said. "We have an urgent need for vaccine manufacturing in the continent due to strong demand, vaccine insecurity and emerging infectious disease." Nkengasong called on the region to have a continental agenda on vaccines that seeks to reduce reliance on imports, mitigate risks on global vaccine challenges and strengthen vaccine continental research and development capacity. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa observed that the continent's response to COVID-19 has shown the depth of scientific expertise in the region and has provided an opportunity for unprecedented scientific collaboration. Ramaphosa noted that partners in various countries could offer technological expertise, financing and investment. "Africa needs to harness its own continental capabilities and identify opportunities for collaboration across several countries of the continent. This means that in the medium-term, we need to expand existing capabilities into regional hubs that serve the continent as a whole," he said. According to Ramaphosa, the continent's leaders have demonstrated the political will to act decisively in the face of the grave threat to health and well-being. "As we seek to make our own vaccines, our immediate task currently is to secure vaccines for the continent. Through initiatives like the Africa Medical Supplies Platform, the continent has pioneered new ways of ensuring access to vital personal protective equipment as well as diagnostics and therapeutics," he said. Enditem Kohima/New Delhi, April 12 : The Union government on Monday extended the ceasefire agreements with three Naga insurgent outfits for one more year till April next year. Officials in Kohima said that the Union Home Ministry has extended the ceasefire following agreements signed on Monday. "It was decided to extend the ceasefire agreements for a further period of one year with effect from April 28 to April 27 next year with National Socialist Council of Nagaland-NK (NSCN-NK) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Reformation (NSCN-R). The ceasefire was also extended from 18th April 18 to 17th April 17 next year with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-K-Khango (NSCN-K-Khango)," the official said quoting the Home Ministry communique. The ceasefire agreements are in operation between the government and NSCN-NK, NSCN-R and the NSCN-K-Khango, which are the breakaway factions of dominant groups National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K). The dominant group of the Naga outfit - NSCN-IM - had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Central government in August 1997 and since then engaged in peace talks. The outfit has held around 80 rounds of negotiations with the Central government in Delhi and even outside India after signing a ceasefire pact 23 years ago. The Central government had signed a "framework agreement" with the NSCN-IM in 2015. The NSCN-IM and the intelligence sources said that while many of the 31 demands of the Nagas have been almost resolved during the talks with the Centre, differences remain over a separate flag and a separate constitution. Nagalim, a long-pending demand of the NSCN-IM for a separate Naga state, encompasses the Naga-inhabited areas of Myanmar as well as parts of the northeastern states bordering Nagaland. Nagaland Governor and the Central government's interlocutor for the Naga peace talks R.N. Ravi has recently rejected the demand for a separate flag and a Constitution for the state as demanded by the NSCN (IM). (Source: PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images) One of the biggest revelations to emerge from the Banking Royal Commission was the toxic sales culture cultivated by the big four which saw products being sold to customers that they didn't need or want just so employees could meet their targets. Anna Bligh, the chief of the Australian Banking Association (ABA), said this culture has been abolished in the banking industry. Bank culture has changed. Banks have overhauled the way they pay and reward their staff to put customers at the centre of their remuneration framework, Bligh said. The linking of remuneration and bonuses to direct sales targets has been abolished. But according to those who still work at the Big Four, this is not the case. A focus group organised by the Finance Sector Union (FSU) found that the sale culture still very much exists, the banks just call it by a different name to avoid trouble. Participants overwhelmingly reported that sales culture had not changed to any significant degree, that leaderboards still exist, and that sales targets are still a fundamental part of their daily work, the research report said. Group members all agreed that the banks had changed the language around sales from sales targets to customer needs met. This came up time and time again in all focus groups. All participants reported an increased focus on selling insurance. When asked about the current culture, one worker said it has never been so bad, and reported that some workers were choosing unemployment over the working conditions. Everything has gotten worse. The culture is so bad that lenders are leaving, even staff who are close to retirement are leaving to unemployment, the employee said. If anything, since the [Royal Commission], things have just gotten worse. The banks think that no one is watching since the Royal Commission theyre just slipping things back in and it's now worse than ever. Story continues Many workers reported issues with being under-staffed which resulted in missing targets. The workers said they would then be punished by not receiving bonuses. Theres not enough hours in the day to achieve everything that is asked. Ive never ever been pulled up on anything except the sales number, said one respondent. They are trying to get us to do the sales that we used to do pre-COVID and two or three years ago. Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to the free Fully Briefed daily newsletter. YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS. Negotiations are underway to start a joint production of the Sputnik V vaccine with Russia, Armenian health minister Anahit Avanesyan said. She denied media reports claiming that Armenia has refused from the joint production. Armenia hasnt refused anything. Our partners are negotiating with the economy ministry to organize the production in Armenia, she said. Avanesyan emphasized that the production would require certain specialized, industrial and other infrastructural presence. And I hope that our pharmaceutical companies will appreciate the important circumstance of the production of a very important vaccine and will be interested in investing and opening joint production, she said. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan A year into the pandemic, its easy to think weve forgotten certain sensations, like the feeling of being in a festival crowd or the sounds of an unexpected brass band passing your street. But sometimes it doesnt take a lot to reawaken those feelings: The whiff of jasmine starting to bloom and the sound of someone practicing trombone on the porch could be just enough to re-light the fire. The body has a way of deeply holding on to memories, both good and bad. This week, Tulane Universitys Newcomb Dance Company will ignite those dormant memories in the dance program The Body Remembers at Music Box Village. The show will feature contemporary dance pieces choreographed by Tulane University Theatre and Dance Department faculty Leslie Scott and Diogo de Lima and performed throughout the Bywater venue. The works will be paired with poetry read by Kelly Harris-DeBerry and soundscapes performed on the Music Box Villages musical architecture. "I was thinking a lot about all the things that were just not hearing, were just not seeing during the pandemic, says Scott. We were talking about it like a phantom hug almost like you can remember the last time you were hugged, even though it might be a long time ago. The ways in which our body holds on to some of that sensory information, I think, is such fertile ground to spring from. Newcomb Dance Company will perform The Body Remembers 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday, April 15, through Saturday, April 17. Audiences will be limited to 75 people for each performance and distanced around the space, and tickets are available for a virtual screening option to watch from home. The show is presented in partnership with New Orleans Airlift, the artist initiative that operates Music Box Village. Editor's note: Due to the rain, several "The Body Remembers" performances have been rescheduled. Thursday's performances will now take place at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Monday, April 19, and Friday's performances have been rescheduled for noon and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 18. Check eventbrite.com for updated times. Newcomb Dance Company hosts a major program each spring at Dixon Concert Hall on Tulanes campus, but the pandemic and the need to maintain physical distancing prompted the company to reimagine this years performance. The idea to perform an outdoor show or to get off campus and into a community space in New Orleans had been in mind for a while, Scott says. The pandemic had just presented the necessity. The spring performance normally features around 40 student performers and several choreographers, and again, the company knew this years performance would need to be different. The Body Remembers will feature 20 performers with only Scott and de Lima as choreographers. With only two choreographers rather than five or six, though, Scott and de Lima were able to bring more cohesiveness to the program, they say. The pandemic has completely changed the way I choreograph, says Scott, the companys artistic director. My work usually centers around intimacy and physical contact through partnering and large groups of people quite close together. And so all of that had to be rethought. Scotts dance piece will open The Body Remembers and will be set to spoken word by Harris-DeBerry. The New Orleans author also will read her new poem, The Body Never Forgets, commissioned for the performance. Her poetry is so beautiful and she was able to gel a lot of the ideas we were talking about, Scott says, the things about New Orleans that arent there but you know are still inside of her. For his longer piece, de Lima, a native of Brazil, wanted to build on the Afro-Brazilian rhythms he grew up with as a way to heal the soul, he says. Musicians Xavier Molina, Logan Schutts and Neil Todten will create the performances music using the Music Box Villages houses and traditional Brazilian percussion. Separately, Scott and de Lima had similar ideas, playing on the themes of absence and healing and wakening the body that was dormant for a while, de Lima says. De Lima says he wants the audience to experience the performance as if walking into a ritual where the Afro-Brazilian-rooted music and movement will light a fire and shake the body awake for the coming summer. Our response is what do we do next? he says. Where do you go from this dormant phase and what is live performance going to look like from here? The Body Remembers 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., April 15-17 Music Box Village, 4557 N. Rampart St.; musicboxvillage.com Tickets $15 general; $10 Tulane faculty; $7 students; $5 livestream only via eventbrite.com Editor's note: Due to the rain, several "The Body Remembers" performances have been rescheduled. Thursday's performances will now take place at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Monday, April 19, and Friday's performances have been rescheduled for noon and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 18. Check eventbrite.com for updated times. Nikki Thompson started the nondairy ice cream venture Hood Cream Nikki Thompson started making her own ice cream during the pandemic. Though she moved to New Archaeologists in Poland have discovered one of the largest pottery production sites from the Roman era. Some 130 kilns, giant ovens for making pottery, dating from over 1,800 years ago were uncovered outside Krakow using a magnetometer to 'see' what's deeply buried without having to dig. At that time, southern Poland was inhabited by Vandals, who are often dismissed as barbarians. Pottery discovered at the two kilns excavated so far suggests the area was used to make large storage vessels for food, akin to pantries. The discovery of the pottery site adds to the picture of the Vandals as having a robust and complex economy and manufacturing capabilities. Archaeologists in Poland have discovered 130 kilns dating from over 1,800 years ago, with pottery from large vessels made to store food Using a magnetometer, researchers with Jagiellonian University's Institute of Archeology uncovered approximately 130 kilns spread across 12 acres in Wrzepia, a village about 25 miles east of Krakow. 'Our research shows that only storage vessels with characteristic thickened necks were produced there,' archaeologist Jan Bulas told Nauka W Polsce. Some of the jugs would have been nearly 30 inches tall with 20 inch diameters, suggesting they were used for food storage. 'There are known discoveries of such vessels dug into the ground, which probably served as pantries,' he said. The kilns date to between the early third and fifth centuries, when ceramics would have been made on potter's wheels and fired in an open kiln The site in Wrzepia is not only the largest pottery production site in Poland, 'but also one of the largest in the entire barbaric Europe of the Roman period.' South and central Poland were known as centers of pottery and metallurgy during the era of the Roman Empire Only two kiln sites have been excavated so far, he said, but the pottery discovered there dates from between the early third and fifth centuries, when Wrzepia was inhabited by Germanic tribes like the Vandals. In that era, ceramics would have been made on potter's wheels and fired in an open kiln. Bulas believes the site in Wrzepia is not only the largest pottery production site in Poland, 'but also one of the largest in the entire barbaric Europe of the Roman period.' Using a magnetometer, researchers with Jagiellonian University's Institute of Archeology uncovered dozens of kilns spread across 12 acres in Wrzepia The only larger site known anywhere in Europe, he said, is a huge production center uncovered in Mediesu Aurit, Romania, where between 1960 and 2010, more than 200 kilns from the 2nd to 4th century were discovered. South-central Poland 1,800 years ago was also a major center of ironworking, with extensive metallurgical production in Masovia, Silesia and the Swietokrzyskie Mountains. The Vandals have been associated with Przeworsk culture, an Iron Age society in south and central Poland that existed from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. Bulas and his colleagues hope to continue their analysis of the area to discern whether the kilns were used over centuries or for a short period of timeand whether the ceramics were traded widely. South-central Poland in the 3rd century was also a major ironworking center, with extensive metallurgical production in Masovia, Silesia and the Swietokrzyskie Mountains It appears as if the vessels made in the kilns were used locally, said archaeologist Jan Bulas, because no pottery from the region has been found north of the nearby Vistula River Only two kilns have been excavated but archaeologists hope to return to deepen their understanding of the area's purpose 'It seems, however, that it was local,' he said, 'because there are no discoveries of vessels with the characteristic technology known from this region north of the nearby Vistula [River].' In March Bulas announced he had found a 5,500-year-old cemetery in Debiany, less than a half-hour from Wrzepia. In satellite images, he and fellow archeologist Marcin Przybya had seen the outline of a quadrilateral foundation surrounded by a ditch. The Vandals have been associated with Przeworsk culture, an Iron Age society in south and central Poland that existed from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD The discovery of the pottery site adds to the picture of the Vandals as having a robust economy and advanced manufacturing capabilities Magnetometry enabled them to find the foundation and then a series of megalithic tombs stretching between 140 and 160 feet long and comprising one of the largest megalithic cemeteries in Poland. If the tombs were evenly spaced, they believe there could be more than a dozen on the site. 'Unfortunately, most of the remains of the deceased and equipment were removed from these burials while the cemetery was in operation,' Przybya told Nauka W Polsce in March. 'It was a ritual behavior that we often encounter in cemeteries from that period.' Syracuse, N.Y. Watching public health experts discuss Covid-19 on TV made Syracuse University freshman Zikora Nnam realize the importance of public health. It also inspired Nnam to choose public health as one of her majors. The pandemic played a big role in my decision, said Nnam, who is from Chicago. It made me want to be part of public health. Nnam is part of a tidal wave of students nationwide motivated by the pandemic to study public health, a multi-disciplinary field focused on preventing disease and injury. Syracuse University freshman Zikora Nnam is one of many students inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic to study public health.Provided photo The number of people applying for spots in masters of public health programs nationwide jumped 23% in 2020, according to the Association of Colleges & Programs of Public Health. So far this year, applications have soared another 36%. Undergraduate public health programs also are receiving more applications. Laura Magana, president and CEO of the association, said the pandemic is fueling the increase by putting public health in the spotlight like never before. Once arcane public health expressions like bending the curve and infection positivity rates have become part of everyday language during the pandemic. Years ago, people didnt know what public health was, she said. Now everyone knows what it is because all of our experts like Dr. Fauci have become very visible. Theres been a steep decline in public health jobs over the past 13 years because of cutbacks in government funding of local and state health departments. But the job outlook is expected to improve now that the Biden administration has pledged to spend billions improving the nations public health system. Applications to Upstate Medical Universitys masters of public health program have tripled. Cornell has seen a 50% increase in applications to its MPH program. And applications to SUs undergraduate public health programs have soared 29%. Many of Upstates MPH applicants mention Covid-19 in their essays, said Christopher Morley, Upstates chair of public health and preventive medicine. I am encouraged by the number of applications we are getting, Morley said. At least some people have heard the message and answered the call. Many students are drawn to the field because they want to do something about climate change, air pollution, racial health disparities and other pressing public health issues, said Alexander Travis, director of Cornells MPH program. Public health offers students an opportunity to make a difference that affects many people, he said. They can work as epidemiologists, public health educators, infectious disease specialists, biostatisticians, occupation specialists, health service managers and other positions in the public and private sectors. But will there be enough new jobs for all these aspiring public health workers? An analysis by the Associated Press and Kaiser Health News found that since 2010 per capita spending for state public health departments dropped by 16% and for local health departments by 18%. About 38,000 state and local public health jobs disappeared after the 2008 recession. Thats why much of the U.S. public health system was unprepared when the pandemic hit. President Bidens $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan includes $7.66 billion to sustain and expand staff in state and local health departments. Magana of the Association of Colleges & Programs of Public Health said its important that increased funding for public health be sustained so the U.S. is prepared to address the next pandemic and other health problems. James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here Pregnant women are at high risk for severe COVID-19 infection and death. Yet, insufficient safety data on babies has led many guidelines to leave the decision-making and potential threats to future mothers. While the vaccine trials did not directly test pregnant women, more real-world data suggests the vaccine may provide immunity benefits to newborns through breastmilk. In Israel, there has been an aggressive vaccine distribution campaign with a majority of the population vaccinated. Israel's vaccination efforts have led it to become a case study for vaccine effects on multiple populations. Now new research led by Michal Kovo from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggests fetuses also benefit from vaccination. They found pregnant mothers who developed neutralizing antibodies specific to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) produced from the Pfizer vaccine could be transferred to the fetus. The researchers write: "We show herein a robust maternal humoral immune response coupled to a rise in protective antibodies in the fetal circulation as early as 15 days after the first BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination. We further show that mid-pregnancy SARS-Cov2 infection results in prolonged maternal and fetal humoral immunity presented at delivery time." The study "Maternal to Neonatal transfer of SARS-CoV-2 and BNT162b2 antibodies" is available as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review. How they did it The study took place across 8 Israel hospitals starting in April 2020. Pregnant women needed to be at least 18 years and were being admitted for delivery. Women who actively had COVID-19 illness were excluded. A total of 1,094 pregnant women were included in the study and divided into three groups. Women with prior COVID-19 infection were in the vaccinated group, women with prior infection were in the unvaccinated group. Pregnant women with no documentation of COVID-19 illness were assigned the control group. Researchers collected maternal and fetal blood samples along with the umbilical cord from all patients before delivery. Increased fetal antibody transmission when infected mid-pregnancy Blood samples showed pregnant women who were positive for SARS-CoV-2 before week 30 had higher transmission levels of IgG specific to the S1, S2, RBD, and N antigens compared to women who were infected after week 30. Among 65 pregnant women with a history of COVID-19 infection, the top 90% were seropositive with an IgG response for N antigens. In contrast, 14% of the control group were considered seropositive, indicating a preexisting induced immunity due to infection. About 8% of vaccinated women were seropositive for N, of which three had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Temporal changes of the acute immune response to SARS-Cov2 infection and to vaccination in pregnancy. (A) Analysis of the change in maternal IgG during the first 50 days after positive RT-PCR, derived from the GA of positivity and the GA of delivery (see the full timeline data for immune response across pregnancy in Figure 1). (B) Analysis of maternal IgG response to BNT162b2 vaccination derived from the GA of the first vaccine and the GA of delivery. A second dose was administered on Day 21. . (C) Analysis of the temporal changes of fetal IgG following BNT162b2 vaccination derived from the GA of the first vaccine and the GA of delivery. A second dose was administered on Day 21; shaded areas in (A), (B) and (C) show the 95% confidence interval (D) Serological data of maternal-fetal pairs was derived from control, unvaccinated serologically negative (N-) mothers; as well as vaccinated mothers grouped for deliveries in the first 3 weeks after the 1st vaccine; deliveries during the first week after the 2nd vaccine; and fully vaccinated who delivered more than a week after the second vaccine. Left columns, IgG; right columns, IgM; from top to bottom, serological response to S1, S2, RBD, and N. Statistical significance: A,B,C above the blue bars indicate significant differences among the groups in maternal antibodies, while a,b,c above the orange bars indicate significant differences among the groups in fetal antibodies (KruskallWallis one-way ANOVA test, following by Dunn's All-Pairwise Comparisons Test); *indicate a significant difference between maternal and fetal antibodies within the same group (Paired test). Immune response after vaccination compared to natural infection The researchers observed a steady increase in IgG humoral response specific to S1, S2, receptor-binding domain, and N antigens 45 days after infection. Vaccinated women developed a faster immune response. They had an elevated IgG response to S1, S2, the receptor-binding domain but not N antigens 15 days after receiving their first Pfizer dose. The IgG response further increased after the second Pfizer dose. Results showed vaccinated pregnant women had significantly higher immune responses toward S1 and the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 compared to unvaccinated women at the time of delivery. Although, IgG levels for S2 and N were higher in women who recovered from COVID-19 infection than vaccinated women. Indeed, the low S2 and N antigens observed in vaccinated women translated to lower IgG responses of the two antigens in fetal blood samples. Fetal IgG levels for S1 and the receptor-binding domain did not differ between vaccinated and unvaccinated women who recovered from natural infection. Fetal IgG levels towards SARS-CoV-2 antigens There were significant increases in maternal and fetal IgG and maternal IgM levels to S1, S2, and receptor binding domain but not N after the first Pfizer vaccine dose. The enhanced immunity levels persisted during various time checks in the study. The fetal IgM response was negligible, which the researchers suggest is consistent with the lack of evidence for the fetus's direct exposure to vaccine-derived antigens. There were significant positive correlations between all fetal and maternal IgG antibodies, suggesting similar placental antibody transfers following vaccination or recovery from natural infection. Significant differences for the maternal to fetal transfer ratio for S1, S2, and the receptor-binding domain were found between unvaccinated and vaccinated pregnant women. Important Notice *medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Monday, said that he had to present his drivers licence before being allowed into the venue of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-West zonal congress holding in Osogbo Mr Makinde made the disclosure while addressing journalists on his arrival at the venue of the congress. Before I was allowed to enter into the venue, I had to show them my drivers licence, the governor said, adding: we know quite sure that there must be ghost voters here. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor arrived at the Childrens Development Initiative Foundation (WOCDIF), the venue of the congress, at exactly 12:13 p.m. According to Mr Makinde, getting it right at the zonal level will assist the party to perform well at the national level. This is a zonal congress and its outcome will have effect on our party at national level. If we get it right in the South-west, be sure that the future is bright for the PDP at national level. I want to assure you that we will put in our best and it will, in turn, assist us at national level. The message for every participant is very clear, which is getting it right at the zonal level, he said. Mr Makinde, who noted that the accreditation of delegates started two hours behind schedule, said it was better to start late and get the best result at the end of the day. The process is going on well despite the fact that accreditation started two hours behind schedule. But, it is better late than to rush through the process and have challenges. NAN reports that voting had yet to commence at the time of filing this report. Mr Makinde has been in a tussle for supremacy in the PDP, South-west region with a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose. Their squabble had led to the earlier postponement of the congress and its movement to Osogbo, believed to be a neutral ground. Screening Meanwhile, NAN also reports that 42 aspirants were cleared by the PDP screening committee on Sunday, to contest for the various positions in the zone. The congress will be attended by 743 delegates across the six states in the zone. According to the list released by the PDP National Organising Secretary, Austin Akobundu, while Oyo State has 171 delegates, Osun has130, Lagos, 101; Ogun, 112; Ondo, 114 and Ekiti 115. NAN also reports that the Chairman of the screening committee, Dino Melaye, had said on Sunday that the screening of aspirants was very peaceful. A former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Taofeek Arapaja, and the immediate past Zonal Chairman of the party, Eddy Olafeso, are contesting for the chairmanship position. While Mr Makinde is supporting Mr Arapaja for the position, Mr Fayose is backing Mr Olafeso. ADVERTISEMENT (NAN) Boards cover the Elite Aerospace Group building two days after a fire in Irvine, Calif., on April 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Irvine Aerospace Firm Engulfed in Flames, Millions in Damage An aerospace firms office building in Irvine, California, was engulfed in flames the evening of April 10 and took dozens of firefighters to put out. Firefighters were called to Elite Aerospace Group, located at 1641 Reynolds Avenue, around 9 p.m., and were met with heavy smoke and fire coming through the roof of the structure. They deemed it a second alarm fire, calling for backup. Each alarm has a specific set of resources that are allocated to it, Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Captain Greg Barta told The Epoch Times. So when we asked for an additional alarm, its basically us requesting a set amount of additional resources. Going to a second alarm means that we were requesting additional engine companies and truck companies to come to the scene and thats due to the volume of fire and efforts that are needed to knock the fire down. The intense flames caused an estimated $1 million in damage to the building and $5 million in damages to the contents inside, Barta said. Firefighters did, however, manage to save many valuable machines and office supplies. The fire was out in approximately an hour, with OCFA receiving help from the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa Fire Departments. The Irvine Police Department was also on scene. Due to the heavy fire conditions, firefighters deployed numerous hose lines to attack the fire. They had many ladders placed around the building, providing them with options for getting off the roof if they needed to escape in a hurry. As of April 12, the cause of the fire was still under investigation, Barta said. He wasnt sure if the building had a sprinkler system installed. There were no injuries reported from either citizens or firefighters on the scene. Elite Aerospace Group, which occupied the building, is a design, engineering, and manufacturing company within the aerospace industry. 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 Fintech company on Monday said it has clocked 106 million transactions in the QR payments category in March, and aims to grow payments by three times in 2021-22. The company recorded USD 830 million worth of transactions (USD 10 billion annualised) in March 2021, according to a statement. continued its trend of outgrowing the market with an 8.8 per cent market share, it added. "Over the last 12 months, has grown exponentially and has been able to establish itself as one of the fastest-adopted payment systems in the person-to-merchant (P2M) segment. "The company has recorded a growth of 7x in volume of UPI transactions from April 2020 to March 2021," it said. Additionally, its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments vertical grew 23.7 per cent from February to March 2021. "The pandemic accelerated the growth of digital payments in the country. In fact, we saw all our business verticals grow manifold over the last one year. We outgrew the market in UPI P2M consistently. "Our growth in the UPI P2M category has been driven by the rise in the adoption of digital payments across tier-I, -II and beyond towns and cities," BharatPe Group President Suhail Sameer said. With customers moving to digital payments, owing to convenience and safety, BharatPe saw a huge spike in digital transactions beyond its top-30 cities, he added. "In order to cater to the increased demand, we expanded our footprint from 30 to 100 cities in the past 12 months," he said. Sameer said the company focused on creating awareness about digital payments and bringing the new-age fintech services and credit offerings to the last mile in India and hence, will be further adding another 100 cities to its presence in FY22. "We aim to expand our merchant network by adding four million merchants to our existing list of six million by the end of 2021. "We are confident that we will be able to positively impact millions of more businesses in the new fiscal with our range of existing and upcoming fintech products, especially curated to address the requirements of the merchant community," he added. The company has set a target of 3x growth in its payments business and is aiming for USD 30-billion TPV (total payment value) by March 2023. TAMPA, Fla., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AACSB International (AACSB) announces today that 36 business schools have extended their accreditation in business and 21 have extended their accreditation in both business and accounting. For more than a century, AACSB accreditation has been synonymous with the highest standards in business education. Today, a total of 890 institutions across 58 countries and territories have earned AACSB accreditation in business. Furthermore, 189 institutions maintain supplemental AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs. "AACSB congratulates each institution on their achievement," said Stephanie M. Bryant, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB. "Every AACSB-accredited school has demonstrated a focus on excellence in all areas, including teaching, research, curricula development, and student learning. The intense peer-review process exemplifies their commitment to quality business education." Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal focus, engagement with an AACSB-assigned mentor, and peer-reviewed evaluation. During this multiyear path, schools focus on developing and implementing a plan to align with AACSB's accreditation standards. These standards require excellence in areas relating to strategic management and innovation; student, faculty, and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement. To achieve accounting accreditation, an institution must first earn AACSB business accreditation. Then, in addition to developing and implementing a mission-driven plan to satisfy the business accreditation quality standards, accounting accreditation requires the satisfaction of a supplemental set of standards specific to the discipline and profession of accounting. Once accreditation is achieved, each institution participates in a five-year continuous improvement peer review to maintain high quality and extend its accreditation. As ratified by the AACSB International board of directors, the following schools have extended or achieved their accreditation in business or accounting: Schools Extending Their Business Accreditation American University of Sharjah Central Connecticut State University College of Business and Economics, Qassim University Emory University ESADE Frostburg State University Grambling State University HEC School of Management, Paris Henley Business School, University of Reading Indiana State University Indiana University Kokomo Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad Jackson State University Metropolitan State University of Denver Minnesota State University Moorhead Montpellier Business School Northern Kentucky University Prairie View A&M University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Sogang University Suffolk University Syracuse University The University of New Mexico U.S. Air Force Academy Universidad de los Andes University of Alaska Anchorage University of Central Arkansas University of Cincinnati University of Minnesota University of Missouri-St. Louis University of Nebraska at Kearney University of San Francisco University of Victoria University of Wisconsin-Parkside University of Wyoming WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management Schools Extending Their Business and Accounting Accreditation College of William and Mary Eastern Illinois University Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Maryland Michigan State University Middle Tennessee State University Morgan State University Singapore Management University Stetson University The University of Memphis The University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at El Paso University at Buffalo, State University of New York University of Colorado Denver University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Nebraska at Omaha University of Nebraska-Lincoln University of Oregon University of Utah Virginia Commonwealth University About AACSB International Established in 1916, AACSB is the world's largest business education alliance, connecting educators, learners, and business to create the next generation of great leaders. With a presence in more than 100 countries and territories, AACSB fosters engagement, accelerates innovation, and amplifies impact in business education. Learn how AACSB is transforming business education for a better society at aacsb.edu. SOURCE AACSB International Related Links http://www.aacsb.edu Katie Wright joins people protesting after her son Daunte Wright was shot and killed by police on April 11, 2021. (Getty Images) The 20-year-old black man who was shot and killed by police in northern Minneapolis called his mother as he was being pulled over moments before he was shot. Katie Wright told reporters about the Sunday afternoon shooting: "All he did was have air fresheners in the car and they told him to get out of the car." She said that she heard scuffling, the phone falling and an officer saying, "Daunte, don't run," before the end of the call. She called back and Duante Wright's girlfriend answered and said that he had been shot dead. Ms Wright said: "He got out of the car, and his girlfriend said they shot him. He got back in the car, and he drove away and crashed and now he's dead on the ground." "Nobody will tell us anything. Nobody will talk to us... I said please take my son off the ground," she added. While at the scene on Sunday, she implored authorities to provide more information and to remove her son's body from the street. She also urged protesters to remain peaceful. Ms Wright said: He called me at about 1:30. He said he was getting pulled over by the police. And I said why you getting pulled over. And he said they pulled him over because he had air fresheners hanging from his rear-view mirror. I said, OK take them down.'" She added to local TV station KSTP: "He said, 'Mom, they want to know about insurance.' I said, 'When the police officer comes back to the window, put them on the phone and I will give them the insurance information.' "Then I heard the police officer come to window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car' and Daunte said, 'Why?' He said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car.'" The Chief of the Brooklyn Center Police Department Tim Gannon said that an officer had shot the man after pulling over his vehicle for a traffic violation and discovering that he had a warrant out for his arrest. Chief Gannon said that Mr Wright stepped back into his vehicle as police tried to detain him. This was when the officer discharged his weapon according to police, The New York Times reported. Story continues The car drove on for several blocks before crashing into another vehicle, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. A woman in that vehicle was taken to hospital with injuries not thought to be life-threatening, KSTP reported. Investigators say they believe there's body- and dashcam footage of the incident and calls have been made for the release of the footage. Hundreds of people, who had gathered to protest, clashed with the police. Outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department in northern Minneapolis, officers used rubber bullets and chemical irritants to stave off the crowd. Some protesters threw rocks, bags of garbage, and water bottles at police officers. Ms Wright told the assembled crowd: All the violence, if it keeps going its only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason. We need to make sure its about him and not about smashing police cars, because thats not going to bring my son back." She told KSTP: "He was only 20 years old, he didn't deserve to be shot and killed for this. I don't want all of this, all of this. I just want my baby home." With tensions already running high, the shooting took place on the 11th day of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white police officer charged with murdering George Floyd. Mr Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests. National Guard troops were brought in just before midnight as the Brooklyn Center Walmart and a nearby shopping mall was being looted. Shortly after 11pm on Sunday night, Minnesota governor Tim Walz tweeted: "I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center...our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement." Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott issued a curfew until 6am Monday morning. Enforcement of the curfew was mostly unsuccessful. He said: "Our entire community is filled with grief following today's officer-involved shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old young man. Our hearts are with his family, and with all those in our community impacted by this tragedy." Read More Murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues Minnesota activates National Guard over Daunte Wright protests live White House pushes $2.3trn bill as Trump lashes out at Pence - live Ellsworth: Realizing what was important to him, Grandpa was at peace Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:33:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Zambia on Monday as the southern African nation begins the rollout of the vaccination program as one of the pillars to the response. The first consignment under the COVAX Facility consisting of 228,000 doses of AstraZeneca manufactured in India arrived at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka on Monday afternoon and was received by health officials, the media and cooperating partners. Minister of Health Jonas Chanda said the arrival of the vaccine signals a significant stride in the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the arrival of the vaccine was collaborative work of various stakeholders and thanked the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund as well as other cooperating partners for supporting the acquisition of the vaccine. He said the government was determined to vaccinate all eligible citizens above the age of 18 and that the program will be undertaken in a cautious manner on a voluntary basis. He urged citizens to disregard the myths surrounding the vaccine program, adding that there have been no adverse events from countries in Africa that have so far administered the vaccine. A total of 8.3 million people are targeted to be vaccinated. Enditem SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A 53-year-old Asian man was stabbed multiple times during a robbery late Saturday night on Exeter Street in San Francisco, police said. San Francisco police officers from Bayview Station responded to a report of robbery and aggravated assault at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, police said. After receiving medical aid, the victim told police a male stranger approached him from behind and demanded his money. The suspect then stabbed him with a knife, police said. The suspect took the victim's backpack and ran to a car, which he used to flee the scene, police said. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the SFPD Tip Line at (415) 575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. Copyright 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. New Delhi: The spring harvest festival of Baisakhi, also known as Vaisakhi, will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 14 this year. The occasion marks the Sikh New Year and is celebrated mainly in Punjab and other parts of North India. According to Dirk Panchang, here is the auspicious time for Vaisakhi: Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 Vaishakhi Sankranti Moment: 02:48 AM Mesha Sankranti on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 Significance of the festival Baisakhi or Vaisakhi marks the birth of the Khalsa way of living in the Sikh religion and commemorates the formation of Khalsa Panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699. It also marks the time for the harvest of rabi crops. On this day, farmers thank God for the good harvest, they have had in the previous year and also pray for the same in the coming year. How is the festival celebrated? On this day, temples, Gurudwaras are decorated. Devotees sing bhajans, and devotional satsangs are also organised in reverence of God. Hindus celebrate the festival by taking a holy dip along the banks of river Ganga, visit temples and meet friends. However, due to the surging COVID-19 cases across the nation, celebrations may be restricted. We wish our readers a very Happy Baisakhi! The Duke of Sussex has returned to the UK and is staying in his former residence, Frogmore Cottage, ahead of the Duke of Edinburghs funeral. Harry is entitled to attend his grandfathers funeral due to a provision in the law that allows mourners to leave quarantine on compassionate grounds. The Sun reported that the duke, wearing a black face mask, landed at Heathrow on a British Airways flight from Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The cottage was used by Harry and Meghan in the months following the birth of their son Archie, who is the Duke of Edinburghs great-grandchild. The Grade II listed property, which has four bedrooms and a nursery, is set close to the winding lakes, wooded mounds, glades, walks and bridges of the gardens at Frogmore, and close to the Queens residence at Windsor Castle. The property underwent major work to turn five properties back into a single home which cost 2.4 million of taxpayers money. The couple have since repaid the cost of the renovations with money from a lucrative deal made with Netflix, rumoured to have been worth more than 100 million. In November 2020 it was reported that Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank had moved into Frogmore Cottage. Harry with his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor (Steve Parsons/PA) Though Harry has returned to the UK for this funeral, Meghan, who is heavily pregnant with her second child and previously suffered a miscarriage, has remained in California after being advised against flying. It is the first time the 36-year-old duke has been in the UK since last March, when he stepped down as a senior working royal for a new life of personal and financial freedom in the US. His trip in honour of Philip, who died on Friday at the age of 99, comes just weeks after Harry and Meghans explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they accused the royal family of racism and the institution of failing to support the suicidal duchess. It is understood Harry will be following all procedures to ensure he complies with Covid-19 regulations. As Philips funeral is due to take place on Saturday, Harry will not have time to complete the full 10-day quarantine period. The rules, however, do allow a person to temporarily leave their place of quarantine on compassionate grounds, which includes funerals. Meghan is not attending the funeral (Yui Mok/PA) Harry will have had to return a negative coronavirus test result in the three days before he travelled, and will have completed a passenger locator form with details of where he will be spending his quarantine. He will also have had to book a travel test package, which involves two tests, one to be taken on or before the second day of his quarantine, and the second on or after his eighth day of quarantine. Harry could also participate in the Test to Release scheme. Under the scheme, if he pays for a private test from an approved supplier five days into quarantine, he may be free to leave if the result is negative. Tests cost around 130. The tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh on Meghan and Harrys website (archewell.com/PA) If Harry was to break the quarantine rules, he would risk a penalty of up to 10,000, and if he fails to take the tests on day two and day eight, he could be fined a maximum of 2,000. Some commentators have suggested the funeral could allow Harry to spend some quality time with his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, in a bid to heal their rift. But as they are from different households, they will still have to maintain social distancing of two metres. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said previously that the royal family would be following coronavirus rules throughout the funeral. Mourners are also advised to be respectful of those who are clinically vulnerable to Covid-19 and avoid close contact at any point, potentially limiting Harrys time with his 94-year-old grandmother, the Queen. - By GF Value The stock of Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV, 30-year Financials) gives every indication of being fairly valued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $134.67 per share and the market cap of $25.6 billion, Franco-Nevada stock shows every sign of being fairly valued. GF Value for Franco-Nevada is shown in the chart below. Franco-Nevada Stock Appears To Be Fairly Valued Because Franco-Nevada is fairly valued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be close to the rate of its business growth, which averaged 13.4% over the past three years and is estimated to grow 5.78% annually over the next three to five years. Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk. It is always important to check the financial strength of a company before buying its stock. Investing in companies with poor financial strength have a higher risk of permanent loss. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great way to understand the financial strength of a company. Franco-Nevada has a cash-to-debt ratio of 10000.00, which is better than 100% of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. The overall financial strength of Franco-Nevada is 10 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Franco-Nevada is strong. This is the debt and cash of Franco-Nevada over the past years: Story continues Franco-Nevada Stock Appears To Be Fairly Valued It is less risky to invest in profitable companies, especially those with consistent profitability over long term. A company with high profit margins is usually a safer investment than those with low profit margins. Franco-Nevada has been profitable 9 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $1 billion and earnings of $1.71 a share. Its operating margin is 57.87%, which ranks better than 97% of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. Overall, the profitability of Franco-Nevada is ranked 9 out of 10, which indicates strong profitability. This is the revenue and net income of Franco-Nevada over the past years: Franco-Nevada Stock Appears To Be Fairly Valued Growth is probably one of the most important factors in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus' research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long-term performance of a company's stock. If a company's business is growing, the company usually creates value for its shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. Likewise, if a company's revenue and earnings are declining, the value of the company will decrease. Franco-Nevada's 3-year average revenue growth rate is better than 77% of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. Franco-Nevada's 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is 3%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. Another method of determining the profitability of a company is to compare its return on invested capital to the weighted average cost of capital. Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. When the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it implies the company is creating value for shareholders. For the past 12 months, Franco-Nevada's return on invested capital is 11.69, and its cost of capital is 3.91. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Franco-Nevada is shown below: Franco-Nevada Stock Appears To Be Fairly Valued In closing, the stock of Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV, 30-year Financials) is believed to be fairly valued. The company's financial condition is strong and its profitability is strong. Its growth ranks in the middle range of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. To learn more about Franco-Nevada stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here. To find out the high quality companies that may deliever above average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. HAMILTON, Bermuda, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Signet Jewelers Limited ("Signet") (NYSE:SIG), the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, today is increasing its Fiscal 2022 first quarter and full year guidance. Signet has seen stronger than expected conversion and average ticket values in the first quarter. The Company believes this topline strength is likely due to a combination of traction from strategic initiatives as well as tailwinds from stimulus, tax refunds and consumer enthusiasm on the heels of vaccine rollouts particularly during the Company's guest appreciation events in late March. In addition, the Company has evaluated the impact of inventory delays related to recent COVID-19 surges in India and other parts of the world. At this time, Signet believes it has mitigated these short-term impacts; however, if the duration and magnitude of these inventory slowdowns intensify, there could be future negative impacts on the Company's full year guidance. Fiscal 2022 Guidance Updated Guidance Guidance as of 3/18/21 First Quarter Full Year First Quarter Full Year Total revenue (in billions) $1.57 to $1.60 $6.00 to $6.14 $1.42 to $1.46 $5.85 to $6.00 Same store sales (1) 97% to 99% 17% to 20% 80% to 84% 14% to 17% Non-GAAP operating income (in millions) (2) $85 to $100 $335 to $364 $40 to $60 $290 to $324 (1) Same store sales include physical stores and eCommerce sales (2) See description of non-GAAP measures below Forecasted non-GAAP operating income provided above excludes potential non-recurring charges. However, given the potential impact of non-recurring charges to the GAAP operating income, we cannot provide forecasted GAAP operating income or the probable significance of such items without unreasonable efforts. As such, we do not present a reconciliation of forecasted non-GAAP operating income to corresponding GAAP operating income. The Company is reiterating the following underlying assumptions supporting its Full Year Fiscal 2022 Guidance: Signet expects stronger sales performance in the first half of the fiscal year. As the vaccine rollout progresses, there could be a shift of consumer discretionary spending away from the jewelry category toward experience-oriented categories, the magnitude and timing of which is difficult to predict. Further, Signet expects categories with pent up demand to be promotional in order to capture discretionary spend. As such, the Company is planning for increased marketing expenses to continue to fuel momentum in the front half as well as to proactively manage against shifts in consumer spending as the year progresses. While Signet's transformational initiatives continue to gain traction, the Company is conservatively planning for same store sales to be negative in the second half of the fiscal year. Depending on the timing and extent of potential shifts in spending, future results could differ materially from current guidance. The Company's Inspiring Brilliance strategy requires additional investments in digital and technology to further strengthen our competitive advantage and long-term positioning within the jewelry category. To partially mitigate the increased level of investment, gross cost savings of $50 million - $75 million are expected in Fiscal 2022, with continued benefits from closed stores and operational efficiencies. Cost savings are expected to benefit both SG&A and gross margin. Signet has planned Fiscal 2022 capital expenditures in the range of $150 million to $175 million , reflecting continued investments in technology and innovation. Recall that the Company reduced its capital expenditures in Fiscal 2021 to $83 million given the cash conservation focus in response to the pandemic. The Company is planning to close over 100 stores in Fiscal 2022 and will open up to 100 locations, primarily in highly efficient kiosks. Continued uncertainty surrounding multiple factors include the magnitude and potential resurgence of COVID-19 in key trade areas, extended duration of heightened unemployment, supply chain disruptions and macro or governmental influences on consumers' ability to spend, particularly in discretionary categories like jewelry. Further, there can be no assurance that preliminary quarter to date trends will continue for the remainder of the first quarter and are not indicative of future performance. Please see disclosures within the Safe Harbor Statement for other risk factors. Virtual Investor Event Reminder The Company will host a virtual investor event today, Monday, April 12, 2021. The event will start at 2 p.m. EST and members of Signet's leadership team will discuss the next phase of the Company's growth strategy, Inspiring Brilliance, and long-term goals for approximately 75 minutes. Please register at https://signet.gosessionnow.com/registration.html. Registration is required in advance to receive a unique link to view the event. Non-GAAP Measures In addition to financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the US ("GAAP"), the Company believes that non-GAAP financial measures, when reviewed in conjunction with GAAP financial measures, can provide more information to assist investors in evaluating historical trends and current period performance. For these reasons, internal management reporting and the Company's guidance includes non-GAAP measures. Items may be excluded from GAAP financial measures when the Company believes this provides useful supplementary information to management and investors in assessing the operating performance of our business. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not superior to or as a substitute for the GAAP financial measures presented in the Company's consolidated financial statements and other publicly filed reports. In addition, our non-GAAP financial measures may not be the same as or comparable to similar non-GAAP measures presented by other companies. About Signet and Safe Harbor Statement Signet Jewelers Limited is the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry. Signet operates approximately 2,800 stores primarily under the name brands of Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples, Piercing Pagoda, and JamesAllen.com. Further information on Signet is available at www.signetjewelers.com. See also www.kay.com, www.zales.com, www.jared.com, www.hsamuel.co.uk, www.ernestjones.co.uk, www.peoplesjewellers.com, www.pagoda.com, and www.jamesallen.com. This release contains statements which are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, based upon management's beliefs and expectations as well as on assumptions made by and data currently available to management, appear in a number of places throughout this document and include statements regarding, among other things, Signet's results of operation, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which Signet operates. The use of the words "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimates," "predicts," "believes," "should," "potential," "may," "preliminary," "forecast," "objective," "plan," or "target," and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause the actual results to not be realized, including, but not limited to: the negative impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on Signet's business, financial condition, profitability and cash flows; the effect of steps we take in response to the pandemic; the severity and duration of the pandemic, including whether it is necessary to temporarily reclose our stores, distribution centers and corporate facilities or for our suppliers and vendors to temporarily reclose their facilities; the pace of recovery when the pandemic subsides and the heightened impact it has on many of the risks described herein, including without limitation risks relating to disruptions in our supply chain, consumer behaviors such as spending and willingness to congregate in shopping centers and the impact on demand of our products, our level of indebtedness and covenant compliance, availability of adequate capital, our ability to execute our business plans, our lease obligations and relationships with our landlords, and asset impairments; general economic or market conditions; financial market risks; our ability to optimize Signet's transformation initiative; a decline in consumer spending or deterioration in consumer financial position; changes to regulations relating to customer credit; disruption in the availability of credit for customers and customer inability to meet credit payment obligations; our ability to achieve the benefits related to the outsourcing of the credit portfolio, including due to technology disruptions, future financial results and operating results and/or disruptions arising from changes to or termination of the relevant non-prime outsourcing agreement requiring transition to alternative arrangements through other providers or alternative payment options and our ability to successfully establish future arrangements for the forward-flow receivables; deterioration in the performance of individual businesses or of the Company's market value relative to its book value, resulting in impairments of long-lived assets or intangible assets or other adverse financial consequences; the volatility of our stock price; the impact of financial covenants, credit ratings or interest volatility on our ability to borrow; our ability to maintain adequate levels of liquidity for our cash needs, including debt obligations, payment of dividends, and capital expenditures as well as the ability of our customers, suppliers and lenders to access sources of liquidity to provide for their own cash needs; changes in our credit rating; potential regulatory changes, global economic conditions or other developments related to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union; exchange rate fluctuations; the cost, availability of and demand for diamonds, gold and other precious metals; stakeholder reactions to disclosure regarding the source and use of certain minerals; seasonality of Signet's business; the merchandising, pricing and inventory policies followed by Signet and failure to manage inventory levels; Signet's relationships with suppliers including the ability to continue to utilize extended payment terms and the ability to obtain merchandise that customers wish to purchase; the failure to adequately address the impact of existing tariffs and/or the imposition of additional duties, tariffs, taxes and other charges or other barriers to trade or impacts from trade relations; the level of competition and promotional activity in the jewelry sector; our ability to optimize Signet's multi-year strategy to gain market share, expand and improve existing services, innovate and achieve sustainable, long-term growth; the maintenance and continued innovation of Signet's OmniChannel retailing and ability to increase digital sales; changes in consumer attitudes regarding jewelry and failure to anticipate and keep pace with changing fashion trends; changes in the supply and consumer acceptance of and demand for gem quality lab created diamonds and adequate identification of the use of substitute products in our jewelry; ability to execute successful marketing programs and manage social media; the ability to optimize Signet's real estate footprint; the ability to satisfy the accounting requirements for "hedge accounting," or the default or insolvency of a counterparty to a hedging contract; the performance of and ability to recruit, train, motivate and retain qualified sales associates; management of social, ethical and environmental risks; the reputation of Signet and its banners; inadequacy in and disruptions to internal controls and systems, including related to the migration to a new financial reporting information technology system; security breaches and other disruptions to Signet's information technology infrastructure and databases; an adverse development in legal or regulatory proceedings or tax matters, including any new claims or litigation brought by employees, suppliers, consumers or shareholders, regulatory initiatives or investigations, and ongoing compliance with regulations and any consent orders or other legal or regulatory decisions; failure to comply with labor regulations; collective bargaining activity; changes in taxation laws, rules or practices in the US and jurisdictions in which Signet's subsidiaries are incorporated, including developments related to the tax treatment of companies engaged in Internet commerce; risks related to international laws and Signet being a Bermuda corporation; difficulty or delay in executing or integrating an acquisition, business combination, major business or strategic initiative; risks relating to the outcome of pending litigation; our ability to protect our intellectual property or physical assets; changes in assumptions used in making accounting estimates relating to items such as extended service plans and pensions; the success of recent changes in Signet's executive management team; or the impact of weather-related incidents, natural disasters, strikes, protests, riots or terrorism, acts of war or another public health crisis or disease outbreak, epidemic or pandemic on Signet's business. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, and elsewhere in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 30, 2021 filed with the SEC on March 19, 2021. Signet undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Investors: Vinnie Sinisi SVP Investor Relations & Treasury +1-330-665-6530 [email protected] Media: Colleen Rooney Chief Communications Officer +1 330 668 5932 [email protected] David Bouffard VP Corporate Affairs +1 330 668 5369 [email protected] SOURCE Signet Jewelers Ltd. Related Links https://www.signetjewelers.com Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed the deadline for banks to comply with the additional factor authentication for recurring online payments by six months, to September 30, 2021. Reason: Over 18 months after the central bank mandated the switchover in August 2019, banks are still not ready. But regulatory forbearance may not save them from the march of technology. Take a look at the credit card industry, where tectonic changes are on the way. You have close to 60 million credit cards, but only about 35 million are with unique customers millions of cards are just one ... Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:04:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed here on Monday the importance of settling the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue via political dialogue. "Moscow is convinced that a coordinated solution can be reached among the concerned parties over the GERD, which will ensure the legitimate interests of all parties and pave the road for comprehensive settlement for that issue," said Lavrov in a joint televised press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. Russia pays much attention to solve the GERD issue through promoting the political dialogue and creating good conditions for resuming the negotiations, Lavrov said. The Russian FM confirmed that Russia has not been invited to play the role of a mediator while reiterating the importance of the African Union's role in the process of negotiation. "Egypt has exerted tremendous efforts and showed flexibility over a decade to solve the dam's issue via negotiations," said Shoukry. He pointed out that the issue is "a matter of existence for the downstream countries and couldn't be tackled by negotiations if any of the concerned parties insists on taking unilateral measures." The latest African Union-sponsored talks which finished on April 4 have failed due to persisting differences, according to the Egyptian side. Last Saturday, Egypt and Sudan, which maintained that they are seeking a legally binding agreement over the operations of the dam, rejected an Ethiopian proposal to share data on the operations of its giant hydropower dam. Meanwhile, the two top diplomats also discussed international and regional issues as well as bilateral cooperation. The two sides confirmed the importance of not marginalizing the Palestinian cause after some countries decided to normalize their ties with Israel. Enditem One Hundred Sixty Years Ago: On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln closed his first inaugural address with a clear message to the seven states that seceded from the Union in the wake of his election. Lincoln did not accept the legality of secession and he hoped, perhaps naively, that the conflict could be resolved without resorting to arms. Leaving no ambiguity as to his position as President and Commander-in-Chief, Lincoln declared, In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. The entire country waited anxiously as the fog of war coalesced over the ensuing days and weeks. After a lull of a few weeks, the war cloud has again arisen over the city and harbor of Charleston, and it is now almost certain that the first blood in a most sanguinary and unnatural civil war will be shed in that locality. Such was the front page reporting in the Syracuse Daily Courier & Union on the morning of April 12, 1861. The editor, Mr. Daniel Halsted, could not have been more prescient. Later that very evening, troops of the recently formed Confederate States of America, opened fire upon Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor. The remains of Fort Sumter in late 1865. Taken by George N. Barnard, the Chief Photographer for the U.S. Army, and former Syracuse resident. Barnard had a shop in Syracuse from 1854 until 1860. He took some of the first photographs ever of Syracuse. Courtesy of the Onondaga Historical AssociationCourtesy of the Onondaga Histori Fort Sumter was one of several forts that Lincolns predecessor, James Buchannan, had refused to surrender to the secessionist forces back in February, shortly after the Montgomery Convention created the Confederacy. In response to Buchanans refusal, southern troops seized several federal forts, but Sumter remained under federal control, under the command of Robert Anderson. Just a few days prior to April 12, Lincoln announced his intention to resupply the fort with non-military provisions, so as to avoid any hostilities. South Carolina did not trust Lincoln and they gave Anderson the chance to surrender. Anderson told the South Carolina government that he would not surrender until he had exhausted the forts supplies. The Confederates struck before the resupply was able to take place. After more than twenty-four hours of constant bombardment, the Union commander surrendered the fort. The Confederate decision to strike at Fort Sumter did indeed draw the first blood in this terrible calamity of war. On April 15, Lincoln called upon the remaining states in the Union to muster 75,000 volunteers to squelch this nascent rebellion and save the Union. Two days later, Virginia seceded. Here in Onondaga County, the Presidents request for men was met with genuine and sustained enthusiasm. The first volunteer company in all of Central New York was organized here shortly thereafter. The Fifty-First Regiment of the State Militia, organized in Syracuse in 1851, had been readying for war since January, in the armory downtown. On April 15th, the day of Lincolns request, the 12th Regiment, NY Volunteers, was mustered. The 12th fought at the First Battle of Bull Run and many others. In addition to the 12th Regiment, Onondaga County sent scores of veterans from the Fifty-First Regiment and the Onondaga Light Guard, known, ironically enough, as the Syracuse Grays, including Henry Barnum. Barnum became a commander in the storied 149th New York Volunteer Infantry, organized at Syracuse in July of 1862. The 149th fought in some of the most important battles of the war, including Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain, the Siege of Atlanta and alongside General William T. Sherman on his March to the Sea, to name just a few. The 149th New York Infantry Monument on the southern slope of Culps Hill at Gettysburg. The unit arrived at this position in the early morning hours of July 2, 1863. The exploits of the 149th are also immortalized in one of the massive bronze sculptures featured on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Clinton Square in downtown Syracuse. Courtesy of the Onondaga Historical AssociationCourtesy of the Onondaga Histori Over the course of the conflict, Onondaga County sent a total of 12, 265 men into the Union ranks. This included over thirty African American men, some of whom fought in the famous Massachusetts 54th Colored Regiment, after Lincoln finally lifted the restriction on blacks serving in the Army in the wake of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. On April 9, 1865, almost exactly four years to the day of the Confederates shelling of Fort Sumter, Robert E. Lee surrendered to General U.S. Grant, ending the Civil War. Even the Daily Courier & Unions Editor Halsteds wildest speculations could not have imagined the carnage of what was, in fact, Americas most sanguinary war, which sent at least 620,000 men to their deaths. Less than a week after Lees surrender to Grant, on April 15, Lincoln joined the ranks of the fallen when he was assassinated by one of his dissatisfied fellow-countrymen. New Delhi: Actor Abhishek Bachchan who received rave reviews for his latest film The Big Bull from legendary actor and father Amitabh Bachchan, reveals in an interview that he was on the verge to quit showbiz and it was his fathers words that gave him courage to keep going. To fail on a public platform is very difficult. There was no social media back then, but I read via media that some were abusing me while some said that I do not know acting, revealed Junior Bachchan in an interview with RJ Siddharth Kannan. The actor further added, At one point in time, I felt it was my mistake that I came into the industry as whatsoever I was trying, it was not working. I went to my dad and said maybe I am not made for this industry. Abhishek who made his acting debut in 2000 with JP Duttas commercially successful war film Refugee, had a string of flops in his kitty after his debut. The actor who has always been compared against his megastar father told his decision to quit movie business to him, to which he had these words of wisdom to share to his son. I never brought you up to be quitter. Every morning you have to wake up and fight for your place under the sun. As an actor, you are improving with every film. Amitabh further told Abhishek, Just work and trust me you will be fine. Abhishek has now completed more than 20 years in Bollywood. His latest film The Big Bull, which is based on the financial scam of 1992 involving stockbroker Harshad Mehta, released on Disney+ Hotstar on April 8. Chennai, April 12 : Ensuring at least 90,000 RT-PCR tests daily to detect cases, aggressive testing in Covid-hit areas, tracing 25-30 contacts of infected persons, and holding of 'fever camps' were among the decisions taken at the medical experts meeting, chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami, here on Monday. In a statement issued here, the government said the number of RT-PCR tests done per day should not be less than 90,000. The government also said about 25-30 persons who were in contact with the corona infected person should be traced and tested. The meeting also decided to declare streets/residential apartments as micro- containment zones, if three persons were infected with coronavirus. The other decisions were that a person should be admitted in a Covid Care Centre or in a hospital, based on the severity of the infection, levying penalties by officials of Health/Police/Revenue Departments or local bodies on those who do not follow the standard operating procedure (SOP), and all those who are eligible for Covid-19 vaccination to be vaccinated. It was also decided that all government and private hospitals must follow the government announced SOPs to reduce the mortality rate, while arrangements have been made to vaccinate all frontline workers employed in Health/Revenue/Police departments and local bodies. The state government has also asked those who work in theatres, fruits and vegetable markets, and commercial complexes to get vaccinated. People should wear masks while coming out of their homes, and maintain social distance, it stressed. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) MANASSAS, Va., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This month, FedUp PAC begins publishing a quarterly voter guide that reveals how each Democrat Member of Congress aligns with Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Chuck Schumer based on their votes on key issues. Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of FedUp PAC, announced, "FedUp PAC's ASAP rating guide will, for the first time in politics, rate how each Democrat member of Congress's voting record compares to the socialist ideology of Democrat party leadership." Results on how Democrat Members of Congress align themselves with AOC, Schumer, and Pelosi, will be posted on FedUp PAC's website on a quarterly basis (https://www.feduppac.org/asap). This guide will be sent to all Republican congressional candidates, as well as major conservative donors, political action committees, and millions of conservative grassroots activists. The first of these guides will rate Democrat Members of Congress on key votes cast in the 116th Congress (2019 2020). Also available this month will be ratings for the first quarter of the 117th Congress (2021). Emphasis will be placed on H.R. 1 and S. 1, perhaps one of the most consequential votes in American history. "In FedUp PAC's ASAP guide, a vote for HR 1/S1 is weighted as three votes," says Viguerie. "We believe this dangerous legislation is an attempted power grab designed to consolidate power in Washington with one party." Democrat House members like Cindy Axne (IA-3) won with only 48.9% of the vote. Abigail Spanberger (VA-7) barely won with 50.3%. Tom O'Halleran (AZ-1) squeaked out 51.6% to win. They probably won't appreciate regular updates to their constituents pointing out their support for a radical socialist agenda. In the U.S. Senate, Democrat senators' votes will be compared to Senator Schumer's record. "FedUp PAC's ASAP rating system will shine a national spotlight on congressional Democrats' close political connection to New York's AOC and Chuck Schumer, and to San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi. Depending on their congressional votes, they may be BRANDED by their Republican opponent as radical, anti-God, open borders, anti-safety, elitist AOC/Schumer/Pelosi Democrats," concluded Viguerie. For more information or to sign up for the Index updates, visit www.FedUpPAC.org/ASAP. Paid for by FedUp PAC. www.FedUpPAC.org. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman P.O. Box 1370, Manassas, VA 20108 CONTACT: Meredith Cole 703.392.7676 SOURCE FedUp PAC Dallas-based filmmaker delves into dark emotionality of lonely 1950s high society woman in flick slated for distribution on Amazon Prime and Video on Demand After making his screenwriting and directorial debut, Dallas-based video production visionary Alex Kinter recently received a record 20 international laurels from the worlds most prestigious film festivals for his short independent mood film, Poolside. Among his increasing wins, he has been awarded Best Short Film by the From mainly relying on coal mining, Quang Ninh rose to become a rich province through the development of tourism and services. But the Covid-19 pandemic has helped Quang Ninh "wake up" and realize its "Asin's heel". Nearly 10 years ago, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky, the incumbent Party Secretary of Quang Ninh, was the Chief of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee's Office, who directly assisted the then Party Secretary of Quang Ninh, Mr. Pham Minh Chinh. When Mr. Chinh, who is now the Prime Minister, raised the policy to transform the growth model from "brown to green", Mr. Ky was also the one who delivered the first invitations to experts and officials to come to Quang Ninh to help the province find a new development path for the area, which was called the kingdom of black gold (coal) in Vietnam. Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky: The Covid-19 pandemic has urged us to think of something else to keep Quang Ninh more stable before hardships. Photo: Pham Cong When we gave letters of invitations to the local former Party leaders, who grew up from the coal industry, they asked us 'are you okay, why do you have to do this?'. For many generations, Quang Ninh developed based on coal mining and it is still the key industry, Ky recalled. In response to the concerns, Quang Ninhs Party Chief at that time replied: Yes, you are right. But if it is just that, Quang Ninh cannot develop." That is the story that paved the way for the development of tourism and services of Quang Ninh, which was set in the 2000s and has been implemented strongly since 2010. In August 2011, Mr. Pham Minh Chinh was appointed as Secretary of Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee. On May 24, 2013, he signed a resolution of the Provincial Party Committee on tourism development in the period 2013-2020, with a vision to 2030. This resolution emphasized renovating the growth model, restructuring the local economy, and changing the provinces mode of development from "brown to green" (from coal mining to tourism development). However, changing from "brown" to "green" did not mean stopping coal mining to make Quang Ninh "cleaner". Instead, the coal industry would be oriented to be cleaner, greener, and cause less conflict with other economic sectors. It was not a task that was accomplished overnight. For example, Quang Ninhs Cam Pha city covers a total area of 300,000 hectares, but one third of the land area in the city belongs to the coal mining industry. According to Ky, Cam Pha could not develop that way. Coal mining area must be reduced. Coal mining on the ground must be minimized, Ky said. In Quang Ninh, coal was no longer transported by car or ferry. The provincial government developed a roadmap to gradually reduce open-pit coal mining and increase pit mining. In places where open-cast exploitation was still used, measures to prevent dust pollution and restore the environment had to be applied. A senior official who visited Quang Ninh 10 years ago still remembers three things: In the rainy season in February, he went to Cua Ong the land of coal mining and had to wear plastic boots; otherwise his feet would have been wet; he could not see the green color of leaves as everything was covered by the coal dust; and he could not see anyone in a white shirt on the street. Quang Ninh has been transformed into an ideal destination. Photo: Pham Cong Ten year later, he returned to Quang Ninh, and realized that everything had changed. Most of Quang Ninh's roads were cleaner, the trees green, and people were no longer afraid of wearing white shirts. However, for the transition from brown to green to be really thorough, more time is needed. "Awakened" one more time Over the past 10 years, Quang Ninh has persisted in strongly innovating the growth model, restructuring the economy, changing the development mode from "brown" to "green" based on the three pillars: nature, people, and culture. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Quang Ninh was startled, and had to engage in self-examination. Quang Ninh suddenly realized that over the past 5 years it was too passionate about developing tourism. At the same time, its neighbor - Hai Phong - had developed robustly, attracting tens of billions of US dollars in foreign investment, compared to only a few hundred million dollars in Quang Ninh. Quang Ninh officials began to reconsider the strategic directions on developing the manufacturing and processing industry planned by Mr. Pham Minh Chinh when he was still the provinces Party Secretary. He had emphasized that in 2012 and the following years the province would call for investment in the development of a number of industries and industrial products in the fields of information technology, electronics, mechanical engineering, and biology... It was also the period when Quang Ninh welcomed many big FDI projects, with the $300 million Texhong yarn factory project as an example. This project was granted an investment certificate only 24 hours after the investor had completed the relevant procedures. "Mr. Pham Minh Chinh clearly pointed out the issues related to the development of processing and manufacturing industry in Quang Ninh," Ky said. "In the past 5 years, Quang Ninh has not added any significant growth engine from the manufacturing and processing industry." That is understandable. When the transport infrastructure was developed fully, Quang Ninhs tourism industry boomed. Along with this, local officials could be assured that the provincial economy could be firmly based on the tourism and service sector. Ha Long - Van Don expressway seen from above. Photo: Pham Cong "The Covid-19 pandemic screwed our neck down and Quang Ninh fell," Ky said. "It forced us to think of something else to make Quang Ninh more stable in front of hardship." The something else for Quang Ninh is the manufacturing and processing industry, which is considered the "heart" of industry. If there was $10-20 billion of foreign investment capital in the manufacturing and processing industry, when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred, these factories were still there, the growth would have been maintained, even though FDI does not add much added value in Vietnam, Ky said. Therefore, Quang Ninh had to determine to "walk with both feet": developing services besides agriculture and fisheries, especially on the processing and manufacturing industries. It is not a coincidence the first resolution issued in November 2020 by the Provincial Party Committee of the new term was Resolution 01/NQ-TU on the rapid and sustainable development of the manufacturing industry in the period 2020-2025, with a vision to 2030. But learning from the lessons of coal mining, Ky said that Quang Ninh does not want to attract projects that pollute the environment, or affect security and order, but those that use land efficiently, use high technology, and create great added value and high budget revenue. If Quang Ninh lured foreign investment at all costs, it would have to pay a high price. Luong Bang Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 18:05:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows into the Philippines grew 41.5 percent to reach 961 million U.S. dollars in January from 679 million U.S. dollars a year earlier, the Philippine central bank said on Monday. "The increase in FDI during the month was supported mainly by the 116 percent expansion in non-residents' net investment in debt instruments to 535 million U.S. dollars from 248 million U.S. dollars in the same month last year," the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement. The BSP added that the increase "reflects the investors' optimism at the start of the year due in turn to the gradual reopening of the economy under the 'new normal' condition, easing of lockdown measures, and positive news about the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines." Similarly, the BSP said non-residents' net investment in equity capital increased marginally by 0.5 percent to 351 million U.S. dollars from 350 million U.S. dollars in January 2020. "This resulted following continued inflows from new placements, amounting to 362 million U.S. dollars in January 2021 from 374 million U.S. dollars last year, coupled with less withdrawals of 10 million U.S. dollars in January 2021 from 24 million U.S. dollars in January 2020," the BSP added. During the period, the BSP said, equity capital placements emanated mainly from Singapore, Japan, and the Netherlands and were primarily channeled to financial and insurance, manufacturing, and professional, scientific, and technical industries. Meanwhile, the BSP said reinvestment of earnings declined by 9.2 percent to 74 million U.S. dollars from 82 million U.S. dollars in January 2020. Enditem DNP Water, a subsidiary for water solution under the Dong Nai Plastic Construction JSC., has launched a new mobile application in collaboration with Thuyloi (Water Resources) University in Ho Chi Minh City for real-time forecast of water and salinity levels in the river network of Vietnams Mekong Delta. The tech solution, entitled Real-time Simulation System for the Mekong River Delta (MRSS), debuted during a conference on saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta held at the Thuyloi University last week. The simulation of the Mekong Deltas canal system in MRSS was developed on the MIKE 11 Hydrodynamic module powered by the Danish Hydraulic Institute, said Dr. Nghiem Tien Lam, leader of the development team. The software provides forecasts of saline intrusion on the branches of the Mekong River in Vietnam via its built-in simulation, which calculates the variation of water flow, quality, and sediment transport at the inlets, irrigation systems, canals, and other streams of the Mekong Delta. The development team has collected records of water and salinity levels between 2016 and 2020 from nearly 20 tracking stations, as well as data from the Dong Tam Water Plant in Tien Giang Province and Nhi Thanh Water Plant in Long An Province, both in the Mekong Delta, to form a database for the simulation. Our software amends many issues on time and space calculations from previous solutions," Nguyen Tien Lam said. "Instead of only reporting the maximum value from important locations, [MRSS] is able to forecast water and salinity levels in any location of the Mekong Delta for the next month, with updates on an hourly basis." The system is currently informing DNP Water of salinity and the development of saltwater intrusion of the Mekong Delta, which optimizes the firms water manufacturing operations. Based on initial responses, the Thuyloi University will continue their research, update numbers, and tweak the functions of MRSS to cater precise reports on Mekong Delta water to locals and authorities. According to Tran Anh Tuan, deputy president of the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association, commended the MRSS development team during the meeting for their efforts. Proving useful for Mekong Delta residents and officials, the software provides a solid database for researching, forecasting, and taking action against climate change. According to Vu Anh Tuan, deputy CEO of DNP Water, MRSS is available to the public at the weblink http://waterdata.vn/mekong/mrss and on the Mekong MRSS app of Google Play. The Mekong Delta has seen the intensity of drought and saline intrusion heighten over the past years, which has significantly impeded agricultural production and people and firms in the region. During the 2019-20 dry season, 10 out of 13 provinces and cities of the delta have reported damage from salinity and drought, with a total of 80,000 hectares of fruit farms and nearly 60,000 hectares of rice fields affected. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Jennifer Garner and Kate Beckinsale were just a few of tinseltown's best and brightest who paid tribute to their furry companions on National Pet Day. The ladies led the charge on social media sharing the best and often unusual memories that go hand and hand with being pet owners. A range of animals who help keep the Hollywood elite sane after long days on set, all maintained that despite a special holiday, everyday with a pet was a celebration. National Pet Day: Jennifer Garner and Kate Beckinsale lead the charge as Hollywood celebrates national pet day with animal appreciation posts Appreciation: Kate shared a carousel of photos and videos with her furry companions, maintaining that 'every day is national pet day' The always quirky Jennifer Garner paid tribute to her cat Moose with a hilarious video of him meddling. While rocking the cat in her arms during a mundane laundry stint, he was seen jumping out of her grasps and straight into a pile of laundry much to her dismay. The edited video showed a replay of Moose making contact with the pile of freshly folded clothes as she wrote 'Happy Pet Day to Moose.' Unexpected: The always quirky Jennifer Garner paid tribute to her cat Moose with a hilarious video of him meddling Oops!: The cat was seen ruining a pile of freshly folded clothes Dress up: She showed off her two cats' and dog's wide array of stylish outfits, having been known to have a love of dressing them up for holidays Kate Beckinsale shared a carousel of images with her brood of pets, maintaining that 'every day was #nationalpetday.' She showed off her two cats and dog Myf in a wide array of stylish outfits, having been known to have a love of dressing them up for various holidays. All her animals having their own personalities, she showed she was the doting pet owner as she spent quality time with each. Dance break: She let loose in the kitchen as she took a break from sweeping to dance with her cat Theatrical: The Underworld actress has many clothes for her dog Myf and her two cats Snow ready: In one video the tiny pomeranian was seen making his way next to her in a matching silver puffer Charitable: Sofia Vergara laid on the love for her chihuahuas while inspiring charitable initiatives on the day Sofia Vergara laid on the love for her chihuahuas while inspiring charitable initiatives on the day. 'It's #nationalpetday today (as is every day in mi casa), so let's give some extra love to our furry friends! Head to my story for more info on one of my favorite charitable organizations.' The slideshow featured many Halloween costumes and some portraits of her animals, as well as one of her dogs joining she and husband Joe Manganiello poolside. Sunshine: The Modern Family star took one of her dogs for a dip by the pool alongside her husband Stylish: Like many of her celebrity colleagues Vergara showed off her love of animal costumes Dog mom: The Colombian actress has quite a few chihuahuas Celebration: Reese did not miss out on the fun either as she celebrated the holiday Introductions: The Big Little Lies star introduced all her pets by name to her Instagram community BFFs: After posting a portrait shot of pups Major, Minn, and Hank she shared a photo of them all cuddled up together as they slept And Reese Witherspoon did not miss out on the phone to share her affection for her animals as she introduced them all by name individually. After posting a portrait shot of pups Major, Minn, and Hank she shared a photo of them all cuddled up together as they slept. Despite their ever-evolving roster of projects, all the ladies proved that a life with a little furry affection was the key to happiness. Updated at 3:59 p.m. ET on 2021-04-13 The first full-fledged peace talks in more than a year between Thailand and southern Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) rebels could take place as early as mid-May, according to sources from both sides but a Ramadan ceasefire is not in the cards. After technical-level talks in February between Bangkoks Peace Dialogue Panel and BRN representatives, Thai negotiators suggested that both sides observe a ceasefire during the fasting month, which begins this week. But BRNs delegates said negotiators prefer to talk about any truce when the two full delegations meet again face to face, a government source said. Thai and BRN negotiators publically launched their talks in Kuala Lumpur in January 2020, and met once more in early March of that year before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the negotiations. The two sides planned to resume talks in Malaysias Kedah state in November but had to call off the meeting because of a spike in COVID-19 cases then in the country. Successive Thai governments have spent years trying to convince the leaders of the BRN, the armed separatist movement behind much of the violence in the Malay-speaking southern border region, to come to the negotiating table. Eight years ago, for a brief moment, there was optimism all-around as the government of then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra launched a formal peace process. BRN sent a couple of representatives but their intension was to derail the process, which they succeeded in doing. In January 2020, Thai negotiators got what they wanted all along to come face to face with real BRN representatives, who brought with them a mandate from the Dewan Pimpinan Parti (DPP), the rebel groups secretive ruling council of elders and its highest decision-making body. On the surface, it seemed that the Thai side had made a breakthrough. But nothing is as it seems in Thailands far south. Strains within BRN Even today, the mandate BRN negotiators received from the ruling council rests on shaky ground, as the military wing has yet to rule out breaking away from the organization. It has continued to question the logic and merit of coming to the negotiating table after belatedly learning that preliminary peace talks had started in late 2019. The talks began as a series of secret meetings in Indonesia and Germany between the two sides, from September to November 2019. The Malaysian facilitator and BRNs military wing were kept in the dark about these meetings, which were facilitated by a European NGO. BenarNews broke the story about the Berlin Initiative in mid-November 2019. Malaysia was upset and so was BRNs military wing to the point that they considered leaving the movement. To patch things up with Malaysia, the Thai Peace Dialogue Panel and BRN negotiators came together in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 20, 2020, to launch the current peace initiative, which was billed as a new beginning. But fighters in the field became even more agitated when the so-called political wing told them that a series of secret meetings with the Thais were part of BRNs diplomacy. For the past 18 years, the current generation of fighters had been told that liberating Patani was a moral obligation. More than 7,000 have died in violence since 2004, a majority of them Malays. Some were killed in gunfights with government security forces; others by insurgents who suspected them of spying for Thai security agencies. Innocent bystanders have been caught up in the violence. Some were deliberately targeted as one side tried to rip into the hearts and soul of the other side. Activists on the ground groups like The Patani and PerMAS tried to bring some degree of civility to the conflict by promoting international norms and rules of engagement. Among activists, talk of BRN splitting up is troublesome because of fear that the conflict could become more violent as a result, with the possibility of greater harm to civilians. Non-military means In January 2020, the BRN signed a Deed of Commitment for the Protection of Children from the Effects of Armed Conflict with Geneva Call, an international NGO that works with armed non-state actors to promote rules of war. Three months later, the BRN implemented a unilateral ceasefire to allow medical personnel and government officials a free hand to work in containing the COVID-19 outbreak in the far south. Quiet praise from various quarters and members of the international community for these moves led BRNs military wing to rethink its approach toward the armed struggle. In November 2020, the wing expressed interest in learning more about non-military means to advance their cause. It is not clear how the Thai side will respond to this move. Many Thai government agencies, especially the armys top brass, do not like the idea of BRN getting any sort of legitimacy and recognition, internationally or locally. As for the peace process, the way ahead is not at all clear. Thailand is concerned that the BRN is not serious, and is using the platform of peace talks to buy time and gain international recognition. BRN militants say they could make the same argument: Thai negotiators have a mandate to talk, but not to make any concessions. Discussions with the rebels under any government have never moved beyond the confidence-building stage. The challenge for Thai negotiators is how to keep the talks going, to move beyond mere shop talk, without upsetting political and military leaders who never liked the idea of talking to the enemies in the first place. As for the BRNs elders and the small band of negotiators, justifying a return to the table that is to say, convincing the military wing that something good will come out of all this is getting harder by the day. But as long as the rebels military wing is interested in exploring non-military means to advance their cause, then theres hope that the peace process can last in its current shape and form. Don Pathan is a Thailand-based security analyst. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and not of BenarNews. New Delhi: Researchers based in China and Japan have established a link between sleep and situations with the absence of motivational stimuli. This new study suggests that a set of neurons in a brain area known as the nucleus accumbens, which is associated with motivation and disorder, can also produce sleep. Researchers used chemo-genetic and optical techniques to monitor the brain circuits involved in sleep control. According to the findings, it was discovered that nucleus accumbens neurons hold a strong ability to induce sleep that is indistinguishable from the major component of natural sleep, known as slow-wave sleep, as it is characterised by slow and high-voltage brain waves. Read more: Dream loss due to sleep deprivation is a 'silent' health hazard: Study "The classic somnogen adenosine is a strong candidate for evoking the sleep effect in the nucleus accumbens", said lead author Yo Oishi on this project from the International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. Adenosine receptors, called A2A receptors, can be found in the nucleus accumbens. Compounds that activate A2A receptors in the nucleus accumbens may open safe therapeutic avenues for treating insomnia and other sleep disorders. The study was published in journal Nature Communications. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. Flagstaff local Stewart Weinstein ordered an all-electric vehicle to be environmentally friendly, but now says the unexpected financial perks of his purchase have already piled up before even driving his new car off the lot. One benefit is that Weinstein can apply for the citys Sustainable Automotive Rebate Program, which offers sales tax rebates for fuel-efficient vehicles purchased at local dealerships. I feel the technology and the time is right for these electric vehicles and I like supporting my local community, Weinstein said. And it feels like I just keep finding out new, added bonuses of getting this car. The citys rebate program, which went into effect in July, not only promotes sustainable practices in the community, but also supports the citys vehicle industry, Flagstaff Business Attraction Manager Jack Fitchett said. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The city currently offers a three-tiered rebate system based on the type of vehicle purchased, offering high fuel-efficiency vehicles the largest incentives. All-electric vehicles qualify for the programs highest tier at a 2% rebate. That means that both new and used all-electric vehicles purchased locally can subtract 2.0% of the 2.281% vehicle tax rate, bringing the effective tax rate to 0.281% after rebate. But few vehicle owners have actually taken advantage of the all-electric vehicles rebate, Fitchett said. Hybrid vehicles, qualifying for a 1.6% rebate, have accounted for nearly all of the citys SATR applications. Fitchett attributed the citys small amount of qualifying vehicle stock in the other tiers, and not necessarily to a lack of public interest. As the rebate program takes its roots in the city and more electric vehicles hit the market, Fitchett said dealerships will be supported in their efforts to bring electric vehicle models to consumers. It is one of a few strategies the city has implemented to encourage electric vehicle use. In July, Flagstaff partnered with Arizona Public Service to install four electric vehicle charging stations at Flagstaff City Hall. Growing incentives, coupled with the citys new electric vehicle infrastructure, could explain the recent interest in electric vehicles seen by local dealerships. Joe Porto, general manager at the Findlay Volkswagen Flagstaff dealership, said he has a dozen pre-orders for Volkswagens first all-electric SUV releasing later this year, rivaling the interest at Volkswagen dealerships in cities such as Phoenix. Weinstein is one of those customers, and said he was comfortable making the switch to an electric vehicle due to the charging availability in the city and the increased travel range offered by new models. He is also looking forward to the many incentives of being an electric vehicle owner. Its checking all the boxes, Weinstein said. I think the more incentives there are to make this change, the more its going to drive people to purchase. But that level of local interest has not always resulted in vehicles being purchased in Flagstaff. Fitchett said some local automotive dealerships have told the city they struggle with locals purchasing vehicles at dealerships in other cities, whether thats due to lower prices, tax incentives or a greater selection of fuel-efficient vehicles. The Sustainable Automotive Tax Rebate program looks to provide a level of support for these dealerships. The city has received positive feedback from auto dealers since the new rebate program has been implemented, some adding that they have been able to improve the fuel-efficient vehicle stock, Fitchett said. But there is still work to be done, such as allowing dealerships to directly facilitate the rebate process instead of having buyers individually submit applications to the city. Program managers will ask the City Council to make that change next month, Fitchett said, along with proposing greater access to the program for fuel-efficient vehicles. The lowest fuel-efficient tier offers a 0.7% tax reimbursement for vehicles with a city fuel economy of 35 MPG or higher. City staff will seek to lower the MPG metric, hoping to increase the number of qualifying vehicle purchases in the area. In a city that deals with seasonal weather conditions, Fitchett said it is important to ensure fuel-efficient vehicle owners are also provided access to sustainable automobile incentives. The program should also appeal to folks who maybe are not ready to buy a fully electric or hybrid vehicle, Fitchett said. Flagstaff is a four-season community, and, you know, some folks will want that all-wheel-drive function. But we still want to promote that sustainable mindset. "As our association has grown and evolved, we expect a record number of entries by international outstanding professionals and dedicated teams who made a difference in the PR industry during the unpredictable 2020. The awards aim to encourage, support and celebrate their contribution and hard-won achievements, and we look forward to rewarding the best of the best.", said the WCFA President Maxim Behar . The awards are open for submission now on www.davosawards.com Entries are accepted in 14 different categories, recognizing the best work for long term strategic programmes that underpin corporate and organisational success. Davos Communications Awards Categories: - Best Public Relations Campaign - Best Marketing Communications Campaign - Best Digital or Social Media Campaign - Best use of brand - Best Corporate Affairs - Best CSR or ESG - PR Consultancy of the Year - Marketing Agency of the Year - Digital Agency of the Year - Rising Star for practitioners under the age of 30 - Silver Star for practitioners over the age of 50 - Best Leader in Public Relations and Communications - Annual Davos Award for Global Communications Overall Achievement - Best Public Relations or Communications Student The judges will reward entries that demonstrate professional excellence with clear objectives, strategy, implementation and results, uphold ethical values, display creativity, imagination or innovation, show clear results and adhere to the Barcelona Principles. The awards' judging panel includes experts from across industry and academia to ensure each category is effectively assessed. Entries will be judged by 15 highly professional PR practitioners and senior industry leaders from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Latin America, who will consider the excellence and effectiveness of PR work from across the world. Among them are the Jury Chair SBA PR Futurist and Managing Consultant Stuart Bruce, Marketing Q Strategies & Communications CEO Lorena Carreno, Synergy H+K Strategies Founder & CEO HS Chung, SEC Newgate CIO and Board Member Andrea Cornelli, Weber Shandwick Managing Partner Agnieszka Dziedzic, Business Wire Director of Product Marketing Serena Ehrlich, Circklo Vice President Communication and Strategic Alliances Ella Minty, RingCentral Vice President of Corporate Communications Tom Murphy, Godrej Group Vice President and Head of Corporate Brand and Communications Sujit Patil, Kyodo PR Director German Saa, Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa CEO and Past President Victor Sibeko, Museum of Public Relations Founder and Director Shelley Spector, Strateus Group Founder & CEO Kamal Taibi, Rada Research & Public Relations Co. President and Managing Director Loula Zaklama, and CROS President and Chairman of the Board Sergey Zverev. The winners will be named during a virtual ceremony in June 2021 and will receive professional certificate and a letter of recognition by the World Communications Forum Association, signed by the WCFA President Maxim Behar and the Jury Chair Stuart Bruce. For more information, visit www.davosawards.com About Davos Communications Awards: The Davos Communications Awards, launched by the World Communications Forum Association in 2021, are global prestigious awards that recognize exceptional professional work done by businesses, governments and academia in public relations, marketing, branding, social media, CSR and leadership. Entries are open to agencies, in-house teams and individuals from any sector to help celebrate and showcase professional excellence in the industry. Winning a Davos Communications Award is an opportunity for professionals and businesses to pitch themselves as the best, to stand out from the competition, increase their credibility, and motivate their teams. About World Communications Forum Association: The World Communications Forum was founded in 2010 in Davos, Switzerland, where the Association was registered in 2014. The WCFA is a n organization committed to active global discussions and exchanges focused on the development of communications expertise of its members and be an active voice in its key role in business, society and politics. Every year the forum gathers prominent representatives of the communication and public relations sector from around the world, who, through dialogue and discussion, exchange experiences and ideas to shape the art of global communications. In 2021, the WCFA organized its 'Global Communications Summit' on Zoom, bringing together more than 450 top communications experts globally. Contact: World Communications Forum Association Promenade 85, 7270 Davos Platz, Davos, Switzerland Email : [email protected], Mobile : +359 888 503113 www.wcfaglobal.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485529/Main_Davos_Awards.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485528/Davos_Communications_Awards_Logo.jpg SOURCE World Communications Forum Association Chinese EV battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL) has signed an agreement with China Molybdenum Company (CMOC) to jointly develop a major cobalt and copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the worlds largest cobalt-producing country. CATL has agreed to invest US$137.5m in a 25% stake in CMOC subsidiary KFM Holding which acquired a 95% of the shares in the DRC Kisanfu mine last December. The mine is said to have 365 million tonnes of ore resources with a production potential of more than 6.2m tonnes of copper and 3.1m tonnes of cobalt. The deal is part of a broader strategic partnership between the two companies with CATL wanting to secure its future access to cobalt and lithium, key materials used in the EV batteries. The price of cobalt has risen by over 50% since the beginning of the year. The Alchemer platform offers adaptability & extensive versatility required by todays business professionals. Please take my survey now CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun said the two companies would combine their strengths "to promote the development of the new energy vehicle industry". They plan to cooperate in nickel projects in Indonesia and elsewhere and will explore further acquisitions and investment opportunities to increase production of the metals. By SoNya Jordan No one ever cared when I didnt get into fights. How I bit my tongue when girls were talking behind my back or when I walked away from confrontations. At my old school, if you had a problem with somebody, you had to handle it yourself. The school never cared about me; they only cared that I was obedient. But eventually, everybody has their breaking point. For me, it was after months of these upper-class girls pushing my buttons and pushing me to my limits until I fought them. When I was being harassed by bullies, I couldnt turn to anyone for help. At that time, I handled my problems by using my hands and running my mouth, which usually landed me in the principals office or expelled from my school. Theres thousands of kids across New Jersey just like me -- getting pushed out of schools with no safety net. Just last year, NJ.com reported nearly 56,000 students were suspended either in or out of school in 2018-2019. Thats 4% more than the year before. Thats 9% of the entire population of Black students in New Jersey . And once youre out, if youre not in school or working a job, you usually end up at Jamesburg or Hayes, especially if youre Black or Latino. Its time to make sure youth like me have the support they need, so they dont end up in jail and wasting their potential. I found the support I needed at LEAD Charter School, New Jerseys first - and only - alternative charter high school designed for young people looking to get back on track, get their diploma and get a job. At LEAD, we use the YouthBuild model to become better learners, workers and leaders in our community. When I first joined LEAD, I went through a two-week process called Mental Toughness that pulled me completely out of my comfort zone. I spoke with different people from different backgrounds, explored my feelings, and had a community of people holding me accountable. If I was late, I had to own it. I couldnt make excuses. And I had to start applying myself. I had to face some hard truths and decide what type of SoNya did I want to be? Everybody that you connect with at LEAD is here for the same thing; theyre here to push you ahead, and when youre surrounded by that kind of energy, it makes you want to change. And it wasnt just the students. The staff care about us and want us to succeed. They push us to do our best and they understand acceptance isnt always at home, so they make LEAD feel like home. The community helped me decide that I want to be the SoNya that fights for my future. Every student deserves a school community that wants to see them succeed. A place that supports your mental health, your social-emotional health and gives you the tools you need to be the best version of yourself. LEAD changed me for the better, and I know students across Newark would also thrive, if they had a community like LEAD to turn to. If the goal is to help young people be their best, LEAD is doing that work - and with a fraction of the budget. In the 2019-20 school year, 12.2% of young people with priors reoffended - while 52.4% of youth released in 2016 reoffended within three years of their release. The New Jersey Institute of Social Justice (NJISJ) reported that the state spends $445,504 a year for every young person locked up, while LEAD spends $16k a year per student at LEAD - with better results. Programs like LEAD and YouthBuild Newark are making a difference in the lives of young people throughout New Jersey. State leaders must act now and pass bills like the Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program bill, to support and grow these programs, so they can keep changing lives. My past is always going to be my past, but I am more than my mistakes. Every student deserves someone in their corner, so they can know that success is possible for them too. SoNya Jordan is a 2020 graduate of LEAD Charter School, New Jerseys only alternative charter high school. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Opponents of the new Peach State reforms for election integrity contend the law mainly harms communities of color. Absentee ballot applications no longer will be sent to all voters, and voters have less time to request them. Stricter voter ID regulations are now in force, while the number of drop boxes used for absentee ballots will be limited. Theyre back: Pizze Frittes. Wine Slushies, Deep Fried Oreos. Gyros. And more. As the Covid 19 pandemic enters its second year, so does the pandemic-inspired State Fair Food Fest at the New York State Fairgrounds. It starts this week, and continues next week, with later dates and events still be determined. This year, the event is walk-up, not drive-thru, and it takes place, for now, on the main fairgrounds, not the Orange Parking Lot off Interstate 690 where it was held in 2020. But the concept is the same. It brings the favorite tastes of the fair to crowds uncertain about whether there will be a real State Fair. The 2020 fair was cancelled, and the prospects for a 2021 fair are still uncertain. Entrance is at Gate 6, off State Fair Boulevard at the far west of the Fairgrounds (the same one used for those getting Covid-19 vaccines). Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 15, 16, and17 and again April 22, 23, and 24. The idea for an off-season State Fair event started last year with the Zazarra family, long-time operators of the Villa Pizze Fritte stand. They had a huge success offering their 2-foot-long pieces of sugar-coated fried dough to fans in a parking lot they own in DeWitt last April, not long after the pandemic hit and restaurants remained closed. That drew such enormous crowds that it moved for the rest of the spring and summer to the Orange lot between I-690 and Onondaga Lake. It was then dubbed the State Fair Food Fest and added other vendors like Ashley Lynn (for wine slushies), Big Kahuna (for gyros, sausage sandwiches and more) and Carnival Eats for (for fried Oreos and Twinkies and other items). People were thrilled with this last year, said Grazi Zazarra Jr., who credited his wife, Maura, for first suggesting the idea in 2020. Remember then the restaurants were closed and people needed something like that. Now things are opening back up, but were hoping theres still going to to be a demand, Zazarra said. We thank the State Fair for allowing us to experiment with this again this year. The State Fair Food Fest will be set up along the eastern end of the Midway, not too far from both the State Fair Expo Center and the regular fair spot for the Villa Pizze Fritte stand. There is ample parking nearby. People can get out of their cars (with masks) and walk up. Social distancing will be enforced. Items can be purchased with cash or credit/debit cards. Vendors again include Villa Pizze Fritte, Big Kahuna, Ashley Lynn Winery and Carnival Eats Syracuse. Menu items include Pizze Fritte, Wine Slushies, Gyros, Italian Sausage, Philly Cheese Steak, Deep Fried Oreos, Deep Fried Twinkies, Funnel Cakes, Corn Dogs, Fried Cheese on a Stick, Cotton Candy Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Frozen Lemonade, Deep Fried Pickles and Candy and Carmel Apples. The State Fair Expo Center itself is still set up to handle thousands of Covid-19 vaccinations per day, but fair officials dont see that as a problem. Gate 6 is the entrance for both the vaccines and the food fest. There will be signs directing food customers to that parking area, fair spokesman Dave Bullard said. Fair official will also take note of the traffic patterns and make adjustments if necessary, he said. The Food Fest vendors are paying standard off-season space rental fees and are paying for their parking attendants, Bullard said. Zazarra said hes also willing to work to make sure the food fest doesnt interfere with the vaccines. We certainly dont want to get in the way of anyone getting their vaccines, which is very important, Zazarra said. We want everyone to be healthy and happy, and that includes, hopefully, we have a State Fair this year, too. More Central New York food and dining news: Rileys is back: Inside the 13-month journey to popular Syracuse restaurants reopening After 77 years in one family, Syracuses oldest fish fry is closing New vendor takes over restaurant, concessions at Green Lakes State Park First Look: A new ice cream store in Camillus with a menu created by kids 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. Anticipating mass protests over the summary execution of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by Chicago police on March 29, prosecutors from the Cook County States Attorneys Office, city officials and local media are seeking to portray the boy as a hardened gang member, justifying the police murder. Despite these attempts to shift blame away from the Chicago Police Department (CPD), Toledos death has shed further light on the lawlessness and brutality that characterize police operations in working class neighborhoods. The city and police department have continued to stonewall, refusing to release police body camera footage of the killing to the public. In keeping the video under wraps, the misnamed Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) first cited the Illinois Juvenile Court Act, claiming Toledos right to privacy as a minor prevented the city from releasing the video. However, in response to public outrage over the killing and experts who made clear the absurdity of COPAs legal claim, COPA agreed to release the footage to the public. But they have insisted Toledos family have a chance to view it first, a viewing which will reportedly happen sometime this week. Toledo was shot in the early morning hours of March 29 and his family was not notified of his death for two days. In the meantime, police and prosecutors have continued to selectively release information about the shooting in an effort to label it as justified and place the blame for Toledos death on the family, on gangs and on gun violence, rather than on the police. The need for this effort comes from the likely horrific nature of the body camera footage. On Saturday, while denying she had seen the footage, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned the video 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. Elizabeth Toledo with her son, Adam Toledo .(Credit: GoFundMe) The most detailed depictions of the shooting so far have come from prosecutors from the Cook County States Attorneys Office, which brought new felony charges against 21-year-old Ruben Roman for his alleged role in the events which led to Toledos death. Initially, Roman had been charged only with a misdemeanor for resisting arrest, but prosecutors are now seeking charges against him for felony reckless discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon and child endangerment. According to prosecutors, Toledo and Roman were walking together around 2:30 a.m. in the Southwest Side neighborhood of Little Village. A security camera at a nearby church supposedly shows Roman at one point firing a gun several times at a passing car, with Toledo standing close to him. After the gunshots were detected by a ShotSpotter system installed in the area, Chicago police officers arrived at the scene within minutes and began to give chase to Roman and Toledo. In the ensuing chase, Roman was quickly tackled by one of the police officers while Toledo was pursued by the other officer to a nearby alley and shot in the chest. The gun allegedly found near Toledo is said by prosecutors to match the shell casings found near where Roman fired the earlier shots. Since police responded within minutes primarily to the alert of gunfire, it is clear that police, far from carrying out any investigation to find out which crimes, if any, had occurred, moved immediately to pursue and violently confront Roman and Toledo. Fundamentally violating the right to due process, the police executed Toledo, thus the need to depict him as a hardened criminal posing a danger to the public and the police. An opening salvo in the citys filthy propaganda effort came from Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn, a self-identified Democrat. In a piece titled Lets wait before turning slain 13-year-old Adam Toledo into a martyr, Zorn suggested people should stop romanticizing and infantilizing 13-year-olds. Accepting the city and police departments earliest descriptions of the killing of Toledo as an armed confrontation, Zorn acknowledges the need to press for further information and suggests a thorough review may find that police shot in justifiable self-defense. A number of commenters responded to Zorns column, objecting to its supposed expression of racism. Princeton professor and former leading member of the International Socialist Organization (ISO) Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor wrote on Twitter, The things they will never say about white children. This pulled from the column of the most read paper in Chicago is what is meant by systemic racism. The pseudo-left Left Voice tweeted on similar lines, saying, The Chicago Tribune is encouraging cops to kill 13 year olds. After all, as they put it Its never too early to stop pretending that 13-year-olds are inherently harmless. And by 13 year olds, they dont mean white kids. They mean Black and Brown middle schoolers. The reality is that Zorns column does not represent an expression of racism, but rather the class basis of the Democratic Party, the same party which in the mid-1990s raised the bogeyman of super-predators to justify the violent police occupation of working class neighborhoods while factories were being closed and social services dismantled. Contrary to the claims of the peddlers of identity politics, police violence, even against children, is not meted out solely on the basis of race. In just one recent example, last September police in Salt Lake City shot 13-year-old Linden Cameron, who is white and has autism, as he ran away from them. While there is no doubt a great deal of racism among Chicago police officers, the fundamental issue in the death of Adam Toledo is the role of the police in enforcing social inequality. As the Socialist Equality Party wrote last summer in response to the protests following the police murder of George Floyd: The inevitable by-product of social inequality is the breakdown of democratic forms of rule. The massive concentration of wealth creates social tensions that cannot be reconciled through traditional democratic channels. The violence employed by the capitalist state against the working classand, especially, its poorest and most vulnerable sectionsassumes an ever more brutal form. The homicidal practices of the police are only the most naked expression of class violence. The public strangulation of George Floyd, for all its horror, was just one of one thousand killings carried out by police on the streets of the United States every year. The number of coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan tripled in the first 11 days of April compared to the same period in March, Health Minister Alexei Tsoi said at a cabinet meeting on Monday. "The coronavirus situation has deteriorated in April. As many as 24,955 coronavirus cases were recorded in the first 11 days of the month, three times as many as in the same period in March. Up to 2,800 new patients are identified every day," he emphasized. The health minister also pointed to a rise in coronavirus fatalities. "The number of deaths increased 1.4-fold in March compared to February," TASS cited him as saying. A vaccination campaign involving the Sputnik V vaccine produced in Russia kicked off in Kazakhstan on February 1. The distribution of domestically made Sputnik V vaccines began in the country in late February. Kazakhstans own coronavirus vaccine, QazCOVID-in, is currently undergoing the third phase of clinical trials. The country has so far recorded 271,809 coronavirus cases, 234,665 recoveries and 3,236 deaths. Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent. 1. Older adults trust online reviews almost as much as word-of-mouth recommendations when choosing a physician Online reviews were viewed as more important than where the physician trained or attended medical school Abstract: https:/ / www. acpjournals. org/ doi/ 10. 7326/ M20-7600 URL goes live when the embargo lifts A nationally representative survey found that more than 4 in 10 U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 years have now used online physician rating sites and trust them almost as much as recommendations from family or friends for choosing a physician. These sources of information are more likely to be used by women, persons with higher levels of education, and those with a chronic medical condition. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Online physician ratings and reviews are increasingly available to the public through commercial rating sites and health systems. Although older adults visit physicians more than any other age group in the United States, little is known about how they use and perceive online ratings and reviews when choosing physicians. Researchers from the University of Michigan and the VA Center for Clinical Management Research used data from a nationally representative survey (the National Poll on Healthy Aging) of 50 to 80 year-olds to measure and identify characteristics associated with use and perceptions of online physician ratings and reviews. They found that many factors were much more influential among older adults when selecting a physician, yet online ratings and reviews were still perceived to be important. Other factors that older adults rated as very important ranged from whether the physician accepted their health insurance (93.0%) to whether the physician had the same race/ethnicity (2.4%). Among the range of factors, online physician ratings and reviews ranked ninth. Online ratings were perceived to be very important more often among racial/ethnic minorities and less often among respondents with at least a bachelor's degree. According to the researchers, these findings should prompt policymakers and clinicians to ensure the validity and reliability of online rating information and educate patients about how to best use this information in their decision-making. Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Angela Collom at acollom@acponline.org. The corresponding author, Jeffrey T. Kullgren, MD, MS, MPH, can be reached at jkullgre@med.umich.edu. 2. Physicians debate best management strategy for patient with severe aortic stenosis 'Beyond the Guidelines' features are based on the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Abstract: https:/ / www. acpjournals. org/ doi/ 10. 7326/ M21-0724 URL goes live when the embargo lifts In a new Annals 'Beyond the Guideline's feature, a cardiologist and a cardiothoracic surgeon debate the risks and benefits of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) versus surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) for a patient with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who is at low risk for surgical death. All 'Beyond the Guidelines' features are based on the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston and include print, video, and educational components published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Aortic stenosis is common among the elderly and severe symptomatic disease is typically fatal without intervention. Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) was the standard of care until transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was shown to have lower mortality rates in patients at the highest surgical risk. Recent recommendations suggest that TAVR may have benefits for patients at intermediate risk, as well. Whether or not these benefits extend to low-risk patients is a subject of debate. BIDMC Grand Rounds discussants, Suzanne J. Baron, MD, MSc, an interventional and structural cardiologist as well as the Director of Interventional Cardiology Research at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Burlington, Mass., and Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD, Surgical Director of the Structural Heart Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital recently debated the case of a 62-year old man with symptomatic aortic stenosis and several comorbid conditions yet considered at low risk for surgical death. In their assessment, both Drs. Baron and Kaneko recommend CT imaging as a next step to determine the patient's candidacy for TAVR. If the patient met anatomical criteria, Dr. Baron would engage the patient in a deliberate, shared decision-making process to ensure that his values drive an informed choice between TAVR and SAVR. Because the patient is young and very likely to need a second valve procedure sometime in the future, Dr. Kaneko would work with the heart team to highlight the durability and subsequent valve replacement challenges with TAVR. Both discussants agree that the patient is likely to have a good outcome whether he chooses TAVR or SAVR. A complete list of 'Beyond the Guidelines' topics is available at http://www. annals. org/ grandrounds . Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Angela Collom at acollom@acponline.org. For an interview with the discussants, please contact Kendra McKinnon at kmckinn1@bidmc.harvard.edu. Also in this issue: Pulmonary Hypertension Update David Poch, MD In the Clinic Abstract: https:/ / www. acpjournals. org/ doi/ 10. 7326/ AITC202104130 ### Prince Philip has died at the age of 99 leaving the world remembering the royal and his past. From adorable anecdotes about his life and dedication to royal duties to a close examination of whether his relationship with Queen Elizabeth his distant cousin who he began dating at a very young age was endearing or creepy, there are plenty of retrospectives and hot takes available. Some of these tidbits are simply amusing while others add to the growing debate over the role of the British royal family in modern times, but one thing that certainly will come forward as Prince Philips death makes us collectively reflect on the past century will be his legacy as a symbol of human progress. In that way, Prince Philips history of old-school racism matters. Prince Philip | Danny Lawson WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Philip led a remarkable life RELATED: Dark Secrets You Never Knew About Prince Philips Life Prince Philip was born in 1921, and his life was remarkable and tumultuous from the very beginning. His father was brother to the King of Greece, but Prince Philips uncles reign would not last long. By the time Prince Philip turned one, the entire family was in exile. As U.S. News reports, a military coup during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 forced the family to flee, and baby Prince Philip was carried out of the country in a fruit crate. His family life was also marked with tragedy. His father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, abandoned the family to live with his mistress in France. His mother, Alice Battenberg, suffered from mental health issues that saw her institutionalized when Prince Philip was just nine years old. In addition, he had four much-older sisters, all of whom married German aristocrats, including Nazis a fact that kept the princes family members from attending the wedding when he married Queen Elizabeth. To put it simply, Prince Philips life unfolds like a first-person account from a history book. Prince Philip had a charming public persona Through his extraordinary example, His Royal Highness Prince Philip proved that true partnership has room for both ambition and selflessness all in service of something greater. Our thoughts are with Her Majesty the Queen, the Royal Family, and the British people. pic.twitter.com/qbH2ycbcaA Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 9, 2021 RELATED: Prince Philip Was Forced to Give up This Hobby Because of His Health The British royal family spends a lot of time in the public eye. In fact, many of their royal duties center around being representatives of the culture. In this regard, Prince Philip has enjoyed a charming public persona especially in recent years. Much of the recent press around the British royal family has been negative and overwhelmingly dark. Prince Andrew, Prince Philips son, has been accused of horrendous crimes associated with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have accused the family of racist comments against their son Archie Prince Philips great-grandson. In light of these more pressing scandals, Prince Philip has mostly been seen as a genial and good-natured man enjoying the late years of his life. Prince Philips legacy includes dark dips into racism While everyone leaves behind a complex legacy that includes both good and bad moments, experts are warning about the harm of glossing over Prince Philips more salacious incidents. As Insider reports, Prince Philip has a well-documented history of blatantly racist comments. In 1986, Prince Philip told a group of British students studying in China: If you stay here much longer youll all be slitty-eyed. In 1994, he asked an aboriginal leader in Queensland, Do you still throw spears at each other? Many of these comments especially the ones in more recent years as Prince Philip got up in age have been passed off as gaffes and even laughed away. As CNN reports, these unscripted moments were even used to paint Prince Philip as kind of delightfully unpredictable. They note Prince Philip is leaving behind a lengthy catalog of provocative remarks that cemented his reputation as an outspoken royal, untamed by the familys carefully rehearsed public image. This lackadaisical approach to understanding Prince Philips views is dangerous, however. As Kehinde Andrews, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University explained to CNN: He was a throwback to old-school racism. Painting him as a benign, cuddly uncle of the nation is simply untrue. When he says things about Chinese peoples eyes and chucking spears, its very ugly and would not be tolerated anywhere else nor from anyone else. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has called for a greater sense of urgency to be applied to the vaccine rollout because she fears Australia will be left behind as the rest of the world opens. Ms Berejiklian said NSW was on track seven weeks into the 12-week plan to vaccinate 300,000 essential workers, but that her government was still waiting for information about what comes next. At the moment what were trying to ascertain is exactly how many doses were going to get, she said. It has been lumpy, as Ive said. Some weeks we get more than we anticipated, other weeks we get less. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian fears the decision to limit the use of AstraZeneca will put Australia at a disadvantage. Credit:Kate Geraghty The Premier said the federal governments decision last week to switch to the Pfizer vaccine for people under 50 to minimise blood-clot risks had caused a huge setback, but that she felt more comfortable because quarantine workers and their families had received their jabs. Harmony , or He Wu , an original dance drama choreographed by Liu Jina, a professor of Shaanxi Normal University, was staged in Xi'an on March 25. [For China Daily] Music teachers and students in Xi'an have gone to great lengths to recreate scenes from murals discovered in the tomb of the senior Tang Dynasty (618-907) official Han Xiu, which was unearthed in the Chang'an District of the Shaanxi capital in 2014. Harmony, or He Wu, an original dance drama choreographed by Liu Jina, a professor of the university, was staged in Xi'an on March 25, and it was warmly received. Based on the murals, portraying court dancers and musicians, the dance drama combines a variety of dance styles, such as solo, duo and group, to present the typical style of dance and music of the golden age of the Tang Dynasty. Harmony , or He Wu , an original dance drama choreographed by Liu Jina, a professor of Shaanxi Normal University, was staged in Xi'an on March 25. [For China Daily] Teachers and students of the School of Music of Shaanxi Normal University visited museums of Shaanxi Province last year, focusing on research relating to Tang Dynasty dance forms, Liu says. They visited Shaanxi History Museum, Zhaoling Museum (the tomb of Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty), and Tang West Market Museum in Xi'an, as well as ancient tomb sites in Shaanxi Province, where they collected photos and videos about murals of the Tang Dynasty. "The choreography is faithful to the history,"Liu says. "We also designed the costumes, makeup and headwear based on the murals." Harmony is derived from an original dance production by the university. The production, titled Tang Wu Chang'an, or dance of Chang'an, premiered on Dec 10 in the concert hall of Shaanxi Normal University. A mural painting discovered in the tomb of the senior Tang Dynasty (618-907) official Han Xiu, which was unearthed in the Chang'an District of the Shaanxi capital in 2014. [For China Daily] Harmony is one of the eight parts of the dance production, all inspired by paintings, murals, and unearthed Tang Dynasty relics, such as Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk by the painter Zhang Xuan and tricolored glazed pottery figurines. Chang'an, which today is Xi'an, was capital of the Tang Dynasty. Many tombs of royals, nobles and celebrities can be found around the city. For example in November early work of a noted calligraphy master of the Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhenqing, was found in an archaeological excavation in Xixian New Area, on Xi'an's outskirts. Han Xiu was an important official during the reign of the Tang Emperor Xuanzong (712-756). When Han's tomb was unearthed, more than 140 exhibits were discovered, including frescoes whose colors and lines, despite decay, were still recognizable. "The discovery of the tomb has provided new materials for the study of murals and social customs at the time," Liu says. "We are keen to bring those beautiful dances alive on stage, which helps today's audiences to better learn about the great Tang Dynasty culture." (Source: China Daily) The Expedition 64 crew is getting ready to welcome three new crew members who are due to launch on Friday to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, a variety of space research activities are underway aboard the orbiting lab today. One NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are in final preparations for their liftoff on a Soyuz rocket set for Friday at 3:42 a.m. EDT. Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Pyotr Dubrov will flank Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy for the short trip to the station inside the new Soyuz MS-18 crew ship. Docking of the new Expedition 65 trio to the Rassvet module is planned for 7:07 a.m. The crew will open the hatch after leak and pressure checks and enter the station about 9 a.m. A welcoming ceremony with the expanded 10-person crew along with participants on the ground will occur shortly afterward. NASA TV will broadcast the launch and docking activities beginning at 2:45 a.m. NASA Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker are busy readying the station to temporarily accommodate the new crew members. The trio is setting up extra sleep stations for this month's crew swaps when there will be as many as 11 people occupying the space station. Biomedical studies, or human research, is always ongoing aboard the station. Saliva and blood sample collections were the first tasks of the day for Hopkins, Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov. Glover scanned his own neck, leg and cardiac veins with an ultrasound device then checked his blood pressure for the Vascular Aging study. NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins installed the new TangoLab-2 biology research hardware, delivered in February aboard the Cygnus space freighter, inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi readied a materials space exposure study for placement outside the Kibo laboratory module. On-Orbit Status Report Payloads AC Touch: Per standard procedure, the crew touched both the coated and uncoated coupons for this long-term investigation. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks to crew health and spacecraft systems as well as creating the possibility of contaminating other planetary bodies. The samples remain in space approximately six months then return to Earth for analysis. JEM Airlock Slide Table Reconfiguration: In preparation for the MISSE-14-NASA installation later this week, the crew removed the passive capture mechanism from the slide table and installed the JEM ORU Transfer Interface (JOTI) hardware. Materials International Space Station Experiment-14-NASA (MISSE-14-NASA) continues a series of tests by NASA Glenn Research Center on how the harsh environment of space affects the performance and durability of various materials. Each mission tests new materials and material configurations, and similar materials fly on multiple MISSE missions. MISSE-14-NASA exposes de-orbit, phase change and radiation shielding materials as well as 10 types of crop seeds to the space environment. TangoLab: The crew removed the TangoLab-2 facility, installed a new TangoLab facility into the EXPRESS rack, and connected the power and data cables. Payload cards 013 and 018 were then installed into the new TangoLab facility. Space Tango's TangoLab locker is a reconfigurable general research facility designed for microgravity research and development (R&D) and pilot manufacturing aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Vascular Aging: The crew participated in ultrasound scans of the neck, thigh, portal vein and heart. They also logged a series of blood pressure measurements in support of the experiment. Emerging data point towards linkages among cardiovascular health risk, carotid artery aging, bone metabolism and blood biomarkers, insulin resistance, and radiation. Data indicate that aging-like changes are accelerated in many International Space Station (ISS) crew members, particularly with respect to their arteries. As part of the Space Environment Causes Acceleration of Vascular Aging: Roles of Hypogravity, Nutrition, and Radiation (Vascular Aging) investigation, ultrasounds of the arteries, blood samples, oral glucose tolerance, and wearable sensors from ISS crew members are analyzed. Systems Extra--Vehicular Activity (EVA) Battery Operations Terminal (EBOT) Charging: Following successful installation of the new EBOT hardware yesterday, the system was checked out this morning. All checks were nominal and batteries have been inserted and are charging. Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodation (CASA): The crew began the first part of CASA installation at the Columbus 104 ZSR rack. Completion of installation is scheduled for next week. CASA is a crew accommodation to allow for long duration stay for a fifth crew member, as well as stowage when a 5th crewmember is not present. Japanese Experiment Logistics Module - Pressurized Section (JLP) Hygiene Modifications: In order to use the JLP as a hygiene location, the crew installed hygiene covers on all stowage, ZSR fronts, and open rack bays including loose CTBs. They also installed a partition between Bay 1 and Bay 2 to help contain as much moisture as possible in Bay 1. Completed Task List Activities: EPM laptop troubleshooting Today's Ground Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Payloads ops support CASA ops support JEMAL ops Look Ahead Plan Thursday, April 8 (GMT 098) Payloads: Biolab item search, FLUIDICS run 1, Food Acceptability, JAXA Video Take 8, ManD feedstock resolution, Micro-16, MISSE-14 MSC install to JERMAL slide table, MSRR/KERMIT photo, PLDR deact, RTPCG-2, Standard Measures, Vascular Aging Glucose setup Systems: Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Hard Upper Torso (HUT) On-Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) Remove and Replace (R&R) COLUMBUS Deck 1 and 2 clean-up Calibrate and deploy Personal CO2 Monitors Friday, April 9 (GMT 099) Payloads: AC touch, Actiwatch plus, Astrobee/Gecko, AstroPi, CIR manifold bottle exchange, ELF sample holder exchange, Fluidics, Food Acceptability, Food Physiology, Nanoracks Rotational Dynamics ball deflate, PLDR card exchange, POLAR and MERLIN desiccant swaps, RTPCG-2, Standard Measures, Vascular Aging Systems: 64S launch/dock ISS Safety Briefing FRIDGE 2 reconfig Saturday, April 10 (GMT 100) Payloads: No utilization activities Systems Crew adaptation Crew handover Sunday, April 11 (GMT 101) Payloads: Astrobee off Systems Crew off duty Today's Planned Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations Vascular Aging Ultrasound Echo Unit Setup ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up Vascular Aging Resting Ultrasound Scan Structures and Mechanisms (S&M) JEM ORU Xfer I/F (JOTI) Gather XF305 Camcorder Setup JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side omm. check from Baikonur (S/G1) Prep. TV report JEM airlock slide table passive Capture Mechanism Removal Soyuz descent training JEM ORU Xfer I/F Install for MISSE Transfer Tray Vascular Aging CDL Holter Arterial BP Measurement JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side Crew Alternate Sleep Accomodation (CASA) Gather Station Support Computer (SSC) 15 and BEAM Station Support Computer (SSC) Swap Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT) Veggie Monitoring Surface Sample Analysis Historical Documentation Photography Japanese Experiment Logistics Module Hygiene Cover Build and Install Crew Alternate Sleep Accomodation (CASA) Installation Quick-disconnect screw clamps () installation Vascular Aging Ultrasound Echo Unit Stow Adjusting protective suit Crew Alternate Sleep Accomodation (CASA) Installation Assistance PAO Preparation CEVIS Restraining Belt Remove and Replace Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config JEM Setup Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) - JEM PMA2/PMA3 Crew Suitcase Swap Crew Alternate Sleep Accomodation (CASA) Installation Japanese Experiment Logistics Module Hygiene Cover Build and Install Recharging Samsung tablet in 62S Prep. TV report Public Affairs Office (PAO) Japanese Experiment Logistics Module Hygiene Bay Divider Build and Install Crew Choice Event Set Up CCE Preparation Crew Choice Event Reminder Standard Measures 4-Day Saliva Collection Recharging Samsung tablet in 63S - end Reminder to Clear IMV Inlet Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 01:56:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Students wearing face masks talk in their high school in Glyfada, a southern suburb of Athens, Greece, on April 12, 2021. In Greece, high school students returned to classrooms nationwide on Monday after five months of remote learning, although the nationwide lockdown, which started on Nov. 7, 2020, is still in force. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) LONDON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Parts of Europe on Monday edged further toward normalcy as the situation improved in their countries despite concerns over the third wave of coronavirus on the European continent. Experts have warned that European countries could risk a repeat of the disaster if the lockdowns were lifted too soon or the public fail to stick to rules. UK: A MAJOR STEP TOWARDS FREEDOM In England, all shops are reopening from Monday along with hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services. Restaurants and pubs are allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors. Meanwhile, gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers can all open. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the latest progress as "a major step forward in our roadmap to freedom". "I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember 'hands, face, space and fresh air' to suppress COVID as we push on with our vaccination programme," he said in a statement. Britain appears currently to be in a strong position, as reaffirmed by the government, with almost 40 million combined first and second vaccine doses now administered. However, British scientists have warned that the government is risking a third wave of COVID-19 by easing the lockdown too soon as some parts of Britain still have higher rates of infection. "We need to tackle that issue urgently or the virus will come back again," Leeds University medical school Associate Professor Stephen Griffin told the Observer newspaper. "It's worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them," said Griffin. Also on Monday, Ireland started to ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions as scheduled. As a result, people are allowed to travel freely within the county where they live or within 20 kilometers from their home, with outdoor gatherings permitted for no more than two households, in-classroom education for all primary and secondary school students resumed, and all residential construction projects reopened. A PRECARIOUS EUROPE The situation may be more precarious in other parts of Europe, especially on the European continent. Major countries like France, Germany and Italy have tightened restrictions to fight a resurge of coronavirus as the vaccination rates in these countries remain relatively low. In Germany, for instance, 13,245 new infection cases and 99 new deaths were reported within the past day, according to the latest data from the country's disease control agency Robert Koch Institute (RKI). German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday: "The third wave (of the pandemic) is perhaps the toughest one for us." She stressed the need to strengthen vaccination and testing to "break the third wave". A week after France entered its third lockdown, the number of new COVID-19 cases "remains very high," Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Sunday. "We can expect that after a period of stabilisation comes the fall. But for that, we must keep going." On Sunday, the cumulative number of coronavirus infections in France surged by 34,895 and another 176 people have died, data from health authorities showed. However, countries, including Greece, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, are moving to ease their lockdowns. The 11-day period of strict lockdown in Slovenia ended on Monday as the country entered the red tier of coronavirus restrictions under an overhauled traffic light system. The night curfew is gone after nearly six months and schools are once again open along with most service businesses. Slovenian Health Minister Janez Poklukar has said that while the lockdown is being relaxed, the country is well in the third wave of the epidemic, whose extent is difficult to fully predict. Meanwhile, shops in Serbia started to reopen from Monday, in addition to the already opening of restaurants providing service outdoors. In Greece, high school students returned to classrooms nationwide on Monday after five months of remote learning, although the nationwide lockdown, which started on Nov. 7, 2020, is still in force. With the self-testing and the acceleration of the vaccination program the country aims to start lifting the final restrictions in May, officials have said. The Finnish government has published a plan for possible easing of current restrictions, which will be implemented as the country's anti-coronavirus efforts pay off. Under the plan, the total closure of restaurants in high infection areas, including the capital Helsinki, will end in April. Primary schools and secondary schools will also return to classroom teaching in April. In the Czech Republic, the state of emergency ended on Sunday, which means the start of movement between districts and the end to the current night curfew on Monday. Meanwhile, lower graders of primary schools started returning to schools while selected shops and services were allowed to reopen, In Latvia, as the state of emergency ended on Wednesday last week, retailers were rushing to reopen their stores to shoppers. In Malta, childcare centres, kindergartens and primary schools reopened on Monday, to be followed by middle schools and secondary schools later this week. Sarah Cassar, 37, a Maltese teacher and a mother of three, voiced "mixed feelings" about the return of her children to the classroom, even though she was happy to see her kids going back to school and interact with other children. "I am rather worried about the possibility of getting infected in class...I am also concerned about the rate of transmission within households. According to the health authorities, that is where the new cases are spreading most. We need more discipline," she told Xinhua. "I really hope we get this pandemic under control and everyone can start living their lives again," she added. 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 coronavirus vaccines. Enditem Machine learning adoption exploded over the past decade, driven in part by the rise of cloud computing, which has made high performance computing and storage more accessible to all businesses. As vendors integrate machine learning into products across industries, and users rely on the output of its algorithms in their decision making, security experts warn of adversarial attacks designed to abuse the technology. Most social networking platforms, online video platforms, large shopping sites, search engines and other services have some sort of recommendation system based on machine learning. The movies and shows that people like on Netflix, the content that people like or share on Facebook, the hashtags and likes on Twitter, the products consumers buy or view on Amazon, the queries users type in Google Search are all fed back into these sites' machine learning models to make better and more accurate recommendations. It's not news that attackers try to influence and skew these recommendation systems by using fake accounts to upvote, downvote, share or promote certain products or content. Users can buy services to perform such manipulation on the underground market as well as "troll farms" used in disinformation campaigns to spread fake news. "In theory, if an adversary has knowledge about how a specific user has interacted with a system, an attack can be crafted to target that user with a recommendation such as a YouTube video, malicious app, or imposter account to follow," Andrew Patel, a researcher with the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence at security vendor F-Secure explained in a blog post. "As such, algorithmic manipulation can be used for a variety of purposes including disinformation, phishing scams, altering of public opinion, promotion of unwanted content, and discrediting individuals or brands. You can even pay someone to manipulate Googles search autocomplete functionality." What is data poisoning? Data poisoning or model poisoning attacks involve polluting a machine learning model's training data. Data poisoning is considered an integrity attack because tampering with the training data impacts the model's ability to output correct predictions. Other types of attacks can be similarly classified based on their impact: Confidentiality, where the attackers can infer potentially confidential information about the training data by feeding inputs to the model Availability, where the attackers disguise their inputs to trick the model in order to evade correct classification Replication, where attackers can reverse-engineer the model in order to replicate it and analyze it locally to prepare attacks or exploit it for their own financial gain The difference between an attack that is meant to evade a model's prediction or classification and a poisoning attack is persistence: with poisoning, the attacker's goal is to get their inputs to be accepted as training data. The length of the attack also differs because it depends on the model's training cycle; it might take weeks for the attacker to achieve their poisoning goal. Data poisoning can be achieved either in a blackbox scenario against classifiers that rely on user feedback to update their learning or in a whitebox scenario where the attacker gains access to the model and its private training data, possibly somewhere in the supply chain if the training data is collected from multiple sources. Data poisoning examples In a cybersecurity context, the target could be a system that uses machine learning to detect network anomalies that could indicate suspicious activity. If an attacker understands that such a model is in place, they can attempt to slowly introduce data points that decrease the accuracy of that model, so that eventually the things that they want to do won't be flagged as anomalous anymore, Patel tells CSO. This is also known as model skewing. A real-world example of this is attacks against the spam filters used by email providers. In a 2018 blog post on machine learning attacks, Elie Bursztein, who leads the anti-abuse research team at Google said: "In practice, we regularly see some of the most advanced spammer groups trying to throw the Gmail filter off-track by reporting massive amounts of spam emails as not spam [...] Between the end of Nov 2017 and early 2018, there were at least four malicious large-scale attempts to skew our classifier." Another example involves Googles VirusTotal scanning service, which many antivirus vendors use to augment their own data. While attackers have been known to test their malware against VirusTotal before deploying it in the wild, thereby evading detection, they can also use it to engage in more persistent poisoning. In fact, in 2015 there were reports that intentional sample poisoning attacks through VirusTotal were performed to cause antivirus vendors to detect benign files as malicious. No easy fix The main problem with data poisoning is that it's not easy to fix. Models are retrained with newly collected data at certain intervals, depending on their intended use and their owner's preference. Since poisoning usually happens over time, and over some number of training cycles, it can be hard to tell when prediction accuracy starts to shift. Reverting the poisoning effects would require a time-consuming historical analysis of inputs for the affected class to identify all the bad data samples and remove them. Then a version of the model from before the attack started would need to be retrained. When dealing with large quantities of data and a large number of attacks, however, retraining in such a way is simply not feasible and the models never get fixed, according to F-Secure's Patel. "There's this whole notion in academia right now that I think is really cool and not yet practical, but we'll get there, that's called machine unlearning," Hyrum Anderson, principal architect for Trustworthy Machine Learning at Microsoft, tells CSO. "For GPT-3 [a language prediction model developed by OpenAI], the cost was $16 million or something to train the model once. If it were poisoned and identified after the fact, it could be really expensive to find the poisoned data and retrain. But if I could unlearn, if I could just say 'Hey, for these data, undo their effects and my weights,' that could be a significantly cheaper way to build a defense. I think practical solutions for machine unlearning are still years away, though. So yes, the solution at this point is to retrain with good data and that can be super hard to accomplish or expensive." Prevent and detect Given the difficulties in fixing poisoned models, model developers need to focus on measures that could either block attack attempts or detect malicious inputs before the next training cycle happensthings like input validity checking, rate limiting, regression testing, manual moderation and using various statistical techniques to detect anomalies. For example, a small group of accounts, IP addresses, or users shouldn't account for a large portion of the model training data. Restrictions can be placed on how many inputs provided by a unique user are accepted into the training data or with what weight. Newly trained classifiers can be compared to previous ones to compare their outputs by using dark launchesrolling them out to only a small subset of users. In his blog post, Google's Bursztein also recommended building a golden dataset that any retrained model must accurately predict, which can help detect regressions. According to Anderson, data poisoning is just a special case of a larger issue called data drift that happens in systems. Everyone gets bad data for a variety of reasons, and there is a lot of research out there on how to deal with data drift as well as tools to detect significant changes in operational data and model performance, including by large cloud computing providers. Azure Monitor and Amazon SageMaker are examples of services that include such capabilities. "If your model's performance after a retraining takes a dramatic hit, whether or not it's a poisoning attack or just a bad batch of data is probably immaterial and your system can detect that," Anderson says. "If you manage to fix that, then you can either root out that targeted poisoning attack or the bad batch of data that inadvertently got inside your data aperture when you trained your model. So those kinds of tools are a good start and they're kind of in this AI risk management framework that's beginning to materialize in the industry." To perform data poisoning, attackers also need to gain information about how the model works, so it's important to leak as little information as possible and have strong access controls in place for both the model and the training data. In this respect, machine learning defenses are tied to general security practices and hygienethings like restricting permissions, enabling logging, and using file and data versioning. "A lot of security in AI and machine learning has to do with very basic read/write permissions for data or access to models or systems or servers," Anderson says. "It's a case where a small over permissive data provider service or file in some directory could lead to a poisoning attack." Go on the attack Just as organizations run regular penetration tests against their networks and systems to discover weaknesses, they should expand this to the machine learning context, as well as treating machine learning as part of the security of the larger system or application. "I think the obvious thing that developers should do with building a model is to actually attack it themselves to understand how it can be attacked and by understanding how it can be attacked, they can then attempt to build defenses against those attacks," Patel says. "Your detection is going to be based on what you found from the red teaming so when you put together attacks against the model, you can then understand what the data points would look like, and then accordingly, you would build mechanisms that are able to discard the data points that look like poisoning." Anderson is actively involved with this at Microsoft. In a recent talk at the USENIX Enigma conference, he presented a red team exercise at Microsoft where his team managed to reverse-engineer a machine learning model that was being used by a resource provisioning service to ensure efficient allocation and mapping of virtual resources to physical hardware. Without having direct access to the model, the team managed to find enough information about how it collected data to create of a local model replica and test evasion attacks against it without being detected by the live system. This allowed them to identify what combinations of virtual machines, databases, their sizes and replication factors, at what times of day and in what regions they should request from the real system to ensure with a high probability that the machine learning model would overprovision the resources they requested on physical hosts that also hosted high-availability services. With those over-provisioned resources, they launched a noisy neighbor attack with payloads that had high CPU and RAM usage to cause a denial of service attack against the high-availability services also hosted on the same hardware. "The attack had striking similarities to adversary activity on any IT system," Anderson concluded in the talk. "There was exfiltration, evasion, and execution, finally ending up with the impact of service availability." The Biden administration announced last Friday that it was significantly easing restrictions on contact between US and Taiwanese officials, effectively tearing up protocols in place since the US and China established formal diplomatic relations in 1979. The move is a major step in undermining the One China policyaccepted at the time by the USthat effectively recognised Beijing as the legitimate government of all China including Taiwan. The announcement makes clear that the Biden administration intends to intensify the aggressive US confrontation with China on all frontsdiplomatic, economic and militarythat began with the Obama administrations pivot to Asia, and was stepped up under Trump. The Trump administration took a series of provocative steps toward strengthening US ties with Taiwan, including increased arms sales. In its final days in office, it lifted all restrictions on contact with Taiwanese officials, civilian and military. Last Fridays announcement followed a review of the Trump administrations policy. A short US State Department press release hailed Taiwan as a force for good in the international community, saying the new guidelines would encourage US engagement with Taiwan and reflected our deepening unofficial relationship. While it paid lip-service to the One China policy, the new protocols clearly open the floodgates for far closer ties. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, center, walks to her inauguration ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, May 20, 2020 (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) Details of the new arrangements were not made public in the State Department release, but some at least, in all likelihood the least controversial, were leaked to the media. According to the Financial Times, US officials will be able to regularly host Taiwanese officials at federal government buildings and to meet their counterparts at Taiwans economic and cultural offices, which serve as de facto embassies and consulates. US officials also will be able to attend events at Twin Oaks, a 17-acre estate owned and used by Taiwan. Some restrictions remain in place, including the flying of the Taiwanese flag during meetings with US officials. The Biden administration is justifying its closer ties with Taiwan by ramping up allegations of Chinese aggression and unsubstantiated claims that Beijing is actively considering a military invasion of Taiwan. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province that it is seeking to reunite with peacefully, but has repeatedly warned that it will respond militarily to any unilateral declaration of independence by Taipei. In an interview with NBCs Meet the Press yesterday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that what is of real concern to us, is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the Straits. He warned it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the status quo in the western Pacific by force. In reality, the US is in the process of upending the status quo, by calling into question the basis of US-China relations that have maintained a fragile peace in the Taiwan Strait for the past 40 years. Washington is now strengthening relations with Taiwanwhich it acknowledged is part of Chinaand ignoring Chinese objections. The allegations of Chinese aggression are being cynically used to justify greater US collaboration with Taiwanmoves that are designed to provoke a response from China. Fears in Beijing that the US will transform Taiwan into a base of operations against China have been compounded by the Trump administrations actions, including the first visit to Taiwan by a cabinet-level US officialHealth Secretary Alex Azarlast year, and US pressure on the hi-tech giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to stop selling computer chips to Chinas Huawei. These concerns have been compounded by Taiwans ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which advocates greater independence for Taiwan. The Biden administration has taken a series of steps that signal its intention to rapidly strengthen ties with Taiwan, including: * Biden became the first US president to invite the de-facto Taiwanese ambassador to Washington to attend his presidential inauguration. Hsiao Bi-khim attended the swearing-in ceremony in January. * In March, Joseph Young, the acting US ambassador to Japan, welcomed his Taiwanese counterpart to his Tokyo residence and publicised the visit on Twitter. * Also last month, the US ambassador to Palau, accompanied by the president of Palau, became the first serving US ambassador to visit Taiwan since 1979. Palau is one of just 15 nations around the world to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei rather than Beijing. * On March 30, the American Institute in Taiwan, which functions as an unofficial US embassy in Taipei, along with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, convened a virtual forum of high-level US and Taiwanese officials to discuss expanding Taiwans participation in UN and other international foramoves that Beijing vigorously opposes. * As reported last week to the New York Times by Bonnie Glaser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Secretary of State Blinken recently urged Paraguays president in a phone call to maintain his countrys formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. In other words, the Biden administration is acting in direct opposition to the One China policy by actively promoting ties with Taiwan. * Most provocatively, Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced last month that it is preparing to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the United States regarding the collaboration of their coast guards. While coast guard is distinct from the navy, the memorandum takes on a quasi-military character and is directed in particular against China. These apparently small steps are in fact significant breaches of longstanding protocols put in place after 1979 to prevent confrontation and conflict in what is the most explosive flashpoint in Asia. Behind the scenes, moreover, there is a push in military and strategic circles in Washington for the consolidation of far stronger ties with Taiwan and an upending of relations with China. In 1979, as the Carter administration recognised the One China policy and established diplomatic relations with China, Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which Carter signed into law. The Act provided for the sales of defensive weapons to Taiwan and offered a vague guarantee to come to Taiwans aid in the event of Chinese aggression. Successive US administrations attempted to square the circle by maintaining what was declared to be strategic ambiguityChina could not know if the US would back Taiwan or not in the event of war, while at the same time Washington pressured Taipei not to declare independence and provoke war. Now there is a clamour for strategic claritythat is, a formal guarantee by the US to support Taiwan in a conflict with China. For instance, Richard Haass, president of the influential Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in an essay in Foreign Affairs last September that strategic ambiguity had run its course. He continued: The time has come for the United States to introduce a policy of strategic clarity: one that makes explicit that the United States would respond to any Chinese use of force against Taiwan. The Biden administration has not formally adopted such a formula. When asked yesterday on NBC whether the US would respond militarily to Chinese action against Taiwan, Blinken avoided the question, simply saying: All I can tell you is we have a serious commitment to Taiwan being able to defend itself. In fact, the Biden administration is already moving in that direction, with a declaration shortly after Bidens inauguration that it has a rock solid commitment to Taiwan. Far from lowering the dangers of a war with Taiwan over China, as Haass argued, closer military cooperation between the US and Taiwan only heightens tensions and the risks of conflict. That is exactly what the Pentagon is preparing for as its pushes for a huge increase in military spending in the Indo-Pacific in preparation for war against China, including the stationing of offensive intermediate range missiles on the first island chain around China, which includes Japan, the Philippines and notably, Taiwan. Pennsylvania is accelerating the final phase of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout: Starting Tuesday, everyone 16 and older will be eligible to schedule an appointment. Phase 2 was supposed to begin next Monday, April 19, but Gov. Tom Wolf said the coronavirus is forcing the state to advance its plans. We need to maintain acceleration of the vaccine rollout, especially as case counts and hospitalization rates have increased, Wolf said in a news release issued late Monday morning announcing the change. Prior phases Phase 1A, 1B and 1C focused on essential workers, seniors and those with serious health conditions, gradually expanding eligibility to new groups of workers. The state entered Phase 1B a week ago. Phase 1C, which includes food service, media and government workers, just launched on Monday. The first shots arrived in December. As of Friday, more than 6 million doses of different vaccine brands have been administered across the state. Some require two doses to be fully effective. At least one-fifth of Pennsylvanias approximately 13 million people are fully vaccinated, having received all required doses. The Lehigh Valleys two counties have the same proportion of fully vaccinated residents, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. (Cant see the chart? Click here.) More than one-third of Pennsylvanians have received at least one shot. Recent weeks have seen more new Pa. coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, fueled in part by the prevalence of more contagious variants. In the week ending Sunday, Pennsylvania averaged 4,236 new cases a day, up 16% from two weeks ago. At least 2,460 people are now hospitalized with COVID-19, a 24% increase from two weeks ago. LVHN staff check on people waiting to be released after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination on March 27, 2021, at Northampton Community College. Pa. COVID vaccines will be available to all adults starting Tuesday. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com Vaccine appointments in the Lehigh Valley can be made with the two major hospital networks, city health bureaus or a number of local pharmacies appointments are based on availability, capacity and supply. Meanwhile, health organizations have been partnering with community groups to expand access to underserved populations. Hospitals have worked with churches to get the vaccine to hesitant minority communities. Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley recently received a $1.6 million federal grant that will provide mobile access across the region over the next three years. The statement from Wolfs administration said the state is working with local agencies to assist vulnerable seniors. Pa. COVID vaccines will be available to all adults starting Tuesday. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. It's been nearly 70 years since he was killed in a Korean War prison camp and only a month since the announcement that his remains were identified. Now, Father Emil Kapaun's remains will be laid to rest in a place chosen by his family. Kapaun will be temporarily laid to rest this fall in a crypt inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at the corner of Central and Broadway in Wichita, according to nephew Ray Kapaun, who made the announcement on Saturday. "We felt that this would not only provide a secure place, but also provide a safe and suitable place for all to come to visit and venerate his remains," Ray Kapaun wrote on Facebook. In a phone interview, Ray Kapaun said the Diocese of Wichita is going to build a place to keep his uncle's remains in the cathedral. He said other soldiers who were captive with his uncle asked for Emil Kapaun to be buried in the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. "He's a Kansas boy and we felt he (should) stay here," Ray Kapaun said. "We are definitely going to have a funeral mass for him." Where his uncle's remains permanently end up depend on the outcome of the ongoing process toward sainthood, a process that Ray Kapuan said was put on hold because of the pandemic. Emil Kapaun's remains are expected to draw a crowd. People go to visit Pilsen (Kansas) since it was the home of Kapaun, according to Rev. John Hotze. Outside of Kapaun's native St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Pilsen is a statue of Kapaun lending a hand to a wounded soldier as they made the long trek to captivity after being captured by the Chinese. "We have to anticipate and we have to plan that that will be even more so now that we have his remains," Hotze previously told The Eagle. Kapaun was captured by Chinese forces in November 1950 while serving as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. While in captivity, Kapaun continued to care for his fellow soldiers while resisting his captors, including conducting a sunrise service on Easter morning, 1951. He died alone in a prison camp hospital about two months later. He was 35. In March, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) announced that Kapaun's remains had been identified. Kapaun was among 848 unidentified soldiers returned to the U.S. as part of Operation Glory, an exchange of war dead, in 1954 a year after the truce ending the Korean War was signed. Kapaun's body was disinterred from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in 2019 as part of a plan to exhume and identify all remaining unknown Korean War veterans resting in the national cemetery in Hawaii. The painstaking process to identify remains, in a laboratory at Hickam Air Force Base, included using X-rays, and appealing to dental records and DNA records. There's no question that the remains tested are Kapaun's, an official previously told The Eagle. "We, like I am sure most of everyone else, believe that finding him intact is itself a miracle," Ray Kapaun wrote. The cathedral where he will be placed is part of the Diocese of Wichita, which has noted evidence of possible miracles attributed to Kapaun in its push for him to be canonized a saint. Kapaun, whom Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita, is named for was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor in 2013. This article is written by Michael Stavola from The Wichita Eagle and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. VANCOUVER, BC, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Defense Metals Corp. ("Defense Metals") (TSXV: DEFN) (OTCQB: DFMTF) (FSE: 35D) is pleased to announce that it has recently been notified by its Asian based advisor Golden Dragon Capital Limited ("GDC") that is has received requests from two leading global Rare Earth Element (REE) smelting and separator enterprises to provide samples of Wicheeda REE mineral concentrate for the purposes of evaluation prior to entering discussions with respect to the negotiation of an initial memorandum of understanding (MOU) and subsequent potential mineral concentrate offtake agreements. These requests represent the third and fourth REE concentrate evaluation requests received by the Company to date, and discussions are currently ongoing with several other parties. Defense Metals is currently advancing the road accessible Wicheeda Critical Rare Earth Element (REE) Property, which is located close to infrastructure approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Prince George, British Columbia (BC). The Wicheeda project has indicated mineral resources of 4,890,000 tonnes averaging 3.02% LREO (Light Rare Earth Elements) and inferred mineral resources of 12,100,000 tonnes averaging 2.90% LREO1. Concentrate sample requests are significant given that these rare earth smelting and separator enterprises have previously executed capital investment, in addition to REE mineral concentrate product offtake MOU agreements, with multiple international third party REE miners and explorers. Craig Taylor, CEO of Defense Metals, stated: "We have now received four requests for evaluation samples of our high-grade Wicheeda REE mineral concentrate from Asian-based REE refiners. Defense Metals believes this underscores growing international market demand for readily accessible, high-quality, North American REE products. Discussions with potential offtake partners have the potential to yield benefits through opportunities for direct project funding, technical services agreements, and access to the full downstream rare earths value chain." About the Wicheeda REE Property The 1,708 hectare Wicheeda REE Property, located approximately 80 km northeast of the city of Prince George, British Columbia, is readily accessible by all-weather gravel roads and is nearby to infrastructure, including power transmission lines, the CN railway and major highways. Geologically, the property is situated in the Foreland Belt and within the Rocky Mountain Trench, a major continental geologic feature. The Foreland Belt contains part of a large alkaline igneous province, stretching from the Canadian Cordillera to the southwestern United States, which includes several carbonatite and alkaline intrusive complexes hosting the Aley (niobium), Rock Canyon (REE), and Wicheeda (REE) deposits. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release as it relates to the Wicheeda REE Property has been reviewed and approved by Kristopher J. Raffle, P.Geo. (BC) Principal and Consultant of APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, AB, a director of Defense Metals and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Raffle verified the data disclosed which includes a review of the analytical and test data underlying the information and opinions contained therein. About Defense Metals Corp. Defense Metals Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition of mineral deposits containing metals and elements commonly used in the electric power market, military, national security and the production of "GREEN" energy technologies, such as, high strength alloys and rare earth magnets. Defense Metals has an option to acquire 100% of the 1,708 hectare Wicheeda Rare Earth Element Property located near Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Defense Metals Corp. trades in Canada under the symbol "DEFN" on the TSX Venture Exchange, in the United States, under "DFMTF" on the OTCQB and in Germany on the Frankfurt Exchange under "35D". Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information This news release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, without limitation, statements relating to potential MOU and offtake agreements for REE mineral concentrate, potential transactions with REE processors, obtaining government export permits, plans for its Wicheeda Property, the advancement and development of the Wicheeda Property, expected demand for REE products, the technical, financial and business prospects of the Company, its project and other matters. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of rare earth elements, the ability to achieve its goals, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, adverse weather conditions, failure to maintain or obtain all necessary government permits, approvals and authorizations, failure to maintain community acceptance (including First Nations), decrease in the price of rare earth elements, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate increase in costs, litigation, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law. 1 Technical Report on the Wicheeda Property, British Columbia, effective June 27, 2020 and prepared by APEX Geoscience Ltd. (Steven J. Nicholls, B.A. Sc., MAIG and Kristopher J. Raffle, B.Sc., P.Geo.) is available under Defense Metals Corp.'s profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) SOURCE Defense Metals Corp. Vin Diesel has reportedly gotten off to a rocky start with his temporary neighbors in the Dominican Republic after they complained about his overly aggressive security detail. The 53-year-old actor - whose real name is Mark Sinclair - is currently spending time in the Dominican Republic, where he's filming part of the upcoming sequel Fast & Furious 9. But his 12 security guards have inconvenienced the nearby community, according to a letter his next-door neighbor sent to him that was obtained by TMZ. Too Fast & Furious! Vin Diesel, 53, received a letter from his neighbors in the Dominican Republic complaining of his aggressive security detail, TMZ reported on Sunday According to the neighbor, they were moved to write Diesel a letter to complain about his security after the guards blocked traffic and pedestrians from traveling down the nearby road while the actor and his children went for a bike ride on Easter. 'For a few weeks I have personally witnessed and heard from fellow homeowners the unprecedented and abusive display of your security people around our homes and beach,' they wrote. 'Interrogating us, blocking our street with five or six SUV's. Stopping residents while walking when you ride your bicycle.' They continued, saying that over the past decade the homeowners 'have never endured and suffered such absurd comportment by anyone renting a home in our very small, private and very secure community.' The neighbor mentioned that most of the people in the area hailed from major international cities, which they seemed to suggest meant they were less of a threat than native Dominicans. Hassle: The neighbor blamed Diesel's security for 'Interrogating us, blocking our street with five or six SUV's' and 'stopping residents while walking when you ride your bicycle'' seen with his children in 2019 Standstill: At issue was an Easter bike ride with his family in which his security allegedly stopped all pedestrians and vehicles from driving past; seen in 2019 with his children and partner Paloma Jimenez Privacy: Vin and his family are staying in an exclusive residence in Juanillo Beach (playa Juanillo), Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (pictured above) 'You should know that you are visiting a community where no one is a threat to you, or anyone else that visits us,' they continued. The neighbor lambasted Diesel for instituting his 'own personal and arbitrary rules' for the area and said he likely couldn't dictate those rules back in Los Angeles. They ended their letter with an olive branch of sorts by suggesting that the Guardians Of The Galaxy actor might not be aware of the tactics of his security team. A source close to Diesel told the publication that he has been going to the Dominican Republic for the past two decades and has had good experiences with the locals so far. Helping out: A source close to him claimed that his Easter ride had so much security because his family was there. They said they gave Easter baskets to local workers They also claimed that his Easter ride only had so much security because his family was joining him, and they tried to brush aside concerns by claiming that the family was giving out Easter baskets to workers in the area. According to the source, Diesel didn't intend to cause problems for his neighbors, as he's a big fan of the area, which is why he sought to bring his Fast & Furious 9 production there. They also mentioned that the security team is all made up of Dominican guards, presumably to suggest that hiring locals makes up for the alleged bad behavior. To mark Easter and his family bike ride, Diesel shared a black and white photo of him and his son Vincent with two older boys on their bicycles. 'No candy without cardio Haha,' he wrote. 'Happy holidays to our global family.' Job creator? The source also claimed Diesel only hires Dominicans for his security crew. He also brought production on Fast & Furious 9 to the island country He's also been documenting the Fast & Furious 9 production, most recently with an image of the completely masked crew assembled around him outdoors. 'Great week of filming with my Dominican Crew. Gracias por todo mi gente! All love, always,' he captioned the photo, which was posted in mid-March. The production will be a family affair of sorts, following reports that his 10-year-old son Vincent will play a young version of his character Dominic Toretto in flashbacks. In addition to his son, Diesel also shares daughters Hania, 13, and Pauline, six, with his partner Paloma Jimenez, with whom he's been in a relationship since 2007. About New Jersey borrowing $4.5 billion last year, at the height of the pandemic, and now discovering that the state is flush with cash: How can anyone question Gov. Phil for Murphy borrowing money to balance the budget? When that decision was made, all the indications were that we would have a large deficit. I do question why that loan, consisting mainly of non-callable bonds, doesnt allow early repayment but it doesnt. Now, with federal stimulus funds and state tax collections rebounding, the state expects to have a large balance at the end of the fiscal year on June 30. My suggestion for using that extra money would be to use half of it to pay down other long-term debts, which can be prepaid. The other half should be put into the states public employee pension fund, which is among the most underfunded in the nation. An extra deposit into the fund right now might allow our many retirees to get a small increase in their pension payments, which they have not gotten in many years. Imagine you have not gotten a raise in many years after spending a lifetime working for less money than if you had worked in the private sector. Our retired workers deserve a raise, and this course could make that possible. Robert Lazarowitz, Colonia Use Central America to outmaneuver China I read Paul Mulshines April 11 column about immigration from Central America. I almost agreed with him, until he suggested some solutions. As someone who interacts with Central and South Americans daily, I agree that U.S. drug problems cannot be solved by sanctioning these countries. For every country that agreed to control production of abused drugs, three other countries would double that production. Where there is a demand, there will be a supplier. I agree with Mulshine that the solution should be at the U.S. level. But he then writes, The same applies to our immigration problem, that is, Central Americans will keep heading north as long as they can do better economically than in their home countries. I totally disagree with this premise. Remember that China was one of the poorest countries in the world 45 years ago. After they changed their philosophy of commerce, they become the second biggest economy in the world. How did they do it? By outmaneuvering America. China offered the cheapest labor and cheapest items money could buy. We are now inundated with their products to our delight and China controls production of those products. So why cant the United States use Chinas model in Central America? Some of the cheapest labor in the world is right in our backyard. U.S. distributors could direct production in Central America of items they now import from China. Things we buy would be even cheaper, with lower transportation costs. This policy should not only should help solve our immigration problem, but also cut these countries dependency on the drug trade. We know that these countries suffer from climate changes that do not allow them to rely on agriculture as they used to. Just dont give the Central American politicians too much money. Julio E. Parra, Edison Weve trained a generation of skilled killers I was dismayed at the conclusions about mass shootings proposed by columnist Will Bunch in Can we stop killing sprees if we wont talk about the crisis of Americas young men? The column, originally from the Philadelphia Inquirer, appeared in the Star-Ledgers April 11 Perspective section. The problem is not, as Bunch writes, that a grievance culture has emerged and that we must seek ways to teach empathy for this group. We have for 50 years downplayed the effects of violence portrayed in video games. We have an entire generation, maybe two, that can sit down and, in real-life scenarios, shoot to kill with wild abandon. Being raised in the 1950s and 1960s, my friends and I played with plastic army men and shot rubber bands from homemade wooden guns. Do you think that might be a problem? I do! Ken Hillman, Whitehouse Station Georgias election fraud had a singular source Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed, after the states GOP-led legislature quickly passed, an election reform law, which they said was needed to protect future elections from voter fraud. It is interesting that they rushed to do this because their own state officials and the courts certified that the 2020 election in Georgia was valid and without any significant voter fraud. The one and only glaring attempt at voter fraud was when President Donald Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to pressure him to change the states certified vote total just enough to give him the win in that state over Joe Biden. The phone call reportedly lasted an hour, and Trump urged Raffensperger to find him the needed votes. Trump reportedly told Raffensperger that he would be praised when the right answer came out. Georgias new voter law is simply an extension of Trumps groundless voter fraud claims, and it does nothing to address Trumps improper, if not illegal, attempt to overturn the will of the Georgia voters last November. Carl F. Young, Clark Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. "Drivers that install safety devices in their vehicles will pay lower insurance rates. However, before installing any safety devices, drivers should call their insurers to check what devices are approved.", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that presents several safety devices that will help drivers obtain cheaper car insurance rates. For more info and free quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/safety-devices-that-lower-car-insurance-rates/ Drivers that are looking to purchase car insurance, should ensure that they will get a policy that offers lots of protection for a small price. Although for many this sounds hard to achieve, there are several methods to obtain lower premiums. For example, drivers that install several safety devices in their vehicles will pay less on their insurance. Drivers can save car insurance money with the help of the next safety devices: Rear-view cameras. Drivers that install a rear-view camera on their vehicles will be able to watch on a monitor how they back up and see if there are any obstacles behind the vehicle. GPS systems. Usually, a GPS system is used to guide people to go from one location to another. However, these systems can work a little differently. Many drivers are using GPS tracking systems. These tracking devices are installed in hidden locations so that the thieves will have a hard time finding them. With the help of these systems, car owners will always know where are their vehicles. If a car fitted with such a device gets stolen, then the authorities will have no troubles to recover the vehicle. For this reason, the insurers will offer a generous discount to drivers that have GPS-based tracking systems in their vehicles. Anti-theft devices. There are many aftermarket anti-theft devices that drivers can install in their vehicles. Kill switches, alarm systems, armored collars, and other anti-theft devices can help drivers pay lower insurance rates. Airbags. Although airbags are a standard feature for all new vehicles, some older vehicles are not equipped with airbags. Drivers should ensure that their cars have airbags installed in order to take advantage of a discount. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/ Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. TEL AVIV, Israel, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This morning, the first UAE Ambassador to Israel, His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja, visited Start-Up Nation Central Headquarters in Tel Aviv to launch an official partnership to further advance the collaboration focused on innovation and entrepreneurship between the two nations. The plan is to create a joint task-force aimed at bringing people together, share ideas and generate economic value for both countries. New UAE Ambassador to Israel and Start-Up Nation Central launch a joint task-force to advance technological innovation between the two nations. The Ambassador and Prof. Eugene Kandel, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, discussed areas of collaboration, including joint events, conferences, as well as ongoing meetings and programs to help both sides learn about each other's tech ecosystems. The teams from the embassy and Start-Up Nation Central also discussed ways of connecting Emirati and Israeli companies and entrepreneurs, especially in the fields of fintech, agri-food tech, education, cyber, education, digital health, energy, petrochimicals, cleantech and sustainability. The parties agreed to leverage the UAE-IL Tech Zone community as a part of the new relationship. Launched in December 2020, the UAE-IL Tech Zone is an innovation community designed to enable practical collaboration between the two ecosystems. With already over 1,000 members, the UAE-IL Tech Zone invites entrepreneurs, senior business executives, government officials and technology companies to join this community and cultivate the talent and resources shared by the UAE and Israel. His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja noted: "In terms of tech cooperation there is an avenue of opportunities between the UAE and Israel just waiting to be harnessed. We are here to identify what sectors can prosper in the field of technological innovation and bridge together key partnerships that will thrive in the world market with contagious success. "Israel's tech innovation ecosystem coupled with the future forward drive of the UAE government, are essential elements to accelerating the success of incubators through the formation of international partnerships". Prof. Eugene Kandel, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central noted, "We had the pleasure and honor to host His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja and his team at our offices. We are proud to partner with the Ambassador and the UAE government to help advance the collaboration between our two countries. Start-Up Nation Central is an objective gateway to Israeli innovation tech ecosystem, and we are excited to play a major role in taking advantage of the historic opportunity presented by the Abraham Accords to connect UAE and Israel around technological innovation and create an immense value." Established in 2013, Start-Up Nation Central is a non-profit organization that helps tackle global challenges by connecting Israeli technological solutions with multinational corporations, governments, investors, and NGOs from around the world. Start-Up Nation Central's flagship tool is the Finder a free online platform for identifying and engaging Israeli tech organizations based on customers' specific interests. This Innovation Discovery Platform is a comprehensive knowledge hub on Israeli startups, investors, acceleration hubs, multinational corporations, and technology- based innovation associated with academic research. The open-source platform provides up-to-date information and insights into thousands of active Israeli tech companies. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485612/Start_Up_Nation_Central.jpg SOURCE Start-Up Nation Central (SNC) The Chief Executive Officer of Africa Energy Consortium, Kwame Jantuah, is warning that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) risk losing power in the next election if it does not immediately solve the current power crisis. Power consumers across the country have had to grapple with intermittent power outages raising fears the country has returned to the era of power rationing (dumsor). Despite the frustration, the Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has attributed the current situation to ongoing maintenance works. Speaking on The Forum, a current affairs and news analysis programme on Asaase Radio, the CEO of Africa Energy Consortium said government must fix the problem within the first two years to avoid defeat in 2024. Nobody should take the people of Ghana for granted, although by the end of 2016 majority of dumsor was solved. The people of Ghana took the NDC out because of the situation they went through, he said. Jantuah added: And this government, if they dont solve dumsor by the mid of their reign, they will go out of power, because the people of Ghana have given you the mandate to serve us and to make sure whatever the people need is done. Realistic tariffs Jantuah also wants the government to desist from playing politics with energy tariff, calling for a national forum to help review the current regime to ensure consumers pay realistic tariff. We should look at the tariff system. We should start telling Ghanaians this system will collapse if we dont pay realistic tariffs, subsidies today wont help so we should look at the tariff system, and it is time for that discussion. He added: And if that discussion is going to happen, it should not be only in the caucus of the NPP, get all stakeholders round the table and let us discuss it and make sure that whatever results come from that discussion is permanent and can be continuous. Source: asaaseradio Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Flash The Philippines and the United States will start their annual joint military exercise dubbed "Balikatan" on Monday, the Philippine military chief said on Sunday. This year's exercise is a "scaled-down version" of the previous drills due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Philippine defense and military authorities. Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said this year's "Balikatan" will only involve 1,700 troops -- 700 from the U.S. and 1,000 from the Philippines. "Some portions of the exercises will be virtual, but we also have minimal physical contact. There will also be actual field training exercises but not as big as those done in the previous years," he said. Sobejana said the two-week joint military drills will officially open on Monday at the AFP's main headquarters in the capital. Unlike in previous opening ceremonies, he said Monday's event is closed to the public and the media as part of the safety precautions due to COVID-19. The rest of the drills will also be closed for coverage. "Balikatan", a Tagalog phrase for "shoulder-to-shoulder", is the most comprehensive among several regular U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises. Ubisec President & CTO, Edward Sohn We are here to walk lock-step alongside our customers to help them continue to thrive, wherever their paths take them Past News Releases RSS Ubisec Systems, Inc. Recognized for... Ubisec Systems, Inc. (Ubisec), announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Ubisec to its 2021 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Security 100 category. The list, released annually, recognizes the leading North American solution providers that have demonstrated innovative and forward-thinking approaches to managed services. These services help end users improve operational efficiencies and navigate the ongoing complexities of IT solutions, while maximizing their return on IT investments. With cutting-edge approaches to delivering managed services, MSPs have become an integral part of the success of businesses worldwide. They help empower organizations to leverage complex technologies, keeping a strict focus on their core business without straining their budgets. CRNs 2021 MSP 500 list identifies the markets key managed services players who are setting themselves apart with best-of-breed solutions that provide the business outcomes customers need. The MSP 500 list is divided into three sections: the MSP Pioneer 250, recognizing companies with business models weighted toward managed services and largely focused on the SMB market; the MSP Elite 150, recognizing large, data center-focused MSPs with a strong mix of on-premises and off-premises services; and the Managed Security 100, recognizing MSPs focused primarily on off-premises and cloud-based security services. Ubisec was recognized as one of the top 100 Managed Security Services Providers in the world by CRN for their forward-thinking and cutting-edge security services, their agility and efficiency in delivering reliable solutions to real customer problems, and their overall quality of customer experience and expert-level knowledge around all things IT. Effective MSPs enable companies to focus on their core objectives while improving the quality and reliability of their cloud computing capabilities, said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. The solution providers on CRNs 2021 MSP 500 list deserve recognition for their innovative and forward-thinking approaches to managed services, and the ability to optimize operational efficiencies and systems to maximize return on investments. We are especially proud and grateful to be recognized during this challenging past year as an MSP500 in the Security 100 category. 2020 is a year most of us will want to keep in the rear-view mirror, but I believe it still provided many valuable lessons in being creative, agile and resilient as an IT services organization. At Ubisec, since we specialize in providing secure remote work solutions, our customers did not miss a beat transitioning to a distributed workplace environment. Our expertise in cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, cloud phone systems, web collaboration tools, and other IT solutions have been a saving grace of sorts for our customers, and we are thankful that we can say we contributed to their ability to get through the lockdown. As we look to 2021 and beyond, the world has changed, but its needs have not. We are here to walk lock-step alongside our customers to help them continue to thrive, wherever their paths take them, says Edward Sohn, President & CTO of Ubisec. The MSP 500 list will be featured in the February 2021 issue of CRN and online at http://www.CRN.com/msp500. About Ubisec Systems, Inc. Cutting-edge Cloud and Managed Services for small to large enterprise. Ubisec is raising the standard for IT service delivery. We offer enterprise-class solutions specifically designed for California SMBs. Over the last 15 years, Ubisec has developed a reputation for delivering quality solutions that optimize, grow, and scale businesses, thereby improving operations, increasing ROI, and securing a competitive edge in their respective markets. We aim to solve all of your existing IT issues and keep you protected with full-stack cybersecurity solutions, while utilizing our deep technical expertise to help you avoid future pitfalls. Let our outstanding business technology take your organization to the next level. At Ubisec, we are committed to creating long-term client relationships built on trust. We understand the frustration of dealing with underperforming technology and unreliable support, of being left to feel like a small fish in a big pond where IT vendors prioritize the time of larger businesses. We know that your technology is vital to your success, but it is complex and unpredictable. By enlisting our Managed IT solutions, you can operate your business with confidence, security, clarity, and guidance, backed by our years of experience and commitment to reliable service delivery. Our partnership begins with a simple chat. We want to know as much as we can about your business, and the issues caused by ongoing technological hurdles. Well dive deep into your current situation to discover which solutions will best fit your business needs, and develop a roadmap for successful outcomes. We want to make sure that our service is the perfect fit for your business so much so that if we determine our solutions arent right for you, well happily refer you to a more suitable provider. Contact us now at sales@ubisec.com or 714-515-7000 opt 2 or visit us online at http://www.ubisec.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram and YouTube. The material in this article is copyrighted and may not be copied without the permission of Ubisec. No warranty or guarantee is made that the information contained on this website is in every respect accurate. Ubisec managers, staff and agents are not responsible for any errors or omissions regarding any information contained on this website. Visitors to this web site are encouraged to confirm the accuracy of the information by direct communication with a Ubisec representative. Unless otherwise stated, no representation or warranty is made with respect to any services or product described in this article, nor will Ubisec be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages arising therefrom. Ubisec executives, managers, staff and agents make no representation or warranty on this website regarding the products and services mentioned. Any text represented herein should be considered opinion and as such, the information on this website cannot and does not necessarily reflect the most current information available. Pricing, terms, service packages, and features are subject to change without notice. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. 2021. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. The Channel Company Contact: Jennifer Hogan The Channel Company jhogan@thechannelcompany.com Contact: Ubisec Systems, Inc. (714) 515-7000 pr@ubisec.com WASHINGTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Experts will speak and take questions at the only annual national conference challenging the Israel lobby's repressive agenda while proposing better alternatives for America. IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy ( IRmep ). Celebrated Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa reveals how U.S. taxpayers and readers are beginning to understand that their tax dollars are supporting ethnic cleansing and apartheid. Palestinian writer and analyst Sumaya Awad warns of the danger of Facebook's effort to suppress criticisms of Zionism by deeming it equivalent to hate speech or anti-Semitism, and her successful campaign against censorship. Rev. Alex Awad describes how Palestinian evangelicals are successfully working to stop the spread of Christian Zionist biblical misinterpretations in many U.S. churches. Congressman Brian Baird (1999-2011) describes how Israel and its U.S. lobby assert authority over Congress, Israel's use of U.S. weapons and equipment in Gazaincluding the 2003 killing of his constituent Rachel Corrieand proposes critical actions voters can take to help elect leaders who will approach these issues in an open-minded way. South African professor John Dugard provides insight into the international community's disparity in its treatment of South Africa and Israel for applying substantially similar policies, and the prospects and best approaches for ending Israeli apartheid. Richard Falk, former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Occupied Palestine (2008-2014), will comment on B'Tselem's apartheid report and Israel's 2018 Basic Law that gives preferential status to Jews. Zaha Hassan, a human rights lawyer and visiting fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, outlines how the Biden administration can break the Middle East peace impasse by adopting a rights-basedrather than an Israel and its lobby basedapproach as the center of its strategy. Historian and author Walter Hixson explains why until the monolithic Israel lobby is neutralized, there will never be peace in the Middle East, drawing on insights from his new book, Architects of Repression . Radio host and Antiwar.com editorial director Scott Horton details how Israel and its U.S. lobby were key proponents of the disastrous 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and today are virtually alone in supporting a U.S. war on Iran, drawing on research from his new book, Enough Already . Professor Robin D.G. Kelley will discuss the current state of resisting Israel and its lobby's efforts on campus, the parallels between South Africa and the movement toward Palestinian liberation, and how the Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian grassroots movements work together. Tom Suarez, author of the 2016 book State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel , will discuss the recently issued Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA). Journalist and Mondoweiss.net co-founder Philip Weiss delivers a roundup on J Street and his key reflections about the effectiveness of liberal Zionism as revealed in its most significant annual policy conference . UN correspondent Ian Williams provides a brief history of both Republican and Democratic administrations' sycophantic relations with Israel and how this relationship affects U.S. policies toward the UN and international law. Investigative journalist Asa Winstanley explores the similarities and differences between Labour Friends of Israel in the U.K. and the Democratic Majority for Israel in the U.S., the purpose they serve, and the recent sabotage and purge of major progressive leaders like Jeremy Corbyn who have spoken out in support of Palestinian human rights. Get more information at www.IsraelApartheidCon.org and register online at Eventbrite . SOURCE Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy Related Links www.irmep.org SAGINAW, MI A Saginaw teens gourmet popcorn company offers homemade kettle corn in a variety of unique flavors, including Black Girl Magic. Kaylynn Martin, 15, is the young entrepreneur behind Kakes the Great Popcorn Co. She runs the business with help from her mother, Alesha Martin, owner of luxXBRW. Kakes the Great offers homemade kettle corn flavored with chocolate and other sweet and salty toppings. Kaylynn Martin started out making and selling her popcorn to friends and family as a way to earn extra money last year and the business grew from there. I actually made a recipe and my mom loved it so I was like, Lets do this, said the Saginaw Township eighth-grader. I really wanted to help my mom pay for my braces so Kakes the Great started. Now, shes selling her products online and in store at Delicious Sweets Bakeshop at the SVRC Marketplace in downtown Saginaw, Katys Kards, 1200 Court St. in Saginaw, and at her moms spa, 3177 Shattuck Road in Saginaw Township. Flavors include Myrtle Turtle, which has the tanginess of cranberries and the sweetness of candied pecans with the right mix of milk and white chocolate, Jackson, a perfect blend of cookies and cream, and Black Girl Magic, she is everything sweet and spice and everything nice topped with chocolate, toffee, salted pecans, and gold glitter. Black Girl Magic is Kaylynn Martins favorite and a top-seller, she said. Prices range from $7 to $8.50 per bag. Kakes the Great Popcorn Co. also accepts custom orders for special events, such as graduation parties, birthdays and baby showers. Kaylynn Martin said she was inspired by her mom and her success as a business owner. I was like Oh my gosh, I want to be just like my mom, have my own business, she said. And seeing how far my mom came just really showed me that I can do anything. Alesha Martin said her daughter aims to inspire other girls to follow their dreams. One of the things she did tell me is that she wanted to show girls that it doesnt matter and definitely girls that look like her that it doesnt matter how big your dream is, to kind of go for it, she said. And starting is probably the hardest part. Visit www.kakesthegreat.com or find Kakes the Great Popcorn Co. on Facebook to learn more. Read more on MLive: Texas Roadhouse coming to Saginaws Tittabawassee Road corridor Inclusive dance classes for kids starting at Saginaw YMCA Expect to feel church again. Michigan churches reopen doors for Easter Sunday Michigan woman works to develop entrepreneurs in the Great Lakes Bay Region Saginaws First Ward was my lifeline and still is says 93-year-old board member Local Eats: Tias Soul joins Saginaws SVRC Marketplace One of Saginaws oldest Black female barbers, 72, reflects on a beautiful career Europol has claimed cocaine and the coronavirus pandemic has left Europe at 'breaking point'. In its flagship four-yearly report, the EU's policing agency said increasingly violent criminal gangs are likely to muscle in on legitimate businesses left vulnerable by the economic damage caused by Covid-19. It also noted drug trade in particular was fuelling corruption across the EU, which Europol's director said 'affected everybody from dock workers to politician' and was used in almost three-quarters of all serious crimes. A four-yearly report from Europol has claimed the dug trade is fuelling corruption across the European Union. Pictured: Some of the 1,747 packages of cocaine in Santo Domingo, which were seized by authorities, on their way from Colombia to their believed final destination of Rotterdam Catherine De Bolle, Europol director, said: 'We are at the breaking point. The impact on the lives of citizens, on the economy, on the rule of law is too big. That's what we see from this report.' The 'Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment' is an in-depth report issued every four years that will be used by EU member states to set crime-fighting priorities until 2025. 'A prolonged pandemic will put heavy strain on European and global economies' and a predicted economic recession 'may shape serious and organised crime for years to come,' the report's authors said. 'Unprecedented quantities of cocaine are trafficked to the EU from Latin America, generating multi-billion-euro profits' for criminals in both Europe and South America. 'The purity of the cocaine arriving in Europe was at the highest level ever recorded in the EU.' The cocaine trade 'fuels criminal enterprises that use their enormous resources to infiltrate and undermine the EU's economy, public institutions and society,' said Europol. Europol director Catherine De Bolle (left, alongside European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson) said Europe is 'at the breaking point' Police raids in major EU ports such as Antwerp, Hamburg and Rotterdam have seen record seizures including a shipment of 23 tonnes of cocaine by Dutch and German police in late February. 'The trade has also stoked increased levels in violence and often criminals 'are now not afraid to use guns, hand grenades and torture,' De Bolle said. 'Criminals kill innocent victims in the crossfire, murder journalists and lawyers in direct attacks on our democracies,' EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson added at the report's launch in Lisbon. But the outbreak of the pandemic had a further, major impact on the way organised crime gangs operated, Europol said. Companies weakened by the pandemic could become easy prey for gangs wanting to legitimise their crimes or using legal businesses for illegal activities, such as money laundering, Europol said. Crime gangs were also 'adapting to the pandemic with great ease' to make profit off the needs and fears of society, Johansson said. Criminals are also offering fake coronavirus vaccines and home-testing kits as they seek to capitalise on global efforts to recover from the virus, the Hague-based agency said. 'In the early stages we saw a surge in the trade of counterfeit face masks and hand sanitiser. Now we see a rise in the trade in fake vaccines and home testing kits,' De Bolle told AFP. European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, (pictured) said crime gangs were 'adapting to the pandemic with great ease' to make profit off the needs and fears of society including offering fake Covid jabs 'These (fake) vaccines are a risk for your health. You should not buy it.' The pandemic has also increased cybercrime as restrictions in many countries mean people have to live and work more online, Europol said. 'Critical infrastructure will continue to be targeted by cybercriminals in the coming years. This poses a significant risk,' Europol said. International police in January disrupted EMOTET, described as the 'world's most dangerous' cybercrime malware tool, used to break into computer systems. Online fraud is now a major problem, including investment fraud and malware phishing attacks as well as the online sexual exploitation of minors, the agency said. Cybercriminals were also likely to launch 'sophisticated and large-scale attacks against critical infrastructure to access and steal sensitive data'. Asked whether law agencies were losing the fight against criminals, De Bolle said law enforcement 'have to go for joint actions, new policies and rethink the way we work.' 'Seizures alone are not enough,' she said. Uganda, Tanzania, and two oil majors inked a deal for the construction of a $3.5-billion pipeline that will carry Ugandan oil to the Tanzanian coast, from where it will reach international markets. Reuters reports that the governments of the two countries signed the relevant agreements with French Total and Chinese CNOOC, which are operators of Ugandas oilfields, after they bought them from Tullow Oil last year. The East-African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project will be a 1,443-kilometer-long (897 miles) pipeline expected to transport oil from Uganda to the Tanga port in Tanzania. Totals subsidiary Total East Africa Midstream is the developer of the project, says the French supermajor, which continues to pursue advantaged oil and gas resources in Africa despite ambitions to become a net-zero emissions business in Europe by 2050. Ugandas oil fields could give Total and CNOOC access to more than a billion barrels of crude and will cost some $5.1 billion to develop. The announcement of the final investment decision on the project was expected this Sunday. The East-African Crude Oil Pipeline project, which has seen several delays over the past few years while the parties involved negotiated terms, will be the first piece of infrastructure of such magnitude not just in Africa but globally. It will be the longest pipeline for transporting heated crude oil and as such, has attracted a lot of criticism. In March, a group of 260 organizations wrote an open letter to 25 banks calling on them to not take part in the $2.5-billion loan financing for the EACOP project, which, according to them, was manifestly irresponsible. The signatories to the letter also noted the threats that the infrastructure would pose to local communities, water supplies, and biodiversity. Further, they said that the project would either prove financially unviable or produce unacceptable climate harm. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address several public programs and roadshows in West Bengal on Monday (April 12) ahead of the fifth phase of assembly elections. The Prime Minister is scheduled to address an election rally at Talit Sai Centre in Purba Bardhaman district at noon. The public meeting will be followed by another rally in Kalyani University Grounds in Nadia district in the afternoon. PM Modi will finally conclude his visit to West Bengal with his last public meeting in Barasat area of the North 24 Parganas district later in the afternoon. Additionally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address a series of roadshows and public meetings in West Bengal today. Shah will commence his visit to West Bengal with a roadshow in Kalimpong district at 11:30 am, followed by a public meeting in the Dhupguri area of the Jalpaiguri district and in the Hemtabad Vidhan Sabha constituency. Finally, the Union Home Minister will conclude his campaign with a roadshow in Siliguri. Earlier, on Sunday, Amit Shah held back-to-back roadshows in West Bengal and also addressed several public meetings. Meanwhile, polling for the fifth phase of the ongoing elections will take place on April 17. Counting of votes will take place on May 2. Live TV The BBC has reportedly received more than 100,000 complaints about its coverage of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, a record in British TV history. The broadcaster set up a dedicated webpage for viewers to lodge their dissatisfaction at its coverage after it cleared its schedules to cover Philips death on Friday. It has now received more than 100,000 complaints, according to The Sun newspaper. That would be a record for complaints in British television history, beating the previous high 0f 63,000 sparked by the BBCs screening of Jerry Springer: The Musical in 2005. The BBCs coverage of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh has resulted in a record-breaking number of complaints (John Stillwell/PA) The BBC declined to comment on the figures and said it would release its fortnightly complaints bulletin on Thursday as planned. Following the dukes death at Windsor Castle aged 99, the BBC wiped its schedules across both BBC One and BBC Two to run a series of mirrored special programmes about Philip. Viewers tuning into BBC Four were greeted with a message urging them to switch over for a major news report, while BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live also aired programmes about the duke. The rolling news coverage meant the final of MasterChef, which was due to air at 8.30pm on BBC One, was not shown. The BBC later established the dedicated form on its website after receiving complaints about its coverage. Former BBC presenter Simon McCoy, who recently left to join GB News, was among those criticising the corporation. He wrote on Twitter: BBC1 and BBC2 showing the same thing. And presumably the News Channel too. Why? I know this is a huge event. But surely the public deserve a choice of programming. Somali refugees break the Ramadan fast at the Al Amal Orphan Society in Amman, Jordan. UNHCR/Benoit Almeras As the Islamic world prepares to welcome the holy month of Ramadan, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, urges greater support for millions of refugees and internally displaced people hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. People forced to flee their homes must be included on an equal footing in global vaccination programmes and economic recovery plans. Greater efforts are also needed to address their educational needs, mental health and psychosocial welfare, child protection risks, and in preventing and responding to gender-based violence. At this time of deep reflection and generosity, our solidarity with the worlds forcibly displaced is needed more than ever, said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. In the spirit of solidarity during the Holy Month, Im appealing for greater support for vulnerable people. Around 85 per cent of the worlds refugees are hosted in low- and middle- income countries that are facing financial challenges and often have fragile health systems. As a result of the pandemic, refugees and the displaced have lost livelihoods and been thrust into extreme poverty, with disastrous and far-reaching consequences. UNHCR estimates that three in four refugees worldwide can only meet half or less of their basic needs. Families have cut spending on food, are no longer able to pay rent, have fallen deeper into debt, or have been forced to stop children from attending lessons, even where schools have remained open. Coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan, UNHCR has launched the Every Second Counts global fundraising campaign. Donations received as Zakat, Sadaqah, or general giving can ease the burden for forcibly displaced families that are away from home and their loved ones. Together we can help refugees and the internally displaced have a roof over their heads, a warm meal for iftar, clean water, and hope for a better and safer future, said Grandi. Financial support is urgently needed for UNHCR to continue providing life-saving assistance and support to vulnerable families, orphans, single mothers, and older people. The campaign will also provide funds for UNHCRs regular programming and help meet the mounting needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, please contact: In Amman, Rula Amin, [email protected] , +962 790 04 58 49 , +962 790 04 58 49 In Amman, Andreas Kirchhof, [email protected] , +962 791 825 473 , +962 791 825 473 In the UAE, Raefah Makki, [email protected] , +971 508 13 0594 B-roll available: About UNHCR UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. We deliver life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water, help safeguard fundamental human rights, and develop solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future. We also work to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality. About the Ramadan Campaign Every year, UNHCR appeals to the public during the month of giving and generosity to help raise awareness and funds for refugees and internally displaced people in need. Every Second Counts is UNHCRs third global Ramadan campaign, and focuses on the incredible impact individuals can create within seconds, in the lives of refugee and displaced families whose lives turned upside down within moments and who have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety. The campaign aims to raise US$10 million globally, through donations including Zakat and Sadaqah, to help provide lifesaving support such as shelter, food, clean water and monthly cash assistance, to the most vulnerable refugee and internally displaced families from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, countries in the Sahel region, and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. You can donate here. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate have been coordinating as they discuss introducing separate elections bills, to codify how and when Ohioans can vote. What will those bills include? Were discussing the possibilities, and the motivation behind them, on This Week in the CLE. Listen online here. Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Leila Atassi, Jane Kahoun and me. Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom account, in which he shares what were thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up for free by sending a text to 216-868-4802. Here are the questions were answering today: How can we expect the Republicans who have a super majority in the Legislature to change election law in Ohio, and do we think theyre going to make it harder for urban residents to vote? Why has Cleveland City Council refused for more than a century to let the public speak at its weekly meetings, and is that about to change? Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish wants to give county workers a 12th holiday every year kind of stunning that they have 11 already so what is this one for? And does this have anything to do with the fact that he is up for re-election next year? How many ways did Ohios state and county health boards fail us when it comes to collecting data during the pandemic, and what wont we be able to learn from it as a result? How does a Central Ohioan who served her country and started a business end up accused as one of the leaders of the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol? How did the fight over the proposed demolition of a landmark Mexican-American social club end up in a compromise that left everyone happy? Why did the U.S. Justice Department ask for a two-month continuance in the case of the former Cleveland Schools therapist who is charged in the January 6th insurrection in the U.S. Capitol? Whats the word on the new Michael Stanley music that is being released soon posthumously? Want more? You can find all our past episodes here. We have an Apple podcasts channel exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe here. Do you get your podcasts on Spotify. Find us here. If you use Stitcher, we are here. RadioPublic is another popular podcast vehicle, and we are here. On Google Podcasts, we are here. On PodParadise, find us here. And on PlayerFM, we are here. Quito, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :Guillermo Lasso had a lead of more than nine percentage points over Andres Arauz in Ecuador's general election on Sunday after 51 percent of the votes were counted, the National Electoral Council said. Conservative former banker Lasso had 54.64 percent of the vote compared to socialist economist Arauz's 45.36 percent. Arauz, the protege of former president Rafael Correa, had earlier claimed victory citing an exit poll that he said gave him a 1.6 percent advantage. Earlier, television stations Ecuavisa and Teleamazonas published the results of the Cedatos exit poll that gave Lasso almost a 6.5 percentage point lead over Arauz. But the stations also said that the Clima Social pollsters -- the ones cited by Arauz's campaign team in claiming victory -- had indicated the result was a technical draw and thus decided not to published their figures. According to a count by AFP, there were 17 percent of invalid votes: amounting to around 925,000 votes. Indigenous socialist candidate Yaku Perez, who narrowly missed out on the second round-run-off by less than half a percentage point, had promoted a policy of abstention. Perez, who had polled more than 19 percent, claimed after February's first round he was the victim of fraud. His Pachakutik indigenous movement had refused to back either candidate ahead of the second round. ADVERTISEMENT A police sergeant, Eze Aiwansoba, who shot his lover in the mouth in October last year in Lagos has been dismissed, spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi has said. Mr Adejobi said in a statement Monday that the sergeant is being prosecuted at the Yaba Magistrate Court for attempted murder. Mr Adejobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said the approval for the dismissal of Mr Aiwansoba was contained in a letter 458465/LS/DFA/2, dated February 2. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the sergeant shot his lover in the mouth during an argument between the two at Salvation bus-stop, Opebi, Lagos. In the video shared by those who witnessed the incident, the bullet went through the young womans mouth, ripping her cheeks. The incident happened during a protest against police brutality, extrajudicial killings and abuse of powers by Nigerian youths. After the incident, the Lagos police command said the officer was on the run but was later apprehended with the help of his brother. The suspect, who had been on the run, was arrested by his elder brother who is an inspector of police in Lagos State and handed over to the command, Mr Adejobi said. Update Giving update on Monday, the police spokesperson said Mr Aiwansoba was charged for attempting to kill his lady friend, Joy Ndubueze. The Lagos State Police Command has dismissed and prosecuted one Sgt Eze Aiwansoba, m, attached to the Special Protection Unit, Base 16, Ikeja, for firing and attempting to kill his lady friend, Joy Ndubueze, f, on 8th October, 2020, at Salvation Road, Opebi, Ikeja of Lagos State. The incident was referred to the State Criminal Investigation Department of the Lagos State Police Command for investigation where it was revealed that the ex-policeman has a case to answer. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, ordered for the orderly room trial of the suspect where he was found guilty and recommended for dismissal. The approval for his dismissal was contained in a letter numbered PC. 458465/LS/DFA/2, dated 2nd February, 2021, Mr Adejobi said in the statement. The police spokesperson added that after his dismissal, the ex-sergeant was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for prosecution via letter numbered AR:3100/LS/SPM/Vol.2/311 dated 3rd February, 2021. The State CID had written a letter to the Director of Public Prosecution, Lagos State, for legal advice which was eventually replied, noting that the sergeant should be charged to court for attempted Murder contrary to Sec 230, Criminal Law o Lagos State, 2015. Mr Aiwansoba was charged to Magistrate Court, Yaba, on February 9 with attempted murder and is still facing the charges at the court. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Hakeem Odumosu, assured the general public that no erring police personnel would go unpunished. He added that the command will not condone any act of criminality and unprofessionalism among police officers. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. On a 2,566-acre slice of the scenic Saddleback Ranch wedged in the Galisteo Basin between Lamy and Galisteo, a new way of thinking and learning will soon be taking place. The populations growth of people aged 45 and above presents an opportunity to meet the needs of a vastly underserved segment of society, entrepreneur Chip Conley, said of his brainchild, the Modern Elder Academy. I found out there was a real need for people to re-imagine their midlife, and how to live life and re-purpose themselves, he said. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Three years ago, he began bringing experts on various subjects to a beachfront property north of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for weeklong workshops. And folks came in droves as some 1,200 people from 24 countries are counted as alums. The average age of attendees is 54 and 75% are between the ages 45-65. Theres certainly a need for it, Conley said. Were living longer, work is changing faster, power is moving younger and it has a lot of people in midlife confused. The suicide rate for people 45-65 is 50% higher than it had been. People are asking themselves, How can I stay relevant? How can I change at age 50? These are things people need to learn. Conley got the idea for the Modern Elder Academy while at an Airbnb four years ago. Conley, 52 at the time, was still twice as old as the average Airbnb host and was known as the modern elder. Building on the success, Conley and three partners checked into 20 different U.S. markets for the expansion home of the academy before deciding the outskirts of Santa Fe was just the spot. New Mexico has a long history of Native American and Hispanic elders that have had a profound impact on the state, Conley added. We look forward to working with them and including their wisdom in our programs. The group acquired the land in January, which includes four homes, for $8.5 million. Santa Fes iconic culture and sense of place, enchanting natural environment, and intergenerational and diverse population make for an ideal setting for MEA, said MEA partner and chief development officer Skylar Skikos. We are working closely with the community to design the project to best serve the local area. We are particularly excited about extending our educational programs to the local community, and adopting regenerative agriculture and other sustainability best practices that will introduce a new standard for the region. On tap, the group plans to build a clubhouse and a small number of homes. People can come there, do a workshop for a week, Conley said. They can come live as a primary resident or take a sabbatical session for one or two months, working on a special project and enjoying the outdoors. The academy will likely open in June 2023, he said, with construction planned to begin in the first quarter of 2022. And we will grow from there, Conley added, noting the residential aspect of the project isnt expected to be completed until 2024. We will have two workshops at a time of 18-20 people for each workshop, he said. Well use existing homes, utilizing some and buildings staged for the academy. The maximum well have is 40 people on campus at the same time. More than 75% of the property will be put into a long-term conservation easement as permanent open space so it cannot be built upon, Conley said, and it will include a trail system with public access. The partners also plan to introduce regenerative agriculture, and principles and practices to the land to help climate change by restoring the lands organic matter and rejuvenating degraded soil biodiversity. We hope to be a catalyst for a new kind of inclusive, intentional community that helps mainstream the idea that wisdom isnt taught, its shared, Conley said. And its often shared across generations, in both directions, as a modern elder may have as much to learn from a young person as vice versa. Indias first Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) has arrived at H-Energys Jaigarh Terminal in A statement from H-Energy said the FSRU Hoegh Giant, which sailed from Keppel Shipyard, Singapore, was berthed at Jaigarh terminal in on Monday. This will also be the first year-round (LNG) terminal in Maharashtra, the statement added. The LNG terminal is located at JSW Jaigarh Port in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, on the west coast of India. The port is the first deep water, 24x7 operational private port in "The 2017-built Hoegh Giant has storage capacity of 170,000 cubic metres and installed regasification capacity of 750 million cubic feet per day (equivalent to about six million tonnes a year). H-Energy has chartered the FSRU for a 10 year period," the statement said. "Hoegh Giant will deliver regasified LNG to the 56-km long Jaigarh-Dabhol natural gas pipeline, connecting the LNG terminal to the national gas grid. The facility will also deliver LNG through truck loading facilities for onshore distribution, the facility is also capable to reload LNG onto small-scale LNG vessels for bunkering services," it added. H-Energy said that it also intends to develop small-scale LNG market in the region, using the FSRU for storage and reloading LNG onto smaller vessels. Commenting on the development, Darshan Hiranandani, CEO, H-Energy said FSRU based LNG Terminals aim at providing the ability to enhance the pace of natural gas import capability in an environment friendly and efficient manner. With the berthing of the FSRU Hoegh Giant, the LNG regasification terminal will be ready to start testing and commissioning activities soon, he said. The newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son talks to local media on his new role and the foreign policy priorities needed to aid Vietnam's development and raise the country's international standing. Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. How do you feel knowing you will be the next foreign minister of Vietnam? After Prime Minister Chinhs nomination naming me as new foreign minister was adopted by the National Assembly, I felt immense pride but Im aware this will be heavy responsibilities. I have worked in foreign affairs for more than 35 years. Along with the staff of the foreign ministry and other relevant ministries, we have strived to fulfill our missions. And now, I will lead the efforts to uphold the foreign affairs cherished tradition since the first foundation was laid by the late President Ho Chi Minh. Im proud that our country is enjoying unprecedented profile and strength. As our power and strength grows, so does our voice. The foreign ministry will continue to be the pioneering force in the joint efforts with other relevant parties to obtain foreign policy targets, especially via Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people diplomacy. I am committed to fulfil my role to realise the Party and the peoples aspirations and vision of prosperous people, strong nation and a democratic, equal and civilised society. What will be the foreign ministrys priority areas in the future? I am lucky to assume the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs when the 13th National Party Congress has concluded and the adopted resolutions have clearly stated our countrys foreign policy. Vietnam is consistent with its foreign policy of independence, sovereignty, peace, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralisation, of proactive and active in-depth and comprehensive international integration. Vietnam stands ready to be a trusted friend and partner to all countries in the international community, with the spirit of cooperation, respect for international law, fairness and win-win policies. In this regard, as leader of the foreign ministry, I think that in the future, the Partys foreign policy could be materialised in four priorities. First, we would focus on deepening our relations with all important partners of Vietnam, especially neighbouring countries, countries with which we have strategic partnership and comprehensive partnership, and traditional friends. When the relations between Vietnam and these countries are well and good, the goal of maintaining a peaceful, stable and cooperative environment could be secured. Second, the foreign ministry should focus on national development, keeping in mind that political and cultural diplomacy, or overseas Vietnamese policies all serve the goal of contributing to national development. Economic diplomacy will naturally be a key pillar, attracting foreign resources to either add to or complement domestic resources and factors. International integration will help Vietnam realise its aspirations and objectives. Our 96 representative missions overseas will learn and share experience and practices of host countries in terms of growth models, strive to strengthen investment cooperation and attract Official Development Aid (ODA) and foreign direct investment (FDI). More importantly, in the context of the fourth industrial revolution, the foreign ministry must lead the way, opening up the entry to different markets as well as our own domestic market, bringing the latest technology of the revolution into the digital transformation and sustainable development of Vietnam. Third, with the elevated international profile of Vietnam, we have to continue to proactively and actively participate in multilateral forums and organisations, which will allow us to take part in the shaping and development of rules. Also, as a responsible member of the international community, we would propose initiatives to help further promote the standing of the country. In the short-term, Vietnam must successfully complete its role as the President of the UN Security Council in April and a non-permanent member of the council in 2021. In addition, Vietnam has been and will continue to actively participate in other activities of the UN, including peacekeeping operations. The foreign affairs sector will work closely with the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, and other ministries and agencies to actively participate in different activities, not only at the UN, but also in regional ones by ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), ASEAM (Asia-Europe Meeting) and other regional organisations and forums. Fourth, citizen protection efforts for the 5.3 million and growing Vietnamese nationals staying or living overseas. In recent times, this work has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have done our best. We consider citizen protection work a key task to maintain the connection between overseas and the homeland. This is also the States policy towards Vietnamese overseas community. The overseas Vietnamese can be safely repatriated or if they choose to stay, Vietnamese representative offices overseas would also offer appropriate support for them to help maintain the Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese language command, integrate with the local society while keeping in touch with their Vietnamese heritage to nurture their desire to help develop the homeland. VNS Chennai: Tamil Nadu has emphasized on a slew of measures to control and act against the ongoing side in COVID-19 cases, that are on the rise as a part of the pan-India second wave. The review meeting with top officials from across Government departments was chaired by Chief Minister K.Palaniswami in Chennai. Among the decisions taken and reinforced were to ensure no less than 90,000 RT-PCR tests per day to detect coronavirus infection and aggressive testing in the virus infected areas. Tracing of 25-30 contacts of the infected person, conducting fever camps. It was also decided to declare streets/residential apartments with three COVID-19 cases as micro-containment zones. Admitting an infected person in a COVID Care Centre of a hospital, based on severity of infection, slapping fines against COVID-norm violators, expediting vaccination for those in the 45+ age group, following of SOP by both Government and private hospitals to reduce the mortality rate, were also mentioned. The state government has also asked those who work in cinema theatres, fruits and vegetable markets, commercial complexes to get vaccinated. It was also urged that people step out of their homes only if and when necessary adding that they must do so while wearing masks and maintaining social distance. On Monday, Tamil Nadu witnessed 6,711 new cases, which took the active cases to 46,308 and the cumulative cases to 9.40 lakh. So far, 8.8 lakhs persons have recovered, whereas 12,927 have succumbed. Biden Strengthens Obama's Legacy While Seeking His Own With sweeping economic recovery plans, President Joe Biden seeks his own legacy like the New Deal or Great Society. But he's also bolstering Barack Obama's. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, NxGen MDx announced a partnership with Concentric by Ginkgo to provide COVID-19 testing to congregate settings such as schools operating in-person or hybrid learning environments using a scalable and simple testing modality - pooled testing. As more and more schools begin to support in-person learning environments, communities across the country have turned to routine COVID-19 testing to monitor the spread of the virus. Even as teachers and guardians become eligible for vaccines, clinical vaccine trials for individuals under 16 are just beginning, and efforts to track and mitigate viral spread remain critical. Concentric by Ginkgo's goal is to provide easy, affordable pooled testing to every school in America. Pooled classroom testing, which combines swabs from all consenting individuals in a classroom and runs them as a single test, can significantly increase testing capacity and lower the cost of testing programs. In partnership with labs like NxGen MDx, Concentric by Ginkgo currently operates testing for hundreds of schools across America. "It's our mission to ensure that cost and lack of access are never a factor when it comes to COVID-19 testing," said Alan Mack, CEO of NxGen MDx. "That's why it made perfect sense to partner with Ginkgo." "As communities consider the many COVID-19 testing models available, pooled testing stands out as an affordable option to identify pockets of prevalence as schools look to reopen," said Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks. "We started Concentric because everyone's health is connected, and giving schools the capacity to test every student, every week provides the critical information and confidence communities need." To learn more about Concentric by Ginkgo or to get your school district involved, head over to concentricbyginkgo.com . About NxGen MDx NxGen MDx LLC is a leading women's health company delivering highly accurate and precise genetic testing. NxGen MDx's history of whole-gene sequencing combined with advanced technology allows us to provide accessible, high-quality testing options to families as they plan for the future. NxGen MDx employs state-of-the-art technology, including rapid molecular diagnostics for infectious disease and genetic screening technology that examines the entire gene rather than parts of the gene, giving women and families a comprehensive assessment of their health. NxGen MDx is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. To learn more, visit the company's website at www.nxgenmdx.com . Connect with us on: About Ginkgo Bioworks Concentric by Ginkgo is Ginkgo Bioworks' public health and biosecurity effort. Headquartered in Boston, Ginkgo uses the most advanced technology on the planetbiologyto grow better products. The company's cell programming platform is enabling the growth of biotechnology across diverse markets, from food to fragrance to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo is also actively supporting a number of COVID-19 response efforts, including community testing, epidemiological tracing, vaccine development, and therapeutics discovery. For more information, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com. http://www.ginkgobioworks.com SOURCE NxGen MDx Related Links http://www.nxgenmdx.com New Delhi: A Bihar hospital has stirred controversy after pronouncing an alive COVID-19 patient dead and handing over another person's body to his kin. The incident reportedly took place at a hospital in Patna on Sunday (April 11, 2021). The hospital authorities declared Chunnu Kumar, a resident of Mahmadpur village in the Barh sub-division in Patna district who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19, dead and handed over the body of another person to his brother, as per the PTI news agency. The incident led to the Patna District Magistrate Chandrasekhar Singh asking the hospital authorities to investigate the matter and take action against the person responsible within a day. Singh also asked them to take steps to ensure that such incidents do not repeat in the future. Patna, notably, is the worst COVID-19-hit city in Bihar. Meanwhile, the state's COVID-19 caseload has increased to 2,83,229, after more than 7,200 confirmed cases were reported in the last 48 hours. The state has also witnessed 1,610 coronavirus-related fatalities. London: Boris Johnsons government has ordered an inquiry into the dealings of former prime minister David Cameron on behalf of Australian banker Lex Greensill. Mr Cameron has been under intense pressure to explain why he used his former position to try to get Greensill Capital access to a 37 billion ($66 billion) fund set up to help businesses through the pandemic. Mr Johnsons spokesman said the Prime Minister understood the significant interest in the matter and wanted to launch the review to ensure government is completely transparent about such activities. Britains then prime minister David Cameron leaves 10 Downing Street in London in 2016. Credit:AP The Cabinet Office is commissioning an independent review on behalf of the Prime Minister to establish the development and use of supply chain finance and associated activities in government and the role Greensill played in those, he told reporters. National Rail has been blasted for turning its website grey as the nation mourns Prince Philip's death after the move left visually impaired customers unable to read travel information or book tickets. The National Rail Enquiries Twitter account received a barrage of angry messages following the change, as users slammed the 'utterly ridiculous' decision and claimed it made train timetables 'extremely difficult to read'. Others claimed the switch, which has since been reversed, was in breach of disability discrimination laws. Even the network's own staff admitted they struggled to read the new-look site. When asked if it was possible to change the website back to normal, an employee wrote on Twitter: 'Unfortunately, I do not believe there is currently', adding: 'I too have been struggling to read while it is coloured differently.' The decision to remove colours from its website goes beyond Government guidance for the period of national mourning, which only suggests organisations use 'black edging or black banners'. Slide me The company wrote on Twitter this morning: 'The National Rail website has been temporarily greyscaled as a mark of respect following the death of HRH Duke of Edinburgh' Industry body the Rail Delivery Group, which runs NRE, issued a statement on Monday which said: 'The National Rail Enquiries website has been temporarily greyscaled as a mark of respect following the death of HRH Duke of Edinburgh on Friday. 'We are listening to feedback about how people are using the website and are making further changes today to make it more accessible to all our customers.' Robin Spinks, head of innovation at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said: 'Good web design and adherence to inclusive design standards is a must for all digital content creators. Appropriate colour contrast makes sense for every person accessing a website and is especially beneficial for people.' The decision by National Rail Enquiries (NRE) and individual train companies to remove colours from their websites goes beyond Government guidance for the period of national mourning, which only suggests organisations use 'black edging or black banners' One Twitter user took to social media to point out that National Rail's own website states: 'The Equality Act 2020 places a legal duty on company to ensure that people with disabilities do not experience unreasonable difficulty in accessing services, including websites and other information provisions. 'National Rail Enquiries takes the responsibility to ensure that people with disabilities can access information extremely seriously.' Another user, Dr Alex Tankard, said: 'How on earth does greying a timetable 'show respect' to ANYONE, let alone to someone whose family are *the least likely people on the planet* to actually use public transport???' And another said: 'As a mark of respect for Prince Philip, National Rail have made their employees unable to read the National Rail timetable.' Editor of Today's Railways Europe magazine, Keith Barrow, said: 'This is just too much. 'A lot of people struggle with low contrast text - it would be good if the rail industry could pay its respects without needlessly discriminating against some of its customers.' National Rail Enquiries's Twitter account received a barrage of angry messages following the change The Partially Sighted Society charity's chief executive Anita Plant told the Evening Standard: 'Having looked at the site I can see how people with sight loss will find this difficult for the following reasons there are no accessibility options to increase the text size or change the colour contrast. 'Greyscale generally does not work for people with sight loss. Text needs to be clear black on white or black on yellow and preferably a non-serif font such as Arial. 'The white text on the grey background is incredibly hard to see for someone with a visual impairment and having text on pictures is confusing and the images themselves are visually confusing.' One Twitter user took to social media to point out that National Rail's own website states: 'The Equality Act 2020 places a legal duty on company to ensure that people with disabilities do not experience unreasonable difficulty in accessing services, including websites and other information provisions' The website has now reinstated its normal full-colour design and includes a small tribute to Prince Philip from the chief executive of Rail Delivery Group. It reads: 'It is with great sadness that the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh has been announced. We send our condolences to the Royal Family.' Network Rail instated a similar 'tribute' to Philip and seems to have mainly reverted the site back to full colour although certain pages still appear in greyscale. Why is greyscale text hard to read? People with visual impairments may find it harder to read text that has undergone a greyscale process because there is very little contrast between the text and the background the text is on. For some it becomes impossible to distinguish the words from the background they are sitting on - making them seem invisible. Visually impaired people usually find it easiest to read text which is on a yellow background because it provides a greater contrast with the text overlayed on top. Advertisement Elisabeth Ward, accessibility specialist at disability equality charity Scope, said it is 'vital' that paying respects 'doesn't stop disabled people from accessing essential services'. She went on: 'Accessibility always matters, even in a period of national mourning. 'This decision to change entire websites to greyscale did not consider disabled people's access needs. It's another example of disabled people being forgotten. 'Not only does it cause problems for those who need sufficient colour contrast, but it also interferes with tools and plugins many disabled people use to help make websites accessible.' She added that public sector organisations 'have a legal duty to make sure nobody is being blocked from using vital services and information'. Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said: 'It is possible to mourn for Prince Philip without making life even more difficult for disabled people and workers to use our railways.' A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, which runs National Rail Enquiries, said: 'The National Rail Enquiries website was temporarily greyscaled as a mark of respect following the death of HRH Duke of Edinburgh on Friday. 'We are listening to feedback about how people are using the website and have made further changes today to make it more accessible to all our customers.' A Network Rail spokesman said: We temporarily made our website greyscale as a mark of respect following the death of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. 'We've been made aware this has caused problems for people accessing the content so it's now back to its usual look. We're sorry it's caused issues and we thank everyone for their feedback.' DENVER, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomorrow, RE/MAX Holdings CEO Adam Contos will participate in the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) 2021 National Convention & Housing Policy Summit's Opening General Session from 12:20-12:50 p.m. EDT. To register to view the session please click here and enter complimentary code NC21PRESS. "The Latino Factor: The Key to Homeownership Growth in America" panel, moderated by 2021 NAHREP President Sara Rodriguez will address how Latinos remain the fastest growing group of homeowners in the U.S. despite receiving a disproportionately large share of the COVID-19 pandemic's devastating financial impact. Contos will join other real estate CEOs to discuss what the industry should learn from 2020 and how the Latino factor will drive the market going forward. "Hispanics are generally a young population and have been the only demographic to steadily increase their homeownership rate year after year," said Contos. "They are the fastest-growing population and a driving force behind much of our economy so the opportunities for growth in the housing sector are theirs for the taking. RE/MAX agents are the best in the business at helping people achieve their homebuying and selling dreams and can expertly navigate the prevalent homeownership barriers Hispanics often face to make their dreams become a reality." NAHREP is a purpose-driven organization propelled by a combination of entrepreneurial spirit, cultural heritage and the advocacy of its members, whose mission is to advance sustainable Hispanic homeownership. For the past six years, RE/MAX has supported the group through education, event sponsorship, the participation of RE/MAX affiliates on NAHREP regional leadership teams and by co-sponsoring the 2020 English-Spanish Glossary of Real Estate terms with NAHREP. "It's so important for RE/MAX agents to connect with the entire community," says Mike Reagan, RE/MAX Senior Vice President of Industry Relations and Global Growth & Development. "One of the wonderful things about this partnership is that our brokers embrace all the demographics in their community and tune into what is taking place in their particular market." Click here for more about the strategic alliance, or to learn more about NAHREP, please visit https://nahrep.org/. About the RE/MAX Network As one of the leading global real estate franchisors, RE/MAX, LLC is a subsidiary of RE/MAX Holdings (NYSE: RMAX) with over 135,000 agents in more than 110 countries and territories. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX, as measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. RE/MAX agents have lived, worked and served in their local communities for decades, raising millions of dollars every year for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other charities. To learn more about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com. For the latest news about RE/MAX, please visit news.remax.com. About the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a nonprofit 501(c)6 trade association, is dedicated to advancing sustainable homeownership for the Hispanic community in America. NAHREP has a network of over 40,000 real estate professionals and 100 local chapters nationwide. SOURCE RE/MAX, LLC Related Links http://www.remax.com STOCKHOLM, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SciBase Holding AB ("SciBase") [STO:SCIB], a leading developer of augmented intelligence-based solutions for skin disorders, announced today the publication of a new clinical study supporting SciBase's strategy to develop multiple clinical applications for the Nevisense and Nevisense Go platforms. The study is from the Swiss institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF) and has been published in the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Allergy). In the study Nevisense was used to assess the skin barrier of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and could accurately detect signs of atopic dermatitis even on unaffected skin. The Nevisense measurement also correlated with relevant biomarkers for atopic dermatitis. SIAF, based in Davos, is a world leader within applied allergy and asthma research. SIAF is headed by Director Cezmi Akdis, who is also Professor of the University of Zurich Medical Faculty and one of the directors of the Christine Kuhne Center for Allergy Research and Education. Professor Akdis said, "Personalized and precision medicine is becoming one of the most exciting areas in all of medicine. Our research group has proposed the "epithelial barrier hypothesis", which asserts that defective epithelial skin barriers are the main reason for the initiation and increase of allergic and autoimmune conditions such as asthma, atopic dermatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Furthermore, leakiness of the gut epithelium is also implicated in conditions such as diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and others. Moreover, distant microinflammatory responses due to a 'leaky gut' and microbiome changes are suspected in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, chronic depression and autism spectrum disorders. Defective skin barrier is an important part of the "epithelial barrier hypothesis". Atopic dermatitis alone affects more than 10% of infants, and represents a huge health and socioeconomic burden. Skin barrier assessment shows potential to be clinically useful for early prediction of disease development, improved diagnosis, disease follow-up and therapy evaluation. This study shows that the Nevisense method can directly assess the status of epithelial barrier using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). EIS was able to assess epithelial skin barrier integrity, differentiate between patients and controls without AD and characterize lesional and non-lesional skin of patients. EIS also showed a significant correlation with biomarkers associated with inflammatory pathways that may affect the skin barrier. Furthermore, copy numbers of filaggrin, an essential skin barrier molecule significantly correlated with EIS on non-lesional skin of patients. These findings that are presented in the article strongly indicates that Nevisense and the EIS method is a useful tool to detect skin barrier dysfunction.' SciBase CEO Simon Grant commented, "This is an exciting new application area for SciBase, and one where we have unique advantages. Barrier-related diseases are widespread, and assessment of the barrier can help better understand and treat patients. The study illustrates the potential for Nevisense to become a valuable tool for clinicians within AD and other epithelial barrier-related diseases. We see a number of applications with broad market potential, and we are working with SIAF and others to develop clinical products. For SciBase this an important milestone in our strategy to develop multiple clinical applications using our unique technology platform." The study can be found here : https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/all.14842?af=R. For more information please contact: Simon Grant, CEO SciBase Tel: +46 72 887 43 99 Email: [email protected] Certified Advisor: Avanza Tel: +46 8 409 421 20 Email: [email protected] About SciBase and Nevisense SciBase AB is a global medical technology company based in Stockholm, Sweden that develops unique point-of-care devices for the evaluation of skin disorders such as skin cancer and atopic dermatitis. SciBase's first product, Nevisense, helps clinicians detect melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Further development has led to Nevisense also being used as a tool to assess the skin barrier and non-melanoma skin cancer. Nevisense is based on substantial research and has achieved excellent results in the largest clinical study ever conducted on the detection of malignant melanoma. Nevisense is CE marked in Europe, has TGA approval in Australia and an FDA approval (PMA) in the United States. SciBase technology is based Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms that interpret the varying electrical properties of human tissue to detect malignancies and abnormalities. SciBase Holding AB is listed on First North Growth Market ("SCIB"). Further information is available at www.scibase.com. About SIAF-SFI The Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF) is a department of the foundation Swiss Research Institutes for High Altitude Climate and Medicine Davos (SFI), an affiliated institute of the University of Zurich, and member of the Life Science Zurich Graduate School. SIAF members play leading roles in national and international organizations, such as European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and in editorial boards and editorships of top Journals in the field of allergy asthma and clinical immunology. At the same time, SIAF fulfills teaching obligations in the University of Zurich. The research activities at SIAF are focused on patient-relevant translational research and the investigation of the immunological principles in the field of skin atopic dermatitis, allergies and asthma to develop approaches for new preventive and curative treatments for patients. SIAF also promotes personalized medicine to develop treatment approaches that are better tailored to the needs of individual patients. These personalized medicine research activities are expected to not only help to find tailor-made therapies but also to develop more precise diagnosis. The continuously growing SIAF is one of the most cited and leading institutes in its area worldwide with more than 50,000 citations and 1,000 original research articles in the last 20 years. SIAF organizes the internationally renowned World Immune Regulation Meeting (WIRM) in Davos every year. SIAF works in close collaboration with the Christine Kuhne-Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), Davos. Further information is available at www.siaf.uzh.ch. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/scibase/r/new-clinical-study-shows-nevisense-potential-for-assessment-of-skin-barrier-and-atopic-dermatitis,c3323147 The following files are available for download: SOURCE SciBase Advertisement Anarchy spilled out onto the streets of Rome last night as anger at repeated coronavirus shutdowns across Europe grows amid a third wave of cases sweeping the Continent - while Britain finally reopens. Hundreds of Italians chanting 'we are all workers' clashed with riot police in a central plaza after they were blocked off from an area outside the premier's office usually authorised for demonstrations. Some protesters waved Italy's tricolor flag as they begged authorities to open up the country's already fragile economy, which has recorded a monumental 8.9 per cent fall in GDP during the pandemic. Other demonstrators thought to be associated with the Italian far-Right hurled stones, bottles, smoke bombs and flash bombs at the police lines and let off fireworks which filled the streets with billowing smoke. Silvio Bessone, a chef from the northern Piedmont region, said 'the problem is we just don't know what to do', while another - who gave his name to AFP as Maurizio - said his restaurant was near failing. The demo in Rome is the latest in a series of anti-lockdown demonstrations across Italy, including a Saturday protest in Naples by shopkeepers and a similar protest by restaurateurs in the capital last week. Italy was locked down over the Easter holidays, with all restaurants, bars and cafes ordered shut except for takeout service. The partial easing of Covid-19 restrictions in some parts of Italy did not include the reopening of restaurants, which are expected to remain closed until the end of the month. Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who stands at the vanguard in the EU's jabs war with Britain, has mandated Covid-19 vaccines for all health workers in a move aimed at crushing anti-vax sentiment. The country's jabs roll-out, dented by Brussels' failure to secure AstraZeneca doses, is faltering with just 16.03 people per 100 of its population inoculated compared to more than 50 people per 100 in Britain. Unlike other European countries, when Italy launched its jabs campaign at the end of December, its army of pensioners were not given automatic precedence, despite the fact they have borne the brunt of the killer disease. The failure to provide swifter protection has cost thousands of lives, experts say. As Italians protest the cycle of shutdowns, lockdown-weary Britons yesterday rushed back to the pub for a well-earned drink as England took another leap forward on its roadmap to freedom. For the first time in four months, non-essential shops, gyms and salons were allowed to throw open their doors. Demonstrators face the Italian Police during a demonstration organized by the 'Io Apro' association in Rome Demonstrators take part in a demonstration organized by the 'Io Apro' association in Rome Restaurant owners clash with riot police in Rome on April 12, 2021 amid concerns that their trade is being hammered Italian policemen try to stop Momi El Hawi, one of the leaders of 'Io Apro' association during a demonstration in Rome An elderly protester wearing a face mask and armed with a red umbrella confronts police wearing riot gear in Rome Demonstrators face the Italian Police during a demonstration organized by the 'Io Apro' association with restaurant owners, entrepreneurs and small business owners to protest against the Covid-19 restrictions Workers raise their hands in the rain in Rome on April 12, 2021 as they are confined in a plaza by Italian riot police Demonstrators let off smoke bombs as they protested against the Italian government's prolonged Covid shutdowns Momi El Hawi, one of the leaders of 'Io Apro' association looks at the camera as he wears handcuffs in Rome Speaking at the demo, Maurizio said: 'To the (Health) Minister Speranza I want to say 'Reduce your salary by 80 percent and let's see how many of these people will make it'. Because I cannot keep my company open like this.' Silvio Bessone told Reuters: 'The problem is we just don't know what to do. They tell us that we can only do take-aways, but in my neighbourhood with a population of 3,000, what kind of take-aways can I do?'. On Thursday, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said he hoped before the end of the month to loosen certain anti-Covid measures, such as the curbs on restaurant dining. But he needed to wait for new health data before deciding. Health Minister Roberto Speranza meanwhile reiterated the need for 'the utmost caution' as the country reported 9,789 new cases of coronavirus, and as the death toll approaches 115,000. 'In May, depending on the parameters of the contagion and the ability to vaccinate the fragile... there may be conditions for less restrictive measures,' he told La Repubblica daily on Sunday. In Naples over the weekend, shopkeepers held up lingerie during a protest against Covid shutdowns. They denounced what they saw as the injustice in the Italian government allowing some shops to remain open - such as those selling underwear, considered an 'essential' item - while ordering others to close. The Italian government has imposed repeated curbs over the past 14 months to try to contain Covid-19, which has killed more than 114,000 people in Italy - the second worst official tally in Europe after Britain. While an initial national lockdown in March 2020 was widely accepted, the announcement of renewed restrictions in October faced immediate pushback in several Italian cities. Those protests faded as infection rates soared, but the decision to prolong curbs into the spring, with no firm date for when they might be eased, has once again raised hackles. It comes as Italy's government is preparing a new stimulus package worth around 40 billion euros ($47.60billion) to support its coronavirus-battered economy, a source told Reuters news agency. The extra borrowing will probably push this year's budget deficit above 10 per cent of GDP, up from 9.5 per cent in 2020 when the economy shrank by 8.9 per cent as a result of the coronavirus curbs. Demonstrators face the Italian Police during a demonstration organized by the 'Io Apro' association in Rome Demonstrators in Rome link arms as they protest the Italian government's Covid shutdowns as they clash with riot police Protesters are confined in a central plaza in Rome by Italian riot police while demonstrators let off smoke bombs Restaurant owners clash with riot police in Rome on April 12, 2021 amid concerns that their trade is being hammered Demonstrators face police in Rome during a demonstration organized by the 'Io Apro' association with restaurant owners, entrepreneurs and small business owners to protest against the Covid-19 restrictions Demonstrators face the riot police in Rome during a demonstration organized by the 'Io Apro' association The extra borrowing will fund additional grants to businesses forced to close and extend an existing debt moratorium for small and medium-sized companies, hard hit by the restrictions aimed at curbing the infections. Rome's last official estimate, made by the previous government in January, envisages a deficit-to-GDP ratio of 8.8 per cent this year. That was premised on an economic growth forecast of 6 per cent, which officials say will have to be revised down to a figure between 4 per cent and 5 per cent. The new stimulus will also increase Italy's huge public debt, equal to 155.6 per cent at the end of 2020 and proportionally the second highest in the euro zone after Greece. The last time Italy registered a double-digit deficit was in the early 1990s. The new deficit and debt targets, along with multi-year GDP growth forecasts, will be issued in the Treasury's Economic and Financial Document, which is expected to be approved this week. The Italian health ministry said last week that lockdown measures will be eased from Monday in six regions after new cases fell by 30 per cent over a five-day period on the previous week. The national health institute (ISS) said the 'R' reproduction number has declined to 0.92 from 0.98 a week earlier. An 'R' number above 1 indicates that infection numbers will grow at an exponential rate. Italy operates a four-tier, colour-coded system to calibrate the restrictions in place in its 20 regions. Much of the industrial north worst-affected by the epidemic has been lowered from the highest-tier red, where people can only leave their homes for work, health reasons or emergencies, to tier-three orange, where restrictions on business and movement are slightly less severe. This includes Lombardy, around the financial capital Milan, and Piedmont centred on Turin. Central Tuscany also passed from red to orange, while the island of Sardinia was the only region to move from orange to red. A month ago Sardinia was the only region to be on the lowest-tier white, meaning daily life was almost as normal, underscoring the speed with which infections can accelerate in the absence of curbs. Overall, there are 16 orange regions and four red ones, with none in the two lower tiers, yellow and white. The health system remains under acute strain and intensive care unit occupancy is still above the critical threshold, the ISS said, and daily deaths continue to pile up. Friday saw the tally rise by 718, the largest increase this year, although the health minister said this figure was bloated by late reporting from the island of Sicily which had failed to register 258 deaths from 'previous months.' Microsoft announced this morning that it will buy speech recognition company Nuance Communications for $56 per share, about 23% above its closing price Friday. The deal is worth about $16 billion, according to CNBC. Reuters is reporting a different buy out price of $19.7 Billion. CNBC reports that "Its the latest sign Microsoft is hunting for more growth through acquisitions. The company is also reportedly in talks to buy the chat app Discord for about $10 billion. On top of that, Microsoft made an effort to buy TikToks U.S. business last year for about $30 billion before the deal was derailed." This was covered in a Patently Apple report last week titled "Is Microsoft attempting to make a move in Social Media? Recent acquisition attempts & a newly granted patent would suggest its possible." The CNBC report adds that "The Nuance acquisition represents Microsofts largest acquisition since it bought LinkedIn for more than $26 billion in 2016. Last month, Microsoft completed its $7.6 billion acquisition of gaming company Zenimax. Nuance would be aligned with the part of Microsofts business that serves businesses and governments. Nuance derives revenue by selling tools for recognizing and transcribing speech in doctors visits, customer-service calls and voicemails. Nuance has a strong reputation for its voice recognition technology, and it has been considered an acquisition target for companies like Apple, Microsoft and more for several years." New Delhi: Wanted European middleman Carlos Gerosa has been apprehended by authorities in Italy on the basis of an Interpol notice activated by the ED in connection with its money laundering probe in the 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal case. The central probe agency, official sources said, will soon move for his extradition to India through diplomatic channels. The global police has informed the agency of his detention and an extradition request is being moved, a senior official privy to the probe said. The official said Gerosa was held when he was coming from Switzerland to Italy. A joint team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now working on this case, the official said. Mr. Gerosa, 70, is one of the three alleged middlemen wanted in this case and his interrogation and statement is very important for both the ED and the CBI who are probing the case. The ED has notified an Interpol red corner notice (RCN) against Mr. Gerosa and two others British national Christian Michel James and Italian Guido Haschke last year. An RCN, according to the Interpol, is issued to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action in a criminal case probe. The ED, in its second charge sheet filed in the case last year, had said the three middlemen managed to make inroads into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in order to influence and subvert its stand regarding reducing the service ceiling of helicopters from 6,000 m to 4,500 m in 2005 after which AgustaWestland became eligible to supply the dozen helicopters for VVIP flying duties. Service ceiling is the altitude at which a helicopter can fly. It had said investigations found that remittances made by Michel through his Dubai-based firm Ms Global Services, FZE to a media firm he floated in Delhi, along with two Indians, were made from the funds which he got from Ms AgustaWestland SpA through criminal activity and corruption being done in the chopper deal that led to subsequent generation of proceeds of crime. The EDs probe under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) had found that AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini was allegedly paying kickbacks to Mr. Michel and the other two middlemen (Gerosa and Haschke) in the guise of numerous consultancy contracts. Mr. Michel alone received Euro 30 million in his Dubai company accounts and others under this arrangement, according to the investigation. The agency has also detected that the media firm floated by Michel in Delhi was nothing but a shell company to launder the proceeds of crime. The probe in the deal gathered pace last year after a Milan-based court sentenced Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanicas former chief Giuseppe Orsi and Spagnolini on corruption charges in the sale of the helicopters to India. The Milan court order also mentions the name of former IAF chief S.P. Tyagi at several points. Post this, both the ED and the CBI, had conducted fresh round of questioning of the accused and collection of further evidence. The ED had registered a PMLA case in this regard in 2014 and named 21 people, including Mr. Tyagi, in its FIR in the money laundering case. It had also arrested Delhi-based businessman Gautam Khaitan in the case apart from a director of a Dubai-based company, Shivani Saxena, recently. On January 1, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Finmeccanicas British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to the tune of 423 crore by it for securing the deal. The ED and the CBI have also issued Letters Rogatory to multiple countries to gather more leads and evidence in this case. Letters Rogatory are requests issued by courts on the request of an investigation agency when it wants information from another country. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. GENEVA (Reuters) -Some 14.1 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been allocated to 47 countries and economies for delivery in the second quarter of this year, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance said on Monday. Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, and Ukraine are set to be among the main recipients of the Pfizer vaccine between April and June, according to Gavi, which co-leads the COVAX facility with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners. The COVAX programme offers a lifeline to low-income countries in particular, allowing them to inoculate health workers and others at high risk, even if their governments have not managed to secure vaccines from the manufacturers. Australia, Britain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates are due to receive their first shots via COVAX with the Pfizer doses, which is "based on current knowledge of COVID-19 vaccine supply availability", Gavi said in a statement. The programme delivered nearly 38.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 102 countries across six continents, six weeks after it began to roll out supplies, Gavi said last Thursday. Deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine to 142 participants under a previously announced round were underway, "with some delays" that may extend deliveries past May, Gavi said on Monday. Reduced availability delayed some deliveries in March and April, and much of the output of the Serum Institute of India, which makes the AstraZeneca vaccine, is being kept in India, where the number of daily infections is spiralling. The chief executive of Gavi, Seth Berkley, said last Friday that COVAX aimed to deliver one third of a billion COVID-19 doses by mid-year, on the way to more than 2 billion in 2021. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) Bringing publishers, editors, agents, and literary professionals together since 1963, the Jerusalem International Book Fair (JIBF) proved prescient by reinventing itself as a forum in 2019, transitioning from an expo to a more panel-based program that explores topics in the global publishing industry. As such, it was primed to make the necessary shift to online proceedings for 2021. This years much-anticipated digital eventon May 3-4, 14, and 21will continue to tackle pressing issues in the book business, including those generated by the pandemic, while providing a bridge to the next JIBF in-person gathering in May 2022. The digital forum is our way of reaching out to the JIBF's friends and attendees, says Yoel Makov, director of the Jerusalem International Book Forum. Our aim is to provide a concise and relevant program that addresses the issues and questions publishing professionals have dealt with since the beginning of the crisis, and the challenges they still have to face in the near future. But more importantly, it is an expression of how much we miss the special energy and vibe our participants bring with them and a place for them to share it again. Although the event is based in Jerusalem, Makov says the JIBF has never been an event that focuses strictly on Jewish or religious content. Rather, its an international meeting ground for people of different countries, creeds, and cultural backgrounds, he says. Since its shift from fair to forum in 2019, the JIBF has focused mostly on the professional experience of members of the trade. Known for its mix of intellectual and informal gatherings, the forum embraces cultural diversity and fosters inclusion and open dialogue, connecting literary professionals from across the globe. We firmly believe, Makov says, in the free exchange of ideas and shared experience. That humanistic philosophy comes to life via the JIBFs prestigious Jerusalem Prize, awarded to an author whose body of work best expresses and promotes the idea of "freedom of the individual in society. Joyce Carol Oates was the 2019 recipient, and previous honorees include Don DeLillo, Susan Sontag, Ian McEwan, Haruki Murakami, and other literary heavyweights. The prize jury itself is chosen from a wide range of impressive figures from academia, criticism, literature, and politics. Former Israeli presidents Shimon Peres and Chaim Herzog and authors Etgar Keret and Aharon Appelfeld have all served as past judges. Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion will announce the 2021 winner during the digital forums opening session on May 3, and will award the Jerusalem Prize itself at next years in-person gathering. There is also a keynote address scheduled for May 3 by Israeli composer, conductor, and pianist Gil Shohat, titled Playing to an Empty Concert Hall: Creating Music and Performing During a Global Pandemic. The May 4 proceedings, titled Publishing During a Pandemic, will feature Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle on Why This Is (Still) the Best Time in Publishing Ever and a panel that examines 2020s unique challenges and takes stock of where publishing is now as experienced by participants with different positions in the industry. The forum not only presents programming during those consecutive days in May, but adds sessions on the following two Fridays as well (May 14 and 21). We planned the Forum Fridays to be more informal and intimate, Makov says, and to allow for greater room for non-panelists to express their views. There are discussions set around the changing roles of agents and scouts, how editors interact with authors, and what changes are here to stay in publishing, from business models to work environments. Another key facet of the JIBFa project of the Municipality of Jerusalem produced by the Arieal Municipal Companyis a weeklong professional seminar offered to about 35 editors, literary agents, and literary scouts as part of the Zev Birger Editorial Fellowship program, sponsored by the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. The event boasts nearly 600 alumni from 40 countries representing a wide range of companies and professional roles. Many alumni now occupy senior positions, Makov says, and the JIBF remains a focal point for their professional relationships and friendships. For years now alumni attendance during the JIBF has been supported by Penguin Random House. Though the event, and the fellowship program, cannot be hosted in person this year, Makov hopes to see the attendees back in person in 2022. Forum Dates: May 3-4, 14, and 21 In collaboration with the International Writers Festival, Mishkenot Shaananim. The suicide of a Navy sailor who barricaded himself inside a luxury hotel in Honolulu for 10 hours on Sunday before he fatally shot himself is the state's second submariner to kill himself in the past month, and third in the last year-and-a-half. A spokesperson for the Pacific Fleet told DailyMail.com on Monday that the military would not yet release the identity of the 40-year-old sailor who was found dead inside a room at Kahala Hotel & Resort early on Sunday morning. But officials did say that he served in on a submarine. The sailors death comes less than three weeks after Torpedomans Mate 3rd Class Petty Officer Manuel Hernandez Julian Jr, 23, died of self-inflicted gunshot wound at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. And in December 2019, a US Navy sailor, Gabriel Antonio Romero of San Antonio, Texas, shot three civilian shipyard workers, killing two, at the Pearl Harbor military base before killing himself. A US Navy sailor barricaded himself inside a fourth-floor room at the luxury Kahala Hotel & Resort in Honolulu on Sunday and fatally shot himself. He is the second Hawaii-based service member to die by suicide in the last month and the third to do so in the last 16 months Torpedomans Mate 3rd Class Petty Officer Manuel Hernandez Julian Jr (left), 23, died of self-inflicted gunshot wound at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii on March 15. In December 2019, a US Navy sailor, Gabriel Antonio Romero (right) of San Antonio, Texas, shot three civilian shipyard workers at the Pearl Harbor military base before killing himself Julian, a resident of San Jose, California, had been assigned to the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine the USS Charlotte, according to Military.com. His death is being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). We are deeply saddened by the loss of a Shipmate, a statement from the military read. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sailors family, friends and shipmates. In December 2019, Romero shot three civilian shipyard workers at the Pearl Harbor military base. Romero killed Roldan Agustin, 49, and Vincent Kapoi Jr, 30, and wounded Roger Nakamine, 36, in the December 4, 2019 shooting at the Hawaii base. Romeros job was to stand watch and provide security for the submarine USS Columbia. Before the incident, Romero was unhappy with his commanders and had been undergoing counseling, including anger management sessions. Vincent Kapoi Jr, 30, was fatally shot by Romero at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 4, 2019 Investigators probing Sundays shooting in Honolulu reportedly learned that the man's wife informed security at the hotel that he had barricaded himself in a room on the fourth floor, was suicidal, according to HawaiiNewsNow. The 40-year-old man fired a gun through the door when security came to do a welfare check sometime after 5:30pm on Saturday local time. No one was injured. Police arrived on the scene quickly and secured the area. The hotel, which at that point had some 100 guests, was put on lockdown. Seven hours later, guests and staff were allowed to leave. Other images from outside the resort showed a large police presence, including a SWAT team. The gunman was a lieutenant commander in the Navy stationed on Oahu, Hawaii News Now anchor Lynn Kawano reported. Police said that the suspect was a member of the military and that his commander had been called to the scene, where the gunman's family members also tried to help police convince him to surrender. The incident initially broke out around 6pm local time on Saturday, when a hotel security guard knocked on the door and the suspect fired a shot through the closed door, according to Hawaii News Now. Police rushed to the scene and the suspect fired multiple shots again through the door at the officers, who called out his name and asked him to give up. Guests who were enjoying dinner and mingling on the property were shocked as a SWAT team rushed through and staff put the property on lockdown. 'Attention! Attention! Due to the building emergency, we ask that all hotel guests remain in their rooms with their doors locked and off of their balconies,' a staff member announced over the public address system. Masked-up guests are seen gathered in the ballroom as they shelter in place Police can be seen inside the Kahala Resort & Hotel. The hotel was put on lockdown Members of the Honolulu Police Specialized Services Division respond to a barricade situation with an armed man at the Kahala Hotel in Honolulu on Saturday Some guests spent the night locked inside their rooms waiting anxiously for news about the standoff, while others sheltered in the resort ballroom. Around 100 guests were seen hiding in the ballroom in video shared on social media, as armed SWAT police set up a perimeter around the gunman. Several hours into the standoff, the hotel provided pillows and blankets to the people sheltering in the ballroom. Rex Jakobovits told Hawaii News Now that the mood inside the ballroom was initially quite tense, with some people crying, but eventually lightened. He said people felt safe because officers were posted outside the doors. As the standoff wore on, police began evacuating guests who were not staying at the hotel in small groups. Resident Yevgeniy Lendel said he was walking nearby when cops swarmed the five-star hotel. He told Hawaii News Now: 'The cops told everyone to run and shelter. We ran away from the hotel.' Emergency response vehicle is seen at Kahala Resort & Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii A police dog is seen at the scene with officer who speak with hotel staff The hotel was placed on lockdown after an armed man fired shots through the door of a guest room and barricaded himself inside A Twitter user named Jani shared that her mom works at the hotel and tweeted: 'Pls pray for my mom and the employees of the Kahala hotel. There is a gunman on the lose in the hotel & both her and her husband are on lockdown in their separate departments. I'm praying that no one gets hurt.' The hotel which costs around $500 a night has 306 rooms. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional information. Anderson Ezeibe, national president of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), has listed the steps the federal government must t... Anderson Ezeibe, national president of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), has listed the steps the federal government must take before the body calls off its industrial action. On April 6, ASUP shut polytechnics across the country in protest of the governments inertia towards the implementation of its demands. Speaking on AIT on Monday, Ezeibe pointed out the core demands that once addressed by the government, the body will call off the strike. He said ASUP understands that some of its demands will require giving the government some time, however, some salient issues must be addressed. Ezeibe said the key demands are the payment of minimum wage arrears, the establishment of a proper regulatory structure, and a written commitment to assent the bill calling for the creation of a National Polytechnics Commission. We also expect the government to look into the issue of our minimum wage arrears. We verily believe this government can fund this. Its about four billion for our sector. Theres a presidential directive in 2019 that all workers in the different MDAs should be by December 1, 2019. Here we are in April 2021, we are still owed, Ezeibe said. We expect to have a proper regulatory system to ensure that in polytechnics our members are owed, states where our members are not allowed to attend the mandatory retirement age and states where there are no government councils and all, we have proper regulatory instruments to put them in line. Because the state has to be the same. Education is of course on the concurrent list, but standardisation and regulation are on the exclusive list. This federal government through its own agencies prescribes standards. We expect the government to commit to the establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission, already the bill has passed through the first reading at the House of Representatives. But we want the government to commit in writing, that anytime the national assembly passes all of these processes, that this bill will be signed into law. If we have all of these, well be good. Ezeibe added that ASUP has been receiving signals that might lead to another meeting with the federal government later in the week. First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of interfering in Parliamentary businesses. He described the development as strange and an affront to the course of deepening Ghanas democratic credentials. The Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament recounted on Joy FM, how the opposition party instructed its members on the panel to fail about seven ministerial nominees prior to their vetting. For a party to sit outside and say that we will direct you on how to behave in Parliament is a strange development. At no point in time since I became an MP has my party called me to tell me that in this matter, we expect you to behave in this manner, he said. This is not the first time a member of the Majority Caucus has raised concerns on how the NDC MPs are directed to do the bidding of the party rather than championing the course of nation building. The Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, said the inability of the Minority Caucus to control its extremists is affecting their assertiveness on national issues. Also, the Majority Leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, described the NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, as intrusive. The Suame MP said Mr. Nketia in the course of normal business of Parliament would be in the House to ensure that his people vote in a certain direction. Mr. Osei Wusu believes once an individual is elected MP on a partys ticket, it is expected that the person will work independently in accordance with his or her partys principles and values; and any attempt by external forces to cajole legislators must be nipped in the bud. The Bekwai MP further described the issues raised by the NDC against some of President Akufo-Addos ministerial nominees Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Godfred Dame as baseless and without merit. Before we started vetting they had created a list of members they didnt want us to pass. So the members of their leadership had to go and explain, meet with the political party on why they should fail some members without even listening to them, he stated. He indicated that the Minoritys near-equal strength to the Majority Caucus has emboldened them to show needless bravado on every decision taken during the first meeting of the Eighth Parliament. The First Deputy Speaker is hopeful that things will change for good when the House returns from recess in May. 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 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) COVID-19 numbers may not show a notable downtrend this week as rising cases in areas outside greater Manila could affect the tally, an OCTA Research fellow said Monday. The number of cases will not significantly decrease yet by this week, Guido David told CNN Philippines The Source. Right now, were also seeing upticks in other provinces outside the NCR Plus. So this could affect the numbers that were seeing nationally. In particular, David cited the increase in Santiago City in Isabela, one of the areas placed under the modified enhanced community quarantine until April 30. Smaller case spikes were also recorded in Bicol and Ilocos regions, including La Union province, he said. As of Sunday, COVID-19 cases in Santiago reached 2,123, including 106 active cases or people currently sick. Total active cases in La Union are at 1955. COVID-19 cases nationwide zoomed past 860,000 on Sunday, with the Health department listing 11,681 new infections. In past weeks, the country logged consecutive record-highs in new daily infections, reaching a single-day peak of 15,310 on April 2. Tens of thousands of garment workers fired by factories supplying clothing to leading brands and retailers during the Covid-19 pandemic are being denied more than half a billion dollars worth of severance pay, new research claims. The allegations by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) suggests 37,637 workers have been deprived of around US$39.8m in legally mandated compensation in the supply chains of companies including Adidas, Amazon, Gap, Next, Nike, Target, Walmart, and Inditex, Bestseller, H&M, Debenhams, Arcadia Group, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Kontoor Brands, PVH, Tesco, Under Armour, Matalan, Li & Fung, Lidl, Bennetton and JCPenney. Its report, Fired, Then Robbed: Fashion brands complicity in wage theft during Covid-19, identifies and names 31 factories said to have withheld the payments. It also goes on to estimate total severance theft in the global garment industry during the Covid-19 pandemic is between $500m and $850m. The campaigners add that business decisions by brands is a leading cause of garment factories shutting down or otherwise needing to dismiss workers en masse. This includes ceasing or sharply reducing orders from a particular supplier, a group of suppliers, or even an entire country or, as during the current pandemic, retroactively cancelling orders that were already placed and had been wholly or partly produced. Severance theft during the pandemic is an acute manifestation of a long-standing failure of apparel brands and retailers to ensure that the workers in their supply chains are paid what they are legally owed when they lose their jobs. Over the last 15 years, the WRC, among other organisations, has exposed dozens of cases of large-scale severance theft at garment factories. Virtually every major apparel brand and retailer has been implicated, reads the report. Every significant apparel brand and retailer has a self-generated labour rights code of conduct. Virtually without exception, these codes commit the brand to ensure that supplier factories pay all legally mandated wages and benefits. Despite this, brands and retailers chronically fail to ensure that severance is paid, with catastrophic consequences for workers. The group is campaigning for brands and retailers to sign a binding agreement obligating them to make regular payments into a Severance Guarantee Fund that will step in whenever there is a case of large-scale nonpayment of severance. Some garment workers have waited an entire year for their severance and cant feed their children. Each month more factories are closing and leaving workers with nothing, says Liana Foxvog, crisis response director at the WRC and primary author of the report. The long-term problem of repeated severance theft in the garment industry has reached a brutal crescendo during Covid-19. The Severance Guarantee Fund is the only way to hold employers and brands accountable and ensure that fired garment workers are no longer robbed of the severance they have legally earned. just-style reached out to the larger brands and retailers mentioned in the report. Here is what they had to say. Thematic Reports Are you worried about the pace of innovation in your industry? GlobalData's TMT Themes 2021 Report tells you everything you need to know about disruptive tech themes and which companies are best placed to help you digitally transform your business. Find out more Brand response Adidas: Throughout the pandemic, Adidas has been committed to ensuring fair labour practices, fair wages and safe working conditions throughout our global supply chain. We continued to source from our partners and committed to paying all orders, whether they were completed or in process. To this end, we employ a team of more than 50 specialists, who work daily towards more sustainable business practices in our supply chain. We are mentioned in the context of two suppliers in the report: Hulu Garment Co Ltd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia was a supplier to one of our licensing partners. Adidas did not have a contractual relationship with the factory. Our licensee has maintained their orders with the factory and paid for their orders in full before their business relationship ended beginning of August 2020, as contractually agreed. PT Victory Chingluh in Indonesia did not supply Adidas. H&M: The report highlights an important issue for the whole industry, the need for social protection systems in many countries around the world. We are aware that during the pandemic the garment workers are in an extremely vulnerable situation and acting as a responsible buyer is of utmost importance. Regardless of circumstances, when layoffs occur at our suppliers, we follow up and ensure that workers are paid according to national law. Gap: We investigated all of the allegations from the WRC as soon as they came to us, and in all cases, we either confirmed that severance had been provided, or remediated any that were outstanding. If there is any evidence or information that suggests there are outstanding severances and/or compensation that require payment per our Code of Vendor Conduct and local law, we will investigate those cases and will seek to ensure full remediation is provided accordingly. Walmart: We are saddened by the unfortunate financial hardship that has occurred for many businesses due to the global pandemic and are particularly concerned about the impact it has on their employees, said a spokesperson for Walmart. The global pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges to suppliers and their workers. Weve worked closely with our suppliers to help minimise the impact where possible by honouring commitments and making changes to our supply-chain financing programme to expedite payments to qualified suppliers. When we receive allegations that a supplier or facility, including one that has recently closed, is violating our standards, or not complying with the law, we review and take appropriate action to hold suppliers accountable for compliance. Inditex: Of the three factories mentioned in the WRC report as Inditex suppliers, one has not supplied Inditex since 2016, one ceased to supply Inditex in 2014, and the third factory in Myanmar has never been a supplier to Inditex. Bestseller: Bestseller is wrongfully mentioned in the WRC report as being a customer of the factory Myanmar Royal Apollo Garment Factory. The factory is not on our approved list and we have no registered business with it. We have provided the WRC with this information without receiving any further details in return. We are currently investigating the matter in order to refute any wrongdoing on our part. Bestseller actively monitors that our suppliers workers are paid on time in all factories working with Bestseller. This is part of our general conduct. Under Armour: The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating for families, workers and businesses all over the world. At Under Armour, we do not tolerate labour abuses in our supply chain and believe in Acting Sustainably and Standing for Equality, two of our core values. Under Armour suppliers must meet their contractual obligations to their employees and comply with all applicable laws including those concerning wages, benefits and severance. Our suppliers are required to adhere to our Supplier Code of Conduct and the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct, both of which are incorporated into our suppliers contractual obligations as well as other requirements including those related to migrant workers. Under Armour has previously partnered with Better Work Jordan and the International Labour Organization to assess and address issues in the region. We will investigate the WRCs report and work with any supplier that is determined to be non-compliant to ensure its compliance and remediation of related issues. Tesco: just-style understands the supplier linked to Tesco in the report had subcontracted work to a site that had not been approved for production. The retailer no longer works with this supplier, but made a payment through a local NGO to support workers from the factory. It also made a broader contribution to local activists who support migrant workers in the region. Benetton: To our knowledge, none of the factories in our supply chain have closed due to Covid-19. The relationship between our suppliers and their employees is governed by the Benetton Group Code of Conduct: this is attached to the commercial contract that is approved and signed by suppliers, and is based on respect for human rights and environmental protection. Matalan: We take any allegations regarding supplier wellbeing extremely seriously, and we have looked very closely into the concerns raised and are confident on our position. We have received written confirmation from the parent group of Violet Apparel that the vast majority of workers collected the compensation legally due to them and the small minority of workers who opted not to collect this provision should urgently contact Ramatex [the overarching parent group] to receive this. All of our suppliers are mandated to follow strict regulations and compliance with relevant regulations in their operations, in line with our Ethical Sourcing policy. John Lewis: Full and prompt payment of wages is a minimum requirement all of our suppliers need to adhere to. We only had a small amount of products produced by Eco-Base. We stopped working with them in January 2020, which was three months before they closed, and paid them in full for the work. Guess: Back in 2019, we were developing and buying product through a sourcing agent called New Times. This agent placed orders on our behalf with Garden City Fashions in 2019 and very limited orders in 2020, when we changed our sourcing strategy and terminated our agent relationship with New Times. At the beginning of 2020, we began sourcing product directly with our vendors and have minimized dealing with commissioned agents. We have not placed any orders with Garden City Fashions since the beginning of 2020. Debenhams, Arcadia Group, Marks & Spencer, Kontoor Brands, PVH Corp, Amazon, Li & Fung, Lidl, JCPenney, Next Plc, Nike, Target, Ascena Retail, L Brands, Mango, Carters and Osh Kosh BGosh, The Childrens Place and Gymboree, and Urban Outfitters did not respond to just-styles request for comment at the time of going to press. Pierre Cardin, Lotto and Otto Group could not be reached for comment. GRAND RAPIDS, MI Police identified Nicholas Stephan Purnell, 28, of Grand Rapids, as the victim of a fatal shooting Friday, April 9, at an apartment on Madison Avenue SE. The suspected gunman, 17, turned himself in to police on the day of the shooting. The Grand Rapids teen awaits arraignment in Grand Rapids District Court on charges of open murder and felony firearms. The shooting happened just before noon on Friday at Stuyvesant Apartments on Madison Avenue SE near Cherry Street. Grand Rapids police responded to a report of a shooting and found the victim dead inside the apartment building, police said. Early on, the 17-year-old was considered a person of interest. Read more: Michigan to extend COVID restrictions in offices for six more months Gunshots strike Michigan fire truck leaving station Take a look inside Muskegons new high-end convention center New Delhi: Economic Offence Wing Delhi Police has arrested Dr Sudhakar Arya for cheating his wife, who was living separately from him since 2006. Dr Sudhakar took a loan of Rs 2.90 crore from DHFL in the name of himself as well as his wife but defaulted. The wife of Dr Sudhakar came to know about the forgery when she applied for the education loan for her daughter from Punjab National Bank (PNB), as the lender did not approve the loan stating that she already had taken a heavy loan of Rs 2.90 crore and she was a defaulter. Shocked to know this, she checked her CBIL and came to know that her husband took two loans of Rs 1,03,97,767 and 1,85,50,000 from DHFL, and she had been cited as co-applicant. She also came to know that her signature, PAN card and voting card were also forged to avail of the loan. After knowing this, she filed a case in the mediation centre, Delhi High Court and notices were issued to the accused husband but he never attended the mediation centre. After that, she filed the complaint with the Delhi Police and the investigation started. The probe revealed that the signatures of the complainant on both the loan applications were forged. This was proved with the help of a forensic report. Further verifications from the authorities concerned also confirmed that the PAN card and Voter Card of the complainant, the copies of which were enclosed with the loan Applications, were forged. After a thorough investigation, the accused Dr Sudhakar Arya was arrested. Dr Sudhakar Arya was residing at Vaishali, Uttar Pradesh and running a nursing home from the same residence. The investigation regarding forgeries and utilization of funds and the roles of other associates is also going on. Live TV Guebert: 28 years and a million words later, we're still here For the first time since coronavirus closed its doors last March, Newarks First Avenue School welcomed students back into its halls as New Jerseys largest school district began hybrid learning on Monday. It was a high-energy welcome back despite the chilly April rain, as teachers donned superhero t-shirts and a DJ played up-beat pop music. Parents were excited if a little nervous Monday morning, holding their childrens hands as they waited in line for their turn to check in. Im going to try and see how it goes, and if I see that later on I dont feel comfortable with it, I can change my mind. But for now, lets try it just to try, mother Vanessa Bollia said, waiting in line with her second-grade daughter, who said she wasnt sure if she was excited to go back to school. Just 39% of Newarks 39,000 students chose to re-enter classrooms on Monday, with about 500 students in-person at First Avenue School, down from a typical 1,100 students. Parents of younger students were more likely to select hybrid learning. Students will attend classes two days a week, with one group on Mondays and Tuesdays and a second group on Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday a virtual learning day for all. We are excited that we are back and then we look forward to increasing those numbers as we move ahead, superintendent Roger Leon said. About 1,000 teachers have begun the vaccination process, and pooled COVID-19 testing will be used to detect any coronavirus cases within classrooms, steps he said should increase parent confidence. Theres always worries-- I mean were humans, were moms, you know, theyre always worried, but so far the pros outweigh the cons, Michelle Gonzalez said as she and her husband, Kerry, dropped off their kindergartener, Jacob. I can finally see all my buddies in person, and starting to meet my teacher, Jacob Gonzalez said. Start times for the day were staggered by grades, with the youngest students arriving first. Children were directed towards sign-in tables before being sent to wait outside with their teachers, all of whom held signs with their names and room numbers on them. Sanitizer for hands and shoes was required to enter the building. Everyone wore masks, even four-year-old prekindergarteners. Temperature check on the first day of school since the start of the pandemic at the Newark Public School First Ave. elementary school in Newark, N.J. April, 12, 2021Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Janil Rojas, a prekindergarten teachers aide and mother of two students at the school, said it was time for the students to return. Its better being in schools, and were here, and were going to make it work, she said. Still, it wont be school like normal. Desks will be spaced six feet apart and separated by partitions. All students will have to undergo a coronavirus screening protocol, and students will stay in one classroom each day, getting lessons from other teachers through their computers. Time was set aside Monday morning to go over the new classroom expectations and help students adjust to re-entering classrooms, principal Rosa Branco said. Im hopeful that after this week theyre going to be in the swing but you know students are super resilient, Branco said. Resiliency is a core value at First Avenue School, and something students have had plenty of this past year, counselor Maricela Rodriguez said. The superhero-themed T-shirts were meant to play on that idea, and to put a smile on (students) face and let them know that their counselors, their teachers, the teacher aides, janitors, everyone here are little superheroes, she said. But after what the students have been through over the past 13 months, they are the ones that are the real heroes, Rodriguez said. 14 First day of school Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. Mumbai, April 12 : Rising Covid cases as well as reimposition of movement restrictions across states dented India's stock markets on Monday. Accordingly, the new cases count has crossed 1.5 lakhs for the first time on April 11. This spooked investors and led the S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 to crash by over 3.5 per cent each. Around 1.55 p.m., Sensex traded at 47,842.31, lower by 1,749.01 points or 3.54 per cent from its previous close of 49,591.32. The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange traded at 14,313.90, lower by 520.95 points or 3.51 per cent from its previous close. "Taking cues from SGX Nifty, our market started the week on a negative note. Nifty opened gap down and continued its downward momentum," said Jay Purohit, Technical & Derivatives Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "Selling pressure is quite severe as Nifty fell by more than 500 points and touched 14,283 levels." According to Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research: "The response from various state governments have been to impose lockdowns which has created a panic in the market and we are seeing sell off across the sectors." "All the support levels have been breached and the mood of the markets seems very bearish. Investors are advised to exercise caution while creating any fresh positions. The volatility is expected to remain in the market because of the underlying uncertainty." --IANS rv/sn/pgh Get Outlook for iOS -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Prime Minister and Union Home Minister will address several public programs in poll-bound on Monday. At 12:00 noon, the Prime Minister will address an election rally at Talit Sai Centre in Purba Bardhaman district. After that, he will also hold rallies in Kalyani University Grounds in Nadia district at 1.40 pm and the Barasat area of the North 24 Parganas district at 3.10 pm. Besides Prime Minister Modi, Shah will hold a roadshow in Kalimpong district at 11:30 am. Later, he will address a public meeting in the Dhupguri area of the Jalpaiguri district and in the Hemtabad Vidhan Sabha constituency. He is also scheduled to conduct a roadshow in Siliguri. Shah on Sunday held back-to-back roadshows in and also addressed several public meetings. Polling for the first four phases has been concluded in Violence erupted at a polling booth in Cooch Behar during the fourth round of polling. The ruling TMC alleged that Central forces opened fire twice at polling booths in Cooch Behar where people were casting their votes. Official sources in Cooch Behar confirmed the death of four people in firing. Polling for the first four phases has been concluded in West Bengal. The fifth and sixth phases of the ongoing elections will take place on April 17 and April 22. Counting of votes will take place on May 2. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation have agreed to settle all legal disputes relating to EV batteries in the United States and Korea. As a result, all litigation between the companies, which began in April 2019, is resolved. In this agreement, the two companies agreed to the following terms. SK Innovation will pay LG Energy Solution 2 trillion won (USD $1.8 billion) apportioned into lump-sum payments and a running royalty. The companies agreed to withdraw all pending legal disputes in United States and Korea, and agreed to a ten-year non-assertion. LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation have decided to settle to compete in an amicable way, all for the future of the US and South Korean electric vehicle battery industries. We are dedicated to work together to support the Biden Administrations climate agenda and to develop a robust US supply chain. We are grateful to the Korean and US governments and stakeholders involved for their efforts in making this settlement possible. Jong Hyun Kim, CEO and President of LG Energy Solution and Jun Kim, CEO and President of SK Innovation US President Joe Biden issued a statement on the resolution: Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Tuesday announced the appointment of Tim Roemer, Arizonas Chief Information Security Officer, to Director of the states Department of Homeland Security. Roemer will succeed Gil Orrantia, who last month informed Governor Ducey of his intention to retire as the departments director after 11 years. Roemer will assume the post immediately. In addition to the change in leadership, Governor Ducey announced that the cybersecurity operations overseen by Roemer in the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) will become part of the Department of Homeland Security. Cybersecurity is homeland security thats why Im looking forward to moving Arizonas critical cyber mission to the Department of Homeland Security, said Governor Ducey. Tim Roemer has served our state for years with protection and proactiveness at top of mind, and Im confident he will lead the Department and its new cybersecurity operations well. Im grateful to former Director Orrantia for his tireless commitment to protecting Arizonans and supporting law enforcement, and I wish him the best in his retirement. Incoming Director Roemer said that combining the states cybersecurity mission with the Department of Homeland Security will better protect Arizona from increasing cybersecurity attacks that threaten our infrastructure, data and citizens. As part of the transition, Roemer will appoint a Deputy Chief Information Security Officer to manage the cyber-related issues of the Department. It is a tremendous honor to serve the State of Arizona in this new role, said Roemer. Arizonas leadership in cybersecurity and the transition to Homeland Security is a culmination of years of hard work to improve preparedness, enhance efficiencies, and ensure our information is secure. Im thrilled to continue serving Arizonans, and Im grateful to Governor Ducey for entrusting me with this leadership role and the states cybersecurity operations. Roemer was appointed as Arizonas Chief Information Security Officer at ADOA in July 2019, where he has led the cybersecurity team in defending Arizona from rising cyberattacks and helped protect the states technology infrastructure and data. He has also worked with the Secretary of State to help protect the 2020 election and increased the states cyber-related partnerships with law enforcement to strengthen Arizonas cyber resiliency. Im proud to see Tim take on the role of Director at the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, said ADOA Director Andy Tobin. He is committed to using innovative approaches to solve problems and get the job done, and it has been a pleasure to work with him at ADOA. He knows the importance of cybersecurity and protecting our state, and I look forward to his leadership at Homeland Security. He has worked for the State of Arizona since the beginning of Governor Duceys Administration, where he most recently served as the Governors Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs. Prior to that, Roemer held a dual role as the Governors Public Safety Advisor and the Deputy Director for the Arizona Department of Homeland Security. In his roles in the Governors Office, he served on the Arizona-Mexico Commissions Security Committee and has advised the Governor on a wide range of topics including cybersecurity, border security, and counterterrorism. Prior to serving the State of Arizona, Tim served in the Central Intelligence Agency for 10 years. The final two years of his CIA career were spent as a nonpartisan detailee to the White House Situation Room, where he provided critical national security updates to the President, Vice President, and National Security Council. In this role, he briefed senior U.S. policy makers on a diverse range of national security related issues. In addition to his time in the West Wing, Roemer supported CIA's mission at its Headquarters in McLean, Virginia where he worked in the Office of Congressional Affairs and the Office of Acquisitions. He helped manage CIAs relationship with Congress as a Congressional Liaison. While in the Office of Acquisitions, he negotiated and administered classified contracts. Over his more than a decade career in the U.S. Intelligence Community, he also completed assignments at the National Reconnaissance Office and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Roemer graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and a minor in Political Science. Former Director Gil Orrantia announced his retirement in a letter to Governor Ducey on March 2, 2021 and officially retired on April 2. He was appointed to Director by Governor Jan Brewer in 2009 and was endorsed by Governor Ducey when he took office. Under his leadership, the Department distributed and administered more than $130 million in grants to Arizona state, local, county, tribal and municipal first responders during Governor Duceys administration. 25 years ago: Israel kills Lebanese civilians in Qana Massacre UN workers collect the dead at UN Refugee Camp at Qana after Israeli massacre On April 18, 1996, over 100 Lebanese civilians were killed after Israel shelled the United Nations compound in Qana. The shelling, known as the Qana Massacre, was part of a broader attack, Operation Grapes of Wrath, launched against Lebanon by Israel, ostensibly in retaliation for previous terrorist attacks. Operation Grapes of Wrath, the 16-day bombardment of southern Lebanon, claimed the lives of over 160 people. Up to 500,000 Lebanese civilians were displaced due to damage from the conflict. It underscored the essentially murderous character of the peace process initiated in September 1993 with the US-brokered accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Far from heralding a period of peace and prosperity, the so-called peace pact intensified the scramble for economic and political control of the region. The struggle involved the major powers (most notably the United States and France); local capitalist regimes in Israel, Lebanon and Syria; and the bourgeois national movements including Hezbollah and the PLO. Hezbollahs rockets against civilian targets in Israel were launched at Syrias behest. The regime of Hafez Assad used these attacks to pressure Washington and Tel Aviv into accommodating the interests of Damascus in the Middle East settlement. The Israeli state, backed by Washington, responded with massive violence directed at crushing popular resistance to its occupation and forcing Syria and Iran to cut off support for Hezbollah. Definite economic interests underlay the US-Israeli assault. Israel had no desire to see Lebanons revival as a rival banking and commercial center in the Middle East. Both Tel Aviv and Washington viewed with concern the increasing French political and economic involvement in Lebanon. The Israeli blitzkrieg served to wreak hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to Lebanons basic infrastructure and at the same time reassert US and Israeli hegemony in the region. The bombing was only halted because it began to backfire on the government of Shimon Peres, particularly after the slaughter of more than 100 refugees at Qana. Peress hope of boosting his governments chances in the upcoming May elections also slumped as the operation failed to halt Hezbollahs attacks. The assault exposed the dead end of nationalism in the Middle East. At the height of the Israeli carnage, the PLO leadership of Yasser Arafat solidarized itself with the Peres government, and voted overwhelmingly to remove clauses in the movements charter calling for the destruction of Israel. Peres reciprocated with a vote by the Israeli Labour Party in favor of the establishment of a Palestinian state. 50 years ago: Bangladesh forms provisional government Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, first president of Bangladesh On April 17, 1971, the cabinet members of a Bangladesh provisional government were sworn in at a meeting in the town of Mujibnagar (then known as Baidyanathtala). The formation of the government solidified earlier declarations of independence (in what had been East Pakistan) by leaders of the liberal bourgeois Awami League, and set off the heaviest fighting of the Bangladesh war for independence. The provisional government was led by members of the Awami League who had been elected to the Pakistan Parliament in the December 1970 general elections, but had been refused seats by Yahya Khans presidential dictatorship in West Pakistan. In March 1971, Khan began a wave of terror in Bangladesh, arresting and assassinating those suspected of supporting independence. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the Awami League and nominal president of the provisional government, was arrested and held until the conclusion of the war. Shortly after its formation, the provisional government moved to Kolkata, India where it would conduct the war in exile under the effective control of the Indian government of Indira Gandhi. India provided large supplies of arms and training for the Mukti Bahini militias. It was clear that a direct war between India and Pakistan loomed. The events in Bangladesh carried both immense dangers and potential for the working masses of the subcontinentrevolution or fratricidal war. The outcome depended on the elaboration of the independent political position of the working class. This entailed common political action by all the oppressed layers of the subcontinentWest Pakistan, India, East Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (Ceylon)in struggle for a workers and peasants government. This position, put forward by the Revolutionary Communist League of Sri Lanka, and its leader Keerthi Balasuriya, was opposed by every political tendency in the subcontinent, as well as by what was then the leading section of the world Trotskyist movement, the Socialist Labor League in Britain, which offered critical support to India in the struggle. Balasuriya wrote to the SLL, It is not possible to support the national liberation struggle of the Bengali people and the voluntary unification of India on socialist foundations without opposing the Indo-Pakistan War. Without opposing the war from within India and Pakistan it is completely absurd to talk about a unified socialist India which alone can safeguard the right of self-determination of the many nations in the Indian subcontinent. The Indian Congress government recognized this immense threat to their class rule and readily came to the aid of the Bangladeshi factions that could be relied on to both fight against Pakistan and suppress the strivings of the masses in Bangladesh. 75 years ago: US-Soviet arms race escalates Wernher von Braun poses with Nazi military officers at the Peenemunde Army Research Center. Von Braun contributed to the development of the US ballistic missile after WWII This week in April 1946 authorities in the US and the Soviet Union took steps in an arms race escalated by the first stages of the Cold War. While the US carried out its first successful launches of a long-range guided ballistic missile, the Soviets established a secret facility aimed at developing nuclear weapons. The US missile tests, which began on April 16, involved V-2 rockets, captured from Nazi Germany at the conclusion of World War II. They were conducted at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, which had been established in July 1945 for post-war military testing and weapons development. The V-2, developed by the Nazis in 1944, was powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine and able to carry a 1,000-kilogram payload. While only a limited number were used by Germany in the latter stages of the war, the missile was highly effective and deadly. It travelled at supersonic speed, defeating existing detection and anti-missile capabilities and striking without audible warning. Germanys defeat in May 1945 touched off a race between the Allied powers, especially the Americans and the Soviets, for control of the Nazi weapon. The Soviets gained control of some of the V-2 manufacturing facilities and prepared to transfer them to Russian territory. The US military acquired 300 railcar loads of V-2 parts and materials, which were shipped to New Mexico and driven to the White Sands testing facility. The Americans also captured 126 of the German designers of the weapon. Wernher von Braun, the leading figure in the development of Nazi rocket technology, and a number of his colleagues were brought to the US, where they were given immunity for past crimes and put to work on V-2 development. On April 13, the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics, codenamed Arzamas-16, was established in the town of Sarov, several hundred kilometers from Moscow. The new body, founded as the result of a decree by the Soviet Unions Council of Ministers the week before, was tasked with developing an atomic weapon. Some six months later, the first nuclear reactor would be established in Moscow. Soviet weapons experts had examined the feasibility of developing a nuclear weapon during World War II. Their limited efforts gave way to an urgent program to develop atomic devices after the US dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the conclusion of the global conflict, in August 1945. In addition to terrorizing the Japanese population, those attacks were aimed at sending a menacing warning to the Soviet Union and the rest of the world. 100 years ago: US-Japanese conflict over Pacific Islands US planes flying over Yap island On April 18, 1921, United States Secretary of State Charles Hughes release diplomatic correspondence from the previous few months that showed intensifying conflict between Japan and the US over the Yap Islands, today a part of the Federated States of Micronesia in the western Pacific, south of Guam and east of the Philippines. After the Unites States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American war and occupied the Philippines in 1898, Spain had sold the Yap Islands to Germany. At the outset of the First World War, Japanese imperialism, fighting on the side of the Allies, occupied the islands, which were a communications hub for underseas cable. In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles, which was not signed by the US, endorsed the Japanese occupation with its South Seas Mandate. The conflict surfaced publicly on April 7 when Hughes released a letter to the Allied powers, which included France, Britain, Italy and Japan, that demanded equal access to former German colonies. By the next week, the United States was receiving verbal support from France and more ambiguous support from the British. The correspondence released on April 18 revealed that Japan regarded the issue as a question of grave concern, and that the League of Nations had granted a colonial mandate to Japan for all the territory in the Pacific north of the equator. Hughes in his correspondence insisted, according to the New York Times, that the [Allied] powers could not yield Yap to Japan without the approval of this country. VIRGINIA The Cass County Board is scheduled to meet in regular session at 7 p.m. today at 100 E. Springfield St. Among the items on the agenda are: Kolkata, April 12 : The CBI on Monday interrogated the alleged coal scam kingpin Anup Majhi alias Lala for the sixth time. According to the probe body, Majhi appeared before the CBI at around 11 a.m. A CBI official said that he was being questioned in connection with the scam and about his financial dealings and his properties in the state (West Bengal). The investigation agency had earlier grilled Majhi for several hours on April 1, 6, 8 and 10, and on March 30 in connection with the scam. The CBI has also summoned Bankura Superintendent of Police Koteswara Rao N on April 13 for questioning in connection with the illegal coal smuggling case. Majhi's close aide Ganesh Bavaria was questioned on April 3, and Birbhum's former Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh on April 1. Besides, former Asanol Commissioner Laxmi Narayan Meena was also interrogated. On April 5, the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the money laundering part, attached Majhi's immovable assets to the tune of Rs 165.86 crore. They 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 Congress and the BJP are engaged in a pitched battle. ORWIGSBURG An Eagle Scout project done by a 17-year-old borough teenager will benefit not only the Orwigsburg Fire Department but residents of the community as well. Greg Rautzhan Jr., a senior at Blue Mountain High School and member of Boy Scout Troop 621, Orwigsburg, raised about $5,000 in donations from area businesses and used that money to purchase 40 Storz connectors for a portion of the boroughs 120 hydrants. I made a goal for myself to collect enough money to get 12 connectors but ended up being able to get 40, Rautzhan said, noting each coupler carries a cost of $162. Despite the rain Sunday morning Rautzhan, his father, Greg, mother, Denise and brother, Andrew, 16, worked with Orwigsburg firefighters and continued installing the remaining 23 couplers. Rautzhan Jr. said he was able to install 17 couplers on April 10 and hoped to finish the project Sunday. The Storz connector solves a common problem faced by firefighters mismatches between couplings. The thread types or coupling standards firefighters use to connect their hoses to fire hydrants may vary from municipality to municipality but Storz connections are the same everywhere. A 5-inch Storz coupling on a fire hose used as supply lines on engines can connect to other 5-inch Storz fittings on a fire hydrant or fire department connection. As a result, firefighters will never face the dangerous inconvenience of finding and using adapters to correct mismatched threads on a hydrant during a fire. Scott Rarick, Orwigsburg assistant fire chief, said having the Storz couplers will be a tremendous benefit since time is of the essence to get water from a hydrant as fast as possible when a fire breaks out. He said the majority of the 40 couplers are being installed in and around the towns Center Square and along Market Street where there are businesses, multi-story buildings and buildings attached to each other. Ultimately we hope to have all of Market Street completed, he said. The couplers are also being placed in the area with nursing homes and schools, Rarick said. He explained that most communities in Schuylkill County use the Storz couplers, thus making it easier when they are called to Orwigsburg to assist at the scene of a fire or other emergency requiring the use of fire hydrants. Goal on horizon Rautzhan Jr. said the community project is the final part of his requirements to become an Eagle Scout. He already accumulated the required 21 merit badges and was involved in his troop, once serving as an assistant patrol leader. Becoming an Eagle Scout is a dream come true, he said. That was my goal since the first time I walked in there, he said. Denise Rautzhan said her son, Greg, has always been ambitious and enjoys helping others. He likes to do volunteer work, thats what makes him happy, she said. Denise Rautzhan said that after high school, Greg Jr. plans to attend either St. Josephs University in Philadelphia or the University of Pittsburgh and major in finance. Were proud of him, she said, speaking for herself and her husband. Rarick said that thanks to the efforts of Rautzhan Jr., about a third of the fire hydrants in the borough will have the Storz connectors. He said he hopes other members of the troop would consider continuing the work as part of their community service projects until all of the 120 fire hydrants are taken care of. Maybe this could be an ongoing thing, he said. This is a win win, Rarick said. Its a win for this young man for completing his Eagle Scout project and its a win for the fire department and the borough. Along with raising money for the connectors, Rarick said Rautzhan Jr. went above and beyond by working with Dave Teter, a borough employee and member of the fire department, to paint an H on the street designating where some of the fire hydrants are located. This will help us and other companies who are called to assist to find a water source easier, Rarick said. All in all, Rautzhan Jr. said he is glad he was able to raise enough money to go over and above his original goal of 12 connectors. The businesses were terrific with donations, he said. The Biden administration announced Monday that it had reached agreements with the governments of Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala for those countries to increase enforcement against migration toward the United States border. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said the three countries have increased their numbers of police and troops in an attempt to keep migrants, including families with children, from making a dangerous trip north. Mexico has informed the United States that it will maintain 10,000 troops at its own southern border, aiming to double the number of migrants that it stops from traveling north, Ms. Psaki said. Guatemala has added 1,500 troops to its border with Honduras and has set up a series of a dozen checkpoints along the route that many migrants take as they head to the United States. She also said that Honduras recently surged 7,000 police and troops to disperse a contingent of migrants that had gathered to make the trip north seeking refuge. WATERLOO REGION, ON, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - We must redouble our efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 and keep Canadians safe. To ensure Canadians have access to the tools they need, the Government of Canada has been procuring and distributing screening tools to provinces, territories, and communities across the country. Testing and screening along with contact tracing, isolation, masking, vaccination and the COVID Alert App are part of our multi-layered pandemic response. Today, the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth; on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, announced the launch of the StaySafe COVID-19 Rapid Screening Program in Ontario's Waterloo Region, through a $430,000 investment from the Safe Restart Agreement. The StaySafe program will provide free rapid screening tests for local workers of small and medium-sized businesses, with a target of 3,000 rapid tests conducted each week. The program will increase workers' access to COVID-19 tests, and help detect cases of COVID-19 quickly, before more cases reach workplaces and communitieskeeping workers and their families safe. Work will continue with industries and organizations across the country, including small- and medium-sized businesses and not-for-profits, to expand access to workplace screening initiatives. The best practices learned through this StaySafe initiative will be documented and provided to others so that any region in Canada can quickly stand up a similar screening program. Screening with rapid tests provides an extra layer of defence against the spread of the virus by identifying people who are not showing symptoms of infection, but may be carrying COVID-19 into their workplaces and communities. These initiatives are an important tool for detecting cases of COVID-19, but are not a substitute from the measures that keep us all safe: physical distancing, wearing a mask, washing our hands, and staying home if we are sick. The Government of Canada continues its work with partners across the country to ensure that Canadians are safe from COVID-19. Quotes "Workplace screening is an important tool to limit the spread of COVID-19 and help keep workers safe. Through this initiative with the StaySafe Rapid Antigen Screening Program in Waterloo Region, we are providing free workplace screening options to help keep people safe and support businesses reopening in the Region. Working with public health officials, this program builds on current measures in Waterloo Region to keep communities safe." The Honourable Patty Hajdu Minister of Health "As we continue to fight COVID-19, the StaySafe rapid screening program will play an important role in helping small and medium-sized businesses operate safely in the Waterloo Region. Ensuring workplace testing is more accessible is one of many ways the Government of Canada is taking a Team Canada approachworking with provincial and municipal partners to protect Canadians and support main streets, and the small businesses that form the backbone of our economy during the pandemic. Together, we will get through this and come out the other side even stronger." The Honourable Mary Ng Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade "The StaySafe Rapid Antigen Screening Program, is another important measure to keep the people of Waterloo Region safe. It is part of the Government of Canada's overall strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19. This Program's outcomes will be documented to provide a foundation, for communities across the country, to stand up similar initiatives. We will build back even better by working with industry, organizations, experts, as well as provinces, territories, regions, and municipalities as the health and safety of Canadian remains our priority and is a shared responsibility." The Honourable Bardish Chagger Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth "Since the outbreak of COVID-19, our Government has been working closely with industries to find innovative ways to protect the health and safety of Canadians. Today's announcement is important for Canadians as it will allow businesses to access the right tools to ramp up rapid testing and screening activities within their workplace. This will help businesses protect their employees and customers while we work to safely reopen the economy." The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne Minister Innovation, Science and Industry "Protecting the health and safety of Ontarians is our top priority, and the Ontario government is committed to providing greater flexibility and innovative testing options to stop the spread of COVID-19. Rapid testing in the workplace will add an additional layer of protection for workers and families in Waterloo Region. We continue to work closely with our health care and industry partners to expand the use of rapid tests." The Honourable Christine Elliott Ontario Deputy Premier and Minister of Health "By expanding rapid testing to small and medium-sized businesses and making it easier to administer, we will be able to keep people working and safe. These measures are essential to further protect Ontario's workforce as we work together towards a swift recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a stronger and more resilient province." The Honourable Vic Fedeli Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade "The StaySafe program will make rapid screening free and accessible for more employees of small- and medium-sized businesses, and help keep them and their families safe. By supporting this program, we are empowering Ontario's hardworking businesses with more tools to stay safe and continue supporting our economic recovery." The Honourable Prabmeet Sarkaria Ontario Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction "We know we need a solution to help keep essential workers at small- and medium-sized businesses safe as we work to keep the economy open. With serial self-swabbing, this rapid screening pop-up program is another way to help individuals stay safe and to help workplaces stay open. We're grateful for the support from all levels of government as well as our regional partners and are proud to be able to offer this model as a playbook for regions across Canada." Iain Klugman President and CEO, Communitech "Business owners and their employees will be able to self-administer rapid screening. If someone does screen positive, we will see them at our assessment centres to confirm with a diagnostic test. I encourage local businesses who provide essential services within the community to take part in this program as another step to help keep our community safe and thriving." Lee Fairclough President, St. Mary's General Hospital "This program will help to combat viruses to spread and will help to keep workplaces safe. We've known from the beginning that rapid screening was a vital tool in the fight against COVID-19. We are so pleased to play a major role in getting rapid screening to small- and medium-sized businesses, along with our regional partners." Greg Durocher President and CEO of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Quick Facts Associated Links StaySafe Rapid Antigen Screening Program SOURCE Health Canada For further information: Contacts: Cole Davidson, Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, 613-957-0200; Media Relations, Health Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]; Public Inquiries: 1-833-784-4397 New Delhi, April 12 : The Supreme Court on Monday held that lack of scientific material, blood tests or breath analyser results will not prevent insurance companies from establishing a case for exclusion from liability under ground of intoxication in a contract. A bench comprising Justices U.U. Lalit, Indira Banerjee and K.M. Joseph said: "If the breath analyser or any other test is not performed for any reason, the insurer cannot be barred from proving his case otherwise." Noting that presence of alcohol in excess of 30 mg per 100 ml of blood is not an indispensable requirement to enable an insurer to successfully invoke the clause, the bench said it is not necessary for the insurer to establish that there was acute alcohol intoxication and equally, it need not be shown that the vehicle was driven by a person who was a chronic alcoholic. "All that is required is to show that at the time of driving the vehicle, resulting in the accident, the driver was under the influence of alcohol," it said in a 181-page verdict. The top court observed that where there is no scientific material, in the form of test results available, as in the case before them, it may not disable the insurer from establishing a case for exclusion. The verdict came on an appeal filed by an insurance company challenging the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) order, which held the insurer at fault for excluding the policy liability on the ground of drunken driving. The commission had ruled that the insurer had to prove that the alcohol content was above 30 mg/100 ml of blood, as stipulated under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act. And, the alcohol content has to be established through results obtained from breath analyser and blood tests as prescribed in Sections 203 and 204 of the MV Act. If not established, then the insurer cannot exclude the liability. The top court, however, noted that case records show that the driver smelt of alcohol while he was driving a Porsche car belonging to a private firm which met with an accident in early hours in December 2007 in New Delhi. After the accident, the car caught fire and it was described as a total loss. "There is no evidence as to the quantity of alcohol consumed. It is also true that there is no evidence other than the smell of alcohol being detected on both the driver and the co-passenger, of any other effects of consumption of alcohol," it said. The requirement under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act is not to be conflated as to what constitutes driving under the influence of alcohol under the policy of insurance in an Own Damage Claim. "Such a claim must be considered on the basis of the nature of the accident, evidence as to drinking before or during the travel, the impact on the driver and the very case set up by the parties," the bench noted. The top court, allowing the appeal of the insurance company, said that "the alcohol which was consumed manifests contemporaneously in the breath of the driver, to conclude that alcohol did play the role, which, unfortunately, it is capable of producing". In dramatic testimony, victim in sex abuse case Newman pled out confronts him District Attorney Greg Newman testifies during a hearing on whether he is removed from office. [AMY McCRAW/Hendersonville Lightning] Valerie Marie Owenby got her day in court at last. Owenby, now 22, offered dramatic testimony during a hearing on the possible removal of District Attorney Greg Newman that opened Monday morning in the Grove Street Courthouse. Owenby told a judge that Newman robbed her of her chance to confront the man who she said raped her as child when he decided to settle the case without her knowledge. I was not able to look him in the eyes and tell him what he had done to me, what trauma he had done to me," she said. "He took something I wasnt able to get back. He took my virginity. He took my childhood. He took every ounce of trust I had away in an instant and you let him go like it was nothing. Owenby testified during the opening day of a hearing at the Henderson County Courthouse in which an independent counsel is arguing that Newman should be removed from office. Owenby testified that the man, James Franklin Sapp, molested her from the time she was 5 years old until she was 12. She told her mother about the abuse and then reported it to authorities when she was 14. A grand jury handed down five felony sexual assault charges against Sapp six months after Owenby spoke to investigators. She said she believed then that he would be prosecuted on the charges. I had high hopes at the time. It went downhill from there, Owenby said as her voice broke and she wiped her nose with a tissue. Owenbys testimony came after Independent Counsel James P. Cooney III told Superior Court Judge Robert C. Ervin that the District 29B prosecutor had committed dishonesty and fraud in the execution of his duties and deserved to be ousted. Newmans handling of Owenbys case is one of the reasons Cooney cited when arguing Newman should be removed from office. In his opening argument, Cooney said ample grounds exist to support the removal of the district attorney. He cited the three pillars of the case against the elected prosecutor for Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties: A plea deal Newman made that allowed Sapp, a defendant charged with five child sexual abuse felonies to plead guilty to one misdemeanor in a brief proceeding that the victim was not made aware of. The successful charge of vindictive prosecution by a defendant, Leonard Schalow, who has been jailed for eight and a half years. The case currently is on appeal before the state Supreme Court. Newman's dismissal of drug charges, while district attorney, in an unusual motion involving a former client, known only as CB, when he was a defense attorney. That case resulted in a Bar grievance and reprimand. This is only the third proceeding like this in the history of North Carolina," Cooney told the court. If the proceeding is a rarity in North Carolina, the optics were unusual as well. Appointed as district attorney in 2013, Newman has been re-elected twice by convincing margins. He faces re-election in 2022, should be choose to run. On Monday morning, Newman along with two defense lawyers as the defendant in the courtroom where he has tried dozens of cases as the prosecutor for the state. Valerie Owenbys father, Oppie Gene Owenby Jr., also told the court that he felt betrayed by Newman because he was not informed about the quickly arranged proceeding arrangement that erased the felony sexual abuse charges against Sapp and allowed him to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of assault on a female. I wanted my daughter to be heard by the court. She has not received justice, Owenby said. It made me look at the justice system as a kangaroo court. Owenby testified he did not learn of the plea deal in his daughters case until he called the District Attorneys office to check on the status of the case. At that point, it turned out, the case was over. Owenby and his daughter testified after Pat Murphy, a deputy counsel at the N.C. State Bar, testified about the evidence he presented to the bars Disciplinary Hearing Commission against Newman last November after the Owenbys filed a grievance against him. Murphy said he presented evidence to the commission, which is made up of two lawyers and a non-lawyer, that Owenby and his daughter were not informed of the plea arrangement with Sapp. The commission also found that Newman lied when he told then District Court Judge Athena Brooks that the Owenbys had been informed of the plea arrangement and did not want to be heard. Newmans lie to Brooks and his violation of a state law requiring that victims be notified when plea deals are taken in court are serious offenses, Murphy said. The court system has to operate on truthful information," he said. "There is a higher expectation that officers of the court are going to give the court accurate truthful information. I cant see how that doesnt have a devasting impact on the administration of justice. The special counsel team called its first witness, Superior Court Judge Athena Brooks, and questioned her about the plea agreement in the case of Sapp, the defendant in the Valerie Owenby case. Brooks, at the time a District Court judge, testified that it was unusual for serious felony charges to come before her. "I remember asking, Is the victim OK with that? and words were said that they didn't want to be there, some words like that," Brooks said. "Mr. Newman gave an indication that the victim did not want to be heard and we took the plea." "I have never written a sentence like that before," she said when asked if she usually made a note on the plea agreement on a victim's presence. She put the statement in the record because "it was a reduction from a serious felony to a misdemeanor. ... The elected district attorney was involved." Brooks said she would not have accepted the plea had she known that a victim who wanted to testify had not been notified of the plea hearing. Newman also testified Monday. Under questioning from Ike Northrup, an Asheville attorney also on the special counsels team, Newman said he wasnt intentionally trying to misrepresent anything to Judge Brooks. He said he fought the state bar case against him as hard as he could. "They were tough on me but I did feel I had a duty to stand up for what I did and for my office," Newman said of the state Bar hearing. "I had to stand my ground and I did. ... I'm sorry that the panel found against me. I didn't lie to anyone ..." "One thing that's missed in all of this is that I immediately went to the defense counsel and was very open about the situation we had," he said. "I think I made the right decision" in accepting the reduced charge plea. Northrup asked Newman about a quote in the Transylvania Times that the Bar decision was politically motivated. Newman said "I wouldn't have said that. Northrup asked Newman whether he believed, as he told a reporter, that the Bar case against him was politically motivated. "I believe so, the timing of the complaint and the extent was gone through by the state Bar," he said. "This thing drug on for three years before we actually had a hearing." He added that he provided everything the Bar asked for. "They were deceptive with me. But the joke's on me, they're building a case against me. ... I'm not pleased that it went as far as it went. I'm angry about it, to be honest. It impugns my character." His initial response to the 2019 Bar complaint contained "incorrect statements" because he answered quickly without doing detailed research on a matter that happened four years earlier. "I relied too much on my memory" but did not knowingly make false statements either to the Bar or to Judge Brooks, he said. "My first response was inadequate" and contained statements from memory. "I didn't address the initial inquiry as thoroughly as I should have. I think I was drawing too much on my memory." Murphy testified politics played no role in the bars decision to present Newmans case to the disciplinary commission or its decision to stay the suspension of his law license. Under cross examination by Newman attorney David Freedman, Murphy acknowledged that the commission stopped short of barring Newman from practicing law. In an objection to a question about whether the commission stopped him from being District Attorney, Cooney noted that the bar dealt with the issue surrounding Newmans law license. The hearing now under way will determine if he remains District Attorney, Cooney added. Mary Winstead, another deputy counsel with the state bar who is now retired, testified she handled a grievance filed against Newman concerning a client referred to only as CB in the courtroom. In that case, the bar issued Newman a reprimand after finding he had a conflict of interest when he, as District Attorney, dismissed drug charges CB had pleaded guilty to when Newman represented him as a defense attorney before he became District Attorney. Newman told the bar when the grievance was filed against him that he did not remember that he had represented CB. In court on Monday, he testified he knew he had represented CB. But that he didnt see it as a conflict of interest because he did not do anything as District Attorney to hurt CB. On the subject of what the Bar's disciplinary hearing commission called false and misleading statements in his response to the Bar's inquiry, Newman attributed the statements to his faulty memory. His initial response to the 2019 Bar complaint contained "incorrect statements" because he answered quickly without doing detailed research on a matter that had transpired four years earlier. "I relied too much on my memory" but did not knowingly make false statements either to the Bar or to Judge Brooks, he said. "My first response was inadequate" and contained statements from memory. "I didn't address the initial inquiry as thoroughly as I should have. I think I was drawing too much on my memory." On the Schalow case, Newman described the victim as having been beaten "from head to toe" and had sustained serious internal injuries. Newman filed an attempted first-degree murder indictment and later dropped that charge when Superior Court Judge Mark Powell told him the offense did not rise to that level. Powell declared a mistrial and Newman filed a second, corrected indictment, this time including the element of malice aforethought. At the second trial, witnesses included the victim, Erin Schalow, investigators and medical personnel who treated her. "She was close to dying" from her injuries, Newman said. "He had beaten her in the head a number of times and he had beaten her about her body," so that she had suffered a "ruptured spleen, a broken wrist, broken bones ..." A jury convicted Schalow and a judge sentenced him to prison. When Schalow won an appeal that overturned his conviction on double jeopardy grounds, Newman filed a third indictment, this time for assault. "In this case we did feel like we had other crimes from other periods of time that we could address," he said. In a pretrial motion, Schalow's defense lawyer again raised the double jeopardy issue and made the charge of vindictive prosecution. Although a state Court of Appeals vacated Schalow's conviction, he remains in jail because the case is on appeal at the N.C. Supreme Court. The hearing is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. today. YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian authorities have completed the investigation into the criminal case involving the two captured Syrian citizens who were fighting for the Azerbaijani Armed Forces as mercenaries in the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war. The Committee of Investigations said that the investigation gathered evidence substantiating that Muhrab Muhammad al-Shkher and Yusef Alabet al-Hajji were fighting for the Azerbaijani military as foreign mercenaries in the war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan on September 27, 2020. The actions of the mercenaries were aimed at killing civilians in Armenia and Artsakh, with the purpose of terrorizing the peaceful population and destabilizing the domestic situation of Armenia and Artsakh. Yusuf Alabet al-Hajji is the Syrian terrorist who had testified that they were ordered to slaughter every Armenian in the village. Muhrab Muhammad al-Shkher, also a Syrian citizen, had testified that he, along with many others, were recruited by the leader of the Suleyman Shah Brigade in Syria and taken to Azerbaijan via Turkey. Criminal charges of Terrorism Activity Committed by an Organized Group, International Terrorism, Gross Violation of International Humanitarian Law During Armed Conflicts (murder of non-combatants, civilians) and Mercenarism were pressed against the two arrested Syrian mercenaries. The indictment has been sent to the supervising prosecutor with a motion on forwarding it to court. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan The Technical Advisor and Spokesperson to the Vice-President Dr Gideon Boako has admonished party supporters and grassroots to remain resolute and forge ahead in unity as President Akufo-Addo continues to deliver his mandate to the people. According to him, they are critical in the partys success in past and future elections urging them to continue to lend the needed support required of them to ensure that the NPP government efficiently delivers on its mandate to Ghanaians. He has appealed to party supporters and grassroots to unite and eschew hatred, divisiveness and self-destruction as the party targets breaking the eight year cycle in the 2024 general elections. Speaking to the partys base at Duayaw-Nkwanta when the leadership of "NPP Grassroots Supporters Association in the Ahafo region as part of the agenda of the Association to rekindle the spirit of volunteerism in the party and to thank him for his contributions in the 2020 polls, he disclosed that each and every one of them also played a critical role. You are the kingmakers and we appreciate every single contribution you made during the 2020 elections. Though the NPP has won the poll, we must be united, eschew hatred, divisiveness and work towards making the party bigger, better and a force to reckon with in 2024, he urged. Dr Gideon Boako a native of Bomaa in the Tano North Constituency averred that, the New Patriotic Party performed creditably in its first term and the grassroots must hold the core in order for the President to deliver his mandate as the party gears towards the next elections. Over the years, he has been of enormous support to the various political actors in Tano North Constituency and across the Ahafo region and therefore pledged his unflinching support to the Association. 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 U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has changed the number of storms that constitute an average Atlantic hurricane season, the agency said in a statement on Friday. NOAAs Climate Prediction Center is using 1991-2020 as the 30-year period-of-record to determine the average number of storms in a hurricane season, the agency said. Related: Researchers Predict Above-Average Hurricane Season This Year Previously, NOAAs period-of-record was 1981-2010, for which the average number of named storms is 12, the average number of hurricanes is six, and the average of major hurricanes packing winds of at least 111 miles per hour (178.6 kph) is three. The average number of named storms in the new 30-year period is 14, with seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. This update allows our meteorologists to make forecasts for the hurricane season with the most relevant climate statistics taken into consideration, said Michael Farrar, director of NOAAs National Centers for Environmental Prediction. Even with the increased number of storms, the latest forecasts for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1, call for an above-average season. On Thursday, Colorado State University forecasters said they expect 17 named storms and eight hurricanes, four of which will be major, in the 2021 season. In making long-term hurricane forecasts, meteorologists compare conditions for the upcoming season with those of previous years. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; editing by Leslie Adler) Topics USA Catastrophe Natural Disasters Hurricane Windstorm STILLWATER, Minn., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nystrom & Associates, Ltd., one of the Nation's largest behavioral health and substance use disorder providers announces the opening of its new clinic in Stillwater at 1715 Tower Dr. W, Ste. 100, Stillwater, MN 55082. The clinic is scheduled to open April 30, 2021. Nystrom's new outpatient clinic will serve all ages and will offer Stillwater: Psychiatry/Medication Management, Therapy, Substance Use Disorder treatment (SUD), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS), and Children's Therapeutic Services and Supports (CTSS). "We're very excited and honored to be expanding these very important services into the Stillwater community. The need for high quality behavioral health and substance use addiction services persists, in Stillwater and throughout the nation, and we're humbled to create better access and even greater convenience through our expansion. We have a phenomenal team of clinical providers and management who came together to make this possible," Peter Nystrom, Chief Commercial Officer of Nystrom & Associates noted. Founded in 1991, Nystrom & Associates will have 29 clinic locations throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa and is comprised of professional care providers from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, substance use disorder, and nursing who are committed to helping individuals and families that are experiencing personal, emotional, marital, or psychological problems. ABOUT NYSTROM & ASSOCIATES Nystrom & Associates is a group of professional care providers from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, substance use disorder, and nursing. Nystrom employs 1,200+ people throughout 29 clinic locations with a commitment to create access to care help individuals and families struggling with personal, emotional, marital, or psychological problems. Nystrom also offers tele-behavioral health and addiction services: www.nystromcounseling.com To schedule, call 1-844-NYSTROM. SOURCE Nystrom & Associates Related Links nystromcounseling.com The brother of embattled Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli called on him to resign his elected position Sunday because of the allegations of sexual assault detailed in reports in The Chronicle. Joe Foppoli, the mayors older brother and fellow executive at the familys winery, said he is shocked by the allegations but would not say whether he believes them. Elected officials should be held to higher standards of moral character and no matter what comes out, he has not done that and he needs to step down, Joe Foppoli said. This is not good for the community. Im so disappointed and disgusted. The remarks came during a small rally Sunday outside the familys Christopher Creek Winery near Healdsburg in support of the women who have accused him of assault. The rally drew nearly a dozen people outside the winery, including Sophia Williams, one of Foppolis accusers in The Chronicles reports, who held a sign that read Mayor your own body. Joe Foppoli, who is chief operating officer of Christopher Creek, said he already told his brother Friday that he had to step down as the winerys chief executive officer and said his brother reluctantly agreed. Dominic will not be part of his winery moving forward, Joe Foppoli said. A Chronicle investigation of Foppoli published Thursday detailed allegations by four women who said the 38-year-old politician and winemaker, who has been Windsors mayor since 2018, sexually assaulted them in incidents from 2003 to 2019. Marlena Sloss / Special to The Chronicle A fifth woman accused Foppoli on Friday of sexual assault during a three-year relationship that ended in 2004. She made the accusations in a video interview from her home in Florida, saying she was compelled to speak publicly after reading The Chronicles investigation. Santa Rosa resident Hollie Clausen, 32, said she organized Sundays event to stand with the survivors. Foppoli has denied the accusations. In a statement released Saturday night, he called the allegations unfounded and driven by politics. He made clear he would fight growing calls from an array of North Bay elected officials to resign, including every member of the Windsor Town Council, all eight of the other Sonoma County mayors and the two U.S. congressmen who represent the region, Reps. Jared Huffman of San Rafael and Mike Thompson of St. Helena. Joe Foppoli said he last spoke to his brother Friday. Now Playing: Video: Sarah Ravani Hes obviously very upset and scared, and he obviously feels wronged. He feels things are being portrayed differently than they really were, Joe Foppoli said. I told him regardless of any of that, and I dont believe the worst accusations about you, you clearly have been living a lifestyle that I dont personally agree with. And the fact that I found out that these kinds of parties and things may have been happening here after hours that I wasnt aware of, Im disgusted by it. Ive worked personally to create a family friendly environment that I can bring my teenage children to, he continued. My cousins work here. None of what Ive found in these articles are what Ive been striving for. He would not elaborate on what he meant about not believing the worst allegations about his brother. He said Dominic Foppoli is staying with friends, but did not elaborate further. Williams, who attended the gathering Sunday with her two children, ages 4 and 5, and her husband, said it was important for her to come out. Hearing him deny everything, it just feels like we need to keep the momentum going until hes out of office, Williams said. It makes sense that his ego would be too big to (resign). I think its just going to make things worse for him to drag it out. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani Two men have been charged after a car was allegedly driven at police officers and hit a detective, prompting him to open fire in a supermarket car park on Sydneys north shore. Police were conducting a drug operation at Neutral Bay at 4.20pm on Monday when they tried to stop a vehicle in the car park under the Woolworths on Grosvenor Lane. Police said the incident occurred as officers tried to arrest a 24-year-old man in the car park. A vehicle, being driven by a 25-year-old man, was then allegedly steered towards a male detective. A new preprint research paper posted to the medRxiv* server found changes to the lung microbiome during severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection influence COVID-19 disease severity. Led by Ronald G. Collman from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, they suggest a wide diversity in the microbiome is associated with less severe illness and the need for hospitalization. Differences in the microbiome were observed in intubated patients who showed a higher prevalence for Staphylococcus. Greater amounts of Anelloviridae and Redondoviridae were also correlated with intubated patients with severe COVID-19 complications. The researchers write: We report profound dysbiosis of the respiratory tract bacterial and viral microbiome in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, which differs from that of non-COVID patients, exhibits accelerated destabilization over time, and associates with disease severity and systemic immune profiles. How they did it The team collected oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal swabs from 83 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection. Patients had a median of 64 years and included 39 women and 44 men. About 67% of patients were Black, followed by 24% of patients identifying as White. Except for five, all had comorbidities. The samples were obtained at a median of four days after being hospitalized. There were also 48% of participants who were intubated, with 24% dying. These patients also gave endotracheal aspirate samples. Thirteen participants without COVID-19 but with an underlying condition were hospitalized but in the non-ICU. About 62% needed to be intubated, and of those, 46% died. The severity of disease was measured using the WHO 11-point scale, with hospitalization being a level 4 and death labeled a level 10. A total of 582 specimens for microbiome analysis was collected from COVID-positive patients and 75 from non-COVID. Study controls consisted of 30 healthy individuals who provided swab samples and 12 samples that underwent bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage. SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels RNA extracted from patient samples was variable, and the viral load declined to undetectable in most patients during disease progression. However, some patients continued to exhibit SARS-CoV-2 RNA 3 weeks after symptom onset. RNA levels did not correlate with clinical outcomes. Genome sequencing from 26 patient samples showed SARS-CoV-2 fell under the B.1 lineage. This lineage contains the D614G mutation on the spike protein along with the P314L variant. Less diverse lung microbiome in intubated patients with COVID-19 The respiratory microbiomes across intubated patients included common respiratory pathogens, including Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, and Stenotrophomonas. However, less diverse microbiomes were observed in patients with COVID-19. Of the 24 intubated patients, 6 microbiomes showed a high prevalence for Staphylococcus. About 5 patients showed Staphylococcus dominance in the microbiome one week after culture testing, and only 3 had S. aureus. Three patients had Enterococcus. Other pathogens present but in smaller quantities included Stenotrophomonas, Enterobacteriaceae, and Enterobacterales. Researchers found stability in the microbiome for some patients while others showed changes over time. They conclude: Thus, the lower respiratory tract microbiome in critically ill intubated COVID-19 patients is low diversity, can be dominated by either pathogens or normal upper respiratory taxa, may have a predilection for Staphylococcus, and can be highly dynamic. Pathogens linked to greater disease severity Disruptions in the microbiome also predicted immunity towards COVID-19 a lower lymphocyte-to-neutrophil-ratio linked to less diverse airway microbiome communities. The decreased levels correlated with increased disease severity. The team also looked at 193 individual cellular immune features from peripheral blood mononuclear cell phenotyping samples from 34 patients. Results showed the oropharyngeal microbiome is associated with systemic immune cell composition. Early sampling showed Anelloviridae and Redondoviridae were one of the most excellent microbial indicators for requiring intubation in the hospital. The DNA viruses were also linked to a higher WHO score, which indicated greater disease severity. Researchers used machine learning algorithms in two patients to find elevated levels of small circular DNA viruses predicted if a person would be intubated although they were not as strong as bacteria in predicting COVID-19 disease severity. Prevotella and Mycoplasma in oropharyngeal samples were also associated with a greater risk of hospitalized intubation. This suggests bacterial lineages rather than DNA viruses correlated with higher disease severity. Our longitudinal analysis revealed greater destabilization of the oropharyngeal bacterial microbiome in COVID-19 than non-COVID patients. This finding is particularly striking given that non-COVID patients were overall sicker (all in the ICU; 40% mortality) than COVID-19 patients (both ICU and non-ICU patients; 24% mortality). Important Notice *medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Fran Ruchalski, The Enterprise / The Enterprise The 29th annual Breakfast with the Bishop fundraiser will take place on Saturday, May 8, 2021 at The Laurels event center. Any adult is welcome to join Bishop David Toups for breakfast and fellowship, and the Bishop is inviting leaders from different faith denominations to be his guest at the event. The sign at the main entrance to the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus is seen Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, in Fairbanks. Caitlin Miller/News-Miner Prior to the United Supreme Court decision in Baker v. Carr 369 U.S.186 (1962), which loosened the stronghold that rural communities held over the urban large cities, one of the most powerful politicians in Georgia would be Eugene Talmadge. Talmadge was born in 1884 in Forsyth, Georgia. He came from an upper class family but he always claimed to be the champion of the lower class rural white citizens. He actively promoted segregation and white supremacy and was an avid opponent of President Franklin Delano Roosevelts New Deal as a Southern conservative Democrat. He and his successor, Marvin Griffin, were the darlings of the wool hat boys who primarily consisted of Southern white men who after the Civil War had returned home to find that after the freeing of their slaves they had to do their own plowing, hoeing and picking. The Confederate veterans stubbornly refused to wear the cool, wide-brim straw-field hats favored by the former slaves. Instead the white farmers wore sweaty, narrow-brim wool hats that the boiling Southern sun would turn their necks red when they bent over. Gene Talmadge was a master at playing to the poor, rural voters. In spite of his family wealth he would arrive for courthouse rallies in worn-out cars, pushed by a gang of supporters because he didnt have enough money to buy gas to get into town. He always wore a rumpled suit and his black hair would be lying lank across his forehead in an unruly fashion. Gene on the speaking platform would point his fist stirring up the crowd with his anti-city and segregation rhetoric and would close by taking off his coat and reveal his trademark, a pair of flame red galluses holding up his britches. He cultivated the image of the wild man from Sugar Creek. On one occasion when he boasted about being a country man it possibly cost him the election in 1948. Talmadge, for some reason, liked to boast about having to answer a call from Mother Nature by relieving himself in the woods. On the way to give an important campaign speech in Moultrie, Georgia, Gene told his driver to stop the car so he could relieve himself in the bushes. While he was performing the necessary act a black widow spider bit him on his privates and almost killed him. Gene became so weak that he couldnt give his usual fiery speech and had to let someone else give his speech. He later would claim that it cost him the governorship. Ellis Arnall won the race and Gene like any politician had an explanation for his loss. In a post-election interview with his political nemesis, Atlanta Constitution Editor Ralph McGill (of Soddy), said that Arnall would not have been him if that black widow spider hadnt bitten him on the b_ _ _ _. Are modern day Georgia politics as interesting? * * * 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) DUNEDIN, Fla. Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks will sit out Monday nights game vs. the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in the wake of the Daunte Wright police shooting in Minneapolis. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton was also considering sitting out. Hicks and Stanton each participated in light pregame workouts. Hicks spoke with Boone on Monday afternoon while at the stadium. With all thats going on in Minneapolis, hes having a tough time right now. He just felt like it was best to not have him in the starting lineup tonight and I certainly support that. Well try and rally around him the best we can, Boone said. Boone called the situation heartbreaking. I think its been a hard day for him, understandably, Boone said. Emotional. I think he felt like he would have a hard time going out there tonight and probably thought it was to keep him out of the lineup. Thats about how it went and all I could do is try as best as I can to offer that support that Im here for him and I understand how hes feeling. Introducing Yankees Insider: Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text message directly with beat writers Hicks and Stanton have been among the most outspoken Yankees regarding racial injustice in America, particularly since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. A police officer shot and killed 20-year-old Wright in Brooklyn Center on Sunday afternoon. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said an accidental discharge was what led to the shooting of Wright. A report from the Associated Press said that the officer allegedly intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as Wright struggled with police. Buy Yankees tickets: StubHub, TicketSmarter The shooting sparked protests in which officers in riot gear clashed with protestors. In an address from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden urged peace. We do know that the anger, pain and trauma amidst the Black community is real, Biden said. Police have not named the officer. 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. BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market on a weak note on Monday, tracking losses in Asian and other European markets, amid concerns about spikes in coronavirus cases in several parts across the world. Also, investors were looking ahead to a slew of earnings announcements from the U.S. and key economic data. The benchmark SMI, which stayed in negative territory right through the session, closed with a loss of 57.17 points or 0.51% at 11,181.35, after touching a low of 11,166.32. Lonza Group shed about 2.2%. Richemont, Sika, Givaudan, Roche Holding, SGS, UBS Group and ABB ended lower by 0.7 to 1.1%. Partners Group and Alcon gained 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively. Swatch Group, Credit Suisse and Swiss Re posted modest gains. Swiss Re said it expects that the COVID-19 pandemic will result in a $50-80 billion loss for the insurance industry. In the midcap section, BB Biotech and VAT both ended lower by about 2.65%. OC Oerlikon Corp shed 2.1%, while Dufry, Ems Chemie Holding, Lindt & Spruengli, Adecco, Vifor Pharma and Swiss Prime Site declined 1.3 to 1.7%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. A new study shows that thick sea-ice can increase the sensitivity of Greenlandic fjords to climate warming. Understanding the factors that control how fast glaciers move, break up and deposit chunks of ice (icebergs) into the fjords - and eventually the sea - is vital for predicting how the Greenland ice sheet will change under a warming climate and for predicting global rates of sea-level rise. A new study led by Stockholm University Assistant Professor Christian Stranne, shows that thick sea-ice outside the fjords can actually increase the sensitivity of Greenlandic fjords to warming. Stranne and a team of researchers from Sweden, Greenland, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada report on expeditions to two distinct fjords in northern Greenland during the 2015 and 2019 summers. "These fjords were practically inaccessible to researchers until quite recently because the sea-ice was too thick - they are some of the least-studied areas on the planet, and require a large icebreaker to reach them, even in the summer," says Stranne. The inaccessibility and sea-ice build-up is due to the direction of Arctic Ocean currents; the Beaufort Gyre and Transpolar Drift push ice from across the Arctic up against the northern Greenland coast. Writing in Communications Earth & Environment, the research team report on measurements made during the Petermann 2015 and Ryder 2019 expeditions, when the Swedish icebreaker Oden made detailed studies of Petermann Fjord and Sherard Osborn Fjord in northern Greenland. Even in summer, the entrance to Sherard Osborn Fjord on the northern coast of Greenland is blocked by thick sea-ice, but the more southerly located Petermann Fjord has for several years opened to the Nares Strait, connecting the Arctic Ocean with Baffin Bay. Both fjords host large glaciers with floating ice tongues extending from Greenland glaciers many kilometers into the fjords. Unsurprisingly, warmer water temperatures will tend to melt these floating portions of the glaciers and icebergs in the fjord faster than cooler water. But how does the presence or absence of the thick sea-ice barrier outside a fjord affect water temperatures inside? In 2019, air temperatures in northern Greenland reached record highs. Despite similar high air temperatures and conditions, Petermann Fjord's near surface sea temperatures never exceeded 0C. "But in the Sherard Osborn Fjord, cut off from the open ocean by thick sea-ice, near surface sea temperatures reached 4C - which was 3C higher than any previous seawater measurement north of Greenland," explains Stranne. Summertime melt produces a warm freshwater layer floating atop saltier water in the fjord; here the sea-ice barrier trapped this meltwater inside the fjord. Because of the difference in salt content, the surface water became isolated also from the water below, allowing time for intense solar heating of the fresher surface water. Such warmer water temperatures can contribute to faster melting of the Ryder Glacier in Sherard Osborn Fjord, as well as changing the biogeochemistry in the fjord waters. Conversely, the researchers suggest, that neighboring Petermann Fjord, which was open to the sea during 2015 and 2019, experienced colder surface water temperatures because its surface water was not isolated within the fjord by a sea-ice barrier. These observations are counterintuitive: thick sea-ice is associated with colder climates, yet it can lead to warmer surface water temperatures inside the fjords. For this reason, fjords along the northern Greenland coast are more sensitive to climate warming than fjords without a sea-ice barrier. But each fjord is a little different. Last year, another study from the 2015 and 2019 expeditions pointed out that Ryder Glacier in Sherard Osborn Fjord is less affected by melting of the ice tongue from underneath, compared to Petermann Glacier in Petermann Fjord. In this case the explanation is not sea-ice but the shape of the seafloor that produces a shallower opening to the sea. The physical block of rock and sediment dampens intrusions of deeper warm water from outside the fjord (of Atlantic origin) which tends to make Ryder Glacier less sensitive to climate warming--while at the same time, surface sea-ice in the adjacent Lincoln Sea can make it more sensitive. "It's a complex interaction. Overall, we know that warming climate will lead to faster moving glaciers and less ice on Greenland. But how fast this happens, and to what extent, remains a key research topic," says Stranne. ### Reference: Christian Stranne, Johan Nilsson, Adam Ulfsbo, Matt O'Regan, Helen K. Coxall, Lorenz Meire, Julia Muchowski, Larry A. Mayer, Volker Bruchert, Jonas Fredriksson, Brett Thornton, Julek Chawarski, Gabriel West, Elizabeth Weidner and Martin Jakobsson, The climate sensitivity of northern Greenland fjords is amplified through sea-ice damming, Communications Earth & Environment, 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s43247-021-00140-8. Read article: https:/ / www. nature. com/ commsenv . Contact Info: Christian Stranne, +46-8-674 78 35 or +46-70-647 61 54, mail christian.stranne@geo.su.se Rick Lilienthal and his father were just half a mile offshore, heading into the ocean to pull in their crabbing lines, when they saw a gray whale going 100 miles an hour with a buoy trailing off its left fin. It was just a shock, Lilienthal said. Id never seen one before. That was 50 years ago. Lilienthal, a 68-year-old commercial Dungeness crab fisherman, said he hasnt seen another entangled whale since. But a slew of rule changes coming within weeks could make such rare occurrences even less frequent, even as they have the potential to wreak havoc on summertime crabbers harvests. Starting May 1, Oregon fishermen will have to reduce the number of crab cages they can drop in the ocean and wont be allowed to drop them lower than 40 fathoms, or 240 feet. Gway Kirchner, an environmental advocate who gave input on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife rules, acknowledged that whales getting caught in crab fishing lines isnt nearly as big of a problem in Oregon as it is in California and Washington. But that doesnt mean its too early to take action. If we dont take the steps that were taking today, I think that it could become a significant problem for us, Kirchner said, citing the changes to whale migration and feeding patterns possibly driven by climate change. Humpback and gray whale populations have rebounded in recent decades after being hunted to near extinction. That rebound, in combination with recent changes in the ocean ecosystem, has driven some whales into crabber territory and crabbers into whale territory. Increasing humpback whale populations have forced the animals to compete for food, even as their primary source of nourishment krill has become less available due to ocean conditions. As a result, the whales are going after anchovies, which are generally found closer to shore. Crabs, meanwhile, have been migrating ever deeper into the ocean in recent years, drawing crabbers with them. Increased overlap is, theoretically, drawing more entanglements, said Caren Braby, the states top marine resources official. Its a common-sense conclusion. There have been nine known cases of whales getting caught in Oregon crab lines in the last nine years, compared to four in the nine years before that, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife data. Of the seven humpback whale cases since 2003, five were in the last seven years. By forbidding particularly deep crab pots during the summer months, state officials hope to reduce the risk to humpback whales passing off the Oregon coast on their way north. The whales are usually found 330 feet or deeper, the state says, meaning they will be better protected if crab cages stay at shallower depths. One alternative to the ban on deep crab fishing is banning summer crabbing altogether, said Braby, the fish and wildlife agencys marine resources manager. While an extreme option, it could still be on the table, depending on how successful the new rules are. But Lilienthal said the measures are overkill and have the potential to cause serious financial troubles for smaller fishing operations. The restrictions will take thousands of dollars out of their pockets, he said, because crab pots must be dropped ever deeper to find them in abundance. It hurts everybody, Lilienthal said. Thats money thats not going in your savings account to make it through the winter. Braby acknowledged the virtually inevitable hardship to come for crabbers and, she said, their concerns are understandable. Theyre about to experience something theyve never experienced before, Braby said. Indeed, financial impact will be one of the factors the agency will consider when evaluating the rules over the next few seasons, Braby said. The states measures are only in effect in the second half of the commercial crabbing season from May 1 to Aug. 14. That means they are likely to affect smaller fishing operations more than larger ones because bigger businesses turn their attention to other ocean species that time of year, former Dungeness Crab Commission member John Corbin said. Corbin, whose operations are based on the Columbia River, said he started seeing a change in the whale populations and the conversations about them in the last few years. The industry has become far more aware of the whales and has been trying to accommodate them. Its kind of like, Wow, whats going on here? Corbin said of growing whale incursions into areas where fishermen drop crab lines. Because this is different than how it used to be. -- Fedor Zarkhin Tata Communications and Bahrain Internet Exchange (BIX) extend their partnership to offer high speed internet connectivity with very low latency for a superior quality and seamless viewing, gaming and download experience for customers in Bahrain. Equipped with OTU-4 (Optical Transport Unit), a next-generation optical technology, TGN-Gulf cable system will enable customers with a robust, consistent, and manageable data transport infrastructure with the capability to scale up beyond 100 Gbps. With this, Tata Communications and BIX bring the power of high-speed connectivity and digital transformation to the Middle East region. To extend the TGN-Gulf cable system deep into business districts within the Middle East, Tata Communications is leveraging its strong partnership with leading carriers across the region such as Oman, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, to offer a true carrier neutral comprehensive cable system. This will provide Middle East businesses, especially the OTTs, gaming companies, government agencies and hyperscalers who are expanding their reach in the region, access to the globe. The cable system seamlessly integrates the Middle East countries and offers direct forward connectivity to Europe, India and onwards to the globe. Specifically in India, it integrates into the deeply penetrated Optical Transport Network that covers 2000+ towns and 25+ business districts. Shaima Al Hamed, Executive Director, Bahrain Internet Exchange (BIX), said, Keeping pace with Bahrains growing bandwidth requirements, the country needs new cable systems that are of high speed, well-laid and help bring global content closer to the country. BIX is excited to combine its regional expertise with Tata Communications global presence to offer end customers a technically superior submarine cable system that opens access to both the East and West parts of the world. The next generation OTU-4 technology supported by TGN helps our customers create an intelligent Software Defined Network (SDN) enabling them to serve their customers. This is a great value-add, not just for our customers but also for our country. Vaneet Mehta, Region Head, Middle East, Central Asia & Africa, Tata Communications, said, We are happy to further strengthen our partnership with BIX in Bahrain and bring the latest technology to support data intensive consumer applications like e-commerce, online gaming, mobile and internet banking, industrial automation and Internet of Things (IoT) requiring extremely reliable high-capacity networks. This will give our global customers and partners in Bahrain open access to our TGN-Gulf cable system with high-capacity low latency data transmissions across the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and European regions. Our latest OTU-4 technology upgrade is also a step in the direction to continue focusing on strengthening and providing the Government and enterprises an ecosystem of holistic solutions. It also opens access to a technically superior submarine cable system that provides Bahrain a reliable, scalable, flexible, and secure infrastructure to collectively collaborate and smoothly function in a contactless work environment. For enterprises, the superior OTU-4 technology on the TGN cable system provides flexibility to future-proof and create a software-defined network (SDN), while still being compatible with legacy systems. It also helps enterprises adopt edge computing and make use of cloud express connect, to link to different cloud nodes in and out of Bahrain. Furthermore, it will also enhance the performance and stability of the enterprises data, voice, and video applications at shorter round-trip delay (RTD). With reliable connectivity and bandwidth enterprises will accelerate their digital transformation journeys making for the countrys ecosystem to evolve towards a digital economy. Tata Communications owns and operates the worlds only wholly owned subsea network that encircles the globe. This network enables businesses to reach more than 200 countries and territories. Today, around 30% of the worlds Internet routes travel over Tata Communications network. A family heirloom Bible that belonged to Chief Peguis has found a new home at the Manitoba Museum. A family heirloom Bible that belonged to Chief Peguis has found a new home at the Manitoba Museum. The tome, together with a second Bible owned by Peguis son, Chief Henry Edward Prince, was donated by Kyle Mason, a seventh-generation descendant of the famed Manitoba Indigenous leader. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The family heirloom Bible was donated by Kyle Mason, a descendant of Chief Peguis. "Theyve been in our family for generations," said the 42-year-old Winnipegger. "We have been their protectors and keepers." Before Kyle was entrusted with the Bibles, they were looked after by his father, Raymond, 74, a residential school survivor. "I dont know why I was chosen to protect them," said Raymond, who received the books in 1965, when he was baptized. "Im darn lucky I didnt lose them considering I moved around a lot," he said, adding: "They meant a lot to me." Raymond, author of the recent book Spirit of the Grassroots People: Seeking Justice for Indigenous Survivors of Canadas Colonial Education System, entrusted the Bibles to his son when he was a teenager. For a long time, Kyle kept them in a nightstand in his home, before putting them in a safe in the basement. Unfortunately, he didnt realize that wasnt the best place to keep such items and they became musty. Three years ago, an anonymous donor offered to pay to have the Bibles restored. Now he is "glad they are safe and secure at the museum, where they can tell the story of our people and their interaction with Christianity for years to come." Seeing the Bibles in the Winnipeg-based museum "gives me great pride," Kyle said, adding he is looking forward to passing them down to his son, Elijah, 7, to protect when he is older. For Kyle, the Bibles tell of the "complicated and tragic history Indigenous peoples, and my family, have had with Christianity." On the one hand, they signify "how many members of the Peguis First Nation have a connection to Christianity, using its teachings to live a good life, and living and working together with the settlers in the past." On the other, they remind of "the horrors of things like the residential school system, and how the Bible was used by Christians against Indigenous peoples," he added. Today both Kyle and his father appreciate the difference between the institutional church and the teachings of Jesus. Do you appreciate the extensive faith coverage by the Free Press? Become a supporter of the Religion in the News project! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more can help us keep offering trusted coverage of faith in Manitoba. Become a supporter Click here to learn more about the project. "Those teachings are still important to us," said Kyle, noting he now follows a mix of Christian and traditional Indigenous teachings. The history of the Bible owned by Chief Peguis is not known, but it is believed he received it sometime after converting to Christianity in 1838. That Bible is being kept in safe storage, while the Bible owned by his son, which dates to 1904, is on display in the museums new Prairies Gallery. Maureen Matthews, curator of cultural anthropology, said the Bibles are "a very important part of First Nations history in Manitoba. We are honoured to have them here." Chief Peguis, who was known as a friend to the first European settlers in the province, signed the Peguis Selkirk Treaty in 1817, the first treaty in Western Canada. His association with Christianity is commemorated in Winnipeg by two stained glass windows at St. Johns Cathedral, considered the birthplace of Anglicanism in Western Canada, and through a statue in Kildonan Park, which shows Peguis clutching a Bible. faith@freepress.mb.ca China is considering mixing its Covid-19 vaccines as a way of boosting their efficacy, the countrys top disease control official has said. Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but have less onerous storage requirements. Hungary, Serbia, Turkey and Brazil are among the countries using vaccines from China, including jabs made by Sinovac, a private company, and state-owned Sinopharm. Sinovac efficacy was found to be as low as 50.4 per cent by researchers in Brazil, near the 50 per cent threshold at which health experts say a vaccine is useful. By comparison, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been found to be 97 per cent effective. Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told a conference in the southwestern city of Chengdu that current Chinese vaccines dont have very high rates of protection. Steps to optimise the vaccines include changing the number of doses and the length of time between doses. "It is now under formal consideration whether we should use different vaccines from different technical lines for the immunisation process," he said. Beijing has distributed hundreds of millions of doses abroad while trying to sow doubt about the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine made using the previously experimental messenger RNA, or mRNA, process. Officials at a news conference Sunday didnt respond directly to questions about Mr Gaos comment or possible changes in official plans. But another CDC official, Wang Huaqing, said developers are working on mRNA-based vaccines. The mRNA vaccines developed in our country have also entered the clinical trial stage, he said. Gao Fu was speaking about Chinese vaccines at a conference in Chengdu on Saturday (AP) Researchers in Britain are studying a possible combination of Pfizer-BioNTech and the AstraZeneca vaccine. Beijing has yet to approve any foreign vaccines for use in China. As of 2 April, 34 million Chinese people have received both of the two doses required for Chinese vaccines and about 65 million have received one. Separately, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken said on Sunday that Chinas failure to provide access to global health experts made the pandemic worse than it might have been. Chinas lack of transparency allowed the virus to get out of hand faster, he told NBCs Meet the Press. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on 30 March that data was withheld from investigators who traveled to China to research the origins of the pandemic. Additional reporting by AP and Reuters. Andhra Pradesh: Fishing ban from April 15, fisherfolk to get Rs 10,000 aid April 12,2021 | Source: The Times of India The state government on Friday imposed the 61-day annual ban on fishing activities in seawater under territorial limits of Andhra Pradesh from April 15 to June 14. In an attempt to protect fisheries and biodiversity during the marine breeding season, the government enforces the ban every summer, restricting fishing activities by mechanised and motorised vessels fitted with inboard or outboard engines, excluding non-motorised crafts, as per the AP Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1994. Ch Satyanarayana Murthy, president, Dolphin Boat Operators Welfare Association, said there are over 2,000 mechanised boats in Andhra Pradesh. But even before the ban, the majority of mechanised fishing boats were anchored at harbours following losses due to low catch of popular fish, he added. Meanwhile, the long-pending demand of fishermen to increase financial assistance during the 61-day fishing ban has been fulfilled with the state government enhancing financial support for fishermen from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000. 2021 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. [April 12, 2021] Eclaro Selected For The 2021 Global Outsourcing 100 List NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eclaro , a leading IT & business consulting firm announced that they have been selected for The 2021 Global Outsourcing 100 list produced by IAOP and published annually by FORTUNE Custom Projects. In its fifteenth year, IAOP's Global Outsourcing 100 list recognizes the world's best outsourcing service providers. The 2021 Global Outsourcing list will be showcased in a FORTUNE 500 issue of FORTUNE magazine, in a special advertising feature produced by IAOP. "Our company works hard to provide talented, dedicated professionals for our clients with our outsourcing services and we are proud and honored to be recognized for our efforts in this way," Eclaro's Principal and Co-Founder, Tom Sheridan said. "Now, more than ever, outsourcing end-users need to be able to easily identify and select the right company for their outsourcing needs," said Debi Hamill, IAOP CEO. "It is great recognition being named to The Global Outsourcing 100. Given the strong, global competition, Eclaro should be proud of achieving excellence in the field." About Eclaro Eclaro is a Business and Technology consulting firm headquartered in New York. Founded in 1999, Eclaro offers conulting and custom outsourcing solutions to our clients. Eclaro supports innovative startups to Fortune 50 clients in the United States, Canada, Australia and the Philippines. Eclaro's clients all share the same belief that the Right People are the Answer. For more information visit www.eclaro.com. About IAOP IAOP is the global association that brings together customers, providers, and advisors in a collaborative, knowledge-based environment that promotes professional and organizational development, recognition, certification, and excellence to improve business service models and outcomes. Whether you are a customer, provider or advisor, new to collaborative business models like outsourcing, or you are an experienced professional, IAOP connects you and your organization to our growing global community and the resources you need to get the results your company deserves and demands. For more information visit www.IAOP.org. About The Global Outsourcing 100 As the global, standard-setting association and advocate for outsourcing professionals and the organizations they support, IAOP annually produces subsequent research to help companies in their outsourcing decisions. The Global Outsourcing 100 and its sub-list are essential references for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the industry's best companies. The list includes companies worldwide that provide the full spectrum of outsourcing services not just information technology and business process outsourcing, but also facility services, real estate and capital asset management, manufacturing and logistics. They include not only today's leaders but tomorrow's rising stars. Companies of all sizes, from around the world and from across the entire outsourcing industry - can apply for inclusion on this list. IAOP Membership IS NOT REQUIRED, nor is it considered in compiling the final list. Judging is based on a rigorous scoring methodology that includes an independent review by a panel of IAOP customer members with extensive experience in selecting outsourcing service providers and advisors for their organizations. Contact Jeff Metz, VP of Sales & Marketing p. (646)695-2929 jmetz@eclaro.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eclaro-selected-for-the-2021-global-outsourcing-100-list-301266056.html SOURCE Eclaro [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A royal biographer has cautioned that if Prince Harry returns to the UK unapologetic about Megxit, he fears being "permanently divorced" from the Royal Family. Prince Harry might divorce the royal family if he became unapologetic On Saturday, the Duke of Sussex will attend his grandfather's funeral, while his pregnant wife Meghan will remain in California. It will be Prince Harry's first meeting with other family members since his explosive tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey aired last month. However, royal biographer Tom Bower wrote in the Sun that as Harry returns to the UK, he must not be unapologetic for recent events. Bower wrote, "Now Harry must confront the consequences of his actions. Negotiations for his return to the United Kingdom for Prince Philip's funeral are likely to be tense. The limited number of mourners allowed at the funeral, just 30 due to COVID-19 restrictions, would add to the tension. Much will depend on whether Charles and William are willing to seek reconciliation." It comes as Prince Harry arrives in the UK from California, where he will attend the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral next weekend with the rest of the royal family. After returning to Britain on Sunday, Harry and his family are "united in mourning" at Prince Philip's death, and he is now quarantined. On Saturday, April 17, a memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh will be held at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, the exact location where Harry and Meghan married in 2018. Prince Philip Gets Wish Of 'No-Fuss' Funeral, Brings William and Harry Face To Face Since Rift Why Meghan Markle was advised not to return to the UK Due to her pregnancy, Meghan Markle will remain in California while her husband Prince Harry returns to the United Kingdom to attend Prince Philip's funeral, according to a source. Prince Harry will attend his grandfather's funeral, who died Friday at the age of 99, Buckingham Palace confirmed. But the Duchess of Sussex will not. Markle's doctor has ordered her not to travel with her husband because she is heavily pregnant with their second child, an anonymous source told US Weekly. "Meghan will remain in the state of California. She is unable to comply with the doctor's instructions," the outlet was informed by a source. "She's too far along to travel, and it's advised that she take it easy in the months ahead." Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Secret Wedding Claim Contradicted by Their Marriage Certificate The report said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are being "extra cautious" about Markle's health after a miscarriage last year, as per the IBT. Markle and Prince Harry announced that they are expecting a baby girl this time during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March and that the duchess' due date is in the summer. In a heartbreaking personal essay for The New York Times in November 2020, Markle discussed her miscarriage. The duchess shared about the traumatic event that happened last summer and how she and Prince Harry grieved. Prince Harry Can Work in the US for People with 'Extraordinary Ability' Experts Reveal @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Self-determination for Australias First Nations people is the unfinished business that must be addressed nationally to prevent Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system and deaths in custody, NSWs top coroner has said in a call to action. Ahead of the 30th anniversary on Thursday of the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, State Coroner Teresa OSullivan said First Nations people continued to be overrepresented in every category of death dealt with by the Coroners Court. We have the oldest jurisprudence in the world, lawyer and Wiradjuri woman Taylah Gray said of First Nations Australians. Credit:Max Mason-Hubers Indigenous deaths in custody could not be separated from the over-representation of First Nations people within the criminal justice system, nor can we separate it from the colonial history of this nation, she said. More than 455 Indigenous people have died in custody since the report was released on April 15, 1991. This includes the deaths of five First Nations people in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia in the four weeks between March 2 and April 3. On Monday, April 12, in the area of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO), Russia-led forces launched shelling attacks at the zone of responsibility of the operational-tactical group North (Pivnich). "As a result of the targeted shelling attacks of the positions of our units by the armed formations of the Russian Federation, one serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received a bullet wound incompatible with life," the press service of the tactical group Pivnich reported on Facebook. Nearly 170,000 cases reported in a new record India reported 1,68,912 fresh infections on Monday, taking the cumulative caseload to 13.5 million, according to a report in the Scroll. This is the highest one-day rise in infections since the start of the pandemic. The country saw 904 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 170,179, according to central health ministry data. The active caseload is at 1.2 million. Maharashtra also reported the highest-ever single-day increase in cases as the tally rose by over 63,000. Read more here 80% of the military, central security forces have got first Covid shot Over 8 in 10 personnel in Indias security forces that include armed and police forces have received the first shot, according to data gathered by ThePrint. But, the numbers are much lower when it comes to the complete two-dose regimen. In the Army, the Indian Air Force (IAF), and the Navy, 50 per cent of the personnel have been given the second shot. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) three of Indias Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) mirror the trend. The figure is under 40 per cent for state police forces in Maharashtra, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, the report said. These states have seen their Covid caseloads explode in recent weeks. Read more here Benefits of a longer interval between doses If increasing the interval between vaccine does provides better protection, its worthwhile, explains vaccine expert Gagandeep Kang for The Indian Express. The other benefit is if the supply of vaccine doses is constrained and if a single dose provides a reasonable degree of protection, you can protect more people quickly while waiting for production to catch up and then disburse the second dose. Read more here Gujarat: Use of medical oxygen doubled in five days As much as 472 metric tonnes (MT) of medical oxygen was consumed across Gujarat on April 9, the most since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year and double the amount used just five days earlier, a report in The Indian Express said that cited data from the Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) data. On April 4, the state had consumed 234 MT medical oxygen, the report said. Read more here OPINION: Silence on Kumbh shows religious bias When a minority community practises their religion in India, particularly in the time of Covid, it is seen as malicious, an opinion column in ThePrint said. Muslims were called jihadis and Covid super-spreaders at the beginning of the pandemic in March, last year when over 3,000 of them, including foreigners who had visas and permission by the government of India to attend the Tablighi Jamaat, congregated in Delhis Nizamuddin. But, the authorities have allowed the Maha Kumbh to take place where tens of thousands of people are expected to arrive while the country is setting new records in daily infections day after day, the opinion column said. Read more here [April 12, 2021] Exodus Shatters Regulated Crypto Public Offering Record Exodus Movement, Inc., a Delaware corporation that has developed a leading non-custodial cryptocurrency software platform, has opened its SEC (News - Alert) qualified offering of Class A common stock under Regulation A. The company began offering shares in the Exodus Wallet at 9:00 pm ET on April 8th. The offering will close once the maximum offering amount of $75 million has been reached. To date, Exodus has received investment commitments of approximately $59 million from over 4,000 investors. The investment commitments have come from both accredited and non-accredited investors, and approximately 92% of investment commitments received have come from non-accredited investors. Approximately $16 million of the offering remains available for additional subscriptions, subject to adjustment. For more information and to see the current progress of the Exodus Public Offering, visit the Investors website here. Click here for a video with instructions to set up your investor profile, fund your Wallet and use the Shares app. WHAT: Exodus Regulation A+ sale of Class A common stock at $27.42/share Read the SEC Filing regarding the company here. PURCHASE: 1. Go to your Exodus Wallet.* 2. Ensure your wallet is updated - instructions are here. 3. Register with Securitize to purchase Shares.** 3. Submit amount. - Minimum investment: 1 share - Maximum investment: 2,733,229 shares (Note: depends on share availability; sales are on a first come first served base) * If you have not downloaded the mobile or desktop Exodus Wallet app, it is available on exodus.com, in the Apple (News - Alert) iOS app store, and in the Google Play store. ** All investors must registered with the Exodus transfer agent Securitize and can do so through the app or at https://id.securitize.io/#/login Exodus is currently exploring partnerships with alternative trading systems (ATS) that could potentially expand the availability of Exodus shares. Exodus intends to make the Class A common stock available for trading on several ATS, including the tZERO ATS within nine months of this offering. At this time, investors must reside in the United States of America. The offering is not available to persons who reside in Arizona, Texas or Florida. For investors located internationally, Exodus is exploring partnerships with other entities, such as MERJ Exchange, that could potentially make Exodus shares available for those in jurisdictions outside of the USA. Exodus will provide updates as they become available. Please know that your Securitize IDs will be essential to the future availability of Exodus shares. About Exodus Founded in 2015, Exodus is a multi-asset software wallet that removes the geek requirement and keeps design a priority to make cryptocurrency and digital assets easy for everyone. Available for desktop and mobile, Exodus allows users to secure, manage and exchange cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and more across an industry-leading 10,000+ asset pairs from a beautiful, easy to use wallet. The non-custodial functionality is encrypted locally on users' own devices, ensuring privacy, security and complete control over their wealth. Exodus is on a mission to empower half the world to exit the traditional finance system by 2030. For more info visit exodus.com Forward-looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "will," "expect," "would," "intend," "believe," or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to, statements about our future financial performance, our business plan, our market opportunities and beliefs and objectives for future operations. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different. More information on the factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause or contribute to such differences is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion & Analysis" sections of our offering statement on Form 1-A. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Qualification of the Offering Statement The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has qualified the offering statement that we have filed with the SEC. The information in that offering statement is more complete than the information we are providing now, and could differ in important ways. You must read the documents filed with the SEC before investing. The offering is being made only by means of its offering statement. This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. An indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind. Any person interested in investing in any offering of shares of Exodus's Class A common stock should review our disclosures and the publicly filed offering statement and the final offering circular that is part of that offering statement, available at: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1821534/000114036121012255/nt10013846x18_253g2.htm. Exodus is not registered, licensed or supervised as a broker dealer or investment adviser by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or any other financial regulatory authority or licensed to provide any financial advice or services. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005953/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Hyundai Motor has suspended production at another plant in South Korea this week due to the continued global shortage of semiconductors and other electronic parts. The automaker said it would halt operations at its Asan plant, which makes the Grandeur and Sonata sedans, for two days on Monday and Tuesday (12 and 13 April). Hyundai announced earlier it would suspend production at its Ulsan No 1 plant, which makes the Kona subcompact SUV and the Ioniq 5 electric vehicle, for more than a week this month resulting in the production loss of 12,500 vehicles. Alchemer is a flexible survey software tool built to handle all your unique needs. Please take my survey now This latest suspension was blamed on a shortage of parts used in the Kona front camera system and also on a problem with a production line at the largest affiliated supplier, Hyundai Mobis, which makes the Ioniq 5 traction motor. Hyundai has also reduced overtime this month at its Ulsan No 3 plant, which produces the Avante compact sedan, because of a shortage of electric control units (ECUs). A 23-year-old Indian national with a work permit who had received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine was the sole locally transmitted case among 20 infections confirmed on Sunday. The Health Ministry has warned that an individual can get infected even after vaccination. The Indian, who worked as a lashing specialist, was detected as COVID-19 positive through pooled rostered routine testing on April 7, according to a news report. After his polled test results came positive on April 8, he was immediately isolated and an individual test was conducted on April 9. When the second result too was positive, he was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. "This case is a reminder that it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected. But the vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for a vast majority of those immunised," the health ministry was quoted as saying in a media report on Sunday night. It noted that the worker's serology test had come back positive, likely due to the antibodies produced following vaccination. The Indian man testing positive for COVID-19 was the first in a workers' dormitory since February 28. Such facilities housing foreign workers had the highest COVID-19 cases during the peak of the spread last year. The health ministry said further research is required to determine if vaccination will prevent onward transmission of the infection. "That is why we cannot afford to let our guard down," it said. "Our existing key enablers -- safe management measures, testing, and contact tracing -- continue to be necessary and effective in helping us to mitigate the spread and keep community transmission low." Epidemiological investigations are underway, while all identified close contacts of the Indian man have been isolated. They will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period to detect any asymptomatic cases. "We will also conduct serological tests for the close contacts," the health ministry said. has so far reported 60,653 COVID-19 infections. With 13 patients discharged on Sunday, the total number of recoveries reached 60,320. As of now, 58 patients remain in hospitals and one is in intensive care while 230 are recuperating in community facilities. has had 30 deaths from COVID-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes. (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.) Amazons Twitch Bans Users Based on Undisclosed Hate Group List Amazons livestream video site Twitch will ban from its platform any user it considers to be a member of a hate group. The company wouldnt say what groups it considers as such. The company said on April 7 that it will start banning users for serious offenses that pose a substantial safety risk to the Twitch community, even if these actions occur entirely off Twitch. In addition to involvement in criminal activity, such as terrorism, deadly violence, sexual assault, and child exploitation, Twitch will also ban users for leadership or membership in a known hate group. When asked for more details, a Twitch spokesperson said the company keeps an internal list of such groups and that its using multiple sources and criteria to compile it, including information from nonprofit organizations. At least for now, the company isnt releasing the list, the spokesperson said. The company wouldnt say what specifically would place a group on the blacklist. The spokesperson indicated that membership in a hate group will need to be verifiable, determined on a preponderance of the evidence, which is a legal standard for civil cases, generally meaning that theres above a 50 percent chance of something being true. The decision to keep the list secret fits into a pattern of censorship by tech companies that keeps the public at least partially in the dark on what they do and dont allow. A similar approach has been used in the past by communist regimes to induce self-censorship. Amazon has recently ramped up censorship, banning books that it says contain hate speech, without explaining what that means. Big Tech companies have been tightening censorship in recent years, facing criticism for not only going too far, but for applying it in a politically biased way. Some of the companies have said their products are developed and run as politically neutral, but employee accounts and leaked internal materials indicate the companies are indeed infusing their politics, which is overwhelmingly left-leaning, into their products. Meanwhile, Democrat lawmakers have pushed the companies to censor even more. Republicans have been mulling strategies to curb online censorship, but the efforts have been largely preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields internet companies from liability for good faith removal of objectionable content. Some Republicans have said the law needs a revamp, as it was written for a fledgling internet industry in the mid-1990s that needed legal protections, not trillion-dollar tech giants with a near-monopoly. The Trump administration attempted to set up rules that would mark at least part of the censorship as not in good faith and thus not covered by Section 230, but the Biden administration is unlikely to continue those efforts. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put out a proposal that could sidestep protections of Section 230 by asking for more transparency, tying anti-censorship measures to state election regulations, and giving users more control over content policing. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 12, 2021) - Permex Petroleum Corporation (CSE: OIL) (OTCQB: OILCF) ("Permex" or the "Company)", is pleased to announce the results of the Company's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") held in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 9, 2021. All of the matters presented to shareholders for consideration and approval in the Company's Management Information Circular were approved with near-unanimous support. A brief list of the most important items of business conducted at the Meeting is as follows: Election of Directors The number of Directors of the Company to be elected at the Meeting was fixed at six. The Directors nominated for the ensuing year include the re-election of Mehran Ehsan, Scott Kelly, Barry Whelan, Gregory S. Montgomery, Edward A. Odishaw and Douglas Charles Urch be elected as the directors of the Company. The shareholders approved the election of Mehran Ehsan, Scott Kelly, Barry Whelan, Gregory S. Montgomery, Edward A. Odishaw and Douglas Charles Urch as the directors of the Company. Appointment of Auditors Shareholders approved the appointment of Davidson & Company LLP, as Permex's auditor for the ensuing year or until their successor is appointed. Stock Option Plan Shareholders re-approved the Stock Option Plan pursuant to which the directors may, from time to time, authorize the issuance of options to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries to a maximum of 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares at the time of the grant. CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT: Neither Canadian Securities Exchange, OTCMarkets nor their Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in their respective policies) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although Management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither CSE, OTC Markets nor their Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of either exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Mehran Ehsan President, Chief Executive Officer & Director (778)-373-5421 Scott Kelly CFO, Corporate Secretary & Director (778)-373-5421 Or for Investor Relations, please contact: admin@permexpetroleum.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80190 Tehran, April 12 : Iran's First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri called on South Korea to unfreeze Tehran's assets in its banks as soon as possible. Blocking Iran's foreign exchange assets in the South Korean's banks has marred the image of the country among the Iranian people, Jahangiri said in a joint press conference with visiting Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun on Sunday. Unfortunately, South Korea has followed the US in implementing illegal sanctions against Iran over the past three years, which has depressed the bilateral relations, he added. The measures by the South Korean banks, at the time when Iranians are in need of their resources to fight the coronavirus pandemic, have led to economic and health consequences, as the monetary resources could have been used to buy medical equipment, medicine and other essential goods for the country, the Iranian senior official noted. For his part, Chung said the two countries have agreed to work on ways to expand mutual relations, and South Korea will increase humanitarian aid, including medicines and medical equipment, to Iran. This is the first trip to Iran by a South Korean Prime Minister in 44 years. During his three-day visit, Chung will meet with President Hassan Rouhani, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani to discuss issues of mutual interest. He will also meet with the representatives from South Korean companies in Iran, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, according to a local media report. The Prime Minister's arrival in Tehran on Sunday came two days after Iran released a South Korean-flagged tanker seized three months ago in the Gulf for violating environmental regulations and marine pollution. Infosys stock touched-all time high today after the IT firm said its board would consider share buyback on April 14. Infosys stock opened with a gain of 2.72% at Rs 1,480 today against previous close of Rs 1,440.75 on BSE. Infosys share is trading higher than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. The IT stock has risen 123.34% in one year and gained 3.34% on BSE. The stock touched a record high of Rs 1,480, rising 2.72% against previous close. "The board of the company will consider a proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the company at its meeting to be held on April 14, 2021, in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Buy-back of Securities) Regulations, 2018," Infosys said in a regulatory filing. The outcome of the board meeting will be disseminated to the stock exchanges after conclusion of the board meeting on April 14, it added. Stocks in news: TCS, Infosys, Balrampur Chini Mills, Barbeque Nation and more The board of the Bengaluru-based company is scheduled to meet on April 13 and 14, 2021, to approve and take on record the audited consolidated financial results of the company and its subsidiaries for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2021. In August 2019, Infosys had bought back 11.05 crore of its shares under its Rs 8,260-crore buyback offer. Infosys had carried out its maiden buyback of Rs 13,000 crore in December 2017, comprising 11.3 crore equity shares at a price of Rs 1,150 per share. Sensex slips 1,600 points amid record Covid-19 cases, prospects of Maharashtra lockdown Major-General Peter Dawe speaks at a Canadian Special Operations Forces Command change of command ceremony in Ottawa on April 25, 2018. (The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle) Canadian Special Forces Supported Major Iraqi Military Assault on ISIL Last Month OTTAWAThe commander of Canadas special forces says his soldiers supported a major military offensive last month that U.S. and Iraqi officials say killed dozens of Islamic State fighters. The twoweek offensive codenamed Operation Ready Lion took place in a mountain range in northern Iraq and involved using Iraqi and coalition airstrikes to flush ISIL fighters from their tunnel complexes and bunkers. Those who fled were either captured or killed by Iraqi military snipers. The Canadian Armed Forces has been relatively quiet about what its roughly 200 special forces soldiers in Iraq have been doing in recent years. But in an exclusive interview with The Canadian Press, Maj.Gen. Peter Dawe says his troops helped plan the operation and then helped with surveillance, resupplies and medical evacuations as it was underway. The federal government recently extended Canadas antiISIL mission, which first started in late 2014, currently includes hundreds of other troops in addition to the special forces soldiers until next March. CHICAGO Chicago aldermen on Monday moved to officially condemn a newly elected Illinois congresswoman who told an audience at a Washington, D.C., rally, Hitler was right on one thing. The nonbinding resolution denounces Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Millers remarks as a disgrace to the memories of those killed in the Holocaust and the millions of victims of World War II, an insult to the families of those who perished, and a discredit to the office of United States congresswoman and the great state of Illinois. During a Jan. 5 speech to conservative group Moms for America, Miller said each generation has the responsibility to teach and train the next generation. You know, if we win a few elections, were still going to be losing unless we win the hearts and minds of our children. This is the battle. Hitler was right on one thing. He said, whoever has the youth has the future, she said. Facing widespread criticism and calls for her resignation, Miller issued a statement days later saying she apologized for any harm my words caused and regret using a reference to one of the most evil dictators in history to illustrate the dangers that outside influences can have on our youth. Speaking in support of the City Council resolution Monday, Far North Side Alderwoman Debra Silverstein, 50th, said the remarks were hugely offensive to the big Jewish population in her ward, where Holocaust survivors and residents who lost family members in Nazi concentration camps are part of the fabric of the neighborhoods. Silverstein, who is Jewish, noted that she herself lost great-aunts and great-uncles in the Holocaust. As a representative of Chicagos largest Jewish community and a proud Jewish woman myself, I can say with certainty that nothing Hitler did was right, Silverstein said. And as a proud citizen of Chicago, a city that stands up for ethical and moral ideas, I condemn Rep. Millers statements in the strongest terms possible. Millers office did not immediately respond to questions about the City Council resolution. The resolution passed the council Health and Human Relations Committee, and the full council will consider it later this month. Over the past day, April 11, the armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine six times. Over the past day, April 11, the armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire in the Joint Forces Operation area six times, the press center of the JFO Headquarters informs. In the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group East, the enemy fired 82mm mortars banned under the Minsk Agreements and different grenade launchers on Ukrainian positions near Nevelske (18km north-west of Donetsk); small arms, hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and grenade machine guns outside Vodiane in the Sea of Azov area; small arms near Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol). In the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group North, Ukrainian troops came under different grenade launcher, heavy machine gun and small arms fire in the area of Zaitseve (62km north-east of Donetsk) and Shumy (41km north of Donetsk). The Ukrainian side of the Joint Control and Coordination Center (JCCC) informed the OSCE SMM about the violations. As of 7 a.m. on April 12, one attack by Russian-occupation forces was recorded. No combat losses among Ukrainian troops have been reported. The Ukrainian military continues to control the situation in the JFO area and adheres to the ceasefire. ol General Motors Cruise is set to extend operations to Dubai, a media report said. According to CNBC, the majority-owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary has signed an agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority to be the exclusive provider for self-driving taxis and ride-hailing services to the end of 2029, starting in 2023. Financial details have not been disclosed. CNBC said there was no date yet for when self-driving vehicles were expected to be available to the public in Dubai. Quickly create and publish professional surveys with Alchemer. Please take my survey now But Cruise expected to operate a fleet of up to 4,000 self-driving vehicles in the United Arab Emirates showcase city by 2030. CNBC noted Cruise had been concentrating its self-driving vehicle testing in San Francisco and now had a registered testing fleet of over 200 vehicles. It has delayed offering a robotaxi fleet to the public in the California city from an initial plan for 2019. The report said Cruise would establish a new Dubai-based company fully responsible for the deployment, operation and maintenance of the autonomous fleet. Dubai wants to reduce transport costs and convert 25% of trips in the city to self-driving transport by 2030, CNBC said. Thematic Reports Are you worried about the pace of innovation in your industry? GlobalData's TMT Themes 2021 Report tells you everything you need to know about disruptive tech themes and which companies are best placed to help you digitally transform your business. Find out more GM acquired Cruise, whose CEO is Dan Amman, in 2016. Other announced investors include Honda, SoftBank Vision Fund and Microsoft, CNBC noted. Calls have been made for the Minister for Culture to investigate if traditional turf cutting practices can be protected under EU or international conventions. Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said she has written to the Minister for Culture Catherine Martin in an effort to investigate if traditional turf cutting practices can be protected under EU or international conventions. Deputy Nolan said that she would be making the move following increasing concerns that those who had engaged in turf cutting for home heat and cultural reasons were effectively being subjected to a process amounting to creeping criminalisation. We all know that over the last number of years the EU, in the form of the Habitats Directive, has introduced robust laws around what can and cannot be done in rural Ireland. But we also know that there are other international conventions such as the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, or the Faro Framework. This Convention explicitly calls on states to recognise that rights relating to cultural heritage are inherent in the right to participate in cultural life, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For the purposes of that Convention cultural heritage is defined as a group of resources inherited from the past with which people identify, independently of ownership, as a reflection and expression of their traditions. It is also quite clear that a heritage community consists of people who value specific aspects of cultural heritage which they wish, within the framework of public action, to sustain and transmit to future generations. I would be suggesting that there is a great degree of overlap between what the Convention says and what those who engage in traditional turf cutting have always done. Of course, there is the home heating, energy supply side of this debate and that is crucially important. But the cultural and heritage angle to this issue is often overlooked. Turf cutters deserve the full protection of the law, both domestic and international. That is something I will be working to achieve on their behalf, concluded Deputy Nolan. FLORENCE - An archaeological exhibit of the Uffizi Gallery on the role of women in ancient Rome is going digital. The event called 'Imperatrici, matrone, liberte. Volti e segreti delle donne romane' (Empresses, matrons, freedwomen. Faces and secrets of ancient Rome), according to a statement, was inaugurated at the beginning of November and closed due to Covid restrictions only one day later. The exhibit was completely digitalized in high definition and, starting on Monday, it is possible to take a free virtual tour on the website of the museum, uffizi.it (https://www.uffizi.it/mostre-virtuali/imperatrici-matrone-liber te). It is the first show of the gallery that can be visited online in this way. It is possible to zoom on details of the artwork and see the explanations and additional information in Italian and English. Moreover, thanks to a new functionality, it will be possible to directly connect to the technical sheet of the oeuvre in the archives of the museum's website. The statement added that there are some 30 artworks coming from the rich archaeological collection of the museum complex: they include the sculptures of Nero's mother Agrippina, Domizia Longina, Domiziano's wife. They describe the lives of Roman women in the first two centuries of the Empire, from the start of the I until the second half of the II century AD, focusing on positive and negative models represented by empresses and leading women in the imperial house and highlighting possible public roles for women, with an insight into the fascinating stories of everyday life of matrons and freedwomen. "The Uffizi Gallery over the last few years has dedicated great attention on the themes of gender history - commented the museum's director Eike Schmidt - changing the traditional and traditionalist image of women and showing instead their creative, strong and indomitable side. The show is also a unique occasion to allow our visitors to admire splendid pieces of our very important archaeological collection that will surprise our most careful public". Call for Filipino voters in Bahrain to register for next years elections Call for Filipino voters in Bahrain to register for next years elections TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The 2022 Philippine national elections are fast approaching so Filipinos in the Kingdom of Bahrain are urged to register at the Philippine Embassy located in Mahooz. All qualified Filipino citizens residing and working abroad better known as the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who have not yet registered should visit the embassy as personal appearance is required. In October last year, the embassy resumed the activity following a five-month suspension due to the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Overseas registration started in December 2019 and will run until September 30, 2021. The next Philippine general elections set to take place on May 9, 2022 will select the successor of current President Rodrigo Duterte. According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila, overseas voters may cast their votes in Philippine embassies, consulates, and other posts for one month, from April 10 to May 9 next year. Qualified Filipino voters residing and working abroad will choose the next president, vice-president, 12 senators and a party-list representative. Details or biometrics will be captured and those who want to register must bring along a photocopy of a valid passport. For seafarers, a seamans book is required aside from a copy of the Philippine passport. Today, an estimated 60,000 Filipinos are living and working in Bahrain, and they include professional, skilled and semi-skilled workers as well as household service workers. Many of them bring their families here. The registration is part of the embassys efforts to gradually shift back to normal consular operations while strictly following the required safety precautions and protocols within its premises. Filipinos in the Kingdom have expressed their gratefulness to the embassy for the resumption of the registration, in which they have the chance to exercise their right and duty to choose the next leaders of the country, particularly the president. To encourage Filipinos to register, the embassy is utilising its social media accounts by posting infomercials and posters to increase awareness in Bahrain. Those interested in overseas voting registration should contact the embassy for details on how to proceed. More details can also be found on the embassys official website: https://manamape.dfa.gov.ph/ More and more countries have resolutely declared their support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine against the background of the escalation of the situation on the part of the Russian Federation, said Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. He said on his Facebook page on Sunday that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had 16 telephone conversations during 11 days with the heads of the foreign ministries of Great Britain, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Estonia, Canada, Latvia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, U.S., France, Sweden, as well as the EU High Representative and the OSCE Secretary General. "The heads of the Foreign Ministries of Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Foreign Ministry have firmly declared their solidarity with Ukraine. The NATO Secretary General during a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine stressed that the Alliance remains committed to partnership with Ukraine and supports our country. The President of Turkey announced his support for Ukraine yesterday during a meeting with the head of the Ukrainian state. Thanks to all our partners for this manifestation of solidarity!" Nikolenko wrote. FELTON, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As per the published report, the global Data Science Platform Market size is estimated to arrive at USD 25.94 billion by 2027. It is projected to develop by 26.9% CAGR in the period of the forecast. What are Key Factors Driving the Data Science Platform Market? These days, data science has turn out to be extremely important for the business. Since, the figure of the model creators, tools and models is growing, the requirement for the standardized data science platform, which can offer complete resolution, is also rising. Just before recognizing which tool to be utilized at what time and administer the intricacy, linked with the organization of a huge magnitude of data, as well as increase flexibility, the implementation of these data science platforms is rising. These platforms are offering companies with a continuous procedure of administration, set up, and generate analytical representation, in a joint and receptive background. The technical progression like combination of Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), are at an extraordinarily speedy pace. These days, the companies like Microsoft Corporation are shifting to the acceptance of sophisticated approach, to increase a viable limit in the market. By way of speedy alteration, data has turn into an extremely important asset for several businesses. Therefore, it has become necessary for the companies to search for the team with the data science platform, to increase considerable insight from the collected records. Please click here to get the sample pdf and find more details on "Data Science Platform Market" Report 2027. Several data science teams have developed beyond their presented tools and are coming across a need of scalability and teamwork, since they happen to be overpowered by everyday operational responsibilities. To conquer this problem, currently the companies are choosing for the data science platforms, which are scalable, approachable, shared, and bear the complete pipeline of the production. The factors like quickness, scalability, allocation of model, optimization of the business, reproducibility, management of model, use of model, offered by these platforms, substantially contributed to its speedy acceptance. Further key findings from the report suggest: Due to the rising demand for the highly developed technological platforms which can assist in opening analytical approaching from a huge quantity of data getting generated, daily, the regional data science platform market, in North America is anticipated to possess a greater share of revenue during the period for the forecast. is anticipated to possess a greater share of revenue during the period for the forecast. Rising demand for the data science platform, which can optimize everyday jobs and offer effectual teamwork, has aggravated the implementation. As a result of the profits like better client fulfillment, abridged threat, and others, offered by the data science platform, the platform segment retained the major revenue share in 2019 and is estimated to carry on leading the market, throughout the forecast period. Browse 100 page research report with TOC on "Global Data Science Platform Market" at: https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/global-data-science-platform-market Million Insights segmented the global data science platform market based on Vertical, Component, Application and Region: Data Science Platform Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) Marketing & Sales Logistics Finance and Accounting Customer Support Others Data Science Platform Component Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) Platform Services Data Science Platform Vertical Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) IT & Telecommunication Healthcare BFSI Manufacturing Retail & E-commerce Energy and Utilities Government Others Data Science Platform Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) North America The U.S. Canada Mexico Europe The U.K. Germany France Asia Pacific China Japan India South America Brazil The Middle East and Africa (MEA) Companies Various companies for data science platform market are: The Math Works, Inc. SAS Institute Inc. Alteryx, Inc. H2O.ai Microsoft Corporation SAP TIBCO Software Inc. Oracle IBM Corporation Google LLC Read the Latest Press Releases by Million Insights: Smart Electricity Meters Market - The global smart electricity meters market size is projected to account for USD 18.9 billion by 2027. It is likely that the market would register 7.8% CAGR over the forecast duration. The demand for energy security is gaining traction in the energy sector. With the advent of renewable energy sources, this demand has been addressed to some extent. The global smart electricity meters market size is projected to account for by 2027. It is likely that the market would register 7.8% CAGR over the forecast duration. The demand for energy security is gaining traction in the energy sector. With the advent of renewable energy sources, this demand has been addressed to some extent. Ceramic Filter Market - The global ceramic filter market size is projected to touch USD 2.97 billion by 2025. The market is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 13.5% over the forecast duration. Stringent regulation regarding the treatment of disposal water and harmful gases has led to an increase in demand for ceramics filter over the forecast duration. The global ceramic filter market size is projected to touch by 2025. The market is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 13.5% over the forecast duration. Stringent regulation regarding the treatment of disposal water and harmful gases has led to an increase in demand for ceramics filter over the forecast duration. Industrial Boilers Market - The global industrial boilers market size is anticipated to value USD 18.3 billion until 2025. It is also expected to register a CAGR of 4.5% over the forecasted years, 2019 to 2025. Rapid industrialization coupled with development across the food and beverage industry is projected to drive the market growth for industrial boilers in the upcoming years. The global industrial boilers market size is anticipated to value until 2025. It is also expected to register a CAGR of 4.5% over the forecasted years, 2019 to 2025. Rapid industrialization coupled with development across the food and beverage industry is projected to drive the market growth for industrial boilers in the upcoming years. Pre-engineered Building Market - The global pre-engineered building market size is projected to reach USD 30.79 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 15.5%. Rising technological developments in the construction industry and growing urbanization & industrialization in the developing economies such as China , Brazil and India are expected to drive the demand for the market. About Million Insights: Million Insights, is a distributor of market research reports, published by premium publishers only. We have a comprehensive market place, that will enable you to compare data points, before you make a purchase. Enabling informed buying, is our motto and we strive hard to ensure that our clients get to browse through multiple samples, prior to an investment. Service flexibility & the fastest response time are two pillars, on which our business model is founded. Our market research report store, includes in-depth reports, from across various industry verticals, such as healthcare, technology, chemicals, food & beverages, consumer goods, material science & automotive. Contact: Ryan Manuel Research Support Specialist, USA Million Insights Phone: 1-408-610-2300 Toll Free: 1-866-831-4085 Email: sales@millioninsights.com Web: https://www.millioninsights.com/ Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter Talking to IANS, about the culture of Pan India films spreading and how "Baahubali" started it, the actor reflects on other films in the past, which have also had a huge reach nationally. Actor Rana Daggubati feels that films from South industry have always been pan-India but the globally renowned film "Baahubali" showed the way to make business the right way in a pan-India arrangement. "I was an audience before an actor and to me whether I was watching a Hindi film or a Telugu film the sentiment was the same. I live in Hyderabad and for me be it (Amitabh) Bachchan sir's film or a Kamal Haasan film, the vibes were the same. Time and again there were films which broke the barriers. Like Mani (Ratnam) sir's film 'Roza', that was originally a Tamil film. Nobody in the Hindi belt had a problem with that. They loved it as much as the South Indians loved it. Audience neverA has a problem (with language)," says the actor, who recently released his film "Aranya" in Telugu and "Kadaan" in Tamil. The Hindi version of the same film is titled "Haathi Mere Saathi" but it had to be postponed due to the rising Covid cases in Maharashtra. Rana goes on to add: "The only thing that changed with Baahubali is that we learnt how to get the business together and how do we actually come forth and release it. For a fact, this year they have been selling dubbed rights of all Telugu films, people on television are watching it and other languages. They were working on different spaces, they are now also watching it on OTT but now that is changing." For more stories click here: Kollywood l Malayalam l Bollywood l Telugu Researchers at Utrecht University and at TU Wien (Vienna) create special light waves that can penetrate even opaque materials as if the material was not even there. Why is sugar not transparent? Because light that penetrates a piece of sugar is scattered, altered and deflected in a highly complicated way. However, as a research team from TU Wien (Vienna) and Utrecht University (Netherlands) has now been able to show, there is a class of very special light waves for which this does not apply: for any specific disordered medium--such as the sugar cube you may just have put in your coffee--tailor-made light beams can be constructed that are practically not changed by this medium, but only attenuated. The light beam penetrates the medium, and a light pattern arrives on the other side that has the same shape as if the medium were not there at all. This idea of "scattering-invariant modes of light" can also be used to specifically examine the interior of objects. The results have now been published in the journal Nature Photonics. Astronomically many possible wave forms The waves on a turbulent water surface can take on an infinite number of different shapes--and in a similar way, light waves can also be made in countless different forms. "Each of these light wave patterns is changed and deflected in a very specific way when you send it through a disordered medium," explains Prof. Stefan Rotter from the Institute of Theoretical Physics at TU Wien. Together with his team, Stefan Rotter is developing mathematical methods to describe such light scattering effects. The expertise to produce and characterise such complex light fields was contributed by the team around Prof. Allard Mosk at Utrecht University. "As a light-scattering medium, we used a layer of zinc oxide--an opaque, white powder of completely randomly arranged nanoparticles," explains Allard Mosk, the head of the experimental research group. First, you have to characterise this layer precisely. You shine very specific light signals through the zinc oxide powder and measure how they arrive at the detector behind it. From this, you can then conclude how any other wave is changed by this medium--in particular, you can calculate specifically which wave pattern is changed by this zinc oxide layer exactly as if wave scattering was entirely absent in this layer. "As we were able to show, there is a very special class of light waves--the so-called scattering-invariant light modes, which produce exactly the same wave pattern at the detector, regardless of whether the light wave was only sent through air or whether it had to penetrate the complicated zinc oxide layer," says Stefan Rotter. "In the experiment, we see that the zinc oxide actually does not change the shape of these light waves at all--they just get a little weaker overall," explains Allard Mosk. A stellar constellation at the light detector As special and rare as these scattering-invariant light modes may be, with the theoretically unlimited number of possible light waves, one can still find many of them. And if you combine several of these scattering-invariant light modes in the right way, you get a scattering-invariant waveform again. "In this way, at least within certain limits, you are quite free to choose which image you want to send through the object without interference," says Jeroen Bosch, who worked on the experiment as a Ph.D. student. "For the experiment we chose a constellation as an example: The Big Dipper. And indeed, it was possible to determine a scattering-invariant wave that sends an image of the Big Dipper to the detector, regardless of whether the light wave is scattered by the zinc oxide layer or not. To the detector, the light beam looks almost the same in both cases." A look inside the cell This method of finding light patterns that penetrate an object largely undisturbed could also be used for imaging procedures. "In hospitals, X-rays are used to look inside the body--they have a shorter wavelength and can therefore penetrate our skin. But the way a light wave penetrates an object depends not only on the wavelength, but also on the waveform," says Matthias Kuhmayer, who works as a Ph.D. student on computer simulations of wave propagation. "If you want to focus light inside an object at certain points, then our method opens up completely new possibilities. We were able to show that using our approach the light distribution inside the zinc oxide layer can also be specifically controlled." This could be interesting for biological experiments, for example, where you want to introduce light at very specific points in order to look deep inside cells. What the joint publication of the scientists from the Netherlands and Austria shows already is how important international cooperation between theory and experiment is for achieving progress in this area of research. ### Original publication P. Pai, J. Bosch, M. Kuhmayer, S. Rotter, A.P. Mosk; Scattering invariant modes of light in complex media, Nature Photonics (2021). https:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1038/ s41566-021-00789-9 or https:/ / rdcu. be/ cikbl Contact Prof. Stefan Rotter Institute for Theoretical Physics TU Wien Wiedner Hauptstrae 8-10, 1040 Vienna, Austria +43 1 58801 13618 stefan.rotter@tuwien.ac.at Monday is the first day schools will be back in session since the statewide mask mandate was lifted. School districts were able to decide whether they're continuing their masking protocols or making it optional for students and staff. The majority of parents WAAY 31 spoke with seemed to want what the school districts said they can't have. Limestone County Schools is one of the districts making masks optional. Krysten Scott said all three of her kids will continue to wear them, but she wishes the district was requiring everyone to wear masks until the end of the year. I dont think it was very smart at all, and theres not much left in the school year, I dont understand why take it away at this point," said Scott. Scott's kids started off the school year with virtual learning, but between difficulties with virtual learning and the schools taking proper COVID safety measures, she decided to send her kids back to in-person learning. She said she feels let down by her school district. It makes me very uncomfortable. Especially when Athens City is still requiring masks, Madison County are still requiring masks, why cant Limestone County? All three school districts in Madison County are requiring masks and parents told WAAY 31 they're thankful for it. They said they're worried about an increase in COVID cases among the community because there's no longer a statewide mask mandate. After 8-months of masking, Kate Taylor wishes Madison County Schools made it optional. I feel like at this point if the child or parent feels comfortable sending their student to school without the mask that is okay, and for those that dont feel that they want to do that, then they can still wear the masks if they feel its necessary," said Taylor. Both Scott and Taylor said the bottom line is, people have to respect the decisions the districts made. If their kids are required to wear masks, they will. If it's optional for their kids to wear masks, then they'll do what they decide is best. A rise in litter is making Britain look like an impoverished Third World country, according to the boss of Iceland supermarkets. Sir Malcolm Walker said parts of the UK resembled one long continuous rubbish dump. He said thoughtless drivers who tossed litter out of car windows were among the worst culprits. The 75-year-old spoke to the Daily Mail in the run-up to the Great British Spring Clean, the litter-picking event organised by Keep Britain Tidy, which starts on May 28. Sir Malcolm Walker said parts of the UK resembled one long continuous rubbish dump Sir Malcolm said he was considering serving a litter abatement order on his council, adding that the failure to clear rubbish led to plastic bottles and other litter being shredded by council mowers He urged the public to put pressure on elected officials to clean up roadsides, and backed tough action against countryside litterers. Sir Malcolm, who built the frozen food giant from a single shop in Oswestry, Shropshire, in 1970 to more than 1,000 stores, said he particularly noticed the mess in Cheshire, where the Iceland HQ is based. He said: Roadside litter and potholes make driving through Cheshire West and Chester a nightmare, and create the image of an impoverished Third World country. Years of inaction mean that the verges and central reservation on the A55 in Cheshire resemble one long continuous rubbish dump, covered in bottles, cans, car tyres, cones and windblown plastic. You can really notice the magical difference when you pass the sign that says Welcome to Wales. On a recent drive to London, he said virtually every roadside in every village was filled with litter. Im actually embarrassed about the state of Britain, he added. Sir Malcolm said he was considering serving a litter abatement order on his council, adding that the failure to clear rubbish led to plastic bottles and other litter being shredded by council mowers. I write to the CEO of Cheshire West and Chester Council about this every year, but nothing is ever done, so I am now asking all residents to contact their local councillors and the authority to urge them to take action, he said. Sir Malcolm urged the public to report not only fly-tippers but drivers who litter, and said councils should step up the number of penalty charge notices for litterers. Chewing gum was also a problem, he said, turning some pavements into vinyl floors. One solution backed by Sir Malcolm is a bottle return scheme, where consumers pay an extra fee that is given back when a bottle is returned. The scheme has been delayed by officials in England and Wales, however. Hong Kong Epoch Times Printing Press Attacked by Hammer-Wielding Intruders Four intruders barged into the printing plant of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times in the early hours of April 12, damaging computers and printing equipment in an attack believed to be the latest effort by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to silence the news outlet. In an attack on the same facility in November 2019, four masked men set fire to two printing presses; the perpetrators are still at large. Cheryl Ng, a spokeswoman for the Hong Kong edition, said the intrusion was characteristic of the CCP and had the aim of silencing an independent outlet from reporting on topics that are taboo to the communist regime. Ng, who condemned the attack, said it was a crime against Hong Kongs freedom of speech. The Epoch Times, one of the few independent media outlets in Hong Kong, is known for its uncensored coverage of China, including political infighting within the CCP, the regimes human rights violations against ethnic minorities and religious groups, and Beijings propaganda and influence operations abroad. The Hong Kong edition also has provided extensive independent coverage of the citys pro-democracy movement, which started in June 2019 but subsided in July 2020 when Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the China-ruled city. The law has further stripped Hong Kongs dwindling autonomy, in particular the citys press freedoms. A CCTV screenshot showing intruders dressed in black using sledgehammers to damage printing press equipment at the print shop of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times on April 12, 2021. (The Epoch Times) In a statement, the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times condemned the CCP for creating white terror in Hong Kong, while calling on the international community to monitor Hong Kongs freedom of speech, which is under siege by the communist regime. Intrusion About 4:38 a.m. on April 12, a female employee of the printing press returned to the shop, where she spotted a man in his 30s standing nearby, while chatting on his cellphone. Two of the four intruders caught on CCTV. (The Epoch Times) When the employee tried to close a sliding door, the man suddenly walked up and stood in the doorway, preventing it from being shut. The man then angrily questioned the female employee, asking her to have Mr. Chu come out and meet him. When the employee responded that there was no such person, the man refused to walk away. Suddenly, three other men arrived and pushed their way into the facility. Two of them carried sledgehammers, and one of them carried a plastic bag with a knife in it. They shouted at another employee: Go away. Go away. It is none of your business. Go away. Dont force me to do anything. Construction debris on top of printing press equipment at the print shop that prints the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times on April 12, 2021. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times) After barging in, the men started hammering on the printing equipment. Among the items damaged were the printing presss central control panel and several computers. One of the men also tossed construction debris from his bag onto the equipment. The intrusion, which was captured on video, lasted about two minutes. When the men left, they stole a computer before fleeing in a white van. The printing plant staff then called the police, who arrived shortly afterward. Damaged computer. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times) The printing site, established in February 2006, has been attacked four previous times. That month, thugs broke into the building and damaged the newly purchased equipment. In October 2012, thugs failed to smash open a gate in an attempt to break into the print shop. About two months later, seven men toting toolboxes appeared and began trying to break through the gate; they fled after police were called. The Nov. 19, 2019, arson attack resulted in damages of more than $40,000. That day, four individuals, who were dressed in black in an apparent attempt to disguise themselves as Hong Kong democracy protesters, lit a fire that activated the warehouses sprinkler system. Several U.S. senators, as well as the rights groups Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong all spoke out against the arson attack. Ng said that the companys Hong Kong edition wont bow to violent threats, and is in the process of repairing the damage. She expressed hope that the Hong Kong police will solve the case and bring the four men to justice. She urged Hongkongers to continue to support the newspaper. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 13:35:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CANBERRA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Australian researchers have embarked on an expedition to explore previously undocumented deep-sea coral reefs off the country's north coast. Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) researchers departed Darwin on Friday bound for the Ashmore Reef Marine Park for a three-week expedition. The "unknown and undocumented" mesophotic coral ecosystem will be explored with researchers hopeful their findings will help protect reefs around the world. Karen Miller, the chief scientist on the voyage from the AIMS, said that equipment on board the Schmidt Ocean Institute's RV Falkor made studying the reef possible, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Sunday. "It's not quite light and it's not quite dark, so it's like twilight. Because it's got a very different light regime to other areas of the ocean. What we expect to see is quite a different suite of species that are specialized," she said. "It is very difficult to do this work and you don't get very many opportunities," she said. "We're excited to be able to study that unknown area and to see what species are living there that we don't necessarily know even exist yet. It's that technology that enables us to be able to go down and study these reefs in detail." The biodiversity samples collected on the voyage will be coordinated by the Western Australia Museum. Nerida Wilson from the museum said the findings could hold the key to conserving reefs amid global warming. "If conditions change, with climate, then the kind of environmental conditions that shallow reefs need now are going to be in those deeper areas in the future," she said. "We'll understand if they are providing a refuge for the shallow water animals, so we will also know to follow what happens to the animals that are currently only known in mesophotic areas. "It's quite complex to try and figure out what happens in the future, and the more we understand now the easier our job will be then." Enditem STORY LINK GBP/EUR Forecast: Pound to Euro Exchange Rate Gaining as Lockdown Measures Eased in England Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rate Gaining as Lockdown Eased in England Im sure it will be a huge relief for those business owners who have been closed for so long, and for everyone else its a chance to get back to doing some of the things we love and have missed. I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember hands, face, space and fresh air to suppress Covid as we push on with our vaccination programme. Euro (EUR) Exchange Rate Muted Despite Positive Eurozone Retail Sales If AstraZeneca had delivered the way it should have delivered to us, like I understand it did in the UK, we will have been exactly in the same situation, even really better, than the UK today, which did a great organisation through the NHS to vaccinate people. GBP/EUR Exchange Rate Forecast: UK GDP Data in Focus Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: The Pound to Euro exchange rate is steadily gaining this morning as lockdown measures are eased in England.At the time of writing, the GBP/EUR pairing is trading at around 1.1570.The Pound is gaining against the Euro this morning as Englands second stage of lockdown easing comes into force.Non-essential retail, outdoor hospitality, indoor gyms and hairdressers have all been able to reopen under strict guidelines from the government.Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to remember to behave responsibly as shops reopen:Any concerns over the UKs vaccine rollout last week have all but been forgotten as investors focus on the reopening of the UKs economy.The Euro has been muted against the Pound this morning as better-than-expected retail sales figures from the Eurozone did little to offset Sterlings new found strength.As reported by Eurostat, the Eurozone's retail trade rose 3 percent from a month earlier in February 2021, rebounding from a 5.2 percent slump in January.The introduction of stricter lockdowns across the Eurozone in the past few weeks seem to have limited the impact of the positive retail figures.The Eurozone is hoping to up its vaccine rollout in the coming weeks to help offset the devastating effects of the third wave of coronavirus across the bloc.On Friday the EUs vaccine tsar, Thierry Breton said that AstraZeneca has agreed that all but one batch of its Covid-19 vaccine produced in the Netherlands will be sent to European member states rather than the UK.He blamed the delay in vaccines on supply chain issues saying:For Pound investors tomorrow will see the release of the UKs GDP figures for February which are forecast to show a 0.6% growth, up from Januarys -2.9% drop which could push Sterling higher.Tomorrow will also see the UKs industrial production data from February, which due to strict lockdown restrictions imposed at the start of the year is expected to remain in contraction.For Euro traders, tomorrows Eurozone ZEW economic sentiment index for April could shed some light on the current economic situation in the bloc.The index is forecast to rise 3 points to 77, however renewed lockdowns across the Eurozone could cause the index to miss forecasts, and EUR to suffer further. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: Pound Euro Forecasts BRIDGEPORT Hours before being sworn in as the citys permanent police chief in November 2018, Armando Perez in an interview asked critics of his promotion to that powerful position for a chance. He also sought their understanding if and when he fell short: Im human and I make mistakes like everybody else. On Monday Perez was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for cheating to become top cop. And some community leaders felt it was too lenient of a sentence. One year for someone who engaged in deceit? Someone who engaged in abuse of power? said retired Superior Court judge-turned-activist Carmen Lopez. We need to send a message to the leadership in the city that corruption is going to be taken seriously by the system. ... One year, one day? None of them are ever going to learn. Cass Shaw, the outgoing head of the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, opposed Mayor Joe Ganims decision in 2018 to select his close friend Perez from among three finalists to run the police department. Shaw and others argued Perez was unqualified and too politically connected to be a good manager and to pursue reforms to clean up the force. Frankly, Im glad hes getting prison time, Shaw said. Ive always liked him. Hes a nice guy. ... But so much damage has been done to the police department itself. And theres been such an erosion of trust between the police and the community that, frankly, spending a year in jail if it doesnt come with some deep reflection on his part seems perfunctory. What took him down was his own ego and power trip, said City Councilman Jorge Cruz. Yes, go ahead and serve that year in jail. Absolutely. Rowena White, Ganims spokesperson, in an email said, The city has no comment except to say that this has been a difficult time. Former Mayor Bill Finch called it another sad chapter and corruption scandal for the city. In 2015 Ganim, who had served as mayor from 1991 until he was sent to jail in 2003 for running a pay-to-play operation out of City Hall, ousted Finch during that years mayoral primary. Perez had been Ganims driver during his first tenure and campaigned for voters to grant him a second chance running Bridgeport. Knowing of that relationship, Finch anticipated Ganim wanted Perez to be chief and on his way out of office and against Ganims wishes extended then-Police Chief Joseph Gaudetts contract for five years. Ganim ultimately undid that maneuver, made Perez acting chief in 2016, then permanent top cop with his own five-year contract in 2018 following a national search. Finch on Monday hoped Perezs sentence would send a message to younger people: This is an example of dont cheat. I think the court did what was necessary with the evidence that was given, City Councilwoman Jeanette Herron, a close friend of Perezs, said, adding she was also not surprised with the prison time because of Bridgeports reputation for corruption. I think with so much publicity with all the things that have happened in the past with this city, I saw it coming. Lopez said as a Latino she was also upset because of what Perezs success as a Cuban immigrant had represented, only for him to abuse his position. The Rev. Simon Castillo, a long-time community leader and former member of the police commission, thought that Perezs heart was in the right place when it came to trying to run and improve the police force. But, at the same time, the basis to really do something good, you have to be qualified, Castillo said. If you dont qualify, youre going to have problems in the future. He said Perezs cheating was unfair to other candidates for chief. Still, Castillo thought perhaps a year in prison might be too tough of a sentence and would have preferred Perez be forced to pay back the salary he earned while chief. Perez will also serve 24 months of supervised release, pay a $7,500 fine, nearly $150,000 in restitution to the city to cover the related costs of the chief search and federal probe, and perform 100 hours of community service. In addition the Connecticut attorney general is trying to seize or reduce Perezs pension. Several people interviewed Monday expressed sadness for Perezs wife, children, brothers and elderly mother. Former Police Sgt. Chuck Paris, who until his retirement in spring 2020 was president of Bridgeports union, had wanted Ganim to put Perez in charge. Paris and Perez have known each other for four decades. Im sad for him and his family, Paris said. Theyre a good family. Good people. Worked hard their entire life. Its just too bad. Its a sad situation. Theres so much love in that family, Herron said. They'll take care of each other. Theyll get through this. Its going to be difficult, but theyre strong. Theyre united. Cruz said the state should abandon targeting Perezs pension: You cant forget all the years he was of service to his community. And think about his family. Hes gonna live a life of shame and hes got to deal with that himself. TN Woman Stopped in Caldwell Co. In Stolen Truck By West Kentucky Star Staff A Tennessee woman was arrested on multiple charges in Caldwell County Friday. The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office said deputies received information from the Gallatin, TN Police Department about a woman possibly in the area driving a stolen pickup truck. A deputy spotted the stolen vehicle Friday afternoon and conducted a traffic stop. During the stop the deputy confirmed that the truck was stolen out of Gallatin, TN, and the suspect's operator's license was suspended. Twenty-year-old Shelby Ray of Portland, TN was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property $10,000 or more, fugitive from another state and operating on a suspended or revoked operator's license. Ray was also served a Hopkins County District Court complaint warrant for forgery, two counts of theft by deception under $500 and theft by unlawful taking or disposition gasoline under $500. She was lodged in the Caldwell County Jail. CALDWELL COUNTY - As Childrens Hospital New Orleans completes its $300 million Uptown transformation this year, the hospital will also expand in Metairie, opening a new pediatric emergency room in September, according to a press release from LCMC Health. The 11,000-square-foot facility at Clearview Parkway and Veterans Boulevard will have 11 beds for patients up to age 21 and will be open 24 hours. Beyond emergency services, the facility will also provide diagnostic imaging services like CT scans, X-rays and ultrasounds. Other pediatric emergency rooms in the city are located at Childrens Hospitals main campus, LCMCs West Jefferson Medical Center, Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans, Tulane Lakeside Hospital in Metairie and Ochsners main campus on Jefferson Highway. Childrens Hospital is proud to bring specialized pediatric emergency care closer to home for families on the east bank of Jefferson Parish, said John Nickens, CHNOLAs president and CEO, in a statement. With our robust primary and specialty care network in Metairie, expanding services to include emergency care will best serve the nearly 50,000 children of this community with expert care from our team of pediatric emergency medicine providers. While pediatric emergency room volume dropped during the pandemic, visits for mental health issues have steadily increased along with wait times, according to a study published April 1 in the journal Pediatrics. A 10-year analysis found rates of visits that lasted more than six hours for pediatric mental health concerns increased from around 16% to nearly a quarter of visits. Stays longer than 12 hours went from 5% to almost 13%. A separate analysis in Pediatrics found that visits for mental health issues have gone up 60% and deliberate self-harm visits increased by 329% from 2007 to 2016. 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 Mentally ill children in Louisiana do not receive adequate services through Medicaid, lawsuit says Louisiana isn't providing children on Medicaid with adequate mental health services, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the Southern Pov "The majority of these visits occur at nonchildrens (emergency rooms) in both metropolitan and nonurban settings, which have been shown to be less prepared to provide higher-level pediatric emergency care," the study authors wrote. Construction will begin on the $4.4 million facility this spring in the same location a building East Jefferson General Hospital leased in 2016 for a standalone emergency room that was never developed. EJGH, which had not yet been purchased by LCMC, spent millions to rent and renovate the building, which it had contracted to rent until 2026 for about $43,000 per month. The hospital continued to pay rent but had stopped the project, prompting a lawsuit from the owner, George Cella. The lawsuit was dismissed in January. +15 Here's what's next for East Jefferson hospital after voters approved sale to LCMC Health With resounding voter approval this weekend for their purchase of East Jefferson General Hospital, LCMC Health officials now face the task of This investment is a reflection of LCMC Healths commitment to provide accessible, extraordinary care for children within our local communities, said Greg Feirn, LCMC CEO. The project will also bring 64 new jobs to Jefferson Parish, staffed by a dedicated team of pediatric emergency medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, pediatric nurses, and other team members. Staff writer Faimon Roberts contributed to this report. Samsung Galaxy A82 is on the way, an increasingly large pile of leaks suggests, and it will appeared under the alleged name Quantum2 in some markets. Today live shots from Chinese platform Weibo confirmed the phones design - plain back with a triple camera in a rectangular bump. Samsung Galaxy A82 5G Sadly, the Galaxy A82 is a successor of the Galaxy A80 only by name - the new phone will not inherit the rotating camera that was a marvelous piece of technology back in 2019. The current design also means no full-screen experience - there is a punch hole in the center for the selfie camera. The front appears to have 2.5D curved sides, while the back is plain color. The camera island has a single LED flash and a trio of snappers. The leaked photos did not come with any specs, but we expect a 6.7 Super AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 860 chipset and a 4,500 mAh battery. Source (in Chinese) | Via A 17-year-old Indonesian girl who occasionally falls asleep for several days at a time has been dubbed a real-life Sleeping Beauty or the sleeping daughter of South Kalimantan. Echa, who hails from Banjarmasin, in Indonesias South Kalimantan region, first made news headlines in 2017, when national news outlets reported that she slept for 13 days straight. She has experienced two worrying episodes since then, when she slept for about a day and a half, but last week Echas condition worsened and she fell into a deep sleep for about seven days. Her parents took her to the Ansari Saleh hospital in Banjarmasin, but her tests came out fine. The teenager finally woke up after a total of nine days, but doctors say that she is still very weak. No one really knows what is causing Echas unusual long sleep, but symptoms suggests that she is suffering from hypersomnia, a very rare neurological condition that causes sufferers to feel excessive sleepiness during the day, and fall asleep for long stretches of time. Hypersomnia comes in many forms and has many probably causes, from neurological damage, to genetic factors and physical or emotional trauma. Echas father, Mulyadi, told Tribunn.com that he had tried waking up the girl several times, but to no avail. Interestingly, the girl reportedly chews and swallows food in her sleep, if fed by her parents, and gets restless when she needs to use the bathroom. Mulyadi said that she urinates when taken to the bathroom and seated on the toilet seat. Sempat viral pada 2017, Echa Putri Tidur dari Kalsel kembali jadi perbincangan. Gadis remaja ini kembali tertidur berhari-hari, diduga karena hipersomnia. https://t.co/tDHkyNHaYq detikcom (@detikcom) April 9, 2021 Sleeping Beauty Syndrome currently has no known cure, but Echas parents hope that her symptoms can at least be better managed so she can enjoy a quasi-normal life. While Echas condition is debilitating, it pales in comparison to that of another real-life Sleeping Beauty we featured a couple of years back. Sharik Tovar, a teenage girl from Colombia reportedly sleeps for up to two months at a time. ANSONIA Evelyn Kubik instantly recognized what she saw and she didnt like it. The Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center ranger responded to an email last week alerting the center of a big rock on a trail away from the main grounds. Someone had painted yellow lines in the shape of a swastika. I was angry, Kubik said. Ansonia police later came to investigate, and she scrubbed off the graffiti soon after. But the staff didnt know at first how to address the incident to the public. According to Diane Smith, distinguished lecturer in the Department of Communication, Film and Media Studies at the University of New Haven, these incidents require forceful responses in order to show that hate speech will not be tolerated, no matter how trivial it appears to be. Lt. Patrick Lynch, of the Ansonia Police Department, said that these incidents are rare and that the swastika appeared old. He said moss was growing over it. At this point, that's the only complaint we received, is the only type of vandalism, graffiti type that we've gotten in respect to anything like that in that area, or actually in town, he said. Kubik said that the center has had similar incidents in the past, but they happened before she started working there in 2019. It seems like every six years or so, something like this crops up, she said. Kubik said that she, along with other staffers at the center, struggled at first with a statement. She said they didnt want the statement to ring hollow, but at the same time, she didnt want hate speech to be inadvertently amplified. She didnt want the statement to just criticize the act either. So she researched other incidents at parks and came across an incident at a park in Westfield, New Jersey. Someone had left a swastika on a park trailer. She learned that a rabbi had said that these incidents need to be known and not kept in the dark. She said even if the graffiti was made as a prank or to shock people, the very fact that it happened in the city should make residents take pause. Oh, that doesn't happen in my town, But it does, and it happened here in Ansonia. And we should confront that truth, she said. So the statement ended up not referencing the swastika but instead centered on the community. In the end, we decided to not mention the graffiti, but to instead come out for them in support, she said. The statement read: We at the Ansonia Nature Center believe that diversity is a strength. We believe people of all race, religion, creed, nation of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, and physical and mental ability should have safe access to the outdoors, and we are committed to keeping our park a welcoming space for all. Smith, who is an expert on public relations, said that its crucial for organizations to address these incidents. She said people within these communities tend to hear about it by word of mouth. While she acknowledged that it may very well be someone who wanted to provoke a reaction, that is still no excuse. It's no longer just a kid with the spray cans. That's not acceptable anymore, you know, kid with a can of spray paint is not what's going on, usually. And even if it is, that has to be stopped, Smith said. Smith said that the increase in hate crimes over the past few years makes it more important to respond forcefully. She said had she advised a client on this, she would tell an organization or nonprofit how to effectively respond to these incidents. That would entail asking them to not only issue a statement or a news conference, but to hold an educational seminar or event involving members of the community and police. She said some participants of the Capitol insurrection wore clothes referencing Auschwitz and that more people are openly expressing racist beliefs. Reporting the incident may risk copycat incidents, but she said that should a back seat to condemning it. I think the fear of giving oxygen to these things, has to be a lesser concern than actually taking a really strong stance and trying to prevent it, she said. Kubik said that the center has not yet reached out to religious members of the Jewish community. She remembered what she thought about as she wiped off the graffiti. I was just thinking that I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of being able to come past here, and know where their mark was, and know that it could only be covered up. I just wanted to erase it and obliterate it and make it not be there anymore, Kubik said. Samsung India has announced the Back to School campaign that offers discounts on Galaxy tablets for school and college-going students. However, the offers are applicable on Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, Galaxy Tab A7, Galaxy Tab S7, and Galaxy Tab S7+. How to avail the offer? As a part of the campaign, students and educators can avail an additional discount of up to 10% 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 log in to Samsung Student Advantage or validate their credentials via Samsungs official student ID validation partner, Student Identify. Discount on accessories on purchase of Galaxy Tabs Those who are purchasing Galaxy Tab S7+ and Galaxy Tab S7 will be can avail Rs. 10,000 discount on the keyboard cover. The effective price of the keyboard cover will be Rs. 7999 and Rs. 5999 for Galaxy Tab S7+ and Galaxy Tab S7 respectively with the bundled offer. The HDFC Bank Credit and Debit card users can avail cashback offer of Rs. 10,000 on Galaxy Tab S7+ and Rs. 9,000 on Galaxy Tab S7. On purchase of Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, customers will get Galaxy Buds+ at a special price of Rs. 1,999. The HDFC Bank Credit and Debit card users will get an additional cashback of Rs. 3,000. Customers purchasing Galaxy Tab A7 can get the Book Cover at a discounted price of Rs. 999. The Bank Credit and Debit card users will get an additional cashback of Rs. 2,000. Consumers can also avail special offers on Galaxy Tablets during Samsung Brand Days sale on Amazon.in and Flipkart. Samsung Brand Days will be held on Amazon from April 11-13, 2021, and on Flipkart from April 19-21, 2021. Inadequate oxygen in hospitals is contributing to death from pneumonia among poor households and high under-five mortality in Nigeria. Mercy Gichuhi, country director, Save the Children International Nigeria, stated this in Dutse, Jigawa State, on Monday, while donating equipment to health facilities in Jigawa State. The equipment include a piped Oxygen system, Oxygen Concentrators and Pulse Oximeters worth N20 million. The donation was made in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) through the Integrated Sustainable Childhood Pneumonia and Infectious Diseases Reduction in Nigeria (INSPIRING) Project, the official said. Mrs Gichuhi said a study conducted in 2020 in 12 Nigerian hospitals found that only five had oxygen in their pediatric wards, and just one used pulse oximetry for pediatric care. In Nigeria effective oxygen treatment is seldom available in the clinics and hospitals that serve poor families. That helps to explain why death rates from pneumonia are three times higher for children in the poorest households than they are for children in the richest households, said Ms Gichuhi, She added that the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation shows that Nigeria has the highest number of under five years deaths in the world, with an estimated 162,000 deaths in 2018. It is our responsibility to support efforts to roll back pneumonia deaths and health inequity, thus protecting vulnerable children. She said the ultimate aim of the support is to accelerate the achievement of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea and Sustainable Development Goal targets of less than three child pneumonia deaths per 1,000 births and less than 25 child deaths per 1,000 births by 2030. Ms Gichuhi said 2018 reports show that Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) was among the leading causes of childhood morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. Pneumonia is the most serious outcome of ARI in children under five. Importantly, we consider equipping the hospital with medical oxygen as the critical step in addressing hypoxemia (a clinical condition of inadequate oxygen concentration in the blood), a common sign of pneumonia, which is the leading infectious killer of children under-5. The donation will enhance the hospitals capacity in providing life-saving oxygen therapy, thus strengthening the Jigawa States oxygen delivery system. As Rasheed Shekoni Specialist Hospital is getting ready to become a Teaching Hospital, we believe this donation will empower the hospital to perform its role a topmost referral, teaching and research hospital in Jigawa State. In his remarks, Isah Adamu, chief of party, INSPIRING Project, lauded the organisations for the donations. Scaling up oxygen delivery across all health facilities can save countless lives; it is feasible and cost effective. Decision-makers should take action today to ensure reliable and equitable access to effective oxygen therapy for all patients. Mr Adamu, a medical doctor, said strong commitment is also needed to improve local oxygen systems and ensure equal access to this essential therapy long-term. Since the inception of the INSPIRING Project in Jigawa and Lagos, Save the Children has been working with the respective state governments to increase the quality of existing preventive and curative services provided to newborns and girls and boys under five at health facilities. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Nigeria overtook India last year in child morbility, according to a report by UNICEF, the UN childrens agency. ADVERTISEMENT The development paints a worrying picture for child mortality and survival in the country, further exposing a lack of plan and ambition in tackling diseases causing the deaths of children, which are usually curable. According to World Bank figures, India recorded an estimated 989,000 under-five deaths in 2017 compared to 714,000 deaths by Nigeria in the same year. Nigerias population is about 200 million, while Indias is over 1 billion. In its latest report titled Levels and Trends in Child Mortality, UNICEF said Nigeria recorded an estimated average of 858,000 under-five deaths in 2019 against Indias 824,000 deaths out of 5.2 million under-five deaths globally. The numbers from both countries are almost a third of all deaths before age five globally. The data, which covered a period of three decades 1990 to 2019 showed that 49 per cent of all under-five deaths in 2019 occurred in just five countries: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. To NASDAQ Copenhagen Executive Board Lers Parkalle 100 DK-2100 Kbenhavn www.rd.dk Telephone +45 7012 5300 Telefax +45 4514 9622 12 April 2021 Company Announcement No 32/2021 Prepayments, Realkredit Danmark A/S Pursuant to 24 of the Capital Markets Act, Realkredit Danmark A/S hereby publishes prepayments as at Friday 9 April 2021. Please find the data in the attached file. The information will also be available on www.rd.dk. Yours sincerely The Executive Board Any additional questions should be addressed to Hella Gebhardt Rnnebk, Chief Analyst, phone +45 4513 2068. Attachments Ahmedabad: A 21-year-old Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death by a group of men belonging to the upper caste Patel community for attending a garba event in Gujarat's Anand district in the early hours on Sunday, police said. The incident took place around 4 am. Jayesh Solanki, cousin Prakash Solanki and two other Dalit men were sitting near a house adjacent to a temple in Bhadrania village when a person made "derogatory remarks about their caste", police said quoting a complaint filed in connection with the incident. The accused said Dalits "do not have any right to watch garba. He made casteist remarks and asked some men to come to the spot", an officer at the Bhadran police station said. The upper caste men allegedly thrashed the Dalits and banged Jayesh's head against a wall, the officer said. Gujarat: Dalit man beaten to death on #Dussehra, allegedly for attending a Garba event in Anand. pic.twitter.com/i80ChYxjyi ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2017 Read | Dalits thrashed for sporting moustache in Gujarat, one arrested Jayesh was rushed to a hospital in Karamsad, where doctors declared him brought dead in the morning. "We have registered an FIR under IPC sections related to murder and the Prevention of Atrocities Act against eight men," the official said. Deputy SP (SC/ST cell) A M Patel said it did not appear to be a pre-planned attack. "Jayesh was killed in the heat of the moment, as there was no rivalry between him and the accused. We are probing the case from all angles. The accused will be arrested soon," the officer said. Recently, two Dalit men of a village near Gandhinagar were allegedly thrashed by members of the Rajput community for "sporting a moustache" in separate incidents, on September 25 and 29. The state had witnessed massive protests in July last year over the brutal thrashing of four Dalit men at a village in Una town. Read | Madhya Pradesh: Dalit woman's nose cut, husband beaten for refusing work as bonded labourers For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A father-of-three was a 'sitting duck' before he was killed by a gunman who peppered his police vehicle with 27 bullets. Senior Constable Brett Forte, 42, died after Ricky Maddison opened fire on his car with an automatic weapon in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, on May 29, 2017. The following day Maddison, 40, was shot dead by police after being asked to surrender more than 80 times during a 20-hour siege. An inquest into the death of Sen Const Forte and Maddison at the Coroners Court in Toowoomba heard on Monday that at 1.16pm on May 29, Maddison phoned police, first speaking to Sen Const Forte before asking for a senior officer. During a conversation lasting more than 30 minutes with tactical crime squad team leader Sergeant Peter Jenkins, an agitated Maddison described himself as a 'broken man' who had lost everything, the court heard. Senior Constable Brett Forte, 42, (right) died after Ricky Maddison opened fire on his vehicle with an automatic weapon on May 29, 2017. Pictured with his wife Susan Ricky Maddison, 40, was shot dead by police after being asked to surrender more than 80 times during a 20-hour siege While numerous vehicles from neighbouring police stations were involved, officers were warned to be careful during any 'take-down' because Maddison had been involved in firearm offences Sgt Jenkins asked Maddison to come to the station, or say where he could be found, but Maddison said 'youse know where I am'. Shortly after Maddison abruptly ended the call, police spotted his utility in Toowoomba and began an authorised pursuit. While numerous vehicles from neighbouring police stations were involved, officers were warned to be careful during any 'take-down' because Maddison had been involved in firearm offences. Officers followed Maddison for at least 20 minutes, continuing when he veered off the main road onto a dirt track accessible only to four-wheel drives. Sen Const Forte and Senior Constable Catherine Nielsen were in a vehicle just behind Maddison when he pulled over next to a shut gate, got out of his ute and opened fire on the officers with an automatic weapon. In footage played before the inquest, a policewoman can be heard calling for help, saying: 'We're sitting ducks.' 'Urgent, gunfire, urgent, gunfire,' another officer said. The police vehicle was hailed with 27 bullets as it reversed up an embankment before rolling, trapping the officers inside. Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers told the inquest it was traumatic to watch the graphic footage of the deadly incident. 'It was extremely difficult and confronting watching the dashcam video where we saw the final moments of Brett's life,' Mr Leavers said. The police vehicle was peppered with 27 bullets as it reversed up an embankment before rolling, trapping the officers inside. Pictured: Senior Constable Brett Forte Sen Const Forte (left) and Senior Constable Catherine Nielsen were in a vehicle behind Maddison when he pulled over and opened fire on the officers with an automatic weapon. Pictured: Sen Const Forte with his family Maddison led police off the highway and over a dirt embankment that was only accessible to 4WD vehicles - like the one driven by Sen Const Forte (pictured is the Lockyer Valley) Two days earlier, Maddison showed his friend Andrew Beveridge a stash of up to eight guns under the seat in his ute, the court heard. Mr Beveridge said Maddison told him: 'It's only when I become big, big news that anyone's going to look at the case and see what they did to me.'. Maddison had been wanted by police for months over domestic violence offences including some charges that had been discontinued in 2015. He was accused of pouring fuel over a woman in one incident and brandishing a gun in another. Maddison claimed the woman was lying and he avoided being caught by police by going 'off the grid' for months before the siege. Just hours before Sen Const Forte's death, Sgt Jenkins had asked Maddison several times to come into the station or reveal his whereabouts. 'If you wish to come in and speak to us, then we will sort the matter out,' Sgt Jenkins said. The structure in which gunman Rick Maddison was hiding during a standoff with police yesterday on a property in Ringwood, west of Brisbane Forte's children place a teddy bear on his casket during his funeral service in 2017 Maddison refused and asked whether his domestic violence charges would be reinstated by police. 'I can tell you there are a number of charges that relate to you I'm not going to discuss your case over the phone with you,' Sgt Jenkins told Maddison, urging him to 'man up' and turn himself in, The Courier Mail reports. Maddison responded: 'You f man up and come f get me then.' The inquest is expected to consider the interaction between police and Maddison in the lead-up to the deaths, previous attempts to locate him and management of the pursuit. It will also examine siege management strategies and the events leading to the decision to shoot Maddison. Decades ago, back when she was a diplomat-in-training, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley was told by the Foreign Services selection board that African-Americans struggled cognitively with reading large amounts of material. On Monday, Ms. Abercrombie-Winstanley was named as the State Departments chief diversity officer, with the mandate of schooling the American diplomatic corps on fostering a more inclusive workplace. Ms. Abercrombie-Winstanley, who is Black, is the departments first diversity chief. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken created the position in response to the social upheaval last year among women and people of color that revealed the depths of an endemic pale, male and Yale culture, as the common refrain goes, in the diplomatic corps. In announcing Ms. Abercrombie-Winstanleys appointment, Mr. Blinken said she would help change the culture, our norms, our behaviors, our biases, which he described as one of my greatest responsibilities as secretary of state. State Theatres artist-in-residence Glenis Redmond will host a free online community poetry reading on Zoom 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 14. Billed as a National Poetry Month celebration, the program will start with Redmond performing poetry from her 20-plus-year career. She then will be joined by some of the aspiring poets she has guided and inspired to create to tell their own personal stories through poetry. Redmond is an award-winning poet and educator from South Carolina. Her poems relate tales from her life, her family, her African-American heritage and her observations of the world around her. In addition to her stint at the New Brunswick theater, Redmond is a teaching artist with the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; poet-in-residence at the Peace Center in Greenville, S.C.; and a featured performer on National Public Radio and TEDx. The reading is free but reservations are required. For more information, look online. Send event information to events@starledger.com or submit online at nj.com/myevent As Mexican officials discussed this week of a potential gradual reopening of the border, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz expressed optimism about the possibility and the impact it would have on local business owners. This is very good news, Saenz said. It is something that we have been requesting for quite some time, particularly because the number of COVID-19 cases significantly have been reduced, and more people on both sides of the border are being vaccinated. The possibility of reopening was discussed in a press conference this week by Mexicos Ministry of Foreign Relations Marcelo Ebrard who warned it could be a slow process. It is not expected to lift all restrictions overnight, Ebrard said. From month to month, we dont see that happening anytime soon. But, what we are going to do is review the activities based on the evolution of the pandemic and vaccination on the Mexican side. The foreign relations ministry announced in the press conference that the possible loosening of restrictions is due to there already being progress made as numbers, deaths and hospitalization rates have gone down in both countries in recent months. Ebrard said various screening methods are being considered for the land ports. Saenz agreed safety must be a priority and said he supports any safety protocols the local health authorities might provide. From a public health standpoint, having rapid tests conducted before allowing entry into the U.S. from international destinations would be ideal, Laredo Health Authority Dr. Victor Trevino said. This would be similar to what is being done at the airports. Trevino said rapid tests would be the most efficient and sure way the virus could be detected on anyone coming into the United States and would allow for the traffic needed to revive parts of the economy to continue. This could replace temperature checks and other mitigation that is sometimes not reliable, Trevino said. At the very minimum, there should be an intake form with some basic COVID-19-related questions. Although the mayor agrees health screenings should be conducted, he believes the current rate of vaccinations will prevent the border from having to close again once it reopens. Given the increasing rates in vaccination, Im hopeful that the future cases will not go up nor the hospitalization rates, Saenz said. Im confident that once we open, the protocols to be in place along with the continued increase in vaccination rates will hopefully prevent any future closure of our border. Some people from Nuevo Laredo who have not crossed the border in more than a year said this is good news but that it should be done in a responsible manner. I think they should wait until at least almost all the people in the border areas or the countries are fully vaccinated with both doses, Mary Cruz Bustamante said. Once more people are vaccinated, then they should present that in the bridge and be allowed to go in as that would serve as a passport of sorts and new visa. Bustamante said she is more than eager to cross to see family and to shop and eat in Laredo, but she hopes the bridges only open when normalcy is achieved. She said the time is closer than ever but that challenges remain. Jose Montoya, who lives in Nuevo Laredo but is an American citizen, agrees. Although I have no trouble coming back and forth, I do hope the bridges open but do so in a time when it is safe as we dont want people from one country to infect the others and then start this all over again. Just look at Europe, Montoya said. Despite the optimism from this week, there is still no definitive date when the border will reopen. Another decision whether or not to extend the border closure for another month will be conducted close to the April 21 deadline. The border between the U.S. and Mexico has been shut down partially since March 21, 2020 to all Mexican tourists with visas as only American citizens and permanent residents are able to travel through the border. jorge.vela@lmtonline.com Talkdesk Global Channel and Alliances Program Gains Momentum, Expands Market Reach with Substantial Organization and Leadership Investments Talkdesk, Inc., the cloud contact center for innovative enterprises, today announced significant momentum within its global partner program with the addition of Robert Gavin, vice president of alliances, Chad Haydar, vice president of channel, and Peri McDonald, vice president of customer and partner marketing. Building and nurturing an ecosystem of diverse partners is paramount to Talkdesk's next phase of growth, as evidenced by greater than 50% growth in partnerships with associated deal sizes targeted to double. The vast experience and deep industry knowledge of Gavin, Haydar and McDonald has already been instrumental in growing the company's ecosystem of partners to support another year of exponential growth and aggressive global expansion plans. Under their leadership, Talkdesk continues to build a strong Alliances and Channels organization and will further heavily invest in talent and operations throughout 2021. To drive transformation of Talkdesk's partner program, the team implemented a comprehensive structure composed of four distinct pillars that support continued scale upmarket, strategic international expansion, key industry proliferation and rapid deployment of Talkdesk CX Cloud in large global enterprises: Cloud Distributors, Resellers, Strategic Alliances and AppConnect Marketplace. With more than 300 contracted partners and thousands of sub-agents worldwide, Talkdesk is well-positioned to capture market share and expand global reach through its four pillars of go-to-market partnerships. Each pillar is led by dedicated, experienced management with focus on driving strategic go-to-market activities that deliver annual contract value (ACV), global expansion, and quantity of partners actively positioning Talkdesk. Talkdesk has already added new partner agreements in key countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Singapore and Spain, as well as across Financial Services and Insurance, Healthcare and Life Sciences and E-Commerce, Retail and Consumer Goods industries. Talkdesk is already harnessing the shared expertise of its partners with its global, cross-pillar Partner Advisory Board (PAB), which kicked-off in March 2021. "The growth of Talkdesk's ecosystem has been monumental, exceeding every expectation set when we first set out to expand our alliances program. Partners want to work with companies that have a reputation for being innovative and collaborative, and can speed up time-to-market, so it's no surprise to see the volume of interest in Talkdesk and nurturing our growing partner community," said Tony Barbone, chief revenue officer, Talkdesk. "Building a strong, broad partner network ensures our customers find value faster and feel daily the innovation that no other contact center solution offers." Recent Talkdesk Channel and Alliances Highlights Continued Reach: Master Agents as Cloud Distributors Talkdesk rounded-out 2020 with 10 of the most well-respected and productive Master Agents in the contact center business, equating to 30% growth in active agents that contributed to 103% year over year growth in associated channel revenue. Master Agents was the first channel Talkdesk went to market with in 2017, and these pivotal partnerships continue to deliver Talkdesk products and innovation through more than 10,000 sub-agents doing business in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Global Growth: Resellers The strategic expansion of Talkdesk's multi-modal reseller channel, which focuses on rewarding partners for driving revenue while upskilling their sellers with world-class onboarding, continues to be an area of focus and success for the company. In the first two months of 2021, reseller partners have extended the global reach of Talkdesk, growing with Evolutio in Spain, Welltel in Ireland, VIS in Australia and Singapore, Hold Marketing in Mexico, and Carahsoft in government agencies and educational institutions. Additionally, Talkdesk recently announced a new partnership with Alorica, one of the largest global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) organizations in the world. Collaborative Innovation: Strategic Alliances Talkdesk is participating in the global expansion of Amazon Web Services (News - Alert) (AWS) Contact Center Intelligence (CCI) solutions. AWS CCI solutions enable customers to leverage off-the-shelf functionalities powered by AWS machine learning (ML) with their current contact center provider to gain greater efficiencies and deliver increasingly tailored customer experiences-with no ML expertise required. As a member of the AWS Partner Network (APN), Talkdesk is widely available to businesses looking for qualified cloud solution providers, with expertise in AWS, to help them differentiate through customer experience and innovation. On top of the innovation with AWS and strengthening its existing partnership with Salesforce, Talkdesk has created a dedicated Strategic Alliances team with the charter of deepening relationships with key integrations such as Microsoft, Zoom and Zendesk, while also accelerating partnership development aligned to key verticals and global enterprises. Seamless Integration: Marketplace Advancements Talkdesk's AppConnect Marketplace brings together more than 80 offerings that empower Talkdesk's customers to build unparalleled CX for their customers. Third-party partner solutions, services, hardware and out-of-the-box integrations are available in a streamlined interface that allows choice while making trying, buying and connecting simple. With the recent addition of integrations to the Marketplace, customers can connect Talkdesk with their existing systems to create a supervisor and agent experience that is unparalleled in the industry-popular integrations include Salesforce, Microsoft, ServiceNow and Zendesk. Partner solutions are added to the Marketplace regularly, and with Talkdesk's new, self-service Developer App now available, offerings are expected to double in 2021 with a focus on new categories, including industry-tailored solutions and customer relationship management (CRM solutions). Notable recent additions include top-rated CRM provider Kustomer, no-code agent script offering Zingtree, industry-leading headset provider Jabra and Benchmark Portal, the world's largest contact center database. Talkdesk is revolutionizing the customer service market with Talkdesk CX Cloud, the industry's first and only modern, global end-to-end customer experience solution. By combining enterprise performance at scale with consumer simplicity, Talkdesk CX Cloud allows companies to easily adapt contact center operations to the evolving needs of customers, customer service and sales teams, resulting in increased productivity, customer satisfaction and cost saving. Talkdesk CX Cloud offers a dynamic customer experience platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI), a white-glove approach to comprehensive business services and simple, seamless integration capabilities with more than 100 seamless integrations, including the deepest Salesforce integration. Talkdesk CX Cloud sets a new benchmark for the contact center solutions market with enterprise scalability, security and reliability, backed by the industry's only 100% uptime Service Level Agreement. Additional Resources: Tweet this: @Talkdesk Global Channel and Alliances Program gains momentum, expands market reach with substantial organization and leadership investments Social Networks: About Talkdesk Talkdesk is the cloud contact center for innovative enterprises. Combining enterprise performance with consumer simplicity, Talkdesk easily adapts to the evolving needs of support and sales teams and their end-customers, resulting in higher customer satisfaction, productivity and cost savings. Over 1,800 innovative companies around the world, including IBM, Acxiom (News - Alert) , 2U, Trivago and YMCA rely on Talkdesk to make customer experience their competitive advantage. Learn more and request a demo at www.talkdesk.com. Talkdesk is a registered trademark of Talkdesk, Inc. All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005584/en/ NEW DELHI, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Indian Institute of Management, Jammu and Deakin University, Australia have signed an agreement to develop innovative pathway programs for Indian students with options to transfer their studies onshore at Deakin in Australia. The agreement was signed off virtually by both partners on 12th April, 2021 in the presence of senior representatives including Director Professor B S Sahay, Professor Jabir Ali and Dr Aakash Kamble from IIM Jammu and by Professor Gary Smith, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), Professor Mike Ewing, Executive Dean, Faculty of Business & Law and Ms Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global) from Deakin University, Australia. The virtual signing ceremony was witnessed by Mr Brett Galt-Smith, Counsellor (Education and Research), Australian High Commission, New Delhi. With the National Education Policy 2020 announcing strategic changes in the associations between Indian and foreign education providers, the association between IIM Jammu and Deakin University provides a unique opportunity for Indian students to experience a blended variant of global education. The broader objective of this strategic collaboration is to build synergies in the areas of strengths from both partners. The strategic models of engagement have been identified to form the bases of the association and will be carried out in a phased manner. In the initial phase, an immersion program will be developed to allow MBA students at IIM Jammu to study onshore at a Deakin University campus in Australia for two weeks and complete a module. This immersion program will be IBL centric with detailed insights into the global business perspectives. In the next phase, the partner will be developing some hybrid pathways options for the newly developed Executive MBA at IIM Jammu through which students can study few units from DBS' flagship MBA program as a part of their curriculum. Professor B S Sahay, Director, IIM Jammu, said, academic and research collaborations are pathways to the internationalization of education and an essential cornerstone for students' holistic development. Such collaborations with leading global universities align with the vision and mission of IIM Jammu to create an institute par excellence with international linkages providing a global outlook with a regional and national focus. This partnership holds particular importance as it creates linkages between the two institutions in the management field and aligns well with the National Education Policy 2020. The partnership will shrink the geographical boundary between Australia and India, thus paving the way for collaborative and hybrid education modules. Speaking at the launch, Mr. Brett Galt-Smith from the Australian High Commission elaborated that high-level academic collaborations of this nature are a founding pillar for the future for any bilateral relationship, especially under the India Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which agrees to expand education and research collaboration between the two nations. At the same time, this collaboration aligns with and is a step forward in, the Indian Government's National Education Policy and its intention to promote collaborations between the Indian and international academia. Deakin University's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) Professor Gary Smith, said, "We are extremely delighted to have an association with IIM Jammu. At Deakin, it is our continuous endeavour to develop meaningful partnerships and connect with high achieving education providers around the world. These partnerships are important to Deakin as they provide pathways for learning and allow the sharing of ideas and experiences. The partnership with IIM Jammu will be an important one as it provides an opportunity for global research, to help students to gain international experience for their future careers and to collaborate with world-class teachers and researchers." About Deakin University Established in 1974, Deakin University is one of Australia's leading tertiary education providers and is ranked in the top 1% of world universities (ARWU). It has won numerous awards and teaches over 60,000 students each year offering students world-class programs and endless opportunities. With 27 plus years of engagement in India, Deakin University was the first international education provider to set up an office in India in 1994. It is currently the most engaged Australian Provider across education, training, research, capacity building and consultancy initiatives with academia, industry and Government. It has established premier partnerships in India to transform education and research into beneficial community outcomes, to produce world-class graduates and contribute to the growth and sustainability of the communities. For more information, visit: https://www.deakin.edu.au. For more information, please email [email protected] or call +91 11 26544715. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/713572/Deakin_University_Logo.jpg SOURCE Deakin University Fresh off his Best Picture win last year for Parasite, Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho is speaking out against the spate of violence towards Asian-Americans and other forms of racism. The 51-year-old filmmaker opened up during Chapman University's Dodge College Master Class series on Thursday night (via THR). He said that even though films can take a long time to make, though that in and of itself should give directors the courage to tackle these sensitive topics in their work. Winner: Fresh off his Best Picture win last year for Parasite, Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho is speaking out against the spate of violence towards Asian-Americans and other forms of racism 'Creating a film takes a lot of time and a lot of money; its a big unit that cant really respond quickly to issues that are currently happening in society,' the director said. 'But ironically, because of that, creators and filmmakers can be bolder with dealing with issues and they shouldnt be afraid to confront them,' he added. The filmmaker added that he is 'far away in Korea' and he can only see how things unfold in the news, though he added, 'its quite fearful to watch the hate crimes against Asian-Americans and the BLM movement.' Ironically: 'But ironically, because of that, creators and filmmakers can be bolder with dealing with issues and they shouldnt be afraid to confront them,' he added The filmmaker used Spike Lee's groundbreaking 1989 film Do The Right Thing as an example, adding the film came out three years before the Rodney King riots though the film essentially predicted they would happen. 'It was three years before the L.A. Riots but almost predicted the riots were going to happen,' he added. 'Thats the role creators and artists can play, not necessarily to predict what will happen in society but to use your insight to portray the issues that are currently boiling underneath the surface of society that can explode later on,' he added. Example: The filmmaker used Spike Lee's groundbreaking 1989 film Do The Right Thing as an example, adding the film came out three years before the Rodney King riots though the film essentially predicted they would happen The director said that his film Parasite, 'began with a question of "what does it mean to be poor or rich in our current times?"' 'As creators and artists, you sort of have to see through the essence and the central questions in our society through the days that you live through and send a reply to those questions through your work,' he added. Director Bong also addressed the hot-button topic of the importance of theaters during the advent of streaming services. Parasite: The director said that his film Parasite, 'began with a question of "what does it mean to be poor or rich in our current times?"' The filmmaker felt that he still thinks there is power to be harnessed within the theatrical experience, despite the boom in streaming. 'I still believe in the overwhelming strength and power that theaters have. Last year, there was this anecdote where Martin Scorsese asked his physician if he watched and the physician answered that he had been watching 10 minutes of the film every day,' the director joked. 'But I actually went to a theater in Seoul to watch the full three hours and was unable to press the stop button,' he continued. 'I really remember feeling moved after those whole three hours and theater cinemas are still the only way that lets you access that kind of experience,' he said. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 05:55:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A man votes at a polling station in Saquisili, Ecuador, April 11, 2021. The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador reported on Sunday that the second round of presidential election is progressing normally. (Photo by Santiago Armas/Xinhua) QUITO, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador reported on Sunday that the second round of presidential election is progressing normally. More than 13 million Ecuadorians are eligible to vote in the election, 410,239 of whom reside abroad. The polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (1200 GMT) and will close at 5:00 p.m. local time (2200 GMT). Andres Arauz, a progressive candidate backed by former president Rafael Correa, called on Ecuadorians to unite behind a government that serves the majority. "Today, that is the option we represent ... we need to govern for all of Ecuador. Here is an option that calls for unity and we will do it starting tonight," said Arauz. "We make a call for national unity; enough fighting. We want a unity government that respects everyone, that provides solutions to problems, and we are here precisely for that." The center-right former banker, Guillermo Lasso, a three-time candidate for the presidency, who is facing off against Arauz in the election, cast his vote in the city of Guayaquil. "We will wait in our home calmly, peacefully with family for the results from the Ecuadorian people, who will give us an important victory this day," Lasso said. The president of the CNE, Diana Atamaint said that the CNE has implemented biosecurity protocols at the polls to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and that the election is being monitored by 294 international observers, with security provided at the nation's 4,276 polling stations by about 85,000 members of the armed forces and police. Atamaint said that the computer system used during the election was recently strengthened to guarantee the transparency of the process. Enditem With the recent passage of the Georgia voting law, and the outcry made by many on the left, as an independent, I decided to look up the full text of the law in order to be able to opine in an informative manner. Having done so, I would highly encourage those who have jumped to conclusions, to read the law. The outcry that has been fostered by the ever further left-leaning Democratic Party and its leaders/surrogates is simply not supported by the law's contents. The fact that an ID is required to vote is just one of many common sense provisions. One needs an ID when visiting the doctor, to drive, to open a bank account, and the list goes on. If there is a problem in providing access to IDs, then a logical approach would be increase access to IDs, not to harm the integrity of an election by not requiring an ID. Countries around the world have a singular voting day, i.e. a true election day. It was the case here in the USA for centuries. Voter registration and absentee balloting is available to be registered for at any time in the months and years leading up to an election. If the citizen chooses to not make voting a priority, the laws should not be changed to accommodate his or her apathy. Voting is a right, but it is not a must, and should be voluntary, which is why voter baiting and coercion should remain prohibited. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... We all know the political system is broken. Our leaders are not producing solutions to the issues we care about. No one is listening, just talking past each other. But what if the system is working the way it was designed to work? What if politicians are operating very rationally and logically based on incentives of the political system in place? That is what many of the smartest observers of our dysfunctional mess of a political system think. Instead of blaming the politicians, we should blame the system and focus on changing it to get the outcomes we desire. One element of the broken system: closed party primaries. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ According to a recent report by the Unite America Institute, only 10% of Americans are electing most of Congress. Thats because there is practically no competition in general elections due to both gerrymandering and self-sorting of the electorate along partisan lines making partisan primaries the election of consequence in more than 80% of the country. As a result, we get more extreme politicians who are appealing to these primary voters. An elected officials main concern is to avoid getting primaried by someone further left or further right. So, our elected officials over time track further to the edges of political discourse, seeing no incentive to compromise or coalition build, and we end up with gridlock nationally and at the state level. Dont despair. There are two solutions that can fix the system and allow our elected officials to vote their conscience, coalition build and be more effective. Three states have already adopted one of them, and one state both of them. New Mexico does not have to reinvent the wheel. First, we make primaries nonpartisan so all candidates run together in a single election open to all voters. Candidates can still label themselves with a party or no party, but they all have to talk to all voters to get past the first round of public elections, not just the party regulars. Second, the top four vote-getters move on to the general election in which ranked-choice voting is used to choose the winner. Its simple, like going to an ice cream shop. If your first choice, chocolate, is sold out, then you order your second choice, vanilla, and if that is sold out, your third choice might be coffee. Political parties should be players in the political marketplace, not the rule setters, and creating nonpartisan primaries puts the voters in charge, not the parties. The parties can and do still endorse their candidates, but they dont control who can vote in a public election as they do today in New Mexico. Alaska just passed major election reform in 2020 with nonpartisan primaries and the top four vote-getters going to the general election where ranked-choice voting will be used. Nebraska, California and Washington have nonpartisan primaries with the top two going to the general, and Maine uses ranked-choice voting in its general election. Santa Fe and Las Cruces use ranked-choice voting for their local races. We can fix the system. Join us. New Mexico Open Elections is a nonprofit based in the Albuquerque area dedicated to putting voters first. We already have sponsors and a draft bill to fix the system and will introduce the bill next session. We need your help and support. Re: Bill seeks new fees on solar and wind, Front Page, March 30: I have worked for years as a volunteer for the Citizens Climate Lobby, an organization advocating for legislation to curtail the greenhouse gas emissions that are so damaging to our economic well-being and the well-being of all Earths ecosystems. The organization supports placing a fee on carbon and returning the funds collected as an equal monthly dividend to each citizen a carbon fee and dividend. Interestingly, there has been little traction for support among Republicans, who claim this would be picking sides. Imagine my dismay to see that Texas Republicans are encouraging placing a fee on green energy to prop up fossil fuels just the opposite of what is needed for a resilient future. How, I ask my Republican friends, is this not picking sides? A true market approach, one that levels the playing field, would account for the externalities (carbon pollution) of fossil fuel use. A carbon fee and dividend like the one in HR 2307, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2021, recently reintroduced in the 177th Congress, would accomplish this goal. The San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board endorsed the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act when it was introduced in the 116th Congress. In fact, three editorials were published in support of it: on Oct. 10, 2019, Dec. 9, 2019, and Jan. 27, 2020. When enacted into law, this bill will place a fee on greenhouse gas emissions, starting at $15 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalents, and return the money collected to citizens as a carbon cash back dividend. Each year, the fee would increase by $10 per ton or more if specific reduction goals are not being achieved. Everyone receives the same amount in their carbon cash back dividend, to use as they see fit. Most Americans will either come out slightly ahead of increased costs or break even. What this bill will do is drive down greenhouse gas emissions and make significant contributions to the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This legislation deserves bipartisan support. Democrats should like that emission targets are met and low-income citizens are shielded from elevated costs by receiving their carbon cash-back dividend. Republicans should support this bill because it allows freedom of choice and market-driven reductions without the need for a heavy regulatory hand on the scales. Reporting in the Express-News and elsewhere shows the problems caused by the February freeze here in San Antonio and throughout the state were not a result of reliance on green energy. Rather, they were the result of a lack of planning and follow-through from similar previous disasters. Our future response to the climate crisis must consider adaptation and resilience along with mitigation, and this requires leadership rather than political party squabbles. A bipartisan approach can be achieved through HR 2307, which is good for people, the economy and the environment. Stuart Birnbaum is co-leader of the San Antonio Chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby and emeritus associate professor of geoscience at the University of Texas-San Antonio. I wrote my book to help people understand the monumental changes in the world today and see that they are only precursors to the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ. Author Harry M. Phillips has published the imperative first book to thoughtfully and accurately detail the future of Christians, beginning with the Rapture and ending with the fulfillment of the Millennial Kingdom. In When the Kingdom Comes: From Global Chaos to Eden, Phillips highlights how the unfolding of current events are fueled and how they will ultimately end. The author dives into detail about what happens to the people on earth that survive the global chaos and how Christians from all of history will take their place together in the coming Millennial Kingdom with the return of Jesus of Nazareth. In this informative text, Phillips brings attention to three major components: the beginning of eternity for the believer, the continuation of humanity and its history and the actual physical presence of Jesus for one thousand years. All three of these proceedings are related through Scripture as happening in conjunction with the earth. By starting with common conceptions and sometimes misconceptions of heaven, the author presents a careful and thoughtful challenge from Scripture about Christians assumptions of eternity in contrast to their place in Jesuss kingdom on earth. It is my opinion after fifty years of observation that Christians are too focused on the coming Great Tribulation and not enough on the coming Savior and his kingdom, said Phillips. I wrote my book to help people understand the monumental changes in the world today and see that they are only precursors to the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, in When the Kingdom Comes, readers will have more insight on the little known and understood subject of the Millennial Kingdom and be able to visualize themselves in the coming timeframe. The information presented throughout the book opens a wonderful and mysterious door as the realities of the Millennial Kingdom and the possible experiences in it are brought to light. When the Kingdom Comes: From Global Chaos to Eden By Harry M. Phillips ISBN: 9781973626947 (softcover); 9781973626930 (hardcover); 9781973626954 (electronic) Available at the WestBow Press Online Bookstore, Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the author Harry M. Phillips is a self-employed businessman, automotive designer, street rod manufacturer and now an author. Finding an audience interested in his offbeat viewpoint led Phillips to consider writing, and his flair for writing was revealed while penning a yearlong series of articles for Northern/Southern Rodder magazine entitled Hot Rod Harry Speaks. Even though antique and custom cars were his day job, his real interest was studying Scripture. Phillips unbridled passion for the Bible and his unrelenting search for divine truth have spanned nearly a half-century, ultimately producing his debut book, When the Kingdom Comes. In true entrepreneurial fashion, Phillips has combined his interest in writing with knowledge gleaned from lifelong biblical studies. He currently resides in Amherst, Ohio. General Inquiries: LAVIDGE Phoenix 480-306-6597 mbowman@lavidge.com Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently called on business leaders to stay out of politics after several companies stood up in opposition to the new controversial voting law in Georgia. But a group of more than 100 chief executives and business leaders made clear over the weekend they have no plans to stay silent. The group, which included executives from some of the countrys biggest companies, met over Zoom on Saturday to discuss what they could do to push back against the rising number of controversial voting bills that are propping up in states across the country and could make it more difficult for people to vote. Among the possibilities being considered is a freeze on donations to politicians who support the bills and delaying investments in states that pass the measures, reports the Washington Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The participants in the call didnt come to a conclusion but the overarching goal of the call was to get together companies that had already expressed an interest in speaking up against Georgias new voting law. The online gathering shows they are not intimidated by the flak. They are not going to be cowed, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale management professor, who was one of the organizers of the call, said. They felt very strongly that these voting restrictions are based on a flawed premise and are dangerous. During the call, Kenneth Chenault, the former chief executive of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck, called on CEOs to sign a statement against the legislation on voting that they see as discriminatory. The statement could be released early this week, according to the Wall Street Journal, which says it would build on a letter that a group of 72 Black executives signed last month opposing Georgias new restrictive voting law. The call included representatives from Delta, American, United, Starbucks, Linkedin, Target, Levi Strauss, and Boston Consulting Group along with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. He was sentenced to one year in Porter County Jail, suspended and to be served on probation and must pay restitution. He had already paid $16,000 before his sentencing hearing and was to turn a check in for $40,564.55 to the County Clerks Office after the hearing. Some of the funds will go to the State Board of Accounts for a special audit, with the rest returning to the city of Portage. Police shot and killed a Black man on Sunday during a stop for a traffic violation, sparking protests and unrest in a suburb just miles away from where George Floyd was killed during an arrest in Minneapolis last May. The man killed by police was identified by relatives and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Daunte Wright, 20. Daunte Wright who was shot and killed by Brooklyn Center police during a traffic stop (Courtesy Wright Family) The state mobilized the National Guard after crowds gathered in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday evening, and a curfew was ordered through Monday morning. Rocks and other objects were thrown at the Brooklyn Center Police Department building and there were reports of shots fired in the area of the police department, John Harrington, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said in a press conference. The unrest came after the police had heard reports of a crowd of between 100 and 200 people marching toward the police department. Officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas, NBC News affiliate KARE reported. The front door of the Brooklyn Park Police Department, located around 8 miles from the Brooklyn Center Police Department, was struck by gunfire, shattering the glass, police said in a statement. Brooklyn Park Police officers were not involved in the shooting but assisted Brooklyn Center Police with the civil unrest that took place after, the department said. Harrington said about 20 businesses were reportedly broken into at a nearby shopping center. The curfew was put in place in the suburb of Minneapolis, so that we can continue to keep our community safe, Mayor Mike Elliott said in a statement on Twitter. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement, Walz said on Twitter on Sunday evening. He also said he was monitoring the unrest in Brooklyn Center. Wright's mother, Katie Wright, told reporters at the scene that she received a call from her son on Sunday afternoon telling her that police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror, illegal in Minnesota. She said she told him to put the police officers on the phone so she could give them car insurance details. Story continues She then heard police tell her son to get out of the vehicle, she said, according to video shot by KARE. "I heard police officers say, 'Daunte, don't run,'" she said through tears. The call ended, and she dialed his number again, and his girlfriend answered and said he had been shot. A minute later I called, and his girlfriend answered, which was the passenger in the car, and said that hed been shot, she said. Brooklyn Center police said in a statement that officers pulled over a man for a traffic violation at shortly before 2 p.m., and found he had an outstanding arrest warrant. As police tried to take him into custody, he got back in the car. One of the officers, who has not been identified, shot at the man. The car drove several blocks before striking another vehicle. The man died at the scene. After the shooting a crowd of around 100 highly agitated people gathered, Harrington said. The Minnesota branch of the American Civil Liberties Union called in a statement for an immediate, transparent and independent investigation by an outside agency, and for the quick release of any body-cam footage. It also said that it has deep concerns that police here appear to have used dangling air fresheners as an excuse for making a pretextual stop, something police do all too often to target Black people. (Newser) French lawmakers gave the green light to a new restriction over the weekend, but this one was spurred on by the climate, not COVID. The National Assembly late Saturday voted in favor of putting an end to all domestic airline flights whose journey could instead be made by direct train in under 2.5 hours. That's a slightly watered down version of a climate commission's original recommendation, which set the bar at train alternatives of under 4 hours. Though the vote had cross-party support, the Guardian rounds up dissent among the various parties, who alternatively bemoaned the potential for job losses and the relative toothlessness of the final rule, saying the longer routes that are no longer impacted have a greater greenhouse-gas cost. story continues below A French consumer group is also not a fan of the 2.5-hour threshold. "On average, the plane emits 77 times more CO2 per passenger than the train on [routes of up to 4 hours], even though the train is cheaper and the time lost is limited to 40 minutes. Our study shows that ... the governments choice actually aims to empty the measure of its substance." Reuters reports the ban is one move in France's larger effort to slash its carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 as compared to 1990 levels. The measure will next go before the Senate, reports the BBC, and then face one last vote in the lower house. As for the routes that would be impacted, the Guardian reports short flights from Orly airport, which sits south of Paris, to places like Bordeaux would be axed. (Read more climate change stories.) DHAKA (PTI): Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on Sunday attended the Army Chiefs' Conclave held in Dhaka on the sidelines of a multinational military exercise. Gen Naravane, who is in Dhaka on a five-day official tour, delivered a keynote address on Changing Nature of Global Conflicts: Role of UN Peacekeepers, the Indian Army's Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI) tweeted. During the event, the Army Chief also interacted with the senior officers of the participating nations and military observers from the other nations. The Shantir Ogroshena (Frontrunners of Peace) 2021 exercise commenced on April 4 at Bangabandhu Senanibas to commemorate the birth centenary of Bangladesh's Father of the Nation' Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and mark 50 years of the country's liberation from Pakistan. An Indian Army contingent of 30 personnel are participating along with the Royal Bhutan Army, Sri Lankan Army and Bangladesh Army in the exercise that will conclude on Monday. Military observers from the US, UK, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Singapore are also attending the exercise. The aim of the exercise is to strengthen the procedures and enhance interoperability amongst neighbourhood countries to ensure robust peacekeeping operations in the region. The armies of all the participating nations shared their valuable experiences and refined their drills and procedures in peacekeeping operations. The visit of Gen Naravane, who is in Dhaka at the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart Gen Aziz Ahmed, comes less than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the neighbouring country and met the top leadership in the city to strengthen the strategic ties. The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh, the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan and the birth centenary of 'Bangabandhu' Mujibur Rahman. BATS! It has been one of the most sensitive topics across the globe for the period of almost one and a half years and has pretty much changed the way we used to lead our lives. Now, you can no longer meet, greet, hug, take a train or bus ride, or pretty much do anything on the face of the planet, like the way you used to before because some guy in China chose to savor bat soup for supper. However, life has gone on and people have started to adapt to living with the Coronavirus (well, almost). With vaccination drives kicking on across the world to prevent the spread, the talk of that particular bat is no longer in the news. However, there is this one highly familiar and popular bat that never seems to go out of the news- (Na na na na na na na na) BAT-MAN! Vanity Fair Well, according to reports, the recent release of the much-awaited Snyder Cut of the Justice League, which featured Ben Affleck as Gotham's crime-fighting vigilante, has prompted fans to campaign for a standalone Batman movie starring Affleck, or 'Batfleck'. While Affleck's casting as Batman back in 2013 was met with a huge backlash from fans who felt he wouldn't suit the role, his performances in the 2016 Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice left the audiences amazed. The movie may have been criticized for a lot of reasons, however, Affleck's portrayal was not one of them. According to critics as well as fans, the Oscar winner brought that much-needed physicality and dark tone to the comic book hero, which he then carried on to the 2017 Justice League film. Now, in the wake of the Snyder Cut release, which is the 4-hour plus extended version of the Justice League, fans have taken to Twitter to demand The Batman film, with the #MakeTheBatfleckMovie soon trending on the microblogging website. Me waiting for WB to #MakeTheBatfleckMovie: pic.twitter.com/5AupNCiltq The Superhero Axis (@superheroaxis) April 12, 2021 If Ben Affleck has passion and will love to make the Batman solo on HBO Max, then yes, @wbpictures @hbomax, #MakeTheBatfleckMovie and #RestoreTheSnyderVerse. pic.twitter.com/uufJVw8chC Kirill Shamota (@KilReal8950) April 12, 2021 One more time before I call it a day #MakeTheBatfleckMovie #RestoreTheSnyderVerse pic.twitter.com/aTtGBfCDjp Xavier Serrato (@Xman1328) April 12, 2021 @ATT@hbomax The key is a free & creative studio that understands 'creativity', get that and Ben is ready to do it.#MakeTheBatfleckMovie pic.twitter.com/TV7rQiC08s Vipin Tejwani (@VipinTejwani) April 12, 2021 The standalone film featuring Gotham's Dark Knight was said to be in the works earlier and was to be directed by Affleck himself. It was reported that the former Daredevil actor was set to co-write the film with Geoff Johns, while also directing and starring in it. However, despite readying The Batman script, he later chose to step away from the project due to problems related to the Justice League. Warner Bros. A lot of things have changed since then, with the Snyder Cut getting a good reception from fans and along with The Flash standalone movie still on course, fans of the DC universe want Affleck to take up the iconic Batman cowl again. Well, with no official comment from Affleck or the Warner Bros for a U-turn to the saga, it seems destined that the next time the Batman shows up on cinema screens again, it will not be Affleck, but a person who's no stranger to bats (or let's say Vampire bats)- Robert Pattinson. The 34-year-old Twilight actor is next in line to play the superhero in Matt Reeves' The Batman, which is expected to release in March next year. Comingsoon Till then, fans of the Snyderverse can hope that Affleck can reprise his role in what could be another parallel universe movie. I mean, seriously, looking at the current record, it remains a huge possibility. Online schools are here to stay, even after the pandemic has disrupted the education space like never before, and some of the changes are set to last even after the pandemic in the United States and elsewhere. Even as students flock back to classrooms with infection rates dropping and life slowly getting back to normal in the country, some families who have come to prefer online learning are pushing to keep it going and school systems are rushing to accommodate them. Demand for virtual schools has soared. But are there any risks to this? Read here Let's look at the global statistics Global infections: 136,056,956 Global deaths: 2,936,768 Nations with most cases: US (31,197,872), India (13,527,717), Brazil (13,482,023), France (5,119,585), Russia (4,589,209). Source: John Hopkins Research Center Chinese mulls increasing effectiveness of vaccines After intense backlash in the scientific community over the effectiveness of Chinese made vaccine, a top offical has acknowledged that the countrys vaccines may need to be administered in greater doses or in combination with other shots because of their low overall effectiveness. More than 60 countries have approved Chinese vaccines so far and they may need to work out their distribution strategy to increase the effectiveness. Possible steps to increase the effectiveness of vaccines include changing the amount of vaccine given, the number of shots, the time between shots or the type of vaccines given, said the director of Chinas disease control center. The long-awaited Brazilian study of the Sinopharm's vaccine showed just over 50 per cent efficacy, much lower when compared with Pfizer, Moderna and even AstraZeneca. Read here Birthrates plummet worldwide, clouding post-pandemic prospects Fertility rates have consistently fallen across the world in December and January, nine months after many countries began feeling the impact of the coronavirus, global data on birth rates shows. Birth rates have fallen between 10-20 per cent in Japan, France and Spain. Births plummeted 56 per cent in January in Hong Kong, and fell 23 per cent in Taiwan. The context of a health crisis and huge uncertainty may have discouraged couples from procreating or prompted them to postpone their parenting project for several months. Read here Enjoy freedom but stay wary of risks, Boris Johnson says as England reopens Britains must enjoy their freedoms but not let their guard down, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the country's shops, salons, and restaurants geared up to reopen almost after four months. Infections rates in the UK have come down significantly thanks to a rapid vaccination and a strict lockdown. The daily deaths are almost at a seven-month low. Johnson said the relaxation of restrictions, after what the government hopes will be the last time harsh measures will need to be imposed, would be welcome relief for businesses. Read here A young entrepreneur has revealed how she went from living off welfare after quitting her office job to earning six figures in just 30 days. Natasha Araya, from Sydney, said she 'hit rock bottom' after she walked away from the corporate world because she 'hated working for someone else' in her nine-to-five media job. Unsure of what to do next with her life, the 'broke' 25-year-old settled for Centrelink benefits where she received just $500 a fortnight. Her turning point came when she found herself sitting in a holding cell at a police station at 2am after she was arrested for assault while dressed as The Joker. Young entrepreneur Natasha Araya (pictured) has revealed how she went from living off welfare after quitting her corporate job to earning six figures in just 30 days Her turning point came when she was arrested for assault while dressed as The Joker (picture of her mugshot) Natasha decided to start a business in DIY home cinema kits after seeing a niche in the market, and made nearly $150,000 in sales in one month. But her journey to success didn't come easy. After having enough of the corporate world, she handed in her resignation but she didn't know what to do or where she'd fit in next. Natasha - who was struggling with depression - said she was at a low point in her life when she signed up for Centrelink payments. 'It was really embarrassing. I've never been that person that was okay with accepting government handouts, so it came as a really hard blow to my ego,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I had resigned from my media job and was trying to figure out my next move in life. I knew I didn't want to get another job working for someone else.' Natasha said she ended up launching three different dropshipping stores - but they all failed within a year. 'Dropshipping' is a common method that involves shipping products from a manufacturer directly to the customer without the supplier or retailer ever seeing it. 'I decided to try my hand at dropshipping, everyone online was talking about it. I thought why not? Lets give it a go. But I didn't have regular income coming in and all three of my stores failed,' she said. Natasha said she was faced with a 'very stupid and expensive mistake' when she was arrested in her Halloween costume as The Joker in 2019. The 25-year-old said she 'hit rock bottom' after she walked away from the corporate world because she 'hated working for someone else' in her nine-to-five media job She was determined to turn her life around for good after an idea to launch another e-commerce business sprung into mind when she was waiting in a holding cell 'I had a little too much to drink and we were denied entry. On the way out some guy started verbally abusing my friend, and in my drunken rage I pushed him and put my hands on him,' she said. 'It was the smallest thing, but the cops were called and I was arrested for assault. It was a three month journey after that. 'I had to hire a lawyer and go to court to clear my name. Luckily, I was cleared of all charges as the judge was aware of all my community work that I do and stamped it as a 'misjudgment' on my part.' She was determined to turn her life around for good after an idea to launch another e-commerce business sprung into mind when she was waiting in a holding cell. 'I was sitting next to some pretty shady people, thinking 'is this really my life, surely I can do better?',' Natasha said. 'So in the months that followed with the court case, I decided to start learning more about e-commerce. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, so I did something about it.' During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, Natasha and her boyfriend decided to target the US market. 'We sold them a "make your own home cinema" pack, and this was absolutely a huge hit. I was able to scale the store from $0 to $40,000 (USD$30,000) in two weeks and then past the $150,000 (USD$100,000) mark,' she said. Natasha said she launched three different dropshipping stores - but they all failed in a year Despite making six-figures in a short amount of time selling DIY home cinema kits, Natasha said she felt her booming business was not the job she wanted to pursue With the profit she made, Natasha invested in her dream - an organic skincare brand made with Australian ingredients (picture left of her home office and right of a face and body oil) But despite making six-figures in a short amount of time, Natasha said she felt her booming business was not the job she wanted to pursue. 'I'm a firm believer in doing something that you're passionate about, and I don't love dropshipping random products - there's just too many things that can go wrong as well,' she said. 'I wanted to give people value and actually create a brand from scratch that I was proud of and could grow exponentially.' She ended up selling her dropshipping business to an American entrepreneur. With the profit she made and her cut of the sale money, Natasha could finally invest in her dream - starting a natural, organic and vegan skincare brand made with Australian ingredients. 'I've always loved skincare, but I was finding myself developing allergies to a lot of high-end brands, and I wasn't seeing the results that they promised through their advertising,' Natasha explained. 'So I wanted to create a line of products that are simple, fragrance free, cruelty free, all natural and actually work.' With the help of an Australian formulation chemist, she developed a range of products - including moisturiser, facial oil and body scrub. With the profit that she made and her cut of the sale money, Natasha could finally invest in her dream - starting a natural, organic and vegan skincare brand made with Australian ingredients For those struggling with life, the 25-year-old said 'as cliche as it sounds, never give up' Natasha's top four tips for starting a business 1. Do your research first: Learn from my mistakes and don't just dive head first into anything that sounds good 2. Find your niche: See if you can bring something unique to the table 3. Make sure you have financial backing: If you're dropshipping, ensure you have a spare $2,000 that you wouldn't mind losing as you'll need money for set up costs and advertising 4. And finally, you have to have emotional backing too: Business isn't easy, starting your own thing is probably one of the hardest things you could ever do in this life, but it's the most rewarding. You will fail many times, so you will need to have a strong head on your shoulders and be able to pull yourself up to try and try again until you succeed Advertisement Bodi Butta was born in March 2021. 'The business is in its infant stages. But basically I would love to grow this business by another two to four products this year. We're hoping all the products make a huge difference in our customers' life,' she said. 'If we say "you'll never suffer from dry skin again" - we will mean it. In terms of revenue, the CEO said she hopes to hit the 'high six figures' and 'see if I can make it to my first seven figure mark'. For those struggling with life, she said 'as cliche as it sounds, never give up'. 'The moment you decide to give up is the moment you actually lose. Every fail that you encounter in life is never a loss... it is a lesson, and you must fail forward and keep pushing through,' she said. 'If I can suffer a quarter life crisis, lose all my savings multiple times, get arrested, fail in business multiple times and then come out the other end with my own amazing skincare brand, then you can do whatever you want in life. 'If I'm not proof that there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel then I don't know what is.' A new algorithm can predict which genes cause cancer, even if their DNA sequence is not changed. A team of researchers in Berlin combined a wide variety of data, analyzed it with "Artificial Intelligence" and identified numerous cancer genes. This opens up new perspectives for targeted cancer therapy in personalized medicine and for the development of biomarkers. In cancer, cells get out of control. They proliferate and push their way into tissues, destroying organs and thereby impairing essential vital functions. This unrestricted growth is usually induced by an accumulation of DNA changes in cancer genes - i.e. mutations in these genes that govern the development of the cell. But some cancers have only very few mutated genes, which means that other causes lead to the disease in these cases. A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) in Berlin and at the Institute of Computational Biology of Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen developed a new algorithm using machine learning technology to identify 165 previously unknown cancer genes. The sequences of these genes are not necessarily altered - apparently, already a dysregulation of these genes can lead to cancer. All of the newly identified genes interact closely with well-known cancer genes and have been shown to be essential for the survival of tumor cells in cell culture experiments. Additional targets for personalized medicine The algorithm, dubbed "EMOGI" for Explainable Multi-Omics Graph Integration, can also explain the relationships in the cell's machinery that make a gene a cancer gene. As the team of researchers headed by Annalisa Marsico describe in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, the software integrates tens of thousands of data sets generated from patient samples. These contain information about DNA methylations, the activity of individual genes and the interactions of proteins within cellular pathways in addition to sequence data with mutations. In these data, a deep-learning algorithm detects the patterns and molecular principles that lead to the development of cancer. "Ideally, we obtain a complete picture of all cancer genes at some point, which can have a different impact on cancer progression for different patients", says Marsico, head of a research group at the MPIMG until recently and now at Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen. This is the foundation for personalized cancer therapy." Unlike with conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, personalized therapy approaches tailor medication precisely to the type of tumor. "The goal is to select the best therapy for each patient - that is, the most effective treatment with the fewest side effects. Additionally, we would be able to identify cancers already at early stages, based on their molecular characteristics." "Only if we know the causes of the disease will we be able to counteract or correct them effectively," the researcher says. "That's why it's so important to identify as many mechanisms as possible that can induce cancers." Better results by combination "Until now, most research has focused on pathogenic changes in the genetic sequence, i.e., in the blueprint of the cell," says Roman Schulte-Sasse, a doctoral student on Marsico's team and first author of the publication. "At the same time, it has become apparent in recent years that epigenetic perturbations or dysregulated gene activity can lead to cancer as well." This is why the researchers merged sequence data that reflect faults in the blueprint with information that represents events inside the cell. Initially, the scientists confirmed that mutations, or the multiplication of segments of the genome, are indeed the main drivers of cancer. Then, in a second step, they pinpointed gene candidates that are in a less direct context to the actual cancer-driving gene. "For instance, we found genes whose sequence is mostly unchanged in cancer, and yet are indispensable to the tumor because they regulate energy supply," Schulte-Sasse says. These genes are out of control by other means, e.g. because of chemical changes on the DNA like methylations. These modifications leave the sequence information intact but govern a gene's activity. "Such genes are promising drug targets, but because they operate in the background, we can only find them by using complex algorithms." In search of hints for further studies The researcher's new program adds a considerable number of new entries to the list of suspected cancer genes, which has grown to between 700 and 1,000 in recent years. It was only through a combination of bioinformatics analysis and the newest Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods that the researchers were able to track down the hidden genes. "The interactions of proteins and genes can be mapped as a mathematical network, known as a graph," Schulte-Sasse says. "You can think of it like trying to guess a railroad network; each station corresponds to a protein or gene, and each interaction among them is the train connection." With the help of deep learning - the very algorithms that have helped artificial intelligence make a breakthrough in recent years - the researchers were able to discover even those train connections that had previously gone unnoticed. Schulte-Sasse had the computer analyze tens of thousands of different network maps from 16 different cancer types, each containing between 12,000 and 19,000 data points. Suitable for other types of diseases as well Hidden in the data are many more interesting details. "We see patterns that are dependent on the particular cancer and tissue" Marsico says. "We see this as evidence that tumors are triggered by different molecular mechanisms in different organs." The EMOGI program is not limited to cancer, the researchers emphasize. In theory, it can be used to integrate diverse sets of biological data and find patterns there, explains Marsico. "It could be useful to apply our algorithm for similarly complex diseases for which multifaceted data are collected and where genes play an important role. An example might be complex metabolic diseases such as diabetes." ### Original publication Roman Schulte-Sasse, Stefan Budach, Denes Hnisz, and Annalisa Marsico Integration of Multi-Omics Data with Graph Convolutional Networks to Identify New Cancer Genes and their Associated Molecular Mechanisms. Nature Machine Intelligence Upon establishment of the zone, trains moving through downtown from roughly Benton Street on the south to the Oswegoland Park District Civic Center on the north would not sound their horn unless the train engineer perceives a hazard or needs to comply with safety regulations or work rules. World-renowned violinist Isaac Stern arrived in Shanghai to give a recital shortly after Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution ended in 1976. No one could find a playable piano in all of the city. All 500 pianos at the city's conservatory had been smashed by frenzied Maoist revolutionists determined to eradicate the influence of Western music. Those familiar with the excesses of Maoist China should note with growing alarm that ideas similar to those foundational to Mao's Cultural Revolution have found their way into the music department of Oxford University. Oxford music professors, encouraged by BLM representatives to repudiate what is deemed white supremacism characterized by classical Western music, have targeted the university's traditional focus on irredeemably "colonialist" composers such as Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. As the Post Millennial magazine reports, the wish is to de-emphasize the curriculum's emphasis on white composers. But that is not all that is to be scrapped in order to accommodate the offended. Significantly, the piano once again has been singled out as an obnoxious symbol of Western oppression. Members of the music department propose that students not be required to learn to play the piano or conduct orchestras, as those practices are centered on white European music and cause "students of colour great distress." Even the way music is taught, some complain, is a problem because the "vast bulk of tutors for techniques are white men." Oxford will discover that it will not be enough to trash Western music because more often than not, it has been composed and conducted by white men. The demands of ideological barbarism known as cultural Marxism coupled with Critical Race Theory will doubtless soon affect other disciplines. Soon the demand will be that the entire university, which currently is rated as the best university in the world, be completely restructured, as it is deemed inherently infected by Western "whiteness." In like manner, leaders of Mao Zedong's "Cultural Revolution" sought to root out all Western influence, including Western music, in order for the new communist order to be established. Violins were smashed along with the fingers of those who played those instruments. New cultural forms such as Madame Mao's infamous military ballets substituted for Western ballets and Chinese opera as the people's art. The goal, as Mao himself advocated, was the complete reform of university education, including the arts. As the BBC noted, the piano was targeted as the primary symbol of the corrupt West. "During the Cultural Revolution four decades ago, the piano was seen as the most dangerous of all Western instruments. It was once described as being akin to a coffin, a black box in which the notes rattled around like the bones of the bourgeoisie." World-renowned pianist Liu Shih Kun was subjected to struggle sessions. "Because of his travels abroad, because he had shaken hands with Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev, because he played Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, he was labelled a 'counter-revolutionary revisionist[.]' ... He was made to clean the toilets at the Central Conservatory of Music and forced to serve six years in Beijing's Taicheng prison, just about managing to keep his strength up by augmenting his daily two bowls of brine with worms culled from rotting vegetables." The destruction of Western music in China did not go on without protest. As Sarah Spencer Rawley has noted in her work Musical Defiance in Maoist China, He Luting, who along with Liu Shih Kun was singled out as a counter-revolutionary, was a promoter of Western music. A respected professor and the head of the Shanghai Academy of Music, he was subjected to interrogation and torture. His love and defense of Debussy was considered particularly reprehensible, as the French composer's music was seen as inimical to the "Four Olds" opposed by the Maoist revolution: old culture, old customs, old habits, and old ways of thinking. But He Luting, whose struggle session was televised as an instructive lesson for the masses, did not bow to the totalitarian pressure of the Gang of Four. He stood up for the irreducible and authentic beauty of Western music. Is there someone like He Luting within the Oxford music department? Is there a professor who will defend what Franz Schubert thought of as "du holde kunst," the art that lifted him from grey hours of depression into the realms of a better world? Will someone defend Mozart, to whom theologian Karl Barth wrote a letter, saying, "Whenever I listen to you, I am transported to the threshold of a world which in sunlight and storm by day and by night, is a good and ordered world ... I believe in a world of growing darkness our age needs your help"? Barth echoed Kierkegaard, Goethe, and many others, who, when hearing Mozart's music, felt that it "evidently comes from on high." Those who properly hear Mozart's music believe that it echoes what is foundational to the universe itself. As the author of the book of Job relates, music was there when God created the cosmos: "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Can we not see darkness and ignorance gathering force when at the finest university in the world, Mozart and the soaring edifice that is Western music are gravely imperiled? Can we not see that music is sent from on high to help us, to give us an intimation of paradise that takes us beyond what Dante called the "festering little threshing floor which by its very petty scale incites humanity's ferocity"? Or will academia empower the destruction of the towering accomplishment that is Western music? Oxford must decide. As the gathering darkness of Mao's cultural revolution gradually descended on China, my friend and colleague Samuel Hsu and his family emigrated to America. At age nine, Sam was a student at Shanghai Conservatory and at fifteen played Grieg's piano concerto with the Hong Kong orchestra. Sam, whose Chinese name means "One who builds up the Light," was a gifted pianist and a polymath. I was fortunate enough to have him accompany me in several recitals. After his sudden death, I was asked to sing his favorite Strauss lied at his memorial service. Sam, who loved Debussy's music, returned to China in 2007 along with violinist Xiao-Fu Zhou, where Sam presented a homecoming recital at the Shanghai Conservatory. There was a first-rate piano waiting for him to bring the light of Western music to an appreciative audience. Today, one can only wonder if he would be welcome to play his beloved Debussy at Oxford University. Fay Voshell holds a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, which awarded her the prize for excellence in systematic theology. She is a classically trained soprano. Her thoughts have appeared in many online magazines. She has been a regular contributor to American thinker for a decade and may be reached at fvoshell@yahoo.com. Image via Pikrepo. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Since quitting his royal duties last year, Prince Harry will have his first visit to Britain for Prince Philip's funeral without his heavily pregnant wife, Meghan Markle. Ahead of Prince Philip's funeral, Prince Harry flew to London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday. Wearing a jacket, chinos, and a black face mask, the Duke of Sussex arrived at the west London airport around 1:15 p.m. (GMT). Prince Harry reportedly left his mansion in California on Saturday night in a black Cadillac Escalade to board a British Airways flight from Los Angeles to London. Upon arrival in London, Prince Harry was put into a black Range Rover by security he met off the plane. He was then reportedly brought to Kensington Palace. It was reported that the Duke of Sussex would have his quarantine at the Nottingham Cottage as his official "Megxit deal" home, the Frogmore Cottage, has been handed to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. Once he provides a negative COVID-19 test, Prince Harry can immediately leave quarantine five days instead of 10 based on the "government's test to release" rules. But reports noted that regardless of the number of days in quarantine, Harry will still be allowed to attend Prince Philip's funeral as the official guidelines state that individuals coming in from abroad can leave isolation on "compassionate grounds." RELATED ARTICLE: Prince Philip Gets His Dying Wish; Prince Harry to Rush Home Prince Philip's Funeral Without Pregnant Meghan Markle According to Daily Mail, sources close to the couple shared that the former "Suits" actress Meghan Markle wanted to join her husband Prince Harry to attend the funeral. However, Meghan Markle's physician advised her against traveling as she pregnant with their second child, a baby girl. The royal family ordered a truce over the contents of the couple's recent interview with Oprah Winfrey to focus on honoring Prince Philip, who died peacefully in his sleep at Windsor Castle on Friday, or two months before his 100th birthday. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were criticized for accusing the royal family of racism during their CBS special interview, which ITV broadcasted in the U.K. While the interview is ongoing, Prince Philip was in a hospital receiving treatments for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition. But the sources stated that Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, was brief regarding the interview's content after leaving the hospital, N.Y. Daily News reported. In a short tribute to Prince Philip, the Sussexes wrote on the Archewell organization's website their appreciation for the Duke of Edinburgh's service. They also said that Prince Philip would be greatly missed. Prince Harry was last photographed with his grandfather, Prince Philip, in May 2019, when they posed for a photograph with baby Archie at Buckingham Palace. The return of Prince Harry to the U.K. before the funeral on Saturday will be his first since March 2020, when he moved to Canada. It will also be his first chance to reunite with his brother, Prince William, and his father, Prince Charles, ABC reported. Duke of Edinburgh's Funeral Prince Phillip will be buried after a funeral at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on April 17, with a national minute of silence to be observed as it starts at 3 p.m. He will be carried on a specially modified Land Rover, which he helped design. Engineers from the Army immediately prepared it after he was admitted to hospital in February. The palace said the number of mourners would be limited to 30. Both the royal family and the British government urged the public to stay home rather than personally pay respects. They added that there would be no public processions or viewings. Together with Prince William and the rest of his family, Prince Harry will walk behind the coffin at Saturday's funeral at St George's Chapel. He was not expected to wear his military uniform after being stripped of his official honorary titles honors. Harry will instead wear a suit along with Prince Edward and Prince Andrew. READ MORE: Prince Philip's Death: Biden, Other World Leaders Mourn WATCH: Prince Philip's Funeral: Prince Harry Will Attend Without Meghan Markle - From TODAY YEREVAN. I am very concerned about the criticism and assessments in connection with Russia by the United States regarding the recent settlements in Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)]. Armen Ashotyan, Vice-Chairman of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), told this to a press conference Monday. "One is that [former US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Richard] Hoagland had said, '[Minsk Group Russian co-chair Igor] Popov told me that even if the Armenians and Azerbaijanis agree on the 2016 plan, it's all the same; Moscow would be against.' This was followed by the official statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry that it was a lie, that the settlement envisaged three documents: a joint document of Azerbaijan and Armenia, a joint statement of the co-chairing countries, and a UN Security Council resolution. And secondly, the statements of a high representative of the [US] State Department were concerning. Even at this stage, the Artsakh conflict must be kept as far away from the field of Russia-West clashes as possible. If the West tries to use the Artsakh issue, the current situation in Armenia as a stage amid geopolitical tensions with Russia, we are completely doomed. Everything must be done to restore the work of the Minsk Group co-chairs in a new way, and to do so by having full Russia-US-France consensus," he said. The RPA official noted that high-ranking US officials are now inciting Turkey against Russia in Artsakh itself. "The very same [George] Kent [deputy assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs] himself had stated that Turkey is the only factor that restrains Russia, Russia should not feel itself one-man in the South Caucasus, that Turkey's presence compensates for the absence of the West in that region. We need this new situation with Russian influence to serve to maximally minimize Turkish influence in this region," Ashotyan said. A man who spat blood at a Garda after he assaulted a woman in her own home and tried to break back into that home with a breadknife was given a three-month suspended sentence. Gardai arrived to a residence in Rathcormac, Co Cork, last April to find Michal Kaczmarczyk, aged 21, armed with a bread knife, trying to break into his family home. He had invited friends to drink alcohol in his parents' house without their permission and had been roaring abuse at his mother, the court heard. In a rage, he kicked in the patio door of their home and cut himself in the process. He was in Fermoy District Court on three charges, assaulting a guard, assaulting another person and causing criminal damage. Judge Alec Gabbett said he would treat the crime of assaulting a Garda as a crime of the utmost seriousness. The court heard how on April 9, 2020, gardai responded to reports of a fight at a residence in Rathcormac. On arrival, gardai observed damage to the front door. The patio door was smashed after having been kicked in by the defendant. The homeowner's son, Michal Kaczmarczyk, had been roaring abuse at his mother, after having friends over to the house. Carrying a large bread knife, he was observed by gardai trying to break back into the house. Gardai said that he was very violent following the arrest and tried to spit blood at one of the gardai. The guard did not require treatment, the court heard. His solicitor, Matt Birmingham, said his client "was out of his tree" that night and regrets his actions. Hes pleading guilty, he apologises to everyone concerned. Hes been at home, obeying his curfew. He has the support of his parents," said Mr Birmingham. He needs help and someone to direct him." The solicitor appealed for leniency, and for his client to be permitted to engage with the probation service. Hes prepared for the consequences but I would ask one last time for the chance to engage with the probation service, Mr Birmingham said. Kaczmarczyk had 12 previous convictions, including convictions for public order, assault, and misuse of drugs. He was last in court in November. Mr Birmingham said that a recent week spent in Cork prison was a sobering experience for the young man who is now living with his parents, is currently off drugs and has been working. But Justice Gabbett said that there was no excuse for assaulting a garda, assaulting a woman and brandishing a knife. The last thing a garda needs is to be spat at. At any time of the day, to spit at someone is abhorrent. But at a time when everyone is very concerned about bodily fluids its particularly difficult for gardai when doing their duties. On the 9 April, 2020, we were in lockdown. He should have been at home in bed like the rest of the country. Kaczmarczyk was convicted on all charges and given a three-month prison sentence, suspended for three years. He should be getting six months [in prison] for assault, Justice Gabbett said. Im suspending the sentence to give him a chance to get off drugs. You cant assault people in their own house and you cant spit at or bite members of An Garda Siochana. There are three books in the collection: A Kids Book About Being Transgender, by Gia Parr A Kids Book About Being Non-binary, by Hunter Chinn-Raicht A Kids Book About Being Inclusive, by Ashton Mota and Rebekah Bruesehoff Launching on preorder today, and shipping in June for Pride celebrations across the globe, the collection aims to open conversations about topics that are complex and important, a hallmark of A Kids Book About that helped land 10 of A Kids Book About's titles on the coveted Favorite Things 2020 list in the December issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. At a time when the nation is seeing an unprecedented level of harmful legislation targeting transgender and non-binary youth, this book collection will help bring to communities everywhere the real stories of Gia, Hunter, Ashton and Rebekah, written by these young people who are thriving. "The GenderCool Project will be our first-ever non-profit partner on a themed collection; we felt it was critical to help bring these topics to kids everywhere in a relevant and honest way," said Jelani Memory, co-founder and CEO of A Kids Book About. "Our unique publishing model and writing process will elevate the underrepresented voices of transgender and non-binary teens with real, lived experiences, to spark productive and positive conversations around this topic a priority for kids and grownups everywhere." Gia Parr (she/her), age 17, author of A Kids Book About Being Transgender, said, "It's been a dream of mine to return to my elementary school and be able to read a book that I wrote to help my school and its students understand who transgender kids are, and show the younger kids coming out that their lives can be great!" Hunter Chinn-Raicht (they/them), age 15, author of A Kids Book About Being Non-binary, added, "It's awesome to be able to help grownups and kids have conversations about re-imagining who human beings truly are. Not all people are binary, which is a fancy way of saying 'one thing or the other.' For me, I am able to express myself outside of the pink and blue stereotype. I am grey, white, and all the colors mashed up into one!" Ashton Mota (he/him), age 16, co-author of A Kids Book About Being Inclusive with his Champion peer Rebekah Bruesehoff (she/her), age 14, hopes people will understand how important it is to embrace and celebrate each other's differences. He said, "My life as an Afro-Latino kid growing up is totally different than Rebekah's. When we wrote this book, we learned so many new things about each other. It brought us closer together as friends." Rebekah added, "I've always wanted to be an author. For me, stories are bridges to empathy, courage and hope." GenderCool co-founders Jen Grosshandler and Gearah Goldstein believe this collection is an organic evolution of the work GenderCool has done since launching in 2018. "We waited for the right opportunity to partner with a publisher who believed in the power of young people to drive change in the world," said Grosshandler. "We are proud to partner with A Kids Book About. They are the future of what kid content should be." Goldstein added, "These beautiful books will help people replace their opinions with real, positive experiences learning about our Champions who are thriving throughout the country with the love and support of their family, friends and community." Available now for preorder, books can be purchased on akidsbookabout.com, Apple Books and Kindle Original Publishing. The books retail for $19.95 each or a bundled price of $49.95 for the three-book collection, plus shipping. About The GenderCool Project The GenderCool Project is a youth-led movement replacing misinformed opinions with positive, powerful experiences meeting remarkable kids who identify as transgender and non-binary. Our movement is creating positive change by influencing understanding, business and culture. Please visit us at gendercool.org . About A Kids Book About A Kids Book About is a media company that created the industry's first direct-to-consumer kids book brand and publishing company. On a mission to make kids media that matters, A Kids Book About works with authors and creators from all kinds of backgrounds and identities. With two book series for kids ages 5-9 and 0-4 respectively, and a flagship podcast that launched in 2021, A Kids Book About explores themes like racism, feminism, disabilities, death, community and belonging. For more information, visit akidsbookabout.com. SOURCE GenderCool Project Related Links https://gendercool.org/ MYRTLE BEACH Gov. Henry McMaster has moved to close South Carolina's doors to unaccompanied migrant children from the southern border. McMaster signed an executive order April 12 mandating the S.C. Department of Social Services prevent federal agencies from placing undocumented and unaccompanied migrant children into South Carolina foster care and group homes. The move comes as there has been a decline in the number of children in the foster care system but a spike in lone children crossing the border some 19,000 last month. McMaster's move comes days after he was in Texas over the weekend visiting S.C. National Guard soldiers and where he said he saw firsthand migrants trying to come across the border. "I think the Biden administration has made a very bad decision in stopping construction on that wall," McMaster said during a Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce meeting. President Joe Biden suspended wall construction on the U.S.-Mexico border in January. McMaster's order comes after the governor contacted DSS about the systems capacity to accommodate minors. In an April 8 letter, DSS Director Michael Leach told McMaster the federal government has made preliminary inquiries to move an unknown number of unaccompanied migrant children from the southern border and put them in South Carolina foster care or group homes licensed by DSS. McMaster is moving to stop that from happening. South Carolinas children must always be given first priority for placement into foster care and the states strained resources must be directed to addressing the needs of its children," the governor wrote Leach, according to a press announcement April 12 from his office. "Allowing the federal government to place an unlimited number of unaccompanied migrant children into our states child welfare system for an unspecified length of time is an unacceptable proposition," McMaster added. "Weve been down this road with the federal government before and the state usually ends up on the hook. McMaster asked the agency to determine potential risks posed to the state's child welfare system and to provide options to mitigate them. Whether DSS currently has unaccompanied migrant children in its system is unclear; DSS was not willing to comment further. "We have to be sure that we are taking care of those that we already committed to first," McMaster said in regards to children already in foster care. According to DSS data, in March 2020 there were close 4,400 children in South Carolina foster care. Last month there were close to 3,900 children. A DSS spokeswoman said the agency's primary concern is state resident cases. "As much as the people of the (DSS) are inclined to offer aid and assistance in any crisis, DSS is nonetheless faced with the reality that placement of unaccompanied minors in South Carolina group care facilities could have detrimental impacts on the child welfare system including, but not limited to, the health and safety of children already placed at these facilities and the potential displacement of South Carolina children who need services," DSS spokeswoman Danielle Jones said. Jones added that while the federal government offering additional payments might benefit foster care providers, the overall lack of support from the federal government would leave many of the unaccompanied minors dependent on South Carolina. People Biden taps Inglis, Easterly for top cyber jobs The White House confirmed plans to nominate John C. Inglis and Jen Easterly to key cybersecurity roles in the Biden administration. President Joe Biden will nominate John Chris Inglis, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, to become the first national cyber director, according to a statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Sullivan also said the White House will nominate Jen Easterly, a veteran intelligence official, to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Inglis had a hand in establishing the new White House cyber position as a member of the congressional Cyberspace Solarium Commission that recommended its inclusion into the most recent defense policy bill. The Washington Post, which first reported Inglis and Easterlys nominations, also reported that Rob Silvers, who was previously thought to be in the running to lead CISA, will be nominated to serve as the Department of Homeland Securitys assistant secretary for cyber policy. The White House in a separate statement confirmed that nomination. This is a very strong team, Chris Painter, a cybersecurity expert and former State Department official tweeted Sunday night. Chris Inglis is one of the smartest & most capable people I have ever known in government or outside it. He has the chops to make the NCD work. I think the world of Rob & Jen as well. Big talent for big challenges. Lawmakers and former government officials, such as CISAs first director Christopher Krebs, have been increasingly vocal in urging the administration to fill some of the governments most important cybersecurity roles. The nominations come as the administration continues to cope with the fallout of multiple cybersecurity crises including suspected Russian intelligence operatives breaching the networks of nine federal agencies and around 100 U.S. companies. If confirmed, Inglis and Easterly, along with Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security advisor, would comprise a trio of NSA veterans in the top administration roles focused on cybersecurity. Note: This article was updated on April 12 to reflect the White House's announcement of the Silvers nomination. Obion County Man Charged With Public Intoxication By West Kentucky Star Staff MAYFIELD - An Obion County, TN was charged Friday with public intoxication in Mayfield.Mayfield Police report that 29-year-old Buddy Gillis had called from a local business on US 45 North, stating that he had taken methamphetamine and was feeling unsafe.Officers made contact with Gillis and found that he was under the influence of a controlled substance.He was taken to the Graves County Jail, charged with public intoxication-controlled substances. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 09:13:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WELLINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A worker for a managed isolation quarantine (MIQ) hotel in central Auckland, New Zealand, has tested positive for COVID-19 Sunday, marking the third consecutive case from the same quarantine hotel, according to the country's Health Ministry. A security guard for the hotel tested positive last week after one cleaner was found COVID-19 positive on March 21. The three cases detected in the Grand Millennium hotel in downtown Auckland, the regulation of which is slammed by local epidemiologists as "highly problematic," are believed not vaccinated. Although the New Zealand government reiterated the risk for community transmission remained very low, Prime Minister Ardern said earlier that all frontline border workers would be moved into "low risk" roles from Monday if they refuse to get vaccinated. According to the government, the vaccination rate among the frontline workers is 79 percent since the vaccination drive started in February but it is still not mandatory to MIQ workers. That was "not good enough," said Ardern. "Everyone in MIQ has to be vaccinated." If frontline workers did not get vaccinated they would be swapped to other positions, she added. According to the figure released by the Ministry of Health, 80 percent of the COVID-19 cases in MIQ in the past four weeks were people travelling from India. The New Zealand government therefore announced a temporary ban on arrivals from India on April 8. The suspension of arrivals from India took effect at 4 p.m. on April 11 till April 28. Ardern warned the government would ban entrants from any other high-risk countries. The uncertainty of New Zealand MIQ COVID-19 control also haunted the long-waited quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia, which is scheduled to start on April 19. Enditem San Marino to scrap coronavirus curfew from 26 April as tiny microstate administers Sputnik covid-19 vaccine. San Marino, the tiny landlocked country within northern Italy, begins to ease it covid-19 restrictions from 12 April, thanks to the Sputnik covid-19 vaccine sent from Russia. The entire adult population of San Marino, which claims to be the world's oldest republic, will be able to book their covid vaccine from 12 April, the same day that restaurants and bars reopen at night. From 12-18 April, restaurants and bars can stay open until 21.30. When San Marino extends its existing curfew of 22.00 until midnight on 19 April, restaurants and bars can remain open until 23.00. From 26 April, when San Marino scraps its nightly curfew completely, restaurants can stay open as late as they like. Schools and museums reopen fully on 12 April, with gyms reopening on 19 April, while from 26 April cinemas and theatres reopen their doors in the microstate located near Rimini. The move is linked to the country's vaccination campaign which, six weeks ago, risked failure after an agreement to receive vaccines from Italy never materialised. As it is not a member of the EU, San Marino was excluded from the deals negotiated by Brussels with pharmaceutical firms. San Marino then fell back on its "Plan B" and turned to an old friend, Russia, who was happy to supply it with Sputnik, a vaccine as yet unauthorised by the EU. San Marino and Russia share close ties, with more than 100,000 Russian tourists travelling to tiny independent state near the Adriatic coast in a typical year. Thanks to the last-minute deal with Russia, 37,000 doses of Sputnik's vaccine arrived in recent days in San Marino, which counts around 33,800 inhabitants. So far about 16,000 doses have been administered, with over 6,500 citizens already receiving both doses. San Marino's goal is to complete its vaccination programme, administering both doses of the vaccine to all of its residents, by May. Full details about covid-19 restrictions and travel requirements can be found - in English - on the Republic of San Marino website. Photo credit: MikeNG / Shutterstock.com. Jammu, April 12 : The online registration of pilgrims for Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2021 is going to commence on April 15 for both the Baltal and Chandanwari routes. This year's 56-day Yatra shall commence simultaneously on both the routes from June 28 and culminate on RakshaBandhan, on August 22, 2021. Nitishwar Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has informed that the intending yatris shall have to visit the URL: www.jksasb.nic.in and click on REGISTER. The yatri will then be guided for the steps to be followed. He will have to fill up his details in the online application form and attach his photograph and the Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC). The CEO said that for ensuring against fraudulent health certificates, only such certificates which are issued by doctors/Medical Institutes authorized by the concerned State Government/UT Administrations shall be accepted for the online registration. For Yatra 2021, only those health certificates which have been issued after March 15, 2021 shall be valid. The steps which yatris need to follow for online registration in order to register for the Yatra, have been put on the Board's website www.shriamarnathjishrine.com. The CEO informed that the yatris shall be able to download the Yatra Permits after their applications have been duly processed. The yatris will have to carry their original Photo ID and CHC with them during the yatra. Nitishwar Kumar further stressed that for ensuring effective security arrangements along the difficult tracks, only those yatris who are in possession of a Yatra Permit which is valid for a specified date and route, will be allowed to proceed beyond the Base Camps, and cross the entry gates at Domel and Chandanwari. He appealed to all intending yatris to avail the facility of online registration in advance and timely obtain a Yatra Permit, in their own interest, so that they do not face any inconvenience when they embark on their journey. The CEO further informed that persons under the age of 13 years or above the age of 75 years and ladies who are more than six weeks pregnant would not be registered for this year's yatra. The yatris who propose to travel by helicopter do not require registration as their helicopter tickets shall suffice for this purpose. However, they shall be required to produce the Compulsory Health Certificate, (CHC) in the prescribed format issued by an authorized doctor, before they are allowed to travel by helicopter. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Im going to go out on a limb here and assume that some of you have read my column for a while. If so, you probably have developed a sense for how I approach our tax laws. This approach includes both justified use of tax planning ideas to save taxes and a strong dislike for those who abuse the system. This is nothing unique about my approach. It is common to any profession. No plumber likes plumbers who cut corners, use inferior parts, or overcharge clients. No physician likes a doctor who improperly prescribes potentially dangerous drugs. And so on. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ I claim no virtue. The vast majority of tax professionals take great satisfaction in hearing that some tax cheat has received his or her comeuppance. A couple of interesting examples came up recently. First, a Craig Jones challenged the constitutionality of Section 7345 of the tax laws. This section allows the State Department to deny a passport to a taxpayer with a seriously delinquent tax debt. A seriously delinquent debt means more than $50,000. Also that all administrative rights of the taxpayer to challenge this debt have been exhausted. Mr. Jones owed about $405,000. Mr. Jones got no passport. There was no constitutional issue because he was given all rights to contest this liability and he failed. Minor McNeil argued in the District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas that he did not have to pay taxes to the IRS because he was a citizen of a sovereign state. The District Court judge did not agree with Mr. McNeil. Mr. McNeil appealed, as is his right, to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The Appellate Court told Mr. McNeil, We are not amused. They sanctioned him with an $8,000 fine for filing a frivolous appeal. Rights are important things, including the right of a citizen to access the courts to argue that their rights be protected. But it is also important that the limited resources of a court not be consumed with frivolity. One final lesson we can all benefit from. Spending and investment are not the same thing. Our country needs infrastructure investment. Both political parties agree. We also need to invest in the IRS to collect the taxes that are due under the system that we now have. The tax gap, which is the difference between what is collected and what is owed, is estimated to be $7.5 trillion over the next 10 years. We the people need to support people paying what they rightfully owe. And enforcement is how that happens. We support the police to enforce laws. Why not support the IRS to enforce laws? They need resources to do this. And those resources would be an investment. Q: In 2020 my husband and I purchased an insurance policy to cover Air Ambulance needs, including accidents in a vehicle, at home or on vacation. It was coverage for five years. Can this be used on the state tax form that counts Medicare, doctors, lab and medication to lower tax due? If so, do I apportion equal amounts for five years, or use the whole cost this tax season? A: Yes, this would be a medical deduction for both federal and state taxes. Because federal restricts the benefit to those who itemize deductions and have expenses exceeding a threshold, I assume you already determined your benefit would be limited to the state. The law first defines medical expenses to include treatment for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body. Medical expenses also include transportation primarily for, and essential to, the medical care described above. An air ambulance satisfies this test it is not hired for a tour of volcanoes in Hawaii. The law also allows a deduction for insurance costs that cover the treatment or transportation that qualifies as a deductible medical cost. So insurance to cover allowed transportation is itself deductible. If you paid for 12 months of coverage you could deduct it all in the year paid. If the prepayment extends for five years then it would need to be prorated and deducted one-fifth per year. Jim Hamill is director of Tax Practice at Reynolds, Hix & Co. in Albuquerque. He can be reached at jimhamill@rhcocpa.com. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Mens worship should be audible, while womens should be inaudible He was in the middle of a tirade on Gods order and how women should be submissive to men, silent, compliant, unseen. It was not the first time I had heard similar things professed in the church, but it hit differently this time. He was making no effort to make it seem that he even viewed women as equal to him. In his eyes, women were made subordinate to men and demanded that we comply. At least in the conservative church that I grew up in I had been taught that women were equal to men, just separate in role. We were told that we could not teach or preach or lead because women were easily deceived. We were taught that our primary place was in the home, caring for children, and serving and being sexually available to our husbands. And for most of my adolescent and adult life, I tried to adhere to all the principles above, even when they felt grossly unfair and a violation of my dignity. But something changed in me during this mans tirade against women. Perhaps it was his blatant misogyny. Or perhaps it was for the first time in my life I looked around the room, and saw women mirroring the grief and rage that I felt inside. It was perhaps the first time I realized I wasnt alone and the sweet relief that there were women like me: women who knew these teachings were wrong in their very bones but hadnt ever been exposed to other teachings. I didnt know then that these teachings actually primed and contributed to the abuse of women, but I would learn. Over the next several years I dedicated myself to working with oppressed and exploited women as a missionary and found the teachings of my childhood mirrored in the most abusive situations. At first, it was hearing stories of girls who had survived Female Genital Mutilation and noticing that in conjunction with their abuse came teachings about a girl not needing an education because her proper place was in the home. Next, it was meeting the girls and women in India who had been taken from Nepal to be sex-trafficked. I wondered if the teachings about a mans uncontrollable need for sex had anything to do with what drove men to purchase women. And finally, in a bar where women were sold in the Philippines, it became crystal clear to me, women were abused and oppressed because they were seen as not equal to men, and were ultimately there to serve a mans needs. The realization came as a man who bought trafficked women was telling me why he traveled halfway around the world to buy these women. He said, Women here are raised right, they know how to respect men. It was in the middle of a tirade about womens proper place, and a mans need for respect. He sounded just like the pastors I had grown up with who espoused the idea the women were there to respect and serve and meet a mans sexual desires. It was not just my pastors teaching this, it was evangelical authors like Emerson Eggerichs of Love and Respect who have written whole books about it. Women did not exist as an entity unto their own, they were there for men. This lends itself to enormous power differentials in which women are to submit and stay silent while men are to be in control and as a result primes the ground for abuse. Psychoanalyst Lyn Yonack says in an article for Psychology Today that Despite its name, sexual abuse is more about power than it is about sex. Although the touch may be sexual, the words seductive or intimidating, and the violation physical, when someone rapes, assaults, or harasses, the motivation stems from the perpetrators need for dominance and control. Is this why we see so many cases of sexual abuse take place in the church? Perhaps a male abusing his power like Ravi Zacharias are not merely one-off cases, but the natural result of a theology that gives men enormous power differentials over women. One might think that because these gender theology teachings are so mainstream, that they must be Biblical right? Think again. The Biblical Basis for this gender role theology is flimsy at best (check out The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allson Barr,) and actively refuted by Jesus himself. One of my favorite stories that illustrates this is the story of Mary and Martha. In Luke 10, Jesus and his disciples visit the home of Mary and Martha. In the story, Martha is performing according to her gender role preparing the house, while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus. Mary is doing something doubly offensive, because not only is she breaking with her gender role by not preparing the home she is sitting at the feet of Jesus, something that should only happen if you intend on becoming a disciple yourself. Seeing this transgression, Martha tells Jesus to get Mary to help her in preparations, to which Jesus responds Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. In that one line, Jesus smashes gender role theology and the idea that women belong in any one place and in so doing encourages Mary to function outside the bounds given to her sex. We see this as a common refrain when we look at the Bible, women bound by patriarchal gender norms and pushing past it to do what is more important: Esther disobeyed her husband (and Pharoah) to prevent genocide, Shiprah and Puah disobeyed Pharoahs order to save a generation of baby boys, Ruth broke with societal norms, Deborah led a nation the list goes on and on. If these women did right in Gods eyes and pursued justice by rising up against gender norms, dont we have permission as women to do the same? To decry injustice from within our pews and without to use our voice on behalf of women everywhere? Perhaps our silence and submission are not virtues, but only go to serve an abusive system that harms us all. May we be like Mary, and have Jesus say You have chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from you. By Denis Slattery | New York Daily News Albany, N.Y. New Yorks government ethics panel authorized steps into unspecified investigative matters Friday following a lengthy closed-door meeting. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics secretive specially called meeting was held as Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces a firestorm of scandals related to his handling of the COVID-19 crisis, his million-dollar book deal and sexual harassment claims. It also follows a request from the top Republican in the state Senate, Sen. Robert Ortt, who two weeks ago called on the panel to probe recent reports that the governor prioritized COVID-19 tests for his friends and family. After spending two-plus hours in executive session, JCOPE general counsel Monica Stamm said only that the Commission discussed and authorized steps in investigative matters. Earlier, before the 14 member body turned off the cameras, commissioner George Weissman, a Republican appointee, complained that even he and some other members were not being granted access to information. Commissioners are now being told that to be denied information confidential or otherwise, is confidential in and of itself, Weissman said. His grievance comes after commissioner Gary Lavine, also a GOP appointee, told the Albany Times Union last month that requested information about Cuomos book deal was being withheld from some on the panel. Questions about the bodys independence have repeatedly been raised as commissioners appointed by Cuomo have the ability to veto probes into the governors office. Eyebrows were raised two years ago after a former commissioner alleged that a leak regarding a closed-door vote related to a disgraced Cuomo aide led to a staffer from Assembly Speaker Carl Heasties office contacting her about concerns coming from the governor. While its unclear what was being discussed on Friday, the ethics panel could be looking at a plethora of issues related the governor. Cuomo has faced scrutiny for writing a COVID-themed book mid-pandemic and potentially using state and campaign resources to work on and promote the tome. He is already facing an Assembly-run impeachment inquiry into the harassment allegations and a host of other matters, including whether the true number nursing home deaths during the pandemic was intentionally obscured. A federal probe into the administrations handling of deaths in elder care facilities is also underway. Attorney General Letitia James, meanwhile, is overseeing an independent investigation into Cuomos conduct as nine women, including many former and current staffers, have accused the governor of sexual misconduct. The governor has denied any wrongdoing, saying he never touched any woman inappropriately, and has refused to resign as a growing number of fellow politicians from both sides of the aisle call for his resignation. On Wednesday, Cuomo did admit that some members of his family had access to COVID-19 testing last spring when supplies were scarce, but denied overseeing the matter. The governor has faced criticism following reports that close associates, as well as his brother, mother and other relatives, were among those who received prioritized testing early on in the pandemic. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Online Early Childhood Education Degree Programs. Intelligent.com analyzed 144 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 60 making it to the final list for Online Early Childhood Education Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-early-childhood-education-degree-programs/ 2021 Online Early Childhood Education Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Albany State University Arizona State University Arkansas State University Arkansas Tech University Ball State University Bay Mills Community College Bluefield College Brandman University California Baptist University, Online California University of Pennsylvania Capella University Central Methodist University Chaminade University of Honolulu Champlain College Charter Oak State College Colorado Christian University East Tennessee State University Eastern Oregon University Eastern Washington University Edinboro University Florida International University Florida State College at Jacksonville Fort Hays State University Fresno Pacific University Grand Canyon University Indiana Wesleyan University Jackson State University Kansas State University Kennesaw State University Liberty University Mayville State University Mercy College National Louis University National University Northern Arizona University Northwestern College Northwestern State University Pacific Oaks College Portland State University Regent University Southwestern College Texas Tech University The University of Alabama The University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Arizona University of Cincinnati University of Colorado Denver University of Florida University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Missouri University of North Dakota University of South Alabama University of the Cumberlands University of Toledo University of Washington University of West Alabama Walden University Wayland Baptist University West Virginia University Western Carolina University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. The United States has warned of "consequences" if Russia "acts recklessly or aggressively" towards Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. He said this in an interview with NBC on April 11, Ukrinform reports. According to him, Moscow will face consequences in the event of aggressive actions against Ukraine. "President Biden was very clear on this issue: if Russia acts recklessly or aggressively, there will be consequences," Blinken said. He added that Russia now has more troops on the border with Ukraine than at any time since 2014, and stressed that he was seriously concerned about Russia's actions. As reported, during a call on April 9, Secretary of State Antony 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. As a reminder, 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. 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 backdrop of Russia's escalation in eastern Ukraine. ish [April 12, 2021] Historic step for Brose COBURG, Germany, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The joint venture concluded between Volkswagen and Brose on 26 March 2021 is of great strategic importance. After a 70-year-long supplier relationship, this is the first time either of these companies has entered into a partnership such as this. The new company will be called Brose Sitech. The objective of the joint venture between the world's second largest car manufacturer and fourth largest family-owned automotive supplier is the development and production of seat components, complete vehicle seats and connected interior components. Volkswagen and Brose will each hold a 50 percent share in the new business, which currently employs 5,200 people at six locations in Germany/span>, Poland and China and generates 1.4 billion euros in sales. The joint venture plans to double volumes to serve its own requirements in the coming years and establish itself as an independent supplier to other carmakers as well. Industrial leadership of the new company will rest with Brose, whose long-standing Executive Vice President Thomas Spangler (56) will take over as CEO. The agreed partnership is expected to significantly increase Brose Group business volume to 9.7 billion euros by 2025 and grow the workforce to around 34,000 employees. The final signing of the comprehensive agreement was carried out by top executives from each of the respective delegations, including the Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Dr. Herbert Diess, and Chairman of the Brose Group, Michael Stoschek. The joint venture will likely receive antitrust law approval in the second half of 2021. About Brose Brose is the world's fourth-largest family-owned automotive supplier. The company develops and produces mechatronic systems for vehicle doors and seats as well as electric motors, drives and electronics, among others for steering, brakes, transmissions and engine cooling. More than 26,000 employees at 63 locations in 23 countries generate 6.3 billion euros in sales. Every other new vehicle worldwide is equipped with at least one Brose product. About Brose North America Brose has been a committed partner to the North American market since 1993. The mechatronics specialist now counts twelve locations across Canada, the United States and Mexico and employs approximately 6,000 people in the region. The entire range of Brose products is manufactured throughout the North American facilities, door modules and seat systems to drives and electronics. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/historic-step-for-brose-301266184.html SOURCE Brose North America [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] In the last months of her life, Rose Helen Safran was bedridden and dementia had robbed her of the ability to tell richly detailed stories of her beloved homeland of Hungary and a hair-raising escape from communist forces in the 1950s. But the memories of sacrifice, her deep-rooted faith and devotion to her heritage remain vivid in the hearts and minds of the many she touched over the years. Her niece, Agnes Rozsa, a senior specialist paralegal with Citibank, retired after 24 years to help tend to her beloved aunt, who had fled Hungary with her husband, Stephen, in 1956 when the Soviet military crushed an uprising against the communist regime. After the couple settled in San Antonio, they helped start the San Antonio Hungarian Association, promoting awareness of Hungarian immigrants contribution to Texas, their heritage and culture. Reminders of the couples flight to freedom dotted their home, purchased after years of rebuilding new lives in San Antonio. Billy Calzada / Billy Calzada Rozsa, 69, noted some of her aunts stories recently as she sifted through copies of Paprika, a newsletter Safran created for the local Hungarian community. Poring over stacks of the bulletins that ringed her aunts bed, she read passages that brought tears. Not a person easily moved, Rozsa was deeply touched by Safrans heartfelt prose that painted scenes of her early life, climbing mountains in Transylvania with her first husband, who died in World War II. I was choked up by the depths of her soul, Rozsa said. It was beautiful. There was another document Safran had written in careful detail a plan for her funeral. She wanted to be buried with her mothers robe. She explained how she should be dressed. She listed the readings and music to be played at the service. One item Safran dearly desired to be buried with her, a family crucifix, was not in her possession. She had loaned it to the University of Texas at San Antonios Institute of Texan Cultures for the Hungarian culture exhibit years ago, one of more than 70 objects on display that emigres carried from the land of their birth to the United States. Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News When the time came, Safran told her family, she wanted to be buried with the symbol of her faith, the only family heirloom she was able to keep during her escape from the Soviet invasion. Safran died Oct. 19, 2020. She was 100 years old. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio resident unearths Buffalo Soldiers tombstone in East Side backyard With Safrans death, Rozsa and neighbor Michelle Newman set out to honor her wish. There wasnt much time; Safran would be buried within a week. An urgent email was sent to the Institute, asking for the return of the crucifix. While preparing for the funeral, Rozsa reflected on her familys storied history. Old documents and photographs recalled stories of her aunt and uncle, her aunts second husband, fleeing communism in 1956 and the imprisonment of her mothers best friend, who was Jewish, when the Nazis invaded Budapest during World War II. The tales were woven with scenes of selflessness, starvation and bombs that shattered buildings and lives. Rozsa said Safran had a fear of enclosed spaces, a result of once being trapped beneath a bomb-struck building. Safrans husband shared a glimpse of their harrowing escape to the United States in a City Public Service magazine from the early 1960s. Then an engineer with the utility company, Stephen Safran said serving as secretary of the revolutionary council of his firm in Hungary made him a marked man to stay in Budapest would have meant death. He and Rose joined a couple who had a 2-year-old daughter, and they all struck out with a guide for the Western border on Nov. 20, 1956. They traveled light; the only memento Safran carried was the familys rustic crucifix in her purse. They boarded a packed train from Budapest, headed toward the Austrian border, but the Hungarians werent allowed to cross. On foot, the larger group evaded gunfire as they ventured at night to villages where strangers offered refuge. The last three miles became the most dangerous leg of their journey. More than once, Rose Safran, a devout Catholic, threaded rosary beads through her fingers and clutched her cross as she prayed for safety and guidance. Billy Calzada /Billy Calzada One night, half of the group chose a road to a distant campfire, Stephen Safran recalled. But Rose directed her husband and friends in the opposite direction. Hunched over in single file, they stole across the field, falling flat on the ground as spotlights swept across the darkness. Across the pasture, a Russian soldier yelled stop! to the other people that had split off. The original Safran group continued away from the soldiers, who captured the others. They took turns carrying the baby they had given one-and-a-half sleeping pills in hope of keeping her quiet. Beyond towering turrets at the border, they saw the red and white flag of Austria. The groups shouts of joy after they crossed into safe territory awakened the baby, Stephen Safran recounted in the magazine article. Now, with fear of capture behind them, they happily shouted Let her cry! On ExpressNews.com: Do what you love to do - San Antonios Shoeman Sam provided personal service of a bygone time The Safrans arrived in America on Jan. 1, 1957, among 200,000 Hungarians who fled the communist regime. After spending 10 days in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, they made their way to San Antonio, welcomed by Rose Safrans uncle and members of the Hungarian community. In later years, the Safrans home became the meeting place for young Hungarian refugees. In 1972, Rose Safran helped her sister Klara Rozsas mother as well as a teen Rozsa and her sister emigrate to Texas. And in 1978, Rose Safran created a Hungarian dance group, the same year the association joined the Institute of Texan Cultures Folklife Festival, which spotlights the cultural diversity of Texas. In 1984, Rose Safran served as the third president of the Hungarian association that raised funds during the folklife festival for charities and cultural events. The group donated money to buy incubators for premature babies in Hungary and contributed to the building of the Holocaust Museum in Budapest. Rozsa tells friends how her mother, aunt and grandfather risked their lives to aid her mothers Jewish friend during World War II. The 18-year-old girl and her family were among 200,000 Jewish people the Nazis forced inside of a ghetto, a stone wall surrounding apartment buildings marked with the Star of David. Survivors recall people crammed into small apartments and dank streets lined with trash. Rozsas mother, aunt and grandfather alternated taking food to their friends behind the ghettos checkpoint gate lined with barbed wire. The trio hoped to help the family escape, but it was not to be. Within weeks they learned the Nazis had deported their friends to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Rozsas mother never forgot her friend she named her daughter Agnes after the Jewish girl who never returned from Auschwitz. Among the family keepsakes, Rozsa discovered a sepia-toned photograph of her mother and a girl believed to be her namesake in front of an ivy-covered building. As a Jewish person, Im so touched to hear this story, said Newman, Rozsas neighbor who helped the family obtain Safrans crucifix. She put her life on the line. She had the guts to do something, this young girl and her family. They did the ultimate mitzvah (good deed). This was my way of thanking her family. On the day before Rose Safrans funeral, the Institute of Texan Cultures advised the family they could pick up the crucifix. We were able to honor my aunts request to be buried with it, Rozsa said. Safrans funeral was held at St. Matthews Catholic Church. The Hungarian flag was draped over the coffin, and the Hungarian anthem played at the service. Three weeks later, Stephen Safran died, and the family conducted the same service for him. They were true patriots from Hungary, Rozsa said. They had the deepest love and devotion to Hungarian culture and a way of life no longer present. They took it to heart to teach us the true history of the Hungarian nation. We did not receive that in communism. They were successful to light an interest in the younger generation. This is their legacy. vtdavis@express-news.net Beser brings over a decade of executive-level, in-house operating experience at consumer brands and technology and life sciences companies. Most recently, he served as general counsel at Away, a New York-based direct-to-consumer travel brand twice named as one of Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies" and as one of Time's "50 Most Genius Companies," among other honors. At Away, Beser was a member of the executive team, served as corporate secretary, and led teams in a wide range of operational functions, including information security, real estate, and global trade. Beser built and implemented Away's legal strategy and infrastructure at scale and led Away's legal team through substantial revenue and headcount growth, international expansion, Series C and Series D financings, growth-stage debt financing, liquidity transactions, global intellectual property development and brand protection programs, public company readiness, and executive transitions. "Josh's combination of in-house and law firm experience will allow him to offer both early- and late-stage clients practical insights and valuable perspectives," said Doug Clark, managing partner at Wilson Sonsini. "Josh is well known in New York's in-house legal community, particularly among general counsels for technology, consumer, and life sciences companies. He's also developed extensive ties to the area's dynamic start-up community, in large part through his work advising venture-backed, early-stage companies and founders in the market. We're very pleased to welcome Josh to our firm." In June 2020, Wilson Sonsini also added Salil Gandhi to its emerging companies practice, further strengthening the firm's corporate team in New York, which includes Megan Baier and Sriram Krishnamurthy. The team works with the Boston and Washington, D.C., offices to represent emerging company clients throughout the Northeast region. They facilitate the corporate formation of start-ups, negotiate venture capital financings, advise on strategic alliances and joint ventures, and prepare companies for initial public offerings, secondary offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Away in 2017, Beser was vice president and general counsel at Canary, a consumer technology leader. In this role as a member of the company's management team, he built and implemented the company's legal strategy through significant growth, advising the founders and board on all legal issues, including the company's Series C and D financing rounds, debt financing activities, and technology- and data privacy-focused commercial and intellectual property matters, as well as leading the people function during a time of significant transition in the business. Previously, from 2010 to 2015, Beser was assistant general counsel at Lonza, a publicly traded Swiss life sciences company, where he served on the executive leadership team of the Consumer Care division. He was responsible for a broad range of legal matters that included M&A, commercial, employment, online privacy, and consumer-facing product issues, as well as technology licensing, procurement, and implementation. Before moving in-house, Beser was an associate in the New York office of Bingham McCutchen LLP from 2008 to 2010. He began his career at Heller Ehrman LLP, where he worked in the San Diego, New York, and London offices from 2005 to 2008. During Beser's time at both firms, he represented venture capital and private equity funds and their high-growth operating companies in public and private financing, M&A, and commercial transactions, primarily in the technology and life sciences industries. "I'm really excited about joining Wilson Sonsini because the firm has such an impressive brand and legacy of working with iconic and innovative technology and life sciences clients," said Beser. "Returning to private practice gives me an opportunity to apply my in-house and law firm experience toward partnering with founders and executive teams, start-ups, and investors. I'm also looking forward to collaborating with the firm's impressive team in NY and others in the Northeast, and contributing to the growth of the emerging companies practice in the region." Beser earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2005 and a B.S. in business administration from Colorado State University in 2002. About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati For 60 years, Wilson Sonsini has offered a broad range of services and legal disciplines focused on serving the principal challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leading provider to growing and established clients seeking legal counsel to complete sophisticated corporate and technology transactions; manage governance and enterprise-scale matters; assist with intellectual property development, protection, and IP-driven transactions; represent them in contested disputes; and/or advise them on antitrust or other regulatory matters. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini has offices in Austin; Beijing; Boston; Brussels; Hong Kong; London; Los Angeles; New York; Palo Alto; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Shanghai; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington, DE. For more information, please visit www.wsgr.com. SOURCE Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Related Links http://www.wsgr.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 09:28:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SYDNEY, April 12 (Xinhua) -- With Australia-New Zealand quarantine-free travel bubble to start within weeks, a glimmer of hope in uncertainties was brought to Australia's struggling tourism sector. As one of the worst-hit sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia's tourism gross domestic product (GDP) fell 18.9 percent to 49.6 billion Australian dollars (37.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the financial year from July 2019 to June 2020, the lowest level since the financial year 2013-2014. Tourism's contribution to the country's GDP fell from 3.1 percent to 2.5 percent. "They were the first to be impacted by measures introduced by governments in response to COVID, and will be among the last to recover," Deloitte's Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook 2021 said. HUGE SHOCK The biggest impact was the international travel restrictions. Statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed international arrivals in February 2021 witnessed an 18.5 percent decrease compared to the previous month and a 98.4 percent decrease compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, and only 8.5 percent of all arrivals were those arriving on temporary other visas. "Our sector which relies almost entirely on international travel slammed to a shut in February last year. Nine out of 10 travel businesses have been surviving on a decline in revenue of 90 percent since then and most businesses have experienced at least a 70 percent decline," said Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) Chair Tom Manwaring. As the Australian government decided to extend border lockdown for another three months to June, hope for revival was placed on domestic travel market. "We need to get domestic spending primed and pumping again," said a spokesperson from the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. The spokesperson told Xinhua in a written interview that before COVID-19, domestic tourism made up approximately 77 percent or 107 billion Australian dollars (81.6 billion U.S. dollars) of tourism spend. TURN TO DOMESTIC MARKET To encourage people to travel around, the Australian government put forward a 1.2 billion Australian dollar (915 million U.S. dollars) support package. Travellers could get access to 800,000 half-price flight tickets to 13 tourism-reliant regions, subsidised by the government as part of the package. Some local governments, including the states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, also gave out vouchers to encourage residents to spend more in local businesses. However, analysts expressed cautious optimism about how much domestic travel market could offset the losses from the international market. Associate professor of the University of Queensland Gabby Walters told Xinhua that the domestic market will help, but won't entirely offset, given that domestic travellers tend not to spend as much money as international travellers. The possible border closure or restrictions triggered by pandemic also make people reluctant to travel far away. Just before the Easter holiday, locally transmitted COVID-19 cluster forced a regional music festival in Byron Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, to be cancelled in the last minute. CEO of Live Performance Australia Evelyn Richardson told national broadcaster ABC that the festival had sustained a "10 million Australian dollar (7.6 million U.S. dollars) loss" from the cancellation. Another heavy blow is the end of Jobkeeper Program, a wages subsidy scheme which helped the tourism industry retain skilled and experienced staff during the hard time. AFTA recently put out a research claiming that without a JobKeeper extension beyond March 28, eight in 10 people working in travel and tourism sector will be out of a job and 30 percent of businesses will be forced to close, according to the Australian Financial Review. A survey by the NSW Tourism Industry Council found that 42 percent of the NSW tourism businesses would be forced to reduce staff numbers while 53 percent would reduce staff hours when JobKeeper was withdrawn. UNCERTAIN RECOVERY Deloitte said that there is evidence of recovery for the domestic travel sector through the first quarter of 2021, while international travel is not expected to recover to near pre-COVID-19 levels until sometime in 2023. "The post-COVID recovery for Australian tourism will depend on a range of factors, including local and global economic conditions, ongoing government responses to managing the health crisis, travel restrictions and consumer confidence and behaviour," said Adele Labine-Romain, Deloitte Access Economics partner and Deloitte national tourism leader. Before the majority of Australians are vaccinated with similar patterns around the world, there may not be much change, Walters said. "It's really hard to put a date on the exact time (for the recovery of tourism) because nobody knows. Things change every single day," the scholar said, adding "I think people just need to travel as much as possible, be in local, buy local. Even if they can't get to a particular tour, get online and buy some product that they normally sell to overseas tourists." Enditem A facility believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained in far-western China's Xinjiang region on June 4, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) China Relies on Twitter, Facebook to Counter International Criticism Over Xinjiang The communist regime in China has become more active on both Twitter and Facebook to spread propaganda and disinformation in order to silence international condemnation of its persecution against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, according to a recent report. The disinformation campaign was a joint effort between Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, Chinas state-run media, and pro-CCP online actors, according to a report published by think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) on March 30. The CCP is committing genocide against Uyghurs in Chinas far-western Xinjiang region, subjecting them to forced sterilization, forced abortion, torture, forced labor, and the removal of children from their families. Additionally, the communist regime has detained more than 1 million Uyghurs in internment camps. Beijing has defended these camps as vocational training centers. At a daily briefing on March 31, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for Chinas foreign ministry, called the genocide charge an allegation [that] maligns Chinas ethnic policy and Xinjiangs development and progress. While CCP officials and Chinas state-run media can openly spread their messages on Facebook and Twitter, ordinary Chinese citizens dont have access to the platforms as both are banned by the regime. Facebook and Twitter The report found that Chinese diplomats and state media accounts mentioned Xinjiang about 250 times or less monthly each on Facebook and Twitter before 2019. Since then, the number of mentions has increased sharply on both platforms, each gathering more than 750 mentions for several months in 2020. The report analyzed 272,875 public Facebook posts and 958,416 Twitter tweets between Jan. 1, 2014, and Feb. 1 of this year. It also analyzed content with Xinjiang-related hashtags on TikTok, a popular video-sharing platform that is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. Beijing had more success on Facebook than on Twitter. According to the report, Facebook accounts of Chinas state-run mediaincluding CCTVs international arm CGTN, the China Daily, the Global Times, and the Peoples Dailywere consistently in the top 10 accounts having the most likes on their posts mentioning Xinjiang from 2018 to 2020. For the year 2020, CGTNs Facebook posts mentioning Xinjiang had a total of more than 5.78 million likes, an increase from about 2.9 million in 2019 and 414,067 in 2018, according to the report. The Peoples Daily showed a similar trend. According to the report, it had 183,040 likes total for all its Facebook posts mentioning Xinjiang in 2018. But the number increased to more than 1.68 million in 2020. In an effort to reshape the international narrative, Beijing is trying to push forward different kinds of propaganda on Facebook and Twitter, including allegations that Western media and organizations arent independent, accusing anti-China forces of carrying out a smear campaign, and publishing stories about how Uyghurs supported the CCPs policies in Xinjiang. For example, in mid-March, Zhao Lijian, Chinas foreign ministrys spokesperson, shared on Twitter a Douyin video showing locals in Xinjiang enjoying a peaceful life. Douyin is the name of TikToks Chinese version. On TikTok, the report found that a video with the caption Free Uyghur and 2,831 likes was ranked 129th on the Xinjiang hashtag page in March. Meanwhile, three videos showing Xinjiangs beautiful scenery were ranked in the top 10 while having fewer than 600 likes each. Fringe Media The ASPI report also found that Chinese state-owned media and Chinese diplomats were leveraging fringe media, while pro-CCP actors amplified Chinese state-affiliated social media accounts. One such media was the U.S.-based news outlet The Grayzone. According to the report, fringe media outlets are media sources that may lack clearly defined editorial policies and journalistic practices, such as distinguishing between news and opinion. The Grayzone, established by an American journalist, describes itself as an independent news website producing original investigative journalism on politics and empire. The report discovered that the Grazyone was cited in English at least 253 times by CGTN, Global Times, and Xinhua, and 61 more times in Peoples Daily Online articles between December 2019 and February 2021. In March 2020, Hua Chunying took to Twitter to accuse unnamed U.S. officials of smearing China over what they said about Xinjiang, while sharing on Twitter an article from The Grayzone. She added that their remarks were the lie of the century. The report warned that some fringe media organizations are vulnerable to manipulation. This includes manipulation by state-owned media outlets in authoritarian countries, which find their content useful for creating the perception that there are independent assessments that favours their interests. YouTube The ASPI report also found that Xinjiang authorities outsourced its disinformation campaign to a company called Changyu Culture, which began uploading videos to its YouTube channel in September 2020. The company was found to be affiliated with the CCPs United Front Work Department (UFWD). UFWD is an executive CCP agency behind Beijings united front efforts to persuade organizations or individuals to spread the partys propaganda both inside and outside China. In October 2020, the U.S. State Department designated the Washington-based National Association for Chinas Peaceful Unification, which is controlled by the UFWD, as a foreign mission for its malign influence in the United States. Many of Changyu Cultures YouTube videos depicted positive biographies of Uyghurs supposedly attending Xinjiangs vocational centers, according to the report. The report found that Chinas state-run media China.org.cn and the China Daily were found to have shared Changyus videos on their websites and Facebook pages. The CCPs diplomatic and state media messaging is linked to the partys objective of improving its so-called discourse power, the report concluded, in order to both gain traction with audiences in the West, and to distract and distort investigations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang by international civil society. Discourse power is a concept that a country can enhance its geopolitical influence by voicing its concepts and ideas, and ultimately holding the power to dictate the rules and systems that form the basis of world order. San Marcos police shot and killed a man after he allegedly tried to attack officers with a knife early Saturday morning, officials said. Police were called to Interstate 35 in San Marcos, near mile marker 204, just after midnight for a man who was walking in traffic on the highway. When the two officers arrived, they saw the man walking along the retaining wall before crossing into traffic. The officers tried detain the the man for the safety of himself and motorists, but they discovered he was holding a knife or similar object and was "aggressively moving towards officers," San Marcos police said in a press release. As police tried to de-escalate the situation, the man turned and ran back into traffic, nearly causing a crash with an 18-wheeler that was driving by. Officials said that as officers tried to detain the man a second time, he charged at them with the weapon held above his head "in a manner similar to a striking or slashing motion." The two officers shot the man and immediately began to administer life-saving measures. Officials did not say how many shots were fired. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are still trying to identify the man. The Texas Rangers Division of the Department of Public Safety, San Marcos Criminal Investigation Division and the SMPD Internal Affairs Unit are all investigating the incident. The two officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave per department policy. taylor.pettaway@experss-news.net New Delhi: Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra was on Monday appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner, the Law Ministry said. According to a notification issued by the Legislative Department of the ministry, Chandra will assume charge on April 13. Incumbent Sunil Arora demitted office on Monday. "In pursuance of clause (2) of Article 324 of the Constitution, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Sushil Chandra as the Chief Election Commissioner with effect from the 13th April, 2021," the notification read. Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He would demit office on May 14, 2022. Under him, the Election Commission (EC) would hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year. The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 14 next year. New assemblies have to be constituted before their five year term ends. Chandra was the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes before he joined the EC. Followng the retirement of Arora, the three-member poll body as of now has a vacancy. While Chandra will be the new CEC from Tuesday, Rajiv Kumar is the other election commissioner. Chandra, an IIT graduate, is a 1980-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre). Since Chandra has expertise in taxation and investigation, he has helped the poll panel in election expenditure by political parties and candidates, a senior EC official said. Before Chandra, T S Krishnamurthy was the other IRS officer to be appointed as election commissioner. He went on to become the chief election commissioner in 2004. Chandra completed his B.Tech from Roorkee University and LLB from Dehradun and joined IRS in 1980. He has served in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat and Mumbai and has worked in the areas of international taxation and investigation at various places. He was commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) International Taxation at Delhi. Before being appointed chairman of CBDT, he was member (Investigation) in the Board. Besides the last Lok Sabha polls, Chandra also was part of preparations in holding assembly elections in Delhi, Haryana and a few other states. He is also an ex-officio member of the Delimitation Commission tasked to redraw the assembly constituencies of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has provision for a legislature. At present it is under central rule. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 21:16:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- As China is testing the water before launching central bank digital currency, the country's southern tech hub Shenzhen has taken a further step by conducting another trial run and enlarging its test population by 500,000. The trial, from April 10 to April 23, aims to cultivate user habits as China is set to use the technology to benefit more people in the long term. China began piloting its digital currency in select regions across the country at the end of 2019. The digital yuan will be positioned as legal tender, designed to be treated as M0, meaning cash in circulation such as coins and banknotes. It will be issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, to designated commercial banks which will then distribute the currency to the public. The rapid development of mobile payment requires the government to provide stable and secure retail payment infrastructure. The trials reflect the central bank's prudence in advancing the digital currency to ensure domestic financial stability. The digital yuan has its uses in the digital era. It will help advance financial inclusion in China, bringing tangible benefits to the Chinese people and the economy. Unlike non-bank payment platforms that require users to link their bank accounts, a digital wallet can be opened with more personal identification options such as a driver's license or a mobile phone number. That means China's unbanked population and foreign visitors will be included to benefit from the new currency. The digital yuan can also increase the efficiency of financial operations and lower the costs of financial transactions. It can be transferred freely among commercial bank accounts and non-bank payment platforms, breaking barriers in the industry. Moreover, the digital currency will ensure that user privacy will be protected from infringement. During a summit at the China Development Forum 2021, Mu Changchun, head of the central bank's digital currency research institute, said China's digital currency has the highest level of privacy protection among existing payment tools. China is not the only country planning to launch a digital currency. Japan has started experimenting with a digital currency, while Thailand has unveiled a timeline for the testing of its own retail digital currency. It's worth mentioning that, despite the positive feedback China's recent pilot programs on digital currency have received, it still takes time for the digital yuan to be issued officially, and even longer to be used on a large scale. Enditem No Time to Die is an upcoming spy film and the 25th installment from the James Bond movies franchise. Just like the last four films of the series, actor Daniel Craig is all set to essay the role of MI6 agent James Bond in his fifth outing of the fictional film franchise. Helmed by Cray Joji Fukunaga, the movie is all set to hit the silver screen in the month of September, this year. No Time to Die will bring some new as well as familiar face onscreen. It is highly anticipated that the upcoming film will give viewers a glimpse at the entire backstory of Daniel Craigs childhood and past life in connection with all his previous films titled, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre. How will No Time to Die be connected with previous James Bond movies? In the film Skyfall, Daniel Craig aka James Bond is shown to have a lavish childhood. The movie featured how his parents left him a massive wealth to inherit after their demise. On the contrary, in Spectre, the main antagonist of the film shows brotherly love towards his claiming that they grew up together. This inclination made fans believe that James Bond could have been adopted later in his life. Now, in the upcoming movie, James is all set to face another villain from his past. Soon after the official synopsis was released, rumours became riff, that the fifth film will give an intimate glimpse of Bonds childhood. However, this has neither been confirmed nor denied by the makers of the movie so far. No Time To Die is a sequel to the 2015 Bond film Spectre, which ended with Bond running away with Dr Madeleine Swann. However, their trials havent been over yet as the official synopsis of No Time To Die reads, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. (Promo Image Source: Still from No Time to Die trailer) 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. A mother of a toddler with Down syndrome admitted that she 'cried happy tears' when her daughter was gifted a special doll that looked just like her. Toddler Olive Mohlman, from O'Fallon, Illinois, was surprised on her second birthday with a doll that was specially designed by her mother Kimberly, 39, to look like her. The doll has a short brown bob with a fringe, resembling Olive's own hairstyle, and wore a baby blue leotard while she was designed to look just like Olive in every way. In an adorable home video, taken by Kimberley on March 5, Olive is seen excitedly unwrapping her personalized doll and examining her new toy. Toddler Olive Mohlman (pictured), who has Down syndrome, was surprised on her second birthday with a doll that was specially designed by her mother Kimberly, 39, to look like her Doting mother Kimberly (pictured with Olive) admitted that she 'cried happy tears' when she saw Olive lay eyes on the doll for the first time The sweet tot pulls the doll out of the box and puts it into a standing position with her help of her father before closely looking at the face of the doll. Olive lets out a giant 'ooooo' as she looks in amazement and shock at her new toy, before holding her doll in a tight embrace, patting her on the back and giving the doll kisses on the cheeks. Doting mother Kimberly admitted that she 'cried happy tears' when she saw Olive lay eyes on the doll for the first time. Speaking of the beautiful moment, Kimberly said: 'I was such a proud mom seeing her reaction - you could tell she loved it so much. 'Her little surprised reaction was so cute then I cried happy tears and my heart just burst with joy when I saw her do the back pats. 'The response has been beyond supportive and overwhelming - everyone loves her so much. Sweet video footage shows Olive (pictured with mother Kimberly and family) lay eyes on the doll for the first time on her birthday, when she adorably kisses the new toy The doll has a short brown bob with a fringe, resembling Olive's own hairstyle, and wore a baby blue leotard while she was designed to look just like Olive in every way Kimberly said that since Olive (pictured) was born she's brought nothing but joy to her family's life, calling the toddler their 'fighter baby' 'We obviously think the world of her and are so obsessed. 'I started TikTok to show her journey and to spread some positive and funny things, since the world is a bit crazy. 'I think it's the perfect video because it makes people smile and cry tears of joy - we need more of that during these stressful times.' The footage has since racked up more than seven million views on social media, where Kimberly frequently posts footage of Olive's day-to-day life. Kimberly uses the channel, which has more than 65,000 followers, to share Olive's joy with the world, and hopes to encourage others who might have children with Down syndrome. Kimberly revealed that when she was 11-weeks pregnant, doctors gave the family a 95 per cent chance that Olive would have Down syndrome. She added that since Olive was born she's brought nothing but joy to her family's life, calling the toddler their 'fighter baby'. The deal is Microsofts biggest takeover since its 2015 acquisition of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. Nuance provides the A.I. layer at the health care point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise A.I., Satya Nadella, Microsofts chief executive, said in a statement. When Microsoft buys a company, its executives typically believe they can do more with the technology than the company it is buying can, a model that fits the Nuance deal, said Brad Reback, an analyst at the investment bank Stifel. That Nuance has proved itself in health care, with its technical and complex vocabulary, means Microsoft could introduce other types of businesses. Being able to solve that problem makes it that much easier to handle other industries terminology, Mr. Reback said. Nuances tools are also used mostly in the United States, so selling to a global powerhouse like Microsoft will let the company much more quickly sell internationally. We saw the opportunity to superscale how we change an industry, Mark Benjamin, Nuances chief executive, said in an interview. Microsofts profitable business means it has money to spend. It ended 2020 with $132 billion in cash and has been looking for big deals to put that money to use. It announced a deal in September to spend $7.5 billion on ZeniMax Media, the parent company of gaming studios that make major titles like Doom and Quake. HAMBURG Zach Hartman, the son of the organizer of the eighth annual spring Inner Peace Holistic Expo at the Hamburg Field House, tried to describe his mother. He had to stop when he realized that calling her the one in the tie-dye wouldnt do anything to narrow it down. Having physical ailments myself, I started looking for alternative therapies myself, said Nancy Hartman, also the owner of Inner Peace and Wellness Center in Shoemakersville. My purpose for having the expo is to let people know what is available to them in alternative therapies and living a healthy lifestyle. The first day of the expo Saturday was like a spiritualist Comic-Con. The air smelled like incense and stale popcorn. Mediums read palms, tarot cards and tea leaves to tell the future. Every manner of alternative medicine from reiki (a Japanese form of spiritual healing involving placing hands on the patient) to healing crystals was displayed. None of these holistic methods have been proven to work by modern science instead, they are based in religious and spiritual traditions. Scientists say that most of these treatments seem to work because of the placebo effect. They work because their users believe it works, and the field house was filled with hundreds of believers. I know that it does work, Donna Romyn, a certified crystal healer for Inner Peace and Wellness Center, said. Cleopatra and a whole other people, they used this. Theres something to this. Why did they use this if there wasnt something to this? When Romyn was a teenager, she became interested in the healing properties of certain gemstones and the energies, the vibrations that they carry. Consulting a well-worn copy of The Crystal Bible, Romyn claims that crystals can treat back pain, migraines and other ailments. Fluorite, a hard-to-get purple crystal from Australia, shields the aura and absorbs negativity. Obsidian, a pitch-black stone, is responsible for third eye expansion. An obsidian carving of Baby Yoda was available for sale at the expo. By introducing a crystals energetic vibration into your own energy field, Romyn said, reading from a brochure, your energy body will go through the process of entrainment where your energy body will begin to mimic the perfect stability of the crystals energy frequency. Such language was par for the course at the expo, which was also held Sunday. There were books with titles like Enlightenment Through Orbs, Ancient Alien Ancestors and Overlords of Atlantis and the Great Pyramid. One book, called Optimum Child, purportedly explains how parents can help their children develop their fullest potential by experiencing the planetary energies. Carolyn Krick, of Reading, was looking through a book about astrology and past lives. This is her first time at the expo her friend, Jeanine McFaul, asked her to come. Its authentic, cultural art with crystals, said McFaul, of Wernersville, about the Expo. Its a spiritual awakening to a higher power. Also for sale were CDs (Music for brainwave massages next to ABBA and Barry Manilow), knickknacks and T-shirts of unicorns, fairies and other magical creatures (Home is where my dragon is.) Lecture topics on Saturday included Bringing out your inner goddess and Hypnosis with Brenda Rhodes. Rhodes, of Slatington, has worked with hypnosis for 24 years. She wanted to give birth without epidurals so she had her midwife make a cassette tape that would hypnotize her. Its not the kind of hypnosis that you see in the movies and in magic shows. It feels like when youre waking up or going to sleep, or when youre very relaxed and youre watching TV, Rhodes said. Her booth was sandwiched between one selling magical snow globes and one selling the original crystal-infused aroma myst (sic). On Easter Sunday, a woman in Georgia gave birth while listening to Rhodes hypnotic audio. (Hypnotism awakens) the inner light, the spirit within us, so they can tap into their all-knowing, Rhodes said. [April 12, 2021] FPT Sets to Boost Digital Transformation Revenue by 50% in 2021 Vietnam's leading tech firm FPT has set digital transformation revenue from overseas markets to hit $209 million in 2021, a whopping increase of 50% on year. The target was announced at FPT's annual share holders' meeting 2021, hosted virtually on Thursday. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005448/en/ FPT's virtual annual share holders' meeting 2021 (Photo: Business Wire) Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, FPT remains optimistic about its outlook. In 2021, the company hopes to lead Vietnam's digital transformation with a "data-driven and customer-centric" strategy, its annual report reads. The key drivers would be Cloud, RPA, and Low-code services, which are set to grow by 50%, 150% and 150% in revenue, respectively. Over the next three years, FPT looks to become a "trusted partner" of businesses, committing itselfto deliver excellent digital experiences for management and operation through near real-time data platforms. To achieve this goal, the company has reinforced its framework for digital transformation, FPT Digital Kaizen, encompassing three pillars: Business, Technology, and People. FPT also developed an ecosystem of 77 digital products and solutions, as well as expanded its global network of development centers to Canada, the Middle East, India, and Costa Rica in 2020. The optimism is also bolstered by a strong business performance in 2020. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, FPT posted $1.3 billion in revenue in 2020, up 7.6% on year. We also reported positive growth in all foreign markets, including Japan (+9%), the U.S (+8%), Asia-Pacific (28%) and Europe (1%). Revenue from digital transformation services increased 31 percent from last year, driven by customers' growing demands for Cloud, Internet of Things, and Low-Code. "In 2020, FPT has made every effort to turn threats into opportunities and be able to uphold our position as the most valuable technology brand in Vietnam. By continuing taking on the strategy of "customer focus at heart" and having the trait of "Think different - Do different", FPT indeed has what it takes to accomplish all targets set for 2021", Binh said. Digital transformation has been FPT's focus since 2019, following decades of leading Southeast Asia in IT services. Earlier this year, the company has set up an arm dedicated to consulting services, FPT Digital. FPT sets to become the world's Top 50 provider of digital transformation services by 2030. About FPT Corporation FPT Corporation is a global leading technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam, with nearly US$1.3 billion in revenue and 30,000 employees. As a pioneer in digital transformation, FPT delivers world-class services in Smart factory, Digital platforms, RPA, AI, IoT, Enterprise Mobility, Cloud, AR/VR, Business Applications, Application Services, BPO, and so on. The company has served over 700+ customers worldwide, a hundred of which are Fortune Global 500 companies in the industries of Aerospace & Aviation, Automotive, Banking and Finance, Logistics & Transportation, Utilities and more. For more information, please visit www.fpt-software.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005448/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] OTTAWA Canadian household spending will eclipse earnings in the coming months as vaccinations increase and uncertainty from the pandemic recedes, the Bank of Canada said in a report released Monday. The central bank says the gap between spending and wage expectations has never been so wide in its quarterly survey of consumer expectations. Officials at the bank suggest that gap is likely the result of households intending to spend some of the billions in savings built up during the pandemic, either because they cancelled purchases or had no place to spend the money due to restrictions on travel and dining out. As the survey says, respondents anticipated spending more than one-third of extra savings from the pandemic over the next two years, and one-tenth to pay down debt. The survey released Monday morning says consumers expect their spending patterns to return to normal in about one year, with post-vaccination increases on a wide range of goods, especially travel and social activities. Overall, 75 per cent of respondents said they planned to get vaccinated, a further five per cent said they already had a first dose, and the remaining 20 per cent either were unsure or didn't plan to get vaccinated. The arrival of vaccines appears to have led to growing optimism, as more respondents expected a return to pre-pandemic life than in previous surveys over the past year. Still, consumers expect the economic recovery from COVID-19 to be slow and the threat of the virus to diminish no earlier than in the second half of the year. Workers said they didn't expect a return to a normal work schedule for another eight months, which is three months later than responses from the last iteration of the survey in the fourth quarter of 2020. There was a split, though, in how people viewed the coming months as women and lower-income households expect a slower recovery than men and households with higher income, which the bank said could reflect the uneven impact the pandemic has had in the economy. Story continues There was also a split in the outlook for businesses. Many high-contact services that remain the most affected by public health restrictions like tourism and pockets of the retail sector dont expect to see sales return to pre-pandemic levels in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, those selling goods most wanted by consumers working from or furnishing their homes construction services, appliance sellers and business service providers are all seeing stronger demand. Many plan to invest in productivity-boosting technology such as automating tasks or consumer-facing digital platforms to meet rising demand, or software and servers to tap into distant pools of remote workers. Overall, the bank says many firms see the impacts of the pandemic on their activities to be behind them, and many don't seem preoccupied with pandemic-related uncertainty. And that means they expect to raise prices faster than they have over the last 12 months owing to rising demand and a desire to rebuild margins. Over half of the approximately 100 firms surveyed by the bank between mid-February and early March roughly the same time period as the consumer survey expect inflation to be above the central bank's two-per-cent target over the next two years, pointing to strong consumer demand along with a promise of low interest rates from the central bank and up to $100 billion in stimulus from the federal government. For consumers, respondents in that survey told the bank they expect inflation to stay close to or just above the central bank's target. Consumers believe that inflation has hovered around two per cent over the last year, even as official measures point to far more muted price increases. Annual inflation in February hit 1.1 per cent, marking a pandemic-era high. Statistics Canada's consumer price index has been affected over the last 12 months as consumers spent more on items that don't weigh as much in the calculation, and less on things that weigh more in the index. In a numbers experiment aided by the Bank of Canada, the statistics office reported Monday that annual inflation would have been roughly four-tenths of a percentage point higher in each of the last six months when adjusting for changing spending habits. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2021. Jordan Press, The Canadian Press GORDON Two resolutions connected to an updated floodplain ordinance were adopted by the borough council at its April 5 meeting. The ordinance was adopted in March and includes changes made by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been updating the floodplain maps throughout the country. Following an informational meeting to inform residents about the changes, council President Todd Houser introduced resolutions regarding regulating construction or development in the floodplain, which in the floodplain ordinance which requires a permit from the borough; and another that allows the borough to establish fees for any appeal any action or decision of the floodplain administrator. Borough solicitor Christopher Riedlinger said the first resolution requires that, before a permit is issued, the floodplain manager, who is Operations Manager George Troutman, would compile a cost estimate to reimburse the borough for all anticipated fees. The applicant will be provided with the cost estimate, which will in turn be paid to the borough and placed in a non-interest-bearing escrow account until construction or development is completed. If the fees are less than the estimate, the difference will be reimbursed. If higher, the applicant will pay the difference. All fees must be paid before the issuance of any occupancy permit under the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act/Uniform Construction Code. The resolution drafted by Riedlinger had the non-refundable application fee at $250, although he said it could be changed. My personal opinion is, that it is very high for a permit fee, Houser said. Every time you have to do something to your house, like put a roof on or siding on, you will need to get a permit. I dont burden them more (for) being in the flood zone. After a short discussion among council members, Houser asked to set the fee at $25, to which the council agreed unanimously. In a case where there are additional costs, such as for engineering fees, an escrow account would be established. Riedlinger said if someone decides to appeal a decision by the floodplain administrator or apply for a variance following the denial of a permit application, the filing fee is set at $750 payable to the borough. A hearing would be held before council. If there is a need for additional hearings, there is a $500 for each. The second resolution was adopted unanimously. FEMA says that once it provides flood hazard information upon which floodplain management regulations are based, a community is required to adopt a floodplain management ordinance that meets or exceeds the minimum National Flood Insurance Program requirements. On April 6, Germanys Ministry of Defence gave the starting signal for voluntary military service in homeland security. Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (Christian Democratic Union, CDU), the State Secretary in the Defence Ministry Peter Tauber and the Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) Markus Laubenthal presented the project at a press conference. It initially provides for a three-month basic military training followed by four months of special training for a total of about 1,000 soldiers. This would be followed by a six-year basic assignment as Bundeswehr reserve service members, during which at least five months of service would be performed. The new military service, which is to be gradually expanded, is part of a comprehensive militarisation offensive aimed at transforming Germany into a powerful military power again after two lost world wars in the 20th century. It serves two primary goals: the massive deployment of the Bundeswehr at home and the mobilisation of additional troops for new war missions. Publicity propaganda poster for homeland security There is a military need for this service, Tauber told the assembled press representatives. The Bundeswehr has a military need for a new supplementary reserve structure, just as the Bundeswehr needs the reserve in general. We are currently experiencing this not only in administrative assistance but also in foreign missions. In the contingents ... up to 10 percent of the soldiers are reservists. This shows the importance that the reserve already has and will have in the future. The homeland security units, which are now growing again, have a clear military mission as security forces. Tauber spoke openly of the fact that with the new service, the comprehensive rearmament and war plans of the grand coalitionChristian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) will be put into practice. The Voluntary Military Service in Homeland SecurityYour Year for Germanyis, if you will, a logical derivation from the Reserve Strategy, which is, after all, one of the founding documents alongside the concept of the Bundeswehr and the Capability Profile, he explained. This is unequivocal. The Concept of the Bundeswehr, issued at the end of July 2018, is a blueprint for Germanys preparation for very large military operations and a possible third world war. The concept focuses on mission orientation and preparing the Bundeswehr for new challenges, risks and threats across the entire spectrum of tasks and intensities, as it says at one point in the document. For national and alliance defence, the Bundeswehr must be able to be deployed in all dimensions with a short lead time, with comprehensive capabilities up to combat-ready, large-scale units within and also on the periphery of the alliance area. The Capability Profile is an internal document with a concrete plan for the massive upgrading of all branches of the Bundeswehr in the coming years. By 2031, the German army, air force and navy are to be systematically made ready for war. Since the government officially announced the return of German militarism at the Munich Security Conference in 2014, the Ministry of Defence has been working intensively under the slogan, return to national and alliance defence to reverse the reduction of the armed forces since German reunification and the dissolution of the Soviet Union 30 years ago. At the same time, the offensive orientation of the Bundeswehr toward global war missions since then is to be maintained and further expanded. The reserve strategy published in October 2019, which will be implemented with the new military service, is designed to train the necessary soldiers for the planned war offensive. It speaks of a renaissance of classical power politics, which also envisages the use of conventional military means in pursuit of national goals and derives from this the need for a comprehensive militarisation of the whole of society. Reservists would have to strengthen the capabilities of the active force in the entire operational and mission spectrum of the Bundeswehr at home and abroad, it says, and act as agents and multipliers for the Bundeswehr in society, independent of orders and reservist service. The new military service means these plans are now being implemented at an accelerated pace. With the establishment of five homeland security regiments, we will further strengthen homeland security structurally by 2025. As a group, the homeland security regiments will form the core of the Territorial Reserve and lead the Regional Security and Support Companies, reads the daily order of the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Eberhard Zorn. Especially given the hybrid scenarios of national and alliance defence, we need strong homeland security forces to protect infrastructure that is important for defence. Also, the units are to be increasingly deployed domestically within the framework of administrative assistance, in the event of natural disasters, in the event of particularly serious accidents or, as is currently the case, in the context of the pandemic. The deployment of the units is a warning in two respects. Externally, the imperialist powers are escalating the confrontation with Russia and China, which conjures up the danger of a nuclear war with deadly consequences for humanity. German imperialism is playing an increasingly aggressive role in this. Only a few days ago, in an interview that is now prominently emblazoned on the defence ministrys website, Kramp-Karrenbauer announced a further increase in defence spending and made threats against Moscow and Beijing. Domestically, the ruling class has already used the military as an instrument of oppression in the Imperial Empire, the Weimar Republic and under the Nazis. Now it is once again preparing to crush social protests and revolutionary developments. It is responding to the deepest crisis of capitalism since the 1930s, which has been further exacerbated by the dramatic health, social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The largest deployment of the Bundeswehr in German post-war history is currently underway under the guise of providing administrative assistance in the pandemic. Last April, the Coronavirus Contingent was formed, with a strength of about 15,000 soldiers. Since the last increase on March 3, the federal and state governments have had as many as 25,000 soldiers at their disposal. Only a fraction of them provide direct medical aid. Many thousands are officially deployed under the category of security/protection and thus ultimately assigned to the police-military control of the population and defence of the capitalist state and its institutions. As in the past, the ruling class rests on extreme right-wing forces in its militarisation offensive. In an earlier article, the WSWS has already described the voluntary military service in homeland security as an invitation to neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists to receive military training from the state in return for payment. Even the term homeland security is a code word among right-wing terrorists and neo-Nazis. For example, the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU), which murdered at least nine immigrants between 2000 and 2007, was recruited from the so-called Thuringian Homeland Security. At the press conference, Kramp-Karrenbauer said that the name Heimatschutz had been a very conscious political decision. It had been a mistake to simply leave the term Heimat to the right-wingers in this country, who also misuse it. It was time to bring this term back into the democratic centre and reclaim it, she added cynically. The Bundeswehr has nothing whatsoever to do with democracy. With the uncovering of far-right terrorist structures in the Special Forces and other units, it is a clear centre of the fascist conspiracy in the state apparatus. HOUSTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR (NYSE: KBR) is expanding its presence in the UK naval defense sector with a new five year $470m contract to bring transformational change to the delivery of infrastructure services at HM Naval Base Portsmouth. KBR, working in a joint venture with BAE Systems, under the name KBS Maritime, will deliver ambitious, modern and enduring change to the Portsmouth base, securing investment in the local community and ensuring fit-for-purpose, world-leading support for the Royal Navy over the next five years. As part of the UK Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Future Maritime Support Programme (FMSP) covering the management of naval bases in Portsmouth, Clyde and Devonport the newly formed JV will provide technology-led and data-driven facilities management and dockside services at the base. "This successful award is testament to the innovative proposition by two world-leading organizations that have a proud history of supporting UK defense," said Stuart Bradie, KBR President and CEO. "The strength of this partnership aligns with our ambitions to expand our digital capabilities into the defense sector at all levels, with a focus on efficiency and sustainability to both the MOD and the public." KBR continues to expand its naval base support and wider breadth of capabilities into the UK MOD. In February, it announced a key contract to support delivery of a major naval infrastructure program at HM Clyde Naval Base in Scotland. KBR will support the delivery of Management Services, helping extend the design life of key facilities and maintain operations. About KBR We deliver science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. KBR employs approximately 29,000 people worldwide with customers in more than 80 countries and operations in 40 countries. KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long-term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver. Visit www.kbr.com Forward Looking Statement The statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding future financial performance, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the significant adverse impacts on economic and market conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic; the company's ability to respond to the challenges and business disruption presented by the COVID-19 pandemic; the recent dislocation of the global energy market; the company's ability to realize cost savings and efficiencies relating to the streamlining of its Energy Solutions business; the company's ability to manage its liquidity; the company's ability to continue to generate anticipated levels of revenue, profits and cash flow from operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and any resulting economic downturn; the outcome of and the publicity surrounding audits and investigations by domestic and foreign government agencies and legislative bodies; potential adverse proceedings by such agencies and potential adverse results and consequences from such proceedings; the scope and enforceability of the company's indemnities from its former parent; changes in capital spending by the company's customers, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the company's ability to obtain contracts from existing and new customers and perform under those contracts; structural changes in the industries in which the company operates; escalating costs associated with and the performance of fixed-fee projects and the company's ability to control its cost under its contracts; claims negotiations and contract disputes with the company's customers; changes in the demand for or price of oil and/or natural gas; protection of intellectual property rights; compliance with environmental laws; changes in government regulations and regulatory requirements; compliance with laws related to income taxes; unsettled political conditions, war and the effects of terrorism; foreign operations and foreign exchange rates and controls; the development and installation of financial systems; increased competition for employees; the ability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions; and operations of joint ventures, including joint ventures that are not controlled by the company. KBR's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Form 10-Qs and 8-Ks, and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss some of the important risk factors that KBR has identified that may affect the business, results of operations and financial condition. Except as required by law, KBR undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. SOURCE KBR, Inc. Related Links http://www.kbr.com A year after Managed Isolation and Quarantine was established, 86 per cent of workers there have been vaccinated, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says, while also signalling a state memorial service for Prince Philip. Speaking after the weekly Cabinet meeting this afternoon, Ardern says employers of MIQ workers had until the end of the month to redeploy frontline workers who had refused a vaccine to another role. Watch the briefing here: With the marking of one year since the establishment of MIQ facilities in New Zealand last Friday, Ardern thanked all those who worked there. She says the strategy has been to ensure that all MIQ workers had a chance to be offered the vaccine before deploying them elsewhere if they did not. On Tuesday last week as well as 31 March, she said, employers were asked to provide up to date information about the vaccination status of their workers. Workers on the front line are expected to be vaccinated by the end of April. "The bar is very high, there is essentially no reason that we consider acceptable [to not be vaccinated and remain working in MIQ], because it is a facility where individuals are at risk, we feel an obligation to make sure they are looked after." Guidance was issued on Wednesday last week for workers who remained unable or unwilling to be vaccinated. "On March 23, efforts were stepped up requiring employers to have individual conversations with their workers, to record and identify their vaccination status, and provide support for those not yet vaccinated." "By the end of April, those not yet vaccinated will not be permitted to work in high-risk workplaces and will be moved to other roles." She says 3472 of the total 4010 MIQ workers had been vaccinated, leaving 538 unvaccinated. "Our position has always been that from a certain date those who are not vaccinated will need to move from the frontline. That date was previously set as the April 12 through April 30." The vaccination campaign was the "biggest and most ambitious" in the country's history, she says. In tier one of the vaccination campaign, there are about 20,000 border workers and MIQ workers, plus their household contacts. "In most cases it's upwards of 80 per cent [vaccinated]," Ardern says. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says the figure for those included in tier one also may include contract workers or others involved in the border who did, for example, a couple of shifts at an MIQ facility or crewed an international flight but no longer did that work. Covid-19 testing register to become mandatory for MIQ employers - Hipkins Hipkins says MIQ employers will also soon be required to use a register supplying up-to-date information on employees' routine Covid-19 tests. He says some employers had been using the register - with about 12,000 active border workers already on it - and others had been keeping their own records, but the order giving legal effect to making use of the register mandatory would come into effect soon. "It is predominantly a data issue rather than an issue of people being tested," he says. "We'll be able to have all of that information in a format that's easier to report... we've just gone through the process of getting the order in place. I haven't yet signed the order, I'm expecting that final order to come in the next 24 hours or so, then it will be signed and that notification will go out. Ardern says there was also already a legal requirement on those employers to ensure their employees were tested. Yesterday, a third worker at the Grand Millennium managed isolation facility in Auckland tested positive for Covid-19. Dr Ashley Bloomfield this afternoon confirmed the worker had not been vaccinated, and says genomic testing showed a very clear and close link between all three cases. The second Grand Millennium worker, a security guard, was also not vaccinated. Hipkins says he had no further information on why the security guard missed several appointments to be vaccinated. "The second person [case of MIQ worker who was infected] my understanding is they had one appointment which they missed and that their second appointment which had been booked for them they were already isolating as a close contact." At the 1pm media briefing, he says unvaccinated MIQ workers may still be working on the frontline for the next three weeks. He says unvaccinated workers had until the end of April to take up the offer of a vaccination or be redeployed. Last week, Ardern announced conditions for quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand which will start from next Monday. She also suspended travel from India for two weeks from 11 April to 28 April, the first time New Zealand has stopped citizens or residents from returning. State memorial service for Prince Philip Ardern this afternoon acknowledged the passing of Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip once again, and the variety of links he had to New Zealand. She says a state memorial service for the Prince would take place in Wellington at 3pm on Wednesday, 21 April. The date coincides with the Queen's actual birth date. Ardern says they had to consider not wanting to prolong the service for too long after the official funeral. "We're also having to juggle investitures here in New Zealand, so there were some challenges but that was the closest proximity to the funeral that we were able to hold that event." Tomorrow flags will fly at half-mast and the House will sit with party leaders expected to acknowledge the prince in speeches. Prince Philip was known for making controversial, sometimes racially charged, statements that reflected a colonial attitude. However, Ardern says he spent his life in service. "Through our history we will have challenging elements, the foundation of our history as a nation, but now also offers an opportunity for us to acknowledge the contribution of someone who ultimately - no matter anyone's opinion ... gave his entire life to the service of others." She says politicians often came into public service knowing it would be for a period of time, but not the majority of their working life, "but for Prince Philip it was and he knew that and I think there's something very significant about that". Misuse of Drugs Act overhaul A host of health and social organisations - including the Medical Association, Public Health Association and Mental Health Foundation - have published an open letter, asking for drug use to be treated as a health issue, not a criminal one. Ardern says she acknowledged the point being raised by the organisations, but police were now obliged to take a health-based approach unless it was not in the public interest. She says as a result, there has been a real decline in those cases going to court with about 40 per cent before for certain drugs, 20 per cent for cannabis. "What I'd like to do know is to dig into that into more detail. Is it achieving the goal we set, which was a health-based approach, or are we seeing a bit more of a subjective approach being taken, and that's a conversation I'd like to have with some of those organisations (which wrote the letter)." She says it would be helpful if Parliament took a bipartisan approach to this issue. "I really would challenge for instance the National Party to consider their position on this issue because they criticised us when we did that. I would like to see whether or not parliament can reach some consensus on these issues." RNZ. According to information released by the MaxDefense Philippines Facebook account, on April 6, 2021, the Philippine Navy has released Frigate Lot 3A - Torpedoes and Countermeasures Acquisition Project for the Jose Rizal-class frigates. According to information released by the MaxDefense Philippines Facebook account, on April 6, 2021, the Philippine Navy has released Frigate Lot 3A - Torpedoes and Countermeasures Acquisition Project for the Jose Rizal-class frigates. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link BRP Antonio Luna Guided-missile Frigate of Philippine Navy. (Picture source Philippine Navy) The Frigate Lot 3 Acquisition Project was divided into 3 sub-lots including Lot 3A for Torpedoes, Lot 3B for Chaffs, and Lot 3C for Acoustic Decoys. The Torpedoes will be acquired for the Jose Rizal-class frigates which are now in service with the Philippine Navy. The BRP Jose Rizal FF-150 the lead ship of this class was commissioned in July 2020 and the second Rizal-class ship, the BRP Antonio Luna was commissioned in March 2021. The ships were built by the South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries based on the Incheon-class frigate but designed with specific requirements of the Philippine Navy. The Jose Rizal-class is armed with one OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid naval gun, one ASELSAN SMASH 30 mm gun, four S&T Motiv K6 .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns, one Close-in weapon system (FFBNW), four LIGNex1 SSM-700K C-Star anti-ship missile on twin canisters, two MBDA Mistral Simbad-RC twin launchers, 8-cell Vertical Launching System (FFBNW) and two SEA triple torpedo tubes. Citing MaxDefense Philippines Facebook account, previously we reported that the LIGNex1's K745 Blue Shark lightweight anti-submarine torpedoes are expected to be acquired under this project, that is already in service in service with the Philippine Navy, and was the selected torpedo model during the design phase of the Jose Rizal-class frigates. The K745 Blue Shark torpedo is a light anti-submarine torpedo developed by the South Korean company LIG Nex1 for the Republic of Korea Navy. The torpedo has an operational range of 19 km at a maximum speed of 45 knots (83 km/h). She is fitted with an acoustic guidance system. K745 Chung Sang Eo (Blue Shark) torpedo. (Source Wkipedia KIZILSUNGUR) Our Top 5 Magazines + Digital We get it. You live by the Ski Valleys snow report even when youre hours away. You follow every Taos post on Instagram. Our small town occupies a BIG part of your heart. Keep in touch with all things Taos when you subscribe to FIVE of our national award-winning magazines, plus access to the website and e-edition for a full year at the special low rate of just $55. An Arkansas resident who went to visit his girlfriend in Mexico has gone missing, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Federal authorities believed that Luis Davila, 31, may have been kidnapped. Aaron Jajuan Shelton (above), 22, of Birmingham, Alabama, was taken into custody by law enforcement officials in Carroll County, Georgia on Monday. His older brother, Pier Alexander Shelton, 28, also of Birmingham, was shot and killed by police at the scene early on Monday morning One suspect was killed, another was wounded, and three law enforcement officers were injured after an exchange of gunfire during a police chase in Georgia on Monday morning, authorities said. The incident began with a traffic stop on Interstate 20, but quickly escalated into a high-speed pursuit involving officers from at least four departments, as a passenger fired on chasing police cruisers. The chase was initiated by the Georgia State Patrol in Bremen and ended near Georgia 61 and Flat Rock Road, just south of Interstate 20, Carroll County sheriffs office investigator Ashley Hulsey said. A Georgia State Patrol trooper stationed near Villa Rica, about 50 miles west of Atlanta, noticed a Nissan sedan that was clocked at 111mph. Authorities have identified those inside the car as Aaron Jajuan Shelton, 22, of Birmingham, Alabama, and his older brother, Pier Alexander Shelton, 28, also of Birmingham. It is unclear which one was the alleged driver. The trooper pulled the Nissan over to the side of the road and approached the vehicle. But the car immediately sped off, sparking a pursuit. The trooper performed a 'pit maneuver' - a tactic used by law enforcement officers to get a speeding car to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle to stop. The pit maneuver was successful, but the driver managed to regain control of the car and the chase continued. At some point, a passenger leaned out and fired a shot into a police vehicle, hitting Carrollton Police Sgt. Rob Holloway, Carrollton Police Chief Joel Richards said. Law enforcement work the scene scene of a high speed chase and shootout in Carroll County, Georgia, some 50 miles west of Atlanta early on Monday morning Police officers stand at the scene just before dawn on Monday in Carroll County, Georgia Three law enforcement officers were wounded during a high speed chase early on Monday morning, according to authorities. One of the wounded officers, Rob Holloway (left), is a member of the Carrollton Police Department. Carroll County Sheriff's Deputy Jay Repetto (right) was also wounded Villa Rica Police Officer Chase Gordy was also wounded during the pursuit. Gordy was transferred to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment The officer lost control of his vehicle and hit a utility pole. Other officers stopped to help him. Holloway, was shot in the head and chest. His bulletproof vest stopped the bullet that hit his chest, but his head wound required him to undergo surgery. According to the Carrollton Police Department, Holloway will remain in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for at least the next few days. Officers from the Carrollton Police Department initiated their own pursuit of the vehicle as it sped toward Villa Rica, where the Villa Rica Police Department joined the chase. The suspect continued on at a high rate of speed and Villa Rica police officers pursued the car down a side road, Villa Rica Police Chief Michael Mansour said. The driver then crashed near an elementary school in Villa Rica and two men ran from the vehicle. As officers searched for the two men, shots were fired at them around 5am and 5:30am, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. Villa Rica Police officer Chase Gordy returned fire and was shot twice, the GBI said. Gordy, who was struck twice by the suspect, was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital. Carroll County Sheriff's Deputy Jay Repetto was also shot in the arm. He suffered a gunshot wound to the arm. He was flown to Atlanta Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. One suspect, Pier Alexander Shelton, was shot and killed by officers at the scene and the other, Aaron Jajuan Shelton, was taken into custody 'after a negotiation' and was being held in the Carroll County jail. Additional details werent immediately released. DailyMail.com has sought comment from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Investigators from the Carroll County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are seen above on Monday morning Carroll County sheriffs spokesperson Investigator Ashley Hulsey said the chase was initiated by the Georgia State Patrol in Bremen and ended near Georgia 61 and Flat Rock Road, just south of Interstate 20 (pictured in the above undated file photo) The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Police activity is blocking the area. Drivers will need to take Ga. 113 or Liberty Road to get around the closures. Photos showed multiple police vehicles blocking a road. 'It could have been a lot worse, and were thankful and we pray for the speedy recovery of those officers,' Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley said. 'In regards to the Officer involved incident this morning involving multiple agencies, the scene has been contained and there is no threat to the public at this time,' the Carroll County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on its Facebook page. 'More details will be released as we are coordinating with all involved agencies.' Marcus Kirkwood was riding his bike through St. Helena last month when he noticed a man take a photo of him from the sidewalk. Kirkwood at first wrote it off as poor timing. Maybe the man was taking a picture of a house across the street. Kirkwood turned his bike around and asked. The man told him he often took photos in St. Helena of things that he found suspicious. He meant Kirkwood. Kirkwood is a 36-year-old business owner who identifies as Black and biracial. He was only a stones throw from the home he owns on the affluent, mostly white west side of town. St. Helena is a tiny city of 6,100 residents and more than 400 vineyards tucked in the Napa Valley. Its 65% white and 31% Latino, with only 4% of the population Black, Asian or multiracial, according to U.S. census data. By many accounts, its also quite segregated. St. Helena has been slow to build new affordable housing. Karina OBriain of Napa Valley Community Housing told the Napa Valley Register in November that the city had built only 25 income-qualified rental units in the past two decades. And when St. Helena does build this housing, it happens in one area. In 2016, a group of residents wrote the city saying that 98 percent of St. Helenas low-income, affordable and multi-family rental units were on the east side of town, the Napa Valley Register reported. This keeps working-class Latino residents out of the citys posh west side, with its multimillion-dollar homes few can afford. This invisible border exists because people of color have rarely held positions of leadership in St. Helena. St. Helenas mayor, vice mayor and three City Council members are all white. Residents have elected just two people of Mexican descent to its City Council in the last 50 years Anthony Perez in 1988 and Catarina Sanchez in 2008. Rosaura Segura ran for a council seat in 2020. She was more than qualified. Her resume included time as a board trustee for Napa Valley College. She also led the Mexican American Vintners Association, where she worked to address farmworker housing problems. Voters ended up electing two white men in Lester Hardy and Eric Hall. Segura currently sits on the St. Helena Planning Commission, where she says a city official recently expressed surprise to her about how clean the ground was at an affordable housing community with a large number of Latino residents. She said she was disappointed by the comment, but not surprised. There needs to be a better understanding of our (Latino) community, Segura told me. And I know Im the Mexican in the chair and it looks good for me to be a representative. But the frustration I feel sometimes is good for me because ... I become more vocal. Segura and St. Helena school board member Julio Olguin who was appointed to his seat in 2018, not elected are currently the citys only high-ranking officials of Mexican descent. St. Helena has been at least 28% Hispanic or Latino since 2000, according to census data. St. Helenas connection with its Latino community should be better established. Theres gigantic blind spots when you have a certain type of thinking or experiences youre drawing from and it doesnt include those Latinx voices, or Black and brown voices, Kirkwood told me. Yet that community is so deeply engaged in our economy and makeup, not having those voices heard on the policy level, its deeply detrimental as a whole. St. Helena has a history of prioritizing its white, affluent majority. Its part of the citys pervasive anti-growth sentiment, which is the desire by many to keep new housing and new residents to a minimum. When the St. Helena Planning Commission voted in 2019 to embrace density or the creation of more housing in its General Plan, Hardy said the anti-growth sentiment has as much influence today as it did 30 years ago, according to the California Planning & Development Report, a news publication that covers planning and development issues throughout California. Last week, the St. Helena City Council published a 12-point mission statement on the Napa Valley Register website stating its top goal was (p)romoting a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion. No. 8 on the list was (p)reserving our historic, small-town, rural character. History has shown St. Helena cant do both. St. Helenas white voters must make it their priority to elect officials of color. It can start in November 2022 when two St. Helena council members reach the end of their terms. This wont erase the citys past, but it can make St. Helena feel more like home to the minorities living there now. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips appears Sundays. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips Philippines receives more Sinovac vaccines purchased from China Xinhua) 09:50, April 12, 2021 A staff member transports a cargo containing the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines in Manila, the Philippines on April 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali) The Philippines is ramping up its vaccination efforts as it continues combating a surge of COVID-19 infections fuelled by the more infectious coronavirus variants. MANILA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines on Sunday received the second batch of Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac vaccines purchased from China. The Philippine Airlines, which flew the vaccines to Manila, handed over the shipment to Carlito Galvez, the official in charge of the Philippines' vaccine procurement efforts. The Philippines is ramping up its vaccination efforts as it continues combating a surge of COVID-19 infections fuelled by the more infectious coronavirus variants. The government aims to inoculate up to 70 million Filipinos this year to achieve herd immunity, starting with health care workers and the elderly. Staff members are seen behind a cargo containing the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines in Manila, the Philippines on April 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali) With the arrival on Feb. 28 of the first batch of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines donated by China, the Philippines kicked off its vaccination campaign on March 1. The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Sunday 11,681 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing its total tally to 864,868. The COVID-19 related death toll rose to 14,945 including 201 more deaths newly recorded in the Southeast Asian country. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Bianji) Calhoon worried that white voters had been replaced, or outnumbered, by Black ones, writing: Shall the ballot remain as now adjusted, the whole country in the meantime taking the chances of the rapid increase of the blacks, and leaving, in the meantime, the whites as they now are in those localities where they are outnumbered? Calhoon would go on to become the president of the states constitutional convention that year, a convention called with the explicit intention of codifying white supremacy and suppressing the Black vote. States across the South would follow the Mississippi example, calling constitutional conventions of their own, until Jim Crow was the law of the South. The combination of Jim Crow voter suppression laws and the migration of millions of Black people out of the South during the Great Migration diluted the Black vote, distributing it across more states, and virtually guaranteed that white voters would not be outnumbered by Black ones in any state. The fear of Black domination dissipated. Indeed, as extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act was being debated in 1969, The New York Times made note of the fact that Attorney General John Mitchell, a proponent of a competing bill, was well aware that even if all the unregistered Black people in the South were registered, their voting power still couldnt overcome the present white conservative tide in the South. As The Times added, In fact, Mr. Mitchell is known to believe that Negro registration benefits the Republicans because it drives the Southern whites out of the Democratic Party. A reporter at the time asked an aide of a Republican representative, What has happened to the party of Lincoln? The aide responded, It has put on a Confederate uniform. But now, in addition to Black voters voting overwhelmingly Democratic, there is a wave of nonwhite immigrants who also lean Democratic. And tremendous energy is being exerted not only by white supremacists in the general population, but also Republican office holders, to attack immigrants, curtail immigration, disenfranchise Black and brown voters and assail abortion rights. One of the surest ways of preventing a Black person from voting is to prevent them from living. As The Times reported in 1970, Leander Perez, a man who had been a judge and prosecutor and led the last stand against integration in Louisianas Plaquemines Parish, once famously linked Black birth control to racial dominance, stating: The best way to hate a [expletive] is to hate him before hes born. Lt. Governor Visits Lourdes Vaccination Site By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - While visiting western Kentucky on Monday, Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman toured the vaccination site at Mercy Health Lourdes.Coleman toured several vaccination sites across western Kentucky to thank healthcare workers for their efforts and learn about any challenges they might be encountering.While visiting Mercy Health Lourdes, Coleman praised their vaccination process."What we're seeing here is exactly why Kentucky is one of the national leaders in our vaccination process. You see how effective and efficient it is." She continued, "To see the efficiency and the effectiveness that our medical community has been able to establish around this process is incredible."Coleman encouraged everyone who has already received a vaccine to discuss it with those that are hesitant."If you've gotten a vaccination, talk to your family and your friends. Encourage them to go and do it. Show them that you did it and that there's nothing to worry about," Coleman said.Mercy Health Lourdes vaccination clinic director Tennille Rushing told West Kentucky Star the event was well-timed.She said, "We are seeing more and more folks wanting to get their vaccination. They've seen their family members or colleagues come through, and they understand the value of it more and more. This is just another one of those encouraging tips."According to Rushing, the hospital has vaccinated approximately 12,000 people and tested over 100,000. President Joe Biden's rescue pup Major will be removed from the White House to undergo additional training after a second biting incident raised more questions about the dog's behavior. The White House argues the three-year-old German Shepherd is still adjusting to his new life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And, to help him, he'll have a few weeks of training in the Washington D.C. area. 'Major, the Bidens' younger dog, will undergo some additional training to help him adjust to life in the White House,' Michael LaRosa, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, told DailyMail.com. 'The off-site, private training will take place in the Washington, D.C. area, and it is expected to last a few weeks.' Major has bitten two staff at the White House since moving into his new residence. Last month he bit a Park Service employee - the National Park Service maintains the White House lawns - and, in February, he bit a security guard. In both incidents, the person was checked by the White House Medical Unit and there was no serious damage. White House officials defended Major as being 'surprised' and only nipping the person in question. The Bidens' rescue pup Major (left) will leave the White House to undergo additional training after a second biting incident; the Bidens' older dog Champ lays on the South Lawn at right Major, 3, is on a leash when spotted at the White House while the older Champ, 12, shuffles and moves slowly Major was sent to Delaware for additional training after the first biting incident to help him adjust to his new home. The 132-room White House sits on 18 acres in downtown Washington D.C. At his new residence, Major is constantly surrounded by aides and security officers. The pup, who the Bidens adopted in November 2018 from an animal shelter, has been on a leash when spotted at the White House in the past few weeks. While Major is leashed, the Bidens' older German Shepherd, Champ, roams freely. But Champ, who is 12, moves slowly and stiffly, often stopping to rest. He likes to lie on the South Lawn in the sunshine while Major runs around. The dogs are often seen on the South Lawn, to get air and use the facilities. Major is rambunctious during the outings, often pulling at the leash and dragging his handler across the lawn. President Biden gives Champ a pat; the Bidens adopted Major to be the older dog's companion a week after entering the White House in January Jill Biden is seen with the two dogs during the presidential campaign The first lady tweeted about her pets on Sunday for National Pet Day President Biden said they adopted Major on the advice from a vet, who said it would help keep the older dog more active. Jill Biden tweeted pics of her two dogs on Sunday for National Pet Day, writing 'Love these two!' Major is the first rescue dog to have lived in the White House, having moved in after Biden's inauguration in January. Flash Another 1,730 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,369,775, according to official figures released Sunday. The country also reported another seven coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,087. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. More than 32 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the official figures. From Monday, non-essential shops will reopen and pubs and restaurants will reopen outdoors as Britain moves to step two of the roadmap out of the COVID-19 lockdown. Meanwhile, hairdressers and barbers as well as gyms can reopen, along with zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers. British scientists have warned that the government is risking a third wave of COVID-19 by easing the lockdown too soon. The estimated coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, in England is unchanged at between 0.8 and one, according to the latest official data. However, the number is believed to be above one in some parts of the country, which means the outbreak could grow exponentially. 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 coronavirus vaccines. Dr. Lucy Ndegwa-McKenzie is the chair and co-founder of the women-only diaspora Sacco known as Kenya North America Diaspora Sacco (K-NADS). The Sacco draws membership from women in 23 countries in North America. I set up the K-NADS Sacco together with eight other women. We started from a social media platform for women with a basic question of what the 6,000 of us would achieve if we contributed $100 (Sh1,100) per month. How much money would we have and what would we do with that kind of money? The Sacco now provides members with a vehicle to save and access low-interest loans. The majority of my co-founders had never met in person. But we had the passion and the determination. My K-NAD Sacco account is where I primarily save my money. I am able to access quick loans of up to three times my savings. I have currently put in all the required monthly savings for the period up to December 2022. I prefer to have any other excess monies invested in money market funds, fixed-income funds, shares, treasury bonds, or infrastructure bonds. I used to love seeing the zeros behind the number in my bank balance. But then I figured that these figures werent earning me any interest. Each dollar should be considered as an employee making you more money, so it is critical that you place it where it will make you that money even as you sleep. I once lost $40,000 (Sh. 4.4 million) after investing in a company without due diligence. The company had a great story for Kenyans living in the diaspora but there were no deliverables behind the story. The warning signs were all there. The loss made me decide not to invest in anything in Kenya. Before you invest, always listen to what those on the ground are saying. Involve a lawyer of good reputation, and check the character of those leading the investment vehicle. There are five things that I have learned from my parents on money. You must always pay yourself first. You must then set aside at least 10 per cent of your income for investments. You must invest in things that make money and appreciate value. Storing money in a bank that earns you zero interest has the same value with storing money under the mattress. Motion for Durst Mistrial Denied, Gory Evidence Allowed INGLEWOOD, Calif. (CNS)A Los Angeles judge April 12 denied a defense motion for a mistrial in the case of Robert Durst, a New York real estate scion charged with murder for a longtime friends killing in Benedict Canyon just before Christmas Eve 2000, ruling that evidence the defense sought to exclude can be admitted. Dursts defense team argued that the case against their client is circumstantial and that evidence that he dismembered the body of his Texas neighborin a separate case in which he was acquittedwould inflame the jury and should not be allowed at trial. Theres no similarities between what happened in Galveston and what happened with Ms. Berman, defense attorney David Chesnoff told the court. To suggest that the graphic dismemberment photos from Galveston are in any way connected to the homicide that Mr. Durst is on trial for borders on absurd and he was acquitted. Durst is charged with the December 2000 shooting death of his longtime friend, Susan Berman, at her home in the Benedict Canyon area of Los Angeles. In opening statements last year, Deputy District Attorney John Lewin alleged that Durst killed Berman after she told him she was going to talk to investigators looking into the still-unsolved 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathie. Durst was acquitted of murder in Texas after testifying that he killed his neighbor, Morris Black, in self-defense in September 2001. Los Angeles County prosecutors allege that Durst was in Galveston, Texas, while posing as a mute woman after authorities launched a new investigation into what had happened to Kathie Durst. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Windham said April 12 that evidence of Blacks dismemberment and Kathies disappearance could be introduced at trial to support a special circumstance allegation that Berman was killed because she was a witness, rather than to prove Bermans murder. The judge said the prosecution could also use that evidence from Galveston to rebut the claim that Dursts wife had merely disappeared rather than been killed. Its true that this is gory stuff, but it is relevant to prove multiple points in this case, the judge said in his ruling, which came on the defendants 78th birthday. Though jurors in Texas found reasonable doubt as to Blacks murder and Durst cannot be retried for that crime, Windham said a new jury panel might now look upon that evidence differently in the light of additional facts. Defense attorneys said it was unfair to use their clients admission of the dismemberment and then Chesnoff asked the judge if he would at least exclude grisly photos of the body. All it does is inflame, Chesnoff said. They can show that he moved the body without showing a chopped-up gizzard. Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian countered that the dismemberment showed the lengths he [Durst] would go to, to not get caught. The judge did not agree to limit the use of the photos. In response to a separate motion by the prosecution, the judge tentatively ruled against prosecutors, saying that Dursts brother Donald could not testify about allegations that the defendant had stolen funds from the family or family business. Windham called the connection to Bermans murder remote. The case had been on hold since mid-March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next pretrial and trial readiness hearing was set for May 13, with the judge saying he thought it was unlikely that the trial would resume as scheduled on May 17. In his 2020 opening statement, the defendants lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, told jurors that Durst panicked after finding Bermans body in her home while coming to visit her for the holidays. Durst wrote an anonymous cadaver note that was subsequently mailed to Beverly Hills police so her body would be found, according to DeGuerin, who said Durst would testify in his own defense. Durst was profiled in a six-part HBO television series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, in which the defendant was later recorded saying There it is, youre caught and killed them all, of course. Durst has been behind bars since March 14, 2015, when he was taken into custody in a New Orleans hotel room hours before the airing of the final episode of the HBO series, which examined Kathies disappearance and the killings of Berman and Black. Durst has been long estranged from his real estate-rich family, which is known for ownership of a series of New York City skyscrapersincluding an investment in the World Trade Center. He split with the family when his younger brother was placed in charge of the family business, leading to a drawn-out legal battle. According to various media reports, Durst ultimately reached a settlement under which the family paid him $60 million to $65 million. BATM Advanced Communications Limited's ( ) Zvi Marom joins Proactive London's Katie Pilbeam to explain their newly formed partnership to sell its virtual telecoms network (NFV) solutions in Europe and Latin America . Under the deal, BATMs NFVTime virtualisation technology will be integrated into network product supplier Albis-elcon's new service delivery platform uSphir. Marom says they are looking for partners, 'all over the world' as part of global strategy. He says there will be, more, they work on deals, 'one by one'. Advertisement Bodycam video shows a senior female police officer who shot dead a 20-year-old black man during a traffic stop in Minneapolis saying 'holy sh*t, I shot him' after allegedly accidentally firing her gun instead of her taser during a struggle. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon on Monday described the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright as 'an accidental discharge' after the black man's death sparked violent protests less than 10 miles from where the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, is taking place. Wright was shot dead on Sunday afternoon after he and his girlfriend were pulled over during a traffic stop for what police say was an expired car registration. The officers then learned Wright, who has a toddler son, had an outstanding warrant against him. The Hennepin County medical examiner on Monday evening ruled his manner of death was homicide and said the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest. During a tense press conference, Gannon released the bodycam footage of the incident that showed three officers approaching Wright's car after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop. The footage showed one officer trying to handcuff Wright as a second officer told him he was being arrested on a warrant. Wright immediately jumped back into his car in an apparent attempt to flee. A struggle then broke out between the officers and Wright, who was still sitting inside his car. The female officer could be heard shouting 'Taser!' several times in the moments before she fired her gun. Immediately after, the female officer can be heard saying: 'Holy sh*t. I shot him'. It appears she dropped her gun in the aftermath. Gannon said he did not believe a gun was retrieved from Wright's car. Wright managed to drive several blocks before coming to a stop when he hit another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Police body cam footage of the fatal incident showed three officers approaching Daunte Wright's car in Brooklyn Center on Sunday after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop The female officer could be heard shouting 'Taser!' several times in the moments before she fired her gun. Immediately after, the female officer can be heard saying: 'I shot him'. It appears she dropped her gun in the aftermath After being shot, Wright managed to drive several blocks before coming to a stop when he hit another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, sustained non-life-threatening injuries Daunte Wright, 20, was shot dead on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn Center after he was pulled over during a traffic stop for what his mother said was air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror. He is pictured here with his one-year-old son Daunte Wright Jr. Biden says there's 'absolutely no justification for violence' in wake of protests President Joe Biden on Monday addressed the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright and called for calm in the wake of violent protests. Biden says he watched the 'fairly graphic' body camera footage from the officer who killed Wright. 'The question is whether it was an accident or intentional? That remains to be determined,' he said. Biden said there is 'absolutely no justification for violence' regarding protests. 'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in Black community in that environment is real, serious, and consequential. But that does not justify violence... 'We should listen to Dante's mom who is calling for peace and calm.' When asked if he expects the country is on a 'razor's edge' Biden says he is 'not going to speculate now. I hopeful that there will be an outcome that will be supported by a vast majority of people in the region and that is my expectation.' Advertisement 'This was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright,' Gannon said. 'As I watch the video and listen to the officer's commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet. 'For informational purposes we train with our handguns on our dominant side, and our taser on our weak side. If you're right-handed you carry your firearm on your right side and your carry your taser on the left. This is done purposefully, and it's trained.' The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is the agency investigating Wright's death. The name of the officer who fired the fatal shot has not been released but Gannon described her as 'a very senior officer'. She has been placed on administrative duty. Brooklyn City Mayor Mike Elliott said during the press conference that the officer should be fired. 'My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession,' Elliott said, adding he fully supported relieving the officer of her duties. Elliot noted that the incident coincided with the Chauvin trial, which had forced a reckoning over the death of Floyd. 'I want to say that our hearts are aching right now,' Elliott said. 'We are in pain right now. And we recognize that this couldn't have happened at a worse time.' It is not yet clear if the officer will face charges. The press conference, which was attended by journalists and community activists, became heated at times when some accused authorities of working hard to protect a 'killer cop than a victim of police murder'. Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who helped win a $27 million legal settlement for the Floyd family, said he is also representing the Wrights. Wright's mother Katie claimed her son, pictured, had called her while being pulled over to get insurance information for the vehicle having recently been given the car as a gift. She suggested her son was pulled over for having an air freshener hanging from rear view mirror Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon on Monday described the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright as 'an accidental discharge' after his death sparked violent protests less than 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed last year People react after viewing the body camera footage of the killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright after it was played during a press conference at the Brooklyn Center police headquarters Activists gathered around to watch the bodycam video during Monday's press conference regarding the shooting 'Daunte Wright is yet another young Black man killed at the hands of those who have sworn to protect and serve all of us - not just the whitest among us,' Crump said in a statement. 'As Minneapolis and the rest of the country continue to deal with the tragic killing of George Floyd, now we must also mourn the loss of this young man and father.' Police had revealed officers tried to arrest Wright after pulling him and his girlfriend over for a traffic violation at about 2pm on Sunday before realizing he had an outstanding warrant. Authorities said the car was pulled over for having expired registration and they tried to arrest him after determining he had an outstanding warrant. Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. In that case, a statement of probable cause said police got a call about a man waving a gun who was later identified as Wright. Wright's mother Katie Wright said her son called her in the moments before he was shot to say police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror. It is illegal in Minnesota to have anything hanging from a rear-view mirror. Protestors and City of Brooklyn Center Police Officers clash outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday night The National Guard was called in to calm the chaos and a curfew was imposed to quell angry demonstrations over the shooting death of Daunte Wright on Sunday in the Brooklyn Center neighborhood Officers take cover as they clash with protesters after an officer shot and killed a black man in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis on Sunday Men jump on the hood of a police car after a family said a man was shot and killed by law enforcement on Sunday Police in riot gear hold a line during a protest after the police killed Duante Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center near where Derek Chauvin is on trial in the death of George Floyd MLB's Twins, NBA's Timberwolves, and NHL's Wild all postpone games in Minnesota amid safety concerns after shooting Major League Baseball's Twins, the NBA's Timberwolves, and the NHL's Wild have postponed their games in Minnesota on Monday because of safety concerns following the fatal police shooting of a Daunte Wright, African-American man, in a Minneapolis suburb. The death sparked violent protests, with officers in riot gear clashing with demonstrators into Monday morning. The Red Sox and Twins were scheduled to begin a four-game series Monday afternoon at Target Field. The Twins said their decision was made in consultation with MLB and state and local officials. There was no word yet about rescheduling or the status of games set for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The NHL's Wild were supposed to host the St. Louis Blues in Saint Paul on Monday night, a game the team said was postponed 'out of respect for the community.' That game was rescheduled for May 12. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, were supposed to host the Brooklyn (New York) Nets on Monday night. The Minnesota Wild are still slated to host Advertisement She said he called her to get insurance information for the vehicle because she recently gave the car to him. Describing the call, Wright's mother said: 'I said when the police officer comes back to the window, put him on the phone and I will give him the insurance information. 'Then I heard the police officer come to the window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car.' And Wright said 'why'. He said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car.'' 'A minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered, who was the passenger in the car, and said that he'd been shot and she put it on the driver's side, and he was laying there lifeless,' Katie told gathered media on Sunday afternoon. 'I heard scuffling, and I heard police officers say, 'Daunte, don't run,'' she said through tears. The call ended, and she dialed his number again. His girlfriend answered and said he was dead in the driver's seat. Speaking before the unrest broke out, Wright's mother had urged protesters to stay peaceful and remain focused on the loss of her son. 'All the violence, if it keeps going, it's only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason,' she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center. 'We need to make sure it's about him and not about smashing police cars, because that's not going to bring my son back.' As news of Wright's death traveled, about 100 people, some visibly upset and one carrying a sign demanding 'Justice for George Floyd,' confronted police in riot gear. Some started jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department where rocks and other objects were thrown at officers, according to authorities. Violent protests eventually broke out with officers in riot gear clashing with demonstrators into the early hours. National Guard troops were brought in just before midnight as looters broke into some 20 businesses and a citywide curfew was introduced until 6.30am local time. National Guard troops and law enforcement officers continued to guard the front of the police department on Monday morning. Police were erecting a concrete barrier as Minnesota State Patrol officers joined the line in front of the precinct Police Conservation Officers stand watch as barricades are installed outside the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on Monday More National Guard members and state law enforcement personnel are to be deployed around the Twin Cities and in Brooklyn Center in addition to teams already in place President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and the White House has been in touch with the governor, mayor and local law enforcement. 'We should listen to Dante's mom who is calling for peace and calm,' he said. Biden then stressed that there is 'absolutely no justification for violence' in protest or otherwise. 'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in Black community in that environment is real, serious, and consequential. But that does not justify violence...' National Guard troops and law enforcement officers continued to guard the front of the police department on Monday morning. Police were erecting a concrete barrier as Minnesota State Patrol officers joined the line in front of the precinct. More National Guard members and state law enforcement personnel are to be deployed around the Twin Cities and in Brooklyn Center in addition to teams already in place for Chauvin's trial at the Hennepin County courthouse in Minneapolis. Unknown gunmen on Saturday evening kidnapped five members of a family returning home to Anambra State from a wedding ceremony in Abia State. The family was travelling in a black Toyota Camry car when it was attacked around Okigwe in Imo State. Those kidnapped include the father, Okwudili Okonkwo, his wife, son and two other relatives. On Saturday night, the kidnappers released the mother and her son, Chidinma Okonkwo, to go and find N30 million for payment as ransom for the release of the three others. My dad, My mum, my cousin, my uncle and I were kidnapped yesterday by gunmen around Okigwe area of Imo State as we were returning from my cousins wedding around 5 p.m. My mum and I were released and told to get N30 million ready by today. Please any assistance form @PoliceNG or other armed forces will be appreciated. Anybody that can be of help in any way please contact my brother on 08066096887. Please help tag as many people as possible to retweet until theyre found, the younger Mr Okonkwo wrote on Twitter. My Dad, My mum, my Cousin, My Uncle and I were Kidnapped yesterday by gun men around Okigwe area of Imo state as we were returning from my cousins wedding around 5pm. My Mum and I were released and told to get 30million ready by today. Papa ejima (in view) (@TenovaTenChido) April 10, 2021 One of the members of the same family, Chukwudi Okonkwo, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, said the kidnappers released his brother and mother around 10 p.m. on Saturday. However, he said the kidnappers called earlier on Monday to request one million naira only as ransom for his father. The update was so that they could release my dad. And thats what we have been trying to raise since morning, he said. As of the time of filing this report, the family said it had raised over N400,000 from donations from friends and sympathisers on social media. Asked about efforts from the security operatives, Mr Okonkwo said they had reached out to police officers in different stations but none was forthcoming. I cannot count the number of police officers Ive called between Saturday and now. Nothing from them at all, he said. The spokesperson of the police in Imo state, Orlando Ikeokwu, was yet to respond to PREMIUM TIMESS enquiries after he demanded that an SMS should be sent. Kidnapping has been on the rise in recent times, compounding Nigerias security challenges. On Saturday, a priest from Owerri Catholic archdiocese, Marcel Onyeocha, was kidnapped. Onyeocha, a professor of Philosophy at Imo State University, Owerri, was later freed by his abductors in the early hours of Monday, The Punch reported. According to the newspaper, he was dropped off at Ihube axis on Enugu-Okigwe Expressway, in the same axis he was kidnapped on Saturday evening. ADVERTISEMENT In the first three weeks of a massive aid program for renters, applications appear to be falling well short of early projections by Connecticuts lead housing official. Connecticut set aside $235 million under the UniteCT program to help with rental and electricity bill assistance for as long as 15 months, funding the program from federal relief money authorized by Congress in December 2020. Assistance for any household is capped at $10,000 for rent and $1,500 for electricity. As of April 7, the Connecticut Department of Housing had received only 2,200 fully completed applications for UniteCT rent relief, according to Yardi, the California company that designed the software to process applications and deposit funds in accounts. Days after the program was started, the Department of Housing received 4,000 initial applications, not all of which were completed to trigger review and potential award of funds. We are anticipating to assist between 25,000 and 30,000 households, said Seila Mosquera-Bruno, commissioner of the Department of Housing, speaking March 28 on NBC Connecticut. From our previous experience, they come from everywhere everybody has been affected. But with only a small percentage of applications in from those eligible to apply, questions remain as to whether or not any extraordinary hurdles are in place that would delay the completion of forms. By contrast, the Connecticut Department of Labor was overwhelmed with 220,000 initial claims for unemployment last year just three weeks into the pandemic. Some would-be applicants have struggled to produce all required paperwork to qualify for the program, according to Joe DAscoli, president of the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials and head of the Manchester Housing Authority. These individuals have to provide A, B and C and if they dont have all the documentation, that application wont be processed until all the completed information is there, DAscoli said. I was astonished, too, when I heard there was only 2,200 [completed] applications this is $235 million in the coffers. With Gov. Ned Lamonts moratorium on evictions scheduled to end on April 19, the need for rent relief enters the spotlight for many Connecticut households. Landlords can begin serving notice three days later on April 22 for any reason allowed by statute. UniteCT applications opened in mid-March. Funds are reserved for households making no more than 80 percent of the median income for their town and who are able to demonstrate they are under financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Connecticut Department of Housing is prioritizing funds for those who have lost jobs and who have household incomes at half the median of their town. Mosquera-Bruno told NBC Connecticut the department would be able to provide a breakdown of where those applicants were located. A Department of Housing spokesperson did not respond Monday to a Hearst Connecticut query seeking those figures. UniteCT is open to both renters and landlords who are absorbing top-line hits, as renters miss their monthly payments. The state will pay 85 percent of amounts due to landlords, who have the option of rejecting participation in the program. The state is paying landlords and utilities directly, as a lump-sum covering three months of rent. To get the next installment, applicants must re-certify that rent or electric bills remain in arrears. The program is barred to those already receiving federal or state housing assistance, and renters who are on sub-lease arrangements. UniteCT details and applications are online at Portal.ct.gov/doh or by calling 1-844-864-8328. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, Connecticut has already provided $26.5 million in aid to more than 6,700 households under a Temporary Rental Housing Assistance Program, working out to nearly $4,000 each. Another 2,500 families who filed incomplete applications under TRHAP were notified that they may qualify for UniteCT funds. As the case with TRHAP, the UniteCT assistance program allows applications to be paused while participants gather extra paperwork. John Souza, a landlord and the president of the CT Coalition of Property Owners, said UniteCTs numbers will likely grow in coming weeks, as landlords help tenants track down every piece of paperwork for those agreeing to participate. Souza said the Department of Housing had indicated plans to place an application counter on its website, which was not immediately apparent as of Monday afternoon. You can literally put your name and your email address in and start the application, Souza said. I think a lot of people may have put it in just to get their place in line, or they got somebody helping them who put it in for them. And now the tenants or the landlord have to do everything. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman Reliance Infra sells its Mumbai headquarters to Yes Bank for Rs1,200 cr in debt redumption The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure has sold Reliance Centre, the premises housing the groups headquarters, to Yes Bank for Rs1,200 crore as part of a debt repayment process. Reliance Infrastructure Limited (RInfra) and Yes Bank Limited (Yes Bank) on Thursday announced the sale transaction of Reliance Centre, Santacruz, Mumbai to Yes Bank. The transaction value is Rs 1,200 crore, Reliance said in a stock exchange filing. Entire proceeds from the sale of Reliance Centre, Santacruz, is utilized only to repay the debt of Yes Bank, as per the stock exchange filing. Yes Bank had, in July last year, taken symbolic possession of the sprawling complex situated off the Western Express Highway and overlooking the Mumbai airport. The action was taken under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act to recover dues of Rs2,892 crore from Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure. Reliance Group had shifted to the new headquarters in 2018. After its debt crisis, the group has shrunk its operations. Besides Reliance Infra other group companies including Reliance Capital and its subsidiaries were headquartered there. Most of the offices were consolidated in the north wing and part of the property was listed for lease. The lockdown due to the pandemic resulted in further consolidation of office space as staff were asked to work from home. Reliance Infra's exposure of Yes bank has been reduced from Rs4,000 crore to Rs2,000 crore. The company said it is committed to be a debt-free company in 2021. As per the company, Reliance Infra has reduced exposure by 50 percent in the last 90 days. It has closed three major transactions in the last 90 days namely sale of road asset - Delhi Agra toll road, transmission asset - Parbat Koldfam Transmission Company Limited and sale of Reliance Centre, Santacruz. Yes bank said it is planning to use the building as its corporate headquarters. Yes Bank currently operates out of the Indiabulls Finance Centre in Lower Parel where it leased the top six floors. The private lender, which is undergoing reconstruction, by investors led by SBI, has been cutting costs. ADVERTISEMENT The Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, a lieutenant general, on Monday, finally appeared before the ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives investigating the $1billion arms procurement deal. Mr Attahiru had previously failed to honour the lawmakers invitation on three occasions. The Committee on March 22 asked the COAS and the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to testify before it on the matter but they failed to appear. Again, both officials snubbed the committee on April 7 when they were billed to appear. At Mondays hearing, Mr Attahiru explained to the lawmakers that his inability to honour several invitations of the committee was due to other engagements on internal security. He, however, refused to apologise to the committee, noting that his explanation was sufficient. He also refused to speak on the reports he earlier sent to the committee on the matter but instead asked that it (committee) should speak to relevant persons in the army. Mr Attahirus position spurred a response from Bede Eke, a member of the committee, who demanded that the army chief should speak on oath. Apparently determined to avert an impasse, the committee chairperson, Olaide Akinremi, called for an executive session because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter. Committees mandate The House mandated the committee to investigate the claim last month by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, that funds meant for the purchase of arms were missing under the leadership of the immediate past service chiefs. The President has done his best by approving huge sums of money for the purchase of weapons, but the weapons were not bought, they are not here. Now, he has appointed new service chiefs, hopefully, they will devise some ways, Mr Monguno, a retired major general, had told BBC Hausa Service. Im not saying the former service chiefs diverted the money, but the money is missing. We dont know how, and nobody knows for now. I believe Mr President will investigate where the money went. I can assure you the President takes issues of this nature seriously. The fact is that preliminary investigation showed the funds are missing and the equipment is nowhere to be found. When the new service chiefs assumed office, they also said they didnt see anything on the ground. The NSA has since said he was quoted out of context and did not categorically make such a claim. Thirty years ago, Sir Michael Dummett, who had just retired as the eminent professor of logic at Oxford University, felt the need to write a book that would help students answer their questions. Not the content of their answers, just how to express themselves. Sir Michael was worried because a survey had shown that nearly half of university vice-chancellors were so concerned about their students literacy, they had decided to introduce special lessons to help them express themselves more clearly. These, remember, were supposed to be the brightest and best young people our country has to offer. Todays vice-chancellors and professors are worried about the same thing, but their response has been rather different. It has been: if you cant spell or use punctuation accurately or write basic, simple, reasonably grammatical English, dont worry about it. You wont lose any marks in your exams because tutors are being told to adopt a policy called inclusive assessments. In simple English (if I may be so bold), what it means is the universities who have adopted these policies will no longer be doing what universities have done since the Middle Ages The truth, as we now know, turned out to be the opposite. We are not imprisoned by grammar. We are liberated by it They want, quite rightly, to narrow the gap between white students from more privileged backgrounds, and black, Asian and minority ethnic students who may not have had their advantages The reason is theyre afraid that insisting on students expressing themselves in clear English could be viewed as homogenous North European, white, male, elite. Hull University has said it is dropping the requirement for a high level of technical proficiency in written and spoken English in some subjects, in order to challenge the status quo. Other universities adopting similar policies include the University of the Arts London, which has issued guidelines telling staff they should actively accept spelling, grammar or other language mistakes that do not significantly impede communication unless the brief states that formally accurate language is a requirement. And at Worcester University, academics have been told that if spelling, grammar and punctuation are not central to the assessment criteria, students should be judged only on their ideas and knowledge of the subject. Do I detect the influence of the all-powerful Woke Brigade somewhere here? In simple English (if I may be so bold), what it means is the universities who have adopted these policies will no longer be doing what universities have done since the Middle Ages. They will not be levelling up setting high standards and enabling their students to achieve them. They will be dumbing down. At first glance, it might seem a commendable policy. They want, quite rightly, to narrow the gap between white students from more privileged backgrounds, and black, Asian and minority ethnic students who may not have had their advantages. Or students from poorly performing schools. Those who are more likely to drop out of university than the homogenous North European, white, male, elite. Hull University said that it would encourage students to develop a more authentic academic voice, a voice that can communicate complex ideas with rigour and integrity that celebrates, rather than obscures, their particular background or characteristics. It warns tutors against imposing your own idea of correct English on student work. But it takes about 30 seconds to realise that, whatever language you use to express it, this is Grade A nonsense that will achieve the opposite. And what in heavens name is your own idea of correct English? We get a clue to that from Nottingham Trent University, which wants their academics to give a clear message about whether spelling and grammar are considered important when theyre setting an essay. Perhaps I can save them the trouble. They are not just important. They are vital. You may have noticed one simple word missing from Nottinghams little list of desirable qualities. It is clarity. Thats why we have language. We need it to communicate. And every language has its own spelling, punctuation and grammar. If there really is a crisis in our universities we might, perhaps, trace it back to the early Sixties. Trendy self-styled educationists ruled that teaching children the rules of grammar was imprisoning them in linguistic jails run by white males. The truth, as we now know, turned out to be the opposite. We are not imprisoned by grammar. We are liberated by it. Clarity is the enemy of ambiguity and ambiguity is the friend of every politician who has ever tried to pull a fast one on an unsuspecting public. Clarity of communication enabled by grammar empowers us. Which takes us back to the woke warriors with their own approach to empowerment. Thankfully, some academics are pushing back against this nonsense. Professor Frank Furedi, of the University of Kent, believes that inclusive assessment is an instrument of social engineering that violates the norms of academic education. He says: Lowering standards of assessment lowers expectation of what students should achieve. Worse, normalisation of illiteracy flatters instead of educates students. Alan Smithers, the professor of education at Buckingham University, said that universities were under pressure from the government to close attainment gaps, but not requiring a high standard of written English undermined academic integrity. Hes right. The approach to students who struggle with expressing themselves clearly is not to say it doesnt matter. It is to help them. Virtue signalling is not only pointless, it is counter-productive. You might say we hear non-standard English spoken all the time. Before I started writing this piece, I asked a bright teenager what he made of it. He gave me a thoughtful answer, but in his first sentence he used the word like four times. As in, Im like . . . Show me a teenager who doesnt. He saw no reason not to and was rather surprised when I pointed it out. And anyway, it doesnt matter. Teenagers have always had their own language and always will. And eventually they grow out of it. But universities are not the street or the AstroTurf. They teach knowledge. Thats the point of them. And there is a real danger of creating ghettoes. We have a universal language. Its called English and its been pretty successful for a very long time. It would be a grave mistake to abandon it to the woke and ultimately meaningless notion of inclusive assessment. We rely on our great universities for the new ideas, theories and analyses that will help us create a better world and they need to be articulated with clarity and precision. We need, in every sense, to be able to speak the same language. I cant pretend to be impartial on this topic. I would not be writing in this newspaper today had I not been forced to learn basic grammar before I left school at 15. I got my first job on a local weekly when I satisfied the editor that I could write a grammatical sentence. Besides, language is fun. Weve all heard examples of where sentences have gone horribly wrong. Try these for size culled from the saintly Radio 4 news bulletins: For the second time in six months, a prisoner has died at Durham jail after hanging himself in his cell. . . A suicide bomber has struck again in Jerusalem. I wonder if the person who nailed this notice on the wall of a public building paused to reflect. It read: Toilets out of use. Please use floor below. Or a hospital parking notice: Thieves operate in this car park. Inevitably, those of us who defend grammar are regarded as humourless sticklers with no imagination, who will always mourn the passing of Shakespeare. When I wrote my first book on the English language, I was accused on Amazon of being a pedant. It did not help my accusers case that what he actually wrote was pendant. Perhaps an acknowledgement that Im prepared to swing from one side of the argument to the other? Nor do I believe that every rule must be obeyed and that splitting an infinitive should be made a capital crime. To boldly go is ungrammatical but fine. Boldly to go is stupid. And I have limitless admiration for the dirt-poor young man from rural Mississippi who won a scholarship to Harvard. On his first day, he approached a couple of cashmere-clad young men leaning elegantly against a wall. Hey yall . . . can you tell me where the librarys at? The young men smiled smugly and one said: At Harvard we tend not to end sentences with prepositions. He considered for a moment and then: OK . . . can you tell me where the librarys at a**hole? Hard to fault his grammar. DUSHANBE -- A man suspected of theft has died after officials say he "jumped" out of a police building in Tajikistan. The Interior Ministry said on April 10 that the incident took place in the city of Vahdat, about 19 kilometers from the capital, Dushanbe. According to the ministry, 31-year-old Mehriddin Gadozoda "jumped out of the window on the third floor with the intention of avoiding criminal charges" and died hours later in the hospital. The ministry said that Gadozoda was detained and had been brought to police after investigators found him in possession of items that had been reported stolen in 12 robbery cases. Gadozoda's relatives have yet to comment, and it was not immediately possible to verify the police account through independent sources. The case is one of several in Tajikistan where suspects have died while in police custody. In most of the cases, the relatives of the deceased have alleged foul play, saying their loved ones were beaten or tortured to death. Domestic and international human rights groups have criticized Tajik authorities for beating and torturing suspects and prison inmates for years. Tajik authorities have acknowledged that brutality involving police or prison guards occurs, but insist that such cases are not common. In March 2018, authorities in the southern city of Kulob said a suspect, Abdurasul Nazarov, died of a heart attack while in police custody, while his relatives said his body showed signs of beating and torture. In 2015, Shamsiddin Zaidulloev, detained on suspicion of illegal drugs-related crime in Dushanbe, died while in custody. Officials said at the time that the death was caused by a heart attack. That explanation was rejected by the man's relatives, who insisted that Zaidulloev died after he was severely beaten by police. Also in 2015, police in Vahdat said that Umar Bobojonov died in police custody after he fell inside a concrete well while drunk. Bobojonov's relatives said at the time that he had been beaten to death by police after he was detained for wearing a beard amid a government crackdown on radical Muslims. In 2011, the Interior Ministry said that another theft suspect, Bahromiddin Shodiev, died in the hospital after he jumped out of a window on the second floor of a police station in Dushanbe. The man's relatives have insisted that he was severely beaten and tortured by police. In March 2011, 37-year-old Dushanbe resident Safarali Sangov died several days after he was beaten and taken from his house by plainclothes officers. Police said then that Sangov, suspected of drug possession, tried to commit suicide by jumping out of a first-floor window during his interrogation, while the man's relatives said he was tortured by police. Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - April 12, 2021) - Beauce Gold Fields (TSXV: BGF) (Champs D'Or en Beauce), ("BGF"), is pleased to announce the results of its glacial overburden sampling program of 31 placer to hardrock properties staked throughout southern Quebec. The highest return from a 20kg sample came from the Megantic property returning 10 grams per ton of placer gold from a sand & gravel bank that crosses the Bella Fault line. Patrick Levasseur, President and CEO of Beauce Gold Fields said, "We are very excited that our sampling program has allowed us to identified a second placer to hardrock property that holds the potential for new gold discoveries in Southern Quebec." Mr. Levasseur added: "The Megantic property holds a similar geological model to the company's flagship Saint-Simon-les-Mines Beauce Gold property whereby a major geological fault line follows along strike the historical placer gold deposit. We look forward to investigating these anomalies further this summer." Image of recovered gold from Megantic overburden sample 798741. Magnification 90X, Scale 0.5 mm (bottom right) To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6198/80185_b401c9c524440808_001full.jpg Between October and December 2020, the Company collected 71, 20kg overburden samples from sand and gravel pits found on 31 prospective placer to hardrock properties staked throughout southern Quebec (press release January 12, 2021). The objective was to identify placer gold anomalies in order to potentially trace their origins back to a lode gold deposit. A second objective was to identify sand & gravel banks of good size with the potential of holding interesting gold values for possible placer gold mining. Of all the samples taken, properties which recorded grades greater than 0.1 g /t Au were retained for further exploration. RESULTS OF THE 2020 OVERBURDEN SURVEY The 71 samples were processed by ExploLab in Val D'Or Quebec. Each sample of about 20kg was sifted through various mesh sizes to remove coarse materials. Coarse gold was recovered using various gravimetric methods. The concentrates were sent to Act Labs for analysis. (Disclosure: ExploLab is owned and operated by a Director of the Company). With the exception of the Pozer River and Lac Etchemin samples, the samples which revealed interesting gold grades came from the Megantic region. Several anomalous samples are located near the Bella fault which crosses the Ditton, Chartierville, Chesam and the Bergeron River sectors of the Megantic property. Table 1 shows the best gold results for the concentrates and for gold grains. No Sample Area Sector Au ppb Concentrate Au Grains Grams/Ton 798511 Beauce Pozer River 109 0.11 798516 Bellechasse Lac Etchemin 432 0.43 798526 Megantic Mining Brook 1060 1.06 798541 Megantic Chesham 178 0.2 grams +10.00 798550 Megantic Saint-Isidore 107 0.11 798584 Megantic Audet 113 1 flake Not weighed 798586 Megantic Audet 122 0.12 MEGANTIC SAMPLES Sample 798741 was collected about 200m west of the Chesham River, south-east of Mont Megantic. The sample was taken from the surface (-30cm) of a sand pit and is represented by fine, oxidized sands. The grains of gold observed in the concentrate are numerous and angular. The weight of gold in this 20kg bulk sample gave 0.2grams. The balance of the heavy mineral concentrate returned 178 ppb Au. The gold content is established at 10 grams per tonne of sand or approximately 0.55 cubic meters. The Bella fault crosses the northern part of the property and may well be the source of these very high gold concentrations in surface deposits. Surface gravel in the Chesham River area is reported (GM 48717) to contain flake gold. The deeper gravels contain numerous nuggets up to several grams in mass. The gold grains have very accentuated roughness indicating short traveled distance. It is assumed that the source of the alluvial gold would be in the volcanic rocks of the Frontenac Formation. Sample 798526 of the Mining Brook area was taken 3.2km southwest of Mining Brook returned the best gold value of all samples (1.06 g / t Au). The sample was taken from a large gravel pit which locally measures more than 10 meters thick. An old churn drill hole (referred to as No. 7 in GM 42843) located less than 500 meters to the west of the gravel pit passed through significant gold values over an 8-meter thickness of gravel with several gold flakes. The hole No 7 and sample 798526 could correspond to large old river channel measuring over 1.6km long. In addition, an old diamond drill hole S-2 located only a few hundred meters northwest of the sample 798526 may have crossed a large shear zone which would correspond to the Bella fault. According to the hole S-2 log, visible gold was observed at a depth of 240m in a very altered quartz vein and in this deformation corridor (GM 42843). Mining Brook is the second-best known placer gold district south of the Beauce. This alluvial placer of post-glacial origin would be the result of the reconcentration of pre-glacial (or inter-glacial) gold deposits taken up by the last glaciation and dispersed over the entire region. The gold itself likely originated from gold mineralized quartz veins common in the region. According to Goodwin (1933), approximately 857.25 kg of gold were extracted by hand from the bed of the river between 1868 and 1883. Samples 798584 and 798586 of the Audet block returned anomalous values in gold. Sample 798584 contains visible and very delicate gold. The recognition of this sector was initiated by the results of geochemical survey conducted by the Geological Survey of Canada ("GSC") in 1984. A sample of heavy minerals from the creek gravels contained visible gold grains the size of a pinhead (+ 850mm). The GSC survey had collected more than 700 samples, but only 3 contained coarse gold, including one from the Gilbert River. The presence of angular gold suggests a probably local source in Audet area. Pyrite has also been noticed in the sample 798586 with angular edges which suggests a local source. Follow - up analysis of the gold content in pyrite could lead us to find the source of the gold locally. Frontenac Showing The Frontenac Showing is in the volcanics of the Frontenac Formation. It crosses the property of Audet and contain showings of copper and gold associated with iron formations. The Frontenac Showing contains anomalous gold values found in quartz veins closely related to iron formations, with one grab sample returned 1.56% Cu, 758 ppb Au, 1.6 g / t Ag (GM 55294). The Frontenac volcanics are cut by shear zone structure which may have been a conduit for mineralizing fluids. SAINT-ISIDORE: Sample 798550 was collected from a large gravel pit on the edge of the Canada-US border and confirmed the presence of gold in overburden. Historical results show gold is present in multiple locations. Two old heavy mineral concentrate samples that cut large deposits of sand and gravel in the Saint-Isidore region returned 1.4 g/t Au and 2.8g/t Au (Maurice DP 1332). POZER RIVER: Sample 798511 was taken from a large operating gravel pit. near the Pozer River. The gravel carried by the river was trapped in one of the bends of the river. This topographic obstacle favors the accumulation of gold in the deposits of the river. LAC ETCHEMIN: Sample 798516 gave the second highest gold grade (432 ppb Au) from the 2020 survey. The sample was collected from a huge operating gravel pit, found in older Quaternary deposits which could correspond to pre-glacial sediments similar to those found at Saint-Simon-les-Mines. The major Brompton-Baie-Verte fault crosses the property and is known to host gold mineralization and is interpreted to extend to Newfoundland. The source of gold could be related to this important structure. Jean Bernard, B,Sc. Geo., is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information presented in this release. About the Megantic Property Image of Recovered Gold From Megantic Overbuden Sample, 798741 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6198/80185_b401c9c524440808_002full.jpg The Megantic property extends southwest to the USA border of New Hampshire and to the northeast to Lac Megantic. The property extends for at least 30 km along the axis of the Bella Fault. It is divided into four areas: the Ditton, the Mining Brook, the Chesham and Bergeron rivers. The Megantic property is located at the foot of the granite intrusion of Mont Megantic. It partly occupies the Compton Formation composed of graphitic and pelitic metasedimentary rocks of Siluro-Devonian age. These sedimentary rocks are in discordant contact in the center of the terrain with the volcanic sequence (basalts, andesites and dacites) of the Siluro-Devonian Formation of the Frontenac Formation. The Bella fault, which is the major structural element of the Megantic property, is in contact between the Compton and Frontenac Formations. About Beauce Gold Fields Beauce Gold Fields is a gold exploration company focused on placer to hard rock exploration in the Beauce region of Southern Quebec. The Company's flagship property is the St-Simon-les-Mines Gold project site of Canada's first gold rush that pre-dates the Yukon Klondike. The Beauce region hosted some of the largest historical placer gold mines in Eastern North America that were active from 1860s to the 1960s It produced some of the largest gold nuggets in Canadian mining history (50oz to 71oz). The intent of Beauce Gold Fields is to trace the placer gold workings back to the bedrock source and uncover economic bedrock gold mineralization. Comprising 152 contiguous claims and 7 real estate lots, the project area contains a six kilometer long placer channel consisting of unconsolidated gold-bearing auriferous units of a lower saprolite and an upper brown diamictite. The Company has identified a major Fault Line in bedrock that coincides with geophysical findings of an interpreted fault structure across the property. Evidence suggests the erosion of the Fault Line or related fractures as a probable source of the historical placer gold channel, and has conducted bedrock sampling and geophysics outside the expression of the placer gold channel. Beauce Gold Fields website www.beaucegold.com Disclaimers: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding mineral exploration. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's on-going filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information contact Patrick Levasseur, President and CEO Tel: (514) 262-9239 Bernard J. Tourillon, Chairman and COO Tel (514) 907-1011 www.beaucegold.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80185 The Impact of COVID-19 Policy on Education Even Where Schools Open for In-Person Instruction, Students Stay Home The permutations of K-12 instruction being delivered are many right now, and so are the choices families are making for the education of their students. By mid-March 2021 more than three-quarters of fourth- and eighth-grade students (76%) were being offered the chance to attend public schools open at least some of the time for face-to-face lessons. But just a fraction of those students attended in-person instruction. The remaining 24% of grade 4 and grade 8 students were in schools that were only online. Those results came from a data collection program being run by the National Center for Education Statistics in the Institute of Education Services and shared through a public interactive dashboard. The data collection was developed in response to an executive order issued by President Biden in January, to "fully understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and educators, including data on the status of in-person learning." The survey is scheduled to collect data five times, once a month from February through June 2021. The current analysis represented a collection period that ran between Feb. 22 and Mar. 12, 2021 among a sample size of about 5,000 public schools -- between 40 and 70 schools per state. According to the "Monthly School Survey Dashboard" maintained by IES, a greater share of fourth graders had the option of attending in-person than eighth-graders, 78% compared to 74%. However, just 55% of all grade 4 students and 48% of grade 8 students attended class either in-person or in a hybrid model, which mixes in-person and remote instruction. For students attending hybrid classes, the data suggested that few had access to in-person sessions every day of the week. Among fourth graders, 13% attended schools that were offering one to two days each week of in-person instruction, 3% averaged three days and 14% attended four to five days. For eighth graders, a fifth (20%) showed up in schools with one to two days of instruction, 6% had access to three days of in-school instruction and 15% got four to five days. For grade 4, the in-person model was more prevalent for White students (49%) versus Asian (15%), Black (28%) and Hispanic (33%) students. The hybrid model, which mixes in-person and remote instruction, follows a similar pattern. While 23% of White students have the opportunity to attend hybrid classes, the same is true for just 10% of Hispanic students, 14% of Black students and 16% of Asian students. The gaps were large in grade 8 as well. According to the data, 37% of White students may attend in-person classes compared to 10% of Asian students, 19% of Black students and 21% of Hispanic students. For hybrid schools, 28% of White students can attend those versus 10% of Asian students, 13% of Hispanic students and 14% of Black students. Students with specific needs were prioritized for in-person instruction by schools. The reporting for grade 4 found that students with disabilities received the highest priority (at 44% of schools), followed by English learners (28%), students without internet at home (27%) and those who were experiencing homelessness (23%). In grade 8, nearly half of schools (48%) prioritized students with disabilities, followed by those lacking internet at home (34%), English learners (33%) and those who were homeless (29%). The same dashboard also offered a look at the amount of "live" instruction for students delivered via online means each day. For fourth graders, a small fraction -- 7% -- received none at all. Another 21% had less than two hours daily. The remainder, 72%, had at least three hours. For eighth graders, 10% had access to no live instruction in their remote schooling, while 14% had less than two hours and the remainder had at least three hours each day. The portrait of the status of education delivery isn't complete. Current numbers encompass just 74% of schools across the country. Several states -- Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia -- declined to participate or didn't meet the participation rate; and many others -- Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas -- had "insufficient data" for inclusion. Project organizers stated that the results of the new pilot survey would be available for analyzing with the results of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), thereby providing additional background for understanding those testing results when they appear. The dashboard is openly available on the IES website. Gangs of youths have wreaked havoc on the final night of Sydney's Royal Easter Show after clashing with police, kicking security guards and brawling in front of small children. Dozens of teenagers were filmed by onlookers running away from cops in a series of confronting videos uploaded to TikTok. One young man was escorted out by at least five officers while saying: 'I didn't f**king do anything'. He was then heard shouting 'retaliation is a must,' the opening lyric to troubled Mount Druitt rap group OneFour's hit song The Message. Onlookers who filmed the incident shouted at and taunted police as they led the boy out of the event. Gangs of youths have wreaked havoc on the final night of Sydney's Royal Easter Show A third video taken by another bystander showed an officer from Auburn Police Area Command pointing his mace at a group of out of control youths= In another shocking video, a group of at least 20 men were seen brawling on the middle of the promenade inside the showground at about 9.20pm on Monday. The teens - clad in bum bags, Nike TNs and Nautica caps - pushed, shoved, stomped on and kicked each other while horrified families watched the carnage. A third video taken by a bystander showed an officer from Auburn Police Area Command pointing his pepper spray at a group of out of control youths. NSW Police is investigating the all-in brawl, but said no charges have been laid yet. 'On arrival officers separated the group many left the area and dispersed back into the crowd,' NSW Police said in a statement on Tuesday. An 18-year-old man with lacerations to his chin was taken to Concord Hospital, while first-aid was given to a 17-year-old boy who suffered cuts to his lower legs. The incident is the second time chaos has descended on this year's Easter Show. Last week a gang of 'eshays' donning their trademark designer sportswear started a violent brawl in front of children. The teen was then heard shouting 'retaliation is a must,' the opening lyric to Mount Druitt hip-hop group OneFour's song The Message NSW Police is investigating Monday night's all-in brawl, but said no charges have been laid yet The young men chased each other through the busy crowds and began to throw punches. One teenager wearing a white t-shirt and a designer bumbag fighting another youth in a black sweatshirt was quickly interrupted by a burly onlooker. The man calmly approached the brawling teens and pulled them apart, as others filmed the altercation on their phones from a safer distance. The disturbing incident was also uploaded to TikTok, with many viewers criticising the men for inciting violence at a family venue. 'That's just selfish, there's little kids and families there at that show and you all want to act like big shots', one wrote. Last week a gang of 'eshays' donning their trademark designer sportswear started a violent brawl in front of children at the Easter Show Eshay is Aussie slang for packs of teenagers who haunt public places such as train stations and public parks stirring up trouble. They are said to have spread from Sydney's inner city graffiti scene in the 1980s through housing commission estates and out into the suburbs. The gangs can be identified by their trademark designer sportswear and Nike TN trainers, as well as speaking their own coded language. Hard-core eshays engage in assaults, robberies and threatening behaviour against other youths, but the majority seem to wander the streets aimlessly. AUGUSTA, Ga. A statewide church group and other organizations gathered near the Augusta National Golf Club to rally for a change in the new Georgia voting law and end what they called Jim Crow 2.0. About three dozen people attended to encourage corporations attending or sponsoring the tournament to take a stand against Senate Bill 202, which they say limits voting specifically for Blacks. Representatives from the Augusta NAACP also called on changes to the law at the protest at Washington and Berckmans roads. The bill, political action chair Jorae Jenkins said, makes it difficult for people to vote because of changes to absentee ballots. Moving the Masters is not necessarily the goal, she said, but for corporations to remove sponsorships. Other major organizations have come out and take a stand against this bill, she said. It would be nice to see people that are here that are sponsors to do the same thing and that they agree that this bill is not right and we have to take a stand. Last week Major League Baseball announced that the All-Star Game would be played in Colorado as opposed to Atlanta due to the bill. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is a member of Augusta National and earlier this week Sen. Marco Rubio asked him if he would remove his membership. Manfred has not responded. (Manfred) has made that deliberate decision so maybe he can use his influence to influence other corporate leaders to know that Georgia must deal with the suppressive law that has been put in place, Rev. Fer-Rell Malone Sr., senior pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Waycross, said. Augusta National Golf Club and Masters Tournament Chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday he opposed a boycott or other punitive measure as burdensome on the most vulnerable, including Augustans, but declined to condemn the voting law. The right to vote is fundamental in our democratic society. No one should be disadvantaged in exercising that right, and it is critical that all citizens have confidence in the electoral process, Ridley said during his annual address. Story continues Daniel Thomas, the social action chairman of the Augusta Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, said Saturday it is a hallowed responsibility of corporations to make sure every citizen has the right and opportunity to vote. Related Lynch: A boycott won't stop Georgia's voter suppression, but golf's clout can make a 'major' difference Opinion: Augusta National is unlikely host to social activists as sports world focuses on Georgia PGA Tour: Despite new Georgia voting law, Tour Championship isn't moving Civil rights group calls for PGA Tour, Masters to pull event from Augusta National in protest of Georgia's new voting law The law, Pastor James Reid of Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church said, is retaliation for former President Donald Trumps loss in Georgia. Its all well and good to come in and enjoy the wonderfulness of the Masters, but have the conscientiousness of the least of these who are still suffering and want to vote effectively, he said. Its all well and good to come in and enjoy the wonderfulness of the Masters, but have the conscientiousness of the least of these who are still suffering and want to vote effectively, said Pastor James Reid of Piney Grove Missionary Church during the protest Saturday in Augusta against Georgia Senate Bill 202. Reginald T. Jackson, presiding bishop of the Sixth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and one of the events organizers, was unable to attend due to a funeral but, in a statement, called for Masters Tournament leadership and golfers to denounce the bill. We did not call upon the Masters golf tournament not to have its tournament in Augusta, or criticize it for doing so, he wrote. But we are calling on the Masters Tournament and golfers to join with us and speak up and cry out against the passage of SB 202 in Georgia and similar legislation, in fact, more than 300 bills in more than 40 other states. Jenkins said she and others will not stop fighting for the people of Georgia and will make sure residents are taken care of. Reid echoed those sentiments in continuing to fight. Its time for everyone to start getting into some good trouble, he said. Former Married At First Sight star Martha Kalifatidis has been forced to apologise for referencing Hitler's secret police, the Gestapo, in an Instagram post. The 32-year-old shared a video last week of herself embracing her boyfriend Michael Brunelli, before her mother Mary walks in. 'Just trying to have a Lil Moment Not on Gestapo's Watch,' she captioned the post. Apology: Married At First Sight star Martha Kalifatidis (pictured) has apologised for referencing Hitler's secret police, the Gestapo, in an Instagram post On Monday, Martha apologised for using Gestapo in a 'trivial way and trivialising Nazi crime'. 'I would like to apologise unreservedly for my actions over the past weekend,' she said in a statement to the Anti-Defamation Commission. 'I understand that my ignorance does not pardon me and that Gestapo is a word that shouldn't be used in a trivial way or to trivialise Nazi crime,' she continued. Post: The 32-year-old shared a video last week of herself embracing her boyfriend Michael Brunelli, before her mother Mary walks in 'Due to my ignorance, I associate the word with law enforcement and in no way did I ever intend it to be in the context of Nazi Germany. 'Once it was brought to my attention, I removed the content immediately. I take full responsibility for my actions, again my deepest apologies to anyone I may have hurt or offended,' she said. Following Martha's apology, the Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dr Dvir Abramovich said in a statement: 'We accept Martha Kalifatidis apology, which is sincere and heartfelt, as well as her acknowledgement that using the term Gestapo in that post was inappropriate and offensive, regardless of her motives.' Response: On Monday, Martha apologised for using Gestapo in a 'trivial way and trivialising Nazi crime' 'During our conversation, Ms Kalifatidis heard my concerns and immediately expressed her feelings of remorse, and I believe her when she says that she did not have any intent to cause hurt.' 'She now better understands why her employment of the term 'Gestapo' not only trivialised the crimes of the Third Reich but was an insult to the memory of the millions who perished at the hands of the Nazis, to the survivors, and to the brave diggers who fought to save them from annihilation and defeat Hitler.' 'While we understand that many people were upset with her behaviour, this is an important first step in putting this issue to rest. My hope is that she uses the platform that she has and her public voice to speak out against intolerance and bigotry.' The District Court in Warsaw did not grant the petition of prosecutor Jan Drelewski to extend the term of detention of former acting head of the State Agency for Highways of Ukraine (Ukravtodor), former Minister of Transport of Poland (2011-2013) Sawomir Nowak, according to the RMF24 Polish publication. According to the statement, it is Drelewski who is investigating Nowak and the criminal group, which, according to the prosecutor's office, he headed. He insisted that Nowak's detention be extended until July 2021, explaining that further isolation of the suspect is necessary not only because of the harsh punishment of up to 15 years in prison, but also because of fears of procedural fraud. In addition, as Drelewski said, it is necessary to hear additional witnesses in the case and obtain testimony that Nowak could try to influence while at large. However, judge of the District Court of Warsaw Agnieszka Domanska did not extend the detention of the former Polish Minister of Transport for another three months. Instead, the court applied against him as a preventive measure a bail of PLN 1 million, police supervision, a ban on leaving the country and keeping a passport. According to the statement, the District Prosecutor's Office of Warsaw will appeal against the court's ruling. Tribal clashes in Papua New Guinea's highlands have left at least 19 people dead, including seven who were killed by a grenade, authorities said Monday Port Moresby, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :Tribal clashes in Papua New Guinea's highlands have left at least 19 people dead, including seven who were killed by a grenade, authorities said Monday. Officials said the deaths occurred around Kainantu, in Eastern Highlands province, amid a months-long dispute over land ownership between rival tribes. Michael Welly, the provincial police commander, told local media that two clans were in Kainantu to sign a peace agreement Thursday when a fight between two women spiralled into a "full-blown out battle" that killed 12 people. Seven others died when a hand grenade was detonated the next day, before homes were burned to the ground in retaliation, the Post Courier reported. Welly said the warring tribes had temporarily ceased fighting after the deployment of specialist police forces from other provinces. "We are hoping they lay down their arms or surrender them but that will be a long time coming," he told AFP. David Manning, Papua New Guinea's police commissioner, said all those involved would be "dealt with" but admitted more needed to be done to address the issue of illegal guns. "(The) first thing we have done is to enforce the rule of law so we (can) make sure Kainantu is free from criminal actions and from these warring factions," he told AFP. Tribal conflicts are a frequent occurrence in Papua New Guinea's highlands, but an influx of automatic weapons has made clashes more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence. In 2019, at least 24 people including two pregnant women and their unborn children were killed in Hela province when highland clans clashed apparently over control of local gold deposits in the region's mineral-rich soil. (Alliance News) - 88 Energy Ltd said on Monday it had found more evidence of oil at its Merlin-1 well in Alaska. Samples taken from the well showed fluorescence and cut which are both indicators of oil. Last week the oil-exploration company provided encouraging results from the Merlin well but equipment failure prevented hydrocarbon samples from being taken. The AIM-listed firm told investors that a schedule of expected results will be released in the coming days once analyses are confirmed. 88 Energy shares rose 16% to 1.60 pence in London on Monday afternoon, reversing some of last week's losses. The stock has more than tripled so far in 2021, from 0.46p on December 31, 2020. "The sidewall core photos provide further evidence of the presence of oil over multiple horizons in the Merlin-1 well," Managing Director David Wall commented. "Whilst these results are confirmatory of the cuttings data and were expected, it is reassuring to see" Australian-headquartered 88 Energy specialises in onshore oil exploration primarily in Alaska. By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Investigations editor Larry Parnass, investigations editor, joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant and CommonWealth Magazine. MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) Former Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that he wasnt sure that he and former President Donald Trump would ever see eye to eye over what happened on Jan. 6 but that he would always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years. The campaign started at the Specialized Covid-19 Care Centre in the capital Yaounde on Monday, with the country's Minister of Public Health Malachie Manaouda being the first to take the vaccine, Xinhua news agency reported. Yaounde, April 13 (IANS) Cameroon launched the vaccination campaign against Covid-19, a day after receiving its first batch of vaccines donated by China. "I feel good. There is no problem," Manaouda said shortly after he received the first shot with the presence of many local officials and health professionals. "The vaccine is safe," he added. The vaccination campaign will prioritise health workers in the first round of the campaign, the minister said. The vaccines should be "available all over the national territory by latest tomorrow," he added. The first batch of China's Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Cameroon Sunday evening as the country is struggling with a new surge of Covid-19 infections. It is the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines arriving from outside the central African country, where the pandemic broke out in March last year. --IANS int/ New Delhi, April 12: The last king of Nepal, Gyanendra Shah is in India to attend the Kumbh festival. He arrived in the holy city of Haridwar on Sunday to participate in the biggest Hindu festival. King Gyanendra will visit other important temples in the holy city-which lies on the banks of river Ganga. During his visit he will take the holy dip and seek the blessings of the priests. In one of his earlier visits to India, king Gyanendra and his family had met with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The king's visit comes at a crucial time due to the political and social turmoil in Nepal. Groups of people considered to be pro-royal and pro-monarchy have been holding protests for the return of the Hindu king. Pro-monarchy groups have been active since October and have carried out protests in nearly a dozen cities demanding the return of monarchy, restoration of a Hindu State and the end of federalism. Despite regulatory instructions in view of coronavirus spread, people have carried out protests even in capital Kathmandu against what they see as a failure of democracy. Groups of youth have shown their displeasure by taking out motorcycle rallies in favour of monarchy. In many cities across Nepal, people have been chanting slogans of "bring the king, save the country". Taking note of the growing support for royalty, The Kathmandu Post sounded the mood of the nation against their leaders in an editorial, saying: "... The recent rallies, thus, should be taken as a manifestation of the general public's frustration against the government of the day, and the endless bickering in the ruling party that has held the country hostage." The crisis in Nepal blew over last year after a rift in the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The NCP saw a running feud between Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, over issues of power and governance. Prachanda wanted Oli to resign as Prime Minister as he alleged that Oli was running the country in an authoritarian manner and had sidelined senior party members. Oli, in turn, blamed Prachanda for not strengthening the party. Power play in the NCP led to a governance crisis where Oli was accused of corruption and mismanagement during the coronavirus crisis. As factionalism in the ruling communist party grew, Oli dissolved the parliament in December and called for elections-furthering uncertainty in the Himalayan country. Unhappy with the events, people, particularly the youth, have been protesting against the government, moreso against the ruling party. Many are protesting over the mishandling of coronavirus and the way NCP had conducted itself despite a clear mandate. The Kathmandu Post has also noted in its editorial that people are disenchanted with not just the ruling party but also the opposition parties. Gyanendra had stepped down as king in 2008 after the Maoists mounted a sustained campaign to abolish monarchy and share power with political parties. Subsequently, with the involvement of the UN, a peace accord was signed, a new constitution made and monarchy was abolished. Nepalese leaders are not new to the kumbh festival. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari too had visited the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, in 2016 while on her first official trip to India. (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ (Newser) Last year was a time of enormous economic distress and uncertainty. For the CEOs of major companies, it was also a time of enormous pay raises, the Wall Street Journal reports. While salaries were in many cases unchanged, and some CEOs volunteered to take pay cuts, the Journal notes that salary generally makes up less 10% of compensation for top execs and that the surging stock market helped median pay for CEOs jump from $12.8 million to $13.7 million. According to the Journal's analysis of compensation for 322 CEOs, compensation rose for 206 of them in 2020, with an average rise of 15%. story continues below At some companies, CEO compensation rose sharply despite major losses. At Norwegian Cruise Lines, which lost $4 billion after travel was halted last year, CEO Frank Del Rio's compensation doubled to $36.4 million. A company spokesperson tells the Journal that the pay, including bonuses linked to a contract extension, was to secure the exec's "continued invaluable expertise." Cruise industry News notes Norwegian's execs had a 20% salary cut in 2020, though it was dwarfed by the size of the bonuses. Marketwatch reports that another CEO who saw a large rise in compensation last year was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. He received a salary of $1 and nothing in bonuses or stock options, according to a company filing Friday, but more than $25 million listed under "all other compensation" includes millions to pay for personal security and private aircraft use. (Read more executive compensation stories.) 59-year-old Rev. Daniel Lahart is to be removed from his position as president at the prestigious Regis High School in Manhattan A Jesuit priest who is the president of the prestigious Regis High School in Manhattan is being ousted over claims of sexual misconduct. The private all-boys school which is tuition free and funded through generous contributions from its alumni, which include Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said it will remove 59-year-old Rev. Daniel Lahart from his position at the educational establishment within weeks. 'The Board of Trustees has determined, based on the findings of a third party investigator, Fr. Lahart engaged in inappropriate and unwelcome verbal communications and physical conduct, all of a sexual nature, with adult members of the Regis community, including subordinates,' states a letter sent to parents. 'This conduct was non-consensual, and moreover, continued notwithstanding express requests from the affected parties for the conduct to cease.' Dr. Anthony Fauci, who counts himself as one of Regis HS alumni is pictured meeting with New York City's Regis High School students and ousted school's president, Daniel Lahart, in 2019 The school, located on the Upper East Side first learned of the allegations at the end of February and publicly announced on its website that Lahart, who had been the school's president since 2016, had been placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation. 'We received information regarding the schools President, Rev. Daniel Lahart, SJ, that raises serious questions about his ability to continue to serve this critical function. Specifically, we learned of allegations that Fr. Lahart may have behaved inappropriately in his interactions with certain adult members of our community. Importantly, these allegations do not in any way concern students, past or present,' wrote the Board of Trustees Chair Anthony DiNovi. A third-party investigative firm, T&M USA, has since conducted 'a thorough investigation' which determined that Lahart had acted inappropriately. The private all-boys school located on Manhattan's Upper East Side is tuition free and funded through generous contributions from its alumni The board has stated that it would not be revealing any details about the allegations 'in order to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.' 'We assure you that the investigation was conducted with a commitment to due process,' a letter seen by the New York Post states. 'Please know the Board did not come to its decision lightly and took seriously its obligation to act with transparency, integrity, and compassion in service of our community, both with respect to Fr. Lahart and to those members of our community who were harmed by his conduct.' Lahart declined to be involved in the investigation. Although Lahart has been on administrative leave since the allegations surfaced in February, he will finally be removed from his post on April 21st. State board exams for Class 10 and Class 12 have been postponed in Maharashtra in light of the extremely bad coronavirus situation in the state, education minister Varsha Gaikwad announced on Monday. "Class 12th exams will be held by the end of May, while 10th standard exams will be in June. Fresh dates will be announced accordingly," she told news agency ANI. She said the government will send a communique to the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge boards, requesting them to reconsider their exams dates. Students from different state boards and CBSE are demanding cancellation or postponement of offline exams for Class 10 and 12. Over 1 lakh students of Class 10 and 12 signed petitions urging the government to cancel the exams or conduct them online. But the CBSE board has so far said that exams will be conducted as per the schedule. Also read:Rahul, Sonu Sood, Priyanka urge CBSE to reconsider decision to conduct CBSE board exams Many political leaders and activists are also coming forward to support students, saying offline exams amid the second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic is unfair to students. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has appealed to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to reconsider the decision of conducting board exams in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. In a tweet, Gandhi wrote, "In the light of the devastating Corona second wave, conducting CBSE exams must be reconsidered. All stakeholders must be consulted before making sweeping decisions". Also read: CBSE responds as 1 lakh students sign petition to cancel board exams Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also Rahul Gandhi's sister, has also written to the education minister to consider the demands of students for cancelling the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams. Actor Sonu Sood has also come out in support of students who are going to appear in the board exams this year. In a video message, Sood said, "On the behalf of students, I want to put in a request. CBSE and board exams are going to be held offline, I do not think the students are ready to sit for the exams amid the prevailing circumstances". Class 10 board exams are scheduled to be held from May 4 and June 7, while Class 12 exams will be held from May 4 to June 15, as per the date sheet. Also read: #CancelBoardExams: Students continue to spar with CBSE Qantas plan to restart most of its international network later this year has been thrown into doubt by Australias delayed vaccination program, which threatens to leave its international border closed beyond October. The airline said on Monday that it was closely monitoring the recent developments in the rollout of vaccines in Australia and was in talks with the federal government about how they might affect the opening of international borders. Qantas says it has not received updated advice as to when the border will open. Credit:Getty Qantas has scheduled flights and is selling tickets to the United States, United Kingdom and Japan for late October, based on the governments original timeline for completing the vaccine rollout. But that restart date has been thrown into doubt by Prime Minister Scott Morrisons admission on Sunday that not all Australians will receive their first vaccine injection by the end of 2021. DUNHUANG, China, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 20 activities highlighting a major historic and cultural landmark on the ancient Silk Road were unveiled at the opening ceremony of Culture Cities of East Asia 2021 on April 9 in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province. The opening ceremony was part of a year-round cultural exchange initiative between China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK). "East Asia Capital of Culture" is an important measure to implement the consensus reached at the trilateral leaders' meeting and has become a flagship brand for cultural exchanges among the three countries, said Zhang Xu, Chinese Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism at the ceremony. In 2020, Shaoxing and Dunhuang in China, Kitakyushu in Japan, and Sunchon in the ROK were designated as the Culture Cities of East Asia 2021. Gansu will work with other culture cities of east Asia, upholding the spirit of "peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit" to promote regional development and world peace, said Gansu Vice Governor He Wei. Shimizu Fumio, Japan's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in China, said he expects the cities of Culture Cities of East Asia to carry out a variety of cultural exchanges activities to make new contributions in promoting mutual understanding among the three countries. Kim Byungkwun, the Consul General of the ROK in Xi'an, China, said this year's Culture Cities of East Asia uphold the valued concept of respecting the cultural diversity of China, Japan, and the ROK while promoting cultural development. Four exhibitions, including the China-Japan-ROK Dunhuang Cultural Exchange Exhibition, will showcase replicas of traditional Dunhuang mural art, as well as high-tech exhibits like 3D-printed sculptures and high-fidelity digital murals. Dunhuang played a key role in Silk Road history, and influenced China's East Asian neighbors' culture and history. The Temple of the Flourishing Law (Horyu-ji), a Buddhist temple in Japan's Nara Prefecture, was adorned with Buddhist murals styled after the Dunhuang murals in China. There are also poems in the Dunhuang Manuscripts describing the visit of a prince from Silla named Kim Gyo-gak, who became interested in Buddhism when visiting China during the Tang Dynasty. Since the 1950s, Dunhuang art has been exhibited in Japan and the ROK many times. The three countries have maintained exchanges and cooperation in cultural relic protection technology and talent training. SOURCE Gansu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism PORTLAND, Ore., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Source, a Portland-based digital product library and specification platform that connects architects, designers, contractors, and manufacturers in commercial construction, announced today the expansion of its same-day delivery service in Seattle, Washington. This service is designed for commercial interior designers and architects looking for a central solution to increase design efficiencies, and help find the right materials with the world's largest database of commercial construction products. From desktop to doorstep in the same-day, designers are able to order samples online from the world's largest commercial construction library, receive contactless delivery, and hassle free sample returns. As a national, digital search platform, Source provides industry-leading data, on-demand experts and manufacturer connections needed to make fast and stress-free product decisions. With standardized data, exportable photos for 190k+ products, centralized contacts, and dedicated librarians for product research, Source has created a visionary library connecting industry-leading data to product experts, similar to Google. Nicole Schmidt, the founder and CEO of Source, saw the gaps within the commercial design space between architects, designers, contractors, and manufacturers. After an incident of samples falling on her head at the material library, while she was six months pregnant, Nicole created the digital platform, currently used to search for commercial construction products. "Traditional commercial interior design systems used to include rolodexes and designers having to contact each manufacturer for samples of products," explained Nicole Schmidt. "Source has modernized that model and allows everyone to come to one transparent and easy to use platform to get what they need done." Source is committed to supporting the commercial design community. The Seattle Resource Center is the first of ten new centers that will soon open across the US this year. Check out the other Resource Centers opening soon. For more information, visit www.tothesource.com . About Source Source is a digital product library and specification platform that connects architects, designers, contractors, and manufacturers in commercial construction nationwide. As the decision engine for commercial construction product selection, we provide industry-leading data, on-demand experts and manufacturer connections needed to make fast and stress-free product decisions. Our digital catalog unlocks over 25 million data points from 190k products, making it easier to find, sample and spec the right products. Media Contact: Ariana Donaville, [email protected] SOURCE Source This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy. By some estimates, approximately one-third of U.S. military service members have opted out of the COVID-19 vaccine. Some think that number could be higher; for example, according to a new report, nearly 40 percent of U.S. Marines are declining vaccinations. An earlier December report from the nonprofit advocacy group Blue Star Families estimated that nearly half of military members would decline the vaccine if offered. In response, six members of Congress recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden, asking him to make the vaccine mandatory for all military service members. Advertisement In what follows, I address three questions that have arisen from the U.S. militarys ongoing efforts to vaccinate members of the armed forces: Can military members be legally required to receive the COVID-19 vaccination? What lessons from earlier military vaccination efforts (e.g., anthrax) can be applied to COVID-19? What is the impact on vaccination refusal on military readiness? Advertisement Advertisement Can military members be legally required to receive the COVID-19 vaccination? Ultimately, yesbut this answer requires a bit of nuance and process. As of this writing, the president and defense secretary have not ordered mandatory vaccination for the military (or the general public for that matter). COVID-19 vaccination remains strictly voluntary for all military service members, consistent with earlier pledges by Biden that he would not make vaccinations mandatory. But that could change, particularly for deployed service members who work in tight quarters where infection rates can spike quickly. For now, though, DOD appears committed to the voluntary vaccination approach. Advertisement As a statutory matter, in 2003, Congress passed a law (10 U.S.C. 1107a) that requires informed consent prior to military members receiving vaccinations issued under an emergency use authorization. All three COVID-19 vaccinations being used in the United StatesModerna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizerare being administered under an EUA. And all three have not been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration. By some estimates, full approval may take up to two years. But, according to the law, the president can waive this informed consent requirement if he determines that it is in the interest of national security to do so. While Biden has not done this, some members of Congress have called upon him to do just that. Advertisement If this informed consent provision is ultimately waived, military commanders can clearly order military members in their command to receive the vaccine. This is consistent with the Failure to obey an order or regulation under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Even if the informed provision is not waived by Biden, a mandatory military vaccination order may survive challenges in military criminal courts implementing the UCMJ. Federal civil courts would likely scrutinize such a move much more closely. This is based upon prior decisions and the militarys experience in implementing the anthrax vaccination program, which I turn to below. Advertisement Relatedly, outside the military context, more than 100 years ago, the Supreme Court upheld a local Board of Healths authority to require smallpox vaccinations during a smallpox epidemic. As professor Lawrence Gostin at Georgetown Law has previously argued, Jacobson v. Massachusetts reaffirms the basic police power of the government to safeguard the publics health. This decision has been relied upon during this pandemic to implement mandatory mask wearing and social distancing. What lessons from earlier military vaccination efforts (e.g., anthrax) can be applied here? Quite a few. The anthrax vaccine was administered as an investigational new drug in the late 1990s. Congress passed a law in 1998 (10 U.S.C. 1107), effectively requiring informed consent from military members prior to administration of INDs such as anthrax. This is a different but analogous law to the COVID-19 emergency use authorization. President Bill Clinton signed an executive order in 1999, reaffirming the informed consent requirement and laying out the process for seeking a waiver. But both Presidents Clinton and Geoge W. Bush did not waive the informed consent procedure. The mandatory anthrax vaccination program was administered anyway, although it was started and stopped several times in the early aughts. This was due to issues with the manufacturers ability to pass inspections and disagreements about whether the anthrax vaccine was administered consistent with its labeling. Perhaps not surprisingly, orders to take anthrax vaccinations were challenged by military service members in both military and federal courts. Advertisement Advertisement As military commanders ordered anthrax vaccinations, some service members refused, arguing that they had not provided their informed consent to the anthrax inoculation. Federal courts heard civil, administrative, and constitutional challenges, while military judges heard challenges under the UCMJ. Federal courts ruled against the DoDs mandatory vaccination program in 2003 and 2004. Judge Emmet Sullivan of the D.C. District Court issued an injunction against the military mandatory anthrax vaccination program in 2004 in Doe v. Rumsfeld. He required informed consent or a presidential waiver until the Food and Drug Administration categorized the anthrax vaccine as safe and effective. This stopped the anthrax vaccine administration in its tracks. Shortly thereafter, the Food and Drug Administration classified the vaccine as safe and effective, and the injunction was lifted. Advertisement In contrast, military judges routinely upheld the lawfulness of military orders to service members to receive the anthrax vaccine, even if the service member had not affirmatively given her informed consent. For example, in a 2000 case, Ponder v. Stone, a Navy sailor argued that the president had not waived the informed consent provision for the anthrax vaccine, which was still an IND. As such, he argued, he could not be compelled to take the vaccine without his prior consent. The military appellate court rejected these arguments, disagreeing with this characterization of the anthrax vaccine and deferring to existing military instructions. It also highlighted existing Navy instructions that mandated anthrax vaccination. Under the UCMJ, military orders have a high presumption of legality provided that the order is issued by a competent authority and there is a relationship of the order to a military duty. Advertisement Advertisement In a 2006 case, United States v. Kisala, an Army specialist was convicted of willfully disobeying a lawful order of his superior commissioned officer to receive an anthrax vaccination. In upholding his conviction, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces held that the informed consent requirement was not implicated by the order to receive the vaccine. The upshot of the anthrax cases is that there is a substantial risk of a federal court striking down a mandatory military vaccination program for COVID-19, particularly if the president does not explicitly waive the informed consent requirement. Military courts will likely uphold the lawfulness of vaccination orders, even if Biden does not waive informed consent. Still, it is extremely difficult to imagine the DOD or any one military commander getting out ahead of the president and ordering vaccinations. Time will tell whether a more heavy-handed approach is warranted or desired. Advertisement What is the impact of vaccination refusal on military readiness? Potentially significant, but it appears that the military has worked hard to institute protocols to minimize the spread of COVID-19. And it remains to be seen what the militarys true opt-out rate is and whether it is higher or lower than the countrys. By one estimate, one in four Americans would refuse a COVID vaccine outright if offered. In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak onboard the Theodore Roosevelt, a 5,000-person aircraft carrier, infected one-quarter of the crew during a time of heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific Command. Recent outbreaks on Navy ships have raised further alarm bells that the high opt-out rate endangers national security and undermines readiness: the U.S. Navys Fifth Fleet in the Middle East experienced two COVID-19 outbreaks on a Navy ship in March, impacting operations. This appeared to be a short-lived crisis and the ships were quickly returned to normal operations. But another COVID break-out on a Navy vessel or operational unit could weigh in favor of determining that mandatory vaccination is in the interests of national security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To date, 177,000 service members have contracted COVID-19, resulting in 24 deaths. Thankfully, the COVID-19 fatality rate for the military is comparatively low, reflecting the militarys younger and healthier population. Earlier this week, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), a former Marine, argued that the militarys low vaccination participation rate is dangerous for national security. (For the general population, it appears that an estimated one in five Americans is hesitant to get the vaccine.) Regardless of policy regarding mandatory vaccination, there must be a broad public health information effort designed to counteract vaccine falsehoods and misinformationboth for the military and the public. That is already occurring, but perhaps more needs to be done. Speaking from personal experience, there was a lot of initial discussion about the anthrax vaccine when it was first administered in my naval aviation squadron in 2003. But military health professionals did an effective job of explaining the vaccine and answering all of our questions. Some have pointed out that the biggest factor in making a vaccine decision is knowing someone personallywhom you trustwho decided to get the vaccine. That seems right. Soon thereafter, a vaccine tipping point occurred in my squadron as we saw our fellow aviators getting the vaccine and doing OK. Hopefully, a similar COVID-19 vaccine tipping point will occur in the military. Advertisement Where do we go from here? While the military has aggressively engaged in an information campaign about the efficacy and safety of the COVID vaccines, misinformation continues to spread online. Far-right extremists, as well as Russian Twitter trolls, have helped fuel anti-vaccination information on social media. The U.S. government should double-down on efforts to counter this. The DOD recently announced that it will be ready to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone by May 1so more information about the overall military vaccination rate should be available shortly. While Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has not indicated that he will request a waiver of the informed consent provision, this remains a valid option. He has also squarely addressed vaccine hesitancy. As the above three questions highlight, mandatory vaccination may not ultimately be pursued for a variety of reasons, and hopefully it wont be needed. But a mandatory vaccination program would likely be upheld in military and federal courts if President Biden determines that it is in the interests of national security. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. A charging device for the the new Nissan Leaf in a Nissan manufacturing plant in Melbourne, Australia on Jul. 11, 2019. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Industry Calls to Cut Victorias Electric Vehicle Tax The Australian Industry Group, a leading industry association, has lobbied for Victorias Labor government to defer its decision to enact an electric vehicle tax, warning that the result will disincentivise the transition to cleaner vehicles. The tax proposed by Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas is expected to become law by July 1, and will charge zero-emission vehicles 2.5 cents per kilometre and hybrid vehicles 2 cents per kilometre, a toll thats expected to generate $30 million over four years. Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said that, while the tax was needed, the poor timing will lead to a slower acceptance of electric vehicles, contradicting the nations goal to reduce carbon emissions. Road infrastructure needs to be paid for, and it will be important in the long term to maintain the tax base as batteries and fuel cells replace petrol tanks in Australias vehicle fleet, Willox said. But Australia is currently well behind our peers in that transition. Our slow uptake of clean vehicles is holding back national progress towards emissions targetsand increasing the pressure on every other part of the economy to deliver cuts. Tesla electric car charging station at The Star Casino in Sydney, Australia on Apr. 14, 2015. (Photo by Ben Rushton/Getty Images) In particular, Willox pointed out that the tax may ultimately hinder the states progress in meeting carbon emission reduction targets. Targets that were set forth in the states Net Zero Emissions by 2050 plan. Instead, Willox suggested that the Victorian government should halt the tariff and prioritise a more effective solution that may assist in the reduction of emissions overall. Victoria and the rest of the states should slam the brakes on these taxes and spend the next several years working together with the Commonwealth on a solution that is roadworthy, he said. Victoria has not been the only state to push for a tax on cleaner vehicles, with South Australias Liberal government proposing a similar road user charge in the 2020-2021 state budget (pdf), which was set to commence in July this year. However, since then, South Australia has delayed its scheduled introduction until July 2022. On the other hand, the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), a motoring organisation providing roadside assistance and other services, has argued that the tax will instead benefit road users. In a media statement, RACV senior engineer Nicholas Platt said the EV levy lays the foundation for a fair and efficient user-pays system. Platt explained that motorists in conventional petrol cars pay a fuel excise of about 42 cents a litre, providing funding towards road maintenance and infrastructure. Electric vehicles, on the other hand, avoid the charge entirely, despite sharing the same roads. As the number of zero-emission cars on our roads continues to grow, the EV tax will make up for lost fuel excise, so authorities can continue to fund and maintain Victorias roads, Platt said. Platt also said the levy would most likely not discourage the uptake of electric and other low-emission vehicles. But the RACV would still like for governments to investigate methods that may encourage the transition to cleaner forms of transportation. AAP contributed to this report. New Delhi: The Gujarat High Court on Monday (April 12, 2021) heard a suo motu PIL over the coronavirus situation and asked the state government that why do people have to stand in queue if oxygen and beds are available. The Gujarat HC Chief Justice Vikram Nath also directed the Vijay Rupani-led government to pace up the COVID-19 sample collection and testing. The Court said that it will meet next on April 15 to check the actions taken by the state government. After Advocate General Kamal Trivedi informed the High Court about steps taken by the Gujarat government to tackle the COVID-19 situation, the HC said that the reality is quite different from what the government claims. "The situation is quite different than what you are claiming. You are saying that everything is alright. But, the reality is contrary to that," the high court said during the hearing held via video-conferencing. The High Court said, "It takes 4-5 days for a common man to get a report, whereas officers can get an RT-PCR report within hours. Sample collection and testing should be faster." "When you (Advocate General Kamal Trivedi) are saying that oxygen and beds are available, why do people have to stand in a queue," it asked. The Chief Justice also asked the number of unused Remdesivir injections in the state and said, "You did not upscale the testing facilities when you had time." Gujarat HC also suggested ways to check the spread of the virus and said that the number of people at weddings should be capped at 50. "Make booth at housing societies to check people's health and take help of religious centres that can provide COVID care centre/isolation facility," said the Gujarat HC. "We're not satisfied with the government's policy. Something needs to be corrected so that people can do something about this pandemic. Court also says that it will meet next on Thursday, April 15 to check what actions are taken by the government," the HC added. Earlier on Sunday, the Gujarat High Court initiated a suo motu PIL over the coronavirus situation in the state, observing that media reports on the pandemic indicate that the state was heading towards a 'health emergency of sorts'. Through an oral order, Chief Justice Vikram Nath directed the high court registry to register a fresh suo motu PIL titled "In Re: Uncontrolled upsurge and serious management issues in COVID control". This, notably, is the second such PIL registered by the state high court on the coronavirus situation. The first PIL was registered in 2020 which is still being heard at regular intervals. Gujarat on Sunday reported 5,469 new cases of coronavirus, which took its caseload to 3,47,495. (With inputs from agencies) SEOUL, South Korea, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BSR Korea is encouraging and supporting decent and respectful domestic SMEs of prophylaxis industry to enter the global procurement-as-a-service market, as the government-entrusted organizing agency of the COVID-19 quarantine project, Marketing Support for Companies Specialized in Bio-functional Material in Global Market held by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) from the second half of 2019. FILTERTECH and HAPPYDAY Especially, this project is intended to support new market development by raising the brand awareness of K-Quarantine encompassing various prevention-centered items, services and technologies at the national level, instead of merely supporting companies in entering the overseas market; it is highly evaluated as achieving SMEs' entry into the global public procurement sector that is difficult for SMEs to participate. The following 13 business entities are working on this project: FILTERTECH, Happy Day, CAVAC, Duduelim, Samjin, Time System, Ace Biome, SD Foods, En-O-En, BioAlpha Cosmos, Ercohs, and Eugene Biotech. BSR Korea, the agency specialized in the public sector, has extensive experience in preparing short- and medium-term frameworks, such as planning for emergency supplies and mid- to long-term stockpile purchases for the US federal government, state governments and major prime vendors. It has established the most optimized strategy to support SMEs in the overseas market. Among them, FILTERTECH and Happy Day, with the cooperation of BSR Korea, attempt to expand overseas in the public procurement sector with masks and their total intelligence sanitization systems required for COVID-19 prevention, by leveraging a variety of channels. Currently, FILTERTECH has demonstrated Clear Gate and Rainbow Gate, its total intelligence sanitization systems ($5,300 per each), to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan. FILTERTECH's system is characterized by spraying sanitizer into space, not directly to the human body the system enables automatic atomization according to the visitor's motion in order to prevent the spread of disease via contract or respiratory droplets. Story continues FILTERTECH's total intelligent sanitization system for effective virus prevention to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing in worldwide demand: Japan, United States, Europe and South America. Global organizations and foreign government agencies praise South Korea's success in containing the COVID-19 without radial measures, and are benchmarking K-Quarantine products, systems, and technologies. With the nation-level support for domestic SMEs' advance in the global public procurement sector, such as the project Marketing Support for Companies Specialized in Bio-functional Material in Global Market at the national level, the Korean government provides various assistance for returning to normal life, while outstanding K-Quarantine-related companies are drawing attention in the overseas markets. FILTER TECH https://www.water777.co.kr Kim Myeong Seon +82-42-627-7871 filtertech@hanmail.net HAPPY DAY CO.,Ltd. Kang Sunkook +82-70-7747-2816 sandolin2@naver.com SOURCE BSR Korea (Natural News) After state election laws and ballot adjudication procedures were violated in the 2020 election; after Biden vote hauls were brought in post-election; after statistical anomalies and vote switching was found; and after the U.S. courts and the Congress refused to hear widespread evidence of election fraud and malfeasance; the Biden regime took control over the federal government. The Biden regime began its authoritarian reign with a small, phony celebration, protected by a large standing army and sprawling fences of razor. Before assuming power, the Biden regime labeled their political opposition domestic terrorists and insurrectionists even though an FBI review of the Capitol protest on January 6, 2021 found no evidence that the protestors of election fraud were armed. Moreover, security protocols were relaxed. Even more, property damage was instigated primarily by left-wing agitators who were admittedly present that day to frame Trump supporters. DC prisons are becoming modern day gulags that brutalize people based on political beliefs In the wake of the Capitol protest on January 6, 2021, D.C quickly transformed into a police state. The National Guard was called in to be a standing army indefinitely. Each National Guard member was ideologically probed and vetted to ensure that they agreed with the Biden regime and did not support any effort to investigate election fraud. Using the tactics of former dictators, the FBI feverishly began to investigate every person who occupied Capitol grounds on January 6th. Soon, one of Americas most left-wing cities would give birth to the first gulags of the Biden regime. The D.C. jail that now holds several Capitol protestors is stewing with reports of brutality and psychological abuse of the protestors, among other forms of cruel and unusual punishment. The D.C. jail is slowly being converted into a modern-day gulag. The word Gulag is an acronym for Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei, or Main Camp Administration. The term gulag was first coined in Stalins Russia from 1920 to the early 1950s, and was used to imprison roughly 18 million people. These prisons included hundreds of labor camps that held anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 people each. Political dissidents were brutalized in the camps and required to work up to fourteen hours a day. The glaring similarity between todays D.C. prisons and Stalins gulags is the discriminatory abuse of inmates over political differences and the cruel, inhumane treatment. Capitol protestors are being targeted, savagely beaten, and mentally tortured by left-wing correctional officers Correctional officers in the D.C prison are targeting the Capitol protestors and beating them up at will. Capitol protestors continue to appeal to D.C judges that they are being held in cells with no human contact for 23 hours a day. One inmate, Ronald Sandlin, spoke about the brutality in court. Sandlin says Capitol protestors are being singled out, threatened, verbally harassed, and beaten by the guards. Myself and others involved in the Jan. 6 incident are scared for their lives, not from each other but from correctional officers, Sandlin said during a bail hearing conducted by video before U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich. I dont understand how this is remotely acceptable, he added, saying he was being subjected to mental torture. Another Capitol protestor, Ryan Samsel, said he was severely beaten by correctional officers and suffers from a skull fracture and a detached retina that has left him blind in one eye. When the defendants speak out, they are often denied bail and beaten over and over again by correctional officers. This comes at a time when left-wing district attorneys and judges are letting left-wing rioters out of jail because of covid and police brutality. For instance, the Iowa Capitol building was recently invaded and occupied by left-wing protestors. There is no mention of insurrection in the media and no charges of domestic terrorism. The left-wing attacks on a federal courthouse in Portland Oregon are not being called out as domestic terror, either. The arsonists and looters are not being charged, and they are the ones committing actual violence toward people and property! It is now clear that the law is being applied surreptitiously in a selective and discriminatory manner, punishing people for their political beliefs. The American prison system is now politically-motivated and is slowly becoming a gulag to further the anti-human rights agenda of the Biden regime. Sources include: LegalInsurrection.com HereistheEvidence.com NaturalNews.com ABCNewsGo.com ConstitutionCenter.org History.com DesmoinesRegister.com Foxnews.com Ukraine and Turkey have discussed security issues and their joint response to challenges in the Black Sea region, and the views of Kyiv and Ankara are the same both on the threats themselves and on how to respond appropriately to those threats, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said. According to an Ukrinform correspondent, he said this during his working visit to Turkey on Saturday, April 10. "This year marks the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between our states. The range of issues and the intensity of our bilateral dialogue show that this partnership does not exist in words but is really backed by real deeds and real victories. I am confident that all agreements that we reached today will succeed. First of all, we thoroughly discussed security issues and our joint response to challenges in the Black Sea region. It is worth noting that the visions of Kyiv and Ankara coincide both in terms of the threats themselves and in terms of ways to respond to these threats," Zelensky said. According to him, Turkey's support for restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is important. "I was happy to hear from Mr. President the words of the continuation of such important support and the invariability of Turkey's position in the future," Zelensky said. He also noted that he had informed President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including human rights violations on the peninsula. Photo credit: President's Office Moscow court scraps appeal against ex-Khabarovsk Krai Governor's detention in murder case Press service of Moscow's Basmanny District Court 17:29 12/04/2021 MOSCOW, April 12 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court on Monday excluded an appeal against extension of detention of ex-Governor of Russias Khabarovsk Krai Sergey Furgal charged with masterminding murders in 2004-2005 from consideration due to his health condition, the courts press service told RAPSI. The matter was sent back to the first instance. Last week, Furgals defense asked to mitigate the restrictive measure as he had been infected with coronavirus. I n early March, Moscows Basmanny District Court extended detention of Furgal until June 8. Investigation into Furgal was completed in early February. Investigators believe Furgal took decisions to commit the crimes in order to move forward his personal business interests. According to the Investigative Committee, the murder of entrepreneur Yevgeny Zorya was connected with a long conflict with Furgal and court proceedings over a concrete plant purchased by Zorya. The victim had been killed a day before an obvious verdict was delivered, investigators state. One more alleged victim of Furgal was his partner Oleg Bulatov. After his murder, the defendant acquired his share in their common business, a company engaged in buy-in and resale of scrap iron, , according to the investigation. Investigators claim that the former Governor of Russias Khabarovsk Krai was involved in the attempted assassination of scrap iron businessman Alexander Smolsky outbidding competitors. Moreover, a local resident Roman Sandalov was killed for commercial reasons. A driver of Furgal took the rap. Furgal was arrested on July 9. According to investigators, all crimes were committed by an organized criminal group led by Furgal in Russias Khabarovsk and Amur Regions in 2004-2005. Earlier, four alleged members of the gang were arrested and placed in detention. Born in the Amur Region, Furgal worked as general physician at a hospital more than 6 years before the start of his political career. After being discharged from healthcare in 1999, he went in for business, according to his biography on the Khabarovsk Krai governments website. He was elected as the State Duma lawmaker three times. In September 2018, he was elected as a Khabarovsk Region governor by popular vote. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the inauguration of the Military Trophy Park in Baku today, on April 12. The head of state was informed about the military equipment displayed in the park. After touring the park, President Aliyev met with the awarded servicemen. The head of state addressed the meeting. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Monday signed legislation to extend the state individual income tax filing deadline from Thursday, April 15 to Monday, May 17 to match the federal governments decision to extend its filing deadline. Our economy is on the rise and jobs are growing, but Arizonans throughout the state have still felt the economic impact of the pandemic, said Governor Ducey. This extension aligns with the new federal deadline, giving Arizonans more time to file their state income taxes and helping them to avoid penalties. Thank you to Senator T.J. Shope and Representative Shawnna Bolick for leading on legislation that will simplify the tax filing process for Arizonans. Senate Bill 1297, introduced by Senator Shope, ensures that taxpayers filing state tax returns or submitting payments prior to May 17 will not be assessed late payment penalties or interest. Senate Bill 1297 gives Arizonans certainty on their tax filing deadline, said Senator Shope. Giving Arizonans the freedom to file their state taxes at the same time as their federal taxes makes sense, and it helps them avoid feeling rushed. Thank you to Governor Ducey and my fellow legislators who supported this bill. Additionally, the bill provides taxpayers additional time to contribute to certain charitable organizations, including foster care organizations, public schools and school tuition organizations, for purposes of claiming their tax credits. The extension applies only to individual income tax returns. Estimated payments continue to be due on April 15. In response to the pandemic, Governor Ducey last year announced the state extended the income tax filing deadline to July 15, 2020 to mirror the federal deadline. The political stench surrounding David Camerons lobbying efforts on behalf of Greensill Capital grows stronger by the day. New evidence at the weekend reveals attempts by the former PM to influence Boris Johnsons Government. In addition to a text message to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Cameron is reported to have emailed a senior special adviser at No 10, and to have lobbied four senior ministers. This includes organising a private drink with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Lex Greensill, the now disgraced Australian founder of the firm, and Cameron himself. Evidence has shown David Cameron attempts to influence PM Boris Johnsons Government Cameron, an adviser to Greensill Capital, had allegedly boasted to friends that his share options would make him $60 million after the company was valued at $7 billion in 2020. The specialist lender collapsed last month, threatening 55,000 jobs worldwide and 5,000 UK steel jobs. Last month, Cameron was cleared by a watchdog assessing whether he engaged in lobbying for which he should have registered, but demands for an inquiry are growing in the wake of the latest developments. So it is intriguing to explore what Dave had to say about Greensill in his memoirs, and especially of the highly unusual move made when he was prime minister to give Lex Greensill a desk in the Cabinet Office. The answer is . . . nothing. There is no mention of Greensill in the 732 pages of For The Record. The book was published in 2019 when Cameron thought he was still in line for a bumper payout one day. Could it be he didnt want to draw unhelpful attention to the Greensill connection? Liverpool have God on their side When Liverpool turn out on Wednesday to try to overturn a 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League, theyll have an influential ally. Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, revealed to Nick Ferrari on LBC, he will be praying for Liverpool in the quarter-final second leg. On the subject of divine intervention, Ill be on my knees for that... It would be a miracle. An empty Anfield is like a team without an arm, frankly. But two years ago, they were 3-0 down to Barcelona and they won 4-0 at home. Who says Jurgen Klopps team havent got a prayer? A question from Sir Bernard Ingham, who was Mrs Ts Press Secretary, to Nicola Sturgeon: If it is a desire for independence, why do you seek to subject yourself to the less democratic EU that takes its orders from the France-Germany axis? Quite. Veteran Radio 2 DJ Paul Gambaccini cant resist a dig at Aunties yoof-chasing sister station. I cant find the chart on the Radio 1 website any more, he says. His Pick Of The Pops has the highest listening figures in a decade: So, thank you, Radio 1 for sending me listeners. Radio 2 DJ Paul Gambaccini has said he 'can't find the chart on the Radio 1 website any more' Tributes to Prince Philip hark back to childhood Sir Nicholas Soames, reflecting on the life and times of Prince Philip, recalled their first meeting when he was just 12. The Duke gave Sir Winston Churchills grandson important advice: Stop whining and just get on with it. A pithy epitaph for a great man. And George Osborne has fond memories, too, tweeting: Prince Philip didnt stand on ceremony when I was introduced as Chancellor of the Exchequer to a bemused President of Indonesia, the Duke cut in: Hes the money man except we havent got any money. Well miss him more than we know. Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Louise Haigh was puzzled to learn that Helen Fielding, the creator of Bridget Joness Diary, may have based her hero Mark Darcy, immortalised by Colin Firth in the films, on Sir Keir Starmer. I had a massive crush on Colin Firth, Haigh said. But Im afraid I dont have a crush on Keir Starmer. Nor do the voters, Louise, nor do the voters. THE late founder of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) of Portland Oregon, Reverend Morgan Sengwayos youngest son, Missiondom succumbed to injuries sustained following a brutal attack by thugs at a church house in Pelandaba suburb in Bulawayo. Missiondom was the only surviving son of the late Rev Sengwayo who died in 1982. He died on Sunday evening at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) where he had been on a weeklong life support following the attack. The assault, which occurred a week ago, has left the Pelandaba community with more questions than answers amid strong suspicions by family members that the murder could be linked to a rivalry within the trouble-ridden church. The church popularly known as Ivangeli, was founded by Missiondoms father in 1955. Family spokesperson Dr Rayban Sengwayo said Missiondom (46) was attacked by unknown suspects before the assailants left him lying unconscious in one of the rooms at the house. He said he was discovered by a church member who had brought him food at his room. About a week ago, Missiondom was found at his house in Pelandaba with severe head injuries and bruises all over the body. He had been attacked the night before and left for dead and we took him to UBH where he had been in a coma since then, he said. Dr Sengwayo alleged that Missiondom was a victim of infighting in the church. We are not sure what happened but police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his killing. What we know is that there has been some long-standing rivalry between Missiondom and some church members aligned to a rival faction who didnt want him to stay at the church house, he said. There is a fight happening at the church resulting in splits. When Missiondoms camp lost in court following a series of litigations, everyone was evicted from the church premises. We are saying, no matter what hatred in the church, I dont think it was fair for Missiondom to be a victim of that anger. Dr Sengwayo said the rival faction failed to evict Missiondom since the house is still registered under his fathers name. He said Missiondoms wife died in Botswana recently. However, due to the closure of the countrys borders as part of Covid-19 regulations, he failed to travel to the neighbouring country for his wifes funeral. Sadly, we were in the process of assisting Missiondom to renew his expired travel documents to facilitate his travel to Botswana so that he could see where his wife was buried, said Dr Sengwayo. Spokesperson of the rival faction Mr Caleb Fefe Chidhakwa said Missiondom had turned into a nuisance. Missiondom was a drug addict and abused alcohol such that he would vandalise church property. He would come home at night and find the gate locked and then jump over the precast wall, he said. As a church, we would take him to Ingutsheni Central Hospital for rehabilitation but his relatives would go and fetch him. Upon his return he would cause mayhem and continue with unruly behaviour and destroying things. In fact, he was a member of the faction that was evicted from church premises through court rulings, but out of pity we spared him since he is the son of our founder. Mr Chidhakwa alleged that Missiondom was being used by the rival camp to cause chaos within their camp. The church has, since the death of Rev Sengwayo, been plagued by numerous divisions which resulted in several splinter groups. Contacted for comment, Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube and the AFM of Portland Oregons regional superintendent Rev Oniyas Gumbo both said they were yet to get detailed information. Mourners are gathered at Number 159 Matopos Road, Fourwinds in Bulawayo. Burial is set for Friday at Greengables Farm on the outskirts of Bulawayo. Chronicle [April 12, 2021] PYC Therapeutics Announces Preclinical Data Demonstrating Superior PPMO Delivery to the Brain NEW YORK and PERTH, Australia, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PYC Therapeutics (ASX: PYC), a biotechnology company developing a new generation of precision RNA therapeutics to change the lives of patients with inherited diseases, today announced the results of preclinical research demonstrating the ability of its breakthrough PPMO (Peptide conjugated Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomer) technology to deliver superior levels of RNA therapeutic to cells throughout the brain. "PYC's PPMO technology platform has broad potential to address a range of diseases. While we remain focused on progressing our ocular programs into clinical development, we are pleased to share these early but encouraging data in the CNS," said Sahm Nasseri, U.S. Chief Executive Officer of PYC Therapeutics. "PYC's PPMO platform is the result of years of careful design and testing. We have very deliberately applied the technology first to diseases of the eye and are excited to strategically expand to other disease areas." Over 50 million people globally suffer from a neurodegenerative disease, with over 3 million people suffering from rarer neurodegenerative disease such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Huntington's disease1. The pharmaceutical market size to serve this patient population is estimated to be worth in excess of $30 billion (USD) per annum2 and this is only anticipated to grow with an aging global population. For the vast majority of these patients, there are no disease modifying therapies available today. A major barrier to development of precision medicines for neurodegenerative disease has been the poor delivery of these medicines to the brain. Insufficient depth of penetration and therefore inadequate delivery to target cells, has prevented drugs from having meaningful impact on these diseases, without causing significant toxicity. This has been especially true for naked PMOs (i.e., PMOs without a delivery molecule), which have particularly poor uptake in adult mouse models, hampering their otherwise ideal safety, durability and target engagement profile benefits that set PMOs apart from other RNA therapeutics such as Antisense Oligonucleotides (ASOs)3. As PYC has been previously able to show in ocular diseases, today's highly encouraging results demonstrate PYC's PPMO technology has significant potential to solve this delivery challenge in neurodegenerative diseases. Superior delivery and an excellent short- and long-term safety profile in preclinical models could translate to a higher probability of clinical success and ultimately the creation of truly differentiated and meaningful medicines for patients with significant unmet need. Here, PYC has demonstrated PMO delivery and antisense effect at dosages significantly lower than those reported for delivery of both ASO and other RNA therapeutics4, and using research-grade material that may under-represent the true efficacy of PYC's PPMOs due to the lower purity (an issue that will be overcome as the Company progresses to higher purity drug preparations for testing in larger animal models). For this study, PYC researchers led by Prof. Sue Fletcher, Chief Scientific Officer of PYC, administered either a PYC PPMO drug, a naked PMO, or a PS ASO drug of the same sequence, via intracerebroventricular injection into mice. On day 5 following treatment, the PPMO demonstrated a dose dependant response across the target areas of the brain including both the motor cortex (focus in ALS) and the midbrain. Further, there was no evidence of efficacy for the ASO or naked PMO at any dose tested in this model. PYC also tested the PMO with additional Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPPs) from the PYC peptide library (each n=1 result) at 1 nmol dosage and observed improved exon-skipping over the current PPMO. While this result is not yet significant due to small sample size, it indicates that PYC's CPP library contains multiple CPPs that are potentially even more effective for Central Nervous System (CNS) specific delivery. "Neurodegenerative diseases occur when nerve cells in the brain or spinal cord lose function over time and ultimately die. These conditions affect millions of people worldwide and there are currently no effective treatments," said Professor Fletcher. "The data reported today are exciting because they demonstrate that we have identified CPPs that show a clear advantage over existing approaches in delivering PMO therapeutics into different regions deep within the brain. We believe this breakthrough result supports the further study of this technology across multiple high unmet need neurodegenerative diseases. Our team is now running experiments to determine the cellular level uptake of the PPMO in the brain ensuring we deliver to the right cells is the next major de-risking milestone for the CNS PPMO platform." "These data support the expansion of our pipeline and discovery efforts to include development of assets aimed at neurodegenerative diseases and conditions of the CNS," said Mr. Nasseri. "We are actively building out our presence in the U.S. to support translation of our ocular programs into clinical development and we are very excited to continue conducting lead selection work on future CNS candidates. We remain on track to name a candidate targeting a high unmet need neurodegenerative condition in 2021." Building off this promising proof-of-concept data, PYC is scaling up discovery efforts to ultimately enable clinical assessment of a promising PPMO drug candidate for a neurodegenerative condition. The Company remains on track to name a CNS drug candidate in 2021 and in parallel, PYC intends to further optimize its delivery technology for CNS administration including assessing both efficacy and safety of PYC's PPMO technology in larger animals. About PYC Therapeutics PYC Therapeutics (ASX: PYC) is a development-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new generation of RNA therapeutics that utilize Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPPs), a revolutionary delivery technology designed to overcome the major challenges of current gene-based therapies. PYC believes its CPP technology provides safer, more effective access for a wide range of potent and precise drug cargoes to the highest value drug targets that exist inside cells. The Company is leveraging its leading-edge science to develop a pipeline of novel therapies with an initial focus on inherited eye diseases for which it has unveiled three preclinical stage assets. PYC's discovery and laboratory operations are located in Australia and the Company recently launched an expansion into the U.S. for its preclinical, clinical, regulatory and business development operations. For more information, visit pyctx.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Forward looking statements Any forward-looking statements in this ASX announcement have been prepared on the basis of a number of assumptions which may prove incorrect and the current intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs about future events are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Company's control. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from assumptions or expectations expressed or implied in this ASX announcement include known and unknown risks. Because actual results could differ materially to assumptions made and the Company's current intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs about the future, you are urged to view all forward-looking statements contained in this ASX announcement with caution. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 1 GBD 2016 Neurology Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorders, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet Neurol. 2019 Parkinson included in 'rarer disease' to distinguish from Alzheimer's. 2 Spinraza peak sales in SMA (Biogen 10-K) scaled by patient populations in other indications. Assumed consistent uptake and pricing (note Sprinraza sold to ~11,000 patients of an estimated 60,000 patients see 2020 results presentation). 3 See Rigo F, et al. Pharmacology of a central nervous system delivered 2'-O-methoxyethyl-modified survival of motor neuron splicing oligonucleotide in mice and nonhuman primates. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2014; 350(1): 46-55.; and Flynn LL, Li R, Aung-Htut MT, et al. Interaction of modified oligonucleotides with nuclear proteins, formation of novel nuclear structures and sequence-independent effects on RNA processing. bioRxiv; 2018. 4 For ASOs in adult mice by I.C.V. see Rigo 2014 cited above at 3; for siRNA see Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Investor presentation, 'Cell Type-Targeted Therapeutic Oligonucleotides Delivery in the CNS' available at their company website (accessed April 4, 2021) 5 Nanomoles (nmol) is a measure of how many molecules are dosed, by comparison micrograms (g) is the weight of molecules dosed. The larger the molecule the higher the g dose required for the same nmol dose INVESTORS MEDIA Deborah Elson/Matthew DeYoung Leo Vartorella Argot Partners Argot Partners deborah@argotpartners.com matthew@argotpartners.com leo@argotpartners.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pyc-therapeutics-announces-preclinical-data-demonstrating-superior-ppmo-delivery-to-the-brain-301266312.html SOURCE PYC Therapeutics [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek said he expects to be dismissed from the government on Monday after he lost a bid to lead his centre-left Social Democratic party (CSSD) party last week. Petricek, the cabinet member most frequently warning of dangers stemming from closer ties with Russia and China, has often crossed paths with the pro-Russian and pro-Chinese President Milos Zeman who had called for his dismissal, Reuters reported. is all set to launch Galaxy M42, its first mid-segment smartphone in India, later this month that will be priced between Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000, industry sources said on Monday. Galaxy M42 will be the first 'M' series smartphone with connectivity. Industry sources told IANS Galaxy M42 is tipped to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor and is likely to launch in 6GB and 8GB RAM variants. Galaxy M42 will also get 'Knox Security', the first for a Galaxy 'M' smartphone. Knox offers multi-layered security to smartphones and defends the most sensitive information from malware and malicious threats. Galaxy M42 will be available on Amazon.in and com, besides select retail channels. Samsung has launched a number of 5G smartphones in India this year in the premium segment. Samsung's most premium foldable smartphone Galaxy Z Fold2 comes with 5G connectivity in India. All three variants of Galaxy S21 launched in India support 5G connectivity. Samsung also launched the 5G variant of Galaxy S20 Fan Edition in India recently. Galaxy M42 is seen as Samsung's big foray in the mid-segment category, where Samsung has a large market share in India. Samsung is a global leader in 5G smartphones and analysts expect the company to increase its focus on creating a strong 5G device ecosystem in India in the coming months. --IANS na/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Experian North America Earns #31 Ranking in the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2021 Experian North America's heightened focus on employee well-being and safety fueled innovations to serve its clients and consumers during an extraordinary year. This and our ongoing focus on creating a culture of inclusion propelled Experian's rise from number 90 in 2020 to the ranking of 31 in Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2021. "At a time when the world was turned upside down, we focused on doing what's right for our employees, clients, consumers, and communities," said Craig Boundy (News - Alert) , Chief Executive Officer of Experian North America. "We strive to be a great workplace, and this year reflected the best of Experian. The grace our employees showed during such an uncertain time exemplifies the strength of our culture and the resilience of each of our team members." To determine the 2021 list, Great Place to Work surveyed over half a million employees on issues including how trustworthy, caring and fair the company is in times of crises; employees' physical, emotional and financial health; and the company's broader community impact. Particular attention was paid to how employees' experiences varied depending on their job role, gender, race/ethnicity, payroll status, and other characteristics to ensure the company is creating a great workplace for all. As illustrated in Experian North America's 2020 Power of YOU report, the well-being of every employee has been Experian's focus throughout the pandemic. The company expanded benefits for mental health resources, telemedicine, and caregiving. Experian's leaders partnered with Aspire, the company's mental health and caregiving employee resource group to create the ASPIRE to be Well: Mind|Body|Spirit guide, which provides webinars, articles and personal video stories from colleagues on different well-being topics each week. From free credit reports for consumers and small businesses, to products and services that enable governments, healthcare providers and nonprofits to prepare for and serve populations in crisis, Experian North America's workforce leveraged diversity of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences to help vulnerable populations in crisis from COVID-19. Even through lockdowns and restrictions, employees logged 18,000 volunteer hours in 2020 to increase financial inclusivity, support frontline healthcare workers, honor the nation's military and veterans, and fight hunger. Experian's United for Financial Health program has launched partnerships with Operation HOPE, Black Girl Ventures, the NAACP and other non-governmental organizations to improve and protect the financial health of marginalized communities around the globe. "Congratulations to the 100 Best Companies to Work For. These companies stood out for heroic efforts to care for their employees, their customers and our society, in a difficult year," said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. "Remarkably, our research found that employee experience scores rose at these workplaces overall last year - a testament to the resilience of their inclusive, high-trust cultures." The Human Rights Campaign Foundation gave Experian North America a perfect score in its Corporate Equality Index for the third year in a row, and the company earned its recertification as a Great Place to Work. It has been named one of the top 10 Fortune's Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance, and a Comparably Top 50 company for Best Outlook 2021. About Experian Experian is the world's leading global information services company. During life's big moments - from buying a home or a car, to sending a child to college, to growing a business by connecting with new customers - we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organisations to prevent identity fraud and crime. We have 17,800 people operating across 45 countries and every day we're investing in new technologies, talented people and innovation to help all our clients maximise every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Learn more at www.experianplc.com or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group. About the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For Great Place to Work selected the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For by gathering and analyzing confidential survey responses from more than half a million employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organizations across the country. Company rankings are derived from over 60 employee experience questions within the Great Place to Work Trust Index survey. Read the full methodology. To get on this list next year, start here. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All. Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005597/en/ A pregnant mother who was shot six times in her own living room claims her 15-stone body saved her life by cushioning the hail of bullets. Leona Brown, 39, was cradling her baby bump on a chair in her front room when she heard explosive banging at the front door in Walthamstow, north-east London. She initially thought someone was hammering at the door but it was actually gunfire spraying through its woodwork. The mother of five said: 'When I heard the first bang the gun was going rapid like, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. 'The person emptied the whole gun - I'm very lucky to be alive.' She added: 'I stood up and saw a hole in my chest... Leona Brown (pictured with her healthy newborn Leo), 39, was cradling her baby bump on a chair in her front room when she heard explosive banging at the front door in Walthamstow, north-east London 'I was glad and relieved it happened to me in a way and not anyone else. 'Probably because I have got so much weight on it cushioned in me, whereas everyone else is slimmer. 'If that happened to my partner or my children or the boy it would have gone to the organs but will be because I'm size 16 my body cushioned it.' She was taken to the Royal London Hospital where she had a hole in her chest and four wounds in her arm. A fragment hit her leg and is still inside her body. In total six bullet fragments hit her. Ms Brown came under attack on March 3 last year but no one has been sent to prison for the shooting yet. She initially thought someone was hammering at the door but it was actually gunfire spraying through its woodwork It is believed the bullets were intended for a teen boy, a neighbour's son, who had taken refuge in Leona's house about half an hour earlier after a man she didn't recognise tried to bundle the lad into his van. Her then partner had allowed the shocked teen inside to protect him from the adult stranger. But after he called his parents to pick him up, a hail of bullets were fired at Ms Brown's home in an apparent retaliatory attack. Ms Brown survived and delivered a healthy 7.7lbs baby called Leo on June 21 last year via emergency cesarean. She added: 'He has come out so perfect, I thought maybe he would have a mark on him or something but on his body he doesn't have a mark at all.' The mother of five said: 'When I heard the first bang the gun was going rapid like, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. 'The person emptied the whole gun - I'm very lucky to be alive.' She added: 'I stood up and saw a hole in my chest.' Pictured: Ms Brown's X-rays The attack has driven Leona into hiding far away from her support network and has had a devastating toll on her older children, now 23, 21, 19 and eight. It caused so much stress she broke up with her long-term boyfriend. In relation to the shooting, the Met Police arrested and charged a man in June. A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: 'Detectives from the Met's Violent Crime Task Force have charged a man with drugs and firearms offences. 'Mudassar Ishtiaq, 32, of Cormorant Close, Waltham Forest, was arrested on June 9 after a search warrant was executed at his address. 'In the course of the search, a quantity of ammunition and controlled drugs were recovered. The attack has driven Leona into hiding far away from her support network and has had a devastating toll on her older children, now 23, 21, 19 and eight. Pictured: Bullet holes in her door 'Ishtiaq was charged on June 10 with possession of ammunition without a certificate and possession of Class A and B drugs with intent to supply.' The Crown Prosecution Service says Ishtiaq later pleaded not guilty to two counts of possession of a drug with intent to supply, and one count of possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate. He was sentenced to four years in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court on February 5. Pictured: Bullet holes on Ms Brown's front door in Walthamstow, north-east London He was also slapped with forfeiture and destruction of drugs and confiscation of the cash and a 190 victim surcharge. But a CPS spokesperson said the firearm charge was not proceeded with. A Met Police spokesperson confirmed no one else has been arrested in relation to this case. Scott Morrison is being roasted by opponents after dropping the aim to offer all Australians a Covid jab by October. The prime minister announced on his Facebook page on Sunday that he was scrapping the target because there are 'many uncertainties involved'. It comes after scientists recommended under 50s do not take the AstraZeneca vaccine due to a minuscule risk of blood clots, prompting the government to order 20million more doses of Pfizer which will not arrive until October at the earliest. Scott Morrison (pictured at a service to pay respects to Prince Philip on Sunday) is being roasted by opponents after dropping the aim to offer all Australians a Covid jab by October Mr Morrison is already under pressure over the glacial pace of the rollout which was supposed to inoculate 4million by the start of April but has only reached 1.1million. Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Sunday the government wants to offer everyone the jab by the end of the year, but Mr Morrison said this was not guaranteed. Independent senator Rex Patrick slammed the PM for failing to set a new target. 'Having blindly overpromised and then failed to deliver, now Scott Morrison won't make any new COVID19 Aus vaccine commitments,' he Tweeted. 'There's no published plan because he's allergic to transparency and no targets set because he lacks leadership.' Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally also slammed the PM, tweeting: 'He set a target of 4 million vaccinated by 31 March. Missed it. 'He set a target of vaccinating all Australians by October. He's dropped it. 'He said Australia would be at the front of the queue for vaccines. We're not even in the top 100. Scott Morrison is all spin, no delivery.' Registered Nurse Rebecca DeJong receives an injection of COVID-19 vaccine in Townsville Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said it was 'beyond belief' that the Morrison government 'seem to have no idea about vaccination timetables'. 'This should have been their main focus given they have handed most responsibility to the states,' he said on Twitter on Sunday night. Australia's delayed vaccine rollout could have devastating consequences for the economy, according to a report by the McKell Institute. The group calculates that a delay of just over 100 days could cause an extra 11 days of lockdown at a cost of some $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, Australians are being urged to consult with their doctors regarding any concerns they have over AstraZeneca vaccinations. 'It is critical for Australia's future that public confidence in the vaccine program is maintained,' Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said. He is urging Australians to discuss with their GP which vaccine they should have, noting most younger Australians would not be eligible for the vaccine until later this year anyway. Dr Khorshid said the AstraZeneca vaccine remains very safe and effective, and access to the alternative, preferred Pfizer vaccine is likely to be delayed. 'Our advice for Australians with questions is to make an appointment with their GP for a full discussion about the possible risks and benefits of having the vaccine, or of not having it, taking into account their own specific circumstances,' he said. He also noted reports that there has been some talk about doctors being concerned about potential litigation from side-effects of any vaccines. 'Please be assured that all registered doctors are fully covered - your GP is more concerned with your health,' he said. Health Minister Greg Hunt also made the point that vaccine indemnity is already in place. Mr Hunt insists GPs have 'flocked' to participate in the program in the coming week, and have not been put off by the advice on AstraZeneca jab. There were now 4,000 GP clinics across the nation able to administer the vaccine. Mr Morrison said Australia's vaccine program is faring well on an international scale. 'The latest data shows that Australia's vaccination program is advancing consistent with comparable countries such as Germany, and ahead of Canada, Sweden, France, NZ, South Korea and Japan at the same stage of their rollouts,' he said. Australia had relied heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine with 53.8million doses ordered. It is also the only jab that it can manufacture onshore at the CSL factory in Melbourne. I want my mum to get it, and that's why I want your mum to get it Scott Morrison on AstraZeneca jab Australia's Pfizer vaccines were due to arrive at a rate of 130,000 from April, but Health Minister Greg Hunt said this will now hugely expand and double by July. Last week Mr Morrison said Australians can still choose to take the the AstraZeneca jab if they want. 'It is not a ban on the AstraZeneca vaccine, it is not a prohibition on the AstraZeneca vaccine, it recommends and notes that the risk of these side effects are remote. 'They are very rare. We are talking in the vicinity of five to six per million which is a rather rare event. But it must be acknowledged,' Mr Morrison said. 'It's important so Australians can make informed decisions about their vaccination and their health care with their medical professionals, with their doctor. 'So there was no instruction not to take that vaccine. There is an acknowledgement of the risk that is there but as is the case always with these matters these are decisions for Australians.' The prime minster encouraged Australians over 50 to have the AstraZeneca jab because they are less at risk of the clotting events and more at risk of getting seriously sick from Covid-19. The annual Armenian Food Festival St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church will take place April 17 as a take-out-only event. The event is usually a popular time to gather for Armenian foods and socializing, but because of the pandemic, organizers at the church in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield decided to serve take-out only. We had a take-out event in the fall, and due to its success, we wanted to have another one for the spring, said church member Claudia Muradian-Brubach, a board of trustees member. We all still need to stay safe during this pandemic so in order to share our wonderful food with the community, we will continue to have this take-out event. Meals will be served featuring two kinds of grilled kebab shish kebab (marinated lamb chunks) and losh kebab (seasoned ground lamb and beef) served with rice pilaf, fasoulia (Armenian green beans) and pita bread. For lighter fare, visitors can order spinach-cheese pie. Baked goods will feature traditional Armenian breads and pastries including choerag, paklava and khadayif. A half dozen cooks, grillers and bakers will prepare the food at the church. If youve never had Armenian food before, youve missed out. Its very flavorful, Muradian-Brubach said. Many non-Armenian people are regulars at the festival, which draws people because of its wonderful, flavorful food and also because it is a church event, she added. Food can be purchased as a meal, and some sides are a la carte. Customers can pay via Paypal or personal check prior to the event (preferred) or pay by cash or check on day of pickup. No delivery is available. Proceeds from the event will be used for the operation of the church. We would love to hold our annual Fathers Day Picnic this year if we can, Muradian-Brubach said; it had to be canceled last year because of the pandemic. The Spring Armenian Food Festival will take place April 17 from noon to 5 p.m. at 135 Goodwin St. To place a take-out order or for more information, call the church office at 413-543-4763 or Sima Setian Pariseau at 413-262-7251 or email spariseau@charter.net. [April 12, 2021] Cipia Announces Two Design Wins From One Of China's Largest OEM TEL AVIV, Israel, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cipia, formerly Eyesight Technologies, an AI computer vision in-cabin automotive solutions provider, today announced that the company was selected by one of China's largest OEMs as the company's DMS supplier. The design win is for two new car models, with expected start of production (SOP) in 2022. Cipia's industry leading Driver Sense driver monitoring system (DMS) utilizes proprietary AI and computer vision algorithms to monitor the driver and detect signs of distracted driving and drowsiness behind the wheel, the technology can further detect enrolled drivers to deliver an enhanced, personalized in-cabin experience which is beyond safety features. The 2 new design wins build on Cipia's successes in the global DMS market, multiplying its total number of designs by 5x in the past year, as well as continuing the compay's strong momentum in China. The new OEM is Cipia's third OEM customer in the Chinese market, and further demonstrates the company's position as the leading DMS provider in this important market. "Being awarded these design wins by this leading OEM is a great achievement to our company," said David Tolub, CEO of Cipia. "China is one of the largest and fastest growing markets in the world, our leadership in this market is a result of the hard work and expertise of our China-based team, and the quality of our in-cabin sensing technology." About Cipia Cipia, formerly Eyesight Technologies, is a leading provider of intelligent sensing solutions that use edge-based computer vision and AI for safer and better mobility experiences. The company focuses on the automotive in-cabin environment, offering Driver Sense - driver monitoring system, Cabin Sense - occupancy monitoring systems and Cipia's driver monitoring and video telematics device for fleets. Over a decade of research and development stand behind the company's proprietary market-leading computer vision technology. Cipia is constantly pushing the boundaries of what intelligent sensing solutions can see and accomplish, for better and safer mobility. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1361126/Cipia_Logo.jpg Contacts Cipia Media Contact: Lazer Cohen lazer@westraycommunications.com +1-347-753-8256 Cipia Company Contact: Liat Rostock liat.r@cipia.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cipia-announces-two-design-wins-from-one-of-chinas-largest-oem-301266601.html SOURCE Cipia [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Haiti - Higher education : Barbancourt commits to support the HELP program of university scholarships As part of the 25th anniversary of the Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP), Rum Barbancourt has committed to a five-year partnership to support higher education in Haiti. HELP and Rum Barbancourt announce a five-year partnership, from 2021 to 2026, to support the HELP university scholarship program that has been operating in Haiti for 25 years. This partnership will fund three full five-year scholarships. The Office of Admissions and Recruitment is the first stop for all applicants who aspire to the organization's Excellence and Merit Scholarship. HELPs mission is to create a generation of young professional leaders who will contribute to a more just Haiti. HELP is proud to name this office after the late CEO of the Societe du Rhum Barbancourt Thierry Gardere https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20236-haiti-flash-thierry-gardere-dg-of-barbancourt-passed-away.html , who always valued higher education in Haiti. HELP Country Director, Garry Delice recalls the first check he received from Mr. Gardere in 2007. "I asked him what convinced him to make that first contribution," Garry recalls, "he said that he always believed in education for change, that Haiti cannot take off without an educated population to push the country forward." Over the years, Barbancourt has always been a supporter of HELP. Today, with Delphine Gardere, the current CEO, this partnership is not only giving back to the Haitian community but also honoring the legacy of her father. Thierry Gardere's vision and investment are already yielding results since the Societe du Rhum Barbancourt now has two HELP graduates among its employees. This commitment anchors Barbancourt in the past, present and future of HELP and its students. HL/ HaitiLibre Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba will pay a working visit to NATO Headquarters in Brussels on April 13, where he will take part in an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission to discuss Russia's aggravation of the security situation. "The meeting, initiated by Ukraine, is convened under Article 15 of the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between Ukraine and NATO to implement the agreement between President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reached on April 6," the Government portal reports. The Ukrainian foreign minister and NATO member countries will discuss Russia's aggravation of the security situation along the Ukrainian-Russian border and in the temporarily occupied Crimea, as well as effective ways of supporting Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Alliance. During the visit, Kuleba will meet with Stoltenberg. As Ukrinform reported, during a phone conversation on April 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky informed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the escalating security situation in eastern Ukraine and called for NATO's stronger military presence in the Black Sea region. ish Burglary Reported in Lyon County By West Kentucky Star Staff LYON COUNTY - A burglary was reported Friday in Lyon County.The Lyon County Sheriff's Department said deputies were called to Lisbany Road near Eddy Creek where forcible entry was made to a rear door of a home, and patio furniture was stolen.Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to contact the Lyon County Sheriff's Department at (270)-388-2311, or anonymously at www.lyonsheriff.com. President Joe Biden holds first Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on April 1, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) Biden Responds to Police Shooting in Minneapolis, Says Its No Justification for Violence President Joe Biden on Monday responded to the police-involved shooting death of Daunte Wright near Minneapolis, saying there is no justification for looting and no justification for violence. Following Wrights death, violent protests and looting erupted in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis, on Sunday night. Minnesota officials called in the National Guard after crowds of people started throwing rocks at officers and the local police department headquarters. The fact is, we know the anger, pain, and trauma in [the] black community is real and consequential, but [it] doesnt justify violence and looting, Biden told reporters. But he called on people to wait for an investigation into the shooting. Weve got to wait and see what the investigation shows The question is, was it an accident, intentional? That remains to be determined by a full-blown investigation, the president said. Biden also spoke with Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott. Elliott wrote on Twitter I appreciate @POTUS reaching out to offer his administrations support. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said the female officer involved in the shooting erroneously drew her gun instead of her Taser during a traffic stop Sunday. The officers name was not disclosed. Gannon said that during the traffic stop, officers determined Wright, 20, had an outstanding gross misdemeanor warrant. At one point as officers were attempting to take the driver into custody, the driver re-entered the vehicle, Gannon said in a statement Sunday. One officer discharged their firearm, striking the driver. Gannons office also released body camera footage of the incident, and he said the officer could be heard warning Wright and other officers that she would be using a Taser. However, the officer drew their handgun instead of their Taser, Gannon said. It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet. This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officers reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright. In the body camera footage, the officer can be heard yelling an expletive in surprise before yelling: I just shot him. The Minnesota Department of Public Safetys Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed it is investigating the matter. Wrights family later Monday confirmed they are hiring George Floyd family attorney Ben Crump, who also represented the families of Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin. John Harrington, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said overnight that when investigators arrived on the scene after Wrights death, there were about 100 highly agitated people on hand. The crowd was asked to disperse. Later, crowds of people marched to the Brooklyn Center Police Department building. Photos showed rioters on top of police vehicles, and there were a few dozen businesses that were looted, Harrington told a news conference. People were heard chanting Black Lives Matter-affiliated slogans and holding BLM signs. We saw rocks and other objects thrown at the police department. There were reports of shots fired in the area of the police department, Harrington said Sunday. Within hours of that, a secondary group we heard was at the Shingle Creek mall or business center and we have reports of approximately 20 businesses that were broken into during that period. Dublin, April 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Construction in Saudi Arabia - Key Trends and Opportunities to 2025 (Q1 2021)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Saudi Arabia's construction industry is forecast to recover in 2021, growing by 2.9%, after contracting by an estimated 0.5% in 2020. In 2022, the industry is projected to continue to recover, growing by 3.2%, and then expand by 4.3% over the remainder of the forecast period (2023-2025). Over this period, the industry's output is expected to be supported by the government's focus on the development of overall infrastructure, as well as energy and utilities construction projects, in a bid to diversify its economy away from oil. With the collapse of oil prices and disruptions due to the COVID-19 outbreak, in December 2020 the government announced a SAR990 billion (US$263.9 billion) budget for 2021. The Kingdom's budget statement showed a cut to government spending of 7% in 2021, implying that the main policy goal for the Kingdom in the short term is to reduce the budget deficit, rather than boost economic growth. However, there is a huge pipeline of projects related to the long-term diversification plans under Vision 2030. This was underlined by the crown prince's announcement in January 2021 that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is to invest SAR3 trillion (US$800 billion) on projects in the country over the next decade. This report provides detailed market analysis, information, and insights into Saudi Arabia's construction industry, including - Saudi Arabia's construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activity Critical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, as well as an analysis of key risks and opportunities in Saudi Arabia's construction industry Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, focusing on development stages and participants, in addition to listings of major projects in the pipeline. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in Saudi Arabia. It provides - Historical (2016-2020) and forecast (2021-2025) valuations of the construction industry in Saudi Arabia, featuring details of key growth drivers. Segmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by sub-sector Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, including breakdowns by development stage across all sectors, and projected spending on projects in the existing pipeline. Listings of major projects, in addition to details of leading contractors and consultants Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 2 Construction Industry: At-a-Glance 3 Context 3.1 Economic Performance 3.2 Political Environment and Policy 3.3 Demographics 3.4 COVID-19 Status 4 Construction Outlook 4.1 All Construction 4.2 Commercial Construction 4.3 Industrial Construction 4.4 Infrastructure Construction 4.5 Energy and Utilities Construction 4.6 Institutional Construction 4.7 Residential Construction 5 Key Industry Participants 5.1 Contractors 5.2 Consultants 6 Construction Market Data For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/i41k89 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. It comes as Saudi Arabia, which has had 393,000 cases of Covid so far, has seen a spike in coronavirus cases Millions of Muslims visit Mecca each year for the pilgrimage, as well as the compulsory once-in-a-lifetime hajj The rules are in place for the umrah pilgrimage - which is non-compulsory and takes place all-year round Muslims will need to be vaccinated with either two doses, one dose after 14 days or recovered from Covid Advertisement Muslims making a pilgrimage to the Grand Mosque at Mecca must be vaccinated against Covid, Saudi officials have insisted today. Strict social distancing measures and disinfection routines will also be implemented inside the world famous holy site, in western Saudi Arabia, where millions of Muslims visit each year for the umrah and hajj pilgrimages. The rules, announced today at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, currently apply to the umrah pilgrimage - a non-compulsory pilgrimage which takes place year-round. It is not clear if the hajj, a pilgrimage every Muslim must take at least once in their lifetime, and that can only be performed at a specific time of year, will also be impacted by the new restrictions. The hajj and umrah ministry, the body responsible for managing the two pilgrimages, said in a statement that three categories of people would be considered 'immunised'. These include who have received two doses of the vaccine, those administered a single dose at least 14 days prior, and people who have recovered from the infection. Strict social distancing measures and disinfection routines will also be implemented inside the famous holy site, in western Saudi Arabia, where millions of Muslims visit each year for the umrah and hajj pilgrimages. Pictured: Cleaners disinfect around the Kaaba - the cubic building at the Grand Mosque The rules, announced today at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, currently apply to the umrah pilgrimage - a non-compulsory pilgrimage which takes place year-round. Pictured: Muslims pray around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque of Mecca Mecca: The holiest city in Islam Mecca is a city in western Saudi Arabia, known as the holiest city in the Islamic faith. The city is the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. There is also a site outside the city where Muslims believe Muhammad was first shown the Quran - the holy book of the Islamic faith. The city, which is around 40 miles to the east of Jeddah and the Red Sea, is home to around 2million people. But each year millions of Muslims go to Mecca to pray - and at its peak this almost triples Mecca's population. Muslims usually visit Mecca as part of two pilgrimages the umrah and the hajj. The umrah, which all Muslims are advised but not required to go on, takes place all-year round - though it is most popularly done in the last weeks of Ramadan. The hajj is a longer, compulsory pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims must take at least once in their life time. Part of the pilgrimage is to the Masjid al-Haram - also known as the Great Mosque of Mecca - the largest mosque in the world and which is valued at $100billion. At the centre of mosque is the Kaaba - a cube like structure that is believed to have been constructed by angels of by Adam. Muslims walk around the Kaaba during the pilgrimage and it is the focus point of prayer in the mosque. Advertisement Only those people will be eligible for permits to perform umrah, as well as to attend prayers in the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca, officials have said. Saudi Arabia has reported more than 393,000 coronavirus infections and 6,700 deaths from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, and is said to have administered more than five million jabs to its population of 35 million. Officials say the new policy would effectively 'raise the operational capacity' of the Grand Mosque during Ramadan - the end of which is often the peak time for umrah pilgrimages. The condition also applies for entry into the Prophet's Mosque in the holy city of Medina and begins with Ramadan. However it is unclear how long the restrictions will last. It was also not clear whether the policy, which comes amid a spike in coronavirus infections in the kingdom, would be extended to the annual hajj pilgrimage later this year. The announcement comes after King Salman replaced the hajj minister last month, less than a year after the kingdom hosted the smallest hajj in modern history due to the pandemic. Mohammad Benten was relieved from his post and replaced by Essam bin Saeed, according to a royal decree published by official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). In late July last year, the kingdom hosted a downsized hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime. Only up to 10,000 Muslim residents of Saudi Arabia itself were allowed to take part. This is compared to the usual 2.5 million Muslims from around the world who participated in 2019. It is unclear how many pilgrims will be allowed for hajj this year. According to the pro-government Okaz newspaper, only vaccinated pilgrims will likely be permitted this year. In a relaxation of coronavirus curbs last October, Saudi Arabia opened the Grand Mosque for prayers for the first time in seven months and partially resumed the umrah pilgrimage. Officials say the new policy would effectively 'raise the operational capacity' of the Grand Mosque during Ramadan - the end of which is often the peak time for umrah pilgrimages The umrah, the pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time, usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year. Authorities said the umrah will be allowed to return to full capacity once the threat of the pandemic has abated. Saudi Arabia's custodianship of Mecca and Medina -- Islam's two holiest sites -- is seen as its most powerful source of the monarchy's political legitimacy. The holy sites are also a key revenue earner for the kingdom, whose economy has been badly hit by the pandemic. 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 This story was published in partnership with The Trace. When the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2021, Newark, New Jersey, reached a policing milestone. The citys police had gone an entire calendar year without firing a shot at a civilian. It was a big deal: A department criticized by local activists and residents, one under the watchful eye of the federal government, finished 2020 without killing anyonethe first time since 2015. The new year also brought Newarks streak to an abrupt end. At 12:03 a.m. on January 1, a plainclothes cops shot and killed Carl Dorsey, a 39-year-old father. The states attorney general is investigating the incident. Advertisement Dorseys killing occurred at a crossroads for policing in Newark, as residents and officials hash out decisions that will shape public safety for years to come. The most immediate question: Can Newark sustain change if the federal government leaves the city to its own devices? Mayor Ras Baraka has spent much of his time in office trying to get two crucial groupsNewarks cops and its Black communityto trust each other and work together. Under Baraka, the police have met with community groups, giving residents input into law enforcement. Officers and civilians have also explored how decades of violence traumatized them all. Advertisement Advertisement We realize there is work to do, Newark Public Safety Director Brian OHara says. At any given time the reservoir of trust could be drained. Trust has been hard won, the product of decades of work by activists, political pressure from the mayor, and federal intervention. A scathing 2014 Department of Justice report detailed a host of unconstitutional and illegal practices by police officers, leading to a 2016 consent decree, a legal agreement between the city and the federal government that prescribed a set of reforms and placed the Police Department under a court-appointed monitor. It gave Baraka more leverage to begin pushing for major police reforms. But the consent decree has been expensive, costing at least $11 million overall, so far. Advertisement Under the monitor, the department reached a point in 2020 that would seem unimaginable to longtime residents. While other cities burned and cops clashed with protesters in the demonstrations that erupted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Newark had 12,000 protesters descend during the course of a weekend without its police making a single arrest. At one point Baraka marched alongside the demonstrators. That it could stand back as protesters decried police actions was a leap for a department whose actions ignited the 1967 Newark uprisings, one of the deadliest in American history. The combination of federal oversight, political pressure from the mayor and Newarks long tradition of activism formed a three-legged stool to support police reform. Advertisement Cops didnt kill anyone in 2020, but officers used force in 453 incidents, sending 79 to the hospital. But underneath the public displays of solidarity, and beyond the Police Departments signs of restraint, lies an agency that has not yet made Newark both physically safe and constitutionally sound. Cops didnt kill anyone in 2020, but officers used force in 453 incidents, sending 79 to the hospital. Black people were disproportionately stopped, frisked, and arrested. And from 2015 to 2019, the Newark Police Department killed eight Black men, according to The Washington Post, more than any other department in the state. The heavy hand of policing in Newark is still landing on its Black community. Under the terms of the agreement, May is the earliest Newark could be released from federal oversight. That decision rests with court monitor and former New Jersey state Attorney General Peter Harvey, who did not respond to requests for comment. Sources in City Hall familiar with Harveys thinking say they dont believe he plans to release the city from the court monitoring. The pandemic delayed some of the progress required under the federal agreement, and Newark still has areas where it hasnt achieved compliance. Advertisement Within the citys activist community, theres general agreement that six years of reforms havent erased decades of strife between the police and Black and Latinx communities. But some are split over whether the consent decree remains necessary. One camp firmly believes the Police Department is poised to keep improving without the federal government peering over its shoulder. The monitoring, to a set of younger activists in Newark, is designed to make the Newark Police Department better. To Aqeela Sherrills, who Baraka brought in to help with reforms beyond the department, fixing the cops is one thing, but public safety is changing. Cities are looking outside law enforcement. Never again will law enforcement be a single source of contact for safety, he said Advertisement Advertisement But older activists in Newark worry that without the consent decree, the city could easily regress. When [it] ends and there is no oversight over the cops, it is easy for the cops to slide back to what they were doing before, said Zayid Muhammad, the 59-year-old founder of the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition. The federal oversight is the driving engine. This police department is not reforming itself because [of] its own good will. The seeds of Newarks police reform effort were sown in the 1967 uprising. The clashes started with Newark cops beating of a Black taxicab driver and stretched for five days. The uprising left buildings burned by arson, 26 dead, and dozens more injured. A police officer struck Amiri Baraka, the famed poet and activist, with the handle of his gun; another officer joined in. The event marked Amiris son Ras Barakas early life and forged his commitment to end police brutality. Ras Baraka came directly out of the activism movement, Muhammad said. His father is a legend here. Advertisement While the 1967 uprising conceived the movement for police reform in Newark, its gestation period would be long. Residents took to the streets again after the 1991 police slaying of Tasha Mayse, a pregnant 16-year-old fatally shot in a stolen van. Cops fired at least 40 rounds into the vehicle following a chase, also killing 20-year-old Lamont Russell Jones and injuring two other passengers. A New Jersey grand jury declined to file manslaughter charges against the cops, and the Newark Police Department cleared them of misconduct. Advertisement Following the Mayse shooting, Lawrence Hamm, a 67-year-old activist, saw a steady stream of community members bringing complaints of police brutality to his group, the Peoples Organization for Progress. Every other week, someone was coming into our office saying they had been brutalized by the cops, Hamm said. At first, cases didnt go far. The Peoples Organization for Power isnt staffed with lawyers; the best it could do was to direct people to legal aid attorneys. But in 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union gathered some of the claims, and handed them to the U.S. Department of Justice, which launched an investigation. Advertisement The probe received only soft support from former Mayor Cory Booker. Cory Booker was almost an absentee mayor, he was very polished, great profile, great resume, Muhammad said, but he didnt do enough to address the problems with the Police Department. Booker commissioned a stop-and-frisk tracking policy and called for the creation of a civilian review board, but did so in the waning days of his administration, after he announced his run for U.S. Senate. In 2013, Booker would leave Newark for Washington, D.C, making way for Ras Baraka to become mayor the next yearand follow through on Bookers eleventh-hour promises. The decades-long struggle for police reform transitioned from grassroots to governance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two weeks after Baraka took office, the Justice Department released its report, which confirmed the abuses residents claimed to have suffered at the hands of police. One in five officers had engaged in excessive force. Black residents, who account for a little more than half the citys population, made up 85 percent of the pedestrian stops and almost 80 percent of those arrested during those stops. The Justice Department also found that officers had stolen property from people they encountered and arrested. With the DOJ report in hand, Baraka had the hammer he needed to reshape the Newark Police Department. Within weeks, Baraka signed the executive order establishing the civilian review board. He began pursuing a community-based approach to public safety that enlisted groups outside the Police Department to address crime. To lead the effort, he turned to Sherrills, who relocated to Newark from Los Angeles. Advertisement Sherrills had risen to national prominence by negotiating a gang truce in Los Angeles in the wake of the riots that followed the verdict in the trial of the cops accused of beating Rodney King. Baraka asked Sherrills to lead the Newark Community Street Team, which mediates disputes. The program helped quell the gang violence that flared up in Newark in the early 2000s. The city also formed the Safer Newark Council, which convened law enforcement, City Hall, and community groups to talk about crime, violence, incidents with law enforcement, and what effect all of it was having on residents. But these steps were just the beginning of Barakas plan. If reforms were going to work, the city needed to heal from decades of trauma. Barakas next move was to hold a different kind of meeting between the police and the community. If reforms were going to work, the city needed to heal from decades of trauma. In 2016, Baraka allowed Newark to be a test site for Trauma to Trust, a program where the community and police officers meet in group settings to talk about the psychological strain each has experienced. Officers had to listen to how their actions had scarred the community. Newarks residents had to hear about officers fears. The sessions left plenty on both sides in tears. Trauma to Trust is radical, and its great, said OHara, a 20-year veteran of the Newark Police Department. Trauma is our common denominator. Officers experience that in very similar ways to people on the street. Advertisement By 2016, Newark was under a consent decree, joining Baltimore as one of the last major cities to fall under federal monitoring; under the Trump administration, the Department of Justice would not place local law enforcement under court supervision. Officers in Newark would receive mandatory training on de-escalation techniques. Stop and frisks wouldnt end, but Newark would have to fight crime without the rampant police stops the department had used for years. The consent decree is about everything that is wrong with policing in the United States, OHara said. The decree gave the city a vehicle to mandate reforms that are not always popular. Advertisement Officers did push back against some changes required by the federal monitors, including body-worn cameras, fearing that management and the city would use the footage to scrutinize cops every action. Rank-and-file officers fell back on a common refrain: You are going to get a cop killed, OHara recalled. Advertisement To further transform its Police Department, Newark began to be more forceful in disciplining officers. In the first full year of the agreement, the city terminated 12 cops. The number of disciplinary hearings held by the department went from 142 in 2016 to 300 in 2019. The most vivid proof of the changes came during last summers protests. Unlike many other cities, Newark didnt send cops to the front of the demonstration in riot gear because doing so, police leaders thought, would only trigger conflict. The approach reflected a big shift. When Booker was mayor and Garry McCarthy was police director, anytime we wanted to demonstrate it was an adversarial relationship between us and the police, Hamm said. The police director during the 2020 demonstration, Anthony Ambrose, positioned the cops in tactical gear away from the center of the protests, but he also called on Sherrills and his outreach workers to act as eyes and ears. The Newark Street Team disarmed a man with a bat who had targeted a store window. There is a reason why we had a protest with 12,000 people here and didnt have any violence or arrests, because things have changed with the department and with the city, Sherrills said. Advertisement Advertisement But how much? Like the killing of Mayse almost 30 years earlier, Dorseys death on Jan. 1 has again focused attention on the tactics employed by police. He was shot and killed by plainclothes cops, what residents call jump out boys. While police departments in other cities with strained relationships between the community and cops, like Baltimore, have ended plainclothes policing, Newark is still deploying officers not in uniform to use the element of surprise to catch those suspected of breaking the law. Residents believe its the jump out boys who are responsible for the departments disproportionate use of force against and continued stopping and frisking of Black people. There has been a reduction of police brutality, but reduction is not elimination, Hamm said. Advertisement There has been a reduction of police brutality, but reduction is not elimination. Lawrence Hamm Another point of contention is the limited purview of Barakas Civilian Complaint Review Board. The board, composed of community group members, can examine the actions of police in shootings, and complaints against cops. But it does not have subpoena powers or the ability to hold independent investigations outside the departments own internal affairs process. The departments rank-and-file went to court to fight for those limitations; so far, theyve prevailed. Advertisement Advertisement Hamm and Muhammad vividly remember the 1967 uprising and the decades of work it has taken to achieve modest progress. Both understand that eventually the consent decree will end. But neither wants that to happen until the civilian review board has the authority to hold cops accountable. We absolutely have to have a civilian review, and not just in Newark, by the way, everywhere, Hamm said. The problem of police brutality is so widespread and so deep in American society, there clearly needs to be oversight of police by civilians. State Assembly member Angela McKnight pushed a bill to establish such boards across New Jersey. The bill made it out of committee and to the full state Assembly on March 17. Advertisement Sherrills, on the other hand, is part of a group of younger activists who believe the monitoring served its purpose: It gave Baraka the cover necessary to make the reforms, and now the infrastructure is in place, they argue, to make even more changes without federal oversight. Neither Baraka nor his staff say whether he wanted the monitoring to continue beyond May. But the mayor expressed confidence that efforts to improve the Police Department could continue without oversight from outside the city. These policies will remain in place, once we are no longer under the Consent Decree, Baraka said in an emailed statement in response to The Traces questions. All these changes will prayerfully keep our department from sliding into past practices, because there is a growing respect and trust between the police and community. Federal intervention isnt cheap. The consent decrees price tag has covered hours of training and $7.4 million to pay Harvey to act as the court monitor, and $4 million to upgrade equipment and training. The agreement also mandates the city upgrade the Police Departments computer system. Barakas administration says the city has made some fixes, but doesnt feel it is necessary to spend the full $35 million the court monitor has requested on this front. Its position is that the monitoring has become a drain on resources, and the city has the tools in place to continue making progress without outside oversight. Among them: The activist community broadly supported OHaras promotion to public safety director, since OHara coordinated consent decree compliance within the department. Then there is Barakas new Office of Violence prevention, which he created using $11 million, or 5 percent of the police budget. Its part of his plan to bring a public health approach to public safety, and will hire and train social workers to replace cops in responding to nonviolent incidents. The standing up of a public safety strategy in the city that doesnt only include law enforcement means they dont need the consent decree, Sherrills said. You have a lot more in place in the city to keep the Police Department honest. (Newser) A Taliban spokesman said Monday the religious militia wont attend a peace conference tentatively planned for later this week in Turkey, putting US efforts to get a peace plan anytime soon in jeopardy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said he wanted to see a peace agreement between Afghanistans warring sides finalized at a conference hosted by Turkey and attended by top officials from both the Taliban and the Afghan government. Afghan government, US, and Turkish officials had said they intended to begin the conference Friday. It was to last 10 days. No new date for the Turkey conference was set but time is running out on a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan in keeping with a deal the Trump administration made with the Taliban more than a year ago, the AP reports. story continues below President Biden has said he is committed to ending America's longest war but the US is reportedly looking for a three- to six-month extension. Until now the Taliban have refused, warning of "consequences" if Washington reneges on the deal and the withdrawal timeline. Last month, Blinken gave both the Taliban and the Afghan government an eight-page proposed peace plan to review, which called for protection of the rights of women and minorities and allowed for constitutional reform. In an audio message to the AP, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said the Islamic Emiratethe name the Taliban gave their governmentwas not ready to attend this weeks planned meeting in Turkey. He said the insurgent group was still discussing the US-proffered peace agreement. (Read more Afghanistan stories.) Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 20:57:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday blamed Israel for the incident in central Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment site, official news agency IRNA reported. Israel "wants to take revenge on the Iranian people for their success in lifting the unjust sanctions, but we will not allow it," Zarif said in a meeting of the Iranian parliament's national security commission. In response to the voice asking Iran's government to halt the Vienna talks on reviving Iran nuclear deal after the accident, Zarif called on Iranian people not to "fall in a trap" set up by Israel. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Sunday that an accident took place in a part of the electricity distribution network of the Natanz nuclear facility in the morning. Zarif said that the centrifuges damaged at the Natanz facility were the first generation, and will be replaced with more advanced devices, which will strengthen Iran's position in the negotiations aiming to have U.S. sanctions against Iran lifted. Iran, Zarif warned, will not allow Israel to prevent the sanctions from being lifted, and will "take revenge on" Israel for the incident in Natanz. Meanwhile, the Sunday incident was "a bold act of nuclear terrorism on the Iranian soil," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted by Press TV as saying on Monday. The AEOI head Ali Akbar Saleh on Sunday also described the incident as an act of "nuclear terrorism." "Necessary measures are being taken to arrest the main element behind the disruption in the power system of Natanz complex," Iran's Nour News reported, citing a security source. Iran celebrated its National Day of Nuclear Technology last Saturday. During the event, 164 IR-6 semi-industrial centrifuges were injected with gas and became fully operational at a uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, and 30 IR-6S centrifuges entered the first phase of gas injection at the same plant, according to IRNA. Enditem A woman has turned herself in to police in Vietnam after she killed her drunk husband by covering his mouth with tape and plunging his head face-down in a basin of water. Police in northern Bac Giang Province on Sunday detained Nguyen Thi Nga, 41, a local resident, on charges of murder. They previously called upon the woman to give herself up after suspecting her of being the killer. The killing occurred at around 3:00 pm on February 9, when D.X.M., Ngas husband, came home under the influence of alcohol and fell face-down on the doorstep with his clothes wet and dirty, according to polices investigation results. At that time, Nga and her four-year-old daughter were watching TV in the living room. Nga then came up to her husband to help him stand up but he swore at her and grabbed her around the neck. After managing to escape from him, Nga tied M.s hands with a fabric string about 70cm long. She left him there and went to take his clothes for changing later. Nga came back to M. about 20 minutes later, bringing along a basin of water. She washed her husbands face, and as soon as Nga severed the string that tied his hands, M. grabbed her hair and continued to swear at her. In a fit of anger, Nga recounted, she covered her husbands mouth with tape and held his head face-down in a basin of water for about one minute. She saw M. open his eyes but close them again. Nga removed the adhesive tape from his mouth, changed his clothes, and carried him to his bed. At 10:00 pm on the same day, Nga tried to wake up her husband but he kept lying motionless. She felt his limbs cold, so she called everyone around to help her take him to hospital, but he was then found dead. Nga reported to police that her husband had died from falling on the doorstep while being drunk. Police officers, however, discovered some suspicious injuries on M.s body, and the forensic examination conducted later concluded that the man had died from asphyxiation. Meanwhile, Nga showed signs of fear after completing her husbands funeral. She later gave herself up to police on March 3. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A man was executed and a female security guard severely wounded in a suspected underworld 'settling of scores' outside a coronavirus vaccination centre in Paris. Witnesses looked on in horror as the 'targeted execution' unfolded outside the private Henry Dunant Hospital in the French capital's upmarket 16th Arrondissement early on Monday afternoon. 'A gunman arrived outside the hospital soon after 1.30pm, and fired bullets into the head of a man in the street using a pistol,' said a police source. 'A female security guard at the hospital tried to intervene, but she was also shot and very badly injured. 'The gunman then ran away, pursued by other witnesses, and he managed to get on a motorbike and disappeared. A manhunt is under way to try and find him.' The Mayor of the 16th Arrondissement confirmed that the attack was not terror-related but appeared to be a targeted gang shooting. The shooting by a took place outside the Henry Dunant Hospital in the French capital's 16th Arrondissement early on Monday afternoon Police patrol in the street of the Henry Dunant private hospital where one person was shot dead and another injured in a shooting in front of the institution owned by the Red Cross in Paris' upmarket 16th district on April 12 The source said an inquiry had been launched for murder and attempted murder, and 'a settling of scores' was being prioritised as a 'motivation for the crime'. 'There were not many people around in the street, but the hospital is a busy one run by the Red Cross,' said the source. 'There is a coronavirus vaccination centre inside.' The gunman fled on a motorcycle, a police source said. Local police union spokesman Noura Berrahmoune confirmed that: 'It looks like a settling of scores.' She said both victims received medical attention at the scene, but the poresumed target succumbed to his wounds. French police cordon off the area near the Henry Dunant private hospital where one person was shot dead and one injured in a shooting outside the instituion owned by the Red Cross in Paris' upmarket 16th district on April 12 'One person died and one is seriously injured,' a fire service source said. Witnesses described it as appearing to be a 'targeted assassination' outside the hospital. 'It appears that the main target was a man, who was killed,' said an investigating source. 'He was hit severely times in the head by the gunman who fired at point-blank-range.' The shooting took place outside the private Henry Dunant Hospital in the French capital's upmarket 16th Arrondissement early on Monday afternoon 'The woman who was severely injured was a security guard who tried to intervene. She was very badly wounded.' Other witnesses said they had seen the victim ordering a cup of coffee in the area just before he was killed. Neither of the victims have yet been identified. Justin Biebers new album, Justice, has returned to No. 1 for a second time, beating out Demi Lovatos latest in a tight race for the top. Justice, which opened at No. 1 two weeks ago, then dropped to No. 2, reclaimed the Billboard 200 charts peak position with the equivalent of 75,000 sales in the United States, including 89 million streams and 6,000 copies sold as a complete package, according to MRC Data, Billboards tracking service. Bieber, 27, has had eight albums go to No. 1, but this is the first time that one of them has accumulated more than a single week at the top since My World 2.0, which notched four chart-topping weeks in 2010. Close behind is Lovatos Dancing With the Devil The Art of Starting Over, which opened with the equivalent of 74,000 sales, including nearly 47 million streams and 38,000 copies sold as a full package. Bieber and Lovato share the same manager, Scooter Braun, who has also been in the news lately as the former owner of Taylor Swifts first six albums, which she has pledged to rerecord as an assertion of control and economic revenge. (Over the last 21 months, Brauns company, Ithaca Holdings, bought Swifts former label, Big Machine, for $300 million to $350 million, then sold Swifts recordings to an investment firm associated with the Disney family, also for more than $300 million, and then Ithaca sold itself for just over $1 billion.) WASHINGTON Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers said Sunday they have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one company to move ahead with plans to manufacture batteries in Georgia. President Joe Biden called it a win for American workers and the American auto industry. The agreement between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation ended the need for Biden to intervene in a case closely watched for its implications on Bidens clean-energy agenda, which includes a sharp increase in the number of electric vehicles as part of his plan to address climate change. Biden had until Sunday night to make a decision, following a ruling in February by a trade commission. The companies said in a joint statement that SK will provide LG Energy with a total of $1.8 billion and an undisclosed royalty. They agreed to withdraw all pending trade disputes in the United States and South Korea and not assert new claims for 10 years. We have decided to settle and to compete in an amicable way, all for the future of the U.S. and South Korean electric vehicle battery industries, said Jun Kim, CEO and president of SK, and Jong Hyun Kim, CEO and president of LG Energy. The companies pledged to work together to strengthen the EV battery supply chain in the U.S. and support the Biden administrations efforts to advance clean energy policies, including electric vehicles. The U.S. International Trade Commission had decided in February that SK stole 22 trade secrets from LG Energy and that SK should be barred from importing, making or selling batteries in the United States for 10 years. The decision could have left Ford and Volkswagen scrambling for batteries as they both roll out additional electric vehicle models, a priority for the companies and for the Biden administration. SK has contracts to make batteries for an electric Ford F-150 pickup truck and an electric Volkswagen SUV. The commission said SK could supply batteries to Ford Motor Co. for four years and to Volkswagen AG for two years. The decision had jeopardized a $2.6 billion battery factory that SK is building in Commerce, Georgia. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who at Bidens request had jump-started negotiations between two companies, said the settlement has saved the battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, ensuring thousands of jobs, billions in future investment, and that Georgia will be a leader in electric vehicle battery production for years to come.' U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the deal builds confidence in the reliability and responsibility of the two companies as suppliers to the U.S. auto industry. The agreement puts the U.S. in a stronger position to drive innovation and clean energy technology while also respecting the rights of technology innovators at the heart of trade and manufacturing policy,' Tai said. Added Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.: The best way to protect workers in Commerce and the jobs Georgians were promised is for the companies involved to negotiate a settlement in good faith. He said he raised the battery issue with Biden during the presidents March 19 visit to Atlanta. Biden said in a statement that building electric vehicles and the batteries needed for them is an important part of his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan. We need a strong, diversified and resilient U.S.-based electric vehicle battery supply chain, so we can supply the growing global demand for these vehicles and components creating good-paying jobs here at home, and laying the groundwork for the jobs of tomorrow. Todays settlement is a positive step in that direction, Biden said. Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., called the settlement fantastic news for northeast Georgia and our states growing electric vehicle industry.' Ford, in a statement, said the deal allows us to focus on delivering a range of Ford world-class battery electric vehicles for our retail and fleet customers, while also supporting American workers, the economy and our shared goal of protecting the planet.' Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for Guidehouse Insights, said a settlement was always the most likely outcome. Demand for electric vehicles is projected to rise dramatically by 2035, and other companies will start making them in the U.S. to meet that demand, he said. Switching the U.S. fleet of roughly 279 million largely gas-powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles is a focus of Bidens infrastructure plan, with $174 billion allocated for EV incentives, a half-million charging stations and development of a domestic supply chain. Experts say its possible the U.S. will run short of electric vehicle batteries if it doesnt set up its own network of parts suppliers. We dont have nearly enough (existing) battery production capacity to meet the kind of volumes that companies are talking about producing, Abuelsamid said. ___ Matthew Daly and Tom Krisher of The Associated Press wrote this story. Krisher reported from Detroit. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has conceded that every citizens of the country might not all receive coronavirus vaccines in 2021. Scott Morrison said on Sunday afternoon that while he hoped the population would be vaccinated this year there were too many uncertainties to make guarantees, reports xinhua news agency. The government has abandoned Morrison's previous promise that every Australian would be fully vaccinated by October after the early stages of the vaccine rollout was interrupted by international supply issues and concerns over blood clots caused by the AstraZeneca jab. In a social media post, Morrison said there was no new target to replace the October deadline. "The government has also not set, nor has any plans to set any new targets for completing first doses," he said. "While we would like to see these doses completed before the end of the year, it is not possible to set such targets given the many uncertainties involved." As of Sunday there had been 1.16 million vaccines administered in Australia, about half of which have been delivered by the federal government through general practitioners (GPs) and the aged care system, and the other half through state and territory vaccine hubs. Minister for Health Greg Hunt said earlier on Sunday that GPs have "flocked" to participate in the rollout, dismissing reports that doctors fear they could be liable for any side effects from the AstraZeneca vaccine. There are signs Kevin Klein has set his sights on the mayors office, but the rookie councillor remains coy about his political aspirations. There are signs Kevin Klein has set his sights on the mayors office, but the rookie councillor remains coy about his political aspirations. "I laugh at that, I guess, because Im really just focusing on results for Winnipeg and change for Winnipeg and ending the status quo," Kevin Klein says in response to suggestions hes already looking at carpet samples in anticipation of moving into the mayors office in about 18 months. He has stepped up appearances on radio programs and issued a raft of news releases touting fresh ideas, such as free parking for electric vehicles and monthly water bills. "Im going to continue pushing for a better Winnipeg," he said. "Im going to continue trying to do my best to make a difference... Im going to focus on my job today." However, a couple of people whove spent their careers watching Manitoba politicians suspect the councillor may have started an unofficial campaign. "He dropped some pretty broad hints that hes eyeing the job and hes going to take a run at it," said Paul Thomas, political studies professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba. "You could say that all the time hes been (at) city hall, hes always been looking to trade his way up to a higher position.... So, in some ways, hes been involved in a campaign since he first got elected. I think thats why hes strived so much to get publicity and get noticed and offer news releases and things like that." Christopher Adams, a political scientist based at St. Pauls College at the University of Manitoba, said he also suspects Klein, who is in his first term as a city councillor, could be eyeing a run for mayor. "His name pops up quite often. I would say hes been fairly active, hes been visible," said Adams. A review of press releases sent out since Mayor Brian Bowman announced on Oct. 23 that he wouldnt run for re-election shows Klein has not been shy about establishing his own brand. He has issued at least 14 news releases and official statements just a couple short of the number sent from Bowmans office during the same period (not including releases from the citys corporate communications department that mentioned the mayor). And each of the six councillors who sit on Bowmans powerful executive policy committee appear to have emailed out just five or fewer releases and statements. Add Kleins notable social media presence to the mix and Thomas said the councillors public persona would probably stand out even if the October 2022 municipal election were further down the road. He noted Kleins call to remove the executive policy committee as one key indicator that hes interested in a run for the mayors seat. A preliminary governance review recently found city councils mayor-appointed EPC has extra votes and more power to vet public service reports than counterparts in nine other Canadian cities, something Klein has argued gives that select group of councillors excessive sway on final votes. "Thats a pretty broad hint that you have your eye on the top job at city hall and you have some ideas about how the city would be run," said Thomas. Since his election, Klein has not hesitated to highlight what he sees are shortfalls in the current leadership group at city hall, often openly opposing the mayor. "I think he likes to see himself as a bit of a rebel around city hall," Thomas said. "I think he likes to generate controversy and thats not a bad thing from the standpoint of getting your face and name recognition and attracting a wider audience for your viewpoint." Klein said hes inclined to call attention to specific issues that he feels council has not properly addressed, such as the fact 87 homicides took place in Winnipeg over the past two years. He stressed that reflects his current council work, not a push for a higher office. Adams said he expects it could be easier for councillors who are interested in a mayoral run to attract attention now, since theres no incumbent in the race. He said he believes many Winnipeggers would consider Klein a centre-right candidate, so his visibility could drum up calls for a centre-left opponent. "I would say right now people are starting to talk to their backers who will help them finance their campaign," he said. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca Updates on Aiken Technical College's campus improvements and upcoming new police training program will be provided at the Aiken County Commission for Technical and Comprehensive Education's meeting Monday. This is the first time the ACCTCE, the local governing area commission for the college, will hold an in-person meeting in months. Previous meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic have been held via conference call. In March, the South Carolina Technical College System and the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy announced that ATC would be among the schools offering a new law enforcement program, the Police Pre-Academy Training (PPAT) Certificate, starting in August this year. ATC President Dr. Forest Mahan said the college is excited to join fellow South Carolina technical colleges in offering the program. This statewide effort will help address the shortage of law enforcement officers in South Carolina and create a pathway for residents interested in the profession. Those enrolling in the program will gain the skills they need to succeed in their job and develop the critical ability to build trust with those they serve," Mahan said in March. Also on the agenda are building and campus improvements. For the last several months, ATC's welding lab has been undergoing an expansion project that will allow more students to use the lab at once. The increased enrollment of the welding program has opened up the need for additional welding booths and machines, welding instructor Keith Cusey said in December. The meeting will begin at 5:15 p.m. at the Center for Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Building 1700. Aiken Technical College is located at 2276 Jefferson Davis Highway, Graniteville. Mumbai, April 12 : The high prevailing price of steel globally has built a strong ground for domestic steel makers to test overseas market for growth with competitive price offerings. According to a research report from Crisil, in January-March 2021, domestic steel prices rose slower than global prices, which widened the spread between landed global prices and domestic prices to 19 per cent in March from 2 per cent in October. This, the ratings agency said, drove exports up 126 per cent on-year in March to 1,290 kilo tonne (KT), compared with a monthly average of 650-750 KT in recent times. Interestingly, while exports of finished steel in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 (April-June, 2020) were driven by lacklustre domestic demand due to lockdown and and demand destruction due to the pandemic, the surge in the last quarter was led by higher export realisation. Overall in fiscal 2021, exports increased 29 per cent. The momentum is expected to continue and push finished steel exports another 12-16 per cent higher this fiscal, Crisil said. Interestingly, there were variations in the geography mix of exports last fiscal. In the first half, China accounted for 30 per cent of finished steel exports. In the third quarter, however, that number plunged to a mere 8 per cent with January and February seeing negligible exports. In contrast, the share of the European Union surged from 13 per cent of exports in the first quarter of last fiscal to over 39 per cent in January-February. The exports would be supported by three factors: Expectation that global steel prices will remain elevated, especially in the first quarter of this fiscal, before cooling sequentially. Also, widening spreads between export and domestic realisations will support exports. Lastly, the expectation that incremental supply will exceed incremental demand with the commissioning of 6 million tonne of new supply. After a brief cooling phase in February this year, global steel prices have continued to rally and touched $830 per tonne in the last week of March, the highest in the past 12 years. Healthy demand in China, low-base effect of the January-March 2020 quarter, and small steps towards de-carbonisation that's impacting supply lifted global steel prices to $690 per tonne on average in the last quarter of fiscal 2021, compared with $483 per tonne in the same period a year before. Iron ore supply hiccups at mines in Brazil and Australia also lent lift. Domestic prices are expected to remain elevated through the first quarter of the current fiscal, with average price hikes of Rs 5,000 per tonne likely sequentially, Crisil said. But from the second quarter, both global and domestic prices would cool sequentially. For the current fiscal, they are expected to increase 13-15 per cent on-year. Supply-tightening reforms in China and the second wave of Covid-19 are the key monitorables. Russian court upholds refusal to rehabilitate man charged with helping Nazi invaders pastinfo.am 11:01 12/04/2021 MOSCOW, April 12 (RAPSI) The Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Second Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction has examined an opinion of the Deputy Prosecutor of the Smolensk Region on the refusal to rehabilitate a person convicted for treason. As follows from the materials of the criminal case, the defendant performed the functions of the headman of two villages in the Smolensk region during the period, when the area was temporary occupied by German troops in 1941-1942, and until the the territory was liberated by the Red Army units carried out orders of the German authorities, the cassation instance points out. The man was sentenced for treason on March 13, 1943; the sentence was executed on April 13, 1943. The court concluded that the man had been lawfully subjected to criminal repression under the criminal legislation in effect at that time. The guilt of the man is confirmed by the testimony of witnesses, the evidence the defendant provided in the course of interrogations and the documents seized. The rehabilitation was sought by a granddaughter of the man, who alleged that he became a victim of false denunciation; however, the court said these arguments were not supported by the materials of the case. Product photo is available: https://inspection.canada.ca/eng/1618178850107/1618178850889 OTTAWA, ON, April 11, 2021 /CNW/ - Hayter's Turkey Products Inc. is recalling Hayter's Farm brand Onion & Parsley Turkey Burgers from the marketplace because it contains wheat which is not declared on the label. People who have an allergy to wheat, or have celiac disease or other gluten-related disorders should not consume the recalled product described below. The following product has been sold in Ontario. Recalled product Brand Product Size UPC Codes Hayter's Farm Onion & Parsley Turkey Burgers 450 g 6 78836 32115 8 Best Before 2021 AL 19 What you should do Check to see if you have the recalled product in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased. If you have an allergy to wheat, or have celiac disease or other gluten-related disorders, do not consume the recalled product as it may cause a serious or life-threatening reaction. Background This recall was triggered by the company. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products. If other high-risk products are recalled, the CFIA will notify the public through updated Food Recall Warnings. The CFIA is verifying that industry is removing the recalled product from the marketplace. Reactions There have been no reported reactions associated with the consumption of this product. SOURCE Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) For further information: Public enquiries and media: Company information, Hayter's Turkey Products Inc.: 1-519-237-3561; Public enquiries, Toll-free: 1-800-442-2342 (Canada and U.S.), Telephone: 1-613-773-2342 (local or international), Email: [email protected]; Media relations, Telephone: 613-773-6600, Email: [email protected] Related Links http://www.inspection.gc.ca STORY LINK Pound Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) Exchange Rate Dips as UK Non-Essential Shops Reopen GBP/JPY Exchange Rate Falls as UK Markets Remain Cautious Japanese Yen (JPY) Rises on Stronger Japanese Machine Tool Orders Data GBP/JPY Exchange Rate Forecast: Could Growing Optimism in the UK Economy Boost Sterling? Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: The Pound Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate dipped this morning despite a jump in small business confidence thanks to todays reopening on the UKs non-essential shops. The pairing is currently trading around 150.25.As a result, Sterling investors are now more hopeful about the outlook for the UKs economy, which could begin to make a steady recovery now that non-essential shops return to business.The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Chairman, Mike Cherry, was confident about the easing of some restrictions, saying:Its fantastic that our shops, hairdressers and gyms can get back to doing what they do best all over England from today, with some restrictions easing in other parts of the UK as well.The certainty provided by the Governments road map is filling many small business owners with renewed confidence. We live in hope that the virus stays in retreat so the remaining indicative dates for unlocking can be met, enabling our vital night-time economies, offices and travel and tourism businesses to get back to it as well.In UK economic news, this evening will see the publication of the latest British Retail Consortiums (BRC) Retail Sales report for March.Any improvement in retail sales last month would further buoy confidence in the UKs economic recovery going forward.However, GBP investors are remaining cautious after Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned people to enjoy the new freedoms but to stay wary of risks.The Japanese Yen (JPY) rose today following this mornings publication of the Japanese Machine Tool Orders figure for March. The data revealed that tool orders had increased by 65% last month.Consequently, JPY investors are more confident about the outlook for Japans manufacturing sector.Today also saw Japan rollout Covid-19 vaccinations for the elderly.Kyodo News commented:Japan's coronavirus inoculation campaign has been progressing slowly, with over 99 percent of the population yet to receive a shot about two months after its start, trailing many developed nations.Japan, which currently completely depends on imports for its coronavirus vaccine supply, began inoculating about 36 million seniors aged 65 or older on Monday after beginning its campaign with health care workers on Feb. 17. The elderly account for around 29 percent of Japan's population.However, with Japan trailing behind the rest of the world in rolling out coronavirus vaccines, Japanese markets are becoming more cautious about the effects this might have on the nations economy.Pound (GBP) traders will be awaiting tomorrows release of the latest UK Manufacturing and Industrial Production figures for February.Any further improvement in the outlook for the UK economy, however, would boost the Pound Japanese Yen exchange rate.Japanese Yen (JPY) investors will be eyeing tomorrows release of the latest Japanese Machinery Orders figure for February.If this points to a steady recovery in Japans manufacturing sector, then we could see JPY head higher.The Pound Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate will continue to be driven by the outlook for the UK economy.Any signs that easing lockdown restrictions could provide a much-needed boost to Britains economy, then Sterling would benefit. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: Japanese Yen Forecasts Pound Yen Forecasts During a working discussion of the final version of the national strategy for creating a barrier-free space in Ukraine, the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska proposed to create the Council for Barrier-Free Space, according to the website of the head of state. "It is important that all the developments are put into practice, and not remain on paper. Therefore, I propose to create the Council for Barrier-Free Space. I see the main purpose of its creation in monitoring and control of the state of the National Strategy implementation, realization of planned programs developed at the regional state administration level, coordination of complex issues of interagency interaction," the presidential press service quotes Zelenska. The First Lady suggested that such a Council should include representatives of the central executive authorities, local government, civil society, experts and scientists. She also applied to the Cabinet of Ministers with a request to consider her initiative on April 14, during the coordination of the Strategy for the creation of a barrier-free space in Ukraine. In turn, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that "the government supports the initiative of the First Lady, the issue of creating a Council for Barrier-Free Space will be brought up to a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers." Chairman of the interdepartmental working group on the development of a national strategy, Minister of Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov said that "after its approval, maximum attention will be paid to the implementation of the strategy, since accessibility should become a new social norm." Reportedly, during the meeting, the heads of 11 ministries presented the final version of the national strategy. At the same time, each ministry responsible for the development of accessibility in a certain area has presented specific directions and programs that will be included in the future action plan for the implementation of the national strategy. For two months, work on its creation was carried out by an interdepartmental working group with the involvement of the expert environment, specialized public organizations, scientific and business communities. SUV EV Sunday marked the end of the recent litigation between SK and LG , and a positive one indeed, since the two battery makers were able to reach an agreement without an intervention from the White House.Earlier this year, following a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling, SK was about to be forbidden to make or sell batteries in the United States, after being accused of stealing trade secrets from LG Energy. All of this while SK had already signed big contracts with Ford and Volkswagen for battery supply and while it was building a new factory in Commerce, Georgia.With the help of Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, the two companies initiated negotiation proceedings and reached a settlement, with SK agreeing to pay LG Energy $1.8 billion, plus royalties. This amicable agreement allows SK, on one hand, to resume building the $2.6 billion battery factory in Georgia, and carmaker, on the other hand, to expand their electric vehicle strategy.SK will supply batteries for Volkswagens electricand for the electric Ford F-150 pickup truck. LG also announced plans to increase investments in the U.S. market and complete a second plant that it co-owns with GM.With electric vehicles being an important part of the new American administration's recent infrastructure plan, this trade conflict had more serious implications than it might have seemed at first glance, and losing a well-known battery supplier for theindustry was not something the current government was prepared to accept. Should developers continue receiving special tax breaks for locating their projects in north Baton Rouge? It's a question the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council will answer this week when it considers extending another five years the economic development district it created in the area. Councilman Cleve Dunn Jr., who's sponsoring the measure, says the North Baton Rouge Opportunity Zone not only spurs the revitalization efforts many in the area have spent years lobbying for, but it also helps curb the excessive crime rate that has crippled development on that side of town through job creation and community investments. However, within the first five years of its controversial creation, there has been only $16 million in total investments logged in north Baton Rouge. That's a number Dunn says is low, but other leaders in the community applaud. +5 'Why put a liquor store there?' Plank Road residents press for higher standard for development When plans were announced to revitalize a 4.3-mile stretch of Plank Road, many local residents thought things might finally be looking up for "I don't think law enforcement are crime stoppers; they are crime responders," Dunn said. "Economic developments and jobs are crime stoppers. More jobs paying livable wages deters people from turning to crime. And we do that through incentives like this (Tax Increment Financing) program and the other things we've got going on." The North Baton Rouge Opportunity Zone functions like several others throughout the city-parish. But unlike those, it doesn't fall under the umbrella of the federal and state programs. It was created independently by the Metro Council in 2016 and was more commonly referred to back then as an economic development district. The special zone encompasses pretty much everything north of Florida Boulevard and within the Baton Rouge city limits. Tax abatement programs within opportunity zones lock in pre-renovation assessments, allowing developers to avoid increased tax obligations that would follow as their projects increase the value of their properties. Opportunity zones are usually overlayed on census tracts that qualify as "low income," as defined by the poverty rate or median family income benchmarks. Although they've been credited for spurring economic development, like in downtown Baton Rouge and in the southeast part of the parish, they've been criticized for rewarding developers who decide to build in areas that are already primed for new developments. Former East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden initially vetoed the Metro Council's creation of the North Baton Rouge Opportunity Zone in 2016, saying the city-parish would be "bankrupt behind that scheme." In his objections to it, Holden also said the district was too large and the city-parish would miss out on too much money because of it. 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 It took a supermajority of the council to override Holden's veto. According to the city-parish report, there have only been five developments that received the special tax incentives since it was created. All together, those projects created 21 permanent jobs, 124 construction jobs and netted a total investment of $16 million into the area. Annual tax abatements totaled around $968,000 and an estimated total loss of about $100,000 to the city-parish's general fund over the course of the five years. To James Gilmore, interim executive director for the Baton Rouge North Economic Development District, those numbers equal success for north Baton Rouge, despite how small they may be compared with what has taken place in other taxing districts across the city-parish. "That's $16 million that wouldn't have to come to north Baton Rouge if we didn't have that TIF," Gilmore said. "There are no other ways to generate the revenue to spur economic development in places like north Baton Rouge, where there has been so much disinvestment." Gilmore hopes extending the program another five years can double the total investments in the area. East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said she has her eyes more trained on revitalizing north Baton Rouge than previous administrations. In June, city-parish leaders cut the ribbon on a multimillion-dollar medical complex within Howell Place industrial plaza. Build Baton Rouge, the city-parish's redevelopment authority, in 2019 released its master plan for the Plank Road corridor, which included a mixed-use development with more than 40 affordable housing units, a grocery store and rapid bus line. Dunn said if the Metro Council extends the opportunity zone another five years, he intends to meet with the parish's economic chamber and north Baton Rouge business leaders to amplify a campaign that would attract more developers something he says was lacking the first five years of its existence. "I do think we can do a better job of promoting and advertising it (but) we shouldn't let it die," he said. "This was something monumental when it got passed. There needs to be more of an internal push and us rejuvenating it." For many years, remote work was an amenity. It was something startups and young companies offered as a way to attract top-flight talent and stand out in a crowded job market. Now? Remote work is an expectation that is transcending the traditional at-home setup. Just look at Hyatts Office for the Day package as evidence of this shift. The hotel chain offers workers a refreshing opportunity to change their scenery and work in a way that benefits their well-being. But better remote working isnt just about being able to afford a private beach its about subtly shifting your environment to boost your mood and creativity. With workers stressed out and stuck at home without access to many of their usual joys, hobbies and external stimuli, its crucial that work environments feel engaging. Remote work is something most companies can offer at this point but the good ones manage to keep it fun and fresh. Related: What Nobody Tells You About Remote Work Keep the cobwebs away Once you move beyond the notion that remote work equals working from home, the options for how to spend your day are pretty endless. Just ask yourself: What kind of energy do I need to excel at my current workload? That question should dictate the sort of remote mindset you cultivate within your company. These pointers that should help you promote better remote working among your team members: 1. Pick up the tab Show your companys commitment to a fresh approach to remote work by speaking with action and financial investment. Allocate some cash so employees can explore the full spectrum of a flexible and remote setup. Some companies, like Automattic, the team behind WordPress, have found that a wholly distributed workforce is the way to go. The company empowers team members to work from anywhere, including offering an allowance to set up a more pleasant coworking space with others. Related: 5 Tips on Choosing New-Age Offices My company gives employees an annual $2,500 flexible work budget to spend on learning, growing and doing what they love. Depending on each team members needs, this could look like a new mechanical keyboard, a gym membership or tickets to a conference. We also offer the X-Outpost, a set of co-living spaces that inspire our team members to get away from their usual remote routines and stoke their creative juices. If youre on more of a budget, public spaces have always provided homes away from home; you can now use them as your office away from the office. Malls, public libraries, lobbies and even airports offer cheap and ever-changing escapes. With so much variety, you might begin to find that certain locations in your local community can serve different purposes for you. Whatever your means of providing remote work options, leverage it to provide your team with new and innovative opportunities. 2. Study, study, study According to a Deloitte study, 75 percent of companies understand the importance of creating and preserving knowledge as the employment landscape evolves over the next 12 to 18 months. To that end, help your remote workers thrive by becoming a trusted resource on the changing workplace. Do your research and provide an extensive internal list of resources. That could be a list of local cafes or local hubs with reliable internet connections. Or perhaps it involves connecting with other companies that have remote workers looking for buddies. Weve added couch surfing listings to our internal resources so employees from different cities can visit each other and work in the same space for short periods throughout the year. Use whatever knowledge you have to help employees transform the remote world around them. By sharing your remote expertise, you can help employees make educated and effective decisions about attacking their remote work responsibilities each day. 3. Get up and pop some popcorn Often, employees get so caught up with work and life that they forget that moving is even an option. Separate studies by researchers at the University of Michigan and Texas A&M concluded that switching up study locations helped students improve test scores. Your remote protocol can go a long way by encouraging, inspiring and reminding team members to get up and move around. Shifting locations, even if its just from the kitchen to the bedroom and back again, can inspire a boost of creativity and get your blood moving around your body. Buffer likes to let its team play workstation popcorn, a game that requires a participant to move to a new workstation before they can complete the next item on their to-do list. Remind your team members that they arent confined to the same couch or chair for the entirety of their workdays. Whether theyre going across the house, city or country, encourage remote workers to stay mobile to stay on track. Related: 5 Alternative Locations to Get Work Done When You Need to Escape the Office We might be a world in crisis, but remote working is about more than making do. Finding new places to inspire you, new people to learn from and new perspectives on old landscapes could be the revolution your workplace needs in 2021. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved The Kent coronavirus variant is not more deadly than the original strain of the virus, more research has suggested. Two studies involving more than 37,000 patients found no evidence the mutant variant was more lethal or caused more severe symptoms. Scientists agree that the variant spreads faster than its predecessor but the Government's claim that it is more deadly, made in a TV press conference in January, is being knocked down by emerging scientific evidence. B117, as the variant is known to scientists, is now dominant in the UK and is taking over Europe, too, as the continent experiences its third wave. Boris Johnson and Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK's chief scientist, told the public three months ago that the variant could be 30 per cent deadlier, but studies have since debunked the claim. The new research, published today in the Lancet and Lancet Infectious Diseases journals, adds to a study released by Public Health England in March that also found no proof the variant has a higher death rate. B117 may kill more people overall because it spreads faster so causes bigger outbreaks, but the direct proportion of infected people who die is no higher. Scientists agree that the Kent variant spreads faster than its predecessor but the Government's claim that it is more deadly, made in a TV press conference in January, is not backed up by evidence (Pictured: NHS medics look after a seriously ill patient in Milton Keynes University Hospital in January) 'It's a relief that [researchers] have finally debunked the idea that the B117 variant causes more severe disease,' said Dr Julian Tang, a University of Leicester virologist who was not involved with the study. One of the studies was done by University College London Hospitals researchers using patient data from 2020, and another by experts at King's College London, who used data from the Covid Symptom Study app. PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND STUDY FINDS NO PROOF OF HIGHER DEATH RATE A Public Health England study published in March found that the Kent coronavirus variant is not more deadly than the original strain. PHE's analysis of more than 5,500 Covid patients in the second wave found there was 'no difference' in mortality rates between the strains in the month after getting infected. However, the agency discovered people who caught the Kent B117 variant were a third more likely to need hospital treatment than those infected with the older version, though the risk remained tiny for the majority of people. Among the researchers behind the study were 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson, the SAGE scientist whose gloomy forecasts of the first wave plunged the country into its first shutdown, and Dr Susan Hopkins, one of PHE's chief epidemiologists. The finding came just months after No10 used a dramatic press conference to warn the public the Kent variant was at least 30 per cent deadlier. The PHE study, which is still to be published, looked at more than 5,500 people in England who tested positive for the virus between October and December last year. About half were infected with the original strain and the others had B117. A total of 131 needed hospital treatment and 76 died within 28 days of their test. Initially, the researchers said there was no evidence of a link between the Kent strain and an increased likelihood of needing hospital care. But after adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, underlying health conditions and other Covid risk factors, they found a 34 per cent heightened risk. Writing in the study, the researchers said: 'We observed an increased risk in hospitalisation associated with the variant compared to wild-type cases. 'However, no significant difference in the risk of mortality was observed.' Advertisement The UCL research looked at patients admitted to two hospitals in London in November and December last year when the Kent variant was taking over. It compared the severity of illness and rates of death between people testing positive for B117 and those with other versions of the coronavirus. While 38 per cent of people infected with older variants became severely ill or died at the North Middlesex or UCL hospitals, only 36 per cent of people with B117 did so. And 16 per cent of people with the Kent variant died 31 out of 198 compared to 17 per cent of people with other strains 24 out of 141. There was no significant difference, therefore, suggesting any variant was more deadly than another. One of the researchers, Dr Eleni Nastouli, from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'One of the real strengths of our study is that it ran at the same time that B117 was emerging and spreading throughout London and the south of England. 'Analysing the variant before the peak of hospital admissions and any associated strains on the health service gave us a crucial window of time to gain vital insights into how B117 differs in severity or death in hospitalised patients from the strain of the first wave.' The second study, by King's College London, analysed data from almost 37,000 people who use the Covid Symptom Study app. Using self-reported data the team compared figures from across London, the South East and the East of England during a 13-week period when the variant was becoming dominant there. They compared the proportion of tests that were known to be positive for the new variant with any changes in the rates of death or severe illness before the strain appeared. It found there was no statistically significant change in the effects of being diagnosed with Covid. People reporting that they had tested positive during the time when the variant was taking over were not more likely to have more symptoms, didn't have different symptoms, didn't develop severe Covid more often and didn't have a higher rate of long Covid, the study found. It did find, however, that the virus spread faster the relative R rate, or number of people infected by each person with the virus, was 1.35 times higher, the team said. King's College's Dr Mark Graham said: 'Reassuringly, our findings suggest that, despite being more easily spread, the variant does not alter the type or duration of symptoms experienced and we believe current vaccines and public health measures are likely to remain effective against it.' The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released pictures of spellbinding blue dunes from the red planet-Mars. In an image released by NASA, areas depicted in yellows and oranges have warmer temperatures. Areas marked in bluer tints, that resemble blankets of snow, have cooler temperatures. The area captured in 30 kilometers wide and situated on 80.3 degrees north latitude and 172.1 degrees latitude. The US space agency has released these images on the twentieth anniversary of the Odyssey rover. The images shared by NASA were taken using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument on the Odyssey orbiter, which has sent around 1 million images since it started circling Mars. The imaging system developed by the Arizona State University has been instrumental in reporting significant findings from Mars such as rocks, salts, water and much more. Besides this, the THEMIS imaging system has also captured unique views from Mars' moons-Phobos and Deimos. According to Odyssey's deputy project scientist Laura Kerber, "It's hard to overstate how the THEMIS global map has filled gaps in our knowledge." THEMIS "measures the surface temperature day and night, allowing scientists to determine what physical materials, such as rock, sand, or dust, exist. Its data reveals the presence of these materials based on how they heat up or cool down over the course of a Martian day," according to the NASA website. Edited by Mehak Agarwal Also read: Meet Dr Swati Mohan, Indian-American scientist who played key role in NASA's Perseverance landing Also read: Monkey plays video game through telepathy; Elon Musk shares viral video Saudi Arabia has temporarily closed some of the largest civil airports because of several Iranian/Yemeni Shia rebel attempts to attack these airports and destroy airliners and kill civilians. Two ballistic missiles and four UAV cruise missiles were apparently sent after the largest airport in the country, outside the capital Jedda. This is city is 800 kilometers from Yemen, which is why the Saudis feared another attack directly from Iran. None these strikes have got past Saudi air defenses but the Saudis realized one cruise or ballistic missile warhead hitting any part of an airport or near one would be a major blow to the Saudi reputation for security from airstrikes or Islamic terrorist attacks. This is more important now because in 2019 the Saudis made changes to their visa laws and allowed access to tourist attractions by all foreigners. This program was interrupted by the covid19 crises but that is less of a problem now and more tourists are beginning to arrive. The Saudis assume that this is why Iran has shifted its efforts to Saudi airports. The Iranians realize that many attacks can fail against such high-profiles targets but if one missile gets through, all the failed attacks are worth it. This sort of thing is a standard part of the Iranian playbook, as it the preference for using proxies (mercenaries or foreign clients) rather than make the attacks from Iran or using easily identifiable Iranian personnel. The Saudis have consistently demonstrated the ability to detect and intercept ballistic missiles and its air defense personnel are now have the most combat experience of any in the world when it comes to cruise and ballistic missile attacks. The same skills have been quickly acquired for dealing with the growing number of Iranian cruise missile attacks from Yemen and Iran. The Saudis dont release many details but civilians near potential targets have captured on videophone cameras recent incidents of Saudi jet fighters using air-to-air missiles to take down the cruise missile shaped Iranian UAVs that Iranians and Yemeni rebels use as one-way as cruise missiles. This means these improvised cruise missiles can reach targets just about anywhere inside Saudi Arabia. Given the Saudi success this year at detecting these UAVs and shooting them down, Iran had its Shia rebels try concentrating on targets close to the Saudi/Yemen border. This revealed that the Saudis had developed an early warning system that could detect the small, low flying UAVs soon after they took off from locations in northwest Yemen, which contains the Shia rebel tribal homeland, or Sanaa, the national capital, farther south. The rebels have occupied Sanaa since 2014, which triggered the continuing civil war. The most frequently used UAV/cruise missile is the Iranian Ababil. These are made in Iran and provided to several Islamic terror groups in the region. Ababil is an 83 kg (183 pound) UAV with a three meter (ten foot) wing span, a payload of about 36 kg (80 pounds), a cruising speed of 290 kilometers an hour and an endurance of 90 minutes. That means a one-way flight can reach any target within 400 kilometers of a launch site in northern Yemen or southwestern Iran. There are larger Iranian UAVs that can travel up to a thousand kilometers on one-way missions, but Iran has found that the longer these UAVs are in the air over enemy territory, the more likely they are to be spotted and shot down. Meanwhile, Iran provides the Shia rebels with lots of Ababils. These are smuggled disassembled, into Yemen, or anywhere else, the Ababils are then reassembled by locals under the supervision of Iranian technicians. Sometimes minor cosmetic modifications are made so the locals can give their Ababis a new name and claim it as their own. That doesnt work for long because once UN inspection teams were available to visit the site of an attacks to collect fragments of Ababils, it was not long before some of the components were identified as coming from Iran and the exploded UAV an Iranian design. In Yemen the Ababils are most often used to go after targets at a specific GPS location. While Ababil can be controlled by an operator on the ground via an onboard vidcam, they can only do that when the UAV is within a hundred kilometers of the operators. The GPS-based guidance system of the Ababil means you can send the UAV, armed with an explosive warhead, on a one-way flight to destroy or damage any target within range. When these Ababil attacks began in 2017 they were successful because no one expected them. The Israelis had experience with defeating these attacks and they had already shared that with the Americans, and the Americans have long supplied trainers of and advisors to Saudi air defense personnel. It was not surprising that the Saudis quickly adapted the Iranian/Shia rebel UAV cruise missile attacks and more frequently intercepted or hit them with an airstrike before they could be launched. The Ground War For the last two months most of the actual fighting has taken place in central Yemen (Marib province), where a Shia rebel offensive continues despite higher and higher casualties. In the last week there were some days where losses reached levels rarely seen during this seven-year-old civil war. There were at least two days when total daily casualties were in the hundreds with at least a hundred dead. The Marib fighting began in February and, rather than that being intense for a few days or weeks and then fading, the Marib combat kept escalating. Calling the fighting a rebel offensive was misleading, most of the time, because most of the fighting involves artillery and mortar fire as well as dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles. The government forces respond with even more artillery fire and air strikes, all provided by the Arab Coalition. During the first six weeks of this intense fighting the dead and wounded amounted to nearly 500 fighters from both sides as well as a few civilians. In the last three weeks those totals have doubled. The rebel offensive was all about pushing government forces out of the province completely, and it failed. Some of these attacks temporarily weakened the rebels in Marib sufficiently for the government counterattacks to force the depleted rebel forces back. The February offensive became more likely when the UAE forces left Marib in early 2020 because of disagreements with Saudi Arabia over strategy and to concentrate all their military forces in the UAE where they were needed to discourage any Iranian aggression. For that reason, the UAE took their missile defense systems with them and that made government military bases more vulnerable to rebel ballistic and cruise missiles attacks. The withdrawal of Arab coalition forces from Marib enabled the rebels to successfully regain control of much territory in the province. But the early on the rebels suffered hundreds of casualties in failed efforts to capture the provincial capital, which is 120 kilometers east of the rebel held national capital Sanaa. Another objective was the oil fields in Marib. Yemen has some oil resources and, even though they are tiny compared to what Iran and the other Arab states in the region have, they were enough to supply internal needs as well as provide some for export. Production and exports were halted several years ago but possession of Yemenis oil resources is a prestige thing. The Yemeni government and the Arab coalition also wanted to use Marib as a base area for a possible ground advance in the rebel held national capital Sanaa. April 10, 2021: In the north, Shia rebels sent two another explosives laden UAVs into southwest Saudi Arabia. One of the UAVs was apparently programmed to attack the main airport outside the Saudi Red Sea port of Jazan near the Yemen border. The other UAV was headed for the King Khalid Air Base which is inland and near the border city of Khamis Mushait. Both UAVs were intercepted April 9, 2021: In the southeast (Hadramawt province) the third largest airport in Yemen was reopened for regular commercial flights for the first time since 2016. The two largest airports, in Aden and Sanaa were never shut down although the rebel-controlled Sanaa airport is one limited use because of the aerial blockade imposed by the Arab coalition since 2015. April 6, 2021: In the south (Shabwa Province), al Qaeda took credit for a rocket attack on an Arab Coalition base. There were no casualties or property damage. This incident was more of a were still here reminder. There are two active Islamic terror groups in Yemen. The much larger and more active one is AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) and a much smaller, and less active ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) affiliate. Both these terrorist groups have been keeping their heads down in rural hideouts since 2017. Most of these hideouts are in central Yemen and areas to the east. Some are believed to be in rebels held territory. Baida province used to be a major AQAP base area but not so much now as more AQAP factions disperse to other areas in central and eastern Yemen. Anywhere an Islamic terrorist can find a hospitable tribe, they can usually arrange refuge . AQAP has few active members left in Yemen and the only remaining local support is from some separatist Sunni tribes in the south and east. Since 2017 AQAP has been under heavy attack by the Americans and the Arab coalition and the Islamic terrorists have responded by shifting more of their attacks from Shia rebels to the government and Arab coalition forces. ISIL and AQAP were fighting each other a lot after mid-2018 but since early 2020 ISIL has not been very active. ISIL lost this war and some ISIL factions are known to be hiding out in Shia rebel territory. That requires offering some cooperation with the Shia rebels and that apparently includes useful intel on what is going on in the rest of Yemen, where ISIL still has fans. ISIL and AQAP are both trying to rebuild, especially after the losses (including defections) during its battles with each other. Thats another reason why Yemen is a slow-motion war made slower by hunger, disease and poverty. AQAP began making attacks again in late 2020 and three or four have been noted since late 2020. In the Red Sea, off Yemen, Israeli commandos placed a limpet mine on the side of a stationary Iranian freighter (the Saviz) and cause minor damage, including a fire that was quickly extinguished. The Saviz has been anchored in international waters 150 kilometers northwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeida since 2017 and Iran insists it is there to keep that portion of the Red Sea safe from pirates. Everyone has gone along with that fiction. In mid-2019 a Saudi military transport helicopter paid a visit to pick up an ill Iranian sailor who was flown to a Saudi hospital for emergency treatment. The Iranian request for a medical evacuation was done via the UN because the Saudis and Iran have no diplomatic relations. This is one of those curious situations so common to the cultures of the region. The Saviz has been anchored (outside the shipping lanes and in plain sight) for years. Apparently, the ship, which is regularly resupplied by other Iranian merchant ships, is unarmed but there are also several speedboats on the deck and men in IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) uniforms are regularly seen out in the open as well. In reality the Saviz serves as a mothership for small, fast, smuggling boats that can carry limited quantities of small items ashore and get away with it. The Saudis have not shut down the Saviz because of some unofficial understanding that as long as Iran does not resume putting naval mines in the shipping channel and firing missiles at passing military and commercial traffic, the Saviz would be left alone. The Saviz may well be the main source of the additional UAVs the Shia rebels have been getting and using since 2017. But as long as none of these UAV attacks do any serious damage, the Saviz will be left alone. It was believed that eventually the truth about the Saviz would come out, and join that many other strange tales of mysterious Middle East. Israel moved this story forward with the limpet mine attack and the Saudis may follow with a seizure of Saviz, especially considering the growing number of Iranian UAVs used by the Yemeni Shia rebels to attack Saudi Arabia. March 30, 2021: In central Yemen (Marib province) a Shia rebel ballistic missile aimed at a military base went off course and landed in residential area just before noon. One civilian died and six were wounded. The rebels denied responsibility. March 26, 2021: UN investigators revealed that they had confirmed that the December 30 2020 attack on the Aden airport by three Iranian cruise missiles was carried out by the Shia rebels. Part of the evidence was cellphone videos taken by local civilians where the missile launches in rebel territory took place and later hit Aden airport. The Shia rebels are now regarded as an oppressive occupying force in most areas they control. The Shia rebels no longer seek to hide the Iranian support and increasingly exercise control over civilians with threats of violent retribution for those who cooperate. This has been a major intel victory for government and Arab coalition forces because there is a steady stream of accurate information on rebel activities coming out of rebel territory. The December 30 attack hit the airport shortly after members of the new Yemeni government arrived from Saudi Arabia. The officials were not harmed but the missiles killed 22 and wounded 110. The airport remained closed until January 3rd. These Iranian missiles are used by the Shia rebels more frequently indicating that the Iranian smuggling network is growing again. The rebels denied that they were responsible for the airport attack and blamed it on Saudi Arabia. Fragments of the three missiles were collected so that precise identification of the cruise missiles could be made. UN investigators are involved in the identification process and have confirmed the Iranian origins of the rockets and missiles (cruise and ballistic) used by the rebels. Also employed are Iranian UAVs equipped with explosives but these are being replaced by Iranian cruise missiles. One such UAV was shot down on December 30th as it headed for the Presidential Palace in Aden. Saudi Arabia responded with several air strikes against rebel facilities, including at least one involved in assembling cruise missiles using Iranian components. March 22, 2021: Saudi Arabia proposed a new round of peace talks with the Yemeni Shia rebels and offered some concessions to show good faith. This met with approval from UN personnel who have also been trying to revive peace talks. After two weeks of preliminary discussions went nowhere because of disagreements over what could be negotiated. The Shia rebels are apparently following their Iranian advisors advice in this respect and not only demanding far more than the Saudis can provide but also increased the number of cruise and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia. The UN mediators believe the Shia rebels are taking orders, not just advice, from their Iranian patrons. There are a growing number of Yemeni Shia who are willing to make peace but for the moment remain an intimidated minority. Some Shia and Sunni tribes in the north have ceased to support the war and with nearby Saudi help and got away with this. March 18, 2021: In the south (Abyan Province) al Qaeda gunmen attacked rural checkpoint, killing eight soldiers and four civilians. Al Qaeda has been relatively quiet during 2020 but there have been a few attacks in late 2020, most of them insignificant. Egypt is still in talks about compensation stemming from the operations to free the giant container ship whose stranding in the Suez Canal for nearly a week roiled global cargo markets, the canal authoritys chief said Monday. Its likely that insurance companies will cover most of the amount associated with the efforts to free the 400-meter-long Ever Given, Osama Rabie said in an interview with Bloomberg. He didnt specify the amount Egypt is seeking, but Rabie has said before the figure could be in the range of $1 billion. Read more: Huge Ship That Blocked Suez Canal Will Be Held Until Compensation Deal Is Reached Rabie, speaking in a news conference, also said that he expects the investigation into why the ship got stuck at the entrance of the canal will be completed by the end of the week. Photograph: The Ever Given container ship moves along the Suez Canal towards Ismailia after being freed from the canal bank in Suez, Egypt, on Monday, March 29, 2021. The giant Ever Given container ship was finally pulled free from the bank of the Suez Canal, allowing for a massive tail back of ships to start navigating once again through one of the worlds most important trade routes. Photo credit: Islam Safwat/Bloomberg. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Lawsuits Talent Renaissance Global announced that the direct-to-consumer business through its newly launched websites completed one year of operations in Q4 FY21. During Q4 FY21, all the company's websites together posted revenues of Rs. 22 crore while for FY21 the company's direct-to-consumer revenues stood at Rs. 65 crore. Based on the company's estimates of a quarter's contribution to annual sales, the annual revenue run rate has grown at 380% to reach Rs. 115 crore in Q4 FY21 vs. Rs. 24 crore in Q1 FY21. The Direct-to-consumer business is a high EBITDA margin business with margins in the range of 20-22%. With the growing share of its direct-to-consumer revenues to total revenues the company believe its EBITDA margins will show an improving trend. The company further plans to strengthen our direct-to-consumer business with the launch of websites for Hallmark Diamonds and Disney Jewels in FY22. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sanad Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, has closed a $55 million debt financing deal with the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), one of the UAEs leading financial institutions. The first-ever collaboration between Sanad Capital and the Commercial Bank of Dubai will fund the purchase of two new GEnx and XWB engines that were recently acquired through a long-term sale and leaseback agreement. Troy Lambeth, Group CEO, Sanad said:Our partnership with the Commercial Bank of Dubai is a strong validation of Sanad Capitals ability to attract liquidity that supports growth targets, especially in the challenging current environment. We look forward to growing our relationship with the Commercial Bank of Dubai as part of Sanads ongoing commitment to support the global aviation industry in years to come. Dr Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer, CBD said: We are delighted to partner with Sanad and support them as they look to grow and expand their business. Sanad Capital has an exemplary performance track record in the aircraft engine and component leasing space, and we look forward to strengthening our relationship and facilitating their future expansion as well. At last years Global Aerospace Summit, which was held in Abu Dhabi, Sanad Capital announced a new deal with Etihad Airways that takes the pairs ongoing partnership commitments to $900 million-plus. The new agreement covers additional spare engines and rotable components, including a sale-and-leaseback (SLB) agreement for an additional GEnx engine and a Rolls Royce Trent XWB engine, with a second XWB spare option. TradeArabia News Service Pressed to deliver 10,000 houses by years end, authorities drag women away from their familial responsibilities to work at night. Locals view the rendered plans of a neighborhood during a ground excavation project for the construction of 10,000 homes in the Songsin and Songhwa areas of Sadong District, Pyongyang, North Korea on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Labor shortages in North Korea have forced authorities to start mobilizing women to complete leader Kim Jong Uns ambitious plan to build 10,000 houses in the capital Pyongyang by years end, sources in the city told RFA. Pyongyang is North Koreas largest city with a population of about 3 million. Though it is home to the most privileged members of society, the capital suffers from a severe housing shortage. At the eighth congress of the ruling Korean Workers Party in January, Kim promised to alleviate the shortage with 50,000 new houses by the end of 2025, including 10,000 in 2021. Construction began almost immediately after the announcement, with organizers utilizing the military to provide special brigades of laborers called storm troopers. But even though the storm troopers work long, grueling hours, there simply arent enough of them to complete the gargantuan building task. So authorities have had to look for untapped sources of labor to fill the ranks of more storm trooper brigades if they hope to finish by the end of December. Though referred to as housewives in colloquial speech, married women in North Korea have become increasingly economically important to their households as primary breadwinners. Because nobody can survive on official government salaries earned by men at their official jobs, it falls to their wives to run family businesses to support the household. Mobilizing women for construction places undue burden on their families. Recently a night-work storm trooper brigade consisting of only housewives was sent to the construction site in Pyongyang, a Pyongyang construction official told RFAs Korean Service April 6. This is because there is not enough manpower at the construction site to fulfill the order of the Central Party to complete the 10,000 houses in Pyongyang this year, said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. The source said that Pyongyang is no stranger to ambitious construction projects. During the reigns of Kim Jong Uns s grandfather Kim Il Sung and father Kim Jong Il, the city completed several housing development projects on the city's famous Kwangbok, Tongil, Pyomyung and Mirae Scientists Streets. But it is still the reality of todays Pyongyang that most of the ordinary citizens suffer from the housing shortage, said the source. Because of the shortage, it is normal for many adult Pyongyangers to live with their spouses, parents and siblings in small apartments, exceeding maximum occupancies. Kim Jong Un attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 10,000 houses in Pyongyang and ordered the project complete by the end of the year. But because theres a shortage of manpower they organized the housewives and sent them to work at the construction sites, said the source. The working hours for the nighttime housewife storm troopers are set from 8 p.m. to midnight, and these women are being overwhelmed by excessive night labor, where they have to do things like hauling dirt on stretchers, said the source. Another source, also from Pyongyang, told RFA on April 5 that neighborhood watch units in every Pyongyang district have been tapped to provide a meal support system for construction crews, but soon authorities began calling them in to provide labor. The Highest Dignity declared at the Eight Party Congress that Pyongyang would build 50,000 houses by 2025. The 10,000-house quota was designated as a national target for the year, so the authorities are hassling even the women in the watch units now, the second source said, using an honorific term to refer to Kim Jong Un. The meal support system is mandatory in each district. They each take turns to prepare food for the storm troopers once per week, said the second source. The country guarantees three meals a day for storm troopers who must work seven days a week. The requirement for each district to provide meals is also a burden on household finances. Its shocking that they force the residents to include meats like chicken and pork for the lunchboxes when residents themselves hardly ever eat meat. The residents complain that it is irresponsible of authorities to push the city to build 10,000 houses, especially when it is so difficult to make a living during the coronavirus pandemic, said the second source. Most Pyongyang citizens know that building 10,000 houses is nothing more than an attempt by Kim Jong Un to show off his achievements rather than to solve the capitals housing problem. They say the authorities, who are even mobilizing housewives away from their responsibilities of providing for their families, and further burdening them to provide meals, should know who exactly they are doing this project for. Construction managers are foregoing safety standards due to the pressure of making their 10,000-house quota. RFA reported last week that about 20 storm troopers died due to an electrical fire in their on-site workers barracks. Because the storm troopers are overworked, even the one assigned to night watch at the time of the fire was asleep, allowing the fire to consume the whole building. Reported by Jeong Yon Park for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Manila, April 13 : The Philippines received the second batch of Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac vaccines purchased from China. The Philippine Airlines, which flew the vaccines to Manila, handed over the shipment to Carlito Galvez, the official in charge of the Philippines' vaccine procurement efforts, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday. The Philippines is ramping up its vaccination efforts as it continues combating a surge of Covid-19 infections fuelled by the more infectious coronavirus variants. The government aims to inoculate up to 70 million Filipinos this year to achieve herd immunity, starting with health care workers and the elderly. With the arrival on February 28 of the first batch of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines donated by China, the Philippines kicked off its vaccination campaign on March 1. The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Sunday 11,681 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing its total tally to 864,868. The Covid-19 related death toll rose to 14,945 including 201 more deaths newly recorded in the Southeast Asian country. Matt Kay spends much of his time focused on a fast-approaching problem: south-eastern Australia is running out of gas. Its not a matter of if its going to happen, its when, says Kay, the chief executive of oil and gas producer Beach Energy. It consumes my thinking on a daily basis, and it has for the last five years. Matt Kay is the CEO of Australian oil and gas producer Beach Energy. For decades, BHP and ExxonMobils enormous gas rigs rising out of the Bass Strait have comfortably supplied nearly half of eastern Australias needs, keeping the fuel flowing reliably and affordably for cooking and heating, as a source of energy or to fuel manufacturing. But those days now look numbered. The mature gas fields of the south are rapidly drying up. And energy authorities are sounding the alarm: homes and businesses in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia could face winter gas shortfalls sometime between 2023 and 2026 unless more supply is urgently brought to market. Russian-occupation forces violated the ceasefire nine times from the beginning of the day, a Ukrainian soldier received a bullet wound incompatible with life, the JFO press center said. "Since the beginning of the day, nine violations of the ceasefire by the Russian armed formations have been recorded, of which seven attacks were directed at the positions of Ukrainian defenders and two remote mining with POM-2 mines. In particular, in the area of responsibility of the Pivnich (North) task force, not far from the settlement of Shumy, the Russian occupation troops opened fire from 82-caliber mortars, grenade launchers of various systems and small arms prohibited by the Minsk agreements," the JFO said on its Facebook page. The enemy fired towards the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near the village of Zaitseve, and from small arms near the village of Pivdenne. In the area of responsibility of the Skhid (East) task force, not far from the settlement of Pisky, the enemy opened fire from large-caliber machine guns and small arms. "As a result of the targeted shelling of the positions of our units by the Russian armed formations, one serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received a bullet wound incompatible with life. The command expresses sincere and deep condolences to the family and friends of the deceased defender," the JFO headquarters said. The actions of the Russian-occupation forces were reported to the OSCE representatives through the Ukrainian side of the JCCC. Russias penitentiary service demands $2 million from convicted ex-head Korshunov RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 16:37 12/04/2021 MOSCOW, April 12 (RAPSI) The Federal Penitentiary Service has filed a lawsuit demanding to recover over 158 million rubles ($2 million) from ex-FSIN deputy director Oleg Korshunov and two other convicted service employees, the press service of Moscows Kuzminsky District Court has told RAPSI. In December, the Moscow City Court upheld a 9-year prison term passed on Korshunov in a case over supplies of sugar and motor fuel for FSIN. However, the court reduced an 8-year jail sentence of another defendant Svetlana Alekseyeva by 6 months but banned her from holding public posts for 6 years. According to the sentence, Korshunov was convicted of embezzling over 155 million rubles (over $2 million) for assistance in conclusion of state contracts on sugar and fuel deliveries. The contractual prices were above-market; supplies were conducted through firms under the control of Korshunovs friends. In November, the Second Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction dismissed Korshunovs appeal against a 7-year prison sentence given to him in another case. In July 2019, Korshunov received the prison term and was fined 900,000 rubles (about $14,000). In addition, he was divested of his service grade and forbidden to hold public offices for 3 years. Investigators claimed that in 2015 Korshunov had conspired with CEO of Russian footwear company Datse Group, Smbat Arutyunyan, and the head of state-run production company FSIN Russia Vitaly Morusov. Allegedly, Korshunov ordered to use prisoner labor to manufacture footwear from cheap materials provided by Datse Group. Later, he allegedly facilitated signing of a state contract with FSIN Russia. Korshunov and Morusov pleaded not guilty. Korshunov was appointed to the post of FSIN deputy head in March 2014. He has been bestowed the rank of Full State Counsellor 2nd Class of the Russian Federation. In October 2017, President Vladimir Putin relieved him of the post. [April 12, 2021] Factor[e] Ventures Adds Two Accomplished Trailblazers to Board of Directors FORT COLLINS, Colo. and NAIROBI, Kenya, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Factor[e] Ventures today announced that it has appointed Orli Arav and Ada Osakwe to the company's Board of Directors. Clarity of purpose, born of experience Factor[e] Ventures Adds Two Accomplished Trailblazers to Board of Directors, Orli Arav and Ada Osakwe Orli Arav is a noted development finance and impact investing expert with 20 years of experience, Ms. Arav has led notable private sector investments in infrastructure across Africa and served in leadership and advisory roles for over a dozen organizations. She is a guest lecturer at the London School of Business, Co-Founder and former Chief Investment Officer of Impala Energy, and served as Director of Investments at the Soros Economic Development Fund. Orli is currently the Managing Director of the Facility For Energy Inclusion (FEI), a dedicated debt fund for small-scale Independent Power Producers (IPPs), mini-grids and captive power projects in Africa. Education and infrastructure are what made her native country Israel a success, Orli says. And that's one reason why she's so passionate about her development work in Africa: "When I was born, my country was 20 years old. We didn't have much and we had to solve a lot of problems. So I think something in my culture with me was, 'Let's find solutions. Let's get on with things.' Orli shared her motivation in taking on this new opportunity: "I am passionate about innovation in Africa, I believe the continent with its young population and enterprise spirit can eapfrog some of the biggest obstacles and drive prosperity. Factor[e] is in the nexus of this trend, I am thrilled to be joining Factor[e] Board to grow its impact on the continent." A fund manager, development advocate and food entrepreneur, Ada Osakwe is the Managing Partner of Agrolay Ventures, which makes early-stage investments in food, technology, and agribusiness ventures. Ms. Osakwe is also the founder and Managing Director of Nuli, a fresh beverage manufacturer and farm-to-table restaurant brand in Lagos, Nigeria with a mission to galvanize a healthier lifestyle for millions of people through fresh, locally-grown food. Ada spoke about the new role: "I'm absolutely thrilled to join the brilliant and visionary team at Factor[e] to help amplify their work promoting pivotal capital to founders in emerging markets who are solving some of the world's toughest problems." Advancing Factor[e]'s mission "In addition to a wealth of practical and intellectual skills, Orli and Ada lend layers of diversityin terms of professional and cultural backgroundsto our board. It's also important to us to have women across the most senior levels of management and governance, which reflects our values and will improve our performance and overall impact. Orli and Ada will lend us a deeper understanding of the cultural and economic contexts in which we work. They'll help us identify opportunities in new markets. Their experience and perspectives will also play a key role in incubating and scaling our portfolio companies. In addition to their other shared qualities, both of our new directors have a way of reframing obstacles as opportunities. Factor[e] will be strengthened by their experiences, perspectives and clarity of purpose," said Morgan DeFoort, Managing Partner of Factor[e] Ventures. The appointment of Ms. Arav and Ms. Osakwe to the Factor[e] Board of Directors builds on the fund's commitment to gender equity. Factor[e] strives for a diverse and inclusive portfolio and they recognize how imperative it is to incorporate gender in the investment process. Doing so not only improves financial results, but gender equity also improves social, environmental and governance outcomes. In order to add uniquely impactful directors to its Board, Factor[e] partnered with TheBoardroom Africa (TBR Africa), the largest regional community for female executives in Africa and the diaspora, to support its search for exceptional female candidates. According to TBR Africa Founder and CEO Marcia Ashong, "When companies like Factor[e] Ventures come to us seeking help in their search for high-level, executive women leaders they are setting an example for other companies to do the same. Partnering with our organization means that Factor[e] is taking the initiative to seek out the most impressive female executives in Africa to aid in their company's mission and make real impact." Factor[e] Ventures acknowledges the importance of diverse expertise in achieving their mission of bringing disruptive innovation and sustainable development in energy, agriculture, mobility, and waste to the world's fastest-growing markets. About Factor[e] Ventures Factor[e] Ventures is a team of ventures builders dedicated to supporting the growth of early stage, technology-enabled companies solving challenges in energy, agriculture, mobility, and waste in emerging markets. For more information, please visit http://www.factore.com/ About TheBoardroom Africa TheBoardroom Africa (TBR Africa) is the largest regional network of female executives in Africa. Our goal is to improve access to board opportunities for women and accelerate the presence of women on boards by working with development finance institutions, private equity investors and companies and companies to accelerate the appointment of women on boards and build a growing pipeline of board-ready women while inspiring and educating the business community on the power of diverse leadership. Contact Name: Morgan DeFoort Organization: Factor[e] Ventures Email: info@factore.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/factore-ventures-adds-two-accomplished-trailblazers-to-board-of-directors-301266963.html SOURCE Factor[e] Ventures [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The OSCE participating States have condemned Russia's military activities on the border with Ukraine and are demanding an explanation from Moscow on this matter. This was said in an OSCE report following the April 10 meeting, which was provided to Radio Liberty. The meeting was initiated by Ukraine. At the same time, Russia, which was supposed to provide information about its military activities, refused to participate in it. On behalf of the European Union, Portugal [as it presides over the Council of the European Union] expressed concern about the concentration of Russian troops and the security situation on the Ukrainian borders. Portugal and the European Union called on Russia to take the necessary steps to de-escalate and join meaningful dialogue and constructive consultations. Portugal expressed full support for Ukraine's request to activate the risk mitigation mechanism, the document reads. In addition to supporting Ukraine, the EU called on "the parties to refrain from actions and rhetoric that could lead to increased tensions." The United Kingdom expressed concern over the decision of the Russian Federation not to participate in the meeting. London wants Moscow to explain its actions at the border. Canada asked Russia when it plans to withdraw troops from the border to their places of permanent deployment, and also inquired why the Russian authorities did not inform about their maneuvers. Germany and France criticized Russia's response to its large-scale military build-up on the border with Ukraine, calling it too succinct and general. The United States emphasized that the absence of transparency suggests this is not a routine nor previously scheduled military exercise. Germany, also speaking on behalf of France, expressed concern over the large-scale movements of the Russian military contingent on the border with Ukraine, which can be dispelled with proper explanations, the report says. In addition, Georgia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Turkey supported Ukraine. As a reminder, 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. 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 backdrop of Russia's escalation in eastern Ukraine. ish My friend Harry has the kind of marriage that single and married folks would envy. If you spend any time with Harry, youll immediately notice how frequently he brings up his honey, his wife to whom hes been married for over 30 years. If you take Harry out for a meal he enjoys, he will leave some of his food to take home so she can enjoy it too. When he speaks of his honey, he does so with a kind of reverence and awe. His face lights up with joy. He is excited by her. He honours his wife in a myriad little ways. He constantly makes sure she is okay and comfortable. He listens to her concerns and considers her advice before making major decisions. They operate as a single, unified unit cemented by love, submission and respect. Harrys love for her is sacrificial- he makes sure she has what she needs, even if he has to do without. One day, I had to satisfy my curiosity about his love-filled marriage. I asked: Harry, youre so happy in your marriage, whats your secret? Harry didnt hesitate. He immediately replied: Ive been married for 34 years and every morning of those 34 years I pray and ask two things. I was intrigued. What two things? His answer informs this article. Living at peace Harry said First, I pray and ask God to help me to live at peace with my wife. What struck me was that Harry didnt pray and ask God to help his wife to be a better person, less annoying or act in a way that would please him. He didnt pray that she would live at peace with him. That she would see things his way and not be stubborn, nagging or miserable or have a better attitude. Instead, he was focused on his own actions. In his prayer, he is acknowledging that living at peace with someone is dependent on his own actions, words and ways of thinking. He is taking accountability and responsibility for the success of the relationship. The Bible says If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. This is an instruction from God found in Romans chapter 12 verse 18 (New International Version). The verse immediately preceding this, verse 17, says Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. It is a natural human temptation to want to pay back a wrong done against you. We may manifest that in different ways. It doesnt have to be physical action, it would be harsh words, angry thoughts, gossiping to assassinate the persons character or having a cold or indifferent attitude towards the person. Harry has chosen to obey Gods command. He has chosen to live at peace with his wife even if her actions dont justify it. This looks like saying sorry and making amends even if you are not the one to blame or you feel forgiveness is not deserved. But why should we do that? God forgave us when we didnt deserve it. Romans chapter 5 verses 7 to 8 (NIV) says: Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Never withdraw your love Harry said: The second thing I pray and ask him every morning is that He never lets me withdraw my love from my wife. Loving somebody doesnt always feel good. It is uncomfortable having to forgive and not bear a grudge, to love sacrificially, to be kind and loving when it isnt convenient, or youre in a bad mood, tired or would rather not or the person does something to displease you. It is easy to withdraw your love in those moments but loving someone is a choice to not withdraw your love. This choice is a deliberate act. It is intentional. Read about what it entails in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Putting it all together I admit I have a personal struggle. I am a meticulous perfectionist with very little patience for people who dont listen or act foolishly. I read this verse in Proverbs in my devotion today and can totally relate: Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them. (Proverbs chapter 27 verse 22, NIV). I have a very clearly defined sense of right and wrong. I can easily zero in on areas of flaws and mistakes. I get frustrated with people at times. Yet, I have to ask myself: where is room for grace? Where is room for the fact that people are complicated and flawed, just like you? This is where Harrys daily prayer comes in. The principles I learnt from Harry are not just for a marriage context. They can be applied at home, at school, workplace or business. We need to ask Gods help to live at peace with everyone, no matter how difficult a personality you find them to be. We need to ask God to help us not to give into the temptation to withdraw our love from people. Here are some questions for you to ponder on: What would your life look like if you treated Jesus the way Harry treats his wife? What if mention of Jesus infuses every conversation you have? Can you talk about Jesus like that? What if you sought out ways daily to serve and honour Him? What if, this week, in how you relate to your family, friends and co-workers you ask God to help you live at peace with them instead of asking God to change their attitude? What if, today, you make a choice to never withdraw your love from others when they make you angry or you feel they dont deserve it or loving them is not easy? I guarantee youll have a greater measure of joy than you otherwise would. Just ask my friend Harry. JAMMU: The Jammua and Kashmir Police on Monday (April 12) arrested two terror associates, working as Over Ground Workers (OGW) for Lashar-e-Toiba terror groups in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. The Police also recovered arms and ammunition from their possession. In a statement the police said, "Police Station Kreeri received reliable information that Bashir Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Mirangund Kreeri and Waseem Ahmed Mir, resident of Authoora Kreeri, were instigating and motivating youth of the Kreeri area to join the militant ranks in order to increase terror activities for which the aforesaid person have managed to procure some grenades and other arms and ammunition." "The duo were nabbed during the search operation and two Chinese grenades and 20 Live AK-47 rounds were recovered from their possession," the statement read further. Live TV A case under relevant laws registered and both have been arrested. China's top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines, as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy. Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but require less stringent temperature controls during storage. The currently available vaccines "don't have very high rates of protection", Gao Fu, the director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a conference in the Chinese city of Chengdu on Saturday. "Inoculation using vaccines of different technical lines is being considered," he said. Gao said that taking steps to "optimise" the vaccine process including changing the number of doses and the length of time between doses was a "definite" solution to the efficacy issues. China has developed four domestic vaccines approved for public use and an official said on Saturday that the country will likely produce 3 billion doses by the end of the year. A COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac was found to have an efficacy rate of slightly above 50% in Brazilian clinical trials. A separate study in Turkey said it was 83.5% effective. No detailed efficacy data has been released on vaccines made by China's Sinopharm. It has said two vaccines developed by its units are 79.4% and 72.5% effective respectively, based on interim results. Both vaccine makers have presented data on their COVID-19 vaccines indicating levels of efficacy in line with those required by the World Health Organization, a WHO panel said in March. China has shipped millions of its vaccines abroad, and officials and state media have fiercely defended the shots while calling into question the safety and logistics capabilities of other vaccines. "The global vaccine protection rate test data are both high and low," Gao told state tabloid Global Times on Sunday. "How to improve the protection rate of vaccines is a problem that requires global scientists to consider," Gao said, adding that mixing vaccines and adjusting immunisation methods are solutions that he had proposed. Gao also rejected claims by some media reports that he said Chinese COVID-19 vaccines have a low protection rate, telling Global Times that it was "a complete misunderstanding." Also read: India bans Remdesivir exports till COVID surge abates Also read: Five COVID-19 vaccines likely by end of Q3; Sputnik V, Novavax, J&J in line Zydus Hospitals, the healthcare arm of Zydus Group, has notified new rules for purchasing Remdesivir from its Ahmedabad-based hospital. These new rules have been formed to curb hoarding and black-marketing of the anti-coronavirus medication in view of rising demand amid surge in COVID-19 cases across the country and state. Zydus Hospitals had stopped selling Remdesivir in April from its counters in Ahmedabad. In the latest notice, the hospital said that it has started selling the drug from April 11 between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm. Buyers can acquire the Remdesivir injections from Basement 1 of Zydus Hospitals campus in Thaltej, Ahmedabad. Buyers will have to produce certain documents at the purchase too. Original prescription from an allopathic physician bearing the registration number, doctor's stamp and qualification on hospital's letterhead will have to be shown. No digital copies or photocopies of the prescription will be accepted. ALSO READ: India bans Remdesivir exports till COVID surge abates Also, RT-PCR report not older than seven days and copy of admitted patient's Aadhaar card will have to be furnished. One person will be allowed to buy Remdesivir injections for only one patient. On Sunday, India banned the export of Remdesivir injection and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) used for making the coronavirus medication till the recent surge in COVID-19 cases subsides. Union Health Ministry said it is taking measures to ensure easy access to Remdesivir for hospitals and patients. All domestic manufacturers of Remdesivir have been advised to display details of their stockists and distributors on their website to facilitate access to the drug. ALSO READ: No ban on vaccine supply to other nations but domestic needs to be fulfilled: MEA Drugs inspectors and other officers have been directed to verify stocks and take "effective actions to curb hoarding and black marketing". The State Health Secretaries will review this with the drug inspectors of the respective states and union territories. Health Ministry said that the Department of Pharmaceuticals has been in contact with the domestic manufacturers to ramp up the production of Remdesivir. The central government has also advised the States to adhere to the extant National Clinical Management Protocol for COVID-19 for treatment of patients infected with the virus. This protocol lists Remdesivir as an investigational therapy. This direction should be conveyed to hospitals and compliance should be monitored, the Health Ministry stated. ALSO READ: Covid-19 update: Two arrested for Remdesivir black marketing in Mumbai On my most recent visit to the Mesopotamian marshes, in March, I arrived at Sayeed Hithams for breakfast. The pandemic had kept me away for more than a year. The sun was just rising, the sky pink and golden. Hana, Hithams wife, stood smiling near the door to their reed house. Tea is ready, bread is ready, she said. Come on in. We sat on the worn-out carpet around a glowing kerosene heater, sipping tea and dipping the flat naan Hana had just baked into hot buffalo milk. What took you so long, Emi? Sayeed asked with a tone of reproach. We havent seen you in forever. Amanda Seyfried has revealed she suffers from panic attacks due to life in the spotlight adding that it 'feels like life or death'. Appearing on Sunday Today with Willie Geist, the actress, 35, said that she still faces anxiety and panic attacks brought on by the pressures of fame. She spoke candidly about her experiences, and said her 'bizarre' reaction to being in the Hollywood limelight 'feels like life or death'. Honest: Amanda Seyfried has revealed she suffers from panic attacks due to life in the spotlight adding that it 'feels like life or death' Amanda said: 'It feels like life or death. That's what a panic attack is, really. Your body just goes into fight or flight. 'The endorphin rush and the dump that happens after the panic attack is so extraordinary. 'You just feel so relieved and your body is just kind of recovered in a way. It's so bizarre because it's physiological, but it starts in your head.' Opening up: Appearing on Sunday Today with Willie Geist, the actress, 35, said that she still faces anxiety and panic attacks brought on by the pressures of fame Amanda said her anxiety stems from people not understanding that she's a 'normal' person, as they often assume she has a special life thanks to her fame. She explained: 'I do not have someone waking me up with breakfast in bed, and I'm not chauffeured around. 'And every time I meet someone new, I'm just so desperate for them to understand that you can talk to me. I wanna connect like everybody else, because I am like everybody else.' Doting: The Mamma Mia! Star has four-year-old daughter Nina and a seven-month-old son Thomas with her husband Thomas Sadoski (pictured on February 14) The Mamma Mia! Star has four-year-old daughter Nina and a seven-month-old son Thomas with her husband Thomas Sadoski. While she's at home, Amanda reveals she escapes Hollywood life, as the family live on a working farm in the Catskills of Upstate New York. And Amanda admitted the move to a rural location has helped her feel 'grounded'. She said: 'It was very conscious. I've always wanted to live on a farm. I just need to feel grounded somewhere that I can trust will always be there.' During the Zoom interview, Amanda's baby son made an appearance. The Mank actress was in the middle of a conversation about her home life when she was handed her child, whom she greeted with visible enthusiasm. Her mood noticeably changed when she began to hold her son, leading Geist to remark, 'Oh my god, what a cute guy.' Amanda married her husband Thomas in 2017, and they have attempted to keep their children out of the spotlight and ensure that their lives stay as private and normal as possible. Using WSPR data to detect MH370 Richard Godfrey suggests data from the amateur radio WSPR transmissions might provide clues to the location of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 An article on the Airline Ratings site says: A fascinating technology, Weak Signal Propagation, which is a digital radio communication protocol is proving a new tool to confirm the location of MH370 which disappeared just over seven years ago with 239 souls on board. Put simply, imagine you had to hike across a prairie and every 2 minutes there were a bunch of tripwires that you could not see, that set off an alarm or put another way imagine you broke into a high-security bank and to reach the vault you had to cross a room full of laser beams that you could not see and any one interruption of a laser beam would set off an alarm. Well, that is what aircraft do they trip off invisible radio waves and Richard Godfrey one of the leading experts in the hunt for MH370 has just concluded a new study which finds that MH370 tripped off a series of radio transmission detections which confirm it is in the location that satellite studies and drift modeling have suggested. Read the full story at https://www.airlineratings.com/news/mh370-set-off-radio-tripwires-confirming-location-says-new-report/ The "Geocaching in the Ionosphere" presentation by Dr Robert Westphal DJ4FF at the HamSCI Workshop 2021 gave an overview of the use of the Weak Signal Propagation Reporting Network (WSPRNet) in the search for MH370. The slides can be downloaded from https://dropbox.com/s/weu4h7154lqtt62/Geocaching%20in%20 the%20Ionosphere.pdf Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Online Cyber Security Degree Programs. Intelligent.com analyzed 105 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 66 making it to the final list for Online Cyber Security Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-cyber-security-degree-programs/ 2021 Online Cyber Security Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Alamo Colleges District American Public University Auburn University Bellevue University Bismarck State College California Institute of Arts and Technology Capella University Capitol Technology University Champlain College Charter Oak State College Colorado State University Global Colorado Technical University Davenport University Excelsior College Florida Institute of Technology Friends University George Washington University Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Military College Grand Canyon University Ivy Tech Community College Jacksonville State University Johns Hopkins University Kennesaw State University La Salle University Lewis University Liberty University Maryville University Mercy College New York University Norwich University Nova Southeastern University Oklahoma State University, Institute of Technology Old Dominion University Penn State World Campus Purdue University Quinnipiac University Regent University Regis University Rochester Institute of Technology Roger Williams University Russell Sage College Saint Leo University Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Sam Houston State University Seminole State College Southern Arkansas University Southern New Hampshire University University of Arizona University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of Colorado Boulder University of Dallas University of Delaware University of Maine at Augusta University of Maryland University of Maryland Global Campus University of Massachusetts Lowell University of Rhode Island University of San Diego University of Southern California University of Texas at San Antonio Webster University Western Governors University Western Nebraska Community College Wilmington University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. New Yorks state pension fund said Monday that it will restrict investment in six Canadian oil sands companies that have not demonstrated that they are prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy. The blacklisted Canadian companies include Imperial Oil (IMO.TO)(IMO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) (CNQ), Husky Energy, MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Athabasca Oil (ATH.TO), and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO)(CVE). Japan Petroleum Exploration (JP9.F) was also included in Mondays announcement. The fund said these companies failed to show they are transitioning out of oil sands production. The New York State Common Retirement Fund said it will also sell off more than US$7 million in securities in these companies as it evaluates its oil sands holdings. New Yorks is the third-largest public pension fund in the United States, ending last year with approximately US$247.7 billion in assets. New Yorks state pension fund has committed to curbing climate change by overhauling its investments to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. (GETTY) As nations around the world become increasingly serious about addressing the threat of climate change, and as market forces drive a low-carbon economic transition, we need to make sure our investments line up with this reality, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement. He added that the decision comes after careful review of Canadas oil sands industry, which was determined to be more costly and carbon-intensive than other forms of crude production. The move to exclude some of Canadas most prominent energy players was part of DiNapolis broader review of the transition readiness of energy sector investments facing climate risk. Last year, the fund divested from 22 coal firms. Shale oil and gas companies will be evaluated next. New Yorks state pension fund has committed to curbing climate change by overhauling its investments to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Its not the first fund to target Canadas energy industry for its environmental track record. Last May, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), a branch of Norways central bank, said it excluded Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy (SU.TO)(SU), and Imperial Oil due to unacceptable greenhouse gas emissions. Story continues Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that the decision by the US$1 trillion Norwegian fund underscores the growing importance of climate change risk to global investors. Weve seen investors around the world looking at the risks associated with climate change as an integral part of investment decisions they make, Trudeau said at a press conference in May. It is so important for Canada to continue to move forward on fighting climate change and reduce our emissions in all sectors. I can highlight that many companies in the energy sector have understood that the investment climate is shifting, and there is a need for clear leadership and clear targets to reach on fighting climate change to draw on global capital. Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan has lived a lifetime being compared to his father Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and there was a point in his career when he almost gave up on acting. During a radio interview, Bachchan said he thought he wasnt made for the industry, and had it not been for his fathers words of wisdom, he wouldve given up acting in Bollywood cinema altogether. "To fail on a public platform is very difficult. There was no social media back then, but I read via the media that some were abusing me while some said that I do not know acting," Bachchan told RJ Siddharth Kannan. "At one point in time, I felt it was my mistake that I came into the industry as whatsoever I was trying, it was not working. I went to my dad and said maybe I am not made for this industry," he said. His father Amitabh had replied: I never brought you up to be a quitter. Every morning you have to wake up and fight for your place under the sun. As an actor, you are improving with every film. The senior actor, who worked in iconic films such as Sholay, also asked his son to concentrate on working and take up every role coming his way. Abhishek Bachchans new film The Big Bull, released on 8 April, is based on the real event of the financial market crisis that took place between 1990 and 2000 involving stockbroker Harshad Mehta and his financial crimes. Apart from that, the actor has featured in Bollywood movies such as Dhoom, Bunty Aur Bubli, Bol Bachchan, and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. The senior Bachchan is set to star in the Indian remake of the Hollywood comedy-drama The Intern. He has previously worked in movies such as Agneepath, Piku, and the American classic, The Great Gatsby alongside Leonardo Di Caprio. [April 12, 2021] Intelligent Office Sets Sights on Sacramento for Expansion SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelligent Office the leader in business services which provides members virtual services, phone reception, customer service, dedicated offices and conference room rentals is looking to expand to the Sacramento market with up to five new locations. The brand already has four locations in the state of California located in Walnut Creek, San Francisco, San Diego and Burlingame. "As businesses are beginning to think about a return to the office, many employees are looking to retain the same flexibility they had while working remotely and businesses are providing allowances for coworking and rentable office spaces," said Brian Farris, Brand President of Intelligent Office. "Intelligent Office is poised to meet this increasing demand as we offer services and rentable office space for the everyday worker, as well as the small business owner and entrepreneur." Farris expects the demand from entrepreneurs and workers in the Sacramento area will bring the nee for up to five new locations. With rentable office space and virtual assistants available, Intelligent Office is providing a wide range of options for businesses to run efficiently both during the pandemic and beyond. Renting instead of signing long term leases for office space can help businesses cut down on expensive, unnecessary costs while virtual assistants, virtual addresses and virtual mailboxes can help businesses operate smoothly without office space at all. "We are excited to expand into new cities like Sacramento and bring our services to even more businesses and employees to help them navigate and adapt to new business trends in 2021," said Farris. "Business owners and everyday workers are starting to see the benefits of using private rentable office space instead of permanent office space so we are looking forward to expanding to new markets like Sacramento to meet this growing demand." Intelligent Office's goal is to provide the virtual assistants, rentable office space, phone answering services, and virtual mailboxes to small business owners and entrepreneurs so they can spend less money on fixed costs like leases and administrative and IT related support staff. With a wide range of virtual services that includes appointment scheduling services and CRM database management, Intelligent Office strives to help solopreneurs, micro-enterprises and SME's exceed their goals. About Intelligent Office Founded in 1995 and franchising since 1999, Intelligent Office provides private and productive offices and meeting space along with customized virtual administrative and phone answering services so small business owners and entrepreneurs can spend less on fixed costs like leases, administrative and IT related support staff. With 57 locations open, Intelligent Office offers a variety of virtual services including phone answering services, appointment scheduling services, and a virtual address. Intelligent office currently operates in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario as well as 20 US states, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For More information, please visit https://www.intelligentoffice.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intelligent-office-sets-sights-on-sacramento-for-expansion-301266818.html SOURCE Intelligent Office [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] It's a safe bet that possessing skills related to artificial intelligence (AI) will present career opportunities for people today, especially in industries that are building AI capabilities into their products or looking to leverage the technology to increase automation and efficiency. AI has become a focal point for many corporate IT departments and lines of business, and the market for products and services reflects that. A February 2021 report by consulting firm International Data Corp. (IDC) says worldwide revenues for the AI market, including software, hardware, and services, is forecast to reach $327.5 billion this year, up 16 percent from 2020. By 2024, the market is expected to break the $500 billion mark, IDC says, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 percent. AI is becoming ubiquitous across all the functional areas of business, the report says, with advancements in machine learning, conversational AI, and computer vision AI. Along with the rise of AI technologies comes a growing need for professionals who have AI-related skills. Professional networking site LinkedIn, in its 2020 Emerging Jobs Report, says AI continues to make a strong showing on the site's jobs lists. One of the positions that could play a key part in AI strategies at organizations is AI engineer. Professionals in this role are responsible for developing, programming, and training the complex networks of algorithms that make up AI, so that they can function like a human brain, according to job site Indeed. The role requires combined expertise in software development, programming, data science, and data engineering, the site says. AI engineers are mainly responsible for using various programming algorithms in order to build, test, and deploy AI models. Indeed says other duties commonly found in an AI engineer job description include coordinating with other team members; creating and managing the AI development process; conducting statistical analysis and interpreting the results so that they can guide the organization's decision-making process; and automating important infrastructure for the data science team. Additional responsibilities include developing infrastructures for data transformation and ingestion; explaining the usefulness of the AI models they create to a range of individuals within the organization, including stakeholders and product managers; and transforming machine learning models into application programming interfaces (APIs) that other applications can interact with. AI engineers are important, the site says, because AI and machine learning are developing specialties that can have a large impact on the overall success of organizations. Advanced machine learning models can provide valuable recommendations and insights into future issues or decisions. Among the skills AI engineers need to have are a clear understanding of popular programming languages such as C++, Java, R, and Python; an understanding of statistics, probability, and linear algebra; and analytical skills. They also need to possess a number of soft skills including strong business acumen, good communications and collaboration, and critical thinking. What does it take to become an AI engineer? To find out, we spoke with Mike Harasimowicz, principal AI engineer at aerospace, defense, and advanced technologies company Lockheed Martin. Name: Mike Harasimowicz Lockheed Martin Position: Principal AI engineer at Lockheed Martin Degree: Bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, Syracuse University; Master's degree in strategic intelligence, Joint Military Intelligence College; Master's degree in airpower studies, Air Command and Staff College; Master's degree in strategy developments, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies; and Master's degree in national security strategy, National War College. Years of experience: 32 Advice for others: Approach life with an open mind and discover the possibilities with ardor Education/early life Harasimowicz attended Syracuse University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1989. During his time in college he studied in the Engineering Abroad Program at the City University in London. While working toward a master's degree in computer science at Syracuse University, he was forced to quit when called to active duty in the US Air Force in 1991 as a second lieutenant. Over the years, Harasimowicz realized other academic achievements, including a master's degree in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College in 1995; a master's degree in airpower studies from the Air Command and Staff College in 2003; a master's degree in strategy developments from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies in 2004; and a master's degree in national security strategy from the National War College in 2009. From a young age Harasimowicz was interested in technology, beginning with Atari 2600 videogames and the earliest PC text-based computer games. "I wanted to be a computer wizard, and I remember my first coding experience creating ways to track friends across the US, and the always popular animated, but highly pixelated greeting card," he says. Job history Prior to commissioning into active duty, Harasimowicz served as a computer engineer with the Rome Air Development Center, now called Air Force Research Lab, in Rome, NY. Among other work, he assisted in early AI application development using natural language processing (NLP) on highly structured US Message Text Format (USMTF) for faster analytic consumption. "I used my Air Force assignment form, affectionately known as the dreamsheet, to basically plea to remain at Griffiss [Air Force Base] and continue to serve as a computer engineer," Harasimowicz says. "However, the Air Force determined I would best serve this country as an intelligence officer." He served as a squadron intelligence officer until 1994, designing concepts for the first-ever use of the F-16 as a suppression of enemy air defenses capability by coordinating the data movement within the airborne intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance networks. Also while in the Air Force, Harasimowicz served as a flight commander for intelligence missions systems and intelligence analysis, based in Germany. In this position, he helped architect the first theater-wide Air Operations Center for accelerated command and control of air and space assets for ballistic missile defense, conventional operations, and humanitarian operations. Other Air Force posts included senior intelligence officer; director of operations, cyber warfare tactics officer; squadron commander, 33 Information Operations Squadron; and squadron commander, 91 Info Ops Squadron. In 2009, Harasimowicz went to work for the White House, where he served as director of homeland defense within the National Security Council. He advised the President and the national security advisor on US homeland defense policy, cyber security issues, resilient infrastructure, and military veteran policy. He was the primary liaison for White House Situation Room communications upgrades, and co-chaired the National Security Council's Cybersecurity and Communications Policy Coordination Committee. Later he served as vice commander, 70th Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, where he was a liaison between Cyber Command and the National Security Agency; and commander, 688th Cyberspace Wing, where he managed all operational Air Force infrastructure, cyber engineering, development, testing, training, and Cyber Protection Team planning and execution. Harasimowicz, by then a colonel, decided to retire from the Air Force in 2015 for personal reasons and was immediately recruited by financial services firm JP Morgan to help with its digital transformation and big data/AI efforts. As managing director and head of data and analytics at the firm, he was responsible for a variety of efforts related to AI, decision science, and data optimization. While at the firm, he led a team of 110 data scientists, big data engineers, and application developers to integrate AI and security techniques into retail, investment, and commercial banking. In early 2019, Harasimowicz left JP Morgan to work as an executive consultant in the areas of software development for security and analytics services. Among the projects he worked on were the Department of Defense's new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. The following year Harasimowicz took on his current position with Lockheed Martin, where he has been instrumental in building a centralized AI organization called the Lockheed Martin AI Center. Among his tasks were delivering machine learning solutions for sensor optimization, and modeling for predictive maintenance and cyber response. Memorable moment In 2006, as commander of the Air Force Computer Emergency Response Team (AFCERT), Harasimowicz had to break down data sharing barriers when cyber attacks transformed from isolated incidents to nation state sponsored attacks. "I had to stand up against the default practice of using law enforcement caveats that now began to isolate and suffocate key data elements required to identify advanced persistent threats," he says. "This new thinking led to the successful identification of cyber attacks against our nascent F-22 fleet." Ongoing training, skills and certifications "If you stop learning you pass quickly into irrelevancy, so continuing education is essential," Harasimowicz says. "Fortunately, digital learning resources are nearly ubiquitous, with such examples as Coursera, Udemy, and Pluralsight, packaged in conferences as continuing education units (CEU), and even gamified like Sololearn. Cloud proficiency certification/training for me was essential to get ahead of the new vocabulary of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. We have training at our fingertips, so we must take advantage of it and practice our trade." Harasimowicz has earned certifications in areas such as cloud computing, AWS, Python, Ruby, C++, and SQL, and is working on a certification in CISSP. Biggest inspirations Because Harasimowicz spent much of his youth around Niagara Falls, NY, he was fascinated and inspired by Nikola Tesla, who designed the first hydro-electric power plant at the falls. "The landscape all around me was power lines," he says. "His vision and perseverance are legendary, and his impact will be felt for many more generations. I related to his Eastern European genealogy as a fellow Slavic person. His struggles in his later years serve as a cautionary reminder that our moments of achievement are but moments." Best career advice received "Never stop learning or challenging yourself," Harasimowicz. "I applied for every academic opportunity and difficult job while I was in the Air Force. My father was my biggest fan and instilled in me the thirst for learning. I finished with four masters' degrees and credentials from the most difficult training environments such as Air Force's version of Top Gun, The Weapons School, SV-8* Survival School, and Intelligence Officer School, and graduated with distinction in each case. Also, approach life with ardor. This means be passionate, intense, enthusiastic, and devoted. Ardor is an action-packed word and promises a life of authentic moments and deep relationships." Short-term and long-term goals After creating an AI center at JP Morgan and within the Department of Defense's Joint AI Center (JAIC), Harasimowicz is committed to bringing all of his experiences as an engineer, intelligence officer, air and space strategist, and cyber space operator into Lockheed Martin and helping to lead a new AI center called LAIC. "The LAIC will be dedicated to revolutionizing command and control concepts and capabilities across all warfighting domains by accelerating AI adoption," he says. Advice for others seeking a similar path "Passion, intensity, enthusiasm, and devotion. Enjoy the twists and turns that you didn't expect. Be joyful in all circumstances." Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin listens to a question as he speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, on Feb. 19, 2021. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo) Pentagon Chief Declares Ironclad US Commitment to Israel TEL AVIV, IsraelU.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday declared an enduring and ironclad American commitment to Israel, reinforcing support at a tense time in Israeli politics and amid questions about the Biden administrations efforts to revive nuclear negotiations with Israels archenemy, Iran. Austins first talks in Israel since he became Pentagon chief in January come as the United States seeks to leverage Middle East diplomatic progress made by the Trump administration, which brokered a deal normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states. By coincidence or not, the defense secretary arrived as Iran reported that its underground Natanz nuclear facility lost power just hours after starting up new advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium faster. If Israel caused the blackout, it will further heighten tensions between Israel and the Iranian regime, already engaged in a shadow conflict across the wider Middle East. Iran called it an act of nuclear terrorism, but did not immediately blame anyone directly. After meeting with Defense Minister Benny Gantz in Tel Aviv, Austin said he had reaffirmed our commitment to Israel is enduring and ironclad. Austin made no mention of Iran. Gantz, in his own remarks while standing beside Austin, said his country views the United States as a full partner against threats, not the least, Iran. Neither official took questions from reporters. The Tehran of today presents a strategic threat to international security, the entire Middle East and to the state of Israel, Gantz said in his prepared statement. We will work closely with our American allies to ensure that any new agreement with Iran will secure the vital interests of the world and of the United States, prevent a dangerous arms race in our region and protect the state of Israel. Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank, said Austins visit is important in part because it is the first by a member of President Joe Bidens Cabinet. They want to show that they did come here with clean hands and they want to listen, Guzansky said. They want to listen to Israels worries and perhaps other partners worries about the negotiation about Iran. Austin is steeped in the finer points of Middle East defense and security issues. He served four years as head of U.S. Central Command, capping a 41-year Army career that included commanding U.S. forces in Iraq. Flying overnight from Washington, Austin arrived in Tel Aviv in the tense aftermath of the countrys fourth inconclusive election in the past two years. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin last week gave embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the difficult task of trying to form a new government. The key backdrop to Austins visit is the Israeli governments concern about the Biden administrations attempt to work out an arrangement to reenter the Iran nuclear deal, which in Israels view is fatally flawed. Netanyahu has for years described Iran as an existential threat to his nation due to Irans alleged pursuit of a nuclear weapon and its support for terrorist groups like Lebanons Hezbollah. Netanyahu, leading a state with its own secret nuclear weapons program, has accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons to use with its ballistic missiles. Iran has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful. Netanyahu has also kept up his criticism of the Iran nuclear deal, which, if followed, limits Tehrans ability to enrich and stockpile uranium, blocking it from being able to make a weapon. History has taught us that deals like this, with extremist regimes like this, are worth nothing, Netanyahu said last week. Last week, an Iranian ship said to be acting as a Revolutionary Guard base off the coast of Yemen was struck by an explosion. Iran blamed Israel for the blast. In addition to repeated assurances by Republican and Democratic administrations that the United States will endeavor to preserve Israels qualitative military edge over its regional adversaries, Washington for years has invested heavily in helping Israel develop missile defense technologies. Iron Dome is one of the most-touted successes in Israel missile defense. It is a mobile anti-rocket system developed to intercept short-range unguided rockets. It has shot down more than 2,000 projectiles fired from the Gaza Strip since it was deployed a decade ago. The U.S. Army recently bought two Iron Dome batteries at the request of Congress to counter cruise missiles. (CVE: HSTR- OTCQX: HSTXF) CEO Charles Funk joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has made their pass over the Cumaro Project which is located in the northern Sonora State of Mexico. Funk telling Proactive the company has done some mapping and channel sampling that has returned a silicified structure with pyrite that returned a 1-metre channel sample grade of 390 g/t silver with potential to expand. Funk also updated Proactive on progress at their Flagship Unga Project which is seeing some deep drilling right now. Scientists in the US have brought the structure of a spider web to life by translating it into music a technique that could help us communicate with spiders, they say. They assigned different frequencies of sound to strands of the web, creating 'notes' that they combined in patterns, based on the web's 3D structure, to generate melodies. The eerie piece of music, which lasts just over a minute, sounds like the soundtrack for an eerie dystopian sci-fi horror film. It was created by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with laser scanning technology and image processing tools. The experts say spider webs could provide a new source for musical inspiration and provide a form of cross-species communication. Scroll down for videos MUSICAL SPIDER WEBS Spiders are master builders, expertly weaving strands of silk into intricate 3D webs that serve as the spider's home and hunting ground. Spiders' silk transmits vibrations across a wide range of frequencies so that, when plucked, the sound that is made carries information about prey or structural integrity of a web. Spiders have poor eyesight so they rely on the vibration of the silk in their web for information, such as exactly what their next meal is. They receive the information using organs on each of their legs called slit sensillae. Spiders can 'tune' the silk by adjusting the tension and connections to build a better web. Advertisement The project has been led by Professor Markus Buehler, a materials scientist and engineer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Professor Buehler made headlines this time last year after he translated the coronavirus's core protein structure into a calming musical arrangement. 'Webs could be a new source for musical inspiration that is very different from the usual human experience,' he said. Professor Buehler's team is interested in learning how to communicate with spiders in their own language. They recorded web vibrations produced when spiders performed different activities, such as building a web, communicating with other spiders or sending courtship signals. Although the frequencies sounded similar to the human ear, a machine learning algorithm correctly classified the sounds into the different activities. 'Now we're trying to generate synthetic signals to basically speak the language of the spider,' Professor Buehler said. 'If we expose them to certain patterns of rhythms or vibrations, can we affect what they do, and can we begin to communicate with them? Those are really exciting ideas.' Spiders are abundant in nature, making up more than 47,000 species. But they have poor eyesight, so they rely on the vibration of the silk in their web for information, such as where there next meal has landed. They receive the information using organs on each of their legs called slit sensillae. Cross-sectional images (shown in different colours) of a spider web were combined into this 3D image and translated into music Spiders can 'tune' the silk by adjusting the tension and connections to build a better web almost making their web something of a musical instrument itself. 'The spider lives in an environment of vibrating strings,' said Professor Buehler. 'They don't see very well, so they sense their world through vibrations, which have different frequencies.' Professor Buehler, an expert in spider webs who has an interest in music, wondered if he could extract rhythms and melodies of non-human origin from natural materials, such as spider webs. He worked with collaborator Tomas Saraceno, an Argentinian contemporary artist, on the project, which was based on a spider web which spun by a tent-web spider (Cyrtophora citricola). This species is widespread in subtropical and tropical areas of Asia, Africa and Australia and has a tendency to make its webs on the guardrails of canal bridges. The project is based on a spider web which was spun by a tent-web spider (Cyrtophora citricola, pictured) The team scanned a C. citricola spider web with a laser to capture 2D cross-sections and then used computer algorithms to reconstruct the web's 3D network. They assigned different frequencies of sound to strands of the web, creating 'notes' that they combined in patterns, based on the web's 3D structure, to generate melodies. The researchers then created a digital harp-like instrument and played the spider web music in several live performances around the world before the coronavirus pandemic. To complement this experience, the team also made a virtual reality (VR) setup that allowed people to visually and audibly 'enter' the web. 'The virtual reality environment is really intriguing because your ears are going to pick up structural features that you might see but not immediately recognise,' said Professor Buehler. 'By hearing it and seeing it at the same time, you can really start to understand the environment the spider lives in. 'The harp-like instrument is computer generated it lives within virtual reality.' To gain insights into how spiders build webs, the researchers scanned a web during the construction process, transforming each stage into music with different sounds. 'The sounds our harp-like instrument makes change during the process, reflecting the way the spider builds the web,' said Professor Buehler. 'So, we can explore the temporal sequence of how the web is being constructed in audible form.' This step-by-step knowledge of how a spider builds a web could help in devising 'spider-mimicking' 3D printers that build complex microelectronics. 'The spider's way of printing the web is remarkable because no support material is used, as is often needed in current 3D printing methods, Professor Buehler said. In other experiments, the researchers explored how the sound of a web changes as it's exposed to different mechanical forces, such as stretching. Their video, posted to YouTube, shows sonification of a spider web as it is being stretched and broken full of weird, disturbing noises. Small, sharp violin-like sounds correspond with web strands being broken, while sounds rising in pitch depict stretching. 'In the virtual reality environment, we can begin to pull the web apart, and when we do that, the tension of the strings and the sound they produce change,' Professor Buehler added. 'At some point, the strands break, and they make a snapping sound.' The researchers will present their results on Monday at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). PHILADELPHIA, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE American: FAX) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund, today announced that it will pay on April 30, 2021, a distribution of US $0.0275 per share to all shareholders of record as of April 23, 2021 (ex-dividend date April 22, 2021). Your Fund's distribution policy is to provide investors with a stable monthly distribution out of current income, supplemented by realized capital gains and, to the extent necessary, paid-in capital. Under U.S. tax rules applicable to the Fund, the amount and character of distributable income for each fiscal year can be finally determined only as of the end of the Fund's fiscal year. However, under Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act") and related Rules, the Fund may be required to indicate to shareholders the source of certain distributions to shareholders. The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the sources of the distribution for purposes of Section 19 of the 1940 Act and the Rules adopted thereunder. The table has been computed based on generally accepted accounting principles. The table includes estimated amounts and percentages for the distribution to be paid on April 30, 2021 as well as the estimated cumulative distributions declared fiscal year to date (11/01/2020 - 03/31/2021), from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short-term capital gains; net realized long-term capital gains; and return of capital. The estimated composition of the distributions may vary from month to month because the estimated composition may be impacted by future income, expenses and realized gains and losses on securities and currencies. Estimated Amounts of Current Monthly Distribution per share ($) Estimated Amounts of Current Monthly Distribution per share (%) Estimated Amounts of Fiscal Year to Date Cumulative Distributions per share ($) Estimated Amounts of Fiscal Year to Date Cumulative Distributions per share (%) Net Investment Income $0.0138 50% $0.0825 50% Net Realized Short-Term Capital Gains* $0.0028 10% $0.0165 10% Net Realized Long-Term Capital Gains - - - - Return of Capital $0.0109 40% $0.0660 40% Total (per common share) $0.0275 100% $0.1650 100% *includes currency gains The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income." As of March 31, 2021, after giving effect to this payment, the Fund estimates it has a net deficit of $28,036,000. A net deficit results when the Fund has net unrealized losses that are in excess of any net realized gains that have not yet been distributed. Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of the Fund's current distributions or from the terms of the distribution policy (the "Distribution Policy"). The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The final determination of the source of all distributions in 2021 will be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. The following table provides the Fund's total return performance based on net asset value (NAV) over various time periods compared to the Fund's annualized and cumulative distribution rates. Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5 Year Period Ended 03/31/20211 4.55% Current Fiscal Period's Annualized Distribution Rate on NAV2 7.08% Fiscal Year to Date (11/01/2020 to 03/31/2021) Cumulative Total Return on NAV1 3.37% Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV2 2.95% 1 Return data is net of all fund expenses and fees and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund's dividend reinvestment plan, with the exception of the most recent distribution which is using an estimated reinvestment price. 2 Based on the Fund's NAV as of March 31, 2021. While NAV performance may be indicative of the Fund's investment performance, it does not measure the value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund. The value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund is determined by the Fund's market price, which is based on the supply and demand for the Fund's shares in the open market. Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2010, the Fund may distribute any long-term capital gains more frequently than the limits provided in Section 19(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder. Therefore, distributions paid by the Fund during the year may include net income, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains and/or a return of capital. Net income dividends and short-term capital gain dividends, while generally taxable at ordinary income rates, may be eligible, to the extent of qualified dividend income earned by the Fund, to be taxed at a lower rate not to exceed the maximum rate applicable to your long-term capital gains. Distributions made in any calendar year in excess of investment company taxable income and net capital gain are treated as taxable ordinary dividends to the extent of undistributed earnings and profits, and then as a return of capital that reduces the adjusted basis in the shares held. To the extent return of capital distributions exceed the adjusted basis in the shares held, capital gain is recognized with a holding period based on the period the shares have been held at the date such amount is received. Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the terms of the distribution policy. The final determination of the source of all distributions will be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report distributions for federal income tax purposes. The payment of distributions in accordance with the Distribution Policy may result in a decrease in the Fund's net assets. A decrease in the Fund's net assets may cause an increase in the Fund's annual operating expense ratio and a decrease in the Fund's market price per share to the extent the market price correlates closely to the Fund's net asset value per share. The Distribution Policy may also negatively affect the Fund's investment activities to the extent that the Fund is required to hold larger cash positions than it typically would hold or to the extent that the Fund must liquidate securities that it would not have sold, for the purpose of paying the distribution. The Fund's Board of Directors has the right to amend, suspend or terminate the Distribution Policy at any time. The amendment, suspension or termination of the Distribution Policy may affect the Fund's market price per share. Investors should consult their tax advisor regarding federal, state and local tax considerations that may be applicable in their particular circumstances. Circular 230 disclosure : To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Treasury, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. In the United States, Aberdeen Standard Investments is the marketing name for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: Aberdeen Standard Investments Inc., Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd., Aberdeen Standard Investments Australia Ltd., Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Ltd., Aberdeen Capital Management, LLC, Aberdeen Standard Investments ETFs Advisors LLC and Aberdeen Standard Alternative Funds Limited. Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. The Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value (NAV) of the fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results. If you wish to receive this information electronically, please contact [email protected] aberdeenfax.com SOURCE Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. Related Links http://www.aberdeenfax.com Local tourism and hospitality businesses in Longford are being urged to consider applying for up to 4,000 in grant aid for the purchase of outdoor dining equipment and accessories. Its under a new Outdoor Seating and Accessories for Tourism and Hospitality Business scheme, which was launched by Minister Catherine Martin on March 31. Funded by Failte Ireland and administered in partnership with local authorities, the scheme is designed to provide a level of financial support to tourism and hospitality businesses in town centres. It will help them to purchase or upgrade equipment to provide additional outdoor seating and in doing so, increase their outdoor dining capacity for the summer of 2021. The aim is to financially assist and support independent tourism and hospitality business owners to create outdoor dining experiences in a regulated and accessible manner. Funding under the scheme is only available to existing businesses. In administering the scheme, Longford County Council is expanding on the work completed during 2020 to support local businesses, working with them to help sustain jobs. Head of Longford LEO Micheal Nevin said, We hope that this scheme will encourage local businesses to rethink their outdoor spaces, allowing for greater use and enjoyment of them for local people and visitors when restrictions allow. It will also help work towards the support of the short, medium and longer-term survival and sustainable growth of our towns in County Longford. Attractions, hotels, restaurants, cafes, public houses or other establishments where food is sold for consumption on the premises are eligible to apply. Applicants can apply to the local authority for a grant of up to 4,000 (for up to 75% of the ex-VAT cost of equipment purchased/installed). Successful applicants who received a grant under this heading in 2020 can apply for the additional 2,000 (subject to the same conditions). For all applicants, expenditure must be incurred between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021. Payment will be made by Longford County Council to approved applicants on submission of receipts and photography of furniture in-situ. Guidelines and an application form can be downloaded at www.longfordcoco.ie/!SEA46S. The scheme is open from April 12 for applications and closes on September 30, 2021. REDDING, Calif. This weekend friends and fans of artist, sign maker, guitarist, and songwriter Robert J. Carson celebrated his life. He died in Santa Rosa shortly before his 73rd birthday. Carson died in Santa Rosa, where he lived. He was in San Francisco for many years, and Portland, Oregon as well but he spent his formative years in Redding, California. Robert Carson Robert Carson Robert Carson was one of five children in the family that ran Reddings well-known sign business, Carson Signs. He painted murals, clocks, boats even making a series of 3-D wood carves painting commissioned throughout the city of San Francisco. In the gallery accompanying this article we have several of his whimsical clocks and his Victorian posters art based on San Francisco landmarks. He graduated from Enterprise High School in Redding in 1967 and played in several rock, blues, and jazz bands, including Concrete Arch, Walking Sam, Trakstod Station. Some of his more recent banks in Sacramento were Pop Psycho and Frankly Scarlet. The Russian vaccine Sputnik V, named after the Soviet era satellite Sputnik, got the nod from Indias Covid-19 vaccine expert panel on Monday. However, more data has been sought from its Indian partner Dr Reddys Laboratories (DRL) by the expert panel, which is expected by July. The firm presented the data from only 72 Russian volunteers and around 275 or so Indian volunteers. We have sought more data from it. DRL has promised to come back with this data by July or so, said an expert on the panel. The person added that there were no safety-related concerns about the vaccine candidate and it has also shown an efficacy of over 91 per cent. There were no cases of any serious adverse events. Fever was the most common side-effect cured easily with paracetamol. However, we wanted to have comparative immunogenicity data between the Russian and Indian volunteers and more details on the neutralising antibody titers, said the source. Sputnik V is a heterogenous vaccine, using two different virus strains or antigens in its two doses. The first dose uses human adenovirus (a common flu virus) type 26 (Ad26), which is the same as that used by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in its single shot vaccine. J&J vaccine has 85 per cent efficacy against severe disease after 28 days. DRL and Russian sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have claimed that Sputnik V would show efficacy from Day 28 and peak by Day 42. The second shot of the vaccine will use adenovirus type 5 (Ad5). In order to differentiate between the two doses primer and booster the colours of the vaccine will be different. The colours will be distinct to avoid confusion among vaccinators. By deploying two different vectors, Sputnik V avoids a possible neutralising effect and generates a durable and longer-lasting immune response, claimed RDIF. DRL has indicated it would provide the cold chain solution for Sputnik V. It requires minus 18 degrees Celsius to remain stable. Details of the cold chain plan, however, were not provided, claimed sources. Earlier RDIF had noted: Due to the time needed for the immune response to develop, in the first week after vaccination there was no significant difference in protection against severe cases of Covid-19 between the vaccine and the placebo groups. In the period from 7 to 14 days, the vaccines efficacy rose to 50 per cent. In the period from 14 to 21 days to 74.1 per cent, and to 100 per cent from Day 21, giving full protection against severe cases of the coronavirus. RDIF confirms it is awaiting the recommendation by the subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation to approve the use of the Sputnik V in India, a spokesperson for RDIF said on Monday. In early 2021 satellite photos of the Russian airbase in Syria revealed the presence of a civilian twin-engine propeller driven aircraft parked next to Russian warplanes. Further examination showed that the twin-prop aircraft with a non-military paint job was in fact a Russian military aircraft; a license-built DA-42, four passenger aircraft that has been around since 2004. Developed by an Austrian firm it is now built in Austria, Canada, Russia and China. The two-ton aircraft has a lightweight airframe made of composites and uses turbo-diesel engines that can also burn jet fuel. Cruise speed is 326 kilometers an hour, max speed is 12 percent faster. Max range is 2,250 kilometers and endurance varies from six to 12 hours depending on payload. With just the pilot and some sensors you can fly 12-hour missions. Max altitude is 5,500 meters (18,000 feet). Only one pilot is required, leaving seats for passengers or equipment. There is a cargo/luggage compartment in the nose. Originally designed for the civilian market and as a trainer for multi-engine pilots, most of the thousand built so far have gone to government and military organizations. It turned out that the DA42 arrived at the same time as light weight reconnaissance (radars, high res vidcams), mapping and ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) equipment became widely available. Border patrol and military organizations were ordering twice as many DA42s as civilians and pilot training schools. Some customers found novel uses for DA42s. In 2008 an Israeli firm converted DA42s into Dominator 2 UAVs with a 400 kg payload, max altitude of 9,400 meters (30,000 feet) and endurance of 28 hours. Dominator has been sold as a superior border control aircraft. Early on the Austrian DA42 manufacturer offered a piloted version of the Dominator concept, with the nose modified to handle a number of sensors and electrical system equipped to deal with the heavier electrical demand. This version came to account for most DA42 sales. Ten years later Russia developed a DA42 UAV armed with laser guided missiles. This was apparently a research and development project. Since 2016 the Russian military has ordered at least 55 DA42s, most of them trainers and costing about $10 million each. The FSB (former KGB) has also ordered two. The FSB plans to use DA42s for reconnaissance and surveillance, which explains the non-military paint job of the FSB DA42 in Syria. The FSB sent the aircraft there to see how well DA42s perform in combat zones. The FSB DA42s use the forward cargo compartment for various sensors and are equipped with a satellite link to send real-time video or radar images to the ground. This one FSB DA42 may be used to provide additional security around the Russian airbase, which is adjacent to Idlib province, where thousands of armed rebels are still active. These rebels have launched over a dozen attacks on the airbase, most of them failing to do any damage. As long as the DA42 operates near its max altitude it should be immune to air defense weapons available to the remaining rebels and Islamic terrorists in northwest and eastern Syria. Lightweight missile defense systems built for helicopters and light transports can be carried by the DA42. There have been other DA42 variants. In 2016 China introduced its CSA-003 Scout, which was one of the locally built DA42s equipped as a ELINT and photo-reconnaissance aircraft. A sensor pod was carried beneath the fuselage in addition to sensors in the nose and antennae on the wingtips. Inside one or two pilots flew the aircraft with one or two sensor operators behind them. This version had an endurance of five or six hours. Since the sensor pod can contain a wide variety of equipment, the CSA-003 is being offered in military and commercial models as it could be equipped for such non-military tasks live border patrol, general security and aerial surveillance for natural resources or pollution. Militarized DA42s were inspired by the American military use of twin-prop commercial aircraft for over half century. In the early 1970s the U.S. Army adopted the Beechcraft King Air as the RC-12 and has used it for a wide variety of intelligence missions ever since. After 2003 this led to so much demand for RC-12s that in 2008 the U.S. Air Force sent their own version, the MC-12, to Iraq and later Afghanistan. By 2000 the King Air had evolved into the 350 model which was a 5.6-ton, twin engine aircraft. The MC-12 has max endurance of eight hours. Not quite what the Predator UAV can do (over 20 hours per sortie), but good enough to help meet the demand. The MC-12 has advantages over UAVs. It can carry over a ton of sensors, several times what a Predator can haul. The MC-12 can fly higher (11,000 meters/35,000 feet) and is faster (over 500 kilometers an hour, versus 215 for the Predator.) The MC-12s cost about $20 million each, more than twice what a Predator goes for. The MC-12's crew consists of two pilots and two equipment operators. Some of the MC-12 sensors are operated from the ground. Israel adopted the RC-12 and developed an intelligence collection version incorporating vidcams that the U.S. eventually incorporated for the MC-12. In Iraq MC-12 was found to be durable and reliable. But most of the 37 MC-12s ordered ended up in Afghanistan, where they were worked hard, and held up well to the heavy use. The arrival of these MC-12s was, in effect, the equivalent of increasing the Predator force by at least ten percent, and adding a few more four engine electronic warfare aircraft (to eavesdrop on cell phones and walkies.) The MC-12 pilots require a nine-week training course, which includes simulator time, and twelve flights in the actual aircraft. This converts the pilot of another aircraft type (fighter, tanker, transport) to one who can handle the MC-12. The two equipment operators can do all their training on a simulator. The MC-12 itself is a modified version of the much older RC-12 electronic reconnaissance aircraft. The MC-12 provides the same service as a UAV (full motion video) in addition to electronic monitoring (radio, cell phone, etc.). The air force also converted some existing King Air 350s, as well as buying new ones, to obtain up to fifty MC-12s for duty as, in effect, a Predator UAV replacement. The miniaturization of sensors and improved flight control and digital communications systems favors smaller, more efficient aircraft like DA42 for reconnaissance and surveillance work. The King Air is still in demand for moving cargo (over a ton) or passengers (eleven or more). This is what the American military first bought Beechcraft twin-engine aircraft for. By the 1970s the sensors and electronics were getting smaller and the Beechcraft King Air was a more efficient way to carry these devices on missions. (@FahadShabbir) Quito, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :Former banker Guillermo Lasso won Ecuador's presidential election on Sunday after his socialist opponent Andres Arauz conceded. Conservative Lasso declared himself president-elect and accepted the "challenge" of changing Ecuador's "destiny." With 93 percent of votes counted, Lasso held a lead of almost five percentage points over economist Arauz. "On May 24 we will assume with responsibility the challenge of changing our country's destiny and achieving for all Ecuador the opportunities and prosperity we all yearn for," said Lasso. Economist Arauz, who is best known as the protege of former president Rafael Correa, was magnanimous despite earlier claiming victory following a tight exit poll. "I congratulate him on his electoral triumph today and I will show him our democratic convictions," said Arauz. Lasso had 52.51 percent of the vote compared to Arauz's 47.49 percent with 93.14 percent of votes counted, the National Electoral Council said. Seasoned politician Lasso, 65, has twice before finished second in presidential votes. Earlier, television stations Ecuavisa and Teleamazonas published the results of the Cedatos exit poll that gave Lasso almost a 6.5 percentage point lead over Arauz. But the stations also said the Clima Social pollsters had indicated the result was a technical draw and thus decided not to publish their figures. Arauz's campaign team used that poll to claim victory by 1.6 percentage points. "Thank you Ecuador! This is a victory for the Ecuadoran people," Arauz said on Twitter. "No one will prevent the course of history." - 'Social division' - Voting is obligatory, and opinion polls had the rivals neck and neck heading into the election for oil-rich Ecuador's 13.1 million registered voters to pick a successor to the deeply unpopular Lenin Moreno. The campaign in the South American country had been dominated by an economic crisis aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Arauz, 36, is virtually unknown but topped February's first round of voting on the back of support from his mentor, Correa, who led the country from 2007-2017. He didn't vote on Sunday because he is still registered in Mexico, where he was studying for a doctorate before deciding to run in the election. Lasso, 65, is a third-time presidential candidate having finished second to Correa in 2013 and Moreno in 2017. Many experts billed the election as a battle of "Correism versus anti-Correism" in a country bitterly divided along political lines. "This social division, that the campaign highlighted, means that the vote to reject Correa effectively goes to Lasso," said Pablo Romero, an analyst at Salesiana University. Correa would have been Arauz's running mate but for an eight-year conviction for corruption. He lives in exile in Belgium, where his wife was born, avoiding his prison sentence. But his influence on Ecuadoran politics remains strong. Arauz, the candidate from the Union of Hope coalition, topped the first round with almost 33 percent of the vote, 13 percentage points ahead of Lasso, from the Creating Opportunities movement. - 'Permanent tension' - Lasso will take over from beleaguered Moreno on May 24 and will immediately face an economic crisis exasperated by a 7.8 percent contraction in GDP in 2020. Overall debt is almost $64 billion -- 63 percent of GDP -- of which $45 billion is external debt. At the same time, the country has been hard-hit by the pandemic, with hospitals overwhelmed by more than 340,000 coronavirus infections and more than 17,000 deaths. Lasso also faces a tough job during his four-year term with Arauz's leftist coalition the largest party in parliament. "There will be permanent tension with the executive. There's almost no chance of the reforms the country needs," said Romero. Lasso scraped into the runoff by less than half a percentage point ahead of indigenous candidate Yaku Perez, who contested the result and claimed to have been the victim of fraud. Socialist Perez, whose Pachakutik indigenous movement is the second-largest bloc in the legislature, picked up more than 19 percent of the vote in the first round. Pachakutik refused to back either candidate in the second round and promoted blank votes. Perez publically annulled his own vote writing "Yaku president resistence" on his ballot. Around 16 percent of votes were invalid, up from 9.55 percent in the first round. Kolkata: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday squarely held West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjees recent provocative speech responsible for the violent mob attack on the Central paramilitary forces which, in turn, shot dead four villagers at a polling booth in Shitalkuchi of Cooch Behar during the fourth phase of the election a day earlier. Asking the Trinamul Congress supremo to apologise to the people for her instigation, he also questioned her silence on the killing of a first-time voter, Ananda Burman of the Rajbanshi community, after linking him to the saffron party. Rejecting Ms Banerjees demand for his resignation over the firing, Mr Shah said: Didi has been constantly claiming: Amit Shah must resign. Didi, I will resign when the people ask me to. But you should get ready since you will have to resign on May 2. Mr Shah said: In the fourth phase of polls, a very sad incident took place. Some unidentified people attacked a polling booth and tried to snatch the weapons of the Central armed police forces (CAPF) personnel. When the CAPF jawans opened fire in self-defence and to protect their weapons, four people were killed. What is more sad is the way the entire incident is being politicised. He was speaking to the media at Shantipur in Nadia district. He added: I saw Mamatadis statement. A few days ago, at the same Shitalkuchi seat, Mamatadi gave a brazen speech asking the people to gherao and attack the CAPF. I want to ask her: Isnt her speech responsible for the death of the four? Would the four have dared to attack the Central forces had she not made the speech? Provoking them, you made a cause for firing. Mr Shah later claimed at a BJP rally at Basirhat South in North 24 Parganas: Didi, you, sitting in a wheelchair, left anyway but it was because of you that the four youths died. He said: I feel Mamatadi still has time to offer her respect to the fifth slain youth, talk about him and apologise to the people for her provocative speech. Complaining about Ms Banerjees sympathy only with the four victims, who were Muslims, the home minister said: At the same booth, some goons of the TMC killed our worker in the morning so that polling could not take place. Later, the attack on the CISF followed. But Mamatadi mourned the loss of four lives only. She is not bothered by the death of Burman. This is a clear example to what level she brought down the politics of Bengal through her appeasement and vote bank politics even in death. He added: We are equally saddened by the death of the four like that of Burman. The death of whosoever should be above politics. But she did not mourn the death of Burman, or shed tears This type of politics is neither the culture nor the tradition of Bengal. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades Monday night as a crowd gathered to protest the killing of a Black man by a police officer in a Minneapolis suburb. Protesters were 'launching bottles, fireworks, bricks and other projectiles at public safety officials,' according to a tweet from Operation Safety Net (OSN), a joint effort of local entities to ensure the safety of the public during the trial of Derek Chauvin, being held about 10 miles away from the location in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. It was the second night of protests after 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed by a police officer, identified by authorities as Officer Kim Potter, during a routine traffic stop. A curfew was in effect for Brooklyn Center and police arrested those in violation who ignored dispersal orders, according to Minnesota Operation Safety Net. By 11 pm, most of the protesters had left the scene around the police station, according to witnesses. However, the windows at the Dollar Tree store, near the scene of the protests, were broken out and smoke could be seen coming out, according to video shot by a CNN crew. 'Firefighters are headed to the Dollar Tree in Brooklyn Center. Please allow fire trucks through. Stay away from the area to give firefighters room to work,' the Minnesota Operation Safety Net said in a tweet. A number of people could be seen in front of the store taking pictures and video of the aftermath, according to witnesses. Graffiti was also sprayed on the building, including the initials 'D.W.' and 'No Justice No Peace.' The mayor of Brooklyn Center told CNN's Don Lemon that he understood that people were angry but he was calling for protesters to go home. Mayor Mike Elliot said that a regional command was directing law enforcement efforts and not him. The goal 'right now is to try and disperse the crowd and get people to get home,' he said. The death of Daunte Wright Earlier on Monday, police provided an account of officers' actions while trying to detain Daunte Wright on Sunday following a traffic stop that culminated with an officer fatally shooting the 20-year-old. The officer who killed Wright was identified Monday night as Officer Kim Potter, according to a news release from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). Potter has been with Brooklyn Center police department for 26 years, according to the BCA. The town's police chief, Tim Gannon, said his release of the video was for the sake of transparency and that the BCA doesn't condone the release of video in ongoing investigations. Gannon said the portion of body-worn camera footage released Monday led him to believe the shooting was accidental and that the officer's actions before the shooting were consistent with the department's training on Tasers. 'As I watched the video and listened to the officer's commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet,' Gannon said. 'This appears to me, from what I've viewed and the officer's reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright.' The video shows three officers on a traffic stop, but the only video released was a minute-long clip from the officer who fired her weapon. Gannon said she has been placed on administrative leave. 'I felt the community needed to know what happened. They needed to see it. I needed to be transparent. And I want to be forthright,' Gannon said. It's common, though not always required, for police agencies to turn over shooting investigations to outside agencies to avoid appearance of conflict of interest. Gannon said he asked BCA to investigate and present its findings, 'independent of me,' to authorities and attorneys to review the case. A spokesperson for the US Department of Justice said the shooting was a local matter and that the department is not involved in the investigation. The district attorney for Hennepin County said it sent the case to a different county to avoid an 'appearance of a conflict of interest.' LIVE UPDATES An attorney for Wright's family, Ben Crump, called the shooting 'entirely preventable' and 'inhumane.' 'As Minneapolis and the rest of the country continue to deal with the tragic killing of George Floyd, now we must also mourn the loss of this young man and father,' he said. President Joe Biden called for 'peace and calm' as authorities in Minneapolis and St. Paul declared emergencies and curfews ahead of expected unrest. The counties of Hennepin -- which includes Brooklyn Center -- Anoka, Ramsey and Dakota were under curfew, which many protesters ignored. Details of the encounter Wright was with his girlfriend Sunday afternoon, driving to his older brother's house, when police pulled him over in the Minneapolis suburb for an expired tag, police said. Officers learned he had an outstanding warrant and attempted to handcuff him while he was standing outside his car. Wright's older brother, Damik Bryant, told CNN he texted Wright moments before the shooting, asking what was taking him so long. Wright sent another text saying he was pulled over and asked for insurance information, Bryant said. Bryant told him to call their mother. Wright gave officers his name before calling his mother, Bryant said. 'They asked him to step out the car, and you know his first instinct was, 'What did I do, what's wrong?' And they were like, 'Well, put the phone down, get out the car now, we'll talk to you about it when you get out,'' Bryant said. 'He said they pulled him over because he had air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror,' Wright's mother, Katie Wright, told CNN affiliate WCCO. 'I heard the police officer come to the window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car,' and Daunte said, 'Why?' And he said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car,'' Katie Wright told CNN affiliate KARE. 'So, I heard the phone get either put on the dashboard or dropped, and I heard scuffling, and I heard the police officers say, 'Daunte don't run.' And then the other officer said, 'Put the phone down'' before it sounded like the phone was hung up, she said. In the body-worn camera footage released Monday, an officer tells Wright 'don't' as Wright twisted away from an officer to get back into the car. Gannon said it appeared from the video that Wright was trying to leave. The officer whose camera footage was released is heard warning the man she's going to use her Taser on him, before repeatedly shouting, 'Taser! Taser! Taser!' Then, the officer is heard screaming, 'Holy sh*t! I just shot him.' The video stopped moments later. Gannon said the shooting appeared to be 'an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright.' He said the conduct of the officer who shot Wright -- shouting 'Taser' three times to alert officers nearby she was about to fire her Taser -- was consistent with their training. The shooting happened about 10 miles from where Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer is on trial for the killing of another Black man, George Floyd. Hundreds protested Sunday night As news of Wright's death spread Sunday night, hundreds of people protested. Gannon told reporters that an officer was hit in the head with an item thrown by protesters, who used frozen cans of pop and pieces of broken stone. The Minnesota National Guard had originally been planning to increase the number of members as closing arguments approach in the Chauvin trial. More than 500 members of the Guard have been activated, and the Guard said it plans to increase the number of members on duty 'in response to the events overnight in Brooklyn Center.' As anger over Wright's death grew Sunday night, before it was known that the shooting appeared accidental, aerial footage from KARE showed several police cars around the Brooklyn Center crash site swarmed by crowds. The video showed people trying to damage police cars. About 100 to 200 people marched toward the Brooklyn Center Police Department, Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Commissioner John Harrington said. After nightfall, a crowd gathered around the police department, CNN crews on scene reported. Officers held a line outside of the department, with some officers positioned on top of the building. Harrington said there were reports of people throwing rocks and other objects at the police building. There were also reports of shots fired in the area, he said. While one group stayed at the police department, a second group was seen at the Shingle Creek Mall, where around 20 businesses were broken into, Harrington said. A majority of the crowd at the police department was later dispersed, Harrington said. Two people were arrested, Gannon said. 4 Rimac Showcases the C_Two Once Again In Geneva 2 Rimac to Produce Up to Four C_Two Electric Hypercars Each Month From 2021 This Is Where Future Rimac Hypercars Will Come From Rimac Automobili revealed for the first time its new campus home in Croatia. The new headquarters will be built on Zagreb's outskirts thanks to an investment of over 200 million euros ($238 million). 19 photos The campus' size does not disappoint, as it includes no less than 200,000 square meters worth of space. The site will contain a hypercar assembly line, a paint shop, and a showroom. The architects took inspiration for the design from several sources, including the shape and movement of Rimec's hypercar, Located just outside Croatia's capital city, Zagreb, the Rimac headquarters also takes cues from the surroundings. Half of the factory will be represented by a high-volume production area, but the facility's core element is the R&D (Research and Development) area, where the designing, producing, and testing will take place. The R&D will be incorporated into two atriums surrounded by the forest, and it will overlook the castle and the lake. Another central element of the complex will be the restaurant, where staff will come together. Mapped out as the production team's meeting point, the layout tends toward an open space for everyone that will enter the campus, including visitors. The facility will have a racetrack that goes around the property, where drifting is a fun option. Different amenities like a museum, gym and shops and a small village where visitors can find accommodation will be available. The building was structured in a way that it would blend with the landscape, striking for an environmentally friendly design. The new location's construction is expected to begin by the end of the year, and completion is planned for 2023. Rimac teamed up with Croatian architects 3LHD Studios to design the new site, and the general ideas of the project were ready in less than a month. Mate Rimac, CEO of Rimac Automobili, says the campus was created with the goal of establishing an HQ big enough to fit all of the company's R&D efforts.The campus' size does not disappoint, as it includes no less than 200,000 square meters worth of space. The site will contain a hypercar assembly line, a paint shop, and a showroom. The architects took inspiration for the design from several sources, including the shape and movement of Rimec's hypercar, C Two Located just outside Croatia's capital city, Zagreb, the Rimac headquarters also takes cues from the surroundings. Half of the factory will be represented by a high-volume production area, but the facility's core element is the R&D (Research and Development) area, where the designing, producing, and testing will take place. The R&D will be incorporated into two atriums surrounded by the forest, and it will overlook the castle and the lake.Another central element of the complex will be the restaurant, where staff will come together. Mapped out as the production team's meeting point, the layout tends toward an open space for everyone that will enter the campus, including visitors.The facility will have a racetrack that goes around the property, where drifting is a fun option. Different amenities like a museum, gym and shops and a small village where visitors can find accommodation will be available. The building was structured in a way that it would blend with the landscape, striking for an environmentally friendly design.The new location's construction is expected to begin by the end of the year, and completion is planned for 2023. load press release We publish information about wines grown from certified organic or Biodynamic vineyards that are generally made with sulfites (which are usually added in small amounts to preserve the wine). That includes these certification types: ORGANIC WINE CERTIFICATIONS Made with Organic Grapes Vineyards: certified organic Vinification : less than 100 ppm of sulfites (i.e. a normal range) Winery: certified organic facility Labeling : front or back label Ingredients: Organic Grapes Vineyards : certified organic Vinification: up to 350 ppm of sulfites (same as for any non organic wine) Labeling: back label only BIODYNAMIC CERTIFICATIONS Biodynamic Wine Vineyards : certified biodynamic Yeasts : native Vinification : less than 100 ppm of sulfites; no additives of any kind Winery: certified biodynamic facility Labeling: front or back label; Demeter logo may appear Made with Biodynamic Grapes Vineyards : certified biodynamic Yeasts : native or organic Vinification: less than 100 ppm of sulfites; limited number of additives permitted Winery: certified biodynamic facility Labeling: front or back Note : unlike organically grown wines, for which there is a category called "Ingredients: Organic Grapes," wines sourced from biodynamic grapes may not make any biodynamic claim on the bottle label. Bottle labeling is reserved for Demeter certified wines only. SULFITES IN CONTEXT According to U.C. Davis, t he average among all wines in the U.S. (as well as globally) is 80 ppm. WHAT THE USDA CALLS ORGANIC WINES Unlike any other nation, the U.S. oddly imposes a no sulfite restriction on wines in order for them to be called Organic Wine. These wines are also called NSA or NAS wines (which stands for "No Sulfites Added" or "No Added Sulfites.") From the above description, one can see that there are in fact three types of organically grown wines: 1. Organic Wine (less than 15% of all organically grown wine) 2. Made with Organic Grapes 3. Ingredients: Organic Grapes The vast majority of wines from organic grapes are labeled Made with Organic Grapes, Ingredients: Organic Grapes or are blended with nonorganic grapes and unlabeled. Fine winemakers do not generally make wine without sulfites and a number of large wine retailers like BevMo do not sell wine in the category of "USDA Organic Wine." With rare exceptions, this blog does not cover what the USDA calls "Organic Wine." We are hopeful that the USDA will revise the categorization of organically grown wines and make NSA or NAS wines a category of their own. This would put the U.S. in accord with the rest of the world, where "Organic Wine" means a wine from certified grapes made within limits on sulfites (generally under 100-150 ppm). MIDDLETOWN Spring is moving along here in Middlesex County, and the chamber continues to be on the move. Before covering some of the many events and activities on this weeks chamber calendar, I want to look back quickly on what was a very successful vaccine clinic for Middletown businesses that was held at the chamber April 1. Public Health Director Kevin Elak and Emergency Management Director Rob Kronenberger partnered with our team to put together this important event for the benefit of our business community. I would like to thank Kevin and Rob, along with Mayor Florsheim, the outstanding Middletown Medical Reserve Corps, and everyone else who made this event happen. This is just another example of our chamber partnering with the city of Middletown on an important initiative for our community. We look forward to supporting these important efforts as we collectively move towards brighter days ahead. Briefly on the legislative front, the chambers Legislative Leadership Series continues Monday, when we welcome House Minority Leader Vin Candelora to a special virtual event. At this important meeting, Rep. Candelora will visit with chamber members to discuss the 2021 regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions about the session, and discuss some important issues on our 2021 public policy agenda. This event follows up on our successful Legislative Breakfast with the Middlesex delegation in January, and our events with Speaker Matt Ritter in February and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff in March. We will wrap up this years series with Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly April 29. Our Legislative Committee will continue to stay engaged as this important session moves forward. Other important items on this weeks chamber calendar include meetings of our Durham & Middlefield Division, Strategic Planning Committee, Killingworth Division, Recovery Employment Program Steering Committee, Board of Directors, Cruise Night on Main Planning Committee and Legislative Committee. We also look forward to the return of our very successful Tuesday Tips campaign, which brings in professionals from a variety of industry sectors to address topics of importance to small businesses. This weeks event is Essentials of the Zoom Virtual Platform, and it is presented by Don Gozauckas Jr. of HB Live. If you are new to Zoom, or considering using it for your business communications, this event is for you. Virtual meetings are very important to business operations and will be moving forward, so it is important to get up to speed on Zoom and the other platforms that are available. To register, please visit middlesexchamber.com. On the tourism front, I look forward to attending Tuesdays meeting of the Connecticut Tourism Council, which will be held through virtual means. As I have noted many times over the years, tourism is a critical economic driver in Middlesex County and throughout the state. It has also been especially battered by the pandemic, so we need to work together to make sure that this vital industry is poised for a strong comeback in the coming weeks and months. Switching gears to business development, we look forward to two exciting grand opening celebrations, and one grand reopening celebration over the next week. On Wednesday afternoon, I look forward to joining Cromwell Mayor Enzo Faienza, Town Manager Tony Salvatore and other Cromwell officials for the grand opening of Labcorp on Shunpike Road. Labcorp provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. We look forward to welcoming their team to our region on Wednesday, and wish them all the best moving forward. On Thursday, I will join First Selectman Norm Needleman and other leaders in Essex for the grand reopening of Carlsons Landing at the historic Essex Boat Works. Carlsons offers pristine seafood, classic American fare, and craft cocktails in a quintessential New England setting. We look forward to supporting their efforts moving forward, and thank them for their commitment to Essex and to Middlesex County. Finally, I look forward joining chamber Chairman Tom Byrne, Central Business Bureau Chairwoman Pam Steele, and Mayor Ben Florsheim for the grand opening of Orthopedic Associates of Middletowns new Physical Therapy and Clinical Services Office on South Main Street. We also wish their team all the best moving forward, and look forward to supporting them along the way. Grand openings have really picked up lately, which is a great sign for our regional economy. In closing, I would like to once again ask that chamber members and other interested parties save April 27 for our Annual Business & Education Partnership and Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program Recognition Luncheon, sponsored by Liberty Bank. This years event will be held virtually, and will feature Wesleyan University President Michael Roth as keynote speaker. President Roth will address a number of important topics including how Wesleyan has managed the pandemic over the past year, and how their students are doing as we approach the end of another academic year. I would like to thank him once again for speaking, and of course, Liberty Bank for sponsoring. This event has really become a celebration of our efforts to connect the business community and the education community in our region, efforts that we are very proud of. The sun always shines in Middlesex County! Have a great week. Larry McHugh is president of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce in Middletown. Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) raised over $3 million during the first quarter of 2021, Politico reported on Monday. The total is unusual for a senator not in the middle of an election cycle, with Hawley not up for reelection until 2024. Hawley raised just $43,000 in the first quarter of 2019, after he was first elected. Hawley received over 57,000 donations during the first quarter of 2021, with an average donation of $52, a person familiar with the totals told Politico. Although the senator halted fundraising outreach for two and a half weeks following the January 6 riot at the Capitol, he raised almost $600,000 during that time period. Hawley garnered national attention by objecting to the Electoral College results after rioters were cleared from the Capitol. Hawley broke from several fellow senate Republicans who had planned to object to the certification before the riots but reneged after facing the crowd of Trump supporters. The senator has received criticism for the action, with the Kansas City Star editorial board writing on January 7 that Hawley has blood on his hands in the Capitol coup attempt. However, Hawleys fundraising efforts have not been slowed by the criticism, and attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference applauded the senator for his objection to the election results. On January 6 I objected to the Electoral College certification maybe you heard about it, Hawley told the crowd to a standing ovation. The radical left, their corporate allies, the liberal media, have tried to cancel me, censor me, expel me, shut me down, but Im not going anywhere. The fundraising totals were matched by freshman Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.), who also objected to the election results and raked in $3.2 million in the first quarter of 2021. More from National Review Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have joined the exclusive 'centibillionaire' club after seeing their respective fortunes exceed $100 billion each. Page, 48, and Brin, 47, crossed the $100 billion mark last week, after each gaining more than $20 billion this year alone as stock in Google parent Alphabet surged in the pandemic, according to Bloomberg. Just eight men in the world have fortunes valued at more than $100 billion, with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos topping the list at $197 billion. Others on the list include Elon Musk, Bill Gates, LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffet. Larry Page, 48, (left) and Sergey Brin, 47, (right) crossed the $100 billion mark last week, after each gaining more than $20 billion this year Google co-founders Sergey Brin, left, and Larry Page are seen in 2008. They are now two of just eight 'centibillionaires' worth more than $100 billion 'Centibillionaires' club Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO: $196.6B Elon Musk, Tesla CEO: $174.8B Bill Gates, Microsoft founder: $144.6B Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy: $131.8B Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO: $118.1B Larry Page, Google co-founder: $103.6B Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway chairman: $100.7B Sergey Brin, Google co-founder: $100.2B Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index Advertisement Shares of tech companies have surged in the pandemic, boosting the wealth of the tech-heavy centibillionaire club. Alphabet stock has risen more than 80 percent from the early days of the pandemic a year ago. Page and Brin founded Google in 1998 while they were PhD students at Stanford University. Together they own about 14 percent of the $1.5 trillion company, and control 56 percent of the shareholder votes. Both remain board members at Alphabet, and ultimately control the board through their voting power, but they have stepped back from the company's day-to-day operations. Page and Brin now live largely out of the limelight, with Page in particular pursuing a reclusive life. Page has not been heard speaking in public since a business leaders event at Trump Tower in 2016. He is known to have vocal chord problems stemming from an old infection. In the 1990s, Page and Brin created the prototype for Google's internet search algorithm as a class project while they were graduate students at Stanford University. They initially tried to sell the software, but found no interested buyers. It was only reluctantly that they founded their own company to try to monetize the algorithm, say those who knew them at the time. In the 1990s, Page and Brin created the prototype for Google's internet search algorithm as a class project while they were graduate students at Stanford University Brin's $80 million superyacht is known as The Dragonfly, which boasts an open-air cinema and Jacuzzi on the sundeck, which also converts to a dance floor Page purchased a $45 million yacht dubbed Senses, which comes with a helipad, gym, multi-level sun decks, ten luxurious suites, a crew of 14 According to many accounts, the founders had grown increasingly weary of corporate management over the years, and focused more and more on side projects. Page was the founding CEO, but in 2001 he and Brin brought in experienced executive Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of software company Novell, to lead Google through its public offering and massive growth. In 2011, Page resumed the mantle of Google CEO, but nearly immediately became frustrated with day-to-day corporate tasks, and disillusioned with 'entitled' engineers, according to the New York Times. Sundar Pichai took over as CEO of Google in 2015, with Page and Brin taking the reins as CEO and chairman of Alphabet. In 2019 Pichai took over as Alphabet CEO as well, but still serves at the pleasure of Page and Brin through their supervoting power. Brin owns a lavish $3.3 million property in Alpine, New Jersey Larry Page's custom-built eco-friendly compound in Palo Alto Though both Page and Brin have devoted some of their fortunes to charitable causes, they have not gone without the finer things in life. Page purchased a $45 million yacht dubbed Senses, which comes with a helipad, gym, multi-level sun decks, ten luxurious suites, a crew of 14 and interior design by famed French designer Philippe Starck. Brin's $80 million superyacht is known as The Dragonfly, which boasts an open-air cinema and Jacuzzi on the sundeck, which also converts to a dance floor. Both also own multiple stunning mansions, including Brin's $3.3 million property in Alpine, New Jersey and Larry Page's custom-built eco-friendly compound in Palo Alto. Jenny Wu is trying to give me a lot of stuff for free. Shes the owner of The Red Pearl, a beloved Chinese restaurant in downtown Boulder Creek, the gateway to whats left of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Wu lost her house in the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fires and temporarily shuttered her restaurant due to the fires and pandemic, and recently her business was robbed. But here she is, shoving extra egg rolls in with my order, and dashing across the restaurant to the refrigerator, insisting I take a soda, or how about two? No charge. Its not just me she does this for. Wu simply loves to feed people, to give more than she gets. Shes been running her restaurant like this, treating everyone who comes in like family, for the last 16 years. And her unconditional love for Boulder Creek has, in these difficult times, proven mutual. In Wus time of need, the 5,000-person mountain town has come to her rescue, and its a story thatll warm the iciest of hearts. The story begins with Wus journey to Boulder Creek, but finding out about her history is a bit of a challenge. Shes modest, intensely private and prefers not to speak about her own life. But over the course of a few visits to Boulder Creek and conversations on Facebook, she opened up. Wu was raised in Chinas Sichuan province, she tells me, where much of her large family still lives. One uncle lives in Los Angeles, though, and after Wu finished college at Yibin University, she traveled to California with a dream of opening a restaurant here. To learn the business she worked in Chinese restaurants in LA and Santa Cruz, and eventually she and a friend, a chef named Ren He, became business partners. Ashley Harrell When He and Wu learned that the town of Boulder Creek had no Chinese restaurant in 2006, they opened The Red Pearl in a space downtown on Central Avenue. Although many residents were thrilled to have a Chinese place in the town, a strange thing began to happen: negative posts about the restaurant started popping up on a local news forum and phony orders started coming in. A resident named Chuck Winser did some sleuthing, and eventually connected the posts with a competing Chinese restaurant in Felton, a few towns over. The owner was organizing a campaign to hold on to its customers in Boulder Creek, says Winser, and once the owner got identified and called out, the harassment ended. Wu was grateful and awarded Winser a generous gift certificate. To express her gratitude to the town, she also started including extra items in customers orders at no charge. They appreciated the gesture, and they also liked not having to drive 15 minutes to Felton for Chinese meals. Whenever customers showed up at The Red Pearl, Wu always greeted them personally with her sweet smile. Courtesy of Bruce Baker Longtime resident and local tree feller Bruce Baker enjoyed picking up his food at The Red Pearl, he says, because Wu always remembered his name and seemed to be giving him special treatment. Then he realized, she treats everybody special. She remembers everybodys name, he says. I noticed that many folks were coming in just to say hi to Jenny. Baker also noticed that if someone wanted to eat but didnt have money, Wu fed them anyway. When regular customers got sick, Wu brought them free food and vitamins. On holidays, anyone who showed up for a meal got it for free. Flash forward to early 2020. Wu was visiting family in Sichuan province when word of the pandemic first surfaced. She was forced to quarantine for two weeks in China, and nearly got stuck there, she says, because China Southern Airlines canceled her flight home. The restaurant had to close, and Wu was so worried she could barely sleep. She called the airline each day and waited for hours on hold while trying to rebook herself, and finally made it back to California. Shmuel Thaler The restaurant was unable to open for several weeks, Wu says. Then in August, fire tore through the Santa Cruz Mountains, devastating the area and burning Wus house to the ground. She lost all of her belongings, including family photos, jewelry and jade from her parents and other artifacts she brought from China. She lost a recipe book from her grandmother, and an erhu, a two-stringed ancient instrument that she played. The restaurant closed again for a month and a half while Wu regrouped. She had to deal with insurance and find new lodgings, but she didnt have to do it alone. When members of the community learned what had happened, they sprang into action to help Wu. Jenny has lost her home in the Santa Cruz mountains due to the fire, customer Meggan Stringent wrote for a GoFundMe campaign. Now is our chance to show her our appreciation and help her rebuild We love you, Jenny. That campaign raised $16,470. A second one brought in $2,235. Customers who preferred to make a donation in person showed up to the restaurant and handed Wu hundreds of dollars in cash. Charlie Brown, the owner of a local moving and hauling company, helped Wu find a new house and filled it with complimentary furniture. Another customer, Valerie White, helped take care of Wus dog Ginger and her cats Mao and Mi. It warmed my heart, Wu says of the efforts. When she was ready, Wu held a pre-opening of The Red Pearl, which essentially involved feeding everyone for a week, for free. Soon after things started to return to normal, though, a change purse with an estimated $1,000 disappeared. And again, the community rallied. Ashley Harrell Not only has Jenny continued to keep us fed with her delicious food after she lost her home and everything in the CZU fire this past summer, she was just robbed of $1000 in cash, customer Mark Maslowski wrote in a new GoFundMe campaign. I'm calling on all of those in [San Lorenzo Valley] to pitch in and donate a little something to help. The campaign raised $6,890, and the "love story" about Wu and Boulder Creek got picked up by NBC Bay Area. In the months since, business has boomed at The Red Pearl, with customers going out of their way to patronize it as often as possible. They certainly enjoy the Singapore rice noodles, the apricot almond chicken and the vegan egg rolls (which recently won an award from a local newspaper), but the truth is they come for Wu, and they stay for her. Jenny exudes kindness, compassion and goes out of her way to make others happy, says customer Dawn Smith. Her food is amazing, and Boulder Creek would just not be the same without Jenny Wu and the Red Pearl. Space News space history and artifacts articles Messages space history discussion forums Sightings worldwide astronaut appearances Resources selected space history documents advertisements Universal Astronaut Insignia to unite space explorers and travelers April 12, 2021 Two days after Yuri Gagarin became the world's first person to fly into space, his country, the former Soviet Union, presented him a small, military-style insignia representing that he was a Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR. The first-of-its-kind device, depicting a satellite and spacecraft in orbit over Earth, would go on to be presented to every Soviet cosmonaut who made a spaceflight through 1991, and then, after a slight redesign, awarded to every Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation to this day. A similar practice began in the United States in December 1961, eight months after Gagarin was honored, when the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force bestowed Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom with their respective branch's astronaut wings. The similar devices both featured at their center a five-pointed star with three trailing rays passing through a halo a symbol that later would be adapted as a lapel pin to be worn by NASA astronauts, with a gold version for those who launched into space. In the 60 years since those first insignia were introduced, additional devices and pins have been created to represent other subsets of space travelers. The British Interplanetary Society, for example, created a rocket-shaped pin to be presented to astronauts from the United Kingdom, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awards commercial astronaut wings to the flight crews aboard U.S. licensed private spacecraft. What has not existed until now has been a symbol to unite every person who has flown into space. Enter the Universal Astronaut Insignia. For space explorers, by Space Explorers "This all started in a van down by the river outside of Star City, Russia on March 18, 2015," Andy Turnage, executive director of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), recalled in an interview with collectSPACE. Established in 1985, the ASE is a professional and educational organization for current and former astronauts. Turnage and Michael Lopez-Alegria, a former NASA astronaut and a member of the ASE's executive committee, were on their way back from a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first spacewalk, when the topic came up in discussion. "Andy and I noted that even though many nations have flown citizens in space, only NASA astronauts have a specially-designed insignia for that relatively small community. We wondered if the time had come to create a common insignia for all space travelers, from all nations and indeed it has," said Lopez-Alegria. Creating a single device to represent everyone, however, presented a challenge. The design needed to translate across multiple nationalities and cultures, as well as be applicable to at least the two primary ways people experience spaceflight: suborbital and orbital missions. Multiple concepts for the pin were put forth, but none of them really worked. It was not until a meeting of the executive committee did a symbol emerge twice. "[Russian cosmonaut] Pavel Vinogradov and I were doodling ideas at opposite ends of the room and independently arrived at almost identical designs," Turnage said. "It ended up being very close to what you see today." The final version of the Universal Astronaut Insignia comprises ascending and descending chevrons crowned with a five-point star, representing the journey into space and the return to Earth. A circlet encompassing the chevrons is added to the pins worn by those who entered Earth orbit or flew beyond. Universal eligibility "Anyone who is verified as having flown into space will be eligible to wear the appropriate variant of the insignia," explained Turnage. "ASE will coordinate with recognized launch providers to verify entry to space." Lopez-Alegria presented an early prototype of the pin to Beth Moses in October 2019. As Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor, Moses completed a suborbital spaceflight aboard the company's SpaceShipTwo "Unity" in February 2019. "It's a real honor to be recognized by an association which counts so many pioneers of space exploration among its members," Moses said at the time. "A lot has changed since humanity first entered space, but the fascination with space and everything surrounding it remains the same." Future passengers who pay to launch to space, including those who fly with Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, SpaceX and Axiom Space, will be eligible to wear the Universal Astronaut Insignia, as will the professional astronauts and cosmonauts who go on missions for the world's different space agencies. "Thanks to the efforts of commercial spaceflight companies, the international community of space travelers is going to continue to grow and evolve," Turnage said. "ASE members are the pathfinders to space and our role as an organization is to provide leadership, guidance, inspiration and a sense of unity within the human spaceflight community. We believe creating a common symbol for all space travelers is one way to provide those things." In addition to awarding the pins, the ASE is creating and will maintain a physical Registry of Space Travelers that will include the almost 600 people who have flown into space to date and grow as more follow. The registry will assign a flight order number for each pin-recipient, establishing a master record for spaceflight history. "As one of the initiators of the idea, it is a special privilege for me to take my pin, and three others just like it for my crewmates, to space on Ax-1," said Lopez-Alegria, who is returning to space as the commander of Axiom Space's first flight to the International Space Station in 2022. "That ground-breaking mission and its crew exemplify the very universality that the pin is meant to represent." Firsts in space The first of the Universal Astronaut Insignia pins to fly into space is now in Earth orbit with Soichi Noguchi, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut and ASE executive committee member, who launched with SpaceX's first operational mission for NASA in November. Universal Astronaut Insignia on ISS. Click to enlarge and view video in pop-up window. (ASE) "Now, therefore, it is resolved that all space travelers shall be eligible to display a Universal Astronaut Insignia and receive an individual placement of entry to space upon certification of spaceflight by a recognized launch provider," Noguchi said in a video of him reciting the ASE's resolution establishing the new pin. Noguchi and other members of the ASE leadership have received their own pins, but the one that he has with him on board the space station has been reserved for a special recipient. "The pin he has with him in space the first flown pin will be presented to the family of Yuri Gagarin," Turnage said. (Gagarin, 34, died in a 1968 jet crash.) The ASE is planning to present Gagarin's pin at the International Astronautical Federation's (IAF) Global Space Exploration Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia in June, when more ASE members will also receive their pins. The Universal Astronaut Insignia, in suborbital and orbital variants, is the first lapel pin to represent everyone who has flown to space. The ascending and descending chevrons crowned with a five-point star symbolize the journey to space and return to Earth. The circlet is added to represent orbital flight. (Association of Space Explorers) The first device to signify that the wearer had flown into space, the Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR badge, was awarded to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in April 1961. (RIA Novosti/Wikipedia / collectSPACE) JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, a member of the Association of Space Explorers executive committee, displays a Universal Astronaut Insignia on the International Space Station. (Association of Space Explorers/collectSPACE) Michael Lopez-Alegria, representing the Association of Space Explorers, awards Virgin Galactic chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses with a Universal Astronaut Insignia. (Virgin Galactic) Suborbital (at left) and orbital variants of the Universal Astronaut Insignia, presented by the Association of Space Explorers, represents everyone who has flown into space, regardless of nationality or launch provider. (Association of Space Explorers) 2021 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved. GPF says the ETCs have the lowest charges in the European marketplace with total expense ratios ranging from 0.145% to 0.20% The Global Palladium Fund (GPF) has listed sterling-denominated shares for its four physical-metal-backed exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) on London Stock Exchange. GPF says the ETCs have the lowest charges in the European marketplace with total expense ratios ranging from 0.145% to 0.20%. Targeting family offices, wealth managers, institutional and other professional investors, the gold, silver, platinum and palladium ETCs track the spot price of the respective metals they cover. They were launched in January when issuer Ridgex listed them on and LSE. Further listings in Europe will be announced in due course, GPF said. Chief executive Alexander Stoyanov added: Our physically-backed metal ETCs aim to give investors the opportunity to invest in metals that have a key role to play in the transition to a net-zero carbon economy. The LSE GBP [Great British Pounds] listing means that UK professional investors can now access the products through platforms that prefer or only offer access to securities priced in sterling. Created by Norilsk Nickel, the diversified Russian mining giant, GPF is one of the first investment platforms to use blockchain technology, providing a further layer of encrypted security and electronic proof of ownership. The fund works with , which advises ETCs and exchange-traded funds on strategy as well as helping them with distribution. It also provides investor education. Democratic state Rep. Krystle Matthews will challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott in 2022, announcing a long-shot bid against the GOP incumbent. Matthews, whose House District 117 includes parts of Ladson, Goose Creek and North Charleston, became the first woman to represent the area after her successful bid in 2018. The Berkeley County resident hopes to unseat Scott in what he has publicly said will be his last run for Senate. This campaign isnt about the GOP or the DNC," Matthews said in a statement to The Post and Courier. "Its about the mother in Charleston struggling to pay rent and put food on the table. Its about the grandfather in Greenville working weekends at Walmart because he doesnt have any other choice. Its about the Lowcountry shop owner whose store floods every king tide and the Midlands graduate who cant pay her student loans because she cant get a job." A formal announcement for her campaign is scheduled April 13 at the Statehouse in Columbia. She has no plans to resign her House seat during her bid, a spokesman said. Matthews will face an uphill battle against Scott. South Carolina delivered crushing blows to most Democrats during the 2020 election, including for U.S. Senate, where Democrat Jaime Harrison's record-shattering $130 million fundraising haul still wasn't enough to unseat GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. Matthews wasn't taking additional press calls but earlier told The Associated Press her strategy is to register 150,000 new Democratic voters across South Carolina to help close the gap. In 2018, Matthews replaced state Rep. William E. Crosby, a four-term GOP incumbent, winning by 7 percentage points. In 2020, the margins were a little tighter. Matthews defeating challenger Jordan Pace 52 percent to 47 percent. The 40-year-old single mother of five from Sandusky, Ohio, has worked as an engineer at Boeing since 2008 and has advocated for the working class in her district. In early campaign promotional material shared on her 2022 website, Matthews' tagline reads "One Tough Mother." "As a single parent in a pandemic, as a woman in America, I know what it means to push forward against the greatest of odds," Matthews said in a campaign video posted to her website. "South Carolina deserves better." Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! A fundraising bid against Scott will require help and assistance outside the Palmetto State. Matthews told AP she expects it to be somewhere in the ballpark of $10 million to $20 million to help fuel the campaign. Scott, on the other hand, has already found some early, and powerful, support for his 2022 bid. Former President Donald Trump said the junior senator from South Carolina has his complete and total endorsement in a statement issued by the Save America PAC on March 2. The GOP senator has been seen as a rising star in the party even as it faces an identity crisis following Trumps tenure in the White House. Speculation continues to grow whether Scott will be in the conversation for the White House in 2024. He is scheduled to be in Davenport, Iowa, on April 15 as other GOP hopefuls begin to lay early groundwork in the state. A campaign spokesman for Scott did not immediately have comment regarding Matthews' announcement. Scott ended 2020 with $8 million in his campaign war chest, according to the Federal Election Commission. The next phase of Pennsylvanias COVID-19 vaccine distribution is underway. Starting today, Pennsylvania has entered Phase 1C of the states vaccine rollout. This phase includes Pennsylvania state employees, federal government workers and employees of all county and local government levels. Phase 1C also includes a host of other critical employees, including public safety workers, those in the energy sector, legal services, housing construction, financial services, bank tellers, information technology workers and media companies. Central Pennsylvanias largest vaccine providers say they are ready to handle the influx of people seeking shots. Thousands of appointments are available. Beginning Tuesday, April 13, everyone in Pennsylvania will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines. Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday said he had moved up the date to expand eligibility to the general public six days ahead of schedule (it was slated to be April 19). Everyone nationwide will be able to sign up for shots on April 19, President Joe Biden said. Pennsylvanias vaccine rollout had been criticized from some lawmakers and local officials for moving too slowly, but the distribution has improved recently, particularly as the state has received more vaccines. The acceleration of the vaccine rollout comes at a crucial time, as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have risen in the past few weeks. The state began its rollout with health care workers and then expanded the initial rollout (Phase 1A) to those 65 and over and younger people with certain health conditions. In March, the state launched an initiative to vaccinate teachers, school employees and child care workers. On March 31, Gov. Tom Wolf widened the vaccine rollout again to cover many front-line workers, including law enforcement, firefighters, grocery store employees and food and agriculture workers. On April 5, the state opened vaccine eligibility to everyone in Phase 1B, including mass transit employees, manufacturing workers, postal employees and clergy. Some large vaccine providers, such as Penn State Health, WellSpan and Vaccinate Lancaster, are urging everyone to sign up now, regardless of eligibility. Penn State Health, WellSpan, UPMC and Vaccinate Lancaster are encouraging all those seeking vaccines to register now. Heres a quick guide to getting appointments for COVID-19 vaccines. Penn State Health Register on Penn State Healths website or by calling 844-774-8883. UPMC You can go online and register at UPMCs vaccine website or call 844-876-2822. Vaccinate Lancaster Lancaster Countys mass vaccination clinic is located at Park City Center in Lancaster. Register at VaccinateLancaster.org or by calling 717-588-1020. WellSpan Register on MyWellSpan.org and youll be notified to make an appointment when youre eligible. WellSpans COVID-19 vaccine hotline is (855) 851-3641. Cumberland County Community Vaccine Clinic The Cumberland County Community Vaccination Clinic is located at 1180 Walnut Bottom Road in South Middleton Township near Carlisle. You can schedule an appointment at www.qcpharmacy.com. Or call 717-918-9880 between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. About the shots The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines both require two doses for full vaccination. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine offers full protection with just one shot. The vaccines havent been approved by federal regulators for children under 16. Only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for 16- and 17-year-olds. The minimum age for the other vaccines is 18. More from PennLive Here are the new casinos, stores and other businesses coming to central Pa. despite the pandemic Anticipated central Pa. restaurant openings to look forward to this spring, summer DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 12th Apr, 2021) A delegation from Smart Dubai visited PwC middle Easts new "Experience Centre", which the world-leading professional services firm set up to imagine, design, and build future solutions, helping evolve ideas from strategy to execution. Leading the delegation, Wesam Lootah, CEO of the Smart Dubai Government Establishment, said, "As the government entity tasked with leading Dubais transformation into a world-leading smart city of the future, Smart Dubai is committed to embracing bold ideas and breakthroughs and using them to the benefit of the emirates citizens and residents. And with that in mind, we are always here to recognise and support initiatives like the PwC Experience Centre, which we believe has all the hallmarks of an innovation powerhouse and the potential to drive expectation-defying solutions that can support Smart Dubais efforts to transform the emirate into the worlds happiest and smartest city." The Smart Dubai team was welcomed by several PwC representatives, most notably Hani Ashkar, Middle East Senior Partner; Hamed Kazim, Senior Advisor; Ali Hosseini, Chief Digital Officer, and Ahmad Abu Hantash, Partner in Technology Consulting. The tour covered the entire facility on level six of PwC Middle Easts offices in Emaar Square, Downtown Dubai, where the delegation from Smart Dubai was given insight into various development stages an "Experience" goes through; beginning from imagining an idea, to designing the experience, building and testing the product, and exploring data insights. PwCs Dubai Experience Centre accelerates big ideas and makes experiences real using the appropriate methods and tools to imagine solutions by gaining insights and identifying new opportunities, followed by the design method that brings different views together and leverages technology experts to ideate and develop innovative concepts that result in building innovative products and services that address customer challenges. During the tour the PwC representatives talked about seamless customer experiences fuelled by smart insights, focusing on different industries such as tourism, transportation, logistics, and urban resilience. Hani Ashkar said, "The Experience Centre in the Middle East combines the very best of consulting and agency; it is how we take ideas from strategy through to execution. It is where our clients and teams come together to collaborate on solving important problems." The 20 million extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine ordered by the federal government due to concerns over the AstraZeneca jab may protect against mutant strains of Covid-19. Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said US company Pfizer is working on adapting the vaccine to protect better against the UK, South African and Brazilian strains which are more deadly and transmit more easily than original Covid. Speaking on ABC Radio National on Monday morning, he said doses that are due in Australia in the final three months of the year could be updated jabs. The government ordered 20million more doses of Pfizer. Pictured: Pfizer vaccines arrive in Australia in February 'We know they're doing that work and MRNA vaccines can be adapted quickly,' he said. 'So that will be a process between now and then to work out what's the most effective doses that we need, recognising that they are in experimental phases at the moment, they haven't tested them fully.' The government ordered 20million more doses of Pfizer last week after scientists recommended under 50s do not take the AstraZeneca vaccine due to a minuscule risk of blood clots. Australia had been relying heavily on the AstraZeneca jab with 53.8million doses ordered. The vaccine is being produced locally at the CSL factory in Melbourne - but CSL has warned that it will not be able to make booster shots to better protect against the mutant strains until the end of the year. The AstraZeneca vaccine protects against serious disease caused by these strains but struggles to protect against mild infection. Receiving adapted Pfizer jabs could therefore be the best way for Australia to wipe out the virus by stopping it from spreading. Scott Morrison (pictured at a service to pay respects to Prince Philip on Sunday) is being roasted by opponents after dropping the aim to offer all Australians a Covid jab by October Meanwhile, Scott Morrison is being roasted by opponents after dropping the aim to offer all Australians a Covid jab by October. The prime minister announced on his Facebook page on Sunday that he was scrapping the target because there are 'many uncertainties involved'. Mr Morrison is already under pressure over the glacial pace of the rollout which was supposed to inoculate 4million by the start of April but has only reached 1.1million. Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Sunday the government wants to offer everyone the jab by the end of the year, but Mr Morrison said this was not guaranteed. Independent senator Rex Patrick slammed the PM for failing to set a new target. 'Having blindly overpromised and then failed to deliver, now Scott Morrison won't make any new COVID19 Aus vaccine commitments,' he Tweeted. 'There's no published plan because he's allergic to transparency and no targets set because he lacks leadership.' Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally also slammed the PM, tweeting: 'He set a target of 4 million vaccinated by 31 March. Missed it. 'He set a target of vaccinating all Australians by October. He's dropped it. 'He said Australia would be at the front of the queue for vaccines. We're not even in the top 100. Scott Morrison is all spin, no delivery.' Registered Nurse Rebecca DeJong receives an injection of COVID-19 vaccine in Townsville Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said it was 'beyond belief' that the Morrison government 'seem to have no idea about vaccination timetables'. 'This should have been their main focus given they have handed most responsibility to the states,' he said on Twitter on Sunday night. Australia's delayed vaccine rollout could have devastating consequences for the economy, according to a report by the McKell Institute. The group calculates that a delay of just over 100 days could cause an extra 11 days of lockdown at a cost of some $1.4 billion. Mr Morrison said Australia's vaccine program is faring well on an international scale. 'The latest data shows that Australia's vaccination program is advancing consistent with comparable countries such as Germany, and ahead of Canada, Sweden, France, NZ, South Korea and Japan at the same stage of their rollouts,' he said. Australia had relied heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine with 53.8million doses ordered. It is also the only jab that it can manufacture onshore at the CSL factory in Melbourne. Australia's Pfizer vaccines were due to arrive at a rate of 130,000 from April, but Health Minister Greg Hunt said this will now hugely expand and double by July. Last week Mr Morrison said Australians can still choose to take the the AstraZeneca jab if they want. 'It is not a ban on the AstraZeneca vaccine, it is not a prohibition on the AstraZeneca vaccine, it recommends and notes that the risk of these side effects are remote. 'They are very rare. We are talking in the vicinity of five to six per million which is a rather rare event. But it must be acknowledged,' Mr Morrison said. 'It's important so Australians can make informed decisions about their vaccination and their health care with their medical professionals, with their doctor. 'So there was no instruction not to take that vaccine. There is an acknowledgement of the risk that is there but as is the case always with these matters these are decisions for Australians.' The prime minster encouraged Australians over 50 to have the AstraZeneca jab because they are less at risk of the clotting events and more at risk of getting seriously sick from Covid-19. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment I recently had the privilege of speaking on the theme of Paying the Price at Godspeak Calvary Chapel in California, pastored by Rob McCoy (a short clip is here.) My brief exhortation drove home the fact that America crossed a dangerous line years ago. Instead of repenting and turning back to God, we have walked further into the deep waters of ungodliness. The decadence and brutality in our streets are unparalleled in our history. Despair and depression reign in our land. But believe it or not I am hopeful. Where do I find such hope? In studying various spiritual awakenings (including those in the Bible), I have found that darkness often precedes light. For instance, in his book on revival, W. T. Stead makes a stunning observation: It is the darkest hour before the dawn. The nation always seems to be given over to the Evil One before the coming of the Son of Man [Jesus Christ]. The decay of religious faith, the deadness of the Churches, the atheism of the well-to-do, the brutality of the masses, all of these, when at their worst, herald the approach of the Revival. He then concludes with this powerful offer of hope: Things seem to get too bad to last. The reign of evil becomes intolerable. Then the soul of the nation awakes. Sadly, it often takes tragedy and calamity to wake us up. Have We Really Sought the Lord Wholeheartedly? Decades ago, Gordon Cove challenged readers when he wrote, You have not sought the Lord with 'your whole heart' until you have tried a protracted season of prayer and fasting. Could a lack of prayer and fasting be one of the hindrances to a spiritual awakening? Absolutely! Desperate times call for desperate measures. A full stomach makes seeking God difficult, prayer hard, and worship challenging. Cove continues, In many cases, where fasting has been added to the prayers, along with deep consecration and weeping before God, the answer has miraculously come to hand. Fasting doesnt twist Gods arm, but it does bend my knee. Fasting isnt a work; its exchanging one appetite for a greater one. The Spark that Ignites the Flame My goal isnt to overemphasize fasting, but its clear that fasting has fallen by the wayside and King Stomach is still on the throne. In reading about the spiritual renewals under the preaching of John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Duncan Campbell, Evan Roberts, and the Puritans, as well as in the First and Second Great Awakenings, I have found that, along with keeping the Word of God front and center, intense prayer and vigorous fasting were the sparks that ignited the flame. God heard the cry of His children. Could it be that we arent willing to pay the price through a deep season of prayer and fasting? Granted, in the same way we cannot produce a field of corn by making it rain, a spiritual awakening cannot be orchestrated. Its Gods work alone, but we can prepare the soil of our heart by fully surrendering our lives. God revives those who submit themselves to Him with open and empty hands (Isaiah 57:15). Gods Sovereignty and Mans Responsibility A.W. Pink, in Gleanings from Joshua, said, It would indeed be strange if we apprehended how that on the one hand Canaan was a free gift unto Israel, which they entered by grace alone; and on the other, that they had to fight for every inch of it! Although we are totally dependent on God, a spiritual awakening will not come without a fight. In the book of Joel, the peoples provisions had dried up and withered away. They were desperate and despondent, but God didnt give up on them. To show the magnitude of their sin and the need for humility, God told Joel to consecrate a fast and cry out to Him. Crying out, fasting, and repentance were the sparks that ignited the flame (Joel 1:4-14; 2:12-17). If youd like to join me in fasting for our nation, see the note below. Five Essential Steps to a Spiritual Awakening The following scriptural truths, along with prayer and fasting, can no doubt ignite the fires of another spiritual awakening. 1. Embrace godly sorrow and confess sin. Confession of sin is often a precursor to a spiritual awakening, both personally and corporately. During the 1904-1905 revivals in Wales, Evan Roberts said that four things contributed to the revival. At the top of the list was the confession of sin as well as acknowledging Jesus Christ publicly, followed by obedience to the Spirit and the removal of doubt about Gods truth. How are you doing in these areas? If we dont make changes here, we will not experience all that God has for us. 2. Humble yourself before God does. In Isaiah 58, fasting was ineffective because the people were harsh and self-focused. Whether its pastors throwing tirades from the pulpit, carnal Christians mocking God, or proud believers who never look in the mirror, we have not yet humbled ourselves. We underestimate how rebellion and pride prevent spiritual awakenings: Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6). Pride must be crushed under the power of the cross. 3. Holiness is not a suggestion. Second Corinthians 7:1 says that we must purify ourselves from everything that contaminates our spirit. Romans 12:1 reminds us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Without holiness, no one will see revival. Perhaps its time to examine yourself and see how youre doing in this area. If nothing comes to mind, ask God to show you areas of sin in your life. Spend a Sweet Hour of Prayer with God. 4. There must be continual hunger and thirst for God. On this point, Im often reminded of the three times in Leviticus 6 where God instructs that fire should always be burning on the altar. And Jesus, in Matthew 5:6, tells us that only those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. A spiritual awakening is Gods power meeting Gods people who are hungry for more of Him. Full surrender isnt optional; its essential: The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). It's not about perfection but direction. What direction are you heading? Will He find you empty, humble, and desperate, or full, arrogant, and satisfied? Will you pay the price for a national awakening? It's our only hope. Note: I recently became so broken over what we are leaving the next generation that I began a lengthy water fast, not knowing that it would be one of the hardest things Ive ever done. Im planning to post my experience in May 2021. You can hear about the outcome by subscribing to my YouTube channel here. Additionally, my new book, 40 Days to Reset Your Life, is scheduled to be released in June. This book demonstrates how prayer and fasting can reset your life and change your spiritual course as well as the course of the nation. Offshore oil has built some well-deserved bad rap over the decades because of oil spills, and it has frequently been the specific target of protest action from environmentalists. But if were talking about emissions, the truth about offshore oil will shock some: theyre much lower than other forms of oil production. The fact may not be universal but, as per an Energy Intelligence report that quotes executives from Shell and BHP, it remains a fact for much of the industry. There are several reasons for that, and these commonly have to do with the size of the offshore deposits and their operators cost control and environmental protection efforts. If you take a look at a global map of the hotspots in oil exploration, you will notice that with the notable exception of U.S. shale, they are all offshore. Brazils pre-salt zone will be on this map, as will Guyanas newly discovered massive fields. West Africa will also be on the map. And Malaysia and Brunei just recently signed a deal to jointly explore for oil and gas in the deep waters along their maritime border. Shells Gulf of Mexico assets have arguably the lowest carbon intensity of any of our assets globally, the supermajors vice president of exploration for North America and Brazil, William Langin, told Energy Intelligence. And Shell is not the only one. A senior BHP executive called offshore barrels advantaged, according to the Energy Intelligence report. Advantaged barrels are the ones that are recoverable at a profit in the current market conditions, including the drive for lower emissions across industries. One of the advantages of offshore oil and gas deposits came into the spotlight after the last oil price crash in 2014. In the U.S., one of the oldest offshore producing regions, onshore and offshore oil both suffered the consequences of the price crash, but offshore oil recovered more quickly than the shale patch because of the way it is organized. Offshore wells take years to start pumping, but once they start, they can keep producing for decades. Shale wells, on the other hand, start producing very quickly, but they get exhausted just as quickly, which makes them less cost-efficient than offshore wells. Related: Morgan Stanley: Oil Prices Stuck In $60 Range This Summer Besides, the oil price crashes have taught offshore drillers to reduce costs to the possible minimum, and this has included steps that have helped them reduce their carbon footprint such as power supply, for instance. Many offshore platforms are powered by electricity produced from natural gas rather than the more polluting diesel, and some even get their power from renewable resources. Norway is a case in point here. The country, which produces all of its oil offshore, has a carbon intensity rate of 7 kg per barrel of oil equivalent. The UAE, which has both offshore and onshore production, has the same carbon intensity rate. Canada, on the other hand, with its oil sands, has the highest carbon intensity rate among major producers, at 39 kg of carbon dioxide per barrel of oil equivalent, according to data from Rystad. In legacy producing regions, well-developed production and transportation infrastructure help keep the carbon footprint of offshore wells low. Even in newer producing regions, notably Guyana, carbon emissions are low because of, on the one hand, the size of the deposits, and, on the other, the development of newer, more efficient extraction technologies. Basically, offshore oil drilling is very much like electricity consumption by households. Being frugal with both leads to rewards in terms of production costs/utility bills and a lower environmental footprint because you are simply using fewer resources. Related: Saudi Oil Minister: OPEC+ Strategy Is Not Set In Stone Despite its emission advantages over many onshore fields, offshore oil and gas production is not without its problems. The upfront investments remain among the highest in the industry, and payback periods are longer than many investors would like, which is why investment in offshore exploration has been on a steady decline over the past few years. This may change in the coming decades as most of the worlds untapped oil resources are offshore, and we will continue to need oil for many years to come, with or without an energy transition. If more investors are to be attracted to offshore oil, more companiesand countriesneed to do what Norway did to achieve the lowest carbon intensity in the world. One, it has a carbon-trading scheme, and it also participates in the EUs carbon-trading program. Two, flaring has been banned in Norway since the 1970s, with few exceptions, allowed for safety purposes. Flaring makes up a big part of offshore oils greenhouse gas footprint, and it has been garnering growing attention from regulators and environmentalists alike. Flaringand venting, which is even worseis also a loss of product for the company doing it, which could provide additional motivation for curbing the practice. Ultimately, thanks to its lower footprint, offshore oil could find a comfortable place in the energy mix of the future when onshore oil wells get abandoned because of their high carbon intensity. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Oil pared gains with prices struggling to break out of its recent trading range as the market considers the jagged outlook for global fuel consumption. Futures in New York closed 0.6% higher on Monday after rising as much as 2.4% during the session. An uneven consumption outlook continues to hold oil prices back from rallying significantly past $60 a barrel. Even as fuel demand strengthens in countries like India and the U.S., it is far from a steady recovery worldwide as Covid-19 infections surge and lockdowns are renewed in parts of the Middle East and Europe. The concerns over economic recovery are just too strong for a sustained push higher at this point, said Gary Cunningham, director at Stamford, Connecticut-based Tradition Energy. We need to see some real positive numbers come out of economic growth before we can push away from $60 on WTI. Meanwhile, Yemens Houthis said they attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, as the group steps up strikes on the kingdom. While such attacks have increased this year, they rarely claim lives or cause extensive damage. Oil in New York has remained trapped near $60 a barrel since mid-March as traders look for more signs of a recovery in consumption from the pandemic. Trading volumes have slumped -- falling below their 15-day average every day last week -- as the market awaits a breakout. In the meantime, the OPEC+ alliance agreed to add more barrels from May. It is U.S. optimism that is helping the oil market, as developments in other parts of the world are not moving toward the same direction, said Louise Dickson, an oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy AS. Populous countries like India and Brazil are seemingly getting deeper in trouble than ever before, failing to deliver on hopes for a quick economic recovery. There are already signs emerging of the potential impact of a steady reopening in the U.S. on consumption, even in the beleaguered airline industry. United Airlines Holdings Inc. said it saw an acceleration in customer demand in March, while U.S. air passenger numbers remain near their highest level since March. However, the downside for jet fuel refining margins will likely last into 2022 with international air travel lagging the recovery in the U.S., according to Bank of America Global Research. The broader outlook for the oil market may be getting weaker further down the line, Morgan Stanley analysts Martijn Rats and Amy Sergeant wrote in a report. Thats because Iranian supply may return quicker than expected, while U.S. drilling activity has continued to increase. It means price gains later this year could be limited, they said. Still, a revival in the 2015 nuclear deal will have to overcome increasing hurdles. In the latest potential complication for talks, the Persian Gulf country said it will respond to attacks on its largest uranium enrichment plant with further development of nuclear progress. All signs are pointing to a year of drought, pushing some farmers to take mitigative actions to lessen its impact. Advertisement Advertise With Us SUBMITTED Tyler Fulton, a cattle producer from Birtle and president of Manitoba Beef Producers. All signs are pointing to a year of drought, pushing some farmers to take mitigative actions to lessen its impact. "Because its so dry right now, you dont want it to come down in torrents over a couple hours because that doesnt have an ability to soak in itll flow away," Pipestone-area cattle farmer Melissa Atchison said. SUBMITTED Manitoba Beef Producers vice-president Melissa Atchison is seen with her cattle. Consistent rain spread over the course of a couple days "would be a great start," she added. Atchison has already sold her yearlings in order to lessen the strain on her belaboured land and water resources. At least this years probable drought came with some warning, she said, noting the region is coming off a fairly dry summer and a winter with very little snowpack. "We were hoping for a winter with snow accumulation and we didnt get that," the Manitoba Beef Producers vice-president said, adding theyre now in a "pretty droughty, pretty concerning situation." In addition to selling off yearlings, she said there are a number of measures farmers can take, including more targeted grazing and having cattle feed on less-desirable plants, but theres only so much to be done without precipitation. "All these management decisions have to be centred around the financial implications of those choices, whether its immediate or long term," she said. "The one bright side is because we had such a mild winter, we didnt use as much winter feed as we might have had it been very cold, because cows requirement is much higher when its cold out." In the Birtle area, well north of Atchisons farm, cattle farmer and Manitoba Beef Producers president Tyler Fulton said theyre experiencing similar moisture conditions. "Were in a tight spot," he said, reporting dry sloughs throughout the area. They could typically rely on snowmelt refilling sloughs in the spring, but the limited snowpack wasnt enough to make much of a dent. "Were early in the growing season, so Im optimistic well get some better pasture conditions but the reality is, for pasture water systems, wed have to get exceptional rainfall in order to fill the dugouts we have and use to water the livestock, and were not going to see that," he said. Like Atchison, Fulton sold yearlings earlier than hed planned. He has also secured extra rental land and restructured his farming operations in other ways to brace for a probable drought. "Ive not seen it this dry before," he said, adding he has been back on the farm for 15 years. "I can think back to when I was a kid in the 80s, and just in referencing how dry it was then and how similar water bodies have been, Ive never seen it where theres so little surface water as there is now, and were only in April." If conditions continue as expected, he forecasts financial hardship in farmers future, with a market oversaturated with cattle that farmers are divesting of early due to their inability to keep them healthy and alive. "If nothing changes within a month, then theres going to be some really hard decisions to make as to how hard you cull the numbers," he said. "If theres not a significant amount of rainfall between now and the middle of June, then were looking at some very long-lasting impacts to the cow herd in Manitoba." tclarke@brandonsun.com Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB Mumbai: As the second wave of the coronavirus continues to wreck havoc, Maharashtra -- one of the worst-hit states, announced the postponement of the state board exams for classes 10 and 12. The exams for Class 12th will tentaively be held by end of May, while the Class 10th exams will be conducted in June. Taking to twitter state School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad informed that the situation was being closely monitored and that fresh dates for these exams will be announced accordingly. "Your health is our priority," she added. Imp Announcement: Given the current #COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra, weve postponed state board exams for class 10th & 12th. The present circumstances are not conducive for holding exams. Your health is our priority. #PariskhaPeCharcha #HSC #SSC #exams (1/5) pic.twitter.com/cjeRZAT7ux Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) April 12, 2021 The series of tweet further informed that the decision is the outcome of consultations with various stakeholders-students, teachers, parents, elected representatives from across parties, academicians and tech giants- in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. "During the consultations, various alternative assessment options were evaluated keeping the health, well-being and future of our students in mind. Postponing exams seemed to be the most pragmatic solution," she wrote in a tweet. Further, she said that the CBSE, ICSE, IB, Cambridge boards will be requested to reconsider their exams schedule. Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Sunday recorded its highest single-day rise since the outbreak. As many as 63,294 new coronavirus cases were registered which pushed the caseload to 34,07,245, the health department said. The death of 349 patients due to the infection took the state's toll to 57,987. A record 2,63,137 tests were conducted across the state during the day, which took the overall test count to 2,21,14,372. Earlier, on April 3 the Maharashtra government had announced that all students of Classes I to 8 will be promoted without exams. I am not a big fan of Chris Wallace of Fox News, but to his credit, he called BS on transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg yesterday in an eight-and-a-half-minute interview on Fox News Sunday, even while letting the biggest lie pass with no comment. Wallace let slide the most egregious misrepresentation: that less than 10% of the multi-trillion-dollar so-called "infrastructure" bill for which Buttigieg has become a point man is dedicated to genuine infrastructure roads, bridges, airports, and the power grid. That was not of interest to Wallace. There are limits to his willingness to challenge progressives. In fact, Wallace has adopted a new expression, "hard infrastructure," to talk about genuine infrastructure, so as to leave open the use of the term "infrastructure" for the sort of nonsense notoriously spouted by Kirsten Gillibrand. ("Paid leave is infrastructure. Child care is infrastructure. Caregiving is infrastructure.") Wallace's focus, instead, was on the claims of jobs that purportedly would be added by the bill, according to a study by Moody's Analytics whose pro-Democrat bias has been repeatedly exposed by Jack Hellner (here, here, here, and here, for instance). Even taking Moody's estimate on its own terms, Buttigieg was clearly guilty of misrepresentation. Thus, Wallace began the segment asking: "Why not be straight with the American people?" You see, Buttigieg has used the number of 19 million jobs being created by the bill, but that is simply untrue. The Moody's study actually said most of those jobs would be created regardless of passage of the bill. Only 2.7 million jobs, by its generous estimate, would be created by the bill itself. Buttigieg's response was classic: "I should have been more precise." Later on, he continued the dodge of claiming imprecision when caught lying and stated, "Yeah, you're right; I should be very precise..." He also claimed overwhelming support for the bull from the public, including Republicans and independents, but the polling (which I presume he was referencing) measured only the desire for better roads and other facilities, not support for the 93% of the bill that is unrelated to infrastructure (except in the minds of softheads like Gillibrand). He also used a familiar dodge for advocates of spending, citing the study of a directly concerned interest group: The American Society of Civil Engineers rates our infrastructure... we've been getting a lot of C's and D's... Guess where jobs for civil engineers come from! Were this group to tell us that our infrastructure is not in a crisis situation, its membership's job prospects would be diminished. Still, it is entertaining to see how Buttigieg, perhaps the smarmiest and most annoying member of the Biden Cabinet, handled direct criticism: Photo credit: YouTube screen grab. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Cara and Poppy Delevingne have shared a touching picture of their grandmother posing with a 17-year-old Prince Philip in Venice. The model siblings, who are descended from British aristocracy, took to Instagram today to reveal the black-and-white family photograph of their paternal grandparent Angela Delevingne sitting next to the Duke of Edinburgh, who died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on Friday. While Cara simply shared the image to her Instagram stories, Poppy captioned it: 'A 17-year-old Prince Philip and my grandmother in Venice, 1938. 'My cousins remember her saying "That after meeting him, she thought hed make someone a very good husband one day." How right she was.' Cara and Poppy Delevingne have shared a touching picture of their grandmother posing with a 17-year-old Prince Philip in Venice (pictured) While Cara simply shared the image to her Instagram stories, Poppy captioned it (above): 'A 17-year-old Prince Philip and my grandmother in Venice, 1938. My cousins remember her saying "That after meeting him, she thought hed make someone a very good husband one day." How right she was' Cara's first cousin, Edwina Gieve, co-founder of vintage inspired womenswear brand Clary & Peg, also shared the photograph to her Instagram account, explaining that the image was taken in 1938 Sitting beside one another, Angela and a young Prince Philip strike similar poses - with their content faces leaning against their hands - while enjoying a trip to a Venice beach. The candid image was taken by Angela's husband, Edward Dudley Delevingne. Cara's first cousin, Edwina Gieve, co-founder of vintage inspired womenswear brand Clary & Peg, also shared the photograph to her Instagram account. In the image, a young Prince Philip is dressed in comfortable-looking trousers and a polo shirt, while Angela sits next to him sporting a swimsuit and glitzy sandals. In the image, a young Prince Philip is dressed in comfortable-looking trousers and a polo shirt, while Angela (pictured) sits next to him sporting a swimsuit and glitzy sandals Angela, who passed away aged 102 in 2015, was the mother of Cara and Poppy's father property developer Charles Delevingne (pictured, Cara and Poppy) Angela, who passed away aged 102 in 2015, was the mother of Cara and Poppy's father property developer Charles Delevingne. Who was Angela Delevingne? Born Angela Margo Hamar Greenwood, Mrs Delevingne was the first of four children born to the 1st Viscount Greenwood and his wife, Margery Spencer. She was born at her parents home in Onslow Gardens, South Kensington. Her family was well-connected. Lord Greenwoods sister was married to Leo Amery, the politician, and Angela's maternal aunt was the stepmother of Lord Mountbatten's wife Edwina. Angelas sister married the son of the celebrated artist Philip de Laszlo. Angela was educated at Queens Gate school in South Kensington, and St Monicas, Walton Heath. When she was 15 she was sent to a finishing school in Florence. She married Edward Dudley Delevingne in 1937, and the pair, who had four children were together for 37 years until his death in 1974. Angela, who was the mother of Cara and Poppy's father property developer Charles Delevingne, passed away aged 102 in 2015. Advertisement Born in 1912 in South Kensington, she was the daughter of Canadian-born British lawyer and politician Sir Hamar Greenwood and his wife, Margery Spencer. Her family was well-connected. Lord Greenwoods sister was married to Leo Amery, the politician, and Angela's maternal aunt was the stepmother of Lord Mountbatten's wife Edwina. Angelas sister married the son of the celebrated artist Philip de Laszlo. Angela married Edward Dudley Delevingne in 1937, and the pair were together for 37 years until his death in 1974. Angela's son Charles was a former debs delight. He is handsome, perma-tanned and often described as a man-about-town. Charles made his money in property, much of it in partnership with the late Irish charmer Ned Ryan, a barrow boy who became Princess Margarets walker and confidant. He sold the familys Grade II-listed house in Belgravia for 10.5 million a price unmatched by any of his neighbours. Meanwhile Cara's mother, Pandora, is one of the Duchess of Yorks best buddies and her grandmother was a lady-in-waiting for Princess Margaret. Even though she doesnt need the money, Pandora has worked as a VIP stylist at Selfridges where her value lies in her ex-directory address book. The store relies on her to bring in rich customers with good taste (many her friends) to be dressed in luxury brands. Her list of contacts is stellar and there is talk that she helps the Duchess of Cambridge, among others, to pick clothes. Pandora is posh in her own right. She is the daughter of Sir Jocelyn Stevens, best known for his time as chairman of English Heritage. Model Cara previously shared this snap with her grandmother Angela Margo Delevingne on Instagram Angela's son Charles was a former debs delight. He is handsome, perma-tanned and often described as a man-about-town Her mother is Stevenss first wife, Janie Sheffield, who was Princess Margarets lady-in-waiting. She and Sir Jocelyn were a key part of Margarets Mustique set. After the marriage ended in 1979, Sir Jocelyn Stevens embarked on a long romance with philanthropist Dame Vivien Duffield, whose father left her a 45 million fortune. In 2005 they split, and Sir Jocelyn nicknamed the Piranha for his ferocious temper went on to marry society beauty Emma Cheape, then 54 and 22 years his junior. In 2012, Peter York, the author and social commentator, said of the Delevingne sisters: There are always girls who are slender, blonde and posh and fall into modelling, such as Jodie Kidd or Jacquetta Wheeler. 'But in the case of the Delevingnes, there are three of them, which is all the more attention-catching. Cara's mother, Pandora, is one of the Duchess of Yorks best buddies and her grandmother was a lady-in-waiting for Princess Margaret The sisters were expensively schooled. First at Frances Holland School for Girls near Sloane Square, where they stood out for being particularly skinny, leggy and gorgeous even in a school full of skinny, leggy and gorgeous girls. Poppy and Cara went to the progressive boarding school Bedales, whereas their elder sister Chloe joined the sixth form of the Buckinghamshire boarding school Stowe. She dated fellow Stowe ex-pupil Louis Buckworth while she gained a degree in biomedical sciences from University College London. They were married in 2008 at St Pauls Cathedral and their guests included Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, Joan Collins, Sarah Ferguson and her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. Only 17 months later the marriage was over. Chloe fell for Ed Grant, once her husbands best friend. Poppy Delevingne and Charles Delevingne pictured at the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank The photograph was shared days after the Queen announced her husband Prince Philip's death on Friday. 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'. Philip's funeral at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, next Saturday will be like no other, with the Queen and her family wearing face masks and socially distancing as they gather to say their final farewell amid coronavirus restrictions. Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday that Prince Philip's ceremonial royal funeral will take place on April 17 at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, and a national minute's silence will be observed as it begins at 3pm. The funeral service will be broadcast worldwide. Chamber of Commerce provides Key Biscayne businesses with critical support during COVID crisis The pandemic has encroached on every aspect of people's lives since March 2020. Key Biscayne businesses were tested to the limit with closures and operational restrictions, but they had support from the Chamber of Commerce. From the beginning the Chamber of Commerce has been part of the villages Incident Command Structures weekly meetings, as a part of the Economic Recovery Unit, said Tatyana Chiocchetti, executive director of the Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce. One of the units tasks during the COVID crisis, stated Chiocchetti, was to make sure businesses were kept up to date regarding the changes in safety protocols for retrofitting their business to adhere to the new normal. Money to assist local businesses was made available by Miami-Dade County through the CARES Act to support small businesses. A maximum of $5,000 per business was available to cover expenditures necessary to address the impact of COVID-related stay-at-home orders. The Chamber processed all applications on Key Biscayne. Out of the 85 applications submitted, 42 businesses were awarded grants ranging from $1,000 to the full amount of $5,000, utilizing the entire funding amount of $180,000, Chicchetti said. Each application was reviewed by our treasurer, Bob Brooks, who then recommended qualified applicants to the Village of Key Biscayne. The chamber also surveyed its membership four times over the past year to gauge impact of the pandemic, and provided results to the village council. It also organized a Zoom meeting for members to voice their concerns directly to the council. Chiocchetti added she and Christine Wing, chamber marketing director, remain in constant communication with members to see how we may be of assistance and provide resources. Among those resources were guides available on the chamber website, including: Coronavirus Business Resources; Healthcare Services & COVID19 Testing Locations; KB Restaurants Guide, offering take-out delivery and/or curbside options; Virtual Education & Fitness Classes Guide, promoting chamber members; and a KB Gift Card Directory, which gave customers another way to support our local businesses. Id like to give a tremendous shout out to the Key Biscayne Community Foundation for going above and beyond during this pandemic, said Chiocchetti. From their Soup for Seniors program to their working with the village to implement the first rounds of testing on the island, and their current scheduling of COVID-19 vaccine appointments, which have been greatly appreciated by KBs senior population. She went on to thank the Code Enforcement for working with the Chamber to advocate for The Ritz-Carlton Splash Pad to remain open during the time they were at 25% capacity. Chiocchetti said, As the largest business on the Island, many businesses rely on The Ritz-Carltons highly affluent guests to support retail and restaurants. As the recovery process continues in 2021, additional help is coming, said Chiocchetti, noting that, based on preliminary estimates by the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee, Key Biscayne would be eligible for about $5.4 million in additional assistance. The numbers are still tentative and subject to change, she said. Some of these funds may be available to local businesses that have taken a serious hit following the pandemic. IDEMIA launches Health Travel Pass, a secure solution so that health certificates can be distributed to various international parties involved, while preserving travelers' health data security and privacy. This solution is based on ICAO 1 standards for travel-related public health evidence 'Visible Digital Seals' (VDS-NC) 2 Health certification is key to restoring trust for both governments and travelers and reducing public health risks when traveling. IDEMIA's Health Travel Pass is being tested in the Netherlands. Fake health certificates have become a big issue since Covid began, even more so since vaccination programs started. IDEMIA's solution enables governments to curb the risk of incoming travelers spreading Covid, which in turn helps global business recover, especially airlines that were hit really hard, air traffic slumping 66 per cent in 20203 This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005367/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, is launching Health Travel Pass, a trusted worldwide interoperable solution, which can be rapidly rolled out and adapted to each country's needs, while complying with international health certificate standards, including PCR test results, immunity tests and vaccination certificates. As the Pass is linked to a traveler's identity, it cannot be transferred to anyone else and cannot be copied without appropriate authority. The Pass can also be incorporated into the Digital Travel Credential scheme tested by some countries in conjunction with the ICAO2. Passengers securely receive their health certificate stamped with the ICAO's Visible Digital Seal, guaranteeing worldwide interoperability with secure encoding using data encryption. The Pass ensures all travelers are covered and is available in various forms from a downloadable Government-issued health app, a PDF document sent by email or a sticker to put on their passport's visa pages. Before check-in, border control or boarding, a biometric match is triggered between the passenger's face and their passport photo, and the health certificate is verified. This quick process for both travelers and security staff guarantees convenience and cuts airport congestion when international air travel returns to normal. In keeping with data privacy by design, IDEMIA's Health Travel Pass complies with data privacy regulations. As such, passengers keep total control over their own health data. "We are all very proud at IDEMIA to offer people a safe way to travel around again, with a solution which is secure, user-friendly, reliable, and totally GDPR compliant. Our Health Travel Pass is a significant step forward in the resumption of international travel," said Philippe Barreau, IDEMIA's Executive Vice President in charge of Public Security Identity. About IDEMIA IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, provides a trusted environment enabling citizens and consumers alike to perform their daily critical activities (such as pay, connect and travel), in the physical as well as digital space. Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, an identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect one of our greatest assets our identity whether for individuals or for objects, whenever and wherever security matters. We provide Augmented Identity for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors. With close to 15,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries. For more information, visit www.idemia.com and follow @IDEMIAGroup on Twitter. 1 International Civil Aviation Organization 2 Guidelines VDS for Travel-Related Public Health Proofs.pdf (icao.int) 320 Min, Coronavirus: world air traffic slumped 66% in 2020 an unprecedented plunge, Feb 3, 2021 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005367/en/ Contacts: Hanna Sebbah idemia@havas.com +33 (0) 6 63 73 30 30 FORT WORTH, Texas, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nobel Prize recognizes outstanding accomplishments in chemistry, medicine, physics, literature, peacemaking, and economics. In the realms of human accomplishment, winning the Nobel Prize is considered a crowning achievement. AcademicInfluence.com is dedicated to connecting learners to leaders. And what better leaders to connect to learners than Nobel laureates, whose achievements and global influence in their academic fields have taken them to the pinnacle of their profession. Video interviews with Nobel Prize winners include: Robert F. Curl Jr., Rice University, Chemistry: Gerardus 't Hooft, Utrecht University, Physics Paul R. Krugman, City University of New York, Economics "As someone who is in academia myself, it is a profound honor to interview these laureates and discover more about how they formed their intellectual lives and achieved such a notable award," says Dr. Jed Macosko, academic director of AcademicInfluence.com and professor of physics at Wake Forest University. In addition to these Nobel winners, Dr. Macosko and his daughter Karina spoke with two other scientists who had received special recognition in their nation for their achievements, receiving the title Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire: Wendy Hall, University of Southampton, Computer Science Jocelyn Bell Burnell, University of Oxford, Astrophysics "I'm especially grateful that my daughter shared in this opportunity to interview these leaders and other notable influencers in their fields. Speaking to the younger generation and inspiring studentsit's a thrill to know that even the recipients of the world's greatest honors make time for people on a quest to learn, no matter their age or experience." Interviews cover such topics as how interviewees developed their love for their field of studies, who influenced their work, how they overcame career and learning obstacles, their achievements (including winning the Nobel Prize), and the latest on discoveries they have made in their field. These video interviews also include full transcripts. For the full list of 75 interviews (and growing) with the world's most influential thought leaders in a variety of fields, visit AcademicInfluence.com Interviews. How did AcademicInfluence.com arrive at its rankings of the world's most influential academics, which led to these interviews? Through its advanced rankings generator, The InfluenceRanking Engine, which scans and analyzes the web, mapping thought leadership across a variety of disciplines, whether individuals, schools, or other influential sources. For further details on the unique capabilities and advantages of this high-tech ranking system, see the AcademicInfluence.com About page. AcademicInfluence.com is the preeminent technology-driven rankings site dedicated to students, researchers, and inquirers from high school through college and beyond, offering resources that connect learners to leaders. AcademicInfluence.com is a part of the EducationAccess group, a family of sites dedicated to lifelong learning and personal growth. Contact: Jed Macosko, Ph.D. Academic Director AcademicInfluence.com 307151@email4pr.com (682) 302-4945 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/academicinfluencecom-interviews-nobel-prize-winners-301265992.html SOURCE AcademicInfluence.com TEL AVIV, Israel and FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Memic Innovative Surgery (Memic), a medical device company dedicated to transforming robot-assisted surgery with its proprietary technology, today announced the closing of a $96 million Series D financing. The financing round was led by Peregrine Ventures and Ceros with participation from OurCrowd and Accelmed. Funding will support commercialization of the Hominis robotic-assisted surgical platform in the U.S. and potentially in other countries around the world as the company also plans to expand marketing and sales efforts outside the U.S. The financing will also support continued research and development efforts including expanding the company's portfolio of products and manufacturing scaleup, as well as provide world-class customer support and training. "The Hominis system represents a significant advancement in the growing multi-billion-dollar robotic surgery market. This financing positions us to accelerate our commercialization efforts and bring Hominis to both surgeons and patients in the months ahead," said Dvir Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Memic. The Hominis system received De Novo marketing authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February 2021 for use in single site, natural orifice laparoscopic-assisted transvaginal benign surgical procedures including benign hysterectomy. It is the first and only FDA-authorized surgical robotic platform that features miniature humanoid-shaped robotic arms that provide human level dexterity, multi-planar flexibility and 360 degrees of articulation. The biomimetic instruments are designed to replicate the motions and capabilities of a surgeon's arms, with shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. Multiple instruments can be introduced to the body through a single portal and the 360-degree articulation offers obstacle avoidance as well as optimal access and working angles. In addition to these features, the system will be sold at a significantly lower price compared to other marketed robotic surgery systems, potentially allowing more medical facilities including hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to access and adopt surgical robotics. "Given the broad potential of Hominis combined with a strong management team, we are proud to support Memic and execution of its bold vision," said Eyal Lifschitz, managing general partner of Peregrine Ventures. "We are grateful for the opportunity to work with management on this exciting milestone for both Memic and the field of robotic surgery," said Mark Goldwasser, CEO of Ceros. About Memic Memic has headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel as well as a wholly owned subsidiary in Fort Lauderdale, FL established for global customer services, professional education and sales, marketing and clinical research. Memic's leadership team has more than 70 years of combined experience in the surgical robotic arena. Its chairman of the board is Maurice R. Ferre, MD, founder and CEO of Mako Surgical, Inc. For more information, visit https://www.memicmed.com/. Media Contact: Lynn Granito Berry & Company Public Relations [email protected] W: 212-253-8881 C: 973-818-3732 SOURCE Memic President Biden is leading the league in not answering questions. V.P. Harris is not doing much better. As you may remember, Biden put V.P. Harris in charge of the border situation. So far, Harris has said nothing at all, as we are reminded in this report from Fox News: Vice President Kamala Harris' relative silence regarding the topics of immigration and border security since taking on an oversight role on those issues continued to draw more media scrutiny Saturday. It was the 18th day that Harris went without holding a news conference regarding her duties on the issues, since receiving the assignment from President Biden. On Saturday, the Washington Examiner published an article headlined, "Kamala Harris MIA on border crisis." It recapped the vice president's recent travels to Connecticut, California and Illinois on matters unrelated to the migrant situation along the southern border. Where is Madam Vice President? I don't know for sure, but let me give you a couple of thoughts: First, the vice president was blindsided. It was probably Biden thinking out loud. I think they would have done a joint press conference, and Harris would have done most of the talking. In this case, I think she literally learned about it on the spot. Second, Harris has nothing to add to the story. In fact, this is a lose-lose situation for her. I don't think she wants to be administration spokeswoman on a policy that makes no sense. V.P. Harris is not missing in action. She does not want to be in any kind of action. She'd rather have the press secretary deal with this while she waits her turn to assume the presidency. PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk). Image: Pixabay. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. [April 12, 2021] Huion Unveils Inspiroy H420X, H580X, and H610X: Tenth Anniversary Special Edition to Empower Every Artist Around the World SHENZHEN, China, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ -- To celebrate the tenth anniversary, Huion announced three pen tablets of its Inspiroy series today, which are H420X, H580X, and H610X respectively. Available in three sizes, these pen tablets are built to meet more creative needs of different users as well as provide them with comfortable and natural drawing experience. Inheritance of the classics Over the past ten years, Huion has introduced a great number of products that have facilitated the creations of users around the world. As the successor products of Huion's most popular pen tablets, H420X, H580X, and H610X feature the same advanced input technology and affordable price of their predecessors whie taking the performance and exterior design to a new height. New tablets to meet more needs Huion designed these three pen tablets in a strict manner, H420X, H580X, and H610X all adopt a full cover panel design which reduce their thickness to less than 8mm. Rounded edges together with narrowed palm rest area create an ergonomic support to effectively reduce users' hand fatigue. As the most compact and easy-to-carry pen tablet among these three devices, H420X boasts an improved report rate of 300PPS, creating a perfect device for playing OSU and quick sketching. While H580X and H610X that equipped with 8 programmable press keys and wider working area provide users with more choices for their productive creations. Additionally, these pen tablets are designed with strong compatibility to give users seamless working experience with devices running Windows, macOS, Android, and ChromeOS. Digital pen PW100 that equipped with the advanced battery-free EMR technology and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity ensures authentic and vivid lines to be rendered in different width and saturation as the pressure applied changed. Core technology for good quality "These special edition pen tablets greatly represent the original aspiration of Huion," says product officer Leo. "Powered by Huion self-developed handwriting reproducing technology and strict exterior design, the overall quality of these entry-level products were brought to a new level. As a professional supplier of handwriting input devices, Huion will remain steadfast in the mission to create and explore more exceptional products to empower every artist around the world to achieve more." To learn more about Huion products, please visit www.huion.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/huion-unveils-inspiroy-h420x-h580x-and-h610x-tenth-anniversary-special-edition-to-empower-every-artist-around-the-world-301266451.html SOURCE Huion [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] One of the US Navy innovations is the next generation light aircraft carrier, the Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) strategy center. On these ships are units that could launch various forces, especially a group of marines working in tandem with naval aircraft on missions. Light aircraft carriers are mobile marine bases on the go! Compared to a carrier strike group (CSG), the Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) can go anywhere or any place they are needed. These light carriers are landing helicopter assault (LHA) or landing helicopter dock (LHD) that can carry helicopters as they have now. An added extra is an emphasis on the US Marines corps on board the small flat top. The Tarawa and Wasp Class LHDs give the Marine Corps access to assault targets from the deck with helicopters/ landing craft to get them to the shore and back to ship. The US Navy has used LHDs from combat missions to assisting humanitarian missions. Several light helicopter decks are in service with the US Navy; they are the USS Wasp (LHD 1), USS Essex (LHD 2), USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), USS Boxer (LHD 4), USS Bataan (LHD 5), USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) USS Makin Island (LHD 8) (Tarawa Class) USS Peleliu (LHA 5) in service. Recently the Bonhomme Richard was razed by a fire that left the ship unsalvageable after the blaze, and it was burned to the hull. LHD-8 Makin Island one more step to a light aircraft carrier One of the first amphibious assault ships is the first to use gas turbines and steam boilers for moving the ship. It uses an Auxiliary Propulsion System (APS) driven by electric motors to push the ship's propellers, which is more efficient than gas turbines. The APS can be used about 75% of the time it is sailing. US Navy Sends the USS Makin Island, Marine F-35s to the Persian Gulf Using electric motors for sailing will be less expensive than using gas turbines most of the time. It saves fuel and adds more range to the ship when in operations, with $250 million saved from using gas turbines. One of the advantages of Makin Island's propeller system is that it can switch from electric to gas when needed automatically. The machinery control system can be accessed from several areas on the LHD. USS America LHA-6 The new helicopter carrier has the better propeller system of Makin Island, built-in, with some significant changes to the Light Helicopter Deck and Light Helicopter Assault class. Changes will be a larger flight deck for landing and launching aircraft and expanding operations. There will be more facilities for aviators, more fuel storage for planes, and no more well-deck. The well-deck is found in other LHDs that watercraft for the Marine Corps. Amphibious ships' primary function is to support the marines in bringing them into a conflict zone and facing the enemy, one on one and win. The first LHD and later the LHA has a bigger deck for the F-35 fighter, and the MV-22 Osprey are big changes that make the light aircraft carriers. Light Carrier Studies Show Advantages They Have for the US Navy South Korea Building First Light Aircraft Carrier Armed With F-35bs @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Co-published with Documented. In New York City, one of the worlds leading magnets for immigration, foreign-born residents make up 37% or a little more than 3.1 million of its total population. As of 2018, immigrants contributed $232 billion to the citys GDP and accounted for 45% of its workforce. But the inequities experienced by immigrant New Yorkers, which go far beyond just immigration issues, remain largely unaddressed. According to the citys official Government Poverty Measure, which includes factors like eligibility for social safety-net benefits, New York Citys 2017 poverty rate was 19%. But after adjusting for conditions such as undocumented immigrants being ineligible for unemployment insurance, the city found that 22.1% of foreign-born residents and 28.8% of undocumented New Yorkers live in or near poverty. In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, 1.8 million immigrants across the state worked in industries deemed essential businesses during the NY State on Pause business shutdown, with one in five noncitizen residents working as frontline essential workers in New York City, placing immigrants at the forefront of the pandemic. The public health crisis affected the lives of immigrants in a variety of ways: delivery workers face life-threatening work conditions and endure low pay while immigrant patients have refused public health care services over fears it could affect their immigration status. Immigrants are especially vulnerable in the citys housing crisis, as half of New York Citys working-class noncitizens lost employment amid the COVID-19 crisis, leaving them unable to pay rent. Undocumented residents subjected to eviction threats by their landlords fear going to housing court because of their status. The city has seen an uptick in homeless encampments, including in neighborhoods with high numbers of foreign-born residents, which advocates for immigrants have said indicate growing homelessness among working-class immigrants since the pandemic. Leaving these issues unresolved could have unintended consequences for New York City, especially as the city looks to bounce back from the pandemic. If you ask me what the real threat to the city is, I will tell you the real threat is that we stop attracting immigrants, Joseph J. Salvo, the citys chief demographer for 30 years, recently told the New York Times upon his retirement. Last week, New York state passed a historic $2.1 billion relief fund representing 1% of the states overall $212 billion budget for undocumented workers who were excluded from federal stimulus checks or state unemployment benefits. While the fund could provide one-time cash relief for the citys estimated 342,100 undocumented essential workers, advocates have expressed concerns over some of the requirements to access the relief fund. Advocates have long rallied for politicians to address immigrant-specific challenges. Comprehensive reports exist that offer broad visions of policy platforms to help New York Citys immigrants achieve greater equity in a variety of sectors including housing, healthcare, the economy and civic engagement. For example, Dignity, Community & Power: A 2021 Vision for NYCs Immigrant Communities prepared by Make the Road New York, a progressive pro-immigration advocacy group, and the Cardozo School of Laws Immigration Justice Clinic, calls for policies such as legalizing accessory dwelling units and expanding access to grants and subsidies for homeowners across the city, investing in the NYC Care program to increase public healthcare access to noncitizens and creating a cash relief program for immigrants who are excluded from government unemployment benefits based on their status or history of incarceration. Other advocacy groups for immigrants, such as the New York Immigration Coalition, have also sought support from lawmakers for campaigns in similar areas like healthcare, benefits access, and legal representation services. According to Hasan Shafiqullah, attorney-in-charge at Legal Aid Societys Immigration Law Unit, which serves clients for removal defense and processing affirmative immigration benefits such as citizenship and green card applications, the city can play a big role in helping immigrant New Yorkers feel secure. If Im undocumented, I might not be able to differentiate between what Im hearing from Washington and what the city is offering, said Shafiqullah whose clients have pulled their children from public school or stopped medical treatment because of fears that it could impact their immigration status because of the federal public charge rule instituted by former President Donald Trump. Even though the policy was repealed by the Biden administration, Shafiqullah said Trumps anti-immigration efforts have had a chilling effect on immigrant communities. I think the city has a lot to do to make people trust them and feel safe here again, he added. Some of New York Citys mayoral candidates have enthusiastically thrown their support behind a new bill in the City Council that would expand voting rights for municipal elections to immigrants with temporary working permits and permanent residents. But on the campaign trail, candidates have rarely touched on noncitizen issues beyond immigration affairs. A review of proposals from eight frontrunners for the Democratic mayoral nomination shows that most candidates have not adopted the slate of proposals in the Make The Road/Cardozo Law report. But some candidates have touched on a few of the areas mentioned or offered other ideas of their own. Documented and City & State received policy proposals from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, former Counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio Maya Wiley, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary to President Obama Shaun Donovan, finance executive Ray McGuire, and former City Sanitation Department Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. We also looked at their online platforms, some of which added policies related to immigrant issues following media requests. We did not receive a policy proposal from candidate Dianne Morales, a nonprofit executive, but we reviewed the policies on her website. Here are the candidates proposals in five primary areas commonly prioritized by immigration advocacy groups: Eric Adams What he has proposed Healthcare: Creates one-stop shop health centers in underserved communities and pairs safety-net hospitals with wealthier ones to share cost burdens. He also proposed to boost funding for NYC Cares for more outreach to immigrant communities, to enroll them in the citys health plans for which immigrants are already eligible. Civil rights and law enforcement: Commits to directing all city agencies to make their services accessible without putting immigrants at risk of law enforcement action and expanding already existing legal services. He supports a bill to let permanent residents and immigrants authorized to work in the U.S. to vote in municipal elections. What he hasnt Benefits access: Does not mention any supportive measures to allow immigrants to access or become eligible for public benefits that are available to other New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status. Economy/workers rights: While Adams proposal includes a next-level jobs training program for workers, it does not mention expanding accessibility to these programs for undocumented workers who largely remain excluded from eligibility due to their immigration status. Instead, Adams is focused on cost-relief measures for employers through tax breaks and cost sharing support from the state which may help business sectors where immigrants are employed. Civil rights and law enforcement: Does not propose specific civil rights protections or prohibitions against city law enforcement collaboration with ICE. Barriers to citizenship: Does not mention services to help immigrants gain residency or citizenship. Scott Stringer What he has proposed Healthcare: Stringer supports childrens access to subsidized care regardless of immigration status and funding for safety-net hospitals Civil rights and law enforcement: Create a Community Legal Interpreter Bank (CLIB) to train and dispatch interpreters to legal services organizations and supports the elimination of all cooperation between the NYPD and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Supports expanding municipal voting rights to all noncitizen residents including undocument New Yorkers. Barriers to citizenship: Proposes the launch of a New York City Citizenship Fund to support immigrants applying for citizenship. Economy/workers rights: Stringer supports efforts to combat wage theft experienced by immigrant workers. What he hasnt Healthcare: He does not propose investments for community-based organizations to conduct outreach on existing healthcare services available to immigrant communities. Benefits access: Does not mention any measures to allow immigrants to access or become eligible for public benefits that are available to other New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status. Economy/workers rights: While Stringer wants to consolidate the citys jobs training program, he does not mention expanding accessibility to undocumented residents who are excluded from accessing such programs. Maya Wiley What she has proposed Healthcare: Supports efforts to create a universal single-payer system in the state that would be accessible to all noncitizens regardless of immigration status. Civil rights and law enforcement: Supports funding for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, the citys public defender system for immigrants facing deportation, and commits to providing oversight for accountability on over-policing. She has expressed support for the City Council bill to expand municipal voting rights to noncitizen green card holders. Benefits access: Wants to invest in a portable benefits program for domestic workers, many of whom are immigrants, and the creation of a Universal Community Care system providing services like benefits counseling, food pantries and adult education classes. What she hasnt Economy/workers rights: Does not include measures specifically to support or increase access to resources for immigrant workers or entrepreneurs. Barriers to citizenship: Does not mention measures specifically to support immigrants pathway to citizenship. Andrew Yang What he has proposed Healthcare: Expands NYC Care, a main lifeline for many immigrants, by making its coverage accepted by various health insurance providers. Benefits access: Creates a city cash relief program that would be accessible to noncitizens regardless of immigration status or experience with the criminal justice system. Civil rights and law enforcement: Supports expanding access to and funding for immigration legal services like the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project. What he hasnt Economy/workers rights: Does not include measures specifically to support or increase access to resources for immigrant workers or entrepreneurs. Civil rights and law enforcement: Yang does not mention any prohibitions against or limiting city law enforcement cooperations with immigration enforcement agents. Hasnt come out in favor of letting noncitizens vote in local elections. Barriers to citizenship: Does not mention any measures to support immigrants pathway to citizenship. Shaun Donovan What he has proposed Healthcare: Would create a public option to provide health care to uninsured, undocumented New Yorkers and expands access to city services for immigrant communities. Donovan also wants to push the state to expand eligibility for its Essential Plan, New Yorks public healthcare plan for people who dont qualify for Medicaid or Child Health Plus, to all low-income New Yorkers regardless of immigration status. Civil rights and law enforcement: Proposes ending the citys policy of excluding certain immigrants from city-funded legal representation based on history of criminal records, and supports expanding resources and funding for legal services for immigrants. Supports bill to let noncitizens vote in municipal elections, including undocumented residents. What he hasnt Benefits access: Does not mention any supportive measures to allow immigrants to access or become eligible for public benefits that are available to other New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status. Economy/workers rights: Donovan wants to provide technical support for immigrant entrepreneurs but does not include measures to support protection for immigrant workers who are vulnerable to workplace abuses. Barriers to citizenship: Does not mention any measures to support immigrants pathway to citizenship. Ray McGuire What he has proposed Healthcare: McGuire wants to prioritize immigrant communities in vaccine deployment and hire community members for outreach on available healthcare services. Also proposes to provide more job opportunities in healthcare for immigrants to resolve discrimination against immigrant patients. Civil rights and law enforcement: Supports expanding the right to counsel and increase funding for immigration legal services in the city. What he hasnt Economy/workers rights: McGuires proposal is focused on providing relief for small business owners, including noncitizens, like allowing free license renewals for the first year of his tenure and covering 50 percent of workers salary for one year, which may have a ripple effect for immigrant workers. But he does not include measures specifically to support or increase access to resources for immigrant workers. Benefits access: Does not mention any measures to expand access to existing public programs in which some noncitizens are excluded from based on immigration status. Civil rights and law enforcement: Hasnt come out in favor of letting noncitizens vote in local elections. Barriers to citizenship: Does not mention of measures to support immigrants pathway to citizenship. Kathryn Garcia What she has proposed Healthcare: Expand services at community health centers and wants to partner with community-based organizations to reach and educate immigrant residents about healthcare services that they are eligible for. Benefits access: Allow equal access to city programs like government cash assistance to noncitizens regardless of immigration status. Civil rights and law enforcement: Wants to invest in programs for legal services like the New York Immigrant Freedom Fund which pays immigration bonds for those detained who cannot afford it and supports enforcement of the already existing Protect Our Courts Act, which restricts immigration enforcement agents from conducting arrests at the local courthouses. What she hasnt Economy/workers rights: Does not include measures specifically to support or increase access to resources for immigrant workers or entrepreneurs. Civil rights and law enforcement: She does not support the City Council bill to expand municipal voting rights to non citizen immigrants.Hasnt come out in favor of letting noncitizens vote in local elections. Barriers to citizenship: Does not mention of measures to support immigrants pathway to citizenship. Dianne Morales What she has proposed Healthcare: Expand interpreter services to connect noncitizens to COVID-19 vaccine information through the NYC 5000 initiative and addresses vaccine disparities in immigrant communities through a COVID-19 Equity and Data Response Unit. Benefits access: Establish an independent city fund to ensure basic income relief for immigrant workers who are unable to access federal and state-level relief. Civil rights and law enforcement: Expand funding for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project to include non-detained immigrants and ease the detainer law which currently requires the citys police to turn over a detained noncitizen to ICE if they are convicted of one of 177 serious crimes within the last five years or if a judge has signed a detainer request. Morales also proposes to stop NYPD practices that target immigrants particularly undocumented workers like street vendors. Supports a bill to let noncitizens vote in municipal elections. Economy/workers rights: Create a Pool Benefits Fund for informal and domestic workers, many who are immigrants, to provide healthcare and other benefits, and commits to protecting all workers against wage theft, which may benefit noncitizen workers who are vulnerable to such workplace abuse. What she is missing Barriers to citizenship: Does not mention specific measures to support immigrants pathway to citizenship. Nearly every week, the international news media reports on the Chinese governments troubling use of technology to spy on its own citizens and those of other countries. Chinas tech giants, Foreign Policy reported late last year, work hand in glove with the countrys spy agencies. The Guardian suggested in December that a Chinese state-owned phone operator spies on American users. Surveillance is a fact of life for Chinese citizens and, increasingly, for those who live in countries that have adopted Chinese surveillance technology, from Ecuador to Kyrgyzstan. Even more worrisome, this ecosystem of Chinese-based technologies carries with it a set of values that undergirds the Chinese statea form of twenty-first-century authoritarianism that marries social control and efficiency. The United States has kneecapped Chinese technology giants in the name of national security and human rights. But the United States and its tech companies also have a checkered history with the very ideals they claim to uphold. To prevent Chinas techno-authoritarianism from gaining traction, the United States must reverse course and start leading by example: it must reform its own surveillance practices, protect citizens privacy and security, and work with allies to set rights-respecting global standards for tech firms to follow. COERCION AND CONTROL Chinas domestic police agencies collect an extraordinary amount of data about people in order to monitor their activities and identify troublemakers. The states surveillance is particularly suffocating in Xinjiang, where the authorities use mobile apps, biometric collection, artificial intelligence, and big data, among other means, to control 13 million Turkic Muslims. The mass surveillance programs in Xinjiang are Chinas most visible and intrusive, but they are just one end of a spectrum. Chinese authorities use technology to control the population all over the country in subtler but still powerful ways. The central bank is adopting digital currency, which will allow Beijing to surveiland controlpeoples financial transactions. China is building so-called safe cities, which integrate data from intrusive surveillance systems to predict and prevent everything from fires to natural disasters and political dissent. The government believes that these intrusions, together with administrative actions, such as denying blacklisted people access to services, will nudge people toward positive behaviors, including greater compliance with government policies and healthy habits such as exercising. Beijings technological ambitions are not just directly coercive, however. The Chinese government also hopes to harness its vast surveillance power to the larger ideological project of the state, which combines authoritarianism with practical efficiency to meet the needs of the countrys vast populace. Ubiquitous monitoring allows Beijing to control its enormous bureaucracy, which is rife with local corruption and abuses of power. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away has long been a mantra for Chinese officials and citizens dealing with central government edicts. But that relationship is changing. In 2019, the government required cadres to download the Study Xi, Strong Nation app, which made them study Xi Jinping Thought, answer quizzes, and compete in their understanding of official policies. President Xis signature poverty alleviation campaign not only tasks cadres with collecting detailed personal information on poor peopleincluding their income, disabilities, and bank account numbers, and the reasons for their povertybut also collects cadres GPS locations to ensure that they are diligently carrying out their responsibilities. The Chinese government hopes that technology will help it cement its chillingly innovative form of governmentone that meets the material needs of its populace and engineers a loyal, responsive bureaucracy even while bypassing such pesky intermediaries as competitive elections, a free press, and an independent judiciary. TECHNO-AUTHORITARIANISM GAINING TRACTION The emerging Chinese technological ecosystem is both functional and affordable. Huaweis 5G has captured many Western governments attention, and Beijings Baidu navigation system now prevails over the U.S. version, GPS, in more than 160 countries. China is pushing governments to adopt its National Transportation Logistics Platform, an international logistics system designed to integrate road, sea, air, freight, and postal information that is controlled by Chinas Ministry of Transport. Chinese applications are also spreading fast. TikTok has gone global, Alibaba is making inroads in Southeast Asia, and Tencents WeChat is embedded in the Chinese diasporas digital life. Chinas model of Internet sovereignty, by which the state delimits and controls the Internet within its borders, has inspired governments from Egypt to Thailand. The Chinese state owns some of these companies. Others are private companies based in China that are highly susceptible to the Chinese governments pressure, censorship, and surveillance. Because China lacks the rule of law and a free press, there is no easy way to obtain information from these companies or hold them accountable for abuses. In other words, the values of Beijings brand of authoritarianism permeate its technosphere. Consistent with the governments so-called win-win diplomacy, recipient countries receive systems that promise control and efficiency. In return, China gains influence and data. LESSER OF TWO EVILS? The United States has attempted to counterpose its own technological ecosystem to Chinas, portraying the competition between the two as one between good and evil. The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, for instance, created the so-called Clean Network program, purportedly to protect American users from the prying eyes of malign actors such as the Chinese state. The program seeks to identify untrusted apps from China and route Internet traffic and data storage away from untrusted Chinese carriers, cables, and clouds. U.S. companies, meanwhile, pose as defenders of online security and democratic values. To much of the rest of the world, however, this competition is little more than evil versus evil. The U.S. government has also practiced mass surveillance; big U.S. technology companies have adopted a surveillance-based business model, exploiting peoples data in the name of free service; and the Five Eyes, an intelligence coalition comprised of the United States and Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, has sought to undermine encryption by pressuring companies to give governments backdoor access to all digital communications. In this dismal global race to the digital bottom, the biggest losers are ordinary technology users all over the world. This contest between the United States and China is not simply a competition of technological prowess, as many analysts argue, but a battle over values. A convincing democratic alternative to the Chinese governments model should require technological developments to meet human rights standards, protect privacy, and foster public interest and civic participation. LEADING BY EXAMPLE Washington can supply a genuine alternative to the encroachment of Chinese techno-authoritarianism, but only if it first gets its own house in order. The United States should reform its national security surveillance laws and regulate how American companies can collect, analyze, and share personal data. Washington should better protect biometric datafor example, it should consider banning law enforcement from using facial recognition and strictly regulate the collection of sensitive personal information, including DNA, by the countrys tech giants. It should also explore ways to allow people to shape and control the use of their data. At the same time, U.S. policymakers should consider escalating actions against companies that contribute to Chinas mass surveillance state. The Global Magnitsky Act sanctions, which allow U.S. policymakers to sanction companies that abuse human rights, could be useful in this regard and could help delay the realization of Chinas Orwellian ambitions. To enact long-term solutions to the problem of techno-authoritarianism, Washington cant go it alone. The United States should work with like-minded governments in various technical standard-setting bodies such as the International Telecommunication Union, which sets 5G standards. These governments, along with those that join new initiatives to create democratic technology alliances, should reject attempts to regulate based on vaguely formulated notions of ethics. For instance, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published hazy principles to guide the use of artificial intelligence, such as autonomy, diversity, and fairness. Instead, the United States and like-minded governments should push for legally binding rules and other regulatory interventions that holds tech companies accountable to human rights standards, such as mandatory due diligence checks. Washington should work with its allies to ensure that people in China and around the world have access to an Internet that is free from censorship and surveillancean alternative to Chinas Digital Silk Road initiative. A democratic substitute for Huaweis 5G should not be just any 5G company based in a democracy but one that meets human rights standards itself. Washington and its allies should think ambitiously about how technology can reinvigorate democracies. For instance, they might invest in developing digital public squaresforums for public interaction and collaboration outside big techs social media platforms, which sow division and enable disinformation in pursuit of profits. The United States can take a page from Taiwan and Barcelona, where technology is augmenting civic participation and democratic governance and may help craft a truly democratic techno-political system. The U.S.-Chinese competition over technology could shape the future. If Washington is serious about protecting privacy and promoting human rights, it should seize the initiative from China by upholding these standards for everyone who uses U.S. technology, domestically and around the world. Maya Wang : foreignaffairs.com DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dover (NYSE: DOV) announced today that it will release first quarter 2021 earnings at 6:00 a.m. Central time (7:00 a.m. Eastern time) on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Later that morning, Dover will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. Central time (10:00 a.m. Eastern time) to discuss these results. To participate on the conference call, please dial 1 (866) 882-5865 (domestic) or 1 (678) 894-3017 (international), reservation number 5777401. Due to the expected number of callers, please dial in at least 15 minutes before the conference is to begin and ask to be connected to the Dover teleconference. A link to the live audio webcast will also be available on the company website at dovercorporation.com. An audio replay of the conference call will be available from 12:00 p.m. Central time, April 20, until 10:59 p.m. Central time, May 4, by dialing 1 (800) 585-8367 (domestic) or 1 (404) 537-3406 (international). The access code is 5777401. Additionally, a replay link of the webcast will be archived on Dover's website for 90 days. About Dover: Dover is a diversified global manufacturer and solutions provider with annual revenue of approximately $7 billion. We deliver innovative equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services through five operating segments: Engineered Products, Fueling Solutions, Imaging & Identification, Pumps & Process Solutions and Refrigeration & Food Equipment. Dover combines global scale, operational agility, world-class engineering capability and customer intimacy to lead the markets we serve. Recognized for our entrepreneurial approach for over 60 years, our team of approximately 24,000 employees takes an ownership mindset, collaborating with customers to redefine what's possible. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover trades on the New York Stock Exchange under "DOV." Additional information is available at dovercorporation.com. Investor Contact: Media Contact: Andrey Galiuk Adrian Sakowicz Vice President Corporate Development Vice President Communications and Investor Relations (630) 743-5039 (630) 743-5131 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Dover Related Links http://dovercorporation.com Perhaps Nazario had seen the video of Floyds arrest and realized that these sorts of incidents dont often go well for people of color like him. The video has been played repeatedly during the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of killing Floyd by pressing his knee on Floyds neck for more than nine minutes. Once again, more Pennsylvania counties are showing substantial spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Tom Wolfs office said Monday. Across Pennsylvania, 50 of the states 67 counties have substantial transmission of COVID-19, Wolfs office said. Thats an additional five counties compared to last week, when the Wolf administration said 45 counties showed substantial transmission of COVID-19. The positive test rate rose to 9.5% for the week of April 2-8, which represents a slight increase from 9.4% the previous week. It is the fourth straight week the positive rate has risen, but the uptick is much smaller than in previous weeks. At one point, the rate had dropped for 12 straight weeks. The rate of positive coronavirus tests remains well below the peak of 16.2% in December, but health officials have said a positive test rate higher than 5% is a source of concern. The rate had been 5.7% four weeks ago. As the weather warms up, we need all Pennsylvanians to unite against COVID-19, Wolf said in a statement. Please continue to wear a mask, wash your hands, practice social distancing, and as it becomes your turn, make the decision to get vaccinated to best protect yourself from contracting the virus. Beginning Tuesday, April 13, everyone in Pennsylvania will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and can start scheduling appointments, Wolf said. State officials said it may take time before residents can actually get their shot but everyone can at least begin scheduling appointments starting Tuesday. Many providers are encouraging all residents to start registering for appointments right now. The acceleration of the vaccine rollout comes amidst an uptick in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations over the past few weeks. A closer look The Wolf administration uses three categories to gauge the transmission of COVID-19: low, moderate and substantial. Each week, the Wolf administration offers a report on the number of counties with substantial spread of COVID-19. State officials have urged school districts to evaluate the spread of COVID-19 in determining whether students should be in school, educated remotely or with a mix of distance learning and face-to-face instruction. Most school districts are offering at least some in-person instruction but some of Pennsylvanias schools continue to operate remotely. Only three counties are showing low transmission of the virus, while 14 counties are showing moderate spread. Virtually all of the counties in the Harrisburg are showing substantial transmission of COVID-19, according to the Wolf administration. Theres high spread throughout the Philadelphia region and in the Pittsburgh area as well. Heres the full breakdown of COVID-19 transmission levels in each county. Low: Cameron, Forest and Fulton Moderate: Bedford, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Snyder, Somerset, Venango and Warren Substantial: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming and York The vaccine rollout Starting today, Pennsylvania expanded the states COVID-19 vaccine rollout to Phase 1C, which includes Pennsylvania state employees, federal government workers and employees of all county and local government levels. Phase 1C also covers a host of other critical employees, including public safety workers, those in the energy sector, legal services, housing construction, financial services, bank tellers, information technology workers and media companies. Everyone is eligible to begin scheduling appointments for vaccines starting Tuesday, April 14. Wolf moved up the timetable to expand the rollout to the general public; the date had been April 19. Providers say thousands of appointments are available for COVID-19 vaccines. Central Pennsylvanias larger providers said theyre ready for the influx of newly eligible people seeking shots. So far, more than 2.4 million state residents are fully vaccinated and 1.8 million have received their first shot of a two-dose vaccine, according to the Pennsylvania Health Department. The state data doesnt include the city of Philadelphia, which is doing its own rollout. In Philadelphia, more than 612,000 people have received at least one shot and nearly 400,000 are fully vaccinated, according to the citys health department. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two doses for full vaccination. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one shot. Statewide, 2,460 people are being treated in hospitals for COVID-19, an increase of more than 1,000 over the past four weeks. But the increase in hospitalizations has slowed a bit in recent days. More than 1 million coronavirus cases have been reported in Pennsylvania and more than 25,000 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, according to the state health department. Most of those who are infected suffer relatively mild symptoms and many dont even get sick, health officials say. But doctors say the virus poses serious risks to everyone, particularly for seniors and those with chronic medical conditions. More from PennLive Mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic heads for minority neighborhoods in Pa. Pennsylvania has more new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations than a week ago Pa. universities recommend COVID-19 vaccinations for students but not ready to require them, yet Michael Musto: I met Lynn in the 90s when we were both working at The Village Voice she was the fashion editor and I was a columnist. Mickey and I became close friends around the same time, too, as we were both in the downtown scene and saw each other at parties. This was before the old downtown spirit and aesthetic had been subsumed by the mainstream. These were the days when New York had so much edge that you had to constantly look behind you to see if you were being followed while walking quickly to some club, for something like Johnny Dynell and Chi Chi Valentis goth-punk-fabulous Jackie 60 party in the meatpacking district. Eventually, Lynn, Mickey and I started a monthly movie club with our other friends. Id choose these awful-in-a-good-way movies and camp classics, like 1974s Airport 1975. Weve been doing it ever since. Once the pandemic hit, we moved the club to Zoom and increased it to twice a week, and well text each other commentary the whole time. An adventurous skipper behind the wheel of a hand-built wooden yacht has been rescued off the coast of New South Wales. Water police from Port Stephens, about 2.5 hours north of Sydney, were forced to tow the man and his trimaran back to shore after he found himself in trouble about two nautical miles off Boondelbah Island on Sunday afternoon. Police said the homemade vessel suffered damage to its sail. The skipper, who was wearing a life jacket, was clever enough to log his journey with the local Marine Rescue so police knew he required assistance. The man also had a VHF radio, EPIRB and other safety equipment on the boat. An adventurous skipper behind the wheel of a hand-built wooden yacht has been rescued off the coast of New South Wales (pictured) Police shared pictures of the rescue mission as a reminder to follow safety precautions while out at sea. 'This adventurous fellow was adrift off the coast of Port Stephens at the weekend after his hand-built trimaran got into some strife,' police wrote on Facebook. 'Always refer to the equipment checklist before hitting the water, regardless of what vessel you're in.' The skipper thanked police for their rescue efforts. 'My sincere thanks to NSW Police, particularly Clint and Matt who conducting the tow back through the heads,' he wrote. 'I obviously do not like having to request assistance and certainly don't want to do it again, particularly as I'm gearing up for a much more remote journey on the Barrier Reef.' Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 19:56:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SANAA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia on Monday claimed responsibility for launching 15 explosive-laden drones and two ballistic missiles toward oil refineries and military targets in the southwest and northeast of Saudi Arabia. "Ten drones targeted Aramco refineries in the cities of Jeddah and Jubail," Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV. "Five other drones and two ballistic missiles targeted military sites in the cites of Khamis Mushait and Jizan," he said, adding "the operation began yesterday evening until today morning." The Houthi spokesman added Sunday's attack "hit the targets successfully." However, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported Sunday night that the Saudi-led coalition had intercepted and destroyed six bomb-laden drones and a ballistic missile fired by the Houthi militia from Yemen toward Saudi southern border cities. The attack against Saudi Arabia came a day after the Houthi militia lost dozens of fighters in a battle with the Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in the northwest of Yemen's central province of Marib, according to Yemeni government military sources. The Houthis launched in February a major offensive to capture the oil-rich province. They have since stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks against Saudi cities and oil facilities. Most of the attacks were reportedly foiled by the coalition. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of several northern Yemeni provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. Enditem BOUND FOR T&T: Boxes of Covishield Covid-19 vaccines labelled Gift from the people and government of India are seen in India before they were to be transported to Trinidad and Tobago. The vaccines are expected to arrive in T&T today. Authorities in Hong Kong are launching a campaign to "educate" secondary-school students about a draconian national security law that has left most of the city's political opposition behind bars and criminalized public criticism of the authorities. Students returning to classrooms on as coronavirus restrictions eased were greeted with gifts of paper bookmarks bearing the slogans "Uphold national security," and "Safeguard our home," as the government launched a suite of newly revised teaching materials claiming that the city's seven million residents "still enjoy freedom." A circular letter to schools, a copy of which was sent to RFA, said schools are responsible for ensuring that their students are "educated" about the new law, which was imposed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Hong Kong from , 2020. Morning assemblies and class registration sessions should include reference to the phrase that "upholding national security is the constitutional responsibility of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region," it said. Teaching materials now include a cartoon summarizing the law, which claims that there has been no change to "the various rights and freedoms," including freedom of the press and of association, in Hong Kong since the law took effect. However, it made no mention of the arrest and charging of 47 members of the pro-democracy opposition camp for taking part in a democratic primary election, nor the arrest of radio talk show host Giggs for "incitement to arouse hatred or contempt for the governments of the People's Republic of China and the HKSAR," under the national security law. A citywide crackdown on anyone linked to the 2019 protest movement intensified when the law took effect, and has included cases brought under colonial-era sedition laws as well as "illegal assembly" charges. Almost all of the city's prominent pro-democracy figures, opposition lawmakers and social activists are now either behind bars or in exile. The charging of 47 democracy activists and opposition politicians with "subversion" has sparked an international outcry and calls for their immediate release, with the U.K. saying that the law was being used to "eliminate political dissent," and the U.S. saying it had criminalized normal participation in politics. Radio talk show host Giggs, who was arrested for 'incitement' against the government under the national security law, in an undated photo. RFA Propaganda teams in schools Meanwhile, students are being encouraged to enter a competition to design a poster showcasing the national security law's impact on daily life in Hong Kong, according to the circular, which also calls on schools to ensure students receive promotional materials like bookmarks and stickers, and take part in an online quiz about the law. A secondary school teacher told RFA that their school had set up a special team to handle activities and propaganda activities linked to the law. "It's been clear for a long time that national security education is coming to schools," the teacher said. A primary-school teacher who gave only the pseudonym Lee said his school had also set up a working group to implement the requirements in the circular from the education department. He said there had been wave upon wave of directives from the government lately, which seemed geared to "forcing schools and teachers to submit to across-the-board measures." "So now we have totalitarian methods of governance being brought in under a totalitarian regime," Lee said. National Security Law Education Day He said schools are expected to hold a ceremony to mark National Security Law Education Day on . "It's basically an event, a show you have to put on," Lee said. "We'll raise the national flag, sing the national anthem and say a few words." "Actually the CCP-aligned schools have already started using this language ... my niece is at one of them," he said. "She told me they fall asleep when the principal is talking, so I don't think they will be very receptive." A secondary-school teacher who gave the pseudonym Chan said "national security teams" are now the norm in Hong Kong's schools. "So, national security teams have to be set up, and schools have to submit reports," Chan said. "If no event was organized for that day, an explanation will be required." "So we will have to do something just so that we have something to put in the report," he said. "Maybe we'll just put the information up on the noticeboards and let the students read it when they want." Reported by Man Hoi Yan for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A breathtaking piece of World War II history touched down in Terre Haute on Monday. Thats All Brother is a C-47 aircraft, and it landed at the Terre Haute Regional Airport on Monday as part of its flight tour. This airplane actually led the charge and dropped paratroopers in Normandy on D-Day during World War II. Jordan Brown says its one of the most famous airplanes ever produced. Brown owns Hoosier Aviation in Terre Haute and is a pilot of the plane for the Commemorative Air Force Base. The base is one of the largest operators of former World War 2 aircrafts. Brown says this particular plane was at a boneyard, but they stepped in and saved it before it was converted. He spoke about how special this aircraft is and what a great opportunity this is for Terre Haute. Over 800 planes from the allied invasion dropped paratroopers in there. This airplane led that invasion for us, Brown explained, Its a unique opportunity that doesnt come around the area for an airplane of this historic value to be at our airport. The plane is being flown all across the Midwest. It began in Texas, at the Commemorative Air Force Central Texas Base. It came from Lexington, Kentucky on Monday to the Terre Haute Regional Airport. On Friday, it will fly out to Cincinnati. Brown says this is an extraordinary opportunity to come and see this living piece of history. One of our main missions for this is the continued education of the history of World War 2, what we did during the war, and what vital part these airplanes served in combat, Brown said. The plane will be at the Terre Haute Airport from Tuesday to Thursday this week. Tours and 30-minute plane rides will be offered to the public. TJ Cook is the operations officer for the Commemorative Air Force Base. He says showing this plane off is a great experience for many reasons. Its to honor the veterans and all these people who served in the wars. Its to honor the sacrifices that they made, Cook explained, I look at it for being for the future generations too. I like putting kids up in the cockpit and their eyes get wide open. Its just about sparking the interest in aviation sciences. Rides will be offered at 10 AM and 5:30 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. You can walk right up to the Terre Haute Regional Airport terminal and sign up. By helping organizations navigate the complex and fragmented independent advisor marketplace, Nexus Strategy has been an invaluable partner in the growth of many of the top organizations serving advisors. Nexus Strategy, LLC, a leading consulting firm to the independent wealth management industry, announced today that the company has successfully crossed the 15 years in business milestone, serving over 100 companies and organizations during that seminal time period. Launched on April 11, 2006, Nexus Strategy has been a key consulting and thought partner to the leading firms that support financial advisor success. By helping organizations navigate the complex and fragmented independent advisor marketplace, Nexus Strategy has been an invaluable partner in the growth of many of the top organizations serving advisors. The growth of the independent advisor market place has created a tremendous opportunity for the vibrant ecosystem that has enabled the independent advisor industry to thrive, said Timothy D. Welsh, CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy. We are honored to be a part of that movement and a strategic partner to these great organizations. Some of the highlights of Nexus Strategys contributions over the last 15 years include developing thought leadership content on the key trends, issues and future direction of wealth management that are relied upon on a daily basis by key decision makers as well as opinions and commentary for the industry trade press. Additionally, Nexus Strategy has been the leading marketing strategy consulting firm for a number of industry-defining franchise events, transactions and programs, including the strategy, brand building and marketing support for: The Wealthies wealthmanagement.coms Industry Award Program, now in its 7th year The ScratchWorks Fintech Accelerator, now in Season 4 FiComm Partners, the industrys leading marketing agencies through a strategic investment The author of the Industry Insight column for ThinkAdvisor and Investment Advisor magazine Launching over 20 fintech startups into the independent wealth management industry Contributing to the exits of over 10 fintech companies via mergers and acquisitions It is truly an honor and a privilege to be able to work with such visionary CEOs and entrepreneurs and contribute meaningfully to their success, said Welsh. We look forward to another 15 years of serving and participating in the continued growth and success of the independent wealth management movement. About Nexus Strategy, LLC and Timothy D. Welsh, CFP Nexus Strategy is an innovative consulting firm that provides strategic marketing advice and guidance to the wealth management industry. Nexus Strategy provides end-to-end, comprehensive consulting services, advice and content development for technology companies, wealth management platforms, investment product suppliers, and financial institutions focused on the independent advisor marketplace. Timothy D. Welsh, CFP is CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy, LLC. Prior to founding Nexus Strategy, Mr. Welsh was Director of Business Consulting Services for Schwab Advisor Services where he led the development and marketing of practice management resources for independent RIAs. Prior to joining Schwab, Mr. Welsh was vice president at Merrill Lynch where he was responsible for marketing, product development and financial advisor training for the financial planning group. Mr. Welsh is the author of a number of industry white papers and articles and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events. He has also served as a past national director of the Financial Planning Association. To learn more, log onto http://www.nexus-strategy.com or follow @NexusStrategy on Twitter. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced Sunday he's directed the state police to conduct an independent investigation after video emerged showing two officers pepper-spraying and drawing guns on a U.S. Army lieutenant during a traffic stop. Driving the news: Caron Nazario, who is Black and Latino, is suing the police officers over the Dec. 5, 2020, incident. One of the officers involved, Joe Gutierrez, was fired Sunday. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free What they're saying: Northam said in a statement he found the footage "disturbing" and that it angered him. "Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure that Virginians are safe during interactions with police, the enforcement of laws is fair and equitable, and people are held accountable," Northam said. "We must all continue the larger dialogue about [policing] reform in our country." Of note: The Town of Windsor said in a statement late Sunday that officials found Windsor Police Department policy was not followed during the stop involving officers Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker. What to watch: Northam added that he had invited Army medic Nazario to meet with him. Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of Gutierrez's firing. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. LAist only exists with reader support. If you're in a position to give, your donation powers our reporters and keeps us independent. Our reporting is free for everyone, but its not free to make. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. Back in the fall, Los Angeles County firefighter Mickey Juarez was sitting in his garage with his friend talking about COVID-19. News about a potential vaccine had been ramping up nationally and Juarez was considering whether to get it. At his friend's urging, they turned on a podcast. "He just asked me to listen to what they had to say before I got the vaccine," said Juarez. "It was a guy speaking regarding the way the government works." When we spoke he couldn't remember which show it was, but Juarez described the guy on the podcast as an "advocate for people's rights," who used the interview to question the safety of the vaccine and the government's true intentions. It was enough to send him down an online rabbit hole searching for what he thought to be the little-spoken, unpopular truth. He wondered if the virus was made in a lab, if the whole crisis was manufactured by the government and pharmaceutical companies. And he wondered if, with his preexisting lung condition, the vaccine would do more harm to him than good. He was set on not getting the shots. Juarez wasn't the only firefighter consumed by conspiracy theories and worries. "You know, I get a lot of firefighters sending me YouTube videos from all over the place," said Dr. Clayton Kazan, Los Angeles County Fire's medical director. "The ones that stand out are the concerns around infertility, that the vaccine causes lower sperm counts," he said. Side note: it doesn't, though it's possible that COVID-19 can lead to inflammation of the testes. Last fall, L.A. County Fire and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health surveyed the organization's 4,900 employees and found that roughly 45% of them didn't want to get the vaccine. That was similar to nationwide numbers from around that time. A THREAT TO FIREFIGHTING RESOURCES We're in for a whopper of a fire season as California enters its second year of drought, and we'll need as many firefighters as we can get. The more that opt out of the vaccine, the more that are vulnerable to getting sick, and the more that are likely to be out at any one time when the virus spreads through a station. That's what happened last year. Over at Cal Fire Riverside, roughly 30% of firefighters were out because of COVID-19 during the December surge. Employees were forced to fill the empty shifts, some working for weeks at a time. Not only did they have to deal with a large number of sick patients, putting their own lives at risk, but they had to deal with the tail end of fire season as well. That led to burnout, and noticeable depression, anxiety, and angst amongst employees, according to Gad Amith, Cal Fire Riverside's emergency medical services battalion chief. That's a continued threat this year as well. Firefighters work the Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest on Sept. 23, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images) FIGHTING MISINFORMATION L.A. County's Kazan and his colleagues knew that if they wanted to convince their people to get protected they had to break through the misinformation. They needed to be clear about what the science said and to push back against spurious claims, while keeping an open, non-judgemental dialogue with those who were willing to talk about their concerns. "We were all over them from about the end of November on, about explaining the science, answering questions, doing live Q&A ... and putting out videos and linking to things and trying to compete against the noise of some of these social media rabbit holes," said Kazan. Besides the barrage of information, they settled on one other idea as well. If a firefighter wanted to refuse the vaccine, L.A. County Fire made it so they couldn't just not show up, or casually check off a box online. The firefighters instead would have to leave the bubble of their fire house, drive to a vaccination site, and decline in person. "If you're sitting at a station with five people who are all kind of grumpy and don't want to get it, it's a lot easier to say no than when you have to show up to an area where you see your friends stepping up and taking it. And now you have a chance to ask your questions. And maybe you'll just kind of roll your eyes and roll up your sleeve," said Kazan. That approach is "brilliant," said Alison Buttenheim, who studies vaccine acceptance at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. "There's at least two things going on there," she said. They've "reframed the default as everyone's going to get vaccinated, and choosing to do something else actually requires additional effort. Now the easiest thing to do is just to show up and get vaccinated," Buttenheim said. And then there's the added social pressure of having to publicly show your peers at the vaccination site that you're doing something different from them. "We not only don't want to be different, but when we have a new decision ... or a decision where we're really info overloaded, one of the shortcuts we take is just to look around and see what everybody else is doing. That's one of the ways we make it easier on ourselves to make a decision," she said. When asked if L.A. County Fire had considered all of the above when working up its strategy, Kazan laughed and asked, "So we stumbled upon genius?" A firefighter paramedic prepares COVID-19 vaccinations in L.A. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) WAS THE EFFORT WORTH IT? The approach seems to have worked across the department. As of late March, Kazan estimates that about 70% of L.A. County's firefighters have gotten the vaccine, much more than Orange County's 53% or New York City's 49%. He's quick to point out that other firefighting forces have tried similar moves and been less successful. It should be noted that vaccine hesitancy has been falling over time as trust in the vaccine has grown. Some firefighting organizations aren't tracking their vaccination rates, most notably Cal Fire, the largest firefighting force in the state that not only helms much of our wildland fire response but also acts as many cities' local fire department. "They're not required to get it, so we don't ask them if they got it because that's a personal choice of their own," said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Nick Schuler. "I want to be clear," he said. "I'm not saying that we have a large group that's not vaccinated. I don't know that to be true." During a conversation with Amith from Cal Fire Riverside, he estimated that fewer than half of his firefighters had opted in to getting the vaccine. He was frustrated and said that he too had spent time speaking to firefighters about vaccine safety and the implications of an unvaccinated work force. "I think, generally, some of our employees are distrustful of authority, they're distrustful of government," Amith said. "And they elicit their information from social media outlets like Facebook, and YouTube, and Twitter. And I think that some of what has been described to me by the employees is outright reckless." JUAREZ CHANGES HIS MIND As for Juarez, the firefighter who said he'd never get vaccinated, he was actually among the first wave of people to get a shot in late December. It was one of Dr. Kazan's videos that changed his mind. It was a surprising about-face that Juarez said was a direct result of honest communication from someone he'd grown to trust. Juarez contracted Valley Fever a few years ago while on the job, and Kazan looked after him, checking in regularly even though he didn't have to. It wasn't hearing Kazan talk about the potential side effects of the vaccine that fully convinced him, Juarez said. It was that the vaccine could potentially stop him from unwittingly transmitting the virus to his ailing father. "Although I don't agree with everything, I do trust what [Kazan] says," he said. Juarez is confident he made the right decision, because a week or so after he got his shot, he contracted COVID-19. His preexisting condition meant he could have gotten extremely sick and died, but instead he recovered. He believes the vaccine offered him some level of protection -- and potentially saved his life. New Delhi, April 12 : Leading ed-tech company BYJU'S has raised $455 million from investors that include Baron Funds and Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin's B Capital Group, as part of a $1 billion 'Series F' round, the media reported on Monday. Citing government filings by the company, Inc42 reported that existing investors like Silver Lake Management, Owl Ventures, and T. Rowe Price etc are also participating in the round. The latest fund-raising comes after the BYJU'S announced to acquire Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) through a strategic merger. The deal size is also pegged at close to $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction. "Our complementary strengths will enable us to build capabilities, create engaging and personalised learning programmes. The future of learning is hybrid and this union will bring together the best of offline and online learning, as we combine our expertise to create impactful experiences for students," Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO, BYJU'S, had said earlier this month. In September, Byju's raised $500 million (approximately Rs 3,689 crore) in a funding round led by global technology investment firm Silver Lake. Existing investors Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Owl Ventures also participated in the round that put the edtech startup's valuation at $10.8 billion. The new investment came barely a month after Byju's acquired WhiteHat Jr, a Mumbai-based coding platform, for $300 million. "We are excited to welcome a strong partner like Silver Lake to the BYJU'S family," Raveendran had said. Byju's said it has seen over 20 million new students starting learning from its platform for free since the lockdown. The app currently has over 64 million registered students and 4.2 million annual paid subscriptions. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 04:33:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Feb. 19, 2021 shows a COVID-19 vaccine center in Frisco, Texas, the United States. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua) The U.S. CDC said its analysis "did not find any safety issues or reason for concern," recommending healthcare providers continue to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following reports of adverse reactions to the shot. WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Several states in the United States have temporarily shut down some vaccine sites after people suffered adverse reactions to the shot. A total of 18 people in North Carolina reported side effects, while 11 people in Colorado reacted to the shot with symptoms ranging from dizziness, nausea and fainting, according to media reports. Georgia was the third U.S. state to temporarily shut down a vaccine site following North Carolina and Colorado, after eight people suffered adverse reactions following vaccination. According to local officials, one person was sent to a nearby hospital for evaluation before being released. The other seven were sent home after being monitored at the site. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its analysis "did not find any safety issues or reason for concern." The agency recommended that healthcare providers continue to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Another problem facing Johnson & Johnson is vaccine distribution. The supply of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine is expected to drop by 85 percent nationwide this week, after the company suffered production issues at a facility in Baltimore, Maryland, according to federal officials and data. A manufacturing subcontractor in Baltimore mixed ingredients from the COVID-19 vaccines of Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, delaying shipments of the Johnson & Johnson shot across the nation. The plant is run by Emergent BioSolutions, a manufacturing partner to both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. Federal officials attributed the mistake to human error, which resulted in contamination of up to 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, said Friday that the company is still working to address the production issues in Emergent BioSolutions, which is not certified yet by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use in the United States in late February. It is the third COVID-19 vaccine that has received FDA's authorization, also the first single dose COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States. As of Monday, about 189 million COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered, while more than 237 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed across the country, according to data of the CDC. Severe humanitarian disasters caused by US aggressive wars against foreign countries The China Society for Human Rights Studies | Updated: 2021-04-11 19:37 The United States has always praised itself as "a city upon a hill" that is an example to others in the way it supports "natural human rights" and fulfills "natural responsibilities", and it has repeatedly waged foreign wars under the banner of "humanitarian intervention". During the past 240-plus years after it declared independence on July 4th, 1776, the United States was not involved in any war for merely less than 20 years. According to incomplete statistics, from the end of World War II in 1945 to 2001, among the 248 armed conflicts that occurred in 153 regions of the world, 201 were initiated by the United States, accounting for 81 percent of the total number. Most of the wars of aggression waged by the United States have been unilateralist actions, and some of these wars were even opposed by its own allies. These wars not only cost the belligerent parties a large number of military lives but also caused extremely serious civilian casualties and property damage, leading to horrific humanitarian disasters. The selfishness and hypocrisy of the United States have also been fully exposed through these foreign wars. 1. Major Aggressive Wars Waged by the United States after World War II (1) The Korean War. The Korean War, which took place in the early 1950s, did not persist for a long time but it was extremely bloody, leading to more than three million civilian deaths and creating more than three million refugees. According to statistics from the DPRK, the war destroyed about 8,700 factories, 5,000 schools, 1,000 hospitals, and 600,000 households, and more than two million children under the age of 18 were uprooted by the war. During this war, the ROK side lost 41.23 billion won, which was equivalent to 6.9 billion US dollars according to the official exchange rate at that time; and about 600,000 houses, 46.9 percent of railways, 1,656 highways, and 1,453 bridges in the ROK were destroyed. Worse still, the war led to the division of the DPRK and the ROK, causing a large number of family separations. Among the more than 130,000 Koreans registered in the Ministry of Unification in the ROK who have family members cut off by the war, 75,000 have passed away, forever losing the chance to meet their lost family members again. The website of the United States' The Diplomat magazine reported on June 25, 2020, that as of November 2019, the average age of these family separation victims in the ROK had reached 81, and 60 percent of the 133,370 victims registered since 1988 had passed away, and that most of the registered victims never succeeded in meeting their lost family members again. (2) The Vietnam War. The Vietnam War which lasted from the 1950s to the 1970s is the longest and most brutal war since the end of World War II. The Vietnamese government estimated that the war killed approximately 1.1 million North Vietnamese soldiers and 300,000 South Vietnamese soldiers, and caused as many as two million civilian deaths. The government also pointed out that some of the deaths were caused by the US troops' planned massacres that were carried out in the name of "combating the Vietnamese Communist Party". During the war, the US forces dropped a large number of bombs in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, almost three times the total number of bombs dropped during World War II. It is estimated that as of today, there are at least 350,000 metric tons of unexploded mines and bombs left by the US military in Vietnam alone, and these mines and bombs are still explosive. At the current rate, it will take 300 years to clean out these explosives. The website of The Huffington Post reported on December 3, 2012, that statistics from the Vietnamese government showed that since the end of the war in 1975, the explosive remnants of the war had killed more than 42,000 people. Apart from the above-mentioned explosives, the US forces dropped 20 million gallons (about 75.71 million liters) of defoliants in Vietnam during the war, directly causing more than 400,000 Vietnamese deaths. Another approximately two million Vietnamese who came into contact with this chemical got cancer and other diseases. This war that lasted for more than 10 years also caused more than three million refugees to flee and die in large numbers on the way across the ocean. Among the refugees that were surveyed, 92 percent were troubled by fatigue, and others suffered unexplained pregnancy losses and birth defects. According to the United States' Vietnam War statistics, defoliants destroyed about 20 percent of the jungles and 20 to 36 percent of the mangrove forests in Vietnam. (3) The Gulf War. In 1991, the US-led coalition forces attacked Iraq, directly leading to about 2,500 to 3,500 civilian deaths and destroying approximately 9,000 civilian houses. The war-inflicted famine and damage to the local infrastructure and medical facilities caused about 111,000 civilian deaths, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that the war and the post-war sanctions on Iraq caused the death of about 500,000 of the country's children. The coalition forces targeted Iraq's infrastructure and wantonly destroyed most of its power stations (accounting for 92 percent of the country's total installed generating capacity), refineries (accounting for 80 percent of the country's production capacity), petrochemical complexes, telecommunication centers (including 135 telephone networks), bridges (numbering more than 100), highways, railways, radio and television stations, cement plants, and factories producing aluminum, textiles, wires, and medical supplies. This war led to serious environmental pollution: about 60 million barrels of petroleum were dumped into the desert, polluting about 40 million metric tons of soil; about 24 million barrels of petroleum spilled out of oil wells, forming 246 oil lakes; and the smoke and dust generated by purposely ignited oil wells polluted 953 square kilometers of land. In addition, the US troops' depleted uranium (DU) weapons, which contain highly toxic and radioactive material, were also first used on the battlefield during this Gulf War against Iraq. (4) The Kosovo War. In March 1999, NATO troops led by the United States blatantly set the UN Security Council aside and carried out a 78-day continuous bombing of Yugoslavia under the banner of "preventing humanitarian disasters", killing 2,000-plus innocent civilians, injuring more than 6,000, and uprooting nearly one million. During the war, more than two million Yugoslavians lost their sources of income, and about 1.5 million children could not go to school. NATO troops deliberately targeted the infrastructure of Yugoslavia in order to weaken the country's determination to resist. Economists of Serbia estimated that the total economic loss caused by the bombing was as much as 29.6 billion US dollars. Lots of bridges, roads, railways, and other buildings were destroyed during the bombing, affecting 25,000 households, 176 cultural relics, 69 schools, 19 hospitals, and 20 health centers. Apart from that, during this war, NATO troops used at least 31,000 DU bombs and shells, leading to a surge in cancer and leukemia cases in Yugoslavia and inflicting a long-term disastrous impact on the ecological environment of Yugoslavia and Europe. (5) The Afghanistan War. In October 2001, the United States sent troops to Afghanistan. While combating al-Qaeda and the Taliban, it also caused a large number of unnecessary civilian casualties. Due to the lack of authoritative statistical data, there is no established opinion about the number of civilian casualties during the Afghanistan War, but it is generally agreed that since entering Afghanistan, the US troops caused the deaths of more than 30,000 civilians, injured more than 60,000 civilians, and created about 11 million refugees. After the US military announced its withdrawal in 2014, Afghanistan continued to be in turmoil. The website of The New York Times reported on July 30, 2019, that in the first half of 2019, there were 363 confirmed deaths due to the US bombs in Afghanistan, including 89 children. Scholars at Kabul University estimated that since its beginning, the Afghanistan War has caused about 250 casualties and the loss of 60 million US dollars per day. (6) The Iraq War. In 2003, despite the general opposition of the international community, US troops still invaded Iraq on unfounded charges. It is hard to find precise statistics about the civilian casualties inflicted by the war, but the number is estimated to be around 200,000 to 250,000, including 16,000 civilian deaths directly caused by US forces. Apart from that, the occupying US forces have seriously violated international humanitarian principles and created multiple "prisoner abuse cases". After the US military announced its withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, local warfare and attacks in the country have continued. The US-led coalition forces have used a large number of DU bombs and shells, cluster bombs, and white phosphorus bombs in Iraq, and have not taken any measures to minimize the damage these bombs have inflicted upon civilians. According to the estimate of the United Nations, today in Iraq, there are still 25 million mines and other explosive remnants that need to be removed. The United States has not yet withdrawn all its troops from Afghanistan or Iraq for now. (7) The Syrian War. Since 2017, the United States has launched airstrikes on Syria under the pretext of "preventing the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government". From 2016 to 2019, the confirmed war-related civilian deaths amounted to 33,584 in Syria, and the number of Syrian civilians directly killed by the airstrikes reached 3,833, with half of them being women and children. The website of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) reported on November 9, 2018, that the so-called "most accurate air strike in history" launched by the United States on Raqqa killed 1,600 civilians. According to a survey conducted by the World Food Programme (WFP) in April 2020, about one-third of Syrians were faced with a food shortage crisis, and 87 percent of Syrians had no deposits in their accounts. Doctors of the World (Medecins du Monde/MdM) estimated that since the beginning of the Syrian War, about 15,000 Syrian doctors (about half of the country's total) had fled the country, 6.5 million Syrian people had run away from their homes, and about five million Syrian people had wandered homeless around the world. Apart from being directly involved in wars, the United States has intervened directly or indirectly in other countries' affairs by supporting proxy wars, inciting anti-government insurgencies, carrying out assassinations, providing weapons and ammunition, and training anti-government armed forces, which have caused serious harm to the social stability and public security of the relevant countries. As such activities are great in number and most of them have not been made public, it is hard to collect specific data regarding them. 2. The Disastrous Consequences of Foreign Wars Launched by the United States Since the end of World War II, almost every US president has waged or intervened in foreign wars during their terms of office. The pretexts they used include: stopping the spread of communism, maintaining justice, stopping aggression, humanitarian intervention, combating terrorism, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), protecting the safety of overseas US citizens, etc. Among all these foreign wars, only one was waged as a counterattack in response to a direct terrorist attack on the United States; the others were waged in a situation where the vital interests of the United States were not directly affected. Unfortunately, even this singular "justifiable counterattack" was obviously an excessive display of defense. Under the banner of eliminating the threat of al-Qaeda, the US military wantonly expanded the scope of the attack in the anti-terrorism war in accordance with the principle "better to kill by mistake than to miss out by accident", resulting in a large number of civilian causalities in the war-affected areas, and despite using the relatively accurate drone strikes, the US military still did not succeed in reducing and mitigating the causalities of the innocent local people. As for the procedures followed by the United States to start aggressive wars against foreign countries, some were "legitimate procedures" that the United States managed to obtain by manipulating the UN into authorizing them through the Security Council; more often, the United States just set the Security Council aside and neglected the opposition of other countries, and even the opposition of its own allies, when willfully and arbitrarily launching an attack on an independent country. Some US foreign wars were initiated without the approval of the US Congress, which has the sole power to declare war for the country. US foreign wars have triggered various regional and international crises. First of all, these wars have directly led to humanitarian disasters in the war-affected countries, such as personnel casualties, damage to facilities, production stagnation, and especially unnecessary civilian casualties. In the war-affected areas, people died in their homes, markets, and streets, they were killed by bombs, bullets, improvised explosive devices, and drones, and they lost their lives during airstrikes launched by US forces, raids launched by their government forces, terrorist and extremist massacres, and domestic riots. In November 2018, Brown University released a research study that showed that the number of civilian deaths during the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen were 43,074; 23,924; 184,382 to 207,156; 49,591; and 12,000 respectively, the number of journalists and media personnel who died at their posts during these wars, were 67; 8; 277; 75; and 31 respectively, and the number of humanitarian relief workers who were killed at their posts during these wars were 424; 97; 63; 185; and 38 respectively. Such casualties are often understated by the US government. The Intercept website reported on November 19, 2018, that the actual civilian deaths in Iraq were far higher than the number officially released by the US military. Second, US foreign wars brought about a series of complex social problems, such as refugee waves, social unrest, ecological crises, psychological traumas, etc. Statistics show that each of the several recent US foreign wars created a larger number of refugees, such as the 11 million Afghan refugees, the 380,000 Pakistani refugees, the 3.25 million Iraqi refugees, and the 12.59 million Syrian refugees; these refugees have been forced to flee from their homes, of which 1.3 million Afghan refugees have fled to Pakistan, 900,000 Afghan refugees arrived in Iran, 3.5 million Iraqi and Syrian refugees fled to Turkey, and one million Iraqi and Syrian refugees fled to Iran. In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, the deaths and injuries caused by the lack of medical treatment, malnutrition, and environmental pollution have exceeded the casualties directly caused by the wars, with the former number being four times greater than the latter. The uranium content per kilogram of soil in Basra, Iraq, rose sharply from less than 70 becquerels before 1991 to 10,000 becquerels in 2009, and the number was as high as 36,205 becquerels in the areas polluted by war remnants. The website of the British newspaper The Guardian reported on August 22, 2016, that 30 percent of the babies born in Iraq in 2010 were born with some form of congenital anomaly, while this figure is around two to four percent under normal circumstances. Third, US foreign wars have often produced spillover effects, causing harm to the countries that were not involved in the wars. For example, in the Vietnam War, the US military spread the fighting to neighboring countries such as Cambodia and Laos on the excuse of blocking the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" (a military supply route running from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia to South Vietnam), resulting in more than 500,000 unnecessary civilian casualties and leaving a large number of war remnants in those countries, which are still explosive. When attacking terrorists in the Afghanistan War, the US aircraft and drones often dropped bombs on neighboring Pakistani villages, and even on wedding cars and Pakistani border guard soldiers. In an airstrike on Yugoslavia, the US forces even targeted the Chinese embassy, leading to the deaths of three Chinese journalists and the injuries of a dozen embassy personnel. Last but not least, even the United States itself has fallen victim to the foreign wars it has started. According to statistics from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, there were 103,284 US soldiers who suffered physical injuries during the Korean War, and the number reached 153,303 for the Vietnam War. Between 2001 and 2005, about one-third of the 103,788 veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were diagnosed with mental or psychological illness, and 56 percent of those diagnosed had more than one disease. A study by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), which works exclusively for the United States Congress, pointed out that more than 6,000 veterans committed suicide every year from 2008 to 2016. The amount of economic compensation offered by the US military to the Korean War veterans reaches 2.8 billion US dollars per year, and the amount given to the Vietnam War veterans and their families is more than 22 billion US dollars per year. The cost of medical and disability care for the Afghanistan War veterans has exceeded 170 billion US dollars. Business Insider, a US business and technology news website, reported in December 2019 that the Afghanistan war has led to the deaths of more than 3,800 US contractors, and this number far exceeds the relevant statistical result released by the US government and even the US military deaths in Afghanistan. 3. The Major Cause of the Above-Mentioned Humanitarian Crises: The United States' Hegemonic Mentality When reviewing the many aggressive wars launched by the United States, it can be seen that many of these military actions have led to humanitarian crises. In Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and other countries where wars are still ongoing, accidental bombings and injuries still frequently occur, and refugees have nowhere to stay. The infrastructure of these countries is crippled, and their national production is stagnant. The United States launched these foreign wars under the pretext of "humanitarian intervention" or "human rights overriding sovereignty", but why did these wars fought for humanitarian purposes turn into humanitarian disasters in the end? In April 2011, the US-based magazine Foreign Policy summarized five reasons for the frequent foreign wars waged by the United States, such as the military advantages of the United States making it hard to resist the temptation to resort to force, and the checks and balances mechanism within the United States failing to play an effective role, while excluding any reason related to the values of the United States. "To safeguard human rights" was not a clear driving force for US foreign wars and that waging foreign wars was only a means to an end, although such an act did not exclude a sense of morality. The United States may feel an impulse to start a foreign war as long as it is considered necessary, believed to be in its own favor, and within its ability, while a sense of morality is not a sufficient or necessary condition to initiate such a war; and as for the terrible humanitarian disasters caused by these foreign wars, they will be borne by others instead of directly harming US citizens and preventing the United States from reaching its goals. Choosing to use force irrespective of the consequences reveals the hegemonic aspirations of the United States, which propel the United States to prioritize itself, demonstrate its "winner-take-all" mentality, and expose its unilateralist ideas of dominating the world and wantonly doing injustice to other countries. US politicians claim that they respect "universal values", but do they agree that their own natural human rights are also natural for other people in the world? The United States has formulated laws to ensure equality among all its ethnic groups within the country, but does it really believe that people of other countries should enjoy the same rights? Or, does it think that it can act wantonly in foreign countries just because the people there do not have a vote in US elections? The United States believes that terrorist attacks targeting civilians within its territory are despicable and punishable, then what makes it accept that the incidents created by the US military in other countries, which have led to a large number of civilian deaths and injuries, are acceptable and even "necessary"? When they adopt the principle "better to kill by mistake than to miss out by accident", when they arbitrarily use radioactive weapons and destroy all vegetation with toxic reagents, and when they open fire before clearly identifying the targets, do the US forces still respect the "natural" human rights treasured by the values of the United States? The civilians who were unable to flee their war-affected areas and were treated as terrorists and shot at randomly did not have any human rights. The children who have been disabled at birth by the chemical weapons of the US forces and will suffer for the rest of their lives do not have any human rights. The refugees who have been forced to flee their homes and become homeless in other countries because of the US foreign wars do not have any human rights. In the final analysis, the mindset of solving disputes by taking unilateral military actions is questionable. Given the inherent antagonism between humanitarianism and hegemony, it is ridiculous to expect a hegemonic country to defend the human rights of other countries. International disputes shall be settled through equal consultations within the framework of the United Nations. Coordinated efforts shall be actualized by regulating and improving international mechanisms and by establishing a community with a shared future for mankind. Only by discarding the hegemonic thinking, which is chiefly motivated by self-interest, can we prevent "humanitarian intervention" from becoming humanitarian disasters. Only in this way can we achieve mutual benefits and win-win results and can all the people across the globe truly enjoy natural human rights. Appendix: 1. List of Civilian Casualties, Refugees, and Economic Losses Caused by Major Wars of Aggression Waged by the United States after the End of World War II The Korean War: about 3 million civilian deaths and 3 million refugees; The Vietnam War: about 2 million civilian deaths, 3 million refugees, and 3 million victims of defoliants; The Airstrike on Libya: about 700 military and civilian deaths; Invasion of Panama: about 302 civilian deaths and 3,000 civilian injuries; The Armed Intervention in Somalia: about 200 civilian deaths and 300 civilian injuries; The Gulf War: about 120,000 war-related civilian deaths and 2 million sanction-related civilian deaths, and economic losses amounting to 600 billion US dollars; The Kosovo War: more than 2,000 deaths and 6,000 injuries, and economic losses amounting to 200 billion US dollars; The Afghanistan War: more than 30,000 civilian deaths, 70,000 civilian injuries, and 11 million refugees; The Iraq War: about 200,000250,000 civilian deaths and 3.25 million refugees; The Syrian War: more than 40,000 civilian deaths and 12.59 million refugees. 2. List of Wars of Aggression Waged by the United States and the US Interventions in Foreign Countries after the End of World War II 19471949: intervening in the Greek civil war 19471970: intervening in Italy's elections and supporting anti-communism activities 1948: supporting the anti-government forces in Costa Rica's civil war 19491953: supporting anti-communism activities in Albania 1949: intervening in the government change in Syria 19501953: waging the Korean War 1952: intervening in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 1953: supporting a coup in Iran to overthrow the then Iranian government 1954: supporting the change of the then Guatemalan government 19561957: plotting a coup in Syria 19571959: supporting a coup in Indonesia 1958: creating a crisis in Lebanon 19601961: supporting a coup in the Congo 1960: stopping the government of Laos from starting a reform 1961: supporting the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba 19611975: supporting civil war and opium trade in Laos 19611964: supporting anti-government activities in Brazil 1963: supporting civil strife in Iraq 1963: supporting riots in Ecuador 19631975: fighting the Vietnam War 1964: intervening in the Simba rebellion in the Congo 19651966: intervening in Dominica's civil war 19651967: supporting the Indonesian military governments massacre of communists 1966: supporting an insurgency in Ghana 19661969: creating conflicts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which is a region on the Korean peninsula that demarcates North Korea from South Korea 19661967: supporting an insurgency in Bolivia 1967: intervening in the change of the Greek government 19671975: intervening in Cambodia's civil war 1970: intervening in Oman's domestic affairs 19701973: supporting a military coup in Chile 19701973: supporting a coup in Cambodia 1971: supporting a coup in Bolivia 19721975: offering assistance to anti-government forces in Iraq 1976: supporting a coup in Argentina 19761992: intervening in Angola's domestic affairs 19771988: supporting a coup in Pakistan 19791993: supporting anti-government forces in Cambodia 19791989: intervening in the war in Afghanistan 19801989: financing the anti-government Solidarity trade union in Poland 19801992: intervening in El Salvador's civil war 1981: confronting Libya in Gulf of Sidra 19811982: pushing the change of the then Chadian government 19821984: participating in a multilateral intervention in Lebanon 19821989: supporting anti-government forces in Nicaragua 1983: invading Grenada 1986: invading Gulf of Sidra, Libya 1986: bombing Libya 1988: shooting down an Iranian airliner 1988: sending troops to Honduras 1989: confronting Libya in Tobruk 1989: intervening in the Philippines' domestic affairs 19891990: invading Panama 19901991: waging the Gulf War 1991: intervening in Haiti's elections 19912003: leading the enforcement action to establish a no-fly zone in Iraq 19921995: intervening in Somalia's civil war for the first time 19921995: intervening in the Bosnian War 19941995: sending troops to Haiti 1996: supporting a coup in Iraq 1997: sending troops to Albania 1997: sending troops to Sierra Leone 19981999: waging the Kosovo War 1998: launching cruise missile attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan 19981999: sending troops to Kenya and Tanzania 2001present: waging the Afghanistan War 2002: sending troops to Cote d'Ivoire 20032011: waging the Iraq War 2004now: inciting wars between Pakistan and Afghanistan in their contiguous areas 20062007: supporting Fatah, a Palestinian political and military organization, in overthrowing the elected government of Hamas 2007present: intervening in Somalia's civil war for the second time 2009: supporting a coup in Honduras 2011: supporting anti-government forces in Libya 20112017: carrying out military operations in Uganda 2014present: leading the intervention actions in Iraq 2014present: leading the intervention actions in Syria 2015now: supporting Saudi Arabia's participation in Yemen's civil war 2019: supporting the change of the Venezuelan government In a major shakeup, the union that represents San Antonio police officers is staying out of the mayors race for now. The San Antonio Police Officers Association will not endorse former City Councilman Greg Brockhouse, past political consultant for the union and stalwart union ally, the unions leader John Danny Diaz said Monday. Nor will the police union back incumbent Mayor Ron Nirenberg whom the group vehemently opposed in the past in the May 1 election. Diaz said the union plans to stay out of the mayors race and most city council elections unless they go to a runoff. For now, the union is focused on trying to defeat Proposition B a ballot initiative pushed by police reform activists that would take away the unions right to negotiate its contract with the city, known as collective bargaining. Thats our focus, Diaz said. Were not looking at anything else. Because if this proposition passes, we wont be here to endorse anybody anyway. Thats where we stand. Thats how dire this is. Proponents argue that eliminating collective bargaining would prevent the union from shielding officers accused of misconduct from punishment. Union leaders say taking away that right would undo decades of work on police officers pay and benefits and drastically harm the San Antonio Police Departments ability to recruit new officers. Both of the citys major public safety unions are now sitting out the mayors race a stunning reversal from where they stood two years ago. The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Union whose leaders once called Brockhouse our own guy announced in March it would not endorse its past ally or the mayor. The police and fire unions heavily backed Brockhouse, who worked as a consultant for both unions, in his 2019 bid to oust Nirenberg. The unions spent more than $530,000 to help Brockhouse close a financing gap with the mayor in the last election. Now, Brockhouse has to make do without their financial backing though he has so far doubled his own fundraising compared with two years ago. On ExpressNews.com: In dramatic move, San Antonio firefighters union wont back Greg Brockhouse for mayor Brockhouse tried to play off the police unions non-endorsement as he did with the fire union, pointing out he knew the police union would have its hands full with the ballot proposition fight when he decided to run. Were focused on making the runoff and, when we do, I think a lot of people will give us a second look, Brockhouse said. Nirenberg and the police union have a contentious past. Nirenberg voted against the current police contract as a councilman in 2016, arguing the contract was too expensive and didnt make disciplinary reforms that would expand accountability and ensure public trust. The union, in turn, backed Nirenbergs opponent in both of his previous mayoral runs. But the relationship could be on the mend. In a closed-door meeting in March, Nirenberg told Diaz who took the reins of the organization earlier this year he supports collective bargaining for the police officers union. Before that, the mayor had stopped short of taking a position on the ballot measure but said he thinks the city and union can agree to reforms at the bargaining table. Both sides are negotiating a new contract. Brockhouse accused the mayor of flip-flopping on the ballot measure in a blatant attempt to keep (the police union) on the sidelines. I am opposed to Prop B, period, Brockhouse said. The members know that, and Im confident I have their support. Diaz said the mayors support for collective bargaining did not influence the police unions decision. Nirenbergs team took the unions decision to at least temporarily stay out of the mayors race as a sign that perhaps the relationship had turned a corner. I take that as a victory, said Gilberto Ocanas, the mayors campaign chairman and chief political adviser. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio mayoral candidates are raising more money than ever The police union has endorsed some incumbent council members this go-round Adriana Rocha Garcia, Melissa Cabello Havrda, Manny Pelaez and Clayton Perry. But its unlikely the union will give to any of those candidates, Diaz said. Even without financial backing, an endorsement allows candidates to trade on the goodwill of police officers, historically popular in San Antonio. Were thrilled to be kicking off the second series of the AutoDrive Challenge to give even more students networking and mentoring opportunities and hands-on experience as they prepare to enter the mobility industry. Chris Ciuca, vice president of programs at SAE International. SAE International and General Motors (GM) announced today the 10 collegiate teams set to compete in the AutoDrive Challenge II. The competition continues the strong collaboration between GM and SAE in STEM education and will build on the groundbreaking success of the first iteration AutoDrive Challenge. Participating university teams will develop and demonstrate an autonomous vehicle (AV) that can navigate urban driving courses as described by SAE J3016 Standard Level 4 automation. The university teams selected to participate in the AutoDrive Challenge II are: Kettering University Michigan Technological University North Carolina A&T University The Ohio State University Penn State University Texas A&M University University of Toronto University of Wisconsin Madison Queens University Virginia Tech Were thrilled to be kicking off the second series of the AutoDrive Challenge to give even more students networking and mentoring opportunities and hands-on experience as they prepare to enter the mobility industry, said Chris Ciuca, vice president of programs at SAE International. Autonomous vehicles offer a bright future and as the technology rapidly evolves, it is imperative that the brightest minds are ready to meet the challenges ahead. We are grateful to have GM return as a supporter to help expand this competition, preparing more future engineers to continue to move mobility forward. Throughout the four-year competition, participants are required to meet yearly benchmarks for the design and development of their AV systems, while continuing their education through SAE professional development courses. To participate in AutoDrive Challenge II, participating universities committed to relevant curriculum, vehicle testing facilities, undergraduate participation, and faculty and graduate student leadership in their proposals. Challenges will present students with real-world applications of sensing technologies, computing platforms, software design and implementation, and advanced computation methods such as computer vision, image processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, sensor fusion and autonomous vehicle controls. At General Motors, we envision a future of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, and we have committed ourselves to leading the way toward this future, said Dan Nicholson, GM vice president, global electrification, controls, software and electronics and executive sponsor of the competition. The AutoDrive Challenge is a great way to give students the hands-on experience they need to find success. We are very excited to work with these talented students over the course of the competition and know they will make an immediate impact on the automotive industry upon graduation. GM will provide each participating university team a Chevrolet Bolt EUV vehicle which each team will design and integrate their own AV system into with the goal of having it drive as a fully autonomous vehicle through an urban driving course. Over the next four years, the teams will meet annually for competitive events at The Mcity Test Facility, located on the University of Michigan Campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. To learn more information about AutoDrive Challenge II, please visit: http://www.autodrivechallenge.com or https://www.facebook.com/SAEAutoDriveChallenge, or follow along on social media using the hashtag: #AutoDriveChallenge. About SAE International SAE International is a global association committed to advancing mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. By engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers, we connect and educate mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including award-winning programs like A World In Motion and the Collegiate Design Series. More at http://www.sae.org. New York, US (PANA) - A paradigm shift aligning the private sector with the global goals is needed to address the challenges of the future, including those triggered by COVID-19, the UN chief said on Monday, addressing the Financing for Development (FfD) Forum Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said "simple math" is behind the recent decline of coronavirus cases in his state: Take the number of people who have been vaccinated and combine it with the number who have been infected. The result, he said, is something "very close" to herd immunity - the point at which enough of the population is immune that the virus can no longer easily spread. "We remain very vigilant and guarded and proactive in our response, but there is simple math behind the reason why we continue to have success," Abbott, a Republican, said on "Fox News Sunday." The equation "means, very simply, it's a whole lot more difficult for covid-19 to be spreading to other people in the state of Texas." ICYMI: Trying to make sense of how Texas ranks on COVID vaccinations? Here's a look behind the numbers. Experts have said immunity from vaccinations and prior infections may have partly contributed to declining cases nationwide after the virus's winter surge. But in Texas, the numbers Abbott cited do not add up to herd immunity, according estimates of that threshold. Scientists do not know the precise point at which herd immunity will begin, but in recent months they've said anywhere from 70% to more than 90% of the population would need to acquire protection. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious-diseases doctor, has predicted 80% to 85%. Lauren Ancel Meyers, a biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin and director of its covid-19 modeling consortium, said that "a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding" has surrounded the herd immunity threshold and that several factors could still influence it. "It depends on the efficacy and duration of immunity acquired through infection or vaccination, whether we have pockets of low immunity in our communities and whether there are emerging variants that can evade immunity," Meyers said. Nineteen percent of Texas residents are fully vaccinated, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a lower share than all but six U.S. states. Health officials there have confirmed more than 2.4 million infections and counted an additional 400,000 "probable" coronavirus infections. Almost 50,000 of those people have died, according to data gathered by The Washington Post. The official number of people who have survived infection, about 2.77 million, plus the number inoculated, about 5.5 million, equals more than 8.27 million people with some form of immunity, or about 29% of Texas's population. However, there is a hidden variable that is crucial to this calculation: the number of people who have contracted the coronavirus but have not been formally counted - either because they were never tested or were never linked to a positive case. It is impossible to know exactly what this number is, but researchers reckon that it's much greater than what shows up on state data dashboards and the ubiquitous pandemic trackers. A team at Columbia University used a mathematical model to estimate the true scope of infections, and it found that by late January, 31% of Texans probably had contracted the novel coronavirus, which can cause the illness covid-19. This would mean at least 50% of residents may have some sort of immunity - more than the official tallies would suggest, but still well short of Abbott's pronouncement. READ ALSO: All adults in Texas are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. But there still aren't enough doses. Jeffrey Shaman, the study's lead researcher, added a note of caution when discussing his findings with NPR: Protection gained through mild or asymptomatic infection may wane and offer little help in the race to herd immunity, he said. In his Fox News interview, Abbott said that more than 70% of the state's seniors received at least one dose of a vaccine, and that more than 50% of those ages 50 to 65 have gotten one. "I don't know what herd immunity is, but when you add that to the people who have acquired immunity, it looks like it could be very close to herd immunity," he said. Last week, the epidemiologist Michael Osterholm predicted the beginning of a "fourth surge" of new cases, noting hot spots in the Midwest and the pattern of previous pandemic waves, which tended to hit northern states before moving south. His message was clear: In due time, case numbers will rise in states such as Florida and Texas. In an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, Osterholm reacted bluntly to Abbott's boast: "There is no way on God's green earth that Texas is anywhere even close to herd immunity," he said. The governor has touted the state's trends as evidence that his aggressive reopening strategy, which public health experts criticized, is working. In the month since Abbott lifted the state's mask mandate, the daily average of newly reported cases has decreased from 4,700 to about 3,500. In March, scholar Daniel Drezner wrote in an essay for The Washington Post that the politicization of herd immunity is "inevitable," with scientists revising their threshold estimates upward and conservative commentators contending that it is lower. But such arguments could be costly, with experts pointing to virus variant-driven outbreaks in states such as Michigan and Minnesota as evidence that the country is not yet in the clear. Those Midwestern states have vaccinated a higher share of their populations than Texas - 24% in Minnesota and 22% in Michigan - yet they've been unable to escape the latest surges. "We don't know if and when we'll get to the point that the virus is completely eliminated, particularly given complications like emerging variants and pockets of low vaccination coverage," said Meyers, the University of Texas biologist. "Still, the closer we get to herd immunity by closing gaps in vaccine coverage and overcoming vaccine hesitancy, the safer, healthier and more open our society will be." Thimpu: When plotted on a graph, the curve of Bhutans COVID-19 vaccination drive shoots upwards from the very first day, crossing Israel, the United States, Bahrain and other countries known for vaccinating people rapidly. Those countries took months to reach where they are, painstakingly strengthening their vaccination campaigns in the face of rising coronavirus cases. But the story of Bhutans vaccination campaign is nearly finished just 16 days after it began. Bhutanese people wear masks as a protection against coronavirus. The country has vaccinated almost 93 per cent of its adult population. Credit:AP The tiny Himalayan kingdom wedged between India and China has vaccinated nearly 93 per cent of its adult population since March 27. Overall, the country has vaccinated 62 per cent of its 800,000 people. The rapid rollout of the vaccine puts the tiny nation just behind Seychelles, which has given jabs to 66 per cent of its population of nearly 100,000 people. I care about our democracy and I see its under attack. When Republicans in Georgia lost statewide and national elections for the first time in decades, they immediately passed a law making it much harder to voteespecially for Black and Brown people. They limited voting by mail, eliminated drop boxes completely and increased voter ID requirements, among other things. There arent many voting places in heavily Black and Brown neighborhoods, so folks have to wait on line. The new law actually makes it a crime for someone to bring them something to eat or drink while they wait! They hope youll just give up and go home. Worse: the law gives the partisan State Legislature the right to overturn a statewide election certified by election officials. Laws like this are being passed all over the country by Republican state legislatures. The For the People Act would protect voting and strike down those anti-democratic laws. It would also get a lot of big money out of politics and make our ballots more secure. But Republicans will filibuster this bill to death in the Senate unless the rules are changed. Tell Senators Warren and Markey to do whatever it takes to pass the For the People Act, HR 1 and S 1, including getting rid of the filibuster. David Ball, Northampton Willow Breshears knew she was different for as long as she can remember. Growing up in rural Arkansas, she said she often felt depressed, her discoveries about herself quashed by social norms and Baptist teachings. Now 18 and living in Little Rock, the transgender activist testified before lawmakers as part of an effort to try to stop the passage of a proposed state law that, among other things, would ban doctors from providing gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to youths under 18. She and others protesting the measure were unsuccessful. The mostly Republican Legislature overrode Gov. Asa Hutchinsons veto last week to make Arkansas the first state to enact such a law. About 30 states are mulling similar legislation a development advocates say endangers the lives of young transgender people, places ideology over science and disrupts the sanctity of the physician-patient relationship by preventing doctors from providing best-practice care. The only people who should have that say is that transgender person, their family and their doctors, Breshears said. This is not a place for legislators to step into. Arkansas Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act prohibits physicians from referring patients to other providers and, in what some call a particularly heinous move, includes no grandfather clause for youth under treatment. That means that if youre already taking puberty blockers prescribed by a doctor, the state of Arkansas has just gone into your doctors office and told them, You cannot prescribe this or do any bloodwork to monitor your levels, said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, deputy executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. This is truly a phenomenal level of government overreach. Critics compare lawmakers to bullies picking on a small but vulnerable population, using transgender youth as pawns in a cultural war while placing their emotional and physical well-being in jeopardy. Such legislation, they say, plays on fear and misinformation and places doctors in an ethically difficult position of providing care at the risk of losing their medical license. Story continues These measures raise the risk of mental health issues among transgender youth already prone to higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, opponents say. Theres only so many people taking puberty blockers in Arkansas, Heng-Lehtinen said. But every single transgender person is feeling the effect of this attack. Its the government, pure and simple, saying, 'You dont belong.' Its such an antagonistic and heartless message to send. Robyn and Clay Rumsey's child Dex, 15, of Roy, Utah, came out as transgender at age 12. In consultation with a counselor and doctors, he began wearing short hair and boy's clothes, then used puberty blockers and testosterone. He says he could become depressed and suicidal if a ban on hormone therapy and sex-reassignment surgery for minors passes. Such fears are not unfounded: Arkansas state Rep. Deborah Ferguson, a Democrat who spoke out against the bill, said that after the law passed, an Arkansas Children's Hospital physician testified that several of the approximately four dozen youth receiving hormonal therapy have tried to commit suicide. It is unfortunate that the makeup of our Legislature has changed to the extent that we are weaponizing religion to discriminate against this small minority, Ferguson said. Advocates said access to gender-affirming medical care is linked with better mental health, including a lower incidence of suicidal thoughts. Bills denying such care have been condemned by major medical groups around the country, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association. This legislation throws away decades of medical progress, said Jack Turban, a fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, calling it dangerous and anti-science. For Breshears, the Little Rock activist, her gender-affirming care was life-changing and lifesaving, she said. I started hormones at age 13, and I can say that without that, I might not be here today. Breshears came out as gay when she was 12, even as she knew the label didnt really fit. It wasnt until after her family moved to Little Rock, where she began attending youth programs at an LGBT rights organization, that she learned the language that could describe who she was. I had heard the word transgender a couple times before that but never really in a positive way, said Breshears, who leads those same youth programs. Thats what really helped me flourish. I was a woman, but I never really knew the words to describe that. Though her declaration splintered her extended family, her mom and grandmother have been super supportive, she said. Breshears scoffed at notions pushed by lawmakers that those under 18 are too young to decide for themselves. Its not something where you just wake up and decide youre trans, she said. Any parent of a trans child is going to tell you they knew from a very young age. The first thing my mom said when I told her was, You dont know how long Ive been waiting for you to tell me that. 'E xplicit attempts at e rasing trans youth' Arkansas SAFE Act, though citing the relatively low population of people it describes as having struggled with distress at identifying with their biological sex, says gender-affirming treatments prescribed by doctors havent been fully proved safe and claims without citation that the majority of individuals come to identify with their birth gender in adulthood, making such care unnecessary. State Rep. Robin Lundstrum, a Republican who was the bill's primary sponsor, quoted a Swedish study saying transgender individuals who'd undergone gender reassignment surgery were more likely than the general population to suffer mental health issues and far more likely to commit suicide. That 2011 study also said such surgeries eased gender dysphoria and improved care afterward. Though Arkansas' is the first of its kind to become law, the Human Rights Campaign says nearly 60 such bills have been introduced nationwide in the past two years despite no evidence of any youth receiving inappropriate care. Thirty of those bills, the group said, would likewise deny gender-affirming care and medical services to transgender youth. Theyre part of a larger tally of nearly 200 anti-LGBTQ bills considered in state legislatures, the organization said. Twenty-nine states are debating bills that would prohibit transgender girls and women from girls' and women's sports. Trans athletes and their advocates say groups that support such bans use harmful traditional definitions of gender. Such legislation has been on the rise in the past two years, despite surveys showing that most Americans support transgender rights overall, including the right of transgender youth to participate on sports teams that feel most comfortable to them, and that a majority of parents would support their teens request to transition to another gender. In a statement, CEO Kevin Jennings of LGBT civil rights organization Lambda Legal, said such measures are rooted in animus and ignorance about what it means to be transgender. They disregard medical science, standards of treatment for transgender youth and basic human dignity. Lambda Legal, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, promised legal challenges against the Arkansas law. These states are truly heading in the wrong direction and straight to the courts, said Avatara Smith-Carrington of Lambda Legals south central regional office. These bills are explicit attempts at erasing trans youth from public life. Clair Farley, executive director of San Franciscos Office of Transgender Initiatives, said the escalation of such bills is a result of Trump administration rhetoric and rollbacks of transgender protections in housing, health care, employment and public accommodations. Farley, whose upbringing as a trans youth in Montana inspired her to pursue advocacy work, said that such bills are even being discussed is upsetting for youth fearful society wont accept them for who they are. Growing up is hard enough for anyone and can be particularly difficult for transgender youth, especially those living in conservative and rural environments, Farley said. Sam Brinton, vice president of advocacy and public affairs for The Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ suicide prevention organization, said survey results, to be published next month, found that 90% of LGBTQ youth said politics negatively affected their well-being. If your state legislator is debating whether you should exist or have rights, you can imagine that that is basically destroying your sense of self, Brinton said. Transgender youth face higher levels of anxiety and depression, especially if they lack family support or experience bullying at school and mistreatment from teachers and officials. In The Trevor Projects survey on mental health of LGBTQ youth in 2020, more than half of transgender and gender-nonconforming respondents said they had seriously considered suicide. Being transgender in and of itself does not lead to these risks, said Paula Neira, board secretary for GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality and clinical director for the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health. What increases it is how you are treated and whether you are able to receive care. Denying gender-affirming care to these youth is a form of discrimination, advocates say, that will increase the stigma they probably feel in society. Hannah Willard, vice president of government affairs for Freedom For All Americans, a national LGBTQ advocacy organization, said the human cost of these bills cannot be overstated. This is causing unparalleled levels of despair and heartbreak, and it sends a terrible message to kids that they are broken and damaged and dont deserve access to the care we all deserve. In a statement issued by the Human Rights Campaign, Arkansas State Manager Eric Reece called the law a cruel and shameful way for legislators to score political points by targeting transgender youth, who are simply trying to navigate their adolescence. Parents of trans youth fear harm of removing gender-affirming care For parents, the possibility of seeing their childrens support systems ripped apart is devastating. Among the states considering similar bills is Alabama, where parents Christa and Jeff White worry about the effect passage could have on their 12-year-old transgender daughter, a middle schooler they chose not to name to protect her privacy. The idea that this could put my daughter in danger is not OK with me, said Christa White, a stay-at-home mom and womens rights activist. "This is potentially devastating, not just to our child, but to all transgender children undergoing these treatments. Children will die." The family, including two older teenage sons, lives in northern Alabama, near Huntsville. In addition to seeing a pediatric endocrinologist who prescribes hormone blockers, they said, their daughter receives regular counseling. Were covering all angles to try to do whats best for her, Christa said. Her path began unremarkably, they said, and at first, her parents figured she was just being a kid, Christa said. Nothing extreme. She was dressing gender-neutral, and she liked strong female leads in movies. Then came a series of conversations that progressed as their daughter became exposed to terminology her parents used with LGBT friends. She always prompted the conversations, Christa said. Id just say, you let me know and well talk about it. And finally, it clicked. She knew what she was before, but she didnt know the wording. And she blossomed. There was no looking back. It was just, like, This is me. Jeff White, a software engineer, said although theyve lost a few friends and family members along the way, he and his wife feel lucky their daughters path was not as challenging as it could have been. Her confidence has really grown, he said. And her relationships with her friends as well. Her whole life experience has been changed. Shes a happy, regular kid, into Star Wars, anime, video games and long phone chats with her friends. Thats why the thought that her gender-affirming care could be ripped away is so upsetting. We dont want to go backwards, Jeff said. Weve seen the positive effect that transitioning has had in her life. We dont need the government coming in and deciding for us what innate qualities of a person are acceptable. We want her to be free to be herself. Though they havent discussed the legislation with their daughter in major detail because we dont want to scare her, he said, she knows something is up. We dont know what our plan is, Christa said. Were going to fight it in some way. If were allowed to go out of state, we will. We will do all we are able to do to help her down this path. For doctors treating transgender youth , Arkansas law creates ' an impossible situation' Advocates note that decisions about such care are made only after a methodical series of discussions among the patient, parents and physicians. It really is very careful and thoughtful and deliberate, said Lee Savio Beers, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Theres often a misconception that its something people rush into. But it takes place over a long time, and the path for one patient may be different than for another, and it heavily involves the family. When a childs identity doesnt match the gender assigned at birth, it can be agonizing, especially as the changes of puberty begin to set in. Treatments such as hormone therapy, Arkansas Rep. Ferguson said, give youth a chance to pause development while they come to terms with who they are. Turban, the Stanford School of Medicine fellow, said hes seen patients so distressed by their chests developing that they bind their chests tightly despite medical issues like trouble breathing and skin infections, he said. Some kids will even have rib fractures. Legislation that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care would put them in an impossible position, Beers said. We take an oath that were going to provide the best possible care, and bills like this tell us you cant provide that care. Were being forced to have to decide. One aftereffect of the law, she said, may be that if doctors can no longer make referrals, patients will seek help on their own, even if its out of state. Without guidance, they could end up with lower quality or substandard care. This completely violates the physician-patient relationship, Beers said. Its an incredibly dangerous precedent. Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender person to be confirmed to federal office by the U.S. Senate, serves as an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services under the Biden administration. During her confirmation hearing, Levine spoke about the need to understand transgender individuals' medical needs and the overall lack of access to medical help in the transgender community. Arkansas pediatrician Susan Averitt, who runs a private practice north of Fayetteville, said she and her colleagues find the law frustrating. We feel like its legislating what we can discuss with our patients in our clinics and the way we provide care, Averitt said. Our role is to help guide them and either provide care ourselves or refer them to specialty care, and this limits my ability to provide good guidance and care within my own office. Such decisions are being made by people who dont have medical training and dont understand the science and medicine taking place, Averitt said. But for some reason, they feel like theyre protecting children. Its based on fear and misinformation. We dont do surgeries on patients under 18, so theyre not receiving experimental treatment just support, and in some cases, hormonal care. If the law stands, the hospital clinic to which she would normally refer patients, set up to meet the needs of transgender youth, would probably cease to exist. It breaks her heart, she said, to think about how it will disrupt the relationships doctors built with young transgender patients, and she worries those youths will suffer mental health issues and suicidal ideation as a result. They will feel like society doesnt accept them, she said. Brinton of The Trevor Project said the law will make trans youth less likely to come out as such or to talk to someone about their experience, even as research shows that having an understanding adult in a youths life reduces suicidal ideation by 40%. Willard of Freedom For All Americans said the law will exacerbate Arkansas' pandemic-related economic problems, making it hard to recruit and retain medical talent, especially in the states rural areas. Doctors are not going to want to relocate to a state that threatens to revoke their license for just doing their jobs, Willard said. There will be a massive medical fallout. Advocates hope science and time will be on their side, noting the generational divides in terms of how the public views transgender issues. Heng-Lehtinen of the National Center for Transgender Equality said that as Americans become more aware of trans individuals in their communities, attitudes will come around. Though that might sound Pollyannaish, he said, the same thing happened with same-sex marriage equality. More and more trans people are coming out at a younger age, he said. Thats why younger generations are more supportive. They see their friends. They see that trans people are in their neighborhoods and schools. That does fill me with hope that at the end of the day, people will see that were on the right side, but theres a lot of urgency to do that as fast as possible so that we save lives. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arkansas trans minors law endangers lives, snubs doctors, experts say In 2003, under Narendra Modi, Gujarat passed a law that essentially removed all freedom of religion for Gujaratis Last weekend the newspapers carried the headline: People are free to choose their religion: Supreme Court. The report was about a public interest litigation petition which sought to stop Indians from converting out of the faith they were born into. The judges were angry. They said: What kind of writ petition is this? Why should a person above 18 not choose his religion? The petitioner was the BJPs Ashwini Upadhyaya. The Indian judiciary has had a long history with the freedom of religion. It might be appropriate to revisit it. First, let readers understand this. You have no freedom of religion. You have no right to convert out of the faith you were born into. I do not know if our judges know this or have actually read the law. But it is a fact. Article 25 of our Constitution reads: All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion. This is apparently a fundamental right, meaning one which enjoys a high degree of protection from State encroachment. The fundamental right was drafted after a debate in which Indias Christians had specifically asked for the right to propagate (to convert other people) because it was an article of their faith. In India, Muslims do not do mass propagation; even the Tablighi Jamaat only seeks to make Muslims better Muslims. It is the Christians who believe their religion requires them to spread the good word of Jesus Christ and to invite people into their faith. They asked for this right and were given it specifically by our Constitutions makers, including arch Hindu fundamentalists like K.M. Munshi, who agreed with the Christians. Only one Hindu in the Constituent Assembly opposed the right to propagate and that was a 26-year-old Brahmin man from Odisha, Loknath Misra, whose brother Ranganath Misra and nephew Dipak Misra would both become Chief Justices of India. Loknath Misra said that by making India secular, Hindus had done a favour to other communities and that propagation should be allowed but not be made a fundamental right. He need not have worried because this right was taken away by subterfuge as has been the case for many rights in India under the approving eye of the Supreme Court. Let us see how by looking at one just state, my own. In 2003, under Narendra Modi, Gujarat passed a law that essentially removed all freedom of religion for Gujaratis. It requires individuals changing their faith to take the permission of the government. They had to fill out a form explaining to the district magistrate the reasons they were choosing to convert; their occupation and monthly income; how long they had been in the religion they were converting out of; to reveal whether they were Dalit or Adivasi; the date and time of their conversion; the names, addresses and ages of themselves and all in their family; the names and addresses of all guests attending the ceremony. If they did not do so within 10 days of their conversion, they faced one year in jail. The person who is converting them has to fill out another form with all of the details referred to above and must submit, one month before the conversion, an application to the district magistrate seeking permission. The bureaucrat has one month in which to approve or deny permission. This denial of propagation obviously also affects the right of the person who wants to change their faith. One had to remain in the faith they were born into unless the government approved. The district magistrate must also maintain a register that has the number of applications received, approved, denied or pending which he must report every quarter. The coercion can be imagined. Gujarats Assembly was told in January 2020 that in the previous five years a total of 1,895 applications for conversion had been filed in the state. Gujarat had denied permission to convert to 889 individuals. The government gave permission to 1,006 applicants, almost all of whom were Dalits in Surat converting to Buddhism. The number of Dalit applicants to convert to Buddhism had swelled because in 2014, they had been denied permission to convert in a mass ceremony. The Narendra Modi government attempted to modify the law to exclude conversions from Buddhism and Jainism to Hinduism and vice versa from the states regulation. Meaning that Jains and Buddhists would be seen legally as Hindus and therefore would not really be converting. But this was objected to by Gujarats Jains, who resisted being clubbed with Hindus, and the modification was withdrawn. I have used the example of Gujarat, but almost all of Indias states have these laws criminalising what is supposed to be a fundamental right. The Gujarat laws punishment for propagation is three years (four if the convert was a woman, Dalit or Adivasi). But how the district magistrates denial of permission would work at the level of faith was unclear. One priest I spoke to said Indias religion laws made no sense because of the nature of belief. He said: Suppose I stopped believing in Christ today. This would be a conversion from being a believer to a non-believer. I am supposed to take permission from the State for this change, but I have already stopped believing. In recent months, BJP-ruled states like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and others have passed the love jihad laws, which tighten the States grip on religious freedoms further. It is totally and demonstrably false to say Indians have freedom of religion. This is the background to which the newspapers have brought us the headline: People are free to choose their religion: Supreme Court. Gibraltar Careers Fair 2021 The Department of Education has announced that, despite the challenges that have resulted from the pandemic, the Gibraltar Careers Fair will be held on Tuesday 13th April 2021. Traditionally, the event has taken place at the Tercentenary Hall on the last Tuesday of February. This important event in the school calendar is extremely popular amongst the students who look forward to this occasion as a way of finding out about the job market. It is extremely well supported by members of our community, who invest an incredible amount of time in setting up their stalls and interacting with our students. As a result of the COVID-19 restrictions, the schools, supported by the Department of Education, have had to look at alternative and creative solutions in order to ensure that the event could go ahead, in keeping with Public Health guidelines and keeping our community safe. The event, which has been organised by Bayside School, Westside School and the Gibraltar College with support from the Department of Education, will run on a virtual platform from 14:00 to 20:00. The virtual platform will allow attendees and exhibitors to interact via chat, audio and video as well as provide exhibitors an opportunity to share material with attendees in a number of multimedia formats. The organising team and exhibitors have been hard at work for a number of months and are looking forward to sharing the final product with our students. The Careers Fair offers students an opportunity to obtain careers advice from a wide range of professionals in various fields of employment. Over 40 different organisations will be in attendance at the event, with representatives from the different sectors of business in Gibraltar confirming their participation. In addition there will be representatives of various Government Departments and Authorities, Essential Services and Higher Education Establishments. Additionally, over the course of the morning on the same day, via the same virtual platform, students in Year 12 will participate in talks which will support their University application process. These talks are kindly sponsored by the Kusuma Trust and play an important role in the support provided to those students wishing to apply to further education establishments. Running the event over a virtual platform will have one significant benefit to our community over the traditional setup. This Careers Fair will be the most environmentally friendly fair which has been organised by the team. The environmental impact of printing promotional materials and the travel to and from the event, particularly for those exhibitors coming from abroad is eliminated by running the event on a virtual platform. This can only be a good thing as we strive for a greener Gibraltar. For the first time ever the Careers Fair will also be open to undergraduate and postgraduate students who are in receipt of a Gibraltar Government Scholarship. Students from Bayside School, Westside School, The Gibraltar College, Prior Park, Gibraltar Girls High School,Gibraltar Boys Secondary School and HMGoG Scholarship holders will be able to register for the event online at www.education.gov.gi 'We hope the Fair will help give many young people in the community the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and understanding of a wide variety of professions and industries and help them in their own individual career journey.' Minister for Education John Cortes commented, This years virtual careers fair, while very different to those weve held in the past, provides a great opportunity for our young people to explore the opportunities available to them, which increase year by year. We are very grateful to all those, both in the private and public sector, who are supporting this worthwhile event." WASHINGTON Two weeks after Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Brittany Williams, a third-generation home care worker from Seattle, made a direct plea to the president-elect: deliver on his campaign promise to prioritize workers such as her. "Caregivers we're the maintainers of life," an impassioned Williams, 34, said during a Zoom call with health care workers hosted by the soon-to-be president. Long overlooked and often ignored, caregiving was "literally birthed out of slavery and bondage," Williams, an African American mother of two children, told Biden. After doctors treat the elderly and disabled, caregivers "maintain that care," she said. They feed their patients, bathe them, dress them. They go to the grocery store and pharmacy on their behalf, putting their own health at risk during a pandemic. "We continue to work our job because it means so much to us," she said. Joe Biden wants to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure and jobs. These 4 charts show where the money would go. Biden committed on the spot. Five months later, the president has proposed $400 billion to overhaul caregiving in the USA, making it one of the most significant planks of a $2.25 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan that would be funded by a corporate tax hike. Long-term care experts said it would mark a historic investment for a workforce that is 87% women 61% women of color earns an average of $12.12 an hour and includes many immigrants. "For too long," Biden said in a speech announcing his American Jobs Plan, caregivers "have been unseen, underpaid and undervalued." The proposal is getting fierce pushback from Republicans. Caregiving is one of the most notable examples of how the White House expanded the traditional definition of infrastructure in its jobs proposal to include "human infrastructure" and "social infrastructure." Republicans argue Biden should have limited his legislative package to the repair of roads, bridges, railways and other physical infrastructure. Story continues "This plan is not about rebuilding Americas backbone," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. In a tweet singling out "$400 billion towards elder care," Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said flatly, "President Biden's proposal is about anything but infrastructure." "Caregivers we're the maintainers of life," Brittany Williams says. Caregiving at center of debate over definition infrastructure' Biden's aim is twofold: Reduce a backlog of 820,000 to 1 million low-income elderly and disabled Americans unable to receive the in-home care services they seek. And do so by tackling a workforce shortage with increased pay, benefits and the right to unionize to grow the nation's 2.4 million professional home care workers. 'We can't delay': Biden proposes $2 trillion infrastructure, jobs plan funded by corporate tax hike President Joe Biden proposes $400 billion to overhaul caregiving. Democrats and advocates make a connection that critics don't, calling caregiving positions "job-enabling jobs." The U.S. economy can't thrive, they say, while many Americans, usually women, are forced to leave the workforce because they can't find caregivers for their loved ones. One survey found 1.4 million fewer mothers are working today than at the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020 to take on caregiving for their children, aging relatives or other loved ones. Black, Latina and immigrant mothers lose jobs as COVID-19 child care crisis grows "If you think about what roads, bridges, care and paid leave have in common they all enable us to get to work," said Lisa Guide, co-founder of the Women Effect Action Fund, which advocates for women equity. "The next period of American prosperity is going to be built on an economic recovery that enables all Americans, including women, to work hard and contribute to a growing economy." The $400 billion for caregiving would go to states through an expansion of Medicaid, making more funds available for home and community-based services in states that boost pay, offer paid leave and health care for caregiving workers and meet other conditions. Biden's plan would extend the Money Follows the Person program, a Medicaid program that seeks to move seniors and individuals with disabilities out of institutions and back into their homes The proposed overhaul would effectively treat in-home care equal to institutional care under Medicaid, delivering on a long-held demand of advocates. Dolores McGinnis, left, carries flowers, and her co-worker Stacy Munoz-Laporte brings a birthday cake for Josephine Melecio as she celebrates her 110th birthday, Friday, March 26, 2021, in New York. McGinnis and Munoz-Laporte are nurse care managers with RiverSpring Health, a long-term care program that assists the elderly in living independently at home. A sustainable jobs program for women of color The White House doesn't have an official estimate of how many jobs the proposal would create for caregivers. During the campaign, Biden said his plan to improve the "care economy" would create 1.5 million caregiving jobs. Biden's plan calls for increasing the average pay of caregivers to $15 an hour, which would allow them to avoid having to take on a second or even third job not uncommon because of the low pay. Proponents say it would allow caregiving to become a more viable long-term career. The median annual salary for a caregiver is $17,200. The caregiving economy "is core to our competitiveness," Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo says. "In order for you to go to work, you need to know that your loved one is being taken care of." You might say to yourself, Why is the commerce secretary talking about investments in the care economy? Biden's Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a White House news briefing last week. "Because it matters. It is core to our competitiveness. In order for you to go to work, you need to know that your loved one is being taken care of." 'I'm not OK, but I'm doing the best I can': Caregivers face impossible challenges during COVID-19 For years, the Service Employees International Union, which endorsed Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary, has led the lobbying effort nationally for legislation action on caregiving. Caregiving is the fastest-growing industry in the nation, where 10,000 people turn 65 years old daily, according to the SEIU, which represents 800,000 caregivers across 14 states. An estimated 4.7 million additional home care employees will be needed by 2028, according to the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute. A study from Harvard University found 40 million Americans provide unpaid caregiving for an older adult. "This investment is a sustainable jobs program for a majority-women-of-color workforce," Mary Kay Henry, president of the SEIU, said of Biden's proposal. "It's the same population that lost a lion's share of the jobs during COVID-19. And I think it will create the most inclusive racially diverse middle class we've ever seen." Paycheck or caring for family? Without paid leave, people of color often must make the impossible choice Henry said the federal government's neglect of caregivers goes back to Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, which excluded federal protections for caregivers and other domestic roles, often held by Black Americans, as a compromise with Southern Democrats. "This is game changing," she said. Repercussions of growing wait lists for services Some home caregivers work for private agencies while others are employed through state-sponsored programs with funding from Medicaid. Care experts said the backlog to receive in-home care is greater than 1 million, perhaps by hundreds of thousands, because many Americans don't realize it is available and applications for services go unprocessed. In California, more than 40,000 individuals each month are unable to receive caregiving services even though they're enrolled in the state's program for in-home supportive services, an audit found. "Finding providers that have skills and are able to take care of those people is a pretty huge challenge," said Greg Thompson, executive director of the Personal Assistance Services Council of Los Angeles County, a government authority that oversees a registry for caregiving services for low-income people. Making it difficult to recruit caregivers, the average pay in Los Angeles County, $15 an hour though higher than the nationwide average is below the city's living wage. Thompson said the profession doesn't offer training, dissuading many who might be interested in the job. It means a workforce unable to meet the demand, creating serious repercussions for those who can't get care. "In the most extreme cases, they're calling 911 and going to emergency rooms and being hospitalized and potentially ending up in nursing homes," he said. Nursing home residents, caregivers who want COVID-19 vaccine should have had first shot by Monday, pharmacies say Ramsey Alwin, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging, said more people 90%, according to some polls prefer to age in their own homes, not a nursing home. That was the case before nursing homes became ground zero for the spread of the COVID-19 virus. She called Biden's plan "a momentous, historical, radical shift in thinking about infrastructure." "After generations of policy neglect in terms of addressing the needs of the care economy, we finally get a measure of recognition with this proposal," Alwin said. Investing in home- and community-based services "frankly should have happened decades ago." "We knew when the Baby Boomers were born that there would be this need ultimately," she said. "And unfortunately, we just haven't had the political will to build the systems that we knew would be needed." Medicaid expansion isnt infrastructure, conservatives counter Nicole Jorwic, senior director of public policy at The Arc, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, said Biden's plan would "literally be life-changing" for people with disabilities and aging adults while creating jobs. "This is a system that has been under great threat because of the way that it is funded," she said. "It is now our opportunity to turn those threats into real change." SUBSCRIBE: Help support quality journalism like this. Caregiving advocates feel emboldened by the moment, convinced the pandemic exposed the need for greater in-home care like never before. They are also looking past Biden's American Jobs Plan to his next legislative proposal, the American Families Plan, which the White House said will be released this month. It is likely to address child care and early childhood education. Advocates are pushing for 12 weeks of paid leave to be included in the second plan. "We are at the tipping point of a major opportunity to remake our economy so that it leads with a caring agenda," said Lorella Praeli, vice president of Community Change. She's helping lead the #CareCantWait coalition, which intends on spending $20 million to push caregiving in Congress. Republicans and conservative groups have slammed caregiving funding as a partisan add-on and balked at the proposed tax increases as they mount a united front against Biden's plan. David Ditch, a researcher for the Heritage Fund, wrote that "no reasonable definition of infrastructure includes expanding Medicaid benefits for long-term care or starting new social benefit programs." Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said it would be an "easy win" for the White House with Republican support if Biden axed the proposal to 30% of the total package, focusing only on roads, bridges, broadband and other traditional infrastructure. This whole concept of, Well, we also need an infrastructure of care, Blunt said in an interview on Fox News. Obviously, Democrats have figured out that infrastructure is something we need and something that's popular, and so they're trying to take 70% of this bill and call it infrastructure in a new way than we've ever talked about infrastructure before. Weve never been lifted up The White House pointed to polling that shows broad early support for Biden's jobs plan, including caregiving. A Morning Consult/Politico poll last week found 76% of voters support $400 billion to improve caregiving for the aging and disabled while only 13% oppose it. After a ruling last week by the Senate parliamentarian, Biden and Democrats could pass the American Jobs Plan with a simple majority in the Senate via budget reconciliation, meaning no Republican votes would be needed as long as Democrats are all on board. A protest calls on Congress to invest in care jobs at Union Station on March 25 in Washington. More: How does Biden plan to get infrastructure plan through Congress? In the south side of Chicago, Adarra Benjamin, 27, has worked as a caregiver since high school, taking care of her great-grandmother before turning it into her career. Benjamin comes from a lineage of other caregivers in her family. She cares for a 22-year-old physically disabled woman who uses a wheelchair. Benjamin, an SEIU member employed by Addus HomeCare, arrives at the woman's home at 7:30 a.m. She bathes and dresses her, brushes her teeth, supplies her medication and cooks breakfast. Benjamin then gets her ready for her schooling. After studies, Benjamin takes her outside for a walk, returns for a home-cooked dinner and bathes her again before bedtime. She leaves around 7:30 p.m. "It's a lot to take of yourself and then you go out to take care of someone else," Benjamin said. She is convinced that higher pay and benefits would make the job more attractive for others. "It will make it easier for this to be an option or a career as opposed to this being a job." She said the work is "beyond underappreciated." "I feel like the work that we do has been unnoticed forever," Benjamin said. "This is the first time we've had a president whose agenda is to better the home care health system. We've never been lifted up in a light of being essential." Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Biden wants a 'radical shift' in home aid for seniors and elderly Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance. Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births, notable deaths and everything in between. Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while other happenings might be previously unknown by most people. The following pages highlight events that happened this week April 11 through April 17 in Christian history. Source:The Christian Post MASON CITY, Iowa Police say theyre investigating the shooting of two people on Saturday. Officers were called to West Park at 1st Street and North Jackson Avenue around 10 p.m. Saturday on a report of gunfire. Police say they arrived to find an empty car that had crashed into a utility pole and no one in the area. The Mason City Police Department says about the same time its officers arrived at the park, a males in his early 20s showed up at MercyOne North Medical Center with a gunshot wound. A second gunshot victim, also a male in his early 20s, arrived at the emergency room about 20 minutes later. Peggy Matous lives just up the street from where the incident took place. She was at home Saturday night when he husband heard popping noises. Thinking it was firecrackers, she looked out her front door, and saw a large police presence in front of the park. She also spoke with a nearby business owner who described hearing rapid gunshots. In her roughly 35 years of living in the neighborhood, Matous says this was a first. "We've seen a lot of fights and that sort of thing. Accidents and stuff, but never a shooting like that." "It is kind of unnerving to think that something like this could happen in my neighborhood. We go away at night or something...if I go by myself, it's kind of scary to come home at night by myself." Officers say they located a vehicle near the intersection of 6th Street and North Federal Avenue with several bullet holes in it. Investigators say it may have been driven there from West Park and abandoned. Authorities say one of the shooting victims has been released while the other is still recovering at the hospital. Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to contact the Mason City Police Department. R.K. Humphres, a devoted mother, grandmother, and wife, has completed her new book Racker Doo and Uncle Willy Two: a charming story of adventure and familial love. Humphres writes, The McDooley family are a family of mice who are pickers. They come from Dingle, Ireland, and land in New York. They live there and pick up what most humans throw away. Uncle Willy lives in Washington, DC, and Uncle Adam is a train conductor. Racker Doos parents get lost, and no one can find them. Its up to the readers to try to find out where they might be monumentally. Published by Page Publishing, R.K. Humphres tale is a heartfelt adventure that will keep the readers guessing about what will befall our little mouse friends. Richly developed characters and a truly touching story will keep readers engrossed as they try to discover what could have happened to Mops and Pops. Readers who wish to experience this winsome work can purchase Racker Doo and Uncle Willy Two at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs. Intelligent.com analyzed 207 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 63 making it to the final list for Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-criminal-justice-degree-programs/ 2021 Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Arizona State University Ashland University Auburn University Azusa Pacific University Ball State University Bemidji State University Campbellsville University Capella University Colorado State University Global Columbia Southern University Concordia University, St. Paul Crown College Drexel University Drury University Eastern Kentucky University Excelsior College Faulkner University Fort Hays State University Grantham University Hampton University Indiana State University Indiana University Kent State University Liberty University Limestone College Louisiana State University, Alexandria Lynn University Midway University New England Institute of Technology North Carolina Central University North Greenville University Northeastern University Northern Kentucky University Northwestern State University Norwich University Oakland City University Ohio Christian University Ohio University Old Dominion University Rutgers University Sam Houston State University Southeast Missouri State University Southern Illinois University St. Joseph's College New York State University of New York at Delhi State University of New York, Oswego Stevenson University Tarleton State University Texas A&M University, Central Texas The Citadel University of Arkansas at Little Rock University of Central Florida University of Cincinnati University of Colorado Denver University of Houston-Victoria University of Louisville University of Mary University of Massachusetts Lowell University of Wisconsin-Platteville Utica College Walden University Washington State University Western Carolina University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. Lima, April 12 : Pedro Castillo, a school teacher running for the Free Peru party, is leading the country's presidential elections with 16.1 per cent of the vote, according to the results of an exit poll published by local media. Preliminary data also showed candidates Hernando de Soto, of the Advance Country party, and Keiko Fujimori, of the Popular Force party, were at the second place with 11.9 per cent of the votes each, reports Xinhua news agency. If he maintains the lead, Castillo will face off against the runner-up, which will either be De Soto or Fujimori, in a run-off on June 6. More than 25 million people were eligible to cast their ballots in Sunday's polls to elect the President, two Vice Presidents, 130 Congressmen, and five representatives to the Andean Parliament. There were a total of 18 presidential candidates in the fray. About 90,000 members of the national police and 62,000 members of the armed forces were deployed at at polling stations across the country. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Gov. John Bel Edwards called on lawmakers to address the inequities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic by passing a rash of priorities ranging from a minimum wage hike to pay raises for teachers in a speech Monday capping off the first day of Louisianas regular legislative session. Speaking from a make-shift stage just beyond the end-zone at Southern Universitys A.W. Mumford stadium, Edwards cautioned that the pandemic is far from over and urged the public to avail themselves of one of three extremely safe vaccines, even as demand for the life-saving jab has lagged in recent weeks. Today, these bleachers are bare. But one day soon if more people continue to get vaccinated and we hold down the transmission of the virus we are going to fill this stadium once again, Edwards said, singling Southern University out for administering 1,000 doses of the vaccine last weekend. +2 2021 Louisiana legislative session kicks off Monday: here's what to know Louisianas Legislature kicks off its two-month meeting at noon Monday, reconvening to craft a budget, tackle tax changes and divvy up $3.2 bi One year ago, just as Edwards was preparing to kick-off the legislative session with a State of the State address before a crowd of lawmakers in the House chamber, as is tradition, Louisiana reported its first case of the coronavirus. Since then, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of nearly 10,000 Louisiana residents. Despite the dark and cloudy days of the last 13 months, Edwards noted that theres ample reason for hope: Louisiana recently expanded vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 years and older; a vaccine hotline aimed at helping residents sign up for appointments launched last week; and the federal government announced last week that it was opening a mass vaccination site at the Bon Carre Mall in Baton Rouge. Over 28% of Louisiana residents or more than 1.3 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and Edwards said a new day is dawning with every shot in every arm. Edwards said he was eager to move beyond the pandemic for Mardi Gras parades to roll again and festivals to resume but urged lawmakers not to overlook the health inequities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic in the states low income and minority communities. If we do not address these issues now, we are doing a great disservice to people who have already suffered so much, Edwards said. I dont want post-pandemic Louisiana to look completely like pre-pandemic Louisiana nor should it. Because we can do better. Harkening back to a first-term policy milestone, Edwards said he couldnt imagine how many more people would have died this past year if not for Medicaid expansion. Joined by several essential workers including a chef who spent time over the last year cooking for homeless people Edwards called on lawmakers to up the minimum wage, calling the current floor of $7.25 an hour woefully inadequate. Edwards' legislative package also includes a bill that would prohibit employers from screening job applicants based on their prior wages. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up We call essential workers heroes for continuing to work through this pandemic, yet, even when they work full time, we dont pay them enough to cover their essential needs, Edwards said. Edwards highlighted several other bills aimed at improving advocacy for the most vulnerable, including one that creates a statewide Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator. Another bill creates a Foster Youth Bill of Rights, enumerating rights for those aged 14 through 18 in the foster care system. A third bill would create an office to support victims of human trafficking, which Edwards said is tantamount to modern day slavery. As always, crafting a spending plan for the financial year that begins July 1 is at the top of the agenda for lawmakers, and Edwards opened negotiations in February with a $36.6 billion spending proposal, a rosier than expected outlook thanks to massive amounts of relief from three rounds of federal aid. Thats expected to include around $3 billion from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congressional Democrats in March, which Edwards said should be used on one-time expenses "that serve as many people as possible," like expanding broadband access. Edwards once again highlighted the investments his budget makes in public education, including $400 salary increases for teachers and $200 pay raises for school support staff. He acknowledged that those increases aren't nearly enough, adding that if the state's revenue forecast brightens, as expected, he'll aim to augment those increases. Edwards has also proposed upping higher education funding by $80 million to provide pay bumps for public university faculty, as well as a $13 million increase for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students known as TOPS and $11 million in additional funding for need-based financial aid. Amid an ever-widening probe into sexual misconduct allegations at LSU, Edwards noted his support for House Bill 409 from Rep. Aimee Freeman, D-New Orleans, which would add teeth to the requirements that employees of colleges and universities report misconduct and abuse allegations, creating a chain of accountability all the way to the board that oversees the school. Edwards once again said he'd support a tax overhaul if the package remains revenue neutral" where the state treasury doesnt lose the current level of revenues needed to pay for state services. Before gaveling in at noon, the House Republican Delegation invited North Carolina state Rep. Jason Saine to brief members in the basement on how that states General Assembly overhauled the tax code to make it friendlier to businesses. The conservative think tank the Pelican Institute in Louisiana has held up the tax changes in North Carolina as a model for Louisiana as legislative leaders here embark on an effort to pass sweeping tax changes. Showing what North Carolina did over the course of this last decade is a huge learning tool for them as heres how we did it, said Saine, who is also a national chairman for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative group that creates model legislation for Legislatures around the country. Republicans took control of the General Assembly in North Carolina in 2011 and have made sweeping changes since, including creating a flat income tax of 5.25%. Saine said Republicans this year hope to drop it to 4.99%. Thats similar to what some Republicans in Louisianas Legislature want to do in the session that began Monday. Sam Karlin contributed to this report. Huntington Beach Police from California declared unlawful assembly after demonstrators of White Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter clash in the area on Sunday. Because of the incident, the authorities have requested the residents around the area of the demonstration to evacuate, as the law enforcement officers try to disperse the "unruly crowd," according to a report from The Hill. The event happened near the pier on Sunday afternoon. READ NEXT: Jury of Color to Seat for Trial of Derek Chauvin, Police Officer Charged for the Death of George Floyd White Lives Matter Protest in Huntington Beach, California The event was promoted on social media and was dubbed as White Lives Matter protest and is set to start at 1:00 p.m., according to an ABC7 report. The said demonstration was planned on Facebook and Telegram. Protesters from the White Lives Matter have flags displaying their support to former President Donald Trump and carrying the American flag. However, approximately about an hour before the reported rally is about to begin, counter-demonstrators from the Black Lives Matter movement arrived in the area and outnumbered the members of their counterparts, according to a CBS Los Angeles report. About 200 Black Lives Matter protesters arrived at the city's pier. At around 2:36 p.m., the Huntington Beach Police Department declared the scene to be "unlawful assembly." A small scuffle occurred between two demonstrators when an individual went head-to-head with the counter-protesters. The counter-protesters eventually tore down the flag. The police responded and confiscated the man's flag. One man was also seen to approach the plaza in front of the city's pier and began chanting, "White lives matter." Apart from the announcement of the White Lives Matter rally in the area, the residents discovered a pamphlet advertising the same rally on their doorstep, according to an Insider report. All in all, the people who attended the rally in Huntington Beach were composed of former President Donald Trump supporters, White supremacist groups, and Black Lives Matter supporters. People Arrested From the White Lives Matter Rally The Huntington Beach Police Department confirmed with The Hill that they arrested a total of 11 individuals present in the White Live Matter protest. This includes an individual who has a metal baton, two cans of pepper spray, and a knife in his backpack. A woman was also nabbed by the law enforcement officer for allegedly having pepper spray. Pepper spray is banned in the state during public assemblies. Several additional arrests were made by the police officers in the area for allegedly disturbing the peace. Other White Supremacist groups also conducted rallies in different cities such as New York, Forth West, and Chicago. Meanwhile, the California police could not identify who initiated and advertised the White Lives Matter protest in Huntington Beach. READ MORE: California Teacher Calls Parents Demanding Schools to Reopen 'White Supremacists' WATCH: Crowd grows in Huntington Beach before competing rallies - from Los Angeles Times The parents of a young girls whose appendix burst and left her in agony as she waited eight hours for treatment at an emergency ward have urged more funding for hospitals to prevent a looming tragedy. Annabelle and David Oates took their seven-year-old daughter Audrey to the Women's and Children's Hospital in March after their GP diagnosed her with acute appendicitis. But they told reporters on Monday that she wasn't examined by a doctor for six hours and waited another two- and-a-half hours before an emergency operation was performed. Annabelle (pictured left) and David Oates (pictured centre) took their seven-year-old daughter Audrey to the Women's and Children's Hospital in March after their GP diagnosed her with acute appendicitis 'She was arching her back and gritting her teeth and screaming she was in extreme pain,' Annabelle Oates said. 'There were no staff around when it happened. 'It put her health at risk. I think it was dangerous.' They also described how the emergency department was overcrowded with people standing in corridors with their children waiting to be seen, with the parents counting more than 60 people in a waiting area with a capacity of 30. Mrs Oates said she felt really sorry for the doctors, nurses and staff because there weren't enough of them to deal with the demand. A seven-year-old's appendix ruptured as she waited for hours in a crowded hospital emergency department in the Women's and Children's Hospital Adelaide (pictured) 'Audrey was able to get the surgery even though there was a delay,' she said. 'But you can imagine some family just turning away or not understanding things and you know their child could have died. 'I don't want that for anyone. I want the staff and the hospital to have the resources to be able to provide for the state of South Australia.' Oates estimated Audrey had been diagnosed with acute appendicitis by a doctor at around 3pm that day and told to go straight to hospital. Her appendix ruptured about 10pm, whereupon she was given stronger pain relief, and was admitted to surgery at 11.30pm. The damage caused by the rupture required what one doctor described as 'a nasty surgery' and she had to stay in hospital for nine days. 'Going through extreme pain is one (thing), but you dont know whether she could have died or whether she could have had permanent injuries as a result,' Ms Oates said. The Women's and Children's Hospital (pictured) said they launched an investigation several weeks ago and it was still underway In a statement, the hospital said a senior clinician had been in contact with the family and apologised for the delay in treatment. The hospital said an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the care of the child was launched several weeks ago and was still underway. But Professor Warren Jones, a retired obstetrician and gynaecologist who has campaigned for better services at the Women's and Children's Hospital, said the case was a major dereliction of care in a system that was overloaded and dysfunctional. Spain's Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, has confirmed that the first doses of the Janssen one-dose vaccine will arrive in the country this Tuesday (13 April). Speaking in the Canary Islands at the weekend Darias also reiterated the Governments commitment to have 70 per cent of the adult population some 33 million people fully vaccinated by the end of August. She said, These vaccines will arrive early Tuesday morning and they will be administered in accordance with the vaccination strategy and used for people aged 80 years and under, after visiting the University Hospital of Gran Canaria. Darias explained that Janssen is committed to delivering 55 million units in the second quarter of this year to European countries. The Ministry of Health experts forecast that Spain will receive up to 5.5 million vials from the Johnson & Johnson between April and June. The minister also had a message for those who are thinking of rejecting any of the vaccines due to concerns about the small number of blood clot cases across Europe and called for "maximum confidence". "All the vaccines are safe and effective and have the endorsement of the European Medicines Agency," she insisted. The Ministry is still formulating a strategy for those under 60 who have already received the first dose of AstraZeneca - which is now only being administered to people aged 60 to 69. One of the options being considered is that they receive a second dose of another vaccine, as has been done in Germany and France. Another alternative is that they do not receive any second jab, since studies indicate an immunity of 70 per cent is achieved with just the first dose, said the minister. "The decisions we have taken and we will continue to take come from the experts," she said, adding that there is "still time to make the right decision". Speaking last week, Spains Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said that, heading into summer, and if all goes according to plan, 25 million people are expected to have been vaccinated by the week of 19 July, and the target of reaching 70 per cent of the adult population is still on course for the end of August. Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2021 -- The report "Feed Yeast Market by Type (Yeast Derivatives, Probiotic Yeast, Brewer's Yeast, and Specialty Yeast), Livestock (Ruminants, Swine, Poultry, Aquatic Animals, Pets and Equine), Genus , and Region - Global Forecast to 2025" size is projected to reach USD 2.3 billion by 2025, which was estimated at USD 1.8 billion in 2020; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2020. The market is driven by factors such as ban on the use of antibiotics in feed as a growth promoter and increasing use of yeast as a nutritional supplement for livestock. Also, rising concern regarding animal health and feed quality has been driving the growth of this market. Download PDF Brochure The feed yeast market includes major Tier I and II suppliers like Associated British Foods Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Company, Alltech Inc., Cargill, Lesaffre, Angel Yeast Co. Ltd., and Lallemand Inc. These suppliers have their manufacturing facilities spread across various countries across Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, and RoW. Though COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well, there is no significant impact on the global operations and supply chain of their feed yeast. Multiple manufacturing facilities of players are still in operation. The international trade barriers, closure of restaurants, hotels, and live animal markets, supply chain hindrances, consumption patterns of livestock-based products were considered to be mildly significant, which has disrupted the market for feed yeast. However, during this pandemic situation, livestock farmers and animal breeders are facing minimal challenges in this market as yeast are found abundantly everywhere; on cereal grains, grain by-products, silages, hays and are even present in the soil and water and can be cultured rapidly and easily. So even if the processing plants or laboratories are closed, livestock farmers and animal breeders who source feed yeast from different manufacturers, can themselves practice live yeast culture. Thus, the decline in 2020 in the feed yeast market growth is mainly due to the major impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Gradually, as the restrictions of the government measures are likely to relax, the market for feed yeast would witness a slight increment in the upcoming years till 2025. Increasing concerns about the COVID-19 spread on livestock and the rising awareness among consumers about consuming such livestock products have led manufacturers in the feed industry to opt for various natural and organic alternatives such as probiotic yeast. Feed yeast being a natural additives will witness an increase in its usage as more people are opting for organic and healthy products as compared to synthetic products. These growing concerns of consumers will require breeders to adapt natural additives, such as feed yeast. The use of yeast derivatives for feed production is projected to be the largest market during the forecast period. Beta-glucans, nucleotides, and mannooligosaccharides are the major yeast derivatives that exhibit efficient pathogen binding capacity, which restricts the growth of pathogens in the animal body. In addition, beta-glucans are the type of yeast derivatives that trigger the immune response in the animal body. The health benefits associated with the use of yeast derivatives as a feed additive increases its demand in the feed industry. Thus, the yeast derivatives segment is projected to witness a largest share in 2019. The Saccharomyces spp. segment is estimated to dominate the market during the forecast period. Saccharomyces Spp. such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces boulardii are majorly used for yeast production and is used as one of the most important ingredients in feed. With the increasing demand for natural growth promoters for animals, the preference for Saccharomyces Spp. has increased as it is considered to be one of the best sources for nutritional yeast. The Saccharomyces Spp. segment accounted for the highest share in the feed yeast market in 2019 and witnessed high demand for use in feed yeast production. Make an Inquiry With the introduction of stringent regulations, Europe is estimated to be the second largest market during the forecast period. The feed yeast market in Europe is driven by the introduction of stringent regulations pertaining to the use of antibiotics in feed. Increasing awareness about the benefits of feed yeast is projected to contribute to the market growth. The high demand for quality and nutrient-rich feed in the European countries has led to the high demand for feed yeast among farmers. Moreover, the European legislators are also concerned about food and animal safety and thus have implemented many safety laws for the same. With high concerns related to animal health, the EU government has put a ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters in feed due to its negative impact on animal health as well as on the health of human consumers. For the replacement of those antibiotics, naturally-sourced feed ingredients that have antibiotic properties such as feed yeast were developed by manufacturers. This report includes a study of the development strategies of leading companies. The scope of this report includes a detailed study of feed yeast manufacturers such as Associated British Foods PLC. (UK), Archer Daniels Midland Company (US), Alltech Inc. (US), Cargill (US), Lesaffre (France), Angel Yeast Co. Ltd. (China), and Lallemand Inc. (Canada) About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledgestore" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA : 1-888-600-6441 BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. Crowds of mourners and protesters gathered in a Minnesota city where the family of a 20-year-old man say he was shot by police before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing several blocks away. The family of Daunte Wright said he was later pronounced dead. The death sparked protests in Brooklyn Center into the early hours of Monday morning as Minneapolis was already on edge and midway through the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyds death. Brooklyn Center is a city of about 30,000 people located on the northwest border of Minneapolis. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted he was praying for Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement. Police didnt immediately identify Wright or disclose his race, but some protesters who gathered near the scene waved flags and signs reading Black Lives Matter. Others walked peacefully with their hands held up. On one street, written in multi-colored chalk: Justice for Daunte Wright. Brooklyn Center police said in a statement that officers had stopped an individual shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday. After determining the driver had an outstanding warrant, police tried to arrest the driver. The driver reentered the vehicle and drove away. An officer fired at the vehicle, striking the driver. Police said the vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle. Police said the Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office will release the persons name following a preliminary autopsy and family notification. A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash. People run as police attempt to disperse the crowd at the Brooklyn Center Police Department, late Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The family of Daunte Wright, 20, told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family said Wright was later pronounced dead. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)AP Katie Wright, Dauntes mother, huddled with loved ones near the scene and pleaded for her sons body to be removed from the street, the Star Tribune reported. She said her son had called her when he was getting pulled over, and she heard scuffling before the call ended. When she called back, she said his girlfriend told her Daunte had been shot. Carolyn Hanson lives near the crash scene and told the newspaper that she saw officers pull the man out of the car and perform CPR. Hanson said a passenger who got out was covered in blood. Demonstrators gathered shortly after the shooting and crash, with some jumping on top of police cars and confronting officers. Marchers also descended upon the Brooklyn Center police department building where rocks and other objects were thrown at officers, Minnesota Department of Public Safety commissioner John Harrington said at a news conference. The protesters had largely dispersed by 1:15 a.m. Monday, he said. A crowd forms a circle around a memorial for Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minn., Sunday, April 11, 2021. Wright's family told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family said Wright was later pronounced dead. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)AP Harrington added that about 20 businesses had been broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping center. He said law enforcement agencies were coordinating to tame the unrest, and the National Guard was activated. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott announced a curfew in the city until 6 a.m. Monday. In a tweet he said, We want to make sure everyone is safe. Please be safe and please go home. Police said Brooklyn Center officers wear body-worn cameras and they also believe dash cameras were activated during the incident. The department said it has asked the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in George Floyds death, was slated to continue Monday. Harrington said more National Guard members would be deployed around the city and in Brooklyn Center. Behind the strategies and solutions needed to counter today's cyber threats arededicated cybersecurity researchers. They spend their lives dissecting code and analyzing incident reports to discover how to stop the bad guys. But what drives these specialists? To understand the motivations for why these cybersecurity pros do what they do, we decided to talk with cybersecurity analysts from around the world. To get viewpoints from across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, we recently spoke with a team of researchers from Acronis' global network of Cyber Protection Operations Centers (CPOCs): Candid Wuest, VP of Cyber Protection Research who is based in Switzerland; Alexander Ivanyuk, Senior Director, Product, and Technology Positioning, who is based in Singapore; and two Cybersecurity Analysts, Topher Tebow and Blake Collins, who are both based in the U.S. The conversation yielded some interesting insights into their views of the world, how they approach cyber threat analysis, and what risks stand out as the greatest challenges facing the cybersecurity field today. As a security analyst, what drives you to do this kind of work? While the individual motivations for why these cybersecurity researchers do what they do varied from person to person (as they would in any industry), two traits were front and center: a love of problem-solving and a desire to be the good guys. Wuest explained, "I am a curious person who likes puzzles and challenges. Hence, tracking cyberattacks and finding ways to disrupt their process efficiently is fascinating to me." Collins echoed that sentiment, saying, "Malware is fascinating to me as it can be a bit of a puzzle. How did it get there, what is it doing, and who is responsible? Digging into obfuscated code, understanding, and reversing it is so satisfying. Plus, when you remove a threat, there's a sense of making the world better." That drive to make the digital world a safer place was also shared by others. Tebow explained, "In some ways, writing detection rules, or reporting a new C2 server, feels like vigilante justice. I may not always be Batman, but it still feels incredible to be Alfred supporting the effort to take down criminals." Wuest recognizes that making the internet a safer place for everyone has an actual impact. "It is disturbing to see that some cyberattacks have destroyed lives in the real world. Therefore I would like to make my contribution to improve the situation." Their efforts to solve problems and prevent attacks are definitely needed. While 75% of companies report having all of the recommended security measures in place, more than half saw unexpected downtime due to data loss last year. What's the biggest surprise that you've come across during your career as a security analyst? Even after a combined 55 years in cybersecurity, these researchers still find surprises in their daily work. From a technical perspective, Collins says, "the sheer volume of malware that exists surprises me. If you follow cybersecurity news, you have a general idea that malware is everywhere, causing problems. But behind the scenes, you begin to appreciate how astonishingly high the number of malware variants is." Just as daunting, added Wuest, is how long it takes to change bad habits. "As an industry, we still fight a lot with old problem concepts like SQL injections, weak default passwords, or unencrypted sensitive data. There are solutions for these issues, but they're not applied as widely as they should be. Even when there's a huge privacy scandal, there's an initial outcry, but people quickly fall back into their old habits." Those habits, unfortunately, can lead to something worse apathy. "The biggest surprise is complacency among cybersecurity professionals," said Tebow. "It's astounding to me how often I've encountered a 'this is just how it is' attitude. I would love to see a larger number of professionals get excited for the challenge of taking down cybercriminals, even celebrating the little wins along the way." What trends or techniques have you found to be most effective in identifying or countering new cyberthreats? Given the flood of new threats, which is constantly increasing now that attackers are using automation and AI/ML optimizations, Wuest is a proponent of threat-agnostic protection solutions. "Instead of trying to identify the 4 million new malware samples that appear every week, focus on protecting your data from any unwanted tampering or encryption, regardless of what the malware looks like. Smart behavior monitoring that goes beyond the processes' context can be an effective weapon against modern cyberthreats." As the head of cyber protection research, he adds that user entity behavior analytics (UEBA) combined with Zero Trust, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), and multi-factor authentication (MFA) is promising, especially given today's work-from-anywhere-with-anything reality but he cautioned that there's no silver bullet. "An integrated approach across silos with efficient automation and visibility is key, but so is the importance of the basics such as strong authentication and patch management which too many organizations still overlook." Ivanyuk agreed, saying "the use of behavioral heuristics and proper AI/ML models is critical to identifying incursions, but simple things like MFA and role-based management, backed by constant vulnerability assessments and patch management, are surprisingly effective at preventing attacks." To make those kinds of automated solutions possible, Collins says that having the ability to distill commonly malicious behavior or code down to a simple rule or signature has served him well. "These types of detections allow you to cast a wide net that can bring in new, undetected malware for analysis." Tebow noted that trend analysis is an effective technique as well. When researching cryptojacking malware, he decided to examine general cryptocurrency trends. "I found that spikes and dips in cryptojacking followed the rise and fall in cryptocurrency value. This gave us a 24-48 hour headstart on defending against the next wave of attacks, and knowing which cryptocurrency to look for." Have there been any incidents where the sophistication of the attack has surprised you or even impressed you? While Ivanyuk points to classics like the Stuxnet attack and the recent SolarWinds hack as good examples, Collins notes it's not always the sophistication of an attack that's impressive. "I'm always impressed with the exploits that malicious actors can find," he said. "A few years ago there was a bug in PHP7 that allowed RCE that was surprisingly easy to use by passing a parameter with a payload in a web address. Sometimes, the simpler the exploit, the more impressive it is." Wuest, who was part of the team that conducted one of the first deep Stuxnet analyses, said some ransomware attackers took an interesting approach by using an unprotected backup cloud console. "They stole sensitive data by creating a new backup to a cloud location under their control. Then they used the backup software to restore the malware to critical workloads inside the organization. It was an impressive use of living-off-the-land techniques, turning the victim's own trusted infrastructure against them." Can you rank the security threats you're most concerned about and explain why? All four of these cybersecurity researchers agreed that ransomware remains the greatest security threat today particularly given the pivot from simple data encryption to data exfiltration. "Targeted ransomware is top of my list because the double extortion schema, where data is stolen and workloads are encrypted, can be very profitable for the attackers," said Wuest. "With ransom demands reaching 50 million dollars, there is no reason for cybercriminals to stop. The applied techniques have long been merged with APT methods such as living off the land or exploitation of exposed services like the Exchange ProxyLogon vulnerability, making it more difficult to reliably detect." During the past 15 months, the Acronis CPOC analysts found evidence that more than 1,600 companies around the world had their data leaked following a ransomware attack, which is why they've dubbed 2021 "The Year of Extortion." "It is to a point that I hesitate to even call them ransomware gangs anymore," added Tebow. "I've started referring to them as extortion gangs. Data exfiltration and the threat to release anything sensitive has become a primary method of extortion, to which they add increasing ransom demands after an initial time frame and threatening additional attacks, like a DDoS, if the ransom is not paid." "Ransomware lets them get money in untraceable cryptocurrencies, whereas stealing money via online banking increases the chances they'll be caught later," explained Ivanyuk. "The problem is that ransomware continues to work well, especially since individuals and companies continue to be uninformed about ransomware." In fact, a recent Acronis survey of IT users and IT pros around the world revealed 25% of users didn't know what ransomware is. Beyond ransomware, the four researchers all expect to see an increase in supply-chain attacks like the SolarWinds breach. "There are many variations of these attacks, from compromising a software vendor to injecting code in an open-source code repository," said Wuest "Due to the nature of the trust chain, it can be nearly impossible to identify such a manipulation till it's too late, as it's downloaded on demand from a trusted source and verified by the official digital certificate. Such attacks are not trivial to create but will continue to increase in the future, as they are successful even with well-protected targets." Tebow added that there was one more risk that anyone in cybersecurity should keep in focus whether they're a researcher or are on the front lines. "I see the desire of analysts and organizations to 'do it on their own' as a tremendous threat," he warned. "If we maintain the old-school siloed method of fighting cybercrime, we have no hope of defeating cybercriminals. It's only by working together that we stand a chance of winning any large battles against cybercriminals." About the Acronis Cyber Protection Operations Centers: Acronis maintains a global network of Cyber Protection Operations Centers, with locations in Singapore, Arizona, and Switzerland that enable the CPOC analysts to use a follow-the-sun approach for 24-hour operations. Analysts detect, analyze, and prepare responses to new risks to data, from the latest cyberattacks to natural catastrophes. The insights gathered are used to issue threat alerts to protect customer environments and aid the company's development of its cyber protection solutions. HID Global, a trusted identity Solutions Company announced that Mail.Ru has chosen its HID Mobile Access solution for secure and convenient access control using smartphones and other mobile devices. Need for access control Mail.Ru reaches over 91% of all Russian internet users via its mail platform and social networks. The company has more than 7,000 employees and a high volume of visitors to its Moscow offices, necessitating an access control solution that provides best-in-class security and a seamless user experience. Mail.Ru was seeking a mobile solution that would easily integrate into its own smartphone app to allow employees and visitors to easily switch from using physical access cards to mobile IDs stored on their smartphones. Mobile solution We considered several solutions and decided in favor of HID Global. Their reputation for reliable and secure solutions greatly contributed to our decision, said Andrey Evtyushin, Mobile Development Team Leader Business Process Management Department, Mobile Development Group, Mail.Ru Group. It was also important that HID Global provided the most convenient software development kit (SDK) for iOS and Android platforms to integrate into our mobile application, compared to other competitor solutions. Robust ID security HID Global worked closely with local integrator partner AAM Systems to install 300 HID readers and issue 3,200 HID Mobile IDs to enable employees to use their smartphones for access control. Easy-to-use HID Mobile Access solution makes it possible for Mail.Ru to easily manage off-hours access and configure individual users security rights The HID Mobile Access solution makes it possible for Mail.Ru to easily manage off-hours access and configure individual users security rights, as well as enable easy movement of people within the building while maintaining security. Seos credential technology, which powers HIDs solution, also enables robust mobile ID security. Access to Mail.Rus global network of offices is centrally managed through HIDs cloud-based portal, and provisioning is done over the air to deliver mobile IDs to users phones via a mobile app. This makes it easy to add, remove or change access rights as required. Tailored customer experience HID Mobile Access provides an ideal mix of security, convenience, and flexibility; our SDK means customers can tailor the user experience so it is unique to them and on-brand, said Harm Radstaak, Senior Vice President and Head of Physical Access Control Solutions with HID Global. Mail.Ru used the HID Mobile Access SDK to integrate the mobile solution into its own company application to offer a consistent user experience across different mobile devices and operating systems, including iOS and Android. The solution enables Mail.Ru to also provide visitors with building access so contractors, vendors, and event attendees can use mobile IDs on their personal devices as part of Mail.Rus holistic approach to maintaining high levels of security. A Ukrainian model has claimed that she was forced to participate in a notorious nude balcony photoshoot in Dubai. Irina Sotulenko is among the women detained in the United Arab Emirates after stripping off on April 3 for pictures and video, which were shared on social media. The 23 year old's lawyer and boyfriend have expressed 'deep concern' over Sotulenko and the other detained women, who they say are out of contact despite being due to be deported back to Ukraine today. In audio and video messages sent to her boyfriend before she was detained, Sotulenko railed at the wealthy Ukrainian-American man who organised the stunt. Vitaly Grechin, 41, allowed the racy images to be posted online, which led to most of the group being arrested and detained by Dubai police. 'All this because of the morons who came up with the idea to upload this to Instagram,' she said, referring to Grechin as 'a total d***'. 'He is an adult man, how could he be such an idiot?' She claimed that she had been forced to go out on the balcony or else she would not receive her pay for the modelling assignment. 'I told them "Guys, we are in Arab country, let's not show off." 'But, damn, we were forced to this balcony, took pictures and God knows what will be next.' A Ukrainian model has claimed that she was forced to participate in a notorious nude balcony photoshoot in Dubai. Irina Sotulenko (pictured) is among the women detained in the United Arab Emirates after stripping off on April 3 for pictures and video, which were shared on social media In audio and video messages sent to her boyfriend before she was detained, Sotulenko railed at the wealthy Ukrainian-American man who organised the stunt In a video message to her boyfriend, Sotulenko told him: 'We were forced to this balcony in another hotel 'We were photographed naked on the balcony. 'Someone took photos from another building. 'Now Vitaly was summoned (to the police) and it looks like he will be sent to prison.' In tears, she said: 'Looks like we were told that they will sort this out. 'Like there are acquaintances in the police and all will be okay She said she saw Grechin - the organiser and funder of the trip to Dubai - as he was 'escorted away by police'. Sotulenko said she had rushed to the airport to fly home after the shoot but was ordered by authorities to return to the city and make a statement to police, after which she would be free to leave. However she was detained and is reportedly unreachable after being allowed one phone call to her parents. Sotulenko claimed that she had been forced to go out on the balcony or else she would not receive her pay for the modelling assignment The model was expected to be released today following an apparent agreement with Ukrainian authorities She was expected to be released today following an apparent agreement with Ukrainian authorities. Families of the women are still hopeful they will be freed tonight. Sotulenko's boyfriend Vitaly, 30, said she knew that she was going to Dubai for a nude shoot - but not that it would be in a public place, which could lead to arrest. 'They pushed them out onto the balcony,' he said. 'The girls began to be indignant, and asking why they were going there. 'They said: 'This is a Muslim country, for this we will all have problems. But they were told - "Do not forget who pays for it, please go to the balcony."' 'So they went out onto the balcony and photographed them.' Sotulenko's boyfriend Vitaly, 30, said she knew that she was going to Dubai for a nude shoot - but not that it would be in a public place, which could lead to arrest Oleksiy Nosov, Sotulenko's lawyer, said neither her boyfriend nor her family had heard from her since April 3. They were told she should be deported by Monday but had had no news of her release Several hours later, Grechin and others organising the shoot were detained after the pictures were posted online, Vitaly said. 'The girls were all in shock. Some immediately bought tickets and flew straight out of the country. 'Those who did not were told they would be allowed to leave, but first had to make a police statement, he said. 'They received a Telegram message: 'Don't worry, everything is fine. Come back to the hotel. Police will interrogate you and release you. 'It turned out that they were a little deceived. Everyone who returned was taken to prison.' Oleksiy Nosov, Sotulenko's lawyer, said neither her boyfriend nor her family had heard from her since April 3. They were told she should be deported by Monday but had had no news of her release. The 15 models in the naked photoshoot (pictured) were part of a publicity stunt for an Israeli website Dubai police confirmed those arrested over the 'indecent' video had been referred to the public prosecution 'The Consulate reported that one of the girls fell ill with coronavirus, she is kept separately, and this is not Irina,' Nosov said. The lawyer has asked for a 'confidential conversation' with Sotulenko, but said he had had no response from the Dubai authorities. However he confirmed that she was able to call her parents for the first time on Sunday. 'She said that she was in one piece and relatively healthy. The conditions in the cell are difficult. 'They are in a cell without telephones, and are not told the date of their deportation to Ukraine.' Sen. Josh Hawley raised more than $3 million since January's Capitol riot and has introduced legislation to stop mega-corporations from controlling politics. The Missouri Republican initially lost some donors for his role in challenging the 2020 presidential election results. But Politico reported on Monday that Hawley received more than 57,000 donations during 2021's first quarter, raising nearly $600,000 in the two and a half week period following the January 6 MAGA riot, even though he'd stopped actively fundraising. He his also taking on Big Tech with his 'Trust-Busting for the Twenty-First Century Act,' which would ban mergers and acquisitions made by firms with a market cap over $100 billion. 'This country and this government shouldn't be run by a few mega-corporations,' Hawley told Axios. The GOP 'has got to become the party of trust-busting once again. You know, that's a part of our history,' Hawley added. In the first quarter of 2019, directly after winning election, Hawley raised just $43,000, Politico said. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, has raised $3 million in the first quarter of 2021, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in the weeks after the January 6 MAGA riot. He his also taking on Big Tech with his 'Trust-Busting for the Twenty-First Century Act,' which would ban mergers and acquisitions made by firms with a market cap over $100 billion Later, that mob broke into the Capitol in a violent incident that killed five in the immediate aftermath Hawley's fundraising totals were similar to those of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, as both lawmakers continue to be aligned with the Trump-wing of the Republican Party and have seen small-dollar donor fundraising success. Hawley has used his notoriety to pitch ideas that aren't typically in line with the politics of the modern Republican Party, such as an idea to 'trust-bust' big companies. It would lower the threshold to prosecute companies using existing federal antitrust laws. It would require companies that lose federal antitrust lawsuits to 'forfeit all their profits resulting from monopolistic conduct.' And finally it would empower the Federal Trade Commission to regulate 'dominant digital firms.' Hawley was speaking about Republican President Teddy Roosevelt, the Progressive-era leader known for breaking up big businesses. In an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Monday night Hawley said: 'No corporation should be so big and so powerful that it can control the political process, that it can override the will of the voters. 'And that's exactly what today's mega-corporations whove gotten big and fat with the help of government, what they're trying to do. 'So here's what my plan would do. First of all, it would break up the big tech companies, make them spin-off their various parts. 'For instance, Amazon should not be able to have the dominant e-commerce platform and also control the cloud. 'It would break up the big corporations. No more mergers and acquisitions by the biggest companies in America, don't allow the big banks to get any bigger. Tough new penalties for corporations that violate our trust laws and also a new ability for prosecutors to go after these trusts. 'And at the end of the day a new focus for antitrust law, which is this -- It ought to be about promoting competition. Freedom is protected when there's competition, not when there's monopoly.' The more recent iteration of the Republican Party has been friendly to big business, however a number of GOP lawmakers have gone to war with the large tech firms, for showing, in their view, an anti-conservative bias. Hawley's plan goes further than just threatening to break up 'big tech,' Axios points out, noting that its rules applying to mergers extending to banking, health, retail and media. 'We tried it the way that the big corporatists wanted,' Hawley told Axios. 'And it hasn't been a success for the American consumer, for the American producer or for the American economy.' Publisher Simon & Schuster canceled Sen. Josh Hawley's book (pictured) over his role in the MAGA riot Hawley has been trying to brand himself as a Republican Party thought leader, though the book he had been working on, titled 'The Tyranny of Big Tech,' got canceled by publisher Simon & Schuster in the aftermath of the January 6 riot. 'As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat,' Simon & Schuster said. Hawley shot back calling those who work for the publishing house a 'woke mob.' Hawley was the first senator who said he'd support a House GOP plan to challenge some of the Electoral College votes from swing states - an effort former President Donald Trump supported, as it extended the farce he was feeding to his supporters that the election result could be overturned. That narrative - that the election was 'stolen' - motivated the MAGA mob to take over the Capitol Building, a violent incident that killed five in the immediate aftermath. Lawmakers are able to object, debate and then vote on states' tallies during the mandatory January 6 session - but the votes for that effort to be successful simply weren't there, nor does Congress truly have the power to overrule the Electoral College count, most scholars believe. The man eyed by investigators in connection with the disappearance of a 23-year-old Worcester woman is one of two men who were shot during a fight in Worcester over the weekend, MassLive confirmed and court records show. Kevin Crozier, 34, is listed as a victim in Worcester District Court records filed in the case against 25-year-old Troy Morvan, who was charged with shooting two men on John Street Saturday night. The second shooting victim is listed in court records as 32-year-old William Humphrey. Crozier was released from prison in April 2020 after he served time for arson and conspiracy. He was sentenced in Worcester Superior Court in 2018 to serve 6 years and a day in prison with 38 months credit for time served in connection with the case. At the time of sentencing, prosecutor Christopher Hodgens argued that despite accusations that Crozier had two men set fire to his familys 11 Dixfield Road home in Worcester so he could collect insurance money, there was a more sinister reason for the blaze. The evidence suggests that the motive for this fire was not insurance money, that the true motive was to cover up evidence in connection with missing person Sabrina Hatheway, Hodgens said at the time. Croziers defense attorney, during the sentencing, said his client had nothing to do with the young womans disappearance. My client would like the court to know that he did not kill Sabrina Hatheway, defense attorney Kevin Larson said in 2018. He did not set this fire to cover up the death of Sabrina Hatheway. Sabrina Hatheway, 23, has been missing since December 2014. Crozier and Hatheway were dating when she disappeared in December 2014. She has never been found. Family, who continue to seek answers in the case, have said they believe Hatheway is dead. Authorities said Hatheway was last seen on Dec. 21, 2014. The circumstance of her disappearance reads that she was last seen with ex-boyfriend whose house burned down Jan. 1, 2015, and deemed arson. The young womans cell phone went inactive soon after she was last seen. Hatheway had been staying at 11 Dixfield Road in Worcester before her disappearance. The home, connected to Croziers family, was the one that burned down on New Years Day 2015. Two men were also charged in connection with the fire after authorities said Crozier promised to pay them for help. The home was not insured, however. Investigators said they discovered a fire pattern that went down the hallway and into the master bedroom. Accelerant was discovered in the home, but authorities did not find any human remains. Croziers defense lawyer said authorities searched the home extensively and did not find a shred of evidence that anyone was killed in the home. Brenda Hatheway, the mother of Sabrina, was killed by her boyfriend in 2017. Joseph Kenadek was sentenced in 2019 to serve 7 to 10 years in Brenda Hatheways killing after he pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge. Croziers name resurfaced over the weekend after Worcester police responded to a report of a shooting at 18 John St. on Saturday just before 9:30 p.m. As officers approached, they were informed that there were several calls reporting a fight and shots fired, police said. People at the scene flagged down police and showed officers where Crozier was located. He was in a John Street parking lot and had been shot in the stomach. Humphrey, the second shooting victim, was then located. He had been shot in the leg. It appears both men will survive. Morvan is accused of shooting both men during a fight. The shooting was captured on cell phone video, court records said. A third man, who is 19, was also found at the scene. He had blunt force trauma injuries, police said. Officers determined that a male had taken out a firearm and shot the two victims during a physical confrontation, police said. Morvan showed up at a local hospital with injuries that appeared to have been caused during the fight, police said. Morvan, who does not have a license to carry firearms, was arraigned in court Monday on two counts of armed assault to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a firearm and other firearms charges. He was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Wednesday. There was a fire at 11 Dixfield Road in Worcester on New Year's Day 2015. Related Content: PARIS (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi said on Monday it would invest 400 million euros ($475.40 million) over five years in a new vaccine production site in Singapore. The new site would provide Sanofi with the ability to produce innovative vaccines on a massive scale for Asia and respond to future pandemic risks, the company said in a statement. The project is expected to create up to 200 local jobs, it added. Sanofi said it expected to start the construction of the site in the third quarter of 2021 and be fully operational in the first quarter of 2026. "The Singapore site will complement Sanofi's existing manufacturing capacities in Europe and North America and will become a regional center of excellence for vaccines production in Asia", the company said. ($1 = 0.8414 euros) (Reporting by Matthieu Protard; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) Click here to read the full article. Phoebe Bridgers guitar seemed like it wasnt going to see much more action after she smashed it against an amplifier on Saturday Night Live in February, but it managed to strike quite a chord among would-be collectors when GLAAD put it up for auction. The artifact went for a shocking $101,500 when bidding closed Sunday. Bids had remained in the low five figures in the days leading up to the auctions close, but fans of means drove the price up in a bidding frenzy Sunday. I know she has a loyal fan base, says Anthony Ramos, the supervising producer of the GLAAD Media Awards, an event held Thursday night, to which the auction was tied. Saturday night when I went to bed, it was around $18,000, and I was like, Thats a great number! I was kind of hoping we would get to 25. Then I woke up and it was 40, then 50, then 80, and finally over 100. Obviously we were very pleasantly surprised. Im so thankful someone wanted to support our work and wanted that guitar so badly. GLAAD has to protect the winning bidders privacy, but Ramos says, Obviously its someone whos either a huge Phoebe Bridgers fan or someone who is really into broken guitars or someone who really wants to help us accelerate our work for the LGBTQ community, and hopefully its someone who checks all three of those boxes. Adds Ramos, The other side of it is that were so grateful to Phoebe for donating the guitar but also for being someone whos a visible and out part of the community in rock music. She made a great album, and we love all shes doing and love working with her. Bridgers, who identifies as bisexual, was nominated for outstanding breakthrough music artist for Thursdays GLAAD Music Awards. (The winner was the upstart rapper Chika.) Ramos says hed been in contact with Bridgers publicist on other matters the day before the SNL appearance in February. I watched the show on Saturday and saw Twitter explode about this guitar, and was like, Huh. I wonder what happened with that guitar? I bet people would pay some money for this its worth a shot.' After he reached out the next morning, Bridgers quickly assented, and the guitar or its valuable remnant was shipped from New York back to GLAAD in L.A. Fortunately no one got rid of it, Ramos says. Its in really cool condition, he adds given that its obviously distressed and broken. I can see it being put on a wall as a great art piece. Bridgers smashing of the guitar at the climax of I Know the End and not in anger, as the smile on her face made clear became a fulcrum of debate for days after the SNL appearance, with even usual buddies like David Crosby and Jason Isbell coming down on opposite sides of the divide. Pathetic Guitars are for playing .. making music .. not stupidly bashing them on a fake monitor for childish stage drama, tweeted Crosby. When many brought up the lack of outrage from his generation when Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix made climactic shows out of destroying their instruments, and wondered if Crosbys objection had an underlying sexism or ageism, he responded, I really do NOT give a flying F if others have done it before. Its still STUPID. Tweeted Isbell, one of her many guitar-slinging supporters, in turn: That was like an 85 dollar guitar she smashed come on guys. Explained Bridgers, nonchalantly, as the firestorm grew: I told Danelectro I was going to do it and they wished me luck and told me theyre hard to break. Bridgers grew up busking playing Crosby, Stills & Nash songs, and has collaborated with Jackson Browne more than once and recently covered John Prine, but she is not known for harboring excessive amounts of institutional rock reverence. In response to Crosby knocking her, she tweeted back simply: Little bitch. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The big picture: The iPad business generated a record $8.4 billion in revenue for Apple during Q4 2020, and the company is reportedly getting ready to introduce two new iPad Pro models. However, production issues related to the Mini LED display and display driver chips will most certainly hinder your chances to get one at launch. It's been rumored for months that Apple will introduce new iPad Pro models with Mini LED displays this year, with some speculating that it could happen before summer kicks in. However, suppliers are said to be having difficulties in producing some of the essential components, thanks in no small part to the chip shortage that is now biting even Apple, a company that's often able to command preferential treatment. Last week we learned that a shortage of relatively inexpensive display driver chips is affecting the supply chains of major tech companies, and that apparently includes Apple, who has had to delay orders of those components for iPads and MacBooks. According to a new Bloomberg report, that's only a minor setback as key display suppliers Ennostar, Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology, and General Interface Solution Holding are facing yield issues with Mini LED panel manufacturing. At least one Mini LED manufacturer has had to pause production because of these issues, but that hasn't changed Apple's release schedule for two new iPad Pro models, one of which will feature the new display technology. Bloomberg says that could happen later this month, which means that anyone looking forward to buying the new iPad Pro will have to fight for it due to relatively limited initial stock. The main benefit of Mini LED is that it brings many of the pros of OLEDs but without most of the common drawbacks, meaning they offer great HDR image quality but have minimal risk of screen burn-in. TCL already uses the technology in its 8 Series televisions, and Samsung and LG are getting ready to roll out their own models in the coming months. Beside the inclusion of Mini LED technology, Apple's new iPad Pro is also said to feature an A14X SoC that will offer comparable performance to the M1 chipset found in the newest MacBook Pro 13, MacBook Air, and Mac mini. Most people, however, would be more excited about the possibility of an upgraded USB-C port with improved compatibility with monitors and iPad accessories. With the recent weddings of Jedidiah Duggar and Katie Nakatsu, and Justin Duggar and Claire Spivey, the Duggar family is continuing to grow. As it stands, there are now ten married Duggar kids. While the family continues to expand, not everyone has stuck close to home. Justin and Claire recently revealed that they are not settling down in Arkansas. While its not what the majority of his siblings have chosen to do, hes not alone either. Four Duggar kids have left the familys home state, at least briefly, after getting married. Justin Duggar and his wife, Claire Spivey, spoke to TLC about their life in Texas Justin and his wife, Claire, have finally put rumors about their living situation to rest. In an update about married life, the teenage couple revealed that they have settled into married life in Texas, not in Arkansas. Claire and Justin appeared to spend much of their courtship in Claires home state, so their decision to start their life there makes sense. RELATED: Counting On: Justin Duggars Fiance, Claire Spivey, and Her Mother Are Clapping Back at Duggar Family Critics Before his February 2021 wedding to Claire, Justin appeared to be busy working on a mobile home that was gifted to him by his father, Jim Bob Duggar. Some family followers assumed the couple would live in the property, much like several of his other siblings had done. Instead, Justin renovated the home and sold it just weeks before he said, I Do. He is currently working in Texas and appears to have no plans to return to Arkansas. Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo are currently residing in Los Angeles with no plans on returning to Arkansas Jinger Duggar met her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, through her sister Jessa Duggar. The courtship was a quick one, and within a few months, Jinger and Jeremy were wed in a large ceremony in Arkansas. The couple had no plans on sticking around, though. Jeremy had a job and life in Laredo, and Jinger quickly joined him. While they spent the first few years of their marriage in Texas, they have relocated to Los Angeles to allow Jeremy to continue his seminary studies. Once dubbed the rebellious Duggar, Jinger was the first in her family to leave Arkansas as soon as she exchanged wedding vows. Family followers have some concerns about how well Jinger has acclimated to life in LA, but it doesnt appear that the Vuolos are planning to return to Arkansas. Jeremy was raised in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and has no ties to the Springdale area. Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard briefly lived in central America before settling back in Arkansas Before Jinger married Jeremy and long before Justin and Claire set up roots in Texas, Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard left the country. In 2015, the young couple left Arkansas and served as missionaries in Central America. They spent more than a year abroad. Fans lambasted Derick and Jill for flying back and forth to Arkansas on a seemingly bi-monthly basis. Once they returned stateside, they decided to settle down in Arkansas. Currently, they live roughly 20 minutes from the Duggar familys Springdale, Arkansas compound. That is, however, subject to change. Derick recently told the U.S. Sun that both he and Jill are open to moving abroad at some point. Derick, just like Jill, was raised in Arkansas. Josh Duggar and Anna Duggar briefly resided in Washington D.C. before back-to-back scandals sent them back to Arkansas Disgraced first-born Josh Duggar was the first of his siblings to marry and move away. While he and his wife, Anna Duggar, now appear to be living in a warehouse on the Duggar familys property, they once resided in a large home just outside of Washington D.C. For two years, the couple lived in Oxon Hill, Maryland, while Josh worked for the Family Research Council. RELATED: Counting On: Josh Duggars OkCupid Q&A Answers Paint a Pretty Disturbing Picture TLC covered Josh and Annas move on the familys show, 19 Kids and Counting. Cameras also followed them as they settled into a life far from their own families. In 2015, after Josh admitted to molesting his siblings as a teen and cheating on his wife, they moved back to Arkansas. They briefly owned a large farmhouse but sold it in 2019. A huge galaxy cluster called Abell 2813 has so much mass that it acts as a gravitational lens, causing light from more distant galaxies to bend around it. Galaxy clusters contain thousands of galaxies of all ages, shapes and sizes. Typically, they have a mass of about one million billion times the mass of the Sun. At one point in time galaxy clusters were believed to be the largest structures in the Universe until they were usurped in the 1980s by the discovery of superclusters, which typically contain dozens of galaxy clusters and groups and span hundreds of millions of light-years. However, clusters do have one thing to cling on to; superclusters are not held together by gravity, so galaxy clusters still retain the title of the biggest structures in the Universe bound by gravity. Albert Einstein predicted in his theory of general relativity that massive objects will deform the fabric of space itself. When light passes one of these objects, such as a galaxy cluster, its path is changed slightly. Known as gravitational lensing, this effect is only visible in rare cases and only the best telescopes can observe the related phenomena. The new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows Abell 2813, a galaxy cluster located in the constellation of Cetus. Also known as ACO 2813 and RXC J0043.4-2037, it is so distant that light from it has traveled for approximately 3.4 billion years to reach us. The gravity from Abell 2813 is acting as the aforementioned gravitational lens, allowing us to view the more distant galaxies sitting behind them. In amongst the tiny dots, spirals and ovals that are the galaxies that belong to the cluster, there are several distinct crescent shapes, Hubble astronomers said. These curved crescents and s-shapes of light are not curved galaxies, but are light from galaxies that actually lie beyond Abell 2813. On March 30, 2021, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) became the first federal agency to achieve the International WELL Building Institute's Health-Safety Rating. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, NIEHS upgraded facility operations and management practices to protect staff and others who visit the institute's campus in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and those efforts have now earned global recognition. NIEHS, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), joins organizations such as JP Morgan Chase and the New York Yankees in receiving the WELL building seal of approval. The WELL rating system is designed to encourage organizations to make workplaces and community spaces as safe and health-promoting as possible. Celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Venus Williams, and others have kicked-off a major ad campaign to raise awareness about the program. "At NIEHS, our mission is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives," said Chris Long, the institute's associate director for management. "Being awarded the WELL Health-Safety seal shows that we live our mission by creating a work environment that supports health and safety. We're grateful for the hands-on leadership that our partners in the NIH Office of Research Facilities provided in pursuing this first-ever WELL certification in the federal government." The WELL building rating achieved by NIEHS goes beyond the many protective measures undertaken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It signals the institute's long-term commitment to maintaining high facility standards in the following areas: Air and water quality management -- Assessing ventilation; maintaining air treatment systems; developing Legionella management plan; monitoring air and water quality; and managing mold and moisture on the premises. -- Assessing ventilation; maintaining air treatment systems; developing Legionella management plan; monitoring air and water quality; and managing mold and moisture on the premises. Cleaning and sanitization procedures -- Improving cleaning practices to reduce exposure to pathogens, allergens, and harmful cleaning chemicals; cleaning high-touch surfaces three times per day; and following safety protocols by ensuring strict review of all cleaning products. -- Improving cleaning practices to reduce exposure to pathogens, allergens, and harmful cleaning chemicals; cleaning high-touch surfaces three times per day; and following safety protocols by ensuring strict review of all cleaning products. Emergency preparedness programs -- Helping to safely return employees to campus, as needed, during the pandemic; identifying potential effects of relevant hazards on the premises; determining emergency management planning priorities; and providing emergency resources, such as an outdoor notification system, indoor fire alarm system, and defibrillators. -- Helping to safely return employees to campus, as needed, during the pandemic; identifying potential effects of relevant hazards on the premises; determining emergency management planning priorities; and providing emergency resources, such as an outdoor notification system, indoor fire alarm system, and defibrillators. Health service resources -- Providing annual sick leave and employee health benefits; supporting mental health through crisis counseling, bereavement counseling, and other services; providing free on-site flu vaccination clinic; and promoting a smoke-free workplace. -- Providing annual sick leave and employee health benefits; supporting mental health through crisis counseling, bereavement counseling, and other services; providing free on-site flu vaccination clinic; and promoting a smoke-free workplace. Stakeholder engagement and communication -- Conducting monthly institute-wide meetings to share health and safety information; providing weekly updates about the COVID-19 pandemic; sharing food inspection information in the NIEHS cafeteria; and promoting health at the institute and across the U.S. "Our institute's health and safety team deserves great credit," said NIEHS and National Toxicology Program Director Rick Woychik, Ph.D. "We have always enjoyed a clean, well-run research facility, but they found new ways to strengthen our operations in the middle of a pandemic. I'm thrilled that our institute achieved the WELL Health-Safety rating, and I think the progress we have made will benefit our staff and visitors for years to come." ### About the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of the National Institutes of Health. For more information on NIEHS or environmental health topics, visit http://www. niehs. nih. gov or subscribe to a news list. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www. nih. gov . NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health The Missionary-in-charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih has commended Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for his religious diversity and unifying approach. Dr. Bawumia who maintains a very good relationship with the various Islamic groups in the country, joined the Head of the Ahmadiya Mission and his congregation to observe the weekly Islamic congregational (Jummah) prayers Friday afternoon in Accra. Welcoming the Vice President in his office before proceeding to the mosque for prayers, Maulvi Bin Salih said the Vice President's presence to worship with the Ahmadis shows he is a man who recognizes the importance of intra-religious diversity. "I am excited to welcome you. Your presence here shows you understand and embrace religious diversity, which is very important," Maulvi Bin Salih told the Vice President. The Ahmadiyya sect is one of many sects of the Islamic religion in Ghana, and with some level of misunderstanding often characterizing the co-existence of all these sects, the Ahmadiya leader noted that the visit of the Vice President sends a strong signal on the need to embrace diversity. "It is the same religion and sometimes the misunderstanding and misinformation is not necessary. Your religious diversity is indeed an inspiration and this visit sends a signal that we are one people and it is important for us to peacefully co-exist and worship our Lord." Maulvi Bin Salih, who prayed for Dr. Bawumia, urged all Muslims to continue to uphold the tenets of the religion to receive the reward of the Almighty Allah. In a brief remark, Vice President Bawumia expressed delight at joining the congregation and prayed to the Almighty Allah for continuous blessing for all. 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 (Newser) A desert city built on a reputation for excess and indulgence wants to become a model for restraint and conservation with a first-in-the-nation policy banning grass that nobody walks on. Las Vegas-area water officials have spent two decades trying to get people to replace thirsty greenery with desert plants, and now they're asking the Nevada Legislature to outlaw roughly 40% of the turf that's left. The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are almost 8 square miles of "nonfunctional turf" in the metro areagrass that no one ever walks on or otherwise uses in street medians, housing developments, and office parks, reports the AP. They say this ornamental grass requires four times as much water as drought-tolerant landscaping like cactus and other succulents. story continues below By ripping it out, they estimate the region can reduce annual water consumption by roughly 15% and save about 14 gallons per person per day. California imposed a temporary ban on watering ornamental grass during last decade's drought, but no state or major city has tried to phase out certain categories of grass permanently. The proposal is part of a turf war waged since at least 2003, when the water authority banned developers from planting green front yards in new subdivisions. Last year was among the driest in the region's history, when Las Vegas went a record 240 days without measurable rainfall. And the future flow of the Colorado River, which accounts for 90% of southern Nevada's water, is in question. Justin Jones, a Clark County commissioner who serves on the water authority's board, says that "to be clear, we are not coming after your average homeowners backyard." But grass in the middle of a parkway, where no one walks: "That's dumb." (Read more grass stories.) People wait in line at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Olympic Stadium in Montreal on April 8, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson) Lack of Domestic Vaccines Has Raised Calls for Pharmaceutical Policy Reforms, While Some Advise Caution The lack of Canadian capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines has raised new questions on how governments should approach the pharmaceutical industry. Amid calls for Canada to create a better investment environment for pharmaceutical companies, some are advising caution to avoid overcompensation and a culture that could foster over-prescription, instead suggesting a more results-based approach. Walter Robinson, a consultant who has spent most of the past 15 years in leadership positions in and around the life sciences sector including at a pharmaceutical trade association, says the vaccine issue is only a symptom of a larger problem. If people are just saying, Well, we need more manufacturing capacity, theyre not asking the right questions and theyre coming up with the wrong answer, Robinson said in an interview. He says the governments view of the life sciences sector has been focused on managing and containing the cost. While thats a legitimate public policy focus, he says, the government should also be paying attention to the broader importance of research and development in the sector. A robust life sciences sector is a critical piece of infrastructure, and its in our national interest economically, health-wise, and in our national security interest, he said. Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne recently announced a $415 million grant to Sanofi Pasteur Ltd. to build a new flu vaccine manufacturing facility by 2027. The Toronto facility, which also has support from the Ontario government, would be able to produce 76 million influenza vaccines within a six-month period. Robinson says that while the minister is sincere, he has only implemented a stopgap measure. Health care is a shared national jurisdiction, and all levels of government need to rebuild the relationship with both the innovative and generic biopharma sectors, and have the patience to do this. Thats the bigger picture, and thats hard work. Ian Lee, associate professor of management at Carleton University, said pharmaceutical companies are careful where they set up operations because they carry large risks and expenditures in research and development. If you are a person investing billions, or a group of people, where are you going to go? Where do you want to locate your firm, your plants, your operations? Youre going to locate them in countries that are going to minimize that risk, Lee told The Epoch Times. Theres a lot of competition for these companies because they invest gargantuan amounts of money in R&D. And everybody agrees R&D is a wonderful thing for the economy. No serious person, scientist, economist policy analyst has said R&D is bad for our countrynobody says that. Lee says the pharmaceutical industry prefers the United States, Germany, and Switzerland because Canada has been less than welcoming. We said, Oh, we dont trust you. We think youre a bit of a shyster, youre trying to exploit all of us who are Canadian. And so we set up price controls, he says. According to Statista, Americans pay about 3.5 times as much for patented drugs as Canadians do, based on 2019 figures, but Germans and Swiss pay only slightly more than Canadians. Other comparable countries pays less. Proposed changes by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board designed to lower drug prices in Canada have been delayed twice and are now scheduled to take effect on July 1. Marc-Andre Gagnon, professor of pharmaceutical policy at Carletons School of Public Policy and Administration, says Canada is quite friendly to pharmaceutical corporations already. I know that the drug industry likes to have this narrative that basically Canada is not doing enough for drug companies, Gagnon said in an interview. The issue is, what should be the additional benefits [offered] to drug companies in order to attract more research and development? Gagnon said Canada already offers pharmaceutical companies an attractive market on drug prices, intellectual property rights, tax credits for R&D, and subsidies, but the country gets little in return. He said pharmaceutical companies received greater intellectual property rights under the 1988 CanadaUnited States Free Trade Agreement on the assurance they would spend 10 percent of Canadian sales on R&D. But he said that has not been the case since 2000. More drugs does not mean better outcomes. In fact, it can mean worse outcomes, he says. But we have a system where the financial incentives are organized in favour of over-prescribing or even mis-prescribing. So the question is, what could be an alternative for this? Gagnon says regulations on drug safety have improved in recent years, but he also suggests an outcomes-based risk-sharing agreement so well pay for the drug only if we see there are big benefits. STAMFORD Nadia Martinez has always had great faith in community. Its important because, as artists, we usually work alone, said the Honduras-born artist and educator. We can get isolated very quickly. That tradition of solitary toil has been deeply felt during 2020, as even the closest circles of friends were forced apart. And thats why Martinez and the 150 members of the Stamford Art Association said they are excited about the groups current exhibition, Spring 2021, a celebration of post-pandemic possibilities and the nonprofits 50th birthday. COVID put us in a transition time, said SAA President Christine Irvin. But were hanging in there just being resilient and relevant and making art approachable. Formed in 1971 in an historic 19th century townhouse on Franklin Street, the SAA has been a second home for painters, sculptors, printmakers, photographers and multimedia artists looking for a place to find kindred spirits and grow as artists through evaluation of their work. Marguerite Weinert, who recently retired after about 20 years as gallery manager, said she enjoyed encouraging new artists just finding their vision. I would see young people coming in just starting to paint who wanted to get an opinion, she said. They didnt always get chosen. But I would say, Dont get discouraged. Its never personal. Keep trying. In a typical year, the group mounts a dozen or so exhibitions, including the international Faber Birren Color Award Show, a popular student show, solo exhibitions and three Art at the Ferguson exhibitions at the Ferguson Library. Launched in 1980, the Faber Birren competition features jurors from major New York City museums and organizations including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and Sothebys. The student show, which would have been 48 this year, features 100 to 150 works from students at about 15 Fairfield County high schools. Over the years, the SAA has awarded $150,000 in scholarship prizes, Irvin said. Its an homage to the art teachers, too, she said. Its wonderful. Its all over the place. Just really innovative work every year. This past year has been anything but typical. But while the gallery has had to move all its exhibitions online, Irvin said interest in them has grown to a larger, previously untapped audience. Spring 2021, which runs through April 24, features 45 pieces that hail from both Stamford and around the country. Our reach of artists involved with us has blown open, said Irvin, who has worked on Wall Street and in the photography and fashion industry. Its much more broad-based. Though they include various techniques, the pieces were chosen for their craftsmanship, color, composition, subject matter and how successfully they address the exhibitions spring theme, said curator Lina Morielli. Stamford artist Alissa Siegal took first place with her Pink Magnolias, while Texas artist Tiffany Heng Hui Lee won honorable mention for Cherry Blossoms. This abstract mixed media collage reminds us of happy times and joyful memory, she said in a video introducing the exhibition. The intimate detail in the artwork is intended to draw the viewer close to examine and to discover things they are not able to see from far away, just like our daily life. The rise of online art exhibitions, classes and lectures has allowed those far and near to zoom in on the current exhibition and others throughout the year. The townhouse will continue to be used for more solo shows until the space is safe for larger crowds, spokesmen said. SAA is also forging a new partnership with Norwalks Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum for a fall exhibition envisioning space and architecture. Martinez, a board member since 2014, said the group is bolstering its website, blog and social media to encourage the recent digital interest. And everyone is looking forward to being able to open the doors to art fans, who continue to make Stamford a creative destination, Irvin said. We were the only gallery here in town at first. There was nobody else, she said of the bustling downtown. But well get there again. Im an onward person. For more information on the Stamford Art Association and Spring 2021, visit www.stamfordartassociation.org. The ventilators of the mobile Intensive Care Unit located on the grounds of the 'Victor Babes' Bucharest Hospital stopped working due to the rise of the oxygen pressure above the allowed limit; a technical investigation is underway into the causes of the failure, the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU) announced on Monday evening, following the death of three Covid patients at the respective unit. "The medical staff of the mobile Intensive Care Unit became aware of the concomitant failure of all the ventilators in the container and informed the technical team of the hospital that they have an overpressure alarm, specifically a rise in pressure past 6 bar, the maximum allowed limit for the correct and safe operation of this medical equipment. After checking the oxygen pressure in the mobile unit, the ventilators remained in failure mode. The representative of the ventilator selling company, who arrived at the scene, refused to enter the unit although he was offered complete Covid protective equipment, and eventually left the hospital premises without stepping into the mobile unit," the Emergency Department said in a statement, agerpres.ro confirms. According to the cited source, a verification is currently underway to determine the causes that led to the increase of the oxygen pressure beyond the maximum admissible limit. "The inspection of the ventilators, following the breakdown, showed that they stopped working following a registered increase in pressure beyond 6 bar. The unit operates under the joint coordination of the Department for Emergency Situations and of the hospital, and the continuous regulation of the working parameters, of the mobile unit's oxygen supply system, the monitoring thereof and the technical operation of the facility is done by the technical team of the hospital," the DSU statement shows. Three of the eight patients that were being treated at the 'Victor Babes' Hospital's mobile Intensive Care Unit died on Monday of cardio-respiratory arrest following the failure of the system; one patient was transferred to a hospital ward, another to the ROL 2 Hospital ('Ana Aslan' military ward), two to the 'Bagdasar Arseni' Hospital and another one to the Floreasca Hospital. The companys pipeline of targets will facilitate drill testing of a combination of near-term resource potential and new targets across a diversified commodity spread gold, silver and zinc. Location of the Red Mountain Project, including the Last Chance Gold Target, within Tintina Gold Province of Alaska. ( ) ( ) is well advanced with plans for an aggressive field season and exploration drill campaign over its 798 square kilometres of mining claims comprising silver-zinc and gold prospects in Alaska. The 2021 program will focus on two distinct mineralisation styles - silver-zinc rich polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralisation and intrusion-related gold system (IRGS) mineralisation. Three drill rigs have been secured along with supporting helicopter services, two remote accommodation camps and geophysical contractors. Each rig will have a key target area in its own right with one looking to expand the current silver-rich zinc VMS resource at Dry Creek, one focusing on follow-up drilling at the large gold anomaly at Last Chance and the third will work variously on some of the yet-to-be-drilled eastern and western VMS prospects. VMS silver-zinc exploration The VMS silver-zinc mineralisation is associated with the Yukon-Tenana Terrane. The company already has two high-grade deposits with an inferred mineral resource of 9.1 million tonnes at 157 g/t silver, 5.8% zinc, 2.6% lead and 0.9 g/t gold for a grade of 13.2% zinc equivalent or alternatively for a grade of 609 g/t silver equivalent. Exploration over this mineralisation will focus on three opportunities: The potential of the Dry Creek deposit to grow to a size that supports a standalone development opportunity; Conductivity targets proximal to the Dry Creek and WTF deposits within the Red Mountain VMS camp; and New VMS prospects with outcropping mineralisation not yet drill tested in the emerging Last Chance VMS camp. IRGS gold exploration The IRGS gold mineralisation is within the Tintina Gold Province that hosts giant gold deposits including Donlin Creek (45 million ounces gold), Fort Knox (13.5 million ounces gold) and Pogo (10 million ounces gold), all associated with Cretaceous granites. Exploration will include continued drill testing of the large Last Chance Gold Target through a combination of shallow drilling of surface geochemical anomalies and multi-disciplinary targeting of deeper structural positions likely to offer the most favourable environment for high-grade gold mineralisation. White Rocks Red Mountain Last Chance project showing the four areas of focus for drilling: Dry Creek deposit, the Red Mountain VMS 'camp', the Last Chance 'VMS camp' and the Last Chance IRGS gold targets. 10,000 metres of drilling planned The three rigs contracted will complete more than 10,000 metres of drilling from May to September: An inquest for the victims of the Fishmongers Hall terror attack is due to get under way on Monday. Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan at a prisoner rehabilitation event near London Bridge on November 29 2019. Khan, 28, who was armed with two knives and wore a fake suicide vest, was tackled by members of the public and then shot dead by police on London Bridge. Convicted terrorist Usman Khan was shot dead by police on London Bridge (West Midlands Police/PA) A jury inquest into the deaths of Mr Merritt and Ms Jones is due to start before Coroner Mark Lucraft QC at the Guildhall in central London on Monday. Lawyers for the victims families have previously highlighted a central issue in the case whether the attack could and should have been avoided. Khan had previously been convicted of plotting to carry out attacks at central London landmarks. Jurors will hear about Khans dealings with authorities following his release from prison and the decision to allow him to attend the event at Fishmongers Hall. The inquest is expected to last for several weeks and be followed by a separate jury inquest into the death of Khan. Police officers have said they "deeply regret" the upset caused by shutting down a Good Friday church service for breaching coronavirus rules. Two Metropolitan Police officers halted the service when they found some worshippers breaching social-distancing guidelines and not wearing masks, according to the force. In a letter to parishioners on its website, the Polish Catholic church responded at the time by saying police had exceeded their powers and that all Government requirements were met. Yesterday Detective Superintendent Andy Wadey and Superintendent Roger Arditti addressed worshippers in a Sunday mass service at Christ the King in Balham, south London, which was live-streamed on YouTube. The Polish Catholic church said at the time police had exceeded their powers and that all Government requirements were met at Christ the King (pictured) Detective Supt Wadey said there had been 'significant reflection and learning' by members of the force and New Scotland Yard since the incident. He said: 'The intention of the Met is to protect and support communities in staying safe during the pandemic. 'We know, however, that many people were very upset by what happened on Good Friday and we deeply regret that. 'Since then, there has been significant reflection and learning by me, Roger, our colleagues who work with us locally and also, senior leaders at New Scotland Yard. 'The Metropolitan Police truly wishes to serve and protect you in the very best possible way. 'I truly hope that today marks the start of a renewed, deep and lasting relationship with the parish of Christ the King Balham and also the wider Polish communities.' In a response posted on the church's website, priest Wladyslaw Wyszacjki said the interruption to the Good Friday service was 'very painful for our parish', but thanked the officers for attending. He said: 'The interruption of the Good Friday liturgy was very painful for our parish community, but in the spirit of the Gospel, we willingly extend our hand to the representatives of the Police authorities in order to further build a deep and lasting relationship between us, based on mutual respect and regard for the rights of worshipers to freely practice their faith.' Metropolitan police officers halted the Good Friday service, claiming a breach of Covid rules The church said worshippers obeyed police orders during the shutdown, and the Met said no fixed penalty notices were issued. Police turned up at a Polish Catholic church again during an Easter Sunday Mass. From March 8, places of worship in England were allowed to open for communal prayer, and limits to congregation sizes were dependent on the capacity of the establishment. People on social media have slammed the police for shutting down the service, labelling the handling of the situation 'disproportionate'. Christians stand outside during an Easter Sunday service due to lack of space indoors because of covid-19 social distancing guidelines Christians kneel outside during an Easter Sunday service due to lack of space indoors because of covid-19 social distancing guidelines One wrote: 'I'm actually ashamed of what you did on Good Friday of all days. Stop hiding behind Covid transmission, when we see large scale protests being facilitated at this very minute in London.' Teresa Wilkins said: 'Disgraceful, disproportionate and deeply offensive on the most solemn day of the Catholic calendar.' Another wrote: 'Absolutely disgraceful behaviour by the police.' London Metropolitan Police said at the time it was called to reports of large crowds gathering outside the church before the congregation. A spokesperson said: 'Officers attended and found a large number of people inside the church. Some people were not wearing masks and those present were clearly not socially distanced. 'Understanding the sensitivity of the situation, officers engaged with the priest outside the church and were invited inside to address the congregation. 'No fixed penalty notices were issued.' No matter how hard we may try, humans are always going to need oil. Some environmentalists want to ban drilling, stop building pipelines and close refineries and petrochemical plans. But even renewable energy companies need lubricants, paint and chemicals. Electrification will not be the end of oil. Crude has a million applications beyond combustion. We may need less oil in the future, but the real challenge is how to extract it sustainably and affordably. Unfortunately, oil companies have earned a bad reputation by taking their historical monopoly for granted. From poorly fracked wells to unnecessary flaring and climate change denial, the industry has achieved a great deal of distrust with the public. TOMLINSONS TAKE: US oil and gas companies playing catch up in clean energy The tide is turning, however. Every major oil company CEO acknowledges the need to mitigate climate change, and most have plans to transition out of the traditional oil and gas business. There are also countless small and big steps the industry can take to clean up its practices. Frequent readers know that I oppose a ban on hydraulically fracturing wells. Fracking and horizontal drilling made cheap natural gas possible in North America, which offers an alternative to coal-fired powerplants. Fracking has done more to reduce U.S. carbon emissions than anything else. Despite the propaganda, fracking does not cause earthquakes, though improperly disposing of frack fluid does. Neither does a properly cemented well ruin groundwater. Drillers can frac wells safely, but thats not to say they cannot frac them more sustainably. The most obvious and most crucial step is stopping the routine venting and burning of gases produced when the well is drilled and completed. This practice known as flaring is unnecessary, wasteful and horrible for the climate. Texas is far behind other states in banning routine flaring. There are many others things the industry can do, such as using cleaner fluids to fracture the rock and producing more oil from each well, so companies do not have to drill as often. Houston-based Locus Bio-Energy Solutions is an example of an oil field services company offering drillers a way to frac smarter. Fracking involves pumping a fluid into a well and then applying pressure until the rock at the furthest reaches of the pipe fractures like a sheet of glass, opening little pathways for the oil to seep out. Most companies add chemicals and sand that keep the cracks open so the hydrocarbons can flow up the pipe. The oil and gas industry spends about $4.5 billion a year in North America on fluids called surfactants, which are detergents that make the oil bead up inside the fractured rock and flow to the surface. Traditional surfactants are refined from crude oil, but Locus provides biodegradable surfactants made through fermentation. The fact that these products are green, which they are, is not the most important part, said Jonathan Rogers, Locus CEO. The biggest environmental impact we can have is to reduce the number of fracks a company does. Locuss product comes out of the fermenter with a consistency like maple syrup. The smallest particles are only 1.2 nanometers, compared to 100 nanometers for a typical frack fluid, Rogers explained. The smaller size means deeper penetration into the rock, which triggers between 45 percent and 162 percent more production in field tests. Higher productivity per frack means the industry needs fewer wells and fewer fracks to produce the same amount of oil. Based on real-world trials, well operators also require 1/50th of the volume of Locus biosurfactants, and they biodegrade in 30 days without costing significantly more. This is not just a revamp of normal technology. This is something that is absolutely unique, said Rogers, who ran the spill-response team for BP following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Anything above one milligram per liter of a normal surfactant will adversely affect life. Our product, it is 11 times higher dosage rates before its any sort of affect, and we need 50 times less. TOMLINSONS TAKE: Entrepreneurs fight climate change with new battery raw materials The Texas Railroad Commission found Locus products so beneficial it grants operators who use them a 50 percent severance tax reduction for 10 years. Of course, Locus is just one of the dozens of companies with hundreds of ways to help the oil industry produce the oil we will always need in less destructive ways. But in many cases the costs are higher than conventional methods, which means some companies will adopt them. Over the past year, Ive been amazed at how oil and gas companies claim they want to be part of the climate solution. Hopefully, more will voluntarily adopt environmentally-sensitive operations and boost their credibility with consumers and investors. If not, the industry will deserve the heavy-handed regulations that will follow. Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy. twitter.com/cltomlinson chris.tomlinson@chron.com Russia is 'one step from war' with Ukraine, state TV has warned in the latest bout of sabre-rattling between Moscow and Kiev that has jangled nerves across Europe. Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian news anchor who has been called a 'Putin propagandist' in the past, issued the warning during a primetime broadcast in Russia on Sunday. He branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state, saying that Russia may be forced to 'de-Nazify' it buy force - a process he said would bring about its 'economic and military collapse'. Russia is now thought to have massed more than 80,000 troops along Ukraine's eastern border, including tanks, artillery pieces, armoured transports and support vehicles - raising fears of an invasion. Ukrainian presidential spokesman Iuliia Mendel said today that 40,000 troops are now stationed in Crimea with another 40,000 near the Donbass region where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting government forces for years. Meanwhile Michael McFaul, who was America's man in Moscow between 2012 and 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea, warned that Putin could invade Ukraine and bring war to Europe in a 'worst-case scenario'. Russia has continued to move artillery pieces (left), armoured vehicles (right) and troops to its border with Ukraine amid warnings the build-up could spark war in Europe There are now more than 80,000 Russian troops along the border, the Ukrainian president's office has said, with 40,000 in Crimea and 40,000 along the rest of the border Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow, said the build-up - which is being carriedo out in full view of cameras (above ) - is 'definitely' designed to test Joe Biden Videos from Rostov-on-Don, around 100 miles from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, show tanks (left) and support vehicles being moved closer to the border He said the current posturing in eastern Europe could easily spill over into all-out conflict if Russia decides to attack on the pretext of 'liberating' Russian-speakers in the east of the country who it considers citizens. 'If that happened the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian army would respond, I have no doubt that they would, and then you would have a war in Europe between two very formidable armies,' he said. In the meantime, Russia has resorted to attacking Ukrainian President Zelensky over the airwaves with state media painting him as the aggressor. A news report on Russia's Channel One likened Zelensky - a former actor - to Napoleon after digging up images of him playing the part in an old TV drama. The Ukrainian leader was dreaming of 'Napoleonic ambitions' by hoping NATO would come to his aid against Russia, the report said. But it was clear Zelensky was not evaluating himself 'sensibly'. Portraying Napoleon on screen 'is not the same as doing it,' the report added. Another report labelled the ex-TV comedian Zelensky a 'commander-in-chief comic', a 'president of war' who was 'inciting' conflict. Viewers were told that Ukraine with NATO support, rather than Russia, was building up military firepower close to Donetsk and Luhansk, which are controlled by pro-Moscow rebels following a civil war in 2014 that has led to more than 14,000 deaths. 'Never before has there been so much Nato military hardware in Ukraine,' claimed the report. It also highlighted alleged arrivals of US transport planes and Pentagon-leased cargo vessels in strategic Ukrainian port Odessa. These claims could not be immediately corroborated. Videos have also shown tanks, mobile artillery, howitzers, armoured personnel carriers and support vehicles being ferried to the front - many of which are being massed at a camp near the city of Voronezh, around 115 miles from the border. Mendel added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has requested talks with Putin over the troop buildup, but has not yet received a response. Zelenskiy will this week travel to Paris to discuss the rising tensions with European allies. Asked by BBC Radio 4 how concerned world leaders should be by the situation in Ukraine, Mr McFaul responded simply: 'Very.' Ukraine has begun pumping out its own images of military preparations, including troops practicing with an anti-tank launcher Ukrainian troops practice with anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers as the government warns of the risk of Russian invasion A Russian 'peacekeeping' vehicle is seen on the move in Transnistria, in Moldova, along Ukraine's western flank While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has threatened 'consequences and costs' if Russia moves into Ukraine, Mr McFaul said his threat does not go far enough. He called on the White House should be explicit in spelling out what its retaliation would be if Russia attacked, in the hopes of changing the calculation Putin makes before giving the order. 'Sanctions almost never change Putin's behaviour post-facto, but they might change his calculations before he decides to make a move,' he said. He added that the G7 should also put out a statement condemning Russia's actions instead of forcing America to take its stand alone. Invited to speculate on why Putin is now making an issue out of a conflict that has been smouldering in eastern Ukraine for the past five years, Mr McFaul pointed to 'tough' things that Biden has said about the Russian president since taking office. Back in March, Biden called Putin 'a killer' while threatening to retaliate against Russian attempts to interfere in the 2020 election. The remark caused fury in Moscow, as Putin's spokesman called it 'unprecedented' and said it is clear that Biden 'does not want to improve relations with us, and we will continue to proceed from this'. Observers have also pointed to pressure mounting on Putin from within Russia as a reason for him to ratchet up simmering tensions. The president is facing slumping popularity in the polls, repeated leaks to the media about his closely-guarded private life, and serious opposition in the form of Alexei Navalny - the now-jailed critic who sparked mass protests back in January. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, of the Center for a New American Security, told Foreign Policy magazine that 'it feels like Putin is drumming up the besieged Russia narrative'. Amid the tensions, Russian media warned on Monday that the country is 'one step away from war' as anchors branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state and played footage of weapons being moved to the border. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (right) has called for talks with Putin (left) to try and resolve the tensions, but says Moscow has not responded so far Joe Biden raised tensions with Moscow by branding Putin a 'killer', with experts saying the troop movements are designed to 'test' the US president Moscow also unveiled a new video of its latest weaponry marking Day of the Air Defence Forces. More footage showed the first recent Russian military massing on Ukraine's western flank, with movements in Transnistria, a no-man's land controlled by Moscow that borders Moldova. Some carried 'peacekeeper' signs, normal for Moscow forces in the breakaway territory. It was not immediately clear where the forces were heading. Troops and equipment have also been on the move in annexed Crimea, along with the Russian regions of Pskov, Ryazan, Rostov-on-Don, and elsewhere. Images also emerged from Ukraine of forces doing drills with the Korsar (Corsar) light portable anti tank missile system. And reports say US military reconnaissance planes P-8A Poseidon and Lockheed EP-3E Orion have been spotted over the Black Sea close to Crimea during the weekend. It comes after Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, warned last week of the threat of a 'second Srebrenica' against Russian speakers in Ukraine - referencing a massacre of Muslims by Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. Deputy head of the presidential administration Dmitry Kozak warned that, if Russia finds reason to intervene in the conflict, then it would be the 'beginning of the end' for Ukraine. Military action would be 'not a shot in the leg, but in the face', he added. Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist movements in Donbass has already ramped up as tensions increase, Kiev says. On Sunday, fighting saw one Ukrainian soldier killed and another wounded by artillery fire. Ukraine says 27 soldiers have now been killed in the region this year, more than half the number who died in all of 2020. Elbridge, N.Y. A 65-year-old man was seriously injured in a motocycle crash in Elbridge on Saturday, State Police said. Michael H. Mills of Elbridge was driving his 2009 Harley Davidson northbound on Hamilton Road just north of Nash Road at an unsafe speed when he lost control of the bike at a curve and drove off the west side shoulder, troopers said. Mills was ejected from the motorcycle. He was rushed to Upstate University Hospital with internal injuries and was listed in serious condition. The investigation is continuing. Charlie Miller is a journalist with syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. You can reach him at 315-382-1984. Boston City Council is weighing a measure that would limit the use of pepper spray and other chemical crowd control agents during protests or demonstrations in the city. The proposed ordinance would limit the use of chemical crowd control agents and kinetic projectiles like rubber bullets, during lawful protests, demonstrations or other gatherings of 10 or more persons, councilors said on Friday. The measures can only be authorized in response to acts of violence or destruction of property, they said. Additionally, the ordinance would require that police give two separate warnings at least two minutes apart over a loudspeaker system before any crowd control measures can be used, councilors said. Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell said during a council hearing on the proposed law on Friday that the measure establishes or codifies what the (Boston Police Department) already says is existing policy and practice. It is not an absolute ban, Campbell said. This for me has always been simple that we should do this. Boston City Council on Dec. 16 passed similar legislation regulating the use of chemical crowd control agents, but it was vetoed by then-Mayor Marty Walsh on Dec. 31. Major Kim Janey, who was the city council president at the time, supported the measure. Boston police officials werent present during Fridays meeting. The hearing came a day after Somerville passed a ban on the use tear gas, while labelling other chemical crowd control agents as last resort weapons and outlining specific circumstances under which they can be deployed, according to the Somerville Journal. In Somerville, pepper spray may only be used to prevent serious bodily injury or death, or if an officer witnesses ongoing destruction of property with a weapon, and is unable to subdue a perpetrator with a lower level of force after giving a clear verbal warning, the newspaper reports. This ordinance in no way is meant as an attack on the behavior of the Somerville Police Department whatsoever, this is an ordinance which enshrines what to me is common sense, good policing around First Amendment right-protected protest, said Somerville City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen said, the Somerville Journal reports. Related Content: Study: "Characterizing Remote Instruction Provided by Elementary School Teachers during School Closures due to COVID-19" Authors: Michael Hebert (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), J. Marc Goodrich (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Jessica M. Namkung (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) This study will be presented today at the AERA 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting. Session: Technology Supports and Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic Date/Time: Saturday, April 10, 10:40 a.m. - 11:40 a.m. ET Main Findings: While teachers in spring 2020 felt that 60 percent of their students were prepared for the next grade level, in fall 2020 teachers reported that only 50 percent of students had the skills needed to transition to their class when schools reopened. Additionally, 75 percent of teachers reported spending more time reviewing material from the previous grade when compared to prior years. Approximately two-thirds of teachers reported in fall 2020 that reading achievement gaps at their school were larger than in previous years; however, only approximately 40 percent of teachers reported providing more reading intervention than in previous years. Similarly, approximately half of teachers reported that mathematics and writing achievement gaps were larger than previous years, but only 33 percent to 38 percent of teachers reported providing more math and writing intervention than in previous years. Details: In late spring 2020, the authors conducted a survey of a nationally representative sample of 428 elementary school teachers across the U.S. to determine how school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic affected delivery of instruction. Additionally, the authors conducted a follow-up survey in fall 2020 after schools re-opened to evaluate how the ongoing pandemic was continuing to affect instruction and student achievement. Three hundred forty teachers from the original survey mailing list responded to the follow-up survey. Based on their survey results and Census data, the authors estimate that between 7.2 million and 11.6 million elementary school students may not have received any live remote instruction after school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. On average, teachers reported that approximately 60 percent of students were prepared to transition to the next grade level when their school closed. Although nearly all teachers reported providing some form of remote instruction, only 31 percent of teachers in spring 2020 reported believing that remote learning experiences were effectively promoting student achievement. Only 33 percent of teachers held live remote meetings with students daily, with an additional 39 percent holding live meetings once per week. Teachers who served larger numbers of students from low-income backgrounds were less likely to hold live meetings with their students and had fewer students with reliable internet access. Over 90 percent of teachers in spring 2020 reported providing activities that students could complete independently at home daily. Approximately 25 percent of teachers reported providing direct instruction in reading and math skills daily in spring 2020, whereas another 25 percent reported never providing direct instruction in reading or math skills. Teachers were less likely to provide writing instruction, as only 13 percent provided direct writing instruction daily, with 22 percent providing no direct instruction in writing skills. Seventy-seven percent of teachers in spring 2020 reported they directly provided accommodations to students with disabilities in their class, and 82 percent reported that some other teacher provided services to their students with disabilities. In contrast, 43 percent of teachers indicated providing no accommodations for English language learners, despite 85 percent of teachers reporting having English language learners in their classroom. In the fall survey completed in November 2020, approximately 40 percent of teachers reported that their school was either fully in person or was in person with the option for students to opt out. Approximately 25 percent of teachers reported their school used a fully remote instructional model, and the remainder reported hybrid or other instructional models. Forty-five percent of teachers reported that their schools' instructional model had changed since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, as substantially more teachers (48 percent) reported their schools used a fully remote instructional model at the beginning of fall 2020. Although only 25 percent to 28 percent of teachers reported providing daily direct instruction in reading and math skills in spring 2020 during school closures, in fall 2020 over 75 percent of teachers reported providing direct instruction in reading and mathematics daily, and 60 percent of teachers reported providing direct instruction in writing daily. "Despite the tremendous efforts of teachers and schools, there is cause for alarm about the short- and long-term effects of remote instruction during the pandemic," said coauthor J. Marc Goodrich, an assistant professor of special education and communication disorders at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Whether schools have reopened or not, it is imperative that educators identify students with the highest educational need, including students from vulnerable populations and students with low academic achievement, and provide targeted supports and opportunities for those students." To request a copy of the working paper, or to talk to study authors, please contact AERA Communications: Tony Pals, Director of Communications, tpals@aera.net, cell: (202) 288-9333; Tong Wu, Communications Associate, twu@aera.net, cell: (202) 957-3802 ### About AERA The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A Bronx, N.Y. man was sentenced to five years in state prison Monday in a so-called grandparent scam to steal $142,900 from eight older New Jersey residents, authorities said. Osvaldo Thomas, 41, pleaded guilty to a second-degree theft by deception charge on Feb. 19. He was sentenced Monday by Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Buck in Middlesex County. In pleading guilty, Thomas admitted that he participated in a scam commonly known as a `grandparent scam in which a caller claimed that the victims grandchild was in jail and that he was an attorney representing the grandchild, the attorney generals office said in a press release. The caller told the victims that in order to get their grandchild out of jail, they needed to provide him with large sums of money for bail. The thefts occurred in April and May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in at least one case, the victim also was told that the grandchild had the coronavirus, authorities said. The eight victims gave Thomas or another individual who posed as a courier to pick up the funds at the victims homes between $10,300 to $27,000 per victim, the attorney generals office said. The victims residences spanned the state: Clifton, Cherry Hill, Wantage Township, Bound Brook, Gloucester Township, Fairlawn, South Brunswick and Essex Fells. Thomas is responsible for paying full restitution of $142,900 under the plea agreement, it said. Grandparent scams cause losses totaling in the tens of millions of dollars each year to victims in the United States, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. This prison sentence sends a clear message that we will not tolerate criminals who prey on older adults, particularly con artists who scam victims by exploiting their love and concern for their grandchildren. What is more egregious, this defendant callously took advantage of the victims isolation from their families during the pandemic and their fears about the coronavirus. The state said it wants people to contact the attorney generals office if they believe they are being targeted in a scam. You can call a toll-free tip line at (866) TIPS-4CJ to confidentially report fraud or other illegal activities. You can also report suspected crimes at www.njdcj.org. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. BOULDER, Colo. (AP) Hackers are trying to extort the University of Colorado after a cyberattack that potentially compromised personal information from more than 310,000 files, including student data, medical information and several Social Security numbers, university officials said Friday. The attackers have posted small amounts of data on the internet and are threatening to post more if they are not paid, The Boulder Daily Camera reported. The university does not intend to do so, following guidance from the FBI, a university news release said. Paying would not ensure that data is not posted, now or in the future, or that there would not be additional demands. Leaders of the university system said they were told of an attack on a file-sharing system run by the vendor in late January and immediately shut down the service. CU was one of at least 10 universities and organizations involved in the attack, according to Fridays announcement. The FBI is investigating. The information that was compromised includes grades and transcript data, student ID numbers, race/ethnicity, veteran status, visa status, disability status and limited donor information. The attack also compromised some medical treatment, diagnosis and prescription information, and in limited cases, Social Security numbers and university financial account information, according to the news release. CU is providing credit monitoring, identity monitoring, fraud consultation and identity theft restoration to those affected, most of whom were connected to the Boulder campus. The Denver campus also had some affected files, while the Colorado Springs and Anschutz Medical campuses were not affected. Although the attack was on a vulnerability in a third-party vendors software, CU is in the process of completing a lessons learned exercise to improve its practices, the university said in its statement. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. [April 12, 2021] Loomis Sayles Welcomes Susan Sieker as Chief Financial Officer Loomis, Sayles & Company, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, announced today that Susan Sieker has joined Loomis Sayles as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). She also joins the Loomis Sayles Board of Directors. Susan reports to Kevin Charleston, chairman and chief executive officer of Loomis Sayles, and will oversee the finance organization. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005613/en/ Susan joins Loomis Sayles from Cambridge Associates, where she was the chief financial officer and oversaw financial planning and analysis, treasury, accounting operations, financial reporting, payroll and taxes. Prior to joining Cambridge Associates in 2012, Susan served in a variety of finance and risk leadership roles at Brinker International, including vice president and treasurer, vice president of global infrastructure, vice president of benefits, vice president of business assurance (enterprise risk management) and as director of internal audit. She began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (News - Alert) , where she specialized in financial services and completed a two-year international secondment in Brazil. Susan earned a BBA in accounting from Southern Methodist University and holds her certification in public accountancy (CPA). "It is a privilege to welcome Susan to Loomis Sayles. Her extensive experience helping drive success for a service-based company in our industry during a challenging environment will be invaluable as Loomis Sayles continues growing its increasingly complex global business," said Kevin Charleston. "She has already proven herself to be a thoughtful and collaborative partner and I am confident she will be a great addition to the firm." Susan succeeds Paul Sherba, an executive vice president, member of the board of directors and chief financial officer, who retired on March 31, 2021, after 34 years with Loomis Sayles. Paul joined the company in 1987 as assistant controller, and was later promoted to controller, and then to treasurer before assuming the CFO role in 2015. ABOUT LOOMIS SAYLES Since 1926, Loomis, Sayles & Company has helped fulfill the investment needs of institutional and mutual fund clients worldwide. The firm's performance-drien investors integrate deep proprietary research and integrated risk analysis to make informed, judicious decisions. Teams of portfolio managers, strategists, research analysts and traders collaborate to assess market sectors and identify investment opportunities wherever they may lie, within traditional asset classes or among a range of alternative investments. Loomis Sayles has the resources, foresight and the flexibility to look far and wide for value in broad and narrow markets in its commitment to deliver attractive sustainable returns for clients. This rich tradition has earned Loomis Sayles the trust and respect of clients worldwide, for whom it manages $345.7 billion ** in assets (as of March 31, 2020). ** Includes the assets of Loomis, Sayles & Co., LP, and Loomis Sayles Trust Company, LLC. Loomis Sayles Trust Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Loomis, Sayles & Company, LP. ABOUT NATIXIS INVESTMENT MANAGERS Natixis Investment Managers serves financial professionals with more insightful ways to construct portfolios. Powered by the expertise of more than 20 specialized investment managers globally, we apply Active Thinking to deliver proactive solutions that help clients pursue better outcomes in all markets. Natixis Investment Managers ranks among the world's largest asset management firms1 with nearly $1.1 trillion assets under management2 (910.0 billion). Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Investment Managers is a subsidiary of Natixis. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, Natixis is a subsidiary of BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. Natixis Investment Managers' affiliated investment management firms include AEW; Alliance Entreprendre; AlphaSimplex Group; DNCA Investments;3 Dorval Asset Management; Flexstone Partners; Gateway (News - Alert) Investment Advisers; H2O Asset Management; Harris Associates; Investors Mutual Limited; Loomis, Sayles & Company; Mirova; MV Credit; Naxicap Partners; Ossiam; Ostrum Asset Management; Seeyond; Seventure Partners; Thematics Asset Management; Vauban Infrastructure Partners; Vaughan Nelson Investment Management; Vega Investment Managers;4 and WCM Investment Management. Additionally, investment solutions are offered through Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, and Natixis Advisors offers other investment services through its AIA and MPA division. Not all offerings available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit Natixis Investment Managers' website at im.natixis.com| LinkedIn (News - Alert) : linkedin.com/company/natixis-investment-managers. Natixis Investment Managers' distribution and service groups include Natixis Distribution, L.P., a limited purpose broker-dealer and the distributor of various U.S. registered investment companies for which advisory services are provided by affiliated firms of Natixis Investment Managers, Natixis Investment Managers S.A. (Luxembourg), Natixis Investment Managers International (France), and their affiliated distribution and service entities in Europe and Asia. 1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2020 ranked Natixis Investment Managers as the 17th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2019. 2 Assets under management ("AUM") as of December 31, 2020 is $1,389.7 billion. AUM, as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets, assets of minority-owned affiliated entities and other types of non-regulatory AUM managed or serviced by firms affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers. 3 A brand of DNCA Finance. 4 A wholly-owned subsidiary of Natixis Wealth Management. MALR027073 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005613/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] (TNS) A cybersecurity attack last week forced Brown University to shut down some of its computer programs.In a letter to the community, Bill Thirsk, the universitys chief digital officer and chief information officer, said his department detected a security incident on March 30, which affected the availability of certain systems within Browns computer network.Brown immediately launched an investigation, and since then, the university has been methodically working to determine which specific systems were impacted and to restore the involved systems to operation as quickly as possible.Several systems have remained on line, including Banner Self Service, Canvas, Workday, Zoom, and Google.Thirsk said most systems have been restored, including www.brown.edu websites, Library.Brown.edu, Listserv services and others.According to a news publication called Edscoop, the threat affected the universitys Microsoft Windows-based programs, prompting employees to shut down connections to the universitys central data center.Edscoop reported that Thirsk asked faculty and staff working on campus to stop using Windows-based machines and instead use other devices or computers that run on other operating systems.The University of Maryland said last week it has been hit by a massive data breach, putting 309,079 students, faculty and staff at risk. The breach includes information on anyone issued a campus ID for Maryland's College Park and Shady Grove campuses since 1998, according to news reports.Stolen data include name, Social Security number, date of birth, and university ID number.Brown didn't comment on whether the two incidents were linked, nor did it say if any sensitive data was breached. Hong Kong selects payment platforms to help disburse consumption vouchers Xinhua) 15:31, April 12, 2021 HONG KONG, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has selected several payment platforms including AlipayHK and Octopus to help disburse consumption vouchers to residents under a pro-consumption scheme. The government announced on Sunday a number of stored value facility (SVF) operators to assist in implementing the scheme in a statement, with Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK also on the list. According to the 2021-22 Budget published earlier this year, every permanent resident and new arrival aged 18 or above will receive electronic consumption vouchers worth 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (643 U.S. dollars) to stimulate people's consumption sentiment and boost local consumption. The government is discussing with the operators on the detailed arrangements and the target is to start registration this summer vacation. The selected payment platforms currently cover a network of some 30,000 to 100,000 merchants, respectively, in the local retail, food and beverage, and service industries. The government encouraged more local merchants to participate in the scheme and said those SVF operators have agreed to waive relevant fees for the installation and usage of payment devices by local merchants. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) Governor Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and Colonial Chemical officials announced on Monday that the surfactant product manufacturing company will expand operations in Marion County. As part of the expansion, Colonial Chemical will invest $13.8 million and create 44 new jobs in New Hope over the next five years. Located at 225 Colonial Dr., Colonial Chemicals expansion will include renovations of its existing 25,000-square-foot warehouse and the addition of a stand-alone employee facility. Colonial Chemical will also construct a new R&D laboratory and tank farm, all of which is expected to be complete by 2025. Governor Lee said, Were proud to celebrate Colonial Chemicals expansion in Marion County. Southeast Tennessees business landscape continues to grow due to the skilled workforce of our rural communities. Id like to thank Colonial Chemical for creating new opportunities for the residents of New Hope and Marion County. Commissioner Rolfe said, Colonial Chemical has been a valued partner in Marion County for nearly 25 years, and this project will enable the company to support future growth. I congratulate Colonial Chemical on this expansion and thank the company for its continued commitment to Tennessee. David Anderson, Jr., president, Colonial Chemical said, This is a busy time at Colonial Chemical. In the past year, we have upgraded significant systems in our plant, added additional reactor equipment, and moved our administrative offices into a new building. We have outgrown our existing warehouses for storage, and weve needed additional loading bays for the increased traffic thats pouring into our plant. The additional space will help meet our needs for the immediate future. We are grateful for the investment and trust of TNECD as we grow and provide economic strength in the Sequatchie Valley. Marion County Mayor David Jackson said, Colonial Chemical opened their plant here in Marion County in the 90s with six employees and today they are close to 150 employees. We are very excited that their growth has continued through the years and that they are able to do another expansion at their New Hope plant. They are a great community partner and a company that provides good paying jobs for the citizens of Marion County. We also we want to thank the State of Tennessee for their help with making this expansion become a reality. New Hope Mayor Mark Myers said, Colonial Chemical has been a good neighbor to the residents of New Hope. They have brought in jobs, theyve spent money and time off hours beautifying our town, and theyve been environmentally conscientious in operating a safe and productive chemical manufacturing site. Colonial is an essential partner in the growth of our community, and were all delighted to see them do well. John Bradley, TVA senior vice president of Economic Development said, TVA and Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative congratulate Colonial Chemical on its decision to expand operations in New Hope. Its always an exciting day when we can celebrate a companys commitment to continued growth in the Valley. We are proud to partner with Marion County, City of New Hope and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to support companies, like Colonial Chemicals business success. Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) said, Marion Countys economy continues to grow and diversify. Colonial Chemicals decision to bring more jobs into our community is a testament to our business-friendly environment and high quality of life. I am grateful to Colonial Chemical for continuing and expanding its excellent relationship with Marion County. Congratulations to Mayor Jackson and others who work together to make Marion County a positive place to locate and to grow your business. Our state is becoming increasingly more attractive as a place for businesses to grow, and I am committed to making sure we equip our citizens with the resources needed for a skilled workforce. Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) said, I am pleased that Colonial Chemical has chosen to expand its current operations in New Hope and continue their investment in our community. I congratulate the companys leaders and our state and local partners for working to create more jobs for our residents. I look forward to many more years of Colonial Chemicals continued success. Founded in 1988, Colonial Chemical is a specialty chemical manufacturing company and global supplier of surfactants used in personal care products, household cleaners and various industrial applications. Over the last five years, TNECD has supported nearly 80 economic development projects in Southeast Tennessee, accounting for more than 10,500 job commitments and $3.2 billion in capital investment. Burma Girl, 7, Shot as Myanmar Regime Forces Attack Protesters Near Indian Border A roadblock set up by anti-regime protesters in Tamu, Sagaing Region. / Khampat Times A 7-year-old girl was shot when Myanmar regime forces launched an hours-long assault on Tamu, Sagaing Region early Monday. The attack followed the deaths of soldiers in the town over the weekend as residents resisted earlier raids. The girls condition was not known, according to a resident of the town near the Indian border, who said the 7-year-old was shot when she went outside her home after shooting erupted in her community. The number of casualties was also unconfirmed, as many residents have fled their homes and are now in hiding. Mondays raid started at 5:45 a.m. and gunfire was heard for at least six hours, according to residents. A protester said junta forces destroyed large roadblocks set up by the anti-regime protesters to keep police and soldiers from entering the town. They destroyed the roadblock near the Zabuyadana monastery on Tamus Alaungpaya Road at 6:30 a.m. As we have less strength, we retreated and avoided a confrontation. But they continued the raids and launched RPGs twice. Then they bulldozed the roadblocks, said a member of Tamus civil defense force. They shoot anything in sight, the Tamu resident said, adding that they were not able to contact the towns Grace Hospital. Regime forces raided the hospital, reportedly destroying equipment, beating staff and seizing their phones. A local ward administrators home was also raided. Another resident said a young man who was detained during the raid was tied to a lamppost on the street after being accused of having a gas-powered gun at his home. Tamu residents have taken up improvised arms and explosives to defend themselves from the regime forces atrocities, following the death of a peaceful protester on March 26. At least 18 regime security forces died when the resistance forces threw grenades at military trucks on April 10, following military raids on anti-regime protesters barricades early that morning. On April 4, at least four soldiers were killed by Tamu residents when troops fired on protesters barricades. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Military Artillery Kills Kachin Civilians Myanmars Informal Financial Service Providers Take Advantage of Post-Coup Banking Crisis Death Toll in Myanmar Regimes Latest Massacre Rises as Details Emerge 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. The attack on Irans Natanz nuclear facility is casting a major shadow over Tuesdays resumption of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran over resurrection of the international accord limiting Iran's nuclear program. Neither Iran nor the U.S. say the incident will crater the negotiations. But the attack and the destruction of a significant amount of Irans uranium enrichment capability add uncertainty to the discussions in Vienna The attack gives both sides reason to harden their positions, yet each has incentives to keep the talks on track. Iran wants Washington to lift sanctions that have contributed to damaging its economy, including measures not related to its nuclear program. It insists that the sanctions be lifted before it returns to compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement that then-President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of in 2018. For the Biden administration, the talks are a high-stakes gamble that it can salvage what the Obama administration considered one of its prime foreign policy achievements and slow Iran's programs, even as critics claim the accord had given Iran a pathway to a nuclear weapon instead of closing it off. Iran has blamed Israel for the destruction at an important underground facility, and Israeli media has been filled with claims from unnamed officials claiming responsibility. The Biden administration, meanwhile, has taken a hands-off approach, neither praising nor condemning the attack. The White House said the U.S. had no involvement and had nothing to add to speculation about the causes. The attack adds a fresh complication to discussions in Vienna and also to President Joe Biden s efforts to smooth ties with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed a close relationship with Trump, who abandoned the Iran agreement and began a campaign of maximum pressure on Iran by imposing harsh sanctions. The U.S. has said it is prepared to lift or ease sanctions that are inconsistent with the nuclear deal along with sanctions that are inconsistent with the benefits that Iran expected to get from agreeing to the accord. The deal had removed nuclear sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its atomic program, although critics noted that many of those restrictions are time-limited and will expire before 2030. Those same critics, including many in Congress, have expressed concerns that non-nuclear sanctions such as those imposed for terrorism, ballistic missile activity and human rights abuses may be on the table in the negotiations. The administration has not specifically commented on that but has said it will not offer Iran sweeteners unrelated to the agreement. Israeli officials have raised concerns, too, about what they fear would be a precipitous U.S. return to the deal, and news of the attack broke as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was visiting Israel. Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be in Brussels later this week for talks with European and NATO allies likely to touch on Iran. As Austin and Blinken prepared to meet their counterparts in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern that the attack could affect the talks. All of what we are hearing from Tehran is not a positive contribution to this, Maas told reporters. The destruction of advanced centrifuges at Natanz came at a critical time in the Vienna talks that are intended to resurrect the nuclear deal. Trump's withdrawal and his reintroduction of sanctions, along with Iran's decisions to break its own commitments to the agreement, have left it in significant jeopardy. The weekend attack on Natanz, one of Iran's main nuclear facilities, came amid a break in the Vienna talks. Key to the deal were restrictions on Iran's uranium enrichment. Activities at the heavily fortified Natanz facility, which is built into a mountain, were among those most constrained. Natanz has been targeted by sabotage in the past. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges there during an earlier period of Western fears about Tehrans program. Last July, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for that, as well as the November killing of a scientist who began the countrys military nuclear program decades ago. Israel also has launched a series of airstrikes in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian forces and their equipment. And Israel is suspected in an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen. United States and Mexico trade relations, opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence, and electricity market design are among topics discussed as academic researchers, business leaders and policy makers convene for Texas A&M International Universitys virtual 25th Annual Western Hemispheric Trade Conference, Wednesday, April 14 through Friday, April 16. This years conference is co-sponsored by TAMIUs A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business and the Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade and held in partnership with Mexicos Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas Facultad de Comercio, Administracion y Ciencias Sociales. While registration is closed for presenters, concurrent academic sessions and keynote presentations are free, open to the public and will livestream via WebEx. For a complete conference schedule, visit freetrade.tamiu.edu/. This years virtual conference includes added opportunities for its participants, including an interactive Guidebook app. The hub-like app can be customized to create a virtual conference agenda customized to each participants scheduled events. The first keynote, happening Wednesday, April 14 at 5:30 p.m., is the IBC Bank and Commerce Bank 2020-2021 Keynote Speaker Series presentation, The Importance of Getting U.S.-Mexico Relations Right, featuring Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne, distinguished diplomat in residence at American Universitys School of International Service. Ambassador Wayne will address key issues in bilateral relations and developments in Mexico. To register, visit go.tamiu.edu/wayne or search for WebEx Event #133 209 0791. During the second keynote, Darrell M. West will present his research topic, Should You Be Worried about Artificial Intelligence. He will discuss what artificial intelligence is, how it is being deployed, and its opportunities and risks. Additionally, West will address a policy blueprint for moving forward. Currently, West is vice president and director of Governance Studies at Brookings Institution and author of Turning Point: Policymaking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence. This virtual presentation is Thursday, April 15 at 3 p.m. To join, visit go.tamiu.edu/whtc-keynote-west or search for WebEx Event #133 714 3668. The final keynote, Electricity Market Design: Preparing for a High Renewable Resource Future, features David Brown, associate professor of economics at the University of Alberta and Canada Research chair in Energy Economics and Policy. His presentation will discuss ongoing debates over the design and regulation of wholesale electricity markets in a high renewable energy resource future. Brown will also discuss market reforms to energy-only markets, such as Texas electricity market, to achieve a reliable supply of electricity that is resilient to extreme weather events and increased electrification. His presentation is Friday, April 16 at 1:30 p.m. To join visit go.tamiu.edu/whtc-keynote-brown or search for WebEx Event #133 508 5063. Paris, 7 April 2021 - Young Africans career aspirations have little in common with current and projected labour demand in the region, which complicates their transition from school to work, according to Youth Aspirations and the Reality of Jobs in Africa. Evidence from ten countries - Benin, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda & Zambia- shows that what African youth value most is job security, hence their preference for work in the public sector. More than 80% of the surveyed students also aspire to work in high-skilled occupations, although most of them do not have adequate levels of education. Very few want to work in intermediate-skilled occupations such as clerical support, services, sales or crafts. Agriculture related work or medium-skilled jobs in manufacturing are the least attractive for young Africans. Sixty-five per cent of young people currently in a job would like to find a new one, mainly for better pay and more job security. The report warns that long-term unmet career satisfaction can lead to social unrest, as witnessed during the Arab Spring in 2011. With 375 million youth in Sub-Saharan Africa expected to be in the labour force by 2030, matching young peoples career ambitions and aspects of job satisfaction with the reality of labour markets, will play an essential role for both youth well-being and social cohesion. Two types of policies can help address the misalignment between job preferences among youth and employment opportunities: those that help young people shape realistic career aspirations; and those that support the creation of better quality jobs, taking into account the conditions that matter for young people. The report recommends to look at the dynamic domestic demand across Africa for diversified, nutritious, processed food as the main opportunity: in many African countries, the best decent job prospects for young people are in farm and off-farm agricultural activities. Agriculture is the main employment provider for youth in most countries, and will remain so for some time. However, low productivity, difficult working conditions and low pay are off-putting to young entrants to the labour market. Substantially increasing investment in and improving incentives for the development of food processing and food services could therefore create more and higher-quality medium-skilled occupations. It would also strengthen local food systems, benefiting both consumers and producers. Rapid urbanisation combined with a rising middle class is increasing domestic demand for diversified processed food in Africa. This growing demand is currently being met by food imports, estimated at US$35 billion annually. Much of the imported food could be produced and processed locally or traded regionally through better integration. Building efficient local and regional food systems with positive spillovers on employment and the environment requires large investments in agriculture research, skills, rural infrastructure and food production, as well as distribution structures. Beyond agriculture, the debate must urgently shift towards sustainable local food systems to create more and better jobs for youth in Africa. These topics will be at the heart of the next United Nations Food Systems Summit to be held in New York in September 2021. For more information, journalists are invited to contact the OECD Development Centres Press office: Bochra Kriout (bochra.kriout@oecd.org; Tel.: +33 145 24 82 96). Related Documents The claim: Twice as many children are in Border Patrol custody under Biden than Trump peak in 2019. Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott, a Republican, made the claim in a March 30 tweet. PolitiFact rating: True. Numbers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection verify this claim. The Trump administration recorded 2,600 minors in Border Patrol custody in June 2019, which was the highest amount during Trumps term. As of March 29, 5,160 minors were in Border Patrol custody, waiting to be transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Discussion Unaccompanied minors have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers since President Joe Biden took office, and Republican leaders in border states have been quick to highlight the challenges the federal government is facing. Abbott hammered the Biden administration on border issues throughout March. First, he accused the administration of reckless border policies that have released migrants who tested positive for COVID-19 into the U.S. More recently, the governor has focused on the uptick of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border. About PolitiFact PolitiFact is a fact-checking project to help you sort out fact from fiction in politics. Truth-O-Meter ratings are determined by a panel of three editors. The burden of proof is on the speaker, and PolitiFact rates statements based on the information known at the time the statement is made. See More Collapse TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox The Biden Admin. is unprepared for the crises they have caused, Abbott continued in the tweet, adding that state police and National Guard forces have been dispatched to assist in the situation. 2019 was the last year border authorities recorded a surge in migrant children and family crossings. And authorities believe that the number of encounters this year will surpass levels seen then. Abbotts claim cited an article published Tuesday by the Washington Examiner, a conservative Washington, D.C., news site. Citing federal data exclusively obtained Monday evening, the website reported the same claim. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the numbers. In 2020, the Trump administration stopped taking minors into custody after it implemented a policy that immediately expelled all people crossing the border, including children, citing COVID-19 precautions. The Biden administration suspended that policy for children in January and now allows youngsters who cross the border alone to remain in the U.S. while they await immigration court proceedings. Migrant children can be held at Border Patrol facilities for a maximum of 72 hours, a rule set forth under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. From there, children are referred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which is tasked with providing care for the minors and connecting them with suitable sponsors. But the strain the high number of migrant children has placed on the system has caused many minors to be held at the Border Patrol facilities beyond the 72-hour limit. (The Trump administration also struggled with meeting that limit.) As of March 30, for instance, more than 2,000 children being held at a Border Patrol facility in Donna had been there for more than 72 hours, according to Pro Publica. We need to do a better job of ensuring that HHS and ORR has greater capacity, and we need to speed up the transfer of these children from our custody to their custody much faster, a senior Customs and Border Protection official told reporters during a March 26 briefing. The Biden administration has raced to establish greater capacity in the Office of Refugee Resettlement to relieve the bottleneck within Border Patrol facilities. The agency has activated or opened what it calls influx care facilities, which are unlicensed care facilities that offer surplus shelter space and can be set up in a matter of weeks, and emergency intake sites, which are new facilities that serve as way stations for unaccompanied children moving from Border Patrol custody to Office of Refugee Resettlement custody, according to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Many of these new or temporary shelters are being set up across Texas including two in San Antonio and one in Houston. Its difficult to pinpoint the precise factors that are causing todays numbers of unaccompanied children to double 2019s peak, experts say. Immigration experts often separate migration drivers into two categories: push factors, or the conditions in origin countries that are causing people to leave home; and pull factors, or the conditions of a destination country that make it a more attractive place to live. Immigration policies in the U.S. are often listed as a significant pull factor, and Biden relaxing those policies after Trumps immigration austerity is often cited as a significant one. But many experts say its the push factors in migrants home countries that are strong drivers of migration into the U.S. In 2019, Honduras struggled with civil unrest and an increase in gang violence, while Guatemala wrestled with environmental issues that affected the populations food security. Last year, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua suffered two Category 4 hurricanes that struck the region within a two-week span. With millions left in need of aid, the hurricanes exacerbated poverty and worsened access to clean water, giving an extra nudge to people considering northern migration. The hurricanes made a huge difference, said Yael Schacher, senior U.S. advocate at Refugees International. People were in a situation where they were just getting by, and then the hurricane wiped them out. A Nashville man has been accused of barging into his neighbors' apartment and attempting to kidnap their nine-year-old daughter while her parents were away. The incident took place at 5.30pm on Saturday at an apartment complex in Davidson County, Tennessee, where the girl was home alone with her four-year-old brother. The siblings' mother told investigators that she and her husband left their children without adult supervision to go to the store. Jacob Keener, 21, has been charged with aggravated kidnapping of a victim under 13 and aggravated burglary for allegedly trying to abduct his 9-year-old neighbor in Nashville While the parents were out, the family's neighbor, 21-year-old Jacob Keener, allegedly entered their apartment through an unlocked patio door, grabbed the nine-year-old girl by the hand and led her outside. A witness reported seeing the suspect holding the child by her waist to prevent her from fleeing, according to WKRN. An arrest warrant alleged that the girl eventually was able to get away from Keener and run back inside her apartment. Police arrested Keener and said that he confessed to being in his neighbors' apartment and outside with the child, reported WSMV. Keener remained behind bars at the Davidson County jail on $100,000 bond Keener was booked into the county jail just before 10.30pm on counts of especially aggravated kidnapping of a victim under 13 and aggravated burglary. He remained behind bars on $100,000 bond pending his next court appearance, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning. If convicted of both felonies, Keener could face up to 75 years in prison. COOK COUNTY, Ill., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cook County Board President Preckwinkle, the Chicago Metro Metal Consortium (CMMC), and IMEC will host a 3-Day virtual event with NASA and its prime contractors to bring new business opportunities to manufacturers in Cook County and throughout Illinois. In 2020, NASA's prime contractors received over $2B in contract funding to support the Marshall Space Flight Center's ongoing development of NASA's Space Launch System and its proposals to create complementary systems. What: If you're a manufacturing company looking to work with NASA and its contractors, attend this free 3-day series of virtual events. Learn about the essentials of doing business with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, and its prime contractors; workshops to assist manufacturers in acquiring the necessary credentials to work with NASA and its contractors; and matchmaking opportunities for local, women, minority-owned, and regional manufacturers. When: April 27 @ 9:00 am - 11:30 am How to Do Business With NASA Webinar May 4 @ 9:00 am - 11:30 am Join the NASA Supply Chain: Requirements and Resources Webinar May 18 @ 8:30 am - 12:00 pm Illinois Manufacturing Matchmaking: NASA and NASA Prime Contractors Why: To provide manufacturers the opportunity to connect with large government contractors through subcontracting programs with the potential of growing their businesses and diversifying their supply chains. About IMEC IMEC is a team of improvement specialists who are dedicated to changing lives and creating a positive impact on Illinois' workforce and economy. With a mission to drive growth through enterprise excellence, they help organizations become more effective and efficient by identifying issues, developing and implementing solutions, and providing the necessary support that will allow them to excel in areas of leadership, strategy, customer engagement, operations, workforce, and measurement and results. In 2020, they assisted over 1,144 companies and help create or retain over 6100 jobs, resulting in over $645M aggregate impact on the Illinois economy. IMEC has seven offices statewide and 48 full-time industry improvement specialists. For more information, visit www.imec.org. SOURCE IMEC Related Links http://www.imec.org James Hendricks, 50, retired from the FBI last year after an internal report substantiated claims he sexually harassed women subordinates in the bureau's Albany field office and headquarters in Washington, DC A former FBI agent who retired after an investigation was launched into claims of sexual harassment was known as a 'skilled predator' who often gawked at women in the office and propositioned at least one of them for sex in a conference room. One woman carried a ruler at FBI headquarters so she could smack James Hendricks' hands when he reached for her legs and breasts. Another went home shaken after he tugged on her ear and kissed her cheek during a closed-door meeting. And when Hendricks went on to lead the FBI's field office in Albany, New York, in 2018, colleagues described him as a 'skilled predator' who leered at women in the workplace, touched them inappropriately and asked one to have sex in a conference room, according to a newly released federal report obtained by The Associated Press. Hendricks quietly retired last year as a special agent in charge after the Office of Inspector General - the Justice Department's internal watchdog - concluded he sexually harassed eight female subordinates in one of the FBI's most egregious known cases of sexual misconduct. Hendricks was among several senior FBI officials highlighted in an AP investigation last year that found a pattern of supervisors avoiding discipline - and retiring with full benefits - even after claims of sexual misconduct against them were substantiated. The FBI said it could not discuss Hendricks' case but that it 'maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment and is committed to fostering a safe work environment where all of our employees are valued, protected and respected.' Hendricks, 50, who now writes a law enforcement blog, did not respond to messages seeking comment. One woman carried a ruler at FBI headquarters in Washington, DC so she could smack James Hendricks' hands when he reached for her legs and breasts, according to the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General He told investigators his accusers had either misinterpreted his actions or exaggerated his behavior, and that he was not sexually attracted to them. 'It's an ugly, ugly laundry list of things that were said, and that's really hurtful to me and it really just disappoints me,' he was quoted as saying. The details of Hendricks' sexual harassment - outlined in a 52-page report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act - have not previously been reported. The OIG blacked out Hendricks' name in the report, but he was identified by law enforcement officials familiar with his case. Drawing on interviews with more than a dozen FBI officials, the report traces Hendricks' harassment to his time at FBI headquarters, where he served as a section chief in the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. He was tapped in 2018 to lead the Albany field office, where he supervised more than 200 agents and other FBI employees. Six of his accusers were in Albany; two were in Washington. Some colleagues chalked up Hendricks' behavior to his being a 'Southern gentleman' - he served as a police officer in western Kentucky before joining the bureau in 1998 - but others said he routinely crossed the line, became 'super giddy' around women and was 'incapable of stopping himself' from harassing them. Six of the eight women who came forward with claims against Hendricks worked in the FBI's Albany field office (above), which he headed beginning in 2018 Co-workers told investigators he surrounded himself with a 'harem' of attractive women, was fixated on high heels and breasts, and was known for gawking at female agents as they walked down the hallway. In office conversations that involved women, Hendricks would shift his 'body posture and head angle to stare at their breasts and bodies in a manner that was calculated to avoid detection,' the OIG report says. Male and female agents alike told investigators they endured this 'as a condition of simply interacting with their boss.' Even Hendricks' male colleagues considered him 'creepy' and one described how he simulated masturbation once when an attractive woman left the room. But like many female agents, they did not report him for fear of retaliation. Hendricks once asked a female subordinate to sit in the passenger seat of a vehicle 'so that I can play with that beautiful hair.' He later asked the same woman why she didn't wear shorts to the office and she said 'because that would be inappropriate.' The woman said she didn't report Hendricks because all of her work required his approval and 'she wanted to be successful in the office.' Another woman told investigators that Hendricks pressured her into having a sexual relationship, and that he had been known to be vindictive and 'push out' people who crossed him. 'He was in a powerful position,' the report says, 'and she worried about what he would do if she did not respond to his advances.' FBI policy permits supervisors to pursue sexual relationships with subordinates but requires them be disclosed so management 'may determine whether remedial action, such as reassignment, is necessary to prevent interference with the FBI's mission.' The Office of Inspector General, however, said 'the imbalance of power between superiors and subordinates could call into question the consensual nature of romantic or intimate relationships.' by Silvina Premat For indigenous groups, environmentalists and small local producers, the project is illegal. Mega farms are expected to produce 900,000 tonnes of meat over four years for Chinese domestic consumption, raising fears about its social and environmental impact. Job prospects for Argentines are poor. Buenos Aires (AsiaNews) Social organisations and representatives of indigenous communities in northern Argentina have slammed the government of President Alberto Fernandez for pushing a project to create 20 largescale hog farms in partnership with Chinese capital and businesses without respecting existing legislation. In recent weeks, several roadblocks were set up in Chaco province on the highway leading to Impenetrable, one of the areas chosen for Chinese hog farming. Local residents, mostly indigenous Qom (Toba) communities entitled to use the land where the farms are supposed to be built, have tried to prevent the passage of Chinese business people whose arrival had been unofficially announced to them by the local authorities, but which ultimately did not happen. Indigenous residents say that they were not consulted, as required by international treaties on activities that might affect their way of life and the ecosystems in which they live and work. They want to go through Chaco to reach other provinces, said a resident. The project, announced by the national government last year, was put on hold after different social groups demanded at least one environmental impact study. The company linked to the pharmaceutical and agrochemical corporation Biogenesis Bago officially reported in January 2020 the proposed Chinese investments of nearly US$ 27 billion to raise millions of pigs over four years. In July 2020, the Argentine Foreign Ministry announced a strategic partnership with then Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, confirming the plan to produce nine million tonnes of meat, ten times more than current production. Pork is Chinas most consumed meat, but an outbreak of African swine fever reduced domestic production. Following the first reactions of environmental groups and small local producers, the government reduced the size of the expected production to 900,000 tonnes. Despite this, protests continued in the streets and on social media asking for more information and warning about the economic implications and pandemic potential of such activities. In December 2020, the Argentine Vegan Union presented the signatures of 528,000 Argentine citizens against the project. The official strategy was then to delegate to the provinces the power to agree with the Chinese. Some environmentalists are currently vetting the legitimacy of such action. Chaco province followed this with its own initiative. Its governor, Jorge Capitanich, who is very close to Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese-Argentine company Feng Tian Food to open three big hog farms for export. The company has a Chinese name, but it includes Argentine friends of the governor and is located in the province of Buenos Aires, Nora Gimenez, a former administrative judge and criminal law professor, told AsiaNews. Gimenez is a member of Conciencia Solidaria, an organisation that launched three legal cases in Chaco courts. One involves a request for information, while the other two call for the prevention of damages and information about permits that would allow the land next to the hog farms be stripped to grow soybeans or maize to feed to the pigs. There was talk in that province of an initial investment of US$ 129 million and the creation of 1,080 jobs. They say that but the reality is that the work wont go to locals. They're coming with the armed teams. This was the case with the uranium processor they installed in Formosa and so it was in Chile, Gimenez explained. The reference to Chile concerns a hog farm in Freirina, which closed after years of complaints and protests about its harmful environmental, health, social and economic effects. Gimenez also reported that the Chaco government is building roads, bridges and other infrastructures to optimise access to the areas for the mega hog farms. Illegal largescale clearings of the native forest have been reported in the same area. For biologist and researcher Guillermo Folguera, civil society groups in Argentina are moving proactively, and that is good, because once the company is installed and the project is started, everything becomes harder. We are trying to move away from the false dichotomy: environmentalism-productivism. We are not saying that we must not produce but that we must see the way in which we produce. People take part in an anti-curfew protest in Montreal on Sunday April 11, 2021. Hundreds of people gathered in Old Montreal tonight in defiance of a new 8 p.m. curfew. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giuseppe Valiante As we strengthen our capabilities across the business, were excited to welcome TSG, a team weve worked with successfully over the years, said Bill Austin, president of NFPs Northeast region. NFP, a leading insurance broker and consultant that provides property and casualty (P&C), corporate benefits, retirement, and individual solutions, today announced the acquisition of Schuster Driscoll, LLC, d/b/a The Schuster Group, and their nonprofit membership platform, TANGO Administrative and Management Services, LLC (together, TSG). The transaction closed on December 31, 2020. TSG, located in Farmington, Connecticut, with ancillary sales offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is a multidisciplinary insurance broker and consultant focused on employee benefits. The firm also offers capabilities in retirement advisory services. NFPs acquisition of TSG brings expertise in the nonprofit space that will be integrated into NFPs existing benefits offerings and resources to enhance insurance solutions to nonprofit clients. Firm principal Rollin Schuster will join NFP as a managing director and report to Kate Henry, a regional managing director in NFPs Northeast region. As we strengthen our capabilities across the business, were excited to welcome TSG, a team weve worked with successfully over the years, said Bill Austin, president of NFPs Northeast region. Our focus remains on strategic growth, so the addition of TSG creates an opportunity for us to grow in the Connecticut market. Were thrilled to welcome Rollin and his team to NFP, said Henry. TSG brings experience in the nonprofit space for both benefits and retirement advisory services and their skills and expertise will be a welcome addition to our existing offerings. Were happy to join NFP, a long-time benefits partner, to combine resources and expand the value we provide to clients, said Schuster. NFPs resources will enhance our capabilities and position us to better address the needs of organizations we serve. Our shared focus on investing in communities will be particularly helpful as we advance TANGOs work to help nonprofit organizations achieve their missions and elevate their impact. About NFP NFP is a leading insurance broker and consultant providing specialized property and casualty, corporate benefits, retirement, and individual solutions through its licensed subsidiaries and affiliates. NFP enables client success through the expertise of over 5,800 global employees, investments in innovative technologies, and enduring relationships with highly rated insurers, vendors, and financial institutions. NFP is the 5th largest benefits broker by global revenue, 5th best place to work in insurance and 6th largest US-based privately owned broker (Business Insurance); 9th commercial lines agency by P&C commercial lines revenue and 10th largest property and casualty agency (Insurance Journal); and 12th largest global insurance broker (Bests Review). Visit NFP.com to discover how NFP empowers clients to meet their goals. A recent study indicates that a U.S. ban on the use of tanning beds among minors would prevent thousands of cases of melanoma in adolescents and would save millions of dollars in healthcare costs. The findings are published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Indoor tanning has been linked to an increased risk of melanoma, with the highest risk in those who start using tanning beds at a young age. Unfortunately, the use of tanning beds is a common practice among U.S. adolescents. Despite the risk of indoor tanning, only a handful of countries have implemented policies to ban tanning beds. Such bans have the potential to save lives and treatment-related costs but come with costs of policy implementation and enforcement, as well as lost revenue to the tanning industry. To consider both the benefits and costs of a ban, investigators modeled the life course of the U.S. population aged between 14 and 17 years and compared two situations: ban versus no ban. The team's simulations revealed that fully adhering to a ban would prevent 15,101 melanoma cases and 3,299 melanoma recurrences among 17.1 million minors, saving $61 in direct and indirect healthcare costs per minor. When including intervention costs and economic losses to the tanning bed industry, banning still saved $12 per minor and a total of $205.4 million over the lifetimes of 17.1 million minors. "A ban on tanning bed use in minors is not universal in Canada and the U.S. In Brazil and Australia there is a total ban not just in minors, while in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, national bans exist for those under the age of 18," said lead author Antoine Eskander, MD, ScM, FRCSC, of the University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. "This work demonstrates the societal implications of a ban in North America and points to the value of this policy, which should be considered by state, provincial, and national/federal governments," added co-senior author David Goldstein, MD, MSc, FRCSC, of the University of Toronto and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. ### Additional Information NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. A free abstract of this article will be available via the Cancer News Room upon online publication. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Dawn Peters +1 781-388-8408 (US) newsroom@wiley.com Follow us on Twitter @WileyNews Full Citation: "To ban or not to ban tanning bed use for minors: A cost effectiveness analysis from multiple U.S. perspectives for invasive melanoma." Antoine Eskander, Kathryn E. Marqueen, Heather A. Osborn, Anthony M. Joshua, Teresa M. Petrella, John R. de Almeida, David P. Goldstein, and Bart S. Ferket. CANCER; Published Online: April 12, 2021 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.33499). URL Upon Publication: http://doi. wiley. com/ 10. 1002/ cncr. 33499 Author Contact: Dr. Goldstein can be reached through University Health Network media contacts: alexandra.radkewycz@uhn.ca or katie.sullivan@uhn.ca About the Journal CANCER is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Cancer Society integrating scientific information from worldwide sources for all oncologic specialties. The objective of CANCER is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of information among oncologic disciplines concerned with the etiology, course, and treatment of human cancer. CANCER is published on behalf of the American Cancer Society by Wiley and can be accessed online. Follow us on Twitter @JournalCancer About Wiley NVUSD directors and task force members have been confronted with competing priorities, balancing the millions of dollars needed to modernize three campuses Harvest, Redwood and Silverado, all built in the 1950s with the $35 million invested to create the River school campus out of the former Salvador Elementary School. Officials also say River has the lowest maximum capacity, at 630 students, of Napa-area middle schools, compared to the hundreds of vacant seats at its peers within the city. During meetings of the middle school task force, River parents and staff also spoke out in defense of preserving their school, a former charter academy devoted to close faculty-student links and assigning students a limited number of teachers in the seventh and eighth grades. Along the way, the middle school committee agreed on the importance of maintaining an English-Spanish middle school pathway for children progressing from NVLA and Pueblo Vista in a district where more than half the student body is Latino. But Harvest supporters have responded that shutting down the Old Sonoma Road campus would deprive that neighborhoods Latino community of a campus within an easy walk or drive, as well as a community hub for families. Qatar, which looks to increase its aid to the besieged Gaza strip by 50 per cent, announced a $10 million grant that will benefit 100,000 poor families in the Palestinian enclave. The beneficiaries will have to go to the government bank to receive the money, Qatars Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza said, according to Middle East Monitor (MEMO). The committee reportedly said it would pay $100 to each of the 100,000 poor Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip. Qatar has emerged as the leading Arab country in matters of supporting the enclave of over 700,000 people following 2018 ceasefire understandings between Israel and Palestinian resistance groups. Qatars ruler Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in January announced a $360 million pledge for the Gaza Strip in 2021, a 50 per cent increase from last year, MEMO notes. The coronavirus pandemic could fuel organised crime for years to come in Europe, a continent already at "breaking point" from an unprecedented flood of cocaine, the EU's policing agency warned Monday The Hague, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :The coronavirus pandemic could fuel organised crime for years to come in Europe, a continent already at "breaking point" from an unprecedented flood of cocaine, the EU's policing agency warned Monday. In its flagship four-yearly report, Europol said increasingly violent criminal gangs are likely to muscle in on legitimate businesses left vulnerable by the economic damage caused by Covid-19. Criminals are also offering fake coronavirus vaccines and home-testing kits as they seek to capitalise on global efforts to recover from the virus, the Hague-based agency said. "We are at the breaking point," Europol's director Catherine De Bolle told AFP in an interview. "The impact on the lives of citizens, on the economy on the rule of law is too big. That's what we see from this... report." The "Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment" is an 87-page report issued ever four years which will be used by EU member states to set crime-fighting priorities until 2025. "A prolonged pandemic will put heavy strain on European and global economies" and a predicted economic recession "may shape serious and organised crime for years to come," the report said.Europol said the drug trade in particular was fuelling corruption across the EU. "Unprecedented quantities of cocaine are trafficked to the EU from Latin America, generating multi-billion-euro profits" for criminals in both Europe and South America, the agency said. The purity of the cocaine arriving in Europe was "at the highest level ever recorded in the EU." The cocaine trade "fuels criminal enterprises that use their enormous resources to infiltrate and undermine the EU's economy, public institutions and society," said Europol. Police raids in major EU ports such as Antwerp, Hamburg and Rotterdam have seen record seizures including a shipment of 23 tonnes of cocaine by Dutch and German police in late February. The trade also stoked increased levels in violence and often criminals "are now not afraid to use guns, hand grenades and torture," De Bolle said. But the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic last year had a further, major impact on the way organised crime gangs operated, Europol said. Companies weakened by the pandemic could become easy prey for gangs wanting to legitimise their crimes or using legal businesses for illegal activities, such as money laundering, Europol said. The pandemic also saw criminals adapting to make profit off the needs and fears of society. "In the early stages we saw a surge in the trade of counterfeit face masks and hand sanitiser. Now we see a rise in the trade in fake vaccines and home testing kits," De Bolle told AFP. "These (fake) vaccines are a risk for your health. You should not buy it." The coronavirus pandemic has also increased cybercrime as restrictions in many countries mean people have to live and work more online, Europol said. "Critical infrastructure will continue to be targeted by cybercriminals in the coming years. This poses a significant risk," Europol said. International police in January disrupted EMOTET, described as the "world's most dangerous" cybercrime malware tool, used to break into computer systems. Online fraud was now a major problem including investment fraud and malware phishing attacks as well as the online sexual exploitation of minors, the agency said. Cybercriminals were also likely to launch "sophisticated and large-scale attacks against critical infrastructure to access and steal sensitive data" as the world goes more on line. Asked whether law agencies were losing the fight against criminals De Bolle said law enforcement "have to go for joint actions, new policies and rethink the way we work.""Seizures alone are not enough," she said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said he expects that more US military vessels will arrive in the South China Sea. Romualdez made the remark in an interview on CNN Philippines on Monday following the arrival of US Navy's Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) in the West Philippine Sea on April 4 and in view of the continuing Chinese presence in Philippine territorial waters. "They have been doing that already. Freedom of navigation operations increasing them for the past several months now," Romualdez said. "The Theodore Roosevelt is there now and this is part of the approach that the area remains free from any kind of problem that will allow ships to go freely in those international waters." The Filipino envoy added that there is a lot of concern among American officials on the recent developments in the West Philippine Sea. This prompted high-ranking officials from the Philippine Departments of National Defense and Foreign Affairs to confer with their American counterparts, he said. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. had a phone conversation with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana spoke to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over the weekend. "Generally, the United States made a commitment," Romualdez said. "As you know Secretary Pompeo said that 'we have your backs' and the Biden administration has been carrying that policy that they are out there to support the Philippines especially in our arbitral win in the UNCLOS. It's very clear." Romualdez refused to give the status of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) after the Philippine government suspended its termination in November 2020. The diplomat, however, said talks are still underway, and that both parties are optimistic the negotiation will yield positive results. "There is a continuing discussion between both parties right now precisely to thresh out the issues that they may have, or we may have as far as the VFA is concerned," the Filipino ambassador to Washington said . "We are very hopeful. I think both sides would like to see something good with both countries and we are hopeful that this will come to good conclusion for both countries." MINSK -- Belarusian authorities have stopped the European news network Euronews from broadcasting inside the country amid a campaign to muzzle independent media and journalists as part of the government's crackdown on dissent following a disputed presidential election that returned strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka to power. The Information Ministry said in a statement on April 12 that the right given to Euronews, a 24-hour television channel covering world news in 12 language editions, including Russian, to distribute its programs in Belarus had expired. Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusians continue to demand the resignation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka amid a brutal crackdown on protesters. The West refuses to recognize him as the country's legitimate leader after an August 9 election considered fraudulent. It added that Russia's Pobeda (Victory) channel focusing on World War II had commenced broadcasting in Euronews's place. In recent years, Russia has been promoting the victory of the Soviet Union and allies over Nazi Germany in 1945 in its state propaganda against the West. A ministry spokeswoman was quoted by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti as saying that Euronews's license had not been renewed because the channel violated legislation by running advertisements in English, instead of Russian or Belarusian. Euronews, which is headquartered in the French city of Lyon, said that as of late on April 12, it had yet to receive official notification of the ban, but "deeply" regretted it. "We have not been notified of this decision nor of the reasons for it, and learned of it this morning through the press," it said in a statement. "Euronews values freedom of the press and will do its utmost to ensure that its audiences in Belarus can very soon again have access, on television, to Euronews' hallmark impartial and quality journalism. In the meantime, these audiences will be able to continue following us on our digital platforms, it added. Tens of thousands of Belarusians have taken the streets, almost weekly, since August 2020 when Lukashenka claimed reelection in a vote that opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters called fraudulent. The demonstrators are demanding that Lukashenka leave and new elections be held, but Belarus's strongman has been defiant. Security officials have arrested thousands and forced Tsikhanouskaya and other top opposition figures out of the country. Several protesters have been killed in the violence and some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained. Meanwhile, Barys Haretski, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, says the government has embarked on the largest crackdown on journalists and rights activists Europe has ever seen. "Since last summer, the authorities have systematically created, let us say, 'a Great Wall of China' around Belarusian society. They have repressed journalists and shut down media outlets," Haretski said. Lukashenka, who has run Belarus since 1994, and other top officials have been slapped with sanctions by the West, which refuses to recognize him as the legitimate leader of the country. Minsk-based media expert Paulyuk Bykouski said the move to ban Euronews cuts off a main point of access to fair and unfiltered news for Belarusians, who "do not have access to such information projects as CNN, Fox News, and any other channels that could be a possible alternative to what is being broadcast by Belarusian state media and Russian television channels." With reporting by RIA Novosti and BelaPAN Former Southern African Development Community (SADC) executive secretary and Zimbabwe opposition leader, Dr. Simba Makoni, has hailed the regional body's intervention in Mozambique to counter the Islamic State insurgency. In an interview with VOA Zimbabwe Service, Makoni, who held the top SADC position from 1983 to 1993, said SADC is fulfilling its mandate. One of the reasons why this body was formed is to assist each other in conflict situations such as the one prevailing in Mozambique," said Makoni, citing Article Six of the SADC Mutual Defence Pact, which he quoted, as stating that, "an armed attack against a State Party shall be considered a threat to regional peace and security and such an attack shall be met with immediate collective action. On criticism that the southern African regional body delayed in taking decisive action sooner on Mozambique, Makoni, a former cabinet member in former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government, said he was not privy to that information. You might recall that Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa met President Felipe Nyusi of Mozambique last year and details of the meeting were not made public. The resolution by the SADC Double Troika to intervene is also not very clear as to what form it will take. Makoni, however, said while SADC may have delayed its intervention in Mozambique, the current efforts are still valid. "It's better late than never, as these extremists have the capability of spreading their terror beyond Mozambique and cause regional instability if they are not contained," said Makoni. On possible intervention by Washington and other global powers, Makoni said African states must try to neutralize the threat before seeking help from superpowers. The leaders, who recently met in Mozambique to discuss the way forward in addressing the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, directed an immediate SADC Organ technical deployment to the Republic of Mozambique. The Double Troika was hosted by current SADC chair, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, and attendees included several heads of state and government or their representatives, namely President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, who is also Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, the in-coming SADC chairperson; President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and in-coming Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation; President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, the outgoing chair of the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation; and Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar, who represented Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the outgoing Chairperson of SADC. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. After about 15 years on the job, very little disgusts Dickson City garbage collector Ken Hess. But the 52-year-old son of a Vietnam War soldier killed in combat said he felt almost sick to his stomach last week when he pulled 14 American flags from trash cans and bags in a two-day period. Hess delivered the discarded flags to American Legion Post 665 in the borough, where they await a proper, dignified retirement. For Hess, the American flag symbolizes the sacrifice of the father he never met. He was just 6 months old when Army Sgt. Kenneth Charles Hess Sr. was killed in battle Feb. 8, 1969, in Pleiku province, South Vietnam. Seeing that symbol buried in trash over and over again made Hess "nauseous," he said. "My mom was handed a flag when my father was killed," Hess said. "To me, an American flag is an American flag. It's a symbol of what this country should be. ... I just want people to appreciate the people who died and gave their lives so that we can have what we have." According to the U.S. Flag Code, "the flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning." The National Flag Foundation published information on how to appropriately burn or bury unserviceable American flags, but various veterans and civic organizations are available to help if residents don't feel comfortable holding their own dignified ceremonies. Virtually all local Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts will accept worn or damaged flags, thousands of which are collectively retired each year at a ceremony the Northeast Detachment Marine Corps League holds around Flag Day in June, Lackawanna County Veterans Affairs Director David Eisele said. Among other locations, flag deposit boxes are located outside Eisele's office on the first floor of the Lackawanna County Government Center, 123 Wyoming Ave., Scranton; the post office at 2800 Stafford Ave., Scranton; and American Legion Post 665, 901 Main St., Dickson City. "Everybody has got to remember that flag represents everything that this country stands for," Eisele said. "Our service members that spilled their blood in other countries come home under that flag. You don't want to just throw it out, because it is like throwing the memory away of a service member." Hess doesn't believe the residents who tossed the 14 flags he pulled from the trash meant any disrespect to veterans, noting they likely didn't know any better. He shared the story of recovering the flags on Facebook, encouraging people to contact him if they have flags and don't know how to dispose of them properly. Neighbors dropped off a pair of flags at Hess' house Saturday. His Facebook post had been shared more than 280 times as of Monday afternoon. Hess, who hopes the post makes others more mindful of the flag and what it represents, had his late father's sacrifice in mind last week as he retrieved flag after flag from garbage bags. He's been thinking a lot in recent days about the flag that draped his dad's coffin a physical symbol of that sacrifice folded and handed to his grieving mother decades ago. "My mom was handed his flag off his coffin, so from that point on I knew how important it was," Hess said. A view of the Confucius Institute building on the Troy University campus in Troy, Ala., on March 16, 2018. (Kreeder13 via Wikimedia Commons) Lawmakers Call for End to CCPs Influence on US Education Over 20 lawmakers have called for an end to the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) multi-billion-dollar overseas education program, saying it infringes on academic integrity and national security. The program has been carried out through CCP-run Confucius Institutes on U.S. campuses. In a letter to Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on April 7, the lawmakers called for an end to the institutes and their replacement with censorship-free alternatives to support the instruction of Mandarin language and Chinese culture, specifically those offered by Taiwan. Many recent studies provide examples of PRC [Peoples Republic of China] officials pressuring faculty at Confucius Institutes to avoid making statements or holding events on topics that officials consider to be in conflict with the PRCs national interests, the letter reads. The call was led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Several California lawmakers were among the all-Republican signatories, including Reps. Michelle Steel, Young Kim, Ken Calvert, and Doug LaMalfa. The State Department last year designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center (CIUS)an affiliate of Chinas Ministry of Educationa foreign mission of the CCP. The Confucius Institute headquarters has since changed its name to the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, a move the letter calls a rebranding to avoid this designation as a foreign mission. It remains unacceptable for the PRC to fund any instruction at American IHEs (institutions of higher education), the letter states. There are currently 55 Confucius Institutes operating on American soil. CCP-funded Confucius Classrooms are also found in 519 K-12 schools in the United States, according to a 2019 staff report by a subcommittee of the U.S. Senates Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. That report detailed how the CCP approves all Confucius Institute teachers and events, imposing limitations that attempt to export Chinas censorship of political debate and prevent discussion of potentially politically sensitive topics. The report stated the institutes are part of a long-term CCP strategy to change the impression in the United States and around the world that China is an economic and security threat [and encourage] complacency towards Chinas pervasive, long-term initiatives against both government critics at home and businesses and academic institutions abroad. The subcommittee found that since 2006, the CCP has provided over $158 million in funding to U.S. schools for Confucius Institutes. However, 70 of the schools failed to report the large foreign gifts as required by law. In the Name of Confucius A March 20 panel discussion hosted and livestreamed by Students for Falun Gong, Students for a Free Tibet, and the Athenai Institute, looked at the issue of Confucius Institutes. It included a screening of the award-winning 2017 documentary, In the Name of Confucius. Filmmaker and former Confucius Institute teacher Sonia Zhao recalled the hiring process, in which she was required to sign a contract that prohibits staff from engaging in the spiritual meditation practice of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa. Practitioners of Falun Gong have been persecuted by the CCP for more than 20 years, including the harvesting of organs, torture, and forced labor, as reported by the U.S. Department of State, Amnesty International, and many Western media outlets, among others. Zhao said Canadas McMaster University was the first to close a Confucius Institute due to its policy against Falun Gong, in 2013. Perry Link, chancellorial chair professor for Teaching Across Disciplines at the University of CaliforniaRiverside and professor emeritus of East Asian Studies at Princeton University, was part of the panel. He said Confucius Institutes omission of important aspects of Chinese historyincluding the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the persecution of Falun Gongis harmful for students. When you leave out the other parts [of history], the audience loses twice. It loses once because the things that are omitted arent known. And it loses again because the visible part is different if you dont know what the invisible part is, he said. Decreasing Power Although there are some 50 Confucius Institutes operating in U.S. colleges and universities, that number is down from more than 100 in 2017. In the past two years, for example, five Confucius Institutes have closed in California. They were shuttered in 2019 at San Diego State University and San Francisco State University, and in 2020 at the University of CaliforniaLos Angeles, University of CaliforniaDavis, and California State UniversityLong Beach. Confucius Institutes remain in operation at three locations in California: Stanford University, the University of CaliforniaSanta Barbara, and San Diego Global Knowledge University. A bill introduced by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), dubbed the Confucius Act, passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in March. It would cut federal funding from universities that host Confucius Institutes and ban the application of foreign law on U.S. campuses. The bill also passed unanimously during last years Senate session. On April 1, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill to force transparency in U.S. colleges regarding agreements with foreign entities seeking to leverage influence on American college campuses. In a Twitter post announcing the legislation, Gosar wrote that Confucius Institutes at U.S. colleges and universities are spewing CCP propaganda. The CCP-run institutes have received bipartisan criticism. In May 2020, the College Republican National Committee and the College Democrats of America wrote a joint letter calling for the immediate and permanent closure of all Confucius Institutes in the United States. It cited a long and growing list of offenses adding up to a long-term campaign undeniably aimed at expanding the reach and power of the Chinese states apparatus of oppression. The lawmakers who signed the April 7 letter to Education Secretary Cardona urged a collaboration with Taiwan instead of the CCP on Chinese language and culture education. The letter states: The U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative is an exemplary program, for it seeks to increase opportunities for American students to learn Mandarin, while abiding by the U.S. and Taiwans shared commitment to academic freedom. Alabama State Troopers on Monday identified the man killed in a wreck this weekend in Morgan County. It happened at approximately 4:45 p.m. Saturday. Troopers say Jimmy Gene Joles, 46, from Decatur was killed when the Chevy Camaro he was driving left the roadway and overturned. Joles died at the scene of the crash on Interstate 65 near Alabama 67, within the Priceville city limits. Troopers continue to investigate. Young dead penguins have washed up on Victorian beaches following a weekend of wild weather. Locals discovered the carcasses littered along Port Phillip Bay, on the state's south-coast, on Monday. Animalia Wildlife Shelter and Rescue director Michelle Thomas said the icy temperatures and dangerous surf conditions were to blame for the surge in bodies found along the shoreline. 'They're not taught how to fish by their parents, one day mum and dad don't come back to the burrow,' Ms Thomas told 3AW. Young dead penguins have washed up on Victorian beaches following a weekend of wild weather (stock image) Two cold fronts moved in over Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia on Saturday, bringing freezing conditions, low-level snow, heavy swells and the first frost of the year (stock image) 'They decide to take a walk in the direction that mum and dad went off. Then they get themselves out to sea and they've got to work it out for themselves - they do that by observation. 'Unfortunately with those tumultuous seas, they can't see what is going on and often they just pull themselves out on any beach.' A cold front moved in over Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia on Saturday, bringing freezing conditions, low-level snow, heavy swells and the first frost of the year. Melbourne on Sunday woke to its coldest morning since October 20 last year according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with the mercury dipping to 8.3C. 'It is the coldest day of the year so far. Temperatures are four to eight degrees below average for this time,' Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Jackson Browne told Daily Mail Australia. The cold weather also led to dangerous surf conditions with South Australian residents told to brace for an 'extraordinary increase in wave heights' reaching 10 metres. Ms Thomas said the young penguins were no match for the wild waters, which extended to the Victorian coastline. The Bureau of Meteorology warned of low-level snow, enormous coastal swells and the first frost of the year as the cold front moves across southeast Australia A snowy Cradle Mountain in Tasmania on Sunday morning as an 'Antarctic blast' hit the state She explained that the young penguins are 16-20 weeks old and haven't learned how to fend for themselves. Usually, they will learn how to fish by watching other penguins, but that hasn't been possible in the rough seas and some have died of starvation. Ms Thomas advises anyone who finds a beached penguin to put it in a box, cover the bird with a blanket and go to the nearest wildlife shelter. A week after balmy Easter holiday weather, much of Victoria was hit with a cold snap over the weekend and snow fell in some parts of the state. Real estate entrepreneur Antony Catalano wants to combine the newsrooms of his publishing company with broadcaster Prime Media Group and will intensify his push for regulatory overhaul to realise ambitions of creating a regional media giant. Mr Catalano, who jointly runs Australian Community Media with Melbourne rich lister Alex Waislitz, has said he is planning to launch several newspapers and will urge the federal government to review media laws that prevent him from taking full control of Prime. Former Domain chief executive Antony Catalano wants to build a regional media company with a diversified set of media assets. Credit:Jesse Marlow If you look at the business that Nine has been able to create - it has newspapers, it has websites, radio stations, and they have a streaming video and a digital real estate business, Mr Catalano told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. ACM now has newspapers, websites, a free-to-air and a digital real-estate medium. Theres a similarity to what were doing. Our aspiration is to create a very sustainable multimedia business. Nine is the owner of this masthead. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued an order blocking California from enforcing restrictions on in-home religious gatherings, including prayer meetings and Bible studies. Californias rule that limits at-home religious gatherings to three households violates the First Amendments protection of religious exercise, the court ruled in a 5-4 unsigned order chiding the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for its failure to grant an injunction. California treats some comparable secular activities more favorably than at-home religious exercise, permitting hair salons, retail stores, personal care services, movie theaters, private suites at sporting events and concerts, and indoor restaurants to bring together more than three households at a time, the majority opinion stated. The Rev. Jeremy Wong and Karen Busch in Santa Clara County filed a motion seeking an injunction to the states rules. Before the pandemic, Wong and Busch regularly held Bible studies, prayer meetings and worship services at their homes as they believe in the vital importance of assembling for small group house church. Source:The Christian Post OVO Sound tycoon Drake makes no apologies for who his favorite Dancehall artists are and while he reminds us on a regular basis that he considers the Unruly Boss Popcaan his brother, hes also made it known that he is pretty stoked about Dancehalls Fresh Prince Skillibeng. In the Canadian rappers Instagram Stories early this morning, there was a photo of Popcaan and Skillibeng from their cameo appearances in Koffees Lockdown video. Another slide followed with Popcaan toasting during an interlude or intro. Flexing his fluid emcee limericks, the 876Gud shouts out his OVO entourage and issues his usual slew of intimation on the new recording, which Drake captioned srrrrong widdem? The out-of-the-blue shout-outs allude that something might just be in the works, or it could be that the 6Gud was feeling a little left out after he shared a third Instagram slide of Popcaan hanging with Jamaican rapper Bakersteez, and Takeoff and Quavo from the rap trio Migos. The trio are in Jamaica working with DJ Khaled on his new album. Popcaan was signed to Drakes Toronto-based record label OVO Sound and Warner Records back in 2016. Since then he released his fourth studio album, the FIXTAPE in 2020 which featured Drake on two of the singles, All I Need and Twist & Turn, which snagged him chart success in the UK and Canada. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums Charts, then at No. 13 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and No. 94 on the Billboard 200 Charts. Drake and Popcaans work relationship has produced several video shoots and appearances in Jamaica plus other collaborations, some of which were still waiting to hear and see. The Canadian rapper has also been featured on Popcaans Unruly Fest roster, which is held in the Family deejays hometown of St. Thomas, Jamaica. Theyve been known for their friendship outside of work, from frequently vacaying, traveling, and partying together to the unconditional support on social media and in feuds. Who can forget Drizzys daring charge on Popcaans nemesis, Mavado last year? The Life Is Good rapper had supposedly thrown subliminal disses towards the Gully Gad in a freestyle over some prior misunderstanding to which Mavado clapped back. Drake again dished some disparaging remarks at some bwoy who simply couldnt catch up with Popcaan when his FIXTAPE dropped in August last year, leaving fans to assume that he was again referring to the Father God artist. Last month, Drake also shouted out the EastSyde star boy on his OVO Sound Radio found on SiriusXMs SOUND 42 Channel. The nod came via a tag on Drakes Instagram Story while Skillibengs Crocodile Teeth blared from the speakers. Despite the backlash Drake has received for being a culture vulture, he still reps Jamaica hard. Last month, his collab with Rick Ross on the Lemon Pepper Freestyle found him dropping slick bars with a huge salute to Jamaica that had some fans calling for a link-up with his Jamaican brother and his Dancehall affiliates. After Drakes Instagram share today, it looks like hes one step ahead of the fans and another Popcaan and Skillibeng collab could becoming after they first joined forces on FIXTAPEs Have It with Unruly deejay Quada. Tragic: The Sopranos star Joseph Siravo (pictured here in 2015) has passed away aged 64 The Sopranos star Joseph Siravo has passed away aged 64. The actor, who was best known for his role as Tony Soprano's father Johnny in the hit show, died on Sunday after a lengthy cancer battle. News of his passing was confirmed by fellow actor Garry Pastore, 59, who shared an Instagram tribute to his late friend and lauded his 'incredible fight'. Alongside a head shot of Joseph, he penned: 'RIP my dear friend, who fought an incredible fight. I will miss you. See you on the other side'. In a separate comment, Gerry went on: 'He was a true gent to boot and as you well know hard to find that mutual bond and sincerity... 'Acting has always been a passion and finding true friends that lift you up and support was often difficult. Myself, Joe, Michael Rispoli and Jimmy Gandolfini always supported each other even when up for the same roles, its how we rolled.' Heartache: The actor (pictured here in on The Sopranos in 1999), who was best known for his role as Tony Soprano's father Johnny in the hit show, died on Sunday after a lengthy cancer battle Joseph appeared on the show as Tony's father in flashbacks to the Sixties. The Sopranos centered around mob boss Tony Soprano and his dealings with his family and The Family while also seeking treatment for panic attacks. The hit show was one of the first of it's kind and ran for six seasons on HBO from 1999 to 2007. It made a star of actor James Gandolfini, who won numerous awards including Golden Globes, Emmys and SAG Awards, and is often credited for kicking off the stellar trend of television dramas in the 2000s and 2010s. Working hard: Joseph (pictured here in ABC's 'For Life' in 2020), who was born in Washington, trained at Tisch School of the Arts University and studied at Stanford before launching his acting career Gandolfini died on June 19, 2013 in Rome, Italy from a heart attack while on vacation with his son, who was the one to find him fallen in his hotel room. Joseph, who was born in Washington, trained at Tisch School of the Arts University and studied at Stanford before launching his acting career. In 1993 he scooped his first role, starring in Carlito's Way with Al Pacino and Sean Penn, while he also starred in Law & Order. TORONTO, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (TSXV: PTU) ("Purepoint" or the "Company") today released its exploration schedule for the remainder of the year, focusing on its large portfolio of 100% owned uranium projects strategically located across Canada's Athabasca Basin; host to the world's highest grade uranium resources. "There has been significant investment flowing into uranium companies over the past six months, signaling a potential near-term revival of uranium prices" said Chris Frostad, Purepoint's President and CEO. "The timing is right for us to return to the exploration projects we initiated over a decade ago. We believe that the investments we make in advancing these projects now will unlock significant value and opportunities over the coming year". Highlights: Scheduling reflects the anticipated timing of permit applications, the availability of contracted service providers and seasonal weather conditions Permits are in place for work at the Company's Red Willow , Henday and Umfreville projects , Henday and Umfreville projects Drilling is scheduled to take place on these projects in Q3 2021 Additional permit applications are being prepared for the Turnor Lake , Smart Lake, Carson Lake and Russell South projects , Smart Lake, and projects Initial airborne geophysics have been scheduled for this summer on Purepoint's four Tabbernor Block projects Ground electromagnetic and resistivity geophysical surveys are proposed/planned in Q4 2021 at the Smart Lake and Carson Lake projects projects Additional details on each of the Company's projects will be provided in the coming weeks "In addition to our work at Hook Lake over the past few years, we have continued to maintain our advanced 100% owned assets while staking additional claims in prospective areas. said Scott Frostad, Vice President Exploration at Purepoint. "The permits we currently have in place will allow us to commence our expanded exploration efforts immediately". About Purepoint Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. actively operates an exploration pipeline of 12 advanced projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin, the world's richest uranium region. Purepoint's flagship project is the Hook Lake Project, a joint venture with two of the largest uranium suppliers in the world, Cameco Corporation and Orano Canada Inc. The Hook Lake JV Project is on trend with recent high-grade uranium discoveries including Fission Uranium's Triple R Deposit and NexGen's Arrow Deposit and encompasses its own Spitfire discovery (53.3% U 3 O 8 over 1.3m including 10m interval of 10.3% U 3 O 8 ). Together with its flagship project, the Company's projects stretch across approximately 175,000 hectares of claims throughout the Athabasca Basin. These claims host over 20 distinct and well-defined drill target areas with advanced geophysical surveys completed, and in some cases, have had first pass drilling performed. Scott Frostad BSc, MASc, PGeo, Purepoint's Vice President, Exploration, is the Qualified Person responsible for technical content of this release. Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Press release. Disclosure regarding forward-looking statements This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. SOURCE Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. Related Links http://www.purepoint.ca Zelensky: if United States sees Ukraine in NATO, they should contribute to its entry into Alliance President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expects more support from U.S. President Joe Biden in curbing Russian aggression in Donbas, and also hopes that he will facilitate Ukraine's early accession to NATO. "The United States is a good friend of Ukraine, but President Biden must do more, to deter Russia and help bring this conflict to an end. More weapons, more money to fight, and, crucially, more support to join NATO, the Western military alliance where an attack on one member commits all to respond. If they [the US] see Ukraine in NATO, they have to say it directly, and do it. Not words," Zelensky told CNN journalists during a working visit to Donbas on April 8 and 9. As the CNN journalist said, "The chances of that are slim, amid concerns that moving Ukraine closer to NATO membership would provoke Moscow, possibly fueling a broader conflict." As reported, on April 6, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in a conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said that Ukraine's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance is the only way to end the war in Donbas. At the same time, Russia's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Ukraine's accession to NATO would aggravate the security situation in Donbas. The latest draft of the countrys power development plan puts focus on renewable energy development however, the Mekong Delta should see more attention in the development of renewables to protect its assets in the long run. 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 consultant at Oxfam 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. Clean energy efforts in the region Long seen as emerging markets for coal power, South and Southeast Asian countries have reconsidered their plans. According to Forbes, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam cancelled huge quantities of planned coal plants in 2020, and their pipeline has been declined 80 per cent in the last five years. India is still building coal plants, but since 2017, renewable energy has been outpacing that of coal. The country has promised to source 40 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and is now even on track to reach 60 per cent. Meanwhile, China accounts for more than half of the worlds coal consumption, as well as around half the coal plants under construction. Last year, President Xi Jinping committed to carbon neutrality by 2060 and a few months later announced new commitments to build 1,200GW of wind and solar power by 2030. However, the countrys latest 5-year plan is underwhelming on decarbonisation, and China continues to build new coal plants. VIR For natural development of the Mekong Delta Resolution 120 on sustainable development of the Mekong Delta issued three years ago has helped create living with nature methods as targeted. The chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Ludovic Orban declared on Monday that the "exclusive" political responsibility for keeping Vlad Voiculescu at the helm of the Ministry of Health belongs to USR (Save Romania Union) PLUS (Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity), pointing out that the moment Prime Minister Florin Citu considers that if a Cabinet member is affecting the good functioning of the Government, he can decide on changing them. "As for the matter regarding Mr. Voiculescu, I told the colleagues from USR PLUS very clearly that the exclusive political responsibility for keeping minister Voiculescu belongs to the party that supports him, but as regards us, we are deeply worried about the way the Ministry of Health is being managed, and take notice, the Ministry of Health is one of the most tried Ministries during the time of the pandemic and the conditions that we are facing with this third pandemic wave, that our exigency towards the way the the Ministry is being run is stretched thin, and also (...) we very clearly support the Prime Minister's right, that when he considers that a minister is affecting the smooth operation of the Government, he is not carrying his task and is not putting the governing program into practice and is generating situations which can jeopardize the operation of the Government, to propose to change that minister," Orban said, in Parliament. According to the PNL leader, each of the political formations from the governing coalition needs to have its own evaluation of ministers, and, when one cannot do their job, the party which proposed him should be the one who requests the change. "What we had to say we said during the coalition's reunion, certainly it is one of the Ministries in which many problems occurred and for which we need an extremely objective analysis and exigency towards the way the Ministry of Health functioned, and in the case in which we will not see a significant improvement of the activity of the Ministry of Health, we can even reach to change the Minister," the PNL chairman said. Asked if a change in the Ministry of Health by the Prime Minister can shake or tear the governing coalition apart, Orban denied. Ludovic Orban said to be affected by the way the patients from the Foisor Hospital were evacuated in order for transforming it into a COVID hospital. Designer Sarah Sherman Samuel posts a lot of pictures of the rooms she decorates and it leaves many wishing they had her taste. Samuel can help you achieve her distinct style when you go to the latest Etsy Edit, featuring Samuels work. See how she totally transformed her guest room/home office, and get inspired to create your own happily ever before and after. My aesthetic celebrates the unique, the handmade, and the sculptural, Samuel said in an interview with Etsy. Etsys website describes Samuels work as this: Her warm, light-filled living spaces and signature airy interiors are a veritable Pinterest goldmine. So when it came time to tackle her latest project, redesigning her Michigan guest room (which also doubles as her husbands home office), she started by installing a DIY wood accent walland then she turned to Etsy to help bring the multifunctional space to life. Let Sarah Sherman Samuel's and Etsy help you refresh your office space. (Etsy photo) What is Sarahs shopping secret? Look for pieces that show the hand behind the maker. Imperfect finishes or wear from use on vintage pieces tell a story and make a space feel like it has its own story and soul, she said. Check out Sarahs bedroom beauties and home-office must haves on Etsy. For one this Mid-Century Wooden Desk with Drawers, Home Office Desk, Modern Office Desk, Solid Wood Desk, Work From Home Desk lets you know this office is a special place. It sells for $1,900. There are other desks to choose from, too, which are cheaper. Put this Stoneware Ceramic Modernist Cog Tool / Pencil Holder White Stoneware on top of the desk for the perfect look. It sells for $55. For a great bedroom look, this Linen duvet cover set in light blue starts at $150. Need a throw rug? This Moroccan rug Polka dots, 100% wool, white snow and black dots - Milkyway starts at $1,913.32. CHECK OUT ALL OF SARAHS RECOMMENDED ITEMS HERE Bahrain-based Investcorp, a global leader in alternative investment products, and Trilantic North America, a leading private equity firm, have agreed to acquire RoadSafe Traffic Systems from Orix Capital Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Chicago in the US state of Illinois, RoadSafe is the nations largest provider of traffic control and pavement marking services to roadway construction, state transportation, railroad and utility customers in the US. RoadSafe also distributes high quality, innovative and durable traffic safety products and personal protective equipment for traffic work zones. The company operates from more than 50 locations with over 1,600 employees, enabling it to service all 48 continental states. RoadSafe is led by CEO Dave Meirick, an industry veteran of over 34 years, who will continue to lead the firm following the transaction. The company has become a market leader and delivered consistent growth by providing exceptional services that solve mission-critical challenges, like maintaining worker safety while upgrading the nations critical infrastructure and facilitating pavement marking for the next generation of vehicles. Investcorp and Trilantic North Americas partnership with RoadSafe will focus on continuing the firms organic growth through expanding geographically across the U.S. and seeking to complete strategic, value-creating add-on acquisitions. Yusef Al Yusef, managing partner of Investcorps private wealth platform, said; In light of macroeconomic tailwinds in infrastructure, RoadSafe is very well-positioned for future growth. Overall spend in the infrastructure and utilities subsectors has consistently grown for the past 20-30 years and its expected to continue to increase given the new administrations commitment to repairing the countrys outdated systems. We look forward to leveraging our expertise and resources, alongside our partners at Trilantic North America, to support RoadSafe as it seeks to continue to enhance its competitive position. Dave and the RoadSafe team have done a tremendous job of growing the company into the leading national player in this essential and underinvested segment of the infrastructure market, said Charles Fleischmann, Partner at Trilantic North America. Private capital will play a crucial role in rebuilding and modernizing US infrastructure and we are thrilled to partner with the RoadSafe and Investcorp teams to strengthen this entrepreneurial business leadership position in a highly fragmented industry. Dave Meirick, CEO of RoadSafe stated: "We are excited to embark on this next chapter of our business with the support of Investcorp and Trilantic North America. Their resources, expertise and track-record will enable us to continue executing on our growth strategy and better serve our clients. We look forward to the long-term benefits this partnership will unlock for our team, clients and communities. Investcorp has a long history of investing across Industrial Services sectors with notable past investments including American Tire Distributors, Berlin Packaging, FleetPride and Wrench Group. Trilantic North America has spent considerable time investing in distributed, branch-based Industrial Services businesses, most recently investing in Sunbelt-Solomon Solutions, a leading provider of full lifecycle electrical power services, and USI, a top provider of insulation installation, distribution and other services to the residential and commercial construction markets. TradeArabia News Service The ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 17 at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa and will be broadcast live. OTTAWA, ON, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada will hold a national commemorative ceremony in honour of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away on April 9, 2021. The ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. on April 17, 2021, at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa. The ceremony, to be held without a congregation, will be broadcast live a and include virtual tributes and performances. To honour the memory of His Royal Highness, a National Day of Mourning will be proclaimed on the day of the ceremony. In addition, the Government of Canada has proceeded with a half-masting of the National Flag of Canada. Flags are being flown at half-mast on all Government of Canada buildings and establishments in Canada and abroad, including the Peace Tower, until sunset on the day of the national commemorative ceremony. Furthermore, a gun salute in Canada will be conducted in honour of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on the day of the national commemorative ceremony. Canadians are invited to visit the commemorative website and learn more about His Royal Highness and his enduring commitment to Canada. They can also sign the online book of condolences. His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, the consort of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, had a strong relationship with our country. His Royal Highness held 11 honorary military positions with Canadian units and regiments, and was a patron or president of more than 40 organizations in Canada. Over six decades, The Duke of Edinburgh accompanied Her Majesty on 20 of her 22 Royal Tours in Canada and participated in numerous officials tours and private working visits on his own. His Royal Highness is likely best remembered by Canadians for creating the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award. Launched in 1963 in Canada, it is estimated that over 500,000 young Canadians have since participated, making a difference in their own lives, in their communities, and around the world. In recognition of his outstanding service and contributions to Canada, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was presented with the insignia of Companion of the Order of Canada and Commander of the Order of Military Merit during a ceremony held in Toronto in 2013the last time His Royal Highness visited our country before retiring from public life in 2017. Quick Facts No guests will be invited to attend the church service. Canadians are asked to watch the broadcast and not congregate outside Christ Church Cathedral. In accordance with public health advice, members of the public are asked not to gather to pay their respects. In lieu of flowers, Canadians may wish to make a donation to a charity of their choice or use this occasion to volunteer. A commemorative portrait and card in memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh are available for downloading. Christ Church Cathedral is the Anglican Cathedral in the nation's capital. The state funeral services of several Canadian prime ministers and governors general, as well as the commemorative service of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002, were held at this cathedral. Christ Church Cathedral has also had a long association with the Royal Family. Associated Links Commemoration for His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh Book of condolences for His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh Royal tours and visits of Canada by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh State Funerals and National Commemorative Ceremonies in Canada Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @TheCrownCa SOURCE Canadian Heritage For further information: (media only), please contact: Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected] Related Links www.pch.gc.ca A Chinese political prisoner jailed after he publicly supported the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong has died at the age of 48, despite warnings from his family that mistreatment and possible torture at the hands of the prison authorities and police could kill him. Guo Hongwei, who was serving a 13-year jail term in China's northeastern province of Jilin, was rushed to hospital with a brain hemorrhage after his family repeatedly warned that his high blood pressure had been left unmedicated, Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper reported on . A person familiar with the matter told RFA last week that Guo had been tortured. "Guo Hongwei was tortured by the authorities over a long period during his stay in Songyuan Prison," the person said. "He was kept in a cell that was two meters (6.5 feet) square; a small, dark room with no toilet, no light and no ventilation," they said. "He already had high blood pressure when he went in, so his chances of surviving such an environment weren't good." The person said surgeons had removed a "large piece of bone" from Guo's artery, that had been blocking the supply of blood to the brain. Guo was jailed by a court in Jilin's Siping city in 2016 for "extortion" and "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). His family has vowed to uncover the truth, after Guo was rushed to the hospital in early April, undergoing two surgeries before becoming comatose. His father Guo Yinqi told RFA on , after Guo Hongwei had fallen ill, but before he died, that it would require a "miracle" for him to live. "Guo Hongwei is totally emaciated, to the point that there is little to separate his ribs and spine," Guo Yinqi said. "He is unable to breathe on his own, and is dependent on a ventilator." "His vital signs are very weak, yet we are hoping for a miracle." Blood pressure complications Guo Hongwei's brother Guo Hongqiang said Guo had been able to hold a normal conversation on the phone two months ago, but was unable to speak by . "His blood pressure was pretty high," Guo Hongqiang said. "I wonder about what they did to him in prison." "We don't know. I am guessing that something happened to trigger this." A source close to Guo Hongwei's family told RFA in that his blood pressure was around 240-250 systolic over 160-170 diastolic, and that he was offered no alternative to the medication on offer in the prison clinic, to which he was allergic. Guo's father also said at that time that Guo Hongwei was being held in solitary confinement in a small space, and kept on inadequate rations of food and water, while the source said that his wheelchair had been deliberately destroyed and his glasses smashed. Guo Yinqi said he believed the authorities were trying to get him to "confess" to the charges against him, and would likely "bully him to death" if he didn't. Earlier jailing A former power plant worker from Jilin's Songjianghe township, Guo Hongwei was subjected to physical attacks that left him unable to walk after he turned petitioner following a lost lawsuit. He was initially jailed in 2005 after lodging an official complaint against several local officials for embezzlement, with the same charges brought against him instead. After his release, he staged a public rally in support of the Occupy Central pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, after which he was detained again in , then convicted in 2016. Guo Hongwei's mother Xiao Yunling was imprisoned at the same time as her son and released early at the end of 2019. His sister Guo Hongying was also handed a five-and-a-half year jail term for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," and "obstructing officials in the course of their duty." Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Intel's self-driving technology company Mobileye has just announced a partnership with Udelv to build a fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles. The companies plan to deploy 35,000 Udelv-built "Transporters" by 2028, all of which will be powered by the Mobileye Drive self-driving system. The first 1,000 Transporters will be deployed in 2023 with Donlen, a commercial fleet management company that'll be the first customer for this new system. The zero-emission, self-driving Transporter vans are meant to fix the "last mile" delivery problem Intel says that last-mile delivery volume is expected to increase by 75 to 80 percent by 2030 thanks to the continued growth of online shopping. The Mobileye Drive system that'll power these vans consists of 13 cameras, three long-range LiDARs, six short-range LiDARs and six radars; all that hardware is run by Mobileye's EyeQ system on a chip. The end result of all this technology is level four self-driving, which essentially means that no human attention or intervention is needed, provided the vehicle is operating within designated areas. After testing is complete, these vehicles should be completely driverless, without even a safety driver needed. Mobileye, which Intel bought back in 2017, is one of the more active autonomous driving companies out there, testing self-driving cars in Jerusalem as well as in higher-speed Autobahn conditions in Germany. The company also counts massive automakers Ford and Volkswagen as partners. As for Udelv, the start-up has been fairly active in the US, testing grocery deliveries in Oklahoma City and working on a trial with Walmart in Arizona. It'll be multiple years before we see the fruits of Mobileye and Udelv's partnership, as vehicles for the project with Donlen won't be deployed until 2023 as such, it's too early to say where exactly these vans will first show up. But if history is any indication, we should hear more when they go into testing, wherever that may be. A dad who loves his office job has raised eyebrows by naming his son 'Department Of Statistical Communication'. Slamet 'Yoga' Wahyudi, 38, who hails from the regency of Brebes in the Indonesian province of Central Java, had agreed with his then-pregnant wife that if she gave birth to a son, he would be allowed to choose the newborn's name. When the couple's baby boy was born in December last year, the civil servant decided to pay tribute to his beloved workplace by naming him 'Dinas Komunikasi Informatika Statistik' ('Department of Statistical Communication'). A dad who loves his office job has raised eyebrows by naming his son 'Department Of Statistical Communication'. When the couple's baby boy was born in December last year, the civil servant decided to pay tribute to his beloved workplace His wife, Ririn Linda Tunggal Sari, 33, was reportedly on board with the decision. The family are pictured above His wife, Ririn Linda Tunggal Sari, 33, was reportedly on board with the decision, with her husband telling local news site Kompas: 'At first it sounded strange, but thank God my wife did not mind.' Friends and family of the couple, including their own parents, had voiced scepticism about the unorthodox name. Yoga reportedly accepted their concerns in good faith before deciding on the 38-character mouthful as his son's name undeterred. Friends and family of the couple, including their own parents, had voiced scepticism about the unorthodox name Yoga reportedly accepted their concerns in good faith before deciding on the 38-character mouthful as his son's name undeterred However, in an apparent act of compromise, Yoga revealed the youngster will go by the more easily pronounceable portmanteau 'Dinko' in his day-to-day life. Yoga has worked as a public servant for over a decade, entering the Indonesian civil service in 2009. He had previously worked as a radio announcer, though he later found his true calling in statistical communication. Yoga told Kompas he hopes his son will grow up to be 'pious' and 'devoted to his family'. It is not clear if the Indonesian authorities have accepted the unconventional name. A student of Rena Hajieva, the Baku Academy of Music alum who lives in Israel, won the international online contest for children and teenagers SOZVEZDIE EUROPA ASIA 2021. A young violinist Emily Averbakh beat 400 contestants of 12-15 years old. Rena Hajieva started to teach Emily when she was a preschooler. The teacher thinks that a childs success depends on joint efforts and mutual support of a teacher, parents, and a student. A childs talent is one of major factors while a serious attitude to education if handled properly helps to develop the talent. Hajieva uses her long-lasting educational experience to make her students not only reach high musical technique but also love music, feel it and give people joy with their playing. Before she came to Israel, Rena Hajieva worked in the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra under management of Rauf Abdullayev. After service in Israel Defense Forces, Renas daughter Miriam Hajieva graduated from Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (singing class). Miriam continues her education in Vienna. Renas son Amir Hajiev graduated with honors from the conservatory as a violinist. He got the highest grade on the final exam. Rena, Miriam, and Amir Hajievs not once performed at concerts organized by AzIs International Association in Israel and Azerbaijan. Syracuse, N.Y. Syracuse University will continue to ban use and possession of marijuana on campus, even though New York has legalized personal use of the drug. SU announced today it will continue to comply with federal law which prohibits use, possession and cultivation of pot at U.S. educational institutions, including private schools that receive federal funding. The ban at SU even applies to students with New York medical marijuana registry ID cards that allow them to legally purchase the drug from medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. Possession or use of marijuana at SU is considered a violation of the schools code of student conduct. SU joins a growing number of colleges including Cornell, Le Moyne, Cazenovia and SUNY that have announced they will continue to prohibit pot on campus. On March 30, New York legalized the personal use of marijuana for individuals over the age of 21. New York is one of 39 states that have legalized marijuana for medical use, recreational adult use or both. But under federal law, marijuana is still classed as a Schedule 1 drug on par with heroin and LSD. It is against federal law to grow, sell, or use marijuana for any purpose, including medical purposes. James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com 17 March 2021 11:30 CET ArcelorMittal (the Company) today announces it is launching the XCarb innovation fund, which anticipates investing up to $100 million annually in companies developing technologies with the potential to support and accelerate the transition to net zero carbon steelmaking. The fund is a part of ArcelorMittals wider XCarb sustainability initiative launched today to drive progress towards carbon neutral steel. To be eligible for funding, companies must be developing directly applicable, commercially scalable technologies that offer strong potential to decarbonise the steelmaking process. The fund will be governed by an investment committee, comprising senior executive management members from functions and segments across the Companys global operations and chaired by the CEO. The XCarb innovation fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of companies to ensure it captures the best and most important technologies under development. Commenting, Aditya Mittal, CEO, ArcelorMittal, said: Having set a target of reaching net zero by 2050, progressing our efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of the steel we produce is central to our long-term strategy. The heart of these efforts lie in the work we are undertaking to develop and deploy several breakthrough steelmaking technologies. We believe these can make carbon-neutral steelmaking a reality. Deployment of the technologies is progressing well, with industrial scale pilot plants scheduled to commence production next year. The fund we have launched today adds an exciting, complementary new element to our CO 2 technology strategy. We will be seeking to support emerging companies that are pioneering new potentially transformative technologies. It is a further sign of our commitment to aiding the development of technologies which can help to support the decarbonisation of our company and our industry. ENDS About ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 17 countries. In 2020, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $53.3 billion and crude steel production of 71.5 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 58.0 million metric tonnes. Our goal is to help build a better world with smarter steels. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future. ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS). For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/ The Winneba High Court has dismissed a suit challenging the re-election of the assembly member for Donkonyianmu/Obrawogum Electoral Area, Mr Nathaniel Akyeampong, in the district level elections in December 2019. According to the court, presided over by Justice Aboagye Tandoh, the first respondent, the Electoral Commission (EC) conducted the district assembly election in accordance with the law governing its operations. It also held that the decision the EC took in the course of the election and the declaration of the results did not occasion any error patent on the face of the record. The court also held that neither was there any breach of natural justice to warrant the courts intervention by way of certiorari to quash the election so declared or disturb same, adding it is further ordered that the application is devoid of merit and same dismissed. Mr Akyeampong, who was elected for a second term, is yet to be sworn in to be able to perform his responsibilities as the assembly member for the electoral area. Applicants suit In a suit filed at the Winneba High Court against Mr Nathaniel Akyeampong who was the second respondent, the applicant, Mr Alex Mensah, a contender, joined the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Effutu Municipal Assembly as the first and third respondents respectively. In his statement of claim, the applicant through his counsel, Ms Deborah Asabere-Ameyaw, sought a declaration that the district assembly and unit committee election which resulted in the election of Mr Akyeampong as the winner of the election at Donkonyianmu/Obrawogum electoral area was null and void and of no legal effect. Not sworn in It would be recalled that the Daily Graphic on January 28, 2020 reported that Mr Akyeampong was not sworn in during the swearing-in of the assembly members in the Effutu Municipality due to a court injunction placed on him by his contender during the December 19, 2019 district level and unit committee elections. Although he was present at the inauguration, he was not sworn in which resulted in mixed reactions among the people present at the ceremony. 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 Schools fully reopened across Kilkenny today as part of the latest phase of the Governments nationwide reopening of schools strategy. The decision to reopen schools was made following the advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). NPHET member and Maynooth University President Philip Nolan has been examining the data over recent months and notes that schools remain a low-risk environment for Covid-19 incidence. We have looked carefully at incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children in recent weeks for any impact of the phased return to the classroom. The data, and thorough public health investigation, confirm that schools remain a low-risk environment," Prof Nolan notes. The decrease in the number of cases detected during the Easter break is more likely to be due to an immediate drop in the number of referrals of children for testing, as the level of concern (and vigilance) decreases when schools are closed. CBS Secondary School Kilkenny Principal Tom Clarke welcomed the reopening of the city centre school when speaking to Kilkenny People earlier today. We are delighted to be back now and are well-prepared, ensuring that all protocols are followed, that our students are aware of the guidelines and that we are all looking after each other, he said. Thankfully, we have maintained an excellent record up to this point and are committed to continuing that record in the interests of facilitating education for all students. The reopening of schools was also welcomed in earnest by local Fianna Fail councillor Peter Chap Cleere. In a lighthearted video uploaded to Fianna Fails official Twitter feed, Chap welcomed the move to reopen schools alongside his daughters. Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) President Martin Marjoram emphasises the importance of vigilance in limiting transmission going forward. Ongoing vigilance is required and the suppression of the virus in our communities, he states. In this context, any member of the school community - staff or student - who has symptoms of Covid-19 or is a close contact of a confirmed case must stay at home. This is vital to maintaining both the confidence of the school community and a sustainable reopening of our schools for the remainder of this academic year. A man who was found dead last week in an alley on the West Side has been identified as 19-year-old Cassius Wilson, officials said Sunday. Wilsons body was found about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday in an alley between the 2000 block of Texas Avenue and Cincinnati Avenue, officials said. Chariot is an African focused transitional energy group. Its current business stream, Chariot Transitional Gas, is a high value, low risk gas development project with strong ESG credentials in a fast-growing emerging economy with a clear route to early monetisation, delivery of free cashflow and material exploration upside. On completion of the acquisition of AEMP, Chariot will have a second business stream, known as Chariot Transitional Power, looking to transform the energy market for mining operations in Africa, providing a giant largely untapped market with cleaner, sustainable, and more reliable power. Arnold Turner/Invision/AP/Shutterstock; Matthew Eisman/Getty Images They say there are two sides to every story and for Drew Sidora and LaToya Ali, that couldn't be more true. On Sunday's episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta, Drew accused LaToya who is married of having a relationship with her longtime family friend Prophet Anthony Lott. The actress said Prophet Lott was supposed to perform a "baby blessing" on her daughter, Aniya, but she ultimately decided not to have the spiritual advisor do the blessing because she believed LaToya and Prophet Lott were in a relationship. Both Prophet Lott, who is single, and LaToya, who is in the process of getting a divorce, denied Drew's accusation. Speaking with her husband Ralph Pittman about the situation, Drew, 35, said they needed to figure out what they were going to do about their daughter Aniya's event because "Prophet Lott, he's no longer gonna do the baby blessing." Drew said the drama started after LaToya was driven home the night that Shamea Morton had some of the ladies over to her house. "LaToya had had way too much to drink," Drew recalled to cameras. "I offered to make sure she got home safe," Drew told Ralph, and explained to viewers that her "assistant Danny, gave her a ride." "From that, Danny invited her to that revival with Prophet Lott. You gotta share God with people, you know?" she said to her husband. RELATED: RHOA: Drew Sidora Struggles with Son, 9, Possibly Having a Relationship with His Biological Dad Drexina Nelson/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; The Step Up star was introduced to Prophet Lott by Danny "years ago" and since then, he had "become an intricate part of our family," she told viewers. "And he was going to do our baby blessing for our daughter, Aniya." That is, until she concluded that he and LaToya, 34, were in a relationship. Story continues While Drew said "I really still don't know everything that's going on," she told Ralph that "LaToya's mom said that she went and got a hotel room for Prophet Lott. And then Prophet Lott said that they went to dinner and then they went to breakfast the next day." "That's what's all coming back to me, is that they're in a relationship," Drew said to Ralph. She went on to say, "I feel like there's a thin line between, you know, worshiping and praying [for] somebody and being a spiritual to now you're talking about she's in a relationship with a prophet now?" Drew said she was also under the impression that the prophet had a newborn and was engaged to be married. "I only think about the fact that he has a new baby and a fiancee back at home. And you're still married legally married," Drew continued, referencing LaToya. "So you living with your husband, you're married and you're over here with the prophet?" Drew said in a confessional: "It's a whole lot of mess there and I just didn't want that over my baby's blessing." "Preying on the prophet. That's what I think," Drew told Ralph about LaToya. "Prophet Lott can no longer do the baby blessing. I don't feel like it would be appropriate." Later, at Cynthia Bailey and Porsha Williams' Black-owned business pop-up shop event, the drama was brought up among the cast. RELATED: RHOA's Drew Sidora Admits She's Had 'Thoughts' About Husband Ralph Pittman 'Being Unfaithful' Bravo Drew said that the night of Kandi Burruss' restaurant opening, she had received a call from Prophet Lott "and he told me that I guess you were upset or something," she told LaToya. "He said you were upset because I had found out that you guys had been seeing each other." When Drew asked "is that not true?" LaToya's response was: "Okay, I'm not entertaining her." Drew continued by recalling something she said LaToya had told Cynthia. "Didn't you tell Cynthia you met somebody that's from Texas?" she said to LaToya. "You did tell me now I don't know if he was a prophet you told me you were on your spiritual journey and you met someone who lived in Texas," Cynthia confirmed, as Drew stated that the "prophet, is he from Texas?" "The prophet's the only one from Texas?" LaToya replied. As Drew asked LaToya "the prophet lied. And he broke up with his fiancee? And he has a baby?" LaToya still seemed to avoid any association. "Okay. What does that have to do with me?" she asked. Bringing up LaToya's spiritual journey, Drew said that "the first step is just to tell the truth." "But I think the first step is for you to shut up because you don't know what the f--- you're talking about," LaToya fired back, explaining that she "was on a four-week program with him he was advising me spiritually every Wednesday." "So is that why your mom thought you were with him because you got a hotel room for Prophet Lott. Am I lying?" asked Drew. LaToya responded, "Yeah. I am not talking to no Prophet Lott and if I was, why the hell wouldn't I say so?" "Oh, I don't know. I mean, I have no idea. But that's what's going on," Drew said as LaToya asserted, "That's not what's going on. You don't know what's going on in my life." RELATED: RHOA's Drew Sidora Says She Was 'Nervous' Watching Bachelorette Episode with Her Husband Bravo Explaining the aftermath of the situation to LaToya, Drew said that "Prophet Lott has been a part of our family for many many years. He was actually doing my baby's blessing and he had to pull out because of the drama circulating with his family and all that you got going on." "He's been calling my husband. Everything that's fallen out with his fiancee. So I've now had to cancel my baby blessing because of yo ass," Drew told LaToya. In a confessional, Drew called LaToya "a very disrespectful little thing. You're still married and you're breaking up families and happy homes? I really have an issue and I just can't stand by and allow that to happen to people that I care about." After more back-and-forth, LaToya walked away from the confrontation. But that wasn't the end of it. While at a gathering at Kenya Moore's house, where Kandi, Cynthia and Marlo Hampton were also in attendance, LaToya tried to explain the situation. "So I was in his program. Remember when I was in New Orleans and I wasn't drinking?" LaToya told the women, denying that he was "engaged, he's not in love with me, and who cares? He's not married and I'm getting a freaking divorce." RELATED: RHOA: Drew Sidora Questions If Her Son, 9, Feels Same Love Her Husband Ralph Shows His Biological Kids Bravo LaToya then FaceTimed Prophet Lott and asked on the call: "First, were you supposed to be christening Drew Sidora's baby?" Prophet Lott said he "was asked to be a part of that and I never heard anything back from them. And I guess it was after some confusion came up, concerning me advising you spiritually." Next, Kandi took the phone and brought up the accusation of him and LaToya "having some type of relationship," adding, "I believe they actually said that you admitted to this." Said Prophet Lott: "The assistant [Danny] that's involved really was being very messy. And because he's the one that introduced me to them, I think it became this intimidation-type piece or something. Because the assistant [Danny] and I had a friendship. But when he felt like, I guess I was getting, you know, this connection with LaToya and then advising her or whatever, it's like, everybody got emotional. I never admitted that to them." "I just admitted to them that I was advising her," he added. "And I'm not gonna allow anybody to control me. This, this is what I do." Kandi pressed by asking if he ever had an "intimate relationship" with LaToya. "No. Not at all," he said. RELATED: The Biggest Friendship-Ending Fights in Real Housewives History Making sure all the accusations were addressed, LaToya proceeded to ask if Prophet Lott was engaged or if he was previously set to tie the knot with someone. "No, I'm not engaged," he said. "I was engaged, I'm not engaged." "How many years?" asked LaToya. "Three years ago," said Prophet Lott. LaToya also raised Drew's claim that "I broke up the engagement because you're in love with me." Shaking his head, Prophet Lott said "no." After hanging up the call, LaToya reiterated what Prophet Lott had said. "This man's not engaged, okay. He didn't get a call back when it came to christening the baby. It has nothing to do with me," she told the women. The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sundays (8 p.m. ET) on Bravo. In a significant move amid zooming Covid cases, the state government on Monday announced that it has decided to postpone the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) final examinations for the current academic year. Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said that while the HSC exams are now likely to be held in May-end, the SSC exams may be conducted in June to ensure the further education prospects, like various entrance exams for professional courses, of the students are not affected. The fresh dates and time-table for both the exams shall be announced soon, she added. The announcement followed a series of meetings by the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies, an all-party meet over the past few days followed by sittings with the State Covid-19 Task Force, various tech giants, parents, teachers and other stakeholders in the academic world. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was given a detailed assessment of the situation by the School Education Ministry after which it was decided to postpone the board exams this year. "Considering the current Covid-19 situation in the state which are not conducive to conduct the exams, we have postponed the Class X SSC and Class XII HSC exams. It appears to be the most pragmatic solution since the health of the students is our priority," Gaikwad said in a statement. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. ADVERTISEMENT Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the issue of local government autonomy is not for the National Assembly to address. Mr Gbajabiamila said this during a two-day leadership capacity training, organised by the Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, for ward councillors from Delta, on Monday, in Abuja. He said since the process of constitutional amendment was ongoing and the areas of possible amendments thrown open, it was for Nigerians to decide whether to have local government autonomy or not. We did it the last time but when we went back to the states, we could not get the required two-thirds. So it is a process and we have followed the process. While we were working on constitutional amendment, two-thirds of the states did not agree with us. So it is certain that it is the people that will decide whether they want autonomy for local government or not, he said. The speaker, however, said that as responsible lawmakers in the Ninth Assembly, they would continue to do all that was in the overall interest of Nigerians. Mr Gbajabiamila expressed confidence that at the end of the training, the councillors would have received a lot of education on leadership. He stated that while some people were born leaders, others acquired leadership, adding, however, that either way, there was the need to go through training to be able to garner necessary experience. The speaker urged participants to put the leadership qualities they might have acquired from the training to use to maximise their potentials. According to him, the best place to start exhibiting such potentials is the local government, as that is the bedrock of democracy and the closest to the grassroots. It is important to know what it takes to have followers. As leaders, you must understand that you have followers and you have to deal with them on the issues of governance, he said. (NAN) Demos don't give a damn about immigrants, except... By Mark Alexander A few years ago, my column " Demo Party Leaders Don't Care About Immigrant Children " resulted in a great torrent of leftist outrage. How dare I suggest that the Left doesn't care about poor illegal immigrants and their children? Actually, what I wrote is that Demo Party leaders don't care, other than their potential as a voter constituency. But an inescapable conclusion is that, by extension, those who support them don't care either. Today, let me make this clear again: Neither the Biden/Harris regime nor the Schumer/Pelosi tag team give a flying flip about the welfare of illegal immigrants. They care only about expanding their constituency base, and they believe that their open-border policy is an excellent way to greatly expand that base. Illegal immigrants are nothing more than political fodder for the socialist Democrat Party , a pathway to a permanent Democrat majority by way of their bulk-mail ballot fraud and the prospect of one-party states like California allowing illegal immigrants to vote. Demos want an open socialist voter pipeline to flood America with what they believe will be future constituents. Back in the Obama years , Demos were still feigning concern for their blue-collar and union-worker constituencies. They routinely made fake political plays for Latino and Hispanic voters while pursuing policies that protected their traditional constituencies. Meanwhile, low- and middle-income American workers were experiencing immigrant competition for their jobs, which was also deflating their wages. The party that historically has claimed to stand for blue-collar America thus talked tough about illegals, but their proposals were all smoke and mirrors. Before the Democrats realized their political future was in jeopardy, courtesy of a rude awakening in 2016, when they hemorrhaged voter blocs to Donald Trump , they professed great concern about illegal immigrants. Barack Obama insisted: "We are a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable. When I took office, I committed to fixing this broken immigration system and began to do what I could to secure our borders. ... We will [add] additional [border] resources for our law enforcement personnel, so that they can stem the tide of illegal crossing and to speed the return of those who do cross over. If you are a criminal, you will be deported. ... We expect people who live in this country to play by the rules." (Insert eye-roll here.) And recall what his sidekick Hillary Clinton had to say about illegal immigrant children: "The numbers are increasing dramatically. ... We need to do more to provide border security this side of Mexico. They should be sent back as soon as we can determine who their parents are. ... We have to send a clear message that just because your child gets across the border, that doesn't mean the child gets to stay. We don't want to send a message that is contrary to our laws." (Insert eye-roll here.) Or how about when now-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared: "People who enter the U.S. without our permission are illegal aliens, and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who enter the U.S. legally. ... When we use phrases like 'undocumented workers,' we convey to the American people that their government is not serious about combating illegal immigration. ... I think it is illegal and wrong." (Insert eye-roll here.) After Trump was elected, rather than continue his predecessor's "catch and release" policy under which 98% of those apprehended failed to return for asylum or deportation hearings he implemented a zero-tolerance policy. The result: In March of 2020, Trump's last year in office, there were 34,460 illegal immigrants taken into custody after crossing our southern border. Enter Joe Biden and his open-border policies inviting the surge of illegal immigrants. Among Biden's first executive actions was to undo almost all of the Trump administration's border security measures . Consequently, in March of this year, there were 171,000 illegal immigrants and 19,000 unaccompanied minors apprehended. Biden's policies have incentivized and greatly enriched human traffickers. Former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan said this week that at least 30,000 captured illegal immigrants have already been released into the U.S. "You're not going to find that anywhere because they're locking down the information," Morgan said. A key word in the illegal immigrant data is "apprehended." The great unknown is the number of illegal immigrants, among them drug cartel mules, gang members, and terrorists, who made it across without detection. Notably, DHS posted then removed its press release about the capture of two terrorists on the FBI's watch list. Apparently, such transparency enhances concerns about Biden's policies and we can't have that. There is already plenty of illegal immigrant blood on Biden's hands , but there is going to be more American blood on his hands. Amid the exploding humanitarian crisis Biden created on our southern border, he attempted to deflect criticism by appointing Kamala Harris as his " border czar ." However, Harris, wanting nothing to do with the crisis they created, has been AWOL . Immigration policy analyst Stephen Miller, who is launching America First Legal to challenge Biden's initiatives, thoroughly rebutted Biden's pretense defense of his failed border policies: "[Biden] said he was resettling minors in the US in lieu of 'let[ting] them starve to death and stay on the other side' (Mexico) which he accused Trump of doing. This is spectacularly false and a grave smear on our border agents. ... The [Trump administration's] humane policies brought unaccompanied minor numbers to record lows. Biden's disastrous decision to exempt minors from Title 42, and to stop the at-home reunification process in favor of domestic resettlement, single-handedly created this crisis. ... Finally [Biden's response] on revoking Trump's proven border tools defies human logic. If you stop removing illegal immigrants, and instead release them en masse, then of course they will come in ever-larger numbers." In other words, the solution to the border crisis is to revert to the Trump administration's proven policies to stop illegal immigration. But the Democrats don't want to stop illegal immigration much less the deadly consequences for American families . According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki: "We don't take our advice or counsel from former President Trump on immigration policy, which was not only inhumane, but ineffective over the last four years. We're going to chart our own path forward." This amid Biden administration plans to reimplement some of Trump's border wall construction (despite President Post Turtle's promise that not "one more foot" of wall would be built) in order to appear he is doing something about the surge. And a reminder about that " 11 million illegal immigrant " number that the Demos' and their Leftmedia propagandists constantly repeat. That number is more accurately estimated to be as many as 29.1 million . But what's another 10 or 20 million illegals when you're trying to permanently alter the fabric of the nation? If Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have their way, all of these illegals will get in line to vote "D" in return for all the free stuff and the promise of citizenship . And while Biden is busy allocating billions of taxpayer dollars for illegal immigrant housing, food, and healthcare, more than a half-million Americans are homeless many of them veterans. Finally, did I mention that Beltway Demos don't give a damn about immigrants except as a voter block? They are merely using their children as emotive pawns. Nor do Beltway Demos give a damn about the competition illegal immigrants create for American jobs, deflating the wages of working men and women those blue-collar folks Democrats long ago betrayed. Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post. Gov. Eric Holcomb cited Indianas steep drop in hospitalizations from more than 3,000 during most days in December as among the reasons for dropping the statewide mask mandate and other coronavirus-related restrictions as of April 6. Some health experts warned it was too early to take that step as not enough of the states population was vaccinated yet. Philippine military exercise director Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo (center) and US Marine Col. Aaron Brunk unfurl the 36th Balikatan exercise flag during the opening ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Metro Manila, April 12, 2021. The Philippines and long-time defense ally the United States kicked off an annual joint military exercise on Monday amid a recent surge in tensions in the South China Sea triggered by Chinas refusal to leave waters within Manilas internationally recognized territory. The military top brass opened this years two-week Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises attended by 225 American soldiers and their 736 Filipino counterparts in low-key ceremonies at the militarys headquarters. The numbers are down from previous exercises involving thousands of troops from both sides. The event was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the exchanges of ideas and expertise, we hope to maximize the benefit to both our armed forces, so that we could further develop effective strategies in dealing not only against insurgents or terrorist groups, but also in addressing non-traditional security challenges persisting in the region, military chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said. He noted that both countries are bound by a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, an alliance that binds them to come to each others aid to promote cooperation and regional security. Sobejana said he was encouraged to see that the mutual commitment with the U.S. has grown stronger over time. Moreso, that the country has been faced with various security challenges, the strong partnership with our allies and other like-minded countries truly enabled our respective military organizations to improve on capabilities for joint and combined operations, Sobejana said. He did not mention the current diplomatic squabble triggered by Chinas deployment of dozens of ships near a boomerang-shaped territory in the South China Sea within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ). China has said the ships were fishing boats but Manila has been filing daily protests with the Chinese embassy since last week. Balikatan will focus on territorial defense and counterterrorism, humanitarian and civic action and joint pandemic response operations, officials said. Most field exercises have been replaced with activities that would not require face-to-face engagement, including a bilateral staff exercise, close air support training, subject matter exchanges, maritime security training and humanitarian and civic assistance activities. A live fire exercise will be conducted on the ground, however. Members of both militaries are building classrooms in two Philippine provinces as part of the humanitarian and civic assistance exercises. Those classrooms are to be completed and unveiled by April 23, the last day of the exercises, the military said. US praise The United States is proud to participate in the Balikatan exercise, and we thank the Armed Forces of the Philippines for hosting U.S. troops in ways that maintain the health and safety of both our militaries, said John Law, Charge dAffaires of the U.S. Embassy in Manila. Joint exercises like Balikatan demonstrate our shared commitment to peace and stability, and the adaptability of U.S. and Philippine forces. The United States will continue to seek ways, even during the pandemic, to strengthen our security cooperation, Law said. Balikatan, which began in 1991, is the largest annual exercise involving Philippine and U.S. forces and has included observers from other militaries in the region, including from Japan and Australia. This year, the exercise involves only the two countries. A Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between Manila and Washington, signed in 1998, provides legal cover for the American soldiers participating in the drills. President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to scrap it over the U.S. governments decision to bar his former police general the chief enforcer of his war on drugs that has led to thousands of deaths from traveling there. He later recanted, and Filipino officials said the country needed the U.S. to assist in its coastal territorial defense. Last year, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana warned that terminating the VFA could spell the end of the Balikatan and other regular activities between Filipino and American forces. On Sunday, Lorenzana participated in a phone call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who pushed for the retention of the VFA, according to Manilas defense office. Secretary Austin reiterated the importance of the VFA and hopes that it would be continued. Secretary Lorenzana committed to discuss the matter with the president as the final approval lies with him, the defense office said. Tensions in the South China Sea Also Monday, Philippine and U.S. military officials began talks about the presence of Chinese ships in the South China Sea, particularly within the Philippine EEZ. Sobejana and Col. Stephen Ma of the U.S. Joint Military Assistance Group in Manila had a fruitful engagement after the Balikatan opening ceremony, according to military spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo. The discussions centered on how the Philippine and the United States armed forces can manage and respond to the situation in the Philippine EEZ. They agreed to continue to have subsequent meetings, Arevalo said. Since late March, Manila has complained of the presence of about 200 Chinese ships, including some suspected of being manned by militia, at Whitsun Reef within the Philippine EEZ. Manila has repeatedly demanded that the ships leave the area. Beijing refused to do so, and claimed the ships were fishing boats taking shelter from bad weather. It also insisted that Whitsun Reef is part of Chinas territory, along with most of the South China Sea. Recently, Manila said the ships at Whitsun Reef were down to 44, but others were scattered among different reefs and islets in the Philippine EEZ. On Sunday, Sobejana said in a radio interview that patrols spotted only 28 Chinese ships remaining in different parts of the Philippine EEZ as of Saturday night: six coast guard ships, 20 fishing boats, and two militia. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, but five other Asian governments Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have territorial claims. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Exiled Zimbabwean businessman, Mutumwa Mawere is fuming after he lost tens of thousands of $US to a judiciary manager who has been collecting rent from his Mt Pleasant House for 17 years without remitting a cent to him. The judiciary manager for Shabanie Mashaba Mine (SMM) Afaras Gwaradzimba allegedly entered into lease agreements with various tenants and collected rent from Maweres US$450 000 house located along Durland Close in Mt Pleasant from 2004 up to March 2021. The house which Mawere bought using his personal funds when he worked for the World Bank in 1991 sits on a piece of land that is several hectares in size. Mawere confirmed his stand-off with the judiciary manager of his asbestos mining company SMM over the rentals when The Mirror called him for a comment. He expressed his disappointment at the abuse of public power by Gwaradzimba who was appointed by the then Minister Patrick Chinamasa to restructure SMM in 2004. Although The Mirror failed to get a comment from Gwaradzimba, the newspaper has documents which show that the judiciary manager has since accepted that he erred by collecting rent from Maweres private property. The documents also indicate that Gwaradzimba offered to immediately rectify the problem by making sure that the rentals and the house are brought back under Maweres control. Gwaradzimba says that he collected rentals from the Mt Pleasant house because he did not know that the house was a personal property of Mawere. However, the standoff got worse when Mawere asked Gwaradzimba to produce the lease agreements on the house since 2004 so that he could establish the total amount of money that the judiciary manager collected from his house. Mawere also wanted to establish who and how the money from his house was used. Gwaradzimba declined to avail the documents and instead referred the matter to SMM lawyers DMH who are also President Mnangagwas lawyers and have represented Chinamasa and Gwaradzimba. Mawere is seriously considering taking the matter up with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission so that Gwaradzimba can be investigated for failing to provide information on the house. President Mnangagwa is accused of playing a critical role in the closure of SMM when he was still a Cabinet Minister. He is said to have played this role together with the then Minister of Justice, Patrick Chinamasa. Gwarazimba was appointed to manage SMM by Chinamasa. Mugabe wanted SMM returned to Mawere when he was still President and it is understood that this move was blocked by two of his ministers although investigations by the then Governor of the reserve Bank, Gideon Gono had indicated that Maweres hands were clean. When Mnangagwa came into power through a coup in 2017 he promised to have the whole SMM reopened and thousands of jobs created within six months. Four years later, the problems at the mine are worse with assets being stripped and houses and other infrastructure belonging to the mine being sold away. Why would a person who has nothing to hide refuse or fail to disclose this material information to the owner of the house? questioned Mawere. Masvingo Mirror SHENZHEN, China, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nam Tai Property Inc. ("Nam Tai" or the "Company") (NYSE Symbol: NTP) today issued the following statement in response to the reports issued by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS") and Glass Lewis regarding the election of directors to Nam Tai's Board of Directors at the Company's upcoming Special Meeting on April 26, 2021. ISS, Glass Lewis Both Determine a Change in Board Control is Not Warranted We are pleased that ISS and Glass Lewis recognize the risks associated with IsZo gaining control of the Board. ISS notes that the dissident's plan lacks sufficient detail to support its critiques of the Company's performance. Additionally, the dissident's case regarding concerns over share price undervaluation is lacking. ISS specifically stated, "The dissident has not provided sufficient evidence to support its claim that the company's stock underperformed under the control of Kaisa and that the company's capital allocation strategy was inadequate. Nor has the dissident made a thorough critique of the company's operating performance." Glass Lewis raised similar concerns in their report, "In addition, we believe the board's critique of the full IsZo slate as lacking sufficient industry and local market experience to effectively oversee NTP is valid, as are the board's criticisms of the dissident's plan as being generally vague or reliant upon existing management's experience and plan." ISS: Dissident's $40 Price Estimate has Insufficient Disclosure of Methodology With regard to IsZo's unsubstantiated claim of an estimated value of $40, ISS stated: "An estimate of USD 40 per share was mentioned several times without sufficient disclosure regarding the estimation methodology." The Company's recently completed third-party valuations of its properties by Savills Real Estate Valuation (Guangzhou) Limited ("Savills") and Jones Lang LaSalle ("JLL") resulted in an asset value of approximately RMB 5.7 billion ($880 million), which equates to a net asset value of approximately $18 per share, including balance sheet adjustments. ISS acknowledged that the approximate 30% discount that Nam Tai trades to its Net Asset Value (NAV) is "not unheard of in this sector." IsZo has targeted Nam Tai based on an unrealistic and unsupported projection for the value of Nam Tai's share price, which is in stark contrast with independent expert opinions. It is clear there is no magic replacement for local experience and relationships. The current Nam Tai Board and management team have delivered on their promises to restore Nam Tai to profitability, and we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by unrealistic projections to get us off track now. Increased Liquidity Risk with Nomination of Dissident Directors We strongly disagree with ISS's recommendation for three dissident nominees. ISS' basis appears to be largely rooted in the adverse judgment issued by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the High Court of Justice in the British Virgin Islands ("Court") ruling. We believe ISS misunderstands the recent judgement of the Court and fails to take in account Nam Tai's position, as set out in its application to appeal that the judgement contained a number of significant errors, such as the failure to account for important evidence, in particular the existence of the liquidity crisis facing Nam Tai. Nam Tai was notified by its lending banks that the Company's operations and management control were subject to substantial uncertainties triggered by actions that had been recently taken by IsZo. The purpose of the private placement was to raise capital to meet funding requirements due to the accelerated repayment demands made by its banks. Although the ISS and Glass Lewis reports reference the bank demand letters and ensuing liquidity crisis in the chronology of events, the reports are silent on what alternative course of action Nam Tai's management had other than issuing a private placement to raise capital to meet the repayment demands. The reports make no mention how the appointment of dissident directors will help relieve the liquidity crisis. The highest priority for Nam Tai management and the Board is to resolve outstanding liquidity matters and resume normal operations. The existing management is highly confident in its ability to re-establish its banking relationships after the Company's board nominees are re-elected. The recommendation for two dissident nominees by Glass Lewis in its report is also strongly disagreed by the Company for similar reasons. Strategic Relationship with Kaisa Recognized by ISS and Glass Lewis "In fairness, it should be noted that NTP only started to transform from an electronics manufacturer into a real estate developer in 2014 and that Kaisa's investment in NTP resulted from the former chairman's search for an exit for himself and a strategic partner for NTP," ISS noted. "We also believe that a portion of the current directors' institutional knowledge and relationships, particularly with the Company's financial institutions and local partners, remains vital to the future operation and success of the Company," Glass Lewis stated. Further, IsZo's slate puts at risk the Company's strategic partnership with Kaisa, a top 24 national developer and a top 3 developer in Shenzhen with more than 20 years of local real estate experience. Leveraging its significant expertise in the local market, Kaisa brings to the Company a number of significant and strategic advantages, including local real estate expertise, expedited industrial development projects, and enhanced access to bank financings, suppliers, and local authorities. Kaisa's partnership and investment in the Company has greatly increased market confidence in Nam Tai, including from customers and suppliers which are critical to the continued success of the Company. Maintaining the Kaisa relationship is undeniably the key to resolving the liquidity crisis. In addition, there is also no evidence of IsZo's capability to put forward a management team with expertise in the PRC real estate sector. As acknowledged by ISS, IsZo's plan lacks details, citing specifically that "no alternative management team has been identified." Nam Tai's Directors Would Restore Access to Financing and Unlock Growth With regard to recommending against Dr. Wing Yan (William) Lo, Professor Si Zong Wu, and Professor Aiping Lyu, and the latter two of them by ISS and Glass Lewis, respectively, we believe that the two proxy advisory firms have reached the wrong conclusion. The imminent threat to shareholder value is the potential for a forced liquidation of Nam Tai's assets to meet the banks' accelerated repayment demands. We are highly confident that our board directors are the right individuals to continue working with the management team to restore access to financing and unlock the significant growth potential in the path ahead. The Company looks forward to continuing in its mission to become a leading technology park developer and operator committed to long-term and sustainable growth. Dr. Wing Yan (William) Lo Dr. Lo brings over 34 years of technology and consumer experience to our Board, as well as extensive real estate Board experience. He has served as a director of Jing Rui Holdings since 2013 and at CSI Properties since 2014. In addition, Dr. Lo has extensive knowledge of the Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets, and his background in TMT is critical to Nam Tai in our mission to become a leading technology park developer. Professor Si Zong Wu Professor Wu is a professor of economics, business management and marketing at Tongji University Professor with over 40 years of experience as a teacher and researcher. He has also served as the Secretary of the Party Committee. His understanding of macroeconomics, insight into business cycles and knowledge of the regulations, has proved invaluable to management. He currently serves as a director and general managers for Guanzong Investment Management Co., independent director of Shanghai Shimao Co., Top Spring International Holdings, Anhui Higasket Plastics Co. and director of Chitina Holding Ltd. Professor Aiping Lyu Professor Lyu brings over 22 years of experience in research and pharmaceuticals in Mainland China and Hong Kong. He also currently serves as a member of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission of the People's Republic of China. Professor Lyu has served as an independent non-executive director of Kaisa Health Group Holdings Limited (SEHK: 876) since March 2018 and has been the Chair Professor and Dean of School of Chinese Medicine of Hong Kong Baptist University since February 2012. His extensive experience in academia provides fresh insights and ideas to our leadership, as well as critical relationships throughout our markets of operation which is home to several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. We remind our shareholders that their vote is extremely important, no matter how many or how few shares they own. Nam Tai urges shareholders to vote AGAINST Resolutions 1 through 12 on the WHITE Proxy Card so that our independent, highly qualified and experienced board directors may continue their work with our management team in driving growth and creating long-term value for shareholders. If you have any questions or require any assistance with voting your shares, please contact our proxy solicitor at the number listed below: Innisfree M&A Incorporated Shareholders may call toll free: (877) 825-8777 Banks and Brokers may call: (212) 750-5833 Forward-looking Statement and Factors that Could Cause our Share Price to Decline Certain statements included in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "might", "can", "could", "will", "would", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "intend", "plan", "seek", or "timetable". These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business and the industry in which we operate. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations about future events. There are several factors, many beyond our control, which could cause results to differ materially from our expectation. These risk factors are described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F and in our Current Reports filed on Form 6-K from time to time and are incorporated herein by reference. Any of these factors could, by itself, or together with one or more other factors, adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. There may also be other factors currently unknown to us, or have not been described by us, that could cause our results to differ from our expectations. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements apply only as of the date of this announcement; as such, they should not be unduly relied upon as circumstances change. Except as required by law, we are not obligated, and we undertake no obligation, to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that might reflect events or circumstance occurring after the date of this press release or those that might reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. ABOUT NAM TAI PROPERTY INC. We are a real estate developer and operator, mainly conducting business in Mainland China. Our main land resources are located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area") and Wuxi, China, of which the three plots in Shenzhen will be developed into Nam Tai Inno Park, Nam Tai Technology Center and Nam Tai Inno Valley. We plan to build these technology parks into landmark parks in the region and provide high-quality industrial offices, industrial service spaces and supporting dormitories to the tenants. Based on the experience of developing and operating technology parks and an industrial relationship network accumulated over the past 40 years, we have also exported the operation model of technology parks to other industrial properties. Through an asset-light model, we have leased industrial properties for repositioning and business invitation. We will also expand the commercial and residential property business in China as an auxiliary development strategy of the Company. As the growth prospects of China maintain, we shall seize development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area and other first- and second-tier cities in China, and continue to strengthen and expand the business of industrial real estate, and commercial and residential properties. Nam Tai Property Inc. is a corporation registered in the British Virgin Islands and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: "NTP"). Please refer to our corporate website (https://www.namtai.com/) or the SEC website (www.sec.gov) for our press releases and financial statements. SOURCE Nam Tai Property Inc. Related Links https://www.namtai.com/ LANSING, MI A Michigan attorney is accused of stealing money from a client who has been dead for eight years. Anthony Semaan, 63, of Grosse Pointe Park has been charged with one count of embezzlement by an agent between $50,000 and $100,000, a felony charged punishable by 15 years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine. Semaan allegedly stole funds from the trust of his deceased client that were intended for the Michigan Humane Society. Semaan drafted the victims trust in 2011 and when the individual later passed away in 2013, he was responsible for distributing the funds according to what was specified in the trust. The victims trust very clearly identified how the funds were to be disbursed and by law, the defendant had a duty to adhere to the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct, said Michigan Attourney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. It is concerning to know that someone who was in a position to carry out the wishes of the deceased may have taken advantage of that position. I am grateful to the Financial Crimes Division in my office for continuing to investigate these types of occurrences and ensuring that those most vulnerable are protected. Fifty percent of the victims trust was allocated to the Michigan Humane Society, according to a news release, but that payment was never allocated. It is alleged that he placed a total of $262,732.68 into his lawyers trust/escrow account, distributed two payments to individuals named in the trust but did not provide the Michigan Humane Society with any money or a notice of their interest in the trust. Semaan was arraigned by Magistrate Barbara Scherr in the 16th District Court late last week. He is scheduled to appear for a probable cause conference at 9 a.m. on April 15. Gov. Henry McMaster is seen in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border wall on April 10. (Office of Gov. Henry McMaster) SC Governor Blocks Biden Administration From Bringing Unaccompanied Children From Border South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order on Monday that prohibits the federal government from bringing unaccompanied children from the U.S.-Mexico border to South Carolina. McMaster issued the executive order in response to inquiries from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration of Children and Families about if the state had resources to place unaccompanied children in the states foster care facilities and group homes. Michael Leach, the head of the South Carolina Department of Social Services, told McMaster about the federal governments inquiries about taking children from the border and placing them in South Carolinas foster care and group homes, according to a letter (pdf) dated on April 8. South Carolinas children must always be given first priority for placement into foster care and the States strained resources must be directed to addressing the needs of its children, McMaster stated. He added: Allowing the federal government to place an unlimited number of unaccompanied migrant children into our states child welfare system for an unspecified length of time is an unacceptable proposition. Weve been down this road with the federal government before and the state usually ends up on the hook. The Republican governor further stipulated that the growing humanitarian crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border needs to be addressed by the White House. Allowing an influx of minors into the foster care system would place a strain on South Carolina social services capacity, his office said. The federal governments strategy, McMasters office added, will create a plan to financially incentivize private providers in the short term to the extent that these facilities may prioritize the placement of unaccompanied migrant children over the placement of South Carolina children. The State may ultimately incur a long-term financial burden if families are not located in a timely manner and the federal government ceases providing direct support for unaccompanied minors, according to the release. According to the letter from Leach, at least six private providers have indicated interest in placing the unaccompanied children in South Carolina. Leachs letter noted that as of April 8, no unaccompanied children have been placed in South Carolinas foster or group homes. The executive order comes as a surge of illegal immigrants has amassed along the Southern Border, and as the Biden administration scrambles to find housing for unaccompanied children. So far, 11 facilities have been opened to accommodate the aliens. As of March 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 19,000 unaccompanied children in its custody. Over the weekend, McMaster said he went to Texas to visit National Guardsmen from his state who are stationed there. At the border in Del Rio where building of the wall has ceased although the materials have been paid for. That is unacceptable, he wrote on Twitter. The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of Health and Human Services for comment. Ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine could result in a full-blown war between two very formidable armies, the US former ambassador to Russia has warned. Michael McFaul, who held the post between 2012 and 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, said on Monday that Ukraine would not hesitate to respond if the Kremlin decides to launch an attack on the countrys eastern side to liberate Russian speakers based there. If that happened, the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian army would respond, I have no doubt that they would, and then you would have a war in Europe between two very formidable armies, Mr McFaul told the BBC on Monday. It comes after Russian news anchor Dmitry Kiselyov said during a state TV primetime broadcast over the weekend that the country was one step from war. Mr Kiselyov, who has previously been denounced as a [Vladimir] Putin propagandist, also used the programme to brand Ukraine a Nazi state, saying that Russia could be forced to de-Nazify it by force a process which, he said, would bring about Ukraines economic and military collapse. In the past few weeks, Russia is believed to have amassed some 80,000 troops in Crimea and along Ukraines eastern border including tanks, artillery pieces, armoured transports and support vehicles. The military build-up has coincided with the breakdown of the latest ceasefire in the enduring conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, who have been fighting the government there for years. Russia has not beefed up its presence in the area, to this extent, since the annexation of Crimea with various local and international reports in the past few days suggesting Mr Putin has redeployed an air brigade from near the Estonian border, and sent 10 naval vessels from its Caspian Sea Flotilla to reinforce the Black Sea fleet. In response, the US has announced it will send two warships into the Black Sea. Various EU counterparts have spoken to Mr Putin in an attempt to persuade him to stand down, including Germanys chancellor Angela Merkel who requested the military build-up be abandoned during a phone call last week. Meanwhile, foreign secretary Dominic Raab tweeted on Sunday that he and the US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, agreed Russia must immediately de-escalate the situation & live up to the international commitments that it signed up to at OSCE. The Kremlin said over the weekend that it was not in fact heading towards a war, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling state broadcaster Russia-1: Of course, nobody is planning to move towards war and in general, nobody accepts the possibility of such a war. Nobody also accepts the possibility of civil war in Ukraine. But, while saying this, various Russian outlets continued to attack Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky with state media positioning him as the aggressor. A news report on Russias Channel One, for instance, likened Mr Zelensky a former actor and TV comedian to Napoleon after digging up images of him playing the part in an old TV drama. Another report labelled him a commander-in-chief comic, and a president of war who was inciting conflict. Viewers were also told that it was in fact Ukraine, along with Nato support, that was building up its military presence close to Donetsk and Luhansk, which are areas controlled by pro-Moscow rebels following a civil war in 2014 that has led to more than 14,000 deaths. A Nato official told The Independent: We are deeply concerned by the recent spike in violence in eastern Ukraine. Russian-backed militants are violating the ceasefire. We call on Russia to end its military build-up in and around Ukraine, stop supporting the militants and de-escalate immediately. We urge Russia to honour its commitments under the Minsk Agreements. Asked by BBC Radio 4 how concerned world leaders should be by the situation in Ukraine, former US ambassador Mr McFaul responded simply: Very. While US secretary of state Mr Blinken has threatened consequences and costs if Russia moves into Ukraine, Mr McFaul said this did not go nearly far enough to dissuade the military. Sanctions almost never change Putins behaviour post-facto, but they might change his calculations before he decides to make a move, he said. He added that the Group of Seven, aka G7, should put out a statement condemning Russias actions instead of forcing America to take its stand alone. Videos and images continue to flood social media of Russian troop movements, including artillery convoys along the bridge connecting Russia with Crimea and trains loaded with weaponry coming from as far east as Siberia. More fighting on Sunday saw one Ukrainian soldier killed and another wounded by artillery fire, thought to have come from Russian separatists. Ukraine says 27 soldiers have now been killed in the region this year, more than half the number who died in all of 2020. The Independent has contacted the Ukrainian government for comment. The royal family will bid their final goodbye to Prince Philip before his body will be privately interred in the Royal Vault of St. George's Chapel. On Friday, Buckingham Palace issued a heartbreaking message about Prince Philip's passing. "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband," the official statement from the Palace said, per BBC. "The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss." The Duke of Edinburgh served the Queen well before his death at 99. Meanwhile, Her Majesty has freely expressed how her husband's passing was a terrible loss. Queen Elizabeth II and the members of the royal family will gather on April 17 at the St. George's Chapel for the final day of the Duke's funeral. However, it was noted that the Royal Vault will not be Prince Philip's final resting place. Where Prince Philip's Remains Will Be Permanently Placed According to The Telegraph, Prince Philip will be transferred to King George VI's memorial chapel once Queen Elizabeth II dies. He will lie alongside her when that time finally comes. The chapel holds the remains of Her Majesty's father, George VI, Queen Mother, and her sister, Princess Margaret. The central feature of the building shows "George VI" and "Elizabeth" names in gold lettering with their years of birth and death. Before the Duke of Edinburgh, George III became the first royal to be held on the vault after his death in 1820. Two other kings George IV and William IV were also interred in the vault. For now, Prince Philip's body will be placed on a marble slab in the Quire. It will be lowered to the Royal Vault using an electric motor. The ceremonial royal funeral will not include public processions. A palace spokesman also confirmed that the funeral will be limited to 30 mourners. The spokesperson revealed, "The occasion will still celebrate and recognize the Duke's life and his more than 70 years of service to the queen, the UK and the Commonwealth." The list of attendees has not yet been released. But it will surely include the central members of the royal family - the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the Duchess of Cornwall. Prince Harry, who recently appeared in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey alongside his wife Meghan Markle, already arrived in the UK to join the family. See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles 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 She recently moved back to the UK from Los Angeles with her husband Patrick Kielty and sons, Milo, four. and James, two. And Cat Deeley appears to have settled back into life in Britain as she enjoyed a lunch date in London on Monday with her husband Patrick Kielty, as restaurants with outdoor seating finally reopened across the country. The TV presenter, 44, looked incredibly stylish in a faux fur jacket as she finished her meal at The Ivy in St John's Wood with her husband, 50, and popped to the shops. Chic: Cat Deeley looked incredibly stylish in a faux fur jacket on Monday as she enjoyed an outdoor lunch date in London with her husband Patrick Kielty Her statement outerwear comprised of slabs of beige and black faux fur fabric which complemented her heeled boots and skinny jeans. Cat framed her visage with large tortoiseshell shades as she tucked her blonde locks back in a sleek low bun. The TV host draped a snakeskin bag across her torso while carrying a face mask and a plastic shopping bag. She appeared to go make-up free for the outing while Patrick wrapped up in a navy Canada Goose parka coat. Walk this way: The TV presenter, 44, beamed as she finished her meal at The Ivy in St John's Wood with her husband, 50, and popped to the shops He cut a low-key figure in a lemon yellow tee and denim jeans as he sported wireless earphones and clutched his mobile phone. Following national restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, restaurant outdoor seating finally reopened throughout the UK on April 12th. Hairdressers, other personal care services and outdoor settings including zoos and theme parks also reopened. Stand out from the crowd: Her statement outerwear comprised of slabs of beige and black faux fur fabric which complemented her heeled boots and skinny jeans Accessorise: The TV host draped a snakeskin bag across her torso while sporting a face mask and carrying a plastic shopping bag Earlier this month, Cat filled in for Lorraine Kelly on her eponymous morning show, making a triumphant return to British screens after living in the US for 14 years. The star has moved back home in recent weeks, and fans were happy to have her on morning television again, where she made a name for herself in the 1990s. Ever-cheerful, the presenter sailed through the live broadcast effortlessly, looking radiant in a primrose yellow dress adorned with a pink and green floral pattern. 'Cat Deeley on #lorraine is fabulous A happy ray of sunshine for the morning!' one person gushed on Twitter. Expensive taste: She appeared to go make-up free for the outing while Patrick wrapped up in a navy Canada Goose parka coat Little ones: The couple share sons , Milo, four. and James, two Another penned: '@catdeeley you're a refreshing breath of fresh air... So glad you're back in UK!' Another penned: 'Great to see Cat on... so natural well done Cat... you['re] amazing!' Someone else gushed: 'Ah love #CatDeeley on TV. She's like a shot o strong coffee! A blast from the past [for] me!' Another demanded Cat be 'on UK TV all the time please' while someone else demanded Lorraine be replaced with the starlet, tweeting: 'Get #Lorraine off and #CatDeeley in. #itv is boring enough as it is with repetitive programmes each and everyday. Back to #bbc next week while Cat is off the TV!' Staying connected: Patrick cut a low-key figure in a lemon yellow tee and denim jeans as he sported wireless earphones and clutched his mobile phone At last! Following national restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, restaurant outdoor seating finally reopened throughout the UK on April 12th Back to business: Hairdressers, other personal care services and outdoor settings including zoos and theme parks also reopened Cat had told Lorraine she was nervous about sitting in for her while the Scots presenter had a break over Easter. Making an appearance on Lorraine earlier in April ahead of hosting the show, she said: 'I hope Im half as good as you Lorraine. Im a little bit terrified I havent even been properly dressed from the waist down since God knows when!' After welcoming Cat onto the show, veteran broadcaster Lorraine told her: 'Im so glad you can do this! I think, obviously, youll be brilliant.' And once Cat admitted to being 'terrified', Lorraine assured her: 'Youll have some fantastic fun. Weve got some fantastic guests lined up.' Filling in: Earlier this month, Cat filled in for Lorraine Kelly on her eponymous morning show, making a triumphant return to British screens after living in the US for 14 years Where it all began: The star has moved back home in recent weeks, and fans were happy to have her on morning television again, where she made a name for herself in the 1990s Fan-favourite! Cat Deeley on #lorraine is fabulous A happy ray of sunshine for the morning!' one person gushed on Twitter Nervous: Cat had told Lorraine she was nervous about sitting in for her while the Scots presenter had a break over Easter Later in the show, Lorraine revealed that all Cat has requested for her guest-hosting gig is bananas and coffee, with Cat confirming: 'Those are my morning staples really good, strong coffee and a nana!' Cat filled in for the veteran broadcaster for five shows, and gushed she was looking forward to reuniting with some 'old friends' on the chat show. As promised, she welcomed Louise Redknapp on Tuesday, as the ladies reminisced about their time on SM:TV Live sketch The Further Adventures Of Cat The Dog. This was a mainstay on the classic ITV children's show, which debuted in 1998, with Louise, 46, making appearances as her sidekick in the sketch. Honest: Making an appearance on Lorraine earlier in April ahead of hosting the show, she said: 'I hope Im half as good as you Lorraine. Im a little bit terrified I havent even been properly dressed from the waist down since God knows when!' Seal of approval: After welcoming Cat onto the show, veteran broadcaster Lorraine told her: 'Im so glad you can do this! I think, obviously, youll be brilliant' Snack time: Later in the show, Lorraine revealed that all Cat has requested for her guest-hosting gig is bananas and coffee, with Cat confirming: 'Those are my morning staples really good, strong coffee and a nana!' Cat famously sported a frizzy black wig and spectacles with her character's signature mangled teeth as she recounted her clumsy adventures alongside her more glamorous co-star. Chuckling as she viewed clips from the show, Louise said: 'I used to catch those teeth now and again I think! There was never any judgement, I think sometimes if you mucked up as well that made the morning. 'People enjoyed the party where your wig was falling off, or I forgot what I was doing because I was laughing at you.' Elsewhere during their reunion, Louise spoke about her reasons for writing her revealing book You've Got This: And Other Things I Wish I Had Known. Reunited: Cat filled in for the veteran broadcaster for five shows, and gushed she was looking forward to reuniting with some 'old friends' on the chat show Looking back: As promised, she welcomed Louise Redknapp on Tuesday, as the ladies reminisced about their time on SM:TV Live sketch The Further Adventures Of Cat The Dog Throwback: This was a mainstay on the classic ITV children's show, which debuted in 1998, with Louise, 46, making appearances as her sidekick in the sketch Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday (April 11) announced that all government as well as private schools for classes 1 to 12 along with other educational institutions in the state will remain closed till April 30. The decision comes on the same day when the state recorded the highest single-day spike in the state this year, with 15,353 new COVID-19 infections, on Sunday. The state government also said that the examinations will be conducted as per the schedule, adding that all teaching and non-teaching staff shall continue to attend their respective institutions. With 15,353 new COVID-19 infections reported today in the state, the caseload in Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, climbed to 6,92,092. The active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 71,241, while 6,11,622 patients have recovered from the infection so far. Meanwhile, to curb the rise of COVID-19 cases in the country, the Yogi Adityanath government imposed night curfew in all districts which recorded more than 500 active cases. The Union Health Ministry, on Sunday, also informed that UP is among the ten states which have contributed nearly 81 per cent of the 152,879 cases registered by the country in the last 24 hours. Uttar Pradesh joins Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and other states, which have ordered schools to be closed for most of April amid rising COVID-19 infections. Live TV Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 16:50:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The Communist Party of China (CPC) has applied scientific methods in governance, Chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club Stephen Perry has told Xinhua. For more than half a century, three generations of Perry's family have devoted their lives to promoting China-Britain economic and trade ties. Witnessing the country's dramatic changes for decades, Perry holds an insightful observation on China's system and its ways of thinking and acting. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Leif Hoven can walk down a trail he hasnt visited in years and immediately recognize all the spots that hes worked on, hours of effort that remain invisible to nearly everyone else. The logs he helped cut that were blocking the trail, the water crossings he helped hikers navigate and the muddy hillsides he helped stabilize are vital to keeping trails safe and accessible to the public, but his work is also meant to be hidden, to make human interference appear as natural as possible. You dont want to have it look like its just been completely mowed and shaven and barren, Hoven said. All of a sudden you come to a spot thats been touched up and cleaned up, you do tend to notice it. Hoven is one of hundreds of volunteer trail crew members who spend their time making Oregons hiking trails safer and more accessible. Their work ranges from clearing brush along trails on the coast, clearing landslides in the Columbia River Gorge and cutting burned trees from the many places where wildfire has swept through in recent years. Now the chair of the Mount Hood chapter of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, Hoven has grown from volunteering on the trails to helping oversee the process. His organization helps maintain all 2,650 miles of the famed hiking trail, but its only one organization working on trails in the region. Working alongside the Pacific Crest Trail Association are the Trailkeepers of Oregon, the Washington Trails Association and the Northwest Trail Alliance, which specializes in mountain bike trails. In addition to paid staff who work for various land management agencies, most popular state and local parks also enlist assistance from friends organizations that help maintain individual outdoor spaces. If theres an Oregon trail you cherish, you can all but guarantee theres a volunteer trail crew that helps maintain it. Trail crew volunteer Roberta Cobb clears a fallen limb on the Pacific Crest Trail as it winds through the burn area of the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian A volunteer trail crew hikes along Pacific Crest Trail as it winds through the burn area of the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge. The crew was working to clear the trail of debris, while helping rehabilitate the trail. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Trail crew volunteer Frank Jahn works on a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail that winds through the burn area of the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Susan Schen, stewardship manager with Trailkeepers of Oregon, said while the major trail projects grab all the attention like the ongoing work clearing landslides on the Eagle Creek Trail trail crews are constantly working on smaller projects that keep trails open to everyday hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. Its not just a matter of safety, but also of accessibility, Schen said of maintaining the trails. It could be extra steep, the brush and brambles could be growing out across it, water could be flowing on the trail and making big puddles that are hard to navigate. Theres a lot of basic maintenance that goes into maintaining trails each year. And while it would be reasonable to assume that maintaining trails is the responsibility of land management agencies who look after them, the reality is that there just isnt enough money for agencies to do all that themselves. Stan Hinatsu, recreation manager for the U.S. Forest Service in the Columbia River Gorge, said theyre lucky to have enough funding for one full-time trail worker and six seasonal workers, which is more than most other national forests can claim. Still, thats not nearly enough to maintain their roughly 300 miles of trails, many of which are heavily used and open year-round. Theres still this big gap between the resources that we have every year and what we really need to keep trails up to standard, Hinatsu said. Volunteer folks are really important to us and needed to help close that gap. Working relationships between the U.S. Forest Service and the nonprofit organizations vary, he said. Some organizations receive small amounts of money from the federal agency to pay for training or volunteer coordinators, but others work strictly on a volunteer basis. Trail volunteers almost always work for free, but most organizations offer incentives for logging hours on the trail, from free annual lands passes to branded swag. But the biggest payment seems to come in the form of personal fulfillment a feeling that theyve contributed to maintaining a natural space they love. You know somebody else is getting enjoyment out of it, so that for me is a big plus, Hoven said. Just having that sense of accomplishment, leaving something behind for others to use. A volunteer trail crew repairs the Eagle Creek Trail in the Columbia River Gorge after severe winter storm and fire damage.Christian Birch/Pacific Crest Trail Association A volunteer trail crew repairs the Eagle Creek Trail in the Columbia River Gorge after severe winter storm and fire damage.Kat Dragich/Pacific Crest Trail Association That feeling seems to have drawn a good number of volunteers out to trail parties across the region. Fewer than a dozen people may show up at any given event, but there are hundreds of dedicated regulars who volunteer with one or several organizations, according to the Pacific Crest Trail Association and Trailkeepers of Oregon. Amariah Jean-Baptiste, communications and data specialist for Trailkeepers of Oregon, said while the organization already has a good number of dedicated volunteers, they would love to see that number increase, and for their demographics to diversify. One strategy is explaining to people that volunteer trail work doesnt have to mean physical labor. While most volunteer trail work means swinging tools, cutting trees and clearing out brush, some volunteers with Trailkeepers of Oregon instead work as trail ambassadors, she said, sitting at trailheads to provide information on the trail system and inform hikers of Leave No Trace ethics. Other people contribute simply by donating money to the organization. There are little ways for people to get involved by doing things like that, if they feel like they dont have the capacity to work on the trail themselves, Jean-Baptiste said. Im one of those people that prefer just doing some light brushing myself, so I totally understand that. As crowds continue to increase at outdoor recreation areas, driven in large part by inexperienced hikers, theres been a bigger push among outdoor organizations to educate hikers on how to responsibly recreate. And while some may focus on the abuse and misuse of natural spaces, there is a new push to focus on the inequity of outdoor recreation. In Portland, theres no outdoor area more popular or more complex than the 5,200-acre Forest Park. The Forest Park Conservancy, which helps maintain the park, has long utilized volunteer trail crews to help take care of its roughly 80 miles of trails, but the organization now has its eye on the future. Renee Myers, executive director of the conservancy, said she would like to see a younger and more diverse group of stewards caring for the park, one that better reflects the racial makeup of the city. But many people of color have expressed a discomfort hiking in the relatively secluded forest trails, she said, and some have even recounted receiving racist comments from fellow hikers. Our vision is this amazing community of stewards taking care of the park that reflects the population, Myers said. It will take work, but if that is happening then Forest Park will be well taken care of. One solution could be the conservancys new roaming ambassadors program, which tasks volunteers with walking through the park to help hikers navigate the area, educate people about the rules and to help some people feel safer, simply by being present on the trail. Trail volunteerism starts with a love of the outdoors, which for many leads naturally to a desire to help protect and maintain our local outdoor spaces. Ensuring future generations of trail volunteers requires introducing more people to our natural spaces to begin with. Volunteers weve connected to Forest Park and have a wonderful experience they keep coming back, Myers said. Unless youre actually touching and feeling and experiencing a place, you dont necessarily make that connection. Trail crew volunteers clear a field of debris on the Pacific Crest Trail as it winds through the burn area of the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian HOW TO VOLUNTEER Looking to lend a hand? If you want to help maintain a specific park or area, look for a friends organization dedicated to that space, like Friends of Tryon Creek or Friends of the Sandy River Delta. You can also contact the agency in charge of that area, like the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department or U.S. Forest Service. For bigger, more general volunteer trail organizations use the contact information below: Trailkeepers of Oregon www.trailkeepersoforegon.org 971-206-4351 Washington Trails Association www.wta.org 206-625-1367 Pacific Crest Trail Association www.pcta.org 916-285-1838 volunteer@pcta.org Northwest Trail Alliance www.nw-trail.org --Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB Antarcticas Thwaites Glacier also called the Doomsday Glacier is a matter of grave concern due to its enormous potential to raise the sea level which will be caused by its melting due to the warm water underneath which was overlooked in past. Thwaites Glacier is 120 km wide at its broadest and melting fast over the years. Because of its size (1.9 lakh square km), it contains enough water to raise the world sea level by more than half a meter. Studies have found the amount of ice flowing out of it has nearly doubled over the past 30 years. Its melting constitutes approximately 4 per cent of the total global sea-level rise every year and is predicted to collapse into the sea in 200 to 900 years. Researchers at the Swedens University of Gothenburg are now saying that fears related to Thwaitess melting are worse than previously thought. They used an uncrewed submarine to go under the Thwaites glacier front to make observations. These were the first measurements ever performed beneath Thwaites glacier, said Anna Wahlin, professor of oceanography at the University of Gothenburg and lead author of the study that has been published in Science Advances. Using the results of the observations of characteristics like temperature, salinity, and oxygen content of the ocean currents that go under the glacier, researchers have been able to find out the ocean currents that flow under Thwaites and cause its melting to speed up. The researchers have deduced the three channels which bring warm water to glacier from north. The channels for warm water to access and attack Thwaites werent known to us before the research. Using sonars on the ship, nested with very high-resolution ocean mapping from Ran, we were able to find that there are distinct paths that water takes in and out of the ice shelf cavity, influenced by the geometry of the ocean floor, the press release quoted Dr. Alastair Graham of the University of Southern Florida as saying. Thwaites is crucial for Antarctica as it restricts the movement of free-floating ice in the ocean. But research showed that warm water is impacting the points of the glacier where it is connected to the sea-bed and finds stability of its ice sheets and hence making the situation distressing as Thwaites ice shelf is already retreating. Live TV Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa today said the state government could impose lockdown if the need arises. Karnataka is among 10 states that have shown a steep rise in the daily coronavirus cases , according to the Union Health Ministry. "People need to respond for their own good. If they don't heed then we may have to take stringent measures. If required and if necessity arises, we will impose lockdown," Yediyurappa said, news agency PTI reported. Also Read | The silent rise of Indias private ports Reacting to queries on the growing coronavirus cases in the state, which saw the numbers breaching 10,000 on Sunday, he said the Prime Minister had also spoken to him about the measures taken by his government. "(I told him) we have imposed night curfew in the districts where the coronavirus cases are rising," Yediyurappa said. Bengaluru and six other cities in Karnataka have imposed a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am. The curfew will be in place till 20 April in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumakuru and Udupi-Manipal. Karnataka reported 10,250 new COVID-19 cases and 40 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 10,65,290, the state health department informed on Sunday. There are now 69,225 active cases in that state. So far, 9,83,157 recovers and 12,889 deaths have been reported in the state. Of the total new cases, over half of the new cases (7,584) were reported from capital Bengaluru. India is currently witnessing the second wave of the coronavirus. In the highest single-day spike, nearly1.7 lakh new Covid-19 cases were reported today, according to Union Health Ministry. This is the sixth consecutive day when more than one lakh cases have been reported in the country. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. 5 IS militants killed in airstrike in Iraq Xinhua) 14:27, April 12, 2021 BAGHDAD, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Five militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group were killed Sunday in an airstrike in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi military said. A statement by the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said that the Iraqi army's helicopter gunships killed five IS militants and destroyed four hideouts near Himreen Lake in the north of the provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. The airstrike came as the Iraqi security forces launched a search campaign on Sunday morning to hunt down IS militants in the Himreen mountain range and nearby lake, the statement said. The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017. However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) This bird eye view shows the coral reefs in China's Xisha Islands, South China Sea, June 1, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua] The United States is planning to conduct more intensive military maneuvers in the South China Sea either alone or in collaboration with its regional allies. Either way, it is a dangerous signal that the world's sole superpower should avoid sending as it is increasingly turning the waters into a regional flashpoint. The US already conducts frequent naval exercises in the waters. On April 7, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and its strike group concluded what Washington called "routine operations" and exercises in the South China Sea, its third entry into the waters this year. The US aircraft carrier's frequent presence in the South China Sea has posed the biggest threat to peace and stability in the waters, not to mention that the US is obviously attempting to meddle in the region's maritime disputes. On Sunday, the Philippine military announced that it is holding joint annual exercises with the US over the next two weeks. Though the Philippine side called them low-key exercises that will only involve 700 US soldiers and up to 1,300 members of the Philippine military, about one-fourth of the customary participation numbers, the timing of the exercises could not be more sensitive. The US obviously views the spat between the Philippines and China over some Chinese fishing boats sheltering around Niu'e Reef in the South China Sea last month as an opportunity to flex its muscles in the South China Sea again, and hopes to use it as a steppingstone to advance its own strategic interests in the region. It is now crystal clear that the South China Sea has become the key venue for the US to cement its dominant position in the Indo-Pacific region and exert strategic pressure on China. That explains why the US Navy has frequently sent its warships into the waters under the pretext of freedom of navigation or held joint military exercises with regional allies in total disregard of the sovereignty and security of countries littoral to the waters. Hence, it is no exaggeration to say that the US is now the root cause of the militarizing of the South China Sea. Yet the US troublemaking is doomed to failure as China and the Southeast Asian countries remain adamant in their efforts to prevent the South China Sea from becoming a crucible for conflict. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of dialogue relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which have witnessed long-term growth, and display great vitality and huge potential. Nothing can shake their shared resolve to build lasting peace and stability in the South China Sea and deepen their reciprocal cooperation in an all-around way. The US is whistling in the wind if it thinks its allies will oppose China's rise of which they are beneficiaries. The EU is following closely and with great concern the build-up of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine and in the occupied Crimea and is making diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation or conflict, which are unacceptable. EUs Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano said this at a briefing in Brussels on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The EU, member states, and European institutions - we are following very closely and with very deep concern the deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine and the Russian troops that are moving closer to the borders of Ukraine, as well as in the occupied Crimea. The EU has already called on several occasions, including through the High Representative and the leaders of the member states, for calm and de-escalation. We welcome the efforts and important steps that Ukraine and President Zelensky are taking in this regard, the EU official said. He stressed that full implementation of the Minsk agreements is the only way forward and can guarantee a political and peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Stano added that the EU is closely monitoring the situation and is carrying out diplomatic contacts at various levels. The situation in Ukraine will be one of the topics on the agenda of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, which will take place via teleconference next Monday. As a reminder, 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. 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 backdrop of Russia's escalation in eastern Ukraine. ish LOS ANGELESAfter 107 years of film censorship in Italy, that country has finally abolished its law that gave the government the power to ban movies, or order them to be edited, on moral as well as on religious and political grounds, according to a report by Variety. The censorship law in recent years had been largely ignored, making its repeal last week largely symbolic. But over the past century thousands of movies, many of them featuring sexually explicit material, have been censored by the Italian government. Perhaps the most famous was Italian Director Bernardo Betoluccis controversial 1972 film Last Tango in Paris which in the United States garnered Academy Award nominations for the director and the films star, Marlon Brando. But in Italy, the film was banned before it was released and all but a few prints of the movie were destroyed. Such acknowledged cinema classics as Federico Fellinis La Dolce Vita, and Michelangelo Antonionis Lavventura were also subjected to censorship under the law enacted in 1914. According to the online censorship archive Cine Censura, the advent of hardcore porn in the early 1970s brought new complications for Italys censors, resulting in more banned films, and adult filmmakers presented fraudulent copies of their movies to the censorship authorities, or screening the films without obtaining government clearance at all. In all, according to a survey by Cine Censura, nearly 35,000 feature films have been subject to some form of government censorship in Italy since 1944, after the fall of Benito Mussolinis fascist government which had ruled the country since 1922. The Italian government since 1944 has banned 274 Italian films, 130 American movies and 321 more films produced in other countries. But all of that ended last week when Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini announced that the century-old law had been officially scrapped. Film censorship has been abolished, Franceschini announced in a statement, as quoted by The Guardian newspaper. The system of controls and interventions that still allow the state to intervene in the freedom of artists has been definitively ended. Under Italys new system, preventing a film from being released, or forcing filmmakers to make unwanted cuts to their work will no longer be allowed. Instead, movie producers will classify their own films according to age groupings, such as over 14, over 18 and so on. The creators own decisions will then need to be ratified by a new, 49-member commission of film industry experts. Its a form of self-regulation. We are mature enough, director Pupi Avati told The Guardian. Avatis 1976 film Bordella a satirical comedy about a brothel for women was subjected to government censorship in his home country. According to Variety, the last major censorship case in Italy occurred win 1998, when the film Toto Who LIved Twice by directors Daniele Cipri and Franco Maresco caused an uproar due to its inclusion of zoophilia, rape, sodomy and religious references. The controversy over the film and its censorship ultimately laid the groundwork for last weeks abolition of Italys censorship law, 23 years later. Photo By Clay Gilliland / Wikimedia Commons "We're excited to have such a strong group of innovators presenting their developments in this hot space of robotics. The CEOs of these companies are drawing quite a bit of attention," says Scott Pantel, CEO of LSI. "It is fascinating to track which strategics and investors are focusing in on this space. The hunt is clearly on and it's going to be fun to see how it all plays out." Surgical Robotics is one of the hottest markets in medtech, and some of the most innovative startups will be in attendance, including MMI, Virtual Incision, AiM Medical Robotics, Galen Robotics, Roam Robotics, McGinley Orthopedic Innovations, Vicarious Surgical, CorInnova and Levita Magnetics. These nine startups alone have already raised $176 million to date and are actively raising $297 million in new capital. The management teams from these companies have proven track records, with a combined 15 exits valued at over $8.4 billion. As such, they are drawing attention at LSI2021 from major investors and strategics that are focused on learning about their next steps. "I am enthused to be participating in the 2021 Emerging Medtech Summit again this year. This event has clearly become the premier medtech investment and partnering meeting and is a must-attend each year. As a global advisory firm with a specialty practice dedicated to Robotics, Digital Surgery and Advanced Surgical Technologies, I am excited to meet with many of the strategics driving this segment and the institutional investors that have particular interest in deploying capital in support of the startup community. I see several company founders that have had significant exits and continue to drive thought leadership are in attendance as well. Alira Health will be publishing an industry report highlighting this market, and I look forward to meeting with many of the leading early-stage companies that we have found among the best in class in development of technology across this sector, one of the fastest growing in medtech," says David Uffer, Senior Partner and VP MedTech at Alira Health. This year's summit will be a hybrid event as attendees can participate either in person or virtually from a remote location. During a 10-minute presentation, startups will be able to explain their innovative medical devices that focus on some of the industry's trending areas, like medical robotics, artificial intelligence, digital, mobile health, neurostimulation, neuromodulation, and cardiovascular, to a group of investors that include venture capitalists and strategics. In turn, investors can begin discussions to acquire the technology, the intellectual property, or the company as a whole. LSI analysts have vetted presenting companies based on their technologies, stage, and management teams. This year's group of seasoned presenters has more than $188 billion in combined exits and are actively raising $1.8 billion in new capital to accelerate the commercialization of their new medtech ventures. Startup CEOs will present either in person at the venue or virtually through the partnering software, and participants can view these presentations in-person at the venue or via livestream from a remote location using the event's partnering software. Attendees will also be able to schedule time with other attendees for one-on-one meetings either in person at the venue or through one of the engaging virtual options. This event has drawn the attention of a staggering number of investors, strategics, and service providers , including Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Abbott, Intuitive Surgical, GE Healthcare, Boston Scientific, Siemens Healthineers, NEA, USVP, JJDC, Gilde, Sante, SV Health Investors, Canaan, and Domain, that are looking to establish relationships with participating startups. In addition to the startup presentations, the agenda also includes a fireside chat with Paul LaViolette, Managing Partner, SV Health Investors, Medtech Convergence Fund, and panels featuring industry leaders and experts. Medtech's top KOLs, SMEs, investors, strategics, and innovators will come together to discuss: "Medtech 3.0 & Creating Unicorns" - Scott Huennekens , Executive Chairman, Acutus Medical , Executive Chairman, Acutus Medical "Investing in Medtech Innovation: What Do VCs Want?" - Lisa Carmel , VP Strategy, Ximedica , VP Strategy, Ximedica "Medtech VC & Corporate Investing Trends" - Kwame Ulmer , Venture Partner, Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health , Venture Partner, Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health "Dealmaking & Strategic Partnering in the COVID Era" - David Uffer, Sr Partner, VP, Alira Health "How (& When) to Engage Corporates" - Nicholas Pachuda, Innovation & New Ventures, Pure Medtech Advisors "Medtech SPACs: Hunting for Startups" - Rak Mehta , Vice Chairman, J.P. Morgan , Vice Chairman, J.P. Morgan "Family Office & Angel Money : The Inside Track" : The Inside Track" "Opportunities in the Drive Towards Intelligent Surgery" - Daniel Teo , Managing Partner, Hunniwell Lake COVID Safety Protocols To address COVID-19 risks, LSI has adopted an On-Site Health & Safety Plan , with Jared T. Williams, MD serving as the on-site Medical & Safety Director. The summit will utilize the entire Ritz-Carlton indoor and outdoor meeting space to ensure in person participants are able to socially distance and will follow both CDC and Ritz-Carlton guidelines and safety protocols, which include face masks, COVID testing and temperature checks. There will also be an on-site staff responsible for monitoring attendees, as well as cleaning and sanitizing the meeting space throughout the summit. For more information about the 2021 Emerging Medtech Summit and virtual attendance options, visit https://www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com/medtech-summit/ Registration is limited, sign up here: https://www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com/medtech-summit/registration For more information on Life Science Intelligence, visit https://www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-science-intelligence About Life Science Intelligence (LSI): LSI is a medical technology focused market intelligence & consulting company. We help medtech executives make informed strategic decisions by better understanding market dynamics, trends, opportunities and the competitive landscape. SOURCE Life Science Intelligence Related Links https://www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com 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 Corporate boycotts Regarding Tomlinson: Thats rich. Party of big business wants CEOs out of politics, (B1, April 7): I am amazed at the politicians who are calling for corporate product boycotts stating they should stay out of politics regarding the voter suppression bill when the politicians themselves gladly take their monetary political donations. Me? I will gladly support these corporations who are speaking up for the regular people. I would gladly vote against voter suppression if it wasnt being made more difficult to vote. Bill Moore, Houston Trash-can hijinks Regarding Life on road means heated atmospheres, (C3, April 7): After last weeks game, Dusty Baker said, People make mistakes. We paid for ours and I wish theyd leave it alone. Yes, Baker, trite but true, people do make mistakes. But unless I missed something, Astros players who participated in the sign-stealing operation havent paid squat. No suspensions, no fines, nothing other than hearing some boos. People will leave it alone when the players have paid for it. Most of them havent even offered a sincere acknowledgment of what was done and the ramifications of their actions. Since thats not likely ever to happen, Id get used to the booing. Tom Mueller, La Crescenta, California Change the name Regarding Fight brewing over Lee High Schools name, (A1, March 27): I will quote a small passage about Robert E. Lee from Isabel Wilkersons most recent book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. In 1859, three of the people he enslaved on his Virginia plantation fled north and were captured near the Pennsylvania border. They were forced back to Lees plantation. Upon their arrival, Lee told them that he would teach them a lesson they would never forget. Lee ordered his overseer to strip them to the waist, tie them to posts, and whip the men fifty lashes and the women twenty, on their bare backs. When the overseer refused, Lee got the county constable and told him to lay it on well, which the constable did. Not satisfied with simply lacerating their naked flesh, General Lee then ordered the overseer to thoroughly wash their backs with brine, which was done. If I were a Black student or even the parent of a Black student I would not want to enter the doors of a school that was named to honor this man. The naming of schools is done to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of a person. Robert E. Lee does not deserve that honor. In truth, he led an insurrection against the United States of America this is treason. And, he led this insurrection for the reason of guaranteeing the right of white plantation owners in the South to own Black human beings. Renaming Robert E. Lee High school is not trying to undo history. It is simply to affirm that we will not honor this man. Scott Sawyer, Houston Ottawa, April 12 : Ontario, Canada's most populous province with a population of 14 million, reported 4,456 new cases of Covid-19, the highest single day case count since the pandemic started last year. The report brought the cumulative total number of Covid-19 cases to 386,608, including 7,552 deaths and 346,239 recoveries, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. As of Sunday morning, Canada reported a cumulative total of 1,058,530 cases, including 23,313 deaths and 962,549 recoveries, according to CTV. The province's positivity rate also rose on Sunday. With 56,378 tests processed in the last 24 hours, the province said its Covid-19 positivity rate increased from 6.5 per cent on Saturday to 7.7 per cent on Sunday. The patients with Covid-19 in intensive care units surpassed 600 for the first time in the province since the pandemic outbreak. The province reported on Sunday more than 1,513 people are currently in hospital due to the disease. At least 605 of these patients are being treated in ICUs and 382 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. The Ontario government issued two emergency orders Friday midnight to help increase critical care capacity in the province after hospitals were ordered to ramp down on elective surgeries amid surging Covid-19 cases. The Ontario government entered a provincewide stay-at-home order on Thursday to stem the Covid-19 spread. The order closed all non-essential businesses for in-person shopping for at least a month in order to deal with the ongoing third wave of the deadly disease. The province reported 1,174 new cases of the B.1.1.7 variant on Sunday. The total case count for the strain now stands at 14,387. It also confirmed two new cases of the B.1.351 variant, bringing the total case count in the province to 78 on Sunday while the number of the P.1 variant remains at 134. The province reported that 333,150 people have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine as of Saturday. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) EMERYVILLE, Calif., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Berkeley Lights, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLI), a leader in Digital Cell Biology, today announced the company will be reporting financial results for the first quarter 2021 before market open on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Company management will be webcasting a corresponding conference call beginning at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time / 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Live audio of the webcast will be available on the Investors section of the Companys website at: www.berkeleylights.com. The webcast will be archived and available for replay after the event. About Berkeley Lights Berkeley Lights is a leading digital cell biology company focused on enabling and accelerating the rapid development and commercialization of biotherapeutics and other cell-based products for our customers. The Berkeley Lights Platform captures deep phenotypic, functional and genotypic information for thousands of single cells in parallel and can also deliver the live biology customers desire in the form of the best cells. Our platform is a fully integrated, end-to-end solution, comprising proprietary consumables, including our OptoSelect chips and reagent kits, advanced automation systems, and application software. We developed the Berkeley Lights Platform to provide the most advanced environment for rapid functional characterization of single cells at scale, the goal of which is to establish an industry standard for our customers throughout their cell-based product value chain. The Berkeley Lights Platform and the Berkeley Lights Beacon and Lightning systems and Culture Station instrument are FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Investor Contact ir@berkeleylights.com Press Contact berkeleylights@bulleitgroup.com Jim Oosterbaan As a strategic advisor to Mavennet, Mr. Oosterbaan will be leading the development and launch of Neoflow, aiming to digitalize the traceability of oil, gas and renewable energy. Mavennet Systems Inc. is pleased to announce that Jim Oosterbaan will be joining the Mavennet team to advise on growing its industry leading solution Neoflow. Mr. Oosterbaan is a key figure in the energy industry, with a career spanning over four decades, and his most recent leadership role serving as President and CEO of the Natural Gas Exchange (NGX). As a strategic advisor to Mavennet, Mr. Oosterbaan will be leading the development and launch of Neoflow, aiming to digitalize the traceability of oil, gas and renewable energy. Mr. Oosterbaan is based in Calgary, Alberta and has a record of helping organizations in the energy industry develop and grow to attain sustainable levels of profitability and performance. Previously, as the President and CEO of NGX, a leading energy marketplace and clearinghouse, he returned NGX to higher profits and improved customer satisfaction. Speaking about his appointment, Patrick Mandic, CEO of Mavennet stated, Jims expertise and track record in growing organizations, his deep knowledge of the energy industry and significant regulatory experience, makes him the perfect strategic leader for Mavennet to accelerate Neoflow s growth. His commitment to the ESG (Environmental Social Governance) applications of the product, are instrumental in driving the environmental and social responsibility aspects of Neoflow. We look forward to having Jim on the Mavennet team and helping accelerate Neoflows growth. Mr. Oosterbaan joined Mavennet at the beginning of 2021 and noted Patrick has built a knowledgeable and dedicated team that is passionate about providing a solution that addresses the needs of Neoflows customers. Being able to demonstrate the proof of origin and the attributes of commodity products in a verifiable, immutable way that Neoflow does better positions commodity producers for the transition that is underway in energy markets. ABOUT Neoflow Neoflow provides an end-to-end view of commodities through the oil and gas value chain. Immutable data and insights gathered through Neoflow allow producers, governments, industry participants and key stakeholders to make data-backed decisions on supply/demand, regulatory policies and tariffs. Neoflow enables the marketplace to differentiate between commodities on a variety of attributes and make decisions that support their business goals. One of these key areas of differentiation enabled by Neoflow is its ESG (Environmental Social Governmental) passport, which allows for accurate and immutable environmental accounting of energy products. https://www.mavennet.com/solutions/neoflow/ ABOUT Mavennet Systems Inc. Mavennet is a technology company with the goal of creating means for organizations to exchange data in a secure, transparent and efficient way. Mavennet creates, builds and launches blockchain-enabled and AI products, focusing on use cases with the potential to tip entire industries. Mavennet is currently working with the American and Canadian governments to implement the digitization of different commodities such as oil, gas and steel, and provide a real-time, accurate and immutable status on these commodities throughout the supply chain. http://www.mavennet.com The Bruins have added some depth to their back end as theyve acquired Mike Reilly from Ottawa in exchange for a 2022 third-round draft pick. Both teams have announced the trade. Reilly was highly coveted coming out of college after opting to not sign with Columbus who drafted him back in the fourth round in 2011. However, he never really established himself as a regular with Minnesota who signed him in free agency and things didnt change after he was flipped to Montreal in 2018. That resulted in Ottawa picking him up for a fifth-rounder last season and while he still isnt quite established yet as a key piece, he has taken some steps towards that. This season, the 27-year-old has played in 40 games and while he has yet to score a goal, he has a career-best 19 assists, one behind Thomas Chabot for the team lead while the 19 points are also a career high. That performance was enough to get Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion to try to work out a short-term contract extension this weekend, per Postmedias Bruce Garrioch, but those talks clearly didnt result in a new deal although they were able to get a two-round upgrade on what they paid to get him a year ago which is still nice. As for Boston, they have been hit hard by the injury bug this season with Charlie McAvoy, John Moore, Brandon Carlo, and Matt Grzelcyk all currently out of the lineup with Kevan Miller requiring some rest after missing all of last season so there was a clear need for depth. They also didnt replace Torey Krug when he left for St. Louis in free agency so Reillys playmaking will certainly be beneficial. A good showing with Boston would certainly bolster his value heading into the open market but could also create an opportunity for him to stick around. Reilly is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $1.5MM salary and cap hit which still leaves GM Don Sweeney some space to work with before Mondays trade deadline. They could still stand to add defensive depth in light of the injuries but they could also turn to try to add up front and add some secondary scoring, an element theyve frequently coveted in recent deadlines. Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette was the first to report the trade. ST. LOUIS, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Home State Health and Shoes from the Heart once again partnered to make a difference in children's lives by donating a simple, yet essential need shoes. Together, both organizations gave away more than 90 pairs of shoes to deserving children at the Springfield Boys & Girls Club on North Fremont Avenue. "Shoes may seem like a very simple thing, but to a child without any, they can mean everything," said Donnie Bonuchi, Founder of Shoes from the Heart. "We're thankful to partner with Home State Health once again to help us on our journey and transform the lives of children through simple acts of kindness." Both organizations identified the children in need at the North Fremont location. Since 2012, Shoes from the Heart has provided more than 200,000 shoes to children across Missouri. This latest event represents a continuation of the partnership between Home State Health and Shoes from the Heart, who have teamed up multiple times over the years to support children in underserved communities. "At Home State Health, we are committed to growing and strengthening our communities," said Nathan Landsbaum, President and CEO of Home State Health. "We are pleased to again partner with Shoes from the Heart and support their important work for children in Missouri." In addition, Missouri State Senator Lincoln Hough and Missouri State Representative Betsy Fogle, both who represent Springfield, partnered on the event and were in attendance to assist with fitting children for shoes. "I'm so proud to be part of a community with citizens and business partners who consistently step up to help others," said Lincoln Hough, Missouri State Senator from District 30. "Partnering with Shoes from the Heart and the Boys and Girls Club of Springfield is one my favorite things I have done since taking office. No words can describe the joy of providing new shoes to kids in my community. Senator Hough and I are very lucky to have the Boys and Girls Club in our district, and are thankful for the amazing organizations who help make our community stronger," said Betsy Fogle, Missouri State Representative from District 135. Home State Health has been supporting Missouri residents since 2012 across its MO HealthNet, Allwell, and Ambetter plans. For more information about Home State Health's programs and other healthcare support, visit www.homestatehealth.com. About Home State Health Home State Health is a Care Management Organization that serves the needs of Missourians through a range of health insurance solutions. Home State Health serves the Medicaid population in partnership with MO HealthNet. The organization also focuses on under-insured and uninsured individuals by performing operations for Ambetter, a federal insurance marketplace product, underwritten by Celtic Insurance (an affiliated company). Additionally, Home State Health provides insurance for the Medicare population through a Medicare Advantage plan, Allwell. Home State Health exists to improve the health of its members through focused, compassionate and coordinated care. Home State Health is owned by a joint venture of Centene Corporation and Missouri Community Health Access. Centene Corporation, is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise. For more information, visit www.homestatehealth.com. About Shoes from the Heart Shoes from the Heart was established in 2012 by Cindy Bonuchi. Her idea began in a Sunday school class while discussing "What can you do to give back to your community, no questions asked?" Her vision was to help children in need by providing new tennis shoes to them. Cindy decided to establish Shoes from the Heart as a 501C3 organization complete with a twelve member board of directors. The sole mission is to help children in need by providing them with new tennis shoes. For more information on Shoes from the Heart, visit www.shoesfromtheheart.org. SOURCE Home State Health NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) has completed at least three COVID-19 vaccination clinics for residents and community associates. As of April 9, 2021, all of Brookdale's communities hosted three COVID-19 vaccination clinics, administering life-saving vaccines to one of the country's most vulnerable populations. Through the federal government's Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program and a partnership with CVS Health, Brookdale residents and associates were prioritized for vaccination. The first Brookdale clinics were held on December 18, 2020. In total, Brookdale facilitated the administration of over 120,000 COVID-19 vaccination doses to residents and community associates located in over 40 states in just under four months. Brookdale's President and Chief Executive Officer Lucinda "Cindy" Baier thanked the Company's associates for their relentless dedication in completing these clinics quickly and efficiently. "I'm incredibly thankful and proud of our associates who were agile enough to develop and execute on an evidence-based plan that has and will continue to save lives. Brookdale's top priority is the health and safety of our residents, patients and associates," said Baier. "Our teams have led by example and have worked hard to create a strong culture of vaccine acceptance. This has led to our vaccination acceptance rates among residents being over 92%. The relentless work to help protect our residents and to be the best in senior living doesn't stop here, but this is a huge success for our communities and our people." The Brookdale COVID-19 vaccine program focused on the importance of educating residents and associates on the facts of the vaccine and dispelling rumors and falsehoods. Led by a team of clinical experts, the company worked closely to monitor current clinical data and build communication channels at all levels of the organization focused on the vaccine's research and science. Baier added that the vaccine initiative, paired with federal and local guidelines, has allowed residents to begin enjoying increased engagement with their loved ones and their communities. Brookdale's Robin Run Village in Indiana was the final community at Brookdale to complete the scheduled COVID-19 vaccine clinics. "Words can't describe the sense of happiness we are experiencing having completed this final vaccine clinic," said Brookdale's Robin Run Village Healthcare Administrator Laura Burton. "Having access to the vaccine and seeing our residents receive it is life-changing. Our community and every Brookdale community has worked to get to this moment where we could see our residents and associates broadly vaccinated to overcome this virus." As new residents and associates join moving forward, Brookdale will work closely with them to gain access to the vaccine. In addition to celebrating the completion of the vaccination process, Brookdale would like to thank CVS Health for its partnership in vaccine administration. This is all part of Brookdale's commitment to meet the needs of a growing senior population who require access to high-quality senior living services. To learn more about Brookdale's vaccination program, visit www.brookdale.com/hope. About Brookdale Senior Living Brookdale Senior Living Inc. is the leading operator of senior living communities throughout the United States. The Company is committed to providing senior living solutions primarily within properties that are designed, purpose-built and operated to provide the highest-quality service, care and living accommodations for residents. Brookdale operates and manages independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care retirement communities, with 695 communities in 42 states and the ability to serve approximately 60,000 residents as of March 31, 2021. The Company also offers a range of home health, hospice and outpatient therapy services to approximately 16,000 patients as of that date. Brookdale's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BKD. For more Brookdale news, go to brookdalenews.com. Contact: Andrew Young, (615-856-2457), [email protected] SOURCE Brookdale Senior Living Related Links http://www.brookdaleliving.com Yemens Houthis said they attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, as the group steps up strikes on the kingdom. The Houthis attacked sites in the eastern oil terminal of Jubail and the western city of Jeddah with explosive-laden drones on Sunday evening and Monday morning, the groups Al-Masirah TV reported. While attacks on Saudi cities and energy installations have increased this year, they rarely claim lives or cause extensive damage. Aramco didnt immediately respond to a request for comment and the Saudi government has not commented. The Houthis also said they targeted military sites near the southwestern towns of Jazan and Khamis Mushait. Saudi state-run Ekhbariya TV said the military intercepted several armed drones and at least one ballistic missile launched toward the Jazan area. Industrial Hub Jubail, about an hours drive north from Aramcos headquarters in Dhahran, is a major industrial hub for the company, housing several refining and chemical ventures. The town on the Persian Gulf coast is home to one of Aramcos largest refineries, a joint-venture facility with Frances Total SA that can process more than 400,000 barrels of crude a day. In Jeddah, Aramco has a fuel depot to supply local customers after closing its refinery there in 2017. The depot has already been hit this year by the Houthis. The Houthis have been fighting Yemens United Nations-recognised government since 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year on the side of the government. The UN has called the conflict -- in which tens of thousands of people have died -- the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia, which proposed a ceasefire in Yemens war last month, is seeking more help from the US to defend its oil facilities, Bloomberg has reported. (Natural News) Because White people had Black slaves in America over 160 years ago, all White people in America now must pay for it, in the form of sacrificing their healthcare, according to a couple of racist doctors in Boston. That makes a whole lot of sense. By that logic, that should also mean that all Egyptians living in America need to pay double for (White) Jewish peoples healthcare, because Egyptians made Jews slaves for twice as long as the Whites did Blacks in America. Also, any Japanese Americans should be able to get free healthcare paid for by American politicians families who put the Japanese in internment camps (concentration camps) during WWII, thus enslaving them and entitling them all to reparations in the form of healthcare. Plus, any non-Jewish Germans who are living in America must pay for all Jewish peoples healthcare, because of Nazi Germany and the enslavement there, which is even more recent that Black slavery in America. So theres that. Racist Boston doctors are morons fighting for more racism to fix racism Its true; two racist doctors in Boston are calling for racial discrimination in order to fix the racial discrimination problem, the one about Blacks getting healthcare coverage in fair fashion. Its called social justice when you are a reverse racist bullying freak, all while preaching to everyone about how we must all come together and be accepting and tolerant and wait for it . give away all our land, money and healthcare to Black Americans all in the name of people who got hurt 160+ years ago by some other people who had nothing to do with us, oh, except for skin color. How dumb do you really have to be to hate people for their skin color? Should we hate people for the color of their eyes? Heres what the Boston doctors have to say about reverse racism (social justice) being justified: But given the ample current evidence that our health, judicial, and other systems already unfairly preference people who are white, we believe that our approach is corrective and therefore mandated. So now, medical resources will be issued on the basis of race, disregarding whether someone needs emergency treatment or lifesaving equipment/attention? Oh, the patient is White? Skip that room. No medications or life saving machines for you today buddy, because your non-ancestors were slave owners! Racial stereotyping at forefront of doctors arguments Racial preference is at the forefront of the doctors arguments for medical resource allocation, implementation of standards, and federal reparations for it all. Two Harvard Medical School teachers, Dr. Michelle Morse and Dr. Bram Wispelwey, are wielding the sickle of critical race theory and shoving it down our throats, calling all White people racist, which is racist in itself. The only people colorblind here are people who hate a whole race, creed, religion, color of people based on some historical event. Are we all to go psychotic because two Harvard Medical School doctors have? Lets think on this a minute. Federal reparations are only the beginning. All White people, these doctors are saying, are GUILTY of institutional racism and must be defined in the medical context as their ability to pay the consequences of the actions of people they never knew and that probably were not even relatives/ancestors. What if youre White and you just moved here from Amsterdam yesterday? Do you pay reparations in medical costs to current Black Americans because White people in America 160 years ago had slaves? Where does the madness of social justice go from here, if this is where it begins? Do all White people in businesses demote themselves to the bottom of the company/corporate ladder? Must they go work in the mail room for free for 20 years, as their penance? Dont forget the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that bars discrimination over race groups. The doctors claim the only way to fix the discrimination of slavery and racial profiling of Blacks is to enslave Whites now, discriminate against them, take all their money, land, children, anything of value, and give it all to Black people. Can you imagine the outcry if White doctors demanded medical care be withheld from Blacks? Tune your internet frequency to NaturalMedicine.news for ways to beat cancer, diabetes and obesity naturally so that you dont need to rely on the medical industrial complex in the first place. Forget about the big racism distraction game. Stay organic, humble, healthy. This has been a public service announcement from Natural Health News. Sources for this article include: ThePostMillennial.com NaturalNews.com naturalmedicine.news She ruffled feathers during her stint on Married At First Sight Australia, when she was seen making a play for a contestant who was already married to another woman. And Jessika Power stole the show once again as she put on a showstopping display for a sizzling beach photoshoot for PrettyLittleThing on the Gold Coast in Australia. The TV star, 29, was in her element as she posed up a storm in a plunging black diamante belted swimsuit during the recent shoot. Work it: Jessika Power stole the show once again as she put on a showstopping display for a sizzling beach photoshoot for PrettyLittleThing on the Gold Coast in Australia Jessika oozed confidence as she posed this way and that in the sexy halterneck one-piece, ensuring the photographer got a glimpse of all her best angles. The blonde beauty happily sauntered along the beach, showcasing her slender pins and toned physique. Jessika, who wore a dewy palette of make-up, then sultrily perched on the rocks while pouting to the camera during her third shoot for the fashion brand. The stunner accessorised the beach look with a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses, while her cropped blonde locks were left loose in beachy waves. Beach babe: The Married At First Sight Australia star, 29, was in her element as she posed up a storm in a plunging black diamante belted swimsuit during the recent shoot During her stint on the sixth season of Married At First Sight Australia, Jessika was seen tying the knot with Mick Gould, though their union proved to be ill-fated. The infamous sixth season of the show first aired in Australia in 2019, but only arrived in the UK this year. Jessika famously admitted to cheating on her husband with Dan Webb, who during his time on the show was married to Tamara Joy. Mick had already bowed out of the relationship, but was devastated to learn that Jess had kept him in the competition for weeks in order to get close to Dan. Strike a pose: Jessika oozed confidence as she posed this way and that in the sexy one-piece, ensuring the photographer got a glimpse of all her best angles Life's a beach: The blonde beauty happily sauntered along the beach, showcasing her slender pins and toned physique Fun times: Jessika appeared to be thoroughly enjoying herself as the camera snapped away Showstopping: The reality star showed off her long and slender pins as she walked along the beach Declaring he had 'wasted his time' because he had wanted to get back to his farm in Queensland, Mick broke down in tears after learning about Jess's lying and betrayal. Since appearing on MAFS, Mick has found love with The Bachelor star Kayla Gray, 27. The loved-up couple met at an event in 2019, and within five months Kayla had relocated to Mick's Gympie farm. And while Jessika ended her time on Married At First Sight in a relationship with Dan, she later moved on with aspiring rapper Filip Poznanovic. On the rocks: Jessika, who wore a dewy palette of make-up, then sultrily perched on the rocks while pouting to the camera Shady: The stunner accessorised the beach look with a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses, while her cropped blonde locks were left loose in beachy waves Photoshoot: The star fluffed up her blonde tresses during the sun-soaked shoot However, this relationship fizzled out shortly afterwards, with Jessika recently revealing she is suffering from agoraphobia after her split from Filip following a three-month romance. The reality star says she's become crippled by panic whenever she tries to leave her house. In a series of videos shares to Instagram on Saturday, she said: 'My problem for a long time has been, I've been scared to leave the house. It's like a phobia of leaving the house, the anxiety I get is just insane.' Jessika added that the problem flared up after spending long periods in the house with Filip while he was recovering from a broken leg. Model behaviour: Jessika ran her hands through her hair as she posed up a storm on the beach Radiant: The beauty basked in the sunshine during the sultry shoot on the Gold Coast She confessed: 'It wasn't his fault but because of his leg and everything we were constantly at home. And if I was to go anywhere there was questions... 'It was okay for him to ask questions of he wants to, but it got to it's not even worth going anywhere if I when get home there's an interrogation.' The star added that she didn't want to 'bash' her ex, and she did have the problem before they met. 'He didn't do thus to me, this is all in my own head, it wasn't his fault... I was a little like this before him as well, but it's gotten worse. To even get myself out of my room sometimes I am too scared,' she admitted. Ill-fated: During her stint on the sixth season of Married At First Sight Australia, Jessika was seen tying the knot with Mick Gould, though their union proved to be ill-fated Jessika said that she has been pushing herself to face going out more, and was meeting her father for lunch and going to get her nails done to try and overcome the anxiety. Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder in which a person is afraid to leave environments they consider to be safe, for fear of suffering a panic attack. The reality star announced her split last week in a statement to Daily Mail Australia, revealing she and Filip had mutually decided to part ways. 'We were really good friends before we dated. It's just been recent that we decided that we are better as friends,' she said. 'I'm sad, but that's okay.' U.S. House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, speaks during his weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 18, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) McCarthy: Cash Payments to Central America Insults Millions of Jobless Americans House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday that President Joe Bidens plans to send cash to Central American countries is an insult to the millions of unemployed Americans. Southern border coordinator for the White House Roberta Jacobson first told Reuters last week that the Biden administration is considering the plans as part of a move to alleviate the economic problems that motivate people from Central America to leave for the United States. Jacobson didnt specify which entity would be potentially obtaining the cash but the payments in consideration are aimed at people from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which make up for the vast majority of illegal immigration presently occurring at the southern border. President Biden wants to try and buy our way out of his border crisis with taxpayer money. The administration is spending $60 million a week, and now wants to launch a cash transfer program in Central America, McCarthy said on Twitter. This insults millions of Americans who are out of work in our country, he said. Read More All But 3 States See Higher Over-the-Year Unemployment In a separate statement, McCarthy suggested that the crisis at the border began on Jan. 20Bidens first day in officewhen he promised a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants. Since then, it has spiraled out of control as the Biden administration halted construction of the border wall and rescinded critical safeguards like the Remain-in-Mexico policy, McCarthy said. Upon taking office, Biden has overturned several Trump-era immigration policies that had seen a curbing of the flow of illegal border crossings. This includes his predecessors cornerstone Migrant Protection Protocol, or Remain in Mexico, which effectively ended the problematic catch and release protocol given to U.S. border officers and significantly reduced the number of illegal immigrants arriving at the southern border in 2019. In a return to the Obama-era policies that facilitate catch-and-release, the Biden administration is again releasing unaccompanied minors into the country. Republicans argue that Bidens act has been interpreted as a green light for prospective migrants seeking to enter and stay in the United States. Now hundreds of thousands of migrants are pouring across our southern border, including suspected terrorists. Some of these migrants are being released into our country and others are being crammed into unsanitary and inhumane facilities, which includes 20,000 unaccompanied minors, many who have been trafficked in by smugglers, McCarthy continued. Last month, CBP agents encountered over 172,000 illegal immigrants, according to statistics released on April 8. This is up from just over 101,000 individuals encountered in February. Among those who crossed illegally into the United States last month were over 18,800 unaccompanied minors, which is double the number of minors who illegally arrived in the United States in February at over 9,300 encounters. This is compared to 5,585 unaccompanied minors in January, and 4,993 unaccompanied minors in December 2020. McCarthy in his statement described the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border one of the most consequential crises in a decade. We are only three months into this new Administration, and they are failing to stop one of the most consequential crises in a decade, he added. The solution is at the ready, and it absolutely does not include more U.S. taxpayer-funded payments to Central America. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott meanwhile has called on the president to reinstate Trumps immigration policies, saying that the problem will only continue to get worse if refuses to do so. Samuel Allegri and Janita Kan contributed to this report. Commissioner Bergin described the failure to advise Packer of these matters as inexplicable but from another perspective, these so-called system errors look like an entirely familiar corporate strategy. But where do we find the corporate mind? Traditionally, the law says that a corporations directing mind and will is found in its board of directors. What the directors know and intend, the company knows and intends. But heres the problem. Modern corporations are often structured to create information silos, and to keep relevant knowledge below board level. Knowledge about the corporations activities will often be dispersed through its lower-level employees (the corporations arms and legs) who carry out its activities. In a complex corporation like Crown, employees number in the thousands and employees may well have no idea of how their individual role contributes to what is, overall, unlawful conduct. They are just doing their job. Crown Perth resort and casino in Burswood, Perth. Credit:Philip Gostelow This diffusion of responsibility can ensure that a corporations board (and, through it, the company itself) remains blissfully ignorant of unlawful activities being carried out on its behalf. In other words, while the corporations behaviour is shameful, its conscience is kept clean. We may have already seen this play out in relation to Crown. One of NSW Commissioner Patricia Bergins most damning findings was that Crown actively facilitated money laundering, likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars, over many years. This was done through the accounts of two Crown subsidiaries; WA company Riverbank and its Melbourne counterpart, Southbank. But Commissioner Bergin also concluded that Crown was not knowingly or intentionally involved. This reduced its level of blameworthiness. Commissioner Bergin based this conclusion on the fact that low-level cage staff at Crown carried out an aggregation process of individually suspicious transactions occurring through Riverbank and Southbank accounts. Individual cage staff were no doubt honest and just doing their job. Nonetheless, this aggregation process wholly and unavoidably undermined other Crown employees capacity to do their jobs of spotting money laundering activity. On top of this, key Crown officers failed to ask relevant questions, and read relevant documents, relating to the accounts that would have revealed the problem, and did not report available warning signs further up the chain. Consistently, James Packers evidence was that, even though he was Crown chairman and director at the time, he was kept entirely in the dark. He knew nothing about even the existence of the companies, let alone banks warnings that the accounts showed signs of money laundering. Commissioner Bergin described the failure to advise Packer of these matters as inexplicable but from another perspective, these so-called system errors look like an entirely familiar corporate strategy. James Packer said he was kept entirely in the dark. Credit:Getty/Nick Moir Does this mean that we can expect more of the same before the WA Royal Commission? Not necessarily. The law, slowly but surely, is coming to grips with corporate Frankensteins. My research into corporate fraud, funded by the Australian Research Council, has identified a powerful new model of corporate responsibility emerging in Australia, called systems intentionality, which operates in addition to traditional approaches. It may be a game-changer, turning excuses of systems errors on their head and making it far harder for corporations to whitewash their guilt. On this approach, a corporations state of mind is manifested, or revealed, in the systems, policies and processes it applies. This idea is something we can all understand. Systems are inherently and obviously purposeful they aim to produce some outcome and a certain amount of knowledge is necessary to make a system work and so can be taken as read when the system is applied. When I intend to make a cake, for example, I use a system (a recipe) designed for the purpose. And I must follow the recipe by using my knowledge of the required ingredients (flour, eggs and so on) and process (what is meant by beating eggs). So too, the model of systems intentionality explains that corporations intend the systems they implement and know what is necessary for those systems to function. It is even possible to say that corporations must think and act through systems. Individual directors and employees come and go: what remains behind are the systems, policies and processes that dictate the behaviour of the next round of directors and employees. Systems intentionality might not sound exciting or novel but its implications are profound, including for the Crown inquiry. Judging by the Bergin report, the cage staff at Crown, for example, were carrying out a well-established data entry system that actively facilitated money laundering. They were individually honest cogs in a system that was inherently apt to break the law. This perspective may require an uncomfortable re-assessment of Crowns organisational culpability in such cases. Loading While individual (or even all) directors might have been oblivious of the systems in play, that is not the key question for the royal commission. The inquiry cannot and must not stop with its human figureheads. The key question, after all, is whether the corporation is an appropriate person. To answer that question, the royal commission must have a close look at Crowns character as revealed through its day-to-day systems, policies and processes. It can readily assess whether Crowns character has reformed by examining whether it has engaged in real, systemic change. Anything less by Crown is arguably just window-dressing. The Duke of Edinburgh, holding a young Prince Charles (JEREMY SELWYN) The Prince of Wales is poised to be confirmed as the Queens chief supporter and patriarch of the royal family by becoming the next Duke of Edinburgh. He will pay his father the ultimate compliment by adopting his title bestowed on Philip by George VI when he married securing himself as Her Majestys liege man with the passing of her beloved husband. Senior courtiers will confirm the move after Prince Philips funeral in Windsor on Saturday. It means the heir to the throne will become the Duke of Cornwall and Edinburgh while retaining his lead title, the Prince of Wales. Prince William, second in line to the throne, was today set to pay a heartfelt tribute to his grandfather. Prince Harry, who is back in the UK quarantining before the funeral after flying in from California without his pregnant wife Meghan, is also expected to pay tribute. The brothers will walk behind the coffin during the funeral procession, as they did with Philips encouragement as boys, along with him, Charles and Earl Spencer, at Dianas funeral in 1997. It is hoped the family reuniting for Philips funeral will help ease tensions between William and Harry over his and Meghans recent Oprah Winfrey interview, and their decision to step back from royal duties. Former prime minister Sir John Major said: I hope very much that it is possible to mend any rifts that may exist. On Charless new titles, one source told the Standard: All titles held by the Duke of Edinburgh will revert to the Prince of Wales. Another source said: The Queen is fully aware of this and in agreement. AFP/Getty Images As heir to the throne, he will retain the title of Prince of Wales, which the Queen conferred on him as a child, along with being the Earl of Chester, by letters patent in 1958. The official investiture was not held until July 1, 1969 at Caernarfon Castle. It is understood that once Charles becomes king, it was Prince Philips wish that his youngest son, Prince Edward, currently Earl of Wessex, would become the Duke of Edinburgh. Story continues The letters patent issued when Prince Philip was given his title in 1947 established that the Prince of Wales would gain the title of Duke of Edinburgh through the line of succession. But when Charles ascends to the throne, the title will merge with the crown, meaning it can be regranted. In recent years, the Queen, who is 95 this month, has reduced her public engagements. She no longer takes part in the Remembrance ceremony at the Cenotaph, watching instead from the Foreign Office balcony as the Prince of Wales leads the wreath-layers below. The issue of her age came to a head when it was announced in 2013 that she would not attend the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Sri Lanka as she was reviewing long-haul travel commitments. In reality she was scaling down. Her last trip abroad was to Malta in 2015. After the Duke of Yorks BBC Newsnight interview about Jeffrey Epstein, it was Charles who acted as de facto head of the family when he insisted Andrew should stand down from public duties. Whether Charless increasingly prominent role amounts to some kind of job share, as has been suggested by some, is perhaps a matter of semantics. In the Queens view, however, the situation would be perfectly clear: she is the sovereign, he is the heir. She reads her red boxes, she presides over the state opening of parliament, she has weekly audiences with the Prime Minister. What has been going on for some time and will continue is a palace evolution. More Charles, less Queen, and more of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Although the Queen still holds investitures, a number are carried out by Charles, William and the Princess Royal. The Queen will not abdicate as she believes it is a job for life. The possibility that Charles will become Regent appears to have been ruled out for the moment. A senior figure who worked closely with the Queen for many years said: What really matters for the Queen is her sense of duty. She would only want what is good for the country and the institution of which she is custodian. Read More Holyrood to pay tribute to Duke of Edinburgh as parliament recalled What the papers say April 11 Duke rejected Prince Consort offer Everything you need to know about the BOSS x Russell Athletic collab The Myanmar military juntas security forces reportedly killed at least 82 protesters Friday in a brutal assault in the city of Bago, 65 kilometres northeast of Yangon. The confirmed death toll is expected to rise over the coming days as more casualties are verified, according to the Thailand-based monitoring group, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The violence has brought the official death toll soaring to 701 protesters and bystanders killed in state crackdowns on anti-coup protests since the military seized power on February 1. Around 50 children have been killed, the youngest being five-years-old, while almost 3,000 people have been detained by authorities. The Bago crackdown was the highest number of deaths on one day in a single location, despite numerous bloody attacks on Yangon protesters last month. It began before dawn Friday morning when soldiers and police opened fire on peaceful demonstrators, with gunfire lasting until the afternoon. The assault was focused on the citys three eastern wards of Shinsawpu, Hmawkan, and Nantawyar, where residents had erected makeshift barricades and established anti-coup strongholds, centred in Ma Ga Dit Road. Protesters in Mandalay earlier this year (AP photo) Troops sprayed live rounds of ammunition and fired powerful explosives at protesters defensive lines, protected by sandbag barriers. Local media said heavy weaponry was used to break up protests, including rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. The dozens of severely wounded were deliberately denied medical assistance by soldiers and rescue workers were threatened with being shot if they intervened. Meanwhile, the closest public hospital had been seized and occupied by soldiers and police, locals said. Witnesses described the shooting as relentless and indiscriminate. Protest organiser Ye Htut told Myanmar Now, It is like genocide. They are shooting at every shadow. Video footage shot early on Friday showed mostly young protesters hiding behind sandbags wielding homemade rifles, as loud explosions could be heard in the background. They piled up all the dead bodies, loaded them into their army truck and drove it away, a resident told Agence France-Presse, adding that authorities then proceeded to arrest people around the community. Myanmar Now further wrote that dead bodies quickly accumulated in the morning and were collected by the military and dumped inside the compound of a Buddhist pagoda cordoned off by soldiers. An anonymous eyewitness told the news outlet he saw bodies stacked in both the Zeyar Muni pagoda and a nearby school. Injured people were piled up amid the dead and could be heard moaning from the mass of corpses. By the next day, security forces had carefully destroyed all evidence of the carnage. The pagodas grounds were washed clean and all military forces had packed up and left. This is believed to have been carried out after township authorities cut off electricity in Bago from 7p.m. until 10p.m. Friday night, during which period soldiers further terrorised residents through raids on homes and mass arrests. Many Bago residents have subsequently fled the city, including hundreds from the most affected wardsimpoverished working-class districts like Pon Nar Su, Inn Winn, Alin Yaung, and Hmawkan. All of these areas were long known by armed forces to have defence teams established by workers to protect anti-regime strongholds. After the killings, state-owned television network Myawaddy TV announced 19 protesters were sentenced to death for allegedly killing an associate of an army captain on March 27, the first such sentences since the February 1 coup. The alleged killing took place in North Okkalapa Township, one of six districts in Yangon currently under martial law, allowing military courts to pronounce sentences. According to Human Rights Watch, Myanmar has not carried out an execution in over 30 years. The juntas media outlets have claimed that the nationwide movement of protests and strikes are beginning to dwindle after more than two months. Junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told a news conference on Saturday in the capital Naypyitaw that the country was returning to normal and government ministries and banks would resume full operations soon. He also said the military had recorded only 248 deaths and absurdly denied that automatic weapons had ever been used against anti-coup protesters, whom he labelled violent terrorist people. State-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar blamed the Bago crackdown on rioters, and reported only one death. While it may be true that protests have grown smaller and shorter since the March 27 crackdown, which left 164 people dead, the juntas dramatic escalation in recent weeks of lethal violence and repression has failed to prevent daily demonstrations from continuing across Myanmar. Whenever protests do emerge, they are quickly targeted by security forces with indiscriminate attacks on residents and bystanders. Amid the internet blackout imposed by the junta, social media has revealed that a Bago doctor was abducted Sunday morning while working at a volunteer health clinic. Similarly, a student from Bago who worked as a medical volunteer providing aid to wounded protesters was announced missing. Even after Fridays bloodshed in eastern Bago, protesters in the western part of the townincluding the Kyaukkyisu, Ywathit, and Zinetaung wardsagain initiated marches against the regime on Saturday. At the same time, university students and their professors marched through the streets of Mandalay and the nearby city of Meiktila, holding eugenia flowers, a symbol of victory. Protesters in Yangon, as well as in Monywa, the capital of Sagaing Region, wrote political messages on leaves including We must win! and calling for UN intervention to prevent further bloodshed and reinstate deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party the National League for Democracy (NLD), presently detained by the junta. Moreover, protests have spread to broader rural areas, with dawn strikes erupting across the country on Saturday. Educators in Kyauktada Township, Kayin State, posed for photos holding placards expressing their refusal to work under the juntaan example of recent signs that new sections of workers are joining the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) of strikes and work stoppages. The military regime remains deeply fearful of the powerful strike movement, which has effectively paralysed large sections of the countrys economy. Last Wednesday, it announced that 83 striking staff members from the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Economic Relations were dismissed for participating in the CDM. To challenge and overthrow the junta requires the mobilisation of broad layers of the working class as well as the rural masses to fight, not just for democratic rights, but for improved social conditions that have been under attack, not just by the junta but by the NLD government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. By limiting demands to appeals to reinstate Suu Kyi and making futile appeals to the major powers, the protest leaders act as a barrier to the broader involvement of working people fighting for their own class interests. HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Revolution will be Digitized April is Financial Literacy Month and Award-Winning Actor, Best-Selling Author and Former US Presidential appointee, Hill Harper announces the launch of The Black Wall Street (TBWS), as the first major step in closing the racial wealth gap in the United States. As the first Black- owned digital wallet and cryptocurrency exchange platform in the United States, Harper is positioned to build the world's largest investment and financial literacy curriculum and toolkit for Black and Latinx communities across the diaspora. May 2021, The Black Wall Street will embark on a monumental, 30-market financial literacy campaign and bus tour beginning in Los Angeles, California and culminating on Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the evening of May 31st, 2021 through June 1st during the very hours, 100 years ago when the mass destruction took place of what is still considered, the most successful Black economic community in the history of the United States. Importantly, the tour will visit thirty of the most disenfranchised communities in the US introducing financial literacy and cryptocurrency to individuals in these communities and gifting millions of Satoshis (fractile shares of Bitcoin). The Black Wall Street Bus Tour is the first of its kind, focusing on Bitcoin education and adoption within Black and Brown Communities. The Black Wall Street's Centennial Campaign Bus Tour May 31, 2021 marks the centennial of The Tulsa race-riot & massacre. The destruction took place from sun-fall on May 31st through June 1st, 1921. It has been called the single worst act of racial violence in American history. The Black Wall Street's campaign, Crypto-curriculum and DigitalWallet will be led by Harper in partnership with Najah Roberts, a world-leading cryptocurrency exchange expert. Together they will initiate "The Digital Financial Revolution" National Bus Tour, an information and empowerment-first initiative intended to honor the victims of the Tulsa Massacre by reclaiming and transforming this namesake into a momentous strive for racial and economic equality. The tour will host virtual and COVID-safe events in 30 of the most densely populated and economically-challenged communities across the US with the goal to educate about The Black Wall Street App & DigitalWallet - A movement to put their futures back-into-their-own-hands. Appointed by the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce as the Honorary National Co-Chair of The Redevelopment of Black Wall Street, Hill Harper's vision for The Black Wall Street DigitalWallet is deeply rooted in his commitment to addressing the digital divide and economically uplifting underserved communities by providing them with the tools and playbook to thrive in the palms of their hands. "Our technology seeks to replicate the brick and mortar Black Wall Street, as a digital ecosystem that will galvanize the financially excluded and directly stimulate the economic growth and spending in marginalized communities everywhere." -Hill Harper. The Black Wall Street - Black Cash Matters "With the Black Wall Street technology, we seek to make obsolete payday lenders and other financial predators plaguing our communities, while simultaneously creating cross generational wealth transfer, for people who have historically been taught to work for our wages instead of making our wages work for us...because Black Cash Matters." - Hill Harper. The Black Wall Street is home to The Black Wall Street DigitalWallet, the first of its kind, connecting "top-of-the-funnel" financial services with the populations these instruments were designed to service -- everyone from the disadvantaged "unbanked and under banked" to the savvy cost-efficient consumer. Unlike traditional financial institutions, The Black Wall Street's sole purpose is to provide Black and Brown communities the opportunity to be involved in the transfer of wealth with cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. Inspired by a vision of empowering underserved communities while bridging the racial wealth gap, Hill Harper, Najah Roberts and innumerable supporters are catalyzing these chaotic energies in preparation for a brighter financial future for generations to come. "To address an ecosystem of problems, a tech-based ecosystem of solutions is required. We are - and always have been - our own empowerment ecosystem. We're now creating the digitized and scalable version of the original Black Wall Street. This has always been for us and by us - it's time to reclaim that space. Just like anything it starts with education. Our measurement of impact is improved financial literacy in the Black & Latinx communities." - Najah Roberts. The Black Wall Street Technology and App - Summer 2021 Hill Harper has spent the past year working with Black developers to create The Black Wall Street into a groundbreaking Fintech app for the Black and Brown communities. Providing financial capacity is critical for our most challenged communities because as a new Pew Research Center Study found Blacks and Latinos use their smartphones to do their banking more than any other race or ethnicity. The Black Wall Street + COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the inequities of Black and Brown Americans that have long existed in healthcare, housing, mental and economic health. The institution of racism upholds the barriers preventing Black and Latinx Americans from accessing the resources needed for a decent way of life -- let alone saving or investing. This points to a widening wealth gap as both a cause and an effect of COVID- 19's disparate outcomes. About Hill Harper | @HillHarper Hill Harper is an entrepreneur, an award-winning actor, best-selling author, and humanitarian. Currently, Hill stars in ABC's #1 television drama, The Good Doctor, for its 4th season. He is the Founder & Chairman of The Black Wall Street Digital Wallet. Hill is also on the Board of Directors of the National Black Bank Fund and he has been named Honorary National Co-Chair of the Redevelopment of Black Wall Street by the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Hill was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the US President's Cancer Panel. Hill's passion for technology, financial literacy, and social & economic justice keeps him on the forefront and in demand as a speaker and business lead worldwide. Hill graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was named Valedictorian of his department. He then graduated cum laude with uris doctorate from Harvard Law School. He also holds a Master's in Public Administration, with honors, from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and holds seven honorary Doctoral degrees. Hill has authored four New York Times bestsellers: Letters to a Young Brother, Letters to a Young Sister, The Conversation, and his ground-breaking financial literacy book: The Wealth Cure aimed at curing the racial wealth gap. Letters to an Incarcerated Brother, Letters to a Young Brother won several awards and was named "Best Book for Young Adults" by the American Library Association. Additionally, Hill has been recognized with seven NAACP Image Awards. Hill is the founder of the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering underserved youth through mentorship, scholarships, and grant programs. About Najah Roberts | @NajahRoberts Najah Roberts is a pioneering tech entrepreneur, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, NFT expert and community activist. Najah is the Founder & CEO of Crypto Blockchain Plug, the first Black-owned cryptocurrency exchange, and only one of three brick and mortar digital cryptocurrency businesses in the United States. Najah holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration from Bethune-Cookman University and an MBA from Rochville University. She lectures and educates on economic empowerment, financial literacy and cryptocurrency across the globe, especially for communities of color. Najah founded Family Knots Express, a nonprofit in 2001 that advocates for incarcerated women with children. Najah is a native of Los Angeles, CA. The Black Wall Street Holdings, Inc.www.TheBlackWallStreet.Com Twitter/Instagram/Facebook: @BlackCashMatters View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/actor-hill-harper-launches-north-americas-first-black-owned-digitalwallet-and--financial-capacity-building-technology-the-black-wall-street-301266948.html SOURCE The Black Wall Street He is still recovering after breaking his back in an electric bike accident last year. But Simon Cowell was in an upbeat mood as he arrived at America's Got Talent filming in Pasadena in Southern California on Sunday. The media mogul gave a thumbs up as he joined fellow judges Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel for the new season taping. Relaxed: Simon Cowell kept it casual as he arrived at America's Got Talent filming in Pasadena in Southern California on Sunday wearing a black sweater and white knee-length shorts Cowell was dressed down in a black sweater paired with white knee-length shorts that had frayed hems. He added black socks and black trainers and sported large round sunglasses. The 61-year-old Londoner had some heavy stubble and he flashed a 'thumbs up' as he arrived at the taping venue. In August, he had been rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery to fix his spine and had to cancel his planned TV work for the rest of 2020. Back at work: The 61-year-old Londoner, who is still recovering from breaking his back in a bike accident in August, had heavy stubble and flashed a 'thumbs up' as he arrived at the venue Last month, it was reported that Cowell walks more than 40 miles a week to aid in his recovery. 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.' Cowell's fellow judges Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum put on a stylish show as they arrived for the taping Quirky: Judge Howie Mandel arrived in a photo collage printed suit with all the AGT judges on it RTHK: Iran accuses Israel of sabotage at nuclear site Iran charged on Monday that its arch-enemy Israel was behind an attack on its Natanz uranium enrichment plant and vowed it would take "revenge" and ramp up its nuclear activities. The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) said a "small explosion" had hit the plant's electricity distribution centre on Sunday in what the foreign ministry labelled an Israeli act of "terrorism". The latest of a string of incidents hitting Iran's nuclear programme came days after talks resumed in Vienna to salvage the battered 2015 Iranian nuclear deal that former US president Donald Trump abandoned. His successor Joe Biden wants to revive the accord between Iran and a group of world powers, which places limits on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme in return for relief from punishing economic sanctions. Israel strongly opposes the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and has vowed to stop Iran from building an atomic bomb - a goal Tehran has always strongly denied pursuing. Iran initially reported a power blackout had hit the Natanz site on Sunday, a day after it announced it had started up advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges banned under the deal. Israel did not claim responsibility for the incident, but unsourced media reports in the country attributed it to the Israeli security services carrying out a "cyber operation". The New York Times, quoting unnamed US and Israeli intelligence officials, also said there had been "an Israeli role" in the attack in which an explosion had "completely destroyed" the power system which fed the site's "underground centrifuges". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while hosting US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin in Jerusalem, reiterated on Monday his stance that Israel will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, without mentioning the Natanz incident. "I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel, and Israel will continue to defend itself against Iran's aggression and terrorism," he said. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Khatibzadeh earlier vowed that Iran's response to the Natanz incident would be to take "revenge on the Zionist regime" when and where Tehran chooses. "Of course the Zionist regime, with this action, tried to take revenge on the people of Iran for their patience and wise attitude regarding the lifting of sanctions," he said. The head of the AEOI, Ali Akbar Salehi, said that "this incident was certainly sabotage", state news agency IRNA reported. In a separate report by the Fars news agency, Salehi was quoted as saying that "the damaged centrifuges will be replaced with even more powerful" ones. In a related incident AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi suffered an accident on Sunday while inspecting the site when he "fell from a few metres and suffered light fractures on his feet and head," an IRNA report said. Kamalvandi gave a video interview from his hospital bed on Monday to the Tasnim news agency in which he voiced confidence that after the "small explosion ...they can quickly repair the damaged areas". Tehran has blamed Israel for previous attacks on its nuclear facilities and experts - including the killing last November of its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Natanz was the site of a previous incident last July, during which a building was damaged, an incident for which some Iranian media also blamed Israel. Israel and Iran have long fought a shadow war, with Israel often striking Iran-allied forces in war-torn Syria. Since early March, both countries have also accused each other of a number of maritime attacks. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran would not allow the Natanz attack to affect the Vienna talks. Iran must avoid "falling in the trap" set by Israel, he told a parliamentary meeting. The European Union said it "rejects any attempts" to undermine the Vienna talks and stressed the "need to clarify the facts" over the incident. Russia said it was closely following the situation surrounding the "serious incident" and that "if it is confirmed that someone's malicious actions are behind this incident, then such intent deserves strong condemnation". Germany, a partner to the nuclear accord, also warned that the "development in Natanz" was "not a positive contribution" to the negotiations. Qatar expressed its "strong condemnation" of what it labelled "a dangerous act of sabotage that would increase tension and negatively affect the security and stability of the region". (AFP) This story has been published on: 2021-04-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Note: Councilmember DiSabato's article is a part of profile series on all of Horry County's Council members. Stay tuned for more profiles over the coming days. HORRY COUNTY New York City native Dennis DiSabato may not have been born and raised in Horry County, but he considers it home. "I've actually been down here longer than I've lived anywhere else in my life, so I consider myself from Horry County," DiSabato said. The council vice chairman, who serves District 3, has been a part of county government since his election in 2016 and is now in his second term. District 3 encompasses parts of Myrtle Beach and Carolina Forest. Bio Box Name: Dennis DiSabato Hometown: New York City Term Expires: 2024 Number of Terms: 2 With an interest in politics since he was a kid, DiSabato said he naturally became active in the Carolina Forest, where he resides. He quickly became one of the first members of the Carolina Forest Civic Association's board of directors. "I was an activist for the community," DiSabato said. In 2012 and 2014, DiSabato had two unsuccessful, but close, runs for the South Carolina House of Representatives, which led to what he thought would be the end of his time in politics. But the county council seat for District 3 opened up in 2015 when Marion Foxworth moved over to the Register of Deeds, and DiSabato had been asked to consider running in the special election. However, he declined as he had just gotten married to his wife, Laura DiSabato. When 2016 came around, and the council seat was up for reelection, DiSabato decided it was time to run, leading to his election. Since then, DiSabatos main issues have focused on public safety and infrastructure, specifically within the Carolina Forest area. "On the Carolina Forest side, it's really just infrastructure just trying to bring the infrastructure up to meet the demand of the people that are living there," DiSabato said. DiSabato's district includes parts of Myrtle Beach along with part of Carolina Forest. He explained most parts of his district within Myrtle Beach haven't had their issues handled by the county but did mention some pockets of infrastructure and the downtown redevelopment. He was particularly proud of the Carolina Forest Boulevard widening project, which will be finalized at the beginning of July. "It's something that needed to be done in that community probably 10 years ago," DiSabato said. "I'm glad we're finally at a point where we're able to do it but I mean, that's just the beginning." Along with the widening project, he mentioned some other infrastructure concerns he would like to address in the future, including the completion the SC 31 interchange on Augusta Plantation Drive and Revolutionary War Way, as well as eventually widening River Oaks Drive. One project DiSabato said he has been fighting for a while is the possibility of a Horry County Police Department precinct in the Carolina Forest area. "We need more police officers in the county, and I think the response times from the north precinct it's not efficient for them to be coming from the north or the south precinct we need a more centrally located precinct for that," DiSabato said. Conversations surrounding a potential plans for a fifth county precinct in the Carolina Forest area have been discussed for some time. During the February Administration Committee meeting, David Schwerd, director of the Horry County Planning and Zoning Department, presented three potential locations for the proposed Central Coastal Government Complex. No official decisions on a site were made during the February 23 meeting. The Carolina Forest area is one of the most rapidly growing areas in Horry County, according to the Imagine 2040 project. When asked why he moved to the South years ago, DiSabato explained his parents moved down to the area when he started law school. So when after a few years in the East, he decided to come south to open his own practice. DiSabato added the overly competitive attitude was a big drawback in New York. "From a professional standpoint, I found it to be pretty refreshing; from a lifestyle standpoint, I mean like it's just a more relaxed pace," DiSabato said about Horry County. DiSabato's term ends on Dec. 31, 2024. Horry County does not have a term limit on council positions. The 'stepson' of murdered multi-millionaire hotelier Sir Richard Sutton has appeared in court with bandaged hands charged with killing him. Thomas Schreiber, 34, is alleged to have stabbed 84-year-old Sir Richard, one of Britain's most richest men, in an attack at his country mansion on April 7. He is also charged with the attempted murder of his mother, Anne Schreiber, 65, during at Moorhill in the hamlet of Higher Langham, near Gillingham, Dorset. Wearing a grey sweatshirt, he was flanked by a security guard as he appeared in the dock at Poole Magistrates' Court today. He had a thick bandage wrapped around his right hand and wrist and also had a bandage on the little finger of his left hand. He was taken to hospital after his arrest. A softly spoken Schreiber had to repeat his name, date of birth of October 19, 1986 and address of Moorhill, for the court as he couldn't be heard at first. Sir Richard Sutton, who owned a string of top hotels in London, and died last Wednesday Thomas Schreiber (pictured above), 34, was detained on Wednesday night and has been charged with murder, attempted murder and dangerous driving and is due before magistrates in Poole on Monday Court artist sketch of Thomas Schreiber, 34, appearing at Poole Magistrates Court today The court clerk read out the two charges the defendant faces along with a third count of dangerous driving on the A303 and M3 in relation to the night of the alleged attack. Siobhan Oxley, prosecuting, told magistrates: 'It is an indictable only offence and therefore bail cannot be granted.' Abdullah Al-Yunusi, defending, made no representations. The five minute hearing was adjourned and Schreiber, who has short fair hair and is clean shaven, will appear at Winchester Crown Court tomorrow. Mrs Caroline Foster, presiding magistrate, told him: 'You will appear at Winchester Crown Court tomorrow morning at 10am. You are to be remanded in custody.' Police were called to Sir Richard's 2m home at about 7.30pm on April 7. Mr Schreiber moved in permanently with his mother and stepfather (pictured) last year when the country was plunged into its first coronavirus lockdown The millionaire landowner, who is divorced from first wife Lady Fiamma Sutton, has two children, son, David, 61, and daughter, Caroline, 55, (pictured) as well as five grandchildren An aerial view of Sir Richard's sprawling estate in Dorset surrounded by countryside A wider view of the estate. Sir Richard's wealth was put at 301 million in May 2020, placing him 435th on The Sunday Times Rich List Sir Richard Sutton: Baronet and hotelier with 7,000 acres of land and a 301million fortune Sir Richard Lexington Sutton, 83, is estimated to be worth 301million and owns around 7,000 acres of land across the UK. He is a baronet, a hereditary honour awarded by the monarch. It is the lowest-ranking hereditary title, but baronets are able to use the prefix 'sir. The Sutton Baronetcy of Norwood Park in the County of Nottingham, dates back to October 1772. It was created by King George III for politician Richard Sutton. He was the second surviving son of the distinguished diplomat Sir Robert Sutton. The latter was the grandson of Henry Sutton, brother of Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the family seat was at Benham Place. However, the house was sold in 1982. Sir Richard became the ninth baronet of Norwood Park, Nottingham, in 1981, after inheriting the title from his father. Sir Richard was listed at number 435 in The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020 with an estimated family fortune of 301 million - a rise of 83 million on the previous year. He owned the Sheraton Grand on London's prestigious Park Lane and the Athenaeum in Piccadilly, in addition to other hotels in Bath, Cheltenham and Windsor, and land in Dorset, Berkshire, London, Lincolnshire and Aberdeenshire, and several farming and property businesses. His landholdings include the Benham Estate in West Berkshire and the Stainton Estate in Lincolnshire. Advertisement He had suffered stab wounds to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene at 9.15pm. An initial post-mortem examination that was conducted on Friday indicated that the cause of death was stab wounds to his chest. Mrs Schreiber was airlifted to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, where she remains in a critical condition. Schreiber was arrested by police about three hours after the call to the police in Hammersmith, west London. Detective Inspector Simon Huxter, of Dorset Polices Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT), said: 'Our thoughts remain with the victims' family and all of those affected by this terrible incident.' On Sunday, Dorset Police said Mr Schreiber, 34, had been charged with murder, attempted murder and dangerous driving. Detective Inspector Simon Huxter, of Dorset Police, said: 'Our thoughts remain with the victims' family and all of those affected by this terrible incident. 'Following a detailed investigation, we have consulted with the Crown Prosecution Service. 'As a result, Dorset Police have been authorised to formally charge Thomas Schreiber with the murder of Sir Richard, attempted murder of the injured woman and dangerous driving. 'It is important to stress that it would be entirely inappropriate for Dorset Police to comment further ahead of the trial. It is vital that the criminal justice system is allowed to follow its course.' A spokesman for Sir Richard Sutton Ltd described Ms Schreiber as 'a hugely important part of Sir Richard's life' and wished her 'a swift and full recovery'. She was airlifted to Southmead Hospital in Bristol following the incident and remains there in a critical condition. The spokesman added: 'Though separated, Sir Richard also remained on good terms with his wife, Lady Fiamma, and very close to their children, who are mourning the loss of a devoted father. 'Employees across the group have been united in their shock at what has happened and will need time to come to terms with the loss of such an influential figure.' Sir Richard was listed at number 435 in the Sunday Times Rich List last year with an estimated family fortune of 301million a rise of 83million on the previous year. The guide says Sir Richard's company owns London hotels the Sheraton Grand Park Lane and the Athenaeum, plus three smaller venues. He had an extensive property and farming portfolio, including the 6,500-acre Benham Estate in west Berkshire and the Stainton Estate in Lincolnshire. Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2011 file photo, Anthony Hopkins smiles while posing for photos prior to the premiere of his new film "The Rite" in Mexico City. Nomadland has won four prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, April 11, 2021. The films director, Chloe Zhao, became only the second woman to win the best director trophy, and star Frances McDormand was named best actress. Nomadland also took the cinematography prize on Sunday. Emerald Fennells revenge comedy Promising Young Woman was named best British film, while the best actor trophy went to 83-year-old Anthony Hopkins for playing a man grappling with dementia in The Father. An event that was criticized in the recent past with the label #BAFTAsSoWhite rewarded a diverse group of talents, during a pandemic-curbed ceremony at Londons Royal Albert Hall. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini, File) The search for life on other planets has received a major boost after scientists revealed the spectral signatures of almost 1000 atmospheric molecules that may be involved in the production or consumption of phosphine, a study led by UNSW Sydney revealed. Scientists have long conjectured that phosphine - a chemical compound made of one phosphorous atom surrounded by three hydrogen atoms (PH3) - may indicate evidence of life if found in the atmospheres of small rocky planets like our own, where it is produced by the biological activity of bacteria. So when an international team of scientists last year claimed to have detected phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, it raised the tantalising prospect of the first evidence of life on another planet - albeit the primitive, single-celled variety. But not everyone was convinced, with some scientists questioning whether the phosphine in Venus's atmosphere was really produced by biological activity, or whether phosphine was detected at all. Now an international team, led by UNSW Sydney scientists, has made a key contribution to this and any future searches for life on other planets by demonstrating how an initial detection of a potential biosignature must be followed by searches for related molecules. In a paper published today in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, they described how the team used computer algorithms to produce a database of approximate infrared spectral barcodes for 958 molecular species containing phosphorous. LOOK AND LEARN As UNSW School of Chemistry's Dr Laura McKemmish explains, when scientists look for evidence of life on other planets, they don't need to go into space, they can simply point a telescope at the planet in question. "To identify life on a planet, we need spectral data," she says. "With the right spectral data, light from a planet can tell you what molecules are in the planet's atmosphere." Phosphorus is an essential element for life, yet up until now, she says, astronomers could only look for one polyatomic phosphorus-containing molecule, phosphine. "Phosphine is a very promising biosignature because it is only produced in tiny concentrations by natural processes. However, if we can't trace how it is produced or consumed, we can't answer the question of whether it is unusual chemistry or little green men who are producing phosphine on a planet," says Dr McKemmish. To provide insight, Dr McKemmish brought together a large interdisciplinary team to understand how phosphorus behaves chemically, biologically and geologically and ask how this can be investigated remotely through atmospheric molecules alone. "What was great about this study is that it brought together scientists from disparate fields - chemistry, biology, geology - to address these fundamental questions around the search for life elsewhere that one field alone could not answer," says astrobiologist and co-author on the study, Associate Professor Brendan Burns. Dr McKemmish continues: "At the start, we looked for which phosphorous-bearing molecules - what we called P-molecules - are most important in atmospheres but it turns out very little is known. So we decided to look at a large number of P-molecules that could be found in the gas-phase which would otherwise go undetected by telescopes sensitive to infrared light." Barcode data for new molecular species are normally produced for one molecule at a time, Dr McKemmish says, a process that often takes years. But the team involved in this research used what she calls "high-throughput computational quantum chemistry" to predict the spectra of 958 molecules within only a couple of weeks. "Though this new dataset doesn't yet have the accuracy to enable new detections, it can help prevent misassignments by highlighting the potential for multiple molecular species having similar spectral barcodes - for example, at low resolution with some telescopes, water and alcohol could be indistinguishable. "The data can also be used to rank how easy a molecule is to detect. For example, counter-intuitively, alien astronomers looking at Earth would find it much easier to detect 0.04% CO2 in our atmosphere than the 20% O2. This is because CO2 absorbs light much more strongly than O2 - this is actually what causes the greenhouse effect on Earth." LIFE ON EXOPLANETS Regardless of the outcomes from the debate about the existence of phosphine in Venus's atmosphere and the potential signs of life on the planet, this recent addition to the knowledge of what can be detected using telescopes will be important in the detection of potential signs of life on exoplanets - planets in other solar systems. "The only way we're going to be able to look at exoplanets and see whether there's life there is to use spectral data collected by telescopes - that is our one and only tool," says Dr McKemmish. "Our paper provides a novel scientific approach to following up the detection of potential biosignatures and has relevance to the study of astrochemistry within and outside the Solar System," says Dr McKemmish. "Further studies will rapidly improve the accuracy of the data and expand the range of molecules considered, paving the way for its use in future detections and identifications of molecules." Fellow co-author and CSIRO astronomer Dr Chenoa Tremblay says the team's contribution will be beneficial as more powerful telescopes come online in the near future. "This information has come at a critical time in astronomy," she says. "A new infrared telescope called the James Web Space Telescope is due to launch later this year and it will be far more sensitive and cover more wavelengths than its predecessors like the Herschel Space Observatory. We will need this information at a very rapid rate to identify new molecules in the data." She says although the team's work was focused on the vibrational motions of molecules detected with telescopes sensitive to infrared light, they are currently working to extend the technique to the radio wavelengths as well. "This will be important for current and new telescopes like the upcoming Square Kilometre Array to be built in Western Australia." ### London: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has flown in from his California home to London to attend grandfather Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on Saturday, according to a UK media report on Monday (April 12). The 36-year-old was seen getting off a British Airways flight from Los Angeles that arrived at Heathrow Airport at 1.15pm local time on Sunday and was taken to Kensington Palace, his former London home, 'The Sun' newspaper said. The face-masked royal, the sixth in line to the British throne, was met by security staff and driven off in a black Range Rover. Buckingham Palace had confirmed over the weekend that Prince Harry would be attending the funeral but wife Meghan Markle, who is heavily pregnant with the couple's second child, was advised by her doctors against travel. Harry will not have time to complete 10 days of quarantine before the funeral on Saturday but the current coronavirus lockdown rules allow people to temporarily leave their self-isolation on "compassionate grounds", which includes a funeral. He would, however, have needed to provide a negative COVID-19 test before travelling and will have to return two more in the UK as well as stating providing his location while in England. The funeral itself is also affected by the coronavirus rules, which limit crowd size to 30 people, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson giving up his spot to accommodate as many royal family members within that restricted number. According to details of the Ceremonial Royal Funeral released by Buckingham Palace, the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin will rest initially in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle, where it will remain until the day of the funeral. On Saturday, the coffin will be carried in a purpose-built Land Rover which the Duke was involved in the design of flanked by military Pall Bearers, in a small Ceremonial Procession from the State Entrance of the Castle to St. George's Chapel, for the Funeral Service, which will begin with a national minute's silence at 1500 local time. Live TV The Duke of Edinburgh's 'insignia' the medals and decorations conferred on the late royal by the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries together with his Field Marshal's baton and Royal Air Force Wings, together with insignia from Denmark and Greece, will be pre-positioned on cushions on the altar at St. George's Chapel. The 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II passed away at Windsor Castle last Friday. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 09:50:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close China's Sinopharm vaccines are seen at an airport in Yaounde, Cameroon, April 11, 2021. The first batch of China's Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Cameroon Sunday evening as the country is struggling with a new surge of COVID-19 infections. (Photo by Jean Pierre Kepseu/Xinhua) YAOUNDE, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of China's Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Cameroon Sunday evening as the country is struggling with a new surge of COVID-19 infections. It is the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines arriving from outside the central African country, where the pandemic broke out in March last year. The Chinese vaccines were received by Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute at the Nsimalen International Airport in the capital Yaounde. "I would like to thank the Chinese government and the Chinese people for this gift which is a testimony of good relations we have with China," Ngute told the press. He said that the government will "as from today" begin dispatching the vaccines, with health workers being prioritized. "As far as I am concerned, I am prepared to take this vaccine anytime because health professionals have told us that is it the best way to end this pandemic which is in our country for over a year now," Ngute said. Speaking to the press at the handover ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon Wang Yingwu said the batch of vaccines is a reflection of the friendly relations between the two countries, which this year celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Wang said that being safe and effective and are widely trusted by the international community, Chinese vaccines can surely offer much help to Cameroon's fight against COVID-19. He also said China would honor its commitment to working toward a fair distribution of vaccines in the world, especially in developing countries. Cameroon had planned to introduce the AstraZeneca vaccines before the government suspended the plan in March due to safety concerns. Enditem Rolex does not release its production figures, but those who have tried to calculate them say they believe that the big beast of Swiss horology churns out at least 800,000 units annually from its Geneva headquarters. Divided by 365 days, that equates to an average of 2,191 watches every 24 hours. About 900 miles away on the Isle of Man, a relative dot that the local ferry service says is just 33 miles long by 13 miles wide in the Irish Sea, the independent maker Roger W. Smith hopes this year to celebrate his 20 years in business during which time he has completed precisely 100 watches. The contrast between the two makers could not be greater. While major watch houses generally strive for growth and seek new markets, Mr. Smith does neither. Based on his output, if he were to retire in 17 years at the official British state pension age of 67 he will have completed just 185 R.W. Smith watches since establishing the brand in 2001. The collectors who buy his work would be happy with that number, because when the demand for a coveted product outstrips supply, values invariably rise. Patna, April 13 : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Monday slammed the Bihar government over the crumbling health structure, as he cited the CAG's report that had red flagged the state's poor healthcare facilities as compared to other states. "Several times we have flagged Bihar's poor health infrastructure and facilities and now the CAG has also pointed out the same. Niti Aayog has also pointed out the state is at a lower infrastructure level as compared to other states," he said. "As per CAG's report, 69 per cent doctors' posts, 92 per cent nurses' posts and other medical staff are still lying vacant in Bihar. We have already flagged these points during the Assembly session. Now, I want to ask Chief Minister Nitish Kumar whether he would blame Samrat Ashoka, Chandragupta Maurya, Akbar or the Harappa period?" the RJD leader added. According to the report, Bihar government had proposed opening of 11 medical colleges, 1 dental college and 61 nursing training institutes in last 10 years but only 2 medical colleges and 2 nursing institutes have been opened so far. The report further said that 61 per cent more physicians, 69 per cent more dentists and 92 per cent more nurses are still required, while there is a 56 per cent shortfall in teaching faculties in medical colleges. Besides, the state government did not make use of the 75 per cent allocated funds in the health sector. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Old Bay the zesty, saliferous, burnt orange spice synonymous with seasoning shellfish was invented by Gustav Brunn, a German Jewish refugee who landed in Baltimore after spending two weeks in Buchenwald concentration camp. There are few spice blends as ubiquitous as Old Bay. Packaged in the classic yellow, blue, and red tin can, Old Bay has grown from a Baltimore favorite to a pantry staple across the United States. Before Old Bay was invented in the 1940s, steamed crab, the dish most associated with the blend, was absent from regional cookbooks, including Mrs. B.C. Howards Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen and Mrs. Charles Gibsons Maryland and Virginia Cookbook. ADVERTISEMENT How did Brunn, a man who miraculously escaped Nazi-occuiped Germany, revolutionize the way Americans eat crab? The story begins in 1906 in the town of Bastheim, Germany, when Gustav Brunn was 13 years old. He quit school because it was too expensive and began working as a tannery apprentice. In 1923, the value of the German mark plummeted and in turn, the fur business collapsed and the tannery closed. Brunn bought the store and began selling cases and spices to sausage makers, the beginning of his career in the spice industry. Brunns spice business was a success. That was, until 1933 when Hitler came to power. According to the Baltimore Jewish Times, as anti-Semitism grew, Brunn lost customers and his bookkeeper resigned out of fear that the Nazis would punish him for working for a Jew. To protect his family and his livelihood, Brunn moved his shop to Frankfurt where there was a larger Jewish population. In 1937, Brunn and his family applied for visas to the United States. The plan was to leave by the end of 1938, but that changed on the night of November 10, 1938, Kristallnacht, the mass pogrom that destroyed synagogues, Jewish business, and schools, and the first time the Nazi regime arrested Jews on a massive scale. The next day, radio announcements called for all Jews to surrender their firearms to the nearest police station. Brunn, an avid hunter with eight rifles, complied. Upon arriving at the police station, he was told that he couldnt leave. Within hours, Brunn was taken to Buchenwald concentration camp. Remarkably, after two weeks, Brunn was released, bearing a shaved head and suffering from pneumonia. Brunns early release was arranged by a Frankfurt lawyer for 10,000 marks, a hefty price at the time, who bribed the Gestapo. Within a week, Brunn, his wife, and their two children sailed for America, bound for Baltimore, with his hand-crank spice grinder in tow. Brunn struggled to find work in Baltimore and finally landed a job at McCormick & Company, the worlds biggest spice maker. According to The Baltimore Sun, Brunns son Ralph recalls that after only a few days, McCormick learned that Brunn was Jewish, and fired him, directing him to go and see the Jewish charities. Brunn did not give up on his career in the spice industry. He opened his own store, the Baltimore Spice Company, on the second floor of 26 Market Place, across from the bustling fish market. Soon, seafood vendors were stopping in his store, searching for spices for steaming crabs. Brunn took note of what they ordered a mix of pepper, salt, and mustard and began experimenting with his own blends. Enter Old Bay, a kitchen sink of 18 spices, including mustard, paprika, celery salt, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaf, red pepper, cardamom, celery seed, cloves, laurel leaves, mustard, salt, pepper, and ginger. Ralph told the Baltimore Jewish Times that, to his fathers amazement, Those minor things he put in there the most unlikely things, including cinnamon and nutmeg and cloveshad nothing to do with crabs at all gave a background bouquet that he couldnt have anticipatedOld Bay, per se, was almost an accident. Brunn gave samples of his new spice blend to the seafood vendors across the street, who offered Brunns sample to customers. Over time, Brunns blend caught on. With a popular product, Brunn needed a catchy name. His friend in advertising suggested Old Bay Seafood Seasoning after the Old Bay Line, a well-known Baltimore steamship company. Brunn trademarked Old Bay, giving his spice blend an instant feeling of tradition and a strong regional identity. McCormick, intimidated by Old Bays rising demand, began packaging their crab seasoning in identical cans. Then, when Brunn attempted to join the American Spice Trade Association, McCormick threatened to leave. Over the years, McCormick tried to buy the Old Bay brand, but Brunn rejected every bid. Since McCormick couldnt buy Old Bay, they were determined to copy it. The spice conglomerate relied on a law that required companies to declare the ingredients on the back of packages. Brunn, aware of this possibility, kept his recipe safe by omitting his four main ingredients. In 1985, Brunn passed away at 92 years old. In 1990, after a fifty-plus year rivalry, McCormick bought Old Bay for between $11 million and $14 million. There are few, if any, spice blends with a fandom like Old Bay. It can be found tattooed on peoples arms, printed on socks, swirled into the caramel ice cream at Marylands The Charmery ice cream shop, mixed in the tartar sauce on McDonalds fish-filet sandwich, and infused in Old Bay Summer Ale from the Maryland-based Flying Dog Brewery. Last year, Old Bay even released a limited-edition hot sauce that sold out in one hour. Old Bay is more than just your favorite spice its a story of the discrimination that Jewish immigrants faced, their perseverance against such hate, and their contribution to the American identity and kitchen. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Over 50,000 students will be returning to school buildings this month following the citys opt-in period last week which gave parents and students the option to switch from remote to in-person learning for the remainder of the school year. November 2020 was the last time parents were able to move their children from remote to in-person learning and were told at that time it would be the last opt-in period for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. When the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its school guidance stating distance between students could be reduced from six feet to three feet, Mayor Bill de Blasio and city Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter announced there would be another opt-in period since schools would be able to accommodate more students. The CDC said students can safely sit just three feet apart in the classroom as long as they wear a mask, but should be kept the usual six feet away from one another at sporting events, assemblies, lunch or chorus practice. The 50,000 students who opted to return for in-person learning will be welcomed back on Monday, April 26 across all grade levels. We know from experience how safe our schools are; we set a gold standard. Its the safest place to be in the city, de Blasio said. Preschools and elementary schools will shift to the three-foot rule and high schools and middle schools will continue keeping six feet of distance for students. Even with the existing six-foot rule in middle and high school we will be able to accommodate all kids who want to come back, he said. The city will work with each individual school to determine how it will handle the incoming students. There are definitely schools where we can keep everything at six feet and accommodate the kids who have opted in. If we can keep it at six feet thats great; if we need to move to three feet we will do it safely, he said. The mayor and chancellor both said incoming in-person students will not impact those who were previously learning in-person; students who were already learning in-person will not have their schedules changed and will continue attending school on their days, whether thats three days a week or five days a week. We will work with schools to ensure we can get as many kids back for five days as possible. Students will remain in the program they are in without disruption, Porter said. Even though there are 28,000 teachers out with a medical accommodation Porter said the Department of Education has enough teachers who are working in-person to accommodate the 50,000 students who will be returning to school buildings. FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER. Vladimir Putin Vladimir Putin can only dream of the success that Rupert Murdochs Fox News and the rest of his News Corp. empire has had in dividing America against each other and undermining our faith in political institutions. Thats what former Australian prime minister Malcom Turnbull, who has known Murdoch for 45 years, told a parliamentary committee that is investigating the over-the-top influence that News Corp. has in Australia, where it controls 60 percent of the print media. Turnbull blamed Fox News for broadcasting a continued stream of partisan attacks and misinformation, such as Joe Biden stealing the presidential election, that set the stage for the Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol. During the Trump presidency, Fox took on the role that state-owned media enjoy in authoritarian countries. I have never seen a politician as deferential to a media proprietor as Trump was to Murdoch, ever, in any country, said Turnbull, according to a report in the Financial Times. "Murdochs media had a symbiotic relationship with Trump. Turnbull testified at the inquiry after a petition calling for a probe of Murdochs media holdings in Australia garnered more than 500K signatures. Australians have had enough of News Corp. Will Fox give Tucker Carlson the boot? That would be the right thing to do as the networks star anchor is sliding closer and closer to the precipice. The Anti-Defamation League gave Fox News fair notice, calling Carlsons extreme race-baiting is dangerous stuff. In an April 9 letter to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt took aim at Carlsons impassioned defense of the white suupremacist great replacement theory, the hateful notion that the white race is in danger of being replaced by a rising tide of non-whites. His rhetoric was not just a dog whistle to racistsit was a bullhorn, wrote Greenblatt. The great replacement theory is a white supremacist trope that is discussed daily in the online racist fever swamps. It is the notion that fueled the hateful chants of Jews will not replace us! in Charlottesville in 2017. And it has lit the fuse in explosive hate crimes, most notably the hate-motivated mass shooting attacks in Pittsburgh, Poway and El Paso, as well as Christchurch, New Zealand, wrote Greenblatt. The ADL head is shocked to hear the open-ended endorsement of white supremacist idealogy from an anchor and commentator on Fox. Carlsons full-on embrace of the great replacement theory and repeated allusion to racist themes in past segments are a bridge too far. He believes it's time for Carlson to go, a move that would undoubtedly rile up Fox fans, and renew calls to shift viewing allegiances to Newsmax and One America News Network. Carlsons show is the top-rated cable TV networks top-rated primetime program. Rupert should make the call, which comes down to a choice between dollars and moral sense. Does the 90-year-old media baron want his legacy tarnished for supporting a guy who calls the idea of white supremacy a hoax and earns kudos from former Klansman David Duke? Is that really what he wants to be remembered for? Nearly 88 firefighters are still battling the wildfire that erupted in Big Bend National Park last Thursday in the Chisos Mountains South Rim. Active burning continues in lower Boot Canyon (near Book Rock and the Toll Mountain area), according to a Facebook post from the national park Tuesday morning. Big Bend told MySA.com the current fire area is estimated to be across 873 acres with 13 percent contained. The Chisos Mountains are home to a variety of plants and animals, many of which are found nowhere else in the United States, according to a news release from NPS. These high-elevation desert woodlands have been shaped by wildfire for thousands of years and depend upon fire to keep them healthy and resilient. Many of the areas currently burning have not seen fire for 70 years or more, the release noted. READ ALSO: Ten acres of sunflowers preparing to bloom in San Antonio for a month's worth of floral fun Officials first received reports of a column of smoke on the southern edge of the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 8, according to a news release from National Park Service. By late Friday morning, authorities said the fire had spread across 250 acres of the West Texas national park. Over the weekend, the fire reached over 600 acres. The cause of the South Rim Fire remains unknown, however, it appears to have started near popular backcountry campsite, NPS stated. The Chisos Mountains area of the park remains closed until further notice. This includes the Basin Road, the campground, Chisos Mountains Lodge, and hiking trails. Big Bend is one of the country's most popular national parks, with February, March, and April traditionally the height of its busy tourist season. It's also a frequent stop for tourists heading to nearby Terlingua and to Marfa, which is about 90 miles away. New York City, NY, 04/11/2021 / Jonathan C. Reiter Law Firm, PLLC / Medical malpractice happens more often than many people realize. In fact, it is the third leading cause of death in the United States, killing more people than any other cause of death besides cancer and heart disease. More than 250,000 people lose their lives each year due to a doctors or hospitals negligence. This can happen in a number of ways, from a wrong site surgery to a misdiagnosis. One of the things that makes medical malpractice so devastating for injury victims is that medical mistakes are completely preventable. Here are 10 commonly asked questions and answers about medical malpractice. What Is Medical Malpractice? Medical malpractice happens when a patient is injured due a doctors or hospitals negligence and suffers damages as a result. Its also possible for other kinds of health care professionals to bear responsibility for an injury due to their negligence. For example, you can file a lawsuit against a dentist, chiropractor, or pharmacist if they fail to adhere to the appropriate standard of care and youre injured as a result. Can I File a Claim If I Didnt Suffer Any Damages? To have a medical malpractice claim, the patient must actually incur damages as a result of their injury. This is true even if the doctors negligence caused the patients injury. Without damages, the patient does not have a medical malpractice claim. This is why its important to discuss your case with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. Are There Time Limits for Filing a Claim? There are strict time limits for filing a medical malpractice claim, so its important to avoid delays. If you miss the deadline for filing your claim, you could miss your opportunity to receive compensation for your injuries. What Kind of Compensation Can I Receive? The amount of damages you will receive depends on the facts of your case. A medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine what types of damages youre likely to receive. This may include: Pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life Past and future medical costs The cost of a home health aide or nurse Loss of wages Emotional distress Loss of earning potential Loss of companionship What If My Injury Was Caused by a Defective Medical Device? In some cases, a patient is injured during surgery or some other kind of procedure due to defective medical equipment or surgical tools. Even though the patient was injured during a medical event, this type of case would most likely fall under a product liability claim as well as a potential medical malpractice claim. What Are Some Common Types of Medical Malpractice? Medical malpractice can happen in just about any kind of medical setting, including hospitals, nursing homes, urgent care centers, and anywhere a health care professional is treating patients. Some common examples of medical malpractice include: Surgical mistakes Wrong site surgery Birth injuries Anesthesia mistakes Brain injuries Medication errors Misdiagnosis Delayed diagnosis Failure to gather a patient history Can I Reduce My Risk of Being Injured by a Doctor or Hospital? Patients can protect themselves by making sure they are strong advocates for their rights. Many people are conditioned to follow a doctors orders without giving it much thought. However, doctors are also human, and they make mistakes. Patients can stay safer by asking questions, asking their doctor to explain anything they dont understand, and taking time to thoroughly understand their treatment. For example, if the doctor gives you a new prescription medication, you should carefully read the information provided by the pharmacy. You should also ask questions if you have any concerns about drug interactions or other issues. What If the Hospital Caused My Injury? In some cases, the hospital is responsible for a patients injury. In other cases, the doctor caused the injury. It can also be the case that multiple parties played a role in the patients injury. This is why its critical to discuss your case with a medical malpractice lawyer. An experienced personal injury lawyer can review the facts of your case and help you determine which parties are to blame in your case. Can I Just Settle My Case? In some cases, the doctor or hospital will agree to a settlement without going to court. However, the decision to settle is something a patient should only take on with the help of a knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer. Your lawyer can help you weigh the pros and cons of settling versus pursuing your claim in court. Should I Get a Lawyer? Medical malpractice cases are among the most complex of any kind of legal case. This is why its critical to work with a lawyer who has experience with medical malpractice claims. If you believe you were injured due to a doctors or other health care professionals negligence, discuss your case with a New York City medical malpractice lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter. Sources: Jonathan C. Reiter Law Firm, PLLC New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer https://www.jcreiterlaw.com/ Check out Jonathan C. Reiter Law Firm, PLLC on Where2Go and A Greater Town. ***ATTORNEY ADVERTISING*** Prior results cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future case. Recoveries always depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case, the injuries suffered, damages incurred, and the responsibility of those involved. Source: Jonathan C. Reiter Release ID: 17692 Original Source of the original story >> 10 FAQs About Medical Malpractice by New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Content Disclaimer: The above review statements are those of the sponsor (Source of content) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or views of the content publisher. 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Pinterest Linkedin email Print Early Cardiac Events Pose Major and Diverse Risks in Close Relatives A study investigating a consecutive series of 230 patients with premature onset of heart attacks, strokes, angina or peripheral artery disease and a comparison group shows that family history of early onset cardiac events is a major and independent risk factor in close relatives. Family history of early cardiac events in first degree relatives such as a parent or sibling is a major risk factor, especially for premature events. Currently, data on risks in close relatives of patients with a family history of premature heart attacks, chronic stable angina or peripheral vascular disease are sparse. Researchers from Florida Atlantic Universitys Schmidt College of Medicine in collaboration with an international team of leading scientists in Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland, assembled a consecutive series of 230 patients with premature onset of heart attacks, strokes, angina or peripheral artery disease and a comparison group of apparently healthy men and women during a 24-month period. The comparison group had no family or personal history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and had normal electrocardiograms (ECGs), cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressures and glucose. Researchers defined a premature event as occurring in men 60 years or younger and in women 65 years or younger. Our data indicate that early cardiac events pose major and different risks in close relatives, said Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.PH. senior author, the First Sir Richard Doll Professor and senior academic advisor in FAUs Schmidt College of Medicine. Further, since families share more than genes, not surprisingly, these data are compatible with a role for both genetic and environmental factors. The data, published in the International Journal of Cardiology , also suggest that first degree relatives of patients with premature heart attacks compared with those presenting with a first episode of chronic stable angina or peripheral vascular disease have a shorter survival time. Patients with heart attacks and chronic stable angina reported significantly higher frequencies of attacks in their first degree relatives than patients with peripheral vascular disease. In contrast, patients with chronic stable angina and peripheral vascular disease reported significantly higher frequencies of chronic stable angina and peripheral vascular disease, respectively, in their first degree relatives compared to patients with heart attacks. Family history of early onset events is a major and independent risk factor. Thus, patients with a positive parental or sibling history of premature cardiac events require even more aggressive therapeutic lifestyle changes as well as adjunctive drug therapies of proven benefit, said Hennekens. In the United States, Europe and worldwide, most guidelines recommend risk scores for initial clinical assessments, which do not include family history of early events. Hennekens formerly served as the first John Snow and the first Braunwald professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. His groundbreaking scientific findings have significantly improved the ability to treat as well as prevent CVD, and for more than a decade, he was ranked as the third most widely cited medical researcher in the world by Science Watch. Hennekens has collaborated for several decades with Felicita Andreotti, M.D., Ph.D., first author and a professor at Catholic University Cardiovascular Medicine in Rome; and brought the data when she served as visiting professor at FAUs Schmidt College of Medicine. Their collaborations have included the major role of therapeutic lifestyle changes, especially overweight and obesity and physical inactivity as well as statins, PCSK9 inhibitors, aspirin, converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers. In this study, Hennekens and Andreotti collaborated with Janet Robishaw, Ph.D., co-author and senior associate dean for research and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in FAUs Schmidt College of Medicine. Andreotti had conducted the study at the Hammersmith Hospital and London Chest Hospital in the United Kingdom. Recent advances in human genome sequencing as well as basic and population genetics may help identify specific genotypes that predispose to atherosclerosis, thrombosis, or both, said Robishaw, a world renowned functional and translational genomics researcher with 30 years of sustained federal funding from the National Institutes of Health who trained under Nobel Laureate Alfred G. Gilman, Ph.D. Further studies also are needed to identify and quantify the functional role of candidate and marker genes for cardiovascular phenotypes and risk factors, as well as to better understand plausible independent contributions as well as interactions between nature and nurture concerning family history as a major and independent risk factor in cardiovascular disease, especially of premature onset. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for many decades, heart disease has been the leading killer among American men and women, causing approximately 600,000 deaths each year of which about 25 percent present with sudden cardiac death. Study co-authors are Filippo Crea, Ph.D., professor of cardiology at the Catholic University in Rome, Italy; Giuseppe Patti, M.D., Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Italy; Carol C. Shoulders, Ph.D., Queen Mary University of London, England, UK; Eliano Pio Navarese, M.D., Ph.D., Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland; and Attilio Maseri, M.D., of Florence, Italy, an internationally renowned researcher in ischemic heart disease. -FAU- Emphasizing ICT as the field that will lead Vietnam's digital economy, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that we must become an ICT powerhouse not in 2045 but in the next decade (2021-2030). History once again gives ICT industry the mission to be at the forefront Speaking at a recent meeting with representatives from 16 ICT associations and clubs, which focused on the topic "Realizing national digital transformation", Minister Hung affirmed that the nucleus of the digital revolution is the ICT field. The nuclear responsibility in the cause of digital transformation, in the mission of making Vietnam a high-income developed country, has been given to the ICT industry, to the community of ICT businesses, to ICT associations and clubs. Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung. History has given us the mission to be at the forefront once again. Around 20, 30 years ago, it was the mission to be at the forefront of Doi Moi (reform), to get out of poverty. We are no longer a low-income country. But once again it is the mission to be at the forefront to turn the country into a dragon or a tiger, to shoulder to shoulder with powers in the five continents. But this mission must be accomplished within 25 years, not a hundred years, Mr. Hung said. A new mission is always the beginning of change. In the past it was to catch up, compete with and then get ahead, but now it is to take the lead from the beginning. In the past it was outsourcing, but now it is Make in Vietnam. In the past, profit was the main target but now it is the national mission. Previously, we focused on exports, but now we emphasize the domestic market. Previously, we solved Western problems, but now we solve Vietnamese problems to help Vietnam develop and go to the world. Previously, we asked what the Government had done for us; now we ask what we have done for our Government, for our country. We saw more difficulties in the past, but now we see more opportunities. Previously, we performed from small to big, from easy to difficult things, but now we do the big thing first, the hard tasks first, because when we face big challenges, we will find breakthrough solutions and our ordinary people will become smarter, he said. The Ministry of Information and Communications has a mission to lead the ICT industry of Vietnam. Strategic directions, major content were outlined in 2019-2020. That was the postal infrastructure with digital address platform to each household that will ensure physical flow besides the flow of data. That was the telecommunications infrastructure to become digital infrastructure. That was digital transformation with three pillars of digital government, digital economy and digital society. That was the aim to have Vietnam become a cybersecurity powerhouse to protect Vietnam's prosperity in cyberspace. To develop 100,000 Vietnamese digital technology enterprises with the mission of Make in Vietnam. To have Vietnam's ICT enter the world's top 50 in 2025 and the top 30 by 2030. As a state management agency, the Ministry of Information and Communications is always interested in and creates all favorable conditions for ICT associations. The year 2021 will be the year of strongly implementing the new strategic directions of the sector. The Ministry of Information and Communications hopes that ICT associations and businesses will actively participate in realizing these strategies, Minister Hung said. Unite to realize the aspiration of building a strong and prosperous Vietnam Minister Nguyen Manh Hung pointed out that great challenges always need solidarity and cooperation. And more than ever, the ICT field needs solidarity, teamwork and unanimous sharing to take on great things. The ICT associations should solve the problem of cooperation in the industry, which we have not done well. The leader of the ICT industry also wished ICT associations, clubs and the community of ICT businesses to make a breakthrough in the coming period to make Vietnam a powerful country in ICT, contributing to the realization of the aspiration to build a prosperous and mighty Vietnam in the mid-century. Chairman of the Vietnam Informatics Association Bui Manh Hai said that ICT associations and clubs would join the Ministry of Information and Communications in national digital transformation. Chairman of the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA) Nguyen Van Khoa said the association would work on the principle of taking the nation first, putting the nation above everything, serving the nation as its mission. In the cause of digital transformation, the first thing that VINASA executive board will do is connect and unite all members to promote innovation, creativity and development, he said. CMC Group Chairman Nguyen Trung Chinh said that the contribution of the ICT industry in the fight against Covid-19 has proven the capacity of the Vietnamese people. Chinh said that the capacity of the people is very good and very suited to digital transformation. South Korean group Samsung has decided to move their entire research field and global IT management system to Vietnam. These are very important demonstrations for us to see opportunities in digital transformation. There are two important keywords: the intelligence and creativity of Vietnamese people who together, with the unanimity of the domestic ICT community, will help Vietnam to become a prosperous and powerful country in 2045," Chinh said. Van Anh Deputy Governor of Shanxi Province Sacked, Poor Human Rights Record Exposed Liu Xinyun, deputy governor of northern Chinas Shanxi province and director of the provincial public security department, is under investigation for suspected serious violations of Party disciplinary rules and lawsan oft-used euphemism for corruption in China, according to an April 9 notice by the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) top watch-dog agency. Public data shows that the 59-year-old sacked CCP official had a long history of high-ranking positions in the CCPs political, police, and judicial systems. However, mounting evidence suggests Liu was a serious human rights offender by toeing the CCPs line of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, an ongoing nationwide campaign that began in July 1999. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient Chinese spiritual practice known to relieve stress and increase energy. It consists of simple, slow-moving meditation exercises and teachings on incorporating the principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance in everyday life. From March 1999 to December 2003, Liu had held the offices of deputy director, party chief, and director of the Zibo Public Security Bureau, northern Chinas Shandong province, and deputy of the Zibo 610 Office, the CCPs extra-legal agency tasked with persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, while he worked in Zibo city. During this period, at least 300 Falun Gong practitioners were illegally kept in local labor camps, who were subjected to brainwashing, beatings, electric shock, sleep deprivation, and other forms of torture, based on findings reported by Minghui.org. At least four Falun Gong adherents were persecuted to death, including Su Gang, a 32-year-old computer engineer, Zhang Guohua, a 25-year-old man, Xiao Pifeng, a 51-year-old farmer, and Zou Songtao, a 28-year-old Qingdao Ocean University graduate. From December 2003 to December 2011, Liu worked as director and party chief of the local public security bureau in Heze City. During his tenure, 36 Falun Gong practitioners were illegally sentenced to imprisonment and 26 were placed in forced labor camps. Among the local victims was Dou Suli, who was left paralyzed in the right side of her body due to torture and was persecuted to death in 2007, according to a Minghui report. Later, Liu was sent to Jinan, the capital of the province, to be director and party chief of the local public security bureau until December 2014. During this period, at least eight Falun Gong followers were kidnapped, including Du Zezhou, Sun Yuzhi, Sun Moqing, and Wang Hongfeng, whose prison sentences ranged from one to seven years. From December 2014 to January 2018, Liu was promoted to the position of director of the Cybersecurity Administration of the CCPs Ministry of Public Security and director of Information Security & Center in Beijing until January 2018. The peak of his political career was the period while he was deputy governor of northern Chinas Shanxi province and director and party chief of the provincial public security department. During this period, at least 101 Falun Gong practitioners were kidnapped and had their homes ransacked across the province. Forty-two were illegally detained, 31 were illegally sentenced, and 51 were harassed in Shanxi. Three were forced to undergo brainwashing, two were forcefully displaced, and two were persecuted to death, including Lan Qingmei, a 43-year-old woman, and Zhang Yinxiang, a 52-year-old woman. Currently, more than 50 Falun Gong followers are being held illegally and are facing criminal charges, according to incomplete statistics from Minghui. Around 2 in 5 marketers (42%) still think the linear path to purchase is as relevant today as it was decades ago, despite the rise of digital. While at the same time 32% marketers feel that expanding commerce capabilities was important for the 2021 roadmap, however 26% see this as one of the most difficult challenges to face this year. These are some of the findings of Future Focus 2021: Brands Accelerated, a report by iProspect, a dentsu company, that reveals consumer, media and brand insights alongside new industry research and guidance. The 75+ page report, which is free to download, addresses some of the most pressing aspects of modern marketing, including the battle for attention, wholesale changes in data privacy, and the emergence of assisted commerce. Combining evidence-based research with interviews and responses from over 200 brand marketers in 29 countries, the Future Focus 2021: Brands Accelerated report delves deep into the challenges and opportunities faced in the current global climate and within the immediate media landscape. And, convenience and relevancy of media to the consumer is key, as 61% of marketers, polled for the report, considered building a highly convenient experience for the consumer as the most powerful lever to generate business growth. Although this is the sixth edition of the Future Focus series, this is the first large scale report released by iProspect since it launched as a new digital-first end to end media agency last month and, its content typifies the intricacies of bringing brand and performance together to achieve growth. Also read: iProspect is set to define a new era of performance-driven brand building: Rubeena Singh iProspect launches as a new agency in India & Globally Dentsu bolsters global media offering by bringing together iProspect and Vizeum Amanda Morrissey, Global President of iProspect, commented, Despite the challenging times we live in, I believe there have never been so many opportunities in media. With our new and unique approach of performance-driven brand building, we are firmly optimistic about the future and resolved to make it happen, today. With Future Focus 2021: Brands Accelerated as their guidebook, I hope all marketers will be able to leverage the growth potential afforded at these significant intersections of media, data, commerce and culture. Prerna Mehrotra, CEO, Media, dentsu APAC and MD, Media Group, dentsu Singapore, added here, Our aim is to guide marketers to explore these intersections at the new connection points for business and brand growth. By leveraging these trends where culture, technology, commerce, data and content converge, we can help them design experiences that are meaningful and valuable to consumers. The future focus at iProspect in APAC will be on working with clients to deliver on the promise of Brands Accelerated. Commenting on the report, Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India, said, The report is a detailed guide for marketers to help them with future-ready solutions, especially in the current uncertain times. It helps understand how consumers behave in the digital world, and how this learning can be applied that to real-world scenarios via a highly connected and creative use of media. As a digital first, end to end agency, our perspective allows us to rapidly optimise the work and adapt to ever-evolving human intent at the pivotal intersections in life when culture, content, data, and technology meet. Practical Advice to Marketers: In addition to discussing and dissecting the impact of major global industry trends and innovations, the report spotlights the relevancy and opportunity for brands, regardless of sector, to capitalise on these seismic shifts in the media landscape. Examples of the reports advice and guidance for marketers worldwide include: Commerce is Everywhere Organisations should strive to build and maintain an accurate picture of their commerce capabilities across five key dimensions: desirability, availability, findability, buyability, and repeatability. This will help them define the most profitable commerce model for their brand, better integrate their e-commerce and stores into an actionable omnichannel strategy, explore new growth channels, and turn media opportunities into transaction opportunities. The Battle for Attention Brands should consider factoring attention into their media optimisation and measurement efforts to elevate the impact and efficiency of their investment. To maximise audience attention, they should ensure the content and experiences they design truly align with consumer intent, and that the campaigns they develop do not relegate diversity and inclusivity as afterthoughts. The New Data Playbook On the data front, organisations should embrace the new privacy-conscious world by re-evaluating the value exchange they offer to their audiences and anticipate technological changes to minimise business disruption. This is the occasion to explore opportunities for automation, evaluate the quality of the data they collect and process, and more broadly reflect upon how data is effectively used to inform decisions. The last point is of particular significance as the report found in some circumstances there are huge disparities between what the consumer and brand marketer think, when it comes to assessing data value. Only 9% of marketers believe helping a company improve products or services is an incentive for consumers to share their data, while 44% of consumers believe it is a good enough reason to release personal identifiable information (PII) to the brand. Bharti Group-backed internet provider OneWeb on Monday said it has signed a formal agreement with the government and local firms to provide satellite internet services in the country. The announcement coincides with the 60th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history by becoming the first person to orbit the Earth. Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder of Bharti Group and the executive chairman of OneWeb, said: I am delighted to visit for the first time on this occasion of the 60th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarins first human spaceflight. Today, we can honour his legacy with a constellation of OneWeb satellites orbiting the Earth to bring connectivity to all locations where its needed." The formal agreement covers several areas of cooperation that include the use of OneWebs low latency, high throughput satellite connectivity platform to provide broadband to remote and hard-to-reach rural communities, building a ground station to provide connectivity to Central Asian countries and localisation of the supply chain for the firm's low-Earth orbit satellites, the statement said. "The Government of continues to see the importance of bridging the digital divide and enabling the digitization of its economy using innovative and modern satellite technology. OneWeb has pledged to work together to bring about these opportunities for the country, Mittal added. OneWeb has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with subsidiaries of the Kazakhstan government's Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry: national satellite operator Republican Centre of Space Communications JSC, National Company Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary and Ghalam LLP, a spacecraft component supplier. Part of Route 92 in Exeter Twp. will be renamed for a township supervisor who was shot and killed in June last year. Gov. Tom Wolf recently signed a law that designates a section of the highway from Apple Tree Road to Rustic Lane as the Robert F. Kile Sr. Memorial Highway. State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp., and state Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-120, Kingston, advocated for the legislation to memorialize the state Department of Transportation employee and veteran who was shot at the end of his driveway on Route 92. Investigators said his neighbor Peter Gillis, 57, shot him after the two were involved in a property dispute. Gillis was charged with criminal homicide and remains locked up in Luzerne County Correctional Facility. Kile, who was 57 when he died, served in the Army and the Pennsylvania National Guard and was an active member of volunteer ambulance and fire companies. PHOENIX, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's leading security integrator Surveillance Secure that consults, designs, installs and supports a full range of enterprise grade technology for commercial clients, is opening the brand's first franchise location in Phoenix. The new location has been awarded to Colorado military veteran and entrepreneur Jason Bimber and is set to open this upcoming May that will serve central Arizona including communities like Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and Glendale. Bimber's professional background in security will serve as a great asset to Surveillance Secure and local businesses in Phoenix. He has a master's in security management and owns franchise locations with Signal 88, a mobile patrol franchise which supplies clients with security guard services. Bimber's decision to open his own Surveillance Secure location came from the steady customer demand for electronic security from his Signal 88 customers. He admired the capabilities and enterprise-grade technology of Surveillance Secure products and services that he can now provide his existing customers. Bimber has hired a great team to support the community in Phoenix and has plans to add more team members in the future. With the support of the security integrator brand, Bimber is looking forward to hitting the ground running in Phoenix this spring for a successful start. "I myself have witnessed the demand for products and services offered by Surveillance Secure," stated Bimber. "I am thrilled to provide my current and new customers an all-around security service that is unlike any other brand on the market today. Based on the proven business success of Surveillance Secure, I am ready to serve the community of Phoenix." Founded in 2006 and franchising since 2019, Surveillance Secure has been a proven security industry leader, serving commercial clients in six states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado and Washington D.C. The rapidly expanding franchise services the electronic security needs of commercial, retail, education and government clients for security cameras, access control systems, alarm & video monitoring solutions, and video image analytic software. The brand provides the latest surveillance and access control technology and ongoing support for all installation projects and cameras that meet the requirements and timeline of end users. "We are excited to open our first Phoenix location with well-experienced and customer-centric focused franchisee Jason Bimber," stated Surveillance Secure CEO and founder Kim Hartman. "Jason's previous security and military background will greatly benefit the residents of Phoenix and the entire Surveillance Secure brand." Including a franchise fee of $45,000 for a smaller market, and up to $90,000 for a larger market, the overall investment range to open a Surveillance Secure location is $135,000-$242,000. Additionally, the brand offers franchisees large, exclusive territories, allowing them to control entire urban metro areas. Surveillance Secure has partnered with Oakscale for its franchise development efforts. For more information on the franchise opportunity, visit https://surveillancesecurefranchise.com/ For more information on Surveillance Secure Phoenix, visit https://surveillancesecurephoenix.com/ About Surveillance Secure Founded in 2006 and franchising since 2019, Surveillance Secure is a security integrator that brings a full range of enterprise grade security technology to its clients. The brand consults, designs, installs and supports clients by helping provide them with operational insight and business solutions. The brand currently has four locations and operates in seven states. For more information about Surveillance Secure, please visit: https://surveillancesecure.com/ Contact: Courtney LaPorta, Franchise Elevator PR, [email protected] SOURCE Surveillance Secure Dozens of protesters gathered to protest COVID-19 restrictions on churches and its gatherings in Kelowna, a city located in the southern part of British Columbia, Canada. They gathered in support of GraceLife Church, which Canadian health authorities had shut down a week earlier in Edmonton, Alberta. Protesters rallied in "solidarity" with the members of GraceLife Church and expressed dissatisfaction with the government's restrictions on church gatherings. Infotel reported that members of churches in Kelowna condemned the COVID-19 restrictions on churches, which was supposed to be implemented for two weeks, but went on for five months. "We followed the rules for six months, we spaced the chairs and only allowed 50 people," Pastor Art Lucier of Harvest Ministries International said during a speech. "We're not saying the virus isn't real, but out of 17,000 cases of COVID in Canada only 170 cases were attributed to churches of B.C." Pastor Lucier pointed out the unfair restrictions on churches, saying that while places such as the Whistler town in Vancouver, British Columbia had hundreds of COVID-19 cases in December, it remained open until a recent spike in cases caused health authorities to shut it down. Pastor Lucier argued that banning church gatherings is "a breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' and that the Harvest Life Church even grew throughout the pandemic. According to the Edmonton Journal, GraceLife Church grounds had been fenced off by the Alberta Health Services (AHS) health inspectors and police on Wednesday. Authorities warned that the church will remain closed until the congregation "shows it can comply with current health restrictions." In January, the AHS ordered the church to close when its Sunday services violated the worship limit of 15% capacity and members refrained from wearing masks and practiced social distancing. GraceLife Church's Pastor James Coates was also charged for violating COVID-19 restrictions and was sentenced to a 35-day jail stay. About 400 protesters gathered in front of GraceLife Church on Sunday to protest Canada's unfair restrictions on churches. One of the protesters was Jordon Kosik who was not a member of GraceLife but was a church attendee who encouraged protesters to "remain united and peaceful." He said it didn't matter which church he belonged to, he just wanted to show support. Kosik added that the government should "adopt a regional approach to guidelines and provide more data to support the restrictions they have in place" and proceed with reopening the country. The AHS disagrees. "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," the AHS announced, as per CBC. Alberta reported over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases involving variants of concern. Meanwhile, Global News reported that over 120,000 Alberta citizens have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and more than 734,000 doses have been administered as of April 5. Premier Jason Kenney announced the government's commitment to speed up the vaccine rollout to its citizens to address the spread of variants of concern. To boost the ruling partys chances, some adivasis of Mangli and Vanvat villages have been given the TRS party membership at a public event in the presence of local MLA Jogu Ramanna on Sunday. (Representational Image/AFP) ADILABAD: The TRS, the BJP and the Congress are focusing on adivasi votes as a valuable input for winning the Adilabad rural ZPTC seat. All these parties have intensified their campaign following the news that the government would issue the election notification for the poll within the week. To boost the ruling partys chances, some adivasis of Mangli and Vanvat villages have been given the TRS party membership at a public event in the presence of local MLA Jogu Ramanna on Sunday. Congress party leaders are highlighting the backwardness of the Adivasi gudems, where there is less of road connectivity, as also electricity connections and drinking water facilities, as they address meetings at various Adivasi gudems in the constituency. Recently, Congress state general secretary Gandrath Sujatha visited the interior Mangli and Yasoda villages and appealed to the collector, project officer of ITDA, Utnoor, and the state government to provide basic amenities to the people of these villages. They brought the problems faced by the people of these villages to the notice of the district officials. The name of BJP district president Payal Shankars son, Payal Sharath, was announced as the party candidate for the Adilabad Rural ZPTC seat on Sunday. He has already begun his campaigning in the villages. MP Soyam Bapurao heavily came down on the TRS party and Adilabad MLA Jogu Ramanna at a party meeting held in Adilabad. Soyam Bapurao said he was not scared of even the Naxalites and how could the TRS leaders now think they could browbeat him. Soyam Bapurao levelled corruption charges against Jogu Ramanna and said it would be good if Jogu Ramanna stopped issuing warnings against him. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Albuquerque police issued a summons to an individual on a charge of child endangerment after the person showed up armed to a demonstration near Civic Plaza, police said. Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman, said that a white supremacy protest that police had anticipated didnt materialize on Sunday. But he did say that a family that included two women, two children and an armed man showed up near the plaza where counter demonstrators had gathered. The man was seen with a sign that said All Guns Matter. Gallegos said that tensions rose during the incident and police tried to diffuse the situation. The man was issued a court summons, Gallegos said. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ San Francisco Bays life support systems are unraveling quickly, and a wealth of science indicates that unsustainable water diversions are driving this estuarys demise. Yet, with another drought looming, federal and state water managers still plan to divert large amounts of water to their contractors and drain upstream reservoirs this summer. Meanwhile, the states most powerful water districts are preparing yet another proposal to maintain excessive water diversions for the long-term. By delaying reforms that the law requires and that science indicates are necessary, Gov. Gavin Newsom encourages wasteful water practices that jeopardize the Bay and make the states water future precarious. Will Newsom act to protect San Francisco Bay and put the state on a more sustainable path before its too late? Numerous signs indicate that unchecked water diversions are choking the Bay. Toxic algae blooms proliferate in the polluted trickle of water that enters the Delta from the San Joaquin River in a dry year like this, 90% of that rivers winter-spring runoff is diverted by industrial agriculture and cities like San Francisco. Six of the Bays native fish species are officially endangered, as are orcas that feed on dwindling Central Valley salmon; the once ubiquitous delta smelt could become extinct in the wild this year. And, regulators will cut the ocean salmon fishery again this year because Central Valley rivers are not producing enough young fish. Californians should ask why San Francisco Bays native species continue to slide toward extinction. And why some Central Valley rivers have been reduced to toxic drains for agribusiness. After all, multiple federal and state laws require protection of imperiled species, fisheries and water quality. Over the past four years, then-President Donald Trumps ridiculous claims about California water presented new threats to the people and wildlife that depend on San Francisco Bay. Recent reporting revealed how the Trump administrations pandering to corporate benefactors steamrolled the expertise of federal biologists, and allowed industrial agriculture and cities to further plunder Central Valley rivers before they reached San Francisco Bay. But now that Trump is gone, who should Californians blame for the ongoing neglect of the West Coasts largest inland estuary and its watershed? For more than a decade, the governors office has rebuffed calls for the State Water Resources Control Board to improve water quality standards. Since 2010, the water board has repeatedly documented the need for more flow to reach the Bay from its Central Valley watershed. The water board is required to review its water quality standards every three years to ensure that they protect the publics interests. In 2018, it took a first step toward overhauling standards that dated to 1995. But additional necessary protections were never completed, and even the new, partial update has not been implemented. Newsom has blocked the water boards adoption of science-based standards, hoping instead to entice water districts to contribute only what they are willing to part with voluntarily. His lieutenants argue that the water purveyors will delay implementation of any plan that isnt their own. For example, when the state sued over Trumps endangered species plan, large water districts abandoned negotiations because they saw the feeble new federal requirements as the basis for their voluntary offer. Undeterred, Newsoms team has pursued talks, even expressing their desire to settle claims over Trumps fraudulent plan. For years, required updates to the states water quality requirements have been held hostage to one voluntary proposal after another; drought planning has also taken a back seat to discussions of voluntary agreements. These talks led nowhere, even as diversions continued, fish populations plummeted and water quality became increasingly toxic. Now the water districts are cobbling together a new offer. And Newsom seems eager to talk. California doesnt need endless talk about illusory deals. Its time for the State Water Resources Control Board to adopt a comprehensive plan to restore San Francisco Bay. Such a plan will force realistic discussions about sustainable water use in our drought prone state and it might even lead to creative solutions. But first Newsom must stop kicking Californias water problems down the road and let the water board do its job. Jon Rosenfield is a senior scientist with San Francisco Baykeeper and has also written about water agreements and the need to set new objectives and protections for the delta. The author wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's Capitol works and why it matters. New Delhi: Students from all over the country are demanding that the CBSE class 10, 12 board exams be cancelled in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases. The exams are currently scheduled to be held offline May 4th onwards. Over 1 lakh students have signed an online petition on Change.org demanding the cancellation and postponement of exams. Using the hashtag #CancelBoardExam2021, students took to Twitter to urge the government to heed to their demands. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Sonu Sood as well took to Twitter to appeal to the government to reconsider their decision. See what they had to say on the matter: Rahul Gandhi Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the decision to conduct the CBSE exams should be reconsidered. In the light of the devastating Corona second wave, conducting #CBSE exams must be reconsidered. All stakeholders must be consulted before making sweeping decisions. On how many counts does GOI intend to play with the future of Indias youth? he tweeted. In the light of the devastating Corona second wave, conducting #CBSE exams must be reconsidered. All stakeholders must be consulted before making sweeping decisions. On how many counts does GOI intend to play with the future of Indias youth? Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 11, 2021 Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote to Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and asserted that it will be impossible to ensure safety of students at crowded exam centres. The Government and the CBSE board might want to consider whether they are prepared to own the legal liability for students or others who might be severely affected by the disease in this manner, she said. CBSE 2021 My letter to the Minister of Education @DrRPNishank asking him to reconsider allowing the CBSE to conduct board exams under the prevailing COVID wave. pic.twitter.com/Ai4Zl796il Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) April 11, 2021 Sonu Sood Apart from political leaders, Bollywood actor Sonu Sood also extended his support to students. I request everyone to support students who are forced to appear for offline board exams in these tough times. With the number of cases rising to 145k a day I feel there should be an internal assessment method to promote them rather than risking so many lives, the actor tweeted along with a video appeal. I request everyone to support students who are forced to appear for offline board exams in these tough times. With the number of cases rising to 145k a day I feel there should be an internal assessment method to promote them rather than risking so many lives. #cancelboardexam2021 pic.twitter.com/Taq38B0811 sonu sood (@SonuSood) April 11, 2021 Shiv Sena Shiv Senas chief spokesperson Arvind Sawant asked the Centre to take a common decision to ensure that no student is at a disadvantage. Sawant, in his letter, asked for urgent intervention into the matter by Pokhriyal. Your intervention would mean national consensus, instead of a unilateral decision from any particular state, it read. S Ramadoss PMK (Paattali Makkal Katchi, a political party in Tamil Nadu) founder S Ramadoss asked the CBSE and Tamil Nadu Board to cancel the 10th and 12th board examinations as COVID-19 is spreading fast in the state. In a statement, Ramadoss expressed shock at CBSE authorities gearing up to hold 10th and 12th standard board exams at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading fast. Ramadoss said if exams are to be held then CBSE can hold the same online. For Tamil Nadu state board 12th class exams, Ramadoss said the exams should be cancelled and the students should be declared as pass based on their performance in the school exams. CBSE confirms that exams to be held as per schedule However, the CBSE has confirmed that it will conduct class 10, 12 board exams as per the schedule, i.e, from May 4. CBSE controller of exam Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj reiterated that the number of exam centres has been increased this year and strict COVID-19 protocols will be followed across the country for the safety of students. For students, focus on your studies, do not listen to any rumour and false pretence, Bharadwaj said addressing an online session yesterday. Also watch: New Delhi: Pakistan on Wednesday raked up the Kashmir issue again at the United Nations with its envoy Maleeha Lodhi accusing India of spreading terrorism in the Valley. Hitting out at the neighbour, India described Pakistans attack as a "lonely voice from the wilderness". During a debate of the General Assembly, Pakistan's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Lodhi said India made a "false claim" of conducting surgical strike across the LoC to provoke conflict with Pakistan. Warning New Delhi, Lodhi said any aggression by it would receive a "matching and effective response". During the debate on the Report of the Secretary General on the work of the world body, she said "This claim, and India's repeated threats to conduct such strikes across the LoC, constitute flagrant violations of the UN Charter's injunction against the use or threat of use of force." The United Nations should not "ignore these open threats to use force" by India, she said. The international community should take urgent action to ask India to halt its provocations against Pakistan, she added. Lodhi further attacked India saying "To cover up its crimes against the Kashmiri people, and to divert world attention, India resorts to daily violation of the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir." The international community represented in the United Nations cannot allow "India impunity to conduct "crimes against humanity" in Kashmir under the "flimsy cover" of combating terrorism, she said. "The only terrorism in Kashmir is India's state terrorism. State terrorism is, in fact, considered as the gravest form of terrorism by the Non-Aligned Movement, comprising almost two thirds of the General Assembly s membership," she alleged. ALSO READ | J-K: Pakistan violates ceasefire in Digwar sector of Poonch district; Army retaliates Eenam Gambhir, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, exercising the country's right to reply said, "We have heard a lonely voice from the wilderness articulate a narrative of the past." Pakistan, Gambhir said, has "focused on a topic that has not even been deliberated upon for decades" at the UN. "An issue which that delegation tries to keep alive by procedural stratagems even while the world has moved on. Yesterday's people reflecting antiquated mindsets of the bygone times are symbolic of what holds us all back," she said. The Indian delegation does not wish to "waste the precious time of this August Assembly" in engaging further with such distractions, Gambhir said. Lodhi also said India's claim of carrying out the surgical strike provides Pakistan "sufficient reason" to respond and exercise its right to self-defence. Lodhi went ahead to warn India, saying it should not "underestimate Pakistan's resolve and capacity to defend itself". During the General Assembly debate last month which was addressed by leaders from more than 100 countries, not a single country supported Pakistan's Kashmir policy. Unmindful of that, Lodhi reiterated her allegation with regard to non-implementation of the UN Security Council resolution on Kashmir. In her address to the UN General Assembly last month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had responded to a similar allegation raised by the Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on UN Security Council resolution. "Prime Minister Abbasi has recalled old resolutions that have been long overtaken by events. But his memory has conveniently failed him where it matters. He has forgotten that under the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration India and Pakistan resolved that they would settle all outstanding issues bilaterally," Swaraj had said. (With PTI inputs) ALSO READ | Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI runs its own foreign policy: US For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The MOIN Camera's innovative 2.45" touch screen allows users to monitor the camera's view and control all camera settings. Just tap the screen to access the easy-to-use graphical user interface. The camera has a 120 FOV Lens, great for capturing selfie videos or establishing shots of vast landscapes. The MOIN CAMERA will improve your video-making skills by allowing you, the content creator, to focus on the subject. MOIN CAMERA offers an elevated filming experience with built-in high-quality stereo microphones. 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To learn more, visit the campaign here: [https://www.gudsen.com/moza-moin-camera] The MOIN CAMERA Price: $299 SOURCE Gudsen MOZA Related Links https://www.gudsen.com NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of Cadence Bancorporation ("Cadence" or the "Company") (NYSE: CADE) in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by BancorpSouth Bank ("BXS") (NYSE: BXS). Under the terms of the merger agreement, Cadence shareholders will receive 0.70 shares of BXS common stock for each Cadence share that they own. Additionally, the agreement allows for a one-time special cash dividend to Cadence shareholders of $1.25 per share in conjunction with the closing of the merger. BXS shareholders will own approximately 55% and Cadence shareholders will own approximately 45% of the combined entity. If you own Cadence shares and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, visit our website: http://www.weisslawllp.com/CADE Or please contact: Joshua Rubin, Esq. WeissLaw LLP 1500 Broadway, 16th Floor New York, NY 10036 (212) 682-3025 (888) 593-4771 [email protected] WeissLaw LLP is investigating whether (i) Cadence's board of directors acted in the best interests of Company shareholders in agreeing to the proposed transaction, (ii) the merger consideration adequately compensates Cadence's shareholders, and (iii) all information regarding the sales process and valuation of the transaction will be fully and fairly disclosed. WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected] SOURCE WeissLaw LLP Related Links http://weisslawllp.com Columnist Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich). Karabakhs Armenian-backed army claimed to have captured the men during fierce fighting with Azerbaijani forces stopped by a Russian-mediated ceasefire November 10. They were handed over to Armenia to face a string of criminal charges, including terrorism. Armenias Investigative Committee reiterated on Monday that the Syrians, identified as Muhrab al-Shkheri and Yusef al-Haji, are mercenaries who were recruited to terrorize civilians in Karabakh and commit other war crimes. The committee said it has asked a prosecutor overseeing the probe to formally approve its findings and pave the way for their trial. It was not clear if the arrested suspects will plead guilty to the accusations. In their testimonies shown on Armenian television late last year, they admitted being recruited and paid by Turkey. Armenian officials portrayed that as further proof that scores of Syrian mercenaries fought in Karabakh on Azerbaijans side. The Armenian claims have been backed by France and, implicitly, Russia. French President Emmanuel Macron accused Turkey of recruiting jihadist fighters from Syria for the Azerbaijani army shortly after the outbreak of large-scale hostilities in and around Karabakh on September 27. Russia also expressed serious concern about the deployment of terrorists and mercenaries from Syria and Libya in the Karabakh conflict zone. Azerbaijan denied the presence of any foreign mercenaries in its army ranks. It dismissed the Syrians televised confessions as a fraud. Multiple reports by Western media quoted members of Islamist rebel groups in areas of northern Syria under Turkish control as saying in late September and October that they are deploying to Azerbaijan in coordination with the Turkish government. Armenian authorities said in December that the captured Syrians are not prisoners of war and cannot be covered by the ceasefire agreement that calls for the exchange of all POWs and civilian captives held by the conflicting parties. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unloaded on 'the Squad' when talking about the progressive cohort to author Susan Page, whose book 'Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power' come out next week. Axios reported some early details on Monday, including that Pelosi adopted a child-like voice when talking about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 31-year-old ringleader of the group, who was previously the youngest member of Congress. In the book, Pelosi gives 'the Squad' blunt advice: 'You're not a one-person show. This is the Congress of the United States.' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unloaded on the so-called 'Squad' during one of her sit-downs with journalist Susan Page for the new biography, 'Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power' Page described Pelosi as speaking in a child-like voice when referencing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured) and said to the progressive foursome, 'This is not a one-person show, this is the Congress of the United States' 'The Squad' originally included (from left) Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley. Pelosi unloaded on the foursome in an interview with Page in July 2019 'Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power' comes out next Tuesday and includes details like Pelosi's first call with the newly elected Donald Trump Page, USA Today's Washington bureau chief, spoke to Pelosi 10 times for the biography. Pelosi told friends and family to participate in the process too. Pelosi didn't hold back in her assessment of some of her colleagues. In their second sit-down, which occurred in July 2019, Page said Pelosi's dispute with 'the Squad' had 'exploded.' 'Her anger at the four new progressive congresswomen was palpable,' Page recalled. Pelosi sat down for a meeting with Ocasio-Cortez later that month in an effort to minimize tensions. Pelosi also told Page that Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, 'is not a force for good in the country.' 'He is an enabler of some of the worst stuff, and an instigator of some of it on his own,' Pelosi said. In an excerpt from the book posted on USA Today's website Friday, Page captures Pelosi's first conversation with now former President Donald Trump after he won the 2016 race. Pelosi, then in the minority, called Trump at Trump Tower to congratulate him on his win and offer her hope that they could work together. 'Nancy, me too,' Trump replied. 'We'll get some good things done.' Trump told Pelosi that she could deliver 'better than anybody.' 'Don't forget, I was a supporter of yours,' Trump told the Democratic leader, a reference to a donation he had made to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee before becoming a Republican. 'I think you're terrific.' Pelosi suggested to the incoming president that he schedule a session to talk to the bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. He put her on the phone with Ivanka Trump. 'Talk to my daughter about it,' Trump said. 'Now it was Pelosis turn to be surprised. The House Democratic leader found herself listening to Trumps thirty-five-year-old daughter, whose resume mostly involved working on enterprises named Trump, relay her thoughts on childcare policy,' Page wrote. Page also revealed that Pelosi had planned to retire after the 2016 election of Hillary Clinton, as Clinton would have eclipsed her as the highest-ranking woman in American political history. 'She had intended to step back from elective office once Hillary was in the White House. That idea was instantly shelved,' Page wrote. The pain of Trump's election 'was physical, it was actually physical,' Pelosi told Page. 'Like a mule kicking you in the back over and over again,' Pelosi said. OPPO announced the successful collaboration between OPPO, Vodafone, Qualcomm Technologies, and Ericsson commercializing Europes first low-latency, high-speed 5G SA Network in Germany. Henry Duan, Vice President and President of Smartphones, OPPO, said, OPPO is proud to be the only mobile device provider to participate in the commercialization of Europes first 5G SA network, fulfilling our commitment as a company to bring cutting-edge technology to our customers. As a pioneer in 5G, OPPO will continue to work with industry leaders to increase access to 5G services and create more unique experiences for our users worldwide. To let customers enjoy the enhanced network, OPPO aims to provide a software update to activate SA support on the uber Find X3 premium devices in the coming weeks, ideally within April. Enjoy low-latency, high-speed connectivity with 5G SA The commercialization of the first 5G SA commercial network in Europe marks a milestone in the development of 5G in the region. Standalone 5G is a more complete form of 5G network and is the architecture to which all 5G networks will eventually conform. The theoretical latency of 5G SA is as low as 1ms marking a vast improvement over that of current non-standalone (NSA) 5G at around 20ms. The enhanced network is also set to unleash the full power of 5G and foster a wide range of innovative 5G applications in the near future. 5G SA will support network slicing, which will allow operators to provide portions of their networks for specific use cases, enabling carriers to provide diversified and services for different needs. Dusseldorf, Munster, and Leipzig will be the first European cities to receive 5G SA coverage, consumers will be able to enjoy the benefits of the network after receiving OPPOs software updates on the devices. OPPO accelerates 5G commercialization through close partnerships As the only smartphone manufacturer involved in the project, OPPO has worked closely with Vodafone Germany, Qualcomm Technologies, and Ericsson to test the 5G SA network in numerous sites in the three German cities since November 2020. During the process, Ericsson provided products and solutions from its Ericsson Radio System portfolio and its cloud native 5G Core for standalone networks to help Vodafone build 5G SA networks in Germany. The network was then tested with OPPOs recently launched Find X3 series premium smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform. OPPO is the first smartphone manufacturer to have utilized the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform on a commercial 5G SA network in Europe. Leveraging its expertise in the field, OPPO was heavily involved in the development and testing process with Qualcomm Technologies. Our 3.5GHz range 5G network is now completely independent of LTE technology. At initial available locations, it is possible to achieve latency times of 10 to 15 milliseconds thats as fast as the human nervous system. These ultra-low latency times are now arriving step-by-step to consumers across Germany as we put more and more 5G facilities into operation. Together, we are making 5G Standalone a reality for our customers, explains Vodafone Germanys CTO Gerhard Mack. 5G standalone brings huge advantages to both industry and consumers. With faster network response times, users can now take advantage of real-time mobile communication. After launching 5G together in Germany, this is the next step in our journey with Vodafone. Combining our technology leadership and drive for innovation with our ecosystem partners OPPO and Qualcomm Technologies, we are delivering next level of 5G, ready for Germany to build their digital future, said Arun Bansal, President of Europe and Latin America, at Ericsson. Qualcomm Technologies is delighted to join OPPO, Vodafone and Ericsson in this pioneering work to bring a better 5G network to European customers, said Enrico Salvatori, senior vice president and president, Qualcomm Europe/MEA, Qualcomm Europe, Inc. This is a significant milestone not only for Germany but for Europe. 5G standalone is a key step in the 5G evolution and will bring new benefits to consumers and businesses alike and we are proud to have worked with OPPO, Vodafone and Ericsson to make this happen on a commercial 5G device and network. 5G standalone brings fast speeds, greater efficiency, new levels of performance and scalability to 5G. From 5G NSA to 5G SA: OPPOs leading innovations in Europe Back in 2019, OPPO was the first company to launch a 5G NSA commercial smartphone in Europe with the OPPO Reno 5G. This time around with Vodafone, OPPO is ready to lead the industry forward once again, enabling European users to benefit from superior 5G connectivity. Europe is a key market in OPPOs global business. Having entered the Western European market three years ago, the company has already achieved considerable market growth and has taken a firm foothold in some national markets. Last year, OPPO officially established its Western European headquarters in Dusseldorf, Germany, at the same time adding new names to its list of markets, such as Italy, Spain, Netherlands, the UK, Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Russia, Germany, Ireland, Romania, Portugal ,and Belgium. Confident in the prospects of 5G in an age of intelligent connectivity, OPPO has long been working to accelerate the commercialization of 5G across Europe through continued innovation in technology, products ,and services, as well as close collaborations with global partners, including technology providers, telecom operators, research institutions and more. Last year, OPPO worked with Vodafone UK to showcase the first live standalone network in the UK. Looking forward, OPPO is set to make further investments in the fast-growing European market, contribute more technological innovation to the industry, and bring better products and services to its customers. Over the weekend the Associated Press (AP) revealed the contents of an internal Pentagon report detailing a series of calls made between lawmakers and the Department of Defense during the attack on Congress on January 6. The report demonstrates that Trump-appointed officials within the Pentagon purposefully forestalled the deployment of military forces for hours even as lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence pleaded for help while fascist-led mobs hunted and called for their deaths inside the Capitol. The report states that at 4:08 p.m. on January 6, over two hours after windows at the Capitol were breached by members of the fascist Proud Boys, Pence called acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and demanded he clear the Capitol. The AP wrote that Pences phone call to Miller lasted only a minute and that Pence, who was still trapped in a secure location, asked for a deadline as to when the Capitol would be clear. The AP wrote that Pence was forced to make the call because the coup-plotter Trump was not engaged during the attack on Congress. In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) This meant that the authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard resided in the hands of acting Defense Secretary Miller, a former Special Forces commander and Trump loyalist. In addition to Pence, the Pentagon report indicated that congressional leaders were also making desperate appeals to military officials seeking the deployment of the National Guard. We need help, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other military and Pentagon officials more than an hour after the Senate chamber had been breached, the AP reported. By 3:19 p.m. both Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were calling the Pentagon demanding the deployment of the National Guard to the Capitol. Lawmakers were being ferried in underground tunnels away from the approaching mob of Trump supporters, far-right militia members and neo-Nazis, some were wielding clubs, bear mace and ropes. Apparently high-ranking Pentagon officials were more concerned with protecting themselves than any lawmakers. The AP reported that 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. At 3:44 p.m. Schumer called the Pentagon again and told officials, Tell POTUS to tweet everyone should leave. At the same time, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer inquired to Pentagon officials about deploying active duty troops to the Capitol. Despite Pence making the call to Miller at 4:08 p.m., Millers approval to D.C. National Guard Commander William Walker to deploy the Guard would not come until an hour later, at 5:08 p.m. The call from Pence to Miller occurred roughly two hours and 19 minutes after Walker originally sought approval from Miller to deploy his soldiers to the Capitol to assist overrun police. By roughly 4:30 p.m., about 13 minutes after Trump tweeted to his special followers to go home and go in peace, Miller gave his approval to Walker to send the National Guard to the Capitol. However, he would not be told that for nearly 40 minutes. Despite the apparent approval given to Walker, by about 4:40 p.m. Pelosi and Schumer were again on a call with Gen. Milley and the rest of the military leadership, demanding that acting Secretary Miller secure the perimeter. The timeline noted that during the 30-minute phone call, Pelosi and Schumer accused the National Security apparatus of knowing that protestors planned to conduct an assault on the Capitol. This stunning revelation further demolishes claims from the intelligence agencies as well as D.C. Metropolitan and Capitol Police chiefs that there was no intelligence that the January 6 rally would turn violent and that Congress itself was the target. Underscoring the need to subpoena the entire Pentagon civilian and military leadership and the heads of the various intelligence agencies to ascertain their involvement and knowledge in the attempted overthrow of the election, the report also revealed on January 3, Milley, Trump and his entire cabinet had all gathered to discuss deploying the National Guard in preparation for the planned rally. During the meeting, Trump approved the activation of the D.C. National Guard, telling Miller to take whatever action [was] needed as events unfolded, according to the AP. Following the meeting, Miller and Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy issued two memos, which would severely limit the ability of the D.C. National Guard to play any effective security role on January 6. A January 5 memo from McCarthy to Walker prohibited Walker from deploying a quick reaction force of soldiers without prior approval from McCarthy. A January 4 memo from Miller to McCarthy prohibited Walker from deploying D.C. Guardsmen with weapons, helmets, body armor or riot control agents without the approval of Miller and allowed McCarthy to deploy the aforementioned quick reaction force only as a last resort. On March 3, Walker testified before the Senate Rules and Homeland Security committees that these memos were unlike anything else he had experienced in his military career in that it required me to seek authorization from the secretary of the Army and the secretary of defense to essentially even protect my Guardsmen. Walker testified that the three-hour 19-minute delay left him stunned and frustrated. He also said that during the June 1 protests against police violence, Army Secretary McCarthy was right by my side ready to approve any request he had. But at the time of the January 6 assault, Walker testified that McCarthy was unavailable to approve his requests. Miller was appointed as acting secretary of defense after Trump fired previous Secretary Mark Esper on November 9. Esper sealed his fate with Trump after he publicly opposed Trumps June 1 threat to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy active duty soldiers to major US cities to quash mounting protests against police violence. Espers position was shared by Milley, both of whom feared the use of troops would provoke massive resistance in the working class that would spiral out of their control. Even though the entire cabinet, Gen. Milley and Trump were discussing the possibility of violence and the need for the National Guard at the Capitol three days before the attempted coup, none of the domestic intelligence agencies issued reports that would normally accompany such threats, deeply implicating them in the plot to halt the certification of the election. In congressional testimony earlier last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed that the FBI did not issue a threat assessment for January 6. Melissa Smislova, a senior official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), confirmed at the same hearing that the DHS did not designate the January 6 joint session as a National Security Special Event, despite the numerous well-known threats. The report is the latest damning piece of evidence demonstrating that the January 6 attack was not the result of a few excitable Trump zealots overwhelming a suspiciously underprepared Capitol Police force. Rather it was a coordinated operation between fascist militias, sections of the police, military, intelligence agencies and the Republican Party to overturn the results of the election and install Trump as president-dictator. The release of the report reflects the still ongoing and unprecedented crisis within the capitalist state over three months after the attempted coup. According to the AP, the document was obtained by them, and its contents were vetted by current and former government officials. Taking their cue from President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, the mainstream press has largely ignored the damning report, with neither the Democratic-aligned Washington Post nor New York Times devoting an article to the stunning report more than 24 hours after its publication. This continues the line advanced by Biden and the Democratic Party, who above all seek to foster unity with their Republican colleagues in order to chloroform the working class to the danger of fascism and continue their shared class agenda. To expose the involvement of the police and military in the attempted coup could trigger a massive social explosion from below against the state and both political parties. In order to prevent this, Pelosi and former Homeland Security officials have rekindled discussions about a joint 9-11 style commission into the events of January 6. The fact is the establishment of such a commission would be an effort to conceal rather than reveal the full extent of the insider threat. More than three months after the attempted coup, the Democratic Party, despite controlling both houses of Congress and the executive branch, has yet to subpoena any high-ranking Pentagon officials to explain their seditious actions. This fact alone underscores the need for an independent investigation to be conducted outside the control of the Democratic Party, a party of Wall Street and the military. By Abdul Qadir Sediqi KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban said on Monday they were not willing to attend a major summit on the Afghan peace process in Turkey if it took place this week, the militant group's spokesman said. Turkey is hosting a crucial meeting this month with the United Nations and Qatar as part of a U.S.-backed push to jump-start the Afghan peace process. Diplomats and officials briefed on the matter said it was planned to take place over 10 days from April 16, though the date had not been finalised or officially announced. "We can't take part in Turkey's conference on 16 April...and we already told Turkey this," Taliban spokesman Mohammed Naeem said in a text message. However, he did not rule out attending at a later date. "Our discussions about whether to take part or not and when we can take part, are underway," he said. The United States' envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has been travelling the region trying to drum up support for a ceasefire and peace settlement that could include an interim government as a May 1 deadline to withdraw foreign troops looms. Officials fear that if an agreement is not reached soon, violence will surge. U.S. President Joe Biden has said that it would be 'hard' to withdraw troops by May, but that it was unlikely they would still be there next year. Khalilzad finished a four-day visit to Kabul on Monday saying he had held talks with government officials, politicians and members of civil society and the diplomatic community to discuss preparations for the Turkey conference. "Ambassador Khalilzad underscored why it was important both sides accelerate the peace process," the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said in a statement. (Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Additional reporting by Orooj Hakimi; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) The Department of Health on Monday dismissed criticism from a group of healthcare professionals that the government wasted the public's sacrifices during the two-week lockdown imposed in Metro Manila and other provinces. Reacting to an earlier claim by the Healthcare Professionals Alliance against COVID-19 (HPAAC) that the restrictions on mobility were "wasted again," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the government maximized the enhanced community quarantine by improving healthcare capacity that was on the brink of collapse. The official said the criticism has no basis since the full effect of the recently-lifted ECQ over Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna will be seen 10 days to two weeks from now. "Hindi ko masasang-ayunan ang HPAAC dito na sinasabi nilang it has gone to waste because we have implemented measures. We are currently doing ano ang dapat gawin para maibsan ang sitwasyon," she said in a media briefing. [Translation: I won't agree with the HPAAC's statement that it has gone to waste because we have implemented measures. We are currently doing what we need to do to ease the situation.] Vergeire admitted that new cases have yet to go down and hospitals are still struggling, but she underscored that the government was able to add 164 ICU beds for COVID-19 patients and over 3,000 beds in hospitals, isolation centers, and extension facilities. She added that there has been a slight improvement with contact tracing efforts, bringing the ratio to 1:6 or six close contacts traced per patient. "Kung hindi tayo gumagawa nitong mga measures, we might be mas mataaas pa sa 10,000 na average daily cases natin because of the exponential increase rate of the virus on how they transmit," she said. [Translation: If we didn't implement these measures, we might see more than the 10,000 daily average in cases because of the exponential increase in virus transmission.] The government hopes to see a decline in new cases in the next 10 to 14 days. Independent research group OCTA, meanwhile, is more optimistic by projecting a "clear downward trend" in COVID-19 cases in the national capital region by next week. Metro Manila and the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna eased into modified enhanced community quarantine status until April 30 as the government aims to further balance the health and economic aspects of the COVID-19 crisis. The provinces of Quirino and Abra, and Santiago City in Isabela were also placed under the same form of lockdown. Robson Victor, team head of IO Furnitures, a construction firm, should not ordinarily care about court activities. But this time, like lawyers who ply their trade in the courtroom and other court users whose business interests, freedom, documentations, or general quest for justice, depends on court process, Mr Victor is among the unlikely persons groaning over the ongoing nationwide strike of judiciary workers. The umbrella body of judiciary workers in Nigeria, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), had on April 1, 2021, directed its members across the country to shut down all courts on Tuesday, April 6, a directive that has since crippled both court proceedings and commercial activities within the courts premises. Its reason for the indefinite strike is to press home the demand for financial autonomy for the countrys judicial arm of government. A verdict of the Federal High Court in Nigerias capital, Abuja, had in January 2014, held that financial autonomy for the judiciary is a constitutional provision that must be complied with by the executive branch of government. The attendant consequences of the strike action have left non-litigants who are largely business people, reeling from the courts closure. Court users and non-litigants, alike, vent their anger and frustrations as life becomes more difficult with the nationwide shutdown of the entire third arm of government entering its second week today, Monday. Non-litigants lament court shutdown At a construction site inside the Supreme Court of Nigeria complex in Abuja, construction workers were locked out by officials of the JUSUN, despite appeals to let the non-judicial personnel into the site. Mr Victor said the strike action had made life difficult for him and his colleagues who depend on the daily pay from the site. We are handling a building complex at the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The strike action by the judiciary workers is affecting us negatively, because the daily job we do at the construction site is what we depend on for daily earnings. If we dont work, we dont get paid. Also, there is a timeline that was given to us for the completion of the project. Precisely, we were asked to conclude the work this weekend (last Friday). Now that we are out of job, it will be very difficult for us to commute back home, as we were hoping to work and get paid, Mr. Victor said. A similar situation is playing out at the Federal High Court at Maitama in Abuja, as restaurateurs are lamenting low patronage of their services. Queen Modilim, who runs a canteen inside the court and a restaurant around the courts car park, lamented that the food she prepared for sale on the day the strike started on Tuesday was wasted due to the industrial action. She said, I am not happy about the strike; as you can see there are no customers. We no longer make sales due to the strike action by judiciary workers. Bulk of our customers comes from court workers and lawyers. I pray the strike is called off immediately. Our canteen inside the Federal High Court is closed; the striking workers didnt even allow us to go in and pick a few things that we wanted to take home. The most painful incident so far since the strike began was the wastage of food; we had prepared our food for sale (last) Tuesday, but when we arrived, the court gates were shut and we had to return home with the food. They all went to waste. Ms Modilims plight is not different from that of Alice Ukwure who operates a restaurant on the courts premises. The strike action has affected us seriously, because if the court is on, we workers naturally patronise us. You can see the car park at the Federal High Court is empty. The strike has impacted on our business negatively; our sales are quite low, Alice said. ADVERTISEMENT Court shutdown is like COVID-19 lockdown While a fruit seller, Juliana Ogah, is counting her losses at the Federal High Court, Abuja, a mechanic and vulcaniser, Seyi Emmanuel, compared the industrial action with the national lockdown that was occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic last year. Nigerian courts, like most of government institutions, were shut down last year as a result of the lockdown imposed to curtail the spread of coronavirus last year. Weeks into the lockdown, some courts around the country began skeletal sittings to attend to urgent matters; that that had little or no impact on the majority of those whose means of livelihood depends on buoyant court activities. According to Ms Ogah who sells perishables such as bananas, mangoes and cucumber, she and colleagues had incurred losses as a result of the strike. Since the strike started, we have not been able to sell much of my goods. I had just stocked up before the Easter break with the hope that I would start selling my fruits immediately after the holidays. But when I arrived the court on Tuesday, it was locked up. Now, my fruits, especially the bananas are going bad.& For Mr Emmanuel, a car mechanic, the grounding of the courts could be likened to the difficulties that came to Nigerians during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. I had said it this morning before you (the reporter) got here that this is a second lockdown just like it happened during the coronavirus pandemic. To even get money to buy lunch is a serious problem. To have two-square meal is a big deal as a result of the strike. I appeal to the government and striking court workers to call off the dispute in the interest of Nigerians. Crippling strike persists As the strike action lingers, a court user from Keffi in Nasarawa State, Suleiman Yahaya, on Friday, bemoaned the hardship that has been inflicted on Nigerians by the court closure. Mr Yahaya, who had travelled from Nasarawa to the FCT High Court on Friday, told PREMIUM TIMES that for over two years, he had been assisting an indigent widow to get a Letter of Administration from the probate department of the court to enable the widow claim her deceased husbands death benefits, but there was no headway. I applied for Letter of Administration for over two years now, but I have not been able to get it. A widow whom the letter of administration is being processed for has no money to come to the court. I came in on a two-day break to help the widow to sort out the letter issue out, only for me to learn today (last Friday) that the court is on strike. I feel like crying; its very painful in these hard times to waste fare and time coming to the court. My trip from Keffi to the FCT High Court cost me over N2000 apart from feeding. The government is supposed to do something. It is not good for citizens to experience frustration. The striking workers dont even allow court users to go near the court, he said. A mobile book seller and cybercafe operator at the FCT High Court, Kingsley Okoro, said his business depends solely on lawyers and litigants and as well as other court users. I sell law books while operating the cybercafe where litigants and court users like individuals who come for affidavits patronize us. But since the court shutdown took effect last Tuesday, I have not been able to make sales. Lawyers and litigants were stranded at the court premises that day, Mr Okoro said. Anarchy on the prowl Lawyers are some of the primary users of the courts. Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, a former Attorney General of Imo State, said the continuous closure of the court would spell doom for justice dispensation in Nigeria. Mr Ume, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), noted that it was bad enough for the court system in the country to be shut down in a day as it could lead to lawlessness. It is very unfortunate that the court system in Nigeria has to be shut down even for a day. The court system is what keeps the society in shape; what makes transgressors to be stopped and what gives victims of transgression a relief. When the (court) system is down, anarchy is on the prowl. But in any case, I would also like to let you know that the effect of the shutdown is as bad as the cause that made the shutdown to take place. He posited that elected officials in Nigeria use the constitution to get to power, &only to destroy and discard same document when they are called upon to uphold its provisions.& Mr Ume, who is a rapporteur of the Victims of Persecution, a non-governmental organisation, said, In the first place, what we are going through is an idea where people use the constitution to get into an office, and despise the provisions of the constitution. It is unheard of that a constitutional provision is being thrown into the dustbin; causing the JUSUN to go on strike. The independence of the judiciary which encompasses financial autonomy is provided in the constitution. Why is that constitutional first-line charge from the consolidated revenue is not being obeyed? Its only being obeyed in the breach. So, victims of persecution abhor a situation where it is JUSUN that would be calling on the government to obey the constitution. Obedience to the constitution should be the primary duty of the government; no one needs to remind them about it. 47,000 inmates trial stalled Going by the latest inmates, statistics published by the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) on its website on April 6, 2021, there are over 47,416 awaiting trial inmates in its facilities in the country. This figure constitutes about 72 per cent of the total 65,781 inmates in the countrys correctional facilities. It speaks volume about the contribution of awaiting trial inmates to the vexed issue of prison congestion in the country. Of the 65, 781 total inmates, only 18,365, about 28 per cent, are convicts who are serving jail terms. The courts shutdown across the country will definitely compound the woes of the prisons which are largely poorly funded by the federal government, and prisons overcrowded conditions will only make them more vulnerable to jailbreaks the country has seen in recent times . How to solve problem In proffering solutions to the debacle, Mr Ume noted that Nigeria does not need an executive order to implement financial autonomy for the judiciary. He said this is because an executive order cannot be superior to a constitutional provision. &The constitution has provided already for financial autonomy for the judiciary,& he said. I expect the judiciary to also live up to their powers; the various courts should sit up and declare the behaviour of the various governors who refuse to obey the first-line charge provision of the constitution, and declare their actions as unconstitutional as well as stop every budgetary allocation to the executive until they obey the constitutional provisions for judicial autonomy. Security votes to the governors should be nullified until they obey the constitutional provision. We should sit up and protect our constitution and not to be romantising with a breach of it. However, another lawyer, Yemi Akinseye-George, President, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, aligned himself with the earlier position of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) that the strike action was ill-timed. While expressing his support for the cause of the industrial dispute, Mr Akinseye George, also a SAN and professor of Law, appealed to the striking workers to suspend the strike and explore what he termed less disruptive means of actualising financial autonomy for the judiciary. While I support the objective of the strike which is to demand for compliance with the constitutional provisions and the Executive Order on financial autonomy for the judiciary, Im not sure the timing of the strike is right. The judiciary and the entire country are yet to recover from the devastating effects of COVID-19 and the attendant disruptions on the administration of justice. The JUSUN strike at this time smacks of an overdose of a good medicine. Having made the point loud and clear, the strike should be suspended. But the agitation for improved working conditions, financial autonomy and well-being of the judicial sector must continue through less disruptive means. Protesters reportedly tore down on Sunday the fence made by local authorities to prevent GraceLife Church members from worshipping prompting the government to send 200 armed riot police in response. None of the church's congregants were present when the incident occurred. The Blaze reported that the Alberta Health Services have physically closed the GraceLife Church by preventing access to their building in Edmonton, Alberta last Thursday. In line with this, the access roads to the building were closed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The media outlet cited tweets made by local news outfit Global Edmonton and Video Journalist Laura Krause on the matter. Global Edmonton said the building was physically closed with "fences" as a result of the church's alleged "flouting the province's COVID-19 health restrictions." While Krause said that the local police are "controlling traffic at every entrance" of the building and have even "completely blocked off" the north entrance. About 400 protesters gathered to sing hymns and listened to Bible readings outside the building, the Edmonton Journal noted. But as the crowds grew, support for the pastor was expressed and, later on, some started removing the fences. Organizers told the said persons to stop and "leave the fence alone!" but persisted. The riot police was then dispersed to control the crowd. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, representing GraceLife Church and Pastor James Coates, emphasized that church members were not present when the protesters tore the fence down. In a statement, the JCCF said in behalf of the church: "Grace Life Church appreciates the public outpouring of support to fully open churches in Alberta. Grace Life Church congregants were not at the protest that occurred on Sunday, April 11, 2021 near the Churchs facility. Grace Life Church recognizes the place for peaceful protest within the context of a democracy." According to Bridge City News Director Hal Roberts in a tweet, the organizers said that those who took down the fence were "not associated with the peaceful protest" they started with. "Organizers say people not associated with the peaceful protest are trying to tear down the fences at GraceLife church in Spruce Grove, AB. They are yelling 'Leave the fence alone!'," Roberts said on Sunday. The event viraled in social media and was covered by local news outfits. Rebel News' Ezra Levant said in his tweet that when the church was closed the "police raided it, turned it into an armed garrison, and occupied it" but still the members of the congregation came to worship as shown on Sunday's gathering that became unruly. "This isn't really about Covid, this is really about how the spirit of the age really wants to treat the church," Author Steve Deace commented on the issue retweeting a post made by Levant that reported the arrival of the police. This isnt really about Covid, this is really about how the spirit of the age really wants to treat the church. https://t.co/na9xX2FBjB Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) April 11, 2021 Levant reported that the sight at Edmonton of the protesters tearing down the face and the riot police stopping them was an unbelievably happening in Canada. "After the Christians tore down the fence that the government had built around the Edmonton church, the police sent in 200 heavily-armed riot police. That's the church building you see there. This is China stuff, Iran stuff. But it's happening in Canada," Levant said. The Blaze cited a CBC News interview of the lawyer of GraceLife Pastor James Coates, John Carpay, where he condemned the government for the dispersal of the riot police as "draconian and aggressive." "I'm very disappointed to see this kind of draconian and aggressive enforcement of health orders when these health orders themselves are being challenged in court. It shows a very aggressive government that is not answering questions about its policies, but wants to push its weight around and try and make an example out of GraceLife Church," Carpay said in the interview. (Update (April 13, 2021): Edited to include the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms' statement clarifying that none of GraceLife Church's members were present in the protest that led to the tearing down of the fence. An earlier version mistakenly reported that church members were there when it happened. None of them were present. We apologize for the mistake and the confusion it might've caused.) 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. NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) between April 29, 2016 and February 10, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important May 3, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased Range Resources 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 Range Resources class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2053.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 May 3, 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) Range Resources had improperly designated the status of its wells in Pennsylvania since at least 2013; (2) the foregoing conduct subjected the Company to a heightened risk of regulatory investigation and enforcement, as well as artificially decreased the Company's periodically reported cost estimates to plug and abandon its wells; (3) the Company was the subject of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") investigation from sometime between September 2017 to January 2021 for improperly designating the status of its wells; (4) the DEP investigation foreseeably would and ultimately did lead to the Company incurring regulatory fines; and (5) as a result, the Company'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 Range Resources class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2053.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 House Democrats still reeling from the Jan. 6 Capitol assault have found a new refuge: a group text chain in which they share everything from their anxieties to recipes and other attention-shifters. What they're saying: I liken it to that experience when I was in combat, said Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a decorated Army Ranger and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who's one of about 20 members in the Gallery Group." When you go through a traumatic experience and a situation like that together, it brings you together in a way that is very unique," Crow said. The group whose members hunkered down together in the House Gallery as a pro-Trump mob tried to break into the chamber was organized by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). Why it matters: Many lawmakers and staffers from both political parties still struggle with trauma and fear. Some members have added cameras to their homes to increase security back in their districts. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) told Axios she now has a bulletproof vest. Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) said she won't be holding town hall meetings with her constituents for the foreseeable future. Crow gripped her wrist on Jan. 6 as they laid on the floor of the Gallery. Aides to multiple Republican House members said their boss would not be comfortable speaking about the topics and would not facilitate connecting them to Axios. Three months later, Congress has yet to decide on permanent security measures, including recommendations from a month-old report by a Capitol review panel. The concern was rekindled on April 2, when a man rammed a car into the north entrance of the Capitol grounds. A Capitol Police officer was killed in the attack and two others were injured. Lawmakers were amid a two-week recess at the time, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday that Congress is "going to have to pass" legislation to improve on Capitol security "very soon." She gave no firm timeline, but lawmakers return this week. How it works: The Democrats on the group chat connect through a secure app, virtual Zoom meetings and in-person gatherings. It's a group with wide-spanning ages, geographic locations and ideologies who share their communal bond from riding out the attack. The Zoom meetings started four days after the insurrection, with the help of the Office of Employee Assistance. The congressional office routinely provides support services to the House of Representatives community. Flashback: This particular group of lawmakers was among the last to evacuate the House chamber. Some of them walked past rioters being held at gunpoint by police, while other law enforcement officials whisked them off to an undisclosed location. In the following days, the group text they'd begun became for many of them the first thing to read in the morning and the last before going to bed, Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) told Axios. Another member is freshman Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.). The 32-year-old was just days into the job on Jan 6. She ducked behind a chair in the Gallery and waited for guidance. The group's conversations have evolved to include discussions about their families, recipes and plans for the weekends. A white lives matter rally promoted in leaflets touting the Ku Klux Klan was vastly outnumbered on Sunday by Black Lives Matter supporters and others who showed up at the Huntington Beach pier to condemn hate speech. At the peak, at least 500 people gathered in Downtown Huntington Beach on either side of Pacific Coast Highway, and a series of skirmishes broke out. Shortly after 2:30 p.m., police declared an unlawful assembly at the nearby 5th Street and Walnut Avenue intersection to disperse what law enforcement officials described as an unruly crowd. The dispersal followed what had started earlier in the day as a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally, but exploded into chaos as apparent white lives protesters arrived, throwing insults and at times punches. But while the KKK fliers that appeared earlier in the week drew widespread revulsion and fear of an outbreak of large-scale violence, the event instead mostly resulted in small fights. The Huntington Beach white lives rally was one of dozens in cities around the country that reportedly drew far fewer people than expected. Its mission, according to posts on Telegram: To revive the White Racial Consciousness and to unify White People against white hate. A show of support for White victims of interracial crime. That drew the ire of organizations throughout the U.S. that monitor white supremacy. We are here to let the community know we will not be a reflection of hate, said Tory Johnson, founder of Blacks Lives Matter Huntington Beach. We are not here for war, but to protect ourselves. The BLM rally began at 11 a.m., with around 100 protesters holding signs and shouting through loudspeakers before a line of Huntington Beach police officers at the citys iconic pier. Police quickly made multiple arrests. In one case, a man with a backpack and a tactical vest who was shouting obscenities was quickly taken into custody by police, who said he was carrying a baton. The weekly crowd of beach visitors mingled with the protesters, as officers and deputies moved through the area around Main Street in vehicles and on horseback. Andy Lewandowski, 60, of Anaheim, wearing a Black Lives Matter cap, said he and his fellow demonstrators were on hand to help keep the community safe. The demonstrators brought with them a variety of handwritten signs, including ones saying No H8 in HB, White Silence is Violence, and Uproot Fascism Before It Grows. What do we want? Unity! the protesters chanted at points. When do we want it? Now! Michael Wauschek, 33, of Cerritos, blew on burning sage as he walked through the crowd. Im here to help keep the peace and show people we are not violent rioters and also to reject the KKK and white supremacy, he said. Around 1:30 p.m., a group of several dozen protesters began arriving in the area. They did not carry signs or chant, but many of them began confronting the Black Lives Matter demonstrators. The newly arriving demonstrators, who mainly came in pairs or small groups, quickly confronted protesters who had set up on the north side of PCH. Some were clad in dark t-shirts with an American flag, others in Trump gear. Arguments, and violence, quickly ensued. Initially, police did not appear to try to keep the protesters, counter-protesters and beach visitors apart. In one brief fight on the northeast corner of PCH and Main, a middle-aged woman approached a protester, mocked her Black Lives Matter chants and then, after a shouting match, threw coffee in the protesters face. Across the street, a black-clad protester chased an older man, spat at him and struck his back. On another corner of the intersection, punches flew in multiple directions as a group of people argued. One protester hit another on the chin, and that protester responded by shoving the other man down onto a bike. Police did intercede in some fights. At one point a man and a teenager waving large Trump and Dont Tread on Me flags were chased around the intersection by a big group of protesters. When the pair were surrounded, police on horseback waded into the crowd and took the man and teen away in an SUV. Amidst heated arguments and people chasing one another outside Jacks Garage Skateshop, Isabelle Soifer stood calmly with her sign showing support for BLM. The UCI student said she wasnt surprised that the white lives matter supporters appeared to show up just to cause chaos and start fights. Its all to be expected, Soifer, 29, said. (Racism) has dragged on for decades, for centuries. According to the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism, a new Telegram channel emerged on March 25 agitating for nationwide white lives matter marches and events to be held on April 11. Emily Kaufman, an investigative researcher with ADL, said that call to action grabbed attention with messaging that supports white grievance, or the idea that White people are victimized or marginalized, which is often the basis of white supremacist rhetoric, she said. And Ku Klux Klan propaganda promoting the rally showed up on lawns in Huntington Beach on Easter Sunday, a week after similar flyers appeared in Newport Beach. The leaflets featured Confederate flags and urged loyal white knights to say no to cultural genocide. Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said she was flooded with emails from residents who were offended by the leaflets and their hate speech. Coinciding with the white lives matter protest, the city and Orange County Human Relations said they would co-sponsor an online discussion about diversity Sunday afternoon. The ADL says the phrase white lives matter originated in early 2015 as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which emerged in response to police brutality against Black people. Kaufman said ADL does not consider white lives matter an organized group, though the Southern Poverty Law Center has categorized it as a hate group. Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, also said white lives matter appears to be a phrase rather than the name of a specific group. Thats not to say there is no cell of individuals or a small group that decided to form a little group by that name, he said. We just dont know. These types of catchphrases and bumper sticker slogans are typically used by a broader sub-culture rather than an organized group. Huntington Beach has attracted groups and individuals promoting white supremacy in the past. In the 1990s, it was relatively common to spot skinheads with Nazi tattoos. The city also has a history of rallies turning violent. In March 2017, a rally in support of then- President Trump turned into a violent brawl between supporters of the president and counter-protesters. Last May at the pier, as demonstrators protested the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, tensions mounted while those supporting Black Lives Matter and counter-demonstrators shouted at one another and a few fistfights broke out. Huntington Beach police fired pepper balls at those who would not disperse after an unlawful assembly was declared. As the demonstrations took place near the pier on Sunday, Orange County officials held a virtual event called HB Hate Free hosted by Mayor Kim Carr, Huntington Beach Councilwoman Natalie Moser and Alison Lehmann Edwards of OC Human Relations. Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen, who took part in the virtual event, recalled the racism she encountered as a Vietnamese refugee when she came to the United States as a child. I, too, have been the victim of hate, Nguyen said. Its unfortunate that KKK flyers were distributed around our county when we already are suffering from a rise in hate here and across the nation. Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris said that when she learned of the fliers she was horrified and shocked perhaps naively so. For all the progress we have made in Orange County, we have one of the highest concentrations of white supremacist groups in the entire nation, she said. But, she added, We are strong not in spite of our diversity, but because of it. On local Huntington Beach Facebook pages, both liberal and conservative, people expressed trepidation about attending either the white lives rally or the counter-protest. Some accused liberal members of the City Council of promoting the white lives rally or even planting fake flyers about it as an opportunity to further their political agendas. A website devoted to proving the rally a left-wing hoax posed the question, Have you ever wondered how a perfectly executed smear campaign comes together so quickly and seamlessly for the far-left progressive machine? On the other side, some worried that people at the rally would draw counter-protesters into fights. I was raised in Compton and my heart is with Black Lives Matter, said Elaine Rodriguez Hirsch, who moved to Huntington Beach after high school in 1964. I feel bad not going. I had my Compton tee-shirt laid out and ready to put on. But then I pictured myself in handcuffs face-down on the concrete for screaming something crazy. White nationalism makes me way too emotional. ___ (c)2021 the Daily News (Los Angeles) Visit the Daily News (Los Angeles) at www.dailynews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 20:47:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The first batch of China's Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Cameroon Sunday evening as the country is struggling with a new surge of COVID-19 infections. It is the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines arriving from outside the central African country, where the pandemic broke out in March last year. The Chinese vaccines were received by Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute at the Nsimalen International Airport in the capital Yaounde. "I would like to thank the Chinese government and the Chinese people for this gift which is a testimony of good relations we have with China," Ngute told the press. He said that the government will "as from today" begin dispatching the vaccines, with health workers being prioritized. "As far as I am concerned, I am prepared to take this vaccine anytime because health professionals have told us that is it the best way to end this pandemic which is in our country for over a year now," Ngute said. Speaking to the press at the handover ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon Wang Yingwu said the batch of vaccines is a reflection of the friendly relations between the two countries, which this year celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Wang said that being safe and effective and are widely trusted by the international community, Chinese vaccines can surely offer much help to Cameroon's fight against COVID-19. He also said China would honor its commitment to working toward a fair distribution of vaccines in the world, especially in developing countries. Cameroon had planned to introduce the AstraZeneca vaccines before the government suspended the plan in March due to safety concerns. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Myanmar security forces killed more than 80 anti-junta demonstrators Thursday and Friday, according to reporting Saturday, as activists demanding the restoration of the ousted civilian government again took to the streets in the southeast of the country. Myanmar Now news, witnesses, and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said the killings occurred when government troops fired grenades at protesters in the city of Bago, about 65 kilometers northeast of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. Myanmar Now reported 82 people were killed while the AAPP, a local monitoring group that tallies deaths in the country, reported that "over 80 anti-coup protesters were killed by security forces in Bago on Friday." The United Nations said in a statement Saturday it has received reports that heavy artillery was used against civilians in Bago and that injured people were not receiving medical treatment. "The violence must end immediately," the UN statement said. "We call on the security forces to allow medical teams to treat the wounded." Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The UN and international partners working to support a lasting peace and democratic election process across Somalia, said on Sunday that they were highly concerned by the current situation there, calling on Somali leaders to prioritise the national interest and resolve their political impasse Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 14:46:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close URUMQI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Alataw Pass, a major land port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has seen 1,500 China-Europe freight trains pass through this year, achieving the number 42 days earlier than in 2020, the customs authority said. Loaded with auto parts, engineering equipment, furniture and other products, a train from Sassnitz, Germany, became the 1,500th China-Europe freight train to cross the pass last week, said Li Hongfeng, an official with the customs of Alataw Pass. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the freight trains have played a crucial role in helping stabilize the international industrial and supply chains due to the limited air and sea transport. The customs said they have implemented measures such as paper-free operations to boost customs clearance efficiency. Alataw Pass launched the China-Europe freight train service in 2011. At present, 22 routes are running through the pass, reaching 13 countries such as Germany and Poland. The imported goods carried by the trains include automobiles and parts, timber and cotton yarn, while home appliances and daily necessities are among the exported items. Enditem Turkey wants Russia and Ukraine to resolve their current disagreements in a peaceful manner at the soonest possible time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. "Yesterday we met with Ukrainian President [Vladimir Zelensky]. We want them to find peaceful solutions to their disputes as soon as possible. We are doing our best in this regard," the Millyet daily reported citing Erdogan, who did not elaborate what Ankaras efforts were in question. Meanwhile, on Saturday after his talks with Zelensky, Erdogan said that Turkey stayed ready to provide "the required support" to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine based on the Minsk accords. The Turkish leader was hopeful that "the alarming escalation <> will stop at the soonest possible time, the ceasefire will hold and the conflict will be solved via a dialogue based on the Minsk agreements." "We are ready to provide any necessary support in this regard," TASS cited the Turkish leader as sying. Researchers use satellite imagery to track interactions between cows and elk at the interface of wildland and rangeland Cows don't seem to have a whole lot going on most of the time. They're raised to spend their days grazing in the field, raised for the purpose of providing milk or meat, or producing more cows. So when students in UC Santa Barbara ecologist Doug McCauley's lab found themselves staring intently at satellite image upon image of bovine herds at Point Reyes National Seashore, it was funny, in a "Far Side" kind of way. "There were about 10 undergrads involved in the project, spotting cows from space -- not your typical student research and always amusing to see in the lab," McCauley said. They became proficient at discerning the top view of a cow from the top view of rocks or the top view of other animals, he added. "After about eight months, we ended up with more than 27,000 annotations of cattle across 31 images," said Lacey Hughey, an ecologist with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute who was a Ph.D. student in the McCauley Lab at the time, and the leader of the cow census. "It took a long time." All of the rather comical cow counting had a serious purpose, though: to measure the interactions between wildlife and livestock where their ranges meet or overlap. Roughly a third of the United States' land cover is rangeland, and where these grazing areas abut wildland, concerns over predation, competition and disease transmission are bound to arise. Such is the case at Point Reyes National Seashore, a picturesque combination of coastal bluffs and pastureland about an hour's drive north of San Francisco. As part of a statewide species restoration plan, native tule elk were reintroduced to the park's designated wilderness area in the 1990s, but they didn't stay in their little corner of paradise for very long. "Some of them actually ended up swimming across an estero and establishing this herd -- which is known as the Drake's Beach Herd -- near the pastoral zone of the park, which is leased to cattle ranchers," said Hughey, the lead author of a collaborative study with the University of Nevada, Reno, that appears in the journal Biological Conservation. Cattle fences don't stop elk either, she said; they can easily cross or break through them to enter pastures. The situation was also somewhat unique in that the Drake's Beach elk live in the area year-round, thanks in large part to the stable climate, so grazing pressure on the land is constant. Where's the beef? "So we were wondering, how do elk and cattle co-exist in this landscape?" Hughey said. "The story between elk and cattle is actually pretty complex. We know from other studies that elk and cattle can be competitors, but they can also be facilitators. We also didn't know very much about which habitats elk preferred in this part of the park and how the presence of cattle might influence an elk's decision to spend its time in one place over another." The researchers set out to answer these questions with two large datasets generated by the park -- GPS monitoring data from collared elk, and field-based transect surveys of the elk. What was missing, however, was information on the cows. "We knew quite a bit about where the elk were, but we didn't have any information about where the cows were, except that they were inside the fences," she said. Knowing the precise number and location of cows relative to the elk herd would be necessary to understand how both species interact in a pastoral setting. "Because the elk data was collected in the past, we needed a way to obtain information on cattle populations from the same time period. The only place we could get that was from archived, high-resolution satellite imagery," Hughey said. Hence, the satellite cowspotting. Their conclusion? Elk have acclimated to cattle at Point Reyes by avoiding cow pastures in general and by choosing separate foraging sites on the occassions that they co-occur. Taken together, these findings suggest that elk select habitat in a manner "that reduce[s] the potential for grazing conflicts with cattle, even in cases where access to forage is limited." In addition to helping shed light on the ecological relationship between cows and tule elk at Point Reyes, satellite imaging can also define their areas of overlap -- an important consideration in the assessment of disease risk, the researchers said. "There's a disease of concern that's been found in the elk herd and also in the cattle, called Johne's disease," Hughey said. The bacteria that cause it can persist in the environment for more than a year, she added, so even though cows and elk rarely share space at the same time, there is still a theoretical risk of transmission in this system. Sharing space According to the researchers, the satellite imaging technique is also widely applicable to other areas on the globe where livestock and wildlife ranges overlap. "The issue of livestock and wildlife being in conflict is a major challenge in a bunch of different contexts in the U.S. and beyond," McCauley said. "It has been surprisingly hard to figure out exactly how these wild animals share space with domestic animals." These new methods, he said, "will have a transformative impact on understanding how livestock use wildlands -- and how wildlife use grazing lands." Next stop: Kenya and Tanzania. Working with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Microsoft AI for Good, University of Glasgow, and University of Twente -- and thanks in large part to the data generated by those cow-tracking UC Santa Barbara undergrads -- Hughey and colleagues are training an algorithm to detect and identify animals in the plains of East Africa, such as wildebeest and, of course, cows. ### Research in the paper was also contributed by Kevin T. Shoemaker, Kelley M. Stewart, and J. Hall Cushman at the University of Nevada, Reno. (TNS) As the pandemic worsened, so too did the mental health of teenagers across the country.Hospitals have been raising alarms during the pandemic that the teen suicide risk, already the second leading cause of death between adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, appears to be rising. The director of the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence told The Providence Journal they have seen a " massive pandemic of mentally ill adolescents ," to the point where three-quarters of the patients in the hospital were adolescents who wanted to hurt themselves because of mental illness.Not only has the pandemic isolated teens from school and their friends, but it has also isolated them from the traditional ways of seeking and receiving help through in-person services.But a pre-pandemic development may offer a lasting solution, and a potential lifeline: text message crisis services.Crisis hotlines exist, but many of those services are geared toward adults in crisis, and require calling in on a phone - a medium many teenagers are not comfortable with.Because pandemic or not, young people use online chat and text features more often than phone calls, says Michele Giordano, vice president of Digital Crisis Services at the Trevor Project.The Trevor Project is the worlds largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth. The high suicide rates for LGBTQ youth - who are four times more likely to seriously consider suicide, plan for it, and attempt it than their peers - meant The Trevor Project needed to adapt well before the pandemic to reach that population. So they put their services where teens are: on their phones, launching TrevorChat in 2010, and TrevorText in 2014.Online chat and texting services serve many high-priority needs for LGBTQ youth: flexibility, 24/7 access, privacy - especially important if an LGBTQ teen is living in an unsupportive environment, and the ability to control how they present to avoid being misgendered, Giordano said. But some of those priorities, like privacy and flexibility, are also important to just about all teenagers.Conversations around technology can often seem impersonal, but for us, investing in best-in-class technology has meant being able to train more counselors, serve more youth in crisis, and save young lives," said Giordano.Since the onset of COVID-19, the volume of youth whove reached out to the Trevor Projects crisis services has increased significantly, Giordano said, at times double the organizations pre-COVID volume. The " widespread anxiety, physical distancing, and economic strain" have created and compounded problems, she said.From Aug. 1, 2019 to July 31, 2020, the Trevor Project served over 150,000 crisis contacts via phone calls, texts and online chats. That includes 85,000 calls to the TrevorLifeline and 66,000 contacts to the organizations digital services.While the Trevor Project is focused on LGBTQ youth, the multiplatform approach is one Giordano believes organizations in the crisis intervention and suicide prevention space should try.And some already are. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline has an online chat feature through their website, and the Crisis Text Line offers free 24/7 access to counselors by texting "Home" to 741741 or by Facebook Messenger - though neither group is specifically geared toward youth and teenagers.For organizations looking to start their own text services, Giordano encouraged leveraging of tech partnerships, and a consideration of how they can modernize platforms, and scale their services to reach more young people who need support in times of crisis. The Principality of Monaco said it has reached a crucial stage in the construction of its country pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai with the installation of solar panels at the facility. From now on, the electricity produced by these solar panels will supply the Dubai power grid network. The electricity generated during the one-year period starting from March 1, 2021 will be given back to Monaco pavilion during the 6 months of its operation at Expo 2020 in order to offset its consumption. Last week, a high-level delegation from Monaco comprising Madame Mireille Pettiti, President of Monaco Inter Expo, Richard Milanesio, Advisor to the Sovereign Princes Cabinet, and Thomas Battaglione, General Director of Societe Monegasque d'Electricite et de Gaz (SMEG), essential partner of Monaco Pavilion took part in the ceremony to mark the solar panel installation work at the Expo 2020 site. It was attended by Reem Al Hashimi, Minister of State for the International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai, Pierre Dartout, Minister of State of Monaco and Albert Croesi, General Commissioner of the Monegasque Pavilion.-TradeArabia News Service Thank you for tuning in to episode 108 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. This episode is brought to you by our friends at PSCU. As the nations premier payments CUSO, PSCU proudly supports the success of more than 1,500 credit unions. Today I sat down with Tonita Webb, the new CEO of Verity Credit Union. We talked about her new role and her journey from the military to credit unions. We also discussed her passion for serving the underserved and creating lending practices that are more inclusive for everyone. As we started our conversation, Tonita shared her reaction when getting the call to be the next CEO of Verity Credit Union. Listen in for Tonitas goals for this next step and what she plans to do to help the next generation of leaders. Tonita believes life prepared credit unions for the pandemic shift and that we can stay relevant by maximizing technology. Tonita also talks about the challenges many minority groups face when it comes to lending practices and how it fuels her passion to help the underserved. We chat about ways credit unions have the ability to fill in the gap between opportunities and those that are in need. Tonita shares the importance of teaching people to be different and allowing them to be human, and gives examples of what this looks like when leveraging member risk. With the rapid-fire questions, we find out the oddly satisfying item Tonitas husband purchased that she cannot live without. We discussed an opportunity Tonita said no to that she is so glad she did and what she was like in high school. We learn who Tonita thinks about when she hears the word success and how that person has played a vital role in the development of her character. Enjoy my conversation with Tonita Webb! Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher Books mentioned on The CUInsight Experience podcast: Book List How to find Tonita: Tonita Webb, CEO of Verity Credit Union tonita.webb@veritycu.com www.veritycu.com LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube Show notes from this episode: A big shout-out to our friends at PSCU, an amazing sponsor of The CUInsight Experience podcast. Thank you! Check out the awesome work Tonita and her team are doing at Verity Credit Union here. If you would like to learn more about Red-Lining and its effects on lending practices, click here. Want to know more about Lupus and how you can help? Click here. Hear more from Tonita at the CUInsight Mini-Con: Change! Register here. Shout-out: Chairman Todd Harper Shout-out: Amazon Shout-out: Tonitas husband & children Shout-out: Jill Nowacki Shout-out: Tonitas grandfather & grandmother Shout-out: Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Place mentioned: Berlin, Germany Shout-out: Tonitas mom Shout-out: Tonitas family Shout-out: Tonitas aunt and uncles Shout-out: Tonitas son Shout-out: Seattle Childrens Hospital Term mentioned: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Shout-out: Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union (now Seattle Credit Union) Shout-out: Seattle SuperSonics (Sonics) Shout-out: Kahoot! Shout-out: Revolution Toaster Album mentioned: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill Album mentioned: Ready to Die by The Notorious B.I.G. Album mentioned: Criminal Minded by BDP Book mentioned: All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks Book mentioned: How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi Previous guests mentioned in this episode: Todd Harper, Jill Nowacki (episodes 4, 18, 37, 64, 82 & 101) In This Episode: [02:35] Welcome to the show, Tonita! [03:20] Tonita shares how she felt when she got the call that she was the new CEO of Verity Credit Union. [05:39] Is there anything youve learned through the pandemic that you will take with you going forward? [08:34] Tonita speaks about how she balances her family with a husband and four children with her position as CEO of Verity. [12:21] Tonita discusses how she makes time to have strategic thinking sessions even when she is putting out fires left and right. [15:07] Who do you surround yourself with and how have they helped you get where you are today? [18:31] Tonita talks about the passion she has for serving the underserved has helped guide her vision for the credit union. [21:00] Tonita speaks about her family facing discrimination and how that made her angry enough to try to make changes. [22:52] How do you stay purpose driven in what you do when you dont have the same struggles you had when you were young? [25:06] Tonita says she is fighting for people like her mom. [28:25] Tonita shares what she believes credit unions need to fundamentally change to stay relevant in the future. [31:02] Tonita shares a conversation she had about the credit journey. [33:12] Tonita discusses when she knew she wanted to make credit unions her career. [38:08] Tonita was told one time she would never be CEO because she didnt come through finance. [40:40] Is there something your team at Verity has heard you say so often they can finish your sentence [41:46] Tonita talks about what she does when she has a day off. [44:33] Tonita speaks about the opportunity she said no to that she is so glad she did. [45:35] Tonitas husband bought a toaster for the house that she cant imagine living without now. [46:27] Tonita talks about the kid she was in high school and if she got into memorable trouble. [47:26] Is there a book you think everyone should read? [49:04] Tonitas grandfather is the first person who comes to mind when she hears the word success. [50:15] Whats the best album of all time? [53:05] Thank you for being on the show! New York towns, villages and cities have a huge decision to make by Dec. 31: Will they opt out of permitting marijuana retail sales in their communities? This is big, said DeWitt Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko. Its not something to be taken lightly. On March 31, New York made recreational marijuana legal. Towns and villages cant do anything to limit a residents right to possess or consume weed. But lawmakers gave communities a chance to bail out from retail outlets. Municipalities can pass a local law opting out of allowing pot dispensaries within their boundaries. If a local government does nothing, the community is automatically in. Any town has to pass that opt-out law by Dec. 31. It can be rescinded by the board at any date, experts say. New York is the 15th state to make recreational pot legal. People may possess up to three ounces of marijuana and grow marijuana plants. In communities across NY, local leaders are starting a conversation about opting out. Local government leaders contacted by Syracuse.com|The Post Standard said theyre considering the decision. Some say they want to ask for direct public input, and others believe its up to elected officials to make a decision themselves for the good of the community. Some want more information. Peter Baynes, executive director for the New York Conference of Mayors, which has been studying the rules, said he thinks more local governments might decide to opt out at first, because they can change their minds later if it doesnt work out. But if they dont opt out by Dec. 31, theyve missed their chance, he said. If municipalities decide to allow it, they can regulate it by setting the hours, place and manner, said John Kolesar, a lawyer with Harris Beach in New York City. They can put the retail dispensaries or on-site consumption businesses into a certain zone or district. The residents of a community can force a binding vote if they disapprove of the governments decision to opt out, Kolesar said. That potential allows residents to voice their opinion,' he said. Village boards are the only ones who can choose on their own to put the decision to a binding vote of the public, Baynes said. The village would first have to opt out, then make the public vote part of that law. Syracuse City Mayor Ben Walsh has said he wont propose opting out, said Greg Loh, the citys chief policy officer. In comments last week, Walsh said he sees the new legislation as an opportunity to generate new economic activity in Syracuse, although he wants to proceed with caution to address any health and safety concerns of residents. North Syracuse Village Mayor Gary Butterfield said hed opt out if it was his choice alone, but it isnt. He thinks his village will poll residents. With a junior high school located on the border of his village, Butterfield said hes wary. If it was up to me, Id let em buy it in the town or city, but not here in our village, he said. Skaneateles Town Supervisor Janet Aaron also wants to seek out public input, either with an in-person hearing, a survey and/or emailed comments from residents. Fayetteville Mark Olson also likes that idea but wants to talk with the other mayors, town supervisor, the police chief and school district. Why not just put it to a vote and let the public speak, as it affects everyone in the community?' Olson said. I like that rather than us choosing. Municipalities have to consider that if they opt out, theyd lose the sales tax revenue of 4 percent while watching sales continue just over their borders. Clay Town Supervisor Damian Ulatowski said he was surprised at how fast the legislation passed and doesnt feel theres much time to make a decision. He has questions and says there is a lot of smoke to clear' before the town decides. A village can decide to opt out, while the town its in can make a different decision. Kolesar said it makes sense for them to collaborate. Can people smoke pot on public sidewalks? Baynes said municipalities can ban smoking marijuana on public sidewalks, but they would have to adopt or have the same rules for smoking and vaping. Its all or nothing, he said. We want to do our due diligence before we can make a decision,' Ulatowski said. Looking at the implications matters, DeWitts Michalenko said. What does this mean for schools, teens, families, driving while impaired?' he said. We really need a public forum and maybe an open comment period. Some provisions of the legislation, according to Baynes and Sarah Brancatella, legislative director and counsel for the New York Association of Towns: Retail outlets selling marijuana can only sell to those 21 and up. If a government opts in, the retailer still has to get a license to sell cannabis or to allow it to be consumed at their business. Dispensaries and sites allowing public consumption of pot can be limited to specific areas through zoning. Local laws can regulate the time, place and manner in which they operate, as long as it is reasonable. Towns, villages and cities also can set up their own marijuana smoking rules for property owned or controlled by them, such as a park or playground. Local governments cant limit the number of dispensaries but the new state Cannabis Control Board can. When issuing a license, that board can consider factors such as the number of outlets and how close they are to each other, traffic, noise and more. Retail dispensaries or on-site consumption sites cant be located within 500 feet of school grounds or within 200 feet of a house of worship. Marijuana is subject to the same laws as smoking or vaping tobacco. It cant be smoked in a workplace, bar or restaurant, an indoor pool area, public transportation, child care facilities, colleges, hospitals, indoor arenas, zoos or bingo areas. It also cant be smoked with 100 feet of school grounds or on a school bus. Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime at 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com *** EDITORS NOTE: On May 20, NY Cannabis Insider in collaboration with Advance Media New York hosts a virtual business networking event, featuring some of New York states most prominent industry leaders. Tickets are limited. Robert Nichols is the state senator for Senate District 3. First elected in 2006, Nichols represents 19 counties, including much of East Texas and part of Montgomery County. He can be reached at 699-4988 or toll-free at (800) 959-8633. His email address is robert.nichols@senate.texas.gov. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Albuquerque police say theyre investigating the second homicide reported in the city on Sunday afternoon. Rebecca Atkins, an Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman, said just before 5 p.m. that responding officers found a man dead in an alley near the 1300 block of Wyoming NE. Earlier Sunday afternoon, Atkins said a woman was found dead at the Desert Sands Inn, 13317 Central Ave, which is near Central and Tramway. Police are investigating the womans death as a homicide. Police havent released any other details about the cases. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Plans to build a viaduct to carry Melbournes airport rail link within metres of a historic flour mill have alarmed developers and Victorias most influential heritage lobby group. The state government last month revealed concept designs for the long-awaited, $8-$13 billion airport rail project through the citys western suburbs. Work is set to start next year, with the line to open in 2029. The 100-year-old John Darling and Son flour mill next to Albion station in Sunshine. Credit:Wayne Taylor The plans include a 50-metre-high rail overpass that will start near Sunshine station and continue for less than two kilometres along the existing rail corridor. The twin tracks will soar over Albion station, Anderson Road and Ballarat Road which is itself an overpass and pass close to the 100-year-old John Darling and Son flour mill. The overpass will then descend to follow the existing freight line and continue, mostly at ground level, towards the airport. April 12, 2021 The digital sector has been growing rapidly, but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated that growth far beyond even the most optimistic projections. Over a year into the pandemic, it seems strange to remember that most businesses operated as physical businesses which were supplemented by digital offerings. Even online giants like Amazon had started experimenting with opening physical stores. Covid-19 has transformed the way businesses operate around the world. Businesses that had been centered on in-person service delivery, have struggled to adapt their workforce and operations to new situations. A typical example is banking, despite banks offering varying online options, were still largely dependent on branches where people could go with queries and for customer service. But while they were struggling to adapt their businesses to new ways of working, competing online banks, which might even have been using white-labelled products from traditional banks, were ready to take customers who could not, or were reluctant, to use their local branch. The rapid growth that digital businesses have seen, however, has not been without challenges. When growth outstripped even optimistic business plans, businesses had to look at how they could rapidly scale their businesses to match. And this is where BPO companies in the Philippines were able to help. The Philippine BPO industry was ready to step in, in large part because of all the advantages the sector had before the pandemic struck. The BPO industry in the Philippines has numerous advantages over other countries. A large part of its growth to become a world-leader has been due to the lower labour costs it offers, typically around 50% the cost of in-house or domestic BPO provision. The size of the industry also means it can scale quickly. There are over 1.2 million Filipinos who work in the BPO sector, which along with the high levels of education and English-fluency in the country, mean it can scale quickly to meet new challenges and demands. Indeed, the quality of staff available has been one of the key attractors for businesses looking to outsource. Ralf Ellspermann, CEO of PITON-Global, an award-winning BPO provider in Manila, explained, the Philippines offers great English, a vast pool of educated and skilled agents and a close cultural affinity to the West. When you have similar service capabilities in, for example, India, the outsourcing options created by the local workforce in the Philippines makes it a preferred destination. The Philippines sector has also taken advantage of digital itself. Premier providers have invested just as much in their infrastructure as they have in their staff. This has allowed them to respond efficiently and effectively to their own COVID-19 challenges. Unlike the stereotypical view of jam-packed call centres, many staff members were able to work from home. Additionally, the increased efficiencies provided by AI assistants and improved processes meant that for those contracts that needed to be delivered from BPO facilities, the number of staff required could be reduced to safe levels for COVID-19 without impacting on service quality. In the end, the qualities that made BPO in the Philippines so attractive even before the rise of digital are helping it thrive in the new age. When businesses needed to rapidly increase their business volumes, the BPO industry in the Philippines was ready step up. And regardless of whether a business model is digital or not, providing good customer service is vital, so choosing a BPO provider such as PITON-Global that can ensure high-quality service for back-office and customer service is a priority. Ellspermann stressed that, in the end, it is quality that matters most. Ive worked in the Philippines BPO industry for over 20 years but have never seen anything like the last 12 months. We are getting inquiries from high-growth businesses in e-health, fintech, gaming, e-commerce, the whole range of digital. They all share the same demand, while cost is important, they choose us because we share their commitment to quality and deliver it to customers. Even with digital, the importance of customer satisfaction is paramount. South Korea's foreign minister said Monday that the Islamic holy month of Ramadan holds a greater significance than ever at a time when the world is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic. Chung Eui-yong made the comment on the ministry's Twitter page as he extended his best wishes to Muslim communities around the world that are set to begin the fasting month this week. "More than ever, the worldwide pandemic has led us to appreciate the meaning of Ramadan, which is solidarity and generosity towards those in need ... the meaning of Ramadan has gained greater significance and strength," he said. Noting that Korea has been actively engaging in global efforts to fight COVID-19, Chung suggested that "the same spirit of solidarity and cooperation" should be encouraged in the international community so as to overcome the pandemic together. Ramadan is observed during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar to mark the first revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn till dusk. (Yonhap) IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is scheduled announce Q4 result today, 12 April 2021. Infosys said that the board of directors of the company will consider a proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares on 14 April 2021. Castrol India on Friday (9 April) announced that it has entered into an exclusive supply arrangement with ki Mobility Solutions in India. As part of the arrangement, Castrol India will supply lubricant products to ki Mobility's multi-brand workshops in India. Tata Communications and Bahrain Internet Exchange (BIX), its exclusive cable landing partner in Bahrain, extend their partnership to offer high speed internet connectivity with very low latency for a superior quality and seamless viewing, gaming and download experience for customers in Bahrain. NATCO Pharma announced that its marketing and distribution partner Alvogen Pine Brook LLC, has received tentative approval for our Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Ibrutinib Tablets 560mg, 420mg, 280mg and 140mg strengths (generic for IMBRUVICA), from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Sands Capital Management, a discretionary investment manager registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, purchased 39.36 lakh equity shares, or 2.98% stake, of Jubilant Foodworks. Balrampur Chini Mills said that credit ratings agency ICRA has reaffirmed the long and short-term credit ratings of the company as [ICRA] AA and [ICRA] A1+, respectively. The board of directors of Solara Active Pharma Sciences on 9 April 2021 approved the amalgamation of Aurore Life Sciences, Empyrean Lifesciences and Hydra Active Pharma Sciences with the company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Biden Moves to Revive Obama Plan to Federalize Suburban Zoning Regulations Buried in the nearly 18,000-word White House Fact Sheet on President Joe Bidens proposed $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan infrastructure bill is one paragraph that could turn the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into a zoning commission for suburban America. For decades, exclusionary zoning lawslike minimum lot sizes, mandatory parking requirements, and prohibitions on multifamily housinghave inflated housing and construction costs and locked families out of areas with more opportunities, the fact sheet claims. President Biden is calling on Congress to enact an innovative, new competitive grant program that awards flexible and attractive funding to jurisdictions that take concrete steps to eliminate such needless barriers to producing affordable housing. The anti-exclusionary zoning law proposal, the nomination of former Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) as HUD secretary, and his signing of an executive order on housing discrimination, are key parts of Bidens fulfilling a 2020 campaign promise to reinstate a controversial Obama administration program known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). Less than a week after her confirmation by the Senate as HUD secretary, Fudge was asked about reinstating AFFH and, in response, she told White House reporters that the Biden administration is moving forward with such plans. We are looking at it. Certainly, we know that fair housing is, in fact, the law of the land, and we want to use every tool that we have. I think that the prior administration did roll back some fair housing tools that we have. So, were looking at how we can go back and make those better and get them re-implemented, if possible, Fudge said. The Obama AFFH conditioned receipt by local and municipal officials of billions of dollars of federal assistance on their acceptance of a HUD-approved plan to eliminate zoning policies defined as discriminatory. The Biden AFFH revival goes several steps further by providing specific examples of what it considers discriminatory zoning and creating billions of dollars in new HUD grant programs as incentives for local and municipal officials to submit to federal supervision of their decisions. A former Fudge House colleague, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), has just such a proposal for a new HUD grant program. That approach, according to the Ethics and Public Policy Center senior fellow Stanley Kurtz, is nothing less than a prescription to federalize zoning functions that for centuries have been the prerogative of officials closest to residents of the neighborhoods most directly affected. Bidens plan rips the heart out of local zoning authority. What, if anything, remains when the Biden administration is done wont matter, because de facto control over the suburbs will have passed to the federal government, Kurtz told The Epoch Times on April 12. Kurtz believes the ultimate goal of advocates of the Biden plan is to eliminate single-family suburban neighborhoods entirely and to replace them with densely packed urban high rises. But he expects the plan to become a political liability for Biden. The Biden administrations plan to kill off single-family zoning will receive a great boost if the Senate changes its rules on reconciliation, Kurtz told The Epoch Times. He was referring to a recent Senate parliamentarians decision that may enable Senate Democrats to gain passage of the massive Biden jobs plan with no Republican votes. But once Americans wake up to the plans of Biden and the Democrats to end suburban single-family zoning, the political blowback will be fierce. Whether before the infrastructure bill is passed, or after it begins to take effect, the Democrats will face a political reckoning for their overreach, he said. Kurtz warned in a previously published analysis of Bidens AFFH planning that it will prompt a flood of litigation by nonprofit advocates against local and municipal officials. Theres more danger in store for Americas suburbs in Bidens current proposal than meets the eye, however. If I were administering Bidens various federal housing programs, I would sucker well-off suburbs into accepting grants on lenient terms, Kurtz wrote. The trick is that once a jurisdiction accepts a HUD grant, it has to sign a statement promising to affirmatively further fair housing. Now that Biden is going to revive the old Obama-Biden AFFH rule, that pledge can be used by activist nonprofits or the administration itself to sue localities for failing to meet the outrageously expanded definition of that term set forth in Obamas AFFH. It was suits like this that dragged Westchester County, New York, through years of federal control and torment. Just the threat of such suits intimidated Democratic officials in Dubuque, Iowa, into surrendering their citys self-rule to the Obama administration. Congressional correspondent Mark Tapscott may be reached at mark.tapscott@epochtimes.nyc. DEAR ABBY: I am a senior male. I understand I may have some beliefs that others find old-fashioned. However, I consciously try to be tolerant of others' feelings and beliefs. That said, my problem is with my younger brother, who is a homosexual. I have always tried to ignore that side of his life and, consequently, we have always had a good relationship. He lives in another state, so we only talk on the telephone. A couple of months ago while we were talking, the subject of sexuality came up, and I told him I find the fact that he is gay "disgusting." I know it was a poor choice of words. I merely meant to say that I, myself, am and always have been totally heterosexual. I have never had any sexual interest in members of my own sex. I never meant my comment to be judgmental of my brother or anyone else. I left several messages apologizing for anything I said that he found objectionable. Now, when I try to contact him, he doesn't answer my phone calls. Abby, I miss my brother. I truly love him, and I don't want to lose all contact with him. If you have any advice for me, please give it to me. I'm desperate and can think of nothing I might be able to do to restore our relationship. Please help me. -- FEELS LIKE A FOOL IN WASHINGTON DEAR FEELS LIKE: I have never understood why so many straight people spend so much time obsessing about what gay people might be doing behind closed doors. THAT, to me, is disgusting. I'll be frank. After what you said to your brother, he would have to be a saint to forgive you. He is doing what emotionally healthy people do, erasing a negative influence from his life. You can continue trying to apologize by penning a heartfelt letter of apology and remorse, promising to never use those words again, and sending it to your brother. But if he continues to be unreceptive, you will have to live with it. DEAR ABBY: I met a man online seven months ago. We hit it off right away. I checked to make sure he wasn't a "catfisher" and everything checked out. We talk on the phone at least twice a day, Facebook Messenger and video chat. He sent me a card for my birthday along with some money. I have developed strong feelings for him, and he has told me he loves me. He has told me many times he wants to meet, but we couldn't do it because of the pandemic. He's a jewelry designer trying to get his business back up before he loses it. He's afraid to lose everything. I don't know what to do. Should I keep waiting or just stay friends with him? We really care about each other, but circumstances prevent us from meeting. -- BROKENHEARTED IN NEW YORK DEAR BROKENHEARTED: Because "circumstances" prevent you from meeting this man in person, try HARD to regain your balance and stay friends. Although you think you know him, until you finally meet in person, you really don't. Even if you confirmed he works in jewelry design, he may still be hiding something from you. Often when a significant other keeps making excuses not to meet, there's a good reason for it and not always what you want to hear. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. The coronavirus pandemic could fuel organised crime for years to come in Europe, a continent already at "breaking point" from an unprecedented flood of cocaine, the EU's policing agency warned Monday. In its flagship four-yearly report, Europol said increasingly violent criminal gangs are likely to muscle in on legitimate businesses left vulnerable by the economic damage caused by Covid-19. Criminals are also offering fake coronavirus vaccines and home-testing kits as they seek to capitalise on global efforts to recover from the virus, the Hague-based agency said. "We are at the breaking point," Europol's director Catherine De Bolle told AFP in an interview. "The impact on the lives of citizens, on the economy on the rule of law is too big. That's what we see from this... report." The "Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment" is an 87-page report issued ever four years which will be used by EU member states to set crime-fighting priorities until 2025. "A prolonged pandemic will put heavy strain on European and global economies" and a predicted economic recession "may shape serious and organised crime for years to come," the report said. Europol said the drug trade in particular was fuelling corruption across the EU. Read | Hong Kong police make record 700kg cocaine bust "Unprecedented quantities of cocaine are trafficked to the EU from Latin America, generating multi-billion-euro profits" for criminals in both Europe and South America, the agency said. The purity of the cocaine arriving in Europe was "at the highest level ever recorded in the EU." The cocaine trade "fuels criminal enterprises that use their enormous resources to infiltrate and undermine the EU's economy, public institutions and society," said Europol. Police raids in major EU ports such as Antwerp, Hamburg and Rotterdam have seen record seizures including a shipment of 23 tonnes of cocaine by Dutch and German police in late February. The trade also stoked increased levels in violence and often criminals "are now not afraid to use guns, hand grenades and torture," De Bolle said. But the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic last year had a further, major impact on the way organised crime gangs operated, Europol said. Companies weakened by the pandemic could become easy prey for gangs wanting to legitimise their crimes or using legal businesses for illegal activities, such as money laundering, Europol said. The pandemic also saw criminals adapting to make profit off the needs and fears of society. Also Read | NCB flags Mumbai as India's cocaine capital: Report "In the early stages we saw a surge in the trade of counterfeit face masks and hand sanitiser. Now we see a rise in the trade in fake vaccines and home testing kits," De Bolle told AFP. "These (fake) vaccines are a risk for your health. You should not buy it." The coronavirus pandemic has also increased cybercrime as restrictions in many countries mean people have to live and work more online, Europol said. "Critical infrastructure will continue to be targeted by cybercriminals in the coming years. This poses a significant risk," Europol said. International police in January disrupted EMOTET, described as the "world's most dangerous" cybercrime malware tool, used to break into computer systems. Online fraud was now a major problem including investment fraud and malware phishing attacks as well as the online sexual exploitation of minors, the agency said. Cybercriminals were also likely to launch "sophisticated and large-scale attacks against critical infrastructure to access and steal sensitive data" as the world goes more online. Asked whether law agencies were losing the fight against criminals De Bolle said law enforcement "have to go for joint actions, new policies and rethink the way we work." "Seizures alone are not enough," she said. A 28-year-old man has been charged in the fatal shooting of one person and the wounding of three more at a convenience store in a small southern Missouri town. Christopher Lindley of Thayer, Missouri, was charged with first-degree murder and criminal action in the shooting at the Snappy Mart store in Koshkonong, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a news release late Saturday. He is being held without bond. Authorities said Lindley walked into the convenience store around 5:15 a.m. Saturday and started firing with a handgun. Koshkonong is a town of about 200 people near the Missouri-Arkansas state line. Oregon County Sheriff Eric King said Lindley knew at least one of the victims, but that his motive in the shooting is unclear. Three of the victims, including the person who died, were from out of state. Several witnesses inside the store were not hurt. The three injured people are being treated at hospitals in Springfield, Missouri. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Everyone knows Google has a huge cash pile and it always experiments to improve user experience online and hardware such as phones and PCs. It usually comes up with its own proprietary applications and sometimes takes inspiration from rival brands and puts a spin on its version. One such of many apps was Google Shopping. In India, it was launched in late 2018. Truth be told, there was no mobile app in the country, but it was integrated as a tab in Search results and has also been accessible also on a separate website. Google Shopping is a made-to-browse e-commerce platform for prospective buyers to search across multiple product categories. Consumers also had the option to look for particular items from thousands of retailers. Also, it offered separate sections such as price drops, top deals, and a collection of the most popular products on Google. It competed with established players such as Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart, Snapdeal, and other e-commerce companies. But, now reports are coming that the company is planning to shut down the Shopping app for mobiles. Experts at XDA Developer Forum first broke the news when they analyzed the code of the v59 of the Google Shopping APK (Android Package), which mentions 'sunset'. The latter is used to indicate the app will no longer available after a specific date. RIP Google Shopping's mobile app. Google is preparing to sunset it. New fragment in v59 of the Android app. CC @killedbygoogle pic.twitter.com/Q3RpujZr3K Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) April 8, 2021 Unfortunately, the news is true as Google has confirmed to the media that it is closing the Shopping app for mobiles (both Android and iOS) in June. On the bright side, the website version (here) will continue to be active and it plans to add new features to enhance the shopping experience. Within the next few weeks, well no longer be supporting the Shopping app. All of the functionality the app offered users is available on the Shopping tab. Well continue building features within the Shopping tab and other Google surfaces, including the Google app, that makes it easy for people to discover and shop for the products they love, Google Spokesperson said to DH With the announcement, Google Shopping joins the growing list of Google's flop apps including Google Plus (competitor to Facebook, Twitter), Hangouts ( competed with Apple Message, WhatsApp, Telegram) among others. However, Google's Stack, which competes with CamScanner, looks promising. Developed by the company's in-house tech incubator Area 120, it uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm to understand the types of bills and categorize them accordingly for easy access in the future. Users just have to take a photo of the document and Stack will scan it, automatically name it for the user, and suggest the right category termed as 'stack,'-- such as a receipt, vehicle, IDs and Bills for the user to store it in. Must read | Google's Area 120 brings AI-based document scanner app Stack Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech. First Lady Olena Zelenska has suggested setting up the Council for Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine. "I have a proposal. In order for the Strategy implementation not to remain only on paper, I suggest creating the Council for Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine," Zelenska said at a meeting dedicated to the National Strategy for the Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. According to her, for all the proposals to eliminate barriers to be fulfilled, an effective body is needed to monitor and control the progress of implementation of the Strategy. According to Olena Zelenska, the Council should include the authors of the Strategy, as well as experts and representatives of civil society. "Our mission is to make the barrier-free environment a new social norm, a permanent norm that will operate constantly, and to provide people with equal opportunities in all spheres of life at the state level," the First Lady said. In turn, Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov supported the proposal to establish the Council for Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the meeting that living standards and equal conditions for every citizen are the foundation on which a civilized society should be built. As reported, Ukraine received the official status of a member of the Biarritz Partnership an international initiative promoting equal rights and opportunities in September 2020. Ukraines accession to the Partnership was initiated by the First Lady of Ukraine in December 2019. ol Image via Getty/Patrick T. Fallon A far-right white supremacist rally held in Huntington Beach, California was shut down by police less than two hours after it started on Sunday. As per NBC Los Angeles, the rally was part of a disorganized effort from far-right extremists that was ultimately outnumbered by counter-protesters. The White Lives Matter rally was scheduled for 1 p.m. local time, but 200 counter-protesters turned up two hours earlier. Some of them were associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, and had turned up to make sure the racist demonstrators didnt feel welcome in the city. As can be seen in videos shared on social media, counter-protesters yelled Go home Nazis at the far-right demonstrators as they were surrounded and outnumbered. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The turnout from the far-right extremists was very low in comparison, and after a number of arrests the event was declared an unlawful assembly by 2:30 p.m. as unrest between the two groups continued. A small number of counter-protesters were arrested, according to Lt. Brian Smith of the Huntington Beach P.D., who told freelance journalist Pierce Singgih that one was for a noise infraction, while another was for impeding an officer. At least one counter-protester was arrested for the alleged possession of a weapon, police told NBC. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. NBC News reports that White Lives Matter rallies were organized for cities across the country on Sunday, with neo-Nazis are far-right extremists saying the events would make the whole world tremble. In reality, hardly anyone showed up to these rallies, and one such plan for New York City saw a group of less than 20 people arrive for such a White Lives Matter march outside of Trump Tower. Flyers for the event recycled images from the since-disbanded neo-Nazi group Vanguard America. The Anti-Defamation League reported that the White Lives Matter slogan first surfaced in 2015 from neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan groups, and has been deemed a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement. These rallies were organized through encrypted messaging app Telegram, although two large channels in Philadelphia and New York City have since been found to be traps manufactured by anti-fascist activists. Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. In the lead-up to the rally in Huntington Beach, some residents found flyers promoting the Ku Klux Klan near their homes. A community meeting was held prior to the event, with city official denouncing such displays but ultimately allowed the event to go ahead as planned. Related Articles More Complex Sign up for the Complex Newsletter for breaking news, events, and unique stories. Follow Complex on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok Australian challenger bank, MyLife MyFinance, has completed a full digital overhaul of its banking infrastructure, going live with Temenos cloud and digital banking platform. The front-to-back transformation was completed 100% remotely during COVID-19 and will enable MyLife MyFinance owned by Challenger Limited to provide a much more personal approach to banking, as a genuine alternative to the big four. Challenger Limited - an investment management firm - recently entered into an agreement to acquire MyLife MyFinance from Catholic Super, with the acquisition currently subject to approval by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Federal Treasury. MLMF says the digital transformation by banking software provider Temenos will enable it to: Achieve straight-through processing for 90% of new customers Streamline the loan application process, reducing loan document preparation time from 60 minutes to 5 minutes Benefit from secure, scalable technology with built-in compliance with Australian regulations, including an open banking ecosystem to enhance services like customer verification, digital wallets and fraud monitoring, to deliver a differentiated customer experience. Using Temenos Country Model Bank methodology, the new front-to-back system simplifies processes, enhances the customer experience, and replaces legacy systems. Temenos says that as a result of the build-and-migrate implementation, MyLife MyFinance has reduced complexity by moving to one central core banking system to store and run all of its processes and data, Temenos Transact - and combined with Temenos Infinity and Temenos Analytics, the end-to-end solution, increases automation and straight through processing (STP), completing conditional decisions for 90% of applications. Temenos end-to-end SaaS solution also reduces cost and complexity, and paves the way for innovation. The bank now benefits from secure, scalable technology built to meet Australian requirements today and in the future, including creating an open banking ecosystem to enhance services like customer verification, digital wallets and fraud monitoring, to deliver a differentiated customer experience, says Temenos. Temenos says the project was completed using a phased approach, supported by Syncordis. With Temenos SaaS digital banking platform we have simplified our systems and can now provide an end to end solution to meet customer needs, said Zvonko Balic, Chief Technology Officer, MyLife MyFinance. This includes a streamlined customer onboarding experience. Transformations are inherently challenging, and add to this the complexity of adapting to new ways of working due to COVID-19, and the challenges only increased. I am proud of our team and our partners including Temenos, who have worked to help support our business and technology transformation. Mark Sawyer, General Manager, MyLife MyFinance, said: For MyLife MyFinance, innovation means finding ways to create the best possible outcomes for our customers. We partnered with Temenos to create an ecosystem of innovative fintech solutions to improve our service levels and simplify processes. Temenos has provided us with a front-to-back digital banking platform. This includes Temenos Infinity and Analytics, an API-first technology that enables integration with third-parties, which can help us generate new innovations in the future. Were excited to have reached this milestone of our digital transformation journey, and for our customers to experience the benefits. Jean-Paul Mergeai, President MEA & APAC, Temenos, said: Cloud-native technology is helping banks create hyper-efficient cost structures, enabling them to pass on the benefits to their clients in terms of a better banking service. Banks who have embraced modern technology can now run their operations at 10% of the cost of their legacy technology stack. As a Temenos customer, MyLife MyFinance can focus more of its IT spend on growth and innovation rather than on maintenance. The bank will be more agile in its ability to launch new products more quickly and onboard more customers and originate more products and services digitally. We are delighted that MyLife MyFinance has completed its digital transformation journey with us. Nuclear chief says the world and IAEA must address 'nuclear terrorism' against Iran 04/12/21 Source: Tehran Times TEHRAN - Nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday slammed the act of sabotage against Iran's nuclear site in Natanz earlier in the day, noting that the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must deal with such "nuclear terrorism" that targets Iran's facilities. Salehi's remarks came hours after a nuclear spokesman said that an incident took place at the electricity distribution network of the Shahid Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan nuclear facility in Natanz in Iran's central province of Isfahan. Iran's Nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi (photo by Islamic Republic News Agency) "The Islamic Republic of Iran, while condemning this despicable act, underlines the need for the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to address this nuclear terrorism and reserves the right to take action against masterminds, perpetrators and conspirators of this [terrorist] act," Salehi said. He added Iran will seriously pursue the development of its nuclear technology, on the one hand, and make efforts to remove the oppressive U.S. sanctions, on the other hand, so that those who ordered the terrorist act would not reach their goals, Press TV reported. The action that took place at the Natanz enrichment facility shows the failure of those, who oppose the country's industrial and political advances, in preventing Iran's remarkable progress in its nuclear program and obstructing successful talks aimed at removing the oppressive sanctions, Salehi, a nuclear physicist remarked. Iran maked National Day of Nuclear Technology on April 10 (photo by ISNA) Israel's public radio quoted unidentified intelligence sources on Sunday as saying that Israel's Mossad spy agency carried out a cyberattack against Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, Reuters reported. The Natanz facility is among the sites being monitored by the IAEA under a 2015 landmark nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran and a group of world powers. On July 2, 2020, an explosion was reported in a shed under construction at the Natanz complex, but it caused no casualties and failed to stop enrichment work at the facility. At the time, Kamalvandi described the incident as "an act of sabotage." GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana is investigating the deaths of two among thousands of people who had been given doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to see if there is any link, the health ministry said. The southern African country has so far administered about 31,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only vaccine it has started rolling out. India donated 30,000 doses of the vaccine that were manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), and Botswana bought 33,000 doses that were made in South Korea from global vaccine distribution scheme COVAX. The two people who died had taken the shots made in India. AstraZeneca declined comment. The SII did not respond to a request for comment. Botswana's health ministry did not say how the people died. Millions of doses of the AstraZeneca shot have been safely administered around the world. But Europe's drug regulator said last week it had found a possible link between AstraZeneca's vaccine and very rare cases of blood clots. The European Medicines Agency received reports of 169 cases of the rare brain blood clot by early April, after 34 million doses had been administered. Most of the cases reported had occurred in women under 60. The Botswana health ministry said in a statement late on Sunday that the two deaths were of elderly people. It did not elaborate. "The ministry has referred the matter to the regulator being BOMRA for immediate investigation. It is expected that BOMRA investigation will seek to establish the cause of two deaths as well as whether they are in any way linked to the COVID vaccine which was administered," the statement read. It advised the public to remain calm and said people who were recovering from recent severe illness should consider delaying getting the vaccine. Experts say that, even if a causal link is proved between the vaccine and blood clots, the risks of getting a serious clot are minute compared to the risks from possible COVID-19 infection, which can cause similar clots along with other serious symptoms. Story continues Botswana has recorded around 40,000 coronavirus cases and 630 deaths during the pandemic, few by comparison with many other countries around the world, but its diamond-driven economy was hit hard last year, contracting almost 8%. AstraZeneca's vaccine is the cheapest and most readily available. It does not need to be kept at extremely cold temperatures, making it a mainstay of many vaccination programmes in developing countries. (Reporting by Brian Benza; Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Euan Rocha in Mumbai; Editing by Alexander Winning and Hugh Lawson) Just days after Sylvester Stallone confirmed that he will not appear in the upcoming Creed III, star-director Michael B. Jordan revealed why. Jordan, 31, was confirmed last month not only to return as Adonis Creed, but also to make his feature directorial debut with the sequel. Stallone, 74, revealed last week in an Instagram comment that, 'It'll be done but I won't be in it' in regards to Creed III, though Jordan commented more in an interview with IGN for his new Amazon movie Without Remorse. No Stallone: Just days after Sylvester Stallone confirmed that he will not appear in the upcoming Creed III, star-director Michael B. Jordan revealed why Comment: Stallone, 74, revealed last week in an Instagram comment that, 'It'll be done but I won't be in it' in regards to Creed III, though Jordan commented more in an interview with IGN for his new Amazon movie Without Remorse '(We) really want to build this story and this world around [Adonis] moving forward,' Jordan began. 'Yeah, I think that Sly let it be known that he wasnt coming back for this one but I think, you know, his essence and his spirit theres always going to be a little bit of Rocky within Adonis,' Jordan added. Jordan added that he always has, 'respect' and 'a s**t-ton of love' for what Stallone built the Rocky franchise into, but he wants to focus more on Adonis. Respect and love: Jordan added that he always has, 'respect' and 'a s**t-ton of love' for what Stallone built the Rocky franchise into, but he wants to focus more on Adonis 'We really want to push and navigate Adonis forward and the family that he created. So, hopefully you guys will love what Im thinking what were cooking up. I think its going to be something special,' Jordan said. The news isn't terribly surprising, since Stallone took to his Instagram in late November 2018, just after Creed II was released, and said he was 'retiring' his Rocky Balboa character. 'I just want to thank everyone around the whole wide World for taking the Rocky family into their hearts for over 40 years,' Stallone began. Retiring: The news isn't terribly surprising, since Stallone took to his Instagram in late November 2018, just after Creed II was released, and said he was 'retiring' his Rocky Balboa character 'Its been my Ultimate privilege to have been able to create and play this meaningful character. Though it breaks my heart, Sadly all things must pass... and end,' he said. 'I love you Kind and generous people , and The most wonderful thing of all , is that ROCKY will never die because he lives on in you ...' he concluded. As for Creed III, no details have been given for the story, with Jordan directing from a script by Zach Baylin. Must pass: 'Its been my Ultimate privilege to have been able to create and play this meaningful character. Though it breaks my heart, Sadly all things must pass... and end,' he said Stallone had previously mentioned that he wanted real boxer Deontay Wilder to portray the son of Clubber Lang (Mr. T) from Rocky III for Creed III, though it's not confirmed if that story will play out. Creed followed Jordan's character Adonis Creed, the son of late heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), who gets guidance from his father's old friend Rocky Balboa. The sequel Creed II followed the boxer as he fought Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who killed Adonis' father. Amaravati, April 12 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday said the state's village and ward volunteer system has redefined governance, effectively delivering welfare with inclusiveness. On Monday, the state government organised a felicitation programme for 2.23 lakh volunteers and gave cash incentives totalling Rs 229 crore to all of them. The felicitation programme will start in every constituency after Ugadi Telugu new year festival. "The service orientation of volunteers is laudable and the awards will be an annual affair to felicitate those who have shown exemplary work," said Reddy, launching the Visishta Puraskar Seva Award. Recalling some stellar acts by the volunteers, Reddy said one of them went all the way from Srikakulam to Visakhapatnam to deliver pension to an old lady hospitalized after an accident. "The volunteer understood that the old lady needed money at that point of time and extended her service. A volunteer from Prakasam went to Hyderabad to disburse pension to a woman who had undergone heart surgery at Hyderabad and in a similar case one volunteer from Chittoor delivered pension at a hospital in Bengaluru to the beneficiary," said Reddy as he cited more examples. As part of the felicitation, 2.18 lakh volunteers were given the Seva Mitra award, which includes a cash reward of Rs 10,000, shawl, citation and a badge. The Seva Ratna award, bestowed on 4,000 volunteers, carried a cash prize of Rs 20,000, a citation, shawl and a medal. The chief minister asked the volunteers to keep up their good work, ignoring detractors. "Volunteer system has brought governance to the doorstep by providing 32 types of services with each volunteer taking care of 50 houses in rural (areas) and 100 houses in urban areas and delivering welfare schemes in a transparent and corruption free manner looking beyond caste, creed, religion and party affiliations," Reddy said. He personally felicitated nine volunteers and transferred Rs 19 crore into the bank accounts of 18,576 volunteers. He also released a special booklet featuring their success stories. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also praised the volunteer system during a chief ministers meeting a few months ago. JACKSON, Miss. Mississippi legislators imposed no new limits on the election process during their recently ended session, but this state already had some of the strictest voting laws in the U.S. Widespread early voting? Not in Mississippi. This state has a limited number of reasons for people to cast absentee ballots. Some states have drop boxes where early voters can leave their ballots. Mississippi does not have drop boxes, which means people mailing back absentee ballots have to deal with the uncertainties of the U.S. Postal Service. Mississippi requires absentee ballot applications to be notarized. Critics say this is burdensome for college students and others who will be out of town on Election Day, because they have to find a notary. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who spent three terms as secretary of state, said in interview at the end of the legislative session that he would oppose any effort to remove the notary requirement for absentee ballot applications. One of the things it is not burdensome on is ballot harvesting, Hosemann said. That is the practice of collecting and returning absentee ballots for multiple people. Some states emphasize voting by mail, automatically sending ballots to people who put themselves on a list of permanent absentee voters. Mississippi does not, and Republicans who control the Legislature are unlikely to change that. The current secretary of state, Republican Michael Watson, said during a March 26 interview on WLOX-TV that he opposes any move by the federal government to set new rules about voter registration or mail-in voting. Think about all these woke college university students now who would automatically be registered to vote, whether they wanted to or not, Watson said. Again, if they didnt know to opt out, they would be automatically registered to vote. And then they receive this mail-in ballot that they didnt even know was coming because they didnt know they registered to vote. You have an uninformed citizen who may not be prepared and ready to vote, automatically its forced on them, Hey, go and make a choice. And our countrys going to pay for those choices. Watsons comments have come under broad criticism, including from Democratic former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus, who responded on Twitter: His talking points are from 1950s. Slightly updated. Literacy tests anyone? Literacy tests were outlawed by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The tests could include impossible questions like how many bubbles are in a bar of soap, and they were among the discriminatory measures that Mississippi and other Southern states used to suppress Black voting. The League of Women Voters of Mississippi also issued a statement critical of Watsons comments. Analysis: Mississippi unlikely to ease its election laws By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippi legislators imposed no new limits on the election process during their recently ended session, but this state already had some of the strictest voting laws in the U.S. Widespread early voting? Not in Mississippi. This state has a limited number of reasons for people to cast absentee ballots. Some states have drop boxes where early voters can leave their ballots. Mississippi does not have drop boxes, which means people mailing back absentee ballots have to deal with the uncertainties of the U.S. Postal Service. Mississippi requires absentee ballot applications to be notarized. Critics say this is burdensome for college students and others who will be out of town on Election Day, because they have to find a notary. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who spent three terms as secretary of state, said in interview at the end of the legislative session that he would oppose any effort to remove the notary requirement for absentee ballot applications. One of the things it is not burdensome on is ballot harvesting, Hosemann said. That is the practice of collecting and returning absentee ballots for multiple people. Some states emphasize voting by mail, automatically sending ballots to people who put themselves on a list of permanent absentee voters. Mississippi does not, and Republicans who control the Legislature are unlikely to change that. The current secretary of state, Republican Michael Watson, said during a March 26 interview on WLOX-TV that he opposes any move by the federal government to set new rules about voter registration or mail-in voting. Think about all these woke college university students now who would automatically be registered to vote, whether they wanted to or not, Watson said. Again, if they didnt know to opt out, they would be automatically registered to vote. And then they receive this mail-in ballot that they didnt even know was coming because they didnt know they registered to vote. You have an uninformed citizen who may not be prepared and ready to vote, automatically its forced on them, Hey, go and make a choice. And our countrys going to pay for those choices. Watsons comments have come under broad criticism, including from Democratic former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus, who responded on Twitter: His talking points are from 1950s. Slightly updated. Literacy tests anyone? Literacy tests were outlawed by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The tests could include impossible questions like how many bubbles are in a bar of soap, and they were among the discriminatory measures that Mississippi and other Southern states used to suppress Black voting. Watsons comments also drew the ire of the League of Women Voters of Mississippi, which issued a statement over the weekend, noting Watsons opposition to the For The People Act, pending legislation which would automatically register eligible citizens to vote: We find it deeply troubling when our elected officials publicly denounce efforts to expand voter registration in our state and around the country. The ability to vote should not be dependent on anyones party affiliation, race, zip code, or age if they are 18 and older; the election process should be as simple and easy as possible to participate in. It is not only shameful to erect barriers to this process, it flies in the face of the United States Constitution: - The 14th Amendment grants full citizenship rights including voting rights to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. - The 15th Amendment eliminates racial barriers to voting. - The 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote nationwide. - The 26th Amendment eliminates barriers to voting based on age for those 18 and older. A Democratic state lawmaker, Rep. Hester Jackson McCray of Horn Lake, announced as the legislative session ended that she is leading an effort to let Mississippi voters decide whether they want early voting. She is sponsoring an initiative that would allow people to vote at least 10 days before an election at the offices of circuit clerks or municipal clerks and at other qualifying polling sites. Current Mississippi law says absentee voting is available for anyone 65 or older, or for voters of any age who are permanently disabled or will be out of their home county on Election Day. People who have to work on Election Day when polls are open also are allowed to vote absentee. Legislators tweaked the law in 2020 with temporary provisions to allow absentee voting by someone with a temporary or permanent disability that may include a physician-imposed quarantine due to COVID-19 or by a person caring for someone in that circumstance. Getting an initiative on a statewide ballot is challenging. Petitioners must gather more than 100,000 signatures from registered voters. Its worth noting that most initiative organizers fail to get enough signatures. And even if the petition effort is successful and an initiative gets on a ballot, theres another big pitfall. Legislators are allowed to put another proposal dealing with the same issue on the same ballot and that can lead to confusion among voters. Dublin, April 12 : People arriving in Ireland from the United States and 15 other countries and regions will have to complete a 14-day mandatory quarantine at a government-designated facility starting from 4 a.m. (Irish time) on April 15, according to a latest decision of the Irish government. The 16 countries and regions, which are deemed as high risk for Covid-19 transmission, include the United States, Canada and Bermuda in North America; France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Ukraine and Armenia in Europe; Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives in Asia; Kenya in Africa and Curacao in South America, according to a list published on the government website, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. People coming from or through the above-listed areas must pre-book their accommodation at a government-designated hotel online and make the payment for their accommodation and food in advance, according to the relevant regulations. The standard rate for an adult is 1,875 euros (about $2,230) for the quarantine period. Those who refuse to be quarantined or leave the designated hotel for mandatory quarantine without authorisation will face a fine of 2,000 euros, or a sentence of one-month imprisonment, or both. People can leave the designated facility for mandatory quarantine if they are tested negative on the tenth day of their arrival in Ireland. Diplomats, aircrew and maritime crew, among others, can be exempted from such a mandatory quarantine if they can meet the other public health requirements of Ireland. Ireland started to implement a mandatory hotel quarantine regime on March 26. To date, a total of 75 countries and regions have been placed by the Irish government on a list which requires a mandatory quarantine for travellers coming from these areas. The list, which is subject to change, can be found on various websites of the Irish authorities including the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Irish Department of Health on Saturday night said that a total of 240,643 people had been infected with Covid-19 in Ireland and 4,783 of them had died from the virus. As of April 8, a total of 1,018,264 people in the country had been partially or fully vaccinated against Covid-19, accounting for over 20 percent of Ireland's total population, according to the department. Vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca are being used in Ireland with Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine to be available here soon. As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines. Meanwhile, 273 candidate vaccines are still being developed -- 87 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Friday. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text [April 12, 2021] Ecoark Awarded $115 Million in Lawsuit Against Walmart Walmart found liable on three claims in lawsuit filed by Zest Labs Inc. Jury unanimously awards Ecoark Holdings, Inc. $115 million in damages SAN ANTONIO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ecoark Holdings, Inc. ("Ecoark" or the Company) (OTC: ZEST) announces that on Friday, April 9, 2021, a Little Rock, Arkansas jury awarded Ecoark and its wholly owned subsidiary, Zest Labs Inc. (Zest) a total of $115 million in damages in a lawsuit against Bentonville-based Walmart Inc. (Walmart) (NYSE: WMT), the world's largest company as measured by annual revenue1. Walmart was found liable on three claims from the original lawsuit filed in August 2018. Specifically, the federal jury found that Walmart misappropriated Zests trade secrets, failed to comply with a written contract, and acted willfully and maliciously in misappropriating Zests trade secrets. In addition to the $65 million in compensatory damages, the award includes $50 million in punitive damages for Walmarts willful and malicious conduct. The lawsuit accused Walmart of using and disclosing trade secrets of Zest relating to reducing and fighting the worldwide problem of fresh food loss and waste. One-third of all fresh food is thrown away as waste before consumption. Peter Mehring, CEO of Zest Labs made the following comment after the verdict. We are grateful that the jury understood and acknowledged the evidence that supported Zests claims. This outcome further validates the unique and valuable solutions that Zest Labs built, and underscores the strength of our intellectual property. The case was Zest Labs, Inc. et. al. v Walmart, Inc. case number 4:18-cv-500-JM, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Central Division. Randy May, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ecoark, had the following to say in the Arkansas Times, as originally posted on Saturday, April 10, 2021. We are happy that we had our day in court and that the jury found that Walmart misappropriated our trade secrets and breached the agreement between the parties. The damages awarded were strongly supported by the evidence. Te jury verdict also allows us to file motions seeking attorneys fees and costs. We do not believe Walmart has any basis to appeal the verdict and doing so will only confirm that the judgment was proper. Intellectual property is key to Americas modern economy. The jury understood that protecting trade secrets is the right thing to do and critical to future business operations in Arkansas. We plan to file an appeal of some of the Judges pre-trial rulings to make sure that Walmart is held fully accountable for its actions. The appeal will allow Ecoark and Zest to seek additional liability and damages findings against Walmart to ensure that innovative businesses are protected from misappropriation of their technologies. Walmart ordered to pay $115 million for breach of contract, stealing trade secrets - Arkansas Times (arktimes.com) Ecoark and Zest intend to file post-trial motions in the coming weeks to add an award of their attorneys fees as the prevailing party in the litigation. Ecoark will provide additional updates on this lawsuit and award in the coming weeks. Ecoark and Zest were represented by Michael Simons, Todd Landis and Fred Williams of Williams Simons & Landis PLLC. Williams Simons & Landis PLLC is an IP litigation boutique headquartered in Austin, Texas with lawyers in Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado. After decades of litigating complex IP disputes at some of the largest law firms in the country, the founding partners created WSL to provide clients an innovative team of lawyers dedicated to achieving client goals in courtrooms across the country. WSL trial lawyers bring a unique mix of technical expertise and trial experience that produces results like Fridays verdict. https://www.wsltrial.com/ 1 According to the Fortune Global 500 list in the year 2020. About Ecoark Holdings, Inc. Founded in 2011, Ecoark is a diversified holding company. The company has three wholly owned subsidiaries: Zest Labs, Inc. (Zest Labs), Banner Midstream Corp (Banner Midstream) and Trend Discovery Holdings (Trend Discovery). Zest Labs, offers the Zest FreshTM solution, a breakthrough approach to quality management of fresh food, is specifically designed to help substantially reduce the amount of food loss the U.S. experiences each year. Banner Midstream is engaged in oil and gas exploration, production, and drilling operations on over 30,000 cumulative acres of active mineral leases in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Banner Midstream also provides transportation and logistics services and procures and finances equipment to oilfield transportation services contractors. Trend Discovery invests in a select number of early-stage startups each year as part of the funds Venture Capital strategy; we are open-minded investors with a founder-first mentality. Trend Discovery LP has an audited track record of uncorrelated outperformance of the S&P 500 since inception. ZEST FRESH and Zest Labs are trademarks of Zest Labs, Inc. Contact: Investor Relations: Marc Silverberg, ICR marc.silverberg@icrinc.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Harvards announcement that its acceptance rate fell to an all-time low of just 3.4% will be viewed by some alumni as a sign of their alma maters prestige. And some alumni of elite institutions like Yale (4.6%), Brown (5.4%) and Princeton (4%) may feel the same glow of pride. In actuality, these numbers are signs of institutional failure. That some 55,000 applicants were denied the chance to attend Harvard which, with its $42 billion endowment, is capable of serving more than 1,640 students in an incoming class is no cause for celebration. The ever-declining proportion of applicants accepted at top-ranked universities should spur them to consider making their freshman classes substantially larger. Such a move would be especially appropriate after a pandemic year when universities have had to reconceive education in a multitude of ways. This years admissions figures arrive amid an increasingly heated debate about who deserves to attend selective universities. Should special consideration continue to be granted to varsity athletes and children of alumni? Is affirmative action fair, or does it punish Asian American students? Theres also a long-overdue reckoning about how these institutions can move beyond their exclusive, prep-school roots and combat inequities. According to a 2017 study, 38 colleges including five in the Ivy League have more students from the top 1% of the income scale than from the bottom 60%. When selectivity increases, that doesnt mean that the education the school provides is getting better. It suggests that these institutions are missing a significant opportunity to maximize their impact on society. Ivy League colleges grew by 14% over the last 30 years, lagging far behind the 44% rise in the number of high school graduates. Many public universities have expanded the number of students they serve without sacrificing quality. The University of Michigans enrollment has increased by 35% since 1990, but that has not caused it to lose its place among the top 25 schools in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Arizona State University, where I am affiliated, has more than tripled its enrollment since 1990, to 100,000. It now enrolls three times the number of Pell Grant recipients as do the eight institutions in the Ivy League. Imagine if all the Ivies, with their tax breaks and large endowments, announced tomorrow that they were cutting enrollment by 10% or even 20%: Pitchforks would come out. Yet thats what they have done by failing to expand as the nations population grew. While researching my latest book, Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, application readers at top colleges told me that they could fill multiple freshman classes with deserving students and that, as a result, selection decisions are now often arbitrary. Each year, these colleges turn away thousands of academic superstars based solely on the idea that more exclusive means better. They ignore the example not only of top-ranked public universities but those from the rest of the world. Take Canada: Its three most prominent universities the University of Toronto, McGill University and the University of British Columbia enroll more than 150,000 undergraduates. Thats more students than attend the top 18 institutions in the U.S. News rankings. Granted, expanding undergraduate populations at even dozens of name-brand U.S. universities would have a limited effect, given how small they are. (17 million undergraduates are enrolled at more than 4,500 universities.) Yet every bit helps because eminent universities are powerful engines of socioeconomic mobility: A 2017 study led by the Harvard economist Raj Chetty found that 58% of Harvard students born into the bottom 20% of the income scale were able to climb to the top 20% by their mid-30s. To put that in perspective, the chance that the average American in the bottom quintile can make the same leap is 1.7%. Pell Grants typically go to families making less than $40,000 a year. Of the top 50 national universities in the U.S. News ranking, 16 are public and 35 are private (the numbers add to 51 because of a tie). At the public schools, an average of 26% of students receive Pell Grants. At the privates, the figure is just 15%. (Nationally, about a third of students receive Pell support.) Private colleges dont want to displace students who pay full tuition, or the children of alumni, to accommodate low-income students. But if the top 35 private universities increased their entering freshman classes by a mere 10% and reserved those new spots for Pell recipients, they would enroll, after four years, 29,000 more low-income students overall. Low-income students can do the work at these schools. In 2019, the National Education Equity Lab created a program that enrolled more than 300 11th- and 12th-graders from high-poverty high schools in an online Harvard literature class with the same standards as its equivalent in Cambridge. Nine in 10 were students of color; 89% of the students passed, and nearly two-thirds got As or Bs. The coronavirus pandemic appears to be exacerbating the inequality in higher education: Common App, a widely used undergraduate college admissions application, reports that applications from first-generation students are down by 1%, even as overall application numbers soared by 10%. We have watched the pandemic catalyze substantial adjustments in higher education. Colleges made the SAT and ACT optional, converted their classes to online and hybrid delivery, and rearranged their calendars. Schools showed that old ways of doing business could be modified in a hurry. None of this is to say that theres an easy-to-copy playbook for expanding enrollment. But our most selective schools have benefited from public funding and billions of dollars in tax breaks while acting more like exclusive clubs than institutions with a responsibility to educate our growing population. They have it in their power to devote their considerable resources and ingenuity to opening their gates to more students. New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has called former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh for questioning on Wednesday, April 14 in connection with allegations of corruption levelled against him by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh and suspended officer Sachin Waze. The CBI issued a notice calling Deshmukh to join the CBI probe on Monday morning, a day after his two aides Sanjeev Palande and Kundan recorded their statements before the agency, officials were quoted as saying by PTI. The CBI is carrying out a preliminary inquiry into allegations against Deshmukh for exhorting Rs 100 crores as bribe from bars and restaurants in Mumbai. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the SUV case alternatively, said the allegation has been reportedly corroborated by Waze in custody. Sachin Waze, an assistant police inspector, is being probed for a case of an explosive-laden SUV found outside Antillia. The Bombay High Court had last week directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the allegations levelled by Singh against Deshmukh. Iran blames regional arch-foe Israel for Sundays incident at the Natanz nuclear site and will take its revenge, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday. Iranian authorities described the incident a day earlier as an act of "nuclear terrorism" and said Tehran reserves the right to take action against the perpetrators. Israel "wants to take revenge because of our progress in the way to lift sanctions ... they have publicly said that they will not allow this. But we will take our revenge from" Israel, state TV quoted Zarif as saying. Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference on Monday that the Natanz incident could be considered as an act against humanity, adding that it had caused no contamination or casualties at the site. "Our nuclear experts are assessing the damage but I can assure you that Iran will replace damaged uranium enrichment centrifuges in Natanz with advanced ones," Khatibzadeh said. Tehran said on Sunday that the Natanz nuclear facility had been hit by a power failure. Head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi described the incident as an act of nuclear terrorism. Multiple Israeli media outlets have quoted unnamed intelligence sources as saying that the countrys Mossad spy service carried out a successful sabotage operation at the Natanz site, potentially setting back enrichment work there by months. Israel has not formally commented on the incident. The Natanz uranium-enrichment site, much of which is underground, is one of several Iranian facilities monitored by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog. WisdomTree and Van Eck both now have products going through the 45-day process A second Bitcoin ETF is under review for possible approval by US financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed last week. In a public notice on Friday, the SEC said it had started its review of WisdomTrees bitcoin ETF application, the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust, that has been filed with the Cboe BZX Exchange. No cryptocurrency ETF has been authorised by the US yet, with reasons for previous rejections including the possibility of market manipulation. ETF specialist can Van Eck also has a bitcoin ETF application under review by the SEC. It filed its application on 1 March, firing the starting gun on a 45-day review process. WisdomTrees application will also now be subject to a 45-day review period. Pressure has been mounting on the SEC to grant approval with the surge in popularity of bitcoin over the past six months. The price has risen in value 500% and the cryptocurrency is seen by some as an alternative to traditional hedge assets such as gold. Mainstream investment giant Fidelity has filed with the SEC to launch a bitcoin ETF under the Wise Origin brand with commentators expecting a flood of other Wall Street heavyweights to follow suit once one is approved and the points of reference established. Going down the ETF would allow investors a route into the cryptocurrency without having to take on the risk of investing directly. Several bitcoin ETFs have already launched in Canada and one in Brazil, while the hugely successful BTCetc, a bitcoin ETF listed in Germany has attracted more than US$1bn. ETC, the group behind the bitcoin ETF, has just launched a physical Litecoin ETC that will also be traded in Germany. UPDATE AA is only removing espresso machines Until recently, this is what the executives at American Airlines thought as well, though the global health issue and the massive drop in the number of people still flying have caused a sudden change of mind.That's because, as you could easily figure out, fewer customers mean reduced revenue, and reduced revenue requires cost-cutting measures since theres no other way around for a business that must stay on profit.And American Airlines has found a rather unexpected way to reduce costs, though the company claims its all in an attempt to help conserve fuel and prevent confusion about what services are currently offered, as per a recent report The airline has decided to pull all its espresso machines from Boeing 777, Boeing 787, and Airbus A321T aircraft, which means that first-class flyers would most likely have to stick with regular coffee or tea for the time being.In other words, American Airlines claim the espresso machines are just disposable weight, so in theory, getting rid of them should help reduce fuel consumption, which at the end of the day is obviously an efficient cost-saving measure.But on the other hand, it could be a decision that might eventually backfire because, you know, with more people getting the vaccine, things are slowly returning to normal, and the travel trends, too, are recovering. So American Airlines choice to give up on espresso machines may actually take some first-class flyers by surprise, especially when they ask for a coffee, and instead, they get just a glass of water.Not to mention early-morning flights when instead of an espresso, youd just have to stick with just a regular cup of coffee.: For additional clarification,(mainly used on first-class flights), not all coffee machines from its aircraft. We've updated the article to better reflect this. Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, has reached a deal to raise $12.4 billion from the sale of a 49 percent stake in a pipeline-rights company. The money will come from a consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners, a Washington-based investor in pipelines and other energy infrastructure. Under the arrangement announced on Friday, the investor group will buy 49 percent of a new company called Aramco Oil Pipelines, which will have the rights to 25 years of payments from Aramco for transporting oil through Saudi Arabias pipeline networks. Aramco is under pressure from its main owner, the Saudi government, to generate cash to finance state operations as well as investments like new cities to diversify the economy away from oil. SPRINGFIELD U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said Monday he remains confident the nation will meet its goals in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines despite a setback for Johnson & Johnson. The science that we witnessed in terms of getting these vaccines made has been really impressive, and now making sure that distribution continues is critical, Neal said during a tour of the new Caring Health Center vaccination site in the Forest Park neighborhood. Still, 200 million people are going to be vaccinated by May. Neal, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, was praised by city officials and representatives of the center for his leadership and aid in getting COVID relief funds to the state and city. His comments on the importance of vaccinations came amid news that nationwide allocations of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine were expected to plummet by 86%, going from more than 4.9 million doses delivered last week to 700,000 this week. The drop was blamed on a blunder at a factory in Baltimore that led to millions of doses being ruined. Massachusetts got almost 104,000 doses of the vaccine last week but is scheduled receive only 12,300 doses this week, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The company is pledging to resolve the manufacturing issues and is still seeking to meet a goal of delivering 100 million vaccine doses by June. Nearly 1.6 million people in Massachusetts have already been vaccinated, according to the latest state Department of Public Health data. Those attending Mondays tour at the Caring Health Center at 473 Sumner Ave. included Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen R. Caulton-Harris, and Caring Health Center president and CEO Tania Barber. Barber said the federal aid has been critical for the center as it seeks to reach those most in need, including communities of color. The clinic administers the Moderna vaccine and expects to vaccinate 1,000 people per week. Eligible people can make an appointment by calling 413-739-1100, ext. 2508, or 413-693-1015. Neal said he agrees that the 2020 CARES Act saved the American economy, and that the American Rescue Plan passed earlier this year continues that effort. There will not be a complete economic recovery until COVID-19 is defeated, and community health centers administering the vaccine will help do that, Neal said. He urged the public to follow the advice of the doctors, nurses and scientists to get the vaccine. Getting to 200 million vaccines by May under President Joe Bidens timetable will be a huge achievement, Neal said. So, the investment of the science, American technology, and the manner in which the plans have been implemented at the local level have just been extraordinary, Neal said. Sarno said he and Caulton-Harris will continue to push for expansion of neighborhood vaccine sites. The focus is on getting more and more shots in the arms, he said. We have to stay steadfast, Sarno said. Chief medical officer Dr. Jonathan Moseley said the Caring Health Centers efforts are particularly important as it strives to help people of color, who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus but less likely to get vaccinated against it. State Sen. Adam Gomez and state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez also attended the tour. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Related content: The vote came days after the state said it would contribute to a 4 billion Euro ($4.76 billion) recapitalization of Air France, more than doubling its stake in the flag carrier, to shore up its finances after over a year of COVID-19 travel curbs. The measure is part of a broader climate bill that aims to cut French carbon emissions by 40 percent in 2030 from 1990 levels, though activists accuse President Emmanuel Macron of watering down earlier promises in the draft legislation. French lawmakers voted late on Saturday to abolish domestic flights on routes that can be covered by train in under two-and-a-half hours, as the government seeks to lower carbon emissions even as the air travel industry reels from the global pandemic. Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher dismissed criticism from the aviation industry that a pandemic recovery was not the time to ban some domestic flights and said there was no contradiction between the bailout and the climate bill. "We know that aviation is a contributor of carbon dioxide and that because of climate change we must reduce emissions," she told Europe 1 radio. "Equally, we must support our companies and not let them fall by the wayside." Air traffic may not return to pre-crisis levels before 2024, McKinsey analysts forecast. Some environmental campaigners have said the bill does not go far enough. A citizens' climate forum established by Macron to help shape climate policy had called for the scrapping of flights on routes where the train journey is less than 4 hours. Saturday night's vote in the National Assembly was the first. The bill goes to the Senate before a third and final vote in the lower house, where Macron's ruling party and allies dominate. BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- New grants from the State University of New York could help researchers at Binghamton University create a new therapy to provide relief to Parkinson's patients and help locate abandoned oil and gas wells. Binghamton University researchers Christopher Bishop and Timothy de Smet have each received grants from the SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund, which helps faculty inventors and scientists turn their research into market-ready technologies. "The technologies that our researchers are developing have the potential to assist people in pain and to protect our environment," said Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger. "I'm proud of the accomplishments that our faculty have made so far and am pleased that this funding will help support such important, potentially life-changing initiatives." Bishop and Barrow Neurological Institute Associate Professor Fredric Manfredsson are developing a new therapy to provide relief to people with Parkinson's disease who experience a harmful side effect that occurs as a result of chronic drug therapy. Their innovative approach repurposes an FDA-approved drug previously developed for depression to prevent the emergence of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. "I am grateful to SUNY for this award, which will provide key funding to investigate and translate an exciting new therapy for Parkinson's disease that could help minimize its debilitating symptoms and treatment-related side effects," said Bishop. De Smet and Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies Alex Nikulin have devised a safe and efficient way to locate abandoned oil and gas wells, which present environmental hazards across the United States. Their unique system uses drones to detect magnetic anomalies in the metal casings of abandoned oil and gas wells, pinpointing their location. "My collaborator, Alex Nikulin, and I are excited to receive this award," said de Smet. "Abandoned gas and oil wells are a serious environmental problem, and this funding will allow us to further investigate a technology that could help locate and address this ongoing issue." Bishop and de Smet will each receive $50,000 to fund their projects. ### ADVERTISEMENT Ex-Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has acknowledged that the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, is the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-west. This is coming after months of leadership tussle between the duo. In fact, their fight affected the plans for the regional congress of the party. The congress was initially scheduled for Ibadan on Saturday but is currently being held in Osogbo. Mr Makinde, as the only governor of PDP in the South-west, is seen by some members as the natural leader of the party in the zone. But Mr Fayose said a baby governor cannot be his leader. PREMIUM TIMES in an earlier analysis reports that Mr Makinde is serving his first term while Mr Fayose is the only person in the zone and still in the party who served two full terms as governor on the PDP platform. Mr Fayose had also accused Mr Makinde of backing Mrs Olujinmi to challenge his leadership of the party in Ekiti. On the ongoing congress, Mr Fayose said the leaders had agreed at a meeting hosted by Mr Makinde in his house in Ibadan that a former Ondo State Information Commissioner, Eddy Olafeso, should take the position of National Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the PDP But Mr Makinde is insisting that a former deputy governor of Oyo, Taofeek Arapaja, is better suited for the position. Both Mr Arapaja and Mr Olafeso earlier today greeted themselves warmly and agreed to accept the result of the poll. Mr Fayose in a surprising statement said no matter the situation, Makinde is our leader, promising to accept the outcome in good faith. Under this gathering, you are our father, Mr Fayose told Makinde. This was followed by loud applause among the delegates and party supporters in the hall. In his reaction, Mr Makinde said I will accept the outcome of the congress. And there will be no winner and loser in the election. It is a family affair. Good development. See video: Just in: Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose as publicly declared Governor Seyi Makinde as his leader at the ongoing PDP Southwest Zonal Congress. pic.twitter.com/5MzJZHO96P Oyo Affairs (@Oyoaffairs) April 12, 2021 Drugs inspectors and other officers have been directed to verify stocks, check malpractices and also take other effective actions to curb hoarding and black marketing. (AFP Photo) New Delhi: In view of increased demand for remdesivir due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Centre on Sunday said the export of the antiviral injection and its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) has been banned till the situation improves. In addition, to ensure easy access of the drug, which is used in treatment of coronavirus, to hospitals and patients, all domestic manufacturers of remdesivir have been advised to display on their website details of their stockists and distributors, the Union Health Ministry said. Drugs inspectors and other officers have been directed to verify stocks, check malpractices and also take other effective actions to curb hoarding and black marketing. State health secretaries will review this along with drug inspectors of the respective states and UTs, it said. "India is witnessing a recent surge in COVID cases. As on April 11, there are 11.08 lakh active cases and they are steadily increasing. This has led to a sudden spike in demand for remdesivir injection used in treatment of COVID patients," the ministry said. There is a potential for further increase in this demand in the coming days, it stated. Seven Indian companies are producing the injection under voluntary licensing agreement with M/s. Gilead Sciences, USA. They have an installed capacity of about 38.80 lakh units per month, the ministry said. "In light of the above, Government of India has prohibited the exports of remdesivir injection and remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) till the situation improves," it said. The Department of Pharmaceuticals has been in contact with the domestic manufacturers to ramp up the drug's production, it added. Government of India has also advised states that the extant 'National Clinical Management Protocol for COVID-19', which is based on evidence, has been developed after many interactions by committee of experts and it is the guiding document for treatment of COVID-19 patients. In the protocol, remdesivir is listed as an investigational therapy, i.e. where informed and shared decision making is essential, besides taking note of contraindications mentioned in the detailed guidelines, the ministry said. States and UTs have been advised that these steps should again be communicated to all hospitals, both in public and private sector, and compliance monitored, it added. NCIS is one of the longest-running police procedural dramas of all time, and over the years, it has spawned multiple hit spinoffs. The shows spinoffs have included a variety of interesting characters and situations, all set within the larger NCIS universe. Still, fans have been aching for something new, something that offers a unique perspective and all-new scenery and they might be getting it with the latest spinoff, NCIS: Hawaii. While very little is known about the newly-announced series, many viewers are excited for the chance to see some more diverse casting than what has been featured in the past. Mark Harmon | Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images NCIS: Hawaii was announced in spring 2021 RELATED: NCIS: Hawaii Would Have Epic CBS Crossover Potential In spring 2021, showrunners at the CBS network hit viewers with two big announcements, back to back. One announcement was that they would be canceling the series NCIS: New Orleans, with the final series episodes airing in May 2021. After seven successful years, many of the shows performers are sad to see the series go, but have expressed nothing but affection for the network, and for the NCIS universe. NCIS: New Orleans star Scott Bakula released a statement saying sad to end our love affair with this phenomenal city but so grateful for all the friends we made along the way. The other announcement was a much more positive one, with showrunners revealing that the network is currently in the process of producing and filming a brand new NCIS spinoff series, titled NCIS: Hawaii. Details are sparse for right now, but what fans do know is certainly exciting. What do fans know about NCIS: Hawaii? CBS is developing NCIS: Hawaii, a new installment in the hit #NCIS franchise#NCISHawaii https://t.co/Ljpyj2MhwW Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) February 16, 2021 RELATED: What NCIS: Hawaii Needs to Learn From the Failed Spinoff Red So far, none of the stars of the new NCIS: Hawaii series have yet been announced. Still, some of the behind-the-scenes crew members from NCIS: New Orleans will be coming on board for the new series, including Christopher Silber and executive producer Jan Nash. Many fans are speculating that the series could include some of the cast members from NCIS: New Orleans, such as Bakula. Many media outlets are speculating that NCIS: Hawaii will be filmed on location in Hawaii although official confirmation from the network has not yet been released to address that point. A recent report from Deadline reveals that the team could utilize the large production base that was built in Hawaii to be used for the filming of the TV series Hawaii Five-o. Certainly, showrunners at CBS have shown that they prefer to film on location whenever possible, to maintain a sense of realism and to bring viewers right into the heart of the NCIS universe. That commitment to authenticity is what might point to NCIS: Hawaii featuring a diverse cast of characters actors and entertainers who actually represent the real look and feel of the Hawaiian islands. Could NCIS: Hawaii give showrunners an opportunity to include more diverse characters? #NCIS: New Orleans will end with season 7 on CBS as its showrunners prep NCIS: Hawaii for the network https://t.co/LOqtBkuZST pic.twitter.com/7pR4zDdo0y Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) February 18, 2021 RELATED: Why Is NCIS: New Orleans Cancelled After Season 7? With NCIS: Hawaii potentially being filmed on location in Hawaii, there is plenty of opportunities for showrunners to include an ethnically diverse cast of characters. The same report from Deadline features several comments from fans who point to the fact that the show should include at least one or two performers of Hawaiian origin, with one fan writing hopefully put an actor that represents Hawaiian people in the lead role. Hawaiis diverse demographic lends itself well to an ensemble drama show so it certainly seems that the production team would be well-served to take a step toward inclusivity by casting an Asian or Pacific Islander in one of the prime lead roles. The Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) requests the creation of a committee of inquiry into what happened at the Foisor Orthopedic Hospital, AUR Lower House floor leader George Simion announced on Monday, referring to the incident that saw patients moved late on Friday night from this Bucharest hospital to other facilities, as it was turned into a COVID-19 hospital. "The AUR parliamentary group requests an inquiry committee to look into the incident at the Foisor Hospital. It's regrettable that such accidents, incidents and events occur during Mr. Voiculescu's term in office," Simion said in the Chamber of Deputies' plenum, adding that AUR is also waiting for the date of debates on the Social Democrats' simple motion against the Health Minister to be set as soon as possible, agerpres.ro confirms. Leader of the Social Democratic Party's deputies Alfred Simonis announced today the submission of a simple motion against Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu, requesting that it be debated this week. A former Boston police officer and union chief, charged with molesting at least a half-dozen children over three decades, first faced child abuse allegations for allegedly preying on a 12-year-old boy in the mid-1990s but was allowed to keep his job until his retirement. Patrick Rose Sr, 66, the one-time president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, was initially charged last August when his alleged victim from the 1995 case, who is now a grown man and a father, reported that his own daughter had been repeatedly molested by Rose from age 7 through 12. Within weeks, five more people came forward to accuse Rose of molesting them as children. Patrick Rose Sr, 66, a former Boston police officer and union chief, faces 33 charges for allegedly molesting six children over the past 30 years Rose, who retired with a pension in 2018, was arrested in August 2020, after a father accused him of molesting his daughter between ages 7 and 12, and also himself as a boy in 1995 The Boston Police Department in 1995 filed a criminal complaint against Rose for sexual assault on the 12-year-old boy, The Boston Globe reported Sunday. The criminal complaint was eventually dropped after the boy recanted, allegedly after being pressured by Rose, but an internal investigation concluded that the cop did likely commit a crime. He was still allowed to stay on the force for more than two decades, and was often sent to respond to cases involving vulnerable children, including alleged victims of sexual abuse. Rose retired from the force in 2018 with an annual pension of close to $78,000. Boston police have refused to release records pertaining to the 1995 case and it remains unclear what, if any, disciplinary action was taken against Rose at that time. Rose pleaded not guilty to 33 total charges involving six alleged victims, including statutory rape and indecent assault and battery on a child, and is being held on $200,000 cash bail. 'My client maintains his innocence to all of the charges that have been brought against him and he maintains his innocence to what was alleged to have transpired back in 1995,' his attorney, William J. Keefe, said. Rose continued serving on the force until he retired in 2018 with $78,000-a-year pension The Boston Police Department in a statement said it was legally prohibited from commenting 'on the facts and circumstances of the 1995 investigation of these horrific allegations.' Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement she found it troubling that Boston police did not properly discipline Rose or restrict his access to children. 'The allegations from decades ago are an example of how systems can fail people,' Rollins said. Acting Mayor Kim Janey is promising more transparency. 'It is appalling that there was a documented history of alleged child sexual abuse, yet this individual was able to serve out his career as an officer and eventually become the head of the patrolmens union for several years,' she said in a statement. 'Under no circumstance will crimes of this nature be tolerated under my administration, and we will not turn a blind eye to injustices as they arise.' Rose has pleaded not guilty to all the counts against him, including statutory rape, and has denied any wrongdoing (pictured in court on August 13, 2020) Boston's police department has a history of protecting officers from accountability, particularly if they are white, like Rose, said retired deputy superintendent Willie Bradley. 'The police department's refusal to actually deal with this issue is a direct contributor to what happened,' Bradley, who is Black and now a lecturer and professor at multiple area colleges, told The Boston Globe. 'It would have been out there and people would have been aware of it, but they hid it.' The Covid-19 pandemic has entered a critical phase as infections exponentially increase despite widespread measures aimed at stopping them, the WHO warned Monday, with record case numbers in South Asia triggering tough new restrictions. However Britons enjoyed the freedoms of a pint and a haircut for the first time in months as curbs eased, illustrating how fast-vaccinating countries are leaving other -- mostly poorer -- nations behind. The coronavirus has already killed more than 2.9 million people and infected nearly 136 million across the world. But the World Health Organization's technical lead on Covid-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said "the trajectory of this pandemic is growing... exponentially." "This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, when we have proven control measures," she told reporters, adding "we are in a critical point of the pandemic right now". India on Monday overtook Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of infections, after logging more than 168,000 new cases in a single day. The recent, rapid increase of infections has taken India's total number of cases to 13.5 million, above Brazil's 13.48 million. - 'Nobody follows the rules' - "The solution is for everyone to stay home for two months and end this (pandemic) once and for all. But the public doesn't listen," said Rohit, a 28-year-old waiter in Mumbai. "Nobody follows the rules in the restaurant... If we tell customers to wear masks, they are rude and disrespectful to us." Experts have warned that huge, mostly maskless and tightly packed crowds at political rallies, mass religious festivals and other public places have fuelled the new wave of cases. In the Himalayan city Haridwar on Monday, maskless Hindu pilgrims squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder on the banks of the Ganges River jostling for a dip as they observed a Kumbh Mela ritual, despite the risk of infection. Story continues Held once every three years, Kumbh Mela is often labelled the world's largest religious gathering, but the 2021 event has posed a challenge to health officials who are struggling to enforce pandemic safety measures. Several regions have tightened curbs on activity while Maharashtra, India's wealthiest state and current epicentre of the country's epidemic, imposed a weekend lockdown and night curfew. But the government is desperate to avoid a repeat of last year's nationwide March shutdown -- one of the world's toughest - which caused widespread human and economic misery. Neighbouring Bangladesh has already resorted to drastic measures, announcing Monday it will shutter all offices for eight days, in an attempt to staunch its own spiralling outbreak. The South Asian nation of 160 million people will virtually seal itself off, shutting down both international and domestic transportation starting Wednesday. All stores, except those supplying food, will close. - Glimmers of hope But elsewhere, there were glimmers of hope in the drawn-out fight against the pandemic. English pubs and restaurants can now serve people outside, a move welcomed by the hard-hit hospitality sector despite forecasts of wintry temperatures. "It'll be great to see everybody again and see all the locals," Louise Porter, landlady of The Crown Inn in Askrigg, northern England, told AFP. "Our lives have just been turned upside down, just like everybody else's," she said, adding, "we're still here to tell the tale". Barbers, hairdressers, indoor gyms and swimming pools have also gotten the go-ahead to reopen. Retail parks and high streets are anticipating a shopping spree, hoping that the partial reprieve after more than three months of stay-at-home orders will trigger a much-needed economic windfall. Once the worst affected country in Europe, Britain launched a successful vaccination campaign coupled with lockdown measures that cut deaths by 95 percent and cases by 90 percent from January. In France, now the European country with the most infections, an expansion of the vaccine rollout on Monday has buoyed optimism among lockdown-weary residents. Everyone over 55 years old is now eligible for Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca jabs. In Greece, high school students were welcomed back to campus for the first time in five months on Monday. Students and teachers will be tested twice per week, but the reopening has some health experts worried since the country is still in the grips of the pandemic. In other positive news, clinical trial results indicated that Regeneron antibody treatment used to treat Covid-19 patients also helps prevent infections. bur-dl/lc Bengaluru, April 12 : Sony India Software Centre set up 5 fellowships for post-graduate women students at the premier Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in computing sciences, an official said on Monday. "The initiative aims to encourage women students pursuing careers in the technology sector," said the official in a statement here. The fellowships will be awarded to 5 women students pursuing masters in robotics and autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, computational and data science, computer science and engineering and electronics and communication engineering. "As the fellowships are for empowering women through education, we hope many women opt for sciences and improve gender diversity in organisations," said Sony India Software Centre's managing director Masayuki Toriumi. The fellowships include a monthly scholarship for the course period and research grant, including travel expenses, purchase of laptops and other consumables. "The goal of fellowships is to encourage more women to pursue higher studies at the premier institute in engineering and technology," said the statement. Women students are admitted to post-graduate courses through a competitive process, based on GATE score and interviews. "The fellowships give push for gender equality in the higher education space," said the institute's chair for development and alumni association affairs P. Yalavarthy on the occasion. The fellowships will be awarded in the August 2021 academic year. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, during a briefing on the results of negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that the positions of official Kyiv and Ankara regarding countering threats in the Black Sea region coincide. "We have thoroughly discussed the issues of security and joint counteraction to challenges in the Black Sea region. It should be noted that the vision of Kyiv and the vision of Ankara coincide both in terms of the threats themselves, and in terms of ways to appropriately respond to these threats," the press service of the President's Office quoted Zelensky as saying. Kolkata, April 12 : Soumen Modnal owns a tea-stall in the market outside Birlapur Jute mill near Budge Budge in South 24 Parganas - nearly 45 kilomteres from Kolkata. Once he was a permanent worker in the jute mill but, now as the mill is closed for the last four years, 38-year Mondal is left with no job. He has to rely on the daily sales of his handmade tea, biscuits and cake. "I have a family and I have to feed it. There is no guarantee of the mill. It opens for three months and remains closed for nine months. Even when it is in operation there is hardly any work for most of the workers and most of them have made an alternative arrangement. When the mill is open, we go every day to find out whether there is any work," Mondal who earns between Rs 200 and Rs 250 a day said. "During the lockdown we neither had any work nor was there any business for us. We had to sell everything we had to run the family," he added. Soumen is not alone. He is one of the thousands of jute workers of the state who are heading towards an uncertain future. BJP's national chief J.P. Nadda said at a poll rally in Hooghly's Dhanekhali that 39 of the 60 jute mills in Bengal were not operating. Though Trinamool Congress contested Nadda's allegation and said that Bengal has some 67 jute mills, with five permanently closed. However, 60 mills are running fully or partially. Though Trinamool congress denied the allegation made by the saffron brigade, the fact remains that with Singur turning out to be an Achilles' heel for the ruling party, the Mamata Banerjee government is also worried due to the lack of employment opportunities and depleted condition of industry in the state and have made several promises including 5 lakh job creation in the party manifesto. Though the Bengal government claimed it created 10 million jobs, but so far, the state employment exchange reportedly has nearly 3.5 million registered job-seekers. There are also 2,00,000 permanent jobs across various government departments, besides 1.5 lakh vacant teaching posts. Around 1.3 million applicants for clerical jobs have not got calls since 2018, while 6 lakh aspirants, who had applied for the posts of sub-inspectors and inspectors have not got calls either. Instead of generating jobs, the Bengal government focused on rolling out unemployment allowance. Under the Yuvasree scheme, as many as 1,81,000 unemployed youths receive Rs 1,500 allowance per month and that allowed the BJP to create its own space in the poll mathematics so far as the urban Bengal youth population is concerned. With more than 30 per cent urban population, the BJP has promised one job in every family, 33 per cent reservation in government jobs for women, implementation of 7th pay commission, MSMEs to get loans of up to Rs 10 lakh, and establishment of nine tourist circuits, among others. David Matthews, New York Daily News (TNS) A former Louisiana police dispatcher was arrested last week after she allegedly would not return $1.2 million that was accidentally deposited into her bank account. According to Fox 8, Kelyn Spadoni, 33, has been fired from the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office after being charged with theft valued over $25,000, bank fraud and illegal transmission of monetary funds. Spadoni had worked for the department for 4.5 years. Due to a clerical error, Charles Schwab deposited the extra funds in her account. Spadoni then moved the money to another account which prevented Schwab from retrieving the funds. Charles Schwab was unable to contact Spadoni regarding the error and filed a lawsuit against her and have so far recovered around 75% of the money. Authorities said that after she moved the money, Spadoni used some of it to buy a new house and a car, a 2021 Hyundai Genesis. She has no legal claim to that money, Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Sheriffs Office spokesperson, told NOLA.com. Even if it was put in there by mistake. It was an accounting error. If someone accidentally puts an extra zero on a utility payment, they would want that money returned or credited to them. This is no different, Rivarde added. According to their lawsuit, Schwab said Spadonis contract stated she agreed to return any overpaid funds. Spadoni was being held Thursday on $50,000 bond at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center. Boris Johnson finally had his hair cut today before leading MPs in tributes to Prince Philip. The PM took advantage of lockdown easing to smarten up after complaints about his increasingly shaggy look. But he still struggled to keep his hair under control as he left a windy Downing Street for the House of Commons this afternoon. Piers Morgan previously compared the PM's haircut to scarecrow Worzel Gummidge - before revealing Mr Johnson's fiance Carrie Symonds had finally cut off some of his locks in February. Morgan announced on Twitter that the Prime Minister had had his shaggy blonde locks cut by his partner 'for the first time'. Today Mr Johnson was able to get a professional haircut, as barbers reopened as part of the easing of lockdown. Celebrity stylist James Johnson said: 'Nice to see Boris has gone straight in for a trim. Like many of us Im sure hes been waiting to get in the hairdresser's chair. 'I love the fact hes kept his messy texture whilst keeping it smart and tidy around the ears! It looks less out of control and more suited for the Prime Minister.' The trim came before a seven-hour session with MPs commemorating the extraordinary life of the Duke of Edinburgh. The PM has taken advantage of lockdown easing to smarten up before the seven-hour session commemorating the extraordinary life of the Duke of Edinburgh in the House of Commons Along with the rest of the country, Mr Johnson has been deprived of access to hairdressers since January as part of efforts to control coronavirus. He had said getting his locks shorn was one of the things he was most looking forward to when the restrictions ease. Salon owners had criticised some of the haircuts sported by the PM during the previous months of lockdown. One trim on December 9 was condemned by Ricky Walters, founder of Londons Salon64, who said at the time: 2020 has been a tough year for us all and Boris Johnsons haircut truly sums it all up. 'Whether cut using a pudding bowl, blunt kitchen scissors or a knife and fork, is certainly a cause for concern'. Mr Johnson was out jogging this morning ahead of the tributes session in the Commons Mr Johnson still struggled to keep his hair under control as he left a windy Downing Street for the House of Commons this afternoon Stylists hit out at Boris Johnson's hair over the past year as lockdown measures closed many hairdressers. The PM is pictured on December 9 The PM was lambasted for his questionable hair choice when he appeared live during Prime Minister's Questions in February - with some outraged viewers likening him to a 'deranged Worzel Gummidge'. Criticism culminated when Mr Johnson appeared on television screens during the Downing Street press briefing this afternoon. Viewers said the PM, whose hair was flicked over to one side, looked as though he had a bald patch in the middle of his head. Following a haircut today, the PM was pictured heading to a seven-hour session to commemorate the life of Prince Philip, following his death, aged 99, on Friday. Speaking at the session this afternoon, Mr Johnson voiced the 'heartfelt thanks of the nation' for Prince Philip's dutiful service. The PM hailed the 'unfailing dedication' of the Duke of Edinburgh to the country and the Commonwealth. He praised the 'astonishing' number of public engagements carried out and the way Philip 'touched the lives of millions', also pointing out that he occasionally 'drove a coach and horses' through diplomatic protocol. Mr Johnson was ridiculed for his out of control locks in February, when his hair was seen in several wild states in a single day - including when it appeared to blow out of control while arriving in Downing Street. Weeks later fiance Carrie Symonds gave him a trim The PM, 56, looked as though he had not put a brush to his head for Prime Minister's Questions in February Criticism culminated when Mr Johnson appeared on television screens during the Downing Street press briefing this afternoon Mr Johnson said: 'It is fitting that on Saturday his Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will be conveyed to his final resting place in a Land Rover which Prince Philip designed himself, with a long wheel base and capacious rear cabin. 'Because that vehicle's unique and idiosyncratic silhouette reminds the world that he was above all a practical man, who could take something very traditional whether a machine or, indeed, a great national institution and find a way by his own ingenuity to improve it, to adapt it for the 20th and 21st century.' Politicians across the UK are offering their respects to Philip, whose death the Queen has described as 'having left a huge void in her life'. The early return of parliaments in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff comes after a weekend which has seen all four of Philip's children speak movingly about the loss of their father. After a church service in Windsor yesterday, where some of the royals said prayers for Philip, the Duke of York revealed the personal feelings of the Queen. He said: 'She described it as having left a huge void in her life but we, the family, the ones that are close, are rallying round to make sure that we're there to support her.' Andrew said his mother is 'an incredibly stoic person', with his sister-in-law the Countess of Wessex adding that the Queen is 'thinking of others before herself'. The Earl of Wessex said his mother is 'bearing up' and that the 'wave of affection' for his father and 'fantastic' tributes are appreciated by the family. Andrew described the death of his father as resonating with many people, saying: 'We've lost almost the grandfather of the nation.' After the service at Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, Sophie candidly described the circumstances of the duke's death as 'very peaceful' when she chatted to a member of the congregation, saying it was if 'somebody took him by the hand and off he went'. It is understood the Queen attended a private church service within Windsor Castle. Along with the rest of the country, Mr Johnson (pictured in Cornwall last week) has been deprived of access to hairdressers since January as part of efforts to control coronavirus In a message released later on Sunday, the Princess Royal added her thanks to the public, as she paid tribute to her father as someone who 'leaves a legacy which can inspire us all'. Anne said: 'My father has been my teacher, my supporter and my critic, but mostly it is his example of a life well lived and service freely given that I most wanted to emulate.' Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle on Friday morning, two months before his 100th birthday. The Queen has described the loss of the Duke of Edinburgh (pictured with the Queen in 2007) as 'having left a huge void in her life', according to Prince Andrew Edward said Philip's death was a 'dreadful shock', and the family was still 'trying to come to terms with that'. Andrew, who stepped down from royal duties over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, said his father had been a 'remarkable man' who was 'so calm' and always ready to listen if someone had a problem. The Prince of Wales had spoken warmly of his 'dear papa' on Saturday, describing him as having 'given the most remarkable, devoted service to the Queen, to my family and to the country, but also to the whole of the Commonwealth'. Members of the public leave floral tributes to Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh outside of Windsor Castle MPs will return to the House of Commons a day early from their Easter break to voice their condolences. The Welsh and Scottish Parliaments are being recalled, while the Northern Ireland Assembly will also see members pay tributes on Monday. Only 30 people expected to be Philip's children, grandchildren and other close family will attend the duke's funeral on Saturday afternoon as guests. Mr Johnson has said he will not attend the funeral to allow as many family members as possible to attend during coronavirus restrictions. The Duke of Sussex is reported to have arrived in the UK from the US, but the Duchess of Sussex is said to have been advised by her doctor not to travel for the funeral, which will be televised and take place entirely in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Mumbai: The police in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district busted a mattress factory for using discarded masks instead of cotton as stuffing. As per media reports, the police recovered piles of masks on the premises. The owner of the unit has been booked and a probe has been launched. "When the officials visited the premises of the factory in Kusumba village of MIDC, they found a mattress being stuffed with used masks," Additional Superintendent of Police Chandrakant Gawali was quoted as saying by NDTV. Officials at Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) the police station in Jalgaon were informed of the alleged racket being carried out at the Maharashtra Mattress Centre. India is in the middle of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with some 1.68 lakh new cases of infection being reported in the past 24 hours. While, Maharashtra alone has reported 63,294 of these, with 349 deaths. The country currently leads the world in the daily average number of new infections reported in more than two weeks, accounting for one in every six infections reported globally each day. With these numbers India has overtaken Brazil as the second most worst-hit nation next only ot the US. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 13:26:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A staff member transports vaccines developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac at the El Dorado airport in Bogota, Colombia, April 11, 2021. A new batch of vaccines developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac arrived at the El Dorado airport here in Colombian capital on Sunday to help keep the country's National Vaccination Plan against COVID-19 on track. (Colombian Presidential Office/Handout via Xinhua) BOGOTA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A new batch of vaccines developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac arrived at the El Dorado airport here in Colombian capital on Sunday to help keep the country's National Vaccination Plan against COVID-19 on track. The Sinovac doses will be used to continue vaccinating healthcare workers and people aged above 70 in the country. Victor Munoz, director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency, confirmed the arrival of the shipment via Twitter, saying most of it will be used to apply second doses. The Colombian government, which plans to vaccinate more than 35 million people in 2021, announced a total of 3,041,349 doses had been applied as of this weekend. Currently, Colombia is undergoing a new wave of COVID-19 infections, with a total of 2,536,198 people testing positive for the virus since the onset of the outbreak here and 65,889 deaths from the disease, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Health. The pandemic in Israel was eliminated due to restrictions on movement and contacts, doctor of the Ramat Aviv Medical Center Boris Brill is convinced, as he said in a video that was shown by leader of the UDAR party, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko during online-briefing. "In Israel, strict restrictions on the movement of people between cities, movement within one kilometer with tough fines and roadblocks managed to curb the pandemic. If we are talking about reducing the spread of the virus, we need to reduce contacts. And reducing contacts is only with the help of a lockdown. This is if we are talking about evidence-based medicine, and not about talking in the kitchen or on the street," the press service of Klitschko said, citing Brill. The Israeli physician said that it makes no sense to impose lockdowns in certain regions without restricting the movement of citizens around the country. "And if you do this only in your own yard, and someone comes from another yard, or from another city, it will also infect people. Restrictions on movement between regions is naturally justified, because this is one of the ways to prevent the transmission of the virus. Reducing contacts for all epidemiological standards reduces transmission of the virus and saves as many lives as possible," Brill said. Kyiv Mayor Klitschko said the national lockdown is considered expedient not only by Israeli, but also by European experts. "Israel, as you know, first by harsh measures, a total lockdown, and then by mass vaccination of the population, overcame a difficult situation with the spread of the virus. The specialists of the [Robert] Koch Institute in Germany, with whom I communicate, and Ukrainian well-known specialists, say about the same. I believe that those who make decisions today understand their full responsibility for the actions on which the health and life of Ukrainians depends today," he said. 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High 88F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 60F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. TOLEDO, Ohio, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) today announced that it will release first quarter 2021 financial results after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The Company will host a conference call and webcast on Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss these results. The Company's earnings release will be available in the Investors section of the Company's website. Investors and other interested parties may access the conference call in the following ways: At the Company's website: www.welltower.com. Via webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/w2r6c7nc. A webcast replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the conference call and will be available for 90 days. Joining via webcast is recommended for those who will not be asking questions. By telephone: The United States dial-in number is (844) 467-7115. The international dial-in number is (409) 983-9837. The conference ID number is 4881434. All phone participants are asked to dial in 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to ensure connectivity. dial-in number is (844) 467-7115. The international dial-in number is (409) 983-9837. The conference ID number is 4881434. All phone participants are asked to dial in 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to ensure connectivity. A replay of the conference call will be available beginning at approximately 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 29th, 2021 and ending on May 13, 2021 . The replay dial-in number for U.S. participants is (855) 859-2056. For international participants, the replay dial-in is (404) 537-3406. The replay conference ID number is 4881434. About Welltower Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL), an S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. The Company invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience. Welltower, a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), owns interests in properties concentrated in major, high-growth markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing, post-acute communities and outpatient medical properties. More information is available at www.welltower.com. SOURCE Welltower Inc. Related Links http://www.welltower.com FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Couples can exchange vows at 'the end of the world' on a once-in-a-lifetime Antarctica expedition with Atlas Ocean Voyages' new Happy Ever Atlas destination weddings and vow renewals. Departing on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2022, World Navigator's Happy Ever Atlas voyage will offer couples and their companions the most adventurous destination wedding on earth. The Happy Ever Atlas destination wedding package is complimentary for guests when registered in advance. Plus, the bride enjoys a 50 percent savings off her stateroom when the wedding party books five or more rooms. The package includes a legal marriage license, valued at more than $650, and many additional inclusions, which ensure a unique, complete and unforgettable nuptial exchange. As with all Atlas luxe-adventure expeditions, all guests travel in the brand's signature All Inclusive All The Way style, which, on Antarctica expeditions, includes complimentary round-trip air travel aboard Atlas' private charter jet service direct to Ushuaia, Argentina. For more information about Atlas Ocean Voyages' Happy Ever Atlas wedding package, please visit www.AtlasOceanVoyages.com/AntarcticaWedding. "Antarctica is the most coveted bucket-list destination and Atlas Ocean Voyages is delivering the Seventh Continent in the most distinctive and memorable way," said Alberto Aliberti, President of Atlas Ocean Voyages. "World Navigator's Happy Ever Atlas voyage will offer couples the most unique setting to exchange their vows for a wedding day they will never forget. Throughout the voyage, guests will also discover fascinating wildlife; awe at Antarctica's pristine and majestic landscape; and learn about the need to sustain and preserve our planet's fragile ecosystem." Atlas will provide an officiant to conduct the ceremony; a wedding coordinator to ensure everything is perfect for the big day; and a professional wedding photographer to capture each breathtaking moment. Depending on weather, ceremonies can be performed both on land, with penguins, seals and other Antarctica wildlife to bear witness, or in shipboard venues, including World Navigator's bridge. The Happy Ever Atlas wedding package includes marriage license, one-tier wedding cake, digital photo package, welcome itinerary & giftbag, personalized bridal parasol, custom penguin jackets, flower bouquet and boutonniere, and custom nuptial announcements and Thank You cards. World Navigator will also throw separate group bachelorette and bachelor parties, as well as host a wedding reception. Additionally, Atlas will establish an online wedding registry, which allows family and friends to contribute to the couple's voyage costs or other gifts. Family and friends can gift upgraded transfers, excursions, spa services and more. Atlas' signature All Inclusive All the Way provides all guests a complete and seamless experience by including complimentary round-trip air travel, choice of a shore excursion at every port, prepaid gratuities, polar parkas, emergency medical evacuation insurance, premium wine and spirits, international beers and coffees, Wi-Fi, L'OCCITANE bath amenities, and regionally inspired gourmet dining. In every stateroom, guests enjoy binoculars to use on board, en suite coffee, tea and personalized bar service, and butler service in suites. For its Antarctica voyages, Atlas is the first and only cruise brand to charter its own widebody private jet to bring guests in a safe bubble directly to Ushuaia, where Antarctica expeditions embark. Guests travel from 16 major U.S. and Canada gateways and connect with Atlas' branded jet at Orlando airport. Atlas' private charter jet eliminates lengthy layovers in an international airport, common with very limited commercial options. Atlas' Plan With Confidence flexible travel policy provides travelers a 100 percent refund of deposited funds up to 91 days prior to sailing. Plus, they can change their reservation as many times as they want, up to 15 days before their voyages' sail date. They can even change their destination and sail with Atlas in another part of the world or choose to cancel at least 15 days or more prior to the departure date and be assured of a 100 percent future cruise credit. Atlas Ocean Voyages is a luxe-adventure expedition cruise brand designed for experienced and fun-seeking travelers to immerse in exciting and awe-inspiring moments in less-visited, bucket-list destinations. At 9,930 GRTs, World Navigator fosters a refined and convivial ambience for up to 196 guests and features the most-modern hygiene and cleanliness measures incorporated into her state-of-the-art design. World Navigator is Polar Category C- and Ice Class 1B-certified and her construction is on schedule for delivery in July 2021. World Navigator will be joined by World Traveller and World Seeker in 2022 and World Adventurer and World Discoverer in 2023. Atlas welcomes travelers to 'come back to something new' in the brand's new marketing campaign "At Last Atlas" (www.AtlasOceanVoyages.com/itstime.) To learn more, please visit www.AtlasOceanVoyages.com. Also, please follow Atlas Ocean Voyage on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AtlasOceanVoyages), Twitter (www.twitter.com/atlascruises), Instagram (www.instagram.com/AtlasOceanVoyages), and LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/atlascruises). Travel Advisors can call 1.844.44.ATLAS (1.844.442.8527) to book their clients on an unforgettable luxe-adventure expedition. SOURCE Atlas Ocean Voyages Related Links www.atlasoceanvoyages.com [April 12, 2021] Humana Selected by State of Ohio to Serve Medicaid Beneficiaries Leading health and well-being company Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) has been selected by the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) to deliver health care coverage to Medicaid beneficiaries who live throughout Ohio starting in early 2022. Humana will serve adults and children across the state of Ohio with the goal of helping them improve their health and well-being through a holistic, value-based approach to care that goes beyond traditional clinical care. "It is an honor to be entrusted to serve Ohioans covered by Medicaid through an individualized and coordinated approach to care that considers the whole person," said Humana Medicaid President John Barger. "Humana is proud to have served Ohio communities for more than a quarter century, and we share with the Ohio Department of Medicaid a deep commitment to increasing access to care and to improving health outcomes, particularly with the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and other public health challenges facing Ohioans." Humana is one of at least 6 health plans selected as part of a statewide Medicaid managed care procurement issued last year. The state contract will offer an initial two-year term of service, with the option of renewal terms thereafter. More than 566,000 Ohioans currently have health coverage through Humana Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare prescription drug plans, commercial group health plans, and the TRICARE military health care program as administered by Humana. In addition, Humana is proud to be a community partner in Ohio by addressing social determinants of health through its Bold Goal program. The Bold Goal is Humana's population health strategy to improve he health of people it serves, and Cincinnati is one of Humana's official Bold Goal communities. About Humana Healthy Horizons In 2020, Humana launched its new Medicaid brand, Humana Healthy Horizons. With this new brand, we are committed to continue demonstrating our strong ability to manage complex populations and create solutions that lead to a better quality of life for our members. Humana has served Medicaid populations continuously for more than two decades and currently manages Medicaid benefits for nearly 800,000 members nationally. We have developed expertise providing care management, care planning, and specialized clinical management for the complex needs of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); Medicaid Expansion; aged, blind, or disabled (ABD); and dual eligible populations within a social supports-based framework. Through these years of experience, we have also developed significant expertise in integrating physical health, behavioral health, pharmacy, and social services and supports for a whole-person centered approach to improve the health and well-being of our members and the communities we serve. Humana Healthy Horizons is a Medicaid Product of Humana Health Plan, Inc. About Humana Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is committed to helping our millions of medical and specialty members achieve their best health. Our successful history in care delivery and health plan administration is helping us create a new kind of integrated care with the power to improve health and well-being and lower costs. Our efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large. To accomplish that, we support physicians and other health care professionals as they work to deliver the right care in the right place for their patients, our members. Our range of clinical capabilities, resources and tools - such as in-home care, behavioral health, pharmacy services, data analytics and wellness solutions - combine to produce a simplified experience that makes health care easier to navigate and more effective. More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company's web site at www.humana.com, including copies of: Annual reports to stockholders Securities and Exchange Commission filings Most recent investor conference presentations Quarterly earnings news releases and conference calls Calendar of events Corporate Governance information View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005868/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Columns for digital publications launched to celebrate CPC centenary Xinhua) 13:57, April 12, 2021 BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Special columns for digital publications were launched Sunday on 19 websites to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The campaign, organized by the National Press and Publication Administration, features 100 selected digital publication projects of various types, eulogizing the new era. The 19 websites, including major news websites, leading digital reading platforms, and new media websites, will present the selected digital publications to the public free of charge for 100 days. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) MIDDLETOWN Wesleyan University will ensure all students enrolling in fall classes to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to President Michael Roths post on his Roth on Wesleyan blog. In How to Choose A (Our) University, Roth acknowledged many students are wondering what campus life may be like in the fall, especially considering high school seniors have been, for the most part, unable to visit the campuses of their choice due to the pandemic. I can say that we at Wesleyan are planning for a normal university year. Sure, we expect to continue to take health precautions, including ensuring that all students are vaccinated before they begin the semester. And we will monitor the pandemics course throughout the coming months, Roth wrote. Vice President Michael Whaley, in consultation with the universitys pandemic committee, is expected to release a public statement, according to spokeswoman Olivia Drake. Not all other higher education institutions across the state have made a decision on the issue yet, as is the case with Yale University and Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. The college strongly encourages and supports vaccinations throughout the Albertus community, Media Specialist Sarah Barr said in an email. However, it has not made a final decision since the vaccines are still under emergency use authorization and we are researching our options. Albertus is waiting for regulations from the state and/or guidance from the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges and other independent educational institutions to determine a policy, Barr said. If the college requires vaccinations, exemptions will be allowed for religious and medical reasons, as we do for other required vaccinations, Barr said. The University of New Haven is strongly recommending vaccination for all students, dean of the School of Health Sciences Summer Johnson McGee said in an email. We are working with our state Department of Health and Yale New Haven Health System to receive an allocation of vaccines for our students prior to the end of the spring 2021 semester. We also plan to make vaccinations available throughout the summer as well, McGee said. UNH is aiming for an 85 percent natural or acquired immunity among students by July 1. With a high level of vaccination, we anticipate being able to relax many of our COVID policies and restrictions for the fall 2021 semester, she said. Southern Connecticut State University is not requiring student vaccinations, a spokesman said Monday. Meanwhile, Wesleyan, in conjunction with the Community Health Center, will hold two vaccination clinics April 24 and 25 at the 75 Vine St. mass site for students to get the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot on a walk-through basis. The clinic, which is closed to the public, is available to students now studying on campus, Drake said. Editors note: Check back for updates on this article. The St. Helena Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 15, at Vintage Hall. The board will review the annual report from the Measure B/C Bond Programs Citizens Oversight Committee, which confirmed that all bond proceeds have been spent properly on facilities, not salaries or operational expenses. Gillian Casey, the sole remaining member of the oversight committee, is resigning. Her departure leaves the committee with seven vacancies. Remaining bond proceeds will be spent during the 2021-2022 school year, with a final audit to be conducted during the following school year. If the district cannot fill any of the vacancies on the committee, the districts Business Operations Committee will review the expenditures. Also on the boards agenda: - Budget assumptions for the 2021-2022 district budget - A resolution affirming the districts commitment to anti-racism - A resolution regarding the St. Helena High School State Seal of Civic Engagement - A report on 2021 summer school programs .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... PHOENIX Before this month, Mike Payne was constantly switching among his many hats legal, accounting, business consulting. But now that his accounting firm has been approved by the Arizona Supreme Court as one of the first alternative business structures in the state, that is in the process of changing. Now I can wear them all together and say, Yes, we can represent you on a legal matter without any significant formalities, other than increasing the scope of the services we provide to them, Payne said. The state Supreme Court in August 2020 approved eliminating an ethics rule that prohibits nonlawyers from fee sharing and from having economic interests in law firms. The rule change took effect January 1. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ This month, Paynes firm and Trajan Estate, a legal service provider focused on estate planning, were the first to be approved. While other states, such as Utah and California, have toyed with allowing some alternative business structures in some form, Arizona is the first to get rid of the rule entirely. As both a certified public accountant and attorney, Payne runs two firms Payne Huebsch for accounting and Payne Law as a solo attorney. This new structure allows Payne and the other attorney on staff at the accounting firm to also offer legal services. Payne said getting a lawyer involved in an issue can be scary, daunting and expensive and is usually reserved for big life changes. He said the new structure will allow clients to have access to a lawyer as just part of the team without going through a whole separate onboarding process. While Payne said there will always be a place for hourly legal services, he finds alternative billing structures attractive in that they can take the risk of how long this is going to take from the client to the attorney. I think theres a lot of good that can come from getting lawyers into more of a business mindset and away from some of the traditional ways of practicing law, he said. Vice Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer chaired the task force that looked at the courts delivery of legal services, which also led to a rule change creating legal paraprofessionals nonlawyers who are licensed to provide some legal services. The group that looked at the alternative business structures for legal services shared a sentiment that lawyers have an ethical responsibility to make sure legal services are available to the public and to change the rules if they stood in the way of that, according to the task forces report. Its exciting to launch the first ABS entities, and I am certain that such arrangements will serve both the public and legal community in the delivery of quality legal services, Timmer said in a prepared statement. Court of Appeals, Division One Chief Judge Peter Swann sat on the task force and strongly disagreed with eliminating the rule, writing that a better approach to reform would be tackling the systemic issues that make the courts inaccessible and expensive, not adding nonlawyers to the mix and getting rid of an ethics rule. Such a proposal would make Arizona unique in the nation, and a leader in the race to the bottom of legal ethics, Swann wrote. Swann wrote that: The relationship between attorney and client is the most sacred of fiduciary relationships, one not shared by investors, whose interests might conflict with the client. Despite some changes to the ABS structure since the report came out, Swann still opposes the overall idea. I am heartened that the Supreme Court did create an entity regulation structure that definitely improves on the original proposal, but the reservations I have about the system globally remain in place, Swann said. The workshop drew valuable feedback and ideas to remove the logistics challenges facing the Mekong Delta's agricultural sector At the Logistics leverage for the Mekong Delta agri-products workshop held last week in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang, local officials, businesses and experts have shared their thoughts about removing logistics barriers to improve the Mekong Deltas agri-product exports. The Mekong Delta is a key economic region, accounting for around 90 per cent of the countrys rice exports, 65 per cent of the countrys seafood production as well as 70 per cent of the countrys fruit exports. The Mekong Delta exports tens of millions of tonnes of goods each year. However, there is a lack of seaports in the region, especially deep-water ports that can handle export containers. This, coupled with overloaded ports in Ho Chi Minh City, leads to increased service fees, storage fees, and waiting times. According to Le Tien Chau, Secretary of the Hau Giang Provincial Party Committee, the Mekong Delta lacks key logistics centers. Therefore, goods are transported through various locations before reaching Ho Chi Minh City for export. Meanwhile, the transport system in the Mekong Delta has yet to fully develop to meet the demand. These shortcomings including logistics costs constrained agri-products in the Mekong Delta. Specifically, the Mekong Delta has the highest logistics costs accounting for 30 per cent of product costs. The unreasonably high costs make the Mekong Deltas agri-products less competitive than those of Thailand and China, he said. Nguyen Thanh Binh, chairman of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association said that logistics rely greatly on infrastructure. However, there is still a lack of logistics facilities in raw material producing areas like the Mekong Delta, making it difficult for farmers to process crop in a timely manner. Due to high logistics costs, businesses cannot afford to invest in factories and warehouses to raise the competitiveness of local agri-products. Pham Tien Hoai, general director of Hanh Nguyen Logistics introducing the all-in-one logistics centre in Hau Giang To address the challenge, an all-in-one logistics centre for all agricultural export procedures has been put into operation in Hau Giang province, which will help optimise logistics costs and improve the competitiveness of regional agriculture in the international markets. Pham Tien Hoai, general director of Hanh Nguyen Logistics, the investor of the project said that the centre will address the challenges of farmers, producers (traders and businesses), and exporters. The centre is a gathering place for hundreds of traders buying agri-products from farmers. In particular, it is possible to store agri-products after harvest for up to 90 days instead of just the usual seven days. Thanks to the centre, farmers will no longer face the price pressure while freeing them up to find markets for their products. Farmers can also receive fair profits for their efforts and investments without facing the situation of agri-product rescue, he said. In addition, the center boasts a storage warehouse with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes as well as a workshop for sorting, packaging, and irradiation. Therefore, agricultural processing and export businesses do not need to invest tens of billions of dong to access modern processing and packaging facilities for their agri-products. The centre also features hundreds of booths for product demonstration so that businesses can do business with foreign importers. It means that foreign importers do not need to travel across the Mekong Delta to seek agri-products to import. They just need to visit the centre to find the best products. Le Tien Chau, Secretary of Hau Giang Party Committee said that the local authorities highly appreciate the model and supported the firm in gaining access to bank capital and land fund. To support logistics development in the coming time, Hau Giang will invest VND18 trillion ($781 million) to develop transport infrastructure to improve regional connectivity. Hopefully, Vietnam's agri-products will be able to compete with other countries' agri-products. The man arrested in connection with the shooting reported at Sugar Rush Party-land that left one dead and five injured will appear in court for the first time this week. Anthony Tays Jr., 18, was served with arrest warrants on April 6 charging him with one count of murder and five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is scheduled for a writ of habeas corpus hearing on Thursday in the 406th District Court with 341st District Court Judge Beckie Palomo presiding. On April 5, Laredo Police officers responded to a shooting at about 5 a.m. on 4502 McPherson Road where they encountered five injured men ages 23, 25, 26, 29 and 31. All were taken to various hospitals for treatment. A sixth man identified as Jaime Leal Rodriguez, 22, was taken to Laredo Medical Center via private vehicle. After arriving at LMC, he died due to his injuries. His death was recorded as the citys third homicide this year. Investigators were able to determine that Tays was the assailant who injured the (five) victims and critically injured Mr. Rodriguez. Preliminary findings indicate that the victims were stabbed during a knife attack committed by Tays, LPD said in a statement. The investigation also revealed that Herrera discharged a firearm several times inside the reception hall. The preliminary findings do not indicate that the victims were injured as a result of gunfire. Investigators presented their findings in the case to the Webb County District Attorneys Office. Authorities gathered enough evidence to secure the warrants for Tays and Herrera. Police pointed out that this incident was not a random act of violence, rather an altercation that escalated to violence amongst known acquaintances. Tays remains behind bars at the Webb County Jail. Three other murder cases In addition to Tays, three murder cases are on the docket for Wednesday. In the 341st District Court, Kevin Costilla, 20, is scheduled for a final pretrial hearing. He is accused of fatally shooting Victoria Vicky Mireles, 16, in the back of the head, claiming self-defense after she allegedly set him up to rob him of his cellphone. The case unraveled at about at about 9:38 p.m. March 30, 2020 as police officers responded to a report of one female shot in the 4000 block of Totem Pole Lane. First officers on the scene discovered Mireles lying face down with a gunshot wound to the back of the head, records state. Witnesses identified the shooter as Kevin Castillo or Kevin Castro. In the 49th District Court, Moises David Robles is scheduled for a status hearing. According to online court records, Robles is charged with one count of murder and one count of escape while arrested. In April 2018, Robles was charged with the murder of Juan Ricardo Munoz, 19, in the 500 block of North Stone Avenue in a small apartment unit across the street from the railroad tracks. LPD officers responded to the shooting on Stone at about 1:30 a.m. In an apartment, they found Munoz on the floor with a single gunshot wound to his chest, according to the Laredo Fire Department. LPDs crimes against persons detectives took over the investigation and developed information that identified Robles as the suspect, Laredo Police said. The suspect and the victim were known to each other, LPD said. Its unclear why Robles allegedly shot Munoz. In the 111th District Court, Robert Thomas de Leon is scheduled for an arraignment hearing after being accused of fatally shooting David Arnulfo Morales, 33, because Morales had gone to de Leons property looking for a woman who Morales claimed owed him sex, states the arrest affidavit. De Leon allegedly shot Morales twice after Morales was refusing to leave de Leons property. Court documents state that Morales was unarmed and de Leon had a license to carry a handgun. De Leon was arrested and charged with murder on Oct. 4. The next day, he was released without bond by Associate Judge David Garcia on no probable cause, according to county jail records. At about 1:18 a.m. on Oct. 4, a woman called police to report a subject disturbing at a home in the 3900 block of San Agustin Avenue. She stated that a man had arrived at her residence and was refusing the leave. Police said the call-taker then heard two gunshots in the background. Moments later, de Leon spoke to the call-taker and requested an ambulance as he stated that he had shot the man who was disturbing. De Leon identified himself as the homeowner and further added that this was the second time that day that the man had gone to his house to disturb, states the affidavit. De Leon was instructed to secure the gun properly for his safety, according to court documents. First officers on the scene arrived to find an injured man, later identified as Morales, outside the front of the residence. Police then approached de Leon, who had secured his firearm on top of his dining room table. Haiti - Health : USAID trains 2,500 health workers The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has invested in the training and essential resources whose health workers need to provide quality care and meet health challenges. Through USAID's Health Project, 2,500 health workers have been trained to help mothers prepare for childbirth, including what to do in case of complications, to provide care to new mothers and babies, to teach new mothers to breastfeed and to recognize danger signs that require further medical attention. In addition, USAID supported the training of 108 healthcare providers in 7 hospitals on the use of the 37 ventilators that were donated by the US government to Haiti. "Strong health systems underpin all other investments in health and lead to greater resilience and global health security," the agency argues. S / HaitiLibre Starting later this month, about 51,000 New York City public school students who have been learning remotely for the past year will be able to return to classrooms, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday, including middle and high school students. The announcement marks one of the most significant changes prompted by last months guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that schools could reduce social distancing between students in classrooms to three feet from six. For now, only elementary schools will switch to three feet. Students in all grades who signed up for in-person classes over the last several weeks will be able to return starting April 26, Mr. de Blasio said. Previously, the city had committed only to bringing back elementary school students who wanted to switch to in-person classes. Though a large number of families are eager for their children to return to classrooms, the families of about 650,000 of the citys roughly 1 million students have decided to have them continue learning from home through the end of the school year in June. The families have made that choice even though the city schools have had very low transmission, and tens of thousands of educators are fully vaccinated. Last week, the city also eased a school closure rule that had led to frequent temporary closures, which frustrated many parents. Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is calling for an EU exit and an end to the 'lockdown madness' in its election manifesto for the coming September election. Around 600 members of the party, which entered the national parliament for first time after the 2017 election, met in Dresden - despite coronavirus restrictions - to agree an election manifesto. Dogged by internal divisions over how radical the party should be, it has dipped to around 11 per cent in polls from nearly 13 per cent in the 2017 election when it was the third biggest party and became the official parliamentary opposition. Around 600 members of Alternative for Germany (AfD) met in Dresden despite coronavirus restrictions to agree an election manifesto. Pictured: Party co-chairman Joerg Meuthen During the pandemic the AfD has been linked with coronavirus deniers and opposed compulsory vaccinations - which the government has never proposed. Some AfD members have joined anti-lockdown demonstrations. Co-leader Joerg Meuthen told the conference: 'The AfD wants to show these orgies of prohibition, this imprisonment, this lockdown madness, that there is no need for this.' Delegates backed a coronavirus resolution with the slogan 'Germany. But normal', which includes rejecting wearing masks in day-care centres and schools and ending 'disproportionate' lockdown measures. Germany is struggling to contain a third wave of the pandemic and polls show a majority backs restrictions. Angela Merkel's government is drawing up a law to impose nationwide measures to avoid a confusing patchwork of rules which are not consistently implemented. The AfD has been linked with Covid deniers and has opposed compulsory vaccinations which the government has never proposed. Pictured: Delegates during the two-day AfD conference AfD delegates also backed a call for Germany to leave the EU and set up a new European community of economies and interests. Set up in 2013 as an anti-euro party during the euro zone debt crisis, the party has shifted to the right and capitalised on voter anger over Merkel's 2015 open-door migrant policy. It has called for border controls and a ban on minarets. Its tough line on migration led some conservatives to shift to the right but since entering parliament, the AfD has had little impact on policy. All mainstream parties refuse to cooperate with it. Mumbai, April 12 : Siemens Healthcare Private Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of global medtech company Siemens Healthineers AG, has elevated Vivek Kanade as its Managing Director. Kanade will continue to lead the business for Siemens Healthineers India including manufacturing, sales and distribution, strategy for 'Zone India', comprising of neighboring countries -- Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, said a company statement. During his association with Siemens for over 27 years, he has held various positions across diverse functions in sales, service management, regional management and modality management. Before moving into Siemens Healthineers in India, Kanade was Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for the refurbished business, based out of Forchheim, Germany. LAS VEGAS, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Australis Capital Inc. (CSE: AUSA) (OTC: AUSAF) ("AUSA" or the "Company") today announced it has appointed Dr. Jason Dyck as its new Chief Science Officer, and Chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board. (SAB). The appointment is in line with the Company's strategy to leverage the roots of its management team in medical cannabis, and develop offerings and partnerships that are aimed at the medical and wellness markets. Dr. Dyck has a wealth of experience in leading cannabis related medical research, as well as has deep connections and a high standing throughout the industry. Previously, Dr. Dyck led the research and science team at Aurora Cannabis in its formative years, playing a significant role in helping it become the medical cannabis industry leader that it is today. In addition, a component of Dr. Dyck's research at the University of Alberta involves the study of medical cannabis users. Dr. Dyck has established the world's largest known medical cannabis database of over 160,000 patients that links these patients to comprehensive provincial administrative health data. This type of database is being used by Dr. Dyck and his colleagues at the University of Alberta to determine how medical cannabis use influences use of other medications, health insurance claims, acute and ambulatory care episodes, accident claims, and other key health outcomes. In this newly created position, Dr. Dyck will be responsible for leading the Company's scientific efforts in relation to medical and wellness applications for cannabis, both THC and CBD, as well as play an important role in the identification and vetting of partnership opportunities with medical and science-based innovators. The SAB mandate will include, but is not limited to, providing advice, analysis and direction related to the scientific investigation, development and market implementation of possible human use and/or consumption of products derived from Cannabis and/or Hemp containing cannabinoids and terpenes. Management Commentary Dr. Dyck commented, "I am very excited about taking on this new responsibility at AUSA. We believe that medical science will play an increasingly important role in the development of the cannabis industry. I look forward to providing AUSA with advice and direction in its scientific efforts towards bringing innovations to market with immediate and significant commercial appeal." Dr. Duke Fu, COO at AUSA, added, "We believe that Jason's capabilities and connections in medical science and the cannabis industry will prove tremendous assets for the Company as we look to develop commercially valuable innovations for the medical, wellness and adult use markets. I look forward to working with Jason as we take AUSA's scientific efforts to the next level." Dr. Dyck Dr. Dyck serves in many leadership roles, including as the director of the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University of Alberta, Canada. Dr. Dyck also established and co-directs a province-wide clinical heart failure research program called Alberta HEART that is a translational research program in heart failure. This leadership fosters collaborations, and promotes translational research at the local, provincial, and national levels. The quality, quantity and impact of Dr. Dyck's research has been substantial. He has published over 230 peer-reviewed papers in high quality journals. An impressive feature of his program is that Dr. Dyck advances his basic research findings to clinical research by obtaining peer-reviewed funding for clinical trials, which has contributed to his translational research productivity. Dr. Dyck has received many research distinctions, including being named a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, the Canadian Hypertension Society/Pfizer Award, the Averback Gene Therapy Award, the Hypertension Top Paper Award and he was recognized as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 (2007). Moreover, Dr. Dyck has received many salary awards (12), and he is currently a Canada Research Chair in Molecular Medicine. Dr. Dyck received a PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Alberta in 1995 and trained at Dartmouth Medical School (Hanover, New Hampshire) and Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas). About Australis Capital Inc. AUSA is implementing a capital light growth strategy towards establishing a highly competitive and profitable MSO in the U.S. and global cannabis markets. AUSA's business lines and assets include a 51% ownership interest in ALPS with an option to acquire the remaining 49%, as well as investments in Cocoon, Body and Mind Inc., Quality Green, land assets in Washington, and a joint venture partnership with 3 Rivers Biotech. AUSA has also completed the first stage of the transaction to acquire Green Therapeutics LLC, an award-winning MSO with operations in Nevada, and is taking steps to operationalize related assets in Oklahoma and Missouri. The Company's common shares trade on the CSE under the symbol "AUSA" and on the OTCQB under the symbol "AUSAF". "Terry Booth" ________________________________ Terry BoothChief Executive Officer Forward-Looking Statement This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein is forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information in relation to: the timing and ability to close the proposed transaction; the anticipated development of the GT business and its ability to grow revenues; the proposed transaction being immediately accretive to the Company's financial position; the ability of the Company to scale up the GT assets across multiple jurisdictions; the ability for the Company to be able to execute on its plans for expansion in Oklahoma, Missouri and other markets; the impact of the changes to U.S. federal and state developments with respect to the cannabis industry and the opportunities this may present for the Company; and the Company's current liquidity. This forward-looking information reflects the Company's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company and on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the ability of the Company to successfully satisfy the conditions to closing the proposed transaction; the ability of the Company to successfully execute on its plans for the Company and GT; legal changes relating to the cannabis industry proceeding as anticipated; and the Company's continued response and ability to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic being consistent with, or better than, its ability and response to date. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market prices for securities; the actual results of the Company's future operations; competition; changes in legislation affecting the Company; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals; 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, economic activity, financing, supply chains and sales channels, and a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession; and a deterioration of financial markets that could limit the Company'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 the Company's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. 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. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. However, the Company 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. The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/australis-appoints-dr-jason-dyck-as-chief-science-officer-301266605.html SOURCE Australis Capital Inc. DEFENDER-Europe 2021: Practicing for the War with Russia April 11 , 2021 (EIRNS)The ongoing DEFENDER-Europe 2021 NATO exercise takes place amid rising pre-war tension between Ukraine and Russia, clearly instigated by the Joe Biden, who was the proconsul of Ukraine only 5-6 years ago, issuing orders directly from the podium of its neo-fascist-dominated Supreme Rada. The current escalation could be said to have been triggered by a Feb. 26 White House statement attributed to President Joe Biden on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the reunification of Crimea to Russia. The statement provocatively declared: On this somber anniversary, we reaffirm a simple truth: Crimea is Ukraine. On April 2, President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone and affirmed the United States unwavering support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russias ongoing aggression in the Donbas and Crimea. Zelensky then began stridently demanding quick membership in NATO, in telephone calls to European officials for the purpose. The DEFENDER-Europe 21 exercise was kicked off on March 15 and it will be the largest exercise of its kind in Europe since the days of the annual Reforger exercises during the Cold War. Its 2020 predecessor was scaled back considerably because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This years iteration of the exercise will involve more than 28,000 troops from 26 nations which will conduct nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in a dozen countries between May and June. According to the U.S. Army Europe and Africa press release, equipment and personnel were to begin moving from the United States in March, and in April participating units were to begin drawing Army Prepositioned Stock from sites in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The bulk of training activities will occur in May and the exercise will conclude in June with the redeployment of U.S.-based forces and equipment. The explosive hot-war potential of this can be seen in the April 4th words of the representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas, Alexey Arestovich. He said: A large-scale NATO exercise called DEFENDER-Europe 2021 has begun, which means protect Europe. The scenario is that from the Baltic sea to the Black Sea, we are practicing forwell, lets put it directlythe war with Russia, the scenario of armed confrontation with Russia. This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays. On Tech is back from a spring break, and the magnolia trees are blooming outside On Tech headquarters (a.k.a., my New York apartment). Today, lets talk about relatively simple technology and a change in government policy that could unleash more innovation for Americans who have difficulty hearing. Ive been speaking with audiologists, consumer advocates and technology companies about what could be a revolution for our ears hearing aids at a fraction of the cost and hassle of conventional devices. Heres how things stand now: Hearing loss is a pervasive and serious health problem, and many people are reluctant or cant afford to get conventional hearing aids. Nearly 38 million American adults report some degree of hearing loss, but only a minority of people who could benefit from hearing aids have ever used them. "New York is a Great Lakes state, and protection of our globally significant resources often falls on the shoulders of frontline communities and organizations," said Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper Executive Director Jill Jedlicka. "Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is honored to lead this effort, and we are grateful for EPA's support for this multi-state, multi-lake collaborative effort. We are thrilled to be able to work with our fellow Waterkeeper organizations around the Great Lakes." "The Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for 40 million Americans and Canadians," says Cheryl Nenn, Milwaukee Riverkeeper. "We are excited to partner with other Great Lakes Waterkeepers and groups on a Great Lakes Cleanup effort." "We applaud our friends at Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper for leading this coordinated effort across the Great Lakes basin," says Heather Smith, Grand Traverse Baykeeper. "We are thrilled to be deploying volunteers to clean up Grand Traverse Bay beaches and shoreline areas." Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, along with Great Lakes Waterkeepers and other partners including the Seneca Park Zoo, will utilize this federal funding to coordinate trash cleanup events and awareness campaigns in their respective Great Lakes communities. The goal is to remove 68 metric tons of trash from over 17,000 acres of watershed by the end of 2022. Waterkeeper groups hosting cleanups include: Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper : Spring Sweep , April 24 - May 2, 2021 ; More information here . : , ; More information . Milwaukee Riverkeeper : Spring Cleanup, April 24, 2021 ; Registration, locations, and more information here . : Spring Cleanup, ; Registration, locations, and more information . Friends of the Detroit River (parent group to Detroit Riverkeeper ): Spring Cleanup, April 24, 2021 ; More information here . ): Spring Cleanup, ; More information . The Watershed Center (parent group to Grand Traverse Baykeeper ): Public Beach Cleanup, May 1-2, 2021 ; More information here . ): Public Beach Cleanup, ; More information . Save the River, (parent group to Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper): Trash Free River Cleanups; May 15 , Cape Vincent ; June 11-12 , Wellesley Island ; August 12 , Chippewa Bay ; More information here . A full list of events and volunteer opportunities can be found here . About Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is a community-based non-profit organization that protects and restores our waters and surrounding ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations. For over 30 years, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper has been the guardian of Western New York's fresh water, protecting clean water, restoring the health of ecosystems, connecting people to the water and inspiring economic growth and community engagement. For more information, please visit www.bnwaterkeeper.org . About Waterkeeper Alliance Waterkeeper Alliance is a global movement uniting more than 350 Waterkeeper groups around the world, focusing citizen action on issues that affect our waterways, from pollution to climate change. The Waterkeeper movement patrols and protects over 2.75 million square miles of rivers, lakes, and coastlines in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. For more information, please visit waterkeeper.org . SOURCE Waterkeeper Alliance Related Links www.waterkeeper.org It's every military family's worst-case scenario. Your crates and boxes finally arrive in your new home, and something is missing. At first, it really doesn't matter what it is. You're frustrated, youre annoyed and you feel betrayed. Then you start thinking about the items missing, and you may get angry, hurt or sad. Sometimes things cannot be replaced easily. You have a few options on what to do when something is missing on your move. File a Claim If you're missing something, don't hesitate to file a claim through the Defense Personal Property System (DPS). Yes, even for irreplaceable items. The more detailed you can be on this, the better the outcome will be. Some things can't be replaced -- for example, photos or a scrapbook -- but you may be able to get money for those things and then rebuild the scrapbook with that cash. Don't hesitate to fight for your replacement value to rebuild your collection or replace valuable items. Take to the Internet When military spouse Krista Simpson Anderson moved from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in the summer of 2018, two very important things went missing: a pair of chests that held the uniform and other items of Staff Sgt. Michael Simpson, who died from combat injuries on May 1, 2013. Krista, who remarried a service member, had emptied the chests of their contents for the move but noticed they were missing as soon as the truck was emptied. Her attempts to locate them through the moving company were fruitless. She took to Facebook in the hope that someone may have gotten them in their shipment. Then, Military.com ran an article with the information, bringing the story to more people. A friend saw the post and had a contact at U.S. Transportation Command. The chests were located within 24 hours and delivered shortly thereafter. The power of social media helped Anderson find her valuable items, and it can help others find their things as well. Lost During My PCS Facebook Group Just as Anderson took to the internet to find her lost items, military spouses and service members post in the Lost During My PCS Facebook group -- as well as in local installation groups -- in attempts to find their items. By sharing the information on when and from where items were packed, which company transported them and a description, group members have helped recover some lost items. There are more than 33,000 members in the group, and that number grows each time PCS season gets closer. Search for Replacements For some items, finding a replacement isn't impossible; it's just time consuming. For example, if a collection of coins or old unit patches goes missing, there's a decent chance you can find replacements. One of your options may involve reaching out to the units or coworkers where the coin or patch was from and asking whether they have extras. You also can find almost anything on eBay, including military coins. The vast military spouse network can help you find almost anything, including valuable items that you want to replace. Don't hesitate to reach out to any and all groups. Almost every military family has lost something of value in a move, and if they can help, they will. Take the Next Step Veterans United helps veterans become homeowners with VA loans. See what your military service has earned you. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. A recent market study published by Future Market Insights on the contraceptive market offers global industry analysis for 2014-2018 & opportunity assessment for 2019-2029. The study offers a comprehensive assessment of contraceptive market dynamics. After conducting a thorough research on the historical, as well as current growth parameters, the growth prospects of the market are obtained with maximum precision. Market Segmentation The global contraceptive market is segmented in detail to cover every aspect of the market and present complete market intelligence to readers. Product Type Contraceptive Drugs Oral Contraceptive Pills Injectables Topical Contraceptive Devices Diaphgrams Sponges Vaginal Rings Subdermal Implants Intrauterine Device Condom Request a Sample of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1091 Gender Male Female Price Range High Range Low / Economy Range Sales Channel Wholesaler/ Distributor Hypermarket/ Supermarket Specialty Stores Drug & Pharma Stores Convenience Stores Online Others (hospitals, clinics etc.) Region North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Oceania Middle East & Africa Report Chapters Chapter 01 - Executive Summary The executive summary of the contraceptive market includes the market country analysis, opportunity assessment, and recommendations on the global contraceptive market. Chapter 02 - Market Overview Readers can find the detailed segmentation and definition of the contraceptive market in this chapter, which will help them understand basic information about the contraceptive market. This section also highlights the inclusions and exclusions, which help the reader understand the scope of the contraceptive market report. The associated industry assessment of the contraceptive market is carried out in this section. The macroeconomic factors affecting growth of the contraceptive market are provided in this section and the impact of these macroeconomic indicators on the contraceptive market is analyzed. The technological advancements in the contraceptive market is also provided. The drivers and restraints impacting the growth of the contraceptive market are explained in this chapter. Opportunities and ongoing trends in the contraceptive market are also comprehensively discussed. Get Full Report Buy Now @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/1091 Chapter 03 - Global Contraceptive Market Analysis 2014-2018 and Forecast 2019-2029 This chapter includes detailed analysis of the historical contraceptive market (2014-2018), along with an opportunity analysis for the forecast period (2019-2029). This chapter provides details about the contraceptive market on the basis of product type, gender, price range, sales channel and region. This chapter explains how the Contraceptive market is anticipated to grow across North America, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Oceania and the Middle East and Africa. Chapter 04 - North America Contraceptive Market Size and Forecast, 2014-2029 This chapter includes a detailed analysis of the growth of the contraceptive market in the North America region, along with a country-wise assessment that includes the U.S. and Canada. This chapter provides details about the North America contraceptive market on the basis of product type, gender, price range, sales channel. Chapter 05 - Latin America Contraceptive Market Analysis 2014-2018 & Forecast 2019-2029 This chapter includes a detailed analysis of the growth of the contraceptive market in the Latin America region, along with a country-wise assessment that includes the Brazil, Mexico & Rest of Latin America. This chapter provides details about the Latin America contraceptive market on the basis of product type, gender, price range, sales channel. Chapter 06 -Europe Contraceptive Market Analysis 2014-2018 & Forecast 2019-2029 Important growth prospects of the contraceptive market based on product type, gender, price range, sales channel for all countries such as Germany, U.K., Spain, France, Italy and Rest of Europe are included in this chapter. Chapter 07 - East Asia Contraceptive Market Analysis 2014-2018 & Forecast 2019-2029 This chapter includes a detailed analysis of the growth of the contraceptive market in East Asia region including the important growth prospects of the contraceptive in several countries such as China, Japan, South Kore are included in this chapter. Chapter 08 - South Asia Contraceptive Market Analysis 2014-2018 & Forecast 2019-2029 This chapter includes a detailed analysis of the growth of the contraceptive market in the South Asia region, along with a country-wise assessment that includes, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Rest of South Asia & Pacific. Chapter 09 - Oceania Contraceptive Market Analysis 2014-2018 & Forecast 2019-2029 This chapter includes a detailed analysis of the growth of the contraceptive market in the Oceania region, along with a country-wise assessment that includes, Australia and New Zealand. Chapter 09 - Middle East and Africa Contraceptive Market Analysis 2014-2018 & Forecast 2019-2029 This chapter offers insights into how the contraceptive market is expected to grow in major countries in the MEA region such as GCC Countries, Northern Africa, South Africa, and Rest of MEA, during the forecast period 2019-2029. Chapter 10- Competition Assessment In this chapter, readers can find detailed information about tier analysis and market concentration of the key players in the contraceptive market along with their market presence analysis by region and product portfolio. Request for Report Ask A Question @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-1091 Chapter 11 - Competition Deep-Dive In this chapter, readers can find a comprehensive list of leading companies in the contraceptive market, along with detailed information about each company, which includes company overview, revenue shares, strategic overview, and recent company developments. Some of the market players featured in the report are Bayer AGPfizer Inc., Janssen Global Services, LLC, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Merck & Co., Inc., Mylan N.V., Allergan Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, Veru Inc., Church & Dwight Co., Inc., Medisafe Distribution Inc., Cooper Surgical, Inc., Mayer Laboratories, Inc., Pfizer, The Female Health Company and others. Chapter 12 - Disclaimer This chapter includes a list of acronyms and assumptions that provide a base to the information and statistics included in the contraceptive report. This chapter helps readers understand the research methodology followed to obtain various conclusions, as well as important qualitative and quantitative information, on the contraceptive market. How is the gore nice, exactly? Its in the eye of the beholder. First-time feature film director Egor Abramenko proves himself an astute judge of when, how much and how many seconds to show his slithering extraterrestrial parasite yanking some poor Soviet-era convicts head off and feasting on human brains, mostly in quick, yecccccchy digital effects. Just as often, we imagine more than we actually see, by way of stupefied reaction shots of the human onlookers. Brand image of POSCO International / Korea Times file The journey of 28-year-old Ranjith Ramachandran, who chose the hard road, is inspiring at many levels and can give hope to people who lose their focus after being turned down by esteemed organizations they have been aiming for. Ramachandran has transformed from a night watchman earning a pittance to graduating from IIT and now becoming an Assistant Professor at IIM, Ranchi. An IIM professor was born here," reads his post on Facebook, along with a picture of his hut covered with a tarpaulin sheet to prevent rainwater from seeping in. His post also went viral and garnered over 37,000 likes. Ranjith, in his Facebook post, talked about the struggles of managing his college and job as he came from a low background. In his long post, he wrote, I attended college during the daytime and worked at the telephone exchange at night. He added, Due to some luck, I got the job as a night security officer at the Telephone exchange in Panathur. During the day times, I would study. The doors opened in front of me for the academic career that I thought I had lost once. Heres the post: He explained how he entered IIT, Madras. However, as he spoke only Malayalam, he felt left out and wanted to quit but his mentor urged him not to quit his dreams. He wrote, My guide (Dr. Subash) was convinced that my decision was wrong, and told me to fight before failing and retreating. I felt like I had started losing, I had the stubbornness to win from that day. For the last two months, he was an Assistant Professor at Christ University, Bengaluru, and later on, went to realize his dream as an assistant professor at IIM. Despite all the financial constraints, he kept fighting the odds and finally achieved his dream. Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac shared Ranjith Ramachandrans post and praised how he never gave up even when he felt defeated. The minister said, From the moment he felt he was defeated, he turned his life and achieved success and it's an inspiration to everyone. We have before us the life stories of great personalities, including K R Narayanan, who attained success with extraordinary willpower and became the first citizen of the country. The lives of people like [Mr] Ranjith, who refuse to get discouraged due to various crises and use education as a weapon to overcome social and economic backwardness, are an inspiration to all. Isnt his journey inspiring? Tell us what you think of Ramachandran's journey in the comments below. News that Hyundai might be working with Apple on such an ambitious project generated a massive spike in the carmaker's stock price (though the price went down just after people familiar with the matter revealed the end of the negotiations).And according to a Korean report , some 12 Hyundai executives might have used this price surge for their own benefit, as they disposed of their stocks shortly after the talks with Apple were revealed by mistake.Now, the by mistake part caught the attention of South Koreas Exchange authorities, as they have now launched an investigation to determine if theres any connection between the stock sale and the undisclosed information that went public.As it turns out, the 12 executives sold stock worth 830 million won, which for our American readers means close to $740,000.Sources close to the matter said Apple intentionally dropped the talks with Hyundai after the carmaker spilled the beans on the project. The iPhone maker is known as a company that insists on keeping everything secret until the official announcement.Since then, Apple has reportedly been trying to get in touch with a series of other carmakers to discuss a possible manufacturing collaboration, including with Nissan, but the talks in this regard are yet to come to a conclusion.In the meantime, another plan is gaining more traction, as Apple could eventually turn to iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn to produce the Apple Car. Foxconn is currently planning a new North American plant specifically for the manufacturing of EVs. Its believed this could be the location where the Apple Car would eventually be born. I have no comment. This is what Spokesperson of the Prime Minister of Armenia Mane Gevorgyan told Tert.am during the protest that the parents and relatives of missing servicemen and prisoners of war were holding near the government building, touching upon the fact that she confirmed the return of prisoners of war and the delay of their return. Gevorgyan also didnt respond to the comment that there is a demand for her resignation after her statement and an apology to the parents of prisoners of war. She also didnt touch upon the statement by commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh Rustam Muradov, who said Armenias officials are misleading the population. Prisoners of war were supposed to be returned on April 8, and the news was confirmed by Mane Gevorgyan, but later, the Office of Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan issued a statement stating that the return of prisoners of war was being postponed. In this image made from Windsor, (Va.) Police video, Caron Nazario is helped by an EMT after he was sprayed with an agent by Windsor police after a traffic stop on Dec. 20, 2020, in Windsor, Va. Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, is suing two Virginia police officers over a traffic stop during which he says the officers drew their guns and pointed them at him as he was dressed in uniform. Caron Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated by the traffic stop in the town of Windsor in December. (Windsor Police via AP) Virginia Gov. Northam Orders Investigation After Army Officer Pepper-Sprayed During Traffic Stop Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Sunday that he has ordered the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation into a December traffic stop that saw two police officers pepper-spraying an army officer. The incident in Windsor is disturbing and angered meand I am directing the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation, Northam wrote in a statement. Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure that Virginians are safe during interactions with police, the enforcement of laws is fair and equitable, and people are held accountable. Northam added that he has invited the army officer Lt. Caron Nazario to meet with him. The encounter, which occurred on Dec. 5, 2020, first drew attention after Nazario sued the two officers alleging that they had violated his constitutional rights. Body camera footage from that day obtained by The Associated Press shows Nazario, who is Black and Latino, dressed in his uniform holding his hands up as two officers with their guns drawn demanded he get out of his car. Nazario did not immediately comply, telling the officers that he was honestly afraid to get out. One of the officers could be heard saying, Yeah, you should be! Get out! Get out! A police officer uses a spray agent on Caron Nazario on Dec. 20, 2020, in Windsor, Va. Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, is suing two Virginia police officers over a traffic stop during which he says the officers drew their guns and pointed them at him as he was dressed in uniform. (Windsor Police via AP) At one point, officer Joe Gutierrez was seen spraying Nazario, who was still sitting in his car with his hands up, with pepper spray multiple times at close range, before ordering Nazario again to get out of the car. Nazario eventually complied. Nazario could be heard asking the police officers to tell explain what was going on, as the two officers tried to force the army officer to the ground. Gutierrez also allegedly told Nazario during the incident that he was fixin to ride the lightning, which the lawsuit says Nazario interpreted as a colloquial expression for an execution by an electric chair. The Epoch Times has been told by law enforcement officers that they commonly use the term to refer to the use of a taser on a suspect. A police officer speaks with Caron Nazario during a traffic stop on Dec. 20, 2020, in Windsor, Va. (Windsor Police via AP). The police department in charge of the two officers said Sunday they had fired Gutierrez. The department said it had conducted an internal investigation to determine the appropriateness of the actions and found that the officers had not followed police department policy. This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment, the statement said. The Town of Windsor has also requested the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation. The Associated Press reported that during the incident, officer Daniel Crocker who initially encountered Nazario radioed that he was attempting to stop a vehicle with no rear license plate and tinted windows. He said that he believed the driver was a high-risk traffic stop because he was eluding police. Nazarios attorney Jonathan Arthur told the news wire that Nazario was not trying to elude the officer but was searching for a well-lit area for officer safety and out of respect for the officers. Gutierrez, who was driving by, heard Crockers call and decided to join the traffic stop. The article was updated with further clarification about the term ride the lightning. [April 12, 2021] IDEMIA Launches Health Travel Pass, Which Seeks to Help Governments Boost Border-Crossing Traveler Traffic Fake health certificates have become a big issue since Covid began, even more so since vaccination programs started. IDEMIA's solution enables governments to curb the risk of incoming travelers spreading Covid, which in turn helps global business recover, especially airlines that were hit really hard, air traffic slumping 66 per cent in 20203. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005367/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, is launching Health Travel Pass, a trusted worldwide interoperable solution, which can be rapidly rolled out and adapted to each country's needs, while complying with international health certificate standards, including PCR (News - Alert) test results, immunity tests and vaccination certificates. As the Pass is linked to a traveler's identity, it cannot be transferred to anyone else and cannot be copied without appropriate authority. The Pass can also be incorporated into the Digital Travel Credential scheme tested by some countries in conjunction with the ICAO2. Passengers securely receive their health certificate stamped with the ICAO's Visible Digital Seal, guaranteeing worldwide interoperability with secure encoding using data encryption. The Pass ensures all travelers are covered and is available in various forms from a downloadable Government-issued health app, a PDF document sent by email or a sticker to put on their passprt's visa pages. Before check-in, border control or boarding, a biometric match is triggered between the passenger's face and their passport photo, and the health certificate is verified. This quick process for both travelers and security staff guarantees convenience and cuts airport congestion when international air travel returns to normal. In keeping with data privacy by design, IDEMIA's Health Travel Pass complies with data privacy regulations. As such, passengers keep total control over their own health data. "We are all very proud at IDEMIA to offer people a safe way to travel around again, with a solution which is secure, user-friendly, reliable, and totally GDPR compliant. Our Health Travel Pass is a significant step forward in the resumption of international travel," said Philippe Barreau, IDEMIA's Executive Vice President in charge of Public Security & Identity. About IDEMIA IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, provides a trusted environment enabling citizens and consumers alike to perform their daily critical activities (such as pay, connect and travel), in the physical as well as digital space. Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, an identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect one of our greatest assets - our identity - whether for individuals or for objects, whenever and wherever security matters. We provide Augmented Identity for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors. With close to 15,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries. For more information, visit www.idemia.com and follow @IDEMIAGroup on Twitter (News - Alert) . 1 International Civil Aviation Organization 2 Guidelines - VDS for Travel-Related Public Health Proofs.pdf (icao.int) 320 Min, Coronavirus: world air traffic slumped 66% in 2020 - an unprecedented plunge, Feb 3, 2021 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005367/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Christians in Asia, Europe, and North America will gather monthly from spring to fall to offer intercessory prayers ahead of the United Nations climate change conference scheduled for Glasgow, Scotland, in November. The prayer campaign is organized by former Baptist missionary Lowell Bliss and includes leaders from the Lausanne/World Evangelical Alliance Creation Care Network, A Rocha International, Youth With A Mission England, Christian Missionary Fellowship International, Tearfund, and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action. A group of us are feeling called into a type of prayer commensurate to the urgency of the climate crisis, Bliss said, to appeal to the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all creation that God might intervene in this hour of great threat and profound injustice. Bliss is hoping thousandsevangelicals and charismatics as well as mainline Protestant and Catholicswill come together in intercessory prayer, praying authentically while stepping outside our comfort zone in a united appeal to God, Lord, have mercy. The Glasgow conference, known as COP26, will hear reports from the 190 nations that signed the Paris Agreement to reduce the carbon emissions that scientific consensus says are causing global climate change. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, included a ratchet mechanism, with nations agreeing to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions every five years. The fifth-year meeting was delayed by COVID-19. The meeting is considered crucial because some scientists say that the window to make a change to avoid the worst global impacts of climate changerising sea levels, deadly heat waves, and increased natural disastersis rapidly closing. NASAs measurements of the earths baseline temperature show rapid warming in the last few decades, as do the measurements of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (which runs the National Weather Service), and the Met Office Hadley Centres Climate Research Unit in the UK. According to NASA, 20032020 were the warmest years since people started tracking global temperatures in the 1880s, and climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities. Bliss, author of Environmental Missions: Planting Churches and Trees, said he is praying that God grant that the nations may cut their carbon emissions by half by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. He and the group are also praying that God would be moving in each government of the world so that the revised emission-reduction targets that they bring to Glasgow finally match up to the Paris temperature targets. Twenty-eight percent of white evangelicals in the United States share Blisss concern, according to the most recent Pew Research poll on religious views of climate change. About 37 percent, on the other hand, say that there is no solid evidence of climate change. Another third say that climate change is happening but think its part of natural cycles and not impacted by human behavior. While the issue has divided American evangelicals, thats not true internationally, said Chris Elisara, executive director of the World Evangelical Alliances Creation Care Task Force. European evangelicals are, for the most part, not skeptical, he said, but striving to have a Christian response to climate change that involves both mitigating against the changes and adapting to the changes as best they can. In other parts of the world, moreover, evangelicals see the direct impact of floods, droughts, and the extreme weather that indicate a climate crisis, according to Elisara. North Americans can have a debate on the matter because theyre not feeling the effects yet, he said. But in the Philippines? Its not a debate. Its their daily experience. It was the daily experience with pollution in India that convinced Bliss of the importance of caring for the environment. He went to the country as a missionary in 1993 and stayed until 2007. Over my years in the field, I was told that missionaries should feed souls and bodies. But what about the ecosystems in which those souls and bodies live and die? Bliss said. My best Indian friend in Varanasi was a Brahmin man named Munnu-ji. He died of cerebral malaria, which means that one infected mosquito, feeding on the fetid, polluted waters of the Gangetic plain, bit him. In 2009, Bliss started Edens Vigil, a nonprofit dedicated to training missionaries to integrate environmental concerns with the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. He has partnered with the Lausanne Movement and the World Evangelical Association to create resources and encourage climate advocacy. And now hes forging a partnership with six international organizations for an intercessory prayer campaign. Its not a new organization, but a network of believers gathering to help each other pray, Bliss said in an email to CT. For COP26, we are trying to mobilize God's mighty right arm (Ps. 118:16) and Scripture is replete with stories of single individuals or small groups who did just that. According to New York City pastor John Starke, author of The Possibility of Prayer, the act of intercessory prayer asks God to intervene in our lives and transform the world. The practice goes back to the Levite tradition of Old Testament priests who acted as mediators for Gods grace. The New Testament calls us priests, Starke said, citing 1 Peter 2:5, and we participate in Christs ministry of interceding for us when we intercede for others. We have a voice in the presence of God. We are called to intercede. Intercessory prayer doesnt preclude getting involved and trying to help in other ways, but for many Christians, it is the critical starting place for activismcrying out to God on behalf of a broken world. Historically when Christians have been confronted with an event like COP26, we turn that desperation into intercessory prayer, Bliss said. John Knoxwho brought the Reformation to Scotland in the 1500sreportedly once pleaded with God, Give me Scotland, or I die. We kind of feel the same way about Glasgow in November 2021. Bliss and the Climate Intercessors are not the only ones who are praying this way about the climate either. Activist Peter Fargo recently launched the Million Prayer Mission, encouraging Christians from different traditions to join in weekly vigils for the environment. Just starting in 2021, the group has connected with evangelical and mainline churches in California, New York, and Virginia, as well as a variety of independent Christian musicians, and missionaries with Pioneer Bible Translators who are raising funds to produce Scripture for a church plant in North Africa. They gather for weekly prayer online. A Christian response to our climate crisis begins and ends with prayer, Fargo said. We turn to God to help us through the impossible because we know nothing will be impossible with God. The next prayer meeting is scheduled for April 27. Current and former diplomats comment on visit of Finance Minister Igor Matovic to Budapest concerning Sputnik V. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (r) and Slovak Finance Minister Igor Matovic (l) talk during their meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, April 9. (Source: AP/TASR) Both former and current ambassadors of Slovakia criticised the recent trip of Finance Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) to Moscow and Budapest, where he travelled to discuss the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, and the effects it had on the Slovak diplomatic service since a representative of the Slovak embassy was absent. It is unprecedented to cast doubt on the independent and professional institutions of own country, attack our own diplomatic service, doubt the authority of our own foreign affairs minister, and ignore the written and unwritten rules of a constitutional function in such a short time and at such an intensity, reads the statement signed by current ambassadors Iveta Hricova, Radovan Javorcik, Rastislav Kacer, Andrea Elschekova Matisova, Peter Misik, Michal Mlynar, Igor Slobodnik and Miroslav Wlachovsky, as quoted by the TASR newswire. At the same time, they were quite critical of Matovics statements towards the Slovak scientific institutions that did not recommend the vaccination with Sputnik due to the lack of information from its producer. Meanwhile, President Zuzana Caputova also commented on the situation, claiming that this foreign trip raises more questions than it answers. A violation of international standards Heger: The decision to make Matovic discuss Sputnik V was pragmatic Read more Matovic travelled to Moscow on April 9 and a day later he went to Budapest to meet with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban and Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto. Instead of a representative of the Slovak embassy, OLaNO MP Gyorgy Gyimesi was present in Budapest. He said after the meeting that one of the prerequisites for the successful talks with the Hungarians was the absence of a representative of the Slovak embassy. The claim has already been criticised by Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok (SaS nominee), who called it a rude accusation of the Slovak diplomatic service. A group of former Slovak diplomats commented that the visit has unprecedentedly humiliated the Slovak diplomatic service, violated several rules and diplomatic customs, and harmed the reputation and image of Slovakia abroad, TASR reported. The statement was signed by Pavol Demes, Igor Furdik, Peter Holasek, Maria Krasnohorska, Eduard Kukan, Stanislav Vallo, Magdalena Vasaryova, Jan Voderadsky, and Peter Weiss. Undoubtedly, the image and reputation of Slovakia as a country and its executive power have been harmed abroad, the group wrote in a statement, as quoted by TASR. The active ambassadors commented that such attacks on the diplomatic service harm the creation of a modern statesmanship. Humiliation for the country Russias vaccine diplomacy received a blow Read more Although it is not common for active ambassadors to comment on domestic affairs this way, there are situations when diplomatic restraint and discretion must be put aside, the current ambassadors wrote in their statement. The foreign service is a strategic tool of the state to enforce and protect its interests and to strengthen its position, they added, as quoted by TASR. Both former and active diplomats have called on political representatives to act in a way that does not weaken the countrys position and does not humiliate Slovakia and its institutions. Especially in the city and in the presence of a leader of the country that has been criticised for a serious rule of law deficit, which offends not only Slovak diplomacy, but also humiliates Slovakia, and threatens the country's state interest in the worst way possible, the active ambassadors said. 12. Apr 2021 at 17:57 | Compiled by Spectator staff Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson, who are vying to represent the open U.S. House seat based in New Orleans, both favor removing the aging Interstate 10 overpass above Claiborne Avenue. The two candidates both are Democratic state senators from New Orleans also agree that policy planners must include local residents in the decision-making process before moving forward. We have to make sure we dont swap one bad set of plans for another bad set of plans, Carter said. The devil is in the details. After being debated for years, the question of what to do with the elevated expressway has shot to the forefront after President Joe Biden unveiled a $2 trillion plan last month to fix the nations infrastructure. The plan singled out demolishing the Claiborne Expressway as an example of how to reverse past roadway decisions that tore apart Black communities. Congress will ultimately decide what to include in the infrastructure bill, in conjunction with the president, and whether to approve it. That means the view of New Orleans House member is likely to be crucial for what happens to the overpass. Early voting in the race began on Saturday and runs through next Saturday. Election day is April 24. The federal government built the expressway in the late 1960s as a way to speed traffic through New Orleans downtown core. At the time, white elected officials and traffic engineers paid little heed to concerns that the elevated highway meant demolishing dozens of stately oak trees on the wide neutral ground of North Claiborne Avenue and disrupting a thriving Black business district in the process. The building of the Claiborne Expressway had a devastating social, economic, traumatic, and environmental impact on Black families in New Orleans, including some of my own elders from the 7th Ward, Peterson said in an email. A study produced in 2010 by Livable Claiborne Communities suggested turning the 2.2-mile stretch of elevated highway the stretch that connects the Pontchartrain Expressway, near the Superdome, to Elysian Fields Avenue into a surface-level boulevard that would reestablish the city's regular street grid there while increasing travel time for motorists by only two to six minutes. Port of New Orleans officials protested, saying it would raise transportation costs for trucks that serve the port. Then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu never pushed for putting the study into practice, and it never became a priority for Congress. Both Carter and Peterson are intimately familiar with the issue. Carter represented a City Council district from 1994 to 2002 that included a portion of the expressway. Petersons state Senate district includes it. 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 Amy Stelly, an urban design specialist who is a longtime resident of Treme, the historically Black neighborhood that was bisected by construction of the overhead expressway, has become perhaps the biggest cheerleader for taking it down. Investing in rehabilitating highways is more costly than putting the (Claiborne) boulevard back into service, Stelly said. We just have to open the streets it blocks. At the same time, she and other supporters of removal express worry that razing the expressway will promote gentrification that pushes out the long-time Black residents in Treme and the 7th Ward. Carter said he shares those concerns. We have to make sure all the neighborhoods are involved (in the planning), he said. You dont want to have the indigenous people forced out because their taxes go up. You would want the least amount of obstruction for businesses on where the new mode might go. But if done properly, wed end up with something far better than what we had. It could be an incredible win-win to have this overpass removed. Wed have the trees again. Wed still have the display of the rich culture. Peterson had left Stelly and other advocates during the campaign with the impression that she hadnt taken a clear position on whether to remove the overpass. When Stelly was interviewed recently by WWNO-FM, she said Peterson favored putting the question to the people. While Peterson did not agree to an interview on the subject, her spokesperson, Allyson Sanders, said she is pro-removal. Sen. Peterson believes that the Claiborne Expressway should be taken down, Sanders said in an email. Her statement also noted the overpasss devastating impact on Black families in New Orleans and said Peterson agrees with the Biden administration's plans to confront racial injustices through measures like taking down the expressway. In an earlier email, Peterson had voiced concerns about traffic that are similar to those expressed by officials at the Port of New Orleans, where her sister Tara Hernandez is one of the boards seven members. Peterson also said then that any discussion about removal would have to ensure safe and efficient hurricane evacuation plans. Peterson also said removal of the Claiborne expressway should be done equitably so the neighbors and neighborhoods most impacted are part of the recovery and provided necessary resources to thrive. We also need to make sure Black-owned businesses and residents and homeowners in neighborhoods like Desire, Florida and St. Roch, and New Orleans East that rely on the I-10 are not harmed, especially as we look to revitalize those areas with economic development. DUBLIN, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Industrial Safety Market - Forecasts from 2021 to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global industrial safety market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.01% over the forecast period to reach a market size of US$7.629 billion in 2026 from US$4.804 billion in 2020. Industrial safety solutions are those systems and technologies that help the companies to ensure enhanced and automated safety in their plants when some predetermined conditions are violated or any mishappening is about to take place. The market for industrial safety solutions is projected to witness a considerable growth over the forecast period which may be attributed to the burgeoning End-user requirements to enhance the safety of workers as well as to ensure the safety of the company's assets. Furthermore, the stringent government regulations regarding the mandatory requirements towards the installation of safety systems for the protection of workers and machinery is also one of the key factors supplementing the demand for the industrial safety solutions market over the forecast period. For instance, regulations from the EU Machinery Directives and North America's OSHA standards have further mandated the installation of numerous safety systems which has also played a major role in bolstering the demand for safety solutions in the coming years. On the other hand, the penetration of digital technologies across businesses and the burgeoning penetration of IoT across industries further propels the business growth opportunities for the solution providers over the period of the next five years. Rapid industrialization particularly in the developing economies of the globe such as India, China, and Brazil coupled with the increasing investments by international market players to invest in new facilities across these countries has also created lucrative growth opportunities for the players operating in the market. Thus, also creating a positive impact on the global industrial safety market growth during the given time frame. The outbreak of COVID-19 is projected to have a negative impact on the market growth in the year 2020 since the pandemic has hit the industries hard in the sense that during the first two-quarters of the year industries faced a sudden downfall in the activities due to a shortage of labor, raw materials due to supply chain disruptions. Also, the temporary closure of the industries in many parts of the world further caused a slump in the demand for various safety solutions since companies held back their investments particularly during the short run. Therefore, having a negative impact on the market growth particularly during a short period of six to eight months. The global industrial safety market has been segmented on the basis of systems, End-user industry, components, and geography. On the basis of systems, the classification of the market has been done on the basis of process control systems (PCS), safety-shut down systems (SSDS), emergency shut down systems (ESD), and fire and gas systems (FDS). On the basis of the End-user industry, the market has been segmented into oil and gas, healthcare, manufacturing, chemical, and others. By, components, the segmentation of the market is done into hardware and software. Geographically, the global industrial safety market has been distributed into North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific Penetration of digital technologies will drive the market growth The market for industrial safety solutions will be majorly driven by the growing adoption of automation solutions by various industries to enhance safety and control by also ensuring maximum output at minimal costs. On the other hand, Industry 4.0 is the trend towards industrial automation involving robotics automated solutions and the exchange of data in processes related to cyber-physical systems among other technologies related to manufacturing and other industries. The trend is booming at a rapid pace since industries are moving towards automated solutions with a primary aim to smoothen up the activities and achieve maximum operational efficiency. Several initiatives by the governments, majorly in the developing economies towards the adoption of Industry 4.0 and support the companies to pump their investments in automated solutions also plays a crucial role in driving the market growth over the forecast period. Some of the examples related to these initiatives include Making Indonesia 4.0, launched by the Indonesian government in 2018, Brazilian Chamber of Industry 4.0, by the Ministry of Science Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC), and the Ministry of Economy in 2019. North America to hold a significant share By region, the North American region is anticipated to hold a healthy market share which may be attributed to the early adoption of technology in countries like the United States of America and Canada. Moreover, the presence of key market players in the region also supplements the significant share of the region during the coming five years. The Asia pacific on the other hand is projected to witness a promising growth over the next five years which may be attributed to the growth of various End-user industries in countries like India and China among others. Also, the booming penetration of digital technologies across the End-user industries of the APAC region further supports the market growth in the region during the given time frame. Competitive Insights Prominent/major key market players in the global industrial safety market include ABB Ltd, General Electric, Emerson Electric Co. and Honeywell International among others. The players in the global industrial safety market are implementing various growth strategies to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in this market. Major market players in the market have been covered along with their relative competitive strategies and the report also mentions recent deals and investments of different market players over the last few years. The company profiles section details the business overview, financial performance (public companies) for the past few years, key products and services being offered along with the recent deals and investments of these important players in the global industrial safety market. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 1.1. Market Definition 1.2. Market Segmentation 2. Research Methodology 2.1. Research Data 2.2. Assumptions 3. Executive Summary 3.1. Research Highlights 4. Market Dynamics 4.1. Market Drivers 4.2. Market Restraints 4.3. Porters Five Forces Analysis 4.3.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.3.2. Bargaining Power of Buyers 4.3.3. The threat of New Entrants 4.3.4. Threat of Substitutes 4.3.5. Competitive Rivalry in the Industry 4.4. Industry Value Chain Analysis 5. Global Industrial Safety Market Analysis, By Systems 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Process Control Systems (PCS) 5.3. Safety Shut-down Systems (SSS) 5.4. Emergency Shutdown- ESD 5.5. Fire and Gas Systems (FGS) 6. Global Industrial Safety Market Analysis, By End-User Industry 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Oil and Gas 6.3. Healthcare 6.4. Manufacturing 6.5. Chemical 6.6. Others 7. Global Industrial Safety Market Analysis, By Component 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Hardware 7.3. Software 8. Global Industrial Safety Market Analysis, by Geography 8.1. Introduction 8.2. North America 8.2.1. North America Industrial Safety Market, By Type 8.2.2. North America Industrial Safety Market, By End-User 8.2.3. North America Industrial Safety Market, By Component 8.2.4. By Country 8.2.4.1. United States 8.2.4.2. Canada 8.2.4.3. Mexico 8.3. South America 8.3.1. South America Industrial Safety Market, By Type 8.3.2. South America Industrial Safety Market, By End-User 8.3.3. South America Industrial Safety Market, By Component 8.3.4. By Country 8.3.4.1. Brazil 8.3.4.2. Argentina 8.3.4.3. Others 8.4. Europe 8.4.1. Europe Industrial Safety Market, By Type 8.4.2. Europe Industrial Safety Market, By End-User 8.4.3. Europe Industrial Safety Market, By Component 8.4.4. By Country 8.4.4.1. Germany 8.4.4.2. Spain 8.4.4.3. United Kingdom 8.4.4.4. France 8.4.4.5. Others 8.5. The Middle East and Africa 8.5.1. Middle East and Africa Industrial Safety Market, By Type 8.5.2. Middle East and Africa Industrial Safety Market, By End-User 8.5.3. Middle East and Africa Industrial Safety Market, By Component 8.5.4. By Country 8.5.4.1. Saudi Arabia 8.5.4.2. South Africa 8.5.4.3. Others 8.6. Asia Pacific 8.6.1. Asia Pacific Industrial Safety Market, By Type 8.6.2. Asia Pacific Industrial Safety Market, By End-User 8.6.3. Asia Pacific Industrial Safety Market, By Component 8.6.4. By Country 8.6.4.1. China 8.6.4.2. Japan 8.6.4.3. Australia 8.6.4.4. India 8.6.4.5. Others 9. Competitive Environment and Analysis 9.1. Major Players and Strategy Analysis 9.2. Emerging Players and Market Lucrativeness 9.3. Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, and Collaborations 9.4. Vendor Competitiveness Matrix 10. Company Profiles 10.1. ABB Ltd 10.2. Emerson Electric Co 10.3. Johnson Controls 10.4. Yokogawa Electric Corporation 10.5. Rockwell Automation 10.6. Honeywell International 10.7. General Electric 10.8. Schneider Electric 10.9. Siemens AG 10.10. HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tbm21p Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Texas Gov. Abbott Calls on Biden to Restore Trumps Immigration Policies Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on President Joe Biden to restore his predecessors immigration policies, arguing that this would be the most effective way to curb the flow of illegal immigrants at the U.S. southern border. This problem will continue to get worse, because of the policies that have been adopted by the Biden administration, Abbott told Fox News on Sunday. What the president could do is to immediately put back in place the Remain in Mexico protocols that were established in the prior administration. He could continue to build the wall along the border in South Texas. He could send a stronger message that these people should not be coming here. Upon taking office, Biden had taken steps to quickly overturn several Trump-era immigration policies that saw curbed the flow of illegal border crossings. This includes his predecessors cornerstone Migrant Protection Protocol, or Remain in Mexico, which effectively ended the problematic catch and release protocol given to U.S. border officers and significantly reduced the number of illegal immigrants arriving at the southern border in 2019. In a return to the Obama-era policies that facilitate catch-and-release, the Biden administration is again releasing unaccompanied minors into the country. Republicans argue that Bidens act has been interpreted as a green light for prospective migrants seeking to enter and stay in the United States. That is one of the reasons why there are so many people coming here. If you go back to the Democratic presidential debates, every single one of the Democrat candidates said, if they are elected, they will have open borders and they will be giving things for free to anybody coming across the border, Abbott said. This is exactly why were seeing the flood, and the Biden administration was simply unprepared to deal with the massive inflow that are coming in, which is why they have so haphazardly responded to it and thats why weve seen the dire consequences. The Biden administration, on the other hand, has sought to shift the blame on former President Donald Trumps administration. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas previously said that the previous government had dismantled the orderly, humane, and efficient way of allowing children to make their claims under United States law in their own country. Biden administration officials, such as acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller, are also disputing claims that the surge of illegal immigration represents a fresh crisis. Miller has argued that the recent increase is not new. Encounters have continued to increase since April 2020, and our past experiences have helped us be better prepared for the challenges we face this year, he said. Yearly border apprehensions per month. 2021 is depicted by the blue line. (CBP) However, Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, recently told a roundtable with Republican members of Congress, Texas landowners, and law enforcement on April 7, that the numbers of illegal border crossings seen in recent weeks are the biggest surge that weve ever seen in the history of the Border Patrol. This surge is unlike anything weve ever seen before, he said. For the month of March, CBP agents encountered over 172,000 illegal immigrants, according to statistics released on April 8. This is up from just over 101,000 individuals encountered in February. Among those who crossed illegally into the United States last month were over 18,800 unaccompanied minors, which is double the number of minors who illegally arrived in the United States in February at over 9,300 encounters. This is compared to 5,585 unaccompanied minors in January, and 4,993 unaccompanied minors in December 2020. Other Republicans are also calling on Biden to return to Trumps policies as a way to address the burgeoning crisis. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on April 6 that while the construction of the border wall has been paused, limited construction has already been funded through a congressional authorization and funding allocation. She said that federal agencies are currently assessing wall contracts and are developing a plan to submit to the president in due course. Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report. ROME, APR 12 - A woman was found dead with a gaping wound to the head and her son with a harpoon stuck in his eye in a fire-scorched Rome flat on Monday. Police said they were treating the case as a murder-suicide, with the young man in serious condition after trying to kill himself. The flat is in the southern Roman EUR district. Fire fighters said the fire broke out in the bedroom and then spread to the kitchen. The young man was rushed to hospital in code red. (ANSA). The governing coalition will "move on" and Vlad Voiculescu will continue at the Ministry of Health, said the deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna, co-chairman of Save Romania Union - Party of Liberty Unity and Solidarity (USR-PLUS). "The message is very simple. The coalition will move on, the coalition is responsible for the reforms we proposed in the governing program. We are continuing in this structure, because it is very important that this Government will fulfill the governing program. It was a discussion... the normal discussion, of the coalition, we discussed about Radio and TVR (Public TV broadcaster), about the HORECA plan, we discussed, of course, about the topic related to Health. There is a support at the level of the current Minister Vlad Voiculescu, which will reflect, of course, in the following period as well. Vlad will continue at the Ministry of Health, there was no plan discussed within the coalition for Vlad to be sacked or step down. The general objective of the coalition and ours, is for those objectives that we have in the governing program to become reality," Dan Barna declared on Monday, in Parliament, asked about how the talks are going in the governing coalition and if Vlad Voiculescu remains at the helm of the Ministry of Health, agerpres.ro confirms. NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 2021's Best Online Psychics For Accurate Psychic Readings, Financial Outlook, Love and Relationships Readings, Tarot Readings, palm readings, Life Questions, Spiritual Readings, Psychic Mediums and Astrology. Psychic-Experts.Com announces the release of the review "Understanding all about Psychic Readings and how they work." 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This forum begins collecting general knowledge about its customers and becomes acquainted with them to investigate their problems in greater depth. Clients can choose not to reveal their identity and remain anonymous. They can change their birth date as well as the district in which he needs assistance. Psychic readers, according to their website, provide various forms of assistance through chat, voice call, or even email. Psychics on the website offer accurate answers in love, relationships, lifestyle, job inquiry, and forecasting, as well as pass messages from pets and provide detailed responses to consumer inquiries. Clients have been able to collaborate with psychic readers through a variety of methods, including speak, web, and live. Additionally, there has been a rare aspect of mail that renders clients as advantageous as possible. Psychic readers online are available at all hours, and clients can email them for help at any moment. Some psychics may use their intuitive abilities to respond to client inquiries, while others may rely on tried-and-true tactics and old practices to do so. All things considered. Psychics may be employed for as little as $0.6 a minute or as much as $6.45 a minute. The subject matter, skill, training, and evaluations of the psychic pursuer determine the costs. New clients can take advantage of several introductory deals and discounts first 3 minutes are totally free and first reading session offered with 50% discount for first reading session at their first meeting. These developments increase consumer confidence and trust in an environment as challenging as a psychic reading by phone or conversation. Try Kasamba Gifted Psychics 3 First Minutes For Free + 50% Off California Psychics Another well-known name on the list of the most reliable psychic reading websites is California Psychics. Psychics have been practicing in California since the 1990s, and they have assisted many clients in improving their lives. The expert readers of California Psychics are constantly providing their clients with the most detailed and equitable explanations for what they have been trying throughout their lives. This platform's readings are incredibly precise and to-the-point and can offer accurate guides to people's life journeys as well as further assist them in taking the direction with trust. This online psychic reading portal is well-known for offering exceptional money and finance psychic readings, as well as online tarot card readings. In contrast to high-quality reading assistance, the rates are the most affordable and cost-effective. Readings at California Psychics start at a pittance of $1 and go up to a peak of $30 per minute. Additionally, by looking online for a California Psychic promo code using the keyword "ADD5", one can quickly find extra deals and promotions. This code, when paired with current discounts and coupons, will save customers an additional 5%. California Psychics is well-liked by visitors because of the excellent phone psychic readings it offers. This location's readers are so talented that they can offer people specific guidance only by listening to their voice on the call. This site also offers psychic readings through mobile communication, the internet, and video conferencing if a person chooses not to allow a call interpretation. California Psychics makes it a point to employ the best psychic readers in the business, and this website extensively interviews and screens them before hiring them, putting them through a variety of tests to ensure that customers get the best psychic reading online experience possible. California Psychics: Accurate predictions, $1/min - Click Here To Start Psychic Source Psychic Source, which was established in 1989, has thousands of followers who depend on their experts to solve all of their problems. The website has a fantastic system for scheduling psychic readings by text, chat, or even video calls. Many experts are on hand to support clients with any problems that could occur in their everyday lives. This portal has become a favorite of over one million customers. By partnering with experienced mental readers, Psychic Source has preserved its trustworthiness in the sector with over 200,000 clients monthly. This website is well-known for providing its users with services such as horoscopes, astrology, tarot cards, love and marriages, in-depth readings, and precise predictions. These sessions aim to solve an individual's problems, answer the questions that haunt them, or give guidance on important life decisions. A 3-minute free psychic reading online deal will be added to any subscriptions made, but even after 3 minutes, Psychic Source's pricing is affordable. Customers select and consult Psychic Source experts to address topics such as family concerns, international satisfaction, financial performance, seeking their worship, and so on. It is appropriate to have a clear sense of wellbeing, as well as to use traditional healers to improve equity in everyday life. There are periods when a person's physical health is good, but his soul is hurting and needs to be revived. These psychics will be able to offer useful insight into what the client wants to do to rejuvenate his soul, making for calmer emotions. This website is dedicated to sharing and providing reliable services to all of its customers. However, if one is unhappy with the assistance offered, he has the option of demanding a discount. This site has made a lot of progress and has a long way to go ahead and do good for the masses with their issues and problems, having been named one of the Top 4 online psychic reading sites for specialist psychic readers by Psychic Experts for its phenomenal discounts and discount options. One can quickly browse through the website and see how easy it is to find what they are searching for and get answers to all of their questions from the professionals they have wished for their whole lives. 3 Free Minutes Readings With Psychic Source Live Psychics Keen Psychic Joy is highly significant in one's life. To ensure that one's love life is full of pleasure and development, one must first comprehend one's partner. Since partnerships can be difficult, it's important to ensure that everything is going smoothly. Relationships can be difficult, so it's important to make sure that everything is running smoothly. The third-best website for bonding and mind-reading is Keen Psychic. A strong medium like Keen Psychic will provide people with a wide range of mental readings related to a variety of problems. The online Psychic meetings held on the website include answers on marriage, wise guidance, organizational advice, other world manuals, and a lot more. People want to get a thorough view of their loved one's relationships. This website is particularly beneficial when it comes to online psychic and tarot readings for love. Furthermore, the professionals on this site assist users with a variety of psychiatric research related to a variety of issues they might be experiencing. Here, online psychic studies offer answers to questions about love, company, and otherworldly assistance, among other things. It also allows people to ask as many straightforward questions as they need about their job and health issues. Many people use this forum to talk about their family issues and romantic relationships. The key purpose of this forum is to change people's interactions and guide them in the right direction so that they can understand the challenge, make better decisions, and move forward rapidly. Online tarot guides and psychics provide comprehensive, gifted, honorable, and professional training. When it comes to exploring the darker facets of their lives, more and more people are looking to Keen Psychics. Clients all over the world adore Keen Psychics and their reliable online psychic reading on different facets of life. An individual must be highly vigilant when finding a psychic since it is the psychic who can make or break the customer's confidence in psychic readings. Furthermore, since these psychic reading sites are simple and comfortable for all, an increasing number of people are becoming acquainted with them. They not only assist them in resolving their present issues, but they also assist them in planning for a happy future. Click Here For 10 Minutes at $1.99 With Keen Qualified Psychics Different Types of Psychic Readings Psychics are consulted for several purposes. Many seek the advice of a psychic for assistance with marriages, love, families, work, and pets, as well as for insight into their college grades. A true psychic would not look like a gypsy looking at a crystal ball, as many people believe. Some people, though, still use them. Most psychics give free readings to dispel doubt. This gives the inquirer a greater understanding of the procedure and, as a result, more trust in the psychic. So, what are some of the more popular forms of psychic readings? Readings of the Tarot Tarot readers cannot look into the future. They view and describe the potential consequences for their subject using a deck of cards. They choose the cards that are important to the individual based on their instincts. Such results add more detail to the inquirer, enabling them to make an informed decision. Tarot readers cannot look into the future. They view and describe the potential consequences for their subject using a deck of cards. They choose the cards that are important to the individual based on their instincts. Such results add more detail to the inquirer, enabling them to make an informed decision. Palmistry The study of the palm, especially the form, color, patterns, and length of the fingers, is known as palm reading. Its history can be traced back to India and China . Palm reading is used to predict a person's personality and potential. It may also disclose knowledge about their personal life, such as their fitness, dating life, and career direction. The study of the palm, especially the form, color, patterns, and length of the fingers, is known as palm reading. Its history can be traced back to and . Palm reading is used to predict a person's personality and potential. It may also disclose knowledge about their personal life, such as their fitness, dating life, and career direction. Crystal Balls As previously said, many psychics use crystal balls in their work. Clairvoyants predict the future using these by channeling dreams into the ball. Scrying is the term for the art of seeing these pictures. As previously said, many psychics use crystal balls in their work. Clairvoyants predict the future using these by channeling dreams into the ball. Scrying is the term for the art of seeing these pictures. Numerology In Egypt and Babylon , the first records of numerology were uncovered. It is the analysis of numbers to discover knowledge about an individual. Anything in the universe, according to numerologists, can be broken down into meaningful numbers The concept is that a person's birth date and name will have an impact on his or her life path. Basic equations can be used to calculate a person's life path number, which can then be correctly interpreted. In and , the first records of numerology were uncovered. It is the analysis of numbers to discover knowledge about an individual. Anything in the universe, according to numerologists, can be broken down into meaningful numbers The concept is that a person's birth date and name will have an impact on his or her life path. Basic equations can be used to calculate a person's life path number, which can then be correctly interpreted. Astrology It is the study of forecasting our current and future lives based on our birth date, period, and place. Astrology uses the positions of the planets to determine the right ways to make life changes. About Psychic-Experts.com Psychic-Experts.com is a legitimate review portal devoted to investigating the most well-known and genuine psychic reading websites on the internet. It seeks to provide an accurate appraisal of each psychic reading site, ranging from the ease of communication to the assistance they provide. The team at Psychic-Experts.com also pays close attention to the smallest details to guarantee that customers do not fall for any scams and can make an educated decision. SOURCE Psychic Experts Ecuador investigators raided the health ministry on Wednesday as part of a probe into influence peddling against former health minister Juan Carlos Zevallos. Zevallos resigned last month over a vaccine scandal that saw well-connected individuals, including his mother, jump the queue for their coronavirus jabs. "In the operation, information is being collected on the vaccination plan and the list of beneficiaries" of immunization against Covid-19, the public prosecutor's office said on Twitter. When resigning, Zevallos admitted that his 87-year-old mother and "several" others close to him had received a shot among the 42,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine the country had reserved for workers in health care and old age homes. Last week, Zevallos's successor, Rodolfo Farfan said that the ministry had sent a list of those to have received the vaccination to the public prosecutor's office, which claims that the list is incomplete. Ecuador is not the only country to have been embroiled in vaccination queue-jumping scandals. Peru and Argentina have also been hit by outcries over the rich and powerful getting their coronavirus jabs out of turn. Ecuador has faced delays in rolling out its immunization program that began in January. Just 119,000 people have so far received the first dose of the Pfizer jab. The country of 17.4 million has registered more than 305,000 coronavirus cases and 16,300 deaths. The government of President Lenin Moreno claims to have negotiated the purchase of 20 million vaccine doses and plans to immunize 10 million people. Family history of early cardiac events in first degree relatives such as a parent or sibling is a major risk factor, especially for premature events. Currently, data on risks in close relatives of patients with a family history of premature heart attacks, chronic stable angina or peripheral vascular disease are sparse. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine in collaboration with an international team of leading scientists in Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland, assembled a consecutive series of 230 patients with premature onset of heart attacks, strokes, angina or peripheral artery disease and a comparison group of apparently healthy men and women during a 24-month period. The comparison group had no family or personal history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and had normal electrocardiograms (ECGs), cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressures and glucose. Researchers defined a premature event as occurring in men 60 years or younger and in women 65 years or younger. "Our data indicate that early cardiac events pose major and different risks in close relatives," said Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.PH. senior author, the First Sir Richard Doll Professor and senior academic advisor in FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine. "Further, since families share more than genes, not surprisingly, these data are compatible with a role for both genetic and environmental factors." The data, published in the International Journal of Cardiology, also suggest that first degree relatives of patients with premature heart attacks compared with those presenting with a first episode of chronic stable angina or peripheral vascular disease have a shorter survival time. Patients with heart attacks and chronic stable angina reported significantly higher frequencies of attacks in their first degree relatives than patients with peripheral vascular disease. In contrast, patients with chronic stable angina and peripheral vascular disease reported significantly higher frequencies of chronic stable angina and peripheral vascular disease, respectively, in their first degree relatives compared to patients with heart attacks. "Family history of early onset events is a major and independent risk factor. Thus, patients with a positive parental or sibling history of premature cardiac events require even more aggressive therapeutic lifestyle changes as well as adjunctive drug therapies of proven benefit," said Hennekens. "In the United States, Europe and worldwide, most guidelines recommend risk scores for initial clinical assessments, which do not include family history of early events." Hennekens formerly served as the first John Snow and the first Braunwald professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. His groundbreaking scientific findings have significantly improved the ability to treat as well as prevent CVD, and for more than a decade, he was ranked as the third most widely cited medical researcher in the world by Science Watch. Hennekens has collaborated for several decades with Felicita Andreotti, M.D., Ph.D., first author and a professor at Catholic University Cardiovascular Medicine in Rome; and brought the data when she served as visiting professor at FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine. Their collaborations have included the major role of therapeutic lifestyle changes, especially overweight and obesity and physical inactivity as well as statins, PCSK9 inhibitors, aspirin, converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers. In this study, Hennekens and Andreotti collaborated with Janet Robishaw, Ph.D., co-author and senior associate dean for research and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine. Andreotti had conducted the study at the Hammersmith Hospital and London Chest Hospital in the United Kingdom. "Recent advances in human genome sequencing as well as basic and population genetics may help identify specific genotypes that predispose to atherosclerosis, thrombosis, or both," said Robishaw, a world renowned functional and translational genomics researcher with 30 years of sustained federal funding from the National Institutes of Health who trained under Nobel Laureate Alfred G. Gilman, Ph.D. "Further studies also are needed to identify and quantify the functional role of candidate and marker genes for cardiovascular phenotypes and risk factors, as well as to better understand plausible independent contributions as well as interactions between nature and nurture concerning family history as a major and independent risk factor in cardiovascular disease, especially of premature onset." According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for many decades, heart disease has been the leading killer among American men and women, causing approximately 600,000 deaths each year of which about 25 percent present with sudden cardiac death. ### Study co-authors are Filippo Crea, Ph.D., professor of cardiology at the Catholic University in Rome, Italy; Giuseppe Patti, M.D., Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Italy; Carol C. Shoulders, Ph.D., Queen Mary University of London, England, UK; Eliano Pio Navarese, M.D., Ph.D., Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland; and Attilio Maseri, M.D., of Florence, Italy, an internationally renowned researcher in ischemic heart disease. About the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine: FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is one of approximately 155 accredited medical schools in the U.S. The college was launched in 2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school in North America. With more than 70 full and part-time faculty and more than 1,300 affiliate faculty, the college matriculates 64 medical students each year and has been nationally recognized for its innovative curriculum. To further FAU's commitment to increase much needed medical residency positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach County. The Consortium currently has five Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited residencies including internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and neurology. About Florida Atlantic University: Kenneth Polite, who formerly served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, is being nominated to one of the highest ranking positions in the U.S. Department of Justice, the White House said Monday. President Joe Biden has selected Polite to serve as chief of the Justice Department's criminal division, which oversees everything from public corruption cases to white-collar crimes to drug trafficking, his administration said. The U.S. Senate must confirm the nomination. Polite was one of 11 national security and law enforcement nominees announced by the Biden administration on Monday. Polites future at the Justice Department has been the subject of speculation for months. After his nomination by President Barack Obama, he served as the top federal prosecutor in New Orleans from 2013 to 2017. In contrast to his predecessor Jim Letten, who resigned amid an online commenting scandal, Polite generally kept a low profile. He concentrated on gun violence, noting that his brothers killing in the 9th Ward in 2004 had inspired him to become a prosecutor, and encouraged businesses to hire the formerly incarcerated. By the end of his tenure hed won support even from Republican officials like Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who urged Donald Trump to keep him at the helm. Still, Polite was one of dozens of U.S. attorneys unceremoniously booted out of office by Trump. Since then hes been in private practice at the Philadelphia law firm Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, where he's a partner. On Twitter and in mass media, hes increasingly spoken out in favor of criminal justice reform. Last year, Polite and his firm joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana to file lawsuits against police misconduct. The project aims to bring up to 1,000 cases. In an interview with the Louisiana Illuminator, he said his brother is a police officer, and he hopes that the project would push police departments to improve themselves. They have families," he said. "They care about their communities the same way the rest of us do." 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 Polite has been in the news recently for his role investigating a pair of high-profile scandals in southeast Louisiana. Mayor LaToya Cantrell's office hired him to probe corruption in the city's Department of Safety and Permits after the collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel construction site in 2019. +2 How Peter Strasser will remember his short tenure as U.S. attorney in New Orleans Peter Strasser launched his tenure as U.S. attorney in New Orleans with an ominous warning for the criminal element. Polite also led a secret review in 2019 of how LSU handles sexual harassment claims. That review came under fire in a later review by a different law firm for providing "an overly optimistic picture" of the university's efforts. LSU's general counsel at the time, however, said it was limited by design to prepare the university for litigation, and not intended to be a comprehensive probe. Polite spent time growing up in the Calliope and Lafitte housing developments and the Lower 9th Ward. He was the valedictorian of his De La Salle High School class before earning degrees from Harvard University and the Georgetown University Law Center. He returned home to practice law with the Liskow & Lewis firm as a shareholder in the three years before Obama nominated him to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Among his supporters during his first nomination process was former U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, whos now a senior advisor to Biden. U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy thanked Polite for his service when he resigned as U.S. attorney in 2017. The senators didn't immediately comment Monday on whether they will support his confirmation to the criminal division post. Chennai, April 12 : A three-member Convenor Committee will exercise the powers of the Anna University's Vice Chancellor till a new person is appointed to the post, the varsity said on Monday. According to the Anna University, with the tenure of M.K. Surappa as its Vice Chancellor ending on April 11, a Special Syndicate meeting was convened by the Principal Secretary, Higher Education, and it resolved to constitute the three member panel to exercise the powers and duties of the Vice Chancellor. The three members of the Convenor Committee are: Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Apoorva, Additional Chief Secretary, Information Technology, Hans Raj Varma, and the varsity's College of Engineering (Guindy Campus) Information & Communication Engineering Department Chairperson, Prof. Ranjani Parthasarathi. The Tamil Nadu government has set up a committee headed by Justice P. Kalaiyarasan (retd) to inquire into corruption complaints against Surappa. According to the government, it has received six complaints against Surappa. Surappa, however, maintained that he had never taken any bribe in his life. As regards the allegation of hiring his daughter by the varsity, he said she was an intellectual property (IP) specialist working at the Indian Institute of Science. The Anna University IP officials use her services and she worked in an honorary capacity, he said. According to the government, the inquiry officer will also check into the functioning of the Anna University and whether it confirmed with the Anna University Act, 1978 and temporary appointments made during Surappa's tenure. But there are those who stand by Surappa. Superstar-turned-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader Kamal Haasan wondered whether he is another Nambi Narayanan, the space scientist who was falsely framed on a spy case. Surappa is an upright honest person and does not bend before the powers that be, he said. "Have you inquired those who had stayed and those who had used Anna University vehicles improperly?" Kamal asked the state government. Surappa had previously served as the Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, for six years (2009 to 2015). Holding a Doctorate in Metallurgical Engineering, he has 30 years of teaching experience of which 24 years were spent at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. However, political parties like the DMK and the PMK had opposed his appointment as Anna University Vice Chancellor in 2018 as he hailed from Karnataka and was not the son of the soil. But the Raj Bhavan held he was an apt choice. "The welfare of the Anna University and Engineering Colleges affiliated to the University, faculty and the students was kept in mind when making the selection," the Raj Bhavan had said in 2018 on Surappa's appointment. "Since there has been no extraneous interference in the selection process and since the choice of the Vice Chancellor was done entirely in accordance with the statute, it is requested that politics be kept out and unnecessary mud slinging avoided," the Raj Bhavan statement had added. James Knox Gribble, 98, passed away on April 11, 2021. He attended East High School in Nashville, TN, where he played trombone in the marching band. James also attended college briefly at Vanderbilt University. James began his working career as a manager of the Walgreens soda fountain, and then he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943. He began his military career serving the Signal Corps in Alaska. He was then transferred to gunnery school in Pensacola, FL, where he became a B-24 Bottom Ball Turret Gunner. James was a part of the 15th Army Air Corps, 47th Bomb Wing, 98th Heavy Bomb Group, 345th Squadron, and served the U.S. Army Air Corps flying 31 missions across Europe and N. Africa. After coming home from the service, he became a sales manager for General Electric in Chattanooga. In 1972, James started his own business, GW Supply Company, where he was the owner/vice president, retiring in 1998. He was extremely proud of his business and his employees. James was also a member of several clubs: Chattanooga Rife Club, Chattanooga Boat Club, Coast Guard Auxillary, MVPA (Military Vehicle Preservation Association), Tri-State Military Vehicle Club, and the Alhambra Shriners (where he marched in the Alhambra Drum and Bugle Corps). He was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Margaret; parents, Hunter and Annie Gribble; brother, Richard Dick Gribble; sister, Virginia Coe, and nieces, Charlene Gola and Debbie Coe. James is survived by his daughter, Sandra Gribble; special extended family member, Jackie Bowen; cousin, Brooks Bush; several nieces and nephews in Nashville, TN, San Antonio, TX, and Sarasota Springs, UT; and last but not least, Forrest the cat. The family would like to give special thanks to Caris Healthcare, especially Lindsey, Stephanie and Christy; special caregivers, Jeanette (John) McClendon, and Ms. Kat (Bill); neighbors, Richard (Nelda) Twitchell; friends, Tom Varner and his wife, Jim (Carol) Culberson, Berlin Seaborn and family, as well as multiple other family and friends too numerous to mention but gratefully appreciated. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, April 21, from 11 a.m.1:15 p.m. at Turner Funeral Home, Highway 58. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. in the chapel. James will be laid to rest in Chattanooga National Cemetery with military honors. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in James name to the Humane Society (www.heschatt.org), A Paw and a Prayer Dog Rescue (www.apawandaprayer.com), or Caris Healthcare, 5959 Shallowford Road # 551 in Chattanooga. Share your memories and express your condolences atwww.turnerfamilyfuneralhome. com Arrangements made by Turner Funeral Home, Highway 58 Chapel, 423 622-3171. In the latest trading session, Century Communities (CCS) closed at $65.96, marking a +0.47% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.02%. Coming into today, shares of the single-family homebuilder had gained 3.37% in the past month. In that same time, the Construction sector gained 9.03%, while the S&P 500 gained 6.61%. Investors will be hoping for strength from CCS as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 28, 2021. In that report, analysts expect CCS to post earnings of $1.52 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 90%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $795.95 million, up 32.08% from the prior-year quarter. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $8.32 per share and revenue of $3.72 billion. These totals would mark changes of +33.76% and +17.82%, respectively, from last year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for CCS. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. CCS is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Looking at its valuation, CCS is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 7.89. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.61. Story continues The Building Products - Home Builders industry is part of the Construction sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 45, putting it in the top 18% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. 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 Century Communities, Inc. (CCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The drill programme is designed to test the depth of surface gold mineralisation previously identified at four key prospects. ( ) said visible gold has been identified in drilling at the Lawa targets at Bibemi in Cameroon. Visible free gold mineralisation was identified at the Lawa West prospect (hole BBDD019) and the Lawa East prospect (holes BBDD014 and BBDD020), both located towards the southern extent of the system. The gold is hosted by quartz-tourmaline veins up to 1 metre wide, Oriole said, at a downhole depth of approximately 70 metres and has a strong association with pyrite, occurring as both finely disseminated and coarser grains, some of which is visible in the pre-cut core in holes BBDD019 and BBDD020. The drill programme is designed to test the depth of surface gold mineralisation previously identified at four key prospects. Photos of the mineralisation observed downhole, with areas of visible gold highlighted (covering holes BBDD014, BBDD019 and BBDD020) can be viewed at the following http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1848V_1-2021-4-12.pdf PARIS A sudden frost, the worst in decades, has ravaged a French wine industry already reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and what is known among winegrowers as the Trump tax. Candles and small fires glittered across vineyards and orchards last week, their pretty flickering belying the disaster, as winegrowers and farmers tried everything to ward off the frost cutting the life from newly formed shoots and buds. A layer of smog from the fires formed over Lyon and areas of the southeast. But by the time the cold snap ended, destruction had spread across most of Frances winegrowing regions, including the Rhone Valley, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and the Loire. Jean-Marie Barillere, the head of a major wine industry association, told the French daily Le Figaro that the frost had hit 80 percent of French vineyards. The frost followed a period of mild weather, with the result that plunging temperatures caught rural France by surprise. Vines were the worst hit, but almond and fruit trees were also affected, as well as some other crops, including beets and rapeseed. Johannesburg, April 12 : South African all-rounder George Linde picked three wickets as the hosts clawed back from the loss in the opening T20 International to defeat Pakistan by six wickets in the second match at Johannesburg on Monday. Linde's (3/23) left-arm spin restricted the visitors to 140 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs after they elected to bat. Had it not been for a gritty 50 off 50 delivers from Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, and his 58-run partnership with Mohammad Hafeez, the visitors would have folded up much earlier. South Africa notched up the required runs for the loss of four wickets with six overs to spare. Aiden Markram's breezy 30-ball 54 and skipper Heinrich Klassen's unbeaten 36 helped the home team level the series 1-1 with two matches remaining. After his stellar show with the ball, Linde chipped in with an unbeaten 20. Pakistan had earlier won a thriller of a contest when they chased down South Africa's fighting 188/6 with one ball remaining in the opening match of the T20I series played at the same venue. The visitors have already won the one-day international series 2-1. The third and fourth matches of the T20I series will be played in Centurion on April 14 and 16, respectively. Brief scores: Pakistan 140 for 9 in 20 overs (Babar Azam 50; George Linde 3/23, Lizaard Williams 3/35) lost to South Africa 141 for 4 in 14 overs (Aiden Markram 54, Heinrich Klaasen 36*; Usman Qadir 2-26) by six wickets. Hong Kong: Security law talk set for civil servants The Civil Service Bureau has launched a video talk to strengthen civil servants' awareness of safeguarding national security, as April 15 marks the first National Security Education Day after the implementation of the National Security law. The talk, delivered by Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office Deputy Director Deng Zhonghua, covers the necessity, urgency and legitimacy of the enactment of the National Security Law, its legislative intent and purpose as well as major institutional designs under it. Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip emailed permanent secretaries and department heads today to encourage civil service colleagues to watch the talk to gain a more thorough understanding of the National Security Law. Bureaus and departments will make arrangements for civil servants reaching Master Pay Scale Point 14 or above or equivalent, and joining the Government on or after July 1, 2018 to view the talk as part of the induction training. "The civil service is the backbone of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. I expect all civil servant colleagues, particularly the new recruits, to have a correct understanding of the National Security Law and an enhanced awareness of safeguarding national security, and to act in accord fully with the Hong Kong SAR Government in discharging its duty of safeguarding national security," Mr Nip said. This story has been published on: 2021-04-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The United States will have a high-level representative at the Crimean Platform summit, as well as at the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. I do not yet have specific news on this issue [possible participation of U.S. President Joe Biden in the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence] but I can say for sure that we received an invitation, and to the Crimean Platform as well. There will be a high-level representative at these events, but I can't say who it is yet," Charge d'Affaires a.i. of the United States in Ukraine Kristina Kvien said in an interview with ICTV. Crimean Platform is a new consultative and coordination format initiated by Ukraine to improve the efficiency of the international response to the occupation of Crimea, respond to growing security challenges, step up international pressure on Russia, prevent further human rights violations, protect victims of the occupying power and to achieve the de-occupation of Crimea and its return to Ukraine. Crimean Platform is expected to operate at the level of heads of state and government, foreign ministers, in the dimension of inter-parliamentary cooperation and expert network. Ukraine is actively inviting world countries to take part in the Crimean Platform activities. The Crimean Platform is to be launched officially at an inaugural summit in Kyiv in August 2021. l While extending his New Year wishes to the staff at the Consulate General and all Lao people, Quang expressed his delight at the development of the special friendship, solidarity, and cooperation between HCM City and Laos in general and Lao localities in particular, thus contributing to deepening bilateral relations between the two countries. Lao Consul General Phimpha Keomixay thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for their support for Laos national building and development cause, most recently in the construction of the Lao National Assembly House. She also expressed her gratitude for the assistance from HCM City to the Consulate General and her hope of continuing to receive support in the time to come. The Lao Government and people hope that Vietnam, including HCM City, will maintain cooperative activities to consolidate and develop traditional relations so as to further develop both countries. The Bunpimay festival is observed from April 14-16 annually to pray for good weather, health, abundant harvests, and prosperity. As usual, Nvidia had a raft of product announcements ready for its annual GTC conference which started today. Among the standouts were the Grace data centre CPU, a next-generation BlueField DPU, Omniverse Enterprise for 3D collaboration, and updates to the company's Drive platform. Grace named after computing pioneer Grace Hopper is Nvidia's first data centre CPU, designed for extremely large-scale AI and HPC workloads. Model sizes are doubling every 2.5 months, said Nvidia senior director of accelerated computing Paresh Kharya, pointing to the way the GPT-3 model uses 175 billion parameters. This suggests 100 trillion parameter models will exist by 2023. System bandwidth is already a bottleneck, he said, because large models do not fit into GPU memory, and communication between the GPU and CPU memory is limited to 64GBps. So Grace will support giant scale AI and HPC applications by incorporating next-generation NVLink which will provide bidirectional bandwidth of 900GBps. It will also feature next-generation Arm Neoverse cores, and a new memory subsystem running at 500GBps including error correction and providing a tenfold improvement in energy efficiency. Together, these changes will mean models that currently take a month to train will instead take three days, and realtime inferencing will be possible with half-trillion parameter models. "Leading-edge AI and data science are pushing today's computer architecture beyond its limits processing unthinkable amounts of data," said Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang. "Using licensed Arm IP, Nvidia has designed Grace as a CPU specifically for giant-scale AI and HPC. Coupled with the GPU and DPU, Grace gives us the third foundational technology for computing, and the ability to re-architect the data centre to advance AI. Nvidia is now a three-chip company." The Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory intend to build Grace-based supercomputers. "Nvidia's novel Grace CPU allows us to converge AI technologies and classic supercomputing for solving some of the hardest problems in computational science," said CSCS Director Professor Thomas Schulthess. Los Alamos National Laboratory director Thom Mason said "With an innovative balance of memory bandwidth and capacity, this next-generation system will shape our institution's computing strategy. "Thanks to Nvidia's new Grace CPU, we'll be able to deliver advanced scientific research using high-fidelity 3D simulations and analytics with datasets that are larger than previously possible." Grace should be available at the beginning of 2023. BlueField-3, Nvidia's next-generation data processing unit (DPU), is the followup to BlueField-2. DPUs provide hardware acceleration for software-defined networking, storage and security. The BlueField-3 provides performance equivalent to 300 conventional CPU cores for these workloads. This frees CPU resources to do the real work of running business applications. BlueField-3 is said to be industry's first 400GbE/NDR DPU, providing ten times the accelerated compute power of its predecessor thanks to 16 Arm A78 cores, as well as four times the acceleration for cryptography. It also purports to be the first DPU supporting fifth-generation PCIe and offering time-synchronised data centre acceleration. Samples are expected in the first quarter of 2022, and Dell Technologies, Inspur, Lenovo and Supermicro are integrating BlueField DPUs into their systems. BlueField is also being supported by Canonical, Red Hat, VMware, Fortinet, Guardicore, DDN, NetApp, WekaIO, Cloudflare, F5 and Juniper Networks. "Modern hyperscale clouds are driving a fundamental new architecture for data centers," said Huang. "A new type of processor, designed to process data centre infrastructure software, is needed to offload and accelerate the tremendous compute load of virtualisation, networking, storage, security and other cloud-native AI services. The time for BlueField DPU has come." The Nvidia Morpheus cybersecurity application framework applies machine learning to BlueField-3 telemetry to identify, capture and take action on threats and anomalies including leaks of unencrypted sensitive data, phishing attacks and malware. Hardware, software, cybersecurity and cloud providers planning to take advantage of Morpheus include Aria Cybersecurity Solutions, Cloudflare, F5, Fortinet, Guardicore, Splunk, Canonical, Red Hat and VMware. "Splunk is excited to collaborate with Nvidia to uncover more ways to utilise GPU-accelerated deep learning to enhance how we help our joint customers turn their data into doing," said Splunk vice president and CTO TimTully. "We look forward to using the Morpheus framework to potentially provide a path for our team to quickly prototype and integrate new capabilities in our platform, as well as offload compute intensive tasks to GPU architectures to aid our customers." Huang said "Zero-trust security models demand we monitor every transaction in the data centre in realtime. This poses a significant technical challenge: needing to sense intrusion within the server, detecting threats immediately, and operating at the data rate of modern data centres. "Nvidia Morpheus combines Mellanox in-server networking and Nvidia AI to do real-time, all-packet inspection to anticipate threats and eliminate them as they arise." On the subject of BlueField, Nvidia announced the next-generation DGX SuperPod AI supercomputer featuring BlueField-2 DPUs to isolate each tenant's data. AI is the most powerful technology the world has ever known, and Nvidia DGX systems are the most effective tool for harnessing it," said Nvidia vice president and general manager of DGX systems Charlie Boyle. "The new DGX SuperPod, which combines multiple DGX systems, provides a turnkey AI data centre that can be securely shared across entire teams of researchers and developers. Nvidia Omniverse Enterprise, which has been in open beta for the last three months, is now generally available. It enables global 3D design teams working at multiple locations and across multiple software suites to collaborate in real time in a shared virtual space, according to Nvidia "Every few decades, technologies converge to enable a whole new thing Omniverse is such an invention," said Huang "Building on Nvidia's entire body of work, Omniverse lets us create and simulate shared virtual 3D worlds that obey the laws of physics. The immediate applications of Omniverse are incredible, from connecting design teams for remote collaboration to simulating digital twins of factories and robots. The science-fiction metaverse is near. Omniverse Enterprise combines the Omniverse Nucleus server (which manages the shared database) shared among clients). Omniverse Connectors to plug into leading design applications, OmniverseCreate (which allows users interactively assemble, light, simulate, and render scenes, all in real time), OmniverseView (for seamless collaborative design and visualisation of architectural and engineering projects with photorealistic rendering, and RTX Virtual Workstation so collaborators can run graphics-intensive 3D applications from anywhere. Omniverse Enterprise is optimised to run on Nvidia RTX laptops and desktops, and Nvidia certified systems based on the EGX platform. Early adopters include The BMW Group, which has built an end-to-end digital twin of an entire factory. Marketing services organisation WPP is using Omniverse platform to collaboratively design, build and simulate a photorealistic locations instead of shooting them in the real world. And Ericsson is using the Omniverse platform to simulate and visualise future 5G networks. "The Nvidia Omniverse platform lets our teams virtually explore any city's unique geography whether it is San Francisco's hills or Frankfurt's high-rises and its impact on radio network performance," said Ericsson head of development unit networks Joakim Sorelius. "By combining our extensive simulation expertise with the stunning visualisations of Omniverse, we bring radio network analysis to a new level, creating insights that ensure our customers get the best possible 5G experience. We see Omniverse as the future of collaboration and planning." The Omniverse ecosystem includes applications from software companies such as Bentley Systems, Adobe, Autodesk, Epic Games, ESRI, Graphisoft, Trimble, McNeel & Associates, Blender, Marvelous Designer, Reallusion and wrnch. Omniverse Enterprise software is sold on subscription, and is supported by vendors including Asus, Boxx Technologies, Cisco, Dell Technologies, HP, Lenovo and Supermicro. The Jarvis framework for building conversational AI services is also available, following an early access program. It can convert speech in five languages to text, determine an appropriate response, and turn that back into speech in under 100 milliseconds. Applications include transcription, translation, virtual assistants, and agent assistance. According to Nvidia, "Developers can select a Jarvis pre-trained model from Nvidia's NGC catalog, fine-tune it using their own data with the Nvidia Transfer Learning Toolkit, optimise it for maximum throughput and minimum latency in real-time speech services, and then easily deploy the model with just a few lines of code so there is no need for deep AI expertise." The cuQuantum SDK accelerates quantum circuit simulations. For example, a simulation that took ten days to run on a conventional dual-CPU system was completed in two hours on a DGX-A100 system using cuQuantum. "This sets the benchmark for quantum circuit simulation performance and will help advance the field of quantum computing by improving our ability to verify the behaviour of quantum circuits,"said Garnet Chan, a chemistry professor at Caltech whose lab hosted the work. Nvidia and AWS announced a collaboration to offer new EC2 instances combining AWS Graviton2 processors and Nvidia GPUs in the second half of 2021. A primary application will be to allow Android games to be streamed from the cloud with accurate rendering and encoding, but without the need for emulation software. Drive Hyperion is a reference platform for using the company's hardware and software to develop autonomous vehicles. When it ships later this year, the eigth-generation Hyperion will include two Nvidia Drive Orin SoCs (said to provide enough power for level 4 self-driving), 12 exterior cameras, three interior cameras, nine radars and one lidar sensor, allowing customers to concentrate on building software using the Drive AV and Drive IX software stack. Drive Sim is being updated to version 2.0. Built on the Omniverse platform, it allows multi-GPU modelling of scene and vehicle dynamics, rendering sensor data in realtime with raytracing, for scalable and repeatable simulations. Canada regrets Russia's refusal to explain to the OSCE its military activities along the Ukrainian border, and calls on the Russian Federation to stop destabilizing actions in and around Ukraine. The Delegation of Canada to the OSCE wrote about this on its Twitter account. "Canada regrets Russia's refusal to participate in a meeting under OSCE Vienna Document to explain its military buildup on the Ukrainian borders and in illegally occupied Crimea. Russia must cease its destabilizing actions in and around Ukraine and engage in efforts to de-escalate," reads the report. At a meeting on April 10, the OSCE participating States condemned Russia's military activities on the border with Ukraine and demanded an explanation from Moscow on this matter. The meeting was initiated by Ukraine. At the same time, Russia, which was supposed to provide information about its military activities, refused to participate in it. As a reminder, 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. 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 backdrop of Russia's escalation in eastern Ukraine. ish Ecological guards grow green future in Sanjiangyuan National Park People's Daily Online) 16:18, April 12, 2021 Braving the early spring cold, ecological guards are working vigorously to make green mountains in Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture, northwest Chinas Qinghai province. And their efforts are paying off. One day, when two members of the ecological protection team were patrolling along Tongtian River, a main stream of the source of Yangtze River, they found a jackal, a wild animal that is under class-one state protection in China. It was the first time that the animal had been found there, which made them both very excited. The discovery of rare and endangered animals in the river basin in recent years is a sign that the environment here is getting better, said the two ecological guards. Rangers patrol a forest on a mountain in Nangchen county, Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai province. (Photo/People's Daily Overseas Edition) Naggyan Dorje is the director of the forestry and grassland bureau of Yushu. He leads a tree planting project on Beishan Mountain in the prefecture. The Beishan Mountain afforestation project stretches 10 kilometers from east to west. This year, Yushu plans to plant 9,300 mu of trees under the project. However, as Yushu is located on the plateau, the window for tree planting lasts only 45 days starting from mid-April, according to Naggyan Dorje. It takes at least three days to cover the 10-km mountain road. As its a race against time, Naggyan Dorje and his colleagues have little time to rest while working and can only eat instant food. Planting trees on the high plateau is no easy task. To better learn about the conditions of the place where they were going to plant trees, Naggyan Dorje and his colleagues made an advance visit to the mountain. In recent years, the ecological guards have planted 5,000 mu, or 333 hectares of trees on mountains in Yushu. In 2021, the number of trees to be planted is expected to be double that of the previous years combined. It is exactly because of such efforts that Yushu, which was frequently plagued by sandstorms in early spring, now sees more blue-sky days during the spring season. One section of the Sanjiangyuan National Park is located in Zhidoi county in Yushu. In March, the Zhidoi administrative office under the Sanjiangyuan National Park management committee held a meeting on the ecological protection of Sanjiangyuan. After the meeting, 4,047 ecological guards in the county took quick action to implement the decisions made at the meeting, initially by going to the mountains to survey the ecological resources there. Tenzin Dorje is a local villager. Over the past few years, he has recorded and photographed 767 sites of spring water sources, 125 lakes of different sizes, and more than 300 wild animals and plants since he became an ecological guard. In the Sanjiangyuan National Park, there are 17,211 certified ecological guards, who were previously farmers or herders. Qinghai province has provided subsidies totaling 500 million yuan to financially support the ecological guards, lifting the annual income per household by 21,600 yuan. As beneficiaries of this beautiful environment, we should work harder to protect it, said Tenzin Dorje. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Creation Investments Capital Management LLC, a leading private capital investor in developing markets financial services, has provided US$12 million in debt capital to three non-bank financial companies in India. Working in partnership with CredAvenue, a subsidiary of Vivriti Capital, Creations investment aims to help people and businesses in India with little access to financial services. These investments are from the first tranche of a US$100 million India-focused debt fund launched by Creation earlier this year. The fund is focusing exclusively on providing debt financing to non-bank financial companies serving the Indian population in areas such as microlending, affordable housing, vehicle loans, small- and medium-enterprise lending (SMEs), and education finance. Creation is partnering with CredAvenue, whose technology-led debt platform locates non-bank finance companies that meet lending criteria. The platform also provides due diligence, deal execution, risk management and portfolio monitoring solutions. Vivriti Capital, CredAvenues parent, links institutions, investors, small enterprises and individuals that lack efficient access to financial services in India. Creation, with offices in Chicago and Bengaluru, has invested in Berar Finance, Sindhuja Microcredit and Shri Ram Finance Corporation (SRFC), providing credit microfinance and medium- and small- enterprise borrowers in low-income regions in India such as Vidarbha (Maharashtra), Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh. For all three companies, Creations investment is their first foreign portfolio investment (FPI) debt financing. Our work focuses on financial inclusion for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid, said Remika Agarwal, head of Creation Investments India office. Working with CredAvenue, we can further leverage Vivritis scale, speed and efficiency to ramp up our investment program. Creation has made a significant contribution in boosting investor confidence in Indias financial sector, and it is gratifying to play a critical role in supporting financial inclusion goals, said Bandaru Ramadasu, vice president of products and structured finance for CredAvenue. Creation Investments expects to deploy the next tranche of funds in the second quarter of 2021 and complete its commitments by March 2022. Creation invested in Vivriti Capital in 2018 from its private equity funds And theyre off... When it comes to the horse racing industry in Virginia and the economic impact it is generating, thats an appropriate metaphor. According to a newly released study, the industry generated an estimated economic impact of $542.1 million in the Commonwealth in 2019. What were finding is that jobs are coming back, horse racing-related expenditures are up, and tax revenue to the state is increasing, said John Hannum, Executive Director of the Virginia Equine Alliance. These are all very positive signs that the racing industry is moving in the right direction and benefiting the Commonwealth's agribusiness and related businesses. Racing was at a low point in 2014 after the closure of Colonial Downs racetrack. The General Assembly took a number of steps, most notably the passage of Historical Horse Racing machines in 2018, that provided the revenue to re-open the track and fund the revitalization of the industry. The study points to the enormous strides the industry has made since 2014." The study was commissioned by the Virginia Equine Alliance, the industrys organizational body that promotes the racing and breeding industry throughout the state. Chmura Economics and Analytics (Chmura), a research consulting firm in Richmond, Va., conducted the study. Highlights of the new study include: Overall economic impact for 2019 of $542.1 million. Annual horse-related expenditures by Virginia horsemen estimated at $239.44 million in 2019. Overall total in state tax revenue for 2019 estimated at $26.5 million. Estimated total economic impact of horse racing events and visitor spending in Virginia was $68.7 million in 2019. Jobs supported in 2019 by the horse racing and breeding industry estimated at more than 5,000. The average amount spent by horsemen in Virginia to care for, train, and board a race horse is estimated at $14,663. "The Commonwealth has a rich history of breeding and racing Thoroughbreds, from even before the days of Triple Crown-winning Secretariat from Caroline County and continuing to today. The industry is an important part of our agriculture economy, especially in rural parts of Virginia, said Bettina Ring, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. A successful horse industry means that more farms remain economically viable, which in turn makes it easier to maintain and conserve productive farmland throughout the Commonwealth. I am pleased that the results of this study support that Virginia continues to be a place where the horse industry can thrive. Karen Godsey, owner of Eagle Point Farm, a 200-acre Thoroughbred training center in Ashland, Va. has seen first-hand the benefit of the Thoroughbred industry coming back stronger in the last few years. Our industry has really seen a tremendous turnaround, Godsey said. Ive been able to recruit and retain more workers, because I am able to pay them a higher per-hour rate than before. Ive also had to rent out two additional farms for more horses. D.G. Van Clief, Chairman of the Virginia Racing Commission stated "that much of the industry's success over the last few years has been the result of the entire industry coming together and working for the shared goal of revitalizing racing. We are now in a position to grow the sport and add racing days. I am excited about the prospects for racing in the state." According to this study, the economic impact is likely an underestimation of the full potential impact in 2019. For example, Colonial Downs race track in New Kent, Va., was only open for nine months in 2019, versus a full 12 months. On the racing side, there were 18 race days, attracting 42,000 spectators. In future years, those racing days are expected to likely double, generating even more of an economic impact. Were eager to see how these numbers increase when life gets back to normal and we have a full year of activity at the venue, Hannum said. (Virginia Equine Alliance) [April 12, 2021] Update on Progress of Potental Business Combination With UK Crypto-Asset Brokerage Company, GlobalBlock Limited TSX-V Symbol: HELX VANCOUVER, BC, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - Helix Applications Inc. (TSXV: HELX) (the "Company" or "Helix") continues to advance due diligence and progress exclusive negotiations with UK-based crypto-asset broker GlobalBlock Limited ("GlobalBlock"). The Company is pleased to announce that it has provided a 750,000 loan facility to GlobalBlock (the "Loan"), which should enable GlobalBlock to continue to expand its business. Rufus Round, Helix CEO, said: "Cryptocurrency markets have doubled to US$2 trillion so far in 2021 and this Loan should enable GlobalBlock to capitalize on this growth as it provides capital to targeted marketing and increased trading, and furthermore reflects the potential benefit to both Helix and GlobalBlock of a Potential Transaction." David Thomas of GlobalBlock, added: "This significant cash injection will allow us to accelerate growth through marketing exposure to the expanding UK interest in crypto-assets. Enhanced trading capacity along with our commitment to customer service will bolster and extend the lifetime value of our trading and investment community, while we seek to maximize return on investment." As announced on March 8, 2021, Helix and GlobalBlock have entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to work together exclusively for a period of time to negotiate a potential business combination (a "Potential Transaction"). The Loan funds are to be used by GlobalBlock to expand its business, specifically by increasing their trading capacity (including through its recently launched dedicated electronic trading platform) and by undertaking a targeted marketing campaign in the UK. GlobalBlock, has been operational since 2017 as a crypto-asset broker that provides retail and institutional investors with a service driven solution to trade crypto-assets. GlobalBlock was founded by established London, City-based entrepreneurs who teamed up to bring a better, more transparent and cost-efficient alternative for trading crypto-assets to the marketplace. The Loan is unsecured, matures after one year and bears interest at a rate of 10% per annum. The Loan also contains a conversion feature whereby Helix has the option to convertthe outstanding loan into a 10% equity interest of GlobalBlock, in certain circumstances, such as GlobalBlock not repaying the Loan on the maturity date, or in the event of a change of control of GlobalBlock not involving Helix. Should the parties be able to come to definitive terms on, and complete, a Potential Transaction, it would combine GlobalBlock's business with Helix's commitment to digital platforms. GlobalBlock and Helix are at arm's length. Globalblock has obtained temporary registration under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs) as a crypto-asset firm, pending the determination of its formal application by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom. Investors are cautioned that there can be no assurance that a Potential Transaction will be completed as proposed, or at all. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. ABOUT HELIX Helix is a blockchain application and technologies developer, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX Venture: HELX). CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements or information. Forward looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements in respect of among other things, the ability of the parties to complete due diligence to their satisfaction, the ability of the parties to come to definitive terms for a Potential Transaction, the ability of the parties to negotiate definitive documentation for a Potential Transaction, the ability to obtain regulatory approval (including TSX Venture Exchange approval) for a Potential Transaction, the continued and successful development of the businesses of each of Helix and GlobalBlock, the ability of GlobalBlock to obtain the applicable regulatory approvals (including permanent registration with the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom) to continue to conduct its business, and other information concerning the intentions, plans and future action of the Company and its technologies and products described herein. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements 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 actual 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. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risk factors set forth in the Company's most recent management's discussion and analysis, a copy of which is filed on SEDAR at www.SEDAR.com , and readers are cautioned that the risk factors disclosed therein should not be construed as exhaustive. These statements are made as at the date hereof and unless otherwise required by law, the Company does not intend, or assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Helix Applications Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Georgian Interior Ministry has announced that the tents of activists protesting the construction of the Namakhvani hydro power plant (HPP) in Imereti will be removed after a man drowned in Rioni River. The ministry justified the move by noting that increased rainfall in the coming days may cause flooding in the area where protesters have pitched tents. Rescuers are trying to find the body of a 30-year-old man who went into the Rioni River on April 10. The interior ministry said that it has decided to remove the tents from the dangerous zone and evacuate the citizens to a safe place to avoid the further threat and ensure the safety of the protesters. However, activists protesting the construction of Namakhvani HPP claim that the reason behind the decision to remove their tents is artificial. Cybersecurity firm Darktrace has confirmed it is considering to float on the London Stock Exchange in a move that will reportedly value the firm at up to 3billion. The Cambridge-based company, which is backed by former Autonomy boss Mike Lynch, is one of the first big tech firms to have chosen London for its planned initial public offering after Deliveroo's flop earlier this month. Darktrace uses artificial intelligence to help companies detect suspicious cyber activity, which has become a pressing issue for many firms as more people work from home. Cybersecurity demand: With 4,700 clients including insurer Prudential, Birmingham Airport, Ocado and Pizza Hut, Darktrace has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2013 With 4,700 clients including insurer Prudential, Birmingham Airport, Ocado and Pizza Hut, it has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2013. Revenues have risen 58 per cent each year since 2018 to almost $200million (145million), although the company remains loss-making. Analysts suggest Darktrace's listing on the London Stock Exchange could revive optimism around UK tech listings in London after the disastrous IPO of Deliveroo, which saw shares tank when it made its debut last week. Trading at 250p today, Deliveroo shares remain 35 per cent below their initial offer price of 390p. 'There is a lot riding on Darktrace's forthcoming IPO after Deliveroo's stock market flop,' said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. 'The food delivery company's IPO disaster has put a cloud over the UK tech sector and whether other tech entrepreneurs would really want to risk floating their company in London. 'If Darktrace manages to float its shares successfully and see them rise in value once trading begins then sentiment may improve towards London as a listing venue.' Early investor: Darktrace was founded in 2013 with seed funding from Invoke Capital, which was established by Lynch after he sold Autonomy to Hewlett Packard Darktrace was founded in 2013 with seed funding from Invoke Capital, which was established by Lynch after he sold Autonomy to Hewlett Packard. Although he stepped down from Darktrace board in 2018 after the US filed charges related to Autonomy, he still reportedly owns around a third of the company through Invoke. Lynch is fighting extradition to the US, where he is accused of fraudulently inflating the value of Autonomy before its 8.4billion sale to HP in 2011. Mould believes this may contribute to put off some investors from buying shares in Darktrace when it floats in London. 'Darktraces services are certainly in demand as companies around the world fight cyber security issues,' he said. 'However, there is still some controversy to accompany its stock market debut involving two individuals who invested in the company at an early stage: Mike Lynch is battling extradition to the US and his former colleague Sushovan Hussain is serving time in prison for fraud. 'It will be interesting to see if prospective investors view association with these two individuals as merely unfortunate or actually a reason not to buy the shares.' Darktrace chief executive, Poppy Gustafsson, is reportedly sitting on a stake worth approximately 20million, if the company achieve a 3billion valuation, according to Sky News. Gustafsson said: 'Since our foundation in 2013, our mission has been to apply fundamental technology to one of the most critical challenges facing organisations in all sectors: cybersecurity.' Funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), City, University of London will be spearheading the development of next-generation AI-based guidance, navigation and control (GNC) systems for space exploration. A research consortium led by City's Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Professor Nabil Aouf, ENAC (France), Numalis (France), and Spineworks (Portugal), beat off stiff competition from other consortia to win the ESA funding call. This consortium enjoys the distinction of being the only one led by an academic institution. Professor Aouf and his colleagues have set out to identify mathematical approaches to support the design and the verification of next-generation AI-based GNC architectures and functions. Their study will make a formal link between AI-based machine learning (ML) and control theory-based reasoning and optimisations within a challenging space GNC scenario. It will also propose solutions inspired from robust control theory and other formal methods to provide a level of validation to the AI-based ML techniques, and will develop explainability mechanisms to open those AI-based ML black box schemes for GNC-based perception so as to increase the level of trust for space engineers to adopt those schemes. The two other industry-led consortia winning ESA funding for this very competitive call, are: SENER (Spain, Lead), Technical University Eindhoven (Netherlands), and the University of Stuttgart (Germany); and DEIMOS (Portugal, Lead), INESC-ID (Portugal), TASC Ltd (UK), and Lund University. Professor Aouf, who is also a Director of City's London Space Innovation Centre, said: Planetary space missions present a number of technological challenges that have been well-highlighted through the difficulty traditionally encountered in Moon landings and, lately, in Mars landings. The process of landing encompasses multiple phases; the last one being when the space lander closely approaches the terrain surface and lands within hundreds of meters of a target before coming to a complete stop. "A question that has to be addressed with the emergence of new AI tools like deep neural networks, which show a good performance for some terrestrial autonomous systems applications, is whether they are capable of fulfilling the stringent requirements of spaceborne missions. AI based on machine learning algorithms are often used for systems that are difficult to physically model by mathematical linear or nonlinear differential equations." ### Mumbai, April 12 : A day after recording the highest ever new infections, Maharashtra's Covid-19 cases and fatalities plummeted sharply, but the state death toll shot above 58,000, health officials said here on Monday. After the peak of 63,294 cases recorded on Sunday, the state reported 51,751 new cases, and the overall tally shot up to 34,58,996. The state fatalities dropped from 349 to 258, while the toll shot up to 58,245 now, the worst in the country. Mumbai added 6,893 new infections, down from 9,986 a day earlier, taking its tally to 527,391 till date, 8 days after notching the highest daily infections of 11,206 on April 4, at the end of the first 'weekend lockdown'. With 43 more deaths, the total fatalities in the country's commercial capital went up to 12,066. The state recovery rate improved from 81.65 per cent on Sunday to 81.93 per cent, while the death rate got better from 1.07 per cent a day earlier to 1.68 per cent, and the number of active cases decreased to 564,746 - for the first time in over a week. The Covid situation overall continued to remain grim as the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) implemented a slew of measures to handle the patient surge, according to Municipal Commissioner I.S. Chahal. These included opening new treatment centres in four-star or five-star hotels, setting up 3 new Jumbo Field Hospitals in Malad, Kanjurmarg and Sion with 5,000-plus beds, besides postponing the HSC and SCC exams till May-June. The Mumbai circle - comprising Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts - recorded a steep drop to 14,424 new cases, taking up the total to 10,98,598, and deaths rose to 21,199. Of the day's total fatalities, Mumbai led with 43 deaths, while there were 24 in Nashik, 19 in Thane, 17 in Nanded, 15 each in Ahmednagar and Parbhani, 13 in Nagpur, 12 each in Jalgaon and Chandrapur, 10 in Satara, eight in Gondia, seven each in Raigad and Akola, six each in Pune, Sangli, Aurangabad, Osmanabad, and Beed, five in Amravati, four each in Palghar, Dhule, Solapur, and Latur, two each in Sindhudurg and Buldhana, and one in Kolhapur. Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home isolation shot up to 32,75,224, while those shunted to institutional quarantine went up to 29,399 on Monday. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday slammed Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn for asking 'who is in charge' and claiming Biden's tweets are 'unimaginably conventional' and 'scripted' Psaki was asked about Cornyn's tweet suggesting the White House has opted to hold back Biden from regular press conferences, instead parceling out his media appearances and scripting them to a substantial extent. 'The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional,' Cornyn wrote. 'The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters.' 'Invites the question: is he really in charge?' Cornyn added in a retweet of his own observation. Psaki was asked for the White House respond to Cornyn's criticism at her daily White House briefing. 'I can confirm that the president of the United States does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories, he spends his time working on behalf of the American people,' she said. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden doesn't spend time 'tweeting conspiracy theories' as she blasted GOP Sen. John Cornyn following his attack on White House media strategy The former Republican whip took heat on Twitter after he called Biden's tweets 'unimaginably conventional'. President Trump regularly gave elected Republicans like Cornyn heartburn by tweeting on everything from celebrities to controversial protests and unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. A Politico story Cornyn was ferring to quoted Deputy White House deputy communications director Kate Berner saying: 'We're not interested in making everyone crazy on Twitter. We're interested in driving the message that Americans around the country know what their government is doing for them and how their taxpayer dollars are being used and feel confident in the administration.' The story itself included the phrase 'unimaginably conventional' which Cornyn sent out in his own tweet, without attaching quotation marks. His attack echoed some of Trump's attacks on Biden during the campaign, where Trump repeatedly faulted him for doing media appearances from his basement amid the pandemic. (The strategy may have shielded Biden from committing gaffes that Trump might have exploited). Cornyn's tweet got a retweet from Biden critic Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who snipped a clip from 'Weekend at Bernie's II' again suggesting that Biden was a puppet. Biden has kept some elements of Trump's press strategy: frequently taking quick questions from Reporters when boarding Marine One or after staged events. But he has held a single formal press conference, and has avoided constant sparring with the press that made early Trump press events must-see television for politics watchers. The blast from Psaki came as Biden himself in a gesture that itself likely involved layers of staff trolled critics with a tweet defending vice president Kamala Harris calling her 'last voice in the room' on big decisions after a top Republican questioned who was in charge. To back up the assertion, the president included an image of the two of them talking inside the Oval Office with Harris leaning in and gesturing, while Biden sits back in a chair with his jacket off as he appears to take in whatever information she is providing. Both of them are masked. 'When I served as Vice President, I asked to be the last person with the President before big decisions were made and @VP is providing the same counsel to me,' Biden wrote. 'Shes the last voice in the room and never fails to speak the truth as we work to build our nation back better.' Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) hit the Biden White House by sending around a Politico story that called Biden's tweets 'unimaginably conventional,' a proposition Corny appeared to adopt Cornyn's tweet came after Senate Republicans spent years complaining about Donald Trump's tweets Cornyn's slams on Biden pick up attacks President Donald Trump made during the campaign. Trump repeatedly hit Biden for holding virtual campaign events from his basement and claimed aides wrote his remarks and told him what to say President Joe Biden tweeted Monday about his vice president, Kamala Harris, saying she 'never fails to speak the truth' and provides counsel to him. Biden's tweet came without explanation after Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas asked whether he was 'really in charge' Biden has long told the story of securing a commitment from Barack Obama that he get to be the last person in the room for major decisions, and by most accounts he became a top advisor to the president. His tweet came after Biden designated Harris as his point person to focus on the migrant crisis at the border the kind of difficult assignment he took on for Obama while helping steer the stimulus package. The high-profile task came as a flood of unaccompanied minors continues to seek entry and the nation struggles to provide proper housing. Harris faced immediate questions about when she plans to visit the border as a demonstration of the effort. She has yet to do so. The administration has continued to face questions about how it will deal with the crisis, after March statistics showed border agents encountered 172,000 migrants at the border - including 19,000 unaccompanied minors. Harris has frequently been at Biden's side during media events, where Biden delivers the main administration message President Joe Biden (R) and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, on March 19, 2021 to tour the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention SNACK TIME! Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with workers outside of the Brown Sugar Bakery in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood during a quick stop on April 06, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Vice President Harris also made a stop at a COVID-19 vaccination center during her visit Former President Donald Trump repeatedly sought to cast Biden, 78, as having lost a step, repeatedly slapping the label 'sleepy Joe' on him, although in remarks at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend he reportedly mocked him as 'saintly Joe.' The White House has not yet said when Harris will visit the border, although she has traveled to her home state of California and held events in Illinois. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki snapped last week when a reporter asked about her decision to visit a minority owned bakery and whether she was quietly backing off while the administration pursued enforcement at the border. 'And so, while she was there, like many Americans, she got a snack. I think shes allowed to do that,' Psaki snapped. That hasn't kept media outlets including DailyMail.com from noting Harris' travel schedule, which also included a trip to her home state of California. 'Where is Kamala? (hint: still not at the border),' wrote former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, a potential presidential candidate. Harris on Sunday tweeted out an image of herself in flight aboard Air Force Two. It showed her seating in a monogramed chair that said 'vice president of the United States.' 'Brighter days are ahead,' she wrote, without explanation. Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021. If you had to sum up the code you live by in just a few words, what would you say? In To Leave the World a Bit Better, and Other Codes to Live By, New York Times readers share the philosophies that guide their lives. Kristy McCray of Columbus, Ohio, writes about the value of getting to know people in order to treat them the way they wish to be treated: Many people live by the Golden Rule (treat others as you wish to be treated), but Ive come to follow the Platinum Rule, which is to treat others as they wish to be treated. Treating others as they wish to be treated requires a willingness to learn about others lives. For example, as an extrovert, I enjoyed talking with my professors, going to office hours and even loved being called on in class. If I treated all of my students the way I wanted to be treated, I would annoy (at best) or alienate some of my introverted, shy or anxious students. Instead of making assumptions to treat them as Id like to be treated, I get to know students as individuals and treat them as theyd like to be treated, creating a richer learning environment. Similarly, the Platinum Rule can be useful for white people in this era of racial justice, because it asks us to stop centering our own experiences as the norm. Instead, it asks us to consider how others may experience the world in ways that are unfamiliar to us and be inclusive of experiences that are different from ours. Dave Dillon of Jefferson City, Mo., keeps it simple: My philosophy is a very simple one I learned during my Catholic school days and in the Army. Although I dont always live up to the standard, it has generally served me well: Always behave as if someone were watching. William Dock of Seattle writes about a reminder that our choices affect other people as well as ourselves: Just inside a harbor on Fidalgo Island, gateway to Washingtons San Juan Islands, I recall seeing a small rectangular sign on the end of a dock declaring Your Wake Defines You in red, black and white lettering, intended for boats that create havoc if they pass too quickly. This has also become my mantra. No matter what I am doing, I always pay attention to the impact my choices have on others from close relationships to what goes in my trash. If my impact is too destructive, I change course and find another way to achieve my goal or, when necessary, forgo that goal altogether. Thats not always easy, for shortcuts are tempting and some opportunities are tough to pass up. And, granted, there are at times impacts that you cannot see. However, if we constantly place value and attention on increasing the benefits that others get from our existence, or on reducing our negative impacts, the world would be a more habitable and more humane place. Stephanie Harrison of Los Angeles finds inspiration in a passage from a novel for using anger as a tool for change: A few weeks ago, I picked up (for the third time) Sandra Cisneross The House on Mango Street and read until I finished the vignette Four Skinny Trees. It is about four thin, raggedy trees outside the protagonists house that inspire her with their angry persistence as they spread ferocious roots and branches to the sky. This vignette helped me understand that anger has guided my life and that I want to keep it that way. I do not mean the tantrums that sent me to discuss my anger issues in the second grade, but harnessing rage I feel as a 15-year-old and using it as a tool to create change in my life. This vignette helped me realize that my anger can be a source of motivation and strength. I have improved my grades, organization, work ethic, appearance and the amount of joy I have as a result of channeling some of my frustrations into positive changes. Most recently, I joined the Pfizer/BioNTech adolescent vaccine trial to get revenge on Covid. At the core of my achievements is the spark of anger. Students, read all of the letters to the editor, then tell us: If you were to write a similar letter to the editor about the code by which you live your life, what would it say? Is there a passage from literature, a quote from Scripture, a line or two of poetry, a song lyric, an idea expressed in a memoir or an interview, or any other example of language that serves as a mantra or an inspiration for you? If so, have these words ever contributed to a decision you made or to your understanding of a situation? Explain. Are there any teachings, mottos, sayings or even sentiments you read in memes or even on bumper stickers that have brought you insight or comfort at a time when you needed it? Explain. Which persons code or philosophy, as presented in a letter, most resonates with you? Why? What is the Platinum Rule, as described by Ms. McCray? How might following it lead to different outcomes than following the Golden Rule would? Can you give a real or fictional example of a situation in which you could use the Platinum Rule to lead to a positive outcome for all involved? About Student Opinion Find all of our Student Opinion questions in this column. Have an idea for a Student Opinion question? Tell us about it. Learn more about how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning. Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public. Customers and staff at a 7-Eleven in Thailand were terrified when a nearly 6-foot-long monitor lizard suddenly burst into the store and climbed the shelves for food. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Dozens gathered outside the West Lafayette city hall in a show of unity and strength against hate crimes towards Asian Americans. The event "Stop Asian Hate" started at 12:30 and ended around an hour later. Margaret Hass is a member of Greater Lafayette International Allies and works at Purdue. She says some of her students have faced Asian hate. "I've had students who have experienced harassment on campus, just for appearing Asian," Hass said. "We're just here to support the Asian and Asian American community through this difficult time, to show them that we are here and we support our neighbors." Shan Chen is a co-organizer of the rally. She says after the mass shooting in Atlanta, she wrote a letter to Mayor John Dennis expressing the need for a statement and condemnation of the events. "The Atlanta shooting was a trigger for me," Chen said. "The whole situation in the whole country, the anti-Asian crimes increasing rapidly, and I just thought we need to do something." City Councillor Kathy Parker got back with Chen and together they began to plan what would become the Stop Asian Hate rally. "At first it was overwhelming for me, but then as I was planning in this process I realized it was important for us," Chen said. "It is important for us to speak up." That's exactly what happened. Chen, Parker, Dennis and others gave speeches denouncing Asian hate crimes nationwide and called for the community to stand together against it. "Even if West Lafayette is a very safe little town, diverse college town... we feel safe here," Chen said. "The situation is getting worse and worse nationwide." The West Lafayette Chinese Community, YWCA, Purdue Student Government, and the city of West Lafayette teamed up to make the rally happen. In a mission statement they said: "We must strengthen our position and leave all forms of racial hatred no place in this nation! We are all immigrants, whether your ancestors came from Europe on the Mayflower to escape religious persecutions, or from Africa only to be enslaved for many years, or from Asia to build railways for a meager living, the place NOW under our feet is our hometown, America! WE ARE ALL EQUAL!" Saudi Arabia's flagship carrier is preparing for full-capacity operations ahead of the lift of the travel ban next month, said a report. Saudi Minister of Transport Saleh Al-Jasser chaired a meeting with the Saudia airline board of directors to discuss preparations for the return of international flights on May 17, Arab News reported. The date will mark the end of the suspension of international travel for Saudi citizens by land, air, and sea. Saudia was ranked among the top 10 airlines worldwide for its health and safety measures and received the highest certification by APEX Health Safety in January, the report said. YEREVAN. The issue of POWs arose as a result of PM Nikol Pashinyan's personal guilt, personal mistake, and personal betrayal. Armen Ashotyan, Vice-Chairman of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), told this to a press conference Monday, adding that when signing the November 9 statement, Pashinyan had to set a deadline for the exchange of captives. Ashotyan stressed that Pashinyan should not have fulfilled the timeframe set by that trilateral statement until the return of all POWs. "Third, he opened all the cards of Armenia on the issue of captives and even extradited the Azerbaijanis convicted of, in prison for murder in Kelbajar, who were not prisoners of war at all, were murderers. He entered into negotiations to unblock communications without fulfilling the point of return of captives. Why did he give all the lands accurately, thousands of kilometers, without getting our boys from Azerbaijan?" The RPA official stated that at least in the political sense he considers Nikol Pashinyan a traitor, as all his actions are treacherous. "Even if a person is an idiot, is crazy, is incompetent, he would take the right steps at least once in a while. Throughout his actions, he leaves a stable impression that all this is the result of his political will," Ashotyan emphasized. "The topic of prisoners of war will be the next creation of the Nikol-Aliyev duo. I am confident that when Armenia enters the pre-election stage, [Azerbaijani president] Aliyev will send some prisoners of war to Yerevan to raise Nikol's [popularity] rating," Armen Ashotyan said. A nonprofit Easton nature center and museum has proposed a bold expansion along the Bushkill Creek that could include a planetarium, a virtual reality theater and outdoor eco-friendly components. The Nurture Nature Science and Creativity Center concept plan is included in a request for proposals by the City of Easton to develop the former Easton Iron and Metal site. The site on Bushkill Drive is immediately east of the $100 million Simon Silk Mill redevelopment. I think the land naturally lends itself to greenspace, outdoor opportunities, a connection to the Kart Stirner Arts Trail, said Nurture Nature Center Executive Director Rachel Hogan. Any use that goes there should be environmentally sensitive to the nearby creek and trail. Hogan said the concept plan was developed in February 2020 by ConsultEcon of Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the Nurture Nature Center. Theres no funding in place, no cost estimate or timetable for development of the science and creativity center. When Hogan learned the Easton Iron and Metal property was up for development she initiated the study to see how the center might take advantage of that spot. The concept plan envisions a planetarium that could show the latest discoveries in outer space. It includes a theater or walk-through immersive experience with augmented or virtual reality to plunge visitors into new environments, from the deepest reaches of the oceans, to the microscopic worlds of bugs and faraway habitats. Science on a Sphere is at the Nurture Nature Center at 518 Northampton St. in Easton.Courtesy Nurture Nature Center The plan mentions the Science on a Sphere globe already in use at the Nurture Nature Center at 518 Northampton St. in Easton. The globe allows viewers to see global phenomena such as weather patterns and the potential impact of global warming. The plan includes an observatory with telescopes, a citizen science lab, a classroom, artistic programming, a canopy walk, a boardwalk along the creek and an eco-friendly outdoor play park. This eco-friendly play park is proposed as part of the Nurture Nature Science and Creativity Center.Courtesy Nurture Nature Center We love the plan, said Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. He echoed Hogan that the area should be developed to take advantage of its natural beauty and link to art. A railroad trestle will be rehabilitated to make it a pedestrian bridge over the creek connecting to the Karl Stirner Arts Trail. The arts trail is involved with the museum planning, as is the city and Lafayette College. The citys call for development in that area doesnt necessarily have to include the science and creativity center, but Panto said the center makes sense there. Any development submitted ought to take into consideration the environment and the nearby arts trail, he said. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. More training is reportedly in store for the Biden familys younger dog, Major, after a pair of separate biting incidents that left one White House worker with a minor injury. Michael LaRosa, press secretary for first lady Dr. Jill Biden, told CNN and USA Today that Major will see an off-site, private trainer in the Washington, D.C. area for a few weeks. The additional training will help him adjust to life in the White House, LaRosa said. The move comes about a month after Major, a German shepherd, bit a Secret Service agent who was attended by the White House medical unit, as well as a nipping incident with a National Parks Service worker a few weeks later. Yes, Major nipped someone on a walk, LaRosa told CNN. Out of an abundance of caution, the individual was seen by the White House Medical Unit and then returned to work without injury. After the incident with the Secret Service agent, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Bidens dogs, Champ and Major, are still getting acclimated and accustomed to their surroundings and new people. Major had been surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury, she added at the time. Biden noted in an ABC News interview that Major moves to protect in a White House where every door you turn to, theres a guy there in a black jacket. You turn a corner and theres two people you dont know at all. But hes a sweet dog. Eighty-five percent of the people there love him. Major and Champ moved into a White House that had been dog-less during former President Donald Trumps four years in office. Major also broke some history by becoming the first dog rescued from a shelter to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The Bidens officially adopted Major from the Delaware Humane Association in 2018 after fostering him, which allowed the dog to escape life-threatening toxic living conditions in his previous home. Related Content: SGS Colombia SAS, in collaboration with Ikanik Farms, completes development of the GPTCP Certification CORONA, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Ikanik Farms, Inc. (CSE: IKNK.U) ("Ikanik Farms" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Pideka SAS. ("Pideka"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ikanik Farms, has successfully completed its cooperative agreement with SGS Colombia SAS ("SGS") to design, initiate, develop, and implement a normative standard for the international certification of medicinal cannabis. This certification works to establish a new baseline standard for the quality and safety of pharmaceutical grade cannabis products known as the "GPTCP", or "Good Production Transformation & Commercialization Practices Cannabis Pharma". "Completing this collaborative certificate with SGS Colombia is a milestone achievement and a reflection of the company's dedication to best-in-class quality for the cannabis industry." said Brian Baca, CEO of Ikanik Farms. About the GPTCP Certification The GPTCP certificate ensures the company maintains international standards and differentiates itself by adhering to a global benchmark standard of quality for the production cannabis. With the collaborative development of the SGS certified seal of self-regulation and sustainability, industry best practices are promoted and fosters a competitive approach to quality, through best in class and standardized processes across the industry, providing end consumers with product confidence. The GPTCP encompasses facets of the requirements under various standards such as the BPA, BPM, INVIMA, ICA, ISO 9001, SG-SST, EUGMP at both the national (Colombian) and international levels. The quality certification and delivery of high-caliber products is one of the Company's key objectives, supported through operating certifications obtained for its operations, including (GACP, GMP FARMA, ISO-9001, and EUGMP) About SGS Colombia SAS SGS Colombia SAS is a subsidiary of SGS SA, one of the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification companies. SGS is recognized as a global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 97,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world. About Ikanik Farms Ikanik Farms is a California based, Multi-National Operator (MNO) who is building a dynamic portfolio of brands, inspired by its passion for health and wellness, action sports, and supported by its vertically integrated retail, distribution and cultivation in CA and its medical grade cultivation and laboratory in Colombia. The company's leadership brings decades of expertise in R&D, cultivation, retail, branding, and corporate finance. Ikanik Farms' operation in Colombia, through its pharma division Pideka, holds both GMP-PHARMA and (GACP) Good Agricultural and Collection Practice certifications for its Casa Flores operating facility. Forward Looking Statements This news release includes "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws (together, "forward-looking information). All information, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future is forward-looking information. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "believe", "should", and similar expressions, are forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: changes in laws, a change in management, the inability to obtain additional financing, increased competition, hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and, regulatory or political change. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in the forward-looking information may differ materially from actual results or events. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information in this news release is made as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and the Company does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Ikanik Farms Inc. SOURCE Ikanik Farms Inc. Related Links https://ikanikfarms.com/ Kolkata, April 12 : In an effort to reach out to the Scheduled Castes and Matuas that constitute more than 15 percent of the electorate of the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured justice to all refugees, Matua and Namasudra and at the same time criticised the Trinamool Congress for equating them with beggars. Speaking at a rally in Matua-dominated Kalyani in Nadia district Modi said, "Didi did not like my going to Orakandi in Bangladesh where the founder of the Matua sect and social reformer Harichand Thakur was born. She raised questions over my visit...I have come to assure you today that all refugees will get all facilities due to them, they will get justice. For the BJP, providing justice to all refugees, Matua and Namasudra brothers, is also an emotional commitment." Modi not only assured justice, at the same time he castigated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over a TMC leader and candidate's comments against the Scheduled Castes comparing them with beggars. "Didi calls herself a Royal Bengal Tiger. You tell me is it possible for someone to say such things without her permission? Such comments hurt the soul of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. Such a seriously objectionable comment has been made but Didi hasn't condemned it or apologised for it. "You have committed the biggest mistake, the biggest sin by insulting Dalits, Didi," Modi said in a separate rally in Barasat in North 24 Parganas on the same day. The prime minister alleged Banerjee''s appeasement politics hurt the Matua and Namsudra communities and they had to pay commission to "TMC's extortionists" even to obtain scheduled caste certificates. Earlier on Monday addressing an election rally in Bardhaman district Modi said, 'Didi's anger, bitterness, fussiness is rising' as she has realised that her party has failed to gain a majority in the four phases of polling in the West Bengal election 2021. He said that the people of Bengal have hit so many fours and sixes in the first four phases of the assembly polls that the BJP has already completed its century and the TMC is on course to be wiped out. "People of Bengal have clean bowled Didi in Nandigram and have asked her entire team to leave the field," he told an election rally in Bardhaman. Coming down hard on the chief minister, Modi said Didi ruled in Bengal for 10 years in the name of 'Ma Mati Manush' but she keeps saying 'Modi, Modi, Modi' in rallies these days. Didi has only created a mess in the name of governance. Mocking the "Ma, Mati, Manush" slogan, the prime minister said, "Tormenting "Ma", looting "Mati" (motherland) and bloodshed of "Manush" (people) is its reality. BJP's agenda is sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas...TMC's path is 'Maa ko satao', 'Mati ko looto' and bloodshed of people." Modi alleged that Mamata Banerjee instigated people against the central forces on election duty in the state. Meerwais Nab, deputy foreign minister for political affairs of Afghanistan / Courtesy of Embassy of Afghanistan in Korea Afghan vice foreign minister hopes to expand ties By Kwon Mee-yoo As the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan pursues a path toward peace and stability after a long conflict with the Taliban, Korea played an important role in the country's reconstruction. Now, the two countries seek further cooperation in trade and commercial ties, according to the country's ranking official. Meerwais Nab, deputy foreign minister for political affairs of Afghanistan, visited Korea from April 6 to 9 for the first-ever political consultation between the two countries. "We had a constructive and productive discussion with Lee (Kyung-chul, Korea's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan), and meantime exchanged conversation with second vice foreign minister Choi Jong-moon. I expressed gratitude on the meaningful contribution of the Republic of Korea to the reconstruction process of Afghanistan in the last 20 years, specifically on the social development and capacity-building," Nab said at an interview with The Korea Times at a hotel in Seoul, April 8. "We also talked of how we can work together in various areas including expanding cooperation in the United Nations and other international organizations." Nab emphasized how Korea contributed to Afghanistan's efforts in the post-Taliban rebuilding of the country. "South Korea mainly funded and invested in Afghanistan according to the priority of the Afghan government. I think this is the main reason of the tangible result we have from South Korea's assistance," Nab said. "South Korea built a very effective vocational training center in Afghanistan that has already trained more than 7,000 Afghans in different fields. We have other programs on capacity-building such as afforestation, agriculture and healthcare. More importantly, we are working to see how we can adjust the next phase of our relations and how we can increase trade and commercial ties." Despite the long distance between the two countries, Nab sees much potential in economic cooperation. "Afghanistan is a country with a 35 million population, a perfect market for South Korean products. In the meantime, Afghanistan is rich with resources, which can be another area of cooperation, attracting South Korean investment. For example, Afghanistan has one of the world's largest lithium mines and is rich in precious stones," he said. "We have a number of Afghan businesses already in South Korea, mostly exporting South Korean goods not just to Afghanistan but to other countries in the Middle East. Though there are security problems to attract direct investment of South Korean businesses in Afghanistan we do have high quality goods in Afghanistan such as dried and fresh fruit, saffron and carpet and South Korea has the market for Afghan goods." Afghanistan is located in Central Asia, bordered by Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. gettyimagesbank Robert Bates, the volunteer sheriffs deputy who killed an unarmed suspect in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on April 2, says he accidentally fired his handgun when he meant to deploy his stun gun. Bates apologized for killing Eric Harris last week but described his deadly mistake as a common problem in law enforcement, saying: This has happened a number of times around the country. ... You must believe me, it can happen to anyone. Some questions and answers about officers who mistakenly fire guns when intending to use stun guns to incapacitate, not kill, suspects: HOW OFTEN DOES THIS HAPPEN? Experts agree this is a real but very rare occurrence that probably happens less than once a year nationwide. A 2012 article published in the monthly law journal of Americans for Effective Law Enforcement documented nine cases in which officers shot suspects with handguns when they said they meant to fire stun guns dating back to 2001. The list included three instances in California and one each in Minnesota, Maryland, Arizona, Washington, Kentucky and Canada. For perspective, Taser International says its stun guns have been deployed more than 2.7 million times in the field. WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THOSE INVOLVED? Death and injuries for suspects, criminal charges against officers and costly lawsuits for their departments. Including Harris in Tulsa, at least three suspects have been killed in such shootings since 2002 and seven have been wounded. Millions of dollars have been paid in legal settlements. In the previously best-known case involving a California man killed in 2009, an officer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison. His department paid $2.8 million to the victims daughter and her mother. Bates has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in Harris death. WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? The way officers carry their weapons, how officers are trained and the stress of dangerous, chaotic situations have been cited. To avoid confusion, officers typically carry their stun guns on their weak sides, away from handguns that are carried on the side of their strong arms. A right-handed officer, for instance, would carry his handgun on his right and his stun gun on his left. In many of the documented cases of confusion, however, the two weapons were holstered near each other on the officers strong side. IN TULSA, BATES SAID HE CARRIED HIS HANDGUN ON HIS RIGHT HIP AND HIS TASER IN A VEST ON HIS CHEST. HAVE THERE BEEN SIMILAR CASES? Yes. An officer who shot and killed a man in 2009 at a transit station platform near Oakland, California, said he grabbed his handgun from his right side when he meant to grab his Taser X26 from his left side. Cases in 2008 and 2004 in which suspects were accidentally shot and wounded featured similar scenarios, according to the journal article. These instances have prompted a debate over whether officers should be allowed to cross-draw their stun guns with their dominant hands by reaching across their bodies at all. Retired Los Angeles Police Department captain Greg Meyer, an expert on the use of force, recommends that officers be required to draw stun guns with their weak hands and then transition them to dominant hands to be fired. We think that would go a long way toward eliminating some of these confusion incidents that occur under stress, Meyer said. Some officers do not favor that approach, saying it could lead to other problems handling the weapons. They prefer cross-drawing their stun guns, which is allowed under national guidelines published in 2011 by the Police Executive Research Forum. IS THERE A NAME FOR THIS SITUATION? Bill Lewinski, an expert on police psychology and founder of The Force Science Institute in Mankato, Minnesota, has coined the phrase slip and capture errors to describe them. Lewinski, who has testified on behalf of police, has said officers sometimes perform the direct opposite of their intended actions under stress their actions slip and are captured by a stronger response. He notes that officers train far more often on drawing and firing their handguns than they do on their stun guns. Other experts are critical of his theory, calling it junk science and arguing that well-trained officers should not confuse the two weapons. (Natural News) Russian President Vladimir Putin has been waiting years for an opportunity to regain an upper hand on the U.S. after decades of being a second-rate power following the end of the Cold War. And with the election of Joe Biden, Putins dreams of dominating the world again have been revitalized. Because our president is geriatric and unable to fully function because hes obviously suffering from dementia, Putin is going to push early and often, making moves he never would have under the real president, Donald Trump. Earlier this month he prompted concerns at the Pentagon and throughout a neutered NATO when he sent thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks to the border with Ukraine, a country larger than most in Europe but mostly corrupt and equipped with a military that is no match for the Red Army (Ukraine also does not have nuclear weapons). Now, Putin has deployed a real-live doomsday weapon to the Arctic, where Russia has, for years, been building up its forces by reactivating and improving old Cold War bases (the Trump administration was countering those moves, by the way, but Putin obviously doesnt believe Bidens handlers have the stomach that Trump did). Kremlin defence chiefs are testing their latest weapons in waters that until recently were frozen over as Russia attempts to secure its northern coast and open up a key shipping route from Asia to Europe, the UKs The Express reports. The powerful Poseidon 2M39 torpedo, nicknamed the Doomsday Nuke because of its terrifying capabilities, is among the new arsenal undergoing tests in the northern oceans. Defense experts and Western officials are already voicing concerns about the so-called super-weapon while the Biden regime is purportedly watching very closely after satellites caught images revealing new expansion efforts of existing military bases, to include an underground facility that could be used to house the Poseidon weapon, The Express added. The unmanned drone-like nuke is powered by a small nuclear reactor which means it is ultra-quiet and exquisitely designed to avoid U.S. and NATO sea-floor coastal sonar nets. Russian defense officials have boasted that the weapon is megatons powerful and able to create tsunami-sized waves filled with radioactive materials that would wash ashore and leave uninhabitable coastal regions in the U.S. (which would include Washington, D.C., by the way) for centuries, not to mention kill hundreds of thousands right off the bat, thanks to cancers and other radiation-caused illnesses. Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation Christopher Ford told The Express that the Poseidon is real and is designed to inundate U.S. coastal cities with radioactive tsunamis. Vladimir Putin has demanded regular updates on the progress of the missiles sea trials from his defence minister Sergei Shoigu, The Express reports. Norwegian intelligence chief Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensnes described the Poseidon as part of the new type of nuclear deterrent weapons,' the outlet adds, quoting the naval officer. The Trump administration saw this buildup coming. While he was still in office, Trump ordered the Pentagon to send its most advanced fighter planes to Alaska and other Arctic bases to counter what was obviously a Russian move to dominate the region. In an Op-Ed featured in Defense News in 2019, then-Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein detailed how important it was to put the F-35 on bases in the region as the Arctic was attracting growing interest from both Russia and China. They wrote that Alaska would become home to more advanced fighter jets than any place on Earth. Almost a decade before the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands, Gen. Billy Mitchell advocated building airfields, telling Congress: Whoever holds Alaska will hold the world,' they wrote. Even then, the Arctic was strategically important, and Mitchells words underscored the role of airpower in the region. Today, technological advancements by potential adversaries are making this once forbidding border increasingly porous. See more reporting like this at NationalSecurity.news. Sources include: Military.com Express.co.uk A woman claimed to be injured at Pier 88, 2288 Gunbarrel Road. Police spoke with the woman who said that while she was inside the business, the booth that she was sitting on fell, pushing against the table and pushing her ankle underneath, injuring it. She said at the same time the booth fell on top of her niece's foot and it also hit her in the face. The woman said she wanted to have all of this documented because the business was trying to say it didn't happen. Police went inside the business and made contact with the manager, who showed police the video footage from the security cameras. Police were able to observe the woman starting to get up from the booth, and one of the legs from the booth moved and fell off the step that the booth was on. Police saw the woman was not pushed against the table and the woman's niece was far enough away to not be affected by the incident. Police observed the woman get up from the booth and then started limping and ask for the manager. * * * Police were called to a disorder on Fagan Street. Officers spoke to a couple, nether of whom claimed calling police. Both of them said separately that they were in a verbal disagreement. Both of them agreed to relax the rest of the evening and remain calm. * * * A man appeared to be initiating a verbal altercation with other bar patrons as he exited Bar Watson, 6925 Shallowford Road. Police intervened and facilitated a ride for the man and verified his identity. The man left the scene without further incident. * * * A couple on Cherryton Drive were involved in a disorder. Police met with both the man and woman. Both said they had gotten into a verbal argument since the man had broken his TV. The woman said she was just wanting him to leave the house and he was willing to leave for the day and go to his friend's place until things calmed down between them. The man left the residence without incident. * * * A woman on Arlington Avenue told police that her downstairs neighbor turns her TV up loud after quiet hours and she wants police to talk to the neighbor and ask her to keep it down. Police spoke with the neighbor downstairs and asked that she keep the noise down. * * * A man at Mapco, 7900 Shallowford Road, asked for police assistance because he thought someone (unknown) was following him. Police assisted the man with a ride to his residence on Julian Ridge Road. * * * A man at Universal Environmental Services, 3324 Alton Park Blvd., told police someone cut through the fence and cut the catalytic converter out of his truck. The man said he did not have any suspect information. * * * Police observed a white Nissan Altima parked at the entrance of the parking lot of Chattanooga Head Start, 2302 Ocoee St., blocking the entrance. The vehicle was parked on the property that belongs to the school. Police informed a member of the staff that they would have to call for a tow truck to come and pick up the vehicle. * * * An man at Gestamp, 7529 Ferdinand Piech Way, told police that someone had broken into a semi-trailer on the construction site and stolen a laptop. The suspect pried open the locked door to the trailer. They also stole a wireless keyboard and mouse. No suspect information is known. * * * A man called police and said he had found multiple credit cards behind the Mapco, 4608 Highway 58, near the dumpster. Police looked through the cards, which appeared to have been there for some time as many of them had dirt and mud dried on them. The officer took possession of the cards and placed them in the CPD Property Division, releasable to Auto Crimes, due to the number of cards and probability they may have been stolen out of vehicles or purses, as most of the names the officer could read were female. No suspect information is available and no victim information is available, other than the names on the cards. * * * Police were called to a disorder on Brainerd Road. Police spoke with a woman who said that she was in a verbal argument with her boyfriend, but he left. She said that she no longer needed police assistance. * * * An employee of Carter's Towing, 6320 Highway 58, called police when a firearm was found in a repossessed vehicle. The Glock was run through NCIC and did not come back as stolen. There was an insurance card in the vehicle belonging to a man, but it is unknown if this is his firearm. The gun, three magazines, 25 rounds and the wallet with the insurance card were taken to Property for safekeeping. * * * A woman on Beverly Kay Drive told police that her son had taken her vehicle and not returned it. She said he took the car on Sunday at around 9:30 a.m. She said she does not want to press charges, but just wants the vehicle back. A BOLO was put out for the vehicle. * * * A woman told police that a man continues to send her lengthy text messages with several threats and that he also has other people calling and threatening her. * * * A man told police he thinks his father-in-law stole his Social Security number. The man said he does not have any evidence of the stolen SS# being used. * * * Someone called police about an abandoned car on N. Hawthorne Street. The vehicle was a red Chevy Impala with two flat tires and damage on the right side. There were automotive parts scattered throughout the interior of the car that were visible from outside the car. Police placed an orange "48 hour" warning sticker on the top right of the rear windshield. Police will return to the vehicle after that time and if the vehicle remains, it will be towed. * * * A woman on E. Brainerd Road told police that her vehicle was broken into. She said she forgot to lock her car door and someone went through the glove box. No items were stolen that she could identify. She said she just wanted a report made that her vehicle was broken into. * * * A woman told police she parked her car on E. Martin Luther King Boulevard. She said when she returned to her vehicle the next day, she observed that someone had removed the catalytic converter from her 2010 Toyota Prius. * * * The manager of Walgreens at 2104 McCallie Ave., told police when she was opening the business she found a woman sleeping in the middle of the parking lot and wanted her to leave. Police spoke to the woman, identified her and asked her to leave the property at the request of the manager. The woman gathered her belongings and left without incident. Prior to allowing the woman to leave, a check for warrants was conducted with negative results. 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. 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 The International Space Station (ISS) is an ideal platform for the United States and Russia to develop better relations, Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor told Sputnik WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2021) The International Space Station (ISS) is an ideal platform for the United States and Russia to develop better relations, Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor told Sputnik. "That orbiting outpost would not have happened without either the Russian or the American people, and it is the perfect platform for us to develop better relationships with one another," Zelibor said. "The truth is, the ISS was brought about by more than engineering and joint assembly spacewalks. It's an example of respect, human ingenuity and capacity building and those are the best foundations for any relationship to be built upon." Zelibor said that is one of the reasons the Space Foundation selected the five Primary partners of the ISS - the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia and the European Space Agency (ESA) with its Space Achievement Award this past year. The Space Agency chief said space remains one the very few areas where the two countries continue to cooperate amid their worsened relations. "Cost is certainly a driver as efforts like the ISS, or even trips to the Moon or Mars are not inexpensive ventures," he said. "Ultimately, it's about our mutual survival. Space is certainly one of the most hostile of environments any human can venture and, as such, our own human instincts to protect ourselves and one another come forward. " Zelibor pointed out that ever since Russian and US astronauts started to train together onboard the Space Shuttle and the Mir Space Station in the 1990s, political and cultural barriers broke down between the crew members but also the support teams around them. "That's a relationship that was pioneered in the 1970's by the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project that not only linked our international spacecraft in orbit but joined us in handshakes in space for the first time too," Zelibor said. Zelibor said he believes that one of the most impressive relationships and lifelong friendships born of that exchange was between astronauts Tom Stafford and Alexei Leonov - "two of the Space Races most notable space pioneers." "Their friendship was the first of many mutual bonds of respect and comradery to be formed and many more have followed their examples," he said. "You hear about that shared mutual bond if you speak with any of the ISS crew members and their support teams, or even those from the Shuttle-Mir era. All of them will tell you how grateful they are for friendships that were forged by working, designing, building and training together." The Space Foundation, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is one of the world's leading organizations in space awareness activities and major industry events. She turned plenty of heads when she entered the Fijian villa as an intruder on season two of Love Island Australia in 2019. And Margarita Smith is still courting attention almost two years later. The model and aged care worker, 27, gave her Instagram followers a good laugh on Monday by sharing a busty photo and thanking her plastic surgeon in the caption. At least she's honest! Former Love Island Australia star Margarita Smith cheekily thanked her plastic surgeon for her new 'airbags' in an Instagram post on Monday Having a laugh: She posted a picture of herself posing in a bathroom wearing a purple bikini, and wrote: '@cosmetic_avenue Thanks for the airbags, but this was no accident! #SafetyFirst' She posted a picture of herself posing in a bathroom wearing a purple bikini, and couldn't resist tagging the clinic where she got her breast implants. Margarita underwent the procedure at Cosmetic Avenue in Melbourne. The brunette wrote: '@cosmetic_avenue Thanks for the airbags, but this was no accident! #SafetyFirst.' It's unclear if Margarita was referring to a recent breast augmentation, or the one she had several years ago, before appearing on Love Island. Another procedure? It's unclear if Margarita was referring to a recent breast augmentation, or the one she had several years ago, before appearing on Love Island She only had a brief stint on the Channel Nine dating show, entering the villa on day 28 and being dumped on day 33. Margarita left the show after fellow islander Adam Farrugia turned her down for not being 'natural' enough. At the time, Daily Mail Australia uncovered photos of her taken several years earlier, before her plastic surgery transformation. Remember her? The model and aged care worker, 27, only had a brief stint on the Nine dating show, entering the villa on day 28 and being dumped on day 33 The images were sourced from her long-forgotten profile on StarNow, a website for people seeking modelling, acting and extra work. She appears to have had at least one breast enlargement and a nose job, in addition to having dermal filler in her face and lips. At one point in her early twenties, her breasts doubled in size and obtained a perfectly spherical shape, likely as a result of implants. Before and after: During Margarita's appearance on Love Island, Daily Mail Australia uncovered photos of her taken several years earlier, before her plastic surgery transformation During an episode of Love Island Australia that aired on November 5, 2019, Adam told Margarita he wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship with her because he preferred 'natural girls'. 'I wouldn't see us going any further. I'm not going to f**k you around and waste your time in here and tell you what you want to hear,' the plasterer, 28, said. Adam later clarified his remarks in an interview with Huff Post Australia. 'She's a pretty girl with a great personality but for me personally, I'm not into it. I don't like the big lips, the teeth and the massive cans. I just don't go for girls with that much work done,' he said. Transformation: She appears to have had at least one breast enlargement and a nose job, in addition to having dermal filler in her face and lips TWO Limerick brothers who aggressively pressurised an elderly woman to write cheques for almost 25,000 to buy a range of tools and equipment have withdrawn their appeal against the severity of the sentences imposed on them. Thomas ODriscoll, aged 40, of Boherbuoi, Rathkeale and Patrick ODriscoll, aged 39, of Wolfburgess East, Rathkeale had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of deception relating to an incident at Goleen, County Cork in November 2018. Cork Circuit Court heard they targeted a woman, aged in her 70s, at a jewellery shop in Skibbereen and persuaded her to give them her phone number after showing her a machinery brochure. They subsequently called to her home in Goleen and aggressively pushed her to buy machinery and tools and to write cheques to a value of almost 25,000. The woman later contacted her bank to cancel the cheques but not before sums totalling 6,500 had been cashed. The brothers have paid 6,000 in compensation the woman and each also offered 4,000 of their bail money to her. Lawyers representing the two men were due to begin an appeal at the Court of Appeal this Monday against the two-year jail sentence which was handed down by Judge Sean O Donnabhain last November. However, the pair withdrew their appeal after the president of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham observed that it was open to the court to also increase the term of imprisonment. Following an adjournment, Eileen OLeary SC for the ODriscolls, informed the court that they wished to withdraw their appeal. Mr Justice Birmingham remarked that it was a wise decision and noted the case had involved the brothers identifying a victim who was vulnerable. He sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy. Russia's foreign ministry said Monday it hoped a power outage at Iran's Natanz uranium plant, which Tehran denounced as an attack by Israel, would not "undermine" progress on nuclear deal talks Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :Russia's foreign ministry said Monday it hoped a power outage at Iran's Natanz uranium plant, which Tehran denounced as an attack by Israel, would not "undermine" progress on nuclear deal talks. The ministry said in a statement that it was closely following the situation surrounding the "serious incident", which it hopes "will not undermine the consultations which are gaining momentum". Hillsong Church pauses Dallas campus after completing investigation of former pastors Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Former Hillsong Dallas Lead Pastor Reed Bogard and his wife, Jess, were under investigation for leadership failures when they abruptly resigned in January, Hillsong Church Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston said Saturday while announcing a pause in the operation of the Texas campus. Early in our process, the Bogards decided to resign from Hillsong Church. We accepted their resignations and acknowledged the time that the Bogards spent establishing our Dallas location, Houston and his wife, Bobbie, told members of the church launched in 2019 in an email cited by The Daily Mail. It was very disappointing to learn that, while some of you experienced the Bogards as dedicated pastors, many others have experienced leadership that failed to meet the commitments and standards of Hillsong Church, the Houstons continued. I want to be the first to apologize to those who felt disappointed or hurt, and I pray that God does a swift work in bringing peace and healing. The Houstons said Reed Bogard, who along with his wife allegedly used church funds lavishly, had been suspended from his pastoral duties as complaints that he failed to uphold the standards of Hillsong leadership were being investigated. In announcing his resignation, Reed Bogard, 38, said he and his 35-year-old wife: Just really feel that its time to transition off of our staff and take some time to remain healthy, get healthy and to really see what this next season holds for us. Houston also agreed. Reed and I have been talking over a period of time, and we both agree that it would be a perfect time for them to come to a new season in their life, he said at the time. However, the leader of the Australia-based global megachurch assured members of the young Dallas congregation that they would eventually get new lead pastors, and they were not going to be forsaken. Several factors worsened by the coronavirus pandemic worked against the church in fulfilling that promise, the Houstons said. As we were establishing Hillsong Church in Dallas, the pandemic swept across the globe and quickly changed the shape of our growing church in the city, the Houstons explained. Many factors, all amplified by the pandemic, have resulted in the difficult decision to pause all operations at Hillsong Dallas for now. The Bogards resigned less than two months after former Hillsong NYC pastor Carl Lentz was fired last November over leadership issues and moral failures, including being unfaithful to his wife. Hillsong Church stated at the time that it launched an independent investigation "into the inner workings of Hillsong NYC/ East Coast" after hearing concerns from people affiliated with those churches. Former Hillsong NYC congregant Jenna Babbitt, 27, told The New York Post she provided childcare services for several pastors, including the Bogards, and revealed how church expense cards were used for personal items, like purchasing food for the kids in her care. The exploitation of free labor while these pastors are making bank is just crazy to me, Babbitt, who spent months working without pay for the Bogards, told the newspaper in January. Brandon Walker, 28, who helped the Bogards plant Hillsong Dallas, told the New York Post that he witnessed a lot of toxic activity, including $1,100 per day Airbnb rentals. There was a lot of eating out, a lot of Airbnbs very nice Airbnbs rented for guests and staff who were between homes, Walker alleged. Walker recalled one day while he was out with Jess Bogard and two of his friends, she bought them matching $100 jackets before taking them out to dinner at a pretty nice, pretty expensive Italian restaurant called North Italia. I think the bill was $600 to $700, Walker recalled. It was just, like, Wow. [She] just dropped over $1,000 for no reason. He also claimed that when money was used on volunteers, it was done manipulatively. I was paid once for one job, Walker said, recalling how Reed Bogart once gave him some $600 as a favor when he needed some cash. Thats a tactic a lot of these pastors use to keep their secrets, he charged. Buying us expensive gifts, giving us money, like, I got your back, so when I need you to have my back, this is something to remember. (Natural News) Once upon a time it could be truthfully said that the vast majority of corporations were run by CEOs who were supporters of the Republican Party. Back in those days, the GOP could be counted on to reliably push back against Democratic expansion of government power through the imposition of rules and regulations that enlarged the administrative branch, so to speak, which was usually weaponized against the free market and corporate influence. But those days are over. Now, corporate CEOs have gone full woke and are pandering, literally, to every left-wing cause and moment. Part of that is because the CEOs want to please big government lawmakers. The other reason is that increasingly, CEOs are a product of our woke indoctrination education system. But either way, choosing a side always means alienating the other side, and thats whats happening here. A new group misnamed the Civic Alliance that purports to support American concepts like democracy and voting rights now has more than 1,100 corporate members, all of which have committed to destroying traditional American values and constitutional principles. StopCorporateTyranny.org As a coalition of businesses, we use our voice, our brand, and our reach to strengthen our democracy. We support safe, accessible, and trusted elections, and we inspire our employees and customers to participate in civic life, the alliance says on its website. WorldNetDaily added: However, the objective of making elections accessible translates to opposition to laws such as Georgias that seek to ensure that every vote represents a legitimate voter and that voters are not disenfranchised. Amid the controversy over Georgias law, the Civic Alliance issued a letter last Friday condemning any effort to restrict ballot access, signed by 200 companies, including Salesforce, ViacomCBS and The Estee Lauder Companies. Companies have their fingers on the pulse of whats going on with their consumers and employees, and this is a priority for folks and so companies are making it a priority for themselves, said Mike Ward, co-founder of the Civic Alliance, according to NBC News. In part, the letter said, We stand in solidarity with voters and with the Black executives and leaders at the helm of this movement in our nonpartisan commitment to equality and democracy, adding that there are hundreds of bills threatening to make voting more difficult in dozens of states nationwide. In reality, those measures are not aimed at making voting more difficult but rather making voting more secure and trustworthy, especially after the Democrat-led fiasco in several states last fall that resulted in their stealing the election and installing Joe Biden, a brain-addled decrepit who is barely functional and whom they can control. (Related: Powerful, wealthy corporations continue to pay NO federal taxes while Biden plans to sock it to wage earners to fund more COVID bailouts.) But this misnamed organization now has a challenger: A group called StopCorporateTyranny. Described as center-right in terms of political philosophy, the organization bills itself as a one-stop shop for educational resources exposing the Lefts nearly completed takeover of corporate America, along with resources and tools for everyday Americans to fight back against the Lefts woke and censoring mob in the corporate lane. We reject the Lefts weaponization of corporate America against traditional beliefs and values. We work to dissuade corporations from engaging in activities that undermine free enterprise, individual liberty, limited government, free speech and the rule of law. Companies must instead return to their primary roleas fiduciaries for their investors, the group notes further on its About page. We seek to restore a healthy understanding of, and respect for, liberty, free enterprise and American culture all of which is being corrupted by corporate oligarchs. The group seeks to restore a corporate environment where companies dont take sides, left or right, but rather exist for the sole purpose of growing their brand, increasing in value for their shareholders, and serving all Americans equally, without regard to politics. Its about time; they deserve our support. Join their mailing list to stay up-to-date. Sources include: Tyranny.news WND.com With the steady increase of internet users in the Philippines, now standing at 73.91 million or 67% of its total population, global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky urged Filipinos to be on the lookout against the top five most prevalent malware targeting their smartphones and their data and money online. Identified as the most common malicious software (malware) detected in mobile devices of Filipinos are Trojans. Trojans are malware disguised as legitimate software that hackers and cyber thieves use to get into a users system to spy on them or steal from them. An internet user is usually tricked by some form of social engineering to install Trojans into their system. Once activated, attackers can easily delete, block, modify, and copy sensitive data of the user. Trojans can even disrupt the performance of computers or computer networks or in the case of Filipino users, their mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. These Trojans are classified based on the type of actions they can perform on a computer. According to Kaspersky, the top five types of malware that they blocked from being installed on the devices of Filipino Internet users are: Generic Trojan Trojan-Dropper - sneaks into devices without being detected by antivirus programs. It also masks any installation of viruses by hackers. Trojan-Downloader - similar to platforms that require software and system updates, Trojans are updated by hackers to be one step ahead of antivirus programs. With Trojan-Downloader, cybercriminals are able to install newer versions of existing malware in their targets device. Trojan-SMS - programs that command a victims phone to send text messages to premium rate phone numbers, costing money in the process. Trojan-Proxy - this virus creates proxy servers out of infected devices to enable an attacker to stage anonymous attacks by hiding their true location. The pandemic forced everyone around the world, including Filipinos, to jump in the online world whether for personal or business reasons to go on with their lives. This behavior has since translated to the surge of social media marketing campaigns, e-commerce platforms, and increased activity around e-payments with a total value of Php53 billion so far. And while digital payments are becoming the more preferred method in the new normal, based on the 2020 PayPal Consumer Insights Survey conducted in the Philippines, security remains the top consideration when consumers pick a digital platform, especially that 99% of the Filipino respondents confirmed their plans to use digital payments even post-COVID-19. The risk comes in the form of ensuring user security when using platforms that have access to financial assets. Android users are at the highest risks in becoming targeted by malware, especially Trojans that specifically target mobile banking. By disguising as legitimate applications, Trojans can steal money from mobile bank accounts or e-wallets. In fact, 98% of these malicious programs are designed for the Android OS. Based on our data, the Philippines may have had only 55,622 mobile malware detections in 2020, which is almost half of the monitored 110,130 attempts back in 2019. But there should be no room for complacency for Filipinos, says Chris Connell, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky. As of January this year, 96.5% or over 71 million Filipino internet users access the internet via their mobile phones. Majority of them (85.7%) have their shopping apps installed on their devices and almost half (42.1%) got their banks official apps, too. Now imagine the amount of confidential and financial data stored on our hand-held devices. This is why our smartphones now are lucrative targets for cyber-thieves and we all need to start protecting them, adds Connell. Although Trojans are unable to self-replicate, these programs will not only disrupt the performance of devices, but actually cost real money to the victims. To help Filipinos improve their mobile devices security, Kaspersky offers a promo for every purchase of its consumer suite in the Philippines. For every purchase of a Kaspersky Total Security (1 year for 1 device) or a Kaspersky Internet Security (1 or 2 years for 3 or 5 devices), customers will receive a free one-month Netflix subscription. A free one-year Netflix subscription is also up for grabs just by answering a question from Kaspersky, under the Kaspersky x Transformers promo which runs from March 1 to April 15, 2021. To redeem the free Netflix subscription, visit this link. Taking advantage of anti-malware software can help users detect these malicious programs and prevent Trojan attacks. Filipino Internet users can benefit from best use practices for prevention, and Kaspersky experts suggest the following: SHIJIAZHUANG, China, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yiling Pharmaceutical (002603.SZ) released its 2020 annual report on Thursday. It achieved an operating revenue of RMB 8.782 billion in 2020, with a year-on-year growth of 50.76%; and net profit attributed to equity holders of RMB 1.219 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 100.95%. Lianhua brand products bloomed domestically and internationally According to the annual report, Yiling Pharmaceutical's Lianhua Qingwen products achieved a sales revenue of RMB 4.256 billion in 2020, with a year-on-year growth of 149.89%. Data showed that, the market shares of Lianhua Qingwen products increased from 2.44% in 2017 to 9.86% in 2020 among the medicines for colds/heat-clearing in the retail terminals, becoming the first largest brand of proprietary Chinese medicines for colds in the retail market. Lianhua Qingwen products have played an important role in the prevention and control of COVID-19, which not only drives the dramatic increase in the product sales, but also increases the coverage of blank markets structurally. Its brand influence has increased significantly, with strong market demands. Now it has become a regular medicine in many families, providing impetus for its growth in the future. The internationalization of traditional Chinese medicines represented by Lianhua Qingwen is also accelerating. In the prevention and control and medical treatment of COVID-19, Lianhua Qingwen showed full evidences, wide applications and significant clinical efficacy, so its value is gradually recognized and affirmed internationally. Against the background of changing epidemic conditions and increasing market demand overseas, Yiling Pharmaceutical is actively implementing an international strategic layout; in 2020, it established an international trade center to accelerate the registration overseas and proactively explore the international markets. Up to now, Lianhua Qingwen Capsules has been approved for marketing in more than 20 countries and regions, including Canada, Russia, the Philippines, and Kuwait. Its overseas registrations have been initiated in more than 30 countries and regions. Sustainable growth driven by innovative R&D In recent years, Yiling Pharmaceutical has continued to increase investment in scientific research to promote the close link between scientific research and production. In 2020, it invested RMB 737 million in R&D, with a year-on-year growth of 43.09%, and the R&D investment accounted for more than 8% of operating revenue for consecutive years. In 2020, the company has a total of 1,996 R&D staffs, with a year-on-year growth of 26.89%. In terms of the R&D of traditional Chinese medicines, Yiling Pharmaceutical has established a new drug research and development innovation technology system based on the theory of TCM collateral disease by combining theory, clinical application and new drugs. At present, the company has developed 11 patented new drugs, of which, 8 drugs are listed in National Medical Insurance and 5 drugs are the National Essential Drugs, covering clinically frequent and major diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, diabetes, tumors, etc., forming a relatively rich product family. It will provide strong impetus and steady support for the company's continuous and stable growth in the sales revenue and profits. SOURCE Yiling Pharmaceutical More than one hundred economies have received life-saving COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, the global mechanism for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. The milestone comes 42 days after the first COVAX doses were shipped and delivered internationally, to Ghana on 24 February 2021. COVAX has now delivered more than 38 million doses across six continents, supplied by three manufacturers, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and the Serum Institute of India (SII). Of the over 100 economies reached, 61 are among the 92 lower-income economies receiving vaccines funded through the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC). Despite reduced supply availability in March and April the result of vaccine manufacturers scaling and optimizing their production processes in the early phase of the rollout, as well as increased demand for COVID-19 vaccines in India COVAX expects to deliver doses to all participating economies that have requested vaccines in the first half of the year. "In under four months since the very first mass vaccination outside a clinical setting anywhere in the world, it is tremendously gratifying that the roll-out of COVAX doses has already reached one hundred countries," said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. "COVAX may be on track to deliver to all participating economies in the first half of the year yet we still face a daunting challenge as we seek to end the acute stage of the pandemic: we will only be safe when everybody is safe and our efforts to rapidly accelerate the volume of doses depend on the continued support of governments and vaccine manufacturers. As we continue with the largest and most rapid global vaccine rollout in history, this is no time for complacency." "COVAX has given the world the best way to ensure the fastest, most equitable rollout of safe and effective vaccines to all at-risk people in every country on the planet," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "If we are going to realize this great opportunity, countries, producers and the international system must come together to prioritize vaccine supply through COVAX. Our collective future, literally, depends on it." "This is a significant milestone in the fight against COVID-19. Faced with the rapid spread of COVID-19 variants, global access to vaccines is fundamentally important to reduce the prevalence of the disease, slow down viral mutation, and hasten the end of the pandemic," said Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). "The extraordinary scientific achievements of the last year must now be matched by an unprecedented effort to protect the most vulnerable, so the global community must remain firmly focused on reducing the equity gap in COVID-19 vaccine distribution." "In just a month and a half, the ambition of granting countries access to COVID vaccines is becoming a reality, thanks to the outstanding work of our partners in the COVAX Facility," said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. "However, this is no time to celebrate; it is time to accelerate. With variants emerging all over the world, we need to speed up global rollout. To do this, we need governments, along with other partners, to take necessary steps to increase supply, including by simplifying barriers to intellectual property rights, eliminating direct and indirect measures that restrict exports of COVID-19 vaccines, and donating excess vaccine doses as quickly as possible." According to its latest supply forecast, COVAX expects to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines in 2021. In order to reach this goal, the COVAX Facility will continue to diversify its portfolio further, and will announce new agreements with vaccine manufacturers in due course. Furthermore, in March it was announced that the United States government will host the launch event for the 2021 Gavi COVAX AMC Invest Opportunity to catalyze further commitment and support for accelerated access to vaccines for AMC-supported economies. An additional US$ 2 billion is required in 2021 to finance and secure up to a total of 1.8 billion donor-funded doses of vaccines. COVAX is also working to secure additional sourcing of vaccines in the form of dose-sharing from higher income countries. Quotes from donors and partners President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: "As we continue our common race to speed up safe and effective vaccination everywhere, I want to commend COVAX for having delivered first vaccines to 100 countries in every corner of the world, including some of the most vulnerable warn torn countries like Afghanistan and Yemen. This is a real milestone. Team Europe has strongly invested in COVAX and I urge all partners to support COVAX to make sure no one is left behind". Senator the Hon Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Australia said: "Australia welcomes the progress made by COVAX in COVID-19 vaccine distribution across the world. One hundred countries now have access to life-saving COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX. We are proud to work with global partners to achieve equitable global access to safe and effective vaccines." Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, Canada and co-chair, COVAX AMC Engagement Group said: "Despite the many challenges it faced, the COVAX Facility has continued to deliver. In just a matter of weeks, it's been supplying vaccines to 100 countries. This is a milestone we can all be proud of. Now, more than ever, we must continue to work together and support multilateral mechanisms like the COVAX Facility and the ACT-Accelerator." Jean-Yves le Drian, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France said: "One hundred countries have now received safe, WHO-approved vaccines against COVID-19 through the COVAX Facility. France welcomes this crucial step forward, which demonstrates that multilateralism in global health, as well as the spirit of solidarity and responsibility on which it is based, constitutes the most effective response to this pandemic. But the fight against the virus is far from over: we must continue to support COVAX and accelerate equitable access to vaccines in fragile countries, in particular through sharing of vaccine doses. This is what France wants to do, together with its EU and G7 partners." Dr Gerd Muller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany said: "We either beat the pandemic worldwide or we will not beat it at all. The only way out of the crisis is a global immunization campaign. In order to now be able to vaccinate people quickly, we are using the tried and tested structures of the global vaccine alliance Gavi. Thanks to the vaccination platform COVAX, the structures are in place to provide vaccines for at least 20 per cent of people in developing countries and emerging economies over the course of this year." Heiko Maas, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Germany said: "The fact that St.Lucia yesterday became the 100th country to be supplied with vaccines via the COVAX platform supported by Germany and the EU, is a milestone on the way out of the pandemic. This progress gives us hope, for we too will only be safe when everyone around the world is safe. Access to vaccines, medicines and tests must not become a geopolitical pawn. Rather, they must be available to all countries in a fair and transparent manner. That's why we're committed to COVAX, to a multilateral approach." Colm Brophy TD, Minister of State for Overseas Development and the Diaspora, Ireland said: "Through our funding to COVAX, Ireland is supporting developing countries, who most need vaccines and can least afford them, secure their share of global supply." Dag-Inge Ulstein, Minister of International Development, Norway, and Co-chair of the ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Council said: "In less than a year, the world has come together to develop and secure equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines. That is a huge victory. But the risk of vaccine nationalism is still looming large. Countries and manufactures must prioritize global solutions. It is also crucial that all manufacturers continue to make their vaccines available and affordable to COVAX, so that the global rollout can continue. Countries that have more vaccines than they need should share vaccines through COVAX. I also expect all relevant stakeholders to take action to ensure that the world can produce enough vaccines, at a price that even the poorest countries can afford." People's health first' has been the guiding principle, driving all efforts in the fight against the pandemic - both nationally and globally - to ensure that "No one is left behind". We in the kingdom are proud contributors to GAVI and the COVAX facility, which has now shipped over 37 million vaccines. This show of solidarity is the cure to fighting COVID-19, and our collective resilience will enable us to overcome any future pandemic we may face." H.E. Dr Tawfig AlRabiah, Minister of Health, Saudi Arabia Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister Wendy Morton, United Kingdom said: "From Nigeria to Nepal, COVAX has now delivered life-saving vaccine doses to 100 countries and territories which is a huge achievement and another step towards making us all safe. The UK has played a leading role in achieving equitable access to vaccines by providing 548 million for COVAX early on, which will help to deliver more than one billion doses around the world, as well as lobbying international partners to increase their funding." United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said: "The United States welcomes the news that COVAX has delivered safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to 100 countries. The United States signaled our strong support for COVAX through an initial $2 billion contribution to Gavi. Through unprecedented partnerships among donors, manufacturers, and participating countries, COVAX has achieved extraordinary milestones in equitably distributing doses to the global community in record time." Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank said: "As part of Team Europe the European Investment Bank is pleased to provide EUR 400 million for COVAX, representing the EIB's largest ever support for global public health. COVAX has already provided vaccines to vulnerable groups and front line workers and brought hope to millions more. COVAX demonstrates the benefit of global cooperation to tackle the shared challenge of COVID. Congratulations to the COVAX team and global partners in 100 countries around the world. Together we are ensuring equitable access to vaccines and together we are directing our efforts towards a global recovery." Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca CEO, said: "Today marks a significant milestone in the global fight against the pandemic as 100 countries have received vaccine through COVAX. I am proud that the supply of our vaccine accounts for the vast majority of doses being delivered through COVAX in the first half of this year. Over 37 million doses of our vaccine have been delivered to date which are protecting the most vulnerable populations around the world. Together with our COVAX partners, we continue to work 24/7 to deliver on our unwavering commitment to broad, equitable and affordable access." Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said: "Congratulations to everyone who has worked tirelessly to reach this impressive milestone. At Pfizer we are driven every day by the belief that science will win. Through collaboration and commitment, COVAX has brought forth a global solution that helps to bring breakthrough science to everyone, everywhere. We are proud to work together with the facility and all of its partners and remain firmly committed to working toward the shared vision of equitable access for all to end this pandemic." Sai D. Prasad, President, Developing Countries Vaccines Manufacturing Network (DCVMN) said: "COVAX has made history by ensuring equitable access for COVID-19 vaccines to all countries irrespective of their economic status. The 100th delivery marks a great milestone for COVAX, leading to enhanced deliveries during 2021. We commend the efforts by all partners in COVAX for this achievement. Developed and developing country manufacturers have played a crucial role in product development and large scale manufacturing. In order to meet the requirements of all countries, more partnerships between innovators and manufacturers are required. COVAX's leadership in COVID-19 vaccines will ensure that we leave no one behind." Thomas Cueni, Director General, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) & founding partner of ACT-A said: "The timeline is truly impressive. It's an innovation success story with the first WHO vaccine approval on 31 December 2020, less than a year after the virus was first shared. It's a manufacturing success story with the scaling up from zero to one billion doses being produced by April 2021. It is a logistics and country preparedness success story, with 100 countries receiving the vaccines and last but by no means least, it's a collaboration and solidarity success story, thanks to the commitment from donors and the tireless efforts of the partners of COVAX including the developing and the developed world manufacturers. COVAX's partnerships together with political leadership to equitably share surplus vaccines are the best guarantees we have that people who need the vaccine will get it whenever they live, fast enough to outpace the virus' mutations." A survey on maternity care of new mums in Laois and other counties has found that many women are not asked about their mental health at check-ups after having their babies. The finding is contained in a new Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Report into Maternity Care provided in the Community. The survey of 6,000 women in Laois and all other counties was conducted as part of the National Maternity Experience Survey 2020. It found that the GP was the first port of call for 92.4% of Laois women when they thought they were pregnant. Every women who is pregnant and ordinarily resident in Ireland is entitled to maternity care under the Maternity and Infant Scheme. This scheme allows for two visits to the general practitioner at 2 weeks and 6 weeks after childbirth. 86.1% of Laois women attended a 2 week check-up after birth. Of those who did not attend the biggest proportion said they knew about the check-up but did not attend. Unlike a substantial number of counties, very few women in Laois said they did not know that they were supposed to attend. When asked if sufficient time was spent discussing their physical health at the 6-week post natal check-up, just 41.8% of Laois women said yes definitely. About 10% said no. A small number said they had not had a postnatal check-up. When asked whether sufficient time was spent discussing mental health at the 6-week check-up just 35.4% of Laois women answered that there definitely had been. A similar percentage said yes to some extent but about a third said no. On this point, HIQA says greater care must be taken by medical practitioners to make sure that women know what mental health supports are available. Another question asked if a woman's GP, practice nurse or midwife had answered their questions in a way that they could understand. About three-quarters of Laois women said yes this was always the case. A small percentage said no. Nationally, the survey shows that for almost 90% of women who responded, their GP was the first point of contact once they became pregnant. HIQA said most respondents around the country were positive about the care and support they received, saying they were treated with respect and dignity, were spoken to in a clear, understandable way and had confidence and trust in their healthcare professional. However, it also revealed that some women felt that more information was needed on changes they would experience to their mental and physical health, as well as their nutritional needs during pregnancy. HIQA said the survey also identified significant variation in attendance at the 2-week postnatal check-up. Most women attend this check-up but the numbers were notably lower for women living in counties in the northwest of Ireland. Respondents also provided detailed information on their experiences with their GPs, practice nurses and midwives. These comments identified the caring and helpful attitudes of GPs, but also highlighted the requirement for more personalised care, particularly in the postnatal period. HIQAs Director of Health Information and Standards Rachel Flynn spoke about the findings. Care begins in the community and to that end, it is crucial that pregnant women can trust and have confidence in the treatment and advice they receive from their GP or family doctor. "It is hugely encouraging to see that a majority of women have reported positive experiences as they prepare for one of lifes major milestones. "More concerning, however, is the correlation between geographical location and the provision of post-natal services. It is important that women in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo are afforded the same opportunities and can have the same expectation of care provision as those in Irelands urban centres. "It is clear that there is still work to be done to ensure women and babies across Ireland have access to the care and support they need, she said. The survey found that most women said that their GP, practice nurse or midwife answered their postnatal questions in a way they could understand. However, it was evident that a significant number felt that insufficient time was spent discussing their physical and mental health at the 6-week postnatal check-up. Pregnancy is a demanding experience, both physically and mentally. It is concerning that a significant number of women who took part in this survey felt that they did not receive enough information about potential changes to their mental health during pregnancy. "Greater care must be taken by medical practitioners to make sure that women are made aware of the mental health supports that are available to them while expecting, she said. The report on the maternity care provided in the community by general practitioners, practice nurses and midwives, as part of the 2020 National Maternity Experience Survey, can be found at www.yourexperience.ie. The National Maternity Experience Survey is part of the National Care Experience Programme, a joint initiative by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the HSE and the Department of Health. The survey asked over 6,000 new mums about their maternity experience in February and March 2020. KEY FINDINGS - For 87.4% of the women who responded, their GP was the first healthcare professional they saw when they thought they were pregnant, with 3.7% receiving care from a midwife first and 8.9% answering other. - Women who saw a midwife first were slightly more likely to say they were offered a choice of care than those who saw GP first or other. - Nationally, 84.7% of women attended their 2-week post-natal check-up with their GP; however, the numbers were significantly lower for women living in Donegal (44.4%), Leitrim (46.3%) and Sligo (47.1%). Of those who did not attend, most said it was because they did not know about it. - When asked if sufficient time was spent discussing their physical health at the 6-week check-up, Monaghan had the highest proportion of women who answered yes, definitely with 64.1%, while Longford had the lowest with 35.9%. Nationally, 1,458 women (45.5%) answered yes, definitely. -When asked whether sufficient time was spent discussing mental health at the 6-week check-up, Monaghan again had the highest proportion of women who answered yes definitely with 51.3%, Clare had the lowest with 28.6%. Nationally, 1,251 women (39.1%) answered yes, definitely. A look at some of the major movers in London on Monday ( ) shares, up 9.8% at 9p, were on a charge after the company was selected by EESL Energy Solutions as a technology partner. CyanConnode, a specialist in narrowband radio frequency (RF) smart mesh networks, said it would collaborate with EESL India to develop and deliver large-scale projects in the Middle East and African markets. EESL India is a joint venture of four Indian public-sector undertakings; NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation Limited, Rural Electrification Corporation Limited and POWERGRID Corporation of India Limited. 12.50pm: Catenae higher after warrants update ( ) was 21% to the good at 3.75p after it confirmed it would issue a warrant over 2mln new shares in the company. The warrant is exercisable at a price of 2.5 pence per ordinary share and will vest with immediate effect. The provider of digital media and technology said the warrant may be exercised at any date to 8 April 2023. The warrant over 10mln shares to be issued to a related party of BHA-Medical (Pty) Limited referred to in the companys announcement on October 16 remains unissued. 11.55am: Ridgecrest crashes after reality check Ridgecrest PLC (LON:RDGC), down 39% at 0.925p, was the worst performer in London in late-morning trading as the cash shell issued a reality check. The board continues to assess a number of opportunities, it has dawned on the directors that while a reverse takeover candidate would value Ridgecrest at a premium to its net asset value, such a valuation would be at a material discount to its current market capitalisation, which currently stands at more than three times net asset value. As at the end of last week, the company's cash position (net of current liabilities) was about 2mln, which equates to 0.44p per share). 11.00am: Pelatro upbeat about revenue visibility ( ), the telecoms marketing software specialist, was 7.3% firmer at 40.25p after its full-results annu=ouncement. The company said it ended 2020 with good visibility on revenues for the coming twelve months. The AIM-listed group added said sales dropped to US$4mln (2019:6.67mln) in the year to end-December 2020, due to a switch to a recurring revenue-based model and Coronavirus (Covid-19) caused contract delays. 10.05am: Vela gets coated with the COVID-19 treatment magic dust Investment company PLC ( ) gained 5.8% at 0.08p after an update published yesterday evening by St George Street . The update was on the status of the ARCADIA clinical trial to test SGS002, a drug that could be beneficial to diabetic patients suffering from COVID-19. St George Street holds 7.95% of Velas share capital, and its holding is subject to a lock-in agreement until the successful completion of Phase II of the ARCADIA trial, or for a period of two months following completion of the ARCADIA trial, should the outcome of the trials not meet the minimum threshold. 9.10am: tops the charts after Trinidad discovery; 88 Energy back in favour ( ), up 23% at 112.5p, topped the risers after flow-back testing of the Cascadura Deep-1 well confirmed a liquids rich discovery. The company, which owns an 80% stake in the well, highlighted that it had perforated the top 199 feet of 449 feet of potential pay identified previously, and an average flow-back rate of 4,262 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) was measured. That rate comprised 22.9mln cubic feet of natural gas and 449 barrels of natural gas liquids (NGL). A peak rate was measured at 4,567 boepd during the testing. The well, located on the Ortoire block onshore Trinidad and Tobago, flowed a total of 48.8mln cubic feet of natural gas and 1,081 barrels of NGLs during the testing programme. Was not expecting such a quick comeback from Touchstone. Only bought in last week at 90p. Ive had my eyes on this for a year looking for a dip!. #txp pic.twitter.com/JWwy3ONID1 @SharesChat (@SharesChat) April 12, 2021 Sector peer ( ), whose shares have been very volatile this month, was back on the rise, hitting 1.5p (up 8.7%) after it reported further evidence of oil in the Merlin-1 well, in Alaska. Samples taken from sidewall cores showed fluorescence and cut which are both indicators of oil. They were present in samples taken from several horizons. The samples have now been sent for further analysis. Proactive headlines: ( ) has inked a worldwide licensing deal with international drug giant Sanofi worth up to 414mln for its oral IL-17A inhibitor programme. ( ) has delineated seven high priority targets at the Elizabeth Hill silver project in Australia, following the completion of a litho-structural interpretation and target-generation study. The project area includes the Mining Lease containing the historic Elizabeth Hill silver mine and the Munni Munni North exploration Lease that surrounds it. ( ) is advancing a metallurgical testing programme designed to investigate the potential production of tantalum and lithium as by-products from its producing tin project at Uis. The Uis tin mine is already known to contain an estimated 6,091 tonnes of tantalum and 450,265 tonnes of lithium oxide (Li2 O). ( ) said it is well-positioned to take advantage of the expected upturn in the sector in the second half of 2021, particularly in the UK and the US. ( ) has updated investors with further details around the launch of a cryptocurrency postage stamp by the government of Gibraltar and a non-fungible token (NFT) counterpart exclusively produced by the firm in collaboration with Vietnam-based RedFOX Labs. PLC (LON:CMRS) announced better-than-expected results from preliminary drilling on the PR Ploutonic Resources Ltd licences in Cyprus, ahead of a vote by its shareholders on the acquisition of privately held PRL towards the end of this month. (LON:INST) saw underlying earnings (EBITDA) rise in 2020 while it said it has "good visibility" for the current year with growing recurring revenues. ( ) announced it is about to complete fundraising plans proposed in January. said promising data highlighting the potential of its liquid biopsy in breast and lung cancers will be released in two posters at virtual meetings taking place this week and next month. ( ) said first-quarter trading in its current year has been ahead of management expectations as the firm reported a profit surge in 2020 driven by changes to its business caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. ( ) has said despite its previous announcement on March 19 that its shares would be cancelled on the London Stock Exchange on April 21, the company has now postponed the formal cancellation date to a date, yet to be determined, that will coincide with the re-admission of the shares on the LSE. Subject to regulatory approval, the firm now expects the re-admission of its shares to occur towards the end of May or in June and it is now intended that the cancellation and re-admission will occur simultaneously at such time. PLC ( ) said the broker option granted to Peterhouse in connection with its placing and subscription announced on April 8 closed on April 9 and was significantly oversubscribed. The cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp product supplier said the broker option has been exercised in respect of around 57.7mln shares, an increase of around 100% on the original number in the option, which on exercise will raise a further 2.02mln for the company, taking its total fundraise to 7.04mln. ( ) said field work has started at its Ragged Range gold project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. ( ) has reinstated the dividend and said that trading in the year to date has been encouraging and in line with management expectations. ( ) shares advanced more than 20% after the company told investors that flowback testing of the Cascadura Deep-1 well, in Trinidad, confirmed a liquids rich discovery. ( ) inked a non-binding agreement with Eunisell Limited, a Nigerian owned oil and gas production solutions company, to potentially develop the Barracuda oil field in OML 141, in Nigeria. ( ) reported further evidence of oil in the Merlin-1 well, in Alaska. Demonstrations erupted in a Minneapolis suburb on Sunday night after a police officer fatally shot a man during a traffic stop. Crowds of mourners gathered at the site of the shooting, and relatives identified the victim as Daunte Wright, an African American resident of the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. Police did not identify the driver and said the Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office will release the name once the family was notified. Chief Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police Department said officers pulled the man over for a traffic violation and attempted to detain him when they learned of a warrant out for the mans arrest. However, the man reentered his car, at which point an officer shot him. The car rolled for several blocks until it hit another vehicle, and medical workers pronounced him dead at the scene. One police officer was injured in the incident, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Demonstrators later clashed with police outside the Brooklyn Center police headquarters, and National Guard members arrived in the city shortly before midnight to assist local officers. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Looters targeted the Brooklyn Center Walmart and destroyed several other stores in the vicinity, and looting spread into some parts of Minneapolis overnight. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The incident occurred amid the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer accused of killing George Floyd during his arrest in May 2020. Video of Floyds arrest, during which Chauvin knelt on Floyds kneck until he became unconscious, sparked massive riots in Minneapolis and in cities across the U.S. More from National Review Temperatures would drop to 14 degrees on Tuesday morning across Brisbane, as cold mornings were forecast to continue. Brisbane residents woke on Monday to the coldest morning of the year, with a minimum temperature of 13.2 degrees overnight recorded in the Queensland capital. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Matt Marshall said the cold mornings were expected to continue, until temperatures rose by Thursday and Friday. Brisbane was forecast to drop to 14 degrees on Tuesday morning. China is home to 30.88 million students currently acquiring skills in 11,300 vocational education institutions, according to statistics from the Ministry of Education. The ministry has approved 27 institutions offering vocational education at the undergraduate level since 2019 when the State Council released a plan to reform the vocational education system. Among the 1,349 majors listed in a new catalog of vocational majors released by the ministry this year, 247 are undergraduate majors, it added. The ministry has been working to promote the fair treatment of students receiving vocational education, ensuring they enjoy opportunities equal to those available to students of regular schools in terms of enrollment, employment and job promotions, according to an official with the ministry. Michigan health officials discovered 249 new coronavirus outbreaks last week as cases surged throughout all of the states regions. Additionally, the state is investigating 903 ongoing outbreaks for a total of 1,152 active clusters, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Thats an increase of 16% from the previous week. An outbreak is generally defined as an instance in which two or more cases are linked by a place and time, indicating a shared exposure outside of a household. Clusters being tracked by local health departments are included in the states online outbreak tracker, which is updated weekly on Mondays with data up to the previous Thursday. K-12 schools reported the most new outbreaks with 48, followed by manufacturing/construction sites (39), retail (29), childcare/youth programs (27), bars and restaurants (23), and office settings (23). Outside of K-12 schools and colleges, MDHHS is not identifying specific locations or the number of coronavirus cases. However, it is listing the information by the states eight health district regions. (Note those regions have different numbers than the MI Safe Start Plan.) Regions 5 and 7 reported decreases in total active outbreaks, while Region 8 reported no change. The remaining five regions each reported an increase in total outbreaks week-over-week. By region, the breakdown of the clusters: Region 1 (Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston and Shiawassee counties): 157 clusters, with 36 new and 121 ongoing outbreaks. Thats a 28.7% increase in active clusters from the week prior. Region 2N (Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair counties): 305 clusters, with 70 new and 235 ongoing outbreaks. Thats a 36.4% increase in active clusters from the week prior. Region 2S (city of Detroit and Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne counties): 132 clusters, with 30 new and 102 ongoing outbreaks. Thats an 11.9% increase in active clusters from the week prior. Region 3 (Saginaw, Alcona, Iosco, Ogemaw, Arenac, Gladwin, Midland, Bay, Genesee, Tuscola, Lapeer, Sanilac and Huron counties): 200 clusters, with 41 new and 159 ongoing outbreaks. Thats an 19.8% increase in active clusters from the week prior. Region 5 (Allegan, Barry, Calhoun, Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Van Buren and Kalamazoo counties): 53 clusters, with eight new and 45 ongoing outbreaks. Thats a 3.6% decrease in active clusters from the week prior. Region 6 (Clare, Ionia, Isabella, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola and Ottawa counties): 180 clusters, with 45 new and 135 ongoing outbreaks. Thats a 38.5% increase in active clusters from the week prior. Region 7 (Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Benzie, Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Oscoda, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Ilse, Cheboygan, Emmet and Charlevoix counties): 90 clusters, with 11 new and 79 ongoing outbreaks. Thats a 16.7% decrease in active clusters from the week prior. Region 8 (Upper Peninsula): 35 clusters, with eight new and 27 ongoing outbreaks. Thats an equal total from the week prior. By category, the outbreaks totaled: 336 clusters (51 new and 285 ongoing) at K-12 school or colleges. A total of 312 outbreaks involved K-12 schools, and the remainder were on or around college campuses. 199 clusters (39 new and 160 ongoing) were linked to manufacturing or construction sites. 151 clusters (29 new and 122 ongoing) at long-term care facilities, which include skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, adult day cares and group homes. 106 clusters (27 new and 79 ongoing) occurred at child-care centers or youth programs not associated with a school. 94 clusters (29 new and 65 ongoing) involved retail businesses. 65 clusters (23 new and 42 ongoing) in office settings. 58 clusters (23 new and 35 ongoing) were linked to bars or restaurants. 32 clusters (four new and 28 ongoing,) were at health-care sites, which would include hospitals, medical and dental offices, dialysis centers and other facilities providing health-care services. 23 clusters (five new and 18 ongoing) linked to private social gatherings, such as a wedding, funeral or party. 18 clusters (six new and 12 ongoing) associated with religious services. 17 clusters (three new and 14 ongoing) linked to personal services, such as a hair and/or nail salon, or a gym or spa. 16 clusters (three new and 13 ongoing) in jails and prisons. 10 clusters (one new and nine ongoing) at migrant camps or other agriculture workplaces, such as food-processing plants. Four clusters (all ongoing) at homeless or other shelters. Two clusters (one new and one ongoing) linked to indoor community exposure like concerts, meetings, etc. One ongoing cluster linked to outdoor community exposure such as a concert, rally, protest, parade, etc. Outbreaks will be removed from the database if there are no additional cases through a 14-day period, state MDHHS officials have said. State officials note that the chart does not provide a complete picture of outbreaks in Michigan, and an absence of identified outbreak in a particular setting is not evidence that the setting is not having outbreaks. Many factors, including the lack of ability to conduct effective contact tracing in certain settings, may result in significant under-reporting of outbreaks, the states website reads. For more statewide data, visit MLives coronavirus data page, here. To find a testing site near you, check out the states online test finder, here, send an email to COVID19@michigan.gov, or call 888-535-6136 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Read more on MLive: Michigan coronavirus data for Monday, April 12: Michigan had more cases in April 7-10 than all of February Michigan reports 4,000+ coronavirus hospitalizations for first time since December Gardening industry went from shutdown to tsunami of demand in 2020. Farmers hope it sticks. Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. CAMBRIDGE A woman who survived a deadly crash said she wants to forgive the driver, Lindsay Godfrey, for the Aug. 8, 2020 incident that killed her husband and mother. Jill Chadwick spoke at the Godfreys sentencing on Friday at the Washington County Court, where the 29-year-old driver from Clifton Park was sentenced to 4 to 12 years for causing the death of 43-year-old Richard DJ Chadwick and 77-year-old Alice Hahn. Chadwick, who was returning home from Vermont with her family, has recovered from her injuries in the State Route 313 crash, but remains traumatized. As I said in my victim impact statement, one of the things I said to Lindsay was she could never understand what we lost that day, Chadwick told the Times Union on Monday. We lost a mother, a son, a brother. I lost my husband. We lost a grandmother. We lost our cherished loved ones and children of God. But she also said that she wants to forgive Godfrey and hopes to visit her in prison, if that is allowed. It must be very hard to live, knowing what you did to a family, Chadwick said. Some might see an arrest and handcuff and being taken away as a good thing. I see it as a sad thing. There is more hurt. Nobody wins. Nobody feels good when that happens. Its very unfortunate, the decisions she made in her life. I feel bad for her family, too. District Attorney Tony Jordan said that Chadwicks victim impact statement was very powerful. She talked about the difficulties and pain that the choices that Lindsay made had on her and her family, Jordan said. But even more powerful was when she told her that I know I need to forgive you. She said she prays for you every day and hopes that she finds recovery. Godfrey, who was represented in court by attorney Matt Chauvin, was convicted of vehicular manslaughter. At the time of her crash, her blood alcohol was 0.12 percent and she had marijuana in her system. Chauvin, when contacted by the Times Union Monday, said he didn't have time to answer questions about the case and hung up on a reporter. He previously told the Post-Star that Godfrey had ongoing issues with substance abuse. Chadwick, a Cambridge Central School elementary music teacher, broke her ankle and some fingers in the crash. Chadwicks husband DJ was also a teacher. He spent 18 years at Hoosic Valley Central School teaching special education. The Chadwicks were heavily involved in their church, the Adamsville Baptist Church, and the Gideons International, which distributes Bibles worldwide. Chadwicks mother was retired, having spent 20 years as the director of environmental services at the now shuttered Mary McClellan Hospital. Her husband, Harvey, of 50 years died in 2019. I lost three close family members in a years time, Chadwick said. Its very hard. Its the most difficult thing I had to do in my life. Jordan said Godfrey also made a statement, which also surprised him, because she took full responsibility for her actions that day as she was going to meet friends for a tubing trip down the Battenkill River. Seldom do you hear a statement from a defendant to the court that is not self-serving, Jordan said. She basically said she was so scared to speak not because she would say something wrong but because she didnt want to make (Chadwicks) suffering worse. Jordan said Godfrey has little to no criminal history and that the court needed to weigh that and other factors when Judge Kelly McKeighan sentenced her. I was asked if it was fair, Jordan said. I said there is nothing fair about it. But we did have to find a balance and consistency in the sentence. But it doesnt change Jills world. Minnesota GOP Calls on Gov. Tim Waltz to Censure Himself After Post-Shooting Statement Minnesota Republicans on Monday accused Gov. Tim Walz of inciting violence with a statement he issued shortly after a 20-year-old was shot in the state over the weekend. Walz, a Democrat, told the public that he was monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center, where Daunte Wright was shot after resisting arrest. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement, he added. Republican Party of Minnesota Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said the statement was inappropriate. A Governors responsibility is to minimize turmoil, not fan the flames in challenging times. We pray for the family and friends of Daunte Wright, and hope for expediency in the investigation process, she said in her own statement. For a Governor to lead by casting blame and perpetuating a narrative of an unknown situation is not only irresponsible, it is conduct unbecoming of a Governor. We call on Governor Tim Walz to censure himself if he is not able to practice the discipline needed to lead our state in a way that helps us move forward together. Violent demonstrations erupted in and around Brooklyn Center on Sunday, fueled by anger over the shooting. Video footage released Monday showed Wright escaped from an officer and tried driving away before being shot. He was stopped for a traffic violation and had a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear in court on unrelated charges earlier this month. Police surround a cruiser damaged by a rock thrown during a violent demonstration in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11, 2021. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said the shooting was an accident. The officer who fired her weapon thought she was firing a Taser, he told reporters during a briefing. The officer, who has not been publicly identified, has been placed on leave as an investigation takes place. Walz focused on the officers actions and the fact that Wright died, as opposed to the man resisting arrest, in a separate briefing on Monday. It goes without saying its devastating and heartbreaking once again to address the death of a young black man with an interaction with police, he told reporters. He called on the state legislature to hold hearings on proposed police reforms, mentioning how Maryland recently repealed the states police bill of rights. There are things that can be done. There are proposals that are out there. Theres proven remedies that can be put into place, he said, adding later that he felt routine traffic stops should not be a heavily armed situation. Walz said Minnesota is a place where people can demonstrate under the First Amendment but warned that wrongdoers would be caught. He noted that there were already concerns that the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, on trial for the death of George Floyd, would lead to violence. We have known for many months that as this trial and the focus of this nation was on this trial, that there would be those that want to both: those that want to bring about change, those that want to express their constitutional rights. Those that are angry, heartbroken, sad, fed up, tired, all of the things that they have every reason to feel, he said. We also know, and we saw it again last night, those that would try to take advantage of this to create chaos or damage will not be tolerated. Jose Hernandez Aquino, 24, of Providence, faces disorderly conduct charges for instigating a brawl in which he and two other men were stabbed -- apparently in self defense at the Morin Heights housing complex in Woonsocket Sunday. [April 12, 2021] NSR Report: Satellite Backhaul Primed to Generate $25 Billion Annually by 2030 CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NSRs Wireless Backhaul via Satellite, 15th Edition report, released today, forecasts $25 billion in annual revenue in 2030 for satellite backhaul, propelled by explosive connectivity demand worldwide and post-COVID-19 recovery in the near term. As it is a core target of virtually every current and new satellite capacity provider, NSR expects Satellite Backhaul to represent one of the largest revenue opportunities for satcom over the next decade. Digitization is climbing in governmental agendas, pushing for ubiquitous Broadband and creating skyrocketing levels of bandwidth demand. Satellite is finally regarded as an alternative tool for rural deployments, thus creating a massive opportunity for Cellular Backhaul. Trunking is returning to growth with new price points triggering elasticities. Hybrid IP Content Distribution continues on a test phase with little traction during 2020, but the long-term potential continues to look promising. COVID-19 did have a negative impact on the Satellite Backhaul market, especially for equipment vendors. Deployments were interrupted and the cadence of new deals slowed. However, during the second half of 2020 there was an energetic recovery. The industry is just scratching the surface of the addressable market with 470 Gbps of traffic consumed today, compared with the total potential of 22 Tbps in 2020 (and expanding due to consumer trends). New business models like Managed Services and Network-as-a-Service are key to make satellite easier to adopt by MNOs, states Lluc Palerm, NSR Principal Analyst and report author. These emerging offers are growing rapidly with some deployments counting sites in 1,000s. However, higher risks are involved and the upfront CAPEX to develop these services is considerable. The players that succeed in this transition will be able to capture a portion of the $25 Billion annual revenue opportunity by 2030, according to Palerm. While there have been early tests, commercial Satellite Backhaul of 5G will still take time to develop. 35% of the traffic by 2030 will be driven by 5G. However, the importance of 5G goes well beyond backhaul of 5G Cells as it will facilitate seamless orchestration of satellite and terrestrial networks while opening multiple new use cases. About the Report NSRs Wireless Backhaul via Satellite, 15th Edition is the industry leading analysis and forecast of 3 Key market segments: Mobile Wireless Backhaul, Trunking and Hybrid Networks. New in this edition is a high-resolution assessment of the addressable market for potential subscribers and bandwidth requirements, as well as a revenue forecast for the emerging Managed Services and Network-as-a-Service Business Models. The study analyzes the installed base of sites in seven different regional markets, investigates trends impacting market growth, forecasts capacity and equipment revenues, and predicts satellite capacity requirements for provisioning each market vertical. Beyond classic C-, Ku- and Ka-band FSS capacity, NSR also leads the industry in forecasting use of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) segmented by band (C-, Ku- & Ka-bands) for GEO-HTS systems and assesses the impact of Non-GEO HTS constellations in the Backhaul markets. For additional information on this report, including a full table of contents, list of exhibits and executive summary, please visit www.nsr.com or call NSR at 617-674-7743. Companies and Organizations Mentioned in the Report ABS, Africa Mobile Networks, Altan REDES, Amazon, Andesat, Antrix/ISRO, APT Satellite, ArabSat, AsiaSat, AT&T, Avanti Communications, Axess, BSNL, Broadpeak, China Satcom, Claro, Comtech, Dish, EE, Ericsson, Eutelsat, Facebook, Gazprom Space Systems, Gilat Satellite Networks, Gilat Telecom, Globe Telecom, Google, Hispasat, Huawei, Hughes, iDirect, Inland Cellular, Intelsat, IP.ACCESS, Kacific, Kcell, MEASAT, MTN, NBN, Newtec, Nokia, Novelsat, NuRAN, O3b, OneWeb, OptimERA, Optus, Orange, Quadrille, Reliance Jio, RSCC, SCT, SES, SKY Perfect JSAT, Softbank, Southern Cross Cables, Southern Linc, Spacecom, Spacebridge, SpaceX, Speedcast, Star One, Telefonica, Telenor, Telesat, Telespazio, Thaicom, TIM, T-Mobile, UHP, Vanu, Verizon, ViaSat, Vodacom, Vodafone, WOM Colombia, Xiplink, YahSat, and ZTE. About NSR NSR is the leading global market research and consulting firm focused on the satellite and space sectors, NSRs global team, unparalleled coverage and anticipation of trends with a high degree of confidence and precision than the competition is the cornerstone of all NSR offerings. First to market coverage and a transparent, dependable approach sets NSR apart as the key provider of critical insight to the satellite and space industries. Contact us at info@nsr.com to discuss how we can assist your business. Press Contact: Kristen Kloster-Grady NSR Marketing Director KKloster@NSR.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A much-used proverb says: a good neighbor is better than a distant friend. Nowhere is it more suitable than the EUs position vis-a-vis its largest and most important neighbor: the Russian Federation. Current relations are the worst since the end of the Cold War. Despite the often rocky interaction, the European and Russian economies are highly complementary. This has led to a level of dependence that has become a problem for certain countries. The complementarity of the economies has been mutually advantageous for decades: Russia exports vast volumes of raw materials and imports finished, often high-tech, machines. These exports primarily include energy products such as oil and natural gas. Also, after the annexation of Crimea sanctions were introduced that reduced Russias access to Europe's financial sector. Energy imports, however, have remained stable, except for the pandemic period, which is worrying to many European countries. The level of dependence differs for each country. Due to historic reasons, Gazproms market share is the highest in Eastern Europe. The west and north, in contrast, have a far lower level of dependency where domestic production is higher (North Sea region) or nuclear is used in more abundance (France). Eastern Europe is, therefore, usually more vocal in its opposition to Russian energy deals. Therefore, the EU has set out to strengthen the resilience of the market and reduce dependence on a single producer. First, new rules and legislation have been introduced to lessen the influence of energy companies and protect customers. Second, physical measures have been taken such as reverse flow capabilities and additional cross-border infrastructure between member states. Third, diversification has been another important tool to strengthen Europes position concerning producers. Despite these intentions, Russia will remain the most important exporter to Europe for decades. Related: Saudi Oil Minister: OPEC+ Strategy Is Not Set In Stone According to S&P Global Platts Analytics, Russia's exports to the continent will remain growing and its market share will rise even further. Currently, 30 percent of the gas consumed in Europe can be traced to production locations in Siberia. The report predicts that this could rise to 40 percent by 2040. The most important reason behind this rise is Europes rapidly decreasing domestic production that needs to be substituted. Also, Norway, the no. 2 exporter, will gradually reduce exports due to the natural decline of its fields. The country currently exports 110 bcm annually that will reduce to 100 bcm in 2025, and even 60 bcm by 2040. Meanwhile, Russia's resource base is expanding partly due to global warming. The Arctic region, which is thought to contain $35 trillion of untapped oil and gas reserves, is increasingly accessible for exploration and production. Currently, an average of 650 bcm/year is produced that could rise to 750 bcm in 2025 and an astonishing 850 bcm by 2040. Of this amount 390 bcm, more than half could be destined for exports. However, the path to energy dominance is not a certainty for Russia. There are several threats to its current position and future outlook that cannot be controlled by Moscow. First, Europes diversification policy has fostered some results notably in southeast Europe where gas from the Caspian is being pumped through the Southern Gas Corridor. Russia has been quick to respond with the construction of the Turk Stream pipeline. Also, energy transition and decarbonization initiatives are rapidly gaining traction which could lessen demand for fossil fuels and hurt Russian exports to the continent. Despite the inauguration of the Power of Siberia pipeline to China, Europe remains Russias largest and most important customer by far. Therefore, Moscow is negotiating a second pipeline to China, this time from the Yamal region as insurance against dropping demand from Europe. Nevertheless, Russia will do everything in its power to maintain its position as the income from energy is too important. Already its gas is the most competitive in Europe which means that in a race to the bottom Gazprom always wins. Furthermore, Moscow is not sitting idle as its looking for new export opportunities for products such as hydrogen. Therefore, Russia will remain an important exporter of energy for quite some time despite Europes best intentions. By Vanand Meliksetian for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Colorado Springs, CO -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2021 -- Many Colorado properties have beautiful outdoor spaces, often with landscaping and perhaps a patio area or deck. One of the easiest ways to transform the ambiance of the backyard is to refresh the patio furniture and patio accessories. This could be prompted by moving home where perhaps the patio furniture from the old house doesn't quite fit in with the new space, it could be that first-time buyers are purchasing a home and are buying new throughout, or it could be because an old, tired patio set is due to be replaced, or perhaps just a springtime state of mind where 'out with the old, and in with the new' seems a refreshing project. Colorado Springs patio furniture is showcased at the Western Outdoor Living showroom where the highly knowledgeable team of experts can help advise of which materials or styles of Colorado outdoor furniture would suit the unique space. Windy and exposed back yards for instance may be better suited to a heavier patio set made from wrought iron or cast aluminum so that the set does not get disrupted and damaged in strong breezes. If the patio furniture surrounds a swimming pool and deck area, then heavy, thick cushions would not be the best choice, with sling patio furniture often preferred poolside as it dries so quickly. Storage over the wintertime is also a consideration, if space is at a premium and the patio furniture will be stored indoors over the wintertime, then looking for patio chairs that stack could save space and make logistics easier in the future. It can be the small details that sometimes get overlooked, like having a deck with gaps between the boards, and then purchasing a table and chairs with small feet which could get stuck or fall into the gaps making them uneven. Taking along a picture of the space when shopping at the showroom can help highlight some of these considerations and additionally helps match color tones against existing walls or paving. Patio furniture can also be purchased in modular pieces so they can be rearranged into different configurations when friends and family come over. This type of flexible styling also suits patios or porches where the dimensions are not typical, with perhaps a long and narrow space instead of a more traditional square or rectangular space. Another popular addition to the patio area is fire pits in Colorado Springs, as they need not only be used for warmth, they look stunning and the outdoor fire pit becomes a natural gathering spot or focal point in the evenings throughout the year. With many choices like size, fuel, and price point, Western Outdoor Living stock fire pits from respected manufacturers like OW Lee, Homecrest, and Golden Blount. Safety should always be the primary consideration. To find solutions for all the patio upgrades in one place, patio furniture, fire pits, and barbecue grills can be browsed online or at the Colorado Springs showroom. Colorado Patio furniture is showcased alongside a wide selection of built in grills, Colorado Springs barbecue grills, and fire pits, bringing together multiple elements of the patio and patio accessories together in one place. From a wrought iron patio set of a table and chairs to the latest in Fire Magic built-in outdoor grill technology including wood chip smokers and halogen lights inside the barbecue hood, Western Outdoor Living inspires new patio projects for the Colorado family that enjoys spending time in the great outdoors. As one of the premier providers of patio accessories and patio furniture in Colorado Springs, Western Outdoor Living has experienced staff who can help find the products best suited to each home or business. The latest and finest patio products are stocked in their extensive showroom. About Western Outdoor Living Colorado Springs Western Outdoor Living believes in outstanding service, durability, and comfort. Colorado outdoor patio furniture is showcased alongside outdoor fire pits, premium built-in outdoor grills, and custom outdoor kitchens for Coloradans embracing the outdoor lifestyle. They offer a wide selection of styles in different materials so from a rustic wood patio furniture set to a sleek and colorful sling patio design, patio furniture and the perfect accompanying fine patio accessories are always in stock. The Western Outdoor Living website is also a useful resource for homeowners with a link to maintenance tips, helping keep high-quality Colorado Springs outdoor furniture products as impressive as the day they were bought. To find out more and explore the website, please visit: http://www.westernoutdoorlivingcolorado.com/ Contact Details: Colorado Springs outdoor furniture showroom: 1685 Paonia Street Colorado Springs, CO 80915 Telephone: 719-591-1690 Email: info@westernoutdoorlivingcolorado.com 7 Shares Share Over the past few months, weve celebrated the vaccination of over 100 million Americans against COVID-19. At the same time, weve seen worrying indications that young adults like ourselves are letting down our guard too early. In fact, the latest surge in COVID-19 cases is being driven largely by younger people; concerningly, hospital wards in states like Pennsylvania and Florida are starting to see younger patients with COVID-19. While this doesnt mirror the more severe winter surges, it is drawing alarm from some public health experts who say it may drive the spread of new COVID-19 variants. As healthy, young adults, we can relate to the barriers the pandemic has placed on our normal lives. Its been isolating without normal social interactions with our classmates and friends: going to a movie theater together, celebrating holidays at a friends house, or simply catching up before an 8 am lecture. This is not to mention the many young adults who are struggling to support themselves or their families or the increased number of people reporting anxiety or depression. Were more than eager to return to some semblance of normalcy. But an important realization is that our fight is not over. States are starting to open COVID-19 vaccinations to the general population including healthy, young adults aged 18-30 but many people our age are still unvaccinated. More importantly, even once vaccinated, we must continue to social distance and wear masks. Though the CDC has relaxed its guidelines on gathering indoors, theres growing, but limited data on whether the vaccine prevents transmission to unvaccinated individuals and on efficacy against COVID-19 variants. Only when we achieve herd immunity, which some experts estimate will happen when between 75 to 85 percent of the U.S. population is vaccinated, will a return to normal be feasible. As medical students, were also positioned at the intersection between our young adult peers and health care workers. Like our friends, were increasingly tired of the continued sacrifices and isolation. At the same time, weve spoken with exhausted nurses and social workers, faculty struggling to look after children, and patients worried about how the pandemic is affecting their lives. Knowing the immense strain that COVID-19 has placed on our health systems and our desire to avoid another wave of cases is exactly why were asking our young adult peers to join us in continuing to follow COVID guidelines. While states like Minnesota and New Mexico have started reporting days without deaths due to COVID-19, there are still some challenges ahead. Vaccinations provide an important safeguard and have been ramping up, but the rise of new, more contagious variants means we must be extra vigilant. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, recently warned that relaxing mitigation measures like mask-wearing and social distancing too quickly might expose us to an avoidable surge due to these variants. Even without another surge in cases, its likely that well continue seeing a plateau in cases. Why does this matter dont younger adults experience fewer symptoms from COVID-19? Contrary to popular belief, as young adults, we havent been invincible to the effects of COVID. A December article in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that adults aged 25-44 are dying at historic rates from COVID-19; currently, it is one of the leading causes of death for young adults. And thats not to mention the number of young adults who have required intensive care or who may suffer from the long-term effects of COVID. The risks of contracting COVID-19 are simply not worth it, let alone the potential of passing it on to others. As vaccine supply increases and becomes available to all adults in the coming weeks, theres light at the end of the tunnel. The next few months, however, will need to mirror the last few. Well continue making tough decisions about how to safely hang out with friends and family and will need to get vaccinated once its available to us. But with just a little more effort, we can see this through together. The past year has highlighted a number of negative headlines about young adults who ignored COVID-19 restrictions by attending large gatherings and crowded bars. The next few months are our chance to rewrite those headlines for the right reasons. Jesper Ke and Matt Alexander are medical students. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The 2021 GG Spring Festival has now seen the first day of the H-41: $25,500 Sunday 5 Million come to an end after the final table of nine was reached. Leading the last nine into the final day is Sweden's Niklas Astedt who managed to navigate his way through the 202 entry field and compile a monstrous 4,519,808 stack, which is well in front of any other runner left in contention. Sami Kelopuro is the closest behind the leader after finishing a rollercoaster day with 2,670,494. The bubble was just around the corner when Kelopuro used their "one time" on a hand versus Timothy Nuter who held big slick against the jacks of Kelopuro. A king landed on the flop and by the time a turn came around it was all but lost for Kelopuro until an unlikely johnnie landed on the river, giving him a complete double thanks to his set of jacks and he put his newly acquired chips to good use, ending second on the leaderboard. Joao Vieira (2,475,464), Shawn Daniels (2,296,836), and Jason Koon (2,188,452) round out the top five. Koon saw himself with just a few big blinds throughout the final two tables but managed to find a run of good cards with his biggest chip increase coming when his king-jack bested the dead man's hand that was held by Amichai Barer who took an exit in eleventh place. David Yan (2,140,920), Pedro Garagnani (2,075,793), and Sam Greenwood (1,692,347) all have healthy-sized stacks with the only odd-man out being Wei Zhao who will only be carrying 139,885 into the final day. Zhao took a chip lead flip during the very last hand of the night with his pocket jacks versus the ace-queen of Astedt who hit on the flip. Zhao was left with just a few blinds and will now have to try and string together a few hands in hopes of taking down the $1,095,741 first-place prize. Final Table of Event H-41: $25,500 Sunday 5 Million Position Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Niklas Astedt Sweden 4,519,808 90 2 Sami Kelopuro Finland 2,670,494 53 3 Joao Vieira Portugal 2,475,464 50 4 Shawn Daniels United States 2,296,836 46 5 Jason Koon United States 2,188,452 44 6 David Yan New Zealand 2,140,920 43 7 Pedro Garagnani Brazil 2,075,793 42 8 Sam Greenwood Canada 1,692,347 34 9 Wei Zhao China 139,885 3 Big Blinds based on the final table roll-back to ensure an average of at least 40 blinds Action of the Day The highly anticipated Sunday 5 Million had a second crack at breaking the guarantee after falling just two entries short last time. This time around was a success as 202 runners showed up, just sliding by the guarantee by two entries as a $5,050,000 prize pool was accumulated. It was announced that the top 27 were to find at least a min-cash of $49,063 with the eventual champion taking home an outstanding $1,095,741 for their victory. By the time the late registration period had ended a field of just 62 remained and it was a familiar face in the lead. Guillaume Nolet was sitting atop the leaderboard with over a million and looked in a prime position to find back-to-back Sunday 5 Million final tables after already winning last week. He was close but a cold run of cards lead him to an exit in twelfth place. As the field started to whittle down and the money approached there was one player, in particular, that was looking to score a cash. Lev "LeveMeAlone" Gottlieb shot nine bullets during this event but still managed to come up short of the money. Some other players that had a bad day, shipping a few buy-ins without cashing includes Michael Zhang, Matthias Eibinger, Mikita Badziakouski, Michael Addamo, Stephen Chidwick, and Justin Bonomo. Once the bubble was reached it was none other than Kelopuro taking the role of executioner. "xyzpoker" four-bet jammed with ace-king of clubs and Kelopuro snapped with pocket queens. A queen on the flop was good enough to cement the pot for Kelopuro, sending "xyzpoker" out as the inevitable bubble. All players were then guaranteed money and an onslaught of eliminations came next. It was not long before just two tables were left to battle it out. Juan Pardo Dominguez and Ole Schemion found themselves in the same boat. Both had incredible starts to the day but saw their stacks disappear, exiting the final two tables first. GGPoker ambassador Wiktor Malinowski hung on with his short stack for a while before putting it in with ace-eight, only to run into the queens of Zhao. Nolet saw his hopes of back-to-back victories shatter when his ace-three failed to overcome the ducks of Garagnani, taking an exit in twelfth. Barer tried his luck with the same hand Malinowski busted with and it again proved to be a fail as Koon made quick work of him, eliminating Barer in eleventh place. Finishing off the Day 1 eliminations was fan-favorite David Peters who pushed his ace deuce into the big slick of Daniels. Peters failed to hit and was dubbed the official final table bubble boy. The final day will begin at 18:00 GMT and play will not halt until a winner has been crowned. All remaining players have $109,574 locked up but all eyes will be on that monstrous $1,095,741 first-place prize that is set out for the eventual champion of this event. That wraps it up for the PokerNews coverage of Day 1 but tune in tomorrow to find out who the champion of the second Sunday 5 Million will be. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has apprehended suspected merchants of dangerous chemicals used in food and drinks, supposedly to enhance taste. The substance killed three people in Kano.The three died after consuming adulterated flavoured drinks. The Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known in a statement issued by the NAFDAC resident media consultant, Olusayo Akintola, on Sunday in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that three people died in Kano in March after consuming flavored drinks allegedly containing the chemical additives. The NAFDAC chief, therefore, warned against adding chemicals or additives to food and drinks to enhance taste, stressing that such practice could result in severe illness and even death. Mrs Adeyeye said the agency would stop at nothing to ensure that only safe food and other regulated products were available in the market for consumption and use. She said she submitted the preliminary result of the agencys investigation of the victims to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State during her two-day visit to the state to assess the incident. It was heart-warming that merchants of the deadly chemicals and additives had been apprehended while further investigation continues, Mrs Adeyeye said. According to her, when dangerous foreign elements find their way into foods and water, it becomes poisonous rather than being nutritious. She said food contamination and poisoning could occur through consuming expired food or preparing food with poorly sourced water and putting cooked food on the shelf for several days or months. We are very particular about food additives, about the temperature at which food can be kept, or about the expiration date of food. If all of these are violated, then there can be food poisoning. Whether it is food or water, adding chemicals and other substances either to enhance the food or change its form can be dangerous, especially when we cant verify the source and content of such additives. NAFDAC is now working assiduously in partnership with the Kano State Government with a view to preventing recurrence of the March 11 incident. Mrs Adeyeye added that the agency would be working with the Kano State Task force under the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods, as well as the Consumers Protection Agency in Kano to check the menace. She recalled that shortly after the news of the deaths was received, six directorates of the agency swung into action to unravel the mystery behind the sad event and found that only two of the five flavoured drinks identified in the incident were registered by NAFDAC. She said the three others were not in the agencys database. She said that samples of the chemicals and additives that were added while preparing the flavoured drinks were then collected and taken to NAFDACs laboratory in Kaduna for testing and further testing was conducted at the agencys central laboratory in Lagos for confirmation. According to her, any food that is unregistered is not guaranteed by NAFDAC and that it can be unwholesome or fake food or that such food is smuggled into the country. ADVERTISEMENT We tested all the food samples and there was E-Coli bacteria in some; one would wonder how E-Coli bacteria would get into powder. It depends on the storage. If it is stored in a very humid condition, and expired, the packaging probably was getting compromised, you can get bacteria into dry powdered medium, but ordinarily it shouldnt happen, she said. Mrs Adeyeye said the Pharmacovigilance Directorate of the agency had sent an alert to all the 36 state offices of NAFDAC and the FCT to mount surveillance on unregistered products and mop them up. According to her, before any chemical can be legally imported into Nigeria, full authorisation and permit must be obtained from NAFDAC to ensure that no dangerous chemicals are imported. She noted that NAFDAC does end-to-end monitoring for all chemicals and requests for distribution and utilisation patterns before giving importers permits to import chemicals. She said the agency also monitored the person such chemicals were being sold to in the sellers report, adding that all these must be clarified to NAFDAC before approval is given. (NAN) Like every week on the calendar, the third week of April is brimming with made-up food holidays. Presumably the highly observant have already secured their pineapple upside-down cakes and jellybeans. But April 21 is a legitimately significant date in American culinary history. On that day in 2012, the University of Kansas food service provider constructed the biggest serving of nachos that the world has ever seen. At least, judges from Guinness World Records had never before authenticated a larger chip-and-cheese heap. It took a lot of coordination to get food delivered and to lay it all out in the trough, an admiring Guinness official said, noting some of the hurdles cleared to assemble 4,689 pounds of nachos. Fearful that the 80-foot-long appetizer wouldnt make weight, one of the cooks made a last-minute run to Walmart for supplemental cans of refried beans. Since the record was set, others have attempted to best it. In 2018, the Las Cruces, N.M., tourism department arranged for folklorico groups to dance while volunteers spread out truckloads of cheese, beans and green chiles. A Guinness spokeswoman said her organization is still reviewing the results but an attendee ruled it was fun times. Yet not every nacho backer has an eye on the Guinness prize. Charleston restaurateur John Lewis, who is on the verge of relocating his Mexican restaurant from a trailer at Lewis Barbecue to the former Workshop venue at Pacific Box & Crate, is more interested in a single nachos smallest details. Lewis recently demonstrated for The Post and Courier how he puts together a serving of nachos, which consists of eight freestanding chips, from prepping the corn to applying green chile hot sauce. He hasnt weighed the finished product. corn to grind.jpg Corn that has been cooked, then soaked will be found for chips by John Lewis for nachos Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in Charleston. Grace Beahm A STEP 1: SOURCE THE CORN Marsh Hen Mill (known as Geechie Boy Mill before its owners switched to a name less likely to cause offense) supplies its Truckers Favorite Yellow dent corn to the trailer now known as Juan Luis (Lewis is in the process of switching to a name less likely to cause offense.) Lewis prefers it because it has the tiniest bit more fat than other yellow corns hes tried. STEP 2: COOK THE CORN The crucial ingredient in nixtamalization, or the process of treating corn to make it easily digestible, is calcium hydroxide. Traditionally, masa makers used wood ashes to produce the same effect, but now cal is a standard item at Latin markets. A small amount of cal and a large amount of water go into the pot along with the dried corn, which is then brought to a boil. Want to see a magic trick? Lewis asked as he stirred. As the mixture gets hot, the corn changes color. Yellow corn becomes yellower, as though a second coat of paint was applied to the sunshiny kernels. After that transformation, the corn is cooked a little bit longer, but not too long, lest it get sticky. STEP 3: SOAK THE CORN Even though the soak takes more time than any other part of the process, save for raising and harvesting corn, there is literally nothing to see here. The corn spends a night in a four-gallon rubber bin. STEP 4: RINSE THE CORN Rinse, not wash it, Lewis clarified. The goal is to remove stray pieces of husk, not to scrub away flavor. Sign up for our food & dining newsletter. We publish our free Food & Dining newsletter every Wednesday at 10 a.m. to keep you informed on everything happening in the Charleston culinary scene. Sign up today! Email Sign Up! masa.jpg Ground corn creates masa after being ground between two stones by John Lewis as he makes nachos Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in Charleston. Grace STEP 5: MILL THE CORN For now, Lewis is using a motorized molino, or corn grinder, thats roughly the size of a small lawnmower. Hes buying a bigger model for the new restaurant. But the principle of any-sized stone molino is the same: The corn is cut and mashed between two thick basalt discs. Those stones also aerate the dough formed by trickling water into the grinder. Using a chisel, Lewis hand carved a circular series of grooves into them to ensure the precise grind he wants. Every so often, you have to recarve them, he said. What emerges from the machine, protectively wrapped with black plastic to keep corn from spraying into the Lewis Barbecue kitchen, is masa. A hunk of it is soft and stretchy, like an ancient stress ball. corn tortillias.jpg Masa is flattened and cut to into rounds by John Lewis Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in Charleston. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff STEP 6: TURN THE CORN INTO TORTILLAS Another machine enters the process at this point. According to Lewis, you cant get tortillas that thin with a press, so he runs the masa through a tabletop tortilla maker that rolls and cuts. The 5.5-inch tortillas are transferred straight from the makers exit chute to a flattop grill. tortilla stack.jpg John Lewis cooks tortillas Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in Charleston. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff STEP 7: TURN THE TORTILLAS INTO TOSTADAS Once cooked, the tortillas are left to cool completely so they wont puff up when fried. Theyre fitted into a wire contraption that functions like a card catalog drawer, with one tortilla in front of another, then lowered into hot oil. nacho making.jpg John Lewis makes nachos Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in Charleston. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff STEP 8: TOP THE TOSTADA Rather than fuss with each individual nacho, Lewis likes to garnish the whole tostada and then cut it into eighths. The goal is for each nacho to contain the same ingredients in equal measure, averting the frustrating situation familiar to consumers of nachos en masse. Not one of the eight nachos is short on cheese or missing a pickled jalapeno ring. STEP 9: HEAT THE TOSTADA After the tostada is smeared with refried pinto beans all the way to the edges and blitzed with grated Muenster, its run through an impinger oven. It comes off the conveyor belt with the cheese fully melted, ready to be divided and arranged around a scoop of guacamole, a scoop of salsa and a scoop of sour cream. In keeping with the restaurants New Mexican leanings, Lewis scrawls on the nachos with green chile hot sauce before declaring them done. nachos.jpg John Lewis makes nachos Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in Charleston. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff STEP 10: SERVE THE NACHOS Customers can usually take it from here. Tehran, April 12 : Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday described the cyberattack on the Natanz nuclear facility as an act of terrorism and blamed Israel for it. The plant in central Iran produces, among other things, new centrifuges for uranium enrichment, dpa news agency reported. "The Zionists want to sabotage Iran's nuclear achievements and the nuclear negotiations (in Vienna) with these terrorist operations," Zarif told Parliament on Monday. Neither, however, will happen, he said. "Our revenge is that we will continue successfully in both areas," Zarif added. Israel has so far not commented on the allegations. "The activities of the Israeli army in the Middle East are not hidden from the enemies," Israeli Chief of General Staff Aviv Kochavi said on Sunday. "They are watching us, seeing our capabilities, and carefully considering their moves." Israel considers Iran's nuclear programme a serious threat because Tehran has missiles with a range of up to 2,000 km that could hit anywhere in the Jewish state. If the missiles were equipped with nuclear warheads, Israel's existence would be seriously threatened. Tehran insists it has no nuclear warheads and will only use the missiles for a retaliatory strike. The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has finally begun the process of forming his cabinet five months after he was sworn in for a second term on November 12, 2020. The governors 15 nominees for appointment as special advisers were cleared on Monday by the Edo House of Assembly. The House on Monday cleared 15 nominees for appointment as Special Advisers to Governor Godwin Obaseki. Mr Obasekis request for the approval of the appointment was conveyed to the House by the Secretary to the Edo State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie. The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Henry Okhuarobo, had urged members to approve the governors request, adding that it was the first step to constituting the state executive council. The Speaker, Marcus Onobun, directed the clerk of the Assembly, Yahaya Omogbai, to convey copies of the approval to the governor for immediate action after the lawmakers unanimous vote. Controversial delay Mr Obasekis delay in forming his cabinet has been criticised by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and some residents of the state. Mr Obaseki had shortly after his inauguration re-appointed Mr Ogie as the SSG. No other appointment has been made since then, prompting the APC spokesperson in the state, Chris Azebanmwan, to accuse the governor of running Edo State as a sole administrator. There are some policies and actions of a state that legally and constitutionally should not be undertaken without the approval of the State Executive Council. As we speak, some of those actions are being taken solely by Godwin Obaseki as a sole administrator. He has not displayed the tendencies of a democratically elected governor, Mr Azebanmwan said in February. Shaka Umaru, a resident of Auchi, said the drafters of the constitution understood that having a functional state cabinet would allow room for a multiplicity of ideas to run the state. He added, Unfortunately Mr Obaseki has denied the Edo people the benefit of the collective wisdom of ideas. So, he is running the state like a sole administrator not like a democratic governor and this portends great danger for the democratic processes in the state. A rights activist and lawyer, Douglas Ogbankwa, said not having a cabinet has denied the state of having a representative from different strata in the running of government as provided by the constitution. The constitution of the SEC is a compulsory pre-requisite for the running of a state as provided for by our ground norm, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended). This gives the governor of a state an opportunity of picking the brains and skills of members of the SEC, through the weekly council meeting before making vital policy decisions. This vantage position is currently lacking in Edo due to the failure and refusal of the governor to constitute the SEC, Mr Ogbankwa said. Mr Ogbankwa continued, The constitution provides that each local government of the state shall provide at least one member of the council. This brings about inclusive government and gives each of the local governments in the state a sense of belonging in the running of the affairs of the state. Sadly, this situation is currently lacking in Edo State. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in its defence of Mr Obaseki, said the delay was not a violation of the Nigerian constitution. The governor is well within his legal rights in forming his cabinet and I am sure at the appropriate time the cabinet will be set up to tackle the myriad of problems that need to be solved in Edo State, the PDP spokesperson in Edo, Chris Nehikhare, said in February. This period that the cabinet has not been set up, the governor set up a high-powered team to look at the reforms which is one of the cardinal areas he campaigned on by trying to make Edo State great again, he added. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Obaseki won his re-election on the platform of the PDP in the September 19, 2020 gubernatorial election held in the state. He defeated the candidate of the APC, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, by a wide margin. The governor had defected to the PDP from the APC when he was denied a return ticket of the party. (NAN) It must be one of the great mercies of life that time provides us with the magical capacity to turn memories of the complete alarm of caring for an infant child into a delightful bit of nostalgia. Adrian Matejka manages to capture both the splendor and bewilderment of early fatherhood in this tender poem. Up, Up from Daydreams/Lullaby Your eyes close as soon as I put you in the plastic moon of a car seat. Connect the seatbelts, check the seat-to-car belts. Face turned to one side, brown like mine. Fists instead of hands just like me. Is this all you got from me? At least the seat is installed right thanks to a fireman at Station 37. At least you smile when you sleep & sleep like its your job since I still dont know what Im supposed to do when you wake up. In your dream of passing cars & Oregon hills underneath us, I sing a made-up song while Federico Aubele & the cars intemperate hum really lullaby: Little one, this is a start. Little one, it starts with a heart. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2020 by Adrian Matejka, Up, Up from Daydreams/Lullaby from The Chattahoochee Review, (The Chattahoochee Review, Fall 2019/Winter 2020). Poem reprinted by permission of Adrian Matejka and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2021 by The Poetry Foundation. The introductions author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska. American Life in Poetry 2021 The Poetry Foundation Contact: alp@poetryfoundation.org This column does not accept unsolicited poetry. Hubbard Chamber Sets Banquet, Recognizes 2021 Award Winners The Greater Hubbard Chamber of Commerce has announced that its annual banquet will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 8, at the Haralson Family Life Center. After last year's banquet was canceled due to COVID-19, the board of directors is planning to bring the event back by Celebrating Texas Style, which is this year's theme. This year, the Business of the Year Award will go to Sonic, CareFlite will be recognized with the Community Service Award, and Audrey Johnson has been chosen for the Distinguished Citizen Award. Judge Brad Henley has been selected as the Hall of Fame honoree. As in past years, a number of new businesses that opened in 2019 and 2020 will also be recognized. They include Deerings General Store, Under a Texas Sky, Nibs Coffee & Ice Cream Bar, The Red Barn Winery & Tasting Room, Angel Rock Trading Company, Genes BBQ Trailer, LP Physical Therapy, Magnolia Treasures & Antiques and The Rusty Cow Boutique. The roast beef dinner will be catered by Bill Wallers Country Kitchen. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Foster Properties, Texas Brand Insurance Agency and Ida Pearls Vintage Shop in Hubbard. Angie Krick will be at the piano as dinner is served. The Haralson Family Life Center is located at 208 Northwest Second Street in Hubbard. For more information, contact the chamber office at 254-576-2521. Since the February power outages, Texas legislators have been busy weighing a host of improvements for the states grid, from weatherizing equipment to shaking up oversight to partnering with the billionaire investor Warren Buffett on new emergency-use power plants. But hardly any of them have focused on what some believe could be a more widespread fix: plugging into other U.S. power supplies. While Texas has long opposed opening its grid to avoid federal oversight, and ostensibly to keep prices low, energy experts say the calculus is not what it once was and that the benefits of connecting to the outside world are at least worth examining, especially as renewable energy is poised for a major expansion under the Biden administration. Not only is the state missing out on a potential lifeline in future blackouts, they warn, it also risks passing up billions of dollars in new investments for clean, marketable electricity. We export every form of energy you could imagine except electrons, Michael Webber, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told reporters recently. This is ridiculous, he said. Lets at least study the option. IN-DEPTH: Texas Senate passes bill aiming to counter federal subsidies for wind and solar power Texas is the only contiguous state with its own grid, a decision prompted by the creation in 1935 of a federal commission to oversee interstate power transactions. Today, the state has just a handful of transmission lines linking to neighboring power supplies. Though a more integrated grid would probably not have prevented outages in February surrounding states were also struggling to meet demand it could have helped shorten them substantially, according to Dan Cohan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. The blackouts left 4.5 million Texans without power and water for days and contributed to at least 197 deaths. Most importantly, Cohan said, having outside power supplies would strengthen the grids reliability during the states most frequent natural disasters. The vast majority of our crises are more often a summer drought, or a summer hurricane, or a summer flood that hits Texas more strongly than other states, where we would have plenty of power that we could have been importing in, he said. Some question, though, whether joining other grids would be worth the cost, especially because building new transmission lines is expensive and obtaining permits can take years. Without a robust build-out, the state would be giving up its autonomy without gaining substantial backup capacity. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Skeptics also point out that the Legislature, which is heavily influenced by the oil and gas sector, is best served going after more immediate, attainable goals. For renewable advocates, that means expanding resources along the Gulf Coast, where weather patterns vary from windy areas in West Texas and can add more in-state reliability. For some conservatives, it means cutting back on intermittent wind and solar power and encouraging a return of coal and other fossil fuel generation. I dont see that interconnecting to other (regional power entities) makes the resources more reliable or not, said Michelle Richmond, a lobbyist for the states largest power companies. From our perspective, the ERCOT system has worked well, she added, referring to the grids manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. An open Texas grid would favor renewables The conversation comes as research has called for a more fully integrated national grid, especially as wind and solar emerge as dominant players. Because both are weather dependent, having regional entities that can more easily share power when electricity is abundant will be increasingly important, both in terms of reliability and incentivizing new clean energy projects. But Texas has been mostly overlooked in the analyses, given its independence, and the last major study from the Legislature on interconnection appears to have been in 1999, before the market was deregulated and the renewable sector had taken off. That work, which was inconclusive, examined only a narrow range of options. Its completely changed, Varun Rai, director of the Energy Institute at UT-Austin, said of the economics underlying the grid. He added that the states population has also exploded in the past 20 years. Given the really big scale of changes that are happening across the system, its really time to take a deep, serious look at this, he said. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is pushing ahead with its vision to invest billions of dollars in renewable energy over the coming years, including new transmission lines under its infrastructure proposal now before Congress. Ari Peskoe, who directs the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School, said those projects could take a decade to complete and that there is wide interest in getting them off the ground as soon as possible. If that does kind of shake out, and there is really this massive transmission build-out, I think the question is, is Texas going to be part of this or not, he said. In the past, Texas has tapped into other grids without triggering federal oversight by using a loophole in the law that allows for unregulated transmission lines if they send electricity in one direction only, rather than back and forth. Those efforts have been limited, however, and the biggest recent project in development, called Tres Amigas, was scaled back in 2017. Julie Cohn, an energy historian with Rice University and the University of Houston, said the state could add more direct current lines but that federal regulators may try to intervene if there were so many that Texas was essentially working in tandem with another grid. If its integrated into the regular everyday operations, I think it would be really hard to make the case that it was no longer connecting Texas to the rest of the country, she said. Either way, if the state did open up, it would be renewables that stand to benefit most. That could translate to a windfall for state and local governments. If we hook up to the other grids, 99.9 percent of the time we can export electrons and we would make a lot of money, because Californians would pay a premium for the energy we can sell, which is wind and solar, said Webber, the UT professor. It would be a huge moneymaker for us. Rices Cohan said gas- and coal-fired power plants would likely take a hit because they would no longer be the only options during emergency periods, when prices rise on the power they produce. Once you alleviate those bottlenecks, then you will have a handful of the dirty, older power plants that wont make as much money, he said. jeremy.blackman@chron.com Power UPF Methodology Engineer Beaverton , Oregon , United States Hardware Summary Posted: Apr 7, 2021 Role Number: 200237352 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. Food delivery giant Menulog has broken with the gig economy industry and declared it will be the first to give many of its couriers rights to a minimum wage and superannuation contributions by directly employing them. In a move that is a major shift away from the independent contractor model popular in the gig economy, the companys managing director Morten Belling told a Senate inquiry on Monday the business would start a pilot employment program for couriers around Sydneys CBD. Menulog managing director Morten Belling has announced the company will start making its couriers employees. Credit:Rhett Wyman Industry leaders Uber and Deliveroo have come under pressure from Labor and unions because the existing contractor model allows companies to pay less than industry minimum wages, though it permits workers to pick when they work. Mr Belling revealed to an inquiry examining job security in the gig economy that the contractor model had suited the local market but it was now apparent there had to be improvements to the working conditions of couriers even if it cost more. A little girl had to make a heartbreaking call for help to relatives saying: 'Mummy is asleep - I cannot wake her up' after finding her mother dead in bed. The anguished seven-year-old called her grandmother for help after Daisy Clear, 28, suffered a fatal seizure in her sleep. Family members dashed round to Miss Clear's home in Stockport, Greater Manchester but she had already passed away. The hospitality worker described by her family as an 'independent single mother', had a history of 'nocturnal' fitting and went to see doctors about her condition but had never been formally diagnosed with epilepsy. Her mother Fiona Clear told an inquest in Stockport: 'She just wanted to be with her daughter and would never jeopardise her life. It is just such a shock. We did not realise about the possibility of her dying in her sleep. Family members dashed round to Daisy Clear's home in Stockport, Greater Manchester after her seven-year-old daughter said she 'couldn't wake her up' but found that she had already died, an inquest has heard 'She would send me pictures of the doctors appointments and letters she had. She made appointments but they were either delayed or cancelled I guess because of lockdown, but it is hard to say.' The 8.30am tragedy occurred on October 2020 a year after Miss Clear began suffering from unexplained seizures. Her mother added: 'Daisy had always been fit and someone who had no illnesses and was always active and sociable. 'She was an independent single mother who looked after herself and was well organised and was quite unique. She got on with life but in late 2019 to early 2020 she started having seizures. 'Her first one took place in the house. She had her first one when her daughter had been sleeping with her. Her daughter could not wake her. Hospitality worker Daisy, 28, described by her family as an 'independent single mother', had a history of 'nocturnal' fitting and went to see doctors about her condition but had never been formally diagnosed with epilepsy 'She was only seven years old. She called me and said "Grandma, I cannot wake Mummy up". We found her in a deep sleep. She was in a deep sleep, I couldn't wake her. 'We have had nothing like this in the family before. Her daughter rang us in the early hours of the morning two or three times. During the lockdown she came to stay with us for around 6-8 weeks. One day she went on a bike ride and when she came back, she had a seizure. 'She thought she was okay in the morning but then she had another seizure so we took her to A&E. They did a CT scan and then it was followed up. This was quite unusual. She has never been one not to take medicine. 'In August 2020, she was fine. They may have happened when she was tired. We were camping in the Lakes and were kayaking and she never had any fits whilst we were away. She would sometimes look tired but that was because she was a single mum. It was just so random. Her doctor said Miss Clear had reported shaking in her sleep, tongue biting and had an episode where she had banged her head 'My father's sister suffers from epilepsy but there is nothing in my family. I was not aware of the massive dangers of dying. I don't know what happened on that last night. 'On the morning of 8 October, her daughter rang me when I was at work. She said: "Mummy is asleep. I can't wake her up" and I left work and rang my husband who was able to get there quicker then I was. But when we found Daisy, she had already died.' Dr Maha Nadeem from the Bramall and Shaw Heath Medical Group said Miss Clear had reported shaking in her sleep, tongue biting and had an episode where she had banged her head. She was recommended the anti epilepsy medication Lamotrigine but she could not be prescribed it without a formal consultation due to risky side effects for women of child-bearing age. Stockport Coroners Court made a conclusion of death by natural causes Dr Nadeem said: 'Epilepsy can happen at any time and Daisy attended A&E in February 2020 after she reported shaking in her sleep. 'She had no history of seizures at that point and a CT scan came back as normal. The following May a diagnosis of epilepsy was described as likely, but it was not confirmed and she was sent a text message to book an appointment to discuss a letter she was sent. WHAT IS EPILEPSY? Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and leaves patients at risk of seizures. Around one in 100 people in the UK have epilepsy, Epilepsy Action statistics reveal. And in the US, 1.2 per cent of the population have the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anyone can have a seizure, which does not automatically mean they have epilepsy. Usually more than one episode is required before a diagnosis. Seizures occur when there is a sudden burst of electrical activity in the brain, which causes a disruption to the way it works. Some seizures cause people to remain alert and aware of their surroundings, while others make people lose consciousness. Some also make patients experience unusual sensations, feelings or movement, or go stiff and fall to the floor where they jerk. Epilepsy can be brought on at any age by a stroke, brain infection, head injury or problems at birth that lead to lack of oxygen. But in more than half of cases, a cause is never found. Anti-epileptic drugs do not cure the condition but help to stop or reduce seizures. If these do not work, brain surgery can be effective. Source: Epilepsy Action Advertisement 'We never had a confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy. It is a specialist diagnosis that can only be made by a neurologist. 'She was sent a text message on 15 May to book an appointment to consider going on medication and to book a routine phone call following a recent hospital visit. There was no letter or phone call after the SMS was sent to chase it up.' Dr Moussa Mouhamadou, a locum neurologist at Salford Royal Hospital, said an EEG - a test that detects electric activity in the brain - was carried out but was inconclusive. Another EEG was proposed but the appointment came after Daisy died. Recording a conclusion of death by natural causes, coroner Christopher Murray said: 'Daisy was a fit person who was pleased with her life and the fact she had a young daughter. She would be tired but that was to be expected, as she was a working Mum. 'In the summer of 2020 she went with her family camping, hiking and kayaking and there was no problems with nocturnal seizures. She did not drive and she walked everywhere. 'Then on October 8 her daughter went to see her mother and she could wake her up. She got in touch with grandmother whose partner attended the address ahead of her and they found Daisy ad sadly passed away. 'She kept a history of appointments with medical professionals but an MRI scan could not take place because of the pandemic and an EEG was inconclusive. A sleep deprived EEG was organised as a follow up, but that did not take place. 'Investigations into her epilepsy were ongoing at the time of her death and she died of natural causes prior to any anti-epileptic medication being taken. I offer my sincerest condolences to the family for what was a sad and totally unexpected death. 'I thank the family for conducting themselves in the manner they have today. I can see what a vibrant person Daisy was and it was tragic that she died at such a young age.' 's (AIM: XPD) Robert Ross talks to Proactive London about their final results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2020. Ross says 'Covid-19 did not have a negative impact', generating group turnover of 221.2m (2019: 213.2m) an increase of 3.7% helped also by a strong performance in the last quarter of 2020. The 2020 operational highlights include, Ross taking over as CEO and strong growth in the Freight Forwarding Division. The 2021 outlook is one of optimism, with the first quarter trading results positive and ahead of management expectations. Queen Letizia of Spain was a vision in red as she wore an all-crimson suit at an event in Madrid today. The royal mother-of-two, 48, made a statement in the scarlet ensemble as she attended the placing of the desk of late MP Clara Campoamor at the Lower Chamber, outside the Congress of Deputies. The event commemorated the 90th anniversary of the female vote in Spain, when Clara Campamor's desk and various personal belongings were placed in the Congress Place. The bold trouser suit is a favourite for the royal, who has recycled it on several times and last wore the outfit at the Complejo Cultural San Francisco venue to see the Princess of Girona 2019 Foundation Prize ceremony. Queen Letizia of Spain was a vision in red as she wore an all-crimson suit at a commemorative event for Clara Campoamor, who advocated for women's suffrage, in Madrid today The royal mother-of-two, 48, donned donned red suit trousers, with a slit up the sides below the knee, and a matching suit jacket as she was joined by Spanish Upper Chamber's Speaker Pilar Llop (left), the Lower Chamber's Speaker Meritxell Batet (second from right) and the Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo (right) Queen Letizia donned red suit trousers, with a slit up the sides below the knee, and a matching suit jacket. She paired the outfit with a matching red blouse and completed the elegant monochrome look with red stiletto heels. She accessorised with a red snake-print clutch bag from Carolina Herrera and kept her jewellery simple with her usual rings and a pair of small hoop earrings. The Spanish monarch left her brunette locks hanging loose around her shoulders and opted for a light, natural wash of make-up. She accessorised with a red snake-print clutch bag from Carolina Herrera and kept her jewellery simple with her usual rings and a pair of small hoop earrings (pictured with Mertixell Batet) The Spanish monarch paired the outfit with matching red stiletto heels and wore her hair loose, opting for a light wash of make-up She wore a white face covering to keep with the country's coronavirus guidelines amid the ongoing pandemic She wore a white face covering to keep with the country's coronavirus guidelines amid the ongoing pandemic. Who was Clara Campoamor? Clara Campoamor Rodriguez was a Spanish politician and feminist best known for her advocacy for women's rights and suffrage during the writing of the Spanish Constitution of 1931. Her advocacy led to the inclusion of constitutional language that sought to guarantee equality between men and women. Advertisement The outfit is a favourite for Letizia, who also chose the crimson number when she chaired the board of trustee's meeting of the Foundation of Student Residences in Madrid in October last year. She was joined today by the Spanish Upper Chamber's Speaker Pilar Llop, the Lower Chamber's Speaker Meritxell Batet and the Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo. Clara Campoamor was a Spanish politician and feminist who advocated for women's rights and suffrage in 1931, during the writing of the Spanish Constitution. It led to the inclusion of constitutional language that sought to guarantee equality between men and women. Queen Letizia's appearance today comes after she and her husband King Felipe, 53, penned a telegram addressed to 'Dear Aunt Lilibet' to mourn the passing of 'Dear Uncle Philip', who died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on Friday. The familiarity between the British and Spanish royal households are thanks to Felipe's maternal great-grandfather, King Constantine I of Greece (1868-1923), also being uncle to the Duke of Edinburgh. Queen Elizabeth II announced her husband's death at midday on Friday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace. She was joined today by the Spanish Upper Chamber's Speaker Pilar Llop, the Lower Chamber's Speaker Meritxell Batet (pictured) and the Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo Queen Letizia could be seen stepping towards the desk of Clara Campoamor to inspect the items placed upon it Spain's Queen Letizia spoke with First Deputy Prime Minister, Carmen Calvo and Congress Archives Director, Mateo Macia at the event European royals were quick to offer their condolences, with Felipe sharing a touching and personal message to his 'Dear Aunt Lilibet', expressing 'all our love and affection'. It read: 'We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear Uncle Philip. 'At this painful time, we would like to convey to you our deepest condolences on behalf of the Spanish Government and the people and all our closeness and support. 'We will never forget the occasions we were able to share with him and the legacy of service and dedicated to the Crown and the United Kingdom that he always carried out at your side. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with Your Majesty and the whole family. With all our love and affection.' Why the CCP Is Implementing Wolf Warrior Diplomacy Commentary Recently, the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) wolf warrior diplomacy, an aggressive and confrontational approach CCP diplomats are using to defend the CCPs interests, has come under the international spotlight. Starting from the Alaska talks on March 18, the CCPs so-called wolf warriors ignited a new round of diplomatic attacks. On March 18, Yang Jiechi, a member of the CCPs Politburo and director of the Foreign Affairs Office, denounced the United States in Alaska, on U.S. territory, elevating the tactic to the highest diplomatic level. Some of the CCPs propaganda organs used the word denounce in their reports to describe Yangs 17-minute speech at the high-level talks between China and the United States. The CCPs embassy to France, to everyones surprise, called Antoine Bondaz, a French scholar and China specialist, a crazed hyena and an ideological troll. It claims on its official website that if there are wolf warriors, it is because there are too many mad dogs that are too fierce. The term wolf warrior was used by the CCP following the release of an ultranationalistic Rambo-style movie franchise in China of the same name. CCP diplomats who use this approach appear brazen and speak in an aggressive manner and are excessively offensive, threatening, and incendiary. But this is only a superficial front. Since the outbreak of the U.S.-China trade war in 2018, the CCP has been in deep trouble. The 2019 Hong Kong protests against the extradition bill further exposed the evil nature of the CCP. The global pandemic of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, plunged the CCP into unprecedented international isolation in 2020. By 2021, the overall crisis of the CCP will deepen still further. The reason why the CCP tries so hard to look powerful, mighty, and domineering is, in fact, to cover up its own weakness and to intimidate its opponents with a false air of supremacy so that the international community will not push back. Through a complex web of illusions, I think there are at least three reasons why the CCP uses its diplomats to attack all sides. Shifting International Blame for the Spread of the CCP Virus In 2020, the pandemic spread from Wuhan to the rest of the world because the CCP concealed the virus, suppressed doctors who spoke the truth, spread fake news such as no human-to-human transmission and the virus being preventable and controllable, and allowed virus carriers to fly from Wuhan to the rest of the world. By April 4, 2021, more than 130 million people had been infected and 2.88 million had died in 192 countries worldwide. This is the biggest calamity that the CCP has brought upon the world. Since March last year, civil groups, industry organizations, and local governments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, India, Egypt, and many other countries have launched joint lawsuits against the CCP demanding compensation. If the United States leads other countries to hold the CCP accountable for the global pandemic, the CCP will not be able to bear the weight. Shifting Blame for the CCPs Human Rights Abuses The CCPs violation of human rights has targeted many groups, including Uyghurs, Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, citizens of Hong Kong, Chinese human rights lawyers, victims of the P2P lending crisis in China, truth-telling university professors, and many others. On July 20, 1999, then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin used the entire state apparatus to launch the persecution of Falun Gong. Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice rooted in Buddhist tradition and comprises five exercises and teachings based on the principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance, according to its official website. The CCP used the persecution to create and perfect more than 100 types of torture on Falun Gong practitioners, creating the worst human rights disaster of the 21st century. The persecution continues to this day. More than 200,000 Falun Gong practitioners have filed criminal complaints against Jiang since May 1, 2015, under their real names, according to the Minghui website, an information platform for Falun Gong practitioners. This new wave of lawsuits against Jiang began on May 1, 2015, when the Supreme Peoples Court implemented a new Registration System Reform, which stipulates that all criminal complaints must be registered with the court once received, according to Minghui. This is the largest legal action that Falun Gong practitioners have taken to hold the CCP accountable for its persecution since August 2000, when Falun Gong practitioners Zhu Keming and Wang Jie filed a lawsuit against Jiang with the Supreme Procuratorate in August 2000. For 22 years, in many countries members of parliament, government officials, experts and scholars, human rights lawyers, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPEG), and the independent China Tribunal in London have been pursuing justice over the CCPs persecution of Falun Gong. In particular, the CCPs live organ harvesting (pdf) of Falun Gong practitioners is the most brutal crime against humanity since the Holocaust in the 1930s. In the Nuremberg trials after World War II, 12 Nazi war criminals were sentenced to death. Once Jiang is brought to trial, he is sure to face the heaviest sentence. Deflecting a Domestic Crisis Caused by Severe Corruption The arrogant performance of the CCPs wolf warrior diplomats gives many Westerners who do not know the truth about the CCP the impression that the CCP is strong and powerful, when in fact the CCP is very weak internally. The CCPs corruption of China was greatly accelerated with Jiangs persecution of Falun Gong. On the one hand, Jiang connived at his son Jiang Mianhengs business ventures and his leading the children of officials at all levels across the country to do business. On the other hand, Jiang promoted and reappointed a large number of seriously corrupt individuals, turning the CCP officialdom into a mass market for money, power, and sex. Two of Jiangs most important cronies, Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, vice-chairmen of the CCPs Central Military Commission (CMC), are the most corrupt officials in the CCPs military. The CCP does not dare to make public the amount of money they have embezzled, because the CCP is afraid that once the amount is revealed, the soldiers would rebel. The CCPs official mouthpiece, Xinhua, reported on March 10, 2015, what Yang Chunchang, a major general of the CCPs Academy of Military Sciences, said: It is well known to the general public that, in the military, including the armed police and the army, there are price codes for the CCPs membership, promotions to be a platoon leader, a company commander, a regiment commander, or a division commander. Today, the CCP has become the most corrupt party in the world. Its corruption is based on taking advantage of and exploiting the Chinese people. The CCP only represents the interests of a very few powerful CCP families of the plutocracy, not the interests of the 1.4 billion Chinese people. The CCP has been relying on oppression and deception to maintain its rule. However, the awakened Chinese people have been resisting CCP tyranny in various ways, which makes the CCP very uneasy. Therefore, the CCPs wolf warrior diplomats strike on all sides, blaming external factors for domestic problems caused by the CCPs severe corruption, and inciting patriotic sentiments among the brainwashed at home with the intention of transferring blame for the domestic crisis to foreign countries. The theoretical origin of the CCPs wolf warrior diplomacy is the philosophy of struggle advocated by Karl Marx. This philosophy was summarized by Mao Zedong, one of the founders of the CCP, as Battling with heaven is endless joy, fighting with the earth is endless joy, and struggling with humanity is endless joy. The original words of Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto are as follows: The communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. These words show that Marx hated those in power in all countries and regions of the world, hated all existing social systems, especially the capitalist system, and wanted to overthrow it by violence, blood and fire, and war. This violent revolution has been passed on to the CCP, and has become the internal motivation for the CCP to deny universal values and to lash out with its wolf warriors. The violence inherited by the CCP from Marx is demonstrated by what it has done during the 72 years since it took power. Over these years, the CCP has never stopped fighting. It fought with Chinese landlords, followed by capitalists and intellectuals. It also fought its own members, the so-called capitalist roaders in the party who had a tendency to follow capitalism. It fought with Soviet revisionism and then with American imperialism. The CCP has been fighting all the way until today. It is also in the CCPs genes to destroy capitalism in Hong Kong and Taiwan and to be at war with capitalist countries such as the United States, Japan, India, Australia, Britain, and Canada. The end result of the CCPs wolf warrior diplomacy will only provoke strong resentment from countries around the world, and finally accelerate the joint effort of all countries in the world to encircle the CCP. Wang Youqun graduated with a Ph.D. in law from the Renmin University of China. He once worked as a copywriter for Wei Jianxing (19312015), a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee from 1997 to 2002. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. ANN ARBOR, MI - The suspect in Fridays fatal shooting in Ann Arbor has been charged with murder, according to county jail records. The shooting happened before 10 a.m. Friday, April 9, in a car in at a hotel parking lot in the 3500 block of South State Street, the Ann Arbor Police Department said. Related: Man fatally shot in head in Ann Arbor, police say The victim, a 31-year-old Mississippi man, was taken to the University of Michigan Hospital with a gunshot wound to the head, police said. He died at 12:45 p.m. Friday. The victims name is being withheld pending family notification. Officers arrested David Johnson, a 22-year-old man from Mississippi, police said. He was arraigned on Sunday, April 11, and charged with a single count of first-degree premeditated murder, according to the Washtenaw County Jail. The murder charge is punishable by up to life in prison. Johnson and the victim knew each other, police said, but the motive is unknown at this time. The fatal shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information about incident is asked to call the Ann Arbor Police Department at 734-794-6920 or the tip line at 734-996-3199. Tips can also be emailed to tips@a2gov.org. Read more from MLive: Driver flees after crashing vehicle into Saginaw convenience store Two shot and injured in Wyoming neighborhood Mother and son hospitalized after Cass County crash Fennville woman dies after Ottawa County rear-end crash One of four victims in Allendale shooting in critical condition Four shot at Allendale apartment complex; police search for suspect (Adds AstraZeneca declines comment) GABORONE, April 12 (Reuters) - Botswana is investigating the deaths of two among thousands of people who had been given doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to see if there is any link, the health ministry said. The southern African country has so far administered about 31,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only vaccine it has started rolling out. India donated 30,000 doses of the vaccine that were manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), and Botswana bought 33,000 doses that were made in South Korea from global vaccine distribution scheme COVAX. The two people who died had taken the shots made in India. AstraZeneca declined comment. The SII did not respond to a request for comment. Botswana's health ministry did not say how the people died. Millions of doses of the AstraZeneca shot have been safely administered around the world. But Europe's drug regulator said last week it had found a possible link between AstraZeneca's vaccine and very rare cases of blood clots. The European Medicines Agency received reports of 169 cases of the rare brain blood clot by early April, after 34 million doses had been administered. Most of the cases reported had occurred in women under 60. The Botswana health ministry said in a statement late on Sunday that the two deaths were of elderly people. It did not elaborate. "The ministry has referred the matter to the regulator being BOMRA for immediate investigation. It is expected that BOMRA investigation will seek to establish the cause of two deaths as well as whether they are in any way linked to the COVID vaccine which was administered," the statement read. It advised the public to remain calm and said people who were recovering from recent severe illness should consider delaying getting the vaccine. Experts say that, even if a causal link is proved between the vaccine and blood clots, the risks of getting a serious clot are minute compared to the risks from possible COVID-19 infection, which can cause similar clots along with other serious symptoms. Botswana has recorded around 40,000 coronavirus cases and 630 deaths during the pandemic, few by comparison with many other countries around the world, but its diamond-driven economy was hit hard last year, contracting almost 8%. AstraZeneca's vaccine is the cheapest and most readily available. It does not need to be kept at extremely cold temperatures, making it a mainstay of many vaccination programmes in developing countries. (Reporting by Brian Benza; Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Euan Rocha in Mumbai; Editing by Alexander Winning and Hugh Lawson) MIAMI, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AccurePCI, a project partnership of Miami foundation Global CoCreation Lab and Silicon Valley-based Cipherome announced today, will address a growing health equity gap with innovative genomics technology for the region's medical community. The new tools will enable personalized treatment of heart disease patients, including populations historically underrepresented in medical research. The AccurePCI project represents a growing wave of innovation in Miami, inspiring new technology and businesses in the region to meet its health security and economic resilience needs. Such initiatives are helping the community to overcome chronic challenges and stay ahead of emerging threats. Pharmacogenomic technology like that being developed in AccurePCI presents diverse potential economic benefits to the region. "Personalized heart disease treatment technology can help Miami-Dade in two major ways: saving costs incurred by complications by limiting adverse drug reactions, and spurring regional business growth in personalized medicine testing services," said Leland Salomon, Deputy Director, Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources at Miami-Dade County. "It can also be applied to other health care areas, like cancer, depression and anxiety, with similar economic impact." A health equity gap has grown between those who participate in clinical development of personalized medicines and devices and those who consume them. While 25% to 42% of FDA-approved drugs have included genomic information on their label over the last four years, less than 1% of Asian Americans, 2% of Latinos and 8% of African Americans have been included in personalized medicine approaches nationwide even though they are a larger percentage of medical consumers. This gap can create health vulnerabilities to FDA-approved medicines, since issues arise when drugs are approved for homogeneous populations and released for general use in diverse ones, like the US. Since people of Latin American, African, and Asian ancestry are disproportionately vulnerable to drug-induced complications, this is especially critical in Miami-Dade County. AccurePCI aims to use clinically-driven results to help healthcare professionals personalize life-saving treatments for each person in the county's diverse community, and to catalyze growth of precision medicine businesses using genomics to address the needs of Miami-Dade's citizens, from sequencing to artificial intelligence-driven algorithms that personalize drug recommendations. "Genomics can be a powerful tool to personalize treatment. Cipherome's decision to join the AccurePCI project will help catalyze genomic tools that improve health for everyone in Miami-Dade, including traditionally underrepresented populations," says Alejandro Roman, Executive Director of the Global CoCreation Lab. "Cipherome's Xentinel Lighthouse platform, which AccurePCI will use, was built with clinicians and patients in mind, and it is bilingual by design," explains Jose Estabil, Cipherome Chief Business Officer. "By doing this, it helps us reach our goal to help improve health outcomes and reduce costs by personalizing drug treatment." With this technology, clinicians can personalize drug prescriptions and share results with patients, improving health outcomes, access, and equity for underrepresented minorities. "We're focused now on getting this technology in cardiology caregivers' hands," said Roman. "Miami needs it, and we can set a global example for innovation in this area." About the Global CoCreation Lab The Global CoCreation Lab, a Miami-based nonprofit organization, bridges academic research, civic leadership, medicine, and business for community-based healthcare technology innovation and entrepreneurship. Our cocreation ethos and commitment to diverse inclusion in innovation drives more equitable economic and social development. About Cipherome, Inc. Cipherome's goal is to provide best-in-class precision medicine solutions. Cipherome is a venture-backed company headquartered in San Jose, California, and was founded on the belief that every individual deserves the best medicine. Drugs that work for most of the population may not work for everyone. Serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) occur in certain individuals, but not in others. These differences may be due to inherited factors. Cipherome's unique patented platform combines many components, including genetics, to reduce ADRs by personalizing drug treatment. Contact Eric Norman Global CoCreation Lab [email protected] 617-733-3540 Jose Estabil Cipherome, Inc. [email protected] 408-243-1460 SOURCE Global CoCreation Lab Haiti - News : Zapping... Meeting with Congressman Gregory Meeks On Saturday, Mathias Pierre, Minister Delegate in charge of Electoral Matters, briefly met Congressman Gregory Meeks in Miami "I understood that he had bad information on the process of the New Constitution, thinking that a Parliament is needed to that. We're going to make sure we get him the right information." Haiti - DR : Discussions on employment "Accompanied by the Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Commerce, Dr. Smith Magny, I had the privilege of meeting in my private residence, two Dominican businessmen : Eduardo Alvarado and Danny Munoz. Our discussions focused on the issues of job creation in Haiti, trade and health. Soon, concrete results, especially in the area of health, will be communicated to you," said James Jacques the Consul of Haiti in Santiago (Dominican Republic). Evaluation meeting on the development of PNH executives The members of the joint committee including Leon Charles, the Director General ai of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), executives of the National Police Academy (ANP) and representatives of Canadian cooperation, participated last week in an evaluation meeting on the development of the executives of the National Police of Haiti. Launched in April 2009 and financially supported by Canadian cooperation, this program has already enabled the training of several officers of the police institution, including 6 cohorts of commissioners and 3 cohorts of inspectors. This program will end in September 2021. First edition of the Heritage Festival On the occasion of World Day for Monuments and Sites celebrated every April 18, Sco Tour Haiti (STH) and the Haitian Women in Tourism Initiative (IFTH), in partnership with "AyiTeam" are organizing the first edition of the Festival du Heritage, tourism and creativity on Saturday April 17 and Sunday April 18, 2021, at the Canne-a-Sucre Historical Park (Tabarre) on the theme "Ann valorize patrimwan peyi nou !" Closure of the 4 days of the Evangelical Crusade The great Evangelical Crusade which started on Friday April 8 ended this Sunday April 11, 2021 at the Municipal Palace. Under the high patronage of the Town Hall of Delmas in concert with Ministry God has no limit. Several dozen Protestant Christians responded to this great manifestation of Prayer, adoration and praise. This last day was marked by the presence of the Principal Mayor of the Municipality Me Wilson Jeudy, who during his speech congratulated the organizing members for this initiative. On the other hand, the Mayor encourages Christians to adopt this same principle which is prayer, he believes it is the only way out of getting the Country out of this social stagnation in which it is. HL/ HaitiLibre New Delhi, April 12 : The Supreme Court on Monday said there was no need of an enquiry by retired apex court judge, Justice R.V. Raveendran (retd), ordered by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, in a case involving a telephonic conversation between former Chief Justice V. Eswaraiah, and a suspended district munsif magistrate. A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and R. Subhash Reddy said: "We see no reason to allow to continue the enquiry by Justice R.V. Raveendran as directed by the High Court by the impugned judgment." The enquiry was ordered into the conversation which allegedly disclosed some information against the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and a sitting judge of the top court. Chief Justice Eswaraiah, who was Chief Justice in undivided Andhra Pradesh, filed an affidavit following a top court direction on January 11 to clarify his stand regarding his conversation with the suspended judge. In a special leave petition, he contended that the High Court had erred in ordering an inquiry on the basis of an unverified pen drive to conclude a plot was hatched against the judiciary. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing him, argued that there was no criminal conspiracy in the conversation and the transcript filed by the suspended judge shows that there was nothing to show that a crime was committed. Bhushan told the Supreme Court that High Court was hearing cases related to Covid issues and the suspended magistrate filed an intervention application in which he annexed a pen drive and later leaked the conversation to media. In the judgment, the top court noted that the petitioner has filed an affidavit, admitted the conversation dated July 20, 2020 and has also filed the corrected transcript of the English translation of the audio tape. "Authenticity and genuineness of the transcript having been admitted to the extent as contained in Annexure P-16, we are of the view that the direction by the High Court calling for report from Justice R.V. Raveendran need not be allowed to continue. We order accordingly," it said. The top court also observed that the High Court ought not to have embarked on any other enquiry in the matter except to the maintainability of the PIL at the instance of the writ petitioner and the conversation dated July 20, 2020, filed before the High Court as well as the enquiry report sought was only with the above purpose. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 12, 2021))) ("Rockridge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has recently acquired additional mineral rights through staking at its Knife Lake Copper Project located in Saskatchewan, Canada (the "Knife Lake Project" or "Property"). The Knife Lake Project, now consisting of 81 dispositions totaling 55,471 hectares (137,069 acres), is an advanced-stage copper, silver, zinc and cobalt exploration property in Saskatchewan. With the recent staking, the Company has increased the project area by 70% from 32,663 hectares (80,712 acres). Knife Lake Claims Map: https://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/images/Knife-Lake-Region-20210331-003.jpg Based on encouraging observations made during the current drill program the newly acquired claims are considered to be highly prospective for VMS mineralization. The staking completed has added to the land package south of the Knife Lake deposit and Gilbert Lake target areas, which is where most of the drilling in this current drill program has been focused. Additional claims from this staking have also strengthened the land package to the northwest of the Knife Lake deposit where base metals have been encountered historically. The southern property border is now only 5 km from a high-voltage powerline. Highlights The Company has increased the project area by 70% from 32,663 hectares (80,712 acres) to 55,471 hectares (137,069 acres) Recently expanded the drill program from 1,600 metres (6 to 8 drill holes) to 2,100 metres (10 to 12 drill holes) after encountering visible mineralization in the first several holes Drilling will focus on discovering VMS style copper deposits along newly defined conductors as well as at depth, underneath the Knife Lake VMS deposit Gilbert Lake North and South targets are being drill tested and represent new exploratory target areas with very little historical exploration carried out Infill drilling is also planned in the immediate area of the 2019 maiden resource at the Knife Lake deposit Rockridge completed first work program in the last ~20 years in 2019, with highlight results including 2.03% Cu, 9.88 g/t Ag, 0.19 g/t Au, 0.36% Zn, and 0.01% Co (2.42% CuEq) over 37.6m beginning at 11.2m in hole KF19003 Deposit is thought to be a remobilized portion of a "primary" VMS deposit; most of the historical work has consisted of shallow drilling at the deposit area with little regional work carried out and limited deeper drilling below the deposit Over 300 holes provided data for first NI 43-101 resource estimate of the shallow Knife Lake deposit Knife Lake NI 43-101 resource estimate provides excellent anchor for Project: Ind. resources: 3.8 MT at 1.02% Cu Eq. Or 3.8 MT at 0.83% Cu, 3.7 g/t Ag, 0.097 g/t Au, 82 ppm Co,1740.7 ppm Zn. Inf. resources: 7.9 MT at 0.67% Cu Eq. Or 7.9 MT at 0.53% Cu, 2.4 g/t Ag, 0.084 g/t Au, 53.1 ppm Co, 1454.9 ppm Zn. There is strong discovery potential in and around the deposit as well as at regional targets on the Property; modern exploration techniques and methods are being utilized with a goal of making new discoveries Excellent regional infrastructure with a high-voltage powerline 5 km away from the claim package Jonathan Wiesblatt, CEO of Rockridge Resources, commented: "The increased project area by 70% and expanded winter / spring drilling program is a clear indication of our overall confidence in the future success at Knife Lake. The most recent drill program is focused on new, highly prospective regional targets 5 - 6 km west of the Knife Lake deposit area. These new target areas, known as Gilbert Lake South and Gilbert Lake North, were previously undrilled and drilling in the current program has intersected visual indications of VMS-style mineralization. Through the staking of additional ground at Knife Lake we have added highly prospective stratigraphy to the project including the southern strike extension of both the Gilbert and Scimitar trends." Knife Lake Priority Target Areas: https://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/images/Knife-Lake-Airborne-EM-Feb2021.jpg Knife Lake Geology and History: The Knife Lake Project is interpreted to be a remobilized VMS deposit. The stratabound mineralized zone is approximately 15m thick and contains copper, silver, zinc, gold and cobalt mineralization which dips 30 to 50 eastward over a known strike-length within Rockridge's claim area of 3,700 metres, and a known average down-dip extension of approximately 300 metres. Knife Lake Deposit Map: https://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/projects/KnifeLake-Fig2.jpg The deposit is hosted by felsic to intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks which have been metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies. The deposit contains VMS mineralogy which has been significantly modified and partially remobilized during the emplacement of granitic rocks. The mineralization straddles the boundary between two rock units and occurs on both limbs of an interpreted overturned fold. The Company completed twelve holes consisting of 1,053 metres of diamond drilling in the 2019 winter drilling program. This represented the first drilling on the property since 2001 and had two primary objectives: confirm the tenor of mineralization reported by previous operators and expand known zones of mineralization. Highlights from the drill program included previously reported hole KF19003 which intersected net-textured to semi-massive sulphide mineralization from 11.2m to 48.8m downhole. This 37.6 metre interval returned 2.03% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au, 9.88 g/t Ag, 0.36% Zn, and 0.01% Co for an estimated 2.42% CuEq. Additionally, previously reported drill hole KF19001 intersected net-textured to fracture-controlled sulphide mineralization from 7.5 metres to 40.6 metres downhole. This 33.1 metre interval returned 1.28% Cu, 0.12 g/t Au, 4.80 g/t Ag, 0.13% Zn, and 0.01% Co for an estimated 1.49% CuEq. Compilation and initial modelling indicate potential for expansion of the deposit at depth. The recent drilling focused on resource upgrade as well as infill drilling between historical holes. The program gave the Company's technical team valuable insights into the property geology, alteration, and mineralization that will be applied to future regional exploration on the highly prospective and underexplored land package. Knife Lake Project Airborne Geophysical Results: http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/images/Airborne-EM-results-03-10-2021.jpg The Knife Lake deposit is a near surface VMS deposit starting a few metres below surface and the deposit remains open at depth and along strike for potential resource expansion. Recently Rockridge announced a maiden NI 43-101 resource estimate for the Knife Lake deposit (see the News Release dated August 14th, 2019) which consisted of an indicated resource of 3.8 million tonnes at 1.02% CuEq at a 0.4% CuEq cut-off (3.8 MT at 0.83% Cu, 3.7 g/t Ag, 0.097 g/t Au, 82 ppm Co, 1740.7 ppm Zn). In addition, there is an inferred resource of 7.9 million tonnes at 0.67% CuEq at a 0.4% CuEq cut-off (7.9 MT at 0.53% Cu, 2.4 g/t Ag, 0.084 g/t Au, 53.1 ppm Co, 1454.9 ppm Zn). Refer to the NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Knife Lake Property, Saskatchewan dated September 27, 2019 filed on Sedar. Qualified Persons: Kerry Bates, P. Geo., a "qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and a Geologist employed by TerraLogic Exploration Inc., has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release relating the Knife Lake Project About Rockridge Resources Ltd. Rockridge Resources is a publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada and other mining-friendly jurisdictions. The Company's Knife Lake Project is in Saskatchewan, which is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world by the Fraser Institute. The project hosts the Knife Lake deposit, which is a VMS, near-surface copper-cobalt-gold-silver-zinc deposit open along strike and at depth. The Company's Raney Gold Project is a high-grade gold exploration project located in the same greenstone belt that hosts the world-class Timmins and Kirkland Lake lode gold mining camps. Rockridge's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favorable jurisdictions. Additional information about Rockridge Resources and its project portfolio can be found on the Company's website at www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com. Rockridge Resources Ltd. "Jonathan Wiesblatt" _______________________ Jonathan Wiesblatt CEO For further information contact myself or: Jordan Trimble, President or Spencer Coulter, Corporate Communications Rockridge Resources Ltd. Telephone: 604-687-3376 Toll Free: 800-567-8181 Facsimile: 604-687-3119 Email: info@rockridgeresourcesltd.com NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. Forward Looking Information This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.comfor further information. Most industry observers believed Gallagher was on the top of the list or at the very least, in contention. Ultimately it was academic. Santos needed only the spectre of losing him to be galvanised into action. Woodsides apparent designs on nabbing Gallagher from Santos to run the West Australian oil and gas giant has been the worst kept secret in the industry. Goyder has been looking to replace outgoing chief executive Peter Coleman who is set to leave in the latter half of this year. Santos boss Kevin Gallagher should be sending a bottle of Penfolds Grange to Woodside chairman Richard Goyder, without whom Gallagher wouldnt have an extra $6 million of money weighing in his pockets. And Gallagher appears to have played his cards deftly. In a media interview with The Australian a week ago he did little to hose down the speculation that he was on Woodsides wishlist, saying whether theyve got me in their sights or not, thats not for me to comment on. The extent of Santos desire to keep him has now been quantified at $6 million in share acquisition rights if he remains with the company until 2025 and successfully executes the major growth projects and emissions reduction initiatives he has already put in train. There are various hurdles that will require jumping before Gallaghers shares vest but its fair to assume he believes he can perform. One of the more interesting elements of the Santos boards decision to turbocharge Gallaghers pay packet is that it is expected to result in zero backlash from major investors. Indeed, the key main risk issue surrounding Santos potentially losing Gallagher had been something shareholders had been concerned with for a while. There have been suggestions by analysts that this had been putting a dampener on the share price which rose more than 1 per cent on Monday after Gallaghers retention deal was announced. There are only a handful of large cap energy companies in Australia and finding the best senior executives is a competitive business. Image: Canva I recently had the privilege of delivering the sermon at my local church. I took the opportunity to share from Acts 17:26-27, From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. As the author of a recent global survey revealing unprecedented turnings of thousands of Muslims to faith in Jesus Christ, I used the opportunity to point out that it is God who determines the times and boundaries of the worlds peoples. I shared with the congregation that it is no accident that God has allowed more than 3 million Muslims to find their new homes here in the United States. The reason for this relocation, I said, was so that perhaps Muslim immigrants in America might reach out for him and find him. For this divine appointment to be realized, though, requires us to acknowledge that God has also placed us here in proximity to more than 3 million Muslims, so that we would share with them the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. During the invitation, I invited the congregation to pray for Muslims, and for themselves, that God would use us to bring them to saving faith in Jesus Christ. One man, shoulders slumped, walked down the aisle to the altar where I was standing. As he took my hand, it was evident to me that he was weeping. I lost my son in Afghanistan, he said, And Ive hated those people ever since. But I know that I cant follow Jesus and hate Muslims. I want to leave that hatred here today. Prayer changes things. It changes the hearts of Muslims even as it changes our own hearts. Let me tell you how I became acutely aware of the impact that prayer has in drawing Muslims to faith. In 2014, I published a book called A Wind in the House of Islam. It was the culmination of a three-year journey that took me 250,000 miles throughout the Muslim world where I was able to gather more than a thousand interviews from Muslims who had come to faith in Jesus Christ and were each a part of a work of God within their community that had seen at least 1,000 baptisms. In my survey, I heard hundreds of stories of Gods miraculous life-changing intervention into the lives of these formerly devout Muslims that prompted them to not only say yes to Jesus, but to follow him in baptism, an act that could garner them capital punishment. The truth be told, not one of these individuals that I interviewed told me that it was because some Christian on the other side of the globe was praying for them that they turned to faith in Jesus. However, during the writing of my book, I would often share with my friend, Paul Filidis, the publisher of the Muslim World Prayer Guide the stories I had heard from Imams, Mullahs, and common Muslim men and women who had found Jesus as their Lord and Savior. One day, Paul asked me a simple question, David, when did these movements begin? I knew the answer because my research had included a historic retrospective to identify every time that history had recorded a movement of at least a thousand Muslim baptisms within a particular Islamic community. This historic review was not as difficult as it might seem. In fact, such movements were so rare that whenever they occurred, they made church history. Looking over my spreadsheets, I informed Paul that 84% of all the Muslim movements to Christ in history have occurred during our lifetime, in fact, during the past 30 years. Pauls eyes immediately filled with tears. Whats the matter, I asked. Paul sobbed, It was 30 years ago, that we began the Muslim World Prayer Guide. Thats why I know that prayer makes a difference. Prayer is changing the hearts of Muslims. This is why I urge Christians to pray for Muslims, for their salvation, for their blessing in Jesus Christ. Sadly, many Muslim immigrants to America today see us, evangelical Christians, as their greatest opponents in America. I know that this opposition within the Christian community grows out of fear, and only perfect love can cast out that fear. None of us can lay claim to the perfect love that casts out all fear (1 John 4:18), no one except for Christ himself. But when we pray, we acquire the heart of God, a heart that was willing to die for us, all of us (including Muslims). This year, during the month of Ramadan, April 13 - May 12, a growing multitude of Christians all around the world will join together to pray for Muslims, that God will reveal to them his Son, Jesus Christ. If you would like to join us in that prayer for Muslims, you need to be prepared for God to change your heart from fear, hatred, or indifference, to love for a people for whom Christ gave his life. See you at the altar. The latest data from Canalys shows continued strength in the worldwide PC market in the first quarter of 2021, with shipments of desktops and notebooks, including workstations, up 55% year on year. Though this growth rate was buoyed by a weak Q1 2020, Canalys says "total shipments of 82.7 million units is still impressive, and the highest Q1 shipment number since 2012. "Backlogs on orders from 2020, particularly for notebooks, were a key driver, though new demand is also a factor as smaller businesses begin their recoveries. Shipments of notebooks and mobile workstations increased 79% year on year to reach 67.8 million units." Meanwhile, desktops "improved slightly at the start of 2021 after a string of poor quarters in 2020, with the level of shipment decline easing. Shipments of desktop and desktop workstations fell 5% year on year to 14.8 million units." The figures seem to line up very nicely with those from IDC, as reported at iTWire. We're told the strong recovery from a weak Q1 2020 "saw all vendors in the top five achieve double-digit year-on-year shipment growth. "Lenovo maintained pole position in the PC market, securing a 25% market share and posting year-on-year growth of 61%, with shipments of 20.4 million units. HP, spurred by strong Chromebook shipments, came second with total shipments of 19.2 million units, a 64% increase on Q1 2020. "Dell lost market share against Q4, but took third place in the rankings, growing shipments 23% year on year to hit 12.9 million units. Apple and Acer made up the rest of the top five, shipping 6.6 million and 5.7 million units to enjoy the highest and second-highest annual growth respectively. "Cumulatively, the top five vendors accounted for 78.5% of all PC shipments in Q1 2021." The supply chain issue plaguing the industry is a good problem to have, said Rushabh Doshi, Canalys Research Director. As average prices rise due to the scarcity of internal hardware, innovation in design is triggering long-term changes to the way PC vendors approach supply and demand. Chipmakers, too, are now bullish about personal computing, and have increased their planned future investments to capitalise on the long-term opportunity. While the pandemic is not over just yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel. This is also spurring SMB investment in computing, which halted abruptly in 2020. Despite the concerted efforts of the supply chain to ramp up production, Canalys expects the PC market to be supply-constrained for most of this year, said Ishan Dutt, Canalys Analyst. Adding to this, the potential for more black swan events to create even more disruption and uncertainty looms large. The hindering effect of shortages on countries economic revivals should be a wake-up call for governments to increase investment in semiconductor manufacturing. The company notes that tablets, both slates and detachables, "are not addressed in this media release", and that "Chromebooks are included as a subset of notebooks." PITTSBURGH, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "I always stab myself when I use a metal nail file," said an inventor, from Dallas, Texas. "I thought there could be a protective accessory to prevent this from happening, so I invented the FILE SHIELD. My design helps to prevent harm to yourself and to others." The invention enhances safety when using a metal nail file. In doing so, it offers a protective barrier between the user's hand and the sharp edge. As a result, it helps to prevent accidental stabbings and injuries and it provides added protection and peace of mind. The invention features a simple design that is easy to apply and use so it is ideal for individuals who use metal nail files. Additionally, it is producible in design variations. The original design was submitted to the Dallas sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 19-DLL-3833, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com. SOURCE InventHelp Related Links http://www.inventhelp.com [April 12, 2021] SnackVideo celebrates this year's Songkran by kicking off its first Creator Academy for Thailand BANGKOK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SnackVideo kickstarts its first official Creator Academy on April 9 as the annual Songkran Festival comes just around the corner. The campaign follows a series of warmup events on SnackVideo, which will last until April 20. The campaign aims to scout for more talented content creators and encourage more users to produce entertaining content on short video platform SnackVideo. The six top users or more in this campaign will be featured with SnackVideo. Popular Creators like Kyutae Oppa, Meijimil and DJ.DREAMERTH have joined this SnackVideo campaign as mentors. They'll give out advice and tips to SnackVideo users and even record reaction videos of themselves when there are good videos submitted by users as part of this campaign. Simply by registering the campaign in SnackVideo, you can get a chance to collaborate with popular creators and explore various activities. For example, users can join in a fun virtual water fight relay challenge under the certain hashtag, as a unique way to pass on best wishes to your friends. SnackVideo also offers the easiest way for user to fully unleash their creativity by creating and presenting their own way of spending the festival. With successful experience in holding Creator Academies in Indonesia and Pakistan, SnackVideo has also prepared other exciting Songkran-related challenges and plentiful awards for its Thai participants. First prize winners will be rewarded with a camera and exclusive opportunities of signing with SnackVideo. Other lucky users can get diverse prizes varying from phone bills, tickets to Songkran Festival to donations in their names and so on. In the Creator Academy, SnackVideo hopes to enable users to potentially build up careers as content creators and understand the best practices of the industry with the help from former and current KOLs. Contact: media_enquiries@snackvideo.com SOURCE SnackVideo [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Ritz-Carlton development covers 8,500sq.m next to Ben Thanh Market One highlight of these land plots is their attachment to globally acclaimed brands such as Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, and Marriott and are all developed by Masterise Homes, a member of Masterise Group, which pioneers in bringing world-class excellence to the development, operation, and management of real estate products and services in the Vietnamese market and beyond. Spacious plot at Saigon River becomes Grand Marina The first to date is the central land plot along the Saigon River in Ba Son area which stretches from Ton Duc Thang to Nguyen Huu Canh streets in the heart of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City. The land space, formerly belonging to The Centennial Saigon luxury condominium project, has changed its name to the Grand Marina Saigon, with Masterise Homes acting as the developer of the maiden project. As projected, the 10-hectare land space not only features branded apartments under two leading brands, JW Marriott and Marriott, the land spaces new owner also wants to provide a public park, waterfront boardwalk, and world-class marina integrated with the Ba Son metro station. This branded residence and hotel development will also feature eight waterfront towers. The 10-hectare site of the Grand Marina Saigon project on Nguyen Huu Canh One Central Saigon located opposite Ben Thanh Market Sitting on Ben Thanhs four-cornered land area with its four sides being major roads, and with the vibrant Ben Thanh Market opposite, the vast 8,500-square metre land space formerly under the Spirit of Saigon realty project has changed its name to One Central Saigon. The project developer is Masterise Homes, which is in full throttle for completion of the One Central Saigon premium development. One Central Saigon will feature sublime condominiums under the Ritz-Carlton brand, which for the first time makes its name into Vietnams real estate market and is also the most upscale hotel brand from Marriott International. The US brand operates more than 108 upscale hotel and resort venues across 30 countries and territories worldwide. Ritz-Carltons well-established branded residences have made forays around the globe, visible in the North American and Middle Eastern markets, particularly in Dubai. Land space in central Hanoi belongs to Masterise Homes In Hanoi, the 4,000sq.m land plot on Hang Bai street, just 100m from Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi, now has a new owner Masterise Homes after years of sitting idle. Before transfer, the land plot was under the ownership of privately-held Tan Hoang Minh Group and the compensation cost once hit $43,500 per sq.m. The project, named D San Raffles, sits next to Trang Tien Plaza; its other side is Hai Ba Trung, another central Hanoian street. Global real estate brands like Marriott and Ritz-Carlton continually marking their presence in central business districts of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi attests to the high sentiments domestic and global investors have for Vietnams growth potential to branded residences. This is grounded in the fact that leading British real estate consultancy Knight Frank states that the number of ultra-rich people in Vietnam, each with asset value surpassing $30 million, has been on a steady rise. Accordingly, the country ranks third worldwide in ultra-rich peoples growth pace as by the end of 2019 Vietnam was home to 458 utra-rich people, up 7 per cent on-year, as noted in Knight Franks Wealth Report 2021. Together with globally-acclaimed brands such as Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, these land plots also brighten the name of Masterise Homes. Through constantly bringing such brands to golden land areas in Vietnams key metropolises, Masterise Homes has affirmed its pioneering role in crafting the portfolio of urban branded residences in Vietnam. Masterise Homes has put its name in the spotlight in recent years through acquiring many land plots in central strategic positions with full legal status. The group has been pursuing a well-conceived strategy of fully realising its legal obligations to the customers, for instance, offering ownership certificates early to customers. In fact, Masterise Homes is one of the earliest developers striving to give these pink books to customers. The Tri-States TRUSTED news source. Click here to stay informed and subscribe to Herald-Dispatch. Click #isupportlocal for more information on supporting our local journalists. Learn more about HD Media ROME, APR 12 - Italy's former COVID commissioner Domenico Arcuri has been placed under investigation in a probe into embezzlement over face masks, sources told La Verita newspaper at the weekend. Premier Mario Draghi in February replaced Arcuri with army general Francesco Figliuolo. According to La Verita, Arcuri is accused of being involved in the alleged embezzlement of "huge profits" from an order of Chinese face masks worth some 1.25 billion euros. Arcuri's former aide and head of face mask procurement Antonio Fabbrocini, is also being probed, the conservative daily said. The case reportedly concerns the supply of some 800 million masks from three Chinese consortia. One person was arrested on February 24 after some of these supplies arrived in Italy without the proper certification. Arcuri reportedly said "I know nothing about this case but I am collaborating with the judicial authorities". (ANSA). ATLANTA, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL), a premier global consumer and commercial services company, announced the retirement of Henry B. Tippie, who joined the company in 1953. Mr. Tippie is 94 years old. Henry B. Tippie has been associated with the Rollins family for 68 years. He was the third Director in the history of the company following the two founding Rollins brothers, John & O. Wayne Rollins. Mr. Tippie held this Director position longer than anyone in the company, including the two brothers, for roughly 56 years. Mr. Tippie also holds the company's record for the longest serving CFO to date with 17 years and 9 months in that role. Henry Tippie has helped lead the company in a variety of accomplishments. He was the architect of Rollins' purchase of Orkin in 1964, which is considered to be the country's first ever leveraged buyout. At the time, Rollins' revenues were $9.1 million, and the price of Orkin was $62.4 million. With the everlasting leadership and support Mr. Tippie has provided throughout his career, Rollins, Inc. has grown to be over a $2 billion Company. Mr. Tippie was one of two Rollins, Inc. directors who was present on the day of the company's listing on the stock exchange in 1968 and again on the 50th NYSE anniversary in 2018. Mr. Tippie was also inducted into the NYSE Wall of Innovators. As Chairman Gary W. Rollins stated, "Without the financial knowledge and leadership Henry provided, Rollins, Inc. would not be where it is today. His expertise and meticulous eye for detail has allowed Rollins, Inc. to become the largest pest control company in the world. We are appreciative of Henry B. Tippie and for everything he has done for our Company. We will continue to honor his legacy and the example he provided of hard work and dedication as we continue to grow and succeed in our Company." Rollins, Inc. is a premier global consumer and commercial services company. Through its family of leading brands, Orkin, HomeTeam Pest Defense, Clark Pest Control, Orkin Canada, Western Pest Services, Northwest Exterminating, McCall Service, Inc., Critter Control, The Industrial Fumigant Company, Trutech, Orkin Australia, Waltham Services, OPC Services, PermaTreat, Rollins UK, Aardwolf Pestkare, and Crane Pest Control, the Company provides essential pest control services and protection against termite damage, rodents and insects to more than two million customers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia from more than 700 locations. You can learn more about Rollins and its subsidiaries by visiting our web sites at www.orkin.com , www.pestdefense.com , www.clarkpest.com, www.orkincanada.ca , www.westernpest.com , www.callnorthwest.com, www.mccallservice.com, www.crittercontrol.com , www.indfumco.com, www.trutechinc.com , www.orkinau.com , www.walthamservices.com , www.opcpest.com , www.permatreat.com , www.safeguardpestcontrol.co.uk , www.aardwolfpestkare.com, www.cranepestcontrol.com and www.rollins.com . You can also find this and other news releases at www.rollins.com by accessing the news releases button. CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The actual results of the Company could differ materially from those indicated because of various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the extent and duration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its potential impact on the financial health of the Company's business partners, customers, supply chains and suppliers, global economic conditions and capital and financial markets, changes in consumer behavior and demand, the potential unavailability of personnel or key facilities, modifications to the Company's operations, and the potential implementation of regulatory actions; economic and competitive conditions which may adversely affect the Company's business; the degree of success of the Company's pest and termite process, and pest control selling and treatment methods; the Company's ability to identify and integrate potential acquisitions; climate and weather trends; competitive factors and pricing practices; the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled workers, and potential increases in labor costs; uncertainties of litigation; the results of the SEC's investigation of the Company; and changes in various government laws and regulations, including environmental regulations. All of the foregoing risks and uncertainties are beyond the ability of the Company to control, and in many cases the Company cannot predict the risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from those indicated. A more detailed discussion of potential risks facing the Company can be found in the Company's Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31, 2020. For Further Information Contact Eddie Northen (404) 888-2242 SOURCE Rollins, Inc. Related Links http://www.rollins.com The Minister for Rural Development has been invited by Sinn Fein TD Patricia Ryan to see empty buildings in towns such as Rathangan, Monasterevin, Athy and Portarlington. The South Kildare TD told a recent Dail debate on rural development that she believed that the Government has left rural Ireland behind. Calling on Minister Heather Humphreys to pay a visit to her constituency, Ryan said: The Green Party means well but it has little or no concept of the reality of life in rural Ireland. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have neglected rural Ireland to pander to their vested interests. We need to reverse the regional imbalance and neglect by accessing capital to improve the infrastructure of our towns and villages, and to create jobs. The TD said that far too many people are leaving Kildare and Laois every day to drive to Dublin for work, adding: This has an effect on their quality of life and well-being. Many of our towns and villages are blighted by dereliction. Buildings on our main streets have been empty for years. Ryan also said that broadband is essential for the economic growth of rural Ireland. You might have heard of Scott Willoughby, who had $19,033 charged to a Visa credit card for his light bill in the wake of Winter Storm Uri. He paid it. But Willoughby, 63, a retired Dallas-area custom homebuilder who has returned to work to recover the loss, was hardly alone. Military bases in Texas got monster electric bills, too. And your tax dollars are paying those. Fort Hoods utility statement for February of last year was $1.2. million. Weighing the effect of the historic storm, a team at its public works office swallowed hard and calculated that it would be $30 million this time. They were on the low side by $5.9 million. Yeah, we definitely had some sticker shock. Ive had a lot of fun explaining to people about a $35.9 million electric bill for the month of February, said Brian Dosa, who heads the office. That bill enough to buy four M1 Abrams tanks was driven by a stunning price hike for a kilowatt-hour of electricity, from 5 cents to $9, over a few days. Other military installations across the state are in the same predicament if they get their power through utilities on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid. ERCOT, as the nonprofit consortium is called, operates the grid for nearly 90 percent of Texas. Dyess AFB in Abilene, home to 33 B-1B bombers, more than half the fleet, was charged $6 million. Usually its $250,000 to $300,000 in February. Naval Air Station Corpus Christis projected bill is more than $11.2 million, well above what it paid the previous February, $382,000. Naval Air Station Kingsvilles February bill was $2.6 million a year ago, it was $108,000. Top hits: Get Houston Chronicle stories sent directly to your inbox Rod Hafemeister, a spokesman at NAS Kingsville, said he didnt know if the Navy intended to protest the bill, but it does plan to pay it. At Fort Hood, where the storm dumped 2.9 inches of snow Feb. 15 and drove temperatures to a low of 2 degrees, the bill would have been higher if the post hadnt launched a 2016 initiative to get half its electricity from solar and wind energy. The post has a 15-megawatt solar array some 65,000 solar panels on 132 acres on West Fort Hood and draws from 20 wind turbines northeast of Lubbock that generate 40 megawatts. (A megawatt is 1,000 kilowatts.) The San Antonio-based Army Installation Management Command said it intends to pay the bill from Apex Clean Energy, a company in Charlottesville, Va., that provides Fort Hood with both fossil fuel and renewable power. Its trying to renegotiate the bill, but the clock is ticking. The federal Prompt Payment Act requires payment of bills within 30 days of receipt, said the commands spokesman, Scott Malcom. Otherwise, the government must pay interest at the moment just under 1 percent. There are going to be concerns, and Im confident that there are going to be a lot of questions asked at the Pentagon about the stratospheric prices authorized by ERCOT and the reliability of its grid, said retired Air Force Gen. Gene Habiger, who led the U.S. Strategic Command. The storm slammed through Texas, plunging temperatures to 9 degrees in San Antonio on Feb. 15 and subjecting the states residents to days of intermittent or nonexistent electric service as power suppliers were shut down. Water utilities were unable to operate pumps, and pipes burst in many homes. The extent of the financial damage caused by the high rates for power may not be known for months, and the litigation it spurred likely will take longer. The physical and human toll of the catastrophe has only recently come into focus. Hearst Newspapers, in an analysis published last week, estimated that nearly 200 Texans died of storm-related causes twice the official estimate. Some military installations in the Lone Star State havent gotten their electric bills yet, including five of the Texas bases under the Air Forces Air Education and Training Command Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, JBSA-Lackland, Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls and Laughlin AFB in Del Rio. What Ive learned was that the bases are not on a real-time rate and it will take months to determine the impacts from the winter storm, AETC spokeswoman Marilyn Holliday said. A Laughlin spokesman, Joel Langton, said the base had not received an invoice, but it has a fixed-rate plan with its provider, AEP, which serves Del Rio. Randolph, Lackland and JBSA-Fort Sam Houston are customers of CPS Energy, which has refused to pass $1 billion in extra charges it incurred during the storm to its customers. It has sued ERCOT and several of its natural gas suppliers, accusing them of price gouging. IN GALVESTON: Fertitta-owned apartments rendered 'uninhabitable' after storm Asked if CPS customers ultimately might have to pay the bill, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said lawmakers and regulators in Texas should be doing everything possible to keep ratepayers from bearing exorbitant energy costs, including using the nearly $11 billion in the states rainy day fund. Its absolutely disgusting that military bases and ordinary ratepayers are already taking the hit, Nirenberg added. The price gouging and the mismanagement of the Texas energy grid during the storm has direct and certain impact, and clearly we see that those impacts now are even on our national defense, he said. Citing privacy rules, CPS Energy would not disclose the February bills for JBSA, which provides logistics for the three bases here and the Camp Bullis training range in Northwest Bexar County. Fort Bliss in El Paso and Red River Army Depot near Texarkana were spared from sharply higher fuel costs because they receive power from regulated utilities and are not part of the ERCOT grid. Red River, with around 4,000 workers, is the largest employer in the Texarkana area. This was unprecedented, said Jerry Sparks, retired economic development director for the city of Texarkana. We lived through it, and I dont know what these people (served by ERCOT) are going to do. Its a screwy system. The grids failure isnt just about sky-high light bills its antiquated and poorly managed, and military readiness is one of the things it puts at risk, said University of Houston energy economics professor Ed Hirs, a longtime ERCOT critic. If Im a bad actor, domestic or foreign, I would do what I could to take out the Texas grid because then Id have, what, 40 million people dependent upon some sort of immediate need for national support. Wed be a ward of the country, Hirs said in an interview last week. Communications would be down, health care gone, you couldnt very well travel anywhere, he said. You wouldnt have any pumps at the gas stations to pump gasoline. This would be a nightmare. Willoughby, the Dallas-area homebuilder, was on a variable rate plan with Griddy Energy and had authorized it to charge his credit card which it did, repeatedly, during and after the storm. The company has filed for bankruptcy. A 10-year Army veteran who left the service as a sergeant in 1985, Willoughby took money out of a savings account to pay the tab. Its one of the few times in life that you wished you didnt have any money or your credit wasnt any good, he joked. I did a GoFundMe. I got a little bit out of that. Willoughby was looking to the Legislature for help and has joined a class-action lawsuit against ERCOT. I am angry, but theres really not much that I can do, he said. sigc@express-news.net Reliance Jio buys Bharti Airtel's 800 MHz spectrum in Andhra, Delhi and Mumbai circles Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) on Tuesday said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Bharti Airtel Limited for acquisition of right to use spectrum in the 800 MHz band in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai circles through spectrum trading. Jio signed an agreement with Airtel to aacquire some of the latters spectrum in the 800 MHz band in the three telecom circles, totally valued at Rs1,497 crore. As part of the agreement, Airtel would receive Rs1,038 crore from Jio for the proposed transfer. In addition, Jio will also assume the future liabilities of Rs459 crore relating to the spectrum. The aggregate value for the right to use this spectrum is Rs1,497 crore, inclusive of present value of associated deferred payment liability of Rs459 crore, subject to any transaction-related adjustments, Jio stated in a release. The trading agreement is in accordance with the Spectrum Trading Guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunications and is subject to the requisite regulatory and statutory approvals. The Rs1,459-crore aggregate value for the right to use this spectrum is inclusive of present value of associated deferred payment liability of Rs459 crore, subject to any transaction related adjustments, the release added. With this trading of right to use spectrum, RJIL will have 2X15MHz of spectrum in the 800 MHz band in Mumbai circle and 2X10 MHz of spectrum in the 800 MHz band in Andhra Pradesh and Delhi circles, thereby further consolidating its spectrum footprint in these circles. With the enhanced spectrum footprint, especially contiguous spectrum, and superior infrastructure deployed, RJIL has further increased its network capacity. The transaction is subject to the requisite regulatory and statutory approvals. Haiti - Politic : More than 230,000 new voters registered in 1 month On April 8, at a press conference Mathias Pierre, the Minister responsible for electoral matters and relations with political parties gave an update on the process of production and delivery of new National Identification Cards (CIN). Up to April 8, 2021, 4,346,000 citizens have registered in the ONI system in accordance with applicable standards. Recall that on March 10, 2021 this number was 4,115,042 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33241-haiti-elections-already-more-than-4-million-registered-voters.html . So that's 230,958 new registrations in one month. Note that this biometric card is the most reliable that Haiti has ever known since this system does not allow a citizen to vote more than once. In addition, the Haitian Government is working hard so that the Haitian diaspora can obtain the new National Identification Card https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33454-haiti-diaspora-already-more-than-10-000-haitians-in-dr-have-obtained-the-new-cin.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-32594-icihaiti-politic-members-of-the-diaspora-can-get-a-cin-at-port-au-prince-airport.html . Equipment intended for diplomatic missions for the production and delivery of CINs will be operational shortly. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33454-haiti-diaspora-already-more-than-10-000-haitians-in-dr-have-obtained-the-new-cin.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33241-haiti-elections-already-more-than-4-million-registered-voters.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-32594-icihaiti-politic-members-of-the-diaspora-can-get-a-cin-at-port-au-prince-airport.html HL/ HaitiLibre A body of an unidentified man was found floating off Nha Trang, a beach city in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa, on Sunday afternoon. The deceased man was discovered by a crew of fishermen at around 1:00 pm, an official from the Peoples Committee in Vinh Tho Ward confirmed. They then brought the body ashore and reported it to competent authorities. Eyewitnesses said that the man was between 30 and 35 years old and wearing a gray checkered shirt. No ID or related documents were found with him. Police in Vinh Tho Ward later handed over the body to the municipal Department of Public Security and the citys forensic unit for further investigation. On Friday, security guards of a factory in the north-central province Nghe An found parts of a human skeleton that had washed up on a local beach. The guards said they had discovered a human skull, several bones, an orange life vest wrapping over more bones and joints, and a black fold wallet carrying two banknotes of VND1,000 and VND2,000. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! ADVERTISEMENT Five vigilante members were reported killed on Monday in attacks on a local market and some communities in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. Sani Kokki, the co-convener, Concerned Shiroro Youth, said the assailants carried out the attack while commercial activities were going on at Bassa market. Casualties were recorded as it was reported that about five members of a local vigilante corps were said to have been gunned down during a fierce gun battle, his statement read. Also, during the deadly operation, a lot of destructions ensued, including many people who sustained multiple gunshot injuries while many others were kidnapped and taken to unknown destination. He added that Beri, Beri-Kago, Gatawi, Kini, Bmada and adjoining villages in Manta District were attacked on Sunday but no death was recorded. Though no death was recorded during these multiple attacks, certainly material losses were incured while many innocent and unarmed people were abducted by the rampaging criminals and taken to unkown abode. According to him, the criminals attacked many communities in Gurmana District of the same Shiroro local government area on Monday morning. They were seen running from across River Kaduna helter skelter, chasing whosoever is in their sight to abduct. Kokki, Shekadna, Karibo, Jabuki, Sarkin Zama, Bakin Kogi (Lagbe), Maganda and other adjoining villages, all in Gurmana District, came under renewed simultaneous attacks this morning. Our current sad reality is that there is no longer semblance of security in the whole of Lakpma axis of Shiroro local government. Security in this part of the state has completely deteriorated. Innocent, unarmed, defenceless and peaceful locals have been abandoned to their fate, thereby wallowing in perpetual agony and abject misery, he said, calling the attention of relevant authorities. Wasiu Abiodun, the spokesperson of the police in the state, did not respond to telephone calls for the commands comment. PREMIUM TIMES had reported attacks on different communities in Niger State amid the worsening insecurity in the country. Despite words of assurance from President Muhammadu Buhari and the security chiefs, kidnapping for ransom and banditry are still rampant. HBO It's been a while since HBO news satire host John Oliver has weighed in on something related to San Francisco, but on the most recent episode of "Last Week Tonight" he shouted out one of the Bay Area's most iconic figures: the Pixar lamp Luxo. "I'm still coming to you from this blank void, which I actually share with the Pixar lamp. It says if I try to leave, it'll crush me like the letter 'I,' and I can't tell how scared and or horny I should be." It was probably the first, and maybe only, time someone pulled into a NASA facility in a Rolls Royce. On a tour of the U.S. to raise money for Variety Clubs International, Prince Philip visited Houston in March 1966 for the first of three visits to the Bayou City. Philip, who died Friday at the age of 99, flew a propjet into Houston International Airport (now Hobby) from Miami. Upon his arrival, reporters peppered the jovial Philip with questions ranging from British fashions to parenting (no politics, please, the prince said). Owen Johnson/Houston Chronicle From the March 11 Chronicle: A fashion writer for a national magazine asked Prince Philip if he was in this country to promote the "mod fashions" -- the long hair and short skirt -- for the British. The impeccably dressed prince raised his eyebrows and gave her a quizzical "Huh," and turned to the next question. It came from Ginny Pace, Houston television personality. "I am the mother of five," said Mrs. Pace, "and American women are interested in knowing if you will answer this question. How do you discipline your four children at home?" A mirthful smile spread over Philip's face. "You ought to know if you have five of your own," he quipped. The next day, Philip toured the Manned Spacecraft Center, where he was given an overview of the Apollo program and presented a British flag that was carried aboard Gemini 7. (Philip was supposed to take a helicopter to the NASA facility, but poor visibility led him to take the Rolls.) That evening, a banquet at the Rice Hotel raised $215,000 toward a new Variety Boys Club building here. As president of the World Wildlife Fund International, the Duke of Edinburgh would return to Houston again in November 1982 with a speech at Rice University on preserving the rainforests and a tour of Armand Bayou Nature Center. The trip was part of a philanthropic tour benefiting the fund. The prince, this time with wife Queen Elizabeth II, would drop by once more in 1991, with stops at City Hall, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, the Johnson Space Center and a private dinner at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It was at Antioch where the British press gave us Americans a lesson in how to refer to the queen and her husband. "Remain seated for five minutes to give the prince and his queen and entourage an opportunity to leave peacefully," the Rev. William Batts told those in attendance, as reported in the March 23, 1991, Chronicle. " 'The prince and his queen!' " repeated one reporter. Apparently, it's bad form not to refer to the queen first. Funeral services for Prince Philip will be held Saturday. Condolence messages can be left at the royal family's website. Ukraine says it has requested talks with Russia to discuss escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine but has yet to receive an answer, prompting warnings from the West, including calls by Washington for Moscow to explain its actions at an upcoming security meeting. Kyiv and the West blame Russia-backed separatists holding parts of Ukraines eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk for a recent spike in hostilities, while Moscow has pointed the finger at Kyiv. A recent accumulation of photographs, video, and other data also suggested major movements of Russian armed units toward or near Ukraine's borders and into the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, fueling concerns that Russia is preparing to send forces into Ukraine and giving rise to many Western countries demanding Russia explain itself. In a statement on April 12, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said that in accordance with an agreement with Moscow and international partners, the Russian side was formally requested to clarify the "significant increase" in the military presence of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in recent days. "Unfortunately, the Russian side refused to provide substantive information in accordance with the request, stating that it does not conduct such activities," the statement said, adding that Kyiv had called on Russia "to withdraw troops from the border with Ukraine, to stop belligerent rhetoric and disinformation." Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy's spokeswoman, Yulia Mendel, added on April 12 that the president's office "of course" made a request to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that "we have not received an answer yet and we very much hope that this is not a refusal of dialogue." Russia has massed more than 40,000 troops both on Ukraine's eastern border and in the occupied Crimean Peninsula, according to Mendel, who said Zelenskiy will head to Paris for talks on Russia's troop buildup and the escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine. The West has voiced concern in recent weeks over the buildup. The U.S. State Department said on April 12 that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had discussed "the immediate need for Russia to cease its aggressive military buildup." Foreign ministers from the G7 group of nations, including the United States, Britain, and France, also condemned the increase in Russian troop numbers near its border with Ukraine and in Crimea. "These large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilizing activities," the joint statement released by Britain's Foreign Office said on April 12. "We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations," the statement added. Earlier on April 12, the U.S. mission to the OSCE urged Moscow to explain its moves at an upcoming meeting in Vienna of the OSCE's Forum for Security Cooperation and the Permanent Council (FSC-PC). "Within 48 hours Russia will have another chance to explain its actions at a special @OSCE FSC-PC meeting requested by Ukraine," the mission said on Twitter. "Russia refused to notify its military movements or provide transparency under the #ViennaDocument. We urge Russia to adhere to its commitments & explain its actions," it said. The Vienna Document is an agreement between the OSCE member states intended to implement confidence and security-building measures. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was "not aware of any [such] requests made lately," according to Russian news agencies. The Kremlin has rejected Western calls to pull back its troops from the border region, denying they are a threat and adding that military movements within Russia are a sovereign, internal issue. Some analysts have suggested that Russia's recent actions may be meant to test the new administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and its commitment to Ukraine. Peskov on April 12 brushed aside "these calls for putting an end to some ephemeral aggressive actions and threats and warnings that some price will have to be paid." The Kremlin had earlier warned that Moscow "will not remain indifferent" to the fate of Russian speakers who live in eastern Ukraine. 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 eastern Ukraine, known as the Donbas region. Despite multiple cease-fire agreements, the violence has never really ended. Zelenskiy last week said 26 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of the year, compared with 50 in all of 2020, when fighting in the conflict subsided as a new cease-fire deal came into force in July. Separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions have said more than 20 of their fighters had been killed so far in 2021. With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, TASS, and RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service Wildlife conservations have been working against time to rescue nine endangered giraffes stranded on a flooding Kenyan island and their efforts have finally paid off with the last two being brought to shore. A small calf named Noelle and her mother Ngarikoni were loaded onto the same steel barge that carried the other seven one-mile through Lake Baringo to the Roku Conservancy. The herd crossed what was once a peninsula to feed, but days of intense rain cut off access to the mainland and imprisoned them on Longicharo Island. Ngarikoni gave birth to Noelle while on the island and were the last to be saved due to the extra cared needed to move such a young giraffe. 'Relief and elation emanated from the rescue team as little Noelle stepped confidently off the custom-built barge and onto dry land, followed by her mother, marking the successful conclusion of this ambitious rescue,' the rescuers shard in a statement. Wildlife conservations have been working against time to rescue nine endangered giraffes stranded on a flooding Kenyan island and their efforts have paid off with the last two being brought to shore The intense 15-month project was a collaboration with Ruko Community Conservancy, the Northern Rangelands Trust, and Kenya Wildlife Service, in addition to the Dallas-based Save Giraffes Now and locals living in the area. David O'Connor, president of Save Giraffes Now, which works on over 20 giraffe conservation projects in nine African countries, said: 'We felt a great sense of urgency to complete this rescue.' 'With giraffe undergoing a silent extinction, every one we can protect matters, making this rescue an important step in supporting the survival of this species.' The first daring rescue occurred in December 2020 and rescued a critically endangered Nubian giraffe named Asiwa. Ngarikoni gave birth to Noelle while on the island and were the last to be saved due to the extra cared needed to move such a young giraffe Relief and elation emanated from the rescue team as little Noelle stepped confidently off the custom-built barge and onto dry land, followed by her mother, marking the successful conclusion of this ambitious rescue Two juvenile females, Susan and Pasaka, were rescued weeks after and the four remaining adult females, Ngarikoni, Nalangu, Awala and Nasieku, and one adult male, Lbarnnoti, were moved this year. The area had been plagued with intense rain that caused water levels of Lake Baringo, which is surrounding the peninsula, to steadily rising up to six inches a day. Ruko rangers brought food to the stranded animals, but with rising water they a long-term was needed. Working with the other teams, the rangers attempted to get each animal use to the barge by leaving treats like pellets, acacia leaves, seed pods and mangos on board with the hopes the giraffes would walk inside voluntarily and make the journey with ease. The area had been plagued with intense rain that caused water levels of Lake Baringo, which is surrounding the peninsula, to steadily rising up to six inches a day. Ruko rangers brought food to the stranded animals, but with rising water they a long-term was needed Working with the other teams, the rangers attempted to get each animal use to the barge by leaving treats like pellets, acacia leaves, seed pods and mangos on board with the hopes the giraffes would walk inside voluntarily and make the journey with ease The custom-made steel barge, dubbed 'GiRaft' floats on six empty drums and is reinforced on the sides to keep the giraffe from escaping. And a small power boat pulled the massive raft down the river to the sanctuary. 'Not only did this groundbreaking project save these giraffe, but it also marks their reintroduction to the mainland for the first time in 70 years,' said O'Connor. 'This rescue is a significant success for both of those reasons.' The animals are Rothschild's, or Nubian, giraffe, which is a critically endangered subspecies of the Northern giraffe that once roamed the entire western Rift Valley in Kenya and into Uganda. The custom-made steel barge, dubbed 'GiRaft' floats on six empty drums and is reinforced on the sides to keep the giraffe from escaping Today, fewer than 3,000 are left in Africa, with only about 800 in Kenya. Pictured is part of the herd that was stranded on the island at their new home at Ruko Susan Myers, Save Giraffes Now founder and CEO, said: 'Each giraffe has its own personality.' 'Some are very timid, while others are brave and go onto the barge readily. This is a painstaking process, and the team is being very deliberate about the training.' Today, fewer than 3,000 are left in Africa, with only about 800 in Kenya. Mike Parkei, a ranger at Ruko Conservancy, said: 'These giraffe are the heart of our homeland. 'We knew we had to come together and do everything possible to save them.' Mumbai, April 12 : When Punjab Kings batsman Chris Gayle hoisted Rajasthan Royals' Ben Stokes for a six in his first over, he became the first batsman in Indian Premier League history to hit 350 sixes. Interestingly, no other batsman has even got 250 sixes with AB de Villiers coming a distant second with 237. The Jamaican batsman, known for his explosive batting and big-hitting, wasn't picked for the initial matches in the last season held in the UAE. However, once he got a chance, he began getting the runs. He played just seven matches and aggregated 288 runs at an average of 41.14. The left-handed batsman hit 23 sixes last season, which were more than his 15 fours. Gayle, who hit Rahul Tewatia for his 351st six on Monday, was dismissed by Riyan Parag for 40, just 10 short of his half-century. A fifty would have meant his fourth consecutive half-century in the first match of a season for the Punjab franchise. He hit 63 (off 33 balls) against CSK in 2018, 79 (off 47 balls) against RR in 2019 and 53 (off 45 balls) against RCB in 2020 at Sharjah in the first matches for the Punjab franchise in the last three season. The 41-year-old West Indies opener has played 133 matches over 13 seasons and has been the top draw in cash-rich tournament, scoring over 4800 runs. Latest updates on IPL 2021 WASHINGTON The White House graded New York's infrastructure as a C-minus on a report card it issued to help make the case for President Joe Biden's proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan. A release from the White House identified 1,702 bridges and over 7,292 miles of highway in poor condition in New York. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.4 percent in the state, it noted, adding that on average each driver pays $625 per year in costs due to driving on crumbling roads. Most states received a C or C-minus on the report cards that examined the conditions of their roads and bridges, public transportation, resilient infrastructure, drinking water, housing, broadband, caregiving, child care, manufacturing, home energy, clean energy jobs and veterans health facilities. The report card also highlighted that New Yorks drinking water infrastructure will require $22.8 billion in additional funding over the next 20 years, and about one in three New Yorkers live in areas where there is only one broadband Internet provider providing minimally acceptable speeds. The American Jobs Plan Biden's massive infrastructure package that could fund these projects is just starting to move its way through Congress; Democrats hope it might be passed over the summer. The jobs plan is going to allow states and local government to move forward with long-overdue projects to fix roads and bridges, to expand and modernize transit by the way, transit not only in big cities, but in small communities and connect more of our communities, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Monday. Any individual community and any state stands to benefit in a big way. New York Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez hailed the proposal as an "ambitious" plan that will create jobs and enhance the nation's competitiveness. "Enactment of the American Jobs Plan will provide New York with the necessary resources to renew and modernize infrastructure in every region of the State, including investments in our roads, bridges, railroads, airports, seaports and public transportation systems," she said. Details about specific projects and funding will be offered in the coming weeks and months. The infrastructure package goes well beyond just transportation investments, including billions of dollars for affordable housing, clean energy technology, manufacturing investments and money to support caregivers for seniors and the disabled. State and local governments will be able to access the $2 trillion in investments through some existing formulas and by applying for competitive grants. The package could fund multi-billion dollar projects like replacing the Gateway Tunnel in New York City and award money in smaller grants for things such as improving bus systems. Asked which projects should be prioritized for funding in New York, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer mentioned the Gateway Tunnel as well as upstate efforts such as completion of the Capital Region's tri-city bus route which he has helped secure funds for in the past as well as Syracuse's I-81, Rochester's inner loop, Buffalo's Main street and Route 17 in the Hudson Valley. "There's a long list," he said. Amtrak announced that it could expand rail service to Albany if it receives the $80 billion earmarked for the corporation in Biden's proposal. The Biden administration has proposed paying for the investment through corporate tax increases. Republicans in Congress object to these increases and are quick to point out that the package strays from more traditional definitions of infrastructure, mixing in items from Democrats climate agenda and more. "Its the Green New Deal packaged up as a fake infrastructure bill," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said. "If Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats so-called infrastructure bill passes, it will kill hundreds of thousands of jobs." Buttigieg on Monday dismissed the question of what is infrastructure as a semantic debate and insisted the plan had bipartisan support. He added that the American Jobs Plan will not eliminate the need for state and local governments to continue their own investments. I have not yet seen a case where proposed local investment makes any less sense because the federal government is stepping up, he said. New statement from prosecutors and law enforcement urging review of extreme prison sentences | Main | The Marshall Project unveils "The Language Project" to explore words used to describe people in the justice system April 11, 2021 Headlines providing more reminders of how COVID meets mass incarceration A number of notable reads about the state of COVID in incarceration nation in recent days. Here are some headlines and links: From the AP, "As states expand vaccines, prisoners still lack access" From Business Insider, "Thousands of inmates given the chance to serve their sentence at home because of COVID-19 might go back to prison cells" From Reuters, "Thousands of low-level U.S. inmates released in pandemic could be headed back to prison" Fom the New York Times : From Undark magazine, "Prisons Are Covid Hotspots. But Vaccine Access Remains Patchy." April 11, 2021 at 10:16 PM | Permalink Comments Post a comment [April 12, 2021] Principal Charity Classic, Sammons Financial Group Launch New Giving Program in Support of DE&I The Principal Charity Classic and Sammons Financial Group have partnered to launch a new program called The Legacy Project, which will donate to organizations with defined goals, strategies, and measurable outcomes to address the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. First year funding in the amount of $50,000 will go to The Directors Council (TDC), a Des Moines-based not-for-profit organization committed to developing social service programs focused on racial disparities and inequities in the areas of employment, education, financial inclusion, health, and housing. The contribution will directly support TDC's One Economy program designed to unite the community through a shared commitment to eliminate racial economic disparities. The funds will be used to create summer employment experiences for low-income youth ages 14-21 in greater Des Moines. This need was identified as a strategic goal of TDC and outlined in One Economy's Blueprint For Action unveiled last year. "The Principal Charity Classic is devoted to improving the lives of Iowa children," said Douglas Habgood, Principal Charity Classic tournament director. "Together with Sammons Financial Group, we are committed to supporting TDC's mission of opening doors to future success for the aspiring youth in our great community." Sponsored by Principal Financial Group, the Principal Charity Classic has donated $30 million to Iowa children's charities since 2007, positively impacting the lives of more than 130,000 children each year. "The summer employment program will strive to provide unique employment opportunities for children of color who don't always have access to this early, meaningful work experience," said Teree Caldwell-Johnson, board chair of TDC and CEO of Oakridge Neighborhood. "This generous contribution from the Principal Charity Classic and Sammons Financial Group will directly support the positive development of youth by engaging them in career exploration, leadership, and community involvement opportunities." It is estimated the number of summer employment participants could grow to more than 1,200 youth by 2023 as other Des Moines-area businesses take part in The Legacy Project. Interested companies should contact the Principal Charity Classic at (515) 279-4653 for details on how to participate. "Sammons Financial Group aligned with TDC in 2020 on a financial inclusion initiative. The goal of the summer youth employment program is to prepare today's youth for future career opportunities," said Rob TeKolste, president, Sammons Independent Annuity Group. "Each year, TDC member organizations have collectively employed about 100 youth through existing programs, and this new program expands upon those efforts. It's our genuine hope that other area employers will join us in supporting TDC's efforts to close the gap on racial disparities in our community." Sammons Financial Group also sponsors th Principal Charity Classic's Birdies For Charity Program, a matching program that provides donations to more than 80 not-for-profit organizations that support Iowa children. About the Principal Charity Classic The Principal Charity Classic is an annual and award-winning PGA TOUR Champions event dedicated to investing in the future of Iowa kids. In 2020, the Principal Charity Classic raised a record $6.7 million for charity, bringing the tournament's giving total to more than $30 million since 2007. Tournament funds benefit organizations that provide a broad level of support to Iowa kids in the areas of education and culture, financial security and stability, and/or health and wellness. Last year, the tournament touched the lives of more than 130,000 children statewide. About Sammons Financial Group, Inc. The companies of Sammons Financial Group, Inc. help families and businesses protect their future to enjoy life's moments today. A subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, Inc., Sammons Financial Group is privately owned with member companies that are among the most enduring and stable in the financial services industry. Our companies include Midland National Life Insurance Company (including Sammons Corporate Markets); North American Company for Life and Health Insurance; and Sammons Institutional Group (including Midland Retirement Distributors and Sammons Retirement Solutions). Together, we offer today's most sought-after life insurance, annuity, and retirement planning products. Sammons Financial Group: With You for Every Moment. About Principal Principal helps people and companies around the world build, protect, and advance their financial well-being through retirement, insurance, and asset management solutions that fit their lives. Our employees are passionate about helping clients of all income and portfolio sizes achieve their goals - offering innovative ideas, investment expertise, and real-life solutions to make financial progress possible. To find out more, visit us at principal.com. Sammons Financial Group, Inc. is not an affiliate of any company of the Principal Financial Group. ?2021 Principal Financial Services, Inc. Insurance products issued by Principal National Life Insurance Co (except in NY) and Principal Life Insurance Co. Plan administrative services offered by Principal Life. Principal Funds, Inc. is distributed by Principal Funds Distributor, Inc. Securities offered through Principal Securities, Inc., 888-774-6267, member SIPC and/or independent broker/-dealers. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, IA 50392.? View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005845/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Ogilvys new campaign for Nilons, Isme Pyaar Mila Hai features Pankaj Tripathi as a cooking obsessed gangster and shows the love that goes into making Nilons products. Nilons, one of Indias fastest growing processed food companies, launched an advertising campaign consisting of a series of ad films for their range of Western blended spices, Chinese sauces, Chutneys, Instant mixes and many more. Released on TV and digital media, the campaign features a series of unconventional and humorous ad films that highlight the superior quality ingredients and attention to the smallest detail that Nilons employs. In the film Pankaj Tripathi plays the role of a good-at-heart gangster who is obsessed with cooking and uses his cooking skills and love to give the police a slip, get information from a captive rival or ensure that a guest leaves only after eating a meal. Each film ends with the message Isme pyaar mila hai. Speaking about the campaign, Dipak Sanghvi, Managing Director, Nilons said, Wheneveryou see Pankaj Jis shows or movies, it never seems like hes acting, since it comes so naturally to him. Similarly, at Nilons, making topmost quality products with passion comes naturally to us. What made us choose Pankaj Ji as our brand proponent was the shared passion for doing things well along with the secret ingredient called love. This also led us to choose our tag line, Isme pyaar mila hai. Rajheev Agarwal, Director and CEO Nilons said, We are very excited about our new campaign with Pankaj Tripathi. The commercials have come out very entertaining, with lots of drama and a fun quotient. We have already received glowing response to them. Full credit to the Ogilvy team and director Prashant Issar. Anurag Agnihotri, Managing Partner, Creative, Ogilvy India-West said, Nilons was going to create brand communication after a very long time hence what was required most was achieving high recall and memorability. For a category which mostly talks to homemakers, we introduced Mr. Pankaj Tripathi, a very unlikely candidate into the mix but as a food loving gangster who spreads the message of love through his love for cooking. We hope these ads will be memorable. CREDITS Nilons: Client Ogilvy: Creative Agency Kainaz Karmakar, Harshad Rajadhyaksha and Sukesh Nayak: Chief Creative Officers, Ogilvy India Anurag Agnihotri: Managing Partner-Creative, Ogilvy (India- West) Tubelight Films: Production Company Mumbai, April 12 : Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt plans to shoot his upcoming film "Cold" in a cold storage, to replicate the freezing condition that the storyline demands. The filmmaker says the whole idea is to create a real-life thriller. "The whole idea is to create a real-life thriller. We want the script to look real so we thought of working at a cooler temperature. We will work in temperatures as low as two degrees Celsius as it is part of the climax," Vikram said. He added: "'Cold' is an idiom-breaking film. I want to make a terrifying thriller with minimal use of VFX. So, this is going to be an exciting journey for me, as I haven't tried this station before." Starring Akshay Oberoi and Anisha Pahuja in lead roles, the horror thriller is written by Mahesh Bhatt and Suhrita Sen Gupta. The famed American economist John Kenneth Galbraith once described forecasters as falling into one of two categories: those who dont know, and those who dont know they dont know. The past year has seen more experts moving into the group willing to admit the future is too unpredictable and complex to ever have a firm grasp on. But this doesnt, and shouldnt, stop the nations top minds from attempting to make sense of the economy and its trajectory. Predicting the future is a lot more complex than just looking to the stars. Credit:iStock However, it should make the rest of us extra vigilant when considering how likely it is that the latest predictions will come to pass in reality. Reports published by the nations best economists are filled with uncertainty. This is a feature rather than a flaw of forecasting, with extensive explanations provided by forecasters about the risks and assumptions that could mean they are wrong. Eliot Banaszak, a long time writer of horror, violence, and socially taboo subjects, who graduated from Indiana University and now resides in Michigan, has completed his new book Psycho Possession: a chilling story that will leave readers sleeping with the light on. The author writes, Have you ever been afraid of the dark? If not, then I applaud you. If yes, then when? Alone in the early hours of the morning or the darkness of the night. Having that uneasy feeling of someone watching you. Whether its just outside your vision or through your bedroom window. When you were a child, sleeping alone in your big boy bed, a stuffed animal beside your head, were you ever afraid of what might creep out from your closet or from underneath the bed? Published by Page Publishing, Eliot Banaszaks engrossing tale is a spine-tingling work and an excellent choice for avid horror fiction readers. Readers who wish to experience this riveting work can purchase Psycho Possession at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. By Mara Klecker and Kim Hyatt, Minneapolis Star Tribune MINNEAPOLIS A Brooklyn Center police officer in Brooklyn Center, northwest of Minneapolis, fatally shot a man during a traffic stop Sunday afternoon, inflaming already raw tensions between police and community members in the midst of the Derek Chauvin trial. Relatives of Daunte Wright, 20, who is Black, told a tense crowd gathered at the scene in the northern Minneapolis suburb Sunday afternoon that Wright drove for a short distance after he was shot, crashed his car, and died at the scene. Protesters later walked to the Brooklyn Center police headquarters near 67th Avenue North and North Humboldt Avenue and were locked in a standoff with police in riot gear late Sunday night. Officers repeatedly ordered the crowd of about 500 to disperse as protesters chanted Wrights name and climbed atop the police headquarters sign, by then covered in graffiti. Police used tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets on the crowd. Looters also targeted the Brooklyn Center Walmart and nearby shopping mall. Sundays fresh outrage came as Twin Cities officials and law enforcement are already on edge as Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, stands trial for murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd. Floyds death 10 months ago sparked waves of protests and violent demonstrations across the cities, which seriously damaged hundreds of buildings. Protesters clash with police in front of the Brooklyn Center Police station on Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The family of Daunte Wright, 20, told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family said Wright was later pronounced dead. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)AP Law enforcement has already been bracing for unrest once the jury reaches a verdict, erecting barricades and marshaling an intense police presence at the Hennepin County Government Center, where the trial resumes Monday. The trial, which is being livestreamed, has drawn international attention. Gov. Tim Walz tweeted that he was closely monitoring the situation and praying for Daunte Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott also tweeted, urging protesters to remain peaceful. According to Teddy Tschann, the governors spokesman, Walz and Elliott spoke Sunday night. The Minnesota National Guard is already deployed to the Twin Cities for the Chauvin trial. According to Brooklyn Center police, officers pulled over a vehicle for a traffic violation shortly before 2 p.m. in the 6300 block of Orchard Avenue. The driver, who had a warrant, got back into the vehicle as officers were trying to take him into custody. Thats when an officer discharged a weapon, striking the driver, police said. The vehicle traveled several blocks before crashing into another vehicle. Officers and medical personnel performed lifesaving measures but the driver was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. A female passenger was taken to the hospital with injuries that werent life-threatening. People hold up their hands as a crowd gathers at the Brooklyn Center Police Department, late Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The family of Daunte Wright, 20, told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family said Wright was later pronounced dead. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)AP Wright was identified by family members, not by authorities. His family had said earlier that the shooting occurred in Plymouth but it had not. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was on the scene and will conduct an independent investigation. Brooklyn Center officers wear body cameras and the Police Department said Sunday that it believes the body cameras and dash cameras were on during the incident. Wrights mother, Katie Wright, tearfully pleaded near the scene Sunday afternoon for more information and for her sons body to be moved from the street. She also urged the protesters to remain peaceful. All he did was have air fresheners in the car and they told him to get out of the car, Wright said, explaining that her son called her when he was getting pulled over. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the phone call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said Daunte had been shot. He got out of the car, and his girlfriend said they shot him, she said. He got back in the car, and he drove away and crashed and now hes dead on the ground since 1:47. ... Nobody will tell us anything. Nobody will talk to us. ... I said please take my son off the ground. A woman who lives near the crash scene, Carolyn Hanson, said she saw officers pull a man out of a car and perform CPR. A passenger who got out of the vehicle was covered in blood, she said. Within hours of the shooting, a couple hundred people had gathered near the scene, where emotions were running high. Protesters pushed past police tape and confronted officers donning riot gear. Around 7:15 p.m., the crowd broke the windshields of two squad cars and police fired nonlethal rounds to try to disperse the crowd. But by 8:30 p.m., police presence eased at the scene and the remaining crowd there gathered to light candles, burn sage and write messages like Justice for Daunte Wright in chalk on the street near the scene. Yaounde, April 13 : Cameroon launched the vaccination campaign against Covid-19, a day after receiving its first batch of vaccines donated by China. The campaign started at the Specialized Covid-19 Care Centre in the capital Yaounde on Monday, with the country's Minister of Public Health Malachie Manaouda being the first to take the vaccine, Xinhua news agency reported. "I feel good. There is no problem," Manaouda said shortly after he received the first shot with the presence of many local officials and health professionals. "The vaccine is safe," he added. The vaccination campaign will prioritise health workers in the first round of the campaign, the minister said. The vaccines should be "available all over the national territory by latest tomorrow," he added. The first batch of China's Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Cameroon Sunday evening as the country is struggling with a new surge of Covid-19 infections. It is the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines arriving from outside the central African country, where the pandemic broke out in March last year. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) A needle and syringe used to administer the flu shot in shown in Virgil, Ont., Canada on Oct. 5, 2020. (Tara Walton/The Canadian Press) Timetable for COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Scrapped Scott Morrison has abandoned plans to give all Australians their first vaccine dose by the end of October. The prime minister dumped the target after Australian medical authorities recommended people under the age of 50 get the Pfizer vaccine instead of AstraZeneca because of blood clotting concerns. He has conceded not all Australians will get their first dose by the end of the year, even though the government has doubled its order of the Pfizer vaccine. His decision to throw out the timetable has thrown the rollout into chaos but Jane Halton from the National COVID-19 Commission is calling for calm. The trick now is for people just to calm down a little bit and get back to basics, she told Nine on Monday. We need to vaccinate the nation, we need to have the vaccines to do that, were going to get Pfizer at the end of this year and there will be 40 million doses in total of Pfizer. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese described the rollout as a shambles. Beyond belief that the Morrison government seem to have no idea about vaccination timetables when this should have been their main focus given they have handed most responsibility to the states, he said. But federal frontbencher David Littleproud defended the vaccine strategy, arguing Australias progress should not be compared to other countries. I dont think any Australian would want the Chinese vaccine or the Sputnik vaccine, he told Nine. Australia has been calm and methodical about making sure that we give the best vaccine with confidence, and however long it takes, it takes. Epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws says unless national vaccination rates ramp up to between 100,000 and 120,000 per day, it will take two years for Australians to be fully vaccinated. The latest daily tally was 27,209. The McKell Institute has found vaccine delays will increase the chance of lockdowns and hurt the economy, warning to cost could be more than $1.4 billion. Trade Minister Dan Tehan will travel to Europe on Wednesday to urge German, Belgian and French counterparts to do what they can to increase vaccine production. Many of the worlds vaccines, including AstraZeneca and Pfizer, are manufactured in Europe. But because of the continents export controls, it has effectively blocked contracted supplies to countries including Australia. Meanwhile, thousands of Australias most vulnerable are still waiting for their first vaccine dose, eight weeks into the rollout. People who live and work in specialist disability accommodation were supposed to be included in phase 1a of the vaccine rollout. But Aruma chief executive Andrew Richardson, whose organisation runs about 350 group homes, said his clients and staff had been overlooked. Its shameful not one person with a disability living in any Aruma supported independent living setting has been vaccinated, he told ABC radio. David Moody from National Disability Services said there were similar stories across the country. We have many members who continue to be understandably concerned, Mr Moody said. The Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi, Aliyu Garba, confirmed on Monday that gunmen attacked another community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state on Sunday hours after South-east governors met to deliberate on rising insecurity in the region. Mr Garba told reporters the gunmen attacked Ebele village, Umuogodo Akpu, Mgbo in the LGA. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that gunmen attacked five communities in the state Egedege, Obegu, Amazu, Nkalagu and Umuhuali on March 29. Some persons were reportedly killed in that attack. Mr Garba said: on the effects of Sunday attack, it is yet to be ascertained. We are yet to get any report from there and I have not been around. I am waiting for the report. Meanwhile, Stanley Okoro-Emegha, Commissioner for Internal Security and Border Peace, also said he was yet to get details of the attack. They said it was communal crisis, while others said it was herdsmen who carried out the attack, but we do not know the people behind the attack yet. We cannot say exactly what happened although we heard about the attack this morning (Monday). Nobody has called to say somebody died or property destroyed, but we shall find out. Right now, we do not know who is responsible, Mr Emegha said. Meeting on insecurity Governors in the South-east rose from a meeting in Owerri on Sunday where they deliberated on rising wave of insecurity in the region. At the end of the meeting, they jointly endorsed the formation of a region-wide security organisation tagged Ebube Agu (fear of a lion). The governors and heads of security agencies in the region signed a communique to maintain the joint security outfit. The communique read: after discussions on the current security challenges in the southeast and with valuable contributions from participants at the security summit in Owerri, it was resolved as follows: To strongly and unequivocally condemn terrorism and banditry in any part of Nigeria, particularly in the South-east. The meeting strongly condemned the burning of police stations, violent attacks on custodial centres with the unlawful release of inmates, and the killings including security personnel, natives/farmers and herdsmen. That the political leadership in the South-east has resolved to bring together all the arsenals at their command, as one united zone, to fight and flush out criminals and terrorist from the zone. That the heads of all the security agencies in the southeast have resolved to exchange intelligence in a seamless, effective new order that will help to checkmate crime in the zone. ADVERTISEMENT That to fast track crime-busting in the southeast, the heads of security agencies have been mandated to draw up a comprehensive list of their logistics and material needs for sustainable success in the fight against criminality, for the immediate provision by the leadership of the southeast. That a committee made up of security personnel, government officials and relevant stakeholders be set up to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the southeast joint security platform. The meeting resolved to maintain a joint security vigilante for the southeast, otherwise known as Ebube Agu. In attendance were governors of Abia, Okezuo Ikpeazu; Anambra, Willie Obiano; Enugu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Ebonyi, Dave Umahi; and the host governor, Hope Uzodimma. Also in attendance at the security summit was the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, George Obiozor as well as top security chiefs in the zone. (NAN) You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close (Natural News) The French Army has acquired Spot, the robot dog built by American robotics firm Boston Dynamics, and is now testing its capabilities in combat situations. Frances main military academy, the Saint-Cyr, located in the northwestern region of Brittany, shared several images of soldiers with Spot during military exercises. Spot is a nimble, four-legged robotic dog that is built for both outdoor and indoor use. It can map out its environment, sense and avoid obstacles, climb stairs and open doors. (Related: FREAKY: Boston Dynamics SpotMini robo-dogs can coordinate, navigate, open doors, climb stairs and even load the dishwasher.) According to Michael Perry, vice president of Business Development at Boston Dynamics, the company is learning more about Spots potential military application at the same time as the French Army. Were not clear on the exact scope of this engagement, said Perry. Spots military capabilities are promising, but may be limited French newspaper Ouest-France said that Spot was one of a number of robots tested alongside students of Saint-Cyr in a series of military exercises intended to assess the usefulness of robots in future battles. The military academy said Spot and the other robots will help Saint-Cyrs students become more aware of the challenges they may face in future, more technologically-driven conflicts. Spot was used during a two-day exercise. Daily French newspaper Ouest-France said the Saint-Cyr students ran a number of different scenarios with the robot, including an urban combat test, multiple defensive actions during day and night and an offensive action meant to simulate capturing a crossroad. Each scenario was performed using humans first, and then using humans and robots together to see what difference the presence of the machines can make. Sources who participated in the exercises quoted by Ouest-France said the presence of the robots helped keep troops safe, but slowed down operations. During the urban combat phase where we werent using robots, I died, said one soldier. But I didnt die when we had the robot and he conducted reconnaissance first. Other soldiers added that they had a problem with Spots battery life. During one exercise the robot ran out of power and had to be carried out. Saint-Cyr has not published any statement regarding their assessment of Spots capabilities. Ouest-France suggested the robot dog may be used for reconnaissance purposes since it is equipped with multiple cameras and its four legs allow it to navigate areas that might be difficult for treaded or wheeled robots to access. One problem that may hinder Spots potential is its terms and conditions. Spot is barred from being used to harm or intimidate any person or animal, as a weapon, or to enable any weapon. This means that reconnaissance missions intended to scout buildings for soldiers is allowed, but surveillance missions done to help military units locate targets to engage are not. Boston Dynamics is clear in that any modification of Spot cannot include its weaponization. The firm is still figuring out whether or not to ban non-weaponized deployments by military customers like the French Army. We think that the military, to the extent that they do use robotics to take people out of harms way, we think thats a perfectly valid use of the technology, explained Perry. With this forward-deployment model that youre discussing, its something we need to better understand to determine whether or not its actively being used to harm people. But critics of the use of robots in warfare say it is inevitable that machines like Spot will be weaponized. Some of Spots other owners have already done this. In February, a Brooklyn-based company called MSCHF strapped Spot with a paintball gun that could be controlled by the public. Learn more about the potential application of different robotics systems in warfare by reading the latest articles at MilitaryTechnology.news. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk TheVerge.com TheNextWeb.com Ghanaian man of God, Prophet Nigel Gaisie has asked Ghanaians to stop criticizing Ghanaian musician, Sonnie Badu. It could be recalled that Sonnie Badu has been the talk of the internet for some days now after he revealed that he used four months to bagged some doctorate degrees. He has been heavily criticized and although he has fought back, it seems he has lost the battle as Ghanaians keep coming for him and the latest social media posts. It is from this that Nigel Gaisie is calling Ghanaians to order saying Sonnie Badu is putting Ghana on the map so it isnt appropriate to criticize him. Taking to his Facebook page, the pastor said; I have monitored the media space within these few days and I can boldly say that, as I have always heldGHANAIANS dont love their own. They hurt with passion to see their own flourish..Dr. Sonnie Badu, I have been observing to see if your *friends*who pride themselves with your reputable brand will come out to your defence or at least write a post of solidarity but I havent seen one yet. I dont know much about all the circumstances surrounding your awards or degree and I dont want to know but all that I can say is,lets love our own, lets speak well of our own since nobody and its nobody is sacredly perfect. Let the Ghanaian be measured in killing or pulling down their own even and its even when one is at fault. The mindset and the infamous concept of OPEN HATRED TOWARDS OUR OWN MUST STOP AND THE CHURCH IN GHANA MUST LEARN TO PROTECT THEIR OWN*(Those without sin, should cast the first stone)*Dr. Sonnie Badu, you own nobody an explanation, keep winning and shining, you might not like Nigel Gaisie but he is a Ghanaian and for me Ghana FIRST. You might not like Sonnie but I travel lots and his songs have put Ghana music on TOP THERE.LETS LOVE OUR OWN. If you keep fooling and living in misery, nobody allows people who have decided against all odds to do well, do well. Enough of the PURGATORY. See You Tomorrow at church, it will be EPIC. Source: mynewsghana.net 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 Former intelligence minister David Mahlobo is facing a police investigation over illegal spying activities on critics of former president Jacob Zuma. The City Press reported that the Hawks are closing in on Mahlobo and have already interviewed key witnesses in the matter. A state security operative said people targeted in the spying activities included former Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka, journalism professor Anton Harber, and finance minister Tito Mboweni. According to the operative, he was part of a team manning a small communications centre monitoring strategic individuals. The City Press said his tasks included listening to conversations, summarising transcripts, and reporting real-time locations of people under surveillance. He also had to write reports based on the recordings and alert people about impending meetings based on cellphone triangulations. The information would be given to a runner who would take it to the minister. Commenting on the unauthorised spying, Wierzycka said she was aware she was followed as they were so obvious. She added that her phone was tapped, which was evident from her line always crackling, and she was harassed at airports by State Security ladies who did not even pretend to be customs. Wierzycka said she is happy to testify about the issue. Lets see where this goes, but it could get interesting, she said. Wierzycka has been a fierce anti-corruption activist and was closely linked to the Gupta Leaks in 2017. She provided the Gupta leaks to the Sunday Times which in turn reported on the corrupt relationship between the Gupta family and government officials. Wierzycka was also a key figure in exposing KPMGs involvement in money laundering and tax dodging related to Gupta-linked entities. She provided evidence which showed KPMG employees facilitated the Gupta familys plans to siphon billions out of state organisations. It was revealed that KPMG had been aiding state capture and corruption and acted as a political tool for President Jacob Zumas corrupt clique. She also took aim at SAPs involvement in state capture which exposed corrupt practices in South Africa. She shared information about a SAP director who told her paying bribes was standard practice in the business when it operated in emerging markets. As a high-profile and outspoken person against corruption in South Africa she became a target of those involved in state capture. It is therefore not surprising that she was one of the individuals whose conversations were intercepted and who was spied on. The allegations about illegal spying on Zuma critics come only weeks after Mahlobo was implicated in collecting millions for Zuma from the spy agency. A secret witness told the Zondo Commission Mahlobo received millions of rand in cash from the State Security Agency which had to be delivered to Zuma. The witness said Mahlobo was directly involved in handling cash withdrawn for the chief directorate for special operations. Information shared at the commission suggested he received monthly cash payments of R2.5 million. Mahlobo has, however, denied that large cash payments from the intelligence agency were delivered to him. He is also linked to bribing judges to sway their rulings in favour of Zuma. Mahlobo has denied these allegations, saying I have never given an instruction that a judge must be bought, and in terms of my knowledge there is not even a single judge that has been bought. Mahlobo currently serves as the deputy human settlements minister in President Cyril Ramaphosas cabinet. Magda Wierzycka comments Happy to testify I was followed (they were so obvious), my phone was tapped (line was always crackling) and harassed at airports by State Security ladies who did not even pretend to be customs. https://t.co/y5CiLp3yTw Magda Wierzycka (@Magda_Wierzycka) April 11, 2021 Now read: Magda Wierzycka to step down as Sygnia CEO Fox News Anchor Jeanine Pirro stated that President Joe Biden is wearing thin Americans' rights and freedom. She noted that his second amendment attack is only a shortfall to fascism under the Democrat-led administration's wayward unconstitutionality. In less than 100 days in office, the President has issued orders that have turned everything topsy turvy. Accusations that the White House is not under his control lead to questions if all is going well. Fox News Anchor call President Biden is moving to an undemocratic state On her Saturday Show "Justice w/Judge Jeanine," she said that Biden's attempt at gun control is pure illusion, as her opening salvo at the start, reported Newsmax. To make a point in her assertion that Biden is guilty of desecration of the age-old Constitution, a clip of the President caught saying when it was played. The President was quoted from a video saying that," Nothing, Nothing I am about to recommend in any way impinges on the Second Amendment." He added, "But no amendment, no amendment to the Constitution is absolute." Piro remarked that the Constitution is absolute, but he said: "no amendment was absolute." Furthermore, she said on her show the following statement, "Really? Really?", "Oh, no Constitutional amendment is absolute? Where did you hear that one? Or a better question: Who made you king?" "You know, I said seven years ago that we can't blame peaceful Muslims for radical Muslims' behavior any more than we can blame peaceful gun owners for what nut jobs do," Fox News anchor Pirro continued debunking President Biden like there is no tomorrow. Governor Abbott Belittles Biden's Attack on Gun Ownership as 'Toothless' She was not done tearing into the President's political deception and lies in using the mass shooting to grab guns from law-abiding citizens. She took a pot shot by asking if Biden has an idea or not about what he's talking about. She poked at the idea if he was conscious of the problem. Not satisfied with ripping up what he said about gun control, she pressed more and said that criminals would ignore the law. The gun laws that lawless element would ignore, nor buy legally and better yet, will not allow any FBI background check. "Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, as well as some of the highest gun crime rates," Pirro explained. "Joe, what does that say to you? That proves that gun control is a mirage." One of the reasons to keep Second Amendment rights is that the Left is waging war on the police and the rule of law. Joe Biden and the Democrats have conveniently avoided mentioning the Left's activities as if it is not happening. She added that lessening gun rights is a big mistake; there's a better way to do it. They can lessen gun crime by jailing the criminals to stop them from committing crimes, not persecute legal gun owners. Pirro said that that President Biden should have his son Hunter scrutinized his gun rights. He's right there with mental illness and substance abuse; why is he not subject to anything. Fox News Anchor said in her parting shot that fascistic president Biden is forgetting about Hunter, who should not get a gun-added that criminals are not afraid of him at all. Sen. Kennedy on Recent Mass Shootings: It's Not a Gun Control Problem @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. BROOMFIELD, Colo., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) today announced that Patricia Campbell, president of the Company's mountain division and pioneer in the ski industry, has made the decision to step down from her position and assume a new role as senior advisor to the Company's mountain division. As senior advisor, Campbell will focus on critical strategic projects and mentoring and developing the next generation of mountain leaders, including building broader gender and racial diversity within mountain operations. As a part of a planned leadership succession, the Company also announced that James O'Donnell, executive vice president of Vail Resorts' hospitality, retail and real estate businesses, will become president of the mountain division, leading operations for the Company's 37 resorts as well as its real estate business. Greg Sullivan, chief operating officer of Vail Resorts Retail, will succeed O'Donnell as senior vice president overseeing both retail and hospitality operations for the Company. Vail Resorts also announced that Bill Rock, senior vice president of the mountain division, has been promoted to executive vice president of mountain operations. Rock will retain his direct leadership accountability for the Rocky Mountain region and have expanded responsibilities for mountain operations across the division. All leadership changes will go into effect June 7, 2021 and the Company plans to backfill Sullivan's role, and any other role that opens as a part of these changes, with internal talent. Campbell was appointed president of Vail Resorts' mountain division in 2015 and has since overseen the integration and acquisition of 26 resorts. She joined the Company in 1999 as director of ski school at Breckenridge Ski Resort. Between 2006 and 2015, Campbell was chief operating officer first at Keystone Resort and then at Breckenridge. Prior to joining Vail Resorts, she held leadership positions at Grand Targhee Resort and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, where she started her career in 1985 as a ski instructor. "Pat has had a profound impact on the success of our company during a period of massive growth, driving our efforts to create an integrated network of world-class resorts and an unrivaled guest and employee experience across all of our mountains," said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. "Perhaps even more transformative than her track record of operational excellence has been Pat's work to build an incredible pipeline of talent within the mountain division. During her time in role, the Company appointed nearly 50 new GMs and COOs at our resorts, with all of those appointments coming from internal promotions, an achievement unrivaled in the industry. Pat also made tremendous strides to advance women in a male-dominated ski industry through her own mentorship and by spearheading groundbreaking development programs for female leaders. Today we have nine women running resorts in our Company, up from zero before Pat was appointed COO of Keystone in 2006. Pat is a trailblazer in the truest form and while I will miss her contributions as president of the mountain division, I look forward to the impact she will continue to have in building a diverse leadership pipeline for our company's future." O'Donnell was appointed executive vice president of hospitality, retail and real estate in 2016. He joined the Company in 2002 and has held numerous leadership positions including chief operating officer of Vail Resorts Hospitality and chief financial officer for the hospitality division. Prior to joining Vail Resorts, O'Donnell specialized in the hospitality industry for Arthur Andersen. "In his nearly 20 years at Vail Resorts, James has consistently taken on new responsibility and driven measurable success in guest service, employee engagement and financial performance with each new business he led," said Katz. "He has a deep understanding of operations, finance and our unique mountain communities as well as a proven track record of developing strong leaders in his organization. I am thrilled to have James step into the role as president of our mountain division as we continue to re-imagine the mountain experience. I believe this move demonstrates our deep bench of leadership talent that can move cross-functionally as our company continues to grow." Sullivan joined Vail Resorts in 2016 as chief operating officer of Vail Resorts Retail (VRR). Under his leadership, VRR has grown to more than 250 retail outlets located in some of the most premier outdoor destinations and recently expanded its rental delivery service to better meet guests' needs. Prior to Vail Resorts, Sullivan was an executive at Crocs and spent 20 years at Walmart, including as a division president overseeing 325 retail stores. "Greg has incredible expertise growing and innovating complex businesses at scale, demonstrated by his proven success at our company as well as Crocs and Walmart," said Katz. "Since he joined Vail Resorts, Greg has led an operational and cultural integration of our retail and rental businesses and a transformation driven by data and technology, ultimately providing a more personalized and comprehensive experience for our guests and successful business results for our company. I am excited to have Greg's leadership in an expanded role and look forward to the impact he will have growing a broader set of businesses." Rock became senior vice president of the Company's mountain division in 2019 after serving as chief operating officer of Park City Mountain since 2015. He joined Vail Resorts in 2010 as chief operating office of Northstar California Resort, where he went on to oversee operations of all three of the Company's Lake Tahoe resorts. He began his career in the mountain resort industry in 1996 and previously held multiple leadership positions at resorts across the country. "Bill has been at the forefront of some of the most transformative projects in our company's history, including leading on-the-ground efforts to merge Park City Mountain and Canyons Resort to create the single largest ski area in the country as well as the integration of Northstar and creation of our Tahoe region of resorts," said Katz. "Since then, he has assumed oversight over our six destination resorts in the Rocky Mountains, representing some of the largest and most iconic resorts in the world. With his promotion, he will be taking on expanded oversight across mountain operations at all our resorts and working closely with James to foster a culture of excellence as we continue to deliver on our mission of creating an Experience of a Lifetime for our guests and employees." Media Relations: Sara Olson, [email protected] Investor Relations: Bo Heitz, [email protected] About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. Vail Resorts' subsidiaries operate 37 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada; Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham in Australia; Stowe, Mount Snow, Okemo in Vermont; Hunter Mountain in New York; Mount Sunapee, Attitash, Wildcat and Crotched in New Hampshire; Stevens Pass in Washington; Liberty, Roundtop, Whitetail, Jack Frost and Big Boulder in Pennsylvania; Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine and Mad River in Ohio; Hidden Valley and Snow Creek in Missouri; Wilmot in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota; Mt. Brighton in Michigan; and Paoli Peaks in Indiana. Vail Resorts owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and its consumer websites are www.epicpass.com and www.snow.com. SOURCE Vail Resorts, Inc. Related Links http://www.vailresorts.com Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High 83F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. ~ Endeavour Silver Now Our Largest Shareholder ~ VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 12, 2021 / VanGold Mining Corp (the "Company" or "VanGold") (TSXV:VGLD) is pleased to announce it has closed the acquisition of the El Cubo Mine and Mill complex (the "El Cubo Complex") from Endeavour Silver Corp. ("Endeavour") (EXK) (EDR) located 8km by road northeast of the Company's El Pinguico silver-gold project near the city of Guanajuato, Mexico. Closing the El Cubo Acquisition: On March 16, 2021 the Company signed a definitive asset purchase agreement with Endeavour (the "Endeavour Agreement") to acquire the El Cubo Complex, finalizing the binding letter agreement entered into between VanGold and Endeavour in mid-December 2020. VanGold and Endeavour closed the purchase and sale of the El Cubo Complex on April 9, 2021, with the execution of customary closing documents in Mexico and Canada, and with the payment to Endeavour of US$7,000,000 cash, plus applicable Mexican VAT of US$1,275,200, and the delivery to Endeavour of 21,331,058 shares of VanGold. VanGold Director Hernan Dorado said: "Now we begin the process of re-commissioning the El Cubo mill. It remains the Company's intent to begin processing mineralised material at the mill from our El Pinguico and El Cubo operations by Q4, 2021." VanGold's newest advisory board member Ramon Davila said: "With this acquisition VanGold can readily combine the El Cubo and El Pinguico assets to create Mexico's newest silver and gold producing company. The availability of mineralised material from El Pinguico's historic stockpiles and El Cubo's current resources as well as a new approach from management gives us great flexibility in deciding where to source material for the mill, and how to sequence that throughput. As a graduate of the University of Guanajuato School of Mines, it is satisfying to see both of these mines returning to operating status, becoming part of the long history of the Guanajuato mining district that has been the source of many successful mines for almost 480 years." El Cubo Complex: In the coming months, the Company intends to refurbish the El Cubo mill and begin processing mineralized material from both its El Pinguico and El Cubo properties (the "Combined Project") at the mill beginning in Q4, 2021, ramping up to a throughput of ~750 tonnes per day. According to the Company's recently announced PEA from Behre Dolbear and Company (USA) Inc., ("Behre") the Combined Project contains total indicated resources of 718,655 tonnes grading 160 gpt Ag and 1.90 gpt Au, or 306 gpt AgEq, which equates to 7.2 M oz AgEq, and total inferred resources of 1,453,000 tonnes grading 214 gpt Ag and 2.78 gpt Au, or 435 gpt AgEq, which equates to 20.4 M oz AgEq. These estimates use a 1:80 ratio for Au and Ag prices. Behre prepared a discounted cash flow model for the Combined Project to determine the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Initial Capital and Sustaining Capital, and payback period. Cash flow estimates were prepared on an after-tax basis and in accordance with NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for PEA studies, using Base Case metal prices of $1527 for gold and $19.49 for silver. The PEA considers a plan to ramp up to a 750 tonne-per-day ("tpd") operation, with an initial mine life of 7.0 years. On an after-tax basis, the combined project generates a Base Case NPV (5%) of $32.9 M and an IRR of 105%, excluding El Cubo acquisition costs. Using commodity prices of $22.41/oz Ag and $1756/oz Au, which are +15% above the Base Case the after-tax NPV(5%) is $79.0 M and the IRR is 344%. Behre calculates a Base Case payback period of 1.87 years. Behre's PEA provides a high-level view of VanGold's plan to process material from both El Pinguico and El Cubo at a centrally located mill. This study is an important step in unlocking value for all stakeholders at the Combined Project in Guanajuato. The PEA summarized above is preliminary in nature, is based on numerous assumptions and includes the use mineral resources including inferred mineral resources considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability and may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, socio-political, marketing, and other relevant issues. See the Company's news release dated February 16, 2021 for a more complete description of the key parameters, assumptions and risks associated with the PEA. As part of the El Cubo Complex, VanGold has acquired the El Cubo mine including silver and gold resources outlined below, the El Cubo floatation mill and approximately 7,000 hectares of prospective mining concessions located adjacent to El Cubo and within the greater Guanajuato mine region. Current Mineral Resources at the Combined Project: The Mineral Resource estimates for the Combined Project detailed in the Behre's NI 43-101 PEA report effective date January 31, 2021 (the "Behre Report") are shown below in tables for El Cubo and El Pinguico respectively. The remaining Mineral Resources in 2021 at El Cubo are shown in Table 1.1 and total approximately 1.96 million tonnes. Mineral Reserves have not been identified for El Cubo. Table 1.1 Estimate of the Remaining El Cubo Mineral Resources as of 31 January 2021 Silver Gold Silver Eq Classification Tonnes g/t Oz g/t oz g/t Measured None Indicated 508,055 194 3,169,000 2.44 39,860 389 Inferred 1,453,000 214 10,004,000 2.78 129,900 435 Notes: 1. Silver Equivalent calculated using 1 ounce of gold is equal to 80 ounces of silver, on the basis of the average 5-year historic silver and gold prices. 2. Numbers have been rounded. 3. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral Reserves. The Mineral Resources in 2021 at El Pinguico are shown in Table 1.2 and total approximately 210,000 tonnes. Mineral Reserves have not been identified for El Pinguico. Table 1.2 El Pinguico Mineral Resources as of 31 January 2021 Silver Gold Silver Eq Classification Tonnes g/t oz g/t oz g/t Measured None Indicated Surface Stockpile 185,000 67 398,500 0.45 2,680 103 Underground Stockpile 25,600 166 136,600 1.67 1,375 300 Total 210,600 79 535,100 0.60 4,055 127 Notes: 1. Silver Equivalent calculated using 1 ounce of gold is equal to 80 ounces of silver, on the basis of the average 5-year historic silver and gold prices. 2. Numbers have been rounded. 3. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There has been insufficient exploration to allow for the classification of the inferred resources at El Cubo as an indicated or measured mineral resource, however, it is reasonably expected that the majority of the inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated or measured mineral resources with continued exploration. There is no guarantee that any part of the mineral resources discussed herein will be converted into a mineral reserve in the future. A complete copy of the Behre Report is available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.vangoldmining.com. The Endeavour Agreement: As announced by the Company on Dec. 18, 2020, VanGold has paid US$15,000,000 for the El Cubo Complex as follows: An upfront non-refundable down-payment of US$500,000 cash (paid). US$7.0m cash on closing (paid). US$5.0m in VanGold common shares on closing - priced at C$0.30 per share for a total of 21,331,058 VanGold shares (delivered). US$2.5m promissory note due 12 months from closing (delivered). Endeavour has agreed to (a) abstain from voting its shares of VanGold, other than as recommended by VanGold's management, for a period of 2 years, and (b) a 12-month restriction on the resale of any VanGold shares acquired in this transaction. VanGold has also agreed to pay Endeavour up to an additional US$3.0m in contingent payments based on the following: US$1.0m - upon VanGold producing 3,000,000 AgEq ounces at the El Cubo mill, derived from either the El Cubo or El Pinguico properties. US$1.0m - if the price of gold closes at or above US$2,000 per ounce for 20 consecutive days within two years after closing. US$1.0 m - if the price of gold closes at or above US$2,200 per ounce for 20 consecutive days within three years after closing. About Endeavour: Endeavour Silver Corp. is a mid-tier precious metals mining company listed on the NYSE:EXK and TSX:EDR. Endeavour owns and operates three underground silver-gold mines in Mexico and is currently advancing the Terronera Mine Project towards a development decision. Endeavour is also exploring its portfolio of exploration and development projects in Mexico and Chile to facilitate its goal to become a premier senior silver producer. About VanGold Mining Corp.: VanGold Mining is an exploration and development company engaged in reactivating past producing silver and gold mines near the city of Guanajuato, Mexico. The Company's El Cubo and El Pinguico projects are significant past producers of both silver and gold located in close proximity to Guanajuato city, and to each other. The Company is currently focused on refurbishing the El Cubo mill and commencing production from the combined El Cubo / El Pinguico operation, as well as delineating additional silver and gold resources through underground and surface drilling on its projects located in this 480-year-old mining camp. Hernan Dorado Smith, a director of VanGold and a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "James Anderson" Chairman and CEO For further information regarding VanGold Mining Corp, please contact: James Anderson, Director, +1 (778) 989-5346 Email: james@vangoldmining.com Continue to watch our progress at: www.vangoldmining.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, which relate to future events or future performance including, but not limited to, the estimates of mineral resources; the ability of the Company to successfully refurbish the El Cubo mill and supply sufficient mineralized material from El Cubo and El Pinguico for processing through the mill at projected rates, on schedule, on budget, or at all, opportunities for exploration, development and expansion of El Cubo and El Pinguico; estimates of capital expenditures and operating costs related to the combined El Cubo / El Pinguico project including the potential upfront capital and development cost savings under the "contractor alternative"; future financial or operational performance and the impact of the Combined Project on the Company, including with respect to future development and production; the Company's ability to generate positive cash flow from the El Cubo mill as contemplated or at all and to improve on the base case, including the potential to add mine life by upgrading more of the existing inferred resource within El Cubo and discovering and defining further resources at both El Cubo and El Pinguico; the estimates of NPV and IRR for the Combined Project; life of mine projections for the Combined Project and the expenditures and success related to any future exploration and/or development programs. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to and assumptions made by the Company; which assumptions, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include: our mineral resource estimates and the assumptions upon which they are based, including geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of rock conforming to sampled results and metallurgical performance; tonnage of mineralized material to be mined and processed; resource grades and recoveries; assumptions and discount rates being appropriately applied to the PEA; success of the Company's combined El Cubo / El Pinguico operation; prices for silver and gold remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds for the Company's projects; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled construction and production; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, currency rate fluctuations, actual results of exploration, development and production activities, unanticipated geological or structural formations and characteristics, environmental risks, future prices of gold, silver and other metals, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental or regulatory approvals and permits, inadequate insurance, and other risks in the mining industry. There are no assurances that VanGold will be able to successfully re-start the El Cubo mill to process mineralized materials in the amounts and at the costs anticipated. In addition, VanGold's decision to being processing mineralized material from its above and underground stockpiles at El Pinguico and estimated resources at El Cubo through the El Cubo mill is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and therefore is subject to increased uncertainty and risk of failure, both economically and technically. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them, and may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, socio-political, marketing, and other relevant issues. There are no assurances that the results of the Company's PEA will be realized. There is also uncertainty about the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concern and the impact they will have on the Company's operations, supply chains, ability to access El Pinguico and/or El Cubo or procure equipment, contractors and other personnel on a timely basis or at all and economic activity in general. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by law. Cautionary Note for U.S. Investors regarding Reserve and Resource Estimates Canadian public disclosure standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") set forth in Industry Guide 7 ("Industry Guide 7"), and information concerning mineralization, deposits, mineral reserve and resource information contained or referred to herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies in accordance with Industry Guide 7. In particular, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this news release uses the terms "measured mineral resources", 'indicated mineral resources' and 'inferred mineral resources'. U.S. investors are advised that, while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian securities laws, Industry Guide 7 does not recognize them. U.S. investors should also understand that "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of "inferred mineral resources" exist, are economically or legally mineable or will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian securities laws, estimated "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies except in rare cases. Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a mineral resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian securities laws. However, Industry Guide 7 normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by Industry Guide 7 standards as in place tonnage and grade, without reference to unit measures. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with Industry Guide 7. VANGOLD MINING CORP. PH: +1(778) 989-5346 E: info@vangoldmining.com W: vangoldmining.com CA: Suite 2820 - 200 Granville Street, Vancouver B.C. V6C 1S4 MX: Carretera - Guanajuato - Silao km 5.5, Int 4, Col. Marfil CP36250, Guanajuato, Gto., Mexico SOURCE: Vangold Mining Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/639898/VanGold-Closes-El-Cubo-Acquisition A California teacher has been recorded on a Zoom call daring parents to 'come at me' if they have a problem with the way she's running her virtual lessons. Alissa Piro, a 39-year-old teacher at San Marcos High School, was captured ranting at students in a video that was later posted to a private Facebook group, and shared on Twitter by an activist group calling for the full reopening of California schools. She was complaining about a plan to go back to in-person learning that has been driven by parents' suing school boards across the state. Piro suggested the parents didn't know what they were talking about. 'If your parent wants to talk to me about their profession and their opinion on their profession, I would love to hear that,' she says. 'However, if your parent wants to come talk to me about how I'm not doing a good enough job in distance learning based on what you need as an individual? 'Just dare them to come at me. 'Because I am so sick to my stomach of parents trying to tell educators how to do their job.' 'I am so sick to my stomach of parents trying to tell educators how to do their job,' Piro says in the clip, which was later posted to a Facebook page of parents disaffected by California's ongoing school shutdown Newly released video of a @SanMarcosUSD HS teacher going off on students and their parents over distance learning and other issues. Originally posted to FB. Apparently this is a common occurrence. pic.twitter.com/pjEN80kLNh Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) April 12, 2021 Another mother claimed that she was previously fired from a different teaching job but did not specify why. Piro has now deleted her LinkedIn page and her social media accounts but public records indicate she is married to another teacher in the area and the pair have two daughters. The exasperated educator complains that she is 'sick to my stomach of parents trying to tell educators how to do their job'. Alissa Piro, a teacher at San Marcos High School, dared parents who wished to criticize her teaching methods to 'come at me' She goes on to tell one student there's no need for a 'white student union' because whites already 'get everything.' Her comments come at a time of heightened tensions between parents, California Governor Gavin Newsom and teachers unions over delays to a return to in-class learning. A coalition of parents have launched a lawsuit against Newsom and six California school districts seeking eased COVID restrictions and a return to physical classrooms. The clips appear to have been recorded by the family member of a student, and show Piro discussing the ongoing lockdown and school unions. A student can be heard asking: 'Where is the white student union?'. Piro responds: 'You don't need a white student union, you get everything.' Piro is married to fellow teacher Pasquale Piro. The pair have twin daughters The high school teacher then wails on parents who would dare criticize her. Piro adds that teachers are facing unfair scrutiny by people who don't understand their profession. 'I have never once gone to a doctor's appointment and tried to tell my medical health provider how to treat me,' she says. Pasquale, the woman's husband, teaches at a middle school five miles away from her high school 'You know why, 'cause I know nothing about that. I didn't get my degree in medicine.' She then apologizes, saying: 'I am going off, sorry. This is my go off period.' Fox News reported that the mother of one Piro's students had shown the clips to the Principal Adam Dawson. The channel reported that Dawson had found Piro's behavior was 'inexcusable', but no further action against her was taken. The principal did not respond to Fox News request for comment. According to her Linkedin page, Piro has worked at San Marcos Unified School District since August 2016. San Marcos is an inland city about 40 miles north of San Diego. Parents in California have been at loggerheads with the state Government and teachers over its reopening strategy. After a year of virtual learning, there has been intense debate about how to get students back to class. Gavin Newsom is facing lawsuits and a recall vote over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in California Partial school re-openings began in March in schools such as Garfield Elementary School in Oakland. But several lawsuits are underway to force schools to fully reopen at a faster rate A group of parents in North County, which includes northern San Diego and San Marcos, are suing the state for unfairly prohibiting local school districts from reopening. Last month the state legislator approved a $6.6billion funding package to assist reopening in-person teaching across the state, including personal protective equipment, ventilation upgrades and COVID-19 testing. But some parents criticized the package for allowing ongoing at-home learning to continue. The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against its own Board of Education to compel them to release a concrete plan on getting public schools open. It said the lockdowns favored wealthy students, as private schools had reopened already, and violated their constitutional right to attend public school. Newsom is facing a recall election, in large part due to criticism over his handling of the pandemic. There was a time when America faced challenges and met them, saw problems and solved them; when every negotiation wasn't a zero sum game when everyone could walk away from the table with at least a partial win. Ambitious presidents and members of Congress passed laws that changed American lives. That exists now only in history books. Dusty pages talk about lifting millions of elderly Americans out of poverty in 1935 with the creation of Social Security. Outlawing discrimination and driving a stake through the heart of Jim Crow with landmark 1960s civil rights acts. Giving birth to the interstate highway system in 1956 and creating Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. SUBSCRIBE: Help support quality journalism like this. Generations since have grown accustomed to Capitol Hill gridlock and nastiness. Failure to compromise has triggered 21 government shutdowns since 1976, the longest one for 35 days just two years ago. With few exceptions, the laws that do make it through are weak tea. According to the Pew Research Center, a full third of the bills in the last Congress were so-called ceremonial statutes commemorating coins or renaming post offices, the highest rate of insubstantial lawmaking in a decade. Enter Joe Biden President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 pandemic during a prime-time address from the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Washington. Into this cauldron of inertia, enter Joe Biden. At 78, after decades in the Senate and as vice president, he seemed like a safe institutionalist choice. But so far, he might as well be wearing a T-shirt saying, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." Biden is ready to do big things, both to help America and to revive its reputation in the eyes of the world. He has already commenced to redefine "bipartisanship" as what most Americans want, as opposed to whether a bill in Congress can get support from both parties. That's a huge departure right there. So is the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that Biden and his party muscled through with Democratic votes but "bipartisan" support out in the great American beyond. Biden's American Jobs Plan is even bigger and enlarges the concept of infrastructure to include health system infrastructure, such as caregivers. He's also got an American Families Plan in the works, and that's hardly the end of what he plans to do, or what some Democrats in Congress are fomenting. Story continues Democrats have razor-thin majorities in Congress, and Republicans are in lockstep opposition. But Biden's COVID-19 rescue package, with its direct payments and child tax credits, could actually reduce the number of Americans living in poverty by a third, and polls show the public loves it. The administration argues that there's similar broad support for his plans to invest trillions in roads and bridges, green infrastructure and more drivers of social change spending economists say will boost job growth and Biden says will keep America competitive with China. What else? Where to start? Biden has been communing with presidential historians about legacy building to rival the landmark legislative accomplishments of Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. Meanwhile, in the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has won a parliamentarian's ruling that he says means Democrats could pass several more bills by majority vote. That's vital in a 50-50 Senate where Democrats can't muster the supermajority needed to break Republican blockades-by-filibuster, but where they do have Vice President Kamala Harris to get them to 51 votes. To qualify for passage on a simple majority vote, bills must have an impact on federal spending or revenue. That encompasses a surprising range of Democratic priorities, among them legalizing undocumented "Dreamers" brought to the United States as children, creating a public insurance option, lowering the Medicare eligibility age and reducing prescription drug prices. And, of course, it comfortably accommodates Biden's infrastructure package and the tax increases he wants to finance it. Vital for our future: This isn't your ex-president's 'Infrastructure Week.' Biden plan is big, serious and paid for. Biden and Democrats are also pushing broad election reform based on the uncomplicated, accessible premise that voting should be easier and not harder for Americans. What's not to like? The same can be said of tightening gun laws, as mass shootings continue with tragic regularity. Though popular and badly needed, these bills will be tough to pass without Republican cooperation or dramatic changes even death to the filibuster. The president is finally softening on that paralyzing Senate tradition. Could he get holdout Democrats Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia to relent? Maybe. He needs to try. Legislate for the ages The subtext to all of this is the 46th president's desire to drive a stake through the heart of Ronald Reagan's admonition 40 years ago that government is the problem, not the solution. Biden has done the spade work for the virtue of big government by smartly demonstrating how Washington can organize vaccinating the nation in a deadly pandemic. The price tags on Biden's plans are high, but they are not the only indicator of the scale of his thinking. When he was Barack Obama's vice president, Biden famously told Obama it was a BFD when he signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And it truly was, but what kind of name was that for such a big-deal law? ACA endures: Obamacare, for all its health insurance flaws, survives Trump, repeal, replace and COVID-19 It soon became known (tarred?) as Obamacare, a name chosen by Republicans, and not because they anticipated it might someday become popular. The point was, Democrats were not in the mindset of legislating for the ages (or heading off scorn when, inevitably, care did not become affordable). Biden has learned from the branding failures of the past. The titles of his initiatives reflect their scope and aspirations. They sound grand, and thank goodness. With resolve, luck and marginal House and Senate majorities, there may be a few landmark laws still to be written for the history books. And he will be able to prove, in what he frames as an existential global battle between autocracy and democracy, that "democracy works." Jill Lawrence (@JillDLawrence) is commentary editor of USA TODAY. Gregg Zoroya (@greggzoroya) is an editorial writer for USA TODAY. You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID, jobs, fairness: Biden should not delay ambitious agenda Page Content On Friday, April 9th, 13 boxes containing 15,210 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the country on a KLM flight from the Netherlands. This amount can vaccinate 7,605 persons. The Collective Prevention Service (CPS) from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development (Ministry VSA) and the Vaccination Management Team (VMT) are urging the public to register for a vaccine as soon as possible due to the current unprecedented outbreak that is taking place on the island of Curacao. Curacao is seeing on average over 100 new positive COVID-19 cases each day. On Sunday, there were 4,768 active cases; 129 persons are hospitalized, 44 of them are in the Intensive Care Unit. The Curacao community is being impacted by the UK variant of the COVID-19 virus. Viruses mutate all the time, and the UK variant is much more contagious which means more people in the community can be infected with the virus and this can have serious implications for the elderly as well as persons with underlying conditions who have not yet been vaccinated. The UK variant is already in circulation on the island. The main threat for the country is that more people will become ill and that means more people will end up in the hospital, putting pressure on the countrys public health facilities and more people will die. An outbreak of the UK variant in the country will also have a negative impact on the national economy which in turn will also impact the workforce where it concerns employment. Vaccines are a critical tool in the fight against the COVID-19 virus and there are clear public health and lifesaving benefits once you are vaccinated. The Netherlands decided to combine the third and fourth Pfizer batches which would allow CPS and VMT to scale up the administering of the COVID-19 vaccine to members of the community who have registered due to the serious public health situation on Curacao. Sint Maarten has already received two other batches of the vaccine since February amounting to 15.210 doses. Members of the community are reminded to register for the COVID-19 vaccine. Registration can be done via the online registration form which is available in English, Spanish, and Creole, and can be found via this link: https://forms.sintmaartengov.org/form.aspx?v=OGtn05kNmb Both Cole Bay and Dutch Quarter Community Helpdesks are currently equipped to provide information and can assist with registration on the spot. They are open from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Monday to Friday. You must bring a form of identification when you visit the helpdesk. Lastly, the paper based COVID Vaccine Registration Form can be picked up at several locations, including CPS at the Vineyard Office Park Building, the Division of Labor Affairs at the Simpson Bay Public Service Center in Simpson Bay, doctors offices, the Government Administration Building, and select pharmacies. If you have a friend, parent, neighbor, or relative that may need assistance with registration, transportation, or emotional support, please do your part. If you need help with the registration process, your appointment, or wish for more information about the vaccination campaign, you can also call CPS at 914 or email: vaccination@sintmaartengov.org Organizations who wish to inform their staff about the Covid-19 vaccine and vaccination program via an information session can send an email to bvdmeijden@whiteyellowcross.org Sint Maarten, protected together. PHOTO CUTLINE: Arrival of the 3rd and 4th batches of the COVID-19 vaccine. (DCOMM Photos) Newsmax host Greg Kelly came under fire for a string of weekend tweets in which he argued that a black and Hispanic army medic who was pepper-sprayed during a traffic stop brought it on himself. Second Lieutenant Caron Nazario filed a lawsuit against two Virginia police officers who reportedly pepper-sprayed and assaulted him before warning him that he was at risk of being put in the electric chair, The Independent reported on Sunday. Mr Kelly went after the lieutenant in a number of tweets over the weekend, one of which read: "One more little 'tidbit' the Bad Lieutenant Nazario had a loaded GUN on the floor of the car. In the front seat. By his Leg. Something the CORRUPT folks in the Media won't say for some 'reason.'" The tweet drew widespread criticism. Former Republican strategist and Department of Housing and Urban Development deputy chief of staff Shermichael Singleton was one of the critics. He tweeted: "The Second Amendment exists [for a reason], he has EVERY right to keep and bear arms. Do we know if he had a concealed carry license? Also, even if he doesn't, in the state of Virginia you can legally have a handgun in a private motor vehicle." He added: "And for those who are saying did he notify the police he had a gun in his car, the state of Virginia is not a Must-notify state; Virginia is a Notify-when-asked state." Pastor and author John Pavlovitz also slammed Mr Kelly, tweeting: "You're bad at this. By "this," I mean: Explaining away your racism. Justifying discrimination. Offering a consistent gun defence. Being human. Your poor parents..." Many of those who criticised Mr Kelly argued that the basis for his argument was racist. Kelly later doubled-down on the Tweet claiming the officer wanted a confrontation. He WANTED a confrontation. This bad Lieutenant did EVERYTHING he could to make this situation as Bad as Possible. Regarding the GUN, Most MILITARY BASES have strict policies on storing weapons. What base was he coming from? Had he been in compliance or non-compliance?, the anchor tweeted on Monday. Meanwhile, Second Lieutenant Nazario was praised by the US Armys top enlisted soldier. Sergeant Major of the US Army Michael Grinston, took to Twitter to offer his support. Like many of you, I was concerned by the video of LT Nazarios traffic stop in December. He represented himself and our Army well through his calm, professional response to the situation Im very proud of him, Mr Grinston said. Situations like this are what I want Soldiers to discuss. This is the reality that some of our Soldiers still face. As a Leader, you should know that and be willing to have conversations about how events like this impact your teams. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 15:24:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Offshore duty-free sales in China's southern island province of Hainan are expected to double in 2021 for the second year in a row, as fine-tuned favorable policies continue to draw more consumers, an official said Monday. The island's offshore duty-free sales are likely to exceed 60 billion yuan (about 9.15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, up from 30 billion yuan last year, which had doubled from 15 billion yuan in 2019, Shen Xiaoming, Party chief of Hainan, told a press conference. Hainan has vowed to build itself into an international tourism consumption center. The province has increased the annual tax-free shopping quota per person from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan starting from July 1, 2020. The categories of duty-free goods have also been expanded from 38 to 45, with electronic products such as mobile phones and laptops added to the duty-free list. Enditem Western Australias royal commission into Crown Resorts has commenced, with chairing commissioner Neville Owen declaring the inquiry will examine grave matters of private and public interest. The first royal commission called in the state in 20 years, which has been named the Perth Casino Royal Commission, will inquire into and report on two interconnected issues the regulation of casinos in WA and whether Crown Resorts is a suitable licensee of the Perth casino. Commissioners Lindy Jenkins, Neville Owen and Colin Murphy on day one of the Perth Casino Royal Commission. Credit:The West Australian The royal commission, and a concurrent one in Victoria, follow the key findings of the NSW Bergin Inquiry, which ruled Crown unfit to hold a licence for its new $2.2 billion Sydney casino. The NSW inquiry found Crown facilitated money laundering through two company bank accounts, went into business with figures linked to powerful Asian crime syndicates, and disregarded the safety of its staff in China before 19 were arrested and jailed there in 2016. by Nirmala Carvalho In Raikia parish, Father Purushottam Nayak led the liturgy in the presence of Antita Pradhan, widow of one of the martyrs of persecution in 2008 in Odisha. The cause of beatification of the victims is ongoing. Bhubaneshwar (AsiaNews) The Feast of Divine Mercy was celebrated on Sunday, 11 April, in the Diocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, in the Indian state of Odisha (Orissa), which was severely affected by a wave of anti-Christian violence in 2008. In Our Lady of Charity parish of in Raikia, Kandhamal district, Father Purushottam Nayak led a celebration attended by Anita Pradhan, widow of Sibina Pradhan, who was horribly killed and mutilated by Hindu extremists during the attacks of 25 August 2008. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only a limited number of people, including many young people, were able to participate in the celebration, Fr Nayak told AsiaNews. The priest told the faithful the story of Sibina Pradhan, who was originally from Sisopanga, a village in Raikia parish. He was brutally killed, his body mutilated after death with an axe and a sword, because he had converted to Catholicism from Hinduism. I welcomed Christianity because it is a true religion and I will not renounce it even if I were to be killed, he boldly told his persecutors. Sibina was murdered so inhumanely that his wife Anita was unable to recognise his lifeless body. He now lies buried in Raikia cemetery. My faith is strong, the tearful widow told Fr Nayak after the celebration. I experienced the Divine Mercy of Jesus. We miss him a lot, but we know that Sibina is with Jesus. Our three sons Anirudha, Chandan, and Jitima know that their father loved Jesus more than his own life and was killed because he was part of the Body of Christ. This is Divine Mercy, God's love for us. For Fr Nayak, Anita's faith is strong, even if her life is full of difficulties. The government has not yet paid her the promised compensation. And her economic woes have grown due to COVID-19. Archbishop of John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar tasked him with preparing the file for the diocesan phase of the process of beatification of the martyrs of Odisha (Orissa). After this, the documents will be delivered to the Vatican for further examination and verification. Fr Nayak has drawn up a list of 105 martyrs, including seven Catholics. The list includes Christians of all denominations but also Hindus, Muslims and others killed only for trying to help and defend Christian brothers and sisters. He notes that the archdiocese wants to honour non-Catholics and non-Christians who sacrificed their lives. A group of seven priests are helping him gather evidence of their martyrdom. BestStartup.co.uk has taken on the necessary and enjoyable task of promoting innovative startups and British business achievements this year. The business successes of last year were hard-won and did not garner the attention that they deserved. Businesses in the UK have faced double-pronged difficulties in recent months, both from a worldwide pandemic and due to changing tax laws. Despite the challenges of 2020, British business has risen from the ashes to The United States is reviewing the future of American policy toward North Korea under President Joe Biden. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that all future policies will prioritize the safety of Americans and allies against the threats posed by North Koreas nuclear and ballistic missile programs and malicious cyberattacks. Price also mentioned the importance of improving the lives of both the South Korean and North Korean people. Price added that close cooperation with key U.S. allies in East Asia is necessary to move North Korea toward denuclearization. We are doing that in close consultation with our South Korean allies, with our Japanese allies, and with other allies and partners both in the Indo-Pacific and more broadly as well, knowing that, again, just as we said in the case of Iran, we need to have them with us if we are going to take an effective and ultimately successful approach vis-a-vis the challenge of North Koreas nuclear program, its ballistic missiles program, its other areas of concern. Recently appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield echoed this sentiment in a press conference on March 2. Thomas-Greenfield emphasized the importance of engagement with U.S. allies in the region. We do believe that North Korea constitutes a serious threat to our peace and security and to the globe, said Thomas-Greenfield in a press conference. And so, we have a vital interest in trying to deter North Korea toward that goal -- and also in defending against its provocations or use of force. The United States is committed to coordinating closely with South Korea and Japan on North Korean policy to protect American citizens and U.S. allies, and to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. (HealthDay)Following COVID-19 hospitalization, thromboembolic events occur frequently, according to a study published online April 6 in Blood. Dimitrios Giannis, M.D., from The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health in Manhasset, New York, and colleagues used data from 4,906 consecutive COVID-19 patients (53.7 percent male; mean age, 61.7 years) hospitalized within a multihospital system from March 1 to May 31, 2020. The authors examined the frequency of postdischarge thromboembolic events (venous thromboembolism [VTE], arterial thromboembolism [ATE], and all-cause mortality). The researchers found that postdischarge thromboprophylaxis was prescribed in 13.2 percent and the composite primary outcome rate was 7.13 percent (VTE, 1.55 percent; ATE, 1.71 percent; all-cause mortality, 4.83 percent; major bleeding, 1.73 percent). The composite primary outcome was significantly associated with advanced age (odds ratio [OR], 3.66), prior VTE (OR, 2.99), intensive care unit stay (OR, 2.22), chronic kidney disease (OR, 2.10), peripheral arterial disease (OR, 2.04), carotid occlusive disease (OR, 2.02), IMPROVE-DD VTE score 4 (OR, 1.51), and coronary artery disease (OR, 1.50). After discharge, reduced rates of the primary outcome were associated with anticoagulation (OR, 0.54). "This study reveals it is important to monitor COVID-19 survivors for dangerous blood clots even after they leave the hospital," Kevin J. Tracey, M.D., chief executive officer of the Feinstein Institutes, said in a statement. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak Copyright 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved. For our most dedicated denizens of the discourse, we share this roundup of the Sunday night news scene that's much more useful and informative than "following" all of your frenemies on social media. Kansas City Urban Core Burning Sensation Sunday Night 4 adults, 1 dog displaced following Quincy Avenue house fire KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Four adults and one dog have been displaced due to a house fire Sunday night in Kansas City, Missouri. Crews responded around 8:43 p.m. to 2706 Quincy Avenue to fight the blaze. It's unknown at this time where the fire originated, but a Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department spokesperson said that bomb and arson will be investigating. Women Shot Dead In KCK KCK Police investigating Sunday evening homicide KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Officers were called to a residence at North 10th Street and Ridge to investigate a disturbance just before 5:00 p.m. When they got to the scene they found an adult female dead inside of an apartment. The suspect left the scene of foot, but was taken into custody a short-time later. Double Murder Trial Contd VIDEOS: A look back at the first week of the Kylr Yust trial CASS COUNTY, MO (KCTV) -- The second week of the double-murder trial of Kylr Yust begins on Monday. Yust is accused of killing both Jessica Runions and Kara Kopetsky. Days before Kopetsky was last seen on video surveillance leaving high school in May 2007, she filed for an order of protection against Yust saying he had strangled her. Big Picture Revelation Always Unfolding: We Are Stardust Microsoft Researchers Claim Entire Universe Is a Machine-Learning Algorithm Up for some light reading? Theoretical physicists working with Microsoft released a paper on Friday asserting that the universe is essentially a machine-learning computer. The researchers, several affiliated with Microsoft, published a titled "The Autodidactic Universe," It describes our universe as an algorithm that's continuously learning about itself. Police Fight Persists Minnesota BCA at scene of shooting involving a police officer in Brooklyn Center A Brooklyn Center police officer fatally shot a man during a traffic stop Sunday afternoon, inflaming already raw tensions between police and community members in the midst of the Derek Chauvin trial. Prez Trump Forsakes Embattled MAGA Congressman Embattled Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is denied a meeting with Trump Rep. Matt Gaetz, whom federal authorities are currently investigating for potential sex trafficking violations, was recently denied a meeting with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate as the ex-President and his allies continue to distance themselves from the Florida congressman. Sunday Shut Down Police in California city declare unlawful assembly amid 'white lives matter' protest Police in Huntington Beach, Calif. declared an unlawful assembly at a so-called white lives matter protest in the California city on Sunday. Law enforcement declared the unlawful assembly shortly before 3 p.m. "in order to disperse an unruly crowd," the Huntington Beach Police Department confirmed in a statement on Sunday asking residents to vacate the area around the demonstration. Iran From Nukes Iran calls Natanz atomic site blackout 'nuclear terrorism' DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Iran on Sunday described a blackout at its underground Natanz atomic facility an act of "nuclear terrorism," raising regional tensions as world powers and Tehran continue to negotiate over its tattered nuclear deal. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, stopped short of directly blaming anyone for the incident. SUPREME RULES ALWAYS APPLY Supreme Court says California cannot restrict religious household gatherings The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote that California cannot impose restrictions on religious gatherings in households, citing the First Amendment's right to religious freedom. The decision, made Friday night, follows other related orders from the high court in the state. Community Cleans Up Interstate 70 bridge clean-up assists Kansas City, Missouri, houseless community KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Janessa Riehle organized a group of volunteers to pick up trash and items people have left behind under the Interstate 70 bridge at Truman Road and The Paseo -- all in an effort to help their friends who are experiencing homelessness. Royals Fight For Win Royals, White Sox play blown save hot potato until KC comes out on top 4-3 Over the offseason, the Kansas City Royals acquired Mike Minor, Carlos Santana, and Andrew Benintendi to fill crucial holes in their pitching staff and lineup. Springtime Chill This Week Slightly cooler Monday, upper 50s or low 60s this week Hide Transcript Show Transcript NINE-DAY FORECAST. THIS IS FIRST ALERT WEATHER. HALEY: AFTER A RAINY SATURDAY, KANSAS CITY GOT OUTSIDE AND TOOK ADVANTAGE OF BEAUTIFUL WEATHER TODAY. NEVILLE: YOU'RE RIGHT, PLENTY OF PEOPLE OUT IN THE PARKS. THAT BEAUTIFUL WEATHER TODAY, 75 DEGREES AFTER A CHILLY START. This is the OPEN THREAD for the late night denizens of the discourse. Thank you for reading this week. Hopefully, we'll have for the morning update . . . STAY TUNED!!! Alexandra Mardell has revealed she is engaged to boyfriend of four years Joe Parker. The couple moved in together just before Britain was plunged into the first lockdown and their romance has continued to go from strength to strength. Documenting the occasion on Instagram, Coronation Street star Alexandra, 27, showed off her dazzling new diamond as she admitted she was smiling so much that her face hurt. Cute couple: Alexandra Mardell has revealed she is engaged to boyfriend of four years Joe Parker, announcing the news with a series of Instagram posts on Monday Alongside a cute snap with her new fiancee, Alexandra penned: 'Love locked down!! 1000000 times yes! You make me so happy, my face hurts! Love you ridiculously. Future Mrs Parker'. Joe also shared a slew of snaps from the moment he popped the question as he penned: 'Went in to lockdown with a girlfriend, came out with a fiancee. What a lucky man I am. Can't wait to marry you @alexandramardell I love you ' Alexandra - who plays Emma Brooker in the ITV soap - was congratulated by several of her Corrie co-stars, with the likes of Lucy Fallon posting, 'Congratulations guys! Super happy for you both xxx' Cute: Documenting the occasion on Instagram, Coronation Street star Alexandra, 27, showed off her dazzling new diamond as she admitted she was smiling so much that her face hurt Sweet: The couple moved in together just before Britain was plunged into the first lockdown and their romance has continued to go from strength to strength Lisa Riley added: 'yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee thats amazing!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS loving the love', while Victoria Ekanoye penned: 'SHUT THE ACTUAL FRONT DOOOOOR! This is amazing news. 'Aww Im so happy for you guys. Just told @ekanoye and shes over the moon. What a beaut couple you are. Cheers xx'. In the snaps, Alexandra looked radiant as she showed off her new ring while clad in a little black dress. Alongside a cute snap with her new fiancee, Alexandra penned: 'Love locked down!! 1000000 times yes! You make me so happy, my face hurts! Love you ridiculously. Future Mrs Parker' From the stars: Alexandra - who plays Emma Brooker in the ITV soap - was congratulated by several of her Corrie co-stars Alexandra announced she would be moving in with Joe back in January 2020 with a gushing Instagram tribute to her boyfriend. She shared a selection of loved-up photos to her Instagram on Thursday that documented the couple's romance since first meeting at The Guildford School of Acting aged 21. The first adorable snap showed the pair back when they were 'just friends,' with Alexandra stunning in a glittering gold gown as Joe looked dapper in a tie and waistcoat. Cute: Alexandra announced she would be moving in with Joe back in January 2020 with a gushing Instagram tribute to her boyfriend In love: The actress shared ten photos to her Instagram on Thursday that documented the couples romance since first meeting at Guildford School of Acting She wrote: 'GSA Grad Ball 2015 - We were just friends, 2 years later we were a couple, now 2 years together, hes moving in! So many exciting events and adventures already and still so many more to come!' 'We have such a laugh! Love you massively! So excited for all the laughs, date nights, lazy days, long walks and chicken wings we want! She ended the adorable caption: 'There were too many picis to choose from but here are some of the biggies! Jan 2020!' Beach babe: One snap showed Alexandra in a very sexy plunging black swimming costume as she hit the beach alongside her beau Smooch: The university sweethearts are decked out in festival garms in one pic with Joe planting a kiss on his gorgeous girlfriend One snap showed Alexandra in a very sexy plunging black swimming costume as she hit the beach alongside her beau. Another showed the pair looking glitzy and glamorous on a red carpet. The university sweethearts are decked out in festival garb in one pic with Joe planting a kiss on his gorgeous girlfriend. Looking good: The Corrie star, who won the The British Soap Award for Best Newcomer in 2019, plays the lovable Emma Brooker on the show Fun in the sun: She wrote in her caption 'we have such a laugh! Love you massively! So excited for all the laughs, date nights, lazy days, long walks and chicken wings we want!' The Corrie star won the The British Soap Award for Best Newcomer in 2019. She spoke on Lorraine about joining the cobbles and admitted: 'It's a bit overwhelming because its so surreal. 'I've grown up with it so I was a bit starstruck with everyone, but I tried to play it cool and everyone was so welcoming.' Keeping warm: She ended the adorable caption 'there were too many pics to choose from but here are some of the biggies! Jan 2020!' She also admitted her mum had some initial hesitations about her joining the soap. She told Lorraine: 'She was worried I was going to ruin her favourite show for her. 'But after the first episode she watched it and she was like, "Oh actually no, I like it, you havent ruined it, youre good."' EV And while we already know the first Xiaomi car would be either an SUV or a sedan , company founder and CEO Lei Jun says the decision to build anwas made in no less than 75 days. That includes the research time that was necessary to determine if an EV under the Xiaomi brand would make sense, he notes.Of course, that doesnt necessarily mean the Xiaomi car would be here anytime soon. People familiar with the matter believe the Xiaomi EV could see the daylight in two or three years, which means theres a chance the car would eventually be up for grabs in 2023 or 2024 at the earliest.At some level, the timing makes sense. Xiaomi wants its EV to be a rival to the Apple Car , another ambitious project started by a technology company and said to be in the works as we speak.On the other hand, Apple has reportedly scheduled the launch of the Apple Car, internally referred to as Project Titan, for 2024 or 2025, so in theory, Xiaomi would debut its own model at about the same time.However, the Chinese firm most likely wants to unveil the car before Apple, possibly in an attempt to get some exclusive time on the market and additional exposure.According to Lei, the cheapest the Xiaomi car could get is $15,000, though he emphasized itd be a luxury vehicle. In other words, its likely to get a lot more expensive than this, especially as Xiaomi wants to install its latest-generation technology on it.Lei explained the car would be developed using the companys know-how in markets like smart homes and air purifiers, so theres a chance itd come with several innovations in this regard to fight pollution and guarantee a clean cabin. Chintan Vaishnav to replace Ramanathan Ramanan as director of Atal Innovation Mission Acclaimed socio-technologist Chintan Vaishnav has been appointed as the new Mission Director for Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a flagship initiative of the Government of India under the auspices of NITI Aayog. He takes over charge from Ramanathan Ramanan, who has been leading AIM as its first Mission Director since June 2017. Vaishnav is moving from his present assignment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, to head AIM. Ramanan, wno was with Tata Consultancy Services has made outstanding contributions in laying strong, scalable foundations for AIM. He has also built a robust team of talented young professionals to carry forward AIMs mission, NITI Aayog stated in a release. Vaishnav will be taking over as AIMs new Mission Director from mid-April 2021, it added. Vaishnav is an engineer trained to understand and build large-scale systems, with both human as well as technological complexities. As a teacher, innovator, and entrepreneur, he has first-hand experience of the various parts of the innovation ecosystem, both in India and the US. Over the past decade, he has split his time between teaching and research at MIT and living and working with rural communities in India to build solutions that can overcome constraints fundamental to improving human conditions. He has co-founded both commercial and non-profit organisations. He has also advised start-ups, corporations, and governments on tackling challenges at the intersection of technology and systems, development, and public policy, the release stated. Vaishnav holds a PhD in technology, management, and policy from MIT. AIM seeks to create and promote a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country. With its holistic and umbrella framework, along with its organisational approach, AIM is designed to spur the emergence of a nation of innovators and job-creators. Over the past four years, since its inception, AIMs various initiatives have achieved notable success. So far, AIM has established 7,259 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across 650 districts, thereby providing over 3.5 million students access to emerging technologies. It has also operationalised 68 Atal Incubators, fostering over 2,000 start-ups of these, 625 are led by women. AIM selected 56 Atal New India and ARISE Challenge winners for product innovations with socio-economic impact, and initiated establishment of 20 Atal Community Innovation Centres to spur community-centric innovations addressing needs of rural India. It has also established one of the largest voluntary `Mentors of Change networks, with over 5,000 mentors nationwide and more than 30 corporate and international partners. It has also established strategic collaborations with other stakeholders to support its initiatives. Flash South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun arrived here on Sunday for talks on a host of issues concerning bilateral ties, official IRNA news agency reported. During his three-day stay in Tehran, Chung will meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani to discuss issues of mutual interest. He will also meet with the representatives from South Korean companies in Iran, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, according to the report. Among the topics for negotiations, there would be the issue of "illegal" restrictions on the Central Bank of Iran's access to its resources in the South Korean banks, Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said earlier. The prime minister's visit comes following the recent release of an oil tanker of South Korea, which had been seized by the Islamic republic for "polluting" the Persian Gulf waters with chemicals. Ahead of the Saturday, May 1, election, candidates for Katy Independent School District board of trustees positions 6 and 7 responded to three questions in written form. Early voting by personal appearance runs Monday, April 19, through Tuesday, April 27. The three questions included: Tell the Katy ISD community about yourself. Why are you running for the school board? What would be your top priorities and why? Responses are edited only for grammar and AP style. Position 6 Susan Gesoff I married my college sweetheart, moved to Texas 32 years ago and raised three successful daughters in Katy. As an engineer Ive worked for Boeing, Texas Instruments, American Airlines and BP. When we moved to Katy, my girls were little, and I taught fifth grade for six years at RAE. My years teaching helped me understand the tremendous challenges of the 21st century classroom and I became passionate about education. I want to continue to provide governance and oversight to the leaders of this outstanding district to ensure student success and support the hardworking teachers and staff who educate them. Returning to normal, post-COVID school operations and addressing related student learning gaps and mental health challenges. Ensuring that the district manages taxpayer funds responsibly to provide excellent educational opportunities for all learners, while continuously meeting the demands for staff and facilities required for the significant, projected enrollment growth. Building leadership excellence through improved feedback and courageous conversations. Driving workforce diversity that better matches our community demographic On HoustonChronicle.com: Katy ISD seeks feedback on starting a virtual high school Bonnie Anderson I have been in corporate finance for over 20 years. I am volunteer in tune with the mental health of our community. I am mother of three children currently enrolled in KISD schools. I have been a leader and champion for community projects and will serve this community with openness and transparency. I am running for KISD School Board to put the Independent back in ISD. As a parent of young children in the school district, I have stepped up to demand accountability and action from our current school board and administrators in putting the education and well-being of the children first, before politics. One of my top priorities will be addressing the bullying issue that has gone too long largely unaddressed. I will also do all I can to help the board navigate away from overreaching lobbying groups such as TASB and TASA who push their directives on school districts and their students. I will investigate the top-heavy administration positions in the district to determine if we really need to have such a large amount of highly paid administrators. Rebecca Fox Our family moved to Katy for the school district 23 years ago. Since then I have been deeply involved in the district at all levels. I am a solution-oriented, campus-involved, innovative leader focused on success for all. Katy ISD is a great district with room to improve and I have the vision to take it there. I am running for our students first and always. I have the experience and vision to help the district improve. Budgets and waivers are parts of a trustees job, but equally important is being connected to the community and meeting students where they are. I have served at all levels of the district, which gives me a firsthand look at successes and needs. I have lots of ideas and vision for students. Two examples for high school graduates: There is a tremendous need for vocational trades where 18-year-old graduates can earn $45,000 annually with a certificate and zero college or debt. Early College High School where students can earn an associate degree and a high school diploma at the same time. This can be a partnership with Houston Community College and University of Houston. On HoustonChronicle.com: Good food and fellowship plentiful as veterans breakfast returns to Katy Garima DGupta My name is Garima DGupta. I am running for Katy ISD Board of Trustees, position 6. I have double masters. I received my masters degree from University of Colorado Denver. I am an educator for the past nine years and was an adjunct professor at Strayer University, HCC and currently a faculty member in a community college. I also worked as a policy analyst in the Veteran Affairs department, Houston, Texas. Being an educator for the last nine years, a mother of a Katy ISD current student, I understand the current challenges/ongoing issues that students, teachers and staffs face on a day-day basis. I believe, if elected, my strengths (hope, passion, patience, positivity) and experiences will do wonders fill the gaps, bring in fresh ideas, and create more understanding between the district and the board. I strongly believe in continued responsiveness of the board to the preferences of its citizens. Katy ISD lacks transparency and accountability. My top priorities are but not limited to bridging the gaps that exist in the system. I strongly believe that these lawsuits can be avoided if as a district we are more efficient, empathetic and adhere to the guidelines and primary goal which is good education for students. Joe Wojcik I have been married to the love of my life for 36 years. I have three children and two grandchildren, one of whom is starting first grade this fall in Katy ISD. I believe that a quality education is the most important gift we can give to our children. Its an investment in their lives and in the lives of everyone in the community that affects both for many years. I want to make help with this investment in a big way. Top priorities would include, but not be limited to continue to ensure our teachers and children were safe while at school, and that parents felt that their children were safe. This would be achieved by following much of the CDCs guidelines. I would also focus on more racial diversity among the teacher ranks by recruiting specifically qualified minority candidates, through job fairs at minority colleges and recruiting agencies. William X. Branch II was unavailable for comment. On HoustonChronicle.com: Katy ISD assesses millions in damages after February freeze Position 7 Dawn Champagne Im a native Texan who grew up in League City, Texas, graduated high school from Clear Creek High School, received two degrees from U of H (Go Coogs!). My husband, Brett, and I have lived in Katy for 20 years, where we raised our three children, and whom all were Taylor H.S. graduates, the youngest was a 2020 graduate. It has been an honor to serve this community as a Katy ISD Board of Trustee, and I hope to continue serving. As an incumbent, I feel that I have gotten to know the community and its needs during the past three years. Also, I have learned more about how to help parents, teachers and community members how to navigate the system and find solutions for themselves, or I can be a voice for them from the dais. I would love to continue to serve in this capacity. Katy ISD is a diverse district. I will continue to strive for inclusion and fairness. This includes making sure all voices are heard, and all children get equal opportunities to a premier education. Mental health for our students must be a focus. I will strive to help Katy ISD do more in this area. We need to make sure that our students mental health needs are being noticed. I will also continue to advocate for students, parents and teachers. I am here to listen and to help. Walter Butler Married 18 years to Darla Butler. Two kids, step-daughter Taylor, 28, and Landon, 16, (currently a sophomore at Tompkins). Thirty years in the oil & gas and agricultural industries here in Texas. Engineering, sales and management. Co-owner with my wife Weightlosswithdarla.com. Why am I running? Its about the kids! I feel school admin may be concerning itself too much with items unrelated to our kids and some refocusing is necessary. Refocus on whats good for our kids, not what is good imaging or good for our political career. Here are my top 3 priorities: Get all kids safely back to school. Face to face is the standard method, with online and home schooling available for those with special needs. Take politics out of board decisions. This would free up time and energy to spend on the kids needs. Promote fiscal responsibility. We owe $1.9 billion in bonds. School property is worth $2.1 billion. Dont let that ratio get any higher or we default. tracy.maness@hcnonline.com A new report shows just how Big Tech is increasingly silencing Christians and religious groups. The Napa Legal Institute last week revealed a report detailing the full extent of how Big Tech censors Christians and other religious organizations, highlighting the hostile attitude of Silicon Valley leaders on faith-based organizations. The report showed that since the beginning of 2021, Big Tech censors Christians and other religious organizations or individuals at a rate of at least once a week. According to the Napa Legal Institute report, which was compiled and published just last week, pro-life organizations and individuals have become the primary target of Big Tech censors, with Christians and other religious groups being subjected to social media bans, suspensions, and other methods of censorship online at least once a week, the Christian Post reported. Many might not notice just how Big Tech censors Christians and other religious groups, but some instances have gained national attention, such as when Amazon removed Ryan T. Anderson's book titled "When Harry Became Sally" from its catalogue, refusing to put it back on their virtual shelves despite widespread backlash from Christians and conservative groups. Amazon reiterated that they have "chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness." Amazon has made Anderson a poster child for what happens to authors who dare to speak out on the traditional Christian views of gender and sex. This is concerning for Christians, as an estimate indicates as much as 80% of book sales happen on Amazon's huge platform. Another instance of how Big Tech censors Christians is the case of Catholic bishop Kevin Doran, whose Twitter account was suspended in February because he spoke out on the topic of "assisted suicide," which the Roman Catholic Church officially condemns. In his tweet that cost him his Twitter account, Bishop Doran wrote, "Assisted suicide, where it is practiced, is not an expression of freedom or dignity, but of the failure of a society to accompany people on their 'way of the cross.'" Bishop Doran's Twitter account was reinstated after 30 days, but others have experienced more severe punishment from Big Tech censors. For example, the pro-life news outlet LifeSiteNews's YouTube account was permanently suspended by the company, cutting down communication to its over 300,000 subscribers and deleting more than 2,000 of its videos. Another permanent suspension came about with Catholic Connect's Instagram account after they alleged "copyright infringement" against the group. But Christians and religious groups are fighting back against Big Tech censors. According to the Wall Street Journal, the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List was shut down by Facebook for "misleading claims" about President Joe Biden's views on "late-term abortions." The group retaliated by going to the media, causing Facebook to reverse their decision and apologize. It has become increasingly clear through Big Tech censors that Christians' views on marriage, sex, and other moral values are not aligned with those of Silicon Valley leaders. Because of their control, religious groups are then forced to either sit silently, change their views to save themselves from persecution, or just back down. The WSJ's Josh Holdenried argued however, "Censorship is a symptom of a national collapse in civic culture. Curing the deeper disease will take all the courage and conviction we can muster." A "Chinese dream" of British Oscar-winning director Xinhua) 16:54, April 12, 2021 SHANGHAI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Malcolm Clarke, a two-time Oscar-winning director from the United Kingdom, has a "Chinese dream" -- building a "bridge" with films connecting China and the West. Having worked in the film industry for more than 40 years, Clarke has traveled to over 80 countries to shoot documentaries and feature films. In the 1980s, Clarke visited China for the first time. After nine months of traveling and shooting, the country left a deep impression on him as "a rural, poor and difficult place to be." When returning to the country in 2013 for a documentary on China-U.S. relations, he was taken aback by the extraordinary changes that had taken place. Towering skyscrapers, vibrant and energetic cities... the country has become "barely recognizable" to him. "The rise of China is the biggest going-on story of the 21st century," he told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday to mark the Shanghai release of a short film he features in. The film tells the great changes China has undergone since the reform and opening up through the eyes of people like Clarke. "No other country had achieved what China had in such a short span of time," he said. Struck by the thought of showing the world what is happening in China, he decided to make Shanghai his home, and China has since become a major topic of his films. The film release day also marked the one-year anniversary of the lifting of the 76-day lockdown in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, once hit hard by COVID-19. Clarke was one of those who experienced the epidemic in the city. After the outbreak of COVID-19, Clarke and his team took a risk and spent 55 days in Wuhan shooting a documentary, recording scenes from residents' daily lives and their fight against the epidemic during the trying period. He was impressed by the quick and efficient epidemic prevention and control measures China had taken, like building makeshift hospitals. "People of my film crew were staggered and hugely impressed with what China had done against COVID-19," he said. "That's a story that we need to tell the world." With a wide array of exclusive footage, the documentary is still in post-production. Clarke hopes when completed, more people will recognize China's contribution to the global fight against COVID-19. Currently, he is making a six-episode series, telling the story of a British professor's life in China. "A picture is worth a thousand words," he said, noting that he will try his best to promote the West's understanding of the country through his eyes and lens. "It's a drop in the ocean, but I hope my films can make people take a better look at China and appreciate it," he said. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) When Ridgefield police officer Kate Williams responds to calls she is sometimes greeted by people as honey or sweetie. We go out there and people are not shy to say what they may think of you off appearance so, in the past, it doesnt happen all the time, Ill get comments about my looks, my appearance, she said. Williams doesnt take it personally though, she recognizes it as something thats obviously gender influence, and she knows more often than ever people are expecting a middle-aged man to show up, not a woman. We make up such a small percentage of the cops in this department, so I think its more just the expectation, said Williams colleague, Detective Victoria Ryan. Williams and Ryan are the only two female police officers in the overall 39 officers the Ridgefield department has. National data shows women account for just 12 percent of all police officers nationwide, despite women representing more than half of the countrys population. In recognition of the need for more female officers, several agencies across the country and locally have been making additional efforts to hire women to the force. Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour said he has seen diversity be an issue among police for years. For many years its been a white male-dominated profession going back to when formalized policing began, he said. And Danbury officer Melissa Morrill a 16-year cop and one of 12 female officers in a 153-person police force knows exactly what it feels like to be a woman working in a male-dominated field where only a sliver of your fellow officers are women. It is a male-dominated profession but when we took this job I just want to be treated the same. We dont need to be treated any differently, our limitations are probably the same, Morrill said. We just want to be treated equally and being a female in this line of work, sometimes its not that easy, she added. Like Williams, Morrill is no stranger to people expecting her to be a male officer when she answers calls. And, shes noticed some people dont always appreciate a woman showing up, because not only do they expect a man, but they prefer a man. With the public, sometimes you know, you call for a police officer and you expect some big muscley kind of guy to show up and then you have this 58 female that weighs 130 pounds show up and theyre like what are you going to do, she said. They dont want to talk to you. I really feel at times that I have a problem with that, but as soon as you start talking to us you realize that were just as good as the men we work with, she added. Granted these Danbury area police officers explained they have not faced discrimination from their male colleagues and praised them, that is not always the case for others. Under-representation Ridenhour joined the police force in 1988. And in all his years as an officer, he said theres always been a fair number of female police officers in the departments hes worked in. However, as demonstrated by the Ridgefield and Danbury department metrics, female police officers are hard to come by. Nationally, women only make up about 12 percent of all police, a number which is up about 8 percent from the 1980s, according to Terrence Dwyer, a legal studies professor at Western Connecticut State University, lawyer and retired police officer. Similarly, only about one-in-10 supervisors or managers and just 3 percent of local police chiefs are women, according to a 2013 Pew Research study, and four in ten female officers have admitted they feel men are treated better when it comes time for assignments and promotions. Ridenhour said one piece of the puzzle that hinders attempts to diversify departments are recruiting obstacles, indicating numbers are always a challenge. It takes time, a willingness for females and people in underserved communities to really take a serious look at law enforcement and put their hat in the ring, he said. Theres definitely ways that we can do things better in my view, but its not just at the agency level where those changes need to take place, he added. What discrimination some female officers face looks like While Ridenhour said he has not personally witnessed any discrimination first-hand, he recognizes it is an experience some female and minority officers endure. In general, its difficult when you enter a profession that is dominated by people who dont look like you. Theres always a desire to prove yourself, challenges when youre trying to move up the ranks and, just like there is for male officers, challenges balancing the work life and the personal life, he said. Dwyer, who personally knows the field and has prosecuted cases of discrimination against female officers, said women get a lot more scrutiny and certainly deal with forms of discrimination throughout their careers. One thing I noticed is that they always have to be that much better than their male colleagues, he said. In his experience, Dwyer believes female officers put up with things no male officer would ever have to put up with, whether it be demeaning comments or assignments, harassment or even assault. Despite it not being a prevalent issue, he said it is surely occurring enough that departments have to be aware of it and guard against it. How discrimination cases brought forth often play out Dwyer recently took a sabbatical to research this very discrimination. He examined over 175 cases from departments nationwide dating as far back as 2000 to look at the gender discrimination some women faced at the hands of male officers. Several of these cases of discrimination, harassment and assault did happen on Connecticut soil and Dwyer had merely scratched the surface in his search. In many cases, he found, the behavior worsens when a woman issues a complaint. Dwyer has frequently warned his clients to be on your guard, because of retaliation. Additionally, because of said retaliation, some women who call him for advice become hesitant to move forward with a case because theyve seen retaliation in their departments or heard the stories about it, he said. Hes seen plenty of cases dropped as a result. In his years defending a range of female police officers in discrimination, harassment and assault cases, Dwyer said he often sees accused officers "blaze this trail of sexual harassment wherever they go," by jumping between departments to avoid charges that eventually catch up with them later. At around 8:30 a.m. a woman standing at the corner of Walnut Street and Eden Street said, That him! as a black Jeep Grand Cherokee drove by the former Commerce High School in Worcester. The Cherokee, with a placard sitting on the drivers side dashboard that read The Tender Bar, eventually pulled into the back parking lot of the school off of Sudbury Street. George Clooney stepped out of the drivers seat and closed the door. A couple of fans shouted his name. He turned, looked and waved before disappearing behind a few sets and into the building. Clooney has been appearing across Massachusetts as part of filming for the move The Tender Bar. The movie takes place in Long Island but has been shooting across Massachusetts. The film depicts a young boy, who is searching for role models after his father left shortly after he was born. He develops bonds with his uncle, played by Ben Affleck, and other patrons at the bar. The drama was adapted from the 2005 memoir by Pulitzer-winning author J.R. Moehringer. Work on The Tender Bar is expected to be done mostly inside the former Commerce High School on Walnut Street. Crews spent the morning preparing for shooting in Worcester. Lights lit up the buildings facade along Walnut Street with a single police car outside to ensure traffic didnt interfere. Clooney has already been spotted snapping selfies with fans in Wakefield, Beverly, Fitchburg, Ashby and Watertown for the production on the film. Worcester has been described as a hot bed for movie production by those who work in the film industry. From 2006 to 2017, production companies shot 26 films in the city, according to the Massachusetts Film Office. More than a dozen projects were completed or are underway in the last three years in Worcester with big names like Liam Neeson and Ryan Reynolds visiting the city. The production of The Tender Bar will add Clooney to the list. The Haryana government on Monday imposed night curfew in the state with immediate effect amid a surge in coronavirus cases. "Night curfew between 9 pm and 5 am will be imposed from tonight and will remain in force till further orders," Home and Health Minister Anil Vij told PTI. He said the decision has been taken in the wake of an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state recently. "The situation will be assessed after a few days after which a decision on continuation of night curfew will be taken," Vij said. However, there shall be no curbs on inter-state and intra-state movement of essential and non-essential goods. Emergency and municipal services, people tasked with law and services, police, military and paramilitary personnel have been exempted from the curfew, according to an order. Vij said that additional chief secretaries of the home, health and urban local bodies departments have been instructed to ensure people wear masks and follow all other COVID-related guidelines. On Monday, Haryana reported a record spike of 3,818 cases, the highest in nearly five months, according to a health department bulletin. In the past several days, there has been a daily surge in the number of cases in the state, with many districts including Gugaon, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Faridabad reporting big spikes. The order issued by the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority said that the Centre and the Haryana government have issued various guidelines from time to time to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, there has been a recent surge in number of cases and therefore, it is imperative to put in place strict measures of isolation and social distancing to contain the spread, it said. It was mentioned in the order that there has been a lot of non-essential movement of people and vehicles during the night. There shall be prohibition on movement of individuals for all non-essential activities between 9 pm to 5 am in Haryana. No person shall leave their homes or shall move on foot or by vehicle or travel or stand or roam around on any road or public places during the restricted hours, according to the order. However, services and movement of persons related to law and order, emergencies and municipal duties have been exempted from the curfew, it said. Executive magistrates, police personnel, military, paramilitary personnel in uniform, health, electricity and fire personnel, media persons with accreditation, and the government machinery tasked with COVID-19 related duties will face no restrictions, the order said. Also, those specially issued a restricted movement curfew pass by officers authorised on this behalf are exempted, it said, adding that there will be no curbs on inter-state and intra-state movement of essential and non-essential goods. All vehicle and persons in bonafide transit (inter-state or intra-state) shall be allowed to pass, but only after verification of point of origin and destination, the order said. Hospitals, chemist shops and ATMs will remain open round-the-clock. Pregnant women and patients going to get medical services and passengers going to or returning from airport or railway stations will be exempted. Those violating the orders will face action under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Also Read: Delhi, Haryana announce closure of schools amid COVID-19 surge No, it is not the return of The Troubles, nor anything like it. But still, it brings back dreadful memories to see the rioting that for weeks has plagued Northern Ireland and has now spread to the 'Peace Wall' in West Belfast: the point which marks a physical separation of largely (Protestant) Loyalist communities from predominantly Nationalist (Catholic) ones. Scores of officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have been injured. It is almost miraculous that none so far have been killed. In fact, the PSNI is the proximate cause of the nightly rioting by groups of youths (some as young as 12) who have been doing the bidding of former Loyalist paramilitary groups which, along with their Nationalist equivalents, are heavily involved in criminal activities. Specifically, the Loyalists were outraged by the decision of the Public Prosecution Service not to charge any Sinn Fein politicians with breaking coronavirus restrictions after they attended the mass funeral of a former intelligence director of the Provisional IRA, Bobby Storey. Fireworks explode at police vehicles after being fired at police officers with a water cannon during clashes with nationalist youths in the Springfield Road area of Belfast on April 8, 2021 The Prosecution Service gave as one of its reasons the fact that the PSNI was itself involved in agreeing the arrangements for the funeral. The First Minister, Arlene Foster, Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, has called for the resignation of the PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne. He has refused, which only adds to the sense among the Loyalists that their status and rights are being steadily eroded in favour of the Nationalists. Inevitable But, as that brilliant Northern Irish writer Jenny McCartney has observed, if this was the match that lit the flames, the kindling had been built up by the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the Brexit deal agreed between London and Brussels which leaves Northern Ireland part of the EU Single Market, and thus institutes a trade border for goods in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and the rest of the United Kingdom. Something like this was inevitable once the Conservative government, led by Theresa May, agreed in December 2017 in a document with the status of a Treaty that the future Brexit deal with the EU would not involve any further border infrastructure between the North and South of Ireland: not a single extra camera nor a single new police post. Members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the Tigers Bay Area of North Belfast during further unrest in Northern Ireland. April 9 Ostensibly, this was to protect the Good Friday Agreement, although there was nothing in that historic settlement relating to such matters: the possibility of Brexit was not considered back in 1998. Rather than negotiate the only alternative border in the Irish Sea Theresa May attempted to resolve the matter with a 'backstop', which in effect would keep the whole of the UK aligned with EU goods regulations until a more permanent deal could be negotiated: this would have kept Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK together, in terms of trading arrangements. Yet DUP MPs, whose support May then required for her majority in Parliament, repeatedly voted down her deal something which they must now regret, though they (characteristically) refuse to admit they overplayed their hand. Officious They clearly believed that Mrs May's most likely successor, Boris Johnson, was on their side. Indeed, the man who had recently quit as May's foreign secretary over her Brexit plans gave a booming oration at the 2018 DUP annual conference in which he assured them that there would never be any additional regulatory or customs checks in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He told the adoring audience that such an arrangement would leave Northern Ireland an 'economic semi-colony of the EU' and that 'I have to tell you, no British Conservative Government could or should sign up to any such arrangement'. And in August 2020, as Prime Minister, Johnson declared: 'There will be no border down the Irish Sea: over my dead body.' The First Minister, Arlene Foster, Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, has called for the resignation of the PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne He then went on to agree to exactly that and he still seems very much alive. Perhaps he had hoped that the EU would not be so nitpickingly officious in its demands for checks as, in particular, agricultural goods pass from the UK into Northern Ireland. After all, phytosanitary and veterinary standards between the UK and Northern Ireland remain for now at least identical. But, as one British government minister pointed out to me: 'There is an absolutist, almost theological approach to single market regulations in Brussels, which they regard as much more important than peace in Northern Ireland. And President Macron in particular sees any disruption to British life that can be attributed to Brexit as a desirable political objective.' I'm sure that's right. But the fact remains that 'a British Conservative Government', under Boris Johnson, did agree to a protocol which, without Northern Ireland's assent, meant that they, uniquely in the UK, would remain bound to all EU regulations (but with no say whatever). Boris Johnson gave a booming oration at the 2018 DUP annual conference in which he assured them that there would never be any additional regulatory or customs checks in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He went on to agree exactly that Yet, while the Unionist community are entirely justified in seeing this as 'a betrayal', given Johnson's explicit promise not to agree to any such thing, it was entirely consistent with the traditions of the Conservative party. While, unlike Labour, it has the word 'unionist' in its official title, the party understandably has long seen Northern Ireland as very different to Scotland (where it actually puts up candidates for parliamentary representation). In 1921, the leader of the Irish unionists, Sir Edward Carson, appalled by the Tories' support for 'Home Rule' for Ireland, raged: 'What a fool I was. I was only a puppet, and so was Ulster, and so was Ireland, in the political game that was to get the Conservative Party into power.' Less than 20 years later, the then Northern Ireland PM, James Craig, was outraged (and astonished) when Winston Churchill told Eamon de Valera that he would agree to the North of Ireland being merged into the Republic if only that Irish premier would abandon neutrality in the war against the Nazi Germany. The fact that de Valera refused (and, indeed, signed the book of condolence at the German embassy in Dublin when Adolf Hitler killed himself) did not change Churchill's mind about the intrinsic desirability of Irish unification, as was revealed by the Irish Times in 2014, when it uncovered records of a conversation between Churchill and the Irish ambassador in London in 1946. Sir Edward Carson (left) was appalled by the Tories' support for 'Home Rule' for Ireland. Sir Winston Churchill (right) had hopes for a united Ireland Sir Winston told John Dulanty: 'I still hope for a united Ireland. You must get those fellows in the North in, though: you can't do it by force.' A more open display of this view was given by the then Conservative secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Sir Patrick Mayhew, in 1993. In an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit, Mayhew complained about the cost to the exchequer of Northern Ireland (the net annual provision now runs at about 10bn, roughly the same as our most recent annual payments to the EU), and said: 'People think we don't want to let Northern Ireland leave the United Kingdom. If I'm completely honest, we'd do it with pleasure.' Burden And, in the Good Friday Agreement, in which Tony Blair succeeded in what the Conservatives had long been trying to bring about, the mechanism for this was set up. It provides for a referendum on the issue, if and when it became clear that a majority in the North of Ireland were in favour of unification. The most recent polls suggest that the people of the North, are still, by a small margin, in favour of remaining part of the UK. But Peter Robinson, a former leader of the DUP, caused a sensation a short while back when he stated that his fellow unionists should begin to prepare for such a referendum and should also prepare to respect the result if, by some mischance, it went against them. Obviously, the fear is that a narrow vote for unification would plunge the region into civil unrest or worse. Dublin would then be presented with the sort of problems which had been the historic burden of British prime ministers. Problems that Number 10 would be delighted to have no longer. TICKERS: UEC Source: Streetwise Reports (4/12/21) Uranium Energy Corp owns a rapidly growing portfolio of uranium-related assets. In this Streetwise Reports article, CEO Amir Adnani lays out UEC's business objectives and explains rising uranium prices. On April 6, 2021, Uranium Energy (UEC:NYSE) announced that it has secured an additional 705,000 pounds of U.S. warehoused uranium, with delivery dates out to December 2022. Selling U 3 O 8 is only one prong of UEC's business model. "UEC is ideally positioned to be the leading supplier of American mined uranium for the domestic utilities and the U.S. government," stated UEC CEO Amir Adnani. "We control the largest resource base of fully permitted ISR projects in Texas and Wyoming of any U.S. based producer, ideally positioned to lead the resurgence in domestic uranium mining." "We are investing to build the next generation of low-cost and environmentally friendly uranium projects that will be competitive on a global basis," added Adnani. UEC is a Swiss army knife of uranium-focused investments (it cuts, saws, screws and scissors). Including the previously announced contracts to acquire 1.4 million pounds of uranium concentrates, UEC now has purchase contracts for a total of 2,105,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 at a volume weighted average price of ~$30 per pound. In an environment when many resource companies are struggling to raise capital, UEC has a line-up of institutional investors at its door. In the April 6, 2021, press release UEC announced that is has raised another $12 million at about $3.30 per share. "Following the closing of the offering and delivery of contracted drummed uranium, UEC will have more than $110 million of cash, equity and inventory holdings," the company announced. We asked Adnani about his motivation to raise capital now, and how the company is planning to use the funds. "We are using part of the funds to execute a physical uranium strategy with drummed uranium purchases at market prices that are below most producers cost of production." "This achieves three objectives," added Adnani: "1) strengthens our balance sheet as uranium prices appreciate. 2) provides strategic inventory to support future marketing efforts with utilities that could complement production and accelerate cash flows. 3) increases the availability of our Texas and Wyoming production capacity to pursue specific opportunities for uranium of U.S. origin, which may command premium pricing due to the scarcity of domestic uranium production." We asked Adnani about the macro demand drivers of uranium in 2021. "Nuclear power is the second largest source of electricity generation in the U.S. and its largest source of carbon-emission free electricity," stated Adnani. "America is also the largest consumer of uranium in the world, yet there is virtually no uranium currently being mined domestically." "We plan to change that," added Adnani. "At a time when the White House wants nuclear included in a clean energy mandate, as part of the $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan, the domestic uranium mining industry has excellent growth potential in front of it. There is currently no uranium mining in the U.S. and the 94 operating units in this country make up the largest reactor fleet in the world." Adnani points out that the global nuclear energy industry continues robust growth, with 53 new reactors connected to the grid since the start of 2013 and another 53 reactors now under construction. "The global trend towards increased electrification, globally coupled with strong commitments to de-carbonize the energy sector have spurred a greater acceptance of carbon-free, reliable, base-load, nuclear power," stated Adnani. Nuclear energy now supplies 10% of the world's electricity and is responsible for one-third of global carbon-free electricity. In the United States, nuclear provides 20% of the country's electricity and over 50% of its carbon-free energy. We asked Adnani to what extent nuclear energy is in competition with renewable sources like wind and solar. "The main difference between nuclear power and renewables are reliability factors and the large amounts of power nuclear can provide with much smaller land requirements. Nuclear generation provides highly reliable 24-7 base load carbon free power," stated Adnani. "Nuclear plant capacity factors in the U.S. last year were almost 93%. Contrast that to solar at around 25% and wind at about 35%." There is also a footprint issue. Due to the encroachment of suburbs, arable (farmable) land is being lost at the rate of over 38,000 square miles per year. "Land wise, a comparable wind farm requires about 360 times more land than a nuclear plant," pointed out Adnani. "A nuclear energy facility requires about 1.3 square miles per 1,000 megawatts of installed capacity. A solar PV facility to match a 1,000-MW nuclear facility's output requires between 45 and 75 square miles. "While renewables provide carbon free energy, they are subject to mother nature, intermittent, not always available when you need it. "This is not the case for nuclear energy. If the world is going to reach Paris Agreement goals it will have to have a vibrant nuclear program as part of the overall energy mix. "We see it as the reliable backbone of a carbon free energy system and a complement to other renewable energy sources." "China has pledged to increase nuclear power generation to 70 Gigawatts by 2025, from 50GW currently, as part of President Xi Jinping's plans to move away from coal," reports the Financial Times. "At the same time," added the Times, "President Joe Biden's U.S. administration has said that nuclear will be included in its 'clean energy standard' that would mandate utilities to produce power that is carbon-free by 2035." Back-of-the-napkin calculations suggest that UEC's 2.1 million U 3 O 8 $30/lb purchase contracts are worth about $60 million. "Current global developments should drive higher future uranium prices that could eventually support favorable production decisions at one or more properties in UEC's portfolio of assets," wrote H.C. Wainwright & Co. in a March 25, 2021, report. H.C. Wainwright has a BUY rating on UEC with a price target of $5.00/share. "Our main objective is to continue adding value to our shareholders and grow the company into the largest and most profitable uranium company in the United States," concluded Adnani. UEC has 225 million shares outstanding, 246 million fully diluted. Top shareholders include UEC management and a rock-star list of institutional investors: Blackrock, Vanguard Group, State Street, Fidelity, Northern Trust, UBS, CEF Holdings, Sprott, KCR Fund and Global X Management. [NLINSERT] Disclosure: 1) Lukas Kane compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. His company has a financial relationship with the following companies referred to in this article: None. 2) The following companies mentioned in this interview are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Uranium Energy Corp. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 3) The interview does not constitute investment advice. 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Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Uranium Energy Corp., a company mentioned in this article. The Haryana government on Monday imposed night curfew in the state with immediate effect amid a surge in cases. "Night curfew between 9 pm and 5 am will be imposed from tonight and will remain in force till further orders," Haryana Home and Health Minister Anil Vij told PTI. He said the decision has been taken in the wake of an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state recently. On Sunday, Haryana had reported 16 COVID-19 fatalities taking the death toll to 3,268. The total case count rose to 3,16,881 with a record spike of 3,440 cases on Sunday, according to a health department bulletin. (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.) Seth Stoughton, a law professor and former police officer, spent more than 100 hours reviewing the case against Mr. Chauvin. Testifying for the prosecution, he said he didnt believe the videos of Mr. Floyds death showed him to to be a threat, echoing what the other experts in the trial have said so far. Mr. Floyd does not appear to have the intention to assault or attack the officers, he said. No reasonable officer would have believed that that was an appropriate, acceptable or reasonable use of force. Mr. Stoughton walked the jury through many of the decisions the police made as videos of the arrest played from different angles. Mr. Nelson, the defense attorney, challenged Mr. Stoughtons account during cross-examination, arguing that the evidence showed the situation kept escalating and the officers were in danger. By the time Mr. Floyd was on the ground, the point of conflict had been resolved, Mr. Stoughton testified. Mr. Floyd was cuffed, didnt present a threat of harm, and had just thanked officers for taking him out of the squad car because he felt claustrophobic, Mr. Stoughton said. Once someone made a comment, which can be heard on the video, that Mr. Floyd had no pulse, it was clear that Mr. Floyd posed no threat. Somebody who does not have a pulse does not present a threat in any way, Mr. Stoughton said. Mr. Stoughton also said that drug use is not automatically a reason to use force during an arrest. Officers cant use force on someone just because they are on drugs, he said. No reasonable officer would have believed that was an acceptable, appropriate and reasonable use of force. Mr. Stoughton disagreed with Mr. Nelsons argument that bystanders, many of whom filmed the arrest, posed a threat to the officers. Had the officers felt threatened, they would not have yelled comments at the bystanders, Mr. Stoughton said. AN opposition MDC-T senator last Thursday said teachers who were not reporting for work should leave employment and let unemployed qualified teachers take over. Masvingo senator Tichinani Mavetera asked Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa, who is also leader of the Senate, to explain government policy on striking teachers. Mr President, teachers are now striking or giving threats. My question is: if government is negotiating with the representatives of workers, are they open to each other because right now people are tired in the country? There are endless talks between government and the teachers. If they cannot accept what is being given by government, they must retire and leave an opportunity for qualified teachers who are not practising, Mavetera said. Mutsvangwa, who responded on behalf of the Primary and Secondary Education minister Cain Mathema, said government was committed to improving the working conditions of teachers and to ensure normal learning at schools. Government is trying its best to see that teachers are well-paid and is open to negotiate with its citizens. Children must be educated. Salaries continued to be paid during the COVID-19 lockdown, which shows the governments commitment. Therefore, the teachers must also work together with the government. If our children fail to go to school, we have failed generations to come, she said. Our country, Zimbabwe, is known for better education. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation rated Zimbabwe as number one in Africa. Therefore, as Zimbabweans, we must focus on this issue (education) so that we know what legacy we are trying to leave for this country. Mutsvangwa said 90% of the teaching staff was attending lessons. Since last year, teachers have been on industrial action demanding to be paid between US$520 and US$550 which they used to get in 2018, or its equivalent. Last week, civil servants rejected a 70% salary hike offered by their employer. Civil servants have since pleaded incapacitation and resolved that they will only report to work twice per week. Newsday Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said last week that her office has established a partnership with the U.S. Secret Service and in-state law enforcement agencies to investigate financial crimes that occur online. A Cyberfraud Task Force is based in the attorney generals office in Jackson. Were going to go after these criminals, Fitch said during a news conference. We have the ability to investigate these cybercrimes, to prosecute these cybercriminals. She said the task force intends to create a blanket of protection for people and businesses targeted by online crimes. Patrick Davis, special agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Birmingham, Alabama, said during the news conference that the Secret Service has already established other cybercrime task forces around the U.S. Davis said the groups investigate wire fraud, ransomware, business email compromises and crimes involving crypto currencies. The Mississippi attorney generals office, for years, has been investigating online crimes that include exploitation of children. Officials said the new partnership with the Secret Service includes new equipment to expand into the investigation of crimes that affect businesses and academic institutions and others. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Fraud Mississippi BREAKING NEWS: Sign up to receive alerts directly to your inbox Police are searching for a suspect after a bicyclist was found shot dead near downtown early Monday morning. Officers were called to the 600 block of Evergreen Court at around 2:20 a.m. after callers reported hearing a single gunshot before finding a man on the ground, San Antonio police said. Investigators believe the victim, a man between the ages of 35 and 45 years old, was riding his bike westbound when a vehicle approached him. An unknown suspect shot the biker before fleeing south on Evergreen. The biker was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not been able to identify him yet. The investigation is still ongoing. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Overview: The continuously flourishing the automotive industry is likely to offer the most lucrative opportunities for growth in the coming years. Additionally, the aerospace industry is adopting the natural rubber-based tires, which is augmenting demand for rubber vulcanization. Swiftly changing the aerospace industry is fueling the growth of the global rubber vulcanization market. Furthermore, natural rubber is extensively used in the production of aircraft tires for its better quotient of heat resistance. The vulcanization process modifies the properties of the rubber and adds elasticity and strength by forming a crosslink between the long chain of molecules. These properties make the material suitable for several end-use industries. Thus, the market for rubber vulcanization is likely to witness robust growth in the coming years. Rubber Vulcanization Market Analysis is anticipated to reach a valuation of USD 11,219.7 million by 2025 by exhibiting a growth rate of 4.94% over the estimated timeframe from 2018 to 2025. This growth is primarily attributable to the high demand for rubber from pharmaceutical, automotive, and consumer goods industries. Get a Free Sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/7894 Market Scenario and Growth Factors: Additionally, thriving construction and infrastructural development globally and especially across emerging countries is propelling growth of the global rubber vulcanization market. Growing demand for the products including natural rubbers in gloves, rollers, injection parts, tubes, mammary prostheses, and the pacemaker is positively impacting the growth of the market. Further, the demand for the seals & gaskets, pipe, O-rings, tubing, hose, washers, grommets, sleeves and rubber bladders, connectors, couplings, and fittings in the oil & gas industry is propelling growth of the market. Competitive Analysis: The Key Players Operating In the Global Rubber Vulcanization Market: LANXESS, Arkema SA, BASF SE, Eastman Chemical Company, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., Kumho Petrochemical, Duslo, a.s., Willing New Materials Technology Co., Ltd, Shandong Stair Chemical & Technology Co., Ltd, King Industries, Inc. Industry News: The automotive industry is trying to offer advanced featured vehicles such as self-seal tires. In these kinds of tires, the inner liner and covers the tread area. For instance, Ford Motor Co. announced the offering of a self-sealing version of Michelin Primacy A/S. Segmentation: The Rubber Vulcanization Market is segmented based on type, technique, end-user industry, and region. In terms of type, the global rubber vulcanization market is categorized into the vulcanizing agents, accelerators, activators, and others. The vulcanizing agent segment is further categorized into sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and metallic oxides. The accelerators segment is sub-segmented into dithiocarbamate, sulfenamides, dithiophosphate, and xanthates. Of these, the accelerators type segment dominated the global rubber vulcanization market and is estimated to procure a value of USD 4,710.0 million by the end of the forecast period. Based on the end-use industry, the market is segmented into automotive & transportation, industrial, consumer goods, healthcare, and others. Of these, the automotive & transportation segment held more than 58% share in 2017 and is estimated to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period. Based on the technique, the market is segmented into sulfur vulcanization and other curing techniques. Of these, the sulfur vulcanization technique segment dominated the market in 2017 and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. Regional Analysis: By region, the market is segmented into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America. Of these, Asia Pacific held the lions share in the overall market in 2017 and is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 5.68% over the forecast period. Among these, China accounted for 30% of the share in 2017. Indian market is likely to grab a value of USD 927.1 million during the forecast period. As per the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), countries including India, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and others are producing around 91% of global rubber production in 2017. Browse Related Report @ https://www.abnewswire.com/pressreleases/signaling-analyzer-market-2020-global-analysis-by-size-growth-factors-emerging-trends-development-strategy-company-profile-future-plans-and-regional-forecast-to-2023_503209.html https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/signaling-analyzer-market-2020-global-analysis-by-size-growth-factors-emerging-trends-development-strategy-company-profile-future-plans-and-regional-forecast-to-2023-2020-08-20 http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4781018 https://www.wboc.com/story/42523907/signaling-analyzer-market-2020-global-analysis-by-size-growth-factors-emerging-trends-development-strategy-company-profile-future-plans-and-regional-forecast-to-2023 Piers Morgan has branded Sheryl Underwood, 58, a 'shameless fraud' as the co-host of CBS's The Talk returned to screens after fellow host Sharon Osbourne, 67, was forced to quit for defending him. Before Monday's show got underway, Underwood tweeted that the show would 'look openly at what happened and how we hope to move forward.' Morgan, who is DailyMail.com's Editor-at-Large tweeted 'What a shameless fraud,' is response to the video message that was posted online. During the show, Underwood tearfully claimed she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following her heated on-air clash with Sharon Osbourne. Piers Morgan has taken to Twitter calling Sheryl Underwood 'a shameless fraud' The Talk returned from a month-long hiatus after Sharon Osbourne's controversial exit. Sheryl Underwood said the panel looked forward to 'healing' 'I feel like I'm in PTSD, because it was a trauma, and I feel like I want to get past this,' she said. It led to another Twitter response from Morgan who wrote in a second message: 'Oh what a crock of sh*t. Osbourne had defended Morgan, 56, for saying he didn't believe Meghan Markle was suicidal during her Oprah Winfrey interview - which lead to a heated exchange between herself and Underwood - and the show eventually entering the month-long hiatus. Before the show started, Underwood gave a message to viewers: After Underwood explained her PTSD symptoms following the fight with Osbourne, Morgan followed up once against tweeting,'Oh what a crock of sh*t.' 'As you may know, during our break, Sharon decided to leave The Talk. We need to process the events of that day and what happened since, so we can get to the healing. 'Over the next hour, we will honestly discuss what occurred and explore some of our feelings. And we'll also show you how anyone can become more comfortable discussing important issues and having difficult conversations. By the end of the hour, we want everyone to feel empowered and ready to move forward. So, let's start talking.' During Monday's show, Underwood also took part in a 'trust exercise' - giving direct eye contact to her co-hosts - which she described as feeling as though she was in a 'safe space.' Sheryl Underwood held back tears Monday and she claimed she has PTSD after her argument with Sharon Osbourne - as The Talk hosts returned after month-long hiatus Underwood was joined by remaining co-hosts Carrie Ann Inaba, Amanda Kloots and former Teen Vogue editor Elaine Welteroth Last week, Morgan hit out Underwood for challenging Osbourne on her support for him - saying he's 'staggered' Underwood still has her job. Morgan spoke out on Monday in his first sit-down interview since being forced to leave Good Morning Britain. 'Theres a real hypocrisy at The Talk as well involving Sheryl Underwood,' he told Tucker Carlson on the Fox News host's new online series for Fox Nation. 'There's a real sickening hypocrisy. I'm staggered Sheryl Underwood's still on that show,' said Morgan. 'But there lies the hypocrisy in the heart of this debate.' 'I know Sheryl Underwood. I've been on that show many times. She knows I'm not a racist. She knows that. So, she deliberately did what she did to create a firestorm with Sharon who defended me passionately,' he continued. 'And the one who has to leave is not the person falsely accusing Sharon's friend of being a racist with no evidence. It's Sharon for defending me against the fake charge,' said Morgan. Osbourne was forced to quid after defending Piers Morgan for saying he didn't believe Meghan Markle was suicidal, leading to a heated exchange between herself and Underwood 'That to me is outrageous. And Americans should be outraged. This is show called "The Talk" and because Sharon talked the truth, not anyone else's truth or even her truth, just the truth, I hadn't said racist things, because she said that she had to go. And I found that just so disgraceful,' he added. Last month, Morgan became the target of online outrage and accusations of racism after stating that he did not believe key claims made by Meghan Markle in her interview with Oprah Winfrey, including that a senior Royal made racist comments about her son Archie's skin tone, and that Palace staff rebuffed her attempts to seek counseling when she had suicidal thoughts. He was forced out of his job at UK breakfast show GMB when he refused to back down from his position, and the controversy spread to the U.S. when Osbourne was forced to leave her long-time role at The Talk after defending Morgan's right to his opinion. After Osbourne spoke out on Twitter to defend Morgan, a heated on-air exchange followed in which her co-hosts accused Morgan of 'unconscious racism' and slammed her for supporting him. Piers Morgan has praised his friend Sharon Osbourne for defending his right to an opinion even at the cost of her job, accusing CBS of 'hypocrisy' for forcing her out at The Talk 'She was taken down very deliberately and it was all because she dared to tweet that I was entitled to my opinion,' Morgan said. 'And then because she said that on Twitter, she was attacked on her own show by her co-host who said that [her defense of me] effectively was her supporting someone who said racist things.' 'When Sharon got annoyed and said, well, what did he say that was racist? They couldnt say anything because I never had. And yet now, Sharons gone, too. So I -- I look at this - this cancel culture, its a real thing,' he continued. 'This woke mob want to cancel people who do not follow their narratives and its got increasingly dangerous,' Morgan said. Morgan slammed claims that his criticism of Meghan Markle was racially motivated, and noted that his critics offered no specific examples of any racist remarks on his part. 'What did I say that was racist? What have I ever said thats ever been even remotely construable as racist towards Meghan Markle?' he asked. 'When it really mattered, when the chips were down for me, she was there, she was a loyal friend. And my God has she paid for that loyalty,' Morgan said of Osbourne (with him above) CBS said in a statement confirming Osbourne's departure: 'The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home' 'Now, Sharon Osbourne said it could be, I just dont like her. And I dont like her because I think shes causing enormous damage to my country and its reputation and to the monarchy, which I love, and to the Royal Family and the Queen,' Morgan continued. 'I thought it took enormous courage by Sharon in the middle of my firestorm... Sharon went on Twitter immediately, within one hour of the news breaking that I'd gone and defended me and my right to have an opinion,' Morgan said. 'She didn't agree with everything I've said. She was already on the record from the day before as saying she disagreed with me about a lot of things,' Morgan said. 'But, when it really mattered, when the chips were down for me, she was there, she was a loyal friend. And my God has she paid for that loyalty.' Osbourne, who managed the solo career of her rocker husband Ozzy Osbourne for decades, first gained national fame of her own with the debut of the MTV reality show The Osbournes in 2002. She went on to become a panelist on America's Got Talent, alongside Morgan, before joining The Talk in its premier season in 2010. Before her departure, she had been the last remaining co-host from The Talk's original lineup. While the Macron government in France has implemented extremely limited and belated lockdown measures, a catastrophe is unfolding across the country and Europe. Using the distribution of vaccines to a small portion of the population as a justification, Macron is seeking to reopen the economy as quickly as possible. The short lockdown period of two weeks will not allow for a significant reduction in contaminations. In an interview with world news agency AFP, epidemiologist Dominique Costagliola referred sceptically to the governments announced lockdown timetable. For the moment, its early to assess the impact, he said. In May we wont have reached the levels [of vaccination] permitting us to relax the lockdown measures significantly. If it means we have a fourth wave, I dont think it would be a good idea. A study published Tuesday by the Pasteur Institute also warned that because of the so-called UK variant, which is more contagious than the previously dominant strain, 90 percent of the adult population would have to be vaccinated before they could return to normal life without the risk of an epidemic resurgence. Currently, 10 million people, or about 18.7 percent of the countrys total population, have received one dose, and roughly a third of those require a second dose. Due to delays and the poor organisation of the vaccination campaign, many elderly people are still not vaccinated. Medical workers tend a patient suffering from COVID-19 in the Nouvel Hopital Civil of Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Oct.22, 2020.(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) This month France will pass 100,000 deaths. The ruling class has sought to normalise this level of mass death as part of its drive to extract profit from the labour of workers in France and Europe without constraint. Its policy demands that workers remain at their workplaces and that schools remain open so that parents can continue to go to work. That is why the ruling class is opposed to any serious lockdown policy. Macron is adamantly refusing to close schools, which health professionals have demanded for months. Despite the denials of Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, schools have become the main vectors for the spread of the virus. Previously, the governments policy maintained that classes should only close if three students in the class tested positive. With the inevitable delays involved in detecting and reporting cases, entire schools were allowed to become infected. The policy of herd immunity deliberately pursued in the school system met with no serious opposition from the trade unions, which supported the policy of face-to-face teaching and the maintenance of nonessential production at all costs. The unions actively opposed any calls for strike action to close schools. Only when the government was confronted with angry parents and teachers refusing to work, amid an explosion of cases at the end of March, did Blanquer announce that classes should close as soon as a single student tested positive. Immediately, this led to a sharp rise in class closures. Ultimately, Macron was forced to announce on March 31 that nurseries, kindergartens and schools would be closed until April 26. Colleges and lycees, or upper-level secondary schools, would be closed until May 3 which includes a two-week holiday. This is insufficient time to hope to stop the spread of the epidemic. As a result of the delayed lockdown policy, the milestone of 30,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalised in France has been passed. As of yesterday, there were 30,671 hospitalisations, close to the peak of the first wave (32,292) and the second wave (33,466 cases). More than 5,700 people are in intensive care, well above the second wave peak of 4,903 on November 16. In the first wave, the peak was 7,000 people, in April 2020. According to the daily Le Monde, on April 1, 7,900 beds were available in intensive care units, 90 percent of which were occupied by both COVID-19 (5,100 people at that point) and non-COVID patients. According to Macron, the number of ICU beds will be increased to 10,000 to cope with the third wave. ICU specialists have stated that the governments announcements are unrealistic. Djillali Annane, head of the resuscitation department at the Raymond-Poincare Hospital in Garches, said, It is not possible. There is confusion between resuscitation beds, around 5,000 in total, which are not increasing any more, and critical care beds, created in a temporary manner with room for maneuver, but probably not to the point of increasing to 10,000. These temporary beds are obtained by cancelling other urgent care procedures, which is not sustainable in the long term. Staff are also exhausted by months of covid-related overload, has barely lessened since the second wave in late 2020. Without a serious containment policy in place, the result has been a public health disaster. Professor Gilbert Debray, the head of the nephrology department at La Pitie-Salpetriere, stated, As a doctor, I cannot accept 12,000 deaths per month, hundreds of thousands of long-term COVID sufferers, which we do not talk about, an 80 percent postponement rate of other operations, and accept the risk of a new variant that will bring us back to square one. He criticized Macrons policy, which is the same for the European Union as a whole. He notes that the countries that have adopted the zero COVID strategy have won on the health, societal and economic fronts. A zero COVID strategy could have been put in place at the end of the first lockdown but was consciously rejected by Macron. The corporate media is seizing on the slightest hint of improvement in the number of cases to encourage optimism and defend Macrons planned reopening timetable. With the Easter weekend, the statistics on the number of new infections during the week are contradictory and unreliable. While there has been some slowing down or stabilisation in some regions, the situation is worsening in others, such as in the Bouches-du-Rhone, and incidence levels remain very high in most areas. Under conditions where daily case numbers remain higher than at the end of the second wave, the governments planned reopening of schools and the loosening of restrictions will only open the door to a fourth catastrophic wave of the virus. ADVERTISEMENT Following the sighting of the moon, this years Ramadan starts Tuesday, the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, announced Monday. Mr Abubakar, who is the president of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), said this in an announcement on NTA live broadcast. He urged all Muslims to use the occasion of the holy month to pray fervently for the country and indulge in acts of charity so as to benefit maximally this month. The NSCIA on Monday had issued a guideline enjoining the Ummah to practice social distancing during the 1442AH Ramadan. All COVID-19 protocols should be observed. Itikaf should still be put on hold while strict observance of all COVID19 protocols including avoiding lengthy or crowded sessions should be observed, it stated. Ramadan is the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar seen as sacred by Muslims during which they refrain from eating, drinking and sexual activities from dawn to dusk for 29 or 30 days depending on when a new crescent is slighted. The sighting of this new moon marks the beginning of another month, Shawwal, and the celebration of Islamic festival, Eid-l-fitr. The Ramadan ritual is observed to attain a spiritual bond with God, as contained in Quran 2:183: Oh you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you many learn piety and righteousness. WASHINGTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has tapped a consortium led by Cargill and including Ausvet, Heifer International, and the International Poultry Council (IPC) to improve livestock management and combat the threat of zoonotic diseases to both human and animal health. The five-year, $33 million Transformational Strategies for Farm Output Risk Mitigation (TRANSFORM) consortium will harness innovation to sustainably improve animal health, strengthen animal agriculture production systems in Asia and Africa and enhance global health security. As a farm-based initiative, TRANSFORM will prioritize efforts to significantly decrease the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)i and zoonosesii, diseases spread from animals to humans such as foodborne pathogens, anthrax and Avian and swine influenza. The group will also consider transboundary animal diseasesiii (TADs,) such as foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever. Scientists estimate that more than three out of five known infectious diseases in people can be spread from animals, and 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.[iv] Smallholder farmers around the world are particularly vulnerable to transboundary animal diseases, with livestock representing their main source of food and income, and access to veterinary services often limited. Together, Cargill, Ausvet, Heifer International and the IPC will increase the capacity of government, agribusinesses, and farmers to prevent and, if needed, identify and quickly respond to these threats to human health. By working through animal agriculture markets and supply chains and showing how changes to production processes can increase farmers' incomes, TRANSFORM aims to bring about long-lasting change within the livestock sector in Africa and Asia. "We know that agriculture can help solve some of the world's most pressing challenges," said Chuck Warta, head of Cargill Health Technologies. "We're honored to have been selected to lead this important work and are confident that Cargill's global reach and research capabilities, combined with our partners' unique expertise and influence in animal agriculture, can minimize these massive threats to our global food system and to human health." TRANSFORM partners lead farm-based approach across geographies, species TRANSFORM will work in several key geographies, on large and small farms, with a variety of species. Beginning in 2022, Cargill will conduct nutrition and immune health trials on dairy, poultry, shrimp and swine operations in four countries throughout Asia and Africa to better understand and quantify the role holistic animal nutrition can play in reducing the threats of zoonotic diseases to human health. Ausvet will expand its health information system to serve farms of all sizes in Indonesia and Vietnam . The group will collect real-time data and insights on disease occurrence, vaccination programs, and antibiotic usage so farmers, governments and industries can make data-driven decisions to maintain and improve animal health and its connection to human health. "As epidemiologists, we know that good decisions require good information," says Dr Angus Cameron, Director at Ausvet. "Our approach focuses on working with the farmers, their veterinarians, other service providers and value chain players, providing them with a service to better manage their own data, integrate it, analyze it, and provide real-time reliable information to help them make better disease management decisions." will expand its health information system to serve farms of all sizes in and . The group will collect real-time data and insights on disease occurrence, vaccination programs, and antibiotic usage so farmers, governments and industries can make data-driven decisions to maintain and improve animal health and its connection to human health. "As epidemiologists, we know that good decisions require good information," says Dr Angus Cameron, Director at Ausvet. "Our approach focuses on working with the farmers, their veterinarians, other service providers and value chain players, providing them with a service to better manage their own data, integrate it, analyze it, and provide real-time reliable information to help them make better disease management decisions." Increased profitability for farmers will be key to TRANSFORM's long-term impact. Heifer International will work with smallholder farmers in India and Kenya to improve biosecurity and animal management and health, with the added benefit of increasing farmer incomes. "Smallholder farmers produce the majority of the world's food. By equipping them with tools to improve animal management and biosecurity, we are supporting the production of safe, healthy food that improves nutrition, while preventing the spread of pathogens that threaten global human health," said Pierre Ferrari , President and CEO of Heifer International. "Heifer International is working with community veterinarians to embed knowledge of new practices into the services they provide and supporting farmers to access finance, incentivizing sustainable adoption of biosecurity practices by small-scale livestock producers." International will work with smallholder farmers in and to improve biosecurity and animal management and health, with the added benefit of increasing farmer incomes. "Smallholder farmers produce the majority of the world's food. By equipping them with tools to improve animal management and biosecurity, we are supporting the production of safe, healthy food that improves nutrition, while preventing the spread of pathogens that threaten global human health," said , President and CEO of Heifer International. "Heifer International is working with community veterinarians to embed knowledge of new practices into the services they provide and supporting farmers to access finance, incentivizing sustainable adoption of biosecurity practices by small-scale livestock producers." IPC will lead the development and adoption of industry-wide principles, policies and standards around antimicrobial stewardship within the poultry industry. "IPC brings together poultry industry stakeholders from across the globe, and throughout the total value chain, to build relationships and address shared challenges," said Robin Horel , IPC President. "IPC has an industry-wide commitment to antimicrobial use stewardship and seeks to leverage our network to advance systems thinking approaches, and best practices, that can be scalable globally through private sector leadership in proactively addressing transboundary or foodborne risks." The key to the consortium's success will be developing and implementing innovative and market-driven solutions that increase access to safe, affordable, high quality animal-sourced nutrition while improving global human health security. For more information, visit: https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/apr-1-2021-usaid-engages-private-sector-global-health-security-efforts About Cargill Cargill's 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 155 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center. About Ausvet Ausvet has been providing specialist epidemiology services to public and private clients in over 50 countries around the world for the last 25 years. We use surveillance data to understand the patterns of disease in populations and the factors that drive those diseases, providing insights to inform prevention, early detection, and disease control measures. We have a multidisciplinary team working across human, terrestrial and aquatic animal, and plant health, using a One Health approach recognizing the complex connections within the ecosystem. To support or data-driven science, we also specialize in innovative IT systems for health data management. Our people-focused approach has been used to develop powerful real-time disease surveillance systems, supporting millions of farmers. Visit https://www.ausvet.com.au About Heifer International For 76 years, Heifer International has worked with more than 36 million people around the world to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. Working with rural communities in 21 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, including the United States, Heifer International supports farmers and local food producers to strengthen local economies and build secure livelihoods that provide a living income. For information, visit https://www.heifer.org. About International Poultry Council The International Poultry Council (IPC) is the voice of the global poultry meat industry. The poultry meat industry is an essential part of the food chain that provides sustainable, safe, nutritious, and affordable food for a growing world population. IPC is a member-driven organization comprised of national sector associations, poultry businesses and other key industry stakeholders. IPC members represent more than 88% of the world poultry meat production and 95% of the global poultry meat trade. IPC is uniquely positioned to provide a holistic view of the global sector. Therefore, IPC plays a proactive role to promote science-based solutions and information-sharing for poultry producers and Regulatory Authorities worldwide on issues affecting the supply chain. Website: https://internationalpoultrycouncil.org/ About USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) leads the U.S. Government's international development and disaster assistance efforts through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises. Combating infectious diseases is a strategic priority for USAID. As part of these efforts, USAID's Global Health Security Program works with partner countries and the global community to build better preparedness for future health threats and invests in "One Health" approaches that recognize that the future well-being of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably linked. i World Health Organization website: https://www.who.int/health-topics/antimicrobial-resistance ii CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html iii Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations website: http://www.fao.org/emergencies/emergency-types/transboundary-animal-diseases/en/#:~:text iv CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html SOURCE Cargill, Inc. Related Links www.cargill.com Send to Email Address Your Name Your Email Address Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Email check failed, please try again Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The world's biggest online retailer - China's Alibaba - has been hit with a record fine equivalent to $2.75bn (just over 2bn). Regulators in China said the internet giant had abused its dominant market position for several years. In a statement, the company said it accepted the ruling and would "ensure its compliance". Analysts say the fine shows China intends to move against internet platforms that it thinks are too big. While not well known outside China, inside the country Alibaba is an ever-present behemoth, the BBC's Robin Brant reports from Shanghai. The company is China's Amazon meets eBay, our correspondent says. Retail is its main activity but its work has spread to digital payments, credit and cloud computing. The fine amounts to 4% of Alibaba's revenue in 2019. Regulators say Alibaba restricted competition by stopping some sellers using other platforms. It is the latest in a chain of events targeting the company that kicked off last October, just after its high-profile co-founder, Jack Ma, told a gathering of China's leading regulators that they were stifling innovation. Jack Ma is well-known in China as one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs. "This penalty will be viewed as a closure to the anti-monopoly case for now by the market," Hong Hao, head of research at BOCOM International in Hong Kong, told Reuters news agency. "It's indeed the highest profile anti-monopoly case in China. 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 country's other tech giants are also coming under increasing pressure from regulators worried about their growing influence. Last month 12 companies were fined over deals that violated anti-monopoly rules. The companies included Tencent, Baidu, Didi Chuxing, SoftBank and a ByteDance-backed firm. 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 April 12, 2021 - For critically ill COVID-19 patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), the risk of death remains high - but is much lower than suggested by initial studies, according to a report published today by Annals of Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. The findings support the use of ECMO as "salvage therapy" for COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or respiratory failure who do not improve with conventional mechanical ventilatory support, according to the new research by Ninh T. Nguyen, MD, Chair of the Department of Surgery, University of California, Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC) and colleagues. "Our findings refute previous reports of futility for ECMO therapy in the setting of COVID-19," states Fabio Sagebin, MD, of the UCIMC Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a life-sustaining therapy for carefully selected patients with respiratory or circulatory failure. Requiring specialized equipment and highly trained professionals, ECMO is mainly provided at large medical centers. While some hospitals have been using ECMO therapy for COVID-19 patients with severe ARDS, there is a "paucity of data" on outcomes, according to the authors. Initial case series reported "exceedingly high" mortality rates: over 90 percent. Dr. Nguyen and colleagues used the nationwide Vizient hospital database to analyze outcomes of 11,182 patients with COVID-19 and ARDS who received ECMO between April and September 2020. The patients were treated at 155 US medical centers; numbers of patients treated with ECMO ranged from 1 to 38 per hospital. The majority of patients were under the age of 50 years (57.9 percent) with about 37 percent aged 51 to 64 years. Only about five percent were aged 65 years or older. For these ECMO-treated COVID-19 patients with ARDS, the overall rate of in-hospital death was 45.9 percent. Although high, that is roughly half the mortality rate reported in smaller ECMO studies from early in the pandemic. It's also comparable to the 39 percent death rate in a recent analysis of about 1,000 patients from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry (largely treated at higher-volume ECMO centers). For patients in the new study, average length of hospital stay was lengthy: 37 days, including 29 days in the intensive care unit. The in-hospital mortality rate increased with age: from about 25 percent for patients aged up to 30 years, to 42 percent for those aged 31 to 50 years, 53 percent for those aged 51 to 64, and 74 percent for those aged 65 or older. The researchers performed a subset analysis comparing patients aged 18 to 64 who were treated with (1,113 patients) or without ECMO (16,343 patients). In-hospital mortality was 44.6 percent for the ECMO-treated patients compared to 37.9 percent for those treated without ECMO. "Our data showed that patients with COVID-19 and ARDS treated with conventional ventilatory support had a high risk of death and patients selected for ECMO, which is a higher risk group, had a similarly high rate of death," according to Dr. Sagebin. "The data suggests that in appropriately selected patients, we can save lives with this therapy." The researchers note some limitations of their database study, including the lack of data regarding the extent and severity of ARDS or response to ventilatory support measures. Dr. Nguyen states: "Although ECMO therapy appears to show a benefit, it is a costly and resources intensive therapy including long length of hospitalization that is not readily available at most medical centers. In the setting of a pandemic when the number of severely ill patients outpaced the availability of limited resources, then this therapy will require appropriate selection of patients that would be most likely to benefit." ### Click here to read "Analysis of COVID-19 Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Managed with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation at us Academic Centers." DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000004870 About Annals of Surgery Annals of Surgery, the world's most highly referenced surgery journal, provides the international medical community with information on significant contributions to the advancement of surgical science and practice. Surgeons look to Annals of Surgery first for innovations in practice and technique. Special editorial features include "Advances in Surgical Technique," which provides up-to-the-minute coverage of current clinical issues, and monthly review articles that cover the most current practice concerns. The journal is affiliated with the American Surgical Association and the European Surgical Association. About Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the clinicians, nurses, accountants, lawyers, and tax, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2019 annual revenues of 4.6 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students with advanced clinical decision support, learning and research and clinical intelligence. For more information about our solutions, visit https:/ / www. wolterskluwer. com/ en/ health and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WKHealth. [April 12, 2021] HGC, DCConnect Global and QLC Chain successfully prove MEF LSO APIs and DLT enables Order to Cash for data services at Warp Speed HONG KONG, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MEF members HGC Global Communications (HGC), DCConnect Global , and QLC Chain under the auspices of MEF have successfully collaborated in their MEF Proof-of-Concept (PoC) that leverages MEF Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) APIs with Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to create Smart Bilaterals for end-to-end ordering, billing and settlement of data services. As part of the MEF's new Commercial and Operational framework (W114), this PoC is a key foundational step to demonstrate how we can overcome cross-partner business process integration challenges across the telco service value chain that cost the telecom industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Telecom service providers invest significant amounts on systems and resources for external-facing commercial transactions with their telecom partners. When service providers partner establish a new commercial relationship/bilateral, they usually require customised interfaces to integrate their systems and processes. And this effort needs to be repeated for every bilateral entered. Even with a smooth integration, these systems of record typically do not have a "Golden Source" for the shared commercial state of the orders and there are considerable inefficiencies throughout the Order-to-Cash value chain. As a result, much time and money is spent on reconciliations, disputed prices or bills, lost orders, and sometimes even legal actions. Worse still is the damage to the commercial relationship. The MEF 3.0 PoC (130) was raised to demonstrate a viable solution to address "implement once, use many' process integration for data services. The core of the PoC and the associated in-development-standard MEF W114 are "Smart Bilaterals". Smart Bilaterals are DLT-based Smart Contract systems that enable an immutable, self-executing commercial state between two or more service providers by establishing a shared commercial state that ensures the correctness of all generated commercial documents; commercial documents are only generated when they conform to the Golden Source. Utilizing QLC Chain's Trusted Billing platform that uses standard MEF LSO Sonata APIs and standardisable Smart Bilateral protocols, the partners successfully demonstrated: Only a one-time onboarding is required to conduct business with any other service provider on the same network, and The automation of the Order-to-Cash value chain for data services transactions in near real time. It is a secure and automated system-to-system integration for ordering based on available published inventory and price, as well as, billing, invoicing and settlement without the need for reconciliation. Each transaction / order is managed end-to-end in near real time. "Thanks to the great work of this PoC team, we are able to demonstrate the benefits of the combination of DLT and MEF LSO APIs," said Daniel Bar-Lev, VP Strategic Programs, MEF. "Cost reductions through automation and synchronisation virtually eliminate costly billing errors and process cycle times. Likewise, it opens up new revenue streams to service providers by cost-effectively supporting high volumes of transactions for short-lived services, which are increasingly important in the era of Bandwidth-on-Demand, IoT, NFV/5G, and network slicing." "LSO-APIs have enabled a large degree of standardisation and automation in our Lead-to-Order processes. Developing an integrating the DLT-base Smart Bilaterals to our LSO-APIs service chain will enable us to complete the Lead-to-Cash process within seconds. We intend to extend this capability to chain Legato APIs, further enhancing full automation all the way to orchestration, thereby opening up more revenue and go-to-market opportunities. The potential to provide a frictionless and seamless experience for our customers is truly exciting," said Jacqueline Teo, HGC's Chief Digital Officer. Victor Ma, DCConnect Global's General Manager, added: "Given the pace of service ordering and provisioning have been greatly accelerated by programmable and on-demand network supported by SDN technology, business transformation is now fully facilitated with agility, scalability and automation. While inter-carrier API orchestration is mature with MEF LSO Sonata API standard, we are thrilled to get further evolution on billing and settlement aspect using DLT-based Smart Bilaterals. This MEF PoC 130 has successfully demonstrated the benefits which we believe the federation of carriers would enjoy by getting onboard the Billing platform. It has been a wonderful experience working with QLC Chain and HGC on this groundbreaking Proof-of-Concept." "Telecom service providers are very interested on Distributed Ledger Technology and the adoption is accelerating. In summary, our initial outcomes from the PoC demonstrated QLC Chain, the privacy-preserving and high volume chain, is suitable the nature of transactions of telecom services, the PoC 130 will be available for partners to test at an open platform. We are grateful to work with MEF, HGC and DCConnect and will continue to offer production-ready solutions to the industry" said Susan Zhou, Chief Operating Officer of QLC Chain. Based on the positive outcomes, HGC, DCConnect, QLC and MEF will continue on their joint path to drive DLT-LSO API standards and start bringing on board partners as well as other MEF members to enjoy the benefits of the Smart Bilaterals. About HGC Global Communications Limited HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) is a leading Hong Kong and international fixed-line operator. The company owns an extensive network and infrastructure in Hong Kong and overseas and provides various kinds of services. HGC has 23 overseas offices, with business over 5 continents. It provides telecom infrastructure service to other operators and serves as a service provider to corporate and households. The company provides full-fledged telecom, data centre services, ICT solutions and broadband services for local, overseas, corporate and mass markets. HGC owns and operates an extensive fibre-optic network, five cross-border telecom routes integrated into tier-one telecom operators in mainland China and connects with hundreds of world-class international telecom operators. HGC is one of Hong Kong's largest Wi-Fi service providers, running over 29,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in Hong Kong. The company is committed to further investing and enriching its current infrastructure and, in parallel, adding on top the latest technologies and developing its infrastructure services and solutions. HGC is a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities and transport in North America, Europe and selected fast-growing economies. To learn more, please visit HGC's website at: www.hgc.com.hk About DCConnect Global Limited DCConnect Global Limited, founded in 2017, is an innovator of on-demand connectivity to global data centers and Cloud Service Providers. DCConnect has developed innovative portal connectivity to global data centers, Cloud Providers and Customer Premises via a comprehensive user interface. This provides users with a scalable, agile, flexible solution allowing users to define via a virtual port to cost effectively turn up or turn down bandwidth within minutes. DCConnect has been awarded the finalist of "Most Innovative NFV/SDN Implementation" in the Telecom Asia Awards 2019. It has also received an award of "MEF3.0 Service Automated Commerce Implementation 2019" in MEF19. For more information, please visit DCConnect's website at: www.dcconnectglobal.com About QLC Chain: QLC Chain is to resolve the data trust and security problem in the ICT industry.It provides network automation of billing,reconciliation,settlement,payment,custody to telecom operators utilising blockchain technology. QLC Chain offers telecommunication service providers with inter-carrier connection and financial consultancy services as well. If you want to join our service provider automation network and get connected with global telecom service providers through seamless and instant ordering, billing and settlement process. Please reach out here . Website | Twitter | Telegram | GitHub | About MEF An industry association of 200 member companies, MEF is driving development of a global federation of network, cloud, and technology providers supporting dynamic, assured, and certified network services that power enterprise digital transformation. MEF 3.0 services are designed to provide an on-demand, cloud-centric experience with user- and application-directed control over network resources and service capabilities. MEF 3.0 services are delivered over automated, virtualized, and interconnected networks powered by LSO, SDN, and NFV. MEF produces service standards, LSO frameworks, LSO APIs, MEF 3.0 Proof of Concept Showcases, and certification programs for services, technologies, and professionals. MEF 3.0 work will enable automated delivery of standardized Carrier Ethernet, Optical Transport, IP, SD-WAN, SASE, and other Layer 4-7 services across multiple provider networks. For more information: https://www.MEF.net and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @MEF_Forum. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hgc-dcconnect-global-and-qlc-chain-successfully-prove-mef-lso-apis-and-dlt-enables-order-to-cash-for-data-services-at-warp-speed-301266541.html SOURCE HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Bodycam footage has been released on the police shooting last night in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Three police officers, one black man, one white man and one woman, stopped a vehicle being driven by 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Wright was wanted on an arrest warrant. Initially Wright got out of his car, but then apparently changed his mind, fought with police officers, climbed back into his car and drove away. As the officers were struggling with Wright, the police woman attempted to tase him. Evidently she accidentally pulled out her gun rather than her taser and shot Wright with it. I believe the Brooklyn Center Police Department has already fired her, or announced its intention to do so. Update: Here is body cam footage showing #DuanteWright trying to escape an arrest & getting shot by a female officer. He ended up crashing into another occupied car & dying. The @BPPD police chief says it appears the officer meant to use a taser but accidentally used her pistol. pic.twitter.com/B0v14RHint Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021 Wright had been charged with illegally carrying a weapon and with, on that occasion also, fleeing a police officer. He failed to appear for a hearing on April 2. Latest #BLM violence near Minneapolis sparked by police shooting of #DaunteWright. He was wanted on a warrant when he attempted to flee by car. He was shot & drove a distance before crashing into others. His FB is filled w/him flashing gang signs, using drugs & showing off cash. pic.twitter.com/StANTcJ2bs Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021 As shown in photos tweeted above by Andy Ngo, Wrights Facebook page features a gun, wads of cash, gang signs and what looks like a joint. This case is somewhat reminiscent of Mohammed Noors shooting of Justine Damond in Minneapolis a few years ago. That incident, too, involved almost incredible negligence on the part of the police officer. The difference, of course, is that Damond did nothing whatsoever wrong. Having called 911, she approached the squad car that responded to her call on the drivers side and Noor, for no discernible reason, pulled his gun and shot her, firing across his partners body. In the current case, Wright was resisting arrest and attempting to flee. It was the confusion caused by his struggle that led to the police womans fatal error. Minnesotas Governor Tim Walz must be the most irresponsible governor in the U.S. Before anything was known about the circumstances of last nights incident, Walz was already making it about race: I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement. Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) April 12, 2021 It doesnt appear that there was any racial angle in last nights fatal encounter at all. A final observation: At this moment, Governor Walz and others are giving a press conference on last nights shooting. They recited a list of victims of police shootings, but never mentioned Justine Damondthe one case that is actually analogous. Lyman & Sheets Agency has been named Michigans 2020 Diamond Achiever by Frankenmuth Insurance. The annual award is presented to the highest performing agency based on set criteria including length of appointment, profitability, growth, and policy retention. Each year, the top Frankenmuth agencies receive the Diamond Achiever award in recognition of their outstanding accomplishment. We truly value our partnership with Lyman & Sheets Agency and are pleased to present their management team and staff with our Diamond Achiever award, said Frankenmuth Insurance President and COO Fred Edmond. This recognition exemplifies their commitment to providing quality, professional insurance products and services to our mutual clients. The results achieved by the team at Lyman & Sheets Agency helped the agency become one of the most successful among Frankenmuth Insurances more than 700 independent agencies. To be selected on two separate occasions as the recipient of the Diamond Achiever Award from Frankenmuth Insurance in 2017 and 2020 is a tremendous honor. As an agency, we are always looking to partner with insurance carriers who provide value to our clients, said Mike Sheets, Agency Principal, Lyman & Sheets Agency. It would not have been possible without the teamwork and support of the many professionals with whom we work with at Frankenmuth Insurance. We are proud to represent Frankenmuth Insurance due to their exceptional coverage and superior claims-handling service offered to our clients. Lyman & Sheets Agency has been licensed with Frankenmuth Insurance since 1967 and is recognized as one of the carriers Preferred Plus independent insurance agency partners. About Frankenmuth Insurance Insurance exists to provide peace of mind, and Frankenmuth Insurance has been protecting individuals, families and businesses for more than 150 years. We truly care about the people we serve and strive to be your insurer of choice. We partner exclusively with nearly 700 independent agents to customize business, home, auto, and life insurance policies and surety bonds. Headquartered in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and doing business in 15 states, Frankenmuth Insurance is financially sound, with $1.8 billion in assets. The company has an A.M. Best rating of A (Excellent). For more information visit fmins.com. A longtime office worker at a New Jersey hospital has filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was fired for refusing to perform temperature checks for coronavirus screenings, even though she was ill with an autoimmune disease. Marianne Hurley, 44, of Eatontown, worked for Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank for more than two decades when she was diagnosed with Lupus during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to court documents. Hurley worked for the 468-bed hospital since 1998 and performed mostly administrative duties, states the lawsuit, filed recently in U.S. District Court. As an administrative assistant, Hurleys job duties required her to work at her desk, assist with payroll, manage records and files, maintain spreadsheets and databases, and order supplies and equipment, the suit states. In October 2020, Hurleys doctor diagnosed her with Lupus and she immediately applied for intermittent leave through the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, according to the lawsuit. Hurley claims in the suit she informed her managers of her diagnosis and submitted FMLA paperwork stating she would need time off and that her activities would be limited due to her illness. The hospital approved her medical leave. However, Hurley claims managers then asked her to greet patients and staff at the hospitals main entrance to take their temperatures, hand out masks and direct them to wash their hands. In the lawsuit, Hurley says she was also told to help distribute N-95 masks to nearly 600 staffers, a procedure that would require her to come in close contact with workers for fit-testing. The suit states Hurley told her manager that due to her Lupus diagnosis, she had a suppressed immune system and should be the last person selected for temperature checks and fit testing. Hurley claims she was suspended about a month later for alleged policy violations, including theft of time for improperly reporting hours worked, the lawsuit states. Prior to invoking FMLA rights and notifying (hospital) management of her Lupus diagnosis, plaintiff (though not a salaried employee) was never required to clock in and simply relied on upper management (to) submit her hours, the suit states. The lawsuit says Hurleys termination turned into an investigation and that she was terminated Nov. 30, 2020. Hurley is suing Riverview Medical Center and its owners, Hackensack Meridian Health, for allegedly violating FMLA laws and New Jersey laws against discrimination. The suit seeks to reinstate Hurley to her job, reimburse her for lost wages, pay her punitive damages and punish the hospital for their willful, deliberate, malicious and outrageous conduct. A spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian Health said Monday she could not comment on the case due to pending litigation. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday (local time) issued a warning to China stating it would be a "serious mistake" for anyone to attempt to change Taiwan's "status quo" amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over the island country's sovereignty. "What we have seen and what is a real concern to us is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing, directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the straits. And we have a commitment to under the Relations Act, a bipartisan commitment that's existed for many, many years, to make sure that has the ability to defend itself and to make sure that we're sustaining peace and security in the Western Pacific. We stand behind those commitments," Blinken said in an interview with NBC News, according to a transcript provided by the US Department of State. "I can tell you is it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force," the top US diplomat added. When pressed on whether Washington's "commitments" included military action, Blinken responded that he would not be discussing "hypotheticals" and instead stated the US would stand by its commitment to allow Taiwan to defend itself. "All I can tell you is we have a serious commitment to Taiwan being able to defend itself. We have a serious commitment to peace and security in the Western Pacific. And in that context, it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change that status quo by force," he said. In what could be called another massive blow to China, the United States last week issued new guidelines that encourage exchanges with Taiwanese counterparts, State Department spokesperson Ned Price. According to South China Morning Post, the guidelines are a move made to bring Washington into compliance with a law signed by former President Donald Trump. The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between the US and China over Taiwan. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday that Washington has been watching China's aggressive actions against Taiwan very closely and raising concerns about it both publicly and privately. "We have been clear publicly and privately expressing our concern, our growing concerns about China's aggression towards Taiwan. China is taking increasingly coercive action to undercut democracy in Taiwan," Psaki said during the briefing. US lawmakers plan to introduce legislation next week that would put additional sanctions on Chinese officials; build closer US relations with Taiwan and place more checks on Beijing's military operations and territorial claims, among other measures intended to counter China and the threat it poses on human rights and maritime security. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades. Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. Taiwan returned to the forefront of US-China tensions last weekend when Beijing sent more than two dozen warplanes into the self-governing island's air defence identification zone in a 48-hour period. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) POTTSVILLE Schuylkill County Sheriff Joe Groody and Schuylkill County Drug and Alcohol are teaming with local law enforcement officers to participate in National Drug Take Back Day. The annual event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 24 at various locations throughout the county, including: Ashland Police Department 401 S. 18th St., Ashland Butler Township Police Department 211 Broad St., Ashland Cass Township Police Department 1209 Valley Road, Duncott Frackville Police Department 42 S. Centre St., Frackville Hegins Police Department 417 Gap St., Valley View Mahanoy City Police Department 239 E. Pine St., Mahanoy City Minersville Police Department 15 N. Delaware Ave., Minersville Orwigsburg Police Department 209 N. Warren St., Orwigsburg Palo Alto Police Department 142 E. Bacon St., Palo Alto Pine Grove Police Department One Snyder Drive, Pine Grove Port Carbon Police Department 90 Washington St., Port Carbon Rush Township Police Department 104 Mahanoy Ave., Hometown Saint Clair Police Department 24 N. Second St., Saint Clair St. Lukes Hospital-Miners Campus 360 W. Ruddle St., Coaldale Schuylkill County Courthouse, security entrance 401 N. Second St., Pottsville Schuylkill Haven Police Department 220 Parkway Ave., Schuylkill Haven Shenandoah Police Department 15 W. Washington St., Shenandoah Tamaqua Police Department 320 W. Broad St., Tamaqua West Mahanoy Township Police Department 190 Pennsylvania Ave., Shenandoah Heights. Groody said the program is a one-day event that is free, anonymous and open to all. Residents are encouraged to remove personal information from prescription labels and can dispose of the medication in the original container or by removing the medication from its container and disposing of it directly into the disposal box. He said liquid products such as cough syrup should remain sealed in the original container. Groody said that all expired or unwanted controlled, non-controlled and over-the-counter medicines are accepted. Items that are not accepted are glass containers, intravenous solutions, injection items, syringes and illegal substances. Noble Foods has been named in the top tier of a global benchmark scheme that measures animal welfare management, policy commitment and performance. The UK's biggest egg company, which has won a string of awards for its high welfare happy egg brand, is the only egg business to be listed in Tier 1 of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW). The benchmark is an annual, independent assessment of farm animal welfare management and performance in global food companies. It analyses the farm animal welfare management and performance of 150 of the worlds largest food companies and claims to be the most authoritative and comprehensive benchmark of its kind. Noble Foods is listed in Tier 1 along with Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and pig producer and processor Cranswick. BBFAW highlighted improvements on the issue of animal welfare among major companies internationally. Nearly two-thirds of companies globally, 91 of the 150 companies in the BBFAW, were now actively managing the business risks and opportunities associated with farm animal welfare, it said in its annual report. The progress made by companies on managing farm animal welfare since the BBFAWs inception in 2012 is remarkable and should be applauded," said Nicky Amos, executive director of BBAFW. "However, as BBFAW enters its tenth year, our expectation is that companies need to demonstrate how their management commitments are translating into improved welfare impacts for animals on the ground. Noble retains its top tier ranking despite being targeted by animal welfare campaigners. Last month the campaign group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) issued pictures and video of layers, which it said showed a different picture to the one portrayed by the company in its promotional material. While the companys marketing materials depict happy hens roaming vast green fields covered with foliage and trees, PETAs footage tells a different story," said PETA. "Take a look at the way hens really live on farms supplying the happy egg co." The images gained widespread coverage across the national press. PETA said the pictures were from three farms in Cumbria, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire. All three farms are RSPCA Assured farms. The farms were suspended pending inspection but a spokeswoman for RSPCA Assured revealed that the farms had since been inspected and cleared. The RSPCA said: Whilst the footage taken five months ago is very upsetting, following our recent visits we can reassure people that the birds on all three farms are being properly cared for to the RSPCAs welfare standards. "However, as an extra precaution, they will be subject to additional unannounced visits over the coming months. A spokesperson for Noble Foods said: Maintaining the highest animal welfare standards is extremely important to us and we took immediate action when we were made aware of the existence of the video by the RSPCA after they were approached by PETA. "We routinely audit farms to ensure that they conform to all UK industry standards and we conducted additional inspections as a result of the video "Each of the farms also underwent independent, rigorous inspection by the RSPCA and all have been cleared, having the compulsory standards in place. "Nothing is more important to us than the safe and proper care of our hens. New Delhi, April 12 : The Health Ministry on Monday said that nearly 30 lakh doses of vaccine were given on Day 1 of the "Tika Utsav" which has pushed the cumulative coverage to 10.45 crore, as India's average doses per day crossed the 40 lakh mark, continuing to be the highest globally. India continues to remain at the top globally with an average of 40,55,055 doses administered per day. Monday marks the second day of the countrywide Tika Utsav. The Centre said that cumulatively, 10,45,28,565 vaccine doses have been administered in 15,56,361 sessions, as per the report till 7 a.m. These include 90,13,289 Health Care Workers (HCW) who have taken the 1st dose and 55,24,344 HCWs who have taken the 2nd dose, 99,96,879 Front Line Warriors (FLW) (1st dose), 47,95,756 FLWs (2nd dose), 4,05,30,321 1st dose beneficiaries and 19,42,705 2nd dose beneficiaries over 60 years of age. The Ministry said that "the first day of the countrywide Tika Utsav saw 63,800 Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) operational, which is a rise of an average of 18,800 operational CVCs. Most CVCs were operational in the private work places. Additionally, despite being a Sunday, which generally witnesses lower vaccination numbers, the first day of Tika Utsav clocked nearly 30 lakh vaccination doses." On Day 86 of the vaccination drive (April 11, 2021), 29,33,418 vaccine doses were given out of which, 27,01,439 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 38,398 sessions for the 1st dose and 2,31,979 beneficiaries received the 2nd dose of the vaccine. The government said that 10 states are contributing 81 percent of the daily new cases with Maharashtra topping the chart, while 70.16 percent of the active caseload was concentrated in 5 states. India's daily new cases continue to rise with 1,68,912 new cases being registered in the last 24 hours. The ten states including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan have shown a rise in the COVID daily new cases. 83.02 percent of the new cases are reported from these 10 states. Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 63,294. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh with 15,276 while Delhi reported 10,774 new cases. Nine States/UTs have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours. These are Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh (UT), Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A general view of the nuclear power plant of Natanz, 180 miles south of Tehran, Iran, on March 30, 2005. (Henghameh Fahimi/AFP via Getty Images) Iran Blames Israel for Attack on Natanz Nuclear Site DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesIran blamed Israel on Monday for an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli media widely reported that the country had orchestrated a devastating cyberattack that caused a blackout at the nuclear facility. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the countrys secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency. While the nature of the attack and the extent of the damage at Natanz remains unclear, a former Iranian official said the assault set off a fire while a spokesman mentioned a possible minor explosion. Irans Natanz nuclear facility in a satellite photo on April 7, 2021. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP) The United States, which under President Joe Biden, is now negotiating in Vienna to re-enter the nuclear accord, and Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to stop the deal at all costs. Netanyahu met Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose arrival in Israel coincided with the first word of the attack. The two spoke briefly to journalists but took no questions. My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel, Netanyahu said. And Israel will continue to defend itself against Irans aggression and terrorism. At an earlier news conference at Israels Nevatim air base, Austin declined to say whether the Natanz attack could impede the Biden administrations efforts to re-engage with Iran in its nuclear program. Those efforts will continue, Austin said. The previous American administration under Donald Trump had pulled out of the nuclear deal with world powers and Iran has abandoned the limits on its atomic program set by the accord. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern that it could affect the talks. All of what we are hearing from Tehran is not a positive contribution to this, Maas told reporters. A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, on March 30, 2005. (Raheb Homavandi/Reuters) In a statement, the White House said it was aware of the Natanz attack and that the U.S. was not involved in any manner, without elaborating. Details remained scarce about what happened early Sunday at the facility. The event was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment hallsbut later Iranian officials began referring to it as an attack. A former chief of Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the attack had set off a fire at the site and called for improvements in security. In a tweet, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei said that the second assault at Natanz in a year signaled the seriousness of the infiltration phenomenon. Rezaei did not say where he got his information. The facility seemed to be in such disarray that, following the attack, a prominent nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi walking above ground at the site fell 7 meters (23 feet) through an open ventilation shaft covered by aluminum debris, breaking both his legs and hurting his head. A possible minor explosion had scattered debris, Kamalvandi said, without elaborating. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh acknowledged that IR-1 centrifuges, the first-generation workhorse of Irans uranium enrichment, had been damaged in the attack, but did not elaborate. State television has yet to show images from the site, which saw new advanced centrifuges turned on there Saturday. The answer for Natanz is to take revenge against Israel, Khatibzadeh said. Israel will receive its answer through its own path. He did not elaborate. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, meanwhile, warned Natanz would be reconstructed with more advanced machines. That would allow Iran to more quickly enrich uranium, complicating the nuclear talks. The Zionists wanted to take revenge against the Iranian people for their success on the path of lifting sanctions, Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Zairf as saying. But we do not allow (it), and we will take revenge for this action against the Zionists. Centrifuge machines in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran in a file photo released on Nov. 5, 2019. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP) Iran delivered a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations body that monitors Tehrans atomic program, urging it to condemn the attack, state TV reported Monday. The IAEA earlier said it was aware of media reports about the blackout at Natanz and had spoken with Iranian officials about it. The agency did not elaborate. Officials launched an effort Monday to provide emergency power to Natanz, said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Irans civilian nuclear program. He said the sabotage had not stopped enrichment there, without elaborating. Natanz has been targeted by sabotage in the past. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges there during an earlier period of Western fears about Tehrans program. In July, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for that, as well as the November killing of a scientist who began the countrys military nuclear program decades earlier. Israel also has launched a series of airstrikes in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian forces and their equipment. Israel also is suspected in an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen. Multiple Israeli media outlets reported Sunday that an Israeli cyberattack caused the blackout, but it remains unclear what actually happened there. Public broadcaster Kan said the Mossad was behind the attack. Channel 12 TV cited experts as estimating the attack shut down entire sections of the facility. While the reports offered no sourcing for their information, Israeli media maintains a close relationship with the countrys military and intelligence agencies. In recent weeks, Netanyahu repeatedly has described Iran as the major threat to his country as he struggles to hold onto power after multiple elections and while facing corruption charges. Stopping the nuclear deal has been a repeated theme of his comments. By Jon Gambrell While the global pandemic has bought economies to a halt and massively disrupted businesses, it has also fuelled start-up dreams and we even saw several Indian start-ups achieve Unicorn status during the pandemic period. The times have never been better for the budding entrepreneurs to give wings to their start-up dreams. The Government, too, has come up with various schemes to support its Vocal for Local drive. A case in point is the recent Rs 1,000 crore Start-up India Seed Fund announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Start-up India International Summit 2021 held earlier this year. Adgully is turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the Vocal for Local movement and over the next few months will be featuring all local/ homegrown businesses, brands and Apps. Founded by two IIT Delhi graduates, Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, in December 2015, Meesho has been strengthening its hold on the social commerce space. Headquartered in Bengaluru, the platform enables small businesses and individuals to start their online stores via social channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram etc. Meesho recently raised $300 million in a new round of funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund. In a very interesting conversation with Adgully, Vidit Aatrey, Founder & CEO, Meesho, takes us through the journey of the social commerce platform. Aatrey speaks at length about the various stages in setting up the platform and offers several useful insights for budding social commerce entrepreneurs out there. Please take us through your journey as an entrepreneur. What motivated you to establish your start-up? What were you doing prior to turning an entrepreneur? Prior to the conception of Meesho, I was working with ITC and InMobi right after graduating from IIT Delhi. It was in 2015 when it stuck me that I wanted to start something of my own. While exploring other options, I and Sanjeev came across the idea to use the Internet to create a platform to help micro and small businesses across India to move online and leverage the power of digital technologies. Social commerce was already a popular concept at that time, but the challenges such as limited access to supply, lack of logistics/ payment options, customer friendly policies, etc., were also on the rise. We, at Meesho, decided to touch these pain points and provide an integrated solution to all these problems. Till date Meesho has enabled ~7 million serving over 20 million customers 6,800,000+ entrepreneurs across India to sell on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram. Seeing how far we have come in a short span of five years gives Sanjeev and me immense pride and joy. What need gap did you want to fulfil with your start-up? What is the core business proposition? India is a young country, where entrepreneurship is a not only a lucrative but highly potential concept. However, a lot of people cannot pursue their dream of being an entrepreneur despite having breakthrough ideas. With Messho, we aim to provide a virtual shop to potential micro entrepreneurs to start their venture without worrying about capital, payment solutions or any other issue that a new entrepreneur might face. We wanted to give every small business in India their own online store. We realised that most of the sellers already used tools such as Facebook and Whatsapp. So, we started training them to use the platform. Meesho stands for my shop or apni dukaan. The brand has been built from ground up and today close to 80% of our micro-entrepreneurs are women. At Meesho, we believe that anybody can be an entrepreneur from the comfort of their homes with zero investment. Tell us something about the new TVC campaign. What is the idea and how did the brand come about with the insight? The TVC showcases an interesting aspect of our social circles. Every person on our contact list has a specific persona. This reflects in their interests, fashion statement, and products they like to buy. This proved to be a significant insight for Meesho to collaborate with DDB Mudra and create the TVC in order to reach out to social commerce women entrepreneurs in the country, who are always on the lookout to buy products for their customers as per their varied tastes and preferences. Meesho has a wide range of products to choose from, whether it is in terms of latest in fashion and garment, home decor, accessories and much more at affordable prices. One can always find something for everyone at Meesho. How did you identify your TG? Did you carry out any feasibility study prior to starting your business? In Meeshos initial months, based on our insight data, we realised that most people joining the platform were first-time social sellers aiming to start something of their own in e-commerce space, but faced the initial investment barrier. About 70% of these users were women, homemakers and mothers, who had to leave their jobs because of family obligations. Thats when we decided to change our communication strategy from focusing on additional benefits it provided to existing resellers to the ability to start ones own business without any capital, of becoming an entrepreneur and, thereby, scripting a new narrative of financial independence and self-determination. Also, to provide women entrepreneurs with a sense of empowerment and self-worth and find themselves and their passion again with Meesho. What were the challenges that you faced in your start-up journey and how did you overcome them? Meesho has constantly been changing since the beginning. This is not a usual start-up story of two founders who stumbled upon an idea randomly and started the business. We have had our share of experimenting, pivoting until we got our core business proposition correct. We still remember our initial days of feet on the street, when Sanjeev and I used to map out local stores in many localities of Bengaluru and allowed users the option of trying before buying. Customers could order items; they could try all the clothes and keep the shortlisted ones and return the rest. We ran this model for two months. However, soon we realised that there were multiple problems with the idea and implementation and the behaviour of users. It is during our many interactions with these shop owners when we understood that many were looking at social media channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram for contacting their customers and doing business digitally. However, the experience has a huge room for improvement. Thus, started our Meesho journey by collating dedicated groups of sellers and buyers on Facebook. Throughout our journey, weve kept talking to our users as to how we can make their experience better. With Meesho 1.0, we soon found that people were not able to find new products or suppliers on the app conveniently. So, we started experimenting with what we call Meesho 2.0, which is also our current model. We are learning each day in this journey of ours to provide our entrepreneurs with the best of the business world and we are growing better with each learning. How is digital helping you further your business? Even before the Reliance Jio data revolution, Indians were hooked on to WhatsApp. And after 4G data became ubiquitous, online business also saw a surge. We have always seen that it is very difficult for people to trust online, weather in brands or system or anything else, but they do trust their community and that is exactly what we leverage, we leverage the trust of our end customers in our entrepreneurs who play the role of influencer and curator with digital as core of the entire process. They build trust by filtering for the right supply. It is only because of the abundant digital opportunity that we have, be it in the form of social media, our platform or any other means that our network is growing each day. As stated earlier, Meesho has enabled 7 million serving over 20 million customers 6,800,000+ entrepreneurs across India to sell on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram by providing them products, logistics and payment tools. And all this and a lot more have been made possible via the Internet and digital ecosystem. What were your key learnings from 2020? How do you see the start-up ecosystem progressing in 2021? 2020 was difficult for all of us. To survive the pandemic, the leadership at Meesho had to rewire the supply chain network to sell daily-use products in the homecare and sanitary product categories. These categories werent usually sold on Meesho before COVID-19. Due to the lockdown, it became difficult for us to get products delivered. Things were difficult even when partial relaxation was given by the Government on the movement of vehicles. Many suppliers who sold their inventory with us depended on Meesho for most of their income. COVID-19 affected most of their income. Therefore, most of the initial months of the lockdown were focussed on setting up a minimal logistics network. Meesho came up with a micro-credit strategy to ensure that our resellers had some minimal income. The year was unprecedented, but the will to create effective solution is what matters in the end and that is what we were committed to do. Though the Pandemic continues to take a toll on the country, the acceleration that it has brought with it in terms of usage of technology is something most start-ups can leverage on. Owing to the pandemic, people have become more comfortable with technology and have started to see it as a more reliable means. Students, for example, relied on EdTech completely the entire year. 2021 is surely uncertain in terms of COVID-19 suppression, but I strongly believe that its going to mark a new era of innovation for start-ups. What were the clearances that you required for your venture from various authorities? Meesho operates an e-commerce marketplace, where FDI as per extant laws is permitted under the automatic route. We have sought other usual clearances under various Income Tax, GST, and Labour Laws such as PF, ESIC, Shops and Establishments, etc. Funds/ finance is the prime issue for almost all start-ups. What can the industry and the Government do to address this issue and ease the capital requirements of start-ups? Industry: The biggest aspect that the industry can do is to create and intensify the density of the network For most early stage start-ups, a large chunk of the capital comes from angel/ small funds that invest in seed, pre-seed, or angel rounds. Thats the first boost of capital that early companies get to test out multiple variants of product market fit. The more the utilisation of network, the more access to capital The other aspect that the industry could help entrepreneurs is on learning and providing more information on reaching product market fit. Better the product market fit, faster the conversion rate of fundraising Government: The Government has started to create focussed avenues (like accelerators, incubation hubs, etc.) that help in enabling budding entrepreneurs while also setting up capital for the same Three things that the Government can do are: Increase the available Government capital and create awareness about such funds Create more funds that will cater to start-ups (maybe with public-private partnerships) Simplify the process of fundraising, especially for pre-seed companies Earlier this year, Prime Minister Modi announced a Start-up India Seed Fund. How do you see start-ups benefiting from it? We applaud the Government in its efforts to bring about the Start-up India Seed Fund. Early stage start-ups today need capital, especially for their early stages of growth. Neither angel investors/ venture capitalists nor banks provide loans without the proof of concept or assets. However, it is important to financially support and encourage entrepreneurs in their endeavours with an innovative idea to conduct proof of concept trials. We believe this will help entrepreneurship to grow in the country without any the initial hurdle in terms of financial support. What would be your message for the budding entrepreneurs? The past few years has seen a boom of entrepreneurship in India. However, the pandemic threw a huge curveball at all of us. Today, there are new problems to solve and which requires a fresh perspective and the zeal to find solutions. India is a huge talent market, access to capital and a sense of belief in the system that great global products can come from India that is the direction we should all move in. My advice to budding entrepreneurs will be: (ANSA) - TURIN, APR 9 - An Italian elementary school teacher has been placed under investigation on suspicion of creating a "climate of terror" in her classes, police said Friday. The teacher, who has not been named, allegedly subjected her young charges to "insults, threats, aggressive attitudes, and vexation", police said. She reportedly worked as a supply teacher at two primary schools in Turin for various spells between 2013 and 2019. The head teacher, deputy head and assistant head at one of the schools have been placed under investigation for failing to report her and failure to act. Some 21 children have been cited as alleged victims of the woman. (ANSA). Prominent Pakistani human rights defender and columnist I.A. Rehman has died at the age of 90, prompting an outpouring of grief and a wave of tributes to "a true icon." Rehmans family said on April 12 that he passed away in the eastern city of Lahore after spending his life defending human rights and fighting for the rule of law and democracy in his country. He was diabetic and suffered from high blood pressure, it said. Tributes poured in on social media, with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi saying Pakistan had lost a true icon. Rehman regularly contributed articles to Pakistani newspapers and was director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which called him a "titan of human rights." Among other things, Rehman campaigned for changes to Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws, which rights groups say are being used to settle personal scores and intimidate religious minorities. He was also an advocate of peace between Pakistan and India, the two South Asian nuclear rivals who have fought three wars since 1947. Qureshi tweeted that Rehman leaves behind a rich legacy that speaks of tolerance, inclusion, equality and dignity. Senator Sherry Rehman of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said the man "was an icon of integrity, standing steadfast for every single fundamental right, every single democratic value in the worst of times." "Pakistan will not be the same without him," she added. According to the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, His voice was a pillar for human rights and will inspire countless future generations. Rehman is survived by three sons and two daughters. He is expected to be buried in Lahore later on April 12. With reporting by AP and Dawn BOSTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University (FXB Center) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today released "See Migration Like Water: An Analysis of IOM Flow Monitoring Survey Data on Migration Flows in West and Central Africa," a detailed analysis of migration flows and migrant vulnerability on routes within and from West and Central Africa. The West and Central Africa region provides evidence of dynamic migratory patterns, including long histories of diverse intraregional and interregional migration flows. The complexity and rapidly evolving characteristics of mobility in the region, combined with the emergence of new threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, aggravate risks en route and leave many migrants unprotected. The study is based on IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) flow monitoring survey data gathered from over 110,000 migrants, collected across 38 transit points in seven countries in West and Central Africa. In addition, qualitative data from expert interviews conducted in 2020 illuminate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrants' journeys and their well-being. The report analyzes intersecting aspects of migrant vulnerability across the most popular West and Central African migration routes examining risk and protective factors at the individual, household, community, and structural level and provides recommendations to protect migrants. They include: Exploring the expansion of safe, legal and regular migration options Enhancing access to support services along migratory routes Enhancing the capacity of agencies and governmental actors Creating livelihood opportunities in origin and neighboring countries Improving efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate human trafficking in the region The findings of this report emphasize the immediate and pressing need for a sustainable, multilayered, harm prevention-based strategy to protect migrants at a time when regular migration pathways are limited and the need for mobility is high. As the world grapples with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the highest levels of global inequality in human history, migration will continue to be a life-saving strategy for people. To listen to the FXB Center's Professor Jacqueline Bhabha and Dr. Vasileia Digidiki discuss the report's findings with IOM researchers, click here. To read the report in full, click here. SOURCE FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University Related Links https://fxb.harvard.edu/ The Governors Official Program is comprised of a wide range of constitutional and legal duties and ceremonial and community engagements. Each year, the Governor hosts thousands of visitors to Government House to take part in investiture and award ceremonies, Open Days, receptions and meetings, and travels widely throughout Queensland to support the activities of Patron groups. View a chronological record of the Governors daily program below. On Saturday, in the morning, at the Peanut Company of Australia establishment, Kingaroy, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC received a briefing from Peanut Company of Australia representatives. Following, at Pottique Lavender Farm, Kingaroy, His Excellency toured the establishment. Following, at the Nanango Show Grounds, Nanango, His Excellency attended the 2021 Nanango show, and addressed guests, officially opened the show, presented volunteer awards and ribbons to champion livestock. In the afternoon, His Excellency returned to Government House following official travel to Kingaroy and Nanango. Mauna Loa, the worlds largest active volcano, covering half of the Big Island of Hawaii, was ratted by 34 small earthquakes on Sunday. Though only registering small magnitudes, scientists have warned citizens that the mounting seismic activity could signal that an eruption may be possible in the near future. There have been 155 earthquakes greater than 1.5 on the Richter scale in the past seven days, and 740 in the past month, including a 4.3 on 3 April. Sundays largest tremor was a 3.2 magnitude quake that struck Pahala, south of the summit of Mauna Loa at 8.08pm local time. A 3.0 tremor also struck in the afternoon. In March, the US Geological Survey said that as the volcano continues to awaken from its slumber, it would be a good time for people to revisit their personal emergency plans in the event of an eruption. Historical data accompanying a press release from USGS shows that in previous eruptions it could take just hours for lava flows to reach populated areas. Now is the time to revisit personal eruption plans. Similar to preparing for hurricane season, having an eruption plan in advance helps during an emergency, the agency wrote. A go-bag with essential items and important documents is recommended, should evacuations be ordered in the event of an eruption. Rising to 13,681 feet above sea level (4,169m), Mauna Loa, or Long Mountain in Hawaiian, also extends three miles to the ocean floor, making it taller than Mount Everest from its base. The Big Island also has three other active volcanoes Mauna Kea, Kilauea, and Hualalai. Kilauea has been erupting since November. Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since official records began in 1843. The last eruption was more than 35 years ago when the volcano spewed lava from 25 March to 15 April, 1984. Eruptions of the volcano tend to produce large, fast-moving lava flows that can impact communities on both the east and west sides of the Big Island from Kona to Hilo. A lava flow map of Mauna Loa on Hawaiis Big Island prepared by the US Geological Survey (USGS) Hilo in the east of Hawaii has been threatened by seven lava flows since the 1850s. In 1984, the lava stopped approximately four miles outside of the city. On the south and west sides of the island, lava flows have reached the coast eight times, including three times in 1950. A USGS ranking of the biggest volcanic threats in the US has Kilauea in the top position, followed by Mount St Helens and Mount Rainier in Washington State. Mauna Loa is 16th on the list, which is determined by 24 factors relating to the threat to the nearby population and the threat to aviation. New Delhi, April 12 : GS1 India, the global supply chain standard organisation, announced the elevation of S. Swaminathan as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Prior to his elevation, Swaminathan was the Chief Operating Officer and led the Business Development and Industry Engagement departments at GS1 India, in the last decade. He brings in 28 years of experience in leading sales and project management, channel development, supply chain management, customer support teams for domestic as well as the international markets. Speaking about his new role, S. Swaminathan said, "I am excited to have been offered the opportunity to lead GS1 India at this crucial time. With changing business environment, GS1 India has a larger role to play in empowering industries and SMEs across sectors. My role would be to embrace emerging technologies and building our digital capabilities to facilitate our subscribers in their digital transformation journey." Swaminathan is a member of the GS1 Global Advisory Council and in various Industry Committees of CII and FICCI. He has been instrumental in the development of FASTag data standardisation and creation of the 'National Industry Forum for Retail (NIFR) comprising leading brand owners, retailers/e-tailers. GS1 India is a standards organisation set up by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry along with apex industry trade bodies. It is an affiliate of GS1A, a global standards organisation, headquartered in Brussels, which oversees operations of 115 GS1 member organisations across the world. The generals of Myanmar decided to follow Donald Trumps example. Like Trump, they declared a free and fair election to be a fraud. Like Trump, they made an unconstitutional grab for power. But where Trump was frustrated in his attempted coup, the generals of Myanmar were successful. Or so it seemed. There was a moment of quiet shock on February 1, when the army cancelled parliament and locked up the elected leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing announced a one-year state of emergency and installed himself as ruler. But resistance has built every day since. At first, it was demonstrations by students and young people, then the whole society seemed to join in. Truck drivers stopped delivering goods arriving at the ports. Workers went on strike, forcing banks to close. Civil servants stayed home, cutting government services. Doctors marched against the junta. The army restricted internet access to try to stop protesters organising. Aung San Suu Kyi, left, walks with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, right, in 2016 Credit:AP The Myanmar military controls a multibillion-dollar business empire that funnels profits from jade, rubies, banking, oil and gas, construction and mining into the armys pockets. These independent profits allow it to operate outside the structures of the state and to act with impunity. New Delhi, April 12 : The Supreme Court on Monday cited that 40 per cent of the India's decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat has been dismantled and dismissed a plea by a private firm seeking to convert it into a museum. A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian told the counsel representing private firm Envitech Marine Consultants Pvt Ltd, "You are too late 40 per cent of the ship is already dismantled, how will you make it a museum." The firm's counsel argued that it can seek services of a reputed firm and conduct a survey and get to the top court in the matter. The bench replied: "Somebody had paid good money for the ship, the govt has entered into a legal transaction for the sale of the ship. They have dismantled 40 per cent. You are too late in the case." The bench noted that it is with a private firm on the aspect of spirit of its nationalism, but it came to the top court very late. A private firm Shree Ram Group at Alang in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat bought Viraat at an auction in July last year at Rs 38.54 crore. The firm began the dismantling process in December last year. Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing the Shree Ram Group, said that the Bombay High Court had asked the firm to make a representation before the Ministry of Defence and seek their permission. Dhavan added the defence ministry rejected their plea. The top court said: "We are not going to interfere, High Court allowed you (private firm) to make a representation and the government rejected it. Alright dismissed." On April 5, the top court had said: "The ship is now a private property. 40 per cent of it has already been dismantled and it cannot be given the status of aircraft carrier now." In February, the top court had barred further dismantling of 'INS Viraat', which was in service with the Indian Navy for nearly three decades, and has been beached in Gujarat's ship-breaking yard of Alang since September 2020. The top court has scheduled the matter for further hearing after a week. Petitioner in-person Rupali Sharma, appearing for Envitech Marine, had submitted they would want to examine the ship to ascertain the status of dismantling. The bench replied, "it has now become a private property and it does not have a character of warship." On February 10, the top court had said: "Issue notice. In the meantime, parties are directed to maintain status quo with regard to dismantling/breaking of the subject-ship known as INS Viraat, as on date." The top court had also sought a response from the Centre and others on the plea filed by Envitech Marine Consultants Private Limited. The private firm seeks to preserve the ship and make it into a museum, and moved the top court seeking direction to stop from it being dismantled. In July 2019, the Centre had informed Parliament that the decision to dismantle INS Viraat was taken after due consultation with the Indian Navy. Highlights Google introduced FLoC back in January this year as a privacy-backed replacement to web cookies. DuckDuckGo contests Google's Privacy claims in a new blog, asking users to prevent their use in all manner. It argues that even though group-based, FLoC can be used to identify and pipnpoint a user through FLoC ID. Privacy has gained apex importance in today's increasingly digital world. The attention has brought powerful changes to the way the internet majors now work. An example is Google's latest tracking method called FLoC, which Google says will bring more privacy in its data collection methods for its advertisement space. DuckDuckGo, however, does not approve of it. In a new blog post, privacy-centric search engine DuckDuckGo has spoken out against the use of FLoC by Google on its web browser Chrome. It says it is just another tracking method by Google and blames the tech major for not giving an option to Chrome users to opt-out of it. FLoC is the latest effort by Google to introduce more user privacy in its data collection for directed advertisements across its platforms. Short for Federated Learning of Cohorts, the program comes as an alternative to browser cookies and aims to cluster "large groups of people with similar interests." This means that FLoC will be used to collect individual user data anonymously, as part of a larger group. The idea is to effectively hide an individual "in the crowd." Google says that FLoC can help keep a person's web history private on the browser, as they use on-device processing. In its new post, DuckDuckGo disagrees, to the point that the search engine major has announced a countermeasure to FLoC. It has released a FLoC blocking feature to its own extension that is included in version 2021.4.8 and newer of the DuckDuckGo extension. The company says that the extension should update automatically or you can check it within the Chrome extensions list. Contesting claims DuckDuckGo argues that even though FLoC categorises individuals into groups based on one's browsing history, any website can target the user through it by attaining the group FLoC ID. FLoC is hence, "bad for privacy," it asserts. Known for its own privacy features, DuckDuckGo points out that Google has started the program for all its users automatically. This means anyone on Google Chrome, currently logged in to a Google account, is being traced through FLoC now. Any way to opt-out of FLoC is "somewhat hidden and conflicting," it says. It highlights that the FLoC IDs will also be accessible by third-party trackers lurking on websites. The company calls such a practice as the enabler of "manipulation, discrimination, and filter bubbles that many people would like to avoid," regardless of the process. In part, this is not different from what Google says about FLoC. Though the tech major propels their use, it ensures advertisers "at least 95% of the conversions per dollar spent when compared to cookie-based advertising." It calls FLoC an effective replacement for third-party cookies. Since the main purpose of both is to enable targeted advertisements, data collection is taking place in the process for sure. The thing to note here is that Google's use of FLoC comes as a part of a larger push towards more user privacy - a collection of proposals named Privacy Sandbox. In addition to FLoC, the company has published a new proposal called Gnatcatcher, which talks of a way to mask someone's IP address to protect that person's identity. There is hence, a chance that the FLoC might work in tandem with these proposals towards a more private web. But as things stand for now, Google seems to be pushing the FLoC to its users as the only way forward. If there is no way to opt-out of it, FLoC might soon replace web cookies as the reason for creepily targeted ads. For those who still want to continue using Chrome, DuckDuckGo advises a couple of possible ways to opt-out of FLoC. It says that changing the Chrome and/or Google settings might help users stop FLoC use on their browser. Another way is to stay logged out of Google accounts, not sync history data with Chrome or create a sync passphrase. HYDERABAD, India, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Water challenge was launched by Smart City Living Lab, IIITH in association with Government of Telangana & NIUM together in Feb-March '21 timeframe to find viable solutions to the problems faced regarding water quality, supply and non-revenue water by the cities. According to Anuradha Vattem, the Lead Architect who coordinated the challenge, panellists were from Academia (IIITH), Government bodies (MEITY, HMWSSB, NIUM), private consultants from WRI, and technology partners EBTC. Multiple responses were received, and the panellists shortlisted these four finalists after multiple rounds and thorough screening. One of the panel members, Mr.Vamsi Kondoju, Officer on Special Duty to Principal Secretary MA&UD at Govt of Telangana, mentioned that, "While all the presentations were really good, we have finalized these solutions keeping the relevance and priority of MA&UD in mind." - Oceo Water Pvt Ltd - Pipeline Water Leak Detection from Space (Jalashay): AI enabled hydrological analytics derived from satellite images to help public utilities to forecast accurately and detect water leakages in water transmission networks without physically being present on the field. - IIITH - Smart Water Meter Solutions: Low cost retrofit for digitisation of analog water meter, a viable replacement of expensive digital water meters. - EyeNet Aqua & IITM - Online water quality monitoring unit for water source and end user node with indigenous chlorine sensors along with other sensors. - Aqua-Q AB, SWEDEN - Water quality monitoring solution: Real-time online early warning system for quality assurance, smart sampling, tracking of micro-contaminants & removal of contaminants in drinking water and treated wastewater. The shortlisted solutions will be demonstrated at IIITH within a month and the winner will stand a chance to do a solution pilot run in one of the cities of Telangana. IIITH Prof Ramesh Loganathan and Prof Sachin Chaudhari commented that the solutions covered a wide spectrum and it was interesting to note that they came from academia, SMEs and startups and were practical and implementable. About IIIT-Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research that has a greater social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Cognitive Science, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, Education Technologies, Power Systems, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance. Website: //www.iiit.ac.in/ Contact: Sunory Dutt Head of Communications IIIT-Hyderabad E-mail: [email protected] Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/600789/IIIT_Hyderabad_Logo.jpg SOURCE International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad Microsoft signs $22 billion deal to supply high-tech headsets to US Army Microsoft Corp on Wednesday said it has won a nearly $22 billion deal to supply the US Army augmented reality headsets based on its HoloLens product. Under the contract, worth $21.88 billion over a 10-year period, Microsoft will supply the US Army tens of thousands of hi-tech goggles or augmented reality headsets, which is backed by Azure cloud computing services. In a separate email to Janes, the Army confirmed the contract award value and said the deal has a base period of five years and includes an option to extend it by another five years. Microsoft on Wednesday said that a military version of the HoloLens 2 has moved from prototyping to production stage under the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) programme. The US Army will work with Microsoft and shall begin rapid fielding over the next ten years assisting in its development. Microsoft has worked closely with the US Army over the past two years, and together we pioneered Soldier Centered Design to enable rapid prototyping for a product to provide soldiers with the tools and capabilities necessary to achieve their mission, the companys technical fellow Alex Kipman wrote on the companys blog. The first unit shall be equipped with the HoloLens by July to September this year. The sets would be manufactured in the United States, a Reuters report citing Microsoft spokesman said. The IVAS aggregates multiple technologies into an architecture that allows the soldier to fight, rehearse, and train using a single platform, the army said in a statement. The suite of capabilities leverages existing high-resolution night, thermal, and soldier-borne sensors integrated into a unified heads-up display to provide the improved situational awareness, target engagement, and informed decision-making necessary to achieve overmatch against current and future adversaries. The Army suggests that the augmented reality technology could help soldiers target enemies and prevent the killing of civilians. Developed as a successor to the original HoloLens smartglasses, the Microsoft HoloLens 2 is a pair of mixed reality smartglasses, a step further into the futuristic holograms seen in science-fiction movies. This technology enables the viewer to track, identify objects, and create holograms based on the requirement and makes it easy for consumers to accomplish daily tasks in a mixed-reality environment. However, it is not available to the public, and its sales are restricted to commercial customers. In November 2018, Microsoft announced that it is readying HoloLens for combat, and won a $480 million military contract with the US government to bring AR headset tech into the weapons repertoire of American soldiers. As per the contract details, the Army may sign a follow-up deal to provide more than 100,000 AR headsets to the defence forces as part of a modernisation drive. Mixed Reality is a new concept bridging the gap between virtual reality and augmented reality. While virtual reality aims to immerse the viewer into an artificial digital environment and augmented reality aims to overlay virtual objects in the real world, mixed reality is partly a combination of both which not only overlays virtual objects in the real-world but also anchors them, and even make it interactive. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday continued his onslaught on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the issue of infiltration from Bangladesh. While addressing a rally in Jalpaiguri on Monday Amit Shah assured that when the BJP forms its government in the state after May 2, it will stop illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. He strongly contended that the infiltrators from Bangladesh take away a significant chunk of the benefits which are given by the central as well as state administration to the people of the state. He added that Mamata Banerjee allows infiltration because it works as her vote bank during elections. Amit Shah also mentioned giving citizenship to the Matua community, a scheduled caste Vaisnavite Hindu community that lives in West Bengal as well as Bangladesh. However, a significant part of the people from the Matua community living in West Bengal are devoid of citizenship. Speaking on the same, Amit Shah assured that after CAA is implemented in the state, the people from the Matua community will be given citizenship. Amit Shah added that Mamata Banerjee never wants CAA to be implemented because she fears her vote bank will get angry. "Matua community - Namsudhra community who are here, shouldn't they be given citizenship? Didi says they shouldn't be given citizenship. Why? Because she is scared of her vote bank. But how will you stop us Didi, your departure on May 2 is confirmed. After BJP forms its government, CAA will be implemented and people of these communities will be given citizenship," Amit Shah said. Amit Shah also slammed Mamata Banerjee over her selective criticism of violence that took place in Cooch Behar. Five people were killed in violence in Sitalkuchi of CoochBehar - four killed during firing by Central Forces while one was killed during a clash on the polling booth. Mamata Banerjee had targeted the Central Forces over the loss of lives of four people, but remained quiet on the one who was dragged outside the polling booth and shot dead. While addressing a rally in Jalpaiguri on Monday, Amit Shah slammed the chief minister and said, "Didi shedding tears for the loss of lives of the four people but where is your condolence for Anand Burman. You are Politicising deaths and this kind of politics of yours will take Bengal to a new low." Cooch Behar Violence Five people lost their lives on Saturday in the Sitalkuchi area of Cooch Behar. Among them were four locals who got killed after hundreds of people surrounded Central forces guarding the booths. The local police stated that the miscreants attempted to snatch weapons and attacked the Central forces compelling them to open fire in self-defence. Another one named Anand Burman was dragged outside a polling booth in the Pathantuli area of Sitalkuchi and was shot dead according to a police official. Reports stated that Burman was a BJP polling agent and was allegedly killed by TMC workers. While four phases of the Assembly elections have been concluded, the polling for the remaining phases in West Bengal will take place on April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. The declaration of the results will take place on May 2. The state has witnessed a surge in incidents of political violence and the election battle keeps getting murkier by the day with the controversial remarks and political mudslinging by the political leaders from the ruling TMC and the BJP. Loading the player... India bans Remdesivir exports till COVID surge abates India has banned the export of Remdesivir injection and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) used for making the coronavirus medication till the recent surge in COVID-19 cases subsides. India has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases with the second wave of the pandemic. As of Sunday, the number of active cases stood at 11.08 lakh. This has led to a sudden spike in demand for Injection Remdesivir used in treatment of COVID patients. Abhijit Banerjee defends government intervention to uplift poor Renowned economist and Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee has trashed the ideology that calls for lesser or limited government interventions towards uplifting the poor arguing that such freebies make the poor lazy, saying there is no evidence whatsoever proving so. He said his own research proves that those who have benefited from public and non-governmental interventions wherein they were given free assets did in fact became more productive and creative. He was addressing the 20th foundation day of Bandhan Bank, the non-profit-turned-MFI-turned-small finance bank. Amazon India launches 'Mentor Connect' for start-ups, emerging brands Amazon India announced the launch of its 'Mentor Connect' programme on April 11. It is aimed at accelerating the growth of start-ups and emerging brand owners enrolled under its Amazon Launchpad initiative.Mentors from educational institutions and VC firms like Fireside Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners, Elevation Capital, Tomorrow Capital have already signed up for the programme to contribute to the Indian start-up growth story. China mulls mixing COVID-19 vaccines to 'optimise' production China's top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines, as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy. Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but require less stringent temperature controls during storage. Infosys to consider share buyback on April 14 Indian IT major Infosys will consider a share buyback plan in its board meeting scheduled on April 14. Infosys is expected to hold board meetings on April 13 and 14 to approve and take on record financial results for quarter and fiscal ended March 31, 2021. COVID-19 vaccination to resume at 62 private centres in Mumbai today With the fresh stock of anti- COVID 19 vaccines being made available by the Mumbai civic body, the halted vaccination drive will resume at 62 of the 71 designated private hospitals in the megapolis from April 12, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said on Sunday.The vaccination centres in the 71 private hospitals stopped functioning on April 10 and April 11 due to the shortage of vaccines. Gunshots have been fired in the carpark of a Sydney Woolworths, forcing terrified shoppers to flee to safety as footage emerges of the chaotic scene. The incident unfolded in Neutral Bay, in the city's northern suburbs, at 4.30 on Monday afternoon when shoppers heard two distinct shots. Madison Sullivan, who was only 10 metres away from the gunshots, told Daily Mail Australia her 'heart was racing'. Footage captured by the 27-year-old showed the moment an undercover cop jumped out of a vehicle and screamed 'police, police!' while flashing his badge at terrified shoppers. Pictured: The moment an undercover policeman jumped out of a vehicle and yelled 'police, police' to terrified patrons Pictured: A man being cuffed and arrested by police at a Woolworths in Neutral Bay, northern Sydney, after the incident 'It was quite scary. I heard a big loud bang which sounded like a car exploded and I turned around and saw a man shoot another two times at the moving car,' she said. 'It was only myself and a couple of others. I think everyone was in shock, they just stayed still and watched what was occurring.' Six police response cars were at the scene within minutes of the gunfire. Officers tried to stop a vehicle in the carpark but the motorists allegedly drove at them - forcing one officer to fire their own weapon. A bullet went straight through the windscreen and the driver then hit a bollard. Pictured: A man is taken into police custody following a police shooting at a Woolworths in Neutral Bay Pictured: A man being carried away by police in Sydney after gunshots were fired in a shopping centre car park Police told Daily Mail Australia two men are in custody. Shocked passers-by took to local Facebook groups to ask about the situation, claiming they saw 'loads of police'. 'Shooting in the carpark,' Ms Sullivan's husband Ryna replied. 'My wife was there 10 metres from where it happened and her car is now stuck in the carpark.' He added: 'No one injured and at least we got the groceries.' Pictured: Police swarm the scene of a shooting in Neutral Bay in Sydney's northern suburbs Pictured: Police cars outside a Woolworths in Neutral Bay, after gunshots were fired Another witness recalled sitting on a bench outside the shopping centre when she heard gunshots. 'Ran as fast as I could,' she said. Police are still at the scene, but suspect the situation was part of a drug operation. US President Biden is expected to name John C. Inglis as the head of the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency US President Joe Biden is expected to name John C. Inglis as the head of the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency. The appointment comes weeks after reports surfaced that suspected Russian hackers had gained access to government accounts. Breached accounts included that of former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, the Associated Press reported. The accounts were accessed by what is known as the SolarWinds intrusion. An inquiry by the AP found new details about the breach at DHS and other agencies, including the Energy Department, where hackers accessed top officials schedules. At least nine federal agencies were hacked, along with dozens of private-sector companies. The long-awaited appointment comes weeks after reports surfaced that suspected Russian hackers had gained access to government accounts GOVT AGENCIES KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN TARGETED BY HACKERS SO FAR Pentagon Treasury FBI Department of State Department of Homeland Security Commerce Department National Institutes of Health Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Los Alamos National Laboratory Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Office of Secure Transportation Advertisement In February, the CEO of SolarWinds revealed hackers had access to the firm's emails for at least nine months. Hackers gained access to software made by the Texas-based company, and used it as a springboard to penetrate federal government networks. Solarwinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna said the hackers accessed at least one of the firm's Office 365 email accounts by as early as December 2019, and then moved to compromise other Office 365 accounts within the company. 'Some email accounts were compromised,' Mr Ramakrishna told the Wall Street Journal. 'That led them to compromise other email accounts and as a result our broader [Office] 365 environment was compromised.' US lawmakers have labeled the sprawling cyber espionage campaign a national security emergency. The hack, which came to light in December last year, struck nine federal agencies including the FBI and Pentagon and numerous private companies in an unprecedented breach. US intelligence agencies publicly attributed it to Russian state actors. Moscow has denied involvement in the hack. The security breach occurred when hackers snuck malicious code into recent versions of SolarWinds' premier software product, Orion. SolarWinds have since revealed they have traced the hackers back to October 2019, which is five months before they executed the main breach. The hackers are believed to have tested their ability to insert malicious code into the company's network management software on October 10, 2019. Another group of hackers - suspected to be linked to China - exploited an unrelated flaw in software made by SolarWinds Corp to help break into U.S. government computers last year. SolarWinds have since revealed they have traced the hackers back to October 2019, which is five months before they executed the main breach President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the White House said. In this March 10, 2011, file photo, then-Vice President Joe Biden shakes hands with Putin when he was prime minister Two people briefed on the case told Reuters FBI investigators recently found that the National Finance Center, a federal payroll agency inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture (UDSA), was among the affected organizations, raising fears that data on thousands of government employees may have been compromised. The software flaw exploited by the suspected Chinese group is separate from the one the US has accused Russian hackers of being involved in. Security researchers have previously said a second group of hackers was abusing SolarWinds' software at the same time as the alleged Russian hack, but it emerged in February that China is suspected to be connected. The Chinese foreign ministry said attributing cyberattacks was a 'complex technical issue' and any allegations should be supported with evidence. 'China resolutely opposes and combats any form of cyberattacks and cyber theft,' it said in a statement. The side-by-side, but believed to be unrelated, missions show how hackers are focusing on weaknesses in obscure but essential software products that are widely used by major corporations and government agencies. Inglis served in the NSA for 28 years and spent eight years as the deputy director of the National Security Agency before retiring in 2014. He is expected to be confirmed with ease. The position was only created at the end of last year and the Washington Post reported it was a White House job. If confirmed, Inglis will likely be heavily involved in facing security threats posed by foreign actors. He will oversee the defense of civilian agencies and review agencies' cyber budgets, but will not be involved in coordinating offensive military and intelligence agency cyber policy. Biden has also created the position of deputy national security adviser for cyber and put former NSA employee Anne Neuberger in the job. She has been coordinating the response to the Solar Winds and Microsoft Exchange hackings so far. Neuberger's position does not require confirmation from the Senate, but Inglis could have to wait several weeks for his appointment to made official. Thousands of people living and working in specialist disability care are still waiting for their first vaccine doses, eight weeks into the rollout. Disability accommodation providers and residents were supposed to be included in the first phase of the national rollout, which targets the country's most vulnerable residents. But Aruma chief executive Andrew Richardson said no vaccines had been administered across the organisation's 350 group homes, which house at least 1500 people. 'It's shameful - not one person with a disability living in any Aruma supported independent living setting has been vaccinated,' he told ABC radio on Monday. Labor health spokesman Mark Butler said it was a scandal, given that the initial aim was to complete the aged care and disability sector rollout by Easter (pictured, a nurse in Sydney gets the vaccine on March 23) David Moody from National Disability Services said there were similar stories across the country. 'We have many members who continue to be understandably concerned,' Mr Moody said. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly insists all disability care residents will be vaccinated by July. 'Phase 1a and 1b are overlapping and those two will be finished by the middle of the year,' he told ABC radio. The Commonwealth has primary responsibility for vaccinating disability care residents, and has contracted private companies to deliver the jabs. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly insists all disability care residents will be vaccinated by July (pictured, a nurse receiving a vaccine in Townsville on March 5) Professor Kelly did not express any concerns with the sluggish speed of the vaccine rollout. Health Minister Greg Hunt says there has been 'significant in-reach' into the disability sector. Mr Hunt said he had spoken with the minister responsible for disability services, Linda Reynolds, on Monday to work through some of the issues. 'The disability sector has been great,' Mr Hunt told 4BC radio. 'We will just make sure that everybody who seeks to be vaccinated is vaccinated. 'Safety first, medical advice first, and when we have to make adjustments ... that is what we are doing.' Labor health spokesman Mark Butler said it was a 'scandal', given that the initial aim was to complete the aged care and disability sector rollout by Easter. 'Those Australians living with a disability and their carers understandably would be feeling abandoned by Scott Morrison today,' he told the ABC. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon looks on as the video of an officer shooting Daunte Wright is played during a press conference at police headquarters in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 12, 2021. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Fatal Police Shooting in Minnesota Was Accidental, Officer Meant to Use Taser: Police Chief The Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a 20-year-old man during a traffic stop on April 11 meant to use her Taser, not her handgun, the departments top official said on April 12. Video footage played of police officers interaction with Daunte Wright, who was pulled over for a violation, showed he was being handcuffed outside of his car in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, before he eluded an officers grip and jumped back into the drivers seat. Two officers tried getting Wright out of the car when one of their guns discharged. Holy [expletive]. I just shot him, a female officer is heard saying on body camera footage. The officer, who hasnt been publicly named, alerted both Wright and fellow officers that she was prepared to deploy her Taser before the shooting, Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters after playing the video at a press conference. During this encounter, however, the officer drew their handgun instead of their Taser. For informational purposes, we train with our handguns on our dominant side and our Taser on our weak side. So if youre right-handed, you carry your firearm on your right side, and you carry a Taser on the left. This is done purposefully and its trained, Gannon said. As I watch the video and listen to the officers commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet. This appears to mefrom what I viewed in the officers reaction and distress immediately afterthat this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright, he added. The shooting occurred after officers stopped Wright shortly before 2 p.m. for a violation in Brooklyn Center, which is about 10 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Officers ran Wrights information and found he had an outstanding warrant, so they tried to take him into custody. After being shot, Wright drove several blocks before crashing into another vehicle. Officers and responding medical workers tried to perform life-saving measures, but Wright died at the scene. A female passenger was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries from the crash. Occupants of the other vehicle were uninjured. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been asked to conduct an independent investigation of the shooting. According to court records, Wright was charged last month with two misdemeanors for carrying a handgun in a public place without a permit and fleeing from a police officer by a means other than a motor vehicle. The 20-year-old failed to appear at a hearing on April 2, triggering the issuance of a warrant. The officer who shot Wright has been placed on administrative leave. Wrights mother, Katie Wright, claimed soon after the shooting that her son was shot for having air fresheners in his caran unsubstantiated allegation widely circulated both in Minnesota and online. I heard scuffling, and I heard the police officers say, Daunte, dont run, and then the other officer said, Put the phone down and hung it up, she told reporters on April 11. And a minute later, I called and his girlfriend answeredthat was the passengerand said that hed been shot, and she put it on the drivers side and my son was laying there lifeless. People stand on a police cruiser damaged during rioting in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11, 2021. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Friends and family comfort Katie Wright, right, while she speaks briefly to news media near where her son Daunte Wright, 20, was shot by a police officer after resisting arrest in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11, 2021. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP) Riots erupted in Brooklyn Center on April 11 into April 12, with the city experiencing some of the worst damage to the city Ive ever seen in 27 years living there, Gannon told reporters. Peaceful, protesting, expressing yourself, we fully support that. But the ravaging our businesses, the looting of our stores, the destruction to our pharmacies, we cannot tolerate that, he said. Mayor Mike Elliott issued a curfew that was in place until 6 a.m., and Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz deployed the National Guard because of the violence that occurred. Elliott said on April 2 that our hearts are aching right now. We recognize that this couldnt have happened at a worse time, he told reporters, referencing the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin taking place nearby. Chauvin is on trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd. Elliott said his heart goes out to Dauntes family and everyone else affected by the shooting and called on the community to remain peaceful. Our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement, Walz, a Democrat, said in a tweet. Neither mentioned that Wright was resisting while being arrested. City Manager Kurt Boganey said the officer who discharged her weapon is entitled to due process, and declined further comment on her employment status. My position is, that officer [is] afforded due process just like anybody else, the police chief said. Nelima Munene, executive director of the local African Career, Education, and Resource group, said during a press conference after the release of the body camera footage that she found it very disturbing. I am a mother, I have a son with about the same age as Daunte, who drives in the cities every day. That could easily have been my son. And I dont even know if my son is exempt from that treatment. And the continuous actions of our police departments do not give me the confidence that my son or myself are even exempt from those actions, she said. She and other activists called for the officer to be fired immediately. It's a romance with a questionable 18-year age-gap that has a lot of folk talking. But now Lisa Rinna is finally having her say, as she addresses her daughter Amelia Hamlin, 19, dating the much-older Scott Disick, 37, in the next season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. In a teaser for season 11, Lisa, 57, is seen taking a FaceTime call from Amelia who tells her she is spending time with her 'friend' Scott - who has three children - Mason, 11, Reign, 6, and Penelope, 8 - with his estranged partner Kourtney Kardashian, 41. Say what now? Lisa Rinna, 57, is seen taking a FaceTime call from daughter Amelia, 19, who tells her she's going on a date with Scott Disick, 37, who she calls her 'friend' During the teaser, pal Kyle Richards bellowed: 'He's too damn old... and he's got three kids!' as mother Lisa shouts back in agreement with her: 'I know!' It looks as though Lisa is concerned about the romance, as she leans on her Housewives co-stars to talk about the romance in a scene from the show. Lisa has been largely silent on the topic of her daughter Amelia dating Scott, only referencing the romance in jest on her social media. Whether she likes it or not: Scott Disick, 37, is dating Rinner's daughter Amelia Hamlin, 19 (the pair pictured above just this month in Miami) Last week, the reality star joked about the fact they were both seen out recently wearing bucket hats. 'Welp we both seem to share a love of bucket hats,' Lisa wrote alongside the pic of her and Scott. Since scenes from RHOBH were filmed, the relationship between the pair has been growing from strength to strength with reports flying they're even considering moving in together in Miami, Florida. Scott and Amelia were first linked last October when they were seen together at Kendall Jenner's Halloween party. Every mother's worst nightmare? Lisa reacts to the news about Scott 'He's too damn old!' Lisa is later seen discussing the 18-year-gap between lothario Scott and her daughter They went Instagram official around Valentine's Day this year, and Amelia called Scott her 'dream man' later the same month. Amelia previously dated Mercer Wiederhorn, and Scott's past relationship with Kourtney is still a storyline on Keeping Up With The Kardashians as he co-parents his three children with the reality star. The former couple dated for nearly 10 years before calling it quits on their relationship in 2015, after having their three children together. Scott was most recently linked to Lionel Richie's daughter Sofia Richie, 22. Will he be a winner with Rinna? Lisa breaks the news to the ladies that daughter Amelia, 19, is dating Scott Disick, 37 Extraordinary meeting of Ukraine-NATO to be held at Ukraine's request to discuss aggravation on border with Russia MFA Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will pay a working visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, April 13, to participate in an extraordinary meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports. "The meeting initiated by Ukraine is convened within the framework of Article 15 of the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Ukraine, pursuant to the agreement between President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on April 6," the Foreign Ministry said on Monday. During the visit, Kuleba is scheduled to meet with Stoltenberg. The Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and NATO will discuss the aggravation of the situation along the Russian-Ukrainian border and in the temporarily occupied Crimea, effective ways of supporting the North Atlantic Alliance for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 06:02:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close QUITO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE) will take a few days to officially announce the winner of Sunday's presidential runoff due to procedural requirements, the president of the election body, Diana Atamaint, said Monday. Preliminary results issued late Sunday by the CNE indicated an "irreversible" trend, Atamaint stressed, but political parties "have the right" to file complaints and have them addressed before the definitive results are published. In addition, each of the 24 provincial electoral boards must review ballots that presented inconsistencies. With 99 percent of the ballots tabulated by noon on Monday, right-of-center candidate Guillermo Lasso, a former banker, maintained his lead with 52.52 percent of the valid votes (4,563,430), according to the CNE. Meanwhile, his progressive rival Andres Arauz, a left-leaning economist endorsed by Ecuador's ex-president Rafael Correa, garnered 47.48 percent of the votes (4,125,896). Voter turnout was high, with 82.72 percent of the country's more than 13 million eligible voters going to the polls, though protest votes in the form of null ballots accounted for 16.33 percent. Lasso's victory came as somewhat of a surprise since Arauz won the first round of the elections with a sizable lead over the ex-banker, albeit in a crowded field of candidates, and weeks before the runoff, several polls gave Arauz a minimum 7-point advantage. However, more recent polls showed growing support for Lasso. Enditem Where is it? Im in the back middle seat of an SUV sandwiched between my two oldest daughters ping-ponging my head between windows, scanning Californias Mojave Desert for a giant rock, not any giant rock, THE Giant Rock. The purported largest freestanding boulder in the world, Giant Rock stands seven stories tall, weighs an astonishing 30,000 tons and covers an astounding 5,800 square feet on the ground. Its probably not actually the largest there are some other contenders in Western Mongolia and South Africa but its certainly in contention globally. Finding it shouldnt be hard, except the final three miles of the journey to Giant Rock are through a veritable dust cloud on unpaved sand trails that spider out across the desert in a million different directions its hard to tell where we are on a map, let alone on a phone with a spotty Internet connection. Courtesy of Audrey Merlone We choose the correct spider leg ultimately, curving our way around a bend of a modest ridge 16 miles north of Joshua Tree in Landers, Calif. and finally spot it off in the distance. It looks like a big enough rock from afar, but as we rumble closer and closer it just never stops growing, until I'm close enough that it even covers parts of my peripheral vision. We park a few hundred feet from it and pile out of the car into a silent desert landscape. All you can hear is the sound of a Mojave breeze whipping across your eardrums. I can feel the alien vibes in the air, my 9-year-old daughter says. Courtesy of Audrey Merlone ::: Its hard to say exactly when Giant Rocks story starts. There are endless theories about how it ended up in the middle of the desert. Theres an oft-repeated claim that its an erratic (a rock that doesnt belong in its surroundings) that ended up here after the last Ice Age (this is false theres no trace of glaciation in the desert). Others have postulated its an erosional remnant (basically the tip of a big hill thats been weathered and surrounded by sediment this is also a nope because of how fractureless Giant Rock is). And then there are the shocking number of books on the subject that believe it was left by extraterrestrials (Giant Rock: The Greatest UFO Story Never Told is my personal favorite, but this is sadly wrong, too). No, this giant ball of Cretaceous-age, garnet-bearing granite almost definitely simply rolled off of the little outcropping next to it. So says Richard Hazlett, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Analysis and Geology at Pomona College. And if theres anyone to believe, its him. Courtesy of Audrey Merlone Hazlett has studied the geology of the Joshua Tree area for years and co-authored a book thats literally titled Joshua Tree National Park Geology. Following a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in Landers in 1992, Hazlett was in the high desert studying the effects on the landscape and made quite the discovery. Right after the quake we drove out into the valleys north of Landers trying to find some of the fractures in the desert floor, and the earthquake shook free a lot of the fractured, weathered rock high up on the mountaintop that rolled and tumbled down onto the desert, he says. They were practically house-sized well, cabin-sized and they came down with such speed that they not only rolled across the sand, they bounced a fair distance from the range several 100 feet in some cases. I had no trouble visualizing Giant Rock as a fragment of the range, and the only thing that would dislodge it was a really big earthquake from the past. Any trace of the impact it made when it hit the foot of the range has since been covered up by sediment. But I can come up with no other theory, and it makes sense to me based on what Ive seen elsewhere in the desert. Unfortunately, Hazlett wasnt around to share this conclusion in the middle of the last century. ::: The first real national attention for Giant Rock came in the 30s when prospector Frank Critzer used dynamite to blow a hole under the rock and then built a small subterranean apartment underneath it. A 1940 issue of Popular Science claims his apartment was a roomy 24ft by 36ft, and stayed between 55 and 80 degrees year-round. Critzer also built a makeshift airport runway in the dry lakebed next to Giant Rock by dragging timber and iron behind his car, and put radio antennas atop the gargantuan boulder which, along with his last name and war-time hysteria, drew speculation he may be a German spy. Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection via But Critzer was born in 1886 in Waynesboro, Virginia, as confirmed by both census reports and his WWI draft registration card, despite countless Internet reports that identify him as a German national. And according to an Associated Press story in 1984 that included an interview with George Knepp a Landers resident who knew Critzer he wasnt a spy, but instead an ordinary, lonely guy. Nonetheless, the Federal Bureau of Investigation kept tabs on him via local law enforcement. Harold Simpson, a Riverside County deputy, told the AP he made regular visits to Critzer and filed reports to the FBI after each trip to Giant Rock. On Simpsons final visit on July 24, 1942, Critzer died in an alleged self-detonated dynamite explosion just outside of his apartment door after the deputies tried to bring him in for questioning. None of the officers were killed despite the blast, which turned out to be a stroke of luck after 217 pounds of undetonated dynamite were found inside his subterranean home. Shockingly, though, Critzer a man who built a living quarters under a 30,000-ton rock, and an airport in the middle of the Mojave Desert wasnt even Giant Rocks most famous resident. That honor would go to his friend George Van Tassel. ::: By 1947, Van Tassel an Ohio man who moved to California in 1930 his wife Eva and their three daughters moved to Giant Rock. He leased the land for Giant Rock Airport from the Bureau of Land Management with the support of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, according to court records, and reopened Critzers airfield. He built a small commercial airport facility, selling fuel to airplanes landing there, plus his wife ran a cafe dubbed the Come on Inn, which served burgers and spiced apple pies a few dozen feet from the rock. To who exactly? Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images Well, you see, Van Tassel picked himself up quite the following in the 1950s, because according to Van Tassel, he regularly communicated with aliens. He wrote a book in 1956 about his first encounter with them, where he was awakened by a tall tan alien and taken aboard their ship, and for about 20 years hosted Flying Saucer Conventions at Giant Rock that were attended by as many as 15,000 people. In a 1957 issue of LIFE Magazine, Van Tassel said aliens persuaded him to run for President in 1960 and offered to help run his campaign. That, disappointedly, never materialized. Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection via Hed go on to build the Integratron a 16-sided dome that was technically supposed to be used to collect up to 50,000 volts of static electricity from the air in order to charge the human body three miles south of Giant Rock on the advice of his alien friends. But he never finished it, and when he died in 1978, no one could find any sort of plans to help him complete it. Too bad. Today, its mostly just a place people go to take Instagram photos, with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 visitors each year. ::: Youve arrived, the muffled Waze voice says in my pocket. Its around 2 p.m. when we start to snake through the sand to Giant Rock for the first time. Along the way I spot the foundation of Eva Van Tassels Come on Inn. And even though its been filled with sand, there are still some remnants of Critzers subterranean home on the dark side of the boulder. Its 20 degrees colder in the shadow of Giant Rock, and it all sort of starts to make sense how Critzer (and then Van Tassel) survived the 100-degree summer heat. Grant Marek/SFGATE I also see the sizable piece of the rock that broke off in 2000 after millions of years of expanding and contracting in the desert heat. Theres only one other person in the area when we first arrive, a shirtless, leather-skinned, excessively hairy old man whos camping out of his car with an elaborate tarp setup a few hundred feet from Giant Rock. If there was one Van Tassel follower left, my money would be on it being him. I circle the granite behemoth a couple of times and find rock climbing carabiners anchored into it at places, a chilling alien face and RIP earthlings painted alongside all kinds of nonsense graffiti, which is not just part of Giant Rock, but of the ridge alongside it. Courtesy of Audrey Merlone The surrounding range has become a sort of crowd-sourced art exhibit, filled with everything from RIP tags and immature political statements (there are a lot of dicks) to a Star Wars resistance logo and someones Twitter handle. My personal favorite is an oddly shaped square rock with a little nub coming out of one end that someone painted car windows and a taillight on. I decide this is Minivan Rock. I hike through the boulder-y range while my daughters trek up to two giant eyes painted three-quarters of the way up the ridge with their uncle. Theres broken glass everywhere that based on all of the bullet-hole riddled cans and shotgun shells was likely used for post-party target practice. Grant Marek/SFGATE I find a good sitting rock near a colorful 420 tag and a game of spray-painted Tic-Tac-Toe, and sit and stare at Giant Rock for a while, trying to imagine what Professor Hazlett theorized. The temperature swings in and out of the rocks shadow have my body sort of on edge, not sure if its too hot or too cold, and my thoughts feel kind of the same way. I know the scientific explanation makes total sense, but out here in the middle of nowhere, faced with the largest boulder Ive ever seen in my life (by a lot), I cant help but feel pulled by the invisible hand of an extraterrestrial one. KYODO NEWS - Apr 12, 2021 - 21:51 | All, World China has appointed former Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming as the country's special representative in charge of diplomatic talks over North Korean nuclear issues, the Foreign Ministry said Monday, with the two traditionally friendly nations bolstering their ties. Beijing has recently been trying to forge a closer relationship with Pyongyang as their respective ties with the United States have shown few signs of improving anytime soon even after President Joe Biden took office in January. Liu, who also served as ambassador to North Korea from 2006 to 2010, is expected to double as China's chief representative in long-dormant six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear matters, which involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. The six-party talks were launched in 2003 but have not been convened since December 2008. North Korea pulled out of the framework in 2009, protesting U.N. condemnation of its nuclear and missile programs. The post of special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs has been effectively vacant since Kong Xuanyou became China's ambassador to Japan in 2019. During the period, former Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui took on the duties related to the position. Since the beginning of this year, the Communist-led Chinese government and North Korea, led by leader Kim Jong Un, have sought to deepen their cooperation to resist political pressure from the new U.S. administration. When North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on March 25 in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning Pyongyang from using any ballistic technology, the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping refrained from condemning it. China is one of five veto-wielding permanent members on the Security Council. Late last month, days after China and the United States held two-day foreign ministerial talks through March 19 in Alaska, Xi and Kim exchanged messages and reaffirmed the necessity of strengthening relations between the two neighbors. No breakthrough had emerged from the U.S.-China gathering, leaving strained bilateral ties that started to deteriorate following a tit-for-tat trade war waged by Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump. North Korea's official media quoted Xi as telling Kim then that China is ready to "provide the peoples of the two countries with a better life," indicating Beijing's willingness to supply economic assistance to Pyongyang. Earlier this year, China tapped Wang Yajun, a senior official of the ruling Communist Party, as the new ambassador to North Korea, while Pyongyang appointed Ri Ryong Nam, a former trade minister, as the nation's new envoy to Beijing. In 1949, China and North Korea established diplomatic relations. They fought together in the 1950-1953 Korean War against the U.S.-led United Nations forces and have long been described as "blood brothers." North Korea also relies on China, its closest and most influential ally, for more than 90 percent of its trade. Pyongyang has no diplomatic ties with Washington. Related coverage: North Korea completes building new 3,000-ton submarine: report FOCUS: North Korea, China may use Olympics as political tool to boost ties North Korea keen to cozy up to China for economy by giving up U.S. talks A Leitrim man has received a fully suspended sentence for using fake documents in an attempt to procure a mortgage. Aidan McGovern (40) of Croi na Carraige, Keshcarrigan, Leitrim pleaded guilty to providing false statements, wage slips for a non-existent company and a false p60 at KBC in Swords in 2018. He has six previous convictions which are mainly for road traffic and public order offences. Garda Karen Duffy of Swords Garda Station told Tom Neville BL prosecuting, that bank staff at KBC had suspicions about the documents which they had received from McGovern. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that while the AIB bank statement contained the correct account details for McGovern, that the amount of money was incorrect and that the accused had much less money in his account than the statement suggested. McGovern had also provided a Credit Union statement which belonged to another person but which he was trying to pass off as his own. The p60 document he provided was false and it was discovered that he was not registered for PAYE at the time. In relation to the wage slips, it was found that they related to Acorn Services Solutions Limited which it was discovered was a company that does not exist. When contacted by gardai, McGovern was informed of his entitlement to a solicitor of which he did not avail. The accused had outlined how he had edited the documents and confirmed that he had emailed documents which he knew were fraudulent to the bank in order to apply for a 120,000 mortgage. The court heard that the reason McGovern had given for his actions were as a result of his marriage breakdown, after which he sought to obtain a house to stay in. Seamus Clarke SC defending confirmed with Gda Duffy that the accused man had co-operated fully and that he had set out what he had done and his reasons for doing it to gardai. Mr Clarke said that the accused had intended to pay off the mortgage and that he regretted what he had done. He added that the father-of-two had come forward with a plea and that he had fully co-operated from the outset and was unlikely to re-offend. Judge Pauline Codd said that a mitigating factor was that the accused admitted he had doctored the documents in question without implicating anyone else. She emphasised the importance the court has to protect the integrity of loan applications, despite the accused mans intention to pay the mortgage back in full. Judge Codd said that it was McGoverns belief that it is as cheap to pay off a mortgage as it is to pay rent. She added that she was taking into account the fact that the events took place within the context of the accused man separating from his wife and their child. The judge said that many go through marital breakdown but dont resort to this conduct which she described as pre-meditated. Mitigating factors cited were the fact that the accused co-operated, declined his right to a solicitor and that he is at a low risk of re-offending. Judge Codd sentenced McGovern to three years in prison, suspending the sentence in full on the condition that he keep the peace. Hyundai Card Vice Chairman Chung Tae-young / Courtesy of Hyundai Card By Park Jae-hyuk Chung Tae-young, who has served as the sole leader of Hyundai Motor Group's (HMG) three financial units Hyundai Card, Hyundai Capital and Hyundai Commercial over the past 14 years, is set to share his burden with three new chief executives, who are supposed to be appointed after each company's board meeting later this month. The three nominees are Hyundai Card CEO Kim Deok-hwan, Hyundai Capital CEO Mok Jin-won and Hyundai Commercial CEO Lee Byung-hui. All of them have experience working for other companies, including foreign firms, before joining HMG's financial arms. Kim served as a JPMorgan Chase vice president and a GE Money senior marketing leader. Mok worked for McKinsey & Company and Lee was at MetLife Korea. Hyundai Card cited the necessity of swift decision-making amid the digitization trend as the main reason for the planned governance reform at the company and its affiliates. Some industry officials, however, expect the three new CEOs will protect Chung from labor disputes and other unfavorable factors by taking responsibility for personnel matters, risk management and overall operations, so that the vice chairman can focus more on establishing medium- to long-term strategies, such as the initial public offering (IPO) of Hyundai Card. They believe Chung may accelerate efforts to take his company public after the new chief executives are appointed. But Hyundai Card denied such possibilities, saying the vice chairman will not avoid his duty to handle labor issues because the planned governance reform will impose heavier responsibilities on each chief executive. "Our company and affiliates are involved in talks with the unions based on the principle of good faith," its spokesman said. After workers formed unions at all three financial units of HMG last year, Chung has faced conflicts with union members, who alleged in February that the vice chairman had conducted unfair labor practices by avoiding collective bargaining. Last month, the unions held a meeting with Rep. Park Yong-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea to demand the lawmaker to keep Chung from holding the chief executive positions of the three companies concurrently. They also asked Park to summon Chung to a National Assembly audit later this year and scrutinize his salary, which reached 4.5 billion won ($4 million) last year, the highest among those of incumbent financial firm CEOs here. After the meeting, the lawmaker's office began to review a revision of the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies, which allows executives of credit financial firms to hold multiple seats concurrently. The disputes involving Chung have been mentioned as potential risks to the envisioned listing of Hyundai Card, although the company has reiterated its stance that nothing has been decided regarding the IPO. Election Commission of India (ECI) has imposed a ban of 24 Hours on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from "campaigning in any manner". The order, which was issued on Monday, stated that Banerjee is not allowed to campaign from 8:00 pm on April 12 till 8:00 pm on April 13. The ECI order banning Mamata from campaigning for 24 hours has come amid allegations of her breaking the law with her comments on Muslim votes. She has also been accused of urging voters to revolt against the CAPF forces. TMC MP Derek O'Brien, in a tweet, blasted the Election Commission of India by calling it "Extremely Compromised". EC stands for Extremely Compromised. - Derek O'Brien | ' (@derekobrienmp) April 12, 2021 Earlier, ECI had sent a notice to the West Bengal Chief Minister for attempting to garner votes over communal grounds. The ECI has asked Mamata to explain her stand on the issue within 48 hours. She was asked to explain speeches made by her on March 28 and April 7. The notice sent by ECI was based on a complaint filed by a Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The ECI has found the statements in question to be in violation of Section 123 (3), 3 (A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and clauses (2), (3) and (4) of Part 1 of 'General Conduct of Model Code of Conduct for the guidance of political parties and candidates', according to the LiveMint. The 24-hour ban comes at a time when West Bengal legislative election has reached its halfway point. Out of the eight phases for West Bengal state legislative assembly elections, four have been completed thus far. Polling for the next phase will be held on April 17. The results of the West Bengal assembly elections are expected to be announced on May 2. Also Read: PM Modi slams Mamata at Bardhaman rally, says TMC tormenting Ma, Mati, Manush 40% of US Adults Now Fully Vaccinated By West Kentucky Star Staff WASHINGTON DC - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that 166 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including more than 62 percent of the nation's adults.About 133 million people have been fully vaccinated by Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine or the two-dose series made by Pfizer and Moderna.However, the daily average of national doses continues to fall steadily. As of Friday, an average of 1.5 million doses are being administered daily, compared with 1.8 million a week ago and 3.4 million in April.This spring, President Biden set a goal of July 4 to reach the 70 percent "herd immunity" level, but at the current rate the CDC estimates that level won't be reached before August 27.Kentucky has given at least one dose to 46 percent of its residents, ranking it 29th in the nation. More than 38 percent of Kentucky residents are now fully vaccinated.Illinois ranks 18th at 54 percent. Tennessee ranks 45th in the nation with 38.9 percent getting at least one dose.Vermont continues to have the highest percentage of its population getting vaccinations at 70 percent. Hawaii and Massachusetts are next at 66 percent.Eight states are now over 60 percent with at least one shot administered, and 21 are over 50 percent.On the Net: Telenor and Axiata in advanced talks to merge Malaysian operations Norwegian teleom operator Telenor Group and Malaysias Axiata Group Berhad are in advanced discussions regarding a potential merger of their Malaysian mobile operations Digi and Celcom, in which the parties will have an equal ownership of 33.1 per cent each. The new company will be a leading provider of telecommunication services in the country, with competence and scale to meet increasing expectations and demand from a digitally connected society. The parties aim to create a leading telecommunication service provider in Malaysia with the capabilities to drive research and innovation and facilitate a platform for accelerated digital growth in the local ecosystem and the merged company will be well positioned for delivering industry innovation, high-quality connectivity and a diversified value proposition to the customers, Teenor stated in a release. The proposed merger represents an important milestone in Telenor Groups strategy to strengthen its Asian presence and create value in the region. The new entity will have size and financial capabilities to support Malaysias digital aspirations and lead industry development in a connected society. We look forward to partner with Axiata to realize the potential of the new company, Jorgen C. Arentz Rostrup, executive vice president and head of Telenor Asia, said. Both parties have agreed to nominate Dato Izzaddin Idris as chair, Jrgen C. Arentz Rostrup as deputy chair, Idham Nawawi as CEO and Albern Murty as deputy CEO of the merged company, which will be named Celcom Digi Berhad. As part of the transaction, Axiata will receive newly issued shares in Digi, which represents 33.1 per cent of the merged company. a transaction will realise synergies and provide value for shareholders in line with our strategy of developing value from core telco assets. Celcom Digi will continue to be listed on Bursa Malaysia and will be amongst the top stocks in terms of market capitalisation and contribute to the attractiveness of the local capital market. Telenor Group and Axiata are looking to finalise agreements in relation to the proposed transaction within the second quarter of 2021 following due diligence. The transaction will be subject to approval by Digi board and Celcom shareholders, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary terms and conditions. The parties acknowledge that there is no certainty that these discussions will result in any agreement. Telenor is reported to be looking at opportunities for mergers and acquisitions in several of its Asian markets, as well as in Denmark, to obtain the size and cost savings needed for digital investments. Officials in Las Vegas have asked the Nevada legislature to ban non-functional grass turf on public land that nobody walks on in an effort to conserve water. The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimated that there is almost 21 square kilometres of non-functional turf in the Las Vegas metro area. It is the grass between roads and sidewalks, and the decorative grass in housing developments and office parks. The authority said this ornamental grass requires four times as much water as drought-tolerant landscaping like cactus, according to the Associated Press. Officials estimate that removing this grass could reduce the annual water consumption of the region by about 15 per cent and save about 14 gallons (53 litres) per person per day. Last year, Las Vegas went without rainfall for a record 240 days. The dry streak began in April and only ended in December 2020 when rain showers swept through Southern Nevada. In Las Vegas, 90 per cent of the water supply comes from the Colorado River. The supply from the river is in question as research showed it could lose about a quarter of its flow by 2050 due to climate change. The Colorado River provides water to Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Mexico. In 2019, as the water levels receded in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico began taking less water from the river to reduce the risk of the reservoirs falling to dangerously low levels, according to USA Today. Justin Jones, a Clark County commissioner who serves on the water authoritys board, told the Associated Press that they are not coming after your average homeowners backyard, but grass in the middle of a road where no one walks. The Center for Biological Diversity has backed the idea, saying it is the kind of bold thinking needed to avoid disaster. One of the most accomplished pacing stallions currently racing, Western Fame will now compete for new owners after being sold on Tuesday (April 6). The speedy stakes-winning son of Western Ideal, with a mark of 1:48.1f and nearly $1.9 million in purses, is currently facing the best pacers in the country in the MGM Borgata Series at Yonkers while racing from the Shane Tritton stable. The partnership of Soulsby, Klunowski, B & I Stables LLC and Singh sold the pacer through onGait.com for $114,000. Ronald Gold of New Jersey was the winning bidder. Also on Tuesday, Lyons Girlhanover p,5,1:52.2s, a six-year-old daughter of Well Said racing in Ontario until the shutdown, sold for $20,400 to Larry Stalbaum of New York. (with files from OnGait) Fires and explosions have been happening in cannabis grow houses and in processing places for decades. THC hash oil is extracted from the cannabis plant using butane as a solvent. Evaporated butane fumes are extremely flammable and explosive and causes explosions if done incorrectly. Those vapors can be ignited from common items including a refrigerator motor, a wall outlet, or even static electricity, triggering an instant explosion. The Denver area has seen more fires from hash-oil explosions since Colorado's Amendment 64 passed. "It is not much different from a meth lab as far as the fire danger," said Montezuma County undersheriff Lynda Carter. For that reason, hash oil production has been banned within city limits. A lesser-known risk for growing marijuana indoors is exposure to our children, which is a violation of child endangerment laws and social services regulations. From Dr. Barbara Reisman (noted Napa psychiatrist) "medical research has consistently demonstrated a negative impact of marijuana on the developing brain." Its illegal to expose children to marijuana, and is comparable to an adult charged with a DUI, plus child endangerment, because kids are in the car. The Houthi rebels from Yemen today claimed yet another attack on Saudi Aramco facilities, involving 17 drones and two ballistic missiles. Reuters has reported the attack, according to the statement, targeted Aramco facilities in Jeddah and Jubail. The news comes just a day after Arab News reported that Saudi forces had intercepted three drones and one ballistic missile fired at two other locations, both in southern Saudi Arabia: Khamis Mushayt and Jazan. A spokesman for the Houthis said today that these two locations were targets of their latest attacks, too. Reuters reported earlier today the Saudi side has not yet confirmed the latest Houthi attack and noted that Aramco has a refinery in Jeddah, which was decommissioned in 2017. The site, however, still houses an oil distribution plant that has been the target of Houthi attacks before. The attack on Jazan is the second one in as many weeks. The previous one, targeting an oil products distribution site in the town and was confirmed by the Saudis. The Kingdom strongly condemns this cowardly attack against vital installations. The attack does not only target the Kingdom, but also petroleum exports, the stability of energy supply to the world, freedom of world trade, as well as the global economy, Saudi Arabia said at the time. The late-March attack on the Jizan terminal follows attacks in recent weeks, in which the Houthis claimed a drone attack on the Riyadh refinery and a drone-and-ballistic-missile attack at oil facilities at the Saudi port of Ras Tanura, one of the worlds largest oil ports. The latest attacks come amid an escalation in fighting between the Saudi-led coalition that seeks to reinstate Yemens elected government, which the Iran-backed Houthis overthrew some six years ago. There has been talk of a ceasefire, but the Houthis want the Saudis to lift a sea and air blockade before they lay down their arms. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com KYODO NEWS - Apr 12, 2021 - 12:05 | All, Coronavirus, Japan Japan's coronavirus inoculation campaign has been progressing slowly, with over 99 percent of the population yet to receive a shot about two months after its start, trailing many developed nations. Japan, which currently completely depends on imports for its coronavirus vaccine supply, began inoculating about 36 million seniors aged 65 or older on Monday after beginning its campaign with health care workers on Feb. 17. The elderly account for around 29 percent of Japan's population. Out of Japan's 4.8 million healthcare workers, about 1.1 million -- equivalent to about 0.87 percent of the population -- had received at least one dose as of Friday, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. Some advanced nations are way ahead of Japan in terms of COVID-19 vaccinations, according to data gathered by researchers at the University of Oxford. Our World in Data, produced by a research team based at the university, showed that over 61 percent of the population in Israel had received at least one vaccine dose as of last Thursday, while the rate stood at 47 percent in Britain, around 34 percent in the United States, and around 15 percent in Germany. Several factors are believed to be behind the slow rollout in Japan. Japanese authorities only gave their first approval to a COVID-19 vaccine -- the one developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE -- about two months after Europe and the United States did so. Another reason is that Japan currently relies exclusively on the European Union for shipments of the Pfizer shot, and approval is needed for each shipment under the region's new export controls. Domestic drugmakers have been slow to develop their own vaccines. Anges Inc., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Shionogi & Co. and KM Biologics Co. have begun clinical trials but all still have some way to go before going to market. Related coverage: Japan to start COVID-19 vaccinations for elderly Japan hospital worker infected with coronavirus after 2 vaccine shots Japan's total number of COVID-19 cases top 500,000 Meanwhile, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. has an agreement to manufacture Novavax Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine in Japan and started its clinical trial in the country in February. Public concern over potential side effects from coronavirus vaccines remains relatively high in Japan, and the government implements strict requirements for vaccines, including mandatory additional clinical trials on its own population. But the dependence on overseas supply has fanned worries of leaving Japan vulnerable to future pandemics. "Establishing the ability to domestically develop and produce vaccines is a crucial issue from a crisis management standpoint," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a parliamentary session Monday. Some health experts have tried to add a positive twist to Japan trailing behind other countries, saying it would allow Tokyo to assess the situation regarding side effects overseas. Others, though, warn that the fact that Japan has seen significantly fewer infections and COVID-19 deaths than in many European countries and the United States may have led to a lack of urgency over vaccines -- one that may see it lose out in the international competition to secure supply. Cumulative coronavirus infections surpassed 500,000 on Friday in Japan. Taro Kono, the minister in charge of vaccination efforts, has said the government is poised to distribute a total of 100 million doses, enough to fully vaccinate 50 million people, by late June. The Pfizer vaccine, the only vaccine approved in Japan so far, is a double-dose vaccine with people set to take their second shot usually three weeks after the first shot. Britain's AstraZeneca Plc filed for approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in February, followed by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna Inc. in March. Suga has pledged to secure enough COVID-19 vaccines for Japan's population of 126 million within the first half of 2021. In the meantime, municipalities have voiced their concerns over a series of schedule changes for the vaccination program by the central government. On Friday, April 9, NASA showed us a short video of the helicopter in the Jezero Crater, slowly spinning its blades at 50 rpm during pre-flight procedures. Engineers then went for a high-speed spin of the rotors, trying to get everything in order. It was then when something was detected as not being quite right.According to the available info, NASA blames the test's failure on the expiration of a so-called watchdog timer. Thats the technology that oversees the command sequence and is in charge of alerting controllers and the craft itself of possible issues.NASA does not say if this was a timer mishap or some other fault was detected during the procedure. This data was received on Friday night, and it showed the error occurred when Ingenuity was attempting to transition the flight computer from Pre-Flight to Flight mode.Whatever that may have been all about, the reality remains the flight no longer took place as intended on April 11. The agency is now targeting April 14 for liftoff, as the available info shows Ingenuity is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth.Despite the delay, or maybe because of it, the test's importance did not diminish one bit. A couple of months after it landed on Mars together with Perseverance , the helicopter is about to prove flight in a less dense atmosphere and in lower gravity is possible for a machine of this kind.If it manages to prove that, whole new avenues for the exploration of alien worlds will open. The DuPage County Fair has been canceled for 2021 but officials say they are working with the University of Illinois Extension Office on a way for DuPage 4-H members to show their animals and projects in July so they can attend the Illinois State Fair in August. (Suzanne Baker/Naperville Sun) HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) On-farm grain storage is on the rise with additional bins being built on farms and on commercial sites, creating a greater risk of fatal mishaps for individuals working in and around them. The checkoff organizations of Nebraskas corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum industries and their respective associations remind farmers and agricultural workers to be safe in and around grain bins during the recent Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week, according to a news release. Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week that concluded April 2 is organized through an alliance between the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Grain and Feed Association, the Grain Elevator and Processing Society, and the Grain Handling Safety Council. Ron Pughes, director of Adams County Emergency Management, encouraged farmers to take this week to evaluate safety precautions used around grain bins. He said farmers should be aware of the risks and not become complacent. There are several hazards associated with grain bins, including engulfments and entanglements, according to the Hastings Tribune. An entanglement could occur when farmers or agricultural employees work in close proximity to grain augers. The danger in operating an auger is getting caught in a moving part. An engulfment happens when grain flows downward and forms a funnel, pulling a person down to the point of full immersion. Once immersed, the victim could be suffocated. Pughes recalled an incident two years ago when emergency personnel responded to a man trapped in a grain bin near Kenesaw. Multiple agencies responded to the scene and used a rescue tube to help save him. A rescue tube is constructed in three panels, which are placed around the victim to prevent the weight of the grain from crushing the chest and keep the victim from going under the grain. Once the rescue tube was in place in the Kenesaw incident, they were able to remove the grain and get the man out of the bin. While that rescue was successful, Pughes said, time is of the essence with a grain bin rescue. In a matter of minutes, a victim can be engulfed in grain. There are more times its a recovery rather than a rescue, he said. A lot of times, by the time we get there, its too late. Following that incident, Pughes said, area volunteer fire departments received rescue tubes to aid in the rescue of a person trapped in grain. Fortunately, he said, calls for rescue are infrequent. With the proper safety procedures, grain bin incidents are preventable. It is important to follow all the safety rules when it comes to working with grain stored in bins. Here are a few grain bin safety tips to keep in mind when you are working with stored grain: Use inspection holes or grain level markers to understand what is happening inside the bin. Use a pole from outside the bin to break up grain bridges. You should enter a grain bin only if absolutely necessary. If you must get into the bin, use a body harness secured to the outside of the bin. Have at least two people watching over you as you enter and work inside the bin. Use hand signals to communicate _ and make sure everyone you are working with knows what those signals are. We know farmers are anxious to get back in the fields this spring, so many are now busy working with their previous crops stored on-farm, said Bob Delsing, chairman of the Nebraska Wheat Board and farmer from Hemingford. By dedicating a week to the importance of grain bin safety, we can hopefully serve as that friendly reminder to always be prepared, knowledgeable and responsible when working in and around grain bins. Throughout the week, Nebraskas corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum checkoffs and their respective grower associations shared grain bin safety tips from their social media channels. More information also can be found at standup4grainsafety.org. Farming is one of the most hazardous industries we have in the United States, said David Bruntz, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board and farmer from Friend. We often hear of unimaginable accidents in agriculture because there are a lot of moving parts and large pieces of machinery to work with. Nebraska Corn regularly reminds farmers to take a second for safety, because many accidents and fatalities can be prevented with just a little added caution. About the photo: This April 2021 photo shows a grain bin east of Juniata, Neb. Several Nebraska agricultural commodity organizations are working to increase awareness of safety issues for individuals working in and around the bins. (Andy Raun/The Hastings Tribune via AP) Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Regis High School, one of the most prominent Catholic schools in the country, said it planned to fire the Jesuit priest who serves as its president after an investigation found he had engaged in sexual misconduct involving several adults, including school employees. The Rev. Daniel Lahart, who has been president of Regis, a prestigious all-boys school in Manhattan, since 2016, has been on administrative leave since late February, the school said in a statement. His firing will be effective April 21, the school said. The investigation is now coming to a close, and the board of trustees has determined, based on the findings of the third party investigator, that Fr. Lahart engaged in inappropriate and unwelcome verbal communications and physical conduct, all of a sexual nature, with adult members of the Regis community, including subordinates, Anthony DiNovi, the chairman of the board of trustees, wrote in an email to the school community on Sunday. He added: This conduct was nonconsensual, and moreover, continued notwithstanding express requests from the affected parties for the conduct to cease. F inding mirth in misery is one of the most fundamental qualities of being Irish. Sure, if you didnt laugh, youd cry, my mother, a Dubliner with a wicked ability to see the funny side of life, is fond of saying. There has always been an obsession with darkness in the countrys folklore, and its modern literature also revels in it. Flann OBriens 1941 satire, The Poor Mouth, set in an impoverished region of Ireland where it rains relentlessly, is regarded as one of the greatest Irish-language novels of the 20th century at once hilarious and macabre. Comedians, too, have skilfully mined Irelands traumatic past over the years, from Seventies satirical storyteller Dave Allen, to stand-ups Ardal OHanlon, Tommy Tiernan and Dylan Moran. That has translated to telly as well. But none more so than in recent years. Irish TV comedies may have been around for decades the deliciously giddy and subversive Father Ted was a groundbreaking water-cooler hit when it arrived in the Nineties, followed by the surreal sitcom Black Books and the mockumentary Paths to Freedom in the 2000s. In the past five years, however, theres been an explosion of them and theyre drawing in fans from around the world. The new era began with Catastrophe, with its Irish co-star and creator Sharon Horgan; then came Derry Girls, The Young Offenders, This Way Up and My Left Nut. A new dawn for Irish comedy is upon us, each show with its own distinct voice and influences, and yet with an undeniable bleakness uniting them in grim hilarity. Perhaps its the rain. Its just in our blood, says actor Domhnall Gleeson, who co-wrote the new Channel 4 sitcom Frank of Ireland, about a misanthropic man-child who lives with his mum, alongside his brother Brian and his school friend Michael Moloney. Were naturally quite pleased with ourselves but also historically shat upon, says actor/showrunner extraordinaire Horgan, musing on why the Irish are so brilliant at black comedy. I suppose Ireland is the natural underdog, in many ways. And were very good at telling the truth. The first episode of Frank of Ireland homes in on something else that feels distinctly Irish: a chaotic wake. An Irish mammy admits, with a shrug, that shes just there for the free booze and a bit of craic. Later, two men competing for the affection of a woman exchange insults over an open casket. Finally, a fight breaks out at the ceremony and one of the guests gets an erection. Theres nothing funny about a funeral, says Gleeson, but there is something funny about not being able to stop laughing at a funeral. Appalling behaviour is just outrageously funny and thats quite Irish. The Gleeson brothers in Frank of Ireland, a new sitcom about a misanthropic man-child who lives with his mum (Channel 4) Wakes are a formative experience for many of the people I speak to here, and are often ripe for laughs. Chris Walley, who plays bonehead Jock in BBC Threes high school caper The Young Offenders, says he was at a wake when he was a child, showing off in front of guests, when he first realised he could make people laugh. Aisling Bea, the creator and star of This Way Up, adds that Irish people are brought up in a culture that makes, sometimes literally, a big song and dance about death. You go to funerals as kids, see dead bodies and run around looking for free sandwiches and sweets, she says. Also, Irish people like to talk a lot and not get into anything at all, so humour in dark moments helps you avoid getting in touch with your sadness and then one day it all collapses on top of you halfway through your LIDL shop and youve a big breakdown. This sounds terrible but Ive had some great times at funerals, if the person who died was old enough and had a happy life, says Lisa McGee, creator of Northern Irish sitcom Derry Girls. When people are bringing up stories about their past, I just cant stop laughing. The tense situation makes it much funnier. You go to a wake and people do say things like, God, doesnt she look great? No, she looks dead! Thats so Irish, I dont know anyone else in the world who behaves like that around death. And when I was younger, the funniest thing was something happening at Mass, because you couldnt laugh if the priest said something stupid, it was a forbidden thing. Mischievous humour has always been a huge part of the way my Irish grandparents conduct themselves. Therell be wigs on the green! my grandmother would warn my sister and I, using an old Irish phrase as she told us off, struggling to repress a fit of the giggles herself. My grandfather, meanwhile, is always writing extremely long, humorous letters to The Irish Times and chuckling away at comedy by Seventies stars Niall Toibin and Eamon Morrissey. My grandparents, both in their eighties, still flirt with each other outrageously. Alex Murphy, who plays Conor in The Young Offenders, says humour has been integral in his upbringing and the way his relatives communicate. My immediate family are very funny, he says. Its a kill or be-killed situation. Youve got to join in with the craic to fit in. I have such a big family, my mum has a few brothers and a few sisters, and they all have a load of kids, my dad has five brothers and they all have a load of kids. Any time we get together, for a communion or a confirmation or one of the many weddings, theyre the most fun weekends ever. A lot of it stems from my granny, who is just the funniest lady. Chriss granny is the same. Theyve met a few times and theres no stopping them. Walley agrees. Theyre so witty, sharp, fast. My granny told a story recently about her elderly neighbour, Birdy, whod had a fall. My granny was with her and told her, Oh, the Popes in town today. And Birdy, just lying there, goes, Great, and Im on the fecking floor. Hilary Rose gives out to boneheads Chris Walley and Alex Murphy in The Young Offenders (BBC/Vico Films/Miki Barlok) McGees relatives inspire her writing all the time. Everyone in my family is a storyteller, she says. And there are people who dont know theyre funny but theyre hilarious and I use them a lot. In Ireland, having the craic is as important as your job. Its high up on our agenda. Everything is weighed up on how much craic things are or the people are. Its a big deal. Irishness is inherently funny. Even the names are gas. Catastrophe, Horgans sitcom set in Hackney, perfectly nailed what its like to have an Irish name abroad. Horgans character Sharon calls her baby girl Muireann, a name her American husband Rob (Rob Delaney) cant even pronounce. This storyline is made all the funnier by the fact it is based in reality: Horgan wanted to call her eldest daughter Muireann, but it made her husband cry with frustration, so she named her Sadhbh, instead. Catastrophes portrayal of Irish dads hard to talk to, like a piece of granite with bushy eyebrows is also spot on. For the baby, says Sharons elderly father, as he shoves a 10 note into her hand at the airport. We always threw in little Irish things, says Horgan. Like when Rob and Sharon are having huge money problems, I remember I have a post office account. Because everyone in Ireland had one, and most people still do, and theres probably like 76p in there. Just referencing the post office account made me crack up and I knew Irish people would really get it. We also constantly reference f***ing Ryanair all the way through. And then theres Kate (Eileen Walsh). Shes one of my favourite things of all time. Her running away from her husband and kids to come over and just get f***ed up. Thats all she wants to do. From the minute we introduced her she was falling over backwards onto the road and cracking her head open. Its that thing of your Irish friends exploding into London. God, I loved that. Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan in Hackney-set Catastrophe (Avalon/Merman) Bea, who created and starred with Horgan in nervous breakdown sitcom This Way Up, says her favourite funny Irish moment from the series was the pair of them seriously singing the anti-IRA protest anthem, Zombie by The Cranberries, at the family talent show, to the bemusement of their relatives. In the forthcoming season of the Channel 4 show, she says, they reminisce on what they were able to pick when their granny died. I was jealous that my sister took the porcelain egg holder shaped like a duck and I took the Spanish tin, she says. Its just a tiny moment, but I am actually laughing now thinking about it. For the stars of the Cork-set The Young Offenders, the zingiest, most authentic exchanges in their show happened during the school scenes. Theyre relatable for everyone but also so specific to Cork, says Murphy. In America, youve got the jocks and the cheerleaders. Its almost the same in Cork, but just not as cool. Youve got the people who play hurling and the people who dont. And people who have terrible non-fights at the back of school and rip off peoples pockets. Why? Just because you can. For McGee, meanwhile, what sets Derry Girls apart as a Northern Irish sitcom one that follows a group of friends and cousins as they navigate their teenage years at a Catholic girls secondary school is how the gang of dicks, as she calls her characters, dont always pay attention to serious issues. Instead they treat very trivial things like a huge deal, so they might not be that freaked out by a bomb, McGee says, but if the girls got the order wrong for the fish and chips on a Friday night, thatd be the worst. The show is set during The Troubles, and one of its highlights is the relationship between the girls and their English pal James (Dylan Llewellyn), who is the butt of every second joke. I cant tell my rebellions from my risings, he whines during one group work assignment. And whose fault is that? his Northern Irish cousin Michelle (Jamie-Lee ODonnell) fires back. If your lot had stopped invading us for five f***ing minutes thered be a lot less to wade through! English prick. James Maguire, Saoirse Monica-Jackson, Jamie-Lee ODonnell, Nicola Coughlan and Louisa Clare Harland in Troubles-set sitcom Derry Girls (Channel 4) Another fan-favourite in Derry Girls is Siobhan McSweeneys acerbic Sister Michael. At one point, students suggest to the nun that they pray for a classmates recovery. Perplexed, Sister Michael simply asks, What use would that do? McGee cites Father Ted as a massive influence on her show. It was such a big deal for my generation, wed never seen anything like it, she says. Id never really seen an Irish sitcom before, and then it was priests. It was just so brilliant. Aside from Father Ted, Black Books and Paths to Freedom, there wasnt a huge amount out there in terms of Irish narrative comedy until recently. Back in the day, it was like it was for female comedies, says Horgan. Networks were like, Oh sorry, we have our one Irish sitcom. But now, its just part of whats put out there. I think people have just seen that they can do brilliantly well internationally. Its like when people realised that not only women watch female-centric comedies. Its so simple and so f***ing obvious. Horgan notes that theres also more of a cultural exchange in comedy. Where American humour used to be broad and English jokes were darker, now they intertwine. Theres more of a world connection, she says. Its the same with European comedy. Everyones talking about Call My Agent!, and there are Israeli comedies out there, and Danish drama. Everyones open to content. Everyone wants as much as they can shove into their eyeballs. Aisling Bea and Sharon Horgan in This Way Up (Merman/Channel 4) Irish sitcoms are especially popular with English audiences, and many of the funniest people in English shows Chris ODowds Roy in The IT Crowd and David Kellys feckless builder in Fawlty Towers are Irish. There are huge connections between Ireland and England and lots of Irish people live there, says Gleeson. In theatre, look at Martin McDonagh, who spent his summers in Ireland but grew up in England. He writes some of the funniest Irish plays that exist. Walley says the Irish and the English share funny bones. Its a self-deprecating humour that differs from other places, he says. A lot of the jokes are at the expense of the person making them. The Inbetweeners, This Country, its all that awkward humour. People like watching people realise the faults in themselves," Murphy adds. You go to America and I dont know how people can be so confident in promoting themselves and bigging themselves up. We just seem to be very bad at it. But again, thats down to the shame in our history. Deeply embedded shame. Shame, perhaps. Catholic guilt, certainly. But it didnt stop the Irish going worldwide and thats only set to continue. Ireland is so small but weve made such an impact, says Murphy. The actors that come out of Ireland the Gleesons, Saoirse Ronan, Aisling Bea, Colin Farrell it was always good growing up and seeing that and going, Ah, thats nice. The Irish are grounded as well. They know when they come home theyll be taken down a few pegs and theyll realise theyre not the big star they think they are. Horgan agrees. Its a small island, a small population," she says. The fact we are making our mark in as big and noticeable a way as we are is kind of extraordinary. Frank of Ireland starts on Thursday 15 April at 10pm on Channel 4 All episodes are then available on All 4, alongside Derry Girls, This Way Up, Catastrophe, London Irish and Father Ted Merman, the production company founded by Clelia Mountford and Sharon Horgan, is the producer of Frank of Ireland and This Way Up and are co-producer of Catastrophe The Young Offenders is available on BBC iPlayer A 23-year-old Indian national with a work permit who had received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine was the sole locally transmitted case among 20 infections confirmed on Sunday. The Health Ministry has warned that an individual can get infected even after vaccination. The Indian, who worked as a lashing specialist, was detected as COVID-19 positive through pooled rostered routine testing on April 7, according to a news report. After his polled test results came positive on April 8, he was immediately isolated and an individual test was conducted on April 9. When the second result too was positive, he was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. "This case is a reminder that it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected. But the vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for a vast majority of those immunised," the health ministry was quoted as saying in a media report on Sunday night. It noted that the worker's serology test had come back positive, likely due to the antibodies produced following vaccination. The Indian man testing positive for COVID-19 was the first in a workers' dormitory since February 28. Such facilities housing foreign workers had the highest COVID-19 cases during the peak of the coronavirus spread last year. The health ministry said further research is required to determine if vaccination will prevent onward transmission of the infection. "That is why we cannot afford to let our guard down," it said. "Our existing key enablers -- safe management measures, testing, and contact tracing -- continue to be necessary and effective in helping us to mitigate the spread and keep community transmission low." Epidemiological investigations are underway, while all identified close contacts of the Indian man have been isolated. They will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period to detect any asymptomatic cases. "We will also conduct serological tests for the close contacts," the health ministry said. Singapore has so far reported 60,653 COVID-19 infections. With 13 patients discharged on Sunday, the total number of recoveries reached 60,320. As of now, 58 patients remain in hospitals and one is in intensive care while 230 are recuperating in community facilities. Singapore has had 30 deaths from COVID-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes. Also read: COVID-19 vaccination to resume at 62 private centres in Mumbai today Also read: Decision on Maharashtra lockdown after April 14, says state health minister Rajesh Tope Students all over Ireland have returned to school en-masse this week. Here in Tullamore, we are mindful that Back to School wont remove the delivery of on-line school activities especially homework and assignments. This will continue to create a challenges in some households where there is a lack of suitable devices at home, commented Tullamore and District Chamber of Commerce President, Roger Guiney. Over the last few months, Tullamore Chamber and their IT Partner, NIS, have teamed up to liaise with schools and recycle your unwanted devices for education needs. Does your business or organisation have any surplus or unwanted devices laptops, notebooks, tablets that could be suitable for school activities at home? asked Mr Guiney. He extended thanks to businesses that have supported this campaign so far. Find out more; www.tullamorechamber.com/what-we-do/recycle4education or contact info@tullamorechamber.com. CHARLES CITY, Iowa The campaign to get every Charles City police officer a body camera has gotten a boost from First Security. The bank says it recently donated $2,500 toward the effort, which has raised enough money to buy 20 body cameras for the Charles City Police Department. Thats enough for every regular officer to have body camera as well as extra for reserve officers. Police say, until recently, they only had access to four cameras for 14 officers. That meant cameras would have to be checked in and out at the change of each shift. One of the issues is the officers come on shift and things start to happen pretty quickly, so its easy not to have time to grab a body camera for checkout, says Charles City Police Chief Hugh Anderson. Thanks to contributors like First Security, Chief Anderson says they are no longer seeking donations for the body camera. Were very grateful for the way the public, the businesses, and everybody came forward and donated to this effort, he says. Kremlin opponent Aleksei Navalny is on a hunger strike in prison, his condition said to be worsening. Tensions rise as the motives behind Russia's military moves in Crimea and close to the Ukrainian border near the Donbas remain murky. Plus, will the Hermitage have to put all its artworks depicting nudes in an adults-only area? Irina Lagunina, director of special projects at RFE/RL's Russian Service, joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Definition: Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) is a highly versatile synthetic rubber, which exhibits excellent resistance to oxygen, ozone, polar materials, and sunlight and is highly resistant to steam, heat, and water. It is used across diverse industry verticals for a wide range of applications. Market Research Future (MRFR) has added the global COVID-19 Impact ON Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market to its existing portfolio, which is a compilation of the key dynamics affecting the market. As per the report, COVID-19 Impact ON Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market is expected to catapult to USD 6.5 Bn by the end of 2025 from USD 3.9 Bn in 2019, at a CAGR of 6% over the forecast period of 2019-2025. Get a Free Sample of This Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2767 Market Scenario and Growth Factors: EPDM experiences significant demand from the automotive industry, where its properties such as excellent resistance to heat, UV rays, and ozone is highly desirable. They help in reflection of UV rays and reduce polymer degradation due to which they are used in engine mounts, vehicle glazing systems, moisture barriers, valves, and pumps. They are used in the manufacturing of seals & gaskets, weather-stripping, brake parts, radiator, tubing, belts, windshield wipers, and others. Expanding the automotive industry and increasing the production of vehicles is supporting the growth of the market. EPDM is also used in the construction industry for waterproofing applications. They help in lowering air-conditioning costs as well. The booming construction industry in the developing countries of Asia Pacific is favoring the growth of the market. Other factors supporting the growth of the market include numerous rainwater harvesting initiatives undertaken in various countries and increasing adoption of green cities. On the other hand, the growth of the market might be hindered by the volatile price of raw materials. Competitive Landscape: Firestone Building Products Company (US), Exxon Mobil Corporation (US), SABIC (Saudi Arabia), Dow (US), Carlisle Companies Inc. (US), JSR Corporation (Japan), SK global chemical Co., Ltd (South Korea), Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Japan), Lion Elastomers (US), LANXESS AG (Germany), KUMHO POLYCHEM (South Korea), Johns Manville (US), Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd (Japan) Segmentation: The Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market has been segmented based on application and end-use industry. By application, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into seals & gaskets, weather-stripping, tires & tubes, wire & cables, roofing membranes, electric insulation, radiators, oil additives, and others. By end-use industry, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into automotive, building & construction, aerospace & defense, electrical & electronics, consumer goods, medical, and others. Regional Analysis: Region-wise, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into North America, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa (MEA), Europe, and Asia Pacific (APAC). The largest share of the market was captured by APAC in 2019. The region is in the midst of rapid industrialization, and various end-use industries of EPDM are expanding at an accelerated pace in the region, which is generating constant demand within the market. The prolific growth of the automotive industry in the UK, Germany, Italy, and France are supporting the growth of the EPDM market in Europe. Besides, the European Union (EU) has laid down stringent regulations for environment protection, which works in favor of the EPDM market. The region is investing significantly in the medical sector, which is inducing the growth of the market. North America EPDM market is likely to exhibit substantial growth in the coming years. Demand will be generated from the automotive, electrical & electronics, construction, and healthcare industries. The growth of Latin America EPDM market can be attributed to the fast track industrialization in countries such as Brazil and Chile. The MEA market growth is driven by the GCC countries. Construction activities are going on at a torrid pace, which is inducing high demand within the market. Access Complete Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer-market-2767 Hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, commercial vehicle (CV) sales in India fell nearly 21 per cent in fiscal year 2020-21, while sales of passenger vehicles declined 2 per cent. Total CV sales declined 20.77 per cent to 5,68,559 units in FY21 as against 7,17,593 units in 2019-20, as per the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). PV sales fell 2.24 per cent to 27,11,457 units in FY21 from 27,73,519 units in 2019-20. Similarly, total two-wheeler dispatches during the last fiscal by companies to their respective dealer partners declined 13.19 per cent to 1,51,19,387 units as compared with 1,74,16,432 units in 2019-20. Three-wheeler sales plunged 66.06 per cent to 2,16,197 units in 2020-21 as against 6,37,065 units in 2019-20. Vehicle sales across categories declined 13.6 per cent to 1,86,15,588 units as against 2,15,45,551 units in the year-ago period. Also read: Domestic car industry ends FY21 with a bang; March sales double over last year The auto sector was already going through a slowdown when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. A stringent nationwide lockdown from March 25 last year to curb the spread of coronavirus infections led to auto companies not selling a single vehicle in April last year. "On the sales front, a deep structural slowdown in the industry even before the pandemic, combined with the impact of COVID-19 in 2020-21, has pushed all vehicle segments back by many years. Recovery from here will require time and efforts by all stakeholders," SIAM President Kenichi Ayukawa said. SIAM cited past data to say that the pandemic was not the only reason for the slowdown in auto sector. It said the sector is facing deeper structural issues which require attention. (With inputs from PTI) Also read: Hyundai expects 20% growth in FY 2022; SUVs to drive sales New Delhi, April 12 : The surge in cases amid the second wave of Covid-19 has hit the Supreme Court with several of its staff testing positive for the viral infection. According to sources familiar with the development, 44 people have tested positive for Covid-19 so far in last one week. A top court official, however, dismissed some media reports suggesting that nearly 50 per cent of Supreme Court staffers have tested positive. However, the top court's functioning has not been affected in any way. The source added that there nearly 3,000 staffers in the top court. On Monday, benches did not assemble in courtrooms to take up cases, but instead conducted virtual hearing from their home-office. The court proceedings began an hour later from the scheduled time. Senior officials have confirmed that there is no panic in the top court and everything is progressing in business as usual. "Judicial work has not been affected by these cases," said a source in the top court familiar with the developments. Usually, some judges have been coming to the apex court premises to conduct hearings, but few have been taking up cases from their residences so far. The top court has also come out with two separate notifications in this regard. One of the notifications said on Monday, the top court benches, which used to assemble at 10.30 a.m. and 11 a.m., would assemble one hour late. A sanitation drive would be carried out on the entire court premises, including courtrooms, and the judges will take up matter virtually from their residences. According to the other notification, physical mentioning of cases for urgent hearing by advocates have been suspended from Monday until further orders. Around 10 lakh new cases have been reported over the past week, as India faces exponential rise in Covid positive cases. Today was the sixth consecutive day it reported over a lakh daily cases with 1,68,912 new infections -- the highest daily surge so far. According to the Health Ministry, 904 people have succumbed to the viral infection in past 24 hours. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) You badly want to visit a mall or a multiplex, socialise with a bunch of friends or go back to your work station and be in the company of your colleagues. And yet, there is that dread of contracting the virus, making you wonder how youd re-enter public life. If the scenario compels you to simply avoid the outsides, youre not alone. Lockdown, COVID fatigue from either contracting the disease of from listening to the innumerable stories of death and suffering from the virus, etc. have all taken a toll on all of us in some way or the other. For many, the dread has overtaken stress and anxiety to the point of no return. Just when it seemed theres no way out of this matrix, experts have reason to believe otherwise. Exposure therapy, a concept fast catching up across the world during these COVID times, could be of some help. It is important to note, however, that while behavioural experts can guide you on how to go about this therapy, it is you and you alone who needs to get a hold on yourself and get rid of this menace thats affecting many in these turbulent times. What to do now? Anisha Jain, a senior psychologist at Mindtemple, points out that humans often avoid people or situations theyre afraid of. While this is a natural response to protect themselves from the perceived threats, harms or dangers, exposure therapy is one of the effective behavioural treatments to overcome such fears, anxiety and escapist or avoidant tendencies, assures Anisha. Exposure therapy can be conducted in a live situation, via imaginations or even in a virtual simulation setup. However, choosing the type of exposure and how it is conducted depends upon the nature of the problem, its severity as well as the persons goals and strengths. According to the psychologist, there are two types of exposure therapy: 1) Flooding: You are exposed to the dreadful event completely all at once till you feel calm in that situation. With time, you begin to relax after realising nothing bad has happened to you. The best way to do this in the COVID scenario is by going to crowded places. 2) Grading: You are steadily exposed to fearful events from low to severe intensity one at a time, until you can gain confidence with each exposure to be able to face the main dreadful event. For example, the first step would be to go down to a familiar building premise. The second step would be walking in the open neighbourhood and the third step would be entering a more confined area with people, like a shop and so on, elaborates Anisha. Therapy, therapy anywhere Leading psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr Anjali Chhabria has been treating people from all over the world by performing exposure therapy both online and offline. While on the one hand, parents are getting anxious about sending their children back to school, youngsters have been dreading venturing out on their own. However, both youngsters and parents have found exposure therapy helping them in resuming their normal activities, she says. Exposure therapy requires that people note down all the situations that make them anxious and rate them according to the level of anxiety felt by them. Next, they need to pick one situation at a time, write down the date and time about when, where and how they are going to expose themselves. It is important to stick to the schedule and let the anxiety build in (rate your anxiety every five minutes when exposing yourself to the situation). Another clinical psychologist Himani Sharma points out that it is natural for negative thoughts to creep in and for the intensity of anxiety to rise at first. But gradually, the person will start to feel less anxious. Once the person feels that their anxiety has come down by 50% from when they started, they can remove themselves from that situation. This has to be done four to five times a week (one situation every week), Himani explains, The process can be continued with other anxiety provoking situations as well. Making it effective Behavioural scientists feel that there are several places where one can engage in therapy. However, one must note that not all therapies are effective for all individuals. Exposure therapy is particularly effective when combined with relaxation techniques. Sometimes, for instance, the exposure can increase the persons anxiety if it is not equipped with coping skills to help the individual calm themselves at the time of facing the fearful event, adds Mindtemples Anisha Jain. According to Dr I. Bharat Kumar Reddy, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderguda, the two parts to exposure therapy are 1) exposure and 2) response prevention. In other words, first you expose an individual to fear and then prevent the possible response to take the person over, explains the doctor. For example, if someone is scared of malls and crowded places, take them there and then prevent their response, which in this case would be to leave that place. By doing this, you generate intense anxiety in them and when it happens you support and reassure them about the situation so that the fear of that situation goes. All said and done, Dr Kumar advises that with the elderly it is always advisable to plan step-wise than sudden exposure. If applied properly, this cognitive behavioural therapy technique is quite useful in helping people with who fear going outside in the current circumstances. So can exposure therapy still help now that weve entered the second wave? Experts think so, although they caution us not to forget our masks and sanitisers. Benefits from exposure therapy A therapist may use different types of exposure therapy one may create a real-life scenario for the person to go through or use talking therapy to encourage the person to imagine situations or recall traumatic events. People struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders can significantly benefit from exposure therapy. NOS Dutch television and radio company published new recordings of conversations between militants of certain areas of Donetsk region before and after Russian Buk missile system shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17, 2014. As Ukrinform reports with reference to the Nieuwsuur program on a Dutch TV channel, suspects Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy, Oleg Pulatov, and Leonid Kharchenko appear in the published recordings. In a fragment of the conversation, Dubinskiy says that Girkin "reached out to Moscow" on the day of the MH17 crash. In addition, he says that the militants are waiting for "Moscow's decision" to withdraw their units from Slovyansk. In another conversation, Dubinskiy's subordinate Pulatov tells him that "tanks are not needed, only long-range artillery and good air defense are needed." In response, Dubinskiy promises Pulatov to deliver Buk missile system. "We have no other recourse but to hope for Buk," he says. After MH17 was downed, Kharchenko calls Pulatov and reports that the terrorists shot down a "Su" [fighter aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine]. Dubinskiy later finds out that the militants shot down passenger flight MH17. After the plane crash, Girkin instructs Dubinskiy to take Buk away to Russia through Luhansk region, but the terrorists lose sight of the missile system for a time. Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over occupied area of Donetsk region on July 17, 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board. All of them died. The international Joint Investigation Team reported that the plane had been shot down from a Buk missile system that belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk. On June 19, 2019, the JIT named four suspects believed to be involved in the transportation and combat use of the Buk missile system, from which MH17 flight had been downed. Three of them are Russians: Igor Girkin (Strelkov), former colonel in Russia's FSB intelligence service and former so-called defense minister of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"; Sergey Dubinskiy, general (at the time of downing colonel) of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and head of the so-called "Main Intelligence Directorate of the Donetsk Peoples Republic"; Oleg Pulatov, lieutenant colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. The fourth suspect is Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian civilian, who fought on the side of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic." In March 2020, the District Court of The Hague began the consideration of the case of the downing of Flight MH17 in the sky over Donbas. ol The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) launched a special drive against psychotropic drugs trafficking through darknet indexing, crawling and cataloguing the main leads for the operation. Till now, NCB has arrested four persons after busting an entire network that included a manufacturer along with the wholesale distributor and shipper. The current operation lasted for at least 10 days and 34 seizures were made in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Uttarakhand. It was also found out that the destinations of the consignments were primarily to the United States, the UK, Europe and other nations. NCB confiscated a total of 30.5 lakhs of psychotropic drugs, 70,000 Codeine Based Cough Syrups (CBCS) and 14.895 Kg Amphetamine drug. Hence, NCBs drive against psychotropic drugs led to the seizure of 90 lacs of the psychotropic drug along with 1 lac of CBCS this year in Delhi NCR. In order to escape the drug law enforcement detection, the syndicate used to conceal the psychotropic drugs in herbal supplement packages NCB arrests six in Mumbai On April 8, NCB arrested six persons in separate operations in Mumbai and separate operations in the city and seized 123 blots of LSD (commercial quantity), 30gm curated marijuana (buds), mephedrone and hashish in small quantities. As per reports, NCB seized at least 70 blots of LSD, 30 gms curated marijuana buds and charas and intercepted Zaid Rana and Sonu Faiz at Oshiwara, Mumbai. The operations were reportedly led by the zonal director Sameer Wankhede and NCB arrested Shubham Savardekar aka Thapa and a little amount of hashish in Andheri. Meanwhile, as per the PTI report, an official said, NCB brought Danish Chikna, an aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, to Mumbai from Rajasthan where he was nabbed in connection with drug cases. He reportedly said Danish Chikna alias Danish Merchant was wanted in connection with two cases, including the operations of a drug factory in Mumbai. Danish is part of the 'Chinku Pathan module' and had fled to Rajasthan, the official said. Image credits: PTI Swedish oil company Tethys Oil, which has Oman as its core area of focus, said it plans to invest around $47 million in 2021 in its portfolio of upstream oil & gas assets in the Sultanate in 2021. The company would continue to capitalise on promising growth opportunities in the Sultanate of Oman linked to its enhanced asset portfolio, Tethys Oil Managing Director Magnus Nordin was quoted as saying by Oman Observer. 2021 should see five exploration/appraisal wells and new seismic studies conducted across our asset portfolio all funded by our profitable production asset (Blocks 3&4) while leaving room to continue to fund our growth and our (dividend) distributions to shareholders, Nordin said. Of the total commitment of around $47 million pledged this year, the lions share of around $32 million is earmarked towards Blocks 3&4, a pair of flagship producing blocks located in central Oman, the Oman Observer report said. Tethys Oil has a 30 per cent working interest in the blocks, with the rest shared between CC Energy Development Oman Branch (50 per cent) and Mitsui E&P Middle East (20 per cent). CC Energy Development is also the operator of Blocks 3&4. The focus of the work programme on Blocks 3&4 is continued development drilling, upgrading infrastructure with focus on asset integrity and debottlenecking, continue the gas utilisation project and the drilling of exploration wells, a company statement said. The work programme for Block 49, located in the southwest of the Sultanate, will primarily focus on completing the drilling, testing and evaluation of the newly drilled Thameen-1 exploration well. Although no flows were recorded at surface, logs indicated a gross hydrocarbon column of close to 40 metres, said the company, adding that it will plan the next steps for the Block once all of the data linked to the well are compiled and evaluated. Block 56, located in the southeast of the country, will see up to three wells drilled in the Al Jumd area of the concession, in addition to the planning of a 3D seismic acquisition in the central area of the block. Tethys Oil holds a 65 per cent interest in Block 56 and is the operator of the concession. Block 58, which was awarded to Tethys Oil last July, represents a new exciting exploration licence, according to the company. The Block borders Tethys Oils other operated block, Block 49 and holds some very interesting geological features that hopefully will be upgraded to drillable prospects in the not-too-distant future, the statement said. 2021-04-10 Maeci Today the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Benedetto Della Vedova, has opened in virtual mode the inaugural event of the Dante700 photo exhibition at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The exhibition is one of the initiatives promoted by the Foreign Ministry to celebrate the seventh centenary of the death of Dante Alighieri around the world. It is an innovative and exciting photo-reportage by the renowned photojournalist Massimo Sestini, which features twenty shots of places linked to Dantes life or his memory (including Florence, Ravenna, Venice and Verona), highlighting the poets legacy as a living presence in today's world. Deputy Minister Della Vedova has emphasised that Dante is not only a key figure in Italian history and culture, but also has a genuinely universal stature, exploring human passions in a way that we can all still relate to and providing a consistent and steadfast model of civil commitment. The Deputy Minister has stressed that Sestinis work reminds us today of the relevance and unique significance of the contribution of artists and craftsmen working in the cultural and creative sectors and who are dramatically affected by the pandemic. In this regard, while emphasising the importance of the consolidated bilateral cooperation between Italy and UNESCO, Deputy Minister Della Vedova has expressed strong appreciation for the efforts made by the organisation since the first phase of the health emergency to support cultural activities, through monitoring the closure of cultural sites, launching social campaigns and reshaping the cultural offer through online platforms and webinars. The project enjoys the support of the Ministry of Culture and of the Municipality of Florence and benefits from the scientific advice of Domenico De Martino, literature Professor at the University of Pavia. The exhibition has already been shown at the Quirinale Palace and at Santa Maria Novella in Florence, and will be presented in other European capitals, after the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, such as Madrid and Berlin. First off, Unicontrol pioneered a trail-blazing 3D machine control system designed for small excavators. The Danish company is now ready to launch its latest innovation: an intuitive control system intended specifically for backhoe loaders. The project was run in partnership with Huddig, the renowned Swedish machine manufacturer. Together, the two companies have developed a user-friendly control system for machine operators that not only widens the scope of backhoe operations, but also paves the way to increased profits The less time construction machines spend standing still on site, the better it is for the bottom line of the project. Even though backhoes are much more versatile than standard excavators, these machines are often overlooked on large construction sites because until now there has not been a 3D control system that covered all their many functions. As a result, backhoes have not been able to collate all the relevant data and keep pace with the wave of digitalisation sweeping through the construction sector. It is this challenge that Unicontrol has now neatly tackled in partnership with Huddig. The parties worked closely with backhoe operators in the development project to assure a peerless level of user-friendliness in the final, patent pending, universal solution. Bengt Thisner is a backhoe operator with PEAB, a Nordic contractor that employs 15,000 people. "I had Unicontrol 3D installed in my Huddig backhoe in January 2021. It's turned out to be an excellent solution and I'm really pleased with it. The technical functions are helpful and stable, and it's easy to use. All in all, it's a solid, reliable aid to my backhoe work," he says. As an added bonus, the new system means that Bengt's employer no longer has to use surveyors and labourers to mark the site out manually they can devote their time to more profitable tasks instead. As a pioneer in the development of 3D machine control for all kinds of excavators, Unicontrol founded in 2018, has a network of 21 dealers supplying local service and support throughout Finland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as on its domestic market in Denmark. The company is expanding operations from Scandinavia into the rest of Europe, where Unicontrol is already receiving an increasing stream of enquiries from interested dealers, OEM partners and end customers. Press photos View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210411005011/en/ Contacts: Media Press Coordinator for Unicontrol Malene Grouleff malene@grouleff.it +45 28915809 In February, after a number of anti-Asian attacks in the Bay Area, Jess Owyoung's sadness quickly turned to outrage. "I felt like it could have happened to my grandparents," said Owyoung, 37, a fourth-generation Chinese American who lives in the Bay Area. She already felt traumatized by news stories she'd seen about the nationwide rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, and knowing that similar violent acts had happened just a few miles from her home left her with a sick feeling, she said. "I felt an urgency to do something," Owyoung said. "But what?" A few days later, she found the answer online when she spotted a social media post by Jacob Azevedo of Oakland, Calif. Azevedo, 26, had offered on Instagram to bring his dog and walk with anyone in Oakland's Chinatown neighborhood to help them feel safe. Owyoung said she immediately reached out and offered to help Azevedo coordinate a team of volunteers to accompany Oakland-area Asian Americans to and from work, doctor's appointments and the grocery store. She wasn't alone - several others in the Bay Area had offered to help, too. After meeting online, Owyoung and three others came up with the idea for Compassion in Oakland to protect people in Chinatown and beyond from anti-Asian violence. So far, more than 2,000 people have applied to be volunteers, Owyoung said, and the group has received hundreds of requests for chaperones from Asian Americans of all ages. Compassion in Oakland "A lot of people are feeling scared right now, and it's awful that they have to worry about being attacked," said Owyoung, who also works as a college mental health counselor. "We want them to know that there are people who care and are out there doing good things," she added. "And we also want to change what our world looks like and open up some conversations about what it means to be Asian American." Compassion in Oakland is just one of many grass-roots organizations that have sprung up in response to the rise in anti-Asian violence. Since the onset of the pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans are up 150%. And with many still reeling from the March 16 Atlanta-area spa shootings - which left eight people dead, among them six Asian women - some feel there's never been a more urgent moment to act. "I was feeling the same as a lot of people - I was traumatized by the shootings and feeling really helpless," Owyoung said. "So working now to help keep people safe has been personally therapeutic." For about two months, Compassion in Oakland volunteers have worked in teams of two or three to fill walking-chaperone requests that are submitted online. And on weekends, group members meet in Oakland's Chinatown to get the word out about their free service and offer encouragement to Asian American business owners and street vendors. "We call it 'Feet on the Streets,' " said Katrina Ramos, 26, one of Compassion in Oakland's co-founders. Although she grew up in San Jose, she has fond memories of going to Oakland's Chinatown to shop and have dinner with her parents, she said. "My dad is from the Philippines and my mom is Chinese from Vietnam," Ramos said. "I was raised to always respect my elders - that was a big value in my family. To see people now getting attacked while they're out shopping or going to the bank is really unacceptable and upsetting." Ramos is currently between jobs in the tech industry, so she's been devoting about 10 hours a day to Compassion in Oakland, she said. In addition to coordinating volunteers and doing community outreach work, she also regularly hits the sidewalks as a chaperone. "It's rewarding to walk with people and hear their stories and to help them feel safe as they go about their day," she said. "A lot of people live alone and haven't been out much during the pandemic. This might be the only interaction they have all week." While Compassion in Oakland said they can handle most of the chaperone needs in the city, there is also an option for Asian Americans who need to venture further afield or are unable to walk. Kye Perrot, a small-business operations consultant from Santa Clara, Calif., recently launched Cali Kye Cab on Instagram for those who don't feel safe taking public transportation and can't afford a cab. Perrot, 39, is Korean American and said she was inspired to launch a fundraising effort for cab fare by New York City's Maddy Park, who has received national attention for her work. With $2,000 of her own money, Park started helping pay for cabs for Asian Americans who felt unsafe, then raised $100,000 in two days on Instagram to pay for the cab rides of older adults and women. With Cali Kye Cab, Asian Americans who need a lift in the Bay Area can fill out a request for a cab and are then reimbursed through Venmo, Perrot said. She used $1,000 in savings to get started and is now accepting donations. "When I started hearing the stories of these attacks, it broke my heart and I wanted a personal way to pay it forward," she said. "This could happen to any of my friends when they're out walking in San Francisco. I wanted to do what I could to help a vulnerable community." So far, Perrot said she's paid for more than 100 taxi rides and has been flooded with emails from people who are happy to donate to her cause. "My goal was to let people know they're not alone - that there are people who care," she said. "I don't want to fight hate with more hate. To me, this is about solidarity and unity. We'll get through this tough time together." With anti-Asian attacks continuing to rattle communities nationwide, Perrot and volunteers with Compassion in Oakland know their work isn't done. Because Ramos has heard from some elderly Asian Americans that they've been harassed while riding the city bus, Compassion in Oakland is now considering having volunteers ride along on routes, she said. "What's happening in America right now is absolutely awful, but we're determined to get people safely from Point A to Point B," Ramos added. "I'm really proud of the work that we're doing." She and other volunteers are humbled, she said, when they read the comments on social media from grateful Bay Area Asian Americans. "I was chaperoned home this afternoon from my grocery shopping trip to Chinatown," wrote one woman. "I am very appreciative of the volunteers named Michael and Adley who walked home with me, and the conversation about jobs and lifestyles. They even offered to help me carry my bags of groceries." Owyoung said she would be honored to walk again with any of the people she has met through Compassion in Oakland. "A lot of the elderly Asian people I have met are survivors," she said. "They've been through many rough things in life - racism is not new to them. The conversations I've had with them are honest and rewarding, and it's uplifting to help them." London, April 12 : British scientists have warned that the British government is risking a third wave of Covid-19 by easing the lockdown too soon, local media reported. "There are areas in West Yorkshire, the Black Country and other regions that still have high infection rates. However, many people there cannot afford to self-isolate. We need to tackle that issue urgently or the virus will come back again," Leeds University medical school Associate Professor Stephen Griffin told the Observer on Sunday. "It's worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them," said Griffin, Xinhua news agency reported. Professor Lawrence Young of Warwick medical school said: "The test, trace and isolate system that is supposed to contain outbreaks has not worked well, and even when people test positive, they are not isolating. We need a properly funded system for quarantining infected people. We don't have that and that raises the risk we could head back into trouble again quite quickly." The scientists made their remarks as Britain is poised to partly ease the current lockdown restrictions, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country, on Monday. From Monday, non-essential shops will reopen and pubs and restaurants will reopen outdoors at a time when Britain moves to step two of the roadmap out of the Covid-19 lockdown. Meanwhile, hairdressers and barbers as well as gyms can reopen, along with zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres. 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. More than 32 million people have been given the first coronavirus vaccine jab, according to the official figures. The estimated coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, in England is unchanged at between 0.8 and one, according to the latest official data. It means that, on average, every 10 people who have coronavirus will infect between eight and 10 others. Government advisory scientists said the situation is too variable in some regions to produce a Britain-wide R rate, but the number is believed to be above one in some parts of the country, which means the outbreak could grow exponentially. 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 coronavirus vaccines. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Nay Pyi Taw, April 12 : Myanmar's former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted and detained following the February 1 coup, has again demanded a face-to-face meeting with her lawyers at a court hearing held online. So far, the judiciary has refused, dpa news agency reported on Monday. President Win Myint, who was also taken into custody in the wake of the military takeover, had made the same demand, according to Min Min Soe, a lawyer on Suu Kyi's defence team. "We were able to see them both at the trial via video link, and they looked healthy," the lawyer said. Exactly where Suu Kyi and Win Myint are being held remains unclear. Another charge of violating Covid-19 restrictions has also been brought against the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Min Min Soe said, but exact details remained unclear. Suu Kyi faces already one case in connection with these regulations. The judiciary accuses the 75-year-old of several offences, including violations of foreign trade laws in connection with radio equipment found in her house. Most recently, the military junta brought a case for an alleged violation of a state secrets law that dates back to colonial times. The charge carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The most serious charge so far is that of "incitement to sedition". At the end of March, Suu Kyi was allowed to speak briefly with Min Min Soe via video link. Since the coup, however, she has had no personal access to her defence lawyers. The next hearing is scheduled for April, her lawyer said. The coup has prompted widespread protests, to which soldiers have responded with a violent crackdown on the population. Nearly 2,850 have been arrested, and at least 598 have been killed, including 48 children, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a non-profit organization. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text 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. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) Officials from the United States and Philippine military formally opened the 36th Balikatan Exercises on Monday in Camp Aguinaldo. Department of National Defense Undersecretary Cesar Yano presided over the opening ceremony which was attended by Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, US Embassy in the Philippines Charge d'Affaires John Law, MGen. Edgard Arevalo, Joint US Military Assistance Group Chief and U.S. Defense Attache Col. Stephen Ma, and Col. Aaron Brunk of the US III Marine Expeditionary Force. "With this year's 36th Balikatan Exercises, we reinvigorate the friendship, partnership and alliance between the Philippines and the United States; a bilateral relationship that is founded on our shared history of espousing peace, security, and cooperation among nations," Yano said. A statement from the AFP said this year's exercises will be conducted with strict observance to health and safety protocols because of the pandemic. A total of 736 AFP personnel and 225 participants from the US Armed Forces will take part in the two-week event that will conclude on April 23. "Against this backdrop and these challenges notwithstanding, the decrease is only in terms of number and never in the participating nations' passion and desire to meet the steep objectives set forth in every exercise," said Arevalo. Part of the activities will involve trainings and the building of classrooms and a daycare center in Plaridel, Bulacan, as well as a classroom in Atimonan and a health center in Mauban, Quezon. The annual drills are carried out by the two defense allies under their Visiting Forces Agreement. Military forces undergo training in counter-terrorism operations, crisis action-planning, and internal procedures development during the exercises. Last year's Balikatan Exercises were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The VFA was signed in 1998 in support of the two countries' 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty. The agreement outlines procedures for the visit of American forces to the Philippines, with Balikatan as one of the activities. The VFA was supposed to be scrapped on August 9, 2020 but the Philippine government on June 1 suspended its pending termination in light of "political and other developments in the region." In November last year, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. said the country would hold off the abrogation for another six months. New Jerseys goal of fullly vaccinating 4.7 million residents, or 70% of the adult population by June 30, is still on track, Gov. Phil Murphy said at his Monday coronavirus briefing in Trenton. The status report comes even though the state is expecting a significant slowdown in the delivery of Johnson & Johnson vaccines, he said. We feel, as we sit here today, very comfortable between expected J&J and the continued production out of Pfizer and Moderna that the total 8.4 million - a million J&J and 7.4 million Pfizer and Moderna (because they are two-dose courses) - are well within our reach, Murphy said. Frankly, I hope we do better than that. Even while acknowledging that the state will see fewer Johnson & Johnson doses during the next few weeks, Health Commissioner agreed that it was reasonable to expect the state to receive a total of one million Johnson & Johnson doses by June 30. We received a large infusion of J&J vaccine at the end of March, but the sense we have from the federal government is that for the short term, our allocation of J&J will be severely restricted for the next several weeks, Persichilli said. Last week, the state received 131,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but its received only 15,600 for this week, she said. Johnson and Johnson has encountered significant production issues, including problems with a batch of 15 million vaccines at a Baltimore facility that failed quality standards and had to be thrown out. The week after that it as far as we know may go down to 5,200 doses, Persichilli said. The health commissioner and the governor urged New Jerseyans to get vaccinated with whichever dose is available to them. Dont get choosy, folks. Just get whatever you can get, Murphy said. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Road movie Nomadland has won the top prize at the Bafta film awards, where director Chloe Zhao made history. The film stars Frances McDormand as a woman living in her van as she embarks on a journey across the American West. Zhao, who was born in China, became only the second woman to win the best director prize, and the first woman of colour. The first female winner was Kathryn Bigelow, who took the gong in 2010 for The Hurt Locker. The Bafta ceremony, which was delayed by two months, was largely virtual this year, with only the hosts and presenters appearing in person at the Royal Albert Hall. Hosts Dermot O'Leary and Edith Bowman opened the ceremony by honouring the Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99 on Friday and was the first president of Bafta. Accepting the best film prize, Zhao said: "We would like to dedicate this award to the nomadic community who so generously welcomed us into their lives. How we treat our elders says a lot about who we are as a society "They shared with us their dreams, their struggles and their deep sense of dignity. Thank you for showing us that aging is a beautiful part of life, a journey that we should all cherish and celebrate. "How we treat our elders says a lot about who we are as a society and we need to do better." McDormand won the best actress category but did not appear via Zoom to accept the prize. Presenter Richard E Grant read a speech on her behalf, saying: "Thank you dear British people, I humbly accept this honour on behalf of the Nomadland tribe, a company we salute you, long may we roll." Revenge drama Promising Young Woman was named outstanding British film. The movie, which is the directorial debut of The Crown actress Emerald Fennell, stars Carey Mulligan as woman a left traumatised by tragedy. The film was nominated in six categories and Fennell also won the best original screenplay prize. Sir Anthony Hopkins won the best actor gong for his performance as a man slipping into dementia in The Father, defeating the late Chadwick Boseman, who was considered the frontrunner for his turn in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Bukky Bakray after winning the EE Rising Star award at the EE BAFTA Film Awards. Picture: Bafta/PA Wire Rocks star Bukky Bakray, 19, looked shocked as she was announced as the winner of the Rising Star prize, the only Bafta voted for by the public, and she paid tribute to rapper DMX, who died on Friday, as well as other members of the Rocks team. Daniel Kaluuya won the best supporting actor prize for Judas And The Black Messiah, in which he plays Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, and said it was "an honour to be a vessel for him". He also paid tribute to actor Ashley Walters for the impact he had on Kaluuya's formative years, saying Walters was "a light and guided the way". Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn said she was honoured to be recognised by the "snobbish" Brits as she won the supporting actress prize for Minari. She defeated homegrown talent including Kosar Ali and Ashley Madekwe to win for her portrayal as an eccentric grandmother in the tender family drama. She said: "Every award is meaningful but especially this one. British people are know as very snobbish people and they approve of me as a good actor, so I'm very privileged and happy." Director Thomas Vinterberg paid tribute to his late daughter as his film Another Round was honoured at the ceremony. The Danish filmmaker, who is also responsible for projects including The Hunt and Far From The Madding Crowd, lost his teenage daughter Ida in a car accident at the start of the shoot, and much of the movie was made at her school. The film, which stars Casino Royale actor Mads Mikkelsen as a teacher who tests a theory that he will improve his life by maintaining a constant level of alcohol in his blood, picked up the gong for film not in the English language. Accepting the prize, Vinterberg said: "I did have a small suspicion you Brits might like a movie about drinking." After a string of thanks, he added: "Most importantly, I want to thank my daughter Ida, who is no longer here. "She was more enthusiastic about this project than anyone else and it made her miss her hometown Copenhagen, and now we miss her. "We made this movie for her, so the honour granted by you Bafta voters means more to us than you could ever imagine." The Duke of Cambridge, who is the current president of Bafta, had been due to deliver a speech via video, celebrating the resilience of the film industry over the past year. He withdrew following the death of his grandfather. By Damali Mukhaye Hajara Nakitto, the mother of 15 year old Amos Ssegawa who was shot dead during the 2020 November riots has stormed Parliament demanding justice for her sons death. She has vowed to sleep at parliament until she gets an opportunity to meet with the speaker and the President. Armed with placards with writings We need justice. Police killed him. Rest in peace Ssegawa Amos, a distressed Nakitto and her 12-year-old daughter say police has failed to help her get justice. Police at the parliament later ushered her in but we were not able to verify if a meeting with the speaker took place. Ssegawa was shot dead during last years Pro-Bobi Wine protests in November as left town with his mother. Ssegawa who was a former student of Lubiri High School (Buloba Campus) is one of the 54 people who were killed in the protests that erupted in Kampala and other parts of the country following the arrest of presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine in Luuka District. LOS ANGELES Tensions began to increase around the Huntington Beach Pier on Sunday afternoon as people protesting a scheduled white supremacy rally clashed with Donald Trump supporters and individuals touting white supremacist beliefs. Several hundred people gathered in the plaza area at the base of the pier beginning Sunday morning to demonstrate against the so-called White Lives Matter rally that was set to start at 1 p.m. Police officers stood at the edges of the pier plaza as helicopters and drones circled overhead. A group of cyclists and motorists raised their fists and honked their horns in support of the crowd, which chanted, What do we want? Unity! When do we want it? Now! The protest, which began around 11 a.m., was largely peaceful. No large cohorts of people who were expected to attend the scheduled white supremacy rally were present at the pier by Sunday afternoon. However, by 2 p.m., arguments between individual attendees, Trump supporters and counterprotesters had started to break out along Pacific Coast Highway. The situation reached a boiling point when a man with a beard and cigar approached the plaza in front of the pier and repeated, white lives matter, several times before yelling at a counterprotester, who held a poster that read Death to the Klan. A crowd quickly converged around them and chanted, Nazis go home, until the man retreated across Pacific Coast Highway. In a separate incident, Peter Zazzara, 59, and several counterprotesters got into a shouting match when Zazzara was questioned about a skull tattoo on his right arm. Zazzara got angry and began cursing at the group, eventually crossing his arms to cover the ink, which he said represented being part of an elite military unit. However, the Anti-Defamation League classifies the tattoo known as the Totenkopf, or Death Head as a hate symbol. The image was used by the SS organization and has been adopted by neo-Nazis and white supremacists since World War II, according to the ADL. The crowd began to again grow agitated shortly after 1 p.m. when a small group of people waving Trump 2020 flags, American flags and a banner that read Dont tread on me congregated across from the plaza at the base of the pier. At least 10 mounted police officers and Orange County sheriffs deputies gathered on Pacific Coast Highway as people began spilling into the street. A standoff occurred when a man, waving an All lives matter flag, began to approach the counterprotesters. He was quickly surrounded and herded away from the pier amid chants of You are not welcome here. Kelly Johnson, 60, and Ted Laporte, 57, of Huntington Beach arrived along Pacific Coast Highway carrying a tall pole displaying American flags, Trump 2020 flags, a Gadsden flag, and a black and gray All Lives Matter flag. Johnson, formerly of Laguna Nigel, added an orange jack-o'-lantern Halloween decoration. He modified it by taping a blue surgical mask and writing Wuhan virus. Johnson said he heard about the Black Lives Matter rally while he was at another event Saturday in Laguna Beach. He said he was not affiliated with the White Lives Matter rally. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images Its not that Black lives dont matter but its about knowledge and truth, he said. He argued that BLM only creates racial divisiveness. Many who arrived at the pier Sunday did so to show opposition to recent white supremacist activity thats occurred in the city. Among them was Denise Wada, a 20-year resident of Huntington Beach, who stood at PCH and Main Street with other demonstrators and her dog, Banner, a Brittany. A week ago, Wada was bothered when she learned on NextDoor, an app where residents can share information about their neighborhoods, that Ku Klux Klan fliers had been left on the doorsteps of homes in her city. I was horrified someone would do that, she said. Wada said there was discussion on her neighborhood forum that maybe it was a hoax but that, regardless of whether it was fake, it demanded a loud response. I cant be quiet about that, she said. The point is its out there, and racial justice needs a louder noise. Tory Johnson, founder of local grassroots group Black Lives Matter Huntington Beach, which was staging a counterprotest, stood in a suit and tie with a megaphone in hand as the crowd grew Sunday morning. This is going to be a pretty big day, thats for sure, he said. In the distance, swimmers and volleyball players on the beach paid little attention to the rising tensions at the pier. Johnson estimated that a couple hundred people might show up but could not say for sure how many were expected. I just want to occupy this space, Johnson said, and put forth the message that we dont want this to be a city of hate and division. Shortly after the demonstration began, police took three counterprotesters into custody. One was accused of using amplified sound and a second allegedly obstructed police and had in his backpack a metal baton, two cans of pepper spray and a knife, Huntington Beach Police Lt. Brian Smith said. A third man was also taken into custody, but Smith could not say why. A woman was detained about an hour later after she was allegedly found with pepper spray, which is prohibited at a public assembly, Smith said. Activist Najee Ali described the arrests as a double standard in the way our protests have been policed ... whether in D.C. or here in Orange County. PATRICK T. FALLON/TNS Ali, who was wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words I cant breathe, said the timing of the White Lives Matter rally was likely connected to the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Without question, he said. Im here from Los Angeles just to show solidarity against racism, hate and intolerance, Ali said. Its important residents of Huntington Beach know theyre not alone and we stand with with them. Smith said they had more staff here than usual but could not confirm how many officers were deployed to the area. The department has a large contingency on standby, he noted. Our hope is that everybody can come express their free speech in a peaceful manner today, he said. Authorities have not been able to identify who organized the White Lives Matter event or make contact with them, he said. The rally, which was advertised via social media, is one of several such demonstrations scheduled across the country. The rallies were organized through the messaging app Telegram, according to the Anti-Defamation League. It comes after fliers with KKK propaganda were delivered to homes in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Long Beach in recent weeks. Police do not believe the same people are responsible for the fliers and the rally, Smith said. Roger Bloom, 65, who has been living in Huntington Beach since 1975, held a sign in his left hand that read Old White Guys Against Racism on one side, and No H8 in HB on the other side. In his right hand, he held an American flag. Im here to defend my city, Bloom said. Its a great city full of great people. Just because a handful of pathetic losers come out here every so often to a public square and make a stink ... they give this town a bad name. I wish theyd go back to their basements and stay there. Antonieta Gimeno, 78, said she drove down from LA to show solidarity with the counterprotesters. Im horrified by the violence against Black people, Mexican people, Asian people, said Gimeno, who is Mexican. This is a small step, but the more people who stand in unity, the more we can show that in order for white lives to matter, Black lives have to matter too. Cliff Smith holding a sign reading, Death to the Klan! International working class solidarity! preferred to stay on the corner of Main Street and PCH as the counterprotesters gathered in a circle to chant. Its about being visible, said Smith, 51, of South Los Angeles. The crowd seems like they have it under control. Smith stood next to his friend Jesus Portillo, 35, a resident of Orange. He held a sign that said, End Racism. Portillo, who is Mexican, said he stood proudly with his sign to defend his color, my people and the resistance. Ive experienced a lot of racism especially because me and my family are Latinos, he said. Were always getting pulled over. Huntington Beach has been grappling with extremism for decades. In the 1980s and 1990s, its pier and surf spots became a draw for skinheads, white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Two high-profile hate crimes in the mid-1990s solidified the citys reputation as a hotbed of racism. In 1994, two skinheads gunned down a Black man outside a McDonalds on Beach Boulevard. Vernon Windell Flournoy, 44, stumbled into the restaurant and collapsed in front of horrified diners. Jonathan Russell Kennedy, 19, pleaded guilty to the slaying, as well as to charges of attempted murder of two Latino men in a separate attack weeks before, and was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison. Robert Wofford, 17, of Laguna Niguel, also pleaded guilty in Flournoys death and was sentenced to 18 years to life. Though Huntington Beach remains largely conservative, it is increasingly an island surrounded by growing liberalism and racial diversity. Orange County as a whole has experienced a remarkable demographic shift in the last two decades with the arrival of more Asian and Latino residents, who have helped tilt the area toward Democrats. Experts say such demographic shifts are the strongest predictors of increases in political extremism and hate crimes in neighborhoods where some fear their way of life is under threat. Meanwhile, the Huntington Beach City Council at its meeting last week denounced hate speech and white supremacy. The city is also hosting a virtual Day of Unity at the same time as the White Lives Matter rally. "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 The parents of Armenian prisoners of war and missing servicemen are discontent with their meeting with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. During a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am, one of the parents who had exited the building said some of the parents are still inside the government building, while others have exited the building. According to the parent, the parents will remain in the government building until they receive clear answers to their questions. We have been waiting for answers for seven months. Its easy for government officials since their children are with them, an outraged woman said. A man who was also discontent with the meeting said the following: We had hope that Armenia has a government, but this person [Nikol Pashinyan] is incapable of answering our questions and providing us with information about our children so that we know where our children are and whether they are captives or missing. If he cant do the job, the only thing left for us to do is to address Putin and ask about our children. The parents of prisoners of war and missing servicemen today gathered in front of the government building with the demand for a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. After waiting for a short while, the Prime Minister finally met with them. The meeting began at around 2 p.m. $2 million investment will introduce underrepresented youth to employment, career and educational opportunities $2 million investment will introduce underrepresented youth to employment, career and educational opportunities Young Professionals initiative offers meaningful introduction to the world of work, including career exploration, job skills and earned income. April 12, 2021 Media Contact: Mike Murray, 517-275-1820 LANSING, Mich.-The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) today announced the recipients of grants totaling $2 million to provide underrepresented young adults with a meaningful introduction to the world of work, including virtual career exploration and preparation activities, jobs skills and earned income. "This $2 million investment in underrepresented young adult Michiganders will empower them to pursue meaningful opportunities," said Governor Whitmer. "I am grateful to LEO for fulfilling our commitment to Michiganders pursuing their futures, especially those who are vulnerable, ensuring they can excel in the classroom or on a rewarding career path." The Young Professionals grants have been awarded to the state's Michigan Works! agencies, which were selected through a Request for Proposal process. The 16 agencies will receive awards ranging from $70,000 to $250,000 to support the development and/or enhancement of a Young Professionals employment initiative. "We're excited about Young Professionals, because it takes an innovative approach to preparing our future workforce for high-demand, high-paying jobs," said LEO Acting Director Susan Corbin. "We're also grateful for the grant recipients who expressed an increased focus on supporting underserved populations, including those with disabilities, making this initiative an even more effective tool in expanding career and educational opportunities for young adults." The Young Professionals initiative is designed to reduce youth unemployment and place young adults, ages 14-24, on the right path to achieve lifelong economic self-sufficiency. The initiative supports young adults who are struggling on the path to obtain employment by exposing them to multiple career and educational opportunities, such as entering a Registered Apprenticeship program, earning a college degree or certificate, and obtaining sustainable employment. "We piloted this initiative last year as a summer youth employment program, but we recognized a year-round program would provide greater flexibility and benefits to all participants, so that's what we've done," said Stephanie Beckhorn, Director of LEO's Office of Employment and Training. "Many of the grantees have also pivoted to virtual career exploration and preparation activities and have increased their focus on identifying virtual placements with employers. "We're proud this program has evolved to meet youth where they are to better prepare them for a brighter future," Beckhorn said. Grant awards include Michigan Works! Berrien/Cass/Van Buren ($83,031); Capital Area Michigan Works! ($135,131); Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation ($250,000); GST Michigan Works! ($129,869); Great Lakes Bay Michigan Works! ($160,000); Macomb-St. Clair Michigan Works! ($100,000); Michigan Works! Northeast Consortium ($70,000); Northwest Michigan Works! ($100,000); Oakland County Michigan Works! ($200,000); Michigan Works! Region 7B Consortium ($73,206); Michigan Works! Southeast Consortium ($110,000); Southeast Michigan Community Alliance Michigan Works! ($125,000); Michigan Works! Southwest ($150,000); Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! ($100,000); Michigan Works! West Central ($72,438); and West Michigan Works! ($141,325). Michigan Works! provides career preparation, employment opportunities and supportive services throughout the state. These agencies play a crucial role in the recruitment of employers, with a focus on regionally in-demand industries such as construction, healthcare, information technology and manufacturing. "Michigan Works! knows how these work experiences can be life-changing. Nearly 45% of Michigan high school students are economically disadvantaged and could greatly benefit from preparation for and entry into employment," said Terri Weems, President of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, one of the state's 16 Michigan Works! agencies. "This reduces the impact of high-risk factors, including poverty, while providing an opportunity to earn valuable income for themselves and their families." The Young Professionals program aligns with Michigan's Sixty by 30 goal to increase the number of working-age adults with a skill certificate or college degree to 60 percent by 2030. More information about the program is available through any of the state's Michigan Works! agencies. To contact the nearest Michigan Works! Service Center, call 800-285-WORKS (9675) or visit MichiganWorks.org. Cruise has expanded its robotaxi ambitions beyond San Francisco. The autonomous vehicle subsidiary of GM that also has backing from SoftBank Vision Fund, Microsoft and Honda, has struck a deal to launch a robotaxi service in Dubai in 2023. The robotaxi service in Dubai will use the Cruise Origin, the all-electric shuttle-like vehicle that has no steering wheel or pedals and is designed to travel at highway speeds. The Origin, which was unveiled in January 2020, will be manufactured by GM. Cruise will establish a new local Dubai-based company, which will be responsible for the deployment, operation and maintenance of the fleet. The service will start with a limited number of vehicles, with plans to scale up to 4,000 vehicles by 2030 as part of Dubai's self-driving transport strategy, according to Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the board of the RTA. The robotaxis and eventually the service will be introduced gradually and limited to specific areas before expanding to other parts of the city. Dubais Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said the agreement with Cruise is a "major step towards realizing Dubai's Self-Driving Transport Strategy aimed at converting 25% of total trips in Dubai into self-driving transport trips across different modes of transport by 2030." Importantly, Cruise has a lock on Dubai for at least a few years. Under the agreement, Cruise is the "exclusive provider" for self-driving taxis and ride-hailing services in Dubai until 2029. Al Tayer said the selection of Cruise was not taken lightly and involved a comprehensive, multi-year process. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 17:40:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WENCHANG, Hainan, April 12 (Xinhua) -- China's Long March-7 Y3 rocket, which will launch the cargo craft of China's space station, has arrived at its launch site in southern China's Hainan Province. The rocket, alongside the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft that has already been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, will be assembled and tested at the launch site, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said on Monday. The CMSEO said the facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition and preparations are being carried out as scheduled. Enditem New Delhi, April 12 : With exponential surge in Covid-19 cases in the national capital especially in the last few days, the Delhi Government has stepped up its efforts to combat the new wave of coronavirus. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a review meeting with health officials on Monday morning and later made three appeals to people to follow Covid protocols. Observing the need for more beds in the hospitals, the state government has decided to scale up capacities, increasing Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds and ramping up other facilities in both government and private run hospitals. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that the government is taking all steps to fight against Covid-19 and to strengthen the health system of the national capital. To take stock of the preparations in hospitals in view of Covid-19 surge in the capital, the chief Minister held a review meeting with top health officials and the doctors on Monday. Meanwhile, he also urged the people to follow protocols to protect themselves against Covid-19. "We are taking several steps to increase number of beds in both pvt and govt sectors. Urge everyone to cooperate. Pl pl follow Covid protocols. Don't rush to hospital unless necessary. Go and vaccinate if you are eligible," Kejriwal said on Twitter after the review meeting. Delhi on Sunday reported 10,732 fresh Covid-19 cases and 48 deaths. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km south of the Iranian capital Tehran, March 30, 2005. Iran's atomic energy organization said Sunday the facility was hit by a terrorist act, hours after it said an "accident" had caused a power failure there. Reuters Iran's atomic energy organisation said Sunday the Natanz nuclear facility was hit by a terrorist act, hours after it said an "accident" had caused a power failure there. The episode came a day after the Islamic republic said it had started up advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges at the site, in a breach of its commitments under a troubled 2015 deal with world powers. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Iran Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEO), condemned a "futile" act, while urging the international community to "confront this anti-nuclear terrorism", in a statement carried by state television. The attack was carried out by "opponents of the country's industrial and political progress, who aim to prevent development of a thriving nuclear industry," he said, without specifying what country or entity might be behind the alleged sabotage. IAEO spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi had earlier reported an accident at the enrichment facility caused by a "power failure". No one was injured and there was no radioactive release, the official Fars news agency reported, citing the spokesman. Kamalvandi said there had been "an accident in part of the electrical circuit of the enrichment facility" at the Natanz complex near Tehran. "The causes of the accident are under investigation and more details will be released later," he added, before the later statement put out by the agency's chief. He did not say whether power was cut only in the enrichment facility or across other installations at the site. 'Sabotage' Malek Chariati, spokesman for the Iranian parliament's energy commission, took to Twitter to allege sabotage. "This incident, coming (the day after) National Nuclear Technology Day, as Iran endeavours to press the West into lifting sanctions, is strongly suspected to be sabotage or infiltration," Chariati said. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani had on Saturday inaugurated a cascade of centrifuges for enriching uranium and two test cascades at Natanz, in a ceremony broadcast by state television. An Israeli public broadcast journalist, Amichai Stein, said on Twitter "the assessment is that the fault" at Natanz is the "result of an Israeli cyber operation", without elaborating or providing evidence to corroborate his claim. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later Sunday that "the struggle against Iran and its proxies and the Iranian armament efforts is a huge mission". "The situation that exists today will not necessarily be the situation that will exist tomorrow," he added, without elaborating. Netanyahu made the remarks during an event involving intelligence service Mossad and the army for Israel's independence anniversary. Iran's president had on Saturday also inaugurated a replacement factory at Natanz, after an explosion at a facility making advanced centrifuges there last July. Iranian authorities likewise blamed the July incident on "sabotage" by "terrorists", but have not released the results of their investigation into it. Nuclear deal talks The equipment inaugurated Saturday enables quicker enrichment of uranium and in higher quantities, to levels that violate Iran's commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal it agreed with the five permanent United Nations Security Council powers, plus Germany. The administration of then-US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from this multilateral nuclear accord in 2018 and re-imposed biting sanctions on Iran. Iran later responded by progressively rolling back its own commitments under the agreement. Trump's successor Joe Biden has said he is prepared to return to the deal, arguing it had until Washington's withdrawal been successful in dramatically scaling back Iran's nuclear activities. 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 US back into it. The talks are focused not only on lifting the crippling economic sanctions Trump reimposed, but also on bringing Iran back into compliance. Iran's nemesis Israel has always been implacably opposed to the 2015 accord. In November last year, Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by machine gun fire while travelling on a highway outside Tehran. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said a satellite-controlled gun with "artificial intelligence" was used in the attack, which Tehran blamed on Israel. 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 had again underlined at Saturday's ceremony that Tehran's nuclear programme is solely for "peaceful" purposes. (AFP) New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday demanded the Election Commission (EC) to ban West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Dilip Ghosh from campaigning in the poll-bound state over his remarks on the killing of four people in Cooch Behars Sitalkuchi. TMC in its letter to EC alleged that Ghosh justified such murder and threatened Bengal and its people of more such murders in the following words: 'ar jodi barabakri kore Sitalkuchi dekheche ki hoche, jaegae jaegae Sitalkuchi hobe' (people have seen what happened at Sitalkuchi, if anyone steps its boundary, the incident of Sitalkuchi will be repeated again and again), ANI reported. Instead of condemning the acts of violence of CRPF in the brutal cold-blooded killing of the four innocent people, Dilip Ghosh has actively seen condoning the acts and in fact encouraging similar spell of violence in the ongoing elections in West Bengal," the TMCs letter further said. TMC also sought legal action against Ghosh for his controversial comments. "In the circumstances, we call upon you, to forthwith: First, initiate appropriate strict legal action, including criminal proceedings, against Dilip Ghosh for his inflammatory and inciting statement and openly threatening the electorate. Secondly, restrain Dilip Ghosh for campaigning for remaining phases," it read. On Sunday, Ghosh created controversy after he said that Cooch Behar-like killings may happen in the next phase of assembly elections if "naughty boys like the ones who died in Sitalkuchi" try to take the law into their hands. Addressing an election rally at Baranagar in North 24 Parganas district, Ghosh said, "Naughty boys received bullets at Sitalkuchi. If anyone dares to take the law into his hands, this will happen to him also." "The naughty boys, who had presumed that the rifles of the central forces were just for a show during election duty, will not dare repeat the same mistake after seeing what happened in Sitalkuchi, he added. During the fourth phase of polling in the state on Saturday, four persons died as CISF personnel opened fire after some people "attempted to snatch their rifles" while voting was underway in Sitalkuchi assembly constituency. (With inputs from agencies) Live TV A New Jersey man is fighting for his life in hospital with COVID-19, despite being vaccinated against the virus. Francisco Cosme, 52, was vaccinated with the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine on March 6 - travelling from his home in Edison, New Jersey to Manhattan for the jab. The vaccine is considered effective after two weeks and Cosme continued to follow the CDC advice about social distancing and face masks. Yet his daughter, Michelle Torres, 31, told The New York Post that he fell ill on April 1. Patients are seen arriving at the Javits Center on March 31 for their vaccinations Cosme was given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (pictured) on March 6 'He had a cough, fever, chills, everything,' she told the paper. Torres drove her father to a clinic where he tested positive for COVID-19 and he was instructed to quarantine for ten days. His condition continued to deteriorate, and last week she noticed her father struggling to breathe, and called 911. Cosme was given oxygen and taken by ambulance to John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Union City, New Jersey. Torres said her father was in critical condition and being treated for pneumonia. 'I'm trying to hold it together, everyday you don't know what is happening,' she told the paper. 'The doctor said they did all they can do it and it's up to him to fight and up to God.' Torres told the Post her mother, her husband, and her children have also all tested positive for the virus. 'We survived the whole year without it [the vaccine] - doing all the things we are supposed to so do: social distancing, washing hands, and masking up,' she said. 'It's crazy and we need answers.' She did not specify whether he had any pre-existing conditions. The Javits Center is one of the largest of the mass-vaccination sites set up in the New York area None of the COVID vaccines currently being administered are 100 per cent effective. On April 4 Ashley Allen, 31, tested positive for COVID, despite having received her one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the Javits Center on March 10. However, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is believed to be 100 per cent effective in preventing severe cases of COVID, such as Cosme's. 'The vaccine had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in people who did get sick,' the CDC currently state on their website. 'No one who got COVID-19 at least 4 weeks after receiving the J&J/Janssen vaccine had to be hospitalized.' The sergeant major of the Army commended the second lieutenant whose December traffic stop prompted a lawsuit and the firing of a Virginia police officer for remaining cool as a pair of cops pointed their weapons at him. "Like many of you," Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston tweeted Monday, "I was concerned by the video of [2nd Lt. Caron] Nazario's traffic stop in December. He represented himself and our Army well through his calm, professional response to the situation -- I'm very proud of him." Nazario's case has received national attention after video footage of him being pulled over by two police officers in Windsor, Virginia, was made public last week. The lieutenant, who is Black and Latino, is a member of the Virginia National Guard and was in uniform when he was stopped the night of Dec. 5. Video footage was recorded by the police officers' body cameras and on Nazario's cell phone. Read Next: Officer Accused of Force in Stop of Black Army Officer Fired Nazario can be heard asking the police officers what is going on as they approach him with weapons drawn. The lieutenant, whose hands can be seen raised outside the driver's side window, then tells the cops he is afraid to get out of the vehicle. "Yeah, you should be," one of the officers responds. Nazario was pepper-sprayed and forced to the ground. The Windsor Police Department announced Sunday that one of the officers, Joe Gutierrez, was fired. "[It] was determined that Windsor Police Department policy was not followed," the statement reads. "This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present." Grinston, who last year shared a video describing his own challenges with racial identity, said he has been assured Nazario is receiving support from his unit leadership. "Situations like this are what I want Soldiers to discuss," Grinston said. "This is the reality that some of our Soldiers still face. As a Leader, you should know that and be willing to have conversations about how events like this impact your teams." The Army, like all the military branches, just wrapped up mandatory extremism stand-down discussions across the force. The discussions were mandated by the defense secretary after dozens of military personnel and veterans were arrested for allegedly participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The military also began a review of its policies following the 2020 death of George Floyd. Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, is currently on trial for Floyd's death. Nazario filed a lawsuit in federal court against the officers involved in his traffic stop. His lawyer told the Virginian-Pilot, which first reported on the case last week, that Nazario's constitutional rights were violated. Officials with the town of Windsor, which has a population of about 2,700 people, said they're cooperating with calls to review the officers' actions. Virginia's Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam said Sunday that he is disturbed and angered by the video showing the cops' treatment of Nazario. The governor directed the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation. Virginians' interactions with police need to be safe and fair, Northam said. "I am inviting Army medic Lieutenant Caron Nazario to meet soon -- we must all continue the larger dialogue about reform in our country," the governor added. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Related Video: Related: Army Enlisted Leaders Open Up About Personal Struggles with Racial Identity A group of Windsor residents seeking to recall Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli over allegations of sexual assault said late Sunday that they will launch their effort Monday by filing necessary campaign finance documents. Despite repeated calls from residents to resign, Dominic Foppoli has made clear that he will not leave office, and will instead attempt to distract from the allegations against him with a strategy of blatant lies and misdirection, said Tim Zahner, the chair of the Recall Foppoli Campaign. This is part of a larger pattern of narcissistic and dangerous behavior from the Mayor that not only harms his reputation, but also creates unnecessary strain on our community, Zahner said. Mayor Foppoli has to go. If he wont resign, let there be no doubt that the residents of Windsor will remove him from office. The movement toward a potential recall election came as Foppoli denied the allegations that have roiled his Wine Country town, indicating hell fight calls for his resignation even as fellow Town Council members explore ways to remove him after a Chronicle investigation documenting several womens accusations. Jessica Christian / The Chronicle A statement from Foppoli on Saturday night called the five womens allegations against him unfounded and said he never pressured any female to engage in sexual conduct with me. The politician and winemaker asserted there were clear political and social machinations that are outwardly and obviously driving the effort to put my head on a spike. Just hours later, Joe Foppoli, the mayors older brother and co-executive at Christopher Creek Winery outside Healdsburg, called on Dominic Foppoli to resign from office and announced that the mayor had been kicked out of the familys winery business. Residents held a small rally Sunday outside the winery condemning the mayor. Joe Foppoli, declaring himself disappointed and disgusted, said, Elected officials should be held to higher standards of moral character and no matter what comes out, he has not done that and he needs to step down. The Windsor Town Council has scheduled an emergency Zoom meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday primarily to discuss how to support residents through the voter-recall effort, as well as what the town can and cannot do legally in terms of removing Dominic Foppoli, said Council Member Esther Lemus. All three of Foppolis Town Council colleagues, including Lemus, have demanded his resignation since the Chronicle investigation published Thursday. Jason Turner, the mayor of Cloverdale, said Foppoli had flat-out told (him) he will refuse to resign. As you can imagine, this is an absolute crisis, Lemus said. Beyond comprehension. Before Saturday night, Foppoli had provided only a brief statement through his attorney denying the allegations. In his Saturday statement, he wrote: I believe anyone who believes they have been victimized should have the opportunity to be heard and I didnt want to cloud my accusers stories with an immediate response and therefore decided to give them time to be heard. But now is the appropriate time for me to address this matter, he said. I am completely innocent of the conduct alleged and have not violated any of these women. While stating he had never pressured a woman for sex, he did not address any of the specific accusations against him. As of Saturday, five women had come forward to say Foppoli sexually assaulted them in incidents from 2002 to 2019. In addition to his elected Town Council colleagues, the North Bays two congressional representatives and all eight of the other Sonoma County mayors have condemned his alleged actions and called for him to step down. The Sonoma County Sheriffs Office has opened a criminal investigation into the accusations, though prosecutors may have limited ability to file charges. Many of the alleged incidents occurred more than 10 years ago, and may fall outside the states statute of limitations. Foppolis statement on Saturday attacked his critics: To my fellow elected officials who have called for my resignation, your cowardly rush to judgment without evidence is a particularly alarming reflection of the state of our dwindling Democracy, he wrote. He also attacked The Chronicle, saying the newspaper had self-ordained itself as my judge, jury, and executioner without caring to learn or understand all the facts. Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, the editor in chief, responded, We stand by our coverage. The stories have been thoroughly reported by Alexandria Bordas and Cynthia Dizikes over many months. The mayor was given numerous opportunities to respond to the individual allegations. When sources come forward they do so at great personal risk. We found the stories of these women to be credible. We still welcome Mr. Foppolis response to their allegations. Over the weekend, Foppoli and Town Council member and Deputy District Attorney Lemus traded allegations about each other, which were reported by other media. The Chronicle continues to investigate those statements. Foppoli was first appointed mayor in 2018 by his Town Council colleagues. In November 2020, for the first time, Windsor held an election for its mayoral seat and Foppoli won. Because he was chosen by voters, Foppoli can be stripped of his title only through a felony conviction or a recall election. The initial Chronicle investigation detailed the accounts of four women who said Foppoli isolated and sexually assaulted them after nights of drinking alcohol. The alleged assaults, ranging from groping to rape, took place between 2003 and 2019 as Foppoli gained prominence. The fifth woman, who came forward after reading the investigation, said Foppoli forced her to engage in oral copulation dozens of times throughout a three-year relationship that began in 2001, when they were both 19. On one occasion in 2002, Shannon McCarthy said, Foppoli handcuffed her to their bed and sexually abused her as she struggled and begged him to stop. After The Chronicles published revelations, the League of California Cities voted unanimously to remove Foppoli from a leadership post. Both the Russian River Valley Winegrowers and the Sonoma County Vintners announced they are cutting ties with Christopher Creek Winery. Alexandria Bordas, Cynthia Dizikes, Rachel Swan and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: alexandria.bordas@sfchronicle.com, cdizikes@sfchronicle.com, rswan@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @crossingbordas, @cdizikes, @rachelswan, @sarravani COLONIE - Nicholas Suhr of Delmar, an Iraq war veteran, was promoted to colonel during a ceremony at New York National Guard Headquarters in Latham. Suhr serves as the deputy personnel officer for the New York Army National Guard. He is a full-time National Guard officer. Lt. Col. Mark Frank, personnel director of the New York Army National Guard, praised Suhr's abilities and leadership skills. "It's a great day in the New York National Guard when we get to promote one of our best and brightest," he said during the ceremony. Suhr said that his success as an Army officer had been shaped by the many people he worked with during his career. "To everyone I served with know that I value our experiences together and they make me a better officer," Suhr said after he was promoted. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2002. After he was commissioned in the Field Artillery he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. He served as a battery fire direction officer, battery executive officer, company fire support officer and battalion maintenance officer between 2002 and 2007. The colonel deployed to Iraq from January 2004 to February 2005 while assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. Suhr joined the New York Army National Guard in 2007 as the plans officer, company commander and deputy personnel officer for the 42nd Infantry Division in Troy. In 2011, he was assigned to the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team based in Syracuse. He also had served in the New York Army National Guard's Recruiting and Retention Battalion from 2015 to 2017. He has been assigned to the Military Personnel Office since 2017 in a number of positions. Suhr earned a bachelor of science in economics from West Point and a master degree in industrial and management engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy. He also is a graduate of the Army's Command and General Staff College. The colonel earned a Bronze Star Medal, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, a Combat Action Badge and a Parachutist Badge. He and his wife Katherine have a daughter, Natalie and a son, Colin. Others advance Niki Clark of Colonie, was promoted to staff sergeant while serving with Joint Force Headquarters. Other soldiers promoted include: Sergeant: Gregory Germain, Schenectady Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 204th Engineer Battalion. Corporal: Bradlee Claus of West Sand Lake, Company D, 152nd Engineer Battalion. Specialist: Charles Burton, Central Bridge, Battery A, 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery;. Evan Cote, Watervliet, Headquarters and Support Company, 42nd Infantry Division; Giovanni Giammancoesposito, Watervliet, 1427th Transportation Company; William Griffith, Cohoes, 42nd Division Signal Company; and Adelina Kendle, Schoharie, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 501st Ordnance Battalion (EOD). Also, Kayla Kilventon, Cohoes, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade; and Sarah Michael, Warnerville, Company D, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regimen; Joshua Shappy, Schoharie, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry; and Yidi Wang, Schenectady Company G, 427th Brigade Support Battalion. Patrick Semansky/Associated Press President Joe Bidens $2 trillion infrastructure plan is long overdue and exactly what America needs. Rebuilding America creates jobs and is what business needs to grow and prosper as well. Republicans in Congress will immediately object on the grounds that the means of paying for the rebuilding will require tax increases on corporations and the wealthy. But let's remember what happened with the tax overhaul Republicans pushed through Congress in 2017. Their argument was that the 35 percent tax rate on business was one of the reasons businesses moved overseas and also why they didnt repatriate profits. They also said it would pay for itself. CHICAGO, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CCC Information Services Inc. ("CCC"), a leading SaaS platform for the P&C insurance economy, announces it plans to deliver on the industry's vision for straight-through auto claims processing with the launch of CCC Estimate STP. To be previewed at CCC's conference in May, CCC Estimate STP will employ advanced AI, insurer-driven rules, and CCC's vast network connections to automatically initiate and populate predictive, detailed, and actionable estimates in moments. CCC Estimate STP is designed to fully digitize the estimating process for qualified repairable claims, expanding the digitization of auto claims, speeding processing time and elevating the customer experience. "CCC Estimate STP is designed to accelerate our insurance customers' vision for straight-through processing," said Barrett Callaghan, executive vice president, markets and customer success, CCC. "Intelligent, automated, inclusive, and actionable, we believe CCC Estimate STP will deliver a significant leap forward, powering our customers' ability to achieve claims personalization and differentiation." CCC Estimate STP will use a powerful combination of technologies, data, and partner connections to generate a comprehensive estimate. Line-level detail, including parts, labor operations and hours, and taxes for each repair are designed to make estimates actionable and to deliver speed and transparency to policyholders. CCC's AI solutions will assess and visually depict vehicle damage, while estimating logic, derived from processing 16 million claims annually, will work with insurer-directed business rules to digitally generate estimates. The new offering will be configurable by insurer, including claim eligibility thresholds and policyholder experience objectives. CCC Estimate - STP will be part of the CCC Cloud, which creates connections and digital continuity among insurers, collision repairers, automakers, and parts suppliers. "With the rollout of CCC Estimate STP, we expect the industry will be able to realize automated estimating in mere minutes," said Shivani Govil, chief product officer, CCC. "End-to-end digitization requires an advanced set of technologies and a highly orchestrated network of trading partners that we believe CCC is uniquely positioned to deliver. With broad adoption of our mobile and AI solutions, we're excited to bring this next generation innovation to market and help transform how our clients operate and reimagine the customer experience." Today, CCC's network of 30,000 customers use the company's solutions to digitize operations, improve performance, and deliver more seamless experiences to their policyholders across millions of claims annually. Insurer adoption of CCC's advanced AI using deep-learning an important element of CCC Estimate STP - increased 50 percent year over year in 2020, and through 2020, more than 5 million unique claims have been processed using a CCC deep-learning AI solution. Today, more than 75 auto insurers are actively applying CCC's advanced AI to their claims process to improve policyholder experiences. CCC Estimate STP is designed to build on CCC's track record of success and integrate seamlessly into the claim workflow of existing CCC clients. Learn more about CCC Estimate STP. About CCC CCC is a leading SaaS platform for the multi-trillion-dollar P&C insurance economy powering operations for insurers, repairers, automakers, part suppliers, lenders, and more. CCC cloud technology connects more than 30,000 businesses digitizing mission-critical workflows, commerce, and customer experiences. A trusted leader in AI, IoT, customer experience, network and workflow management, CCC delivers innovations that keep people's lives moving forward when it matters most. Learn more about CCC at www.cccis.com. CCC and the CCC logo are registered trademarks of CCC Information Services Inc. Important Information and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed business combination between CCC and Dragoneer Growth Opportunities Corp. ("Dragoneer") (the "business combination"), Dragoneer has filed a registration statement on Form S-4 ("registration statement") filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC)" that includes a prospectus with respect to CCC's securities to be issued in connection with the business combination and a proxy statement with respect to the shareholder meeting of Dragoneer to vote on the business combination. Dragoneer urges its investors, shareholders and other interested persons to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus as well as other documents filed with the SEC because these documents will contain important information about Dragoneer, CCC and the business combination. After the registration statement is declared effective, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus included in the registration statement will be mailed to shareholders of Dragoneer as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination. Shareholders may obtain a copy of the proxy statement/prospectus, and other documents filed with the SEC without charge, by directing a request to: Dragoneer Growth Opportunity Corp., One Letterman Drive, Building D, Suite M500, San Francisco, California, 94129. The preliminary proxy statement/prospectus and, once available, definitive proxy statement/prospectus included in the registration statement can also be obtained, without charge, at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "ongoing" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future events, growth and innovations, and product development, including timing of the product release, availability of product features and functions and the anticipated success of the product. Such differences may be material. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate. These forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among others, challenges inherent in product research and development, including the ability to generate a comprehensive estimate; competition, including technological advances and new products marketed by competitors; changes to applicable laws and regulations; laws related to use of artificial intelligence or photos; insurer claim practices and other risks and uncertainties, including those included under the header "Risk Factors" in the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by Dragoneer with the SEC and those included under the header "Risk Factors" in the final prospectus of Dragoneer related to its initial public offering, both of which can be obtained, without charge, at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Participants in the Solicitation Dragoneer and CCC and their respective directors and executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies with respect to the potential business combination under the rules of the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Dragoneer is set forth in Dragoneer's final prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") on August 17, 2020 and is available free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to: Dragoneer Growth Opportunity Corp., One Letterman Drive, Building D, Suite M500, San Francisco, California, 94129. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of the Dragoneer shareholders in connection with the potential business combination are set forth in the registration statement containing the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus filed with the SEC. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. No Offer or Solicitation This press release is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the potential business combination and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of Dragoneer or CCC, nor shall there be any sale of any such securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act. SOURCE CCC Information Services Inc. Related Links http://www.cccis.com The UN rights chief warned London on Monday that a draft law aimed at preventing vexatious prosecutions of troops over war crimes allegations risked undermining Britains human rights obligations. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged lawmakers to ensure that British law remained entirely unambiguous when it comes to accountability for international crimes. The prosecution of British soldiers for alleged past crimes in Northern Ireland, and in more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, has dogged the military, government and courts for years. The bill has been approved by the British parliaments lower House of Commons and is about to come before the upper House of Lords, which can bring in revisions and amendments. Bachelet voiced concerns that, unless amended, the bill could lead to shielding troops operating abroad from due accountability for acts of torture or other serious international crimes. As currently drafted, the bill would make it substantially less likely that UK service members on overseas operations would be held accountable for serious human rights violations amounting to international crimes, the former Chilean president said. The legislation discourages the prosecution of current or former soldiers for alleged offences committed on overseas operations more than five years ago. It raises the threshold prosecutors will use in deciding to pursue a case after five years to exceptional, and requires them to weigh the public interest and get consent from the attorney general before prosecuting. Bachelet called on Britain to specifically exclude all international crimes from the proposed restrictions and to strengthen UK courts ability to resolve the most serious allegations against military personnel. Britains Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has claimed the bill will protect service personnel and veterans from vexatious claims and endless investigations. The British government said military operations will continue to be governed by other international humanitarian law, and denied the bill amounts to an amnesty for British troops. Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin is a dad. The former child actor, now 40, and girlfriend Brenda Song are 'overjoyed' after welcoming their first child, a baby boy named Dakota, last week. The healthy infant was born Monday, April 5 at 1:10pm, in Los Angeles, weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces, according to Esquire. The name is a touching tribute to Culkin's late sister, who passed away after injuries sustained from stepping in front of a moving vehicle outside a west LA bar in 2008. Proud parents! Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song have welcomed their first child, a son named Dakota. They're seen in 2018 in Santa Monica above Tribute: The name is a touching tribute to Culkin's late sister, who passed away after injuries sustained from stepping in front of a moving vehicle outside a west LA bar in 2008. The family is seen in 1990 at the premiere of Home Alone above The accident did not result in a criminal investigation, as LAPD officers determined the motorist was not driving drunk, stopped to help, and had followed all laws. At the time of the accident Culkin's spokeswoman called Dakota's death a 'terrible tragic accident' and said the family had no further comment. Brenda and Macaulay, who met on the set of Changeland in 2017, did not announce they were expecting a child ahead of the birth announcement. Before Dakota's arrival the private pair were just parents to a brood of animals which include three cats, a few fish, a Shiba Inu, and a blue-headed pionus parrot. Furry family: Before Dakota's arrival the private pair were just parents to a brood of animals which include three cats, a few fish, a Shiba Inu, and a blue-headed pionus parrot. Seen in October 2020 above Steamy: The Richie Rich actor revealed that he and the Suite Life Of Zack And Cody stand-out were trying to start a family at the start of last year, joking to Esquire : 'We practice a lot.' They're seen in 2018 above The Richie Rich actor revealed that he and the Suite Life Of Zack And Cody stand-out were trying to start a family at the start of last year, joking to Esquire: 'We practice a lot.' 'We're figuring it out, making the timing work. Because nothing turns you on more than when your lady comes into the room and says, "Honey, Im ovulating." The couple have an overwhelming love for one another, with Song telling the men's magazine: 'You cant be around him and not be happy.' 'People dont realize how incredibly kind and loyal and sweet and smart he is.' Star power: Culkin rocketed to fame as child in the 90s, starring in hits like Home Alone, My Girl, Richie Rich, The Pagemaster and more 'Truly what makes Mack so special is that he is so unapologetically Mack. He knows who he is, and hes 100 percent okay with that. And that to me is an incredibly sexy quality. Hes worked really hard to be the person he is.' Culkin rocketed to fame as child in the 90s, starring in hits like Home Alone, My Girl, Richie Rich, The Pagemaster and more. After taking a hiatus from acting in his teens, he returned onto the scene as the star of 2003's Party Monster at 23-years-old, setting the tone for his quirky second act. Culkin's next on screen appearance will be on season 10 of the hit Ryan Murphy anthology American Horror Story. Principals at Hamilton County Schools have been instructed to "immediately" register a possible influx of unattended migrant children. The principals received an email from Laura Grier, homeless liaison with the county schools. She wrote, "The Chattanooga area may experience an increase of unattended migrant youth. If any of the students show up to register at your school, please register them immediately. "They do not need two proofs of residency (or be "in zone"), a birth certificate, immunization record or proof of guardianship as they will be covered under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act." The Baptiste Group, which has contracts with the federal government for sheltering migrant children, has set up in a former dorm at Tennessee Temple University. Neighbors say a number of adolescents have been arriving in vans. The group is advertising for a wide range of bilingual positions to work with the children. Keith Lamb People are seen outside the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 7, 2015. /Getty Editor's note: Keith Lamb is a University of Oxford graduate with an MSc degree in Contemporary Chinese Studies. His primary research interests are China's international relations and "socialism with Chinese characteristics." The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. If one mentions genocide, concentration camps and slave labor, a westerner will no doubt correlate them with Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Considering up until recently no one had heard of Xinjiang, this is an astounding propaganda achievement by U.S.-led Western deep-state interests. Even more incredible is that when looking at the primary evidence for the above-mentioned "atrocities", one finds gargantuan flaws in their methodologies and purposeful distortion. All sources are suspiciously funded by the deep-state which holds on to an outdated Cold War mindset. In short, the "evidence" is cooked up. In addition, when looking at the brutal U.S.-led actions towards Muslims, there is clearly a deficit between the Western elite's intentions and their lofty rhetoric on human rights. I contend this same contradiction stands today with Xinjiang. As such, if genocide, concentration camps and slave labor do not accurately describe Xinjiang, then why would such claims have been made? A superficial answer would be that Western elites need to propagandize their citizens so that they are conditioned to accept any type of belligerent and unreasonable action toward China. These actions include the U.S.'s delisting of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as a terrorist group in 2020 which (if reported) could be justified as concerns for backing "freedom fighters". Perhaps a propagandized western citizen will not spare a humanitarian thought for the deaths caused by ETIM terrorism in China. However, they should at least note the inconsistency in the U.S. dropping the al-Qaeda and Taliban linked ETIM who plotted to attack the U.S. embassy in Kyrgyzstan in 2002, and who the U.S. was also bombing in Afghanistan up until 2018. No doubt, now that ETIM is off the terrorist list, funds will be made available to support its agenda which is to create an Islamic State out of Xinjiang. As such, one of the unstated aims of the U.S. deep-state is to weaken China through balkanizing it. This fits in with the U.S. elites' elitist ideology of exceptionalism which denies the equality of other civilizations whose rise would challenge U.S. global unipolar domination and the ideology of exceptionalism itself. Nevertheless, the question still remains why would the U.S. elites specifically target Xinjiang? There are utilitarian explanations such as being able to stir up discontent amongst ethnic minorities, especially those that have been involved in jihad, in Afghanistan and Syria. Then of course, on Xinjiang's border is Afghanistan whose chaotic semi-occupied status provides a ripe breeding ground to cultivate anti-China operations. However, I have long argued that beyond immediate utilitarian concerns is a broader historical strategy by the U.S. to combat challengers who develop inland. Attacking China from its western Xinjiang border would thwart much of China's Belt and Road Initiative which aims to develop both Xinjiang and central Asia. People are seen in Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 7, 2015. /Getty What's wrong with inland development you may ask? For a liberal hegemon like the U.S., or the previous British Empire, the development of the majority of the world, especially the vast undeveloped continental inlands, is a direct threat to their class of naval hegemony. Of course, all development outside the U.S.'s orbit challenges its ability to project its hard power and control global narratives. For example, development leads to the augmentation of military power that can resist U.S. strikes; it leads to being able to chart out one's own political-economic independence, and development, along with its material success, leads to increasing a state's soft power which then challenges unipolar narratives used to propagandize global citizens. Furthermore, successful development outside of the U.S.'s orbit diminishes the cult of American exceptionalism. However, inland development is even more threatening to the U.S. because the inlands are harder to strike. Both the U.S. and the British Empire, being disconnected from the greater mass of the world (i.e. Eurasia and Africa), became hegemons through their use of sea power. Through controlling the world's sea-lanes, they maintained the world order in their favor. Needless to say, for the majority of the earth, having rational transport connections across Eurasia and Africa provides a hedge against this naval power and creates opportunities for development. Thus, it has always been "sensible", for liberal sea powers, to keep the continental inlands in disarray and oppose large land powers, like China and Russia, who have the ability for inland development. This also explains the U.S. occupation of centrally located Afghanistan which is ideally positioned to thwart inland development. China previously had no choice but to engage with global trade through the U.S.-dominated sea lanes. This has always made China vulnerable to a U.S. blockade and development was tilted unevenly towards China's eastern seaboard. This, ironically led, in part, to discontent in Xinjiang as Uygurs felt they were "being left behind". However, this is no longer the case. China has proved that it will strive for even socialist development. Xinjiang and the rest of China's western region, as I have personally witnessed, have made tremendous advances. Thus, in light of the grand scheme, the U.S. is sponsoring Xinjiang separatist forces because China refuses to be beholden to U.S. naval domination or its strategy of uneven global development. China seeks to develop the continental inlands, it seeks to develop the world which, as history proves, has through negligence and scheming been left to rot by liberal empires. In opposition, the liberal U.S. seeks, by hook or crook, to counter the democratic will of the majority of earth's inhabitants, which is the basic human right of development. (If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.) She failed to connect with 'husband' Cameron Dunne on this year's season of Married At First Sight. And on Sunday, Samantha Harvey proved she has well and truly moved on from her TV groom as she stepped out with her new boyfriend, Jesse. Daily Mail Australia can reveal the mother-of-two has been secretly dating Jesse, a crane rigger, since January. New love! Married At First Sight's Samantha Harvey, 31, [L] stepped out with her new crane rigger boyfriend Jesse [R] to celebrate her co-star Liam Cooper's 30th birthday on Sunday Get a room! Daily Mail Australia can reveal the mother-of-two has been secretly dating Jesse, a crane rigger, since January 'He is so supportive and encouraging and have a lot in common,' a close friend revealed. The 31-year-old property developer was spotted arriving at Kokomo's Canberra for her co-star Liam Cooper's 30th birthday with her new man. The couple couldn't keep their hands off each other, and were seen kissing and looking very much loved up throughout the night. Date night: The 31-year-old property developer was spotted arriving at Kokomo's Canberra for her co-star Liam Cooper's 30th birthday, hand-in-hand with her new man That's nice! Upon arrival Jesse was seen giving Samantha a helping arm as she exited a white stretch Hummer Upon arrival, Jesse was seen giving Samantha a helping arm as she exited a white stretch Hummer before she gave the birthday boy a tight hug. Samantha and Jesse were then seen holding hands as they made their way into the local hot spot. Dressing up for the special occasion, Samantha was glammed up in a black crop top, which she paired with high waisted leather leggings. So sweet! The couple couldn't keep their hands off each other, and were seen kissing and looking very much loved up throughout the night Cute! At one point, the pair were seen sharing a boat shaped beverage Smitten: Samantha and her new beau were seen chatting and drinking as they watched co-star Booka Nile perform a song Meanwhile, Jesse was dressed in a light blue coloured button up shirt, which he paired with light grey pants and brown boots. The couple were joined by their fellow Married At First Sight co-star Booka Nile and her bridesmaid Madlin Sims. Meanwhile, Samantha's marriage to Cameron fell apart when he admitted he felt no emotional connection with her despite having sex on their honeymoon. Birthday boy: Upon her arrival, Liam Cooper was spotted giving Samantha a tight hug Officers stand guard outside Brooklyn Center Police Department with trash thrown at them by demonstrators at their feet after police allegedly shot and killed a man, who local media report is identified by the victim's mother as Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11, 2021. (Nick Pfosi/Reuters) National Guard Deployed Amid Looting, Riots in Minnesota After Black Man Killed by Police The National Guard was deployed overnight to Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, following riots, protests, and looting after police shot and killed a black man during a traffic stop. Daunte Wright was identified as the man who was shot and killed by police. According to footage and officials statements to the press, protests turned violent quickly on Sunday night in the Minneapolis suburb, located about 10 miles from where former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for the killing of George Floyd. Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz deployed the Guard after crowds were gathered in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday evening. A curfew was implemented until Monday morning at 6 a.m. It came as rocks and other objects were thrown at the police building, according to John Harrington, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Harrington added that there were reports of shots fired in the vicinity of the department building. In a statement, the nearby Brooklyn Park Police Departments building had its front door hit by gunfire, and glass was shattered. When investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension responded to the officer-involved shooting, Harrington said there were about 100 highly agitated people at the scene. Those people then marched and threw objects at police. People remain after police release tear gas to disperse protesters outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department after police shot and killed a man, Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 11, 2021. (Nick Pfosi/Reuters) Demonstrators stand on a police vehicle during a protest after police shot and killed a man, Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 11, 2021. (Nick Pfosi/Reuters) We saw rocks and other objects thrown at the police department. There were reports of shots fired in the area of the police department, Harrington said at a press conference on Sunday night. Within hours of that, a secondary group we heard was at the Shingle Creek mall or business center and we have reports of approximately 20 businesses that were broken into during that period. Harrington said that local authorities requested that Waltz mobilize the National Guard to Brooklyn Center. At this time, we have essentially a full activation, Harrington said. You will see a robust assortment of National Guard, state and local police departments working together over the next two or three days as we once again prepare for the trial and also are prepared for any other and any further civil unrest that may come from the Brooklyn Center officer-involved shooting today. According to footage posted online, officers were seen firing what appears to be rubber bullets and tear gas at the crowd, who earlier was seen jumping on top of police cars. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said that around 20 businesses were broken into and were looted. He added in a 2 a.m. Twitter video that he has issued a curfew so that we can continue to keep our community safe. Elliott said that my heart goes out to Dauntes family for the pain [theyre] going through. Waltz, meanwhile, wrote: I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wrights family. The trade unions of one of Europes largest retailers, El Corte Ingles, have accepted over 3,000 redundancies without even a semblance of a fight. They are now encouraging their members to voluntarily sign up to the redundancy scheme agreed with management. This is the largest layoff so far this year, inaugurating a renewed onslaught on jobs not seen since the 2008 global economic crisis. It is estimated that big corporations are preparing over 23,000 redundancies in the coming months. This is on top of preparations for wage cuts, casualisation and layoffs after furlough schemes affecting 900,000 workers end in late May. The showering of billions of euros on the corporations is now being paid through redundancies supposedly to improve competitiveness, and also with the European Unions herd immunity policy of reopening the economy amid the pandemic to extract profits at the expense of lives. The result has been resurgences of the pandemic and a catastrophe for the international working class, with more than 136 million infections and 2.9 million deaths worldwide so far. El Corte Ingles store in Aranda de Duero, Spain. (Image credit: Wikipedia/Raul Hernandez Gonzalez ) On March 22, the four main unions in El Corte Inglesthe Podemos-linked Workers Commissions (CCOO), the Socialist Party (PSOE)-affiliated UGT, FETICO (Federation of Independent Trade Workers) and FASGA (Federation of Trade Union Associations of Department Stores)signed a sell-out with management. They agreed to 3,292 redundancies. Workers will receive severance pay of 33 days per year up to a maximum of two years salary plus a compensation premium dependent on seniority. Those with over 15 years seniority will receive a payment of 20 percent of their annual gross salary; those with 10 to 15 will receive 10 percent; and those between five and 10 years will receive 5 percent. Those with less than five years, mostly younger workers, will receive no compensation premium. The agreement also opens the door to further layoffs. Contrary to its previous claims, El Corte Ingles is now alleging that this redundancy scheme is due to structural reasons, not related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their claim is that they need to adapt their labour structure to new market conditions. Underlying this is the ferocious struggle against online sales giant Amazon and its model based on subcontractors and a low-paid and super-flexible workforce. This legal technicality, as the unions well know, means El Corte Ingles will propose future redundancies on the same basis. One indication that it is preparing new such attacks is the fact that workers over 50 have consciously been excluded from this redundancy scheme. This suggests the company may aim to provide severance payments to younger workers whose compensation schemes will be cheaper, while sacking the older, more expensive workers, later. The unions have not even tried to posture as opposing the mass sackings, despite the firms promise not to apply any collective process of redundancies and to rejuvenate the workforce. It is clear now that this document signed with the trade unions in May 2020 was just an attempt to suppress growing anger. It took place soon after mass strikes erupted against the homicidal response of the ruling class to the pandemicwith a series of wildcat strikes in the auto industry, steel mills, shipyards and transport sector throughout Europe and North America. Most of these actions took the form of a rebellion against the unions, which kept workers in the plants and workplaces despite the spread of the deadly disease. The firm and the union were biding their time. The firm has now closedor is planning to close in the following months15 of its shopping centres. The unions are now trying to convince their members to join the scheme on a voluntary basis. FETICO general secretary Antonio Perez cynically stated that there is a very complex situation in the company supported by a technical report prepared by the consulting firm Deloitte and that it is clear that El Corte Ingles has surplus staff. Perez shamelessly encouraged workers to voluntarily join the scheme to make the process as lightweight as possible. It is critical to consciously work through the lessons of the El Corte Ingles betrayal, so this knowledge can inform the next wave of struggles that will inevitably emerge. First, the union bureaucracies do not wage the class struggle, but are hostile to it. They no longer perform any of the functionssuch as a defence of workers basic economic interestswith which they were identified in an earlier period. Instead, they collaborate with management on wage cuts, redundancies, and flexibilising the workforce. They agree to social peace with governments by devising attacks on pensions and labour reforms. The basic cause of this is not the subjective characteristics of union leaders but profound changes in world economyabove all, the globalization of capitalist production. This process has completely undermined the nationalist perspective of the trade unions, under conditions where transnational corporations can shift production to virtually any country in search of cheaper labour. They have now become the chief enforcers of social attacks on workers. Second, there is the role of the Left Populist Podemos party. While it claimed its entry into a PSOE-led government would shift policies to the left, the government in fact increasingly adopts far-right policies. This is most clearly expressed in the herd immunity policy that has left over 100,000 dead and 3.3 million infected in Spain. Podemos Labour Minister, Yolanda Diaz, successor of Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias for the next general elections and his substitute as deputy prime minister of the government, made clear that the unions play a vital role in suppressing the class struggle. She recently said: Thank you, dear Pepe [Alvarez, general secretary of the UGT union], Unai [Sordo, general secretary of CCOO], Antonio [Garamendi, president of the CEOE employer association], Gerardo [Cuerva, of the Cepyme small business employers], thank you for your generosity and the shared strength to find common agreements. This was in reference to the agreements over the past year with big business which have showered corporations and banks with billions, provided them with furlough schemes, and enforced back-to-work and back-to-school to allow companies to continue extracting profits amid the pandemic. Finally, there is the role played in workers struggles by Podemos political satellites. These forces orbiting Podemos do not seek to challenge, let alone expose, the role of the trade unions. Instead, speaking for the same affluent middle-class layers as the union bureaucrats themselves, they seek to corral workers back to the unions, promoting illusions in the unions precisely at the point when their treachery emerges in the open. This was clear in the reaction of Spains Morenoite Corriente Revolucionaria de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras (Workers Revolutionary Current, CRT) which publishes La Izquierda Diario. Posting one article, and only after the agreement was signed, it denounced the role of CCOO and UGT, only to conclude with a renewed call for recovering the trade unions. It said: We urgently need unions that defend jobs and not negotiate layoffs, we need to organise and recover the unions so that we, workers and the people do not continue to pay for the crisis. The lessons must be learned. The working class must forge a new political leadership and build rank-and-file committees, independent of the unions, Podemos and all the pseudo-left. These should aim to prepare strike action against redundancies, wage cuts, and immediate measures against the pandemic, such as the closure of schools and all non-essential production, and demand full compensation for workers and small businesses until the population is widely vaccinated and the pandemic is under control. This must be combined with the fight for a socialist program, including the expropriation of the financial aristocracy, and other health care measures necessary to wipe out COVID-19. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin reassured Israel of its continued military support on Sunday, in the first visit to the country by a member of new US President Joe Biden's Cabinet. Austin was received with military honours before meeting his counterpart Benny Gantz. Austin said after the talks that Washington would continue to guarantee the "qualitative military edge" of the Israel military. "Our commitment to Israel is enduring and iron-clad," he said. Gantz said after the meeting that Israel hoped for a better deal to be agreed in the future with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, and it would "work closely" with the United States to achieve this. Israel had been vehemently opposed to the original 2015 deal and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers Iran to be Israel's most dangerous enemy. Talks on reviving the deal, which was rejected by the previous US administration, took place in Vienna earlier in the week. "The Tehran of today poses a strategic threat to international security, to the entire Middle East and to the state of Israel," Gantz said. Austin is also due to meet Netanyahu during his two-day visit. Netanyahu is in an uncertain political position as he tries to pull together enough seats to form a coalition government after recent elections. Austin is not expected to visit the Palestinian Territories, although Biden has signalled that he wants to rebuild ties with the Palestinians. The previous administration under Donald Trump made several major diplomatic moves which were welcomed by Israel but denigrated by the Palestinians, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and weakening support for a two-state solution. Austin is expected in Germany on Tuesday, and in Brussels after that. 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 Dundalk Chamber of Commerce are hosting an online tourism conference. The free major cross border tourism conference titled Learn from the Best and grow your visitor numbers takes place this Wednesday 14th April at 9am to 1pm via zoom. Organized by Dundalk Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Louth Leader Partnership, The Local Enterprise Office Louth , The Marshes Shopping Centre, and Louth County Council this event will bring experts together from various tourism projects around Ireland so that you can replicate it in your own business. There will be practical tips and workshops on how to improve your tourism business so you can increase your sales and boost attendance figures at your attraction. There will be four key speakers at this on line webinar including: Wayne Denner of 10th Step.com will host a work shop on Visibility through video- using videos to connect with visitors. Aoife Porter of Bua Marketing will give the Top Tips for Great Destination Marketing Campaigns. Seamus Heaney of Pure Cork will tell the story of The Visit Cork Story and the Pure Cork Brand. Pol O Conghaile- Travel Editor with the Irish Independent will discuss Travel after Covid-19, 10 trends for a post pandemic world The event is free to attend. To register your place call Brenda in Dundalk Chamber on 042 9336343 or email brenda@dundalk.ie or click on the link https://www.dundalk.ie/event/ cross-border-tourism- conference-learn-from-the-best London: Prince Harry will reunite with his family for the first time in more than a year, but how warm is his welcome likely to be? The subtle briefings were designed to give Prince Harry the softest possible landing on his arrival back in the UK ahead of his beloved grandfathers funeral on Saturday. Prince Harry, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince William in 2015. Credit: Getty Images From sources suggesting he was united in grief with the rest of the royal family following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, to the couples unofficial spokesman Omid Scobie insisting should anyone be in doubt that Harry was incredibly close to Philip, the Sussex spin machine was in evidence as the displaced Prince prepared for his first transatlantic flight in 13 months. Members of the royal family also sought to calm serves ahead of what is feared could be a difficult reunion for the House of Windsor, with a palace source suggesting that Charles, the Prince of Wales, was particularly looking forward to seeing his youngest son. Its been more than a year, they pointed out. Bill Murray has several award-winning projects under his belt. But the actors most memorable role is playing Peter Venkman in the 1984 hit comedy movie, Ghostbusters. Murray appeared in the 1989 sequel and the 2016 reboot. He will join his original co-stars in the upcoming film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. And he recently revealed how the new movie is far different than the last two. Harold Ramis, Dan Akroyd, and Bill Murray in Ghostbusters Bill Murray will reprise his role Ghostbusters: Afterlife Murray will return to portray Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The film will also feature cameos from his original Ghostbusters co-stars, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts. Ghostbusters: Afterlife will follow a pair of young siblings, Phoebe (McKenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), who move to their late grandfathers Oklahoma farm. After their town experiences a series of strange occurrences, the kids discover their connection to the Ghostbusters team. Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, and Bokeem Woodbine also star. RELATED: Schitts Creek Star Eugene Levy Got Cut Out of Ghostbusters 2 Heres His Lost Scene with Rick Moranis The film was initially scheduled for a July 2020 release. But due to the pandemic, the date was pushed packed to Nov. 11, 2021. Ghostbusters: Afterlife was written by Ivan Reitmans son When Ivan Reitman directed Ghostbusters in 1984, his son Jason Reitman was only 7-years-old. But following in his dads footsteps, Jason is now an award-winning director. And according to Murray, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a passion project Jasons been developing for years. I remember him calling me and saying, Ive got an idea for another Ghostbusters, Ive had this idea for years. Murray told Collider. I thought, What the heck could that possibly be? I remember him when he was a kid. I was like, What the heck? What does this kid know? he continued. But he had a really, really wonderful idea that he wrote with another wonderful guy that I got to work with, Gil Kenan The two of them wrote a Ghostbusters movie that really brings it back to life. Bill Murray says the new movie will be different The Ghostbusters sequel and 2016 reboot arent exactly fan favorites, and theyve left many wondering how good the upcoming film will be. But according to Murray, Ghostbuster: Afterlife is much like the original in tone, and it will be very different than the last two iterations. It really has the feel of the first one, more than the second one or the girls one, he told Collider. It has a different feel than two out of four I think it comes out sometime in the fall. Theyve delayed it for a year or a year and a half, but Im glad they did. It will be worth seeing. The actor also revealed that the movie will feature the Ghostbusters team in their original uniforms something every fan can get behind. It was hard, it was really hard, Murray added. Thats why I think its gonna be good. We were just in it for a little while, but it was physically painful. Wearing those packs is extremely uncomfortable Its still a really heavy thing to wear, all the time Usually, when something has a very high misery quotient, something comes of that and some quality is produced that, if you can capture it and project it, comes on the screen and affects you. With grocery sales and delivery needs on the rise, including due to the health crisis, all major players in the industry had to consider ways to improve delivery speed and efficiency while also complying with safety regulations. And the latest autonomous driving technology seems to be one way to go.Gatik, a Silicon Valley startup, seized the opportunity and is now joining Isuzu North America in developing what is described as the first completely autonomous medium-duty trucks. The plan is to equip Isuzu Series N trucks with Gatiks self-driving software.The SAE Level 4 delivery trucks will be released this year as a solution for big names in the retail industry. As sustainability is becoming a major trend when it comes to all types of transportation, fully autonomous delivery trucks can become a real game-changer for supply chain operations.At the end of last year, Walmart announced its plan to test a fully autonomous delivery in the state of Arkansas, in collaboration with Gatik. So far, they have successfully tested an autonomous vehicle with a safety driver on board and plan to extend their operations to Louisiana.It will take some time before we can actually see delivery trucks with no drivers on the highway, but it looks like we are getting there.According to Gatiks CEO and Co-Founder Gautam Narang, By bringing these two teams together, we can create segment-changing technology while positioning Gatik to safely commercialize autonomous delivery technology at scale.When ready, the new Isuzu medium-duty trucks boasting Gatik self-driving software will operate on both the North American and Canadian markets. Kingstown: Leaders of volcano-wracked St Vincent in the eastern Caribbean say water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies, and they estimate the island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufriere. Between 16,000 to 20,000 people have been evacuated from the islands northern region, where the exploding volcano is located, with more than 3000 staying at more than 80 government shelters. Dozens of people queued on Tuesday for water or to retrieve money sent by friends and family abroad. Among those standing in one crowd was retired police officer Paul Smart. The Richmond Vale waterfront in Chateaubelair, St Vincent, covered in volcanic ash a day after an explosion deemed as big as the one that killed some 1600 people in 1902. Credit:Maxar/AP The volcano caught us with our pants down, and its very devastating, he said. No water, lots of dust in our home. We thank God we are alive, but we need more help at this moment. Patna, April 12 : The surge in coronavirus cases in Bihar has sparked the pandemic fear again in the minds of the people. The number of infected persons has broken new records with rise in active Covid-19 patients. Covid cases have risen four times in the last eight days in the state. The active cases in the state on April 4 stood at 3,560 which has now risen to 14,695 on April 11. The measures taken by the Bihar government are proving to be inadequate. According to the data released by the state Health Department, the number of active cases is increasing with the rise in the number of infected people. In Bihar, 864 infected persons were identified on April 4, while 245 were cured the same day. The number of active patients in the state on this day was 3,560, after which the pace picked up fast. According to the data, there were a total of 4,143 active patients in the state on April 5, which increased to 4,954 on April 6 and to 5,925 on April 7. The number of active Covid patients increased to 7,504 on April 8 and rose to 9,357 on April 9 and reached 11,998 on April 10. On April 11, a total of 3,756 new Covid cases were detected while 1,053 recovered. With this, the number of active cases in the state reached to 14,695 on Sunday. With the rise in cases, the recovery rate is continuously declining. The state, which had recorded a recovery rate of more than 98 per cent earlier, has now fallen to 94.24 per cent recovery rate on Sunday. The number of vacant beds in the hospitals has also started falling after the cases spiked. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is an MP from Patna Sahib, has urged Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to declare AIIMS, Patna as a Covid dedicated hospital to cope up with the rising cases. Prasad also urged Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey to increase the number of Covid beds at Patna Medical College and Hospital and Nalanda Medical College and Hospital and make proper arrangements for oxygen cylinders, medicines etc. He also urged the state government to further ramp up testing in Patna and other cities of Bihar and isolate those who turn positive. Out of 3,756 Covid patients detected on Sunday, 1,382 are from Patna, which is fast becoming a new hotspot in the state. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Saudi Aramco has reached an agreement with a consortium led by U.S. EIG Global Energy Partners to sell it a 49-percent stake in Aramco Oil Pipelines Co. Aramco Oil Pipelines Co. is a new business entity, formed to keepor tradethe rights to 25 years of payments of rates for crude transportation across Aramco's pipeline network. According to EIG, as quoted by Bloomberg, the entity has an equity value of some $25 billion. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month Aramco was considering the stake sale, eyeing proceeds of between $10 and $15 billion. Apollo Global Management and the Chinese Silk Road Fund were rumored to be among the possible buyers. Reports emerged as early as last October that Aramco was in early talks to potentially structure a deal worth more than $10 billion to sell a part of its pipeline business to asset managers, including the world's biggest, BlackRock. This February, media reported that the company was discussing with lenders the idea of offering $10 billion to potential buyers to motivate potential buyers. Reports also said the prospective buyers were also looking to finance up to $10 billion of a deal's price through loans. The sale is the latest move by Riyadh to compensate for the sharp decline in oil revenues because of the pandemic and the resulting oil price crash by divesting assets, including assets as critical as its pipeline network. The Saudi state giant, which owns the network along with all other oil assets in the Kingdom, booked a 50-percent drop in profits for 2020 under the weight of demand destruction and the price collapse. This may jeopardize Riyadh's plans for economic diversification laid out in the Vision 2030 plan despite the government's assurances that the plan is going ahead. Even with the latest sustained price rally, oil remains too low for Saudi Arabia's comfort, which appears to be around $80 per barrel. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Chinese military will maintain diplomatic communication with its Indian counterpart to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the border region, senior colonel Long Shaohua, spokesman of the People's Liberation Army Western Theater Command, said in a statement on Saturday. The two militaries held their 11th Round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting on Friday at the Moldo-Chushul border meeting point. Long said both sides exchanged views on issues of mutual concern. China hopes the Indian side can cherish the positive trend of de-escalation in the region and uphold the consensus reached by previous meetings, and work together with China to safeguard peace and tranquility in the area. Workplace communication often took a back seat this past year, as employees and employers rushed to work remotely, struggled with technology barriers and adjusted to physical distancing. But the pandemic has resulted in valuable lessons for communicating on the job, according to a Baylor University study. During the onset of COVID-19 -- along with accompanying layoffs and a recession -- "there likely has never been a moment with such demand for ethical listening to employees," said lead author Marlene S. Neill, Ph.D., associate professor of journalism, public relations and new media at Baylor. "Ethical listening" was defined by one communication manager as "listening with an open mind and being able to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. Strategic listening is then taking the good and the bad and the ugly and knowing how to use the information." For the study, published in the Journal of Communication Management, researchers interviewed 30 communication professionals in the District of Columbia and 13 states: Arkansas, California, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Interviewees represented technology, financial and legal services, food and beverage, hospitality, energy, health care, trade associations, transportation, higher education and consultants. The professionals interviewed stressed the importance of protecting confidentiality so employees feel comfortable giving feedback and do not fear retribution. When COVID-19 hit and workers often no longer shared physical quarters, the use of Zoom soared, whether for large group meetings or one-on-one sessions, researchers noted. And while senior managers valued communication, it became less of a priority as companies made such quick changes as mandated quarantines. For communications professionals, remote work made it harder for them to build trusting new relationships. They, like others, felt isolated, missing critical conversations and small talk. "We heard that the pandemic posed challenges in internal communication due to the alienation many employees experienced, and it prompted us to reevaluate the moral responsibility communications holds for keeping employees feeling connected to their teams," said co-researcher Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D., professor of journalism and mass communications at the University of South Carolina. The study shed light on companies' challenges, how they strove to meet them and how they might use those strategies in the future. For example, a communication manager for a trade association of the hospitality industry said that its members also are primary stakeholders in their companies. "There were stakeholders who were saying, 'I'm going to have to close my doors. Please do something.' And there's only so much we can do. It called for a different type of empathetic listening. This is these people's livelihood. In hospitality, that's like any business owner, that's their baby. But it's not just their baby. It's a baby that generates income for the employees they deeply care about. It's not just that it impacts them; it impacts their employees, which is a double cut to the heart." Meanwhile, a communication manager in health care encouraged senior leaders to schedule 30-minute "walk-around" sessions -- whether masked and in person or via technology. "Trust has to be built with actions and follow-through, not just words," Bowen said. For all the organizations studied, "the desire and follow-through to ethically listen to employees appeared to be a challenge," Neill said. Most participants said the ratio of management messaging to employees compared to feedback was lopsided, with far more talking than listening. "We cannot promise we are going to fix everything," said a communication manager in the financial services industry. "But we have the mantra if you are asking for feedback, it is critical that you close the loop and say that." Communications managers often have limited staff to analyze feedback. They also contend with a lack of communication between departments, especially in larger organizations. To solve those problems, some communications professionals suggested having a team member to sit in on department meetings and serve as a liaison. One professional in a law firm said she makes it a point to invite the less vocal members to share their thoughts, while another uses on-on-one meetings for them. "They open up a lot more when it's just one on one," she said. "In groups, large groups, they do not speak as freely, because there's a hierarchy. If the older, more senior people are not saying anything, then the younger less seasoned attorneys more than likely will not say anything." Some internal communicators also said that during the pandemic, they saw a need for shorter, more focused meetings, in part to cut down on stress. And one consultant said that more visual communications, such as videos and video conferencing, seemed to help employees feel that they are cared for. "I'm making sure that I have my eyes trained on the screen on the facial expressions," said a communication manager for a trade association. "Part of active listening is also looking for visual cues of the reactions of your colleagues." Neill said the researchers were encouraged by the heightened level of empathy for the impact of organizational decisions on employees' lives. "We recommend that senior leadership and communication professionals seek ways to continue to improve moral sensitivity well after the global pandemic has receded, which can lead to more ethical decision-making," she said. ### *The study was supported by a Page Legacy Scholar Grant from The Arthur W. Page Center at The Pennsylvania State University's College of Communications. Executive Leadership to Advance Company's Global Workforce Strategy KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., April 12, 2021as its first Chief People Innovation Officer, effective immediately. Dr. Burton is responsible for shaping the company's global strategic workforce planning efforts and leading organizational programs to advance inclusion and diversity. Burton comes to Vertex from Columbia University, where she was the academic director of the school's Human Capital Management Program. She will draw on her executive expertise, including over 20 years in high-impact human capital strategies for the media, consumer, industrial product, and defense industries, to lead and engage employees worldwide. Burton was also named to Crain's New York inaugural list of Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives in 2020. "We welcome Yvette and her rare combination of business, academia and community leadership experience in advancing workplace culture and employee engagement," said Vertex CEO David DeStefano. "She is a passionate advocate, who has the vision and commitment to advance our talented team to new heights of personal growth and innovation." As a strategy advisor and business development executive at Ernst and Young, Deloitte, IBM, and Lockheed Martin, Burton has implemented agile human capital strategies and innovative digital workforce solutions for complex business transactions and aggressive growth in the finance, media, consumer, industrial product, defense, and higher education sectors. As professor of practice emeritus, Burton designed and launched Columbia University's School of Professional Studies Master of Science program in Human Capital Management. Burton currently serves as the designer and lead faculty for New York University's School of Professional Studies Global Diversity Equity and Inclusion Business Certification Program. Burton is a recognized expert and has provided testimony for the Senate's Department of Homeland Security's efforts on the Federal adoption of Domestic Partnership Benefits for the Federal workforce and has served as a policy consultant for the White House U.S. Foreign Policy mission. She is also a partner at Deed Partners, a venture capital investment firm for non-traditional fintech start-ups. In addition, Burton served as interim CEO of the Arcus Foundation, which focuses on LGBTQ rights, social justice and conservation. "I am excited to be part of the continued evolution and commitment to the business-led, data-driven, people-powered story of market excellence here at Vertex," said Burton. "Whether it be connecting the company's broader communities or the trusted and resilient values that started over 40 years ago, I look forward to building on this great foundation and scaling our world-class capabilities." Chief Human Resources Officer Barb Dyson Announces Retirement Following a long and distinguished career with Vertex, Chief Human Resources Officer Barb Dyson has decided to retire, effective May 2021. Dyson was responsible for the development and execution of human capital strategies in support of the overall business, helping to lay the groundwork for Vertex to go public in 2020 amid the COVID-19 global health crisis. She also played a significant role in the company's expansion to Europe and Brazil, as well as formalized critical talent management programs for the organization. "Barb has been a trusted leader and driver of our culture and people strategy for the last 14 years, which we relied on as we easily transitioned our global workforce to remote status when the pandemic hit last year," said DeStefano. "She's not only an accomplished executive, but dedicated to serving the community as a Delaware County Regional Advisory Board member, mentor and "Big" for Big Brothers Big Sisters-Independence Region, one of the four supported charities in our formal Corporate Philanthropy program. I wish her all the best in her retirement - she will be greatly missed." About Vertex Vertex, Inc.is a leading global provider of indirect tax software and solutions. The company's mission is to deliver the most trusted tax technology enabling global businesses to transact, comply and grow with confidence. Vertex provides cloud-based and on-premise solutions that can be tailored to specific industries for major lines of indirect tax, including sales and consumer use, value added and payroll. Headquartered in North America, and with offices in South America and Europe, Vertex employs over 1,200 professionals and serves companies across the globe. For more information, visit www.vertexinc.comor follow on Twitterand LinkedIn. Copyright 2021 Vertex, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained in this press release is intended for information purposes only, may change at any time in the future, and is not legal or tax advice. Company contact: Tricia Schafer-Petrecz Vertex, Inc. tricia.schafer-petrecz@vertexinc.com 484.595.6142 Investor Relations contact: Ankit Hira or Ed Yuen Solebury Trout for Vertex, Inc. ir@vertexinc.com 610.312.2890 The Mainland China share market finished lower for the second straight session on Monday, 12 April 2021, with losses recorded across most sectors, due to mounting profit-taking amid lingering concerns over policy tightening and ongoing Sino-U. S. tensions. At closing bell, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.09%, or 37.73 points, to 3,412.95, its biggest decline in more than two weeks. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, fell 2.13%, or 47.69 points, to 2,188.89. The blue-chip CSI300 index declined 1.74%, or 87.59 points, to 4,947.75. U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday the United States is concerned about China's aggressive actions against Taiwan and warned it would be a "serious mistake" for anyone to try to change the status quo in the Western Pacific by force. China Tourism Group Duty Free dropped 2.1% to 295.39 yuan in Shanghai, while TCL Technology fell 4.6% to 8.92 yuan in Shenzhen, as five companies debuted on mainland bourses. In Shanghai, Zhejiang Mustang Battery rose 44% to 25.37 yuan from its listing price of 17.62 yuan. Hangzhou Kelin Electric gained 68.4% to 56.30 yuan from its debut price of 33.44 yuan, while Guangdong Leary New Material Technology, which produces functional coating films, rose 85.7% to 17.66 yuan from its IPO price of 9.51 yuan. In Shenzhen, Jiangsu Chinagreen Biological Technology, which develops edible mushroom products, rose 87.4% to 83.88 yuan from its listing price of 44.77 yuan. Ningbo Hengshuai, which manufactures automobile parts, soared 176.9% to 57.26 yuan from its debut price of 20.68 yuan. ECONOMIC NEWS: Chinese banks extended 2.73 trillion yuan ($416.58 billion) in new yuan loans in March, up from February, according to the People's Bank of China data showed on Monday. For the first three months, the new yuan loans totaled 7.67 trillion yuan, an increase of 574 billion yuan year-on-year. The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose by 9.4 percent year-on-year to 227.7 trillion yuan at the end of March. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Janssen vials are expected to start arriving in Spain by April 15. AFP Spain will be receiving its first shipment of Johnson & Johnsons Janssen vaccines first thing on Wednesday, Health Minister Carolina Darias announced today. The government is expecting to get 300,000 doses of the one-shot treatment, making it the equivalent of twice as many doses of the other Covid-19 vaccines currently used in Spain: Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca. Darias also stated on Monday that the first group in line for the vaccine will be people between 70 and 79 years of age. According to the latest Health Ministry report, 13.3% of the population in the 70-to-79 age bracket has had at least one dose of the three vaccines now being used in Spain. But changing criteria over the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have created a paradoxical situation. The rate of vaccination in the 60-69 age group is greater than the 70-to-79 group (22.3%), even though the coronavirus has a more serious effect in older people. This is because the 65-to-79 age range has been left in no-mans land for weeks in Spain: the over-80s were the priority group for the Pfizer vaccine (91.4% have got at least one shot) while the under-65s were receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. The latest update of the governments vaccination plan, on March 30, specified that the Janssen vaccine would also be administered according to age, starting with the older age groups and working down. With more than nine in every 10 over-80s having had their first shot, Janssen will be administered to the next group, the 70-to-79s. Blood clot reports The Janssen vaccine uses similar technology as AstraZeneca and Russias Sputnik vaccine. It is considered highly effective, even against the new coronavirus variants. But on Friday of last week the European Unions medical regulatory body, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), announced it was reviewing reports of blood clots in people who received the Janssen vaccine. The EMA said it knew of four cases of thromboembolic events, representing one in every 3.5 million people who received the vaccine. The move mirrors a recent EMA review of similar cases tied to the AstraZeneca vaccine that led to a temporary halt in its use across Europe. The agency now says that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The scare appears to have undermined citizen confidence in this treatment, with Spains Madrid region reporting a significant increase in missed appointments in the capital last Thursday. Asked on Monday whether the under-60s who have already had their first dose of AstraZeneca will be given the second, in light of the fact that this group is no longer eligible for this vaccine in Spain, the health minister said that all possible scenarios were being explored, and that a decision would be made based on the scientific evidence. Stay calm, theres still time, she added. The two doses of AstraZeneca are administered 12 weeks apart, and the ministry is considering three possibilities: administering a different vaccine brand, using AstraZeneca, or skipping the second injection altogether. Up to 42 million doses So far Janssen has only been administered in the United States. Its use in the European Union was authorized on March 11, and the rollout is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Initial testing began last summer in the US and Belgium with a reduced group of volunteers, and a large-scale trial was launched in September on three continents. Spain contributed to the testing with 2,000 volunteers who were vaccinated at eight hospitals. Unlike other vaccines, this one is being tested on a significant number of people over the age of 65, and several hundred minors between the ages of 12 and 17 have also been included. A January study found that the vaccine was 66.9% effective at preventing Covid-19 and 85% effective at preventing serious cases of the virus. Spain is expecting to receive up to five million doses of the vaccine in the second quarter of the year. Janssen and the European Commission have agreed on a purchase of 200 million doses with an option to buy 200 million more. The share for Spain is 10.47%, meaning the total could reach 42 million doses. The Spanish government is hoping to vaccinate 70% of the adult population by September. English version by Susana Urra. and Simon Hunter As eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine ramps up in California as of Thursday Apr. 15, any person 16 or older is eligible to sign up for a vaccine the hunt is on to secure appointments. San Francisco broadened vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 or older Tuesday afternoon. Millions of Californians will now be eligible for the vaccine, in addition to those who have been qualified and have yet to receive the shot. Complicating matters is the issue of supply. Johnson & Johnsons one-shot vaccine has been temporarily put on "pause" as officials investigate reports of rare blood clots, negatively affecting Californias own supply and those in most states. As recently as last weekend, San Francisco faced shortages at a newly-opened drop-in vaccine site after expanding eligibility. So it will take a fair bit of time, effort and patience in securing your vaccine. But SFGATE is here to help. Reporters have spoken with dozens of people who have already gotten their vaccines, all in the pursuit of securing your first appointment. Heres every solution weve found (so far) to get a vaccine as a Bay Area resident. Check unofficial websites and bots Pharmacies, grocery stores, hospital chains and counties all have individual platforms that are worth checking for appointments. (More on that here.) But they're de-centralized and require some finagling to successfully use more on that later. Third-party alternatives have sprung up to aid people in nabbing their vaccines. A smattering of web sites, Twitter accounts and other social media ventures have emerged as one-stop sources that pull from a range of entities to help people find vaccine appointments. None guarantee perfect availability, but they all are fairly convenient to use and pull from a wide range of sources. One such service is @CovidVaccineBA, a Twitter bot scanning Bay Area sites for spare vaccines. It helped reader Denise Iwamoto book a shot at Oakland Coliseum. Another Twitter bot, @VaccineCA, checks CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies in California. Other websites, including VaccinateCA.com and Vaccine Spotter, also aggregate vaccine appointments from a number of sources with easy-to-use-interfaces. Amy Graff SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett Schedule smarter on MyTurn MyTurn, California's state-sponsored vaccine site, is not comprehensive by any means, only grabbing vaccine availability from a select few places. But it's as official as vaccine registrations come, and readers tipped us off to some advice, in case you run into some snags. Sylvia Hays told SFGATE: When I looked for an appointment I scrolled all the way to September and nothing was available. Then I scrolled back to April and the information had downloaded. It seems the pages need time to load. Another reader, D. Karlsson, said that scheduling an appointment is like getting a ticket on Ticketmaster. They just keep releasing a few more each day, and you just have to keep hitting the buttons, Karlsson said. Do so every hour on the hour, if you have the time and patience. In addition, two Bay Area teenagers, Sam Mendelson and Daniel Stoiber, also created a video guide on navigating the site and created a Twitter bot that posts MyTurn appointments. Amy Graff If you live in specific parts of SF, visit a drop-in vaccination site San Francisco has opened up three vaccination sites for areas and individuals most vulnerable to COVID-19. But fair warning: Some of these sites have faced significant supply issues in the past week. Anyone 16 and over who lives in the following San Francisco-area ZIP codes 94124, 94134, 94107, 94110, 94112, 94102, 94103, and 94130 can visit one of two drop-in vaccine sites that do not require reservations. Zuckerberg San Francisco General at 1001 Potrero Ave. is open daily 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It offers both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to people 16 and over. Anyone 18 and over in one of these areas can drop in at the Southeast Health Center at 2401 Keith St., daily, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This location carries just the Moderna vaccine. A third option is available for San Francisco residents 65 and older. The Maxine Hall Health Center at 1181 Golden Gate Ave. has vaccine drop-in hours from Monday to Thursday, with translators available in English, Spanish and Chinese. On Monday through Thursday, the site is open from 9 a.m. to noon. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, it is also open from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in addition to its morning hours. Amy Graff and Andrew Chamings Courtesy of Alan Joss Drive out-of-county to get excess supplies (responsibly) Vaccine groups on Facebook and Nextdoor have popularized the idea of snagging leftover doses from counties with too many vaccines. But theres some ethical considerations to be had, namely that doing so has previously posed the issue of possibly taking vaccines from those in the area who need it. San Francisco resident David Wang was worried about taking up vaccines from the International Agri-Center, which confirmed it had an onslaught of vaccines but not enough arms to inject. He booked an appointment for his girlfriend, his sister and her boyfriend and the group made a road trip out of it, traveling 237 miles each way to reach the vaccination site. Wang said it was almost a four-hour drive each way, but it was so worth it. It was really important for me and my family to find ethical shots, Wang said. We were not going to cheat or lie or exaggerate medical conditions to get a shot. More information on this option is available here. Tessa McLean During a working visit of the President of Ukraine to the Republic of Turkey, First Lady Olena Zelenska launched two new Ukrainian-language audio guides in Turkey at the Galata Tower in Istanbul and at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. The launch ceremony was attended by First Lady of Turkey Emine Erdogan, the press service of the President of Ukraine informs. "These are the fourth and the fifth Ukrainian-language audio guides in Turkey out of thirteen launched within the initiative. We continue to spread the Ukrainian language in the world," said Olena Zelenska. According to the First Lady, it is also planned to launch Ukrainian-language audio guides at the St. Nicholas Museum (Demre), the Archaeological Museum (Antalya) and the Mevlana Museum (Konya) this year. As noted, the launch of Ukrainian-language audio guides is part of the cultural diplomacy vector. "I know that Mrs. Olena has a special interest in culture, history and art. I watch her work with admiration. I believe that as neighbors across the sea, we have a lot of work to do in the field of culture. After all, the sphere of culture is the only tool for the development of friendly relations, the key that really helps understand the one in front of you," said Emine Erdogan. In addition, she noted that there is a strong connection between Ukraine and Turkey, which has a thousand-year history. Common words in our languages and similarities in decorative and applied arts prove that we have had a cultural exchange since ancient times. I think it is very important that these similarities become known to everyone," added the First Lady of Turkey. In 2020, at least nine Ukrainian-language audio guides were launched in museums around the world as part of the project of First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, including in the Ephesus Open-Air Museum, the Goreme National Park, and the Dolmabahce Palace in Turkey. In 2021, it is planned to launch Ukrainian-language audio guides in the Tower of London, the Palace of Versailles, the National Museum of Natural History in Berlin, the Vatican Museum, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and the Savitsky State Museum of Art in Uzbekistan. ol ROME, APR 12 - 'IoApro' (IOpen) anti-lockdown protesters threw firecrackers and objects at police in Rome's San Silvestro square on Monday. The demonstrators, some wearing handcuffs and many with their hands raised, asked to be able to head towards the parliament building. They were met by police in riot gear. the IoApro protest has been organised mainly by restaurateurs and bar and gym owners chafing at long COVID-linked closures. Militants from the far-right CasaPound group joined the hospitality operators, as they did in a protest that turned ugly in Rome last week with seven people arrested and one police officer taken to hospital. "Reopenings now!" and "Freedom!", the protesters shouted. (ANSA). .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... We moved to Rio Rancho six years ago. We both held builder licenses in New Mexico. We did the responsible thing before choosing our -acre lot at Fourth Avenue SW and Rainbow Boulevard. We checked the area plot map. All the surrounding area lots were also -acre. No commercial multi-plexes, no apartments and no small lots. All -acre lots, including but not limited to Third Avenue SW. Then in March 2019, the notice came. The applicant began the request to change the zoning map. The request was for only one street, but all of Third Avenue SW. At that time and currently, it consisted of approximately 64 -acre lots. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The change was to make 188 lots. What? We spoke against the change. This issue is not a NIMBY issue. Rainbow Boulevard is a horrible mess. Eight-inch cracks and patched asphalt. When vehicles, such as garbage trucks, pass by our house, they currently and have always vibrated our windows, floors and even our china cabinets. When deciding this issue in 2019, the reason for changing the zoning was the applicant had been working on this for 20 years, so lets let him change the zoning. The councilors approved this subdivision based on 20 years, not the impact to the surrounding residents. The planning and zoning staff, after much research, gave a recommendation of no to this project on April 19, 2019, citing so many concerns. Water, sewer, traffic, roads, the lots were too small, and the applicant did not demonstrate consistency with the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the city. The staff found no criteria had been met for the approval of the zoning change. Then Rio Rancho city councilors, against their own staffs recommendation, approved the zoning change. We sat in the audience stunned. Something in Rio Rancho was not right in 2019. This project could have gone four streets north, where smaller lots would have been accepted. The applicant should have looked at the plot map. This project went against the comprehensive plan and the citys own master plans and amendments, as noted by the staffs denial. The councilors and mayor knew this was wrong. Now comes a new hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 13. The general public is not allowed to attend due to COVID-19. One hundred eighty-eight lots on one street with residential half-acre lots now. Must a class-action lawsuit be filed to address this issue? This project is wrong. We know the mayor is pushing for lots of subdivisions in Rio Rancho. This does not make his decisions right. After COVID, Rio Rancho will need to really look at impacting the city with subdivisions. Councilors of Rio Rancho, please hear the taxpayers, voters and majority of residents, and reconsider voting for this subdivision. The ramifications are lasting and permanent. Vote no its the right thing to do. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus is briefed at a temporary screening clinic for coronavirus in Seoul, April 10. AP Newly elected Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Monday the city will devise its own coronavirus restriction guidelines to minimize negative impacts on small businesses amid the prolonged health crisis. "Many neighborhood businesses, which are the backbone of Seoul's economy, have been collapsing. ...The fundamental solution is to allow them to run their businesses," Oh said during an online coronavirus briefing at the city government. The city will work on "shifting the paradigm to 'mutually beneficial' virus restrictions, away from those that force small businesses to be the one who makes all the sacrifices," he said. The move comes in response to growing complaints from small businesses, such as restaurants, gyms, bars and cafes, which have been reeling from strict business restrictions led by the central government. The popular Israeli drama Shtisel has been dominating on Netflix since its debut on the streaming giant in 2018. Now, a co-creator of NBCs Friends wants to capitalize on the incredible wave of popularity enjoyed by the soap about the fictional ultra-Orthodox family living in Jerusalem. Shtisel star Michael Aloni | Jim Spellman/WireImage What is Shtisel about? The addictive drama first aired on Israeli television in 2013. Once it began streaming on Netflix in 2018, the series took off. Receiving critical acclaim and a huge fan base as diverse as the holy city itself, Shtisel became a hit. Many viewers may have tuned in to the soap initially out of curiosity: how good could a show about ultra-Orthodox Jewish life be? But it isnt so much the dramas gentle weaving through everyday Haredi life that has kept its loyal fans as its deft handling of the universal themes of love, hope, and loss. Why is Shtisel so popular? One of the dramas stars Dovale Glickman, who portrays the Shtisel family patriarch Shulem, offered his take on why the program appeals to so many viewers, and not only those from Jewish backgrounds. I say to myself, Shtisel can make peace with the world, he told The Globe and Mail in 2019. I sat in a restaurant in Paris and three Lebanese women came over to me. It was very difficult for me to understand how they recognized me; they said Are you from Israel? Are you Shtisel? I said, Yes, but how did you recognize me? They said it was my voice. They told me they were on vacation. RELATED: Coming Soon to Netflix: 7 New Netflix Original Movies to Watch in April 2021 Glickman stated that he realized at that moment what kind of impact the program was having. I asked them, Do you watch Shtisel in Lebanon?,' he recalled. And they said, Of course, as Muslims we are so similar and it touches us so much with the family. What makes Shtisel popular is because you bring the audience inside the home and inside their souls. Marta Kauffman is co-creator of Friends and wants to Americanize Shtisel Its that same universal appeal of Shtisels that co-creator of Friends Marta Kauffman wants to bring to North American shores. Kauffman said it was her daughter Hannah K.S. Canter that brought the show to her attention. Once she watched it, she was hooked, too, and saw a promising future for it reimagined as a U.S. program. She was haunted by it, Kauffman told Variety of Canters love for Shtisel. Kauffmans daughter herself is also in her mothers industry, serving as a producer on Netflixs Grace and Frankie. She fell in love with it, and the same thing happened with me, the Friends co-creator said. It stays with you. We knew it wouldnt be easy to sell, but we all felt so passionately about it. Kauffmans remake will be titled Emmis. Set in New York Citys Brooklyn, this American version will, like Shtisel, focus on an ultra-Orthodox (in this case, Jewish-American) family. Her goal for this anticipated program is to make sure the stories, and the universality of those stories, is what people take in. The rest is just background. As of 2019, a version of Emmis was sold to Amazon according to The New York Times. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 15:36:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENTIANE, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Laos on Monday reported one new confirmed case of COVID-19, bringing its total tally to 52. According to a report from the Lao Ministry of Health, the new case is a 48-year-old Australian man who arrived in the Southeast Asian country on Sunday. The man who departed from Iraq on April 9 tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Laos. The patient is being currently treated in the designated hospital Mittaphab Hospital (Hospital 150). The total number of recoveries from the coronavirus epidemic in Laos stands currently at 49. Laos reported its first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 24 last year. Enditem Mumbai, April 12 : In a significant move amid zooming Covid cases, the state government on Monday announced that it has decided to postpone the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) final examinations for the current academic year. Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said that while the HSC exams are now likely to be held in May-end, the SSC exams may be conducted in June to ensure the further education prospects, like various entrance exams for professional courses, of the students are not affected. The fresh dates and time-table for both the exams shall be announced soon, she added. The announcement followed a series of meetings by the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies, an all-party meet over the past few days followed by sittings with the State Covid-19 Task Force, various tech giants, parents, teachers and other stakeholders in the academic world. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was given a detailed assessment of the situation by the School Education Ministry after which it was decided to postpone the board exams this year. "Considering the current Covid-19 situation in the state which are not conducive to conduct the exams, we have postponed the Class X SSC and Class XII HSC exams. It appears to be the most pragmatic solution since the health of the students is our priority," Gaikwad said in a statement. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed PM reviews situation as country sees record on-day spike of 1.03 lakh Covid-19 cases Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 pandemic situation and vaccination programme in the country, as the number of new coronavirus cases reported in the past 24 hours rose to 1,03,558. This is the biggest one-day spike in Covid-10 cases in the country ever since the pandemic began. This takes the tally of reported coronavirus cases in the country to 1,25,89,067. The death toll has increased by 478 to 1,65,101. As per union health ministry data, there are currently 7,41,830 active cases across the country, while 1,16,82,136 patients have been discharged so far, with 52,847 discharges reported in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, more than 79 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country till now, ever since the inoculation drive began on 16 January. India's coronavirus curve had been steadily declining after reaching a peak of 90,000-plus cases in September. However, cases started increasing again rapidly over the last few weeks, with Maharashtra leading the surge. During the review meeting, the prime minister emphasised that for sustainable Covid-19 management, awareness of the community and its involvement is paramount. He said a five-fold strategy of Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour and Vaccination, if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment, would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic. A special campaign for Covid appropriate behaviour with emphasis on 100 per cent mask usage, personal hygiene and sanitation at public places /workplaces and health facilities will be organised from 6 April to 14 April 2021 The Prime Minister highlighted the need to enforce the availability of hospital beds, testing facilities and timely hospitalisation, and avoid mortality under all circumstances by ramping up healthcare infrastructure, availability of oxygen, ventilators besides required logistics, and ensuring that clinical management protocols are followed across all hospitals as well as for those in-home care. The prime minister directed that central teams consisting of public health specialists and clinicians be sent to Maharashtra in view of high case load and deaths, and to Punjab and Chhattisgarh because of the disproportionate number of deaths being reported there. The prime minister highlighted the need to ensure effective implementation of containment measures, besides the involvement of community volunteers in active case search and management of containment zones. He exhorted that all states need to take required stringent measures with comprehensive restrictions in places witnessing high surge to curb the spread. The Taliban says it is not ready to participate in an international peace conference on Afghanistan tentatively scheduled to begin in Turkey on April 16. Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, told RFE/RL on April 12 that the militant group had yet to decide if it will attend the summit at a later date. Naeem did not explain the militant groups move. The Talibans decision is a blow to U.S. efforts to hammer out a peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban aimed at ending decades of war in Afghanistan. The Istanbul conference, initiated by the United States, was meant to give new impetus to intra-Afghan peace talks that have failed to make progress since they began in September. The 10-day conference was expected to bring together the Afghan government, the Taliban, and a host of regional powers, including Pakistan, Iran, India, China, and Russia. The summit was scheduled before a May 1 deadline to withdraw all foreign forces from Afghanistan, a key component of a bilateral peace deal signed with the Taliban in February 2020 by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump. But Trumps successor, President Joe Biden, has warned the withdrawal deadline will be difficult to meet, raising the prospect the entire agreement with the Taliban will unravel. Afghanistan has seen a nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings, and violence on the battlefield as common ground evades peace negotiators in Qatar. The Taliban has threatened to resume hostilities against foreign troops in Afghanistan if they do not withdraw by May 1. The group said on April 7 that its fighters targeted an airbase in southern Afghanistan where international troops are based. Missiles have hit targets, causing heavy human & material losses, he added. Neither the U.S. military nor NATO has commented on the claim. New York, NY - Major depressive disorder is highly prevalent, with one in five people experiencing an episode at some point in their life, and is almost twice as common in women than in men. Antidepressants are usually given as a first-line treatment, including during pregnancy, either to prevent the recurrence of depression, or as acute treatment in newly depressed patients. Antidepressant use during pregnancy is widespread and since antidepressants cross the placenta and the blood-brain barrier, concern exists about potential long-term effects of intrauterine antidepressant exposure in the unborn child. Using the Danish National Registers to follow more than 42,000 singleton babies born during 1998-2011 for up to 18 years, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigated whether exposure to antidepressants in the womb would increase the risk of developing affective disorder like depression and anxiety in the child. In a study published April 5 in Neuropsychopharmacology, the scientists found that children whose mothers continued antidepressants during pregnancy had a higher risk of affective disorders than children whose mothers stopped taking antidepressants before pregnancy. However, to understand whether the underlying disorder for which the antidepressant was given or the medication itself was linked to the child's risk of developing an affective disorder, they also studied the effect of paternal antidepressant use during pregnancy and similarly, found that children of fathers who took antidepressants throughout pregnancy had a higher risk for affective disorders. Thus, the research team speculates that rather than being an intrauterine effect, the observed link is most likely due to the parental mental illness underlying the antidepressant use. "Approximately half of women who use antidepressants before pregnancy decide to discontinue use either before or during pregnancy due to concerns about the negative consequences for their child," said Anna-Sophie Romel, PhD, an instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Icahn Mount Sinai and first author of the paper. "Our study does not provide evidence for a causal relationship between in-utero exposure to antidepressants and affective disorders in the child. So, while other long-term effects of intrauterine exposure to antidepressants remain to be investigated, our work supports antidepressant continuation for women with severe symptoms or a high risk of relapse because untreated psychiatric illness during pregnancy can have negative consequences on the health and development of the child. Women and their health care providers should carefully weigh all of the treatment options and jointly decide on the best course of action." ### 17 Years Of Masti: Amrita Rao Recalls How Main Hoon Na Co-Star Shah Rukh Khan Helped Her Out During The Shoot Of The Film "Masti" clocked 17 years since its release today and actor Amrita Rao shared a 'masti bhari' story about how her "Main Hoon Na" co-star Shah Rukh Khan came to her rescue in a tricky situation for the film's shoot! Amrita was once caught in a fix between shooting for "Main Hoon Na" and "Masti", two films that saw her in totally different avatars and both of which were significant in her career. Woo #Masti Anniversary today ! ! Remembering my director Indrakumar ji, producer Ashok Thackeria ji & All the MaSti Gang with loads of lOve pic.twitter.com/WOxfgb4vUa AMRITA RAO (@AmritaRao) April 9, 2021 Remembering the incident fondly, Amrita shared, "I was shooting for 'Masti' and 'Main Hoon Na' in the same year and I recall there was a week when I had to do a double shift. I shot day and night for 72 hours without a break, hopping from one set to another. I also recall that one of the days there was a massive date overlap and both my directors Indra Kumar-ji and Farah Khan required me to be on their set at the same time. That day, it was such a tough call for me. That's when Mr. Shah Rukh Khan kindly called and requested Indu-ji to adjust the shoot date for me. And Indu-ji was sweet enough to give us that allowance." For Amrita, it was SRK's way of telling her in his own way, 'main hoon na'! And it's certainly something that makes her smile back at! SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) A top official with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe says a financial flood from clergy sex abuse claims is coming and a settlement would serve as the dam to prevent devastation to parishes across northern New Mexico. A letter from the Rev. Glennon Jones is posted on the archdioceses website. It states that progress is being made in collecting donations for a bankruptcy settlement prompts by allegations of abuse perpetrated by priests and other clergy over decades. The letter states that should the bankruptcy fail, nothing would be safe from liquidation to pay for legal costs and lawsuit settlements. What a tragedy it would be to lose hundreds-of-years-old churches and property to legal fees and lawsuit settlements, not to mention much of New Mexicos cultural legacy built over centuries by donations of time, talent and treasure of your families and friends, he wrote. And, perhaps worse, the loss of access in providing sacramental, spiritual and material nourishment to those in need, as well as teaching our young ones love of God, love of neighbor. Jones said for example, the archdiocese used to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity, but those funds have recently gone to lawyer and legal fees. In October, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled that lawyers for clergy sex abuse survivors can file lawsuits alleging the archdiocese fraudulently transferred millions of dollars in property and other assets to avoid bigger payouts to victims. That decision in the Chapter 11 reorganization case opened the door to what could be a multimillion-dollar boon to hundreds of alleged victims. It could also result in protracted, costly legal appeals that would tap funds that could have paid valid abuse claims. Mediation is ongoing, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. James Stang, a Los Angeles attorney who represents a committee of abuse survivors in the case, said there is a conditional settlement agreement that would require certain actions by the archdiocese. Other parties such as insurers and parishes would need to be brought in and a plan of reorganization written. The bankruptcy court would have to approve the agreement. While threatened litigation is on hold and mediation continues, Stang didnt say an agreement was imminent. He declined to say how much money could be at stake. The court has indicated that more than $150 million could be involved, and that was only for a portion of the assets victims potentially could receive. The archdiocese filed for reorganization in late 2018 to deal with the surge of claims. An estimated $52 million has been paid in out-of-court settlements to victims in prior years. Levi Monagle, an Albuquerque-based attorney who represents dozens of victims, said a settlement will be complicated but possible if all the parties continue to put in the necessary blood, sweat and tears. The survivors in this bankruptcy have been tremendously patient thus far _ they are warriors in every sense. If they can hold out a little longer, keep fighting a little longer, then we can get this settlement done _ and on very good terms, Monagle wrote in an email. Jones wrote that the archdiocese is making pretty fair progress in fundraising but he also said it risks losing the proposed settlement if certain goals arent met soon. It wasnt clear what goals he was referring to. Jones said through a spokeswoman that further details are covered by confidentiality restrictions imposed by the court. In the letter, Jones said church leaders lament so very much those who have failed you so grievously in the past. Yet, all we can now do is move forward and look to a new day. He said he hoped the new day would include healing for the victims and for parishioners. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The pandemic has raised the stakes on ethics in public life, said Hannah White, deputy director of the Institute for Government, a think tank, who once ran an official committee on standards. Not only is it more important for lobbying to be transparent during a time of emergency when government has deliberately suspended normal rules on procurement and public appointments in order to respond at speed, she said, but the idea of politicians benefiting from the crisis by lining their pockets is particularly offensive. The lobbying review will be led by Nigel Boardman, a lawyer and nonexecutive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He will investigate the development and use of supply chain finance a financial tool offered by Greensill as well as the engagement of business with government, Downing Street said on Monday. Experts do not believe that Mr. Cameron broke any rules, because he waited for more than two years after leaving government before undertaking any lobbying. Moreover, he was employed by Greensill and was therefore not obliged to observe the transparency obligations imposed on external professional lobbyists. However, the furor over his behavior suggests that the rules themselves may be insufficient. After weeks of silence, Mr. Cameron issued a statement late Sunday in which he conceded that although his behavior was in line with codes of conduct and government rules, he should have done things differently. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. After New York City scrapped a controversial rule that led to the frequent closures of school buildings amid the pandemic, the president of the citys largest teachers union said that schools will still remain the safest place for people to be, according to a recent interview with NY1. During an interview with Errol Louis on NY1s Inside City Hall, Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), explained that the change in how schools are closed if there are coronavirus (COVID-19) cases will result in fewer closures, but kids and staff will still be safe in buildings. He cited increasing vaccine availability and lowering positivity rates across the city. He said the unions doctors are shifting from focusing on whats not known outside of schools to focusing on whats known inside a school, according to NY1. Now, we can actually, because of our amount of testing and contact tracing, we should be able to make sure that a school never has what we call a rapid COVID spread inside of it. So we had to switch now to looking at that inside piece, Mulgrew said on Inside City Hall. From the data that we have, looking at the number of cases that weve been dealing with on a daily basis, with this new program, we should definitely not be closing the same amount of schools. According to NY1, Mulgrew said that schools should now have a greater protection and that the union can say to parents staff, and families that schools continue to be the safest place for people. Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the citys new plan for shuttering classrooms and school buildings. Under the citys initial school reopening plan, a classroom with one confirmed case or more would quarantine the entire class for 10 days. Two or more unrelated cases without any clear links could shutter the entire building for 10 days. This protocol led to frequent closures of buildings with more than 1,300 buildings closed for at least 10 to 14 days due to two or more unlinked COVID-19 cases since the start of the school year, city data shows. Under the new plan, four positive COVID-19 cases will now shutter a building. One confirmed case will close a classroom and move students to remote learning for 10 days. If there are two or three confirmed cases in one week in the entire school building, there will be an increase of randomized COVID-19 testing for students and staff doubling to 40%. If there are four or more cases in different classrooms within seven days that can be traced to a known exposure within the school building, the building will close for 10 days. School buildings will no longer need to close for 24 hours while the initial investigation is underway, as they had in the past. All changes went into effect Monday. School Zone: A new newsletter with the updates you need as our schools try to get back to normal. Enter your email address here and hit "subscribe" to receive this weekly newsletter: FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. Three Covid patients have died at the mobile Intensive Care Unit of the 'Victor Babes' Hospital in Bucharest, apparently due to the malfunction of the oxygen supply system, the Health Ministry informed on Monday. "The Ministry was informed via the Operational Center for Emergency Situations that three patients lost their lives at the mobile Intensive Care Unit run under the coordination of the Interior Ministry's Department for Emergency Situations, and technically operated by the 'Victor Babes' National Institute," the Ministry informed. According to the first information sent to the Health Ministry's Operational Center for Emergency Situations, the oxygen system of the mobile unit malfunctioned, agerpres.ro confirms. Another five patients who were also treated at the unit were immediately transferred to other facilities - one to another ward of the 'Victor Babes' Hospital, and four to the ROL2 Hospital in Otopeni, the 'Bagdasar-Arseni' Emergency Clinical Hospital and the Floreasca Hospital, the Health Ministry said. "The Health Minister was at the site and was informed about the condition of the patients and the causes of the incident," the statement reads. Agility, a leading global logistics provider, has donated the transportation of nine tonnes of medical materials from China to Uganda for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in partnership with Qatar Airways Cargo. The donation, through One Million Kilos, Chapter 1 of Qatar Airways Cargos sustainability program WeQare included more than 50,000 surgical kits to be used at hospitals and medical centres in Kampala, Uganda. In China, Agilitys teams received, inspected and packaged the materials for export. The cargo was flown to Kampala, Uganda, by Qatar Airways Cargo; upon arrival, Agility facilitated customs clearance and delivered the goods to UNHCR. Michael Blaufuss, Agility SVP of Air Freight, said: This project demonstrates the value that Agility brings to its customers and charity partners. Our teams were able to work quickly with UNHCR and its vendors to export the medical gowns during the holiday period, and get them to in Kampala. The donation of space by Qatar Airways Cargo was critical in getting the supplies to the destination quickly. 1 Million Kilos is the first chapter of WeQare, where charities were able to use the services of Qatar Airways Cargo through freight forwarders and transport humanitarian aid and medical supplies all over the world, free of charge. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways said, The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how essential air freight is in the time of crisis. Through WeQares One Million Kilos campaign, we are pleased to support Agility and UNHCR in transporting essential supplies to places where they are needed the most. Nader El Nakib, Head of Private Sector Partnership; Kuwait, said This donation will be used by UNHCRs medical teams to help displaced persons receive improved medical care, while protecting UNHCRs frontline health workers. We are especially grateful that Agility and Qatar Airways were able to provide these international air cargo services during the global pandemic. This donation means UNHCR can redirect funding to support other beneficiaries in need of assistance. Agility has a globally recognized sustainability program, covering humanitarian logistics, community volunteerism, fair labor and environmental sustainability. Agility is part of the FTSE4Good Index Series, a resource used by investors to identify companies around the world with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. Agility is also ranked in the top 10% of all companies and the top 4% of the logistics industry for overall sustainability performance by EcoVadis. Since 2006, Agility has responded to 75+ humanitarian crises since 2006 across the world.TradeArabia News Service The last king of Nepal, Gyanendra Shah is in India to attend the Kumbh Mela festival. He arrived in the holy city of Haridwar on Sunday to participate in the biggest Hindu festival. King Gyanendra will visit other important temples in the holy citywhich lies on the banks of river Ganga. During his visit he will take the holy dip and seek the blessings of the priests. In one of his earlier visits to India, king Gyanendra and his family had met with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The king's visit comes at a crucial time due to the political and social turmoil in Nepal. Groups of people considered to be pro-royal and pro-monarchy have been holding protests for the return of the Hindu king. Pro-monarchy groups have been active since October and have carried out protests in nearly a dozen cities demanding the return of monarchy, restoration of a Hindu State and the end of federalism. Despite regulatory instructions in view of coronavirus spread, people have carried out protests even in capital Kathmandu against what they see as a failure of democracy. Groups of youth have shown their displeasure by taking out motorcycle rallies in favour of monarchy. In many cities across Nepal, people have been chanting slogans of "bring the king, save the country". Taking note of the growing support for royalty, The Kathmandu Post sounded the mood of the nation against their leaders in an editorial, saying: "... The recent rallies, thus, should be taken as a manifestation of the general public's frustration against the government of the day, and the endless bickering in the ruling party that has held the country hostage." The crisis in Nepal blew over last year after a rift in the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The NCP saw a running feud between Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, over issues of power and governance. Prachanda wanted Oli to resign as Prime Minister as he alleged that Oli was running the country in an authoritarian manner and had sidelined senior party members. Oli, in turn, blamed Prachanda for not strengthening the party. Power play in the NCP led to a governance crisis where Oli was accused of corruption and mismanagement during the coronavirus crisis. As factionalism in the ruling communist party grew, Oli dissolved the parliament in December and called for electionsfurthering uncertainty in the Himalayan country. Unhappy with the events, people, particularly the youth, have been protesting against the government, moreso against the ruling party. Many are protesting over the mishandling of coronavirus and the way NCP had conducted itself despite a clear mandate. The Kathmandu Post has also noted in its editorial that people are disenchanted with not just the ruling party but also the opposition parties. Gyanendra had stepped down as king in 2008 after the Maoists mounted a sustained campaign to abolish monarchy and share power with political parties. Subsequently, with the involvement of the UN, a peace accord was signed, a new constitution made and monarchy was abolished. Nepalese leaders are not new to the kumbh festival. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari too had visited the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, in 2016 while on her first official trip to India. [April 11, 2021] Ouster Empowers Waytous's Autonomous Mining Trucks in Extreme Environments SUZHOU, China, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Traditional mining has long faced problems such as high operating costs, driver shortages, harsh environments, and frequent accidents. Governments and industry alike are looking for solutions to these problems. The Chinese government, for example, has long been a big proponent of the intelligent transformation of the mining industry. The adoption of autonomous mining trucks improves both safety and operating efficiency. "Mines are relatively safe spaces to deploy autonomous driving technology because they are located in places with few people and limited external interference. Such an enclosed environment is ideal for the early deployment of autonomous driving technology," said Long Chen, CEO and co-founder of Waytous, the leading unmanned mining solution provider in China. For one, large mining equipment has many blind spots, similar to big tractor-trailers, long-haul trucks or large forklifts. With long hours of operation, the risk of fatigue while driving equipment is quite high. By fully or semi-automating mining equipment with lidar technology that can 3-D map the environment and detect objects in and around the path, these operating challenges can be greatly reduced. Even mor challenging is the harsh mining environment which can include bumpy roads, rain, snow, dust, extreme cold and other weather conditions. These all pose huge challenges to autonomous mining trucks and their components. Extreme cold weather, for example, can shorten the lifetime of select components creating additional costs and safety risks to the whole mining project. That is why Waytous selected Ouster's lidar sensors for its fleet of autonomous mining vehicles. Its self-developed "YUGONG" system has been deployed in multiple high-production open-pit mines. The world's first large-scale autonomous mining truck project in extreme cold environments In May 2020, Waytous officially launched the world's first large-scale autonomous mining truck project in an extremely cold environment: the Baorixile open-pit mine located in the Inner Mongolia Region of China. This is also the first project built with a 5G network and up to five autonomous mining trucks operating simultaneously. It is a testament to the reliability and stability of the entire autonomous driving system, especially its ability to withstand cold weather. Ouster's OS0 and OS1 lidar sensors have a cold start function and can operate in an environment of -40 degrees Celsius, which meets the automotive specifications for cold weather performance. Moreover, Ouster's digital lidar passes strict shock and vibration tests before leaving the factory so that it is capable of operating and providing accurate lidar data in bumpy, unpaved environments. Based on its unique optical design, Ouster's digital lidar is less affected by rain, snow and dust which may obscure the lidar window. All Ouster lidars are designed to IP68/69K standards, reliably performing across unpredictable weather conditions and extended outdoor use. Furthermore, as a result of significant performance improvements over the past year, Ouster implemented a standard 2-year warranty in February 2021. "Ouster's digital lidar provides high reliability and can operate in extreme cold environments, which are two of the most important factors for autonomous mining trucks. That's why Ouster became our first choice. The adoption of autonomous mining trucks will continue to accelerate, and Ouster is ready to scale with us," said Waytous' Long Chen. SOURCE Ouster [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Advertisement Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees have plunged into the Ganges river during one of the largest religious festivals on earth - with no sign of social distancing or masks in place as India's coroanvirus cases soar. Worshippers packed the banks of the river today in the city of Haridwar to take part in the second Shahi Snan - or holy bathing day - of the Kumbh Mela festival which they believe will wash away their sins. The festival, which began back in January with a series of low-key events, is due to last for the rest of the month and is typically attended by millions of pilgrims, which police warn makes social distancing impossible. Narendra Modi, India's Prime Minister and leader of a Hindu nationalist party, has been criticised for allowing the festival to go ahead despite rapidly rising Covid cases in India which saw the country today overtake Brazil to record the second-highest official case total in the world. Tens of thousands of Hindu worshippers have packed the banks of the Ganges today to take part in a day of holy bathing during the religious festival of Kumbh Mela Devotees believe bathing in the river on specific dates will help to wash away their sins and flock to one of four sites to take part, with the number of attendees often reaching the millions India's government has been heavily criticised for allowing the festival to go ahead despite the Covid pandemic, with the country seeing its worst-ever spike in cases on Sunday India has now registered 13.52million cases of Covid while Brazil has logged 14.48million. It is likely that India has actually occupied the second spot for some time because a large number of cases are thought to go undetected. The two changed places after India reported a new record of 168,000 Covid cases in a single day on Sunday - the most of any country in the world that day - with experts fearing the situation could now rapidly deteriorate. However, Brazil's number of cases per head of population is almost seven times that of India's. Police in the city of Haridwar, where the festival is taking place this year, have warned that the sheer number of people in attendance makes social distancing impossible - with little sign of masks being worn It is now feared that the festival, which is due to last the rest of the month, will become a super-spreader event and drive India's case-total - currently the world's second-highest - even higher A sadhu, or Hindu holy man, blows on a conch shell as he takes part in a day of holy bathing during the Kumbh Mela festival India has overtaken Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus infections, as it reported a new daily record of more than 168,000 cases Hospitals are becoming overwhelmed with patients, medics have warned, with supplies in remoter regions likely to come under pressure. India's soaring case rates also have implications for other countries who are racing to vaccinate their populations and were expecting to take deliveries from India's serum institute - one of the world's largest jab factories. Delhi has previously blocked jab shipments amid rising Covid cases, saying it cannot afford to send the jabs abroad with infections rising at home. The current surge in cases has hit hardest in Western Maharashtra state, home to the financial capital Mumbai. The state has accounted for nearly half of the country's new infections in the past two weeks. Amid concerns the Kumbh Mela festival could turn into a super-spreader event, Uttarakhand state's chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat last week said 'the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus'. Health experts had appealed for the festival to be cancelled, but the government went ahead, saying safety rules would be followed. There are concerns that pilgrims could get infected and then take the virus back to their cities and villages in other parts of the country. Authorities in Haridwar said the length of the festival has been shortened compared to previous years, but it has been extremely difficult to implement social distancing measures. Coronavirus tests are mandatory for those entering the area. Naga Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, participate in the procession for taking a dip in the Ganges river during Shahi Snan at Kumbh Mela, or the Pitcher Festival, in Haridwar, India The festival began in January with low-key events but builds to a climax in April when tens of thousands are expected to visit Haridwar to take part in holy bathing days, with the last due to take place on April 27 A Hindu holy man smeared with ash and wearing flower garlands takes part in celebrations to mark the second Shahi Snan, or holy bathing day, of the Kumbh Mela festival Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, participate in a procession for taking a dip in the Ganges river during Shahi Snan at Kumbh Mela A holy man shows off his skills with swords during the Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, in Haridwar in India 'We are continuously appealing to people to follow Covid-19-appropriate behaviour. But due to the huge crowd, it is practically not possible,' senior police officer Sanjay Gunjyal said. Government critics have compared the government's response to the festival with the response last year when Indian Muslims faced rising Islamophobia following accusations that an initial surge in infections was tied to a three-day meeting of an Islamic missionary group, the Tablighi Jamaat, in New Delhi. Some leaders from Mr Modi's party and India's freewheeling TV channels, which have long favoured the government's Hindu-nationalist policies, labelled Muslims as 'jihadis' and 'super spreaders' in March 2020 when the seven-day rolling average of coronavirus cases in the country was not even 200 per day. The blame triggered a wave of violence, business boycotts and hate speech towards Muslims. India's 200 million Muslims account for 14 per cent of the population and are the largest minority group in the Hindu-majority nation. The surge in India comes as the country's vaccination drive appears to be struggling. Multiple Indian states have reported a shortage of doses even as the federal government has insisted that there are enough in stock. After a sluggish start, India is now vaccinating 3.6 million people on average daily, which is more than the United States. It has so far administered more than 103 million shots, the most in the world after the US and China, but much lower than many countries per capita - still less than 6% of India's population of nearly 1.4 billion people. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, chief of the 'Kinnar Akhara', congregation for transgender people, arrives to take a dip in the Ganges river during the second Shahi Snan at Kumbh Mela Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, take a dip in the Ganges river during the second Shahi Snan at Kumbh Mela, or the Pitcher Festival, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease Sadhu holy men wade into the Ganges as they take part in a Hindu festival in Haridwar, India A Hindu devotee takes a holy dip in the waters of Ganges River on the day of Shahi Snan (Royal Bath) during the ongoing religious Kumbh Mela festival, in Haridwar Meanwhile Brazil is also seeing its most-severe surge in cases due to a more-infectious and potentially more-deadly variant of the disease that first emerged in the city of Manaus some time around the start of the year. It was first detected in people arriving in Japan in January who had travelled from the area, located deep within the Amazon rainforest. Since its discovery, Brazil's Covid cases and deaths have soared - fanned by government inaction driven by President Bolsonaro, who has railed against masks, lockdowns and vaccines. Most of the country's hospitals are now thought to be running short of key supplies including oxygen and drugs used while putting patients on to breathing machines. Brazil has also struggled to get hold of adequate supplies of vaccines, with Bolsonaro openly opposed to them, and as a result has been forced to rely on jabs made in China. But in another blow, it emerged that the CoronaVac jab which has become central to the country's roll-out in just 50 per cent effective at preventing infection by the Brazilian variant. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a China hawk and vaccine skeptic who has come under fire for his handling of the outbreak, initially said his government would not buy the Sinovac shot, but later made a U-turn as his government struggled to secure supplies. Since then, the Chinese shot has become the most widely administered one in the country. Sao Paulo's Butantan biomedical institute said that if the second dose is delayed by more than two weeks, the efficacy rises to 62.3 per cent. The vaccine has an efficacy of between 83.7 per cent and 100 per cent at preventing those infected from requiring medical assistance, it said. The study, which it said had been sent to the medical journal The Lancet for publication, tested 12,400 volunteers across Brazil. The EU and the UK are making progress towards a deal to ease post-Brexit trade checks in Northern Ireland, it was claimed today, amid hopes a breakthrough will end disorder on the streets of Belfast. Brussels and Britain are locked in talks on how to improve the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol against a backdrop of numerous days of violence. The atmosphere surrounding the talks is now said to have 'warmed up a bit' with discussions 'advancing on a technical level'. Diplomats said the hope is that there will be a political-level meeting between Cabinet Office minister Lord Frost and EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic 'rather sooner than later'. Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin said at the weekend that Northern Ireland must not 'spiral back to that dark place of sectarian murders and political discord' after another night of disorder. Fourteen police officers were injured in Friday night's unrest, bringing the total number of officers injured in the recent disorder to 88. Thomas Byrne, the Irish Europe Minister, said this morning that the EU and the UK are 'working together quietly behind the scenes' to try to improve the rollout of the protocol as he said 'bilateral and multilateral' discussions are 'absolutely essential'. Diplomats said the hope is that there will be a political-level meeting between Cabinet Office minister Lord Frost and EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic 'rather sooner than later' Nationalists from the mainly Catholic Springfield road area of West Belfast clash with police in Northern Ireland on April 7 The Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed by the EU and UK as part of the Brexit divorce deal and it is designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. It achieves that by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods, with regulatory checks and inspections now required on agri-food produce moving into the region from the rest of the UK. The new arrangements have caused some disruption to trade since the start of the year as firms have struggled with new processes and administration. The checks have also inflamed community tensions as unionists believe the processes create an Irish Sea border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK which threatens the Union. Last month the UK Government unilaterally decided to extend post-Brexit grace periods on certain trade checks in Northern Ireland in an attempt to reduce friction. That prompted the EU to accuse the UK of breaching international law as the bloc launched formal legal action. Talks aimed at resolving problems with the protocol are ongoing but the noises coming out of them are now more positive. One EU diplomat told the Financial Times: 'They are advancing on a technical level and probably we will see a [Frost-Sefcovic] meeting rather sooner than later'. A UK official told the newspaper: 'The mood seems to have warmed up a bit the tone of the discussions is quite good.' The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said at lunchtime: Technical engagement with the EU in relation to the protocol has continued in recent days. Mr Sefcovic and Lord Frost spoke on Friday on the phone and we are in regular contact at all levels. The discussions have been constructive but there are still significant differences that need to be resolved.' Mr Byrne would not be drawn on how close a deal is during an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme but he said the two sides 'are working together quietly behind the scenes to try to resolve outstanding issues'. He said: What is happening behind the scenes is how do we implement that protocol. I am not going to give a running commentary on it except to say that I do welcome the engagement between Lord Frost and vice president of the commission Maros Sefcovic. That is very much in the interests of all the people, I think the European Union are fully apprised of the situation in Northern Ireland, of the sensitivities in Northern Ireland. And the British government to be fair to them are working now it seems on a bilateral and multilateral basis and that is absolutely essential. We have been quite critical when te British have acted and indeed when the EU acted on a unilateral basis. It never works. Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin said at the weekend that Northern Ireland must not 'spiral back to that dark place of sectarian murders and political discord' after another night of disorder Post-Brexit trade checks in Northern Ireland have inflamed community tensions. Unionists believe the checks threaten the integrity of the Union Speaking on the 23rd anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement on Saturday, Mr Martin had said politicians owed it to the younger generation that the dark days of the Troubles do not return. Of the 1998 peace accord, he said: 'Perhaps its most visible success is that a whole generation of young people have grown up not knowing or experiencing the violence that accompanied the troubles. '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.' Police were pelted with petrol bombs and masonry during three hours of disorder on Friday, the PSNI have said. The disorder took place in the Atlantic Road area of Coleraine, Londonderry, where a crowd of about 40 people, many of them wearing masks, attempted to block the road by setting fire to pallets. Police were also attacked with missiles and a car was set on fire in a separate incident at Tiger's Bay, a loyalist area in north Belfast. We've heard the announcement by the Tourism Ministry that cultural workers are to get priority access to vaccines and travel exemptions. Joe Biden handed Kamala Harris the job of "point person" for the border crisis on March 24, and for three weeks now, she's been AWOL. She's an embarrassment to the Biden administration at this point, as New York Post columnist Miranda Devine notes, pointing to the growing severity of the crisis. Joe, in fact, actually created the crisis, first by incentivizing child migration with a vow that no illegal child migrant, even one brimming with COVID, could ever be sent back, and bringing back catch-and-release for everyone else. Biden's also suspended construction of the border wall, which has turned into a gift to the human smuggling rackets. He's rescinded President Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols and diplomatic agreements with Mexico and Central America to keep illegal migration minimal. U.S. diplomats now are reduced to pleading with Central American states to hold fair elections, make themselves transparent, end corruption and respect separations of powers, all standard elements of democracy repeated to them a million times by past administrations, which neither Joe nor Kamala actually follow themselves. Not surprisingly, migrant surges have reached record levels with 180,000 apprehensions last March, including tens of thousands of children traveling alone, and the numbers have yet to peak. They're expected to hit 35,000 kids in custody by the month of June. The border crisis "is worse than you think," writes Washington Examiner columnist Byron York. Asked about it, Kamala could only giggle. What's Kamala been doing in her new role as 'powerful' point person for the border? News reports say she's been complaining about her home renovations, talking COVID vaccines with minority community organizers, and buying German chocolate cake in Chicago. Her official White House site shows even less going on. Of her claimed "priorities," the migrant crisis ranks sixth of seven, and offers only pabulum. Her social media accounts, though, have been busy. Her Instagram shows 27 pictures and selfies of herself -- on topics such as women's history, her new glamour-shot official portrait (she shared that a lot of places), her airplane ride to Oakland, her visits to a vaccination site and a small business kitchen organization, her spiffy vice presidential paper nameplate ahead of her first cabinet meeting (hard to get more giggly at this point), her visit to a California water-treatment plant, her Easter wishes with (useless) hopes for reopening schools, her visits to COVID community centers and places of faith, and plenty of meme banalities. Missing in action: Not one word on her role as Joe Biden's chieftain of the raging border crisis. She seems to be ignoring the matter, because, well, she doesn't know anything. Joe put hTens of thousands of children are pouring in, with untold misery before reaching U.S. detention, and much more after. Nope, she can't be bothered, she's an Instagram influencer, after all, same as her relatives such as Meena Harris, not a policy heavyweight. She cuts ribbons. She speechifies about women's empowerment. She's symbols and appearances, not meat and substances, effectively in a ceremonial role centered on photo ops. She likes the appearance of power, but can't be bothered to do the hard work of effecting power or using power, at least not by building consensus. The Berkeley native was the farthest left member of the Senate and doesn't do compromise. White House spokesweasel Jen Psaki has tried to bail her out by saying she's busy "studying" the border situation maybe with books or something, but well, look at her Instagram. Harris is not studying. She's giggling and doing selfies, same as any teenaged narcissist. The latest news: The president of El Salvador would not take a U.S. diplomatic visit. He'd been insultingly snubbed by Team Biden when he visited the U.S. last February and was returning the favor. Yet he'd be the guy to talk to about halting the border crisis, the guy to get some kind of cooperation from, but the White House didn't have time then and sure as heck doesn't have time now, especially with the top professional diplomat for the border, Roberta Jacobson fleeing the coop, and leaving Kamala at the helm. That's lovely. And sure enough, Kamala still doesn't have time, look at the ditzy posts she's made not just on her Instagram and also on Twitter. How could anyone have time to govern or even get up to speed with posting these posts her obvious priority. Joe knew who she was and how ditzy and giggly she was when he picked her as his vice president, which is what raises some interesting questions. Did Biden set her up to fail? If he did, he couldn't have picked a more consequential issue for her to go AWOL on. Miranda Devine notes that the Biden staff still consider her a lightweight, and gave her that border czar position intentionally, hoping to maybe derail her, writing: President Joe Biden knew when he appointed Harris to manage the crisis on March 24 that it was a poison chalice, which gives you a hint of the growing wariness in a relationship where the VP is referred to by insiders as The Heiress and Biden is regarded as incapable of serving a full term. The White House announced at the time that Harris would lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle . . . in stemming the migration to our southern border. But two days later, when asked when she planned to go to the border, Harris responded with hysterical laughter. Not today, she chortled. I argued the same in these pages on March 25: It's an absolutely certain failure. Naming Harris the "point person" on the Biden-created border surge such a bad idea that one almost wonders if Joe Biden did it on purpose. ...and... Anyone expect Harris to talk tough and muscle the corrupt president of Honduras on migrants? Somehow, I don't think so. She's on a short runway to failure in this, and she has the grim choice of pursuing Trump's policies while at the same time blaming him, or else hoping the border surge just dies out. How's Harris going to blame Trump and pursue his policies to stabilize the border, all at the same time? It's plainly ridiculous. She's clearly in over her head. She'll be a disaster. She knows nothing about foreign policy, and she's not about to learn. Now let's look at the political innards as to why Joe Biden might want Kamala Harris to be exposed as a ditz and certainly fail. Why would Joe want that? Number one, because Harris and her partisans, are likely chomping at the bit for his job, and Joe, being addicted to power with nearly fifty years in public office, has a natural instinct to want to cling to it as well as resist dislodging from these upstarts. Number two, because Joe got the hot potato handed to him when he was President Obama's vice president, and wants to give Kamala the same. Biden got the border czar job from Obama because Obama didn't want to be bothered and he had only contempt for Biden. Handing it to Kamala is Biden's way of payback, not being a nice guy in private. Because Kamala, after all, is a product of the Obama machine. She had some suspicious involvement in the Chicago machine's Jussie Smollett hoax, coming up with "convenient" legislation just ahead of it, and surprise, surprise, Obama is the Chicago machine. Obama also has had a drooly soft spot for Kamala, calling her the "best looking' California attorney general, which was the job she held at the time. He's promoted her because of her looks, and sure enough, he's been like Willie Brown for Kamala's career, sort of a political mentor, though presumably without the "dating" to use Brown's characterization. Biden also has been inserting Health and Human Service secretary, Xavier Becerra into the border czar picture, given that Kamala is AWOL, and guess what, the pair go way back and reportedly don't like each other. The whole picture seems to be one of exposing Kamala as a fool and an incompetent, the better to leave power safely in the hands of Joe. Sure, Biden has memory problems, but some things are ingrained in him and one is his will to permanent power. He's compromised (or better, sacrificed) every principle he has ever had in the past to win to this presidency, there's nothing of him left other than his will to power. He seems to have set the perfect trap for Kamala. Being a party-gal dolt of very light brain, she fell for it. Image: Twitter screen shot, official portrait You can comment on this post at MeWe by going here. They recently became parents. And Karlie Kloss seemed to relish in her role as mom while on a walk with husband Joshua Kushner and their newborn baby in New York last weekend. The 28-year-old supermodel sported a classic jeans and a blouse combo as she strolled with her family in Manhattan. Out and about: Karlie Kloss seemed to relish in her role as mom while on a walk with husband Joshua Kushner and their newborn baby in New York last weekend Karlie looked completely at ease while strolling through city streets wearing a pair of straight leg jeans with brown leather flats. Her effortless ensemble was complete with a sheer, long-sleeve blouse which featured unique collar details and ruffled cuffs. Kloss swept back her bright blonde hair into a messy bun and wore a chunky gold braided necklace and Lili Claspe hoop earrings. Just the three of us: The 28-year-old supermodel sported a classic jeans and a blouse combo as she strolled with her family in Manhattan Classic: Joshua sported a pair of black jeans to match a lightweight sweater worn on top of a white T-shirt and Nike trainers Joshua sported a pair of black jeans to match a lightweight sweater worn on top of a white T-shirt and Nike trainers. They both remained safe in public by wearing black face masks amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. The couple welcomed their baby into the world last month and have yet to reveal a sex or name. Baby bliss: The couple welcomed their baby into the world last month and have yet to reveal a sex or name Bravo recently announced production is set to begin on season 19 of Project Runway, which she has hosted since 2019. Christian Siriano, Nina Garcia, Brandon Maxwell and Elaine Welteroth are also set to return alongside Kloss, who's set for a number of guest appearances in a 'reimagining' of the host role, a source told Variety. Prior to Kloss joining the show, Heidi Klum served as the host from the show's inception in 2004 through season 16 in 2017. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has published a survey that it says shows that illegal fishing and trade in wild sturgeon is happening in the lower Danube region on a rather serious scale. Poaching and the illegal trade of meat and caviar are often cited as major threats to many sturgeon populations worldwide, but the conservation group said that its survey, made public on April 12, provides first-time evidence of the actual scale of the threats in the lower Danube, specifically in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine. The WWF said that nearly one-third of the samples of sturgeon products bought through the survey were illegal, while 214 cases of poaching-related incidents were recorded by authorities. This is the first assessment of the volume of sturgeon poaching and trade along the lower Danube and Black Sea -- and even if we have to assume that we found just the tip of the iceberg, it shows how serious the impact on the last wild sturgeons still is and how crucial our fight is to save them, WWF project manager Jutta Jahrl said in a statement. The methodology of the survey, titled Evidence For Trafficking Of Critically Endangered Sturgeons In The Lower Danube Region, combined official data on poaching activities and the results of a large-scale market survey and forensic analysis of meat and caviar samples in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine between October 2016 and July 2020, according to the WWF. It said a total of 145 samples were collected at different locations from sturgeon populations that share the same migratory routes along the entire trade chain on the Lower Danube and in the northwestern Black Sea region. Testing points included retailers such as shops, restaurants, local markets, and fishermen, and all samples underwent DNA and isotope analysis that the environmental nongovernmental organization said proved that wild sturgeon products were being sold in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine. Of the samples tested, 27 (19 percent) proved to be from wild sturgeon -- 25 were meat and two were caviar. Seventeen samples of caviar (29 percent of all caviar samples) were sold without compliance with mandatory regulations of the international Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In one case, meat sold as farmed was proven to be wild. In several other cases products declared as wild sturgeon proved to be farmed, or to be meat from European catfish or Nile perch, which WWF said indicated a worrying consumer demand for illegal, wild-caught sturgeon products. All fishing and trade of wild Danube sturgeon species was prohibited in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine during the time period under study, and only the catch of sterlet measuring above 40 centimeters was allowed in Serbia until the end of 2018. WWF said a total of 214 cases of illegal poaching-related incidents were recorded in the three other countries -- 82 cases in Romania, 82 in Bulgaria, and 50 in Ukraine -- between January 2016 and December 2020. The WWF cited a number of recommendations to tackle poaching and the illegal trade of sturgeon, including control of CITES caviar labelling requirements, improved interagency cooperation and coordination, increased border controls, use of state-of-the-art forensic analysis, and conducting more and recurrent market surveys. The survival of these highly threatened wild sturgeon species in Central and Eastern Europe is dependent on continuous and increased efforts to reduce the threat of wild sturgeon trafficking, it said. Salary $57,387.20 - $114,004.80 Annually Location Arlington *METRO-accessible*, VA Job Type Full-Time Department Department of Management and Finance Job Number 1300-21A-DMF-BL Closing Continuous Position Information Arlington County is seeking an experienced Procurement Officer for the Department of Management and Finance's Purchasing Division to prepare, review, and approve solicitations, negotiate contracts and manage the procurement process for a wide variety of products and services. This employee will have a high level of independence and discretionary authority in ensuring all procurement transactions meet ethical standards and comply with applicable laws and regulations. These responsibilities require an attention to detail, excellent writing skills and close coordination with other professional and technical staff as well as the County Attorney's Office, County Department Leadership and staff, bidders and vendors. Specific duties include: Ensuring all procurement transactions under their review comply with applicable laws and regulations specific to the Virginia Public Procurement Act (VPPA) and the County Purchasing Resolution; Ensuring that all purchases meet ethical standards; Serving to maintain the County's credibility not only in the marketplace in terms of potential bidders and contractors but also in terms of public perception by citizens of the County; Serving as an internal consultant to County departments by advising them in the planning and organizing of their procurement activities, and specific procurement processes and contract language to utilize in order to most effectively achieve the desired program results; Preparing and issuing a variety of solicitations; Participating in vendor outreach sessions such as pre-proposal conferences; Overseeing evaluation committees during evaluation, negotiation and award processes as a non-voting member; Assisting in negotiating contract terms; and working closely with the County Attorney's Office to ensure that contracts appropriately protect the County's interests; and Assisting with change orders and contract amendments; We also seek an individual with skills in specification writing, editing and contract preparation; with a thorough understanding of contract administration techniques and theory; with effective negotiation skills; and the ability to express ideas verbally and in writing. The successful candidate will have the ability to understand and apply new techniques and solutions to problems in the public procurement field and a keen sense of how to balance the interests, requirements and demands of a myriad of stakeholders. Selection Criteria Minimum: Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, or a related field, plus significant professional level procurement experience that includes managing Invitations to Bid (ITBs), Request for Proposals (RFPs), negotiating contracts and resolving disputes. Substitution: Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the education requirement on a year-for-year basis. Desirables: Preference may be given to applicants with experience in one or more of the following: Municipal or local government procurement; Construction, Transportation and/or Professional Services Solicitations; Application of the Virginia Public Procurement Act (VPPA); Working on information technology related projects; Using established automated solutions to procurement processes; Completed courses in public procurement, negotiation techniques, business or contract law; and/or Obtained certification as a Virginia Contract Administrator (VCA), Virginia Contracting Officer (VCO); Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) and/or Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO). Special Requirements Completion of the Commonwealth of Virginia Statement of Economic Interest form will be required of the successful candidate. Pursuant to Section 27-9 of the Arlington County code, this position requires the completion of "Statement of Economic Interest" (Financial Disclosure) form upon acceptance of employment and annually thereafter. Additional Information Normal work hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with some flexibility. The official work location is 2100 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington VA. However, due to current circumstances, 100% of the work will be conducted remotely for the time being. Your responses to the supplemental questionnaire are considered part of the application process and are required for this position. Please do not give "see resume" as a response to the questions. Incomplete applications will not be considered. NOTE: This position is listed as "open continuous." Interested applicants are advised to submit their applications as soon as possible. Applications will be reviewed, and qualified applicants referred on a continuous basis. Interviews will be conducted on a regular basis throughout the recruitment with candidates whose qualifications best fit our needs. If your application is received later in the recruitment process, it may not be reviewed or considered. The application process will close when the position has been filled or when a sufficient number of qualified applications have been received. Arlington County Government employee benefits depend on whether a position is permanent, the number of hours worked, and the number of months the position is scheduled. Specific information on benefits and conditions of employment can be found on the Arlington County Human Resources Department website: (see application details) Permanent, Full-Time Appointments All jobs are permanent, full-time appointments unless otherwise stated in the announcement. The following benefits are available: Paid Leave : Vacation leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. Leave accrual increases every three years until eight hours of leave are earned biweekly for twelve or more years of service. Sick leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. There are eleven paid holidays each year. Health and Dental Insurance : Three group health insurance plans are offered - a network open access plan, a point-of-service plan, and a health maintenance organization. A group dental insurance plan is also offered. The County pays a significant portion of the premium for these plans for employees and their dependents. A discount vision plan is provided for eye care needs. Life Insurance : A group term policy of basic life insurance is provided at no cost to employees. The benefit is one times annual salary. Additional life insurance is available with rates based on the employee's age and smoker/non-smoker status. Retirement : The County offers three vehicles to help you prepare for retirement: a defined benefit plan, a defined contribution plan (401(a)), and a deferred compensation plan (457). The defined benefit plan provides a monthly retirement benefit based on your final average salary and years of service with the County. You contribute a portion of your salary on a pre-tax basis to this plan. General employees contribute 4% of pay; uniformed public safety employees contribute 7.5% of pay. Employees become vested in the plan at five years of service. The County also contributes to this plan. For general employees, the County also contributes 4.2% of pay to a defined contribution plan (401(a)) . The County also matches your 457 contribution, up to $20 per pay period, in this plan. The 457 deferred compensation plan allows you to set aside money on either a pre-tax (457b) or post-tax (457 Roth) basis up to the IRS annual limit. New employees are automatically enrolled with a pre-tax contribution equal to 2% of your base pay. Other Benefits: The County also offers health, dependent care, and parking flexible spending accounts; long-term care insurance; tuition assistance; transit and walk/bike to work subsidies; a college savings plan; wellness programs; training opportunities; and a variety of other employee benefits. Permanent, Part-Time Appointments: Part time employees who work ten or more hours per week receive paid leave and benefits in proportion to the number of hours worked per week. Limited Term Appointments: Benefits are the same as permanent appointments except that the employees do not achieve permanent status. Temporary Regular Appointments: Temporary regular employees who work 30 hours or more per week are eligible for health, dental, and basic life insurance as described above. They are also eligible for vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays. Temporary Seasonal and Occasional Appointments: Temporary employees who work on a seasonal basis or variable hours receive sick leave, but do not normally receive other paid leave or benefits. Exceptions are noted in individual announcements. ADVERTISEMENT The All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted claims by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State that Nigerian economy was in a critical situation due to a huge debt burden. The Chair of the state APC caretaker committee, David Imuse, said this in a statement by Ofure Osheobo, the assistant secretary of the committee on Monday in Benin City. Mr Obaseki recently berated the APC-led federal government of poor handling of the economy. The governor, who was addressing the state transition committee stakeholders at a meeting in Abuja, claimed the federal government printed N60 billion to supplement the federal allocation to the three tiers of government for March. He said by the end of 2021, Nigerias total borrowing would be between N15 and N16 trillion. Mr Imuse described Mr Obasekis criticism of the federal government on handling the economy as a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. The true position is that under Obasekis watch, the economy of Edo is in dire straits with the governor bereft of ideas on how to get it out, he said. The state is engulfed in a foreign debt of 300 million dollars and a domestic debt including loans from commercial banks, the capital market, and other doubtful sources, approaching N120 billion as at March, for non-existent projects. In the past seven months, Obaseki has plunged Edo into higher debts by taking more loans which has seen a 67 per cent increase in its debt profile. Edo under him has overtaken Rivers as the state with the highest foreign and domestic debt in the South South and it is on a steady course to displace Lagos as Nigerias most indebted state. Mr Imuse said while Kogi had successfully reduced its domestic debt from N132.5 billion to N73 billion, Edo had spent more money servicing debts than financing education, healthcare and infrastructure even without a state cabinet. He described, as spurious, alarmist, untrue and wicked, a claim by Mr Obaseki that Nigeria was on its way to becoming another Argentina in terms of low currency value. He advised the governor to use his membership of the National Economic Council, Nigerian Governors Forum and Nigerian Economic Summit to offer useful suggestions on how to move the economy forward. This, he said, was better than singling himself out for applause, because the management of Nigerian economy was not just the responsibility of one person, but that of the government, of which he was a part. Everybody today knows that since 2015 when APC came on the scene, Nigeria has been on the path of progress and things are definitely much better than how PDP left it, he said. (NAN) If you would like to know more about the Children's Specialists of San Diego lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. The San Diego labor law attorneys, at Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC, filed a class action complaint against Childrens Specialists of San Diego, A Medical Group, Inc. (Children Specialists of San Diego) for allegedly failing to accurately pay employees' wages for all their time worked. The Children's Specialists of San Diego class action lawsuit, Case No. 37-2021-00014044-CU-OE-CTL, is currently pending in the San Diego County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the complaint can be read here. According to the lawsuit, Childrens Specialists of San Diego allegedly violated California Labor Code Sections 204, 206.5, 226, 226.7, 510, 512, 558, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 1198, and 2802 by failing to: (1) pay minimum wages; (2) pay overtime wages; (3) provide required meal and rest periods; (4) provide accurate itemized wage statements; and (5) reimburse employees for required expenses. The lawsuit also alleges Childrens Specialists of San Diego violated the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), which gives rise to civil penalties as a result of Childrens Specialists of San Diegos conduct. PAGA allows aggrieved employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for Labor Code violations. An "aggrieved employee" is defined as "any person who was employed by the alleged violator and against whom one or more of the alleged violations was committed." Cal. Lab. Code section 2699(c). PAGA allows aggrieved employees to become deputized as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code. If you would like to know more about the Childrens Specialists of San Diego lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC are labor and employment law firms with offices located in California that dedicate their practices to fighting for employees who have been wronged by their employers due to unfair employment practices. Contact one of their attorneys today if you need help with workplace issues regarding wage and hour, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, and harassment. -THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT- STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Its back! It may be a different experience compared to years past, but Historic Richmond Town is resuming its Uncorked! food and wine festival this summer. The event will take place Saturday, June 5, from noon to 6 p.m. with more than 40 local restaurants, wineries and breweries offering samples and full-sized platters for sale at the outdoor event. Typically, Uncorked! gives festival-goers the opportunity to try food samplings native to places like Asia, Germany, Peru and Italy, as well as classic American fare, as they stroll more than 10 acres of historic parkland while sipping fine wine or a cold brew. Scenes from the ninth annual "Uncorked!" at Historic Richmond Town June 3, 2017. Pictured are Melissa, Andrea and Rossella Robustelli. (Staten Island Advance/Carol Ann Benanti) The full list of vendors will be available April 15. Uncorked! has attracted a large following over its 10-plus year history, but was canceled last year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Tickets will be available for purchase on Historic Richmond Towns website beginning May 1. Those who wish to attend must buy advanced, timed tickets. No one will be admitted at the door without a ticket purchased ahead of time. Those who wish to volunteer for the event can do so by contacting volunteers@historicrichmondtown.org starting in May. Volunteers will help guide guests to the several destinations outlined at the event, ensure attendees maintain social distancing, and help pour wine and serve food. Other volunteers will be stationed at the main gate, the event parking lot, the hospitality tents and the Tavern Terrace. Historic Richmond Town is located at 441 Clarke Ave. For more information on how to purchase tickets, visit HistoricRichmondTown.org. Police have launched a public appeal for assistance in locating a man with a mental disability who had been missing for over 24 hours. Michael Morrell, 46, was last seen boarding a Sydney-bound train at Katoomba Railway station in the Blue Mountains around 1:30pm on Sunday, April 11. Earlier the same day Mr Morrell had let his home on Hillview Road in Katoomba. Police hold concerns for the welfare of the 46-year-old as he has cerebral palsy and a mild intellectual disability. Michael Morrell, 46, (pictured) was last seen at Katoomba Railway station around 1:30pm on March 11 when it is believed he boarded a train to Sydney Officers from the Blue Mountains Police Area Command were notified after Mr Morrell didn't return home as expected. He is described as being white, between 165-175cm tall, with a thin build, fair complexion, brown eyes and short, dark hair. Mr Morrell was last seen seen wearing a red skivvy under a dark jacket and blue track pants, carrying a red or blue Coles freezer bag. He is known to regularly travel on public transport to the Sydney CBD, about a two hour train journey from Katoomba. Police are urging anyone with information about his whereabouts to come forward or contact Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000. The 2021 Bafta Film Awards have concluded, with Nomadland and Promising Young Woman among the nights big winners. The ceremony took place over two nights (10 and 11 April) at Londons Royal Albert Hall, with nominees attending the events virtually. Going into the weekend, Nomadland and Rocks led the pack with the most nominations each (seven), followed by The Father, Mank, Minari and Promising Young Woman, which all had six. The EE Bafta Film Awards Opening Night ceremony, which took place on Saturday, was hosted by Clara Amfo, and saw films including Tenet and Sound of Metal take home awards. Sunday nights ceremony, which aired on BBC One, saw most of the major awards get handed out, and featured multiple wins for Promising Young Woman, Nomadland and The Father. Promising Young Woman, a feminist revenge film written and directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Carey Mulligan, won best original screenplay and outstanding British film. In one of the nights bigger surprises, Sir Anthony Hopkins took home his third best actor Bafta for his leading role in The Father, in which he plays a man dealing with degenerative memory loss. Nomadland was the biggest winner of the night, taking home four awards, for best film, best actress (for Frances McDormand), best director (for Chloe Zhao) and best cinematography. The film centres on a woman (played by McDormand) who lives in a van in the American West in the aftermath of the financial crash. Zhaos win makes her just the second woman to win in the best director category in 53 years. Chloe Zhao won best director for Nomadland (BBC) Daniel Kaluuya, meanwhile, won the award for best supporting actor for his turn in Judas and the Black Messiah. Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain; Hulk) received the Bafta Fellowship from Hugh Grant, in a segment which recognised the filmmakers versatility and contributions to cinema. Rocks star Bukky Bakray took home the EE rising star award, which is voted for by the public, and delivered a joyful and moving acceptance speech over video. Bukky Bakray accepting the EE Rising Star Award (BBC) Minari star Yuh-Jung Youn also amused viewers when she joked that British people are very snobbish in her endearing acceptance speech for best supporting actress. Sundays event opened with a musical performance from Liam Payne. Later in the broadcast, Celeste sang Hear My Voice from The Trial of the Chicago 7, and a duet from One Night in Miami (A Change is Gonna Come) was performed by Leslie Odom Jr in Los Angeles and Corinne Bailey Rae in London. Click here for a rundown of the best-dressed stars on Bafta night, while you can check out the six main talking points of the night, as well as relive the show as it happened via our live blog, here. You can find a full list of the winners here. Peru's interim president, Francisco Sagasti, cast his vote in on Sunday in elections populated with a crowded field of presidential hopefuls. The vote takes place under strict public health measures prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has recently strengthened in the South American nation. It also comes months after the countrys political chaos reached a new level in November, when three men were named presidents in a week after one was impeached by Congress over corruption allegations and protests forced his successor to resign. "Avanza Pais" (Go on Country) party, Hernando de Soto, was also seen casting his vote on Sunday, vowing to respect the results. Peruvians have 18 options to pick from in the first round, and up to six candidates are still in with a chance of making it to a second-round in what promises to be the closest election in Peru's history, with no single candidate polling higher than 15 percent at this stage. The country is among those hardest hit by COVID-19, with more than 1.5 million cases and over 53,400 deaths as of Friday. (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) Emirati Coffee, the first Emirati home-grown specialty coffee roastery, reveals a record-breaking growth of 3,135% on online purchases in 2020, spurred by robust demand from consumers for high quality specialty coffee even during the Covid-19 pandemic. The highest recorded online purchase was registered in the first two months of the pandemic starting March 22, 2020, when the UAE started the sterilization campaign to contain COVID-19, when sales rose to a 1763% increase compared to the previous months recorded from January 11 to March 21, 2020. Emirati Coffee supplies specialty coffee to more than 160 outlets internationally and in the UAE. The company sources the highest-scoring specialty coffee from over 30 origins to make it accessible, affordable, and enjoyable for everyone. Coffee was already the number one e-commerce grocery product before 2020 but the pandemic boosted the growth due to greater consumption at home. Coffee buyers cut back on trips to the supermarket and coffee drinkers cant go to the cafes. Consumers resorted to online purchases and with the availability of our own delivery fleet, they were able to get their hands on their cup of coffee, says Mohamed Ali AlMadfai, CEO. The Middle East is one of the fastest growing markets in the world for coffee consumption. Consumers in the region are increasingly drinking coffee for the appreciation of the beverage and their knowledge of the product in terms of origin, roasting degree, unique cup profile, and even the altitude of the farm where the beans were grown. Emirati Coffee is the first coffee company in the region that is vertically integrated in the supply chain with Agri-Tech projects at the farm and producer level, strong partnerships with importers and suppliers, a roastery wholesale business supplying roasted coffee to HORECA clients, a new retail experience boutique opening in YAS Mall Abu Dhabi as the first specialized Emirati Coffee boutique, a Cafe vertical called Knowhere expanding operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a RnD unit constantly creating innovative products like specialty coffee capsules, specialty instant coffee, and canned beverages. Emirati Coffee is in talks with Chinese investors exploring opportunities and planning the introduction of the brand to the Chinese market next year. Having its multiple channels allows Emirati Coffee to cater to the current demand in the UAE which has seen its rise over the past four or so years. The 4000 sq ft roastery located in Al Qouz can process up to 36 tonnes of beans a month. High-grade beans sources from over 30 origins are roasted to offer a wide range of tastes and experiences. Our full control over the process from bean to cup allowed us to achieve our customer promise of having the best quality, price, and service in the market. Its important to us to forge genuine connections with our suppliers, our customers, and our community. We believe in doing our work in a way that is transparent and collaborative. Our thrill lies in the pursuit of mastering the creation of the perfect cup and sharing the knowledge that weve picked up along the way, adds Al Madfai. -- Tradearabia News Service A local man is operating a free-of-charge library in Hanoi, satisfying the reading needs of everybody and creating a convenient space for its visitors to communicate in English. The library, situated on Kim Ma Street in Ba Dinh District, was launched in early 2020 by 40-year-old Nguyen Thanh Trung, who is also called Harry Trung Nguyen. Trung founded an English training center right above the library and uses income from the English teaching to maintain his free facility, which he named Mia Bookhouse. Nguyen Thanh Trung (right) introduces books to visitors at his free library in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. Photo: Hien Huyen / Tuoi Tre The librarys founder enthusiastically welcomes every visitor and assists them in choosing books to read. Mia Bookhouse now has more than 1,000 English books and a small number of books in German that he has collected during his travel to more than 50 countries. In addition, books in Vietnamese may also be found there. This library model has been cherished by my love for my little daughter Mia, Trung said, adding that imbuing children with a habit of reading, especially in those under six, will help promote their development of language, creativity, and imagination. With an aim to make it convenient for children, Trung designed his Mia Bookhouse uniquely, with box-shaped bookshelves and seats being the steps of the wooden staircase connecting the lower and upper parts of the library. Young people read books at Mia Bookhouse, which offers free books in diverse fields, in Hanoi. Photo: Hien Huyen / Tuoi Tre Trung went to Russia and Germany with his family during his childhood and he later visited many other countries. His love for travel and his long working in the tourism sector have developed in him a habit of collecting English books from every country he visited. I especially love children and I pay special attention to learning foreign languages, so I want to create a space for everybody to naturally develop foreign language skills, Trung shared. The library is currently open every Saturday and Sunday morning. It is staffed by teachers who can guide everybody in choice of books and can communicate in English with every visitor, creating a venue for everyone to use or practice their English skills. Books for children here have been selected carefully to ensure they are attractive, interesting, and useful to them, Trung said, adding that he is directly involved in the selection. English books for children are selected carefully to ensure they are attractive and useful to them. Photo: Hien Huyen / Tuoi Tre Trung said he initially created this library to provide English books for children, but he later thought it may be extended to people of different ages. He has therefore added to Mia Bookhouse a lot of books in various fields, such as literature, history, science, economics, and nature, to satisfy the diverse demands of every book enthusiasts. The man has also collected many famous works that are hard to buy as they were published in limited quantities. Trung has recently set up his second free library in the capital, on Nguy Nhu Kon Tum Street in Thanh Xuan District. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! New Delhi: In a shocking incident, a parent in Karnataka wrapped his 18-month-old baby in banana leaves and laid him over a slightly hot charcoal bed at a dargah on Sunday. In the video of the incident, which surfaced on incident shortly after, a man can be seen placing the toddler wrapped in banana leaves on a charcoal bed in Allapur in Dharwad district during Muharram observance. The video showed the baby crying and struggling to escape the heat as smoke kept emanating from the charcoal. The parents of the baby had prayed for a boy two years ago. On their wish being fulfilled, they had come to fulfil their promise. The baby was placed on a bed of charcoal that was doused off. As it was slightly hot, banana leaves were used. It was for just a couple of seconds, police told PTI. Read | Mumbai Shame: Dying women victims of Elphinstone stampede molested, robbed Speaking to the news agency, the police said no case has been registered in connection with the bizarre ritual. However, the Child Welfare Committee has been informed and they are counselling the parents. The incident has come to light only a few days after the Karnataka cabinet cleared its much-awaited legislation to end inhuman evil practices, popularly known as the anti-superstition bill. The proposed Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017 - to be tabled in the next assembly session - seeks to prohibit coercing any person or persons to perform firewalk. (With inputs from agencies) Read | Bihar: Nitish Kumar launches campaign to end dowry, child marriage For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Manitobas top doctor warned outdoor mask requirements and smaller gathering sizes could be on the way for Manitoba, as the province prepares to battle a growing third wave of COVID-19. Manitobas top doctor warned outdoor mask requirements and smaller gathering sizes could be on the way for Manitoba, as the province prepares to battle a growing third wave of COVID-19. New restrictions are expected to be announced later this week to curb the potential impact on the health-care system, as the highly infectious B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant takes hold in Manitoba, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said Monday. "In the first wave, and in the second wave, we've never been helpless. (In) none of these waves have we been helpless. We all know what needs to be done, and when we put it into orders and enforce it, then we see that decline in transmission," he said. Roussin didn't provide details about what Manitobans can expect to see in the next set of rules or how they'll affect businesses, except to say public health officials are trying to strongly encourage outdoor mask use and clamp down on indoor activities. There has been a rise in COVID-19 spread via house parties, sleepovers, play dates and faith-based gatherings a lot of "preventable transmission," Roussin said, some of it traced to returning travellers failing to follow self-isolation rules. People have been holding larger gatherings such as house parties, play dates and sleepovers, says Dr Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press) A couple of cases over the weekend have been linked to travellers who didn't isolate as required; last week, five separate households were implicated in the virus's spread because someone returned from Western Canada without quarantining, Roussin said. "We advise people not to travel for non-essential reasons, but if you did, we need you to protect other Manitobans by isolating when you return. And if we don't have that buy-in, then this is what we see," he said. "If you don't have to travel right now, whether it's in the province or outside the province, don't travel. We're in a third wave now, most of the country's been in a third wave, so there's no reason to travel for non-essential reasons right now." It's unclear what tightened restrictions could mean for schools. Manitoba has not signalled plans to return to widespread remote learning; public health officials are aware of an increase in cases among youth ages 10 to 19, but Roussin said the virus is spreading at gatherings, not at school. On Monday, Manitoba recorded its sixth consecutive day of triple-digit new COVID-19 cases: 114. There were no new deaths reported. The five-day test positivity rate was 6.2 per cent province-wide, and 5.6 per cent in Winnipeg. In the past six days, a total of 772 COVID-19 cases have been reported. On Sunday, 2,030 COVID-19 tests were conducted at provincial labs. Along with the rise in test positivity rates, public health officials are concerned Manitobans with mild symptoms may not be getting tested. Some people have tested positive after only experiencing loss of smell or taste, or having gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, Roussin said. "Have a high degree of suspicion for COVID right now. Isolate if you have even mild symptoms; get tested as soon as possible. We need to stop this transmission in its tracks or we're going to be back to further restrictions," he said. New infections were reported Monday in all health regions: 62 in Winnipeg, 36 in Northern Health, nine in Prairie Mountain, four in Southern Health, and three in Interlake-Eastern. A total of 135 people were in hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19, including 33 in intensive care. RUTH BONNEVILLE It's unclear what tightened restrictions could mean for schools, but so far Manitoba has not signalled plans to return to widespread remote learning. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files) The province is acknowledging the B.1.1.7 variant (first detected in the U.K.) is becoming the dominant strain in Manitoba. The more highly contagious strain accounts for the majority of the province's 412 confirmed cases involving variants. The province has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the Emerson Health Centre in the U.S. border town. A new drive-thru rapid testing location has opened in Winkler for eligible school staff and those working in licensed child-care centres. Appointments are not necessary, though people will be asked if they meet eligibility criteria and to present proof, such as a work identification card or letter for the Fast Pass program. The test site is located at 485 George Ave. Hours of operation are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca Danielle Da Silva Reporter Danielle Da Silva is a general assignment reporter. Read full biography Cambodians are demanding an apology after an Irish artist altered images of the country's genocide victims, including digitally colouring and adding smiles to prisoners facing execution. A group of major Cambodians around the world have demanded a full apology from Irish artist Matt Loughrey and the VICE Asia website after a storm of public anger erupted over images of victims of the infamous Khmer Rouge S-21 prison that had been digitally altered to give them smiles. As of Monday, a petition calling for the artist, Matt Loughrey to apologise had received almost 1,400 signatures, DPA news reported. It also called for an apology from media outlet VICE, which published the photos on April 9. The article has since been removed, with VICE issuing a statement expressing regret and promising an investigation. The photos of prisoners were taken at the notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh run by the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge. In power between 1975 and 1978, the communists oversaw the deaths of more than 1.5 million Cambodians by starvation, disease and execution. The VICE article also included false information about one of the genocide victims, whose relative took to social media to correct the record. In a statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts called the pictures "a violation of the dignity of Cambodian genocide victims". Bangladesh imposes seven-day lockdown, air travel ban from Monday Security forces Ethiopias Oromia state kill 119 suspected rebels Indonesia: Cyclone-related death-toll Death toll from tropical Seroja rises to 177 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. Prince William and Prince Harry put aside their animosity to pay a co-ordinated tribute to their grandfather yesterday. William, 38, described the Duke of Edinburgh as an extraordinary man, spoke of how touched he was by his kindness to Kate and vowed to get on with the job as Philip would have wanted. Harry light-heartedly summed up his grandfather as master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right til the end. Prince William alluded to the support Philip had given him in the days following the death of Princess Diana in 1997 The royal brothers are the first of Philips grandchildren to honour his memory publicly, after his four children each paid tribute at the weekend. Their statements were released independently. Williams was issued by Kensington Palace, Harrys was posted on the website home page of his new US-based organisation, Archewell. But there was a sign the estranged brothers are at least willing to put disagreements aside for the sake of their grandfathers memory by co-ordinating the release of their tributes via Buckingham Palace. Williams tribute was issued at 2pm, followed by Harrys at 2.30pm. Praising his grandfathers sense of duty and service, William, who is at his Anmer Hall home in Norfolk with his family, said: My grandfathers century of life was defined by service to his country and Commonwealth, to his wife and Queen, and to our family. Prince Harry said his grandfather could hold the attention of any room due to his charm 'and because you never knew what he might say next. He also alluded to the support that Philip had given him in the dark days following the death of his mother in 1997. Philip took William and Harry under his wing at Balmoral, taking them out stalking and shooting, and offering to walk beside them behind their mothers funeral cortege. I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life both through good times and the hardest days, William said. And he made a point of singling out how kind Philip had been to his wife Kate. He made clear that he and his wife intended to follow in his footsteps by supporting the Queen and devoting themselves to their public duties. The brothers are the first of Philips grandchildren to honour his memory publicly, after his four children, including Princess Anne (pictured in 1972) paid tribute at the weekend My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation, William wrote. Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support the Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job. Harry, who enjoyed an equally warm relationship with their grandfather, described him as a man of service, honour, and great humour. He wrote: He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm and also because you never knew what he might say next. The prince, 36, said his grandfather would be remembered as the longest reigning consort in British history, a decorated serviceman, a prince and a duke adding: But to me... he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter and cheeky right til the end. In a nod to Philips well-known impatience, Harry added: He has been a rock for Her Majesty The Queen with unparalleled devotion, by her side for 73 years of marriage, and while I could go on, I know that right now he would say to all of us, beer in hand, Oh do get on with it! So, on that note, Grandpa, thank you for your service, your dedication to Granny, and for always being yourself. Harry said he, Meghan, Archie and Philips future great-granddaughter they are expecting this summer will always hold a special place for you in our hearts. He concluded with the Latin motto of the Royal Marines, Per Mare, Per Terram, meaning by sea, by land. Philip was, for 64 years, Captain General of the Royal Marines, a role he handed down to Harry when he retired in 2017. Although the role was initially held in abeyance after Harry and Meghan announced their plans to quit royal duties, the Queen decided she had no choice but to ask him to give it up this year. Harry was said to be deeply angered by the decision. Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed how Philip regretted his grandsons decision to quit royal life and thought it was not the right thing either for the country or themselves. He thought their decision to do a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey was madness and that no good would come of it. But biographer Gyles Brandreth said Philip also believed Harry was a good man who had to live his own life. Facebook plans to introduce a dedicated news product by the end of the year, as executives deny the company tried to intimidate the parliament during the media bargaining code negotiations. The government agreed to change the code after the tech giant banned Australian users from accessing news. The social media giant's vice president of policy for the Asia Pacific region Simon Milner faced questions at a Senate inquiry on Monday about the news ban. Asked if it was a move to intimidate the parliament, Mr Milner said: 'Absolutely not'. Facebook has announced plans to introduce a dedicated news product for Australians users just two months after the social media company banned those Down Under from accessing news content on the site A raft of other pages including emergency services were netted in the news ban. 'There were certainly errors in our enforcement for which we're truly sorry,' Facebook's director of policy in Australia Mia Garlick told the inquiry. The company has not yet been designated under the code and is instead working to sign commercial deals with Australian news companies. Ms Garlick said there were deals or letters of intent with six news organisations - Seven, News Corp, Schwartz Media, Private Media, Solstice Media and Sky News. Facebook is talking with other companies in a bid to sign more deals but Mr Milner would not say how many they hoped to strike by the end of the year. Ms Garlick would not say how much the deals were worth. Facebook News, a separate feed only containing news, is set to be launched by the end of this year 'Historically we've paid tens of millions of dollars to publishers and these deals that we're concluding at present are three-year deals,' she said. Facebook is not looking at standard offers for smaller publishers. The social media behemoth plans to introduce its Facebook News product - a separate feed only containing news - to Australian users by the end of the year. One of the company's main gripes over the media code, which would force it to pay for content from Australian news organisations, was that the value it added was not properly taken into account. Ms Garlick said Facebook users were referred to news websites 5.1 billion times last year, at an estimated value of $407 million. Over the past few years, Naturalis has painstakingly made 3D scans of every single bone in Trix the T.rex's skeleton. Based on these scans, a modeler made a three dimensional design and reconstructed the bones that were missing. This design was printed in 2020, a 12.5 meter (41 feet) replica weighing about 300 kgs (660 lbs). Employees of Naturalis and the Leiden School for Instrument Makers (LIS) then assembled the prints into a kit that is easier to assemble. This way, the Dinosaur Museum in Nagasaki will not receive hundreds of separate prints, but "only" 50 larger parts. DIY Dinosaur They're going to have to assemble those themselves, aided by Naturalis through online meetings. "We were planning to travel to Japan together with the replica and help put it together there, but the travel restrictions due to the coronavirus make the journey impossible', project leader Hanneke Jacobs says. Due to the virus, Naturalis was closed during almost the entire construction period, she explains: "We built the replica in our atrium because we wanted to share the process with as many visitors as possible, so it's kind of sad that we had to close." Nagasaki The original Trix will stay in Holland, but if you want to see the 3D printed version, you'll have to go to Japan. The town of Leiden, where Naturalis is located, is twinned with Nagasaki, where in October 2021 a new Dinosaur Museum will open. There, the replica will stand on a metal frame that goes through the plastic bones. "Of course, we don't drill holes in bones that are over 66 million years old", Jacobs explains, "But you can do it with the print." Because the frame is on the inside, visitors can get an even better look at the bones. Naturalis' Builder 3D Extreme 1500 Printers have been put to slightly easier jobs since then. "For instance, we printed the tip of the Mont Blanc for our friends in Haarlem's Teylers Museum", Jacobs says. "We're not doing anything monster sized - for now." ### In a still image from video, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill speaks with legal teams on the 11th day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, on April 12, 2021. (Pool via Reuters) Derek Chauvin Trial Judge Rejects Motion to Sequester Jury Over Violence Concerns Rioting erupted after police fatally shot a man who was wanted on warrant The judge presiding over the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on April 12 rejected a motion from the defense to sequester the jury. Chauvins lawyer, Eric Nelson, asked Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to order that jurors be isolated because of violence that erupted on April 11 after a black man was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop and died in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis. This is obviously a high-profile case. This is a case that evokes a lot of emotion for a lot of people. Ultimately, your honor, the question becomes, will the jury be confident to make a decision regardless of the potential outcome of their decision? Nelson said. The emotional response that that case creates sets the stage for the jury to say, Im not going to vote not guilty because Im concerned about the outcome.' This incident last night highlightsand I think brings it to the forefront of the jurys mindsetthat a verdict in this case is going to have consequences, said Nelson, who said he believes the jury should have been sequestered since the beginning of the trial. Theyve been exposed to that already. At least one juror lives in Brooklyn Center, which is about 10 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Nelson also asked the court to voir dire jurors to ask whether they had heard of the shooting and to see whether, if they had, the events would have any impact on their decision-making process. And he recommended jurors be cautioned daily to avoid all media. Steve Schleicher, one of the states prosecutors, argued against the motion. I dont believe that sequestration would be a remedy that would be appropriate or, frankly, effective in this manner. This is a different case. Its a different department. It is an officer-involved shooting. It is something that happened nearby, he said. World events happen. Things continue to happen in this state, despite the fact that were all here in trial. Thats just what happens, and we cant have every single world event that might affect somebodys attitude or emotional state or anything be grounds to come back and re-voir dire all the jurors. In this image from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, discusses motions before the court as the defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and Nelsons assistant Amy Voss, back, listen as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over the trial of Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, on April 12, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool) A demonstrator jumps off a police cruiser during civil unrest after an officer-involved shooting in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11, 2021. (Nick Pfosi/Reuters) Cahill, the judge, denied all of Nelsons requests. This is a totally different case. And I realize theres civil unrest, and maybe some of the jurors did hear about that, he said. The reason why, in my initial order, I said we were not going to sequester but we might go to it in the middle of trial ifthe concern there was despite keeping jurors anonymous, that somebody may find out who one of the jurors is and then reach out and have an inappropriate attempt to tamper with the jury. We have no indication thats happened in this case. The judge said he worried about the impact of sequestration. I understand the argument from the defense that this now puts them even more ill at ease. But I think sequestration would only aggravate that. Oh, I heard about civil unrest and now the judge is putting us into sequestration. There must be a greater threat to our security,' he said. There are plans to isolate jurors on April 19, when closing arguments take place and the jury weighs whether to convict or acquit. Chauvin is on trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd. avid_creative / Getty Images BRIDGEPORT Two people were sent to a hospital with non-life threatening gunshot wounds Sunday, according to an official. Those individuals were wounded to the arm and the other to the face, emergency management director Scott Appleby said. Following early morning report from the citys ShotSpotter system, officials responded and saw the victims on Sheridan Street, according to Appleby. With the vote of the majority of legislators, the National Assembly (NA) on April 8 morning adopted a resolution approving the newly-elected prime ministers proposal to appoint 12 new ministers and cabinet members for the 2021 2025 tenure. Crude oil prices had a rocky start to 2021. There are plenty of wildcards which will continue to fuel price volatility for the foreseeable future, the most notable being supply threats with global oil production expected to expand despite sharply diminished demand growth. One such event is whether Venezuela, after suffering one of the worst economic collapses witnessed outside of war, can rebuild its shattered energy sector and return to pre-2017 production levels to pump more than two million barrels per day. Venezuelas autocratic president Nicolas Maduro believes this is achievable and has been steadily implementing a range of radical measures designed to trigger an oil industry recovery. The strife-torn founding OPEC members petroleum potential is tremendous. Aside from having the worlds largest crude oil reserves of over 303 billion barrels, in the space of little over three years Venezuelas crude oil output collapsed, plunging from over 2.1 million barrels per day in 2016 to a mere 500,000 barrels daily during 2020. Once Hugo Chavez assumed the presidency in 1999, initiating his socialist Bolivarian revolution, Venezuelas petroleum production started steadily declining. Crude oil output plummeted from a record 3.1 million barrels daily in 1998 to less than 2.4 million barrels when Maduro took power in 2013. That decline was accelerated by Washington steadily ratcheting up sanctions against the autocratic Maduro regime, eventually cutting Caracas off from global energy and financial markets. This the Trump administration believed would spark regime change in the crisis-rife petrostate and see internationally recognized interim president Juan Guaido assume power. Whereas it only strengthened Maduros grip on power despite severely constraining the volume of crude oil Venezuela could export to generate export earnings hastening the strife-torn Latin American countrys economic collapse. As the economy rapidly shrank, Caracas was unable to muster the capital necessary to perform vital maintenance and development activities on energy infrastructure and oilfields. That was responsible for accelerating the deterioration of crucial operational assets causing production to decline at an ever-greater clip. As critical oil infrastructure corroded further because of a lack of investment and vital maintenance spending crude oil output cascaded ever lower causing Venezuelas economy to collapse. Related: Saudi Oil Minister: OPEC+ Strategy Is Not Set In Stone Based on OPEC data, Venezuelas collapse has taken almost 1.9 million barrels daily off global supply since 2013, yet that did little to prevent the global crude oil supply glut which emerged in late-2014 caused prices to collapse. It is speculated that if Maduro can attract the much-needed investment required to rebuild Venezuelas petroleum infrastructure he could quite quickly, lift oil production to over one million barrels daily. That could potentially rile oversupplied global crude oil markets causing prices to plummet. Global crude oil supply is being artificially reduced by the OPEC Plus production caps and Saudi Arabias unilateral one million barrels per day production cut. This is occurring in an environment where energy demand remains weak, with the International Energy Agency stating earlier this year that crude oil consumption is incapable of recovering to pre-pandemic levels. That does not bode well for long-term oil prices in a world where an existing supply glut is being suppressed by artificial means. In late 2016 the first OPEC Plus production deal was reached cutting 1.8 million barrels of crude from global supplies. Since then, the consortium has gradually increased the output caps to drain global oil storage and reduce the supply glut. After the pandemic and a looming price war hit energy markets hard causing oil prices to crash, OPEC Plus agreed to cut almost 10 million barrels of crude oil from global supply. While those cuts were gradually eased over the course of 2020 the consortium is still holding back around eight million barrels of crude oil production per day, when including Saudi Arabias unilateral one million barrels, from global supply. At the March 2021 OPEC Plus meeting it was agreed to progressively unwind those cuts, adding 350,000 barrels per day in May 2021, another 350,000 during June and 450,000 barrels in July. That will apply pressure to global oil prices, particularly if a range of non-OPEC producers, including the U.S. and Brazil, keep growing production. The deep cuts already made by OPEC Plus, including Riyadhs one million barrels per day which triggered a spat with key customer India, makes it unlikely that the consortium can absorb the additional oil production a resurgent Venezuela will add. Nevertheless, there are a range of issues indicating that unlike Iran, where U.S. sanctions may shortly be eased, Venezuela will be unable to significantly bolster oil production. Strict U.S. sanctions aimed at controlling Venezuelas access to global energy markets, which aimed to penalize companies breaking them, will remain in place for the foreseeable future. That is despite President Joe Biden having flagged that he recognizes the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the strife-torn Latin American country and is reconsidering how sanctions are applied to Venezuela to ease the disaster that is unfolding. A key sticking point for Washington to remove sanctions is Maduro must accede power to U.S. recognized interim president Juan Guaido. There is every indication that Maduro will not comply with this requirement. Related: Italian Oil Heiress Arrested In Major Mafia Bust Against the perceived odds, Venezuelas autocratic leader has firmly cemented his grip on power. In the December 2020 elections he won control of Venezuelas National Assembly and removed Juan Guaido from his seat and role as speaker. The cost for Maduro to leave power far outweighs any attempts to retain power. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Maduro as well as current and former senior members of his regime along with two Colombian dissident FARC guerilla commanders with a variety of criminal offences. Among the most serious are indictments for narco-terrorism, corruption and drug trafficking, which could see him, and his co-accused, spend decades or longer in U.S. custody. That is a particularly strong deterrent for stepping down. There are signs that since Guaido lost his seat in Venezuelas National Assembly his legitimacy as interim president and leader of the opposition has declined significantly while further fracturing the opposition to Maduro. That further decreases the likelihood of Venezuelas disparate groups opposed to the autocratic regime in Caracas being able to solidify the required popular mass to topple the regime, particularly with many Venezuelans having fled the country or focused solely on survival. Aside from the inability to remove Maduro from power, even the measures being taken by Caracas aimed at allowing private control of petroleum projects and assets will fail to attract the required investment. Venezuelas shattered energy sector needs massive amounts of investment to bring crude oil production back to over two million barrels per day. Estimates vary but there is an emerging consensus that it would take $200 billion or more invested over a decade to ramp production up to 2.6 million barrels per day, which is where it was in 2005. No private energy company will invest the vast amounts required because of U.S. sanctions, a history of nationalization and serious security issues in many regional areas in Venezuela. Caracas is struggling to control its national territory with a wide variety of Venezuela and Colombian illegal armed groups operating in the rural areas where much of the countrys oilfields are located. For these reasons, any sustained recovery of Venezuelas petroleum industry appears a long way off. In fact, analysts are predicting that production will continue to decline. Some, including those at S&P Platts, estimate it will fall below 300,000 barrels daily during 2021 regardless of the assistance provided by Russia and Iran. OPEC production data for the first two months of 2021 shows that Venezuela pumped on average 488,000 barrels daily during January and 521,000 for February or less than a quarter of the 2.4 million barrels daily produced in 2013 when Maduro came to power. While the decline may not be as severe as forecast, Venezuelas 2021 oil output will continue to deteriorate until Caracas can attract the capital required to rebuild shattered energy infrastructure and oilfields. That means Venezuelas efforts to boost petroleum production will not bolster global supply nor force OPEC Plus to adjust production caps or threaten crude oil prices. The Biden administration, while recently showing a reticence to fully enforce sanctions by allowing three Iranian tankers loaded with gasoline to dock in Venezuela, is unlikely to lift sanctions in their entirety. By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: DETROIT, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), a Detroit-based holding company consisting of tech-driven real estate, mortgage and eCommerce businesses including Rocket Mortgage, Amrock, Rocket Homes and Rocket Auto was today ranked the #5 best place to work in America in Fortune Magazine's annual ranking of the "100 Best Companies to Work For." This marks the 18th consecutive year the company has ranked in the top 30 on the prestigious list. In addition, just last month, Fortune named Rocket Companies #1 on its "Best Large Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance" list. Rocket Companies' recognition among the five best workplaces in the nation demonstrates the strength and power of its inclusive culture, which is driven by 20 ISMs, or core company values. It is because of this that the company put its 24,000 team members first during the pandemic ensuring they were safe, healthy and supported while they serve the company's clients. Initiatives launched in 2020 to support team members and the community included: Rest and Relaxation: To encourage team members to make wellness a priority, Rocket Companies launched a Rest and Relaxation (R&R) program offering a paid day off that did not count against team members' vacation bank, added calendar flexibility and several scheduled breaks throughout the day. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan: The company engaged in conversations with team members and community leaders to develop a six-point strategic plan for advancing action on the topics of race, law enforcement engagement, inclusion and more. Community Support: In its hometown of Detroit , Rocket Companies helped prevent eviction and homelessness, supported the distribution of essential resources and even developed the software and infrastructure for the City of Detroit's COVID-19 testing and later vaccine programs. "Everything we do is framed by our culture and by our ISMs. Over the past year, we have been guided by the ISM 'We'll Figure it Out' as we navigated the challenges introduced by the pandemic while still creating the best possible experience for our team members," said Jay Farner, Rocket Companies' CEO and Vice Chairman. "When COVID-19 began spreading across the country in the U.S., we rapidly launched measures to promote the health and safety of our team members, clients and communities. Because we took care of our people and made sure they had everything they needed to support our clients, we experienced record growth in 2020 even as the vast majority of us worked from home." Rocket Companies transitioned 98 percent of team members to work remotely in early March 2020 and purchased nearly $15 million in equipment over the course of the pandemic to ensure all teams could effectively collaborate in a virtual setting. Throughout the year, the company continued hiring individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including some who were unemployed because of the effect COVID-19 had on the economy. All hiring, onboarding and training was done virtually, and Rocket Companies mailed computers and any additional needed technology to new team members. The assistance from the organization went beyond its own people and extended into the local communities as well. The Rocket Community Fund, the philanthropic arm of the company, along with the Gilbert Family Foundation, a nonprofit established by Rocket Companies founder Dan Gilbert and his wife Jennifer, donated more than $10 million to local non-profits to address the impact of COVID-19 on local residents. "We consider ourselves a 'for-more-than-profit' company. This means we are guided by the philosophy of investing some of our successes into the communities around us," said Farner. "We are proud to use our skills and resources to improve the lives of our neighbors." According to the survey that determined Fortune's ranking, an impressive 97 percent of team members said they feel good about the ways the organization contributes to the community. Since 2010, Rocket Companies team members have spent more than 417,000 hours volunteering with community groups in Detroit and more than 816,000 hours volunteering nationwide. In the same timeframe, the organization has directly contributed more than $200 million to its philanthropic efforts. In addition to its work in the community, Rocket Companies recognizes that creating an industry-leading technology firm starts by establishing an inclusive work environment that supports team members in their various roles throughout the organization. The company has a team solely dedicated to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion which focuses on the strategic implementation of programs, activities, recruiting efforts, partnerships and more. As a result of these efforts, 98 percent of Rocket Companies team members surveyed by Fortune and Great Place to Work say they feel welcome when they join the company. On top of that, 95 percent of team members say it is a great place to work and 95 percent agree they are proud to tell others they work for the company. Rocket Companies and Rocket Mortgage have demonstrated that an inclusive and award-winning workplace leads to award-winning client service. Rocket Mortgage has been ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Primary Mortgage Origination in the United States by J.D. Power for 11 consecutive years. The company was also ranked #1 by J.D. Power for mortgage servicing for the past seven consecutive years each year the company was eligible. Fortune Magazine partners with the Great Place to Work Institute to develop a comprehensive team member survey to identify the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Companies are measured and ranked through the analysis of the results of a Trust Index survey and Culture Brief. Through the survey, team members anonymously assess their workplace, including the honesty and quality of communication by leaders, degree of support for personal and professional lives and the authenticity of relationships with colleagues. The Culture Brief includes detailed questions about benefits, programs and practices. To learn more about career opportunities and apply, visit MyRocketCareer.com. About Rocket Companies Rocket Companies is a Detroit-based holding company consisting of personal finance and consumer technology brands including Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Rocket Loans, Rocket Auto, Rock Central, Amrock, Core Digital Media, Rock Connections, Lendesk and Edison Financial. Since 1985, Rocket Companies has been obsessed with helping its clients achieve the American dream of home ownership and financial freedom. Rocket Companies offers an industry-leading client experience powered by our simple, fast and trusted digital solutions. Rocket Companies has approximately 24,000 team members across the United States and Canada. Rocket Companies ranked #5 on Fortune's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2021 and has placed in the top third of the list for 18 consecutive years. For more information, please visit our Corporate Website , Investor Relations Website , Twitter page , and our LinkedIn page . SOURCE Rocket Companies, Inc. Related Links https://www.rocketcompanies.com Even assuming thats a legitimate excuse not to run vaccination clinics for age-eligible students at CPS schools, there are numerous mass vaccination sites across the city that have been offering the Pfizer vaccine, he said, ... and there is one person in charge of CDPH and CPS and that is the mayor and she as the power to prioritize and set aside doses for CPS students and families and if that means doing it at existing mass vaccination sites that are set up to carry Pfizer already, then lets do that, but the excuse we are getting from CPS leadership are wearing thin at this point. This would be a win for the school district, for the city, for the mayor, for the union, for everyone, and we need the citys partnership to get it done. Gov. Gavin Newsom once again found himself mocked on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" after announcing plans to fully reopen the state June 15. Newsom denied that the reopening is being influenced by a looming recall election, stating that health officials believe every adult who wants a vaccine will have gotten one by June 15. This week's "Weekend Update" mostly featured jokes on the current predicament of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, but at the very end of the segment, co-host Colin Jost focused his fire on the California governor. "California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who asks his barber for the 'American Psycho,' has announced a reopening plan that critics are saying is just a distraction from the governor's many scandals," Jost said with a side-by-side of Newsom and Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman. Jost continued, "It's a move that has other governors asking, 'Did it work?'" before showing a photo of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a similarly beleaguered governor. The Newsom segment starts at about the 2:50 mark in the video above. Even though onlookers believe Newsom's two-months-in-advance announcement is politically motivated, health experts generally believe the state will be safe to reopen at that time. "I think its measured," UCSF's Dr. George Rutherford told SFGATE last week. "I think its the right move. Its a kind of five-way battle royale, between variants, peoples willingness to comply, peoples fatigue with masks and the whole thing, vaccine supplies holding out, and the other big piece for me is the adolescent approvals for vaccines. I think hes taking a chance were going to be able to avoid the variants with our high vaccination rate." They are the Australian women who dont officially exist. These former wives of Islamic State fighters are believed to be stuck inside the squalid al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria but there is no record of them. The federal government says it has not ruled out the possibility that some Australians remain in the camp but cannot confirm their existence. A team from the International Committee for the Red Cross visited the al-Hawl camp last month. Credit:ICRC Last September, it was reported Kurdish officials swooped into al-Hawl and moved 20 Australian women and their 47 children to another detention centre, al-Roj, 100 kilometres away. At the time, it was believed all the Australians had been moved. The aim was to reduce pressure on the foreigners section in al-Hawl by moving out less radical women and their children. But according to multiple sources within the Australian government and in Syria, up to four Australian women remain inside al-Hawl, while around 15 Australian women and 40 children are in the al-Roj camp. Sugar mills have exported 2.49 million tonnes of the sweetener so far in the ongoing 2020-21 marketing year ending September, with maximum shipments to Indonesia, trade body AISTA said on Monday. Mills have contracted to export 3.33 million tonnes of sugar so far as against the 6 million tonnes quota assigned by the food ministry, All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) said in a statement. With five months still left for the 2020-21 marketing year to end, the association feels the mills have the potential to fulfil their export commitments. The sugar marketing year runs from October to September. According to AISTA, mills have exported a total of 2.49 million tonne of sugar from January 1 till April 9, 2021. An additional 3,03,450 tonne of sugar is in transit and delivered to port-based refineries. "We are well on track to complete the 6 million tonne export target this year. Indonesia, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka were top three buyers," AISTA Vice-Chairman Rahil Shaikh told PTI. Last year, Iran was the top export destination for Indian sugar. This year, exports to Iran did not take place due to currency issues, he said. " for the first time matched its quality specifications with India, which allowed Indonesian traders to start buying sugar from India. Also, Brazil had off-season during December-March of this marketing year, which gave us an opportunity to tap more," Shaikh noted. Otherwise, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are regular sugar buyers, while a new entrant this year has been the UAE, he said. Of the total exports undertaken so far, AISTA said mills exported 9,61,594 tonne of sugar to Indonesia, 3,08,302 tonne to Afghanistan and 2,46,391 tonne to Sri Lanka till April 9, 2021. Asked if the export target will be met this year, Shaikh said, "We expect total physical exports to reach 5.5 million tonne this year. About 0.5 million tonne could roll over to the next marketing year because of monsoon and lockdown related issues, although there is the demand to cater to the entire 6 million tonne". The slowdown in exports could be due to weather anomalies during the June-September quarter and logistic difficulties following the pandemic, he added. AISTA, which completes five years this month, said it will soon revise upward domestic sugar production estimates to 35 million tonne for the 2020-21 marketing year from earlier projections of 29.9 million tonne. Consumption will be pegged at 25.5 million tonne. (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.) MoIT proposes 35 percent cap on foreign investment in petrol market The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed a 35 percent cap on foreign investment in local oil and petrol businesses, but said it was open to scrapping the regulation. A petrol station of Petrolimex (Photo: VNA) The proposal is part of the draft revision and supplement of several articles in Government Decree No 83/2014/ND-CP on petrol and oil trading, which currently does not regulate a cap on foreign investment in the sector. The ministry said 24 out of 25 comments from Government members approved the draft decree with the 35 percent cap, while one disagreed. The MoIT said foreign investment into the local petrol and oil market has caused controversy over the years and the Ministries of Public Security, Planning and Investment, and Finance have long had concerns about energy security, legality and the intrinsic benefits of investment from foreign firms. The MoIT said despite these concerns, several firms already have sizeable foreign ownership, including Petrolimex (20 percent owned by foreign investors), PVOil (35 percent) and BSR (49 percent) through equitisation, capital mobilisation and receiving approval from the Prime Minister. All the above firms have operated stably. Foreign investors have contributed to a significant improvement in governance and transparency in financial statements, improving efficiency and competitiveness, while helping businesses increase their value, the MoIT said. According to the ministry, foreign investors have abided by Vietnamese laws and regulations in the sector, but a lack of specific regulations on the shareholding ratios of foreign investors has caused confusion among domestic firms and regulators when discussing investment and capital increases. The issue has even caused a lack of consistency in the shareholding rate when listing on the stock exchange. In addition to the State-owned enterprises that have been permitted to sell stakes to foreign investors by the PM upon equitisation, there are thousands of listed petroleum companies that wish to attract foreign investors. Foreign businesses are also interested in their stocks but face difficulties due to the lack of clear and specific regulations. These issues prompted the draft revision of the decree and the ministry is in favour of the 35 percent cap. The proposal to open the petroleum market stems from the needs of domestic petroleum businesses, not from foreign enterprises, said the MoIT, adding that many countries have opened their petroleum markets such as China, Singapore, Thailand and Japan. The ministry said petroleum enterprises, regardless of economic sector, when doing business in Vietnam, must comply with the conditions and provisions of this decree and other documents. Any stake transfer is an indirect investment activity that does not allow enterprises to directly exercise the right to distribute petroleum in Vietnam. The exercise of the right to distribute petroleum in the country is only possible when a foreign enterprise establishes a branch in Vietnam. A police officer uses a spray agent on Caron Nazario on Dec. 20, 2020, in Windsor, Va. Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, is suing two Virginia police officers over a traffic stop during which he says the officers drew their guns and pointed them at him as he was dressed in uniform. (Windsor Police via AP) Virginia Officer Fired After Holding Army Lieutenant at Gunpoint During Traffic Stop A Virginia police officer who pepper-sprayed an army officer during a traffic stop last year has been fired, the Windsor Police Department announced on April 11. Joe Gutierrez was one of the officers seen threatening Lt. Caron Nazario at gunpoint during the traffic stop at a gas station on Dec. 5, 2020. The incident first drew attention after Nazario sued the two officers, alleging that they had acted in a discriminatory manner and violated his constitutional rights. 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 said. Body camera footage of the incident obtained by The Associated Press shows Nazario, who is black and Latino, dressed in his uniform holding his hands up as the two officers with their guns drawn demand he get out of his car. Nazario didnt immediately comply, telling the officers that he was honestly afraid to get out. One of the officers could be heard saying: Yeah, you should be! Get out! Get out! At one point, Gutierrez was seen spraying Nazario with pepper spray multiple times at close range while he was still sitting in his car with his hands up. Gutierrez then ordered Nazario again to get out of the car. Nazario eventually complied. Nazario could be heard asking the police officers to explain what was going on, as the two officers tried to force the Army officer to the ground. When Nazario asked for a supervisor, Gutierrez delivered knee-strikes to the lieutenants legs, knocking him to the ground, the lawsuit said. Gutierrez also allegedly told Nazario during the incident that he was fixin to ride the lightning, which the lawsuit claims Nazario interpreted as a colloquial expression for an execution by an electric chair. The Epoch Times has been told by law enforcement officers that they commonly use the term to refer to the use of a taser on a suspect. The pursuit and ultimate stop resulted in the use of pepper spray against Lt. Nazario by Officer Gutierrez, Windsor Police Department said in a statement. The department stated it had conducted an internal investigation to determine the appropriateness of the actions and determined that the officers hadnt followed police department policy. This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment. The Town of Windsor has requested the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation. The Associated Press reported that during the incident the officer, Daniel Crocker, who initially encountered Nazario radioed that he was attempting to stop a vehicle with no rear license plate and tinted windows. He said that he believed the driver was a high-risk traffic stop because he was eluding police. Nazarios attorney Jonathan Arthur told AP on April 9 that Nazario wasnt trying to elude the officer but was searching for a well-lit area for officer safety and out of respect for the officers. Gutierrez, who was driving by, heard Crockers call and decided to join the traffic stop. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said on April 11 that he was ordering the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation on the December traffic stop. The incident in Windsor is disturbing and angered meand I am directing the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation, Northam wrote in a statement. Arthur had also told AP that Nazario, who graduated from Virginia State University, had been commissioned out of their Reserve Officer Training Corps program, and was returning home that day. He said Nazario was not doing too well after the incident. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The article was updated with further clarification about the term ride the lightning. On Wednesday, the Albanian government ended a strike by air traffic controllers in the capital city of Tirana with a massive deployment of military and police force. Twenty-eight strikers were temporarily arrested. The air traffic controllers were protesting for an increase in their salaries and against the dismissal of colleagues. Police vehicles arrive at Tirana airport A total of 65 air traffic controllers stopped work for 24 hours on Tuesday evening. As Tirana airport is the only international airport in the country available for passenger flights, the strike had an immediate impact. More than a dozen flights had to be canceled. Parts of the airport are also used for military purposes. To break the strike, the Ministry of Infrastructure hired air traffic controllers from Turkey and Greece. The work stoppage was directed against the brutal wage cuts and dismissals that the operating company AlbControll had ordered last year. The company was founded in 1992 as a state-owned company and became a public limited company in 1999. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year, it has cut air traffic controllers salaries by almost 70 percent and most recently laid off five workers. The strikers demanded a return to the agreed pay level and the reinstatement of the dismissed colleagues. The dispute began after five workers reported temporarily off duty due to stress. Immediately afterwards, two of them were dismissed. As a result, 30 other workers declared themselves unfit for work in solidarity. Even before that, the company had repeatedly threatened the workers with sanctions if they did not accept the wage cuts. A week earlier, negotiations with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy failed to produce results because the government justified and supported the wage cuts. The public prosecutors office has opened proceedings for abuse of authority. At least 24 of the air traffic controllers were interrogated for hours by police, according to their lawyer Rezart Kthupi. Two are still in custody, and one is under house arrest. Government and opposition parties alike condemned the strike. Several politicians called the walkout a threat to national security. Prime Minister Edi Rama called it illegal and railed against the strikers at an event. These destructive forces, these totally blind forces, these forces of the past that want to take the country hostage by any means, they have no chance to stop us. Albanian President Ilir Meta expressed similar sentiments. Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku also declared, No one will take our country hostage. She demanded the strikers be punished with full force, saying they had endangered the safety of the population. On the other hand, the air traffic controllers lawyer stressed that the workers had acted under applicable laws and guidelines. One air traffic controller told Fax News TV he felt threatened by Ballukus remarks. I dont know how I can continue working like this. The Association of European Air Traffic Controllers (ATCEUC) said it was appalled by the events and called for the immediate release of their detained colleagues. The brutal crackdown on the air traffic controllers is intended to make an example of anyone who dares to rebel against exploitation and oppression. The vast majority of the population of the Balkan country is in a desperate situation. Even before the pandemic, the average wage in Albania was the equivalent of just 500 euros. Since then, thousands have been laid off or had their wages cut. Many of the approximately one million Albanians working abroad because of the catastrophic situation have also lost their income and could not transfer money home to their families. According to the official unemployment surveys, which are not very convincing, the number of unemployed increased by 36,000 people last year. Hundreds of small businesses were forced to close. There is no state aid for ordinary working people. The IMF recently revised its growth forecast downwards by 1.1 percentage points from October. In 2020, the economy contracted by 3.5 percent, and the GDP fell by 3.3 percent. The ruthlessness of the political elite is particularly evident in the pandemic. Since November last year, the number of COVID-19 infections has risen steadily. In the country of 2.8 million inhabitants, it reached almost 1,200 a day in February. The countrys already ailing hospitals were completely overwhelmed; only then did the government impose some measures to protect the population. Even vaccinations have only recently been made available on a larger scale. But this is only because the tourism industry will be reopened in the summer. For this reason, workers in this sector are to be vaccinated as a priority. On April 11, 12 deaths and 529 new infections were still reported. All the establishment parties are completely discredited. The campaign for the parliamentary elections on April 25 is essentially a political mudslinging contest. Although the parties have different roots, their election programmes hardly differ. None of them addresses the dramatic social situation. Instead, they all promise tax cuts, business support and the fight against corruption. The Socialist Party (PS) of government leader Edi Rama won the last election by a large margin and was able to govern alone. The PD (Democrats) and the LSI (Socialist Movement for Integration) were punished electorally and have been in opposition ever since. Ramas PS and the LSI have been playing the nationalist card. Rama again brought up the idea of unification with Kosovo that could lead to fierce conflicts and possibly a war with Serbia, which has never recognised Kosovo's independence. This was fuelled by the cancellation of EU accession negotiations with Albania last year after the Dutch government opposed it. The countrys political elite fears strikes and protests by the working class. Last week, opposition leader Lulzim Basha (PD) therefore promised miners a new law on labour protection if his party won the elections. In the last three years alone, 19 miners have died in Albania. The number of injured is not known because nonfatal incidents are not reported in the first place. Yet not a single company has been held accountable. In 2019, miners in Bulqiza had formed their own union and went on strike accusing the government and established unions of working in the interests of the private mining companies. FORT MILL, S.C., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RoundPoint Mortgage, a national originations, servicing, and subservicing mortgage company, today announced its new leadership team, including Patrick McEnerney as chief executive officer, Joseph M. Gormley as chief administrative officer, and Scott Bristol as executive vice president of retail lending. McEnerney, who was appointed by RoundPoint's board of directors, has over three decades of experience in the mortgage banking and financial services industries. He joined Freedom Mortgage in August 2020 as executive vice president and later took the helm at RoundPoint following the merger between both companies. McEnerney spent the prior 14 years as managing director of Deutsche Bank, where he oversaw a broad range of residential mortgage and mortgage securitization activities, including large projects in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Prior to Deutsche Bank, he was executive vice president at EverBank, president of PricelineMortgage and president of The Bank of New York Mortgage Company. Gormley has a broad background in financial services and housing policy. Prior to joining RoundPoint last month, he held several senior positions at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most recently, he served as the Federal Housing Administration's deputy assistant secretary for single family housing, where he was responsible for all of FHA's single-family mortgage insurance operations, including origination and servicing policy, information technology strategy, and quality control. Earlier in his career, Gormley worked as an attorney at two national trade associations in Washington, D.C. where he focused on regulatory compliance issues and policies on government backed mortgage lending. Bristol, who has over 25 years of experience in the retail mortgage sector, joined RoundPoint last week to lead retail business development. Previously, Bristol served as senior vice president and manager of national mortgage production at Flagstar Bank. In that role, he oversaw the company's retail mortgage strategy, including a technology roadmap of its national retail mortgage operation, expansion of the company's national footprint, and optimization of its loan origination platform to support loan officers. Prior to Flagstar Bank, he served as president and national sales manager of Prime Lending, where he helped grow the company's retail division from $2 billion in annual mortgage volume to $15 billion. "I'm delighted to have the opportunity to steer RoundPoint as it continues to grow," said McEnerney. "RoundPoint is currently building a national production platform and is on track to become a major subservicer. I'm honored to be working with an exceptional group of mortgage professionals and excited to welcome Joe and Scott to the team as well. Together, we will carry on RoundPoint's history of providing exceptional customer service, while expanding the business model in new directions and ensuring our employees have the resources they need to succeed." About RoundPoint Mortgage RoundPoint is a proud member of the Freedom Mortgage Corporation family of companies. The company is a large national originations, servicing, and subservicing mortgage company with principal offices located in Fort Mill, SC and Dallas, TX. The company offers loan originations, loan servicing, loan purchasing, and a Homeownership Marketplace designed to provide a single location for customers to easily access products and services related to homeownership. The company has retail branch offices throughout the country with loan officers specializing in local market knowledge to ensure the delivery of the right lending product for customers. RoundPoint is on point for all things home. For more information, please visit RoundPointMortgage.com. RoundPoint Media Contact: Shari Leff, Senior Vice President [email protected] (704) 426-8623 SOURCE RoundPoint Mortgage Related Links https://www.roundpointmortgage.com Turkey is ready to assist in resolving the situation in eastern Ukraine. "We exchanged views on the situation in eastern Ukraine. We are convinced and we believe that the situation should be resolved peacefully, within the framework of international law, based on the principles of preserving the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We stand for the reduction in the escalation of the situation we are observing, tensions reduction, and implementation of provisions of the Minsk Agreements. We are ready to provide any support in this matter," President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a joint press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on April 10, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. The Turkish leader expressed confidence that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission should continue its activities and work without impediment. Erdogan also stressed the importance of launching the quadriga format, which provide for meetings between the defense and foreign ministers of the two countries and strengthens co-operation between the two countries. As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky made a working visit to Turkey on April 10. In particular, Zelensky and Erdogan held the 9th meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council between Ukraine and Turkey in Istanbul. ol Many will push back and claim these killings are the fault of the deceased and have nothing to do with the deceaseds skin color. That first part is clearly wrong (again, the punishment for resisting arrest isnt death), and theres ample evidence to knock down the second part as well. Crew Dragon Resilience with NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, have re-docked to the International Space Station, another first for a commercial crew spacecraft. Crew Dragon autonomously undocked from the forward port of the station's Harmony module at 6:30 a.m. and relocated to the space-facing port at 7:08 a.m. This is the start of a process that will enable extraction of new solar arrays from the SpaceX CRS-22 cargo mission's trunk when it arrives to dock at the Node 2 zenith port following Crew-1 departure. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Aki Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet are scheduled to launch to the station Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following a short handover, Crew-1 NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, plan to return home off the coast of Florida about five days after the Crew-2 arrival to the space station as long as mission priorities and weather cooperate. On-Orbit Status Report SpaceX Crew-1 Port Relocation: This morning, NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker along with JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, undocked the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience from the forward port of the International Space Station's Harmony module at 5:25 a.m. CT and relocated to the space-faring port at approximately 6:08 a.m. CT. The relocation has freed Harmony's forward port for the docking of Crew Dragon Endeavour, set to carry four crew members to the station on NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 mission later this month. Payloads AC Touch: Per standard procedure, the crew touched both the coated and uncoated coupons for this long-term investigation. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks to crew health and spacecraft systems as well as creating the possibility of contaminating other planetary bodies. The samples remain in space approximately six months then return to Earth for analysis. Repository: In support of the Repository investigation, the crew collected urine samples and set up for a blood draw later in the week. Repository supports scientific discovery that contributes to our fundamental knowledge in the area of human physiological changes and adaptation to a microgravity environment and provides unique opportunities to study longitudinal changes in human physiology spanning many missions. T2AR: In preparation for later T2AR activities, the crew unstowed and charged the sidekick (HoloLens) device. Autonomous Systems and Operations (T2 Treadmill Augmented Reality Procedures or simply T2AR) conducts tests using augmented reality to help crew members perform inspection and maintenance on the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT). The ability to perform such tasks without assistance from Mission Control is vital for future space exploration such as a mission to Mars, where significant time delays occur in communications between space and ground. Using augmented reality to guide astronauts through complex spacecraft maintenance and repair activities also reduces the time needed for training and task performance. Systems Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Airlock Unstow - the crew removed stowage in the Airlock in Preparation for this week's Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Battery Operations Terminal (EBOT) installation in the Forward Rack of the Equipment Lock. Completed Task List Activities: None Today's Ground Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Crew-1 Port Relocation Ground ops Primary Power System (PPS) Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) Latch Attitude Control System (ACS) Global Positioning System (GPS) Antenna and Relative Navigation Management Structural Dynamics Measurement System (SDMS) Data Dump GEDI Payload Laser Inhibit Removal Look Ahead Plan Tuesday, April 6 (GMT 096) Payloads: CBEF-L T/S, GRASP Free sessions, ISS HAM, Repository Urine Collect, RTPCG-2 Microscopy B1 B2 ops, Standard Measures, T2AR Sidekick and Decal install, VEG Water Bag audit Systems: EVA Battery Operations Terminal (EBOT) Installation and cable routing Transfer Operations - Prepack of US items to be loaded into Progress Crew Arrival Preparations CASA install procedure review Wednesday, April 7 (GMT 097) Payloads: AC Touch, JEMAL slide table reconfig to support MISSE, Mochii Hardware act, RR locker removal and install, Standard Measures, TangoLab2, Vascular Aging, Veggie Monitoring Analyzer Photo Systems: Japanese Experiment Logistics Module Hygiene Cover Build and Install CASA Install Extravehicular Activity Battery Installation Thursday, April 8 (GMT 098) Payloads: COSMIC temp logger exchange, FLUIDICS run 1, Food Acceptability, JAXA Video Take 8, ManD Print removal and stow, Micro-16 Final Load and microscopy ops, MISSE MSC install to JERMAL slide table, PLDR deact, RTPCG-2, Standard Measures, Vascular Aging Glucose setup Systems: Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Hard Upper Torso (HUT) On-Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) Remove and Replace (R&R) COLUMBUS Deck 1 and 2 clean-up Calibrate and deploy Personal CO2 Monitors Today's Planned Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Unseal MegaHEPA Filter in Crew Dragon HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations Dragon Emergency Hardware Stow Dragon Node 2 Forward SSC Deroute Docking Dragon Monitoring Tools Setup Dragon Forward Cabin Configuation Dragon Space Suit Donning for Return Dragon Forward Hatch Close IDA Egress in Preparation for Departure Dragon Crew Port Relocation Activity HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations USOS Window Shutter Close Dragon Port Relocation Monitoring Dragon Monitoring Tools Teardown Node 2 to Dragon Pressurization and Leak Check Node 2 to Dragon Final Pressurization and Vestibule prep for Ingress Dragon Forward Hatch Open Dragon Zenith Space Support Computer Cable Route ISS Crew departure preparation Set up Emergency hardware Transfer Crew Dragon Trash to ISS Cargo Dragon Station Support Computer Return Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Airlock Unstow Dragon MegaHEPA Seals Install Antimicrobial Coatings Touch T2 Augmented Reality Sidekick Gather HRF Generic Frozen Blood Collection Hardware Setup ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Service Module ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Down in Columbus Deploy Sleeping Bag in Dragon Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. SnowCap Ventures, a Toronto-based impact investing and advisory firm, today announced that it will host The Future of Food 2.0 Virtual Investor Conference (FOF2.0). The event is scheduled to take place in an enhanced virtual format on April 15, 2021, and is designed to inform, educate and inspire the investment community about the next generation of food companies. Topics to be covered at the conference include upcycled ingredients, vertical farming, pizza subscriptions and many more. As an impact investor in the food space, we know the heightened demand in the investment community for unique, forward-thinking food companies. Embracing the emerging next-generation food market is a pillar SnowCap is grounded in, said Nicole Marchand, founder and CEO of SnowCap Ventures. We are confident that this years conference will deliver on its promise to bring you an all-star group of business leaders to speak at this years The Future of Food 2.0. To view the full press release, visit https://ibn.fm/AqeFd About SnowCap Ventures SnowCap is an impact investment and advisory firm based in Toronto. Focused on plant-based food and animal health verticals, the firm also produces events for North American companies and investors. For more information about the company and details regarding FOF2.0 and registration, visit www.SnowCap.Ventures. About InvestorWire InvestorWire is the wire service that gives you more. From regional releases to global announcements presented in multiple languages, we offer the wire-grade dissemination products youll need to ensure that your next press release grabs the attention of your target audience and doesnt let go. While our competitors look to nickel and dime you with hidden fees and restrictive word limits, InvestorWire keeps things transparent. We offer UNLIMITED Words on all domestic releases. 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On a Sunday evening in mid-March, a sheriffs deputy pulled over a driver who sped by his patrol car near Spring. The man admitted to having a small amount of marijuana, which the deputy took for lab testing. Not seeing any outward signs of impairment, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office, he let the motorist leave. At an intersection roughly 7.5 miles away, Porsha Branch and her three young boys paused at a red light after a busy evening spent helping her mom move into a new home. As the family was stopped, the man, believed to be speeding again and allegedly intoxicated, smashed into the back of Branchs vehicle, killing the 28-year-old and her three children. At a vigil for the family five days later, relatives received another devastating call. The kids 6-year-old cousin, Laurionne Walker, had been shot multiple times amid an argument at the Pasadena home of a family friend babysitting so the girls mother could attend the remembrance. Paramedics raced Laurionne to a hospital, where she died. Nearly a month after the pair of intertwined tragedies, members of the extended family hope for answers and justice from the courts as two men have been charged in connection with the two cases. Numerous questions remain, such as why a sheriffs deputy released a man accused of having a blood alcohol content level twice the legal limit moments later when he set off a chain-reaction wreck that ignited a lifetime of grief. We still are taking a day at a time, said Damien House, Branchs husband, father of the three children and Laurionnes uncle. *** The Harris County sheriffs deputy pulled over Daniel A. Canada, shortly after 8 p.m. March 14. The stop is under review by the offices internal affairs division to determine whether all applicable policies were followed. The office has not released any updates and declined to answer questions about whether body camera footage of the stop was available and why the deputy did not issue the man a speeding ticket. This case remains an open investigation, and we have no additional information to release at this time, spokesman Jason Spencer wrote in an e-mail. Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said his deputies ran Canadas vehicle plates after the crash, which showed he had been pulled over minutes before the wreck. Canadas vehicle registered a speed of 115 mph two seconds before smashing into Branchs vehicle, officials said. At a hospital, blood drawn from Canada showed his blood alcohol level was about twice the legal limit, Herman said. A lawyer listed as representing Canada in his four counts of intoxication manslaughter did not return a message seeking comment. I dont know what he told the sheriffs deputy, Herman said. I feel for the family. Impaired driving is 100 percent preventable. Canada had several previous run-ins with law enforcement, according to court records. One of the most recent incidents occurred in November 2018 when he was stopped in Liberty County and later charged with possession of marijuana, being a felon in possession of a firearm and money laundering. He made bond two days after being arrested. Upon learning of the collision in Harris County, prosecutors moved to revoke his bond, which prompted the issuing of warrants for his arrest, said Mark A. Boemio of the Liberty County district attorneys office. Everyone is entitled to bail, Boemio said. Its very sad and unfortunate that it happened this way but I dont think theres anything we could have done short of violating his constitutional rights. Canada still faces three charges in Liberty County stemming from the 2018 stop, according to Boemio and indictments obtained by The Chronicle. *** Raymeon Means, the 35-year-old who faces capital murder charges in the death of the little girl in Pasadena, had been convicted of felonies in Harris County, including a 2014 incident when he pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery. Records also show two incidents involving children: endangering a child in 2008 and injury to a child in 2006, when Means was accused of pushing over a stroller with a child in it, according to a criminal complaint. He received 10 months in state jail after pleading guilty. Means appeared to be homeless and staying on and off with his sister at the apartment where he is accused of shooting Laurionne Walker during an argument over spilled water after a toilet clogged, according to Pasadena police spokesman Sgt. R.L. Granados. Its unclear who the argument was between, Granados said, but police determined the 6-year-old caused the toilet back-up. She, the suspect and his sister were in the same room when the argument ensued and he allegedly shot her. Detectives hadnt found the firearm used in the shooting at least two weeks later. I don't think we have recovered it, Granados said. Dont know what type of gun it was. Its also unclear whether Means could have lawfully had a firearm. A lawyer for Means listed in court documents did not return a message seeking comment. In late March, a judge ordered an interview and collection of information to determine whether Means has a mental illness or intellectual disability. Means and Canada were being held, according to sheriffs office records, at the same jail on Baker Street in Houston. *** House, Branchs husband, started phoning his wife after getting a call from his mother-in-law that shed been unable to reach her daughter after the traffic light. Every call House placed to his wife went straight to voicemail. He figured about 10 minutes would be plenty to charge her phone if it was dead. He tried again. Voicemail again. His sister-in-law called him, crying. Call my mom, she told House. He dialed his mother in law. Its not looking good. House said he flew to the hospital. Branch and Drake, who was less than a year old, perished at the scene. His two other sons, King, 5, and Messiah, 2, died after fighting to stay alive. Im taking it a day at a time, House, 31, said. Its hard. About a decade ago, he met Branch on Facebook. They went on a couple of dates and fell in love. Wonderful mother, down to Earth, sweetie, beautiful young lady, House said, his voice slightly quivering. All the amazing things you can think of from a woman. The family enjoyed spending time with each other, House said, going out to eat or catching a movie or visiting a park for family day. He misses all the parts of being a dad, and the parts he had yet to experience. Every moment, the funny, the laughter, House said. Just being a father to them. Now Im not going to see them any more. His kids also liked to hang out with their cousin, Laurionne. *** Every time the 6-year-old, went to her aunts house, Nicole T. Sledge made sure her niece, Laurionne, left with candy. She loved candy as much as she loved food, family, unicorns and dancing for TikTok videos. She was a princess, Sledge said. Everybody that met her loved her. Bright and social, she learned to talk around age 1, said her 32-year-old cousin, Jlissa Austin, who recalled how the little girl could chat for hours. She was a happy child, Austin said. Anytime Ive seen her, she was smiling. Shortly before the shooting, Sledge bought Easter candy for the bowl in her home that Laurionne would usually empty out. But the child never made it back to her aunts house. alejandro.serrano@chron.com Just Exists was formed to showcase local talents and bridge the gap between disenfranchised youth creatives and corporates, making a tangible impact in their potential career paths and creating memorable work in the process... Brands need to do more than just exist. Our aim is to weave brands into the daily lives of the consumers by creating and telling brand stories that pull at their heartstrings and create memory structures for many years to come. Just Exists is made up of four creatives from various disciplines in the marketing and advertising industries. Tell us how you all met each other and why you decided to come together to form an agency. Tell us more about the agency itself. When did you launch? How did you come up with the name? The agencys mission is to showcase local talents and bridge the gap between disenfranchised youth creatives and corporates, making a tangible impact in their potential career paths and creating memorable work in the process. Please elaborate. Just Exists claims to be an agency with a difference. What is its competitive advantage? Just Exists is currently managing Fridays Restaurant, One Man Show, Lebowa & Hollywood Bets CSI. Tell us about some of your work with these brands thus far. By working with young dope black creatives, who, in the current climate have been out of commission, we provide a platform for them to expand on their portfolios and garner further experience which will be advantageous to their careers, explains founding partner and MD Nomkhosi Mkhaliphi.She alongside Ashley Shimza Raphala, Hoosain Van Roos, and Malenah Bapela form the leadership of the agency. They come from various disciplines in the marketing and advertising industries and have experience in strategy, ideation and through-the-line marketing, and with a sizeable number of collaborations with global brands.We exist in order to enrich, build and collaborate with brands through strategies that define the now and shape the future, by telling genuine African stories. We do this by partnering with creatives from townships and empowering them to showcase their work something that, if done, is not done enough. We want to change that, added Raphala.Mkhaliphi has over a decade of experience within agencies, working extensively on a variety of sectors and portfolios for global and local brands in telecommunications, FMCG, banking, alcoholic beverages, services and technology. Here, she tells us how the agency came aboutWe met through a previous agency that Nomkhosi worked at, she was running the Pernod account and working on brands such as Jameson, Ballantines, GH Mumm and Beefeater. Hussain was her client as a lifestyle brand manager for GH Mumm. She then met Ashley Shimza Raphala and Malenah Bapela who manages the Shimza brand when she worked on signing him on as the Ballantines brand ambassador.The agency came about when we were chatting at the launch and felt the industry needed a fresh and unique approach to how brands are being marketed and advertised. With the different expertise and skills that we each bring, we made a decision to create magic together.Just Exists is the brainchild of the team and stems from an insatiable desire to tell genuine African stories for brands through the young and fresh, African creative community.The agency was formed late last year but the official launch which was held at Fridays Restaurant in Blue Hills Midrand was on 18 February 2021.The name Just Exists stems from our insatiable need to land brand communications to the majority populous of Africa, to let multinationals know that they shouldnt just exist but immerse their brands into the lives of consumers thus guaranteeing that they live through them.By working with young dope black creatives, who, in the current climate have been out of commission, we provide a platform for them to expand on their portfolios and garner further experience which will be advantageous to their careers.Our approach is strictly based on forward-thinking and keeping abreast of marketing trends. Our use of young local creatives guarantees fresh and relevant thinking for your brand.Just Exists manages the Fridays Restaurant account. This is more from a website, content creation as well as eventing scope.One Man Show is ideation, experiential and execution.Lebowa: we handled the ideation and strategy for the brand.Hollywood Bets CSI is work we did concurrently with the Shimuzic Foundation. Due to Covid-19, Shimza could not host the one-man show last year as this initiative is aimed at raising funds for school shoes for disadvantaged children. Hollywood Bets approached us and we were able to ideate and execute the initiative that allowed 400 children to receive new school shoes before the school year commenced in February 2021. Oscar Nominee Showcase: Because audiences didnt have the opportunity to see most of this years Oscar-nominated films due to COVID-19, Tampa Theatre is offering a screening of all Best Picture nominees, as well as most films nominated for Best Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay. The schedule includes: Judas and the Black Messiah (126 min., R): In a plea deal, a car thief infiltrates the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Mank (131 min., R): This is David Finchers Netflix-presented passion project about the brilliant and troubled screenwriter of Citizen Kane, Herman J. Mankiewicz. 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Films are $13.50 evening, $11.50 matinee. Tampa Theatre, 711 N Franklin St. 813-274-8286. tampatheatre.org. Fight for Air Climb: The 16th annual climb moves out of the stairwells of the Bank of America Tower and into Raymond James Stadium. Participants will climb approximately 1,000 steps in the outdoor stadium. Benefits the American Lung Association. $35 (with $100 minimum fundraising). 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Raymond James Stadium, 4201 N Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. 813-712-2307. Sunday Pool Party: The poolside dance party features Jillionaire, a DJ from Trinidad whos best known as a former member of Major Lazer and Diplo, and Danny Crespo, a 27-year-old DJ from Chicago. $25-$35. Noon-7:30 p.m. Sunday. WTR at the Godfrey Hotel, 7700 Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa. 813-265-1234. Henry V: Londons young playboy prince Hal has just been crowned Englands Prince Henry V. Find out if he can become the king his country needs. Jaeb Theater has been reconfigured for social distancing. Seating is available in pods of one, two and four. $35.50 (one), $79.50 (two), $99.50 (four). 8-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 4-6 p.m. Sunday. David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa. 813-229-7827. Gasparilla Bar Invasion: Get your pirate costumes together, assemble your crew and get ready to crawl among more than 15 bars in downtown and South Tampa. There will be multiple check-in points to allow for greater social distancing. Due to COVID-19, buses will not be available to take participants from stop to stop. $10-$30. Noon-11 p.m. Saturday. Park & Rec TPA, 290 S Meridian Ave., Tampa. 813-419-1732. Story continues Brian Regan: Standup comedian Brian Regan is bringing his socially distanced comedy tour to St. Petersburg. All seats are sold in pairs to ensure proper social distancing. Masks are required. $55-$65. 7:30 p.m. Friday. Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. 727-300-2000. Florida Orchestra Pops Concert: Socially distanced on the stage, the orchestra is joined by Charles Lazarus (trumpet) to present Fly Me to the Moon. $23-$53. 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. 727-892-3337. Jerrys Girls: This tribute to master of song Jerry Herman brings the larger-than-life women from his shows center stage, including matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi of Hello, Dolly!, Auntie Mame and ZaZa of La Cage Aux Folles. $114 for a table for four. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Central Park Performing Arts Center, 105 Central Park Drive, Largo. 727-587-6793. SPCA Tampa Bay Pet Walk: Bring your pet for a socially distanced walk with vendors and a costume contest. The event will also be held virtually. Benefits the care of animals. Free, but $25 minimum in fundraising. 8:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 17. North Straub Park, Fifth Avenue NE and Bayshore Drive, St. Petersburg. 727-586-3591. Bar Monte: Get a taste of normalcy at this traveling open-air popup bar with Italian flair. There will be themed cocktails, food from area restaurants, bocce, cornhole and more. Seating is socially distanced. Masks are required at all times unless actively eating or drinking at a table. Hand sanitizer is available. No cover (food/drink additional). 3-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Armature Works, 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa. 305-573-0658. ALBANY - Mavis Discount Tire has lost a court battle to dismiss a dozen civil lawsuits filed against it by families of the victims of the 2018 Schoharie limo crash that killed 20 people. Last week, acting state Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman, who is overseeing the collection of evidence in the cases in Albany, denied a motion by Mavis to drop the cases against the company, which inspected and did brake work on the 2001 stretch Ford Excursion involved in the crash. Despite Mavis's plea that it should be dropped as a defendant in the civil lawsuits, Hartman disagreed, saying that the families have "stated a cause of action against the Mavis defendants." Lawyers for the victims, which have also sued members of the Hussain family that owned the illegal limo, have alleged that Mavis conducted what amounted to an illegal inspection of the Excursion and that its shoddy work on the brake system of the nearly seven-ton limo caused its brakes to fail as it was speeding down a steep section of Route 30 in Schoharie before crashing into the parking lot of the Apple Barrel Country Store & Cafe on Oct. 6, 2018 while going 100 mph. All 17 aboard the limo, along with the driver and two bystanders, died from their injuries. It is considered the worst highway transportation disaster in the U.S. in more than a decade. A spokeswoman for Mavis said the company would not comment on Hartman's denial of its motion to dismiss. The families are represented by a number of attorneys who are coordinating the collection of evidence and pre-trial motions before either trying the cases in state Supreme Court in Albany, or in the state courthouses where the original lawsuits were filed. The civil lawsuits are much broader in scope than the criminal case against Nauman Hussain, the 31-year-old son of Shahed Hussain, a Wilton motel owner who owned the Excursion and a small limo service Nauman Hussain ran out of a Saratoga Springs parking lot. Nauman Hussain has been charged with 20 counts each of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter for his alleged role in neglecting to keep the Excursion off the road after it failed two inspections by the state Department of Transportation. Prosecutors also allege that Nauman Hussain also knew the driver of the illegal limo was not properly licensed to drive a limo that large. The National Transportation Safety Board also blamed the Hussains and the DOT and Department of Motor Vehicles for not taking the Excursion off the road, although it did not place formal blame on Mavis or its Saratoga Springs shop that did the brake work and improper DMV inspection. Like school buses, a limo that size needs to be inspected every six months by the DOT. Mavis' role in the improper inspection was first revealed by the Times Union shortly after the crash, although prosecutors later detailed Mavis' role in doing brake work as part of the criminal case; Mavis nor any of its employees were ever criminally indicted. The families are also suing Malik Riaz Hussain, the wealthy older brother of Shahed Hussain, who owns one of the largest real estate development firms in Pakistan. Shahed Hussain, who like his brother and son Nauman are also defendants in the civil cases, has been living in Pakistan since before the crash and is not facing any criminal charges. He is a long-time undercover informant for the FBI, working on counter-terrorism cases in the U.S. and abroad. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 12, 2021 / Searchlight Resources Inc. ("Searchlight" or the "Company") (TSXV:SCLT)(OTC PINK:CNYCF)(FSE:2CC2) is pleased to announce additional staking on the Kulyk Lake Rare Earth Project, located approximately 165 kilometres north of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 65 km south of the Key Lake Uranium Mine. Kulyk Lake Claim Block increased by 36.4 sq km, to 61.1 sq km Searchlight has staked an additional 36.4 square kilometres of claims, increasing the total claim area of the Kulyk Lake project to 61.1 sq km. The claim blocks now cover a total of 19 rare earth showings and sample locations (Map 1), including the Kulyk Lake rare earth element (REE) target with the high-grade total rare earth oxide (TREO) and critical rare earth oxide (CREO) values shown below. Kulyk Lake High Grade Samples include: 56.18% TREO, including 12.49% CREO in historic grab sample, including 9.61% Neodymium Oxide (Nd 2 O 3 ), and 1,194 ppm Dysprosium Oxide (Dy 2 O 3 )[1] 45.10% TREO, including 10.08% CREO in historic 0.6 m trench sample, including 7.64% Neodymium Oxide (Nd 2 O 3 ), and 1,114 ppm Dysprosium Oxide (Dy 2 O 3 ) "The Kulyk Lake high-grade rare earth target represents a significant opportunity for Searchlight, with the increased interest by Canadian Federal and Provincial governments in rare earth elements, particularly the critical elements Neodymium and Dysprosium. Saskatchewan is also developing Canada's first Rare Earth Processing Facility at the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, which further advances rare earth development in Canada", stated Stephen Wallace, President and CEO of Searchlight. Searchlight acquired the project by staking as part of the Company's systematic evaluation of exploration targets in Saskatchewan. Historically, the Kulyk Lake area had been explored for uranium, followed by preliminary rare earth exploration in 2009 and 2010. Map 1. Searchlight Resources Kulyk Lake REE Project Claim Blocks Story continues In 2009, grab and channel samples were collected from Kulyk Lake area and analysed with a REE analytical package at the Saskatchewan Research Council Laboratory. The results included; 56.18% TREO including 12.49% CREO in selected grab sample AGKJR001, 30.6% TREO including 6.82% CREO in selected grab sample AGKJR002, and 19.04% TREO including 4.21% CREO in channel sample AGKJR003. Selected rare earth oxide results are presented in Table 1. This work was followed up in 2010 with a series of trench samples, similarly analysed at the Saskatchewan Research Council Laboratory. Selected results included; trench samples DFKJR026 with 45.1% TREO and 10.08% CREO over 0.6 metres, DFKJR025 with 24.44% TREO and 5.49% CREO over 0.7 metres, and DFKJR013 with 19.75% TREO and 4.41% CREO over 0.7 metres. Geologically, the showings consist of multiple fractures containing brown to red monazite running parallel to and enclosed by the surrounding Wollaston Group metasedimentary gneisses. A zone of deep pink to red coarse-grained granite encloses the mineralized fractures. The results presented are historical in nature, and Searchlight has not undertaken any independent investigation of the sampling, nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the results. Searchlight considers these sample results relevant as the Company uses historical reports to evaluate historic sample results as a guide to plan future exploration programs. Qualified Person Stephen Wallace, P.Geo., is Searchlight's Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Table 1: Individual Rare Earth Oxide grades supporting reported Total Rare Earth Oxide and Critical Rare Earth Oxide calculated values Sample Sample Ce 2 O 3 Dy 2 O 3 Er 2 O 3 Eu 2 O 3 Gd 2 O 3 Ho 2 O 3 La 2 O 3 Lu 2 O 3 Nd 2 O 3 Pr 6 O 11 Sc 2 O 3 Sm 2 O 3 Tb 4 O 7 Tm 2 O 3 Y 2 O 3 Yb 2 O 3 TREO CREO Number Description wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% wt% 2009 AGKJR001 Selected Grab 28.08 0.1194 0.1106 0.0858 0.4255 0.0103 13.57 <0.002 9.61 2.71 <0.002 0.863 0.0517 0.0091 0.5245 0.0125 56.18 12.49 AGKJR002 Selected Grab 15.33 0.0608 0.0593 0.0452 0.2243 0.0046 7.36 <0.002 5.21 1.52 <0.002 0.4663 0.027 0.0046 0.2858 0.0068 30.6 6.82 AGKJR003 0.7m Channel 9.48 0.0471 0.041 0.029 0.1461 0.0046 4.61 <0.002 3.24 0.91 <0.002 0.3004 0.0188 0.0034 0.207 0.0057 19.04 4.21 2010 DFKJR006 0.35m trench 8.81 0.0413 0.0296 0.0302 0.1369 0.0034 4.32 <0.002 3.01 0.88 <0.002 0.2946 0.0141 0.0034 0.1664 0.0034 17.74 3.94 DFKJR007 0.7m trench 2 0.0103 0.0068 0.007 0.0322 <0.002 0.98 <0.002 0.69 0.2 <0.002 0.0684 0.0035 <0.002 0.0406 <0.002 4.03 0.9 DFKJR011 0.95m trench 3.95 0.0195 0.0137 0.0139 0.0621 <0.002 1.92 <0.002 1.35 0.38 <0.002 0.1334 0.0071 <0.002 0.0787 <0.002 7.93 1.76 DFKJR013 0.7m trench 9.8 0.0471 0.0342 0.0348 0.1576 0.0046 4.77 <0.002 3.35 1 <0.002 0.3329 0.0165 0.0034 0.1905 0.0046 19.75 4.41 DFKJR016 0.8m trench 0.61 0.0034 0.0023 <0.002 0.0104 <0.002 0.29 <0.002 0.21 0.06 <0.002 0.0209 <0.002 <0.002 0.0152 <0.002 1.22 0.27 DFKJR019 0.5m trench 6.27 0.0264 0.0217 0.0197 0.0897 <0.002 3.03 <0.002 2.14 0.59 <0.002 0.196 0.0094 0.0023 0.1016 0.0034 12.5 2.76 DFKJR025 0.7m trench 12.05 0.0735 0.0524 0.0441 0.2059 0.008 5.81 <0.002 4.18 1.22 <0.002 0.4211 0.0223 0.0057 0.3264 0.0114 24.44 5.49 DFKJR026 0.6m trench 22.23 0.1114 0.0798 0.08 0.3611 0.0091 11.03 <0.002 7.64 2.29 <0.002 0.7714 0.0376 0.0091 0.442 0.0103 45.1 10.08 TREO = Total Rare Earth Oxides = Ce 2 O 3 +Dy 2 O 3 +Er 2 O 3 +Eu 2 O 3 +Gd 2 O 3 +Ho 2 O 3 +La 2 O 3 +Lu 2 O 3 +Nd 2 O 3 +Pr 6 O 11 +Sc 2 O 3 +Sm 2 O 3 +Tb 4 O 7 +Tm 2 O 3 +Y 2 O 3 +Yb 2 O 3 CREO = Critical Rare Earth Oxides = Dy 2 O 3 + Nd 2 O 3 + Pr 6 O 11 + Tb 4 O 7 Note: Individual Rare Earth Oxide values calculated from individual Rare Earth Element assay values. Sources: Brown, J.A., 2010, 2009 Geological, Geochemical and Geophysical Report for the Baska-Eldorado Project, Eagle Plains Resources Ltd, Saskatchewan Industry and Resources for Assessment Brown, J.A., and McKeough, M., 2011, 2010 Trenching and Prospecting Programs for the Baska-Eldorado Project, 99 Capital Corporation, Saskatchewan Industry and Resources for Assessment About Searchlight Resources Inc. Searchlight Resources Inc. (TSXV:SCLT, US:CNYCF, FSE:2CC2) is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on Saskatchewan, Canada, which has been ranked as the top location for mining investment in Canada by the Fraser Institute. Exploration focus is on gold and battery minerals throughout the Province, concentrating on projects with road access. Searchlight holds a 427.6 square kilometre land position within the gold and base metal rich Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt. The Company is currently advancing its Bootleg Lake Gold Project located in Saskatchewan, less than 10 km from Flin Flon, Manitoba, and which hosts four past producing high-grade gold mines. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Stephen Wallace" Stephen Wallace, President, CEO and Director SEARCHLIGHT RESOURCES INC. For further information, visit the Company's website at www.searchlightresources.com or contact: Searchlight Resources Inc. Alf Stewart, VP Corporate Development (604) 331-9326 info@searchlightresources.com Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE: Searchlight Resources Inc View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/640029/Searchlight-Resources-Stakes-Additional-Claims-on-the-Kulyk-Lake-Critical-Rare-Earth-Project Press Release 12 April 2021 Singapore to Pump Additional SGD68.5 Million into Tourism Fund Advertisements Minister for Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing, announced that Singapore will be topping up SGD68.5 million into its Tourism Development Fund ("TDF") to support tourism enterprises amidst the pandemic. Established in 2005, the TDF aims to grow the tourism sector, and has supported various initiatives such as subsidising the cost of tourism-related skills upgrading course and testing innovative lifestyle concepts. To ensure sustainable tourism growth, Mr Chan called on the industry to tap on technology and innovation such as promoting the use of mobile applications, virtual or augmented reality and remote interactions. These concepts have been tested out recently, with the Changi Airport Group launching the Safe Travel Concierge, a one-stop portal for passengers flying to Singapore to book their on-arrival Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction test ("PCR") and access pre-travel documents to enter the country. In addition, Singapore will also be allowing passengers to use the IATA Travel Pass to share their pre-departure PCR test results at the immigration checkpoints at Changi Airport and upon check-in with their airline from 1 May. With the increase in funding, Mr Chan hopes that more of such innovative initiatives can be put in place for Singapore to prepare for long-term success and reinvent global travel. Hong Kong Witnessed Domestic Tourism Recovery and will Shorten Quarantine for Lower-Risk Travellers On 26 March 2021, the Hong Kong Tourism Board ("HKTB") kicked off the Staycation Delights programme to entice domestic spending. The public can utilise physical receipts with a minimum spend of at least HKD800 (USD102) in physical retail or dining outlets to redeem a HKD500 discount on a hotel package. The promotion is capped at 20,000 room bookings on a first-come, first-served basis. This is in addition to promotional efforts under the Holiday at Home campaign to boost retail and dining consumption. The HKTB is also preparing to launch a second round of the Free Tour programme once bans on local tours are lifted. Apart from the domestic tourism efforts, Hong Kong plans to shorten its mandatory quarantine period from 21 days to 14 days for selected vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries, namely, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. After the 14-day quarantine period, there will be a week of medical surveillance and Covid-19 testing on the 19th day. Fully vaccinated travellers who have visited medium-risk locations such as South Korea and Japan will also qualify for the 14-day quarantine period. In mid-April, Hong Kong will ease its entry ban on Hong Kong residents in the United Kingdom, however, the three weeks quarantine regulation remains. Japan to Introduce Prefectural Tourism Promotion Initiatives Worth JPY300 Billion The central Japanese government will introduce prefectural tourism promotion initiatives worth JPY300 billion (USD2.8 billion) as the travel subsidy program to encourage domestic tourism, "Go To Travel" campaign, is suspended till at least June 2021 due to concerns over a new coronavirus resurgence. Under the new program, the government will give up to JPY7,000 per night for local residents that stay in hotels, ryokan inns or other accommodation facilities in their prefecture. The funds will be available for prefectures classified under stage one or two on the coronavirus alert scale, in which stage four is the most severe level determined by indicators such as the number of cases. Presently, Tokyo, Osaka prefecture and some other prefectures would be excluded from the program. Travel across prefectural borders also is not covered. According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, the financial support will be rolled out from 1 April and cover overnight stays through 31 May. The subsidies will cover a maximum of JPY5,000 or 50% of the price of a stay per person per night, plus vouchers worth up to JPY2,000 that can be used at restaurants and on transport networks in the region. Thailand to Reopen Phuket to Vaccinated Tourists in July From 1 July 2021, tourists arriving at Phuket, Thailand, will not be required to undergo the mandatory quarantine. An economic panel chaired by Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has approved the proposal by Phuket's private sector to inoculate at least 70% of the island's residents so that Phuket can reopen for vaccinated tourists. Phuket's residents will also be prioritised during the vaccination process with more than 930,000 doses expected to be rolled out before its reopening. However, only international travellers from "low-risk" countries in Asia would be initially eligible and a Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test will still need to be taken upon arrival as a precaution. This approval will allow Phuket to reopen three months earlier than the rest of the country and could add more than THB30 billion to the economy. Nonetheless, this is still dependent on the international vaccine passport agreement and negotiations with other countries to allow free travel. Phuket will be the first to pilot this initiative before the government expands it to other tourist hotspots like Koh Samui and Pattaya. Meanwhile, effective from 1 April 2021, the mandatory quarantine in Thailand will be reduced from 14 days to ten days and possibly to seven days with two PCR swab tests as situation improves. ROCHESTER, Minn. A convicted killer is pleading guilty to illegal gun possession in Rochester. Corey Lydell Pendelton, 43 of Rochester, was arrested in August 2020 after police said they searched his home and found three handguns, ammunition, and around three grams of methamphetamine. Court documents state Pendeltons home is within 300 feet of Mayo High School. Authorities say Pendelton was convicted of second-degree murder in Cook County, Illinois, and is prohibited from possessing firearms. He was charged with third-degree drug possession, storing meth paraphernalia in the presence of a child, and illegal firearm possession. Pendelton has now pleaded guilty to the gun crime and his sentencing is set for May 29. By MOHAMED IBRAHIM, Associated Press BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) Police in a Minneapolis suburb where a Black man was fatally shot during a traffic stop say the officer who fired intended to use a Taser, not a handgun. Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting as an accidental discharge. The man identified by relatives as 20-year-old Daunte Wright died Sunday in Brooklyn Center, a city of about 30,000 people on the northwest border of Minneapolis. His death sparked violent protests, with officers in riot gear clashing with demonstrators into Monday morning. The Minneapolis area was already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyds death. The judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defense attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted that he was praying for Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement. Speaking before the unrest, Wrights mother, Katie Wright, urged protesters to stay peaceful and focused on the loss of her son. All the violence, if it keeps going, its only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason, she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center, a city of about 30,000 people on the northwest border of Minneapolis. We need to make sure its about him and not about smashing police cars, because thats not going to bring my son back. Protesters who gathered near the scene waved flags and signs reading Black Lives Matter. Others walked peacefully with their hands held up. On one street, someone wrote in multi-colored chalk: Justice for Daunte Wright. Officers stopped a motorist shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday for an unspecified traffic violation, police said in a statement. Authorities planned to provide an update later Monday. Katie Wright said her son called her as he was getting pulled over. All he did was have air fresheners in the car, and they told him to get out of the car, Wright said. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot. After determining the driver had an outstanding warrant, police said they tried to arrest him. Then the driver reentered the vehicle, and an officer fired, striking him, police said. The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle. Wrights family offered a different account, with Katie Wright saying her son was shot before getting back into the car. A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Katie Wright said that passenger was her sons girlfriend. Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. In that case, a statement of probable cause said police got a call about a man waving a gun who was later identified as Wright. Shortly after the shooting, demonstrators began to gather, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where rocks and other objects were thrown at officers, authorities said. The protesters had largely dispersed by 1:15 a.m. Monday. President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, and the White House has been in touch with the governor, mayor and local law enforcement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. We were incredibly saddened to hear about the loss of life at the hands of law enforcement in Minnesota yesterday, she said. National Guard troops and law enforcement officers continued to guard the front of the police department on Monday morning. Police were erecting a concrete barrier as Minnesota State Patrol officers joined the line in front of the precinct. Several people and reporters watched from across the street as traffic returned to normal on the street where protesters were met with tear gas the night before. One man yelled at the officers using a megaphone as others flew Black Lives Matter flags. About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping center, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said at a news conference. The National Guard was activated, and Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott announced a curfew that expired shortly before daybreak. Police said Brooklyn Center officers wear body cameras, which they believe were activated during the traffic stop. The department said it has asked the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyds death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. More National Guard members and state law enforcement personnel were to be deployed around the Twin Cities and in Brooklyn Center in addition to teams already in place for Chauvins trial at the Hennepin County courthouse in Minneapolis, Harrington said. There was no visible increase in the already high security presence on Monday morning outside the courthouse, which was fortified ahead of Chauvins trial with tall fencing topped with barbed wire and coils of razor wire between the fences and concrete barriers. National Guard troops with military vehicles, sheriffs deputies and county security guards continued to stand watch. Meanwhile, all Brooklyn Center students were to attend online classes Monday because school buildings were closed, Superintendent Carly Baker said. (Natural News) Were not living the American dream. Were living a financial nightmare. (John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead republished from Rutherford.org) The U.S. governmentand that includes the current administrationis spending money it doesnt have on programs it cant afford, and we the taxpayers are the ones who will be forced to foot the bill for the governments fiscal insanity. Weve been sold a bill of goods by politicians promising to pay down the national debt, jumpstart the economy, rebuild our infrastructure, secure our borders, ensure our security, and make us all healthy, wealthy and happy. None of that has come to pass, and yet weve still been loaded down with debt not of our own making. This financial tyranny works the same whether its a Democrat or Republican at the helm. Lets talk numbers, shall we? The national debt (the amount the federal government has borrowed over the years and must pay back) is $28 trillion and growing. That translates to roughly $224,000 per taxpayer. The governments answer to the COVID-19 pandemic has been to throw more money at the problem in the form of stimulus checks, small business loans, unemployment benefits, vaccine funding, and financial bailouts for corporations. All told, the federal governments COVID-19 spending has exceeded $4 trillion. The Biden administration is proposing another $2 trillion in infrastructure spending. The amount this country owes is now greater than its gross domestic product (all the products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the citizens). And the top two foreign countries who own about a third of our debt are China and Japan. That debt is also growing exponentially: it is expected to be twice the size of the U.S. economy by 2051. Essentially, the U.S. government is funding its very existence with a credit card. Were paying more than $300 billion in interest every year on that public debt, not including what COVID-19 just added to the bill. That breaks down to more than $2400 per household. According to the Committee for a Reasonable Federal Budget, the interest were paying on this borrowed money is nearly twice what the federal government will spend on transportation infrastructure, over four times as much as it will spend on K-12 education, almost four times what it will spend on housing, and over eight times what it will spend on science, space, and technology. Clearly, the national debt isnt going away anytime soon, especially not with government spending on the rise and interest payments making up such a large chunk of the budget. Still, the government remains unrepentant, unfazed and undeterred in its wanton spending. Indeed, the national deficit (the difference between what the government spends and the revenue it takes in) is expected to be $2.3 trillion for fiscal 2021. If Americans managed their personal finances the way the government mismanages the nations finances, wed all be in debtors prison by now. Despite the government propaganda being peddled by the politicians and news media, however, the government isnt spending our tax dollars to make our lives better. Were being robbed blind so the governmental elite can get richer. This is nothing less than financial tyranny. We the people have become the new, permanent underclass in America. In the eyes of the government, we the people, the voters, the consumers, and the taxpayers are little more than pocketbooks waiting to be picked. Consider: The government can seize your home and your car (which youve bought and paid for) over nonpayment of taxes. Government agents can freeze and seize your bank accounts and other valuables if they merely suspect wrongdoing. And the IRS insists on getting the first cut of your salary to pay for government programs over which you have no say. We have no real say in how the government runs, or how our taxpayer funds are used, but were being forced to pay through the nose, anyhow. We have no real say, but that doesnt prevent the government from fleecing us at every turn and forcing us to pay for endless wars that do more to fund the military industrial complex than protect us, pork barrel projects that produce little to nothing, and a police state that serves only to imprison us within its walls. If you have no choice, no voice, and no real options when it comes to the governments claims on your property and your money, youre not free. It wasnt always this way, of course. Early Americans went to war over the inalienable rights described by philosopher John Locke as the natural rights of life, liberty and property. It didnt take long, howevera hundred years, in factbefore the American government was laying claim to the citizenrys property by levying taxes to pay for the Civil War. As the New York Times reports, Widespread resistance led to its repeal in 1872. Determined to claim some of the citizenrys wealth for its own uses, the government reinstituted the income tax in 1894. Charles Pollock challenged the tax as unconstitutional, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor. Pollocks victory was relatively short-lived. Members of Congressunited in their determination to tax the American peoples incomeworked together to adopt a constitutional amendment to overrule the Pollock decision. On the eve of World War I, in 1913, Congress instituted a permanent income tax by way of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution and the Revenue Act of 1913. Under the Revenue Act, individuals with income exceeding $3,000 could be taxed starting at 1% up to 7% for incomes exceeding $500,000. Its all gone downhill from there. Unsurprisingly, the government has used its tax powers to advance its own imperialistic agendas and the courts have repeatedly upheld the governments power to penalize or jail those who refused to pay their taxes. While were struggling to get by, and making tough decisions about how to spend what little money actually makes it into our pockets after the federal, state and local governments take their share (this doesnt include the stealth taxes imposed through tolls, fines and other fiscal penalties), the government continues to do whatever it likeslevy taxes, rack up debt, spend outrageously and irresponsiblywith little thought for the plight of its citizens. To top it all off, all of those wars the U.S. is so eager to fight abroad are being waged with borrowed funds. As The Atlantic reports, U.S. leaders are essentially bankrolling the wars with debt, in the form of purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds by U.S.-based entities like pension funds and state and local governments, and by countries like China and Japan. Of course, were the ones who will have to repay that borrowed debt. For instance, American taxpayers have been forced to shell out more than $5.6 trillion since 9/11 for the military industrial complexs costly, endless so-called war on terrorism. That translates to roughly $23,000 per taxpayer to wage wars abroad, occupy foreign countries, provide financial aid to foreign allies, and fill the pockets of defense contractors and grease the hands of corrupt foreign dignitaries. Mind you, that staggering $6 trillion is only a portion of what the Pentagon spends on Americas military empire. The United States also spends more on foreign aid than any other nation ($50 billion in 2017 alone). More than 150 countries around the world receive U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance, with most of the funds going to the Middle East, Africa and Asia. That price tag keeps growing, too. As Dwight D. Eisenhower warned in a 1953 speech, this is how the military industrial complex will continue to get richer, while the American taxpayer will be forced to pay for programs that do little to enhance our lives, ensure our happiness and well-being, or secure our freedoms. This is no way of life. Yet its not just the governments endless wars that are bleeding us dry. Were also being forced to shell out money for surveillance systems to track our movements, money to further militarize our already militarized police, money to allow the government to raid our homes and bank accounts, money to fund schools where our kids learn nothing about freedom and everything about how to comply, and on and on. Its tempting to say that theres little we can do about it, except thats not quite accurate. There are a few things we can do (demand transparency, reject cronyism and graft, insist on fair pricing and honest accounting methods, call a halt to incentive-driven government programs that prioritize profits over people), but it will require that we the people stop playing politics and stand united against the politicians and corporate interests who have turned our government and economy into a pay-to-play exercise in fascism. Unfortunately, weve become so invested in identity politics that pit us against one another and keep us powerless and divided that weve lost sight of the one label that unites us: were all Americans. Trust me, were all in the same boat, folks, and theres only one real life preserver: thats the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Constitution starts with those three powerful words: We the people. As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, there is power in our numbers. That remains our greatest strength in the face of a governmental elite that continues to ride roughshod over the populace. It remains our greatest defense against a government that has claimed for itself unlimited power over the purse (taxpayer funds) and the sword (military might). Where we lose out is when we fall for the big-talking politicians who spend big at our expense. WC: 1624 Read more at: Rutherford.org Turkey's daily count of COVID-19 cases reached over 50,000 on Sunday, the Turkish Health Ministry said. A total of 50,678 cases, including 2,548 symptomatic patients, were confirmed across the country, the data showed. Turkey's overall case tally is over 3.8 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 33,939, with 237 fatalities over the past day. As many as 30,194 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 3.3 million. More than 41.5 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Turkey to date, with 294,274 done since Saturday. The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition has risen to 2,824, Anadolu Agency reported. Since its vaccination campaign began on Jan. 14, Turkey has administered over 18.5 million coronavirus vaccine jabs nationwide, according to official figures. Over 10.9 million people to date have gotten their first doses of the vaccine against coronavirus, while second vaccine doses were given to nearly 7.58 million. To fight a new wave of the virus, Turkey recently announced the return of weekend curfews in high-risk areas, as well as other restrictions, in addition to special measures for the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Michael Rubin writes the following in his article for National Interest: All indications are that the Biden administration will recognize the Armenian genocide more than a century after it occurred. On April 24, 2020, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden tweeted, If elected, I pledge to support a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and will make universal human rights a top priority. It appears his staff remains onboard with that commitment. On March 22, 2021, the Eurasia Groups Ian Bremmer reported that White House sources had told him genocide recognition would go forward. While Bremmer noted not only Bidens campaign promise but also that Vice President Kamala Harris had co-sponsored the 2019 genocide resolution, he is also correct to note President Barack Obama made and reneged on a similar promise. Herein lies the problem: there is a dynamic in government where officials believe it sophisticated or useful to distort history or elide current tragedy for the sake of short-term diplomatic necessity. Samantha Power wrote a book about it and, yet, not only failed to stand up with moral clarity on Armenia but then she (and Ben Rhodes) ignored the ongoing genocide in Syria. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, who like Harris served a state with a large Armenian community, also sponsored Armenian genocide resolutions while senator, only to forget them when he entered the executive branch. Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised greater attentiveness to human rights during his first weeks in office, but he has already demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice principle for politics. Consider, for example: In the State Departments latest human rights report, Blinken revised downward casualty figures from Irans protest crackdown in order to facilitate the Biden administrations Iran diplomacy. Just as he did during the Obama administration, Blinken has also violated promises to stand up for American hostages held in the Islamic Republics prisons, again in the apparent belief that human rights advocacy could impede his teams working relations with their Iranian counterparts. Blinken has also abided by his Africa Bureaus moral equivalence and played into the hands of revisionists who seek to downplay the anti-Tutsi nature of the genocide in Rwanda. The State Departments Africa Bureau is likely slow to recognize the severity of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds actions in Tigray. Simply put, the Nobel laureate appears to be setting Tigray down the same path that Hutu extremists put Rwanda twenty-seven years ago. Many Armenians may dislike the late historian Bernard Lewis because he questioned the Armenian genocides premeditation and blamed a million murders (which he did not dispute) on the fog of war. Subsequent information, however, not available at the time to Lewis confirms premeditation. Lewis was as honest as he was erudite; I have little doubt that were he alive today, he would allow new evidence to change his interpretation. There is another reason why Armenians should not entirely dismiss Lewis. In his 2012 memoirs, Lewis wrote, We live in a time where great energies are being devoted to the falsification of historyto flatter, to deceive or to serve some sectional purpose. No good can come from such distortions, even when they are inspired by unselfish motives. This is the Lewis statement upon which Armenians and those interested in historical truth should today seize as it emphasizes the importance to not allow short-term diplomatic interests to distort historys reckoning. Many within the Biden administration, the State Department, and the Pentagon can find incentive to walk back Bidens commitments or infuse them with moral equivalence. There remains a strong Turkey lobby with the State Department ready to advocate for Turkish interests and absolve Turkey of accountability for its actions. The Pentagon may not recognize that maintaining access to the Incirlik Air Base does not offset the cost of giving Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan a free pass. Both the State Department and Pentagon may believe antagonizing Erdogan may cause him to lash out in the Eastern Mediterranean. Already, there are warning signs that Biden and Blinken have gone wobbly: For all their tough talk on Turkey, for example, they empowered its dictator, Erdogan, by making him a host for the Afghanistan peace talks. Then, there is Nagorno-Karabakh, where Turkey and Azerbaijan precipitated a forty-four-day war last autumn and peace is tenuous. None of these concerns justifies perverting or whitewashing history. Not only is the Armenian genocide fact, but downplaying it can also have a real cost. Azerbaijan and Turkey timed their surprise September attack on Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh to coincide with the centennial anniversary of the Ottoman invasion of newly independent Armenia. Both Erdogan and Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev used eliminationist rhetoric to suggest their ultimate goal is to be to wage religious warfare and eradicate Armenia itself. To show Turkey that bluster can trump accountability will ensure further aggression not only against Armenia but also against the Kurds and Cyprus. While acknowledging the Armenian genocide is both right and wise, Biden and Blinken should go further. Genocide denial undermines long-term security and so Blinken might consider the erection of monuments to the Armenian genocide in both Ankara and Baku as the metric to determine if acknowledgment of genocide extends beyond rhetoric. Such a display would also help chip away at the historical blindness that decades of Turkish incitement have caused. There are precedents for such monuments. Unlike Turkey and Azerbaijan that project images of multi-faith tolerance to Western visitors and invite the foreign press to small commemorations, Armenia hosts a Holocaust monument in its capital as Armenians recognize that history too often repeats. Biden and Blinken must also commit to ending the Section 907 waiver that effectively rewards Azerbaijan for its defiance of diplomacy. Blinken must also call out both Turkey and Azerbaijan for embracing and deploying Al Qaeda-linked mercenaries from Syria. The Trump administration downplayed diplomacy in the South Caucasus by appointing a Minsk Group co-chair who lacked the diplomatic rank of his Russian and French counterparts. Rather than simply appoint an ambassador, Blinken might designate an assistant secretary to incorporate the portfolio. Just as Kosovo emerged as an independent state to halt Serb ethnic cleansing of an ethnic Albanian minority, so too might the United States propose a similar Kosovo model for the Artsakh Republic, the self-declared Armenian state in the territory. In the meantime, Blinken should station a diplomat permanently in Stepanakert, Artsakhs capital. Genocide recognition is important but it is not enough. With dictators to both Armenias east and west, it is essential to recognize that the threat of a century ago continues to the present day. Empty rhetoric can carry a huge cost. China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine has recently been approved for clinical trials. The new recombinant Covid-19 vaccine, developed by the National Vaccine & Serum Institute, a R&D centre 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, Xinhua reported. The COVID-19 vaccine is based on the structural features of the receptor binding domain (RBD) on the virus' spike protein (S-protein). 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 authorisation. 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 on Saturday. Source: IANS 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 authorisation.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 on Saturday.Source: IANS It uses genetic engineering to grow harmless copies of the virus S-protein to induce neutralising antibodies. [April 12, 2021] The Netherlands invests 615 million euros in Quantum Delta NL, bringing quantum technology to the next level in Europe - With objectives to scale up to 100 start-ups, 2,000 PhDs and engineers and three large corporate R&D labs by 2027 DELFT, Netherlands, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Netherlands continues to play a leading role in building a world-class European quantum ecosystem. To amplify this, the Dutch government formalized the Dutch strategy on quantum technologies by presenting today an investment plan of 615 million over seven years. This impulse sets in motion a flywheel that could lead to a total public and private investment of an estimated 3.6 billion over the duration of the Quantum Delta NL-program. Because of its strategic and economic importance, quantum technology is central to the European ambition for digital sovereignty. Quantum computers, networks and sensors are the future foundation for High Performance Computing (HPC), Cloud, Hyperscalers and the Dutch Digital Infrastructure. The exponential growth of computing power is expected to have a major impact on the development of medicines and materials, the prediction of complex models and inherently secure data exchange. Quantum sensing enables high resolution biomedical sensing, earth monitoring, navigation without satellites, robust and fast telecommunication networks and many more applications. Frontrunner Within Europe, The Netherlands is currently a front runner in quantum technology. The development of silicon qubits and a quantum processor, the use of entanglement for te development of a quantum Internet and the launch of Quantum Inspire, the first European quantum computer in the cloud, have all been realized by or with the help of Dutch researchers. In addition, the Netherlands has the most quantum startups per capita and is a global top 3 player when it comes to scientific output. This gives the Netherlands a unique opportunity to translate its lead into sustainable earning power for the whole of Europe. The ambition of the Quantum Delta NL program is high: to position the Netherlands as a new Silicon Valley for quantum technology for Europe, with objectives to scale up to 100 start-ups, 2,000 PhDs and engineers and three large corporate R&D labs by 2027. The program fuels the development of the European quantum computer and the quantum internet, open to end users in business and social sectors, including education. It builds a barrierless ecosystem where talent at all levels is trained and collaborates across institutional boundaries to create a new European high-tech industry. Birch Consultants has calculated that the market for quantum technology will grow to more than USD $65 billion over the next 20 years and Boston Consulting Group estimates the market for quantum could grow to around USD $300 billion worldwide by 2050. Mona Keijzer, State Secretary of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy: "Innovation aimed at digitization, sustainability and health has immediately been given a prominent place at the start of the National Growth Fund. This is good for all Dutch people. After all, research and development is the key to sustainable growth and therefore to our jobs and income in the future. The government must also actively provide large-scale public funding to further develop research, innovation and technology, to allow start-ups to grow, to attract talent, to keep innovation in the Netherlands and thus to strengthen our international position. I see great opportunities for the collaborating companies, knowledge institutions and governments involved in this, such as at Quantum Delta NL, to start capitalizing on these challenges." Ronald Hanson, chairman of the Supervisory Board Quantum Delta NL: "The Netherlands has a lot to offer with strong quantum hubs in Delft, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Leiden and Twente. We are building on our public private partnerships to scale one of the leading quantum technology ecosystems by investing in talent, research, entrepreneurship and research facilities." Freeke Heijman, founding director of Quantum Delta NL: "The strength of the Netherlands' position is partly due to the Dutch government's early recognition of the importance of quantum. We are proud that we can now build on that success with the execution of the Quantum Delta NL Program. For us the keyword is scaling the ecosystem!" About Quantum Delta NL Quantum Delta NL is the public-private partnership of global tech companies, government agencies and all major quantum research centers in the Netherlands. The mission of Quantum Delta NL is to further strengthen the thriving Dutch quantum ecosystem into the most relevant for Europe. https://quantumdelta.nl/ Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485563/Quantum_Delta.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ROME, APR 12 - Health Minister Roberto Speranza has said the situation in Italy in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic should be very different this summer compared to how things are at the moment. But he also stressed that the COVID-19 restrictions will have to be relaxed gradually and said there will be no "X hour" when everything suddenly goes back to normal. "But I'm optimistic," Speranza said in an interview in Monday's La Repubblica. "If we manage to vaccinate most of the population, we will be able to allow much more freedom this summer". Speranza said the authorities have decided to extend the time between the first and second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to 42 days, up from 21 and 28 respectively, to make it possible to give more people some degree of cover. He also said over-60s will be able to go to vaccination hubs without an appointment to get jabs with any leftover shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine. But he stressed that, at the moment, the priority remains people over 80 and then those in the 70-80 age range. (ANSA). [April 12, 2021] Evergreen Coast Capital Statement Regarding Rocket Software Acquisition of ASG Technologies MENLO PARK, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Evergreen Coast Capital ("Evergreen"), the technology-focused Menlo Park affiliate of Elliott Investment Management L.P., today announced its support for Rocket Software's agreement to acquire Evergreen portfolio company ASG Technologies ("ASG"). Evergreen first completed a strategic investment into ASG, the Naples, Florida-based enterprise IT software company with leading products in content management, systems management and enterprise data intelligence, in 2017 and has subsequently supported business growth over the past four years, led by CEO Charles Sansbury and CFO Dilip Upmanyu. "We are pleased that ASG's business transformation over the last few years has culminated with this announcement. This represents our second time partnering with Charles, Dilip and their team successfully, and we are thankful to ASG for their hard work in transforming the company into what it is today. We are confident in ASG's ability to create additional value as part of Rocket Software,"said Isaac Kim, Managing Director of Evergreen Coast Capital. "Evergreen equipped ASG with the right resources to help us transform our business over the past few years. I want to personally thank Isaac and his team for their support, and I am excited for ASG to enter its next chapter as a part of Rocket Software," said Charles Sansbury, CEO of ASG Technologies. Bank of America Securities and Barclays are acting as joint financial advisors to ASG and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is acting as legal counsel to ASG. About Elliott and Evergreen Elliott Investment Management L.P. manages more than $42 billion of assets. Its flagship fund, Elliott Associates, L.P., was founded in 1977, making it one of the oldest funds under continuous management. The Elliott funds' investors include pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, funds-of-funds, high net worth individuals and families, and employees of the firm. This investment is being led out of Evergreen Coast Capital, Elliott's Menlo Park affiliate, which focuses on technology investing. Media Contact: Stephen Spruiell Elliott Investment Management L.P. (212) 478-2017 sspruiell@elliottmgmt.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evergreen-coast-capital-statement-regarding-rocket-software-acquisition-of-asg-technologies-301266331.html SOURCE Elliott Investment Management L.P. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] While most of us go through life trying to always be polite, there comes a point when even the best of us are so exasperated that we can't help but be snarky. And these photographs from around the world prove that sometimes a sassy attitude is the only approach to take when feeling fed up. Collated by Diply, the hilarious images show people being very snarky or flippant - including a doctor whose mug warns patients to not compare their medical degree with Google searches. Here, FEMAIL reveals a selection of the funniest photographs, which also include several sassy responses from virtual assistant Siri. Collated by Diply, the hilarious images show people being very sassy - including a doctor whose mug warns patients to not compare Google searches to his medical degree 'Pro Tip: Lift with your legs. And, you know, your arms,' was a surprisingly cheeky quote found in one instruction manual Littering wasn't going to be accepted in this woodland area, and this sign shows just what residents think of those who committed the act Even Siri gets sassy! The virtual assistant cheekily replied 'OK, it's set. And the suspense is killing me', to the question 'Set timer for five hours' 'Don't even think of parking here': A door to a swimming pool had this very stern warning sign to motorists looking to park in the area 'Texting and driving is clever, said no one ever', read one amusing sign urging motorists not to use their mobile phone while driving Chopsticks are difficult to use for many, and one manufacturer couldn't be bothered to explain how to use them, instead just saying 'Good Luck' One place sarcastically apologising for making a balcony non-smoking suggested they were doing people a favour by 'slightly extending their lifespan' This cheeky app notification told the phone owner: 'Try to really listen instead of waiting for your turn to talk again' This was the surprising dish of chocolate sauce and sweets that was served to a customer who had said he wanted 'nothing' for dessert The Royal Mail Twitter account poked fun at someone jokingly complaining about not receiving their Valentine's Day card Fed up staff members posted this sign after seeing so many people wait for the door to open despite needing to push it themselves When asked 'Can you do my homework', a sassy Siri responded: 'Just make an effort. I hear they give out As for that' White House Putting Police Oversight Commission on Hold to Pursue Legislation: Susan Rice Susan Rice, head of Bidens Domestic Policy Council, said the White House has suspended its plans to create a national police oversight commission and will instead put its energy into getting police reform legislation passed. Based on close, respectful consultation with partners in the civil rights community, the administration made the considered judgment that a police commission, at this time, would not be the most effective way to deliver on our top priority in this area, which is to sign the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into law, Rice said in a statement to Politico. During a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania last November, then-President-elect Joe Biden declared that he would form a police oversight commission in his effort to reform policing. Looking ahead, in the first 100 days of my presidency, I have committed to creating a national police oversight commission, he said in the Pennsylvania city before being inaugurated. We need each and every police department in the country to undertake a comprehensive review of their hiring, their training, and their de-escalation practices. And the federal government should give them the tools and resources they need to implement reforms. Rice was tapped by Biden to run the domestic policy council, an under-the-radar but influential group that has the power to sway the administrations direction in immigration, health care, and racial justice. She was President Barack Obamas national security adviser and U.N. ambassador. Rices group will push for passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, with Rice saying the White House is working with Congress to swiftly enact meaningful police reform that brings profound, urgently needed change. The Democrat-controlled House passed the act on March 3, a reform bill that among other things would ban chokeholds and amend the qualified immunity rule for law enforcement officers, making it easier for citizens to pursue claims of police misconduct. The bill was passed 220212, mainly along party lines, nine months after Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers last May. The 116th Congress also passed a police reform bill, but it stalled in the GOP-controlled Senate with Republicans opposing some of the reforms in the bill, including the altering of qualified immunity protections for police officers. With the Senate currently tied, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has vowed to push the Democrats legislative agenda forward with or without Republican support. And well give them a chance, well put things on the floor, because there are a number of my colleagues who say lets give them a chance. But if they vote no like they did on the ARP (American Rescue Plan), we cannot let that stop us, Schumer said during an interview with late-night show host Stephen Colbert in March. Our caucus is going to come together and figure out the best way to get change, but failure is not an option, change we must. Colbert also asked Schumer if he would do away with the Senate filibuster to pass Democrat legislation, even with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) threatening to cause massive slowdowns to the legislative process if they get rid of the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to pass legislation. Were going to go forward because we know the American people demand, need, want bold change, and were going to do it. Mitch McConnell can do all the threatening and blustering he wants, its not going to stop us, Schumer said. The City of Rio Bravo Fire Department is soon to get two major equipment upgrades after the fire chief applied for two grants. Though no dates have been specified, the city has been notified that they will be receiving at least one, if not two, fire trucks. Rio Bravos fire department also serves El Cenizo, and the fire chief states that the aid is much needed. One of the trucks can hold about 500 gallons of water, called a quick attack, said Rio Bravo Fire Chief Juan C. Gonzalez. The other is a semi-brush truck fire engine that can be used for both structural and brush fires. We need it as soon as possible, Gonzalez said. The fire department currently operates with only one fire engine, and therefore calls on the Webb County Fire Department and the Zapata County Fire Department for help when there are larger fires. According to Gonzalez, the recent fire across the river from El Cenizo proves their need for this new equipment amid a hot spring and soon-to-be hotter summer. In this case, the fire department mobilized quickly to try to block the fire from spreading to the U.S. side. Gonzalez states that they were able to prevent one fire from getting bigger when it reached the Hereford Ranch, which is adjacent to El Cenizo, with the only fire truck they have in their department. We cannot use that fire engine as much to go into high brush areas because it does not fit. With a quick attack and a big brush truck it is easier for us to stop those brush fires, Gonzalez said. The fire chief added that the department also needs new fire hoses. Their current fire hoses are 25 years old, he said. Some of them are already burst, and I have been trying to get a grant so I can buy at least sixteen hoses, but so far nothing yet, Gonzalez said. Although the Rio Bravo Fire Department depends on grants for funding and equipment, Gonzalez notes that individuals are free to donate as well. One rancher who lives close to El Cenizo provided the fire department with a donation of $500 that the fire chief put to use to buy some hoses and a bunker for the fire department. For now, Gonzalez hopes that the two equipment trucks arrive soon because the weather is getting warmer and the surrounding areas have already experienced their first fires caused by the temperature changes. I hope they get here fast because in summer, with this wind, its fire season, and we have to be prepared, Gonzalez said. jorge.vela@lmtonline.com Click here to read the full article. In 1980, the United States Department of Justice brought a case against the city of Yonkers, arguing that the New York suburb had effectively institutionalized segregation through housing and education policy. Yonkers was home to a decent portion of low-income housing, but it was all concentrated in the minority neighborhoods on the citys west side, creating a vicious cycle of racialized poverty. A decade prior to the case, a one-year-old Earl Simmons moved to Yonkers with his mother and older sister. They lived in a low-income housing complex known as the Roker before moving to another housing complex at 80 School Street. Yonkers was filled with white people, but you would never know it if you didnt go to their side of the world, Simmons, who rapped under the name DMX, writes in his 2002 autobiography, E.A.R.L. His life was filled with these kinds of unsubtle injustices. Harrowing abuse from his mother; a childhood spent in group homes; years of his adult life spent incarcerated. DMX, who died April 9th after suffering a heart attack, endured a system designed to annihilate the spirit and somehow remained defiantly radiant. RELATED: Houston remembers rapper DMX after news of his passing is made official He did it all while maintaining a legacy as raps standard-bearer for grittiness. Xs debut, 1998s Its Dark and Hell Is Hot, arrived when the rapper was 28 years old and bled with the experiences that shaped him. Walk in my shoes, hurt your feet/Then know why I do dirt in the street, he raps on Look Thru My Eyes. On Stop Being Greedy, he offers something of a precursor to Bernie Sanders campaign of wealth redistribution: Yall been eatin long enough, now stop bein greedy/Just keep it real partner, give to the needy, X raps. Along with offering clear-eyed missives from the streets, DMX never strayed from the type of emotional vulnerability that takes most people years of therapy to achieve. His unending faith made his live performances, which he was known to punctuate with prayer, something closer to a pentecostal revival than a rap show. Slippin, from his second album of 1998, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, remains an enduring example of raps potential to heal. In DMXs 2018 case for tax evasion, the song was played in court to provide context for the struggles X had experienced in his life. In that courtroom, you could hear a pin drop, Xs attorney, Murray Richman, told NBC News. A hardened heart with a gentle spirit, DMX didnt succumb to a life that would have broken most. His first five albums all debuted at Number One, and for a time, he was the biggest name in music and a rising star in movies. But he did suffer with addiction, with love, with the law. His stints in jail became punchline fodder for a celebrity culture unable to metabolize much more than stereotypes. His many children 15, with nine separate women added fuel to cheap jokes. Never mind the father he didnt know, the poverty he knew intimately, the fact that a number of his arrests involved marijuana, which is now legal in the states he was arrested in, or that some of those arrests took place in a county in Arizona thats been sued by the ACLU for racial profiling. X was clearly battling demons for most of his life, and not all of his choices were good ones, but its profoundly unfair to divorce his shortcomings from the context in which they occurred. For the majority of his tragically short life, thats exactly what the public did. READ MORE: Judge refuses to sequester jury in George Floyd murder case The nuance required to understand a man like Earl Simmons has never existed in American popular culture. And still, DMX seemed unfazed. In interviews he was generous, and since his death, stories about his kindness have rung out from other musicians, fans, and complete strangers. On Instagram, youll be hard-pressed not to see a repost of a clip from Xs appearance on an episode of Fresh Off The Boat, in which hes tending to orchids, speaking calmly and gently about the importance of being intentional with those you love. In his 2000 Rolling Stone profile, hes gregarious and joyful. I just wanted to call you and say I love you, Boo-boo, he said, opening one of todays five or six conversations with his love of 13 years, wife Tashera, whom he incessantly calls Boo-boo. They have two sons together, seven-year-old Xavier and eight-month-old Tacoma. I miss your stankin ass, too, Boo-boo. Unlike DMX, Earl Simmons, regular person, is an extremely nice guy. DMX defied easy categorization. A hardened criminal with a heart of gold. A devout Christian with demons he battled in the open. A musician with an appeal across racial lines that didnt come at the expense of authenticity. The tragedy of his life is how much he gave to a world that was unprepared and unwilling to see him completely. In his autobiography, X describes his early frustrations with school, in which he excelled naturally. But the smarter I got, the more bored I got. And the more bored I got, the more trouble I caused. Then no one cared how smart I was, he writes. It was a fucked-up cycle, and through it all, I just felt that I wasnt being heard. I wasnt being allowed to fly. [Find E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX] Sign up for Rolling Stone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. SPRINGFIELD Two Illinois lawmakers are reminding Gov. J.B. Pritzker of his pledge to veto any redistricting map drawn by lawmakers. At a media event, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and state Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, discussed the current status of legislative redistricting in Illinois. Bourne serve on the Illinois House Redistricting Committee. In the end, I think the public is demanding an open transparent process, said Davis. And many of our colleagues including Gov. Pritzker have said in their own words, that they would like an open and transparent process, one thats going to stop politicians from picking their own voters. Redistricting of state legislative and Congressional district boundaries occurs after each decennial census. State lawmakers are currently conducting public hearings on redistricting and have signaled they plan to pass a redistricting plan through the General Assembly prior to June 30. Gov. Pritzker should stand by his campaign pledge to veto any legislative map that is drawn by politicians or their staff and political allies, said Bourne. This is our opportunity to provide a truly independent process that results in fair representation for all residents of Illinois, she said. But it wont happen if the governor isnt willing to keep his word. In 2018, then-candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker was asked if he would pledge as governor to veto any state legislative redistricting map proposal that is in any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies. Yes, I will pledge to veto, Pritzker said at the time. We should amend the constitution to create an independent commission to draw legislative maps, but in the meantime, I would urge Democrats and Republicans to agree to an independent commission to handle creating a new legislative map. Recently Pritzker has indicated he will veto a partisan map or one he thought was unfair. Gov. Pritzker ran on a crystal clear commitment to veto any redistricting plan that was drawn by lawmakers, said Davis. That is exactly the type of redistricting process we have happening right now, and the governor has been AWOL on this issue since the public hearings on redistricting began. The governor has an obligation to the people of Illinois to keep that pledge and veto whatever map the General Assembly sends to his desk, Davis said. He said there is widespread, bipartisan agreement that politicians shouldnt be able to pick their own voters. Its not too late for the General Assembly to establish an independent commission to draw district boundaries for both state legislative and Congressional districts, Davis said. Its the right thing to do, and its what the people of Illinois want. The state constitution requires that the General Assembly complete its work by June 30. After that, the process is handed over to an eight-member bipartisan commission and, if that body fails to approve new maps by Aug. 10, a ninth member is appointed by random selection to give one party or the other a 5-4 majority. Thats the process that has been used in four of the last five redistricting efforts. Only in 2011 did the General Assembly complete the process before the June 30 deadline. Republicans in the General Assembly have proposed an independent redistricting commission that would empower the Illinois Supreme Court to appoint 16 citizen people to determine the legislative district boundaries. Capitol News Illinois contributed to this story. New York, US (PANA) - The United Nations is marking the International Day of Human Space Flight on Monday, celebrating the achievements of astronauts who are stretching the boundaries of where civilization can go, beyond the stratosphere Shanghai (Gasgoo)- China auto outputs and sales reached 2.462 million and 2.526 million units last month, leaping 71.6% and 74.9% respectively from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). As of March 2021, China's monthly outputs and sales had risen year over year for twelve months in a row. For the first quarter of 2021, China auto production and sales volumes reached 6.352 million and 6.484 million units, shooting up 81.7% and 75.6% over the year-ago period, while edging up 0.3% and 1.8% compared to the same period in 2019. In March, PV outputs and sales amounted to 1.883 million and 1.874 million units respectively, both rising 77.4% from the previous year. Due to the low sales for the same period last year, the car, the SUV, the MPV and the minibus segments all scored robust sales growth last month. Notably, the SUV outperformed the car unit regarding both sales volume and growth rate. For the first three months of the year, PV outputs and sales in China reached 4.955 million and 5.076 million units, zooming up 83.1% and 75.1% year over year. Besides, the sales of locally-produced luxury vehicles increased 74.1% over a year ago to roughly 305,000 units, resulting in 829,000 units (+96.6% YoY) for the first-quarter volume. Buoyed by the transition to the China emission standards, the overloading and oversize rectification, and the construction of infrastructures, both heavy-duty and light-duty truck segments achieved their highest-ever monthly sales in March, thereby contributing to the record high monthly sales for both trucks and commercial vehicles (CVs), said the CAAM. Last month, automakers in China exported around 132,000 vehicles, posting a 45.5% hike from a year ago and achieving an all-time high volume for March auto exports. A scene from a local fish market / Yonhap South Korea's foreign ministry voiced "grave concerns" Monday over Japan's decision, expected this week, to release contaminated water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Tokyo appears set to formally announce the final decision in a meeting of related ministers on Tuesday, according to media reports, despite strong opposition from the Japanese fishery industry and concerns from neighboring countries. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a lower house committee earlier in the day that the government cannot put off the decision any longer and that he wants to finalize the decision "within days". "Our government expresses grave concerns as the decision can have direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and the surrounding environment," South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said. Headlines providing more reminders of how COVID meets mass incarceration | Main | DEPC-hosted symposium, "Prioritizing Science Over Fear: An Interdisciplinary Response to Fentanyl Analogues," now available online April 12, 2021 The Marshall Project unveils "The Language Project" to explore words used to describe people in the justice system As a lawyer who thinks precise language and legal terminology is always important, and as a blogger who often hopes to avoid clumsy locutions and sometimes parrots and reprints journalistic word conventions, I am always interested in debates over the array of words we use in describing the criminal justice system and the people connected to it. These debates are heating up as interest in criminal justice reform heats up. Indeed, as some readers surely know, even the term "criminal justice system" is a matter of debate; many now speak of the "criminal legal system" in an effort to undercut any suggestion that the current system helps to achieve "justice." Against this backdrop, I am quite intrigued to see that The Marshall Project has unveiled today "The Language Project," which it sets up this way: Reporters and editors have long believed that terms such as inmate, felon and offender are clear, succinct and neutral. But a vocal segment of people affected by the criminal justice system argue that these words and any other words that define human beings by their crimes and punishments are dehumanizing. The Marshall Project occupies a unique space in criminal justice reporting. We are not an advocacy organization, but we are committed to sustaining a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. As a result, fellow journalists often ask us about our style and standards around the language of criminal justice, and activists we meet frequently confront us about our usage of words such as inmate. The Marshall Project began addressing this issue in 2015, our second year of existence, but we did not make a decision to change our style guide. Since then, through our deepening engagement with formerly and currently incarcerated people, we have realized the urgency of examining and articulating the language we use. The Language Project serves three purposes. First, through a series of powerful pieces by and about people with intimate experience with incarceration, we show the human impact of the words we choose. Second, our guide, What Words We Use and Avoid When Covering People and Incarceration, makes public our decision to avoid labels such as inmate, in favor of language that follows the logic of person-first language. Third, we provide alternatives to the labels. At its heart, journalism is a discipline of clarity. The Language Project is our attempt to set the record straight. Here are links to the first set of pieces in this notable new "Project": April 12, 2021 at 11:10 AM | Permalink Comments Post a comment Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 03:58:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Several states in the United States have temporarily shut down some vaccine sites after people suffered adverse reactions to the shot. A total of 18 people in North Carolina reported side effects, while 11 people in Colorado reacted to the shot with symptoms ranging from dizziness, nausea and fainting, according to media reports. Georgia was the third U.S. state to temporarily shut down a vaccine site following North Carolina and Colorado, after eight people suffered adverse reactions following vaccination. According to local officials, one person was sent to a nearby hospital for evaluation before being released. The other seven were sent home after being monitored at the site. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its analysis "did not find any safety issues or reason for concern." The agency recommended that healthcare providers continue to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Another problem facing Johnson & Johnson is vaccine distribution. The supply of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine is expected to drop by 85 percent nationwide this week, after the company suffered production issues at a facility in Baltimore, Maryland, according to federal officials and data. A manufacturing subcontractor in Baltimore mixed ingredients from the COVID-19 vaccines of Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, delaying shipments of the Johnson & Johnson shot across the nation. The plant is run by Emergent BioSolutions, a manufacturing partner to both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. Federal officials attributed the mistake to human error, which resulted in contamination of up to 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, said Friday that the company is still working to address the production issues in Emergent BioSolutions, which is not certified yet by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use in the United States in late February. It is the third COVID-19 vaccine that has received FDA's authorization, also the first single dose COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States. As of Monday, about 189 million COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered, while more than 237 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed across the country, according to data of the CDC. Enditem Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on April 11 said that he has a clear plan for peace in the country but is opposed to the idea of making the process hasty. The statement from the president came amid the rise in terrorist attacks by the Taliban in the country. The establishment of a peace government is the need of the hour, he said. However, he reiterated that he will not run in any future election. Ghani on peace in Afghanistan While referring to his proposed plan for peace, he said that his proposal for the transition from an imposed war to permanent peace is clear, reported ANI quoting Tolo News. He further said that he will not reveal the details about the proposed plan but compared to proposals from outside, they can have more inclusive and principled plans. He added that the people should remain patient for the peace government. "Our proposal for the transition from an imposed war to a just and permanent peace is very clear, he said. I will not be going into the details any proposal that come from outside, we have the capacity to proposed more inclusive and principled plans," he added. He reiterated that he will not fight any future elections, reported ANI. Ghani said that he will transfer power through elections after holding a Loya Jigra, a grand council for taking people's advice. He called on the Taliban to join a Loya Jigra, a grand council to share their views and demands with the people of Afghanistan. Ghani while referring to his previous remarks said that constitution is the basis for legitimacy in Afghanistan. The process of transition from war to peace should be based on legitimacy and the present constitution has clear ways for its amendment. He further added that the transition of power from the present government to the successor government will be made on the people's will. "The tool for legitimacy is an election. Our promise and commitment to you are the national power will be transferred to our elected successor based on your will," he said. Peace is a forum between us the Taliban and the international community. Therefore, we should achieve achieve results through continued and effective discussion on basic principles No one should hurry. We need to have a a plan to exchange for every proposal offered by our partners, he added. First Vice President Amrullah Saleh at an event reiterated Ghani's stance saying that they will make efforts to form the peace with precision. Saleh further said that the US has shared the details of the agenda of the upcoming Turkey conference on Afghanistan. The conference might be held by the end of this week and the Afghanistan government is preparing to attend the upcoming conference. (Image Credits: The Associated Press) ROME, APR 12 - Italian police on Monday arrested two people in a probe into the Sicilian health care system. The probe regards a contract to transport patients inside the Policlinico Hospital in Palermo, awarded to the Italy Emergenza company. The two men arrested are Maurizio D'Angelo, 63, from Palermo, former department chief at the Policlinico's central services department, and Alessandro Caccioppo, 49, from Messina, former head of the Italy Emergenza cooperative. They have been charged with corruption and failing to perform their duties. Another three people have been placed under investigation on the same charges. A judge ordered the preventive seizure of 260,000 euros, believed to be the proceeds of the suspected corruption. The probe has turned up "serious anomalies" in patient transport services, judicial sources said. The probe covers spending of some 4.2 million euros from 2012 to 2018, the sources said. (ANSA). All pyres at crematoriums in four major cities of Gujarat Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Rajkot are constantly burning with more bodies waiting in line, as per TOI. The situation is such that crematoriums are expanding their boundaries to accommodate the bodies, though the state government said only 49 Covid deaths were recorded on April 10, taking the tally to 4746. The last time 49 people died due to COVID in one day was on May 5, 2020. In Surat, before the pandemic, Ramnath Ghela Crematorium (RGC), Umra, and Kurukshetra Crematorium (KC), Jahangirpura, used to receive 20 bodies on average daily, but for the past two weeks, they have been receiving around 80 bodies. Ashwini Kumar Crematorium (AKC), Surats biggest one, used to attend to more than 30 bodies, but now it has been cremating 110 bodies on average daily. AKC has nine gas furnaces in working condition and four stands for the wooden pyre. Meanwhile, chief minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday denied reports that the state government was hiding the true Covid death data. As per the guidelines of the ICMR, if a comorbid patient dies, then a committee of experts decides the primary and secondary causes of death. If that committee identifies the main cause of the death as heart attack, then even though the patient was infected with coronavirus, such death is not counted as Covid death. The same system is followed in the entire country, he said in Ahmedabad. TOI This may explain how more Covid-19 dead bodies are reaching crematoriums through Covid-protocol but may not be labelled as Covid-19 deaths. Meanwhile, viral videos of bodies waiting in queue at AKC put the government under pressure to make alternative arrangements to reduce scrutiny. An adjoining ground of RGC has turned into a crematorium and Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) teams on Saturday afternoon set up light poles and other infrastructure for emergency use there. Those dying natural deaths are being cremated on a wooden pyre. Light poles are being installed so that cremation can continue even at night, said an SMC employee at the spot. A similar facility is also being created at Jahangirpura, where the authorities have set up new stands for wooden pyre on the bank of river Tapi. In Rajkot too, deaths continue in double digits across hospitals. However, according to the district collectors office, of the 89 people who died during Covid treatment between April 6 and 8, only 14 succumbed to the coronavirus, though all the dead were cremated as per Covid protocol. Trustees of the biggest crematorium of Rajkot Ramnathpara crematorium maintain that they are cremating 20 bodies as per Covid protocol daily. In Ahmedabad, an estimated two dozen bodies were cremated at Vadaj, Dudheshwar and Thaltej crematoriums as per Covid protocol on Saturday, though only 16 deaths due to coronavirus were reported in the district. While the state governments health bulletin on Friday stated that there were six deaths in Vadodara, the bulletin issued locally by Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) mentioned only two. The heavy rush of bodies at Surat crematoriums over the last two weeks has taken a toll on its modern infrastructure. City crematoriums equipped with gas furnaces are being used for cremation round the clock. As a result, the iron frames on which the bodies are placed inside the gas furnace has started melting at all crematoriums. Gas furnaces at all three crematoriums of Diamond City are facing the melting issue. A similar issue has also come up in neighbouring Bardoli town. Along with the melting of frames, the burners also require frequent maintenance as they are being used round the clock. Earlier we used to cremate 20 bodies in a day of which few were cremated on a wood pyre while others were cremated in gas furnaces. The load was limited and each furnace got enough time to cool down. But now, we are handling over 80 bodies daily and each furnace is in use round the clock. Hence the iron frames have started melting and breaking, said an official at Ramnath Ghela Crematorium (RGC). At Ashwini Kumar Crematorium (AKC) too currently two furnaces are not working. The frames are melting and gas burners get clogged. As the furnaces are in constant use, we are facing this difficulty, said an official at AKC. Kurukshetra Crematorium (KC) has employed a team of technicians for frequent maintenance of the gas furnaces. We have employed a team which is available round the clock to repair the furnace. Due to 24 hours use the furnaces break down many times, said an official at KC. Police in Brooklyn Center, Minn., fatally shot a man after a traffic stop on Sunday, sparking clashes at the scene between hundreds of protesters and officers in an area where tensions are running high during the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin. The man's family identified the victim as Daunte Wright, 20. In the hours after the shooting, protesters clashed with police in riot gear, breaking a cruiser's windshield as police fired crowd-suppression munitions, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Police said the shooting happened shortly before 2 p.m. after an officer stopped a car on a traffic violation and found that the driver had an outstanding warrant. As they tried to arrest him, he got back into the car and an officer shot him, Brooklyn Police Center Chief Tim Gannon said in a news release. The man, who had a female passenger in the car, continued driving for several blocks before he hit another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The female passenger suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening during the crash and was transported to the hospital, police said. Police have not identified the victim, but Aubrey Wright identified him as his son, Daunte Wright, who is Black. The officer who shot him has not been identified. Aubrey Wright, 42, said his son had recently asked his mother for $50 to take his car to a carwash, where he was headed when the shooting happened. They had recently bought him a car, his father told The Washington Post. Wright, who was at the grocery store when his son was shot, said he received a call from his wife about 2 p.m. with the news. "She was screaming over the phone. She was saying, 'Daunte was shot!' " he said. "This is not a neighborhood where stuff happens like this," said Aubrey Wright, who said the family lives about three miles from where the shooting happened. Brooklyn Center is about 10 miles north of downtown Minneapolis, where a criminal trial is underway for Chauvin, the former officer accused of kneeling on George Floyd's neck before he died last year. [April 12, 2021] Avaya's "Life and Work Beyond 2020" Survey Reveals Organizations Play Key Role in Individuals' Well-Being Avaya (NYSE: AVYA), a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration, today released the results of a new survey, "Life and Work Beyond 2020: The Change Makers," examining how attitudes and feelings toward home and work life have changed over the last year. The Avaya (News - Alert) survey uncovers a significant happiness gap, with only 27% of respondents saying they were happier in 2020 and 43% saying they were less happy. The survey also reveals that organizations have the power to increase well-being, with 56% saying hybrid work has the potential to improve their well-being and 79% saying that when engaging with an organization's contact center, they expect agents to do everything possible to make them happy. Digital transformation and the pandemic have created lasting change in how we want to work and shop. As workers, we want a hybrid work environment that offers more choice and eliminates an inflexible daily grind. As consumers, we want to interact with businesses through the channels we prefer, and we expect in-the-moment responsiveness to address our unique needs. Businesses that want to meet these changing dynamics require composable solutions that let them build the ideal communications and collaboration environment for managing distributed teams and empowering these teams to delight customers. "Avaya's 'Life and Work Beyond 2020' survey presents a compelling case that organizations today play a critical role in our well-being, both as employers and service providers," said Simon Harrison, Chief Marketing Officer, Avaya. "The question is, how can businesses enable hybrid work while ensuring employees have the tools they need to consistently delight customers? Avaya OneCloud is a composable communication and collaboration platform that enables businesses to bridge employee and customer experiences, with fluid, seamless engagement no matter where employees are working while empowering them to quickly create and deliver memorable experiences in the moment." Key Takeaways from Avaya's "Life and Work Beyond 2020" Survey Our sources of happiness are changing - and many are less happy According to the survey, the unsurprising top sources of decreased happiness in 2020 include the COVID-19 pandemic (82%), less face-to-face contact with others (68%) and money worries (64%). However, among the 27% of respondents whose happiness increased, the top reasons included some surprises, including flexibility in deciding where to work (62%) and more work from home & bosses trusting workers (57%). Work needs flexibility The desire for more work flexibility is underscored by the fact that across all respondents, 46% feel trapped in a daily routine and 43% are struggling to find the right work-life balance. Further, 56% think that hybrid work will have the potential to improve their well-being, and 60% would support government policies that embrace hybrid working. Changed values are reshaping how we shop Honesty, respect and optmism are now top values, and 69% of respondents say they actively (33%) or sometimes (36%) choose organizations, including banks, retailers, utilities, healthcare providers, and telecom providers, that reflect their values. More than 1 out of 2 prefer a mix of ways to contact organizations, including a phone number on every webpage or app (69%) and more help available on websites (57%). Nearly half of respondents (47%) say convenience is more important than price. Organizations have a big impact on our well-being The impact of organizations on well-being is huge, with 71% of respondents saying customer service problems cause them a great deal (28%) or a considerable amount (43%) of stress. A full 79% expect organization contact centers to do everything possible to make them a happy customer, but only 13% say organizations always make them feel good after an interaction and only 8% say they are regularly delighted by their interactions. The survey, conducted in November 2020, is based on interviews with 10,000 consumers and workers in a variety of markets around the world, including Austria, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the U.S. Additional Resources Learn how Avaya OneCloud solutions can make an impact in your organization. Check out the full Life and Work Beyond 2020: The Change Makers report. See the infographic, How our values, relationships with businesses and working lives are changing. About Avaya Businesses are built by the experiences they provide, and everyday millions of those experiences are delivered by Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE: AVYA). Avaya is shaping what's next for the future of work, with innovation and partnerships that deliver game-changing business benefits. Our cloud communications solutions and multi-cloud application ecosystem power personalized, intelligent, and effortless customer and employee experiences to help achieve strategic ambitions and desired outcomes. Together, we are committed to help grow your business by delivering Experiences that Matter. Learn more at http://www.avaya.com/ Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This document contains certain "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking" statements for purposes of the U.S. federal and state securities laws. These statements may be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "our vision," "plan," "potential," "preliminary," "predict," "should," "will," or "would" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control. The factors are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC (News - Alert) ") available at www.sec.gov, and may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The Company cautions you that the list of important factors included in the Company's SEC filings may not contain all of the material factors that are important to you. In addition, in light of these risks and uncertainties, the matters referred to in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release may not in fact occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. All trademarks identified by , TM, or SM are registered marks, trademarks, and service marks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Source (News - Alert) : Avaya Newsroom View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005185/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is no stranger to taking a stand on controversial issues. But usually, that controversy takes place in Jersey City not Narragansett, Rhode Island. Since the beginning of 2021, Fulop has called in to two meetings of the Narragansett town council to oppose a controversial plan to add public parking spots to Point Judith, the upscale waterfront neighborhood where he owns a summer house. Rhode Island law requires all the states beaches to be open to the public, and for decades, surfers have flocked to Point Judith in search of waves reputed to be some of New Englands best. In an effort to preserve that beach access, the Narragansett town council is considering opening residential streets in Point Judith for public parking. But that proposal has angered some neighborhood property owners, who have called into council meetings to complain of congestion and crowds of visiting surfers. One of those property owners is Steve Fulop. As the homeowner there, there isnt a week that goes by where we dont have countless surfers stripping down and changing on the street, Fulop said at a Jan. 4 town council meeting. There isnt a day that goes by that there arent countless trespassers walking across my property at all times. In 2018, the Fulops bought a cottage in Point Judith and tore it down to build three-story house, just feet away from the Atlantic Ocean. But that proximity has its drawbacks. Surfers have used deck furniture from the house without permission, Fulop said, and he regularly cleans littered beer cans from his property. He refrains from calling the police because we do believe in public access, he said, but the councils plans to expand parking would make those problems immensely worse. Just like any resident in Jersey City is encouraged to engage at Council meetings on issues they care about, Mayor Fulop has participated in two Narragansett Council meetings via Zoom to share his views on an issue related to car traffic on his street and the safety of his two children, Phil Swibinski, a spokesman for Fulops mayoral campaign, said in an emailed statement. One factor compounding the controversy of the parking expansion is that Point Judith is a popular location for summer homes. That means that, like Fulop, some of the property owners weighing in are not full-time residents, according to Narragansett Councilman Patrick Murray. Most of these complaints are from people who dont live here, Murray, who sponsored the motion to expand parking, said at the January meeting. But in his comments, Fulop did not mention the fact that he lives in and is the mayor of Jersey City. My family isnt new to Narragansett, Fulop told the town council. Were longtime residents. Were not transplants. My familys been here for more than 60 years. Swibinski cited the Fulops substantial roots in Narragansett. Fulop was born in Edison, but his wife, Jaclyn, is a Narragansett native. The family visits Jaclyns parents about once a month, Swibinski said, otherwise Mayor Fulop and his family are always in Jersey City and he is on call 7 days a week, 24 hours per day. At the Jan. 4 meeting, which lasted nearly four and a half hours, the Narragansett council voted unanimously to begin the process of expanding public parking. This is a historic generational access and it is this councils duty to protect it, period, Councilman Murray said at the Jan. 4 meeting. Last month, as the council considered the first reading of a resolution codifying the expansion of parking, Fulop phoned in again and asked the council to scale back their plans. I constantly feel like were under attack, as residents in that community, Fulop said at a Mar. 1 meeting. But over the objections of Fulop and others, the council approved the resolution unanimously. We have to do our best to do what we think is best for the town and all the residents of the town and all the taxpayers, Narragansett Council President Jesse Pugh said. Editor's note: Hannan Hussain is a foreign affairs commentator and author. He is a Fulbright recipient at the University of Maryland in the U.S., and a former assistant researcher at Islamabad Policy Research Institute. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. On April 8, leaders of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee introduced a sweeping 280-page bill called the "Strategic Competition Act of 2021," a hardline legislative blueprint that frames Beijing's "political, diplomatic, economic, military and ideological power" as a strategic competitor to U.S., its partners, and the international order at large. Though the legislation encourages Washington to adopt a policy of "strategic competition" on paper, its methods of execution are unmistakably combative: ramped-up military financing in the so-called Indo-Pacific, advancement of China-focused sanctions, containment incentives in Asia's leading multilateral forums, scrutiny of Chinese enterprises, and multi-million dollar funds for countering Beijing's infrastructure connectivity initiatives. On the military financing front, Washington appears to commit over $110 million in annual appropriations to tacitly undermine regional maritime peace in Southeast Asia. The bill confirms this trade-off by routing all operational, intelligence, training and maritime assistance under the "Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative," a holdover from earlier years that singled-out China's military capabilities as unacceptable to the United States. Tired platitudes, such as improving maritime domain awareness among Southeast Asian allies, are marketed as U.S. "national security objectives." The latter presumes firm territorial grounds for U.S. initiative in the region, when the bill provides no basis for such broad-based legitimacy. Recent developments in the region suggest minimum appetite for foreign interference. China and ASEAN continue to sustain their optimism for fast-tracking a code of conduct in the South China Sea, with Manila becoming the latest party to promote consultations on maritime security in the region. This noninterference momentum runs contrary to the aspirations of the bill. On business and multilateral trade, lawmakers show no signs of cultivating a free-market standard for both countries, let alone ushering an era of healthy competition. The bill advises the U.S. government to counter China's alleged "anticompetitive" industrial policies, while lobbying against China's fulfillment of World Trade Organization commitments. Above all, the bill positions the multi-million dollar "Infrastructure Transaction and Assistance Network" as an inlet for debt-consultancy and infrastructure-building in the Pacific. More crucially, this initiative pales in comparison to a more coercive reality: that scores of countries must be prepared to disclose their loan negotiation commitments with Beijing. Rain clouds loom over the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan as it is anchored off Manila Bay, the Philippines, August 7, 2019. /AP Lending under the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as sovereign transactions by the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, are among the real costs of attaining debt-relief eligibility under U.S.-backed financial institutions. Put simply, Washington's infrastructure and debt-relief exhibit is a broad hijack of developing economies' autonomous statecraft. The 280-page bill also contradicts its own "findings" regarding China's alleged market distortions. The U.S. Secretary of State is required to produce reporting that shows Beijing's policies "discriminate in favor" of its enterprises, sidestep foreign market competitors, or consolidate material benefits all of the speculation billed previously as facts. On international organizations, the U.S. Congress requires the intelligence apparatus to establish "Chinese influence" through more frivolous means: tracking sovereign countries' voting patterns and cultivating skepticism of Chinese technological equipment supplies. Note that from Europe to Asia, several U.S. allies have signaled their resistance to camp politics on the world stage, effectively limiting the appeal of anti-China hostilities within their own value systems. This is an important fracture to observe during the life of the draft legislation, because Washington claims its position on Beijing is representative of "the values of other nations." Injecting unilateral sanctions into a strategic competition framework won't pay off either. Section 210 of last Thursday's bill boasts a range of Congress-mandated measures which lawmakers deem central to addressing so-called "malign behavior ... by individuals and entities in the People's Republic of China." But as experts and officials made clear recently, a continuation of U.S. penalties against Chinese enterprises does little to interrupt China's economic self-sufficiency pivot. As for U.S. economic interests back home, it is unlikely that the same futile sanctions will score domestic dividends, even if it means decorating Trump-style tactics as a "statutory and constitutional" imperative. Ultimately, the Strategic Competition Act offers the ideal toolkit to run the international rules-based order into the ground. The Act's heavy emphasis on locking horns with Beijing also confirms limited obstacles in moving through Capitol Hill. But if the underlying expectation is to court international approval by challenging Beijing on the world-stage, that same legislation is dead on arrival. Mumbai, April 12 : When Amrita Puri is not shooting, she is often found spending time with her pet dog Nimboo. The actress, who adopted the pet a couple of years ago, said having a dog is like having a child. "I adopted Nimboo in November 2019. I've always had dogs but this time I wanted to adopt an Indie dog. He is the light of my life. I feel like I survived lockdown because of him. He is my son! When I'm away shooting, I can't tell you how much I miss his face. Dogs make the world a better place. He fills my lives with laughter and joy. He's such a little clown. Never have I loved anything more in my life so far, apart from my parents," Amrita told IANS. The actress is currently busy shooting for the third season of "Four More Shots Please!". She is happy to be back on the set of the show after the pandemic. "It's been a long wait. We were supposed to start shooting last summer but Covid-19 threw the whole world's plans out of the window. It was amazing to meet the 'Four More Shots Please' family again. We have been working together since 2017, so there is a superb comfort level and rapport with the cast and producers," she said. "The only thing that changes with every season is the director, and that makes it all the more fun -- to see how different directors interpret the characters and how they like to approach your scenes," she added. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text President Biden announced a series of new nominations on Monday and all must be confirmed by the Senate: Christy Abizaid, Nominee for Director of National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence Christine Abizaid spent nearly a decade as a counterterrorism intelligence officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency before transitioning to the National Security Council, first as a Director for Counterterrorism and then as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. In 2014, she was appointed by the Secretary of Defense as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia. Her last Government posting was leading the Defense Innovation Units newly established presence in Austin, Texas. Abizaid joined Dell Technologies in 2017 and currently serves as an executive in its Global Operations organization. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego and a M.A. in International Policy Studies from Stanford University. Chris Inglis, Nominee for National Cyber Director, Executive Office of the President Chris Inglis currently serves as a U. S. Naval Academy Looker Distinguished Visiting Professor for Cyber Studies, as a managing director at Paladin Capital, a member of the boards of several public and private corporations, and as a Commissioner on the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission. He retired from the Department of Defense in January 2014 after 41 years of federal service, including 28 years at the National Security Agency and seven and a half years as its Deputy Director. He served as a member of the Department of Defense Science Board and as a National Intelligence University trustee until early 2021. A 1976 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Inglis holds advanced degrees in engineering and computer science from Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, and the George Washington University. Inglis military career includes 30 years of service in the US Air Force and Air National Guard -- from which he retired as a command pilot at the rank of Brigadier General. He and his wife Anna have three grown children and reside in Annapolis, MD. Christine Wormuth, Nominee for Secretary of the Army, Department of Defense Christine E. Wormuth served as Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) during the Obama-Biden Administration, the third most senior civilian position in the Department of Defense, advising two Secretaries of Defense on the full range of foreign policy and national security issues. She also served as the senior director for defense policy on the National Security Council, helping shape the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance that began rebalancing the military toward the Indo-Pacific. She joined the Obama-Biden Administration in 2009 as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Civil Support. Previously, Wormuth was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, worked in the private sector, and served for almost seven years as a civil servant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, beginning as a Presidential Management Fellow. Wormuth is currently Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation. She teaches as an adjunct professor in Georgetown Universitys graduate program in security studies and serves on the honorary advisory board of the Leadership Committee for Women in National Security (LCWINS). In January 2021, she led the Biden-Harris Defense Agency Review Team and she has twice received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. After growing up in College Station, Texas, Wormuth graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts and has a masters degree in public policy from the University of Maryland. Gil Cisneros, Nominee for Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense Gilbert Cisneros enlisted in the United States Navy in 1989 after graduating from high school. He was selected for the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training Program, received a Navy R.O.T.C. scholarship and was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Navy in 1994. In 2010, with his wife Jacki, he started The Gilbert & Jacki Cisneros Foundation, focused on helping students find a path to higher education with scholarships and college access programs. Along with supporting education initiatives, they have supported the USO, an organization that supports our active duty troops. In 2015, he founded The Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute at his alma mater The George Washington University, which not only provides scholarships for Latino students, but is also becoming a leading institute for policy issues that affect the Latino community. As a Congressman representing CA 39, Cisneros served on both the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees, and was a strong advocate, for our veterans, servicemembers and our military families. He fought to address the issue of mental health and suicide amongst both our veterans and service members. After the death of Spc. Venessa Guillen, he was invited to participate in discussions about the status of Latinos in the Army and helped to introduce the I Am Vanessa Guillen Act to make sexual harassment a crime within the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He has been an advocate for military families on issues of housing, child abuse, and exceptional family members. He is committed to building a diverse military, and removing extremism from our ranks. He has been married to his wife Jacki for over 15 years, they have twin sons, Christopher and Alexander, and reside in Yorba Linda, CA. Cisneros has a Bachelors degree in political science, from the George Washington University, an M.B.A. from Regis University, and a Masters in Urban Education Policy from Brown University. Anne Milgram, Nominee for Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice Anne Milgram has had a distinguished career as a state, local, and federal prosecutor. As New Jerseys Attorney General from 2007-2010, Milgram was New Jerseys chief law enforcement officer and led the 9,000-person Department of Law & Public Safety, overseeing the New Jersey State Police and the State Division of Criminal Justice. Milgram also had oversight responsibility for state and county prosecutors and more than 30,000 local law enforcement officers statewide. During her career, Milgram spearheaded investigations into human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, street gangs, violent and organized crime, public corruption, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, and civil rights violations. Milgram began her career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. She went on to serve as a federal prosecutor in the United States Department of Justice, where she became Special Litigation Counsel for the prosecution of human trafficking crimes. In that role, Milgram partnered with United States Attorneys Offices in the Eastern District of New York, New Jersey, and New Hampshire to prosecute some of the first sex trafficking and forced labor cases under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Milgram is currently a Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University School of Law, where she teaches seminars on human trafficking and local criminal prosecution and leads the Criminal Justice Lab. The Lab, in partnership with local jurisdictions, has designed and built a screening tool that can be used by law enforcement to identify individuals suffering from mental health and substance abuse disorders who can safely be diverted into treatment. Milgram is also Special Counsel to Lowenstein Sandler LLP and currently serves as a member of the board of Covenant House International, the Century Foundation, the Center for Policing Equity, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She lives in New York City with her husband and their wonderful 6-year-old son. Susanna Blume, Nominee for Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, Department of Defense Susanna V. Blume is currently performing the duties of the Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Defense. Prior to taking on this role, Blume was Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where her research focused on the alignment of defense strategy, planning, and resources. Prior to joining CNAS, Blume served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Programs and Plans to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, whom she advised on programming and budget issues, global force management, operational and strategic planning, force posture, and acquisition policy. She has also served in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Plans and Posture. Blume holds a master's degree in international studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, a law degree from the George Washington University Law School, and a bachelor's degree in the history of art from the Johns Hopkins University. Marcela Escobari, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID For over two decades, the Hon. Marcela Escobari led organizations that help regions chart a path towards prosperity. She served in the Obama-Biden Administration as Assistant Administrator of USAIDs Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. During her time there, Escobari reinforced U.S. support for Peace Colombia, established a long-term development plan for Haiti, and prepared a proactive strategy to confront the humanitarian and political crisis in Venezuela. In response to Congress doubling of funding to Central America, she led changes in strategy, organization and execution to combat root causes of poverty and migration in the region. Prior to serving in government, Escobari was Executive Director at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. During her tenure, the Center launched projects in 17 countries across five continents focused on unlocking constraints to economic growth. Most recently, as a senior fellow at Brookings, she created the Workforce of the Future initiative and applied international economic development models to map the industrial path of American cities and identify policies to help workers prosper in the face of evolving labor markets. She worked with US local leaders, companies and policy makers, including in Idaho and Texas, to strengthen paths to the middle class. Her career has spanned the private sector, government and academia, with a common thread of producing growth that is inclusive and sustainable. She began her career as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan and worked across the globe on export competitiveness projects as a strategy consultant. The World Economic Forum named her a Young Global Leader in 2013. She co-authored the book In the River They Swim: Essays from around the World on Enterprise Solutions to Poverty, holds a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College and an M.A. in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. C.S. Eliot Kang, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of State, International Security and Non-Proliferation, Department of State C.S. Eliot Kang, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, currently serves as Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Security and Non-Proliferation at the U.S. Department of State. He also has been performing the duties of Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security since January 2021. He has worked in the Bureau of International Security and Non-Proliferation since 2005 in a number of key positions, including Acting Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Special Adviser. Previously, he worked in the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Arms Control and Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. A former tenured professor, he taught international security at the University of Pennsylvania and Northern Illinois University and held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution. Kang received his Ph.D. from Yale University. He also studied at Princeton University and received his A.B., summa cum laude, from Cornell University. Kang is the recipient of numerous Department awards, including a Presidential Rank Award. He speaks Korean and Japanese. Kenneth Polite, Nominee for Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Division, Department of Justice Kenneth A. Polite is currently a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. During the Obama/Biden administration, he served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, where he championed prevention, reentry, and enforcement in improving public safety, and advised Department of Justice leadership as a member of the Attorney Generals Advisory Committee. Polite has also served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he focused on prosecuting public corruption and organized crime, and clerked for the Honorable Thomas L. Ambro of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In private practice, Polite has been a white collar defense attorney in Pennsylvania, New York, and Louisiana, focusing on internal investigations and corporate compliance. He has also served as the Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for Entergy Corporation. A supporter and active board member of several non-profit organizations, Polite has received an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of his public service. Born and raised in New Orleans, he is a graduate of Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center. Todd Robinson, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State Todd Robinson, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, currently serves as Director of the International Student Management Office, National Defense University. He was a Senior Advisor for Central America in the U.S. State Departments Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in Washington. D.C. Robinson also served as Charge dAffaires a.i. in Caracas, Venezuela. Previously, Robinson was U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guatemala from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Robinson also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala; as Consul General and Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Barcelona, Spain; and as Chief of the Political and Economic Section in the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania. Other overseas postings include the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Vatican City, Italy, El Salvador, and Colombia. Earlier in his career, Robinson served in the Departments Operations Center and as a Special Assistant to former Secretary of State Albright. He is the recipient of a Presidential Rank Award. A native of New Jersey, he is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and speaks Spanish, Italian, and Albanian. Christopher Schroeder, Nominee for Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice Christopher H. Schroeder is Charles S. Murphy Emeritus Professor of Law and Emeritus Professor of Public Policy Studies. From 1994-1997, Schroeder served as deputy and acting assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. From 2010-2013, he served as assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Policy. He has also served as Chief Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, 1992-1993. His scholarship on constitutional law and separation of powers includes Keeping Faith with the Constitution, co-authored with Pamela Karlan and Goodwin Liu, as well as Presidential Power Stories, co-edited with Curtis Bradley. Schroeder has also written on a broad range of topics in environmental law and policy, risk regulation, and tort theory, as well as on Congressional procedures and affairs. He is co-author of a leading environmental law casebook, Environmental Regulation: Law, Science and Policy (8th Edition, 2018), with Robert Percival, Alan Miller and James Leape. Schroeder received his B.A. degree from Princeton University in 1968, a M. Div. from Yale University in 1971, and his J.D. degree from University of California, Berkeley in 1974, where he was editor-in-chief of the California Law Review. He and his wife, Katharine T. Bartlett, divide their time between Durham, N.C. and Belfast, Maine. Gil Cisneros, Nominee for Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense Gilbert Cisneros enlisted in the United States Navy in 1989 after graduating from high school. He was selected for the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training Program, received a Navy R.O.T.C. scholarship and was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Navy in 1994. In 2010, with his wife Jacki, he started The Gilbert & Jacki Cisneros Foundation, focused on helping students find a path to higher education with scholarships and college access programs. Along with supporting education initiatives, they have supported the USO, an organization that supports our active duty troops. In 2015, he founded The Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute at his alma mater The George Washington University, which not only provides scholarships for Latino students, but is also becoming a leading institute for policy issues that affect the Latino community. As a Congressman representing CA 39, Cisneros served on both the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees, and was a strong advocate, for our veterans, servicemembers and our military families. He fought to address the issue of mental health and suicide amongst both our veterans and service members. After the death of Spc. Venessa Guillen, he was invited to participate in discussions about the status of Latinos in the Army and helped to introduce the I Am Vanessa Guillen Act to make sexual harassment a crime within the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He has been an advocate for military families on issues of housing, child abuse, and exceptional family members. He is committed to building a diverse military, and removing extremism from our ranks. He has been married to his wife Jacki for over 15 years, they have twin sons, Christopher and Alexander, and reside in Yorba Linda, CA. Cisneros has a Bachelors degree in political science, from the George Washington University, an M.B.A. from Regis University, and a Masters in Urban Education Policy from Brown University TORONTO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX: WDO) (Wesdome or the Company) today announces positive results from underground bulk sample program on the Kiena Deep A Zone at the Companys 100% owned Kiena Mine Complex in Val d'Or, Quebec. The bulk sample provided an opportunity to confirm the geologic interpretation of the deposit, test for spatial and grade continuity of the mineralized structures, validate key assumptions of the mineral resource estimate and assess the rock quality characteristics. Highlights of the Bulk Sample A total of 7,032 tonnes were processed from the bulk sample at the Kiena mill. The 7,032 tonnes milled as part of the bulk sample represents the planned area of the bulk sample. Additional lower grade material outside of the planned area of the bulk sample was stockpiled on surface. Successfully tested an area within the December 15, 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate and confirmed the continuity of the high-grade gold mineralization within the A and A1 Zones. The bulk sample recovered 6% more gold than the MRE with a feed grade of 15.7 g/t versus model grade of 14.7 g/t. Geotechnical conditions were sound overall and allowed the Company to assess and optimize development protocols. Total gold produced was 3,479 ozs with gold recovery in the Kiena mill of 98.2%. To date, gold sales of 1,500 ounces of gold in Q4 2020 and 1,793 ounces in Q1 2021 have been sold, with the remaining to be sold in Q2. December 15, 2020 - Block Model * Mill Feed ** Tonnes (t) Grade (g/t Au) Au Ounces Tonnes (t) Grade (g/t Au) Au Ounces 7,032 14.7 3,327 7,032 15.7 3,543 Block Model Capped Notes on reconciliation table - December 15, 2020 Block Model refers to the Company's technical report, titled Update of the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kiena Mine Complex Project, Val-dOr, Quebec, Canada. Mill Feed contained ounces and head grade calculated based on gold produced from the Kiena Mill, including mill tails which graded 0.28 g/t A total of 7,032 tonnes were subsequently processed at Kiena mill. Reconciliation was completed on milled tonnes only. The total tonnes surveyed is the base line to do the analysis towards the Resource Block Model (BM). Tonnes of the BM corresponded to the same elevation and equivalent lateral limits. When the calibration of tonnes was completed, in situ ounces, were redistributed to the areas that have been mined. The percentage of recovery from Mill was considered during the process. The grade of the muck samples allowed for the redistribution of the ounces on a pro rata basis, by zone sent to the Mill. Mr. Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO commented, We are very pleased with the results of the bulk sample that confirmed the continuity of the high-grade gold mineralization of the A Zone, but more importantly demonstrated a 6% positive reconciliation in the number of ounces recovered from the bulk sample compared to the resource block model. This is very positive, and provides confidence in the resource estimate for future mining. We are also very encouraged with the recommissioning and performance of the Kiena mill with gold recovery in excess of 98%. This certainly confirms the readiness of the mill for future production. As well, we are in the final stage of completing the pre-feasibility study and intend to publish the results this quarter. In addition, we are continuing our aggressive exploration drilling program to further expand the A and VC zones and to follow-up on our discovery of new zones of high-grade occurring within 50 m of the footwall of the A Zone. All of these intersections illustrate the untested potential of the entire gold system proximal to the Kiena mine infrastructure and the probability of adding high grade ounces per vertical meter. We are also currently ramping up a large surface exploration program, with the aim of unlocking additional value on the Kiena property further to the west and east of the Kiena mine initially, and later, over the entire property. Kiena Deep A Zone Bulk Sample The bulk sample consisted of 3.7 m x 4.0 m lateral development on the 111 Level along the A Zone and A1 Zone (Figure 1 and 2). A total of approximately 66 drift rounds were blasted, which allowed for thorough geotechnical assessment and geological mapping, photographing and sampling from the faces of each development round. Chip and muck sampling was completed systematically to determine average grade for each round. A total of 984 muck and 238 chip samples were collected in addition to quality control samples. During the development of this portion of the A Zone, visible gold was observed on about 75% of the faces (Figure 4). The initial development has confirmed the continuity of the A Zones high grade gold mineralization along strike. Visible gold is associated with folded quartz veins which are located within an overall zone of strong amphibole alteration within a sheared corridor. The amphibolite is located at the contact between basalt/feldspar porphyry dyke and ultramafic rocks. Detailed muck and chip samples (uncapped) presented in Figure 3, shows the grade and geological continuity. Reconciliation with capped muck samples (165 g/t Au) was 8% above mill feed. Processing of the Bulk Sample The Kiena mill was restarted to process the Kiena Deep bulk sample. The development material came from two zones, namely the A and A1 Zones. The milled tonnage was measured using a conveyor scale. Daily throughput reached up to 41 tonnes per hour (tph) with no issues during the extraction of the bulk sample. The grade and recovery values provided by the mill were determined using multiple sampling points, per cent solids measurements, tailing grade sampling, laboratory analysis and refined ounces (during the milling) and the ounces recovered during the cleaning of the SAG and ball mills after milling was completed. All calculations and sampling methods have been validated using an independent mineral processing consultant. The material recovered during the cleaning of the balls mills was sent to a third-party refiner, Sipi Metals Corp (precious metal refinery based in Chicago, USA) and was included in the overall bulk sample reconciliation. TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE The technical and geoscientific content of this release has been compiled, reviewed and approved by Bruno Turcotte, P.Geo., (OGQ #453) Senior Project Geologist and Audrey Lapointe, Geo. (OGQ #975), Production Chief Geologist, of the Company and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 -Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. QUALITY CONTROL AND REPORTING PROTOCOLS Analytical work was performed by ALS Minerals of Val-dOr (Quebec), a certified commercial laboratory (Accredited Lab #689). Sample preparation was done at ALS Minerals in Val d'Or (Quebec). Assaying was done by fire assay methods with an atomic absorption finish. Any sample assaying >100 g/t Au was rerun by metallic sieve method. In addition to laboratory internal duplicates, standards and blanks, the geology department inserts blind duplicates, standards and blanks into the sample stream to monitor quality control for chip and muck samples. COVID-19 The health and safety of our employees, contractors, vendors, and consultants is the Companys top priority. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Wesdome has adopted all public health guidelines regarding safety measures and protocols at all of its mine operations and corporate offices. In addition, our internal COVID-19 Taskforce continues to monitor developments and implement policies and programs intended to protect those who are engaged in business with the Company. Through care and planning, to date the Company has successfully maintained operations at the Eagle River Complex, however there can be no assurance that this will continue despite our best efforts. Future conditions may warrant reduced or suspended production activities which could negatively impact our ability to maintain projected timelines and objectives. Consequently, the Companys actual future production and production guidance is subject to higher levels of risk than usual. We are continuing to closely monitor the situation and will provide updates as they become available. ABOUT WESDOMEWesdome Gold Mines has had over 30 years of continuous gold mining operations in Canada. The Company is 100% Canadian focused with a pipeline of projects in various stages of development. The Companys strategy is to build Canadas next intermediate gold producer, producing 200,000+ ounces from two mines in Ontario and Quebec. The Eagle River Complex in Wawa, Ontario is currently producing gold from two mines, the Eagle River Underground Mine and the Mishi Open pit, from a central mill. Wesdome is actively exploring its brownfields asset, the Kiena Complex in Val dOr, Quebec. The Kiena Complex is a fully permitted former mine with a 930-metre shaft and 2,000 tonne-per-day mill. The Company has further upside at its Moss Lake gold deposit, located 100 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Company has approximately 139.4 million shares issued and outstanding and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WDO. For further information, please contact: Duncan Middlemiss or Lindsay Carpenter Dunlop President and CEO VP Investor Relations 416-360-3743 ext. 2029 416-360-3743 ext. 2025 duncan.middlemiss@wesdome.com lindsay.dunlop@wesdome.com 220 Bay St, Suite 1200 Toronto, ON, M5J 2W4 Toll Free: 1-866-4-WDO-TSX Phone: 416-360-3743, Fax: 416-360-7620 Website: www.wesdome.com This news release contains forward-looking information which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the future financial or operating performance of the Company and its projects. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, or believes or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances, managements estimates or opinions should change, except as required by securities legislation. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company has included in this news release certain non-IFRS performance measures, including, but not limited to, mine operating profit, mining and processing costs and cash costs. Cash costs per ounce reflect actual mine operating costs incurred during the fiscal period divided by the number of ounces produced. These measures are not defined under IFRS and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to or more meaningful than, net income (loss) or cash flow from operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of our financial performance or liquidity. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company's performance and ability to generate cash flow. Figures accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e47cee2b-ba5a-482e-a497-535acd3bb024 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c877c3c4-369e-4a34-8542-0677fa9d91f1 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/35c47c7c-762b-4e2b-8a41-5caa676d272c https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dfe44e30-fdc7-4acb-a5d9-dfb7660575b1 PDF available: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/e5482677-65fb-4172-92a2-31e3c93f3f1a Figure One Kiena Deep A Zone and Bulk Sample Location Figure Two Plan View Showing A Zone Location from Block Model and Mine Development Figure Three Muck and Chip Preliminary Results Figure Four Bulk Sample Source: Wesdome Gold Mines For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. HARTFORD Officials responded to a two-alarm fire in Hartford Sunday, according to the fire department. The fire which was in the area of the Franklin Avenue and Shultas Place intersection had been knocked down by 5:12 p.m., according to a social media post from the Hartford Fire Department. But at the time of the post Sunday evening, firefighters were still operating, performing salvage and overhaul. TORONTO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Artbarn School in Toronto has sourced more than 160 works of art donated from professional and aspiring artists for a fundraising auction opening today. Notable artworks up for auction include ten photographs by Montreal-based Bill Vazan, who won the 2016 Governor Generals Award in Visual and Media Arts, and several works by Istvan Kantor, who won the same prize in 2004. Donated works by significant Canadian artists Menno Krant, Rebecca Baird, Agata Ostrowska, Joseph Drapell and Steven Livick as well as widely collected American artists Ben Schonzeit and Alan Sonfist are also being auctioned to raise funds for the school. This years auction is the first time Artbarn School has used an online platform for fundraising of this scale. Previously the school held live auction events, but COVID-19 restrictions have challenged the organizers to move online in order to safely reach bidders and supporters and achieve their fundraising goals. Were happy to connect virtually with our community of artists and students, says executive director Linda McMaster. We hope that Artbarn can continue providing enriching art experiences at this location. Artbarn will use proceeds from the auction to support Art for Cancer programs, scholarships for under-served children to attend art classes, and to sustain the school through pandemic closures. In recognition of the difficulties facing charities during the pandemic, MaxSold stepped up, helping Canadian nonprofits and charities raise more than $290,000 since July. Through the charity-zero campaign, charities and nonprofits can use the online auction platform on a zero-commission basis. MaxSold is a new spin on the timeless art of auctions. I am thrilled that were able to host this fundraiser online, assisting with marketing, registration, bidder support and collections for Artbarn, says Sushee Perumal, chief executive officer of MaxSold. In the start-up community, we think of partnerships between business and other sectors as a way of adding social value back into the local community. Artbarn has also been negatively impacted by years of construction along Eglinton Avenue, close to where the school is located. Artbarn is a vital part of the North Toronto community. As a charity, these events are crucial, and we are grateful to MaxSold for providing a free, online platform for not-for-profits, says Kia Mathews, Communications Coordinator and Studio Manager. The auction opens on Saturday April 10, 2021 and will be open for bids until April 20. It can be viewed here. About MaxSold. MaxSold, Online Downsizing and Estate Sales, is Canadas leading online platform for auctioning home contents quickly. MaxSold has been named in the Financial Times 2020 ranking of fastest growing companies in the Americas and The Globe and Mails Top Growing Companies. MaxSold handles the technological side of selling used goods. In terms of clearing contents from a house, MaxSold is the easy and fast solution, while recovering maximum value for items. The company has grown substantially, now serving thousands of clients annually with a strong presence in 35 metropolitan areas across North America. About Artbarn School. Founded in 2005 by Mary Thelander, Frith Bail and current executive director Linda McMaster, Artbarn is a welcoming, not-for-profit community art school for children and adults alike. Artbarn strives to be an inclusive zone of exploration and creativity, and to provide a fun learning environment for aspiring artists. Artbarn offers scholarships to talented children who cannot otherwise afford an artistic education and supports Art for Cancer, a program to give free art instruction to people living with cancer. For further information: Kate Morris, public relations, MaxSold Kate.morris@maxsold.com / 647-358-7385 Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/00b270f8-f084-4d02-8a1b-c2e3b3c4d075 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b911ed94-e684-41cf-a201-b0d5358384ff https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3f0803a4-4b3a-407f-91e0-83de7488d1c3 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/504b8cea-f787-4934-a003-7b7fd64bb4fa https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8796b8d1-8b8a-482f-bcd2-a363f020ec80 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/67a509cd-305b-40dd-b70e-ed9973eaf7ec VENICE, APR 12 - A 15-year-old liceo classico student was told to blindfold herself during an oral test near Venice last week after doing suspiciously well in a German test days before, local media reported after the Veneto board of education opened a probe into the teacher's conduct Monday. Teachers have grown used to students using various tricks to pass tests during distance learning in Italy, including putting their text books under their keyboards, having brainy friends in the room to suggest answers, or pretending to have a bad connection when they can't answer. The education board said the teacher may have gone too far. (ANSA). Kelyn Spadoni allegedly transferred the funds received from Charles Schwab & Co. to another account immediately A Louisiana woman is being accused of mistakenly receiving funds and not returning them. Kelyn Spadoni, 33, of Harvey, Louisiana, allegedly refused to return more than $1.2 million she mistakenly received from Charles Schwab & Co. According to Nola.com, the suspect allegedly immediately transferred them to another account. She was arrested on Wednesday. She secreted it, and they were not able to access it, said a Sheriffs Office spokesperson, Capt. Jason Rivarde. Photo: NOLA.com Before receiving the funds, Spadoni had opened an account with Charles Schwab & Co. in January. Recently, the company installed an enhancement to the program that they use to transfer assets. On Feb. 23, when the company meant to place $82.56 into Spadonis account, they mistakenly deposited $1,205,619, per court documents. Read More: Where are the jobs? Thousands remain vacant in Biden administration thanks to Trump The company tried to reverse the action, but Spadoni had already transferred the funds. She later purchased a house and a brand new 2021 Hyundai Genesis. She has no legal claim to that money, added Rivarde. Even if it was put in there by mistake. It was an accounting error. Spadoni is now being sued by Charles Schwab & Co. in federal court and has been charged with theft valued at over $25,000, bank fraud, and illegal transmission of monetary funds. She was also fired from her job of four and a half years as a 911 dispatcher for the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office. She is currently being held in Gretna at Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on a $50,000 bond, per court records. By her conduct, Spadoni has made it clear she does not intend to return the mistakenly transferred funds to Schwab, per the lawsuit. The suspect allegedly began ignoring attempts of contact by Charles Schwab & Co. after she received the funds. Story continues Photo: Stockvault.net Read More: Police Chief says shooting death of Daunte Wright was due to accidental discharge The company was able to retrieve 75% of the money from Spadoni. Still, according to the contract she signed with the company, it is her responsibility to return the payment if she was ever overpaid. If someone accidentally puts an extra zero on a utility payment, they would want that money returned or credited to them. This is no different, shared Rivarde. As per theGrio, a A mysterious organization is holding a stolen Confederate monument for ransom. Recently a group claiming responsibility for the theft of a Confederate monument in Selma, Alabama, sent out an email message to local media with their ransom terms. Last month, the Jefferson Davis Memorial Chair, which is worth a whopping $500K, was stolen from an Alabama cemetery. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. According to The Washington Post, now the group White Lies Matter has reportedly taken responsibility for the theft but isnt asking for money for its return. Instead of monetary compensation WLM reportedly said that it would only return the chair to the United Daughters of the Confederacy if the organization agreed to display a specific banner outside its Richmond, Va., headquarters. The banner, which the group claims was already delivered to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, is said to feature a quote from Assata Shakur, the Black Liberation Army activist who has been wanted for years by the FBI for the 1973 murder of a New Jersey state trooper. Additional reporting by Blue Telusma 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 LA woman arrested for keeping $1.2 million accidentally deposited into her account appeared first on TheGrio. New Delhi: The inauguration of Delhi's new Chandni Chowk which was scheduled for April 17 has been reportedly called off. It was slated to be inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and is called off due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, the Times of India reported. The report citing a circular, issued on April 9, by the PWD minister's office, stated that there is a lack of clarity on whether the inauguration would be held at a later date. This is to be noted that the renovation and beautification work of the iconic Chandni Chowk road has already been completed. Besides various new facilities for tourists coming from across the world to visit the bustling historic market, the revamped 1.3 km stretch -- from Red Fort to Fatehpuri Mosque -- will be a non-motorised zone from 9 am to 9 pm. "It is a historical heritage site and the entire area has been made very beautiful, seeking to bring back the glory of this old historical place. After the beautification of Chandni Chowk, tourism would get a major boost, and people coming to Delhi would be attracted to pay a visit to Chandni Chowk," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was quoted as saying earlier. Convened a meeting on the completion of Chandni Chowk redevelopment work. The major outcomes were to provide safe & secure surroundings for all. Safety, Security & Sustainability is our topmost priority. pic.twitter.com/2DJje13bLA Satyendar Jain (@SatyendarJain) April 6, 2021 The beautification project has been completed at an estimated cost of Rs 99 crore and the Delhi government said that it has left no stone unturned to enhance the beauty of the historical site. For non-motorised vehicles, 5 to 10 meters wide pavement has been built on either side of the road and there is also a 2.5-meter footpath on either side of the road, whereas, the electric vehicles will also be operated for the convenience of the senior citizens. The redevelopment work that started in December 2018 was targeted to be completed by November 2020 but got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chandni Chowk is known to be one of the oldest and major markets not only in Delhi but also in the country. Meanwhile, Delhi on Sunday recorded 10,774 fresh COVID-19 cases along with 48 new fatalities. (With inputs from PTI news agency) Canada's chief public health officer says the country's current case count is nearing the peak of last year's second wave of COVID-19, as several provinces are struggling to contain new outbreaks. People line up in the rain for a COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up clinic at the Masjid Darus Salaam in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood in Toronto on Sunday, April 11, 2021. Thousands of people have lined up over the weekend for vaccine doses at the mosque in the hard hit neighbourhood. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Canada's chief public health officer says the country's current case count is nearing the peak of last year's second wave of COVID-19, as several provinces are struggling to contain new outbreaks. Dr. Theresa Tam's statement comes as Ontario reported a record 4,456 cases of COVID-19 today. Tam says intensive care admissions across the country increased by 23 per cent over the last seven days compared to the week before, which is putting strain on the health system. She says COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are increasingly impacting younger people and says there's been a jump in the number of hospitalizations among those 40 to 59 years old. A hospital at the centre of an outbreak in northwestern New Brunswick is among those facing strain, with seven of its nine intensive care beds filled with patients fighting COVID-19. And authorities in Quebec are tightening the curfew in the Montreal and Laval areas to 8 p.m. from 9:30 as of this evening as the province grapples with a rise in cases. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2020 Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the current COVID-19 wave was approaching its peak. EVLOMO will install more than 1,000 new fast chargers to spur EV revolution in Thailand, and target to achieve DC charging availability every 50 Kms on their charging network. EVLOMO is also entering into residential EV charging space by introducing AC chargers and will install a mix of AC and DC Fast chargers at Various Universities, School, Hospitals, Hotels amongst other locations spread all over Thailand. In coming weeks EVLOMO also plans to finalize the launch of Pure EV stations across Thailand. Thai government has set ambitious goal for adoption of EVs in Thailand by 2035. Without adequate EV charging infrastructure, rollout of EVs at such a scale is not possible. EVLOMO if working to fill up the charging infrastructure gap by bringing in world class AC and DC charging technology to Thailand. EVLOMO believes that EVs are for everyone and the idea of plugging in an EV whenever and wherever it is parked is core to EVLOMO's philosophy. Powered by state-of-the-art technology from Tritium, market leader in DC charging whose current customers include Chargepoint, Ionity, Blink Charging, Proterra, Shell, among several more. These superfast DC chargers will be EV owners whose automobiles are compatible with the CCS/ CHAdeMO charging standards. "E-Mobility is an irreversible mega-trend and an imperative for addressing pollution and generating job opportunities in Thailand. Through our EV charging network we intend to develop a holistic e-mobility ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of EVs in Thailand. As part of this resolve, we have also started partnering organizations to set-up a network of e charging stations both for the captive use and for our consumers," said Nicole Wu, CEO of EVLOMO. "Further strengthening our commitment to Thailand, we aim to provide our customers with a robust charging ecosystem to promote the adoption of electric mobility. With a partner like PTT Oil and Retail Business PLC, a renowned major energy and retail industry, we are confident that we will together create unique synergies." To know more about the EVLOMO please visit its website, contact at [email protected]. SOURCE EVLOMO Inc Related Links https://www.evlomo.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 20:49:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PARIS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and another injured on Monday afternoon in a shooting in front of the Henry-Dunant hospital in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, according to local media reports. One of the victims is a hospital security guard. The shooter is on the run and the judicial police are investigating the incident, the French cable channel BFM TV reported. Enditem Two Asian American sisters helped save a 57-year-old Asian man from a violent robbery in Oakland, California by distracting the suspect. The incident happened on Saturday shortly after 7 a.m. on 10th Street between Martin Luther King Jr Way and Jefferson Street, when Tiffany Chuk and her sister, Angela Chuk, saw a man getting punched by another man through the window of a second-floor condominium unit, according to NBC Bay Area. Tiffany saw the suspect drive the wrong way into a one-way street, she told NBC. The man then parked his car and jumped out of his vehicle to assault the 57-year-old man. The victim told KPIX5 he was walking to get his coffee when the attack happened. The perpetrator was sitting on top of the victim, holding him down physically and landing blows to his face, his chest, and the victim was struggling, screaming for help, Angela said. It lasted maybe 20 to 30 seconds, as we were yelling for him to stop. The man struggled and fought to defend himself while on his back in the middle of the sidewalk, as seen in the video. The two sisters quickly sprung into action. One of them kept recording the incident on her phone while the other tried to distract the suspect by banging on the window. Their brother also called 911. The suspect hit the victim one more time before fleeing in his vehicle. The victim also tried to chase him but to no avail. This person could be my grandpa, my uncle, my dad. Its scary and its sad violence should not be tolerated it needs to stop, Tiffany said. Tiffany and Angela, who live in Hawaii and Orlando, respectively, were in the city to visit their brother. They were in disbelief, never imagining they would witness an Oakland attack they only read about on the news and social media. It was horrifying and terrible, Tiffany said, KRON4 reported. My sister couldnt even sleep that night. That man couldve been anybody. To witness it first-hand and to see the man yell as he was getting attacked, thats why I wanted to share the video. We want this person brought to justice. The suspect is still at large. The sisters helped the victim file a police report as he only spoke Cantonese. He said the attacker did not take his wallet during the robbery. The man also suffered bruising and swelling to his face. Feature Image via NBC Bay Area Story continues Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Pokemon Go Trainer, 56, Arrested for Brawling With Another Trainer, 55, Over Control of Gym 'You're the Virus': Couple Allegedly Threaten to KICK Fashion Designer and Her Dogs in NYC Woman Claiming to Be a Wuhan Nurse Alleges Over 90,000 Are Infected With Coronavirus in Viral Video Woman Creates Booklets in 7 Languages on How to Report Anti-Asian Hate Crimes It was revealed on Sunday's Line of Duty that James Lakewell was the voice on the recordings speaking to murdered journalist Gail Vella. Many fans had sussed this out two episodes ago, but some were left struggling to piece together Lakewell's involvement with the current storyline. Many realised he was the shifty lawyer from series four, and that he represented DCI Roz Huntley - played by guest star at the time Thandiwe Newton - and her husband in legal matters. Disposed of: It was revealed on Sunday's Line Of Duty that James Lakewell was the voice on the recordings speaking to murdered journalist Gail Vella - and he was killed off in prison as a result But many were left vexed about what his involvement was back then, and how it tied into series six. Confusing still was his sudden death at the end of the episode, when he was killed by a fellow inmate in prison, despite refusing to co-operate in AC-12's investigation. What happened to James Lakewell in series 4? Lakewell was Roz's husband Nick's lawyer and an old friend from school. He dealt with Ted Hastings when Nick was pulled in for questioning over the death of Tim Ifield, who was actually killed by Roz. Besides this, it emerges that Lakewell is also working with the OCG, covering up evidence in Roz's Operation Trapdoor. Blast from the past: Many realised he was the shifty lawyer from series four, and that he represented DCI Roz Huntley - played by guest star at the time Thandiwe Newton - and her husband in legal matters Involvement: Many fans had sussed this out two episodes ago, but some were left struggling to piece together Lakewell's involvement with the current storyline During Roz's eventual AC-12 interrogation, Lakewell is linked to a burner phone that tipped off bent copper ACC Derek Hilton and wrongly implicated Michael Farmer, who had learning difficulties, in the Operation Trapdoor case. When all this was revealed, he hinted that the OCG were blackmailing him. 'If you don't do their bidding, a body gets taken out of cold storage with your DNA all over it,' he said, adding: 'There are some people there's no immunity from...' He ended up going to prison after refusing to testify and turning down witness protection. Crash! In Sunday's instalment, AC-12 attempted to offer him another chance at witness protection, and the chance to leave HMP Blackthorn. The OCG, however, cottoned on to this Attack! The OGC attacked the police convoy with Lakewell in transit How is Lakewell involved in series 6? Because he is connected to the OCG, Gail Vella got in touch with Lakewell while he was in prison. This is not a historic part of the story, and only now being revealed. However, his links to the OCG are what tie him in with the current storyline. In Sunday's instalment, AC-12 attempted to offer him another chance at witness protection, and the chance to leave HMP Blackthorn. The OCG, however, cottoned on to this and attack the police convoy with him in transit. Deal? Holed up in a van with Steve Arnott, Lakewell implies that he might tell him what he knows Talk? Did Arnott manage to coax information out of Lakewell? Holed up in a van with Steve Arnott, Lakewell implies that he might tell him what he knows. On the record, he insists he won't talk, won't accept witness protection, and will instead return to jail. It's there that he is attacked and killed by an inmate, branded a 'rat'. This happens under the watch of shamed DS Ian Buckells. Interview: After the attack on the convoy, that led one officer dead, Lakewell tells Arnott, Hastings and Chloe Bishop that he won't talk Dead: In jail he he is attacked and killed by an inmate, branded a 'rat'. This happens under the watch of shamed DS Ian Buckells Did Lakewell spill information to Steve in the van? After the attack on the convoy, that led one officer dead, Lakewell tells Arnott, Hastings and Chloe Bishop that he won't talk. Lakewell insists he won't be targeted in prison because 'theyll know I didnt talk!' He then says to Arnott, pointedly: 'Thats right, isnt it DI Arnott? I didnt talk.' Arnott nods at this, knowingly. This suggests secrets were spilled in the back of the van. Line Of Duty continues Sunday at 9PM on BBC One. White House officials, as they push President Joe Biden's agenda through Congress, are giving new meaning to the phrase 'bipartisan support,' arguing it doesn't mean winning Republican votes on Capitol Hill. 'If you looked up 'bipartisan' in the dictionary, I think it would say support from Republicans and Democrats,' Anita Dunn, a senior Biden adviser, told The Washington Post. 'It doesn't say the Republicans have to be in Congress.' And Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor who served as Barack Obama's chief of staff, argued Biden redefined bipartisanship. 'What's become crystal clear is that Biden has redefined bipartisan,' he said. 'It isn't how many Republicans I've got,' he added. 'It's about how many Republican voters or mayors and governors can I get to support my stuff. And Washington is slow to catch up to the Biden definition.' As administration officials work to move the $2.9 trillion infrastructure bill through Congress - and look ahead to gun legislation, the budget, and healthcare reform - officials are looking outside of Washington D.C. for GOP approval. The White House has trotted out Republican voters, Republican mayors and Republican governors to express support for their agenda. And they argue that is enough. 'I would like Republican elected Republican support,' Biden said at his first presidential news conference in March. 'But what I have now is, I have electoral support from Republican voters. Republican voters agree with what I'm doing.' President Joe Biden argues Republican voters support his agenda even if Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill won't vote for it Democratic Senator Joe Manchin cautioned the White House about not having any Republican votes for its legislative agenda President Biden with his senior adviser Anita Dunn, who argues bipartisanship doesn't mean Republican votes in Congress But some Democrats have cautioned the president about his approach. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a Democrat whose vote the White House needs, is one of them. 'Senate Democrats must avoid the temptation to abandon our Republican colleagues on important national issues,' Manchin wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that ran last Thursday. 'Republicans, however, have a responsibility to stop saying no, and participate in finding real compromise with Democrats.' And Republicans have called on Biden to live up to the unified vision of America he offered in his inaugural address and work with them on compromise legislation that would garner their votes. Biden will hold a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers at the White House on Monday to discuss his infrastructure bill, including both senators and representatives. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that Biden was willing to negotiate on the specifics of his plan and that was why he's holding the sitdown. 'He looks forward to hearing their ideas, and his objective is to find a way forward where we can modernize our nation's infrastructure so we can compete with China,' she said in her daily press briefing ahead of the meeting. 'He's proposed a way to pay for it, which is what he thinks the responsible thing is to do. And he hopes they'll come to the table with ideas,' she noted. Republican lawmakers have said they would support a smaller bill that was focused solely on traditional infrastructure items. But administration officials argue items like clean water, affordable housing and caring for the climate contribute to the overall infrastructure of the nation - and have bipartisan support among voters. 'These are things, remarkably, that command the support of the majority of the American people, Democrats and Republicans,' Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday. And when pressed on criticism from GOP lawmakers that the infrastructure bill had outlier items like elder care and child care, Buttigieg shot back: 'I want to point out that childcare and eldercare command a lot of support among Republican voters, just maybe not at the moment among Republican legislators here in Washington.' 'This package in - as a whole and in its pieces, already has bipartisan support, already has most Republicans saying we ought to do it, just not here in Washington,' he added. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg argues Biden's infrastructure proposal has support among Republican voters In February, President Biden held an Oval Office meeting with Republican governors and mayors to discuss his American Rescue Plan, which passed Congress without a single GOP vote for it To help pass his $1.9 trillion America Rescue Plan, Biden brought in a bipartisan group of mayors and governors to meet with him in the Oval Office in February to demonstrate the support it had outside the D.C. beltway. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, came to the White House briefing room afterwards to praise Biden and the bipartisan tone. 'The president was extremely thoughtful; listened to every single one of the elected officials both governors and mayors from both parties; listened to our comments and concerns,' he said. That plan passed Congress - without a single Republican vote. Delivering free Chinese food to a family in need on Christmas Eve almost 45 years ago inspired Lily Dysons service in the community. Opinion Delivering free Chinese food to a family in need on Christmas Eve almost 45 years ago inspired Lily Dysons service in the community. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Dyson was 16 years old and living in Atikokan, Ont., when her father asked her to come to his restaurant and make the delivery. Dyson was embarrassed, telling her father that people eat turkey at Christmastime, but he insisted. "He said, Thats what I know how to make the best, so I want to give it to them," Dyson recalls. "When I showed up with 40 boxes of Chinese food for 12 people, they were so overjoyed and thankful and grateful." Now 60 and retired after a career with the Canada Revenue Agency and TransX trucking, Dyson is a prolific volunteer. Shes made perogies at a Ukrainian Orthodox church as part of a monthly fundraiser, prepared food at Siloam Mission and the NorWest Community Food Centre, answered phone calls at the Christmas Cheer Board and assembled emergency food hampers at Harvest Manitoba. Helping newcomers is a key part of Dysons work in the community. Shes served as a one-on-one English tutor at the Immigrant Centre, and shes volunteered with the family matching programs at the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council and Accueil Francophone. These programs connect a Canadian family to a newcomer family so that they can support them as they adjust to life in Canada. Dyson was inspired to help newcomers after an experience in Superstore prior to her retirement more than 10 years ago. Several newcomers approached her and asked for help finding various items. "I thought to myself, when I have more time, I am going to try to volunteer with an organization so I can help people like the ones I had just met," Dyson says. Over the years, Dyson along with her husband, Bruce, and daughter, Amanda has supported 13 families from a variety of countries, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Ethiopia, Algeria, Mali and Turkey. The goal is to make their integration into Canadian society a successful one. When the Dysons were matched with their first family, they didnt anticipate how much enjoyment they would get out of the experience. Now, helping newcomers is a priority. "Since we have been involved with 13 families, plus a lot of single students through tutoring, I dont think a day goes by without hearing from one or several of them," Dyson says. "Some just want to see how I am doing. Others need help in some way." Dyson is always happy to assist any way she can. "Our doors always open," she says. "I want to make a difference. It gives me a sense of pride and increases my self-confidence to know I am doing good for others and my community." Dyson recently started volunteering as a pen pal at Mount Carmel Clinic, and shes on the lookout for more volunteer opportunities. She is thankful for that Christmas Eve experience all those years ago and the example her father set by helping people in need. "My father taught me from an early age to do that kind of thing: Love your neighbours and be kind to them." National Volunteer Week, an annual campaign that recognizes and celebrates the work of volunteers across Canada, takes place April 18-24. This years theme is "The Value of One, The Power of Many." Learn more at volunteer.ca/nvw. If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com. With Donald Trump out of office and Joe Biden desperately trying to strike a deal with Iran, the mullahs are ramping up their nuclear program. Thus on Saturday, with great fanfare, Irans president, Hassan Rouhani, unveiled the centrifuges designed to produce enriched uranium needed for nuclear weapons. Israel had other ideas. It responded by crashing the electrical grid at Irans Natanz facility, where the centrifuges are located. Iran at first described the blackout as an accident. However, Israel disputed this claim. According to the Jerusalem Post, the government acknowledged that the damage was caused by a cyber attack carried out by Mossad. The Natanz facility has been targeted by the Israelis on several occasions in the past. Here is the public statement by the chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF): The IDFs actions throughout the Middle East are not hidden from our enemies vision, who are observing us, seeing our capabilities and carefully considering their next steps. By virtue of clever operational activities, the past year was one of the most secure years that the citizens of the State of Israel have known. We will continue to act, combining power and discretion, determination and responsibility all of this to guarantee the security of the State of Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu said this: The struggle against Iran and its proxies and the Iranian armament efforts is a huge mission. The situation that exists today will not necessarily be the situation that will exist tomorrow. Iran now agrees that the event at Natanz was sabotage by its enemies (terrorists, it calls them), not an accident. How much damage did the electrical blackout at Natanz cause? Its not clear. Irans Atomic Energy Organization acknowledged that the attack damaged the sites electrical grid and caused a serious disruption. Israeli officials said the attack was more serious than Iran was letting on, and local outlets reported the power outage caused severe damage. The attack occurred while U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in Israel, pledging (for whatever its worth) an enduring and ironclad American commitment to Israel. We dont know the Biden administrations view of the cyber attack. It should be pleased because, if anything, successful attacks on Irans attempts to step up its nuclear program provide leverage to Team Biden as it tries to negotiate with the mullahs. Irans unveiling of the centrifuges can be viewed, at least in part, as an attempt to increase its leverage. Damaging the facility in question can therefore be viewed as offsetting that leverage to some degree. In theory, the more difficulty Iran thinks it will confront in developing nukes, the more likely it is to agree not to develop them in exchange for concessions. (The value of such an agreement is a separate, but key, question.) But Democratic administrations, and even an occasional Republican one, tend to view Israel as an obstacle to whatever they are trying to accomplish at the moment. Typically, they want Israel to stand quietly on the sidelines while America, posing as the adult, makes all manner of concessions. The attack on the Natanz facility shows that, at least as long as Netanyahu is in charge, Israel will not be sidelined, regardless of how eloquently Bidens officials pledge to take care of their ally. Rather, Israel will continue to thwart, as best it can, Irans nuclear designs. Cindy McCain could become the first Republican appointee in the new administration as President Joe Biden vets her to be the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. World Food Programme. Two people familiar with the matter told Politico McCain is currently undergoing a background check for the coveted ambassador post based in Rome, which requires a Senate confirmation. McCain and her late husband Senator John McCain have been close friends with the Biden's for decades. The longtime Republican senators widow was essential to Biden winning Arizona over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election after she gave him her full endorsement. Biden barely won Arizona, slimy beating out Trump by .4%. He was the first Democratic president to win Arizona since Bill Clinton in 1996. President Joe Biden is vetting Cindy McCain to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N. World Food Programme. She is the first Republican Biden is appointing in his administration so far McCain, 66, and her late husband, Arizona Senator John McCain (left), have been friends with Biden for decades Biden and McCain served together in Congress for more than two decades Cindy McCain's endorsement of Biden in the 2020 presidential election was crucial to him winning Arizona against Donald Trump helping him clinch the presidency John McCain died August 2018 after battling brain cancer. He and then-President Trump had a long-standing feud likely helping lead to Mrs. McCains endorsement of her partys opponent. Biden served alongside John McCain in the Senate for more than two decades before becoming Barack Obamas vice president in 2009. Cindy McCain, 66, is chair of the McCain Institute board of trustee and has worked on projects to end world hunger and human trafficking. She visited Georgia with the U.S. World Food Programme during her husbands 2008 campaign for president where she visited with wounded soldiers after a Russian invasion. The Arizona Republican has also monitored its work in Southeast Asia and Africa. Biden failed to install at least one Republican in a formal cabinet position a practice of the three consecutive Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Trump broke the streak. The position McCain is up for, while not a Cabinet post, does require a Senate confirmation. Biden joined ABC's 'The View' in December 2017. Shown here alongside the McCain's daughter Meghan, who co-hosts the show Biden gave tribute to Sen. McCain during memorial service following his death in August 2018 Bidens predecessor often made negative comments about Senator McCains military service, saying during a 2015 campaign stop in Iowa: Hes not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who werent captured. McCain was a Navy pilot who served in the Vietnam War. In 1967 he was shot down and spent more than five years in a notorious North Vietnamese prison where he was repeatedly tortured and spent two years in solitary confinement. After McCains death, Trump did not let up on his attacks against him often bringing up his crucial no vote that struck down Republicans hope in the Senate to do away with Obamacare. Biden is expected to announce the majority of his ambassadorships at the same time instead of individually rolling them out. YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS. Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council on Foreign Affairs of Russia, says its necessary to resume the regular meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. In an interview to the Kommersant, Mr. Karasin stated that the cessation of bloodshed in Nagorno Karabakh and the signing of the trilateral statement on November 9, 2020 were possible thanks to the responsible position of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now most of the issues are connected with the humanitarian problems, such as the exchange of the prisoners of war, the return of the bodies of the dead, the refugees and provision of necessary living conditions for them, he said. According to him, a lot depends on how fast it would be possible to restore the trust between the sides. The concrete steps have already been taken. At the initiative of the Russian President, the discussions of political issues continue, they are searching for ways. The trilateral commission at the deputy prime ministers level is working actively, discussing economic, transportation and logistics-related issues, he said. Grigory Karasin noted that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs can play a positive role over this matter. The Co-Chairs have an experience and proper foreign support. The practice of regular meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs may restore which would receive a tangible international reaction, he added. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Colin Jamieson, former Massachusetts boy band member, continues to take his voice and performances on American Idol to the next level. Now were really hearing your voice go to these next levels that are surprising to us, judge Luke Bryan said Sunday night. Jamieson sand Tears For Fears song Everybody Wants To Rule The World after he made this seasons top 16. During Jamiesons audition, judge Katy Perry noticed his ability to work the camera. A little wink in the camera, like you know what showbiz is like, Perry said, as the Boxford native took his place behind the piano. He continues to impress the judges with that ability, which is important as there is no live audience and fans are voting contestants into the next round. Its called show business, judge Lionel Richie said. And youve learned if its all about television, play to that camera. Richie was also impressed with how comfortable Jamieson has become on stage. That is a winning combination, he said. Fans can now vote for their favorites. Voting is only allowed during the performances, and fans can vote 10 times. Those with the top votes will make it to the top 12. Related Content: (Newser) Police in Arkansas say they have solved a nearly 20-year-old double murder case, but the killer has since died himself. In a lengthy account, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office says a man named Clarence Krusen killed 20-year-old Angela Cox and her 4-year-old son Mikey in late 2002 or early 2003. The case was cracked when his widow, Barbara, told authorities that her husband had confessed to killing the pair and burning their bodies in an outdoor furnace on the couple's farm. The reason? Angela had agreed to let the couple adopt Mikey but reneged on the offer, according to the police account. When Angela returned to the farm to pick up her son, Clarence Krusen killed them both, per Law & Crime. Clarence Krusen himself was fatally shot in 2012. story continues below His wife's admission came after she failed a recent polygraph test administered by FBI agents, reports People. "In a post polygraph interview, she advised the agents that Clarence had told her he had done away with both" victims, says the police release. She added that when the couple moved from the farmhouse, "Clarence told her that they had to move the furnace out of there since it was used to destroy both Angela and Mikeys bodies." They did so, and as a result, police have not been able to recover any remains. Still, the sheriff's office now considers the case closed. Barbara Krusen will not face charges. (A new autopsy has resulted in a murder investigation in a 2004 death.) White House press secretary Jen Psaki says the Biden administration is trying to get conservative men to take the vaccine by running commercials during NASCAR and the Deadliest Catch. 'We've run PSAs on The Deadliest Catch, we're engaged with NASCAR and Country Music TV. We're looking for a range of creative ways to get directly connected to white conservative communities,' Psaki said during her Tuesday briefing. The goal, Psaki said, was to 'meet people where they are.' The TV messages are part of a $3billion ad campaign from the White House to push for more Americans to take the vaccine. Initially, there were concerns that vaccine hesitancy may have been prevalent among minority communities. But now it seems the uptake has stalled among white males. White House press secretary Jen Psaki says the Biden administration is trying to get conservative men to take the vaccine by running commercials during NASCAR and the Deadliest Catch A Kaiser Health News poll recently found in a survey that 'Republicans and white evangelical Christians were the most likely to say they will not get vaccinated, with almost 30 percent of each group saying they will definitely not get a shot. A PBS/NPR Marist poll found 49 percent of Republican men said they would not choose to be vaccinated if the shot were made available to them, compared to 34 percent of Republican women. Former President Donald Trump quietly got the vaccine in January before he left the White House and has faced growing calls to push for more of his supporters to get innoculated. He did not share the news publicly, but in a Fox News interview last month he said his supporters should get it: 'I would recommend it, and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it, and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly. 'But again, we have our freedoms and we have to live by that, and I agree with that also. 'But its a great vaccine. Its a safe vaccine and its something that works.' The goal, Psaki said, was to 'meet people where they are.' The TV messages are part of a $3billion ad campaign from the White House to push for more Americans to take the vaccine For weeks, Psaki has said White House officials are aware they may not be the best messenger to help Republican men get over their vaccine hesitancy. 'We won't always be the best messengers,' she said Monday. She also previously said that community doctors and other local figures may have more clout with Americans than politicians or celebrities in pushing them to get vaccinated. Psaki had been asked why the Biden White House wasn't doing more to get Trump on board. All the other living ex-presidents were filmed getting the vaccine. The White House has also utilized National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, an outspoken Christian, to push evangelicals to get their COVID-19 vaccines. During her briefing, Paski also slammed Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn for asking 'who is in charge' and claiming Biden's tweets are 'unimaginably conventional' and 'scripted.' Psaki was asked about Cornyn's tweet suggesting the White House has opted to hold back Biden from regular press conferences, instead parceling out his media appearances and scripting them to a substantial extent. 'The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional,' Cornyn wrote, quoting from a Politico story. 'The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters.' 'Invites the question: is he really in charge?' Cornyn added in a retweet of his own observation. Psaki was asked for the White House respond to Cornyn's criticism at her daily White House briefing. 'I can confirm that the president of the United States does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories, he spends his time working on behalf of the American people,' she said. Vivek will continue to lead the business for Siemens Healthineers India including, manufacturing, sales and distribution, strategy for Zone India, comprising of neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives Vivek Kanade has been named as the Managing Director of Siemens Healthcare Private Limited (SHPL), India, effective April 1, 2021. SHPL is the wholly owned subsidiary company of the global MedTech company, Siemens Healthineers AG. Vivek will continue to lead the business for Siemens Healthineers India including, manufacturing, sales and distribution, strategy for Zone India, comprising of neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives. During his association with Siemens for over 27 years, he has held various positions across diverse functions in sales, service management, regional management and modality management. Viveks priorities have been ensuring Siemens Healthineers strategic growth, defining and executing roadmap to maintain momentum in Indian market whilst strengthening its presence in the zone. He has been leading the team in Zone India towards the common goal of shaping the future of healthcare, so that medicine becomes more precise and affordable, value is at the heart of care delivery, patients are treated as consumers, and healthcare becomes digital. Before moving into Siemens Healthineers in India, his last assignment was as Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for the Refurbished Business, based out of Forchheim, Germany. United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is heading to the hurricane-battered Caribbean, where he says scientists predict the extreme storms of this year's hurricane season "will be the new normal of a warming world." Category 5 Hurricane Irma devastated Barbuda, while Hurricanes Harvey and Irma marked the first time two Category 4 storms made landfall on the United States mainland in the same year. Hurricane Maria followed, decimating Dominica and severely impacting Puerto Rico. Read more: Las Vegas shooting: Donald Trump meets victims at hospital Guterres said on Wednesday that "scientists are learning more and more about the links between climate change and extreme weather." Guterres said the world has "the tools, the technologies and the wealth to address climate change, but we must show more determination." For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Federal Government, on Monday, unveiled the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commissions (NIPC) Book of States, aimed at spurring domestic and Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) for economic growth. The Book of States, a compendium of key investment opportunities and comparative advantages of the 36 states and the FCT was prepared by the NIPC in conjunction with the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, said at the launch of the compendium in Abuja that the initiative would help investors to better appreciate investment potentials across Nigeria. In a keynote address, Mr Adebayo noted that the document would help to attract the right investments to Nigeria, improve productivity, create jobs, and generate revenue for the country. The ministry appreciates that the work was fully supported and endorsed by all 36 governors, including the Minister of FCT. This shows how we are collectively working to ensure that Nigeria is properly positioned to provide first-hand information on the abundant opportunities and advantages in our nation, he said. The minister assured the NIPC of the ministrys guidance and support in relation to effectively supporting the states to promote, attract and manage domestic and foreign investments. He urged the public to take advantage of NIPCs initiatives targeted at making the country a destination of choice for investors and making all Nigerian states investor ready and friendly. In a remark, Kayode Fayemi, Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, and Ekiti State Governor, said the initiative was timely to cushion the COVID-19 pandemic effect. According to Mr Fayemi, represented by Asishana Okauru, Director-General of NGF, it was apt for the states to begin to chart a path out of the adverse socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For most Nigerians, the health risks accompanied by the pandemic, ranks behind multiple, complex and larger structural concerns such as economic uncertainty, an increasing desire for a social safety net and heightened insecurity, as well as poverty, he noted. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), capital importation fell by almost 60 per cent, from $24 billion in 2019 to $10 billion in 2020. Mr Fayemi, however, said that the drop, fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting crash of commodity prices, must be reversed in 2021. We must work together as Federal and State Governments to, in the first instance, take capital importation back to 2019 levels, and use it as a launch pad for future growth. We also have to improve subnational development finance, through an innovative mix of development finance mechanisms, including the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in securing funds required for public infrastructural development. To attract international capital, Nigeria must improve coordination across various organs of government, ensure coherence between fiscal and monetary policies and have the agencies responsible for formulating and implementing such policies, all singing from the same hymn sheet. At the subnational level, we need to pay special attention to Investment Promotion and Ease of Doing Business (EoDB). At the Forum, we will continue to provide technical assistance and peer learning opportunities to states yet to establish IPAs and EoDB Steering Committees, he said. Yewande Sadiku, NIPCs Executive Secretary, while presenting the document, thanked the NGF, the ministry and NIPCs Governing Council, for their commitments towards the completion of the project and support for the achievement of its mandate. ADVERTISEMENT Mrs Sadiku described the book as an important building block in NIPCs effort to support states in investment promotion and having completed this maiden edition, it would commit efforts to follow-on projects that would elevate investment prospect visibility. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the document, which was released virtually in August 2020 and sent to all ministries and foreign outposts, allows for more effective matching of investors with states. (NAN) A woman at the centre of a Byron Bay hen's party Covid outbreak tested negative four times before a fifth test revealed she did actually have the virus, Queensland Health has revealed. Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young confirmed on Monday that the woman, who attended the 'superspreader' event last month, returned four negative polymerase chain reaction tests. However she then went on to return a positive result on her final test, which checks for antibodies that fight the virus. The woman, who attended the 'superspreader' hen's party last month, returned four negative polymerase chain reaction tests. Pictured: Covid testing in Byron Bay The cluster sparked a three-day snap lockdown in Brisbane while authorities rushed to trace all known contacts 'We do know that can happen but it is very, very rare, but we have had other examples interstate where people have persistently tested negative and then on serology they are positive,' Dr Young said. 'They were in quarantine at home for the entire period that they might have been infectious, so there is no risk to anyone in the community at all.' The case was linked to the second outbreak at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, in Brisbane, on March 28. It led to 13 Covid cases, including the male entertainer who performed at the bachelorette party. The cluster sparked a three-day snap lockdown in Brisbane while authorities rushed to trace all known contacts. Dr Young said the matter highlights the importance of getting follow up tests if symptoms persist or change. 'But if they have one test and it is negative and nothing else changes, they should be assured that is appropriate for the vast, vast, vast majority of cases,' she said. 'The exceptions are very rare.' On Monday Queensland reported one new case of Covid, who was already in hotel quarantine after arriving from Papua New Guinea. The outbreak led to 13 Covid cases, including the male entertainer who performed at the bachelorette party in Byron Bay (pictured) Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young (right, next to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk) said the matter highlights the importance of getting follow up tests if symptoms persist or change Meanwhile, the Queensland government said any delay in its vaccine rollout will be caused by federal supply issues rather than its own distribution efforts. The federal government has dumped its target of giving all Australians their first vaccine dose by the end of October after authorities recommended people under the age of 50 get the Pfizer vaccine instead of AstraZeneca jab because of blood clotting concerns. Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said the state has already completed vaccinating about 125,000 people in the 1a cohort, which includes frontline healthcare and quarantine workers. The state is still vaccinating more than one million in the 1b cohort, which includes health care workers and critical and high risk workers such as defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing. This photo, captured from the Facebook account of President Moon Jae-in on April 12, shows his comments on the settlement of a two-year-long electric vehicle battery dispute between LGES and SKI. Yonhap By Kim Yoo-chul, Nam Hyun-woo A day after U.S. President Joe Biden declared the last-minute settlement between LG Energy Solution (LGES) and SK Innovation (SKI) a victory for Washington's efforts to construct a solid supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs), President Moon Jae-in also hailed the closure. "It's fortunate that LGES and SKI settled all legal disputes. When it comes to the core meaning, the settlement has its importance in terms of pursuing collaboration between constituents in the local ecosystem based on mutual trust, while competing with each other," Moon wrote on social media Monday. "From the standpoint of the national interest and long-term profits for individual companies, the settlement between the two companies is of significant importance," the President added. "I hope Korea's secondary battery industry including LGES and SKI will develop rapidly so as to lead in the development of eco-friendly EV industries. The government will embrace the settlement as an opportunity to strengthen collaboration between interested parties within the relevant ecosystem." A senior presidential aide told reporters the government "did a lot" to settle the dispute, with the presidential chief of staff and secretary for economic policies taking roles assigned to close the issue. LG Chem, the parent company of LGES which was spun off last year, claimed SKI had stolen its battery-related intellectual property by hiring away LG's experts, in order to win more battery orders from top-tier clients such as Volkswagen. SKI denied the allegation. LG brought the issue to the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), which finally ruled in its favor. The U.S. Trade Representative reviewed the USITC results before a White House deadline to veto the ruling, as the issue had become an economic matter with SKI was constructing a multi-billion-dollar plant in the U.S. state of Georgia, considered a linchpin for President Biden's green growth initiative. This led to SKI officials lobbying the White House to veto the USITC ruling. However, the companies agreed to drop litigation both in the United States and South Korea and not pursue further lawsuits for a decade, after SKI agreed to pay LGES $1.7 billion in cash and royalties. Previously, LGES was said to have asked SKI for more than $2.5 billion. On a related note, LGES CEO Kim Jong-hyun told his employees the settlement was an illustration of LGES' victory in its battery patents and how they will be protected within international legal frameworks. SKI CEO Kim Joon said the company will accelerate efforts to complete its plants in Georgia on schedule following the settlement. April 2021: Cook defends PCH as world leading following Aishwaryas death Health Minister Roger Cook said of the 21 severity assessment code 1 events that had occurred in the child health system since 2020, only two resulted in deaths. April 2021: Nurses put forward 10-point plan to fix Perth Childrens Hospital ED The nurses union has issued a plan to address the strain on Perth Childrens Hospital following the death of a seven-year-old girl who waited two hours before getting treatment. April 2021: Nurses predicted catastrophic event amid revelation doctors off sick the night girl died Multiple doctors were off sick at the time the little girl was dying but authorities have warned against leaping to conclusions about what caused her death. April 2021: Sickest child in the ED: What happened moments before Aishwarya Aswath died A mother who was at Perth Childrens Hospital the night Aishwarya Aswath died says the seven-year-old was the sickest child in the emergency department but didnt get the attention she deserved. April 2021: No more excuses: WA doctors call for independent inquiry into girls death The minister has been under fire over months of escalating reports of rocketing ambulance ramping and doctors warning that a tragedy was only a matter of time. April 2021: I was left on a stretcher on a corridor for nine hours: Veteran nurse pens letter to Roger Cook An 84-year-old former nurse spent nine hours on a stretcher in a corridor during one of the most harrowing experiences in her life. She penned a letter to Health Minister Roger Cook that WAtoday published with her permission. March 2021: Its a long wait today: Perth emergency departments still operate well beyond capacity WAtoday visited the emergency department at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after it was revealed it was running more than 20 patients beyond capacity. March 2021: Federal health says Roger Cook could put GPs in hospitals, despite his claims The Commonwealth health department rejected claims from WA Health Minister Roger Cook that the state was not allowed to embed GPs in hospital emergency departments. March 2021: While Cook blames GPs, NDIS, mental health for hospital bed block, many patients cant leave as they have nowhere to go The lions share of the health systems woes have been blamed on mental health, but housing advocacy groups and researchers say if the government dug a little deeper they would find the real culprit is its long-time foe: social housing. March 2021: Pregnant Perth woman given morphine, left waiting for 26 hours at King Edward Memorial Hospital When she presented on March 11, Madeline Cusworth said she had to wait in a bed in the hospitals assessment unit for about 26 hours because there was nowhere more comfortable to send me there were no rooms available to admit me. March 2021: Dozens in need of urgent help left to line up outside overcrowded Armadale Hospital Piara Waters woman Michelle Brown watched helplessly as an elderly man who was struggling to breathe in a crowded emergency department waiting room was kept in a corridor and told the hospital had no beds available. March 2021: Unbelievable: Perth Childrens Hospital offers mattress on the floor to boy, 10, tormented by psychosis A mother of a 10-year-old boy who suffers epilepsy and has had risky delusional episodes requiring hospital admission was offered a mattress on the floor of Perth Childrens Hospital in lieu of a bed on Monday night. March 2021: Perth woman sat 13 hours risking suffocating from inside as nurses scrambled to find her a bed A breastfeeding mother was forced to spend an excruciating 13 hours in a wheelchair in a Perth emergency department, with a 25-centimetre blood clot in her thigh. She was so shocked by how busy the staff were she used a zimmer frame to go to a woman calling for help from her hospital bed. March 2021: Survival mode: Perth nurse-to-patient ratios reach outrageous levels Nurses at Perths major hospitals said they were working in survival mode, operating with shortfalls of 30 to 50 fewer staff than required. Emergency department doctors backed the claims, saying staffing ratios accepted in major emergency departments were outrageous and would never be accepted in hospital wards. February 2021: Another Perth hospital needed as our sick and vulnerable are now at grave risk Perth-based emergency physician and the Western Australia Faculty Chair of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine pens an emphatic opinion piece, saying quite simply, there are not enough beds in our WA hospitals and EDs to accommodate all the sick and injured people who come to us for help every day. And this is very dangerous. If you, or a friend or family member have an accident, or become very ill, and seek help at a hospital that is access blocked then you, or they, are 10 per cent more likely to die. February 2021: AMA doctors say WA cant cope with COVID outbreak, Health Minister dismisses report Health Minister Roger Cook dismissed a survey which found 63 per cent of Western Australian AMA doctors believed the states health system could not cope with a significant COVID-19 outbreak. February 2021: Clear and present danger: the non-COVID crisis crippling WAs health system In October 2014, when 1500 hours of ambulance ramping were recorded, then-shadow health minister Roger Cook said: If thats not a crisis, I dont know what is. Yet last month, patients spent 4111 hours ramped outside hospital EDs, following 3845 in December, 3698 in November, 3295 in October and 3083 in September. December 2020: WAs health system crisis continues to spiral leaving patients waiting for ambulances Patients having seizures and showing signs of a stroke were being left stuck at home waiting for ambulances as Western Australias health care system crisis continued to spiral. December 2020: Crisis point: COVID-19 blamed as WA hospital ramping hours reach new record The unprecedented ambulance ramping crisis afflicting Western Australias public hospitals was getting worse as the hours spent treating patients parked up outside of emergency departments reached another record high in November. Mental health beds are also in short supply with an increase in patients presenting at emergency departments. December 2020: WA doctors call for urgent support as hospitals clogged with bed block The states peak doctors body has sounded the alarm over Western Australias struggling healthcare system, claiming emergency departments were over-capacity and hospitals were riddled with bed block preventing the quick treatment of patients seeking care. December 2020: Parents demand urgent action to fix WAs youth mental health system WA Chief Psychiatrist Nathan Gibsons review into the states mental health system for young people and children revealed a range of urgent actions required. August 2020: COVID prepared? WAs health department wont bow to concerns over ambulance ramping Western Australias Health Department has dismissed concerns that hospitals would be unable to cope with a second wave of coronavirus, saying emergency departments were equipped with trained staff and patients were being triaged from ambulances quicker than previous years. August 2020: Students may be fast-tracked to fill WA doctor shortage as warnings sound over threat of second wave Junior doctor shortages, insufficient personal protective equipment and ambulance ramping all pointed to an impending crisis for Perth hospitals if a second wave of coronavirus hits, according to the Australian Medical Association of WA. AMA WA president Andrew Miller said the state was no better prepared than Victoria for an inevitable outbreak via freight or airline services. Suicides across the armed services rose sharply in the first year of the coronavirus, hitting a record 571 in 2020, but a Pentagon official and others say the stress of the pandemic isnt the likely culprit. Just what is behind the steady rise during years of Defense Department efforts to reduce self-inflicted deaths baffles experts. It is a mystery nowhere near to being solved. The latest mark, released in a report last week, was above the 503 suicides recorded in 2019 and the previous record of 543, set in 2018. The suicide total since 2003 now exceeds the 7,038 military lives lost in action or accidents in Iran and Afghanistan. Suicides among uniformed personnel rose sharply after the invasion of Iraq and were once thought to be a byproduct of a military at war. The past six years have challenged that notion. In that period, a near-peacetime era for the armed forces, the number of troops dying by their own hand has gone up almost every year and is nearly half the total of 7,491 military suicides from 2003 to 2020. Its frustrating to see soldiers struggle and to die by suicide. It certainly is, said James Helis, head of the Army Resilience Directorate. Its frustrating in trying to understand a very complex human behavior, but that does not discourage us from continuing to try to find better ways to prevent it from happening. The Pentagon has attacked the problem intensely since the Iraq War, establishing the Armys $50 million Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers STARRS and creating the Defense Suicide Prevention Office in 2011. In 2008, the Pentagon launched UT Health San Antonios STRONG STAR, a multidisciplinary consortium to study post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as myriad initiatives to raise awareness among troops and civilian workers. STARRS morphed into a study meant to reduce suicides and other mental health issues and identify resilience-building skills. The Pentagon also opened a Military Crisis Line for troops, veterans and families. It includes a confidential hotline, 800-273-8255, a website, www.MilitaryCrisisLine.net, and a text message number, 838255, for support. Despite that, the Pentagon in 2019 acknowledged that active-duty suicides were still on the rise and that self-inflicted deaths in the National Guard during the previous five years were higher than among civilians in comparable communities. The suicide prevention offices director, Karin Orvis, told a Senate subcommittee that year that the numbers are not going in the desired direction. More than a third of the deaths at Fort Hood in 2020 were suicides 12 in all, along with 14 from accidents, five homicides, one natural and one still being investigated, a spokesman there said. So far this year, the post has seen seven deaths: four from suicides, one natural, one accidental and one pending investigation. No one knows The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 47,511 civilian suicides were recorded in 2019, accounting for 14.5 deaths per 100,000. The Pentagons annual report for 2019 said the suicide rate among active-duty troops increased from 20.4 to 25.9 suicides per 100,000 from 2014 to 2019. Among reservists, the 2019 suicide rate was 18.2 per 100,000. In the National Guard, it was 20.3 per 100,000. The suicide prevention office said military rates of self-inflicted deaths were comparable with the U.S. adult population after accounting for age and sex, but thats cold comfort troops were less likely to kill themselves than were civilians prior to the late 2000s. As troop suicides continued to rise, the CDC reported in a Journal of the American Medical Association article published March 31 that civilian suicides fell in 2020 to 44,834, down 2,677 from the previous year. No one knows what to make of it, said Craig Bryan, a clinical psychologist who researches military suicides and is a professor of psychiatry at Ohio State University. On ExpressNews.com: Grim toll of military suicides reaches a new milestone Most recent Pentagon prevention research has focused on identifying and predicting risk factors, some of which are well known. Young men are most at risk of suicide, especially those who are just beginning their military careers; in the Air Force, 8 in 10 victims are male. Suicides are often driven by broken marriages and other relationship woes, financial problems or legal trouble that risks court-martial and separation from the armed forces. While some interventions are known to reduce suicides, no one has come up with an approach that consistently prevents such deaths. I havent read anywhere where anybody has been able to accurately predict who in a group that is facing these risk factors is going to commit suicide, the Army Resilience Directorates Helis said. UT Healths consortium received $45 million from the Veterans Affairs Department and the Defense Department from 2008 through last year, and it was the nations largest combat-related research effort devoted to PTSD. Its produced around 200 studies, but an expert there has a hard time explaining why suicides have grown worse. I wish I had an easy explanation, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Alan Peterson, who leads the consortium and is chief of UT Healths division of behavioral medicine. To some extent, its a bit baffling. Its difficult to understand the big increase in suicide in the military for the last five years. On ExpressNews.com: Air Force suicides set a record in 2019 Same failed approach Retired Army Col. Carl Castro, professor and research director of the University of Southern Californias Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, wrote in 2014 that the definitive causes of military suicides remain elusive and that effective prevention and treatment hadnt been developed. Thats still the case seven years later, he said, agreeing with Bryan and Peterson that the current approach, which focuses on warning signs of self-destructive behavior, requires a makeover. I can only speak in detail with the Armys approach, and their approach is one of basically blaming the buddy, Castro said. It blames the leader, like somehow theyre supposed to detect when someone is suicidal and intervene, and not doing that means you didnt do your job. And if you said there were no signs, then it means you didnt know your soldier well enough to intervene. But maybe there isnt anything you could have done. Troops in all the services are taught to spot red flags that suggest someone is thinking of suicide, such as giving away important personal items and talking about ending their lives. The Army conducts annual training in how to face challenges and setbacks and adapt to change. Soldiers learn about emotional regulation, a term that means not reacting negatively or impulsively when confronted with a difficult situation. Theyre taught tips for communicating that are at the heart of relationships. What we can say is that we do know from soldiers and enough episodes (that) the training on intervention is effective, that understanding the warning signs is helpful, Helis said. The challenge is that in many cases, the warning signs either arent observed or visible. Peterson called that a logical approach, but added, The question is, why isnt it stemming the tide? Then theres the ACE card, an old standby in the Pentagons war on suicides. A playing card thats been handed out to hundreds of thousands of soldiers over the years, it breaks the advice down to Ask, Care, Escort Ask your buddy, Care for your buddy and Escort your buddy. Have the courage to ask the question, but stay calm, it states. Ask the question directly, e.g., Are you thinking of killing yourself? Castro recalled asking, when he was a lieutenant colonel in the Army, if leadership intended to evaluate the effectiveness of the card after it was distributed. He said he was told no. He also remembered that the first mock-up used the ace of spades the death card. It was changed to the ace of hearts. You cant make some of this stuff up, Castro said. Just looking at it the other day, I was reading the Army regulation on wellness, and it still has the ace of hearts in there. I said, My God, its been 20 years ago! Literally, almost 20 years ago. Theyre still using the same failed approach. And I get it, but its not going to get us out of the pickle were in. Pandemics role a mystery On ExpressNews.com: Probe in airmans death finds multiple failures at jail at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Bryan said much of suicide prevention has focused on mental health, which he believes plays a smaller role in the problem than do normal reactions to external factors and stressful events. While some therapies and treatments work, a focus on the warning signs of suicide often falls short. In many cases, he said, there are no signs to observe. The Army trains junior officers and noncommissioned officers to get to know their soldiers and what is happening in their lives and not just to help them intervene in a moment of crisis, Helis said. Required resilience training is designed to help GIs not only bounce back from difficult moments, but to confront the myriad stresses of life. And while that contributes to suicide prevention and its part of an overall program for suicide prevention, its not simply an element of suicide prevention, he said. Its intended to improve soldiers performance, their self-confidence, their optimism and mental agility. The pandemic has caused anxiety and depression and possibly knocked spouses out of work, ratcheting up financial and family stress. That doesnt explain the rise in military suicides, but it might generate ideas for research, Peterson said. Bryan noted that 2020 was marked not just by the pandemic but by widespread social unrest, raising the prospect that theres something about social conditions within the military that is making it hard, thats blocking our ability to reverse the trends. Suicide is not something that comes solely from within individuals. Its affected by our environment, our social systems and our context, he said. As long as we keep saying suicide is caused by mental illness, its caused by these risk factors that individuals experience, were never really going to come to a satisfactory answer. sigc@express-news.net Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The wireless mesh network market is anticipated to reach around $119.2 billion by 2026 according to a new research published by Polaris Market Research. In 2017, the smart cities and warehouses segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global wireless mesh network market revenue during the forecast period. The growing need for efficient and stable network performance, along with the ability of wireless mesh network to flexibly expand and increase performance has boosted growth of the wireless mesh network market. Furthermore, the rising penetration of mobile devices, and rising adoption of mobile-connected devices further support the growth of this market. Additionally, the increasing demand of wireless mesh network from small and medium enterprises has supported market growth over the years. Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/wireless-mesh-network-market/request-for-sample Increasing investments by vendors in technological advancements, growing demand for wireless broadband services, and declining costs of connected devices would accelerate the growth wireless mesh network market during the forecast period. However, data privacy and security concerns are expected to hinder market growth. Growing demand from emerging economies, increasing adoption of IoT and smart grid applications are expected to provide numerous growth opportunities in the coming years. Wireless mesh networks are increasingly being used for environmental monitoring and precision agriculture. The farming industry is using automation and technology to increase profitability and reduce operating costs and the use of sensors in fields, tractors and vineyards for monitoring and management of farm operations has resulted in increased crop production and less resource wastage has also supported the wireless mesh network market growth in the recent past. Low frequency wireless mesh networks using sensor networks are deployed for environmental conditional monitoring, whereas high frequency wireless mesh networks are being used for tractor automation and precision agriculture and has increased the demand for wireless mesh network. North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global wireless mesh network market throughout the forecast period. The presence of established telecom and cloud infrastructure in this region, and growing trend of IoT drive the wireless mesh network market growth in the North America. The growing demand of mobile devices, and technological advancements further support market growth in the region. The use of smart technologies in energy and utilities, industrial automation, and intelligent buildings is expected to support market growth in this region during the forecast period. Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/wireless-mesh-network-market The major players operating in wireless mesh network market include Ruckus Wireless, Cisco Systems, Aruba Networks, Tropos Networks, Strix Wireless Systems Pvt Ltd, Firetide, Inc., Cambium Networks, Qualcomm, Rajant Corporation, Synapse Wireless. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers. Wireless Mesh Network Market Size and Forecast by Component, 2018-2026 Physical Appliances Mesh Platforms Services Wireless Mesh Network Market Size and Forecast by Radio Frequency, 2018-2026 Sub 1GHz 4GHz 9GHz 5GHz Wireless Mesh Network Market Size and Forecast by Mesh Architecture, 2018-2026 Infrastructure Wireless Mesh AD-HOC Mesh Wireless Mesh Network Market Size and Forecast by End-User, 2018-2026 Smart Cities and Warehouses Healthcare Oil and Gas Education Defense and Law Enforcement Transportation Mining Others Wireless Mesh Network Market Size and Forecast by Region, 2018-2026 North America US. Canada Mexico Europe Germany UK France Italy Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific China India Japan Rest of Asia-Pacific Latin America Brazil Middle East & Africa Avail discount on this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/wireless-mesh-network-market/request-for-discount-pricing About Polaris Market Research Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world. Contact us- Polaris Market Research Phone: 1-646-568-9980 Email: sales@polarismarketresearch.com Web: www.polarismarketresearch.com Two Lafayette Parish residents are suing the Lafayette Parish Council, four councilmen, Mayor-President Josh Guillory and Lafayette Consolidated Government alleging violations of the state's open meetings law. Lessie Leblanc-Melancon and Dominique Ducote allege in the lawsuit filed Friday in 15th Judicial District Court that Parish Councilmen Josh Carlson, John Guilbeau and Bryan Tabor violated the open meetings law by conferring and deciding in advance of a public meeting who they would appoint to the Lafayette Parish Library Board of Control. Three is a majority of the council. The lawsuit alleges by discussing the vote and deciding in advance who the majority of the council would appoint amounted to a "walking quorum" of the Parish Council, which is a violation of the open meetings law. Carlson, Guilbeau and Tabor voted Feb. 9 to appoint Robert Judge to the library board from among seven people who applied for the volunteer post. Carlson nominated Judge, who in 2018 vocally opposed a controversial Drag Queen Story Time event at the library. Councilman Kevin Naquin also is named in the lawsuit, although he and Councilman A.B. Rubin nominated and voted for others. Rubin was not specifically named in the suit. In text messages obtained by Ducote through a public records request, library board member Landon Boudreaux discusses with who appears to be Carlson about who the Parish Council should appoint to the library board. The text messages show Carlson saying he "went to bat" for Judge and that "Bryan and John are on board." Boudreaux, who as a library board member does not appoint fellow board members, wrote, "We might need to change our appointment." He also said he was concerned about Judge's affiliation with "Lunsford with everything going on." He was apparently referring to Michael Lunsford, a Breaux Bridge resident who is executive director of Citizens for a New Louisiana, an anti-tax group that opposed a library property tax renewal that voters rejected in 2018. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The library board in February was in the midst of an image crisis after The Acadiana Advocate reported the group rejected a Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities grant that would have funded discussions on books about Black voter suppression and history. Board members said they rejected the grant because the two moderators were too left-leaning and the librarian, who resigned days later, did not find a moderator to offer an alternate, more conservative voice. The public uproar that followed put the city and library system in the national spotlight. Leblanc-Melancon and Ducote are asking a judge to void Judge's appointment and order a new appointment to the library board. The lawsuit alleges a second open meetings law violation occurred at the Feb. 9 Parish Council meeting when a security guard at City Hall did not allow Leblanc-Melancon to bring a camera into the council meeting. The security guard advised Leblanc-Melancon a verbal order had been given that cameras would not be allowed during council meetings, the lawsuit alleges. She was forced to return her camera to her vehicle before being allowed into the meeting room. Leblanc-Melancon and Ducote are seeking civil penalties and legal fees. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Online Emergency Management Degree Programs. Intelligent.com analyzed 166 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 61 making it to the final list for Online Emergency Management Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-emergency-management-degree-programs/ 2021 Online Emergency Management Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Adelphi University American Military University Anderson University Angelo State University Arizona State University Arkansas State University Arkansas Tech University Ashford University Auburn University Auburn University, Montgomery Barry University Bellevue University Bethel University Boston University Capella University Colorado State University Colorado Technical University Columbia Southern University Crown College Drury University Eastern Kentucky University Eastern New Mexico University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Excelsior College Forsyth Technical Community College Franklin University George Mason University Grand Canyon University Immaculata University Indiana Institute of Technology Indiana University Jackson State University Jacksonville State University John Jay College of Criminal Justice Kansas Wesleyan University Louisiana State University, Alexandria Mercer University Ohio Christian University Post University Purdue University Global Regent University Rosemont College Saint Leo University Saint Louis University Sam Houston State University Southern New Hampshire University State University of New York, Canton Thomas Edison State University Touro University Worldwide University of Alaska University of Central Missouri University of Maryland Global Campus University of Nebraska University of New Haven University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Utah Valley University Walden University Waldorf University Wayne Community College West Texas A&M University Western Carolina University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. JOHNSTOWN Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino was forced to call in deputies and state troopers to quell a disturbance among prison-bound inmates in the locked-down jail after a recent outbreak of COVID-19 left many of the guards sidelined. For about 15 minutes Saturday, seven troopers and road patrol deputies worked in the Fulton County Jail, which has been in lockdown for about two weeks because of the outbreak. Lockdown requires prisoners remain in cells for all but four hours a day, so inmates are not getting as much recreation as they want and their movement is restricted. The sheriff says less than 50 percent of the guards have gotten the vaccine and he cannot legally require them to get shots. Many prisoners have also refused vaccinations, he added. Many employers contend they can't require employee to be vaccinated against the coronavirus because the vaccines are only approved for emergency use and not fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The tense situation Saturday night left the sheriff's office short staffed when faced with inmates in the maximum security unit who Giardino said were ignoring orders from the corrections officers. Giardino noted that they couldnt send more officers into the unit while adequately staffing the rest of the jail. Once they brought in the three road deputies and four troopers, the sheriff said they were then able to get everyone to comply with the directives and go into their cell. No one was injured, he said. The unit is used to house inmates before they are transferred to state prison. The Daily Gazette reported the incident Monday. Melanie Trimble, chapter director of the Capital Region chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said inmates are a "vulnerable population." She said like nursing homes, the state should have made correctional facilities a priority when it came to offering vaccinations to people in restricted living arrangements. Trimble said when that didn't happen the NYCLU tried talking to district attorneys, jail supervisors, and sheriffs across the state about releasing people who would not be a danger to the community. The NYCLU is also considering possible legal action. "We're not surprised that Fulton has gone the same way that a lot of other jails do where they've just locked prisoners down and do nothing to abate the situation, and when you have corrections officers that are unwilling to get vaccinated, they really ought to consider alternatives to having officers in there possibly spreading the disease to inmates who have no control over their freedom," she added. "We have seen evidence that local prisons are refusing to transfer prisoners into the institutions claiming overcrowding under COVID." Just because were so short staffed, we didnt want to risk our officers or the inmates getting injured, and by bringing in road patrol and the troopers, it was a force multiplier, and it actually deterred it getting out of control, Giardino said Monday. He described the move Saturday night as a precaution at a small jail where roughly about 30 percent of the corrections officers are either out because they contracted COVID-19, or are in quarantine because they were in contact with someone who had the deadly virus. Giardino said during the first few days of the outbreak that they were able to isolate the virus to one unit, but that became impossible to contain as the cases mounted. We were not able to ascertain where it came from, whether it was from our inmates, from boarders from other counties, or from staff, he said, adding the inmates from Saturday's incident will face disciplinary action. In late December, the Schenectady County Jail went into lockdown after four corrections officers and two inmates recently tested positive for coronavirus. Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino said Monday that the majority of the approximately 148 jail guards opted to take the COVID vaccine. There are about 167 inmates housed there. Trimble also asserted that the passage in New York of bail reform laws were a "life saver"for some people. In 2019, the sweeping reforms allowed judges to set bail for more criminal charges than originally allowed and mostly did away with cash bail for many people awaiting trial. "For people who were critical of bail reform, they should now understand that innocent people, people that have been falsely accused, would be facing exposure to a very dangerous situation if they were to go jail when they haven't been convicted of anything yet or because they cannot afford to raise the bail that's necessary," said Trimble. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow its COVID-19 monoclonal antibody cocktail to be used as a preventative treatment. It comes after data from a Phase III clinical trial, run together with the National Institutes of Health, found the drug reduced the risk of asymptomatic coronavirus patients developing symptoms by 76 percent on the third day. The treatment is a mixture of drugs casirivimab and imdevimab, and was developed by the New York City-based company in partnership with pharmaceutical firm Roche. Known as REGEN-COV, the cocktail imitates antibodies that the body generates when fighting the virus in order to boost the immune system. The cocktail was given to former President Donald Trump when he was infected with COVID-19 in October 2020, and which he hailed as 'key' to his speedy recovery. The antibody treatment has already been authorized by the FDA to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 and pediatric patients 12 years or older at high risk of severe disease. New trial showed the Regeneron's antibody cocktail reduced the overall risk of symptomatic infection by 31% and by 76% after the third day (above) Regeneron's cocktail, a mixture of two drugs, imitates antibodies that the body generates when fighting the coronavirus in order to boost the immune system It was given to former President Donald Trump when he was infected with COVID-19 in October 2020, and which he hailed as 'key' to his speedy recovery. Pictured: Trump returns to the White House after being treated at Walter Reed, October 2020 'COVID-19 transmission often occurs via infected people who do not yet have symptoms, so it is critical that we rapidly diagnose and treat these individuals for their own health and to prevent transmission,' said co-principal investigator Dr Katharine Bar, an assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in a statement. 'These data pave the way for REGEN-COV to be used before patients become symptomatic, with a more convenient subcutaneous administration.' For the trial, the team looked a data from 204 patients with recently infected asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. Half of the group received 1,200 milligrams (mg) of the drug and the other half received a placebo. The overall risk was reduced by 31 percent, with 29 patients on the treatment developing symptoms compared to 44 in the control group. If by the third day symptoms hadn't developed, a patient's risk of experiencing a cough, fever, or loss of taste and smell was 76 percent less likely than that of a place placebo patient. What's more, no patients taking REGN-COV patients were hospitalized or visited the emergency room compared to six placebo patients. In addition, Regeneron said its cocktail cut the amount of viral burden, the amount of virus present, cut by more than 90 percent Experts say that while vaccinations is the key to herd immunity, treatments are also important to ending the pandemic. A separate study found that REGEN-COV, protected household contacts from exposure to the virus with 72 percent protection in the first week and 93 percent after that. 'These Phase 3 data provide even more evidence that REGEN-COV, this time given to asymptomatic patients via convenient injections, can change the course of COVID-19 infection in non-hospitalized patients,' said Dr George Yancopoulos, Chief Scientific Officer at Regeneron, in a statement. 'In this trial, the REGEN-COV antibody cocktail effectively prevented asymptomatic patients from becoming symptomatic, and rapidly lowered their viral load.' Regeneron's partner, Roche, is making the drug at its plants in California and is responsible for sales outside the U.S. The two companies have stated that they believe they can produce more than two million doses of the cocktail annually. The issue of Armenian prisoners of war is completely different from the issue that existed in the 1990s. This is what former Human Rights Defender of Armenia Larisa Alaverdyan told reporters today. The prisoners of war and missing servicemen in the 1990s fell during fierce battles that ended with victory. This time, the prisoners of war have nothing to do with the situation of the past. On November 9, 2020, the person occupying the position of Prime Minister of Armenia transferred territories while the soldiers were still alive and participating in the battles. This wasnt the case in the 1990s. This is a crime. What makes this even more of a crime is that the detachments werent removed in an organized manner on November 9, she said. According to Alaverdyan, months after that, Nikol Pashinyan was helpless when he was talking about prisoners of war during a meeting in Moscow. 7 day print subscribers enjoy unlimited access to yakimaherald.com Enter the LAST NAME and the 7 DIGIT phone number on your print subscription account to connect your print subscription to your yakimaherald.com account. The South Korean was targeted both in replies to a tweet from Spurs' official account and in the comments section on his most recent Instagram post. Tottenham have condemned "abhorrent" racist abuse directed at Son Heung-min on social media following Sunday's 3-1 home loss to Manchester United. The South Korea forward was involved in an incident which saw an Edinson Cavani goal controversially ruled out in the first half for the visitors, with Scott McTominay adjudged to have fouled Son in the build-up. Son was targeted with racist insults both in replies to a tweet from Spurs' official account and in the comments section on his most recent Instagram post. "Another matchday and more abhorrent racial abuse suffered by one of our players," a statement from the north London club read. Another matchday and more abhorrent racial abuse suffered by one of our players. This has again been reported to the platforms and we shall now undertake a full review alongside the Premier League to determine the most effective action moving forward. We stand with you, Sonny. pic.twitter.com/fNBpSykJJo Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 11, 2021 "This has again been reported to the platforms and we shall now undertake a full review alongside the Premier League to determine the most effective action moving forward. "We stand with you, Sonny." The PA news agency has contacted Twitter and Instagram for a response. Son became the latest victim in a seemingly endless string of online racist abuse, with Raheem Sterling having received hateful messages in the wake of Manchester City's 2-1 loss to Leeds on Saturday. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Michigan State Universitys growth along the Medical Mile will result in an estimated $339 million economic impact each year in Kent County, officials announced Monday, April 12. That figure comes from an economic analysis of four buildings, two of which are under construction, that comprise the universitys presence along the Medical Mile the stretch of Michigan Street north of downtown Grand Rapids. The four buildings are the Secchia Center and the MSU Grand Rapids Research Center, as well as the Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building and the Perrigo Company North American Corporate Headquarters that are under construction. The Secchia Center is home to the MSU College of Human Medicine in the city. Following the completion of the Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building in fall 2021 and Perrigos North American headquarters in May 2022, the study estimates the four buildings and their activities will support just over 2,000 jobs, increase local earnings by $142 million and have an annual economic activity of $339 million in gross sales each year in Kent County. We were invited to West Michigan to be a partner in an amazing community. We see an important way to contribute is by creating a platform for all parts of the health ecosystem to come together to find new ways to solve the health challenges that face our communities, our nation and the world, said Norman Beauchamp Jr., executive vice president for health sciences at MSU. The innovation center is already attracting entrepreneurs who look to capitalize on existing opportunities, create new companies and innovate at scale. Related: A decade after opening, MSU medical school deemed critical ingredient in growth of Medical Mile MSU contracted with Grand Valley State University to conduct the economic analysis. The analysis also looked at the economic activity generated by the construction of the buildings since 2008. The construction costs for all four buildings total $295 million, supporting about 1,991 construction jobs and generating $352 million in economic activity. MSU established its foothold in Grand Rapids with the Secchia Centers opening in 2010. The university opened its Grand Rapids Research Center in 2017 to give scientists and students a place to discover new treatments for cancer and other ailments. A total 1,420 medical students have graduated from the Grand Rapids campus, with 19% of them underrepresented in the medical field and about 11,371 applications having been received since 2009, according to Beauchamp. The Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building, which is slated to open this fall, will house tenants focused on bringing to market discoveries in cancer research, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, artificial intelligence and medical device development. The building has already met the 75% threshold for tenants, according to the study. Related: MSU gets $19.5M gift from Doug Meijer, Meijer Foundation for medical innovation building The Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building and Perrigos North American headquarters are being built on MSUs Innovation Park, which is on the corner of Monroe Avenue NW and Michigan Street NW. The Grand Rapids Research Center is also on the campus. Perrigo, a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Ireland, is set to lease three stories of the new 10-story building for its North American headquarters. When we expanded our medical school and opened the Secchia Center in 2010, we set our sights on creating a medical education and research hub along the Medical Mile, said Aron Sousa, interim dean of the MSU College of Human Medicine, said in the news release. I am optimistic that the next phase will include discovery of new therapeutics and technologies to improve human health as we continue train the next generations of physicians, many of whom practice in the region following their residency. Sousa thanked those who have contributed to making MSUs presence in Grand Rapids possible, including the philanthropic community, Health Innovation Partners and Spectrum Health, Van Andel Institute, Mercy Health Saint Marys and Grand Valley State University. As development and innovation occur around the Grand Rapids Research Center, with its work complementing that being done at the Van Andel Institute and Spectrum Health, the study also found the quality of researchers fielded and number of grant opportunities improves as well. The scientific innovation underway is also elevating the stature of research being done across the Medical Mile, leading to better chances at getting grants and recruiting top researchers not only for MSU, but also for the other research centers in Grand Rapids, the study reads. Read more: Gardening industry went from shutdown to tsunami of demand in 2020. Farmers hope it sticks. CDC director says Michigan cant vaccine our way out of coronavirus surge Police identify slaying victim, teen suspect turns self in Wyoming police and prosecutors were repeatedly at odds over the sexual abuse investigation into retired bishop Joseph Hart, police and prosecutor documents say, with police claiming that prosecutors hadn't read basic case documents and prosecutors complaining about media attention and their problems with the investigation. 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. Courtesy Tammy Hauser From trolley tours to ice-cream truck ChillMobile Tammy Hauser, 57, Sarasota, Florida En espanol | I thought I'd made the pivot of my life when I started Discover Sarasota, a trolley tour company, in 2018. The business was thriving, and in December 2019, I did something impulsive: I bought a super-cute vintage ice-cream truck I saw on Facebook Marketplace. It cost $14,000, and my team thought I was nuts. I planned to put it next to my trolley cottage and sell snacks to my tour guests. Then COVID-19 hit, and on March 20, I had to shut down the business. One day, as I looked at this 1979 Good Humor truck in my driveway, I thought, Wait. Food trucks are essential businesses. I own a food truck. So, I launched the ChillMobile. We make as much as $1,900 a day, selling ice-cream treats such as Toasted Almond bars and local artisanal items. Boozy pops are a huge hit. We often get booked for neighborhood driveway cocktail parties, and events at schools and older-adult facilities. We have reopened the trolley, but business is slow. My assistant handles the tours while I run the ice-cream truck with Max, my papillon dog. He often wears an ice-cream bow tie. I'm glad we're doing so well. It's 80 degrees here year-round. And ice cream is a recession-proof business. But this has been about so much more than making money. It's brought so much comfort and joy at a time when people have needed it. Wyoming Middle School Student Names New Supercomputer Derecho A Wyoming middle school student has won a statewide competition to name one of the worlds fastest supercomputers. The winning name, Derecho, is for the new system currently being installed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) in Cheyenne. It was selected out of more than 200 submissions from Wyoming K-12 students as part of a naming competition that NCAR conducted in partnership with the Wyoming Department of Education and the Wyoming Governors Office. We are very excited to have such a meaningful name for this powerful new supercomputer, says Anke Kamrath, director of NCARs Computational & Information Systems Laboratory. The state of Wyoming has been a wonderful home for the supercomputing center, and we could not be more pleased that Derecho comes from a Wyoming student. The term derecho, derived from the Spanish word for direct or straight ahead, refers to a line of powerful and damaging storms that often pack hurricane-force winds and unleash heavy rains and flooding. Its the type of destructive weather event that scientists hope to learn more about by using the new supercomputer for advanced simulations of the atmosphere and other aspects of the Earth system. The name was submitted by Cael Arbogast, a student at Riverton Middle School. I picked this name because a derecho is an intense, widespread and fast-moving windstorm that travels long and great distances bringing many storms with it, Arbogast wrote with his submission. This new supercomputer has to move at fast speed for everybody to use all across the country. I thought this name would be a good fit provided that lots of scientists and others will be using this computer all across the country and for weather all throughout the world. This name is perfect, says Ed Synakowski, vice president for research and economic development at the University of Wyoming. Caels suggestion projects intensity, directionality, connectedness and complexity. The name immediately conveys that one is talking about a machine that is exciting and purposeful. The students stepped up beautifully in offering this and other great candidate names for this new system. Our school and community are beyond proud of our student, Cael, for being selected for this prestigious honor, says Aziz Waheed, the principal of Riverton Middle School. To be able to name one of the fastest supercomputers for the National Center for Atmospheric Research is not something many people in the world can say they have done. Hats off to Cael and the NWSC, says Jillian Balow, Wyoming superintendent of public instruction. Derecho is similar to a perfect storm, and thats what we have here. Cael and his classmates have the opportunity to learn computer science in school, and Wyoming maintains its status as a global leader in supercomputing. Advancing Research to Help Society Derecho will become operational in early 2022. Built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the supercomputer will be a 19.87-petaflops system, meaning it will have the theoretical ability to perform 19.87 quadrillion calculations per second. That is about 3.5 times the speed of scientific computing performed by the current NWSC supercomputer, Cheyenne. Once it begins operations, Derecho is expected to rank among the top 25 or so fastest supercomputers in the world. It will be used to advance the Earth system sciences, enabling researchers to better understand a range of phenomena that affect society, from hurricanes and seismic activity to climate change and solar storms. Although it will not be used for forecasting, Derecho will help scientists improve the tools needed to better predict severe weather, flooding and other damaging events. Funding for Derecho, which will cost $35 million to $40 million, comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NWSC is funded by NSF and the state of Wyoming through an appropriation to UW, and with support from Cheyenne LEADS, the Wyoming Business Council and Black Hills Energy. Since the NWSC opened its doors in 2012, more than 4,000 users from more than 575 universities and other institutions across the nation and overseas have used its resources. Among universities, UW is the largest single user as part of the states agreement with NCAR. NCAR also works with Wyoming schools to highlight the importance of scientific research and the opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. As a supercomputer that will be supporting solutions to some of the most complex weather and climate research questions of our time, it is fitting that Derecho is named for such a distinct weather event, says NCAR Director Everette Joseph. We very much appreciate all the thoughtfulness that Cael put into submitting the new name, and we hope the experience of the contest is an inspiration to the students who participated to consider a career in STEM. Antonio Busalacchi, the president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, which manages NCAR on behalf of NSF, says he was gratified by the outcome of the contest. Given how much we value our partnership with the state of Wyoming, we thought this naming contest would be an exciting way to engage the youth in Wyoming, he says. At the same time, it highlights the importance of STEM education and related career paths. A 13-year-old girl was abducted, raped, stabbed and then choked to death by a drug-addict chef in a 'shocking attack' in 2018, a court in Spain has heard. Juan Francisco Lopez Ortiz, now 46, has gone on trial for the murder of Laia Alsina - who went missing while walking from her grandparents' home on the second floor of a block flats in the city of Vilanova i la Geltru to her father who was waiting outside. Her partially clothed body was later found stuffed under a mattress with a dog collar around her neck inside an apartment on the first floor that belonged to Ortiz's parents, where he was staying at the time. Ortiz has already admitted that he carried out the brutal killing but his lawyers want the life sentence that he is facing reduced to 14 years. They say he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the attack, thought somebody was trying to break in, and was trying to defend himself. Laia Alsina (pictured, left, with her mother) was abducted moments after leaving her grandparents' apartment The attack took place on June 4, 2018, around 6.50pm as Laia's father came to pick her up from her grandparents' flat where she routinely spent time after school. Laia left her grandparents' and went to walk downstairs when she was accosted by Ortiz who dragged her into his parents' flat - though they were not home at the time. Once inside, police say the girl had a dog leash placed around her neck and was beaten, raped, and stabbed in various parts of her body. She was then suffocated to death using the dog collar in an attack designed to cause her 'the greatest possible suffering', investigators said. Laia's father - who had adopted her from China aged 14 months - was initially confused by her disappearance and, thinking that he might have missed her come out of the building, went home to look for her. When he found that she was not there, he organised a search of the neighbourhood using Facebook groups, but to no avail. Laia was walking from her grandparent's flat on the second floor of this block to her father's car outside when Ortiz intercepted her on the first floor and dragged her into his apartment The family eventually concluded that she had not come out of the building at all, and began knocking on neighbour's doors. Suspicion fell on Ortiz because he gave 'inconsistent' replies to their questions, and eventually two of Laia's uncles broke the door down. They soon found Laia's body inside, and had to be stopped by police from lynching Ortiz before he could be arrested. Ortiz initially claimed he was not responsible for the murder and that somebody else was in the house with him, but faced with a weight of evidence to the contrary he eventually confessed. The chef, who had been living in China, said he had recently relapsed into alcohol and drug abuse because his mother was dying - which was his reason for coming home to Spain. He now claims that he doesn't remember the attack itself, but thought somebody was trying to break into the apartment and attacked them in self-defence. State prosecutor Maria Jose Franco told the court at the opening of the trial: 'Laia was a happy girl who was murdered in the most savage, brutal, unimaginable way, in a dantesque scenario.' Juan Carlos Zayas, a private prosecutor acting for the teenager's family, described the defendant as a 'calculating' person who had not only killed a little girl but prevented her from defending herself or escaping. Police said after Lopez Ortiz's arrest they suspected he may have been lying in wait for Laia, who routinely spent a couple of hours with her grandparents after school where she enjoyed an afternoon snack before her bank worker dad came to pick up her just before 7pm. The defendant is expected to take the stand next week. His defence lawyer is arguing he should be sentenced to a maximum of 14 years in prison for a lesser crime of homicide with mitigating circumstances. He has described Lopez Ortiz as a man whose life was mired in chaos and desperation and who suffered a drink and drugs problem. The defendant claimed during his first interrogation by an investigation judge shortly after his arrest that he didn't remember having committed any crime because of the drink and drugs he had consumed. The Jeep brand is blazing new trails in Texas, the largest truck market in the country, by introducing the new 2021 Gladiator Texas Trail. Based on the Gladiator Sport S trim, the Texas Trail is launching exclusively for the state of Texas and delivers a new level of personalized content for a distinct appearance combined with legendary Jeep 4x4 capability. "The Jeep brand recognizes that Texas and America's southwest are the center of the truck universe," said Jim Morrison, Vice President Jeep Brand North America. "Special editions allow us to connect with our passionate customers, and the Jeep Gladiator Texas Trail further broadens the appeal of the most capable Jeep pickup yet." The 2021 Jeep Gladiator Texas Trail also celebrates the addition of two Texas trails to the Jeep Badge of Honor program. The industry-exclusive Jeep Badge of Honor mobile app allows off-road enthusiasts to conquer trails and earn unique trail badges for their Jeep vehicles. Texas is now home to two Badge of Honor trails, including Black Gap 4x4 trail in Big Bend National Park and Northwest OHV Park in Bridgeport, Texas. The 2021 Jeep Gladiator Texas Trail is available now at dealers in the state of Texas. Jeep Gladiator Texas Trail Bolstering the 2021 Jeep Gladiator lineup, the new Texas Trail marks the first time Jeep is offering a truck that pays homage to the largest truck market in the country: Texas. The Gladiator Texas Trail features 17-inch Mid-Gloss Black Aluminum wheels wrapped in 32-inch mud-terrain tires. These features, combined with the Jeep Command-Trac 4x4 part-time, two-speed transfer case with a 2.72:1 low-range gear ratio, enhance the Gladiator Texas Trail's off-road capability. This added capability is highlighted with a rugged exterior. The unique Texas Trail hood and tailgate decals include the year 1836 as a nod to the Texas Declaration of Independence. The Sport S-based Gladiator Texas Trail also includes standard side steps, Trailer Tow Group, black hardtop, black leather seats embossed with the Texas Trail graphic and Technology Group with 7-inch radio and Convenience Group. The 2021 Jeep Gladiator, engineered from the ground up to be the most off-road capable Jeep truck ever, builds on a rich heritage of tough, dependable Jeep trucks with an unmatched combination of rugged utility, authentic Jeep design, open-air freedom, clever functionality and versatility. Available with the new 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 engine, rated at 260 horsepower and 442 lb.-ft. of torque, or the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine, rated at 285 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque, and a versatile cargo box, Gladiator is built to handle the demands of an active lifestyle while delivering an open-air driving experience in a design that is unmistakably Jeep. Combining traditional Jeep attributes with strong truck credentials, the Jeep Gladiator is a unique vehicle capable of taking passengers and cargo anywhere. Jeep Gladiator Texas Trail is Trail Rated with a badge indicating that the vehicle is designed to perform in a variety of challenging off-road conditions, identified by five key consumer-oriented performance categories: traction, ground clearance, maneuverability, articulation and water fording. The Gladiator Texas Trail is available in 10 colors: black, white, Snazzberry, Granite Crystal, Sarge, Nacho, Hydro Blue, Firecracker Red, Billet Silver and Sting-Gray. The 2021 Jeep Gladiator Texas Trail has a starting MSRP of $40,435 (plus $1,495 destination) and is currently available at Texas dealers. Jeep Wave Customer Care Program Jeep Wave is a premium owner loyalty program filled with benefits and exclusive perks created to give Jeep owners the utmost care and dedicated 24/7 support. The Jeep Wave customer service program is available to the entire 2021 model-year Jeep brand lineup. Jeep Wave program highlights include: Three years of worry-free maintenance at Jeep dealerships, including oil changes and tire rotations 24/7 support via phone or online chat Trip interruption and first-day loaner coverage VIP access to select, exclusive Jeep events Jeep Brand Built on 80 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV with capability, craftsmanship and versatility for people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a full line of vehicles that continue to provide owners with a sense of security to handle any journey with confidence. Jeep Wave, a premium owner loyalty and customer care program that is available to the entire Jeep lineup, is filled with benefits and exclusive perks to deliver Jeep owners the utmost care and dedicated 24/7 support. The Jeep vehicle lineup consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Renegade and Wrangler. To meet consumer demand around the world, all Jeep models sold outside North America are available in both left- and right-hand drive configurations and with gasoline and diesel powertrain options. Jeep is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com. Follow Jeep and company news and video on: Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com Jeep brand: www.jeep.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeep Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeep Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeep YouTube: www.youtube.com/thejeepchannel or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA SOURCE Stellantis Related Links http://www.stellantis.com Prototype rollout to spur rapid progress of aviation industry South Korea unveiled a prototype of its first domestically developed supersonic fighter jet, Friday, joining an elite group of global aerospace manufacturers. In a ceremony held in the southeastern city of Sacheon, President Moon Jae-in hailed the rollout of the twin-engine fighter, dubbed the KF-21 and named Boramae (hawk), saying, "A new era in independent national defense has begun, and it marks a historic milestone in the progress of our aviation industry. If the final tests are completed successfully, the nation will become the world's eighth country to develop an advanced supersonic fighter. The first test flight is scheduled for 2022, and mass production will begin in 2026 with the goal of deploying 40 jets by 2028 and another 80 by 2032. Dubbed a 4.5-generation fighter, the KF-21 is not a stealth plane, but researchers seem set to continue their work for a possible conversion with additional features in the future. The target localization of the KF-21 jet remains at 65 percent, but its rollout marks a significant achievement for South Korea, a country where the history of the production of domestically developed aircraft is not long. When the nation announced a plan to develop its own fighter, the prevailing opinion was negative at first. But our technicians made the impossible possible, localizing key equipment essential for a 4.5-generation fighter such as the active electronically scanned array (AESA). This will certainly enable the nation to make a quantum leap in the aerospace industry, which has emerged as a new growth engine in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It's encouraging to hear that the KF-21 has significant export potential thanks to its price competitiveness. But the most important thing is that the new fighter will play a key role in safeguarding our airspace at a time when the security environment surrounding the Korean Peninsula is becoming increasingly unstable amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry. Nothing is more important than possessing overwhelming military capabilities when it comes to ensuring peace and stability. The COVID-19 pandemic has been marked by conundrums. Some people get very sick, others show no symptoms. The old are especially vulnerable, young children are not. Some recover in a few days, others endure long and debilitating symptoms. Now comes perhaps the most perplexing riddle of this public health crisis: Most are eager to receive a vaccine that will protect them and their community from COVID-19, but others including one in five North Carolina adults do not intend to get the shot that will shield them from a virus that has killed half a million Americans. And within this resistance is yet another contradiction. Opposition is high in very different groups: Black people who mistrust the medical establishment because of past abuses and neglect; and rural white Republicans and evangelicals, who object to what they consider a government overreaction to the pandemic that they see as a push to impose a liberal agenda. Because of this level of vaccine hesitancy, the nation may not attain the level of immunity now estimated at 70 to 85 percent of the population that is needed to vanquish COVID-19. Instead, the virus could continue to spread and potentially mutate in ways that could overcome current vaccine-induced immunity. North Carolinas Gov. Roy Cooper and state public health officials have done fine work on pandemic-related restrictions and vaccinations, but now they must find a way to get over the last and daunting hurdle of vaccine hesitancy. The vaccine supply and the number of people vaccinated are growing, but the share of unvaccinated people who want a shot is shrinking. Cooper noted this inversion last week at a news conference. I think were, pretty quickly, going to reach the point where supply will exceed demand, he said. We need to flip it over to make sure were encouraging people to get vaccinated. A state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) survey found that North Carolinians are more open to getting vaccinated than they were in a November DHHS survey. But the survey also found significant resistance among those who are unvaccinated and have no appointment to get a shot. Story continues DHHS is trying to break down vaccine hesitancy by educating the public about how getting vaccinated will help individuals, families and communities. DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen recently joined the Rev. William J. Barber in getting a shot. Barber, a Goldsboro minister and national advocate for civil rights and the poor, urged lower-income and Black North Carolinians to get vaccinated. This is about caring for the people around you, about being your brothers and sisters keeper, he said. Strong holdouts Education about the vaccines safety and appeals to conscience may be effective with those who doubt the safety of the vaccines. Public health and political leaders may have a harder time getting conservative white evangelicals to roll up their sleeves for the shot. Jason Byler, pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Rolesville, said he is not opposed to vaccines but he is resistant to taking a new vaccine being pushed by the government after a year of other pandemic restrictions. Theyre taking away more and more of our freedoms, he told the Editorial Board. Its part of a political move on the part of progressives and communists. For now, government and community leaders can try to persuade the hesitant and unwilling to get vaccinated. But if the resistance is substantial enough that it threatens the state and nations ability to reach safe levels of immunity, more direct measures may arise. Airlines may require proof of vaccination before passengers can fly. More colleges might require it for students on campus. Some events might require it for admission. Freedom needs to be honored and no one should be forced to get vaccinated. But every effort should be made to persuade vaccine resisters to get a shot for their benefit, for the protection of others, and to help us beat this virus. The (DU) issued a set of guidelines with immediate effect on Monday in the wake of the rising number of cases in the national capital. In a notice, the university said the classes for the undergraduate and postgraduate students will continue in the "online mode only" in all the colleges, while the research scholars may continue their academic work with the consent of their supervisors. "Teaching/learning for undergraduate and postgraduate students will continue in the online mode only in all the colleges, centres and departments of the University of Delhi. "The research scholars may continue their academic work with the consent of the respective supervisor/head of the department, strictly adhering to the prescribed SOP for COVID-19 issued by the Government of India and the DDMA," it said. The final-year students will be allowed in "small batches" to visit their "respective colleges/centres/departments for their laboratory/practical/skill/library and related activities", in accordance with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines. "All Group 'A' officers and in-charge of the section shall attend their offices, adhering to the proposed guidelines by the MHA," it notified. The university advised the college principals to ensure the presence of teachers, "considering the requirement and meeting up the conditions laid by the MHA, MOHFW and the DDMA order". "It is also decided that staggered working hours and 50 per cent staff shall attend the office on working days and the remaining staff shall work from home as per the roster prepared by the section officer/in-charge etc. Staff staying in the containment zones must inform and apply for suitable leave," the notice read. It also urged all the eligible employees to "get themselves vaccinated as a precautionary measure". Delhi recorded 10,774 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the highest single-day surge in the national capital till date, according to data shared by the health department. According a bulletin issued by the department, 48 new fatalities were also recorded on Sunday, pushing the death toll due to the viral disease in the national capital to 11,283. (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.) Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua just showed fans that theyve got political integrity. The Black actors have decided they will not be filming Emancipation in Georgia in the wake of the states controversial voting law changes. These changes disproportionately affect Black communities, and both stars are prepared to take a stand on where they spend their money as a result. Heres what we know about Will Smith, Antoine Fuqua, and the Emancipation location change. Georgia voting laws target black communities Will Smith | John Parra/Getty Images RELATED: Why Jaden Smith Feels Excluded by Donald Glover, Drake, Kanye West Georgia has been a reliably Republican state for many years. Notably, the state coasted through a red streak from 1972 until 2020, with a few exceptions. Joe Biden won the Georgia election by a hairs breadth, marking a massive shift in the states voting population and possible future direction. Naturally, those in Republican positions of power are interested in maintaining their status quo, and as a result, alongside erroneous claims of election fraud, the Georgia government has instituted new voting laws. Per the Pew Research Center, Black voters in Georgia are predominantly Democrat. This isnt much of a surprise, given the general disposition of Republican policy in relation to Black populations health and safety. About 73% of Black voters in Georgia are Democrats, with 59% of white voters leaning Republican. While the new Georgia voting policy does contain some more innocuous changes clarifying voting times for example there are changes to policies regarding water and food distribution that target Black communities. Poll workers will be able to hand out water, but others will not be able to give out food or water within 150 feet of a polling place, or within 25 feet of those waiting to vote. This utterly pointless change largely affects only Black voters, who historically have had longer queues and fewer polling places. Long waits are more common in areas with a larger black population, often due to fewer polling stations and other barriers to voting, reports BBC. Additionally, the bill originally was going to eliminate early voting on a Sunday, which again would have targeted Black communities, who often participate in souls to the polls voting after church congregations. That portion of the pill was, thankfully, not passed. Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua ditch Georgia for Emancipation Emancipation director Antoine Fuqua | Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI Georgias government has faced widespread backlash for the voting policy bill, including from a variety of corporations. Now, Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua are calling out Georgia, and have decided that their money is better spent elsewhere. Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua were originally going to be filming Emancipation in Georgia. The film was to be a period drama following the escape of the slave Gordon, also known as Whipped Peter, as he seeks freedom. At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice, Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua said in a joint statement. We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access. The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting. Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state, the duo concluded. It remains to be seen how other production companies and actors will deal with the new Georgia voting laws, as Georgia offers generous incentives to production companies. GREENWICH Even as affordable housing has become a contentious topic in Greenwich, Hartford and across Connecticut, the town celebrated 18 new townhouses at Armstrong Court and funding to push forward with further rehabilitation of the 70-year-old site. Greenwich Communities, which was formerly known as the Greenwich Housing Authority, formally dedicated a plaque Saturday morning to mark the completion of the 18 townhouses. And it has closed financially on the second phase of the project, redeveloping 42 existing units allowing the construction to move forward later this year on what is expected to be a $27 million project. The financial close of Phase II is an extraordinary accomplishment for our organization and will contribute greatly to furthering our commitment to provide quality, safe and affordable housing now and well into the future in the town of Greenwich, Anthony Johnson, Greenwich Communities CEO and executive director, said on Friday. Johnson noted that major improvements at Armstrong Court have not occurred since the 144 units were constructed in 1951. According to the current schedule, the construction is slated to begin later this month. Johnson said on Friday that construction is expected to take about 12 months to complete. No residents will have to be relocated outside of Armstrong Court during the construction. Johnson said they purposely held open 42 units in the complex where residents have been moved to during the redevelopment work on their apartments. This all comes at a time when there has been increased focus on the availability of affordable housing in the state thanks to the Desegregate CT movement and new bills before the state legislature that advocates say will create more affordable housing. There has been significant pushback to those bills from Greenwichs municipal leaders, who have said it would impose mandates on the town and that it ignores work being done by Greenwich Communities to try and address the need for more affordable housing units in town. These buildings further our vision for quality, affordable housing in Greenwich, Johnson said. We are not just talking the talk. We are walking the walk. We are the solution. Sam Romeo, chair of Greenwich Communities Board of Commissioners, was among those who have testified against the new bills during recent public hearings and he blasted the critics of Greenwichs policies while adding that plans were being developed to add in 300 more units of affordable housing in town. It seems to me they dont know anything about how housing is created, Romeo said during his testimony last month. They dont know anything about a lot of the towns theyre supposed to be representing. I know Greenwich is totally misunderstood throughout the state. Im willing to bet that people dont know we have 1,250 units of affordable housing that we manage here in the town of Greenwich. We are a very diverse community. The towns Planning and Zoning Commission is putting together the final details on a housing trust fund that could provide more opportunities for Greenwich Communities, as well as other developers, to access private money for affordable housing. As for the next phase of work at Armstrong Court, current one- and two-bedroom units will be combined to create three-bedroom and two-bathroom apartments. Greenwich Communities said these larger units have been in high demand for families and will provide a higher standard of living. There will be also be expanded living space, new kitchens with dishwashers and stainless steel appliances, air conditioning units, upgrades to the electrical and insulation, improved rooflines and the creation of new and renovated meeting and laundry facilities. Last April, Greenwich Communities was awarded $10.5 million in tax credits from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority through its Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, which provides tax credits to developers in the state who best meet the criteria of being able to provide affordable housing to residents. Now those tax credits have been purchased by a capital investor called Enterprise and along with loans Greenwich Communities received from the states Department of Housing, the money has been secured to go forward with the project. Additionally the federal department of Housing and Urban Development is providing 14 Section 8 vouchers to provide housing to low-income residents. Greenwich Communities is exceptionally versed at directing and controlling these building projects without the need for a private development partner, which sets us apart from other housing authorities, Johnson said. The Armstrong Court redevelopment project is being done over the course of four phases. The first phase was for the new townhouses, which came in at a cost of $15 million. Phase two construction is the 42 units in Armstrong Courts buildings 1, 3 and 6 and phase three with a projected price of $25 million will see a new building of 42 units that is slated for construction in late 2021 or early 2022. Phase four is rehabilitation of the two remaining buildings in Armstrong Court. Johnson said they will be seeking financing in the future for that. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com Operation Safety Net is the law enforcement initiative to protect local government infrastructure (such as the Hennepin County Government Center) following the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin. The Chauvin trial is taking place in the Government Center, which otherwise remains closed for security purposes. An officer-involved shooting in Minneapolis suburb Brooklyn Center yesterday afternoon put OSN to work overnight. The video below captures the OSN media briefing held at 1:15 a.m. this morning to discuss operations around town today. It is not particularly informative, but the relation to the Chauvin trial makes it of interest. The media alert for the briefing warned us not to disclose its location. Facts regarding the shooting are few. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has initiated the investigation that it performs in such cases. Here is a collection of statements made about Wright and the shooting by family and friends in the immediate aftermath. Newsweek has more here. The Star Tribune has a story on the obligatory rioting and looting that have already spread from Brooklyn Center into Minneapolis. The story reports: Looting was widespread late Sunday into early Monday, spilling into north and south Minneapolis. Reports said that stores in Uptown and along Lake Street were also being looted. Star Tribune reporter Liz Sawyer tweeted out the items below that give us yet another taste of what is past, or passing, or to come, as Yeats puts it in Sailing to Byzantium. Police have pushed large swath of crowd back across the street, into residential area with tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets. This came moments after a few people threw things at police line and organizers yelled at them to stop. pic.twitter.com/w0bK4Or9iN Liz Sawyer (@ByLizSawyer) April 12, 2021 Signatory underscores its multi-strategy investment approach and commitment to ESG DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sycamore Tree Capital Partners (Sycamore Tree),an asset manager with private and alternative credit investment expertise, today announced that it is a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), an investor initiative focused on responsible investment. With support from the United Nations, PRI is an independent network encouraging investors to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in their investment approach. At Sycamore Tree, we believe that incorporating non-financial factors, including responsible investing and ESG principles, are important in making both good business and investment decisions, said Mark Okada, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sycamore Tree. As an emerging manager and a minority-owned company, we are building systems and processes to identify, monitor and implement ESG investing principles from the earliest stage of our firms development, adds Trey Parker, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Sycamore Tree. Fiona Reynolds, CEO of PRI said, We are honored to have Sycamore Tree Capital Partners become a PRI Signatory. Through their commitment to responsible investing, Sycamore Tree will strengthen investors positive impact on the global financial system. To learn more about Sycamore Trees investment approach, including its philosophy on socially responsible investing, see here. About Sycamore Tree Capital Partners Sycamore Tree Capital Partners is a value-oriented, durable-alpha investment firm specializing in alternative credit. Founded by industry veterans Mark Okada, Trey Parker and Jack Yang, the firm has deep experience across economic and market cycles. Headquartered in Dallas, TX with an office in New York City, the firms investment expertise includes bank loans, high yield bonds, structured credit and special situations. For additional information, please visit our website at http://www.sycamorelp.com/. About PRI The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is a world leading proponent of responsible investment. The PRI is an independent investor initiative with support from the United Nations. Launched in 2006, PRI has become a leading network of investors committed to responsible and long-term investment strategies that enhance returns through their focus on environmental, social and governance issues. To learn more about PRI visit their website at https://www.unpri.org/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210408005638/en/ Andrew Merrill & Emily Goldberg Prosek Partners 917.622.1252 amerrill@prosek.com egoldberg@prosek.com Source: Sycamore Tree Capital Partners Dumsor is a pure political term and, so, the Akufo-Addo government cannot defer to engineers to explain the political term it benefitted from while in opposition, the General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said. The country has been experiencing intermitted power outages in the past few weeks, which the Energy Minister, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, has attributed to ongoing system upgrades. Dr Prempeh, who recently announced that there would be systematic power outages in May, also refuted claims that dumsor was back during a recent tour of some ongoing upgrade projects in Accra. The upgrades are being undertaken by state power transmitter Ghana Grid Company Limited. We should all be truthful in our communication. In 2016, the whole country, they gave us periods that we were off and on. In 2016, the government of the day told us that it was a generation problem. In 2016, even the opposition talked about the government not having money to buy fuel. This is not a generation problem, this is not about fuel, so, how could it be dumsor? Dumsor is planned and a timetable is rolled out and it affected the whole country for four years. Is that what we are seeing? No, he asserted, insisting: Some of the systems, because of the challenges, the reason the system upgrades are being done is what we are feeling. So, we have to bear with the contractors to finish in time so that we can enjoy the improvement we so desire, he pleaded. Pressed further by the journalists if he was being categorical that there is no dumsor, Dr Prempeh retorted: Is there dumsor? I would ask you. Is it the dumsor that you have known and come to live with that is happening in the country? he wondered. We have systems where lines are flickering, voltages are low and, sometimes, like it happened over the weekend, a line is down because a conductor has broken. And that is exactly why we are here today the system upgrade that is ongoing and, so, the challenges are what we are dealing with and all I can say is to plead with Ghanaians to be forbearing and well coming out of the problem, he noted. Dr Prempeh also dismissed rumours festering on social media that the intermittent outages were deliberate so as to justify intended tariff hikes. Some of these claims need not be responded to in the sense that in the light of the obvious fact, this was not started today, this project has been ongoing for some time, the project the engineer just told you about, so, I can simply say it is not true. However, Mr Asiedu Nketia told Kofi Oppong Asamoah on Class91.3FMs Class Morning Show that: Dumsor is not an engineering term, its a political term, so, if in 2016, we were not interested in listening to the causes of the dumsor, why should we be listening to the causes of the dumsor from the engineering standpoint now. At that time, even when we were explaining that: Look, part of the problem has to do with generation, part of the problem has to do with the gas that was not flowing from Nigerian and all that, they said it was all incompetence. So, the politician should not go and hide, he noted. They should come and explain their own term dumsor and the explanation they gave was that, dumsor means light going on, light coming off and, so, now they cannot call the engineers who did not study dumsor in any of their textbooks, to come and explain to us what dumsor means. Source: classfmonline.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 Timothy Sauve and his partner Julie Garcia pose for a selfie on Toronto's Centre Island in a Sept. 7, 2018, handout photo. Sauve, a 61-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., was rushed to hospital with a deteriorating condition that eventually required a double-lung transplant --believed to be the first done in Canada on a patient whose lungs were irreparably damaged by COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Timothy Sauve, *MANDATORY CREDIT DUNMORE From the road, drivers will hardly notice a difference in traffic flow the next five years as they cross the massive Interstate 84 twin bridges. Down below, contractor JD Eckmans crews, cranes, dump and cement trucks are already noisily focused on replacing the 43-year-old twins without interrupting daily commutes. It is a massive job. Not that anyone can tell the projects enormity by talking to Mike Walsh, the state Department of Transportations project manager, and John Pivovarnik, PennDOTs assistant construction engineer. Theyve got their construction scheduling sequence set. They just follow it. All the projects are similar, we get similar sequences for all projects, Pivovarnik said matter-of-factly. But this one is just on a bigger scale. No doubt about that. PennDOT signed a $113,321,134 contract with JD Eckman last April to not only replace the bridges by 2026, but also to eliminate the left, passing lane exit from I-84 east onto Route 435 south toward Elmhurst Twp. That will entail building what the engineers call a flyover, a right, driving lane exit that loops around and crosses I-84 with a bridge to reach 435. PennDOT also paid $6,460,965 for project design and engineering and right-of-way acquisition. That totals $119,782,099, easily one of the most expensive jobs in the six-county PennDOT district offices recent history. In the last 30 years, only the $460 million Casey Highways construction cost more for a single project. If you thought replacing the twin bridges on Interstate 81 near St. Marys Cemetery in South Scranton more than a decade ago was a big job, that cost only about half the I-84 twins. And replacing the Harrison Avenue bridge in Scranton, which produced a lot of traffic disruption, cost less than a quarter of the twins, even with its cost overruns. The eastbound I-84 bridge stretches 1,160 feet, the westbound, 1,066 feet. The flyover bridge will stretch more than 600 feet. The I-84 bridges sit about 150 feet above a ravine on aging piers, including one with substantially exposed steel reinforcement bars whose concrete time and weather partially wore away. It looks a lot higher when youre up on top, Walsh said. Ive been up over the side of that bridge doing repairs on scaffolding. When youre standing over the side of the bridge, you climb down a ladder to a work platform, its a lot higher than it looks. JD Eckman built an access road that loops around the construction below and includes a steel-truss bridge built decades ago by the Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad. The railroad bridge will become part of a 4-mile walking trail between East Drinker Street in Dunmore and the Elmhurst Reservoir. Bigger project than it appears The existing bridges officially opened Dec. 6, 1977, and were part of the final 6-mile construction of brand new Interstate 84, the 374-mile-long highway that directly links Northeast Pennsylvania and New England. They carry about 21,000 vehicles a day, about a quarter trucks. Signs of the constructions size arent obvious to drivers. Only a few feet of tall cranes used to build piers peek out above the existing highway. PennDOT shifted lanes on the eastbound side just before the Elmhurst exit to make room for the work. Its from the view below the bridges where the project looks so overwhelming. The terrain underneath is so uneven, the contractor had to install several concrete pads where cranes could sit solidly in place. One pier on the eastbound side is largely done and sits slightly north of the existing bridge. The other two eastbound piers are supposed to get done this year, which should include the start of construction on abutments where the bridge rests and connects to the interstate. Building the bridge superstructure, which includes the deck that holds the road, should happen next year. Once the first half of new eastbound bridge is completed, PennDOT will switch eastbound traffic to the new bridge and demolish the old one. Once the new eastbound bridge is finished, crews will divert westbound traffic to one side of the new bridge with eastbound traffic on the other. This should happen between the fall of next year and spring of 2023, PennDOT spokeswoman Jessica Kalinoski said. You have to maintain traffic two lanes each way. This (eastbound) bridge when its done will be able to maintain four lanes of traffic, Walsh said. After the shift, demolition of the existing westbound bridge will begin. The flyover construction is expected to start late summer 2022 with completion in the spring of 2025. That will require a lengthy eastbound detour: I-84 to exit 8/Mount Cobb to Route 348 to Route 435, Kalinoski said. As always, a lot depends on good weather. Bad weather could push completion into 2026, she said. Thats just the work on the stuff drivers will see and use someday. The construction includes hundreds of feet of wide new piping to collect stormwater runoff, the construction of two stormwater retention ponds and the replacement of about 200 to 300 feet of a 30-inch-wide main that feeds raw water into Pennsylvania-American Water Co.s Lake Scranton reservoir. Disruption to I-84 traffic will mostly happen when suppliers deliver bridge beams and crews lift the beams onto piers. That should take a few minutes at a time, Pivovarnik said. Matt Gaetz's associate Joel Greenberg, who has been dubbed the Tiger King of tax collectors, has a long history of being accused of misconduct, including complaints alleging he procured fake IDs for women he treated like 'sugar babies', burned his wife's clothes when she left him and defrauded the Small Business Administration out of more than $400,000. Greenberg, a former tax collector in Seminole Country, Florida, is facing 33 counts including stalking, identity theft and sex trafficking. On Thursday his lawyers said the 36-year-old, currently in jail for violating his bail, was cooperating with prosecutors and was readying to take a plea deal. In addition to the accusations against Greenberg, the New York Times has revealed quite a few more shocking claims, including that he allegedly used IDs that had been surrendered to his office to create fake identification cards for women with whom he 'engaged in "sugar daddy" relationships'. Greenberg has been accused of defrauding the Small Business Administration out of more than $432,000 in COVID-19 relief loans. And earlier this year, he burned his wife's clothes after she left him following his arrest last summer. Greenberg tested the boundaries of his power with all of those decisions until the allegations came to light. The claims against him led Daniel A. Perez, a lawyer who represented one of Greenbergs former employees, likening Greenberg's life to that of a popular Netflix show. 'Its like the Tiger King got elected tax collector,' Perez said. Matt Gaetz's associate Joel Greenberg (pictured in June 2020), allegedly solicited sex for politicians, created fake IDs for women he treated like his 'sugar babies' and burned his wife's clothes when she left him last year When he was first arrested last summer, Greenberg's wife (right) left their home for some time. In February, he allegedly drove to Jupiter looking for his wife, but returned home after his mother-in-law called police. When he arrived home, he is said to have burned his wife's clothes When he was first arrested last summer, Greenberg's wife left their home for some time. In November, sheriff's deputies were called to the house after a verbal dispute between the couple, according to the Times. A few months later in February, Greenberg allegedly drove to Jupiter, Florida, looking for his wife, which violated the curfew and travel restrictions that were conditional upon his release. His mother-in-law called police and when he finally returned home, Greenberg reportedly burned his wife's clothes. Deputies showed up to arrest him at his home where Greenberg claimed to have explosives and threatened to harm himself. After hours of negotiation, he surrendered. Greenberg has been accused of soliciting women for on behalf of politicians, including Gaetz, who has denied all of the allegations against him. Gaetz, 38, is under investigation by the Justice Department for his links to Greenberg. In addition to the accusations against Greenberg, it has been revealed that Greenberg allegedly solicited women for sex on behalf of politicians, including Gaetz. Greenberg is pictured with Roger Stone and Gaetz after having dinner together in 2017 Greenberg is even said to have asked a contractor to hack the computers of his critics on the county commission between 2017 and 2018. As if the aforementioned acts weren't shocking enough, Greenberg is also said to have gone to work carrying a pistol in a state that does not allow guns to be openly carried, and he pretended to be a cop by putting a flashing light on his car to pull over a woman and accuse her of speeding. The woman told authorities that Greenberg was wearing shorts, a backward baseball cap and his tax collectors badge when he pulled her over. She claimed he yelled at her for cutting him off and driving 'like a bat out of hell'. According to the Times, Greenberg 'wasted' more than $1million in taxpayer money and used his tax collector credit card to purchase weapons, a drone and body armor. 'Seminole County elected a criminal into office, unknowingly,' J.R. Kroll, a Republican who was elected tax collector last year, said shortly after Greenberg resigned from his position. The revelations come just days after the House Ethics Committee announced that it was opening an investigation into accusations that Gaetz engaged in 'sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use', shared lewd images on the House floor and used campaign funds for personal use. The Florida congressman has notably failed to win the support of even those within his own party as he battles for survival. It was also reported last week that Gaetz made a late-night transaction to Greenberg in May 2018, with Greenberg then transferring the exact same sum to three women. The $900 transaction, made via the app Venmo, was reported by The Daily Beast. Greenberg, early the next morning, transferred $900 in total to three different women - one of whom is now reportedly working as a porn actress. None of the three were under the age of consent - 18 in Florida - at the time. Gaetz named one of the women in his reference for the transaction to his friend, using her nickname. Greenberg's three transfers to the women were labeled as 'tuition' and 'school'. With Greenberg cooperating with the Justice Department, prosecutors may be able to determine if Gaetz broke any sex trafficking or prostitution laws. Greenberg's lawyer Fritz Scheller told reporters last week: 'I am sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today.' Scheller was also asked if Greenberg introduced Gaetz to any underage girls for sexual relations. 'I apologize, I just can't answer that question,' Greenberg's attorney said. Gaetz, a third-term congressman from Florida, has not been charged with a crime, and he has vehemently denied the various accusations against him, among them that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. He called them a 'lie'. But the unsettling series of allegations - including that he may have broken federal sex trafficking laws and been involved in a scheme to recruit and pay women for sex - has put Gaetz's political future in doubt, just as he was being seen as an increasingly potent force in the Republican Party. 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. Intelligence Report Warns of Potentially Catastrophic Shocks From Threats Like Tech Disruption, Disease A new intelligence report on the key trends and uncertainties in the future strategic environment for the United States warns of a series of global challenges that will strain societies and deliver shocks that could be catastrophic, including technological disruption, financial crises, and disease. The report from the U.S. National Intelligence Council (pdf), published once every four years, examines the forces and dynamics likely to shape the national security environment over the next 20 years. It also describes five potential scenarios for the world in 2040with three defined chiefly by the U.S.China rivalry and two others impacted mostly by a cascade of intersecting problems like health and terrorist threats. The structural forces that set the parameters for the assessment are in the broad categories of demographics and human development, the environment, economics, and technology. These include climate change and environmental degradation, continued pressure for global migration, financial crises and mounting national debt levels, new infectious diseases along with a rise in drug-resistant infections, and novel technologies such as artificial intelligence and synthetic organisms with potential application in weapons. The report warns that these trends will all contribute to widespread strains on states and societies as well as shocks that could be catastrophic. These structural drivers may rebound in unpredictable ways, affording some countries the opportunity to rise to these challenges and even prosper, while others, burdened by a confluence of less supportive trends, will struggle, the report states. Compounding the structural factors are the forces of disequilibrium, fragmentation, and contestation, which include issues like greater division and strife at a local, national, and international scale. These include rising pessimism and distrust of government, with social media-driven hyperconnectivity having the potential to exacerbate divisions and fuel crises of leadership, the report states. Another important trend the report identifies is the decline of democracy and the rise in autocracy, noting that the wave of democratization that surged around the world after the end of the Cold War has crested, and aggregate global levels of democracy have begun to decline in recent years. Some countries are seeking to fan the flames of this trend, the report argues. Externally, China, Russia, and other actors, in varying ways, are undermining democracies and supporting illiberal regimes. This support includes sharing technology and expertise for digital repression, the report notes. Democracy Versus Autocracy The notion of a world at a key crossroads between democracy and autocracy has been raised repeatedly by President Joe Biden, who in remarks at the virtual Munich Security Conference in February said: Were at an inflection point between those who argue that, given all the challenges we facefrom the fourth industrial revolution to a global pandemicthat autocracy is the best way forward, they argue, and those who understand that democracy is essentialessential to meeting those challenges. Echoing that perspective in separate remarks on April 7, Biden said: I think this generation is going to be marked by the competition between democracies and autocracies, because the world is changing so rapidly. The autocrats are betting on democracy not being able to generate the kind of unity needed to make decisions to get in that race. We cant afford to prove them right. We have to show the worldand much more importantly, we have to show ourselvesthat democracy works. Possible Scenarios One of the intelligence reports scenarios that ties into this theme is called Renaissance of Democracies. It describes the world in 2040 as in the midst of a resurgence of open democracies led by the United States and its allies, with increasing curbs on personal liberties in China and Russia prompting innovators and entrepreneurs to flee and seek refuge in Europe and the United States. Under this scenario, publicprivate partnerships flourish in the United States and other free societies, with rapid technological advancement transforming the global economy, raising incomes and improving the quality of life for millions across the world. Another scenario, called A World Adrift, sees an increasingly belligerent China expanding its military footprint in Asia though unable to mount a successful challenge to global leadership, while developed nations are on the back foot due to political turmoil, tepid economic growth, and increasing social divides. In this scenario, China ramps up its disregard for international rules and norms, further undermining international cooperation while pulling some failing states closer into its orbit with promises of market access and other benefits, leaving the international system directionless, chaotic, and volatile. A scenario driven by cascading global challenges rather than shaped by the U.S.China rivalry, is called Separate Silos, which sees globalization breaking down and the world fragmenting into smaller economic and security blocs, with international trade disrupted and supply chains reoriented. To maintain domestic stability in this world, states adopt mixed political models combining elements of democracy and authoritarianism, increasing surveillance and potentially repression, the report states. Another scenario, called Tragedy and Mobilization, sees the world in the midst of a global catastrophe, leading to a wave of unrest spreading across the world and sparking revolutionary disruption and change. The report doesnt indicate which scenario its authors believe may be most likely. CLEVELAND, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority ("CMHA") is providing notice of a recent incident that may affect the security of information pertaining to individuals. The confidentiality, privacy, and security of information in CMHA's care is one of its highest priorities and CMHA takes this incident very seriously. Although CMHA has not received any reports of actual or attempted misuse of the impacted information, CMHA is providing this notice in an abundance of caution. What Happened? On February 10, 2021, CMHA became aware of suspicious activity within its computer network. CMHA immediately began an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the activity. Our investigation determined that certain files within our environment were encrypted and inaccessible as part of a ransomware attack. On February 26, 2021, we confirmed that certain files had been accessible to unknown actors. CMHA then worked to identify those individuals whose information may have been accessible to the unauthorized actor. To date, we have been unable to determine which specific files were accessed. What Information Was Involved? We have no evidence that personal information was subject to actual or attempted misuse. Out of an abundance of caution, CMHA provided notification of this incident because name, address, Social Security number, driver's license and/or financial information may have been present in potentially accessed servers. While we cannot confirm if any of information was accessed, we are providing notice of the full scope of what could have been compromised. What Are We Doing? The confidentiality, privacy, and security of information in our care is one of our highest priorities, and we take this incident very seriously. When we discovered this incident, we immediately launched an investigation and took steps to secure our systems and determine what data may be at risk. We are required to notify consumer reporting agencies of this incident, as well. As part of our ongoing commitment to the security of information in our care, we are working to review our existing policies and procedures and implement additional safeguards. For More Information. You may have questions about this incident that are not addressed in this letter. If you have additional questions and are impacted by this incident, please write to CMHA at 8120 Kinsman Road, Cleveland, Ohio, 44104 or call CMHA at our dedicated assistance line at 1-855-654-0918, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, excluding national holidays. What Can You Do. CMHA sincerely regrets any inconvenience this incident may have caused. CMHA encourages you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity. Under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report. You have the right to place a "security freeze" on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below: Experian P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/freeze/center.html TransUnion P.O. Box 160 Woodlyn, PA 19094 1-888-909-8872 www.transunion.com/credit-freeze Equifax P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 1-800-685-1111 www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information: Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.); Social Security number; Date of birth; If you have moved in the past five (5) years, provide the addresses where you have lived over the prior five years; Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill; A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, military identification, etc.); If you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft. As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended "fraud alert" on your file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer's credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer's credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer's identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the agencies listed below: Experian P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/fraud/center.html TransUnion P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016 1-800-680-7289 www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resource/place-fraud-alert Equifax P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348 1-888-766-0008 www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov , 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement. SOURCE Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Chinese regulators asked Ant Group Co. to become a financial holding company that could be regulated more like a bank, offering the first significant guidance on how the financial technology company should overhaul operations after halting its record initial public offering. The central bank told Ant to rectify unfair competition in its payments business and also end information monopoly, according to a government statement. It also asked the company to cut the outstanding value of its money-market fund Yuebao. The overhaul of Ant marks a milestone for regulators, creating a definitive supervision framework for the biggest player in the countrys sprawling fintech sector. The government shocked markets in November by suspending billionaire Jack Mas record initial public offering of Ant, citing a changed regulatory environment, days before its trading debut. The Hangzhou-based company was told to rectify its lending, insurance and wealth management services, and set up a financial holding company, the central bank said in December. That means higher capital requirements and greater oversight. The recast is a step toward meeting the demands of Chinas watchdogs, who have pledged this year to curb the reckless" push of technology firms into finance and are examining monopolies online. Theres little clarity over how investors will now judge the firm, which fetched a $280 billion pre-money valuation before its IPO was halted. Regulators imposed a record $2.8 billion antitrust fine on Ants affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in April, lifting a cloud of uncertainty hanging over billionaire Jack Mas e-commerce empire. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. DMX's death is one that will continue to affect the hip-hop community for years to come. The passing of someone with a legacy as impactful as that of the New York native is not one that can be taken lightly, something that has been proven by the abundance of support, condolences, and love that has been given to the late rapper and his family. The Mayor of his hometown in Yonkers has promised to develop a lasting tribute to the great lyricists and the upcoming Universal Hip Hop museum plans to do the same. In the meantime, though, fans have assembled a makeshift memorial outside of the White Plains Hospital he passed away in to honor the icon hours after his death. Constructed on Friday (April 9), fans have already placed flowers, lit candles, stuffed animals, as well as balloons that spell out his three-letter stage name. Frank Micelotta/Getty Images X, nee Earl Simmons, passed away in the hospital earlier in the day after he was admitted following an overdose that led to a heart attack last Friday (April 2). He then fell into a coma and updates from people close to him throughout the week had not been sanguine. The scene from outside the hospital Friday evening was shared on social media by numerous New York-based media outlet journalists like NY1's Amy Yensi, NBC New York's Phil Lipof, and more. Additionally, the Ruff Ryder's held a balloon release for the late icon as well, which was captured on TikTok. Rest in Power DMX. [via] Regulatory News: In light of the Covid-19 epidemic and in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 2021-255 of 9 March 2021 extending the implementation period for Order No. 2020-321 of 25 March 2020 adjusting the rules for meetings and deliberations of the shareholders and governing bodies of legal persons and entities without legal personality under private law due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Etablissements Maurel Prom S.A.'s (Paris:MAU) Combined Ordinary and Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting will be held behind closed doors (a huis clos), i.e. without the physical presence of shareholders, on 18 May 2021 at 3 p.m. at the Company's head office located at 51, rue d'Anjou 75008 Paris, France (the "General Shareholders Meeting In light of administrative measures limiting or prohibiting travel and mass gatherings on public health grounds, and given the number of shareholders usually in attendance at the Company's annual general meeting, it has been necessary to rule out holding the General Shareholders Meeting in person. Under these conditions, shareholders may only exercise their voting rights remotely, before the General Shareholders Meeting, either using the postal or proxy voting form, or voting electronically through the VOTACESS secure voting platform. The General Shareholders Meeting will be broadcast in full live and as a recording on the Company's website (https://www.maureletprom.fr/fr/investisseurs/assemblees-generales). Any shareholder may submit questions in writing on topics pertaining to the General Shareholders Meeting. Questions must have been received no later than two business days before the date of the meeting. Availability of the Shareholders General Meeting's preparatory documents The notice of meeting including the agenda and draft resolutions proposed to the General Shareholders Meeting was published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires ("BALO"), on 12 April 2021. Such notice and the related report of the Board of Directors are available on the Company's website (www.maureletprom.fr, section "Investors", sub-section "General Meeting 2021"). The preparatory documents for the Shareholders General Meeting referred to in Article R. 22-10-23 of the French Commercial Code are available, within the time period provided for in the applicable regulation, on the Company's website, at the abovementioned address. In addition, the preparatory documents for the Shareholders General Meeting referred to in Articles L. 225-115, L. 225-116 and R. 225-83 of the French Commercial Code are available, within the time period provided for in the applicable regulation, at the Company's registered office (51, rue d'Anjou, 75008 Paris). As from the notice of meeting, shareholders may request that the Company send them the documents and information referred to in Articles R. 225-81 and R. 225-83 of the French Commercial Code, up to the fifth day before the meeting (inclusive), i.e. Wednesday 12 May 2021. Requests should be sent preferably by email to ir@maureletprom.fr (otherwise by post to the Company's head office at 51, rue d'Anjou 75008 Paris, France). To this end, shareholders should indicate in their request the email address to which these documents are to be sent so that the Company can email said documents to the shareholders concerned in accordance with article 3 of Order No. 2020-321 of 25 March 2020. It is recalled that holders of bearer shares will have to prove they are shareholders by providing a certificate of account registration. For more information, visit www.maureletprom.fr This document may contain forward-looking statements regarding the financial position, results, business and industrial strategy of Maurel Prom. By nature, forward-looking statements contain risks and uncertainties to the extent that they are based on events or circumstances that may or may not happen in the future. These projections are based on assumptions we believe to be reasonable, but which may prove to be incorrect and which depend on a number of risk factors, such as fluctuations in crude oil prices, changes in exchange rates, uncertainties related to the valuation of our oil reserves, actual rates of oil production and the related costs, operational problems, political stability, legislative or regulatory reforms, or even wars, terrorism and sabotage. Maurel Prom is listed for trading on Euronext Paris CAC All-Tradable CAC Small CAC Mid Small Eligible PEA-PME and SRD Isin FR0000051070/Bloomberg MAU.FP/Reuters MAUP.PA View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005673/en/ Contacts: Maurel Prom Press, shareholder and investor relations Tel: +33 (0)1 53 83 16 45 ir@maureletprom.fr NewCap Financial communications and investor relations/Media relations Louis-Victor Delouvrier/Nicolas Merigeau Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 98 53/+33 (0)1 44 71 94 98 maureletprom@newcap.eu [Statement released by PIPFPD] I. A. Rehman, a legend, a crusader for justice, peace and democracy, a lover of literature, poetry and music is no more. It is the rarest of men for whom it can truly be said that their passing away diminishes us each, personally- in the joy, care, generosity and well-being that he brought to every friendship, and politically in the towering inspiration that he was in all our common struggles against social and economic injustice and violations of the rights of the marginalised; his faith and belief in the common people and disregard for power and privilege; and his tireless commitment to building democracy without which there could be no peace. His quiet humility that made him listen to you, before he took your inchoate words and with a clarity of wisdom lifted our understanding about layered structures of power and mapped the way forward in the struggle for human rights, democracy and peace. He was the co-founding visionary, conceptualising the need and possibility of building a people to people peace movement between Pakistan and India and indeed South Asia when nuclear war clouds shrouded the subcontinent and the crescendo of war talk silenced any talk of peace. I.A. Rehman dared to work with like-minded believers across hostile borders, to recognise the linkage between strengthening democracy and building peace, to boldly and politically face the conundrum of Kashmir. He was the first or among the first in Pakistan to transcend the obscurity of partisan loyalties, and boldly declare with his counterpart in India, the will of the people of Kashmir must prevail to resolve the political problem of Kashmir. It is with great sorrow and a sense of irreplaceable loss that we bid farewell to soul of the peace and democracy movement of Pakistan and India. This death, this immense void, this invaluable grief, this jewel of decades of uncompromising writing, standing up against repression, this dare against warmongers cannot be dissolved in tears. This is a grief, we will carry in our hearts forever. Statement issued by PIPFPD on the 12th April 2021 Contact details: pipfpd.india[at]gmail.com / 9867220679 HARTFORD As the city reckons with the shooting deaths of two juveniles ages 3 and 16 state officials said they are ready to tap federal COVID recovery money to address the gun violence that persists through the pandemic. The shootings Saturday, two hours and a mile apart, killed 3-year-old Randell Jones, of Hartford, and 16-year-old JaMari Preston, of New Britain. Though initially thought to be unrelated, Hartford police said Monday the shootings appear linked. As more than 100 people gathered in Hartfords North End Monday to call for action in the wake of the the shootings, Gov. Ned Lamont said they were again ready to use federal COVID funds to address gun violence, similar to when it spiked last summer. We did previously because of the nature of the demand with everybody quarantining and what that meant in terms of some spikes of violence going back a few months and were ready to do that again as needed, Lamont said. The weekend shootings, Lamont said, were a reminder that gun violence has not stopped through the pandemic. COVID is not the only thing stealing lives, so is gun violence, Lamont said Monday during a COVID-19 press conference. Joining Lamont was Pastor Marichal Monts, whose Citadel of Love church sits blocks from where Randell was shot. Monts said people need to come together and ask: Is this the Hartford we want? Is this the Connecticut we want? Is this the world we want, where our children are being killed? He went on to say: Its one thing where people can make decisions to do certain things, but a 3-year-old, I mean come on. Weve got to fix this. Weve got to fix this fast. Officers were called to the first of the two shootings shortly before 2:30 p.m. Saturday when gunfire was reported on Nelson Street. Investigators learned the passenger of a stolen black Honda Accord opened fire on another vehicle that contained two adults and three children, police said. One of the children, 3-year-old Randell, was rushed to a nearby hospital with gunshot wounds, where he initially was listed in critical condition, but later died. While Randell was mortally wounded, the others in the car, including children ages 4 and 5, were unharmed, police said. Major Crimes Division detectives, working with crime scene investigators, are continuing to pursue leads in the case as of Monday. Police officials said the intended victim of the drive-by shooting fled after the shots were fired. On Monday, Lt. Aaron Boisvert said the man went to the police department and spoke to investigators. About two hours after Randell was shot, police rushed to a separate shooting about a mile away on Magnolia Street where JaMari was killed. Rifle bullet casings were discovered at the scene, according to police. JaMari was a student at Capitol Region Education Council schools. CREC Executive Director Greg Florio said JaMari endeared himself to many staff and students who are devastated by his sudden and tragic death. Boisvert, head of the Hartford Police Departments Major Crimes Division, said Monday they have information that leads us to believe the shootings were connected. He declined to say why investigators now believe the shootings are linked. Feet from where Randell was shot, residents joined family, elected officials, clergy and police officials Monday to press the community to put an end to the gun violence that led to the childrens deaths. Its a sad day here in Hartford. A 3-year-old and a 16-year-old both lost their life on the same day, hours apart. If that aint enough to make you wonder whats going on, then whats going to move us? Whats going to move us? said the Rev. Henry Brown, whose organization Mothers United Against Violence called the community together for the vigil. We know about the constant shootings. We know about the blood being spilled in our neighborhood over and over and over. Dont you get tired of hearing someones been shot? Flanked by family and members of Mothers United Against Violence, Randells mother declined to speak. Mayor Luke Bronin, in tearful remarks, asked that this be the day that things really begin to change and none of us accept this. There are no words that are adequate for today. And Im sorry if mine fall short. Im sorry when we as a city fall short, but this is a city full of a lot of people with a lot of love, Bronin said. Those gathered at Mondays vigil urged for people to speak out if they know who was responsible for the killings. You need to see something, say something. Thats why you have these police to take care of this violence in these streets, Brown said. Police, aware that there were a number of people who saw what happened, again called for witnesses Monday as they seek justice for the family. We will continue to devote every resource to bring the perpetrators to justice, and we are grateful for our partners who are working alongside us. We also again ask our community to come forward with information they may have, Police Chief Jason Thody said. Police said anyone with information on the killings can call the departments tipline at 860-722-8477. Pres. Joe Biden is now considering building more border walls as the number of illegal immigrants and undocumented children arriving on the borders continues to increase. Biden Is Now Considering To Build Border Walls Pres. Joe Biden first released a proclamation that terminates Trump's declaration of constructing border walls and stopping its funding. In Biden's proclamation, he stated that it "shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall." According to a recently published article in The Hill, Pres. Joe Biden is now considering continuing the construction of border walls. This is as the young administration continues to face criticisms due to the influx of illegal immigrants and unaccompanied children arriving at the border. Business Insider also reports that Biden may start the construction at the southern border where there are many immigrants. In fact, the Pentagon's military base, Cam Roberts, was already used to house the undocumented children temporarily. Biden Officials Order GOP Senator to Delete Migrant Photos Crammed in like Sardines Impact of Biden's Proclamation Terminating Trump's Declaration of Border Construction The situation in the southern border has gotten much worse since Biden's proclamation. Even if he believes that building border walls in the entire southern border is just a waste of time and money, it now becomes a threat to the country. According to the Border Patrol data, there were around 172,331 immigrants who illegally crossed the borders in an attempt to get inside the United States. This is so far the highest monthly record since 2006. The impact of Biden's proclamation was felt since January were there where there were around 78,444 apprehensions while 101,028 in February. The agency also added that an increase of 50,000 apprehensions was observed in the first three months compared to last year. Moreover, results of the survey conducted by the University of Chicago found out that 56 percent of people who participated in the survey disapproved of how Biden handled its new immigration policy. Pentagon Approves to House Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Its Military Base History of Southern Border The United States began erecting border barriers to limit the flow of illegal aliens and drugs in 1993 when former President Bill Clinton built a 14-mile barrier between San Diego and Tijuana. The southwest boundary had 278 miles of 15-to-18-foot-tall pedestrian fencing and 248 miles of car barrier at the end of former President George W. Bush's tenure, with a total of 526 miles of physical barriers. While Donald Trump is widely credited with constructing the border wall, 654 miles of border walls had already been built when he became president. That included 354 miles of pedestrian barricades and 300 miles of primary vehicle fencing. Trump constructed 350 miles of replacement or secondary barriers and 15 miles of additional main barriers where none previously existed. "It's a 2,000-mile fence, but you don't need 2,000 miles of wall because you have a lot of natural walls," Trump said some years before he released it. There are cliffs, rivers that are brutal and vicious, and places that are so far away that no one crosses. @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - SK Innovation agreed to pay LG Energy Solution 2 trillion won or $1.8 billion to settle all legal disputes relating to electric-vehicle batteries in the United States and South Korea. The companies agreed to withdraw all pending legal disputes in United States and South Korea, and agreed to a ten-year non-assertion. As a result, all litigation between the companies, which began in April 2019, is resolved. 'We are dedicated to work together to support the Biden Administration's climate agenda and to develop a robust U.S. supply chain,'Jong Hyun Kim, CEO and President of LG Energy Solution and Jun Kim, CEO and President of SK Innovation said in a statement. Jong Hyun Kim stated that LG Energy Solution will further accelerate its investment efforts including investing over $4.5 billion in its own U.S. business by 2025. It is close to finalizing its second joint venture plant with GM. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. DUBLIN, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cosmo Pharmaceuticals NV (SIX: COPN) today announced the FDA approval of GI Genius intelligent endoscopy system, its revolutionary device for lesion detection during colonoscopy. The GI Genius module FDA approval marks a pivotal milestone for Cosmo after more than 10 years of research and investments focused to generate disruptive innovations in the field of colon's disease and optimization of the colonoscopy procedure. The development of GI Genius intelligent endoscopy module has been possible thanks to the leadership position of Cosmo, its unique proprietary library of high-definition loss-less videos of colonoscopies and its proprietary software and algorithms. The device is the first of its kind to obtain the FDA approval through the De Novo application. The device operates in real time to assist the endoscopist in the detection of lesions, is very simple to use and is compatible with all endoscopes. Cosmo is the sole manufacturer. Medtronic is the exclusive world-wide distributor. According to Prof. Michael Wallace, Fred C. Andersen Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic and Editor in Chief of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: "While colon cancer is the second deadliest cancer worldwide, it is the most preventable cancer yet full prevention remains unfulfilled. 1 in 20 US adult will be diagnosed with this disease in their lifetime but, encouragingly, 90% of patients can beat it if it is diagnosed early enough. Colonoscopy is the gold standard and most common screening method, but it's not perfect, as performance varies based on many factors including physician skill level. The GI Genius intelligent endoscopy module will help improve the accuracy of colonoscopy and reduce the number of undetected precancerous lesions, as has been shown in a recent randomized study (Repici et al.), where detection rates improved very significantly with GI Genius technology versus standard colonoscopy, regardless of skill level or endoscope used." Mauro Ajani, Chairman of Cosmo, commented: "This landmark approval is tremendous news for Cosmo. The first ever approval of an artificial intelligence device for lesion detection in colonoscopies further strengthens Cosmo's commitment to fight colorectal cancer. This approval is a major milestone after many years of strategic investments into the colon diseases and positions Cosmo at the forefront of cutting-edge innovation. Through the strong partnership with Medtronic over the last two years, Cosmo has expanded its position in the medical device market within its core GI expertise, has gained global access and will ultimately reach more patients. We are extremely pleased and very optimistic about the impact the GI Genius intelligent endoscopy module will have on the US patient population undergoing colonoscopy." Alessandro Della Cha, CEO of Cosmo, said: "This approval is gratifying in many ways as it is aligned with our mission of serving markets with unmet needs. Through our global distribution partnership with Medtronic we are excited to pursue an opportunity which is worth at least $ 1.1bn, looking only at the opportunity for artificial intelligence in the colonoscopy market. Leveraging on the strength of Medtronic's large US commercial footprint, we look forward to successfully and rapidly developing this market." The GI Genius intelligent endoscopy system is a registered trademark of Medtronic plc. The FDA announcement of the approval can be found at the following link: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-marketing-first-device-uses-artificial-intelligence-help-detect-potential-signs-colon. About Cosmo Pharmaceuticals Cosmo is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising products to treat selected gastrointestinal disorders and improve endoscopy quality measures through aiding the detection of colonic lesions. Cosmo has also developed medical devices for endoscopy and has recently entered into a partnership with Medtronic for the global distribution of GI Genius its artificial intelligence device for use in coloscopies and GI procedures. Cosmo has licensed Aemcolo to Red Hill Biopharma Ltd. for the US and has licensed Relafalk to Dr. Falk Gmbh for the EU and other countries. For additional information on Cosmo and its products please visit the Company's website: www.cosmopharma.com. Calendar Annual General Meeting, Amsterdam - May 28, 2021 Half-Year 2021 Report - July 30, 2021 Disclaimer Some of the information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Cosmo undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. This communication is not an offer of securities of any issuer. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirement of the US Securities Act of 1933. This press release constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy securities and it does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of article 652a and/or 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange or any similar document. The offer will be made solely by means of, and on the basis of, a securities prospectus to be published. An investment decision regarding the securities to be publicly offered should only be made on the basis of the securities prospectus. This press release is made to and directed only at (i) persons outside the United Kingdom, (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"), and (iii) high net worth individuals, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this press release or any of its contents. This press release does not constitute an "offer of securities to the public" within the meaning of Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Union (the "Prospectus Directive") of the securities referred to in it (the "Securities") in any member state of the European Economic Area (the "EEA"). Any offers of the Securities to persons in the EEA will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive, as implemented in member states of the EEA, from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of the Securities. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459450/Cosmo_Pharmaceuticals_Logo.jpg Contact: Niall Donnelly, CFO & Head of Investor Relations Cosmo Pharmaceuticals N.V. Tel.: +353 1 817 03 70 ndonnelly@cosmopharma.com Spains vaccination campaign has freed care homes from the stranglehold of Covid-19. With more than 90% of people living in the countrys residences now immunized, residents of one of the black holes of the pandemic can finally breathe easier. According to the latest report from the Imserso institute for seniors and social services, which is part of the Social Rights Ministry, between March 29 and April 4 of this year, there have only been 45 coronavirus infections detected and two deaths. That is a fall of 99.7% in terms of deaths compared to the last week in January, when the third wave of the health crisis was at its peak and the vaccination campaign had not yet taken effect. A quarter of the deaths registered in Spain since the start of the pandemic took place in the countrys care homes. Since the vaccination campaign got underway, the end of the third wave and the effect of the mass inoculations have also seen infections in residences fall by 98% compared to the end of the first month of the year. In fact, the homes are practically free of Covid-19 now: in 12 of Spains 17 regions, there have been no infections reported in the last week. The virus found a breeding ground in care homes where it could intensify its transmission and it swept through residences Daniel Lopez-Acuna, former director of emergencies at the World Health Organization Senior centers were the perfect place for a virus that is transmitted in closed spaces and that preys on the elderly. The healthcare crisis caught these homes unprepared and the coronavirus took hold without any resistance. Over the last year, at least 19,012 elderly people in homes have died from Covid-19 although the real figure is likely to be much higher, given that testing was limited during the first wave and many people died without having been diagnosed. In fact, the Imserso report includes 10,492 seniors who died in residences with symptoms that correspond to Covid-19, even though infection could not be confirmed. The first wave was terrible, says Daniel Lopez-Acuna, a former director of emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus found a breeding ground where it could intensify its transmission and it swept through residences. These centers shielded as best they could during 2020, but they didnt manage to escape from the virus. Only the vaccine program, which got off to a slow start on December 27 and prioritized residents and staff in care homes, managed to change the course. For this group, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was used. A month after the first shot was administered the second is given 21 days later they were protected from Covid-19. The Imserso report reflects the effects that the campaign has had. During the month of January, when the speed of the campaign was ramped up in senior homes, infections and deaths were still on the rise. Nearly 11% of centers registered cases in the third week of January, falling to 8% in the fourth week. Between January 18 and 24, there were 718 Covid-19 deaths. The following week the number of fatalities peaked for 2021, with 771. But from February onward, the figures began to fall dramatically. A resident of the DomusVi Sabadell nursing home getting inoculated. Quique Garcia / EFE For this curve, you have to take into account how the progress of the third wave and the vaccinations have had an influence, explains Salvador Peiro, an epidemiologist at the Foundation for the Advancement of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencia region. Seniors were vaccinated in January and they needed two weeks to have some level of protection. By the fourth week, the protection is complete, but from the second week it is already at 80%. Last week just Andalusia and Catalonia reported deaths in senior homes, one in each region. That said, the Imserso report clarifies that the data from Andalusia is notified cases, meaning that the death could have occurred in previous weeks but not been reported until now. Whatever the case, the downward trend is clear to see in the data, with the occasional spike. From March 22 to 28, there were 24 care home residents who died from Covid-19; from March 15 to 21, there were 17; from March 8 to 14, there were 22; From March 1 to 7, there were 33. The same thing has happened with infections. Since mid-March, there have been around 45 infections a week, far from the 4,000 a week that were being detected in January. Were happy to confirm the hopes that we had placed in the vaccines, says Jesus Cubero, from the Aeste association in the care home sector. We knew that they were going to cut infections and thats whats happened. We are much calmer now, but we cant lose our heads. We are gradually restarting activities in the centers and visits, but with prudence. Experts consulted by EL PAIS are also celebrating the good epidemiological data in residences, but voice a call for caution. The pandemic is not yet over and there is no such thing as zero risk, neither inside or outside residences. Care must be taken when reopening the centers, warns Lopez-Acuna. Not enough of the population has been vaccinated outside of the bubbles that are these residences. When we have more people immunized in the general population, we will be on firmer ground. Just half of the 80-and-overs in Spain, for example, have had their two doses, a figure that falls to 3% among the 70-79-year-olds and 5% in the 60 to 69 group Peiro agrees, adding that he fears that vaccinated residents could still infect other people the vaccine does not avoid infection, but rather the serious forms of the disease. Outside of residences, the percentage of the population that has had their shots is still minimal among the most vulnerable groups, and the risk of infection remains high. Just half of the 80-and-overs in Spain, for example, have had their two doses, a figure that falls to 3% among the 70-79-year-olds and 5% in the 60 to 69 group. The danger and the potential for infection still exist, explains Lopez-Acuna. There are unvaccinated people in the centers too and they must be protected. According to the latest report from the Health Ministry, 90.8% of people in institutions which includes all social centers, the majority of which are senior homes have had their two shots of the vaccine. But there are residents who have refused the medication, have risk factors, or have been sick and have not been able to have it. Whats more, the ministry report does not include the percentage of staff in these centers who have been vaccinated. At the start of the campaign there were refusals from many workers, explains Lopez-Acuna. Im worried that we have people who have not been immunized interacting with these bubbles of residents. After a year with the virus inside care homes, staff are now trying to take stock of the damage and set out targets for the future. Experts agree that coordination between the healthcare authorities and social services must be improved, but also that the entire model of care homes needs to be rethought. This current model, with so many people congregated, represents a risk for future infectious diseases that have an epidemic character, says Lopez-Acuna. If that happens, we will be just as susceptible as we were to the coronavirus. For the families of residents, the vaccination campaign has brought relief after a year to forget. But they fear that the virus could return to these centers. We are calmer, but were worried about the staff who havent been vaccinated and that they end up doing fewer mass tests to detect asymptomatic carriers, explains Maria Jose Carcelen, from the 5+1 care home coordinator. Our seniors are calmer, but thats because they can see us more, she continues. My mother is 94 and assumes the risk because she is nearing the end of her life. She just wants to spend the time she has left with me. But each infection means isolation. Do we want to give them an end to their lives that involves so much loneliness? English version by Simon Hunter. By Tony Hicks Bay City News Foundation President Joe Biden has nominated former Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the largest federal law enforcement agency in the United States. Magnus, who led Richmond's Police Department from 2006 until 2015, is considered a progressive leader who focuses on community building and insists on police accountability. In Richmond he was known for reducing the number of shootings and killings and helping to rebuild community trust in law enforcement. Magnus currently serves as chief of police in Tucson, Arizona. Before coming to Richmond, Magnus served as police chief in Fargo, North Dakota. "In Tucson, Magnus implemented de-escalation training, sentinel event review processes, and programs to promote officer health and wellness," said a statement released Monday by the Biden administration. "Because of Tucson's proximity to the border, he has extensive experience in addressing immigration issues." Magnus grew up in Lansing, Michigan, and is the son of a Norwegian immigrant. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in labor relations from Michigan State University. He also attended the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. He's been married to Terrance Chung, former chief of staff to Richmond Mayor Tom Butt, for 15 years. The position requires confirmation of the U.S. Senate. Copyright 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. This incident illustrates the dangerous and unpredictable challenges officers face each and every day as they serve and protect our community, Oak Park police Chief LaDon Reynolds said in a statement. The prevalence of firearms and the ease with which they can be obtained makes being a police officer a risky profession, but many still choose to serve because of their dedication and desire to make a difference by literally putting their lives on the line for the greater good. New Zealands Labour-Green coalition government is under increasing pressure, from sections of the NZ ruling elite and from the countrys allies, over its apparent reluctance to fully endorse the escalating build-up to war against China. As the Biden administration ramps up Washingtons diplomatic and military offensive, every country is being forced into line. The furore over the Jacinda Ardern-led governments less than full-throated support for the confrontation with Beijing highlights the extraordinary tensions now developing. Matters came to a new head last month after several governments, led by the US and Britain, denounced what they claimed was Beijings meddling in the World Health Organisations (WHO) investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden speaking at a press conference in September 2020. (Image Credit: Jacinda Arden/Facebook) The WHO report conclusively debunked the lie that the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. It refuted US efforts to promote the theory that COVID-19 was developed as a biological weapon. The WHO considered the possibility of a laboratory leak, but dismissed it as extremely unlikely. COVID-19 most likely originated, it concluded, in a population of bats or other animals before travelling through a series of intermediaries to infect humans. The scientific evidence has not stopped the bogus campaign led by Washington, seeking to shift blame for the pandemic from their own catastrophic policies, which have caused millions of deaths, onto China. At the same time, the US is seeking to justify its reckless military encirclement and threats against China, which is viewed as the major obstacle to American hegemony. New Zealand was the only member of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes Australia, Canada and the UK, that did not sign the communique criticising the WHO report. As this is a scientific report, we want to make sure we understand the science before making any comment, a spokeswoman for NZ Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta told the Australian . NZs failure to immediately join the attack on the WHO prompted an angry response in Australia. Sky News commentator Andrew Bolt condemned Ardern for pandering to Chinas tyranny and backstabbing NZs allies. He said Ardern was ratting out on Australia. New Zealand was acting as a useful idiot to split opposition to the growing menace that is China, which Bolt accused of preparing for war. The Murdoch-owned Australian declared that while Australias relationship with China had imploded during the pandemic, New Zealand has become Beijings favourite member of the Five Eyes group. Wellington was rewarded, the article claimed, with an upgrade to its free trade agreement with China. In January, New Zealand had refused to sign a statement from the Five Eyes condemning the arrests of pro-democratic politicians in Hong Kong. New Zealand academic Anne-Marie Brady, whose research has been funded by NATO and the Washington-based Wilson Center, tweeted on March 31: At what point does NZs quiet shift on China, look more like timidity, even appeasement? She told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the Ardern government wanted to join like-minded coalitions against China but was concerned about endangering economic ties with China. Since 2017 the Labour-led government has in fact strengthened NZs military ties with the US and adopted a more explicit anti-Chinese stance. Ardern took office after then-US ambassador Scott Brown made clear that the Trump administration saw the previous National Party government as too close to China. The right-wing nationalist NZ First Party, which spouts anti-Chinese xenophobia, was part of Labours coalition between 2017 and 2020 and playing a major role in foreign policy. The first Ardern government identified China and Russia as the main threats to the international order, echoing the Pentagon. The current Labour-Green administration remains committed to spending billions on upgrading the military and boosting its presence in the Pacific, to shore up New Zealands neo-colonial interests in the region, backed by the US. However, the increasingly frantic US-led drive to war requires the ramping up of misinformation, propaganda and outright lies. The barrage over New Zealands purported backsliding reflects concerns in Washington and Canberra that Wellington has not gone far enough in putting the country on a war footing and is instead strengthening trade ties with China. New Zealand exports $NZ18 billion of products to China annually, double what it sends to Australia. While sections of the NZ business elite are anxious that trading relations with China are not jeopardised, there is a growing clamour in the media for a more aggressive posture toward Beijing. A new offensive has been launched centring on concocted claims of genocide against Chinas Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang province. New Zealand joined Australia last month in expressing grave concerns about reports of severe human rights abuses against the Uyghurs. The joint statement repeated Washingtons unsubstantiated allegations that Uyghurs are subjected to mass surveillance, extra-judicial detentions, forced labour and birth control, including sterilisation. Canberra and Wellington welcomed coordinated sanctions against China by Canada, the European Union, the UK and US. The main opposition National Party, previously denounced by Labour and its supporters as being too close to Chinese business interests, has also taken a tougher stance. The partys foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee said last month that the government should change the law to allow it to unilaterally impose sanctions over the Uyghur issue. Currently the government can only implement sanctions within the framework of the United Nations. Dovetailing with Washingtons opposition to Chinas push into high-tech industries, the NZ government previously banned the telecommunications giant Huawei from infrastructure developments. Recently, two New Zealand tech companiesRocos Global and Icehouse Ventureswhich had financial connections with iFlytek, a company blacklisted by the US in 2019, have been forced to shut down their China connections following a campaign waged by the Stuff website. Stuff, whose editor Anna Fifield is a former bureau chief for the Bezos-owned Washington Post in Beijing, recently produced a 40-minute video repeating the lurid accusations of genocide by Chinese authorities as the basis for a series of highly tendentious articles on the Uyghurs. Such reporting is not motivated by genuine concern over the repressive actions of Chinas police state which are directed, above all, against the entire working class. The corporate media is building a human rights case for imperialist aggression, as was done to justify the criminal US wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, in which New Zealand participated. Pseudo-left organisations are playing their usual putrid role. The NZ-based International Socialist Organisation (ISO), which supports the Ardern government, posted an article on its website on March 18 entitled A Short History of Uyghur Resistance by one Louis Proyect. The article, originally from Counterpunch, backs Uyghur separatism, denies that this has anything to do with US imperialist machinations, and describes China as the 21st centurys emerging number one imperialist power. Not for the first time, the ISO is providing a rationale for military intervention by US imperialism. The growing anti-Asian propaganda within New Zealand and racist violence in the US provoked a protest of 1,000 people in Auckland on March 27. The Stop Asian Hate rally gathered in Aotea Square before marching along Queen Street. The protest, however, was tightly controlled, with the main speaker, Labour MP Naisi Chen, avoiding any mention of the obvious connection between racism and the drive toward war against China. 2021 marks Avemco Insurance Companys 60th year as the only direct writer of aircraft insurance in the United States. Since its founding in 1961, Avemco has grown to become one of the most widely recognized aviation insurers in the country serving the private pilot community. Today, it has a financial strength rating of A++ (Superior) from A.M. Best, a leading credit rating agency focused on the insurance industry. Avemco was founded in Montgomery County, Maryland, as the Aviation Employees Corporation. Later renamed Avemco Insurance Company, the organization relocated to Frederick, Maryland, in 1982. Avemco has maintained its national headquarters in Frederick, ever since despite several changes in corporate leadership, including the acquisition by Tokio Marine HCC in 1997. Initially, the companys offices overlooked the runways at Frederick Municipal Airport, before relocating to its current location at 8490 Progress Drive. Since its founding, Avemco has maintained its focus of insuring the pilots and operators of General Aviation aircraft, specializing in liability and physical damage coverage for single- and multi-engine piston-powered land and seaplanes, gliders, experimental aircraft, instructors, and flying clubs. The company has generated a loyal following among its policyholders with more than 50% insured for five years or longer. Dozens of customers have been Avemco policyholders for as long as 40 continuous years. The company has also retained a loyal base of employees, some of whom have been with the company for more than 40 years. Over the years, many aviation luminaries and retired U.S. Air Force generals have served on Avemcos Board of Directors, including a retired NASA astronaut. Avemco is recognized as a leader in the aviation industry for its commitment to encouraging pilot safety. The company sponsors safety webinars, in-person seminars, and other educational series designed to raise awareness of how pilots can protect themselves and their families by flying safely. Among Avemcos initiatives is the support of the FAAs WINGS - Pilot Proficiency Program. The company also regularly publishes safety articles by noted certified flying instructors (CFIs), aviation experts, and Avemco staff. The Dakota Access pipeline thats been at the center of a years-long battle between oil companies and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe wont be forced to shut down while federal regulators conduct a new environmental analysis. The Biden administrations decision to allow the line to keep operating is a victory for pipeline owner Energy Transfer LP and drillers such as Continental Resources Inc. that use it transport crude from North Dakotas Bakken oil field. The move will likely come as a relief to an oil industry beset by President Joe Bidens aggressive climate campaign, which has included canceling the permit for the $9 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline and pausing leasing on federal lands. Justice Department lawyer Ben Schifman told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that the federal government has authority to take enforcement action against Dakota Access --which could include a shutdown-- but wont do so at this time. Opponents of the pipeline, including several tribes that pushed the court to issue its own shutdown order, viewed Fridays hearing as test of Bidens commitment to Indigenous rights and climate action. Their motion for a shutdown is pending before the judge, who could issue a decision in the coming weeks. Judge James E. Boasberg gave Dakota Access 10 days to file updated legal declarations addressing the impacts of a shutdown. At issue is whether the U.S.s authorization of the 570,000 barrel-a-day crude pipeline overlooked key environmental concerns. An appellate court in January affirmed that the projects approval by the Army Corp of Engineers was unlawful. The Army Corps wont challenge that decision, Schifman said Friday, but Dakota Access will. Boasberg said hed have to evaluate whether the companys rehearing petition would affect his ability to rule on a shutdown. Meanwhile, the Army Corps is conducting a court-ordered environmental impact statement thats expected to conclude in March 2022, and is consulting with the Sioux tribes that oppose the pipeline, as well as the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, an-oil producing tribe in North Dakota that supports the project. Energy Transfer, which is controlled by billionaire Kelcy Warren, jumped as much as 4.7% in New York while Phillips 66 Partners, which owns a minority stake in the project, surged as much as 10%. Continental climbed as much as 6.8%. An Army Corps official, Stacey Jensen, told pipeline opponents in a call Thursday that the agency wouldnt seek to shut the line, said Dallas Goldtooth, an official with the Indigenous Environmental Network. Jensen, who serves as assistant for regulatory and tribal affairs in the Corps office of Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, said in an interview that the matter is in the hands of the Justice Department. In a meeting with members of Bidens staff earlier this year, we were told that this new administration wanted to get this right, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Mike Faith said in a statement Friday. Unfortunately, this reported update from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shows it has chosen to ignore our pleas and stick to the wrong path. 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. Where is it? Im in the back middle seat of an SUV sandwiched between my two oldest daughters ping-ponging my head between windows, scanning Californias Mojave Desert for a giant rock, not any giant rock, THE Giant Rock. The purported largest freestanding boulder in the world, Giant Rock stands seven stories tall, weighs an astonishing 30,000 tons and covers an astounding 5,800 square feet on the ground. Its probably not actually the largest there are some other contenders in Western Mongolia and South Africa but its certainly in contention globally. Finding it shouldnt be hard, except the final three miles of the journey to Giant Rock are through a veritable dust cloud on unpaved sand trails that spider out across the desert in a million different directions its hard to tell where we are on a map, let alone on a phone with a spotty Internet connection. Courtesy Of Audrey Merlone We choose the correct spider leg ultimately, curving our way around a bend of a modest ridge 16 miles north of Joshua Tree in Landers, Calif. and finally spot it off in the distance. It looks like a big enough rock from afar, but as we rumble closer and closer it just never stops growing, until I'm close enough that it even covers parts of my peripheral vision. We park a few hundred feet from it and pile out of the car into a silent desert landscape. All you can hear is the sound of a Mojave breeze whipping across your eardrums. I can feel the alien vibes in the air, my 9-year-old daughter says. Courtesy Of Audrey Merlone ::: Its hard to say exactly when Giant Rocks story starts. There are endless theories about how it ended up in the middle of the desert. Theres an oft-repeated claim that its an erratic (a rock that doesnt belong in its surroundings) that ended up here after the last Ice Age (this is false theres no trace of glaciation in the desert). Others have postulated its an erosional remnant (basically the tip of a big hill thats been weathered and surrounded by sediment this is also a nope because of how fractureless Giant Rock is). And then there are the shocking number of books on the subject that believe it was left by extraterrestrials (Giant Rock: The Greatest UFO Story Never Told is my personal favorite, but this is sadly wrong, too). No, this giant ball of Cretaceous-age, garnet-bearing granite almost definitely simply rolled off of the little outcropping next to it. So says Richard Hazlett, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Analysis and Geology at Pomona College. And if theres anyone to believe, its him. Courtesy Of Audrey Merlone Hazlett has studied the geology of the Joshua Tree area for years and co-authored a book thats literally titled Joshua Tree National Park Geology. Following a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in Landers in 1992, Hazlett was in the high desert studying the effects on the landscape and made quite the discovery. Right after the quake we drove out into the valleys north of Landers trying to find some of the fractures in the desert floor, and the earthquake shook free a lot of the fractured, weathered rock high up on the mountaintop that rolled and tumbled down onto the desert, he says. They were practically house-sized well, cabin-sized and they came down with such speed that they not only rolled across the sand, they bounced a fair distance from the range several 100 feet in some cases. I had no trouble visualizing Giant Rock as a fragment of the range, and the only thing that would dislodge it was a really big earthquake from the past. Any trace of the impact it made when it hit the foot of the range has since been covered up by sediment. But I can come up with no other theory, and it makes sense to me based on what Ive seen elsewhere in the desert. Unfortunately, Hazlett wasnt around to share this conclusion in the middle of the last century. ::: The first real national attention for Giant Rock came in the 30s when prospector Frank Critzer used dynamite to blow a hole under the rock and then built a small subterranean apartment underneath it. A 1940 issue of Popular Science claims his apartment was a roomy 24ft by 36ft, and stayed between 55 and 80 degrees year-round. Critzer also built a makeshift airport runway in the dry lakebed next to Giant Rock by dragging timber and iron behind his car, and put radio antennas atop the gargantuan boulder which, along with his last name and war-time hysteria, drew speculation he may be a German spy. Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection Via But Critzer was born in 1886 in Waynesboro, Virginia, as confirmed by both census reports and his WWI draft registration card, despite countless Internet reports that identify him as a German national. And according to an Associated Press story in 1984 that included an interview with George Knepp a Landers resident who knew Critzer he wasnt a spy, but instead an ordinary, lonely guy. Nonetheless, the Federal Bureau of Investigation kept tabs on him via local law enforcement. Harold Simpson, a Riverside County deputy, told the AP he made regular visits to Critzer and filed reports to the FBI after each trip to Giant Rock. On Simpsons final visit on July 24, 1942, Critzer died in an alleged self-detonated dynamite explosion just outside of his apartment door after the deputies tried to bring him in for questioning. None of the officers were killed despite the blast, which turned out to be a stroke of luck after 217 pounds of undetonated dynamite were found inside his subterranean home. Shockingly, though, Critzer a man who built a living quarters under a 30,000-ton rock, and an airport in the middle of the Mojave Desert wasnt even Giant Rocks most famous resident. That honor would go to his friend George Van Tassel. ::: By 1947, Van Tassel an Ohio man who moved to California in 1930 his wife Eva and their three daughters moved to Giant Rock. He leased the land for Giant Rock Airport from the Bureau of Land Management with the support of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, according to court records, and reopened Critzers airfield. He built a small commercial airport facility, selling fuel to airplanes landing there, plus his wife ran a cafe dubbed the Come on Inn, which served burgers and spiced apple pies a few dozen feet from the rock. To who exactly? Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection Via Getty Images Well, you see, Van Tassel picked himself up quite the following in the 1950s, because according to Van Tassel, he regularly communicated with aliens. He wrote a book in 1956 about his first encounter with them, where he was awakened by a tall tan alien and taken aboard their ship, and for about 20 years hosted Flying Saucer Conventions at Giant Rock that were attended by as many as 15,000 people. In a 1957 issue of LIFE Magazine, Van Tassel said aliens persuaded him to run for President in 1960 and offered to help run his campaign. That, disappointedly, never materialized. Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection Via Hed go on to build the Integratron a 16-sided dome that was technically supposed to be used to collect up to 50,000 volts of static electricity from the air in order to charge the human body three miles south of Giant Rock on the advice of his alien friends. But he never finished it, and when he died in 1978, no one could find any sort of plans to help him complete it. Too bad. Today, its mostly just a place people go to take Instagram photos, with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 visitors each year. ::: Youve arrived, the muffled Waze voice says in my pocket. Its around 2 p.m. when we start to snake through the sand to Giant Rock for the first time. Along the way I spot the foundation of Eva Van Tassels Come on Inn. And even though its been filled with sand, there are still some remnants of Critzers subterranean home on the dark side of the boulder. Its 20 degrees colder in the shadow of Giant Rock, and it all sort of starts to make sense how Critzer (and then Van Tassel) survived the 100-degree summer heat. Grant Marek/SFGATE I also see the sizable piece of the rock that broke off in 2000 after millions of years of expanding and contracting in the desert heat. Theres only one other person in the area when we first arrive, a shirtless, leather-skinned, excessively hairy old man whos camping out of his car with an elaborate tarp setup a few hundred feet from Giant Rock. If there was one Van Tassel follower left, my money would be on it being him. I circle the granite behemoth a couple of times and find rock climbing carabiners anchored into it at places, a chilling alien face and RIP earthlings painted alongside all kinds of nonsense graffiti, which is not just part of Giant Rock, but of the ridge alongside it. Courtesy Of Audrey Merlone The surrounding range has become a sort of crowd-sourced art exhibit, filled with everything from RIP tags and immature political statements (there are a lot of dicks) to a Star Wars resistance logo and someones Twitter handle. My personal favorite is an oddly shaped square rock with a little nub coming out of one end that someone painted car windows and a taillight on. I decide this is Minivan Rock. I hike through the boulder-y range while my daughters trek up to two giant eyes painted three-quarters of the way up the ridge with their uncle. Theres broken glass everywhere that based on all of the bullet-hole riddled cans and shotgun shells was likely used for post-party target practice. Grant Marek/SFGATE I find a good sitting rock near a colorful 420 tag and a game of spray-painted Tic-Tac-Toe, and sit and stare at Giant Rock for a while, trying to imagine what Professor Hazlett theorized. The temperature swings in and out of the rocks shadow have my body sort of on edge, not sure if its too hot or too cold, and my thoughts feel kind of the same way. I know the scientific explanation makes total sense, but out here in the middle of nowhere, faced with the largest boulder Ive ever seen in my life (by a lot), I cant help but feel pulled by the invisible hand of an extraterrestrial one. 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. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The COVID-19 pandemic has entered a critical phase as infections exponentially increase despite widespread measures aimed at stopping them, the WHO warned Monday, with record case numbers in South Asia triggering tough new restrictions. However Britons enjoyed the freedoms of a pint and a haircut for the first time in months as curbs eased, illustrating how fast-vaccinating countries are leaving othermostly poorernations behind. The coronavirus has already killed more than 2.9 million people and infected nearly 136 million across the world. But the World Health Organization's technical lead on COVID-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said "the trajectory of this pandemic is growing... exponentially." "This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, when we have proven control measures," she told reporters, adding "we are in a critical point of the pandemic right now". India on Monday overtook Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of infections, after logging more than 168,000 new cases in a single day. The recent, rapid increase of infections has taken India's total number of cases to 13.5 million, above Brazil's 13.48 million. "The solution is for everyone to stay home for two months and end this (pandemic) once and for all. But the public doesn't listen," said Rohit, a 28-year-old waiter in Mumbai. "Nobody follows the rules in the restaurant... If we tell customers to wear masks, they are rude and disrespectful to us." Experts have warned that huge, mostly maskless and tightly packed crowds at political rallies, mass religious festivals and other public places have fuelled the new wave of cases. In the Himalayan city Haridwar on Monday, maskless Hindu pilgrims squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder on the banks of the Ganges River jostling for a dip as they observed a Kumbh Mela ritual, despite the risk of infection. Held once every three years, Kumbh Mela is often labelled the world's largest religious gathering, but the 2021 event has posed a challenge to health officials who are struggling to enforce pandemic safety measures. Several regions have tightened curbs on activity while Maharashtra, India's wealthiest state and current epicentre of the country's epidemic, imposed a weekend lockdown and night curfew. But the government is desperate to avoid a repeat of last year's nationwide March shutdownone of the world's toughestwhich caused widespread human and economic misery. Neighbouring Bangladesh has already resorted to drastic measures, announcing Monday it will shutter all offices for eight days, in an attempt to staunch its own spiralling outbreak. The South Asian nation of 160 million people will virtually seal itself off, shutting down both international and domestic transportation starting Wednesday. All stores, except those supplying food, will close. Glimmers of hope But elsewhere, there were glimmers of hope in the drawn-out fight against the pandemic. English pubs and restaurants can now serve people outside, a move welcomed by the hard-hit hospitality sector despite forecasts of wintry temperatures. "It'll be great to see everybody again and see all the locals," Louise Porter, landlady of The Crown Inn in Askrigg, northern England, told AFP. "Our lives have just been turned upside down, just like everybody else's," she said, adding, "we're still here to tell the tale". Barbers, hairdressers, indoor gyms and swimming pools have also gotten the go-ahead to reopen. Retail parks and high streets are anticipating a shopping spree, hoping that the partial reprieve after more than three months of stay-at-home orders will trigger a much-needed economic windfall. Once the worst affected country in Europe, Britain launched a successful vaccination campaign coupled with lockdown measures that cut deaths by 95 percent and cases by 90 percent from January. In France, now the European country with the most infections, an expansion of the vaccine rollout on Monday has buoyed optimism among lockdown-weary residents. Everyone over 55 years old is now eligible for Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca jabs. In Greece, high school students were welcomed back to campus for the first time in five months on Monday. Students and teachers will be tested twice per week, but the reopening has some health experts worried since the country is still in the grips of the pandemic. In other positive news, clinical trial results indicated that Regeneron antibody treatment used to treat COVID-19 patients also helps prevent infections. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP The proposed deal in L.A. is modeled after one put into place in Orange County by Judge David. O Carter, seen above touring skid row. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) The Los Angeles City Council appears to be heading toward a settlement of a federal lawsuit by agreeing to provide new housing or shelter for thousands of homeless people, while being able to use anti-camping laws to clear anyone remaining on the streets. The new beds would be spread across the city, based on the number of homeless people estimated to be living in each City Council district in 2020, and could require every council member to find locations for hundreds of new beds. It's not clear how much the city might have to spend to fund this ambitious expansion, although it's a question council members have asked city finance officials. It's also not clear what the balance would be between permanent housing and homeless shelters, which are designed to be temporary stops. Spokesmen for both Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Atty. Michael Feuer declined to comment. Late last month, the City Council deliberated more than four hours in closed session on a deal that would have it create enough shelter over the next five years for 60% of the homeless people in each council district, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter and documents obtained by The Times. It also calls for the "decompression" of skid row by 33%, by attracting people to other parts of the city, to rectify the city's past policy of containing homelessness downtown. Council President Nury Martinez said the discussions are "moving in the right direction." "L.A. is never going to get out of this crisis unless were all committed to this," she said. "There needs to be full participation from all parties, elected officials, and even residents for us to be truly effective in our goals." An agreement does not appear to be imminent, and the talks between the city and lawyers for a group of business owners and residents who filed the lawsuit last year could still break down. Still, most councilmembers seem willing to accept the 60% ratio modeled after a settlement in an Orange County case overseen by U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter, who is also in charge of the Los Angeles case. In that settlement, more than a dozen cities agreed to create enough shelter for a specific percentage of the local homeless population. As a result of the lawsuit, shelter or housing was created for more than a thousand people some in cities that once resisted shelters. Story continues The 60% threshold was based on the experience in Orange County, where the 40% who did not go into shelters or housing "migrated away from the areas, reunited with family, resolved homelessness on their own, entered into substance abuse or mental health facilities, or other unknown result," according to the proposal. "There's a model that Judge Carter used in Orange County, and I see great promise in that kind of a mode," San Fernando Valley Councilman Bob Blumenfield said. The proposal would allow council members to first clear the homeless camps they find most problematic in their districts as soon as space is available for the people in those camps, and then expand to other parts of the district over time, according to a copy of a proposed settlement, which was obtained by The Times. It was given to the council before its last confidential session and will be discussed again Wednesday when it meets again in closed session. Once the council offices had identified certain "designated areas," like large encampments under freeway overpasses, outreach would be conducted and a date would be set when people would be asked to relocate. After an area is cleared, the city's anti-camping ordinances would be enforced to prevent people from returning, according to the proposed settlement. Enforcement of those laws has been limited by legal rulings that prohibit the ticketing or arrest of homeless people unless the city can provide them an alternative place to live. The proposal calls for a dispute-resolution process if homeless people are unhappy with the housing or services they are offered. This lawsuit presents a historic opportunity to make a difference on an issue that is a blight not just on our community, but sort of on the soul of the community here, said Matthew Umhofer, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs group, the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights. It is a coalition of business owners, downtown residents and others who are demanding solutions to what they call unsafe and inhumane conditions in encampments. It is, he added, "the best opportunity the city and county have had for decades to actually resolve this issue and to actually take care of our homeless and unsheltered brothers and sisters." Umhofer, who is with the law firm of Spertus, Landes & Umhofer, wouldn't discuss the details of the settlement offer or his conversations with city officials, citing confidentiality. The L.A. Alliance filed the lawsuit in March 2020 just before it became clear how serious the pandemic would be and how much of a danger it would be for homeless people. The 92-page lawsuit cited state and federal law in 14 allegations, accusing the city and county of breaching their duty to abate a nuisance, reducing property value without compensation, wasting public funds and violating the state environmental act and state and federal acts protecting people with disabilities. Several City Council members interviewed by The Times said they sense a general desire among their colleagues to reach an agreement, but there are still divisive issues that would need to be resolved. Some don't like that a deal of such great consequence is being hashed out behind closed doors. Judge David O. Carter talks with City Councilmember Kevin de Leon. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Councilman Kevin de Leon, whose district includes skid row, said he is concerned that the 60% standard could allow council members whose districts have fewer homeless people and would have an easier time meeting that threshold to drive out their remaining homeless people, who might then head for skid row. De Leon was on board with the "decompression" of skid row, but acknowledged it is a contentious issue. He said his priority is finding better locations for women, families and children and giving them a chance to be housed and reestablish their lives elsewhere. "Skid row is no place for women and for children," he said. "I made it very clear that I don't want women and children in skid row. I want them in Silverlake. I want them in Echo Park. I want them in Hancock Park. I want them in Sherman Oaks." Councilman Curren Price, whose South L.A. district abuts de Leon's district, said he could support the requirement for new shelter in proportion to the homeless population, but worried about the proposals related to "decompressing" skid row. "I support providing more resources for skid row," he said. "Shifting the homeless population from one council district to another is the wrong approach." Pete White, executive director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network and an intervenor in the case, said he was unaware of the specifics of the proposal until it was described to him by The Times. He decried it as "a smoke-filled backroom deal, where property owners and politicians sat around negotiating away houseless peoples civil rights." White said the proposal allows too much money to be spent on shelters and in the process criminalizes homelessness. The terms "would force the city to sink hundreds of millions of dollars into incredibly expensive temporary band-aids that admittedly will not reach all who need them," White said. "In exchange, the LAPD gets to arrest houseless people and banish them from public spaces." While the city is moving toward a settlement, Los Angeles County has gone in the opposite direction, petitioning the court to dismiss it from the lawsuit. Multiple city officials said that even if the city were to agree to a deal, it would require some financial support from the county. Some were leery of the city making a commitment to build beds without first knowing if the county would participate. The county has participated in prior proceedings in the lawsuit and agreed in a partial settlement to provide services for shelters the city committed to creating for 6,700 people estimated to be living near freeways. "We need to have the county on board," Blumenfield said. "They need to be part of this. I don't think the judge is going to let them go." In a motion filed late in March, lawyers for the county asserted that it should never have been named as a defendant. The lengthy motion argued that the county has aggressively responded to homelessness without any direction from the court by adopting a comprehensive plan, spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually through the Measure H sales tax and developing innovative strategies such as Project Roomkey in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Project Roomkey is a state program that provides temporary funding for cities and counties to rent hotel rooms for homeless people during the pandemic. Skip Miller, a partner with the Miller Barondess law firm who represents the county, said it decided to contest the fundamental basis of the lawsuit after lawyers for the plaintiffs said that they planned to file a preliminary injunction asking that the court be given more authority over the county's homelessness response. The plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction Monday. "Who do you want opining on and resolving who gets housing first, lawyers and the courts?" Miller said. "Or do you want the experts, front-line professionals and county officials, who have more than met their legal obligations in tackling this complex problem? The answer should be obvious" Both the plaintiffs and members of the City Council have criticized the county's move to extricate itself from the case, arguing that it is using legal arguments to circumvent a historic opportunity to address homelessness. "This is much bigger than any litigation tactic, Umhofer said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, has written to the publishers of Daily Independent newspaper, demanding retra... Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, has written to the publishers of Daily Independent newspaper, demanding retraction and a public apology over a story alleging that he has ties to Boko Haram. The ministers action follows the publication of an unconfirmed report, alleging that the he is on the watchlist of the United States for his connection to insurgents. Speaking through his legal representatives, Karina Tunyan & Company, in a letter on Monday, Pantami issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the newspaper to retract the story or face legal consequences. He also demanded that the newspaper tenders a public apology, which should be published in renowned print and online media platforms. According to the letter signed by Michael Numa, and addressed to the managing director/editor-in-chief of the newspaper, the lawyers said Pantamis reputation was badly damaged by the publication. The lawyers described the report as a false, malicious, misleading and degrading narrative simply targeted at tarnishing and bringing the good name of our client and that of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to disrepute. That you are hereby given a 24-hour notice from the date of receipt of this letter to categorically retract your libelous statement made against our client, the letter reads. That the said retraction and letter of apology be published in at least 5 print media circulated nationwide and 5 different renowned online media outfits across the globe. That you convene a press conference to publicly announce your retraction while dissociating our client from the false claims you made which are seriously injurious to our clients personality. According to the lawyers, failure to comply with the ministers demands within the stipulated time will lead to the commencement of legal proceedings against the paper and all persons involved. The inspector-general of police, director-general of the department of state security (DSS), and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) were copied in the letter. New professions in China reflect economic, social development People's Daily Online) 15:55, April 12, 2021 Buoyed by new business models and forms of employment, new professions have emerged in China, reflecting the country's economic and social development. Two beverage concoctors prepare milk tea for customers at a milk tea shop in Chaoyang district, Beijing, April 6. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Qiao Cai) Recently, China's Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security (MHRSS) and other departments have given official recognition to 18 new professions, including integrated circuit technicians and beverage concoctors. Since April 2019, China has added 56 new professions such as drone pilots, healthcare workers, delivery personnel for online orders, online ride-hailing drivers, and livestreaming salespersons. Official recognition of these new professions will help enhance the sense of honor and social identity of the people who engage in them, encouraging them to reach their full potential, said Li Qiang, executive vice-president of China's leading recruitment company Zhilian Zhaopin. Job seekers tend to choose new professions because of interest or higher income. About 53.9 percent and 50.4 percent of job hunters choose a new occupation for a higher income or to continue pursuing their hobbies, according to a report on Chinas new professionals in 2020 jointly published by Zhilian Zhaopin and the Meituan Research Institute, a social science research agency under Chinese e-commerce platform Meituan. Li Ting with VIP Kid, a Chinese-owned online education platform, provides the platforms registered students with personalized, timely and effective learning planning and guidance. Her job as an online learning consultant has also been officially recognized. Thanks to the official recognition, my job has been accepted by more people, and our students and their parents have placed much more trust in us, Li told People's Daily Overseas Edition. Li said that she loves her job and earns a monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan ($1,525.60), which is higher than that of some of her college classmates who are now teachers at public schools. The report also indicated that Meituan has driven the birth of more than 70 new professions, including room escape designers, due to emerging new business forms. The emergence of new professions is closely related to new conditions such as technological advances, aging population, further development of the market economy and social governance, said Zhou Yexin, an associate professor with the School of Economics and Resource Management under Beijing Normal University. Wang Diquan (R), an ability appraiser for the elderly, learns about a senior citizen's self-care ability at a nursing home in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. (Photo/Xinhua) The development of information technologies is the most important direct factor accelerating the emergence of new occupations, Zhou explained, adding that this emergence brings about new job growth, keeps up with the changes in industrial structure, and makes efficient use of human resources, thus providing more products and services for society. New professions reflect China's economic and social development, said Chen Yu, former deputy director of the China Association of Employment Promotion. "New professions are not invented by the government," Chen said, adding that they are the natural results of economic and social activities. While new professions play an important role in promoting employment and boosting industrial development, some professionals also voiced concerns about problems including low social security coverage, unclear prospects, and the lack of vocational training. With the new professions published, China's human resources authority will step up efforts to formulate national standards for new professions with other departments to guide talent training and cultivate a huge reservoir of talent, according to an official from the MHRSS. Last year, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued a guideline calling for more efforts to explore social security policies that can be applied to flexible employment patterns involving multiple platforms and employers. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Mad Men actress January Jones revealed recently on her Instagram that she was forced to bludgeon a rattlesnake following a previous attack on her dog. Her black bernedoodle Vinny was bitten by a baby rattlesnake last Wednesday. Vinnys Back home. Tired out but doing well, Jones wrote in a now unavailable Instagram post. The actress had to bludgeon yet another rattlesnake, stopping it from harming her recovering dog last Friday. According to NBC News, she posted again on Instagram. This time she posted a video of herself stopping the rattlesnake from leaving a net it was trapped in, writing: Right before I was forced to bludgeon yet ANOTHER rattle snake today. I almost cried. Im sorry snake family, this house is taken. Rattlesnake season starts in California, where Jones resides, in April. When rattlesnakes reemerge they pose a threat to dogs who like to explore close to the ground. Leash your dog when hiking in snake country, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends. Dogs are at increased risk of being bitten due to holding their nose to the ground while investigating the outdoors. Speak to your veterinarian about canine rattlesnake vaccines and what to do if your pet is bitten. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife compiled an official list of recommendations in dealing with rattlesnakes while in snake country: The relaxation of coronavirus lockdown restrictions in Scotland, as part of a UK-wide reopening of the economy, has sparked a multi-sector wave of strike action, ballots and protests. Workers are engaged in struggles at universities and colleges, the railways, the National Health Service, the energy and water utilities, together with air traffic controllers, packaging workers and defence industry workers. All these workers have been designated as essential to the basic functioning of society during the pandemic, consistently risking their lives in unsafe workplaces. Having been cynically lauded as heroes by the UK Conservative and devolved Scottish National Party (SNP) governments, they now face swinging cuts to jobs, pay and conditions. This is part of a global assault by capitalist governments and big business to impose the full cost of the pandemic onto the backs of the working class through fire and rehire schemes as well as brutal austerity. Strikers at West College Scotland on the picket line (credit: EIS Twitter) Workers in Scotland have suffered a steep decline in living standards since the onset of the pandemic. The number of Scots claiming unemployment benefits has risen by 89 percent over the past year to 212,000, including 4,000 new claimants in February. Payroll figures are down by 65,000 on the beginning of last year, with young people and hospitality workers most likely to have lost their jobs. Tens of thousands more redundancies are threatened by the planned end to the Johnson governments furlough scheme in September. The gutting of living standards across Britain was made possible by the corporatist trade unions and the Labour Party opposition, which have suppressed workers struggles throughout the pandemic in the name of national unityeven as the lives of tens of thousands of workers were sacrificed to profit. Having signed off on corporate bailouts worth hundreds of billions of pounds and repeatedly enforced the unsafe reopening of schools and workplaces, the union bureaucracy is devoting all its efforts to containing social anger and preventing the emergence of a unified movement of the working class. College lecturers are opposing mass redundancies and plans to replace lectures with poorly-paid, less qualified instructor assessors. The Education Institute Scotland-Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) began a 24-hour strike on March 25, followed by a series of two-day strikes between March 31 and April 20. a number of three-day stoppages are planned for May. Separate strike action took place in March over moves by Forth Valley College to impose compulsory redundancies. EIS members at Argyll college are being balloted over similar modernisation plans. No trust can be placed in the EIS-FELA to fight any of this. This union has overseen cuts to thousands of staff and student places as part of the commercial restructuring and mergers of Scotlands further education system. Despite repeated, almost annual, strike action by lecturers, they are still posed with fighting to defend the very existence of their profession. The EIS has isolated lecturers from other educators in schools and universities across the UK who face identical cuts. Every struggle has instead been subordinated to local, backroom negotiations between union bureaucrats, management and the Scottish government. The University and Colleges Union (UCU) has played the same role at Scotlands universities, which have exploited the pandemic to accelerate long-running attacks on wages, conditions and pensions of lecturers and staff. The University of Dundee has threatened 3,000 employees with pay cuts and mass redundancies unless they sign up to flexible working arrangements, including unpaid career breaks, reduced working hours and early retirement. Nurses and health workers held a protest in Glasgow last month, as part of UK-wide demonstrations calling for better pay, safe working conditions and an end to overwork and understaffing. They rejected the SNPs offer of a derisory 4 percent pay rise, after nurses suffered a 20 percent pay cut over the past decade. On Sunday, Unison Scotland called on its members to accept with the justification that This offer is substantially higher than public sector pay deals achieved recently. However, what the union bureaucracy fear most of all is its members throwing out the offer, with the union having to sanction an industrial action ballot and the situation soon spiralling out of its control. Unisons call for acceptance immediately sparked opposition from health workers on social media. The unions poster calling for acceptance of the miserly deal states in bold as the main reason to do so: Sustained and substantial industrial action would be required to bring the new government [following the Holyrood elections in May] back to the table after the election. The union have delayed the balloting period to vote on the deal for a long as possible, with the balloting period not closing until May 7, the day after the elections. Train conductors have launched industrial action against ScotRail operator Abellio. On March 28, members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) began six 24-hour strikes taking place on consecutive Sundays. Ticket examiners have voted separately in favour of strike action over payment rates for overtime and rest day working. The RMT, train drivers union Aslef, the white-collar union TSSA and Unite trade union are considering yet another consultative or non-binding ballot of ScotRail workers over widespread opposition to a 1.1 percent pay offera real-terms pay cut. Abellio has received a 1 billion public bailout from the Scottish government, underwriting the profits of the Dutch multinational from pandemic losses. These struggles have been walled off by the RMT from identical struggles of transport workers across the country. This includes its own members at Network Rail, a government-run company that owns and manages much of the UKs railway infrastructure. The RMT is balloting for a national strike against the threat of 14,000 redundancies, as part 1 billion in budget cuts that will slash safety critical maintenance resources by 50 percent. The RMTs role as an enforcer for rail companies was most clear in its betrayal of the struggle of conductors against the imposition of Driver Only Operation (DOO) trains by the UKs private train operators in recent years. In October 2016, after a series of strikes at ScotRail, a deal was pushed through by the RMT allowing drivers to release doors and leaving conductors only to close doors. Scottish Water workers are being balloted by GMB Scotland, Unite Scotland and Unison Scotland over changes to supplemental pay for additional hours worked, amounting to a potential 4,000 loss annually. 100 jobs are under threat at a Business Stream site in Edinburgh, a Scottish Water subsidiary. The unions are calling for meaningful negotiations, with the Scottish government-run company, before this dispute escalates to inevitable industrial action. Scottish Water recorded a turnover of 1.6 billion and pre-tax profits of 86 million in 2019/20. This corporate looting of workers pay and conditions follows the pattern of the ongoing dispute of engineers at Scottish Gas (British Gas elsewhere in the UK) against the fire and rehire strategy of owners, Centrica. After 42 days of staggered strike action, the GMB advised its members to sign the new contract which includes a pay cut of 15 percent. The company has been given carte blanche by the union to impose the firing of hundreds of workers who have not yet signed the inferior contract by April 14. On the very day that the workers are due to be fired, refusing to sign or transferred over to the new terms against their will, the GMB has called a token one-day walkout. Air traffic control workers at Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd are fighting 60 job cuts tabled as part of plans to centralise air traffic control towers across seven airports at a single remote base in Inverness. Engineering workers at Coulport and Faslane Naval bases took part in limited strike action in March against a pay deal with Babcock Marine, which provides services to Britains nuclear-armed Trident submarines. SAICA packaging workers at Edinburgh and Milngavie have been engaged in staggered one-day stoppages since March 17, against moves to extend the working week and impose inferior payment for banked hours. To take forward these struggles requires their political unification based on a socialist and internationalist strategy. This must be organised independently of the trade unions and all the capitalist parties, in a network of rank-and-file action committees. According to an Israeli study, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is less effective in countering the South African variant of COVID-19. A study carried out in Israel and made public this Sunday, 11 April by AFP, purports to show that the South African variant of the coronavirus would be more able to 'overcome' the defenses created by the Pfizer vaccine. 'The rate was eight times higher' It was Tel Aviv University in partnership with Clalit, the country's main health insurance fund, which carried out this study. They compared 400 people, unvaccinated, who had already contracted the coronavirus and 400 other individuals who had also contracted COVID-19, but who had partially or totally received the Pfizer vaccine (the option mainly used in the country's vaccination campaign). The study tends to show that among volunteers, 150 people having received the two doses of the vaccine, 'the prevalence rate (of the South African variant) was eight times higher than in unvaccinated people.' The study published this weekend and relayed by the AFP notes that: This means that the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, although extremely protective, probably does not offer the same level of protection against the South African variant of the coronavirus, [as it does against other forms of the virus]. However, this study has not yet been verified and validated by other researchers. It should therefore be taken with caution. Can the South African variant 'outsmart' the vaccine? This is the first time that a study has been conducted to assess the ability of the variant to 'cross the protection' of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Tel Aviv University professor and study co-author Adi Stern told AFP: The South African variant is able, to a certain extent, to overcome the protection of the vaccine. According to Ran Balicer, director of innovations at Clalit and one of the authors of the study, these results do not call into question the vaccination campaign of the German-American duo. On the contrary, they would help to find ways to better cope with variants. Wearing the mask, maintaining health measures and vaccinating would 'very likely prevent variants of the virus, including South Africa, from spreading' despite its ability to thwart the vaccine, he told AFP. As a reminder, 53% of Israelis, or 9.2 million inhabitants, received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. According to a study of 1.2 million inhabitants, the vaccine is more than 94% effective. Cllr Turlough McGovern has called on Longford County Council to negotiate with the Bank of Ireland management team in Granard to retain the ATM in the town until such time that another operator can be secured to facilitate an ATM machine for the people, businesses and wider community. There were two new ATMs put into Ballymahon lately so we might have a word with somebody in the town so we can make sure we have an ATM machine in the Granard area, said Cllr McGovern at a recent meeting of Granard Municipal District. Director of Services Barbara Heslin said that, if agreed by elected members, the council can write to Bank of Ireland, requesting they retain the ATM. But theyll only do so until they relinquish the building, she said. WASHINGTON - Since his days on the campaign trail, President Joe Biden has tried to cast himself as diametrically opposed to Donald Trump when it comes to welcoming refugees into the United States. Within two weeks of taking office, Biden signed an executive order to rebuild and enhance federal programs to resettle refugees - programs he said had been "badly damaged" under the Trump administration. Biden also revoked some restrictive immigration policies that Trump had put in place, including ones that sought to bar refugees from some countries. In February, Biden announced that he was raising the annual cap on refugee admissions to 125,000 for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, up from Trump's historically low limit of 15,000. However, Biden has yet to do one thing that would make all of those changes official: sign what is known as a presidential determination. Without that action, Trump's old policies and his 15,000-person cap on refugee settlements remain in effect. Signing a presidential determination typically takes place almost immediately after such policy announcements. The delay has lasted eight weeks. Because of it, Biden is on track to accept the fewest refugees this year of any modern president, including Trump, according to a report released Friday from the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a nonprofit humanitarian aid group. The Biden administration has admitted 2,050 refugees at the halfway point of this fiscal year, despite Biden's promises to reverse Trump-era immigration policies, significantly raise the cap on refugee settlements and respond to what his officials have called "unforeseen and urgent situations," the IRC report noted. The group estimated that, at the current pace and without the reversal of Trump-era policies, the Biden administration will admit about 4,510 refugees into the United States this fiscal year, less than half of the figure admitted in Trump's final year. "I don't know the specific reason why [Biden] hasn't signed, and it's really unusual that he hasn't signed," said Nazanin Ash, the IRC's vice president for global policy and advocacy. "It is typically a standard, automatic last step in the process." A State Department representative on Sunday referred all questions about the presidential determination on refugee admissions to the White House. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. The IRC report criticized the delay as "unexplained" and "unjustified," particularly amid worsening refugee crises in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It also said the administration was not using refugee resettlement as a "critical tool" to address the sharp increase in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. This fiscal year, the United States has admitted 139 refugees from the "Northern Triangle" countries - El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. "With more than 1.4 million refugees in need of resettlement worldwide and fewer than 1 percent of all refugees ever considered for this life-saving program, no admissions slot should go unfilled," the report said. It also noted that Muslim refugees continue to be disproportionately affected by the Trump policies that remain in place, especially Syrian refugees who were already the group most affected by Trump's refugee admissions cap. Under the Biden administration, 42 Syrian refugees have been resettled to the United States this fiscal year. "These categories are nothing short of discriminatory," Ash said. "And there's no rational relationship between these categories and any security or other concern of the United States. They were simply put in place by the Trump administration to restrict refugee admissions and in particular to restrict the admission of Black, Brown, Asian and Muslim refugees." Among groups that work with refugees, Ash said Biden's delay was met with confusion at first, followed by a "deep concern" as days turned into weeks. Refugees who initially cheered Biden's policy changes - and in many cases who began upending their lives again to finally move to the United States because they thought they had received approval - were left in the lurch and have been for two months. "As a result, tens of thousands of already-cleared refugees remain barred from resettlement and over 700 resettlement flights have been cancelled, leaving vulnerable refugees in uncertain limbo," the report said. Biden's discretionary budget for fiscal 2022, released last week, includes a request for $4.3 billion for the Office of Refugee Resettlement and $345 million for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to support an increased refugee cap, as well as $10 billion in humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable populations abroad. However, refugee advocates say those in limbo often cannot afford to wait weeks, let alone months, until the next fiscal year. Last week, more than 100 state and local elected officials signed a letter urging Biden to immediately sign the presidential declaration and raise the country's refugee settlement cap to 62,500 for the second half of the fiscal year. "At least 80 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes and among them are more than 29 million refugees," the letter stated. "Despite this, only a tiny fraction will ever be afforded the chance for resettlement to a third country, like the United States. Now is the time for your administration to fulfill its commitment to human rights and refugee protection; only then can we urge the global community to also do their part." An elderly 'Koryo-saram' with deep wrinkles on his face is seen in this 2001 photo taken by documentary photographer Kim Ji-youn. Kim recently released the photo essay book, "Korean Diaspora," which delves into the harsh lives of ethnic Koreans overseas. Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing 'Korean Diaspora' shows struggle of Koreans overseas to retain ethnic identity By Kang Hyun-kyung Documentary photographer Kim Ji-youn was puzzled when she learned about a group of Koreans in Japan called "Chosen-seki," or "Korean domicile," the descendants of Koreans who migrated to Japan before its surrender in 1945. Unlike Zainichi Koreans or Korean-Japanese who are legal residents in Japan, Chosen-seki identify themselves as the people from Joseon, the Confucian dynasty that existed on the Korean Peninsula from 1392 until Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910, and chose to live as stateless aliens there, enduring the consequences of negative stereotyping. Children are bullied due to their parents' vulnerable legal status. For adults, discrimination is part of life and some even fall victim to hate crimes, as they may be accused of being linked with North Korea. The hostility of the Japanese right wing toward the descendants of Korean migrants reaches its peak whenever North Korea resorts to brinkmanship by test-firing missiles over the East Sea or by conducting nuclear tests. Some school girls have even experienced their school uniforms being slashed with knives wielded by furious Japanese right wing extremists. They endure all these ordeals because of their choice to live as stateless Koreans. Curious about their "self-chosen persecution," which has sometimes taken the form of death threats, Kim sat down with several Chosen-seki during her trip to Fukushima in 2011, months after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake ripped through the northeastern part of Japan. School girls wearing black traditional dress as school uniforms walk out of a "Chosen gakko," or Joseon School, in Tohoku, northeastern Japan, in this May 2011 photo. Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing She said her findings are "educational" and convincing enough to share with other Koreans. "One of my interviewees said his grandfather is from Gyeongsang Province, which is now part of South Korea, but he claimed the country of origin of his family is Joseon, not South Korea. His grandfather arrived in Japan before World War II and at that time, Korea was not divided as it is today. He has crossed his fingers for a unified Korea," she said. She quoted another interviewee as saying that living as a Chosen-seki is a form of protest against "an abusive Japan." "He said he didn't consider South or North Korea as the enemy of his people and he has been in a lonely fight to end what he called mental enslavement by Japan," she said. Documentary photographer Kim Ji-youn / Courtesy of Kim Ji-youn These stateless Koreans in Japan are part of the Korean diaspora that Kim has covered in her photo projects throughout the past two decades. Kim has taken photos of Korean minorities, starting in the northeastern part of China in the 1990s, where she covered malnourished North Korean orphans who fled their homeland in search of food. Some Koreans fell victim to the madness and violence of modern history. Ethnic Koreans in Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, called "Koryo-saram" or "Koryo-in," who were captured in Kim's photos, testify to their harsh lives. Some of them are the descendants of the survivors of the 1937 tragic deportation initiated by Joseph Stalin. Koreans living in the Russian Far East were forced to leave their homes on trains and dumped in different parts of Central Asia. Tens of thousands of Koreans died during this forced migration. Many Koryo-saram, however, survived the deportation and became pioneers in agriculture. They started farming from scratch and introduced various innovative agricultural techniques to increase the yields of agricultural crops, turning the wilderness into fertile farmland. Some became highly successful and were lauded as heroes of the Soviet Union, as seen in the case of Kim Pen-hwa (1905-1974), who was born to Korean peasant parents and became the chairman of the collective farm, Polyarnava Zvezda, in the Uzbek SSR and twice won the Hero of Socialist Labor medal. A woman works in a cotton field in Uzbekistan, in this 2002 photo taken by Kim Ji-youn. Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing Koryo-saram were victimized by another forced migration after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Several countries, such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which were part of the Soviet Union, gained independence. The newly independent countries were swept by nationalistic sentiments, which in turn pitted ethnic minorities like Koryo-saram against ethnic majorities in those countries. Facing life-threatening circumstances, they migrated back to Russia in the 2000s and Koreatowns were created in a few cities, such as Volgograd. They are the survivors of turbulent modern history. In the 1930s, they were accused of espionage for Japan and victimized by Stalin's ethnic cleansing. In the 2000s, ethnic nationalism in the newly independent Central Asian nations cost them their livelihoods and many were forced to leave their homes again. Despite such ordeals, Koreans have stood firm about their cultural identity. "During my field trip to Uzbekistan, I saw some Koryo-in vendors selling cucumbers and tomatoes on the side of a highway. There were a few passers-by, but they were mostly there waiting endlessly for customers," she said. "The Koryo-in that I met there were strong people with enormous inner strength, who had survived the insanities of modern history." Having already released six photography books in the past, Kim returned with a photo essay book, "Korean Diaspora," released in Korean by Noonbit Publishing. Through images, the book tells the story of ethnic Koreans as victims of modern history. She said that there are stories that she wanted to share with other Koreans. "I wanted to revisit the descendants of Korean migrants overseas and show them together in a book with some of the details I gathered during my field trips," she said. "I shared some of the photos with my readers in my previous photo books. But I realized that photos are just photos and they don't tell those backstories." A North Korean orphan, also known by the local vernacular word, "kotjebi," poses behind a curtain in China's northeastern city of Yanji, in this 1999 photo. Photographer Kim Ji-youn took a field trip to the city to document the plight of North Korean children who had crossed the border in search of food. Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing The Health Minister has cast doubt over the promise to have 80% of adults vaccinated by the end of June. The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) is due to issue guidance on what age groups should be given the AstraZeneca vaccine following blood clot concerns in younger people. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) last week confirmed a link between the vaccine and very rare blood clots, but stressed the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. However, several countries are still rethinking their vaccine strategies as a result, wth under-55s in France set to be offered an alternative. Stephen Donnelly said the cornerstone of the vaccine programme is a "safety first" approach, and if operational changes are recommended, the Government will accept them. A number of other countries have already rowed back on the AstraZeneca vaccine and are now only giving it to older groups. Asked specifically if he can still commit to having 80% offered a jab by June, Mr Donnelly said: "We have to wait to see what NIAC says in terms of any potential operations for the programme." If the vaccines come in, as they are forecast to do then by the end of June, four in every five adults who wants a vaccine will be in a position to be offered one so it really is a great cause for hope. Mr Donnelly also said it is "only natural" to see a spike in people arriving here in the coming days to avoid hotel quarantine France, the US, and Italy are among 16 countries due to be added to the mandatory quarantining list from Thursday. Mr Donnelly said: "The intention of the gap is really to give people the opportunity to book into mandatory hotel quarantine. Inevitably, if you have a gap between when you announced the country will be on a category two list, and when you go live with that a few days later, there will be people who look to get in ahead of that, that's perfectly natural that they would. "We are very concerned and indeed public health are very concerned about the high rate of variants in those countries." However, he added that "in the main" it is expected that the number of people arriving here from countries on the list will decrease significantly. Mr Donnelly said at some point, capping the number of people who enter the country may be needed if hotel capacity comes under pressure. He said hotel quarantining accommodation has been projected based on an 80% reduction in travel. At the moment we have a little more than 650 beds, that's being ramped up to an excess of 1,100 and there is the facility to go significantly above that. "It is the case though, as with the New Zealand system, the Australian system, and other quarantine systems, that you may not in all cases be able to have a room allocated on every single day that you may want," Mr Donnelly told RTE's Morning Ireland programme. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus M.Barysevich meets the Honorary Consul of Belarus in Pakistan On April 9, 2021, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Mikalai Barysevich met with Honorary Consul of the Republic of Belarus in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Walid Mushtaq. During the meeting the Sides discussed topical issues of the development of Belarussian-Pakistani relations with an emphasis on intensifying trade and economic cooperation and developing cooperation in the field of education. The interlocutors paid special attention to summing up the results of the negotiations held between Pakistani delegation and Belorussian enterprises, as well as discussing plans for increasing supplies of Belarusian products to Pakistan. print version China has acknowledged that its COVID-19 vaccines are only 50 percent effective, potentially slowing the global fight against the virus. Gao Fu, the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, admitted that the country's COVID-19 vaccines "don't have very high protection rates" against coronavirus symptoms in an exceedingly unusual admission. They are used in at least 45 different countries. China admitted that its COVID-19 vaccines are less effective He did not go in-depth, but an analysis from the University of Chile showed that China's CoronaVac vaccine was just 3 percent effective in the 28 days between the first and second doses, increasing to 56.5 percent two weeks later. This may explain why, despite having one of the world's highest vaccine rates, Chile is experiencing a major COVID-19 outbreak. Hundreds of millions of jabs made by state-owned companies have been shipped to Asia, Africa, Latin America, Hungary, and Turkey. China is now discussing using new jabs, according to Gao. According to the Associated Press, vaccines produced by two state-owned drug companies, Sinovac and Sinopharm, have been exported to at least 45 countries, mainly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. However, some European countries, such as Hungary and Turkey, have used Chinese vaccines. These vaccines are based on an inactivated virus, equivalent to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, but they do not target COVID-19's distinctive "spike" protein. Experts believe that combining vaccines or increasing doses may improve their efficacy, Daily Mail reported. Researchers in the United Kingdom is looking at the possibility of combining the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. Due to evidence of insufficient antibody levels, the UAE recently experimented with giving three shots of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine instead of two. Researchers in Brazil discovered that the Sinovac vaccine's efficacy in avoiding symptomatic infections following both doses was as low as 50.4 percent. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, on the other hand, is 97 percent effective. According to a study conducted by the University of Chile, effectiveness was just 3 percent in the 28 days between the first and second doses of the China-made vaccines. Health Official Admits Having No Idea AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Causes Blood Clots China's COVID-19 vaccines have low efficacy rates China has four domestic vaccines that have been approved for general use, with an official estimating that the country will deliver 3 billion doses by the end of the year. In Brazilian clinical trials, a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac was found to have an efficacy rate of slightly more than 50 percent. According to a separate study conducted in Turkey, it was 83.5 percent effective. Sinopharm, a Chinese pharmaceutical company, has not published any comprehensive efficacy results on its vaccines. Based on preliminary findings, it claims that two vaccines produced by its units are 79.4 percent and 72.5 percent effective, respectively. In March, a World Health Organization (WHO) panel said that both vaccine makers had provided data on their COVID-19 vaccines showing efficacy levels in line with those expected by the WHO. China has exported millions of vaccines, and officials and state media have defended the vaccines vigorously while questioning other vaccines' efficacy and logistics, as per Reuters. WHO, Others, Warn Using Ivermectin as Treatment to COVID-19 China considers mixing its COVID-19 vaccines According to the country's top disease control official, China is considering combining its COVID-19 vaccines to improve their efficacy. Chinese vaccines lag behind others in terms of effectiveness, including Pfizer and Moderna, but have less demanding storage requirements. Hungary, Serbia, Turkey, and Brazil are among the countries that use Chinese vaccines, including those produced by Sinovac, a private enterprise, and Sinopharm, a state-owned company. Hundreds of millions of doses have been released worldwide in an attempt to cast doubt on the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was developed using the previously experimental messenger RNA, or mRNA, method. Officials did not directly react to concerns about Gao's remark or future improvements in official planning at a press conference on Sunday, The Independent reported. Wang Huaqing, another CDC official, said that developers are working on mRNA-based vaccines. Researchers in the United Kingdom are looking at mixing the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with the conventional AstraZeneca vaccine. Beijing has yet to allow the use of any foreign vaccines in the country. As of April 2, 34 million Chinese citizens had received both of the mandatory vaccine doses, while 65 million had received only one. China Reportedly Targets Christians By Detaining Them in Secret Brainwashing Facilities @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Did you know you can save your preferences across all your digital devices and platforms simply by creating a profile? Would you like to get started? Yes, I'd like to register/log in Not right now No, never ask again Maryland, USA, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Via Influencivewire -One sector that women are making strides and progress is the real estate business. It is no surprise that the real estate industry is booming because of this, as more and more women are getting involved in real estate investing. One of the most successful and influential women in real estate is Deb Cleveland. A real estate investor who is responsible for establishing the brand called, Chicks Who Flip. Deb was so passionate about the real estate and property business that she read endlessly and acquired knowledge about the wealth and immense opportunities in real estate. Inspiration Behind The Movement: Her brain-child, the Chicks Who Flip movement is geared at teaching women, especially those that are retired, about the workings and intricacies of real estate investment, in a way that helps them to make money, make an impactful difference, learn something new and majorly have fun while at it. The brand is about transforming and creating a high-end decorator look on a budget serving the first-time home-buyer market as a profitable fixer and flipper. The creation of the brand isnt just drawn from the love for houses, buildings, and properties. It also extends to creating beauty and making a difference. I find neighborhoods, areas, and cities where there is a high demand for renovated housing and I work on them, Deb explains. Problems Solved by The Movement: Chicks Who Flip seeks to target three major areas which include transforming houses, finding and encouraging women that fix and flip the houses, and at the same time have a huge impact on the neighborhood. It starts with transforming just one house on a street. Just doing one blighted house starts lighting up the entire street. It is quite amazing to watch the neighbors come out and start working on their homes too, Deb says. However, walking down this path has not come easy for Deb Cleveland and the brand. It takes a lot of dedication to be successful in the real estate business, and it takes more for a woman to achieve this success. I was not sure how to bring what I know to the market. I am great at the boots on the ground, knocking on doors and building relationships that way, but I have not been good at understanding the internet marketing space or how to build an online business to help spread the word to other women. Deb explains. Attaining Growth: Deb Clevelands story started with a deep desire to figure out what it would take to be a millionaire. However, Deb started out in an unpleasant situation, having lost everything to an abusive marriage that was also filled with infidelity. She decided to empower herself by reading a lot of books, seeking great counseling, and embarking on a spiritual journey, with teachings from the likes of Deepak Chopra. Deb secured a sales job after several job searches and within two years, she became a top ten salesperson in the company. After four years, Deb ventured into a similar business called Print Works Plus, where she sold branded and logo promotional and premium items to restaurants, business, es and corporations. After several years of learning and earning, I decided to create a movement that will inspire other women and transform their lives. I decided to create a movement for retired babyboomer women to join me in doing just one fixer-upper for fun Deb says. Media Contact Details: Company Name: Infleuncivewire Company website: https://influencivewire.com/ Email: info@influencivewire.com Attachment A selection of recent media releases, and news stories is available in the database below and can be searched for by year and month. Sunday 11 April 2021 His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland, has expressed condolences to Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family on behalf of the Queensland people following the death of High Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Governor delivered these remarks on Saturday 10 April 2021 during the official opening of the 112th Nanango Show in the South Burnett region: "May I add, finally, as Governor of Queensland, how saddened we are to learn of the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. You will have noticed the Flags above the main arena of the Nanango Show flying at half-mast as a mark of respect. "Prince Philip earned the enduring admiration of Queenslanders for his integrity, kindness and humour, and for his loyalty as long-standing consort to Her Majesty. "The Duke was the most frequent Royal visitor to Queensland, accompanying The Queen on eight tours and visiting independently on four occasions. "Prince Philip was also much admired for the vital interest he took in people. "His life was a model of selfless devotion to duty and service, a shining example to all of us. "The thoughts of all Queenslanders at this time are very much with Her Majesty The Queen, our Head of State, and other members of the Royal Family. "Thank you." Surfactant product company will invest nearly $14 million in New Hope Global supplier of surfactants used in personal care products and household cleaners NASHVILLE, Tenn. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and Colonial Chemical officials announced today that the surfactant product manufacturing company will expand operations in Marion County. As part of the expansion, Colonial Chemical will invest $13.8 million and create 44 new jobs in New Hope over the next five years. Located at 225 Colonial Dr., Colonial Chemicals expansion will include renovations of its existing 25,000-square-foot warehouse and the addition of a stand-alone employee facility. Colonial Chemical will also construct a new R&D laboratory and tank farm, all of which is expected to be complete by 2025. Founded in 1988, Colonial Chemical is a specialty chemical manufacturing company and global supplier of surfactants used in personal care products, household cleaners and various industrial applications. Over the last five years, TNECD has supported nearly 80 economic development projects in Southeast Tennessee, accounting for more than 10,500 job commitments and $3.2 billion in capital investment. QUOTES Were proud to celebrate Colonial Chemicals expansion in Marion County. Southeast Tennessees business landscape continues to grow due to the skilled workforce of our rural communities. Id like to thank Colonial Chemical for creating new opportunities for the residents of New Hope and Marion County. Gov. Bill Lee Colonial Chemical has been a valued partner in Marion County for nearly 25 years, and this project will enable the company to support future growth. I congratulate Colonial Chemical on this expansion and thank the company for its continued commitment to Tennessee. TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe This is a busy time at Colonial Chemical. In the past year, we have upgraded significant systems in our plant, added additional reactor equipment, and moved our administrative offices into a new building. We have outgrown our existing warehouses for storage, and weve needed additional loading bays for the increased traffic thats pouring into our plant. The additional space will help meet our needs for the immediate future. We are grateful for the investment and trust of TNECD as we grow and provide economic strength in the Sequatchie Valley. David Anderson, Jr., president, Colonial Chemical. Colonial Chemical opened their plant here in Marion County in the 90s with six employees and today they are close to 150 employees. We are very excited that their growth has continued through the years and that they are able to do another expansion at their New Hope plant. They are a great community partner and a company that provides good paying jobs for the citizens of Marion County. We also we want to thank the State of Tennessee for their help with making this expansion become a reality. Marion County Mayor David Jackson Colonial Chemical has been a good neighbor to the residents of New Hope. They have brought in jobs, theyve spent money and time off hours beautifying our town, and theyve been environmentally conscientious in operating a safe and productive chemical manufacturing site. Colonial is an essential partner in the growth of our community, and were all delighted to see them do well. New Hope Mayor Mark Myers TVA and Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative congratulate Colonial Chemical on its decision to expand operations in New Hope. Its always an exciting day when we can celebrate a companys commitment to continued growth in the Valley. We are proud to partner with Marion County, City of New Hope and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to support companies, like Colonial Chemicals business success. John Bradley, TVA Senior Vice President of Economic Development Marion Countys economy continues to grow and diversify. Colonial Chemicals decision to bring more jobs into our community is a testament to our business-friendly environment and high quality of life. I am grateful to Colonial Chemical for continuing and expanding its excellent relationship with Marion County. Congratulations to Mayor Jackson and others who work together to make Marion County a positive place to locate and to grow your business. Our state is becoming increasingly more attractive as a place for businesses to grow, and I am committed to making sure we equip our citizens with the resources needed for a skilled workforce. Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) I am pleased that Colonial Chemical has chosen to expand its current operations in New Hope and continue their investment in our community. I congratulate the companys leaders and our state and local partners for working to create more jobs for our residents. I look forward to many more years of Colonial Chemicals continued success. Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) TNECD Media Contact Molly Hair, Public Information Officer (615) 878-0063 molly.hair@tn.gov About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Developments mission is to develop strategies that help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. To grow and strengthen Tennessee, the department seeks to attract new corporate investment to the state and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tnecd.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd. ### [April 12, 2021] Monotype Studio Explores the Renaissance of Typography in New Type Trends Report The Monotype Studio today released its Type Trends report, examining the movements shaping the creative community, informing branding, and driving design today and into the future. The 11 concurrent trends identified by Monotype explore how today's dramatically digitized lifestyle collides with an equally strong yearning for something tangible. Further, the report demonstrates how brands are utilizing cutting-edge font technology to meet the potential of today's modern devices, while simultaneously repurposing familiar designs of years past in striking, unexpected ways. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005528/en/ Type Trends, a new report by The Monotype Studio, explores how brands and agencies are using type to engage modern consumer audiences. (Photo: Business Wire) "We're living through a thrilling and vital time in type, one that is particularly momentous in that history provides little precedent for what we're experiencing," said Monotype Creative Type Director Charles Nix. "This creates both a challenge and an opportunity for the creative community to build connections in a splintered world, to chart a path forward into our technological future, and to remind ourselves, at every turn, of our humanity. What this report ultimately illustrates is that we are pretty well up to the task." The study delves into several movements forming today's typographic renaissance, driven largely by brands beginning anew in their search for an authentic visual voice to match evolving consumer sentiment. Among the leading themes are: Fit for a world in restless motion, type at variable speed celebrates emerging technology and font design while unlocking new layers of rnge and dynamism. Studio Dumbar and the Barcelona Jazz Festival are among those pushing boundaries, developing unexpected brand experiences with the use of fonts in motion. celebrates emerging technology and font design while unlocking new layers of rnge and dynamism. Studio Dumbar and the Barcelona Jazz Festival are among those pushing boundaries, developing unexpected brand experiences with the use of fonts in motion. Virtual is reality as the digital and "real" worlds become one and the same. As type becomes more dynamic and interactive, the engagement between letterforms and virtual spaces accelerates. WPP Amsteldok, Pokemon Go, Type in Space, and the Design in Motion Festival are just a few recent explorers of type in immersive experiences like VR, AR and even physical environments. as the digital and "real" worlds become one and the same. As type becomes more dynamic and interactive, the engagement between letterforms and virtual spaces accelerates. WPP Amsteldok, Pokemon Go, Type in Space, and the Design in Motion Festival are just a few recent explorers of type in immersive experiences like VR, AR and even physical environments. Brands of all types and stripes are turning away from the over-tidiness of geometric sans serifs in favor of dressing up their brand voices with calligraphic impressions and more organic traits. The logotypes of Wilder Fields, Ochre and Hanayu are evidence of type cultivating contrast, expanding the idea of typographic flourish . expanding the idea of typographic flourish From the return of Star Wars' iconic "R" to the gravitation towards handmade and handcrafted, nostalgia is back in a futuristic form . A nod to the vintage era of quirky letters, this combination of alluring informality, active imperfection and vibrant color schemes shows brands want a more natural and meaningful connection with consumers. The rebrand of Burger King, handwritten signage from Gucci, and the new logo for Hello Fresh are just a few of the heavy hitters proving what's past is prologue. . A nod to the vintage era of quirky letters, this combination of alluring informality, active imperfection and vibrant color schemes shows brands want a more natural and meaningful connection with consumers. The rebrand of Burger King, handwritten signage from Gucci, and the new logo for Hello Fresh are just a few of the heavy hitters proving what's past is prologue. Type is front and center again with the rise of blockheads and big ideas . Bold and brash letters maximize a brand's presence with a tech minimalist feel that's retro but not sentimental. From Twitch to ACMI to The Dieline, big type is brand confidence. . Bold and brash letters maximize a brand's presence with a tech minimalist feel that's retro but not sentimental. From Twitch to ACMI to The Dieline, big type is brand confidence. Type goes punk with measured austerity and a defiant embrace of non-design. Often borrowing Helvetica's DNA, these typefaces are under-designed and confident about it. Industries making use of this trend run the gamut from pizza to publishing, and from chefs to high-end fashion logos. "Today, as we search to find our place in a global, digital society-exasperated by a year's worth of isolation via Zoom-we're all desperately craving personality, character and warmth-human connection," said David Sieren, Director of Design and Strategy at One Design Company. "This report illustrates the role agencies, designers, and brands are playing in connecting us to commerce, experiences, and one another." For more information or to view the full 2021 Type Trends report, visit: https://www.monotype.com/type-trends. For an in-depth look at the typographic trends from Charles Nix and Phil Garnham, tune into Monotype's on-demand webinar: Type Trends: 2021 and Beyond. About Monotype Monotype empowers creative minds to build and express authentic brands through design, technology and expertise. Further information is available at www.monotype.com. Follow Monotype on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Monotype is a trademark of Monotype Imaging (News - Alert) Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2020 Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005528/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] During a party this weekend, leaders at Hi Nabor Supermarket told employees they sold the company, not to an outside owner, but to the workers themselves. Hi Nabor Supermarket has been jointly owned by nine siblings of the Crifasi family. But that changed in late March, when the company sold itself to an employee stock ownership plan. The sale is retroactive to January 2020. "We told them we were selling the store at first, then that we were selling it to them and they got really excited about it," said Jim Crifasi, president of Hi Nabor. "We plan to make sure we transition it to people who keep moving the business forward. It will keep the Hi Nabor name going." Hi Nabor plans Denham Springs grocery store Hi Nabor hopes to start construction in 2018 on a new grocery store at the intersection of La. 16 and Magnolia Beach Road in Denham Springs. At first, employees were in shock, he said. Even one day after the announcement there's been a change in the attitude of workers. "It's their store now," he said. "They are just thrilled about it." Crifasi said he was skeptical of the idea, suggested by a local succession planning expert. "When I first heard about it, I thought it was a crazy idea. But the more you listen to it, the more you realize it's the perfect plan for us. Not just for the family but for our employees," he said. The employee stock ownership plan controls 100% of Hi Nabor. Because the action is retroactive, it enabled the company to pre-fund the retirement benefit for eligible employees. The employee-owned plan is a retirement compensation tool for workers, in addition to a 401K plan. Each year, eligible employees who are at least 18 years old and have worked 1,000 hours are allocated shares based on salary. When the money is taken out at retirement by the employee owners, that's when taxes are taken out. The company can save money on taxes and use it to invest in workers and infrastructure. Employee-owned corporations which use stock plans don't pay federal income tax since it's what is known as a 'pass through' entity. "This helps us facilitate expansion," Crifasi said about the restructuring and lack of tax burden. "All that money goes back into the business." Associated Grocers subsidiary buys Port Allen facility for $2 million A subsidiary of Associated Grocers, which distributes products to grocers in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, has purchased the former Martin Appleton, Wisconsin-based ESOP Partners is the third-party administrator for the supermarket's employee owned plan. The plan is overseen by a trustee, Dominic Agresta, who represents the employee which then votes on the proposed board of directors. 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 Major decisions such as store openings will still be made by existing management and the five-member board of directors. Hi Nabor was co-founded in 1963 by brothers Sam and Francis Crifasi with a 5,000 square foot location on Winbourne Avenue in North Baton Rouge. Since then, that flagship store has grown to 30,000 square feet. A second store on Jones Creek Road opened in the 1980s and its Florida Boulevard location opened in 2014 as a relocation of its Drusilla Shopping Center location. Hi Nabor now has 250 employees across three locations and could add dozens more when the Denham Springs store opens. The company has been sorting out details around local wetlands. In 2014, Sam Crifasi died of cancer. Francis Crifasi died in January 2020. Most of the Crifasi children are still active in the day-to-day operations of the business. But as they look to retire and transition out of the company, the new structure enables them to do so smoothly. Family members will get shares based on compensation just like everyone else. Jim Crifasi, now 66, has worked at the supermarket since he was 15 years old and has been there for five decades. He expects to keep working at the store for at least another 10 years. The company has been navigating the coronavirus pandemic while remaining open as an essential business. That means incentivizing staff by paying time and half for regular work hours between March and July 2020 so even while business was brisk, expenses were higher. The new ownership structure makes the company more competitive for talent, Crifasi said. It doesn't cost workers anything to participate and ownership stakes depend on employee salary. Coronavirus outbreak affecting Baton Rouge supermarket hours; special times set aside for high-risk customers Baton Rouge grocery stores are adjusting their hours, designating special hours for elderly and high-risk customers and hiring additional empl There are thousands of employee stock ownership plan companies across the nation and dozens in Louisiana. Lakeland, Florida-based Publix Supermarkets, which has nearly 200,000 workers, is the largest employee-owned business in the country. Other supermarkets such as Lufkin, Texas-based Brookshire Brothers and Harp's Food stores in Springdale, Arkansas are also employee owned through the same structure. Ambulance provider Acadian Companies in Lafayette transitioned to an employee-owned business in the 1990s as did Baton Rouge-based John H. Carter and Automation and Control Specialists. The average participant in an employee stock ownership program in the U.S. has $129,521 in their accounts, according to ESOP Partners. Most of the plans have been around since the 1990s. "Employee ownership is transforming businesses by creating a perpetual owner," said Jason Wellman, director of ownership culture at ESOP Partners. "We have this silver tsunami where a lot of older individuals who are looking to retire after COVID as an ESOP essentially allows individuals to sell without a buyer and get paid fair market value for your business to transition out. Meanwhile it's truly taking care of the low to middle income worker, it's part of your benefits package and it becomes a tremendous bucket of wealth." [April 12, 2021] PlantX Announces Monthly Gross Revenues of $1,565,982 for March 2021 and $1,353,613 for February 2021 VANCOUVER, BC, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - PlantX Life Inc. (CSE: VEGA) (Frankfurt: WNT1) (OTCQB: PLTXF) ("PlantX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it achieved record monthly gross revenue of $1,565,982 for March 2021 and a revenue of $1,353,613 for February 2021. Cost of Goods Sold were $1,152,276 and $994,260 for March and February, respectively. PlantX continues to experience month-over-month revenue increases, as shown by the financial results in recent months. For the month of March 2021, the Company achieved a new record gross revenue of $1,565,982, reflecting a 15.6% increase from February 2021 and a 43.7% increase from January 2021. These accomplishments are a reflection of the Company's dynamic expansion and its unwavering commitment to delivering the best quality products and services to its loyal customer base. The monthly revenue increase also builds confidence in PlantX's capabilities to continue on a growth trajectory for the rest of 2021. "The Company's progress is a manifestation of its results-driven strategy to capitalize on high-growth verticals, create strategic partnerships and expand globally," said PlantX CEO, Julia Frank. "PlantX continues to add value as a leader in the plant-based industry." "The recent revenue growth is a strong indicator that we are consistently building great momentum in our quest to thrive as a business," said PlantX Founder, Sean Dollinger. "Our financial progress continues to accelerate month after month, and we have no intention of slowing down." The financial results disclosed in this press release are management prepared and have not been audited or reviewed by the Company's auditors. Unless otherwise indicated, all amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars. About PlantX Life Inc. As the digital face of the plant-based community, PlantX's platform is the one-stop shop for everything plant-based. With itsfast-growing category verticals, the Company offers customers across North America more than 10,000 plant-based products. In addition to offering meal and indoor plant deliveries, the Company currently has plans underway to expand its product lines to include cosmetics, clothing and its own water brand but the business is not limited to an e-commerce platform. The Company uses its digital platform to build a community of likeminded consumers and, most importantly, provide education. Its successful enterprise is being built and fortified on partnerships with top nutritionists, chefs and brands. The Company eliminates the barriers to entry for anyone interested in living a plant-based lifestyle and thriving in a longer, healthier and happier life. The Company website is http://investor.PlantX.com/. To visit the Company's YouTube channel, click here. You can tune in to PlantX's live vodcast tonight at 8PM EST to watch a discussion between the PlantX Founder and the and PlantX CFO. To view the show, click here. Forward-Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "likely," "should," "would," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "potential," "proposed," "estimate," "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. The forward-looking information contained herein includes, without limitation, the business and strategic plans of the Company. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate; that assumptions may not be correct; and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this press release including, without limitation: the Company's ability to comply with all applicable governmental regulations, including all applicable food safety laws and regulations; impacts to the business and operations of the Company due to the COVID-19 epidemic; a limited operating history; the ability of the Company to access capital to meet future financing needs; the Company's reliance on management and key personnel; competition; changes in consumer trends; foreign currency fluctuations; and general economic, market or business conditions. Additional risk factors can also be found in the Company's continuous disclosure documents, which have been filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com . Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this press release and is based on the beliefs, estimates, expectations and opinions of management on the date such forward-looking information is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/plantx-announces-monthly-gross-revenues-of-1-565-982-for-march-2021-and-1-353-613-for-february-2021--301266613.html SOURCE PlantX Life Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [April 12, 2021] Delta Celebrates its 50th Anniversary in Thailand With Commitment to Sustainability Leveraging its 8K Laser Projector BANGKOK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Electronics (Thailand) PCL. celebrated the 50th anniversary of its parent company, Delta Electronics, Inc., with a one-week gala for friends and partners in Thailand's government agencies, leading companies, and institutions at Siam Paragon, Bangkok that highlights its long-term commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. The occasion featured the launch of Delta's Digital Projection Insight 8K, the world's first 8K laser projector, for the Thailand market. This cutting-edge 8K projector displayed "Water with Life", an award-winning 8K environmental film produced by NHK Enterprises for the Delta Electronics Foundation, to underscore the importance of water conservation. Delta's Thailand event was held under Delta's global 50th anniversary theme "Influencing 50, Embracing 50", which expresses gratitude to employees, customers and stakeholders for decades of loyal support. Speaking through a video message, Mr. Bruce Cheng, Delta's founder and honorary chairman, said, "We are proud of Delta Thailand'sstrong growth in its business. Together, we are now fostering smart manufacturing and green cities in Thailand. I am proud that from 2009 to 2019 Delta's products saved 31.4 billion kWh of electricity, a reduction of more than 16 million tons of carbon emissions. Delta has also committed to lowering our carbon intensity by 56% by 2025." Delta Thailand's president, Mr. Jackie Chang, said, "Delta has paved the way in the past 50 years with industry-leading innovations and our strong commitment to sustainable conservation. We shall continue to embrace the next 50 years and beyond with innovative and sustainable solutions to nurture life." To mark the occasion, Delta unveiled its elite class INSIGHT Laser 8K projector for the Thailand market. With 25,000 ANSI lumens (available up to 37,000) and 7680 X 4320 resolution, the INSIGHT Laser 8K projector is the ultimate solution for the most elaborate, medical, scientific, immersive visualization and large-venue applications. Delta's guests were the first in Thailand to see the power of Delta's 8K projector with special cultural and environment-themed films, including the world's first 8K environmental documentary produced-Water with Life in Taiwan. Since its foundation in 1971, Delta has leveraged its core competence in high-efficiency power electronics as well as its focus on corporate citizenship to nurture sustainable development through lower carbon emissions. In 1988, Delta Thailand was established to pursue the corporate mission, 'To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow' in Thailand and Southeast Asia. About Delta Electronics (Thailand) Public Company Limited Founded in 1988, Delta Electronics (Thailand) PCL. is a global producer of power and thermal management products and solutions. The company is a subsidiary of Delta Electronics, Inc. with the mission statement, "To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow," which reflects the company's strong belief in sustainable development especially with issues related to the environment. As an energy-saving solutions provider with core competencies in power electronics and innovative research and development, Delta's business categories include Power Electronics, Automation, and Infrastructure. The company's global presence is supported by its sales offices in key regions around the world; manufacturing facilities in India, Slovakia and Thailand; and several R&D centers located in Thailand, India, Germany and other countries. Delta continues to earn numerous recognitions for its achievements in the region and domestically. Some awards won include the prestigious ASEAN Business Award, Stock Exchange of Thailand's Best Company Performance Award and the coveted Prime Minister's Best Industry Award. For detailed information about Delta Thailand, please visit: www.deltathailand.com SOURCE Delta Electronics (Thailand) PCL [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Iasi is the first Romanian municipality to receive the energy-efficient Sustainable Community certificate in accordance with the European Energy Award system; the distinction was presented during a ceremony attended by ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Romania, Arthur Mattli. We are here today to participate in an event related to sustainability. There are several major reasons why I wanted to be present here at the handing out of this European title to the Iasi City Hall. The first reason is that the International Secretariat for the award of this prize is based in Switzerland, the second reason is that the second installment of the Swiss contribution will facilitate the implementation of this award in Romania. We have supported with Swiss funds the implementation of sustainability plans of action. Congratulations to the municipality of Iasi for succeeding in taking all the necessary steps for being declared the most sustainable city. I would also like to congratulate you on the signing of the Covenant of European Mayors which means a 25 percent cut of energy consumption and a 25 percent improvement in efficiency. This award designates an Energy City. A Swiss municipality received this Energy City award in 1991. Since then, 461 Swiss cities have received this recognition, and 60 percent of the Swiss population lives in energy-efficient cities. We consider that it is very normal for Switzerland and Romania to also exchange best practices in the field of city energy efficiency. Energy-efficient cities were just a fiction in the 70's, in the 90's this became a vision, in 2021 we see it turning to reality in Iasi. I am convinced that in the future it will become a necessity. I have no doubt that this chosen path is a necessity, Swiss ambassador Arthur Mattli told a news conference. The diplomat also met with Iasi mayor Mihai Chirica, reviewing on this occasion the cooperation of the municipality with the embassy and future projects, agerpres.ro confirms. It is a great joy, my presence here in Iasi is an important moment. Walking today through the streets of Iasi I saw changes for the better in this wonderful city. Today I already had very fruitful talks about the many past cooperation activities between Switzerland and Iasi, and we also discussed future collaborations. For us it is important that this cooperation continues on the basis of this Swiss contribution because we are convinced that our nations will grow stronger as we work together. Our goal is to reduce social disparities and inequities. We have already collaborated excellently in various areas: health, public transport and energy, the Swiss ambassador also said. The Switzerland - Romania Cooperation Program, which aims to help reduce economic and social disparities within the enlarged European Union, provided the funding for the Institutionalization of the European Energy Award in Romania, a European-recognized certification scheme. Also, the harmonization of the European Energy Award with other community assessment systems was continued through the European CoME EASY program. Both projects were developed by the Romania Green Building Council. Iasi is the first Romanian municipality to have been labeled a sustainable community. Why Iasi? For us, its efforts in recent years to get out of the shadows, or of this part of Moldavia where everybody is leaving has counted very much. Foreign companies are setting shop here. So this is also an effort on the part of the private sector that has changed the situation and rendered Iasi attractive, giving the youth a chance to stay here and find a job with a decent income instead of departing for abroad, president of the Romania Green Building Council and head of the Transylvania Chapter of the Romania Green Building Council Dorin Beu told AGERPRES. Baroness Shirley Williams, who tried to break the mould of British politics in the 1980s, has died aged 90. The Liberal Democrat peer served in the Labour governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in the 1970s, rising to be education secretary, before leaving the party to form the SDP in 1981. She later supported its merger with the Liberals to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988. The party said she died peacefully early yesterday morning. The year was 1980 and at the Labour Party conference in Blackpool there was fear in the air. With activists having voted to scrap Britains nuclear weapons, impose massive state controls and take much of the economy into public ownership, the hard Left was in full cry. For a moment, it seemed nobody would dare to speak against them. Many people saw her as a contender to become Britains first woman Prime Minister. And her role in co-founding the breakaway Social Democratic Party changed the course of our political history Shirley Catlin was born in Chelsea on July 27, 1930, the daughter of political scientist Sir George Catlin and feminist writer Vera Brittain. (Shirley aged 12 with her two cats) Shirley joined Roy Jenkins, Bill Rodgers and David Owen in launching the breakaway Social Democratic Party, which soon formed a centre-Left alliance with the Liberals Then up stepped a middle-aged, tousle-haired single mother, bursting with energy. And up went a hail of boos from the Left. But Shirley Williams had defied convention all her life and she wasnt going to stop now. There are too many good Labour members who are frightened to go to their local party meetings because they are frightened of being shouted at or abused or kept down, she exclaimed above the jeers. I was brought up as a youngster to learn about fascism . . . But there can be fascism of the Left as well as fascism of the Right . . . Too many good men and women in this party have remained silent. Well, the time has come when you had better stick your heads up and come over the parapet! It was classic Shirley Williams. Earnest, optimistic and unswervingly humane, she was one of the most popular figures in British politics during the 1970s and 1980s. At a time when the Labour Party appeared to be losing its mind, she stood for decency and sense. Many people saw her as a contender to become Britains first woman Prime Minister. And her role in co-founding the breakaway Social Democratic Party changed the course of our political history. In an era when few women even dared to go into politics, Williams was a trailblazer. She served in the Cabinets of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, became the SDPs party president and later led the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Yet her list of accomplishments does not do justice to the richness of her early life or to the flirtations of her youth, when she captivated some of the most famous young men in the land. Shirley Catlin was born in Chelsea on July 27, 1930, the daughter of political scientist Sir George Catlin and feminist writer Vera Brittain. Her bohemian parents moved in a world of Left-wing utopianism, and little Shirley was fed politics morning, noon and night. Youre only interested in Hitler, not me! she complained to her parents at age five; and she was probably right. But although Shirley was rather a tomboy, she soon fell in love with her parents hobby. She never doubted, she said, that politics was the most exciting of all the exciting things in the world. Soon she was lecturing her schoolfriends about her political views. By her own admission, she could not stop herself mocking the teachers at upper-crust St Pauls Girls School, and her impudence almost got her expelled. Even her mother could find Shirley a trial. Last night she kept me up till 2am, holding forth in the usual domineering voice on the usual themes the wickedness of being rich, Vera protested when her daughter was 16. But Shirley was brave as well as outspoken. On a voyage back from America, she and a friend narrowly escaped being gang-raped by some sailors, hiding in the lifeboats for two nights. On her return, she overcame her fears by deliberately walking along the Embankment late at night. On several occasions I was followed and once or twice quietly propositioned, she recalled later. Fortunately, nothing happened. By then Shirley knew what she wanted from life. One report tells how she took a group of classmates skinny-dipping and informed them she wanted to become the first woman Prime Minister. Introducing her to the first female MP, Nancy Astor, her proud father said: She wants to be an MP! Not with that hair! the aristocratic Astor replied. Yet although later generations knew her as scruffy, at Oxford in the early 1950s, writes her biographer, she was a blonde, blue-eyed beauty with a seductively husky voice. Her first great love was the future British Rail chief Peter Parker, regarded as one of the universitys outstanding young men. Having seen him speak at the Labour Club, she decided she had to have him. Alas, Parker got a scholarship to America, leaving her behind. While he was away, she took up with the athlete Roger Bannister, though her heart still belonged to Parker. Then came a crushing blow: Parker gave her the push then got engaged to someone else. With Shirley heartbroken, Bannister soon disappeared, too. In due course, a dozen other men asked her to marry them. She said no to them all, but finally agreed to marry the Oxford philosopher Bernard Williams. She was in her mid 20s, keen to throw herself into political life. And from the start she relished the chance to engage with her critics. In 1959 she and Bernard were at a rally at the Royal Albert Hall, supporting independence for the future nation of Malawi, when it was invaded by racist hecklers. Amid the chaos, Shirley punched a fat man several times in the stomach, while her husband was sent flying over a row of chairs. It was, she said, rather exciting. Soon Westminster called. In 1964 she became MP for Hitchin and began to climb the ladder, becoming one of Harold Wilsons rising stars. Yet her personal life was growing more turbulent. After four miscarriages she had given birth to a daughter, Rebecca, in 1961. Nine years later, Bernard announced he had fallen in love with a colleagues wife and in December 1971 he walked out. For Shirley it was a shattering blow compounded by the fact that, as a Catholic, she was deeply opposed to the idea of divorce. Faced with life as a single mother, many women would have abandoned their political career. But Williams was determined to make it work. For ten years she juggled the late nights of Westminster with her duties as the mother of a teenage girl. Male colleagues often sneered at her lateness and untidiness. But they had no idea of the struggles she was facing. Westminster was largely a male preserve, with only a handful of other prominent women, such as Margaret Thatcher and Barbara Castle. And like them, Williams faced more than her fair share of sexism. Once, hearing the division bell, she asked her Tory pair if he knew what the Bill they were voting on was. He told her not to trouble your pretty little head about it. It turned out to be the Bill to decriminalise homosexuality. Another time, a top civil servant told her he had no young woman I can release at present to be your private secretary. Well, give me a man, Williams said. But, minister, he gasped, you might be travelling. You might need . . . er . . . a safety pin! Yet Williams flourished. When Jim Callaghan became Prime Minister in 1976, he appointed her his Education Secretary. As a sworn opponent of grammar schools, she often infuriated the Tory benches. But her warmth and sincerity meant she was one of the few politicians ordinary people were truly pleased to see, even when they disagreed with her. Pundits tipped her as a future Labour leader. Unfortunately, the party was about to lurch to the Left, away from her trademark moderate social democracy, and with defeat to Margaret Thatcher in 1979, Labour was plunged into a bitter civil war. Two years later Shirley joined Roy Jenkins, Bill Rodgers and David Owen in launching the breakaway Social Democratic Party, which soon formed a centre-Left alliance with the Liberals. One of the partys first tests came that autumn in Crosby, a safe Tory seat. Williams threw her hat into the ring, campaigning for 14 hours a day, always late, always cheerful. Her activists called her the tiny tornado and wherever she went, loudspeakers pumped out the theme from Chariots Of Fire. When the voters went to the polls, she carried the day with a swing of more than 25 per cent. It was one of the most staggering by-election victories in history. For a while there seemed a real chance of an SDP government, with Williams in a senior role. But the bubble burst within months. The Thatcher government regained momentum and Williams lost Crosby at the next election in 1983. With that, any chance of becoming Prime Minister was gone. Yet she remained a familiar presence in the TV studios, first as president of the SDP, then as an elder stateswoman of the Liberal Democrats. In 1987 she married the Harvard professor Richard Neustadt, and this union proved much happier than her first. In later years she remained just as candid, outspoken and determined as she had been as a girl. One story speaks volumes. As a young Home Office minister in the late 1960s, she arranged to have herself sent to Holloway Prison for prostitution, so she could learn about life on the inside. The experience of being stripped and searched, given prison clothes, endlessly laundered and totally lifeless, and put in a stained and grubby cell deeply shocked her, and she emerged with a burning passion to improve prison conditions. But she did not have a bad word to say about anybody, whether inmates or guards. That was typical Shirley Williams. She may never have become Prime Minister. But she was something much more important: a woman of immense decency and sincerity who believed in public service for its own sake, and who always tried to see the best in others. Close Watch live as White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds briefing Joe Biden pledged additional pandemic supplies to India as the country faces a rapidly increasing number of new Covid cases. In a call with prime minister Narendra Modi, Biden committed to providing emergency assistance including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials, and therapeutics. The Supreme Court has announced it will hear a major gun rights case on whether New Yorkers should be able to carry concealed handguns in public. Under New Yorks long-held handgun licensing law, handgun owners must be able to demonstrate proper cause to hold the firearms in order to obtain a license. Those who want an unrestricted license to carry must demonstrate that they have a special need to protect themselves. The challenge, which is backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) questions that, with gun rights advocates calling on the court to rule that residents have a constitutional right to carry their weapons outside their homes. If the justices vote in their favour, it could be the most significant ruling connected to the Second Amendment in years. Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr has been mocked along with a number of other MAGA supporters after racing to defend his right to eat red meat in response to a viral story wrongly suggesting Mr Bidens new climate plan could limit Americans burger consumption. After the Daily Mail suggested that cutting back on red meat could be a way for the US to push towards the presidents goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions, the story was quickly misinterpreted to suggest that Mr Biden would be enforcing such a plan. Mr Trump Jr responded quickly to the perceived, but non-existent threat, tweeting: Im pretty sure I ate 4 pounds of red meat yesterday. Thats going to be a hard NO from me. Chinese CDC director refutes interpretation of low protection rate of Chinese vaccines, says it confuses scientific vision he proposes to improve efficacy Global Times) 10:48, April 12, 2021 Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Photo/People's Daily Online The Director of the Chinese Center of Disease Control (China CDC) on Sunday refuted claims by some media outlets and overseas social media platform users that the director "admitted" Chinese COVID-19 vaccines have a low protection rate, saying that "it was a complete misunderstanding." In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, Gao Fu, head of the China CDC, said as scientists around the world are discussing vaccine efficacy, he offered a scientific vision: that to improve the efficacy, adjustment of vaccination procedures and sequential inoculation of different types of vaccines might be options. "The protection rates of all vaccines in the world are sometimes high, and sometimes low. How to improve their efficacy is a question that needs to be considered by scientists around the world," Gao said. "In this regard, I suggest that we can consider adjusting the vaccination process, such as the number of doses and intervals and adopting sequential vaccination with different types of vaccines." Gao stressed that as it is the first time human beings have encountered COVID-19, there are many scientific problems to be studied when it comes to vaccinations. "This is also the first time that humans have been vaccinated with a novel coronavirus vaccine. All the vaccination procedures we have adopted so far have been based on previous extrapolations of other virus vaccines inoculation, and that extrapolation has worked pretty well," Gao said. "But in the future, if we need to make improvements, we can make adjustments based on the characteristics of the novel coronavirus and the vaccination situation." "If we go with the traditional way of developing a vaccine, we wouldn't have had a vaccine within a year. But scientists all over the world developed COVID-19 vaccines within a few months, which is the first time in the world's history. There are many scientific questions that need to be addressed," Gao said. The WHO requirement for the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine is 50 percent or above, and the qualified threshold for most vaccines in the world to be marketed is about 70 percent or above. China has published the first edition of guidelines on COVID-19 vaccination and "this is the best approach at present," Gao noted. Gao called for people to get a shot as the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks. "Vaccines have to be used fairly and the world should share vaccines. If the world doesn't share vaccines, the virus will share the world," he said. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Lachlan Robbie has shared a series of expletive-laden videos detailing his first day of 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine. The Hollywood stuntman flew to Sydney from Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday morning, and was whisked off to the Novotel Hotel at Darling Harbour. In a series of Instagram Stories, Lachlan first showed his followers his seemingly cramped room. Complaints: Lachlan Robbie (left) has shared a series of expletive-laden videos detailing his first day of 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine. Lachlan is a Hollywood stuntman who recently appeared in the blockbuster Birds of Prey alongside his Oscar-nominated sister Margot (right) 'I wasn't expecting a hotel room this small,' he said in the first clip, which panned around the space, revealing his bed, chairs, a number of water bottles and a TV. 'F**k all room. [I've] seen studio apartments bigger than this,' he added, recording a small fridge and his luggage standing in a corner. In the next clip, Lachlan zoomed in on an air vent in the room, which appeared to be caked in dust. Landing: The stuntman flew into Sydney from Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday morning, and was whisked off to the Novotel Hotel at Darling Harbour 'When people are asking how the f**k is Covid going through the air vent, because they never f**king clean 'em!' he said in that video. 'Look how dirty that s**t is,' he added, getting a close-up of the vent. 'And this is a hotel that has already had Covid go through it once and spread between the floors'. 'All of that!' he then snapped, getting even closer to the vent, before saying in an exasperated tone: 'F**king Novotel!' Small? In a series of Instagram Stories, Lachlan first showed his followers his seemingly cramped room. 'I wasn't expecting a hotel room this small,' he said, before adding: 'F**k all room. [I've] seen studio apartments bigger than this' Dust? In the next clip, Lachlan zoomed in on an air vent in the room, which appeared to be caked in dust. 'When people are asking how the f**k is Covid going through the air vent, because they never f**king clean 'em!' he said in that video According to the World Health Organization, 'a well-maintained and operated [ventilation] system can reduce the spread of Covid-19 in indoor spaces by increasing the rate of air change, reducing air recirculation and increasing the amount of outdoor air coming in. 'Settings that recirculate the air should not be used. HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] systems should always be regularly inspected, maintained, and cleaned.' In December, a woman who was the first Covid-19 positive test in New South Wales in 25 days was working at the Novotel and Ibis quarantine hotels in Sydney's Darling Harbour with returned travellers. Anger: 'Look how dirty that s**t is,' he added, getting a close-up. 'And this is a hotel that has already had Covid go through it once and spread between the floors' In January, it was revealed that Covid had broken out of Sydney's hotel quarantine system four times in the previous month. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Novotel Sydney in Darling Harbour for comment. Lachlan is a professional stuntman who recently appeared in the superhero movie Birds of Prey alongside his Oscar-nominated sister Margot, 30. The Eastern Regional Minister, Hon. Seth Kwame Acheampong has paid a courtesy call on His Royal Majesty, Nene Sakite II, the Konor of Manya Krobo Traditional Council and the President of Eastern Regional House of Chiefs at his Palace in Odumase on Friday 9th April 2021. The visit was to formally introduce himself as the newly appointed Regional Minister for the Eastern Region and to solicit support and cooperation from His Royal Majesty Nene Sakite II, his Elders and the people of Kroboland. In his remarks, the Hon. Seth Acheampong appealed to his Royal Majesty to thank the President of the Republic of Ghana, H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for trust reposed in him to represent him as the Eastern Regional Minister whenever the opportunity availed itself. He thanked also the Nene Sakite II and the people of Kroboland for the warm reception accorded him and his entourage to the Traditional Area. He prayed for Unity, Peace and Stability to ensure sustainable development in the region. Hon. Acheampong congratulated His Royal Majesty Nene Sakite II for his election and subsequent appointment as the President of Eastern Regional House of Chiefs and commended him for his exemplary leadership exhibited in the Manya Krobo Traditional Area and the Eastern Region in general. He therefore appealed to him to use his leadership experience to help resolve the numerous chieftiency disputes that have affected development in Region and assured him that the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council would continue to support the activities of the house. Touching on the infrastructure deficit in the region, Hon. Acheampong pledged government's commitment and determination to develop the entire region. He mentioned the President of Ghana through the Ministry of Roads and Highways had awarded the re- construction of the road from somewhere Great Accra to the Kroboland from single into double carriage lanes. This he added would reduced road accidents and protect life and property. He said, the Kroboland under his stewardship would see massive improvement in the infrastructure sector with particular reference to Oterkpolu bridge, the roads from Koforidua to Kroboland , School building, Health care etc. In his welcome statement, His Royal Majesty, Nene Sakite II congratulated Hon. Seth Acheampong for his appointment and assured him of his support and the support of Regional House of Chiefs. Highlighting on the immediate needs of the area, Nene Sakite II appealed to the Regional Minister to complete E- block School at Obeper, construction of Oterkpolu and Okenya bridge, Construction of Koforidua to Oduamase road and construction of Police Station at Sekasua in the Lower Manya District. Hon. Seth Acheampong was accompanied by the Municipal Chief Executive Lower Manya Krobo, Hon. Simon Tetteh, District Chief Executive for Upper Manya, Hon. Felix Odjao, Asuogyaman District Chief Executive, Hon Kwame Agyekum, Yilo Krobo Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Ebenezer Kupualor and New Patriotic Party Executives from both the Region and the Constituency led by the 2nd Vice Mr. Richard Koranteng Twum Barima. 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 I cant believe it has been ten years since my daughter Claire founded Claires Place Foundation from her hospital bed at age 13, said Claires Place Foundation Executive Director Melissa Yeager. "I know Claire would be wowed by our new look and digital enhancements. Claires Place Foundation, a non-profit organization providing support to children and families affected by cystic fibrosis (CF), is proud to announce their tenth anniversary. To commemorate the occasion the foundation is launching a new website with unique features that tell the stories of CF. In its tenth year, Claires Place Foundation reached the milestones of 10,000 YouTube subscribers, 2,500 grant recipients and over $640,000 in grants given. The foundation's new website will provide an engaging platform to continue to grow these achievements and spotlight the CF community. From powerful videos, to social media shareables and a space where visitors can write about how Founder Claire Winelands famed outlook impacted their lives, the website provides a place to learn about CF and the warriors living with it. I cant believe it has been ten years since my daughter Claire founded Claires Place Foundation from her hospital bed at age 13, said Claires Place Foundation Executive Director Melissa Yeager. Claire poured her love, passion and hope into the organization. Her impact went far beyond the CF community, teaching us all how to overcome any obstacle life throws at you. As we carry Claire's legacy forward, we felt it was important to create a place on our new website where people from all walks of life can share how Claire impacted or inspired them. Our new website is a supportive forum for inspiration as well as a resource to learn about developments in CF, our programs and grant recipients. I know Claire would be wowed by our new look and digital enhancements to connect the CF community and beyond. The Claires Place new website also features: Information about Claires Place Programs: In honor of their tenth anniversary, what would have been Claires 24th birthday and CF Awareness Month in May, the foundation is kicking off a social media fundraiser challenge. Throughout the month of May join Claire's Place and @kiki5800 on @tiktok to share how you live proudly, like Claire. Post pictures and videos that illustrate you living proudly and tag #liveproudlyforclaire! To assist Claire Place Foundations mission, please visit the new website to make a tax-deductible donation. To become a Claires Place corporate partner please visit here. About Claires Place Foundation, Inc. Claires Place Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing support to children and families affected by cystic fibrosis (CF). Claires Place Foundation is named in honor of Claire Wineland who lived with CF her entire life and passed away at the age of 21. Claire was an activist, author, TEDx Speaker, social media star and received numerous awards. Claires foundation was a way for her to assure that others living with CF enjoyed the same hope, strength and joy that she enjoyed. Recipient of Los Angeles Business Journals Small Nonprofit of the Year, the foundation provides grants to families affected by CF, offering both emotional and financial support. Today, Claires Place Foundation continues to carry on Claires legacy. For more information and make a donation, please visit http://www.clairesplacefoundation.org. 2021-04-11 Maeci On the occasion of the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and the United States, Minister Luigi Di Maio is leaving today for Washington for a two-day visit, starting tomorrow, during which he will be engaged in high-level meetings with government officials and prominent figures from US civil society. The talks will focus on the excellent bilateral relations, vaccine cooperation and post-Covid recovery, Libya and the main international issues including the central themes of Italys G20 Presidency and co-partnership of COP26. On 12 April, the visit will include talks with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH), Dr. Anthony Fauci, as well as discussions with members of leading US think tanks: Karen Donfried, President of the German Marshall Fund, John Allen, President of Brookings, and Frederick Kempe, President of the Atlantic Council. On Tuesday 13 April, the Minister will take part in an event celebrating 160 years of diplomatic relations between Italy and the United States, and will then visit the US House of Representatives, where he will pay tribute to police officer William Evans, who was killed in the attack on 2 April, also briefly paying his respects to the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Advertisement Coronavirus cases continue to rise across the United States, fueling fears of a fourth wave as officials urge Americans to keep following public health measures. On Sunday, the U.S. recorded 46,378 new infections with a seven-day rolling average of 70,196, the highest figure since February 26. In the last week alone, the average number of cases has risen by almost 11 percent and totals are increasing in 22 states, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Although the figure is far below January's peak of about 247,000 average new cases, it is in line with the late July surge, when daily cases were averaging about 68,000. Meanwhile, just 283 coronavirus deaths were reported on Sunday, which is the second-lowest number reported this month, the analysis revealed. However, the seven-day rolling average surpassed 1,000 for the first time in almost two weeks. Since the pandemic began, more than 31.1 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19 and more than 562,000 have died. Even as vaccinations continue to ramp up across the country, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, warned that that Americans may need booster shots after about a year to maintain immunity. On Sunday, the U.S. recorded 46,378 new coronavirus infections with a seven-day rolling average of 70,196, the highest figure since February 26 Although just 283 coronavirus deaths were reported on Sunday, the seven-day rolling average surpassed 1,000 for the first time in almost two weeks In the last week, the average number of cases has risen by nearly 11% and 22 states are reporting rising case numbers, according to an analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University Dr Anthony Fauci warned on MSNBC on Sunday (pictured) that Americans may need to receive coronavirus vaccine boosters after a year to 'keep up the level of protection' During an appearance on MSNBC on Sunday, Fauci was asked about data from Pfizer Inc, which showed its coronavirus vaccine was effective for at least six months. 'We need to be careful about that six month number,' said Fauci, adding that this time period was the farthest out that scientists were able to measure. 'We know for sure it's effective for six months and highly likely that it will be effective for considerably longer period of time.' He said that researchers will be continuing to study people in the months to come, measuring their antibody levels and studying any fully vaccinated person who contracted COVID-19. 'So the good news is that it's at least six months. Hopefully a lot more,' Fauci said. 'But in direct answer to your question, if it turns out a year or a year and a half, we very well may need to get booster shots to keep up the level of protection.' It's a turnaround from a previous statement, in which the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said he was confident that the available vaccines offered adequate protection. Preliminary data show that the COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States should provide an adequate degree of protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants,' Fauci said in late March. He added that 'out of an abundance of caution,' the NIAID was continuing to partner with Moderna to evaluate a booster candidate. It comes as experts worry about the Midwest, which has seen an exponential rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. In Minnesota, the number of infections has risen from an average of 1,569 per day to 2,348 per day, a 49 percent increase over two weeks, data from Johns Hopkins shows. In nearby Illinois, coronavirus cases have similarly surged, by 48 percent in the last 14 days from 2,412 per day to 3,578 per day. Perhaps the state that is most worrying scientists is Michigan. Over the course of month, the average number of cases in Michigan has risen from about 2,000 per day to more than 6,000 per day, and hospitalizations have surged 400% In Minnesota, the number of coronavirus infections has risen from an average of 1,569 per day to 2,348 per day, a 49% increase over two weeks, In Illinois, coronavirus cases have surged by 48% in the last 14 days from 2,412 per day to 3,578 per day In just one month, cases have exploded from an average of about 2,000 per day to more than 6,000 per day State data shows that, as of April, there were 3,780 hospitalized COVID-19 patients In Michigan, a more than 400 percent increase in just one month. The rise appears to be due to the coronavirus variant first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7, which accounts for about 70 percent of new cases in the state. 'Michigan is really the bellwether for what it looks like when the B.1.1.7 variant...spreads in the United States,' Dr Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist, told CNN on Sunday. 'It's causing a surge in cases and it's causing more severe disease, which means that even younger people, people in their 30s, 40s and 50s are getting very sick and being hospitalized from this.' Gounder said the other factor behind the surge is a lack of following public health measures such as not wearing masks before a large percentage of residents are vaccinated. 'The hard truth is that the only thing that will curb transmission right now are measures that take effect immediately,' she said. Former FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb criticized the Biden administration for refusing to send a surge of vaccine doses to Michigan. 'It's a request that's been made for weeks now, and I think we should have done it weeks ago,' he said on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday. 'It's never too late to do it. And it's not just additional vaccine, but it's the resources to actually get the vaccine into arms.' Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, warned on Monday that pandemic was far from over and urged against complacency. Pictured: Tedros attends a news conference, July 2020 Meanwhile, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that confusion and complacency in addressing COVID-19 means the pandemic is a long way from over. However, he said the crisis can be brought under control in months with proven public health measures 'We too want to see societies and economies reopening, and travel and trade resuming,' Tedros told a news briefing in Geneva, Switzerland. 'But right now, intensive care units in many countries are overflowing and people are dying - and it's totally avoidable. The COVID-19 pandemic is a long way from over, but we have many reasons for optimism.' He noted that the decline in cases and deaths seen after the winter surge of 2020-21 is evidence that both the virus and the variants can be stopped. During the news briefing, Maria van Kerkove, the WHO's technical lead for COVID-19, said that, globally, there has been with a nine percent increase in cases last week, the seventh consecutive week of increases, and a five percent rise in deaths. Tedros said that transmission of the virus is being driven by 'confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures.' He added that in some countries, despite continuing spread, restaurants and nightclubs were full and markets were open and crowded with few people taking precautions. 'Some people appear to be taking the approach that if they're relatively young, it doesn't matter if they get COVID-19,' Tedros said. Las Vegas Nevadas Republican Party voted to censure the secretary of state, accusing her of failing to fully investigate allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. She says there was no widespread fraud and that her own party is attacking her for refusing to put my thumb on the scale of democracy. Barbara Cegavske, the only Republican statewide office holder in Nevada, said members of her party are disappointed with the election results and believe fraud occurred despite a complete lack of evidence to support that belief. Cegavske, who has overseen elections in the state since 2014, has repeatedly defended the results as reliable and accurate despite attacks from President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Nevada is among the states where former Trump sought to subvert results from the November 2020 election with lawsuits and conspiracy theories. President Joe Biden defeated Trump in the Western swing state by 2 percentage points, or nearly 34,000 votes. Regrettably, members of my own political party have decided to censure me simply because they are disappointed with the outcome of the 2020 election. While I have been loyal to the Nevada Republican Party during my over two decades as an elected official, I have been unwavering in my commitment to oversee elections and administer Nevadas election laws in a neutral, nonpartisan manner, Cegavske said in a statement Sunday. My job is to carry out the duties of my office as enacted by the Nevada Legislature, not carry water for the state GOP or put my thumb on the scale of democracy. Unfortunately, members of my own party continue to believe the 2020 general election was wrought with fraud and that somehow I had a part in it despite a complete lack of evidence to support that belief. A GOP official who was unauthorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Associated Press that the measure passed on a 126-112 vote by the partys governing members at a meeting in the state capital, Carson City. Jessica Hanson, the executive director of the state GOP, sent a statement from the party noting that the censure vote on Saturday passed narrowly and said it occurred following a healthy debate over the election. The Nevada Republican Party holds our elected officials to a high standard. As such, this weekend the party sent a clear message that our officials must work for the people and we demand that our representatives at all levels of government uphold their Oath of Office, the party said. It wasnt clear from a copy of the censure resolution what punishment the censure entailed. Hanson did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the punishment. In March, Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald presented four boxes to Cegavskes office that he and other Republican leaders said contained proof of more than 120,000 instances of voter fraud. But Cegavske said after reviewing the reports, there were only 3,963 Election Integrity Violation reports submitted. Her office said a number of those reports were already under investigation by her office and it was reviewing the others reports to determine if an investigation was warranted. The secretary of state allows people to fill out the two-page Election Integrity Violation forms when they believe they have witnessed people breaking election laws, which staff subsequently investigate. The censure vote was first reported by The Nevada Independent. Cegavske is among a handful of Republicans who have been censured by their own parties in recent months after finding themselves at odds with Trump and his supporters. State Republican parties in North Carolina, Louisiana and Alaska voted to censure U.S. Sens. Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy and Lisa Murkowski for their votes to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial, and the Wyoming GOP censured Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach Trump. Arizonas Republican Party in January voted to censure Sen. John McCains widow Cindy McCain and former Sen. Jeff Flake, both of whom endorsed Biden, and Gov. Doug Ducey, who signed a certification of Bidens victory in that state. Nairobi, April 12 : Kenya's elephant population has gradually increased at an annual rate of approximately 2.8 per cent over the last three decades amid declining poaching, a wildlife research institute said. The state-owned Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) said on Sunday that the country has experienced about a 96 per cent decline in poaching, with more than 386 elephants being lost to poaching in 2013 compared to the 11 tuskers poached last year, reports Xinhua news agency. "This success is attributed to enhanced government initiatives to combat poaching and trophy trafficking, and the continued collaboration with national and international partners to stop the trade in ivory," the WRTI said in a statement. It added that whilst Kenya acknowledges that poaching was the major cause of the decline in the past, increasing human population and the subsequent change in land tenure and land-use systems have led to the constriction of elephant range, loss of dispersal areas and corridors, resulting to heightened interaction between elephants and people, mostly resulting to conflict. "Today, human-elephant conflict (HEC) and loss of elephant corridors and dispersal areas are the main challenges facing elephant conservation and management in Kenya," it said. Kenya has also taken a much tougher approach to poaching in recent years. Anyone caught poaching wildlife or smuggling wildlife trophies in Kenya will either receive a heavy fine or could be sent to jail. [April 12, 2021] Umbria Network Announces Second Airdrop of 100,000 UMBR Tokens LONDON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Umbria - the layer 2 DeFi protocol - is implementing another round of free distribution of its native governance token ($UMBR). Anyone holding a minimum of 100 UMBR or two UMBR-ETH Liquidity Pool (LP) tokens at the time of the snapshot will be eligible to claim a share of the 100,000 UMBR airdrop directly into their MetaMask wallet on May 15th. Those who have staked their UMBR-ETH LP tokens in the Umbria Farm will also qualify whilst simultaneously earning an attractive APY.1 The amount of UMBR airdropped to participants will be proportional to their UMBR and UMBR-ETH LP holdings (or stake) relative to the total amount of tokens held by the community at the time of the snapshot. UMBR holders will receive a portion of 33.4% of the 100,000 UMBR airdrop allocation and those that provide liquidity to the UMBR-ETH liquidity pool in Uniswap will receive a share of an allotted 66.6% on the 15th of May. The snapshot of the Ethereum blockchain will be taken on April 15th at 5pm BST and will take note of all holders of each token. Those eligible need to visit airdrop.umbria.network and press the "Claim Airdrop" button on May 15th to get their share of the airdrop. Further details can be found here: https://airdropalert.com/umbria-airdrop and more information is included in the Airdrop FAQs. The Umbria Airdrop Bounty Program offers a number of ways to earn UMBR in return for completing different social media tasks to help promote the Umbria Airdrop. Find out more by visiting our Medium blog. Umbria (https://umbria.network/) is an opnsource project on a mission to demystify and simplify DeFi and get people earning income on their crypto. The project's governance token UMBR is available on Uniswap. UMBR-ETH Liquidity Pool Tokens - which qualify for a larger proportion of the airdrop - are obtained by adding liquidity to the UMBR-ETH Liquidity Pool on Uniswap; the pool recently hit $1 million in liquidity. "The first airdrop was very well received and we're seeing a lot of UMBR holders depositing into the Umbria Farm to additionally capitalise, which is great for the whole Umbria Network ecosystem," said Oscar Chambers, Co-Lead Developer at Umbria. "With the next airdrop we're looking forward to rewarding existing holders further and introducing new participants at this early adoption stage." See the latest data on UMBR on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/umbria-network/news/ https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/umbria-network https://umbrianetwork.medium.com/how-to-claim-from-umbria-airdrop-bounty-program-ff610d2607a0 Head on over to our Discord channel or Telegram to find out more on the latest developments. If you are interested in becoming an official Umbria Ambassador and earning additional UMBR please get in touch at hello@umbria.network using the subject 'Brand Ambassador' in your email. You can also contact on the above channels as well as Twitter and Facebook. About Umbria https://umbria.network/ Umbria is a decentralized protocol, which enables DeFi (Decentralised Finance) applications on the Ethereum blockchain. It aims to demystify and simplify DeFi and get people earning income on their crypto. Using cutting edge-layer two technology developed by Polygon, Umbria is developing a suite of popular DeFi features at fractional on-chain cost of many current DeFi platforms with greater transaction speed (while maintaining all the cryptographic security provided by Ethereum). Umbria is available on Uniswap and users can add liquidity to earn fees. A user of Umbria will soon be able to swap tokens and earn interest on their cryptocurrency positions on the Umbria website with other facilities coming online (via developers and community initiatives) which will utilise the Umbria protocol and its governance token. One of the initial features of Umbria is that it will allow users to deposit cryptocurrency as liquidity in AMM (automated market making) pools to earn fees from token swapping and earn additional Umbria as an incentive for providing liquidity. The Umbria governance token will also enable users in the network to take control over decision-making and have voting power over the development and governance of Umbria's protocol. UK-publicly listed Online Blockchain plc (LSE:OBC) is acting as Umbria's coordinator, administrator and advisor. 1 People who staked in the Umbria Farm during the last airdrop period typically earned 315% APY. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/umbria-network-announces-second-airdrop-of-100-000-umbr-tokens-301266089.html SOURCE Online Blockchain PLC [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Last month, Sen. Joe Manchin said of the Democrats sweeping voting rights bill, Pushing through legislation of this magnitude on a partisan basis may garner short-term benefits, but will inevitably only exacerbate the distrust that millions of Americans harbor against the U.S. government. Many Democrats had hoped the spectacle of a Republican minority blocking a voter rights bill from becoming law would convince Manchin and other moderates that the filibuster is antithetical to democracy and abolish it. They see the Jan. 6 attempt by pro-Trump insurrectionists to prevent certification of the Electoral College count, the Georgia election reform law enacted on a Republican party-line vote, and past GOP attempts to restrict voting access, and conclude that the entire Republican Party cannot be a good-faith negotiating partner on anything, especially voting rights. For Manchin to move in the opposition direction, and insist on a bipartisan voting rights bill, drives a lot of Democrats over the edge. Yet the West Virginia senator is correct to say a partisan bill that changes how elections are run will exacerbate distrust. Case in point: the new Georgia law. Some election experts argue that Democratic fears of vote suppression from the law wont materialize. But such a conclusion is hard to accept when the bill was passed without any Democratic votes. As one Democratic state legislator in Georgia said, If this bill was truly about restoring confidence for voters, we would have worked together to get this bill right. Besides, Republicans didnt try all that hard to pretend their intent was pure. One state party official said in January that major parts of the states election laws had to be changed so that we at least have a shot at winning. However, mistrust runs both ways. Democrats in the U.S. Congress wrote their voting rights bill by themselves. And when elected officials such as Rep. Jim Clyburn say Democrats who enjoy being in the majority should circumvent the filibuster and pass the bill on a party-line vote, Republicans conclude the moral arguments for expanded voting access mask a more partisan motive. Manchins desire for bipartisanship has proven limits; he stuck with his party to pass the pandemic relief bill on a party-line vote through the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process. Some Democrats believe Manchin is engaging in an extended kabuki dance, posing as a rogue centrist to impress his home-state right-leaning voters before eventually voting like a loyal Democrat. Perhaps we will see that two-step in regards to President Bidens infrastructure package, parts of which will be able to pass through reconciliation. But very little in the Democrats voting rights bill is budgetary, making it ineligible for the reconciliation process. So a voting rights bill will need 10 Republican votes, at least, to break any filibuster. Since Manchin has been repeatedly unequivocal in his refusal to abolish the filibuster, the only reasonable conclusion is that when he says a voting rights bill must be bipartisan, he means it. Is a bipartisan voting bill even possible when the mistrust runs deep and the policy goals of both parties are diametrically opposed? Yes. Because many of the assumptions both parties hold regarding the partisan effects of election reforms are deeply flawed. Once everyone realizes that neither party stands to gain much, if anything, from an election reform bill, the political temperature can be lowered and productive negotiating can commence. Democrats are under the impression that increased turnout means more Democrats will be elected. Republicans generally believe lower turnout benefits Republicans. But as Ive written previously, the pool of non-voters and rare voters is not weighted toward Democrats. A Knight Foundation study found that if those highly unlikely voters all started voting, they would add a nearly equal share to Democratic and Republican candidates. As weve seen in recent elections, specific candidates and political circumstances can boost turnout in all sorts of partisan directions. In 2016, Trump boosted turnout from right-leaning white working-class voters, allowing him to snag an Electoral College victory. 2018 featured the highest midterm election turnout since at least 1978, with a particularly strong increase among the young; that favored Democrats, helping them take control of the House. Then the 2020 election produced the biggest turnout increase since universal suffrage for women, thanks to widespread use of mail and early in-person voting. But the partisan impact was mixed; Democrats took the White House and (just barely) the Senate, yet compared to 2018, Republicans gained in the national House popular vote and netted 14 seats. Easy voting access can even help third-party candidates. Take same-day registration, which Democrats would mandate nationwide in their voting rights bill. But in all of our election history, who was the candidate most helped by same-day voting registration? The answer is Jesse Ventura of the Reform Party, who was elected governor of Minnesota in 1998. Of Venturas 773,403 votes, an estimated 225,184 were from same-day registrants, far more than his margin of victory: 56,523 votes. The National Conference of State Legislatures notes that studies reveal no conclusive evidence of whether [same-day registration] shapes partisan outcomes or whether certain populations are more likely to benefit. Already, several states have some form of same-day registration, including Iowa, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, which have not become less Republican as a result. But in such a system, a charismatic candidate like Ventura has the potential to catch fire and attract unlikely voters who make an impulse decision to vote on Election Day. And no one party has a lock on charismatic candidates. What about the decades-long Republican push for voter ID requirements, which create an extra barrier to voting? Thirty-six states now have some form of voter ID law on the books -- a number that increased in part because the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County v. Holder freed jurisdictions with past histories of racial discrimination from needing federal government approval for voting law changes. Republicans have been repeatedly caught saying they believe such laws will help them win elections. In 2012, a Pennsylvania Republican state legislator said the states voter ID law would allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania. The following year, a North Carolina Republican party official said its voter ID law would kick the Democrats in the butt. In 2015, a former Wisconsin Republican legislative aide revealed that during internal party discussion about voter ID laws, a handful of the GOP senators were giddy about the ramifications and literally singled out the prospects of suppressing minority and college voters. But if the point of voter ID laws is to suppress Democratic voters, research has shown these laws to be ineffectual. A 2019 study found strict ID laws have no significant negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any subgroup defined by age, gender, race, or party affiliation. According to an academic paper published in February exploring the impact of Shelby County, such laws appear to have a boomerang effect: the Shelby decision does not appear to have widened the turnout gap between Black and White voters in previously covered states and may have even increased the relative turnout of Black voters in covered states during the 2016 election. These results are consistent with an accumulating body of evidence that suggests that voters mobilize in response to increases in the cost of voting when those increases are perceived as threats to the franchise. Does that mean voter ID laws are innocuous, or that they make voters jump through needless hoops to exercise their basic constitutional right? Fair debate can be had on those questions, and it will much easier for such a debate to remain civil once everyone understands these laws arent successfully tipping elections through suppression. But to get members of both parties to have a civil discussion and good-faith negotiation about voting rights will likely require someone of stature someone of more stature that a lowly political pundit using the media megaphone to inject facts into our discourse and explode the false narratives that are warping the debate. The person in the best position to do that is the person insisting that any voting rights bill be bipartisan: Sen. Joe Manchin. Manchin has been talking a good game about bipartisanship, but now its time for him to deliver. Seoul, April 12 : South Korea on Monday reported 49 new cases of Covid-19 variants amid concerns that the spread of more transmissible strains may further strain the country's virus battle. Of the additional cases identified in the past seven days, 44 people were confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus variant believed to have originated in Britain, followed by four South Africa variant cases and the Brazilian strain with one, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Yonhap News Agency reported. Twenty nine of the newly added variant cases were from people travelling from overseas, with South Korean nationals accounting for 26 of them. The total number of cases of the three types of variants confirmed here since October last year came to 379. So far, variants traced to Britain accounted for 324, followed by South Africa with 46 and Brazil with nine. The country has been raising its guard against community spread of variant cases amid looming woes over a bigger wave of infections in spring. Some of the cluster infections have included patients who contracted the Covid-19 variants. To better control variant cases, health authorities early this month decided to extend the ban on passenger flights arriving from Britain, which has been in place since December 23, for another three weeks until April 22. All travellers coming to South Korea have been required to present certificates of negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests taken within 72 hours of their departure since late February. They are also required to undergo a 14-day isolation period upon their entry into the country. In its latest measures, the country decided to make all arrivals take PCR tests within five to seven days after their entry. Those coming from South Africa and Tanzania are required to stay at temporary shelters for 14 days. South Korea, meanwhile, reported 587 more Covid-19 cases on Monday, raising the total caseload to 110,146. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Microsoft is reportedly "in advanced talks" with Nuance Communications, which is known for helping Apple develop the artificial intelligence for its virtual voice assistant, Siri. The reports have suggested that Microsoft is trying to acquire Nuance at a $16 billion buyout to get the company from its original management and incorporate its technology for the big tech. Microsoft Plans to Acquire Nuance Communications According to a recent insider leak that is familiar with the news via Reuters, Microsoft is already in an advanced level of negotiations and talks with Nuance Communications with the planned acquisition. While there are no specific technology or reasons as to why Microsoft wants to acquire Nuance, the deal between the two has surprisingly progressed. Initial reports by Bloomberg suggested that the deal was shaky and could break off at any time, but the source that was familiar with the matter told Reuters otherwise. The leak has divulged that an announcement might soon come this week, revealing the deal or sale that has occurred between the two technology companies. Read Also: Elon Musk: Tesla FSD to Debut Beta v9.0 to Improve on Cornering, Bad Weather-Boring Loop Tunnel FSD Coming Nuance Communications While Nuance Communications is not that much of a "household name" or known in the common tongue, it is a prominent artificial intelligence company that has contributed a lot to the development of voice assistants. One of the very first mainstream and mass-produced AI systems that have dawned smartphones, Apple's Siri, was a product of Nuance. Reuter's report indicated that Nuance Communications has helped Apple in the voice recognition feature of the artificial intelligence, to determine the command and interpret it for the phone to respond and do its bidding. Apart from that, the company has also developed software for other industries including the healthcare industry, and vehicle manufacturing. Microsoft Acquisitions Over the Past Microsoft has had a few outstanding acquisitions on its record, with one of the country's "Big Tech" aiming to get bigger and expand its territories outside of the software development industry and towards others. 2020 alone has been a shining moment for Microsoft, especially as it presented its interest in acquiring TikTok from ByteDance. While this acquisition did not take place or continue, Microsoft was supposed to get the operating rights of the Chinese short video application and stakes over the US, UK, Canada, and Australian regions. On the other hand, the $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn last 2016 is by far Microsoft's largest amount that it had paid to get another company. If the acquisition of the AI technology company, Nuance Communications, take place, it would be Microsoft's second-largest corporate buyout in its history. Related Article: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Hack: How to Go Anywhere You Want This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Alonzo 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki: Cezanne Khan Roped In To Replace Vivian Dsena As Rubina Dilaiks Harman From 2016 to 2019, the gorgeous Rubina Dilaik and the handsome Vivian Dsena were one of televisions favorite on-screen couples thanks to their adorable chemistry in the hit show Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki. While Rubina portrayed the role of a transgender named Soumya, Vivian played the character of her husband Harman. Well, fans were heartbroken when the actors decided to quit the show. Much to our delight, after winning Bigg Boss 14, Rubina returned to the celebrated show as Soumya. Sadly, Vivian will not be reprising the role of Harman due to creative differences. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ColorsTV (@colorstv) Instead, the role of Soumyas Harman ji will now be portrayed by Kasautii Zindagi Kay actor Cezanne Khan. In a report shared by ETimes, a source revealed, After the deal with Vivian fell through, we have now finalised Cezanne to play Harman on Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki. The show is all set to introduce a major twist and a giant leap, and Cezanne will join Rubina to do the needful. The decision to bring in the original lead pair is to breathe new life into the show. The makers are still working on his character and his track. For the uninitiated, Vivian quit the show despite being one of the most adored characters of the channel because he was reportedly uncomfortable playing father to a grown-up actor. Do you think Cezanne will be able to recreate the magic that Rubina and Vivian were famous for? Lets wait and watch! His TV alter ego is well known for uttering the iconic line 'Mother Of God' on the BBC series. And Adrian Dunbar has revealed his character Superintendent Ted Hastings' catchphrase is actually a tribute to his late father. Speaking in a new interview, the actor , 62, told how his father Sean used to say 'Mother of God' all the time, adding that Ted's infamous saying is a way of honouring and thanking him in a 'certain way'. Tribute: Adrian Dunbar has revealed his character Superintendent Ted Hastings' catchphrase 'Mother of God' is actually a tribute to his late father He told the How To Fail With Elizabeth Day podcast: 'The "Mother of God" stuff comes from my dad who used to use that all the time. 'He would say, "Mother of God" all the time. He used to just say "Mother" and we know what he meant.' He added: 'So the "Mother of Gods" are a way of saying thanks to him in certain ways.' Adrian's father Sean died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage in 1979, while the star was studying in his second year at drama school. Inspired: Speaking in a new interview, the actor , 62, told how his father Sean used to say 'Mother of God' all the time, adding that Ted's infamous saying is a way of honouring and thanking him in a 'certain way' Meanwhile, in the same interview, the Northern Irish actor admitted it was a big 'relief' to discover his character didn't appear to be H at the end of series five, after he got off with a written warning following hints he could have been the infamous villain. After the bombshell last series that H was an organisation of bent coppers as opposed to the one figure, fans have been theorising who could be the mysterious fourth policeman embroiled in the scandal. Adrian said it would have been 'difficult to accept' his character was a 'baddie' or 'arch villain' - although this could be a double bluff of course. Remembering his father: He told the How To Fail With Elizabeth Day podcast : 'The "Mother of God" stuff comes from my dad who used to use that all the time' Touching: He added: 'So the "Mother of Gods" are a way of saying thanks to him in certain ways' Speaking on the How To Fail podcast, he also admitted that he's recognised by real police officers and gushed that its a 'privilege' to be in a long-running show. Reflecting on finding out he wasn't H when he got handed the series 5 script, Adrian said: 'It was absolutely a relief for me, as I spent all this time playing this character as I saw him with a sense of duty and a moral core. 'And to have found out I was somehow an arch villain... I would have been in real difficulty accepting that. 'Also Jed was aware that our audience and audiences in general, like to think that those people who are in charge do have a sense of moral fortitude and that there are people out there who will do the right thing It's not him! It comes as Adrian admitted it was a big 'relief' to discover his character didn't appear to be 'H' at the end of series five (pictured with Martin Compston as Steve Arnott) The search continues: The Line Of Duty star added that it would have been 'difficult to accept' his character was a 'baddie' (pictured middle with Vicky McClure and Martin) 'So all that was riding on the idea that Ted could be a baddie, so I am glad he came out of it with flying colours.' At the end of the last season of the show, it had been suspected that AC-12 head Ted could be H - the fourth man at large during an ongoing hunt for the 'bent copper'. However beloved Ted seemed to have cleared his name and was given a final written warning for misconduct, meaning the mystery and hunt continues. Elsewhere on his podcast appearance Adrian revealed that real police officers do recognise him and sometimes give a wave or thumbs up. Huge hit: Adrian said also gushed that its a 'privilege' to be in a long-running show (pictured during series six) He said: 'The police recognise me and might give me a thumbs up and it's quite good fun that. 'I think they do appreciate that Line of Duty does try and show that there is a lot of slog in police work. 'There's lots of sitting in front of computers for hours on end trying to find one clue and we a bit of that and show it takes a long time to get to the answers sometimes.' President Joe Biden (C) speaks during a CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience via video conference with National Economic Council Director Brian Deese (2nd L), National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (R) and others from the Roosevelt Room at the White House on April 12, 2021 in Washington. (Amr Alfiky-Pool/Getty Images) Biden Pledges to Invest Aggressively in Semiconductors Amid Global Shortage WASHINGTONPresident Joe Biden called for a significant investment to revitalize U.S. chip manufacturing to counter Chinas threat to dominate the semiconductor supply chain. In an effort to address an ongoing global chip shortage and strengthen the domestic semiconductor industry, the White House hosted a virtual summit with business leaders on April 12. This is an issue that has broad support in the United States Congress, Biden said during the summit. He referred to a letter he received from 23 senators and 42 House members from both sides of the aisle, supporting the Chips for America program that provides federal incentives to domestic chip manufacturers. He said the bipartisan letter warned that the Chinese Communist Party aggressively plans to reorient and dominate the semiconductor supply chain. Ive been saying for some time now: China and the rest of the world is not waiting, and theres no reason why Americans should wait, Biden said. Were investing aggressively in areas like semiconductors and batteries. The summit came amid a significant global shortage of semiconductor chips that has forced automakers around the world to cut or halt production. The event, titled CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience included White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. CEOs of AT&T, Micron, Intel, HP, Medtronic, General Motors, Ford, Cummins, and Google are among the 19 executives who attended the meeting, according to the White House. Biden touted his $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, the American Jobs Plan, which calls for $50 billion investment in critical technologies, including semiconductors. The presidents budget request for fiscal year 2022, released on April 9, also includes $150 million funding for two new manufacturing programs, one of which is aimed at advancing domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Biden defended the price tag of his infrastructure plan by focusing on global competition, in an effort to attract Republican support. For too long as a nation, we havent been making the big bold investments we need to outpace our global competitors. Weve been falling behind on research and development and manufacturing. And put it bluntly, we have to step up our game, Biden said. The administration is seeking ways to reduce the United States deep reliance on China. On Feb. 24, Biden signed an executive order to help create more resilient and secure supply chains for critical and essential goods. The order focuses on choke points in the supply chains of four key products, including semiconductor chips, large-capacity batteries for electric vehicles, rare earth minerals, and pharmaceutical ingredients. It has directed federal agencies to conduct a 100-day comprehensive review to identify supply chain risks and vulnerabilities for these key products. Following the review, the administration officials said the White House could explore various policy options, including boosting domestic production and working with allies to develop a coordinated response to similar supply shocks in the future. The pandemic has exposed the fragility of global supply chains and the vulnerability of the United States to business disruptions. The demand for consumer electronics has surged during the pandemic, leading to the shortage of semiconductor chips. Automakers have been hit especially hard from this supply shock; many brands including General Motors and Ford have temporarily shuttered some of their plants in response. As vehicle demand rebounded more quickly than anticipated, automakers hadnt placed sufficient orders for chips last summer, Stephen Ezell, vice president at the technology think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), told the Epoch Times in an interview in February. The core of the problem, according to Ezell, is that the automotive sector demands chips built from a one-generation older technology as it prefers mature and slightly lower-cost chips. Many semiconductor companies, however, have focused on the production of chips at the more-profitable leading edge during the pandemic, and that has caused a supply shortage for automakers. Its difficult for chipmakers to scale new capacity rapidly as building new factories is a highly complex and expensive process, according to industry experts. The chief executives of big U.S. semiconductor companies on Feb. 11 sent a letter to Biden, urging him to provide substantial incentives for domestic production in the form of grants and/or tax credits, and for basic and applied semiconductor research. We believe bold action is needed to address the challenges we face. The costs of inaction are high, the group stated. The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing has dropped to 12 percent from 37 percent in 1990, mainly because of significant incentives and subsidies provided by other governments that reduced U.S. competitiveness. In May 2020, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) announced that it would build a $12 billion advanced chip fabrication facility in Arizona. Mark Liu, executive chairman of the TSMC, was among the attendees of the virtual summit hosted by the White House. Intel also announced on March 23 that it would spend $20 billion to build two new semiconductor factories in Arizona. TORONTO, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - Scotiabank today announced that it is the first large financial institution in Canada to align with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to transform housing affordability across the country. Scotiabank plans to mobilize $10 billion over the next ten years in support of CMHC's aspiration that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford and that meets their needs. "We are facing a clear shortage of affordable housing in Canada and Scotiabank is proud to work with CMHC to raise that supply," said Jake Lawrence, CEO and Group Head of Global Banking and Markets at Scotiabank. "Scotiabank is committed to developing innovative lending, investing and underwriting solutions for retail, commercial and corporate clients who support the achievement of this important housing objective in Canada." As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC is delivering the National Housing Strategy a $70+ billion, 10-year federal investment in housing with additional funding committed by the provinces and territories. "Governments alone can't solve Canada's housing challenges. The private sector also has a key role to play in supporting shared objectives of building strong, vibrant communities. We're pleased to have Scotiabank join us in our efforts to create a new generation of housing in Canada. Safe and affordable housing is a basic need to creating a more inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to be well and succeed," said Romy Bowers, President and CEO, CMHC. Scotiabank's Sustainable Finance Group - a Global Banking and Markets team that offers sustainable finance solutions to corporate, financial, public sector and institutional clients across our global footprint was formed in 2020 to bolster Scotiabank's leadership in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, offering integrated, superior solutions to our clients' evolving sustainable finance and ESG requirements. Scotiabank's collaboration with CMHC to address housing affordability is aligned to ScotiaRISE, Scotiabank's global community investment initiative to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups. Through ScotiaRISE, Scotiabank will support programs and partner with organizations across its footprint that provide the tools people need to improve their education and employment prospects, adapt to changing circumstances, and increase the likelihood of financial success. "Our commitment in support of CMHC's aspiration is another way that Scotiabank is working to build economic resilience for the future," said Mr. Lawrence. "By removing barriers to advancement and increasing access to opportunities, we are helping to create a more inclusive and resilient world." About Scotiabank Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of approximately 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.2 trillion (as at January 31, 2021), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews. About CMHC 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. To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, please visit www.placetocallhome.ca. SOURCE Scotiabank For further information: For Media Enquiries Only: Jessica Hatheway, Global Communications, Scotiabank, PH: (416) 865-6070, [email protected]; Audrey-Anne Coulombe, Media Relations, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, PH: 613-748-2573, [email protected] Related Links www.scotiabank.ca Dr. Robert Redfield, who ran the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the second half of President Donald Trump's presidency, has found new work in the private sector. Redfield, who left office alongside Trump in January, is now a strategic health and safety adviser for Big Ass Fans, a Lexington, Kentucky-based fan company. Big Ass Fans is pushing a 'Clean Air System' that it says reduces coronavirus infection by 95 per cent - and kills 99.9 per cent of pathogens. Dr. Robert Redfield, who served as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under former President Donald Trump, is now a health and safety adviser for Big Ass Fans Big Ass Fan's industrial 'Clean Air System' uses ion technology that some researchers fear releases ozone and other byproducts In a press release, Redfield touts Big Ass Fans as a 'leader in designing airflow systems and making places where we live, work, and play, safer.' 'Proper ventilation has a major role to play in mitigating transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens,' Redfield also said. He follows Trump's coronavirus taskforce adviser, Dr. Deborah Birx, to the air purifying sector, as she joined the company ActivePure last month. For industrial or commercial spaces, Big Ass Fans says it uses ion disinfection technology, while it sells fan systems that use UV-C light for homes and businesses. Kaiser Health News reported on Redfield's job move Monday, pointing out that academic experts have scrutinized Big Ass Fan's 'virus-killing' ion technology. 'There's no other way to say it- it's completely unproven whether these devices would work in a real-world setting,' University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Timothy Bertram told Kaiser Health News. 'When they give you 99.999 per cent, that's a red flag to any scientist. We don't know anything to that degree,' he continued. 'That's just nuts.' Bertram studies aerosol particles and when he looked at ion and hydroxyl-releasing devices he found that some emitted ozone, which can make asthma worse. The Environmental Protection Agency also warned of bipolar ionization's ability to generate ozone and other byproducts when being used indoors. 'Anything that actually destroys a virus is potentially doing other chemistry as well,' pointed out Delphine Farmer, a Colorado State University associate professor who specializes in atmospheric and indoor chemistry to Kaiser Health News. William Bahnfleth, an architectural engineering professor at Penn State who studies indoor air quality and leads the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Epidemic Task Force, told Kaiser that Big Ass Fans has made more of a good faith effort to study its systems than its rivals, but the studies, so far, have been incomplete. That's because the company hasn't measured potential gaseous byproducts. Brent Stephens, an indoor air quality expert who leads the civil, architectural and environmental engineering department at the Illinois Institute of Technology, echoed that sentiment to Kaiser. 'They still do nothing to address potential adverse impacts of chemical byproduct exposure,' he told the health wire service. He said the testing spaces that have been used - that include no people or furniture - won't produce accurate, real-world results. Bertram also said that no system he studied fared better than a HEPA filter, which is the standard recommendation, alongside a MERV-13 filter in a heating system and increased outside ventilation. A spokesman for Big Ass Fans, Alex Risen, told Kaiser that the ionization technology does not emit ozone or other byproducts and isn't 'putting bad things into your lungs.' Risen said that ions occur naturally. 'We know that we're not producing any negative products,' he said. 'We know that at the concnetrations that you're at, you're not getting negative effects.' Redfield made headlines last month when he sat down with CNN's Sanjay Gupta for the network's documentary on the coronavirus doctors and said he believed COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab. 'I am of the point of view that I still think the most likely etiology of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a laboratory, escaped,' Redfield said. 'The other people dont believe that. Thats fine. Science will eventually figure it out.' Exactly sixty years ago, on April 12, 1961, Vostok 1 took off from Baikonur Cosmodrome taking along cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on the first ever human spaceflight. The flights mission was to reach the upper atmosphere, make one orbit around the earth, then come back to earth for a safe landing. Despite an initial delay due to the hatch not closing properly, the launch countdown proceeded as planned and Gagarin was able to take off on a craft that few trusted. Half of all Soviet launches till date had been failures, but Gagarin was upbeat. He asked to listen to some music while he waited for technicians to repair the faulty hatch. While Gagarins backup Gherman Titov complained of chest pains, Gagarin was relaxed with a pulse of 64 beats per minute. Lets roll!, Gagarin spoke into the microphone as the rocket lifted off the launch pad. The four strap-on boosters peeled off at the precise moment, and a minute later the payload shroud covering the spacecraft was released, revealing a small window near Gagarins foot for him to look out. The visibility is good ... I almost see everything, Gagarin radioed back. I feel fine. I'm in good spirits, he added. The flight continued without any hurdles. As the Vostok passed over Siberia, Gagarin reported: The craft is operating normally. I can see Earth in the view port of the Vzor. Everything is proceeding as planned. Gagarin flew over the North Pacific and crossed into night, northwest of the Hawaiian Islands. Twenty three minutes later, as Gagarin crossed the Strait of Magellan at the tip of South America, the sun was up again. Another twenty five minutes later, just as Gagarin crossed into Africa, the spacecraft's automatic systems brought the vehicle into the required attitude and orientation for the retrorocket firing. It was time to go home. Gagarins flightpath. Photo: BBC The liquid-fueled engine fired for 40 seconds over the west coast of Africa to slow down the craft and prepare it for reentry. That was when the first troubles broke out. A valve within the braking engine failed to shut completely at the beginning of the burn, and leaked some of the fuel out. As a result, the engine ran out of gas and shut down earlier than schedule. The craft was programmed to shut the engine down once it had slowed down by 136 meters per second, but because the engine shut down earlier, the craft had slowed down only by 132 meters per second. While this was enough to push the craft towards re-entry, because it failed to reach the pre-programmed speed, the command to shut down the engine was never issued. As a result, the propellant lines of the engine remained open, after it ran out of fuel and stalled. These pressurized gas and oxidizer continued to escape the main nozzle and steering thrusters, causing the spacecraft to spin wildly. After the flight, Gagarin wrote: One moment I see Africa, another the horizon, another the sky. I had barely enough time to cover myself to protect my eyes from the Sun's rays. I put my legs to the porthole, but didn't close the blinds. While still gyrating uncontrollably, Gagarin was faced with another problem. The reentry module had not yet separated from the service module. The two parts of the rocket was supposed to separate ten seconds after the burn ended. The reentry module carrying the cosmonaut was designed to fall back to earth while the service module would burn up in the atmosphere. But the service module unexpectedly remained attached to the reentry module by a bundle of wires, and both were tumbling towards earth. Finally, at an altitude of about 150 km, the modules did detach and the descent module settled into the proper reentry trajectory. Photo: Dan Beaumont Space Musuem/Flickr As Gagarin continued his descent, extreme g-forces tore through his muscles. Gagarin fought to remain conscious: There was a moment, about 2-3 seconds, when data on the control gauges started looking blurry. It was starting turning gray in my eyes. I braced and composed myself. It helped, everything kind of returned to its place. Gagarin is believed to have experienced about 8g during reentry. At an altitude of 7 km, the hatch of the spacecraft was jettisoned and seconds later, Gagarin was ejected from the spherical module. Gagarin's ejection seat then came loose and moments later his parachute was deployed. The reentry module fell freely until its own parachute was deployed at 2.5 km. Ten minutes after ejecting, Gagarin landed gently in an open field. The freshly plowed soil cushioned his fall. Both he and the spacecraft landed 26 km south west of the town of Engels, in the Ternovsky District near Saratov. He fell more than 300 km away from his designated landing site. Vostok 1's reentry capsule after landing. Photo: ESA A local woman and her five-year-old grand daughter watched in bewilderment as Gagarin walked towards them in his bright orange suit and helmet, dragging the parachute behind. They shrunk back in fear, but Gagarin addressed them: Don't be afraid, I am a Soviet like you, who has descended from space and I must find a telephone to call Moscow! A commander of an anti-aircraft division in the area Major Akhmed Gasiev, who had seen Gagarin descending, arrived at the site minutes later. He drove Gagarin to his unit so that could make the call. All personnel of the unit, as well as their relatives, flocked to the site to see the man who descended from space. Lies and secrets The Vostok mission was undertaken under great secrecy. Officials were forbidden to reveal many details about the mission, including the location of the spaceport from where the spacecraft was launched. Days following the flight, when officials of the Soviet space program filed a report on the mission to the International Astronautical Federation (FAI), they invented a new spaceporta small mining town called Baikonur, located 320 kilometers northeast of Leninsk, near Tyuratam, the real launch site. Suddenly thrown into the limelight, the bemused natives of Baikonur took advantage of their newly found fame by putting in orders for scarce raw materials, such as cement and wood, to officials in Moscow, all of which were delivered in vast quantities. It took sometime for Moscow to realize they were victims of a shrewd scam. Three decades later, the lie became true when in 1995 Leninsk was officially renamed Baikonur. Baikonur Cosmodrome. Photo: Klimov Vladimir/Dreamstime The International Astronautical Federation (FAI) was established in 1905 as a non-governmental and non-profit making organization to further aeronautical and astronautical activities worldwide. Among its duties is the verification of record-breaking flights and arbitration of disputes over records. If nationals from two different countries claim a spaceflight record, it is the FAIs job to examine the submitted documentation and make a ruling as to who has accomplished the feat first. The FAI specifies certain guidelines for spaceflight. It is not necessary that a space agency follow these guidelines, but if that space agency wants to file a claim for a record, or if dispute arises, then the FAI will make sure that the guidelines were followed. One of the stipulations for spaceflight requires that the pilot should land inside their craft in order for the record to be valid. This requirement was created to prevent pilots from flying crafts that could not be safely land. The FAI did not wanted to encourage pilots to risk their lives for an aviation record. This rule became a problem for Gagarin because he did not land inside his spacecraft. Soviet engineers had not yet perfected the braking system that would slow the craft sufficiently for a human to survive the impact. Therefore, the cosmonaut was ejected from the craft. Soviet authorities went to great lengths to conceal this fact, and many times Gagarin had to lie during press conferences. Gherman Titov, Nikita Khrushchev and Yuri Gagarin on the Red Square in Moscow on 20 November 1961. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Four months later, Gherman Titov, Gagarins backup for the Vostok 1 mission, got his own spaceflight, becoming the second human to orbit the Earth and the first person to spend a full day in space. But unlike Gagarin, Titov spoke the truth. He owned up to ejecting himself. Titovs testimony forced the FAI to reconsider their definition of human spaceflight, acknowledging that the launch, orbiting and the safe return of the human in itself is a great technological accomplishment, and the manner in which the pilot lands doesnt matter. The first official admission of the true nature of Yuri Gagarins landing came a full ten years after the event, by which time Gagarin's flight was widely accepted as an international record. Yuri Gagarin died in 1968 in a tragic accident when the MiG-15 training jet he was piloting crashed near the town of Kirzhach. In his memory, the FAI established the Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal, which is the second highest award for spaceflight offered by the FAI. The site where Gagarin landed is now a monument park featuring a 25 meter tall monument that consists of a silver metallic rocketship rising on a curved metallic column of flame, from a wedge shaped, white stone base. In front of this is a 3 meter tall white stone statue of Yuri Gagarin. The monument to Yuri Gagarin at the landing site, near Engels, Photo: Alexander Ivanov/Flickr References: # Vostok lands successfully, Russian Space Web # Cathleen Lewis, Why Yuri Gagarin Remains the First Man in Space, Even Though He Did Not Land Inside His Spacecraft, Smithsonian Institution # Siddiqi, Asif A., Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974. NASA Please note The Sun Chronicle is providing this story and all of our local coronavirus coverage for free so that all readers have access to this important information about the pandemic. Please visit our dedicated coronavirus coverage page for more stories. If you'd like to support our mission, please subscribe. President Donald Trump has spent the last four years trying to slash the budgets of federal departments that deal with climate change and the atmosphere. Former President Barack Obama advocated canceling renewable energy research, reducing government funding for flood prevention, and consolidating key federal agencies. In 2019, he also went so far as to request that Congress cut support for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 31%, bringing it down to lows not seen since 1993. President Joe Biden is now poised to take the exact opposite tack. The White House unveiled its "skinny budget" - a kind of fiscal outline for where the president plans to invest money in the coming year - just two weeks after Biden proposed his climate-friendly infrastructure proposal. (Consider it a budgetary allowance for government agencies.) And the $1.5 trillion plan is a far cry from the previous four years' proposals. Biden's "CLIMATE" Action Though Trump's 2020 budget outline did not use the term "climate" once, Biden's strategy does. It asks Congress for $14 billion from "nearly every agency" to advance renewable energy and achieve zero emissions by 2050 in the United States. The president wants to spend $10 billion on renewable energy engineering and research, $1.7 billion on home and building energy conservation, and $600 million on electrifying government cars, including those used by the US Postal Service. Related Article: Environmental Justice Goes Mainstream with Governmental Support Astounding Budget The budget further seeks to support institutions that were left in shambles under Trump's presidency. During the Trump presidency, the EPA lost almost 1,000 employees; the Biden administration expects to regain those jobs and increase EPA funding by 21%. The EPA would gain $11.2 billion if the budget is passed, which is more discretionary money than it has previously had. In a tweet, Michelle Roos, the executive director of the Environmental Protection Network, a coalition of EPA alumni created in response to the Trump administration's environmental rollbacks, said, "We are really excited by the Biden administration's budget outline." "Because the EPA's spending has been declining or stagnant for decades, the proposed budget for 2022 is an outstanding first step toward restoring funds and improving the agency." The White House is also indicating that Trump's "America First" foreign policy, which described his commitment (or the lack thereof) to climate change, is coming to an end. The Biden campaign urges Congress to support a $1.2 billion donation to the UN-backed Green Environment Fund, which helps developing countries respond to climate change and increase solar and wind power. Even then, it's possible that's not enough: The United States has not made a contribution to the fund since 2017, and it owes $2 billion of its original $3 billion commitment. Experts also warn that the United States' new commitment is much too weak compared to what is needed. Budget Allocation And the budget has a long way to go. On top of President Biden's $2.3 trillion investment package and the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.5 trillion budget for 2022 reflects a 16 percent rise in spending from 2021. And moderate Democrats can experience sticker shock as a result of all those zeroes piling up. The president's budget proposal is never fully adopted by Congress; instead, it serves as a focal point for negotiation and debate. That is why, amid President Trump's best intentions, some support for renewable energy research and the EPA was sustained under his presidency. Greener Future For now, though, President Biden's "whole-of-government" approach to combating climate change continues with the skinny budget. In a letter to Congress announcing the initiative, Shalanda Young, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, said, "Responding to the climate crisis depends on helping cities move to a cleaner future." "This is a time of opportunity as well as a time of crisis." Also Read: To Increase Offshore Wind Energy, White House Prioritizes East Coast Windfarm Approval For more news update about Environmental Action, don't forget to follow Nature World News! A ground-breaking survey into staff and student experiences of sexual violence and sexual harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions is being launched today (April 12) by Simon Harris T.D., Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. The survey, which will begin today and will be conducted by the Higher Education Authority, will be sent to every student and staff member by their Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). There are over 30,000 staff and 235,000 students in higher education. It will ask students and staff to detail any experience of sexual harassment or sexual violence. This includes crimes of sexual violence, sexual cyberbullying of any kind including non-consensual taking and/or sharing of intimate images, creating, accessing, viewing, or distributing child sexual abuse material online or offline, stalking behaviours whether online or offline in a sexual context, and any verbal or physical harassment in a sexual context. It will also ask staff their knowledge of policies, the availability of training and whether they feel safe in reporting allegations. Speaking today, Minister Harris said: This will be the opening of a conversation with students and staff of our higher education institutions. It is a conversation which may trigger difficulties for many people. Sexual harassment or sexual violence can be committed by a person of any gender. We know this can occur between people of the same or different genders, but we know the majority of victims are women. It is often targeted and perpetrated to demean, diminish, and intimidate. Sexual harassment or violence can happen between strangers or acquaintances, including people involved in an intimate or sexual relationship. Our priority here is to have an open and honest conversation about sexual harassment and how our third level sector can become a leader in confronting these challenges. At the request of the Minister, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) was asked to conduct these national surveys with a view to informing future national equality, diversity and inclusion planning. In order to create a robust evidence base for further policy decisions in relation to tackling sexual violence and sexual harassment in higher education, the HEA has been working with stakeholders to develop standardised national surveys of staff and students to monitor their experiences. The surveys have been developed in consultation with an expert advisory group comprising a mix of experts and stakeholders from key groups, including the Irish Universities Association, the Technological Higher Education Association, the Union of Students in Ireland, the National Womens Council of Ireland, Rape Crisis Network Ireland, the Rape Crisis Centre Forum and the national research funding agencies. HEA Chief Executive, Dr Alan Wall said: There is no longer a situation where reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment can be simply regarded as a bureaucratic issue or referred to external agencies. A cognitive shift is needed: one student sexually assaulted on campus or one early career researcher sexually harassed, is one too many. Staff and students need to be supported and the HEA, through this and other work in the area, is committed to ensuring a national higher education culture which is safe, respectful and supportive. Dr Ross Woods, of the HEA Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion stated: These surveys are an important step in quantifying the prevalence of sexual violence and sexual harassment across Irish campuses. However, we already know that a problem exists. Clear and transparent systems to review the effectiveness of institutional policies will be key to ensuring that we tackle this issue and that all staff and students in our campus communities have the confidence that we can do so. The survey will be open for a number of weeks and its findings will be presented to the Minister. In addition, Minister Harris will update Cabinet later this month on Action Plans requested by Higher Education Institutions. Anyone impacted by these issues should contact their Higher Education Institution or text 50808 for help. There is also a list of organisations, listed below, which may be able to help. ENDS Notes to the Editor: BACKGROUND: On April 5, 2019, the then Department of Education and Skills launched the Framework for in Higher Educations Institutions (HEIs); Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions. This Framework aims to ensure the creation of an institutional campus culture which is safe, respectful and supportive. In July 2020, Minister Harris met with the National Advisory Committee (NAC) for the implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs (Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions). Following this meeting, the Minister wrote to all publicly funded HEIs requesting that they develop institutional action plans on tackling sexual violence and harassment, and report to the HEA on their progress on the implementation of the Framework. The remit of the HEA Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality was expanded to cover all areas of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, as well as oversight of implementation of the Framework for Consent. Since then, the HEA Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion has been working with HEIs and the sectoral representative bodies to support implementation of the Framework for Consent. For instance, for academic year 2020/21, the HEA has supported the national, sectoral and local roll out of online consent training and online bystander intervention training, as well as the development of a national Anonymous Reporting Tool for issues of bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment. As part of monitoring requirements, the HEA requires that institutions report progress on implementation of the Framework for Consent. SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE SURVEY: In the survey, sexual misconduct is defined as any form of unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature that may be subject to disciplinary proceedings. This includes crimes of sexual violence, sexual cyberbullying of any kind including non-consensual taking and/or sharing of intimate images, creating, accessing, viewing, or distributing child sexual abuse material online or offline, stalking behaviours whether online or offline in a sexual context, and any verbal or physical harassment in a sexual context. For the purposes of the survey, sexual violence and sexual harassment collectively refer to physical contact or non-physical conduct of a sexual nature in the absence of clear, knowing and voluntary consent, including between people involved in an intimate or sexual relationship. All staff working in HEIs in the Republic of Ireland, regardless of their personal experience of sexual violence and/or harassment are being asked to take part. The aim is to assess awareness among all staff of policies and supports to address sexual violence and harassment in Irish Higher Education and to survey staff for their views on, and/or experiences of these issues sexual violence and harassment in Irish Higher Education. Supports available for anyone affected by the issues raised: Aung San Suu Kyi has been slapped with another criminal charge amid pro-democracy protests against the military coup. As per the recent reports, at least 82 people were killed in one day in a crackdown by Myanmar security forces on protesters, reports Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which is an independent local media and an organization that keeps track of casualties since the February coup. The same reports said that at least 701 protesters and bystanders have been killed by Myanmar security forces since the armys takeover on February 1. The security forces have been accused of using heavy weapons in their attacks, including rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Most protests in the cities and towns in Myanmar are carried out by non-violent demonstrators who consider themselves as a part of a civil disobedience movement. Nearly 82 people were killed in Bago and additional 656 arrest warrants were issued for demonstrators who are against the coup. The attack on Bago was also the third in the past week involving the massive use of force to try to crush the persistent opposition to the ruling junta. Charged with breaking secrets law Earlier, Suu Kyi and her Australian economic adviser were charged with breaking Myanmars colonial-era official secrets law. The leaders lawyer revealed the accusation after the UN security council was warned that Myanmar was at risk of civil war if the military rulers continued to violently repress the protest movement. According to the reports by The Guardian, Suu Kyis chief lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw said that Suu Kyi and three of her deposed cabinet ministers and a detained Australian economist, Sean Turnell, were charged in a Yangon court under the official secrets law. After the February 1 coup, tens of thousands of people have been protesting against the military, demanding the restoration of democracy in Myanmar. Security forces have failed to bring the widespread demonstrations under control and the junta has ordered the use of force against peaceful protesters. The killings of civilians have drawn international condemnation, with multiple diplomatic missions to Myanmar releasing statements and calling out the army in Burma to follow international standards of military professionalism. (Image Credits: AP) A man was socked in the face after he told a fellow straphanger to stop playing with a cigarette lighter on a Brooklyn subway platform, police said Sunday. The attack was one of two separate subway punching incidents in Brooklyn March 28, and cops are asking the publics help finding the culprits in both assaults. The lighter incident happened at about 5:40 p.m. on the southbound R train platform at the Bay Ridge Ave. station, cops said. The 61-year-old victim saw the suspect flicking a lighter on and off, and told the man to cut it out, cops said. Incensed, the man punched the victim in the face and ran off. Medics took the victim to Lutheran Hospital in stable condition for head and neck pain. In the second incident, a random attacker confronted a 22-year-old woman on a No. 4 train about 3:40 p.m. because he thought she was staring at him, cops said. The southbound train was approaching the Utica Ave.Crown Heights station. He punched the woman in the face, got off the train at the station, and ran off, cops said. Police released photos of both suspects, and are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. Swedish Embassy urges to provide OSCE SMM with safe, reliable access to entire territory of Ukraine The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission must have safe and reliable access throughout Ukraine to conduct important monitoring of the security situation, the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine said in a statement. "We remain concerned that the OSCE SMM still faces systematic freedom of movement restrictions and recall that the Mission should have safe and secure access throughout Ukraine to carry out its important monitoring of the security situation," the Embassy said Monday. As reported, Sweden began its annual chairmanship of the OSCE on January 1, 2021. Sanaa, April 12 : Forty-seven people were killed in the past 24 hours as fighting escalated in Yemen's oil-rich province of Marib, a government official said. The government forces engaged in violent armed confrontations with scores of the Houthi militia who were desperately attempting to militarily advance towards the city of Marib, the official told Xinhua news agency on Sunday. He said that "the Houthis simultaneously carried out large military operations and shelling attacks against key government-controlled villages located around the city of Marib". He confirmed that the Houthis' military operations against Marib continued despite the intensified airstrikes launched by the Saudi-led Arab coalition to support Yemen's government forces on-ground. More than 27 Houthi fighters and about 20 soldiers of the government forces were killed during the fighting, he added. Earlier in the day, both warring sides continued exchanging heavy artillery shelling outside Marib, causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries. Another source close to the country's pro-government forces confirmed to Xinhua that a number of military vehicles belonging to the Houthi militia were completely destroyed following the artillery shelling. In cooperation with local tribesmen, the government forces succeeded in aborting more than 15 armed attacks against the densely populated city of Marib. On Saturday, scores of Yemeni people were killed and many others were injured as non-stop fighting struck various areas of the war-torn Arab country. According to local government officials, the most ferocious fighting occurred between the government forces and the Houthi rebels over the control of the oil-rich province. Fighting continues heating up as regional and international powers are still making efforts to end the long-lasting bloody conflict and achieving permanent peace in the impoverished Arab country. 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. KALKASKA, MI A 31-year-old Indiana woman is in custody after leading police on a chase that ended when she drove into a mud pit and then claimed there was a bomb in the stolen vehicle she was driving. The incident began today, April 12, when Kalkaska County Sheriffs deputies responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle, a red Chevy pickup truck, in the Lodi area. The driver fled northbound on M-66 when deputies attempted to make contact. Sheriffs deputies and Kalkaska police officers chased the truck, which turned onto eastbound M-72 before leaving the roadway to travel southbound through an open field. After about a quarter mile, the truck drove over an embankment and into a mud pit. Deputies, officers and a Michigan State Police trooper surrounded the vehicle and made contact with the woman. She said there was a bomb in the truck, which caused law enforcement to back up and create a perimeter behind the embankment. As officers tried to communicate, it appeared that the woman was going in-and-out of consciousness while the vehicle filled with smoke. No one else was in the truck. After being told to do so multiple times, the woman eventually stuck her hands out the window. Deputies then approached the vehicle and took the woman into custody without further incident. Kalkaska EMS administered medical attention before the suspect was transported to Kalkaska County Jail. The MSP Bomb Squad responded to the scene to look for explosives in the vehicle and found none. The truck was then towed out of the mud and secured. It was later discovered that the vehicle was stolen in Wayland. The Kalkaska County Sheriffs Office was assisted by the Kalkaska Department of Public Safety, MSP, Kalkaska EMS and the Kalkaska Township Fire Department. READ MORE: Man accused of sexual assault, torturing teen sisters with a hammer takes plea deal Gunshots strike Michigan fire truck leaving station Earth expects near-miss of an asteroid today, heres why we care Millennials are looking for dream homes, but Michigans competitive housing market keeps them out of reach The family of a 20-year-old Minnesota man told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family of Daunte Wright said he was later pronounced dead. Officials from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the agency was on the scene of a shooting involving a police officer in Brooklyn Center on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Wrights demanded answers from police. The incident happened with Minneapolis already on edge and midway through the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyds death. Brooklyn Center is a city with a population of about 30,000 people located on the northwest border of Minneapolis. According to a statement from Brooklyn Center Police, officers stopped an individual shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday after determining the driver had an outstanding warrant. Police said when they tried to arrest the driver, the driver reentered the vehicle and drove away. An officer fired at the vehicle, striking the driver. Police said the vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle. Police did not identify the driver who was shot but said the Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office will release the persons name following a preliminary autopsy and family notification. A female passenger sustained non-life threatening injuries during the crash. A police officer was also transported to the hospital after sustaining injuries, according to EMS audio, the Star-Tribune reported. By Sunday evening, about 100 people had gathered near the scene, according to the newspaper. The officer shooting in Brooklyn Center today is tragic. We are asking the protesters to continue to be peaceful and that peaceful protesters are not dealt with force, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said on Twitter. Katie Wright, Dauntes mother, tearfully pleaded for more information regarding the incident and for her sons body to be moved from the street. A woman who lives near the crash scene, Carolyn Hanson, said she saw law enforcement officers pull a man out of a vehicle and perform CPR. A passenger who got out of the car was also covered in blood, Hanson said. Police said Brooklyn Center officers wear body-worn cameras and they also believe dash cameras were activated during the incident. The Brooklyn Center Police Department said it has asked the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate. No further information was immediately available. 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). Actor and model Elli AvrRam recently flew to Sweden after staying away from her family for close to two years. The actor was quite delighted about her trip and also shared frequent updates about the visit on her social media platforms. She had been stuck in Mumbai due to the pandemic and the travel restrictions that followed. Elli AvrRam decided to surprise her mother on the occasion of her birthday and her fans have also been quite delighted about the reunion. Elli AvrRam back home after two years Bollywood actor and model Elli AvrRam recently took to social media to announce that she was heading home after a long break. The actor returned to Sweden after around two years as she had been stuck in India amidst the pandemic. She could not visit her family for a whole year due to the travel restrictions that were imposed in various parts of the globe due to the contagious nature of COVID 19. According to the most recent media reports, Elli AvrRam flew down to Sweden to meet her mother on the occasion of her birthday. The actor also uploaded a video on her official Instagram handle, describing her journey while expressing her delight over being back home. In the video shared she can be seen taking a COVID 19 test on her own with the help of an instruction manual. In the video, she has mentioned that in Sweden, people are expected to take the test on their own and the procedure is slightly different. In the video, Elli AvrRam is seen using a cotton swab on herself while wearing a protective face shield. She is also spotted wearing a proper PPE kit as the cases have been on the rise lately with India witnessing the second COVID wave. In the clip, the actor also mentions how it has to be done while running her viewers through the step-by-step guidelines. In the caption for the post, Elli AvrRam has mentioned that she carried out the test at the Stockholm airport and she is heading home to meet her parents and grandmother. Have a look at the video on Elli AvrRams Instagram here. Image Courtesy: Elli AvrRam Instagram Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. Katie Price's mother Amy has revealed she threatened to report the cosmetic surgeons who operated on her daughter. Amy, 69, confessed that she has been against every procedure the former glamour model has ever had - who now no longer tells her when she's going under the knife. In an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, Katie revealed her mother would phone the doctors and try to force them to not to go through with the procedures. Mum knows best: Katie Price's mother Amy has revealed she threatened to report the cosmetic surgeons who operated on her daughter The media personality said: 'The number of times shes said, ''Youre not having another boob job, youre beautiful as you are.'' 'I know shes right but at the time you dont think like that. Now I dont tell her what Ive done until Ive woken up because I know shell call the surgeon. 'In the past, shes gone, ''If you operate on my daughter Im reporting you to the GMC.''' Candid: The former glamour model 42, recently spoke about her mum's concerns and said she is always against her going under the knife so shes learnt not to tell her Amy revealed that even as a teenager Katie was going under the knife. The protective mother said: 'At 17 a photographer told her she needed to be bigger. I was so angry. I phoned the surgeon and said, ''You cant do this, you need my permission.'' 'When she was 18 she phoned on her way down to the operating theatre, so it was too late to stop it. She thought it was the only way shed be successful. 'Ive disagreed with every procedure shes ever had. She doesnt tell me now because she knows Ill go ballistic.' Makeover: Katie recently displayed the results of her 12th breast augmentation after revealing she altered them again at the end of last year The interview comes after Katie recently revealed that she has had a 12th boob job. The star admitted in an Instagram post last month that she arrived to the Be Clinic in Brussels with her head 'low' as she was embarrassed to have her breasts corrected. She explained: 'So loads of people ask me for best place for boobs and surgery and its @beclinic_brussels Dr Frank Plovier. 'I stupidly had them done in Turkey few years ago and they were awful. So I went back to Frank with my head low lol and he corrected them. 'He is the man for surgery and I promise not only is he a lot more cheaper than UK its also a amazing clinic a massive Thankyou to Frank and his team xx.' Natural beauty: The television personality first went under the knife in 1998 (Pictured in 1996) and has had 12 breast augmentations among her long list of procedures The television personality - who first went under the knife in 1998 - revealed that when she visited her favourite surgeon at the end of last year, it was the twelfth time she'd had her breasts altered. Katie first told her fans about the procedure last October, explaining that it was to correct previously 'botched' work done in Turkey. Katie had Dr Frank Plovier - the Brussels surgeon behind much her cosmetic work - leave her with 1,050cc implants. Under the knife: Katie has had numerous cosmetic surgeries over the years (pictured in 2011) Elsewhere during the interview, Katie revealed how her mum Amy vets her boyfriends and quizzes them on if they are after her money. Katie explained: 'My mum has embarrassed me so many times. She'll turn up at my house and say to the latest boyfriend: 'Have you got a job? Or are you just going to ponce off my daughter?' She is ruthless and it turns out she's always right.' The mother of five, who is currently dating ex-Love Islander Carl Woods, said: 'With Carl, mum's already told him not to mess me around and so far he's passed the t***er test. 'He's got his own money, he's not interested in fame and hates anything to do with Jordan [her model alter ego]. Ministry of Civil Aviation on April 12 rolled out fresh guidelines on domestic travel and said that airlines are not allowed to serve meals on flights that have a duration of fewer than two hours amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing an increase in novel coronavirus variants, the Civil Aviation Ministry said that the ban will come into effect from April 15. The official letter also stated that when the scheduled domestic flights were resumed on May 25 after the COVID-19 cases surge in 2020, the ministry had allowed serving in-flight meals under specific conditions. Modifying the previous order, the ministrys fresh directive said: "The airlines, operating flights on domestic sectors, may provide meals services on board, where the in-flight duration is two hours or more." Airlines may serve pre-packed snacks/meals/pre-packed beverages as per the policy of the Airlines, wherein the flight duration is two hours or more, it added before adding the conditions that include the usage of completely disposable tray set-up, plates and cutlery which shall not be reused. The guidelines on Monday came as India on April 12 overtook Brazil as the second-most affected country in the world in terms of a number of COVID-19 cases as it recorded 168,912 new infections. The new coronavirus cases on Monday pushed the nations overall tally to 13.52 million which is more than Brazils 13.48 million cases, as per Johns Hopkins University tally as of April 12. While more infectious variants have budded in several nations, Indias COVID-19 death toll is at 170,179. India Signs Air Bubble Pact With Sri Lanka The Aviation Ministry said in a statement on April 10 that India has finalised a bilateral air bubble agreement with Sri Lanka, allowing the operation of special international passenger flights between the two countries. It said on Twitter, "India has finalized an air bubble agreement with Sri Lanka, making it the 6th such arrangement in SAARC region & the 28th in total. All the eligible passengers will be able to travel between the 2 countries in the near future. Travel safe!" Image credits: PTI/Unsplash Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 14:07:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Chen Yao, Huang Shunda and Wu Hao BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Enveloped in a prehistoric aura, the Mayan civilization and China's Sanxingdui culture, while located in different continents, are as mysterious as they are ancient. Significant discoveries were made regarding the latter, when China announced in March that archaeologists have found six new sacrificial pits and unearthed more than 500 items dating back about 3,000 years at the Sanxingdui Ruins. The ruins, located in the city of Guanghan, about 60 km away from Chengdu, Sichuan, belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4,800 years ago and lasted more than 2,000 years, considerably older than the ancient Maya. In the eyes of archaeologists, however, mystique is not the only characteristic shared by the two primordial civilizations. In a recent interview with Xinhua, researchers revealed more coincidental similarities that transcend time and space. BENEATH THE SAME SKY In the eyes of Marco Antonio Santos, director of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in Mexico and a longtime researcher of Sanxingdui and Mayan cultures, the two civilizations developed in places at similar latitudes and with a similar climate. "Sanxingdui and the Maya looked at the same sky. They had the same stars on the horizon," said Santos. Li Xinwei, a researcher with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that latitude provides a breakthrough idea for studying the similarities between the two cultures, such as planting, cultivating and harvesting according to moon phases and that astrological signs are habitual for agriculture-based civilizations. "They looked up to the same starry sky and lived in similar temperature zones," said the Chinese archaeologist, explaining the affinity of their natural environments. TREE MYTH Among the relics newly unearthed in the Sanxingdui ruins, fragments of bronze trees remind archaeologists of the Mayan equivalent. Santos told Xinhua that Sanxingdui's remnants of bronze-made trees bear a striking resemblance to the sacred ceiba tree in the Mayan civilization, which symbolizes the union of heaven, earth and the underworld in the civilization that flourished in Mesoamerica. "The representations of trees in both cultures with a symbolism that is very similar" denote "very important similarities," said Santos. His view is also shared by Li, who said that many experts have pointed out that Mayan and Chinese civilizations could have inherited a certain shamanic religious belief in the late Paleolithic age. The shamanic concept of axis mundi divides the universe into three levels: the underground, the human and the heavenly world. The sky tree connects the sky and the earth, and makes possible the communication between ruler and gods. In a tomb found in Palenque, an ancient Mayan city-state in Mexico, archaeologists excavated a large sarcophagus with an exquisitely carved cover. It shows that the king of the city-state is reborn from the underground world and ascends to the heavens along the sky tree. TECHNICAL EXCHANGES Santos has long been following with interest the archaeological progress of Sanxingdui, and the recent excavations have made him very excited. To him, the multifunctional operating systems "make the excavation really like a surgical operation." During the last excavation work at Sanxingdui, a number of laboratories were installed. These "excavation chambers" are filled with equipment that could control temperature and humidity, and perform timely three-dimensional scans, recordings, and analyses of the excavation sites. The technology used in the excavation of ivories in Sanxingdui is especially worth mentioning to Li. A new moisturizing material was used on the surface to create the same humidity for the ivories as they had during the thousands of years they spent underneath, he explained. Santos said as the Mayan civilization is located in the wet and rainy Yucatan Peninsula, archaeologists often find it difficult to preserve bones after excavation. "We can learn a lot from the archaeological projects in China," said Santos. SISTER CULTURES Sanxingdui is known as "one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century," while many historians call the Maya "the Greeks of the New World." Having explored the Mayan hinterland many times, Li believes that the Chinese civilization and Mayan civilization have shown "amazing creativity." Li once led a China-Honduras joint archaeological team and used Chinese technologies to help with the excavation of a site in the ancient Mayan city of Copan. However, compared with exporting Chinese archaeological technologies, Li finds the way Mayan civilization helps him better understand the formation and development of Chinese civilization even more exciting. "Human society has different paths of development, so we should respect and maintain this state of development of harmonious coexistence," he said. "Every time our cultural knowledge increases ... we continue to be increasingly fraternal. We continue to be sister cultures," said Santos. Enditem What medical officials worried would be a twindemic at the end of last year the concurrence of influenza and COVID-19 sicknesses overwhelming Houstons hospitals turned out surprisingly well. At Memorial Hermann, just three patients tested positive for influenza during the 2020-2021 flu season, compared to 983 patients during the 2019-2020 flu season. Doctors test for both flu and COVID-19 as a precaution. The same public health measures that prevent SARS-CoV-2 from spreading masks, social distancing and regular hand-washing kept influenza strains from sickening people. When we were looking internally, we just weren't seeing flu, said Dr. James McCarthy, chief executive physician at Memorial Hermann. Flu infections are down nationwide, with a hospitalization rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the last flu season, the rate was nearly 100 times higher 66.1 per 100,000 patients. Pediatric deaths also decreased, from 189 last year to one this year. BY THE NUMBERS: How vaccine skepticism in Texas' Trump country threatens herd immunity It was a historic flu season, the lowest hospitalization rate since the federal agency began tracking flu data in 2005. If people continue practicing those public health measures, experts said, flu rates could be this low every year. Flu vaccination rates and the reduction of holiday gatherings also helped, said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, an infectious disease specialist with UTHealth and Memorial Hermann-TMC. UT also saw a drop: from 2,094 patients treated last flu season to 1,215 this year. Weve had barely any flu cases reported in the Houston area, the 2020 to 2021 line is almost flat compared to the big spikes we usually see in the winter months, Ostrosky said. About 53 percent of adults nationwide had received the flu vaccine as of mid-January, while just 45 percent had received a flu shot by the end of January 2020, according to CDC data. Dr. Jeffeea Gullett, medical director of the UT Physicians Multispecialty - Victory Clinic, estimated about 75 percent of her patients received the flu shot this year, including those who skipped in prior years. Many wanted to minimize their chances of being infected with the flu, especially before the COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for emergency use. We were grateful we didn't have a lot of our vulnerable populations getting the flu, Gullett said. It allowed us to focus on one virus and try to tackle that as opposed to having to deal with both. At the height of Houstons third COVID surge in late December and early January, the weekly average of new COVID-19 patients hovered just below 250 patients in the Texas Medical Center. Texas hit a new hospitalization record during that time, with more than 11,000 COVID-19 patients occupying hospital beds across the state, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data. Pandemic public health measures didnt stop all viral sicknesses from breeding. Adenoviruses and rhinoviruses, which cause the common cold, continued to infect communities to a smaller extent. However, those sicknesses rarely send people to the hospital, Ostrosky said. ONE YEAR: From case No. 1 to case No. 539,861, here's how COVID has changed Houston Researchers wondered whether being infected with the coronavirus would wipe out the chances of getting the flu, and say it may be a factor that contributed equally to declining flu rates. Part of it is because we had a worse virus that was spreading faster, McCarthy said. Knowing to wear masks and get a flu vaccine could be a huge step toward eradicating deadly flu seasons. But will people continue to practice those public health measures? Doctors dont know. Were recognizing that not only can we protect our friends and loved ones from COVID, but we can also do it from influenza with precautions for medically vulnerable folks, McCarthy said. gwendolyn.wu@chron.com twitter.com/gwendolynawu Phnom Penh, April 12 : Cambodians are demanding an apology after an Irish artist altered images of the country's genocide victims, including digitally colouring and adding smiles to prisoners facing execution. As of Monday, a petition calling for the artist, Matt Loughrey to apologise had received almost 1,400 signatures, dpa news agency reported. It also called for an apology from media outlet VICE, which published the photos on April 9. The article has since been removed, with VICE issuing a statement expressing regret and promising an investigation. The photos of prisoners were taken at the notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh run by the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge. In power between 1975 and 1978, the communists oversaw the deaths of more than 1.5 million Cambodians by starvation, disease and execution. The VICE article also included false information about one of the genocide victims, whose relative took to social media to correct the record. In a statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts called the pictures "a violation of the dignity of Cambodian genocide victims". "These photos minimise the harm and violence that these prisoners absorbed," said one of the petitioners, Randy Kim, a board member of the National Cambodian Heritage Museum and the son of a Khmer Rouge survivor. The 1856 painting "Washington at Constitutional Convention of 1787, signing of U.S. Constitution" by Junius Brutus Stearns. (TeachingAmericanHistory.org via Wikimedia Commons) Defending the Constitution: The Framers Did Not Violate Their Trust Commentary This is the fifth in a series of essays defending the U.S. Constitution against common accusations against it. This essay examines the claim that the framersthe Constitutions draftersstaged a coup detat by proposing a new Constitution. As usually stated, the allegation is that: The Confederation Congress adopted a resolution calling a convention limited only to proposing amendments to the Articles of Confederation. But the convention disregarded limits on its authority and instead drafted an entirely new document. Moreover, the Articles could be amended only by approval of Congress and unanimous consent of the states. But the convention unilaterally changed the rule to allow ratification by nine states. This charge is very old: It first arose during the ratification debates of 17871790. Although modern scholars have debunked it (pdf), the Constitutions critics continue to peddle it. In doing so, they overlook critical events leading up to the convention; fail to read Congresss resolution carefully; are unaware of the real source of the framers powers; are unaware that Congress actually approved the conventions product; and overlook important historical sources. Lets review each of these. Events Leading to the Convention In 1787, the states were bound by a loose agreement called the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles, the states delegated to the Confederation narrow responsibilities, mostly over defense and foreign affairs. Although some refer to the Articles as our first constitution, this is a misnomer. During the founding era, a confederation meant a treaty or alliance. The Articles were analogous to NATO and Congress was analogous to NATOs administering body, the North Atlantic Council. Like other treaties, the Articles left individual states free to address most issues themselves. Even when issues were common to several states, the states often didnt present them to Congress. Instead, they entered bilateral negotiations or they negotiated multilaterally through conventions of the states. A convention of states met in Annapolis, Maryland, in September 1786. It recommended to the state legislatures that they send commissioners (delegates) to a new convention in Philadelphia the following May with the power to propose a stronger central authority. The New Jersey Legislature responded in November 1786 by appointing commissioners to the new convention. The Legislature granted its commissioners extensive powers to discuss and propose any change in the political system they deemed appropriate for the benefit of the union. The following month, the Virginia Legislature issued a formal convention call (invitation) to the other states. Virginia appointed commissioners and granted them powers similar to those the New Jersey Legislature granted its commissioners: devising and discussing all such Alterations and farther Provisions as may be necessary to render the Foederal [sic] Constitution adequate to the Exigencies of the Union and in reporting such an Act for that purpose to the United States in Congress as when agreed to by them and duly confirmed by the several States will effectually provide for the same. Note that the phrase Foederal constitution means, in accordance with then-prevailing usage, the entire political system. It doesnt refer solely to the Articles of Confederation, as some critics assume. The powers listed in the Virginia callto propose any Provisions as may be necessary to render the political system adequatebecame the basis on which five additional states agreed to participate in the weeks leading up to Feb. 21, 1787. Congresss Resolution Wasnt the Convention Call In February, a committee headed by John Dickinson of Delaware (who had chaired the Annapolis Convention) moved that Congress endorse the pending Philadelphia conclave. Dickinson believed a recommendation, although nonbinding, would build public support. The congressional proceedings make it clear everyone understood that unless something changed, the convention would be able to propose reform of the entire political system. But New York didnt want that. New York congressional delegates moved that Congress recommend that the convention reduce its scope to proposing amendments to the Articles. New Yorks motion failed. But on Feb. 21, 1787, the Massachusetts congressional delegation obtained a compromise resolution. This resolution merely expressed Congresss opinion that the convention focus on amendments to the Articles. As I wrote in a 2013 research study (pdf): The successful resolution neither called a convention nor made a recommendation. In fact, it omitted the language of recommendation in the committee proposal and in the New York motion. The adopted resolution merely asserted that in the opinion of Congress it is expedient that a convention be held at Philadelphia for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation It is, perhaps, truly extraordinary that so many writers have repeated the claim that Congress called the Constitutional Convention and legally limited its scope. First, the Confederation Congress had no power to issue a legally-binding call. If the states decided to convene, as a matter of law theynot Congressfixed the scope of their delegates authority. Second, the Articles gave Congress no power to limit that scope. To be sure, Congress, like any agent, could recommend to its principals a course of action outside congressional authority. But this is not the same as legally restricting the scope of a convention. Third, by its specific wording the congressional resolution was not even a recommendatory call or restriction. As shown above, Congress dropped the formal term recommend in favor of expressing the opinion of Congress. Congress could express its opinion, but within their own sphere, the states could do what they deemed best. After Feb. 21, five additional states voted to send commissioners to Philadelphiabut only Massachusetts and New York limited them to amending the Articles. And none of the first seven states to commit narrowed the scope of their commissioners powers. It was only later that critics re-fabricated Congresss opinion into a claim that Congress had called the convention and limited its scope. The Framers Real Source of Authority Eighteenth-century law and convention practice tell us that the conventions authority was defined by the broad commissions or credentials issued by a majority of states. Other documents, including a letter written in early 1787 by John Jay to George Washington, confirm this. Critics point out that some commissioners, particularly those from Massachusetts and New York, questioned the source and extent of their authority. But the majoritys credentials were clear. They even adopted a resolution that, as South Carolinas Charles C. Pinckney noted, effectively declar[ed] that the convention does not act under the authority of the recommendation of Congress. Hugh H. Brackenridge, a distinguished Pennsylvania lawyer (and later a justice of the state Supreme Court), summarized the legal situation shortly after the Convention adjourned: The calling the late convention did not originate with Congress; it began with the state of Virginia which was followed by this state, without any hint of the necessity of this measure from Congress whatever; it was a proceeding altogether out of the confederation, and with which Congress had nothing to do. Approval by Congress and Ratification by All States Critics complain that Congress didnt pass a formal resolution of approval. But that wasnt the framers fault: They sent the Constitution to Congress for approval, but Congress doubted its power to formally endorse it. Congress did vote unanimously to send the document to the states for ratification, and this action was understood to constitute informal approval. What of the claim that the Articles of Confederation required all 13 states to approve any amendment? One response is that all 13 states did, in fact, eventually ratify the Constitution. But a more fundamental response is that the Constitution wasnt an amendment to the Articles. It was a decision by signatories to a treaty to replace that treaty with a new arrangement. Treaty signatories always have this power. That was doubly so in this instance, because several states had breached the terms of the Articles by, for example, failing to pay required financial assessments. Breach of a treaty by one party releases other parties from their obligations. Relying on Too Few Sources The charge that the framers staged a coup is, like many other slanders against the Constitution, based on misreading a small handful of sources. Some people seem to think they are constitutional experts because they have scanned James Madisons convention notes and the Federalist Papers. But those sources comprise only a tiny fraction of the historical record. For example, some of the Constitutions enemies seem to think Madisons tepid defense of convention authority in Federalist No. 40 was all that was said on the subject. But the delegates commissions show that Madison understated his case, probably because he didnt have copies of the commissions when he wrote No. 40. (He, after all, was far from home at the time.) In my experience, most of the Constitutions enemies would rather attack than seek the truth. In sum: The claim that the Constitution was a coup is a slander against the framers. The vast majority of convention delegates had full authority to act as they did. And of the small minority who didnt, most didnt sign the Constitution. Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor, is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver and author of The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant (3rd ed., 2014). Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. 12/04/2021 - Online presentation and Q+A Thursday 15 April 2021 at 1:30 pm CET The Dutch government has introduced ambitious measures to reduce CO 2 emissions from industry in line with its National Climate Agreement, which calls for a 95% cut in the countrys greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and a 49% cut by 2030, from 1990 levels. The Dutch approach combines a commitment to gradually raising carbon prices over time with ambitious government support for developing and deploying green technologies. A new OECD report examines the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of the policy package, asks whether it will be sufficient to reach carbon neutrality in the manufacturing sector by 2050 and provide actionable recommendations. The report examines how the mix of carbon pricing signals (from the new carbon levy, energy taxes, and the EU ETS) is differently affecting firms and sectors, and analyses innovation support instruments for low-carbon technologies, such as green hydrogen. It looks in particular at the four largest emitting sectors in Dutch manufacturing industry (chemicals, metals, refineries and the food industry) and draws lessons for other countries seeking to speed up the low-carbon transition. Journalists are invited to join a virtual presentation of the reports findings by its authors OECD Senior Economist Antoine Dechezlepretre and Senior Policy Analyst Guy Lalanne starting at 1:30 pm CET on Thursday 15 April. This will be followed by a discussion with academics and Dutch officials and a question and answer session with the audience. Browse the full agenda. For further information, to request an advance copy of the report under embargo, or to request an interview with the authors, journalists are invited to contact Catherine Bremer in the OECD Media Office (+33 1 45 24 80 97). Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. If you order a pizza from Dominos in Houston, a robot might drop off your dinner. The company will this week start making autonomous deliveries with the help of Nuros R2 robot, almost two years after it announced the project. Dominos says R2 is the first fully self-driving, on-road delivery vehicle to receive regulatory approval from the Department of Transportation. On certain days and times, folks who order from a Domino's location in Woodland Heights can choose to have R2 deliver their food. They can track R2s location via text alerts or on the order confirmation page. Dominos will provide customers with a PIN, which they can punch in on R2s touchscreen to retrieve their order. Dennis Maloney, Domino's senior vice president and chief innovation officer, said in a statement the company still had much to learn about the autonomous delivery space. This program will allow us to better understand how customers respond to the deliveries, how they interact with the robot and how it affects store operations, Maloney said. ADVERTISEMENT The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, has written to the publishers of Daily Independent newspapers demanding public apology and retraction of a story alleging that he is on a United States watch list over alleged link to Boko Haram. The minister, through the legal firm of Karina Tunyan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, demanded that the newspaper recant the story it published in its Sunday edition within 24 hours or face legal consequences. In the story, which has since gone viral, the newspaper quoted an unnamed US government report which allegedly speak to the ministers sympathy to Boko Haram and preaching of the sects doctrines. In the letter signed by Michael Jonathan Numa, and addressed to the managing director/editor-in-chief of the newspaper, the lawyers said Mr Pantamis reputation as a scholar and notable public figure was badly damaged by the publication. The minister is requesting that the media organisation write a letter of apology to him and publish it in five newspapers. That you convene a press conference to publicly announce your retraction while dissociating our client from the false claims you made which are seriously injurious to our clients personality, the lawyers said. They said failure to comply with the demand within the stipulated time would make them to commence a process of instituting defamation suit against the paper and all persons involved. The demand letter was copied to the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS) and that of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Contributed Photo / Stamford Police Department STAMFORD Police arrested a Stamford man who they said is suspected of distributing methamphetamine throughout the region. Ronald Buquet, 42, was charged with operating a drug factory, possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to sell following a weeks-long investigation by Stamfords Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit. Four satellites planned to start space-based network China Daily) 10:53, April 12, 2021 Left: A Long March 7A carrier rocket is ignited before blasting off its launchpad at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on March 12. LIU JUN/FOR CHINA DAILY Right: The trajectory of the rocket lights up the sky over Hainan island early on the morning of March 12. The rocket is tasked with sending satellites into high-altitude orbits. LIU YANG/FOR CHINA DAILY The southernmost province of Hainan plans to launch four satellites around the end of this year, thus beginning construction of the island's first space-based network, according to a project official. Yang Tianliang, chief designer of the Hainan Earth-Observation Satellite Constellation System, said recently that four Hainan 1-series optical Earth-observation satellites have been assembled and are scheduled to be put into orbit by the second flight of the Long March 8 medium-lift carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in northeastern Hainan. The Hainan 1-01 carries a wide-angle camera and will be responsible for identifying and monitoring mobile objects on the sea, especially ships. The Hainan 1-02 is equipped with a high-definition camera and will be tasked with observing ports, islands and ships. The Hainan 1-03 and Hainan 1-04 both use wide-angle cameras to map designated areas. The Long March 8 is the newest model in China's launch vehicle fleet. It made a successful debut flight in late December from Wenchang. Each Hainan 1 spacecraft weighs 50 kilograms and will operate in a low-Earth orbit 500 kilometers above the ground with an orbiting speed of 28,440 km per hour, Yang said. Each carries an automatic identification system that can receive identification signalsincluding position, course and speed datasent by a moving ship. The device is usually mounted on ships and satellites, informing vessel operators of maritime conditions and enabling authorities to track and monitor vessel movements. Yang said that in the coming two to three years, two more Hainan 1-series satellites, two Sanya 1 multispectral remote-sensing satellites and two Sansha 1 synthetic aperture radar satellites are expected to be sent into space to complete the Hainan Earth-Observation Satellite Constellation System. "In addition to these spacecraft already included in our plan, we may also build and launch more satellites, especially those carrying synthetic aperture radar, in accordance with market demand," he said. Yang is leading a group of designers and engineers in developing and producing these satellites, which are funded by the Hainan provincial government. He said Hainan administers hundreds of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, so the province urgently needs the assistance of space-based assets to monitor these territories and surrounding waters. A constellation of 10 satellites will be capable of monitoring all of the South China Sea in real time, thus helping China better safeguard its sovereignty, develop the region and deal with contingencies, he said. Once the satellite network becomes fully operational, in the near future, Yang said, it will be helpful in a wide range of sectors such as marine transportation, fisheries, island management and maritime search and rescue. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) New rumors about the expected Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 tablet have clashed in regard to the processor choices. Various models are likely to be released, with a potential Mi Pad 5 Lite, Mi Pad 5 Plus, and Mi Pad 5 Pro being part of the lineup. The likely Snapdragon-based tablet series from Xiaomi could be launched in mid-May. 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 Anticipation has been growing recently for the latest tablet series from Xiaomi, which has not updated its slate offerings since 2018s Mi Pad 4 Plus. It appears the Chinese OEM will soon rectify that situation by releasing at least three new tablets, which have been widely called Mi Pad 5 by leakers and tipsters for the time being. Many alleged specs and details have already been leaked, and while there seems to be some consensus about the display, two new leaks have produced conflicting information in regard to processor choice. According to a Chinese leaker whose Weibo handle can be machine translated as Stone machine, there will be three tablets each sporting a different chip. The premium choice Snapdragon 888 would be reserved for a Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 Pro, then there would be a powerful Snapdragon 870 for a Mi Pad 5 Plus device, and the regular Mi Pad 5 tablet would end up sporting a Snapdragon 768G. The tipster admits they dont know if the information is genuine or not, and admittedly the accompanying poster of an alleged Mi Pad 5 slate looks very suspicious. The unofficial tablet render in the leaked image (see below) seems unimpressive by Xiaomis standards, with the company generally enjoying teasing a product with a corner here and edge there before revealing a device in all of its glory. Pinches of salt are definitely required, especially as the screen looks like it could have simply been copied from images of the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold. A potential Mi Pad 5 release date of May 15 is also printed on this particular picture, which seems like a reasonable prediction as leaks and rumors usually start increasing in volume as a product inches closer to being launched. A more reliable leaker, Xiaomiui, has been digging through code to offer up some differing details. Now we have mention of an Enuma K81 model (Mi Pad 5 Pro?) with a 48 MP main camera and Snapdragon 870, Elish K81 (Mi Pad 5/Mi Pad 5 Plus?) with a 12 MP main camera and Snapdragon 870, and Nabu K82 with 12 MP main camera and Snapdragon 860 (Mi Pad 5/Mi Pad 5 Lite?). Display specs are listed as: IPS, 120 Hz, 2560x800, 410 nits. Apparently, all three Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 tablets get quad-cam setups, NFC support (presumably Chinese market only), four speakers, wireless charging, and dual-cell batteries. Buy the Xiaomi Mi 10T smartphone on Amazon New Delhi: In a move to check the spread of COVID-19, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on Sunday (April 11, 2021) announced to suspend all international passengers flights. The official circular read that the Medevac, Humanitarian/Relief, Cargo, Technical Landing (for refuelling only) and the flights cleared under special consideration will remain out of the purview of this suspension. The circular further said that the passengers coming by the flights cleared under the special consideration will have to complete a 14 days institutional quarantine at the government nominated facilities or at hotels at the passenger's own expenses. The CAAB also informed that following the government guidance and instruction, with effect from April 12, all scheduled domestic passenger flights and charter flights of Helicopter/General Aviation will remain suspended until April 13. It stated that from April 14 until April 20, all sorts of domestic, local and training flights will remain suspended. "Standard disinfection, sanitization and social distancing procedure for passenger, crew, equipment and aircraft (inflight or on ground) shall strictly to be maintained/ followed for the flights permitted for the operation," the CAAB said. Bangladesh reported 5,819 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours that also included a positive result of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The country also witnessed 78 coronavirus deaths in the same time period. Bangladesh has so far registered 6,84,756 coronavirus infections. Earlier on April 1, the CAAB issued an office order which said 4 days hotel quarantine is mandatory for all passengers from India, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Oman, UAE upon arrival in Bangladesh at their own expenses. Besides, passengers from Doha shall not be allowed to enter Bangladesh till 18 April during the embargo period. The acquisition of Crusader underpins Turopiums year one success, and this US expansion will enable Turopiums creators to continue creating world-class content. Turopium, the talent management agency working with brands such as TheHutGroup - MyProtein and Zavvi, Twitch, Epic Games, The Champions League, Logitech, PizzaHut, Gymshark and PokerStars has further strengthened its position with the acquisition of North Carolina based business, Crusader Talent. As a business born during the Coronavirus pandemic, the acquisition signifies Turopiums phenomenal success from the foundations laid in 2020. Turopiums approach of revolutionizing the level of services that agents have previously offered has led to the business generating 7-figure revenue within the first 12 months. Turopium will be working towards 100% YoY growth for the next 3 years with a revenue target of 20,000,000 for 2024. Across 2020, it has continued to expand the team, alongside its core offering to both creators and clients. Cementing themselves as the number one, full-service influencer agency in the UK. Turopiums quarter by quarter comparison further emphasizes their surge in growth, 361% Q2 - Q3, 105% Q3 to Q4 and Q4 to Q1 boasted over 245% growth. Elaborating further on revenues for 2020, Turopium has surpassed Y1 revenue signed in Q1 2021 alone. The agencys unique approach has attracted world class talent such as Inbetweeners and White Gold star James Buckley and The Vamps bassist Connor Ball, along with gaming royalty. Crusader was founded by Brooke Jordan and Mason Breeding in November 2019. Being the RuneScape fanatic he is, Breeding saw a rise in the number of sponsorship opportunities appearing in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) content. Learning from YouTube and Twitch, Breeding and Elverston Jordan knew that there were several successful case studies for niche titles and thought this could be replicated for the OSRS community if they collaborated with the right content creators. Crusaders hands-on approach to talent management and their putting the creators at the heart of every decision mentality, led to the business signing OSRS legend, EvScape, as their first talent. The business went on to sign a further 20 creators across seven different countries within six months. Jordan will be joining Turopium as Business Development Director (US) whilst Breeding will be Talent Director (US). Liam Parkinson, co-founder and MD of Turopium said Ultimately, to be at the forefront of the best brand collaborations in the industry, a US expansion is pivotal and is a first for the agency. The acquisition of Crusader underpins Turopiums year one success, and this US expansion will enable Turopiums creators to continue creating world-class content supported by experts in local markets, whilst bolstering our talent roster offering to brands. We are also excited to welcome Brooke and Mason to help drive our US effort. Theyre both pioneers within this industry and were thrilled to have them onboard. Breeding and Jordan commented We are thrilled to join one of the most accomplished and well-respected organizations in the industry. Together, we will maximize the value of partnerships between our influencers and brands, deliver mutually advantageous campaigns, and foster long-lasting success in the US market. We couldnt be more excited for this opportunity to work alongside Turopium in this new venture. Parkinson went on to make further comment with This is just the beginning of our international plans, so well see you soon, Europe. http://www.turopium.com In continuity, we will demonstrate the unique strengths and the added advantage of the candidature of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to the NPPs electoral fortunes as far as the 2024 general election is concerned. The Samira Bawumia Effect One of the greatest assets and strength to the candidature of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is his beloved and awe-inspiring spouse, Alhajia Samira Bawumia, who has over the years proven to be a rock around not just his success but also to the NPP and its electoral fortunes. Again, rarely do we see wives of Presidential candidates or their running-mates engage in the rigorous grassroot politicking as being done by Alhajia Samira Bawumia. Her strong appetite for grassroots politics has seen her traverse every part of our country and engage with rural and urban dwellers especially amongst the minority settlers canvassing for votes for our party Parliamentary and Presidential candidates. She is eloquent and has mastery of political communication which she has consistently deployed to move crowds on bigger campaign platforms an example of such a trait is her we see you speech at our last rally at the Trade fair Centre in the crucial 2016 elections which shook the foundations of the NDC and electrified the political atmosphere at the time. She will offer impetus to a Bawumia ticket which will be useful to the party going forward as it has been the case with past elections. The Bawumia Effect - Competence With respect, never has our nation witnessed the kind of vibrancy, teamwork and activeness of any Vice President at least in the 4th republic as we have seen with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. His creative thinking and innovation in driving policies that seeks to place Ghana at a competitive edge among her peers is admirable. It will amount to incompetence to latch him with failure as far as the delivery of our economy and other social policies are concerned. He is largely credited with leading the governments efforts in formalising our economy through digitalization. Though Ghana is not yet there, however, we are certainly better-off than we were yesterday due to some of the strategic inputs of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. It is not surprising that notable leaders in every sphere of our national life including President Nana Akufo Addo and former President John Agyekum Kufuor continually extol his credentials and the meaningful impacts that he continues to exude for the benefit of our country men and women. Indeed, the living colossus and eminent statesman, President John Agyekum Kufuor is quoted to have said in one of his many speeches reposing his confidence in the Veep that ...the nation must count itself fortunate to have such a son as Alhaji. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who rightly fits the role of the needed analyst. He is an Economist, Banker and also a Responsible Politician who has a lot of experience. The historical provenance of the Ghanaian politics has always been characterised by what we describe as an issue-based politics which has always been about the progress of Ghana and the welfare of its people. On the same stretch, our politics was not spared by our political opponents, who in expressing their sheer discomfort against issues-based politics, were so convinced about providing in their party constitution the election of a propaganda Secretary, a position which they struggled to abandon, but eventually did so reluctantly. Dr. Bawumia arguably succeeded in reshaping and reintroducing into the discourse of our body-politics once again an issue based and intellectually stimulating politicking. He has consistently boxed our main opponents, the NDC, into the intellectual corner much to their discomfort by getting them to stick to relevant issues that affect our economy. Till date, the NDC is still struggling to mount a purposeful challenge against Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia with respect to most of his remarks indeed, facts and data which are his greatest weapons has generated him into becoming their tormentor-in-chief. Hate or loathe him, Ghanaians have come to appreciate his brilliance through his series of lectures dubbed by many as Economics 101, and more importantly, the dexterity with which he is able to demystify certain economic jargons to the understanding of the least educated in society. Aside Dr. Bawumia having the competence to continue on the transformational path and legacy of President Akufo-Addo, he has proven to be a thorn in the flesh of the NDC with his intellectual approach to our national discourse and taking the fight to their doorstep. Most Marketable with a National Appeal The weakest amongst the arguments being canvassed by critics of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is to tout him as politically inexperienced. If having been a running-mate for a major political party like ours on 4 different elections and having helped immensely to win 2 of those general elections to become a Vice President serving in a 2nd term is not a political experience enough to become a President, then it begs the question, what is political experience? It only takes a political novice to advance or agree to such a fallacious commentary. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has a mountainous and unmatched pedigree in terms of marketability and national appeal. Indeed, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has become a household name in Ghana having traversed the length and breadth of our country canvassing for votes for the past 11years. Averagely, he has crisscrossed the country not less than twice prior to both internal Presidential primaries and the general elections. It is important to emphasise that he has appeared on campaign posters, commercials, billboards etc alongside with President Nana Akufo Addo since 2008 not to talk of his widespread media coverage and appearances. Such is an enviable and unbeatable credentials that cant be downplayed. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia with his national appeal and charisma will make the job of beating any NDC contender in 2024 much easier than presenting a totally new candidate who does not come with all these many added advantages. He has a national appeal which cuts across ethnicity, religion and persons of all ages and gender. Though a Muslim, he has continually promoted and become a symbol of religious tolerance in our nation He offers persons of the Christian faith and their clergy due recognition as he is often seen attending their programs in the same manner, he carries on with people of his Islamic faith. This has endeared him to a tremendous support from people of all religious faith. Loyalty and Dedication Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has since his emergence onto the national political space remained a true blue through thick and thin, he has shown fidelity to the course by being there for the party and its flagbearer at every material time. It is by no means a coincidence that he has always enjoyed the support of the party and the President especially for choosing him in 4 consecutive elections to be their running mate that is a testament of the confidence they repose in him for his dedication, loyalty and value addition to the course. As a technocrat of international repute, he did not abandon the party to seek his personal interest when it mattered most - we saw how he worked tirelessly during the 2012 election petition and by so doing becoming its star witness during those difficult moments which redefined the elections of our country it was through some of his efforts and sacrifice that our country was able to undertake some major electoral reforms which has bear fruit for us all as citizens today. Our party is one that rewards hard work and sacrifice, and we wont be forgetting too soon its dedicated servants. Conclusion There is certainly a lot to say on the attributes of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in regard to our electoral advantage. However, with this little background, one cannot be oblivious of the fact that he represents our best choice as the next lead-servant of our party as we prepare for the elections of 2024. He has what it takes to win a general election and to govern a nation. For some of us, leadership such as ours is not borne-out of a supposed queuing proposition or an entitlement theory but must be anchored on who has a competitive edge to harness political power for us at a given time a leader who is compassionate, magnanimous, appealing to all, has great humility, selfless with the sense of service, able to unite the party, has tremendous love for the party and country, people-centred with an exceptional human relation, an enviable electoral track record and most importantly, a visionary to help transform and engineer prosperity to all. We must endeavour to send a positive signal to the generality of Ghanaians that ours is a party that embraces and offers opportunities to all a party that guarantees that irrespective of ones creed, ethnicity, gender and faith, they can still rise to the number one spot of the party a party that the daughter or son of a farmer from Fumbisi in the Upper East region can have the hope that they too with a dint of hard work can someday rise to the apex of its leadership. May we be guided by the eternal spirit of S.D Dombo of blessed memory to know when to deny our own personal interest and sacrifice for the collective good of all. Source: Chief Obosu Mohammed 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 Ukraine and Malaysia have signed an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons, which provides for the establishment of a legal mechanism for the possibility of returning them to their country of nationality for further imprisonment, the Ukrainian Embassy in Malaysia has told Ukrinform. The signing ceremony took place in the administrative capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya. On behalf of Ukraine, the agreement was signed by Ambassador of Ukraine to Malaysia Olexander Nechytaylo. "Ukraine has become the first country with which Malaysia signed such a document. According to our Malaysian colleagues, in the future the text of the agreement signed today will be a kind of model that Malaysia will follow during negotiations with other states," Nechytaylo said after the signing ceremony. He added that today's event was the result of persistent and effective work of the negotiating team, the Ukrainian part of which was headed by Deputy Minister of Justice Valeria Kolomiets. The delegation also included representatives of the Ukrainian President's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ukrainian Embassy in Malaysia. The diplomat thanked the Malaysian side for the constructive approach, which helped quickly complete the negotiation process. The embassy said that after the return to Ukraine in May 2020 of Klavdiia Lopatkina, convicted by a Malaysian court for illegal transportation of drugs, there were no Ukrainian citizens left in the Malaysian penitentiary system. Ukraine is a party to the 1983 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, to which 66 countries are parties. In addition, Ukraine has 13 existing bilateral international agreements on the transfer of persons sentenced to imprisonment for them further serving their sentences. op Its the end of an era for the British royal family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, 2021. He was 99. Queen Elizabeth IIs husband since 1947, Philip spent decades carrying out royal duties before retiring from public life in 2017. But what about his family? Philips parents met in an unlikely place, a royals funeral. Prince Philips parents met at Queen Victorias funeral in 1901 Prince Philips parents, Princess Alice and Prince Andrew | Hulton Archive/Getty Images RELATED: Queen Elizabeth IIs Dresser and Prince Philip Convinced Her to Wear a Hat Backward According to BBC News, Philips parents, Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, first met at Queen Victorias funeral. It was February 1901 and Victoria had led the royal family for 64 years. Naturally, her death meant many royals and notable figures attended her funeral at Windsor Castle. The Duke of Edinburgh had another connection to Victoria other than her funeral being the meeting place of his parents. Victoria was great-great-grandmother to him and the queen. According to the royal familys website, Philip was a direct descendant of Victorias third child, Princess Alice. Meanwhile, the queens a direct descendant of Victorias oldest son, who went on to become King Edward VII. Other reports say Princess Alice and Prince Andrew met at Edward VIIs coronation Although BBC News says Philips parents met at a funeral, some reports say otherwise. Some say Alice and Andrew met on another, much more celebratory, royal occasion. According to The Washington Post, the two met at Edward VIIs coronation in London, England. At the time, Alice was just 17-years-old. No matter where they met, one thing is for sure. The Duke of Edinburghs parents were married in 1903. The couple went on to become parents of five, four daughters and one son. Philip was their youngest child, born on June 10, 1921. Andrew died in 1944 at the age of 62 and Alice died at Buckingham Palace when she was 84 years old. The Duke of Edinburgh met Queen Elizabeth II at a wedding Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II | Fiona Hanson / Pool / AFP via Getty Images RELATED: Theres Almost No Chance Meghan Markle Will Attend Prince Philips Funeral, But Prince Harry Likely Will Philip and the queen met as kids. Both attended the wedding of Philips cousin, Princess Marina, and Elizabeths uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent in 1934. The future queen, who then went by Princess Elizabeth, was just 8 years old. As for Philip, hed been 13 at the time. They didnt meet again until 1939 when then-Princess Elizabeth visited the Naval War College with her family. Philip was there training as a cadet. It was then their romance began to blossom. The two kept in contact for years until they became engaged in 1946. However, they didnt make an official announcement for another year. Elizabeths parents wanted to wait until after she turned 21 to go public with the news. The couple had their royal wedding on Nov. 20, 1947. Philip wont have a state funeral at his request. He preferred to keep it a small, intimate event. Even though it will likely be family, friends, and heads of state from Commonwealth countries, theres still a chance Philips funeral could be the meeting place for another couple like it was for his parents all those years ago. Florida Reports Single-Digit CCP Virus Deaths for First Time Since September Newly reported deaths related to COVID-19 dropped to the single digits in the state of Florida for the first time in months, health officials confirmed on April 11. The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) said seven Floridians, as well as two nonresidential citizens, died as a result of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, the Palm Beach Post reported. COVID-19 is caused by the CCP virus, commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus, which originated in China in late 2019. The last time the Sunshine State saw COVID-19 deaths drop to the single digits was on Sept. 28, 2020, when just five people died after contracting the virus. Though deaths from the virus remain low, positive cases in the state increased by 5,520at a positivity rate of 7.65 percent, according to data by the FDOH. Florida has now gone more than two weeks with fewer than 100 daily deaths from the CCP virus, with numbers ranging between 22 and 98, the Post reported. According to the latest data provided by the FDOH, the state has verified more than 2.1 million positive COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, and 34,021 deaths. Another 664 nonresidents have died in the state as a result of the CCP virus. Californiathe most populous state in the United Stateswas the only state nationwide reporting a triple-digit increase in COVID-19 deaths on April 11. The state reported an increase of 105 deaths and 4,954 people who tested positive for the virus, according to the California Department of Public Health. California COVID-19, By The Numbers: ???? Confirmed cases to date: 3,600,178 ???? Note: Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed More information at https://t.co/TLLUGwPGY7 pic.twitter.com/zuGGkrupKr CA Public Health (@CAPublicHealth) April 11, 2021 Florida has no statewide restrictions and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has prohibited municipalities from fining people who refuse to wear masks. By contrast, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the nations first statewide shutdown because of the CCP virus; implementing masks mandates, banning indoor dining, and significantly limiting many other activities. Despite their differing approaches, the two states have experienced almost identical outcomes in CCP virus case rates. According to a March report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), California and Florida both have a COVID-19 case rate of around 8,900 per 100,000 residents since the start of the pandemic. Though research has suggested that mask mandates and limits on group activities such as indoor dining can help slow the spread of the CCP virus, states with greater government-imposed restrictions havent always fared better than those without them. Although Florida has apparently made headway in combating the pandemic, the state is reportedly leading nationwide in cases of a variant of the CCP virus first found in the United Kingdom, with more than 3,500 cases identified so far. The CDC said in an updated report on April 9 that B.1.1.7, also known as the UK variant, is now the most common in the United States, with a total of 20,915 cases. The Associated Press contributed to this report. From NTD News OMER, Israel, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ScoutCam (OTCQB:SCTC), a leading developer and manufacturer of customized micro visual solutions and supplementary technologies, today announced that Ms. Inbal Kreiss has been appointed to its board of directors. The appointment of Ms. Kreiss as a director, which adds another independent director to the ScoutCam board, results from a rigorous process to identify prospective directors that will add valuable experience and insight to the board. Ms. Kreiss brings to ScoutCam an accomplished Aerospace and Defense background. Ms. Kreiss is currently Head of Innovation at the Systems, Missiles and Space Division of the Israeli Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) and Chairwoman of RAKIA, Israel's 2nd Scientific and Technological Mission to the International Space Station. Ms. Kreiss will use her business and engineering experience to help steer ScoutCam into the areas of maintenance and predictive maintenance, a critical pillar of Industry 4.0, which are areas that the Company has already identified outstanding opportunities for its technologies. Ms. Kreisss specific background will help ScoutCam identify business opportunities in the fields of Aerospace and Defense in order to help maximize the business and market value of some of the Companys most lucrative proprietary technologies, including its highly resilient micro-video cameras, wired and wireless transmission technologies and more. We are pleased to welcome Ms. Kreiss and know she will be a valuable addition to our Board of Directors. Ms. Kreiss is viewed as a highly respected and well-known industry executive said Prof. Benad Goldwasser, the Executive Chairman of the Board. This appointment will enable the board of directors to better guide and counsel the Company as it seeks to further penetrate the fore-mentioned areas. About ScoutCam ScoutCam is a leading provider of customized visual solutions for organizations across a variety of industries in the form of highly resistant micro cameras and supplementary technologies. ScoutCam devices are used across the medical, aerospace, industrial, research and defense industries. For more information please visit: https://www.scoutcam.com Media Contact info@scoutcam.com +972 73 370-4691 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Companys expectations, beliefs, assumptions and intentions regarding, among other things, its product-development efforts, business, financial condition, results of operations, strategies or prospects, as of the date of this news release. They are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as believe, expect, intend, plan, may, should or anticipate or their negatives or other variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things, our ability to maximize the economic potential and monetize the technology covered in the press release; the material and positive effect Ms. Kreiss's appointment will have on our business and operations; the Companys ability to effectively maximize Ms. Kreisss skills and contributions; Ms. Kreisss ability to help the Company secure opportunities in the sectors described in this news release; risks and uncertainties relating to our reliance on third-party suppliers; market acceptance of our products by prospect markets and industries; our ability to raise sufficient funding in order to meet our business and financial goals; and certain other factors summarized in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. Italy: 'IoApro' protesters throw objects at cops CasaPound join restaurateurs and bar and gym owners' protest (ANSAmed) - ROME, APRIL 12 - 'IoApro' (IOpen) anti-lockdown protesters threw firecrackers and objects at police in Rome's San Silvestro square on Monday. The demonstrators, some wearing handcuffs and many with their hands raised, asked to be able to head towards the parliament building. They were met by police in riot gear. The IoApro protest has been organised mainly by restaurateurs and bar and gym owners chafing at long COVID-linked closures. Militants from the far-right CasaPound group joined the hospitality operators, as they did in a protest that turned ugly in Rome last week with seven people arrested and one police officer taken to hospital. "Reopenings now!" and "Freedom!", the protesters shouted.(ANSAmed). (ANSA). Monday, April 12, 2021 DP DHL and UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention win top Stevie Awards Grand Stevie winners to be honored at a virtual award ceremony on 2 June The Stevie Awards have announced the Grand Stevie Award winners in the second annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards. The winners will be honored during a virtual award ceremony on 2 June. The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, sponsored by the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, is an international business awards competition open to all organizations in 17 nations in the Middle East and North Africa. The focus of the awards is recognizing innovation in all its forms. This year more than 400 nominations were considered in the judging process by more than 70 professionals, whose average ratings determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners announced last month. For a complete list of the 2021 Stevie Award winners, visit https://MENA.StevieAwards.com. In addition to the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards, the top winner overall (total number of points conferred by total Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie wins) and the highest-scoring nominations are awarded the Grand Stevie Awards. The two Grand Stevie Award winners are: ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR: DP DHL: which earned 26.5 award points for the achievements of their affiliates in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Germany-headquartered global logistics and transportation company is no stranger to the top honor in Stevie Awards competitions, having won numerous Organization of the Year honors in the German Stevie Awards, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and other Stevie Awards programs. HIGHEST-RATED NOMINATION OF THE YEAR: The Stroke Golden Hour nomination submitted by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, in Dubai, received the highest average score from the judges (9.17 out of 10) in this years competition. The Gold Stevie winner for Excellence in Innovation in Government - Organizations with 100 or More Employees, the nomination describes the development of an IT solution that almost halved the door to needle treatment time for stroke victims at MOHAP facilities. One judge commented on the nomination, A perfect example of an IT solution supporting a noble cause: reducing mortality and morbidity due to stroke. Using modern technologies like VR to assist patients is another welcome move. Stevie Award winners will be celebrated at a virtual awards ceremony on 2 June. Registration for the ceremony is ongoing. We are thrilled to announce the 2021 Grand Stevie Award winners. DP DHL and the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention have proven to be exceptional in the eyes of Stevie Award judges around the globe, said Maggie Gallagher, President of the Stevie Awards. Complete information about the virtual awards ceremony is available at https://stevieawards.com/mena/tickets The virtual ceremony will feature digital versions of all of the things that people love about Stevie Awards events, including networking, acceptance speeches, red carpet photographs, and red-carpet interviews. If you, as a representative of the press, are interested in participating in the virtual award ceremony of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards on 2 June at 14 GST., please contact us at help+MENA@stevieawards.com. The third edition of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards will open for entries in September 2021. TurboFinance provides an informational guide on debt settlement. Debt relief through a settlement is an effective strategy at avoiding bankruptcy, sparing you from dipping firmly into the red and having to restructure your personal assets. The professional debt consultants from TurboFinance have released their newest informational guide for those with financial struggles, this time focused in on the subject of a debt settlement. This new in-depth article details what a debt settlement is, and gives consumers important information to help them decide if one might be recommended for them, with the pros and cons of this approach. Debt settlement is the process in which a debtor negotiates with their creditor so that they may be able to pay off a lump sum that is less than the full amount of debt owed. This process is usually undertaken with the assistance of a third-party debt settlement company who helps by negotiating alongside you. This process can also be known as debt reduction or debt resolution, but is ultimately a settlement negotiation that can positively result in having a large part of any debt forgiven. This option can be great for those who have a high credit card balance or a large amount of debt with a single creditor, as debt settlements are intended to pay off one large outstanding balance. But, while there are many credit card companies and debt settlement firms that will be happy to negotiate with you, its imperative to understand the possible outcomes going into negotiations. Unfortunately, debt settlement may saddle the borrower with short-term detriments to their credit score, as your creditor will be accepting a loss. The severity of the impact is wholly subjective, but this temporary dent in your credit score can still be beneficial to your financial health in the long term, so its crucial to monitor how deep it actually is. Additionally, debt settlement companies are likely to still charge you, even if negotiations are unsuccessful, and even if they do eliminate your debt you may still be paying them fees. Worse, some creditors simply may not even agree to negotiate your outstanding debt, even with a debt settlement company. To them this option can be a last resort, as it ultimately represents them accepting less than they are owed, so some may be less willing to approach the option entirely. Despite that, there are several positive reasons why you might want to approach your creditor with a debt settlement, even with the risks involved. A debt settlement results in you paying off far less than the full balance of your debts, and will clear your dues in one fell swoop. This will relieve you of dealing with the hassle of collectors and creditors, and will allow you to pick up the phone without worrying about whos on the other line. On top of that, debt relief through a settlement is an effective strategy at avoiding bankruptcy, sparing you from dipping firmly into the red and having to restructure your personal assets. Debt settlements are a complicated situation, but also provide a lot of value to struggling borrowers who need to catch up on their debt. Luckily, the financial consults at TurboFinance are dedicated to helping everyday people get a handle on their personal finances and clear their names of debt. TurboFinance is an independent online resource with information for those wanting to build credit and clear debt. With information on all things personal finance, they provide free consultations directly through https://www.turbofinance.com/ and make finance an easier subject to approach for those who struggle with it. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra on Wednesday hit out at his critics of the government's economic policies, saying that such instance has not happened for the first time. Citing figure of previous governments tenure, he said there were 8 instances when GDP was at or below 5.7 % during six years of the previous government. While speaking at Golden Jubilee Year of the Institute of Company Secretaries ICSI in Delhi, he admitted that the economy has witnessed plunge in April-May quarter but the government is committed to reverse it. After achieving average growth of 7.5 per cent over 3 years, we accept that growth rates came down April-June but government is committed to reverse it, he said. After achieving average growth of 7.5% over 3 years, we accept that growth rates came down April-June but govt is committed to reverse it-PM pic.twitter.com/wtSZkXlvwA ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2017 Modi hailed the move of demonetisation and GST while dubbing it as historic decisions of his government. He said he has asked the GST Council to review the problems which are being faced by traders. We are willing to make changes as per the suggestions, he said. I have told the GST council to review the problems being faced by traders & we are willing to make changes as per the suggestions: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/yBUHgquOAy ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2017 He took on his governments critics, and said: There are some people who sleep well only after they spread a feeling of pessimism all around. We need to recognise such people. There are some people who sleep well only after they spread a feeling of pessimism all around. We need to recognise such people: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/GvEUTtktvN ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2017 He took a dig at economists, saying At a time India was made member of a group in context of international economy, it was fragile 5. How did it happen when big economists were there. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. As Covid-19 cases rise dramatically across India, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa has warned a lockdown could be imposed in the state if cases continue to rise unabated. Karnataka is among 10 states reporting a high caseload in India, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the health ministry data suggests. "People need to respond for their own good. If they don't heed then we may have to take stringent measures. If required and if the necessity arises, we will impose lockdown," Yediyurappa said, news agency PTI reported. He said the state government is imposing night curfews in districts where coronavirus cases are seeing a spike. He said he also apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Covid situation in the state. "(I told him) we have imposed a night curfew in the districts where the coronavirus cases are rising," Yediyurappa said. The Yeddiyurappa government has so far imposed night curfews in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumakuru and Udupi-Manipal from 10 pm to 5 am till April 20. Also read: India Inc says 'Aye' to containment, 'Nay' to lockdowns He insisted that people should wear face masks, use hand sanitisers and maintain social distancing. "People need to respond for their own good. If they don't cooperate then we will initiate stringent measures, which people should not give scope for. I want people to cooperate with us," Yediyurappa said. Meanwhile, state health minister Dr K Sudhakar told the media that the government was not inclined to a lockdown and wanted people to cooperate. "Neither me nor the Chief Minister is saying that we will do it (lockdown). All we are saying is don't compel us to push to that extreme. Our government is not at all willing to impose lockdown," he said. Also read: Maharashtra logs highest single-day spike of over 63,000 COVID-19 cases Karnataka reported over 10,250 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the active case tally to 69,244. Over 12,889 patients have also died in the state due to the virus. India reported 1,68,912 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, much higher than 1.52 lakh new infections reported on Saturday, the health ministry data suggests. With a rapid rise in cases, India is now the world's second most affected country in terms of coronavirus. The US, with 3.1 crore cases stands on top, followed by India and Brazil. Also read: Decision on Maharashtra lockdown after April 14, says state health minister Rajesh Tope Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 00:25:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Brussels, Belgium this week to consult with NATO allies on a range of shared priorities, the U.S. State Department said on Monday. Blinken's visit to NATO headquarters starts on Tuesday, and he will join Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for discussions with allies and partners, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. "The Secretary will take this opportunity to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the Transatlantic alliance as a critical partnership for achieving our mutual goals. Separately, Secretary Blinken will hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with European counterparts to discuss key priorities and shared challenges," the statement added. The trip came amid escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine and Russia's military buildup along the border. It also came ahead of the May 1 deadline set by the U.S.-Taliban deal for a full withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops from Afghanistan. President Joe Biden said last month that it would be hard for the United States to meet the deadline. Enditem The PATRON x JonBoy Margarita Collection Kit brings the ultimate handcrafted and handwritten experience. The partnership was inspired by the level of passion, dedication, and mastery of craft that both PATRON and JonBoy go to in order to achieve the perfect result, without cutting corners whether that is through art with JonBoy's tattoo designs or the PATRON tequila production process. Personalization is what tattooing is all aboutand it is how PATRON encourages people to enjoy their margaritas. Consumers can customize their cocktails through their choice of unique JonBoy-designed cocktail toppers that feature everything from an artistic new take on PATRON tequila's iconic be logo to JonBoy's signature script and more. "PATRON and JonBoy share a strong commitment to quality, craftsmanship and precision, which makes this a natural and exciting partnership for us," said Chloe Lloyd-Jones, Vice President of PATRON Tequila in North America. "PATRON handcrafts its tequila the hard way by hand using a meticulous, time-honored process, similar to the way JonBoy puts a painstaking level of detail and personalization into his incredible minimalistic tattoo designs and creations that continue to bring him worldwide acclaim. We're thrilled to be partnering with JonBoy to create a custom Margarita kit to put Cinco de Mayo in your hands this year." The PATRON x JonBoy Margarita Collection Kit was made in collaboration with Cocktail Courier and includes all the ingredients needed to create the Fresh Ink Smoked Margarita, an innovative twist on the classic margarita: PATRON Silver, fresh lime juice, pineapple juice, agave nectar, a pinch of smoked paprika, smoked sea salt for the rim, plus a lime for garnish. The kit also comes with accessories, including stainless steel straws and coasters adorned with JonBoy's exclusive designs. Additionally, each kit offers a selection of eight JonBoy designs to customize a cocktail topper, providing a truly unique experience. "In designing the artwork for this kit, I was inspired by the history, heritage and handcrafted legacy of PATRON as well as the timelessness of the margarita cocktail," says JonBoy. "I love that people can customize their kit by selecting one of the designs I created for this collection and use it as a new way to feel connected to one another, especially during a time when we are all wanting connection more than ever. Our vision first came to life on February 22 through PATRON's Virtual Gift Wrapper for National Margarita Day, and this is a meaningful extension of that." It takes at least 60 hands to make each bottle of PATRON tequila with the traditional, handcrafted process, and now JonBoy has used his two iconic hands to make Cinco de Mayo even more special for people to celebrate responsibly around the nation. The kit comes in "Classic" or "Deluxe," and will be available for purchase for a limited time starting April 12th via cocktailcourier.com/patronxjonboymargaritacollection: Classic serves 4 cocktails, retailing for $72.99 Deluxe serves 6 cocktails, retailing for $96.99 If you are interested in mixing up your own cocktail this Cinco de Mayo: Fresh Ink Smoked Margarita 1.5 oz PATRON Silver .5 oz Fresh lime juice .5 oz Pineapple juice .5 oz Agave nectar 1 Pinch of smoked paprika + Smoked sea salt rim +Lime for garnish Instructions: Prepare a rocks glass by moistening the rim and rolling it in smoked sea salt. Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake to chill. Fine strain over fresh ice cubes in the prepared glass. Garnish with a lime and a dusting of smoked paprika. Contact : Rachel Uniatowski, M Booth Allie Bostwick, PATRON tequila 212.481.7000 817.873.7151 [email protected] [email protected] About PATRON Tequila From hand-harvesting the highest-quality 100 percent Weber Blue Agave, to the traditional, time-honored distillation process and individual labeling, numbering, and inspection of each bottle, PATRON tequila is crafted with meticulous precision and care. Though PATRON has grown to become one of the most recognized and respected luxury spirits brands in the world, it is still exclusively produced in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, in the same small batches and with the same commitment to quality and craftsmanship. For more information about PATRON tequilas and liqueurs, please visit www.patrontequila.com. The perfect way to enjoy PATRON is responsibly. PATRON is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. About Cocktail Courier Cocktail Courier provides cocktail enthusiasts with innovative cocktail kits featuring top shelf liquors, unique ingredients, bar-quality garnishes, all in one easy-to-use kit delivered directly to your door! We eliminate recipe and ingredient hunting by sending you a pre-packed kit along with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, turning you into a professional bartender in a matter of minutes. Our kits feature recipes from the nation's top bartenders and come in a range of sizes to make 2 to 16+ drinks! In addition to our fun subscription service, we have Cocktail Kits available as one-off a la carte purchases for everything from gifting to parties. For more information about Cocktail Courier, please visit www.CocktailCourier.com and follow @CocktailCourier on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. About JonBoy Jonathan "JONBOY" Valena specializes in merging art and fashion, with his delicate, minimalist tattoos. Tattooing for over 18 years, JonBoy got his start in the traditional shops of the mid-west after leaving seminary college to pursue the marriage of tattooing and faith. JonBoy eventually took his career to NYC to bring fine line tattooing into the mainstream. As the pioneer of the "tiny tattoo" movement, JonBoy's client list includes celebrities like G-Eazy, Travis Scott, Hailey Baldwin, Post Malone, Kendall & Kylie Jenner and Justin Bieber. SOURCE Patron Tequila Related Links https://www.patrontequila.com Soldiers walk inside the remnants of a building in Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao nearly two years after a militant siege destroyed much of the city, May 23, 2019. A joint army and police team killed a sub-leader of the local chapter of the Islamic State (IS) group during fighting Monday in the southern Philippine city of Marawi in which eight government forces were also injured, authorities said. Filipino militant Usop Nasif (also known as Abu Asraf) exploded an improvised bomb to thwart a platoon of soldiers and four teams of police in the Guimba section of Marawi, said Brig. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo, the commanding general of the 103rd Infantry Brigade. Nasif fired at the team, forcing the soldiers and policemen to shoot back and execute close-quarter battle maneuvers to get near him, Cuerpo said, adding, Nasif was killed. The explosion injured one army officer and seven police, he said. Authorities said they were all out of danger as of late Monday. Later, troops found Nasifs body in one of the houses he shared with his wife and 6-month-old baby, who both suffered injuries and were rushed to a hospital, the military said, adding they were declared out of danger and were transferred to the care of local social workers. We figured Nasif went home so he could spend the Ramadan with his wife and child, but his neighbors reported his presence to the authorities, Cuerpo said. Top IS lieutenant Nasif was identified as the second-in-command to the new Dawlah Islamiya-Maute group leader, Faharudin Hadji Satar (also known as Abu Bakar or Abu Zacaria), Cuerpo said. The dead militant allegedly was behind the execution-style killing in October 2019 of a member of the armys engineering battalion who was working on a project to rehabilitate Marawi. Nasif also allegedly planned the killings of two soldiers and three police in Marawi last year and of three construction workers at a government resettlement site in 2020, Cuerpo said. Much of Marawi in the southern Philippines has remained in ruins since 2017 after Filipino IS members backed by their counterparts from Southeast Asia and the Middle East laid siege to the Islamic city in an effort to establish a regional caliphate. This triggered a five-month battle that led to about 1,200 deaths of enemy combatants, soldiers and civilians. Much of the city was destroyed in aerial bombings by government forces. A few militants escaped and retreated to jungle areas in the south where they have been monitored recruiting new members. Since then, small-scale attacks including bombings have occurred in parts of the south. Usop Nasif, who was killed in a gun battle with police and troops, is seen posing on a motorcycle in this undated photo. [Handout Westmincom] More troops deployed Recently, attacks blamed on local IS groups have increased is the province of Maguindanao, as members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have engaged in sporadic battles with troops, according to authorities. Regional military spokesman Lt. Col. John Paul Baldomar told BenarNews by phone on Monday that up to 5,000 new soldiers were deployed to focus on Maguindanao, whose remote marshlands and hard-to-access jungles are traditional hiding grounds for militants. Baldomar said the deployment of the Armys 1st Brigade Combat Team (1BCT) to augment other security sectors fighting the BIFF was completed over the weekend. They were involved in the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf group from 2019 until 2020 and have significantly contributed to the neutralization of local and foreign terrorists, Baldomar said. The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of militants known for kidnappings for ransom and for beheading some of their victims. The group is divided into several units, including one that had been led by Isnilon Hapilon, who was among those launching the Marawi siege in 2017. Hapilon, who died as the siege was nearing an end, was known to have been replaced by Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, whose unit carried out suicide bombings on southern Jolo island that left scores dead over the past two years. The Abu Sayyaf has an alliance with the BIFF, whose members pledged allegiance to the IS but did not send fighters to Marawi. On Monday, a soldier and a civilian were injured when a roadside bomb linked to the Abu Sayyaf exploded in Tipo-Tipo on the island of Basilan. Both were rushed to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to authorities. Basilan is considered the birthplace of the Abu Sayyaf, which was founded in the 1990s by Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani. Regional army commander Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, who welcomed the additional troops on April 6, said they would help in efforts to maintain peace and order in this part of the country and to assist local officials in their development initiatives. This is part of our commitment to the residents of South-Central Mindanao to always serve the people and to secure the communities from any threat. These modernized forces are highly capable and can be rapidly deployed to adapt to any situation and address any threat in the country, Uy said. The deployment came after government security forces killed nearly 20 BIFF members during clashes in March. Reverend Fred Nile speaks in the Legislative Council of the New South Wales Parliament House on August 20, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images) The Need for Christian Values in Public Life Has Only Increased: Retiring State MP Christian Democratic Party founder and staunch human rights advocate, Reverend Fred Nile, will be retiring from politics in November. The 40-year veteran of the New South Wales (NSW) Parliaments upper house has been a firm supporter of Christian and traditional family values over his tenure. It has been the privilege of my life to represent Christs values in the NSW Parliament on behalf of the citizens of this great state, he said in a statement (pdf). Nile noted the need for public discourse on Christian values has only increased in recent years. What has been called the silent majority is becoming more vocal, he told The Epoch Times. People are speaking up in favour of traditional marriage, supporting unborn babies and opposing abortion. A lot more people are taking that decision publicly. So Im very encouraged by this groundswell of support from people who are not just Christians, but moral people, he added. Reverend Fred Nile speaking in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images) The sentiment is shared by NSW One Nation Parliamentarian Mark Latham, who re-entered the political arena to stem the influence of cultural Marxism in Australia. In the last 20 years, Australia has been subject to a cultural invasion. Cultural Marxism, identity politics, leftist ideas about censorship and outrage have run through our institutions at a rate of knots, Latham told a National Civic Council dinner in 2018. If we dont stand up and fight against these things, we will lose the very best not only of our national values and practices but also the best traditions of our culture and western civilisation. Lyle Shelton, former head of the Australian Christian Lobby, is likely to replace Nile. I am honoured that Rev. Nile and the Christian Democrat Party state board have recommended that I succeed him in the NSW Parliament and lead the party into the future, Shelton said in a statement. There has never been a greater need for Christian ethics and principles in our parliaments. Nile has spoken out against egregious human rights violations overseas, including the Armenian Genocide, the crackdown on Christians in Turkey, and the persecution of Falun Gong. Last year, Nile spoke at the 21-year anniversary of the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Whats happening to the citizens of China by their own government? Nile asked online attendees of the rally. Putting the practitioners in prison, putting them into slave labour, and having organ transplants from living persons who obviously then diemurdering their own citizens to get human organs. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient Chinese spiritual practice consisting of slow-moving exercises and moral teachings incorporating the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It grew in popularity during the 1990s, with 70 million to 100 million adherents in China by the end of the decade, according to official estimates. Feeling threatened by its popularity, the CCP launched a systematic persecution in July 1999 that has led to millions being incarcerated and facing physical and psychological torture. Two women concealed an immigrant under a blanket to try to smuggle him through a federal checkpoint, according to an arrest affidavit. A black Hyundai sedan arrived at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Texas 16 at about 9:46 a.m. on April 8. Authorities identified the driver as Shayla Nicole Holloway and Brodie Austin Boutwell as the passenger. A K-9 unit then alerted to possible contraband within the vehicle. The top 50 dividend-paying companies on AIM returned more than 37% over the last 12 months, according to a report by Allenby Capital. The City firm recorded the progress of the highest yielding 50 companies on the junior market. The average return (including capital gain with dividends reinvested) in the 12 months to February 28 was 37.1% against an average return of 21.8% for all AIM stocks. More than 250 AIM companies are forecast to pay a dividend in 2014, suggesting that the alternative market could be shaking off the Wild West tag that has long accompanied it. The broker hailed the impact of allowing AIM stocks to be included in ISAs. While this has helped share prices higher and lowered dividend yields, there are still 33 stocks yielding over 4%. It was annouced today that London-based consultancy firm Albany Beck is launching an EU Operations Centre in Dublin that will create 100 new jobs over the next three years. Albany Beck are a specialist financial services consultancy with over 170 expert consultants, providing senior SME and junior delivery support across Technology, Risk, Data and Operations to global banking clients. The new roles created will be in in the areas of Software Development, Software Engineering, Cloud-Services, Machine Learning/AI/Automation, Know Your Customer (KYC) and Transaction Management. Recruitment will begin immediately for Software Developers, Full-stack software engineers, Python Developers and KYC Analysts. After expanding successfully into Ireland in 2018 and rapidly growing to a team of 87, the company has identified Dublin as the optimum location to invest in and to scale its EU business following Brexit. Albany Beck say this expansion will allow the company to seamlessly provide its cutting-edge services to its EU clients, from regulatory and compliance advice to digital transformation and systems implementation. Since the company arrived in Ireland, it has won several international projects for high profile European financial services clients and is looking to accelerate its growth across the EU from Ireland. Welcoming the news, Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar said, "I really welcome this announcement from Albany Beck. The decision to expand and base its EU Operations Centre in Ireland is a great vote of confidence in Dublin City and underscores the companys continued commitment to our country. The 100 new jobs are a real boost. I wish the company all this best with this exciting new chapter." Albany Beck Partner & Head of EU Operations Centre, Adam Kelly added, "Over the last couple of years our success in Ireland has been exceptional. Dublin has been the ideal location for Albany Beck and our service offering. The depth of talent in Ireland, especially in software development and financial services has been the key to our growth. As a Dubliner, I take great pleasure in seeing the city continue to thrive, especially with Albany Beck being a part of it." Source: www.businessworld.ie Two Chinese police officers arrest a Falun Gong practitioner at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Jan. 10, 2000. (Chien-Min Chung/AP Photo) Despite Pandemic, Beijing Continues to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners, Leaked Document Shows Even while trying to contain the pandemic in China, the communist regime continued to persecute adherents of spiritual group Falun Gong, a leaked internal document from 2020 shows. The official document, from a district in eastern China, listed a campaign to suppress Falun Gong practitioners among the key achievements in that area in 2020, alongside other tasks such as controlling the pandemic and maintaining social stability. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice that originated in northeastern China in 1992, featuring five slow-moving exercises and moral teachings based on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Official data reported that 70-100 million adherents had practiced in China by 1999. However, after the Chinese regime felt threatened by the popularity and independence of the practice, it began to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999 and millions have been detained inside prisons, labor camps, and other facilities, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center. The Epoch Times recently obtained an internal document, 2020 Work Summary and 2021 Work Plan of the district PLAC, issued by the Wuzhong district Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in November 2020. Wuzhong is a district located in Suzhou city of Jiangsu Province, an eastern-central coastal province of China. The PLAC, a communist agency that oversees the countrys police, courts, and prisons, has branches in each province, city, and township. In its work summary for 2020, the district PLAC said that it had launched a 100-day campaign to further suppress Falun Gong and its adherents, carrying out so-called educational transformation. Transformation, a name given by the CCP, means to force Falun Gong practitioners to denounce the belief through harassment, brainwashing, and torture. Thousands are confirmed to have been brutally persecuted to death. 17 Deaths in Wuzhong District The Epoch Times obtained another data report in 2017 from the State Security Brigade in Wuzhong, indicating that at least 17 Falun Gong practitioners in Wuzhong district died for holding onto their faith. According to the document, by July 24, 2017, 153 local practitioners had been monitored by Wuzhong authorities, with 76 people under observation. The total number of deaths in this district was 17, the report said. Since July 1999, over 4,600 Falun Gong adherents have been killed in the persecution in China. Victims names, statistical data, and brief summaries of confirmed deaths are available on Minghui.org. The actual number of deaths is thought to be much higher as thousands of cases remain unconfirmed. Door Knocking Campaign Additionally, the report shows in early May 2017, the Wuzhong brigade carried out 24 in total door-to-door visits to local Falun Gong practitioners, responding to a door knocking directive issued by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Since February 2017, this campaign has spread to 28 provinces, municipalities, and regions in mainland China to collect personal information, photograph, videotape, or even arrest Falun Gong practitioners, according to Minghui. Due to its effort in persecuting Falun Gong, Wuzhong district was rated as a model district by the Chinese regimes State Council in 2015. The 2021 Work Plan also sets a target goal of absolute control over Falun Gong practitioners. In 1999, Falun Gong was vilified by the Chinese Communist Party as a heretical religion in mainland China. The term is often mistranslated into English as cult. A 2017 report (pdf), The Battle for Chinas Spirit, released by U.S.-based nonprofit Freedom House, states that Falun Gong has no attributes of a cult. The propaganda apparatus seized on a manipulated English translation of the Chinese term xiejiao [heretical religions]. This suggests that the term was applied retroactively to justify a violent campaign that was provoking international and domestic criticism. Falun Gong is now practiced in more than 90 countries worldwide, while its main text, Zhuan Falun, has been translated into 40 languages. Beijings Anxiety Another report from the Suzhou municipal PLAC, named Suzhou Political and Legal Opinion Weekly Report, reveals Beijings concerns over Falun Gong. The document is labeled as Internal Information. In the Recent Risks and Suggestions section, the document suggests preventing Falun Gong from spreading propaganda, mentioning relevant banners that have appeared among communities in a nearby city, Xiaogan, Hubei Province. The report was issued on May 12, 2017, one day before World Falun Dafa Day, which is the birthday of the founder of Falun Dafa, Li Hongzhi. Since 2000, every year on May 13, Falun Dafa practitioners worldwide gather to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day to show gratitude to its founder. Meanwhile, mainland China practitioners choose to post flyers and hang banners in public places during this period, under the regimes pressure. The last internal document issued by the authority in Xuzhou city, Jiangsu Province, is related to platform keyword classification. It shows Falun Gong is listed as keywords to censor public opinions, along with many others, such as topics related to severe accidents, mass protests, political dissidents, and human rights lawyers. Years after becoming one of the first countries to pass climate change legislation, embracing renewable energy, and weaning itself off fossil fuels, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador turned back the clock. The recent move by the Lopez Obrador administration has halted new renewable energy projects. The Mexican President also mocked wind farms as fans that blight the landscape and allocated money into state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, which includes the $9 billion budget for the construction of a new refinery. Last month, the Mexican President pushed the passing of a bill that requires the energy grid to prioritize getting power from state-run plants. The legislation put the energy grid fueled by a huge portion of crude oil and coal compared to the less expensive wind and solar energy before, Financial Times reported. Environmentalists Raise Concerns According to Los Angeles Times, environmentalists are concerned about the devotion of the Mexican president to fossil fuels and his rejection of clean energy at a time when the majority of countries set their sail towards cleaner energy. Environmentalists also warned Mexico for not reaching its emission reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement. Business leaders are alarmed about the possible rise in energy cost because coal and gas cost twice as much as wind and solar. Experts also stated that the policies of the Mexican President are rooted less in climate change denialism and more in nationalism and nostalgia. ALSO READ: Disney Sets Opening Date for Avengers Campus in California In addition, Lopez Obrador is playing on the proud history of the country as a powerhouse of fossil fuel. The Mexican President grew up in the oil-rich state of Tabasco after former President Lazaro Cardenas expropriated the assets of foreign energy companies that were operating in Mexico and nationalized the oil reserves and mineral wealth of the country. For several decades, the state-owned oil company known as 'Pemex.' was the main economic driver for the Mexican economy. Meanwhile, in 2013, the then-President Enrique Pena Nieto pushed reform in the constitution, which ended the state monopoly. It also opened up the oil and energy sector of Mexico to private companies. A competitive bidding process prompted by the reform drove the costs for natural gas and renewable energy to drop to some of the lowest prices globally. However, the Mexican president has accused the foreign-owned companies of stealing market share away from Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission, the state's electric company. Furthermore, an energy expert at the U.S.-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue, Lisa Viscidi, stated that the president's goal is to return their monopolies by bringing the energy sector under the control of the state. She also said that the Lopez Obrador administration is willing to achieve the goal, even if it means promoting dirtier fossil fuels and contributing more carbon emissions. Viscidi also stated that all of the things had been sacrificed for the goal of energy sovereignty. On the other hand, it was not a long time ago that Mexico has been lauded as the global leader in battling against climate change. In 2017, Mexico also joined a coalition of governments committed to phased out coal-fired electricity by 2030. The country is also the first to develop the nation to submit its plan to lower emissions under the Paris agreement and fir in Latin America to ratify the historic accord, The Guardian reported. RELATED ARTICLE: Ecuador and Peru Continue Their Election Amid COVID-19 Crisis WATCH: Mexico electricity: President signs off on controversial energy bill - Al Jazeera English According to a tweet published by Thales Australia on April 12, four of the new Australian-made MEDIVAC variant of the Bushmaster APC have been shipped out for service and are headed The Netherlands. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link First four Bushmaster ambulances about to be shipped to The Netherlands (Picture source: Thales Australia) The Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle or Infantry Mobility Vehicle is an Australian-built 4x4 armored vehicle. The Bushmaster was primarily designed by the then government-owned Australian Defence Industries (ADI), and is currently produced by Thales Australia with a support contract provided by Oshkosh Truck following the acquisition of ADI. The Bushmaster is currently in service with the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Netherlands Army, British Army, Japan Ground Self Defense Force, Fiji Infantry Regiment, Jamaica Defence Force and the New Zealand Army. Bushmaster is combat proven and has been successfully deployed by three armies on operations in a number of regions including the Middle East, Africa and the Pacific. The role of the Bushmaster is to provide protected mobility transport (or protected troop lift capability), with infantry dismounting from the vehicle before going into action. As the Bushmaster is lightly armored, the term Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV) was initially adopted to distinguish it from a heavier wheeled or tracked armored personnel carrier, such as the ASLAV and M113 also in Australian service. However, the high-hard steel specified for Bushmaster meant that it offered better ballistic and IED protection than existing aluminum alloy clad ASLAVs and M113. Later the Bushmaster's designation was changed to Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV). Bushmaster in the Dutch army In July 2006 the Dutch Government announced an urgent purchase of 25 Bushmasters to equip Royal Netherlands Army units operating in Afghanistan. Due to the urgency of this purchase these vehicles were taken from Australian Army stocks. Additional Bushmasters will be built to replenish the Australian inventory. 23 Bushmasters were directly delivered to Dutch Army units in Afghanistan starting from 28 August. The remaining two vehicles were transported to the Netherlands to be used for training purposes. Twelve of the Bushmasters were fitted with a Thales SWARM remote weapon station before delivery. 9 July 2007, Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited was awarded a contract of A$5.8 million for the supply of remote weapon systems for use by the Netherlands army. The contract was awarded to EOS by Thales Australia for fitting to the Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicles manufactured by Thales for the Netherlands army. The order entailed 17 CROWS Remote Weapon Stations. It was expected that the first of these systems would be operational in theatre by August 2007. On 20 September 2007, during an engagement with the Taliban a 20-year-old Dutch soldier was killed in action. His body was evacuated in a Bushmaster which was subsequently attacked with small arms, mortars and RPGs. The vehicle was struck several times but all soldiers in the Bushmaster survived and were unhurt. Since the vehicle was immobilized and still under attack, they were forced to abandon it. Since salvage was not possible the Bushmaster was later destroyed by a Dutch Apache helicopter. The troops were transported out of danger by a second Bushmaster IMV. On 19 October 2007 during a fire-fight between a Dutch patrol and Taliban insurgents, a Bushmaster was hit by an improvised bomb. Although none of the passengers were hurt, the bomb-damaged the front of the Bushmaster. The Bushmaster was sent to Kamp Holland (the Dutch base) for repairs. The Netherlands ordered additional Bushmasters on several occasions in 2007 and 2008. On 20 November 2007, the Dutch Defence Ministry announced that it would acquire an additional 10 vehicles to replace the two damaged and two destroyed vehicles and a Patria armored vehicle which was also destroyed in Uruzgan. One vehicle would be sent to the Netherlands for training purposes, and the rest go directly to Afghanistan. The Dutch ordered a further 13 Bushmasters in June 2008, taking their total order to 49 vehicles. At this time six Dutch Bushmasters had been destroyed in Afghanistan. In January 2009, another batch of nine vehicles was ordered, these vehicles to be fitted with cameras, sensors and a grappler to find and destroy Improvised explosive devices (IEDs). A further 14 Bushmasters were ordered in June 2009. In August 2009, another 14 vehicles were ordered, bringing the total Dutch order to 86. Dutch special forces deployed as part of the Northern Mali conflict from April 2014 were equipped with a number of Bushmasters. May 2015 a Dutch Bushmaster was struck by an IED near Kidal. No one was hurt by this incident and the Bushmaster was returned to the Dutch camp at Gao. In June 2015, a further 12 were ordered. In July 2020 the Dutch Army took delivery of its first Multirole Electronic Warfare Bushmaster. In April 2021, it takes delivery of its first four Bushmaster ambulances. Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) today announced it signed an eight-year contract with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) to deploy and operate Diskos, the Norwegian national repository of seismic, well, and production data for the oil and gas industry. Halliburton Landmark will deliver Diskos 2.0 using DecisionSpace 365 cloud services in iEnergy the industrys first E&P hybrid cloud. The cloud native services are Open Subsurface Data Universe compliant and provide high quality data, security and governance so users can easily access, visualize, and interpret data from the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The open architecture and scalability of the service enables workflows across the repository and operator systems on premise, or in the cloud, to support efficient, effective and agile operations. Diskos 2.0 will use the DecisionSpace 365 cloud applications to apply machine learning and artificial intelligence to unlock the full value of subsurface data by revealing additional basin, reservoir, drilling, and production insights to improve reservoir recovery and exploration outcomes. We are excited to deliver this new level of service for Diskos in collaboration with operators and the extended ecosystem to create an unparalleled experience, said Nagaraj Srinivasan, senior vice president of Landmark, Halliburton Digital Solutions and Consulting. Consistent with Halliburtons digital strategy, our secure cloud environment, machine learning algorithms, and data science expertise will help operators in the region maximize their asset value. About Halliburton Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. With approximately 40,000 employees, representing 130 nationalities in more than 70 countries, the company helps its customers maximize value throughout the lifecycle of the reservoir from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production throughout the life of the asset. Visit the companys website at www.halliburton.com. Connect with Halliburton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005016/en/ ALBANY Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos lucrative book deal is not the only instance where the governors office mixed private activities and government staff. The Times Union obtained emails showing that in 2019, Cuomos top aide, Melissa DeRosa, did work related to campaign polling in the early morning and stretching into the afternoon of a Tuesday. She also instructed lower-level staff to perform a task related to the poll. On August 13, 2019, DeRosa spent time suggesting edits to a poll being conducted by the firm Global Strategy Group. While Cuomos campaign is a client of that polling firm, the poll in this instance was being conducted on behalf of Jobs of New York, a so-called super PAC funded by billionaire New York City landlords. Still, DeRosa and Cuomo himself were allowed to review and edit the poll being conducted by Jobs for New York. State law prohibits the use of government resources for a politicians personal benefit. A state Ethics Commission opinion from 1992 said that campaigns must be run on an employee's own time and that no state resources of any kind including telephones, office supplies, postage, photocopying machines or support staff assistance can be used in the furtherance of the campaign. In this instance, however Cuomos staff work was related to an outside campaign spending group, which was using the Cuomo campaigns own pollster. Richard Azzopardi, a senior Cuomo advisor, said it is "appropriate and permissible to coordinate and actively work with outside entities on policy issues, messaging, and to gauge public sentiment." "The governor was not on the ballot in 2019," he said. "Monitoring how the public perceives and is reacting to legislative actions and priorities is part of the government focused operation and doesnt need to be done on private time. The poll was conducted two months after the end of the 2019 legislative session, when state Senate Democrats newly in the chambers majority had passed a raft of progressive legislation. That included sweeping rent reforms protecting tenants that came at the expenses of the landlords behind Jobs For New York, including the campaign spending arm of the Real Estate Board of New York, an influential lobbying group that conducts research on matters including tax policy, planning and zoning, rental conditions, land use policy and building codes. New York City landlords had long poured money into supporting Republican control of the state Senate, but after Democrats took the majority in the 2018 elections, they shifted course. Instead, the group began supporting real estate-friendly Democrats in contested state Senate primaries. In its poll, Global Strategy Group asked voters their reactions to a range of policies passed by Senate Democrats in 2019, an apparent attempt to see whether lawmakers would be vulnerable on certain issues. Several questions also gauged voters reactions to Amazons decision to cancel a planned second headquarters in Queens. The plan had been backed by Cuomo, but was killed in part by liberal opposition, including from a top state Senate Democrat from the borough, Michael Gianaris. Cuomo, a moderate Democrat, has long had a lukewarm relationship with the Senate Democratic conference. And the emails show DeRosa was interested in seeing whether voters would support primary challenges. Should we add something asking flat out if their senator is too far [to the] left or too far to the right and if they'd support a primary challenge and if so, would you prefer that candidate be more moderate or more progressive? DeRosa wrote to two Global Strategy Group officials. At 12:37 p.m. on that Tuesday, DeRosa emailed three government subordinates and asked if they could get the proposed poll to Cuomo at his next event to review on heli[copter] back to Alb[any]? Two minutes later, Annabel Walsh, Cuomos scheduling director, emailed two government staffers that were with Cuomo as he traveled, and asked them to print out the polling questions and give them to Cuomo. The poll had initially been scanned using a computer in Cuomos executive government office, the emails show. In 2016, Cuomo pushed through a law imposing stringent regulations on such independent expenditure groups, which because of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions can raise and spend unlimited amounts to elect candidates. Under the law, the outside groups must operate independently of the campaigns they support; in this instance, Jobs for New Yorks spending in 2020 was only on state Senate races. Cuomo was not on the ballot. DeRosas work in 2019 was not the only time Cuomo government staffers have done work touching campaigns. In testimony at the corruption trial of a former top Cuomo aide in 2018, longtime Cuomo advisor Linda Lacewell testified about vetting donors to Cuomos own campaign, in addition to her normal legal work for the government. At that trial, which resulted in a six-year prison term for former top Cuomo aide Joseph Percoco, evidence emerged that for eight months in 2014, Percoco did campaign work from a government office in Manhattan, while serving as Cuomos campaign manager. Percocos work, which included making scores of campaign-related phone calls from a government phone, was performed just steps from Cuomos own personal office. Cuomo has said he was unaware of Percocos campaign activities. In the political world, its common and legal for government staff to do campaign-related work outside the office. For instance, government staffers in the state Legislature frequently work grueling hours during the legislative session running from January to June. They then use built-up compensation time to do extensive free work for their bosses' or others' campaigns. Cuomos use of government staff to perform tasks related to his multi-million dollar book deal last year has also been raising questions. While Cuomos office says the staffs work on American Crisis was voluntary, some lower-level staff say it was expected and performed in the normal course of daily duties. Either way, Cuomo's government attorney promised state ethics regulators in July 2020 that government staff would not be used, while seeking formal approval for the project. Low vaccination rates in counties that are whiter and more conservative could be impairing Texas ability to quickly reach herd immunity for COVID-19. Texas counties that are less-educated and whiter and in which former President Donald Trump won a larger than average share of the vote have vaccinated a smaller share of their population than the state average, a Hearst Newspapers analysis found. In the 144 Texas counties that meet these criteria, about 29.4 percent of people age 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Statewide, the average is 33 percent. If residents in those counties were vaccinated at the same rate as the state average, more than 100,000 additional Texans would have received at least one dose. In Liberty County, just a shade over 20 percent of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, one of the lowest rates in the state. Whats more, as Harris County residents have begun flocking to rural counties for easier access to vaccines, state data shows that providers in Liberty County a rural patch between Houston and Beaumont have put 27 percent more shots in the arms of Harris County residents than they have in residents of their own county. Meanwhile, in the 22 counties where Joe Biden won a majority of the vote places that tend to be more diverse and more educated an average of about 45.6 percent of eligible Texans have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The vaccination gap between whiter, more conservative counties and the state average may not be cause for concern for the states vaccination efforts yet, said Rice University health economist Vivian Ho, but there is a potential for it to widen over the next two to three months. As more vaccines become available, that gap is going to widen because theres still excess demand for vaccines in our cities, where the majority of the population lives, she said. If, for instance, only 50 percent of people in these outlier counties are vaccinated, they will continually be subject to superspreader events that will overwhelm the weakest components of the states health care infrastructure. While polls have consistently shown that white Republicans are more hesitant about the vaccine, the analysis used voting and demographics data, as well as the states own vaccine data, to show that race and political affiliation are tied to lower vaccination rates. The Kaiser Family Foundations COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor found that nationwide, white, rural Republicans were the group most likely to say they werent getting the vaccine. More locally, a February University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll found that 59 percent of Texas Republicans were either reluctant to get a shot or would refuse one. On average, support of Trump, coupled with higher shares of the white population, regardless of other factors, are the strongest links to lower vaccination rates, the analysis found. In whiter counties where support for Trump was stronger, an average of 30.2 percent of residents have gotten at least one shot, lower than the states average. While income levels do not correspond with a variation in rates, there is a correlation with education levels: Trump-friendly counties that are more educated tend to have a higher share of people with at least one shot than the state average. The data shows that more educated counties have vaccinated a larger share of residents than the state average, regardless of political affiliation. Craig Matson is among those who say they will likely not take the vaccine. The 70-year-old Boerne resident questioned the severity of the coronavirus, comparing it to the flu. He was suspicious of numbers reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the major vaccines. If people choose to take a COVID-19 vaccine because they believe that is their best protective option, they ought to have the freedom to do so, he added. Medical freedom is important on both sides of this issue. Kendall County, where Boerne is located, voted for Trump at a greater rate than the state as a whole and has a higher share of white residents than the state. But the county is also wealthier and more educated than the state averages, and as of Friday, 41 percent of its residents 16 and older had been vaccinated with at least one dose. Thats a higher vaccination percentage than in Bexar County, which Biden carried and where 37 percent of residents 16 and older had received at least one dose of the vaccine. Bexar Countys rate was identical to that of nearby Comal County, which went with Trump, and was higher than the state average. But in Atascosa County, which also supported Trump, only 28 percent of residents 16 and older had received at least one dose of the vaccine, lower than the state average. Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer While attention has been focused on Trump supporters, theres also been worry that white evangelicals, a massive demographic that largely overlaps with the counties in the analysis, will slow the nations path to herd immunity. In Montgomery County, where only 27.6 percent of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, one religious leader said hes heard many people voice skepticism. I know that exists here in Montgomery County because I see it on my social media, said Jeff Berger, pastor of First Baptist Church in Conroe. Thats part of the curse of living in this age. Social media, the 24-hour news cycle, the different echo chambers it gives free rein to voices that push out this conspiracy-type rhetoric, and there are certain people who just get addicted to that content. Berger said his congregation included a few vocal skeptics of the pandemic early on but that churchgoers have been generally receptive to safety precautions. The virus killed two First Baptist members, which Berger said made the reality of the pandemic hit home among his church. The fact that everybody now knows somebody whos had it has helped them see that this is real, he said. White evangelicals have a history of vaccine skepticism dating back decades, said Kira Ganga Kieffer, who researches vaccines and religious movements at Boston University. But COVID-19 has been particularly worrisome because of how politicized its become, she said. Hesitancy toward other vaccines, such as the one for HPV, have often been rooted in moral concerns, but todays skeptics have been fueled by a mix of culture war rhetoric and the proliferation of online conspiracies. In recent weeks, some conservative politicians have said President Joe Biden planned to institute vaccine passports. A White House spokesperson Tuesday denied that was the case, the same day Gov. Greg Abbott announced a statewide ban on vaccination passports. A lot of (skepticism) is coming from a distinct and real strong distrust of authority and of the government in general, and a go-at-it-alone, individualistic worldview, Kieffer said. Thats not new, but Id say its been really hyped up, and Trump really tapped into that anti-establishment, anti-authority mentality. Across the state, health officials are searching for ways to reach and vaccinate people who are reluctant to do get shots. State health officials are trying to think through the last mile, said Dr. David Lakey, a member of the Texas COVID-19 Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel. People who are hesitant to get vaccinated may not go to mass vaccination sites or hubs but may go to providers they trust. In Public Health Region 4/5 North a group of counties in the northeastern part of the state, around Tyler, with the states lowest average vaccination rate officials are working with faith-based communities and hosting vaccine fairs. Ron Nichols, emergency coordinator for Chambers County, said having well-known local paramedics dole out doses has helped soothe some residents concerns. There are a lot of people who just dont understand, dont know or dont trust the process, he said. The Facebook misinformation machine has been running rampant. Hesitancy also has affected the states allocations of vaccine doses. The counties that are whiter, more Trump-friendly, poorer and less educated have been allocated proportionally fewer vaccine doses, according to the analysis. If there is a community that is more hesitant, they go through vaccines slower, and therefore they would be shipped less vaccine, Lakey said. Lakey said he believes that sending more to smaller providers will dispel some of the hesitancy. Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Leighanne Cobb, 67, was among the skeptics in Chambers County. The retired, Trump-voting Southern Baptist said she had read conspiracies about people being microchipped through the vaccine. More than anything, she was concerned by what she felt was a rushed rollout of the vaccines. I felt like it got pushed along too fast, she said. Eventually, she and other family members sought out the opinions of medical professionals. Cobb received her second dose Tuesday, as did her elderly father. I feel perfectly fine, she said. Staff writer Peggy OHare contributed to this report. jordan.rubio@chron.com robert.downen@chron.com Rose Mannion, originally from Cloghan and now living in Lorrha, was admitted to Portiuncula University Hospital, Ballinasloe just over 12 months ago on March 28, 2020, gravely ill with Covid-19. Rose spent a total of 81 days in the intensive care unit between Portiuncula hospital and University Hospital Galway, much of that time in an induced coma and attached to a ventilator. She was discharged from hospital in July and has since continued her rehabilitation. Recently, Rose received her first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at the vaccination centre at Ballybrit Racecourse, Galway, almost 12 months to the day she was admitted to hospital. Speaking to the 'Tribune', Rose said she was delighted to have been called for the first dose of vaccine. She received the text to attend on March 15. However, her initial appointment was cancelled due to the blood clotting issues that arose and it was later rescheduled for March 23. I have to say I was rather nervous and reluctant despite my consultant's assurances that it was safe to have the vaccine. However, as I couldn't pick and choose what vaccine I could have opted for, and the only choice open to me was yes or no, I decided to go with it, she explained. There were side effects though which luckily enough I was told could happen like tiredness, muscle pain, vomiting, headache, temperature and general flu-like symptoms. It took 28 hours before it all kicked in just when I thought I was fine. This lasted for just over three days, but sure thats a small price to pay compared to contracting Covid again I can assure you. Rose's family were absolutely delighted that she has received the vaccine and were very supportive and encouraging that she take it. I must say we all view it as a step in the right direction. It wasnt just me, who suffered when I contracted the virus last year, but my family did too not knowing what news they were going to get every time the phone rang and then not being able to visit me in hospital was an added strain on them. "Who would have thought this time last year that a virus would claim the lives of so many people around the world and bring us all to our knees? This time last year I was on a ventilator and in an induced coma which lasted for over two months. Nobody wants something like that to happen to them so I sincerely hope that everyone takes the vaccine. I do realise there are people who will be reluctant to take it and thats understandable, but I would hate to see anyone with bad Covid like what I had. Speaking about her recovery, Rose said it has been painfully slow, unfortunately and has left her with some health issues and that itself is not only worrying going forward but also very difficult to cope with. My consultant was hoping that given six to twelve months that I would be back to normal again and tearing around the place like what I was doing, but to be honest, I seriously doubt at this stage that I will ever get back to the same level of energy and physical strength that I enjoyed prior to Covid. " I do of course realise that Im lucky to be alive given that I came so, so close to death. With the nature of this virus, the medical people are learning something new about it every day, but they still dont know enough about it to be able to assure patients of the future, so no one can tell what this virus will throw up in people in months or years to come, and thats frightening when youre told that. Rose is currently participating in a research study on the role of immune dysfunction in sepsis and Covid-19 at Galway University Hospital where she spent some time during her illness. The study is spearheaded by Professor John Laffey and Dr Bairbre McNicholas, both ICU doctors in the hospital, who had attended to her while she was there. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how the immune and musculoskeletal system affects recovery following sepsis and for changes that occur in muscle in response to sepsis and Covid-19 infection. They will examine the patients' blood samples and analyze the immune cells and learn how these cells change in response to sepsis. They are also looking at proteins, RNA and DNA in the blood as a measure of the patient's immune or muscle response to infection. This is all very interesting and no doubt it will be of huge importance in helping the medical people understand a little bit more of the after-effects of this terrible deadly virus so Im delighted to be part of the study, Rose added. Kabul, April 12 : Afghan forces have foiled a Taliban attack on the outskirts of Kunduz city, a provincial spokesman said. A group of Taliban militants, according to the spokesman, stormed police checkpoints in Ibrahim Khil area on Sunday morning, triggering a gun battle which lasted for a couple of hours, Xinhua news agency reported. The spokesman confirmed that three militants and two policemen were killed in the fighting. Four policemen and five militants were also injured in the gun battle, he added. A bulk ore carrier has been blocked from berthing in Western Australia after a crew member contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalised. The man in his 50s became unwell last week while aboard the Aqua Genie vessel in Commonwealth waters off the coast of Karratha. A boat was sent to retrieve the man, who is described as being 'quite unwell', and he was taken to Karratha Health Campus overnight. Premier Mark McGowan said the man was expected to be flown to Perth later on Monday then taken by ambulance to a dedicated isolation ward. The man in his 50s became unwell last week while aboard the Aqua Genie vessel (pictured) in Commonwealth waters off the coast of Karratha He said the ship's captain had communicated that none of the remaining 20 crew aboard the ship were unwell. 'We've advised the captain of the Aqua Genie to remain in Commonwealth waters. Our expectation is the ship will leave,' he told reporters. 'This situation is very serious but I'm advised health authorities are taking all precautions to manage the risk.' Mr McGowan said all staff involved in retrieving the sick crewman had been wearing personal protective equipment. Police Commissioner Chris Dawson confirmed he had issued a legal direction blocking the ship's master from berthing at Port Walcott. Premier Mark McGowan said the man was expected to be flown to Perth later on Monday then taken by ambulance to a dedicated isolation ward It is the first time during the pandemic that such a direction has been issued in WA. 'There's no information that I'm aware of that the ship's master is going to ignore the law,' he said. 'The law has been exercised because of public health concerns. We're not trying to be punitive, we're trying to protect Western Australia.' Mr McGowan confirmed his government would move in coming days to prevent people from working in hotel quarantine settings if they had not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged over 50 in WA is expected to resume this week once consent arrangements are finalised. To the Editor: Re Ill Never Let Myself Love a Job Again (Sunday Review, April 11): Like Emi Nietfeld, I felt deeply lost in my early 20s, and when I landed a job at a tech start-up, I thought that Id been saved. This conviction kept me at the company long after Id realized that the toxic culture was destroying my physical and mental health. When I finally left, I swore that I would never love a job again. My vow backfired. After six months at my new job (chosen because I knew that I could never love it), I learned that I couldnt stand spending 40 hours a week doing work that sparked no passion. I left, this time for the robotics industry, where competition for talent is so fierce that companies must both inspire a certain degree of loyalty and prioritize work-life balance to retain qualified engineers. I learned that it is possible to love your job without losing yourself if your employers long-term strategy doesnt rely on burnout. Instead of telling workers to set boundaries, maybe we should devote more of our public discourse to how companies can inspire employees without exploiting them. Biden gives prosecutors more freedom to terminate immigration cases 93 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Armenia per day Robert Kocharyan: We are able to find solutions 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 The Australian Federal Police is launching fresh investigations into former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith and has already seized evidence implicating the war hero in an alleged conspiracy to silence witnesses. The new evidence includes letters Mr Roberts-Smith allegedly placed in sealed envelopes and planned to send anonymously to SAS soldiers he feared would testify against him at a war crimes inquiry. SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith with the prosthetic leg taken from an Afghan man whom he killed. The AFP has also uncovered the existence of at least five burner phones that the Victoria Cross recipient arranged to be purchased in 2018, according to records sighted by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Authorities have identified multiple Optus and Telstra SIM cards purchased for use in burner phones belonging to Mr Roberts-Smith in 2018 and 2019. Burner phones are disposable mobile phones subscribed in the name of a third party to obscure the true identity of the user from police phone taps and are typically used by people concerned they might be bugged by authorities. After use they are usually destroyed. The Racist Incident That Wasnt Commentary The students, administration, and faculty of Albion College in Michigan were driven into a frenzy a couple of weeks ago when racist and anti-Semitic graffiti surfaced in a dorm stairwell and photos were posted to a local news Facebook group. The photos included messages such as White Power and KKK. Now the campus police have discovered that a 21-year-old black student was responsible. He has admitted creating the graffiti, and video evidence corroborates his confession, police said. Here we go again! Another fake racial incident, another hoax perpetrated by a supposed victim. This is Jussie Smollett all over again. Fake racial incidents are now commonplace both on campus and in the culture. So the first interesting question is: Why would someone seek to orchestrate a horrific event that didnt really happen? It cant be that the perpetrators, from Smollett to the black student at Albion, are merely trying to call attention to a social problem so that it can be promptly addressed. Blacks didnt have to stage lynchings in the late 19th century, because tragically there were a lot of them going on in plain sight. Moreover, why would Smollett and his campus counterparts seek to pin the blame on innocent parties for what they did not in fact do? A good way to understand this bizarre phenomenon is to turn to the discipline of economics, and specifically to the law of supply and demand. It seems that, both on the university campus and in the culture, the demand for racism exceeds the supply. To put it differently, theres an enormous desire to find racism, and theres not enough racism to be found. This is especially true on a progressive campus, which Albion certainly is. On such campuses, white students do backward somersaults to accommodate blacks and other minorities. It would be interesting to perform a sociological experiment in which black students approach whites and ask them to kiss their feet. I predict that many would. Of course, the experiment could not even be attempted in reverse. It would cause a national uproar! So, evidently, this black student wanted to find racism at Albion but couldnt. So he decided to manufacture it. And what might his motive have been for doing that? Perhaps he was sincerely frustrated that the racism he blamed for his personal failures was scarcely in evidence. Consequently, by bringing out what he fervently believed to be hidden, he would then find corroboration for his own self-perception as a victim of wicked forces on campus he couldnt otherwise identify. That the student was psychologically disturbed in some way, I do not doubt. But the reason I feel no sympathy for him is because, in an effort to assuage his own anxieties, and also perhaps to achieve some public recognition as a poster figure for racist victimization, hes willing to falsely accuse others. Hes like the cop who plants the evidence he wants to find, so that he can arrest the guy hes convinced is guilty. A horrific abuse of power. These staged racial incidents remind me of false #MeToo accusations that have also become quite common. Once again, the motives are psychological: a desire to take revenge on someone for a perceived offense or slight. Or they can be political: an attempt to vindicate the claims of widespread sexism, or even an attempt to keep a nominee off the Supreme Court who might vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. But this is where the plot of the Albion story gets even more interesting. Having been vindicated by the students confession, the college pleads guilty anyway. Here is its statement: We know the acts of racism that have occurred this week are not about one particular person or one particular incident. We know that there is a significant history of racial pain and trauma on campus and we are taking action to repair our community. This statement is, on its face, a lie. There were not acts of racism that occurred; there was only a series of orchestrated acts that created a false impression of racism. This was in fact the act of one particular person. Yet weirdly, the college minimizes the wicked act of false accusation by implying that its own history of racism somehow drove him to do it. In other words, even though the specific incident was false, the college intends to treat it as if it were true. It would be as if Brett Kavanaugh, upon being cleared of accusations of sexual predation, would then turn around and acknowledge that even though the specific actions attributed to him didnt occur, he was nevertheless conscious of many insensitive and sexist actions he had taken as a teenager, and therefore he was assuming the responsibility of being a sexual predator anyway. This would of course never happen, which is why the colleges actions require an explanation. Here, then, is the explanation. Most campuses like Albion, like many other institutions in our culture, have created massive race industries within their bureaucracy. Campuses typically have innumerable deans and other bureaucrats whose full-time job it is to fight racism. Faculties have anti-racism committees. There are racism consultants on hand to provide assistance. Student groups are mobilized to combat racism. We can see how it becomes an institutional problem for the race industry when theres little or no racism to be found. Consequently, a bogus incident such as the one this 21-year-old kid faked becomes not only useful to the perpetrator, but also useful to the campus bureaucracy. They were waiting and hoping for something like this, so that they could spring into action. It helps people understand why theres a race bureaucracy in the first place. I can only imagine the frustration and disappointment of these race professionals when the incident turned out to be fake. No wonder Albion is trying to recover, not from any genuine racism, but rather from the public impression created by the guilty students confession that racism on campus is so scarce that it has to be invented. Albion is eager to dispel that impression so that it can justify its race industry and the resources devoted to sustaining it. Bottom line: As long as the demand for racism outstrips the supply, there will be a market for faked racial incidents. Moreover, such incidents are encouraged, as in this case at Albion, by the failure of the college to turn its wrath on the perpetrator, the way it would surely have done had the perpetrator been a white kid or some sort of white supremacist. As it is, the student has been temporarily suspendednot expelledand neither the school nor the cops have released his name. Dinesh DSouza is an author, filmmaker, and host of the daily Dinesh DSouza podcast. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. IFA Sheep Chairman Sean Dennehy said the get tough policy by the Scottish authorities on dog attacks is in stark contrast to the approach in this country. Scotland has passed legislation that means dog owners can now be fined up to 5,000 or jailed for six months. This is the kind of deterrent thats needed if we want to get serious about this issue. Unfortunately, there has been an abject failure by our authorities to put appropriate sanctions in place to deal with the irresponsible and reckless behaviour of some dog owners, he said. Mr Dennehy said there has been very strong support for IFAs No Dogs Allowed campaign since it was launched last month. People understand why we were forced to do it, and have backed us. But if the authorities focused on the issue, we could bring about a safer environment for livestock, he said. All dogs are legally required to be micro chipped and have a licence. This requirement is not enforced, but farmers must register and record every animal on our farms on a national data base. The latest report on the implementation of the Control of Dogs Act shows only 217,261 dogs are licensed out of an estimated 800,000 dogs in the country. The reality is nobody knows how many dogs there are because of the lack of enforcement. Mr Dennehy said there must be a national ownership database for all dogs that allows those responsible for them be identified. NORTHWOOD, Iowa A Mason City man is no longer face charges is Worth Countybut is now accused of crimes in Floyd County. The Worth County Attorneys Office asked for charges of ongoing criminal conduct, three counts of third-degree burglary, second-degree theft, and third-degree theft be dismissed against Riley Joe Morris Brekke, 21 of Mason City. Brekke had been accused of joining Curtis Anderson Jr. and Nicholas McLeland is stealing from three homes near Grafton in early March. However, prosecutors say there is not sufficient evidence to convict Brekke of those charges. Curtis Anderson (left) and Nicholas McLeland Curtis Anderson (left) and Nicholas McLeland Brekke is now charged with first- and second-degree theft in Floyd County for allegedly helping Anderson and McLeland commit a crime spree of several burglary and thefts. Brekke is accused of driving Anderson and McLeland to a location in Floyd on March 5 where they stole two vehicles. Lisa Utman Randall, executive director of the United Theatre, is pictured above the complexs theater area. Randall led a group tour to show the progress being made on the renovation of the theater last Tuesday. Mogadishu, Somali (PANA) - A children's charity, Save the Children, is warning that millions of children and their families in Somalia will be left without enough food to eat as crop and vegetable production is expected to drop by 75-80 percent this season Woolworths supermarkets will now be manufacturing their paper bags in Australia after customer backlash over its Chinese-made carriers. The major supermarket chain made the announcement on Monday that it had entered into a multi-million dollar partnership with family-owned Australian manufacturer, Detpak. Its current paper bags came under fire in June last year because they were originally manufactured in China and Vietnam. There was customer backlash over the paper bags being manufactured overseas in June last year Despite the customer backlash, Woolworths have said that the long term plan was always to manufacture the paper bags in Australia. A spokesperson for Woolworths told Daily Mail Australia that the company had, 'been in conversations with Detpak since early last year.' They also said that Woolworths had been using paper bags from China and Vietnam because Detpak were so far unable to meet the demand. 'The local production capacity didn't exist at the time, but we had always planned to manufacture the bags in Australia,' the spokesperson said. Woolworths released a statement that said the partnership represented its significant efforts to grow Australia's local production, claiming it creating 25 new jobs. Despite the customer backlash Woolworths said they had always planned on manufacturing the bags here in Australia 'The move represents a significant investment in local manufacturing, which will create around 25 new Australian jobs and contribute to broader efforts to grow Australias local production capacity,' the statement read. The Australian made bags will now be offered in over 400 stores in Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania, with the Detpak bags to be rolled out in all stores nationwide by the end of the year. The paper bags are now one of four different types of bags available for purchase since Woolworths phased out single use plastic bags in 2018. Detpak's Australian made paper bags will be made from 70 per cent recycled paper with all paper used in the bag sourced responsibly and certified by PEFC. They will be sold for 20 cents. Bengaluru: The state government of Karnataka has declared that all exams in universities and colleges will be conducted as per schedule despite the state witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan recently said. University exams will be conducted as per schedule. Classes will start as soon as exams are over. There will be no vacation. Initially, online classes will be held and then an option will be given to students to attend offline classes, the Karnataka deputy CM said. The 11-day corona curfew will come into effect in some districts of Karnataka, including the state capital, from Saturday night to contain the spread of COVID-19. The state government had announced a 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. Kalaburagi City Police are enforcing the night curfew (between 10 pm & 5 am) very strictly. We request people not to come out without any reason, said DCP Kishore Babu to news agency ANI. Ten States including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan have shown a rise in the COVID daily new cases. 82.82 per cent of the new cases are reported from these 10 states, as per the Union Health Ministry on Saturday (April 10). Meanwhile, India reported a record 168,912 COVID-19 infections overnight, data from the health ministry showed on Monday (April 12), overtaking Brazil to become the second-most affected country globally by COVID-19. (With inputs from ANI) Live TV BROOMFIELD, Colo. and WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Three years after becoming a Certified B Corporation, Danone North America today announced its recertification with even higher scores, in tandem with Nutricia North America, a part of the Danone North America family, achieving B CorpTM certification. Awarded to companies that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, this certification is another key step in Danone's ambition to achieve certification across the company globally by 2025 and mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible. As one of the world's largest B Corps, Danone North America believes it is the company's responsibility to balance purpose and performance to drive real, systemic change with its size and reach. In the last three years alone, the company has enacted programs to combat the threat of climate change, enhance biodiversity, reduce waste, provide for the food insecure and promote a more equitable society. Danone North America has long been committed to using business as a force for good, and believes that now more than ever, other large multinational organizations should invest in their social and environmental commitments and join the B Corp community. "Three years ago, Danone North America embarked on the B Corp journey with the goal of joining a movement of likeminded organizations committed to using business as a force for good," said Deanna Bratter, Head of Sustainable Development for Danone North America. "There's a seismic shift underway from consumers, employees and other stakeholders, who desire businesses do more than solely provide a service or product. What B Corp certification provides is a framework for businesses to operate and meet today's needs and build toward a more sustainable and inclusive future. It's our hope that other organizations join us in advancing the collective progress the movement sets out to achieve." Nutricia North America, which offers specialized nutrition products, is another Danone entity to receive B Corp certification in North America. With brands like Neocate, PhenylAde, Pro-Stat, Real Food Blends and KetoCal, Nutricia positively impacts the health and lives of thousands of infants, children, and adults as well as their families in the U.S. and Canada every year as they face food allergy issues, rare metabolic diseases, tube-feeding needs and epilepsy, as well as age-related challenges such as pressure wounds. "At Nutricia, we have been committed to transforming lives through the power of nutrition for more than 120 years," said Robert Schnurr, General Manager at Nutricia North America. "We are proud to lead the introduction of B Corp values to medical foods in North America as we continue to pioneer nutritional solutions to help people live longer, more joyful and healthier lives." To achieve B Corp certification, companies must meet credible, comprehensive, transparent and independent standards and earn a minimum audit score of 80 out of 200 possible points recertifying every three years to ensure continued commitment. Nutricia North America achieved a B Impact Assessment score of 85.6. Danone North America recertified with a score of 96 an improvement from its score of 85 when it was first certified in April 2018. Since 2015, Danone has partnered with B Lab a global nonprofit that creates standards and certifies B Corp companies to help define a meaningful and manageable path to certification for multinationals and publicly traded companies, as well as accelerate growth of the B Corp movement into the mainstream. Danone hopes to achieve global certification across the company by 2025. For more information about Danone, please visit www.danone.com. For more information about B Corp, please visit www.bcorporation.net. About Danone North America Danone North America is a purpose-driven company and an industry leader in the food and beverage category. As a Certified B Corporation, Danone North America is committed to the creation of both economic and social value, while nurturing natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Our strong portfolio of brands includes: Activia, DanActive, Danimals, Dannon, evian, Happy Family Organics, Honest to Goodness, Horizon Organic, International Delight, Light + Fit, Oikos, Silk, So Delicious Dairy Free, SToK, Two Good, Vega, Wallaby Organic and YoCrunch. With more than 6,000 employees and 14 production locations across the U.S. and Canada, Danone North America's mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. For more information, visit www.danonenorthamerica.com. For more information on Danone North America's B Corp status, visit: https://bcorporation.net/directory/danone-north-america. About Nutricia Since 1896, Nutricia has pioneered nutritional solutions that help people live longer, more joyful and healthier lives. Building on more than a century of research and innovation, Nutricia has harnessed the power of life-changing nutrition to create a leading specialized nutrition portfolio that can change a health trajectory for life. With its nutritional solutions, Nutricia supports healthy growth and development during the first 1000 days and helps to address some of the world's biggest health challenges, including in North America: faltering growth, food allergy, rare metabolic diseases, epilepsy and wound healing. As part of Danone, Nutricia embraces the company's "One Planet. One Health" vision reflecting that the health of people and the health of the planet are interconnected and therefore seeks to protect and nourish both. For more information visit www.nutricia.com SOURCE Danone North America Richard Madden was seen heading for a picnic with his friend Froy Gutierrez at Hampstead Heath in London on Sunday afternoon. The Bodyguard actor, 34, and the Teen Wolf star, 22, were spotted walking through the quaint village while carrying Marks and Spencer's bags in their hands. Richard opted for a casual look for their outing as he sported a grey jumper and cosy padded jacket, which he teamed with a pair of skinny jeans and black boots. Outing: Richard Madden was seen heading for a picnic with his friend Froy Gutierrez at Hampstead Heath in London on Sunday afternoon His locks appeared freshly-dyed a dark brown, which is likely for his new role in Amazon prime series Citadel, which he has been filming in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Froy sported a similar look, as donned a forest green jumper with a pair of black jeans and walking boots which he layered with a black padded jacket. The duo appeared in jovial spirits as they walked along chatting to each other. Low-key: The Bodyguard actor, 34, and the Teen Wolf star, 22, were spotted walking through the quaint village while carrying Marks and Spencer's bags in their hands Dressed down: Richard opted for a casual look for their outing as he sported a grey jumper and cosy padded jacket, which he teamed with a pair of skinny jeans and black boots New job: His locks appeared freshly-dyed a dark brown, which is likely for his new role in Amazon prime series Citadel, which he has been filming in recent weeks Casual: Meanwhile, Froy sported a similar look, as donned a forest green jumper with a pair of black jeans and walking boots which he layered with a black padded jacket Richard is currently filming the new series in southern England, and was recently pictured shooting at Rewley Road Fire Station, in Oxford. The two pals were pictured together in September last year, shortly after Richard spent time at a country estate in Scotland, where he caught up with fellow acting friends Lily James, Dominic Cooper and Gemma Chan during a rural group holiday. It was believed that Richard stayed in the Blair Atholl area of Scotland, a village in Perthshire known for its rustic stone buildings and scenic landscape. The quartet shared an array of photos via Instagram from the trip but it was unclear if Froy was also with them, as some fans claimed he was seen in London at the time. Chatty: The duo appeared in jovial spirits as they walked along chatting to each other Close pals? The two pals were pictured together in September last year, shortly after Richard spent time at a country estate in Scotland Idyllic: It was believed that Richard stayed in the Blair Atholl area of Scotland, a village in Perthshire known for its rustic stone buildings and scenic landscape It was reported last year that Richard was spending isolation in a lavish 20,000 a month LA property with Froy. Richard was believed to be living in fellow Emilia Clarke's two-bedroom home after moving out of the house he shared with Brandon Flynn last year. He was first photographed with the Teen Wolf star, who is from Texas, in February 2020. Group: The quartet shared an array of photos via Instagram from the trip but it was unclear if Froy was also with them, as some fans claimed he was seen in London at the time Hauled up: It was reported last year that Richard was spending isolation in a lavish 20,000 a month LA property with Froy Awkward: Moving on: Richard was believed to be living in fellow Emilia Clarke's two-bedroom home after moving out of the house he shared with Brandon Flynn (pictured) last year Richard previously lived with 13 Reasons Why actor Brandon, 26, until they had a falling out in November last year. According to The Sun, Richard and Froy were holed up in the luxury LA pad during the coronavirus pandemic. Brandon and Richard allegedly drifted apart after Brandon asked bosses at fashion brand Versace not to invite Richard to an event they were throwing at the end of last year, reports the website. A source told the publication: 'Richard and Brandon bonded over being up-and-coming actors in the industry and decided to share a place while both working in LA. Budding friendship: He was first photographed with the Teen Wolf star, who is from Texas , in February 2020 Separate ways: Richard previously lived with 13 Reasons Why actor Brandon, 26, until they had a falling out in November last year Reports: According to The Sun , Richard and Froy were holed up in the luxury LA pad during the coronavirus pandemic Rift: Brandon and Richard allegedly drifted apart after Brandon asked bosses at fashion brand Versace not to invite Richard to an event they were throwing at the end of last year, reports the website 'But they have fallen out in the past few months and have cut ties with each other. 'Brandon has made it clear he doesnt want to see Richard because he asked the team at Versace not to invite him to a party they are having at the beginning of December.' The news of the pair moving out came after Richard dodged a question about his relationship with Brandon after it was implied they were more than just friends. During an interview with the New York Times to promote his role in Rocketman, Richard said: 'I just keep my personal life personal. I've never talked about my relationships.' A source told the publication: 'Richard and Brandon bonded over being up-and-coming actors in the industry and decided to share a place while both working in LA Ouch! 'Brandon has made it clear he doesnt want to see Richard because he asked the team at Versace not to invite him to a party they are having at the beginning of December' It is the day before three new Expedition 65 crew members launch and dock to the International Space Station from Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, three orbital lab residents are preparing to return to Earth while the rest of the crew studies space science and keeps the station in tip-top shape. The Soyuz MS-18 rocket that will liftoff Friday at 3:42 a.m. EDT with one NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts was blessed on Thursday by a Russian Orthodox priest. The traditional ceremony takes place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad before each Soyuz crew mission. Two veteran station residents, Mark Vande Hei of NASA and Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, will take a ride to the station with first time space-flyer Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos. Novitskiy will lead the short space flight to the station's Rassvet module where the Soyuz crew ship will dock at 7:07 a.m. The hatches will open about two hours later and the trio will join seven new crewmates for a welcoming ceremony with officials on the ground. NASA TV will broadcast the launch and docking activities beginning at 2:45 a.m. Little more than a week after the new crew's arrival, three Expedition 64 residents will end their stay in space and land on Earth inside the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, will undock from the Poisk module officially ending their mission on April 16 at 9:33 p.m. They will parachute to a landing inside their Soyuz crew ship less than three-and-a-half hours later in Kazakhstan. Science is keeping pace aboard the space station as the crew explored biotechnology and fluid physics today. The astronauts also worked on life support systems and U.S. spacesuit components. NASA Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins observed protein crystal samples in a microscope for a study exploring the production of advanced medicines in space. Flight Engineer Victor Glover of NASA observed how fluids behave in microgravity to help engineers design optimal fuel tanks for satellites and spaceships. Hopkins also serviced nitrogen and oxygen transfer gear inside the station's Atmospheric Control System. Glover assisted NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker as she swapped parts on U.S. spacesuits. Finally, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi installed a materials exposure study in the Kibo laboratory module's airlock where it will soon be placed into the harsh space environment for observation. On-Orbit Status Report Payloads Biolab: The crew searched and found a missing incubator inspection window. The window has been installed in the desired location. The BioLab is a multiuser research facility located in the Columbus laboratory. It's used to perform space biology experiments on microorganisms, cells, tissue cultures, small plants, and small invertebrates. BioLab allows scientists to gain a better understanding of the effects of microgravity and space radiation on biological organisms. FLUIDICS: The crew set up the Fluidics experiment facility, however, due to some potential interference between one of the sample spheres and a connector, the first experiment run will not occur today as originally planned. The ground team will discuss a forward plan. The measurement of liquid displacement within a sphere in microgravity relates to a given kinematic representation of a spacecraft's fuel tank. The FLUIDICS investigation evaluates the Center of Mass (CoM) position regarding a temperature gradient on a representation of a fuel tank. The observation of capillary wave turbulence on the surface of a fluid layer in a low-gravity environment can provide insights into measuring the existing volume in a sphere. JAXA Video Take 8: The crew set up the hardware and participated in the JAXA video take 8 event with the ground. JAXA EPO includes conducting cultural activities such as writing reports about and filming video of activities aboard the ISS. These tools can help inform the public about the importance of the ISS, JAXA's Kibo module, and human spaceflight. ManD Feedstock Resolution: The feedstock filament for the Manufacturing Device (ManD) is having difficulty feeding smoothly into the system. The crew activity today is to manually feed the filament into the extruder in an attempt to recover nominal functionality. ManD enables the production of components on the ISS for both NASA and commercial objectives. Parts, entire experiments, and tools can be created on demand utilizing the MAND printer that is installed into an Express Rack locker location. MAND is capable of producing parts out of a wide variety of thermopolymers including engineered plastics. Micro-16: In a continuation of the Micro-16 experiment, the crew inspected the Micro-16 sample containers. Loss of muscle mass and strength present a major challenge for astronauts on future long space voyages. Determining Muscle Strength in Space-flown Caenorhabditis elegans (Micro-16) uses this tiny worm to test whether decreased expression of muscle proteins is associated with decreased strength. The research team developed a new device to measure muscle strength in multiple generations of space-reared C. elegans worms and compare that strength to postflight muscle gene expression analyses. MISSE-14 MSC (Material Sample Carrier) install: The crew installed the MISSE-14-NASA MSCs onto the JEMAL slide table. The MISSE-14 hardware will later be passed through the JEM Airlock and installed onto its external location. Materials International Space Station Experiment-14-NASA (MISSE-14-NASA) continues a series of tests by NASA Glenn Research Center on how the harsh environment of space affects the performance and durability of various materials. Each mission tests new materials and material configurations, and similar materials fly on multiple MISSE missions. MISSE-14-NASA exposes de-orbit, phase change and radiation shielding materials as well as 10 types of crop seeds to the space environment. RTPCG-2 Microscopy Observation: The crew set up the microscope, observed and took imagery of the sample wells, and then returned the samples to SABL. During the observation, several larger, well-defined crystals were seen. RTPCG-2 demonstrates new methods for producing high-quality protein crystals in microgravity. Previous work has shown that microgravity produces high-quality protein crystals that can be analyzed to identify possible targets for drugs to treat disease. RTPCG-2 produces high-quality protein crystals for up to eight proteins for detailed analysis back on Earth. Vascular Aging: As a continuation of the Vascular Aging experiment operations, the crew set up the hardware and reviewed the big picture words for the Vascular Aging oral glucose tolerance test. Emerging data point towards linkages among cardiovascular health risk, carotid artery aging, bone metabolism and blood biomarkers, insulin resistance, and radiation. Data indicate that aging-like changes are accelerated in many ISS crew members, particularly with respect to their arteries. As part of the Space Environment Causes Acceleration of Vascular Aging: Roles of Hypogravity, Nutrition, and Radiation (Vascular Aging) investigation, ultrasounds of the arteries, blood samples, oral glucose tolerance, and wearable sensors from ISS crew members are analyzed. Systems Hard Upper Torso (HUT) Changeout: In preparation for future EVAs, the crew changed the HUT on EMU 3006 from an extra large to a medium. Intravehicular Activity (IVA) Tool Box Labeling: The ISS Tool Box consists of five drawers, each filled with foam with the tool cut outs, each cut out labeled with the appropriate tool. Drawers 1, 3, 4 & 5 needed new decals as well as label error correction, replacement with larger decals and color added to the labels for easier identification. Today the crew permanently installed new labeling decals on the appropriate drawers. 63S Pre-Pack: The crew began pre-packing items for return on the 63S vehicle. 63S is scheduled to undock and return on April 17. Crew Quarters (CQ) Starboard Cleaning: In preparation for arrival of the 64S crew, the starboard CQ was cleaned including intake and exhaust ducts, fans and airflow sensors. Completed Task List Activities: None Today's Ground Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Payloads ops support EVA EMU ops Look Ahead Plan Friday, April 9 (GMT 099) Payloads: AC touch, Actiwatch plus, Astrobee/Gecko, AstroPi, CIR manifold bottle exchange, ELF sample holder exchange, Fluidics, Food Acceptability, Food Physiology, Nanoracks Rotational Dynamics ball deflate, PLDR card exchange, POLAR and MERLIN desiccant swaps, RTPCG-2, Standard Measures, Vascular Aging Systems: 64S launch/dock ISS Safety Briefing FRIDGE 2 reconfig Saturday, April 10 (GMT 100) Payloads: No utilization activities Systems Crew adaptation Crew handover Sunday, April 11 (GMT 101) Payloads: Astrobee off Systems Crew off duty Today's Planned Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations MTT/MSC Installation Review JAXA Video Taking Part 8 Preparation Extravehicular Activity Hard Upper Torso Gather Micro-16 Crew Observation Countermeasures Systems (CMS) Exercise Equipment Gather JAXA Video Taking 8 Part1 Personal CO2 Monitor Charging In Line Cable Voltage Regulator Remove and Replace EMU Hard Upper Torso (HUT) On-Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) R&R PMA2/PMA3 Crew Suitcase Swap COLUMBUS Deck 1 and 2 clean-up Columbus decks height measurement JAXA Video Taking 8 Part2 Payload Data Router Power off Japanese Experiment Logistics Module Hygiene Cover Video Overview Vascular Aging Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Review CSA Generic Frozen Blood Collection Hardware Setup Vascular Aging Glucose Test Setup MISSE Rack Front Stowage Clear MISSE-FF MSC Installation for JEM RMS Small Fine Arm Deployment Vascular Aging FRIDGE Item Insertion BIOLAB Incubator Inspection Window Lid Wanted Poster EMU Hard Upper Torso (HUT) On-Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) R&R ISS Crew departure preparation Microscope Reposition Preparation Real-time Protein Crystal Growth Microscopy Plate S/N 1B2, Day 7 Fluidics hardware installation [Deferred] Microscope Reposition Post Ops Extravehicluar Activity In-Line Cable Voltage Regulator Remove and Replace EMU Hard Upper Torso (HUT) On-Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) R&R Extravehicular Activity Hard Upper Torso Stow XF305 Camcorder Setup JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side Materials ISS Experiment (MISSE) MTT Install Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System(NORS) Nitrogen Transfer Termination Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Airlock Restow JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side Crew quarters prep for the arriving crew Fluidics Run 1 execution [Deferred] Hardware pre-pack for return and disposal on Soyuz 747. Note 13 Personal CO2 Monitor Calibration Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config JEM Setup PAO Preparation Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) - JEM Manufacturing Device Manual Feedstock Feed to Extruder IVA Tool Box Label Installation Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT) Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System(NORS) Nitrogen Transfer Termination ISS Crew departure preparation Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Oxygen Transfer Initiation ARED Cylinder Flywheel Stow HMS Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) Test Fluidics Power OFF [Deferred] Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. The Decker/Royal Agency wins Sandals Resorts International, as well as its affiliate brands including Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, Fowl Cay Resort and Your Jamaican Villas, effective May 1. Decker/Royal will provide full communications counsel for the company, including consumer- and industry-facing PR and corporate communications. The agency previously worked with SRI in 2018. SRI operates 16 beachfront properties in Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, Barbados and Grenada and is opening a resort in Curacao soon. Decker/Royal also represents the brands and products of Travel + Leisure Co., including Wyndham Destinations, guided tour company Trafalgar, and travel technology company App in the Air. Marketing Maven lands Visit Conejo Valley, the official tourism marketing organization for the cities of Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills, CA. Marketing Maven will conduct a public relations and marketing strategy campaign for the organization through January 2022, concentrating on Southern California media and general top-tier travel and hospitality media. We chose Marketing Maven because they are tried and true experts at marketing and public relations, especially in the travel and tourism industry, said Visit Conejo Valley president and CEO Danielle Borja. The Abbi Agency takes on AOR duties for the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange and its consumer-facing online health insurance exchange, Nevada Health Link. In partnership with Marketing for Change and Ericka Aviles Consulting, The Abbi Agency will work with Nevada Health Link to activate awareness for the online exchange and engage the growing population of Nevada, especially the Hispanic community, through a robust integrated marketing strategy. "As we go full steam ahead to grow the impact of Nevada Health Link, having the unique powerhouse of three expert agencies working collaboratively, each dedicated to ensuring individuals have access to quality and affordable health coverage, is a great privilege, said Silver State Health Insurance Exchange communications officer Janel Davis. Says he's seen 'collective trauma and grieving and depression' due to Covid-19 Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick has revealed he thought he would die as he battled Covid-19 for a second time earlier this year. The Irish veterinary surgeon, 53, first overcame the virus in March last year, but caught it once again in February, receiving a positive test result on the same day he was called for his vaccine. Appearing on This Morning today from his practice in Surrey, he said he was 'paralysed with muscle and joint pain' and warned the public to 'be careful and respectful' as lockdown restrictions in England eased today. The vet credited his cat Ricochet and dog Ciara with helping him through the illness, saying that it was his love for his pets that inspired him to 'keep going'. Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick, pictured on his Channel 4 show with pooch Ciara, revealed he thought he would die during his second battle with Covid-19 earlier this year The Irish veterinary surgeon, 53, revealed on This Morning how he overcame the virus in March last year, but caught it once again in February He explained: 'I had Covid last March and again I had Covid just a few weeks ago and I thought I was going to die. 'This time was real tough. I was like paralysed with muscle and joint pain, and just as a warning to people out there be careful, be respectful, we're not out of it yet.' He advised those struggling with their mental health to consider adopting a rescue animal, as long as they have the capability to look after them properly after lockdown. He explained: 'When I was lying in bed three weeks ago and I thought I was going to die, when Ricochet held my hand and Ciara looked up at me, I felt like I wanted to keep going.' The vet credited his cat Ricochet and dog Ciara (pictured) with helping him through the illness, saying that it was his love for his pets that inspired him to 'keep going CAN YOU CATCH COVID-19 TWICE? Early on in the pandemic, scientists were baffled as to whether or not you could catch Covid-19 twice. Now the evidence is more convincing, following a string of reports of re-infections all over the world. With some illnesses such as chickenpox, the immune system can remember exactly how to destroy it and becomes able to fend it off if it ever tries to enter the body again. Tests have shown that many people who recover from Covid-19 have antibodies - which can produce future immunity - but it is not known whether there are enough of them. However, antibodies are only one type of substance that can produce immunity. The immune system is a huge web of proteins that have different functions to protect the body against infection. Others, including white blood cells called T cells and B cells, can also help the body to fight off disease but are more difficult to discover using currently available tests. Evidence is beginning to suggest that antibodies disappear in as little as eight weeks after infection with the coronavirus, scientifically called SARS-Cov-2. On the other hand, T cells - which target and destroy cells already infected with the virus - are 'durable'. A promising study done on monkeys found that they were unable to catch Covid-19 a second time after recovering from it, which led scientists to believe the same may apply to humans. The rhesus monkeys were deliberately reinfected by scientists in China to test how their bodies reacted. Because the coronavirus has only been known to scientists for about 12 months there has not been enough time to study whether people develop long-term immunity. Advertisement 'For those who get out there everyday and walk their dogs and it gives them mental wellbeing, I cannot encourage you enough to get a wonderful animal friend.' The TV vet appeared on the programme to promote an upcoming live virtual event, based on his memoir How Animals Saved My Life - which details how his pooch Ciara helped him recover from a deep depression. He said that he's seen 'collective trauma and grieving and depression' among his clients, and will explore how to 'get through these difficult times' in his upcoming event. Noel explained: 'In this consulting room I see the collective trauma and grieving and depression that goes with lockdown, and we're coming out now but please be careful. He told hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary that he's seen 'collective trauma and grieving and depression' among his clients The supervet warned the public to 'be careful and respectful' as lockdown restrictions in England eased today 'Having Covid and thinking I was going to die like some of the patients in this consulting room, the idea for the virtual chat is how do we deal with that, what values do we have collectively to get us through these difficult times.' Earlier this month Noel revealed he'd been fighting an 'exhausting' battle with the virus for the last few weeks. The 'Glorious Twelfth': What can you do from today? (And what do we still have to wait for?) All non-essential shops will be allowed to reopen, as will hairdressers, beauty salons, gyms and swimming pools, with no group classes allowed. Pubs, restaurants and cafes can reopen for outdoor service, but will have to wait until at least May 17 to serve customers indoors. Mass testing to be available, with everyone urged to take two tests per week. New care home rules will allow residents to have two visitors, rather than just one. Self-catering accommodation, including campsites, can reopen, but hotels and B&Bs must remain closed until at least May 17. Shops will be allowed to stay open until 10pm, six days a week, in a bid to reduce crowding. The maximum number of people allowed to attend weddings and wakes will rise from six to 15. Public buildings can reopen, as can outdoor attractions such as theme parks and zoos. Controversial hospitality rules such as the 10pm curfew and requirement to buy a 'substantial meal' with alcohol will be dropped. Clothes shops will be allowed to reopen their changing rooms for the first time in more than a year. Still banned - Until May 17 at the earliest: Gatherings of up to 30 people outdoors, with the rule of six and two-household rule indoors; pubs and restaurants will reopen indoors; and controlled indoor events of up to 1,000 people or 50 per cent of a venue's capacity, whichever is lower, will be permitted. Outdoor events will be allowed to have a capacity of 50 per cent or 4,000 people, whichever is lower; while special provisions will be made for large, outdoor, seated venues where crowds can be spaced out, with up to 10,000 people or 25 per cent of total seated capacity, whichever is lower. Up to 30 people will be allowed to attend weddings, receptions, funerals, and commemorative events, including wakes. Indoor gatherings like exercise classes will be given the go ahead. Until June 21 at the earliest: All legal limits on social contact will be lifted and nightclubs reopened. Advertisement He took to Instagram to thank his fans for their well-wishes and gave an update on his health, saying he got a 'horrible dose' of the virus but is 'over the worst'. The star of Channel 4's series The Supervet looked drained as he opened up about his exhaustion following his health battle and urged people to be careful not to contract the virus. He said: 'I wanted to reach out and say thank you for your good wishes.Some of you will know I've had Covid pretty bad these last couple of weeks. 'It's a horrible dose and leaves you very exhausted so I guess what I wanted to say is: 'We're not done with this thing and you've got to look after each other. 'You've gotta observe the rules, wear your masks and observe social distancing and importantly get your vaccine if you can.' Noel continued: 'Because this is a bad disease and it really takes it out [of you] and I can't emphasise enough that you've got to be careful still.' 'If you can, give your animals a cuddle. That always makes things better but take care of each other. 'We're not done till we're done so do the right thing, look after each other and thank you so much for looking out for me. God bless.' Noel revealed in his book how fell into a deep depression after being accused of malpractice over his treatment of a tortoise. He fitted three bionic limbs to a Hermann's tortoise called Hermes to replace those chewed off by rats during hibernation. After discussing euthanasia with the owner, he performed surgery, believing Hermes could live another 50 years and because it was done with his 'best interests in our hearts'. But a few months later, at the end of 2018, after Hermes died at home of a seemingly unrelated condition, four vets lodged an official complaint. As the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons investigated, Noel faced losing his career and was left 'crying behind closed doors while putting on a smile to face the world'. In his book released last October, How Animals Saved My Life: Being The Supervet, he said: 'The complainants maintained I had put self-promotion above my commitment to the health and welfare of my patient and requested a full disciplinary hearing. 'Depending on the outcome, I could face a suspension or even be struck off, meaning I would no longer be allowed to practice veterinary medicine, which had been the central purpose of my life for as long as I could remember. As the investigation process began, I sank into a big cloud of depression. And in spite of seeking professional help, it wouldn't budge.' After a 14-month investigation, The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons closed the case after concluding that his actions did not amount to serious professional misconduct. on Monday reported 13,685 new COVID-19 cases while 72 fatalities took the death toll in the state to 9,224, a senior official said here. The total number of cases in the state stands at 7,05,619 and the active caseload is 81,576. "In the past 24 hours, 13,685 fresh cases were reported while 3,197 were discharged in this period. There are 81,576 active cases while 6,14,819 were treated and discharged. The state reported total of 9,224 deaths till now since the start of the pandemic," Additional Chief Secretary of Health Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here. The state recorded 72 deaths, the highest single-day toll this month, according to official figures. Among the total active cases, 44,196 patients are in home isolation, he said, adding that on Sunday over 1.92 lakh samples were tested and the total samples tested rose to over 3.69 crores. In the state, over 75 lakh persons were administered COVID-19 vaccine, including over 12.7 lakh who got the second dose as well, he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Francis Khoo Thwe On Friday, at least 82 people were killed in Bago, which came under siege in the early hours of the morning. The bodies of the dead and wounded were stacked in a pagoda and then disappeared. Raids on homes was followed by arrests and destruction. Soldiers prevented the retrieval of the bodies of those killed, as well as the treatment of the wounded. As of yesterday, 706 people have been killed following the coup d'etat with 3,059 people arrested. Yangon (AsiaNews) The death toll from Myanmars coup reached 706 yesterday, the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP) has reported after receiving full documentation of the massacre that took place in Bago on Friday. On that day alone, 82 people were killed. The city of Bago (90 km northeast of Yangon) came under siege in the early hours of Friday morning. The military deployed at least 250 soldiers and used heavy artillery against protesters and barricades on Ma Ga Dit Road (picture 2). According to rescue organisations and U Ye Htut, one of the anti-regime strike leaders, it was not possible to retrieve the bodies of those killed or offer medical care to the wounded. Soldiers opened fire on anything that moved in the street or appeared at windows. On Saturday, following the Bago massacre, the United Nations office in Myanmar issued a statement calling for an immediate end to the violence and demanded that security forces allow medical teams to retrieve the bodies and treat the wounded. An eyewitness told Myanmar Now that on Friday he saw dozens of bodies of people killed or injured stacked in the Zeyar Muni pagoda. Around 11 pm, soldiers took away the bodies of the dead and wounded. From the way they shouted they seemed to be drunk. The next day the place where the bodies were laid was all clean up. It is not known where the bodies were taken. According to locals, the military is trying to hide the bodies of the victims to avoid international criticism. According to a junta-run newspaper, only one person was killed in the Bago clashes. From 7 am to 10 pm on Friday, the military cut off electricity in the city and raided private homes, arresting a certain number of people and damaging homes. The next day, a house to house search took place from 10 am to 3 pm. The AAPP reported that, as of late on Sunday, 3,059 people had been detained. Of these, 64 were tried and convicted. Another 657 have been issued arrest warrants, but are on the run. Bedeschi wins reclaimer order for Polish plant 12 April 2021 Bedeschi has been awarded a new contract by Nanjing Kisen International Engineering ()CNBM), for a LafargeHolcim cement plant in Poland. The new order will include the refurbishment of an existing storage with the installation of two new semi-portal reclaimers Pal SP 130/18 for limestone at a capacity of 340tph each and a new crushing system featuring two RI 450/1500 double roller crushers to reduce gypsum, correctives and other cement additives. This order follows the project just completed in Indonesia with Nanjing Kisen for Grobogan Cement (Indonesia) for a complete clay storage and crushing system. Published under Marks and Spencer will introduce over 30 million bees to its suppliers' farms in a bid to boost pollinator numbers and improve product quality. The retailer says it will introduce millions of bees to a total of 28 farms across the country this summer. The move is part of a new five year farming with nature programme to support farmers in becoming more environmentally friendly. Producers will gain support to help them become more sustainable by adopting nature-friendly farming practices. Bees contribute to a third of the food consumed, but the habitats they depend on like wildflower meadows are dwindling. Beekeeper David Wainwright, who will be working with the farmers, said the campaign would have a positive impact on the environment. "Each farm were working with is unique and its produce will benefit the bees," he added. "In turn it will ensure the farmers get greater yields on their crops and produce better-quality food." As part of the programme, Marks and Spencer has also established 17 Indicator and Innovation Farms across the UK, spanning numerous sectors. The farms will be trialling new ways of farming with nature and measuring environmental improvements and benefits over time. There are a lot of ideas in the world today. It is what fuels the world. We always say how we need ideas. But we don't really value them. In our business, thousands get thrown away every day. Over the last couple of years I have noticed what I call Swiss-Army knife ideas... To understand how Ron DeSantis last week became the apparent front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and how the liberal media helped the Florida governor get there watch the video of his March 22 encounter with 60 Minutes reporter Sharyn Alfonsi. Or rather, watch two videos. In the unedited video, DeSantis provides a detailed rebuttal to Alfonsis allegation that he engaged in a pay-to-play scheme with the supermarket chain Publix, trading a $100,000 campaign donation in exchange for exclusive vaccination distribution rights in Palm Beach County. The first pharmacies that had the vaccine were CVS and Walgreens, and they had a long-term care mission, DeSantis explained, adding that, according to county officials, 90 percent of their seniors live within a mile and a half of a Publix. He concluded, Were also now very much expanding CVS and Walgreens, now that theyve completed their long-term care mission. Not one of these quotes was included in the 60 Minutes version, which is edited to make the governor appear dismissive and nonresponsive to Alfonsis allegation. Nor did 60 Minutes mention that the decision to use Publix was made not by the governor but rather by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, whose director, Jared Moskowitz, is a Democrat. Moskowitz warned 60 Minutes in advance of the story that this Publix narrative was malarkey. People eat under the watchful gaze of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong in a restaurant in Jinggangshan, a historically important area where the Communist Party found its first rural base in 1927 - ROMAN PILIPEY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Chinas cyber regulator is encouraging people to snitch on each other for online speech critical of the ruling Communist Party or its official historical narrative ahead of the 100th anniversary of its founding. Members of the public can ring a new hotline to report people who defame the Party, Chinese leaders, government policies, national heroes or deny the excellence of advanced socialist culture, according to a notice posted by the Cyberspace Administration of China. People online with ulterior motives were maliciously distorting, denigrating and negating the history of the Party, said the regulator, which has vowed to crack down ahead of the Partys centennial birthday in July. An employee sells books and posters with former Chinese leader Mao Zedong at the Revolution Museum in Jinggangshan, an historically important site for the Chinese Communist revolution - ROMAN PILIPEY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Government censors routinely block foreign news and information online, and boost crackdown efforts ahead of historical anniversaries, political meetings and even sporting events to ensure political stability around major events. Beijing considers people critical of the government and its policies to be damaging to the legitimacy of the Party. Those who dare to criticise it, its leaders, policy or version of history whether via private messages online or in public social media posts are routinely sentenced to prison or subject to detention without having ever been tried. They can also be blacklisted as troublemakers, potentially impacting prospects for employment and bank loans. Chinese tech firms employ their own censors to scrub the internet as companies can face penalties if they fail to block content deemed sensitive by the authorities. Just last week, local authorities in Jiangsu province detained a man who allegedly made insulting comments online about Japans 1937 occupation of Nanjing (or Nanking), when the Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Last year, the late whistleblower Dr Li Wenliang was reprimanded by police for trying to warn colleagues via private online messages about a novel coronavirus before Chinese authorities announced the emergence of infections. While in 2017, one man was sentenced to two years later reduced to 22 months after a retrial for picking quarrels and stirring up trouble after he called leader Xi Jinping a baozi or steamed dumpling online. Former U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley says she would support former President Donald Trump if he decides to seek reelection in 2024 just weeks after saying he let down the country with his words and actions before the Capitol riot. Haley, herself a potential 2024 presidential candidate, made the comments in her home state of South Carolina, in yet another demonstration the former president's grip on the party he leads. Trump on Monday received the 'Champion of Freedom' Award from the head of the GOP Senate campaign arm. Sen. Rick Scott, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, presented the award, in the shape of a silver bowl, to Trump at Mar-a-Lago just weeks after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump 'provoked' the January 6 Capitol riot. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks with reporters after a campus tour of South Carolina State University on Monday, April 12, 2021, in Orangeburg, S.C. She said she would defer to Trump if he decides to seek reelection in 2024 The award came days after Republican National Committee donors gathered at Mar-a-Lago, and Trump veered off script in remarks where he reportedly called McConnell a 'dumb son of a b****.' He also called McConnell a 'stone cold loser.' Asked if she would support Trump in 2024 if he runs, Haley responded: 'Yes.' She told the Associated Press: 'I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it. That's something that we will have a conversation about, at some point if that decision is something that has to be made,' she said. She touted her 'great working relationship' with Trump and said she 'appreciated the way he let me do my job. I thought we did some fantastically great foreign policy things together.' 'I just want to keep building on what we accomplished,' she said. She also said the last time she spoke to Trump was after the election but before the Jan. 6th riot, which Democrats in their second batch of impeachment articles against Trump accused him of inciting. She defended Trump for his weekend attacks on fellow Republicans. 'I think former President Trumps always been opinionated,' she said. 'Just because he left being president, thats not going to stop. But I think what he also talked about were all the successes that he had in the administration. And I think thats what Republicans are uniting on,' she said, the Associated Press reported. 'Every day Biden and Kamala Harris are in office unites the Republicans.' Her comments about her willingness to support Trump came despite her own statements rebuking him after the Capitol riot. She made those remarks to Politico before the unsuccessful effort by Democrats to impeach him. Her comments praising Trump came after she said in a recent interview that he 'let us down' 'I just want to keep building on what we accomplished,' Haley said of Trump Haley signed legislation removing the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol in South Carolina. She denounced the Jan. 6th Capitol riot and criticized the way Trump treated Mike Pence Trump on Monday received the 'Champion of Freedom' Award from Sen. Rick Scott, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. It came hours after he attacked Sen. Mitch McConnell as a 'stone cold loser' 'We need to acknowledge he let us down,' Haley told the publication. 'He went down a path he shouldn't have, and we shouldn't have followed him, and we shouldn't have listened to him. And we can't let that ever happen again.' She also made some predictions about Trump that did not hold up. 'I think he's going to find himself further and further isolated,' she said. She said she was 'disgusted' by the way Trump treated his vice president Mike Pence. Trump had blasted Trump Jan. 6th for failing to show 'courage,' and had publicly called on him to send certified votes for Joe Biden back to the states. He repeated that claim at his weekend speech at Mar-a-Lago. 'When I tell you I'm angry, it's an understatement,' Haley said earlier. 'Mike has been nothing but loyal to that man. He's been nothing but a good friend of that man. I am so disappointed in the fact that [despite] the loyalty and friendship he had with Mike Pence, that he would do that to him. Like, I'm disgusted by it.' This incident took place recently in Loveland, Colorado, during a Cars & Coffee meet, a gathering which, by the way, is canceled now thanks to one persons recklessness, as per the events official Instagram page.So then, what exactly went wrong? Just as the Challenger Hellcat is pulling out onto the main street, you can see the white Chevy Silverado drive by, its driver completely unaware that they are now just seconds from disasterthis is starting to sound like the beginning of a Mayday episode, the ones where air crash investigators walk us through what happened with various airline incidents.The Hellcats supercharger howls as the driver makes a left turn and begins accelerating immediately, catching up to the white pickup. Suddenly, the rear end steps out and, while we do see a quick attempt at counter-steering, it was to no avail.The muscle car hits the truck so that it digs its front end underneath the Chevy. The laws of physics then take over, and the rest is history.The truck ultimately ends up balancing itself on its roof while the Dodge waves goodbye to its handsome appearance. Thankfully, the occupants of the Silverado were unharmed, according to the description of one of the videos.As for what we can take away from this crash, well, Hellcats have a lot of torque at their disposal and if youre going to floor the throttle and your tires are already cold, youre going to slip and slide all over the place. Be mindful of cars that are very powerful, especially if they also have rear-wheel drive. MELVILLE, N.Y., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Two early career researchers have been announced as the winners of the second annual Best Paper by an Emerging Investigator Award by The Journal of Chemical Physics, a publication of AIP Publishing. Original research from Stephen Cox and Brianna Heazlewood was selected from the pool of papers included in the highly selective The Journal of Chemical Physics Emerging Investigators Special Collection. Qualifying submissions have a principal investigator within 10 years of their graduate degree graduation date and encompass the entire scope of the journal. Cox and Heazlewood were awarded $2,000 each and invited to write a Perspective article on their field for publication by The Journal of Chemical Physics. Stephen J. Cox Growing up in the small town of Newmarket, Suffolk, Cox enjoyed reading books about the unusual, gory side of science but did not initially anticipate a career in research. "I wanted to leave [school] at 16 and become a carpenter, but I couldn't find an apprenticeship," he said. "So, I stayed on at school, and this is when I realized that science was something I might pursue seriously." Cox earned his doctorate in computational chemistry at University College London, where he primarily worked on understanding ice formation through computer simulations. During his postdoctoral fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Cox's interests began to shift toward ion solvation and electrolyte solutions, the topics of his winning paper, "Macroscopic surface charges from microscopic solutions." Using molecular dynamics simulations a computational technique for studying the complex motions of atoms and molecules Cox and his collaborator, Tom Sayer, aimed to better predict what happens to ions at the surface of a charged material placed within an electrolyte solution. "To put things simply, some 'standard' simulation techniques give an incorrect account of the number of ions that adsorb from the solution environment to charged surfaces," he said. To fix this, Cox and Sayer developed an approach for choosing the optimum electric displacement field to apply within their simulations to obtain the correct result. The pair hopes their technique will ultimately be relevant in the pharmaceutical industry, where understanding the impact of solvents is critical. "I feel very honored to receive this award," said Cox. "JCP has a long history and has published some of the most influential papers in the field. Moreover, the standard of papers in this collection is very high, so for my work to be picked out means a great deal." Brianna R. Heazlewood Born and raised in Sydney, Heazlewood always enjoyed science, particularly chemistry. She attended the University of Sydney for both her undergraduate and doctorate degrees, where she examined gas phase reaction mechanisms. More recently, her focus has shifted to developing new techniques for expanding the range of chemical reaction systems that can be studied under controlled conditions. It is difficult to precisely probe the reactions of gas-phase radicals using traditional methods. Radicals exist everywhere from Earth's atmosphere to the interstellar medium, making the ability to understand and control their properties vital. Because they react with their environment so easily, generating a beam of pure radicals is difficult. In the winning paper, "A stand-alone magnetic guide for producing tuneable radical beams," Heazlewood and her collaborators present a solution. "The paper describes a device what we call a magnetic radical filter or magnetic guide that can be used to transmit only the target radical species to the detection region, removing or deflecting all other components of the beam," Heazlewood said. This enables scientists to selectively investigate only the particles of interest a promising result that Heazlewood's team is working to improve upon further in the second generation of the device. "Our JCP paper provides experimental confirmation that the guide can filter target radical species directly from the source, without the need to first decelerate the species of interest," she said. Heazlewood emphasized the important role played by all the co-authors in developing the technology, especially her graduate students and co-first authors on the paper, Chloe Miossec and Kathy Wu. "We are delighted that members of the JCP Editorial Advisory Board have recognized our work in this way," Heazlewood said. ABOUT THE JOURNAL The Journal of Chemical Physics is an international journal that publishes cutting edge research in all areas of modern physical chemistry and chemical physics. See https://aip.scitation.org/journal/jcp ABOUT AIP PUBLISHING AIP Publishing is a wholly owned not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP). AIP Publishing's mission is to support the charitable, scientific, and educational purposes of AIP through scholarly publishing activities in the fields of the physical and related sciences on its behalf and on behalf of our publishing partners to help them proactively advance their missions. SOURCE AIP Publishing Related Links http://publishing.aip.org After the Drug Controller General of India gives assent to the Subject Expert Committee's approval, the sources told IANS, India will have a third Covid vaccine after AstraZeneca-Oxford University developed-Serum Institute of India-manufactured Covishield and Bharat Biotech-developed and manufactured Covaxin. Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) Dr N.K. Arora, talking to IANS, said: "Though, I am yet to receive any official information about its approval, but it would be good news for India if it is approved." Explaining features of this vaccine, Arora said: "Sputnik is a two dose vaccine. The composition of the first dose will be different from the second dose and there should be at least a three to four weeks gap between the first dose and the second. The published data suggest that it has 91 per cent efficacy. Some more clarity on it will also come soon." The development has come at a time when India is witnessing an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases and vaccines have been much in demand. President Joe Biden said Monday there was no justification for violence in Minneapolis after black man Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer who allegedly mistook her gun for a taser. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Biden said there was 'absolutely no justification for violence' in the aftermath of Wright's Sunday death. 'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in the black community in that environment is real, serious and consequential,' Biden said. 'But that does not justify violence.' President Joe Biden said Monday that there was no justification for violence in Minneapolis after 20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer on Sunday 20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed Sunday by a female police officer who the chief of police Monday said mistook her gun for a taser A line of protesters gather outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Monday after the killing of Duante Wright The comments echoed what Biden said on the campaign trail, as former President Donald Trump tried to make the election about Black Lives versus Blue Lives Matter. The president also revealed that he had watched the 'fairly graphic' body camera footage of Wright being shot. 'The question is whether it was an accident or intentional? That remains to be determined,' Biden said. The president said he hadn't spoken to members of Wright's family yet. 'We should listen to Daunte's mom, who is calling for peace and calm,' Biden said. Protesters and law enforcement clashed Sunday night, with the state calling up the National Guard. When asked if he expected the country to be on 'razor's edge' over this latest killing of a black man by a police officer, the president said he wasn't going to speculate now. 'I'm hopeful that there will be an outcome that will be supported by the vast majority of people in the region and that is my expectation,' Biden said. Federal resources were already going to the area in anticipation of the end of Derek Chauvin's trial. Chauvin is on trial for the Memorial Day 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which reignited the mass Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer. On Monday, the police chief for Minneapolis' Brooklyn Center, the suburb where the shooting occurred, explained that a senior female police officer seemingly pulled out her gun instead of her taser, killing 20-year-old Wright. The cop was later identified as Kimberly Potter, a 25-year veteran of the force. 'This was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright,' said Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon. However Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, called for Potter to be jailed for 'not knowing the difference between a fully loaded pistol and a Taser.' She told CNN: 'Accident? An accident? No, come on now! I own a 20,000 volt Taser. They don't feel nothing like a gun.' She said, of Potter and her police colleagues: 'My family's blood is on their hands. Police had pulled Wright over for what they said were expired license plate tags; his family has denied that the tags were expired. When police ran his name, they realized he had an outstanding warrant, they said. The warrant was for a misdemeanor charge of carrying a pistol without permit and misdemeanor fleeing police, NBC Minneapolis reported. His aunt has said the warrant was for 'just some weed.' When cops asked Wright to get out of the car, he did, but then got back into the car and tried to flee; that's when Potter shot him. He was able to drive away for a time, until he crashed. Wright, who had a one-year-old son, was pronounced dead at the scene. Wife of slain Arkansas pastor formally charged with his murder; 911 call released Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Kristie Evans, the wife of the late Pastor David Evans of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church in Arkansas, has been formally charged with first-degree murder after confessing to plotting his murder with a man she spent three nights with while her husband was on a mission trip. Both Evans, 47, and the alleged accomplice, Kahlil Deamie Square, 26, are facing first-degree murder charges, according to KFOR-TV. Her next court date will take place in May. Evans was killed in his home on March 22, hours after he warned his flock in a sermon that the devil would seek to kill and destroy them for being witnesses to God's power in the world. After telling police that an intruder killed her husband while he was sleeping, the widow confessed to investigators that she plotted his murder with a man she spent three nights with while he was in Mexico on a mission trip. Three days after the pastor was killed, his wife confessed to the Ada Police Department that the intruder, Square, was known to her. The recording of Evans 911 call reporting her husbands death has been released. The local NBC news affiliate broadcasted a portion of the call. Someone shot my husband, Evans' frantically said in the 911 call. Hes in a pool of blood, and I heard a loud pop." She added that her husband was "bleeding out his nose and mouth and its all over the bed. Claiming that she didnt know how the murder happened, the dispatch asked Evans if she saw a gun anywhere around him. No, I dont see anything, she responded. Square, she later told police, had spent the night with her on March 17, 18 and 19 while her husband was on his mission trip to Mexico. Evans told investigators that she and her husband led secret life as swingers and met Square for sex at a Super 8 on more than one occasion months ago. On one of those occasions, Kristie secretly dropped her phone number on the floor for Kahlil, an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent reported in arresting documents obtained by The Oklahoman. Kristie continued to communicate by phone daily with Kahlil without David's knowledge. Evans reportedly asked him to kill her husband and even provided him with a gun and bullets. She reportedly left the home's backdoor open on the night of his murder. At one point, Square crouched down in the couples dining room because he was worried about making too much noise. But Kristie Evans urged her lover to proceed with the plan." In her interviews with the investigators, Evans claimed her husband insulted her by calling herslut, fat, ugly and whore. After sharing these concerns with Square, he allegedly replied, Damn. She also told Square, it would be nice to have more freedom. The circumstances surrounding Evans death have taken the Harmony Free Will Baptist Church community by surprise, a spokesperson for the church told KFOR last month. We are greatly saddened. We serve a perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us. These revelations do not diminish that truth and we will continue to serve Him, the spokesperson said. We are aware that even pastors can succumb to human frailty and we ask that our privacy be respected at this time as we as a church family grieve and process all of these events. TUNIS - During the month of April, which is dedicated worldwide to raise awareness on autism, the association Centre Hippique Mahdia, which has been active for years on the emotional and social education of children and the inclusion of kids in need, has organized a series of events as part of Blue Connection, under the sponsorship of the city of Mahdia and the patronage of the Italian embassy in Tunisia. The initiatives were promoted in close collaboration with the association Selim, whose objective is to help young teens diagnosed with autism to have a professional and social life as normal as possible through various suitable professional training courses and with primary school and private pilot college Elite. It is a rich and diversified program starting with lighting and coloring in blue, the color of autism, of water in the "Samba" fountain downtown, at the presence of local authorities and civil society. Blue lights illuminated the cloaks of Mogod ponies, Hannibal's horses at risk of extinction who help children with autism every day to gain abilities, said the director of the Centre Hippique Mahdia, Maria Gabriella Incisa di Camerana, adding that "the same ponies have welcomed, on April 2-9, the youngest children accompanied by their parents, for a rich program of animation and especially to raise awareness in the presence of psychologists, speech therapists, therapists and specialized educators". The closing event "Hippocampus Challenge", with the participation of the first counsellor of the Italian embassy Tommaso Sansone, included an afternoon of games on the theme of fishing and marine biodiversity. "Autism spectrum disorder, concerning 1.5% of the population, requires constant and daily work that cannot be limited to just one day on April 2, in addition to the need to change prejudice because autism is still little understood, from denial to several cliches that accompany it", stressed Incisa di Camerana. Before marrying the heir to the British throne, Prince Philip was already a prince as he was born a member of the Greek royal family. Philip left Greece when he was a child because the family was forced into exile, but Vassilis Koutsavlis, president of the Tatoi Royal Estate Friends Association, said the prince still had ties with Greece. The former royal estate at Tatoi just north of Athens includes a cemetery where many of Philip's relatives, including his father and paternal grandparents, are buried. Born June 10, 1921, on the dining room table at his parents' home on the Greek island of Corfu, Philip was the fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew, younger brother of the king of Greece. His grandfather had come from Denmark during the 1860s to be adopted by Greece as the country's monarch. He would become King George I. Philip's mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg, a descendant of Queen Victoria. When Philip was 18 months old, his parents fled to France. His father, an army commander, had been tried after a devastating military defeat by the Turks. After British intervention, the Greek junta agreed not to sentence Andrew to death if he left the country. Marie Bonaparte, a family's relative, helped the family financially once they made it to France, Koutsavlis said. Princess Marie is also buried in Tatoi. Philip's parents drifted apart when he was a child, Alice was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and spent time in a sanitarium after suffering a nervous breakdown. "Prince Andrew distanced himself very much from the family. He lived his own personal life after the dramatic events concerning Princess Alice, his wife, and her treatment in various psychiatric institutions. He was not close to the family," Koutsavlis said. Prince Andrew died in Monte Carlo in 1944. Princess Alice eventually returned to Greece, founded a religious order and managed to devote much of her life to aiding the poor, the sick and needy. During World War II in Nazi-occupied Athens, Alice saved a Jewish family by hiding them in her home. She gave her villa in the Athens suburb of Neo Iraklio to the Red Cross, which created one of the country's first elderly care centers. The Villa Alice is still in use. Eventually, Prince Philip would bring his mother, whom Koutsavlis said the prince "adored," to Buckingham Palace. Philip, who has been married to Queen Elizabeth II for more than seven decades, died on Friday. He was 99. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) TORONTO, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - Caldwell Partners (TSX: CWL) and PwC Canada today announced their new sponsorship collaboration on Canada's Top 40 Under 40 Award Program. Caldwell is delighted to welcome PwC Canada as Presenting Partner of the program, joining several other prominent organizations that are enthusiastically committed to Top 40's success. "PwC is a highly-respected organization and we are excited for the insight and expertise they will bring to the program," said Jeff Freeborough, Managing Partner for Toronto at Caldwell, Top 40's Founding Partner. "Like Caldwell, PwC recognizes the importance of identifying and recognizing business and community leaders. By honouring these young, ambitious individuals we promote unity in Canada. We look forward to working with the PwC team." "Canada's Top 40 Under 40 is the country's most coveted award for young leaders. PwC Canada is honoured to collaborate with Caldwell on a program that champions outstanding young achievers in the Canadian business and public sectors," said Matthew Wetmore, National Managing Partner Industries & Regions, PwC Canada. "As a new member to the Advisory Board, I look forward to putting a well-deserved spotlight on the leaders who have an impact in Canada, and are helping define our nation's future." The Top 40 Advisory Board meets annually to select the 40 honourees. The independent board comprises more than 25 respected and experienced individuals from across Canada, including past Top 40 honourees who are leaders in their industries, professions and communities. The Board reflects the diversity and leadership excellence in Canadian business and broader public sector. Also joining the Board this year are The Hon. Brian V. Tobin, P.C., O.C., Vice Chair with BMO Financial Group and Dr. David Granville, PhD, FAHA, Executive Director, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Professor and Associate Dean, Research Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia. The board will meet on September 30, 2021 to select the 2021 honourees, who will then be announced in National Post and on BNN Bloomberg in November. For the full list of members and profiles, please visit: https://canadastop40under40.com/top-40-advisory-board.html Canada's Top 40 Under 40 is an annual recognition of the exceptional achievements of 40 outstanding Canadians under the age of 40. In addition to Caldwell and PwC, the program is supported by several prominent organizations: National Partner Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc.; Media Partners BNN Bloomberg and National Post; Travel Partner Air Canada; Event Partner ergocentric Seating Systems; with fact checking and verification carried out by Inline Reference Check. Founded in 1995 by Caldwell, Top 40 has recognized more than 800 outstanding Canadians and is the country's most coveted award for young leaders. Honourees have a remarkable track record of achievement after their win; the ranks of Top 40 alumni include hundreds of nationally and internationally prominent CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, public sector and social economy leaders. Visit the website www.canadastop40under40.com for nomination details and timelines. About PwC At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. More than 7,000 partners and staff in offices across the country are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax, consulting and deals services. PwC Canada is a member of the PwC network of firms with more than 284,000 people in 155 countries. Find out more by visiting us at: www.pwc.com/ca. 2021 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an Ontario limited liability partnership. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the Canadian member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. About Caldwell Partners Caldwell Partners is a technology-powered talent acquisition firm specializing in recruitment at all levels. Through two distinct brands Caldwell and IQTalent Partners the firm leverages the latest innovations in AI to offer an integrated spectrum of services delivered by teams with deep knowledge in their respective areas. Services include candidate research and sourcing through to full recruitment at the professional, executive and board levels, as well as a suite of talent strategy and assessment tools that can help clients hire the right people, then manage and inspire them to achieve maximum business results. Caldwell's Common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CWL). Please visit our website at www.caldwellpartners.com for further information. SOURCE Canada's Top 40 Under 40 For further information: Michelle Jursa, Caldwell, [email protected], +1 416 934 2226; Julie Ibrahim, PwC, [email protected], +1-416-356-8182 The Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) issue will be discussed in the Parliament of Georgia. The matter is expected to be debated on at the Defense and Security Committee of the legislature, Georgian First Channel reports. The committee's agenda states that the discussion will focus on "The Impact of the Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Agreement on the Security Environment in the South Caucasus." Within the framework of these committee debates, the Georgian MPs will listen to the acting head of the Intelligence Service, Shalva Lomidze. This parliamentary committee meeting is expected to be a closed one, as its meetings on such matters are held behind closed doors. Recently, one of Vin Diesel's neighbours in the Dominican Republic shared the turmoil that he and others are facing due to the security guards of the actor. He claimed that his guards were aggressive and even blocked the traffic and the pedestrians in order to guard Vin Diesel and his family. The neighbour wrote a letter through which he assured the actor that they werent a threat to him or his family. Vin Diesels Dominican Republic neighbour calls his security guards aggressive According to a report by TMZ, Vin Diesel rented a place in a gated community in the Dominican Republic where his 12 security guards became troublesome for his neighbours. One of the neighbours even wrote a letter to Vin Diesel after an incident on Easter when the guards blocked the traffic so that Vin and his kids could bicycle. In the letter, the neighbour stated that for a few weeks he had personally witnessed and heard from fellow home runners the unprecedented and abusive display of his security people around our homes and beach. He even added how his security guards were interrogating them, blocking the streets with their five or six SUVs and even stopping the residents while walking when Vin came out to ride the bicycle. Vin Diesels neighbour also stated how over ten years the homeowners in Fundadores Juanillo Beach never endured and suffered such absurd comportment by anyone renting a home in their very small, private and very secure community. He further stated how Vin Diesel should know that he was visiting a community where no one was a threat to him nor anyone else that visited them. One of the close sources of the actor responded to the neighbours letter by stating how Vin Diesel had been going to the Dominican Republic for twenty years and has gotten along great with everyone. The source then addressed the Easter incident stating how the actor was riding his bike with his kids and handing out Easter baskets to workers in the community and added that there was extra security as his family was around. He also stated how it was never Vins intent to trouble his neighbours and mentioned how he loved the community and had brought production to the area. The source also stated how Vin wanted to help employ the people of the area and there were all Dominicans in his security team. About Vin Diesels latest films Vin Diesels highly anticipated Fast and Furious 9s release date has been set in June 2021 while the actor has been gearing up for the release of Avatar 2, Avatar 3 and Thor: Love and Thunder. Promom Image Source- Vin Diesel's Instagram Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. On Monday, President Klaus Iohannis promulgated the law that provides for imprisonment from 5 to 12 years for the illegal conduct of export, import, intermediation, transit and transfer operations from or into the territory of Romania, of military products such as smooth-bore weapons, bombs, torpedoes, missiles, land vehicles, warships, aircraft, special aircraft engines for military aviation. The law has as object of regulation the modification and completion of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 158/1999 on the control regime of exports, imports and other operations with military products, in the sense of improving the provisions regarding the applicable sanctions. The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, made known his plan to disengage some public servants in the state for fiscal reasons. This was contained in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Muyiwa Adekeye. Mr Adekeye stated that the decision was one of the necessary moves to salvage the states finances. He said a significant amount of the statutory federal allocations is being spent on the wages of public servants monthly. A part of the statement read Therefore, the state government has no choice but to shed some weight and reduce the size of the public service. It is a painful but necessary step to take, for the sake of the majority of the people of this state. The public service of the state with less than 100,000 employees and their families) cannot be consuming more than 90% of government resources, with little left to positively impact the lives of the more than 9 million that are not political appointees or civil servants. It is gross injustice for such a micro minority to consume the majority of the resources of the State, he said. Read full statement below Therefore, the state government has no choice but to shed some weight and reduce the size of the public service. It is a painful but necessary step to take, for the sake of the majority of the people of this state. The public service of the state with less than 100,000 employees and their families) cannot be consuming more than 90% of government resources, with little left to positively impact the lives of the more than 9 million that are not political appointees or civil servants. It is gross injustice for such a micro minority to consume the majority of the resources of the State. In September 2019, the Kaduna State Government became the first government in the country to pay the new minimum wage and consequential adjustments. The state government followed this up by increasing the minimum pension of persons on the defined benefits scheme to N30,000 monthly. This step to advance the welfare of workers significantly increased the wage burden of the state government and immediately sapped up the funds of many local governments. While the Kaduna State Government believes that public sector wages overall are still relatively low, their current levels are obviously limited by the resources available to the government. What each public servant earns might be puny in comparison to private sector wages, but the total wage bill consumes much of the revenues of the state. The desire to pay more is a sentiment that must bow to the limits prescribed by the ability to pay. Kaduna State public finances have been severely stretched by the higher wage bills at a time when revenues from the Federation Account allocations Committee (FAAC) have not increased. KDSG has made significant progress in increasing its collection of internally generated revenue (IGR). Without hiking tax rates, the state government has almost quadrupled IGR from about N13bn in 2015 to over N50bn in 2020. What the Kaduna State Government receives from FAAC since the middle of 2020, like most other sub-nationals, can barely pay salaries and overheads. In November 2020, KDSG had only N162.8m left after paying salaries. That month, Kaduna State got N4.83bn from FAAC and paid N4.66bn as wages. In the last six months, personnel costs have accounted for between 84.97% and 96.63% of FAAC transfers received by the Kaduna State Government. In March 2021, Kaduna State had only N321m left after settling personnel costs. That month, the state got N4.819bn from FAAC and paid out N4.498bn, representing 93% of the money received. This does not include standing orders for overheads, funding security operations, running costs of schools and hospitals, and other overhead costs that the state has to bear for the machinery of government to run, for which the state government taps into IGR earnings. This Kaduna State Government was elected to develop the state, not just to pay the salaries of public servants. It was elected to promote equality of opportunity to build and run schools and hospitals, upgrade infrastructure and make the state more secure and attractive to the private sector for jobs and investments. Under the leadership of Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the Kaduna State Government is faithfully implementing this mandate, amidst challenges and constraints The government is an institution organised to deliver public goods, not to minister solely to the interests of the persons employed to help deliver mandate. Therefore, the state government has no choice but to shed some weight and reduce the size of the public service. It is a painful but necessary step to take, for the sake of the majority of the people of this state. The public service of the state with less than 100,000 employees and their families) cannot be consuming more than 90% of government resources, with little left to positively impact the lives of the more than 9 million that are not political appointees or civil servants. It is gross injustice for such a micro minority to consume the majority of the resources of the State. Measures taken to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic have shown clearly that the public service requires much fewer persons than it currently employs. The public service is an important institution, and it should therefore maintain only an optimum size. Faced with a difficult situation, the Kaduna State Government is persuaded that it cannot refuse to act or act in ways that only conduce to populist sentiment, without solving the fundamental problem. The redundancies to be declared will affect political appointees and civil servants, and its purpose is to save funds and ensure that a strong and efficient public service exists to use those resources to implement progressive programmes and projects for the people, and thereby develop the state. While seeking the responsibility to lead Kaduna State during the 2015 elections, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai ran on a manifesto that included a commitment to a strong public service. The Kaduna State Government has therefore made it clear that the progress and future of the state depends on a competent public service, lean in size but super efficient in conceiving programmes and delivering services, savvy with modern technology and well connected to the public it serves. In pursuit of this goal, KDSG launched the public service reform and revitalisation programme in 2016. ADVERTISEMENT This was in line with the Kaduna State Governments announcement at inception in May 2015 that it is determined to eliminate waste and ensure that government resources serve a majority of citizens rather than the few persons working for government, including political appointees and other public servants. Therefore, KDSG began conducting verification of civil servants in 2015 to help ensure the integrity of the government payroll and weed out ghost workers. This verification needed to be a continuous exercise, undertaken at intervals to check and maintain the integrity of the personnel records. The state government also signalled its discomfort at the high recurrent costs of the state, which meant that most public funds went into paying the wages of less than 100,000 public servants in a state with close to 10m people, While affirming the principle that those who work must be paid, the state government also asserted its recognition of the obligation to ensure that the people of the state must also be served by their government. As part of the 2016 public service reform process, KDSG also reviewed salaries and was ready to announce new wages before the FG announced in 2018 that it was initiating a new national minimum wage process. It was that early preparation that enabled the Kaduna State Government to promptly comply with the new national minimum wage before any other government could or did. In these tough times, government cannot encourage the illusion that the public service can be immune from the measures required to cope with the reality of low revenues. The extent of these required actions is being worked out at the State and Local Government levels, based on very transparent and objective criteria across all the three branches of the Government. The stories circulating in the social media about pruning local government personnel to 50, converting junior staff to casual staff and the like are false and should therefore be disregarded. These false claims are a rehash of the contents of a forged letter that was circulated just prior to the 2019 elections. Each and every decision taken will be in full compliance with the Kaduna State Public Service Law and any regulations made pursuant thereto, and other extant laws. Government realises that the disengagements may have short term psychological and financial impacts on the persons to be affected. Therefore, KDSG will not only work with the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAS) to expedite payments of any contributory pension benefits due to those so entitled to them but will also give preferential treatment to those disengaged that are willing to take advantage of the state governments various agricultural and entrepreneurship development schemes KDSG appeals for the understanding of everyone in Kaduna State and urges officers that may be affected to embrace alternatives in the private sector, Signed Muyiwa Adekeye Special Adviser to the Governor (Media & Communication) 12th April 2021 Burma AA Chief Does Not Want Myanmars Strikes and Protests in Rakhine State Arakan Army chief Major General Tun Myat Naing. / AA The Arakan Army (AA) chief, Major General Tun Myat Naing, says he does not want Myanmars civil disobedience movement (CDM) and street protests spreading to Rakhine, saying they will disrupt the armed groups attempt to secure greater autonomy. In his Rakhine-language address on the 12th anniversary of the AAs founding, Maj Gen Tun Myat Naing wrote: We dont want the CDM and street protests in Rakhine State. We have the Way of Rakhita. We have our goals. While we are taking concrete strides towards those goals, it is important not to get confused over other issues. The AA chief, however, said the armed group would assist all ethnicities, including the Bamar majority, achieve their political targets. Myanmars CDM against the military regime has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 by six academics at the University of Oslo in Norway. Though the AA does not support the CDM in Rakhine, the message said the armed group grieves over the deaths and injuries, arbitrary detentions and violation of human rights during the junta crackdowns. Rakhine State has seen few street protests since the February coup and there have been no major crackdowns by the regime. Myanmars military and the AA have observed an unofficial ceasefire since November 2020 but the two sides are yet to reach any permanent agreement, the AA chief said. Though there is no fighting, this temporary truce is fragile without any concrete agreement and we cant be militarily inattentive, said Maj Gen Tun Myat Naing. Clashes broke out in northern Rakhine in late 2018 and continued until November last year. The AA kept silent after the military seized power in the February 1 coup. Following the militarys murderous crackdowns on peaceful protesters, the Brotherhood Alliance of the AA, Taang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army released a joint statement on March 30 asking the regime to stop the violence. The tripartite group attacked a police station in Lashio in Shan State on Sunday as the AA celebrated its founding anniversary. At least 14 police were killed in the attack, causing concerns that fresh clashes may erupt in Rakhine. A member of a civil society organization in Mrauk-U in northern Rakhine said: There is no fighting in Rakhine but troops from the two sides have not withdrawn at all. The military has increased its deployments and reinforced its camps. As the Brotherhood Alliance attacked a police station in Shan State, fighting may break out again in Rakhine. The AA did not previously have popular support in southern Rakhine. However, due to the juntas large-scale violence against civilians elsewhere in the country, the armed group is increasing its support in Taungup, Thandwe, Ramree, Manaung and Gwa. The armed group has been able to establish strongholds in all 17 townships across Rakhine, according to analysts. The military has also put its troops and police on alert in Rakhine State since early April. Over 230,000 people were forced from their homes during the two-year conflict with the AA and over 180,000 remain in displacement camps. You may also like these stories: Girl, 7, Shot as Myanmar Regime Forces Attack Protesters Near Indian Border Myanmar Military Artillery Kills Kachin Civilians Myanmars Informal Financial Service Providers Take Advantage of Post-Coup Banking Crisis Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a request to increase the water supply to Jordan after prodding from the Biden administration, Israeli officials told me. Why it matters: Israeli-Jordanian relations have recently sunk into a new crisis, with the water supply as one major point of tension. The Jordanian government asked the Biden administration in recent weeks for help in resolving the issue. Secretary of State Tony Blinken raised the issue in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, and encouraged the Israeli government to help the Jordanians. The backstory: Israel has committed under past agreements to supply Jordan with water. Every year, Jordan asks for an additional amount, and Israel typically agrees right away. But this time, Netanyahu did not immediately consent reportedly in retaliation for Jordan refusing to allow him to fly out of Amman to Abu Dhabi. The scuttling of Netanyahu's trip came after the Jordanian crown prince's visit to Jerusalem was canceled at the last minute due to Israeli security restrictions. Worth noting: The Biden administration has been highly supportive of Jordan's King Abdullah II amid the current political crisis within the royal family. President Biden and Blinken both called the king to pledge their support. JERUSALEM The last time the centrifuges crashed at Irans underground nuclear fuel-production center at Natanz, more than a decade ago, the sabotage was the result of a joint Israeli-American cyberattack intended to slow Tehrans progress toward nuclear weapons and force a diplomatic negotiation. When they crashed again this weekend, the White House asserted that the United States had no involvement. The operation raised the question of whether Israel was acting on its own to strike Iran and undermine American diplomacy as the Biden administration seeks to reconstitute a nuclear agreement. Or, alternatively, whether Israel was operating in concert with American interests, carrying out dirty work that would weaken Irans negotiating position in the talks. The White House was saying almost nothing in public on Monday about the apparent explosion inside Irans Natanz facility, below more than 20 feet of reinforced concrete, which destroyed the power supply that keeps the centrifuges spinning at supersonic speeds, enriching uranium. Iran has said it will "take revenge" for an attack on an underground nuclear site, allegedly carried out by their eternal enemies, Israel. According to Iranian officials, the Natanz uranium enrichment plant was the target of "nuclear terrorism" on Sunday, April 11, after the nuclear site experienced power failure. The reported attack on the nuclear site came after the Iranian government announced it had activated new advanced centrifuges to help enrich its uranium. Uranium can be used to produce power but at high levels can also be used to produce nuclear bomb. Israel has vowed that Iran will never be allowed to produce nuclear weapons. "The Zionists want to take revenge because of our progress in the way to lift sanctions," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by state media as saying on Monday. "They have publicly said that they will not allow this. But we will take our revenge from the Zionists." Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also told a news conference in Tehran that Israel was "of course" behind the attack on Natanz. "This incident, fortunately, did not cause any damage to human lives or the environment. However, it could have been a catastrophe. This is a crime against humanity and carrying out such actions is in line with the essence of the Zionist regime," he said. Mr Khatibzadeh said only the least efficient "IR1" centrifuges were damaged in the incident, and that they would be replaced with advanced ones. Israel has not yet officially accepted responsibility for the attacks but Israeli radio reported top level intelligence sources saying the nuclear site attack was a cyber attack carried out by It's spy agency, Mossad . Israel and the US also say that the attack on the site had caused more extensive damage than Iran wants it's citizens to believe as a large explosion had completely destroyed the independent internal power system that supplied the centrifuges inside the underground facility. The US and Israel believe it could take at least nine months to resume uranium enrichment in that site. Last week Israel gave warnings about Iran's nuclear programme amid efforts by Joe Biden's Administration to revive a 2015 nuclear deal that was abandoned by former US President Donald Trump. The 2015 nuclear deal was struck between Iran and six other countries stating bthat the Islamic republic would limit it's nuclear work in return for an end to harsh economic sanctions. The Obama administration in 2015 also sent billions of dollars to Iran following the nuclear deal agreement. But Iran re-started its advanced nuclear work after former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. 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 Check out the news you should not miss today: Society Vietnam reported three new imported cases of COVID-19 on Monday morning, increasing the countrys tally to 2,696, according to the Ministry of Health. The Dong Nai Cultural Nature Reserve in the namesake southern province on Sunday confirmed they had found a dead male gaur weighing approximately 700 kilograms in the forest the same day. The animal had allegedly died of natural causes. The Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals under the Vietnamese Ministry of Health is accelerating the research and manufacturing process of Vietnams homegrown COVIVAC vaccine against COVID-19, in order to promptly launch it on the market in the first quarter of 2022. Police in the north-central province of Ha Tinh on Saturday held a birthday party for Tran Dinh Nui, who came to the police station in Ky Ha Commune to register for his chip-based identity card late on Friday night, just a few minutes before he turned 14. The Peoples Committee of Ba Thuoc District in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on Sunday said test results from fish and water samples showed that diseases were not the cause for the massive death of tons of farmed and wild fish on the Ma River over the past month. Business Vietnam's export turnover rose 22 percent to US$77.34 billion in the first quarter of 2021, while its trade surplus was estimated at $2.03 billion, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Monday. The Peoples Committee of central Dang Nang City and the Import-Export Pan Pacific Group have signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of an international and regional finance center to attract investors in the future, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Sunday. World Englands shops, hairdressers, gyms and pub gardens will reopen on Monday in what Prime Minister Boris Johnson said was a major step towards freedom from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Reuters. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! While the unit is offline, about a third of the unit's 157 fuel assemblies will be replaced. Preventive maintenance and safety inspections to ensure continued safe and reliable operations also will be performed on major components including various pumps, valves, reactor vessel, steam generators, and turbine generator. In total, more than 6,800 work activities will be completed during the refueling outage. More than 800 temporary contractor workers and Energy Harbor employees will supplement more than 700 Beaver Valley employees during the outage. The additional workforce will provide a multi-million-dollar boost to the local economy as workers stay in area hotels, eat in local restaurants and frequent area stores. The 963-megawatt unit at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station has operated safely and reliably, generating more than 13 million megawatt hours of electricity since the completion of its last refueling in November 2019, enough to power one million homes annually. Energy Harbor is a financially secure independent power producer and fully integrated retail energy provider focused on safe and best-in-class operations and financial performance. With its fleet of reliable generating resources, including substantial carbon-free generation, Energy Harbor is well positioned for long-term value creation and competitiveness in a low-carbon future and is focused on enabling a growing customer and stakeholder base to meet their environmental, social and sustainability goals. For more information on Energy Harbor visit www.energyharbor.com Forward Looking Statements and Further Information This press release contains "forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that are included in this press release that address activities, events, or developments that Energy Harbor Corp. (the "Company") expects or anticipates to occur in the future (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "intends," "plans," "will likely result," "are expected to," "could" and "will continue"), are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that in making any such forward-looking statement its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such forward-looking statement involves uncertainties and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the discussion of risk factors, including but not limited to important factors described in the following or on our Investor Website referenced below, which among others, could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements: the actions and decisions of regulatory authorities; economic conditions and power pricing within the Company's territories and markets; the Company's ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals; the uncertainties associated with the deactivation of remaining commodity-based generating units, including the impact on vendor commitments, and as it relates to the reliability of the transmission grid, the timing thereof; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and like proceedings, including with respect to the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures that may arise in connection with any such proceedings; changes in customers' demand for power; and weather conditions affecting future sales, margins and operations. Any forward-looking statement included in this press release speaks only as of the date hereof, and except as may be required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them; nor can the Company assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. As such, you should not unduly rely on such forward-looking statements. Further information regarding the Company will be available at www.energyharbor.com under the heading www.energyharbor.com/ir (the "Investor Website"). The Company advises that holders of the Company's securities should review all available information before making any decisions whether to buy or sell any of the Company's securities. Any information in any materials posted on the Investor Website in the future will automatically update and, where applicable, modify or supersede the information contained in this press release and any other information previously posted on the Investor Website. SOURCE Energy Harbor On the back of substantial new business won in Europe at the end of 2020, Rapt Creative has opened satellite offices in London and Kiev. #BehindtheBrandManager: Lance Dodgen, Heineken SA's marketing manager: Cider Lance Dodgen, Heineken South Africa Marketing Manager: Cider is the custodian of the Dutch brewing company's Strongbow and Fox Cider brands... Garreth van Vuuren Rapt was appointed by the Export and Licence division of Molson Coors Beverage Company (MCB) as the experiential, activation and concept creative agency for Miller Genuine Draft, Coors Lager and Staropromen in Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.The agency's presence in Europe will be overseen by the agencys head of strategy and consumer insight, Genevieve van Vuuren, based in London.We are really pleased with the MCB win, as it gives us a toe in the door for future work in Europe and Asia, said Rapt MD Garreth van Vuuren.The agency was founded on the philosophy of being the anti-agency agency and flipped the way client-agency relationships history work a philosophy rooted in wanting to do cool shit with cool people.Im confident South Africa has among best creative talent in the world and, with our unique business model, we hope to give the world a taste of Mzansi in their day-to-day purchasing decisions, he said.The Molson Coors Beverage Company, commonly known as Molson Coors, is a multinational drink and brewing company headquartered in Chicago in the United States. Molson Coors was formed in 2005 through the merger of Molson of Canada and Coors of the United States. It has over 100 brands in its stable.Rapt is a strategic, innovative and executional through-the-line agency specialising in concept development, digital, point-of-sale, PR, live event production and activation. Within 18 months of launching, the agency has more than tripled its business in that time and added 28 people to its team. Its current client base is deeply rooted in alcoholic and non-alcoholic brands with Heineken, Strongbow, Sol, Fox Cider, Coca-Cola, Jameson, Ballantines and Windhoek among them. The PlumpJack businesses have suffered economically under Newsom's shutdown orders, just as other hospitality businesses have, the representative said. "Every single one of our businesses have had to close under the governor's orders at one time or another. Every business has been impacted," he said. Napa County spokeswoman Janet Upton said that the county has not taken any action against any PlumpJack wineries for not complying with state or county restrictions. Since the start of the pandemic, she said the county's COVID-19 compliance hotline has received 43 complaints about wineries in the county, all of which were either found to be unsubstantiated or were handled with education alone because they didn't rise to a level where additional enforcement was required. Five of those complaints were made about PlumpJack Winery, but none of them resulted in enforcement action, she said. No other PlumpJack Group wineries were subject to complaints, according to a list provided by Napa County. Placer County spokesman Chris Gray-Garcia said his county could not find any records of complaints against the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn, which is located in the county. Update: 2-year-old Philadelphia boy found safe several hours after Amber Alert The Pennsylvania State Police have issued an Amber Alert regarding the disappearance of a two-year-old boy in Philadelphia. The child, Byron McDonald, has been missing since April 9, and was last seen around 1:30 p.m. on that day near 2500 North Bancroft Street in Philadelphia. Police believe he was abducted by 28 year old Byron McDonald II, who was driving a red 2017 Chevy Malibu with dark tinted windows and license plate number LMD3353. AMBER ALERT: Philadelphia City, Call 911 If Seen. pic.twitter.com/vrHKxzGCBD PA State Police (@PAStatePolice) April 12, 2021 A post made to the Pennsylvania State Polices Twitter page shared info on the announcement as well as photos of both McDonalds and the vehicle. Anyone who has seen McDonald or the vehicle is asked to call 911. Australian gig economy giants are resisting union efforts to make their workers employees with rights to the minimum wage and injury compensation but have offered other concessions as their British arms either opt to change workers status or face financial consequences. But other local services, especially in the disability industry, say their business models are already different and have urged a Senate committee that starts hearings on Monday not to lump them in with the big food delivery firms. Food delivery giant Deliveroo saw its shares slump on their debut after several of Britains largest fund managers declined to invest, citing its labour practices. In Britain, Uber and Just Eat Takeaway.com, the European parent of Menulog, have moved to give their workers more rights. Deliveroo, which was battered on its stock market debut, argues it helped save tens of thousands of restaurant jobs during the coronavirus. Credit:Trevor Collens Both Deliveroo and Uber in Australia say they are open to providing additional benefits to their workers such as sick pay. SCRANTON Supporters of George Bancroft Elementary School rallied Sunday afternoon in front of the building on Albright Avenue in an effort to persuade members of the Scranton School Board to keep the building open. A group of more than 100 listened to impassioned remarks from teachers and community members and chanted Keep Bancroft Open throughout the nearly one-hour program. Board directors are scheduled to vote on permanently closing the school today at 7 p.m. at Scranton High School. Bancroft has remained closed since the start of the pandemic more than a year ago. Students, who started taking classes at Isaac Tripp Elementary last month due to ventilation issues at Bancroft, would stay at Tripp under the districts plan if the school is permanently closed. Lisa Suda, vice president of the schools PTA, said the students simply belong at Bancroft. Bancroft has a rich history of helping children, Suda said. Our school community provides a safe, secure and nurturing environment. If our children are permanently moved, they will lose that identity. Its not just a school, its an anchor of our neighborhood. Tyrone Holmes, chair of the Lackawanna County NAACP and PTA member at Bancroft, feels the school is a necessity in the community. Its a neighborhood school, he said. Id say 90% of the families are within walking distance. Some only have one car, so they dont always have the luxury of being able to transport their kids. Holmes also worries about how larger class sizes at Isaac Tripp could potentially affect students who are used to having more individual attention. Some of these kids are English as second language (ESL) students, he said. When you get them in a large class, they will get lost in translation. Frances Regan, who has taught at Bancroft for 31 years, became overcome with emotion while providing a statement. We are the Bancroft family, and we support each other in good and bad times, she said. It means so much to me that all of you came out to support our small neighborhood school. Third grader Jackson Kurilla hopes the board directors take the students into consideration when making their decision. Theyre trying to close the one thing we have down, he said. HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) announced winners of its 25thAnnual ADG Awards in 12 categories of film, television, commercials and music videos. The hybrid virtual gala, recognizing 25 years of resilience, was held Saturday night, April 10, 2021. Mank (Donald Graham Burt), Tenet (Nathan Crowley), Da 5 Bloods (Wynn Thomas), and Soul (Steve Pilcher), won Best Production Design for Feature Film. TO ACCESS EPK WITH PHOTOS/VIDEOS: https://bit.ly/3dQF22q LINK TO ADG AWARDS COMPLETE SHOW: www.adgawards25.com The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) announced winners of its 25th Annual ADG Awards in 12 categories of film, television, commercials and music videos (photo credit: Greg Doherty). Comedian JB Smoove, star of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" brought humor and surprise to the stage as host of the 25th Annual ADG Awards (photo credit: Greg Doherty) Television winners included "The Mandalorian: Chapter 13: The Jedi" (Andrew L. Jones, Doug Chiang), "Ozark: Wartime" (David Bomba), "The Queen's Gambit" (Uli Hanisch), "What We Do in the Shadows: Resurrection, Collaboration, Witches" (Kate Bunch), and "Will & Grace: Accidentally on Porpoise, We Love Lucy, It's Time" (Glenda Rovello), "Saturday Night Live: Host: John Mulaney + Music: David Byrne, Host: Adele + Music: H.E.R., Host: Dave Chappelle + Music: Foo Fighters" (Keith Raywood, Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio), "Black Is King" (Hannah Beachler, Carlos Laszlo, Susan Linss, Miranda Lorenz, Brandon Mendez, Rika Nakanishi, Ethan Tobman) respectively. The Web Series, Music Video or Commercial award was bestowed upon "Harry Styles: Falling" (Francois Audouy). The awards took place before an audience of more than 4,000 worldwide and was hosted by comedian JB Smoove, co-star of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." ADG President Nelson Coates, ADG, and Art Directors Council Chair Mark Worthington, ADG, presided over the awards ceremony. Producer of this year's ADG Awards (#ADGawards) was Production Designer Scott Moses, ADG; event was co-produced by Matt Ringer. Emmy-winning Production Designer James Pearse Connelly, ADG, and Actress/Comedian Dierdre Friel hosted the Pre-Show retrospective celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the ADG Awards. "I'm grateful we were able to share our open awards event with all of our members, their families, friends, and coworkers this year. The show was designed to celebrate the resilience shown by our guild and the entire industry as a community in a year unlike any other in our lifetime. The work recognized here represents the best of the collective skills within the ADG to bring stories alive with limitless imagination," said Scott Moses. Presenters included Oscar-nominated actress Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Oscar-nominated executive producer and actress Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman); producer, writer and director Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman); entrepreneur, supermodel and Emmy-winning television producer and personality Tyra Banks; Aasif Mandvi (CBS's hit show "Evil"); Emmy nominated actress Jenna Elfman ("Fear the Walking Dead," "Dharma and Greg"), Brian Tee ("Chicago Med"), Jordi Molla ("Jack Ryan"), Nicco Annan ("P-Valley") and Ross Mathews ("RuPaul's Drag Race,") among others. Ryan Murphy, Emmy, Golden Globe, Tony and Peabody Award-winning screenwriter, producer, and director, received the esteemed Cinematic Imagery Award, honoring his prestigious spectrum of extraordinary productions reflecting the highest quality of production design. A comprehensive clip reel was presented, spotlighting the spectrum of Murphy's award-winning shows which have garnered him six Primetime Emmys, 26 additional award wins, and an unprecedented 72 nominations. He is the originator of the popular American television programs "American Horror Story," "American Crime Story," "Pose," "Hollywood," "Feud," "Glee," and "The New Normal" among many others. Presenting the award to Murphy was Matt Bomer, star of many of Murphy's shows including "Boys in the Band." The Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to outstanding individuals in each of the guild's four crafts. Emmy-winning Production Designer Stuart Wurtzel, ADG, known for his work on Hannah and Her Sisters and Angels in America, received the ADG Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors Council (AD), presented by Australian film director, producer and screenwriter Fred Schepisi. Concept Artist John Eaves, ADG, known for his iconic illustrations and designs for the Star Trek series, Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides; Spider-Man: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Iron Man 3, was honored by the Illustrators and Matte Artists (IMA) Council, presented by Production Designer Herman Zimmerman, ADG (six of the Star Trek feature films). Scenic Artist Patrick DeGreve, ADG, prolific artist known for his memorable backings, sets and props for shows created at CBS TV City over the past 45 years, was honored by the Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists Council (STG), presented by Pat's crew at CBS TV City including Vahe Assadourian, Lisa Frazza, Eddie Gioiosa. Set Designer Martha Johnston, ADG, spotlighted for her over 60 movie and television design credits including Interstellar, Dunkirk and Aquaman, was awarded by the Set Designers and Model Makers (SDMM) Council, presented by Oscar-nominated Production Designer Nathan Crowley, ADG (Interstellar, Dunkirk) who also won the ADG Award for Tenet. The ADG Awards is proud to be sponsored by PREMIER LEVEL: Astek Wallcovering, McLaren, ShowPro; PLATINUM LEVEL: Cush Light LLC, HBO/HBO Max, NBC Universal Operations, Netflix; GOLD LEVEL: Centerline Scenery, Drop Shop Digital, Focus Features, Set Designers and Model Makers Council, Warner Bros. Pictures, WPA; SILVER LEVEL: Apple Worldwide, Gersh; PREMIER TRADE: Shutterstock; MEDIA SPONSORS: Below the Line, Variety, SHOOTonline. Here are the winners at the 25th Annual ADG Awards: WINNERS FOR A FEATURE FILM: PERIOD FEATURE FILM ***WINNER: Mank Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt FANTASY FEATURE FILM ***WINNER: Tenet Production Designer: Nathan Crowley CONTEMPORARY FEATURE FILM ***WINNER: Da 5 Bloods Production Designer: Wynn Thomas ANIMATED FEATURE FILM ***WINNER: Soul Production Designer: Steve Pilcher WINNERS FOR TELEVISION : ONE-HOUR PERIOD OR FANTASY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES ***WINNER: The Mandalorian: "Chapter 13: The Jedi" Production Designers: Andrew L. Jones, Doug Chiang ONE-HOUR CONTEMPORARY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES ***WINNER: Ozark: "Wartime" Production Designer: David Bomba TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES ***WINNER: The Queen's Gambit Production Designer: Uli Hanisch HALF HOUR SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES ***WINNER: What We Do in the Shadows: "Resurrection," "Collaboration," "Witches" Production Designer: Kate Bunch MULTI-CAMERA SERIES ***WINNER: Will & Grace: "Accidentally on Porpoise," "We Love Lucy," "It's Time" Production Designer: Glenda Rovello SHORT FORMAT: WEB SERIES, MUSIC VIDEO OR COMMERCIAL ***WINNER: Harry Styles: "Falling" Production Designer: Francois Audouy VARIETY, REALITY OR COMPETITION SERIES ***WINNER: Saturday Night Live: "Host: John Mulaney + Music: David Byrne," Host: Adele + Music: H.E.R.," "Host: Dave Chappelle + Music: Foo Fighters" Production Designers: Keith Raywood, Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio VARIETY SPECIAL ***WINNER: Black Is King Production Designers: Hannah Beachler, Carlos Laszlo, Susan Linss, Miranda Lorenz, Brandon Mendez, Rika Nakanishi, Ethan Tobman About the Art Directors Guild: Established in 1937, the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) represents 3,000 members who work throughout the world in film, television and theater as Production Designers and Art Directors; Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists; Set Designers and Model Makers; and Illustrators and Matte Artists. The ADG's ongoing activities include a Film Society screening series, annual "Excellence in Production Design Awards" gala, bimonthly craft magazine (PERSPECTIVE), figure drawing and other creative workshops, extensive technology and craft training programs and year-round Gallery 800 art exhibitions. For the Guild's online directory and website resources, go to www.adg.org. Connect with the Art Directors Guild on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ADG AWARDS & EVENTS DIRECTOR Debbie Patton ADG 818.762.9995 [email protected] PRESS CONTACTS: Cheri Warner Erick Yamagata Weissman/Markovitz Communications 818.760.8995 [email protected] SPONSORSHIP/ADVERTISING CONTACT: IngleDodd Media 310.207-4410 [email protected] SOURCE Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) US Embassy warns of 'high' terror threat in Indonesia after church bombing Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The U.S. Embassy in Indonesia has issued a security alert for American citizens, asking them to maintain increased security awareness and heightened vigilance at places of worship following a slew of terrorist attacks, including a church bombing on Palm Sunday. The U.S. Embassy encourages American citizens in Indonesia to maintain increased security awareness, reads the notice issued last Wednesday. Indonesian authorities warn that the terrorism threat level remains high. The warning comes after two suspected terrorists attacked a church in Makassar, Sulawesi, on March 28 and after an assailant with an Airsoft gun attacked the Indonesian National Police headquarters in South Jakarta on March 31. According to the alert, national police may visibly increase its presence at Indonesian government buildings, tourist sites, churches, malls and other venues. The U.S. Embassy advises heightened personal security awareness, particularly in public areas. The embassy also asks American citizens to exercise additional vigilance, especially in places of worship, crowded streets, shopping areas and locations with large crowds. People are also advised to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings. People should also refrain from displaying signs of wealth, such as wearing expensive jewelry or watches. Persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reports that the two terror attacks in recent weeks, along with the arrest of nearly 100 suspects, reveals that terrorism is a significant concern for the government. The U.S.-based nonprofit notes that pro-Islamic State cells and lone wolves still pose severe threats in the country, though they are not as powerful as before, thanks to anti-terrorism efforts. At least 20 people were injured in the March church attack, and the perpetrators a newly-married couple in their 20s were killed. The pair are believed to have been affiliated with Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD), a local extremist group that pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State. The JAD, Indonesias most active terror cell for the last two years, was also behind coordinated attacks on three churches on May 13, 2018, in Surabaya that killed at least 13 people. Those churches include Immaculate Saint Mary Catholic Church, Indonesia Christian Church and Surabaya Central Pentecost Church. JAD "participates in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities" in conjunction with groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida, according to the United Nations Security Council. Muhammad Syauqillah, head of the University of Indonesias terrorism studies program, told The Australian that many terrorists believed they would receive religious rewards twofold if they carried out an attack in the holy month of Ramadan, which this year runs from April 12 to May 12. Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. President Joko Widodo condemned last month's bombing and instructed security forces to unearth the terror networks down to their roots. Terrorism is a crime against humanity and is not at all related to any religion, he said. I ask every member of the public to fight terrorism and radicalism that go against the values of religion and our culture as a country that respects multiculturalism. Indonesia, where Christians form about 10% of the population, is ranked No. 47 on Open Doors USAs World Watch List of countries where Christians face the greatest levels of persecution. Jamestown School District logo View Photo Jamestown, CA Jamestown School has been awarded a million-dollar grant as part of the Schools Partnership Program. California Department of Education announced that they have awarded the grant money as part of the 2020 California Community Schools Partnership Program(CCSPP) Jamestown is one of twenty school districts in the state of California receiving funding that will be used over the next three years to accomplish a variety of goals. Improving school attendance, increasing academic performance, and connecting with student families in order to build local relationships and help students achieve their goals. Superintendent of Jamestown School District Contessa Pelfrey explains This is incredibly exciting news for Jamestown School District! It was a highly competitive grant with many of the awardees being large cities and counties, so we are so thankful that our rural school and community was recognized, With the goals in place, Jamestown School is looking to the community to evaluate strengths and needs and plans to address those by expanding partnerships and bolstering services currently in place while also establishing new connections in the community. They will be working with Jamestown Family Resource Center to help facilitate counseling services, foster care services, transportation, food resources, digital connectivity, and technology resources as well as school care that takes place before and after classroom hours. ABEC stainless steel fermentation solutions to enhance HEC Pharm's manufacturing productivity and flexibility ABEC, a global provider of integrated solutions and services for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, today announced it will design, manufacture, and install multiple 4,000L fermenter trains for HEC Pharm's manufacturing site in Guangzhou, China. The stainless-steel fermenter trains are custom designed to support HEC Pharm's scale-up initiative of their advanced insulin products. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210411005020/en/ HEC Pharm is a leader in producing innovative medicines, generics, and biologics. To ensure the highest productivity and product quality, HEC Pharm selected ABEC for its long-term experience in fermenter design and scale up. ABEC has successfully delivered thousands of customized bioreactor and fermentation solutions for over 45 years. ABEC's 32,000m2 of manufacturing space, the largest global capacity in the industry, also ensures timely delivery to meet HEC Pharm's rapid time to market needs. "HEC Pharm is committed to bringing high-quality advanced insulin products to the global market," said Richard Tang, President of HEC R&D Center. "We are now able to seamlessly scale up from existing processes, which is critical to our plans for continuous growth." "ABEC has supported the rapid growth of China's biotech industry for over ten years," said Scott Pickering, ABEC CEO and Chairman. "We value the opportunity to work with HEC Pharm as they strive to bring essential medicines to a larger global market." About ABEC Since 1974, ABEC has been a global leader in delivering integrated process solutions and services for manufacturing in the biopharmaceutical industry. The majority of the world's pharmaceutical and biotech companies are ABEC customers; with many of today's leading therapies manufactured by processes and equipment engineered, manufactured, installed and serviced by ABEC. To learn more about ABEC, visit abec.com, email info@abec.com, or follow on LinkedIn. About HEC HEC Pharm was established in 2002. Today HEC Pharm includes 4 subsidiaries with manufacturing facilities. HEC Pharm has become one of the most innovative and promising pharmaceutical companies in China. If you are interested in more information on our products, clinical studies and our research, or you are looking for any business cooperation opportunities, contact us. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210411005020/en/ Contacts: Susan Cooper-Curcio,scurcio@abec.com, +1 (610) 861 4666 SUV However, if you were to fly across the Pacific for the better part of a day and land either in Australia or New Zealand, youd encounter a culture where high-performance utility vehicles with tonneau covers are greatly appreciated. The perfect example is the HSV Maloo , although there are several such iterations one could point to when it comes to the Holden brand.A quick visit to Fords official website for Australia reveals a very diverse pickup range, albeit all based on the same model. Youve got the entry-level Ranger, Ranger Wildtrak X, Ranger FX4 Max, and the Ranger Raptor. But what if you could imagine something a little more imposing and at the same time, more powerful?Thats exactly what Oscar Vargas did, by turning his partners Ford Explorerinto a 5.0-liter Coyote-powered Ute for her birthday. Happy birthday, by the way!Cute gesture aside, were quite thrilled with the result. The artist took an otherwise run-of-the-mill people hauler and turned it into something that is arguably a lot more desirableand not just in Australia.To get the desired effect, he needed to chop off a section to slim down the front end. Then he added a stronger shoulder line for more of a muscle car aesthetic, plus a hood scoop, tonneau cover, larger wheels, and 5.0 badges.If this truck existed in real life, it would be powered by the same 5.0-liter Coyote V8 unit found in the Mustang GT, which means 460 hp (466 PS) and 420 lb-ft (569 Nm) of torque would be going to its rear wheels, via either a six-speed manual or ten-speed automatic transmission. We all know the incredible frustration of securing an appointment to receive our COVID-19 vaccinations. Once secured, my appointment at the Oregon Convention Center was an example of near-perfect execution. Lines moved at normal walking pace and verifications were swift, with assistance as needed. The main feature was the superb quality of helpers who were well-trained and motivated to help. I spoke with employees of health care organizations, FEMA employees, National Guard and other military personnel and unpaid volunteers. The quality of these folks is unmatched. Our country should run this smoothly! Well done thank you all! Tedd Tritt, Lake Oswego New Delhi, April 12 : As individuals above 45 years of age in the country can now get Covid-19 vaccines, Amazon India on Monday said that it will cover the cost of Covid-19 jabs for more than 10 lakh people. This includes its India employees, associates, sellers with active listings since last year, operations partner network of Delivery Service Partner associates, including Amazon Flex drivers, I Have Space (IHS) store partners, trucking partners and also their eligible dependents. Amazon India said that the benefit also will be available to all sellers, on Amazon.in with an active listing since last year. The new development is an addition to the $2.5 billion investment Amazon has globally made towards special bonuses and incentives for its teams in the last year, and the overall $11.5 billion investment towards Covid-19-related measures. "Health and safety of our teams and partners continues to be our top priority," Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President and Country Manager, Amazon India, said in a statement. "We are encouraging eligible individuals to get vaccinated, and will cover the cost of vaccination for our employees, associates, operations partner network, sellers and their eligible dependents to ensure their continued safety." The announcement comes at a time when India is ramping up vaccinations amid a renewed surge in Covid-19 cases. Amazon India supports cost coverage for Covid-19 treatment, hospital search and coverage of prescribed Covid-19 tests. Initiatives have been scaled and evolved to address the prevailing situation. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) With exponential surge in Covid-19 cases in the national capital especially in the last few days, the Delhi Government has stepped up its efforts to combat the new wave of coronavirus. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a review meeting with health officials on Monday morning and later made three appeals to people to follow Covid protocols. Observing the need for more beds in the hospitals, the state government has decided to scale up capacities, increasing Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds and ramping up other facilities in both government and private run hospitals. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that the government is taking all steps to fight against Covid-19 and to strengthen the health system of the national capital. To take stock of the preparations in hospitals in view of Covid-19 surge in the capital, the chief Minister held a review meeting with top health officials and the doctors on Monday. Meanwhile, he also urged the people to follow protocols to protect themselves against Covid-19. "We are taking several steps to increase number of beds in both pvt and govt sectors. Urge everyone to cooperate. Pl pl follow Covid protocols. Don't rush to hospital unless necessary. Go and vaccinate if you are eligible," Kejriwal said on Twitter after the review meeting. Delhi on Sunday reported 10,732 fresh Covid-19 cases and 48 deaths. London, April 12 : The UK's Prince Harry has returned to Britain for the first time since leaving for his new life in Los Angeles ahead of the funeral of his grandfather, Prince Philip, on Saturday. The Prince was seen arriving onboard a British Airways flight from Los Angeles which arrived at Heathrow at 1.15 p.m. on Sunday, dpa news agency quoted The Sun newspaper as saying ina report. He will be able to attend the funeral on "compassionate grounds" under government guidance despite strict quarantine rules in place which could be prevented him from going. The Prince will have to remain in quarantine on the other days. His wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will not be attending the event due to her pregnancy. On Saturday, the funeral for Prince Philip, who was also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, will be held in the afternoon in Windsor. Due to coronavirus restrictions in place, only 30 people will be allowed to attend the funeral. Members of the public have been urged not to attend the funeral by police and the British government due to the restrictions. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that he would give up his space at the funeral so that another family member would be able to attend. British Parliament has been recalled a day early on Monday so Johnson and other lawmakers can pay tribute to the Duke. Normal parliament business resumes on Tuesday, however no laws will be passed this week due to the national mourning period, which ends on Saturday after the funeral. The Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, passed away at the Windsor Castle on April 9 at the age of 99. 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. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chennai: Tamil actor Vijay rode a bicycle to the polling station at Vels International Pre School, Neelankarai in Chennai to cast his vote. As soon as polling for 234 constituencies started on Tuesday, the Tamil actor was seen riding a bicycle to reach the polling booth. Later, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami cast his vote at a polling station in Siluvampalayam and urged voters in the state to do the same. Meanwhile, actors including Rajnikanth, actor turned politician Kamal Hassan also cast their vote in the first and final phase voting of the state Assembly polls. The state recorded a voter turnout of 39.55 per cent till 1:30 pm across 234 Assembly constituencies in the state Assembly polls, according to the Election Commission (EC). A total of 3,998 candidates are in the poll fray. The counting of votes will be done on May 2. After failing to set up even a small factory making needles or safety pins in Bihar despite being in power for a decade and a half, the former Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi declared Bihar would be overflowing with job opportunities once the BJP comes into power in the neighboring state of West Bengal. Modi, who is now a Rajya Sabha member, is actually selling change of power in West Bengal as something directly related to millions of job opportunities for Biharis once Mamata Banerjee is replaced with a BJP Chief Minister who will, according to the BJPians, usher a wave of development and progress in the state. Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) April 11, 2021 The BJP leader, however, forgot to mention why a developed Bihar could not have been even better for its own people or for its neighboring states like West Bengal, UP, or Jharkhand. He very carefully omits to say why only Bihari laborers have to migrate to other states and not the other way round. Modi was the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar between 2005 and 2013 and again between 2017 and 2020. Between him and his boss Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Bihar failed to attract any business in the state though the duo, with careful media management, projected the state as the next Germany or Singapore in terms of development and job opportunities. The two also misled the voters and public about world-class health care system in Bihar despite the fact that till today, people rush to Delhi, Mumbai, or Bangalore to get any decent medical care for even the simplest health issue like the removal of appendix. Leaders from six Southern African nations met last week to figure out how to address a rise in violent extremist attacks in Mozambiques volatile north, including a sophisticated attack last month that threatened the nations gas reserves. Here is the puzzle the presidents of Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are trying to solve: A shadowy insurgency has taken a stranglehold over northern Mozambique, increasing their violent attacks in recent months and endangering the nations large gas reserves. On Thursday, after two days of meetings between regional military and security officials and heads of state, the Southern African Development Communitys top six leaders called for an immediate technical deployment to Mozambique ahead of another high-level meeting at the end of April. Legally, the body can intervene militarily in cases of intrastate conflict, like this one. But Mozambique has so far been unreceptive. The latest chapter in this violent, three-year saga an attack last month by Islamic State-linked insurgents on the city of Palma, close to a multibillion dollar French gas project appears to have been the final straw that motivated leaders to convene. In that highly organized attack, militants laid waste to the small seaside town and committed horrific atrocities, according to rights groups. It is a complex story, but rights groups say leaders need to focus on one issue: fundamentally, they argue, this is a human rights crisis. What we have here is a human rights and humanitarian crisis that has left hundreds of thousands displaced, insecure and unable to return to their homes because of the attacks that have been ongoing," said Dewa Mavhinga, the Southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch. "So, the lack of security then spills over to affect everything else, including in terms of stability and economic programs that might be taking place in Cabo Delgado. As we have seen with the attack on Palma town that disrupted all socioeconomic activities. But at the core of it is a lack of protection in terms of the rights of the citizens who were then forced to flee to Tanzania and southwards to Pemba. The United Nations estimates 1.3 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance, and that 670,000 have been pushed out of their homes by the violence. Last year saw more than 570 violent incidents in the nations three northern provinces. Historian Yussuf Adam, a retired professor at Maputos Eduardo Mondlane University, told VOA the problems in this region go back way beyond the start of the insurgency in 2017. Hes been studying the region since the 1970s, and says hes documented growing animus in the last two decades between local landowners who were mostly Muslim and farmers who were mostly Christian. He believes Mozambiques government waited too long to try to address these divides, and perhaps more importantly, to tackle the areas systemic poverty and inequality. And for that reason, he says, a military solution is no solution. There is no military solution. People have to be heard, and things have to be negotiated, and also peoples right to land," he said. "People have to benefit also from whatever it is will come out, is coming out, from this mining, oil, petrol and gas operations. That's something which has to be seen and done. And, Mavhinga says, the government needs to take responsibility for its own failures. While militants have committed grievous acts including rapes and beheadings rights groups have also documented abuses by Mozambican security forces, including torture and extrajudicial killings. Security expert Jasmine Opperman, director of the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, says the militants tactics show their aim clearly: theyre trying to sow distrust in the government. Thats why the Palma attack which grabbed headlines around the world and forced French energy giant Total to suspend its local operations actually matters. There is nothing for them in seizing the gas. Disruption is the important thing," she said. "Exposing the government for inability to protect the LNG sector is an important aspect. And with that, we are seeing the insurgents just gaining massive momentum. ... It is important to make a distinction. The LNG sector, I want to argue, has never been a primary attack. But disruption remains central. In their communique, Southern African leaders did not say what exactly an immediate technical deployment means, what exactly it would do or even how soon they could get their feet on the ground. Nor did they elaborate on their statement that such heinous attacks cannot be allowed to continue without a proportionate regional response. SADC will meet again in Maputo on April 28. Bobby Naderi U.S. President Joe Biden attends a drive-in campaign rally at Pullman Yard in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., December 15, 2020. /Reuters Editor's note: Bobby Naderi is a London-based journalist, guest contributor in print, radio and television, and documentary filmmaker. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN. According to a new report by the China Society for Human Rights Studies, the United States has waged 201 armed conflicts among the total 248 that occurred in 153 regions of the world since the end of the World War II in 1945 to 2001. Titled "Severe Humanitarian Disasters Caused by U.S. Aggressive Wars against Foreign Countries," the report states that America's "humanitarian intervention" have led to proxy wars, sectarian violence, mass casualties, damaged facilities, production stagnation, refugee crisis, social unrest, ecological crisis, and psychological traumas. Although the report urges the U.S. to change course, that is not going to happen. The endless war policy and the humanitarian catastrophe will continue under President Joe Biden's administration and for obvious reasons that include a lucrative global arms trade. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the U.S remains the world's biggest exporter of major arms and 96 countries are importing weapons at record highs. What's more, around 47 percent of U.S. arms exports between 2016-2020 went to the volatile Middle East region an increase of 28 percent from the previous five years. It is futile to deny that the U.S. is going many places on the planet with its gunships, pretending to sell security insurance and peace. Another policy that will not change under Biden's presidency is the U.S. military's presence in the Middle East on the pretext of war on terror (read war on Islam). As falsely rationalized by Pentagon officials and big-league commanders, U.S. backtracking on its promised support for allies or troop withdrawals and an end to forever wars could motivate "adversaries" to extend more diplomatic and possible military support to the region. This goes against Biden's promise on ending the longtime wars. Among other things, he had envisioned during his election campaign not just a return to the traditional U.S. role in the post-World War II international order, but to use that power and influence to take on post-pandemic problems. He had emphasized the urgency for U.S-led global alliances to combat the climate crisis and forge new trade agreements to create a more even international economy. A U.S. military vehicle patrols a road near the town of Tal Baydar in the countryside of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province, October 12, 2019. /VCG Few months into his presidency, and it's clear that there has been a wholesale corporate and military-industrial complex takeover of the White House. A review of the administration's early months shows that virtually every week there has been a new grant of power to corporate and Pentagon interests in the endless war agenda. Likewise, Congress has been hard at work serving the interests of international interventionists. Congressional Republicans and Democrats are prioritizing a series of votes to impose new sanctions that will deliberately antagonize the targeted countries. After almost 20 years conducting a disastrously unsuccessful war on terror, they seem increasingly intent on returning to the Cold War world, as well. Clearly, Biden's pervasive and consequential conflicts of interest has immersed his administration in a permanent miasma of confrontation with the world community: the excuses to stay and entertain the Middle East, the provocative moves of the U.S. Navy to incite confrontation in the South China Sea, and that of NATO buildup along the borders with Russia. There remain extraordinary dangers ahead. The Biden administration officials are propagating and threatening many proposals and policies cut from the same cloth as the previous administrations. They continue to make military cargo deliveries to Ukraine as tensions in the region are skyrocketing. Amid the chaos, they try to distract domestic public opinion from a looming economic collapse by setting the narrative that it's the fault of enemies. It is impossible to satiate the bottomless appetite of the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex. Arms manufacturers and military corporate contractors are guaranteed to rake in billions more under the Biden administration which seems to have institutionalized the war policy as a feature of everyday politics in the remarkably bankrupt universe of Washington. The reasons used to justify this dangerous process are not good enough to get the international community on board. Wars and conflicts continue to remain unpopular and for good reasons. Telling the truth is not a crime for the China Society for Human Rights Studies, either. The war policy is set to create more zones of chaos, reinforce the narratives of terrorist groups who see themselves as a bulwark against U.S. aggression, unleash greater sectarian warfare, and plunge the planet into further chaos. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 20:47:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The death toll due to the pandemic in India has surpassed 170,000 on Monday amid a new wave of COVID-19 outbreak in South Asia, as Bangladesh issued fresh directives for a full lockdown. With 904 deaths in the past 24 hours, India's death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic reached 170,179, according to the latest data released by the federal government, with 168,912 daily cases. Amid a surge in COVID-19 infections, the Bangladeshi government has issued a fresh set of directives for a nationwide full lockdown from 6:00 a.m. local time April 14 to the midnight of April 21. Cambodia has vaccinated 1 million out of its 16-million population against the COVID-19 so far, Health Ministry's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said. The country logged 277 new COVID-19 cases and one more death in the last 24 hours, the country's Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement. The Solomon Islands has received a batch of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines, which is the first among Pacific island countries to get the COVID-19 vaccine from China through bilateral channels, reports reaching said. Afghanistan reported 122 new COVID-19 cases after health authorities conducted 2,282 tests within a day, bringing the tally to 57,364, the country's Ministry of Public Health said. The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 11,378 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 876,225. The death toll climbed to 15,149 after 204 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. Singapore's national air carrier, Singapore Airlines will increase its air connectivity to Sri Lanka by increasing its flights to five per week from the present three, local media reported. Singapore Airlines, quoted in a statement, said as the aviation sector gradually recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore Airlines will increase its frequency to capital Colombo. Sri Lanka's Army Commander and Head of the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPC) Shavendra Silva urged people to strictly adhere to the health guidelines ahead of the local New Year. Thailand confirmed 985 new COVID-19 cases, a new daily record since the pandemic began, bringing the total caseload to 33,610, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Of the new confirmed cases, 980 were domestic infections. New Zealand reported seven cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation and no new cases in the community. South Korea reported 587 more cases of COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 110,146. The daily caseload fell below 600 in six days due mainly to few virus tests over the weekend. Enditem Mirbeau Inn & Spa Turning into the driveway of Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Rhinebeck, NY, one comes upon what appears to be, at first glance, a chateau in Frances Loire Valley. Its a pleasing effect which set the tone for a weekend of true escapism at the alluring property, located just two hours north of New York City. The first Mirbeau Inn & Spathe name, loosely translated, means reflected beauty, and is partly inspired by the paintings of French Impressionist Claude Monetopened in 2000 in the diminutive Village of Skaneateles, in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. The Rhinebeck resort opened in 2019, further extending the burgeoning brand, which also has properties in Albany, NY (Spa Mirbeau) and Plymouth, Mass., outside of Boston. Mirbeau Inn & Spa Based on a philosophy of balancing life with wellness and indulgence, Mirbeau is the brainchild of Linda and Gary Dower. In the mid-1990s, the couple noticed that most American hotels outside of major cities had very little to do with hospitality, and were simply convenient and predictable places for travelers to sleep at night as they passed through. They saw a need for a true getaway with familiar charm and soft-spoken luxury, that was still relatively close to home to allow for short respites. At the time, destination hotels tended to be located at beautiful geographic areas, such as the Rocky Mountains, Miami Beach and the Grand Canyon, and were long distances away from where most people lived. Mirbeau Inn & Spa Mirbeau Inn & Spa At the same time, the Dowers noted that the era of families taking single, long vacations were being given up for multiple, short getaways, in itself a byproduct of the dawn of instant, inexpensive, worldwide communication, which meant that many people now took working vacations. The decision to open their first resort in the town they lived in, Skaneateles, was meant to maximize the time theyd have to relax and enjoy a shorter stay. The first Mirbeau was created as a place designed from the customers perspective; a place of gracious hospitality, where guests enjoyed classic comforts and were truly cared for; a place where guests could let go and totally relax; and importantly, a place that was close to home. Building on the success of the first property, as well as that of the subsequent openings in Albany and Plymouth, the Mirbeau in Rhinebeck channels Parisian sophistication and old-world style. The French chateau feel is carried over to the guest rooms and suites, each one of which features a fireplace. There are 49 gracious accommodations in all, divided among Mirbeau Signature rooms and Luxurious Suites, each with an abundance of space and impressive bathrooms with walk-in showers, soaking tubs, and double sinks. Linda Dower, who manages all aspects of interior design for Mirbeau Inn & Spa projects, oversaw the soothing decor. Mirbeau Inn & Spa At the heart of the property is 15,000 sq.ft. Spa Mirbeau, featuring a European-style relaxation area, an Aqua Terrace with thermal pool, a eucalyptus-infused steam room, Himalayan salt saunas, and a fitness room with the latest equipment. In keeping with the Mirbeau philosophy, the property is as equally suited to welcoming overnight guests as day-trippers, who can indulge in the sanctuary of the spa, and enjoy dinner on site as well, without taking too much time off from work. The idea is to refresh and reawaken the senses whether you visit for three nights or a few hours. Mirbeau Inn & Spa Mirbeau Inn & Spa Mirbeau Inn & Spa Nor is dinner a mere afterthought. The propertys restaurant, Willow by Charlie Palmer, is from the famed chef best known for Aureole, his restaurant in New York City which earned 13 Michelin stars and two James Beard awards. Willow draws upon the Hudson Valley to represent the regions agricultural heritage, while the menu showcases the teams dedication to progressive American cuisine, featuring local and seasonal produce from multi-generational farms, emergent food artisans, and craft distillers. While their is much integrity of ingredients, and lighter dishes are on offer, this is far from being a spa menu sort of place, and it attracts diners from all over the region, drawn by Palmers reputation and the serene setting, which occupies much of the hotels main floor as well as a balcony overlooking the woodland behind the property. Mirbeau Inn & Spa Following an initial setback and temporary closure brought on the pandemic, the Rhinebeck property reopened in the spring of 2020 with strict guidelines in place. By January of this year, despite operating at reduced capacity for much of the period, Mirbeau found that the spa had actually grown its revenue from the previous year by over 20 percent, according to the Albany Times-Union. As Pamela Maes, Spa Director of Mirbeau Inn & Spa Rhinebeck, told the paper, The pandemic has really stressed the importance of self-care, and Mirbeau is well-positioned to assist. The Mirbeau Companies remains a family-owned and operated organization, with plans for further growth into selected regional markets in the Northeast. Its family values remain firmly in place. During the pandemic, Mirbeau properties made a commitment to not terminate any employees while the properties had to be closed, and continued to pay them during the furlough. Then upon reopening, Mirbeau launched an initiative to donate spa services to local healthcare professionals. In total, Mirbeau donated over 320 spa treatments to health care organizations in New York alone. As various local news outlets reported, the initiative was part of the Mirbeau Cares program, the philanthropic arm of the Mirbeau Companies. In addition to the donated treatments, the company hosts charitable events and contributes to a variety of organizations serving those in need. Mirbeau Inn & Spa Mirbeau Inn & Spa Mirbeau Inn & Spa Mirbeau Inn & Spa Mirbeau Inn & Spa Mirbeau Inn & Spa Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 12, 2021) - ScoZinc Mining Ltd. (TSXV: SZM) ("ScoZinc" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, at the Company's Extraordinary General Meeting held on April 12, 2021, its securityholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the resolution approving the arrangement agreement pursuant to which, inter alia, Fancamp Exploration Ltd. ("Fancamp") will indirectly acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of ScoZinc on the basis of 6.0 Fancamp ordinary shares for each ScoZinc common share (the "Arrangement"). The President and CEO, Mr. Mark Haywood, commented: "ScoZinc received 99.80% voting support from its securityholders for the proposed business combination with Fancamp. Like our securityholders, I believe that the business combination with Fancamp will unlock considerable value and establish a proven board and management team with high governance standards and extensive mining industry experience. "We expect that the transaction with Fancamp will close this month, and that the resulting business combination will create significant transformational value for both ScoZinc & Fancamp securityholders as we focus our teams and advance our combined projects." The Extraordinary General Meeting ("EGM") of shareholders occurred on April 12, 2021. The Arrangement required the approval of: (a) 662/3% of ScoZinc's shareholders ("Shareholder Approval"); (b) 662/3% of ScoZinc's shareholders, warrantholders, optionholders and RSUholders voting as a single class ("Securityholder Approval"); and (c) approval by a simple majority of 50% plus one vote of ScoZinc's shareholders, excluding shares held or controlled by Messrs. Ashwath Mehra and Mark Haywood ("Majority of the Minority Approval"). The voting results are as follows: Arrangement Approvals Votes For % Votes For Votes Against % Votes Against Result Shareholder Approval 11,952,097 99.66% 40,212 0.34% Approved Securityholder Approval 20,116,720 99.80% 40,212 0.20% Approved Majority of the Minority Approval 15,744,192 99.75% 40,212 0.25% Approved The Arrangement is expected to close in April 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of the final court approval. Further information regarding the Arrangement is contained in ScoZinc's Management Information Circular dated March 15, 2021. About ScoZinc Mining Ltd. ScoZinc is a Canadian exploration and mining company that has full ownership of the Scotia Mine and related facilities near Halifax, Nova Scotia. ScoZinc also holds several prospective exploration licenses nearby its Scotia Mine and in surrounding regions of Nova Scotia. The Company's common shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "SZM". For more information, please contact: Mark Haywood President & Chief Executive Officer Robert Suttie Chief Financial Officer Simion Candrea VP Investor Relations Head Office Purdy's Wharf, 1959 Upper Water Street, Suite 1301, Nova Scotia, B3J 3N2, Canada Telephone +1 (902) 482 4481 Facsimile +1 (902) 422 2388 Email & Web info@ScoZinc.com & www.ScoZinc.com The Company's corporate filings and technical reports can be viewed on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Further information on ScoZinc is also available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ScoZinc, Twitter at www.twitter.com/ScoZincMining, and LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/scozinc-mining-ltd. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80183 CHICAGO, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In a recently filed enforcement lawsuit, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") alleges that Los Angeles-based actor Zachary J. Horwitz, through his company 1inMM ("1inMM"), perpetrated a $690 million Ponzi Scheme against hundreds of unwitting investors. An actor credited as "Zach Avery" in movies such as Fury and The White Crow, Horwitz allegedly raised money through word-of-mouth referrals. Horwitz offered investors promissory notes with guaranteed returns of between 35% and 45%. Horwitz allegedly told investors that 1inMM would use the proceeds from the notes to acquire movie distribution rights and license them to media companies for a profit. Horwitz allegedly told investors that he had longstanding relationships with executives at HBO and Netflix. In truth, according to the SEC, he had no such relationships and 1inMM had no distribution deals. The SEC alleges that Horwitz used new investor funds to pay principal and interest to previous investors in a classic Ponzi scheme. Horwitz allegedly used some of the funds for personal use, including a multimillion-dollar residence, lavish gambling trips, chartered jets and luxury cars. Chicago-based JJMT Capital, LLC ("JJMT") was the largest investor in the 1inMM scam, investing approximately $485 million, most of which JJMT obtained from outside investors who signed promissory notes with JJMT. According to declarations filed in the SEC's lawsuit, approximately $165 million in JJMT investors' principal has not been repaid by 1inMM. JJMT's principals, Joseph DeAlteris, Jacob Wunderlin and Matthew Schweinzger, met Horwitz while attending Indiana University in the late 2000s. According to the SEC, large investments were made in 1inMM by other investor groups, including Movie Fund, LLC of Las Vegas; SAC Advisory Group, LLC of Pleasant Hill, California; Vausse Films of Manhattan Beach, California; and Pure Health Enterprises, Inc. of Napa, California. Among all investors, unpaid principal is at least $234.7 million. The law firm of Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman LLP ("LKLSG") in Miami is investigating potential legal action designed to help victims of the Horwitz/1inMM scam. If you purchased promissory notes from 1inMM or any of the investor groups, please contact attorney Jason Kellogg at the information above or through www.horwitzponzi.com. LKLSG represents clients nationwide. Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman LLP (www.lklsg.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict similar outcomes with respect to future matters. Opportunities to discuss your particular case are welcomed. All communications are treated confidentially. About Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman LLP LKLSG is a Miami-based commercial law firm providing focused, efficient, and hands-on representation in high-stakes legal proceedings including complex commercial litigation, class actions, bankruptcy and receiverships, lender/borrower litigation and workouts and labor and employment litigation. SOURCE Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman Related Links https://lklsg.com/ London, April 12 : More than 30 fines were issued to people attending an illegal house party in London, local media reported. Police arrived at the address in Dover Street, Mayfair, in London at 12.52 a.m. on Sunday and found a large number of people inside playing music and drinking alcohol, Xinhua news agency quoted the Evening Standard newspaper as saying in a report. A total of 34 people were reported for the consideration of a fixed penalty notice under the Health Protection Regulations. The organiser was reported for a fine of 10,000 pounds ($13,708), said the London-based newspaper. "As we prepare for more restrictions to be eased in England it is more important than ever that everybody is following the rules and avoiding unnecessary risks," Superintendent Daniel Rutland was quoted by the newspaper as saying. "We all have a part to play to ensure the COVID infection rate does not rise again and this type of behaviour risks jeopardising the progress that has been made by the majority of people who have followed the rules," he said. The fines were issued a day before the partial ease of the current Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country. From Monday, non-essential shops will reopen and pubs and restaurants will reopen outdoors at a time when Britain moves to step two of the roadmap out of the Covid-19 lockdown. Meanwhile, hairdressers and barbers as well as gyms can reopen, along with zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres. 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. Description The Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County (HMTC) is hosting a book discussion with New York Times bestselling author Julie Metz about her newest book, Eva and Eve. Interweaving personal memoir and family history, this book vividly traces the authors search for her mothers lost childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna and reveals the resilience needed survive during historys darkest hours. BETHESDA, Md., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) welcomed five new directors, including a new president-elect, to its Board of Directors at the 2021 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting A Virtual Experience. The new Board members will serve as advocates for the organization and will assist in shaping and implementing the mission, vision, and direction of the College. The five newly elected directors will serve six-year terms from April 2021 to March 2027. "I have enjoyed the chance to meet our recently elected Board members. Each of them offers unique perspectives, new insights and opportunities to advance ACMG's strategic plan," said Anthony Gregg, MD, MBA, FACMG, president of the ACMG. "I hope every ACMG member feels comfortable reaching out to the Board with the goal of moving our strategic plan forward. There are many ways to "plug in." Susan D. Klugman, MD, FACMG: President-Elect President-Elect Susan Klugman is currently director of the Division of Reproductive and Medical Genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Klugman's clinical practice focuses on prenatal and cancer genetics. She is also program director for the Clinical Medical Genetics Residency that spans both the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Klugman graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science with honors in Biometry and Statistics. She then earned her MD from New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Klugman completed her obstetrics and gynecology and clinical genetics training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. She practiced as an Ob/GYN generalist for ten years and served as the medical director of the Larchmont Women's Center before completing her genetics training. Dr. Klugman, a professor of obstetrics & gynecology and women's health, is board certified in clinical genetics by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG) and in obstetrics and gynecology by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG). Dr. Klugman has served on the ACMG Board of Directors since 2015. She was the vice president for clinical genetics and the Board liaison for the Professional Practice and Guidelines and the Government Affairs and Advocacy Committees, and, previously, the Social, Ethical and Legal Issues (SELI) Committee. While on the Education and CME Committee, she co-chaired the mentor and trainee luncheon at the ACMG Annual Meeting. She recently completed a six-year term on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Residency Review Committee for Medical Genetics and was president of the program directors' group of the Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics (APHMG). Dr. Klugman is ACMG's representative to the American Medical Association's House of Delegates, liaison to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Genetics, and reproductive genetics editor for Genetics in Medicine. Dr. Klugman divides her time between clinical practice (primarily related to prenatal and cancer genetics), teaching, research and administrative duties. She has participated in multiple local and national clinical trials and co-authored 35 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Klugman has spoken extensively at regional and national medical conferences including more than 70 invited presentations in the last 10 years. She is a reviewer for several journals and is currently co-investigator on three grants. Dr. Klugman is a mentor for many high school, college and medical students, residents and fellows and has helped many of them present at national meetings and publish peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Klugman is a known community lecturer and educator. She has appeared on several national television news programs on topics relating to prenatal and cancer genetics and has spoken with the national media as an ACMG Board member. She is passionate about disseminating the correct information about genetic screening and testing. On becoming ACMG president-elect, Dr. Klugman said, "Genetics and genomics has quickly become a part of almost every medical specialty. ACMG is challenged with not only educating but integrating genetics and thereby improving healthcare. It has been an honor to serve on the board with such outstanding colleagues and I look forward to continuing the mission of the college as President-Elect." Shweta Dhar, MD, MS, FACMG: Clinical Genetics Director Dr. Dhar is an associate professor in the Department of Molecular & Human Genetics and Department of Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) where she serves as medical director of the Adult Genetics Division at BCM, chief of the Genetics service at Harris Health System and chief of the Section of Genetic Medicine at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Recently, she has been appointed as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Genomics as well as the lead for Genomic Medicine for VISN 16 (South Central VA Network), which is one of 18 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Dhar is a clinician-educator and divides her time between her clinical services at the Baylor private practice group, the county health system and the Veterans Affairs hospital, in addition to providing genetics education for medical students and fellows. She is the course director for the Genetics course for the medical students, and co-directs the Genetics & Genomics Pathway as well as several clinical and pre-clinical electives. She is also involved in the Undiagnosed Disease Network and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) project for genomics education of health educators. She has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed publications, contributed chapters for Emory & Rimoin's Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics & Genomics, Rudolph's Pediatrics and BMJ Best Practice, and served as a reviewer for a variety of journals. She is a contributing author and editor-in-chief for the Handbook of Clinical Adult Genetics & Genomics: A Practice-Based Approach, which is an important and much-needed resource on the practice of adult genetics. Dr. Dhar's service to the ACMG includes being a member and past chair of the ACMG Adult Genetics Special Interest Group (SIG). She led the SIG from 2013-2019 and was instrumental in establishing the adult genetics case conference webinar. She has been a member of the ACMG Education and CME Committee since 2016 and serves as course director for the Genetics 101 course, an educational program offered by ACMG to increase genetics knowledge among nongenetics providers. She is also a member of the course directors SIG for the Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics (APHMG). Dr. Dhar was also responsible for launching the Adult Genetics Diagnostic Dilemma session at the ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in 2016, which has now become a permanent feature of the ACMG Annual Meeting. Dr. Dhar graduated from the Nathiba Hargovandas Lakhmichand (NHL) Municipal Medical College followed by residency in pathology at the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. She subsequently completed a MS in Biotechnology at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, followed by a residency in internal medicine at New York Downtown Hospital in New York, New York, and a fellowship in clinical genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She is board certified in clinical genetics by the American Board of Medical Genetics & Genomics (ABMGG) and internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). "I am honored and humbled to be elected by the ACMG membership to the Board of Directors. This is an exciting time to be in the field of genetics and genomics and I look forward to working with the other directors to further the strategic plans and mission of the college," says Dr. Dhar on becoming an ACMG clinical genetics director. Hutton M. Kearney, PhD, FACMG: Cytogenetics Director Dr. Kearney is vice chair of Hereditary Genomics in the Mayo Clinic Division of Laboratory Genetics and Genomics and assistant professor of laboratory medicine and pathology. She previously served as cytogenetics director and associate molecular diagnostics director at the Fullerton Genetics Center, Mission Health System and assistant/associate director of the Cytogenetics Laboratory at Duke University Health Systems. She holds dual ABMGG board certifications in clinical cytogenetics and clinical molecular genetics. Dr. Kearney has been an active fellow of the ACMG since 2005, providing service through multiple committees. She is currently a member of the ACMG Continuing Certification Program Committee. Previously, she chaired the ACMG Laboratory Quality Assurance Committee. She has also served as cytogenetics and laboratory genetics and genomics section editor for Genetics in Medicine. Dr. Kearney serves on the board of directors of the Medical Genome Initiative and is a previous board member and president of the Cancer Genomics Consortium and the American Cytogenetics Conference. She is an active member of ClinGen, currently serving on the Dosage Sensitivity Task Force. Dr. Kearney also serves on the Cytogenetics Resource Committee of the College of American Pathologists and is on the Molecular and Clinical Genetics Devices expert panel of the FDA. Dr. Kearney is an advocate for rapid adoption and rigorous application of novel genomic technologies and educational programs to support clinical laboratories. Accordingly, she has authored numerous professional standards and guideline publications on behalf of ACMG, the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), and ClinGen, primarily related to implementation and interpretation of chromosomal microarray and other whole-genome testing approaches. She has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, reviews, and book chapters. Her research interests include mechanisms of DNA repair and recombination underlying complex genomic structural variation. Dr. Kearney received her BS in Secondary Education (Biology/Chemistry) from Auburn University. She received her PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship supported by a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) and an ABMGG fellowship in clinical cytogenetics. Soon after, Dr. Kearney completed an ABMGG fellowship in clinical molecular genetics at Duke University. "I am so pleased to serve the ACMG in this role. I look forward to helping advance the mission of the College and doing my part to ensure impactful delivery of clinical genomic services," said Dr. Kearney on becoming ACMG cytogenetics director. David A. Stevenson, MD, FACMG: Clinical Genetics Director Dr. Stevenson is a professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Medical Genetics at Stanford University. He previously served as director of the Pediatric Pre-Award Grant Services and program faculty for the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling for the Division of Medical Genetics at the University of Utah. He is co-director of the Stanford Genetic Testing Optimization Service, and service chief for the Division of Medical Genetics. He is the program director for the Stanford Categorical Medical Genetics Residency and the Combined Pediatrics-Medical Genetics Residency. Dr. Stevenson has been a member of the ACMG Annual Meeting Program Committee since 2017. He currently serves as a section editor for Genetics in Medicine. He is actively involved in syndrome support groups serving on the Professional Advisory Committee for the Costello Syndrome Family Support Network, the Medical Advisory Board for Cardiofaciocutaneous Syndrome International, and on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the National Prader-Willi Syndrome Association-USA. Dr. Stevenson is also actively involved in a combination of clinical medical genetics practice, medical genetics education, and research. He has received funding from a variety of sources including the NIH, Department of Defense, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Thrasher Research Fund. He has a variety of research interests including RASopathies, bone disorders, vascular anomalies, and genotype-phenotype relations. Dr. Stevenson is also an author on more than 130 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Stevenson graduated summa cum laude from Utah State University with a BA in Biology, and subsequently received his MD from the University of Utah. He completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of New Mexico in 2002 before completing 3 years of training in medical genetics at the University of Utah in 2005. On becoming an ACMG clinical genetics director, Dr. Stevenson said, "I am excited to serve on the ACMG Board of Directors and interact with a large group of individuals focused on understanding and taking care of individuals with genetic disorders. The field of medical genetics is rapidly expanding and it is an exciting time to develop and implement effective programs, and I hope to contribute to this process." Jerry Vockley, MD, PhD, FACMG: Biochemical Genetics Director Dr. Vockley is chief of the Division of Medical Genetics and director of the Center for Rare Disease Therapy at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He is also the Cleveland Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He has served on numerous national and international scientific boards including the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children. He is a founding fellow of the ACMG and has served on the ACMG Program Committee, chaired the ACMG Therapeutics Committee, and helped establish the original ACMG Clinical Guidelines Working Group. He is founder of the International Network on Fatty Acid Oxidation Research and Therapy, has served as chair of the Pennsylvania State Newborn Screening Advisory Committee, and is past president of the Society for Inherited Metabolic Disorders. Dr. Vockley is co-founder and director of the North American Metabolic Academy and is a faculty member for the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism (SSIEM) Metabolic Academy. Internationally recognized as a leader in the field of inborn errors of metabolism, he has authored 280 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, as well as numerous book chapters and reviews. Throughout Dr. Vockley's career, he has taken an integrative approach to the study of inborn errors of metabolism, utilizing the best available tools to study their origin and impact on health. He has made seminal contributions to the fields of branched chain amino acid metabolism and fatty acid oxidation, including redefining these metabolic pathways. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for this work since 1992. In addition to his laboratory work, Dr. Vockley is an active clinical investigator holding multiple NIH R01 grants to study treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU). He was principle investigator of studies for the FDA approval of triheptanoin, the first such medication for long chain fatty acid oxidation disorders, which he helped develop. Dr. Vockley received his undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and his MD as well as his PhD in genetics from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was recipient of a Medical Scientist Training Program award. He completed his pediatric residency at the University of Colorado Health Science Center and the Denver Children's Hospital, and his postdoctoral fellowship in human genetics and pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. He is boarded by the ABMGG in clinical genetics, and clinical biochemical/molecular genetics. He is a founding fellow of the College. He currently serves as chief of the division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Upon being elected ACMG biochemical director, Dr. Vockley said, "I have been involved in College activities since its founding and am happy to play a larger role in moving it forward during a time of explosive growth in genetic technology and clinical need." ACMG also thanks the following Board members who are completing their terms of service: Tina M. Cowan, PhD, FACMG; Louanne Hudgins, MD, FACMG; Katy Phelan, PhD, FACMG; and Amy E. Roberts, MD, FACMG. A complete list of the ACMG Board of Directors is available at www.acmg.net. About the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and ACMG Foundation Founded in 1991, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) is the only nationally recognized medical professional organization solely dedicated to improving health through the practice of medical genetics and genomics, and the only medical specialty society in the US that represents the full spectrum of medical genetics disciplines in a single organization. The ACMG is the largest membership organization specifically for medical geneticists, providing education, resources and a voice for more than 2,400 clinical and laboratory geneticists, genetic counselors and other healthcare professionals, nearly 80% of whom are board certified in the medical genetics specialties. ACMG's mission is to improve health through the clinical and laboratory practice of medical genetics as well as through advocacy, education and clinical research, and to guide the safe and effective integration of genetics and genomics into all of medicine and healthcare, resulting in improved personal and public health. Four overarching strategies guide ACMG's work: 1) to reinforce and expand ACMG's position as the leader and prominent authority in the field of medical genetics and genomics, including clinical research, while educating the medical community on the significant role that genetics and genomics will continue to play in understanding, preventing, treating and curing disease; 2) to secure and expand the professional workforce for medical genetics and genomics; 3) to advocate for the specialty; and 4) to provide best-in-class education to members and nonmembers. Genetics in Medicine, published monthly, is the official ACMG journal. ACMG's website (www.acmg.net) offers resources including policy statements, practice guidelines, educational programs and a 'Find a Genetic Service' tool. The educational and public health programs of the ACMG are dependent upon charitable gifts from corporations, foundations and individuals through the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine. Contact: Kathy Moran, MBA [email protected] SOURCE American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Related Links www.acmg.net Peter Onyuike, the phone repairer illegally arrested and detained allegedly on the instructions of the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, has said he will not be making any case against the public officer, who is still grappling with the backlash of the assault he recently unleashed on a security guard. He told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that with the suffering and humiliation he passed through in the hands of security agents for one week, he would not want any more trouble from any big man in this country. Whatever happened I leave it to God who has seen me through all my troubles in the hands of that big man, (Mr Umar), he said. Mr Onyiuke, a phone repairer at one of the outlets at Banex Plaza, Wuse, Abuja, where Mr Umar physically attacked Clement Sargwak, the plazas security guard, was detained without charge from March 29 and was only released by at the Police Station in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, April 6. Witnesses at the scene of the incident, in separate interviews with our reporter, had said Mr Onyuike was severely beaten by the security agents who reportedly acted on Mr Umars order before he was driven away. Mr Umar, according to the witnesses account, accused Mr Onyuike of being rude in an encounter they had shortly after the CCT chairman attacked the plazas security guard. Mr Onyuike had helped Mr Umar to pick up his phone that fell to the ground without him knowing, and was trying to return it to him when the CCT chairman picked a quarrel against him. He was later picked up by security agents suspected to be State Security Service (SSS) operatives who later handed him over to the police. The police detained him from then till last Tuesday, clearly violating constitutional provision that prohibits the detention of any person without charge for more than 48 hours. I surrender him to God When contacted by our reporter over his efforts to get justice, Mr Onyiuke said on Monday, said with how he was beaten, his clothes torn and harsh treatment meted out to him in detention, he would not want to risk another trouble from a Nigerian big man. He said, Sir, I do not want any more trouble from any big man in this country. With what I went through throughout last week in the detentions of the police and DSS (SSS), my brother, I was only saved by God. And I do not want to go back to it. I was beaten and my clothes were torn down to my underpants. When I was taken away to DSS custody, I was still beaten. They (SSS operatives) said I caused them body aches. I was put in a small cage; the same place I was urinating for more than two days before I was later taken to the police station. Whatever happened I leave it to God who has seen me through all my troubles in the hands of that big man, (Mr Umar). He added that he did not have a lawyer and his family members from whom he could have got support were not resident in Abuja. I dont have a lawyer, my family are in the village and I am not sure any of them knew or was aware of my ordeals, he said. Speaking further about his ordeal, Mr Onyiuke, added, He said I insulted him, but I did not. All I did was to help him (Mr Umar) pick up his phone that fell to the ground and which I returned to him (Mr Umar). So I leave him to God. ADVERTISEMENT I dont want him or anyone to come back for me or any of my friends here (plaza) who have been supportive and begin to intimidate us. Despite the accounts of several witnesses and the victim of the involvement of SSS operatives in the arrest and detention, the agencys spokesperson, Peter Afunaya, had denied it. Not true, no SSS operative did that, he stated in a text message sent to our reporter. Legal representation Asked about Samuel Ihensekhien, the lawyer who broke the news of his from detention to our reporter, Mr Sagwak, I dont know any lawyer or anyone it was just God that helped me all through. His position not push for justice runs in contrast with that of Mr Sagwark, the plazas security guard, who has, Mr Ihensekhien, filed a petition against Mr Umar at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), asking for a probe into the March 29 incident. Mr Sagwak, in the April 9 petition signed by his lawyer, Mr Ihensekhien, accused the CCT chairman of abuse of power, assault, torture, and xenophobia. When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES over Mr Onyiukes case on Monday, Mr Ihensekhien said, I dont have instructions for representation from Mr Onyuike. I just had to assist out of my own benevolence to get him (Mr Onyuike) out of jail, he said, adding that But both Sargwak and the security company instructed me to represent them and that was why I filed a petition before the National Human Rights Commission. So, if he (Mr Onyuike) approaches me, as my own practice I would represent him, the lawyer also said. Aside from the case filed at the NHRC on behalf of Mr Sargwark, a petition was also filed by two national officers of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) seeking Mr Umars trial for what they described as his unlawyerly and ungentlemanly conduct. Assault This newspaper had reported how Mr Umar was caught on camera assaulting the security guard, Mr Sargwak an employee of Jul Reliable Guards Services Limited. In the five minutes video footage that went viral, the tribunal chairman was seen slapping and kicking the 22-year-old, on March 29. According to witnesses who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, the altercation was over the space where the CCT chairman parked his car on the premises of the mall. Despite video evidence, the CCT chairman denied the assault allegation. Mr Umars denial was faulted by witnesses who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES. The CCT chairman, who also accused Mr Sargwak of being rude in their parking space squabble, insisted he was the one assaulted by a mob of Biafran boys, a characterisation that was widely condemned as a slur on a particular group. In an effort to reach out to the Scheduled Castes and Matuas that constitute more than 15 percent of the electorate of the state, Prime Minister assured justice to all refugees, Matua and Namasudra and at the same time criticised the Trinamool Congress for equating them with beggars. Speaking at a rally in Matua-dominated Kalyani in Nadia district Modi said, "Didi did not like my going to Orakandi in Bangladesh where the founder of the Matua sect and social reformer Harichand Thakur was born. She raised questions over my visit...I have come to assure you today that all refugees will get all facilities due to them, they will get justice. For the BJP, providing justice to all refugees, Matua and Namasudra brothers, is also an emotional commitment." Modi not only assured justice, at the same time he castigated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over a TMC leader and candidate's comments against the Scheduled Castes comparing them with beggars. "Didi calls herself a Royal Bengal Tiger. You tell me is it possible for someone to say such things without her permission? Such comments hurt the soul of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. Such a seriously objectionable comment has been made but Didi hasn't condemned it or apologised for it. "You have committed the biggest mistake, the biggest sin by insulting Dalits, Didi," Modi said in a separate rally in Barasat in North 24 Parganas on the same day. The prime minister alleged Banerjee''s appeasement politics hurt the Matua and Namsudra communities and they had to pay commission to "TMC's extortionists" even to obtain scheduled caste certificates. Earlier on Monday addressing an election rally in Bardhaman district Modi said, 'Didi's anger, bitterness, fussiness is rising' as she has realised that her party has failed to gain a majority in the four phases of polling in the election 2021. He said that the people of Bengal have hit so many fours and sixes in the first four phases of the assembly polls that the BJP has already completed its century and the TMC is on course to be wiped out. "People of Bengal have clean bowled Didi in Nandigram and have asked her entire team to leave the field," he told an election rally in Bardhaman. Coming down hard on the chief minister, Modi said Didi ruled in Bengal for 10 years in the name of 'Ma Mati Manush' but she keeps saying 'Modi, Modi, Modi' in rallies these days. Didi has only created a mess in the name of governance. Mocking the "Ma, Mati, Manush" slogan, the prime minister said, "Tormenting "Ma", looting "Mati" (motherland) and bloodshed of "Manush" (people) is its reality. BJP's agenda is sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas...TMC's path is 'Maa ko satao', 'Mati ko looto' and bloodshed of people." Modi alleged that Mamata Banerjee instigated people against the central forces on election duty in the state. --IANS Saibal/bg (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.) I was glad to read the Feb 21 article that detailed the Delaware River Basin Commissions recent decision to permanently ban fracking within areas that may pollute sources of drinking water for millions of residents of Philadelphia and New York City. Ive always been anti-fracking, despite my parents directly benefitting from selling the gas rights to their hunting property in Bradford County over a decade ago. While natural gas may seem like an eco-friendlier fossil fuel over coal, is it really worth the monetary gain to risk polluting our drinking water? In 2017, the EPA found several ways fracking could possibly impact our drinking water from accidental spills to inadequate treatment of wastewater. Id love to see a new study by an agency that once again acknowledges climate change. A 2019 Cornell study found that fracking might not even be as eco-friendly as we originally thought. Methane emissions have significantly increased from fracking due to accidental leaks and purposeful venting. For the sake of my two young children, I hope we start investing in solar and wind energy, since natural gas isnt the cure-all many hoped it to be. Keith Moser Allentown Police in Pakistans Punjab province arrested two Christian nurses on blasphemy charges after hospital staff accused them of scratching a sticker with a verse from the Quran written on it off a cupboard. One of the nurses was allegedly attacked with a knife by a colleague. The nurses, identified as Maryam Lal and third-year student Navish Arooj who work in Civil Hospital in Punjabs Faisalabad city, were arrested on Friday, according to the United Kingdom-based nonprofit Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement. The police complaint alleges that a Muslim nurse, identified as Rukhsana, witnessed Arooj scratching and removing the sticker on a hospital cupboard and handing it to Lal. According to the Washington, D.C.-based American Center for Law and Justice, a video circulated over social media showed an employee, identified as Mohammad Waqas, calling Lal vulgar names and telling a room full of other employees that she tore down a sticker carrying a Muslim prayer. Source:The Christian Post Irma Chavez is a married mother of four who leads a business networking program in the United States. The marketing specialist is based in the small city of Springdale, Arkansas. It is a long way from her life as a housekeeper in California years ago. It is even further away from her childhood working in El Salvadors coffee fields. Chavez path in America was possible because of a U.S. immigration law designed to help people who flee disaster or armed conflict. If they are coming from one of several candidate countries, they can receive what is called Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. TPS permits them to live and work in the U.S. legally. Former president Donald Trump sought to limit the program by cutting several countries from the list, including El Salvador. Current U.S. President Joe Biden, however, supports a proposal to expand the program. The legislation would give Chavez and hundreds of thousands of people like her a chance to become American citizens. About 410,000 live and work in the U.S. under the TPS program. Some feared that they might be sent back to their homelands during Trumps term. Many have not lived in their home countries since they were children. Now, these immigrants, and others, are hopeful that Congress will pass a bill that could permit them to remain in the U.S. permanently. The bill would establish an eight-year pathway to American citizenship for about 11 million undocumented immigrants and others in the country legally under TPS. Chavez, who is 44 years old, has been renewing her TPS for 20 years. The new bill could end fears that she might be deported without her children. It also would permit her to travel more easily to see her mother and sister in her Salvadoran hometown. We really hope everything is going to change in our favor now, Chavez said. We are good people. We work. We do our taxes. We pay our taxes. The Department of Homeland Security decides what countries to add to or remove from the TPS program. There are currently 12 countries on the list, including this years additions of Myanmar and Venezuela. Though temporary, a countrys TPS status can be renewed by U.S. officials and has been repeatedly. For example, more than half of TPS holders are from El Salvador, which became part of the program after a 2001 earthquake. Thousands continue to leave the country each year to escape its high rate of violent crime and unemployment. Giving TPS holders permanency could move many to buy homes and invest in American businesses, said Manuel Orozco. He is director of the Center for Migration and Economic Stabilization at the organization Creative Associates International. Orozco said it would help these immigrants strengthen their economic roots, which would also help the U.S. economy. Back in El Salvador Irma Chavez sister Iris Franco still lives in El Salvador. The mother of four makes and sells bread near the large city of Santa Ana in El Salvador. She uses a bicycle to transport her products to buyers. Francos oldest child is studying to be a doctor. She is the first in her family to go to college. Neither Franco nor Chavez finished high school. They both worked as children while their mother sold tamales to survive. In 1994, the family agreed Chavez would travel north to stay with family members in Los Angeles and work for three years. She would save up money and come back. It did not happen as they planned. Chavez got married and had children. But the money she promised to send back home always arrived. And the amounts she could send rose as her earnings rose over the years. Now, she is helping her sister pay the costs of medical school. Last year, Salvadorans sent nearly $6 billion home to family members. People with the temporary status often hold higher-paying jobs than those without legal documents. So they are sometimes able to send more help to their families, said Jesse Acevedo. He is an expert on international migration with the University of Denver in Colorado. Home in Arkansas In Arkansas, Chavez leads a business networking group that she hopes will become Springdales first Latino chamber of commerce. She and her sister also created a nonprofit organization to help children from their neighborhood in El Salvador. It provides students with school supplies and a gift and party every Christmas. For Chavez, it was worrisome when the Trump administration announced it would cancel the TPS program for El Salvador. I learned a lot from that, that were not safe in this country unless we are citizens, she said. If the proposal now in Congress becomes law, all her immigration worries might finally be over. Im Jill Robbins. And Im Alice Bryant. The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story housekeeper - n. a person whose job is to do the cooking, cleaning, et cetera, in a house tamale - n. a Mesoamerican food that consists of seasoned ground meat or beans rolled in cornmeal, wrapped in a corn husk, and steamed legal - n. of or relating to the law The signage of Sina (C), widely known as China's version of Twitter, displayed in Beijing, China. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images) Communist Regime Censors Speech on Military Affairs Military affairs have recently become a censored topic within the Great Firewallcommunist Chinas sophisticated internet censorship system, amid the tightened control over speech and information on social media platforms. On March 30, several official accounts that cover military affairs on Chinese social media platform WeChat were suspended on the same day. Among them was the Jiangwutang account run by WeChats parent company Tencent and Sina Military, operated by Sina, another dominant social media platform. On March 23, one of the most influential military forums in China, cjdby.net, closed pages that allowed users to discuss military weapons and developments in the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), citing problems in previous posts and content management. The abrupt suspension does not offer any further notice or explanation, so the tumult of gossip, surmise, and suspicion that followed was not surprising. Subscribers said on Zhihu, Chinas largest online Q&A forum, that they felt lost over the block of their favorite forums and complained about the money they had paid for access. At the same time, they wondered why Tencent banned its official military account on its own platform. The order [of the ban] is probably from high-level officials, a Beijing-based DW News analyzed in the report on Apr. 8. The report indicated that the party has embarked on a massive crackdown to curb social media content on politics, and is now spreading to the military. Social media accounts that produce original content independently, run by individuals or companies are popular on platforms for bloggers including Tencents WeChat, and Sina Weibo, Chinas version of Twitter. The strengthened censorship on military affairs discussion came after a warning on the PLAs official Weibo account, Junzhengping Studio. A commentary posted on March 15 cautioned that Chinese military enthusiasts could be used as a tool by foreign intelligence agencies to leak military secrets. It implied that agencies from other countries use the discussion on military affairs or weapons to analyze the regimes military developments, imposing a threat to national security. In January, the regimes internet regulation and control agency, Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), expanded the range of subjects that require news information permission. The credential is required for any commentary or analysis on topics the party deems as sentive, which covers politics, the military, diplomacy, economics, education, judicial matters, and health. The CAC instructed all social media platforms to prioritize keeping the correct direction of public opinion during its annual meeting on Jan. 29. The CAC director said they would let supervision and management grow teeth, so they will teach those who get out of line. Attendees of the meeting include representatives from Tencent, Sina Weibo, and other popular social media platforms. Also, the Maoyan Kanren Forum, a more liberal current affairs and politics forum, abruptly closed on March 30. The beauty and personal care categories were among the first to bounce back post the coronavirus lockdown last year. By October-November 2020, most beauty and personal care companies claimed that they were well past their previous year's sales and were experiencing almost 130 per cent growth in volumes. With salons being closed and the DIY (do it yourself) beauty regimes becoming the new norm, consumers increasingly indulged in beauty and personal care products. In fact, many of the new-age beauty brands claimed an 80-90 per cent year-on-year growth in business. Be it Myglamm, Vedix, Juicy Chemistry or Mamaearth, most of these new-age brands are not just digital-first, over 80 per cent of their revenue comes from their own website. This has made them an investor's delight. Myglamm for instance, raised Rs 175 crore in its Series C funding that was led by Ascent Capital, Amazon and Wipro Consumer. Similarly, Juicy Chemistry has recently raised $6.5 million from Verlinvest and IncNut (which owns Vedix and SkinKraft), has raised $4 million in Series A from RPSG Ventures. "Almost one-third of sales of most of these new-age brands are coming from their own website, which means they are not dependent on retailers. It's outstanding, because the moment they open distribution they will grow astronomically. Most of these brands have scaled to Rs 30-40 crore just on their website. It's a massive wealth creation opportunity for investors, and that's why they are chasing them," explains Manish Taneja, CEO and Co-Founder of beauty and personal care marketplace, Purplle.com. For the beauty brands, having bulk of their sale coming from their own website helps to connect with their customers at a deeper level. "We really understand better as we know what she is browsing, what she wants, she even co-creates her products with us. We are able to cross-sell to her much more because she is directly connected with us," explains Darpan Sanghvi, CEO and Co-Founder, Myglamm. Pritesh Asher, Co-Founder, Juicy Chemistry, says that with over 85 per cent of his sales coming from his own website, he is able to deliver a better consumer experience. His brand promises natural organic beauty products with a relatively short shelf-life, therefore, lower dependence on third-party platforms makes more sense. "We are able to control consumer experience to a large extent and we are also able to control last mile delivery more effectively." Customising Beauty Since most of these brands are direct-to-consumer, there is also an increasing trend of customisation. For instance, a customer has to fill a detailed questionnaire on the Vedix website, based on which they will be recommended a skin or hair-care regime. "Our oils, shampoos and serums are customised based on the problem you are facing. We keep iterating the product as per the customer's needs," explains Jatin Gujrati, Business Head, Vedix. "If a consumer has oily skin or mature skin and is looking for a solution, we address that concern by offering a customised solution," adds Asher of Juicy Chemistry. But won't a business model that focuses on customisation and personalisation face scaling-up challenges? After all the growth recipe for legacy brands has always been standardised formulations. Both Asher and Gujrati say that the fact they are digital-first gives them the opportunity to customise as well as scale up. "The biggest problem with offline inventory is the cost of inventory across locations. The more SKUs you have, you have to duplicate the SKUs across locations. In our model, we can have 1,000 units of a step-up serum as I don't have to send them to multiple stores across the country. Therefore, we are able to offer a lot more solutions to customers, as the store front is digital. All we have to do is add more warehouse space," explains Gujrati. Though beauty industry experts like Taneja of Purplle feel that the time has come for these new-age brands to disrupt the legacy beauty brands, it is unlikely that they would pose a serious challenge. Almost all the new-age brands have a premium pricing and can't match the affordable price-points that the legacy brands offer. "Not all consumers believe their skin or hair needs customised solutions. They are happy using legacy brands. The new age brands may eat away part of their business, but in a country like India there is so much more a brand can do," says Kannan Sitaram, Venture Partner, Fireside Ventures. In fact, most of these digital-first beauty businesses have plans of going omni-channel to improve penetration. Myglamm has already done so by setting up shop-in-shops at large format stores in tier 2-3 towns. It has also set up a 3,000 square feet flagship store in Mumbai. Juicy Chemistry is also looking at setting up its own stores. Brands such as WOW Organics and Sugar are known to have close to 50 per cent of their revenue coming from offline. ALSO READ: Rs 550 cr personal care marketplace Purplle to go omni-channel with private brand Good Vibes ALSO READ: 4x growth in all companies! This venture fund doesn't chase unicorns PARENTS are up in arms with government over its recent decision to suspend Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) June O and A Level examinations. Most parents interviewed by NewsDay yesterday said they had spent a lot of money on extra lessons, only to be told that the examinations had been suspended. Government last week announced that it had suspended the June Zimsec examinations that normally cater for supplementary examinations, citing COVID-19 delays in writing and marking of the November/December examinations, which negatively impacted the timing and the cycle of public examinations. Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa last week said the suspension of the June 2021 examinations would allow teachers and learners to focus on November examinations. But parents said their children could not spend another full year preparing for examinations as they would have to fork out more money for extra lessons. National Association of School Development Associations Committee chairperson Max Mkandla described governments decision as irrational and unilateral. The government should put its house in order. The school calendar should have been clear at the beginning and this was supposed to be discussed in Parliament. How can we allow all the candidates to be grouped together in November, neglecting the mid-year national examinations as usual? Mkandla said. He said the nation should work towards raising education standards, not to destroy them. Bulawayo City Council health, housing and education committee chairperson Sinikiwe Mutanda said most of the parents were against the suspension of the June examinations. The problem is that people complain while seated and they do not know which offices to approach when faced with such setbacks. A lot of people from different groups are against the idea; the government should listen to peoples plea. This is something that we had before preparing for these examinations and students will lose knowledge by staying too long without writing, Mutanda said. But Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu welcomed governments decision to suspend the examinations, saying it gave learners ample time to prepare for examinations in November. Newsday Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 02:17:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on April 12, 2021 shows a large cutter suction dredger (CSD) on Timsah Lake in Ismailia, northeastern Egypt. Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) celebrated on Monday the recent arrival of the large cutter suction dredger (CSD). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) ISMAILIA, Egypt, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) celebrated on Monday the recent arrival of a large cutter suction dredger (CSD). "We celebrate together CSD Mohab Mameesh, the largest in the Middle East and Africa, joining the SCA's fleet," SCA Chairman Osama Rabie said during a ceremony held in Ismailia province in northeastern Egypt. The new dredger is considered "an unprecedented addition to the authority's dredgers fleet," the SCA chief added. He stressed that "it will make a quantum leap in the SCA's capabilities in carrying out dredging works and projects inside and outside Egypt." The 29,190-kilowatt heavy-duty rock CSD Mohab Mameesh was made by Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC, which is working on another dredger named Hussein Tantawy that is scheduled to be delivered to Egypt in August this year, according to Rabie. With an overall length of 147.4 meters and width of 23 meters, Mohab Mameesh can dredge to a depth of 35 meters, while the Suez Canal is 24 meter deep. In late March, the massive Panama-flagged container ship Ever Given was successfully refloated after being stranded in the Suez Canal for almost a week, thanks to cooperation between the SCA and Dutch firm Boskalis with and its emergency response team SMIT Salvage. The new dredger was named after former SCA chief Mohab Mameesh, under whose chairmanship the one-year Suez Canal expansion project was carried out and "the New Suez Canal" was inaugurated in August 2015. Mameesh, who is currently a presidential adviser, also attended Monday's ceremony that was held on a platform opposite to the giant blue dredger, at the massive workshop of the SCA's dredging department. "I am extremely happy with the arrival of CSD Mohab Mameesh," Mameesh said, stressing that it was a necessary move to upgrade the SCA's weary fleet of dredgers. Besides SCA officials, the ceremony was also attended by the governor of Ismailia and diplomats from the Dutch embassy in Egypt. For his part, Mostafa Kenawy, head of the dredging department at the SCA, said that the Ever Given incident draw the attention of the SCA officials to the necessity of widening the southern part of the waterway whose soil is rocky. "We need dredgers with high power and large capabilities, and this will be achieved by the presence of CSD Mohab Mameesh and the coming one Hussein Tantawy," the dredging department chief told Xinhua aboard the new dredger. Linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, the Suez Canal is a major lifeline for global seaborne trade as it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa. The waterway was officially opened for international navigation in late 1869. Enditem Four people were arrested when authorities seized more than $350,000 in cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and marijuana as well as cash, a stolen handgun and three vehicles, New Jersey State Police officials announced Monday. The arrests of four people in Camden and Gloucester Township came at end of a 17-month investigation that involved local, state, county and federal law enforcement, authorities said. Search warrants were executed March 30 at a home in Gloucester Township and three others in Camden with investigators seizing the following: 4 pounds of fentanyl 5 pounds of heroin 6 pounds of cocaine 21 pounds of marijuana $50,684 cash .380 caliber handgun reported stolen out of South Carolina 3 cars 106 vape marijuana cartridges 86 marijuana edibles Prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia Authorities charged Camden residents Felix Cruz-Ventura, 42, Daniel Garcia, 41, and Jennifer Gonzales, 30, as well as Randy Mora, 35, of Gloucester Township with multiple counts of drug possession and distribution as well as money laundering. Felix-Cruz and Mora were also charged with maintaining a drug production facility with Mora also charged with endangering the welfare of a child and a gun offense. Cruz-Venturas home and a residence shared by Garcia and Gonzales were among the locations raided, State Police said. The Camden County police and Gloucester Township police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives took part in the investigation. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. BOSTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conferences for Women, the nation's largest network of women's conferences, has announced a distinguished lineup of thought leaders for its National Workplace Summit, an interactive leadership event for managers on May 6th. The virtual event, themed How to Thrive in the New World of Work, is designed for professionals leading teams to explore how they and their teams can succeed in today's rapidly changing world of work. Speakers include Malcolm Gladwell, five-time New York Times bestselling author; Ijeoma Oluo, author, So You Want to Talk About Race; Thomas Friedman, three-time Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist; and Rana Foroohar, CNN Analyst, Financial Times columnist and author. The twin crises of the pandemic and its economic fallout, along with a nationwide reckoning on racial injustice, reshaped the world of work in 2020. Workplace leaders spent much of the year responding to a crescendo of changes and are now seeking ways to recover and reset to what has been called "the next normal." The National Workplace Summit is designed to help managers gain practical, actionable tools and inspiration to meet these challenges. Topics to be covered include: Managing in a post-pandemic world Advancing justice, equity and inclusion as a virtual manager Keeping teams engaged, productive and growing Adapting leadership styles to meet diverse and changing demands The event, which will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT), will include a pre-summit networking event that will begin at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT). Learn more and buy tickets here . Media interested in covering the event can request press credentials here. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Conferences for Women hosts yearly events in California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas that attract more than 50,000 attendees annually. The mission of the Conferences for Women is to promote, communicate and amplify the influence of women in the workplace and beyond. The National Workplace Summit is the first national event hosted by the Conferences. The Massachusetts Conference for Women held its first Workplace Summit in 2015. The inaugural event hosted 1,000 mid-level leaders from across all functions and industries. With a focus specifically around gender partnership, the Summit equipped managers with tools to help them advance gender equity and create workplaces that work for everyone. Workplace Summits have since been offered in Pennsylvania and California. Over the last seven years, the agenda has expanded beyond gender partnerships to address equity, intersectionality, DEI, communication, innovation and many other topics. The National Workplace Summit is presented by Cisco and sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb; Fidelity Investments; Gilead Sciences; Google; State Street Corporation; and Workhuman. "Cisco is proud to partner with the Conferences for Women to present the first-ever National Workplace Summit. It's an extraordinary opportunity for leaders at every level to interact with some of the world's top thought leaders and begin to reshape the world of work for a bright new future," said Shari Slate, Chief Inclusion and Collaboration Officer. "At Cisco, we're committed to creating an inclusive future for all. The Summit's focus on advancing justice, equity, and inclusion and accelerating virtual skill sets is what all leaders need to succeed right now." SOURCE The Conferences for Women Related Links https://www.conferencesforwomen.org [April 12, 2021] Narrative launches limited preview of Data Shops, enabling companies to quickly stand up a data business NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To simplify the creation of revenue-generating data businesses, Narrative , the data streaming platform that makes it easy to buy, sell and win, today announced that it has launched a limited preview of Data Shops. The new software offering helps organizations package, sell, and deliver datasets via their own branded digital storefront, and is immediately available through the company's Early Access Program. Narrative Data Shops software helps organizations package, sell, and deliver datasets via a branded digital storefront. Data Shops makes it fast and easy for companies to build a new revenue stream by monetizing the data they already collect. It enables data owners to warehouse any type of datafrom any source and any industrypackage and price it, and sell it via a customized online store. With Data Shops, owners retain full control of their data go-to-market strategy, including licensing terms and who can access their shop. During the limited preview, users will get exclusive early access to the easy-to-use workflows and powerful automations that fuel Data Shops, and an opportunity to guide the development of the product for open release. The Narrative team will work closely with users to help them stand up their data storefronts and monitor feedback and input. "Our goal with Data Shops is to make it as easy to spin up a store for data as Shopify has made it to create an e-commerce experience for physical goods," said Narrative CEO and founder Nick Jordan. "We take the Shopify analogy one step further by providing logistical support as well, from warehousing data to delivering it to buyers. We've created a turnkey, end-to-end data monetization experience that will allow companies with interesting data to monetize it almost immediately." Narrative Data Shops is a suite of apps that allows businesses to tailor Narrative's technology to fit an organization's structure, and meet their current and future business needs. The Data Shops collection of apps includes: Dataset Manager to allow businesses to transform raw data into standardized datasets for easy packaging and discoverability. Seller Studio to create data access rules and specific data products to offer up for sale publicly or privately. CRM to easily view and communicate with customers, access data subscriptions, monitor reports and track sales. Storefront Designer to create a branded digital storefront experience customized to a company's brand and messaging. Those wishing to participate in the Data Shops limited preview can request an invite at solutions.narrative.io/data-shops . About Narrative Narrative is the Data Streaming Platform that makes it easy to buy, sell, and win. Narrative simplifies the buying and selling of information by eliminating the inefficiencies in data transactions that hold businesses back from maximizing the success of their most important data-driven initiatives. Innovative brands and direct-to-consumer companies leverage Narrative's technology to fuel powerful data strategies, build data monetization businesses, power growth marketing, and inform product development. Founded in 2016, Narrative is a private company headquartered in New York City. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/narrative-launches-limited-preview-of-data-shops-enabling-companies-to-quickly-stand-up-a-data-business-301266414.html SOURCE Narrative I/O, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Tokyo, April 12 : Japan on Monday started to vaccinate its elderly population against Covid-19 amid growing concerns about another wave of new infections. The country will inoculate about 36 million people aged 65 or older, which account for 29 per cent of its population, reports dpa news agency. Since its launch in mid-February, the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines has been extremely slow. Only 0.4 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated as of April 9, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Also on Monday, the government extended a semi-state of emergency to Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures as the regions have seen an increasing number of new coronavirus cases due to the rapid spread of new variants of the virus. Tokyo, which will stage the postponed Olympic Games in less than four months, confirmed 421 new infections on Sunday after exceeding 500 new daily cases for the fourth consecutive day. Japan has so far reported about 507,600 known infections and more than 9,400 deaths related to Covid-19, according to a tally by broadcaster NHK. The central government adopted the semi-state of emergency in Osaka, Miyagi and Hyogo prefectures a week ago. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters last weekthat new variants constituted about 70 per cent of the infections in the western prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo and about 20 per cent in Tokyo. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Forget Married At First Sight. The most notable commitment ceremony in town is the very public one between Seven media mogul Kerry Stokes and his executive Ben Roberts-Smith, the decorated former soldier now accused of war crimes. As part of yet more revelations in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Roberts-Smith was caught on tape lauding his boss and declaring loyalty to his network, despite being extra judgy about some of his fellow executives. I probably wont leave the fold now ... I think Im indebted a little bit now to Kerry. Bottom line, Id be f---ed without him. Media mogul Kerry Stokes is backing his executive, decorated former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith. Credit:Fairfax Media And on Monday a Seven spokesman said in response: In the circumstances Seven does not need to reconsider its position concerning Mr Roberts-Smith and him continuing in his position. But CBD has learnt of another career goal of the former soldier. Roberts-Smith had always wanted to be chief of Army but by 2013 he had decided to swap army life for a corporate suit. Where is it? Im in the back middle seat of an SUV sandwiched between my two oldest daughters ping-ponging my head between windows, scanning Californias Mojave Desert for a giant rock, not any giant rock, THE Giant Rock. The purported largest freestanding boulder in the world, Giant Rock stands seven stories tall, weighs an astonishing 30,000 tons and covers an astounding 5,800 square feet on the ground. Its probably not actually the largest there are some other contenders in Western Mongolia and South Africa but its certainly in contention globally. Finding it shouldnt be hard, except the final three miles of the journey to Giant Rock are through a veritable dust cloud on unpaved sand trails that spider out across the desert in a million different directions its hard to tell where we are on a map, let alone on a phone with a spotty Internet connection. We choose the correct spider leg ultimately, curving our way around a bend of a modest ridge 16 miles north of Joshua Tree in Landers, Calif. and finally spot it off in the distance. It looks like a big enough rock from afar, but as we rumble closer and closer it just never stops growing, until I'm close enough that it even covers parts of my peripheral vision. We park a few hundred feet from it and pile out of the car into a silent desert landscape. All you can hear is the sound of a Mojave breeze whipping across your eardrums. I can feel the alien vibes in the air, my 9-year-old daughter says. ::: Its hard to say exactly when Giant Rocks story starts. There are endless theories about how it ended up in the middle of the desert. Theres an oft-repeated claim that its an erratic (a rock that doesnt belong in its surroundings) that ended up here after the last Ice Age (this is false theres no trace of glaciation in the desert). Others have postulated its an erosional remnant (basically the tip of a big hill thats been weathered and surrounded by sediment this is also a nope because of how fractureless Giant Rock is). And then there are the shocking number of books on the subject that believe it was left by extraterrestrials (Giant Rock: The Greatest UFO Story Never Told is my personal favorite, but this is sadly wrong, too). No, this giant ball of Cretaceous-age, garnet-bearing granite almost definitely simply rolled off of the little outcropping next to it. So says Richard Hazlett, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Analysis and Geology at Pomona College. And if theres anyone to believe, its him. Hazlett has studied the geology of the Joshua Tree area for years and co-authored a book thats literally titled Joshua Tree National Park Geology. Following a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in Landers in 1992, Hazlett was in the high desert studying the effects on the landscape and made quite the discovery. Right after the quake we drove out into the valleys north of Landers trying to find some of the fractures in the desert floor, and the earthquake shook free a lot of the fractured, weathered rock high up on the mountaintop that rolled and tumbled down onto the desert, he says. They were practically house-sized well, cabin-sized and they came down with such speed that they not only rolled across the sand, they bounced a fair distance from the range several 100 feet in some cases. I had no trouble visualizing Giant Rock as a fragment of the range, and the only thing that would dislodge it was a really big earthquake from the past. Any trace of the impact it made when it hit the foot of the range has since been covered up by sediment. But I can come up with no other theory, and it makes sense to me based on what Ive seen elsewhere in the desert. Unfortunately, Hazlett wasnt around to share this conclusion in the middle of the last century. ::: The first real national attention for Giant Rock came in the 30s when prospector Frank Critzer used dynamite to blow a hole under the rock and then built a small subterranean apartment underneath it. A 1940 issue of Popular Science claims his apartment was a roomy 24ft by 36ft, and stayed between 55 and 80 degrees year-round. Critzer also built a makeshift airport runway in the dry lakebed next to Giant Rock by dragging timber and iron behind his car, and put radio antennas atop the gargantuan boulder which, along with his last name and war-time hysteria, drew speculation he may be a German spy. But Critzer was born in 1886 in Waynesboro, Virginia, as confirmed by both census reports and his WWI draft registration card, despite countless Internet reports that identify him as a German national. And according to an Associated Press story in 1984 that included an interview with George Knepp a Landers resident who knew Critzer he wasnt a spy, but instead an ordinary, lonely guy. Nonetheless, the Federal Bureau of Investigation kept tabs on him via local law enforcement. Harold Simpson, a Riverside County deputy, told the AP he made regular visits to Critzer and filed reports to the FBI after each trip to Giant Rock. On Simpsons final visit on July 24, 1942, Critzer died in an alleged self-detonated dynamite explosion just outside of his apartment door after the deputies tried to bring him in for questioning. None of the officers were killed despite the blast, which turned out to be a stroke of luck after 217 pounds of undetonated dynamite were found inside his subterranean home. Shockingly, though, Critzer a man who built a living quarters under a 30,000-ton rock, and an airport in the middle of the Mojave Desert wasnt even Giant Rocks most famous resident. That honor would go to his friend George Van Tassel. ::: By 1947, Van Tassel an Ohio man who moved to California in 1930 his wife Eva and their three daughters moved to Giant Rock. He leased the land for Giant Rock Airport from the Bureau of Land Management with the support of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, according to court records, and reopened Critzers airfield. He built a small commercial airport facility, selling fuel to airplanes landing there, plus his wife ran a cafe dubbed the Come on Inn, which served burgers and spiced apple pies a few dozen feet from the rock. To who exactly? Well, you see, Van Tassel picked himself up quite the following in the 1950s, because according to Van Tassel, he regularly communicated with aliens. He wrote a book in 1956 about his first encounter with them, where he was awakened by a tall tan alien and taken aboard their ship, and for about 20 years hosted Flying Saucer Conventions at Giant Rock that were attended by as many as 15,000 people. In a 1957 issue of LIFE Magazine, Van Tassel said aliens persuaded him to run for President in 1960 and offered to help run his campaign. That, disappointedly, never materialized. Hed go on to build the Integratron a 16-sided dome that was technically supposed to be used to collect up to 50,000 volts of static electricity from the air in order to charge the human body three miles south of Giant Rock on the advice of his alien friends. But he never finished it, and when he died in 1978, no one could find any sort of plans to help him complete it. Too bad. Today, its mostly just a place people go to take Instagram photos, with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 visitors each year. ::: Youve arrived, the muffled Waze voice says in my pocket. Its around 2 p.m. when we start to snake through the sand to Giant Rock for the first time. Along the way I spot the foundation of Eva Van Tassels Come on Inn. And even though its been filled with sand, there are still some remnants of Critzers subterranean home on the dark side of the boulder. Its 20 degrees colder in the shadow of Giant Rock, and it all sort of starts to make sense how Critzer (and then Van Tassel) survived the 100-degree summer heat. I also see the sizable piece of the rock that broke off in 2000 after millions of years of expanding and contracting in the desert heat. Theres only one other person in the area when we first arrive, a shirtless, leather-skinned, excessively hairy old man whos camping out of his car with an elaborate tarp setup a few hundred feet from Giant Rock. If there was one Van Tassel follower left, my money would be on it being him. I circle the granite behemoth a couple of times and find rock climbing carabiners anchored into it at places, a chilling alien face and RIP earthlings painted alongside all kinds of nonsense graffiti, which is not just part of Giant Rock, but of the ridge alongside it. The surrounding range has become a sort of crowd-sourced art exhibit, filled with everything from RIP tags and immature political statements (there are a lot of dicks) to a Star Wars resistance logo and someones Twitter handle. My personal favorite is an oddly shaped square rock with a little nub coming out of one end that someone painted car windows and a taillight on. I decide this is Minivan Rock. I hike through the boulder-y range while my daughters trek up to two giant eyes painted three-quarters of the way up the ridge with their uncle. Theres broken glass everywhere that based on all of the bullet-hole riddled cans and shotgun shells was likely used for post-party target practice. I find a good sitting rock near a colorful 420 tag and a game of spray-painted Tic-Tac-Toe, and sit and stare at Giant Rock for a while, trying to imagine what Professor Hazlett theorized. The temperature swings in and out of the rocks shadow have my body sort of on edge, not sure if its too hot or too cold, and my thoughts feel kind of the same way. I know the scientific explanation makes total sense, but out here in the middle of nowhere, faced with the largest boulder Ive ever seen in my life (by a lot), I cant help but feel pulled by the invisible hand of an extraterrestrial one. Long-Distance Friends The Composer of Noise A look back at one of those relationships where, despite changes in circumstance and place, two people are able to pick up where they left off. April 12, 2021 I MET REI at an artists residency in the late 2000s, when the New England landscape was at its greenest and most vertiginous. At dusk, wood thrushes chimed their watery, ethereal songs, which I now associate with freedom and creative ferment. I recall Rei entering the screened-in porch where a few residents were smoking and introducing himself as a composer from Japan. He was 32, about the same age I was at the time, and wore a baggy black hoodie, trousers and thick, white-framed glasses. He kept his hair longer in the front so that a thicket of bangs swept just past his left eyebrow. He was tall, and if you looked closely, he was attractive. But it was hard to notice that because he was quiet and looked as if he wanted to shrink into himself, like a teenage boy whod shot up over the span of the summer. Also in residence was a petite and impish artist from Korea whose sense of humor turned aggressive when she drank and Rei happened to be within her vicinity. At parties or when we gathered in the common room late at night, she hunted him down to antagonize him with her daily recriminations, which I presume was her way of flirting. If its not the imperialist, she would say. Hello, Bangul, Rei would say. Your people tortured us, taking away our language, our names, even. Yes, I know. And to this day, you still refuse to apologize. But I did, just yesterday. Is your father rich? How else could you be here in America, studying to be a composer? What does he do? Radio ham receives Federal Cross of Merit Radio amateur Prof. Dr.-Ing, Ulrich Rohde, DJ2LR, has been awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany A translation of the DARC post reads: At the suggestion of the Bavarian Prime Minister Dr. Markus Soder (CSU), the Federal President has awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to the well-known professor, entrepreneur and radio amateur Prof. Dr.-Ing, Ulrich Rohde, DJ2LR. With this award, the Federal President honored the great achievements of DJ2LR in the fields of high frequency and microwave technology. Dr. Ulrich Rohde is also considered to be the inventor of SDR technology, which he first presented at a conference in 1985. In recognition of this pioneering development, which is used today in practically all communication technology and also in amateur radio, there was a special call sign DL35SDR last year. Prof. Dr.-Ing Ulrich Rohde is a co-partner of the Munich-based company of the same name for high-frequency and measurement technology and celebrated his 80th birthday last year. He is a member of the DARC OV Munchen-Sud (C18). Rainer Englert DF2NU, OVV of C18, reports on this. Source DARC https://darc.de/ Stewart is now divorced and in law school. On TikTok, where she has about 179,000 followers, she posts about feminism, sexuality and atheism. To see someone who didnt just come from that world but came from that family, who has clearly done the work to get out, and is so introspective and gentle and grounded gives a lot of people hope, she said in an interview. If John Pipers son can deconstruct and get to this place, I can do this, too. Africa needs the skills and capacity to manufacture its own vaccines, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday, as the continent lags other global regions in inoculating against Covid-19. With only around two percent of the world's total number of shots so far administered, "Africa needs to harness its own continental capabilities and identify opportunities for collaboration across... countries," Ramaphosa told a conference on vaccine production organised by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). He said other countries outside the continent "could offer technological expertise, financing and investment", suggesting India and Brazil could help with guidance on how they have developed their own generic pharmaceutical industries. "We will also need capacity-building in the form of skills and knowledge transfer to ensure we can sustain local manufacturing," Ramaphosa added. Africa has been the region least affected by the pandemic, with 4.35 million cases and 115,000 deaths among an overall population of 1.2 billion, according to the latest figures from Africa CDC. But its slow pace of vaccinations has been blamed on inadequate supplies, lack of financing and logistical problems. Ramaphosa, whose country is Africa's worst hit by the pandemic, recently criticised developed countries for hogging vaccines, warning "vaccine apartheid must come to an end". Also speaking at Monday's conference, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said that "vaccine equity" could not be guaranteed by "goodwill alone". "Africa needs to and should be capable of producing its own vaccines and medical products," Kagame told attendees. sn/tgb Rome, April 12 : Italian investigators have conducted raids in relation to 45 Mafia suspects as part of a major investigation into the country's petroleum sector, authorities said on Monday. The individuals are suspected of tax fraud and other crimes after infiltrating the lucrative petroleum products market, dpa news agency reported citing the authorities in the coastal city of Salerno as saying. The police struck early in the morning in several cities in southern Italy, as well as Brescia in the northern region of Lombardy. The investigation also pertains to about 70 other suspects who are still at large, the financial police and the Carabinieri said in a statement. The news comes just a few days after another large-scale anti-Mafia operation in Italy. Those raids related to suspected members of the Camorra and the 'Ndrangheta organised crime groups. Lambasting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her threat to lodge a complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Election Commission for reaching out to the Matua community, PM Modi on Monday accused the WB CM of spreading hatred towards the backward castes for 10 years. In March, CM Mamata Banerjee had accused PM Modi of violating the Model of Conduct during his two-day visit to Bangladesh and claimed that the PM was seeking votes from one section of people while the polling is underway in the state. This was her reference to PM's visit to Orakandi, the birthplace of the Matua sect founder Harichand Thakur. While addressing a public rally in Kalyani, the Prime Minister said, "I met a person from the Matua community in Bangladesh recently, who said I'm India's first PM who came to seek Harichand Thakur's blessings in Orakandi. Didi didn't like my Orakandi visit. Didi, the country can see how you've spewed hatred towards Dalits and underprivileged for 10 yrs." PM Modi also said, "Perturbed with fear of losing, Didi and her party is crossing all lines. Her people are abusing SCs, STs, OBCs only because they support BJP. Seeing her defeat, Didi has strategized to stop them from voting and facilitate her goons to rig the votes." The Matuas, originally from East Pakistan, is 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. West Bengal Assembly Election The first phase concluded with a voter turnout of 82 percent, the second phase concluded with a voter turnout of 80.43 percent, the third phase concluded with a voter turnout of 83.93 percent, and the fourth phase concluded with a voter turnout of 79.90 percent. West Bengal's other phases of elections are scheduled on April 17, April 22, April 26, and April 29 with results to be announced on May 2. ANALYSIS: How Canada can welcome new immigrants in a way that protects the health and safety of the Canadian public. Immigration: Lets not forget about the Canadian citizens of tomorrow ANALYSIS: How Canada can welcome new immigrants in a way that protects the health and safety of the Canadian public. Immigration: Lets not forget about the Canadian citizens of tomorrow ANALYSIS: How Canada can welcome new immigrants in a way that protects the health and safety of the Canadian public. Immigration: Lets not forget about the Canadian citizens of tomorrow ANALYSIS: How Canada can welcome new immigrants in a way that protects the health and safety of the Canadian public. Kareem El-Assal Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Canada operates the most innovative and adaptable immigration system in the world. It has always come up with unique ways to achieve its immigration goals and solve problems. For example, upon its Confederation in 1867, Canada sought to welcome high levels of immigration to build the country. It failed in this regard for several decades since it was an unappealing destination for immigrants at the time. However, it improved its recruitment tactics and boosted its appeal, resulting in extremely high levels of immigration leading up to the First World War. When Canada realized its subjective approach to selecting immigrants was no longer appropriate, it launched the worlds first-ever points system in 1967. In order to help more people overseas, Canada was the first country to introduce the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. This program enables people in Canada to sponsor and support refugee arrivals. Fast forward to today, we see many Canadian immigration innovations on full display. Quebec operates its own immigration programs, and nearly every province and territory operates the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). These and other programs exist to spread the benefits of immigration across the country. As is the case around the world, Canada is now facing a major crisis and has sought to adapt so it can achieve its immigration goals and help as many newcomers as possible. For instance, it held the largest Express Entry draw ever on February 13th inviting 27,332 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates to apply for permanent residence. The rationale for the draw, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), is that some 90 per cent of CEC candidates are currently residing in Canada, and hence, not affected by the travel restrictions Canada imposed in March 2020 to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. By holding this and other Express Entry draws, IRCC is aiming to transition as many people as possible within Canada to permanent residence status in support of their Immigration Levels Plan goal of landing 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021. Other groups are also less affected by the travel restrictions such as temporary foreign workers, international students, and the family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. However, one major group remains on the outside looking in. Get a Free Canadian Immigration Assessment The plight of COPR holders Individuals who have already been approved for permanent residence, but who are not exempt from the travel restrictions are still unable to travel to Canada. Such approved individuals have what is called by the federal government a Confirmation of Permanent Residence or COPR for short. Generally speaking, these are economic class immigrants who succeeded under Express Entry, the PNP, or any other program and have completed all of the requirements stipulated by the Canadian government. The last remaining step is for them to physically travel to Canada and officially become permanent residents. After spending three full years in Canada, they can become eligible for Canadian citizenship. One may ask: Why should Canada allow COPR holders into the country when it is fighting a pandemic? Wouldnt such a policy undermine such efforts as well as confidence in the immigration system? This valid question can be answered as follows: Allowing COPRs into the country would only be fair as well as consistent with Canadas current immigration policies. Currently, the federal government is focusing on welcoming foreign nationals who need to come for essential reasons. Examples include foreign workers who have a job in Canada and international students enrolled at a Canadian college or university. A major policy goal of welcoming workers and students is to benefit the Canadian economy. In fact, this is the basis for welcoming temporary foreign workers altogether. It is a significant reason why the country also welcomes students. The federal government often notes that international students contribute over $21 billion each year to the Canadian economy. Get a Free Canadian Immigration Assessment Similarly, one can make a strong argument that immigrating to Canada is also an essential reason to travel here, and welcoming immigrants from abroad is extremely beneficial to the Canadian economy. Just like foreign workers and international students, immigrants come here to pursue career and other personal objectives, they contribute to the economy via their work, taxes, and consumption, all of which in turn makes Canada a better country. New immigrants probably benefit the economy even more than foreign workers and international students over the long run, since they will work, pay taxes, and consume for decades, whereas many workers and students return home after just a few years in Canada. Unlike foreign workers and international students, however, thousands of COPR holders have been stuck in limbo since last March. Some have quit their jobs, sold their belongings, and prepared themselves to make the move to Canada. However they continue to be uncertain and all they have right now are assurances from IRCC such as [IRCC]looks forward to welcoming skilled workers from abroad when travel resumes. How to welcome COPR holders to Canada safely It made sense to limit travel into Canada at the start of the pandemic last year due to the lack of tools available at the time to contain travel-related COVID spread. Fortunately, we now have vaccines and processes in place that can allow Canada to welcome COPR holders into the country safely, as it does for foreign workers, students, and other foreign nationals entering the country for essential purposes. Here is a step-by-step approach, taken from Canadas existing procedures, that could be applied to accommodate the thousands of COPR holders looking to make the move to Canada: Step 1: Ensure that COPR holders have completed medical exams that are still valid. If an individuals medical exam has expired, kindly request they take another one and then inform IRCC. Step 2: IRCC issues a travel authorization letter to COPR holders contingent on them completing some of the steps below. Step 3: Prior to travelling to Canada, COPR holders are required to obtain COVID-19 vaccination and preferably receive a vaccine that has been approved by Health Canada. Step 4: Prior to travelling to Canada, COPR holders would also need to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of travelling to Canada. Step 5: Upon arriving to Canada, COPR holders would need to provide evidence they have been vaccinated as well as show proof of their negative test. They will then receive their landing papers. Step 6: COPR holders are to observe a mandatory quarantine period during their first 14 days in the country. They would also need to observe other requirements the federal government has in place, such as recent rules on being tested upon arrival, staying in a hotel for your first three days of quarantine, and getting another negative COVID test result at the end of the quarantine period. Step 7: After the quarantine period, COPR holders could begin their new lives in Canada. The above steps are onerous for all parties involved, namely the federal government and COPR holders. However, they would represent a better medium than Canadas current policy, which shuts out many people, and is hurting the Canadian economy and COPR holders alike. This approach would also make Canadian immigration policy fairer, and more consistent, as it would recognize that those arriving here for permanent residence purposes, are in fact, essential travellers. Finally, this approach would remind the world once again of just how innovative and adaptable our immigration system really is. Get a Free Canadian Immigration Assessment CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. The Victorian government could pause administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged under 50 for more than two weeks. The Andrews government cancelled appointments for under 50s on Friday following Commonwealth advice that the risks associated with AstraZeneca jabs may outweigh the benefits. Acting Premier James Merlino and Health Minister Martin Foley tour the Monash Health Centre production kitchen on Monday. Credit:Andrew Henshaw Victorian officials will resume AstraZeneca inoculations for those aged under 50 when the Commonwealth distributes information and consent forms in languages other then English. Victoria also wants compulsory training for health staff to teach them about the AstraZeneca risks before restarting vaccinations, and called for indemnity for GPs. However, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday that doctors would be covered by a Commonwealth government indemnity scheme if a patient developed blood clots as a result of the AstraZeneca vaccine. New Delhi, April 12 : The Power Ministry has set up an expert panel to prepare the Draft National Electricity Policy 2021. The Central government, from time to time, in consultation with states, reviews and revises the National Electricity Policy and Tariff Policy under the Electricity Act, 2003. The government had notified the National Electricity Policy in February 2005. The Working Group on Power for the 12th Plan had made recommendation for amendment in National Electricity Policy in addition to Electricity Act 2003 and Tariff Policy. The panel will prepare the National Electricity Policy 2021 and will be headed by Gireesh Pradhan, former Chairman, CERC. Other members include Rakesh Nath, former Chairman, CEA and ex-member, APTEL, CEA Chairman and representatives of MNRE, states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat, Niti Aayog, heads of NTPC, NHPC, POSOCO, PGCIL and SECI. The Joint Secretary, Power Ministry will be the convener. The panel may call invitees from industry including IPP, FICCI, CII, Wind Association, Solar Association for the meetings. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text news Ouachita Baptist Universitys Elrod Center for Family and Community held its Spring 2021 Tiger Serve Day event on Saturday, April 10, with 75 teams completing 76 projects throughout the Arkadelphia community. A total of 611 Ouachita student, faculty and staff volunteers represented the university with this semesters theme, Hands of Hope. A spirit of hope was evident in all that was accomplished during TSD this past Saturday, said Ian Cosh, vice president for community and international relations. We had perfect weather, a joyful attitude and dedicated students who worked hard and served with energy and grace. I love being a part of Tiger Serve Day because it gives students a chance to be really enthusiastic about giving back to the community that is home to Ouachita, said Hannah Martin, a junior psychology and business administration/management double major from Conway, Ark., and member of the Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team. It also gives everybody an opportunity to really dig deep into what makes Ouachita, Ouachita, which is service. The Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team was responsible for coordinating projects and assembling teams (left). Many of the Spring Tiger Serve Day projects consisted of yardwork (right). | Photos by Hannah Smith. The days projects consisted of litter pickup, yard work outside the homes of senior adults and various tasks for local nonprofit organizations and public schools. Out of continued caution for COVID-19 safety, service projects were conducted outdoors. I was really excited this semester because we were able to help 20 senior adult homes, a public school, nursing homes and nonprofits. We were still working outside, but we were able to extend our projects to actually see some people in safe ways, said Judy Duvall, associate director of the Elrod Center. This has felt like our first normal day at Ouachita in a really long time. Along with completing projects around the community, this Tiger Serve Day also thanked healthcare workers for their hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team delivered goodie baskets and Thank You yard signs to medical professionals, displaying the teams gratitude for their service. I dont think people thank them enough, said Able Kusaloka, a senior business administration/management & entrepreneurship major from Garneton, Zambia, and member of the Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team. Everybody just assumes that its their job, and it is, but they sacrifice so much for our health so they can make sure that were safe. The Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team prepared for several weeks to host the university-wide service initiative. The student leadership team assembles volunteer teams, matches teams with projects and makes sure volunteers have the tools needed to successfully complete their projects. Weve been preparing for Tiger Serve Day for most of the semester by having weekly meetings and keeping everybody accountable, making sure that everyone has visited their various projects, said Wade Wilson, a junior Christian studies/biblical studies and Christian ministries major from Springdale, Ark., and member of the Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team. Weve also been praying for Tiger Serve Day for a while, so that has been a big part of it, as well. I think the biggest part of today was just seeing everyones smiles while serving our community, said Allie Graves, a freshman community and family services major from Texarkana, Texas. It was nice to see people without their masks. I never thought I would take so much joy in just seeing other peoples faces. For more information on Tiger Serve Day, visit obu.edu/serve or call the Elrod Center at (870) 245-5320. New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by saying that he should hand over the power to Congress if he is unable to provide employment to youths and redress problems of farmers. Rahul said that Congress will take only 6 months to accomplish these tasks. Rahul visited Amethi after six months. He was there during the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections which happened six months before. Congress vice president also slammed the government over GST, saying the tax rates are high and the slabs multiple. He asked the prime minister to review the GST as its aim is one-nation, one-tax and emphasised that the tax rate should not be more than 18 per cent. Gandhi, who arrived here on a three-day visit, said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to stop wasting time of the countrymen and start giving employment to the youth as promised. He said the issues of the farmers and the youth are the two main concerns of the country and if Modiji cannot address these, he should say so and Congress will come and do his work in six months. With PTI inputs For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. By Yi Whan-woo The leaders of the three of the country's four largest conglomerates had their first get-together recently to congratulate SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on officially beginning his term as the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the country's major business lobby group. Industry sources said Sunday that Chey met Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group and Koo Kwang-mo of LG Group at a Chinese restaurant in Seoul, March 31, a week after the former's inauguration. Alongside Samsung, Hyundai, SK, LG make up the country's big four conglomerates. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairmen and the group's chief Lee Jae-yong was not present as he is currently serving a jail sentence for corruption. The remaining three were joined by Park Yong-mann, a retired Doosan Group chairman who led the KCCI from August 2013 before Chey. Doosan Group is ranked 15th on the conglomerate list. The March 31 meeting was hosted by Chung. "The chairmen of Hyundai, SK and LG thanked Park for serving as the KCCI chairmen for almost eight years," an industry source said. "The meeting was held in an extremely amicable atmosphere." Park accordingly asked Chey to bring together the business community amid the coronavirus-hit economy. Another source said the chairmen of Samsung, Hyundai, SK, LG had met frequently and discussed up-to-date business issues. "The March 31 meeting should be understood as an 'extension' from such a get together," it noted. Meanwhile, the sources said Chey and Koo had not talked about a multi-billion legal dispute between their affiliates SK Innovation and LG Chem over battery businesses in the United States. The two cross-town rivals dramatically reached an agreement, Sunday, to settle the row that began in 2019. NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Monday (April 12) imposed a 24-hour long ban on West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee for violating Model Code of Conduct (MCC). This is the third notice that has been issued to the Bengal Chief Minister from the poll panel. The Bengal Chief Minister has been banned from campaigning for assembly elections for 24 hrs till 8 pm on Apr 13 for her alleged remarks with communal overtones. Lashing out at the Election Commission over its decision to bar her from campaigning for 24 hours, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she would stage a dharna in the city on Tuesday to protest against the poll panel's 'unconstitutional decision'. Taking to Twitter, she wrote, "To protest against the undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission of India, I will sit on dharna tomorrow at Gandhi Murti, Kolkata from 12 noon." Reacting to the development, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien took to social media and wrote, "Always knew we were winning Bengal." "April 12. BLACK DAY in our democracy," he wrote in another tweet. The poll panel's order came after Banerjee's remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones. "Commission hereby condemns such statements potent with serious law and order problems across the state (s) and sternly warns Mamata Banerjee and advises her to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when Model Code of Conduct is in force," the commission said in its order. Live TV The assembly election for the first four phases in West Bengal have been conducted. The remaining phases of the ongoing elections will take place from April 17 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. Akshay Kumar Recovers From COVID-19, Twinkle Khanna Reveals He Is 'Safe And Sound' It was on the 4th of April that Akshay Kumar, who was busy shooting for Ram Setu, had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. It was also reported that as many as 45 crew members of the film had also tested positive. The actor has also been admitted to the hospital the next day and he assured worried fans that it has just been a precautionary measure. But now, all his fans can finally heave a sigh of relief. The actor has now recovered from the virus. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) The news comes not from Akshay himself but from his spouse Twinkle Khanna. The actress shared a post on her social media where she wrote, "Safe and sound and good to have him back around. #allizwell." See the post here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Twinkle Khanna (@twinklerkhanna) Akshay Kumar took less than 10 days to recover and that is a great news. After Akshay had tested positive, his co-stars from Ram Setu- Nushrratt Bharuccha and Jacqueline Fernandez were also kept at home quarantine. However, they soon tested negative for the virus. Akshay Kumar has been one of the busiest stars who has been working back-to-back ever since the shoots resumed post lockdown. He has already finished the shoot for Bell Bottom, Prithviraj, Atrangi Re and Bachchan Pandey. After wrapping up Ram Setu, the actor will begin work for Aanand L. Rai helmed Raksha Bandhan. The musicians of the Metropolitan Operas orchestra, who went unpaid for nearly a year, are getting a hand from one of their old maestros, Fabio Luisi. Luisi who was the Mets principal conductor for more than five years, and was seen as a candidate to succeed James Levine as its music director before the post went to Yannick Nezet-Seguin has invited the musicians to Texas at the end of the month to join the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, which he now leads, for two benefit concerts. The Dallas Symphony announced on Monday that the Met musicians would join its players for performances of Mahlers Symphony No. 1 on April 30 and May 1. The orchestra noted in a news release that the concerts would present the first opportunity in over a year for many of the Mets musicians who recently began receiving partial pay as they negotiate a new contract to perform together for a live audience. A spokesman for the Dallas Symphony said that roughly 40 to 50 Met musicians were expected to travel to Dallas for the concerts, and added that they would be paid for the performances. The joint concerts will act as fund-raisers for the Met Orchestra Musicians Fund and the Dallas players unions DFW Musicians Covid-19 Relief Fund; a filmed recording will be released. I found John Larsons opinion piece School districts should make standardized tests this year opt-in not opt-out " to be somewhat self-serving for the Oregon Education Association. Many children in Oregon, particularly the metro area, have not set foot in a classroom in over a year and have certainly suffered learning losses. The Portland Association of Teachers refused to consider the CDC-accepted 3-foot distance between students instead of 6 feet, which would have allowed more classroom time for kids. While I am not a proponent of the precious amount of time kids will be allowed in the classroom to be spent taking tests, how else can we find out where the $499 million allocated to K-12 schools in Oregon from the COVID-19 relief package is best focused and spent? I have not seen one opinion piece by the Oregon Education Association advocating for kids to return to in-person class time in the past year. The OEA has undoubtedly contributed to Oregon being one of the last states in the nation to reopen schools. Testing, albeit cumbersome, should be done to identify learning deficiencies and focus funding to these areas. What is the OEA afraid of finding out? Marcia Callender, Beaverton US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Brussels from April 13-15 for consultations with NATO on shared priorities, and meetings with European partners, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price announced MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2021) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Brussels from April 13-15 for consultations with NATO on shared priorities, and meetings with European partners, US State Department Spokesperson Ned price announced. "Blinken will travel to Brussels, Belgium April 13-15. In Brussels, Secretary Blinken will join Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to consult with our NATO Allies and partners on a range of shared priorities. The Secretary will take this opportunity to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the Transatlantic alliance as a critical partnership for achieving our mutual goals. Separately, Secretary Blinken will hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with European counterparts to discuss key priorities and shared challenges," Price said in a statement. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 22:09:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Aerial photo taken on Sept. 11, 2020 shows the city view of Shenzhen, in south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) -- China began piloting its digital currency in select regions across the country at the end of 2019. -- The digital yuan will be positioned as legal tender, designed to be treated as M0, meaning cash in circulation such as coins and banknotes. -- It will be issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, to designated commercial banks which will then distribute the currency to the public. BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- As China is testing the water before launching central bank digital currency, the country's southern tech hub Shenzhen has taken a further step by conducting another trial run and enlarging its test population by 500,000. The trial, from April 10 to April 23, aims to cultivate user habits as China is set to use the technology to benefit more people in the long term. China began piloting its digital currency in select regions across the country at the end of 2019. The digital yuan will be positioned as legal tender, designed to be treated as M0, meaning cash in circulation such as coins and banknotes. It will be issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, to designated commercial banks which will then distribute the currency to the public. The rapid development of mobile payment requires the government to provide stable and secure retail payment infrastructure. The trials reflect the central bank's prudence in advancing the digital currency to ensure domestic financial stability. The digital yuan has its uses in the digital era. It will help advance financial inclusion in China, bringing tangible benefits to the Chinese people and the economy. Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2020 shows a sign reminding customers that digital yuan is accepted at a supermarket in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Wu Yanting) Unlike non-bank payment platforms that require users to link their bank accounts, a digital wallet can be opened with more personal identification options such as a driver's license or a mobile phone number. That means China's unbanked population and foreign visitors will be included to benefit from the new currency. The digital yuan can also increase the efficiency of financial operations and lower the costs of financial transactions. It can be transferred freely among commercial bank accounts and non-bank payment platforms, breaking barriers in the industry. Moreover, the digital currency will ensure that user privacy will be protected from infringement. During a summit at the China Development Forum 2021, Mu Changchun, head of the central bank's digital currency research institute, said China's digital currency has the highest level of privacy protection among existing payment tools. China is not the only country planning to launch a digital currency. Japan has started experimenting with a digital currency, while Thailand has unveiled a timeline for the testing of its own retail digital currency. It's worth mentioning that, despite the positive feedback China's recent pilot programs on digital currency have received, it still takes time for the digital yuan to be issued officially, and even longer to be used on a large scale. Companies are combining BSHs expertise and manufacturing capability with Plums industry-best technology to explore developing smart appliances DANIA BEACH, Fla. and IRVINE, Calif., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BSH Home Appliances Corporation, the manufacturer of home appliances known across North America for high quality and superior innovation, and Plum, the creator of the first fully-automated appliance transforming wine by the glass, announce they have entered into a strategic partnership to explore potential smart appliances for the kitchen. BSH has a long history of redefining the kitchen through innovation and a focus on consumer centricity, so we are thrilled to enter into this partnership with Plum to explore providing industry-leading technology, quality craftsmanship, and our combined vision of bringing the modern kitchen to life, said Christofer von Nagel, CEO of BSH Home Appliances Corporation. Plum created the first fully-automated system to preserve, chill and serve wine by the glass, along with a large portfolio of technology and intellectual property including industry-leading technology around preserving and dispensing liquids. Plum has also developed a suite of software for appliances including embedded software designed specifically for interactive appliance touchscreens with over-the-air update capability, remote diagnostics and resolution, and image recognition. Our goal at Plum has been to revolutionize the way people can enjoy wine to match the way they actually live, said Michael Traub, CEO of Plum. Teaming with an incredible partner such as BSH to introduce future innovations helps us do just that. About Plum: Plum is transforming how consumers and hotel guests enjoy wine from the bottle to by-the-glass. Launched in 2017, the company was created with a single goal of changing the way wine is served to match the way people live. Plum was awarded the 2020 Best of KBIS Gold medal, DesignBites Biggest Bite, and Hotel Technologys HTExpo TechPitch. Plum is headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, with offices in Palo Alto, California. For love of wine. www.plum.wine. About BSH: BSH Home Appliances Corporation produces and markets small and major home appliances that are known across North America for their high-quality and superior innovation. BSH sells its Gaggenau, Thermador and Bosch branded products throughout North America, through distributors, independent appliance dealers, national and regional retailers, builders and large buying groups. BSH Home Appliances Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of BSH Home Appliances Group, headquartered in Munich, Germany, the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Europe and one of the leading companies in the sector worldwide. Manufacturing facilities are located in New Bern, North Carolina, and LaFollette, Tennessee. BSH Technology and Development Centers are located in Oak Ridge and Caryville, Tennessee and New Bern, North Carolina. https://www.bsh-group.com/us/ Plum Media Contact: Elizabeth Soares PICO PR LLC 415-583-4433 Press@plum.wine BSH Media Contact: Debbie Ehrman Finn Partners 310-882-4016 deborah@finnpartners.com What about my checks and debit cards While BancorpSouth customers will become Cadence Bank customers, the routing number on their checking accounts will not change. Likewise, current Cadence customers will see their routing numbers change to the current BancorpSouth (and future Cadence Bank) routing number. Both sets of checks currently in use will be good for 10 years, officials said. As far as debit cards, customers need not do anything, as new cards will eventually be issued. Integration of the two bank systems isn't expected until fall of 2022, so no big changes are imminent. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. North America MRO Distribution Market Growth & Trends The North America maintenance, repair & overhaul distribution market size is expected to reach USD 178.85 billion by 2028 registering a CAGR of 2.9%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing product penetration in the manufacturing industry on account of standardization of critical services and equipment is expected to drive the market growth. Moreover, increasing product demand from other end-use industries is also likely to support market growth. The periodic maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities help reduce overall costs and enhance the productivity of the industrial operations, which is expected to drive their demand. The MRO distribution or supply chain was traditionally considered an indirect component of the industrial operations. The lack of focus and investments in MRO processes in the past resulted in the slow growth of the industry. However, the recent global pandemic has contributed to raising awareness regarding crisis management of the supply chain in the manufacturing industry, which is expected to benefit the market growth. The value chain of this market includes manufacturers, specialists, generalists, partnerships, integrated supply, and retailers. Manufacturers play a major role across the value chain, by possessing definitive control over the market as they monitor the product pricing. They usually command pricing on a customer-by-customer basis rather than on a distributor-by-distributor basis. Request a free sample copy or view report summary: North America Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul Distribution Market Report North America MRO Distribution Market Report Highlights Power transmission-pneumatics are expected to witness the fastest growth from 2021 to 2028 on account of the rising utilization of automated transmission in manufacturing facilities The food, beverage, & tobacco end-use industry accounted for a revenue share of 13.24% in 2020 owing to the increased focus of key companies on improvements in machine capabilities for enhanced food production Minnesota and Missouri were the major contributors to the regions overall product demand owing to increased investments in the manufacturing and transportation sectors The manufacturing sector in Canada is anticipated to witness the fastest growth as the majority of the manufacturers are planning to invest in new equipment and machinery to gain a competitive advantage Moreover, manufacturers are trying to expand their customer reach through e-commerce platforms to access a wide range of categories, with significant expertise in the industry Access Press Release@ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/north-america-maintenance-repair-overhaul-mro-distribution-market-analysis North America MRO Distribution Market Segmentation Grand View Research has segmented the North America maintenance, repair & overhaul distribution market on the basis of product, end use, and region: North America MRO Distribution Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028) Abrasives Chemicals Cutting Tools Fasteners Hand Tools Pipes, Valves & Fitting Power Tools Power Transmission - Hydraulics Power Transmission - Pneumatics Power Transmission - Electrics Rubber Products Seal Welding Equipment & Gases Automation Others North America MRO Distribution End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028) Food, Beverage, & Tobacco Textile Wood & Paper Mining, Oil, & Gas Metal Processing & Foundry Rubber, Plastic & Non-Metallic Chemicals Pharmaceuticals Electrical & Electronics Transportation Construction Others North America MRO Distribution Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028) North America US. New England Mid Atlantic East North Central West North Central South Atlantic East South Central West South Central West Region Canada List of Key Players of North America MRO Distribution Market Hillman Group, Inc. Wajax Industrial Components FCX Performance SBP Holdings S. Hughes Co., Inc. DGI Supply Lawson Products, Inc. AWC Hisco, Inc. Kimball Midwest Bisco Industries Kaydon Corporation BDI About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. (Reuters) - One of two police officers in Virginia accused of assaulting a U.S. Army lieutenant by pointing their guns and pepper spraying him during a traffic stop has been fired, according to an official statement. Officer Joe Gutierrez was terminated from his employment after an investigation determined he did not follow policies of the local police department, the town of Windsor, Virginia said in a statement https://www.windsor-va.gov/news/article/april/11/2021/press-release-on-police-stop-of-december-5%2C-2020 Sunday. The statement did not detail any breaches or punishments for the other officer involved in the incident, Daniel Crocker. The firing comes after Army officer Caron Nazario filed a lawsuit against the two police officers in federal court over what court papers say was a violent traffic stop on Dec. 5, 2020, where officers pointed their guns, knocked him to the ground, pepper sprayed him and "threatened to murder him." Nazario, who is Latino and Black, alleged Gutierrez and Crocker violated his constitutional rights, with his lawsuit including assault, illegal search and illegal detention. Earlier on Sunday, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said https://twitter.com/GovernorVA/status/1381341980446367747?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet he was directing the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation into the case. Windsor town joined the governor in calling for an investigation of the incident by the Virginia police and a full review of the actions of the two police officers. (Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.) [April 12, 2021] The Galien Foundation Introduces Webinar Spotlighting Transformative Role of Data Technologies on Healthcare NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Galien Foundation announced today an upcoming webinar that will focus on ways data technologies are reshaping public and private sector approaches to healthcare and the impact of these emerging innovations. To register click here. On Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 1:00pm-2:00pm ET, The Galien Foundation will host its Digital Health Webinar monthly session, "Data Governance in a Converging World: Public & Private Sector Approaches to the Management of Emerging Health Technologies". The conversation will feature leading experts from industry, science and the global research community, which will be moderated by Gil Bashe, Managing Partner, Global Health, Finn Partners. Panelists include: Jamey Edwards, CEO, Cloudbreak Health; Jessica Federer, Managing Director, Huma, Former Chief Digital Officer, Bayer; Michelle Hoiseth, Chief Data Officer & Corporate Vice President, Medical and Scientific Services, Parexel International; Amir Kalali, MD, Co-CEO, Decentralized Trials & Research Alliance; and Dr. Sadiqa Mahmood, DDS, General Manager & SVP, Live Sciences Business, Health Catalyst. The panel will explore the current state of play on the healthcare applications of blockchain, artificial intelligence, real world evidence and other emerging big data technologies and which areas hold the most promise for access, delivery, financing and treatment. The group will also analyze what should be done to narrow the digital divide between the industrialized and developing world, specifically highlighting how the COVID-19 criss carries learnings to propel new data governance structures that are capable of being applied multilaterally. "This panel brings global perspective to review the most promising initiatives from industry and the research community that promote new data collaboration and sharing protocols to ensure we are protected from future pandemics," said Bruno Cohen, Chairman of the Galien Foundation. "As we continue to develop data-based interventions, these leaders will showcase how these technologies demonstrate a positive health impact." On May 26th, 2021 the Galien Foundation will host a webinar in the ethics and global health series. This panel will be moderated by Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization and former COVID-19 advisory board member during the Biden transition. These webinars are a preview of the discussions that will take place during the Galien Week of Innovation and USA Prix Galien Forum, which begins Monday, October 25 and concludes on Friday, October 29 and during the Jerusalem Ethics Forum on November 10 and 11. About the Galien Foundation The Galien Foundation fosters, recognizes and rewards excellence in scientific innovation to improve the state of human health. Our vision is to catalyze the development of the next generation of innovative treatments and technologies that will impact human health and save lives. The Foundation oversees and directs activities in the USA for the Prix Galien, an international award that recognizes outstanding achievements in improving the human condition through the development of innovative therapies. The Prix Galien was created in France in 1970 in honor of Galen, the father of medical science and modern pharmacology. Worldwide, the Prix Galien is regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in biopharmaceutical and medical technology research. For more information, visit www.galienfoundation.org . Follow the Foundation on social media: https://www.facebook.com/GalienFoundation/ https://twitter.com/GalienFdn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-galien-foundation/ View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-galien-foundation-introduces-webinar-spotlighting-transformative-role-of-data-technologies-on-healthcare-301266702.html SOURCE The Galien Foundation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Good cholesterol, which is transported in HDLs (high-density lipoproteins), plays a key part in the prevention of atherosclerosis and thus the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, according to a new paper co-authored by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and published in the journal Circulation, the anti-inflammatory properties of HDLs could be an even better biomarker for future cardiovascular events. Atherosclerosis is considered a chronic local inflammation that leads to plaques in the blood vessels and that, if left untreated, can cause cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of death in the world. The inflammation, while unnoticeable, can cause considerable damage to the blood vessels, so it is important to identify at-risk individuals as early as possible to curb progression of the disease. HDLs carry away surplus cholesterol from the vessel wall to the liver. Today, the value for blood HDL cholesterol is used to help predict an individual's risk of cardiovascular disease. HDLs are commonly referred to as "good" cholesterol but HDL particles have several important functions, amongst them anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have for the first time interrogated whether the anti-inflammatory activity of HDL particles can predict the future risk of myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular events. For their data, the researchers used blood samples from participants of the Prevend (Prevention of REnal and Vascular End stage Disease) study in Groningen. Of the 8,592 participants, a selection was made of 369 who were healthy when the study began but who, on a 10.5-year follow-up, were recorded as having experienced a cardiovascular event. These individuals were then matched according to age, gender, smoking habit and levels of HDL cholesterol with healthy individuals from the same cohort. Despite identical HDL cholesterol levels, the participants who had suffered a cardiovascular event showed lower anti-inflammatory activity in their HDL particles, and this read-out of HDL function predicted the occurrence of cardiovascular events independent of conventional risk factors. Further, adding this value to all other parameters, the results for the conventional Framingham model for predicting cardiovascular risk improved. Also, risk prediction improved when the HDL cholesterol value was replaced by the anti-inflammatory HDL value in the Framingham score. "Our results point to new opportunities for improved cardiovascular risk assessment by using a biologically meaningful functional biomarker for HDL instead of its cholesterol content," says the study's last author, Professor Uwe Tietge at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet. "However, the method for analysing the anti-inflammatory activity of HDLs is currently rather complex and difficult. Our next goal is therefore to make the method simpler and more clinically implementable." ### The study was supported by grants from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation. Professor Tietge was on a contract with Astra Zeneca unassociated with this study. There are no other reported conflicts of interest. Publication: "HDL anti-inflammatory capacity and incident cardiovascular events", Congzhuo Jia, Josephine L.C. Anderson, Eke G. Gruppen, Yu Lei, Stephan J.L. Bakker, Robin P. F. Dullaart and Uwe J.F. Tietge. Circulation, online April 12 2021, doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.050808. The Hope College Alumni Association is honoring four alumni with Distinguished Alumni Awards this year. The association plans to celebrate both the 2020 and 2021 honorees virtually at a date to be determined. The awards are normally presented at the annual Alumni Banquet during Alumni Weekend each April, but this years and last years in-person events were canceled because of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. The spring 2020 honorees are the late Dr. Elton Bruins, a 1950 graduate who played a leading role in chronicling the Holland areas and colleges history across more than 50 years as a member of the Hope faculty and administration and as a scholar; and Craig S. Morford, a 1981 graduate whose career in law has included leadership roles in the U.S. Department of Justice and in the health care and energy industries. Bruins died on Monday, March 23, 2020, at age 92 and is being recognized posthumously. The 2021 honorees are Dr. Deborah Fuller, a 1987 graduate who is a professor in Department of Microbiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and chief of the Infectious Diseases and Translational Medicine Division at the Washington National Primate Research Center, and co-founder and chief technology officer of the biotechnology company Orlance Inc.; and Lara MacGregor, a 1998 graduate who is founder and director of the international nonprofit organization Hope Scarves, which through scarves, stories and research supports people facing cancer. Bruins was a member of the Hope religion faculty from 1966 until retiring in 1992 as the Evert J. and Hattie E. Blekkink Professor Emeritus of Religion. From 1984 to 1989 he served as dean for the arts and humanities, and in fall 1989 as acting provost, and had also chaired the Department of Religion. He played a central role in organizing the Joint Archives of Holland, which opened in 1988 and includes the historical collections of the college and the seminary as well as other organizations that contract for archival services. He became founding director of Hopes A.C. Van Raalte Institute in 1994, a position he held until 2002; he was subsequently named the Philip Phelps Jr. Research Professor at the institute. He retired from his research position in 2008 but continued to work with the program informally. His publications included dozens of articles on aspects of church and local history, and several books as editor, author or co-author. He received several honors and awards, including the Friend of History award from the Holland Historical Trust (1998), Achievements in Dutch-American Studies honor from the Dutch-American Heritage Committee (1999), the Presidents Award from the Midwest Archives Conference (1999), the Meritorious Service Award from Hope (2009), a Special Tribute from the State of Michigan (2011) and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Western Theological Seminary (2012). The book A Goodly Heritage: Essays in Honor of the Reverend Dr. Elton J. Bruins at Eighty was published in celebration of his career in 2007. Bruins served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1946, stationed in Chicago. He graduated from Western Theological Seminary with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1953, and subsequently completed a masters at Union Theological Seminary and doctorate at New York University. Prior to returning to Hope as a member of the faculty, he served as pastor of two Reformed churches in New York State. He and his wife, Elaine, who survives him, had two children, both of whom are Hope alumni, Mary, a member of the colleges Class of 1978, and David, a member of the colleges Class of 1980; as well as several grandchildren and great grandchildren. Fuller studied biology, Spanish and mathematics at Hope. In 2001, she received a Doctorate of Philosophy in Molecular and Cellular Pathology at the University of Wisconsin. She joined the faculty at Albany Medical College in New York as an associate professor in the Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease in June 2007 following three years as an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry. Prior to her academic career, she was a senior scientist at PowderJect Vaccines in Madison, Wisconsin, where she co-invented nucleic acid vaccine strategies that she still employs for her academic research. She has been at the University of Washington since 2010. Fuller has published 90 manuscripts and book chapters and is a co-inventor on over a dozen patents on the subjects of viral immunity, antivirals and DNA and RNA vaccines. She has received multiple grant awards from the National Institutes of Health and nonprofit foundations to fund her research, and she serves on several national scientific committees and advisory boards. In 2017, she co-founded Orlance, Inc., a biotechnology company developing next generation needle-free vaccine delivery technologies for DNA and RNA vaccines. In the past year, Fuller played a key role in advancing vaccines and antivirals for COVID-19. Her lab had developed second-generation DNA and RNA vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 including one that is scheduled for human clinical trials in Spring 2021 to enable rapid manufacture and more accelerated worldwide distribution. At the start of the pandemic, Fuller was appointed to the Leadership Team on the National Institute of Healths COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutic Evaluation Network that aims to accelerate the most promising vaccines and antivirals to clinical testing. In the last year, she has also served a major role in enhancing public understanding of the science behind the COVID-19 vaccines. She has been a regular guest expert on Bloomberg TV, CNN, NPR and local Seattle area news and has contributed to multiple articles published by the Washington Post, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, Vox, conversation.com and others. As a student at Hope, she participated in varsity womens track, cross country and swimming, the Mortar Board honor society, and an off-campus study semester in Spain. As an alumna, she serves as part of the colleges Career Resource Network. Fuller lives in Bainbridge Island, Washington. She shares two sons with her husband, Jim Fuller. Lara Plewka MacGregor graduated from Hope with majors in English and communication. She later earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Grand Valley State University. She was an admissions counselor at the college from 1998 to 2000 as well as a volunteer director at the Ottawa County United Way and Volunteer Center. Following her graduate studies, she spent more than five years as the associate vice president of development for McWane Science Center, a science museum and research archive located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, before moving to Kentucky. MacGregor was spurred to found Hope Scarves in 2012 following her experience facing cancer at age 30 when she was also seven months pregnant. Hope Scarves collects scarves and stories from people who face cancer and then sends them to others in treatment, and to date has sent more than 17,000 scarves to every state and 26 countries in addition to its donating $1 million to metastatic breast cancer research. MacGregor is an active volunteer, & advocate serving on the board at her sons school, and as a mentor with Hope For Two, an organization that supports women diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. Lara recently launched her own podcast, A Hopeful Life and has been nationally recognized for her advocacy work and inspiring story facing stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. She has received multiple awards for the impact she has made. During her time at Hope, she participated in the Pull tug-of-war, was a Big Sister to an elementary child, danced in campus productions, studied off campus at the Philadelphia Center and was an active member of the Delta Phi sorority. She resides in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Jason MacGregor, and her two sons. Morford currently serves as the General Counsel of ExxonMobil. Prior to joining ExxonMobil, he was Chief Legal and Compliance Officer of Cardinal Health. Prior to entering the private sector, he served more than 20 years in a variety of key public leadership positions with the United States Department of Justice. He spent most of his career as a federal prosecutor pursuing public-corruption and organized-crime cases in northern Ohio, followed by appointments as the United States Attorney in Detroit, Michigan and later as the United States Attorney in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2007, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as acting United States Deputy Attorney General, the second highest ranking official in the Department of Justice, responsible for overseeing the work of over 100,000 employees nationwide, including the Departments National Security Division, the nations 93 U.S. Attorneys offices, and the FBI, DEA and ATF. Among other honors, in 2008 he received the Edmund Randolph Award, the highest award given by the US Department of Justice, as well as Attorney Generals Awards for Distinguished Service in both 2003 and 2005. Also in 2005, he was named the Outstanding Assistant United States Attorney in the nation by the National Association of Former United States Attorneys and was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Among other service, he is a past member of the RPM, International board of directors and served on the Audit and Compliance Committee of The Ohio State University Board of Trustees. He majored in economics at Hope, where his activities included being a member of the Cosmopolitan Fraternity. He received his Juris Doctorate from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1984. Morfords wife, Mary Jo, is a member of the colleges Class of 1983. They have four grown children and two grandchildren and reside in Dallas, Texas. The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) is likely to meet today to take up Sputnik V application for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) in India, said sources. Russia's Sputnik V vaccine did not get the EUA on Thursday as the SEC, following the meeting, asked for more information. According to the sources, 'The SEC has asked for more information in context with the approval of the Russian vaccine." The committee, set up by the government, looked into Dr Reddy's application seeking approval for the vaccine to be used in India. The Russian vaccine has an effectiveness of 91.6 per cent. Dr Reddy's Lab has partnered with the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to bring the Sputnik V vaccine to India and other countries. Russia registered Sputnik V for public use in August, the first country to do so, though the approval came before the start of the large-scale trial in September. Top government sources told ANI that by end of the third quarter of this year, India will be getting vaccines from five additional manufacturers. India currently manufactures Covishield and Covaxin. When a top-level source was asked when the vaccines will be available for use, he said, "Sputnik is expected to be available latest by June, if all goes well Johnson and Johnson ( Bio E) will be available by August, Cadilla Zydus will also be available by August, Novavex (Serum) by September and Nasal Vaccine (Bharat) by October." The Government is making all efforts to accelerate the progress without cutting any corners in research, development, and clinical trial stages, the source added. India is currently facing the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic with the number of new cases increasing each day. HK shares fall as investors await new data The Hong Kong benchmark closed almost 1 percent lower on Monday. Image: Shutterstock Shares in Hong Kong and around the region were mostly lower on Monday, as traders looked ahead for new clues on stock valuations and economic performance in the upcoming US earnings season and data releases. The Hang Seng Index turned around from its positive open and fell as many as 424 points, before paring some of the losses to finish at 28,453, down 245 points or almost 0.9 percent. Turnover was at HK$160.7 billion. But standing out among the day's losers, AAC Technologies soared almost 13 percent, after the smartphone equipment maker issued a positive profit alert saying its quarterly profit could jump tenfold. Alibaba surged 6.5 percent as investors moved past its regulatory troubles after the e-commerce giant was fined a record penalty for monopolistic behaviour. But other tech shares were battered. Meituan tumbled five percent, Xiaomi slumped three percent and heavyweight Tencent declined 1.1 percent. The biggest blue-chip loser, though, was Geely, which plunged seven percent as automakers came under pressure. Across the border, the Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.1 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index gave up 1.7 percent. The Shenzhen Composite was 2.1 percent lower. Around the region, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.8 percent. Australia edged down 0.3 percent. Singapore retreated 0.3 percent. But Taiwan was flat, while Seoul's Kospi inched up 0.1 percent. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) Metro Manila may see a clear downward trend in COVID-19 cases in the region by next week, according to a fellow of independent research group OCTA. We project that by next week, we will start to see a clear downward trend in cases, Prof. Guido David told CNN Philippines The Source on Monday. David said there has somehow been a slowdown in COVID-19 trends in the capital region, the epicenter of the pandemic, with the reproduction rate in the area now down to 1.23. The reproductive number which increased to more than 2 last month ideally should be one or less, as anything higher means there is still significant community transmission, according to medical experts. Were hoping that by next week, it will be close to 1," David said. "When it goes down to 1, that means we will start on a clear downward trend." Aside from the lower reproductive rate, David said a number of local government units in Metro Manila have also been recording improvements in terms of metrics and growth rates for COVID-19. He said Pasay, Marikina, and Mandaluyong have been logging a downward trend in virus infections, while Manila, Quezon City, and Taguig have also seen negative growth rates in the past week. While David acknowledged NCR's shift to a more relaxed modified enhanced community quarantine may delay the slowdown in cases, he expressed hope the momentum it got from the earlier ECQ will still help in pulling down the trends. Hopefully, with the momentum that we have with the ECQ, even though we downgraded it to MECQ, we can carry this momentum, and continue to have a negative growth rate, and eventually reverse the trend, David said. Metro Manila and the other provinces in the NCR Plus bubble Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna eased to MECQ until April 30 as the government aims to further balance the health and economic aspects of the COVID-19 crisis. The provinces of Quirino and Abra, and Santiago City in Isabela were also placed under the same form of lockdown. The Philippines' COVID-19 case tally spiked to 864,868 on Sunday, after the Health Department listed 11,681 new virus infections. This marked the third consecutive day new cases topped 10,000. In the past weeks, the country has been logging consecutive record-highs in new daily infections, which reached a single-day peak of 15,310 on April 2. If India is to make scientific advancements and walk on the path of self reliance, especially in the space and technology, it needs to bring scientists protection act, so that Indian scientists, who are on the verge of breakthrough discoveries and are working towards national interest, can be protected. As India awaits justice for Dr Nambi Narayanan, we are also witnessing an unprecedented support for Indias scientific community. The torture meted out to Dr Nambi in the fake spying case have prompted every heart and every concerned citizen to call for a scientist protection act so that Indian scientists, who are on the verge of breakthrough discoveries and are working towards national interest, can be protected. What is required at this hour is a scientist protection act that will prevent other scientists from what happened to Dr. Nambi. Once passed, the act will prevent any police officer or individual in a position of power, from inflicting physical or mental torture on the scientists. While India does provide legal routes against extortion, fake allegations, which hold the capability to taint a mans entire career, go scott free due to its camouflaged nature. Moreover, the fake spy case delayed Indias crygogenic engine by 15 years. If India is to make scientific advancements and prevent such delays,especially as it charts roadmap to become self reliant and emerge as a global leader in every aspect, including science and technology, it must protect its scientists. In an exclusive conversation with NewsX, Dr Nambi Narayanan narrated his ordeal of spending 48 days in jail. He said, It is a bitter experience. However, it was not as bad as the interrogation. Here you are in a container-like room alone and you come out just to take a bath. He added, I was repeatedly assaulted and theres no question, was told I didnt deserve water. I refused to sit because they called me a traitor. NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of MultiPlan Corporation f/k/a Churchill Capital Corp. III (NYSE: MPLN, MPLN.WS, CCXX, CCXX.WS, CCXX.U): (i) between July 12, 2020 and November 10, 2020, inclusive (the Class Period); and (ii) all holders of Churchill III Class A common stock entitled to vote on Churchill IIIs merger with and acquisition of Polaris Parent Corp. and its consolidated subsidiaries (collectively, MultiPlan), which merger was consummated in October 2020 (the Merger) of the important April 26, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased MultiPlan 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 MultiPlan class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-1983.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. 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 26, 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 firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Story continues 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) MultiPlan was losing tens of millions of dollars in sales and revenues to Naviguard, a competitor created by one of MultiPlans largest customers, UnitedHealthcare, which threatened up to 35% of the Companys sales and 80% of its levered cash flows by 2022; (2) sales and revenue declines in the quarters leading up to the Merger were not due to idiosyncratic customer behaviors as represented, but rather due to a fundamental deterioration in demand for MultiPlans services and increased competition, as payors developed competing services and sought alternatives to eliminating excessive healthcare costs; (3) MultiPlan was facing significant pricing pressures for its services and had been forced to materially reduce its take rate in the lead up to the Merger by insurers, who had expressed dissatisfaction with the price and quality of MultiPlans services and balanced billing practices, causing the Companys to cut its take rate by up to half in some cases; (4) as a result of the foregoing, MultiPlan was set to continue to suffer from revenues and earnings declines, increased competition and deteriorating pricing dynamics following the Merger; (5) as a result of the foregoing, MultiPlan was forced to seek continued revenue growth and to improve its competitive positioning through pricey acquisitions, including through the purchase of HST for $140 million at a premium price from a former MultiPlan executive only one month after the Merger; and (6) as a result of the foregoing, Churchill III investors had grossly overpaid for the acquisition of MultiPlan in the Merger, and MultiPlans business was worth far less than represented to investors. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the MultiPlan class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-1983.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. 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 investors 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 lrosen@rosenlegal.com pkim@rosenlegal.com cases@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com By Xu Shiwei The UK has recently released several strategic documents expounding its national defense, diplomatic and national security strategies, as well as the roadmap of its future military reform. Its worth noting that the UK mentioned in these documents many times that the Asia-Pacific will command a more critical position in the global geopolitics and economic landscape, and it will seek to enhance its military presence in the region. As a country outside of the Asian-Pacific region, the UKs eager deployment in the region is driven by deep considerations. First, it is implementing the Global Britain strategy. To play a role on a larger platform and refrain from becoming isolated and conservative after Brexit, various circles in the UK agree that the country should look beyond Europe and assume a genuinely global role in the world. London has launched the so-called Global Britain strategy, and its military deployments in Asia-Pacific are a concrete step to enhance its presence and implement the strategy. Second, it is strengthening the Anglo-American alliance. London takes its relationship with Washington as the most important bilateral tie and a vital foundation for maintaining its security and development interests. The US has recently proposed the so-called Pacific Deterrence Initiativeas part of the plan to increase its military input in the Asia-Pacific and restrict the Anti-Access Area Denial capabilities of potential rivals in the region. Under such circumstances, the UK following in the US step of ramping up military presence in the region is aimed to strengthen the alliance. Third, it is pursuing its national interests. The Asia-Pacific is becoming the focus of global geopolitics and geo-economy. Not only the US, Japan, India and Australia have all reached their hands to the region, but European countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands have also formulated and rolled out their own Indo-Pacific strategy. Therefore, Britains increase of troops in the Asia Pacific is a preemptive step to pave the way for getting a slice of the action in the future. There is no denying that the UK, a powerful empire in the past, is sufficiently driven from inside to turn to the Asia Pacific. Brexit has taken a toll on its reputation in Europe, so the country hopes to try its hand in the Asia Pacific as an order defender, only its ambition will hardly make a stir given the domestic and international landscape. For one thing, the UK is troubled by both internal and external problems. Brexit has exposed structural problems in its social and economic mode in the background of international competition, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further revealed its social shortcomings. At present, Britains national debts have soared to 2 trillion pounds. Although it boasts the fifth largest military spending globally with a military budget of USD 55 billion, thats just a drop in the ocean compared to its ambitious plan for getting its hand in the Asia Pacific. For another, the Asian-Pacific situation remains uncertain and complicated. Currently, the region is under the global spotlight as it is the target of major-country contention. Although countries like the US and Japan have expressed welcome to UKs joining and tried hard to rope it in, they are driven by their own interests. Given the intense competition among various parties, there is a big question mark on what kind of a role Britain will play in the region and how it can realize its interests. In brief, its not a wise move for the UK to go with the stream of engaging in the Asia Pacific. April 12 : After the success of the Wild Wild Country, Netflix will now return with Searching For Sheela, a docu-film on Ma Anand Sheela, an Indian-born Swiss, who was the spokeswoman of the Osho movement and its leader Rajneesh. The docu-film explores Sheelas first trip to India in over three decades and highlights her visits to her family home and the Rajneesh's cremation site in Pune. The documentary will stream on Netflix India starting April 22, 2021. Karan Johar took to social media and unveiled the trailer of Searching for Sheela today. You've seen her, you've heard her and you've definitely heard about her. Now she's here to tell you her own story. #SearchingforSheela streaming from 22nd April, only on Netflix, the filmmaker wrote. Kara interviewed Sheela on September 29, 2019, in Delhi, after which in November 2019, Netflix announced the documentary on Sheela. The trailer opened with Karan welcoming Sheela to India after 34 years. Ma Anand Sheela, who was the secretary of late godman Bhagwan Rajneesh, spoke herself about how she felt when Rajneesh branded her as a criminal. The trailer also gives glimpses of Sheela talking about the controversies that surrounded her. The lady spent over three years in the US prisons in the 1980s over charges of assault. Karans interview with Sheela served as an integral part of the Netflix documentary. In his interview, Karan had questioned her about Osho accusing her of arson, attempted murder, and mass poisonings. The Netflix documentary also explores Sheelas true self, her life, and her perspectives. It also explores whether Sheela was a criminal or a woman in love with Rajneesh. The documentary also captures the rollercoaster of emotions Sheela experienced on her journey to India after almost 34 years. Shakun Batra, the Executive Producer of the docu-film, said in a statement that Searching for Sheela is not an investigative piece but an observation of Sheela who had a questionable past and has always lived her life on her own terms. The documentary traces her journey as she grappled with societys expectations of an ex-convict and attempts to re-brand the public opinion of herself. Patrons at a sidewalk cafe in Madrid at the end of March. JAVIER BARBANCHO / Reuters The countdown to the end of the state of alarm on May 9 has begun. For the past six months, the emergency measure has given the countrys regional governments the power to introduce coronavirus restrictions that limit fundamental rights such as nighttime curfews and perimetral lockdowns without facing legal challenges in the courts. But the end of the state of alarm will not necessarily mean the end of coronavirus restrictions. Given that the incidence rate in Spain is rising the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants has jumped 20% in a week and now stands at 182 epidemiologists believe that limits on social activity will need to remain in place if the country is to contain the pandemic. None of the experts who spoke to EL PAIS wanted to predict what the epidemiological situation in Spain will be like after May 9, arguing that this will largely depend on the progress of the Covid-19 vaccination drive and the impact of new, more-contagious variants of the virus. But given that Spain is entering a fourth wave and that there is still uncertainty over how increased social activity over the Easter vacations has affected contagion rates, even the most optimistic of the epidemiologists admitted that the outlook is not positive. In May, its possible that we wont have the intensity of the third wave, but there will be high incidence rates and measures will be required Daniel Lopez-Acuna, former official for the World Health Organization I want to believe that the epidemiological situation will be better then than now, said Alberto Infante, professor of the National Health School at the Carlos III Health Institute. We will see rises this week and the next. The first week of May, [the incidence rate] will subside, but there will still be community transmission and contention measures will be needed. When the current state of alarm was approved in October last year, Spain was in the middle of a second wave and the figures were much worse than they are now: the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants stood at 307 and there were around 2,800 Covid-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs), with the ICU occupancy rate at 28%. The current incidence rate is half that number, while Covid-19 patients occupy 20% of all ICU beds. But it is difficult to compare the two situations as the spread of the virus is unpredictable and influenced by many factors. Back in October, no one was vaccinated against Covid-19 as the immunization drive did not begin until December 27. Now around three million people have received at least their first shot of the vaccine. But on the other hand, in October, the new, more-contagious strain of the virus first detected in the United Kingdom was not the dominant strain, while today it accounts for between 70% and 90% of cases in Spain. In May, its possible that we wont have the intensity of the third wave, but there will be high incidence rates and measures will be required, explained Daniel Lopez-Acuna, a former official for the World Health Organization (WHO). The Spanish Health Ministry has recommended that regions where the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants is above 150 suspend indoor dining, but this decision is ultimately up to the regional governments, which are in charge of managing the pandemic in their territories. A store in the center of Seville on April 7. PACO PUENTES / EL PAIS Curbing the incidence rate and easing the pressure on Spains hospitals is not an easy task. Thanks to restrictions introduced to stop the third wave, Spain was able to reduce the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants from 900 in February to 127 in March. But this figure is still far from the governments goal of lowering the incidence rate to 25, recommended by health authorities to keep the pandemic under control. In some regions, such as Madrid, which has the least strict restrictions, the incidence rate has not fallen below 200 since August last year. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last week that the government which is headed by a coalition of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and junior partner Unidas Podemos is working to ensure that it will not be necessary to extend the state of alarm, announcing that 10% of the adult population five million people will have received at least their first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine by the first week of May. But while Spain has nearly finished vaccinating the 80-and-over population with the first dose (only half have received both shots), the inoculation of other high-risk groups is lagging behind. Only 3% of people aged between 70 and 79 and 5% of those in the 60-to-69 age bracket have been given the two doses needed for full protection. If the [vaccination] campaign is boosted, we will be in a better situation, said Infante. But until we achieve herd immunity, we have to protect the most vulnerable. If we reach May 9 with a significant number of vulnerable people vaccinated, more than 80%, the clinical situation will be better. In October, the coronavirus strain first detected in the UK was not the dominant one, but now it accounts for between 70% and 90% of cases Although the central government has said the vaccination campaign will accelerate with the arrival of more doses, some epidemiologists warn this may not be enough to flatten the curve. We dont see that the vaccination drive will have a significant impact by May. There may be less pressure on the health system, but the reality is health authorities are trusting too much that the immunization drive can stop the waves, said Lopez-Acuna, who recommended that the current measures, such as the perimetral lockdown of regions and nighttime curfew, be kept in place until the end of summer, and the general rules on the use of face masks and social distancing until at least the end of the year. The new variants of the coronavirus may also affect what restrictions are introduced. Although the strain first detected in the UK responds to Covid-19 vaccines, epidemiologists still dont know whether the medications will be as effective against the variants detected in Brazil and South Africa or if these strains will spread further in Spain. It seems that these two are not spreading much, but it will have to be reevaluated then [on May 9], said Infante. If they dont give us a fright, we will be able to do more things, but there will have to continue to be restrictions on indoor spaces and nighttime activities must be carried out with great caution. The epidemiologists are also concerned that the end of the state of alarm will leave the regions in a legal limbo that will hurt the effort to control the pandemic. When the first state of alarm expired in June of last year, the attempt to pass the control of coronavirus restrictions to the regional governments led to a series of court cases, resulting in a number of sometimes contradictory rulings. The health experts fear that this situation could repeat itself from May, given that any limits on fundamental rights established by the regions require legal backing. Without a state of alarm, you are leaving the regions that have to apply these measures to the discretion of judges, you are leaving them unprotected, warned Infante. Current restrictions The fourth wave of the pandemic has put Spain on alert, prompting nearly every region to extend the restrictions put in place over Easter week, such as the perimetral lockdown and nighttime curfew. Only Madrid, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands will lift the restrictions on mobility. In practice, however, this will have little effect, given that three islands in the Canaries Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Fuerteventura are subject to a perimetral lockdown, while the Balearic Islands are planning to approve a new series of measures. This means that for now, Madrid residents can only travel to the remaining five Canary islands. Catalonia has reintroduced a perimetral lockdown of all comarcas traditional administrative areas in parts of Spain. In Andalusia, the 11pm curfew and 10.30pm closing time for bars and restaurants has been extended. Castilla y Leon has also maintained its 10pm curfew. Galicia and Murcia have extended most restrictions, but will allow gatherings between members of different households, with a four-person limit in enclosed spaces and six-person limit outdoors. Catalonia has reintroduced a perimetral lockdown of all comarcas traditional administrative areas in parts of Spain. In Andalusia, the 11pm curfew and 10.30pm closing time for bars and restaurants has been extended. Castilla y Leon has also maintained its 10pm curfew. Galicia and Murcia have extended most restrictions, but will allow gatherings between members of different households, with a four-person limit in enclosed spaces and six-person limit outdoors. English version by Melissa Kitson. The dog of Sinead Lyons, the missing Massachusetts woman whose body was found in a New Hampshire lake last month, was discovered dead in the same waterbody as its owner over the weekend, authorities said. Conservation officers in the Granite State recovered the dog from Ossipee Lake in Concord, New Hampshire, near where Lyons body was found March 26, according to a statement from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Members of the departments underwater search team deployed a remotely operated vehicle in the vicinity of were the missing womans body was recovered and located the dog shortly after. The animal was discovered roughly 12 feet below the surface of the lake and only 12.5 feet away from where Lyons was found dead, authorities noted. The dog matched the description of Ms. Lyonss dog and is believed to belong to her, the departments statement said. The dog was secured and handed over to the proper authorities for disposition. According to officials, Lyons, a 41-year-old Lowell, Massachusetts woman, was last seen alive on or around March 12. At the time, she was walking her German shepherd on Ossipee Lake. Four days later, her car, a 2005 white Volvo with a Massachusetts registration of 926TN7, was located near the waterbody. New Hampshire State Police noted there was no danger to the public. On March 26, the Fish and Game Department searched the area of the lake where Lyons had last been seen. Her body was found using a side-scan sonar. Divers recovered the womans body in roughly 12.5 feet of water around 2:20 p.m., according to the department. Related Content: Investment led by IVP and Accel empowers Veriff to meet accelerated global demand for AI-powered, video-first approach to identity verification NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Veriff, a global identity verification provider, today announced that it has secured $69 million in Series B financing in a round led by investment firms IVP and Accel. This latest investment brings Veriff's total secured funding to date to $92.8 million. Jules Maltz of IVP and Matt Weigand of Accel will also join Veriff's Board of Directors as a result of the investment. Veriff has the strongest identity verification service available online. Its innovative technology leverages more than 1,000 data points to give transparent responses and provide security and trust for businesses. While others in the space have focused on document data extraction and lightweight verifications, Veriff offers the most accurate online identity verification service with its video-first approach that expands the reach of its service capabilities across sectors and use cases. Its objective, AI-powered decision engine utilizes machine learning to analyze more than 9,000 variations of government-issued IDs from over 190 countries in 36 different languages. With this latest round of funding, Veriff will continue building on its fast-growing market opportunity in the U.S. and deliver on its promise of building a stronger source of identity online than government-issued IDs alone currently provide. "In a world that is becoming increasingly remote and digital-first, every company needs a solution like Veriff to facilitate internet trust," said Jules Maltz, general partner at IVP. "Veriff is setting the standard for the IDV market and we're proud to support Kaarel Kotkas and team as they build a large, mission-driven company." In 2020, the IDV market spiked. With consumers losing roughly $56 billion annually as a result of identity theft, the IDV market is seeing significant demand as a result of the pandemic-driven accelerated digitization across the globe. Veriff tripled the amount of customers and experienced a 6X growth in annual recurring revenue in 2020, identifying and stopping identity fraud across the globe for a number of top Fortune 500 companies. "Veriff is a global IDV powerhouse," said Matt Weigand, partner at Accel. "We look forward to supporting Veriff's efforts to help companies prevent online crime and establish a vital aspect of their business: building trust with customers." Unlike other IDV solution providers, Veriff's IDV technology was crafted in Estonia, a country with a population of only 1.3 million and a national ID system that enables its citizens to pay taxes, vote in elections, view healthcare records and access financial services online. Veriff's video-first AI technology combined with sophisticated data crosslinking factor in the signs of identity fraud that basic data extraction, a still image or biometrics can miss. Veriff provides the technology its customers need to prevent fraud and stay one-step ahead of cybercriminals. "At Veriff, we are building trust and transparency in the online world, and our round marks the highest Series B amount raised to date in the IDV market, putting us one step closer to eliminating widespread identity fraud while helping businesses grow and go digital," said Kaarel Kotkas, founder and CEO of Veriff. "Veriff is considered a "secret weapon" to fight against fraud and solve the hassle of online identity verification. Now backed by top investors in the world, we look forward to partner up with more companies to solve their identity verification challenges and work towards bringing more trust online." For more information on Veriff, please visit our website. About Veriff Veriff is a global online identity verification company that enables organizations to build trust with their customers through intelligent, accurate, and automated online IDV. The largest database on the market, Veriff's intelligent decision engine can analyze thousands of technological and behavioral variables in seconds, matching people to more than 9,000 government-issued IDs from over 190 countries. Founded in 2015, Veriff serves a global portfolio of organizations across fintech, crypto, and mobility sectors. This latest investment brings Veriff's total secured funding to date to $92.8 million. Veriff investors include Y Combinator, Mosaic Ventures, Nordic Ninja, Accel, IVP and others. With offices in the U.S., UK and Estonia, Veriff has a team of more than 250 people from 34 different nationalities. For more, visit www.veriff.com About IVP Founded in 1980, IVP is one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms in the United States. IVP specializes in venture growth investments, industry rollups, founder liquidity transactions, and select public market investments. IVP investments include such notable companies as AppDynamics, Coinbase, Compass, CrowdStrike, Datadog, Discord, Dropbox, GitHub, Glossier, Grammarly, HashiCorp, Hims & Hers, HomeAway, Hopin, Klarna, LegalZoom, Looker, Marketo, MasterClass, Mindbody, MuleSoft, Netflix, Personal Capital, Podium, Rubrik, Slack, Snap, Supercell, Tanium, Twitter, UiPath, Wise, Yext, ZenDesk, ZipRecruiter, and Zynga. For more, visit www.ivp.com or www.twitter.com/IVP About Accel Accel is a global venture capital firm that is the first partner to exceptional teams everywhere, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Atlassian, Braintree, Cloudera, Crowdstrike, DJI, DocuSign, Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Freshworks, Jet, Pillpack, Qualtrics, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, Tenable, UiPath, and Venmo are among the companies Accel has backed over the past 35+ years. Accel helps ambitious entrepreneurs build iconic global businesses. For more, visit www.accel.com or www.twitter.com/accel. Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTFU_Zk5Fc Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485527/Veriff_founders.jpg According to information published by South China Morning Post on April 2021, the release of a new state media video of Chinas Shandong aircraft carrier suggests the giant vessel might soon be heading out on the high seas as it continues its preparations to become combat-ready, according to a military insider. According to information published by South China Morning Post on April 2021, the release of a new state media video of Chinas Shandong aircraft carrier suggests the giant vessel might soon be heading out on the high seas as it continues its preparations to become combat-ready, according to a military insider. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link A J-15 fighter on the flight deck of the Shandong (Picture source: CCTV) Shandong has already conducted nine sea trails, but they were all in Bohai Bay or the South China Sea, which is relatively close to its home base, military expert says. The Shandong will probably start its drills and training on the high seas later this year, which is a necessary step for it to achieve initial operational capability, a source close to the navy said. After being handed over to the navy, it takes at least 18 months for an aircraft carrier to achieve IOC as there are thousands of items to test and approve, said Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Yuan Wang military think tank in Beijing. The Shandong, which is Chinas first domestically developed aircraft carrier, features 12,000 different equipment systems. It is on course to become the navys second carrier with IOC status, after the Liaoning. The video also provided information about the Shandongs ski-jump for launching jets and its powerful cannons capable of firing 10,000 rounds a minute. A CCTV reporter said the angle of the ski-jump was 14 degrees, and not 12 degrees as many experts had guessed. China Shipbuilding Industry Corp has never announced the angle, but the blueprint for the Liaoning shows that the angle on its ramp is 14 degrees, Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said. But based on the thrust of the J-15 fighter jet, many experts believed the ramp angle on the Shandong would have to be reduced a little, he said. Hong Kong-based military commentator Liang Guoliang said the ski-jump angle on the Liaoning a Soviet-designed Kuznetsov-class carrier China bought from Ukraine in 1998 was designed to accommodate Russian Su-33 Flanker fighters. Four options for the ski-jump ramp angle eight, 12, 14 and 16 degrees were tested, Liang said. More powerful aircraft need a lower angle, and its a fact that Chinas J-15 is more powerful than the Su-33. The aircraft carrier's design is largely based on China's first carrier Liaoning, which was itself built from the partially complete hull of the Soviet Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier Varyag. The ship is powered by conventional oil-fired boilers driving eight steam turbines derived from the Soviet-designed examples installed on Liaoning. It measures about 315 metres (1,033 ft) long, with a displacement of about 55,000 tonnes (66,000 - 70,000 loaded). Shandong, like its predecessor, uses the simpler "short take-off but arrested recovery" (STOBAR) launch and recovery system. STOBAR ("Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery" or "Short Take-Off, Barrier Arrested Recovery") is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier, combining elements of "short take-off and vertical landing" (STOVL) with "catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery" (CATOBAR). Aircraft launch under their own power using a ski-jump to assist take-off (rather than using a catapult). However, the planes are conventional, rather than STOVL aircraft, and thus require arrestor wires to land on the ship. The STOBAR system is simpler to build than CATOBAR. As of 2018 it has been used regularly on Russian, Indian, and Chinese carriers. STOBAR carriers must maintain a speed of 2030 kn (3756 km/h) in order to generate wind speed required on deck which is essential for conducting aircraft launch operations. Flight deck of the Shandong aircraft carrier (Picture source: CCTV) A container ship docks at a terminal in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi Eight terminals have been added to the list of those at seaports in Vietnam, raising the total to 286. Among the newly added terminals, four are part of Vung Tau Seaport in the southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau, according to the list recently released by the Ministry of Transport. The seaports of Hai Phong, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai, and HCM City have one new terminal each. At present, some seaport areas accommodating many terminals include Hai Phong (50 terminals); Vung Tau (46); Ho Chi Minh City (42); Can Tho (21); Dong Nai (18); Khanh Hoa (16); Quang Ninh (13); Da Nang (eight); Nghi Son, Nghe An, and Dung Quat (seven each); and Ha Tinh and Binh Thuan (six each). The Vietnam Maritime Administration said with a terminal system spreading from the north to the south, Vietnamese seaports have been well-functioning as goods trading hubs amid the countrys intensive integration into the world. Every year, seaports nationwide serve about 120,000 vessel arrivals and record growth of nearly 16 percent in cargo throughput. They handled 692 million tonnes of goods in 2020. It is a privilege to prepare the tech leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow for the growing, trillion-dollar cryptocurrency ecosystem. - Victor Fang, Ph.D., CEO & Co-founder of AnChain.AI Leading cryptocurrency forensics firm AnChain.AI today announced a collaboration with University of California, Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator, integrating AnChain.AIs cryptocurrency forensics and investigation training into its curriculum. We are excited to contribute our experience in the virtual asset economy to the outstanding students and faculty at UC Berkeley, one of the nations leading public universities. Said Victor Fang, Ph.D., CEO & Co-Founder of AnChain.AI. It is a privilege to prepare the tech leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow for the growing, trillion-dollar cryptocurrency ecosystem. The 2021 cryptocurrency market boom has spurred finance and tech giants to action, generating over 1400% growth totalling $2.34 Billion in options investment, and attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital from stalwarts of the financial industry. As blockchain technologies become an integral part of the technology industry, education on the subject has come into increasingly high demand. AnChain.AI has been at the forefront of the growing virtual asset economy, securing hundreds of millions of daily transactions with its AI-powered Blockchain Ecosystem Intelligence, and enhancing the security, AML/CFT, and compliance efforts of financial service industry pillars like Amber Group, FalconX, BlueHelix, Paretone Capital and more. AnChain.AI will provide free access to its software and educational programs, enabling UC Berkeley students and researchers to gain hands-on experience with investigative tools leveraged by industry leaders, law enforcement offices, and global regulators. Students seeking to enter the cryptocurrency space will also have access to AnChain.AIs Blockchain Investigation Certification program, proving their capabilities in leading real world cyber-crime cryptocurrency investigative and forensics efforts. Jocelyn Weber, director at the UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology X-Labs in Berkeley Engineering and at the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator, explained the partnership, saying, Our work with AnChain.AI over the past 2 years has demonstrated the potential of their technology in educating our community. We strive to expose our students to the tools and skills they will need to enter this space and immediately start making significant contributions which is why improving their knowledge with tools such as AnChain.AIs CISO will be an important part of our curriculum development. The newly-designed curriculum, led by Steven Yang and Francesco Piccoli, is based on the AnChain.AI teams ongoing collaborations with global law enforcement agencies and leading cybersecurity firms. It addresses critical security and regulatory issues faced by a constantly-evolving industry. Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) now face unprecedented regulatory scrutiny from international government bodies like OFAC, FinCEN, MAS in Singapore and 5AML Directive in EU, with BitPay and BitGo paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for facilitating illicit transactions. Through this collaboration, both AnChain.AI and UC Berkeley seek to proactively prepare the innovators of tomorrow for the rigors of a blockchain-powered economy, building the foundation for a safer, more transparent, virtual asset ecosystem for all. About Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator at UC Berkeley UC Berkeley is a top public university, recently ranked #4 in the world by US News, with a renowned history in cryptography, computer science, economics, law and policy. The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator is a the newest effort by Blockchain at Berkeley, Haas School of Business and Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology in Berkeley Engineering, and was launched in 2019 to leverage the groundswell of blockchain activity on UC Berkeley's campus, inviting entrepreneurs and scholars into Berkeley's tremendous ecosystem. The Xcelerator provides non-dilutive support for selected teams, with access to resources both on and off campus and an unparalleled network of mentors, partners and venture capital. Our motive is purely to advance technology, create new ventures, and support researchers. Our mission is to provide education and opportunity creation to our students and the entrepreneurs and scholars who join us. https://www.xcelerator.berkeley.edu About AnChain.AI AnChain.AI is an AI-powered intelligence enhancing blockchain security, risk, and compliance strategies founded in 2018 by cybersecurity and enterprise software veterans from FireEye, Mandiant, and McAfee. Backed by Silicon Valley and Wall Street VCs Amino and SIG and selected in the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator. AnChain.AI is trusted by leading crypto exchanges, blockchains, enterprise blockchains, DApps, and DeFi companies. Featured in CBS News, MIT Tech Review, Coindesk, and DEFCON. Trusted by 100+ customers from over 10+ countries, our risk API engine secures $10 million of daily crypto transactions. https://www.anchain.ai/ We all know how difficult the past year has been. Residents across Illinois remained in isolation for months, following multiple stay-at-home orders to limit the spread of a deadly virus. I am retired, and I was looking forward to spending time with family and getting outside more; but as you can imagine, the pandemic completely upended my plans. In a direct challenge to Prime Minister Scott Morrisons authority, rogue Queensland MP Andrew Laming is pursuing the partys endorsement to run at the next federal election. Mr Laming holds the safe LNP seat of Bowman, east of Brisbane, and has not withdrawn his preselection candidacy despite last month announcing he would quit politics at the next election after being accused of behaving badly to a number of women. If Scott Morrison was to dump Liberal MP Andrew Laming the government would be relegated to minority status. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Laming was set to face the partys powerful candidate vetting committee on Monday, which came under fire last year for holding Star Chamber-like interrogations, LNP sources confirmed. The committee, chaired by party trustee Bob Tucker, will make a recommendation to Queensland LNP officials, who will meet on Monday night to decide whether to let Mr Laming fight for his seat as part of Mr Morrisons team. South Africa: Gauteng intensifies road safety measures Gauteng Traffic Police will continue to reinforce law enforcement operations in the province following a high number of reported fatal crashes that led to major loss of lives during the Easter weekend. The Gauteng Traffic Police has adopted 365 days to reinforce and conduct law enforcement operations aimed at enhancing road safety in the province, Gauteng Traffic Police spokesperson Sello Maremane said. The Gauteng Traffic Police have noted that no fatalities were reported during huge traffic volumes on Thursday, however fatalities were experienced on Friday between 18:00 and 22:00. This was as a result of people driving under the influence of alcohol. According to preliminary Easter Season Road Safety statistics, Gauteng recorded 30 crashes resulting in 36 fatalities. While the figures are relatively high, the law enforcement authorities have observed that significant amount of work has been done to reduce the number of crashes leading to fatalities. The Gauteng Traffic Police have also noted that pedestrian fatalities increased by 35% from a 30% recorded in 2019. What is of concern is that most of these fatalities occurred between midnight and the early hours when people were expected to adhere to the curfew put in place by government to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It was encouraged that passenger fatalities declined from 38% to 34%. Deaths among motor vehicle drivers and cyclists remained unchanged at around 30% and 1% respectively. Many road crashes leading to fatalities that the province experienced during the Easter season are attributed to attitude, vehicle as well as or road factors. However, we are encouraged that the use of technology on Gauteng roads has assisted to ensure that vehicles that are not roadworthy are discontinued; drunken drivers and speedsters are apprehended and locked behind bars, Maremane said. Meanwhile, the Gauteng Traffic Police has extended their deepest condolences to the families and friends who lost their loved ones during the Easter Season period. It has also wished a speedy recovery to those receiving medical treatment as a result of injuries sustained from fatal crashes. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-04-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the citys police chief said Monday, as police clashed with protesters for the second night in a row. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as an accidental discharge. It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant. The shooting sparked protests and unrest in a metropolitan area already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyds death. Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released at a news conference. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him. Crowds began gathering outside the the Brooklyn Center police station late Monday afternoon, with hundreds there by nightfall despite the governors dusk-to-dawn curfew. A drum beat incessantly, and the crowd broke into frequent chants of Daunte Wright! Some shouted obscenities at officers. About 90 minutes after the curfew deadline, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some away. Some protesters picked up smoke canisters and threw them back toward police. Others shot fireworks toward police lines. A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds. Move back! the police chanted. Hands up! Dont shoot! the crowd chanted back. By 10 p.m., only a few dozen protesters remained. Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after the Sunday night violence. The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting deeply tragic and said the officer should be fired. We cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people, he said. Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole. Elliott later announced that the city council had voted to give his office command authority over the police department. This will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership, he wrote on Twitter. He also said the city manager had been fired, and that the deputy city manager would take over his duties. The reason behind the firing was not immediately clear, but the city manager controls the police department, according to the citys charter. Now-former City Manager Curt Boganey, speaking earlier to reporters, said the officer who shot Wright would get due process after the shooting. All employees working for the city of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline, he said. Brooklyn Center is a modest suburb just north of Minneapolis that has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Latino. Elliott, the citys first Black mayor, immigrated from Liberia as a child. Organizers from the Movement for Black Lives, a national coalition of more than 150 Black-led political and advocacy groups, pointed to Wrights killing as yet another reason why cities must take up proposals for defunding an irreparably broken, racist system. The fact that police killed him just miles from where they murdered George Floyd last year is a slap in the face to an entire community, said Karissa Lewis, the coalitions national field director. The body camera footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells him hes being arrested on a warrant. Thats when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting. Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle. It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet, Gannon said. This appears to me from what I viewed and the officers reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright. Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office said in a statement. A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Wrights mother, Katie Wright, said that passenger was her sons girlfriend. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting, identified the officer as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who has been placed on administrative leave. Gannon would not say whether she would be fired. I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning, the chief said. Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. Wrights mother said her son called her as he was getting pulled over. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot. His brother, Dallas Bryant, told about a hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil Monday evening that Wright sounded scared during the phone call, and questioned how the officer could accidentally reach for a gun instead of a Taser. You know the difference between plastic and metal. We all know it, he said. President Joe Biden urged calm after watching the body camera footage. We do know that the anger, pain and trauma amidst the Black community is real, Biden said from the Oval Office. But that does not justify violence and looting. Demonstrators began to gather shortly after the shooting, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the citys police headquarters, throwing rocks and other objects. About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping center, authorities said. At least a half-dozen businesses were boarding up their windows along Minneapolis Lake Street, the scene of some of the most intense violence after Floyds death. National Guard vehicles were deployed to a few major intersections. Several professional sports teams in Minneapolis called off games because of safety concerns. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyds death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. The judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defense attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict. ___ Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Aaron Morrison in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Jonathan Lemire in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Unknown gunmen numbering over ten and suspected to be herders had in the early hours of Monday attacked Ebele village in Ngbo community, Oha... Unknown gunmen numbering over ten and suspected to be herders had in the early hours of Monday attacked Ebele village in Ngbo community, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, killing at least four persons. It was gathered that the attackers invaded Ebele village through Agila community, a border between Ebonyi and Benue States. It was learnt that the attackers started shooting sporadically into the air with the intention to sack residents of the area. An eyewitness said the attackers razed about seven houses while the villagers had fled the village to avoid being killed by the unknown gunmen suspected to be herders. When contacted, the Commissioner for Internal Security, Border Peace and Conflict Resolution, Mr. Stanley Emagha Okoro, confirmed the attack. Emegha said that there was confusion on whether it is herdsmen that attacked Ebele village or Agila people who had an age-long communal clashes with Ngbo community. He revealed that soldiers who was deployed to the area stopped the attackers after engaging them in a gun battle for some hours. According to Emegha: Some said it is Agila people while others said it is Fulani herdsmen, but we dont know the actual people that carried out the attack. We cant say exactly what happened, this is what happened in the night and we heard about it this morning. Nobody died yet. We have called the chairman and commissioner, nobody has said 2 or 3 people died but we shall still find out. In a swift reaction, the Commissioner of Police Ebonyi State command, CP Garba Aliyu also confirmed the attack. He noted that officers of the command have been deployed to the area. Garba stressed that he is yet to get more details about the invasion of the said unknown gunmen. We are yet to get any report from there. I have not been around and so Im waiting for details from my officers, he said. A father-of-six has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for dangerous driving with his wife and two of their youngest children in the car. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the accused had been living in his car at the time of the incident. Charlie Maughan (42) of 77 Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin 1 pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Snugborough Road, Dublin 15 on April 28 2019. Simon Matthews, BL defending told the court that Maughan is no longer living in his car, and that with a son who is suicidal and a daughter that has cystic fibrosis, he is holding the family together. He added that Maughan is aware of the seriousness of the offence and that he has 22 previous convictions which are mostly non-violent. Judge Pauline Codd described the gravity of the offence, which she said arose in the context of a garda checkpoint routine stop in which the accused increased speed while being followed by gardai who had activated their lights and a siren. Judge Codd described Maughans behaviour as reckless driving during which he went the wrong way around a roundabout, swerved to the other side of the road and overtook three cars. The court heard that the accused man's wife and two of his young children were passengers in the car at the time of the incident. Judge Codd said that a car is essentially a dangerous weapon and that Maughan was fortunate that no-one was injured during this impulsive offence. She added that mitigating factors were the fact that the accused was living in his car at the time and that he could benefit from therapy in future. However, the level of risk posed at numerous points required a custodial sentence. She sentenced Mr Maughan to four years in prison, suspending the final 18 months on the condition that the accused follow the conditions of probation. Fans of 007 have been hit with setback after setback with the latest James Bond film. And Dermot O'Leary couldn't resist taking a swipe at the drama surrounding No Time To Die's postponed release date as he kicked off the 2021 British Academy Film Awards on Sunday. The presenter, 47, also appeared to be channeling the super spy as he donned a sharp black suit alongside co-host Edith Bowman . Cheeky: Dermot O'Leary, 47, kicked off Sunday's BAFTAs by poking fun at James Bond film No Time To Die's postponed release date Speaking about the easing of lockdown Dermot told Edith, also 47: 'Looking forward there are plenty of reasons to be positive. 'Hopefully before long, we'll get to go out and go wherever we please. Where would we head first?' The Scottish radio host replied: 'Nail bar, pub, restaurants, then back to the pub again.' Dermot was quick to remark: 'And of course cinemas are opening again soon... Finally we get to see the Bond film's greatest nemesis, the release date.' Delayed: Dermot joked 007's 'biggest nemesis' was the movie's release date (Pictured: Bond star Daniel Craig) The much anticipated blockbuster has seen its planned premiere pushed back multiple times due to the Covid pandemic, after originally being slated to come out in April 2020. But following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's February announcement that the government hope to end all lockdown restrictions on June 21, it's been reported that No Time To Die's release has been brought forward to September 30. The final entry in the franchise to star Daniel Craig will still be released in the United States on October 8 as planned. Since the Covid pandemic began, No Time To Die has opted to push back its release date rather than be released at a time when cinemas are either closed, or forced to open with limited capacity. Dapper: The presenter, 47, also appeared to be channeling the super spy as he donned a sharp black suit alongside co-host Edith Bowman The film, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, was originally scheduled for release in April 2020, but was pushed back to November before the release was changed once again to April 2021 in light of the coronavirus pandemic. No Time To Die is the 25th film in the franchise, and finds Bond after he has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica when his old friend Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, from the CIA turns up asking for help. Leaving his seemingly happy life with Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), Bond returns to the field to face Safin (Rami Malek) who is armed with a new dangerous technology that could impact the world. Producer Barbara Broccoli has already teased what fans can expect and said that the movie will deliver a satisfying ending for Daniel's Bond. Speaking on the official James Bond podcast, she said: 'It's a culmination of everything that his portrayal of the character has been through and it ties up all the storylines. It's a pretty epic film, I have to say.' After pushing the film's release back to April 2021 in October, MGM quashed rumours about whether it was thinking of offering the film to streaming services for a $600 million one-year licensing deal. 'We do not comment on rumours. The film is not for sale. The film's release has been postponed until April 2021 in order to preserve the theatrical experience for moviegoers,' an MGM spokesperson told Variety. Pushed back: James Bond's latest entry No Time To Die has changed its UK release date more than once Bloomberg had reported that Netflix, Amazon and Apple had all been approached about the possibility of the movie being offered up for Premium VOD. However, according to Deadline.com, none of the streaming services were willing to put up more than half the amount the studio was seeking. Lead actor Craig did defend James Bond producers' decision to delay the premiere of the new film in October last year. Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Craig said: 'This thing is just bigger than all of us. We want to release the movie at the same time all around the world and this isn't the right time. So fingers cross April 2 is going to be our date.' The new release will be Craig's final outing as the spy after landing the role for 2006's Casino Royale. He has also starred in Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre. [April 11, 2021] Nium and Travelex partnership boosts digital remittance offering for Asia Pacific SINGAPORE, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelex, the world's leading foreign exchange brand, has partnered with advanced global payments platform Nium to extend digital remittance services to their users. Now live in Australia and Singapore, the digital remittance offering ("Travelex International Money Transfer") will be serviced by Nium's global payment rails and real-time payment capabilities, enabling Travelex users to remit money to more than 50 markets across the world almost instantly[1]. The service will be further expanded to the rest of Asia soon. "Extending the Travelex digital suite to offer remittance services is a logical next-step and continues our focus on digital innovation which includes our market-leading online currency exchange platform, the multi-award-winning Travelex Money Card and a global network of FX ATM's," explained Cameron Hume, Managing Director, Travelex Asia Pacific. Travelex will be leveraging Nium's Remittance-as-a-Service (RaaS) solution for the launch of this service. Introduced just last year, Nium's RaaS solution makes it easier for companies to become providers of payment services and offer remittance services on their own digital platforms. RaaS provides not just the full stack technology solution, but also incorporates the expansive regulatory portfolio and a team of experts from Nium, paving the way further for businesses to tap into the huge potential of the online payments business and explore new revenue streams. "Travelex is the leading brand in forign exchange globally and across the APAC region. They are recognised and trusted as experts in their field. At Nium, we understand how difficult it is for a company to introduce remittance or money transfer services at scale, and we are excited that Travelex has selected Nium to be their trusted partner for this journey," says Michael Minassian, Regional Head of Nium's Consumer and SME Business. "Nium's mission is to create a global fintech infrastructure that can enable banks, financial institutions and other fintech companies to launch and?scale innovative digital financial services without?the complexity, time and cost previously?required to do so. We look forward to working closely with Travelex to offer a robust digital remittance offering to their customers," Michael continued. Consumers can access Travelex International Money Transfer, via their local country Travelex website, with an App to be launched shortly. "Travelex is delighted to team up with Nium to offer remittance services. Following a rigorous selection process we were impressed with their holistic solution which encompassed the technology framework and the expertise of the team. In today's competitive payments environment, new technology makes a huge difference in delivering the best customer experience," states Darren Brown, Managing Director, Travelex Australia and New Zealand. Travelex will be expanding its digital remittance offering to major markets in Asia Pacific in the coming months. About Nium Nium is a next-generation financial services platform?that enables companies around the world to unlock new revenue opportunities and improve cash flow economics. Nium is a leader in its geographical and payment service breadth, owning licenses in the world's largest and fastest-growing economies. Our modular platform allows banks, payment providers, travel companies, and other businesses to collect and disburse funds in local currencies to over 100 countries, plus issue physical and virtual cards globally. Our proprietary set of APIs embeds financial services and can bring to life multiple B2B and B2C use cases in a matter of weeks. Nium is part of CB Insights Fintech 250, which highlights the most promising Fintech companies globally. Today, Nium serves over 130 million customers and enables platforms to provide access to financial services to over 3 billion people across the world. For more information, visit: http://www.nium.com. About Travelex Founded in 1976, Travelex has grown to become the world's leading specialist provider of foreign exchange. Travelex operates across the entire value chain of the retail foreign exchange industry in over 20 countries. The Group has developed a growing network of over 900 ATMs and 1,100 stores at both on-airport and off-airport locations around the world and has built the leading online and mobile foreign exchange platform. It also processes and delivers foreign currency orders for major banks, travel agencies and hotels. In addition, the Group sources and distributes foreign currency banknotes for customers on a wholesale basis including central banks and international financial institutions. For more information, visit: www.travelex.com.au www.travelex.com.sg [1] In markets where Nium offers real-time services. For full details, please visit: https://www.nium.com/network/. SOURCE Nium [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] I don't know the answer to that. This may just be me but I have used that sentence - or versions of it - more times over the past year than in the rest of my life put together... The other two projects include a cocktail bar called Bar Mar, and Joe by the River, which will be an all-day cafe along the Chicago River. Menus for both have not been released, but according to ThinkFoodGroup, Joe by the River is set to open first sometime this summer. BALLSTON SPA Spencer Hellwig, the former Saratoga County administrator fired in the fallout over a decision to pay extra money to department heads and other employees in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, is warning he plans to sue the government he once ran and nine of its supervisors. Hellwig alleges he was the victim of gross negligence, slander, libel and defamation as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress. Fired in January after 33 years with the county, Hellwig claims in court papers filed in Albany County that the supervisors made defamatory statements which were published to a third party, which were in fact false statements. The conduct of members of the board of supervisors, the filing continues, was extreme and outrageous, and was done with an intent to cause or with disregard of a substantial probability of causing, severe emotional distress. Hellwigs notice of claim, filed on his behalf by attorney Michael Koenig, targets not only the board of supervisors but specifically Moreau Supervisor and Board Chair Todd Kusnierz, Clifton Park Supervisors Phil Barrett and Jonathan Schopf, Saratoga Springs Supervisors Tara Gaston and Matthew Veitch, Ballston Supervisor Eric Connolly, Wilton Supervisor John Lant, Malta Supervisor Darren OConnor and Halfmoon Supervisor Kevin Tollisen. "I will let the record speak for itself," Kusnierz said of Hellwig's claims. "Unfortunately, I'm unable to comment on pending litigation." The trouble for Hellwig started in the early days of the pandemic after he and Director of Human Resources Marcy McNamara announced that essential workers, including administrators like Hellwig, would be paid time and a half for every hour worked during the pandemic. His claim alleges that not one supervisor objected or voiced any concern with the countys stated intention to pay time and a half. However, at the supervisors' March 17, 2020 law and finance committee meeting, Kusnierz balked at the idea of time-and-a-half pay, saying he was concerned it would set a precedent. McNamara said "every municipality is doing it" including Saratoga Springs, Greenfield, Malta, Wilton. However, none of those communities paid their workers time-and-a-half for regular hours during the pandemic. Less than an hour later, the full board of supervisors approved a $1 million allocation to respond to the pandemic. In that resolution, $838,525 was to go to department supplies to fight the pandemic. Another $150,000 was to go toward wages with another $11,475 going to pay Social Security. The resolution also formed a committee that was to be comprised of Hellwig, McNamara as well as Board of Supervisor Chair Preston Allen, Greenfield Supervisor Daniel Pemrick and Saratoga Supervisor Tom Wood to decide on employee compensation during the pandemic. It did not, however, authorize the plan to pay time-and-a-half for every hour worked during the pandemic. After a public outcry over the $325,000-per-week cost, supervisors now named in the claim demanded the extra pay cease. After being adjusted several times, the entire plan was scrapped. The board of supervisors called for an investigation into the controversial plan, which ultimately ended in Hellwigs dismissal. McNamara remains as the head of the county's human resources department, however her contract expires next month. Hellwigs attorney, however, claims that the supervisors used the issue to take control over county government and wreak operational havoc on the administrative staff. And that Hellwig was used as the fall guy for the countys pandemic pay problems. Koenig did not respond to a Times Union request for comment. Kusnierz said any damages paid out to Hellwig would be handled by the county's insurance carrier. KVIC generates highest ever employment under PMEGP amidst raging pandemic In a year marred by the economic despair caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has recorded its best ever performance in job creation under the Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). In financial year ending 31 March 2021, an year of despair arising from the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, KVIC disbursed Rs2,188.78 crore to create a whopping 5,95,320 jobs under PMEGP, the highest ever since its launch in 2008. In 2020-21, KVIC also established 74,415 projects across the country. MSME Minister of micro, small and medium industries (MSME) Nitin Gadkari lauded the achievement of KVIC and said that creation of local jobs would provide livelihood to lakhs of people, in turn, bolstering the countrys economy. In year 2020-21, against the margin money disbursement target of Rs2,120.81 crore, KVIC doled out Rs2,188.78 crore and achieved 103.2 per cent of the target, nearly 14 per cent more than margin money disbursed in 2019-20. In setting up of new projects and employment generation, KVIC achieved 106.2 per cent of the target. KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena attributed this achievement to the prime ministers clarion call for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal for Local and constant guidance and support of MSME minister Nitin Gadkari. The governments thrust to local manufacturing has prompted many youths, women and distressed people to take up self-employment activities under PMEGP. Two major decisions by KVIC regarding timely execution of applications also helped the cause. First, the timeframe for scrutinising and forwarding the applications to the banks by its state directors reduced from 90 to 26 days. Second, monthly coordination meetings with the banks were started at different levels which has also helped timely disbursal of loans to the beneficiaries. Last week, Americans learned that Twitter was censoring reports that BLM's Patrisse "I'm a trained Marxist" Cullors, and her "black, queer, and gender-nonconforming" apparent spouse (seemingly a genetic female), had purchased a $1.4-million home in a chi-chi predominantly white section of Los Angeles. That story was a twofer, showing both how Twitter is using censorship for political ends and how corrupt the Black Lives Matter movement is. The story got even better when it emerged that Cullors had bought four houses, not just one. It's very important as you contemplate what you're about to read to remember that Cullors is a Marxist. Not just any Marxist, but a " trained Marxist ": The essence of Marxism is hostility to capitalism that is, to the acquisition of individual wealth. Marxism envisions a society in which all property and the means of production are publicly owned and in which all possessions flow from a constant and complete redistribution of goods. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs," as Marx said. This focus on wealth means there are no people more obsessed with money than Marxists. Think about it: capitalists are obsessed with creating goods and services and then hope wealth will flow from that creation. Most have dreams that go beyond merely pouring dollars into bank accounts. Marxists, however, aren't interested in creating things of value. Instead, they're completely obsessed with squirreling away and spending the big bucks. Invariably, the leaders and their inner circle in Marxist/socialist political systems achieve extraordinary wealth. And invariably, these people attain their wealth not by building something worthwhile. Instead, their money comes from skimming a substantial percentage of every penny that their men with guns seize from the people. That brings us to Patrisse Cullors. In 2020, Black Lives Matter raised $90 million. The claim was that the money would be used to help blacks struggling with the unending burden of systemic racism. (I tend to think their unending burden is that they engage in self-destructive learned behaviors because the Democrat party assures them that they're perfect just the way they are). So far as I know, Black Lives Matter has done little to nothing to improve the condition of impoverished blacks. Cullors, however, has apparently done something profitable to improve her condition. We know this because it turns out that she didn't just buy one house she bought four! The New York Post explains: As protests broke out across the country in the name of Black Lives Matter, the group's co-founder went on a real estatebuying binge, snagging four high-end homes for $3.2 million in the US alone, according to property records. Patrisse Khan-Cullors, 37, also eyed property in the Bahamas at an ultra-exclusive resort where Justin Timberlake and Tiger Woods both have homes, The Post has learned. Luxury apartments and townhouses at the beachfront Albany resort outside Nassau are priced between $5 million and $20 million, according to a local agent. You must check out the Post article to get a sense of Cullors's purely capitalist buying binge, which includes a custom ranch on 3.2 acres in Georgia complete with an airplane hangar. As of now, I don't believe that anyone knows where Cullors got the money for her buying binge. It could be the rewards of fame (speaking gigs, mostly), or she might have gotten a very generous salary from her BLM work. (As a friend noted, you'll never meet a Marxist who says, "Pay me only X and give the rest to the people.") Still, given Cullors's proximity to that $90-million cash haul, some people find her sudden wealth suspicious. No wonder, then, that at least one BLM chapter wants to find out what's going on: Hawk Newsome, the head of Black Lives Matter Greater New York City, called for "an independent investigation" to find out how the global network spends its money. [snip] "If you go around calling yourself a socialist, you have to ask how much of her own personal money is going to charitable causes," he said. "It's really sad because it makes people doubt the validity of the movement and overlook the fact that it's the people that carry this movement." Donald Trump made his money by developing properties that people wanted to buy and made his fame by getting things done in good order and under budget. He willingly sacrificed one third of his wealth to serve the people of the United States of America. Patrisse Cullors made her money by denouncing wealth and then spending vast sums on herself. Yet Trump is the one half of America reviles. Image: Patrisse Cullors. YouTube screen grab. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. For example, Mr. Durhams team is said to have asked why the F.B.I., after identifying Mr. Danchenko as a major source for the dossier and interviewing him in early 2017, did not tell the surveillance court that he had once been the subject of a counterintelligence investigation. Mr. Durham is also said to be interested in a meeting between the F.B.I. and Mr. Steele in Rome in early October 2016, shortly before the bureau submitted the first wiretap application that used information from his dossier. The previous month, Yahoo News had published an article that contained information that overlapped with claims in the dossier, and the F.B.I. later learned that Mr. Steele had been a source for it, prompting the bureau to sever its relationship with him. At the time, as the bureau told the court in its wiretap application, it assumed the source had been someone else who had received a copy of the dossier. Mr. Durham is said to have asked why F.B.I. officials at that October meeting apparently did not ask Mr. Steele whether he was the articles source before using his information to apply for permission to wiretap the former Trump adviser, Carter Page. The focus raised the possibility that Mr. Durham has been exploring whether F.B.I. officials knowingly misled the surveillance court. But if Mr. Durham has found credible evidence of such a crime as opposed to sloppy investigative work he has yet to file any such charges. Mr. Durham interviewed the former C.I.A. director John O. Brennan in August, but told him he was not the target of any criminal inquiry. But he has yet to interview former F.B.I. officials who held senior roles in 2016 and have been demonized by Trump supporters, including the former director James B. Comey; his former deputy Andrew G. McCabe; and a former senior counterintelligence agent, Peter Strzok, according to people familiar with the matter. To the extent any eventual Durham report focuses on criticizing the F.B.I.s handling of issues related to the Steele dossier, it would risk largely retreading ground already covered by the 2019 report by the Justice Departments inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz. Sam Newman has been asked by right-wing political party One Nation to consider a future career in politics. The 75-year-old former co-host of 'The Footy Show' and AFL great said he would have a 'cup of coffee' with the party representative to discuss the issue, but at this stage he was not interested in joining any party. Mr Newman, an avowed supporter of Donald Trump and who had long railed against political correctness, resigned from his contract with the Nine Network in June 2020 after making controversial remarks about the Black Lives Matter movement. Sam Newman (pictured) has been contacted by a representative of right-wing political party One Nation to consider a future career in politics The former 'The Footy Show' host and AFL player said he would have a 'cup of coffee' with the One Nation Party, which is run by Pauline Hanson (pictured) Mr Newman (pictured) is known for his conservative political views The host of the podcast 'You Cannot Be Serious' told the Herald Sun he took a phone call from a One Nation representation. 'I said, 'I am happy to have a cup of coffee with you, but if you are asking me to be part of it or join it, or whatever, I am not interested in that,' he said. 'I don't have a bent politically for any party whatever it is unless of course Donald Trump asked me to join his. 'I am not interested in any political aspirations no matter what party it is, but I'll be very happy to have a coffee with people who are sincere about whatever it is they want to speak to me about.' Mr Newman had previously toyed with the idea of running for Lord Mayor of Melbourne but did not nominate. The podcast host said he took a phone call from a One Nation representation and would have a drink with them Mr Newman's contract with the Nine Network ended last year after he called George Floyd a 'piece of s**t'. Mr Floyd died after a police officer placed his knee on his neck during an arrest which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. 'The cancel culture kicked in and I got cancelled. The sponsors got a bit edgy ... and I said if you want me to disassociate myself then I'm happy to do that,' Mr Newman said on the Sacked: Showbix podcast last year. Nines Lego Masters will launch next Monday April 19, one night ahead of 10s MasterChef Australia on Tuesday. This is a switch by Nine which had previously scheduled a MAFS Reunion. (Part 1 is now Wed. 7:30pm / Pt 2 7pm Sunday. Travel Guides is currently out). It is season 3 for the series with Hamish Blake and Ryan Brickman McNaught filmed in Melbourne as it was emerging from lockdown (and completed earlier this year). By the time Big Brother joins the fight a week later, there will be 3 x Endemol Shine Australia shows going head to head, which is probably a first. and enough to dismay smaller production houses wanting to get content into primetime. Maybe the best ESA show win? This year get set for exciting new challenges, such as the tricky race where our teams must create a Lego vehicle that can run on a purpose-built track, with a difference there are no wheels in the Brick Pit! We present a Marvel challenge where teams are asked to build a moment of impact set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And our teams create out-of-this-world castles only to see them destroyed by a hurling bowling ball. Plus, we introduce two new bricks into the mix, both with special powers. The Platinum Brick will help teams gain an advantage and comes with its own twist, and the freshly minted Brick of Doom will come with a curse to send a shudder through the competition. Brimming with imagination, creativity and Lego knowledge, eight teams in pairs will put all their construction skills to the competitive test and build some of the most incredible designs weve ever seen. These teams will compete in different challenges in each episode as they show off their unique skillsets to surprise and impress our host, Hamish Blake, and the judge, Ryan Brickman McNaught. Along the way they will face elimination as they compete for the chance to win $100,000. The eight teams comprise a diverse cast of contestants, all with different skills, ideas and personalities, including a young couple, best mates and a hilarious pair of mothers. Lego Masters Australia will push them to their creative limits with builds of different themes and sizes, and challenges that must be seen to be believed. In each round, the teams will be out to earn acclaim for their models from Hamish and Ryan as they strive to qualify for the Grand Final. Thats where the last three surviving pairs will work on an epic final build, with a room full of Lego fans choosing the winning team. The Brick Pit is the ultimate Lego dream room. This year we have a whopping 3.2 million bricks for the teams to rip apart in making their dazzling builds. There is a brick, plate, tile and Minifigure for every challenge thrown at them. Lego Masters proved to be a huge hit with families around Australia for its first two seasons and this season promises to wow them again. Fans of the show will love the amazing new builds the teams create and the fun and surprising challenges ahead of them. Lego Masters comes from producers Endemol Shine Australia. The series is adapted from an original UK format from Tuesdays Child Productions and The Lego Group. 7:30pm Monday April 19 on Nine. Updated. Related (@ChaudhryMAli88) Laos on Monday reported one new confirmed case of COVID-19, bringing its total tally to 52 VIENTIANE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :Laos on Monday reported one new confirmed case of COVID-19, bringing its total tally to 52. According to a report from the Lao Ministry of Health, the new case is a 48-year-old Australian man who arrived in the Southeast Asian country on Sunday. The man who departed from Iraq on April 9 tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Laos. The patient is being currently treated in the designated hospital Mittaphab Hospital (Hospital 150). The total number of recoveries from the coronavirus epidemic in Laos stands currently at 49. Laos reported its first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 24 last year. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn and members of the General Assembly on Monday urged school districts to ensure federal education funding goes directly toward student achievement. Tennessee has received nearly $4.5 billion in federal COVID-19 relief stimulus funding allocated specifically for K-12 education. By using these funds wisely and returning to in-person learning, we have the opportunity to set our students up for decades of success, said Governor Lee. I appreciate the General Assembly passing common-sense provisions that ensure we stay focused on progress, not punishment as teachers, schools and districts get back on their feet after serious disruption. He said the funding should focus on the following priority areas: Early reading, tutoring, and summer programming with a focus on phonics Student readiness supports including ACT preparation Expanding access to advanced coursework CTE equipment and programs Innovative models for K-12 mental health supports Teacher recruitment and retention Deferred maintenance for facilities Technology for devices and high-speed internet Serving special needs and low-income students Governor Lee said, "This significant funding creates opportunities for districts to invest in the success of Tennessee students to not only combat learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic but also accelerate achievement for all students across the state. Districts are encouraged to specifically focus on literacy and recent learning loss outlined in the legislation passed during the special legislative session focused on education." Commissioner Penny Schwinn said, Tennessee K-12 districts and schools are receiving an historic amount of funding from the federal government, and as a result have both an incredible opportunity and responsibility to spend this funding to demonstrate how strong student-centered investments can generate positive outcomes and a growth in academic achievement for all children. This funding implores us to invest strategically, implement with fidelity, and report on quantifiable outcomes transparently. After three rounds of federal COVID-19 stimulus funding, Tennessees K-12 schools will benefit from nearly $4.5 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds. The Tennessee Department of Education has provided districts with resources and guidance for their planning and implementation to invest in a small number of high-impact items, within a cohesive and aligned strategy, that are most critical for students as they progress through their education and into their careers. The Department has urged districts to allocate a minimum of one percent of their allocations to fund staffing support for the ongoing reporting, monitoring, and public transparency requirements associated with this funding. District-level allocations for each round of federal funding are available here: round 1 (ESSER 1.0), round 2 (ESSER 2.0), and round 3 (ESSER 3.0). Also on Monday, Governor Lee issued the following statement regarding a return to in-person learning: In-person learning is safe and its the only way our students will get back on track after significant learning loss. I support the State Board of Educations work to ensure that in-person learning is again the standard in Tennessee and virtual learning is reserved for emergency use only. The state Board of Education met Monday morning and one item dealt with in-person learning. In a Facebook post yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted what had already become clear: his government has no plan on how to vaccinate the Australian population against COVID-19, even as the pandemic enters a dangerous fourth wave globally, and the political establishment moves to lift the few coronavirus safety restrictions that remain. Morrison wrote that he would not provide any revised timetable on the vaccine rollout due to many uncertainties, after previous targets were abandoned. The government initially stated that all Australians would be fully vaccinated by the end of October. Senior ministers and health officials walked this back last month, falsely claiming they had only been referring to the first of two doses. Now there is no timetable for the adult population to receive either dose, meaning the rollout will drag on into 2022. Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison (AP/Kiyoshi Ota) By various global measures, Australias progress is on a par with developing nations beleaguered by crisis-ridden public health systems and the hoarding of the vaccine by wealthier countries. Health expert Professor Bill Bowtell stated last week that Australias vaccination rate was roughly 90th in the world, between Bolivia and Albania. The Guardian this morning cited a ranking of 104, behind Lebanon and ahead of Bangladesh. The shambles is an indictment, not only of the Liberal-National Coalition government, but also the federal Labor opposition and the state administrations, most of them Labor-led, which have collaborated closely throughout the pandemic. The crisis of the vaccine rollout further refutes their claims that Australias relatively low COVID infections and deaths have been the result of far-sighted governance. It exposes the inability of the ruling elite to coordinate any mass public health initiative, after decades of funding cuts to the sector and amid the prioritisation of profit interests over all else. As with other aspects of the official coronavirus response that have gone wrong, much of the information relating to the vaccine breakdown is being treated as a state secret. It is clear, however, that the issues began early. While Morrison insisted that Australians would be at the front of the queue to be vaccinated, his government was still finalising procurement in December, when many other countries had already begun their inoculation programs. Talks with Moderna and other pharmaceutical giants broke down, and a University of Queensland vaccine was scuppered after trials registered false positives for HIV. In the end, the government rejected calls for a diversified procurement program, settling on a rollout centred on AstraZenecas Oxford vaccine, supplemented by 20 million Pfizer doses, and Novavax, which is still in trial stages. As numerous commentators have noted, AstraZeneca is the cheapest of the major vaccines. The decision to effectively place all bets on the AstraZeneca vaccine came amid the winding down of pro-business stimulus measures, such as the JobKeeper wage subsidy, and demands from the dominant sections of the corporate elite for a shift to budget austerity. This has rendered Australia vulnerable to supply shortages. The government claimed last week that as many as three million AstraZeneca doses had been withheld by the European Union, an assertion disputed by European officials. The company is behind on its delivery targets for a number of countries. Domestic manufacturing at the CSL plant in Melbourne only began last month. According to Health Minister Greg Hunt, just 1.3 million of a planned 2 million doses were produced there in March. Now, all the governments calculations have been upended, after health authorities issued a recommendation last week that AstraZeneca not be administered to those under 50 years of age, due to suspected links with a rare blood-clotting disorder. A day later, Morrison claimed to have secured an additional 20 million Pfizer doses, but was unable to say where they were coming from, and gave a vague arrival date of sometime toward the end of the year. The shambles has extended beyond supply. This morning, the government claimed 1.1 million doses had been administered thus far, meaning that only around 5 percent of the population has received the first of two shots. A target of four million doses by the end of March fell short by roughly 3.3 million. It is still not clear when all frontline health and quarantine workers will be fully vaccinated. At the end of March, 848 aged-care facilities had received doses, a figure that has only risen to 1,116 this month, still well below half the total. A number of homes for the disabled have received nothing, even though they are meant to be covered by the first 1A stage of the rollout. For the broader population, there are no mass vaccination centres in any state or territory. General practitioners, who are supposed to fill the gap, have complained of insufficient and contradictory information. The confusion and veil of secrecy is also bound up with the prevalence of private contractors. An article in todays Guardian today noted that the government is funnelling millions of dollars to private contractors for its beleaguered Covid vaccine rollout using opaque deals. Details for some of the main tender contracts had not been published, so it remained unclear what some of the companies were doing and how much they were being paid. The vaccine shambles has intensified a deep crisis of the Morrison government, which has already been under fire over its response to a series of sexual misconduct scandals and its failure to press ahead with a further pro-business restructuring of the economy demanded by the corporate elite. For months, the vaccine has been invoked as the pretext for abandoning all coronavirus safety restrictions, so as to remove any impediments to corporate profit. The financial press has responded angrily to the rollout crisis, warning that Australian business risks falling behind. The most striking feature of a National Cabinet meeting last Friday, ostensibly called in response to the new health advice relating to AstraZeneca, is that the state and federal governments are determined to press ahead with the reopening, even though the inoculation campaign has fallen apart in its earliest stages. Morrison, together with the state and territory leaders, most of them Labor, insisted that the key task of the countrys official medical experts is to draw up plans for the reopening of the national border. Australia and New Zealand have already signed a deal for a Tasman hub, allowing travel between the two countries without quarantine. This was just the beginning, Morrison insisted, as he foreshadowed a resumption of international travel with Japan and other supposedly low-risk countries, before an opening up to the entire world. The medical advice would supposedly enable Australia to develop a plan to treat COVID-19 like the flu, and to end the economic damage resulting from border closures. The message from National Cabinet is we want to open up more, we want to do it safely, we want to ease restrictions, Morrison said. We want to do that in a consistent way across the country and we want to do that because we know we are not just managing the health, but we are managing the economics. The cabinet also agreed to abolish all limits on attendance at ticketed stadium events, and committed to a rule of one person per two square metres, rather than four square metres, for all indoor gatherings. Business representatives welcomed the announcements, but insisted that the test would be how state and federal authorities responded to future outbreaks. It was necessary, they insisted, to end once and for all snap lockdowns, state border closures and other obstacles to corporate profit-making. The extraordinary recklessness is clear. As the pandemic resurges, especially in the Indo-Pacific and Australian authorities abandon any timetable for full vaccination, they are preoccupied with lifting the handful of remaining restrictions that could protect against a rapid spread of the coronavirus. With ongoing questions about the safety of hotel quarantine programs, after recent outbreaks in Queensland and northern New South Wales, the political establishment is once again gambling with the health and lives of the population. She recently revealed that she went under the knife for a secret boob job. And Zara McDermott looked flawless as she left the Blush and Blow in Parsons Green salon after enjoying some beauty treatments on Monday dressed head to toe in PrettyLittleThing. The former Love Island star, 24, flaunted her new curves in a tiny white crop top which she wore with a pair of distressed mom jeans. Post-lockdown look: Zara McDermott looked flawless as she left a salon after enjoying some beauty treatments in a tiny white crop top and ripped jeans on Monday The reality star, who is a Missguided Brand Ambassador, kept off the chill with a checked shacket that she wore over the tube top. She strolled along the street in a pair of Nike trainers and toted her phone and a face mask on the outing. Zara was making the most of the UK's first day of freedom as she headed out of the salon with her friend and Made In Chelsea co-star Ruby Adler. Lockdown measures in Britain eased on Monday to allow shops, gyms, salons and outdoor dining areas to re-open across the country. On show: The former Love Island star flaunted her new curves in a tiny tube top which she wore with a pair of distressed mom jeans Cosying up: The reality star kept off the chill with a checked shacket that she wore over the revealing tube top The outing comes after Zara revealed in February that she'd secretly gone under the knife to have her boobs made 'fuller and more symmetrical'. She took to Instagram and shared a video about her experience, revealing she 'always planned' to talk about her surgery. Zara said she was 'nervous' to discuss her breast augmentation, before sharing her experience with her followers. The reality personality divulged that she was waiting for her breasts to heal and settle before she revealed her secret surgery. Best foot forwards: She strolled along the street in a pair of Nike Air Max trainers and toted her phone and a face mask on the outing with Made In Chelsea star and friend Ruby Adler In a Q&A on her Instagram story, she explained: 'Crazy how people wanna assume the worst. I categorically have never once said "I haven't had my boobs done" to anyone on social media since my surgery.' Explaining her previous issues with her breasts, she said: 'I wanted to add some fullness to the upper part mainly, so yes in a way, but more so I just wanted them to be balanced and symmetrical!' Zara admitted that the process was quite painful for her, as she rated the pain in one of her breasts a 7.5 out of 10, but said the other was only a six. Admission: Last month, the reality star revealed she secretly went under the knife to have her boobs made 'fuller and more symmetrical' (pictured left after and right before) Happy days: Zara was making the most of the UK's first day of freedom as she headed out of the salon with her friend and Made In Chelsea co-star Ruby Adler (right) She explained at the time that she suffered from itching following the operation and now just feel 'a bit fragile' three months on. Zara shared pictures of what her scaring looks like now, revealing that one side has a larger scar because she had to have some breast tissue removed. The reality star also recently revealed she has quit Made In Chelsea and shed light on the decision in a new interview. Salon time: Lockdown measures in Britain eased on Monday to allow shops, gyms, salons and outdoor dining areas to re-open across the country and Zara to get her beauty fix Speaking to New! magazine, she said she had a 'turbulent' time on the show due to being embroiled in drama with on-off boyfriend Sam Thompson after she admitted to cheating on him with another man during her time on 2019's X Factor: Celebrity. 'I had a really turbulent series, obviously, and I was so emotional,' she said. 'Everyone saw me cry every week. That's because of the pressure and the anxiety that comes with knowing every single person is going to watch. You're not dealing with something privately, you're dealing with a real issue so publicly.' Secret: The reality personality divulged that she was waiting for her breasts to heal and settle before she revealed her surgery Back on track: Zara recently quit Made in Chelsea and admitted she had a 'turbulent' time on the show as her cheating scandal played out on-screen with her boyfriend Sam Thompson The model also said she's steering her focus towards making more documentaries now after the release of her BBC revenge porn programme based on her own ordeal after explicit images were taken and leaked when she was both 14 and 21. Zara recalled feeling suicidal after her two revenge porn ordeals in an interview with Sky News last month. An emotional Zara told the presenter Niall Paterson: 'I went through every single emotion. At 14, there were days I thought I don't wanna be on this earth anymore and I don't see any way out.' The Made In Chelsea star admitted she believes the crime wasn't as 'recognised' in the past as it is today. Focused: After ditching reality TV, Zara said she wanted to focus on making more documentaries after the release of her BBC revenge porn programme based on her own ordeal On switching between feelings of 'embarrassment' to 'anger' with age, the model added: 'I felt the shame, so much of a lack of understanding around this topic still. 'When I was 21, I more-so felt the feelings of anger - what gives someone else the right over my body? 'That's the anger that fuelled me to make that documentary. It's such a huge issue, the stats are shocking.' Betrayal: The pictures she sent o her ex-boyfriend were also circulated among others, but this time, on a larger scale The media personality was suspended from her secondary school after the photos went 'viral' in her community' - an experience she confessed 'tainted' her teenage years. The pictures she sent to her ex-boyfriend were also circulated among others, but this time, on a larger scale. Zara explained: 'I was in a relationship and we broke up and he forwarded images onto his phone. I think his friends remembered that they had those images of me and circulated them to their friends. They went worldwide. 'You're looking at two very different scenarios here - a 14 year old girl, when we are teenagers we don't really think about consequences of actions. 'We don't forward plan, I think a lot of people can say they've made decisions with large consequences in their teens. When I was 21, I was a consenting adult in a trusting relationship. 'There's people who say you shouldn't trust the person you're in a relationship with and I beg to differ. Cases are so prevalent as they do trust their partners, why wouldn't they?' 'I don't wanna be on this earth anymore': Zara recalled feeling suicidal after her two revenge porn ordeals in an interview last month The influencer also insisted that while cases are more prevalent in women, men's experience of revenge porn shouldn't be 'discredited'. The blonde added: 'I've had a fair few men who came forward and told me their stories. I wonder if there's an imbalance of men who don't feel comfortable coming forward.' On her advice to the younger generation, she concluded: 'Watch the documentary. It's a huge education tool... those conversations between children and parents, grandparents and teachers are usually really awkward. 'It's hard to open up as it is a sensitive topic and still a taboo. I would say definitely watch it, use it as a talking point and start speaking to your family and friends. 'Start speaking to your family and friends - the more people that support you, the better you will feel if you've been a victim. 'Unfortunately, we have to look at the consequences of sending these images... as tough as it is. The doc really outlines every eventuality. I think it's moving and I worked really hard on it.' DUBLIN, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Liquid Biopsy Research Tools, Services and Diagnostics: Global Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The scope of the report includes liquid biopsy technologies, applications, industry subsegments, biomarker technologies, major funding initiatives, patents and companies. The market sizes for liquid biopsy diagnostics are given for 2019, 2020 and 2025 (forecasted). Liquid biopsy is creating a paradigm shift in medicine, and this is opening significant market opportunities. These market segments are particularly promising for the following liquid biopsy applications: noninvasive prenatal screening for average-risk populations; cancer screening and early detection; and recurrence monitoring for cancer patients. Biomarker types of most interest include cell-free DNA (cfDNA), circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and exosomes. Ongoing advances in sensitive molecular technologies such as next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) and digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) enable the detection of biomarkers that are present in fluids at very low concentrations, creating entry points for early disease detection and for the monitoring of disease recurrence. When compared with conventional tissue biopsy, liquid biopsy tests address a significant medical need by delivering a biopsy that is non-invasive and has little or no risk of medical complications. The validation of this testing platform and demonstration of clinical utility has been proven in the high-risk pregnancy segment of the NIPT industry, resulting in high market penetration. This early success is now translating to additional market opportunities in prenatal testing, cancer management, and transplant medicine. The market for liquid biopsy diagnostics is analyzed in depth. The market is analyzed by: Application (cancer, reproductive health, transplant) Biomarker type, including circulating nucleic acids, circulating tumor cells, and other (extracellular vesicles, proteins) Analysis platforms including NGS, PCR and other (microarray, Sanger sequencing, immunoassay, immunocytochemistry, and cell capture) Analysis purpose (screening/early detection, diagnosis, therapy guidance, monitoring) Geography ( North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Rest of World) , , , Rest of World) Market data covers 2019, 2020 and 2025 (forecasted) The report contains a large profile compilation of more than 200 companies in the liquid biopsy industry. The report provides a summary of the main industry acquisitions and strategic alliances from January 2019 through January 2021, including key alliance trends. The report includes: An overview of the global market for liquid biopsy research tools, services and diagnostics Estimation of the market size and analyses of global market trends, with data from 2019 and 2020, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2025 Characterization and quantification of market potential for liquid biopsy diagnostics by application, biomarker type, analysis platform, analysis purpose and geographical region Discussion on significant large-scale research initiatives that are contributing to liquid biopsy market development Examination of various conventional biopsy methods and information on how liquid biopsy enabling technologies to address the issues and are gaining significant traction with key opinion leaders Identification of market drivers, restraints and other forces influencing the growth of the liquid biopsy market Market share analysis of the key companies of the industry and coverage of events like mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborations or partnerships, and other key market strategies Review of patents and new developments in circulating tumor cell (CTC) technologies, exosome technologies, cell-free DNA technologies, and cancer biomarkers Company profiles of major liquid biopsy market players, including Bard1 Life Sciences Ltd., Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD), Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Danaher Corp., Exosome Sciences Inc., Qiagen NV and Roche Holding AG Key Topics Covered Chapter 1 Introduction Study Goals and Objectives Reasons for Doing This Study Scope of Report Information Sources Methodology Geographic Breakdown Chapter 2 Summary and Highlights Chapter 3 Overview Introduction Scope of Report Liquid Biopsy vs. Traditional Biopsy Markets Forces Driving Growth Key Trends Industry Chapter 4 Technology Background Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers Cancer Genomics Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Circulating Tumor Cell Technologies (CTCs) CTC Workflow Cell Isolation Technologies CTC Sample Preparation Technologies CTC Downstream Analysis Technologies Comparison of Liquid Biopsy with Conventional Biopsy Cancer Testing Prenatal Testing Chapter 5 Liquid Biopsy Initiatives Introduction Liquid Biopsy-Related Research and Development Initiatives and Programs Population Sequencing Projects Chapter 6 Liquid Biopsy Applications Introduction Cancer Applications Precision Medicine Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers Cancer Market Segments Reproductive Health Applications Transplant Diagnostic Applications Chapter 7 Liquid Biopsy Industry Introduction Sequencing Instruments Industry Third-Generation Sequencing Industry Sequencing Informatics Industry PCR Industry Droplet Digital PCR Industry CTC Capture and Detection Industry Liquid Biopsy Assay Industry Liquid Biopsy Cancer Screening/Early Detection Industry Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Industry Chapter 8 Industry Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances Acquisitions Strategic Alliances Key Trends Summary of Alliances Chapter 9 Markets for Liquid Biopsy Forces Driving Growth in the Markets for Liquid Biopsy Precision Medicine Rise of Tissue-Agnostic Drugs Genomics Initiatives Clinical Need for Better Diagnostics Role of Key Stakeholders Emerging "Mega" Applications COVID-19 Environment Rise in the Importance of China Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Market for Liquid Biopsy Global Market for Liquid Biopsy by Clinical Category Global Market for Liquid Biopsy by Purpose of Analysis Global Market for Liquid Biopsy by Biomarker Type Global Market for Liquid Biopsy by Analysis Platform Global Market for Noninvasive Prenatal Testing Global Market for Liquid Biopsy in Cancer Applications Global Market for Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Diagnostics by Cancer Site Global Market for Liquid Biopsy in Cancer Applications by Purpose of Analysis Global Market for Liquid Biopsy in Cancer Applications by Biomarker Class Global Market for Liquid Biopsy in Cancer Applications by Analysis Method Global Market for Liquid Biopsy for Transplant Diagnostics Global Market for Liquid Biopsy by Geographic Region Chapter 10 Patent Review/New Developments Patents on Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Technologies Patents on Exosome Technologies Patents on Cell-Free DNA Technologies Biomarker-Related Patents Patent Considerations for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Cancer Diagnostics Lawsuits on Liquid Biopsy Patents Chapter 11 Company Profiles 4D Lifetec Ag Accuragen Inc. Accurome Health Inc. Adaptive Biotechnologies Inc. Advanced Cell Diagnostics Inc. Agilent Technologies Inc. Akadeum Life Sciences Alcediag Amoy Diagnostics Co., Ltd. Angle Plc Apocell Inc. Apostle Inc. Arcedi Biotech Aps Archer Dx Arup Laboratories Asuragen Inc. Aviva Biomed Inc. Aviva Biosciences Bard1 Life Sciences Ltd. Base Genomics Baylor Genetics Becton, Dickinson And Co. Berry Genomics Co., Ltd. Bgi Shenzhen Biocartis Nv Biocept Inc. Biodesix Inc. Biofluidica Inc. Biogazelle Biolidics Ltd. Biological Dynamics Inc. Bioprognos Sl Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. Bio-Techne Corp. Bitbiome Inc. Bluestar Genomics Inc. Burning Rock Biotech Ltd. C2I Genomics Cadex Genomics Corp. Cambridge Epigenetix Cancer Genetics Inc. Canexia Health Capio Biosciences Captis Diagnostics Inc. Caredx Inc. Caris Life Science Cegat Gmbh Cellmax Life Cell Microsystems Inc. Celsee Diagnostics Celtic B.V. Chronix Biomedical Circulogene Theranostics Claret Bioscience Clinical Genomics Technologies Codiak Biosciences Cradle Genomics Cyclomics Cygnus Biosciences Co., Ltd. Cytotrack Aps Danaher Corp. Datar Cancer Genetics Ltd. Delfi Diagnostics Diacarta Inc. Diagnologix Llc Diagnomics Diamir Bio Dnalytics Dnanexus Inc. Dovetail Genomics Llc Earlydx Inc. Edp Biotech Corp. Epic Sciences Inc. Epigenomics Ag Eurofins Scientific Exact Sciences Corp. Exosome Sciences Inc. Exopert Exosomics Spa Ezlife Bio Inc. Fabric Genomics Fluxion Biosciences Inc. Freenome Inc. Genapsys Inc. Genecast Inc. Genedx Inc. Genetron Health Technologies Geneseq Biosciences Pty Ltd. Genexosome Technologies Inc. Genomictree Genomoncology Genosaber Genosity Grail Inc. Guardant Health Inc. Htg Molecular Diagnostics Inc. Idl Biotech Id Solutions Illumina Inc. Immunovia Ab Incelldx Inc. Inex Innovate Pte. Ltd. Inivata Ltd. Interpace Biosciences Inc. Invitae Inc. Invivoscribe Inc. Jabrehoo Medtech Co., Ltd. Jbs Science Inc. Koninklijke Philips N.V. Laboratory Corp. Of America Inc. Labrinth Biotech Inc. Lariat Biosciences Inc. Lexent Bio Inc. Liquid Biopsy Labs Lucence Diagnostics Pte. Ltd. Lunglife Ai Inc. Mdna Life Sciences Inc. Mdxhealth Inc. Medgenome Inc. Menarini Silicon Biosystems Spa Merck Kgaa Micareo Rare Cell Diagnostics Mir Scientific Mirxes Mursla Ltd Mutantdx Myriad Genetics Inc. Namocell Inc. Nanostring Technologies Inc. Nanoview Biosciences Inc. Natera Inc. Naveris Inc. Neogenomics Laboratories Neo New Oncology Gmbh New England Biolabs New Horizon Health Ltd. Nipd Genetics Novigenix Sa Novogene Co., Ltd. Nrichdx Inc. Nucleix Nuprobe Inc. Nx Prenatal Inc. Oncimmune Holdings Plc Oncocyte Corp. Oncodna S.A. Oncolab Diagnostics Gmbh Opko Health Otraces Inc. Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. Pacific Biosciences Of California Inc. Pangaea Oncology Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc. Persuasive Pfdena Inc. Phase Scientific Pieriandx Predicine Inc. Provista Diagnostics Inc. Qcdx Llc Qiagen Nv Quantapore Inc. Quantgene Inc. Quantum Biosystems Inc. Quantumdx Quest Diagnostics Inc. Rarecells Sas Ravgen Real Time Genomics Inc. Resolution Bioscience Inc. Roche Holding Ag Saga Diagnostics Ab Sanomics Ltd. Sano Genetics Screencell Seekin Seer Inc. Seracare Life Sciences Inc. Sequencing.Com Seven Bridges Genomics Inc. Single Technologies Singlera Genomics Inc. Smartcactch Somalogic Inc. Stage Zero Life Sciences Stilla Technologies Strand Life Sciences Pvt., Ltd. Strata Oncology Stratos Genomics Inc. Syapse Sysmex Inostics Gmbh Tailai Biosciences Co., Ltd. Takara Bio Inc. Telexos Gmbh Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Twinstrand Biosciences Tymora Analytical Operations Llc Ubiquity Genomics Inc. Universal Diagnostics Sl Vela Diagnostics Veracyte Volitionrx Vortex Biosciences Xing Technologies Llc Yikon Genomics Co., Ltd. Yourgene Health Plc For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/w8q5wf Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have broken ground for a giant trade and economic-cooperation hub, the largest of its kind in Central Asia, along the border of the two neighbors. The Uzbek governments press service said a groundbreaking ceremony with the prime ministers of the two countries was held on April 10 at the Gishtkoprik-Zhibek Zholy border checkpoint. "This unique project in the Central Asian region will be profitable for the two nations and contribute to the development of trade and economic ties in the region as a whole," the Uzbek government said. Kazakh Prime Minister Asqar Mamin told the ceremony that Kazakh and Uzbek officials have a goal of tripling trade between the two biggest economies in the region to $10 billion. The Kazakh prime minister's press service said the new hub will cover a territory of 400 hectares and allow some 35,000 people and up to 5,000 trucks to cross the border from both sides each day after it becomes fully operational. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has taken steps to improve Uzbekistan's ties with its neighbors since he took office after the death of autocrat Islam Karimov in 2016. During Karimov's 27-year rule in Central Asia's most-populous nation, its relations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan were strained by disputes over transit routes, border security, water resources, and other issues. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 11 reiterated support for Uyghurs and condemned Chinas action in the Xinjiang region. In an interview with NBC, Blinken said that the US needs to bring the world together in speaking with one voice in condemning what has taken place and what continues to take place in Xinjiang. He said that the world needs to take concrete actions to make sure that none of the companies are providing China with things that they can use to repress populations. Blilnken said, We need to be able to bring the world together in speaking with one voice in condemning what has taken place and what continues to take place; we need to take, actually, concrete actions to make sure, for example, that none of our companies are providing China with things that they can use to repress populations, including the Uyghur population. He added, We need to be looking at products that are made in that part of China to make sure that they're not coming here, but we also have to make sure that we are dealing with all of our interests, and what is the best way to effectively advance our interests and our values. Further, the top US diplomat said that the world also has to able to deal with China on areas where those interests are implicated and require working with China even as we stand resolutely against egregious violations of human rights or, in this case, acts of genocide. When asked about non-participation in 2022 Winter Olympics, Blinken said that the US is focused on a boycott, but is focused on talking, consulting closely with allies and partners, listening to them, and listening to concerns. But thats premature, he added. Biden committed to end Afghan war Moreover, the US official also spoke about the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. Blinken reiterated President Joe Bidens commitment to ending the war in Afghanistan and bringing US troops home. He said that Biden is committed to ending the war and making sure that Afghanistan never again becomes a haven for terrorism and particularly for terrorism that targets the US. Blinken added, Any peace that is going to be lasting and that is going to be just has to be Afghan-led, and what we're doing now is really energizing our diplomacy to try to bring the parties together - the Taliban, the Government of Afghanistan, other key players, but also countries in the region that have interests and influence in Afghanistan - to try and move in that direction. (With inputs from ANI) Friends Who Create Together Friends Who Are Muses New Friends Friends Who Are Family Weekend Friends Friends Who Share a Language Best Friends Friends Who Summer Together Old Friends Friends Who Came Up Together Party Friends Friends Who Teach Each Other Friends Who Saw It All Friends Who Inspire Each Other Friends Who Became Adults Together School Friends Clients Who Became Friends Partners, Now Friends Actor Friends Friends Who Cook Together Furry Friends Friends Who Protect One Another Friends Who Make Music Together Hometown Friends Work Friends Mentor/Protegee Friends Friends Who Miss Each Other Friends Who Create Together Friends Who Are Muses New Friends Friends Who Are Family Weekend Friends Friends Who Share a Language Best Friends Friends Who Summer Together Old Friends Friends Who Came Up Together Party Friends Friends Who Teach Each Other Friends Who Saw It All Friends Who Inspire Each Other Friends Who Became Adults Together School Friends Clients Who Became Friends Partners, Now Friends Actor Friends Friends Who Cook Together Furry Friends Friends Who Protect One Another Friends Who Make Music Together Hometown Friends Work Friends Mentor/Protegee Friends Friends Who Miss Each Other Sixty years ago Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space and on Sunday, Russians gathered to remember his achievement. Thousands of people joined the celebrations in Saint Petersburg to watch a firework display, as scores of scale-model rockets were launched into the sky. Gagarin lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a variation of a rocket originally designed to launch nuclear weapons to become the first person to orbit the Earth. Gagarins achievement meant the USSR reached a significant milestone in its race with the USA to enhance its knowledge of space, but the mission didnt go entirely to plan. In the early morning of April 12, 1961, a Vostok-K 8K72K rocket sat on the launch pad waiting for its pilot. In a bus some distance away, 27-year-old senior lieutenant Yuri Gagarin sat nervously in his bulky orange spacesuit with the freshly painted acronym CCCP glistening in still-wet red letters. Behind him sat backup cosmonaut Gherman Titov in a similar suit, and second backup Grigori Nelyubov. Gagarin entered into an orbit at a higher altitude than planned, meaning there was a significant risk of braking failure, which could have delayed his descent back to earth. Had the brakes failed on his spacecraft, Gagarin would likely have remained in space for considerably longer and run out of supplies of food, drink and oxygen in the process. Thankfully, his spacecraft operated as planned and he returned safely to earth but landed a distance away from the area marked for his landing. Gagarin ejected his capsule and touched down on earth in the Saratov region of Russia, where an old woman and her granddaughter witnessed his return while digging potatoes. When they saw me in my space suit and the parachute dragging alongside as I walked, they started to back away in fear, Gagarin later said. I told them, dont be afraid, I am a Soviet citizen like you, who has descended from space, and I must find a telephone to call Moscow. Vostok 1 was a mission that almost didnt happen. There was great opposition from the military, who saw manned spaceflight as a waste of time and resources. Approval was only given by making the Vostok spacecraft dual purpose. Along with carrying cosmonauts, a robotic version would be used for orbital reconnaissance missions. Called Zenit, this variant was used by the USSR in various forms into the 1980s. With the mission coinciding with the height of the Cold War, some locals suspected Gagarin was a spy, but thankfully he managed to convince them otherwise. Gagarin had also written a farewell letter to his wife telling her not to die of grief in the event his mission went wrong and he didnt return. Thankfully he did and humankind has celebrated his mission ever since. CHARLES CITY, Iowa A Mason City man is pleading guilty to child sex crimes when he was a teenager. Aaron Michael Wells, 24, pleaded guilty Monday in Floyd County District Court to two counts of lascivious act with a child. Two counts of second-degree sex abuse will likely be dismissed at his sentencing, which is scheduled for June 21. Law enforcement says Wells abused two children under the age of 10 when he lived in Floyd County between January 2012 and July 2013. WASHINGTON - Federal health officials released guidance Monday that gives fully vaccinated Americans more freedom to socialize and pursue routine daily activities, providing a pandemic-weary nation a first glimpse of what a new normal may look like in coming months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people who are two weeks past their final shot face little risk if they visit indoors with unvaccinated members of a single household at low risk of severe disease, without wearing masks or distancing. That would free many vaccinated grandparents who live near their unvaccinated children and grandchildren to gather for the first time in a year. RELATED: Houston COVID-19 expert concerned about early stages of virus' fourth wave The CDC also said fully vaccinated people can gather indoors with those who are also fully vaccinated. And they do not need to quarantine, or be tested after exposure to the coronavirus, if they have no symptoms. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, welcomed the advice, but said it has taken too long for the CDC to tell an exhausted public when their masks can come off. "The sooner we move to telling people if you're fully vaccinated, you don't have to wear masks, that will be an incentive for people to get vaccinated," Hotez said. The five-page guidelines offer a road map of sorts to those who have made it through the rocky vaccine rollout to resuming aspects of daily life that have been on hold for more than a year. They come as the government and public health officials are racing to vaccinate people as fast as possible to outpace highly transmissible versions of the virus spreading in the United States. Coronavirus cases have plateaued at a dangerously high level. After a slow start, the pace of inoculations is accelerating, with more than 58 million people in the United States having received one shot and nearly 31 million people now fully vaccinated, or about 9% of the population, according to CDC. President Joe Biden has vowed to have enough supply for every adult who wants a shot by late May, raising hopes of a return to normal life. "We know that people want to get vaccinated so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy with the people they love," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in releasing the guidance. While the recommendations are a positive step,she and other CDC officials warned that millions more people need to be fully inoculated before everyone can stop following most covid-19 precautions. The guidance had been expected to be released last Thursday. On Friday, Walensky said the agency was still reviewing the recommendations to make sure they were clear, citing "complex" issues and evolving science. Some infectious-disease experts criticized the delay. SHORT STAFFED: Texas restaurants don't have enough staff to operate at 100 percent capacity "I'm disappointed this was not done sooner," said Monica Gandhi, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California at San Francisco. As a clinician, she said she has been bombarded with questions from patients about what they can and cannot do. Recently, to console a profoundly depressed patient, she told him it was safe for both of them to take off their masks and hug. "I sat with him and looked him in the face," she recalled. "It meant a lot to him." The guidance outlines several ways that fully vaccinated people can return to their old routines, although it is more general than what some people might have hoped for. It doesn't explicitly say, for instance, whether vaccinated grandparents can hug and kiss their unvaccinated grandchildren, but appears to endorse such behavior by saying vaccinated people can safely gather indoors with those in one unvaccinated household without masks or physical distancing, as long as no one is at risk of severe disease. A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to spread the virus to others, the CDC says. While some prevention measures continue to be necessary, the benefits of reducing social isolation "may outweigh the residual risk of fully vaccinated people becoming ill with covid-19" or transmitting the virus to others, the guidance says. In addition, relaxing certain measures for vaccinated people "may help improve covid-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake," CDC says. "Therefore, there are several activities that fully vaccinated people can resume now, at low risk to themselves, while being mindful of the potential risk of transmitting the virus to others." Small gatherings likely represent minimal risk - with the safest situations being for the fully inoculated to get together with one another in private settings, such as a dinner among vaccinated friends in your home, the CDC says. But risk increases as gatherings get larger, take place outside the home and include more unvaccinated people because they may come from places with high rates of transmission. FYI: What should you do if you lose your vaccine card? For the fully vaccinated, decisions about social interactions come down to how much risk they are willing to take. The level of caution people need to exercise should be determined by the characteristics of those who are unvaccinated, the CDC says. Unvaccinated people from a single household, or people living under one roof who are at low risk for severe covid-19 disease, for instance, can visit with vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks, such as grandparents visiting their grandchildren. But if the unvaccinated neighbors stop by, the visit should take place outdoors or in a well-ventilated space, and everyone should mask because there is a higher risk of virus spread among them. If a fully vaccinated person visits with an unvaccinated friend who is 70, and therefore at risk of severe disease, the visit should also take place outdoors, with masks and physical distancing, the guidance says. Vaccinated people should also continue to follow CDC's travel recommendations, which include delaying travel while cases are extremely high. That means vaccinated grandparents are advised against flying to see their grandchildren. And vaccinated people must still follow the same requirements before, during and after domestic or international travel, including wearing masks. The CDC requires all international travelers to show proof that they had tested negative for the coronavirus before boarding flights to the United States. Vaccinated people engaging in social activities in public settings should continue to follow all guidance for these settings and public health precautions, including wearing a well-fitted mask, physical distancing and avoiding poorly ventilated spaces. The virus has been shown to spread in settings such as gyms and bars. The CDC said fully vaccinated people who have been exposed to someone with suspected or confirmed covid-19 do not have to quarantine or be tested if they remain without symptoms. But if the exposure takes place in certain crowded settings that increase the risk of spread, such as prisons and group homes, they must still quarantine for 14 days and get tested. Advocates for older people embraced guidance that loosens restrictions on social interaction. Many older people, especially those who live alone, they said, have spent the past year in virtual isolation, hunkered down against a virus that mainly kills people over 65. "If the CDC is offering new ways for older people to connect more in a way that's safe and healthy, this is really good news," said Katie Smith Sloan, president and chief executive officer of LeadingAge, which represents 5,000 nonprofit organizations that provide services to older people. "I think clarity is so important, and good communication around that. So we welcome this. It takes some of the mystery out of it." Bill Walsh, vice president for communications for AARP, the interest prison that represents 38 million people 50 and older, said that "after nearly a year of the pandemic, we're grateful for any signs of return to life as we know it. "To the extent this allows people, grandkids, families, loved ones in nursing homes or assisted living [to interact], we welcome that," he added. "We've heard over the past year some heart-wrenching stories of family separation." But Walsh warned that health officials have a long way to go to eliminate the confusion and trepidation many older people feel about safely resuming their old lives. He said many have struggled to apply vague and often conflicting information to their lives. Those who have already begun resuming their lives said they were elated about being able to partake in even small activities outside their homes. After Helen Boucher, an infectious-diseases doctor at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, was vaccinated in December, she began shopping at the grocery store again, and visited her in-laws, who are 88 and 90 years old and had received their first shot two and-a half weeks before. Still wearing a mask, Boucher brought them kielbasa, macaroni and cheese, and a box of chocolates. "I felt good that I could bring them stuff," Boucher said. But she kept her visit short. "I had not been willing to put them at risk." Hotez and his wife are both fully vaccinated and traveled by plane this past weekend to visit with their two oldest grown children, whom they haven't seen in 14 months. One has been vaccinated and the other was recently infected. "The risk of transmission between us is very low," he said. "It's as good as it's ever going to be. Risk is never going to go down to zero." Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, who has been vaccinated, said he will finally embrace his daughter once she is also inoculated. "I'm going to have her over to the house, and I'm going to give her a big hug that I haven't been able to do for a year," he told CNN's Chris Cuomo recently. Peace Loise, 30, is a natural hair enthusiast, fashionista, digital marketer, and YouTuber. The Nairobi-based content creator is among five people who won the Denri Face of Africa competition in January 2021. She talked to Spice magazine about her passion for natural hair, style, and more. Tell us a bit about yourself. I am mostly known for blogging about natural hair, something Ive done since 2016. Healthy hair is a big passion of mine. I also happen to be a trained journalist, a profession I no longer actively practise. But since I still write, I sometimes still call myself a journalist. Ha-ha. Congratulations on your win. How was the competition for you? The competition was advertised in November 2020, where Denri was looking for five people to become brand ambassadors of the five counties where Denri has branches. The competition attracted around 3,000 applicants. The Denri team then shortlisted 15 candidates that they felt identified with their brand among other qualifications. The team of 15 then went through a voting process and the five people with the most votes won. My win as Face of Denri Nairobi means I get a one-year brand partnership deal with the company. Take us through your journey as a natural hair advocate. I prefer calling myself a natural hair enthusiast. My love for natural hair comes from my journey of identity. Growing up as a dark-skinned girl I felt like a misfit. I didnt get as much attention from boys as my light-skinned friends. When I found the natural hair movement in 2015, it was affirming and I fell in love with my African roots. Natural hair was the window to self-love for me. Im so happy I took this path. How is the response for your YouTubing? The response has been great. Its great to hear people say that youve helped them grow their hair, have confidence and love themselves. Im hoping to grow the audience more not just in Kenya, but also to naturalistas everywhere in the globe. Which other brands have you partnered or worked with? I have worked with Darling Kenya, Marini Naturals, TCB Naturals, and Saru Organics on short and long-term projects. What is your favorite thing about being a Kenyan fashionista? The favourite thing is the creativity it brings. There is nothing as versatile as the African style; the possibilities are endless. I love playing around with fashion with the African touch. Its just beautiful. Tell us about your brand Peace Pieces. I started the business in July last year with selling brass earrings, but I decided to introduce head wraps in December. Id been thinking of the idea for a while since Im a lover of head wraps myself. So, for now those are the two products Im dealing in, but Im planning to expand and add a few more items as time goes by. Give us some reasons women should have head wraps in the closet. Well, one has to be because youll look hella good. There is just something about a girl in a head wrap. Its her African crown and she can do anything. Secondly, its the convenience head wraps bring. Having a bad hair day? Tie a wrap. In a hurry, tie a wrap. Attending a wedding, rock a wrap. I can go on and on. Never shall you ever wear The Fila disruptor shoes. Does being a fashionista mean you are always fashion conscious? Most times yes. A fashion tip to live by Comfort, comfort, comfort. There are so many days Ive planned to dress up a certain way and ended up switching the whole outfit because I wasnt comfortable in it. BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. The officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop near Minneapolis mistakenly confused her gun for her Taser, police officials said on Monday, quickly releasing video as they tried to ease tensions in a state on edge over the Derek Chauvin trial. In a brief clip of body camera video, officers from the Brooklyn Center Police Department can be seen trying to handcuff the driver, Daunte Wright, before he suddenly lurches back into his car. One of the officers aims a weapon at Mr. Wright and shouts, Taser! Taser! Taser! She fires one round, and Mr. Wright groans in pain. Holy shit, I just shot him, the officer can be heard shouting. Late Monday, the officer who fired the fatal shot was identified as Kim Potter, who has worked for the department for 26 years. [April 12, 2021] Carbon Embarks on Strategic Partnerships to Accelerate European Expansion Carbon, the leading 3D printing technology company, is expanding its European presence through strategic sales partnerships with Selltek by Dedem and Solid Print3D. Selltek, a leading Italian 3D printing dealer, will be Carbon's first sales partner in Italy. Solid Print3D, a UK-based 3D printing expert and dealer, will become Carbon's first UK sales partner. These European partnerships will help Carbon accelerate its growth in Europe. Europe is a key market for 3D printing. 2021 research by Wohlers Associates shows that 29.2% of industrial additive manufacturing systems are installed in Europe. Carbon technology is installed and utilized by companies across several large markets in Europe. With these partnerships, Carbon is building on its success in Europe and addressing growing demand in the region by making Carbon technology more widely accessible. Selltek and Solid Print3D are the first Carbon partners to execute this strategic approach. "Europe is a strategic market for Carbon. We've identified customer demand for our 3D printing innovations that provide unique advantages over design and manufacturing processes currently available," said Ellen Kullman, President and CEO at Carbon. "Solid Print3D and Selltek are strategic partners that will support our go-to-market strategy while bringing a level of regional expertise to support customers on their journey to make better products in less time." Carbon ofers a robust and distributed digital 3D printing platform comprised of versatile printers, advanced software, and various materials to design, rapidly optimize, and produce better performing products. Selltek brings not only regional expertise but industry knowledge in 3D printing technology applied to all production, planning and design activities. "We're excited to make Carbon's innovations in 3D printing widely available to the Italian market. Italy has proven to be a hotbed for innovation and design and 3D printing technology will allow design engineers to bring more ideas to life," said Alberto Rizzi, CEO at Selltek. Solid Print3D is providing world-class support as a trusted partner to many UK engineering businesses. "We are excited to be working with Carbon in the UK. We carefully select our go-to-market partners to offer best-in-class products and services to our customers," said Neil Sewell, Founder and Managing Director at Solid Print3D. "We feel Carbon's technology is on the cutting edge of Additive Manufacturing, offering unrivaled technology, materials & reliability. We're looking forward to seeing how the DLS process will enable our customers to create new, innovative products." About Carbon Carbon is a 3D printing technology company helping businesses to develop better products and bring them to market in less time. The Carbon DLS process combines versatile printers, advanced software, and best-in-class materials to deliver functional parts with end-use performance and aesthetics, helping engineers and designers to create products that outperform. From prototyping and low-volume production to production-at-scale, hundreds of global organizations, including adidas, Ford (News - Alert) Motor Company, and Becton, Dickinson and Company, use the Carbon process to create a wide range of functional end-use parts and print them reliably wherever and whenever they need them through our production network partners. Carbon is a venture-backed company headquartered in Redwood City, CA (News - Alert) . To learn more, follow Carbon on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005012/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Funds raised will be applied towards completing the companys definitive feasibility study for the Maniry Graphite Project and will allow the company to conclude extensive drilling and exploration programs. The company will issue 36,134,220 new shares at $0.135 per share - a 12.9% discount to last close on April 7, 2021 of $0.155 per share. ( ) has completed a bookbuild and secured commitments from domestic and international institutional and sophisticated investors to subscribe for around 36.13 million new fully paid ordinary shares at $0.135 per share for proceeds of A$4.89 million. Funds raised in the heavily oversubscribed placement that was well supported by new and existing investors will be applied towards completing a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Maniry Graphite Project in Madagascar. Following the placement, the companys cash balance has increased to around $7.4 million. Investor interest in graphite BlackEarth managing director Tom Revy said: The board of BEM is delighted with the exceptional level of investor interest in this fund raising event. There is significant recent research that indicates that as the world shifts toward embracing alternative energy sources, related industries could encounter a major shortage of graphite in the near future and Madagascar is well known for providing world-class, high-grade product that can have a major impact on filling the growing demand for this mineral. Furthermore, graphite is finally being recognised as one of the key critical commodities that must be made available and used in the production of lithium-ion batteries and the new, rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) and alternative energy markets. Funding Maniry DFS The funds raised by the placement will, together with the companys existing funds, be used to progress the DFS for the Maniry Project and other development plans including: Continue and conclude an extensive drilling and exploration program at the Maniry Project and other high grade company projects in Madagascar; Conclusion of the Stage 2 pilot program with concentrate testing by Urbix Resources and LuxCarbon, Germany to advance downstream processing plans; Development of a plant design for operations in Madagascar; and Conclusion of other downstream project plans currently being assessed. Looking forward Revy said: BlackEarth has previously demonstrated that product from our projects in Madagascar is most suited for use in the EV and alternative energy markets and the completion of this raising will go a long way to completing our plans for construction of a plant in Madagascar and also assist us to conclude our downstream processing plans in conjunction with industry leading partners. This is an exciting time in the development of the company and we look forward to providing our shareholders with updates of our continued growth throughout 2021. Placement details The new shares will be placed within the companys 15% placement capacity under ASX Listing Rule 7.1 and a further 10% within ASX Listing Rule 7.1A and without disclosure under the Corporations Act. The placement is not subject to shareholder approval and the new shares will rank equally with the companys existing fully paid ordinary shares. The new shares are expected to be issued on or about April 20, 2021. Argonaut Securities Pty Ltd was appointed as Lead Manager to the placement. A cyclist who was injured in a hit-and-run incident near Castledermot at the weekend has appealed for the driver of the car to come forward. Ray Morrissey, aged in his 50s, suffered a broken a broken wrist and required 28 stitches to his kneecap following the incident. Ray made an appeal on RTE's Liveline this afternoon for the driver to come forward. He thanked passing motorists who stopped to help him and called an ambulance. He was later treated for his injuries at St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny. The incident happened at 8.55am on Saturday 10th April in Knocknacree, Castledermot. Ray said: "We are looking for help alongside the Gardai to identity the car which we believe to be a grey/silver Audi approximately 2012 reg. "There was a body kit on this car. "The car should be recognisable due to the fact that the passenger wing mirror is gone, there is further damage done to the front of the car. "If you can be of any help locating this car please contact Castledermot Garda Station. Ray runs Ray Tree Care & Training, family-run business based in West Wicklow. Ray studied arboriculture while living in Germany and he returned home in 1990 to work in the Arboriculture industry. Ray has also competed in climbing competitions in Europe and the UK. NASHVILLE The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) and the Tennessee State Fire Marshals Office (SFMO) proudly recognize the heroism displayed by Chattanooga Fire Department (CFD) Captain Brad Petty (Engine 9, Green Shift), his daughter Hannah Petty and his son Kanan Petty on March 6, 2021, while providing medical assistance to a motorist who had been severely injured during a roadway shooting incident along Interstate 24. TDCI Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Gary Farley presented a plaque along with recognition from Governor Bill Lee to Captain Petty and his family during a ceremony on Monday, April 12, 2021, in Chattanooga. On March 6, 2021, Captain Petty was off duty and traveling near Murfreesboro while returning home to Chattanooga from a wrestling tournament with Kanan and Hannah when they witnessed a car ahead of them swerve off the interstate. A male motorist got out of the car and frantically waved for help from motorists. Captain Petty stopped his car and provided immediate medical attention to a young woman he found in the car who had been struck by a bullet fired from another car. While Captain Petty used a shirt to apply pressure to the girls wounds and keep her airway open, Hannah Petty relayed important information about their whereabouts on Interstate 24 to emergency dispatchers who could provide additional medical attention. Many know the parable of the Good Samaritan who stopped to help a stranger in need, said Assistant Commissioner Farley. As a lifelong firefighter and Rutherford County resident, I know that the men and women of the Tennessee fire service practice the story of the Good Samaritan every day by putting their lives on the line to provide assistance to strangers. I was moved by Captain Petty and his familys heroism, but I was not surprised to learn that a firefighter would rush to help someone in need. Captain Petty, his daughter and his son displayed the bravery that helps save lives and that Tennessee firefighters show every day. Chattanooga Fire Department Chief Phil Hyman said: I have worked personally with Captain Petty over his career and I know that his character and his passion to serve is exactly what the Chattanooga Fire Department stands for. He is a compassionate and caring person, and honestly his heroic actions do not surprise me at all. His actions in his daily life have molded a wonderful family and also an outstanding crew on Engine 9 Green. Captain Petty is the ideal example of what a professional firefighter should be, and I can't say enough of how proud I am of him and his family. Captain Brad Petty added: I did what any first responder would do when coming across a situation where someone needs help. Our department prepares us to react efficiently and effectively in emergencies and Im glad I could be there in that moment to assist the young woman with her injuries. Im proud of how calm my children remained through a very scary situation on a busy interstate. We continue to pray for the victim as she recovers. Photos of the event can be found here. ### Starting Line is backed by founders of many of Chicago's top consumer companies including Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney, M1 Finance CEO Brian Barnes, Kin cofounder and CEO Sean Harper, Rush Street Interactive CEO Greg Carlin, Tovala CEO David Rabie, Clearcover cofounder and CEO Kyle Nakatsuji, Factor CEO Mike Apostal, and Sprout Social cofounder Aaron Rankin, as well as beyond our city limits such as Thrive Market CEO Nick Green and Prettylitter CEO Daniel Rotman, among many other individual investors. Alongside the new fund's value-added individual investors, we're thrilled to announce backing from institutions such as Foundry Group , Vintage Investment Partners , Bracket Capital , 50 South Capital , and Wicklow Capital. We're pleased to have these institutional limited partners on board as we continue to support Chicago's expansive innovation ecosystem for years to come. "In two short years, Starting Line has made a name for itself as the number one choice for early stage founders between the coasts," said Matt Maloney, CEO of Grubhub. "I value Starting Line's opinionated view of non-obvious markets, and I'm excited to back the firm's goal to write big, early checks to unconventional founders." In connection with the second fund, Starting Line has promoted Haley Kwait Zollo from Principal to Partner. Zollo had formerly scaled Analytics and Strategy at Trunk Club (acq'd by Nordstrom), and was later VP of Biz Ops at Mac & Mia (acq'd by Stitch Fix). Starting Line is excited to continue working with longtime Venture Partner Ade Olonoh , who previously founded Formstack and Formspring. We're also thrilled to have Scott Holloway , previously employee #10 at Instacart and now SVP Operations at Foxtrot , as a venture partner. "Starting Line had enormous conviction in our business from the very beginning," said Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. "As we've scaled, they have stayed deeply founder aligned, always on for late night calls, and obsessed with our product. We know they care about us and they have our team's trust." "Over the past two and a half years, Starting Line has proven that you can discover extraordinary entrepreneurs and generate world class returns, even while being headquartered in Chicago" said founding partner Ezra Galston. "Every teenager with a phone is now capable of becoming an entrepreneur, a creator, even their own brand, and we are witnessing an explosion of creativity, wholly untethered to the geographies and ecosystems that used to matter. We have built a young, diverse investment team from the ground up and are proud that we have cultivated an authentic, relatable venture capital fund for so many local entrepreneurs who didn't know where else to turn." In addition to the firm's portfolio, the fund's investment partnersGalston, Zollo, Olonoh and Hollowayhave also made personal investments into a variety of breakout consumer companies including Substack , M1Finance , Chowbus , Shef , Kapwing , Prettylitter , Provi , Flyhomes , Spothero , Hungryroot , Rise Science and Sunbit , reflecting their broad networks, consumer-driven thesis, and openness to partnering with unconventional founders with big ideas. SOURCE Starting Line Related Links http://www.startingline.vc TOKYO, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Japan Foundation is holding an online exhibition, "11 Stories on Distanced Relationships: Contemporary Art from Japan," from March 30 to May 5. Organized by the Japan Foundation, this emerged from the question of how people might go about building connections with the world adapted to reality with the coronavirus. https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106555/202103313118/_prw_PI1fl_aXMCigbn.jpg The exhibition introduces the works of 11 Japanese and Japan-based contemporary artists, centered on new pieces commissioned on the theme of "translating distance." Psychological or physical distances have never been easy to reach across, or reduce. Nowadays distance has emerged as something people must learn to live with. This exhibition has been created to deliver works that earnestly address this kind of distance--from Japan to people everywhere in the world. The 11 participating artists are ARAKI Yu, HAN Ishu, IIYAMA Yuki, KOIZUMI Meiro, MOHRI Yuko, NOGUCHI Rika, OKUMURA Yuki, SATO Masaharu, SAWA Hiraki, YANAI Shino, and YOSHIDA Shinya. They take experimental approaches to explore the possibilities of online presentation with various media, including video, sound, animation, and livestreaming (*). (*) An artwork by MOHRI Yuko will be livestreamed from 9:00 to 18:00 (JST) every day during the exhibition period. NOGUCHI Rika, "Lucent Sea," 2021, video (silent), 18'00". (C) Noguchi Rika: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106555/202103313118/_prw_PI2fl_6XfZKsT5.jpg SATO Masaharu "I touch Dream #1," video (silent), 3'34", private collection. (C) Estate of Masaharu Sato: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106555/202103313118/_prw_PI3fl_U4KA0Xa6.jpg "I want to be a wolf," video(silent), private collection. (C) Estate of Masaharu Sato: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106555/202103313118/_prw_PI4fl_IHJ17514.jpg NOTES TO EDITORS Title: (Online Exhibition) 11 Stories on Distanced Relationships: Contemporary Art from Japan Period: March 30-May 5, 2021 URL: https://11stories.jpf.go.jp/en/ Organizer: The Japan Foundation Curators: KIMURA Eriko, Curator, Yokohama Museum of Art and Curatorial Head of Yokohama Triennale 2020 KONDO Kenichi, Senior Curator, Mori Art Museum MASUDA Tomohiro, Curator, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo NOMURA Shino, Senior Curator, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery About the Japan Foundation: The Japan Foundation is Japan's only institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange programs throughout the world. To cultivate friendship and ties between Japan and the world, the Japan Foundation creates global opportunities to foster friendship, trust, and mutual understanding through culture, language, and dialogue. Publicity images can be obtained from: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hBfZ_DgDQLDiKKby8dg4mRpnUM6_lmeQ?usp=sharing SOURCE The Japan Foundation .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... NEW YORK Ramsey Clark, the attorney general in the Johnson administration who became an outspoken activist for unpopular causes and a harsh critic of U.S. policy, has died. He was 93. Clark, whose father, Tom Clark, was attorney general and U.S. Supreme Court justice, died on Friday at his Manhattan home, a family member, Sharon Welch, announced to media outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post. After serving in President Lyndon Johnsons Cabinet in 1967 and 68, Clark set up a private law practice in New York in which he championed civil rights, fought racism and the death penalty, and represented declared foes of the United States including former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. He also defended former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. New York civil rights attorney Ron Kuby, who worked with Clark on numerous cases, called the death very, very sad in a season of losses. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The progressive legal community has lost its elder dean and statesman, Kuby said. Over many generations, Ramsey Clark was a principled voice, conscience and a fighter for civil and human rights. In courtrooms around the country Clark defended antiwar activists. In the court of public opinion, he charged the United States with militarism and arrogance, starting with the Vietnam War and continuing with Grenada, Libya, Panama and the Gulf War. When Clark visited Iraq after Operation Desert Storm and returned to accuse the United States of war crimes, Newsweek dubbed him the Jane Fonda of the Gulf War. Clark said he only wanted the United States to live up to its ideals. If you dont insist on your government obeying the law, then what right do you have to demand it of others? he said. The lanky, soft-spoken Texan went to Washington in 1961 as a New Frontiersman in President John F. Kennedys Justice Department. He was 39 when Johnson made him attorney general in 1967, the second youngest ever Robert Kennedy had been 36. Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark, who had been Harry Trumans attorney general before he joined the high court in 1949, swore in his son as attorney general, then retired to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest. Ramsey Clark said his work at Justice drew him into the civil rights revolution, which he called the noblest quest of the American people in our time. He also maintained opposition to the death penalty and wiretapping, defended the right of dissent and criticized FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover when no one else in government would dare take him on. But as Johnsons attorney general, Clark had the job of prosecuting Dr. Benjamin Spock for counseling Vietnam-era youths to resist the draft, a position with which he sympathized. We won the case, that was the worst part, he said years later. The Dallas-born Clark, who did a hitch in the Marine Corps in 1945-46, moved his family to New York in 1970 and set up a pro bono-oriented practice. He said then that he and his partners were limiting their annual personal incomes to $50,000, a figure he did not always achieve. Moneys not an interest of mine, he said, but at the same time he was meeting steep medical bills for his daughter, Ronda, who was born with severe disabilities. He and his wife, Georgia, who were married in 1949, also had a son, Thomas, a lawyer. Clark took one shot at elective office, losing the 1976 Democratic Senate primary to Daniel P. Moynihan. Clarks client list included such peace and disarmament activists as the Harrisburg 7 and the Plowshares 8. Abroad, he represented dissidents in Iran, Chile, the Philippines and Taiwan, and skyjackers in the Soviet Union. He was an advocate for Soviet and Syrian Jews, but outraged many Jews over other clients. He defended a Nazi prison camp guard fighting extradition, and the Palestine Liberation Organization in a lawsuit over the slaying of a cruise ship passenger by hijackers. There were usually two to three dozen active cases on Clarks legal calendar, and about 100 more in the background. Capital punishment cases were a staple. We talk about civil liberties, he said. We have the largest prison population per capita on Earth. The worlds greatest jailer is the freest country on Earth? (@ChaudhryMAli88) Russia on Monday celebrated the 60th anniversary of the legendary flight that made Yuri Gagarin the first man in space, a major source of national pride for millions of his countrymen Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :Russia on Monday celebrated the 60th anniversary of the legendary flight that made Yuri Gagarin the first man in space, a major source of national pride for millions of his countrymen. Russia's space industry has struggled in recent years and been hit by a series of mishaps, but the sending of the first human into space on April 12, 1961 remains a crowning achievement of the Soviet space programme. President Vladimir Putin was to travel Monday to the southern city of Engels on the banks of the Volga River, to the site of the cosmonaut's landing where a memorial stands to honour the historic flight. The day of Gagarin's flight is celebrated every year in Russia as Cosmonautics Day, and this year authorities are pulling out all the stops to mark the 60th anniversary, with museum exhibitions, round-the-clock television coverage and events across the country. For Moscow commuters, Monday morning started with a broadcast on the Metro of the original report by state news agency TASS about the launch, followed by Gagarin's legendary words -- "Poekhali!" (Let's go) -- as his Vostok spacecraft lifted off. In a message from the International Space Station, the four Russian cosmonauts on board saluted "all earthlings" and hailed their compatriot's accomplishment. "Gagarin's legendary 108-minute flight became an example of heroism for his successors, including us," said cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky. Vostok took off carrying the 27-year-old Gagarin from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, then part of the Soviet Union. The flight lasted just 108 minutes, the time it took to complete one loop around the Earth, before returning to home soil. The now-rusty Vostok capsule is on display at Moscow's Museum of Cosmonautics where a new exhibition dedicated to Gagarin is set to open on Tuesday. - 'Name that everyone knows' - Visitors will be shown documents, photos and personal belongings, some dating back to Gagarin's childhood and school years. "This is probably the only surname that everyone knows, from four-year-old children to people over 80," Vyacheslav Klimentov, a historian and the museum's deputy director of research, told AFP. "Gagarin's feat... bonds all Russians together." On Friday, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft honouring the anniversary of Gagarin's flight blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome to deliver two Russians and a US astronaut to the ISS. Gagarin's flight remains a symbol of the country's dominance in space during the Soviet era. Four years before Gagarin, the USSR had become the first country to send a satellite into orbit, called Sputnik. But the anniversary also comes at a difficult time for Russia's space industry, which has suffered a number of setbacks in recent years, from corruption scandals to lost spacecraft to an aborted take-off during a manned mission in 2018. Russia's ageing Soyuz rockets are reliable and allow Moscow to remain relevant in the modern space industry, but the country is struggling to innovate and keep up with other key players. In a major blow, Russia last year lost its monopoly for manned ISS launches after reusable rockets from Elon Musk's Space X, carrying NASA astronauts, successfully docked at the space station. In a video message released on Monday, the head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, stressed that the USSR sent a man into space despite having lost "colossal resources" during World War II. Rogozin has set a series of ambitious goals for Roscosmos in recent years, despite funding cuts to the space programme. He said Monday that Russia was "on the cusp of very important changes" that will see next-generation spacecraft and lunar missions. "We believe in our space, in Russian space," he said. The big news from the skies over the Easter holidays was middle seats were taken on some airliners. The TSA has also screened more than 1 million passengers a day for the past 30-plus days at airports. Does that mean there are blue skies ahead for the nations air travel industry, which has been battered by the coronavirus? There are signs of encouragement on the tarmac. As of Thursday, the TSA reported 34 days where they screened 1 million or more passengers since the start of 2021. Of those, there were 7 days where 1.5 million or more were checked at airports across the nation. Nepals last King Gyanendra Beer Vikram Shah Dev will be having Shahi Snan on April 12 at Mahakubh Mela in Haridwar on the occasion of Somavati Amavasya. Devotees from across the nation arrived in Haridwar to take the holy dip in Ganga at several Ghats in the city. Monday also marks the second Shahi Snan of Mahakumbh that has been organised in the city after at least 12 years. As per reports, all Sant Akhadas are participating in the Shahi Snan adhering to the time allotted by the administration. However, a large number of devotees thronged the banks of the river for the Kumbh Mela and violated COVID-19 restrictions especially when there is a surge of novel coronavirus infections. The huge mask-less crowd flocked to Har Ki Pauri ghat for Shahi Snan or royal bath, violating the safety guidelines issued by the Health Ministry. A negative RT-PCR test report taken 72 hours before arrival is mandatory for devotees gathering for the Kumbh. The visuals have triggered a row online, with many people asking whether it is prudent to have such a gathering with cases rising at an unprecedented rate. Kumbh Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal said, We are continuously appealing to people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour. But due to the huge crowd, it is practically not possible to issue challans today. It is very difficult to ensure social distancing at ghats before adding that a stampeded-like situation might arise if they would try to enforce the rules. Uttarakhand: People take a holy dip in Ganga river at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar. Kumbh Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal says, "General public will be allowed here till 7 am. After that, this area will be reserved for akharas". pic.twitter.com/9PtcP9WwwG ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2021 Over 350 CCTV cameras at Kumbh Mela For the first time ever, over 350 CCTV cameras have been installed at different locations in the Kumbh, with about 100 of these equipped with sensors that generate an alert when a person is captured without a mask. Further, it was said that the AI-equipped cameras can generate an alert when the crowd density increases in the sites that are prone to stampede. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the duration of Kumbh Mela has been curtailed to 30 days for the first time in the history of the grand religious congregation. This year the Kumbh is being organised from April 1 to 30. Generally, the celebration goes on for nearly four months once in 12 years. Image credits: AP/PTI Dubai National Insurance and Reinsurance (DNIR), a publicly listed company on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), announced the appointment of Abdulla Al Nuaimi as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective April 11, 2021. With more than 25 years of experience in the government and private sectors, Al Nuaimi holds an EMBA degree in Leadership & Business Management from Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was the Director of Operations and International Cooperation at Etihad Credit Insurance ECI. Prior to that, he served for nine years as the Executive Vice President Shared Services in Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company. Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Chairman of the Board at DNIR welcomed Al Nuaimi to his new role: We selected Abdullah Al Nuaimi to lead DNIR after careful deliberation and from a pool of highly qualified candidates, trusting that he will add great value to the business in these challenging times and lead its strategic development. With his vast proficiency, Al Nuaimi is the right candidate to achieve the goals set by the board for DNIR and protect shareholders interests. 2020 was a challenging year for the insurance industry, both in terms of growth expectations and business continuity, but weve navigated the challenges with determination and foresight. I trust that Abdullahs vision will help DNIR achieves new heights of success. Al Nuaimi said: I thank Al Habtoor and the Board for this opportunity and for their confidence in my skills to lead the company. I look forward to working closely with the Board, the team and the business partners and to steering the company towards further growth, profitability, and success by focusing on strategic opportunities. -- Tradearabia News Service HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Revolution will be Digitized April is Financial Literacy Month and Award-Winning Actor, Best-Selling Author and Former US Presidential appointee, Hill Harper announces the launch of The Black Wall Street (TBWS), as the first major step in closing the racial wealth gap in the United States. As the first Black- owned digital wallet and cryptocurrency exchange platform in the United States, Harper is positioned to build the world's largest investment and financial literacy curriculum and toolkit for Black and Latinx communities across the diaspora. May 2021, The Black Wall Street will embark on a monumental, 30-market financial literacy campaign and bus tour beginning in Los Angeles, California and culminating on Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the evening of May 31st, 2021 through June 1st during the very hours, 100 years ago when the mass destruction took place of what is still considered, the most successful Black economic community in the history of the United States. Importantly, the tour will visit thirty of the most disenfranchised communities in the US introducing financial literacy and cryptocurrency to individuals in these communities and gifting millions of Satoshis (fractile shares of Bitcoin). The Black Wall Street Bus Tour is the first of its kind, focusing on Bitcoin education and adoption within Black and Brown Communities. The Black Wall Street's Centennial Campaign Bus Tour May 31, 2021 marks the centennial of The Tulsa race-riot & massacre. The destruction took place from sun-fall on May 31st through June 1st, 1921. It has been called the single worst act of racial violence in American history. The Black Wall Street's campaign, Crypto-curriculum and DigitalWallet will be led by Harper in partnership with Najah Roberts, a world-leading cryptocurrency exchange expert. Together they will initiate "The Digital Financial Revolution" National Bus Tour, an information and empowerment-first initiative intended to honor the victims of the Tulsa Massacre by reclaiming and transforming this namesake into a momentous strive for racial and economic equality. The tour will host virtual and COVID-safe events in 30 of the most densely populated and economically-challenged communities across the US with the goal to educate about The Black Wall Street App & DigitalWallet - A movement to put their futures back-into-their-own-hands. Appointed by the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce as the Honorary National Co-Chair of The Redevelopment of Black Wall Street, Hill Harper's vision for The Black Wall Street DigitalWallet is deeply rooted in his commitment to addressing the digital divide and economically uplifting underserved communities by providing them with the tools and playbook to thrive in the palms of their hands. "Our technology seeks to replicate the brick and mortar Black Wall Street, as a digital ecosystem that will galvanize the financially excluded and directly stimulate the economic growth and spending in marginalized communities everywhere." -Hill Harper. The Black Wall Street - Black Cash Matters "With the Black Wall Street technology, we seek to make obsolete payday lenders and other financial predators plaguing our communities, while simultaneously creating cross generational wealth transfer, for people who have historically been taught to work for our wages instead of making our wages work for us...because Black Cash Matters." - Hill Harper. The Black Wall Street is home to The Black Wall Street DigitalWallet, the first of its kind, connecting "top-of-the-funnel" financial services with the populations these instruments were designed to service -- everyone from the disadvantaged "unbanked and under banked" to the savvy cost-efficient consumer. Unlike traditional financial institutions, The Black Wall Street's sole purpose is to provide Black and Brown communities the opportunity to be involved in the transfer of wealth with cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. Inspired by a vision of empowering underserved communities while bridging the racial wealth gap, Hill Harper, Najah Roberts and innumerable supporters are catalyzing these chaotic energies in preparation for a brighter financial future for generations to come. "To address an ecosystem of problems, a tech-based ecosystem of solutions is required. We are - and always have been - our own empowerment ecosystem. We're now creating the digitized and scalable version of the original Black Wall Street. This has always been for us and by us - it's time to reclaim that space. Just like anything it starts with education. Our measurement of impact is improved financial literacy in the Black & Latinx communities." - Najah Roberts. The Black Wall Street Technology and App - Summer 2021 Hill Harper has spent the past year working with Black developers to create The Black Wall Street into a groundbreaking Fintech app for the Black and Brown communities. Providing financial capacity is critical for our most challenged communities because as a new Pew Research Center Study found Blacks and Latinos use their smartphones to do their banking more than any other race or ethnicity. The Black Wall Street + COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the inequities of Black and Brown Americans that have long existed in healthcare, housing, mental and economic health. The institution of racism upholds the barriers preventing Black and Latinx Americans from accessing the resources needed for a decent way of life -- let alone saving or investing. This points to a widening wealth gap as both a cause and an effect of COVID- 19's disparate outcomes. About Hill Harpe r | @HillHarper Hill Harper is an entrepreneur, an award-winning actor, best-selling author, and humanitarian. Currently, Hill stars in ABC's #1 television drama, The Good Doctor, for its 4th season. He is the Founder & Chairman of The Black Wall Street Digital Wallet. Hill is also on the Board of Directors of the National Black Bank Fund and he has been named Honorary National Co-Chair of the Redevelopment of Black Wall Street by the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Hill was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the US President's Cancer Panel. Hill's passion for technology, financial literacy, and social & economic justice keeps him on the forefront and in demand as a speaker and business lead worldwide. Hill graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was named Valedictorian of his department. He then graduated cum laude with uris doctorate from Harvard Law School. He also holds a Master's in Public Administration, with honors, from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and holds seven honorary Doctoral degrees. Hill has authored four New York Times bestsellers: Letters to a Young Brother, Letters to a Young Sister, The Conversation, and his ground-breaking financial literacy book: The Wealth Cure aimed at curing the racial wealth gap. Letters to an Incarcerated Brother, Letters to a Young Brother won several awards and was named "Best Book for Young Adults" by the American Library Association. Additionally, Hill has been recognized with seven NAACP Image Awards. Hill is the founder of the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering underserved youth through mentorship, scholarships, and grant programs. About Najah Roberts | @NajahRoberts Najah Roberts is a pioneering tech entrepreneur, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, NFT expert and community activist. Najah is the Founder & CEO of Crypto Blockchain Plug, the first Black-owned cryptocurrency exchange, and only one of three brick and mortar digital cryptocurrency businesses in the United States. Najah holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration from Bethune-Cookman University and an MBA from Rochville University. She lectures and educates on economic empowerment, financial literacy and cryptocurrency across the globe, especially for communities of color. Najah founded Family Knots Express, a nonprofit in 2001 that advocates for incarcerated women with children. Najah is a native of Los Angeles, CA. The Black Wall Street Holdings, Inc. www.TheBlackWallStreet.Com Twitter/Instagram/Facebook: @BlackCashMatters SOURCE The Black Wall Street National Aviation Services (NAS), the leading airport services company in emerging markets, has partnered with the World Economic Forum to enhance safe air travel by using its KuwaitMosafer platform to share Kuwaits vaccine records with countries and airlines across the globe. The partnership will facilitate safer international air travel by using KuwaitMosafer to make vaccine certificates issued by the Kuwait Ministry of Health instantly accessible to airlines, airport authorities and governments via the Forums Common Trust Network. The Common Trust Network, launched by the Forum and the Commons Project Foundation, enables the safe, secure sharing of verifiable lab results and vaccination records to advance cross-border travel and commerce. Hassan El-Houry, Group CEO of NAS, said: Countries are keen to collaborate with us to revive passenger travel generally and to make it possible for high-spending Kuwaitis to safely resume business and leisure travel in greater numbers. Through platforms like KuwaitMosafer, we are focused on safer and simpler digital solutions that can aid both local and global recovery of travel. With multiple, interlinked technology solutions, Kuwait is considered a global leader in digital health tools that can be deployed at the airport. The Common Trust Networks partnership with KuwaitMosafer was fueled by Kuwaits efforts to restart global travel. Those efforts were highlighted in an article published by the Forum on its website. The article describes digital tools that NAS has developed to restore confidence and accelerate recovery in the air travel industry. With the Covid-19 vaccine certificate, passengers can travel reassured with complete data confidentiality and the ability to share their personal records as and where required, El-Houry said. The Common Trust Network is enabled by a global registry of trusted laboratory and vaccination data sources, standard formats for lab results and vaccination records, and standard tools to make those results and records digitally accessible. The Commons Project also introduced CommonPass, a globally interoperable app that allows travelers to document their Covid-19 status digitally for cross-border travel and share via a QR code. CommonPass is already deployed by Lufthansa on all flights from Germany to the US and by Jetblue on flights to Aruba. Japans Nippon Airways (ANA) and Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific are also currently piloting this technology. As leading player in the aviation industry, NAS is a key participant at regional and global discussions including the Forums Annual Meeting in Davos each year. NAS recently signed up to the Good Health Pass Collaborative, a cross-sector initiative to develop a blueprint for privacy-protected, user-controlled, globally interoperable, and universally accepted digital health pass systems. It is also in discussions with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to maximise integration and facilitate travel with the IATA Travel Pass that will allow storage and management of certifications for Covid-19 tests or vaccines. NAS introduced the Medical Utility Network Accreditor (MUNA), a patented blockchain technology that connects PCR testing labs in different countries and cities together to verify and authenticate certificates for cross-border travel. KuwaitMosafer and BelSalamah, another online platform developed by NAS for safe passage of travelers from high-risk countries to Kuwait, are both linked to the MUNA network. This makes it possible to share authenticated PCR test results generated from audited labs in over 40 cities. El-Houry said: The MUNA data in Kuwait shows promising results. All travellers arriving to Kuwait from high-risk countries are registered on KuwaitMosafer or BelSalamah and must get their PCR tests conducted at MUNA-authorized labs wherever available. We discovered that the number of positive cases entering the country were three times higher before MUNA was introduced. This suggests a significant reduction in infected cases entering the country with forged certificates or fake results. - TradeArabia News Service Click here to read the full article. Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney ripped Trump once again, saying the former president not only used language in the past that ultimately led to the attack on the Capitol but that he continues to do so to this day. On Sunday, Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Cheney about former Republican speaker John Boehner saying that January 6th was an example of political terrorism and how the events of that day should have been a wake-up call for the GOP. Boehner, the host said, doesnt understand why more Republicans dont speak up. Brennan then noted how Trump has threatened to back a primary challenge against Cheney and asked if speaking out against him was worth the risk. Cheney did not reply to Brennans question about how her vote to impeach Trump and speaking out against him affects her political career. Instead, she focused on what the former president was trying to accomplish when he incited the mob earlier this year. Look, January 6th was clearly an attack that was attempted to stop the counting of electoral votes, the congresswoman said. Cheney then spoke about the need for a commission to examine what happened on January 6th and was critical of House Speaker Nancy Pelosis failure to create one, calling Pelosis attempt partisan. Pelosi has proposed a bipartisan committee made up of four Republicans and seven Democrats to examine the events leading up to and on the day of the attack. Some Republicans want to expand the scope of the investigation to the racial unrest of last summer, which Democrats object to. Brennan then focused on the news that came from a speech Trump gave on Saturday night at Mar-a-Lago to donors. The host told Cheney that Trump bragged about the number of people who were at the insurrection, complained about former vice president Mike Pence not doing enough on January 6th to destroy democracy and then asked, Is he really the best messenger for the party? Cheney went right in on Trump, saying hes knowingly provoking more violence and that the party should reject him. The former president is using the same language that he knows provoked violence on January 6th. You know, as a party, we need to be focused on the future. We need to be focused on embracing the Constitution, not embracing insurrection, Cheney said. Cheney added that the judicial process was put into jeopardy on January 6th and, If you attack the judicial process and you attack the rule of law, you arent defending the Constitution. Youre at war with the Constitution. Cheney continued, I think its very important for people to realize that a fundamental part of the Constitutionand of who we are as Americansis the rule of law. Its the judicial process. The election wasnt stolen. There was a judicial process in place. If you attack the judicial process and you attack the rule of law, you arent defending the Constitution. Youre at war with the Constitution. She concluded, Weve got to be the party of hope, of aspiration, of inspiration. The party that recognizes and understands that, you know, that the taxes need to be low. The government needs to be limited in size, strong national defense, those substantive things, not the party insurrection. Photo: The Canadian Press Paris police are hunting for a gunman who opened fire Monday near a hospital in the wealthy 16th district of the French capital, killing one person and injuring another. Witnesses at the scene suggest it could be a case of tragic score-settling, while authorities have not made any links with terrorism. Paris police, who opened a murder inquiry Monday, said the shooter fired several shots before fleeing on a two-wheeled vehicle. Police had no other immediate details. Noura Berrahmouni, DSPAP Alliance, said the injured person, a woman, was a security agent for the hospital. It was so fast we suppose it was a score settling If not, we think there would be more victims, she said. The shooter wore a hood, fired several times, according to witnesses on BFM-TV. Giles Coren turned detective to track down his 65,000 eco-Jaguar that was stolen by 'gangster' joy riders. The TV presenter, 52, tweeted that he 'got his electric kitty cat back' after the police texted him its location in Highgate, north London, but didn't have the 'manpower to investigate'. In the thread, he posted pictures of his route to the Jaguar I-Pace, for which the tracker was disabled within three minutes of it being stolen on Friday night. While setting out to locate his car, Mr Coren posted: 'I suppose Im rather hoping the crims [criminals] themselves are not still in the vehicle?' The battery-electric crossover SUV had been left on the street for two days with 'no suspects present' and all officers on duty in the area at the time were 'assigned to ongoing incidents so unable to attend', said the Met Police. Giles Coren (pictured above), 52, turned detective to track down his 65,000 eco-Jaguar in Highgate, north London, that was stolen by 'gangster' joy riders The TV presenter tweeted that he 'got his electric kitty cat back' after the Met Police texted him its location but didn't have the 'manpower to investigate' The food critic began: 'Last night the c***s stole my new Jaguar I-Pace. So F*** them, f*** the environment and f*** any sort of giving a shit about cars. 'Im buying a six year old diesel f***ing Skoda and everyone can just f*** off.' He then shared a screenshot of his Jaguar tracker app which had notified him of a theft alert, captioning: 'This is the really useful Jaguar tracker app that tells you where your car is in all circumstances EXCEPT WHEN IT HAS BEEN STOLEN.' However, in a turn of events, he later wrote: 'Well now this is exciting. Had an SMS from the Met saying that my car has been spotted and giving me the address where it was last seen. 'They dont have the manpower to investigate themselves so Im heading off alone on foot to see if my car is there' Mr Coren then shared images while walking under a bridge and along a street before finally locating the vehicle. Mr Coren with his vehicle after tracking it down. Upon its discovery, he said the thieves had 'slung the seat back' into the 'gangster position', adding: 'I guess [they] just had a hell of a ride' Upon its discovery, he said the thieves had 'slung the seat back' into the 'gangster position', adding: 'I guess [they] just had a hell of a ride'. A spokesperson for the Met Police told MailOnline: 'We are aware of a series of posts on social media relating to a vehicle stolen on Friday, 9 April that has now been recovered. 'At around 14:00 on Sunday, 11 April, police received a call from a member of the public reporting a suspected abandoned vehicle on a street in Highgate, N6. 'Records showed the vehicle had been reported stolen. Three of Mr Coren's tweets, pictured above. All officers on duty in the area at the time were 'assigned to ongoing incidents so unable to attend', said the Met Police 'The vehicle had been at the location for two days and there were no suspects present. 'All officers on duty in the area at the time were assigned to ongoing incidents so were unable to attend. 'The registered keeper was contacted and informed that his vehicle had been located. 'He told police that he would make his way to the location and was encouraged to call back if, on arriving, he was concerned for his safety or became aware of anything suspicious. 'He attended the location without incident later the same afternoon and retook possession of his vehicle.' THE young pianist playing the first of this years series of Concerts in Caversham says he is looking forward to once again being able to have a true conversation with his listeners. Ariel Lanyis recital on Saturday, May 22, will be his first performance in front of a live audience since December. Currently a full scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the 23-year-old grew up in Jerusalem, where he began having piano lessons just before his fifth birthday. He made his orchestral debut at the age of seven and has since gone on to perform in London, Paris, Rome, Prague and Brussels. Ariels concerts are regularly broadcast live on Israeli radio and television and in 2017 he won first prize at the Dudley International Piano Competition. On Wednesday this week he played two online concerts on the same day, one for the Vancouver Recital Society and another for an audience at Kings Place, London. The latter programme included Brahmss Eight Pieces, one of three works he will bringing to St Andrews Church in Albert Road next month. The other two are Mozarts G major sonata, K283, and Book III of Albenizs Iberia. Ariel says: These have all been records that Ive been learning for the past year, since the start of covid. So these are the pieces Ive been wanting to play for a long while. When everything was put off and I was back home in Israel, I decided, Okay, its about time that I get started on learning them. And, yes, it has been quite an emotional rollercoaster with these pieces, constantly thinking I was about to perform them live and then it gets called off. But Im eagerly looking forward to presenting these three new works new for me together on stage. So that is definitely a very special occasion. Something else that will make the occasion special for Ariel will be the presence of a live audience of human beings, however socially distanced. Absolutely it has an effect, he says. Having an audience in front of you, you see who you have to play for and know exactly whos listening to you. Whereas in a stream its basically up to you to guess who is actually listening. Of course you know that some people are but nothing can replace that feeling of really having a true conversation with the audience. Another way in which Ariel communicates is via his blog. In one entry he discusses Mozarts G major sonata, which he will play in Caversham, highlighting its subtle drama of emotion and intellect. Many people have asked whether music should be treated as an intellectual or an emotional experience but Areil rejects the distinction. Theyre really just two sides of the same idea, he says. To put it succinctly, Id say the emotion is the what and the intellectual is the why. So, you know, the emotional aspect is just somebody in the audience during a very touching moment saying, Oh, wow, look how much I love Mozart. And then the intellectual aspect just tries to answer, why is it? What does Mozart do in order to make us feel this way? Ariels conversation with music began at a tender age. I think I was about 45 minutes old when my dad played a tape recording of Glenn Gould playing Bachs The Well-Tempered Clavier, he smiles. Despite this relatively early introduction to the world of classical music, he insists he was in no way hothoused. My parents are music lovers but Im the only musician in the house, he says. We had a piano at home, so it all happened very naturally. There wasnt an official start to it. I was always playing around with the piano and then at some point I just started taking proper lessons. But there wasnt a plan. After graduating later this year, following six years in London, Ariel hopes to make his living as an international concert pianist. Ive got actually quite a lot of stuff postponed, he says. So hopefully by the time it restarts it will be under normal conditions. Tickets for Mays concert cost 20 and 18 for adults and 15 for ages 16 to 25, with under-16s free. For more information, visit www.concertsincaversham.co.uk Tom Congdon, the chairman of Mr. Cuomos Indian Point Task Force, said those new renewable sources, including more than 2,000 megawatts of solar power, would eventually get the state on track toward its goals. Once the large-scale renewable and offshore wind farms are complete, more than half of New Yorks electricity will come from renewable sources, putting the state ahead of schedule toward reaching its goal of 70 percent renewable energy by 2030, Mr. Congdon said. But those projects will take years to complete. In the meantime, the state may have to turn to gas-burning plants to meet more than half of its energy needs, as it did last summer. Federal data show that in July the share of the states electricity that was generated by gas-fired plants spiked to about 55 percent. Mr. Seneviratne said it was inevitable that New York City would draw even more power this year from gas-fired generators after Indian Point closes. On the hottest summer days, when millions of air-conditioners are turned on, gas-burning plants would need to increase their output by as much as one-third, spewing tons of additional carbon dioxide into the air, Nuclear New York had concluded. Power generated by giant wind turbines is a growing source of electricity in New York, but most of the states wind farms are so far from New York City that the energy they produce does not reach the downstate grid the metropolitan area relies on. Still, the shutdown of Indian Point will not harm the reliability of the states power grid, said Richard J. Dewey, chief executive of the New York Independent System Operator, which manages the power grid. Unlike the grid in Texas that failed catastrophically in February, New Yorks grid has backstops, including connections to neighboring states and a network of generators that can switch to burning oil if there is a shortage of natural gas. The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has shot down claims that elections in Ghana are won through money and gifts to party delegates and voters. According to Mr Ayariga, It is just a myth, resources as in using money to buy the conscience of voters has never been true. It is a myth. He made this known when he appeared on GhToday on GHOne TV on Monday, April 12, 2021, while campaigning for younger persons to attempt flagbearership positions in their various parties without intimidation from "old names" in the political scene. Young people across the country have the energy, the capacity and now, the technology exists. Someone can win the presidency without putting up a single billboard today because of social media. You can just design a social media billboard, If the young people are excited about it, it will catch fire and by the next morning, every young person would have seen it without that candidate really spending lots of money, it just takes young people in alliance across the country determined that they want a change. I can assure you that those billboards out there are not done by the candidates themselves people make them and put it out there. When people are convinced by the candidate, they will put in the efforts if they are committed. Trust me, the flagbearers dont have those resources to fund all those activities. If the delegates feel strongly about a particular person, you can bring the whole world to come share with them, they will take it and still vote for the person they know will be the best option for the party, he asserted. Mr Ayariga has therefore called on young people with presidential ambitions to take the bold step adding that their good deeds will follow them as delegates will reward them by voting in their favour even in cases where they are competing with a candidate who has a financial advantage. They (delegates) are on the ground and they know whats best for the party. The issue of resources helps but it is a myth. Any young person in this country should be intimated by the question of resource if they are confident of offering leadership I dont want the older generation to bully us, said Mr Ayariga. However, Ghanas former Attorney General, Ayikoi Otoo, also mentioned that some delegates are easy to have a change of mind when influenced by something during elections. At the end of the day, it is the delegates that will have to take the decision. Things can change rapidly getting to the time of elections, things will be thrown out there. That somehow resonates with the delegates and before you say jack, theyve changed their mind. They might be going for an individual and then 'something' is thrown out there just about a week and before you see, everything has changed to the other side, said the former Attorney General. Source: ghanaweb.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 Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The global functional shots market size is expected to reach USD 1.0 billion by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 13.4% from 2020 to 2027. The increasing demand for elevated wellness in order to improve immunity, digestion, brainpower, energy, and youth has led to the growth in demand for functional shots. In addition, the handy packaging of these products offers the convenience of use, thus contributing to the faster adoption of the product. Companies have been innovating branding strategies to create wider penetration among consumers. In January 2019, Ginger Shots, Inc. rebranded itself as Tulua. The rebranding is focused on establishing an image of a functional superfood shots company. The company made this strategic move after it decided to actively expand itself beyond its initial product line Ginger Shots. It recently introduced two new products, namely Probiotic Shots and Vitality Shots. The company claims that these products are free from preservatives and additives. Along with this, these are certified to be organic and kosher. Furthermore, the company asserts that its products are made with the highest quality ingredients and are High Pressure Processed (HPP) to maintain nutrients. Along with that, the brand has redesigned its packaging, which now offers greater visibility of the contents. The bottle comes along with an easy-to-open cap. Its high-impact label design highlights the key product features and benefits. Browse Details of Report @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/functional-shot-market The company claims that the probiotic contains one billion CFU of a premium probiotic, along with cold-pressed functional ingredients. It is available in four flavors: apple cinnamon, blueberry lemon, tart cherry, and turmeric. The Vitality Shot is available in two flavors: turmeric ginger and apple cider vinegar. These products are being sold through natural, conventional, and mass-market retailers, along with selected corporate dining facilities, airports, and online e-commerce retailers spread across the U.S. Functional Shots Market Report Highlights By product, energy shots held the largest revenue share of more than 40.0% in 2019. This is attributed to the large number of product launches leading to wider penetration among consumers The immunity product segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 14.2% from 2020 to 2027. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn consumers attention towards immunity across the world, thus leading to the massive demand for these products The online distribution channel segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 14.7% from 2020 to 2027 in light of the increasing importance of such channels to provide extra-convenience features to the buyers while shopping Asia Pacific is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR of 14.7% from 2020 to 2027. The large millennial population, increasing household income, and growing awareness regarding physical wellness in countries, including China, Japan, and India, are expected to drive the market in the region. Study: "The Infrastructure of Social Control: A Multi-Level Counterfactual Analysis of Surveillance, Punishment, Achievement, and Persistence" Authors: Odis Johnson (Johns Hopkins University), Jason F. Jabbari (Washington University in St. Louis) This study will be presented today at the AERA 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting. Session: The School-to-Prison and Prison-to-School Pipelines: Studies of the Nexus of Schooling and the Justice System Date/Time: Sunday, April 11, 10:40 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. ET Main Findings: After controlling for levels of school social disorder and student misbehavior, students attending high-surveillance high schools are more likely to be subjected to in-school suspension than those at low-surveillance schools, have lower math achievement, and are less likely to attend college. Black students are four times more likely to attend a high versus low-surveillance school. Details: In response to decades of mass shootings, policymakers have increased surveillance measures in schools in an effort to ensure more safe learning environments. These can include detection mechanisms (e.g., metal detectors and drug sniffing dogs), security personnel (e.g., school resource officers), visual monitors (e.g., security cameras), and restrictions on cultural expressions (e.g., strict dress codes) Recent research has suggested that these measures have not necessarily made schools safer. Rather, instead of being used to thwart the uncommon school shooting, these surveillance measures may increase the capacity for schools to identify and punish students for more common and less-serious offenses. This study examined the relationship between high-surveillance schools and in-school suspensions for minor offenses, math achievement, and college attendance. In-school suspensions keep students in school but isolate them from the rest of the student population. The authors used data from the U.S. Department of Education's Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine outcomes on approximately 6,000 students across the country. The authors found that students who attend high-surveillance schools are more likely to be poor, Black, come from a single parent home, and to have previously repeated a grade. These students are also more likely to attend schools in an urban area with higher perceptions of crime and lower perceptions of safety. After controlling for levels of school social disorder and student misbehavior, students attending high-surveillance schools were more likely to be subjected to in-school suspension than those at low-surveillance schools. The authors found that attending a high-surveillance school also significantly decreases 12th grade math test scores and decreases college attendance, with higher rates of suspensions partially explaining the relationships. "High-surveillance schools create the capacity for high-suspension schools to exist," said Odis Johnson, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and executive director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Safe and Healthy Schools. "Greater detection leads to greater punishment, regardless of the students who attend these schools, which ultimately decreases academic achievement and college enrollment." "When considering the costs of these apparatuses of surveillance, efforts should be made to make schools feel less like prisons," Johnson said. "Not only are these measures not the reasons why schools are safer today than they were in the past, but they may be placing more students on the discipline track and fewer students on the STEM track, and reducing the college enrollment of minoritized students. In schools that are unable to remove surveillance mechanisms, efforts should be made to both reduce suspensions and improve math achievement." "We argue that if we were able reform schools to lessen the influence of social control through surveillance, disproportionate suspensions, and their impacts on math test scores, young Black adolescents of both genders, would be more likely to enter college," said Johnson. To request a copy of the working paper, or to talk to study authors, please contact AERA Communications: Tony Pals, Director of Communications, tpals@aera.net, cell: (202) 288-9333; Tong Wu, Communications Associate, twu@aera.net, cell: (202) 957-3802 ### About AERA The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Art Gallery of NSW is facing a multimillion-dollar funding cut that would hit its programs, staff and shows as it prepares to open the doors of its new home for contemporary art, Sydney Modern. NSW Treasury proposes cutting $9 million annually from the gallerys budget from June, according to budget forecasts outlined by Arts Minister Don Harwin in answer to Opposition questions in Budget Estimates. The cut would be a major blow to the gallerys daily operations and could affect planning for exhibitions, staff budgets and programs at the same time as it almost doubles its exhibition space with the construction of Sydney Modern due to finish in 2022. As it stands, the Art Gallery of NSW would have no extra money in its operations budget to plan for Sydney Modern unless additional grant money comes through. How to Counter the CCPs Economic Coercion Commentary The H&M boycott instigated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) caught the worlds attention, but it was only one of the many instruments of economic coercion. In fact, the global economic damage caused by the CCPs rapid rise as the worlds second largest economy has long been seriously underestimatedwhether consciously or unconsciously. How to effectively deal with the CCPs economic coercion has already become a great challenge for the world. This is a big topic, but I will only discuss two aspects of the issue. Understanding the CCPs Nature First, an accurate and in-depth understanding of the CCP regimes characteristics based on universal values is needed. It is well known that behind any judgment we make, we apply a value system. The Chinese economy is different in nature than those of the United States and the West or even the other developing countries. The disparity is reflected in Chinas abnormal economic and political systems, which the international community has long ignored. More and more people began to realize the seriousness of the problem when China claimed that it is a developing country in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Why is the Chinese economy different from foreign economies? The difference stems from the ideology of the CCP. In 2013, an internal CCP document circulated online with regards to the seven topics to avoid: universal values, freedom of the press, civil society, civil rights, the aristocracy and bourgeoisie, judicial independence, and the CCPs past mistakes. In fact, this mandate is directly related to Chinas economic operation and its order. The extent and nature of the CCPs control over the Chinese economy is far beyond the grasp of Western society. (From L to R) U.S. President Donald Trump, Japans PM Shinzo Abe, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo, and Australias PM Scott Morrison attend a meeting on the digital economy at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Jacques Witt/AFP via Getty Images) Due to its unique ideology, economics is only one way the CCP achieves its ultimate goal. The CCP has already weaponized the economy. As anyone can see, the CCP often engages in activities that harm others; yet are not good for itself either. For example, its current economic sanctions on Australia. Such an approach would be unthinkable for a normal country, but is the norm for the CCP. Therefore, policy analysis will often fail to understand the major foreign economic policies of the CCP because it doesnt take the CCPs ideology into consideration. In short, the international community must adhere to universal values when countering the economic coercion of the CCP, because universal values not only constitute the moral basis for the normal operation of the economy, but are also the ideological nemesis of the CCP. Abandoning universal values will only lead oneself to degrade in the same manner as the CCP, and be unable to escape its clutches in the end. The world has long been a global village. In dealing with the CCP, only the principles of fairness and reciprocity and the approach of distrust and verify proposed by the Trump administration can effectively avoid being exploited by it. Countering the CCPs Threat At the recent high-level talks between China and the United States in Alaska, Yang Jiechi, the top diplomat of the CCP, openly challenged the U.S.-led international order, which was established after World War II. The United States and the West should use all levels of government and society such as the private sector and academia to counter the CCP. One big challenge is to address the CCPs exploitation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its loopholes. The international community must make a major breakthrough in this regard; otherwise the CCP will either divide and disintegrate its opponents or shamelessly stall for time. This is the time to get tough on China and their behavior in the global trading system, but also modernize the WTO. In many ways its stuck in the 1990s, said Liz Truss, the British international trade secretary who chaired a meeting of G7 trade ministers on March 31. Truss also noted, Fundamentally, our like-minded democracies need to win the battle for the soul of global trade. Regional economic integration is another focus. The United States and the West should push the non-market country clause, Article 32.10 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) signed in 2018, which stipulates that if any member of the Agreement reaches a free-trade agreement with a non-market economy, the other members can withdraw after six months and set up their own bilateral trade pacts. This clause is undoubtedly targeting China, isolating the communist country in the global trade pattern. The deformed national economic system, structure, and policy of the CCP should be considered an important issue in bilateral negotiations to resolutely counter its economic coercion. Trade and economic relations are interdependent. The CCP always takes advantage of this dependence in its economic coercion to achieve political purposes, even when it relies on its rival economically. Such a practice should never be tolerated. In addition, the CCP is also good at economic infiltration and technological theft. There must be corresponding countermeasures for these activities, such as enhanced national security review of major economic activities related to China, anti-theft and intellectual property protection. In this regard, the U.S.-China trade war and negotiations initiated by the Trump administration have set a successful precedent. The so-called China model, a state-controlled market that violates the principles of a free, law-based market economy, is a major danger to the world economy. For instance, the CCPs Made in China 2025 plan has sparked widespread opposition. On March 31, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a 570-page 2021 National Trade Estimate Report, which included more than 30 pages on China. Chinas state-led approach to the economy and trade makes it the worlds leading offender in creating non-economic capacity, as evidenced by the severe and persistent excess capacity situations in several industries, including steel, aluminum, and solar, among others, USTR said in a statement. A recent meeting of G7 trade ministers also issued a joint statement against harmful industrial subsidiesa reference to the CCP. Employees work on an automobile air conditioning production line at a factory in Yantai in Chinas eastern Shandong Province on May 15, 2019. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) It is important to improve the international standards of products as the basis of a global unified market. That is to say, in addition to quality standards, product standards must also incorporate environmental and human rights standards to support sustainable economic development, social justice, and harmony. Its important to make it clear to the CCP that it must adhere to international product standards if it wants to avoid decoupling. For instance, the latest H&M boycott, also known as the Xinjiang cotton ban, was prompted by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and other international brands campaigns against large-scale human rights abuses in Xinjiang. It is also crucial to strengthen export control over strategic science and technology, dual-use technologies, military weapons and equipment, and strategic materials. In 1949, the United States led the establishment of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom), an informal international organization that imposes embargoes and trade restrictions on socialist regimes. The Committee was not open to the outside world and had no treaties. Following the end of the Cold War, the dissolution of CoCom was officially announced on March 31, 1994. The list of prohibited items it formulated was subsequently adopted by the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies signed by 33 states on May 12, 1996. However, the Wassenaar Arrangement, formally established in July 1996, is a very loose organization. The 42 member states can decide on their own measures and ways to implement export control by referring to the common control principles and lists, and approve their own export licenses. This freedom was exploited by the CCP. In 2018, the CCPs Science and Technology Daily made an inventory of 35 underdeveloped key technologies and a list of more than 60 core technologies not yet under its control, indicating that the CCP is lagging behind in a number of technological and industrial fields. Therefore, it is high time to fix those loopholes to prevent the CCP from stealing technology. When foreign companies in China are infringed or bullied by the CCP, their home countries should actively help them. For instance, when the CCP provides huge subsidies to some industries and companies, an international company in the same industry would be outcompeted. The solar energy industry is another example. Chinese companies have basically crushed European and American companies. There is no doubt that Chinese companies have worked hard and made good progress, but the support of the CCP is absolutely essential to their success. To give another example, Huaweis position in 5G and the international telecommunications equipment industry today is not without the explicit and implicit support of the CCP regime. In addition to unfair competition through subsidies, forced technology transfer and cyber theft are also serious issues faced by companies that do business with China. In these cases, it is difficult for a single enterprise to compete with the CCP. It must have the support of the home country. The need for support from home countries goes far beyond the traditional anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures to resolve trade conflicts. It requires home countries to develop a unified policy toward the CCP, in the same way that the United States fought the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Conclusion China expert Cheng Xiaonong points out that since the beginning of economic globalization in the 1970s, China became the worlds factory under the autocracy of the CCP, which has a global ambition. As a result, economic globalization fell into the trap of the CCP, which uses economic globalization as a tool to control other countries politically and economically. The United States and the international community must pay attention to this problem. They need to strategically curb the CCPs manipulation of economic globalization. It will then be hard for the CCPs economic coercion to have any effect. Wang He has masters degrees in law and history, with a focus on the international communist movement. He was a university lecturer and an executive of a large private company in China. He was imprisoned in China twice for his beliefs. Wang lives in North America now and has published commentaries on Chinas current affairs and politics since 2017. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. ADVERTISEMENT The police in Osun say they have arrested four persons with guns at the venue of the South-West Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Zonal Congress in Osogbo. The Commands Spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, told journalists that the suspects were arrested Sunday evening with two loaded pump action rifles. Ms Opalola said the suspects were undergoing investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Osogbo. She also added that two suspected cult members, who were part of a gang disrupting the peace of the state and had been on police wanted list, were arrested on Sunday. The commands spokesperson said the arrested cult members were part of those that caused mayhem in the state some weeks ago when two rival cult members were killed in bloody supremacy battle in Osogbo. Ms Opalola said the suspects would soon be charged to court upon conclusion of investigation. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PDP South-West Congress earlier scheduled for April 10 in Ibadan, was shifted to April 12, in Osun, by the partys National Working Committee. (NAN) A modernist home by renowned Melbourne architect Robin Boyd could receive heritage protection months after it was listed for sale and advertised as a redevelopment opportunity. The 1948-49 home on Tannock Street in Balwyn North, in the citys east, is an early example of Boyds influential work and remains intact after two sympathetic extensions he designed for the owners in 1959 and 1971. The Tannock Street home designed by Robin Boyd in 1949. Credit:Joe Armao Boroondara Council on Monday night voted to push ahead with plans to have the home permanently protected as a site of local individual significance. The home was the subject of a local campaign last year after it was listed for sale as a redevelopment opportunity, prompting thousands of people to sign an online petition seeking temporary protection. The house, which sits on a 1255-square-metre double block, sold in 2018 for $3.085 million with a listing which also spoke of the sites redevelopment potential. Advertisement The Queen's dressmaker who was allegedly embroiled in a row with Harry over Meghan's wedding tiara has been spotted on a Royal estate ahead of Prince Philip's funeral next week. Long-standing confidante Angela Kelly was seen speaking on the phone while unloading items from a car in Windsor, where the Monarch is carrying out two weeks of mourning. Miss Kelly's appearance comes as the Royal family plan a funeral for Prince Philip, who died at the Berkshire residence on Friday just two months before his 100th birthday. Just 30 people - expected to be the duke's children, grandchildren and other close family - will attend the ceremony while wearing face masks and socially distancing due to Covid-19 restrictions. While the official guest list has not been confirmed, Prince Harry flew into London's Heathrow Airport at 1.15pm yesterday - without his heavily-pregnant wife Meghan Markle. Miss Kelly was famously accused of being part of a row with Prince Harry over which tiara Meghan would wear when the couple wed. The row allegedly resulted in Prince Harry raising his voice at the Queen when he called her and said: 'I don't know what the hell is going on. This woman needs to make this work for my future wife.' Long-standing confidante Angela Kelly was seen speaking on the phone while unloading items from a car in Windsor, where the Monarch is carrying out two weeks of mourning The Queen and three-times-divorced Miss Kelly (pictured together) - a Roman Catholic crane driver's daughter from Liverpool - have spent the past 20 years forging an intriguingly close relationship A source stringently denied that Harry yelled at his grandmother but made no mention of Miss Kelly in their rebuttal. The Queen and three-times-divorced Miss Kelly - a Roman Catholic crane driver's daughter from Liverpool - have spent the past 20 years forging an intriguingly close relationship. The dresser's influence now extends to the younger Royals - with Prince George christened in a lengthy robe made by Miss Kelly, who learnt sewing from her mother and aunt. It was a replica of the original Honiton lace and white satin christening robe designed for Queen Victoria's eldest daughter in 1841, which has since been worn by almost every member of the Royal Family but has now become too delicate to use. She is so close to the Monarch that she has written two books with the Queen's approval 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 Majesty's 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. Prince Philip died at the Berkshire residence on Friday just two months before his 100th birthday Miss Kelly (pictured in Windsor) is one of four loyal, discreet and 'utterly trustworthy' women of the Queen's inner circle who are offering crucial support as she faces life without her beloved Philip 'We talk about clothes, make-up and jewellery. We are two typical women.' She is one of four loyal, discreet and 'utterly trustworthy' women of the Queen's 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 Countess of Wessex and the Queen's childhood friend Lady Pamela Hicks. Prince Harry yesterday flew into London's Heathrow Airport ahead of the funeral on his first visit to Britain since quitting royal duties and the couple's bombshell Oprah interview. The Duke of Sussex was reportedly seen leaving his 11million California mansion on Saturday night in a black Cadillac Escalade to board an early-hours flight from LA, and disembarking a BA plane in chinos, a jacket and black face mask at the west London airport around 10 hours later at 1.15pm GMT yesterday. The Queen's car is seen arriving at Windsor Castle after walking her dogs at Frogmore. Along with the rest of the Royal family, she is observing a two-week mourning period The Queen has described the loss of the Duke of Edinburgh (pictured with the Queen in 2007) as 'having left a huge void in her life', according to Prince Andrew Sophie (right) also joined her husband Prince Edward (left) and daughter Lady Louise Windsor (centre) to speak to the media outside the chapel Harry was met by security off the plane and put into a black Range Rover, before he was reportedly driven to Kensington Palace. The Sun has claimed he is quarantining at the Christopher Wren-designed Nottingham Cottage, where Harry proposed to Meghan Markle in 2017. It is just a few yards from the apartment where his brother William lives with his family. The Duke of Cambridge, who is likely to be at home, was said to be 'very upset' and 'reeling' over claims the Sussexes made in their Oprah interview, especially claims that the Royal Family is racist. Experts say their grandfather's funeral could be the 'ideal opportunity' for William and Harry to heal their rift. The Sunday Times has claimed that he will stay at Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, so he can be close to his grandmother. Sophie, Countess of Wessex (right), has described Prince Philip's death as 'so gentle,' saying 'it's just like someone took him by the hand and off he went.' Sophie was among those attending a Sunday service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with Prince Philip at Church of St Mary Magdalene on December 25, 2017 in King's Lynn After Megxit, Frogmore was handed to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, who had their first child in February, but they are understood to split their time between the cottage and Kensington Palace. Both Buckingham Palace and Harry's LA aides declined to comment on the Duke of Sussex's location when approached by MailOnline. Harry can leave quarantine after five days rather than 10 if he provides a negative coronavirus test under the Government's Test to Release scheme. However, he will be allowed to attend Philip's funeral regardless, as official guidelines state those coming in from abroad can leave isolation 'on compassionate grounds'. Sources close to the couple said former Suits actress Meghan wanted to join Harry but was advised against travelling by her physician because she is around six months pregnant with their second child - a daughter, due this summer. The Royal Family has ordered a truce over the contents of the bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey to focus on honouring and mourning Philip, who died at the Berkshire residence on Friday just two months before his 100th birthday. Bouquets pile up at the Norwich Gates of Sandringham, where the Duke of Edinburgh spent much of his retirement before the pandemic Windsor Castle Wardens stoically stand guard outside the castle as rain begins to fall during a period of eight days of mourning for the Queen and the Royal Family Harry and Meghan were criticised for accusing the royal family of racism during the CBS special, broadcast by ITV in the UK while Philip was in hospital receiving treatment for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition. Sources say the duke was brief about the content of the interview after he left hospital. In a short tribute to Philip, the Sussexes wrote on their Archewell organisation website: In loving memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, 1921-2021. Thank you for your service... you will be greatly missed.' He was last pictured with Philip in May 2019, when they were seen posing for a photograph with baby Archie at Buckingham Palace. Harry's return to the UK ahead of Saturday's funeral will be his first since March 2020 when he moved to Canada, and will be the first opportunity to reunite with Prince William and his father Prince Charles, who is said to be 'looking forward' to a reunion with his son. Philip's ceremonial royal funeral will take place on April 17, and a national minute's silence will be observed as it begins at 3pm. The duke will be carried on a specially-modified Land Rover he helped design which Army engineers reportedly prepared after he was admitted to hospital in February. Just 30 people, expected to be the duke's children, grandchildren and other close family, will attend his funeral while wearing face masks and socially distancing, due to Covid-19 restrictions. Harry will walk behind the coffin alongside his brother Prince William and the rest of his family at Saturday's funeral at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. He will not wear his military uniform after being stripped of his official honorary titles honours, and instead will wear a suit along with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. On April 5, the Cambodian leader also sent a letter of congratulations to PM Chinh. During the phone talks, PM Hun Sen highly valued Vietnams enormous achievements in the recent past, voicing his belief that under the leadership of PM Chinh, the Vietnamese Government and people will reap more successes in national reform and development and unceasingly promote the countrys role and stature in the region and the world. Thanking his Cambodian counterpart for the congratulations, PM Chinh affirmed the wish to work closely with PM Hun Sen so as to continue sustainably and effectively developing the sound neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and the two governments. He said he believes that the Cambodian Government and people, under the clear-sighted leadership of Hun Sen, will contain the COVID-19 outbreak soon and obtain new achievements. He also agreed to assign the countries ministers of health to share experience in COVID-19 prevention and control. The two PMs noted with satisfaction their countries sustaining cooperation amid the pandemic, maintaining phone talks and teleconferences at all levels, and effectively bringing into play bilateral cooperation mechanisms. They agreed to coordinate to effectively implement the agreements between Vietnamese and Cambodian leaders, strengthen ties in defence and security, improve the effectiveness of borderline management, prevent the spread of diseases, and ensure the smooth flow of goods through border gates. Both sides also concurred in keeping close coordination at multilateral forums and joining other member nations to maintain the solidarity and promote the centrality of ASEAN. PM Chinh thanked Cambodia for supporting Vietnam to successfully serve as Chair of ASEAN in 2020, while affirming Vietnams support for Cambodia to successfully organise the 7th Greater Mekong Sub-region Summit and the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in 2021. During the talks, the leaders exchanged the invitation to visit each others nations. PM Chinh also took this occasion to extend greetings to the Cambodian leaders and people on their traditional New Year festival. Chantel Giacalone and her family are finally getting justice. The model and actress went into anaphylactic shock after eating a pretzel with peanut butter on it, resulting in brain damage. Now, the Las Vegas jury ruled that Giacalone and her family will be awarded $29.5 million. After the verdict was announced, her dad Jack Giacalone said, "At least my daughter will be taken care of. I'm happy about that." "All the anguish that we've been through for the last eight years, I'm not happy about." He also claimed to have told his daughter before attending the trial that the truth will be coming out, which made her cry. The money from the lawsuit will also be used to build a more conducive house to Giacalone's needs. What Happened to Chantel Giacalone? Chantel Giacalone, who was 27 years old at the time, was in Las Vegas for a modeling gig in 2013 when she endured the shock triggered by a severe allergic reaction after consuming a peanut butter-infused pretzel. In 2017, Paris Hilton also urged her millions of followers to donate and help Giacalone as she was in coma. Her parents have also provided 24-hour care for their daughter, who currently lives in their dining room. She is reportedly fed through a tube and communicates only by blinking. According to the Las Vegas Journal-Review, Giacalone is expected to live for 20 more years. READ ALSO: Black Rob Illness: GoFundMe Donations Pour as Rapper Reveals More Shocking Condition Chantel Giacalone Trials According to her attorney, the ambulance team on the scene wasn't equipped with IV epinephrine, a requirement by the Southern Nevada Health District. The MedicWEst Ambulance team didn't admit any wrongdoing as their paramedics were supplied with intramuscular epinephrine. However, an IV is required for severe reactions like the model experienced. Attorney Christian Morris further argued that the drug only cost $2.42, but the lawsuit sought about $60 million in damages for Giacalone's medical expenses and their family's emotional suffering. Morris told the court, "Every minute of Chantel's life has been inextricably altered." "Every single minute since she walked into that medic room to a company that chose profits over patient care." Per the ambulance team's legal team, the patient reportedly never lost consciousness while being treated by their crew. They even argued that her condition was inevitable based on her reaction after consuming peanut butter. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Giacalone's dad Jack traveled back and forth from their home in Detroit to attend the three-week civil trial in Las Vegas. Chantel Giacalone Movies Before the accident, Chantel Giacalone lived in Los Angeles and appeared in movies such as "Adam" and "The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations" and the web series "Hollow Walls." READ MORE: Kanye West's Life Amid Divorce: What's Going to Happen to Sunday Service? See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles 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. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a joint declaration in which they agreed to coordinate joint steps to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine, de-occupation of Crimea and the temporarily uncontrolled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the website of the head of state reported. "The parties decided to reaffirm their unconditional support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, as well as continue to coordinate steps aimed at restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine, in particular on the de-occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the press service of the president informs. In this context, the parties decided to continue to support cooperation within the framework of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) and to provide it with maximum support. In addition, the document notes support for the creation of the Crimean Platform as a new format for resolving the issue of the illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The parties agreed to coordinate efforts in accordance with international law to ensure the protection of human rights in the occupied Crimea and the release of all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine, including Crimean Tatars, as well as to support a peaceful settlement of the situation in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine through dialogue based on the Minsk agreements. Also, in accordance with the document, support was expressed for the prospect of Ukraine's membership in NATO, in particular, Ukraine's intentions to receive an Action Plan on membership in the near future. Following the meeting of the Strategic Council, the parties decided to intensify joint efforts in order to deepen cooperation and coordination between the parties in the field of economy, trade, tourism, security, defense industry, science, education and youth. The document also noted the need for cooperation in the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, the elimination of transnational organized crime, illegal migration, trafficking in drugs, weapons and people. In addition, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate and coordinate efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and overcome its consequences. A new mother has left a thoughtful note with a box of chocolates and earplugs in front of her neighbour's doorstep on behalf of her six-week-old baby. The neighbour received the gift at her Sydney apartment from the new parents after they recently welcomed their newborn, known fondly as 'Peanut'. The apologetic letter explained that neighbours might hear crying so the baby wanted to warn them in advance for any disturbance. A new mother has left a thoughtful note in front of her neighbour's doorstep on behalf of her six-week-old baby. The letter explained that neighbours might hear crying so the baby wanted to apologise in advance for any disturbance 'Dear neighbour... I am six weeks old. I live with my mum and dad who call me Peanut. I'm a very happy baby and love to play, but I get very cranky very fast when I'm hungry (after all who doesn't?)' the note read. 'Please have some chocolate on me, I'm really sorry if I wake you up at night - see you around. Yours sincerely.' The neighbour shared the kind note with gifts on social media, describing the parents as 'the sweetest'. 'The baby is an angel and we have barely heard anything,' she explained. The thoughtful note came a box of chocolates and earplugs in case the baby cries In response to the thoughtful gesture, the woman said she wanted to 'reciprocate' but she was unsure of what to get for the family. Dozens responded to her post, with one woman saying: 'This is the cutest. Maybe get them some flowers for mum and dad to say "congrats".' 'I would give them a "Thank You" note, congratulate them and give my number to reach out if they need assistance,' one wrote. Others suggested getting a food or coffee voucher or even a home cooked meal. 'Maybe a coffee voucher for a local cafe? For peanut to give to their mum and dad to help with those nightly wake-ups. Or a nice coffee thermo,' another said. 'A home cooked meal to their doorstep,' one woman wrote, while another added: 'Make lasagne, everyone loves lasagne.' Quarantine workers will have to get the Pfizer jab or be refused work under a mandatory vaccination plan by the McGowan government to reduce the risk of the virus escaping one of Western Australias COVID-19 hotels. The rules, which are expected to be implemented over the next fortnight, will be similar to existing rules that require aged care workers to get flu vaccinations before taking on jobs in nursing homes. WA Premier Mark McGowan. Credit: Matt Jelonek WA Premier Mark McGowan said the latest figures showed 65 per cent of hotel quarantine workers had at least their first jab but that number dropped to 40 per cent when it came to security guards. What we want to see is our hotel quarantine workers vaccinated as soon as possible so Id urge them all to get vaccinated voluntarily, he said. Then-President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump, along with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) second from left. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo) Trump Adviser Wants Full Retraction by CNN on Gaetz Story An adviser and spokesman for former President Donald Trump is demanding that CNN retract a story that claimedciting anonymous sourcesthat embattled Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) attempted to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, but was stopped by the former commander-in-chiefs aides. This CNN story is complete fake news, Trump adviser Jason Miller wrote on Twitter. No such scheduling or meeting request was ever made, and therefore, it could never have been declined. Take note that this story has zero on-the-record sources. Its literally made-up. We are demanding a full retraction. The CNN report, like many stories published during the Trump era, cited people familiar with the matter. The report claimed Gaetz, who reportedly is facing a federal investigation for sex trafficking, attempted to visit with Trump in recent days but was rebuffed by Trumps aides. Going a step further, the article claimed the incident signals that Gaetz finds himself increasingly isolated from Trump and other Republicans. Gaetz repeatedly has denied allegations that he had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl and other related claims. He says that the CNN article is false. This is a total lie. I am on a pre-planned vacation with my fiancee. I was welcomed at Trump Doral days ago. No such meeting was denied nor sought. When can we expect a retraction? he wrote on Twitter to CNN reporter Gabby Orr. Gaetz spokesman Harlan Hill said the Florida congressman didnt request a meeting with Trump this week. Rep. Gaetz was welcomed to Trump Doral this week and has not sought to meet with President Trump himself, Hill told CNN, adding that the congressman has been mostly relaxing with his fiancee this week during recess. Trump also recently denied a report from The New York Times that claimed Gaetz asked the former president for a pardon when he was still in office. Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon, Trump said in a statement last week. It must also be remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him. Separately, the House Ethics Committee on April 9 announced it was opening an investigation into Gaetz amid allegations he used illegal drugs and shared photos of women on the House floor. 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 committee said in a statement. CNN didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment by press time. Russia's COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V has been recommended for use in India by a committee of experts as the country battles a record spike in virus cases in the country. If approved by regulator DCGI, this will be the third vaccine to be used in India after Serum Institute of India's Covishield - developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca - and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. After the Subject Expert Committee (SEC)'s recommendation, the vaccine has to be greenlit by the Drug Controller General of India before it can be widely used to inoculate citizens. Sputnik V is on track for clearance amid complaints of vaccine shortage from many states, especially Maharashtra, the epicenter of the second surge. In its last meeting on April 1, the experts' committee had asked Dr Reddy's to submit data on how the shot activates the body's immune response against the coronavirus. The panel had also asked unblinded data of all the serious adverse events; "unblended" means when subjects know whether the shot administered to them was the vaccine or a placebo. A comparative analysis of phase III data generated on the Indian and Russian studies at various times was also sought. In India, Sputnik V trials are on for around 1,600 people between 18 and 99, NDTV reported. For Alexis Schultz, choosing to play the trumpet basically came down to this: The instrument is loud and proud. "I tried several other instruments (in fifth grade)," said Schultz, now a senior at Meridian Early College High School. "What I really liked about (the trumpet) was it was the loudest one in the band generally." And she admits that, for the trumpet section at least, the instrument tends to reflect the personality of the musician. "That is definitely true," Schultz said with a laugh. "I think all the people in our section are more outgoing, quirky, have their own personality." Schultz took up the trumpet in fifth grade while attending school in Merrill, then moved to the Meridian district in seventh grade and has played trumpet with the Mustangs ever since. She plays in marching band, pep band and symphonic band. "One of my favorite parts (of being in band) is that it really feels like a family," Schultz said. "And I enjoy playing pieces that are a challenge and being part of one of the better bands in the state of Michigan." Meridian band director Matthew Shephard said Schultz has given her all to the Mustangs' band program and has inspired others to do the same. "Alexis has been a consistent example of what a student-leader embodies," he said. "Her energy and enthusiasm in the band inspire others to follow her lead and put 100% into everything they do. Some students lead with words, others lead by example. Alexis shows up every day with a smile, ready to work. This characteristic cannot be taught -- she is self-driven and a wonderful model of fine leadership qualities. "Alexis has inspired future leaders of the Meridian bands with her positive attitude and work ethic. I can't imagine she could have done any more for our program than she gave to our ensembles," Shephard added. Schultz has also found time to play volleyball for Meridian during the fall and to compete with the school's trap shooting club in the spring. The club shoots at Bay County Conservation and Gun Club in Linwood. After graduation, Schultz plans to complete Meridian's fifth-year program to earn an associate's degree from Delta College, and eventually earn a bachelor's in business management. By Benjamin Jumbe Over 1,000 people have been affected by heavy rains and storms that hit 4 villages in Sironko District . The heavy rains that lasted about 3 hours left 50 house holds roofs blown off, crops destroyed. Uganda Redcross spokesperson Irene Nakasiita says two people were severly injured rushed to Sironko health center III, others had miner injuries with no deaths registered so far. She says the Sironko Redcross disaster response team is conducting Rapid assessment. The affected villages are Kirombe, Garage Vill, High way, and Nagayira valley. The Duke of Edinburgh died peacefully aged 99 on Friday in Windsor Castle Official business in New Zealand's parliament will also come to a halt on Tuesday New Zealand will hold a memorial service to commemorate the life of Prince Philip next week on the Queen's birthday. On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a service would be held in Wellington on April 21, beginning at 3pm local time. Ms Ardern has also advised New Zealand's parliament will abandon its planned business on Tuesday this week and instead debate only a notice of motion commemorating the life of the Duke of Edinburgh. 'Our thoughts continue to be with Her Majesty the Queen, and the royal family at this time,' she said. Prince Philip (pictured with the Queen on a visit to New Zealand in 1977) will be honoured by the nation with a memorial service Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured signing a condolence book for the Duke on Monday) announced a memorial service would be held in Wellington on April 21 The Queen and Prince Philip (pictured during a trip to New Zealand in Wellington in 1981) had made many trips together to Commonwealth nations Earlier on Monday, Ms Ardern signed a condolence book in tribute to Prince Philip, who died in Windsor Castle aged 99 on Friday. She wrote, 'With deepest sympathy and gratitude for a life of service' and a note in te reo Maori, the Indigenous language of New Zealand. Ms Ardern defended putting the memorial service on the 95th birthday of the monarch. 'No one wants anyone to be in a state of grief at the time of their birthday,' Ms Ardern said. 'But New Zealand has an obligation to make sure that we respectfully do not hold the memorial before the funeral but... not wanting to wait too long after the official funeral.' Asked about the legacy the 99-year-old leaves, Ms Ardern (pictured) suggested the memorial service will steer clear of 'challenging elements' Flags will fly at half-mast on Tuesday for parliament's considerations and again next Wednesday. While the Duke of Edinburgh's death is being discussed with an appropriate reverence in New Zealand, some are not mourning. Prince Philip is seen by many Kiwis as a part of New Zealand's colonising family, and with his own record of racist statements. Asked about the legacy the 99-year-old leaves, Ms Ardern suggested the memorial service will steer clear of 'challenging elements'. 'Through our history we will have challenging elements to the foundation of our history,' she said. 'Now also offers an opportunity for us to acknowledge the contribution of someone who ultimately - no matter what anyone's opinion will be - gave his entire life to the service of others.' Razak Kojo Opoku, the head of the Public Relations Unit of the National Lottery Authority has accused some private lotto operations of seeking to collapse the state lottery regulating body. In an interview with Okay FM, Razak Kojo Opoku said that the operators of Alpha Lotto are not respecting the conditions of the agreement they signed with the NLA. He noted that the illegal acts of Alpha Lotto and some private lotto organization operators posed a great threat to the NLA and that it was in the interest of the country that it cracked the whip on them. Alpha lotto were operating beyond the terms and condition upon which the NLA granted them a license. They dont have the right to conduct independent live draw parallel to NLA. They do it the same as the NLA. The license was for them to use the Point of Sale terminals to market lotto. The type of lotto was the VAG lotto because of the agreement we have with the Veterans Association of Ghana. We gave them the license on that basis. They were to depend on the POS system to sell the lotto and depend on the draw by the NLA. Nowhere in their contract did it state clearly that the private lotto operators can undertake live draws. They should produce that part of their contract to Ghanaians. Alpha was doing it recalcitrant. If you are a good citizen, you wont conduct yourself in ways that will collapse your regulator. NLA is about drawing of numbers so the moment you allow a private person to do something parallel to the NLA, the draw of NLA will become useless and if that happens, youll collapse NLA. So, should we sit down for NLA to collapse under the NPP government? No way, he said. Last week, the Ghana Lotto Operators Association levelled some allegations against the NLA. They among other things accused the NLA of seeking to collapse the lottery industry and also outsourcing their mandate to KGL. But Razak dismissed such allegations, stressing that the NLA is not up for sale. He said that the move made by the leadership of the NLA is to improve NLAs revenue generation ability. 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 London: Princes William and Harry have paid tribute to Prince Philip ahead of a reunion for the feuding brothers at their grandfathers funeral this Saturday. A day after landing in London from California, Harry said the Duke of Edinburgh was the master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right til the end. He suggested the no-fuss Philip, who died at Windsor Castle on Friday with the Queen by his side, would be saying, beer in hand, Oh do get on with it! Princes Harry and William - pictured at Harrys wedding in 2018 - will reunite at their grandfathers funeral for the first time since the Oprah interview. Credit:Getty Images Harrys return will bring him face-to-face with the royal family for the first time since his bombshell interview with American talkshow host Oprah Winfrey last month. Chennai, April 12 : The Chennai corporation has warned shops and other commercial establishments that they will be forced to shut down if Covid norms are violated. The corporation has pressed into service the monitoring committees which it had constituted during the peak of the pandemic last year. The Covid cases have been spiralling up in the state capital with 2,000 cases being reported on Sunday. An assessment by the Civic body has found that the crowding is rampant at the 81 markets in and around the city other than Koyambedu wholesale market and therefore decided to put curbs in these areas. The monitoring committee which will oversee the functioning of the shops and commercial establishments include an Assistant Engineer from the City corporation, a Sub Inspector of Police, members from the market, health department and transport department. A special monitoring team will also be in force other than the monitoring committee which will be constituted of personnel drawn from the revenue department and the disaster management department. The major challenge, however, will be to monitor the Kashimedu fish market which has more than 24,000 fishermen working out from the market. The Greater Chennai corporation Commissioner G..S. Prakash has already reached out to the fishing community in Kasimedu and a system is being formulated without affecting the fishermen's livelihood. Alphonse Thomas, a fisherman from Kasimedu market while speaking to IANS said, "Controlling Kasimedu market may be required to prevent the spread of Covid but we must be shown alternatives. This is affecting the livelihood of several thousands and the corporation is working out the finer points regarding monitoring the market." The government had last year tried to regulate the working of Kasimedu market by making the market off limits for the public and allowing fish vendors only. Small and medium fish vendors were allowed in the market last year in batches of 150 each and four such batches were allowed in turns. After one batch finished the purchase, the other batches were allowed. The City corporation is now trying to implement a similar system for the Kasimedu market taking into consideration the livelihood of the fishermen. Another measure to be taken by the Corporation is to maintain strict vigil over those who are not wearing masks. A team has been constituted with a senior IAS officer leading the team. The corporation has already announced a spot fine of Rs 200 if anyone is found not wearing a mask in the city but there has been laxity in enforcing this. The Greater Chennai Corporation administration has now decided to be more strict in implementing the fine and to monitor those not wearing masks. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Statement by Ambassador Byrne Nason at the UNSC Briefing on the Great Lakes Region Statement Thank you very much, Mr. President, And I want to thank the Special Envoy Xia for his briefing. Following last weeks discussion with SRSG Keita, it is very useful Special Envoy to hear from you about your own views on regional developments and about the dynamics in the Great Lakes region. And I am also particularly happy to see amongst us this morning the PBC Chair, dear Ambassador Edrees Ahmed. As you know, we have long advocated that the voice of the PBC be heard at our table, so we are particularly happy to hear from you this morning. Special Envoy, This is Irelands first intervention under this agenda item during our term on the Council, so I want to take the opportunity to affirm our commitment to the region and the work of your Office. The Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the region has been our roadmap toward sustainable peace since 2013, with your predecessor and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson working as the first Special Envoy. We, Ireland, takes a serious interest in your work. The truth is, of course, that many of the challenges that were faced back then by the first Envoy in 2013 remain with us today. The deteriorating security situation in the DRC, particularly in the Eastern provinces as we heard last week, highlights how vital this Councils engagement remains. Many of the challenges, including human rights violations, complex humanitarian crises, environmental degradation, climate change, the illicit exploitation of natural resources, and the activity of multiple armed groups as we heard from you this morning, Mr. Xia, continue to undermine efforts toward peace and sustainable development. As you highlighted in your report, the current COVID-19 pandemic has stretched capacities even further. We know that this COVID-19 pandemic has had a particularly adverse impact on women. We find it particularly alarming the increase in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence associated with the pandemic. Its continued use as a weapon of war is simply unacceptable. We welcome the explicit commitments in the Strategy for Peace Consolidation, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution in the Great Lakes region to address conflict-related sexual violence. We expect to see the promotion of womens roles in conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding efforts. That, as we never cease saying, should be on a full, equal and meaningful basis. Clearly, if we are to build sustainable peace in the Great Lakes, then deep and meaningful regional cooperation remains absolutely essential. The progress you have outlined in this report, including the positive roles played by SADC and the ICGLR, is encouraging. We know that economic development will act as an engine of progress, but its not an end in itself and the three-pillar approach of the Strategy is important. With the Strategy now endorsed by the Secretary General, of course, implementation is key. No time can be lost in agreeing a time-bound and effective action plan across the three pillars and the ten priorities that are set out. So, Special Envoy, I want thank you again for your time and we look forward to working very closely with you on our shared goal of peace and prosperity in the Great Lakes. Thank you, Mr. President. Previous Item | Next Item James Pietrobon killed himself in his cell at Parklea Correctional Centre Dennis James Pietrobon was charged with murdering Nicole Cartwright in October 2018 A man awaiting trial for murdering a woman during a meth-fuelled 'puff and play' session gave a fellow inmate a list of girls he could 'have' before he killed himself in jail. Dennis James Pietrobon, 52, was accused of killing Nicole Cartwright on her 32nd birthday, before dumping her body in a children's playground on Sydney's lower north shore. He was found dead in his cell at the privately-operated Parklea Correctional Centre over Easter before the full details of his alleged crimes could be revealed. A fellow inmate who befriended Pietrobon at Parklea has told Daily Mail Australia the divorced father-of-two gave him a hand-written list of names and phone numbers while they were in custody. 'One day he walked up to me when I was in the wing,' the former prisoner said. 'I was sitting down and he handed me a list of phone numbers. 'I said, "What's this?" He said, "You're getting out soon, it's a list of girls". I said, "OK, what do I do? Do you want me to meet them and tell them something?" 'He says, "No, no, no - you can just have them".' 'He literally said I can "have" these girls, like it's the Middle Ages and women are objects. I brushed it off like most things you hear in prison.' Nicole Cartwright was killed in 2018 after meeting Dennis James Pietrobon for a 'puff and play' sexual encounter. A fellow inmate who befriend Pietrobon in prison said the divorced father-of-two gave him a list of women's names and phone numbers while they were in custody He was found dead in his cell at the privately-operated Parklea Correctional Centre (pictured) at Easter before the full details of his alleged crimes could be revealed Police alleged Ms Cartwright was killed on October 1, 2018 and that Pietrobon dumped her body two days later in Buffalo Creek Reserve at Hunters Hill (pictured) The prisoner, who was released in September last year, said he did not know how Pietrobon met the women and he had not attempted to call any of them. 'There were around four to five numbers on a torn-off piece of paper,' he said. 'He was talking about how I can use these women easily and ways to do so.' Police alleged Ms Cartwright was killed on October 1, 2018 and that Pietrobon dumped her body two days later in Buffalo Creek Reserve at Hunters Hill. Pietrobon had met Ms Cartrwright through a dating app and allegedly turned violent during a drug-fuelled 'puff and play' encounter in which meth was traded for sex. A council worker discovered Ms Cartwright's body, wrapped in a bed sheet with her hands bound. Pietrobon's fingerprints were found on tape binding Ms Cartwright's wrists, as well as a shirt discarded near her body. His DNA was also discovered on the garbage bin that he allegedly used to transport her body to the park, police said at the time. NSW Police launched Strike Force Winkurra to investigate Ms Cartwright's death and in particular her interactions with men through dating apps and fetish websites. Homicide Squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty had urged people not to 'judge' the 'personal choices' of using such dating sites. Pietrobon had met Ms Cartrwright through a dating app and allegedly turned violent during a drug-fuelled 'puff an play' encounter in which meth is traded for sex NSW Police are pictured in Buffalo Creek Reserve at Hunters Hill following the discovery of Ms Cartwright's body on October 3, 2018. She had been bound and wrapped in a bed sheet 'While some people may judge these acts as salacious let's not forget there was a young woman who was brutalised and murdered and then dumped in a park in a callous act,' he said. Prosecutor Nicholas Leach told In Burwood Local Court in February that Ms Cartwright had been discarded like garbage. 'The deceased met up with [Pietrobon] to engage in a puff and play session,' Mr Leach said. 'The accused has then become extremely violent and struck the deceased to the left side of the face. 'He then placed the body in a council bin and left the scene after being possibly spooked by another member of the public.' Following an intensive investigation by police, Dennis James Pietrobon (pictured second from left) was charged with the murder of Nicole Cartwright In September last year, Hells Angels associate Cooper John Gavellas, 22, faced court after allegedly bashing Pietrobon behind bars, leaving him with significant injuries to his face and neck. Pietrobon's former prison mate, who wished to be known only as Ben, said he met Pietrobon shortly after that alleged attack. 'He had a black eye, he had cuts all over his face and he was just released from hospital,' Ben said. 'I said, "I'm sorry this happened". He appreciated that and we became friends. A former friend of Pietrobon's previously said the accused killer had been unemployed and sleeping rough around the city's inner west in the years after the breakdown of his marriage. 'He worked for Sydney Trains but after he lost his job he ended up sleeping in his car and showering at his local gym,' the friend said. Pietrobon's fingerprints were found on tape binding Ms Cartwright's wrists, as well as a shirt discarded near her body. His DNA was also discovered on the garbage bin that he allegedly used to transport her body to the park 'In the last two or three years something happened and he went weird. After his split he had another girlfriend but that ended badly too. 'I never thought he was a bad person, just someone who had really lost their way.' Daily Mail Australia understands Pietrobon was nonetheless known to drive a black Mercedes Benz. Ben, who was serving a sentence for major fraud, said Pietrobon claimed to have been in prison for minor drug offences, rather than murdering a woman. 'He was actually very entrepreneurial,' he said. 'He'd done very well in his life or he had before some incidents took place. 'He was very intelligent. Certainly not what people would imagine a murderer is like. I think he was just on drugs and he acted out of character.' Ben said Pietrobon encouraged him to invest in a plan to crystalise imported sugar which he wanted to dye blue and sell as a novelty product which would appear like the meth that featured in the TV series Breaking Bad. 'He thought it would be a great business idea,' Ben said. 'He wanted it to come with these gold-plated tongs and you could put it in your coffee and feel like some drug dealer. 'That was the idea basically. It was a bit silly. He drew up contracts and he got someone to witness it. 'I don't know if I was particularly interested in it but there is literally nothing else to do in prison so you just talk and you talk and you talk.' Ben spent a couple of months regularly talking to Pietrobon before he was released. 'He used to help a lot of people, there's a lot of illiterate people in prison so he'd write them letters, he'd help them out,' Ben said. 'He was good like that. Ben, who was serving a sentence for major fraud, said Pietrobon claimed to have been in prison for minor drug offences, rather than murdering a woman. Parklea prison is pictured 'He was actually a gentleman. I know that sounds bad to hear but he was the nicest person in the wing.' Pietrobon had told him to research his crimes when he got out of jail. 'He said, "When you look me up you'll find out",' Ben said. 'I got out and I looked it up and I was, "My god, what is going on in this guy's head?"' At Pietrobon's last court appearance his lawyer argued investigators had not established Ms Cartwright's cause of death. 'The Crown cannot say what my client actually did,' she said. 'It is on the Crown case they meet up with for what the Crown says was consensual and highly risky sexual conduct to consume methylamphetamine.' 'The DPP need to prove he caused the act and that he intended she die. A highly experienced pathologist cannot say how she died.' Oil dropped toward $59 a barrel as investors assessed the near-term demand outlook amid a Covid-19 flare-up in some regions, while a rising dollar reduced the appeal of commodities priced in the currency. Futures in New York lost 0.5 per cent on Monday after falling 3.5 per cent last week. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told CBSs 60 Minutes that the US economy was poised for stronger growth, but he cautioned that the virus still remains a threat. Thats been highlighted in other regions including parts of Europe, while a second wave in India is overwhelming the health system. Indian gasoline consumption, meanwhile, rose in March to the highest level in four months as millions of people favoured cars over public transport to avoid being infected by the coronavirus. Overall oil-product demand fell, however. Oils robust start to the year faltered in mid-March as a resurgence of Covid-19 and renewed restrictions in some regions raised concerns about the outlook for near-term fuel demand. The market is also facing rising supply after the OPEC+ alliance agreed to add more barrels from May, although Saudi Arabias energy minister said the decision to boost output was the right move. Iran is also a wildcard for the market. Talks between the OPEC producer and world powers on resuscitating a 2015 nuclear accord are set to continue this week after an initial round of discussions, described by a senior US official as a good first step but still short of whats necessary for a revival of the deal. While rising virus cases will have an impact, the vaccination drive is progressing really well, said Howie Lee, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. I think will overlook the short-term weakness and focus on the longer-term. Demand will go up for sure. The prompt timespread for Brent was 43 cents a barrel in backwardation -- a bullish market structure where near-dated contracts are more expensive than later-dated ones -- compared with 32 cents a week earlier. Fed officials have repeatedly stressed that the U.S. economy continues to need aggressive monetary policy support as it recovers from the pandemic, even as the outlook brightens amid widening vaccinations. In the U.K., some scientists are saying the country could achieve so-called herd immunity as soon as Monday, moving on from the worst of the outbreak. A live-action Gundam movie has been in the pipeline for several years , and it has taken a giant step closer to a screen near you. Netflix has snagged the worldwide rights to the film, except in China, where Legendary Pictures will release it in theaters. Legendary and Gundam owner Sunrise have tapped Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island and The Kings of Summer) to produce and direct the movie. Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man) will write the script and act as executive producer. Beyond updates on the core creative team and the fact that it's coming to Netflix, details about the live-action Gundam movie remain scant. No plot details have been revealed (such as whether it will take place in Gundam's original Universal Century timeline) and it's unclear when you'll be able to stream the film. There's also the small matter of the Metal Gear Solid flick that Vogt-Roberts is working on . This isn't exactly the first live-action Gundam movie. G-Saviour was a made-for-TV film that had a theatrical release in Japan in 1999. It's a safe bet that the budget will be a bit higher this time around. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 11) The initial 20,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccines from Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute are expected to arrive in the Philippines this week, a senator said. In a statement released Sunday, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go said the first batch is up for a "pilot logistics run" since there are unique requirements for the first and second doses of the vaccine. RELATED: Russia: PH priority in delivery of Sputnik V, doses to arrive in April "Sa susunod na linggo, inaasahang darating ang 20,000 initial Sputnik vaccine from Russia," he was quoted as saying in a radio interview on Saturday. "Inaasahang 20 million po isu-supply ng Russia sa atin with first tranche of 500,000 doses this April or May," Go added. [Translation: Next week, 20,000 initial Sputnik vaccines are expected to arrive from Russia...We're expecting that Russia will supply us with 20 million doses, with first tranche of 500,000 doses this April or May.] Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said 500,000 doses of the Russian vaccine will be delivered to the country within the month. Sputnik V is the fourth vaccine to be granted Emergency Use Authorization by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration. FDA Director General Eric Domingo previously said the Russia-made vaccine can only be administered to clinically healthy individuals aged 18 and above. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 16:18:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A new batch of CoronaVac vaccines from China's Sinovac arrived in Chile on Saturday, aiding the country's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The shipment was received at Santiago Airport by Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris and Deputy Health Minister Paula Daza. "We have received a new shipment of vaccines from China. Therefore, we will continue with our mass vaccination campaign," Paris said. Daza said the vaccination program would continue until herd immunity was hopefully reached by June 30, with the vaccination of 80 percent of the susceptible population. To date, Chile has vaccinated 7,354,826 people, of which 4,643,082 have already received both doses. Up to 2,942,898 people aged 60 and above have been immunized, contributing to fewer hospitalizations and lower mortality in the age group. The Sinovac vaccine was approved for emergency use in Chile on Jan. 20. Chile's mass vaccination program began on Feb. 3, with the aim of immunizing 15 million of the 19 million people in the country during the first half of 2021. Produced by Xinhua Global Service The fate of the 2021 Canadian GP is hanging in the balance. La Presse reports that the prospect of a spectator-free 'ghost race' for the Montreal event is rising, prompting promoter Francois Dumontier's organisation to seek an extra $6 million in compensation from the government. The report said Liberty Media wants an answer by April 12. "We want the grand prix to take place in Montreal," Montreal mayor Valerie Plante is quoted by Le Journal de Montreal. "But for me, on the issue of taxpayers' money we must ensure that it is spent in a good way. We are in discussions with the government of Quebec and the federal government to see what the situation is," she said. "The important thing for me is that the Canadian GP stays here. If it isn't possible again this year, it absolutely has to be here next year. We will discuss this with the other parties before making a decision," mayor Plante added. Meanwhile, La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Monaco will go ahead this year with 40 percent spectator capacity, while Silverstone wants a full house thanks to the possibility of 'vaccination passports'. As for the Red Bull-promoted Austrian GP, Dr Helmut Marko told the German broadcaster n-tv: "For now we have to wait. "Unfortunately we are doing very badly in Austria with vaccination," he said, even though he revealed that "all four" Red Bull drivers in F1 have already been vaccinated. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Corriere dello Sport that this weekend's race at Imola will be spectator-free. "I very much regret that," he said. As for whether F1 might return to Imola in 2022, the Italian said it depends on "many factors". "We will evaluate all the options, but first we need to have an interesting race on Sunday," said Domenicali. (GMM) A mix of factors and not the role of the restaurants that were open. It is this combination, according to Massimiliano Fedriga - president of the Conference of Regions - that has determined for Sardinia the transition from the white to the red zone. Speaking on a broadcast on Canale 5, he also made an appeal to science to "explain the behavior of the virus", citing the example of the region he administers, Friuli Venezia Giulia: "Today we have a strong improvement but we experienced an extremely difficult period between the end of last year and the beginning of January when the virus hit Friuli, but also Slovenia and Carinthia ", bordering areas where" very different measures compared to ours "were in force . So, with regard to Sardinia, "blaming the restaurants for the spread of the virus is too simplistic and does not really identify the problem". (Unioneonline / ss) 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 Amaravati, April 12 : Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy said the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) is taking the Tirupati by-poll as a referendum and its Parliamentarians will resign if the election is lost. "We are definitely taking this election as a referendum. If we win in this election, you resign and if you win our 22 MPs will also resign," said Reddy on Sunday, throwing the challenge to opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He said TDP state president Kinjarapu Atchannaidu was demanding YSRCP MPs to resign and questioned him back if TDP's three MPs and follower Kanumuru Raghu Ramakrishna Raju will also resign if they lose? The minister said that everybody knows what the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), TDP and Pawan Kalyan spoke about the special category status in Tirupati earlier. "Then what happened to the special category status. Why are BJP people not able to boldly go and ask votes?" he questioned. Reddy alleged that Kalyan is a 'political paid artist' and recalled how he castigated BJP in the past prior to 2019 elections. "But those rotten laddus are very fresh now for him. Donning an avatar a day is a habit for these three (Kalyan, BJP and TDP). Everybody knows that these three are contesting the election with a dark understanding," he claimed. According to the senior YSRCP leader, Kalyan, actor - politician and founder of Janasena is the 'adopted son' of TDP supremo Nara Chandrababu Naidu. "Will he defend his adopted son or you and me? That's why when the movie (Kalyan's) stopped, Chandrababu took it up as a national issue and spoke. There is no need for us to take them into consideration," he said. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. In the early morning hours on 10 Apr, 2021, special operations forces at Ramstein, Germany, assigned to the 352d Special Operations Wing, loaded the 41st Field Artillery Brigades M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in preparation for a cross-theater Rapid Aerial Insertion operation to Romania. This is just one of a series of related missions demonstrating the U.S. European Commands ability to quickly employ long-range precision fires in a time and place of their choosing to support NATO allies and partners. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link U.S. Special Operations forces from the 352d Special Operations Wing and 41st Field Artillery Brigade executed another successful High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), Rapid Aerial Insertion (HIRAIN), coordinated with NATO allies, near Constanta, Romania, on 10 April. (Picture source: U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Roidan Carlson) This type of complex mission is designed to increase the lethality and readiness for not only the Joint Force, but also strengthens and solidifies the NATO-allied coordination while maintaining the US commitment to collective defense. This operation set the conditions for future engagements, both within the rapid aerial insertion (HIRAIN) mission-set and other joint training opportunities in Romania. The work for this mission started long before the ground crews began loading the HIMARS in Germany. At RAF Mildenhall, in the United Kingdom, USAF personnel prepped and fueled SOF aircraft for the combined NATO mission. Once ready, the air commandos were airborne and outbound to Germany. Once the Special Operations Wing aircraft landed in Germany and joined up with the 41st FAB, stationed at Grafenwoehr, Germany, this joint package, including the MC-130J Commando II, the U.S. Army Europes HIMARS, soldiers and aircrew prepared to execute the HIRAIN from Germany to its final destination in Romania. These tactical professionals had practiced on-and-off loading training to expedite the real-time load of the asset to the capable aircraft, increasing the efficiency of employing these long-range systems. "This is the second time in less than six months the 41st Field Artillery Brigade has been able to practice our HIMARS rapid infiltration mission along the Black Sea along with our joint partners in Special Operation Command Europe," said Col. Daniel Miller, the commander of the 41st Field Artillery Brigade. "Each time we get better, faster and more precise at being able to conduct these type of short notice deployments or missions." Once loaded, USAF Special Operations aircrew ran final pre-flight checklists for the operation, showcasing one aspect of the increased interoperability between the components. These highly skilled aviators fully understand SOF who are not the only solution to a crisis or contingency, they work as a part of a larger operational and strategic framework. During the flight to the Romanian coast, the MC-130J aircrew conducts in-flight training as it transits NATO airspace. As they make their final approach, the ground crew at MK International Airport prepare to rapidly off-load the high-tech HIMARS weapon systems and execute simulated fires within minutes of landing. The U.S. and Romania have an incredibly strong bi-lateral relationship, which provides the flexibility to stage forces and equipment in support of operations, said Colonel Marc V. LaRoche. USEUCOMs ability to integrate components and rapidly surge long-range precision fire capabilities into and across the theater, using dynamic force employment, is critical to project forces at a moments notice to support our allies and partners, both within the Black Sea region and beyond. Upon completion of fires, the SOF team reloads the MC-130J with the HIMARS, soldiers and equipment -- all in less than an hour. The successful completion of this HIRAIN operation finishes with a safe off-load of the HIMARS back in Germany, and a return to home-station of the SOF aircrew and aircraft to RAF Mildenhall, with plans to execute further iterations solidifying this enhanced deterrent option to ensure peace within the European theater. Tel Aviv, April 12 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that struggling against Iran is "a huge task". He made the remarks on Sunday hours after Iran announced that a blackout at its underground Natanz nuclear facility was an act of "nuclear terrorism", reports Xinhua news agency "The struggle against Iran and its proxies and Iranian armament is a huge task," Netanyahu told a meeting of senior Israeli security officials, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's office. "The situation that exists today is not necessarily the one that will exist tomorrow," he said. The Hebrew-language Ynet news site quoted anonymous intelligence officials as saying Israel's Mossad espionage agency was behind the blackout. The escalation came as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel for a two-day visit and security talks. The Joe Biden Biden administration has been holding indirect talks over a possible renewal of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu frequently made remarks against Iran, accusing it of planning to build nuclear weapons that will threaten Israel. Thousands of protesters clashed with police in Lahore, Pakistan, during a demonstration against President Macron's support for a magazine showing a 'blasphemous' Prophet Mohammed cartoon. Anti-French sentiment has been simmering for months in Pakistan since President Emmanuel Macron's government expressed support for a satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's right to republish cartoons. It comes as Saad Rizvi, leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), was detained in Lahore on Monday, party officials said. Protesters clashed with police in Lahore, Pakistan, today during protests against President Macrons support for magazine showing blasphemous Prophet Mohammed cartoon Police used tear gas and sprayed the protesters down with water cannons as they took to the streets for the demonstration It comes as it was confirmed the leader of a far-right Islamist party was detained. Pictured: Police surround a Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan activist Police use tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters who blocked streets and intersections in Lahore, the country's second biggest city. The party leader's arrest was confirmed by police but they did not say on what charges. He had been trying to organise a march on the capital on April 20 to demand the expulsion of the French ambassador. Rizvi is the son of the firebrand cleric, and previous head of the TLP, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who died in November. Police in Pakistan confirmed Saad Rizvi had been arrested in Lahore on Monday but would not say on what charges Rizvi and his party had been calling for the expulsion of the French ambassador and had been trying to organise a march on the capital on April 20 During the clashes, police were seen using tear gas and water cannons while protesters were brandishing what appear to be large sticks and some looking to be hurling them at officers In a video released on social media, the deputy head of TLP, Syed Zaheer-ul-Hasan Shah, said Rizvi's arrest meant the government had violated an agreement to expel the French diplomat. Last year TLP supporters brought Islamabad to a standstill for three days with a series of anti-France rallies. Police blocked the demonstrators as they attempted to enter the capital. Some chanted that the only punishment for a blasphemer was beheading, police official Tauqeer Shah said. The protesters attacked the police with bricks, stones and sticks, he added. They were pictured blocking the road into Pakistan's capital. 'Several of our officers were injured,' he said, adding that nearly 2,000 protesters had camped at the main entrance to the city, refusing to leave. Thousands of Tehreek-e-Labbaik protesters shout slogns beside empty tear gas shells fired by police during an anti-France demonstration in Islamabad, Pakistan Nearly 2,000 protesters camped at the main entrance to Islamabad, Pakistan, . The protesters attacked the police with bricks, stones and sticks according to police official Tauqeer Shah 'We want the government to expel the French ambassador immediately,' the TLP's vice president Zaheer-ul-Hasan said in a video statement. He added that scores of protesters were injured in the clashes. TLP has also been said to have fuelled riots at a hospital in Faisalabad after two nurses were accused of blasphemy. A mob gathered at the District Headquarters Hospital in Faisalabad demanding nurses Maryam Lal and Newsh Urooj are hanged. The women told police they had been asked to tidy the locker of the head nurse and they had scratched off the sticker containing the holy text with a pen, The Times reports. Riots broke out outside the District Headquarters Hospital in Faisalabad, Pakistan (pictured) after two nurses were accused of blasphemy Police were forced to intervene to help rescue the women and later confirmed an investigation had been launched into the incident. Officers said the pair had been remanded for 15 days. Pakistan has strict blasphemy laws which carry a death penalty for people who insult the Prophet Muhammad, Islam, the Quran or certain holy people. An overwhelming 98 per cent of the population follows Islam and critics say the law targets members of other religious groups including Hindus and Christians. Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate minorities and settle personal scores. LAGRANGE TWP., MI - A Stevensville man is in the hospital after a rollover crash Sunday afternoon in Cass County, police said. Deputies responded to a crash at 12:44 p.m., Sunday, April 11, in the area of OKeefe Road and Shurte Street in LaGrange Township, north of Cassopolis, said the Cass County Sheriffs Office in a news release. An initial investigation by police has determined a 53-year-old man lost control of his car while headed north on OKeefe Road. The vehicle went off the roadway and overturned, police said. Paramedics transported the man to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries. No information was released by police on the mans condition. He had on a seat belt at the time of the crash. Alcohol is not considered to be a factor in the crash, police said. The Cass County Sheriffs Office received assistance at the scene from the Cassopolis fire and police departments and Pride Care Ambulance. Read more from MLive: Driver flees after crashing vehicle into Saginaw convenience store Two shot and injured in Wyoming neighborhood Mother and son hospitalized after Cass County crash Fennville woman dies after Ottawa County rear-end crash One of four victims in Allendale shooting in critical condition Four shot at Allendale apartment complex; police search for suspect A man is fighting for life while two others have been rushed to hospital after a head-on crash on the Sunshine Coast. Emergency services were called just after 6.30am on Tuesday to Connection Road at Glenview after a ute and a 4WD collided. A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said firefighters freed a driver and a passenger with the use of cutting gear about 7am. One woman, believed to be in her 20s, has been taken to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a serious condition with lower limb and pelvic injuries. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa has called upon the World Bank Group to develop an action plan to help low-income countries and the fragile and conflict-affected nations tide over the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to accelerate those countries access to vaccines by manufacturing them locally and boosting job opportunities for woman and youth, said Shaikh Salman. Shaikh Salman made the statements while addressing the World Banks Development Committee, on behalf of the Arab Group and the Maldives, as part of his participation in the Development Committee meeting, held remotely on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Arab Group, Shaikh Salman said, welcomes the call to extend the debt relief period for low and middle-income countries, which was launched under the joint international framework to achieve financial sustainability. He also stressed the need to expand the base of countries benefiting from the programme, based in a specific evaluation of each country. The Minister indicated that the coronavirus pandemic had exacerbated food security challenges at the global level, with the effects expected to continue beyond 2021. On this note, he called for creating an integrated approach to improve food security and provide food supplies to the neediest group. Shaikh Salman also stressed the importance of launching immediate reforms to support the water resources sector in the Middle East and North Africa region, as 60% of its population lives in areas suffering from great water stress. The development committee urged providing sustainable technical and financial support for the hard-hit countries and extending more support to the private sector. The committee also called on the World Bank to support countries for purchasing vaccines and ensure that developing countries have quick and easy access to vaccines. ANN ARBOR, MI Gov. Whitmer has indicated her support for designating the Ann Arbor dioxane plume at Gelman Sciences Inc. as a federal Superfund cleanup site. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) announced its request Monday for the Gelman dioxane plume to be added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) Superfund National Priorities List for federal cleanup, according to a release from U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn. EGLEs decision to allow the communities impacted by the Gelman dioxane plume to move forward in the process of adding this site to the federal Superfund clean-up list is an important step, Dingell said. EGLE will work closely with the EPA should it be added to the National Priorities List, officials said, adding that it will also ensure that the current remedy continues to protect human health and remains in compliance with Michigan law during the National Priorities List listing process. Michigans request for EPA involvement marks the next step in the process to get the Gelman dioxane plume on the National Priorities List and positioned for a federal Superfund cleanup overseen by the EPA, Dingell said. Local officials across Washtenaw County had been simultaneously seeking a federal help while continuing litigation against the polluter in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. Officials in Ann Arbor, Scio Township and Washtenaw County have all supported the request. EPA officials said last month that a federal Superfund cleanup of the Gelman dioxane plume spreading through the areas groundwater is likely several years away, if it were to happen. The agency generally doesnt add a pollution site to the list unless the state requests it, officials said. EPA open to Superfund cleanup in Ann Arbor if state is on board After four months without word from Gov. Whitmer on whether the state would support a federal Superfund cleanup of the pollution, advocates were planning rally in Lansing on Tuesday to get the governors attention on the issue. That rally has now been canceled. Ann Arbor dioxane cleanup advocates plan rally in Lansing to get Whitmers attention Dingell says she plans to continue working with lawmakers as well as stakeholders involved to ensure a proper cleanup of the contamination. Dan Bicknell, an environmental remediation professional and president of Global Environment Alliance LLC, offered his support Monday. The communities should thank US Representative Debbie Dingell, all the local elected officials, and the Governor for supporting a federal United States Environmental Protection Agency Gelman Sciences, Inc. Superfund Site which will ensure the protection of our public health and the environment, Bicknell said. In the past 40 years, (Gelman Sciences) poisoned over four square miles of a pristine drinking water aquifer impacting public and private water wells and their dioxane poisoning continues today. Bicknell is credited with discovering the Gelman plume while he was a University of Michigan public health graduate student in 1984. READ MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS: Judge signals intent to order cleanup plan in Ann Arbor dioxane pollution case Theyre going to be everywhere. Ann Arbor preparing for massive swarms of cicadas Talks of replacing Woody Allen in Ann Arbor mural reignited after new documentary MONTREAL - The front window of Frank Passa's Old Montreal restaurant, Quattro, is covered with a piece of plywood, broken after an anti-curfew protest turned violent on Sunday night. People take part in an anti-curfew protest in Montreal on Sunday April 11, 2021. Hundreds of people gathered in Old Montreal tonight in defiance of a new 8 p.m. curfew. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giuseppe Valiante MONTREAL - The front window of Frank Passa's Old Montreal restaurant, Quattro, is covered with a piece of plywood, broken after an anti-curfew protest turned violent on Sunday night. While some of his neighbours had their windows repaired on Monday morning, Passa said he plans to wait until the end of the week in case it happens again. "There's supposed to be another riot, another protest tonight," he said in an interview outside the restaurant. "We're not open, so what's the use, I don't want to pay twice." After hundreds of people gathered Sunday in the city's historic district to protest the provincial government's decision to advance the curfew to 8 p.m., some protesters led a destructive trail through the neighbourhood, breaking store windows and lighting garbage on fire. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante condemned the violence Monday, telling reporters what happened was "not acceptable" and describing the vandalism as "ridiculous" and "stupid." "People are allowed to protest," she said. "It is their right, but do it right. Don't attack people that are already suffering, that are dealing with COVID just like they are." For business owners in the targeted area, the pandemic has already been a challenge, and now they have to pay for repairs. "The office buildings are empty, there's no tourists, there's no Grand Prix, there's no jazz festival, there's nobody," Passa said. "So already we're losing 95 per cent of the sales, then you have to spend another $2,000(on repairs.)" He said he doesn't understand the motivation of the vandals. "Because of the curfew, they did a protest and they smashed all the windows on the street. It won't help them," he said. Isabelle Kapsaskis, one of the members of L'empreinte cooperative, which runs a gift shop in the Old Port, said her store was fortunate.While the outer window was broken, there was no damage inside. Still, she said, the cooperative will have to pay for repairs. "I'm mad. I'm really sad too," she said about the vandalism. "I know that they're tired, we're all tired. About the situation, we're all angry, but I think you can pass a message that you're angry, you're tired, but not this way." She said she hopes that organizers of any future anti-curfew protests will discourage vandalism, but she worries it will happen again. A police spokesman said Monday that seven arrests were made following the damage Sunday night, though there was no immediate word on charges. He said 107 tickets were issued for public health violations. The 8 p.m. curfew came into effect Sunday night in Montreal and its northern suburb of Laval. Premier Francois Legault said he was moving the curfew ahead from 9:30 p.m. as a precaution because of the rise of novel coronavirus variants of concern. Quebec City and a few other cities in the province are also under an 8 p.m. curfew. Residents in those regions who leave their homes between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. without an approved reason could face fines of over $1,000. On Sunday, a mostly young crowd danced to music from loudspeakers while lighting fireworks and chanting, "freedom for the young," before the festive atmosphere quickly degenerated. Police fired tear gas and rushed the crowd, prompting dozens of protesters to scatter and cause mayhem down the cobblestone streets. Plante defended the Montreal police response, saying they were present from the beginning of the gathering. The vandalism lasted about two hours. "There's always a kind of balance to find, because sometimes when police officers act too fast, it can put oil on the fire," Plante said. Montreal police say they are still investigating possible incidents of mischief, arson, breaking and entering, and obstruction of police. Quebec's public security minister also called Sunday night's vandalism unacceptable. "Outbursts like those of last night in Old Montreal cannot be tolerated," Genevieve Guilbault said on Twitter. "We have the right to express our disagreements, but we must do so with the greatest respect for the health rules in force." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2021. With files from Sidhartha Banerjee This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship. The Police in Lagos say they have arrested a 50-year-old man over the sudden death of his girlfriend, one Enobong Udoh, 38. Muyiwa Adejobi, the state police spokesperson, said in a statement Sunday that the incident happened on April 11 at about 10.45 a.m. Mr Adejobi said one Blessing Pius of No. 46, Adegboruwa Street, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, reported to the Police that the deceased was found dead in her house. He said upon the report, the Police invited the deceaseds boyfriend for interrogation, where he allegedly confessed that the deceased was pregnant. Mr Adejobi said the suspected boyfriend claimed that his late lover informed him of being pregnant since February. The suspect claimed he was in her lovers house on April 10 to check on her at about 5.14 p.m. when the deceased informed him that she had terminated the pregnancy. The statements and utterances of the suspect revealed that he has some questions to answer. The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered that the suspect be transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation, he said. Another arrest The police say they also arrested two women suspected to have hands in the death of a 64-year-old Osita Anwuanwu at Arida area of Ikotun in Lagos State. Mr Adejobi stated that the incident happened on April 8, at about 8.45 p.m. He said the daughter of the deceased, one Linda Anwuanwu, of Temitope Street, off Governors Road, Ikotun, Lagos, reported the case to the Police at Ikotun Division. He said the complainant claimed in her reports that she was informed that her father was lying down in a bar at Arida after he had a misunderstanding with the two suspects. ALSO READ: Police arrest two for allegedly stealing 10 goats The Police at Ikotun Division raced to the scene and rushed the deceased to the General Hospital, Igando, where he was certified dead. Preliminary investigation by the Police shows that the deceased had gone to check his lady friend, (one of the suspects), who he had not seen for some times, at the second suspects bar. There, the deceased engaged the duo in a hot argument and physical assault before he slumped, the statement read. The two suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for proper investigation. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT More than a year after the original ribbon cutting was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony to officially open the El Eden Splash Park was held Wednesday morning. The project cost $1,018,933 of which $551,270 was obtained from community block grant money and the remaining $467,663 from district property funds. The original ribbon cutting ceremony was planned for March 3, 2020. This project is long overdue as we started it more than two years ago, and we had the opportunity to open it up last year. But unfortunately with the COVID situation that came about about we started shutting a lot of our departments for safety purposes, especially with the rise of COVID that wasnt going down at all and just kept going up and up, Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tempore Rudy Gonzalez Jr. said. But finally, we come to this day for the million-dollar project. Even though I am one of those who tries to save as much money as I can, when the time came I put in for a large project as I just want to see the smile in the kids faces. According to Gonzalez, the splash park includes amenities such as spray features, pumps, mechanical features, a pool, showers available next to the pool, equipment rooms, lighting and other amenities that people can enjoy when they attend the park. Gonzalez said this is one of the first events he has attended in person following the lower numbers of active COVID-19 cases in the area as he said he felt safer being at home as much as possible with the exception of fulfilling his work duties. I havent been out as much this last year as I just did an Easter event last week and it was a drive-thru, and it was my first time being out with other people as I had just been home with my kids keeping protected, Gonzalez said. City Manager Robert Eads also discussed the impact of the pandemic and how it delayed the opening of the park. COVID changed a lot of what we do, Eads said. Back about a year ago on March 13, this ribbon cutting was supposed to happen then. Obviously, because of COVID, a lot of things changed, and I know that because thankfully I was selected as city manager of the city on March 4. According to Eads, one of his first assignments as city manager was to go to Washington with a large group of local leaders to showcase the importance of Laredo. He returned to a city that had been shut down as the pandemic began impacting the area. Eads said the lockdown was worthwhile and more important than any park opening or city event as the safety of the community came first. The first thing for us was to take care of our community, and it was to postpone this and many other events that usually bring people together and enjoy this type of facility, Eads said. Gladly, we may look at our new future with eyes of hope, expecting everyone to continue being healthy, active and strong. We are grateful because after one year we are able to celebrate the opening of this very special place. While Eads is optimistic about Laredos progress, he knows the city and the world are not done with COVID-19. He praised people for their sacrifice and the city for being proactive rather than reactive when the virus began affecting people in Laredo. With the progress made, he said many events will happen soon such as the opening of a recreation center in May. Gonzalez said that with less than two years remaining as a councilmember, he plans to use his time wisely and hopefully bring more projects like this to his area. He also continued to encourage caution amid the pandemic. We have seen and continue so see numbers go down. Hopefully, they do stay down, Gonzalez said. At one point we were up there with the highest hospitalization rate in the state of Texas, and now, with all the efforts of city management and every staff member and our medical professionals, we have been able to maintain a good and steady low number. Gonzalez said it is not time to let our guard down when it comes to the virus, but people, especially those following safety guidelines and those who are vaccinated, should begin slowly finding some normalcy again. The El Eden Splash Park is located at 4735 Loma Vista and will be open from Tuesday to Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. to all visitors. People can find out more information about the park by calling (956) 794-1765. jorge.vela@lmtonline.com A group, Niger Delta Anti-Corruption Forum (NDACF), has asked the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to arrest and prosecute staff of the organisation involved in awarding phony contracts and hijacking its scholarship scheme. The group made the call in a statement on Sunday by its Coordinator, Samuel Samuel. PAP recently disclosed that it discovered unsavoury acts of fraud perpetrated by some vendors and contractors, adding that it was investigating the activities to determine how widespread they were and the extent of involvement of the persons. The Interim Administrator of the Programme, Milland Dikio, said while the investigation was on, it would continue to pay those whose contracts and documents had been verified. NDACF commended the leadership of PAP for the courage to flush out the corrupt elements who connived with external elements to steal billions of naira from the Programme. It, however, said the organisation should go further by arresting and prosecuting those found guilty of the offence to serve as deterrent to others. It alleged that some of the staff involved had hijacked scholarships and inflated the number of beneficiaries and used the ill- gotten money to buy choice houses in Abuja and other cities in the country. We received a cheery news last week that there is an ongoing cleansing of the Presidential Amnesty Office in Abuja and upon investigation we confirmed that it was true, the group said in the statement issued after its meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. To us as a group, this is long overdue and indeed one of the best things to happen to the region. To say that we are happy about it is an understatement. A lot of people are not aware that 50 to 60 percent of the contractors handling various projects are staff of the Amnesty Office. They use people as fronts. It is also on record that most of the contracts they award to themselves do not exist. They just get the money and lavish. It is the same thing they do with the PAP Scholarship Programme meant for people from impacted communities. They hijack the scholarships and sell the slots. In some schools there are only about 20 to 25 students but the amnesty office pays the fees of as much as 50 to 60 students. They have acquired choice properties with their ill-gotten funds from the PAP in Abuja and other cities. It is a fact that these people have several choice properties at the expense of the original beneficiaries of the programme. And a lot of our people dont know about it. When Colonel Milland Dixion Dikio came and said he wanted to reposition the PAP, they declared war on him, frustrated every move he made but the good thing is that the man has lived up expectations and his military background. He has shown capacity to do the right thing. We are proud of him and we admire his boldness in the face of the sponsored attacks against him. We encourage him to go after the rest of the people who are also involved in the sharp practices. Were calling on the Interim Administrator of the PAP to ensure that those culprits and their gang of collaborators are brought to justice. It is not enough to sack them, they should be arrested and prosecuted. Everyone who is involved in a contract and scholarship scam should have his or her day in court. This will serve as a warning to others, minimize the level of corruption in that office and make the PAP work well. NDACF assured Mr Dikio of its support, just as it praised him for sticking to his broad vision of repositioning the PAP, building the capacity of ex-agitators and general security and development of the region. The NDACF also said it endorsed Mr Dikios strategic engagements with critical stakeholders in the region to strengthen the PAP and get them to play their various roles in the Niger Delta Recovery Plan. ADVERTISEMENT Houston, Texas, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Empire Communities, one of North Americas largest privately held homebuilders, is pleased to announce the appointment of Terry Shuffler as new Division President in Central Texas. Having spent over 25 years of his career in the homebuilding industry, Terry has an intimate knowledge of all facets of the business with roles in his early years as Construction Manager, Builder and Director of Production. The majority of his career has been with Trendmaker Homes where he most recently held the position of VP Operations overseeing Construction, Customer Care and Architecture. Previously, for almost 5 years, he led the start-up of Trendmakers Austin division, as VP General Manager. Terrys many years in the Austin homebuilding market provided him with the opportunity to continue to hone his leadership skills and grow a team, negotiating over 1,000 lots and record profitability in his 3rd year in a new market with unprecedented closings. We are confident that with these solid skills and deep knowledge of central Texas, Terry will be a strong leader and will have a smooth transition to the Empire team. As we move through 2021 and into the future our goal is to continue our aggressive growth strategy into new markets, says James Miller, Regional President of Empires Texas Homebuilding Division. There is no doubt that with Terrys background and experience we will continue to set unprecedented records in achieving both our sales and closing goals. Terry graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and has remained active in the industry as a GHBA Board Member and numerous years supporting both Houston and Austin HomeAid. He has also been a guest lecturer at the University of Houston and Texas State University. EMPIRE COMMUNITIES Empire Communities is a residential homebuilder involved in all sectors of the new home building industry, including both lowrise and highrise built forms. Celebrating 27 years of building inspiring new places to live, Empire has an established tradition of creating prestigious award-winning new homes, communities and amenities and has earned a reputation for outstanding attention to detail and customer service. Since its inception in 1993, Empire has built over 28,000 new homes and condos. Today, Empire is one of the largest privately held homebuilders in North America with current communities in Toronto, Southwestern Ontario and the Southern United States. -30- Attachments The military Inspector-Generals inquiry ran between 2016 and late 2020 and was led by Court of Appeal judge Paul Brereton. It has been backed by Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell, the federal government and legal and human rights groups. Mr Roberts-Smith was one of its key suspects and it has referred multiple war crime allegations concerning him to ongoing federal police probes. The secret deal to finance Mr Roberts-Smiths private battles would also be likely to attract scrutiny after the revelation on Sunday that he engaged in an alleged criminal conspiracy to intimidate Brereton inquiry witnesses and to conceal evidence by burying it in his backyard. Ben Roberts-Smith with a novelty drinking vessel made from the prosthetic leg of an Afghan man he had killed. Also revealed by The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes were taped private conversations in which Mr Roberts-Smith expressed his gratitude to Kerry Stokes for backing his fight against war crime allegations, and Mr Roberts-Smiths desire to f---king destroy the politicians, SAS soldiers and journalists who had made adverse comments about him. I will take it all the way and Ive got the bank to do it, he says of the support from the Stokes family. They are privy to everything thats gone on in the courts, they know what is going on. Put it this way, mate, [Kerry] Stokes isnt an idiot, hes not going to back someone whos a loser. There is no suggestion that Kerry Stokes or his son knew of Mr Roberts-Smiths comments or the allegedly criminal behaviour aimed at undermining the Brereton inquiry. However, the leaked June 2020 agreement raises questions for members of the Seven West Media board who knew of the financing of Mr Roberts-Smiths war-crime defence. It reveals how the Seven Networks legal team had accrued considerable experience in Mr Roberts-Smiths fight against the Inspector-Generals inquiry and a separate defamation proceeding he took against The Age and the Herald. The company understands there is a strong case to defend your reputation and the unfairness of your treatment by the ... [Brereton] Inquiry. Words of an agreement struck between Ryan Stokes and Ben Roberts-Smith It shows the Stokes family has demanded Mr Roberts-Smith pay the private company, ACE, a 15 per cent share of any funds he wins in his defamation battles. He must also follow the advice of Sevens legal team if he loses his defamation battle and it believes an appeal is warranted. A listed company does not usually pay an employees legal costs when the matter does not directly relate to the business, but it does occur. And Mr Roberts-Smith was not the first company employee to benefit from financial support from Seven. Media sources, who spoke anonymously because the details of the agreement were confidential, said Seven paid the legal costs of former news boss Peter Meakin, who was charged with three drink-driving offences between 2006 and 2007. Loading Ownership Matters director Dean Paatsch, who specialises in governance and proxy advice, said it is not unusual or unheard of for public companies to extend unsecured loans to staff. However, Seven is a listed company and minority shareholders didnt stand to gain anything out of the loan. It was therefore appropriate to transfer it to Mr Stokes. The loan to Mr Roberts-Smith was initially considered short-term and the company expected the full amount to be repaid, according to people familiar with the arrangement. Approval of payments or loans typically do not reach the board of directors unless they are above a particular threshold. The Ryan Stokes-approved agreement outlines the use of Seven West Media shareholder funds to pay $1.87 million for Mr Roberts-Smiths legal costs as well as Ryan Stokes offer to pay back the $1.87 million to the listed firm via a new loan agreement with the private company. Loading Legal costs are described in Ryan Stokes letter as proceedings relating to the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, which involve Mr Roberts-Smiths appearance at confidential hearings in which he was accused of involvement in multiple executions. These hearings separately triggered two federal police probes into Mr Roberts-Smith. The legal costs also include defamation proceedings launched by Mr Roberts-Smith against The Age and the Herald and an overseas media company after they reported the allegations for which he is the subject of the police investigation. The company [ACE] understands there is a strong case to defend your reputation and the unfairness of your treatment by the [media] defendants and in the [Brereton] inquiry proceedings, the Ryan Stokes agreement states. Mr Roberts-Smith did not agree to hand over any assets to Seven if he was unable to foot the bill, according to people briefed on the matter. The existence of a loan was first reported last year in The Australian Financial Review, but only that the loan came from the Stokes familys private company. Kerry Stokes has also revealed he is using Mr Roberts-Smiths Victoria Cross medal as collateral in the event he cant pay back the loan. Using ACE to lend funds to Mr Roberts-Smith is far less controversial than using funds from Seven West Media, the shareholders of which include Spheria Asset Management, Dimensional Fund Advisors and The Vanguard Group. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The agreement reveals that the $1.87 million was lent to Mr Roberts-Smith via Seven Network Operations Limited, a subsidiary of Seven West Media, but this loan was repaid with ACE funds in mid 2020. The motivation for the transfer of the loan to ACE isnt clear, but it occurred at a time when Seven West Media was under financial pressure and the coronavirus pandemic had caused a sharp downturn in advertising revenue. The company received more than $30 million from the federal governments JobKeeper package and cut staff wages by 20 per cent. The company also conducted a large round of redundancies and in July, renegotiated its $750 million banking facilities with its eight existing lenders. A 30-year-old Portland man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder Sunday and taken to the Multnomah County Detention Center. Anthony M. Millner Jr. was taken into custody in connection with the death of a man who was found Saturday in Portlands Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. The Multnomah County District Attorneys Office later identified the man as Edward Thomas Grant. Portland police on Saturday began investigating a death at an apartment on Northwest Second Avenue and West Burnside Street. They arrested Millner at the scene. Grant, a 41-year-old Portland resident, died of blunt force trauma. Authorities also did not specify whether the two men knew each other, and said court documents in the case had been sealed because of a court order. The DAs Office on Monday charged Millner with one count of second-degree murder. Police found the victim in an apartment on Northwest Second Avenue apartment at 1:15 p.m. -- Tom Hallman Jr; thallman@oregonian.com; 503-221-8224; @thallmanjr Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Last Friday, workers at the Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama, resoundingly rejected affiliation with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Only 738 out of the 5,800 workers at the facilityless than 13 percentcast a vote in favor of the union, and the final breakdown of the votes of the 3,215 workers who participated showed that the union had been rejected by a more than two-to-one margin. The result is an ignominious defeat for the union, which had the backing of prominent politicians such as Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, anticommunist Republican Senator Marco Rubio, and President Joe Biden himself. Although RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum and sought to blame Amazons anti-union measures for the defeat, the union failed to convince workers that it could advance their interests in any concrete way. Throughout the organizing campaign, which received extensive media coverage, the RWDSU failed to make a single demand of Amazon. In fact, the union made little effort to talk directly to workers at all. In this March 30, 2020 file photo, workers at Amazons fulfillment center in Staten Island gather outside to protest work conditions in the companys New York warehouse [Credit: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File] The World Socialist Web Site asked Amazon workers across the country for their reactions to the vote. Whistleblower and former Amazon worker Shannon Allen made the following statement: Amazon workers will not be saved by the union. It is not a knight in shining armor riding in on a horse. The only thing thats going to change is several more deductions from your paycheck that were not previously there, your voice diminished. A good pay rate and safety are not Amazons or the unions first priority. Your best interest is not their priority. What is their top priority is blowing smoke up your ass. They will lie to you. Amazon workers are not puppets for Bezos. The union will ensure that they are. With a rank-and-file committee, the Amazon workers make the decisions. Why would you want to pay out of your paycheck every week to [have the union] make decisions for you, no input? Look at all the injured and dead employees over the past 25 years that have been swept under the rug. Especially the latest death of an Amazon worker. Her name was Poushawn Brown. She was important to somebody and to her working brothers and sisters. She was loved. She was needed. Amazon doesnt care to investigate her death or give her family and her children answers as to why this healthy 31-year-old went home from work and passed away in her sleep from her shift with a job description of testing employees for coronavirus. A worker at Amazons BWI2 facility in Baltimore felt that the RWDSUs operation had been a publicity stunt that was largely promoted by the media. It was not being motivated from the ground up, he said, adding that the RWDSU failed even to get workers at the facility involved. The RWDSUs unwillingness to raise any concrete demands during the high-profile voting period showed that it wasnt offering any demonstrable change for workers, he said. Speaking of the conditions at Amazon in Baltimore, the worker said that a lot of people have been beaten down by the company and are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Theres a history of militancy in this city, he said, but added that working people, especially the youth, had no real political organization that could connect their struggles to the major class battles of the 20th century. Working people know they are unhappy, and they know they are oppressed. What they dont know is who to blame politically for this situation, he said. Me and my coworker were talking about [the Bessemer vote], said a worker in the San Francisco Bay area. I knew it wasnt going to happen. Referring to unions, he said, Actually, its still a form of them controlling us in a different type of way. Bessemer warehouse on the last day of voting on March 29 (Source: WSWS Media) The union will not fight for you, they fight for the employer, a worker commented in an Amazon group on Facebook. Decades of betrayed strikes, including plant closures, wage and benefit cuts and layoffs, substantiate her comment. The RWDSU and its parent union, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), are a case in point. At many of the poultry plants in Alabama and other southern states, workers represented by the RWDSU actually make less than the $15 paid by Amazon. Even when workers were dying from COVID-19, the RWDSU kept 2,000 poultry workers on the job at a Tyson plant in Camilla, Georgia. The UFCW has done the same despite the infections of over 50,000 meatpacking workers and 250 deaths. If you talk with any of the people already represented by RWDSU, then you would know that they are weak and dont do anything to improve working conditions or increase pay. In fact, this union has made things worse for some folks, one Amazon worker commented on Facebook. Not all unions are created equal or do good things for their workers. They did the right thing by voting no. The same worker described the burden that the unions represent for the working class. Its useless to settle for a bad union and be stuck paying dues for an organization that isnt working for you, she commented on Facebook. No one should be forced to settle for a union like that. It was a waste of time to even consider it. As the WSWS explained in its April 10 perspective, The RWDSUs debacle at Amazon, 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. Workers must draw the necessary conclusions from this experience. Workers need new organizations of struggle, independent of the pro-corporate unions, which are democratically controlled by the rank and file, and fight for workers needs. The Socialist Equality Party and World Socialist Web Site call for and are assisting workers in forming a network of independent rank-and-file committees in factories, schools and all work locations, which will be critical to the development of a counter-offensive by the working class in the US and internationally 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. Email contributing columnist Steve Flores at floressteve32@yahoo.com. His work appears here every third Monday; the views expressed are his own. Highlights A new Twitter thread shows how Facebook tracks user activities even on other websites and businesses. The activities range from making a purchase to just opening a website for surfing. It does not stop altogether even when the users opt out of it. Hundreds of millions of Facebook users were recently the victims of a large-scale data breach. The attack exploited user data including phone numbers, email IDs, photos and more. A new Twitter thread now explains that there is much more data that Facebook collects from a user, which might now be out in the open for the data breach victims. The information has been shared in a series of tweets by Twitter user Zamaan Qureshi. Qureshi decided to download his Facebook data after learning that he was a part of the data breach. It was then that some revelations around Facebook's tracking activities were made. While gathering his data from the social media website, Qureshi checked a folder titled "your_off_facebook_activity." The Twitter user found that Facebook was in fact following much of his internet activities. This included his online food orders, his applications to universities as well as his search queries. Note that all these internet tasks were performed on websites other than Facebook. The tech major collects this information under the term "Off-Facebook Activity." The umbrella term helps Facebook track the user's activities on businesses and organisations other than Facebook. (Image: Zamaan Qureshi/ Twitter) Screenshots shared by Qureshi in his tweets show that such activities by him have been traced by Facebook categorically. Facebook has collected data including the host website/ business' name, the activity performed on it as well as the time at which it was done. In the case of ordering a pizza, the screenshot shows the name of the business as Domino's Pizza USA. In addition, the time at which the tasks were traced is mentioned against each of the activities, which have been categorised as per action - Purchase, Custom, Activate_App etc. Just visiting a website has been labeled as Page_View. How to stop it? (Image: Zamaan Qureshi/ Twitter) Towards the end of his Twitter thread, Qureshi says that he has disabled these tracking features since they came to his notice. In addition, the user cleared his browser history and now recommends all to do the same. Those interested can manage the same through the Off-Facebook Activity tab under their Facebook settings. A Clear History option under the subhead should allow users to delete such data tracked by Facebook to date. As for the future, a toggle switch can be moved to Off under the Future Off-Facebook Activity setting. The issue somehow does not stop here, as Qureshi warns that Facebook will still track you despite opting out of the practice. A clause under the Off-Facebook Activity states that the social media service will still receive activities from the businesses and organisations visited by the user. However, this information will be disconnected from the user account. Note that switching this feature off will prevent you from using your Facebook login for any other website or service on the Internet. To be extra wary of this privacy invasion, the utmost step is to delete the Facebook group apps including Facebook and Instagram. In case that is not an option, users are advised not to browse at the same time when they are logged into it. It is recommended that they access Facebook through a different browser and never on a phone, especially Android. ROCHESTER, Minn. A man is jailed after allegedly trying to hit a pizza delivery vehicle. Rochester police say they were called to Oak Terrace Estates in the 1600 block of Marion Road around 1:40 am on Sunday. Police say there was a report of someone trying to break into an apartment and a pizza delivery man says someone approached him and tried to hit his care with a wrench. Officers say a suspect, Jessy Dian Dominguez, 30 of Rochester, was found on a bicycle and he tried to crash it into a police car. Dominguez allegedly wrestled with an officer and was treated for intoxication. Dominguez has been booked into the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center and faces charges of fourth-degree damage to property, terrorist threats, fourth-degree assault of a peace officer, and disorderly conduct. Police: Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not handgun View Photo BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the citys police chief said Monday, as police clashed with protesters for the second night in a row. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as an accidental discharge. It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant. The shooting sparked protests and unrest in a metropolitan area already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyds death. Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released at a news conference. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel. After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him. Crowds began gathering outside the the Brooklyn Center police station late Monday afternoon, with hundreds there by nightfall despite the governors dusk-to-dawn curfew. A drum beat incessantly, and the crowd broke into frequent chants of Daunte Wright! Some shouted obscenities at officers. About 90 minutes after the curfew deadline, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some away. Some protesters picked up smoke canisters and threw them back toward police. Others shot fireworks toward police lines. A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds. Move back! the police chanted. Hands up! Dont shoot! the crowd chanted back. By 10 p.m., only a few dozen protesters remained. Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after the Sunday night violence. The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting deeply tragic and said the officer should be fired. We cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people, he said. Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole. Elliott later announced that the city council had voted to give his office command authority over the police department. This will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership, he wrote on Twitter. He also said the city manager had been fired, and that the deputy city manager would take over his duties. The reason behind the firing was not immediately clear, but the city manager controls the police department, according to the citys charter. Now-former City Manager Curt Boganey, speaking earlier to reporters, said the officer who shot Wright would get due process after the shooting. All employees working for the city of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline, he said. Brooklyn Center is a modest suburb just north of Minneapolis that has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Latino. Elliott, the citys first Black mayor, immigrated from Liberia as a child. Organizers from the Movement for Black Lives, a national coalition of more than 150 Black-led political and advocacy groups, pointed to Wrights killing as yet another reason why cities must take up proposals for defunding an irreparably broken, racist system. The fact that police killed him just miles from where they murdered George Floyd last year is a slap in the face to an entire community, said Karissa Lewis, the coalitions national field director. The body camera footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells him hes being arrested on a warrant. Thats when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting. Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle. It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet, Gannon said. This appears to me from what I viewed and the officers reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright. Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office said in a statement. A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Wrights mother, Katie Wright, said that passenger was her sons girlfriend. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting, identified the officer as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who has been placed on administrative leave. Gannon would not say whether she would be fired. I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning, the chief said. Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. Wrights mother said her son called her as he was getting pulled over. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot. His brother, Dallas Bryant, told about a hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil Monday evening that Wright sounded scared during the phone call, and questioned how the officer could accidentally reach for a gun instead of a Taser. You know the difference between plastic and metal. We all know it, he said. President Joe Biden urged calm after watching the body camera footage. We do know that the anger, pain and trauma amidst the Black community is real, Biden said from the Oval Office. But that does not justify violence and looting. Demonstrators began to gather shortly after the shooting, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the citys police headquarters, throwing rocks and other objects. About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping center, authorities said. At least a half-dozen businesses were boarding up their windows along Minneapolis Lake Street, the scene of some of the most intense violence after Floyds death. National Guard vehicles were deployed to a few major intersections. Several professional sports teams in Minneapolis called off games because of safety concerns. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyds death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. The judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defense attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict. ___ Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Aaron Morrison in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Jonathan Lemire in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. By MOHAMED IBRAHIM Associated Press In a recent State of the city address, the Portage mayor stated that the city was near being considered a distressed city by the State on Indiana due to its financial condition. What a well kept secret. As a resident and taxpayer, I want someone to step forward and explain in detail how this happened, not just the usual blaming previous administrations and just saying overspending was the issue. But actual details. Where did the money go, where is the money going now? Who is accountable? Just how bad are Portages finances? Nothing can diminish the grief of losing a loved one, but the option of a voluntary assisted dying scheme is helping reduce the trauma involved. A growing number of Australian states are legalising or considering the introduction of a euthanasia program, in accordance with strict guidelines. Some 224 Victorians have ended their lives since state laws came into effect in June 2019. Since then, Western Australia and Tasmania have passed similar legislation and the topic remains on the agenda for other state parliaments. In Victoria, adults with an incurable and advanced illness with less than six months to live - or 12 months for neurodegenerative diseases - are eligible to access lethal medication to end their lives. Nothing can diminish the grief of losing a loved one, but the option of a voluntary assisted dying scheme is helping reduce the trauma involved Applicants must make three separate requests to end their life, and be endorsed by two doctors, including a specialist, who have undertaken mandatory training. Melbourne GP Nick Carr, who is on the board of Dying with Dignity Victoria, has helped dozens of terminally ill people access the scheme. 'All the things that people were saying were going to happen ... that we would be knocking off kids and disabled people, coercing grannies to die so that grandkids can get their money, there's just no evidence of any of that,' he told AAP. 'All it has done is given a very small number of people a better choice at the end of their lives.' Veteran TV interviewer Andrew Denton, who established advocacy group Go Gentle in 2016, was instrumental in the campaign for voluntary assisted dying in Victoria. His interest in the issue was sparked by the 'painful and traumatic experience' of watching his father, Kit Denton, die slowly in 1997. 'Assisted dying is peaceful, it's humane, but it's not a golden ticket,' he told AAP. 'You still have to say goodbye to everything, that sadness and that trauma doesn't go away for people but it is far less traumatic than sitting by a bedside as somebody you love suffers for days or weeks or sometimes months.' In 2015, Denton released a 17-episode podcast series called Better Off Dead, in which he spoke to terminally ill people and their loved ones who were desperate for a voluntary euthanasia scheme, including a woman convicted over the assisted suicide of her cancer-ridden father. On Tuesday he launches the second season of the podcast and the difference in experiences 'could not be starker'. 'I spoke to the daughter of a woman who was 82 and she had a horrible degenerative disease. They were able to take her out, not long before she died, for an afternoon where she was surrounded by grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They played movies. Everybody spoke to her,' Denton said. 'The daughter said to her mother, "Look, mum, this is what you've done, none of this would be here if not for you". It's the most beautiful thing.' The podcast also looks at the limitations of Victoria's scheme, including the many safeguards that have sometimes acted as barriers. Among the Denton interviewees in season two is Kristin Cornell, whose father Allan died in June last year, about 100 days after he began the application process to end his life. Veteran TV interviewer Andrew Denton, who established advocacy group Go Gentle in 2016, was instrumental in the campaign for voluntary assisted dying in Victoria The 74-year-old and his family spent his final months trying to find neurologists trained in the state's voluntary assisted dying laws to approve his application. 'Carting my dad around to that final neurology appointment, he couldn't keep his head up, he couldn't sit in cars anymore,' Ms Cornell said. 'When I told him that we had to go back to the first neurologist again because we'd fallen out of the timeframe he cried. I reckon I've seen my dad cry about twice. 'He said, "It's like I've got a carrot dangling in front of me Kristin and I can't reach it".' There are 210 medical professionals across Victoria trained to help people access the program, the majority of whom are general practitioners located in metropolitan Melbourne. Commonwealth laws prohibit consultations over the phone or via teleconference, which makes it harder for those living outside the city. VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING IN AUSTRALIA: * Victoria: voluntary assisted dying laws came into effect in June 2019. * WA: laws passed parliament in December 2019, due to come into effect on July 1, 2021. * Tasmania: laws passed parliament in March, expected to come into effect within 18 months. * Queensland: the Palaszczuk government will introduce a bill this year after making it a central part of its re-election campaign. * SA: debating the issue for the 17th time after an upper house MP tabled a bill in parliament in December. * NSW: independent MP Alex Greenwich plans to introduce a private member's bill this year. The state's most recent attempt to legalise voluntary assisted dying in 2017 failed to pass the upper house by one vote. * NT/ACT: NT passed the world's first law in 1995 only to have it overturned less than two years later by the federal government. Canberra also removed the right of territories to legislate on euthanasia. Advertisement Dr Carr said the prognosis requirement means some people are starting the application process too late. 'There's a saying that doctors don't know you have six months to live until you've got six weeks to live,' he said. 'Ideally, the voluntary assisted dying bill would say that you have an end-stage terminal illness, which treatment is unlikely to make a difference, without having to put a prognosis on there.' He also hopes the state government reconsiders the requirement of being an Australian citizen or permanent resident. 'We've had people who've lived here for many years but never taken out citizenship,' he said. 'My very first patient Julian lived here for 40 years, but he was a British citizen. He committed suicide in a very unpleasant manner because he was not eligible for voluntary assisted dying.' Season two of Better Off Dead will be released on Tuesday via wheelercentre.com. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 The idea of an exhibition on artisanal watchmakers started brewing among the Hour Glass staff members in 2018. Then, in the early stages of the pandemic, when we started realizing something very serious was going on in the world and was going to affect the way we lived, there was this real sense of concern about how physical engagement with people was going to be challenged, Mr. Tay said. We got this idea of developing this online viewing room and proposing this idea of an artistic, nonutilitarian form of horology. The Hour Glass, a specialist watch retailer with 45 boutiques in the Asia-Pacific region, has an in-house information technology team and a longtime relationship with a professional photographer, so it handled the entire project. The business had been involved in exhibitions before, but this was its first digital one and, Mr. Tay said, the only one of its kind in the watch world. The staff estimated that the project took 3,000 hours, 500 of which was spent on photography alone as numerous shoots and reshoots were required. And creating the platform involved testing several formats before a final choice could be made. All 150 watches came to Singapore. Right at the beginning, we had a policy: We wont put anything in this viewing room if we cant photograph it physically in Singapore, Mr. Tay said. Thats why some watches were not present, as we could not convince some owners to ship them, and also due to disruptions in transporting during the pandemic. It was a huge endeavor, it took a lot of coordination with the shipping and insurance. But it was important to have a consistency with the images. Collectors primarily provided the watches, although a few like Rexhep Rexhepis graduation watch and the very first timepiece that Mr. Voutilainen ever made came from the watchmakers themselves. The volcanic plume from one of Iceland's biggest eruptions of the last 200 years led to an increase in respiratory disease diagnoses by 23 per cent, experts warned. Experts from the UK and Iceland studied the impact the 201415 Holuhraun lava eruption, which spewed out 11 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide over six months. While the plume originally spread out across Iceland and the Atlantic Ocean towards the UK and Europe, air currents caused it to circle back round to Iceland. Thus, the team explained, the residents of the capital of Reykjavik, despite being 155 miles (250 km) from the eruption site, were exposed to the pollution repeatedly. Moreover, as the plume lingered in the atmosphere, its composition matured from gas into particles that penetrate deep into the lungs and cause health problems. The findings highlight the need for authorities to prepare for health issues derived from such returning emissions in the days following eruptions, the researchers said. Scroll down for video The volcanic plume from one of Iceland's biggest eruptions of the last 200 years led to an increase in respiratory disease diagnoses by almost a quarter, experts warned. Experts from the UK and Iceland studied the impact the 201415 Holuhraun lava eruption (pictured), which spewed out 11 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide over six months (file photo) THE HOLUHRAUN LAVA ERUPTIONS Holuhraun is in the Icelandic Highlands, north of Vatnajokull. Its lava field was created by fissure eruptions. In the early hours of August 29, 2014, a fissure eruption began at the northern end of the Holuhraun field. Since then, the lava field has spread to an area more than 32 square miles (84 square km) across. Holuhraun is now Icelands largest basaltic lava flow since the Laki eruption in 17831784 which killed 20 per cent of the islands population. It continues to spew huge amounts of lava and sulphur dioxide, and may continue to do so for years to come. Advertisement 'Volcanoes are a significant source of air pollution, but of course its a source that cannot be controlled,' said paper author and volcanologist Evgenia Ilyinskaya of the the University of Leeds. 'Large volcanic eruptions can cause harmful air pollution both immediately, and also when the plume returns to the same area.' This, she explained, 'may happen without it triggering air pollution alerts.' 'Our research shows that during prolonged eruptions such as Holuhraun, both young and mature plumes can be circulating at the same time, increasing the harmful health effects on those living in volcanic regions.' 'This pollution return is not currently factored into responses to the threat to public health caused by volcanoes.' The team found that exposure to the volcanic plume from the Holuhraun eruption in 2014 was associated with a 23 per cent increase in respiratory disease-related health care use and a 19.3 per cent increase in the dispensing of asthma medications. The returning, mature plume did not trigger health advisory messages in Iceland because the reduced sulphur dioxide levels meant it no longer fell outside of within European Commission air standards. It is estimated that some 800 million people across the globe live near active volcanoes and could therefore be affected by volcanically-triggered air pollution. In fact, Iceland has recently experienced another volcanic event, with Mount Fagradalsfjall undergoing its first lava eruption in some 800 years back in March. And in the Caribbean, the La Soufriere volcano on the island of St Vincent is presently spewing a 10.6 mile (17 kilometre) -high plume of hot gas and ash into the atmosphere. Short and long term exposure to fine particles whether from natural or anthropogenic sources is thought to cause more than three million premature deaths across the globe each year. 'Iceland has some of the most complete health care records in the world,' said paper author and public health expert Hanne Krage Carlsen of the University of Iceland. 'This was the first time a population of a considerable size and density could be assessed following major volcanic activity,' she added. 'This study provides the most robust evidence to date that exposure to a chemically-mature volcanic plume leads to increased use of a country's health care system.' 'It also emphasizes that emissions from volcanoes are a region-wide issue, in this case potentially affecting the whole North Atlantic region.' 'As the Holuhraun plume returned to Iceland, there was increased use of GPs and hospital emergency care units with regards to respiratory diseases. At the same time, there was a lack of public health advice.' 'We recommend that future Government responses to volcanic air pollution globally considers both the implications to health caused by the initial eruptions, but also those of the returning plumes with additional threats to health.' The full findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications. Presidents of Ukraine and Turkey Volodymyr Zelensky and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have signed a joint declaration The document has been approved following the ninth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council between Ukraine and Turkey. (Istanbul, April 10, 2021) Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey (hereinafter referred to as the Parties), based on the principles of friendship, good neighborly relations and mutual respect, striving for peace and stability in the region and beyond, reaffirming the will to strengthen the strategic partnership between our countries and to enhance cooperation in all areas on the basis of mutual interests, emphasizing the commitment to the principles and provisions of international law, following the Ninth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council between Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey held in Istanbul on April 10, 2021 under the co-chairmanship of the Presidents of the two states, decided: 1. To intensify joint efforts to deepen cooperation and coordination between the parties in the fields of economy, trade, tourism, security, defense industry, science, education and youth. 2. To continue cooperation in the format of "Quadriga" (2 + 2) at the level of ministers and coordinators. 3. To reaffirm unconditional support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. 4. To continue to coordinate steps aimed at restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, in particular the deoccupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as the territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 5. In this context, to continue to support multilateral efforts within international organizations, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the OSCE. 6. To support the establishment of the Crimean Platform as a new format for resolving the issue of illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. 7. To strengthen joint efforts to improve the living conditions of Ukrainian citizens, in particular Crimean Tatars, who have been forced to leave their homeland, Crimea, as a result of the temporary occupation. 8. To coordinate efforts in accordance with international law to ensure the protection of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and the release of all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine, including Crimean Tatars. 9. To support the peaceful settlement of the situation in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine through dialogue based on the Minsk agreements, to note the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and to continue to provide maximum support for its activities. 10. To strengthen cooperation and joint efforts in the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism in all their forms and manifestations. 11. To take joint action to prevent and eliminate transnational organized crime, cybercrime, illegal migration, trafficking of drugs and precursors, arms and human beings. 12. To provide prompt processing of extradition requests. 13. To reaffirm commitment to further strengthening of cooperation in the defense industry by completing current and developing new joint projects. 14. To express support for the prospect of Ukraine's NATO membership, in particular its intention to obtain a Membership Action Plan in the near future, and to note the desire to promote interoperability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the armed forces of Allies. 15. To reaffirm support for regional cooperation in the Black Sea region to ensure stability and security through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, including NATO. 16. To accelerate work to conclude negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement in a spirit of mutual understanding and constructivism. 17. To take the necessary measures to eliminate the problems of investors and companies on each side and encourage new investment. 18. To ensure further improvement of border control in order to simplify entry procedures and improve travel opportunities for citizens of the two countries and encourage mutual tourism. 19. To support the educational activities of the Turkish Maarif Foundation in Ukraine. 20. To reaffirm commitment to cooperation and coordination of efforts in order to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and overcome its social and economic consequences. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Source: Ukrainian President's Office Photo credit: Ukrainian President's Office, Anadolu Agency China to celebrate CPC centenary with mass activities Xinhua) 14:24, April 12, 2021 Photo taken on May 22, 2020 shows flags on the Tian'anmen Square and atop the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China will launch mass activities to mark the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Various activities will be held to inspire the whole Party, the whole army and all the Chinese people of various ethnic groups to stay true to the original aspiration, hold on to the mission, and work hard to make their due contributions, according to a circular recently issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee. Thematic activities including reviewing the oath of joining the CPC, education activities targeting teenagers, and cultural activities will be held in two phases: before May and from May until the end of the year. The circular urged innovative and people-oriented approaches in organizing these activities to make them more effective and appealing. The slogans of the CPC centenary celebration were also unveiled in the circular. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) Oregon lawmakers have declined to move forward a bill that would require hospitals, long-term care facilities and prisons to provide vegan options at every meal time. House Bill 2348 was not scheduled for a vote in the House Human Services Committee prior to the April 13 deadline, meaning it cannot reach the full House and is dead for the year. The committees chair, Rep. Anna Williams, D-Hood River, did not immediately respond to a request Monday for comment on the bills fate. The measures sponsor, Rep. Marty Wilde, D-Eugene, said it was a challenge to make it a priority this session, but he thinks it will resurface in the future. I think most of us agree that Oregonians should have access to food that is healthy and in line with their personal ethics, he said. The bill was opposed by lobbying groups representing hospitals. The Oregon Department of Corrections was officially neutral, but the agency noted that prisoners are always given a non-meat option at every meal. Removing ingredients like eggs or mayonnaise that vegans dont eat would be a big shift, said Assistant Director for Operations, Rob Persson, in written testimony. Chris Lehman: clehman@oregonian.com The walkable town is perfect for a relaxing getaway, with Homeowners Collection's luxurious touches further elevating the experience. Homeowners Collection Vacation Rentals, Seasides largest vacation rental company, announced its Close the Gap savings event. Guests with flexible travel dates can save 20% on select vacation cottages during the summer. Seaside is a picture-perfect community located in the Florida panhandle off scenic Highway 30-A. The walkable town is perfect for a relaxing getaway, with Homeowners Collection's luxurious toucheslike Peacock Alley linens and its complimentary welcome tote with wine and two towels, for examplefurther elevating the experience. The Close the Gap promotion offers an incentive to travelers to stay in a gap in a vacation rentals availability calendar. As guests book their summer stays, some vacation cottages have shorter openings in the booking calendar. As a result, travelers with the flexibility to stay on gap days can see significant savings on their vacation through the Close the Gap discount. Homeowners Collection has a wide portfolio of private cottages, ranging from cozy one-bedrooms to spacious six-bedroom residences. As part of the Close the Gap offer, the six-bedroom Days Like This has an opening at the beginning of June, while the three-bedroom Cabana Fever is available for a quick two-night stay over the July 4 holiday weekend. For a complete list of cabins and their availability, as well as promotion details, head over to the Close the Gap savings page. To take advantage of the offer, visitors must call 1-888-213-7573 to book their stay. The promotion ends April 30, 2021. This summer is a great time to visit Seasides white-sand beaches and walk around the idyllic community. Select events are back, such as the weekly farmers market every Saturday, and the outdoor summer concert series at the Lyceum Lawn every Wednesday during June, July and August. The tradition of the July 4th Fireworks Spectacular will continue over the Gulf of Mexico to celebrate Independence Day. There are also plenty of family activities, such as the Friday Night Cinema featuring family-favorite movies under the stars and Huck & Lilly childrens music concerts Tuesdays and Thursdays. Both series run April 19 through August 27 at the Seaside Amphitheater. Beyond boasting the most homes to choose from, Homeowners Collection is one of the only vacation rental providers in the community that offers guests the option of next-day check-in for their trips, making spontaneous visits to enchanting Seaside possible. Guests can avoid up to 12 percent of fees when they book directly on Homeowners Collection website. About Homeowners Collection Vacation Rentals Homeowners Collection Vacation Rentals is an exclusive collection of premier vacation rentals operated by the homeowners of Seaside, Florida. The company manages more than 135 vacation rentals directly in Seaside, one of Americas most celebrated beachfront communities. For more information, call (855) 411-1557 or visit the collectives website at https://homeownerscollection.com. STAY SAFE, STATEN ISLAND: This story is part of a series examining crime trends in communities across our borough. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A loaded, sawed-off, pump-action shotgun. An AR15 rifle. A machine gun. These are just some of the scary firearms the New York City Police Department seized from Staten Islanders during the first three months of 2021 as gun arrests more than doubled in the borough compared to the same period last year, according to data from the NYPD. There have been 43 arrests on the borough this year compared to 17 last. Its good news and bad news. Its good news that we are making the incarcerations. The D.A.s team works very, very hard to set high bail, but the bad news is that there are more guns on Staten Island, Assistant Chief Frank Vega, the NYPD borough commander, said in a recent interview with the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com. Vega said many of those arrests stem from the public safety team, which consists of reassigned members of the controversial former Anti-Crime Unit, who used to work in plainclothes. [They] still have the same enthusiasm for police work, he said. They are still out there. Every gun prosecution is enhanced greatly by detectives, by the members of the intelligence division, Vega explained. We want to find out all about that gun, we want to find out all about that person carrying that gun, affiliations, whether thatd be gangs, narcotics, whatever those nexuses are so that we can close those loopholes and put everybody associated with it behind bars. The 120th Precinct leads the borough with a total of 20 arrests, or 47% of the overall total, according to data from the Police Department. In a meeting in early March with the Van Duzer Civic Association, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said that the North Shore precinct saw an increase in gun arrests compared to last year and that, in order to tackle the spike, the NYPD would deploy more officers with the right intelligence. Though concerned about the increase in gun arrests in the 120th Precinct, Shea was optimistic about the work of police officers in the borough. The detectives assigned to Staten Island are among the best [in the city], the commissioner said, adding that District Attorney Michael E. McMahon has been one of the best partners we have in New York City. We remain extremely concerned at the level of violence we have seen in parts of Staten Island over the past year and a half, especially in those cases involving the use of illegal guns, McMahon said in a statement to the Advance/SILive.com. Recognizing this as a growing problem early on, my office has worked closely with our partners in the community and the Police Department to develop new initiatives and dedicate more resources to keeping the people of Staten Island safe. McMahon added that the neighborhood action plans and community convening meetings his office organizes are a vital resource to address this and many other serious issues on Staten Island. The 121st Precinct followed with 16 arrests, representing 37% of all the arrests in the first three months of the year. The 122nd and 123rd precincts had a lower number of gun arrests, with five and two, respectively, police data shows. WHERE SOME OF THE ARRESTS HAPPENED Though the Police Department did not provide specific locations for all of the 43 arrests, the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com has reported on 23 cases in which the NYPD seized anything from rifles and machine guns to loaded pistols. Here are the locations and details of those incidents: In 19 of the 23 cases the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com reported on, the main charge was illegal gun possession. In one example, police arrested a man on Jan. 9 after executing a search warrant in Stapleton. During the raid, police recovered three different firearms, including a machine gun. The NYPD touted a gun seizure in the North Shore. In another occasion on Feb. 24, police raided an Oakwood house where they found a .38-caliber revolver, a loaded .45-caliber pistol, an AR15 with 30 rounds in the magazine, a homemade single shot .22-caliber zip gun, four speed loaders, four .45-caliber magazines and four AR15 magazines, according to the criminal complaint. The NYPD posted this photo of weapons allegedly seized during the raid of an Oakwood house in February. (NYPD) The remaining four gun-related arrests involved two cases in which the main charge was homicide, but police filed gun possession charges as well. One arrest was an attempted murder case in which police also added illegal gun possession charges. In one case a man was accused of pointing a gun at a 20-year-old man, a 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman in an Eltingville road-rage incident but the man is not facing weapon charges. Mariners Harbor and New Brighton were the neighborhoods affected the most with five and four arrests respectively, according to an analysis based on the Staten Island Advance/SILive.coms reporting. My office takes all firearm cases incredibly seriously and we remain committed to fully prosecuting anyone who picks up an illegal gun, McMahon said. STAY SAFE, STATEN ISLAND: Related coverage "The Talk" is finally returning on Monday after an almost month-long hiatus after the whole Sharon Osbourne controversy. After a heated exchange between her and co-host Sheryl Underwood, the red-headed Brit left the show where they debated over accusations of racism against Piers Morgan. On Monday, the CBS daytime discussion show will still feature hosts Sheryl Underwood, Elaine Welteroth, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Amanda Kloots. And according to Deadline, an expert will be coming in on the show to talk about racism, diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion. Dr. Donald E. Grant will be joining the co-hosts to discuss these critical topics and learning to have difficult conversations since it has also become highly impossible to engage in open dialogues with closed minds in today's world. Another expert, Dr. Anaita Phillips, a trauma expert, will discuss how a person's healing and how to move beyond controversial conversations or other challenging life experiences. However, these experts' advice comes a little too late for Sharon Osbourne, who was forced to leave the show following the Mar. 10 episode and fallout, after which the Emmy award-winning show was placed on hiatus. Sharon Osbourne on 'The Talk' Controversy Sharon Osbourne jumped into her friend, Piers Morgan's defense after Sheryl Underwood accused the controversial British morning host of racism after the airing of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey. CBS has placed the show on hold and conducted an internal interview after the heated episode, which later resulted in Osbourne deciding to leave the show. A review on CBS's part also found out that Osbourne's behavior toward her co-hosts "did not align with our values for a respectful workplace." They also claimed that the internal probe that the hosts were not adequately prepared by the show's team for a discussion on race, but found no proof to support Sharon Osbourne's claims CBS ordered she be confronted for supporting Morgan. READ ALSO: Sharon Osbourne Gives the Spotlight Up For Daughter Kelly After Dramatic 'The Talk' Exit More Sharon Osbourne Allegations After "The Talk" went on hiatus, more allegations emerge about Sharon Osbourne making racist or crass comments about former co-hosts behind the scenes. Yashar Ali wrote in a lengthy article all the allegations Osbourne reportedly said about Julie Chen, Leah Rimini, and Sara Gilbert - all of which the controversial host denied the claims. Sharon Osbourne also reached out to Sheryl Underwood following their public fallout, but the latter denied Osbourne apologized to her. However, Osbourne later showed receipts that she reached out to Underwood in a series of texts. It is unclear what Sharon Osbourne will do next after "The Talk" or who will be replacing her on the panel. READ MORE: Sharon Osbourne Shows Receipts, Hits Back At Sheryl Underwood After Speaking Out on 'The Talk' Drama See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said the RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) service for fund transfers will not be available for 14 hours on Sunday, April 18. A technical upgrade of RTGS, targeted to enhance the resilience and to further improve the Disaster Recovery Time of the RTGS system, is scheduled after the close of business of April 17, 2021, the RBI said in a release. "Accordingly, RTGS service will not be available from 00:00 hrs to 14.00 hrs on Sunday, April 18, 2021," it added. The NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) facility will be operational as usual during the same period. Also read: SBI collects Rs 300 cr from 12 cr zero balance accounts in 5 years Under RTGS, there is continuous and real-time settlement of fund-transfers, individually on a transaction by transaction basis (without netting). It is a safe and secure system for funds transfer without any upper or maximum ceiling and is available on all days on 24x7x365 basis. Last week, the central bank had proposed to expand RTGS and NEFT facilities to non-bank payment system firms in a phased manner. Till now, membership to the RBI-operated Centralised Payment Systems (CPSs) - RTGS and NEFT - were limited to banks. However, the RBI proposed to enable non-bank payment systems like PPI (prepaid payment instrument) issuers, card networks, wide-level ATM operators, among others to take direct membership in the Centralised Payment Systems. The objective of the move is to encourage participation of non-banks across payment systems, RBI said. "This facility is expected to minimise settlement risk in the financial system and enhance the reach of digital financial services to all user segments." Also read: RBI allows RTGS, NEFT facilities to non-banking payment firms [April 12, 2021] UL in Canada Named to 2021 List of Best Workplaces for Women TORONTO, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ -- UL, the global safety science leader, announced that UL in Canada has been named on the 2021 list of Best Workplaces for Women by the Great Place to Work Institute Canada, a global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. According to Nancy Fonseca, senior vice president of Great Place to Work Canada, with women representing close to 50% of the Canadian workforce. "Creating great workplaces for women isn't political or trendy, and it's not a women's issue. It's a business issue. Our research shows that when women have a great experience at work, their male colleagues are more likely to have a great experience, too. And trust seems to be the insulating factor," said Fonseca. The list is based on direct feedback from employees of the hundreds of organizations that were surveyed by Great Place to Work. The data has a 90% confidence interval and a plus or minus 5% margin of error. Tobe eligible for this list, organizations must be Great Place to Work- Certified in the past year, headquartered in Canada and have a minimum of 15 female employees, and at least 90% of employees must agree that people are treated fairly, regardless of their gender. Great Place to Work determined the best based on the overall Trust Index score from female employees. UL's female workforce in Canada, including scientists, laboratory technicians, engineers, corporate staff, field inspectors, managers and leadership, provided high marks for UL's culture in diversity and inclusion in the Trust Index survey, making UL in Canada a top workplace for women. Haya Soghrati, UL's engineering leader in Toronto agrees with the recognition. Soghrati, providing testing and inspection services for the construction and building envelope industry, has been with UL in Canada for the past two years and feels that UL offers a great opportunity for women in a science and engineering-based industry. "UL provides the support and guidance to women that enables us to grow and succeed. In my case, I was given the opportunity to be part of an innovative team, use my experience to help develop and grow a new business unit, and contribute as a thought leader to the building and construction industry," said Soghrati. "We are honored to receive this amazing recognition as we continue to seek to achieve gender parity and create an equitable environment for our women colleagues within UL," said Joe Hosey, vice president and general manager of UL in Canada. "This recognition also helps build momentum around our recently released diversity, equity and inclusion commitments to increase gender representation within leadership and throughout UL by 2025." About UL UL is the global safety science leader. We deliver testing, inspection and certification (TIC), training and advisory services, risk management solutions and essential business insights to help our customers, based in more than 100 countries, achieve their safety, security and sustainability goals. Our deep knowledge of products and intelligence across supply chains make us the partner of choice for customers with complex challenges. Discover more at UL.com. For information about Standards development and other nonprofit activities, visit UL.org. Press Contact: Steven Brewster UL +1.847.664.8425 ULNews@ul.com SOURCE UL [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show a shortfall of 65,700 drivers for 2020, compared with 2019. Ecommerce growth is dependent on matching growth in retail logistics and delivery capability, requiring steadily increasing numbers of truckers. Like New York, Illinois, California, and several other states, Mississippi suffered a population decline in 2020, losing a net of 11,000 residents.(1) On the employment front, despite a mostly steady recovery from economic losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest federal employment report shows that Mississippi lost 7,000 jobs in January.(2) These declines, says Brad Ball, President, Roadmaster Drivers School, mask a significant opportunity: a serious national shortage of professional truck drivers. There are people who need jobs, and jobs who need people, says Ball. Our new training center in Jackson, Mississippi is there to bring them together. The longstanding national truck driver shortage has recently worsened; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show a shortfall of 65,700 drivers for 2020, compared with 2019.(3) Meanwhile, ecommerce, driven by COVID-mandated stay-at-home shopping, continues to skyrocket, increasing 44% in the U.S. in 2020 above 2019.(4) Ecommerce growth, notes Ball, is dependent on matching growth in retail logistics and delivery capability, requiring steadily increasing numbers of truckers. On the local level, more than 85% of communities in Mississippi rely exclusively on trucks for the delivery of everyday goods. The states professional truck drivers travel more than 4.5 billion miles per year to deliver everything Mississippians communities rely on, including food, medication, clothing, and gasoline for their cars.(5) Trucking, says Ball, is a Mississippi mainstay. A career in trucking does not require college training, Ball points out, applicants can either produce a high school diploma or pass a basic entrance exam. Unlike other opportunities for high-school graduates, such as fast food or retail, notes Ball, trucking offers steady, secure employment, higher income and a career path. Despite popular misconception, he adds, trucking is an increasingly diverse industry and one with no pay gap tied to race or gender. According to a recent American Trucking Association study, over 40% of U.S. truckers are now minorities.(7) Training is relatively brief, about four weeks from beginning to end. In comparison to other educational opportunities, truck driver training is less expensive and Ball notes that the demand for new drivers is such that many trucking firms will reimburse students for tuition once hired. On Friday, May 14 from 10 AM to 5 PM and Saturday, May 15 from 10 AM to 3 PM, city officials, prospective students, and the general public are warmly invited to the grand opening of the new Roadmaster Drivers School facility at 1500 West Highland Drive, Jackson, MS 39204. Trucking, says Ball, is opportunity on wheels for thousands of soon-to-be-hired truck drivers. If youor somebody you knowis looking for a stable, well-paid job, I urge you to come and talk to us. It might turn out to be the best thing you ever did. About Roadmaster Drivers School: Roadmaster, headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL, is a nationwide training organization for truckers. They have nearly 30 years of experience training more than 150,000 graduates with 15 training locations nationwide. By focusing on giving students the best education and maintaining high job placement standards, Roadmaster has gained a national reputation in the trucking industry for quality training of entry-level commercial truck driversnoted for their training practices to be the most hands-on and safety-focused training in the country. Roadmasters newest facility is at 1500 W. Highland Drive in Jackson, Mississippi. For more information, visit http://www.roadmaster.com. 1. Kittredge, Brett. Mississippi's Population Decline Continues. Empower Mississippi, 7 Jan. 2021, empowerms.org/mississippis-population-decline-continues/#: 2. DiNatale, Sara. Mississippi Lost 7,000 Jobs Last Month. But Economist Says Outlook Still Positive. Mississippi Today, 1 Apr. 2021, mississippitoday.org/2021/03/31/mississippi-unemployment-job-losses/. 3. Cassidy, William B. Outlook 2021: Latest US Driver Shortage Requires Long-Term Solutions, Journal of Commerce, January 20, 2021, joc.com/trucking-logistics/labor/outlook-2021-latest-us-driver-shortage-requires-long-term-solutions_20210120.html. 4. US Ecommerce Grows 44.0% in 2020. Digital Commerce 360, 1 Mar. 2021, digitalcommerce360.com/article/us-ecommerce-sales/. 5. Wilemon, Todd. Trucking in Mississippi: We Need to Keep the Industry Thriving. Mississippi Clarion Ledger, 9 Sept. 2019, clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2019/09/09/trucking-mississippi-we-need-keep-industry-thriving/2266644001/. 6. Educational Attainment in Mississippi. The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas, statisticalatlas.com/state/Mississippi/Educational-Attainment. 7. Murphy, Byron. How Diverse Is the Trucking Industry? Convoy, 28 Jan. 2021, convoy.com/blog/diversity-in-trucking/#: KC Bertling, an immigrant who is proud to live the American dream with her family, has completed her new book A Chance to Be Born: My American Dream: a gripping and potent retelling of the authors life as an immigrant to America. Writing this book to tell stories of my American journey as the wife of an infantryman in the United States Army, with many exciting adventures, was a considerable challenge, writes author KC Bertling. For many years, I have written numerous commentary articles in the military newspapers, monthly presidential newsletters, and military memorandums, but this was different from any of my writings in the past. I have many thoughts about which stories I wanted to share with the world about how it was then and how beautiful it is now. Published by Page Publishing, KC Bertlings empowering tale is a heartfelt discussion about the authors life, reaching for the American dream as an immigrant who has lived through lifes challenges at such a young age and learned that America is a country of plenty, and Americans are the most generous people in the world. Since she has immigrated to the United States of America, the author has discovered that American exceptionalism is what made the whole world want to reach for their American dreams. The author believes living the American dream is not a God-given right, but it is a privilege and honor and requires personal responsibilities to be called an American. She also believes that happiness does not come on a silver platter to your doorstep. Happiness must come as one navigates lifes instruction manual, the Bible, daily. Readers who wish to experience this inspiring work can purchase A Chance to Be Born: My American Dream at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. New Delhi: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday (April 11) reiterated that the farmers protesting at the borders against the Centres three new farm laws are ready to talk if the Centre invites them and the demands remain unchanged. He said for the talks to resume, the government should invite the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM)- an umbrella body representing protesting farmers. The talks with the government would resume from the same point where it had ended on January 22. The demands are also the same -- all three 'black' farm laws should be repealed, a new law made to ensure MSP (minimum support price) for crops, Tikait was quoted as saying in a statement issued by BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik. His response comes after Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij requested Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to resume talks with the protesting farmers amid a daily surge in COVID-19 cases. Vij said he is worried about the farmers protesting on the state borders with Delhi as the corona threat is looming large. Meanwhile, Tikait said that the farmers will not allow Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to enter Badauli village for an event on April 14. Khattar is slated to visit Badauli village in Panipat to unveil a statue of B. R. Ambedkar on the occasion of the Dalit icon's birth anniversary on April 14. "We are not against Baba Saheb's statue, we are against Khattar. Samyukta Kisan Morcha has decided that as long as our protest is on we are against the CM and the deputy CM." He also accused the CM of attending the event to disrupt amity. "He is not coming here to unveil the statue, but as per the BJP's plot he is coming here to disrupt the amity among people. And we, along with the Khap Panchayat, we will not allow him to do that, the BKU leader was quoted as saying by PTI. "We won't let him enter the village. If anyone else wants to unveil the statue, they can do it," he added. (With PTI inputs) Live TV Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 78F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. New Delhi: A day after Delhi reported the highest single-day spike with 10,774 new COVID-19 cases, AAP leader and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal chaired a meeting to take stock of the situation in the national capital. The meeting was held on Monday (April 12) in the afternoon. Held review meeting. We are taking several steps to increase beds in both private and government sectors. Urge everyone to cooperate. Please follow COVID protocols. Dont rush to hospital unless necessary. Go and vaccinate if you are eligible, said Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal after the review meeting. Held review meeting. We are taking several steps to increase beds in both pvt and govt sectors. Urge everyone to cooperate. Please follow COVID protocols. Dont rush to hospital unless necessary. Go and vaccinate if you are eligible: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (File photo) pic.twitter.com/6FoqkUa1ne ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2021 Earlier, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told the media, "We added 5,000 more beds last week and will add more. At present, there are 5,525 beds in Delhi. 190 beds are occupied which amounts to 2%. We have also requested the central govt to increase beds to their current tally of 190." Delhi registered 10,774 new cases and 48 deaths in the last 24 hours, health officials said on Sunday. The cumulative count of infections has reached 7,25,197. Live TV TUCSON, Ariz., April 12, 2021 -- The Critical Path Institute's (C-Path) Critical Path for Alzheimer's Disease (CPAD) Consortium today announced that it is significantly expanding its Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient-level data repository with high-quality contemporary industry clinical trial datasets, focusing on early stages of the disease. Generous data contributions and support from the pharmaceutical industry have made it possible for the CPAD team to integrate 42 high-quality clinical trial and observational studies in AD, containing more than 21,000 patient-level records. Since July 2019, CPAD has signed Data Contribution Agreements (DCAs) with data contributors, for five highly relevant datasets, representing over 4,000 patient-level records, which have been integrated into the CPAD repository. CPAD also expects the transfer of two additional datasets with another 4,000 patient-level records. In addition, CPAD is currently negotiating DCAs with five CPAD member pharmaceutical companies, with an expected addition of nine datasets, bringing in more than 10,000 additional patient-level records to the CPAD repository. "Serving as a neutral third party, CPAD provides a safe harbor for individual organizations to share data in a pre-competitive environment," said Sudhir Sivakumaran, Ph.D., Vice President, Neuroscience at C-Path and Executive Director of CPAD. "By facilitating cross-functional, pre-competitive collaboration and active engagement between the regulatory agencies and drug development professionals, we can make a significant difference in the bench to bedside timeline for patients." The expanded patient-level data will allow generation of novel drug development tools (DDTs) and solutions such as disease progression models across the entire continuum of AD, incorporating various fluid and imaging biomarkers, in addition to genotype, cognitive and functional outcome assessments and demographics. The novel tools and solutions will enable a more efficient design of clinical studies with better informed inclusion criteria, endpoint selection and patient enrichment strategies. C-Path's quantitative approach allows for a comprehensive integration of relevant patient characteristics for informed and efficient decisionmaking in drug development. Data sharing is fundamental to enable the development of novel DDTs, which require integration and aggregation of patient-level data from multiple independent sources and studies. Successful data sharing for the purpose of seeking regulatory endorsement of a DDT relies on extensive partnerships between industry, academia, research institutes and societies, patient-advocacy groups, and governmental regulatory agencies. "CPAD's successes and accomplishments in the last decade is testimony to the extensive collaboration, partnership, and support of the industry members," Sivakumaran continued. "The consortium seeks to continue accelerating drug development by increased data sharing and ultimately, be able to successfully address the key unmet needs and unanswered questions including the voice of the patients." "CPAD provides the AD field with a unique opportunity to transform patient-level data into actionable solutions, which can in turn transform the drug development process for Alzheimer's disease," said C-Path Chief Science Officer and Executive Director for Clinical Pharmacology Klaus Romero, M.D., M.S., F.C.P. "The unique way in which CPAD presents such solutions for formal regulatory review generates the necessary confidence for the adoption of such solutions by our industry partners." Data acquisition and integration is a critical prerequisite for the development of novel regulatory-grade quantitative drug development solutions. For more than a decade, CPAD has led the space with regulatory successes and expertise in data aggregation and generation of novel drug development tools. The consortium continues to pursue efforts to expand its datasets, which will significantly add to the increased understanding of disease progression and pathology in AD. ### For more information, visit https:/ / c-path. org/ programs/ cpad/ . To learn more about data contribution to the repository, email info@c-path.org. To access the Critical Path Institute (C-Path) Online Data Repository (CODR) go to https:/ / codr. c-path. org/ main/ applyDatabaseSelection. html Critical Path Institute is supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is 55% funded by FDA/HHS, totaling $14,575,306, and 45% funded by non-government source(s), totaling $11,916,747. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, FDA/HHS or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit FDA.gov. Critical Path Institute (C-Path) is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 2005 as a public and private partnership. C-Path's mission is to catalyze the development of new approaches that advance medical innovation and regulatory science, accelerating the path to a healthier world. An international leader in forming collaborations, C-Path has established numerous global consortia that currently include more than 1,600 scientists from government and regulatory agencies, academia, patient organizations, disease foundations, and dozens of pharmaceutical and biotech companies. C-Path US is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona and C-Path, Ltd. EU is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with additional staff in multiple other locations. For more information, visit www.c-path.org and c-path.eu. Media Contact: Kissy Black C-Path 615.310.1894 kblack@c-path.org CHONGQING, China, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The promotion meeting of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area-Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Countries Trade and Economic Multifunctional Platform was held in Beijing on April 9, according to Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Management Committee. This is a concrete action to implement the spirit of the 20th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the SCO and is of great significance to the success of the China-SCO Digital Economy Industry Forum. In September 2020, the Trade and Economic Multifunctional Platform for the SCO Countries was officially settled in Chongqing Liangjiang International Cooperation Center. It is a multi-field and multi-functional platform for international cooperation and exchange centering on economic and trade work. Chongqing plays a special role in expanding cooperation in the SCO region, according to Vladimir Norov, secretary-general of the SCO. The convening of this promotion meeting has brought more possibilities for the development of SCO member states, and the SCO are willing to strengthen communication with Chongqing and Liangjiang New Area to jointly promote inter-regional cooperation in various fields, he added. Chongqing is the only municipality directly under the administration of the central government in western China and is an important national central city with prominent geographical advantages and an important strategic position. In recent years, Chongqing has been actively promoting the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. It is seizing strategic opportunities such as the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, and is making good use of the SCO local leaders meeting mechanism to promote inland opening-up, and sees a strong momentum of high-quality growth. The platform is an important carrier to strengthen economy and trade cooperation between China and the SCO, according to a senior official of Chongqing. The event is expected to improve the level of interconnection, economic and trade cooperation, as well as platform development, to comprehensively deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and to promote the construction of the platform to achieve new results. The promotion meeting also included an overall promotion of Liangjiang New Area. The basic positioning of the new area is to build an inland open gateway and a smart city. The main development goal is to build a high-quality development leading area and a high-quality living demonstration area. The new area will continue to strengthen cooperation with the SCO and BRI countries in terms of transportation, logistics, economy and trade, industry and cultural exchanges. It is expected to build an ecology for multilateral cooperation to achieve joint effort, mutual promotion, extensive consultation and shared benefits, and to build a cooperation pattern rooted in China, linked with ASEAN and open to the world. Chongqing Liangjiang New Area plays as an important strategic fulcrum in China's Western Development Strategy and is located at the core area of the junction of the BRI and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. It has the pivotal advantage of linking Central Asia, EU, ASEAN and Asia-Pacific markets. In recent years, the new area has established an opening-up system extending in all directions and a modern industrial system represented by automobiles, electronics, high-end equipment, biomedicine and modern service industry. A total of 160 Fortune 500 enterprises have settled in Liangjiang, with more and more international organizations, associations and multinational enterprises joining the investment and settlement campaign in the new area. For more information, please visit: http://www.liangjiang.gov.cn/ SOURCE Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Management Committee Related Links http://www.liangjiang.gov.cn This weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, amid rising tensions between Moscow, Kiev and Washington. Threats coming from Kiev and above all from the Biden administration in Washington are driving a dangerous military escalation. After Biden denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a killer last month, the Ukrainian Presidents Office endorsed a strategy document, the Crimean platform, pledging to seize Russias naval base at Sevastopol in the Crimea. Ankara confirmed Friday that the US will send two warships through the Turkish straits into the Black Sea. There are deep divisions in Turkish ruling circles over relations with NATO and Russia. Ten retired Turkish admirals were arrested last week as a bitter conflict erupted inside the Turkish state over whether to scrap the 1936 Montreux Convention regulating passage between the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Turkey, a NATO member state, has also developed close ties with Ukraine, signing multiple arms deals, notably involving the sale of Turkish drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shakes hands with a soldier as he visits the Donbas region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) These conflicts were reflected in Erdogans concerned, somewhat ambiguous remarks at the meeting. As both Kiev and Moscow amass forces on their shared border, he stated: 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. While agreeing on military ties with Ukraine, Erdogan stressed that this cooperation was not directed against any other country. At the same time, however, Erdogan backed Ukraine over Crimea, stating: We reaffirmed our principled stance of not recognizing the annexation of Crimea. In a joint declaration, Turkey endorsed Zelenskys Crimean platform as a new format for resolving the issue of the illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. The NATO powers and Ukraine are reviving the conflict initiated by the 2014 coup in Ukraine, backed by Washington and Berlin, led by far-right groups in Kiev including the Right Sector militia and the Svoboda party. Anti-Russian threats by the Ukrainian far right led Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine, including Crimea and the Donbass in eastern Ukraine, along the Russian border, to secede. Crimea, a peninsula in the Black Sea, voted to rejoin Russia in 2014. Kievs announcement of plans to conquer Crimea and the Donbass, now controlled by Russian-backed separatists, is a declaration that it is planning war with Russia. It is driving renewed fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian army units in East Ukraine. The joint declaration by Kiev and Ankara also pledged efforts to improve the living conditions of Ukrainian citizens, in particular Crimean Tatars, who have been forced to leave their homeland, Crimea, as a result of the temporary occupation. The Turkish government also announced on Saturday that it would help build 500 homes for Crimean Tatars in Ukraine. Crimea was a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire before being annexed by the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great in 1783. It is home to approximately 250,000 Crimean Tatars, 11.4 percent of Crimeas population, who share linguistic and cultural ties with Turks. In 2016, Erdogan made clear that he viewed Crimea as part of a Greater Turkey, stating, Turkey cannot disregard its kinsmen in Western Thrace, Cyprus, Crimea and anywhere else. That same year, he warned that the Black Sea was turning into a Russian lake. Exploiting ethnic tensions in Crimea has long been central to imperialist strategy in the regionthat of the Nazi regime and its genocidal invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, but also of US imperialism during the Cold War. At that time, Turkey supported US imperialisms efforts to foster nationalist, anti-Communist forces among Crimean Tatars to destabilize the Soviet Union. The Stalinist bureaucracys crimes against Crimeas Tatar minority facilitated these efforts. Zelensky and the Biden administration are clearly banking on Erdogans reactionary Turkish nationalism to press Ankara to support aggressive action. After the summit, Zelensky tweeted: We share common values with #Turkey, including human life and support. Washington, Ukraines main military supporter, plays the central role in this conflict, and there are indications that behind the scenes, it is applying intense pressure on Kiev. Significantly, Biden waited more than two months after his inauguration, until April 2, to contact Zelensky. He did not call Zelensky until the Ukrainian president launched a crackdown on pro-Russian political opposition forces in Ukraine, shut down pro-Russia media outlets, and announced plans for an invasion of Crimea. On Sunday, speaking to NBCs Meet the Press, Secretary of State Antony Blinken threatened Moscow that there will be consequences for amassing troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border. President Bidens been very clear about this. If Russia acts recklessly, or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences, Blinken stated. This week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is to meet in person with NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg to discuss Ukraine. He will also visit US troops in Germany and meet German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer who has threatened Russia in a recent interview. Washington is trying to use the crisis to pressure the European powers for new economic sanctions, as the NATO powers launch an even larger military build-up, targeting Russia. In the Washington Post Sunday, Evelyn N. Farkas a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia under the Obama administration, wrote that sanctions are coming, and they are a good start. Farkas claimed that failing to back Ukraine against Russia would also embolden China. Since the 2014 coup, Ukraine has received billions of dollars in US military aid. Moreover, as it stokes a suicidal conflict with Russia that threatens to escalate into all-out regional and global war, the crisis-ridden Zelensky government is also seeking to divert from the explosive social and political discontent building up in the country. The seven-year civil war in the East is deeply unpopular. Zelenskys false promises to end it and to discontinue the rabidly anti-Russian policies of his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, were the main reasons for his election in 2019. An estimated 7-9 million young Ukrainians now work abroad, at least for part of the year, in the EU and Russia. Many young men are leaving Ukraine to escape not only poverty, but also conscription. While the Ukrainian regime unsurprisingly reveals little about this sensitive subject, it appears there is little popular support for joining the military other than for a paycheckapart from among members of far-right paramilitary groups like the Azov Battalion and the Right Sector. In 2015, a little more than a year since the civil war in Donbass began, a Ukrainian official revealed that 16,000 Ukrainian troops had abandoned their posts, many with weapons in hand. The Ukrainian government responded by passing a law allowing commanders to shoot deserters. Official statistics from January 2019 revealed that 9,300 Ukrainians are classified as deserters; actual numbers are likely far higher. In recent years, the Ukrainian military has stopped using conscripts for combat operations, allowing only professional soldiers on the civil wars front line. For workers in Ukraine facing the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused nearly 1.9 million cases and over 37,000 deaths, as well as the industrial collapse and impoverishment following the 2014 coup and civil war, a suicidal war with Russia has no appeal. Nonetheless, the danger of such a war, which poses the risk of a much wider regional and even global conflagration, is very real. The course of events is exposing the disastrous military and political consequences of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the restoration of capitalism by the Stalinist regime, three decades ago, in 1991. Halting the drive to war requires building an international socialist anti-war movement in the working class, against imperialism and the capitalist system as a whole. Singapore: Devastated by natural disaster and in the grip of a COVID-19 outbreak, East Timor is now in the midst of a new controversy. Former president Xanana Gusmao has defied a virus lockdown to rally a crowd of hundreds outside an isolation facility to demand the release of the body of a man recorded as only the second COVID-related death in the country. He also denies the patient contracted the illness and warned people not to go to hospital if they got sick. The independence hero, who was the countrys first president from 2002 to 2007 and then prime minister until 2015, has been caught on video engaging in a heated argument on the street with and slapping two mourners. Gusmao was demanding the release of the body of Armindo Borges, who died aged 47 on Sunday night while being transported from Dilis National Hospital to the Vera Cruz isolation centre after testing positive to COVID-19. SEN RACHEL MAY 01.jpg Alt Text: State Senator Rachel May Title Text: State Senator Rachel May Caption: State Senator Rachel May Description: State Senator Rachel May Image Credit: Cindy Schultz The Syracuse resident spent her entire career in higher education, while dabbling in progressive political activism. But she decided to challenge seven-term incumbent state Sen. David Valesky in 2018 because he belonged to the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of Democrats that caucused with Republicans. Despite a deal that reunified the IDC with the mainline Democrats in April 2018, May was one of six successful challengers to the eight ex-IDC members and the only victorious one outside New York City. Three years later, she is leading the state Legislatures efforts to deal with the impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes. As chair of the Committee on Aging, she co-led hearings into the states policies that may have driven outbreaks in long-term care facilities, and she helped spearhead a major nursing home reform package passed by the state Senate in February. Shes also been one of the major voices responding to revelations that Gov. Andrew Cuomos administration obscured the extent of COVID-19-related deaths in nursing homes. Since then, amid a bevy of other scandals, including sexual harassment allegations, May has called on Cuomo to resign. May believes her leadership represents a shift for upstate New York. Upstate Democrats no longer need to run to the right to win elections and deliver for their districts both the rural and urban parts. Before her 2018 victory, there were only two other upstate Democratic state senators aside from Valesky: state Sens. Timothy Kennedy and Neil Breslin. Last year, five upstate Democrats were newly elected to the state Senate, bringing the total of upstate Senate Democrats to eight and helping to deliver a supermajority for the party in the upper chamber. I think theres a misperception that when Democrats are living in an area thats surrounded by a lot of Republican-controlled areas Democrats in those areas are more likely to turn conservative, May said. Its the opposite, she said: Democrats get feisty. Of course, Mays biography isnt typical of a feisty politician. With a masters degree from Oxford and a Ph.D. from Stanford, she began her career in academia, working as a professor of Russian language and literature at Stony Brook University on Long Island and Macalester College in Minnesota. But she pivoted to learning more about ecology and sustainability after moving to Syracuse in 2001. She went on to become the director of sustainability education at Syracuse University, leading initiatives to incorporate sustainability into courses throughout the university. Although she had never run for office before 2018, she was no stranger to politics and government. When she was growing up in Belmont, Massachusetts, her father was a historian and her mother was an aide to a state representative in Massachusetts. She spent one summer when she was 12 or 13 helping her grandfather, a civil rights activist, prepare materials for a case about desegregating the Los Angeles city school district. That was radicalizing for me, she said. I started to understand a lot more about racial discrimination in our country but also about the legal and political and social activism dimensions of how you could make change or not make change. She spent years volunteering on various Democratic political campaigns, which she continued doing in Central New York, including for former Democratic Rep. Dan Maffei. May joined local progressive activist groups created in response to former President Donald Trumps election in 2016, such as the CNY Solidarity Coalition and Uplift Syracuse. May and other progressive activists began to direct their energy toward unseating the IDC and Valesky in 2017. She was among the constituents who gathered outside Valeskys Syracuse office in May of that year to hold a faux funeral for legislation on single-payer health care and voting reform that failed to pass. We think its just wrong that Republicans are calling the shots in the Senate, May said then to WRVO, a local NPR affiliate. Im really a pretty shy and introverted person. The prospect of actually having to go to big political events and things was terrifying to me, but Im getting used to it. state Sen. Rachel May Maurice Brown, a founding member of Uplift Syracuse, said much of that year was spent trying to pressure Valesky into supporting the implementation of early voting in New York. After they failed to sway him into backing the legislation, they focused on having a candidate take him on in the primary. We spoke about it as a group, Brown said. And it made the most sense that Rachel should have been the candidate because shes so qualified in so many ways. But May and others also looked for other possible candidates to recruit, as she dealt with some initial hesitancy running for office. She never considered herself a natural politician. Im really a pretty shy and introverted person, and I cant remember peoples names to save my life, she said. The prospect of actually having to go to big political events and things was terrifying to me, but Im getting used to it. At the start of 2018, May decided to jump into the race. But she had no expectation initially that she would win against Valesky, running mostly to pressure him to shift leftward. Quite frankly, the idea that anybody could actually beat David Valesky was, lets just say it was not in the cards, said Ken Warner, the former upstate regional political director for the Working Families Party, which endorsed May. But part of the idea was to scare the crap out of people and to let them know that there were people out there who didnt agree with their politics. Although the 53rd District is largely Democratic, conventional wisdom held that its voters tended to skew more moderate. Valeskys predecessor Nancy Larraine Hoffmann, for example, was a Democrat-turned-Republican who adopted both conservative and liberal positions. Valesky pitched himself as a moderate whose membership in the IDC helped him cut bipartisan deals and ensure that upstate wasnt forgotten by the state Senate leadership, as some upstaters feared it would be under Democratic control. What makes the district distinct is its wide geographic and demographic diversity: It spans across most of Syracuse, the states fifth largest city, its suburbs and all of rural Madison County. Constituents include farmers and liberal professors at the many colleges scattered across the district. Syracuse alone has three state universities and two private universities, while Colgate University and SUNY Morrisville reside beyond the city limits. Its also an area that has historically struggled with poverty and significant population loss, though that has slowed in recent years. Syracuse ranks among the cities with highest poverty rates in the nation, with 30.5% of its population living below the poverty line, disproportionately affecting its Black and Latino residents. There are appealing things about the progressive agenda that May and others have that speaks to the economic struggles of places in the city of Syracuse, said Shana Kushner Gadarian, a political science professor at Syracuse University. That may be less appealing to people, say in the far suburbs, north of the city. The Rust Belt city remains the core of the Democratic base for the district. More than 78% of the districts active Democratic voters come from Onondaga County, where the city is located. The blue lean is out of sync with Central New York at large, in which more rural districts are represented by Republicans. Onondaga Countys legislature is Republican-led, and congressional Republicans in the area have largely survived strong Democratic challenges. Republican Rep. John Katko, who represents Syracuse, fended off Democrat Dana Balter, who has been an organizer with CNY Solidarity Coalition and taught at Syracuse University, in the past two elections. In the adjoining district, Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi lost his seat to his Republican predecessor, Rep. Claudia Tenney, this past year. Syracuse was bound to be the key to victory for May. I started looking at the primary voters in that district, Warner said. And the more I looked at them, the more I realized that of the approximately 11,000 people who could be counted on to vote, 9,000 of them lived within three miles of Rachels house, because theyre all in the city of Syracuse. Valesky, on the other hand, lived in Oneida County. May also benefited by having access to statewide progressive groups backing the wave of anti-IDC candidates downstate. She went down to New York City to get guidance on campaigning from No IDC NY in addition to other support from the Working Families Party. May even joined Toastmasters, a club that helps participants improve their public speaking, to prepare for the campaign trail. Still, Valesky was a 14-year incumbent who had delivered on bringing back pork for the district. And the cash advantage he had was stark. As of August 2018, one month before the primary, he had about 10 times that amount of cash on hand that May did. Despite Valeskys alliance with Republicans, local Democratic officials backed him with one exception: the Oneida County Democratic Committee. Just two towns in Oneida County are located in the 53rd District. That quirk meant that about 20 Democrats in the town of Kirkland, largely frustrated by the IDC, could swing the countys endorsement to May. But the county party faced blowback from virtually all the other local power players. I fielded calls from the executive director of the state (Democratic) Committee, from the chair of the state committee, from my fellow county chairs and the other counties in the district, from a couple of union people, said Bill Thickstun, a Kirkland resident and the chair of the Oneida County Democratic Committee at the time. So a fair number of calls questioning our decisions. Jen DeWeerth, member of the Kirkland Democratic Committee and Indivisible Mohawk Valley, said the pressure to not endorse May felt daunting, as some callers threatened to put out negative statements about the Kirkland Democrats and said backing May would displease Cuomo. The punishments seemed enormous for, you know, a bunch of people in a small town in upstate New York to face. Ultimately, May rode into office on the progressive wave that defined 2018, with 51.8% of the vote to Valeskys 48.2%. And she joined five other Democrats, all from downstate, in successfully toppling former IDC members that year, ushering in a blue wave across New York. As a representative, May is now responsible for balancing the competing ideologies and perspectives in the district. She made her case as a candidate to push for progressive legislation typically associated with downstate Democrats, while also representing parts of rural Central New York. I think there was some initial reluctance among some moderate Democrats when Sen. May took office, said Luke Perry, a political science professor at Utica College. Coming from the Syracuse progressive contingent was less appealing to these moderate rural Democrats, again predominantly male. But May has tried to strike that balance by taking on legislation focused on rural issues as chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources. She led a hearing in 2019 on rural broadband access and passed a bill through the state Legislature that was later vetoed by the governor to direct the state to study the possibility of implementing a municipal broadband program in New York. Once I was elected, I spent enormous energy and whatever political capital I had on making sure that my downstate colleagues understood what were the issues up here, May said. For example, May invited state Sen. Jessica Ramos, a Queens resident who had also defeated an ex-IDC member, to visit farms and hold hearings in Mays district related to Ramos legislation that gave farmworkers collective bargaining rights and overtime pay. I honestly think that Rachel Mays election opened the door to a brand-new conversation about revitalizing urban areas across New York state. state Sen. Jessica Ramos May has also made an effort to bring renewed focus to the concerns of upstate cities, having suggested that the state Senate create a new committee focused on cities other than New York City. That committee, chaired by first-term Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Cooney of Rochester, was created this year. I honestly think that Rachel Mays election opened the door to a brand-new conversation about revitalizing urban areas across New York state, Ramos said. I know theres a bit of divide, and I know people in rural areas think that cities are somehow the enemy, May said. But these cities are magnets for refugees, theyre magnets for young people to come and live here and if were going to get our population back, its going to start in the cities. Mays Republican opponent last year, Sam Rodgers, has argued that her progressive politics dont serve the diverse ideological interests of the 53rd District. I think the district would benefit from a moderate thinker, someone whos willing to come to the table without their mind made up, sit and listen and communicate and ask the right questions and really represent that whole spectrum, he told City & State. For him, that means being willing to break with party leadership to ensure downstate Democrats arent setting the agenda. The greatest political challenge May has faced so far during her tenure began with the COVID-19 pandemic. As the coronavirus spread rapidly across New York last spring, it was immediately clear that older adults in long-term care facilities were at the greatest risk of hospitalization and death. By June, data showed that deaths in nursing homes accounted for one-third of all coronavirus-related deaths nationwide. The issue, naturally, became a central one for May as the chair of the Senates Committee on Aging. Cuomos approach to stymying the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes drew scrutiny immediately. Faced with limited hospital beds, as New York became an epicenter for COVID-19, the state issued an advisory in March directing nursing homes to accept patients who had or were suspected of having COVID-19 if they were medically stable. Nursing homes were also prohibited from requiring those patients to be tested for the coronavirus before arriving. The state eventually ended the order, after criticism that the policy may have worsened the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes. While experts have called the directive ill-advised, they also say that it wasnt the most significant or sole driver of COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities. But Cuomo hardly did himself any favors by signing off on a state budget in April 2020 that granted new immunity protections for nursing homes or by obscuring the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes for months, as the state excluded the deaths of nursing home residents in hospitals from the official tally. Rodgers soon made nursing homes a major focus of his campaign against May. Im running against the chair of the Aging Committee, said Rodgers, about his perspective at the time, and shes not saying anything to the governor or to her party, that I can see, to make a difference in whats going on with COVID-19 in nursing homes. May did sign a letter last June calling on the governor to provide more transparent data about COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes and to take on more reforms. But more of her energy has been focused on legislative approaches to addressing the health crisis in nursing homes than Cuomos stonewalling. From my perspective as a policymaker, the numbers were important for accountability, May said. But they werent that important for policy, and I was really focused on the policy. She introduced a bevy of bills focused on nursing homes and long-term care, including one signed into lawthis month to allow designated caregivers to visit their loved ones in nursing homes. In an August hearing where several legislators grilled state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker for the missing data, May asked about how the state would address low staffing levels in nursing homes and protections for workers in those facilities. The state finally released the data earlier this year after a damning report from state Attorney General Letitia James suggesting a significant number of deaths were omitted from official tallies and a successful lawsuit from a conservative think tank mandated the release of the numbers. The state ultimately added about 3,800 deaths to its total, increasing the official number by more than 40%. But the scandal really began to heat up after a Feb. 10, 2021 private meeting between Cuomo officials and several state lawmakers including May in which Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa admitted that the main reason the administration held off on giving them a full accounting was a fear that then-President Donald Trump would have used it as fuel for a federal investigation. There is one thing that could help cement the Democratic upstate caucus: redistricting. In the meeting, May reacted with frustration about the lack of transparency, according to a transcript later released by the governors office. We were in difficult reelection campaigns and getting hammered about this every single day, she said. The issue for me, the biggest issue of all, is feeling like I needed to defend, or at least not attack, an administration that was appearing to be covering something up. In a pandemic when you want the public to trust the public health officials and there is (a) clear feeling that theyre not being forthcoming with you, that is really hard. For her former Republican opponent, her statements on the call validated his concerns that she withheld stronger criticisms about the governor until it became more politically expedient after the release of the attorney generals report. In the meeting with Melissa DeRosa, it seemed pretty clear that theres a political aspect to it, Rodgers said. May said her comments were more out of concern that more aggressive criticism wouldve hurt trust in the states health mandates during the pandemic. I didnt want to be using my whole campaign to tear them down, she said. I wanted people to continue to listen to the guidance that was coming from the state Health Department. And so it was really hard. If youre a legislator, you are trying to be responsible, you are trying to stay calm and not go overboard about criticizing the people who we needed to be able to trust. (Although Mays reelection fight was tougher than many faced by Democrats in safe New York City seats, she won with 54.8% of the vote to Rodgers 44.2%.) State Sen. James Skoufis, who co-led hearings on nursing homes with May, said her comment reflected an understandable exasperation. She, as a very thoughtful legislator, wants to legislate and not deal with being asked about things out of her control every other day and every which way. He added that Democrats in that meeting and elsewhere have asked tough questions about the states handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes. What cemented Mays frustration was the revelation that top aides in Cuomos administration scrubbed the complete count of nursing home deaths from a state report released in July 2020, according to reporting from The New York Times on March 4. The day after the articles publication, she declared that, if true, everyone involved in the cover-up, including the governor, should resign. Thats, for me, even more damning in a way that it shows something, May said. A level of disrespect of the process and of the public and of the Legislature was even greater than we thought it was. Mays argument that her victory represents a blue shift for upstate is still difficult to discern. The two election cycles that put her and several other upstate Democrats in elected office overlapped with elections that saw heightened Democratic turnout against an unpopular Republican president. Whether that leftward pivot continues afterward remains to be seen. But there is one area that could help cement the Democratic upstate caucus: redistricting. I think its likely that the Democrats who are in charge of this process are going to draw more districts like Mays district, and fewer districts that have big pieces of rural areas mixed in with urban areas, said Gadarian, of Syracuse University. Whether or not upstate moves toward the Democrats, May is determined to prove to upstate that Democrats are moving toward it, and prioritizing its needs. For a self-described shy legislator, May feels like she has found her voice. When you start really focusing on other people in there, the issues that they have and figuring out the solutions, she said, then a lot of the self-doubt kind of falls away. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Lists. The internet is filled with lists that circulate through emails, and New Mexico or Albuquerque are typically somewhere at the bottom. The latest list to land in my in-box ranks cities around the globe based on how safe they are for tourists to visit, and again, Albuquerque is at the bottom, grouped among the most dangerous cities in the world and ranking just above Aleppo in war-torn Syria and below Kandahar, Afghanistan; Damascus, Syria; and Baghdad. Given that this began circulating in early April, I suspect it could be an April Fools joke or maybe the product of some teenagers in a Romanian basement. We were the only city in the United States to score in the lower third for tourist safety globally. Yes, we have a crime problem. But the list doesnt consider only crime as a factor in deciding how dangerous a city might be to visit. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ It takes into consideration potential terrorism, natural disasters, pickpockets, scams, muggings and the safety of transportation. Now, Im the first to admit that Albuquerque has its problems. But natural disasters? The threat of natural disasters in Albuquerque, according to the list, is MEDIUM because when outdoors, always use a lot of sunscreens because of the threat of getting a sunburn. The danger of sunburn in Albuquerque is due to the citys elevation, but that is apparently not the case in the Mile High City of Denver, which scored LOW for natural disasters, with no mention of the need for sunscreen or snow shovels during winter visits. Denver scored much better than Albuquerque, finishing in the middle tier for tourist safety, despite criticism of its traffic and terrible drivers. Overall, Juarez was just ahead of Albuquerque for tourist safety. The authors apparently have missed the drug cartel wars that have claimed thousands of lives. Juarez was ranked MEDIUM for the threat of natural disasters, but that score seems questionable, because the authors cite the danger for tourists in Juarez of drowning in the Pacific Ocean. I can state with some authority that the chances of drowning in the Pacific Ocean while visiting Juarez are absolutely zero. Kandahar also scored MEDIUM on the natural disaster threat scale because of earthquakes, flooding, drought, landslides and avalanches. In the same paragraph the writers warn to always check on natural disasters before visiting Kabul. Hence my concern that the list is the product of an April Fools joke or some Romanian teenagers in need of a geography lesson. The tourist safety rankings come from a website developed by six people who say they are full-time travelers with a goal to travel as much as possible. They developed the website to help to pay for their travels by giving folks advice on traveling. They might check in with those kids in a Romanian basement who might have a map. If you want to see the list online, go here: www.travelsafe-abroad.com/cities/ Albuquerque ranks a MEDIUM on the threat of terrorism. How they came to this conclusion is something of a mystery. Excluding isolated mass shootings, Albuquerque hasnt been the target of any terrorist attacks recently, but the attacks shouldnt be ruled out, according to our tourist advisers. I am not sure what mass shootings the authors are referring to. I dont want to make light of our citys very real violent crime problem, but I dont recall any mass shootings at a local grocery store, movie theater or church in the 45 years Ive been covering crime in Albuquerque similar to the ones we have seen around the country in recent years. Orlando, Florida, is ranked much safer than Albuquerque. The authors dont mention the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, in which 49 people were killed and 53 wounded. El Paso is also ranked higher for tourist safety than Albuquerque, but the authors fail to mention the 2019 Walmart shooting in which 23 people were killed and 23 wounded. Both scored LOW for terrorist threats, but Albuquerque is said to have isolated mass shootings. Tehran, Iran, which was ranked safer than Albuquerque, scored MEDIUM when it came to terrorist threats to tourists. The authors wrote, Terrorist attacks are very likely to happen in Iran. Attacks could happen anywhere and there have been reports that several bombings have taken place. Be vigilant in Iran, since there is a threat of kidnapping foreign tourists in the border areas. Baghdad scored better than Albuquerque for tourist safety, but the terrorist threat there was HIGH: Terrorists are very likely to try and carry out attacks in Baghdad, the authors write. Damascus was declared safer than Albuquerque, despite getting a ranking of HIGH for terrorist threats to tourists. Chances are extremely high that Damascus will be targeted by terrorists while youre there if you intend to go there, the lists authors write. There have been many terrorist attacks already. But you will be glad to know that the threat of getting mugged in Damascus is LOW. According to the creators of the list, Violent crimes in Damascus do exist but are not too common, again, because the country is a war zone, and every day is a fight for survival. Albuquerque gets a MEDIUM for the threat of muggings to tourists. You should be careful when it comes to violent crime in Albuquerque. Even though they mostly have nothing to do with tourists, the list creators said. Damascus ranks in the middle third on the safety list for tourists, while Albuquerque is in the lower third among the most dangerous cities for tourists to visit. If this isnt an April Fools joke by some travel insurance types or some kids in a basement doing a disinformation project for a high school class, then I think our tourism folks at the city and the state have some work to do. Meanwhile, I have to go buy some sunscreen. UpFront is a regular Journal news and opinion column. Whats new: Liu Xiaoming, former Chinese ambassador to the U.K., has been appointed as the countrys special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs, the Foreign Ministry announced Monday. In his new role, Liu will help communicate and cooperate with all relevant sides and play a constructive role in advancing the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue, said Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for Chinas foreign ministry. The background: On March 22, Chinese President Xi Jinping verbally affirmed that we are willing to work hand in hand with North Korea comrades to maintain, consolidate and develop China-North Korean relations, according to a statement issued by the central government. Before a high-level meeting between China and the U.S. in March in Anchorage, Alaska, the U.S. made several recent attempts to bolster its relationship with North Korea, although it didnt receive a direct comment or response. Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com) Support quality journalism in China. Subscribe to Caixin Global starting at $0.99. Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Globals new stock database. Former banker Guillermo Lasso outperformed all polls on Sunday to win Ecuadors presidential elections. While surveys had predicted a head-to-head race between Lasso and Andres Arauz, the candidate backed by former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, the conservative won the second round of the election with a five-point lead. With 98.4% of ballots counted, Lasso has won 52.5% of the vote, while Arauz has taken 47.5%. The results are a huge blow to Correa, who had handpicked Arauz to lead the return of the so-called Citizens Revolution, the political project launched by the former president. Correa had been following the campaign from Belgium, where he has been living with his Belgian wife since 2017 when he ended his third term in office. The former president, who has been convicted of bribery and corruption charges, bet everything on Arauz, but lost. Lassos victory also affects the region, as it curbs the recent leftist shift in politics seen in South America with the presidential wins of Alberto Fernandez in Argentina and Luis Arce in Bolivia. On May 24, we will assume with responsibility the challenge of changing Ecuador, said Lasso on Sunday, when it became clear that Arauz would not be able to overtake his lead. In his televised victory speech, Lasso made many references to religion and God, saying: I thank God for all the blessings he has granted me throughout my life, I ask God to give us patience and conviction to achieve happiness for Ecuadorians, and May God bless Ecuador. Lasso also made it clear that he would not support the growing demands from Ecuadors womens movement to decriminalize abortion. Under the current laws, abortion is illegal except in cases where a womans life or health is at risk, or if the pregnancy is the result of a sexual crime against a mentally disabled woman. I have spoken to young pregnant women. With my wife, we will protect them so that they can continue at school, so that they can continue at university, he said. The results confirm the victory of the anti-Correa movement over pro-Correa supporters, a dispute that defined the election campaign from day one. While Lasso toned down his combative discourse in his acceptance speech, he did make a discrete jab at Correas reputation as an authoritarian. Without mentioning Correa, Lasso said Ecuadorians did not need to be afraid of disagreeing with the president. Express your ideas freely, he said. Lasso also reached out to the opposition. I did not enter politics to get rich or to persecute anyone, he said, in a clear reference to the prison sentence handed down to Correa charges he has blamed on political persecution from his former ally Lenin Moreno, who was elected president in 2017. While Lasso gave his address, Arauz accepted his defeat from a hotel in the center of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. The two did not hear each others remarks their television appearances were at the same time but it seemed that Arauz had responded to Lassos overture. It is easy to think that division is only created by the other, but now is the time for democracy, to end political persecution, he said. Mr Lasso, I invite you to respect the rule of law, without making it a stigma to have different values or principles. We do not want to continue locking up Ecuadorians for their way of thinking. Strength of indigenous movement Lasso won 2.6 million more votes in the presidential runoff on Sunday than in the first round on February 7. Arauz, in contrast, received less than one million more votes in the second round. Correa mistakenly thought that Arauz, a 36-year-old who was virtually unknown until the campaign, would be able to channel enough support to win the election. But while Argentina saw a return of Kichernism the political movement based on the ideals of former presidents Nestor Kirchner and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner with the win of Alberto Fernandez and Bolivia elected Luis Arce as president, which allowed former Bolivian president Evo Morales to return from exile, Ecuador was not to follow the leftist tide. Ecuador is not Argentina or Bolivia, where there is only one main leftist party. Arauz also faced opposition from other progressive candidates such as Yaku Perez of the indigenous party Pachakutik and Xavier Hervas of the Democratic Left (ID). Pachakutik won 1.8 million votes in the first round of the election, just 30,000 fewer than Lasso. In the elections for the National Assembly, which took place at the same time as the first round of the presidential vote, Pachakutik won in 13 of the countrys 24 provinces and secured 27 seats. This will make Pachakutik the second-largest parliamentary group when the new term begins at the end of May. Union for Hope (UNES), the coalition led by Arauz, has the highest number of seats with 49, while ID has 18 and Lassos party Creating Opportunities (CREO) has 12. The fact that most indigenous voters preferred Lasso, a candidate whose platform is far removed from their calls for change, should be of concern to the pro-Correa movement. The indigenous vote, which cannot be easily divided along left and right political lines, is ready to overtake Correa as the main leftist opposition. Lasso, meanwhile, will take office with Pachakutik holding the keys to governability from the National Assembly. English version by Melissa Kitson. Downing Street has slapped down Nicola Sturgeon after she said she does not believe Boris Johnson would block a second Scottish independence referendum. The SNP leader claimed the Prime Minister will have to cave in and allow a fresh vote on breaking up the UK if she secures a majority in next month's Holyrood elections. But Number 10 said at lunchtime that ministers and officials 'across all of the UK' should be 'focused on tackling the Covid-19 pandemic'. The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said calling for a referendum during the coronavirus crisis 'is not right' as he restated Mr Johnson's previous remarks that the 2014 vote was a 'once in a generation event'. It came as Ms Sturgeon admitted that she is concerned that 'daft rhetoric' and threats of street protests from Alex Salmond could turn off moderate voters. Mr Johnson has repeatedly rejected calls for another referendum but there are worries among ministers that the PM will not be able to hold the line if the SNP records a huge win on May 6. Ms Sturgeon told the Guardian Mr Johnson had 'moved away from a hard 'we can stop a referendum' to saying 'when would it happen, and on what basis would it happen?' 'If people in Scotland vote for a party saying, 'when the time is right, there should be an independence referendum', you cannot stand in the way of that, and I don't think that is what will happen,' she said. Nicola Sturgeon (pictured campaigning last week) said she does not believe Boris Johnson will block a second Scottish independence referendum if the SNP wins a majority in next month's Holyrood election As well as swiping at Mr Johnson (right), Ms Sturgeon also admitted she is concerned that 'daft rhetoric' and threats of street protests from Alex Salmond (left) could turn off moderate voters But the PM's Official Spokesman hit back and said: I think the first thing to say is that ministers and officials across all of the UK, all UK government departments, are focused on tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. I think that is what the public wants to see. Scottish people have been clear they want to see the UK government and devolved administrations working together to defeat this pandemic. So calling for a referendum in this way in the middle of a pandemic is not right and I think you have got the words from the Prime Minister that the 2014 vote was a once in a generation event. This is a point he has reiterated probably most forcefully at the Liaison Committee at the end of last month. Ms Sturgeon had said she is 'pretty confident' the SNP's plan B of pushing a referendum Bill through the Scottish Parliament - potentially triggering a wildcat vote with no legal standing - will not be needed. The First Minister said her 'strong preference and intention' is to hold another referendum in the first half of the parliament, up to 2023, but she will be 'guided by the realities of Covid'. She also swiped at Mr Salmond - who has launched the Alba Party after an extraordinary SNP civil war - for suggesting peaceful street protests could be a way of forcing Mr Johnson to agree to a referendum. 'If you're somebody that voted no in 2014 and because of Brexit or other things, are now open-minded to independence and I know an awful lot of these people and you hear somebody say they think they can bulldoze their way to independence in spite of public opinion, I would think, ''maybe I don't want to engage in this any more'',' she said. A poll revealed yesterday that fewer than one in five Scots believes that independence is one of the most important issues facing the country. It found only 19 per cent of people believe separation is an important issue down from a high of 23 per cent in a series of recent surveys. In the Savanta ComRes poll carried out for Scotland on Sunday, respondents were asked to pick their three most important issues facing Scotland with half stating the economy was one of the key topics. Health was the second most-selected option, chosen by 45 per cent of Scots, followed by employment and welfare at 35 per cent. Education was an important issue for 31 per cent of people, followed by Brexit on 25 per cent and then independence. According to the poll findings, independence as a key issue was at the lowest level recorded in the newspapers series of polls. It also found support for and opposition to independence was split 50-50. It came after Scotlands political parties suspended their election campaigns as a mark of respect following the death of Prince Philip on Friday. The survey of 1,007 over-16s in Scotland also suggests an SNP majority or an SNP/Green coalition would have the most backing among nationalists as the best mandate for a second independence referendum, rather than involvement from Alex Salmonds new Alba Party. A Savanta ComRes poll released over the weekend found support for and opposition to independence was split 50-50 Examining recent opinion polls, political scientist Professor Sir John Curtice suggested the fallout from the inquiry into the Scottish Governments unlawful investigation of Mr Salmond appears to have had no impact on the SNPs constituency support. Meanwhile, backing for independence has fallen by 1 per cent on average since the winter. But Sir John added there is no more than mixed evidence that the saga surrounding Mr Salmond and Miss Sturgeon has affected her approval ratings. On the What Scotland Thinks website, Sir John wrote: It looks as though not only were the oppositions hopes of bringing the First Minister down over the Salmond affair not realised, but also the row has done little if any damage to the popularity of the nationalist movement or that of its principal spokesperson. It is perhaps not surprising that an issue that some thought might dominate the election campaign now seems to have fallen off the political agenda entirely. Sir John added that early polls for Mr Salmonds return to frontline politics have not been encouraging. He wrote: Even if he does manage to secure election to Holyrood, the former First Minister is at risk of finding himself a lone figure in the new chamber. In her new book, Connecticut Waters, photographer Caryn Davis wanted to display how deeply the state is connected with nautical life. With that in mind, Davis said she photographed various places and subjects, from museums to maritime festivals to sailboat races and lighthouses. With a narrative by Eric Lehman, she said the book serves as a travel guide that she hopes will show people how to reconnect with the water. Davis said an editor from Globe Pequot Press, which published her book, A Connecticut Christmas, asked her about creating the new book. I can say that everything in the book was my creation, she said. I got to choose what the chapters would be and what the subjects of each chapter would be ... in addition to doing the photography. For 15 years, Davis was the Connecticut photographer for Offshore Magazine, she also worked at Mystic Seaport and sailed for years across the globe. She said she knew about Connecticuts boating scene and wanted to tell its story. I wanted to create a book that had a wide range about our waterways, she said. I didnt want this to be a book about sailing and boating. Everywhere you look in Connecticut, we have water. Theres many different ways that we use those waterways and have used them. It took about a year to shoot photos for the book, Davis said, and the quick turnaround required using some stock photos she had. Davis said those uses include industry, recreation and education both in the past and present. She said the water has shaped Connecticuts culture. Its one of the things that make our state so great, she said. Some of her favorite photos in the book, Davis said, are the ones of Five Mile Point Lighthouse in New Haven and one of New Londons coast. Its all about capturing the light, and in those photos it was the right day, right time, Davis said. When youre producing a book, you dont always have the luxury of choosing the perfect moment all the time. Other photos, Davis said, like that of the Freedom Schooner Amistad, had her on a chase boat following the ship as it was on the water. It was a really bright, sunny day, she said. Not ideal for photography at all, but that was when the boat went out and that was when I was able to get the shot. In that way, you get what you get. Davis said working on the book reminded her of the states beauty. Were surrounded by all this water and all this nature, she said. That has really come through, especially with (the COVID-19 pandemic). Being able to get out into the woods or get out on the water. Finding solace in the chaos of the pandemic, Davis said, was made easier through visits to nature. She said she hopes people who read the book are inspired to go out and visit the places it features. The book is definitely a travel guide in a lot of ways, because it will tell you ways to get out on the water, she said. You can find plenty of things to do. She shared her 'favourite' unseen images from her pregnancy and several candid snaps of her home for an Instagram Q&A on Sunday. And Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was back to business on Monday as she left her New York City hotel and headed to a photoshoot. The model, 33, cut an effortlessly stylish figure in a belted tan jacket paired with some cream strappy chain heels. Style: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looked sensational as she left her New York City hotel and headed to a photoshoot on Monday Rosie looked sensational in her statement coat which boasted a sharp collar and corset-style waist to accentuate her svelte figure. The beauty wore her caramel tresses down and styled slightly wavy, letting them cascade down her back as she stepped out into the city. Not forgetting her accessories, Rosie toted a white handbag under one arm and donned a stylish chain necklace as well as some complementary earrings. Rosie also ensured to follow any Covid rules and completed her look by adding a Styleguise black silk pleated face mask. Stunning: The model, 33, cut an effortlessly stylish figure in a belted tan jacket paired with some cream strappy chain heels Rosie's outing comes after she took a trip down memory lane as she shared her 'favourite' unseen images from her pregnancy on Sunday. The beauty looked every inch the yummy mummy as she cradled her baby bump in a patterned bikini during a trip to the Maldives for one photo. While another snap showed the model cupping her stomach in white lingerie as she relaxed on a bed. All in the details: Not forgetting her accessories, Rosie toted a white handbag under one arm and donned a stylish chain necklace Nostalgic: It comes after Rosie took a trip down memory lane as she shared her 'favourite' unseen images from her pregnancy for an Instagram Q&A on Sunday The parent-of-one also uploaded a behind-the-scenes snap of herself wearing a prosthetic bump while shooting scenes for 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. Sharing a rare glimpse into her personal life, the businesswoman also posted a shot of Jack's nursery room and treated fans to a look at renovations in her London home. Above her toddler son's crib, dozens of little bird houses could be seen as well as a sweet leaf decoration along the ceiling. The media personality went on to gush about her actor fiance, 53, branding him an 'amazing hands-on daddy' and a 'supportive, pretty funny and protective partner'. 'I have lots but I just found this one!' The model looked every inch the yummy mummy as she cradled her baby bump in white lingerie for one picture Sweet: Sharing a rare glimpse into her personal life, the businesswoman also posted a shot of her three-year-old son Jack's nursery and treated fans to a look at renovations in her home Rosie and Jason are said to have recently splashed out on a 7.5million property in Chelsea, London, The Sun reported. A source told the publication: 'In the midst of a pandemic, both Jason and Rosie just want to be closer to home, closer to their families and UK friends. 'After months of house-hunting, they finally found their dream pad - and couldn't be happier.' BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks were little changed on Monday as renewed virus and vaccine fears dented hopes for a swift economic recovery. Over the weekend, China's top disease control official has said that the effectiveness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines was low and authorities are considering options to bolster protection. India has recorded a massive surge of 168,912 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, breaking all records. Tokyo began today a month-long period of quasi-emergency measures to blunt a fourth wave of contagion. Closer home, protests against Covid-19 restrictions were held in multiple European capitals on Saturday. In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in an interview that the economy 'has brightened substantially' due to faster vaccinations and intensive policy support, but there were risks if a quick reopening leads to a continued rise in coronavirus cases. In economic releases, euro zone retail sales figures for February will be out later today. The benchmark DAX was down 7 points at 15,226 after closing 0.2 percent higher on Friday. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Students of the Kwara State University (KWASU) in Malete, Kwara State, on Monday, protested the 300 per cent hike of their hostel exemption fee from N5,000 to N20,000. The fee is mandatory for fresh and final year students who opt not to reside in the schools N65,000 per year hostel facility. The controversial levy is also a prerequisite for the ongoing registration of courses for the semester. The students occupied the entrance point of the school, which was under lock, in large numbers on Monday. There were no classes today. Even the staff didnt show up. Most students were outside in the morning protesting, a 300-level student of Microbiology department who participated in the action, told this newspaper. Many students, who spoke with our reporter, condemned the move by the school management. I think the major issue for the school right now is finance. The school feels theyre not getting enough and thats why any little opportunity they always want to increase school fees or other fees. But all this increment uncalled for and it is too much. It is telling on us seriously, especially after the COVID-19. Things are not really the same. It is not easy for some of our parents when its not like were in a private institution, a student said. Another student said the protest had a backdrop of many issues, including the poor state of the hostels. Were on protest today because so many things have gone wrong in the system since the new VC stepped in. Also, these days, no light and water. It is really bad this semester. The Students Union President, Azeez Lawal, said students leaders had met with the school management and relevant authorities in the state to register the students grievances. In a statement of Sunday, Mr Lawal said although the university management refused to shift grounds, the state government has promised to reverse the levy. We met with the management, they stood their grounds of not reducing this increment when some of our members shed tears in front of them, what a pity. Some individuals gave up on the process, I couldnt. I gave the notice that no students should pay until it has been reversed but then, the situation was tough, different students have different reasons why they needed their course registration urgently. Officials of the ministry of Tertiary Education came to our campus on Friday based on my intervention and the fee was removed from the portal for outright reversal back to the former fee. But up till date, the implementation has not been accomplished. I was shocked but not surprised when I saw a memo released by the management, signed by the registrar that I incited students against the management. Well, I can but I wouldnt because students will definitely fight for their rights without being implanted to do so. We met with the Governor of Kwara State representatives, we have good news already!. Our demands have been heard and approved. The exemption fee will be completely reversed and will be granted to students at application, the statement read. In an internal memo released by the Acting Registrar, Muhammed Shaib, on Sunday, the official stated that a large percentage of the students refused to pay for the hostels. This is to inform the entire University community that it has been the Universitys policy over the years that, new students and final year students should stay in the Universitys hostels. However, attention of the Management was drawn to the fact that after about eight weeks after resumption for this Academic Session a large percentage of the cuurrent final year students refused to pay for the Universitys hostels in flagrant disobedience to the Universitys regulation. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Shuaib, who was silent on the outrageous increase, threatened that the school authorities will deal with protesting students. It must be stressed that, any student found distrupting the peace and tranquility on campus will be arraigned before the Students Disciplinary Committee and appropriate sanctions will be imposed on such student according to the Universitys law.We hereby remind the affected students of their Matriculation oath that they will be obedient to the rules and regulations of the University and to not distrupt peace and tranquility on campus. School makes U-turn The spokesperson of the school, Rasaq Sanni, said the university management would cancel the hostel exemption fee which, according to him, has been abused by the students. Its clear that the school has a policy. It is practised in all universities that new students and finalists must stay on campus. According to him, the idea of the increase is no longer valid with the restraints from the students. He told PREMIUM TIMES that the school will enforce the policy that mandates final year students and fresh students to live in the school hostel. We are asking them to go and pay for the hostels now. Only students who are married or those with health conditions that can stay in the hostels will be exempted, Mr Sanni stated. The Western Cape provincial government wants the national government to introduce a remote working visa aimed at international digital nomads, but they are struggling to convince the Department of Home Affairs. Cape Town is perfectly positioned to take advantage of people who live in and work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was voted the best city in the world for many years running in the Telegraph Travel Awards which illustrates its appeal to international travellers. With good Internet infrastructure, quality restaurants, and an idyllic setting, Cape Town is an attractive location for digital nomads. It wants to follow in the footsteps of Dubai which launched a remote-work programme last year. This programme allows international professionals to live in the Emirates while continuing to serve their employers in their home country. The remote-work visa gives applicants access to all services in Dubai, including telecoms and schooling. The Western Cape provincial government wants to do the same for Cape Town through a South African remote-work visa. The citys mayoral committee member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, James Vos, said the pandemic created a great opportunity to take work on a holiday. Cape Town has everything it takes to be the best remote working location in the world. We just need to make it easier for people to travel to South Africa, said Vos. To make it even more attractive to travellers, Western Cape tourism company Wesgro has partnered with Airbnb to promote the province as an ideal location for digital nomads. The partnership includes offering people up to 50% off stays longer than 28 days through Airbnb. Digital nomads will now be able to take advantage of the Western Capes tech- and entrepreneur-friendly economy at an affordable price, said the DAs provincial spokesperson for Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism, Deidre Baartman. There is, however, a snag the national government. The Western Cape government has tried to engage with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, but their request has not been successful. Cape Town is, however, not giving up. The Cape Town city council continues to put pressure on the national government to make this happen. It also wants the application process for the remote working visa to move online. Vos told Rapport it is high time that South Africa implements its electronic visa (e-visa) system to accommodate international travellers. South Africa has already piloted the new e-visa system, but the pandemic has delayed the implementation of this system. Tunisia will earmark over $1.6 million to grant assistance to needy families to muddle through the holy month of Ramadan, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has announced. Speaking to governors on Saturday, Mechichi indicated that the financial aid will be distributed by the ministry of social affairs, during the first week of the fasting month set to begin on Tuesday in the North African country. The state-sponsored aid follows that of Qatar which last week sent assistance valued at over $711,747 for 15,000 needy families in three Tunisian governorates. The World Bank allocated also to the North African country last month $300 million to help support more than one million Tunisian families living under the poverty line. The countrys economy has been timidly rising from the ashes of the 2011 revolution that swept President Ben Ali but the ongoing pandemic has dealt it news blows plunging more people in poverty. The Biden administration and Michigans Democratic governor are locked in an increasingly tense standoff over the states worst-in-the-nation coronavirus outbreak, with a top federal health official on Monday urging the governor to lock down her state. As the governor, Gretchen Whitmer, publicly called again for a surge of vaccine supply, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at a White House news conference that securing extra doses was not the most immediate or practical solution to the outbreak. She said that Michigan whose metro areas include 16 of the 17 worst outbreaks in the nation needed to enact shutdown measures to stamp out the crush of infections. The answer is not necessarily to give vaccine, said the director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. The answer to that is to really close things down, to go back to our basics, to go back to where we were last spring, last summer, and to shut things down. A restaurant in Burbank, California, that repeatedly violated Covid safety protocols was fenced by city authorities in a bid to prevent people from entering the area. The owner of Tinhorn Flats Saloon & Grill on Magnolia Boulevard in San Fernando Valley of Southern California has, in fact, already been arrested by police thrice for Covid protocol violations. He is also accused of removing the sandbags that the city put up around the periphery of the restaurant to prevent its reopening. Burbank city authorities were forced to put up a chain-link fence surrounding the restaurant but the owners have said that theyll fight the decision to the end. Derek Green, a Burbank Police Lt told local media that the city received a preliminary injunction on Friday to prevent the restaurant from operating without a county health permit and a city conditional use permit. Burbank city authorities had also received permission from a judge to shut off the power supply to Tinhorn Saloon & Grill. Burbank county has maintained that the restaurant and its owner are a nuisance to the safety of the public. Last week, the owners 20-year old son Lucas Lepejian was taken into custody after he was found removing the sandbags that the authorities had placed around the restaurant. He was later released. In this ongoing tussle between the restaurant owner and the Burbank city officials, there have also been a few protests supporting both sides. Lt Green has said: We will be out there to maintain peace and order. The groups have been peaceful for the most part. But people who live around the small-business district have been impacted by the commotion. Last week after removing the sandbags, the restaurant posted on their Instagram: This is the kind of Police Enforcement we are dealing with they are coming in heavy-handed afraid that Tinhorn Flats will make burgers and serve beers. Lucas is back out of jail for the 3rd time. What a truly sad time in Burbank CA. We will not comply. Baret Lepejian who owns the restaurant and lives in Thailand while his son looks after the business told local media that he supported his sons actions. He has also refused to pay the fine of about $50,000 that the city has levied against the restaurant. He said: Show me one shred of evidence how I am endangering the public. This has never been about safety or the public. Its never been about that. This whole thing is about fear and control. At least 30,000 restaurants in Los Angeles County have been closed to in-person diners since the start of the pandemic. In the months since the pandemic started last year, more than 30,000 restaurants in LA County were closed to in-person diners after a statewide shutdown order in March relegated them to offering takeout. Last month also, Tinhorn had violated the order and posted on their social media that they were opening doors and that they will NOT comply with illegal and unconstitutional rules and mandates. Many complaints were also filed against the restaurant by the public for violating the coronavirus health concerns. The court papers said: The vast majority of restaurants did their part and acted as good citizens by complying with these orders, despite the tremendous difficulty and hardship they have suffered as a result. Not everyone has borne the sacrifice willingly. As per the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, Los Angeles County has had more than 1.2 million Covid positive cases so far and 23,390 deaths till date highest than in any other county in the country. The Vodacom Group has announced that it will work with the African Union Development Agency (Auda-Nepad) to build digital infrastructure to manage vaccinations across 55 countries. This follows successful deployments in South Africa - to manage Covid-19 vaccinations - and in Mozambique, Tanzania and Nigeria - to manage infant inoculations. Photo by Hakan Nural on Unsplash Interested in vaccine rollouts across Africa? Here's a map to guide you Most developed countries are in the advanced stages of Covid-19 vaccination rollouts. But a large number of developing countries, including most across Africa, are still at the early stages, mainly due to a shortage of shots... The roll-out of mVacciNation is the first project in a public-private partnership that has been formed between Vodacom Group and Auda-Nepad to boost Africas digital transformation and build resilience for the post-Covid world.Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of Auda-Nepad, said: The response to the Covid-19 crisis has significantly accelerated the adoption of frontier technologies. Africa's booming digital sector offers great opportunities for public-private partnerships to help build resilience in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis and respond to critical continental priorities. As the development agency for the African Union, we act as a channel to connect innovators and governments to roll out and localise these solutions.mVacciNation has two core components and a control tower to ensure people get the right vaccine, at the right place and time. A supply chain component provides real-time information for health workers of all available vaccines and medical equipment - like syringes and supplies - nationally. A beneficiary management component allows individuals to register on the platform and assigns them to vaccine service points on a specific day and time. A 'control tower' allows for the orchestration of stock to specific vaccination centres.Each time someone is vaccinated their digital record is updated and, if a further dose is required, mVacciNation automatically schedules and sends a follow-up date via SMS. Once vaccination is completed, the individual will receive electronic certification. Countries can link mVacciNation into their choice of a temperature-controlled supply chain (cold-chain), drug safety (pharmacovigilance) and vaccination travel passport platforms.Auda-Nepad, with a continental mandate and reach, will facilitate government engagement to link mVacciNation to policy and practice for accelerated roll-out of the solution to African Union Member States. South Africa is the first country that has started to utilise mVacciNation for Covid-19 vaccines through the National Department of Healths EVDS. Health workers are in the first wave to be vaccinated in that country. Nearly 279,000 Covid-19 vaccinations have been completed to date.Once installed, the mVacciNation platform will remain in place to help countries better manage future pandemics and other large-scale health programmes such as infant inoculations. mVacciNation has been utilised by the Ministries of Health in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Nigeria as they have sought to increase immunisation rates in children. Over 1.3 million vaccinations have been recorded in those countries of which 262,000 were children registered and vaccinated supported by mVacciNation. ADVERTISEMENT The police in Ogun State say thay have arrested three members of a kidnap syndicate who had been allegedly terrorising commuters along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, made this known in a statement on Monday. He said the suspects were arrested at Fidiwo area along Lagos-Ibadan express way, following a tipoff from some hunters Mr Oyeyemi gave the identities of the suspects as, Nathaniel Jacob, 24, from Nasarawa State; Isah Danladi, 22 from Kogi State; and Abubakar Rabiu, 23, from Niger State. He said hunters sighted the suspects in the bush where they were planning on how to strike along the expressway. He said the hunters quickly alerted the police, who rallied other security agencies and hunters groups and stormed the Fidiwo Alapako bush to effect the arrest of the suspected kidnappers. On sighting the police, the suspects took to their heels in the bush, but luck ran out of the three and they were subsequently apprehended, while three others escaped with their arms, Mr Oyeyemi stated. On interrogation, the suspects confessed to have been in the bush for the past ten days, waiting for a convenient opportunity to strike. It took them that long because of heavy presence of policemen in the stretch of the expressway, he said. The police spokesperson said the suspects disclosed further that their gang comprises six members and that the three that escaped were in possession of their arms, adding that preliminary investigation revealed that the gang was responsible for the series of kidnapping along the expressway. Mr Oyeyemi also said cutlasses were recovered from the suspects which they claimed were seized from farmers. He said the commissioner of police, Edward Ajogun, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to Anti-kidnapping Unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation. UK new vehicle showrooms in England and Wales reopened on 12 April along with many other businesses such as non essential retailers, hairdressers, gyms, outdoor dining and drinking, and zoos. Retailers in Scotland are currently offering click & collect, online purchasing services, in line with local restrictions introduced on 5 April. These retailers expect to re-open from 26 April. In Northern Ireland, click & collect services resumed today. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) produced updated sector-specific guidance for dealers to ensure reopened premises were safe spaces for employees and visitors. The guidance covers processes such as booking appointments (still required to enter showrooms) to staff-customer interactions, test drives, click and collect, trade ins and aftersales, and includes advice on staff training, signage, sanitation and protective personal equipment (PPE). Quickly and easily push and pull from your existing Salesforce and Marketing Cloud CRMs with Alchemer Please take my survey now Developed in partnership with dealers and manufacturers, it was designed to complement government guidance for the UK retail sector, to help dealers implement legal requirements as part of individual risk assessments. NFDA Chief Executive Sue Robinson, said: "Opening showrooms will allow the economy to get moving again. With confidence in public transport safety at a 20-year low, private transport will play an essential role in enabling people to return to their daily lives. "It is positive that the automotive industry is proactively working together to resume business as soon as possible in line with the government's guidelines." The guidance will ensure over 4,500 franchised dealerships provide the best possible service in sales and aftersales while protecting staff and guests. Automotive retailers will be working hard to overcome any challenges to safely welcome customers back to the showrooms." SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said: "It's been a long wait but automotive retailers are ready, willing and able to welcome customers back into showrooms. While click and collect has helped the sector survive, it cannot replace the experience of choosing and test driving a new car in person. Reopening these premises will also boost UK car manufacturing, as the reduced demand caused by their closure has led to months of lower production." Thematic Reports Are you worried about the pace of innovation in your industry? GlobalData's TMT Themes 2021 Report tells you everything you need to know about disruptive tech themes and which companies are best placed to help you digitally transform your business. Find out more "Consumers returning to showrooms will notice some changes, not just in the updated Covid safety measures, but also in the increasing choice of new car technologies and there are now more green choices than ever before." It's nowhere near a return to normal as appointments must be made to visit showrooms and masks must be worn, But new SMMT analysis showed customers ready to put up with that will be offered about 460 models, 4,650 standard specifications and an "almost infinite number" of options. Zero-emission-capable cars, which sweep in short EV range PHEVs, now account for one in three available models. The industry has warned a full recovery by the end of 2021 "remains highly challenging". New car registrations during Q1 2021 were 37.1% down on the average for 2010-2019 and for levels to return to 'normal' by the end of the year would require a new car delivery every 12 seconds. The SMMT said the industry had lost GBP22.2bn in turnover from new car registrations since March 2020 and hoped the variety of options now available would stimulate demand. Hawes said: "We hope today marks the start of that recovery." There is a growing gulf between the anti-scientific policies of the ruling class and the grim reality of the current stage of the pandemic. The Democratic Party-run state of California was just months ago the epicenter of the winter COVID-19 surge where hospitals were pushed to the brink at zero percent capacity, however this past week Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to fully reopen the state by June 15. The plan will allow the full range of businesses, workplaces, schools and public areas to remain open with even fewer restrictions, adopting nothing other than common sense safety measures like mask-wearing. Throwing out its current color tier metrics for restrictions, the new plan hinges on two vague and entirely unspecified prerequisites: a sufficient vaccine supply and low hospitalizations. What the state deems acceptable has been left totally unspecified, giving Newsom maximum flexibility and ease to fully reopen the economy in a little over two months as more infections and deadlier variants of the virus are circulating widely. By these intentionally vague standards, the delivery of vaccines would not be required, so long as there are doses being stored and available. The low number of acceptable hospitalizations and COVID-19 deaths is essentially arbitrary. California Gov. Gavin Newsom holds a face mask during a news conference in Rancho Cordova, Calif As most California counties lower their own restrictions, there are still more than 2,300 COVID-19 patients in hospitals and 534 COVID-19 patients in intensive care. To compare, an average of 2,300 COVID-positive patients were in the hospital in October, just before the deadly winter surge. However, it was during this period that Newsom ordered half-hearted lockdown measures, which kept all workplaces open and allowed open schools to remain so. Now, even those insufficient measures are to be dispensed with. In his latest announcement, Governor Newsom aimed straight for the heart of the suffering population, and declared it was time to begin planning for a life post-pandemic and to look forward to a fully reopened economy, by continuing the practices that got us here. The practices of the ruling class have been completely negligent and arbitrary. Tiered reopenings, completely lackluster economic relief, dangerous working conditions throughout the whole pandemic and continuous infections have led to more than 3.7 million infections and 60,082 preventable deaths in California alone. The new June plan marks an end to Californias highly flexible color-coded tier system which has been used to classify counties as purple, red, orange, or yellow depending on their testing and hospitalization rates. The state briefly added an even more severe blue tier during the winter to indicate zero percent ICU capacities. For the last six months, most of Californias 50 counties were placed in restrictive purple or red tiers, indicating widespread and severe positivity rates, and these counties were required to implement measures like reducing capacities at restaurants and other businesses, or discouraging large indoor and outdoor gatherings. In the last week, however, the majority of counties in California have been moved to the orange tier, allowing for double the previous capacity for outdoor events, indoor live events, places of worship, fitness centers, amusement parks and full capacities at retail stores, shopping centers, office workplaces and bars with outdoor accommodations. Importantly, the new tier configuration perfectly coincides with the Democratic Partys goal of returning children and teachers into classrooms before the pandemic has been put under control, in the sole interest of getting parents back to work full-time and making profits for the financial elite. President Joe Biden declared in February that K-8 schools must be reopened within his first 100 days in office, and Californias policymakers appear to be aiming to lead the pack of the back-to-school drive. Newsoms announcement also doubles as cover for businesses and universities to implement full, unsafe reopening plans. Californias universities have had fits and starts in attempting to reopen, only to become outbreak sites, throughout the pandemic. Universities have continuously risked the health of staff and students in unsafe housing and in-person classes in order to gain as much profit as possible during the pandemic. Eagerly awaiting their chance, numerous universities in the California State and University of California system declared, just days after the June reopening announcement, that they will proceed to the fall semester with limited to non-existent restrictions for full service. The tier system, from its inception, has had purposefully flexible criteria for shifting restrictionscriteria that only became more vague and impermanent as the pandemic progressed. As it currently stands, the system has worked primarily to create a false sense of safety. Nevertheless, this system has outlived its usefulness in California, as the ruling class moves to finish its return to school campaign and the Democrats return to normal. The recent shift of most counties to the less restrictive tiers is clearly irresponsible. For example, San Diego Countys COVID-19 case rates are nearly identical to the rates the county suffered six months ago before the devastating winter surge. San Diego County currently has a case rate of 8.2 cases per 100,000 people, a rate that is actually higher than Octobers average of 7.4, when San Diego and the rest of Southern California entered the red, and then purple tier in November, with a case rate of 8.9. Similarly, just a few months ago, Los Angeles County was the epicenter of the pandemic for the Western hemisphere, averaging more than 10,000 new cases per day throughout December and January. But this week the county has reopened indoor dining, movie theatres, and reduced capacity indoor concerts. Los Angeles County cites low case rates and vaccination supply, paying no mind to decreased testing rates and the unequal and still limited administration of the vaccines. In the period from January to April, COVID-19 tests have gone down by more than 50 percent throughout the state of California. It is no coincidence that during this time the ruling class has rapidly accelerated reopening plans through their use of unscientific lies, misrepresentations and legislative force against working people. The platitudes and lies of the ruling class and policy makers would have the working class believe that the pandemic is nearing its conclusion, however, the surge in cases in the Midwest and globally shows that this is far from reality. As Newsom, the Democratic Party and their allies force students and teachers back to face-to-face learning, MIS-C cases among children are rising dramatically. California leads the United States in the number of children documented with the condition, with more than 300 of Americas more than 3,000 cases and 36 deaths. As the devastation of the pandemic intensifies, the ruling class actually demands the acceleration and normalization of mass death and disease through their herd immunity policies and reopening plans, and complete disregard for rational policy and science. Epidemiologists warn that the globe is actually already in the beginning of the fourth wave of the pandemic, and that reopenings will facilitate a worse surge than the winter. In a recent interview on Meet the Press, Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, and former COVID-19 policy adviser for Biden, referred to the extreme rise in cases in Michigan as a wake up call against other states reopening plans. Osterholm explained that the spread of variants like B.1.1.7 has led to the recent steady rise of cases in the United States, even before full reopening causes an explosion of infections. Osterholm elaborated: We are the only country in the world right now experiencing this increasing number of cases due to this variant and at the same time, opening up, not closing down. He also warned of vaccine nationalism and vaccine-evading COVID-19 variants in his interview. A fraction of the worlds population has seen a drop of the vaccine, predominantly in wealthier countries, leaving poor countries and billions of people without access. Biden and the United States government have access to some of the best and most precise COVID-19 data and projections in the world, and yet, a class decision is made to ignore the dangers, reopen schools and workplaces with full knowledge that they will be condemning workers and their families to unnecessary suffering and death by doing so. The Democratic Party stronghold of California has taken the lead in both the spread of COVID-19 and irrational pandemic policies. From the states arbitrary and ineffective tier system to their superficial equitable vaccination pledges, to the drive to reopen schools, the state has led the nation by example for how to reopen the economy and shift blame for mass death and disease to the working class. The Democrats hope to offer the appearance of improvement and political cover for their homicidal policies and profiteering. Meanwhile, the grim reality is that the pandemic is not ending. The same day that Newsom announced his June reopening plans, a new COVID-19 double mutant strain was discovered in California, illustrating the dangers that exist from allowing the virus to spread. Image via Getty/Robert Alexander A Louisiana woman was arrested Wednesday, after she allegedly refused to return more than $1.2 million accidentally deposited into her brokerage account by Charles Schwab & Co., NOLA.com reports. About a month after Kelyn Spadoni opened an account with Schwab in January, the company installed enhancements to the software used to transfer assets. Schwab intended on transferring $82.56 into her Fidelity Brokerage Services account, but Spadoni received $1,205,619 instead. The error was immediately noticed, and a reclaim request was submitted by Schwab the next day to the institution that handles the money mistakenly sent to her account. The company received a CASH NOT AVAILABLE notification, which meant that Spadoni had already taken the money out of her account. Schwab contacted the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, which opened a criminal investigation, and discovered that at least $48,000 was used to buy a 2021 Hyundai Genesis sport utility vehicle. Detectives were ultimately able to retrieve about 75 percent of what was accidentally given to Spadoni. Spadoni has been charged with theft valued over $25,000, bank fraud, and illegal transmission of monetary funds, and was fired from her job as a 911 dispatcher for the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, where she had been working for over four years. Schwab has filed a federal lawsuit against Spadoni for dodging its attempts to recover the money. In the lawsuit, Schwab cites an agreement in the contract with Spadoni which states that if a client receives an overpayment of funds, that person is required to return the full amount. Spadoni is being held at a nearby correctional facility in lieu of a $50,000 bond. Related Articles More Complex Story continues Sign up for the Complex Newsletter for breaking news, events, and unique stories. Follow Complex on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok Dr Helmut Marko has rubbished rumours that Red Bull is set to debut a new and "mysterious" suspension system this weekend at Imola. "This is complete nonsense," said the Austrian team official. "We already had this 'mysterious' suspension in Bahrain but it's nothing special," Marko told Sport1. "We had to design it because we needed a suspension that would fit the extremely narrow rear end that we built around the new, smaller and more compact Honda engine this season," he added. Marko is therefore expecting another very close battle between Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton this weekend. "In Bahrain we saw that they are in a league of their own," he said. "Nobody else can answer that at the moment. "I trust Max to be faster than Hamilton on one lap, but Hamilton has something on him with his experience." Indeed, Red Bull seemed to be the faster car in Bahrain, but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insists the reigning world champions can compensate for the team's 'low rake' car concept. "It may not be possible in a month, but we can solve it. The car still has potential," he said. "We can't just throw away the 2021 season, because there is no guarantee that you will be better in 2022 just because you started a few weeks earlier." Finally, members of the media are wondering why Mercedes has appointed a new technical director, Mike Elliot, as James Allison steps away to help Toto Wolff with "major strategic challenges" for the future. "Is id due to the low rake concept?" wondered Match TV commentator Alexey Popov. "Perhaps it's just so Allison can move his efforts onto 2022 so that Mercedes can dominate the next generation as it did with this one." Auto Motor und Sport's Tobias Gruner added: "It looks a bit like a holding pattern to me, from where he (Allison) can step up to the team principal role when Toto Wolff decides to leave his post." (GMM) Salesforce will reopen its San Francisco headquarters in mid-May, starting with employees who have been vaccinated, the company said Monday. The tech company, which is the citys largest private employer, is taking a different approach than other businesses by requiring proof of vaccination for its first volunteers returning to offices. It appears to be the first major Bay Area company to implement that requirement to start. Other companies such as Facebook and Google havent required vaccinations as they reopen offices this month. Salesforce Tower will reopen along with Palo Alto and Irvine offices in May, followed by other U.S. locations. Vaccinated employees will be grouped into separate cohorts of 100 or fewer people to start. Some facilities in other regions, predominantly in Asia, have already reopened. As health trends improve, the company plans to allow unvaccinated workers to return starting at 20% overall capacity and rising to 75%. When new local coronavirus cases fall below 1 per 1,000 people and a there is a less than 1% positivity rate, an office will fully reopen. There are no firm dates for these changes, and the company is also extending its fully remote option for employees until the end of 2021. The company will have on-site coronavirus testing and temperature checks where possible, plexiglass barriers between desks and increased cleaning. The eventual return of more than 10,000 Salesforce workers in San Francisco is expected to bolster downtowns economy, but the company is planning major changes. Most employees want to stay home at least one or two days a week, and Salesforce is eliminating designated desks and expanding collaboration areas. Its really a catalyst to create the best employee experience, Brent Hyder, Salesforces chief people officer, told The Chronicle. We have an opportunity to create an even better workplace for everyone. In the companys Sydney office, which reopened last August and is now at full capacity, most employees want to stay home at the beginning of the week. Wednesday and Thursday are the most popular times for workers to start coming in. Only 24% of individual desk space is typically used, while 64% of common areas like lounges and conference rooms are used. Thursday is our new Monday for sure, Hyder said. Before the pandemic, around 18% of the companys roughly 50,000 workers were fully remote, and Hyder expects that number to rise only slightly to around 20%. The majority of workers will have a flexible combination of office and home work. Our productivity rates have never been higher, Hyder said, but added that employees are growing weary. They want to see each other. Robert Siegel, a Stanford professor of microbiology and immunology, expects more private companies to follow suit and require vaccinations for returning workers. He believes some are hesitating to issue policies and seeing if theres pushback. To me, it makes sense for a private company, he said. People will feel a lot more confident. The coronaviruss prevalence in the Bay Area means it remains significant risk for unvaccinated people, Siegel said. The race is now keeping the rate of new cases low enough before potential vaccine-resistant variants emerge, Siegel said. Variants are a wild card, he said. Like other tech giants, Salesforce plans a hiring spree this year that will exceed 15,000 people, and the new flexibility will create markets of talent that I didnt have before, Hyder said. Interactive Vaccine Tracker: Latest developments Detailed information about the coronavirus vaccines as it becomes available. The pandemic has increased demand for the companys digital marketing and sales products. In its most recent quarter, revenue jumped 20% to a record $5.82 billion. Other tech giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon are also seeing surging demand as people relied on digital communications and online shopping during shelter-in-place orders. Salesforce is also set to grow larger with its pending acquisition of messaging service Slack, which is also headquartered in San Francisco. Despite the boom in business, remote work has led to cuts to Salesforces office space in San Franciscos Transbay district. It is listing part of the Salesforce East tower for sublease and also canceled a major lease at an unbuilt tower at 542-550 Howard St. Even as some growth shifts to other regions, Hyder said the company remains committed to San Francisco. It said Monday that it is donating $1.5 million to three local organizations helping homeless people: Compass Family Services, Catholic Charities and Homeless Prenatal Program. Were excited to be able to continue reopening, and the return of Salesforce employees is a major step forward for our economy and our downtown area. San Francisco is ready to bounce back from this pandemic stronger than ever because of the work weve done to keep each other safe and healthy over the past year, and I cant wait to see our downtown streets and offices come alive again in the coming months, Mayor London Breed said in a statement. Hyder said that positive vaccination trends California is set to allow everyone 16 and older to get a shot starting Thursday and falling local cases should allow the company to reopen additional U.S. offices soon. We continue to be optimistic, he said. We have confidence where this is going. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf ADVERTISEMENT A professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Lagos, Bose Afolabi, has been awarded a $2.5 million research grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The university said in a statement that as the principal investigator, Ms Afolabi will lead a multicentre study which will run the research for three years (November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2023). The don seeks to research anaemia among pregnant women with her project titled Intravenous Versus Oral Iron for Iron Deficiency Anaemia in Pregnant Nigerian Women (IVON): a randomised controlled trial. The study will be conducted in 10 hospitals within Lagos and Kano States and it will recruit a total of 1,056 women at 20-32 weeks gestational age, who are diagnosed as having anaemia at the antenatal clinics of the hospitals, UNILAG noted. In addition to the international collaborations and partnerships which the study will facilitate between UNILAG and other universities in the US and Europe, it will also contribute to local human capacity development with the sponsorship of junior faculty for postgraduate training, the statement added. Reputed for her research and lectures on sickle cell pregnancy, Ms Afolabi has an interest in maternal and fetal medicine, minimal access (laparoscopic) surgery and medical education. She is a fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists UK, West African College of Surgeons, and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, according to her biography reeled out by the University of Lagos in its statement. A former U.S. ambassador has cautioned that Vladimir Putin is threatening open warfare in Europe as he puts President Joe Biden to the test by massing troops along Ukraine's border. Between 2012 and 2014, as Putin annexed Crimea, Michael McFaul, America's man in Moscow, said Putin was 'definitely' testing his U.S. counterpart with a display of power that has jangled nerves in Europe. Putin threatens open warfare, puts Biden to the test However, he warned that the bluster could quickly devolve into conflict, with the Russian military occupying Ukraine under the pretext of 'liberating' Russian speakers in the country's east, which it considers citizens. More than 80,000 Russian forces are believed to have gathered along Ukraine's eastern frontier, as per Daily Mail. Iuliia Mendel, a spokesman for the Ukrainian President, said today that 40,000 Ukrainian troops are stationed in Crimea, with another 40,000 in the disputed Donbass area. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has demanded talks with Putin over the troop buildup, but has yet to receive a response, said Mendel. This week, Zelenskiy will visit Paris to negotiate increasing tensions with European allies. McFaul replied clearly to a BBC Radio 4 question about how concerned world leaders should be about the situation in Ukraine: 'Very.' McFaul believes that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's warning of "consequences and costs" if Russia pushes into Ukraine is inadequate. He urged the White House to be clear about its reaction if Russia struck in the hopes of persuading Putin to change his mind before issuing the order. He went on to say that instead of asking America to stand alone, the G7 should issue a statement condemning Russia's actions. When asked why Putin is now making an issue out of a conflict that has been simmering in eastern Ukraine for the past five years, McFaul cited Biden's 'tough' comments about Putin since taking office. Putin, Russian President, Signs Law Allowing Him to Remain in Power Through 2036 Putin amasses more troops in Ukraine's border In defiance of Western threats, video footage released today tends to reveal massive new troop movements in Russian regions within striking distance of Ukraine. Russia's state television ramped up its propaganda, threatening that the country is "one step away from war" and demonizing Ukraine as a Nazi state. Ukraine is also allegedly dumping offensive firepower into the war zone, according to state television, but one video shows Kyiv troops using obsolete Soviet light BMP-2 tanks from the 1980s, which are no match for Vladimir Putin's formidable new firepower. The decision is seen as a deterrent to Russia, as many Western nations have requested that Moscow withdraw its forces. The latest evidence of a Russian buildup came when a Kremlin spokesperson maintained that "nobody is going to move into war," despite fresh videos and TV hype to the contrary. In what could be seen as a bid to increase the psychological pressure on Ukraine, Moscow released an intense video of its new weapons to commemorate the Air Defense Forces' Day, The Sun reported. US Warns China Its Obligation To Defend Philippines Taiwan Putin moved 28,000 Russian troops to the Ukraine border As President Joe Biden reportedly dubbed him a "killer" in his first sit-down interview since taking office, Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly left his quarantine, had a COVID-19 vaccine, and transferred 28,000 Russian troops to the Ukrainian border. "It hit me like a ton of bricks. And it had a major impact on his behavior," Pavel Baev, a senior researcher at the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Norway, argued. Last week, Russian Bear bombers launched an attack, prompting NATO to dispatch ten jet fighters to intercept Russian warplanes flying over the North Atlantic Ocean in a rare display of force near the Arctic. Putin secretly amended Russia's constitution, extending his term until 2036. According to Fox News, he'd be 83 years old at the time. North Korea Leader Kim Jong-Un Admits Nation Faces 'Worst-Ever Situation' @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. AUGA group, AB invites investors to join the webinar scheduled on April 16, 2021 at 5.30 PM (EET). The presentation will be held in English. During the webinar, Kestutis Juscius, CEO and one of the main shareholders of AUGA group will introduce the company and its strategy, as well as the latest published performance results. After the presentation participants of the webinar will have an opportunity to ask relevant questions. The webinar is organized together with LHV bank in Estonia and is primarily targeted to retail investors interested in the company. To join the webinar, please register via following link: https://lhvbank.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SF83ByDwQ-iwuoGl9hfgzQ You will be provided with the webinar link and instructions how to join successfully. Contacts: Mindaugas Ambrasas, AUGA group, AB CFO Phone: +370 620 67296 Email: m.ambrasas@auga.lt CDC Director Recommends Lockdown in Michigan to Curb Virus Surge The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put forth an opposing view to the Michigan governors administration Monday about how to deal with the CCP virus surge, saying the answer to Michigans acute situation with the virus is not to surge vaccines but to shut down the state and flatten the curve. The answer to that is to really close things down to go back to our basics, to go back to where we were last springlast summerand to shut things down, to flatten the curve, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a Monday press briefing. For example, we know that if vaccines go in arms today, we will not see an effect of those vaccines, depending on the vaccine, for somewhere between two to six weeks. So, when you have an acute situation, an extraordinary number of cases like we have in Michigan, the answer is not necessarily to give the vaccine. In fact, we know that the vaccine will have a delayed response, Walensky added. On Friday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on the Biden administration to increase supplies of the vaccine to Michigan, particularly the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, to deal with the rising cases. The variance in Michigan that we are facing right now wont be contained if we dont ramp up vaccinations as soon as possible, Whitmer said. We need an additional supply of the one-shot J&J vaccine, which we believe is vital to our strategy of rapidly distributing vaccines and slowing the rise of spread. From public health research we know that the one-shot vaccine is critical to protect younger Michiganders or those who may have difficulty getting back for a second shot. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state during a speech in Lansing, Mich., on March 2, 2021. (Michigan Office of the Governor via AP) She implored citizens to continue wearing their masks, socially distancing, and not gathering in large groups indoors or going to restaurants. Walensky was responding to a reporters question about remarks made Sunday by Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, who said the Biden administration should have increased vaccine supplies to Michigan to deal with the rise in hospitalizations and spread of the variant. Its a request thats been made for weeks now, and I think we should have done it weeks ago, Gottlieb said Sunday on CBS Face the Nation. Whitmer echoed Gottliebs sentiments about the need for more vaccines in her state. So, Im urging the federal government to create a vaccination surge program to help states like Michigan now because its Michigan and the Midwest today, and tomorrow or next week it could be the Northeast or the south or another part of our country. But Walensky said the effect of vaccines is delayed, and is therefore not a viable strategy for dealing with the current surge. I think if we tried to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan, we would be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work, to actually have the impact, added Walensky. Walensky added that other states also need the vaccine, and we dont know where the next place is going to be that its going to surge. White House officials say they are not allocating doses to states based on surges, but by population. However, Whitmer did say that the federal government has pledged more therapeutics, mobile units, testing supplies, and vaccinators for Michigan to help with the hot spots. White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said during Mondays briefing that the variants present in Michigan are also present in other states and his officials have to follow the science. Our ability to vaccinate people quickly in all of each of those statesrather than taking vaccines and shifting it to playing Whack-a-Moleisnt the strategy that public health leaders and scientists have laid out, Slavitt said at a briefing. Michigan has the second-highest number of the UK variant of the CCP virus. As part of Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Programme, the Ministry of Health is transforming from being an all-in-one payer, provider and regulator of health services to being predominantly a regulator, says KPMG. KPMGs latest report on Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) in the Saudi healthcare sector marks a further step in the kingdoms healthcare transformation. The report highlighted that, with the introduction of new service provider reimbursement reforms underway in the public sector in Saudi Arabia and the plan to standardise across the public and private sectors, kingdoms healthcare providers will need to develop new capabilities to enable them to be self-sufficient. It is a milestone move in Saudi healthcare system which contributes to Saudi Vision 2030. One of the key implications for healthcare providers of this introduction is the transformation of how healthcare service providers are reimbursed. Providers will in the future primarily be paid on a per-patient basis, rather than via allocated budgets from the government, said Emmeline Roodenburg, Head of Healthcare, KPMG Saudi Arabia. Under the new reimbursement mechanism, healthcare providers will need to be able to raise invoices to payers for eligible patients. It will create the need for efficient processes from patient acceptance, to treatment and billing and healthcare providers will need to generate and streamline data to negotiate with payers. The same data will drive cost efficiency and service quality and will create competition with local providers. KPMG report highlights the significant change in how income has been received by the most providers (healthcare providers)in Saudi Arabia. The change requires providers to undergo a culture shift and develop new capabilities in determining which patients are medically and financially eligible prior to registering patients, repeating the check prior to each appointment or the treatment episode, correctly documenting patients records, coding and grouping, raising bills according to the contractual terms. The new system will significantly benefit the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia. It will bring more insights into the system itself by using data which is generated by an RCM function, out-competing other providers for increased number of patients because most payments will be revolved around the patient. The system will enable providers to increase their revenues by attracting more patients. The new system of reimbursement will raise many challenges for healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia but will also present opportunities to improve and become more efficient by understanding the true costs of delivering services, said Mostafa Ali ElShamashergi, Head of Financial Management, KPMG in Saudi Arabia and MESA region. KPMG CASE STUDY King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC), a leading tertiary healthcare facility in Saudi Arabia, was identified by Saudi Ministry of Health as one of the pilot institutions that will move from being a pure government organisation to a not-for-profit independent organisation. In order to operate under the new model, the hospital reached out to KPMG to implement RCM to ensure it can meet current and future payers requirements and satisfy patient expectations. KPMG designed RCM processes across the KFSH&RC based on its world-class capabilities, best practices and applicable local regulations. -- Tradearabia News Service The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked President Nana Akufo-Addo to have his government expedite investigations into all unresolved crimes as a way of pulling the plugs on criminal impunity in the country. Condemning the recent ritual murder of a 10-year-old boy at Kasoa, Central Region, the party, in a statement signed by Communication Director Sammy Gyamfi said: We further wish to draw the attention of the Akufo-Addo government to the plethora of crimes whose resolution has dragged on interminably, thus, encouraging the perpetuation of the culture of impunity. Read the full statement below: PRESS STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS ON THE MURDER OF YOUNG ISHMAEL MENSAH ABDALLAH AT KASOA. It is with extreme shock and disbelief that the National Democratic Congress received news of the gruesome murder of a ten-year-old boy called Ishmael Mensah Abdallah at Kasoa in the Central Region by his own teenaged acquaintances for ritual purposes. The Leadership, as well as the entire rank and file of the NDC, join the family and friends and, indeed, the entire nation, in mourning the loss of this young and promising boy much beloved by his family and community. It is the expectation of the National Democratic Congress that the appropriate authorities will ensure that the bereaved family are comforted by the swiftness of the application of the law to punish the perpetrators and all who may be behind this dastardly murder. The NDC has taken due notice of the fact that there appears to be a fashionable craze toward the acquisition of quick wealth by many of our countrymen and women and the youth in particular, without the attendant hard, morally sound and lawful means of obtaining same. We deem this development as a dangerous trend that has to be condemned and discouraged by all and sundry. It is a development which the NDC is unquestionably opposed to, or else we risk bequeathing to the youth, a practice and a lifestyle that cannot build this nation. We further wish to draw the attention of the Akufo-Addo government to the plethora of crimes whose resolution has dragged on interminably, thus, encouraging the perpetuation of the culture of impunity. We encourage the youth to look out for honest, hardworking, and accomplished persons as their role models. Wealth which has been improperly obtained, should never be an attraction for the upcoming youth of this great nation. In this regard, we call on the Akufo-Addo government to speed up investigations and crank the wheels of justice so that the country can rid itself of the odious reminder of this unfortunate event. May the soul of young Ishmael Mensah Abdallah rest in peace. ISSUED ON FRIDAY 9TH APRIL, 2021 .......... KAKRA ESSAMUAH DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS 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 If charities want to start receiving more donations, they should tweak their marketing to make the public feel like they'll personally benefit from donating, a new study shows. Researchers performed experiments involving sending promotional postcards, intended to trigger charitable donations, to 540,000 people in the US state of Alaska. Postcards that stressed the personal benefits of donating increased the likelihood of donations, as well as the amount donated, the study authors found. Emphasising selfish benefits is therefore the best way to get people to open their wallets and could be a more effective strategy than employing 'chuggers' to pester people on the streets. Reminding potential donors that giving to charity benefits them in some way is the best way to encourage generosity, according to researchers from the US and Australia (stock image) The study has been conducted by researchers at the Australian National University and the University of Chicago. 'Results from our experiment highlight the relative importance of benefits to self as a driver of giving,' they say in their paper. 'Our results have import for theoreticians and empiricists interested in modelling charitable giving as well as practitioners and policymakers.' Researchers partnered with Alaskas Pick.Click.Give. programme to implement their 'statewide natural field experiment'. Pick.Click.Give. was created by the Alaskan government in 2008 to allow Alaskans filing for their Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) online to donate a portion or all of their dividends to charitable causes. For their study, the team randomly assigned every household in Alaska to either a control group (who received no postcard) or one of two groups that did receive a postcard. The postcards, which were sent to around 540,000 Alaskans, encouraged them to 'warm your heart' by donating to a charity, or to donate to 'make Alaska better'. Pictured are the two postcards distributed for the experiments. Postcard a) was the 'benefits to self' postcard that increased tendency to donate, as well as amounts donated These two messages each correspond with one of two main motivations for charitable giving concerns for 'benefits to self' (known as 'impure altruism' or 'warm glow') or concerns for 'benefits to others' (known as 'pure altruism'). Those who received the 'warm your heart' postcard donated 23 per cent more than those who did not receive a postcard, and were 6.6 per cent more likely to donate, they found. Those encouraged to 'make Alaska better' were more likely to donate than the people in the control group who did not receive a postcard. However, the former did not donate significantly more than the latter. 'Messages that highlighted the benefits to others increased the propensity to give, but there was no evidence of an effect on average donation size,' the researchers say. In the year of their postcard campaign (2014), households in the 'benefits to self' postcard group donated approximately $1.10 more than they otherwise would have. This was a 23 per cent increase in average donations, relative to the approximate $4.766 average gift in 2014 from Alaskans in the control group. As there were 183,215 people who donated in the 'benefits to self' group donating an additional $1.10, distributing this message raised an estimated $201,536. Had all online filers received this message, it is estimated that Pick.Click.Give. would have raised an additional $594,136. The figures are a reminder for charities about how effective the wording of their communications materials can be. 'Our results are noteworthy in that they suggest ways to increase giving using simple messages that appeal to the donors self-interest and the good feelings triggered by the act of giving.' The study has been published in Nature Human Behaviour. When the state announced where the Federal Emergency Management Agencys COVID vaccine trailer would be going during its 60 days in Connecticut, large cities such as Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven dominated the list but tucked in the middle was North Canaan, population barely 3,200. The small town, located on the Massachusetts border in the Northwest corner of the state, wouldnt seem like a stop for a mobile clinic primarily designed to reach people living in the 50 ZIP codes designated as socially vulnerable by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But when First Selectman Charlie Perotti heard about the FEMA trailer, he asked Torrington Health District Director Robert Rubbo to submit an application with the state Department of Public Health to get the trailer to his town. Perotti figured the state owed him, after confusing his little town with New Canaan for several months and counting some of that communitys COVID cases as North Canaans. He also said the dearth of places to get vaccinated has left residents of his town driving to Kent or as far as Norwich to get their shots. Theres nowhere to get a vaccine here except the Walgreens, and you can imagine how fast their appointments get snapped up, Perotti said. North Canaan has a lower percentage of residents vaccinated than every community in the state except Hartford and Mansfield, according to DPH data. About 24% of North Canaans residents have received at least a first dose, compared to 22% in Hartford and 23% in Mansfield. The town also recently got a surprise when some of the states first cases of the B.1.1.7 variant were identified in North Canaan residents. Perotti said nobody has explained to him how that happened or who was infected with the so-called British variant. The town has only had 185 COVID cases since the beginning of the pandemic. To his surprise, the state approved the request, and the FEMA trailer will be parked at Town Hall on April 14 for one day. DPH spokeswoman Maura Fitzgerald said that North Canaan was chosen because state officials are aware of its low percentage of residents vaccinated and lack of nearby options to get a shot. The FEMA mobile unit is being sent there for one day to provide the towns residents increased access to the vaccine, Fitzgerald said. While the FEMA unit is focused mainly on the high SVI towns, we also have some rural areas in the state that also lack equitable access to vaccine, and the FEMA unit will be deployed to those areas as well during the next 60 days to help increase the vaccine numbers in those towns. But North Canaan is by far the smallest community the FEMA trailer will visit. It will be in Winsted the day before and Killingly at the end of the month. The Town Hall parking lot was the only place in the community big enough to meet FEMAs need for a 3,500-square-foot space to set up the clinic, its generators and other equipment. Perotti said people flooded Town Hall with calls as word spread that the trailer would be coming. We had people calling from Salisbury and Cornwall, because people up here cant find anything. Its not just for us but all of the little towns up here in the Northwest corner, he said. The FEMA trailer can distribute about 200 shots a day, and Perotti said they wont have trouble reaching that number and more. We probably had over 100 people call already looking for appointments. Now I just need someone to tell me how they sign up for it, Perotti said. Griffin Hospital will be staffing the FEMA trailer on its trip to North Canaan, and people can sign up at www.griffinhospital.org/northcanaan. In Ukraine, peak loads on the emergency medical service are recorded in connection with the increase in the incidence of COVID-19, Deputy Minister of Health Iryna Mykychak said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday. "In Ukraine, there is a peak load on the emergency medical service. We have a high level of hospitalizations. If we talk about an emergency, it is almost 17,000-19,000 house-calls every day. In some territories, a decrease in the load on an emergency service is recorded, in particular, in Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia regions. At the same time, the level of house-calls of teams in Zaporizhia, Odesa, and Kharkiv regions remains high," she said. According to Mykychak, there is also a high workload of beds with oxygen in Ukraine. "Some 42,145 patients with COVID-19 and 6,359 persons with suspected COVID-19 are staying in medical institutions. The occupancy of beds with oxygen in the city of Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Khmelnytsky regions is more than 70%," she said. METAIRIE, La. (AP) A Louisiana man was shot dead by sheriffs deputies after deputies say the man pointed a gun at them. Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Capt. Jason Rivarde says deputies were called to a Metairie apartment complex on Saturday. Officials say the first deputy who arrived approached a man, who then went inside an apartment. Rivarde says the apartment resident came back outside and pointed a gun at officers, with at least one deputy firing. Officials say the man came out a second time with a gun. At least one officer fired again, and the man went back inside. Deputies then broke in and found the man dead from gunshot wounds. It's unclear if deputies killed him or the man killed himself. The chest beat of male mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) is an honest signal of body size, according to a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports. Among the most emblematic sounds in the animal kingdom is the chest beat of gorillas, a signal that is thought to be important in intra- and inter-sexual competition. Although it had previously been suggested that gorillas do this to convey information, the exact nature of that information was unclear. The gorilla chest beat is one of those iconic sounds from the animal kingdom, so it is great that we have been able to show that body size is encoded in these spectacular displays, said lead author Dr. Edward Wright, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The chest beating behavior is typical of gorillas and had always been described as a display of strength related to social status and threatening behaviors, added co-author Dr. Jordi Galbany, a scientist in the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology at the University of Barcelona and the Department of Anthropology at the Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology at the George Washington University. This kind of behavior is the climax of a demonstration: the gorilla starts making vocalizations similar to short howls, it gets on its foot and runs while beating its chest with both hands, making an impressive drummer-like sound. Male gorillas beat their chests once every twenty hours under observation, but they can do so every few minutes when there is interaction between two groups of gorillas, he added. This behavior is more common during the days when a female gorilla is in heat. Dr. Wright, Dr. Galbany and their colleagues observed and recorded 25 wild, adult male silverback gorillas monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, between January 2014 and July 2016. Conducting this study was challenging because the chest beats are relatively short in duration and we needed to be in the right place at the right time to obtain the sound recordings, as well as staying clear from these large powerful animals, said co-author Eric Ndayishimiye, a researcher with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. The researchers examined the relationship among body size (back breadth), peak frequency, and three temporal characteristics of the chest beat: duration, number of beats and beat rate from sound recordings of wild adult male mountain gorillas. They found that the audio frequencies of chest beats made by larger males were significantly lower than those made by smaller males. Larger males may have larger air sacs near their larynx, which could lower the frequencies of sound they produce while chest beating, according to the authors. Variations were also observed in the duration and number of chest beats made by different gorillas. These were unrelated to body size but may allow chest-beating individuals to be identified. The sound of chest beating may allow mountain gorillas to communicate across the dense, tropical forests in which they live, where it is often difficult for them to see one another, the scientists said. The mountain gorillas may use the information conveyed through chest beats to inform mate choice and to assess the fighting ability of competitors. _____ E. Wright et al. 2021. Chest beats as an honest signal of body size in male mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Sci Rep 11, 6879; doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-86261-8 Rapper Earl Simmons, better known as DMX, died of a heart attack on April 9, 2021. Throughout his career, the 50-year-old rapper never shied away from his personal life. In addition to opening up about his crack/cocaine addiction, Dark Man X also flaunted his loved ones in public. Before he died, DMX was engaged to Desiree Lindstrom. Heres everything Showbiz Cheat Sheet knows about the rappers paramour. DMX|Desiree Navarro/WireImage Desiree Lindstrom gave birth to one of DMXs kids in 2016 RELATED: How Did DMX and Aaliyah Meet? DMX started his career in the late 1990s. The Yonkers, New York native, inked a deal with Def Jam in 1998. Soon after, he released his first studio album, Its Dark, and Hell is Hot. The debut project reached no. 1 on the Billboard charts and included hit songs such as Ruff Ryders Anthem and Get At Me Dog. DMX followed up his albums success with four more chart-topping albums between the 1990s and 2000s. During the height of his success, DMX was married to Tashera Simmons. The pair met as teenagers and tied the knot in 1994. Throughout their relationship, the couple welcomed four children: Xavier Simmons, Tacoma Simmons, Shawn Simmons, and Praise Mary Ella Simmons. However, despite working on their marriage in front of DMXs fans, the pair divorced in 2014. According to HollywoodLife, DMX and Lindstrom 28 started seeing each other around 2013. Three years after they started dating, she became pregnant with their son, Exodus. Exodus is the youngest of the rappers 15 kids. Lindstrom gushed about her small tribe via Instagram in Nov. 2020. This is who Im always going to be thankful for my little family through the good, the bad, the ups, and the downs!!! Lindstrom wrote. I love them both unconditionally! My little crazy unexplainable family, lol!!!! Mwah. DMX and Desiree Lindstrom got engaged at their sons birthday party Although DMX and Simmons had a tumultuous marriage, the X Gon Give It to Ya artist wanted to try again with Lindstrom. In 2019, after he returned from prison for tax evasion, he asked the mother of his child to marry him. She accepted his proposal, which occurred at their sons third birthday party. The engagement reportedly came after the couple briefly broke up several years ago, per Essence. Im in love; he did a great job!!! Lindstrom wrote under a photo of her engagement ring. While the pair were seemingly smitten with each other, some social media commenters didnt support the relationship. On several occasions, Lindstrom took to Instagram to defend her and DMX. People will never understand or get our relationship but guess what, f**k them! she wrote. We know we love each other, we both are not perfect by any means, but we know where we stand with each other! I love u baby! The Ruff Ryder emcee and his fiancee danced on Instagram before his death DMX died one week after his catastrophic heart attack left him on life support. On Friday, his family released an official statement confirming his death. #DMX was in good spirits in the last video shot of the legendary rapper days before his tragic deathhttps://t.co/aGve2gQEtm Radar Online (@radar_online) April 11, 2021 The news of the Where the Hood At rappers condition came several days following an Instagram video of him dancing in Lindstroms car surfaced. The artist looked at his fiancees camera as he shimmied to Rock My World by Michael Jackson. He talking about record us rocking lol he too funny!!! she captioned. The heating system at a big Laois Offaly primary school has to undergo an emergency overhaul less than a decade since the building opened. Laois Offaly Minister of State in the Department of Finance confirmed the announcement by Norma Foley, Minister for Education, of funding for the Presentation Primary School in Portarlington. "This funding is approved under the Emergency Works Scheme 2021," said Minister Fleming. "The works that can now proceed as a result of this announcement involves improvements to the gas works and new gas boiler for the heating system in the school. There have been issues in relation to the heating and the school applied for funding under this scheme to allow these works to be carried out on an emergency basis," he said. Dep Fleming said he looks forward to the school putting arrangements in place to ensure these improvement works are carried out as soon as possible. "I compliment the Board of Management, Principal and all involved in this very busy school for their work on behalf of their pupils. These works on the gas/heating system will be of benefit to the entire school community," he said. Quito, April 12 : Former banker and three-time presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso declared victory in Ecuador's presidential run-off elections, calling it a historic day for the South American country. "This is a historic day. It is a day in which all Ecuadorians have decided their future. They have expressed with their vote the need for change and the desire for better days for all," Lasso said on Sunday after the National Electoral Council (CNE) released preliminary official results. With 97.71 per cent of the ballots counted, Lasso had 52.51 per cent of the votes while his left-leaning rival Andres Arauz obtained 47.49 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency. In his victory speech, Lasso thanked Ecuadorians for their support of his candidacy, which was backed by an alliance between the Creating Opportunities (CREO) movement, which he leads, and the Social Christian Party (PSC). "Thank you from the bottom of my soul for giving me the opportunity to be your president and to be able to serve you," Lasso said as he was surrounded by supporters chanting "Lasso, president". The 65-year-old politician and businessman said he would take on the challenge of changing the future of the country with responsibility and "achieving opportunities for all of Ecuador". "We will work tirelessly to fulfill our commitments to you," said Lasso, who reiterated his desire to build a "free and prosperous country". Arauz promptly conceded defeat to Lasso and vowed to continue his political endeavour. "This is an electoral setback, but in no way is it a political or moral defeat, because ours is a lifelong project. "It is a struggle on the path of organising and building a more just and supportive future for all Ecuadorians," he said. Legislation hailed as some of the most robust yet to defend U.S. coasts against sea level rise is headed to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a proposal that would provide millions of dollars annually to communities threatened with losing ground to rising oceans because of climate change. With 1,350 miles (2,100 kilometers) of coastline, including some of the countrys most iconic beaches and prized real estate, Florida is among the most vulnerable places on earth amid the global fight against rising atmospheric temperatures. Without debate, the Florida House on Thursday unanimously approved legislation already advanced by the Senate that would establish a fund providing up to $100 million annually for so-called resiliency projects. It would also require the state to identify and map out areas most at risk from coastal flooding and rising seas. Sea level rise and flooding it doesnt care who you are or which ZIP code you live in, it affects all Floridians, said Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, the House bill sponsor representing a Miami area district. Its time to protect our homes. Its time to protect our communities. Its time to protect our state as a whole. The legislation, if signed into law by the governor, would require the Department of Environmental Protection to draft a comprehensive flooding and resilience plan. And it would establish a research center based at the University of South Florida, located in the Tampa Bay area, focused on counteracting flooding and the risks from sea level rise. It would use $9 million from the Resilient Florida Trust Fund to pay the salaries for 25 staff members who would administer the grant program established by the legislation. On his watch, DeSantis has appointed a science officer, appointed a climate change czar but she has since left and pledged to spend billions of dollars to restore the Everglades and combat the pollutants that spawn blue-green algae and red tides. After Thursdays vote, House Speaker Chris Sprowls, a Republican whose district extends along Floridas Gulf Coast near Tampa, called the legislation one of the most robust and bold proposals in the entire United States to tackle sea level rise and coastal flooding in any state. The American Flood Coalition, a nationwide collection of groups working on sea level rise, commended Florida lawmakers of what has been dubbed the Always Ready bill. This is a historic moment for Florida as one of the most flood-affected states, and this legislation is truly a model for the nation, Melissa Roberts, the coalitions executive director, said in a statement. Scientists have long sounded the alarm over rising temperatures because of greenhouse gases. Warming global temperatures have caused ice caps to melt, endangering coastal communities as rising waters encroach. The urgency of the threat is especially pronounced in states like Florida a peninsula that has some of the countrys most beautiful coastlines. The state faces some of the starkest risks from rising oceans. Miami and other cities could find themselves submerged as melting glaciers flow into the oceans. Meanwhile, some environmental groups who welcomed Floridas move have tempered their enthusiasm for the legislation. Its a bold first step for Florida in terms of sea level rise and flooding, for sure, but at the same time what its missing is anything to actually reduce the cause of the problem which is greenhouse gas emissions, said Jonathan Webber, deputy director of Florida Conservation Voters. Florida is really way behind in anything to do with climate change whatsoever, so we needed to get this policy to get through, Webber said. As a policy, this is a necessary step forward. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Florida Texas Governor Abbott last Sunday slammed on President Joe Biden's executive orders that impinge on gun ownership. He said that the president is not addressing it the right way and will not stop gun violence. Many believe the Democrats are using terms like 'ghost guns' to incite fear, and the administration's arguments are mistaken. They will take away guns from law-abiding citizens while criminals still have them. Governor Abbott calls assault on gun ownership by the administration as weak reasoning. According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the president's executive orders on gun control are useless in solving the fundamental problem of guns, which are the criminals using them for crimes. He said that targeting responsible gun owners who follow the law is not the answer; it takes away their way to protect themselves from gun-toting criminals, as reported by the Epoch Times. Abbott had an interview on Fox News Sunday on April 11, 2021; he was asked if president Biden can limit the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment that is to own arms. The governor answered not. The Republican governor stressed that the president is making a big mistake because the Second Amendment is based on the age-old U.S. constitution; he is mistaken. His executive orders are infringing on the rights it grant. If something was needed to be done by the administration, other than making a mere show of gun control, go after the perpetrators of gun violence, not penalize those who want a means of defense against criminals. Biden To Announce Gun Control EO, Designate Nominee for ATF Governor Abbott said that gun ownership is the only defense that many Americans have to prevent being at the mercy of criminal elements. He then criticized the blunders on the U.S. border that made the cartels more aggressive, defunding the police that affected many states, bail policies that allowed killers to be let loose on the streets, and the spate of crimes that have caused many deaths. Governor Abbott stress this is one of the times that Texans and Americans need their Second Amendment rights more than ever, not stripped away by an out-of-touch administration. He charged that the United States government and other governments had left Americans to depend on themselves with their guns as the only means to keep safe. But President Biden would rather have law-abiding citizens without the means to fight back. To keep the federal government from imposing gun control laws, Abbott endorsed a bill to make Texas a Second Amendment Sanctuary State. Proposed by Republican state Rep. Justina Holland, who filed House Bill 2622, disallows any Texas state agencies from helping an already overreaching federal government affect owning guns, ammunition, and accessories. Many criticized the administration's arguments as fear-mongering and an attempt to grab guns from good citizens. On Twitter, Gov. Abbott was quote to say, "It's time to get legislation making [Texas] a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary State passed and to my desk for signing." Last April 8, president Biden issued orders that banned some guns for sale, with some accessories, and suggested "red flag laws" that allowed family members or the police to grab guns from those unfit to handle them. Governor Abbott said that Biden is incorrect and saying the Constitution is not absolute is twisting ends to affect gun ownership. According to one critic, everything said by the president says that he does not have that right to reinterpret the second amendment. Sen. Kennedy on Recent Mass Shootings: It's Not a Gun Control Problem @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Prince Harry has released a tribute to his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, after his death on Friday, saying: My grandfather was a man of service, honour and great humour. The Duke of Sussex said: He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm and also because you never knew what he might say next. He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke. Harry continued: But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right till the end. He has been a rock for Her Majesty the Queen with unparalleled devotion, by her side for 73 years of marriage, and while I could go on, I know that right now he would say to all of us, beer in hand, Oh do get on with it! So, on that note, Grandpa, thank you for your service, your dedication to Granny, and for always being yourself. You will be sorely missed, but always remembered by the nation and the world. Meghan, Archie, and I (as well as your future great-granddaughter) will always hold a special place for you in our hearts. He signed off with a Latin phrase used by the Marines: Per Mare, Per Terram (by sea, by land). The Duke of Sussex has arrived back in the UK ahead of the funeral on Saturday, and is staying at Frogmore Cottage at Windsor, where he is following Covid-19 protocols, according to a source close to the royal. Meghan Markle has not returned to the UK and has remained at the couples home in Santa Barbara, California, because of her pregnancy. Earlier today, Prince William released his own statement, describing his grandfather as an extraordinary man and saying he would miss him but would get on with the job. I will always be grateful that my wife had so many years to get to know my grandfather and for the kindness he showed her. Click the image above to watch the video Its estimated that 90 per cent of all injuries are preventable. ACC accepts two million injury claims every year, which equates to more than 5,000 injury claims every day in Aotearoa. These claims cost more than $4 billion annually. These injuries have a substantial impact on the wellbeing of the people of Aotearoa. In the Bay of Plenty in 2020 ACC spent more than $307 million helping people recover from injuries. In all, there were 144,442 new claims for injury accepted in the Bay of Plenty last year. ACC has launched an Injury Prevention campaign called Preventable which lays down a wero (challenge) to all New Zealanders to stop and take a moment to assess the risks at home, work and play. By taking a moment to prevent injury, they can keep doing the things they love and keep from harming others around them. Isaac Carlson, the Head of Injury Prevention at ACC, says Preventable aims to improve the wellbeing of New Zealanders by decreasing the number of injuries and reducing the severity of injuries. We are challenging all New Zealanders to have a Hmmm, he says. Its important to take a moment to think about what they are about to do and think about what could go wrong to prevent injury. Carlson says the research shows it is estimated that 90 per cent of injuries arent random, unconnected or unpredictable they are predictable and therefore preventable. He says taking a pause for a few seconds can save days, weeks, months or a lifetime of harm and hurt for the person and others. Injury harm continues to be unacceptably high which impacts the wellbeing of the entire country. We can all collectively do more to look out for ourselves and each other. We want people to be out there and doing the things that they love, and living life to the full, but we also want to collectively change our mindset on preventing injury. The Preventable campaign was informed by significant qualitative and quantitative research which identified four key attitudes to risk Opportunity, Nurturer, Excitement and Attentive. Weve learnt a lot about how the people of Aotearoa think about risk and injury, and what might get them to think and act differently, says Carlson. The campaign, which will appear on TV, radio and online, will take a long-term and sustained approach to preventing injury. It will be launched with two videos one where a man is considering jumping from a waterfall and another where a woman is looking to kill a mosquito with her jandal while balancing on her dresser. They show the individual thinking about if they get hurt, others they care about are also harmed. Every year ACC invests around $80 million into Injury Prevention to support the wellbeing of New Zealanders by reducing the number and severity of injuries. The likes of RugbySmart, NetballSmart, TouchFit360, Ride Forever, Live Stronger for Longer, Water Safety NZ and many others have delivered great results in injury prevention. Preventable will work alongside these injury prevention initiatives and take a long term and sustained approach to changing the culture of preventing injury. Preventable BY THE NUMBERS ACC accepts over two million injury claims per year, that is over 5000 a day These claims come at annual cost of $4 billion It is estimated that 90 per cent of all injury claims are preventable ACC will invest $7.6 million in the Preventable campaign over the next two years, as part of its overall $80 million per annum investment into Injury Prevention. Four attitudes to risk of Preventable Our priority attitudes to risk - Collectively represent 62 per cent of the population, 68 per cent of ACC claims and 74 per cent of ACC claim costs. Opportunity Bring it on attitude. They embrace risk-taking and challenge because of the rewards it brings. Consider themselves to be mastering things mistakes / injuries are part of the learning experience. Often over-estimate their ability, hence the volume and expense of their claims. Nurturer Focus on getting the job done for others, not potential risks to themselves. They often unwittingly put themselves in harms way in their role of helping others often rushing, being tired or not concentrating on themselves and their space. Likely to influence others as well as react themselves. Other attitudes to risk Excitement Focus on thrill and living in the moment. Happy living in the moment Attentive Hardwired to stay away from harm. They avoid risk because they are mindful of all the downsides. Generally doing the right thing but need to be empowered to speak up when they see others at risk. 25 per cent of population and 19 per cent of claims. Take the quiz on your Attitude to Risk: https://www.acc.co.nz/newsroom/attitude-to-risk/ Rescue continues after coal mine flood in Xinjiang China Daily) 10:54, April 12, 2021 Workers set up equipment on Sunday to rescue miners trapped since Saturday in a coal mine in Hutubi county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Eight miners had been rescued and were in good condition. Efforts to rescue the remaining 21 miners were still underway. HAN LIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY Rescue work is underway after a coal mine in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was flooded on Saturday, trapping 21 miners, local authorities said on Sunday. The accident occurred at 6:10 pm on Saturday as 29 workers were upgrading the mine in Hutubi county, Hui autonomous prefecture of Changji. Eight people were rescued and confirmed in good condition on Sunday morning. China Central Television reported on Sunday morning that the 21 trapped miners were thought to be approximately 1,200 meters underground, but no details concerning their condition were so far available. CCTV said the first group of rescue workers installed three pumps in the mine shaft to assist with efforts. The pumps can drain 440 cubic meters of water per hour. The Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched a working group to guide and undertake rescue operations. Bao Yongsheng, a deputy head of Changji, said the pumps can only be placed deeper when water levels subside further. "We are racing against time to test the fourth pump, which can drain 400 cu m of water per hour on its own, greatly increasing draining capacity," Bao said. Sun Jizhou, another deputy head of Changji, said in an interview with CCTV that rescue efforts have faced great challenges from the very beginning as both pumps and rescue workers were in short supply, though more assistance continues to arrive on scene. Rescue attempts are still facing challenges as electricity and communications remain disrupted and updated information on oxygen levels, gas density and flood water conditions in the tunnel is unavailable so far. A rescue commanding team has been organized by the local government and officials from the Ministry of Emergency Management with all members working to secure the safety of those trapped at any cost. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) Tannenbaum Helpern unveils two new blogs. The Construction Law Insider by the law firms Construction Law practice covers construction contract strategies for real estate owners and developers. In its first post, it addresses the topic of an alternative to guaranteed maximum price in construction management agreements. The Trusts & Estates Insider by Tannenbaum Helperns Trusts and Estates practice offers perspective on and analysis of developments in the areas of estate planning and litigation involving trusts and estates. In its inaugural post, the blog examines how a Democratic Congress and contemplated changes to existing law might impact estate and gift taxation. For the latest blog posts on construction and trusts and estates as well as recent posts on cannabis and criminal justice, visit our blogs section on our website. About Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP Since 1978, Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP has combined a powerful mix of insight, creativity, industry knowledge, senior talent and transaction expertise to successfully guide clients through periods of challenge and opportunity. Our mission is to deliver the highest quality legal services in a practical and efficient manner, bringing to bear the judgment, common sense and expertise of well trained, business minded lawyers. Through our commitment to service and successful results, Tannenbaum Helpern continues to earn the loyalty of our clients and a reputation for excellence. For more information, visit http://www.thsh.com or follow us on Twitter: @THSHLAW. Vietnam has advantages to develop a materials industry but has not developed in line with its potential, Tran Tuan Anh, head of the Central Economic Commission, said at a conference held on April 10 in HCM City. The Ministry of Science and Technology signed an MoU with the Vietnam National University-HCM City at a conference on human resource development in the materials industry on April 10. Domestic materials still have not met the demand of main manufacturing industries, which has led to dependence on imported ones, Anh said. The low competitive capacity of the materials industry was because of limited technology, quality, costs, and manufacturing competence. Lack of qualified human resources for the materials industry was also one of the causes for the limitation, he said. The countrys industrial development, international trade agreements, and Industry 4.0s influence require Vietnam to have a new mindset and approach in developing human resources for the materials industry, he said. The reality is that no country can carry out industrialisation successfully without a developed materials industry because it has an important role in providing input materials for the manufacturing sector. Phan Bach Thang of Vietnam National University-HCM City noted that the materials industry major each year had about 800 students and 25-40 postgraduates. Compared to the human resources in the southern region, the current training scale at VNUHCMs member universities is low, Thang said. According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the country has 116 majors at educational institutions related to the materials industry in the 2019-2020 academic year. More than 134,000 students in these majors were trained as of 2019, accounting for 11 per cent of all students. Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat said the ministry had paid more attention to training high-quality staff in research on new materials. Science and technology as well as innovation are the important driving forces for industrys development, Dat said. He said the country should have more policies to attract overseas Vietnamese and foreign experts to do research in the field. The ministry had also provided counselling to the government on policies to develop science and technologies, with priority given to the materials industry. According to Dr Nguyen Dinh Hau, general director of the ministry's department of science and technology for economic technical branches, the number of scientists in this industry is low and equipment for research is limited. Enterprises and organisations in the country, however, have mastered advanced technologies to make new kinds of materials that have the same quality as foreign ones. But several new materials produced in the country based on research have failed to meet manufacturers demands. Anh said that delegates at the conference should address the barriers and problems in policies to develop human resources and technologies for the industry. The conference on human resources in the material industry was organised by the Central Economic Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, and VNUHCM. This was the first conference at which the Central Economic Commission collected ideas from domestic and foreign experts to develop policies for the country's industrialization and modernization goals by 2030 with a vision to 2045. VNS Universities need to teach new skills in Industry 4.0: experts Industry 4.0 had brought with it a fresh wave of new technology that required new skills to use, and if Vietnamese educational institutions did not keep up with the times, Vietnamese workers were in danger of losing out at home. (Newser) "I can state with a high degree of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a cardiac event and he did not die from an overdose," the latest medical expert to testify at the trial of Derek Chauvin said Monday. Dr. Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist testifying for the prosecution, described Floyd's death as "absolutely preventable," the Star Tribune reports. Rich said he treats patients who have used fentanyl and he saw no evidence that an overdose would have caused Floyd's death, as the former Minneapolis police officer's defense contends. The doctor also said that the "very relative low level" of methamphetamine in Floyd's system did not contribute to the death. story continues below Rich said he reviewed autopsy records, Floyd's medical records, and video of the arrest and saw no evidence that a heart condition contributed to the death. He said he believes Floyd's death was the result of low oxygen levels caused by the "prone restraint and positional asphyxia," and Floyd would have survived the encounter with police if he had not been restrained with Chauvin's knee on his neck for more than nine minutes. Judge Peter Cahill said Monday that instead of allowing more testimony on the subject, he will let jurors decide whether Floyd yelled "I ate too many drugs" or "I aint do no drugs" when he was on the ground, the AP reports. The judge also denied a defense request to sequester the jury following the death of a Black man shot by police in a Minneapolis suburb Sunday, per the New York Times. (Read more Derek Chauvin stories.) Enjoying the Simple Life in Patrick County, Virginia One place that my wife, Fyllis, and I visited promised a luxury boutique that has won accolades as among the best resorts in the country. The other invited us to experience the simple life. These very different settings stretch along the VirginiaNorth Carolina border. Together, Patrick County, Virginia, and the Primland resort offer an inviting getaway with an eclectic appeal. Primland combines touches of elegance with a friendly, casual atmosphere and opportunities to enjoy activities not found at many resorts. The surrounding area of Patrick County offers an immersion in a locale where people cling proudly to their strong Appalachian heritage and colorful past. Much of the traffic in the region consists of trucks carrying freshly downed trees, horse trailers, and an occasional plow heading for a farm. Country stores left over from earlier times attracted our attention and in some cases our cash. We were experiencing the lure and lore of Appalachia, a place that is as much a lifestyle as a destination. The rambling Poor Farmers Market lives up, and down, to its claim to be an old-fashioned country store. Homemade jams, jellies, cakes, and pies share shelf space with bags of grits, barrels of beans, and sacks of locally grown fruit. Jams, jellies, and a taste of history tempt those who stop at the Mayberry Trading Post. Corncob pipes, wooden toys, and quilt patches serve as reminders that the store opened in 1892 and once also served as the local post office. Some flour sold at the Trading Post was ground at Mabry Mill, which has been in operation since 1905. The water-driven gristmill is the main attraction along a walking path that also leads to a blacksmith shop, tiny cabin, moonshine whisky still, and early farm implements. Some flour sold at the Mayberry Trading Post in Patrick County, Virginia, was milled at the famous Mabry Mill. (Courtesy of Victor Block) While most people who lived in the area toiled and died in anonymity, Patrick County had its share of those who went on to become well-known. One was James Ewell Brown Stuart, better known as Jeb. He spent his early years on a plantation and after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy served in the U.S. Cavalry. When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, Stuart resigned his commission and eventually commanded the army of Northern Virginias cavalry forces. This story is told at Stuarts birthplace and family home. Its 75 acres contain family graves that date back to 1780 and a slave cemetery. A very different type of plantation is recalled at the Reynolds Homestead, home of the founder of the tobacco company that bears his name. He gained fame and fortune as the first major marketer of cigarettes. Construction of the Victorian home began in 1843 and included a separate kitchen, milk house, ice house, and other structures that still stand. A hand-hewn barn represents the sheds where tobacco leaves were hung to dry. In addition to brick, native fieldstones were used as construction material. Six lovely rock churches that date to the early 20th century also dot the area. The Mayberry and Slate Mountain Presbyterian churches, the two I dropped by, are nearby neighbors. Those who wish to visit all of them can follow a scenic backroads tour route. Mountain music is always on offer in Patrick County, Va. (Courtesy of Larry Metayer/Dreamstime.com) Depending upon when they make the trip, visitors are treated to sounds of gospel music, which, along with other musical genres, play an important role in the Appalachian culture. Settlers from Europe in the 18th century arrived with their instruments, dances, and songs, and a strong musical tradition was born. Over time, it evolved into bluegrass, country, and other home-grown melodies. Today music is everywhere. Scheduled performances are augmented by pop-up sessions that can occur at almost any time and place. As Fyllis and I passed a restaurant one afternoon in Stuart, the minuscule county seat, four men had gathered inside to jam with their guitars and banjos. Stuart was named for the Civil War major general and is a stop along Virginias Heritage Music Trail. Two sections of the tiny town are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They fit comfortably into a destination that combines a rich history with many charms of the past. When You Go A stay at the somewhat quirky Uptown Suites of Stuart adds to the immersion in the destination. The five accommodations are located on the second floor of a building that was constructed in 1928 to provide office space. They include a living room, kitchen, and the usual amenities. Rates begin at $95: 276-694-4471 or UptownSuitesOfStuart.com. When it comes to dining, El Rancho restaurant is a favorite among locals seeking burritos, fajitas, and other authentic Mexican cuisine. Its lengthy menu also includes a variety of shrimp, chicken, and beef entrees ($9.95$14.95). The atmosphere is inviting and the waitstaff pleasant: 276-694-8555 or ElRanchoInc.com The place for breakfast, early lunch, and some down-home flavor is the Coffee Break Cafe. A full breakfast (egg, bacon, potato, and pancake) costs $5, and a giant-size cup of coffee is just $1. The walls are covered with photos of music groups, and diners sometimes eat to the sounds of locals taking part in an impromptu jam session: 276-694-4232. To learn more about Patrick County: 276-694-6094 or VisitPatrickCounty.org. Victor Block is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at Creators.com. Copyright 2021 Creators.com [April 12, 2021] French Fashion House, Zadig&Voltaire, Partners With Contentsquare To Improve Digital Customer Experience Contentsquare, the only complete experience analytics platform, is partnering with French fashion brand Zadig& Voltaire (News - Alert) to help the luxury brand execute a customer-centric website redesign. With around 75% of its digital traffic coming from smartphones (+7% more than the average share of traffic in the fashion sector), the brand is already leading the way when it comes to mobile journey optimization. The team at Zadig&Voltaire will leverage Contentsquare's customer behavior insights to make impactful merchandising decisions as well as improve the checkout funnel. The brand's catwalk looks are famous for blending laidback and luxury styles, and the product discovery journey also aims to deliver an effortless and intuitive premium fashion experience. Contensquare's granular insights provide the team with an acute understanding of how customers are progressing through the site, pinpointing any area of frustration and other obstacles alon the path to conversion. The team will also feed Contentsquare customer intelligence into its personalization program in order to inform, shape and deliver customized brand experiences at scale. "A solution like Contentsquare allows us to be confident in our experimentation, since we are able to access real-time understanding of how site changes enhance or hinder the customer journey," said Jonathan ATTALI, Chief Digital Officer at Zadig&Voltaire. "We also rely on Contentsquare insights to optimize the inspirational content that is the bedrock of our merchandising strategy. Our digital ROI is directly tied to our understanding of customers, and that's why we chose Contentsquare as our analytics solution." "It's always exciting to partner with a beloved brand that has such a distinct identity, and Zadig&Voltaire are really leading the way when it comes to digital luxury fashion," said Niki Hall, Chief Marketing Officer at Contentsquare. "We look forward to helping the team at Zadig&Voltaire maximize the eCommerce opportunity through their site redesign, and leverage their unique brand story to drive conversion." ENDS About Contentsquare Contentsquare empowers brands to build better digital experiences. Our experience analytics platform tracks and visualizes billions of digital behaviors, delivering intelligent recommendations that everyone can use to grow revenue, increase loyalty and fuel innovation. Founded in Paris in 2012, Contentsquare has since opened offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Munich, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Singapore. Today, it helps more than 700 enterprises in 26 countries deliver better digital experiences for their customers. Visit contentsquare.com to find out more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005807/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament has appealed to the people of Upper West Region to exercise patience and have trust in their Members of Parliament (MPs) with regard to decisions taken in Parliament. He said Parliament would always work in the interest of Ghanaians, adding that, what was required was the total support of the people and feedback to make good decisions. Mr Bagbin made the appeal when he paid a courtesy call on the overlord of the Waala Kingdom, Wa Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, and his subjects at his palace on Wednesday. He appealed to the people to embrace peace and unity which for him were crucial for development and eschew the tendency of allowing politics to divide them instead of developing them. The Speaker of Parliament also touched on the need to empower women in order to create a better society, adding that, when women were empowered it would have a positive impact on generations. Mr Bagbin also emphasized the need for the people to prioritize the education of their children, adding that, but for education, he would not have attained the level he had attained now. No matter how difficult things are, never give up on your childrens education I also came from a humble background and you can also do it for your children, he said. He said looking at the processes leading to his election as Speaker of Parliament, he believed that God had called him to serve and he would do that diligently to help develop the country. On the purpose of his visit, Mr Bagbin said he was in the region to thank the chiefs and people for their prayers and support since his election as Speaker, whose role was to help develop the region and the country at large. Wa Naa Pelpuo, in a speech read on his behalf, touted Mr Bagbins achievements in Parliament and said his election as Speaker was a well-deserved one. He pledged that the people of the region would continue to support him to succeed in his role as the Speaker, but urged him not to forget to help address the peculiar challenges of the region. The Overlord of Waala particularly mentioned the infrastructure deficit in the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) and the Wa Technical University. Naa Pelpuo said this infrastructure gap was making the two tertiary institutions unattractive for students and appealed to Mr Bagbin to use his position to help address the challenge in order to reverse the situation. 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 SEATTLE, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Homemade, hosts of free, interactive and personalized virtual cooking events for groups of any size, have announced today an exciting and interactive year-long partnership with SCANPAN USA Inc. and GLOBAL Cutlery USA. Hosting two classes per month, the program called Moxie in the Kitchen will be a high-energy culinary experience and demonstrate SCANPAN/GLOBAL Cutlery's product performance with a rotation of special classes focused on executing different cooking techniques and simple dishes. From mastering scallops at home to the perfect frittata, Homemade and SCANPAN/GLOBAL Cutlery have partnered to demystify cooking techniques that all home chefs can master with the right tools and expert guidance. Moxie in the Kitchen classes will be led by Chef Joel Gamoran, food sustainability expert, monthly cooking contributor on TODAY (NBC), host of Scraps (A&E), author of Cooking Scrappy (Harper Collins, 2018) and former longtime national chef for Sur La Table. Each class will feature a fresh new dish and either a high-performance non-stick pan or knife as well as giveaways to those who cook-along on screen with Chef Joel. "Working with SCANPAN/GLOBAL Knives is the partnership of my dreams!" said Chef Joel Gamoran, co-founder, Homemade. "Not only have I been using their products for years, I have seen first-hand how people fall in love with their pans and knives when I've used them in demos. I know every single person who cooks along with us will see their incredible performance and it's so rewarding to discuss it in real time during classes - it's what makes our format so special." "Moxie is the perfect description of the high energy that Joel Gamoran and his chef collective bring to each class," said David Wenz, SCANPAN's Director of Sales and Marketing. "It's all about making dishes that may seem intimidating to the home cook but made accessible with HOMEMADE's teaching approach. Our legendary SCANPAN nonstick pans and GLOBAL knives are the perfect introduction to performance cutlery and cookware in a learning environment. At the end of each class, it's so inspiring to see what students create, being shared live across hundreds of cameras; that's the Moxie in the Kitchen magic." Classes kick off on Tuesday April 13th starting with build-your-own cut roll sushi and grapefruit Saketini. Registrants for this event will be entered to win one of 50 Santoku knives. On Sunday May 9, Homemade is hosting a special Mother's Day class on the perfect frittata. Registrants for this event will be entered to win one of 50 10.25 non-stick original SCANPAN skillets. For more information: https://withhomemade.com/ [email protected] Press kit download link About Homemade We are Homemade and we host epic personalized virtual cooking events. These events are led by the most engaging chefs in America, live via Zoom! We bring together families, friends, and colleagues through interactive cooking experiences unlike any other! With Homemade, we're making lasting memories in kitchens and bringing people together through cooking. About SCANPAN USA Inc. SCANPAN is a family-run business based in Ryomgaard, Denmark. For more than five decades, SCANPAN has been producing durable and timeless artisan cookware for professional chefs and home cooks. All SCANPAN products are made of recycled aluminum, PFOA-free and manufactured under the strictest of standards required by the Danish government. Safety and sustainability are part of SCANPAN's DNA. About Global Cutlery USA GLOBAL Cutlery USA, a division of SCANPAN USA Inc., is the exclusive U.S. distributor of GLOBAL knives made in Japan. In the tradition of the Samurai sword, GLOBAL knives are produced of the highest stainless steel quality by Japanese craftsmen. GLOBAL is known worldwide for their perfectly balanced, lightweight kitchen knives and ergonomic handles with the signature dimpled pattern. SOURCE Homemade Related Links http://withhomemade.com By PEMA Director D. Randy Padfield Disaster emergency declarations are necessary to protect public safety. They save lives in the middle of a disaster and help Pennsylvanians rebuild their homes, lives and communities after the disaster ends. Disaster emergencies are frightening and, in most cases, unpredictable. With little or no notice, localized flooding can destroy homes and businesses after a short rainfall. Heavy snows can cause widespread power outages, lead to major roadway accidents and endanger vulnerable Pennsylvanians who dont have access to warm shelter or emergency health care. Major chemical spills, industrial accidents and nuclear incidents can force entire communities to evacuate while polluting water and food sources for years or decades to come. Pandemics can overwhelm health care systems, endanger entire communities, and kill thousands. Even short-lived disasters can result in extensive damages that take months or years to repair. Despite our best efforts to build safely, plan carefully, and prepare for the unexpected, the only thing we know for certain is that disasters will strike the commonwealth in the future. What we cant know is exactly where, when, and how Pennsylvanians will be endangered next and thats where disaster emergency declarations come in. Under Pennsylvania law, the governor is responsible for meeting the dangers that disasters pose to the commonwealth and all of its people. The governor can declare a disaster emergency that has the force of law, which allows the governor and Pennsylvania agencies including the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to respond to disaster emergencies quickly. The very unpredictability that surrounds disasters is why disaster emergency declarations are so important. We cant know when the next disaster will strike, so we need a disaster response plan that is flexible. Flexibility means that we can react quickly to any disaster to get help to the people who need it. Disaster emergency declarations provide that flexibility. When a disaster emergency has been declared by the governor, state and local resources can be redirected to help people hurt by the disaster. This can include pre-positioning supplies and response teams before a disaster strikes if we have enough warning, providing resources and personnel to assist in evacuations, establishing warming or cooling centers and sheltering operations, and distributing water, food and other life-sustaining supplies. Perhaps most important, it activates the state emergency response plan, which is a requirement to request assistance from the federal government when the incident is beyond the capabilities of the commonwealth and the affected local governments. Crucially, a disaster emergency declaration also allows the governor to waive statutes and regulations to speed disaster response actions to save lives and protect property. With a declaration in place, the governor can waive weight restrictions for vehicles transporting equipment and supplies into the state for disaster response, suspend tolls for emergency vehicles traveling through the state, procure supplies more quickly, and eliminate or reduce licensing requirements for workers in fields necessary to the disaster response. In addition, a disaster emergency declaration activates the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) to legally request mutual aid assistance from other states. For instance, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, Governor Wolf reduced licensing requirements to lower barriers that might prevent out-of-state and retired health care workers from providing care to patients, expanded the allowable use of telehealth, and authorized pharmacists and other medical workers to give vaccines. If these changes were attempted outside of the disaster emergency, they would have required regulatory or legislative change that would have taken months at best. When it comes to boots-on-the-ground response times, a disaster emergency declaration is crucial. Without an emergency disaster declaration, the governor does not have the ability to transfer unused but otherwise appropriated funds for emergency response activities, such as rescue and recovery efforts. Those state funds, up to $20 million annually, are used to pay for critical expenses, such as for the rapid deployment of the Pennsylvania National Guard. Further, and perhaps as important, an emergency declaration activates the state emergency response plan which is a requirement for Pennsylvania to be reimbursed from the federal government for any of its expenses due to the disaster. Disasters are so unpredictable that the deadline to apply for a federal emergency or major disaster declaration isnt until 30 days after the emergency. While some of the costs the state bears when it responds to an emergency can be reimbursed by the federal government, we need to show that we have already spent money on the emergency response in order to be compensated and even then, in many cases only 75% of eligible costs will be reimbursed. The money for that initial response including paying for National Guard deployment needs to come from somewhere, and a disaster emergency declaration allows the state to shift funds to make sure rescue and recovery efforts move forward uninterrupted. If a disaster emergency declaration is ended prematurely, all of this goes away. Sharing resources between state agencies, waiving red tape and regulations, paying the Pennsylvania National Guard for assistance, asking for help and reimbursement from the federal government, expediting help and the resources to provide it none of it happens without a declared disaster emergency at the state level. Pennsylvanians deserve better than the uncertainty and fear disasters can cause. They deserve an emergency response plan that is built to keep them as safe as possible and support them all the way to recovery. Flexible disaster emergency declarations are a crucial part of that process. D. Randy Padfield is the director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. The United States military has engaged in the form of 'cognitive warfare' amid the rising tensions between the United States and China. The China and US have deployed aircraft strike groups to the East and the South China Sea, reported by ANI quoting South China Morning Post. The picture has been released on April 11 showed one of its guided-missile destroyers shadowing Chinese aircraft carried. The experts believe that the released photo sends a clear message to Beijing. Lu Li-Shih, a former instructor at Taiwan's Naval Academy said that in the photograph, Commander Briggs with his feet up is watching the Liaoning ship that is just a few thousand yards away. The picture also shows his deputy sitting beside him, showing they take their PLA counterparts lightly. In the photo, Commander Briggs looks very relaxxed with his feet up watching the Lianoning ship just few thousand yards away while his deputy is also sitting beside him, showing that they take their counterparts love lightly, he said. This staged photograph is definitely cognitive Warfare to show the US doesn't recognise that regard the PLA as an immediate threat, he added. Zhou Chenming, a researcher with the Yuan Wang think tank, a Beijing based military science and technology institute said that the US warship kept a safe distance while shadowing the Chinese strike groups. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with the Philippines Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana on March 10. He reaffirmed their shared commitment to the US-Philippines alliance amid tensions with China. On the brink of War ? Commanding officer and executive officer of #destroyer USS #MUSTIN DDG89 as they shadow #Chinese #carrier #LIAONING 16 in the Philippine Sea on 4 April. Delist the fraudulent China ADRs #ChinaADR @Nasdaq @NYSE pic.twitter.com/gnmSqSTBhM Andrew Fisher (@acpandy) April 11, 2021 Meanwhile, the US guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain conducted a Taiwan Strait Transit on April 7. The transit was carried out amid the increasing Chinese aggression in the region. The US warship passed through the waterway that separates Taiwan and China. This comes after China's navy has announced its military drills near the islands to further increase the tensions near Taiwan. (Image Credits: US Navy/Twitter) (Inputs from ANI) What is the meaning of security of the person and right to liberty in a state of emergency (SoE)? The security of the person is a basic and most fundamental of all human rights (as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), and involves the liberty of the person, the right not to be unlawfully detained, or the right to be detained only with due cause or with due process. The Member of Parliament for Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, Mr John Ampontuah Kumah, has donated an undisclosed sum of money and wax prints to 500 widows in the Ejisu Municipality. The support formed part of the programmes of the lawmaker to make life bearable for the vulnerable within the constituency and also support them to become self-sufficient. The donation was also to share the joy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter with the widows and put a smile on their faces. The beneficiaries were selected from four communities within the constituency, namely: Kwaso, Ejisu, Onwe and Fumesua. Future plans Addressing the beneficiaries, the lawmaker said there were plans to assist the women with microfinance to enable them to go into trading or ventures that would make them earn an income to support their families. According to him, some of the residents in the constituency had already benefited from such support and it would soon be expanded to enable more people to benefit from it. His vision, he explained, was to have an economically vibrant community that would contribute to the economic development of the country and also create jobs for the teeming youth. 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 TORONTO, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative Group, Inc., a full-service meeting, incentive and recognition company, announced today the hiring of Manon Dicaire as Senior Vice President, Business Development. Creative Group Let's Thrive. (PRNewsfoto/Creative Group, Inc.) "We're so excited to have Manon join our business development team in Toronto," said Creative Group Executive Vice President, Business Development, Glenn Darlington. "Manon has deep industry relationships and experience across many segments of the meetings and incentives industry. Her consultative approach and commitment to client relationships, along with her servant leadership skills will be valuable assets as she leads our business development team in Canada," he concluded. "I'm so pleased to be joining Creative Group now, especially as the meetings industry continues to evolve and expand in the virtual realm - and as it recalibrates for in-person and hybrid events. It's an exciting time to be building a new and more prosperous industry," said Dicaire. Creative Group offers innovative sales and channel incentive solutions and reward and recognition programs, as well as event management and experience design for meetings, product launches, tradeshows, user conferences and group travel incentives. About Manon Dicaire Manon Dicaire has deep roots in the incentive and events industry having worked in global sales at Starwood Hotels, as an Account Executive at Strategic Meetings + Incentives, and managed her own consultancy business. As a leader in the industry, she has supported local chapters of SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) and MPI (Meeting Planners International). Manon is a keynote speaker and part-time Professor at George Brown College, School of Hospitality and Tourism. She speaks both French and English fluently and holds CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) and TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) certifications. About Creative Group Creative Group, a Direct Travel company, is a full-service performance improvement company that delivers results by inspiring people to thrive. The company specializes in engagement, incentive and recognition solutions, and end-to-end meeting and event management. An industry leader, Creative Group has been honoured with multiple SITE Crystal Awards and the CMI 25 Award, which recognizes the top 25 most influential meeting and incentive management companies in the U.S. Creative Group was founded in 1970 and serves clients in technology, financial services, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, retail, automotive, hospitality and more. Employing over 170 people, the company is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, and maintains offices in San Francisco (Emeryville), Detroit, Appleton, Wisconsin and Toronto, Canada. Creative Group was acquired by Direct Travel in 2015. For more information about Creative Group, visit http://www.creativegroupinc.com SOURCE Creative Group, Inc. Advertisement Countries relying on China's Covid vaccines may be vulnerable to future waves of the disease, scientists warned today. Experts told MailOnline the spiralling crisis in Chile should send a warning to the rest of the world that Chinese-made jabs are too weak to halt the spread of the virus, even with a successful immunisation programme. At least 53 countries have ordered doses of the Chinese vaccines, many of which are developing nations in South America, Africa and South East Asia. The fact they are cheap and easy to store has made them ideal for countries which do not have the special equipment to keep other jabs at ultra-cold temperatures. China's top health official conceded the efficacy of its vaccines were not ideal, in a rare public admission over the weekend. Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention admitted 'protection rates of existing vaccines are not high'. Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, told MailOnline the figures from Chile suggest the Chinese vaccines 'will not be enough to stop the virus circulating'. Despite fully vaccinating a quarter of its population and getting a single dose to 40 per cent, Chile has seen its infection rate double since mid-February, rising from 177 daily cases per million to 372. More than 80 per cent of the country has been forced to retreat back into lockdown, which was used by No10's scientists as proof the UK is not out of the woods. However, the South American nation is primarily using the CoronaVac vaccine, made by Chinese pharma giant Sinovac, which a University of Chile study found was only 3 per cent effective after the first dose, rising to 56.5 per cent two weeks after the second. Another study in Brazil found efficacy could be as low as 50 per cent, which just meets the World Health Organization's threshold for an acceptable vaccine. For comparison, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have efficacy rates of 95 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively, while AstraZeneca's is about 79 per cent. Trials of tens of thousands of patients given the US and British jabs found they stopped up to 100 per cent of hospitalisations and deaths, compared to CoronaVac's 84 per cent. Another Chinese-made vaccine made by state-owned pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm appears slightly better than the CoronaVac, 73 per cent efficacy against symptomatic illness. However, because China has refused to publish robust data in a medical journal means experts cannot be sure how effective the jab really is. But Mr Gao's remarks over the weekend suggest even Chinese officials are not confident in the vaccine. Scientists fear the Chinese jabs allow too many people to slip through the cracks of immunity, leaving a significant proportion of the population vulnerable to falling severely ill with the disease. But they admitted a jab above 50 per cent efficacy is better than none. How do the Chinese vaccines compare to other approved jabs? CoronaVac, made by Chinese pharma company Sinovac, was found to be just 3 per cent effective at stopping symptomatic illness after the first dose, rising to 56.5 per cent two weeks after the second. Another Chinese-made vaccine made by state-owned pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm appears slightly better than the CoronaVac, 73 per cent efficacy against symptomatic illness Only 10 countries to have placed orders of the Chinese vaccines have immunised more than 10 per cent of their populations, making it difficult to discern how well the jabs are working in the real world. Those countries are: Uruguay, Bahrain, Turkey, Chile, Seychelles, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Dominica, Serbia and Hungary At least 53 countries worldwide have ordered doses of the Chinese jabs, made by Sinovac (left) and Sinopharm (right) many of which are in developing nations in South America, Africa and South East Asia Both Sinovac and Sinopharm's jabs are made from inactivated versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which have been genetically modified so they do not cause illness. Professor Jones said his guess was that the technology was behind the low efficacy, adding: 'I assume it's the whole inactivated virus vaccine. 'They are quick to make but they contain virus proteins which are irrelevant as far as protection goes so, in effect, a good proportion of what you receive is wasted.' However, Professor Jones said these types of vaccines are unspecific, causing the immune system to release lots of antibodies that do not actually help fight the real coronavirus. Moderna and Pfizer's vaccines, on the other hand, use mRNA technology which use a synthetic piece of genetic material to carry instructions directly to the cells, telling them how to recoginise and defend against the disease. AstraZeneca's vaccine is known as a 'viral vector'. It also carries genetic coding to the cell to prepare it for Covid infection, but it uses a weakened version of the virus that causes the code to transport it to the cells. Professor Gabriel Scally, a public health expert at the University of Bristol, told MailOnline the crisis in Chile 'was not a great tribute to the Chinese vaccines'. He added: 'They haven't been approved by any of the major medical regulators and there is very limited research evidence, they certainly don't appear to have a high level of effectiveness in the real world. And in the absence of data it's very difficult to know [how effective they really are]. The only benefit of them is the fact they're cheap.' On whether countries rolling out Chinese vaccines should fear a resurgence of the virus, he said: 'I think they would have a right to be worried.' But he admitted that a vaccine that's partially effective is better than none at all. He told MailOnline: 'That 50 per cent mark is the line in the sand that's drawn by the WHO, which is great. But I think it's beginning to dawn on people these [Chinese] vaccines aren't going to solve the problem completely.' Professor Scally said the UK was 'in a different place' because it has highly effective vaccines in its arsenal, adding: 'As long as we take it easy [coming out of lockdown] we should be fine.' It has been suggested that China's attempt to supply the developing world with Covid jabs is the country's attempt at diplomacy. Professor Scally told MailOnline: 'Whether it's diplomacy or not, I don't know, I happen to think it's just China being China. The director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, (pictured) said the vaccines made in China 'don't have very high protection rates' against covid symptoms China's admission may explain why Chile is suffering a severe Covid surge despite having one of the highest global vaccination rates WHICH COUNTRIES ARE USING CHINESE-MADE VACCINES? China has said it is giving 'vaccine aid' to around 50 countries. There are about a dozen Chinese vaccine candidates for Covid-19, but only five frontrunners have received approval from medical regulators. EUROPE (% vaccinated in total - not just using China's jab) Belarus (0.43%)* Hungary (29.36%) Montenegro (5.62%) Serbia (25.23%) Turkey (12.88%) ASIA Azerbaijan (7.29%) Brunei (0.08%)* Cambodia (5.81%) Indonesia (3.66%) Kyrgyzstan (0.01%) Laos (0.56%)* Mongolia (No data) Malaysia (1.75%)* Pakistan (0.50%)* The Philippines (0.80%)* Thailand (0.70%) SOUTH AMERICA Argentina (9.91%) Brazil (9.65%) Bolivia (2.42%)* Chile (38.47%)* Colombia (4.33%)* Dominica (24.69%)* Dominican Republic (9.22%)* Guyana (5.14%)* Mexico (7.16%) Peru (1.94%)* Uruguay (23.77%) MIDDLE EAST Bahrain (33.04%) Jordan (3.97%)* United Arab Emirates (35.19%)* AFRICA Algeria (No data) Benin (No data) Cameroon (No data) Congo (No data) Comoros (No data) Djibouti (No data) Egypt (No data) Equatorial Guinea (0.79%)* Gabon (0.11%)* Guinea (No data) Morocco (12.12%) Mozambique (0.18%)* Namibia (0.10%)* Niger (No data) Senegal (2.05%) Seychelles (65.60%)* Sierra Leone (0.40%)* Zimbabwe (1.30%) * denotes old data, with all of the above jab figures compiled by the Oxford University-led OurWorldInData statistics tracker Advertisement 'China has a very strong economic outreach, that's their modus operandi - whether it's buying farmland in New Zealand or investing in companies in the UK, that's just China being China.' Since Mr Gao's comments over the weekend, Beijing has put out an interview with the official claiming that his comments were 'a complete misunderstanding', in a bid to save face. Global Times, a state-run nationalist tabloid, quoted Mr Fu as saying: 'The protection rates of all vaccines in the world are sometimes high, and sometimes low. How to improve their efficacy is a question that needs to be considered by scientists around the world.' Many of the orders for China's vaccines have been placed by developing nations such as Zimbabwe, the Congo and Brunei, but a number of European countries have also started using them. Hungary and Serbia, which have raced ahead of the rest of the EU in terms of vaccines administered, have both been scorned by the bloc for deviating from the its official rollout schedule. But only 10 countries to have placed orders of the Chinese vaccines have immunised more than 10 per cent of their populations, making it difficult to discern how well the jabs are working in the real world. Those countries are: Uruguay, Bahrain, Turkey, Chile, Seychelles, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Dominica, Serbia and Hungary. The nations are also using a mixture of vaccines, for example Chile is vaccinating a smaller number with Pfizer's jab and Serbia and Hungary are also using the Russian Sputnik V jab, making it even more difficult to see the effect of the Chinese vaccines. Professor Jones told MailOnline: 'The trends could be the result of anything, better social distancing measures, age structure etc. 'And at only 10 per cent or less for usage, the numbers of immune people will not influence the spread yet so I don't think you can say much about the vaccine effect (or lack of it) in those countries. 'However, the 3 per cent, 56 per cent figures (for CoronaVac) coupled with the CDC (Chinese health institute) statement do suggest it will not be enough to stop the virus circulating, particularly if it's a variant that also dodges some of the response. 'Whether it's enough to stop serious Covid and so address the hospitals clogging up and the CFR I guess remains to be seen.' However, during his press conference on Saturday, Mr Gao revealed China, which has vaccinated around 160million people, was now considering using different jabs. He said: 'It's now under formal consideration whether we should use different vaccines from different technical lines for the immunisation process.' His remarks are the biggest clue yet that the Chinese vaccines are not performing as well as hoped in the real world. But Chilean science minister Andres Couve leapt to the defence of the vaccines yesterday following the backlash. He revealed Chile's health ministry will shortly publish a real world study on the efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine. He said it was important to focus on the data and the vaccine's effectiveness in reducing illness that required medical treatment or being hospitalised or dying, which he suggested it was doing. Heriberto Garcia, head of Chile's Public Health Institute which approved CoronaVac's emergency roll-out, said people should not pay attention to headlines. 'The University of Chile study and the study the health ministry will release say the same thing: the number of people who fall ill and are hospitalized has decreased,' he told local newspaper La Tercera. 'We are going down the right path.' About 8million people have been given at least one vaccine in Chile, most of whom received the Chinese-made jab. Yet some experts have still pointed to Chile as a warning that easing restrictions in the UK too soon could lead to another nasty virus surge. Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the Government, told Sky News today: 'From the point of view of the population itself, we're all dying to get out of lockdown. 'From the point of view of the epidemic, I think it's all a little bit more worrying.' He added: 'Chile is a country where the rate of vaccination amongst the population was third highest in the world they were ahead of us in terms of the number of people who have had the vaccine and they're suddenly now into a third wave. 'They now have 7,600 cases a day and the total number of people in Chile now who have Covid is over a million. 'So what has happened in Chile is very, very surprising a high percentage of people have been vaccinated, but here's a variant of the disease coming through the country.' England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty told a Downing Street press conference last week: 'We want to do things in a steady way because the assumption that just because you vaccinate lots of people, then the problem goes away, I think Chile is quite a good corrective to that.' Update: Take a look inside the new Big Lots store First it was Planet Fitness and then Five Below. And six more tenants including three on the site of a former Kmart, are on the way for the Hershey Square shopping center in Derry Township. Next up is discount retailer, Big Lots. The stores grand opening is scheduled for April 24 at the former Kmart site at 1170 Mae St. The store will have a soft opening on April 15. The new 27,788-square-foot store will sell mattresses, furniture, food, seasonal products, beauty products and more. Big Lots offers a unique shopping experience part treasure hunt, part everyday necessities and special Big Buys -- items bought in limited quantities at exceptional prices, the company said in a press release. The store will also be home to The Lot, a section that houses unique seasonal items, electronics, clothing, accessories, and more. Big Lots offers contactless curbside pickup, same day delivery and Buy Online, Pick Up In Store through its website, www.bigLots.com. READ MORE: The store will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. The Big Lots store will employ around 25-30 people. Were thrilled to be bringing the Big Lots experience to Hummelstown with the opening of our newest location, Shannon Letts, SVP real estate development at Big Lots said in a press release. Big Lots is based in Columbus, Ohio and has more than 1,400 stores in 47 states including 68 stores in Pennsylvania. There are locations in Susquehanna Township and Lower Allen Township. The eight new tenants at Hershey Square can be broken into two groups. Those that will be located on the former Kmart site and those that are not. There are five new tenants that are taking over the former 107,000-square-foot Kmart that closed in March 2019. In addition to Planet Fitness, Five Below and Big Lots -- T.J. Maxx and Where the Wild Things Play will also open at the site. Discount retailer, T.J. Maxx is expected to open next month. Where the Wild Things Play, a 4,000-square-foot indoor play space for children is expected to open in the in late spring, according to its website. There are also three new tenants that are also expected to open elsewhere in the shopping center. Sally Beauty is expected to open in May in the former 1,750-square-foot GNC space. A Chipotle Mexican Grill is being constructed on a new pad site in front of Weis Markets and will include a drive-thru lane. And Comcast is opening an Xfinity store between Char Koon and a state liquor store in the former space of One Cup Joe in the second quarter of this year. Planet Fitness opened in February and Five Below opened last month. --Business Buzz You can follow Daniel Urie on twitter @DanielUrie2018 and you can like him on Facebook. Celebrities including Chris Packham, Joanna Lumley and Zoe Wanamaker are backing a campaign to save a special Ethiopian forest. Tree Aids Future Forest Appeal will provide communities in Metema, Ethiopia, with tools and training to restore nearly 10,000 hectares of degraded forest, the charity says. The project is part of the Great Green Wall campaign in Africas Sahel region to restore 8,000km (5,000 miles) of land across the continent. Degraded forest and land in West Gonder, Ethiopia (Maheder Haileselassie/Tree Aid/PA) The Metema forest is important as it is made up of Boswelia trees, which produce frankincense a precious tree resin that is used in essential oils around the world. Tree Aid says the Future Forest scheme will work with 2,852 households, including women, to increase their income from sustainable frankincense production by 25%, while protecting and restoring 9,563 hectares (23,630 acres) of forest. Springwatch presenter Chris Packham said: People in the Sahel are living with the devastating effects of our global climate crisis. Temperatures are rising, land is becoming infertile and the desert is spreading south, like a wave in slow-motion. The Great Green Wall is one of the most inspiring restoration movements of our time, and Tree Aid is making a long-lasting contribution. I urge people to support the Future Forest appeal to back this inspiring African solution to the climate crisis. The African-led Great Green Wall project includes planting and regenerating trees, water and soil conservation, protecting existing forests and working with communities to have the tools and training to protect their resources. It has been preventing further spread of the Sahara Desert and securing a sustainable future in the Sahel region of Africa by providing food security and jobs, Tree Aid said. This region has been one of the worst hit by the climate crisis and is often affected by drought and food shortages. Zoe Wanamaker, Joanna Lumley and Chris Packham (Ian West/David Parry/PA) Once complete, the Great Green Wall will be the largest living structure on the planet, the charity said. Story continues Tree Aid patron Joanna Lumley said: I have been supporting Tree Aid for almost 30 years because it provides such an effective, practical solution to tackling poverty and the climate crisis. I urge people to please give what they can to the Future Forest appeal, knowing their gift will be doubled by the Government. Together, we can fight the effects of the climate crisis to secure a greener, more sustainable future for millions of people. A landscape in West Gonder, Ethiopia, where the project will take place ( Maheder Haileselassie/Tree Aid/PA) Actress Zoe Wanamaker said: I have been supporting Tree Aid for over two decades because they dont just plant trees and walk away they work in partnership with communities to find long-term solutions that tackle both poverty and the climate crisis. I encourage people to support the Future Forest appeal if they can, knowing they can have double the impact as their gift will be matched by the government. Donations from the public will be matched by the UK Government until July 11, doubling the fundraising total. To find out more, people can visit www.treeaid.org Ericoms solution is ideal for customers like us who have limited resources, and we were able to use a piece of hardware we owned so there wasnt an additional investment required. Ericom Software, a leader in cloud cybersecurity solutions for secure web and application access, today announced that Holmdel Schools, a New Jersey school district with a network of four schools serving 3,000 students Pre-K through Grade 12, chose Ericom Connect to enable a hybrid educational model for the 2020-2021 school year. The Holmdel Schools IT team used the 2020 summer break to retool and get ready for launching a hybrid educational model in the new school year. They began their research on how they could provide STEM capabilities to students to facilitate the use of graphics intensive applications. Steven Lelivelt, Holmdel Schools Network Engineer, explained that they decided to purchase Chromebooks but soon ran into one important obstacle. The problem was that products like Adobe and AutoCAD did not run well on a web browser. We looked at other options to enable desktop access to lab computers from home, but they were very expensive, explained Anthony Gattini, Holmdel Schools Director of Technology. Gattini and Lelivelt turned to PBG Networks, a New Jersey-based IT consulting firm, for advice. We had been working with PBG Networks for 12 years, Lelivelt explained. As a value-added reseller, they have a lot of insights and there is great value in their understanding of our network infrastructure. Scott Brousseau, PBG Networks CTO, knew the schools business office switched from an alternative vendors solution to Ericom Connect a few years prior. When COVID-19 forced school closures in March of 2020, Ericom Connect was the business offices lifeline, enabling remote work to continue operating. Brousseau immediately recommended Ericom Connect as a solution to their remote application access requirements. Instead of implementing a virtual desktop solution, Brousseau helped Holmdel take advantage of their schools existing lab environment by installing Ericoms Agent directly on the physical PCs. This allowed the school to use its existing PC GPU hardware to enable students to access advanced graphics programs like Adobe Premier and AutoCAD from their home or anywhere that has browser access. The next day, Brousseau facilitated a call with PBG Networks, Ericom, and Holmdel Schools that quickly got the solution in place. Brousseau explains, While on the phone, Steve got an Ericom support engineer into the server. The software was provisioned on several PCs during the call, and they began their testing of Ericom Connect. After a few days of seeing Ericom Connect work seamlessly, Holmdel deployed the solution for the students in the high school. Ericom Connect offers secure, centrally managed browser-based access to both Windows and Linux applications and desktops from any device. From a single platform, Ericom Connect offers enterprise-level functionality along with a superior user experience. Combining the benefits of advanced grid technology and robust connection brokering, Ericom Connect is cloud-ready and offers high availability, scalability, and enhanced performance. IT admins can enable users to securely access on-campus desktops and lab resources without having to install software directly on either students laptops or in-school desktops. At first, we opened at half capacity, so on any given day 50% of our students were at home and the others were physically present in the lab, Lelivelt said. With social distancing, we had the software installed on every other lab computer, and it worked out great. Now, with full distance learning, software is installed on all computers. Added Gattini, Being in education, we have to look for secure solutions that are also cost-effective. Some solution providers expect us to pay for everything a la carte and engineer their solutions with the expectation that they need new hardware. That does not work for us. Ericoms solution is ideal for customers like us who have limited resources, and we were able to use a piece of hardware we owned so there wasnt an additional investment required. PBG Networks provides insight and expertise that help customers solve critical IT problems. Scott Brousseau, PBG Networks CTO, said, We also understand that most schools dont have big budgets, resources, or staff to implement their remote learning initiatives. PBG Networks has been able to help schools make the most of their existing resources during the pandemic. The school emphasized that it has had a great experience with the remote access solution, citing its excellent performance and simplicity for students. Pupils simply receive a link to log into the exact lab environment they are familiar with. Installing the solution was very easy, and the great partnership between Ericom and PBG made it happen so smoothly for us. Gattini said. To learn more about Ericom Connect, visit: https://www.ericom.com/ericom-connect/. About Ericom Software Ericom Software is a leading provider of Zero Trust cybersecurity solutions that protect organizations from advanced security threats. Leveraging innovative browser and application isolation technologies, Ericom's cloud-delivered security solutions enable simple, secure, policy-driven access to mission-critical applications and resources, including the web, without impacting end-user productivity. Ericoms platform of browser isolation, remote access, secure connectivity, mobility, and virtualization technologies enhance cybersecurity and productivity while reducing cost and complexity for tens of thousands of businesses and millions of end-users worldwide. The company has been in business for over two decades and has offices in the US and a global network of distributors and partners. For more information about Ericom and its products, visit http://www.ericom.com. Follow Ericom Software on our blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Sri Lankan police have warned of strict action against shoppers flouting COVID-19 health guidelines ahead of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year to be celebrated on Wednesday. Large crowds of shoppers were seen at most malls without wearing face masks or maintaining social distancing as is required by the health guidelines. The New Year, which is common to the majority Sinhala and the minority Tamils, fall on Wednesday and the event is to be marked with traditional festivities which last for weeks. Already, the health guidelines have banned certain traditional games during the festivities to minimise the spreading of the pandemic which, since its onset last year, has infected 96,000 people and nearly claimed 600 lives. Sri Lanka Police spokesman said the security personnel, both in uniform and plain clothes, have been deployed to take action against those violating the health guidelines. The Public Health Inspectors Association said the people have been going about their normal activities ahead of the New Year and ignore health guidelines both in public transport and while attending public events. This is very unfortunate. They will understand how serious this is only when the third wave hits us. We have been warning about this. Now it is too late. We will need to suffer the consequences and deal with it, said Mahendra Balasuriya, the union spokesman. Balasuriya said the authorities could be forced to prepare hospitals and other facilities to deal with the expected third wave and emergence of new clusters from May. (Image Credit: Unsplash/Representative Image) (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) The 30-year mystery surrounding the Isabella Gardner Museum heist, the biggest art theft in U.S. history, got some renewed intrigue with the recent release of a new docuseries This Is a Robbery on Netflix. The four-part series, winding through the story of one of the most vexxing art heists of a generation, again turns an eye on aging reputed gangster Robert Gentile, who has spent the better part of the past decade denying any knowledge or involvement. The $500 million heist has remained unsolved since two crooks, disguised as Boston police officers, got into the vaunted museum in March 1990, tied up the guards and made off with 13 works, cutting many from the frames they were hung in. The art stolen includes works by Rembrant, Vermeer, Degas and Manet, along with an eagle finial statute. The director of the series, Colin Barnicle, told SF Gate that he believes the art spread out among a small group of criminals, where it remains. Barnicle says one informant saw the stolen eagle finial above a grease pit at a repair shop in Connecticut. I do think some of the stuff is around, but the people who have it might not know exactly the provenance of it, Barnicle told SF Gate. The Degas drawings you might think somebody was sitting in the stands at Suffolk Downs in East Boston and drew it. Gentile, despite pressure from federal authorities in separate criminal cases, has never publicly admitted to having any knowledge of the paintings or their whereabouts. Facing gun charges in 2016, federal prosecutors said that Gentile told an undercover agent that he had access to two of the paintings and could see them for $500,000 each, the Associated Press reported. Prosecutors later told a judge that Gentile talked about the paintings while he was held in a federal penitentiary in Rhode Island awaiting trial, according to the Associated Press. Gentiles lawyer, A. Ryan ,McGuigan had sought to have the charges dropped, saying that federal agents entrapped his client in an effort to get his cooperation with the unsolved Gardner heist investigation. In a previous federal case against Gentile in 2013, prosecutors said they found told a handwritten note with the names of all the stolen paintings while searching the mans Manchester home, the Associated Press reported at the time. The docuseries highlights a sweeping search of Gentiles Manchester property at the time and a belief among investigators that they would find the long missing work. A TV interview with McGuigan is shown in which he says: They are looking for paintings. They are looking for them right here. No paintings have been recovered and the frames still sit empty in the Gardner museum. For years, the whereabouts of the paintings was left to speculation until 2013, when the FBIs Boston Field Office announced it had evidence that showed the paintings had moved through Connecticut. The FBI believes with a high degree of confidence that in the years after the theft, the art was transported to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region, and some of the art was taken to Philadelphia, where it was offered for sale by those responsible for the theft, said Richard DesLauriers, then the head of the FBIs Boston office. With that same confidence, we have identified the thieves, who are members of a criminal organization with a base in the Mid-Atlantic states and New England. Despite what DesLauriers said, the FBI, which believes the thieves are dead, never publicly identified the suspects involved in the heist. Gentile, who has been out of prison since 2019, has never been charged with possessing the stolen art. A $10 million reward for the return of the paintings has not been claimed. Edward Dolman, Phillips' Chief Executive Officer, said, "Phillips is pleased to begin our NFT journey with such a hugely celebrated digital artist who has both shaped and transcended the crypto community. REPLICATOR is a first-of-its-kind work to appear at auction, redefining the expectations of a work of art as it draws a compelling relationship between medium and form. We look forward to bringing this exciting project to new audiences at Phillips and seeing its unique iterations and the future of this market unfold." According to artist Michah Dowbak, aka Mad Dog Jones, "REPLICATOR is the story of a machine through time. It is a reflection on forms of past groundbreaking innovation and serves as a metaphor for modern technology's continuum. I'm interested to see how collectors will respond as the work evolves and the NFTs in their possession continue to create new generations." Best known for his cyberpunk, dystopian imagery that explores themes of beauty, nature and technology, Michah Dowbak a.k.a. Mad Dog Jones has risen to fame in the world of crypto art with the recent success of his Crash + Burn series of NFT artworks. Now a headliner in the first major NFT art exhibition at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, Mad Dog Jones continues to explore the possibilities of the medium with this new digital work. Rebekah Bowling, Phillips' Senior Specialist of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, said, "We are absolutely honored to have been entrusted with the sale of this multi-generational NFT. A gamechanger in the field, it uniquely links form, subject, and function as it is completely dependent on the capabilities of an NFT to exist and perform the role it's been given." REPLICATOR is an NFT experience comprising 7 unique generations of artworks. Generation 1, to be sold at auction, begins as a singular Genesis illustration of a photocopy machine in an office space. This first generation NFT will produce 6 NFTs at the rate of 1 per month, with each generation being unique from those before and after it. Each subsequent generation will produce one less artwork in its lifetime until it reaches Generation 7, which will produce no new NFTs. Note, after any artwork is sold the new owner will possess all subsequent replicants or jams from said NFT. Much like a photocopier, REPLICATOR can also jam. When a "Jam Artwork" is produced, it is unique to its generation but will no longer replicate. The jam rate is between 50-80% for generations 2 through 6, which also serves to curb exponential growth. Each generation may have up to 3 unique Jam pieces. Due to statistical variance it is impossible to predict the exact number. After 1 million simulations the average is approximately 220 with a 99% chance that the total artworks generated will be between 75 and 300, with an average time of 1 year from start to finish. ABOUT PHILLIPS Phillips is a leading global platform for buying and selling 20th and 21st century art and design. With dedicated expertise in the areas of 20th Century and Contemporary Art, Design, Photographs, Editions, Watches, and Jewelry, Phillips offers professional services and advice on all aspects of collecting. Auctions and exhibitions are held at salerooms in New York, London, Geneva, and Hong Kong, while clients are further served through representative offices based throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Phillips also offers an online auction platform accessible anywhere in the world. In addition to providing selling and buying opportunities through auction, Phillips brokers private sales and offers assistance with appraisals, valuations, and other financial services. Visit www.phillips.com for further information. *Estimates do not include buyer's premium; prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer's premium. PHILLIPS NEW YORK - 450 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022 PHILLIPS LONDON - 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX PHILLIPS HONG KONG - 14/F St. George's Building, 2 Ice House Street, Central Hong Kong PHILLIPS GENEVA - Rue de la Confederation, 7 Geneva 1204 VISIT US AT: www.phillips.com FOLLOW US ON : Twitter | Instagram | Vimeo | Facebook | LinkedIn | Weibo SOURCE Phillips Related Links https://www.phillips.com Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Online Electrical Engineering Degree Programs. Intelligent.com analyzed 103 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 59 making it to the final list for Online Electrical Engineering Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-electrical-engineering-degree-programs/ 2021 Online Electrical Engineering Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): American Public University System Arizona State University Auburn University Clarkson University Clemson University Colorado State University Columbia University Drexel University Eastern New Mexico University Excelsior College Fairleigh Dickinson University Florida International University George Washington University Georgia Institute of Technology Grantham University Indiana State University Iowa State University Johns Hopkins University Kansas State University Kennesaw State University Lamar University Michigan Technological University New Jersey Institute of Technology North Carolina State University Ohio University Oklahoma State University Old Dominion University Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State, World Campus Purdue University South College Southern Illinois University St. Cloud State University Stanford University Stevens Institute of Technology Stony Brook University Texas A&M University University of Arizona University of Arkansas University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Riverside University of Cincinnati University of Colorado, Boulder University of Delaware University of Houston University of Idaho University of Michigan, Dearborn University of Minnesota University of North Carolina, Charlotte University of North Dakota University of Southern California University of Texas, Arlington University of Texas, Austin University of Utah University of Virginia University of Wisconsin Villanova University Washington State University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. SAN FRANCISCO, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons Second Annual Voices Youth Award will be given to a youth who, or organization which has pioneered or been part of exemplary programs and actions to engage youth in the local, regional or global movement to abolish nuclear weapons. The award honors the legacy of former U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev and former U.S.A. Secretary of State George Shultz in their efforts for nuclear disarmament. Photo Credit: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library/ George P Shultz Collections, Hoover Archives (Shultz/Gorbachev/Moscow/10/23/1987) Voices Youth Award 2020 The first Voices Youth Award 2020 was given to youth activist Kehkashan Basu an advocate for the rights of children and young people since the age of 12. She is the founder and president of Green Hope Foundation, an initiative that promotes peace, nuclear disarmament and sustainable development through education. We invite nominations for individual youth (35 years of age or below) or youth organizations for the Second Annual Voices Youth Award 2021. Required submission materials include the name of an individual or organization, and supporting narrative, no longer than 250 words. Additional materials such as online posts, photos, website articles, and a video no longer than three minutes. Other supporting materials are welcome. Nominations can be submitted either by filling out the submission form on the Voices website Awards Page or by emailing required materials directly to [email protected] . Enter "Voices Youth Award Submission" in the subject line. All supporting materials should include activities that have taken place between January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021. Submissions for nominations must be received by June 15, 2021, 5:00 PM, PDT. The winner will be announced on August 6, 2021, in coordination with the yearly commemoration of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons is part of United Religions Initiative (URI) the largest grassroots interfaith network in the world: building bridges through working together on practical projects that enhance civil communities and understanding between people of different religious and cultural traditions. URI has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. At present URI has 1,056 Cooperation Circles in 112 countries with over one million members and yearly impacts over 50 million people globally. Contact: Julie Schelling P: 347.719.1518 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons NEW DELHI: India reported a record 168,912 COVID-19 infections overnight, data from the health ministry showed on Monday, overtaking Brazil to become the second-most affected country globally by the coronavirus. India`s overall tally reached 13.53 million, surpassing Brazil`s 13.45 million cases, according to data compiled by Reuters. The death toll in India stood at 904, taking the total to 170,179, as per the data. The United States leads the global tally with 31.2 million cases. Meanwhile, weekend lockdowns and night curfews have been ordered in several states and cities due to grim circumstances and daily increasing COVID-19 cases, as India reels under the second wave of coronavirus infections. In Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has hinted at a complete lockdown and a proposal for complete lockdown for 15 days was also floated during an all-party meeting on Saturday. The CM is likely to take a final call on April 14. Last week, the government had announced stricter restrictions and a complete weekend lockdown. States like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu have ramped up COVID-19 restrictions. Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday announced fresh restrictions including limiting the timings of retail shops from 7 am to 7 pm in the state. In an interview with Ryan Knight, WSWS writer Eric London spoke on the role played by the Democratic Party in promoting figures like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as on the strategic need for socialists to study the historic experiences of the working class on a world scale. Ryan Knight and Eric London During the interview, London explained: The Democratic Party is not an institution which can be separated from capitalism, it cannot be separated from the American state. It is a party of the CIA, it is a party of the FBI, of the prison system, it is a party which has on its hands the blood of millions of people who have been killed by American imperialism in every corner of the world for over 100 years. It is a party that is run by the corporations and it is a party which has a special history, its role is to block the growth of social opposition. Over the course of two centuries of American capitalism, the Democratic Party is there to institutionalize left-wing oppositionthat is to bring it within the framework of the two party system in order to preserve the two party systemand to block the development of an independent party of the working class. Listen to the full recording here. Advertisement Bhutan's royal family has lit 1,000 candles and offered prayers in memory of Prince Philip following his death last week at the age of 99. King Jigme Khesar Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema were pictured praying inside a Buddhist fortress-monastery called Mongar Dzong in the country's east on Sunday. Meanwhile the country's crown prince, government ministers, and British citizens lit another 1,000 candles and offered prayers to the Duke of Edinburgh at a similar fortress on the outskirts of capital Thimphu. King Jigme added that monasteries across the country had been ordered to offer special prayers for Philip, and that he had conveyed his personal condolences to the Queen. 'The people of Bhutan join the people of the United Kingdom in mourning the passing of His Royal Highness, whose lifetime of steadfast service to his country shall serve as an inspiration for us all,' a statement posted on the royal Instagram account said. The king and queen of Bhutan have offered prayers for the soul of Prince Philip as they lit 1,000 candles - symbolising the path to enlightenment - at a Buddhist monastery in the east of the country in tribute to him King Jigme Khesar Wangchuck (left) and Queen Jetsun Pema (to his right) offered their prayers at Mongar Dzong, a kind of fortress-monastery, in the country's east on Sunday The Bhutanese royal family also paid tribute to Philip on Instagram, saying his 'lifetime of steadfast service to his country shall serve as an inspiration for us all' (pictured, Queen Pema prays at the monastery) Bhutan's royal family shares 'exceptionally warm relations' with the UK, King Jigme said, which goes back to the time of King Ugyen Wangchuck - the first ruler of a reunified Bhutan. The British had helped the Wangchuck family overcome their regional rivals and take control of Bhutan in the 1800s, when Indian territory which borders Bhutan to the south and west was part of the British Empire. Having helped the Wangchucks best their pro-Tibet rivals, they repaid the British by helping them fight in Tibet, for which King Ugyen Wangchuck was awarded a knighthood. The current king, Jigme, had not met personally with Prince Philip but did travel to the UK in 2011, when he met with Prince Charles and Camilla at Clarence House in London. King Jigme said the candles used in Prince Philip's memorial were butterlamps, which in Tibetan Buddhism symbolise the hope that people are free of suffering and that their souls will reach enlightenment. Bhutan's royals are far from the only ones paying unique tributes to Philip following his death, with the people of a remote Vanuatu island who worshiped him as a deity also offering their respects. People from the Yakel village on the Vanuatu island of Tanna have for decades venerated Philip who they believe is the real-life embodiment of a figure - the son of a mountain spirit - mentioned in their folklore. The Bhutanese royals praised 'exceptionally warm relations' with the UK which go back to the time of Empire, when British forces then in control of India helped the Wangchuck family defeat their rivals and take control of the country A separate shrine was set up in another fortress-monastery - Semtokha Dzong - on the outskirts of the capital Thimphu (pictured) where government ministers and British citizens offered up prayers for the Duke of Edinburgh It is thought the movement was started some time in the late 1970s by Chief Jack Naiva, who has also since died, and is now continued by a village leader named only as Albi. He said that prayers are being offered to Prince Philip in the belief that his soul is now seeking a new home having left its previous body. 'The spirit of Prince Philip has left his body, but it lives on. It is too soon to say where it will reside,' he told AFP. Beneath a British flag flying at half mast, Albi joined elders Monday at Yaohnanen - another village that worships Philip - to debate how to mark the Duke's death. Chiefs spoke in turn during painstaking discussions on what the death means for their customary belief system, with a resolution likely to be days away. The Yakel chiefs said they were sending a confidential message to the royal family following Philip's passing. Prince Philip's body is currently laying at rest in the private chapel of Windsor Castle where it will remain until the day of his funeral - April 17. The funeral itself will be a ceremonial rather than a state affair, and will take place at St George's Chapel, also in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Due to Covid restrictions, the number of guests will be limited to 30 with only close family and senior royals expected to attend. Boris Johnson has voluntarily given up his seat at the service to allow more family members to be there. DENVER, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Where's Weed , the "Yelp of cannabis," is hosting The Ultimate 420 Giveaway to celebrate the most famous cannabis holiday of the year, April 20th. To gear up for the big day, Where's Weed is pulling out all the stops with The Ultimate 420 Giveaway, where five lucky winners will win one of three tiers of prizes. Where's Weed Presents The Ultimate 420 Giveaway Prize packs will consist of products from several incredible cannabis-focused brands that can be legally shipped to all 50 states, including a grand prize valued at over $1000. Ancillary brand partners include LEVO, CBD Infusionz, Stashlogix and Letter Shoppe. "Where's Weed wants to celebrate 4/20 in a big way this year. To make it count, we've partnered with the best brands in the industry to create prizes packs that we hope our winners will truly enjoy!" says Samantha Chin, Director of Marketing. PRIZES: One Platinum prize winner will receive a LEVO II infusion machine , a Stashlogix storage bundle , a selection of products from CBD Infusionz and Terpy J's and swag from Where's Weed - approximate total value of $1150. One Gold prize winner will receive a Stashlogix prize bundle, products from CBD Infusionz and Terpy J's, a LEVO cookbook and swag from Where's Weed - approximate total value of $485. Three Silver prize winners will receive a Stashlogix prize bundle, products from CBD Infusionz and Terpy J's, gift cards from Letter Shoppe and swag from Where's Weed - approximate total value of $300. HOW TO ENTER: Where's Weed has made it incredibly easy to enter the giveaway. Eligible contestants can enter by visiting the following site to fill out a required form: weed.gd/420giveaway . After the initial entry, an individual can get up to 27 additional entries by sharing the contest, visiting Where's Weed accounts on different social media platforms, etc. The giveaway ends on April 20, 2021 at 11:59 pm MST and is only open to U.S. residents 21 years or older. A winner will be drawn on or around April 21, 2021. The official rules, offer terms & eligibility requirements can be found in the Terms & Conditions here. Where's Weed is the all-inclusive online consumer resource connecting visitors with relevant cannabis businesses across the US and Canada. We showcase a variety of directories and educational content to help people find dispensaries, delivery services, MMJ doctors, related deals, strain information, cannabis news and much more. In addition to real-time menu integrations, our platform also offers online ordering for pick-up or delivery, making it easy for consumers to search & buy products. Please contact Samantha at [email protected] or 304-759-8181 for more information. SOURCE Where's Weed Town square gems reflect the history of Trnava The town has two pillars related to its experience with plague. Presenting a town through memorial pillars is a long-standing tradition all over Europe. Slovakia is no exception. The town of Trnava in western Slovakia can boast of two memorial pillars, both commemorating the plague that swept through the country in the Middle Ages. Their construction dates back to Roman Times, the Trnava.sk website reported. The plague pillars are usually placed in the squares and decorated with the effigies of saints. Their main role is to remind people of surviving epidemics and being protected from them. The two Trnava pillars One of the two plague pillars in Trnava is located on St Nicholaus Square. The other on Trojicne Square is not the plague pillar in the usual sense. It is a sculpture of the Holy Trinity, called a "triplet" by the locals, and should protect from the epidemic. "These historical memorials help attract tourists and promote tourism in the city," said Alexander Prostinak of the Trnava tourism organisation, as quoted by Trnava.sk. "We believe that once the current pandemic is over, the pillars will once again become a tourism favorite and attract tourists as well as locals." Famous saints One of the most famous saints depicted on the pillars is St Rochus, a monk who fought against the plague. Another famous saint is Rosalia from Palermo. Other saints also often depicted include St Francis Xaver and Karol Boromejsky. The latter introduced hand disinfection with vinegar, which prevented the rapid spreading of diseases. Trnava region travel guide: Unearth the spectacular splendours of Little Rome Read more The pillar located on St Nicholaus Square is situated in front of a basilica dedicated to the same saint. The pillar itself is consecrated to St Joseph. It was built in 1731 to commemorate the end of the plague epidemic, which affected not only Trnava, but all Europe. St Joseph tops the pillar. The other saints featured on the pillar include St Rochus, St Rosalia, and St Sebastian. Karol Boromejsky and St Nicholas together with St Catherine of Alexandria, who is the patron of the healers, are also featured. The pillar has a street lamp that served as a place of prayers for people infected by the plague, Trnava.sk wrote. The second pillar on Trojicne Square should protect people from natural disasters and diseases. It was completed in 1695. The pillar features the sculptures of St Florian (protecting against fire), St Agatha (protecting against earthquakes), St Anthony of Padua, St Francis Xavier, and St Rosalia. The top of the pillar depicts the Holy Trinity coronating the Virgin Mary. Spectacular Slovakia travel guides Trnava (Source: Spectacular Slovakia) 7. Apr 2021 at 11:59 | Compiled by Spectator staff Harvey Weinstein was secretly indicted on rape charges by a grand jury in Los Angeles, according to a report. The indictment came 'a couple of weeks ago' and closely resembles a criminal complaint filed in January 2020 by former DA Jackie Lacey, Fox News reported. It will likely facilitate the disgraced movie mogul's extradition from New York, where he is already serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault. Weinstein faces 11 counts in California, including rape and sexual battery involving five incidents between 2004 and 2013. If convicted, the former Hollywood producer faces up to 140 years in prison. Fox reported that the sealed indictment, along with the arrest warrant for Weinstein, are expected to be made public on Monday afternoon following an extradition hearing in Erie, New York. Harvey Weinstein (pictured) was secretly indicted on rape charges by a grand jury in Los Angeles, according to a report. The indictment came 'a couple of weeks ago' and closely resembles a criminal complaint filed in January 2020 by former DA Jackie Lacey, Fox News reported [File photo] The Los Angeles DA's office did not respond to inquiries by Fox regarding the indictment. An attorney for two of Weinstein's five accusers in the LA case declined to comment. The LA case against Weinstein, 69, has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic but the DA's office reportedly did not want to wait any longer to proceed. Weinstein, is currently serving his sentence at the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, a maximum-security prison. Through his lawyer, has denied all charges against him. 'These are stale, unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, uncredible allegations that arose during the hysteria of the #MeToo movement and we're confident that Mr. Weinstein will be acquitted because there's no credible evidence against him. He's innocent,' defense lawyer Mark Werksman said. In Monday's hearing, Weinstein's attorneys are expected to ask for a delay to the extradition because his reportedly poor health could put him at risk due to the pandemic. If the expected request is refused, Weinstein could be extradited to Los Angeles within 30 days. Experts said an indictment can help LA prosecutors streamline legal proceedings by going straight to trial. If the extradition had been done solely on the basis of a criminal complaint, a preliminary hearing would have been required. 'This process will eliminate the need for a preliminary hearing which is kind of a minitrial like we saw in the OJ case: there was the trial before the trial,' criminal defense attorney Troy Slaten told Fox News, referring to the 1994-5 OJ Simpson murder trial. Gloria Allred (pictured), who represents two of Weinstein's five accusers, has said she is hopeful he will soon appear in court in the West Coast [File photo] Gloria Allred, who represents two of Weinstein's five accusers, has said she is hopeful he will soon appear in court in the West Coast. 'It appears to me that Mr. Weinstein does not wish to be removed to Los Angeles to face charges, but justice delayed is justice denied,' the prominent women's rights lawyer said. Allred represents Mimi Haleyi, one of the women whose accusations Weinstein was found guilty of in his New York trial over a year ago. In the LA case, she is defending an unnamed woman as well as model and actress Lauren Young, who came forward as a witness in Weinstein's New York criminal trial. Young testified that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in February 2013. She said that she was trapped in a bathroom with the producer who allegedly groped her while masturbating. LA prosecutors allege that Weinstein raped another woman at a Beverly Hills hotel on February 18, 2013 - just a day before the alleged attack against Young. The three other women involved in the LA case were also allegedly assaulted at Beverly Hills hotels. Regardless of the outcome of the LA case, Weinstein would have to return to New York to serve the remainder of his 23-year-sentence. Earlier this month, Weinstein filed an appeal on his rape and sex crimes conviction, claiming he didn't receive a fair trial and that the incidents were 'indisputably consensual' and that many of the women who gave evidence at his trial just think he is 'loathsome'. His lawyers filed a 166-page appeal in Manhattan on April 5, in which they claimed the judge allowed too much testimony about Weinstein's reputation and character. Weinstein was convicted of one count of criminal sexual assault in the first degree and one count of rape in the third degree last February. He was cleared of three other charges. He was sentenced on March 11. 'Simply put, the prosecution tried Weinsteins character, not his conduct,' his attorneys said in their appeal on Monday. 'With a year behind us and emotions subsided, the transcript of the case confirms what we always believed: that Mr. Weinstein did not receive a fair trial... We have the utmost confidence that the Appellate Division will correct these mistakes and send this case back before a different judge, ' they said. They say the jury ignored the facts of the case, focusing instead on the public persona of Weinstein that had been created, and that the incidents themselves were 'indisputably' consensual. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 00:23:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Rawan Raafat shows a bell earring at her shop in East Jerusalem, March 23, 2021. Rawan Raafat, a young Palestinian woman from East Jerusalem, spends hours a day in front of a huge table, her indispensable tool for the manufacturing of traditional Palestinian jewelry. Bell earrings, catenaries carrying talismans, and headscarf decorations are just a few of the items the 39-year-old woman is making, using a combination of copper and silver. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) by Sanaa Kamal GAZA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Rawan Raafat, a young Palestinian woman from East Jerusalem, spends hours a day in front of a huge table, her indispensable tool for the manufacturing of traditional Palestinian jewelry. Bell earrings, catenaries carrying talismans, and headscarf decorations are just a few of the items the 39-year-old woman is making, using a combination of copper and silver. Once her products are finished, she takes photos and posts them on her Instagram and Facebook pages. "I was surprised to learn that all my products were sold out, despite the fact that they were a little pricey with each sold for 100 U.S. dollars," the woman said. "Palestinian women like what I produce, as they differ from other items on the market," she added. But being different was not Raafat's original goal. For her, it was more important to revive the traditional Palestinian jewelry and its heritage. "We (Palestinians) have been living under ongoing conflicts with Israel for many years now. It has impacted the way we are viewed by the international community," she explained. And this negative image is something that Raafat would like to change through her jewelry making that would use Palestinian conventional production methods. "This is why I created my own traditional pieces in 2020 to revive our jewelry, which we lost amid the ongoing crisis that we are suffering from," said Raafat. "There is no doubt that the military, political and economic conflicts with the Israelis have negatively affected all aspects of our life in the Palestinians' territories, including our psychology," she said. Recent years have been exceptionally difficult for the Palestinians. Unemployment in the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, surpassed 28.5 percent, and poverty rates have also surged, whereas the security situation has deteriorated. "In the past, our ancestors lived a quiet life full of positive energy and stability. Although they were working hard in farming their lands, most of them wore jewelry, both women and men," she said. Now the situation is different, but Raafat says she is not prepared to give up on her dream of jewelry revival. And she also says she would like to improve her skills. To do that, she has been researching the various types of metals and their effects on people, especially children and women. "I found that most of our traditional jewelries were often jewels, square or triangular stones, on which metal was poured," she explained, saying that all of them "helped people to get rid of their negative energy." She explained that in the past, women used their own pieces of jewelry to expel negative energy from their bodies, especially items that were made of copper and silver. Back then, they believed that copper supported the tissues and the red blood cells. Bracelets made of copper have been used to treat arthritis, skin diseases and wounds. It has also been found useful in treating internal diseases such as heart problems, cancer and anemia. "This is the reason why I am trying to revive it and bring this jewelry to both men and women alike," she said. But despite her goodwill and the growing demand for her items, expansion in sales does not come easy, especially given the deficit of raw materials and the high prices on tools. "I have to go to Israeli cities in order to buy raw materials, which sometimes I am prevented from buying or prevented from carrying large quantities, and this can hinder my work for weeks," she explained. But defying all odds, the Palestinian lady insists on continuing her project and spreading positive energy by encouraging more people to wear such jewelry. In addition, she aspires to create her own global brand that would define the Palestinian traditional jewelry heritage that reflects a different image of the Palestinians who prefer to live in stability. "It is not superstitious, but it is our history that we should be proud of and strive to protect from extinction," she said. Enditem The Arkansas House of Representatives passed on Friday House Bill 1749 protecting teachers who refuse to call transgender students by their preferred pronouns. In a tweet on April 9, the Arkansas House passed Bill 1749 with a 62-21 vote and a link to the PDF copy of the legislation. The bill, as per the Arkansas House Representative website, was one among the 600 bills signed into law by the end of the 13th week of the Arkansas House of Representatives' Regular Session. The Blaze said voting was mostly partisan except for two Republicans who joined the Democrats against the bill. According to the draft, House Bill 1749 is "an act to prohibit requiring public school and state-supported institution of higher education employees from addressing a student by a pronoun, title, or other word that is used to identify the student as male or female and that is inconsistent with the student's biological sex; and for other purposes." The bill actually amends the Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 18, Subchapter 1 and Chapter 63, Subchapter 1 with an additional section in the identification of students. "An employee of a state-supported institution of higher education shall not be required to use a pronoun, title, or other word to identify a student of the state-supported institution of higher education as male or female that is inconsistent with the state-supported institution of higher education student's biological sex," the bill stated. "An employee of a state-supported institution of higher education 11 who faces adverse action as a result of a violation of subsection (a) of this 12 section may bring a claim and shall be eligible for remedies afforded under 13 16-123-105 of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993, 16-123-101 et seq," it added. The bill is sponsored by Republican Representative Mary Bentley and supported by Senator Gary Stubblefield who will then present it to the senate for approval. Bentley, on her fourth term as representative, serves in the Arkansas House of Representatives House Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative & Military Affairs Committee. The Blaze said that Bentley explained during the session last week that the protection of teachers afraid of litigation for their refusal to use the preferred name or pronoun of a transgender student was the sole purpose of enacting the bill. "It's not compelling anyone's speech, it's not prohibiting anyone's speech. It's helping those professors and teachers in our schools that do not want to be used for not using a certain person's pronoun," The Blaze quoted Bentley in saying. "Districts definitely need to look at this and do more. This bill is a simple bill. It has already been affirmed by the appeals court and the sixth district," she added. "All this is, is protecting our teachers, and they do feel threatened." Democrats, as per The Blaze, argued that the bill was promoting a lack of respect to transgender students on how they wished to be addressed while "emboldening teachers who are intentionally misgendering students." History was made when the Oscar nominations were released for the Best Director category. Only five women have ever been nominated before. This year, Chloe Zhao was chosen for her elegiac road-trip drama Nomadland, along with first-time feature-filmmaker Emerald Fennel for her #MeToo revenge comedy Promising Young Woman. Chloe Zhao, the first woman of color nominated for best director, is the most nominated woman in a single year in Oscar history, since shes also competing as best picture producer, along with adapted screenplay and editing. Thats a record-breaking four nominations in a single year. And this past weekend, she won the coveted Directors Guild Award. A Chinese immigrant who spent her childhood in Beijing, Zhao attended high school in Los Angeles, living alone in a Koreatown studio apartment behind a Sizzler restaurant. I had such a romanticized version of America, she says. At NYUs film school, she studied with Spike Lee and spent a year on the Oglala Lakota reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, before making The Rider (2017). Id seen some older nomads around, but I didnt know how big a movement it was or what its like for a person in their twilight years to hit the road. I was very drawn to that idea, Zhao explains. Before this year, London-born actress Emerald Fennell was best known as Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown. She took over from Phoebe Waller-Bridge as showrunner for the second season of Killing Eve before making her feature filmmaking debut as writer, director and producer of Promising Young Woman. This is such an exciting year for diversity -- such an extraordinary breadth of voices and stories, notes Fennell. To be part of a group of people who feel like theyre really doing something new is thrilling. Emerald Fennells razor-sharp debut is like a beautifully wrapped piece of candy, muses Carey Mulligan, except when you put it in your mouth, you realize its full of poison. Only five women have ever been Oscar-nominated by the insular, male-dominated Directors Branch: Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Lina Wertmuller (Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (The Piano) and Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation). And only one, Kathryn Bigelow, has ever won. Long characterized as an aging boys club, the Directors Branch has been working to diversify its ranks, many drawn from the international film community. There are 564 members of which 24.1 percent are women. It was disappointing that no Black women directors were nominated this year, particularly after Regina Kings first feature, One Night in Miami, was so critically lauded and Gina Prince-Blythewoods action-packed The Old Guard won the Critics Choice Super Award. No Black woman has ever been nominated in the Director category at the Oscars. On the other hand, Black artisans Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson made Oscar history with Ma Raineys Black Bottom nominations in the Best Makeup & Hairstyling category. Neal was in charge of hair-styling/wigs, while Wilson was Viola Davis personal stylist. As of January, 2021, the Academys membership was 84 percent white and 68 percent male. A record total of 70 women were honored this year. Their 76 nominations out of the 235 individual nominees across all 23 competitive categories constitute 32.3 percent. What does that mean for Hollywood? Could it mark a turning point where we begin to see more women landing behind-the-camera jobs and garnering award recognition on a regular basis? The Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film at San Diego State University concludes that a record 16 percent of women were behind the 100 top-grossing films of 2020, up from 12 percent in 2019 and a mere 4 percent in 2018. Quite simply, 80 percent of the top films still dont have women at the helm. While most Hollywood studios have shown some progress in hiring women directors, Lionsgate stands alone, having given a wide theatrical release to only one film (The Spy Who Dumped Me) directed by a woman since 2016. With the acquisition of 20th Century Fox/Fox Searchlight, Disney has vastly increased the number of films it releases. Searchlight had Chloe Zhaos Nomadland, while Disney+ carried Niki Caros Mulan and Thea Sharrocks The One and Only Ivan. Marvel Studios Black Widow, directed by Cate Shortland, and Eternals, directed by Chloe Zhao will be released later this year. For 2022, Captain Marvel 2, directed by Nia DaCosta, and in 2023, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron helmed by Patty Jenkins. Sony comes the closest to gender parity with six of its 21 films coming from female directors, while its indie wing Sony Pictures Classics has three on its upcoming slate: Heidi Ewings I Carry You With Me, Eva Hussons Mothering Sunday, and Melanie Laurents The Nightigale. Universals two 2020 films directed by women were Floria Sigismondis The Turning and Stella Meghies The Photograph. In 2021, theres Nia DaCostas revival of Candyman and DreamWorks Aimations Spirit Untamed, helmed by Elaine Bogan. Universals indie wing, Focus Features, released Emerald Fennells Promising Young Woman and, more recently, Robin Wrights Land. Coming up in 2022, theres Lulu Wangs follow-up to The Farewell, along with Nathalia Biancheris Polish drama Wolf and Massy Tadjedins Circle of Treason. Many in Hollywood firmly believe that this is the decade of women championing and supporting other women. Theres a safe space being created for younger women whose voices are being heard. Looking ahead, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences decreed that, starting with the 2024 Oscars, in order for any film to be eligible for Best Picture consideration, it would need to reflect the industrys inclusion standards both on-screen and behind the camera. Its a culmination of a social-media movement that ignited when #OscarsSoWhite tainted the 2015 Awards ceremony. For the 94th and 95th ceremonies 2022 and 2023 filmmakers will have to submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form to be considered. For the 96th Awards in 2024, Best Picture hopefuls will be required to meet at least two out of four new standards. Standard A states that at least one lead or significant supporting actor must be either Asian, Hispanic, Latinx, Black/African American, Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan, Middle Eastern/North African, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander or Other underrepresented race or ethnicity. The rest of the cast must be at least 30 percent women, racial or ethnic group, LBGTQ+ or people with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing. The main storyline, narrative or theme of the film must also be centered on one of the above groups. At least two members of these same groups must be represented in the films leadership crew, including casting director, cinematographer, composer, costume designer, director, editor, hairstylist, makeup artist, producer, production designer, set decorator, sound, VFX supervisor, writer. Additionally, at least 30 percent of the total crew must be from an under-represented or ethnic minority. This seems to be a place to start. Obviously, the goal is not to prevent films from being made. Its about broadening the scope of films being made. People in the industry now know that their choices are being evaluated, which in the long run is healthier for our culture and healthier for our employment to have more diverse behind-the-scenes community. As Martha Stewart would say, Its a good thing. Susan Granger has been an on-air television and radio commentator and entertainment critic for more than 25 years. Raised in Hollywood, Granger appeared as a child actress in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, and Lassie. She currently resides in Westport. In 2020 with the opening of the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation, the nations first tribally affiliated college of medicine was established. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. Seeking to woo voters in Kolkata and its neighbouring areas, BJP leader and Union Home Minister will launch a massive public outreach campaign from Tuesday during which more than 2,000 street corner meetings will be held in over 40 assembly seats, party leaders said on Monday. Besides Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, top union ministers and senior party leaders will also address these meetings or "potho sabhas" of up to 500 people, said a party functionary who is involved in handling the BJP's election campaign in the state. The party is adding the 'potho sabhas' to its already high-octane campaign in to make inroads in Kolkata and its surrounding region, seen as a stronghold of the state's ruling TMC which had trounced the BJP in this region during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, despite a surge in the saffron party's vote share across the state. Keeping in mind the convenience of people, these meetings will take place in the evening in easy-to-access areas such as housing societies and community centres, among others. The campaign will start with senior party leader addressing meetings in Dum Dum and Baranagar assembly constituencies on Tuesday, the BJP leader said. Considering the unique features of this urban area which is facing several governance and infrastructure-related issues, the BJP's unit has planned this massive public outreach campaign in over 40 assembly constituencies in and around the city, he said. The party's national and state leaders will reach out to the various communities residing in Kolkata to share with them the BJP's vision for the city in specific and the state in general, he said. Party leaders said Kolkata has been the home ground of many significant movements in Indian history. However, due to the neglect by state governments of the past, the city and its people have been facing issues on multiple fronts such as crumbling infrastructure, inadequate healthcare facilities, lack of economic growth and growing concern over the safety of women, among others. Four phases of Assembly elections in are over and another four phases are left. (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.) .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... RIO DE JANEIRO April is shaping up to be Brazils darkest month yet in the pandemic, with hospitals struggling with a crush of patients, deaths on track for record highs and few signs of a reprieve from a troubled vaccination program in Latin Americas largest nation. The Health Ministry has cut its outlook for vaccine supplies in April three times already, to half their initial level, and the countrys two biggest laboratories are facing supply constraints. The delays also mean tens of thousands more deaths as the particularly contagious P.1 variant of COVID-19 sweeps Brazil. It has recorded about 350,000 of the 2.9 million virus deaths worldwide, behind only the U.S. toll of over 560,000. Brazils seven-day rolling average has increased to 2,820 deaths per day, compared with the global average of 10,608 per day, according to data through April 8 from Johns Hopkins University. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The death toll is forecast to continue rising in the next two weeks to an average of nearly 3,500 per day before receding, according to the University of Washingtons Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Public health experts blame President Jair Bolsonaro for refusing to enact strict measures to halt infections and for clashing with governors and mayors who did. Failure to control the spread has been compounded by the Health Ministry betting big on a single vaccine, AstraZeneca, then buying only one backup, the Chinese-manufactured CoronaVac, after supply problems emerged. Authorities ignored other producers and squandered opportunities until it was too late to get large quantities of vaccine for the first half of 2021. With extensive experience in successful, massive vaccination programs, Brazil should have known better, said Claudio Maierovitch, former head of Brazils health regulator. The big problem is that Brazil did not look for alternatives when it had the chance, he said. When several countries were placing their bets, signing contracts with different suppliers, the Brazilian government didnt even have vaccination on its agenda. For months, Bolsonaros administration ignored pleas to sign more than one contract for vaccines. The president publicly questioned the reliability of other shots and scoffed at contractual terms, suggesting that recipients of the Pfizer vaccine would have no legal recourse were they to transform into alligators. He insisted he wouldnt force anyone to get vaccinated and only recently said he might get a shot himself. Denise Garrett, vice president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute that advocates for expanding global vaccine access, said she despaired at the government strategy. Brazil has been far and away Latin Americas immunization front-runner, so much so that she hadnt seen it in the same league as the regions other countries. Given the problems in vaccine development and distribution, its definitely not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket, she said from Washington. Stalled supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine in January amid pressure for Brazil to begin its vaccination campaign prompted the Health Ministry to acquire tens of millions of shots from Sao Paulo states Butantan Institute, which is mixing an active ingredient from China with a sterile solution and bottling it. The shots were the fruit of the states negotiations with Chinese company Sinovac and went ahead despite Bolsonaros criticisms. Brazils government also dragged its feet in signing on to the World Health Organizations COVAX initiative providing vaccines to poorer nations. It ultimately bought the bare minimum enough for 10% of its population of 210 million. I was so anxious when that was going on; I couldnt believe they werent going to sign it, said Garrett, who is Brazilian. When I heard they signed, I was relieved. We were all relieved. But they signed for the minimum amount possible. Brazil isnt in a better vaccination position now because of the incompetence or inactivity of the federal government. In February, Brazil began signing contracts with other pharmaceutical companies, but none of their shots have been administered. Of the 10% of people who received one dose so far, the vast majority received Butantans shot and the rest got the AstraZeneca shot, which government health institute Fiocruz is bottling. Both Brazilian labs face supply problems. Butantan said Wednesday it was suspending production while it awaits shipments of the active ingredient from China. Fiocruz has produced only 4 million of the 50 million doses it agreed to deliver by the end of April. That threatens to reduce the speed of vaccinations, which finally hit 1 million doses per day last week, according to a consortium of local media that compiles data from state health secretariats. Intensive care units for COVID-19 patients in most Brazilian states are above 90% capacity. Seven of every 10 hospitals in the country risk running out of supplemental oxygen and anesthetic in the next few days, the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported April 8. At the municipal hospital of Sao Joao de Meriti, a city in Rio de Janeiros metropolitan area, the ICU ward is almost full, with many patients sharing space and oxygen bottles while being treated. Hospital director Altair Soares Neto said health professionals scarcely find time to sleep. Will we have the medicines, the oxygen, the conditions to care for this patient accordingly? Today we do. But, if cases keep growing, sometime we will fight chaos, he said. The surge of deaths has brought widespread outcry. Brazils Association of Collective Health, which has nearly 20,000 members including doctors, nurses and health experts, published an open letter this week demanding a three-week national lockdown, echoing increasingly urgent calls from others. Bolsonaro has refused proposed lockdowns, arguing their economic impact would be even more devastating than the virus. He even took three states to the Supreme Court last month for adopting such restrictions. If we just wait for the vaccine to reach all risk groups, many people will die, said the health associations president, Gulnar Azevedo e Silva. There is no national coordination. And if we dont have that, what happens? Chaos. An agreement for FioCruz to acquire AstraZenecas technology would allow Brazil to produce an entirely locally made vaccine and make the nation less vulnerable to constraints on imported active ingredients. Fiocruz forecasts deliveries will start in September. But that date could be pushed back due to the complexity of the process and strict quality control, its press office said in an emailed response to questions. While visiting Fiocruz on Friday, health minister Marcelo Queiroga told reporters there are other countries that are also experiencing problems with their supply of active ingredients, and that vaccines wont remedy Brazils high level of COVID-19 deaths in the short-term. He said the government doesnt have a magic wand to fix all the problems. Carla Domingues, former coordinator of Brazils national immunization program, praised the country for approaching 1 million doses per day but said it had the infrastructure for a stronger campaign if only the government had secured the vaccines. Of course, we would like to vaccinate more, like in the U.S., but we cant, she said. Were going to have to live with this virus for a long time. ___ Associated Press photographer Felipe Dana contributed to this report. A Salvator Mundi painting which Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly paid $450million to own may in fact have been created by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci after all. The expensive painting of Christ, dubbed the 'male Mona Lisa', has not been seen in public since it was reportedly bought for a monumental sum by the Saudi royal family at a 2017 Christie's auction. A documentary due to run on French TV this week alleges that the Saudis withheld the painting from a 2019 exhibition at the Louvre in Paris after experts concluded that the master had only 'contributed' to it. But other art experts have now rubbished filmmaker Antoine Vitkine's claims and believe the painting, which depicts Jesus in Renaissance dress holding an orb in his left hand, was 'indeed the work of Leonardo'. Didier Rykner, editor of magazine La Tribune de l'Art, claimed the Louvre and its analysis unit had 'reached the opposite conclusion to the documentary'. The New York Times reported the results of the analysis were kept secret because of a dispute over how the painting would be displayed, with the Saudis reportedly insisting that it be hung next to the Mona Lisa. A Salvator Mundi painting which Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly paid $450million to own may in fact have been created by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci A handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency on April 1, 2021, shows Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Salvator Mundi: Da Vinci's 'male Mona Lisa' Salvator Mundi, a depiction of Christ as saviour of the world, is thought to have been painted in around 1500 for Louis XII - shortly after the French king conquered the Duchy of Milan and took control of Genoa. The original piece is the most expensive painting ever sold at auction, breaking all records at Christie's in New York in 2017 when it was purchased by Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud for $450,300,000. The painting depicts Jesus in Renaissance dress, making the sign of the cross with his right hand, while holding a transparent, non-refracting crystal orb in his left. Around 20 other versions of the work are known to have been created by students and followers of Da Vinci, with preparatory chalk and ink drawings of the drapery by the master held in the British Royal Collection. Advertisement The new French documentary delves into the row playing out between Riyadh and Paris over the authenticity of Salvator Mundi. In it, senior French officials say Bin Salman had demanded that the French government display the artwork inside the Louvre alongside the Mona Lisa and present it as 100 per cent da Vinci's work. But, they say, their analysis shows that - while the painting was produced in one of da Vinci's workshops - the master himself only 'contributed' to the work. That analysis and the ensuing row explains why the painting failed to appear as planned at the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2018, and then at a blockbuster da Vinci show by the Louvre in Paris the following year. 'Things turned incomprehensible,' says one French official in the film - The Savior for Sale, which premiers on French TV this week. 'The request by 'MBS' (bin Salman) was very clear: show the Salvator Mundi next to the Mona Lisa, and present it as 100 percent a da Vinci.' The Saudis offered various deals, the official says, but his recommendation to the Elysee was that this would amount to 'laundering a $450million artwork'. The documentary alleges that some members of the French government, including Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, lobbied on behalf of bin Salman's request. They were concerned about the impact on France's wide-ranging strategic and economic relationship with Saudi Arabia. But Emmanuel Macron ultimately decided to reject bin Salman's request, leaving it to the Louvre to negotiate with the Saudis on how the painting should be presented in their retrospective, said the documentary. Art expert Eric Turquin told AFP the museum's conservators were 'strongly opposed' to placing it alongside the Mona Lisa, fearing it would cause too many security problems to have the paintings side-by-side. 'They also thought that, while this portrait clearly had its place in the exhibition, there was no reason to make it the most important in the retrospective just for reasons linked to its auction price,' he added. The Louvre has refused to comment on any of these issues. A documentary due to run on French TV alleges the Saudis withheld the painting from a 2019 exhibit at the Louvre in Paris after experts concluded the master had only 'contributed' to it A new documentary claims Mohammed bin Salman, thought to be the work's owner, wanted it presented as 100 per cent da Vinci's work - but experts said the master only 'contributed' to it 'The Saudis are afraid of this debate on the authenticity,' says Chris Dercon, who heads one of France's top museum bodies and advises the Saudi government on art, in the documentary. 'They are afraid that people will say, both at home and abroad, 'You spent all this money for something that is not a da Vinci.'' The painting was initially bought in 2005 for just $1,175 by a New York art dealer and restored in the United States. Several British experts authenticated the painting as a long-lost da Vinci and it was presented as such at London's National Gallery in 2011 before being sold to a Russian oligarch for $127.5million two years later. It then sold for $450million at auction at Christie's in New York, breaking the record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at a public auction. Officially, the buyer was Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud - a little-known member of the Saudi royal family with no history as an art collector. But US officials said Prince Bader was actually used as a stand-in for bin Salman, who is the true owner of the painting. Riyadh continues to deny that Bin Salman is the true owner. British scientists have warned that the British government is risking a third wave of Covid-19 by easing the too soon, local media reported. "There are areas in West Yorkshire, the Black Country and other regions that still have high infection rates. However, many people there cannot afford to self-isolate. We need to tackle that issue urgently or the virus will come back again," Leeds University medical school Associate Professor Stephen Griffin told the Observer on Sunday. "It's worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them," said Griffin, Xinhua news agency reported. Professor Lawrence Young of Warwick medical school said: "The test, trace and isolate system that is supposed to contain outbreaks has not worked well, and even when people test positive, they are not isolating. We need a properly funded system for quarantining infected people. We don't have that and that raises the risk we could head back into trouble again quite quickly." The scientists made their remarks as Britain is poised to partly ease the current restrictions, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country, on Monday. From Monday, non-essential shops will reopen and pubs and restaurants will reopen outdoors at a time when Britain moves to step two of the roadmap out of the Covid-19 Meanwhile, hairdressers and barbers as well as gyms can reopen, along with zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres. 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. More than 32 million people have been given the first vaccine jab, according to the official figures. The estimated reproduction number, also known as the R number, in England is unchanged at between 0.8 and one, according to the latest official data. It means that, on average, every 10 people who have will infect between eight and 10 others. Government advisory scientists said the situation is too variable in some regions to produce a Britain-wide R rate, but the number is believed to be above one in some parts of the country, which means the outbreak could grow exponentially. 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 coronavirus 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.) Arizona State University researcher Petra Fromme has received the 2021 Christian B. Anfinsen Award. The honor is bestowed by The Protein Society, the premier international association dedicated to supporting protein research. In presenting Fromme with this prestigious prize, the Protein Society recognizes her groundbreaking efforts to advance the field of protein research, using ultra-high-speed X-ray crystallography to probe matter at the tiniest scales and shortest time durations. These investigations have greatly advanced scientific understanding in two critical areas, helping to streamline the development of safer and more effective drugs for a broad range of human diseases and furthering research into alternative energy sources, by probing the molecular intricacies of photosynthesis. Fromme is the director of the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery at ASU as well as a Regents Professor of Biochemistry with the School of Molecular Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU. She is a world leader in developing and applying new technologies for investigating protein structure. The Christian B. Anfinsen Award is given in recognition of "significant technological achievements and/or methodological advancements in protein research." The award was established in 1996 and named for Nobel laureate Christian Boehmer Anfinsen, whose important research focused on the structure and function of enzyme proteins. Tn their announcement, The Protein Society notes that Fromme has displayed uncommon leadership in the field, "assembling a large network of collaborators spanning chemistry, physics, data science, biology, materials science, and engineering to pioneer the method of serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX), which is used to collect snapshots of molecules in action. She has made important contributions to the structural biology of large membrane protein complexes, especially those involved in light capture and energy conversion." The Anfinsen Award will be presented at the Protein Society's 35th Anniversary Symposium, where Fromme will deliver an invited plenary talk. The conference will take place virtually July 7 - 9 and 12 - 14, 2021. The online meeting will feature more than 50 speakers, including invited and contributed talks, Protein Society awards, live poster presentations, thematic workshops on crucial topics such as diversity and inclusion, and networking opportunities. Agents of health and disease Proteins are the "work-horses" of all living cells, catalyzing all essential functions in a cell. The discovery of their structure, function and dynamics is essential to understand the molecular basis of life. While genetic information in the form of DNA has only 4 building blocks, proteins are much more complex as their "alphabet" consist of 20 letters in the form of 20 amino acids, strung together like necklace beads. Proteins can fold into an almost limitless variety of three-dimensional shapes and interact with each other to form large supercomplexes that act as molecular machines to carry out essential life functions. The function of proteins is therefore dependent on their amino acid composition, 3D conformation, interactions and the dynamics of the complexes. Proteins perform myriad roles in the body, catalyzing all vital metabolic reactions essential to life. Examples include energy generation by respiration and photosynthesis, cell-cell recognition, import and export of products into cells, cell-cell recognition, DNA synthesis and repair, nerve function, smelling, tasting, hearing, vision to name just a few. In addition to providing the structural framework all tissues, proteins maintain proper pH and fluid balance and play a central role in the body's immune system. When protein function goes awry, it can lead to a broad array of serious diseases. Researchers have worked to develop drugs that can act on proteins, binding with them and altering, enhancing or in some cases, deactivating their functions. To accomplish this, a detailed map of the protein's molecular organization is needed. Mapping the protein world One of the most powerful techniques for investigating protein structure is through X-ray crystallography. Here, a sample of interest is crystalized, then interrogated with a beam of incident X-rays. When these X-rays strike the sample, the light is diffracted by the crystalline arrangement of atoms in the sample, and the patterns of diffracted X-ray light are caught on a detector-screen. By interrogating the crystal in all possible orientations with the X-rays, a detailed, three-dimensional portrait of the protein's structure can be determined by X-ray crystallography. The technique has been an exceptional boon to science, helping researchers to explore the inner workings of biological molecules, including drugs, vitamins, proteins and nucleic acids such as DNA. X-ray crystallography remains an essential method for characterizing the atomic structure of new materials and their properties as well as assisting in the design and validation of new pharmaceutical drugs. One major drawback in the past was been the fact that X-rays damage molecules when they interact with them, destroying the molecule the molecule under examination. This X-ray damage can be slowed down by freezing the crystals and collecting data at very low temperatures, however only a static picture of the frozen protein can the thereby ne obtained. Fromme and her team of colleagues at ASU as well as their national and international collaborators have pioneered a radically new version of X-ray crystallography, one which extends to the extreme the method's capacity to peer deeply into matter at the atomic scale. The method, known as serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX), works by exposing nanocrystals to brilliant and extremely short pulses of X-ray light, emitted by powerful instruments known as X-ray free electron lasers (or XFELs). As the technique's name implies, the light pulses occur over an astonishingly short time frame, measured in femtoseconds. A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second. To give a sense of just how brief this is, one femtosecond is to one second as one second is to about 32 million years. New structures unveiled One advantage of using femtosecond pulses is that they can outrun the destruction of the crystal caused by powerful X-ray radiation, producing a usable diffraction pattern before the crystallized sample explodes. The technique, sometimes referred to as "diffraction before destruction" has revolutionized the field, allowing researchers to study the protein structure and function at room temperature under conditions that mimic nature and allow them to produce molecular movies of biomolecules at work, for the first time. "I am feeling very honored to receive the prestigious Anfinsen Award from The Protein Society," says Fromme. "I am very happy that they honor my contributions to the technique of serial femtosecond crystallography that has revolutionized the field of structural biology, as we can "see" for the first time the building blocks of life in action. With the study of the structural dynamics and function of the proteins in their near native environment, without damage, we reach new shores where we can understand their mechanism of action at the atomic scale." The use of XFELS has allowed Fromme and her colleagues to produce high-resolution 3D images of many protein structures as well as the first molecular snapshots of their reactions. These include structures of all-important membrane proteins, which are targets for the majority of pharmaceutical drugs and have been notoriously difficult to crystallize and characterize in the past. Using the new technique, Fromme and her colleagues have produced the first molecular snapshots of the functioning of BlaC, (a crucial protease enzyme in antibiotic resistance) and the Cytochrome c oxidase, (essential for respiration). They also have unraveled dazzlingly detailed structures for such important proteins as Flpp3, (a virulence factor responsible essential for the deadly effects of the bacteria causing tularemia); angiotensin II, (a receptor regulating blood pressure); DIPP-NH2, (an opiate ligand involved in pain pathways) and other medically important biomolecules. Fromme's research has also made major inroads in uncovering one of Nature's central mysteries--how plants and photosynthetic microbes convert the radiant energy of sunlight into useful energy. "This research has huge impacts on the development of novel drugs that catch the drug targets in their active functional state. It will also lead to the development of new energy sources by understanding how plants convert light into energy, allowing the design of new systems that combine the efficiency of Nature with the stability of man-made systems," Fromme says. While Fromme plans to continue racking up major advances in structural research, using gargantuan XFEL instruments like the Linac Coherent Light Source, at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the PAL XFEL in Korea or the newly designed European XFEL in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, she is particularly excited about the development of two radically new X-ray accelerators under construction at ASU, a development that she has initiated. Once completed, the Compact X-Ray Light Source (CXLS) and Compact X-ray Free Electron Laser (CXFEL) will allow Fromme and her colleagues to perform leading-edge structural research at Biodesign Building C, a unique facility designed around the CXFEL instrument. ### The Protein Society is the leading international Society devoted to furthering research and development in protein science. Founded in 1986, the purpose of the Society is to provide international forums to facilitate communication, cooperation, and collaboration regarding all aspects of the study of proteins. In support of these goals, the Society publishes Protein Science, the premier journal in the field, hosts an annual international symposium, and facilitates the education of early-career protein scientists across all lines of discipline. The Protein Society members represent a wide spectrum of academic, industry, governmental, and non-profit institutions from more than 40 countries around the world. Media inquiries can be directed to Raluca Cadar, Executive Director at 844.377.6834 Washington: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday (April, 11) launched a scathing attack against China for a lack of transparency during "the early stages" of the coronavirus pandemic and called for a more thorough investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Blinken`s remarks come as a report of a joint inquiry by the World Health Organization and China published last month did not conclusively establish how or when the virus began spreading and did little to address Western concerns that the Chinese Communist Party bent the investigation to its advantage. "I think China knows that in the early stages of COVID, it didn`t do what it needed to do, which was to give access to international experts, in real-time to share information, in real-time to provide real transparency," said Blinken in an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC, as per the transcript by the US Department of State. The top US diplomat stated that one result of that failure is that the virus got out of hand faster and with."I think, much more egregious results than it might otherwise," he said. "As we`re dealing with COVID-19, we also have to put in place a stronger global health security system to make sure that this doesn`t happen again or, if it does happen again, we`re able to mitigate it, to get ahead of it. And that means making a real commitment to transparency, information sharing, to access for experts. It means strengthening the World Health Organization and reforming it so it can do that. And China has to play a part in that," Blinken added. When asked about whether Washington is going to guarantee to the world that we`re going to get to the bottom of how this originated, the top diplomat agreed with the same and stated that "we need to get to the bottom of this." "I think we have to because we need to do that precisely so we fully understand what happened in order to have the best shot possible at preventing it from happening again. That`s why we need to get to the bottom of this," he said. Blinken`s comments, however, illustrated the Biden administration`s willingness to convey skepticism of the official narrative coming from Beijing, according to The New York Times. A group of international scientists called for a new investigation into the origins of COVID-19 last week after China and the World Health Organization (WHO) released a scrutinized report last week concluding that the virus most likely came from wildlife instead of a laboratory. Twenty-four scientists from Europe, the US, Australia, and Japan issued an open letter, which was obtained by The New York Times, that analyzed steps to complete a more comprehensive investigation, as reported by The Hill. The scientists requested a probe involving biosecurity and biosafety experts conducted either by WHO or another group of nations to study the origins of COVID-19, which was first reported in Wuhan, China, in 2019. The WHO report determined that the possibility the virus came from a lab was "extremely unlikely," noting there was "no record" any lab had closely related viruses. The United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, and Israel recently said in a statement that they "fully" supported the WHO`s efforts to bring an end to the pandemic, including understanding how it "started and spread." But they added it was "essential that we voice our shared concerns that the international expert study on the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples". US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price last week said that what is evident from Washington`s review of the report is that it lacks crucial data, it lacks information, and it lacks access. "It represents a picture that is partial and, in our view, incomplete. That`s not just our view. Many other countries share that view," he said during a briefing. China has been criticized widely across the world for its role in the spread of the novel coronavirus that has infected over 135 million people across the world. More than 2.934 million people have lost their lives to the virus, as per Johns Hopkins University. Live TV .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Gallup Independent GALLUP Gloria Skeet used to run a couple of miles from her home to her sisters place on the Navajo Nation just south of Gallup until the dogs started to chase her. It was around 2008 that I started developing anxiety because there was a pack of dogs that would follow me, Skeet, the Baahaali Chapter manager told the Gallup Independent. I was running with my dogs and I felt safe with them, but after that man in Sundance was killed by a pack of dogs, I thought, Oh my God, when are they going to find my dead body? Skeet was referring to Larry Armstrong, a 55-year-old Navajo man who was found dead in 2010 on a dirt road about 5 miles east of Gallup. When law enforcement found Armstrong, a pack of malnourished dogs was gnawing on his body. Armstrong, who suffered from seizures, died from dog bites, according to the autopsy. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Skeet, who has rescued dozens of dogs and even adopted some from her community and from the side of the highway, said there are thousands of dogs roaming in the Baahaali Chapter area, and they mostly belong to someone. She said some families cant afford to feed them and let them roam, fend for themselves and multiply in numbers that have become unmanageable. In just one Navajo camp, there are 92 dogs. And one family has about 18 dogs, she said. The thing is, the Navajo Nation has some really good laws but it does not have the capacity to enforce these laws. Navajo Nation Animal Control manager Kevin Gleason told the Independent that homeowners are allowed to have up to four dogs. At Navajo Housing Authority rentals, tenants can have two. Its hard to enforce those laws when the Navajo Nation has only six animal control officers for an area that spans about 27,000 square miles. Gleason said when his officers impound a dog, the violator just gets another dog. Last year, the pandemic forced Navajo authorities to shut down three of four animal shelters in Tuba City and Many Farms, Arizona, and Shiprock. The only open shelter was in Fort Defiance, Arizona, and only two officers worked for most part of 2020. Gleason said his officers normally pick up or receive about 20,000 to 30,000 dogs a year. About 80 to 90% of the animals taken to those shelters are euthanized. In 2020, his program picked up or received about 7,000. Gleason estimates the dog population on the reservation to be back at 250,000 dogs, just like 10 years ago. The pandemic not only affected animal shelters, it also impacted spay and neuter efforts and other veterinarian services. Dr. Kelly Upshaw-Bia, Navajo Nation veterinary with the Navajo Nation Veterinary Program based in Tse Bonito, said the vet mobile unit was not used during the pandemic. The unit typically travels through the Navajo Nation, providing vaccination and spay and neuter services in rural areas where families otherwise would not have access to vet services. Upshaw-Bia said spay and neuter efforts may help control the dog population, but she believes theres a need for grassroots efforts and education in these communities. Community support is important. I dont know if we are there yet, she said. She said there were times when the vet unit would go to rural communities and only a handful of people would show up. That can be an issue. We try to pick up chapters that are more active, Upshaw-Bia said. The Navajo Nation Veterinary Program has two vets on staff spaying and neutering every week, including Upshaw-Bia. In an average week, she spays and neuters about 20-25 dogs. Spay and neuter efforts are provided at the vet clinics on the Navajo Nation by appointment. Usually, they are booked a month in advance. It would be nice to have more clinics, but you would need more veterinarians, she said. Back at the Baahaali Chapter, Skeet said the last time a mobile unit visited her community for a spay and neuter clinic was many years ago. Shes certain her community would take advantage of a low-income spay and neuter clinic because when the tribe offers a surrender day for people to give up unwanted dogs, they show up with dozens of dogs and cats. I know 99% of those dogs and cats are going to be euthanized and I dont want to be here when they have the surrender day, she said. That breaks my heart. By Michelle OKeeffe Following the phenomenal success of last years 100k in 30 Days event, organised by Blackrock couple Niall Carroll and Cara McAdam, this years bigger and better family-focussed virtual event with a target of 20,000 #pinkarmy participants has been launched. The event organised by Niall and Cara last year raised over an astonishing 1.2 million in essential funding for Breast Cancer Ireland. Local businessman Niall launched the 100km in 30 Days challenge in aid of Breast Cancer Ireland last June, setting himself a target of raising 100,000 but they far surpassed their target reaching over 1.2 million. Niall and his wife Cara, who was diagnosed with breast cancer just before Christmas 2019, launched the event last year to raise funds for Breast Cancer Ireland. And they are hoping this years fundraiser, with new title sponsor Sherry FitzGerald, will be even bigger and better. Niall said: We are aiming to increase participation this year to 20,000, and have full confidence that once again our pink army from all of the island of Ireland will jump on board and get involved. To have a title sponsor such as Sherry FitzGerald involved this year, with such a strong geographic footprint all across the country, is wonderful and will help us to grow the event and its reach even further in 2021. Last year saw participants from no less than 34 countries worldwide getting involved and were calling on everyone and their families to support us again this year, to make it our biggest and most inclusive event to date. The national event launched today, Monday April 12th, is a fun initiative, aimed at casual strollers, keen walkers, joggers and seasoned runners and is open to everyone from ages one to 100. People are invited to walk, jog, run or wheel a total of 100km (or more!) during the month of June to help raise funds for Irelands leading breast cancer charity, Breast Cancer Ireland. As an additional incentive, there are around 30,000 worth of incredible prizes to be won throughout the event to include a 3500 family travel voucher, sponsored by Connect Credit Union, five star hotel breaks, restaurant vouchers, luxury brands and family days out. Registrations for the event will open at www.100kin30days.ie on Thursday 15th April, and founder Niall is urging people to register early to ensure that participation packs and the much-loved pink t-shirts arrive in good time for the event. Proceeds from the event will help to fund life-saving research and the provision of good breast health education and awareness programmes nationwide by Breast Cancer Ireland. Participation in the 100k in 30 Days event is easy simply register to take part in this family event, encourage your friends and family to do the same, then track each walk, jog or run during the month of June on your smartphone or app and upload your activity to your 100k in 30 days account add an optional photo and watch your kilometres grow. People can follow ongoing event updates on Instagram @100kin30days or on Twitter using the hashtags #100kin30days and #pinkarmy The lovesick Romeo who got thrown in prison for crossing the treacherous Irish Sea on a jet ski just to see his girlfriend has split up with her just months later, friends of the couple say. Dale McLaughlan, 28, won the heart of Jessica Radcliffe, 30, after making the 25-mile journey from Scotland to the Isle of Man to visit his new love in December last year - spending four and a half hours at sea. The roofer from Irvine, North Ayrshire, was jailed for breaching coronavirus lockdown rules, but was freed three days before Christmas after serving 10 days of his sentence. However, friends of the couple have told The Mirror that the romantic gesture wasn't enough to make the relationship last and the couple have reportedly called it quits after McLaughlan failed to gain Isle of Man residency status. Dale McLaughlan, 28, made the 25-mile journey from Scotland to the Isle of Man to visit his sweetheart in December last year - spending four and a half hours at sea Radcliffe also appears to have deleted photos of the ex-boyfriend from her Facebook. The news comes just days after Radcliffe was charged with viciously attacking another woman. Radcliffe was charged with causing actual bodily harm, causing criminal damage and breaching lockdown restrictions. The 30-year-old appeared at Douglas Courthouse on the Isle of Man via video link on April 1 as the court heard Radcliffe and a friend drove to the home of another woman they had a feud with. The Daily Record reports Radcliffe and her friend Leanna Bradley, 33, then forced their way into the house and smashed the alleged victim's iPhone before attacking her. McLaughlan (left) was jailed for breaching coronavirus lockdown rules to see Jessica (right), but was freed three days before Christmas after serving 10 days of his sentence Jessica Radcliffe has been charged with causing actual bodily harm, causing criminal damage and breaching lockdown restrictions Prosecutor Chrissie Hunt told the court the pair kicked and punched the woman as she screamed to her housemate to protect her children who were upstairs in their bedroom. The woman was then dragged up the stairs by the pair, which left her with burns on her forehead, the court heard. She was also allegedly left with bruising and injuries to her head, arms and back. Radcliffe and Bradley, who were both described as unemployed, were bailed for 500 and are yet to enter their pleas. Radcliffe (pictured) also appears to have deleted photos of the ex-boyfriend from her Facebook The alleged attack comes after Radcliffe's ex-boyfriend McLaughlan's foolhardy plan to join his girlfriend of three months on the Isle of Man via jetski sparked a major Coastguard search. He was spotted by a villager as he prepared to set off at dawn from a remote Scottish harbour, and claimed that he just wanted to make sure his jet ski was working properly before he sold it. In reality he was preparing to ride through rough seas to see Jessica after he was banned from entering the island due to anti-coronavirus regulations. The alarm was raised after McLaughlan, who can hardly swim, failed to return to his car and jet ski trailer left near the harbour slipway in the Isle of Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway. Coastguard teams who found his car searched for him amid fears he had drowned at sea in conditions so rough that even local fishermen had decided not to venture out. The search started at around the time he arrived in Ramsey harbour on the Isle of Man after completing his amazing four hour trip with only ten minutes of fuel left. Coastguards only called off their hunt for him after they managed to contact him on his mobile phone and he assured them he was safe. It is believed that he failed to tell them that he had just landed in the Isle of Man, and they assumed he was still in Scotland. But his weekend of romance ended when he was arrested by Manx police after he was found to have entered the island without a permit. When Iranian authorities started seizing Barbie dolls from Tehran toy shops in 2012, Mattel Inc. execs faced concerns not only about the dolls' attire -- miniskirts and swimsuits considered immodest in an Islamic country -- but also questions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about Mattel's ties to Iran. U.S. businesses are restricted from business in Iran, which U.S. authorities have designated a state sponsor of terrorism (SST). The number of SEC inquiries about potential terrorist ties has grown substantially in recent years, and according to new research from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, the increase could reduce the quality of the agency's financial reporting oversight. "Comments on terrorism are getting to a critical level of importance in terms of what the SEC is asking companies about," said Bill Mayew, a Fuqua accounting professor and co-author of research, which is forthcoming in the Journal of Accounting & Economics. "Investors want to be aware if the companies they invest in are potentially supporting terrorism, but they also want financial statements that are correct. The SEC has to balance both of these issues to protect investors." TRACKING FOCUS AREAS AT THE SEC Mayew, along with Fuqua Ph.D. alumni Robert Hills of Penn State and Matthew Kubic of the University of Texas at Austin, analyzed the more than 17,800 comment letters from SEC review staff from 2005 to 2016. Comment letters are typically sent after SEC staff reviews a firm's disclosures to gather more information or notify a firm that its filings contain inaccuracies or errors. Of the 825 comment letters the SEC sent in 2005, only 2.2% included comments related to SST, the analysis showed. By 2016, that number had grown to 8.4%. Terrorism has become as commonplace a topic in comment letters as questions about financial information such as intangible assets, revenue recognition and taxes, Mayew said. The researchers found that when SEC comment letters included references to terrorism, the letters were less likely to identify the firm's financial reporting errors. To determine cases in which errors were caught and missed, researchers analyzed comment letters as well as subsequent corrections, or restatements, from the firms that received comment letters. Among restatements that investors typically care most about - those containing severe errors - the SECs' average error-detection rate was 31.1%, the data showed. The error-detection rate dropped to 10.6% when letters included the topic of terrorism disclosures, the researchers found. "The inference from our paper is that when the focus turns to terrorism it appears to come at the expense of financial reporting oversight," Mayew said. The SEC bases some of its terrorism-related inquiries on contents in financial filings, but may also proactively review sources such as the news and websites for the company and its affiliates for information about firms' possible ties to countries on the U.S. Department of State's SST list, which also includes Cuba, North Korea and Syria. During the same year news coverage piqued the SEC's interest in Mattel, the SEC also contacted Heinz after reports suggested its ketchup was available in both Cuba and Syria. After financial disclosures, news coverage was the most common source the SEC referenced in its questions about SST issues, the research showed. AN INFLUX OF LAWYERS The SEC's attention to firms' financial ties to SST countries began at Congress's behest in 2003 after incidents such as the 2001 World Trade Center attacks spurred new counter-terrorism efforts, Mayew said. The researchers found that this coincided with a shift in the composition of SEC review staff -- the number of lawyers the review staff has grown while the number of accountants has decreased, the researchers found. Data showed accountants were more likely to ask accounting questions and detect errors in financial statements while lawyers were more likely to ask questions about terrorism-related activities, which limited the likelihood that the review detected errors. The data also showed when SEC reviewers asked firms about potential ties to SST, the reviewers were less likely to ask a question regarding core financial reporting, which included topics like accounting policies, disclosures related to a firm's narrative explanation about its financial statements (known as MD&A disclosures), or non-GAAP metrics (metrics that fall outside of those reported under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). "Core financial reporting topics are known to be associated with financial misreporting," Mayew said. "Interest in SST crowds out inquiries on core financial reporting topics, likely underpinning why SST questions appear to inhibit the SEC's ability to detect financial misreporting." SHOULD THE SEC REVIEW MORE OR LESS? Experts inside and outside of the agency have questioned whether the SEC is sufficiently suited to regulate SST disclosure. As long ago as 2008, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association publicly opposed the SEC's activities, involvement in what the professional organization called matters of national security. Even a former SEC chair spoke publicly on the importance of the SEC's independence from political persuasion, and that the commission has, at times, been pushed into areas that may not fall within its core mission. More recently, the SEC has also been called upon to facilitate accountability on how firms address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and other social issues, such as diversity, equity and inclusion. One such call to action was recently authored by faculty at Duke Law's Global Financial Markets Center, calling on the SEC to integrate ESG disclosures across a number of areas. "As the SEC considers regulating disclosure in other domains such as ESG, our research demonstrates that careful thought must be placed into how the commission changes its staffing and how that could spill over to other areas like financial reporting," Mayew said. "If you now start making SEC staff members review whether financial filings adequately capture climate change risk or racism, for example, it may be headed down the same path as it has with investigating ties to terrorism." ### Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was on national television over the weekend, pressuring the Biden Administration to do more to stem the tide of unaccompanied children coming across the Texas border. Abbott said he believes the nation is going to have a far higher number of children in detention facilities this summer than the 35,000 the federal government is projecting. This problem will continue to get worse because of the policies that have been adopted by the Biden administration, Abbott said. Asked what Biden could do, Abbott told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace that he has three ideas that would work. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com What the President could do is to immediately put back in place the remain in Mexico protocols that were established in the prior administration, Abbott said. The remain-in-Mexico policy allowed the government to return certain asylum-seekers to Mexico to wait through the duration of their cases pending in the U.S. immigration court system. ANNOUNCED MONDAY: White House announces pact for more border troops in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala The remain-in-Mexico policy was aimed at single adult males, single adult females, and family units and did not apply to unaccompanied children. Abbott said Biden should also restart the construction of the border wall that was still being built in January along parts of the Texas border just before Biden took office. Former President Donald Trump stood along uncompleted sections of the border wall in Hidalgo County in January just before leaving office, calling on the Biden administration to keep building the fence, which currently has large gaps in it. While more than 400 miles of the border wall were completed during Trumps tenure, only 30 miles covered new areas, according to a Customs and Border Protection report. Most of the work had replaced older fences and barriers, largely from El Paso to California. When Trump took office, the nation had 654 miles of various fencing along the 1,954-mile U.S. border with Mexico from California to Texas. In just Texas, there were about 100 miles of fencing and other barriers. Finally, Abbott said Biden has to be more forceful in telling potential border crossers not to come to the United States. Biden has already tried to do just that. I can say quite clearly: Dont come, Biden told ABC in an interview aired last month. Were in the process of getting set up, dont leave your town or city or community. [April 12, 2021] President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Sheppard Mullin Partner Jonathan Meyer as Department of Homeland Security General Counsel President Joe Biden today announced his intent to nominate Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Washington, D.C. partner Jonathan Meyer to serve as General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If confirmed, Meyer will return to the office where he previously served as Deputy General Counsel and Senior Counselor during the Obama Administration from 2011 to 2016. "The firm is very proud of Jon's nomination to return to the White House and serve the Biden Administration," said Sheppard Mullin chair Guy Halgren. "Jon is an outstanding attorney with a distinguished background that is hard to match. Clients have benefitted immensely from Jon's sage and experienced counsel. It's not every day that you get the insight of a 20-year veteran of the highest levels of government to help you overcome your most critical challenges." Commenting on his nomination, Meyer added, "I'm honored and humbled to be nominated for this important role, to rejoin DHS and be a part of this Administration. President Biden has a vision of where he and Vice-President Harris want to take the country - and I am privileged to have been chosen to join in that effort, if confirmed. I am very grateful to Sheppard Mullin for being my professional home for the past four-and-a-half years, and for the collegiality and excellence I have experienced from my colleagues and clients in the Sheppard Mullin family." In November 2020, Meyer was tapped to help lead the DHS Agency Review Tam for then President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris. Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin in 2016, Meyer spent 17 years in government, including as Counsel and Acting Chief Counsel to then Senator Biden, Deputy General Counsel and Senior Counselor in the Department of Homeland Security, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice (twice). During his nearly six-year tenure at DHS, he advised on some of the highest profile matters the agency has encountered. Since joining Sheppard Mullin in 2016 as a partner in the firm's Government Contracts, Investigations and International Trade practice group, Meyer has counseled clients on their interactions with federal and state government, as well as cybersecurity, homeland security, congressional oversight, and immigration, among other challenges. He has helped clients respond to government investigations, data breaches, new regulatory requirements, and border security issues. He has represented clients before the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, among many other agencies, as well as in court. Earlier in his career, Meyer worked in private practice for seven years as a litigator and corporate lawyer, as well as an aide to Congressman Bill Gradison of Ohio. Originally from Cincinnati, Meyer spent much of his childhood in Jerusalem, Israel, and speaks fluent Hebrew and French. He earned an A.B. from Harvard College, a Master's in Public Affairs from Princeton University, and a J.D. from Columbia University. About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Sheppard Mullin is a full-service Global 100 firm with more than 980 attorneys in 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, industry-leading companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high-stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include almost half of the Fortune 100. For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005803/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. The Army wants to buy thousands of new, low-cost night vision devices for drivers and other logistics troops who are not among the close-combat units slated to receive cutting-edge systems like Microsoft-made Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, headsets. Since it launched its bold modernization strategy in 2017, the Army has focused on improving the situational awareness of infantry and other close-combat units by developing systems such as IVAS and Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binoculars, or ENVG-Bs. The service just awarded a $22 billion contract to Microsoft to produce IVAS for about 120,000 soldiers in close-combat units. Scheduled for fielding later this year, the sophisticated goggles are designed to equip combat troops with a head-up display that allows them to view tactical maps, as well as their weapon-sight reticle. IVAS will also replace night-vision devices that have to be mounted on special helmet brackets. Read Next: Army Wants to Replace the Cold War-Era TOW Missile with a New Longer-Range Tank Killer The Army also began equipping infantry units with ENVG-Bs in 2019. The binocular-style device gives soldiers enhanced depth perception and features a thermal image intensifier so they can see enemy heat signatures both at night and in the daylight through smoke, fog and other battlefield obscurants. The service has stressed from the beginning that non-combat arms soldiers do not need sophisticated devices such as IVAS and ENVG-B, but maneuver officials at Fort Benning, Georgia, announced Wednesday that the Army wants to upgrade its inventory of outdated AN/PVS 14 monocular night vision devices. "We are looking for night vision that is better than PVS 14s, not quite the ENVGs ... not quite IVAS types of things, but more focused on the logistics side of a [brigade combat team] and how they support the close-combat force," Lt. Col. Christopher Kennedy, chief of the Lethality Branch at Benning, told an audience at the Maneuver Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate's Industry Day. "There is going to be opportunity for night vision vendors. ... We are looking to buy tens of thousands of systems." As part of the Army's Night Vision Modernization Strategy, the service hopes to begin buying these improved night vision devices for $6,000 to $8,000 apiece beginning in 2024, Kennedy said. "We are calling it Night Vision Next," he said, describing how the Army plans to do a robust market survey -- "so going and saying, 'Hey, show me what you got.'" The new devices will be for troops who support combat forces but are less likely to get into direct firefights with enemy forces, Kennedy said. "Not that it is not intended for a firefight, but it's really intended to enable those who are going to be drivers of vehicles and those who are going to be doing some close-in logistic type things -- loading, unloading trucks; loading, unloading ammo; fueling -- different things like that while still maintaining ... a firefight capability," he explained. "This is really, truly helping someone do their job in limited visibility." Army funding for the effort isn't budgeted until 2024, but the service could begin buying new devices sooner if the right capability becomes available, Kennedy said. "We are looking to procure things pretty fast," he said. "If somebody comes in and wows us with something with a good price and it really looks like what we want ... there is nothing that says that can't be moved to the left." -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Related: Microsoft Wins $22 Billion Deal Making Headsets for US Army President Klaus Iohannis sent today a message to Romania's Muslim community at the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, expressing appreciation for their support for the authorities' efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. "On the occasion of the start of the holy month of Ramadan, I convey to all Romanian citizens of Turkish and Tatar ethnicity my best thoughts, accompanied by wishes for health, prosperity and spiritual fulfillment. Through the days dedicated to fasting and prayer, the Ramadan exhorts a deep reflection on the meanings of the Qur'an in the contemporary world and on the values it inspires in every believer: freedom, dignity, tolerance, love for one's fellow man," the head of the state said, agerpres.ro confirms. He went on to voice appreciation for the support shown by the Muslim community throughout this period "for the efforts of the authorities to protect us through sanitary measures and to identify solutions for the return to social normalcy as soon as possible". "This year too, the period of Ramadan accompanies our joint effort to overcome the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Suffering and illness still affect our fellow human beings on a global scale, often with serious consequences. I appreciate the support you have shown throughout this time for the efforts of the authorities to protect us through sanitary measures and to identify solutions for the return to social normalcy as soon as possible. I trust that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will strengthen you in this effort and will help us continue together in the spirit of solidarity and responsibility, to help all those who need our care and sacrifice. Ramadan Kareem!," President Iohannis ends his message. It was more than 60 years ago that Swiss watch brand Corum first announced its Admiral collection. Inspired by the great sailing races from whose name the collection derives, the Admiral watch has undergone a host of evolutions and iterations since then. Known for its dodecagonal shaped bezel and colorful nautical pennants on the dial, the Admiral is a modern-day icon, a legendary watch that continues to steal hearts around the world. Today, to celebrate its mastery of the maritime watch, Corum releases a host of new Admiral watches that embrace a lifestyle attitude perfect for todays navigators and sailors, as well as for those who simply love the seas. Admiral 45 Automatic Openworked Flying Tourbillon Carbon & Gold The stand-out star of the newest Admirals is the Admiral 45 Automatic Openworked Flying Tourbillon Carbon & Gold watch. This revolutionary timepiece, created in a limited edition of just 48, represents an all-new case material for the brand. The dynamic 45mm watch is crafted in fluctuating layers of ultra-light carbon mixed with 18-karat gold glitter rendering each and every case unique. For Corum, whose watchmaking standards are incredibly stringent, it isnt enough to offer a unique case and high-tech material. The brand also super charges the watch with an openworked movement with flying tourbillon escapement. Admiral 45 Openworked Tourbillon Corum The automatic flying tourbillon movement, CO 298, was developed in house by the brand. It beats at 3Hz to offer incredible precision, and the tourbillon escapement compensates for errors in timekeeping due to the effects of gravity on the watch when it is in a horizontal position. Equipping the piece with a flying tourbillon is also a nod to the sailing world, where safe navigation of the seas requires ultimate precision. The openworked movement is visible on both the dial side and case back side to showcase the meticulously finished components, the magnificent bridges and the mesmerizing constantly rotating flying tourbillon escapement. The Openworked Fyling Tourbillon Carbon & Gold watch is finished with an equally as creative strap made of rubber and synthetic textiles with genuine gold stitching. The result: a high-tech, high-mech combination of stealth, precision, and perfection water resistant to 100 meters. Admiral 42 Automatic Corum also enhances this beloved collection with several new versions of the Admiral for men and women. The new Admiral 42 Automatic watches offer updated design details and upgraded finishing on cases. The Full Grey Monochrome version, crafted in sandblasted stainless steel with a gradient grey dial and nautical pennants in grey, offers an almost ethereal appeal. The unique monochromatic hues seem to recall fog rolling in from the oceans. The sandblasted steel features an anti-fingerprint coating for the bezel, case and bracelet. Just 100 pieces of this striking watch will be produced. Admiral 42 Automatic Corum Turning to the sophisticated look of two-tone, Corum adds a steel and 18-karat gold version of the Admiral 42 Automatic. Thanks to a cloud white dial and colorful nautical pennants, it offers a more classic yet contemporary feel. This limited edition of 100 pieces is sold with a matching steel-and-gold bracelet or with a dark blue strap. The most casual version is probably the Admiral 42 Automatic watch (that is not a limited edition), which is crafted in polished and fine brushed stainless steel with an ocean blue dial and colorful pennants. Sold with either a steel bracelet or blue rubber strap, it is the quintessential Admiral piece. Admiral 42 Automatic Corum All of the new Admiral 42 watches house the CO 395 automatic movement with hour, minute, date at 3:00 and small subsidiary seconds at 6:00. They all are equipped with 42 hours of power reserve, feature anti-reflective sapphire crystals and all have been upgraded from 50 to 100 meters of water resistance a must-have for martime inspired timepieces. Additionally, improvements have been implemented on the Admiral 42 Automatic Chronographs range. Admiral 38 Automatic Because the Admiral collection is also in high demand by women who love both form and function in a watch, Corum unveils new fashion forward, sporty chic Admiral 38 Automatic watches. The nicely sized 38mm watch is lighter in weight thanks to a titanium case and bracelet which gives unparalleled comfort on the wrist. Additionally, the automatic movement with oscillating weight is visible via the sapphire case back. The new versions joining the line-up include a pale pink dial model with Corums unique Grenadier Fendu finishing. It is crafted in a titanium case with 72 diamonds set on the titanium bezel and is offered with an ultra-light titanium bracelet or with a matching pink rubber strap. Admiral 38 Automatic Corum Complementing the titanium Admiral 38 Automatic is a two-tone titanium watch with 18-karat gold diamond-set bezel and white dial with Grenadier Fendu motif. It is offered with either a matching two-tone bracelet or a white vulcanized rubber strap perfect for a day at the yacht club or out on the water. With these new editions geared for todays discerning men and women, Corum clearly takes the legendary Admiral collection to new heights both technically, as well as design and performance wise. There is a time to heal and a time to build up, as it says in the Bible. Jordans King Abdullah and half-brother Prince Hamzah have reconciled in public after claims of a royal rift and wild plots to divide the kingdom. Our own not-so-united kingdom will spend the week obsessing over the prospect of brothers William and Harry repairing their royal rift at Philips funeral. The mourning period sees an unusual truce at Westminster, as Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer come together to pay tribute to the duke today. But they will be back at each others throats soon enough, after the parties agreed to restart campaigning for the May elections asap. The divisions in Northern Ireland cant be put on hold for long either, with the PM urged to pay a visit to Belfast. Inside the bubble Political editor Andrew Woodock on what to look out for today: Delhi Chief Minister will review the COVID-19 situation in the national capital in a meeting on Monday noon, officials said. On Sunday, the daily cases in Delhi crossed the 10,000-mark for the first time since the pandemic began. The chief minister termed the situation "very serious" and appealed to people not to step out of houses unless it was urgent. The officials said the review meeting to be held at 12 pm is likely to be attended by ministers and top officers of the Delhi government. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Cloudy with showers. High 81F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy during the evening followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. (Newser) The UN said Friday it is concerned that it has not received proof of life for Princess Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, the missing daughter of the ruler of Dubai who has not been heard from in six months, friends tell the Guardian. Secret recordings she made were released in February, leading to renewed concern for her well-being. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said it has asked the United Arab Emirates for "clear, compelling evidence that she's alive" and has yet to receive any, CNN reports. Princess Latifa was allegedly being held hostage before she went dark, after trying to escape her father in 2018. In her February messages, she asked to police to reinvestigate the case of her sister, Princess Shamsa, who was kidnapped at 18 after she fled her father's estate for England in 2000. story continues below Princess Latifa alleges her sister was brought back to Dubai and tortured for years in prison, and she says she's been held in solitary confinement with barred windows, no access to medical care or the outdoors, police inside and outside, and no ability to lock any door other than the bathroom. After her secret recordings came out, Dubai's royal family released a statement claiming she was being cared for by family and medical professionals at home. An OHCHR spokesperson says ideally, the OHCHR would meet with Princess Latifa alone, and promised to also make inquiries about Princess Shamsa. But so far, there is no sign of such a meeting taking place. "We are very concerned about both cases, because we don't know what is happening," the rep says. (Read more Dubai stories.) Local News, Business & Finance, Press Releases, Politics By Chris Boyle Published: April 12 2021 The COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Grant Program provides small businesses with a grant of up to $10,000, based on their number of full-time employees. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has announced that 67 small businesses located across the County have received a total of nearly $500,000 in grant funding through the Countys COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Program. Awardees include gyms, salons, restaurants, and bars. The pre-application period for the second round of available funding opened on April 9, with the goal of providing over $500,000 in additional grants by the end of May. The success of our downtowns is reliant on the success of our small businesses, said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Recovery doesnt happen overnight, and while we have made progress, these grants provide our hard-hit businesses with a much needed financial life-line as we build towards the full reopening of our economy. The COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Grant Program, funded with $1 million available of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, provides small businesses with a grant of up to $10,000, based on their number of full-time employees. Businesses with up to 10 employees will be eligible for a maximum grant of $5,000, while businesses with 11 to 50 employees will be eligible for a maximum of up to $10,000 in grant funding. The program is designed to assist struggling small businesses that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Eligible businesses include gyms, hair salons and barber shops, nail salons, restaurants, bars and taverns. This safety net program ensures that small businesses in Suffolk County have access to a financial lifeline at a time when many are adjusting or repurposing their operations as the State works towards the full reopening of the economy. Businesses must be located within one of the participating Consortium municipalities to be eligible for funding pursuant to federal requirements and can pre-apply to the grant program starting on April 9. Additional eligibility details can be found here Two Christian woman are facing the death penalty in Pakistan for removing a sticker with a verse from the Koran from a Muslim colleague's locker they were asked to clean. A mob gathered at the District Headquarters Hospital in Faisalabad demanding nurses Maryam Lal and Newsh Urooj are hanged after the pair were accused of blasphemy. The women told police they had been asked to tidy the locker of the head nurse and they had scratched off the sticker containing the holy text with a pen, The Times reports. Riots broke out outside the District Headquarters Hospital in Faisalabad, Pakistan (pictured) after two nurses were accused of blasphemy During the riots Lal was reportedly stabbed by a fellow hospital worker and police were forced to intervene to rescue the two women as the mob tried to kill them. After rescuing the women, the police confirmed an investigation had been launched into the incident and the pair had remanded for 15 days. Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right Islamist party which opposes any changes to the country's strong blasphemy laws, is said to have fuelled the protests. The two Christian nurses were accused of blasphemy the day after they scraped off the sticker from the Muslim colleagues locker. Pictured: Members of the Christian minority community pray in Peshawar, Pakistan Pakistan has strict blasphemy laws which carry a death penalty for people who insult the Prophet Muhammad, Islam, the Quran or certain holy people. An overwhelming 98 per cent of the population follows Islam and critics say the law targets members of other religious groups including Hindus and Christians. Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate minorities and settle personal scores. Local activist Lala Robin claimed the latest incident was also a false allegation. She said: 'Minorities feel more insecure in Pakistan than ever. This is a campaign by the TLP to serve their politics.' In February, another Christian nurse, Tabitha Nazir Gill, 30, was reportedly tied up and tortured by a mob at the Sobhraj Maternity Hospital in Karachi after she was falsely accused of blasphemy. Tabitha Nazir Gill, 30, was reportedly tied up and tortured by an angry mob at the hospital where she has worked for nine years in Karachi, Pakistan The head nurse, who had worked at the hospital for nine years, was allegedly falsely accused after she challenged a coworker for accepting money from a patient. Gill is said to have implemented a rule which stops staff receiving money from people using the hospital services. After seeing a Muslim coworker breaking the order, she told them about their breach and the member of staff subsequently accused her of blasphemy. Footage from the hospital has emerged on social media which shows a group of people in the hospital hitting the woman. In November, protesters from the Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) party demanded that the government severs diplomatic ties with France and expels its ambassador as fury over Charlie Hebdo's portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed showed no sign of waning. Nearly 2,000 protesters camped at the main entrance to Islamabad, Pakistan, . The protesters attacked the police with bricks, stones and sticks according to police official Tauqeer Shah Thousands of Tehreek-e-Labbaik protesters shout slogns beside empty tear gas shells fired by police during an anti-France demonstration in Islamabad, Pakistan Police blocked the demonstrators as they attempted to enter Islamabad. Some chanted that the only punishment for a blasphemer was beheading, police official Tauqeer Shah said. The protesters attacked the police with bricks, stones and sticks, he added. They were pictured blocking the road into Pakistan's capital. 'Several of our officers were injured,' he said, adding that nearly 2,000 protesters had camped at the main entrance to the city, refusing to leave. 'We want the government to expel the French ambassador immediately,' the TLP's vice president Zaheer-ul-Hasan said in a video statement. He added that scores of protesters were injured in the clashes. Photo: The Canadian Press Alberta Premier Jason Kenney updates media on measures taken to help with COVID-19, in Edmonton on March 20, 2020. The Speaker of the Alberta legislature is apologizing for publicly condemning the governments new COVID-19 health restrictions. Nathan Cooper, in a speech read aloud in the debate chamber on Monday, said its paramount that the Speaker remain neutral. The principle of the impartiality of the chair is fundamental to a healthy, functioning democracy, said Cooper. I deeply regret my actions, that they may have jeopardized the importance and supremacy of this principle. I apologize to each and every one of you for crossing a line that the Speaker ought not cross." Speakers are picked from one of the legislature parties and are expected to be impartial given they control debate in the house. Last week, Cooper joined several other members of Premier Jason Kenneys United Conservative backbench in opposing the governments revised health restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19. In an open letter, 16 of them, including Cooper, said the restrictions are a backward step and promised to continue to fight for the livelihoods and freedoms of Albertans. Another member, UCP backbencher Martin Long, also publicly opposed the rules, while UCP member Dan Williams criticized the restriction that keeps attendance at worship services to 15 per cent of capacity. Together, the 18 make up almost half of the backbench of Kenneys UCP caucus. The open letter was released Wednesday and, a day later, Cooper found himself caught in the crossfire of debate when Opposition NDP member Thomas Dang told the house in question period that the UCP letter writers were telling people to not obey health restrictions. Kenney responded by addressing Cooper. Mr. Speaker, said Kenney. That is manifestly untrue. You yourself should know that, because you signed the letter. Would you please correct the member? Cooper declined to intervene. On Monday, just hours before Coopers speech, Kenney was asked at a news conference if he believed Cooper could still do the job or be perceived to do the job objectively. Kenney declined to answer but said, The long-standing tradition that goes back hundreds of years is for the Speaker to avoid taking positions on current and contentious political issues because the Speaker does have a responsibility to represent the whole house and not a faction. In my 24 years as a parliamentarian, I cannot ever recall the Speaker having violated that until last week. Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley has also said she found Coopers situation troubling but that it should not detract from the larger issue of so many other backbench UCP members fighting government rules designed to keep Albertans safe and healthy. She told the house that Kenney is tolerating the open dissent to keep his caucus from fracturing. His main concern isnt public health. Its his own political survival, said Notley. Premier, say it aint so. Stand up to these MLAs today, make them apologize for the confusion and risk they are creating. Kenney introduced new health rules last week, closing restaurants to in-person dining and further reducing customer capacity at retail stores in response to rising COVID-19 numbers. The more contagious COVID-19 variants are now the dominant strain in Alberta, and daily case counts are over 1,000, echoing a wave of cases that threatened to swamp the health-care system before Christmas. A homophobic couple who tortured a former magistrate in his own home after he came out as gay have today been jailed for a total of nearly six years. Vince McMahan had a fire-poker forced down his throat and was beaten to the floor in a shockingly brutal attack at his home in Canterbury, Kent. After 25 years of keeping his sexuality a secret, the former Canterbury City councillor told a local newspaper how having a heart attack at a gay bar made him realise he 'couldn't live a lie anymore' in June 2018. But nearly a year after the story was first published, Stuart Holland - a carpenter who had done work for Mr McMahan - along with his partner Joanna Bath went to his house to launch the savage assault. The couple claimed in court that the attack was a row over money and not homophobic. Both defendants were invited into the house but then Holland, 45, attacked Mr McMahan, battering him with a fire-poker before ramming it down his throat, while Bath, 46, drew a cosh from her handbag and cracked Mr McMahan over the head. Vince McMahan (pictured) had a fire-poker forced down his throat and was beaten to the floor in a brutal attack after opening up about his sexuality Father-of-three Mr McMahan told police the assault left him afraid to leave his home. He died of causes unrelated to the attack 18 months later towards the end of last year. Stuart Holland, 45, rammed a fire-poker down his throat, while Holland's partner Joanna Bath, 46, drew a cosh from her handbag and cracked Mr McMahan over the head. Appearing at Canterbury Crown Court today, Holland was sentenced to three years for actual bodily harm and theft, while Bath received a 27-month jail term for the same offences. Bath was also handed an additional three years in jail for previous drugs and shoplifting offences, to be served consecutively. After the attack, the former magistrate told police: 'I am shaken by this incident because I wouldn't expect to be attacked in my own home - I'm also upset about being targeted and attacked because of my sexuality. 'This incident has made me very wary to leave my address in case I bump into [the pair] in the street.' After 25 years of keeping his sexuality a secret, the former Canterbury City councillor (pictured) told a local newspaper how having a heart attack at a gay bar made him realise he 'couldn't live a lie anymore' in June 2018 At an earlier hearing, prosecutors told how the couple targeted Mr McMahan after reading an article in The Kentish Gazette where he opened up publicly about his sexuality. James Ross, prosecuting, explained Mr McMahan found disclosing that he was gay as 'a weight off his shoulders'. Holland and Bath knocked on Mr McMahan's door at 10.30pm, and were invited inside, as the defendant had recently done some carpentry work for him. Mr Ross told the court: 'While all sitting in the living room Stuart Holland made a comment about Vincent McMahan's sexuality. 'Vincent McMahan said in the local press that he was gay, a magistrate, and it as a great weight off his shoulders.' Holland repeatedly slapped Mr McMahan and called him 'queer', then thrashed him with a nearby fire-poker. 'Holland used that poker to begin striking Mr McMahan's right leg a few times - this caused cuts and soreness,' Mr Ross added. 'After Holland used the poker, Bath then got up and slapped Mr McMahan a few times, she then took an implement from her handbag and used this to hit Mr McMahan on the back of the head.' Vince McMahan at Canterbury gay bar The Limes. The attackers claimed in court that the attack was a row over money and not homophobic Both levelled unfounded sexual allegations towards Mr McMahan calling him 'a pervert', the court was told. When their victim tried fleeing, Holland intensified his campaign of humiliation, Mr Ross said. The barrister labelled the attack 'gratuitous degradation', adding: 'It was at this point Mr Holland grabbed him and inserted the poker into his mouth, causing him to gag.' Mr McMahan had recently employed Holland to carry out carpentry work on his Canterbury home, meaning he could come and go as he pleased. And Mr McMahan 'didn't expect anything was wrong' when he invited Holland and Bath into his home, just minutes before the attack unfolded in March 2019. Both defendants pleaded guilty last week to causing actual bodily harm and theft while a charge of joint enterprise robbery was asked to lie on file. Bath, from Herne Bay, Kent, also admitted 11 unrelated counts of theft and two counts of supplying class A drugs at previous hearings. Her barrister Phil Rowley said Bath lost her way after being the victim of an assault, adding: 'The effect upon her was traumatic.' He said she was an addict at the time of her offending, played a 'lesser-role' and had cleaned up her act in prison. Keiran Brand, representing Holland, said his client assaulted Mr McMahan in an unresolved row over money rather than a homophobic attack. At today's sentencing hearing, Judge James O'Mahony said: 'Mr McMahan tried to dial 999 to get help but that was prevented by Joanne Bath snatching the phone and preventing him from doing so. 'Stuart Holland then grabbed Mr MacMahan and inserted the poker into his mouth causing him to gag.' Mr McMahan's wallet, still containing his magistrate's identification, was discovered in Bath's bin. Holland was found hiding in his loft and Bath, who had no previous convictions for violence, told officers following her arrest: 'I'm so sorry it went too far, nobody was meant to get hurt.' Judge O'Mahony said the homophobic nature of the attack pushed the deserved punishment 'above the sentencing guidelines'. He added the use of a weapon, the victim's degradation and vulnerability, abuse of trust and homophobic hostility created a 'clean sweep of every box' for higher culpability. The judge explained Holland's previous criminal record for violence was an aggravating element of the attack. The list of charges read in court included wounding, actual bodily harm, assaulting emergency workers, carrying an offensive weapon, affray and common assault dating back to 1996. Bath's previous convictions included six counts of theft, possession of a class A drug and vehicle interference. It's no secret Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson's experience filming Channel Nine's Married At First Sight has been anything but smooth. And now, Daily Mail Australia can reveal the real reason Bryce, 31, decided to skip Sunday night's dinner party. According to a well-placed source, Bryce got into a heated clash with producers after he revealed his intentions to quit the show. Married At First Sight's Bryce Ruthven, 32, (pictured) is said to have asked a stranger for coins to use a pay phone to contact his parents after he was 'told to stay in a room for seven hours' by producers - after he attempted to QUIT the show following weeks of 'bullying' 'After weeks of getting bullied by Beck, and again by Sam at the boys' night, Bryce just had enough,' the insider said. 'He packed his bags and told his producer that he and Melissa were leaving and there was nothing they can do about it.' Unable to get hold of MAFS boss Tara McWilliams at the time, it is alleged a producer told 'Bryce to stay in an empty hotel room without any of his belongings for seven hours' as they worked out what needed to be done. Drama: According to a source, Bryce skipped Sunday night's dinner party after a heated clash with producers earlier in the day where he revealed his intentions to quit the show Claims: It's been alleged a producer told 'Bryce to stay in an empty hotel room without any of his belongings for seven hours' as they worked out what needed to be done. Pictured Skye Suites After Bryce managed to escape, he frantically left the Skye Suites in Sydney's CBD, where he was living during filming to contact his parents. 'Bryce was desperate. He wanted out and asked a stranger for coins to use a payphone to call his parents and ask for advice,' the source said. It's understood Bryce used a Telstra payphone located on Barrack Street, Sydney, just two blocks from his hotel. Help! 'He wanted out and asked a stranger for coins to use a payphone to call his parents and ask for advice,' the source said. Pictured: Telstra payphone used for the call Bryce returned to his hotel after several hours without any of his belongings, where he was met by several executive producers who reluctantly agreed to let the couple miss the final dinner party. 'Producers told him that he wasn't going to be doing himself any favours by walking out. They had complete control of how he was going to be perceived by viewers - and they could essentially make or break him.' It's understood Bryce and Melissa decided to enjoy a night out alone instead. Out: During Sunday's episode, Bryce broke down and told his bride Melissa he wanted to leave the show During Sunday's episode, Bryce broke down and told his bride Melissa he wanted to leave the show. 'It's just constant attack after attack, accusations, lies brought up. I am leaving the experiment today. If you want come with me, that'd be great. If not I could understand. You have reasons to not want to come with me,' he said. Melissa replied: 'I don't want to leave and be that couple they're trying to hide something. We literally have a day left in the experiment. Tomorrow, we go our separate ways and we work out what we need to do'. 'I'm just so sick and tired of this situation... Honestly I copped this last night. I've copped it the whole experiment, and I'm gonna go home...'cause I'm sick of this. I'm wanna go home,' he said, breaking down. Comforting him, Melissa begged, 'please don't' while a weeping Bryce sobbed between his hands. Out: On Sunday's episode of Married At First Sight Australia, Bryce Ruthven (pictured) broke down and told his bride Melissa Rawson he wanted to leave the show Police in Missouri have solved a 20-year-old cold case after a woman told officers her husband had murdered both victims and burned their bodies. Barbara Krusen told the FBI her late husband Clarence Krusen had killed Angela Mack Cox and her four-year-old son Thomas Michael Rettew (Mikey) and disposed of their bodies in a furnace attached to their farmhouse. She told authorities she had not come forward with the shocking information before because she feared for her life. The grisly murders are believed to have taken place at the Krusen's farm in Alton, Missouri, in December 2002. Police in Missouri have solved a 20-year-old cold case after a woman told officers her husband had murdered Angela Mack Cox and her four-year-old son Thomas Michael Rettew (Mikey) and burned their bodies Barbara Krusen initially spoke to police in October 2020, telling them she met Angela in fall 2002 because she was working on their farm. The couple then looked after Mikey while Angela was away in California. Barbara said she and her husband had wanted to adopt the child, but that Angela had changed her mind before signing any papers. The decision angered Clarence, according to Barbara's statement, and the couple told Angela she had to return to Missouri and pick up her son because they 'didn't want to just be a babysitter.' Clarence then allegedly murdered the pair in December 2002 when Mack returned to collect Mikey. Mikey was reported missing by his father on September 1, 2002. Mack was reported missing in Poteau, Oklahoma, on May 25, 2004, by her mother. At the time she said the latest contact he had with her daughter was on December 11, 2002 Barbara Krusen and her husband Clarence were looking after Angela while she was away in California. They had wanted to adopt Mikey, and when Angela refused to give him up, they asked her to collect him because they did not want to be 'babysitters' Mikey was reported missing by his father on September 1, 2002. Mack was reported missing in Poteau, Oklahoma, on May 25, 2004, by her mother, Lorna Pool. At the time she said the latest contact he had with her daughter was on December 11, 2002. The 2004 report said at the time of her last conversation with her mother Mack 'seemed herself, she was happy, and had a sense of humor.' 'She told her [mother] she was going to be leaving (Chowchilla, California) to go pick up Mickey from Clarence Krusen in Alton.' Fulton County Sheriff Al Roork announced the case had been solved on Friday and said Mrs Krusen 'stated when they moved from the farmhouse [her husband] told her the furnace had to go because of what it had been used for.' Barbara said she had picked Mack up from the bus station in Springfield and brought her back to the farm, where she spent the night, in December 2002. Both visitors were gone by the morning, without explanation. Clarence said they had been picked up by someone. Roork said: 'It is my hopes that this will being some closure to the friends and family of Angela and Mickey, 'My thanks to Investigator Dale Weaver and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who gave us two of their best agents to help resolve this case.' Police, he said, were unable to find anyone with information on Mack or Mikey's whereabouts after they arrived back at the Krusen's farm in 2002. But FBI agents focused on Barbara, believing she was key to cracking the case. Agents first interviewed Barbara, who now lives in Portsmouth, Virginia, on April 2, in which she failed a polygraph exam in reference to knowing what had happened to Mack and Mikey. After the polygraph, Barbara told authorities the whole story. She later repeated the information for lead investigator Dale Weaver on April 7, leading the case to be closed. The 2004 missing persons report said at the time of her last conversation with her mother Mack 'seemed herself, she was happy, and had a sense of humor' Roork said: 'This case could have never been solved without Dale Weaver and the Federal Bureau of Investigation as it was very technical and there were so many stories being told that had to be filtered to get what really happened, 'The Fulton County Sheriff's Department spent thousands of dollars on this case and I am glad that we were able to close this case as of April 7, 2021.' Clarence was indicted on firearms charges in 2004 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was let out on parole after eight and shot dead on February 17, 2012 by William Henry Johnson. He was killed while working a shift at an ATC trucking tractor-tailor terminal. Johnson entered the terminal holding a gun and demanded he be paid for his services, court documents show. Employee Robert Rodriguez tried to calm Johnson down. Johnson then shot Rodriquez in the chest. Johnson then chased and fatally shot Clarence Krusen. Click here to read the full article. Rising Turkish star Burcu Biricik plays the lead in Fatma, the hotly anticipated new Turkish Netflix Original that will drop worldwide on April 27, for which Netflix is releasing the first trailer. This groundbreaking show produced by Basak Abacigil, and created and directed by up-and-coming multihyphenate Ozgur Onurme, is about an ordinary cleaning lady named Fatma who becomes a serial killer, but not because she is the murdering type. After committing an unintentional homicide, while searching for her missing ex-con husband, Fatma is forced to keep killing people in order to survive. Murder becomes a release for the years of struggle and grief that she had repressed, according to press notes. The show has been described by Netflix director of original content for Turkey Pelin Distas as a punch in your stomach and an allegory of sorts about how you deal with life as a woman in Turkey. Biricik spoke exclusively to Variety about the challenges of playing this complex role which depicts the inner struggles of ordinary women and the moral quandaries it posed. Edited excerpts. During a recent conversation with Pelin she told me your character is basically an allegory for dealing with life as a woman in Turkey. Do you agree with that? I fully agree with that! After you watch the show, its impossible to disagree. [But] Fatmas story could be about any woman around the world. Because in a world ruled by male hegemony, I believe many women will see a part of themselves in Fatmas story. I saw this story as a woman striving for her existence and to survive in a male dominated world. I also see the story of Fatma as a metaphorical way to explain our inner struggles as women. There is clearly a strong female empowerment theme, but depicted in an innovative way? I dont want this show to be put in a single box as just purely a strong female empowerment story. I believe it serves for something much deeper, and the story is [about] much more than that. Weve been exposed to many male-dominated stories in the past. Unlike all the invisible women in these male-dominated stories, Fatma discovers her invisibility and creates a new self. Plus, she no longer needs the men in her story [in order] to exist. [She is] a woman who is forced to become invisible, ignored; who has no right to speak. On one hand she is struggling with the system, and on the other hand, she is fighting for her existence with a son who has autism spectrum disorder and [also] dealing with her missing husband. I think this is what gives the show its strong female theme. What did Ozgur tell you about Fatma? Talk to me about working with him as a writer-director? As soon as I read the script, I noticed that Ozgur can impress the audience right from the start with his strong storytelling; the characters he builds, and the dialogues he chooses for them. His script was very intricately detailed and there was so much detail I could discover about Fatma. Besides being the creator of the story, he also directed three episodes. It was very obvious that he filmed Fatma in his mind several times while creating the story. Step-by-step we walked through the story together with Ozgur (Onurme) and co-director Ozer (Feyzioglu) and they gave me the freedom to play Fatma my own way. Our producer Basak Abacgil Sozeri was always with us during the creative process and she brought her own unique contribution to the story that elevated the end-product as well. Fatma is a very short and compact story, and different from the [longer format] series we are used to seeing in Turkey. So I had to work hard on all my reactions carefully, analyze well, and make sure the scene blocking was right. Professionally it was a challenging project for me, but very rewarding at the same time. My directors, Ozgur and Ozer helped me a lot along the way. How did you prepare for the role? The thing that made me happy and feel fortunate about this project was being able to work on Fatma for almost two months before shooting. I am sincerely happy that I found the opportunity to analyze, dig deeper into the psychology of Fatma and work on it with the trial-and-error method at great length. Thanks to this pre-shoot work, even during the roughly four-month shoot, I managed to search for Fatma and look out for new discoveries. We worked with a psychologist who is an expert on this matter. We talked a lot about what the impact of the traumas she experienced in childhood would be on her present life. Working with a psychologist made me come a long wayThe more we talked, the more we got closer to finding the core of Fatma. This was a unique method and process of working for me. Did Fatma as a character who kills people pose a moral dilemma for you? Of course it did! Those who watch the show could immediately think: So, every woman could go out and kill in this same situation? But this is definitely not the way we handled this show. Like I said earlier, we tried to look at this as a metaphor. When I first read the script I was also very taken by that dilemma. However, the more I read the script, the more I got to know Fatma and became her, [the more] I understood this metaphor. Each one of her murders represent the metaphor of her escape from situations she forcefully was pulled into; the injustice she faced; her invisibility and being ignored, thus sparking a rebellion in her from all of these struggles. What was the hardest part of playing this role? Fatma is an emotionally loaded project, so there were a lot of hard parts. Her own internalization of her desperation; the way she makes herself invisible; the connection between a mother and a son with autism are just some of them. Psychologically Fatma was the hardest character Ive ever played. How was shooting the series during the pandemic for you? It certainly felt weird. As an actress, one part of me wanted really badly to be on set and start playing Fatma immediately, but the other part of me was anxious since we didnt know how to cope with a pandemic back when we first started shooting. But both Netflix and our producer Basak created a very safe environment for us. All health and safety procedures were fully put in place. This is your first time playing the lead in a series that will go out in 190 countries on the same day. How do you feel about that? Let me put it this way, the story of Fatma is both very local and also very global, regardless of where you live. I cannot wait to see the reaction from all around the world since this is a story that anyone can relate to. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Youn Yuh-jung won Best Supporting Actress at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, held at Royal Albert Hall in London, Sunday (local time). Courtesy of BAFTA 'Minari' star takes huge leap towards Oscars with BAFTA win By Kwak Yeon-soo If there were an award given to the most humorous actor, Youn Yuh-jung would be one of the strongest contenders. She didn't lose her sense of humor even during her improvised acceptance speech at Sunday night's British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards. Playfully calling British people "snobbish," the Korean actor said that this trait of theirs has made her even more proud of winning the Best Supporting Actress Award. "First, I express my deep condolences regarding your Duke of Edinburgh. And thank you so much for this award. Every award is meaningful, but this one, especially the fact that I am being recognized by British people, who are known to be snobbish the fact that they approve of me as a good actor makes me very happy. Thank you so much," Youn said. Her remarks drew the laughter from the organizers. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Staff at the Russian prison holding hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny are threatening to force feed him, his allies said on Monday, warning he had lost 15 kg since he arrived at the facility last month. Navalny, 44, a prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced a hunger strike at the end of March in protest at what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to treat him properly for acute back and leg pain. They say they have offered him proper treatment, but that he has refused it, insisting that he wants to be treated by a doctor of his choice from outside the facility, a request they have declined. Navalny, whom the West says has been wrongly jailed and should be freed, was moved to a prison clinic earlier this month after complaining of a high temperature and a bad cough. On Monday, his Twitter account, which his allies use to provide updates based on information from his lawyers who regularly visit him, said he had been discharged from the prison's medical facility. "Given the severity of the hunger strike, the (prison)administration is threatening on a daily basis to start force-feeding," the account said. There was no immediate comment from the state prison service. The regional prison service did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Navalny's weight has fallen to 77 kg, a drop of 15 kg since he arrived at the prison facility 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of Moscow, his allies said. Navalny had already lost 8 kg in the facility before beginning his hunger strike, his allies said on April 1, something they blamed on guards deliberately depriving him of sleep. Prison authorities deny depriving him of sleep and have said previously that Navalny's condition was satisfactory and that he has been provided with all necessary treatment. Navalny's allies want an outside doctor of his choice to be able to check his condition. His Twitter account said on Monday that a doctor had still not been allowed in to see him. It said his pulse was averaging 106 beats per minute, a reading that is higher than normal. His blood pressure was at 94/76, it said. Navalny returned to Russia in January after recovering from what German doctors say was a nerve agent poisoning. He was jailed in February on charges he said were trumped up for two and a half years. Russia has said it has yet to see evidence he was poisoned (Reporting by Anton Zverev and Vladimir Soldatkin; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Andrew Osborn) What exactly happens when the corona virus SARS-CoV-2 infects a cell? In an article published in Nature, a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry paints a comprehensive picture of the viral infection process. For the first time, the interaction between the coronavirus and a cell is documented at five distinct proteomics levels during viral infection. This knowledge will help to gain a better understanding of the virus and find potential starting points for therapies. When a virus enters a cell, viral and cellular protein molecules begin to interact. Both the replication of the virus and the reaction of the cells are the result of complex protein signaling cascades. A team led by Andreas Pichlmair, Professor of Immunopathology of Viral Infections at the Institute of Virology at TUM, and Matthias Mann, Head of the Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, has systematically recorded how human lung cells react to individual proteins of the covid-19 pathogen SARS-CoV-2 and the SARS coronavirus, the latter of which has been known for some time. A detailed interaction map To this end, more than 1200 samples were analyzed using the state-of-the-art mass spectrometry techniques and advanced bioinformatic methods. The result is a freely accessible dataset that provides information on which cellular proteins the viral proteins bind to and the effects of these interactions on the cell. In total, 1484 interactions between viral proteins and human cellular proteins were discovered. "Had we only looked at proteins, however, we would have missed out on important information", says Andreas Pichlmair. "A database that only includes the proteome would be like a map containing just the place names but no roads or rivers. If you knew about the connections between the points on that map, you could gain much more useful information." According to Pichlmair, important counterparts to the network of traffic routes on a map are protein modifications called phosphorylation and ubiquitination. Both are processes in which other molecules are attached to proteins, thereby altering their functions. In a listing of proteins, these changes are not measured, so that there is no way of knowing whether proteins are active or inactive, for example. "Through our investigations, we systematically assign functions to the individual components of the pathogen, in addition to the cellular molecules that are switched off by the virus," explains Pichlmair. "There has been no comparable mapping for SARS-CoV-2 so far," adds Matthias Mann. "In a sense, we have taken a close look at five dimensions of the virus during an infection: its own active proteins and its effects on the host proteome, ubiquitinome, phosphoproteome and transcriptome." Insights into how the virus works Among other things, the database can also serve as a tool to find new drugs. By analyzing protein interactions and modifications, vulnerability hotspots of SARS-CoV-2 can be identified. These proteins bind to particularly important partners in cells and could serve as potential starting points for therapies. For example, the scientists concluded that certain compounds would inhibit the growth of SARS-CoV-2. Among them were some whose antiviral function is known, but also some compounds which have not yet been studied for efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. Further studies are needed to determine whether they show efficacy in clinical use against Covid-19. "Currently, we are working on new anti Covid-19 drug candidates, that we have been able to identify through our analyses," says Andreas Pichlmair. "We are also developing a scoring system for automated identification of hotspots. I am convinced that detailed data sets and advanced analysis methods will enable us to develop effective drugs in a more targeted manner in the future and limit side effects in advance." ### Publication: A. Stukalov, V. Girault, V. Grass, O. Karayel, V. Bergant, C. Urban, D. A. Haas, Y. Huang, L. Oubraham, A. Wang, M. S. Hamad, A. Piras, F. M. Hansen, M. C. Tanzer, I. Paron, L. Zinzula, T. Enghleitner, M. Reinecke, T. M. Lavacca, R. Ehmann, R. Wolfel, J. Jores, B. Kuster, U. Protzer, R. Rad, J. Ziebuhr, V. Thiel, P. Scaturro, M. Mann & A. Pichlmair: Multilevel proteomics reveals host perturbations by SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, Nature, April 2021. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03493-4. More information: Covinet database: https:/ / covinet. innatelab. virologie. med. tum. de Article in TUM's Faszination Forschung Magazine describing Professor Pichlmair's research (PDF, 2,2 MB) https:/ / portal. mytum. de/ pressestelle/ faszination-forschung/ 2020nr25/ 03_Faszination_Forschung_25_20_Pichlmair_VirenMassenspektrometer_englisch. pdf/ download Andreas Pichlmair holds a professorship funded by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF). The current study was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) as well as the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The TUM University Foundation provided funding for the screening platform used for this study. High-resolution images: https:/ / mediatum. ub. tum. de/ 1609219 Contact: Prof. Dr. Andreas Pichlmair Technical University of Munich Institute of Virology Tel: +49 89 4140-9270 andreas.pichlmair@tum.de A judge compared a fraudster to the former first lady of the Philippines as a court heard she used the proceeds of a bank swindle to spend a fortune on designer shoes. Married couple Emmanuel Scotts, 53, and Behnaz Khoram-Scotts, 51, both from Chelsea, west London, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and conspiracy to commit fraud following an investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a specialist police unit funded by the banking and cards industry. The couple opened six different bank accounts with fake names after they lied about their professions to present themselves as wealthy. Behnaz Khoram-Scotts, 51, was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment suspended for 2 years. Emmanuel Scotts, 53, was jailed for four years but 392 days was taken off his sentence due to the fact he has been under an electronically monitored curfew The couple used their fake bank accounts to deposit foreign cheques, one of which was for 81,000. Prosecutor Sam Barker told London Crown Court police recovered 63 pairs of designer shoes from Khoram-Scotts' home, including Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Louis Vuitton with her ill-gotten gains. Judge Nigel Peters interrupted to say: 'Competition with Mrs Marcos.' Imelda Marcos was first lady of the Philippines for 21 years during which she and her husband stole billions, with some of the money going on her collection of shoes which numbered more than 3,000 pairs. The prosecutor added: 'They have never had any significant legitimate income, they only lived off of fraudulent activity. The items purchased in the fraud included designer clothes.' Judge Peters said: 'Well, there's no point having ill-gotten gains and not going to Selfridges, is there?' Mr Scotts was arrested on April 15, 2020, at Heathrow Airport where around 7,000 in euros, several credit cards, cheque books, and a bank statement showing a balance of 104,000 was found in his luggage. The DCPCU also searched Mr Scotts's second home address in Queenstown Road, Wandsworth, finding blank cheques and bank cards in other account names, as well as account details written down. Former Philipines first lady Imelda Marcos looks at her famous shoe collection in 2001 Judge Peters told the pair: 'It would not come as any surprise to you that you are portrayed, rightly, as serial fraudsters. 'You have spend a life enjoying the fruits of crime. You spent time enjoying luxury accommodation without paying. 'You portrayed yourself as major players, high rollers, enabling you to prey on the bank, with which you opened accounts with false names. 'This was a well thought out fraud, well planned, with sophisticated tools of the trade. 'There is not a single indication in your lifestyle that you are willing to change.' Scotts was jailed for four years but 392 days was taken off his sentence due to the fact he has been under an electronically monitored curfew while on bail for the past two years. Khoram-Scotts was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment suspended for 2 years. Detective Constable Martin Godsave, who investigated the case for the DCPCU, commented: 'This husband and wife wrongfully thought they could get away with funding their lifestyle by committing fraud. 'Fortunately, we were able to detect these fraudsters by working closely with the bank to bring them to justice. 'This sentencing is a warning to those who believe they can benefit financially from fraud that they will be caught and punished.' Leading New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang sparked social media outrage following a bizarre post on National Pet Day about a dog he gave away because one of his children developed an allergy to it. On #NationalPetsDay celebrating our dog Grizzly who we raised as a puppy but had to give away because one of our boys became allergic to him. Miss you Grizz! #dogsforyang, the former presidential candidate posted on Twitter on Sunday along with two pictures of the small white pup. He followed it up with another tweet accompanying a video of his pet pooch crying for his attention. He still remembers daddy, wrote the American entrepreneur in the text accompanying the video. The tweets did not go down well with some social media users who were baffled about his decision to share this story. Youre so f***ing weird, said American writer and poet Saeed Jones. Maybe just sit this one out if this is the only pet story you have, said a user. Hes like some kind of genius at always just missing the mark, wrote journalist Lauren Wolfe. Dude...how did you screw up a dog post? Its actually impressive, wrote another user. When people ask me why any candidate needs messaging experts, Im just gonna point them to this tweet, said another. Unsupported twitter embed Mr Yang is no stranger to controversy. Earlier on Sunday, he faced backlash for his demand for a crackdown on unlicensed street vendors. You know what I hear over and over again - that NYC is not enforcing rules against unlicensed street vendors. Im for increasing licenses but we should do more for the retailers who are paying rent and trying to survive, he had tweeted adding that he would like to bring more unlicensed vendors into the legal market. American writer Roxane Gay slammed Mr Yang for his take, asking him to drop out of the race. Andrew, this is a baffling thing to think and then say so loudly. With all of whats going on in NYC you want to talk about street vendors in such an unsupportive way? And enforcing bureaucratic nonsense? Listen to better people or drop out of the race, she wrote. (Newser) A model and aspiring actress who suffered severe brain damage because of a bite-size pretzel has been awarded $29.5 million by a jury, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Chantel Giacalone, then 27, was in Vegas at a convention in 2013 when a friend brought her a frozen yogurt with the pretzel as its topping. The problem is that the pretzel had been infused with peanut butter, and Giacalone is allergic to peanuts. She began struggling to breathe almost immediately and sought attention from a medical tent run by MedicWest Ambulance. Then came Giacalone's next misfortune: The tent did not have IV epinephrine, even though state law requires paramedics to have it on hand, per TMZ. Giacolone went into anaphylactic shock and lost oxygen to her brain in the minutes before an ambulance arrived. story continues below At least my daughter will be taken care of. Im happy about that, father Jack Giacalone tells the Vegas newspaper. All the anguish that weve been through for the last eight years, Im not happy about. I just hope MedicWest changes their ways. Now 35, Giacalone is back home in Detroit, where she is a quadriplegic who requires 24-hour care. She is fed through a tube and can communicate only through her eyes. Her mother, Deborah, sleeps by her side and provides most of her care. With the money, the family plans to buy a home specifically suited to Giacalone's needs. In the civil trial, MedicWest did not deny wrongdoing but said Giacalone never lost consciousness in its care. The company argued for a lower award, citing her severe allergy. (Read more allergic reaction stories.) The volcanic eruption at Soufriere volcano sent a six-mile-high eruption of an ash plume that prompted Saint Vincent PM Ralph Gonsalves to allow evacuation of vaccinate people on vessels. He made that decision to lessen the transmission of COVID-19 amongst the evacuees. St. Vincent PM says only vaccinated people can evacuate immediately Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told the chief medical officer to identify those already vaccinated for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, to load them onto cruise ships assisting in the island evacuation efforts. He told the reporters of this development as resources were spent to get people away from the danger zone, as reported by the Epoch Times. Gonsalves remarked that there is a shortage of personnel who can operate the boats used for taking people to safety from the Soufriere volcano. He indicated that they could only transport passengers with no other assistance. According to his statement as quoted by the Epoch Times with contribution of Reuters, "Those who are not yet vaccinated but who would be vaccinated, you wouldn't send them immediately after vaccination," due to possible side effects like "wooziness in the head, you know how that is," he said. Based on the data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 10,805 residents of St. Vincent and the Grenadines have gotten one vaccine dose. Saint Vincent got covered with a thin layer of ash with powerful sulfur due to volcanic reaction. The eruption last Friday ended its hiatus as it ended its decades of dormancy that made the evacuation called by the St. Vincent PM to have vaccinated people ready to leave. Sulawesi Indonesia Experiences a 6.2-Magnitude Earthquake; Seven People Dead, Damaged Buildings Residents heard the volcano's rumbling, which ejects soot and ash that fell on everything on the ground, from rooftops and roads of Kingstown, the island's capital. All over, the ash that fell covered the landscape turning it into a ghost town. Last Friday, there were two cruise ships whose arrival was announced by CruiseRadio.net; it alerted the islanders that rescue is underway, on the same day, with three more ships sailing to get there fast. A statement from the Carnival Cruise Line was reported to CruiseRadio.net. "The Carnival Legend and Carnival Paradise are currently off the coast of St. Vincent, awaiting further orders from local authorities on how Carnival Cruise Line will assist in the evacuation of local residents who are threatened by the eruption of volcano La Soufriere." "Carnival and Royal Caribbean are also coordinating our efforts to ensure a smooth operation once resident embarkation begins. The start date for these evacuation sailings has yet to be determined." Sources said St. Lucia, Grenada, Antigua, and Barbados are willing to take in evacuees from the island, except they must be fully vaccinated from COVID-19. Places like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with 100,000 have not been subject to any volcanic activity from 1979, except now in April 2021. The one caused damage worth $100 million. Aside from that, La Soufriere erupted in 1902 that killed at least 1000 people as casualties. The announcement by St. Vincent PM comes as vaccinated people become a priority on the ships fast. Pacific Ring of Fire: Volcanoes Erupt Causing Casualties as They Explode Ring of Fire: World Has 1500 Active Volcanoes, Which is Active Today? @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ben Roberts-Smith (pictured with girlfriend Sarah Matulin) is under investigation by the Australian Federal Police over claims he led and participated in several war crimes, before attempting to cover them up Australia's most decorated soldier - who is facing a series of allegations of war crimes - struck an unlikely bond with one of the country's richest men. Ben Roberts-Smith, a 19-year SAS servicemen who was awarded a Victoria Cross for his achievements leading the country into wars overseas, is under investigation by the Australian Federal Police over claims he led and participated in several war crimes, before attempting to cover them up. In 2014, before the allegations surfaced, Roberts-Smith was appointed as a senior executive with Channel Seven - a role handed down by the network's boss Kerry Stokes. Stokes, who is worth an estimated $6billion, has openly financed the 42-year-old's legal defence. That figure had reached $1.9million as of November, 2020. In audio recordings obtained for an expose by 60 Minutes, Roberts-Smith is openly dismissive of the claims against him, pointing to Stokes' loyalty and wealth as a cause for optimism. 'There's no f***ing way I'd be able to keep paying what I'm paying for until Kerry got into it,' Roberts-Smith says in the recordings. 'That's why now they're s****ing themselves now because he's prepared to run his bank down to do it.' Scroll down for video Roberts-Smith was appointed as a senior executive with Channel Seven in 2014 - a role handed down by the network's boss Kerry Stokes (pictured) Roberts-Smith left the army in 2013 after a decorated 19-year career which saw him awarded the Victoria Cross Roberts-Smith left the army in 2013 and began studying business at the University of Queensland. Channel Seven handed the VC winner a role as the Deputy Regional Manager of Queensland's regional network. Then-CEO of Seven West Media Tim Worner lauded Roberts-Smith's 'leadership' following his hiring, while former executive Neil Mooney described the soldier as an 'outstanding person'. 'Ben will be an excellent leader. He is an outstanding person. When it comes to leadership he ticks all the right boxes,' Mooney said at the time of Roberts-Smith's appointment to the role. A 2017 inquiry into the conduct of Australian soldiers overseas saw Roberts-Smith come under investigation, leading the highly decorated soldier to approach Network Seven. 'It's bizarre. Other businesses would have just gone; 'Mate, it's not tenable'. I offered to resign at the start and they said, 'Nah',' he says in the 60 Minutes recording. 'It's good it's played out the way it has behind closed doors because they now understand and they've got what they need to be comfortable. 'But Sevens been good so I can't complain.' Then-CEO of Seven West Media Tim Worner lauded Roberts-Smith's 'leadership' following his hiring, while former executive Neil Mooney described the soldier as an 'outstanding person' Roberts-Smith directly referenced Stokes in the obtained recordings, admitting he is 'indebted' to the powerful media boss Roberts-Smith directly referenced Stokes in the obtained recordings, admitting he is 'indebted' to the powerful media boss. 'Bottom line I'd be f***ed without him,' he says of Stokes in the audio. 'I probably won't leave the fold now. I think I'm indebted a little bit now to Kerry. 'I'd be f***ed without him.' Roberts-Smith hit back at the bombshell report on Monday, claiming the expose was 'not supported by any evidence' and part of a plan to 'intimidate' him to abandon a defamation suit against Nine and Fairfax journalist Nick McKenzie. 'Mr Roberts-Smith has grave concerns as to whether the broadcast this evening by Nine is an attempt to intimidate him into not proceeding with his case against Mr McKenzie and Nine,' he said in a statement. 'The allegations aired this evening are baseless. These allegations are not supported by any evidence filed by Mr McKenzie and Nine in what has been an extensive pre-trial process.' Mr Roberts-Smith also claimed Nine made no effort to contact him for comment on the 'shameful' allegations. 'Mr Roberts-Smith denies that he has engaged in any unlawful conduct and he will not be intimidated by Mr McKenzie or Nine into not continuing with the Federal Court proceedings against them.' Any living being on the planet is connected to something else in some way. The more scientists dig at this genetic network, the greater and stranger it becomes. Finding new relatives is an enthralling genetic mystery in which even the most unlikely species will turn out to be cousins. Unlikely Animal Cousins It's probably the most effective way to think about evolution. The more animals are related to one another, the more information they share about their own species' past, family group's history, and the evolution of life on Earth. Related Article: 5 Most Important Fossil Discoveries in the World Here are 3 of the most unlikely animal relatives in the world: Horseshoe Crabs and Spiders Hundreds of years ago, horseshoe crabs were mistaken for crabs. They do, though, spend most of their time creeping around the seafloor and have a crab-like shell that resembles a horseshoe. They are, however, classified as arachnids. A front shell called the prosoma, a backshell called the opisthosoma, and a spike-like tail called the telson to make up the horseshoe crabs' tank-like configuration. Horseshoe crabs have sharp tails, which some people believe makes them aggressive, but they are completely harmless. Horseshoe crabs are simply sluggish, and if they are flipped by a boat, they use their tail to tip themselves back up. Unfortunately, many horseshoe crabs are caught for their blood as well as the lure industry. Ants and Bees If bees had to join a taxonomic family reunion, they would like to hang out with ants rather than wasps. When scientists sequenced the insects' genetic material to address an old query about how they originated as a group, the family line was rearranged. Bees, ants, and stinging wasps all belong to the aculeate (stinging) Hymenoptera clade. Except for digger wasps and mud daubers, the findings disproved the common misconception that ants were more closely related to those wasps and merely a distant relative to bees. Humans and Kangaroos Matilda, a tammar wallaby, was the first kangaroo whose genetic code was mapped. When the Australian researchers likened her code to that of a human, they were taken aback. They expected the contrast to be a total mismatch, but the two species' genomes turned out to be more than just identical. The genes were almost alike, with just a few exceptions, and all of them were grouped in the same order. Both animals have vast amounts of genetic data on the other. When the researchers found that humans and these bouncy marsupials had a similar ancestor who lived at least 150 million years ago, it all made sense. While mice and humans split just 70 million years ago, scientists believe that kangaroos will address further human evolution questions, such as why some DNA has stayed unchanged for eons when other DNA has shifted. Hidden genes can be found by analyzing genomes from different animals. Matilda discovered 14 new genes in kangaroos that may or may not be present in humans, waiting to reveal more about ourselves. Also Read: Top 5 Most Destructive Invasive Species Today For the most recent updates from the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News! Britain's Prince Charles paid a personal tribute Saturday to his "dear papa" Prince Philip, saying the royal family missed him enormously and that the 99-year-old would have been amazed at the touching reaction around the world to his death. Philip, the husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth who had been at her side throughout her record-breaking 69-year reign, died at Windsor Castle on Friday. "As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously," Charles, the couple's eldest son and heir to the throne, said outside his Highgrove House home in west England. "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 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." Buckingham Palace announced that the funeral for Philip would be April 17, and that the queen's grandson Prince Harry, who had become estranged from the family after moving to the United States with his wife Meghan, would attend. Meghan, who is pregnant with their second child, will not attend on doctor's advice, the palace said. The palace said long-established plans for the funeral had to be redrawn and scaled down because of COVID-19 restrictions, but they remained very much in line with Philip's wishes. Philip, who was officially known as the Duke of Edinburgh, will be given a ceremonial royal funeral, not a state funeral, as planned before the pandemic. But there will be no public processions, and it will be held entirely within the grounds of Windsor Castle and limited to 30 mourners. The funeral, which will be broadcast on live television, will be held at the castle's St George's Chapel and will be preceded by a minute's silence across the country. Charles and other members of the royal family will walk behind a specially modified Land Rover, which Philip helped design. At the conclusion of the service, Philip will be interred in the Royal Vault. Exact details of who will attending were not released. Buckingham Palace stressed the service would be held in line with government coronavirus guidelines, meaning members of the royal family, including the queen, would be expected to wear a mask. Prestigious Rome library has been closed since Italy's first covid-19 lockdown more than a year ago. Rome's celebrated library of books devoted to art history and archaeology at Palazzo Venezia will reopen its doors on 13 April after an online petition garnered more than 6,500 signatures. The Biblioteca di Archeologia e Storia dellArte (BIASA), Italy's only specialised library dedicated to art history and archaeology on a national level, is the largest of its kind in the world and contains many volumes in English. The petition, addressed to Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini, was organised by CUNSTA (National University Council for the History of Art) which called for the reopening of the library "with the utmost urgency," reports Artribune. The petition stated that "students of art history, archaeology and cultural heritage have in this library the primary tool of their training," noting that the institution had been closed since Italy's first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. Franceschini looked favourably on the appeal, with the library publishing a notice of its reopening on its website alongside a list of covid-19 protocols and visiting times. Several years ago it was announced that the library would eventually move from Palazzo Venezia to a new base at Palazzo S. Felice on Via della Dataria, near the Trevi Fountain. A time-frame has yet to be given for the move which has been allocated 10 million under the culture ministry's Grandi Progetti scheme. Photo La Repubblica Today Wind increasing. A few clouds from time to time. High 76F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Gusty winds diminishing after midnight. Low around 50F. WSW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Tomorrow Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 71F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. A fire that engulfed a Laois bog last Sunday night right beside the busy N80 road forced the road's closure, and will have wiped out wildlife including nesting chicks according to a nature expert. Laois County Fire & Rescue Service have confirmed details of the fire to the Leinster Express. It happened on Clonreher Bog between Portlaoise and Mountmellick and took two fire crews to fight it. "A fire occurred last night in gorse on land adjacent to the N80 at Clonreher at approx 21:40. "Crews from Portlaoise and Mountmellick brought the fire under control by 01:00. A crew are back on scene this morning mopping up any remaining hot-spots in daylight," they said. They said no-one was hurt but that the road had to be closed because of the extent of the smoke. "There were no injuries. The N80 was closed for a time due to the smoke." Laois Offaly Wildlife Trust chairperson Ricky Whelan said that the loss of natural life from the fire is shocking and long lasting. "It's gutting to learn about the fire at Clonreher Bog. It is especially shocking given that we are well within the bird breeding season (which officially begins on March 1st) and it is certain that many nests were lost in last nights fire. It's important also to consider the loss of habitat which will have a lasting effect on birds and wider nature in the area." It is against the law in Ireland to set fire to vegetation between Marcy 1 and August 31, to protect wildlife. See a video story here taken as the fire raged. Photo below of the fire taken by Laois County Fire & Rescue Service. Myanmar security forces have reported over 700 civilians killed since the February 1 coup, according to a human rights group. On Friday, at least 82 people fatalities were recorded in the city of Bago amid a crackdown against anti-coup demonstrators. Myanmar's Post-Coup Civilian Death Toll Climbs One security guard was injured in a bomb explosion outside a military-owned bank in Myanmar's second-biggest city on Sunday. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February. There was a heavy security presence in Mandalay, where the security guard was injured following the blast. The aforementioned bank is one of the scores of military-controlled businesses that have experiences boycott pressure since the coup. Numerous customers are pleading to withdraw their savings, reported Daily Sabah. There has been heavy bloodbath in recent days. The United Nations office in Myanmar on Saturday wrote on Twitter it was following Bago's bloodshed. It indicated medical treatment had been denied to wounded individuals, reported Taipei Times. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the actual death toll is possibly much higher. It has been tracking fatalities since the coup commenced. Soldiers utilized heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, in the attack against demonstrators. According to eyewitnesses to the siege, the bodies of killed and wounded individuals were piled on top of one another near a pagoda and a school, reported NPR. As displayed by AFP-verified footage on Friday, protesters hid behind sandbag barricades brandishing homemade rifles. Blasts sounded in the background. The UN office in Myanmar tweeted on Saturday that medical treatment had been denied to the wounded. The AAPP has verified 701 civilian fatalities in the aftermath of the coup d'etat. 'Kill the Bill' Bristol Protest Sees 20 Police Officers Injured According to a man, "The bodies and the wounded people were dragged away by [the troops]." Among the wounded civilians, a number of them appealed for medical treatment but were denied care by the military, as stated by AAPP's report on the siege. According to a spokesperson on Friday, the junta has a much lower number: 248. Notwithstanding the bloodshed, demonstrators continued to protest in parts of Myanmar. Professors and university students rallied through the streets of Mandalay and the city of Meiktila on Sunday. A number of them carried stems of Eugenia flowers, which symbolize triumph. Survivors have escaped the town since the attack. The siege in Bago marks the third in the course of a week that the junta used heavy force in an attempt to stop the opposition. Protesters in Yangon carried a banner, reading: "We will get victory, we will win." Demonstrators from there in the city of Monywa took to writing political messages on leaves, including "we must win." They called for United Nations intervention to alleviate further bloodshed. Across Myanmar, people were persuaded to participate in a torchlight rally in their neighborhoods following sunset on Sunday. Chaos also erupted in Tamu on Saturday, near the Indian border, where demonstrators retaliated when soldiers attempted to tear down makeshift barricades erected to bar security forces. Asian Americans Rally Against Racism After Atlanta Spa Shootings @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Bharat Bambawales recently launched his book Nine Timeless Nuggets Essential Marketing for the Young and Ambitiousis a knowledge accelerator for young marketers and an absorbing update for experienced ones. It is a 2020s perspective on timeless marketing ideas. Arranged in three sections the book covers on -How to Think of People, How to Craft your Brand and How to Go to Market - the book brings a fresh perspective to eternal marketing questions. Who are we talking to? Why do they buy? Where do brands come from? Where are brands going? How can marketers talk to people? How can they create strong customer connections? How can they build thriving customer relationships? Bharat Bambawale is considered one of Indias leading marketing practitioners. He has spent 36 years in marketing and advertising, 18 of which were as a global executive with marketing communication companies Lowe & Partners (formerly Lintas) and J Walter Thompson (now Wunderman Thompson). Adgully in an exclusive conversation spoke to Bharat Bhambawale, Founder, Bharat Bambawale & Associates and Author, about the launch of his new marketing book Nine Timeless Nuggets Essential Marketingfor the Young and Ambitious. Writing a book needs lot of patience and time. What was your core objective and what inspired you to write this insightful book Nine Timeless Nuggets? I believe every marketer deserves a shot at becoming a marketing great. To have a shot at greatness, a marketer needs rock solid fundamentals. In the last ten years since my return to India (after eighteen years abroad), many marketers I came into contact with asked me for guidance on marketing principles, revealing their development needs in this area weren't being met. This inspired me to write Nine Timeless Nuggets as a 2020s handbook of timeless marketing principles. While my book is written with those in the first decade of their careers in mind, experienced marketers are finding the ideas in it refreshing and useful in their work. Behavioral changes keep happening and in the last 8 to 10 months and we saw some behavioral shift due to the pandemic. In todays world what way brands and marketers should address these changes? The pandemic has touched pretty much every aspect of life - in some ways profoundly and in others less so. But it is premature - and perhaps inaccurate - to conclude that people have irrevocably changed. We may have temporarily limited some aspects of our lives, but we haven't abandoned, let alone evolved beyond, the needs and aspirations that make us who we are. Of course we need to be safe, healthy and fed, but that doesn't remotely satisfy what we want from life. We are biologically engineered to respond to touch, smell and taste. We have developed to be social, live in tribes, in large villages, towns and cities. We want love, sex, intimacy, conversation, competition, stimulation of the mind and lightness of the soul. And we want these ever better, ever more refined, ever more exclusive. What has changed is how we gratify our needs and motivations. This is creating new companies, products and brands. Regardless of their date of birth, brands will have to make themselves magnetic to draw people to them. And to get this right, brand owners have to return to the fundamental principles of marketing - those I describe in my book - to create, or recreate, brands. Can you explain to us the kind of thinking and process that went behind in putting this book and make it very relevant and useful? I wanted my book to be about ideas on the one hand, but practical on the other. That's why I've structured it into three sections. Section 1 - How to Think of People - leads the marketer away from the historical convenience of single-identity customers to today's multi-identity customers, and introduces them to my Customer Motivation Model. Section 2 - How to Craft Your Brand - presents my brand model for the 2020s The Brand Octagon, a tool to craft brands that respond to customers who have multiple motivations simultaneously guiding their purchase behaviour. Section 3 - How to Go to Market - provides several useful models through which brands can partner customers at every step of their brand journey while creating strong connections and relationships. In your book you have touched upon several new models to build a sound marketing strategy. Can you briefly touch upon one of them with a small example? The Customer Motivation Model in my book has seven outward-directed motivators and seven inward-directed motivators. The seven outward-directed motivators are one-upmanship, FOMO (fear of missing out), attention, connection, vanity, social credit and public legacy. The seven inward-directed motivators are good sense, self-love, hedonism, joy of ownership, personal reinvention, value-added experiences and private legacy. These motivators are in constant churn within each of us, singly or in conjunction with one another, creating the impulse to buy. The motivators have four influencers: money, values, personality and time. Here's a small example. Let's take the example of motorcycle enthusiasts. Attention combined with joy of ownership might lead one customer to a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. The same motivatorattentioncombined with good sense might take another customer to a Bajaj Pulsar. Both brands fulfil the Attention need, with the second motivator pulling each customer towards a different brand choice. The influencer of money - obviously plays a big part too. This book is addressed to the young and ambitious marketing executives. With your immense knowledge and experience in field of Brand Marketing and Communication what would be your valuable advice for the budding marketing leaders? I have two pieces of advice to budding leaders. The first is: there are no shortcuts to success. You have to put in the hours, do the grind, earn the success - for your brand, for your business, for yourself. The second: do not rush into implementation. Do the reading and analysis, absorb and understand the fundamentals, build a strategy on strong foundations. Then execute - powerfully, yet nimbly. Lucknow, April 12 : More than 200 persons have been booked following a clash with the police in Kakori, on the outskirts of Lucknow. The clash took place on Sunday evening when a team of government officials went to get the statue removed from the land. According to the police, some villagers stealthily had put the statue of Ambedkar in the Saitha village on Saturday. "When the district administration learnt of this, a team of officials reached the spot and the villagers were asked to shift the statue from the site. This snowballed into a verbal spat which later turned ugly as the villagers assembled at the spot in a large number and started chanting 'Jai Bhim'," said DCP, south, Ravi Kumar. To disperse the villagers, the police had to resort to cane charge. The villagers clashed with the police and hurled stones at them. The police later succeeded in controlling the situation and got the land evicted. DCP Kumar further said that no one was injured in the clash. He said the police registered a case against above 200 persons, 20 of whom have been identified. They were booked under the charges of rioting and violation of the Epidemic Act along with Prevention to Damage of Public Property Act. A heavy police force and jawans of the PAC have been deployed in the area to control the situation and shift the statue. Reports said that the people used to dump garbage at the place and the village head Mahesh had asked the villagers to put up the statute of Ambedkar without any permission on the government's land," the DCP said. Top Surgery Specialists of Los Angeles Logo Top Surgery Specialists of Los Angeles (https://www.topsurgeryspecialistslosangeles.com), a medical practice located in Beverly Hills, CA which is dedicated exclusively to Top Surgery for Male to Female (MTF), Female to Male (FTM), and Gender Non-Binary (N) patients, announced today a significant rise in patients seeking Gender Non-Binary (N) Top Surgery. Gender Non-Binary (frequently referred to as General Neutral) Top Surgery refers to Top Surgery performed on an individual who do not identify as either male or female. Top Surgery for Non-Binary / Gender-Nonconforming patients is a specialized surgical technique, but technically is similar to either traditional female-to-male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF) top surgery, depending on the patient, except that specific surgical alterations may be made to achieve a certain aesthetic goal, such as masculinizing the chest contour but removing the nipples and areola. Top Surgery is a reconstructive surgical procedure tailored to the unique desired surgical outcome for the individual and is designed to provide the necessary breast changes for patients who are interested in transforming their bodies towards the sex that they identify as (including gender neutral). Female to Male / Neutral (FTM/N) Top Surgery eliminates female breast characteristics and makes the chest appear more masculine or androgynous this is achieved surgically with a total mastectomy. Some patients choose to have their nipples and areola removed. Male to Female / Neutral (MTF/N Top Surgery) eliminates male breast characteristics and make the breast feminine or androgynous with breast augmentation surgery (breast implants). About Top Surgery Specialists of Los Angeles Top Surgery Specialists of Los Angeles (located in Beverly Hills, CA) specializes in Gender Affirmation Top Surgery for Male to Female (MTF), Female to Male (FTM), and Non-Binary/Gender-Nonconforming (N) patients. We accept most insurance. Our top-rated board-certified plastic surgeons are internationally known for providing natural-looking Top Surgery results. As Top Surgery specialist plastic surgeons, we support, endorse, and follow the Standards of Care for transgender and non-binary individuals set out by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). We are proud to offer our patients Top Surgery with a truly talented multidisciplinary team of surgeons and support staff. Top Surgery Specialists of Los Angeles 435 N Roxbury Dr Penthouse, Suite 1 Beverly Hills, CA 90210 (310) 289-3727 https://www.topsurgeryspecialistslosangeles.com Easing lockdown could lead to third COVID-19 wave in UK, scientists warn Xinhua) 09:07, April 12, 2021 Commuters arrive in the morning rush hour at London Waterloo train station in London, Britain, on April 9, 2021. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) "It's worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them," said Griffin. Professor Lawrence Young of Warwick medical school said: "The test, trace and isolate system that is supposed to contain outbreaks has not worked well, and even when people test positive, they are not isolating. We need a properly funded system for quarantining infected people. We don't have that and that raises the risk we could head back into trouble again quite quickly." LONDON, April 11 (Xinhua) -- British scientists have warned that the British government is risking a third wave of COVID-19 by easing the lockdown too soon, local media reported Sunday. "There are areas in West Yorkshire, the Black Country and other regions that still have high infection rates. However, many people there cannot afford to self-isolate. We need to tackle that issue urgently or the virus will come back again," Leeds University medical school Associate Professor Stephen Griffin told the Observer. "It's worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them," said Griffin. Professor Lawrence Young of Warwick medical school said: "The test, trace and isolate system that is supposed to contain outbreaks has not worked well, and even when people test positive, they are not isolating. We need a properly funded system for quarantining infected people. We don't have that and that raises the risk we could head back into trouble again quite quickly." A woman walks past an ambulance at the Royal London Hospital in London, Britain, on April 9, 2021. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) The scientists made their remarks as Britain is poised to partly ease the current lockdown restrictions, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country, on Monday. From Monday, non-essential shops will reopen and pubs and restaurants will reopen outdoors at a time when Britain moves to step two of the roadmap out of the COVID-19 lockdown. Meanwhile, hairdressers and barbers as well as gyms can reopen, along with zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers. 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. More than 32 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the official figures. The estimated coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, in England is unchanged at between 0.8 and one, according to the latest official data. It means that, on average, every 10 people who have coronavirus will infect between eight and 10 others. Government advisory scientists said the situation is too variable in some regions to produce a Britain-wide R rate, but the number is believed to be above one in some parts of the country, which means the outbreak could grow exponentially. 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 coronavirus vaccines. Commuters arrive in the morning rush hour at London Waterloo train station in London, Britain, on April 9, 2021. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) Guns for sale at a gun show in Fort Worth, Texas, July 10, 2016. Spencer Platt/Getty Images Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing for the state to become a Second Amendment sanctuary. Second Amendment sanctuaries ignore federal or state gun laws they consider restrictive. In recent years they've become a tactic among gun rights advocates to push back against federal restrictions. See more stories on Insider's business page. On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted in support of gun rights just hours before a deadly mass shooting in Bryan, Texas. The shooting - the state's 14th so far this year - left one dead and five injured and came at a particularly inopportune moment. Abbott is in the midst of a campaign to turn Texas into a Second Amendment sanctuary state - a state where federal gun restrictions would be ignored in favor of local laws more favorable to gun rights. The legislation to make Texas a sanctuary state was introduced in February by Texas State Rep. Justin Holland. If passed, Texas will join Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Wyoming, and Arizona, along with around 400 counties in 20 states, that have also designated themselves as gun rights sanctuaries. The push to make Texas a Second Amendment sanctuary comes amid several executive orders from President Joe Biden calling for increased gun control measures, including a push for "red flag" legislation modeling, an investment in evidence-based community interventions, and measures to stop the proliferation of "ghost guns" - guns made out of purchased parts that are untraceable by authorities. "Basically, we're freezing Texas state law and federal laws in place that have to do with guns," Holland told The El Paso Times. "And (we're) not recognizing, at the state level, any federal changes." What are Second Amendment sanctuaries? Second Amendment sanctuaries are meant to combat the perceived infringement of gun rights in a variety of forms. Cities, counties, and states alike can and have declared themselves second amendment sanctuaries in the US. Story continues Those infringements might include laws requiring universal background checks prior to gun purchase, or bans on particular weaponry, including assault and automatic weapons, or red flag laws that allow law enforcement or family members to "flag" that a person with a gun may be a danger to themselves or others. A worker inspects an AR-15 gun at Davidson Defense in Orem, Utah on March 20, 2020. - Gun stores in the US are reporting a surge in sales of firearms as coronavirus fears trigger personal safety concerns. George Frey/AFP/Getty Images The trend of Second Amendment sanctuary cities and states began in earnest in 2018, when Effingham County, Illinois, passed a series of resolutions opposing bump stock bans and a mandatory 72-hour waiting period on gun purchases, along with a litany of other gun control measures. Since then, more than 70 counties in Illinois have passed some kind of Second Amendment sanctuary legislation, The Trace reported. In 2019, more than 120 cities and counties in Virginia declared themselves gun rights sanctuaries, in backlash to a Democrat sweep in state elections. Last week, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill that bans local and state governments and agencies from enforcing federal gun laws that are "inconsistent with or more restrictive than state law." Ducey told reporters the law was meant to be "a proactive law for what is possible to come out of the Biden administration." Members of the Hudson Valley Nubian Gun Club practice at a shooting range in Monroe, New York, on July 30, 2020. Brendan McDermid/Reuters 'Renegade' sheriffs opt out of enforcing federal law Second Amendment sanctuaries often emerge from a refusal to enforce existing federal law. Often, that decision comes from so-called "renegade" sheriffs and police who simply choose not to recognize laws they feel step on gun owners' rights. They consider themselves "constitutional sheriffs" and believe, according to the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, that "the vertical separation of powers in the Constitution makes it clear that the power of the sheriff even supersedes the powers of the President." In Culpeper, Virginia, Sheriff Scott Jenkins went so far as to write on Facebook that "if necessary," he would "properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms." Voters in Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Virginia, and Illinois, among others, have all passed resolutions in support of local sheriffs who believe federal gun laws are unconstitutional. A volunteer member of the congregation at Joyful Heart Church poses for a portrait with her concealed handgun inside the church in Stockdale, Texas on Sunday, January 26, 2020. Getty Images/Washington Post Even where Second Amendment sanctuary isn't officially declared, some sheriffs have taken it upon themselves to buck federal gun laws. Bob Norris, the sheriff of Kootenai County, Idaho, told reporters last month he wouldn't enforce federal gun laws, regardless of whether the county voted to become a Second Amendment sanctuary or not. "I would just like to tell you that regardless of what you decide here today, and regardless of what they decide in Washington, DC, there will be no gun confiscation here in Kootenai County," Norris said at a local press conference. "Period." Three days after Norris' press conference, the proposal to establish the county as a Second Amendment sanctuary fell flat after the Board of County Commissioners declined to support it by a vote of two to one. Second Amendment sanctuary declarations are largely symbolic But can these sanctuary declarations be enforced? "A state, like Texas, declaring itself a "sanctuary" doesn't invalidate federal law from operating in Texas," Darrell Miller, co-faculty director of the Center for Firearms Law and a faculty member at Duke Law School, told Insider. If local law enforcement opts not to enforce gun laws, then "the FBI, ATF, and Department of Justice can still enforce federal law there." Miller cited the Supremacy Clause, which says that the Constitution "shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." A demonstrator holds a sign depicting an assault rifle at a protest against President Trump's visit, following a mass shooting which left at least 22 people dead, on August 7, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. Protestors also called for gun control and denounced white supremacy. Trump is scheduled to visit the city today. A 21-year-old white male suspect remains in custody in El Paso which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images Second Amendment sanctuary declarations "don't have force of law," Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, told USA Today after local jurisdictions began passing gun sanctuary bills in the state. "They are policy statements. They don't empower localities to turn a blind eye to what is state law." Sanford V. Levinson, a constitutional law scholar at the University of Texas Law School, told Insider sanctuary declarations don't nullify existing federal laws, but they can make it difficult to enforce them - which is the point. "The laws are not invalid; it's simply that the national government will be left on its own re the mechanisms of enforcement," he said - which, given limited resources and budgets, means the federal government will often turn a blind eye. Should the government want to compel local authorities to enforce federal law, they'd likely run into problems because the Supreme Court has already ruled that the federal government can't "commandeer" state officials to enforce federal law, Levinson said, citing New York vs. United States 505 US 144. "It simply comes down to whether the federal government wants to make it a case. But if the national government is willing to pay the price, then it will prevail," he continued. "It's one thing for the sheriffs to say, 'We're not going to lift a finger to help you take guns away from our people,'" Tung Yin, a law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, told Oregon Live. "That's OK. It's another thing for the sheriffs to say, 'Not only are we not going to lift a finger to help you, we're going to do everything we can to stop you.'" But that's exactly what's happened in Newton County, Missouri, where local lawmakers passed a Second Amendment Act that allows local law enforcement to arrest any federal agents attempting to enforce federal gun laws - though Miller says the statute isn't actually enforceable. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham uses images of handguns and rifles during a hearing about gun control on Capitol Hill January 30, 2013 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images "The general proposition is that federal officers cannot be prosecuted by state or local authorities for acts done in furtherance of their official duties," Miller told Insider, citing In re: Neagle, an 1890 Supreme Court case ruling that said federal agents are immune from local prosecution if operating in the furtherance of federal law. Newton County, Missouri, Sheriff Chris Jennings did not respond to Insider's request for comment. Texas governor says shooting victim's family wants Second Amendment sanctuary The passage of ag Second Amendment sanctuary resolution is all but a foregone conclusion in Texas, a state where nearly half of all adult residents - 45.7% - live with a gun in the house, according to a 2020 Rand research project. Gun control advocates say they're gearing up for a court battle either way. "The outcome for a bill like this would almost inevitably be a challenge in court," Jim Henson, the executive director of The Texas Politics Project, told KXAN. "It's hard not to see this as part of an effort to test the boundaries at how much states can push back against federal and constitutional provisions." During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Gov. Abbott told host Chris Wallace he spoke with the family of the victims of the Bryan, Texas, shooting, who told him they supported the sanctuary state plan. "I went to the hospital where the victims' families were on the night of the shooting. And we hugged, and we cried, and we talked to them about it. As I was talking to family members of one of the victims, they said: 'Governor, please, do not allow this shooting to strip us of our Second Amendment rights,'" he said. Barricades block the road leading up to the entrance of Kent Moore Cabinets in Bryan, Texas after a mass shooting at the facility on on on on April 8, 2021. Sam Craft / AFP via Getty Images While Second Amendment sanctuary status may be largely symbolic, it speaks to a growing divide in the US over gun violence and how to quell it, especially after a year in which firearm-related incidents took the lives of more than 19,000 people - the highest number of gun-related deaths in 20 years, according to the Gun Violence Archive. "The nation has experienced a historic increase in violent crime in the past year. People want and need to protect themselves," Joyce Malcolm, the Patrick Henry Professor of Constitutional Law and the Second Amendment at George Mason University School of Law, told Insider. "The number of FBI background checks for gun purchases continues to hit new records. January and March 2021 are the only time in the history of the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System gun checks have broken four million." According to the Washington Post, more than two million guns were sold in the US in January alone - an 80% increase over the same month in 2020. "Americans are buying guns at a blistering pace," Malcolm added. "They will NOT give them up." Read the original article on Business Insider (JTA) Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate turned leading New York City mayoral candidate, filmed a campaign ad in one of Brooklyns Orthodox neighborhoods before Shabbat Friday. Yang visited Toys 4 U, a Borough Park toy store that caters to the local Orthodox community, calling it the heart of Borough Park, according to local news site BoroPark24. Yang is one of several mayoral candidates seeking the support of the citys Orthodox Jewish communities, which tend to turn out in large numbers and often vote in a bloc, in the Democratic primary. The Democratic primary typically decides the winner of the general election in New York City, where registered Democrats far outnumber Republicans. ADVERTISEMENT Few candidates have gone as far as Yang in seeking the Orthodox vote, especially on the issue of the citys oversight of secular education in yeshivas. For years, activists have accused some Orthodox yeshivas in the city of failing to properly educate children in secular subjects and a 2019 report by the city found only two out of 28 yeshivas investigated to be providing an adequate secular education. But Orthodox leaders have pushed back against the activists claims and framed the prospect of oversight as an infringement of religious liberty. Yang has repeatedly embraced that view, saying at least twice on the campaign trail that he would respect religious freedom. In an interview with the Orthodox newspaper Hamodia, Yang said the city should take a data-driven approach to enforcement of educational standards. We should not be interfering as long as the educational outcomes are good, he said. David Schwartz, Yangs director of Jewish outreach, told BoroPark24 that Yang included the Borough Park visit in his campaign ad to signal that he takes the Jewish community very seriously. He wants to include the Orthodox Jewish community in his TV ads because he sees us as partners in the coalition he is building, Schwartz said. [April 12, 2021] Deakin University and IIT-Hyderabad invite applications for Joint Doctoral Program NEW DELHI, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Deakin University and the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) have announced a joint doctoral programme (JDP) in 2021. A total of 10 seats are open for July 2021 batch. Interested candidates can apply through the website - https://iith.ac.in/iar/IITH-Deakin/. The last date of application is 30 April 2020. The programme will be offered in a wide range of subjects/disciplines, including (but not limited to) Materials and Smart Manufacturing; Affordable Healthcare; Food, Environment, and Agriculture; Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science; Cyber-Physical Systems; Infrastructure and Energy. This association is aimed at developing successful academic and research collaborations in the areas of common interest and complementary capabilities. It seeks to harness the synergy at both institutions to propel excellent research. The salient features of the joint doctoral program are: 1. Candidates with B.Tech/M.Tech degrees are eligible to apply for the JDP provided they meet the necessary entry requirements. The selection will be made through a joint interview process. Upon selection into the JDP Program, the candidates will be jointly supervised from day one by supervisors from both IIT-H and Deakin. 2. Successful candidate(s) will spend between 3-12 months at Deakin depending upon the research requirements. 3. IIT-H will provide the regular PhD fellowship to the students during their stay at IIT-H and when the student travel to Deakin, they will get a stipend at the rate of $A28,600 per annum for the duration of their stay at Deakin. In addition to the above, Deakin will provide a full tuition fee waiver for up to 4 years and a top-up stipend of $A150 per month for 3 years while they are at IIT-H. 4. Each candidate will be assigned a Supervisory Team at Deakin and Doctoral Committee at IIT-H. 5. Upon successfully completing a PhD, he/she will be conferred a PhD by both the institutes with two separate certificates, noting that the doctoral award is conferred under the JDP HDR (Higher Degree by Research) program between the institutes. The students can obtain further details from the website - https://iith.ac.in/iar/IITH-Deakin/ About Deakin University Established in 1974, Deakin University is one of Australia's leading tertiary education providers and is ranked in the top 1% of world universities (ARWU). It has won numerous awards and teaches over 60,000 students each year offering students world-class programs and endless opportunities. With 27 plus years of engagement in India, Deakin University was the first international education provider to set up an office in India in 1994. It is currently the most engaged Australian Provider across education, training, research, capacity building and consultancy initiatives with academia, industry and Government. It has established premier partnerships in India to transform education and research into beneficial community outcomes, to produce world-class graduates and contribute to the growth and sustainability of the communities. For more information, please email david.das@deakin.edu.auor call +91 11 26544715. About IIT-Hyderabad Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT-H) is one of the six new Indian Institutes of Technology established by the Government of India in 2008. In a short span of 12 years, the institute built on an imposing 578-acre campus and has been ranked among the top 10 institutes for four consecutive years in the NIRF released by the Ministry of Education, GoI. IIT-H was also ranked under Top #20 in the recent edition ARIIA on indicators related to 'Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development' among students and faculties. IIT-Hyderabad has 237 full-time faculty, 3,397 students of whom 20 per cent are women, nearly 200 state-of-the-art laboratories and five research and entrepreneurship centres. The Institute has a strong research focus with more than Rs. 500 crore of sanctioned research funding while PhD scholars account for about 30% of total student strength. IIT-H students and faculty are at the forefront of innovation with more than 5500 research publications and 100+ patent disclosures, 300 sponsored/ consultancy projects and 50 industry & academic collaborations. To know more, please visit: https://www.iith.ac.in/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/713572/Deakin_University_Logo.jpg Media Contact : Ishani Mudgal, ishani.mudgal@deakin.edu.au, + 91 () 11 26544757, ETP Services Private Limited [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 365 Digital is thrilled to announce its appointment as exclusive partner to TikTok in South Africa. The exclusive partnership specifies 365 Digital as TikTok's exclusive media representatives, who will be responsible for all advertising sales and account management in South Africa. TikTok is a fully sound-on environment that allows brands to tell more immersive stories, and provide a more dynamic consumer experience. The video-sharing platform, designed to inspire creative content generation in the format of short-form videos that make your day, has seen rapid growth in its user numbers in South Africa since it entered the market. In 2020, TikTok had an estimated six million downloads, according to the 2020 edition of the SA Social Media Landscape , which indicates the rising necessity for brands to reach and engage with the extensive audience on this exciting entertainment platform.The launch of TikTok For Business has been highly anticipated by brands, who have been eager to connect with the rapidly growing local audience. We are proud to partner with TikTok and take their unrivalled branding opportunities to market. This partnership compliments our vision and future intentions. It is a powerful example of our strong market position and rich heritage as South Africas leading digital media business, says Julian Jordaan, managing director of 365 Digital.Jordaan continues: TikTok is all about discovery, creativity, inclusivity and creating joy. Brands can now connect with consumers through a completely new approach that is authentic and that will rejuvenate brand affinity. We truly believe that brands using TikTok will be able to tell more immersive stories and provide a more dynamic consumer experience.TikTok has a vast and diverse community in South Africa and continues to quickly gain popularity in the country, said Shant Okanyan, general manager for global business solutions, Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Pakistan at TikTok. We know brands in South Africa want innovative and new ways to connect with their customers, and partnering with 365 Digital will open up opportunities on TikTok for these businesses to drive value and engage with the community in an authentic way. Investors' tumbled by Rs 6,86,708.74 crore in morning trade on Monday following massive losses in the equity market as sentiments remained muted amid increasing COVID-19 cases in the country. The 30-share BSE benchmark index plunged 1,479.15 points to 48,112.17 in morning trade. Tracking losses in equities, the market capitalization of BSE-listed companies eroded by Rs 6,86,708.74 crore to Rs 2,02,76,533.13 crore. IndusInd Bank was the biggest loser among the 30-share companies pack, declining over 7 per cent, followed by SBI, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank. "Domestic equities do not look to be inspiring at the moment. A sharp increase in COVID-19 daily cases in the country, and possibility of large economic restrictions are expected to keep nervous in the near term. Further, the possibility of lockdown in large states like Maharashtra will weigh on investors' sentiments. "Additionally, recent weakness in INR may also aggravate investors' concerns. However, 4Q FY21 earnings, wherein IT majors are scheduled to deliver their numbers this week, are to be in focus," said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities. (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 will come out of the COVID-19 crisis that has impacted the entire world with flying colours, CEO Punit Renjen has said, asserting that the 21st century is "India's century". Renjen said the Indian government has performed well in addressing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. "This is India's century and I'm convinced about it, the 60-year-old prominent Indian-American business leader told PTI in an interview. "I am certainly a little biased given my (Indian) heritage but I'm actually convinced that this is India's century because of just the raw talent that exists in India, the number of people that comprise India, the democratic tradition that has been around for 75 years, he said. Observing that the pandemic impacted everyone, Renjen said the pandemic impacted India very hard, given the lockdown that the government had to put in place, given the size of the population and what the virus potentially could do to India. The Rohtak-born Indian-American CEO, who has been heading since 2015, described as remarkable a recent report from the International Monetary Fund which projected 12.5 per cent growth rate for the country. Nobody can say with precision, but I really believe that India is going to come out of this pandemic growing at the fastest rate; definitely the fastest large economy, he said. I think the recovery is going to be very strong. The fundamentals (of Indian economy) are there and I'm very bullish as is on India, said Renjen, also a member of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors. This was a very unpredictable virus. India is a country of 1.3 billion people and there are communities in India like Dharavi in Mumbai that are highly congested areas, which are really prime areas for the virus to spread, he said. Given all of those conditions, I believe that the Indian economy, the Indian people have weathered this as well as they possibly could, he said, adding that, however, there have been difficult times but that is not just unique to India. It has been very difficult here in the United States. It's been difficult in Western countries. I'm confident and optimistic there with the vaccines in place, some of the learnings that we've had in the last year that we can actually see a light at the end of the tunnel, Renjen said. When asked about the foreign direct investment in India, he said the foreign investors look at a number of parameters. "First that look at stable governance. India certainly has that. They look at democratic traditions in the rule of law. India has that. They look at a large consumer base. 1.3 billion people aspiring to come out and be in the middle class or above, India has that in droves. Then it looks at the core comparative advantage. India's comparative advantage of highly talented individuals is second to none, he said. Deloitte, which provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, operates in more than 150 countries, with approximately 300,000 professionals. It has 50,000 individuals in India at various centers. I've committed that over the next few years, we will hire 75,000 additional individuals. And the reason why Deloitte as an entity is looking at India, is because the talent that exists in India. With all of that, I believe that all the makings are there for this to be India century, he said. Renjen said India needs to ensure that the means of doing business in the country are open, that there is an attraction for foreign investment coming to India to invest in sectors that are important not only for India but also for India being the base to serve the rest of the world. India dominates in terms of vaccine production and there is no reason why the country cannot be the pharmaceutical engine for the rest of the world. India dominates in technology some iconic Indian companies that really operate globally. There's no reason why that can't be expanded, he said. And why some of the new things that have come out of the pandemic, the silver linings that have come out of the pandemic - digitization, cloud, the technology-enabled secular growth - why India can't drive those areas? I think this is a great opportunity, he said. Renjen was born and raised in India. He moved to the United States after receiving a Rotary Foundation Scholarship to Willamette University. He has served on the board of trustees of Willamette University and was named among the 100 most influential business leaders who have graduated from the schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. In 2019, Willamette University conferred upon him an honorary doctorate. Considered to be one of the highly influential CEOs, Renjen is a member of The Business Roundtable, The International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, and serves as the member of several not-for-profit boards including at the United Way Worldwide (chairman) and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum as its vice-chairman. He was named an honoree to 2012, 2013 and 2014 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship 100. (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.) VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Debutantes representing local high schools were honored during a ceremony this afternoon at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Each year, the woman's department club organizes a cotillion. The event is meant to recognize young women for their academic achievements and contributions to their community. "With everything that has been going on we haven't been able to have a lot of our normal events and this is such an honorable event. We're very lucky that we're able to keep this tradition going," says Giana White Junior department club chairwoman. News 10's very own Susan Dinkel served as the emcee for the 62nd annual event. "Although my God-given talent is a huge part of my success, I could not be where I am today without the desire and passion that has and continues to drive me every day. I am so humbled and excited to start this new relationship with Sony Music Publishing, and I would like to thank them for the opportunity," said Supah Mario. "I especially want to thank Adrian Nunez at SMP for all his hard work in making this dream a reality. I've long wanted to be a part of Sony Music Publishing, and I am excited for my future with the publisher. I've also been blessed with a management team who worked alongside Adrian to make this possible thank you to my wonderful team. Thanks to my family for all the sacrifices they make so I can follow my passion. Most importantly, thank God for all my success and many more years to come." Sony Music Publishing Vice President, Creative Adrian Nunez said, "The opportunity to work with Supah Mario has been a long time coming, and I'm excited to continue our creative relationship with Mario. I'm thankful for Amal, Josh and the rest of Mario's team for their help and I'm excited to see what happens next." South Carolina native Supah Mario has quickly made a name for himself as an in-demand producer, crafting popular hits including "What's Next," "Ice Melts" and "Blue Tint" by Drake; "Wyclef Jean" by Young Thug; "That Way," "Myron" and "Silly Watch" by Lil Uzi Vert; "Diamonds Talkin' Back" by 2 Chainz; and Big K.R.I.T.'s "Mixed Messages." Supah Mario earned breakout success in 2014 with his collaboration alongside Young Thug on "2 Cups Stuffed," and again a year later with his 2015 hit "Thiefs in the Night." Since then, he has become recognized as one of today's most prolific new beatmakers, working with and producing for prominent artists such as Drake, Jeezy, 2 Chainz, Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd, Lil Yachty, Key Glock, Tory Lanez, among many others. Supah Mario is managed by Amal Noor, Skip Ojulade and Chibu Amajoyi, and represented by Joshua Kamen, Esq. SOURCE Sony Music Publishing A COVID-19 vaccination clinic housed in a converted RV is headed for Latino neighborhoods and other underserved communities in Pennsylvania. The mobile clinic will hold 120 vaccination events during the next few months and also help distribute information aimed at persuading people who are reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The unfortunate reality is that the suffering of our most vulnerable and underserved populations has risen to a whole new level due to COVID-19, George Fernandez, the CEO of Latino Connection, said during a kickoff event Monday in Harrisburg. The mobile unit was previously used to extend COVID-19 testing and preventive information into underserved communities around the state. Health insurers Highmark Blue Shield and Independence Blue Cross along with Penn State Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health are involved with the mobile effort. People can learn more about the mobile vaccination schedule and pre-register for vaccination here. Pennsylvania announced Monday that all adults will be eligible for vaccine as of Tuesday. Who does, really? Long ago, when I ran into an acquaintance who said he'd been reading my reviews, he asked whether I knew what I was talking about or just making things up. The truth is, it's a bit of both. It's never easy to write or talk about dance; despite ties to theater, music and visual art, dance is always and only its own nonverbal self. LOS ANGELES, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dentulu Inc most notably recognized for its free Teledentistry and Mobile Dentistry platform awarded the American Dental Associations Cellarant Best of Class technology award in 2020 is expanding its partnerships. Dentulu is quickly becoming the most robust dental software platform on the market offering free and low cost software solutions to dental professionals across the globe. Led by a 3rd generation dentist and a team of in house software developers and engineers, Dentulus mission is to create a one stop shop for anything dental related with the biggest network of dental providers in the world. Dentulus aspirations to grow its all inclusive platform has been well received by the dental industry and has garnered a series of partnerships ranging from financing companies to health carriers and even supply companies who are all participating in Dentulus emerging marketplace. Our goal is as bold as it is simple, to create one platform that is affordable and available to all dental professionals where they can access the latest technologies, services, and products available on the dental market from anywhere in the world and on any device, explains Dr. Hakhamian. Dentulu recognizes that dental professionals currently face many challenges as they navigate the changing landscape of the dental industry and that managing these challenges is an integral part of running a successful dental practice. Dentulus concept received a major boost with the help of Google and investors, mostly comprised of Dentists and Dental specialists, who helped complete its initial multi-million dollar seed round. Now, with the help of new institutional investors, Dentulu is expanding its services to include artificial intelligence, diagnostic tools, communication tools, and office management services beyond its free offerings. Dentulu is also working directly with major retailers to help dental offices acquire new patients through its mobile app and on its website. Dentulus innovations do not stop with its software. Dentulu is also launching unique products such as the MouthCam, a consumer intraoral camera that is less than $99 that allows remote patient monitoring of dental patients in the comfort of their own home. While we cannot currently perform many dental procedures through the phone, we can utilize advanced technologies to help dental professionals acquire more patients, run more efficient practices, and find the resources they need to have more successful and profitable dental careers, continues Dr. Hakhamian. Dentulu will begin announcing a series of partnerships in April and May and will launch at least one new product or service every quarter as it begins to move towards its mission to unite the dental industry with its award winning team and technology. Dental professionals can register for free on Dentulu and participate in its open platform and begin using many of its free features or upgrade their account to take advantage of its low cost software solutions on the Dentulu mobile app available on both Android and IOS phones or directly on the web at www.dentulu.com Dentulu is the leading Teledentistry and Mobile Dentistry platform providing customized digital solutions and services to both dental professionals and patients. Additional information is available on www.dentulu.com Contact Information: Dr. Arash Hakhamian CEO arash@dentulu.com (888) 905-0226 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f20fea92-4674-479e-9cf8-78c08a951c3c Equity indices were trading with steep losses in morning trade as Covid-19 cases continued to surge in the country. The Nifty hovered around the 14,450 level. Pharma stocks bucked a broader selloff. At 10:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 1332.39 points or 2.69% at 48,258.69. The Nifty 50 index declined 395.3 points or 2.66% at 14,439.55. The selling was broad based. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 3.72% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 3.19%. Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 479 shares rose and 2060 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged. IT bellwether TCS scheduled to kick start the Jan-March 2021 results season today, 12 April 2021. On the macro front, the Industrial Production and Manufacturing Production data for February will be released today, 12 April 2021. COVID-19 Update: Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 135,875,683 with 2,935,457 deaths. India reported 12,01,009 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 170179 deaths while 121,56,529 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. India on Monday reported 1,68,912 new Covid-19 cases and 904 deaths in last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. The media reported that a total lockdown may be impending in Maharashtra. With rising COVID cases, a total lockdown is mulled by state government officials. State health minister Rajesh Tope said that a decision could happen after it is discussed during Wednesday's cabinet meeting. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Pharma index added 0.81% to 13,101.25, bucking weak market trend. The index rose for second consecutive trading session and has added 3.88% in two days. Cipla (up 3.14%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.99%), Dr. Reddy's (up 1.53%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.05%), Lupin (up 0.88%) and Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 0.85%) were top gainers in pharma space. Stocks in Spotlight: JMC Projects tumbled 5.62%. The EPC company announced that it has secured new orders worth Rs 1,262 crore. Of the total Rs 1,262 crore, orders worth Rs 431 crore were bagged in March 2021 while the remaining orders worth Rs 831 crore were secured in April 2021 till date. The company secured building projects in India of Rs 1,059 crore. It has also bagged a water project worth approximately Rs 203 crore in Maldives. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone tumbled 5%. Flipkart, India's leading homegrown e-commerce marketplace, announced a strategic and commercial partnership with the Adani Group, India's largest multinational infrastructure company. In this two-pronged partnership, Flipkart will work with Adani Logistics, a diversified end-to-end logistics service provider in the country and a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, to strengthen Flipkart's supply chain infrastructure and further enhance its ability to serve its rapidly growing base of customers. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over the first two weeks of April, a strange drama unfolded in Selma, Alabama. A very expensive chair vanished. A group of Confederate apologists received a ransom note. Police got involved. Then the story got weirder. Heres what you need to know to catch up on the saga of the Jefferson Davis chair. How did this start? In late March, the United Daughters of the Confederacy reported that an ornately carved stone chair dedicated to Confederate president Jefferson Davisand estimated by the group to be worth $50,000was stolen from a cemetery in Selma. Advertisement On April 5, a group identifying itself as White Lies Matter declared it had taken the chair and demanded a ransom. But instead of money, the group wanted the UDC to hang a banner outside their headquarters in Richmond with a quote from a famous Black Liberation Army activist. If the UDC didnt do it in time, the group warned in a ransom note, the chair would be carved out and used as a toilet. Shit just got real, the note said. Advertisement Advertisement Who is White Lies Matter? The people behind White Lies Mattera name that, if read too quickly, might cause you to falsely associate it with a white supremacist rallying cryidentified themselves as a leaderless band of anti-racists originating in the South. In an emailed statement, the group said, Like most Confederate monuments, [the chair] mostly exists to remind those whos [sic] freedom had to be purchased in blood, that there still exists a portion of our country that is more than willing to continue to spill blood to avoid paying that debt down. We took their toy, and we dont feel guilty about it. They never play with it anyway. They just want it there to remind us what theyve done, what they are still willing to do. Advertisement The timing was significant: the date for the banners unveiling was to be Friday, the anniversary of the day Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Court House. What quote did they want on the banner? The rulers of this country have always considered their property more important than our lives. That quote is from Assata Shakur, an activist who joined the Black Liberation Army and who was convicted in the 1973 killing of a state trooper in New Jersey. Advertisement Why did they target the United Daughters of the Confederacy? If theres any group of people you can blame for the Lost Cause mythology about the Civil War, its this one. The UDC was born out of a campaign to depict the Confederacys racist intentions as revolving around genteel honor and states rights. Members of the UDCas the name suggests, a womens organizationrebelled during the Reconstruction by depicting themselves, cannily, as grieving wives and daughters simply memorializing their loved ones, avoiding the crackdowns that male pro-Confederacy activity might have drawn. Still, their politics were never secret: they supported the Ku Klux Klan in its early days, and they lobbied to have textbooks altered to depict slavery as less cruel and those defending it as honorable. Advertisement Over the years, they have paid for countless monuments to be placed in prominent public spaces, often commissioning new ones in times of racial unrest. They are also notoriously litigious and are behind many of the recent high-profile legal disputes over Confederate monuments. So did they hang the banner? No. The UDC offered a $5,000 reward for information about the chairs disappearance. Last Wednesday, the White Lies Matter group said that it was making good on its threat: As the UDC has given us every indication that they had no intention of hanging the banner, even going as far as declaring our demands, fake news, White Lies Matter has decided to move forward prematurely with the alteration of the chair. It will be returned to the UDC immediately. Advertisement Advertisement The group then released photos showing a man in a Union uniform using the chairnow with a hole cut out in the middleas a toilet. Heard from the #whiteliesmatter people who stole the Jefferson Davis Chair in Selma. They said since it didnt appear UDC was going to hang their banner, they went ahead and turned the chair into a toilet. And apparently wiped with a Confederate flag. pic.twitter.com/6iHNDdGPsO Gillian Brockell (@gbrockell) April 8, 2021 Advertisement So they really used it as a toilet? Not quite. This is where the story takes a turn. After the group released the photos, a reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser noticed that the chair looked a little, well, off. She did a little digging, and White Lies Matter copped to constructing a replica out of wood and foam. The original chair was unsoiled. Advertisement A spokesman with a fake Southern accent told the Washington Post that the group had come up with the idea to steal a Confederate symbol and landed on the chair because it was reportedly more than a century old (a good majority of Confederate monuments were produced in the 20th century and can therefore be easily replaced) and because it looked like something that belonged somewhere other than sitting in the dirt and having birds defecate on it. Advertisement The chair was easily over 300 pounds, he told the Post, and took a good number of people to lift. The group also told the Advertiser that they had started working on the fake chair long before they stole the original. They also said they always planned to return the chair as they found it. You know, we already cleaned it, we already got all the moss off of it, took a bunch of brushes to it, made it nice and pretty, the spokesman told the Post. What ultimately happened to the real chair? The group said it gave New Orleans police and the UDC GPS coordinates of a safe location where it left the chair. On Thursday, police recovered the real chair, though they say it did not match the GPS coordinates. It was returned to the UDC shortly after. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Is that the end of the saga? No. Two peoplea 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old womanwere arrested on Friday and face charges for possession of stolen property. A third man is wanted in connection to the theft. Before the arrests, the group expressed optimism that they wouldnt really get into trouble: As for any charges stemming from this action, we currently have white supremacists storming the Capitol in Washington D.C. and killing cops. This is a victimless crime, the group said in an email to the Advertiser. The only thing hurt here were feelings. We suspect after all is said and done, the authorities will choose to spend their time on something worthwhile. We did our partand do not mistake it, it was not the part for heroes, but the part for idiots, they added. The real heroes are in jail cells, in graves, in history books where they continue to fight for how honest we are willing to be about the narrative behind the flag. Transparency, open communication and a fun atmosphere all help contribute to KnowBe4s success and have helped to earn us a spot in the top four on this list for the fourth consecutive year. -Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4 Great Place to Work has honored KnowBe4 as one of the 2021 Fortune Best Workplaces in Technology. This is KnowBe4s fourth time being named to this prestigious list, this year coming in at number four. Earning a spot means that KnowBe4 is one of the best companies to work for in the country. The Best Workplaces in Technology award is based on analysis of survey responses from more than 122,000 current employees across the U.S. In that survey, 96% of KnowBe4s employees said KnowBe4 is a great place to work. This number is 37% higher than the average U.S. company. It is always such a thrill to continue to place on lists for best workplaces in the U.S., said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4. We make a very concerted effort in everything that we do to be the best place employees have ever worked. Transparency, open communication and a fun atmosphere all help contribute to KnowBe4s success and have helped to earn us a spot in the top four on this list for the fourth consecutive year. The Best Workplaces in Technology list is highly competitive. Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture, selected the list using rigorous analytics and confidential employee feedback. Companies were only considered if they are a Great Place to Work-Certified organization. Great Place to Work is the only company culture award in America that selects winners based on how fairly employees are treated. Companies are assessed on how well they are creating a great employee experience that cuts across race, gender, age, disability status, or any aspect of who employees are or what their role is. Its more than fancy perks at the Best Workplaces in Technology. Employees at the companies praised their leaders for their incredible transparency and care during this pandemic year, said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, VP global recognition, Great Place to Work. Even while working from home, employees said they felt more connected to their colleagues and their communities than ever. In 2020, KnowBe4 also ranked as a Best Workplace for Millennials and Women. About KnowBe4 KnowBe4, the provider of the worlds largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 37,000 organizations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness about ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to awareness training on security. Kevin Mitnick, an internationally recognized cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4's Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Tens of thousands of organizations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilize their end users as the last line of defense. About the Best Workplaces in Technology Great Place to Work selected the Best Workplaces in Technology by gathering and analyzing confidential survey responses from more than 122,000 employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organizations across the country. Company rankings are derived from 60 employee experience questions within the Great Place to Work Trust Index survey. Read the full methodology. To get on this list next year, start here. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All. Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Russia to expand defence co-operation with India India and Russia have decided to expand their military cooperation with additional production of Russian military equipment in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modis `Make-in-India programme, visiting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting his counterpart S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Tuesday. The two countries also decided to pursue bilateral cooperation despite dissuations caused by regional and global developments. Moscow and New Delhi also reassured themselves that neither threats of sanctions from the United States nor military threat posed by China will stand in the way of bilateral trade and defence ties. Lavrov said talks touched on manufacturing of state-of-the-art weapon systems, even as he noted that Russia is the only partner that transfers cutting-edge military technology to India. In this strategically important area, Russia is a major foreign contractor for New Delhi. I am sure deepening of Russian Indian military cooperation serves the national interest of both countries, said Lavrov. Lavrov said military ties with India were deepening while ruling out any military alliance with China. The statement is significant considering the India-China military standoff for nearly a year in East Ladakh. Speaking alongside Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Lavrov also spoke of Russia manufacturing 750 million doses of the Sputnik-V vaccine in India. Discussions about the manufacture of the Bharat Biotech in Russia are on, he said . The two foreign ministers also discussed the Afghanistan situation and agreed on the involvement of the Taliban and other regional powers, without which any solution would be "unsustainable." Lavrov also said that Moscow respected India's decision to diversify the purchase of military weapons from other countries, a reference to the United States and France, adding that Russia has assurances that there was no plan for an Asian NATO. Denying that he had said US exercises pressure on India, Lavrov said there were no discussions on statements from the US against arms trade with Russia. Both sides also touched on cooperation in energy, including nuclear, peaceful exploration of space and manned programs, rocket engine building, satellite navigation, the Russian Far East and the Arctic. Fresh from a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month, Lavrov said though Russia-China relations at the summit-level are at their highest levels in history; there are no discussions on a military alliance. Whether it was a Russia-China military alliance or talks of a Middle East NATO or an Asian NATO, we believe it is counterproductive. Our Indian friends have the same position, he observed. External Article 12 April 2021 The association justifies its commitment to help hoteliers to their rights in court. Since 2004 at the latest, the booking portal has applied best-price clauses with which it prohibited affiliated hotels from offering rooms at lower rates through any other distribution channel. With these clauses, Booking.com shielded its business model against any competition in violation of antitrust law, which ultimately allowed the company to collect booking commissions of up to 50% of the room rate from hoteliers. Settlement Negotiations Failed Hoteliers were overcharged and harmed by the best price clauses. The German Hotel Association is now supporting around 2,000 hotels that have joined its "daBeisein" initiative to enforce their claim for compensation in court. "After several months of settlement negotiations that were actually constructive, Booking.com surprisingly left the negotiating table at the end of October last year and arbitrarily sued 66 hotels participating in the initiative in a Dutch court in Amsterdam for 'negative determination of its liability.' This left the remaining 2,000 hotels with no other option than to now file a class action suit themselves with the Berlin Regional Court," Otto Lindner, as IHA Chairman, explains the procedure. In 2013, the Federal Cartel Office had initiated antitrust proceedings against Booking.com following a complaint by the German Hotel Association due to the use of best price clauses in violation of antitrust law. After both the Federal Cartel Office and the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court left no doubt in the parallel case of HRS that the best price clauses were incompatible with German and European antitrust law, the booking portal ultimately removed the best price clauses from its terms and conditions in Germany in 2015. Melissa Stewart, another popular exvangelical personality on TikTok, grew up in an Independent Fundamental Baptist church in Minnesota. When she married at 18, her pastor used John Pipers work in premarital counseling sessions. She also participated in a church group that studied his best-known book, Desiring God, which argues that joy is an essential piece of the Christian life. Ms. Stewart is now divorced and in law school. On TikTok, where she has about 179,000 followers, she posts about feminism, sexuality and atheism. To see someone who didnt just come from that world but came from that family, who has clearly done the work to get out, and is so introspective and gentle and grounded gives a lot of people hope, she said in an interview. If John Pipers son can deconstruct and get to this place, I can do this, too. For others, Mr. Pipers pedigree is proof that ex-Christians should not be dismissed as people who were never really committed in the first place. One of the common refrains is that these people were never Christian, said Blake Chastain, who popularized the term exvangelical when he named his podcast in 2016. But the people who leave over these issues are the people who took it seriously. They were the youth group kids who were on fire for God. Mr. Piper is one of a number of children of prominent conservative Christians who have publicly rejected elements of their parents teaching. Jay Bakker, the son of the televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, is an advocate for L.G.B.T.Q. acceptance in the church. The five children of the combative evangelist Rick Joyner recently told the Times columnist Nicholas Kristof that they vote Democratic. Abraham Piper was excommunicated from his fathers church at age 19 after rejecting the faith. At first I pretended that my reasoning was high-minded and philosophical, he later wrote in a Christian magazine. But really I just wanted to drink gallons of cheap sangria and sleep around. Four years later, he returned to the faith, and was welcomed back at the church in what his father has described as a beautiful restoration service. At some point after that, Mr. Piper departed again this time, apparently, for good. In his videos, however, Mr. Piper talks only vaguely about growing up in and rejecting what he describes as fundamentalism. He never mentions his lineage, and he declined to participate in this article. John Piper, too, declined to comment. In his videos, Abraham Piper repeatedly insists he is not trying to convince anyone of anything. Do you know how boring and soul-sucking it is to base your whole life on making sure other people change to become more like you? he asked his followers in February. Its not that nothing matters, he added. But you get to pick what. You decide what matters. Lighten up, get laid, go bowling. A female teacher from a metropolitan school in Adelaide has been charged with child sex offences. The 36-year-old western suburbs woman was arrested on Sunday and charged with aggravated communicating with a child to make them amenable to sexual activity. The South Australian Department of Education said parents of school students were being notified. A female teacher from a metropolitan school in Adelaide has been charged with child sex offences (pictured: stock image) 'The Department for Education has been notified by SAPOL of the arrest of a 36-year-old female teacher at a metropolitan school,' a statement from the department said. 'She has been charged with child sexual offences. Parents are being informed in line with Debelle protocols.' The teacher's employment has been suspended. She was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on June 16. The Debelle Inquiry was conducted by former Supreme Court Justice Bruce Debelle in 2013, after parents were left uninformed of a sexual assault case at a school for almost two years. The 281-page report listed 43 recommendations for better reporting mechanisms for reacting to sexual assault in schools. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:35:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's remittances remained over 2 billion U.S. dollars in March for the 10th month in a row, the country's central bank said on Monday. The remittances rose to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars in March 2021, which was 20 percent higher than those of February and 43 percent higher than those of March 2020, a statement by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said. "Cumulatively during July-March of FY21 (from July 2020 to June 2021), remittances have risen to 21.5 billion U.S. dollars, up by 26 percent over the same period of FY20," the statement said. The central bank termed proactive policy measures by the government and the SBP to encourage more inflows through formal banking channels, limited cross-border travel in the face of COVID-19, medical expenses and altruistic transfers to Pakistan amidst the pandemic as the main reasons for the increasing remittances. "Orderly foreign exchange market conditions are also continuing to contribute to this sustained rise in workers' remittances," said the statement. The country's Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday hailed the increase in the remittances and expressed gratitude to overseas Pakistanis for their support. Enditem Curneal Hignite Insurance has been named Kentuckys 2020 Diamond Achiever by Frankenmuth Insurance. The annual award is presented to the highest performing agency based on set criteria including length of appointment, profitability, growth, and policy retention. Each year, the top Frankenmuth agencies receive the Diamond Achiever award in recognition of their outstanding accomplishment. We truly value our partnership with Curneal Hignite Insurance and are pleased to present their management team and staff with our Diamond Achiever award, said Frankenmuth Insurance President and COO Fred Edmond. This recognition exemplifies their commitment to providing quality, professional insurance products and services to our mutual clients. The results achieved by the team at Curneal Hignite Insurance helped the agency become one of the most successful among Frankenmuth Insurances more than 700 independent agencies. Joe Stewart, President of Curneal Hignite Insurance affirms, We are humbled and honored to receive the prestigious Diamond Achiever Award. This is an accomplishment that we do not not take for granted. We value the partnership that has developed between our agency and Frankenmuth Insurance. Their dedication and commitment to our agency and all independent agencies is very commendable and very much appreciated. It is definitely a team effort from both sides. Curneal Hignite Insurance has been licensed with Frankenmuth Insurance since 2017 and is recognized as one of the carriers Partner independent insurance agencies. ### About Frankenmuth Insurance Insurance exists to provide peace of mind, and Frankenmuth Insurance has been protecting individuals, families and businesses for more than 150 years. We truly care about the people we serve and strive to be your insurer of choice. We partner exclusively with nearly 700 independent agents to customize business, home, auto, and life insurance policies and surety bonds. Headquartered in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and doing business in 15 states, Frankenmuth Insurance is financially sound, with $1.8 billion in assets. The company has an A.M. Best rating of A (Excellent). For more information visit fmins.com. About Curneal Hignite As a part of the family agencies that make up Houchens Insurance Group, Curneal Hignite has provided insurance services throughout Kentucky for over 35 years. Professional and loyal relationships with our insurance companies allows us to provide the best coverages at the most competitive price for our clients. Being a full service, independent agency we can provide all your insurance needs, business and personal. For more information visit http://www.higusa.com. The partially-vaccinated Gov. Phil Murphy will return to the Trenton War Memorial on Monday for a 1 p.m. coronavirus press conference. The governor, who received the first of his two vaccine shots Friday in Atlantic City, will be joined inside the Trenton War Memorial by state health commissioner Judy Persichilli, state epidemiologist Dr. Christina Tan and State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick Callahan. There were 2,261 patients in New Jersey 71 hospitals as of 10 p.m. Sunday, 35 fewer than in the previous 24-hour period, according to the coronavirus dashboard maintained by the state health department. Officials say 448 patients are getting critical care with 241 on ventilators. Hospitalizations in March went up by a net 379 patients in March but have dipped by 33 so far in April. At least 2,158,711 in New Jersey were fully vaccinated as of 10 a.m. Sunday. The governor and his wife, Tammy Murphy are among 3,417,454 who received at least one dose. Both Murphys got the Pfizer vaccine. The states rate of transmission fell again Sunday to .96, following a steady drop through the week from 1.07 on Monday. Any number above 1 indicates that the outbreak is growing, with each new case leading to at least one other case. A transmission rate below 1 means the spread is slowing. Officials disclosed 2,987 more cases and 14 more COVID-19 related deaths on Sunday. Murphy has one other public appearance on Monday. At 10 a.m., he will sign small business legislation at Jammin Crepes on Nassau Street in Princeton. The governor will be joined by state Senator Linda Greenstein, Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker and New Jersey Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan. Last week Murphy signed a bill that would provide $35 million in aid to restaurants hurt by the pandemic. NJ Advance Media staff writer Katie Kausch contributed to this report. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. The under-construction centralized quarantine facilities, where people at risk of contracting COVID-19 are to be taken into quarantine in Shijiazhuang, in northern Hebei province after the province declared an "emergency state," on Jan. 16, 2021. (STR/CNS/AFP via Getty Images) Strict Lockdown Measures in China Push Couple to Verge of Despair A Chinese couple were pushed to the verge of despair by strict restrictions during 70 days of quarantine when their city was in lockdown to stem an outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Earlier this year, several cities in northern Chinas Hebei provinceNangong, Xingtai, Langfang, and Shijiazhuangwere all placed under strict lockdown following an outbreak of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. Zhao Lan and her husband Chen Hai (both pseudonyms) served as volunteers in their community in Nangong during the lockdown, bringing food to households that suffered from shortages. On April 2, the couple told The Epoch Times about the plight that their family went through in coping with unrelenting strict lockdown measures imposed by the authorities. Disinfection Turned Into Ransacking On Jan. 24, when two other volunteers in their community tested positive for the CCP virus, the couple were immediately sent to a local quarantine center. Before the couple left their house, the local authorities took away their house keys to carry out a disinfection of their home. But what was supposed to be a general sterilization quickly transformed into a ransacking. Most of the couples personal belongings were thrown away by the authorities without their consentincluding their bank cards, wallet and purses, cellphones, business license, accounting books, and other valuables. Zhao said, The first thing I saw when I got back home was that as far as my eyes could see, except for the large pieces of furniture, nothing was left, not even a kettle for drinking water. Authorities did not tell the couple that they were going to remove their belongings. What makes Zhao particularly sad is that her daughters belongings were also discarded. My girl died of leukemia three years ago, at the age of two-and-a-half. They threw away all my girls photos too. I told them that those things were priceless to me, Zhao said. Protracted Quarantine However, the ransacking of their home was not the most disturbing thing that happened to the couple. Chen has been in quarantine alone for more than 70 days, with no idea of when he will be released. According to Zhao, on Jan. 23, the day before he was placed in quarantine, Chen took a shower with the window open to let in the air. He probably caught a cold as a result and had a slight fever the next day. Consequently, he was sent to Xingtai No. 2 Hospital under observation. Zhao said that her husband no longer had any fever upon arrival at the hospital. While he stayed in isolation there, he was given no treatment, except for some liver protection pills. On March 5, when Chen was discharged from the hospital, he was told to stay in quarantine at home for another 14 days. Meanwhile, the hospital refused to show him his own medical records. To avoid all family members being forced into quarantine, Chen stayed alone at another location away from his home, and his wife delivered meals for him every day. But after the 14-day quarantine concluded, the couple were told again that Chen must remain in quarantine for another month. Chen said: I have been quarantined for more than 70 days, and now the authorities have told me that I am a high-risk suspect with the coronavirus, but Ive never been allowed to see my medical records. Since I came back on March 5, I have taken a CT showing that everything is normal. Yet authorities have given Chen no choice but to comply. A few days ago my wife had a heart attack and the hospital needs me to be there to sign the paperwork, but they simply told me, You are not allowed to go outnot even for weddings or funerals, Chen said. The authorities want him to sign an agreement to stay in quarantine at home and apply for a subsidy of up to 5,000 yuan ($750). Chen said: I have never tested positive, never! You can keep treating me like a suspect, but you cant mess up my life like this. Id rather not get any subsidies. Zhao disclosed that by signing the agreement, Chen must rest at home for one more month, and then submit himself under strict watch for another three to six months. The couple refused to sign the agreement, and the authorities installed surveillance cameras at the entrance of their home. Zhao said: My husband is now mentally depressed. He has been forced into quarantine alone at home for too long. Hes changed completely into a different person, becoming very easily irritated with people around him. To make matters worse, the protracted quarantine imposed on Chen has prevented him from going back to work, pushing the familys finances and livelihood to the verge of ruin. Zhao said that her husband is the only breadwinner in the family. The relentless quarantine has inflicted a devastating financial blow. Saddled with car loans and a mortgage, they also have to take care of elderly relatives who are in poor health and need medical care. We cant take it any longer, she added. Zhao still sees nothing in sight to alleviate her familys ordeal. Authorities Dont Care if People Live or Die What depresses the couple even more is the authorities indifference to their plight. Chen said, When I returned home, they promised that Id be out of quarantine as soon as I stayed at home for 14 days. However, Chen was immediately forced into extended quarantine when the 14-day period ended. He began calling the local authorities about when he would be set free from isolation. Initially, there was someone answering his calls, but the response would always be, Wait a couple more days, well have a meeting to decide. As time passed, Chen said he has became more and more depressed. Now when he calls again, nobody picks up the phone. They have told Chen, You dont have the right to call us here, you should instead call your community office and ask them to report to us about your caseone level at a time. Now Chen feels getting stuck, without knowing what to do next to end his familys plight. The authorities dont care if people can survive the lockdown measuresas long as people submit to stay at home, Chen said. All they care about is how to protect their vested interests and how to hang on to their posts. As for people like us? They dont care if you live or die, he said. Gu Xiaohua and Zhang Bei contributed to this report. BRIDGEPORT After more than three decades serving the city, Former Police Chief Armando AJ Perez will serve 12 months and one day behind bars for cheating on the process that made him chief and then later twice lying to the FBI about it. I am so sorry, Perez told U.S. District Judge Kari Dooley during his sentencing hearing Monday, his voice quivering with emotion. I spent most of my life on the right side of the table and I betrayed myself...my family in the Police Department, those are my kids. The Police Department in the city of Bridgeport is a young department and I looked upon them as my children and it has just torn my heart out that I am not there to protect them anymore. I hold no malice to anyone, I did this to myself, I panicked. But the judge told him, I know it is not what you wanted to hear but a sentence of incarceration is warranted. You were the face of the Bridgeport Police Department and yet you chose your own selfish career goal or ego over the values and mission of the department. You betrayed your oath and every member of the department who took the same oath and who daily try to live up to it. In addition to the prison term, the judge ordered Perez to serve 24 months of supervised release and to pay a $7,500 fine. He must pay his part of the $299,407 in restitution to the city and do 100 hours of community service. He is to surrender to federal prison authorities on May 24. The sentence of a year and a day is significant because Perez would only be able to get so-called good time credits for sentences over one year. Perez, 65, had faced up to two years in prison after he and the citys former personnel director, David Dunn, 73, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making a false statement to the FBI. Both men are also expected to be ordered to make in total nearly $300,000 in restitution to the city for their actions. Dunn also faces a 2-year prison term when he is sentenced on Tuesday. According to federal prosecutors, both Perez and Dunn participated in a 9-month conspiracy to deceive the city by secretly rigging the purportedly open and competitive selection process for a permanent Bridgeport chief. The most important fact of this case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Francis told the judge, was the defendants abuse of his position. He was the chief law enforcement officer in the largest city in Connecticut. City officials claim Perez and Dunns conspiracy cost the city nearly $300,000 and that figure could go much higher. Both Police Capt. Roderick Porter, who had been a finalist for the chiefs job, and former Assistant Chief James Nardozzi, who had been an applicant, are suing the city because they claim they lost the chiefs job as a result of Perezs and Dunns criminal action. Prosecutors stated that Perez enlisted two officers under his command, who are only designated in the memorandum as Officer 1 and Officer 2, to prepare his resume and cover letter for the search process and later to complete his written examination and to get the oral exam test questions in advance. Early in the search process for a new police chief the prosecutors stated that Perez began telling other Bridgeport police officers that he would be selected as the next chief. For his part in the conspiracy, prosecutors stated that Dunn hired Randi Frank, who had previously worked for the city under Dunns direction to conduct the search process. Dunn then told Frank that a bachelors degree for a chief candidate was not a requirement favoring Perez, the only candidate without a degree. Dunn later forwarded to Perez an email from Frank containing non-public information about the status of the search process. Dunn later provided Perez the questionnaire and essay questions Frank intended to use for the candidates a month before the other candidates got them and Dunn gave Perez the questions to the oral exam he got from Frank long before the other candidates got them, the prosecutors stated. Prosecutors stated that Dunn requested Frank make changes to the scoring process of the exams to Perezs benefit, such as awarding extra points for Perez serving as acting police chief and not awarding extra points as previously were made to candidates who live in the city since Perez was not a city resident. On October 17, 2018, prosecutors stated that Dunn called a panelist appointed to interview the finalist for the chiefs job and told her that the mayor would like to see Perez in the top three. Panelist-1 understood Dunn wanted her to score Perez higher, or influence the other panelists to do so, to please Mayor Ganim, they stated. During a Feb. 15, 2019, interview with the FBI, the prosecutors stated that Perez gave numerous false and misleading answers regarding his and Dunns part in the chief selection process. They continued that almost immediately after the interview with the FBI, Perez began communicating with witnesses seeking to influence the investigation. He asked his civilian driver to get him another cell phone because he was concerned his was tapped, the prosecutors stated. During an interview at the U.S. Attorneys Office on May 1, 2019, Perez continued to make false and misleading statements, the prosecutors stated. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday launched a scathing attack against China for a lack of transparency during "the early stages" of the pandemic and called for a more thorough investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Blinken's remarks come as a report of a joint inquiry by the World Health Organization and China published last month did not conclusively establish how or when the virus began spreading and did little to address Western concerns that the Chinese Communist Party bent the investigation to its advantage. "I think China knows that in the early stages of COVID, it didn't do what it needed to do, which was to give access to international experts, in real-time to share information, in real-time to provide real transparency," said Blinken in an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC, as per the transcript by the US Department of State. The top US diplomat stated that one result of that failure is that the virus got out of hand faster and with."I think, much more egregious results than it might otherwise," he said. "As we're dealing with COVID-19, we also have to put in place a stronger global health security system to make sure that this doesn't happen again or, if it does happen again, we're able to mitigate it, to get ahead of it. And that means making a real commitment to transparency, to information sharing, to access for experts. It means strengthening the World Health Organization and reforming it so it can do that. And China has to play a part in that," Blinken added. When asked about whether Washington is going to guarantee to the world that we're going to get to the bottom of how this originated, the top diplomat agreed with the same and stated that "we need to get to the bottom of this". "I think we have to, because we need to do that precisely so we fully understand what happened in order to have the best shot possible at preventing it from happening again. That's why we need to get to the bottom of this," he said. Blinken's comments, however, illustrated the Biden administration's willingness to convey skepticism of the official narrative coming from Beijing, according to The New York Times. A group of international scientists called for a new investigation into the origins of Covid-19 last week after China and the World Health Organization (WHO) released a scrutinized report last week concluding that the virus most likely came from wildlife instead of a laboratory. Twenty-four scientists from Europe, the US, Australia and Japan issued an open letter, which was obtained by The New York Times, that analyzed steps to complete a more comprehensive investigation, as reported by The Hill. The scientists requested a probe involving biosecurity and biosafety experts conducted either by WHO or another group of nations to study the origins of COVID-19, which was first reported in Wuhan, China, in 2019. The WHO report determined that the possibility the virus came from a lab was "extremely unlikely," noting there was "no record" any lab had closely related viruses. The United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Israel recently said in a statement that they "fully" supported the WHO's efforts to bring an end to the pandemic, including understanding how it "started and spread". But they added it was "essential that we voice our shared concerns that the international expert study on the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples". US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price last week said that what is evident from Washington's review of the report is that it lacks crucial data, it lacks information, and it lacks access. "It represents a picture that is partial and, in our view, incomplete. That's not just our view. Many other countries share that view," he said during a briefing. China has been criticised widely across the world for its role in the spread of the novel that has infected over 135 million people across the world. More than 2.934 million people have lost their lives to the virus, as per Johns Hopkins University. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 58-year-old ethnic Kazakh man has emerged from a 17-year nightmare of Chinese imprisonment and "reeducation" to be reunited with his family in Kazakhstan. Raqyzhan Zeinolla was welcomed at Almaty's international airport on April 9 by family members, including his wife and grandchildren he'd never met. It was a precious moment of happiness for one of the many families caught up in Beijing's massive campaign of internment and forced assimilation targeting millions of Muslims in China's northwestern Xinjiang Province. As a reminder of the ongoing repression, a group of fellow Xinjiang natives stood alongside Zeinolla's family at the airport, holding up photos of their relatives jailed or trapped in China. They see Zeinolla's case as a glimmer of hope. Caught Up In A Crackdown Zeinolla, a naturalized Kazakh citizen, traveled from Almaty to Xinjiang in 2004 for what was supposed to be a brief visit to see relatives and friends. The trip soon turned into a yearslong ordeal for him and his family. "Chinese authorities accused him of being a spy and sentenced him to 13 years in prison," his wife, Farida Qabylbek, told RFE/RL's Kazakh Service. She said her husband was an ordinary merchant who had never worked at any government agency nor been interested in political activism. She said the spying charge against Zeinolla stemmed from the fact that he helped to prepare documents for a group of around 20 young people in Xinjiang who were hoping to study abroad in Kazakhstan. He spent the full 13 years in prison, then upon his release from prison in 2018 was sent for another year and a half to a "political reeducation camp" as Beijing was increasingly cracking down on the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority. After that, he spent most of his time under house arrest before returning to Kazakhstan this month. Wife's Campaign Back in Almaty, Qabylbek had spent the years since his prison release pleading with Kazakh officials for help to secure her husband's release and return. The authorities said formal requests were sent to the Chinese authorities but there was never a positive response. In 2020, increasingly desperate, Qabylbek began regular protests in front of the Chinese Consulate in Almaty and the embassy in Nur-Sultan, demanding the repatriation of her husband. Qabylbek staged several solo pickets. She also joined protests by other natives of Xinjiang who say their relatives are being kept in Chinese detention centers. Amid the brutal crackdown on its Muslim population since 2017, China has built hundreds of detention facilities in Xinjiang. They are said to range from reeducation camps to high-security prisons. Rights activists say at least 1 million Muslims, most of them ethnic Uyghurs, have been placed in internment camps, where detainees are subjected to torture, rape, and forced labor, according to survivors. Some women have reported being forcibly sterilized. Locked Up In China: The Plight Of Xinjiang's Muslims Radio Free Radio/Radio Liberty is partnering with its sister organization, Radio Free Asia, to highlight the plight of Muslims living in China's western province of Xinjiang. China's actions in Xinjiang are thought to represent the largest internment of any religious or ethnic minority in the world since the Nazi targeting of Jewish and Romany populations during World War II. The United States has labeled it a "genocide." Beijing rejects that and other accusations of systematic rights abuses in Xinjiang and says the camps are vocational training centers aimed at preventing religious extremism. But even those Muslims who are free in Xinjiang have seen their rights and liberties severely curtailed. Many mosques have been razed, and community leaders arrested. The government has embedded more than 1 million civil servants from the country's majority Han Chinese population to live with Muslim families in Xinjiang as part of the assimilation effort. Silence In Nur-Sultan Kazakhstan, Central Asia's most ethnically diverse post-Soviet republic, offers citizenship for ethnic Kazakhs who return to their ancestral home. Zeinolla, his wife, and their two children were among thousands of ethnic Kazakhs who relocated from China to Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They settled in Almaty in 2000. The family was granted Kazakh citizenship in 2003, shortly before Zeinolla's fateful decision to visit Xinjiang. Zeinolla's eldest child was 14 and his youngest just 5 years old when he last saw them. Both have since finished school, married, and had children of their own. Zeinolla met his daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and grandchildren for the first time at the Almaty airport after his flight this month from Chengdu. After the emotional reunion, Zeinolla greeted other ethnic Kazakhs from Xinjiang who had come to the airport to support the family. He suggested that their relatives "will be released soon" too but declined to explain. "I'm happy to have returned to my homeland," he said. "Long live friendship between the two countries." Asked if he had been warned by Chinese officials against speaking to reporters, Zeinolla responded, "No." Qabylbek said her protests are over now. But other Kazakh families continue to campaign for their own missing loved ones. Zeinolla's return provides new hope for them, according to Bekzat Maqsutkhan, the head of Real Atazhurt, a volunteer group that collects information on the Xinjiang internment camps and alleged rights abuses through testimony from survivors and other sources. "We believe that Zeinolla was released because of the pressure on China by the international human rights groups and other institutions," Maqsutkhan said. "It proves that sanctions against China indeed give results," he added. Last month, the United States, Britain, Canada, and the European Union imposed sanctions on several Chinese officials over the reported rights abuses in Xinjiang. The coordinated move followed Washington's declaration in January that China had committed genocide in its repression of the Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities. But the Kazakh government has refrained from criticizing China, a key investor in Kazakhstan's economy. The Kazakh authorities have said that they don't interfere in China's treatment of its own citizens, including more than 1.5 million ethnic Kazakhs living in Xinjiang. Written by Farangis Najibullah with reports by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service Ukraine initiates new meeting in OSCE due to increase in military presence of Russia Ukraine has initiated a meeting in the OSCE due to the increase in the military presence of Russia, Ukraine's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna Yevhen Tsymbaliuk said. "Ukraine has initiated a joint meeting of the Permanent Council and the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation to consider a significant increase in the Russian military presence along the border with Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories," Tsymbaliuk wrote on Twitter on Monday. At the same time, the U.S. Mission to OSCE said that within 48 hours Russia will have another chance to explain its actions at a special OSCE meeting requested by Ukraine. "Russia refused to notify its military movements or provide transparency under the Vienna Document. We urge Russia to adhere to its comitments and explain its actions," the mission said on Twitter. As reported, the Russian delegation put under boycott a meeting convened by Ukraine on April 10 with the participation of other OSCE participating states. Martin Keown has lavished praise on Arsenal starlet and 'great talent' Gabriel Martinelli and insisted that boss Mikel Arteta has to keep him in the starting XI following his goal against Sheffield United. The Brazilian scored his first Gunners goal for 15 months in Arsenal's 3-0 away victory over the Blades on Sunday, and sparkled throughout a match in which glimpses were viewed of the promise of Arteta's project. Despite his lengthy absence, Keown believes Martinelli has already proved he is worth the 6million Arsenal paid for him in 2019, and pointed out the low price tag compared to some of the Gunners' other transfer exploits. Martin Keown has insisted that striker Gabriel Martinelli has to stay in the Arsenal first team Martinelli (left) scored his first Arsenal goal for 15 months in their 3-0 win over Sheffield United 'Theres been a lot of talk about Arsenals recruitment and have they spent too much money for certain individuals, but this guy (Martinelli) - it was a snip they paid for him,' Keown said on BT Sport. '(The goal) really will help him. Hes been through a lot, 15 months since he last scored, hes had injuries, his ACL. But hes an instinctive finisher, he knows where to run.' Martinelli's transfer fee is dwarfed by some of the figures Arsenal have paid for other forwards in recent times, most notably a club record 72million for Nicolas Pepe, 57m for captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and 48m for Alexandre Lacazette. Keown has been impressed with Martinelli for a long time and said he has consistently wanted Arteta to pick him in the first team when he has been fit. Keown (left) said Martinelli is 'a great talent' that Mikel Arteta (right) should keep in the team 'Ive almost felt like Ive been signing a petition to get him (Martinelli) in the team. Hes a great talent,' Keown said. 'We have to look at it and say ok, has there been any underlying injury? Are there other reasons why hes not been in the team? But now hes in the team, I think he vindicates that selection and he should stay in the team. 'I dont think you can take him out now.' Arsenal now look ahead to their crucial Europa League quarter-final second leg against Slavia Prague on Thursday and Keown admitted there were tough calls to make on whether Martinelli should start. 'This depends on the selection,' he said. 'Youve got (Emile) Smith Rowe to think about, Aubameyang as well to come back in. Do we put (Bukayo) Saka back to left-back? It depends who is available.' A MAN has been arrested after another man was seriously injured in a stabbing incident in Limerick city centre at the weekend. The victim, whose aged in this 50s, sustained multiple injuries when he was assaulted at a flat in the Ellen Street area on Sunday evening. "At approximately 5.10pm, gardai responding to reports of a disturbance arrived at the scene and observed a male seriously assaulting another male, attacking him with a knife," stated a spokesperson. "Due to an imminent threat to life, and the proximity of the assailant to the injured party, gardai had to physically intervene and manually restrain the attacker, who was still armed with the knife," he added. The suspect, who was arrested at the scene, is being detained at Henry Street garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. The victim is being treated at University Hospital Limerick for what are described as serious injuries. Gardai have sealed off a section of Ellen Street as part of their investigation. Anyone with information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Henry Street garda station on 061 212400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. 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. In addition to the effects of COVID-19 shutdowns, the famed shopping avenue north of the Chicago River has been hurt by violent incidents, including widespread property damage and looting that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May. That was in the early months of a public health crisis that has now killed more than a half-million Americans. New Delhi, April 12 : The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to address the concerns raised in a plea claiming there was a deliberate omission for years to install Engineered Materials Arrestor System (EMAS) at airports, which prevent aircrafts from overshooting runways at vulnerable airports such as Mangaluru and Kozhikode. A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian told the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, "This is a matter of public interest. Why don't you address it?" The bench added that according to experts' airports like Mangalore has become very dangerous to land. "Please consider this PIL as a representation and give him a patient hearing, consider his suggestions", the bench told Bhati. The Centre's counsel agreed to examine the bench's suggestion. After a brief hearing in the matter, the top court listed the matter for further hearing after two months. On February 16, the top court asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Ministry of Civil Aviation to reply within two weeks on the plea. The top court had then told Centre's counsel: "People are trapped in the aircraft, it is a horrible site. Please look into it." In September last year, the bench had issued notice to the ministry and DGCA on a plea by a Delhi resident Rajen Mehta, who is an 85-year-old retired engineer. The plea has been filed through advocate Shohit Chaudhry. The plea sought installation of EMAS at the airports considered vulnerable and cited the August 7 accident at Calicut International Airport and May 22, 2010 at Mangalore. Both these airports have table-top runways. The petitioner contended if EMAS were to be installed, it could have helped in averting the plane crash. "The existence of EMAS was brought to the knowledge of Air Authority of India (AAI) and the respondents (DGCA and Civil Aviation Ministry) in 2008. However, for no plausible reason, it has not been installed till date.", said the plea. The petitioner argued that the aviation industry has seen two horrific incidents at Mangalore and Calicut causing loss of hundreds of lives, which could have been saved by the timely action of the authorities concerned. The plea pointed out EMAS has been installed at 125 airports across the globe. The petitioner also sought an inquiry into delay in installation of EMAS, despite prior knowledge on the airports which are vulnerable, and insisted that criminal action should be taken against people responsible. "On May 22, 2010, a Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operating Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai to Mangalore ... crashed on landing at Mangalore Airport, resulting in the death of 158 persons," said the plea. The petitioner said the EMAS system was an arrestor bed of crushable material, like concrete blocks, placed at the end of a runway to stop an aircraft from overshooting. "In 2008, due to the extreme economic crisis, the Calicut (Kozhikode) EMAS project was put in abeyance", the petition said. Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee has told how it 'feels like torture' watching her eight-month-old daughter Azaylia suffer with an aggressive form of leukemia. Azaylia was diagnosed with the condition at just eight weeks old and spent months in hospital before being discharged last week, after doctors confirmed there was 'nothing more they could do'. After returning home, the little girl - who has been given days to live - was rushed back to hospital on Sunday evening to undergo a life-prolonging transfusion after her leukemia caused profuse bleeding. Struggles: Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee has told how it 'feels like torture' watching her eight-month-old daughter Azaylia suffer with an aggressive form of leukemia Despite living through the heartbreaking ordeal, Safiyya, 34, pledged to give her little daughter the best time possible and vowed to be optimistic. Taking to her Instagram Stories on Monday, she said: 'I just wake up in the morning and look at her and feel so blessed that every single morning I'm waking up with her and having her there to hold and to smile and to sing all our Jungle Book theme all day long. 'The amount of times we sing this to her is just mindblowing and I feel so happy that I can just spend today with her and play and just love her as much as I can and tell her how much I love her. 'It's absolutely heartbreaking, this feels like torture. It's so difficult and so hard and the support you guys are all giving us is amazing, it's incredible.' Heartbreaking: Azaylia was diagnosed with the condition at just eight weeks old and spent months in hospital before being discharged last week, after doctors confirmed there was 'nothing more they could do' Telling other parents to 'follow their gut', she said: 'This stuff is so hard and so difficult but I'm going to make every day as happy, as fun as playful as possible for her.' Safiyya also updated fans on how Azaylia was doing on Monday following a late-night dash to the hospital on Sunday to get an emergency platelet transfusion. Speaking on Instagram Stories, she said: 'Azaylia was experiencing nosebleeds yesterday and that's down to the blood and the platelets in the body that are not being able to clot the blood so it's just bleeding through her nose. 'So about 11 o'clock last night we decided to go to the hospital and get a platelet transfusion for her. Unfortunately overnight, she's still experienced the nosebleeds and the clotting hasn't happened. Talking: After returning home, the little girl - who has been given days to live - was rushed back to hospital on Sunday evening to undergo a life-prolonging transfusion after her leukemia caused profuse bleeding Getting checked out: The little girl had an emergency platelet transfusion at the hospital and was set to be looked over by community nurses at home on Monday as well 'So Ive just spoke to our community nurse who is taking care of us and they're going to come out and have a little look and review of her today, so just sitting tight for then'. The doting mum continued to tell other parents to always trust their gut instinct when it comes to their babies and praised the NHS for all their care. She said: 'The best thing we feel like was to give her a platelet transfusion and our hospital and our consultant nurses were so onboard with us. 'They have been amazing and let us straight back in and get that done so smoothly. It's something that the NHS and the service they provide is amazing.' On Sunday, Ex On The Beach star Ashley, 30, took to Instagram to reveal he was forced to take Azaylia, for an emergency platelet transfusion as her illness has 'eaten away parts that clot the blood' and would cause internal bleeding. He said: 'That's no way for her to go. She's been so happy today so we knew we needed a platelet transfusion and that will preserve us for another day or two days and three days and every day is a blessing'. Pained: Ashley rushed his leukemia-stricken daughter Azaylia to hospital on Sunday evening after she began bleeding profusely Ashley has been chronicling Azalyia's health woes on social media since she was diagnosed and has garnered worldwide support, including from Dwayne Johnson. Ashley filmed the video in the back of a car, as he detailed what had happened over night and revealed he forced the doctors to do the transfusion. He said: 'On our way back from hospital now, we rushed Azaylia in tonight. On oxygen because she'd been bleeding from the nose because she has tumours on her brain as well as her body... 'Because of her blood cancer it eats away at the parts that clot the blood so the lack of platelets means she can bleed from the inside and that's why her nose is bleeding and that's no way for her to go... 'She's been so happy today so we knew we needed a platelet transfusion and that will preserve us for another day or two days and three days and every day is a blessing. Let's go champ.' Heartache: Ashley took to Instagram to reveal he was forced to take Azaylia for an emergency platelet transfusion as her illness has 'eaten away parts that clot the blood' and would cause internal bleeding Saddening: Ashley filmed the video in the back of a car, as he detailed what had happened over night and revealed he forced the doctors to do the transfusion Sweetheart: Azaylia is seen wearing a bright pink hat and little lion baby-grow as she made her way home from the hospital on Friday Ashley then reached out to parents in similar situations, urging them to educate themselves on what their children are going through. He went on: 'For all parents in this situation just make sure you know your stuff when they've been discharged the doctor will not perform any more procedures so we knew that she needed the platelet transfusion we weren't asking for bloods to be taken because they wont do bloods... 'So we knew that she needed the platelet transfusion and rang up and demanded as we knew she needed the transfusion to help clot her blood and stop her bleeding out... 'By taking charge of your child's care and not leaving it to anyone else you know certain things that preserve your child's life and give them another day or two days because every moment is precious and i want every parent going through this to know that'. 'She's so beautiful': Ashley also marked Azaylia turning eight months old by having moulds made of her feet made on Saturday Update: Safiyya also updated fans on how Azaylia was doing on Monday following a late-night dash to the hospital on Sunday to get an emergency platelet transfusion Pained: Safiyya also detailed the night spent in hospital, as she shared a picture of the tot and penned: 'Last night we took Azaylia to the hospital for an emergency platelet transfusion as the leukaemia caused profused bleeding' Safiyya also detailed the night spent in hospital, as she shared a picture of the tot to her Instagram grid and penned: 'Last night we took Azaylia to the hospital for an emergency platelet transfusion as the leukaemia caused profused bleeding. 'Azaylia had a 30min transfusion, but this didn't stop the bleeding over night, I put her on her observation machine so I could keep an eye on her oxygen & heart rate levels for reassurance. 'I have the privilege to wake up this morning and watch her open her eyes and play this is precious. Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone, waking up today is the blessing itself'. Her love: Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on Tucking in: She was eating in the video much to her parents' joy Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on. Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body. The media personality and his partner Safiyya 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. He later revealed that Azaylia can no longer fly to Singapore for treatment after discovering the tumours, and vowed to make her final days 'as fun as they can'. Fighter: The Ex On The Beach star, 30, shared a series of images on Saturday showing his 'fearless little lion' wrapped in a pink blanket while travelling in an ambulance 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. 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. 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. No way to go: Doctors told the TV star and his partner Safiyya that chemotherapy would not be enough to cure Azaylia Last week, Ashley 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. 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' Captioning the footage, he wrote: Azaylia's 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. '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 she's 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 couldn't believe possible! 'The truth is, I don't 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. YOU'RE MY HERO! DADDY LOVES YOU! ' Xinjiang port sees 1,500 trips by China-Europe freight trains this year Xinhua) 17:05, April 12, 2021 A staff member checks a China-Europe freight train in Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Ma Kai) URUMQI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Alataw Pass, a major land port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has seen 1,500 China-Europe freight trains pass through this year, achieving the number 42 days earlier than in 2020, the customs authority said. Loaded with auto parts, engineering equipment, furniture and other products, a train from Sassnitz, Germany, became the 1,500th China-Europe freight train to cross the pass last week, said Li Hongfeng, an official with the customs of Alataw Pass. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the freight trains have played a crucial role in helping stabilize the international industrial and supply chains due to the limited air and sea transport. The customs said they have implemented measures such as paper-free operations to boost customs clearance efficiency. Alataw Pass launched the China-Europe freight train service in 2011. At present, 22 routes are running through the pass, reaching 13 countries such as Germany and Poland. The imported goods carried by the trains include automobiles and parts, timber and cotton yarn, while home appliances and daily necessities are among the exported items. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) The pandemic restriction on holding Bible studies and prayer meetings in homes has been lifted in California. The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 order late Friday, Los Angeles Times reported. Those who favored of lifting the ban include conservative Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Barrett and Neil M. Gorsuch. On the other hand, liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. have dissented. The court order was the response to a case filed by a Bible study group in Santa Clara County. The plaintiffs include Karen Busch, Ritesh Tandon, Pastor Jeremy Wong, Julie Evarkiou, Connie Richards, Dhruv Khanna, Frances Beaudit, Maya Mansour, Terry and Carolyn Gannon. The lawyers for the group argued that "'house church' fellowship is just as indispensable to their faith as attending Mass is for a Catholic. Yet for over a year now, California has completely prohibited or substantially restricted those 'gatherings' and many others." Noting that California opened public businesses while restricting religious gatherings, the conservative justices said that state regulators have violated the First Amendment's protection for religious freedom. "California treats some comparable secular activities more favorably than at-home religious exercise, permitting hair salons, retail stores, personal care services, movie theaters, private suites at sporting events and concerts, and indoor restaurants to bring together more than three households at a time. The 9th Circuit did not conclude that those activities pose a lesser risk of transmission than applicants' proposed religious exercise at home," the justices stated. But Kagan criticized the decision. "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 1st 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 - and thus unlike at-home secular gatherings ....The law does not require that the state equally treat apples and watermelons," she said. California has announced about relaxing its restrictions effective April 15, allowing theater performances, indoor concerts and other private gatherings. But people are still urged to continue wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. They also have to be tested or show proof of full vaccination in order to attend gatherings. The state, with a population of 40 million, has already administered about 19 million doses of vaccines, having nearly 6.9 million people fully vaccinated. Currently, only individuals belonging to the age group of 50 and above are eligible for vaccines. But citizens aged 16 and older will not be eligible until April 15. Gov. Gavin Newsom has been vaccinated himself, receiving a single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. He also encouraged others to get the vaccine, stating that unless more people get vaccinated, they would not be able to achieve herd immunity and return to normalcy - echoing what Dr. Anthony Fauci, CNN medical analyst Leana Wen and the Biden administration says. One of the largest issues facing financial education at any age is access. Many people do not attend schools with financial literacy programs, and many come from communities that lack financial outreach initiatives. New Delhi, April 12: China's top health official has admitted for the first time ever that the Chinese coronavirus vaccines are not very effective and the government is exploring the option of mixing different Covid-19 vaccines to give them a boost, according to a news report in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. The credibility of Chinese vaccines has always been in doubt to the outside world with countries such as Brazil initially starting with them but then switching over to Indian vaccines instead. Brazil had found out in its trials that the Chinese vaccines had a very low efficacy and the Chinese companies were refusing to live up to their promise of sharing more data about them. China's worst kept secret is now out in the open. Similarly, countries in the ASEAN block had stayed away from Chinese vaccines despite Beijing's hectic diplomatic efforts to rope them in as part of its geopolitical strategy. Interestingly, China itself had signed an agreement with Pfizer-BioNtech to import vaccines from Germany despite making tall claims about its own vaccines. This was a strong indicator that the Chinese vaccine was not doing well. The head of China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, told a conference in Chengdu on Saturday that the country was examining two routes "to solve the problem that the efficacy of its existing vaccines is not high." "One option is to adjust the dosage, the interval between doses or increase the number of doses. The second route is to mix vaccines that use different technologies," the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post cited him as saying. India factor China had also been blowing hot and cold over Indian vaccines. Similarly, while Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times had grudgingly conceded that India had world class facilities to produce vaccines. However it also claimed that India is exporting its vaccines to gain influence among poor countries. China is a country that is notorious for industrial espionage and various cyber attacks were launched on the data servers of India's two Covid-19 vaccine makers Serum Institute of India and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech to gain access to inside information. US intelligence reports have also detected that Chinese industrial spies have infiltrated large western corporations including those in the pharmaceutical sector. China's vaccine diplomacy flops Beijing had promised over 20 countries including Brazil and the ASEAN members that it would supply them with reliable vaccines. However, with China's vaccine development programme getting discredited these countries have suffered a setback in the war against Covid-19. They are now turning to the western countries, India and Russia to meet their vaccine requirements. At least 24 countries, most of them low and middle income, signed deals with the Chinese vaccine companies. But the delays in getting the Chinese vaccines and the fact that the vaccines are less effective mean that those countries may take longer to defeat the virus. China's coronavirus vaccines were supposed to deliver a geopolitical win that showcased the country's scientific prowess and generosity. Instead, in some places, they have set off a backlash, the report. In the Philippines, some lawmakers have criticized the government's decision to buy a vaccine made by a Chinese company, Sinovac. Officials in Malaysia and Singapore, which both ordered doses from Sinovac, have had to reassure their citizens that they would approve a vaccine only if it had been proved safe and effective. Similarly, Turkey which was relying on China has also complained about delays in getting the vaccine which has hindered its fight against the pandemic. Turkey had to turn to Russia for help to get the Sputnik V vaccine. Volte-face on Pfizer, Moderna A New York Times report had pointed out that Beijing officials who had hoped the vaccines would burnish China's global reputation are now on the defensive. State media has started a misinformation campaign against the American vaccines, questioning the safety of the Pfizer and Moderna shots and promoting the Chinese vaccines as a better alternative. China has also distributed online videos that have been shared by the anti-vaccine movement in the United States. Now in a volte-face Chinese experts are saying that these mRNA vaccines are more effective than China-made vaccines. However, due to the acute shortage of vaccines worldwide some countries are using China-made doses to fight the deadly coronavirus pandemic. These countries will now have to formulate their future strategy keeping in mind the new confirmation about the weak protection that Chinese vaccines provide. (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Daughter Kira, 18, a freshman at Valparaiso University, left a few items at home over Easter weekend that they had to bring to her. They were able to get the first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Sunday, a day ahead of when vaccine eligibility in Illinois, except in Chicago, opens to everyone age 16 and older. They can get their second dose when they come back to Valparaiso in four weeks to pick Kira up at the end of the school year, too. Gig-economy Western Nomadland won four prizes including best picture on Sunday at the British Academy Film Awards, which were handed out during a pandemic-curbed ceremony that recognised a diverse array of screen talent. Nomadland filmmaker Chloe Zhao became only the second woman, and the first woman of colour, to win the BAFTA for best director, and star Frances McDormand was named best actress. Nomadland also took the cinematography prize. Emerald Fennells revenge comedy Promising Young Woman was named best British film, while the best actor trophy went to 83-year-old Anthony Hopkins for playing a man grappling with dementia in The Father. Nomadland filmmaker Chloe Zhao became only the second woman, and the first woman of colour, to win the BAFTA for best director. Credit:Instagram An event that was criticised in the recent past with the label #BAFTAsSoWhite rewarded a diverse group of talents, including Black British star Daniel Kaluuya, newcomer Bukky Bakray who shone as a London teenager in Rocks and veteran Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Pastor jailed in Laos for over 1 year released, convicted of 'disrupting unity' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Christian pastor imprisoned in the Southeast Asian country of Laos for refusing to halt worship has been freed after over one year in detention. Sources told Radio Free Asia that 35-year-old Pastor Sithon Thippavong in Savannakets Xonnaboury district was released last Friday, three days after the Provincial Peoples Court convicted him on charges of disrupting unity and creating disorder. He was sentenced to one year in jail and fined a total of 4 million kip [about $426], with 2 million kip paid for each charge, an official from the provincial prosecutors office was quoted as saying under the condition of anonymity. "He has already served a little more than one year in jail, so he has been released. Sithon, who has pastored in the Xonnaboury district since 2011, was arrested on March 15, 2020, for organizing religious services without permission from government authorities. The pastors detention drew condemnation from international human rights organizations. An official from Human Rights Watch called his detention a serious human rights violation. The United States-based International Christian Concern reports that even though Laos passed a law in 2019 to allow Christians to worship freely, many churches still face harassment and discrimination. A Lao Christian who spoke to RFA on the condition of anonymity said that a thanksgiving ceremony celebrating the pastors release would be organized. We prayed for Pastor Sithon for more than a year now, the Christian said. Were very excited that hes still alive and was finally saved by God. He may have been sick and frail in prison, he added. But now hell be very happy to be able to serve God again. Sithons detention and other human rights violations have been reported to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights by the German-based Alliance for Democracy in Laos. The groups president, Bounthone Chanthalavong-Weise, told RFA in March that the organization called on UNHCR to pressure Lao authorities for the pastors release. Laos ranks as the 22nd-worst country in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians, according to persecution watchdog agency Open Doors USA. Christians account for under 2% of Laos Buddhist-majority population. In a dossier on religious freedom conditions in the country, Open Doors notes that the communist authorities heavily monitor Christian activities even those of registered house churches. In rural areas, house churches are forced to meet in secret since they are considered illegal gatherings. Even 75% of all government-approved Lao Evangelical Church (LEC) congregations throughout the country do not have permanent church structures and consequently conduct worship services in homes, the Open Doors dossier states. The organization reports that the government imposes strict limitations on Christian meetings that go beyond the internationally recognized and permitted limitations. In February 2020, members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom traveled to Laos to meet with government officials and civil society leaders to discuss religious freedom conditions. In a May 2020 report, USCIRF noted that it remains concerned about religious freedom in Laos even though the number of people arrested or detained for their religious practices decreased in 2019. USCIRF is alarmed that the government is slow to grant legal recognition and protection to unregistered religions. Decree 315 still enshrines governmental overreach and codifies a legal structure inconsistent with international religious freedom standards, USCIRFs May 2020 factsheet reads. The Houthi rebels from Yemen today claimed yet another attack on Saudi Aramco facilities, involving 17 drones and two ballistic missiles. Reuters has reported the attack, according to the statement, targeted Aramco facilities in Jeddah and Jubail. The news comes just a day after Arab News reported that Saudi forces had intercepted three drones and one ballistic missile fired at two other locations, both in southern Saudi Arabia: Khamis Mushayt and Jazan. A spokesman for the Houthis said today that these two locations were targets of their latest attacks, too. Reuters reported earlier today the Saudi side has not yet confirmed the latest Houthi attack and noted that Aramco has a refinery in Jeddah, which was decommissioned in 2017. The site, however, still houses an oil distribution plant that has been the target of Houthi attacks before. The attack on Jazan is the second one in as many weeks. The previous one, targeting an oil products distribution site in the town and was confirmed by the Saudis. The Kingdom strongly condemns this cowardly attack against vital installations. The attack does not only target the Kingdom, but also petroleum exports, the stability of energy supply to the world, freedom of world trade, as well as the global economy, Saudi Arabia said at the time. The late-March attack on the Jizan terminal follows attacks in recent weeks, in which the Houthis claimed a drone attack on the Riyadh refinery and a drone-and-ballistic-missile attack at oil facilities at the Saudi port of Ras Tanura, one of the worlds largest oil ports. The latest attacks come amid an escalation in fighting between the Saudi-led coalition that seeks to reinstate Yemens elected government, which the Iran-backed Houthis overthrew some six years ago. There has been talk of a ceasefire, but the Houthis want the Saudis to lift a sea and air blockade before they lay down their arms. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Concern is mounting that Chinas Covid-19 vaccines are less effective at quelling the disease, raising questions about nations from Brazil to Hungary that are depending on the shots and the countrys own mammoth inoculation drive. While vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and even Russias Sputnik shot have delivered protection rates of more than 90%, Chinese candidates have generally reported much lower efficacy results. Research released Sunday showed the rate for Sinovac Biotech Ltd.s vaccine -- deployed in Indonesia and Brazil -- was just above 50%, barely meeting the minimum protection required for Covid vaccines by leading global drug regulators. The other Chinese shots have reported efficacy rates of between 66% to 79%. Anxiety over that disparity spilled into the open at the weekend when George Fu Gao, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said at a forum that something needed to be done to address the low protection rate of the Chinese vaccines, according to local news outlet the Paper. The rare admission by a senior official appeared to go viral on social media before Chinas censors swung into action, with posts and media reports about Gaos comments quickly edited or taken down. Gao then backtracked, telling state-backed newspaper the Global Times on Sunday that his remarks were misinterpreted, and were only meant to suggest ways to improve the efficacy of vaccines. Gao suggested that following up inoculations with additional booster shots and mixing different types of vaccines could help tackle the effectiveness issue, according to the Global Times. The concerns put a question mark over a vast swathe of the global vaccine rollout, particularly in the developing world, with richer countries domination of supplies of the highly effective mRNA vaccines seeing nations like Turkey and Indonesia turn instead to Chinas shots. Beijing, which is also donating vaccines to some nations, has been ramping up its own inoculation drive. It aims to vaccinate 40% of Chinas population -- or 560 million people -- by the end of June, an ambitious effort that will require it to move at twice the pace of the U.S. They dont really trust it themselves, said Therese Hesketh, an expert on Chinas healthcare system at University College London. They really did a rush job on the vaccine and the clinical trials have never been properly scrutinized. Im aware from colleagues in China that theres huge vaccine hesitancy anyway. Chinese vaccine developers have been repeatedly criticized for a lack of transparency and lag foreign peers in publishing full trial data in peer-reviewed medical journals. The weekend study out of Sinovac vaccines late stage trial in Brazil came three months after its first efficacy readouts, while state-owned Sinopharm has yet to publish full data from Phase III trials for its two inactivated Covid vaccines. While a separate Sinovac study involving more than 10,000 people in Turkey put the vaccines efficacy at 83.5%, it just added to questions about the shots effectiveness. The company has said that differences in the severity of outbreaks, various Covid strains in circulation and the definition by which virus cases are identified in studies have all contributed to different results across several trial sites. The confusion that has arisen highlights the importance of full transparency with publication of results of trials in the peer-reviewed literature, said Martin McKee, professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. One reason for the low efficacy in the Brazil trial, according to the studys researchers, was that the two doses of the vaccine were administered at a short interval of 14 days. The researchers noted a trend to higher efficacy among a limited number of participants who got their second dose in no less than 21 days. Home to the worlds second-worst Covid outbreak after the U.S., the stakes are high for Brazils vaccination rollout. The country is relying on both the Sinovac shot, known as CoronaVac, and the booster from AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University which has encountered controversy after some people experienced blood clots. Dozens of other countries, from Bahrain to Chile to Serbia, have also approved one of the Chinese vaccines, as well as shots by other manufacturers, with varying success rates in fighting the virus. At home, China is already walking a tightrope in trying to keep its vaccination rates on par with some other countries, especially the U.S., to avoid a delay in lifting border restrictions and resuming international travel. While China is working on more effective vaccines, including shots that deploy mRNA technology, it should continue to roll out those that have been approved for now, said Benjamin Cowling, head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong. They can provide a high level of protection, particularly against severe Covid, he said. Fearing a heavy-handed approach could draw a backlash, officials in China have so far refrained from making shots mandatory, and have spoken out against forced inoculation. Officials have instead dangled rewards and applied peer pressure among workers in the massive state sector to significantly raise vaccination rates, and are now issuing nearly 4 million doses a day from less than 1 million at the start of the year. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! New York, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Market Report 2021-2031" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06058535/?utm_source=GNW PLUS Analysis of Leading Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Companies AND COVID-19 Recovery Scenarios SUBMARKET: Contract Services The medical device industry is under constant pressure to control costs without sacrificing research development, timelines or safety. In recent years, emerging technology, process innovations and an ageing population have contributed to explosive growth in the demand for medical devices. Medical product original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will benefit from decreased manufacturing costs, improved agility, and a rise in their return on investment (ROI) by outsourcing some of their activities. Investment and M&A in MedTech Contract Manufacturing Between 2014 and the first half of 2020, medical device CDMOs have executed 84 M&A deals. Private equity-backed organizations have a slight edge in this activity (44 deals) versus corporate acquirers. Financial sponsors have been attracted by the availability of independent acquisition targets featuring high-growth potential, and thus the prospect of large returns on investment. Such a vibrant investment and M&A climate contributes positively to the growth and technological development of the MedTech contract manufacturing industry. What are the New Technologies in Medical Device Industry? Technology has the potential to both propel and disrupt the medical device industry, with exciting new developments emerging at a previously unimagined pace. Making the right bets will not be straightforward, and companies will need to carefully evaluate, and experiment with, a constant stream of innovations. Wearables, smart device apps, IoT, cloud-based data and analytics, and blockchain will help embed intelligence into the portfolio, and hence be widely adopted by companies. This report includes data analysis and invaluable insight into how COVID-19 will affect your industry. Access this report today. What are the Market Dynamics in Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Industry? Advantages of Medical Device Outsourcing Growing Global Ageing Population Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Challenges Rise of Emerging Economies in the Medical Device Industry Key Differences of Medical Product Outsourcing VS In-House Manufacturing New Technologies in Medical Device Industry Intensifying Price Pressures on Medical Device Companies Globalisation as a Potential Driver of Growth Changes to Taxation Systems May Impact upon Contract Manufacturing How is the Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Industry Competition? The electronic manufacturing services in medical device outsourcing market is moderately fragmented with high to medium sized players includes Flextronics International Ltd., Jabil Circuit Inc., Celestica Inc., Plexus Corp., Sanmina Corporation, and Benchmark Electronics that accounted for 35%-40% share of global electronic manufacturing services market in 2019. Top 10 Companies Operating in Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Industry Flextronics International Ltd. Jabil Circuit Inc. Celestica Inc. Plexus Corp. Sanmina Corporation Benchmark Electronics Integer Holdings West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Nortech Systems TE Connectivity Forecasts to 2031 and other analyses reveal the commercial prospects Global medical device contract manufacturing market estimation and forecast is provided for the period ranging 2021 2031. The market size is provided for product, sector, and regional level. Discover qualitative factors such as evolving role of contract development and manufacturing organizations, medical device industry, differences of medical product outsourcing vs in-house manufacturing, market drivers, restraints, opportunities, SWOT analysis, porters five forces model, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the medical device outsourcing, and company market share analysis. Discover sales predictions for the world market and submarkets Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Market: by Product Cardiovascular Irradiation Patient Recovery/ Noninvasive Spinal & Neuromodulation Diabetes Others Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Market: by Sector Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) Materials Processing Finished Products In addition to the revenue predictions for the overall world market and segments, you will also find revenue forecasts for 5 regional and 15 leading national markets: North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany France United Kingdom Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan India Australia South Korea Rest of Asia Pacific Latin America Brazil Argentina Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa GCC South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06058535/?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. __________________________ Arizona Congressional Aide Found Dead on Steep Death Valley Ledge An Arizona congressional aide has been found dead days after he and his girlfriend went missing while on a camping trip in Death Valley, officials have confirmed. Alexander Lofgren, 32, an aide to Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), was pronounced dead and his girlfriend Emily Henkel, 27, was airlifted to a hospital on Thursday for medical treatment. The couple were found on a very steep ledge in a remote area of Death Valley National Park near Willlow Creek, the Inyo County Sheriffs Office said in a release. Inyo County search and rescue team members located the pair on Wednesday via aerial reconnaissance, and after a failed hoist operation due to the extreme location, were able to reach them at around 11:40 a.m. local time Thursday. Officials described the rescue as highly technical. The couple had been reported as potentially missing after they failed to return to Helendale, California, on their due date of April 4. Lofgren worked for Democratic Rep. Grijalva of Arizonas 3rd District. According to Henkels LinkedIn profile, she works as a marketing coordinator for the Arizona Army National Guard. Words cannot begin to describe how heartbroken I am over the death of Alex Lofgren, a dedicated caseworker in my district office, Grijalva said in a statement Friday. 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. 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 added. 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 unrivaled empathy. The sheriffs office said that an investigation will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of Lofgrens death. 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. The sheriffs office described the couple as experienced campers, noting that Lofgren was believed to have jugs of water and at least one days worth of food, as well as camping gear. The 32-year-old was known for camping in remote areas that are not designated campgrounds. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said on Twitter that Lofgren was her former intern and an absolutely stellar young man. He had a heart of gold and worked so hard for Arizona and our country. Im sending so much love to his family and friends. May he rest in power, Sinema said. ATLANTA, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Salad Chick, the nation's only Southern inspired, fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today its continued expansion in Ohio with its newest company-owned restaurant in Western Hills. Less than two years after debuting the brand's first Cincinnati area location in 2019, the Western Hills restaurant marks the fifth location in the greater metropolitan area, alongside both company and franchise restaurants in Mason, Anderson, Oakley, and Crestview Hills. Located at 3420 Werk Road, the Western Hills restaurant, which features a drive-thru, will celebrate its grand opening on April 21 and will offer free chicken salad for a year to the first 100 guests. Those awarded will be properly distanced and will receive a designated return time upon arrival to spread out the number of guests at the restaurant throughout the day. "There are so many vibrant towns around the greater Cincinnati area, each with a diverse and bustling food scene. Our four existing locations have introduced residents to the rich, fresh flavors of Chicken Salad Chick and the Southern-inspired cuisine has been a fast favorite," said Scott Deviney, CEO of Chicken Salad Chick. "We are thrilled to continue our expansion in the area and couldn't have chosen a better place than Western Hills for our fifth location. We look forward to welcoming guests, both new and returning, to our restaurant and know the best is yet to come." Chicken Salad Chick is closely following Ohio's state and local guidelines for COVID-19 procedures and will open the Western Hills restaurant with social distancing measures in place. All employees will be wearing masks, as well as practicing proper handwashing and food safety protocol, and all guests will be required to wear masks until seated for dining. During grand opening week, guests will experience the Southern hospitality that Chicken Salad Chick is known for, with giveaways and specials that include: Wednesday, April 21 Free Chicken Salad for a Year The first 100 guests will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for an entire year, with one of those lucky guests randomly selected to win one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week.* Guests can arrive starting at 7am for grand opening day only. Free Chicken Salad for a Year The first 100 guests will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for an entire year, with one of those lucky guests randomly selected to win one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week.* Guests can arrive starting at for grand opening day only. Thursday, April 22 The first 50 guests at 10am and the first 50 guests at 6pm to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free Chick tumbler. The first 50 guests at and the first 50 guests at to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free Chick tumbler. Friday, April 23 The first 50 guests at 10am and the first 50 guests at 6pm to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free wooden cutting board. The first 50 guests at and the first 50 guests at to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free wooden cutting board. Saturday, April 24 The first 50 guests to purchase two large Quick Chicks will receive a free Chick tote bag. Chicken Salad Chick will also be hosting a Friends and Family event on April 19 and April 20 from 11am-1pm and 4pm-6pm to kick off the Western Hills grand opening celebrations. Guests will get a sneak peak of the new restaurant and will receive a free meal, however, donations are welcome. All donations received during the event will benefit The Dragonfly Foundation, an organization that supports pediatric cancer patients and their families during and after treatment. To secure your spot, visit the Friends and Family event page. Chicken Salad Chick in Western Hills will be open Monday Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.chickensaladchick.com. Follow Chicken Salad Chick on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and trends. *Guests should arrive between 7-10am to get checked in, while maintaining social distancing. The first 100 guests will be assigned a number and designated return time between 9:45-11:15am. Upon return, guests will make a purchase of "The Chick" or anything of greater value and enter a code on the CravingCredits app to officially secure your spot. If you are late, or miss return time, your spot will be awarded to next in-line. Guests must be 16 years or older, redemption begins 4/26/21. For more information on giveaways and specials, visit https://www.facebook.com/ChickenSaladChickWesternHillsOH About Chicken Salad Chick Chicken Salad Chick serves full-flavored, Southern-style chicken salad made from scratch and served from the heart. With more than a dozen original chicken salad flavors as well as fresh side salads, gourmet soups, signature sandwiches and delicious desserts, Chicken Salad Chick's robust menu is a perfect fit for any guest. Founded in Auburn, Alabama by Stacy and Kevin Brown, in 2008, Chicken Salad Chick has grown to more than 185 restaurants in 17 states. Today, under the leadership of Scott Deviney and the Chicken Salad Chick team, the brand is continuing its rapid expansion with both franchise and company locations. Chicken Salad Chick has received numerous accolades including rankings in Franchise Times' Fast & Serious for the second consecutive year, Fast Casual.com's top Movers and Shakers from 2018 to 2020, QSR's Best Franchise Deals in 2019 and 2020, and Franchise Business Review's Top Food Franchises in 2020. See www.chickensaladchick.com for additional information. Contact: Shana Rosenthal Fish Consulting [email protected] 954-893-9150 SOURCE Chicken Salad Chick Related Links http://www.chickensaladchick.com The BBC has allegedly postponed the broadcast on Monday of a Panorama episode into Martin Bashir's infamous Princess Diana bombshell interview until after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on Saturday. The Panorama probe on how the BBC's current religious affairs editor secured his interview with Diana - effectively an investigation into itself - was reportedly due to air on Monday night in a 30-minute prime time slot. But sources now claim that a decision was taken on Friday following news of Prince Philip's death at Windsor Castle to postpone the screening, with a new slot to be found in the schedules for the programme. They told the Telegraph that there was 'no way' the BBC could run the investigation into the 1995 interview on Monday, given the fallout from it helped to speed up the divorce of Diana from Prince Charles. 'It was due out then but a decision was made within minutes of the Duke's death to postpone the broadcast,' they said. 'There's no new date yet but it will now wait until after the Duke's funeral and will run at some point after that.' The Panorama programme, when it is eventually broadcast, is expected to be highly critical of Bashir, who is accused of faking a bank statement which was then shown to Earl Spencer, the late princess' brother. However, the BBC denied that the Panorama episode was being broadcast on Monday, with a spokesperson telling MailOnline that a Diana programme had never been billed and so could not have been pulled. The BBC has allegedly postponed the broadcast on Monday of a Panorama probe into Martin Bashir's Princess Diana bombshell interview until after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral It emerged that Bashir had commissioned graphic designer Matt Wiessler to forge bank statements to convince Diana that her staff were leaking stories about her In the sensational interview, the princess revealed that there were 'three people in my marriage' - a reference to her estranged husband's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, now Duchess of Cornwall. Five months after the broadcast, it emerged that Bashir had commissioned graphic designer Matt Wiessler to forge bank statements to convince Diana that her staff were leaking stories about her. The BBC launched its own investigation the following year, overseen by Tony Hall, then head of news and current affairs, who retired as director-general in August. The investigation concluded: 'The BBC has been able, independently, to verify that these documents were put to no use which had any bearing, direct or indirect, on the Panorama interview with the Princess of Wales.' But fresh publicity around the anniversary of the interview last year prompted Earl Spencer to call for another investigation. The Panorama investigation into Bashir is being conducted by freelance journalist John Ware, a former Panorama reporter who is thought to have found damning new evidence like to undermine the BBC's own inquiry. In 2004 Mr Ware examined the Today programme's report into the death of Dr David Kelly. His Panorama programme, A Fight To The Death, triggered the Hutton Inquiry. In the sensational interview, the princess revealed that there were 'three people in my marriage' - a reference to her estranged husband's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles Lord Dyson, a former Master of the Rolls, was commissioned by the BBC to investigate claims about how the interview was obtained. The former Supreme Court judge is examining claims that the BBC covered up a trail of deceit and forgery, and that Bashir allegedly peddled 32 lies and vile smears to the vulnerable princess to land his interview. However, Bashir is believed to have told Lord Dyson it was Diana, rather than him, who was to blame for the vast majority of the shocking comments. Earl Spencer said he introduced Diana to Bashir but was astonished as the BBC journalist fed her lies about her bodyguard plotting against her, her friends betraying her and MI6 taping Charles and his private secretary planning the 'end game'. At one meeting, Bashir showed Diana's brother fake bank statements that he ordered a blameless BBC graphics artist to forge, purporting to show Earl Spencer's security head was in the pocket of a newspaper group. Lord Dyson, who is expected to heavily criticise Bashir as well as senior corporation executives, will deliver his findings late this month or in early May. Bashir has declined to speak publicly since the row over the interview resurfaced last year, citing his ill health from Covid and recovery from a quadruple heart bypass. The Milken Institute's Center for Strategic Philanthropy and the Baszucki Brain Research Fund today announced the launch of a dedicated grant program aimed at advancing therapeutic discovery for bipolar disorder (BD). The goal is to fund research with the potential to improve treatment options for affected individuals. The Fund intends to award up to ten research grants in this cycle, providing up to $200,000 over the course of one year to support pilot research in therapeutic discovery and translational efforts. Together, these grants will amount to up to $2 million in new research dollars in the space. "The Baszucki Brain Research Fund has chosen to invest in a chronically underfunded and understudied mental health condition, providing capital that would not otherwise be available to researchers," said Melissa Stevens, executive director of the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy. "These grants will be a major step toward clinical research and therapeutics that could be life-changing for those affected by bipolar disorder." Bipolar disorder affects 2.3 million Americans, and nearly 45 million people worldwide. It is a serious mental health disorder with dramatic and sometimes unpredictable shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels. Unlike other mental health conditions, bipolar disorder is characterized by disruptive recurrences of mania and depression that may last for weeks, months or even years. Bipolar disorder can lead to the loss of employment, strained relationships, suicide, and the feeling of powerlessness over one's daily routines and behavior. The economic burden of bipolar disorder is estimated to be approximately $200 billion annually in the U.S. alone. Despite its prevalence and impact, bipolar disorder attracts fewer research dollars than other psychiatric conditions, a gap the Fund seeks to address. "Bipolar disorder has been underfunded relative to other psychiatric disorders over the past 40 years," states researcher Andrew A. Nierenberg, M.D. who directs the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital. "The Baszucki Brain Research Fund grant program has great potential to help fill this funding gap by providing researchers with much needed seed funding to spark innovation." Jan Ellison Baszucki, who, with her husband, David Baszucki, founder and CEO of Roblox Corporation, established the Baszucki Brain Research Fund added: "Those living with bipolar disorder have historically made outsized contributions to science, academia, government and the arts, yet bipolar research has been tragically underfunded. Our dream is that by spotlighting and accelerating the work of the most promising researchers in the field, we can bring hope to patients and families who will benefit from transformative new treatments." ### Grant proposals are welcome from research institutions around the world. Initial letters of intent are due May 14, 2021, and full proposals are due July 9, 2021. Funding decisions will be announced in Fall 2021. Inquiries should be directed to bipolargrant@milkeninstitute.org. To learn more about bipolar disorder and the grant program, visit: https:/ / milkeninstitute. org/ reports/ bipolar-disorder-proposals . Media Contact: Mala Persaud, mpersaud@milkeninstitute.org, 202-841-9336 About the Baszucki Brain Research Fund The Baszucki Brain Research Fund invests in innovative science and technologies to advance the prevention and treatment of Bipolar Disorder and other mental health conditions. We aim to catalyze bipolar research with a focus on neurostimulation, genomics, and metabolic, circadian and computational psychiatry. We support scientists and innovators pursuing breakthrough treatments that promote vitality, stability and well-being in those at risk for or living with Bipolar Disorder. About the Milken Institute The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that helps people build meaningful lives in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities. For more information, visit https:/ / milkeninstitute. org/ About the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy For doctoral student John Carlo Tulinao, music is his lifeblood. Its a passion he discovered growing up in the Philippines, but today it offers him a way to connect with his young students. To me, music is a need, not a want, said Tulinao, who can play all of the main string instruments, as well as piano and marimba. I grew up in a musical family, so there werent a lot of toys in our house, but there were a lot of instruments. The musician and first grade teacher is currently studying for a doctorate in applied learning sciences online at the University of Miami, while teaching in Arizona. And his ability to use music as a springboard for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) lessons recently earned Tulinao recognition from the National Science Teaching Association. On Monday, Tulinao was named a Shell Urban Science Educator Award recipient, given to just a handful of teachers nationwide who demonstrate excellence in implementing a STEM curriculum, while fostering an appreciation for other cultures. Before coming to the United States, Tulinao worked as a music educator for seven years in the Philippines. Hed always wanted to teach younger children, but there were never openings. So, when he was offered a job teaching first grade in Phoenix, he decided to take it and moved halfway across the world. In Arizona, Tulinao has broadened his teaching abilities, but he still relies on musicas well as his energetic personalityto capture the attention of his active six- and seven-year-old students. Often Tulinao uses a keyboard in the classroom to play tunes for different routines, like to signal an activity is ending, or that students should submit their papers. If he needs the students to stop talking, Tulinao will ring a bell. In addition, the members of his class use songs to greet each other every morning (in four languages) and to remember their sight words, which help them to read. This kind of musical cuing is perfect for younger grades, he said. Tulinao started working at Amberlea Elementary in 2017 in the West Valley of Phoenix. Its a school with a student population that is primarily Hispanic and Black and where many come from low-income households. Soon after, he volunteered to run an after-school music program. At the end of that year, the superintendent came to hear the performance and was floored. The students strummed their instruments to songs from the movie The Greatest Showman, as well as popular hits from the movie Trolls and others. At the time, many people thought the performance was recorded, but it was live music. And they couldnt believe the kids were capable of doing it, exclaimed Tulinao, who also led a community childrens orchestra in the Philippines. But as a teacher, he often challenges his students. And his strong conviction in their abilities, coupled with his support, often lead to incredible results. If you give them a chance to really explore a concept and to do something far from your expectations, these kids can deliver, he said. After seeing his music program thrive, the superintendent asked him to create a music-centered STEM Academy at the school. Tulinao spent the summer researching and brainstorming how he could connect music to science, math, and engineering concepts. That fall, he launched the academy in his first-grade class. For the first quarter, his students explored the science behind music and covered topics like vibration, pitch, and the importance of measurement in crafting an instrument. Tulinao tries to make most lessons hands-on, so that his students can investigate each instrument, while also mastering the states science standards. We talk about how the size of an instrument can tell you a lot about the sound it will make, he said. I expose them to different instruments. And they devise their own conclusions, such as the bigger the instrument, the lower the sound. The next semester, Tulinao focused on parts of the instrument and tasked students with putting violins back together. This helped integrate engineering concepts. And the third quarter, they learned to play the instruments during class. If they are able to put the instrument back together, then they are allowed to play it, he said. So, they are instantly motivated. Tulinao also incorporates tolerance into his lessons. In one unit, he taught his students about the history of a Filipino bamboo instrument called the Tongatong (inspired by Southeast Asias rice-pounding culture), which was used by the people of Kalinga, Philippines. Then, he requested that students work in groups to create a new prototype of the Tongatong using items found in Arizona. Once they learned the cultural background of the artifact, they saw it in a different way, he said. Bringing that culture into what youre teaching fascinates kids and makes them see other cultures as an important aspect of life. So yes, these people look different, and they dress different, but they have something unique and special to respect. That experience drove Tulinao to create lessons based on his students backgrounds. Since many of them come from a Hispanic heritage, Tulinao crafted a STEM lesson about the pinata. The students learned about the history of the party fixture and then about physics concepts like force and gravity that are involved when children hit the pinata. Since Tulinao had to deliver the lesson online this past fall, he noticed that for the first time, some of the parents were listening. So, when he asked the students to create their own pinata using recycled materials, their parents joined in too. The parents and students were so engaged, he said, grinning at the memory. They didnt even want to use recycled materials for the project because they were so excited that their culture was highlighted and appreciated. Despite his acumen in the classroom, Tulinao wants to keep improving his instruction. Therefore, he is working his way through a doctorate in applied learning sciences at the University. His adviser, Nam Ju Kim, assistant professor of teaching and learning, is a co-director of the program, which helps students adapt advanced learning theory into actual lessons that often integrate technology, too. Kim said that Tulinao is one of the most promising learning scientists he has taught; so, he is not surprised that the NSTA chose Tulinao for the award. John is always throwing himself into the assignments goals and has real talent, said Kim. He is exceptionally nice, good-humored, and friendly, as well as good at measuring his colleagues level of knowledge. But overall, Tulinao admitted, he just wants to make learning meaningful and entertaining for his young pupils. He even added that ever since he started his teaching career, he always tries to think of out of the box teaching ideas. Tulinao believes that the applied learning sciences program will further enhance his unique teaching ideas, and enable him to design the most functional and appropriate learning environment for each of his students. My goal is to make the learning experience like going to a theme park. Its enjoyable and exciting but thenthey learn, said Tulinao, who regularly dons different costumes so that online lessons will hold his students attention. They are learning critical concepts but doing it in a fun way. Prince Harry has written a tribute to his grandfather, Prince Philip, who died last week aged 99. The Duke of Sussex, who has arrived in the UK ahead of Saturday's funeral, described his grandfather, The Duke of Edinburgh, as a "man of service, honour and great humour". Harry, 36, who has been living in the US with his wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, 39, signed off the tribute using the words: "Per Mare, Per Terram". Per Mare, Per Terram is the motto of the Royal Marines and is the Latin for "By Sea, By Land." Philip had a great passion for the Navy and will be remembered for his service to it, as well as his devotion to his family and the country. Some say he could have become the First Sea Lord had he not married Princess Elizabeth, who assumed the throne following the death of her father, King George VI. At the onset of WWII, Philip started at the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth where he would go on to be named best cadet and eventually took command of a frigate, HMS Magpie. With Britain at war in 1940, Philip joined the Royal Navy, serving as a midshipman on HMS Ramillies, and was posted to the Indian Ocean. The Duke of Edinburgh was mentioned in despatches for his service during the war. He was a midshipman aboard HMS Valiant off the southern coast of Greece when he earned his honourable citation. In his tribute, Harry also said his grandfather had a "seriously sharp wit" and could hold the attention of any room "due to his charm". As well as being remembered as the longest-reigning consort to the Monarch, "he was my grandpa", Harry said. "He has been a rock for Her Majesty the Queen with unparalleled devotion, by her side for 73 years of marriage, and while I could go on, I know that right now he would say to all of us, beer in hand, 'Oh do get on with it!'" Harry added: "So, on that note, Grandpa, thank you for your service, your dedication to Granny, and for always being yourself. "Meghan, Archie, and I (as well as your future great-granddaughter) will always hold a special place for you in our hearts. Per Mare, Per Terram". Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge has also paid tribute to Philip. He and his brother are the first of Philips grandchildren to publicly honour his memory. William spoke candidly about Philips relationship with Kate and expressed his gratitude for the kindness he showed her. He also highlighted the special bond between the duke and Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who would have special memories of being picked up in a horse-drawn carriage by their great-grandpa. William pledged to uphold his grandfathers wishes and continue, along with wife Kate, to support the Queen and get on with the job. Over the weekend Philips four children spoke movingly about the loss of their father and how the Queen was coping after her husband of 73 years died peacefully on Friday. Philips funeral will be held at St Georges Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, at 3pm on Saturday, 17 April and will be shown on television. Additional reporting by Press Association The Myanmar military is allegedly charging families $85 to retrieve the bodies of victims killed by its own security forces as the bloody crackdown on anti-coup protesters rages on. The Asian nation has been embroiled in unrest since the military carried out a putsch on February 1, disputing the results of an election that resulted in a pro-democracy party winning power. Across Myanmar, citizens have been pushing back against the ruling junta, staging massive demonstrations which have been met with violence by the military and led to the deaths of hundreds so far. An estimated 700 people have been killed and more than 3,000 detained as the Myanmar military squares off against its opponents in the courts, the streets, and the countryside. In a further assault on dissent, ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was hit with a fresh criminal charge on Monday as she appeared by video link before a judge in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw. Suu Kyi, who led the government toppled in the military takeover, was accused of breaching a law intended to control the spread of coronavirus, the second such charge against her under the same law. She is already facing charges of illegally importing walkie-talkies, unlicensed use of them, inciting public unrest and breaking a colonial-era official secrets act that could see her jailed for 14 years. The junta has also accused Suu Kyi of corruption and presented on state television what it said was evidence that she took bribes. However, her supporters claim the prosecutions are politically motivated tactics to discredit her and attempt to legitimise the coup. This handout photo taken and released by Dawei Watch on April 11, 2021 shows mourners attending the funeral of Saw Sal Nay Muu, who died after attempting to flee a checkpoint Lawyers for Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the government toppled in the military takeover, allege she is accused of a fresh criminal charge when she appeared by video link before a judge Police talk as they arrive at the site of a demonstration by protesters against the military coup in Yangon on April 12, 2021 In this file photo taken on March 12, 2021, protesters hold up the three-finger salute and placards with the image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi while using their mobile torches during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon Protesters took to the streets of Myanmar's two largest cities on Sunday. Pictured: A protest in Mandalay Military personnel participates in a parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27 Britain offers safe haven to Myanmar's ousted ambassador after his staff staged a mini-coup and locked him out of the London embassy Britain has offered safe haven to Myanmar's ambassador who was ousted in a mini-coup for supporting pro-democracy groups. Nigel Adams, the UK's Asia minister, said the government will 'support' Kyaw Zwar Minn and 'ensure his safety and security' while he remains in this country. 'I pay tribute to [Minn's] courage and patriotism,' Mr Adams tweeted after the pair met in the Foreign Office on Thursday. The meeting came just a day after Minn's former deputy Chit Win led staff in a mutiny which saw him locked out of the country's Mayfair embassy before spending the night asleep in his car outside. Myanmar's military rulers also sent official notification to the UK that his diplomatic status had been revoked for refusing to recognise their authority and continuing to support jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Minn said he had stopped obeying orders from the junta last month after he was ordered to return home for criticising them. Asked yesterday whether he intended to return to his home country, Minn replied: 'Do you want to see me get killed?' Advertisement The generals overthrew Ms Suu Kyi's government less than three months after she won a landslide victory in a democratic election, and any conviction could see her banned from a future election. The coup put a halt to the progress Myanmar was making towards greater democratisation after five decades of dictatorship. The takeover and the bloody crackdown on the opposition which has followed has led to calls for an arms embargo on the country and other sanctions that could put pressure on the military. As of Sunday, 706 protesters and bystanders have been verified as killed in the post-coup crackdown, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which tracks casualties and arrests. The group claimed that at least 82 people were killed in the town of Bago on Friday, in one of the deadliest attacks of the post-coup period to have happened so far. The number of dead is expected to grow, they added. Later, the Bago University Students' Union posted on Facebook that the military was charging 120,000 Myanmar kyat ($85) to retrieve the bodies of people who had been killed by its own forces, CNN reported. Witnesses said that security forces used heavy weapons and shot at anything that moved, according to the BBC. Many residents were forced to flee into nearby villages, the British broadcaster. But in a state-run media report, the military's account differed dramatically, blaming the conflict on the protesters. The Global New Light of Myanmar claimed that the security forces were attacked by a group of rioters armed with handmade guns and grenades, among other weapons, and that only one rioter died. On Monday, detained political leader Suu Kyi asked a court to be allowed to meet her lawyers in person when she appeared at a hearing via video link to face charges brought by the military junta. As Suu Kyi appeared, her supporters called for people to show their opposition to the coup during this week's traditional new year holiday in the largely Buddhist country. Suu Kyi, 75, who has led Myanmar's struggle against military rule for decades and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been detained since the coup and charged with various offences. She has only been allowed to talk with her lawyers via video link in the presence of security officials and it is not known if she is even aware of the turmoil that has engulfed the country since the military seized power. 'No, we haven't, we could only talk about legal matters,' lawyer Min Min Soe told Reuters when asked if her legal team had been able to talk to her about the protests in which more than 700 people have been killed. The lawyer said Suu Kyi looked healthy as she repeated a request to meet her lawyers face-to-face. The next hearing is on April 26. As well as the official secrets charge, Suu Kyi has been charged with illegally possessing two-way radios and violating coronavirus protocols. She has also been accused by the ruling military council of bribery. Her lawyers say the charges were trumped up and they dismiss the accusation of bribery as a joke. An additional complaint against her was filed on Monday related to the coronavirus rules, Min Min Soe said. Despite the lethal threat, anti-coup protesters returned to the streets and rural by-ways of southern Myanmar on Monday, determined to keep public demonstrations going. Aung San Suu Kyi reviews a guard of honour in New Delhi in October 2016 Protesters hold signs relating to 'R2P', or the 'Responsibility to Protect' principle as they take part in a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on April 12, 2021 Pictured: A protester with his face painted stands near a burning makeshift barricade during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon on March 30, 2021 JAPAN: Myanmar people living in Japan demonstrate against the coup and China's support for the military in Tokyo on April 11, 2021 In Launglone Township near the city of Dawei, a large group mounted motorbikes and rode through the villages of Pandale and Nyin Maw, red banners snapping in the breeze as they sang and chanted slogans of resistance. In Dawei itself, students, teachers and engineers carried their message of defiance through the city on foot. Marches took place in other cities and towns as well, and a few carried on a trend of assigning a quirky theme to their protests. Demonstrators in Mandalay held a Watermelon Strike, marching with big slices and making displays featuring slogans painted on the melons or attached to them. In Yangon, five public city buses caught fire before dawn, with no indications of who might have set them alight. Such mysterious attacks have mounted in recent weeks, with the junta blaming protesters and protesters blaming the junta. More intense violence took place in the northern state of Kachin, where two Myanmar military fighter jets attacked a base belonging to the Kachin Independence Organisation, which is the main political group representing the Kachin ethnic group in the area. The organisation, which seeks autonomy for the Kachin, maintains its own military force, and said its base has also been under artillery attack, reported the Kachin News Group. Their report also said Kachin forces on Monday staged a successful attack to drive away a Myanmar military force guarding a bridge on a major road. The Kachin are one of more than a dozen ethnic minority groups who have been seeking autonomy for decades. Another, the Karen in eastern Myanmar, have also been facing attacks from the army since the coup, including air strikes. The Free Burma Rangers, who offer humanitarian medical assistance to ethnic minority villagers in Myanmar's border regions, say more than 20,000 villagers have been displaced by the government's offensive, which was continuing on Monday with the use of artillery. The Kachin and the Karen have declared their solidarity with the protests against the coup and vowed to protect demonstrations in the territory they control. Also appearing in court on Monday by video link with Ms Suu Kyi were former president Win Myint and the former mayor of Naypyitaw, Myo Aung, who also face charges. According to the head of her legal team, Khin Maung Zaw, the three defendants appeared in good health, but the lawyer who was in court was not allowed to speak to them about any matters other than the immediate cases against them. Tumors grew more slowly and responded better to immunotherapy in mice that exercised compared with sedentary mice. BOSTON - Exercise training may slow tumor growth and improve outcomes for females with breast cancer - especially those treated with immunotherapy drugs - by stimulating naturally occurring immune mechanisms, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) have found. Tumors in mouse models of human breast cancer grew more slowly in mice put through their paces in a structured aerobic exercise program than in sedentary mice, and the tumors in exercised mice exhibited an increased anti-tumor immune response. "The most exciting finding was that exercise training brought into tumors immune cells capable of killing cancer cells known as cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD8+ T cells) and activated them. With more of these cells, tumors grew more slowly in mice that performed exercise training," says co-corresponding author Dai Fukumura, MD, PhD, deputy director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratories in the Department of Radiation Oncology at MGH. As Fukumura and colleagues report in the journal Cancer Immunology Research , the beneficial effects of exercise training are dependent on CD8+ T cells; when the researchers depleted these cells in mice, tumors in mice that exercised no longer grew at a slower rate. They also found evidence that recruitment of CD8+ T cells to tumors was dependent on two chemical recruiters (chemokines) labeled CXCL9 and CXCL11. Levels of these chemokines were increased in mice that exercised, and mice that were genetically engineered to lack the receptor (docking site) for these chemokines did not recruit CD8+ T cells and did not have an anti-tumor benefit. "Humans whose tumors have higher levels of CD8+ T cells tend to have a better prognosis, respond better to treatment, and have reduced risk of cancer recurrence compared with patients whose tumors have lower levels of the immune cells, effects that were echoed by a reduced incidence of metastasis, or spread, of the cancers in mice that exercised," says co-corresponding author Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, director of the Steele Labs at MGH and Andrew Werk Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology at HMS. CD8+ T cells are also essential for the success of drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as Keytruda (pembrolizumab), Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab), which have revolutionized therapy for many types of cancer, but have to date had only limited success in breast cancer. The researchers found that exercise-trained mice displayed a much better response to immune checkpoint blockade, while the drugs did not work at all in sedentary mice. "We showed that daily sessions of a moderate-to-vigorous intensity, continuous aerobic exercise training, lasting 30-45 minutes per session, induces a profound reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment that rewires tumor immunity, recruiting and activating CD8+ T cells to an unprecedented level with a non-pharmacological approach. Similar exercise training could be prescribed to a patient referred to an exercise oncology program," says Igor L. Gomes-Santos, PhD, lead author and exercise physiologist and post-doctoral fellow in the Steele Labs. He notes that current clinical guidelines focus on general wellness, improved fitness levels and quality of life, but not necessarily on improved cancer treatment, especially immunotherapy, and that this lack of evidence limits its application in clinical practice. More convincing, mechanism-based data are needed to motivate oncologists to discuss exercise training with their patients, to motivate patients to become more active and to expand implementation of outpatient exercise oncology programs, the investigators say. ### The work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health to Fukumura and Jain as well as the National Foundation for Cancer Research, Harvard Ludwig Cancer Center, Advanced Medical Research Foundation and Jane's Trust Foundation to Jain and a fellowship from the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (Brazil) for Gomes-Santos. About the Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The Mass General Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with annual research operations of more than $1 billion and comprises more than 9,500 researchers working across more than 30 institutes, centers and departments. In August 2020, Mass General was named #6 in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Hospitals." NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DoControl today introduced a fully Automated SaaS Security Platform, providing data access monitoring, orchestration, and remediation across major SaaS applications, such as Google Drive, Box, Microsoft OneDrive, Salesforce, Slack, Jira, BambooHR, GitHub and more. The company also announced $10 million in Series A funding, led by Datadog investor RTP Global with participation from StageOne Ventures, Cardumen Capital and global cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike's early stage investment fund, the CrowdStrike Falcon Fund. DoControl brings together a world-class roster of advisory board members including Andy Brown, board of directors at Zscaler; Shawn Henry, president of CrowdStrike Services and chief security officer at CrowdStrike; Justin Somaini, chief security officer at Unity; and Nadir Izrael, co-founder and chief technology officer at Armis. "While leading cybersecurity product management at Google Cloud, I saw firsthand how enterprises struggle with preventing unauthorized access to data stored in the cloud," said Adam Gavish, DoControl co-founder and chief executive officer. "This becomes more complex with SaaS applications serving the entire workforce. Identity providers and zero trust solutions manage users and secure remote access, but security/IT teams have no simple way to dynamically monitor and restrict access to data by former employees, private accounts, external vendors, customers or partners. This creates a huge amount of unmanageable data access, posing significant risks to organizations and increasing the likelihood of data breaches. DoControl solves one of the most complex operational challenges - monitoring and restricting data access to the wrong personnel without slowing down business enablement. We're giving enterprises an efficient platform to balance this operational equation through automation and frictionless, modern user experience." Andy Brown, board of directors at Zscaler, said: "With so much business data moving outside the network perimeter into SaaS applications, this is becoming a blind spot for CISOs and security teams. It's time for a solution that gives enterprises not only visibility on such data movements but also control on how it is used and shared to drive business without increasing the risk of data breaches." The DoControl platform is integrated with major SaaS applications to provide three main capabilities: Comprehensive Asset Management providing critical business insights across users, external collaborators, assets, sharing breakdown, and third-party domains; Security Policy Enforcement through intuitive, no-code workflows applied consistently to prevent data breaches at scale; and Slack/Teams Bot engaging with end-users on behalf of security/IT teams to enable a self-service remediation path for human errors, malicious activity, and data leakage. Only ten months since inception, the company has raised $13.35M total in financing and is trusted by a wide range of organizations globally sharing millions of files, folders, repositories, and other assets with over 10,000 external companies. The funding round will help the company execute its go-to-market strategy by doubling its headcount across R&D, sales, and marketing to accelerate global expansion while delivering an enterprise ready product that supports hundreds of customer feature requests. Investor Quotes:Luke Page, partner at RTP Global, said: "The DoControl team is redefining an emerging category affecting almost every company worldwide - SaaS security. We were immediately impressed with the product and engineering background of the founding team, and quickly realized this customer-focused team is driven to solve real-world challenges with a differentiated technology that works at scale. With automated security workflows, DoControl makes data access control painless for enterprises of all shapes and sizes to improve security and operational efficiency." Shawn Henry, president of CrowdStrike Services and chief security officer at CrowdStrike, said: "CrowdStrike is delighted to participate in DoControl's funding rounds. Their innovative approach reduces the complexities of security maintenance, compliance and data access across SaaS applications, allowing enterprises to strike a better balance between security and business enablement while optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of their security operations." About DoControl:Founded in 2020 and headquartered in New York, DoControl is an automated data access controls platform for SaaS applications, improving security and operational efficiency with ease for enterprises. DoControl is backed by investors RTP Global, StageOne Ventures, Cardumen Capital and global cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike's early stage investment fund, the CrowdStrike Falcon Fund. The company's leadership team combines product, engineering and sales experience across cybersecurity, enterprise and SaaS innovators. For more information, please visit https://www.docontrol.io. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/docontrol-launches-with-13-35m-in-funding-to-automate-saas-data-access-controls-301266606.html SOURCE DoControl BANGALORE, India, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electrolyzer Market is Segmented by Product (Alkaline Electrolyzer, PEM Electrolyzer, and Solid Oxide Electrolyzer), Capacity (Less Than 500 Kw, 500 Kw to 2 MW, and Above 2 MW), and Application (Power Generation, Transportation, Industry Energy, Industry Feedstock, Building Heat & Power, and Others). The report covers global opportunity analysis and industry forecast from 2020 to 2027. It is published on Valuates Reports in the Renewable & Alternative Energy Category. The global electrolyzer market size was valued at USD 0.2 Billion in 2019 and is anticipated to generate USD 0.9 Billion by 2027. The market is projected to experience a growth at a CAGR of 24.6% from 2020 to 2027. Major factors driving the growth of electrolyzer market size are Favorable regulatory policies toward the development of hydrogen infrastructure coupled with increasing use as an industrial feedstock. Automobile sector is also contributing to the growth. Continuous technology development along with declining product cost and accelerating investments toward renewable energy technologies will favor the product adoption. View Report Details Before Purchasing: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/ALLI-Manu-4J42/electrolyzer TRENDS INFLUENCING ELECTROLYZER MARKET SIZE Increasing the use of hydrogen in the automotive industry is expected to drive electrolyzer market size. Since hydrogen is a green fuel, many governments around the world are concentrating their efforts on developing a sustainable hydrogen economy, which is expected to propel the global electrolyzer market size during the forecast period. Electrolyzer produces hydrogen that is ideal for use in hydrogen fuel cells. Fuel cells work similarly to batteries but do not run out of power or require charging and can produce electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied. Fuel cells produce energy with zero emissions at the point of use. This factor is expected to drive the electrolyzer market size during the forecast period. The increasing demand for on-site electrolyzer installation from the industrial sector owing to decarbonization is expected to further fuel the growth of electrolyzer market size. Request a Sample Copy of the Report For Growth & Trends Analysis on Electrolyzer Market: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/ALLI-Manu-4J42/Electrolyzer_Market ELECTROLYZER MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS Based on product, Alkaline electrolyzer dominated the market share for 2019 as it has been the oldest form of electrolysis method. Based on capacity, capacities ranging from 1 kW to 2MW dominated the market in 2019 due to the industry's limited stability and development. However, due to increased demand from automotive and industrial applications, electrolyzers with a capacity greater than 2 MW are expected to expand at a faster rate during the forecast period. Due to demand from the industrial sector for on-site electrolyzer setup, the power generation segment dominated the market share in 2019. However, due to increased investment in electrolyzer technology for fuel cells to be used in electric vehicles, the transportation application is expected to expand at a faster CAGR during the forecast period. Based on region, Europe dominated the market share in 2019. This is due to the multiple measures taken by the European government to encourage decarbonization. However, due to increased electric vehicle markets in China, Japan, South Korea, and India, Asia-Pacific is projected to rise at the fastest rate during the forecast period. Inquire for Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/ALLI-Manu-4J42/Electrolyzer_Market Top Major Players in the Electrolyzer Market The key players operating in the market are Hydrogenics, Nel ASA, Siemens Energy Global GmbH, Co. KG. AG, Toshiba, Air Liquide, Plug Power, McPhy Energy, ITM Power, Idroenergy, and Next Hydrogen. The players in the market have adopted several strategies, such as product launch and business expansion, to sustain the market competition. Electrolyzer Market Segments Electrolyzer Market By Product Alkaline Electrolyzer PEM Electrolyzer Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Electrolyzer Market By Capacity Less than 500 kW 500 kW to 2 MW Above 2 MW Electrolyzer Market By Application Power Generation Transportation Industry Energy Industry Feedstock Building Heat & Power Others Buy Now for Single User + Covid-19 Impact: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=ALLI-Manu-4J42&lic=single-user Buy Now for Enterprise License + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=ALLI-Manu-4J42&lic=enterprise-license SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. Please leave a note in the comment section to know about our subscription plans. SIMILAR REPORTS : - The global Hydrogen Generation market size was valued at USD 206.9 Million in 2019 and it is expected to reach USD 262 Million by the end of 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.9% during 2021-2026. - Hydrogen Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM). Electrolyzer Alkaline Electrolyzer, Solid Oxide Electrolyzer), By Application (Ammonia, Methanol, Refinery/Hydrocarbon Processing, Electronics, Energy. Power to Gas, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Water Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Traditional Alkaline Electrolyzer, PEM Electrolyzer), By Application (Power Plants, Steel Plants, Electronics and Photovoltaics, Industrial Gases, Energy Storage or Fueling for FCEV's, Power to Gas, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - PEM Water Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Small Scale Type, Middle Scale Type, Large Scale Type), By Application (Power Plants, Steel Plant, Electronics and Photovoltaics, Industrial Gases, Energy Storage or Fueling for FCEV's, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Alkaline Water Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Small Scale Type, Middle Scale Type, Large Scale Type), By Application (Power Plants, Steel Plant, Electronics and Photovoltaics, Industrial Gases, Energy Storage or Fueling for FCEV's, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Ion-exchange Membrane Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Type I, Type II), By Application (Chlor-alkali Plant0,s Other) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. To see the full list of related reports on the Electrolyzer ABOUT US Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains detail research methodology employed to generate the report, Please also reach to our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources CONTACT US: Valuates Reports sales@valuates.com For U.S. Toll-Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp: +91 9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Follow on Twitter - https://twitter.comvaluatesreports Follow on Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Follow on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg Alvarado said this about her book: "The book Iki Aprende Acerca del Coronavirus was created by Dina Arely Alvarado. Dina Arely Alvarado is an author, mother, and is a work based on real life that tells the story of a little five-year-old boy named Iker, who is called Iki by his loving parents. He is a strong, healthy and happy boy who lives in one of the busiest cities in America, Washington, DC, the capital of the United States. Iki loves going to school, making friends, and spending time with his family in the park. But one day his parents told him that he could no longer leave the house, they would not go to work because outside is not a safe place to be due to a virus that threatens society." Published by Page Publishing, Dina Arely Alvarado's new book Iki Aprende Acerca del Coronavirus will inspire parents to teach their children the importance of knowing about the coronavirus to keep them safe from harm. Consumers who wish to instill knowledge and wisdom to their children to protect them from diseases can purchase Iki Aprende Acerca del Coronavirus in any bookstore or online at Apple iTunes, Amazon.com, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries, you can contact Page Publishing, through the following number: 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors' books, including distribution in the world's largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex, and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1484538/Dina_Arely_Alvarado.jpg SOURCE Page Publishing Related Links https://www.pagepublishing.com Thiruvananthapuram, April 12 : Billionaire businessman and the richest Keralite, according to Forbes magazine, MA Yusufali who escaped with minor injuries after the helicopter carrying him, his wife and two staff members made an emergency landing at Panangad in Kochi on Sunday, is back in the UAE. The businessman who is the Chairman and Managing Director of the Lulu group reached the UAE in a private aircraft provided by the UAE government. V Nandakumar, Director of Communications, Lulu Group told IANS that MA Yusufali and his family returned to Abu Dhabi from Nedumbassery airport, Kochi in a private aircraft provided by the UAE government. Nandakumar said, "Mr Yusufali's health is perfectly all right and he has been advised rest by the doctors. He is recuperating at his home in Abu Dhabi". DGCA officials from Chennai reached Kochi after the helicopter mishap for an inquiry. The chopper was lifted using a crane to Nedumbassery airport. The DGCA officials were tightlipped over the technical snag which resulted in the chopper making an emergency belly landing at Panangad in Kochi. A man who accidentally dropped his phone in a lake in Taiwan has been reunited with it after almost a year. Better yet, the phone still works. Similar stories: Las Vegas officials seek to band decorative grass BBC News reports how Mr. Chen (whose first name has not been given) had been paddle-boarding on Sun Moon Lake a year ago when he suffered from one of the worst things that could happen to the modern-day manhis phone fell into the water, sinking to unreachable depths. This story has a very happy plot twist, however, as Mr. Chen was contacted last week by a worker to let him know that the phone had been found covered in dry mud. It also somehow miraculously still worked despite being underwater for so long. BBC continues to report how Taiwan is currently experiencing the worst drought it has seen in roughly half a century. This has caused bodies of water such as Sun Moon Lake to noticeably shrink, robbing the ground of so much moisture in some areas that it has cracked (but then again, these are the same tragic circumstances that led to the odd, fortuitous discovery of Mr. Chens phone). The Seattle Times notes how this drought is having an effect on more than just the scenery, though. Taiwanese authorities are giving more priority to the nations computer chip industrywhich contributes to powering a large portion of the worlds technologyover other areas. One such area is agriculture, in which farmers are being forced to deal with a halt on irrigation that has impacted roughly 183,000 acres of their land. Mr. Chen credits his phones ability to still work with its waterproof cover. After 27 years JARL returns to growth The number of members of the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) has increased from the previous year for the first time in 27 years A translation of a post on the JARL site says: The League has been actively engaged in membership development activities to strengthen its organizational foundation. Promote membership development plans by regional headquarters and branches, continuation of various campaigns for new members and current members, strengthening of cooperation with related organizations and companies, and active PR of amateur radio and JARL activities. However, these measures have steadily come to fruition, and despite the cancellation or postponement of various events such as the ham fair due to the Corona disaster, the gradual decrease in the number of members has definitely improved. The number of members at the end of the fiscal year (as of March 7, 3rd year of Reiwa) was 65,788, an increase of 574 from the same period of the previous year. As of the end of the fiscal year, the number of members has increased year-on-year for the first time in 27 years since 1994. We would like to express our gratitude to all the members and other concerned parties for their cooperation. Unfortunately, the number of amateur radio stations as a whole continues to decline, but with the recent revision of the system, we will work harder to promote amateur radio, and as many people as possible will be members of the federation. It is of utmost importance that you play an active role, and we will continue to improve the satisfaction of our members and further enhance our membership services to manage the federation. Source JARL https://tinyurl.com/IARU-Japan Over 15 months ago in his 2020 New Year statement JARL President Yoshinori Takao JG1KTC said the League would continue to focus on acquiring new members among the younger generation and Women. This approach seems to be paying off http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/january/jarl-focus-is-on-younger-generations-and-women.htm A woman found dead in a lake at a country park has been pictured. Mother-of-five Egle Vengaliene, 35, from Lithuania, was found dead in the water at Brandon Country Park in Suffolk on Friday. Police arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of murder at around 12.15pm. A friend of Ms Vengaliene launched a fundraiser on Facebook to raise money to bring her body back to Lithuania. In the post, Vitalija - who only provided a first name - described Ms Vengaliene as 'beloved daughter and sister' and says there are 'five kids left without a mom' following her tragic death. Vitalija told MailOnline that Ms Vengaliene was a 'good mother' and a 'pretty woman'. She said her friend lived in the UK for around seven years prior to her death and the pair are both from the city of Rokiskis in Lithuania. A judge yesterday granted police a further 24 hours to question the suspect after an additional warrant of further detention application was made to Ipswich Magistrates' Court. Mother-of-five Egle Vengaliene, 35, (pictured) from Lithuania, was found dead in the water at Brandon Country Park in Suffolk on Friday Mother-of-five Egle Vengaliene, 35, from Lithuania, was found dead in the water at Brandon Country Park in Suffolk on Friday (police at the scene earlier) Police arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of murder at around 12.15pm. Pictured: Brandon park A Facebook post addressing Ms Vengaliene's death reads: 'We express our condolences to the family, for the loss of beloved daughter and sister Egl in England. 'Five kids left without mom. It's hard to find words to comfort you today. 'We express all strength, hope and faith to you, your family and loved ones. 'And we ask all Lithuanians for financial help to transport their body to Lithuania.' The post includes bank details to allow for a transfer of funds. The 46-year-old suspect was arrested and remains in Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre for questioning. A friend of Ms Vengaliene (pictured) launched a fundraiser on Facebook to raise money to bring her body back to Lithuania Police were call by the ambulance service shortly before 7am on Friday following reports that a woman's body had been found in the water (pictured are Police at the scene today) The force said the country park is closed while its investigation continues. Detectives were said to be treating the woman's death as 'an isolated incident'. Detective superintendent Andy Smith earlier said: 'The investigation is still in its early stages but we suspect that the parties involved are known to each other, with no wider threat to the community. 'We understand this will have shocked and alarmed many people but officers will remain at the scene over the coming days and extra patrols are taking place to provide reassurance. Suffolk Police said it detained the 46-year-old suspect at around 12.15pm (pictured are police at the scene today) 'We would like to thank local residents who have so far assisted us with this investigation.' Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team either by using the online portal at mipp.police.uk/operation/363718M87-PO1 or by calling 101 and quoting reference 37/17570/21. Alternatively people can contact the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. American Horror Story favourite Cody Fern will star alongside Dancing With The Stars winner Samuel Johnson in Eden, a scintillating new drama on Stan. Featuring a young and diverse cast, Eden was shot in and around the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales and is led by Australian up-and-comers BeBe Bettencourt and Sophie Wild. The mystery of Eden unfolds in an idyllic coastal town, where the disappearance of a young woman triggers a devastating chain of events which lays bare the dark and hidden heart of the community. Mystery road: American Horror Story favourite Cody Fern (pictured) will star alongside Dancing With The Stars winner Samuel Johnson in Eden, a scintillating new drama on Stan Long buried secrets are dragged into the open as lives and deeds intersect over one fractured summer and its aftermath. An exploration of human relationships through the lens of sex and desire, Eden boasts an all-female writing team. This complex, multi-generational tale also stars Australian favourites Rachael Blake , Leeanna Walsman, Simon Lyndon, and Maggie Kirkpatrick. Spooky: The mystery of Eden unfolds in an idyllic coastal town, where the disappearance of a young woman triggers a devastating chain of events which lays bare the dark and hidden heart of the community Investigating: Long buried secrets are dragged into the open as lives and deeds intersect over one fractured summer and its aftermath. Samuel Johnson is pictured They appear alongside stars Keiynan Lonsdale and True Detective's Christopher James Baker. Eden was created in collaboration with the creator of the UK cult hit Skins, Bryan Elsley. Australian actor Cody, 32, is best known for his work on American Horror Story, House of Cards and American Crime Story. Moody: Featuring a young and diverse cast, Eden was shot in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales and is led by Australian up-and-comers BeBe Bettencourt and Sophie Wild Sultry: An exploration of human relationships through the lens of sex and desire, Eden boasts an all-female writing team Fellow Aussie Samuel rose to fame on The Secret Life of Us, and won Dancing With the Stars in 2019. He has also appeared in Underbelly and won a Gold Logie for the most popular personality on Australian television after starring in the mini-series Molly, based on the life of music guru Molly Meldrum. The Stan Original Series Eden is coming soon only on Stan, with further premiere details to come. A look at some of the major headlines from the Proactive newswire C4X Discovery Holdings PLC (LON:C4XD) has inked a worldwide licensing deal with international drug giant Sanofi worth up to 414mln for its oral IL-17A inhibitor programme. Alien Metals Ltd (LON:UFO) has delineated seven high priority targets at the Elizabeth Hill silver project in Australia, following the completion of a litho-structural interpretation and target-generation study. The project area includes the Mining Lease containing the historic Elizabeth Hill silver mine and the Munni Munni North exploration Lease that surrounds it. AfriTin Mining Ltd (LON:ATM) is advancing a metallurgical testing programme designed to investigate the potential production of tantalum and lithium as by-products from its producing tin project at Uis. The Uis tin mine is already known to contain an estimated 6,091 tonnes of tantalum and 450,265 tonnes of lithium oxide (Li2 O). Live Company Group PLC (LON:LVCG) said it is well-positioned to take advantage of the expected upturn in the sector in the second half of 2021, particularly in the UK and the US. Coinsilium Group Limited (LON:COIN) has updated investors with further details around the launch of a cryptocurrency postage stamp by the government of Gibraltar and a non-fungible token (NFT) counterpart exclusively produced by the firm in collaboration with Vietnam-based RedFOX Labs. Caerus Mineral Resources PLC (LON:CMRS) announced better-than-expected results from preliminary drilling on the PR Ploutonic Resources Ltd licences in Cyprus, ahead of a vote by its shareholders on the acquisition of privately held PRL towards the end of this month. Instem PLC (LON:INST) saw underlying earnings (EBITDA) rise in 2020 while it said it has "good visibility" for the current year with growing recurring revenues. InnovaDerma PLC (LON:IDP) announced it is about to complete fundraising plans proposed in January. ANGLE PLC said promising data highlighting the potential of its liquid biopsy in breast and lung cancers will be released in two posters at virtual meetings taking place this week and next month. Xpediator PLC (LON:XPD) said first-quarter trading in its current year has been ahead of management expectations as the firm reported a profit surge in 2020 driven by changes to its business caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (LON:COPL) has said despite its previous announcement on March 19 that its shares would be cancelled on the London Stock Exchange on April 21, the company has now postponed the formal cancellation date to a date, yet to be determined, that will coincide with the re-admission of the shares on the LSE. Subject to regulatory approval, the firm now expects the re-admission of its shares to occur towards the end of May or in June and it is now intended that the cancellation and re-admission will occur simultaneously at such time. Love Hemp Group PLC (LON:LIFE) (OTCQB:WRHLF) said the broker option granted to Peterhouse Capital Limited in connection with its placing and subscription announced on April 8 closed on April 9 and was significantly oversubscribed. The cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp product supplier said the broker option has been exercised in respect of around 57.7mln shares, an increase of around 100% on the original number in the option, which on exercise will raise a further 2.02mln for the company, taking its total fundraise to 7.04mln. Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR, ASX:THR, OTCQB: THORF) said field work has started at its Ragged Range gold project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Belvoir Group PLC (LON:BLV) has reinstated the dividend and said that trading in the year to date has been encouraging and in line with management expectations. Touchstone Exploration Inc (LON:TXP, TSE:TXP) shares advanced more than 20% after the company told investors that flowback testing of the Cascadura Deep-1 well, in Trinidad, confirmed a liquids rich discovery. ADM Energy PLC (LON:ADME) inked a non-binding agreement with Eunisell Limited, a Nigerian owned oil and gas production solutions company, to potentially develop the Barracuda oil field in OML 141, in Nigeria. 88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E, ASX:88E) reported further evidence of oil in the Merlin-1 well, in Alaska. "Lightspeed is known for great service, which is the same as our approach and that of our independent agency clients as well," said Michael Doran, President of SIS. "They are a great cultural fit for our Partner Allies program and the integration helps clients get more from both services." Partner and Lightspeed share many of the same values, such as personalized service above what others provide. Steve Mohr, VP of Sales and Marketing for Lightspeed Voice, said, "After meeting with the Partner Platform team, we saw they share many of the same values we do as a company, such as providing personalized service above and beyond what many others in the industry provide. Both customer bases are very loyal, which is a testament to the product and company." Partner Allies provide products and services which work with Partner Platform agency management system enhancing the independent agency's capacity to retain, grow, and service clients. These relationships are more than integrations they are commitments from like-minded vendors collaborating to serve mutual clients and leveraging diverse strengths to improve the experience of our agencies. About SIS Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Strategic Insurance Software (SIS) is the team behind Partner Platform, an innovative web-based insurance agency management system helping independent agents break free from the status quo. Partner Platform is easy to use, streamlines workflows and enables agencies to run their business more affordably and effectively. Built on a foundation of strong technology and exceptional service, we're moving forward with a constant eye on innovation that will make independent agents' lives easier. For more information, please visit https://sispartnerplatform.com. About Lightspeed Voice Lightspeed Voice is a VoIP, cloud-based IP telephony provider, founded in 2009 to provide the insurance industry with reliable VoIP and client relationship management (CRM) solutions. Enjoy the communication features of a Fortune 500 company while reducing your telephone-related overhead with VoIP. Our industry compliant Lightspeed Connect system connects agents in multiple locations in a unified communications system. Use our phones, your cell phone or soft phone to connect from anywhere with VoIP. Our Lightspeed Automate processes, customizes client relationship experiences and provides intelligent reporting. We maintain a 99% customer satisfaction rating. SOURCE Strategic Insurance Software LLC Related Links https://sisware.com A patient at Brigham and Womens Hospital whos accused of carrying a loaded gun into the Boston hospital in a backpack was arrested Sunday evening, authorities said. Officers responded shortly after 7:15 p.m. to Brigham and Womens at 75 Francis St. after security team members became concerned that a recently admitted patient had an illegal firearm in his possession, according to a statement from the Boston Police Department. Police said they found the loaded .380 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun inside the patients backpack and safely recovered the firearm. The man will be summonsed at a later date for an arraignment in Roxbury District Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm. You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite app including Alexa, Apple, Google, Spotify and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit! Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | April 12, 2021 The Wolf administration is being pressured to release more information regarding wasted COVID-19 vaccine doses. The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that voters must provide the address of where they are registered to vote when signing a candidates nominating petition. Italian-American groups are suing Philly over the cancellation of Columbus Day, citing discrimination. And that gigantic snake in Pittsburgh? Well, its more common than youd think. Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa, a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa. Todays episode refers to the following articles: If you enjoy Today in Pa, consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 12, 2021) - Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: LRA) ("Lara" or "the Company"), is pleased to report that it has completed a reappraisal of the diamond drilling and ground magnetometer survey results for its Itatuba vanadium project, in the Tapajos region of northern Brazil. Project work initially focused on vanadium-bearing magnetite bodies, but the recent work has shown that the host gabbros also contain disseminated vanadium-bearing magnetite that can be concentrated to enrich the vanadium grade. Surface mapping and the magnetic survey show these gabbros to be extensive within the Lara property and the Company plans to undertake further geophysical surveys and follow-up drilling later in the year. Half core samples from four scout holes were subjected to Davis Tube Recovery ("DTR") testing and the resulting magnetic concentrates then assayed for vanadium pentoxide ("V2O5"). In the fresh rock sections of three of the holes (holes SR-02, SR-03 and SR-04), significant intervals were identified, where the magnetite concentrate recovery values are in the order of 10 to 20% of the original core sample mass. In two of these holes (SR-03 and SR-04) the V2O5 grades for these concentrates are in the order of 0.8% to 1.1% (see table below). The hole SR-04 has the thickest interval of 47.65m and is still open to depth. The down hole intervals are assumed to be approximately true width, based on the surface mapping information and the drill core logging. DRILL HOLE E-UTM N-UTM From (m) To (m) Width (m) DTR (%) V2O5 in concentrate (%) SR-01 624356 9500481 No significant results SR-02 624569 9500559 70.90 75.35 4.45 20.75 0.64 SR-03 624463 9500378 24.03 41.80 17.77 17.34 0.83 SR-04 624362 9500104 25.70 73.35 47.65 11.02 0.91 incl 51.40 55.75 4.35 15.56 1.08 and 66.35 71.85 5.50 14.49 1.15 No significant vanadium enrichment was detected in the magnetic concentrates in the weathered saprolite upper parts of any of the four drill holes. The core logging indicates that the vanadium enriched zones are associated with intercalated units of magnetite-olivine-gabbro and ferro-gabbro. Contacts observed in the cores indicate a sub-horizontal or gently west-dipping attitude for these units consistent with the dips of the overlying massive magnetite bodies. Review of ground magnetic data indicates that drill hole SR-04 is located central to a large anomaly in the order of 700m (E-W) by 300m to 400m (N-S), at the southern end of the complex, indicating the possibility that the vanadium-bearing disseminated magnetite units could have a large horizontal extent in this southern part of the complex (see Figure 1. below). Holes SR-02 and SR-03, which reported narrower and lower grade vanadium pentoxide intersections, are both located in a similar-sized magnetic anomaly immediately to the north of the SR-04 zone and other strong magnetic anomaly zones are present along the northward extension for a further 2,000m along the main ridge. Surface geological mapping suggests that the entire ridge is underlain by the gabbro complex. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2373/79965_picture1.jpg Further work is planned, including extensions to the original ground magnetics survey, geological mapping with the objective to identify the more magnetite-rich ferro-gabbro phases within the complex, and drill testing of the priority target unit already identified at the southern end of the complex, as well as scout drilling at other priority magnetic zones in the central and northern parts of the complex. Background Work at the Itaituba project initially focused on outcropping massive vanadium and titanium bearing magnetite bodies, hosted in a gabbro complex, as a possible direct shipping ore. The surface rock chip sampling indicated that the magnetites contained between 21% and 24% titanium dioxide ("TiO2") and from 0.35 to 0.5% V2O5 (see Lara news release of April 17th, 2012). Surface geological mapping and the scout drilling of four shallow holes, from 35m to 75m in depth, located in the southern end of the host gabbro complex, show that these magnetite bodies are flat sheet-like bodies from 2m to 8m thick with a shallow westerly dip. The early Quemscan and Davis Tube Recovery testing on selected surface samples suggested that it would not be possible to obtain a concentrate of any better vanadium grade because the titanium and vanadium are both contained within the magnetite crystal structure (see Lara news release of February 11th, 2014). Logging of the drill core indicated that the massive magnetites are hosted by a multi-phase system of different gabbro intrusives, some of which are extremely enriched in disseminated magnetite (ferro-gabbros). Initial sampling of a few short intervals of these magnetite-rich gabbro phases indicated that it was possible to obtain a magnetite concentrate from some of the samples of between 6.6% and 42.6% of the original sample weight and that these concentrates analyzed V2O5 grades from 0.32 % up to 1.03% V2O5 with enrichment factors up to 10.8 times the vanadium pentoxide values in the core samples (see Lara news release of February 26th, 2019). Sampling methodology, Chain of Custody, Quality Assurance and Quality Control All the rock channel and drill core sampling were carried out by or under the supervision of the Company's Vice-President Exploration and the chain of custody of the samples and drill core from the project area to the Company's sample preparation facilities in Itaituba and Canaa dos Carajas was continuously monitored. Sample intervals for the drill core samples varied between 0.2m and 3.0m. The core samples were delivered to the sample preparation laboratories of SGS-Geosol in Parauapebas and to ALS in Goiania where the samples were crushed and pulverized. SGS-Geosol dispatched sample pulps to their own analytical laboratory at Vespasiano, near Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, whereas ALS dispatched the pulps to their dedicated facility in Loughrea, Ireland. Davis Tube Recovery magnetic concentrates were obtained for each sample, using a magnetic field force of 3000 Gauss and the concentrates, after drying and weighing to determine the percentage of magnetic iron concentrate recovery, were analyzed by XRF for V2O5, TiO2, Fe2O3 and seven other oxides after fusion with lithium tetraborate and for Loss on Ignition, which was determined by heating the sample in a furnace at 405 degrees centigrade. Both SGS-Geosol and ALS inserted blank, certified standard and duplicate samples into each sample batch. Both laboratories are independent from Lara. Michael Bennell, Lara's Vice President Exploration and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has approved the technical disclosure and verified the technical information in this news release. About Lara Exploration Lara is an exploration company following the Prospect and Royalty Generator business model, which aims to minimize shareholder dilution and financial risk by generating prospects and exploring them in joint ventures funded by partners, retaining a minority interest and or a royalty. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio of prospects, deposits and royalties in Brazil, Peru and Chile. Lara's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LRA". For further information on Lara Exploration Ltd. please consult our website www.laraexploration.com, or contact Chris MacIntyre, VP Corporate Development, at +1 416 703 0010. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. -30- To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/79965 For many rural towns in the area, gas bills were impacted earlier this year due to polar temperatures and since then, communities have been figuring out how to pay for the cost. In Pittsfield, the city had around 1.4 million dollars in additional cost for their customers. The city had to pay for their gas within 30 days. City council had set up a payment plan for the surcharge of excess gas, said Ed Knight, Economic Development director for city of Pittsfield. He was also a gas chairman before taking over economic development. Customers were charged what the normal rate wouldve been for February. The city council got the phone once the increase happened and called all of their large accounts asked them to cut back. If the city went out of their hourly rate of what they were using, it wouldve been $450 a dekatherm. The city managed to maintain their hourly rate. The city then added the surcharge. Customers in Pittsfield had a month to decide whether they wanted to pay the surcharge in full for 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, or in 30 months, Knight said. Customers were charged what the normal rate wouldve been for February. Theyre on a payment plan to repay that, he said. This month is when customers were able to choose whichever payment plan they wanted to. The city of Pittsfield went to the Illinois Finance Authority to borrow money as the city didnt have the money, Knight said. IFA was quick to come up with loans to help small communities in a matter of 10 days. Knight said Pittsfield goes through Interstate Municipal Gas Agency, which is a nonprofit joint action agency providing natural gas services throughout the midwest, to purchase their gas, but there are no regulations on gas so there were no protections on it. IMGA bought their gas from gas company, BP. The city was buying gas through that company to maintain a gas line. Customers may not realize what kind of penalties are enforced on the city that the city may have no control over. Knight said the city always protected their gas rates and kept them as low they could, but there were no reserves in their gas fund. Our rate structure was the lowest it had been in 20 years until this happened, he said. Any one on the Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line was hit hard. The Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line supplies gas to communities. There is no regulation until the federal government gets involved, he said. The city has been in contact with congressman Darin LaHood about the situation. Knight said there needs to be some federal legislation such as price circuit breaker protection put in place where gas rates are only allowed to be raised at a certain percentage each day. That would protect municipalities, he said. It has to be handled on the federal level. There has to be regulations changed and there has to be protections put in to avoid this from happening again, he said. The gas bills hit everyone hard in the city, but Knight said the they were able to provide gas to all of their customers and didnt run out of gas. As of right now, gas rates are fine in the city. Rates are $2.49 for gas which is relief from the rate of $225 from which it was from Feb. 12 through 16. Katie Price has said she has been told she is 'weak with men' because of her experiences with sexual assault as a child aged seven. The media personality, 42, recently spoke about how she was raped at a young age in a park and has now said she believes it has affected her choices in adult life. Katie discussed how the harrowing experience has affected her relationships with men during a new interview with The Sunday Times Magazine. Opening up: Katie Price has said she has been told she is 'weak with men' because of her experiences with sexual assault as a child aged seven While discussing her five-week stay at the The Priory rehabilitation facility last year Katie revealed her experience with abuse was 'part of' her later choices in life. She said: 'What happened to me as a child was part of it to. They say that's why I'm weak with men. I just pick t***ers, don't I?' Katie previously spoke about the experience on Annie Mac's Changes podcast. During the chat she admitted male figures 'have always let me down' as she discussed the horrifying moment. Reality star Katie said: 'The thing that's always been wrong in my life is men. That is from an early age. I was raped as a kid. At seven. That is in my first book. I was in a park.' Struggles: The media personality, 42, recently spoke about how she was raped at a young age in a park and has now said she believes it has affected her choices in adult life (stock image from 2009) Elsewhere during the new interview, Katie revealed how her mum Amy vets her boyfriends and quizzes them on if they are after her money. Katie explained: 'My mum has embarrassed me so many times. She'll turn up at my house and say to the latest boyfriend: 'Have you got a job? Or are you just going to ponce off my daughter?' She is ruthless and it turns out she's always right.' The mother of five, who is currently dating ex-Love Islander Carl Woods, said: 'With Carl, mum's already told him not to mess me around and so far he's passed the t***er test. 'He's got his own money, he's not interested in fame and hates anything to do with Jordan [her model alter ego]. 'The thing that's always been wrong in my life is men': Katie discussed being raped at the age of seven in a candid interview recently (pictured last week) Katie also explained how her past traumas led her to seek help from The Priory last year. The former Page 3 star first revealed the incident publicly in her autobiography, Being Jordan, in May 2004. Katie detailed the damage the ordeal has caused during an appearance on Loose Women in 2017, stating: 'There was the sexual assault and I was later raped. 'I have discussed before and I do believe it led to me dressing provocatively and becoming a model. 'I had been training to be a nurse but the glamour modelling world is aimed at men. They can look but they can't touch. You can say or do what you like in a picture.' Horrific: The former glamour model (pictured aged 7) admitted male figures 'have always let me down' as she discussed the horrifying moment Elsewhere on the podcast, the media personality bravely spoke about being sexually exploited by a photographer. The businesswoman added to host Annie Mac: 'And then I got involved with this photographer who ended up being in prison. He was obsessed with me.' 'He took indecent photographs that I thought were innocent at the time. I was 12. He made me do pictures where I was sticking my tongue out. They looked young and girly but to him. It is sexual. He used to make these milkshakes. 'I never took one because I didn't like it. The police when they came around.. that's what he did he made the girls drink them and he drugged them.' The TV star went on to reveal that 'someone tried to get me in their car' before she became a teenager, sharing: 'My mum has had this constant all the time. 'My dad left although I can't remember... subconsciously your mind remembers everything. It is there. 'So they worked out (at The Priory) the reason I jumped in and out relationships.. it is not wanting that father figure they always let me down... that has been my trouble in life it is to do with men.' The influencer later recalled when she was sexually assaulted while with three of her children - Harvey, 18, Junior, 15, and Princess, 14 - in South Africa three years ago. Katie was groped and held at gunpoint when the family stopped at the roadside because her son Junior needed the toilet. 'We had no security': The influencer also recalled when she was sexually assaulted while with Harvey, 18, Junior, 15, and Princess, 14 - in South Africa in 2018 (pictured with her five kids) The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star said: 'We were out in South Africa with the kids Junior and Princess with ITV. We had no security. 'Junior wanted a wee. We got out the car. And all I remember him saying is ''mum imagine if I jump down here''. Next thing you know a car pulled up, six guys in it, out with their guns. 'They did things to me in front of my kids in the car. They had a gun to my head. We thought we were going to die.' She confessed that the incident - which also saw a friend get knocked out - left her eldest daughter scared at night. The entrepreneur said: 'Princess had therapy after that. She still doesnt like nighttime there is a lot that has gone on with that. I cant even tell you how traumatic it was.We all thought we were going to die. 'I was holding the pillow up waiting to be shot to protect my children. It made the news out there because no one didnt understand why they didnt kill us there. 'The police said it was because they took the keys to the vehicles they were going to dump everything there and then come back. But luckily a passer by managed to get down. 'People just drive past they are used to it out there. The police came and said: it is so unusual that they didnt kill you. 'They worked out the reason I jumped in and out relationships': The mother-of-five explained how her traumas led her to seek help from The Priory last year (pictured at the rehab centre) 'A lot of the crew went home because they couldnt deal with it. I carried on because I am professional. That hijack was the nail on the head.' Before her 2020 visit to The Priory, Katie visited the facility in September 2018 when she spent 28 days as an inpatient after her family urged her to seek help following wild partying antics in Mallorca. She previously claimed she was sexually abused by a well-known person as a young woman. At the time, the author insisted she will not be naming and shaming the person as she 'doesn't want the drama.' During an industry event in 2017, the 2015 Celebrity Big Brother winner said: 'I was raped by a celebrity but no, Ill never name him, I just dont want the drama. I dont even know if he knows that Ive spoken about him, I doubt he does.' A survey by UN Women UK recently revealed that 80% of women of all ages in Britain have been sexually harassed. The fashion star is now in a healthy relationship with her boyfriend Carl Woods, 32, and the couple are rumoured to be expecting their first child together. Avanesian said frontline workers, seniors and people suffering from chronic illnesses will be the first to be inoculated at government-funded medical centers across the country. Those of them who are aged 55 and older will receive a vaccine developed by the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca because of lingering concerns about its safety for younger persons, she told reporters. The other people most at risk from the coronavirus will be offered the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, she said. Armenia received on March 28 24,000 AstraZeneca vaccine shots from COVAX Facility, a global vaccine-sharing scheme. It went on to import 15,000 doses of Sputnik V on April 8. Visiting Moscow last week, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to help the Armenian government buy many more jabs for its vaccination program. We need more than a million doses, Pashinian said. Avanesian said Yerevan is close to finalizing a deal with COVAX for the acquisition of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the U.S. company Novavax. In addition, she said, China has tentatively agreed to donate vaccine shots to Armenia. The minister did not specify the likely volume of these planned deliveries. But she did announce that the governments objective is to have up to 700,000 Armenians vaccinated within a year. Armenia has been hit hard by the pandemic and is currently grappling with a third wave of coronavirus infections that began in late February. Critics blame the resurgence of the acute respiratory disease on the authorities failure to enforce their physical distancing and sanitary rules. The Armenian Ministry of Health said earlier on Monday that 510 more people in the country of about 3 million have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past day. The ministry also reported 18 new deaths caused by COVID-19, bringing the official death toll to 3,753. India on Monday reported a net increase of 92,922 in active cases to take its count to 1,201,009, the most at time since the outbreak early last year. That is over 118 per cent of the previous high of 1,017,754 on September 18. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 5.05 per cent (one in 20). The country is 4th among the most affected countries by active cases. On Monday, it added 168,912 cases, the most in a day so far, to take its total caseload to 13,527,717. And, with 904 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 170,179, or 1.26 per cent of total confirmed infections. With 2,933,418 more people getting Covid-19 vaccine shots on Sunday, Indias total count of those inoculated reached 104,528,565. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 12,156,529 or 89.86 per cent of total caseload with 75,086 new cured cases being reported on Monday. Mumbai, April 12 : The Indian rupee continued to depreciate for the sixth consecutive day, breached the 75 per US dollar mark amid rising cases of Covid-19 and concerns of fresh localised lockdowns. On Monday, the rupee closed at 75.05 per dollar after weakening to an over eight-month low of 75.14 against the greenback. Further, a freefall in the equity market, along with rising crude oil prices, and outflows of foreign funds, also weighed on the Indian currency, analysts said. The Indian stock market witnessed its biggest single-day fall of 2021 on Monday. The BSE Sensex fell 1,707.94 points to close at 47,883.38. After a largely bullish sentiments among the foreign portfolio investors, they have now started pulling out investments from Indian equities. So far in April, they have pulled out net investments worth Rs 1,348 crore from the equity market. The leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) deputies Alfred Simonis announced, on Monday, the submission of the simple motion against Minister of Health Vlad Voiculescu requesting its debate this week. "I know that it is perhaps unprecedented in Parliament for a motion to be tabled against a minister twice in the same session. The truth is that we have had ministers confused by their lives and their role in ministries, but it seems that no one has ever got entangled like Mr. Voiculescu. (...) I want to convey a message to my colleagues from USR [Save Romania Union], PNL [National Liberal Party], UDMR [the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania], to the national minorities - when you vote the motion against Mr. Vlad Voiculescu you should think about your father, grandfather or child, that those people are taken out like dogs with catheters in their hands, in their arms, about whom Minister Voiculescu was saying they were happy. (...) Therefore, on behalf of the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democratic Party of the Chamber of Deputies, in accordance with article 112 of the Romanian Constitution and article 187 of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber, I forward to you the simple motion entitled "For Romanians to live, Vlad Voiculescu must leave," Alfred Simonis said in Parliament's plenary sitting, agerpres.ro confirms. The Social Democrat requested that the motion be debated, according to the Rules of Procedure, within six days, noting that the meeting must be scheduled for this week. The leader of the USR PLUS deputies, Ionut Mosteanu, specified that it is about six working days. The Standing Bureau is to decide the calendar of the motion's debate, as announced by the sitting chairman, the Liberal Laurentiu Leoreanu. https://www.aish.com/jw/me/Israel-at-73.html The story of Israel is the wondrous realization of a 3,500-year link among a land, a faith, a language, a people, and a vision. Modern Israel celebrates its 73rd birthday this week. Let me put my cards on the table. Im not dispassionate when it comes to the country. For nearly 1,900 years, Jews around the world prayed for a return to Zion and Jerusalem, after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and the loss of sovereignty. Thats a span of approximately 75 generations. The Jews never lost hope, however remote the likelihood of return may have seemed at any given time. How could they have, though, since without Zion and Jerusalem at the center of Judaisms universe, what would Jewish identity be? As it was written in Psalm 137 some 2,500 years ago: If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning ... if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. And recall these words in the same psalm: By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We are the lucky ones who have seen those prayers answered. The road to sovereign rebirth in 1948; the fulfillment of Israels envisioned role as home and haven for Jews from the four corners of the earth; the wholehearted embrace of democracy and the rule of law; and the impressive scientific, cultural, and economic achievements are all, to say the least, extraordinary. And when one adds that Israels neighbors tried from day one to annihilate it, the story of Israels first 73 years becomes all the more stunning. Israelis have never abandoned their deep yearning for peace. No other country has faced such overwhelming odds against its very survival, or experienced the same degree of unending international demonization abetted by too many nations ready to sacrifice integrity on the altar of political expediency, or confronted the same relentless challenges to its very right to exist, to defend itself, or to designate its own capital. Yet Israelis have never succumbed to a fortress mentality, never abandoned their deep yearning for peace or willingness to take unprecedented risks to achieve that peace as was the case with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994; in the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005; and one day, perhaps, in a two-state deal with the Palestinians if their leadership ever convincingly accepts the legitimacy of Jewish self-determination, the abandonment of the so-called right of return, and the desire to live in enduring peace. To be sure, nation-building is an infinitely complex process. Just take a look at any of todays leading democracies and their histories on this score. In Israels case, it began against a backdrop of tensions with a local Arab population that laid claim to the very same land, and, tragically, refused a pragmatic UN proposal in 1947 to divide it into Arab and Jewish states (one of several outright refusals by Palestinian leadership from 1947 onward). It continued as the Arab world sought to isolate, demoralize, and, ultimately, destroy the fledgling state and its 650,000 Jews; as it was forced to devote a vast portion of its limited national budget to military preparedness; and as it coped with forging a national identity and social consensus among a culturally diverse population from Holocaust survivors to refugees from the Arab world, from those fleeing communism to others leaving democratic societies to join in building the state. Like any vibrant democracy, Israel is a permanent work in progress. To be sure, it has its shortcomings, including the excessive, unholy intrusion of religion into politics, a messy political system requiring constant deal making, as no political party has ever won an outright electoral majority, and the unfinished task of fully integrating Israeli Arabs into the mainstream, much as notable progress has been made. But such challenges, important as they are, cannot be allowed to overshadow Israels remarkable achievements. In just 73 years, Israel has established a thriving democracy unique in the region. This includes a Supreme Court prepared to overrule the prime minister or the military establishment, or even send a former president to prison; a feisty parliament that includes just about every imaginable viewpoint from right to left, secular to religious, Arab to Jewish; a robust civil society; and a vigorous press. It has built a dynamic economy increasingly based on mind-boggling innovation and cutting-edge technology. It has joined the OECD, become a global hub of research and development, and is a magnet for foreign direct investment. And of late, thanks to natural gas discoveries, it has gone from an energy-scarce to an energy-rich nation. It is home to universities and research centers that have contributed to advancing the worlds frontiers of knowledge in countless ways, and won a slew of Nobel Prizes in the process. It has created one of the worlds most powerful and effective militaries always under civilian control to ensure its survival in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood, where Iran and its satellites continue to call for its destruction. At the same time, it strives to adhere to a strict code of military conduct that has few rivals, even as its enemies seek cover in mosques, schools, and hospitals, often hide behind the backs of children, and bamboozle a frequently gullible media. Israel has become the answer to centuries of powerlessness, pogroms, expulsions, inquisitions, ghettos, yellow stars, and crematoria directed at the Jewish people. Then, Jews had to rely on good will, which was in rather short supply, to say the least. Today, there is undaunted, unafraid Israel as once-beleaguered Soviet and Ethiopian Jews can attest, as the rescued passengers of the Palestinian-German hijacking of Air France 139 to Entebbe can confirm, and as the charred remnants of the anything-but-peaceful nuclear reactors in Iraq and Syria remind us. The world leader in COVID vaccinations, Israel is ranked among the worlds healthiest nations, with a life expectancy higher than that of the U.S. The world leader in COVID vaccinations, Israel is ranked among the worlds healthiest nations, with a life expectancy higher than that of the U.S. not to mention a consistently top ranking, again ahead of the U.S., in the annual UN happiness index. It has forged a thriving culture admired far beyond Israels borders, including among American television audiences, and has lovingly taken an ancient language, Hebrew, the language of the prophets, and rendered it modern to accommodate the discourse of the contemporary world. Notwithstanding a handful of despicably extremist voices, it has built a climate of respect for other faith groups, including Bahai, Christianity, and Islam, and their places of worship. Few other nations in the region can even begin to make the same claim. Israel has built an agricultural sector that has much to share with developing nations in Africa and beyond about turning an arid soil into bountiful fields of fruits, vegetables, cotton, and flowers. And speaking of parched land, through human ingenuity, it has turned a water-scarce nation into a net exporter of water. It has formally extended the arc of peace beyond Egypt and Jordan to include Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and United Arab Emirates, and, informally, still further. It now has diplomatic ties with an overwhelming majority of the worlds nations. And on any given day, Israeli humanitarian projects are underway in various countries stricken by man-made or natural disasters. Indeed, given the multitude of the worlds 21st century priorities from food security to clean water, from public health to medicine, from technology to cyber security, from climate change to environmentalism, from terrorism to national resilience Israel ranks near the very top as a global problem-solver. Step back from the twists and turns of the daily information overload and consider the sweep of the last seven-plus decades. Look at the light-years traveled since the all-enveloping darkness of the Holocaust, and marvel at the miracle of a decimated people returning to a tiny sliver of land the land of our ancestors and successfully building and defending a modern, pulsating state against all the odds. In the final analysis, the story of Israel is the wondrous realization of a 3,500-year link among a land, a faith, a language, a people, and a vision. To put it in the words of Hatikvah, Israels national anthem, it is the quest To be a free people in our own land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem. Indeed, it is an unparalleled tale of tenacity and determination, of courage and renewal. And it is ultimately a metaphor for the triumph of enduring hope over the temptation of chronic despair. This article originally appeared in The Times of Israel. Lee Hart, the wife of former Senator Gary Hart of Colorado, who stood by him when his front-running campaign for the presidency collapsed in 1987 for having an extramarital affair, died on Friday aged 85. Her family confirmed she had died in Lakewood Colorado after a short illness, but did not specify a cause. Lee Hart was propelled into the nation's consciousness when her husband, a Colorado Senator and the favorite to win the 1988 Democratic Party nomination for president, was exposed as having an affair with a young model from Florida, Donna Rice. The affair, which both Hart and Rice denied, tore his public image as a dutiful family man to shreds, and after polling confirmed his popularity had nosedived, he pulled out of the race a few days after being exposed. The scandal marked a watershed moment in US politics; as politicians' private lives suddenly became fair game for the press. A 2018 film about the incident called The Frontrunner, starring Hugh Jackman as Gary and Vera Farmiga as Lee, carried the tagline: 'The week America went tabloid'. Lee would stand by her husband, now aged 84, who survives along with their two children and two grandchildren. Gary and Lee Hart on the campaign trail in 1984 during Gary's first run for President. She was a constant companion as he made a credible run for the nomination, before losing to Walter Mondale Gary Hart, right announces he is pulling out of the race to become the Democratic nominee after his affair was exposed. Watching on are his wife Lee, who died this week, and son John Donna Rice, a Florida model who once appeared in an episode of Miami Vice, was said to have struck up a relationship with Gary Hart after they met on a yacht A poster for The Frontrunner, starring Jackman, about the scandal. 'The week America went tabloid,' reads the tagline Affairs of the Hart In 1987, Gary Hart was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to become president of the United States. He would soon become embroiled in a sex scandal that cast him out of the race. April 27, 1987 Miami Herald politics editor Tom Fielder receives an anonymous that Hart had struck up a relationship with a woman on an overnight trip on a yacht rented by lawyer-lobbyist William Broadhurst named Monkey Business. May 1, 1987 The paper send a reporter to stake out Hart's home in Washington DC. Hart was spotted leaving the house with Donna Rice that evening, before returning later on. The reporter confronted them, and both denied the affair. May 3, 1987 A story appears in the Miami Herald with photos of Hart and Rice. When asked if he was having an affair, Hart said: 'I don't have to answer that'. Rice separately denied the allegations. May 5, 1987 Hart suspends his campaign, his political career in tatters. He dropped out of the race three days later. Voters polled on Hart later said they disapproved of his dishonesty more than the adultery. May 24, 1987 The National Enquirer publishes photos of Rice sitting on Hart's lap. In a story accompanying the photos, the tabloid newspaper quoted unidentified friends of Rice's who said she confided to them that Hart told her he was planning to divorce his wife and marry her after he was elected president. Advertisement Lee Hart, a former English teacher, was a tireless campaigner and supporter of her husband during his runs for the Senate and the White House. Gary first came to national prominence in 1984, when he Hart the Democratic presidential nomination, losing narrowly to former Vice President Walter F. Mondale. He declined to seek re-election to the Senate in 1986 and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. He was widely seen as the front-runner, but his campaign was derailed after an affair with a young model, Rice, who once appeared in Miami Vice, was exposed. The revelations in the Miami Herald and subsequent coverage from the political press corp in Washington marked a departure from the way previous politicians' infidelities had been considered off-limits by the press. Hart's public persona had been that of a loyal husband whose marriage had been strengthened by brief separations from his wife. The presidential candidate denied that he was having an affair, as did Donna Rice. But the mounting scandal, and his dismissive attitude towards the media coverage of it, did not endear him to voters. His conduct 'challenged the moralistic conventions of political behavior and ultimately paid the price for his apostasy', Time magazine reported in 1987. As Hart tried to keep his campaign afloat in the face of intense media coverage, Lee Hart defended him when questioned about the allegations. 'I love my husband very much,' she said during a campaign appearance in New Hampshire. 'I know Gary better than anyone else, and when Gary says nothing happened, nothing happened.' But with support plummeting, and his image as an honest husband in tatters, he pulled out of the race. 'I said that I bend, but I don't break, and believe me, I'm not broken,' he said at a press conference on May 8 announcing he was dropping out. The next year, George H.W. Bush, who had served two terms as Vice President to Ronald Reagan, would defeat Michael Dukakis to become the 41st US President. After dropping out of the race, Hart tried to revive his campaign, and again Hart was supportive. 'I'm doing what I always wanted to do,' she said, 'traveling with Gary.' Hart went back to practicing law, and would become a special envoy to Northern Ireland in the Obama Administration, and they remained married up until her death. In a 2003 interview with the New York Times, Hart would say: 'This whole business of '87 is flypaper to me. I want to get unstuck.' Gary and Lee Hart in 1984 during his unsuccessful first run to become president Gary and Lee Hart were constant companions on the campaign trail. After his affair was exposed, she would tell the press: 'I'm doing what I always wanted to do, traveling with Gary.' Gary Hart's first run for the Presidency in 1984 would eventually be narrowly defeated by Walter Mondale This December 1987 photo of the Harts in high spirits as they campaigned in New Hampshire This photo of Rice and Hart appeared on the cover of the National Enquirer days after he pulled out of the presidential race. The pair were said to have met aboard Monkey Business, the yacht of a friend. They denied having an affair Lee Hart, left, remained a devoted wife to Gary, after his affair with Donna Rice, right, was exposed during his 1987 presidential run But his name would forever be synonymous with the affair, and the turning point it marked in the way the press covered political sex scandals. Donna Rice married in 1994 and became an internet safety activist and is president of Enough is Enough, an anti-child pornography not-for-profit organization. Even before the scandal, the Harts' marriage had had its ups and downs, the Associated Press reports. They separated twice, in 1979 and 1981, and even announced plans to divorce, but they remained married for more than 60 years. Lee Hart was born Oletha Ludwig in Lawrence, Kansas, on Feb. 20, 1936. She graduated from Bethany Nazarene College in 1958 and married Hart that summer. While her husband was getting a graduate degree at Yale University, Hart taught English in Milford, Connecticut, according to The Denver Post. The Denver Post reported that Lee Hart was passionate about nature and wildlife, especially birds, her family said. Her son John Hart told The Post that is mother was 'very tough and very nurturing'. 'She was always there to comfort us. She meant a lot to us in so many different ways,' the paper reported. After retiring, Lee Hart traveled widely, with her husband and family, fulfilling a lifelong dream to travel to Uganda to see mountain gorillas. She is survived by her husband; her two children, John and Andrea Hart; her sister, former U.S. Representative Martha Keys of Kansas; and two grandchildren. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:09:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KATHMANDU, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Nepal has the potential of exporting 12 times higher than its existing annual exports, with the highest potential of boosting exports to China, the World Bank said in a report released on Monday. Nepal's total export in the last fiscal year 2019-20 that ended in mid-July 2020 was worth 815 million U.S. dollars, according to the Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of the country. The World Bank estimated in its annual Nepal specific report titled "Nepal Development Update 2021" that Nepal's untapped export potential stands at around 9.2 billion U.S. dollars, 12 times its actual annual merchandise exports. "Realizing that potential is achievable in the medium term," the report said. "This export potential represents an opportunity to create an estimated 220,000 new jobs, with significant implications for productivity growth." The multilateral funding agency has termed the untapped export potential as "missing exports." From the perspective of destinations, Nepal's largest "missing exports" are with China (by over 2.2 billion U.S. dollars), followed by India (1.2 billion U.S. dollars), the United States (800 million U.S. dollars) and Japan (700 million U.S. dollars), according to the report. Over the past two decades, Nepal's export growth has been stagnant. With export growth at 4 percent on average since the turn of the century, Nepal features among the 20 countries in the world with the least dynamic exports, the global lender said. In order to realize untapped export potential, the World Bank has recommended a number of measures to be taken, including reforming the tourism sector for a quick and resilient recovery; simplifying and streamlining the processes to attract more foreign direct investment; modernizing export promotion and upgrading exporters' capability; reducing trade costs; investing in quality control-related infrastructure and boosting digital trade and e-commerce for more opportunities linked to global value chains. During the virtual release of the report on Monday, Nepal's Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel said that the Nepali government was ready to discuss necessary policy measures to be taken to realize the country's export potentials. The global lender also said that the stronger exports could help increase Nepal's economic resilience, and accelerate recovery from the devastating shock that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to Nepal's private sector. "Exports can not only bring foreign currency into the economy to finance well-needed imports, but also spur the creation of 'good jobs' in higher value-added activities," the report said. Enditem London: The Queen has described the final moments of her 73-year marriage to Prince Philip as a miracle and told family his death left a huge void in her life. The details of the Duke of Edinburghs last hours emerged following a small church service for key members of the royal family on Sunday, London time. Sophie, Countess of Wessex talks to household staff and mourners at a small church service at Windsor. Credit:Getty Images Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, who is married to the Queen and Philips youngest son Prince Edward, was recorded telling a fellow mourner that the 99-year-old dukes death was right for him. It was so gentle, she said. It was just like somebody took him by the hand and off he went. Very, very peaceful. And thats all you want for somebody, isnt it? Retailers, restaurants and theatres in India's richest state are reeling under the impact of harsh restrictions imposed last week by authorities scrambling to curb a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. The western state of Maharashtra, home to India's financial capital Mumbai, has been the worst hit in the pandemic, accounting for about a quarter of the country's 13.5 million case load. Last week, the local government shut down restaurants, bars, gyms, theatres and non-essential stores in a blow to businesses that had barely recovered from the nationwide lockdown last year. After closing for more than eight months, theatres in Maharashtra reopened in November despite sporadic Bollywood releases and capacity restrictions. But with the new surge in cases and the spectre of more curbs, theatre owners say they may never recover from the losses and be forced to shut down. "It's the final nail in the coffin," said Sharad Doshi, vice-president of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India. "We have no choice but to perish." Doshi and other business owners have called on the government provide support through tax waivers and subsidies on rent to prevent the crisis from worsening. India reported 168,912 new infections on Monday, inching past Brazil, with a total of 13.53 million cases, data compiled by Reuters shows. India is now the second-most affected country after the United States that is grappling with 31.2 million cases. With barely 4% of more than 1.3 billion people in India estimated to have been vaccinated, experts say the COVID crisis in the country could have a long way to go. STORES CLOSURES, JOB LOSSES Maharashtra, one of India's most urbanised and industrialised states, accounts for nearly 15% of the country's gross domestic product and is crucial for its economic recovery. The Confederation Of All India Traders estimated traders in Maharashtra would lose about 1 trillion rupees ($13.34 billion) during a month-long lockdown. The state has also suffered the most deaths in India's COVID-19 outbreak, and as cases continue to surge, sources said authorities were considering shutting down some industries and restricting public transport. "One month (of lockdown) is equivalent to about $5 billion of revenue for retailers from just Maharashtra," Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of the Retailers Association of India, told Reuters. "We are talking about 1.2 million stores and 5 million jobs." Rajagopalan said store shutdowns will hit sectors such as manufacturing, distribution and banking and have a snowball effect on the economy. Restaurants and bars in Maharashtra had already felt the pinch as the state mandated a daily curfew after 8pm - prime time for eateries to rake in revenues - before shuttering them completely last week. Riyaaz Amlani, who runs nearly 60 popular restaurants, including SOCIAL, across 15 cities in India, said the shutdown would lead to more job losses. Amlani said many restaurants took loans to re-start their businesses after burning capital during the lockdown last year and would now have to bear interest costs on top of fixed costs. "So there is a serious crisis looming," he said. ($1 = 74.9400 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar and Abhirup Roy; Additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Satara and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Toby Chopra) The white paper titled Poverty Alleviation: Chinas Experience and Contribution that Beijing issued earlier this month to mark the Communist Party of Chinas 100th anniversary hardly helps to explain the contradictions of a China that is as much a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma as the old Soviet Union was in Winston Churchills famous words. Is China rich or poor? The evidence suggests both. Travellers in China certainly see none of South Asias grinding poverty. But then, its a vast land, and movement is strictly regulated. Bursting with billionaires, China holds $3,399.90 billion in the US Treasurys foreign exchange reserves. Yet, intermediaries and snakeheads (secret society gangs) exploit illegal Chinese workers from Angola to England and Malaysia to Saipan in the Pacific. In a year of many records, China led the pack of billionaires who bounced back according to Forbes 35th annual Worlds Billionaires List. The one-time Middle Kingdom is now home to 626 billionaires -- against 388 last year -- and this is second only to the United States, which has 724. Chinas roaring stock market and quick recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic (for which Americans blame China) led to 205 new billionaires and the return of another 53 who had dropped out of the list. That excludes the ones based in Hong Kong and Macao, which are listed separately by Forbes magazine. These crazy rich Asian Chinese seem to be getting even richer in the aftermath of the pandemic. A Chinese billionaires $4 billion average net worth represents a 33 per cent jump from last year. Collectively, the 626 billionaires own $2.5 trillion, which is more than double last years total. The top tens $447 billion is also nearly double last years figure. At the other end of the scale, India leads the world in expatriate remittances because millions of desperately poor Indians fan out across the world, and particularly so all across the Middle East, to toil in ports and plantations, on building sites and in private homes. They cant find jobs in Indias sluggish economy. But why does apparently buoyant China come second in the remittance stakes? Chinese expatriate workers send back an impressive $68 billion annually, against the spectacular $83 billion that Indians repatriate. That can mean two things. One, even Chinas economy cannot absorb the skills of all its able-bodied men (and some women). Two, China might be flowing with milk and honey, but this is only for the privileged like the taizidang, or princelings, as the sons of party veterans are called. Like the former Soviet Union, China, too, might qualify for a British journalists dismissal as Upper Volta with rockets. Is China a land of peace contented with its status? Or is it arrogantly determined to be the next superpower? The UKs recent 100-page Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy suggested both. It called China a systemic challenge to our security, prosperity and values. It also promised to adapt to Chinas growing impact on many aspects of our lives as it becomes more powerful in the world. Besides preface and conclusion, the document had five sections The Solemn Commitment of the CPC, Final Victory in the Fight against Extreme Poverty, The Strategy of Targeted Poverty Alleviation, Exploring a New Path of Poverty Alleviation and A Global Community of Shared Future Free from Poverty -- that predictably applauded the Chinese peoples fight in eliminating extreme poverty. They also indicated that Chinas novel approach would benefit the world. However, three reported tragedies hardly bear out these lofty maxims. First, 58 illegal immigrants suffocated to death in a container in Dover. Second, 39 were similarly killed in a tractor trailer in Essex. In the third and most poignant instance, 23 labourers were drowned while picking cockles off the Lancashire coast when the tide swept in. One of them managed to dial 999, but it was too late. He could only repeat in his broken English: Sinking water, many many, sinking water... Sinking water, sinking water. An old saying claims that the Chinese will go wherever there is land and water. Nowadays, they will go wherever there are jobs, even though the cockle pickers received a miserable pound for a gruelling nine-hour day. But as a Chinese immigrant told the Financial Times: By working abroad for a few months, you can live a year in China. These economic refugees are the Han Chinese, not Uighurs or Tibetans. They are victims of what Britains former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair called a harrowing evil trade in people. The snakeheads that can extort as much as $70,000 to smuggle them out move people from country to country until they reach the wealthier nations of Europe, North America, Australia, or perhaps Taiwan and Japan. A veteran Chinese Singaporean journalist bemoans in an impassioned defence of China in The Straits Times that anyone without scales over his eyes and who has not succumbed to cerebral shampooing by the West will have realised by now that large parts of its media are biased, if not outright antagonistic, in their reporting of China. Bias probably, but China does not make it easier for foreigners to understand itself by presenting so many contrary faces. Perhaps the Chinese enjoy taking the world for a ride. There was the well recorded case of an unknown Chinese man turning up at the coronation of Queen Victoria -- or was it her jubilee? -- in mandarin robes and a pillbox hat perched above his pigtail, without being able to say a word of English. Unsure of whether he was an envoy from the Son of Heaven, the British seated him between a marquis and an archbishop at the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Only next day did the police discover that he was the owner of a small junk moored in the Thames. The moral: The world cant afford to take chances with China. Despite the drop in Johnson & Johnson shipments, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker remains confident the state will surpass 2 million complete COVID-19 vaccinations this week. More than 1.7 million people in Massachusetts have received both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or the single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, the state Department of Public Health reported Sunday. Baker foresees the state will have covered more than 2 million people this week, roughly one-third of the eligible population. I fully expect that at some point later this week, Baker said, pausing to look at Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. He asks what she thinks and then says, Well pass 2 million people in Massachusetts fully vaccinated. The Republican governors comments come after he toured the Family Health Center of Worcester with Health Connector Executive Director Louis Gutierrez and Health Center President & CEO Lou Brady. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Sudders, who overseas the COVID-19 Command Center, also joined the tour. Baker touted the increase in fully vaccinated people. On Sunday, the state added another 39,000 people who reported being fully inoculated. But Baker administration may face another supply hurdle as fewer Johnson & Johnson doses ship to Massachusetts. The company delivered 700,000 doses nationally this week, an 86% drop from its usual amount. The White House is sending 12,300 doses this week to Massachusetts, a fraction of the 103,800 doses the state received last week. The drop in doses has affected most U.S. states and comes after reports of a spoiled batch of 15 million doses in a Maryland manufacturing plant. Baker said he was told the Maryland incident played a part in the drop of doses, but he said he isnt certain. Public health officials continue to urge caution as the number of new COVID-19 cases rises. Massachusetts reported on Sunday another 1,831 new cases and eight COVID-related deaths, following several days exceeding 2,000 new cases. The state has an estimated 36,466 active COVID-19 infections. Despite an initially bumpy vaccine rollout, Massachusetts health officials built a complex infrastructure that involves mass vaccination sites, regional collaboratives, community health centers, hospitals and pharmacies. The state has much more capacity to inoculate people compared to the number of doses available, Baker said. The shipment of J&J doses seemed like a solution to the supply problem, until the delayed shipments and drop in doses this week. What I think all of us are hoping happens is that we can get into as a country the same kind of rhythm on the one-dose J&J that weve been in for about a month now with Moderna and Pfizer, Baker said. Baker said hell be speaking with the White House on Tuesday to discuss how many J&J doses the state should expect after this week. Related Content: Social Democratic Party (PSD) chairman Marcel Ciolacu said on Monday that an order was issued to evacuate Fundeni Hospital, adding that "hospitals of excellence are under attack" by Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu. "What would you have done if you were the manager of the Foisor Hospital if you had been told that in two hours you have to evacuate the hospital? You know that the Foisor Hospital is a bone transplant medical unit. We've lost the lung transplant, we've lost the bone transplant, we've understood that orders are issued to also evacuate the Fundeni Hospital, so we're also losing the liver and kidney transplant! Don't you think there's something fishy about it?! That these hospitals of excellence are attacked by Vlad Voiculescu?! It is the work of thousands of doctors to having reached these transplants in Romania," Ciolacu said, in a press conference at the PSD headquarters, asked if the manager of the Foisor Hospital could have done anything to avoid evacuating patients in the way it was done, agerpres.ro confirms. Ciolacu noted that the authorities' decision to divide hospitals into COVID and non-COVID is "nonsense". "Don't you see that they always come with false themes, that 'we'll do, we'll take measures'? Let's see what they do! But isn't Foisor Hospital under Mr. Nicusor Dan [Bucharest Mayor]'s command or have I forgotten it? We've been telling them for a year that this decision with COVID and non-COVID hospitals is nonsense. People have no access, the chronically ill, to the medical act, and Romanians die relentlessly. After a year the international statistics come to show that we were right and we rank 10th in mortality, including COVID, as well as the chronically ill," Ciolacu said. Elon Musk's rapper girlfriend Grimes has unveiled her unique new back tattoo. On Sunday, the Oblivion hitmaker, who revealed earlier this year that she wants to help found a human colony on Mars, revealed her new inking, which she described as representing 'beautiful alien scars'. Grimes, 33, real name Claire Elise Boucher, posted a photo to Instagram of the inking that covers her whole back, with delicate waves etched into her skin with the use of white ink - a less common styling for tattoos. Her 'alien' stylings come after her partner - the world's richest man - Elon revealed an ambitious plan to get humans on Mars by 2026 seven years before NASA aims to land astronauts on the Red Planet. Inked: Canadian musician Grimes revealed her new back tattoo on Sunday that she described in an Instagram post as representing 'beautiful alien scars' In the caption, she wrote: 'Don't have a good pic cuz it hurts too much and I need to sleep haha, and it'll be red for a few wks, but gna be beautiful alien scars (sic).' The tattoo was designed by Nusi Quero and a tattoo artist known as Tweak T on Instagram, as she tagged the duo in the post. She called Nusi 'an alien brain' and revealed Tweak T had given her the inking. The most common form of tattoo is made up of black ink and colour inks, white tattoos contain nothing but a single white ink. Dramatic: The 33-year-old girlfriend of Elon Musk posted a photo to Instagram of the inking that covers her whole back. Family: Grimes and Musk, who started dating in 2018, share a son together, the unusually named X A-Xii. The tot will turn one on May 4 What is a white tattoo? The most common form of tattoo is made up of black ink and colour inks, white tattoos contain nothing but a single white ink. White tattoos are seen as a more subtle art form than common black or coloured tattoos and is essential they are undertaken by a skilled artist. The marks will fade much quicker than with other tattoos as they are thick in their consistency but very lightly pigmented. White tattoos will often cause a raised appearance as the thick ink causes scars underneath the skin. Advertisement White tattoos are seen as a more subtle art form than common black or coloured tattoos and is essential they are undertaken by a skilled artist. The marks will fade much quicker than with other tattoos as they are thick in their consistency but very lightly pigmented. White tattoos will often cause a raised appearance as the thick ink causes scars underneath the skin. Last month, Grimes took to Instagram, to express her extraterrestrial interests amid her partner's ongoing efforts to enable travel to Mars. The star, who shares son X A-Xii with the SpaceX CEO Musk, 49, wrote in the caption: 'Ready to die with the red dirt of Mars beneath my feet Starbase Tx.' The Canadian songstress wore a long-sleeved black top with a red plaid skirt with black boots and floral leggings while posing in front of both massive cranes and the interior of Musk's Starbase facility in Texas. Last month, Grimes, who began seeing Musk in 2018, said in an online Q&A that she wanted to relocate to Mars after she turns 50 to help erect a human colony there, The Sun reported. Grimes added of the ambitious move, 'Manual labor until death most likely, but hopefully that can change.' Quirky style: The Vancouver native, whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher, started dating Elon Musk in 2018 and the couple welcomed a son together on May 4 2020 Has the red planet in her sights: In February, Grimes shared during an online Q&A that she wanted to relocate to Mars to help erect a human colony there (seen at Starbase in Texas) SpaceX recently had another setback with its Starship project, as a prototype Mars rocket failed about six minutes into its test flight, according to the AP. After the stainless steel rocket shattered in Texas, Musk took the attempt in stride, tweeting, 'At least the crater is in the right place!' He noted that a 'significant' event took place before the landing sequence involving the engines. 'Should know what it was once we can examine the bits later today,' he said. Visionary: Tech billionaire Musk, 49, has stated that his company will have space ships landing on the red planet 'well before 2030' Musk said that he and his staff continue streamlining the design of the rocket, adding, 'Hopefully, one of those improvements covers this problem.' Musk said earlier this month that his company will touch their ships down on Mars 'well before 2030,' and the vexing overlying issue of the endeavor 'is making Mars Base Alpha self-sustaining.' In regards to his Mars plans, last month, he spoke on the audio-only Clubhouse app about his was to establish a self-sustaining Martian civilisation. The ambitious deadline gives him five and a half years to get the massive Starship spacecraft off the ground - but there is a long way to go as the massive 160ft rocket is still at the prototype stage - with a second high-altitude test flight due soon. The University of South Florida College of Nursing is combatting the opioid crisis in rural America by equipping advanced pain specialists with integrative pain management techniques. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 100 opioid-related deaths in the United States every day, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the countrys overdose deaths each year. While prescribed opioids can help relieve pain in the short term, drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine can become addictive and potentially life-threatening. Developed for the certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), the Advanced Pain Management Fellowship began in 2016 and offers a highly innovative curriculum, focused on pain treatment strategies that look to opioids as a last option rather than the first. In rural America, there is a lack of specialized health care providers, which limits access to care in a timely manner. In some regions, it may take two to three months to get an appointment with a specialist, said John Maye, professor and pain management education coordinator. When CRNAs are properly prepared in advanced pain fellowships, they will help fill and address a critical need, improving access to care and providing options that will help diminish the impact of the opioid epidemic, Maye said. Matthew Stokes, a graduate of the fellowships first cohort, says the program taught him how to take an integrative approach to pain management, using alternative solutions that help patients tackle their pain in a healthier way. "By attacking a patients pain not just from a physiological standpoint, but also spiritually and psychologically, we can really lower the overall dose they are on or even eliminate the need for opioids all together, Stokes said. Stokes is a pain specialist who has taken his USF training and made an impact on the rural communities around Moose Lake, Minnesota, where the population is estimated at 2,807. While at USF, Stokes also co-wrote "The Pain Management Clinic: The Nurse Anesthetists Guidebook for Success," a handbook geared to helping CRNAs open pain management clinics in rural communities. Shawn Tulp graduated from the Advanced Pain Management Fellowship in 2019 and has since started practicing in rural Iowa. The strategies he learned at USF have not only enabled him to properly dose patients but have also given him the tools needed to properly ween patients off of high doses. By providing alternative interventions and other options, we are able to really help patients manage their pain, rather than relying solely on opioids, Tulp said. I think we definitely provide a service to the community and to our referring providers. Ive seen a number of patients who had been prescribed opioids for years and it had created a problem. Were here to help the patient undo that problem and get them back to much more steady ground, he said. In its fifth year, the innovative, high-quality, low-cost fellowship program is offered with both online and on-site instruction. Over the course of one year, CRNAs learn guidelines for understanding and treating both acute and chronic pain, as well as nontraditional pain management approaches. The program wraps up its latest cohort with a three-day cadaver and physical assessment course at the end of April. The on-site meetup gives fellows the opportunity to demonstrate the procedures they have learned at USF Healths Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation. Graduates then go on to perform clinical training at one of USFs approved training sites across the nation. For more information about the USF College of Nursings Advanced Pain Management Fellowship go to: http://health.usf.edu/nursing/painmgmt. Keep Reading! Register for a Free Account. Register now for a FREE account to keep reading. There's no cost and no credit card required. Already registered? Click the login link below EDINA, Minn., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Coldwell Banker Realty, a leading residential real estate brokerage company in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Real Services, Inc., which previously conducted business as Coldwell Banker East West Realty. Operating 7 offices in St. Louis, Lake, and Carlton counties in Minnesota and Douglas, Washburn, Bayfield, Ashland, and Sawyer counties in Wisconsin, the company has served residential real estate customers and clients throughout the region since 1977. With this acquisition: Coldwell Banker Realty has 24 sales offices supporting approximately 1,930 sales professionals. Former Coldwell Banker East West Realty broker-owners Greg Kamp and Dick Wenaas will affiliate with Coldwell Banker Realty. and will affiliate with Coldwell Banker Realty. The 7 Coldwell Banker East West Realty offices will now operate under the banner of Coldwell Banker Realty. Coldwell Banker Realty is excited to welcome the 60 real estate agents, formerly affiliated with Coldwell Banker East West Realty. QUOTES: "We are very excited to welcome Dick, Greg, and the entire group of talented agents to Coldwell Banker Realty. They bring a wealth of market knowledge and professional expertise to our network. Their addition strengthens our presence and leadership position in this market area and positions our agents and our company for future growth." - Matt Baker, president of Coldwell Banker Realty in Minnesota and Wisconsin "This strategic decision enables us to expand our foothold in the market while retaining the trusted Coldwell Banker name and reputation for innovative technology, educational resources for our agents, and business amenities that help them to succeed and deliver the superior level of service that our customers have come to know. Our future success is guaranteed with this relationship." Greg Kamp, former broker owner Coldwell Banker East West Realty "We're proud to be part of this winning team. Together as a unified company, we will continue to guide people home under the Coldwell Banker North Star now and long into the future." Dick Wenaas, former broker owner Coldwell Banker East West Realty About Coldwell Banker Realty Coldwell Banker Realty in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, a leading residential real estate brokerage headquartered in Edina, Minnesota operates 24 offices with approximately 1,930 independent agents serving Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. Coldwell Banker Realty is owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), the largest full-service residential real estate services company in the United States. Visit ColdwellBankerHomes.com. Media Contact: Matt Eckess: (781) 684-6300 [email protected] SOURCE Coldwell Banker Realty Related Links http://ColdwellBankerHomes.com PHILIPSBURG:--- The alarming rate of major crimes in St. Maarten has the attention of United People's UP Party Member of Parliament Omar Ottley, who says better rehabilitation/reintegration programs are urgently needed to reintegrate formerly convicted persons into society. He also has some robbery prevention tips for businesses to apply in their daily operation immediately. "Staying alert and training your staff on how to react during a robbery attempt and putting proper surveillance and security measures in place are just a few ways to protect yourselves. The Government's need to put more uniformed officers on patrol in built-up areas is presently hindered by the global economic crisis brought on by COVID-19. But, Ottley says planning and creative policing with support from the Ministry of Justice can go a long way to reducing crime. Criminals who commit armed robberies look for tradeable goods such as gold, or actual cash Ottley says a good practice for pawnshops and cash for gold outlets is instituting strict trade policies for accepting items brought to them. MP Ottley highlighted the recent shooting death of a suspected armed robber by police following an armed robbery and said it is "very troubling to see former inmates return to a life of crime for their survival." According to MP Ottley, the only way to truly protect businesses and residents from becoming victims of these "senseless crimes" is by contributing to rehabilitation efforts. Instead of seeing repeat offenders as "hardened criminals", see them as someone's son daughter who desperately needs our help. "Reintegration into society after you have prison is a challenge for anyone, especially when trying to become gainfully employed. If we want to stop the cycle, we have to institute rehabilitation programs that cater to reintegration," said MP Ottley. In a press release issued Sunday, Ottley said St. Maarten must not only arrest and incarcerate individuals who commit crimes. "Doing this only makes the Pointe Blanche Prison a breeding ground for criminals." To imprison without effective rehabilitation measures is equal to a "do-nothing approach", hoping that the result will be the automatic character change from a life of violence and crime. "Many crimes committed by teenagers are often the result of adolescent misbehavior that has gone unchecked. If the Social Services Department needs more support or staff to assist parents who have children with behavioral issues, we must address it. To do nothing or ignore shortcomings in such an important department is allowing the growth of future criminals." He said St. Maartens Prison population still has individuals who can contribute positively to society after serving their sentences. However, proper rehabilitation for inmates can only be achieved if we put real programs that monitor prisoners' behavior and prepare them for reintegration into society. "A structurally organized program would address our youths and young adults' critical social challenges and give them the assistance they need to return to society with external support to keep them from becoming repeat offenders," Ottley said. "Changes in behavioral patterns can occur with proper social guidance that helps convicted persons to see where they went wrong, earn up to their mistakes and make life-changing decisions," said Ottley. Robberies and other serious crimes significantly impact the victims, their families, and society in general and should not be taken lightly. The suggestions for rehabilitation do not excuse the need to ensure stiff punishment for crimes. "As the saying goes, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime." Regarding sentences meted out for crimes committed, Ottley said the punishment must fit the crime committed. "Some laws may need revision to ensure the penalties are severe enough to act as deterrents as well," said MP Ottley. Results and the offer of hope to persons who have known a life of crime or first offenders cannot be achieved solely by detention. The multi-faceted rehabilitation/reintegration program for the prison submitted to the Ministry of Justice in 2019 by The Etiquette Factory SXM is one way of getting us closer to our goal. That goal is to foster growth, transformation, and rehabilitation for the target groups, emphasizing discipline, integrity, manners, general life skills, and etiquette. This requires a public, private partnership in hiring rehabilitated individuals upon their release, given that they successfully graduated from the program and received their reintegration certificates. MP Ottley emphasized that such a program will also change the public perception of incarcerated persons, making them more marketable to potential employers. "Our young people are the future of our society. They face many negative influences and insufficient uplifting role models. When they become delinquent, they need and deserve continued support, encouragement and guidance to get their lives back on track," said MP Ottley. 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 A former Pirelli calendar model who was awarded 75million in a divorce settlement from her Saudi sheikh ex-husband has showcased her post-lockdown hairstyle thanks to a celebrity-loved hairdresser. Ex-supermodel Christina Estrada displayed her glamorous curled, brunette locks in a snap with hairdresser Michael Charalambous, based in Chelsea and favoured by famous faces such as Claudia Winkleman, as salons opened today for the first time in three months. Proving she's still living a glamorous lifestyle, Ms Estrada donned a stylish, figure-hugging white and green dress with a plunging V-neck for her photoshoot. The American, who has been based in the UK since 1988, was married to Saudi billionaire Sheikh Walid Juffali for 13 years before he took a second wife and divorced Ms Estrada without her knowledge, as Saudi law allows polygamy. She was awarded a 53million cash settlement in July 2016 with her lawyers saying the payout was worth 75million when her assets were taken into account. Ex-supermodel Christina Estrada displayed her glamorous curled, brunette locks in a snap with hairdresser Michael Charalambous (pictured together), based in Chelsea and favoured by famous faces such as Claudia Winkleman, as salons opened today for the first time in three months The American, who has been based in the UK since 1988, was married to Saudi billionaire Sheikh Walid Juffali (pictured together in 2005) for 13 years before he took a second wife and divorced Ms Estrada without her knowledge, as Saudi law allows polygamy She was awarded a 53million cash settlement in July 2016 with her lawyers saying the payout was worth 75million when her assets were taken into account. Pictured in 2019 The settlement, which was awarded at the High Court in London, was one of the largest in British legal history, and included cars, jewellery and property around the world. Businessman Dr Juffali died from cancer aged 61 in July 2016, just weeks after the couple's divorce hearing. During the divorce hearing, Ms Estrada argued in the witness box that she was entitled to an amount which would allow her to seek to maintain her ultra-wealthy lifestyle. She told the family court judge: 'I am Christina Estrada. I was a top, international model. I have lived this life. This is what I am accustomed to. 'It is difficult to convey the extraordinary level of luxury and opulence we were fortunate enough to enjoy.' Proving she's still living a glamorous lifestyle, Ms Estrada (pictured centre) donned a stylish, figure-hugging white and green dress with a plunging V-neck for her photoshoot The settlement, which was awarded at the High Court in London, was one of the largest in British legal history, and included cars, jewellery and property around the world. Pictured, Ms Estrada in 2017, left, and in 2018, right The case astonished many after Ms Estrada claimed her 'needs' included 1million for clothes, 40,000 for fur coats, 109,000 for haute couture dresses and 21,000 for shoes every year. She also said she needed enough from her ex-husband to afford a luxury home in London worth about 60million, a 4.4million house in the country at Henley, as well as 495,000 for five cars - three in London and two in the US. Judges heard that the pair met and married in 2001 and separated in 2013. Dr Juffali, a businessman, had mounted a diplomatic immunity defence after Ms Estrada, who is based in London, made a claim on his estimated 4billion fortune. During the divorce hearing, Ms Estrada (pictured outside London's High Court in 2016) argued in the witness box that she was entitled to an amount which would allow her to seek to maintain her ultra-wealthy lifestyle He argued that Ms Estrada was prevented from suing him in an English court because he had immunity through his post as permanent representative to the International Maritime Organisation for the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. But a High Court judge ruled against him and Court of Appeal judges dismissed an appeal. Marriage troubles surfaced after Dr Juffali's decision in 2012 to marry a 25-year-old Lebanese model, the mother of his two youngest children, while still married to Ms Estrada, as Saudi law allows polygamy. The sheikh then divorced Ms Estrada in Saudi Arabia in 2014 under Islamic law without her knowledge. EDITORS NOTE: On April 13, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts a virtual networking event, featuring professionals in the legal cannabis industries. Tickets are limited. The commission that will launch New Jerseys legal cannabis market met Monday for the first time, kicking off the next step in the long process of making legal weed sales a reality. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission held a 45-minute meeting Monday afternoon. Filled with formalities and opening remarks from the commissions five members, the first meeting offered little new information about how the marijuana industry in New Jersey will get off the ground. Im thrilled that weve finally arrived at this historic day, said Dianna Houenou, the commissions chair, as she called the meeting to order. Standing up an entirely new state agency is no small task, she said. But Im grateful to everyone who made this day possible. Voters said yes to legalizing cannabis in November and Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law that launched the industry in February. But this commission will determine how the marijuana industry shapes up. It will award licenses, set the size of the market and a start date for legal weed sales. It will also give recommendations to the governor and Legislature on how to allocate tax revenue. Until the commission adopts its rule and regulations, legal weed sales are on hold. Some marijuana industry experts estimate sales may not start until 2022. During the meeting Monday, the commission took over the medical marijuana program, which was transferred out of the state Department of Health. Jeff Brown, the commissions executive director, said he expects many health department employees from the medical marijuana program to begin working for the commission. The recipients of24 pending medical marijuana business licenses were not announced. In 2019, the health department sought applications for new marijuana growers, processors and dispensaries. A lawsuit halted review process for more than a year, but the health department got the green light in February to resume the process. It has yet to announce the winners of the coveted licenses. The panel did vote Monday to elect commissioner Sam Delgado as its vice chair. Delgado, a former Marine and Verizon executive, told the story of his arrest in New York for marijuana possession in 1975. It was the first time a commission member talked about brushing up against the law for past marijuana use. Critics had expressed concern that the commission lacked someone with a background who could understand the harms of drug war first hand. While the rules for legal weed industry are still a work in progress, Brown cautioned cities and towns not to rush to ban cannabis businesses. They have less than five months to decide if they want to pass ordinances that would block dispensaries and cultivation in their towns. A municipal ban doesnt necessarily ban cannabis from that municipality, it just bans our ability to regulate an industry there, Brown said. Throughout the meeting, the commissioners vowed to remain vigilant to the needs of the medical marijuana patients and to award licenses equitably to racial minorities, women and veterans. Black and brown individuals as well as their family and communities have been vilified through the government-created war on drugs, said Charles Barker, one of the commissioners. Barker was the last appointed to the commission, getting a slot after the NAACP complained that the commission included no Black men and failed to meet a statutory requirement. It is humbling to be in a position to create policies and regulations primarily focused on restoring these communities, he said. The commission will meet again on April 22. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Amanda Hoover may be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Prince Philip persuaded Queen Elizabeth to talk about her Christian faith in public broadcasts The Duke of Edinburgh was extremely interested in theology Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Britains Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh who died on Friday at the age of 99, "persuaded" Queen Elizabeth II, his wife, to talk more about her Christian faith ahead of her Christmas broadcast in 2000, a church leader close to the Duke revealed in a media interview. [Prince Philip] was the person really who encouraged the queen to talk about her own faith in her Christmas broadcasts, the Rev. Prof. Ian Bradley, the author of God Save the Queen, told Premier Christian News. He recalled that in the old days, they really used to be more like travelogues, and they would just say where the royal family had been. The duke, the father of Prince Charles, died peacefully on Friday at Windsor Castle in England. Bradley, who preached for the duke and the queen as a visiting preacher at the Parish of Braemar and Crathie, said that in her 2000 broadcast, the "queen spoke very movingly and powerfully about her own Christian faith and the impact it had on her." "And there was a very positive response from viewers," he said. "And ... it was Philip who really persuaded the queen to make more of her own Christian faith. And he said, You should be talking about this. Bradley also shared that Prince Philip was interested in theology. He would note down all the details of the sermon. He was extremely interested in theology. He had a wonderful knowledge of the Bible, and then he would sort of quiz you at lunchtime, ask you about your sermon and really put you on your mettle. And I was amazed at his biblical knowledge. In her 2016 book ahead of her 90th birthday, the queen reflected on Jesus central role in her life. I have been and remain very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for his steadfast love, the British monarch wrote in the foreword to The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. I have indeed seen His faithfulness. Mark Greene, the executive director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity who is the co-author of the book, said at the time that the queen has shown a "clear dependence on Christ." As Ive been writing this book and talking about it to friends, to family who dont know Jesus, to my Jewish barber, Ive been struck how very interested they are to discover more about the Queens faith, Greene stated. The Queen has served us all her adult life, with amazing consistency of character, concern for others and a clear dependence on Christ. The more Ive read what shes written and talked to people who know her, the clearer that is. Vietnam for the second time assumed the role of rotating President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020-2021 tenure this month, thus making a new and important imprint in the process of transforming from a participant to an active and proactive UN member. Vietnam serves as the President of the United Nations Security Council in April, the second time the country has assumed the post during its 2020-2021 tenure as a non-permanent member. (Source: VNA) Vietnam grows up in UN Thirty years after Vietnam joined the UN on September 20, 1977, the country was elected for the first time as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2008-2009 tenure in the first secret ballot round in October 2017, with 183 votes of approval out of 192 General Assembly members participating in the ballot, or 96 percent. During its first tenure at the UNSC - the UNs most important body in maintaining international peace and security - Vietnam and other UNSC member states handled a large workload with more than 1,500 meetings, passed 113 Resolutions and 165 Presidential Statements and Press Statements on 50 agenda items, and dealt with complex issues regarding Kosovo, Irans nuclear programme, and Middle East peace, as well as those relating to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and Myanmar. Representatives of UNSC member states attend an online meeting on the Syria situation (Photo: VNA) Vietnam made active and comprehensive contributions, from delivering speeches, participating in the making of resolutions and documents, assuming the posts of Chair or Vice Chair of several subcommittees, holding the post of UNSC President in July and October 2009, chairing negotiations for the council to approve Resolution No 1889 on women, peace, and security, and providing ideas to build the councils Annual Report in a more practical and comprehensive manner. Vietnam was on the UNSC 10 years ago in the 2008-2009 tenure, said Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinator. It played an important role, contributing to a resolution on women, peace, and security which I think was a landmark resolution in the UNSC. Vietnam has also been increasing its role in global peacekeeping. As the President of the UNSC in January 2020, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of Vietnam's mission to the UN, chairs an open debate on the Palestine-Israel situation (Photo: VNA) On June 7, 2019, Vietnam was once again elected as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2020-2021 tenure, with 192 votes in favour out of 193 UN member nations. The countrys election as a UNSC non-permanent member twice in just a short period was an important milestone in it transforming from a participant to an active and proactive member. Then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the UN General Assembly's 73rd session (Photo: VNA) This was the second time over the last more than 10 years that Vietnam has been voted as a member of the UN body with a leading role in maintaining global peace and security, proving the international communitys recognition of its improving position as well as trust in its responsible contributions to regional and international peace and security in the coming years, said then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Promoting multilateralism, respecting international law Joining the UNSC for the second time amid complex developments in the world, Vietnam has effectively implemented activities relating to the UNSC, completed the heavy workload in the first year of the tenure, and created its own imprint at the UNSC. The country has actively proposed initiatives and played a leading role in several important issues. While holding the UNSC Presidency in January 2020, Vietnam successfully chaired an open debate on upholding the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security, and the first-ever meeting on cooperation between the UN and ASEAN, which combined the countrys dual role as UNSC non-permanent member and ASEAN Chair in 2020, thus helping enhance ASEAN solidarity and role and strengthening connectivity between the regional bloc and the UN and the UNSC. In that month, the council held about 30 meetings and adopted 13 decisions, including four resolutions and one decision on extending UN missions, forces and mechanisms, one Chairman Statement, five press statements, and two press releases. The Vietnamese delegation celebrates as Vietnam was elected as non-permanent member of the UNSC in the 2020-2021 tenure on June 7, 2019 (Photo: VNA) Ambassador Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the UN, told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)s correspondents at the UN that Vietnam had done a good job despite formidable challenges when it took up the presidency of the UNSC at the beginning of its tenure as a non-permanent member of the council. Vietnam really left an imprint with the open debate on the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter, particularly in the context of mounting tensions in the UN as well as in the world, he added. As a coordinator of the ten current non-permanent members (E10), in May 2020 Vietnam actively resumed the annual meeting mechanism, disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, between the E10 and the UN Secretary General via videoconference. It chaired a dialogue between the E10 and the five newly-elected non-permanent members (I5) with the theme Joining Efforts for an Effective UNSC: Best Practices and Experiences for Elected Members and an International Conference on Women, Peace and Security. Deputy Minister of Foreign Le Hoai Trung (Photo: VNA) Vietnam fulfilled well its duties as a non-permanent UNSC member in the first year of its membership, achieved set targets, and proactively and actively contributed to UNSC operations, said Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung. The success gained in the first half of the 2020-2021 tenure is a firm foundation for Vietnam to create more imprints in the second half and complete a successful tenure, contributing practically to maintaining regional and international peace and security and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national development./. VNA The relief funding can be used to reduce class sizes and modify spaces to allow for social distancing. Schools can upgrade their HVAC systems for safer circulation, hire more custodians, nurses and counselors and provide for social distancing on school buses by adding drivers and buses. Attorney and Cherokee Nation citizen Ralph Keen II has long advocated for the rights of Cherokee Freedmen. Investment banking startup Barrenjoey Capital Partners has appointed former federal government minister Kelly ODwyer and its general counsel Annette Spencer as directors, as it seeks to raise the number of women on its board. The fast-growing Barrenjoey also confirmed on Monday that former UBS boss Matthew Grounds will be its executive chairman, working alongside another ex-UBS banker Guy Fowler, as foreshadowed last week. Former Federal MP Kelly ODwyer has joined the board of Barrenjoey. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Grounds, dubbed a rockstar banker in his previous role at the Swiss bank, will be focused on clients in his new job, with chief executive Brian Benari responsible for the startups operations. Ms ODwyer, who is also a director of ASX-listed Home Consortium and Equity Trustees, quit politics in 2019 after holding senior portfolios, including as minister for jobs and industrial relations and minister for women. It is really sad to hear of the passing away of Mr. Anil Kapoor, one of the doyens of Indian Advertising. Mr. Anil Kapoor who was popularly called as Billy Kapoor in the industry circle was instrumental in building FCB-Ulka to one of Indias robust and finest advertising agencies after he took over as the MD. In his earlier years he spent a considerable amount of time in marketing having worked with companies like Boots and Yellow Pages. Clients had great respect for Mr. Kapoor when he was the head of the Agency. Among the many achievements of Kapoor, he was appointed as a member of the FCB Worldwide (Foote, Cone & Belding) Board, New York in August 2019, thus becoming the first Indian advertising agency head to be a part of the apex worldwide board. He was also awarded the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. In passing away of Mr. Kapoor the industry will miss one of the finest professionals from the field of marketing and advertising. The Ada Traditional Council in the Greater Accra Region has urged residents to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols to complement governments efforts in achieving a herd immunity. Nomo Jonathan Dokutso, the Secretary to the Council, speaking on behalf of Nene Abram Kabu Akuako III, reminded residents that the protocols were for their protection and must be taken seriously. He gave the advice when a team from the Tema Office of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the Ada Traditional Council to explore ways to project the rich culture and tourism potentials of the area. Nomo Dokutso said the Covid-19 pandemic had caused major damage to economies around the world, and it was heart breaking to hear the number of people who had succumbed to it, bringing untold hardships to their dependents. Nene wants all of us to obey the protocols and other restrictions announced by the President in order to protect all of us from contracting the virus, he said. He commended the GNA for the visit and pledged the Councils commitment to collaborating with it to improve the lot of the area. The Tema Regional Manager of the GNA, Mr Francis Ameyibor, said the visit was also to deepen the relationship between the Agency and the Traditional Council. He said GNA was interested in projecting the rich traditional culture of the area, especially the Asafotufiami Festival, to educate the public to fully understand and appreciate those cultures. Mr Ameyibor said the Agency had developed a roadmap for enhanced reporting on traditional governance systems, adding; with the support of the chiefs and queen mothers we will train and equip our reporters to understand the essence of traditional news". We cannot neglect our traditional values and continue to promote other cultures, now we are experiencing an adulterated culture. The younger generation is getting more confused about our tradition and so we need to turn things around. This is where medias role is extremely paramount". 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 Radiotherapy machine. Credit: Jan Chlebik, The ICR Urgent investment is needed in advanced forms of radiotherapy so the high-tech treatment can play a central role in clearing the backlog in NHS cancer care that has built up during the pandemic. Leading cancer experts are calling for the Government to address gaps in funding for high-precision radiotherapy and to do more to overcome the public's skepticism of radiotherapy as an 'outdated' form of treatment. Experts believe NHS patients are missing out on potentially life-saving treatments that could play a huge role in coping with the pressures of the pandemic, because of under-investment in new radiotherapy technologies that target treatment more precisely at tumors. They warn that more must be done to overcome radiotherapy's "PR problem." The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is now calling for increased funding and a nationally coordinated approach to support the delivery of the latest radiotherapy research advances after a survey of more than 2,500 people showed widespread misconceptions about this type of treatment. Postcode lottery in access to radiotherapy advances NHS patients currently face a postcode lottery across the UK in access to the latest radiotherapy trials, technologies and approaches. Lack of up-to-date equipment, properly trained staff or support for clinical trials restricts access to advanced, high-precision radiotherapy in many parts of the country. That leaves the NHS in a poor position to take advantage of the huge potential of advanced forms of radiotherapy to offer curative treatment during the pandemic while putting less pressure on hospitals than surgery and avoiding the immunosuppression that occurs with chemotherapy. The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) surveyed 2,216 people from the general population and 505 cancer patients to help shape recommendations for improving access to radiotherapy. Only 8 percent of respondents from the general population considered radiotherapy to be cutting edgecompared with 50 percent for targeted drugs, 43 percent for immunotherapy and 58 percent for proton beam therapy. Radiotherapy's "PR problem' That perception of radiotherapy as old-fashioned means few people think it should be an area of focus for the NHSonly 12 percent of survey respondents thought it should be prioritized for funding. Yet research over the last 20 years, much of it led by the ICR and The Royal Marsden, has been highly successful at targeting radiation more precisely at tumors using advanced imaging, and delivering radiotherapy in streamlined regimens. These advances have increased cure rates and reduced side effects and the burden on patients. Today, radiotherapy is one of the most successful and cost-effective treatments for cancer and plays a part in the treatment of around 40 percent of all cancer patients cured of their disease. Patients are missing out or traveling unacceptable distances But new techniques are often restricted to major specialist centers and, as a result, patients are either missing out or having to travel long distances to receive treatment or participate in clinical trials. According to the ICR survey, almost a quarter of patients overall had to travel more than 20 miles for their radiotherapyincluding 20 percent of those living in urban areas and 41 percent of those in rural areas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, radiotherapy may be a safer treatment option than chemotherapy or surgery in certain cases while the incidence of coronavirus remains highas it often involves fewer and shorter visits to hospital and therefore less exposure to the virus. The shortest safe form of radiotherapy so far A trial in breast cancer called FAST-Forward, led by the ICR and The Royal Marsden, has delivered the shortest safe form of radiotherapy so far, after showing that five high-dose radiotherapy sessions given over a shorter period are as effective as previous standard protocols involving 25 visits to hospital. However, a lack of up-to-date technology to provide high-precision radiotherapy targeted at tumors, specialized training and access to clinical trials is limiting access in many parts of the countryexposing a postcode lottery. The ICR is now calling for more to be done within the healthcare system to expand access to radiotherapycalling for an upgrade of radiotherapy and imaging infrastructure, as well as the specialized training required to allow staff to use the most up-to-date technology to treat patients and participate in clinical trials. The Government and NHS England should work with research institutions, funders and hospitals to guarantee that an appropriate funding system is in placeone that supports investment in innovative technology, so that research institutions can continue to lead in developing innovative new forms and faster regimens of radiotherapy for the benefit of patients. "Radiotherapy is the unsung hero of cancer treatments' Professor Kevin Harrington, Head of Radiotherapy and Imaging at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "Radiotherapy has an absolutely crucial role to play during the pandemic. Some radiotherapy regimens can now be given effectively over a much shorter period of time, limiting cancer patients' exposure to the risk of contracting COVID-19 and helping relieve pressures on the NHS. Increased access to radiotherapy can be key in tackling the huge backlog of cancer care that has built up over the last year. "We are urging the Government to invest in radiotherapy, for the immediate benefit of cancer patients during the pandemic, and in the long term to put in place access to clinical trials and new radiotherapy technologies in every part of the UK. "Radiotherapy is the unsung hero of cancer treatments but so often it isn't seen as a funding priority. We have to address radiotherapy's PR problem, persuade patients that this treatment is cutting edge and highly sophisticated, and put in place systems to support nationwide clinical trials and the rollout of new technologies." Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "Radiotherapy is a life-saving treatment for so many people with the potential to play a major role in clearing the backlog of cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the myths and misconceptions that surround it are surprisingly difficult to shift. We need to ensure that radiotherapy has support from both the public and the Government, so that patients do not miss out on advanced treatment, and can gain improved access to the clinical trials which are so vital for driving forward advances." "Only having to attend hospital for five days made a massive difference to my life' Karen Davis, 53, who runs a hairdressing and beauty business, took part in the FAST-Forward trial after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. She said: "It was a total shock when I was diagnosed. I was only 45, and I was fit and healthyand to be told that this tiny lump was cancer really frightened me. I genuinely thought I was going to die. "I had surgery and hormone therapy, which I'm still on now. My oncologist suggested I take part in the FAST-Forward radiotherapy trial, where I was given radiotherapy over five days instead of the usual three weeks. I agreed to take part as I thought the results of the trial might help others in the future, and I wanted to help. "Only having to attend hospital for five days for my radiotherapy made a massive difference to my life. It meant less time dealing with side effects, and it meant I could get back to work soonerwhich means a lot when you're running your own business. People don't want to spend time in hospital, particularly during a pandemic, and I hope that new radiotherapy treatments can be rolled out everywhere so everyone has access to them." "Driving 90 minutes a day, for six weeks, was incredibly tough' Judi Billing, 70, was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2019. She had to travel 30 miles each way from her home in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, every weekday for six weeks, to receive the radiotherapy treatment she needed. She said: "I originally had laser surgery at my local hospital to remove the cancerous cells, but they came back pretty quickly and so my oncologist recommended I undergo a six-week course of radiotherapy to be on the safe side. "Because my local hospital didn't offer radiotherapy, I had to travel to Addenbrooke's in Cambridge, which was a 30 mile drive away. The staff there were amazing, and I can't praise them enough, but the travel was dreadful. I was able to drive myself the first week, but as the side effects of my treatment got worse, I had to rely on other people to take me. Driving 90 minutes a day, for six weeks, was incredibly tough, and it placed a massive burden on my friends and family, all of whom had their own lives and who had jobs to go to. "If we can improve access to radiotherapy, that would make a massive difference to so many cancer patients and their families, at what is already a very difficult time in their lives." Explore further Men can be spared radiotherapy after surgery More information: Read the ICR's Radiotherapy position statement: Read the ICR's Radiotherapy position statement: www.icr.ac.uk/about-us/policy- tements/radiotherapy Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 00:06:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BAGHDAD, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Sunday 6,791 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 924,946. The new cases included 2,447 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 985 in Basra, 494 in Sulaimaniyah, 439 in Wasit, and 333 in Duhok, while the other cases were detected in other provinces, the ministry said in a statement. It also reported 35 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,713, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,190 to 814,853. A total of 8,508,732 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 38,833 done during the day. It said that 8,321 people were vaccinated during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 141,059. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Iraq confirmed in a statement the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and urges Iraqis to register and vaccinate to help defeat the pandemic. "We confirm that COVID-19 vaccines are important in the fight against the pandemic, and the benefits of these vaccines outweigh any rare side effects." It also said that WHO called on citizens to continue registering for the vaccine and get vaccinated as soon as possible, saying that "we will stop this pandemic only when the majority of people in Iraq have taken the vaccine." WHO also said that the recent surge in coronavirus infections raises concerns, but controlling the pandemic is possible through the strict adherence to health-protective measures and success of the vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health with the cooperation of the WHO, it added. Iraq has taken a series of measures to curb the recent rise in infections after the Health Ministry announced on Feb. 15 the detection of a new strain characterized by faster transmission and a higher level of severity. On March 2, Iraq received a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help combat the pandemic. The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccines, in addition to AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sputnik V vaccines. Enditem Prosecutors seek 5-year term for ex-leader of neo-Nazi group View Photo ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) Federal prosecutors in Virginia are seeking a five-year prison sentence for a former neo-Nazi group leader who pleaded guilty to conspiring with other far-right extremists to threaten dozens of targets, including a predominantly African American church, a sitting U.S. Cabinet member and journalists. John Cameron Denton, of Montgomery, Texas, and others involved in the plot made at least 134 threats to injure people and institutions, often for racist reasons, Justice Department prosecutors wrote in a court filing last Wednesday. They said Denton participated in the most far-reaching swatting conspiracy in our nation to date, referring to hoax calls made to fool emergency dispatchers into sending police to the addresses of unsuspecting victims. U.S. District Judge Liam OGrady is scheduled to sentence Denton on Tuesday. Denton was 26 when he pleaded guilty in July 2020 to conspiring to transmit threats. Prosecutors say Denton was a leader of a group called Atomwaffen Division. More than a dozen people linked to Atomwaffen Division or an offshoot called Feuerkrieg Division have been charged with federal crimes since the groups formation in 2016. Many have pleaded guilty and been sentenced already. Atomwaffen has been linked to several killings, including the May 2017 shooting deaths of two men at an apartment in Tampa, Florida, and the January 2018 killing of a University of Pennsylvania student in California. The charges against Denton and other Atomaffen members and associates centered on hoax swatting calls that they made to targets in 2018 and 2019, including the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where one of Dentons associates attended college. In court, a judge has noted that the U.S. Secret Service waved local police away from mobilizing to Nielsens home in Alexandria in January 2019 after a member of the conspiracy called, claiming hostages were being taken there. Denton also placed swatting calls to the New York City offices of news outlet ProPublica and to a ProPublica reporter in Richmond, California. Prosecutors say Denton had a vendetta against the ProPublica journalist for reporting on his activities in Atomwaffen, including for a PBS Frontline documentary. Prosecutors filing says the reporters young son has nightmares about neo-Nazis kidnapping his family and murdering his father, and the experience has prompted the Mexican American boy to ask, Why do Nazis hate brown people like me? It is simply heartbreaking that a young child is asking such questions and has been forced to flee his home with his parents because of fear of being violently attacked, they wrote. Denton admitted that he used the monikers Rape and Tormentor in an online forum that they used to coordinate the swatting calls. The conspirators also targeted individuals streaming live videos because the conspirators hoped to observe law enforcement responding to their calls, prosecutors wrote. Another member of the swatting conspiracy, former ODU student John William Kirby Kelley, was sentenced in March to 33 months in prison for his role in making the swatting calls. When Denton was arrested in February 2020, prosecutors in Seattle also announced charges against Dentons roommate, Kaleb Cole, and others in a separate plot to harass journalists and Jewish activists in three states. Cole has pleaded not guilty and is due to face trial in September. Prosecutors say they agree with the probation offices calculation that federal sentencing guidelines for Dentons case call for a prison term ranging from 51 to 60 months. The judge isnt bound by those recommendations. When Americans target other Americans based on race, religious beliefs, or other individual characteristics, we are all harmed, prosecutors wrote. Such actions, if left unpunished, signal an acceptance that such malevolent conduct is the norm and not the exception. 1st Source Insurance has been named Indianas 2020 Diamond Achiever by Frankenmuth Insurance. The annual award is presented to the highest performing agency based on set criteria including length of appointment, profitability, growth, and policy retention. Each year, the top Frankenmuth agencies receive the Diamond Achiever award in recognition of their outstanding accomplishment. We truly value our partnership with 1st Source Insurance and are pleased to present their management team and staff with our Diamond Achiever award, said Frankenmuth Insurance President and COO Fred Edmond. This recognition exemplifies their commitment to providing quality, professional insurance products and services to our mutual clients. The results achieved by the team at 1st Source Insurance helped the agency become one of the most successful among Frankenmuth Insurances more than 700 independent agencies. John Ball, President of 1st Source Insurance, said I am honored to accept this award on behalf of our entire team. This award is a reflection of their dedication and hard work, and also would not be possible without our incredible underwriting team at Frankenmuth. We appreciate the tremendous value that Frankenmuth Insurance provides to our mutual clients each and every day. 1st Source Insurance has been licensed with Frankenmuth Insurance since 1999 and is recognized as one of the carriers Preferred independent insurance agency partners. ### About Frankenmuth Insurance Insurance exists to provide peace of mind, and Frankenmuth Insurance has been protecting individuals, families and businesses for more than 150 years. We truly care about the people we serve and strive to be your insurer of choice. We partner exclusively with nearly 700 independent agents to customize business, home, auto, and life insurance policies and surety bonds. Headquartered in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and doing business in 15 states, Frankenmuth Insurance is financially sound, with $1.8 billion in assets. The company has an A.M. Best rating of A (Excellent). For more information visit fmins.com. About 1st Source Insurance 1st Source Insurance operates from 10 offices located across northern Indiana and offers straight talk and sound advice while providing Business Insurance, Personal Insurance and Employee Benefits. 1st Source Corporation, parent company of 1st Source Insurance and 1st Source Bank, has assets of $7.3 billion and is the largest locally controlled financial institution in the northern Indiana-southwestern Michigan area. The Corporation includes 79 banking centers, 18 1st Source Bank Specialty Finance Group locations nationwide, nine Wealth Advisory Services locations and 10 1st Source Insurance offices. For more than 155 years, 1st Source has been committed to our mission of helping our clients achieve security, build wealth and realize their dreams. For more information, visit http://www.1stsource.com/insurance. - FuelEU Maritime WASHINGTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2021/Black-Diamond-Recalls-PIEPS-DSP-Avalanche-Transceivers-Due-to-Risk-of-Loss-of-Emergency-Communications-One-Death-Reported Recall Summary Name of Product: PIEPS DSP Pro, DSP Pro Ice, and DSP Sport Avalanche Transceivers Hazard: The transceiver can switch modes unexpectedly when not locked or installed in the harness. When this occurs, it will prevent the transceiver from transmitting a signal and can make it difficult to locate a skier in an avalanche, which can result in severe bodily harm or death. Remedy: Repair Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled avalanche transceivers and contact Black Diamond for a free replacement hardcase carrying system and user guide to be used with the recalled transceivers. Consumer Contact: Black Diamond at 866-306-0865 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MT Monday through Friday, email at [email protected], online at www.blackdiamondequipment.com and click on "Safety Recall" located at the top of the webpage or https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/content/dsp-recall/ for more information. Recall Details Units: About 66,100 (In addition, about 12,500 were sold in Canada) Description: This recall involves all PIEPS DSP Pro, DSP Pro Ice, and DSP Sport Avalanche Transceivers. The transceivers are worn by skiers so they can be located if they are buried in an avalanche. The units were sold in one size with an LCD display, a slider switch with Off/Search/Send, and are powered by a battery. The devices have a green/yellow, black/yellow, or clear/yellow exterior. The transceivers come with a black neoprene carrying case. The manufacturer's name, PIEPS, is printed in black letters on the front of the unit with the model name DSP Pro, DSP Pro Ice, and DSP Sport. The recall includes PIEPS DSP Sport Avalanche Transceiver MODEL NO. PP1128040000ALL1; PIEPS DSP Pro Avalanche Transceiver MODEL NO. PP1127710000ALL1; and PIEPS DSP Pro Ice Avalanche Transceiver MODEL NO. PP1127700000ALL1. The model name DSP02 can be found on the inside of the battery door, and the model number can be found on the outside of the packaging. Incidents/Injuries: Black Diamond has received 65 reports of the transceiver modes switching unexpectedly while in use. One death and one instance of a skier getting caught in an avalanche who suffered a broken arm and minor injuries were both reported in British Columbia. Sold At: Liberty Mountain, Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), and other specialty outdoor stores nationwide, and online at www.backcountry.com from January 2013 through November 2020 for between $300 and $450. Importer: Black Diamond Ltd., of Salt Lake City, Utah Manufacturer: Pieps GMBH, of Austria Note: Health Canada's press release is available at: https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2021/75247r-eng.php Footer This recall was conducted voluntarily by the company under CPSC's Fast Track Recall process. Fast Track recalls are initiated by firms who commit to work with CPSC to quickly announce the recall and remedy to protect consumers. About the U.S. CPSC The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years. Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission. For lifesaving information: - Visit CPSC.gov. - Sign up to receive our e-mail alerts. - Follow us on Facebook, Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC. - Report a dangerous product or a product-related injury on www.SaferProducts.gov. - Call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054). - Contact a media specialist. Note: Due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding COVID-19, some of the remedies identified in recall press releases may not be available at this time. Consumers should check with recalling firms for further details. It is important to remember that CPSC and recalling firms urge consumers not to use recalled products. Release Number: 21-108 SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Related Links http://www.cpsc.gov [April 12, 2021] Axonius Taps Former Stack Overflow CFO Jerry Raphael as It Drives to IPO Axonius, the leader in cybersecurity asset management, today announced that Jerry Raphael has joined the executive team as chief financial officer. Bringing more than 20 years of experience in financial leadership and global operations, he is responsible for growing and scaling the company's global finance organization on its drive toward an initial public offering (IPO). Raphael is passionate about building strong teams that help support and drive rapid company growth. Most recently, as the CFO for Stack Overflow, Raphael facilitated multiple funding rounds, led the team through international expansion and brought the company to profitability. He has also held leadership roles at Vibrant Media (News - Alert) and WWE, and spent 10 years at Grant Thornton advising companies around SEC protocols as they took their companies public. Raphael joins Axonius at a point of massive growth and scale. The company reported it closed 2020 with a triple-digit increase in annual recurring revenue. And after its recent Series D funding round of $100 million with a $1.2 billion unicorn valuation, Axonius has already experienced a 200% yar-over-year increase in ARR in the first quarter of 2021. "Jerry has already been an integral player in our financial success. In his first weeks in the role, he helped to close our recent funding round, which brought us to unicorn status," said Dean Sysman, co-founder and CEO, Axonius. "His extensive experience and financial leadership will be instrumental as we build out our growth strategy for global expansion and IPO." Raphael said it was the company's culture of excellence and the simplicity and efficacy of the product that drew him to the role. Axonius is solving a decades-old problem-cybersecurity asset management. The platform integrates with more than 315 vendor products to ingest, consolidate, normalize, and rationalize asset management inventories across products. This provides an always up-to-date asset inventory so that cybersecurity teams can proactively discover and mitigate security risks that could otherwise be exploited. "Asset management is a persistent challenge faced by every company, and the move to remote and hybrid work environments has only exacerbated it. The simplicity with which the Axonius Cybersecurity Asset Management Platform solves this problem resonates with companies around the globe, and this is driving wide-scale adoption," said Raphael. "As noted by our investor Bessemer Ventures, we are one of the fastest growing companies in their portfolio history. The opportunity to lay the groundwork for rapid international expansion and to help scale for continued exponential growth is incredibly exciting." Visit the Axonius website to learn how the company is solving cybersecurity asset management challenges for companies of all sizes and across industries. About Axonius Axonius is the cybersecurity asset management platform that gives organizations a comprehensive asset inventory, uncovers security solution coverage gaps, and automatically validates and enforces security policies. By seamlessly integrating with over 300 security and management solutions, Axonius is deployed in minutes, improving cyber hygiene immediately. Covering millions of devices at Fortune 500 customers like The New York Times, Schneider Electric (News - Alert) , and AB InBev, and earning prestigious accolades from CNBC and Forbes in recent years, Axonius has been cited as one of the fastest growing cybersecurity startups in history. For more, visit Axonius.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005580/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] China's failure to provide access to global health experts made the COVID-19 pandemic worse than it had to be, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday, and it was important to "get to the bottom" of the origin of the novel coronavirus. The top US diplomat's sharp words underscored criticism from other members of the Biden administration over Beijing's lack of transparency in the crucial early days of the pandemic. China did not give access to international experts or share information in real time to provide true transparency, Blinken said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press." As a result, the virus "got out of hand faster and with, I think, much more egregious results than it might otherwise," Blinken said. The World Health Organization director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on March 30 that data was withheld from WHO investigators who traveled to China to research the origins of the pandemic. A WHO report, written jointly with Chinese scientists, released at the time said the virus had probably been transmitted from bats to humans through another animal, and that a lab leak was "extremely unlikely" as a cause. Tedros said the issue required further investigation. The events highlight why there needs to be a stronger global health security system to ensure this doesn't happen again, Blinken said. Reforms must include a commitment to transparency, information sharing and access for experts "and China has to play a part in that," he said. Blinken said it was important to reach a more conclusive accounting of how the pandemic began. "We need to do that precisely so we fully understand what happened, in order to have the best shot possible preventing it from happening again," he said. "That's why we need to get to the bottom of this." When the WHO report was issued in March, the United States, the European Union and other Western countries called for China to give "full access" to independent experts to all data about the original outbreak in late 2019. Also read: Moderna vaccine's antibodies last at least 6 months, shows study Also read: Vaccinated Indian among new COVID-19 cases reported in Singapore Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 13:23:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LIMA -- Peruvian presidential candidate Pedro Castillo, a school teacher running for the Free Peru party, is leading Sunday's general elections with 16.1 percent of the vote, according to the results of an exit poll published by local media. Preliminary data also showed candidates Hernando de Soto, of the Advance Country party, and Keiko Fujimori, of the Popular Force party, were vying for the second place with 11.9 percent of votes each. (Peru-Elections) - - - - GABORONE -- Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness said on Sunday that it was investigating two deaths that occurred following vaccination with the Covishield vaccine. The cause of the death of two elderly people from separate districts and its relationship with the vaccine were under the immediate investigation of the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority, the ministry said in a press release. (Botswana-Vaccine-Death) - - - - NEW DELHI -- With 904 deaths in the past 24 hours, India's total death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic surpassed the 170,000 mark to reach 170,179, according to the data released by the federal government Monday. Besides, 168,912 new cases took the total tally to 13,527,717. (India-COVID-19 Cases) - - - - COTONOU -- Polling stations for the first round of the presidential election in Benin closed on Sunday at 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) and the ballot counting is underway. According to the country's election code, polling stations were closed after nine hours of operation. (Benin-Presidential Election) Enditem DCGI to consider SEC's recommendation for Sputnik V Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has made the recommendation for the consideration and final decision of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to grant permission for restricted emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine. As part of the review process, Dr Reddys presented the safety profile of the phase 2 study, and interim data of the phase 3 study to the government. The vaccine is currently undergoing the phase 3 clinical trial in India. The first interim data analysis of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 phase III clinical trials in the Russian Federation has demonstrated 92% efficacy. Sputnik V uses two different vectors - based on human adenovirus serotypes Ad5 and Ad26 - in two separate shots, allowing for a more effective defense against the coronavirus than vaccines using the same vector for both shots. By deploying two different vectors, Sputnik V avoids a possible neutralizing effect and generates a durable and longerlasting immune response. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russias sovereign wealth fund) has also recently partnered with New Delhi based Panacea Biotec to produce 100 million doses per year of Sputnik V in India. ATLANTA, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Whitefoord announced that former Grady Health System senior executive Craig Tindall has formally joined in April as its new Chief Executive Officer. Tindall has served as Interim CEO at Whitefoord since October of 2020. "I am incredibly grateful to the Whitefoord Board for this opportunity to build on the legacy of Dr. Brumley and Dr. Johnson and so many others who have made Whitefoord the vital community resource it is today," Tindall said. "There's much to be done, particularly in these times of severe economic and health challenges for so many in Atlanta and the Edgewood community. But we have strong Board leadership and a tremendous team of professionals who are wholly committed to delivering high quality, customer focused health and early education programs and I absolutely believe that together, we can and will continue to make a positive difference in the quality of life for our community." Tindall comes to Whitefoord with more than 30 years of experience directing the operations of multiple hospital departments within Grady Health System - metropolitan Atlanta's safety net hospital, premier Level 1 Trauma Center, and teaching hospital for Emory and Morehouse Schools of Medicine. "Over the past six months, Craig has worked to increase employee engagement to enhance workplace culture, ensure fiscal responsibility to sustain Whitefoord's success, build strong relationships with our donors and community partners, expand our services during the COVID pandemic, and much more," said Andrea N. Smith, Chair of the Board of Directors of Whitefoord. "The Board of Directors is therefore pleased to announced that Craig has accepted the role of CEO on a permanent basis. We are excited that Craig will continue to lead and serve this organization, and look forward to working together on behalf of Whitefoord." Tindall has dual master's degrees with an MHA and an MBA from Georgia State University, and was awarded the 2019 Max Holland Distinguished Alumni Award by the GSU Institute of Health Administration. Additionally, Craig has a BA from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is also a graduate of Leadership Atlanta (2010) and Leadership Georgia Hospital Association (2006). About Whitefoord, Inc. Whitefoord is a community-based and driven Federally-Qualified Health Center that is dedicated to providing health care through school-based health centers and in community settings; promoting health awareness; encouraging healthy families; and, advancing early childhood development. Today, Whitefoord serves more than 2,500 families and children in Southeast Atlanta through its 4 health centers and its partnership with Atlanta Public Schools around early child care and education. For more information, visit www.whitefoord.org or call 404-373-6614. Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Whitefoord Related Links https://www.whitefoord.org Applications are invited from candidates, qualified to practise as Barrister in Mauritius, who wish to be considered for appointment as Temporary State Counsel in the Judicial and Legal Service with salary at the flat rate of Rs 34350 per month. The post, upon appointment as State Counsel, carries salary in the scale of Rs 34350 x 925 37125 x 1225 40800 x 1525 49950 x 1625 62950 on the permanent and pensionable establishment plus fringe benefits in accordance with PRB Recommendations. The selected candidates shall, upon holding substantive appointment as State Counsel, be subject to transfer and posting at the Attorney-Generals Office or the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions or appointment as District Magistrate in the Judiciary, as may be decided by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission. Mode of Application Qualified candidates should submit their applications on the prescribed form obtainable from the Secretary, Judicial and Legal Service Commission, Supreme Court, Port Louis. They should also annex to their application form: (i) a duly signed curriculum vitae, (ii) a photocopy of their Birth Certificate, and (iii) photocopies of all their educational and professional qualification certificates. Closing Date Applications should reach: (a) The Office of the Secretary, Judicial and Legal Service Commission at 9th Level, New Supreme Court Building c/r Edith Cavell and Desroches Streets, Port Louis or (b) through an e-mail to JLSC@govmu.org by Friday 23 April 2021 at 3.00 p.m at latest. Judicial and Legal Service Commission 07 April 2021 NOTE: All those who have previously applied for the abovementioned post should submit a fresh application. This Notice of Vacancy and the Application Form are available on the website of the Judiciary at the following address: https://supremecourt.govmu.org Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn HOMEL, Belarus -- Four associates of Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya have pleaded not guilty to charges of organizing protests against authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka as their trial started on April 12 in the southeastern city of Homel. Tatsyana Kaneuskaya, Yury Ulasau, Dzmitry Ivashkou, and Alyaksandr Shabalin were members of Tsikhanouskaya's campaign team and arrested just days before an August 9, 2020, presidential election for organizing gatherings and demonstrations demanding independent candidates be registered for the vote. The four were also charged with the seizure of a building, while Ulasau was additionally charged with publicly insulting an official. RFE/RL correspondents reported that dozens of people came to support the four activists at the courthouse on April 12, but only one person for each defendants family was allowed to enter the building due to what officials called "coronavirus precautions." Journalists were also not allowed into the courtroom. Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusians continue to demand the resignation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka amid a brutal crackdown on protesters. The West refuses to recognize him as the country's legitimate leader after an August 9 election considered fraudulent. Those relatives who were allowed to enter the building were forced to leave their telephones at a security desk before entering the courtroom. Kaneuskaya's son, Alyaksey Kaneuski, who was allowed to be present at the trial, told journalists later in the day that all four defendants pleaded not guilty. Tens of thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets, almost weekly, since the election when Lukashenka claimed reelection in a vote that Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters called fraudulent. The demonstrators are demanding that Lukashenka leave and new elections be held, but Belarus's strongman has been defiant. Security officials have arrested thousands and forced Tsikhanouskaya and other top opposition figures out of the country. Several protesters have been killed in the violence and some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained. Tsikhanouskaya left Belarus for Lithuania after the election for security reasons and has been rallying international support for the pro-democracy movement. More than 30,000 people have been detained in the protests, with hundreds beaten, several killed, and reports from rights groups that there is credible evidence of torture being used by security officials. In response to the ongoing crackdown, the West has slapped sanctions on top officials and refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate leader of the former Soviet republic. 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 A group of fourth and fifth grade Syracuse City Schools students are headed to Christian Brothers Academy this summer for a free experiential learning program designed to help students catch up through hands-on learning after the coronavirus pandemic created an educational gap. The Bridge 2 CBA summer program will host 60 students from SCSD for four weeks for no charge. During the eight-hour a day program, each week will focus on a new subject, including coding, geology, rocket building, and bridge building. The program will also include field trips to foster community engagement. The program is designed to target and address the learning gap the coronavirus pandemic has created. The pandemic was a setback for students who endured an academic year full of calendar delays, remote learning, and an educational program dependent on access to technology and the Internet. This learning gap particularly affected students of color. Exciting day....CBA unveils free summer program for Syracuse City Youth!! https://www.cbasyracuse.org/cba-unveils-free-summer-program-for-syracuse-city-youth/ Posted by CBA Syracuse on Friday, February 26, 2021 The program will cater to fourth and fifth graders because that age group can be challenged and is an important time academically for students to prepare for junior high, Keough said. CBA is planning for the program to be fully in-person with small, distanced classes. Whatever the safety protocols are I think we can safely keep them socially distanced and things like that, Keough said. So, well continue with all of our protocols we used during the school year and were pretty confident that well be able to have it in person during the summer. CBA alum Dan Byrne and his wife Cristine J. DeMaio are primarily funding the program and have made a five-year commitment to continue doing so. Byrne said he wants the program to provide opportunities for disadvantaged youth who will benefit from this experiential learning curriculum. I think its going to be a rich environment and hopefully the end of day these kids will have more confidence and make an impact, Byrne said. Keough said what makes the program stand out is the collaboration between CBA and SCSD. A beautiful message of this story is that you have two school districts, one private Catholic and one public school district, Keough said. Theyre collaborating to make an impact on young people and I think thats a beautiful thing during this pandemic. Other CBA alums, staff, and current students will volunteer. CBA will also provide all class materials and meals. They are working with SCSD to provide students with transportation. The program will be held at the CBA Randall Road campus from July 12 to Aug. 6. Students must apply to join the program, and eligibility will be determined based on their demonstrated family income and net assets. Application information can be found on the CBA website. More on Syracuse.com Driver-less drivers education in CNY schools: Pandemic puts unusual twist on learning to drive 11 Onondaga County school districts get some fully-funded, all-day Pre-k in NY budget (see the entire state list) Syracuse schools plan to bring youngest students back to the classroom for 5 days a week Central NY school library aide who died from Covid to be featured on national news show New Delhi: The National Board of Examination (NBE) is all set to release the admit cards for the National Eligibility Entrance Test- Postgraduate (NEET PG 2021) on its official website on Monday (April 12). Once released, the candidates will be able to download their admit cards on the official website of NBE, nbe.edu.in. Meanwhile, the entrance test for the postgraduate medical courses (NEET PG 2021) is scheduled to take place April 18, across the country. The examination is going to be conducted online through a computer-based platform. Heres steps-by-step guide to download admit card: Go to the official site of National Board of Examination - nbe.edu.in Click on NEET PG 2021 link Click on NEET PG admit card 2021 link Enter your credentials Click on the Submit button Click on Download the admit card button Take its print out for future need ALSO READ: CBSE class 10, 12 exams 2021 big update, check this board official's important statement The National Eligibility Entrance Test- Postgraduate, is an entrance examination for students who aspire to study for postgraduate Doctor of Medicine, Master of Surgery and diploma courses in India. This entrance test includes both, government as well as private medical colleges in the country. Live TV A 2-year-old girl was shot Monday afternoon in Newark and was being treated at a local hospital, authorities said. The child was not the intended target of the shooting, which Newark Public Safety Director Brian A. OHara indicated was not a random incident. Our detectives have determined that this was a targeted incident. Unfortunately, a child has become a victim, OHara said in a statement from the department. Thankfully, it appears she will recover from her injuries and there is no danger to the community. The shooting happened at 2:06 p.m. when police were called to the area 14th Avenue and South 6th Street for a report of gunfire and were alerted that the girl had been shot, police said. She was rushed to University Hospital where she remained in stable condition late Monday afternoon. OHara urged anyone with information to call the departments 24-hour Crime Stopper tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477). All anonymous Crime Stopper tips are kept confidential and could result in a reward. 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. Mozilla's Firefox, the worlds most popular privacy-oriented open-source browser, is dropping support for Amazons Fire TV and Echo Show devices, just over three and a half years after it was released, the non-profit organisation announced its website. With the company dropping support for Firefox on these platforms, users will stop receiving updates at the end of April. The announcement was first reported by Android Police, noting that users will have to switch to Amazons Silk browser once Firefox drops support and that Firefoxs listing would be pulled down from the Amazon Appstore at the end of the month. Read more: Mozilla, Internet Society flag concerns over India's new social media rules The end of Firefoxs support for Fire TV and Echo show devices appears to be a delayed response to YouTubes return to the Amazon AppStore a couple of years ago. During the time that Amazon and Google were feuding and unable to reach a compromise, Firefox served as a fantastic alternative for users to play their videos on the platform. It wasnt the only option at the time, as Amazons Silk Browser was another excellent alternative that users had access to at the time. Starting on April 30, 2021, we will no longer support Firefox on Amazon Fire TV or Echo Show. You will no longer be able to install the app on FireTV, receive security updates, or be able to reinstall the app if you uninstall it starting on April 30, 2021. If you have Firefox set as your default browser on Echo Show, you will be redirected to Amazon Silk for web browsing starting April 30, 2021, Mozilla said on its end-of-support announcement for Firefox on Amazon's devices. Also read: Firefox 87 makes users privacy better with SmartBlock feature, heres what it does Users who currently have the Firefox browser installed will still be able to access the browser, but will not be able to download it again, if they uninstall the browser -- new users will not be able to find the browser on the Amazon Appstore. However, just because you have the app installed does not mean you should use it -- after April 30, users will be vulnerable to any future security flaws which will not receive any security fixes, at which point switching to Amazons Silk Browser would be highly recommended. Apr. 12WARDEN An Odessa woman was booked into the Grant County Jail for alleged assault and burglary Wednesday after she allegedly entered a house near Warden, assaulted a man and woman with a Taser and chased the man with a handgun after he left the house. Deborah Davidson, 41, was booked on assault with a firearm, first-degree burglary, two counts of fourth-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief. Davidson allegedly entered the house off state Route 262 East at about noon, according to social media post by the Grant County Sheriff's Office. She allegedly used the Taser on a man and woman in the house, then left and returned with a handgun, using it to hit the man in the face, according to the GCSO. The man escaped out of a window and Davidson ran after him. "All parties involved know each other and the incident is said to be connected with romantic relationships," the post stated. She was arrested without incident by GCSO deputies and officers from the Warden Police Department. (Newser) Millions of people gathered and dipped in the Ganges River Monday as a second wave of COVID infections burned through India. Hindus observing Kumbh Mela, a religious festival and pilgrimage, crowded together to pray and bathe. Local police, fearing a stampede if social distancing rules were enforced, did little to control the crowd, per the Guardian. Mondays gathering is expected to be the biggest of the festival, which has been limited to just one month this year instead of the usual three. Pilgrims are ostensibly required to have a negative COVID test to participate, reports the Business Standard of India. The northern city of Haridwar is using random testing of travelers and high-tech measures to try to contain the virus. story continues below But while cameras can flag when a person isnt wearing a mask, there are too many people for authorities to ticket. Infections are surging in the city, with 2,209 new cases reported since the festival began on April 1, per CNN. The pandemic is weighing down on India, with some hospitals unable to admit more patients and some regions running low on supplies to treat the disease. The virus spread slowed in February and at least 100 million people have been vaccinated, but a more contagious variant and haphazard social distancing appear to be at the root of a resurgence, per the Guardian. Indias increase in cases means it has surpassed Brazil and is now second only to the US in number of cases, per the BBC. (Read more India stories.) You are here: China Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed efforts to consolidate stable economic growth momentum and maintain the continuity, stability and sustainability of the country's macro policies. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks on Friday while presiding over a symposium attended by experts and entrepreneurs. Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting. The symposium analyzed the country's current economic situation and listened to opinions on government's future economic work. China's economy has consolidated its sound recovery momentum since the beginning of this year, Li said. In light of the complex and grave international environment and uneven economic recovery at home, Li highlighted the importance of taking a comprehensive and objective perspective in analyzing economic situation. Efforts should be made to maintain the continuity, stability and sustainability of macro policies, in a bid to ensure that the country's economy runs within an appropriate range and promote high-quality development, Li said. The premier underscored paying attention to the changing situations at home and abroad, adding that the policy support for securing employment, people's livelihoods and the operations of market entities will not weaken. Li urged implementing measures aimed at supporting small and micro-sized businesses and self-employed individuals, better leveraging policies to promote the innovation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector, as well as channeling more funds to the real economy. He also demanded efforts to promote reform and opening-up, optimize business environment, stabilize foreign trade and investment and ensure the stability and security of industrial and supply chains. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Credit: CC0 Public Domain Bangladesh authorities on Monday ordered an eight-day closure of all offices and international and domestic transport, as coronavirus cases hit a new high. The drastic measures, which will virtually seal off the country, will start Wednesday, said a government statement. The South Asian nation of 160 million people has recorded 684,756 cases and 9,739 deaths, but the number of daily cases has increased sevenfold in a month. Hospitals in cities across the country say they are being overwhelmed by the new cases, and daily deaths have more than doubled. "All government, semi-government, autonomous and private office and financial institutions will be closed," said a cabinet statement. International and domestic flights will be halted along with maritime, rail and bus services, the order added. All storesexcept those supplying foodwill be shut, but authorities will allow factories to remain open if companies can organise their own transport. The cabinet said the closure would end at midnight on April 21. "There is no alternative now to this in order to curb the COVID-19 surge," Farhad Hossain, junior minister for public administration, said ahead of the clampdown announcement. Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia, 74, tested positive for the coronavirus Sunday despite being under house detention. The two-time former prime minister has been serving a 10-year jail term for corruption but has been allowed to stay under surveillance at her Dhaka home since last year. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP ROME, APR 12 - Italy first COVID-free trains will run from Friday April 16, sources said Monday. They will be two non-stop Frecciarossa high-speed trains running between Rome and MIlan, where only passengers who have tested negative for COVID-19 will be allowed aboard. The first train will leave Roma Termini at 08:50 and the second will leave Milano Centrale at 18:00. The trains will have a passenger capacity of 50%. Passengers must turn up at least 45 minutes before departure with a certificate showing they had a negative test withing the last 48 hours. It is also possible to have a test for free in the station. Those who been vaccinated must present a certificate or have a test. (ANSA). [April 12, 2021] Donaldson Filter Minder Connect Monitoring Solution Expands to Fuel Filters and Engine Oil Condition At the Technology and Maintenance Council ( TMC (News - Alert) ) Spring Meeting, Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI) announced its Filter Minder Connect solution is now available for monitoring fuel filters and engine oil condition on heavy-duty engines. Filter Minder system components can be installed on equipment in minutes and the solution integrates into existing on-board telematics and fleet management systems. Filtration efficiency is lost when filters are changed too soon. Alternatively, servicing filters or changing fluids too late can result in unplanned downtime and additional cost. Engine oil analysis programs, while valuable, can be time and labor intensive. Filter Minder connect sensors can measure pressure drop and differential pressure on fuel filters, plus the condition of engine oil, including density, viscosity, dielectric constant, and resistivity - characteristics that allow fleet managers to make more informed maintenance decisions. With the Filter Minder Connect monitoring solution users can achieve more uptime and productivity for a better bottom line. The Filter Minder Connect sensors and receiver wirelessly transmit performance data to the cloud and predictiv analytics inform users when filters and engine oil are approaching the end of their optimal life. Fleets that utilize Geotab (News - Alert) and Filter Minder Connect monitoring can receive fleet data and analytics on their laptop or mobile device via the MyGeotab dashboard - making it easier to monitor filtration systems and oil, and to service them at the optimal time. "We've seen great success with our Filter Minder Connect monitoring solution, which has been commercially available for engine air filtration in on-highway trucks and off-road equipment for the past year," said Nate Zambon, director of Filter Minder at Donaldson. "We are pleased to expand our connected technology to fuel filters and engine oil condition, helping fleet managers and heavy-duty operators optimize filter and fluid maintenance intervals to get the most out of their equipment." To learn more about the Donaldson Filter Minder Connect Monitoring Solutions, request a demo or participate in a trial for monitoring hydraulic filtration and/or hydraulic oil condition, email info@filterminder.com or call +1319-234-0231 extension 11. About Donaldson Company, Inc. Founded in 1915, Donaldson (NYSE: DCI) is a global leader in technology-led filtration products and solutions, serving a broad range of industries and advanced markets. Our diverse, skilled employees at over 140 locations on six continents partner with customers-from small business owners to the world's biggest OE brands-to solve complex filtration challenges. Discover how Donaldson is Advancing Filtration for a Cleaner World at www.Donaldson.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005939/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Albany, N.Y. New York plans to begin sending Covid-19 vaccines directly to colleges in the state in an effort to get more students vaccinated, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today. State University of New York schools will get 21,000 doses and private colleges will get another 14,000. Cuomos office did not say which private colleges are getting doses. The goal is get students vaccinated before they leave campus and return home for the summer, Cuomo said during an appearance at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood on Long Island. Covid infection rates have been creeping higher among the young, he added. The coronavirus is still a danger to young people. It can make them seriously ill and even kill them, Cuomo said. Young people could also pass the illness to parents and grandparents, he said. They need to get the shots. You have a civic duty to make sure you are not a transmitter of Covid, he said. Even if you believe youre a superhero and you have super immunity, you have a civic duty to do it. SUNY announced earlier this month that it would start vaccinating students using the Johnson & Johnson shot. Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud told CNN over the weekend that the vast majority of faculty and staff members have already been vaccinated. Over 4,000 SU students have already received shots as well, he added. The school has over 22,000 students total. SU is making Covid vaccines mandatory for all students and staff. Its the safest thing to do for our whole campus community, and you know, high school seniors coming back in the fall, I think what they most want is the full campus experience with competitions and sports, and all the being together with their lots of their friends safely and vaccinations is one of the key ways to make sure were going to deliver that here at Syracuse, Syverud said, according to CNN. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources Covid-19 fuels explosion of student interest in public health at Central New York colleges Some Syracuse University students with Covid-19 refusing to identify who they exposed Rileys is back: Inside the 13-month journey to popular Syracuse restaurants reopening Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Sunday met with Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri in Tehran at the start of a three-day trip there. The two officials discussed the hairy issue of releasing some of the Iranian oil money that is frozen in Korea under UN sanctions. Afterwards Chung said Korea hopes to support Iran in productive dialogue with partners about a nuclear deal the U.S. backed out of under former President Donald Trump and the frozen oil earnings. [April 12, 2021] Jun Group Launches Self-Service Advertising Platform for SMBs NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jun Group , a mobile advertising platform that delivers connected TV, audio, full-screen video and rich media campaigns for Fortune 500 advertisers, has launched its new self-service advertising platform for small and midsize businesses called Business+. Business+ makes it easy for companies to access the most impactful online advertising inventory through a simple and intuitive user interface. Companies everywhere are looking for concrete digital solutions that can be tied directly to sales, according to Jun Group CEO Corey Weiner. The past decade has seen an explosion of effective digital channels that, frankly, most companies arent using effectively. Channels like connected TV, streaming audio and mobile in-app advertising arent marketed the same way as their shinier Facebook and Google counterparts. To launch a new campaign, users simply select the type of campaign they want to run; choose their target audience by location, demographics and interest; and upload their creative. For customers without crative, Jun Groups in-house creative team will work with existing materials or start from scratch to create an ad that gets noticed and gets results. Once the campaign is live, Business+ provides real-time updates on how the campaign is performing. For the first time in history, everyone has access to the same inventory used by Fortune 500 companies, says Jun Group Director of Product Management Laura Schaffer. Business+ gives unrestricted access to these channels that are designed to reach your target audience and drive sales. JUN GROUP Imagine advertising only to people who say theyre interested. Jun Group does this at scale, crafting custom audiences using first-party data collected directly from its SDK. Jun Group delivers full-screen video, display and rich media campaigns for Fortune 500 advertisers and drives opt-in page views for leading publishers. Jun Group is powered by its machine-learning optimization tool, Vera; its custom audience targeting platform, Schema; and its in-house creative studio, Candor. Across brand, shopper, publisher and influencer marketing, Jun Group delivers measurable results by engaging customers in a meaningful, non-intrusive way. Based in New York City, Jun Group is a division of Advantage Solutions, a leading provider of technology-enabled sales and marketing solutions. Jun Group is a certified 2020 Great Place to Work . Visit jungroup.com or follow on Linkedin . Contact WILL BRAITHWAITE | MARKETING MANAGER JUN GROUP | DIRECT 610.585.8471 wbraithwaite@jungroup.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Diaz-Rios with two of the spiker boxes made by Backyard Brains. The award, he explains, will impact four campuses of the University of Puerto Rico and is part of an initiative to help students and scholars at underresourced colleges in underserved communities. Under the supervision of Diaz-Rios, each campus recently received a package containing thirteen sets of so-called spiker boxestwelve sets for students to share and one set for faculty. The equipment is made by a company called Backyard Brains, which promotes hands-on, do-it-yourself (DIY) learning for students of neurosciencea particularly useful resource at the moment, when the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many lessons to be taught remotely. Among the campuses being served is the islands Medical Sciences campus, where Diaz-Rios earned his doctoral degree. After shipping the equipment to Puerto Rico, Diaz-Rios held a remote workshop for some fifty faculty and students, explaining and demonstrating how the spiker boxes can be used to gather data. There are three types of these devices measuring different types of waves, he explains. Theres the neuron spiker box, the muscle spiker box, and one for the heart and brain, all of them designed to monitor and record the electrical impulses emitted when our brains talk to different parts of our body. For the muscle spiker box, for example, Diaz-Rios demonstrates how electrodes can be easily and painlessly attached to the forearm, measuring the electrical activity and displaying it on a screen. This activity can also be heard as white noise which increases in intensity when a muscle is used, or contracted, explains Diaz-Rios, so when you contract your muscle by making a fist, you can both see and hear your neurons firing. Its like a simplified version of an electromyograph used in hospitals. Its very cool. This equipment enables students to include more interactive and engaging experiments as part of their classes, says Diaz-Rios, who used spiker boxes in the Brains in Motion class he taught remotely to Bowdoin students last semester. They discover how the central nervous system interacts with organs of the body by exploring concepts such as respiration and cardiovascular function. In one exercise, we show how respiration affects heart function by causing hyperventilation and seeing how your heart rate changes. Another shows how meditation and deep breathing help the heart rate slow down. We can also measure things like muscle fatigue by having a student hooked up to the muscle spiker box and stand against the wall while holding a heavy object against gravity. (NOTE: Some of these experiments require willing and healthy volunteers!) "When you contract your muscle by making a fist, you can both see and hear your neurons firing... Its very cool." After the initial workshop, which was held in early March, Diaz-Rios will be following up with individual faculty members across Puerto Rico to help them further develop lessons using the Backyard Brains equipment. One of the great things about this project is the multiplier effect, because once theyre familiar with it, they will pass their knowledge on to other educators. For Diaz-Rios this is also part of a bigger plan to build on his ambitions for educational outreach. This is just the beginning. Now that I have a formula to follow for future programs, my next target is to do this kind of work with local high schools and small colleges here in Maine. Read the article Developing and Implementing Low-Cost Remote Laboratories for Undergraduate Biology and Neuroscience Courses, coauthored by Diaz-Rios, in The Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, Fall 2020. iWorld | OTT Mitron turns one: Vernacular, monetisation to be key focus areas In last June, a number of short video platforms stepped into the limelight after the Indian government's unceremonious ban on popular Chinese-origin app, TikTok. After riding on the initial wave of fame, these homegrown apps have now started solidifying their business models. Read More... DTH | DTH Services Pay-TV revenue to grow at 7 per cent CAGR over 2020-25: MPA report India is among a handful of countries where there is great scope for further penetration of television. Since the turn of the millennium, pay-TV connections have more than doubled in Indian households, though data in the public domain indicates there still remain an additional 100 million homes to penetrate. Read More... Television | TV Channels HC notice to Karnataka govt, MIB over obscene content in media The Karnataka high court has sought the state government's response in a public interest litigation (PIL) to issue directions to frame statutory rules to prevent publication of indecent and obscene content as part of the news programme in electronic and print media. Read More... iWorld | Social Media Twitter introduces new features for more interactive Cricket Season Microblogging site Twitter has added a couple of new features to create a more interactive experience for the platform's users this cricket season for. Among the new features, Spaces, the social media giant's new Clubhouse like feature, has generated a great deal of buzz among Tweeple. Read More... iWorld | Telecom Google rides on IPL wave with Disney+Hotstar partnership Riding on the Indian Premier League wave, tech giant Google has entered into a partnership with Disney+Hotstar. The pact will allow the users who search for IPL or their favourite teams on Google get live in-game web story match highlights during and after the game directly from Disney+ Hotstar. Read More... iWorld | OTT IPL 2021: Short video app Roposo & Glance partner with CSK InMobi-owned short video app Roposo and lock screen content platform Glance have partnered with Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as its official lock screen partner and official short video app partner, respectively. Read More... Chennai, April 12 : The Trisha Krishnan-starrer political thriller Tamil film "Paramapadham Vilayattu" will release digitally on April 14. The day marks Tamil Puthandu (Tamil New Year). The film will see Trisha play Dr Gayathri, who is assigned responsibility of treating Chezian (played by Vela Ramamoorthy), a political leader. K.Thirugnanam has written and directed the film, said to be based on true political events. This is Trisha's 60th film as an actor. "'Paramapadham Vilayattu' captures the intense fight for power that we see in our everyday lives. The movie has an unconventional yet gripping storyline that shows how an ordinary citizen gets caught in the tussle for political power. Happy to have portrayed a strong female character, and I hope that audiences enjoy watching our movie this Tamil New Year," Trisha says. The film will release on Disney+ Hotstar VIP. HSBC and Huawei Technologies' Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou have reached an agreement in a dispute about the publication of documents relating to U.S. fraud allegations against her, their lawyers told a Hong Kong court. The judge, Linda Chan, made court orders along the lines of the agreement, she said on Monday. The orders were, however, not immediately available. The legal dispute reached the Hong Kong court last month after a British judge in February blocked the release of internal HSBC documents relating to the fraud allegations against Meng. Also read: Huawei Band 6 launched: Check price, key specs, features Meng, who has been under house arrest in Canada since being detained at Vancouver airport in 2018, is facing charges of bank fraud in the United States for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei dealings in Iran, causing the bank to violate U.S. sanctions. Meng, who says she is innocent, was seeking the publication of documents relating to her ongoing efforts to battle extradition from Canada to the U.S. Responding to Reuters' request for comment on Monday, a Huawei spokesman and an HSBC spokeswoman said they had reached an agreement, but did not provide any further details. Reporting by Alun John and David Kirton. Switch to cage-free alternatives for farm animals is possible, but only with appropriate supporting measures Between 2018 and 2020, 1,4 million EU citizens signed the petition 'End the Cage Age', with the aim of ending cage housing for farm animals in Europe. In response to this citizens initiative, the European Parliament requested a study by Utrecht University researchers on the possibilities to end cage housing. On 13 April, the scientists will present their report 'End the Cage Age - Looking for Alternatives' to the European Parliament. In the report, behavioural biologists, animal scientists, veterinarians and ethicists from Utrecht University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine analysed the available scientific literature on alternatives to cage housing. "Our focus was on laying hens and pigs" says Bas Rodenburg, Professor of Animal Welfare at Utrecht University. "Because these are the species that are kept in the largest numbers, and cage-free alternatives are already available or in development for them." For other species - such as dairy and veal calves and rabbits - the researchers give a brief overview of the current situation and possibilities. Foraging, rooting and pecking "Our report shows that ending cage housing has positive effects on the behaviour and welfare of animals," Rodenburg says. "This is because animals in cage-free alternatives can exhibit their natural behaviour. Chickens and pigs are omnivores; they are normally foraging, rooting and pecking all day long. This behaviour is essential for these animals, but they need materials to rummage around in, such as sand, straw or wood shavings. That is difficult or impossible to achieve in cages." Regarding sustainability, no large differences in environmental, social and economic impact between cage housing and cage-free alternatives were found in studies published to date. However, the alternatives do pose new risks. For example a higher risk of infectious diseases and social unrest, like feather pecking. To successfully switch to cage-free alternatives, farmers must therefore be trained and learn to work with the new systems. For some species, like mink or geese and ducks for the production of foie gras, there is no cage-free alternative. The proposed alternative would therefore be a ban on production and a European import ban. So ending the cage age is possible - but how? The study shows that the switch to cage-free alternatives is possible. But how can this actually be achieved? "It has to be made attractive for farmers to make the switch," answers Rodenburg. "The required investments must result in added value for their products. And consumers must be prepared to pay a little more for this, so awareness is also needed among this group." In the short term, this calls for financial measures such as subsidies for new welfare-friendly systems and welfare labels on products, enabling consumers to shop more consciously. In the longer term, legislation could prohibit certain types of cage housing. Rodenburg: "One of our most important recommendations is to involve all stakeholders in the process, so they can design the new and improved livestock farming together." Presentation to the European Parliament On Tuesday 13 April at 13:45 CET, two researchers from Utrecht University will present the report 'End the Cage Age - Looking for Alternatives' to the European Parliament: Bas Rodenburg, professor of Animal Welfare at Utrecht University, and Maite van Gerwen, project manager of the Centre for Sustainable Animal Stewardship at Utrecht University. The presentation will be streamed live and can be followed by everyone (and watched later) via https:/ / www. europarl. europa. eu/ committees/ en/ peti/ meetings/ webstreaming . The petition itself will be debated in parliament on 15 April. Download the report (PDF): https:/ / www. europarl. europa. eu/ thinktank/ en/ document. html?reference= IPOL_STU (2020)658539 ### New Delhi: Basic savings bank deposit account (BSBDAs) holders are finding themselves in hot soup after finding that most of the facilities they get are outdated and not suited for the UPI age. Under the Jan Dhan Yojana scheme, crores of Indians had opened BSBDAs accounts, which offer only four cash withdrawals in a month. This means that account holders will have to pay for withdrawals from the fifth time onwards. The rule was mainly for in-person bank withdrawals and ATM transactions. But banks have added all types of debits under it and started charging even for UPI and RuPay cards transactions after the Reserve Bank of India granted them permission in 2019. This is where the problem started with BSBDAs. Currently, depositors are paying as much as Rs 20 per withdrawal after four free ones. Notably, the rule also applies to UPI transactions for Jan Dhan accounts, which makes these accounts an expensive affair. A study by IIT-Bombays mathematics professor, Ashish Das, pointed out how banks, especially government banks, benefitted from the decision to charge holders with these exorbitant fees. His report suggested that SBI might have made Rs 300 crore in five years from 2015-20 after it started charging Rs 17.7 for every withdrawal beyond the free four debits. Similarly, Punjab National Bank might have earned Rs 9.9 crore during the same period. The report also pointed out that banks didnt ensure reasonableness. Live TV #mute Shoppers will see their grocery bills soar unless coronavirus travel restrictions stopping farm workers from entering Australia are eased, fruit and vegetable growers have warned. The pandemic has taken a toll on produce growers across Australia facing a critical labour shortage due to the massive decline in overseas workers. Around 40,000 overseas backpackers - who are usually relied upon for fruit picking - are estimated to be in Australia this year, just over a quarter of the 140,000 who were Down Under in 2020. Likewise overseas workers from Pacific islands have also had trouble getting in since Australia closed its international border on March 20, 2020. Queensland growers are among the hardest hit by the labour shortfall heading into winter and some are even considering to not plant any crops in 2021. They believe shoppers may soon cop the brunt at the check-out by paying up to $50 per kilo for tomatoes - which is a 900 per cent increase on the current $5-a-kilo average price. Workers from Vanuatu made up a significant proportion of the vegetable picking labour force in north Queensland but have been hampered in particular by the state's own strict travel restrictions. Fruit and vegetable growers warn produce prices will soar unless labour shortages are addressed. Pictured is a woman picking grapes at a vineyard As their Victorian and Tasmania counterparts finally welcome hundreds of seasonal workers flown in from South Pacific Island nations to address the shortage of pickers with special exemptions, Queensland producers have been left short-staffed. One of the worst-affected areas is Bowen in Queensland's Whitsundays region, where 3,500 backpackers are needed each year to harvest the region's wide variety of produce including tomatoes, rockmelon and capsicum. The labour shortage has prompted the town's chamber of commerce into action by developing plans to quarantine workers from Vanuatu, which have fallen on deaf ears at Queensland Health. Chamber president Bruce Hedditch believes shoppers could soon be paying up to extortionate prices unless the labour shortage is addressed - warning of tomatoes costing 'between $30 and $50 a kilo'. Around 40,000 overseas backpackers are estimated to be in Australia in 2021, compared to 140,000 in 2020. Pictured is an orange picker 'Farmers are even contemplating not even planting crops in 2021,' Mr Hedditch told the Courier Mail. 'We know Victoria has received a large number of Pacific Islanders to work on their farms and this has been achieved through an agreement with the Tasmanian Government, where workers undertook 14-day quarantine periods in that state. 'We can't get answers here. It's insane.' The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences recently revealed in its quarterly report that shoppers should expect to pay up to 30 per cent more for produce as farmers struggle to find workers amid the pandemic. Prices of produce that flourish in summer - stone fruit such as mangoes and peaches, grapes and pome fruit such as pears and apples - and vegetables are all expected to rise by between seven and 29 per cent. There are fears the price of tomatoes (pictured) could rise as high at $50 a kilo (stock image) 'ABARES has assumed that the overseas labour supply will be around 50 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels in 2020-21, which is a significant fall in the usual workforce available to horticultural enterprises,' the report said. On top of the rising prices, overall production of fruit is forecast to drop by 17 per cent with a 2 per cent decrease for vegetable production. Despite the increases, ABARES said it wasn't 'unusual' for fruit and vegetables to rise by as much as 30 per cent. It comes after Australians were warned the price of beef is also expected to soar in supermarkets this year. Experts have said a 'rebuild' phase in the cattle industry could mean Aussies will pay more for their meat. ADVERTISEMENT Media Rights Agenda (MRA) will host a two-day Litigation Workshop for Lawyers on the Safety of Journalists on April 14 and 15, 2021 designed to enhance the capacity of lawyers to litigate cases on behalf of journalists and media organisations that are threatened or under attack in an effort to combat impunity for such attacks against journalists. The workshop, which will take place in Abuja, is supported by the Global Media Defence Fund (GMDF) through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and will bring together 30 participants drawn from different States across Nigeria. In a statement issued in Lagos, Chioma Nwaodike, Head of MRAs Legal Department, said: The workshop is aimed at ensuring accountability for attacks on journalists and the media in Nigeria, thereby combating the culture of impunity for such attacks. We are bringing together lawyers from different parts of the country who have agreed to provide pro bono legal assistance and litigation support to journalists whose rights are threatened or violated as part of an effort to provide a safe environment for media workers to effectively carry out their professional duties. According to her, a situation where journalists and other media workers are killed, brutalized, tortured or visited with other forms of violence and the government takes no serious action to investigate such attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice is unacceptable. We are bringing together legal minds from across the country to discuss and agree on strategies for more aggressive intervention, using the legal system and the judicial process to ensure the safety of journalists and to protect their rights. Ms Nwaodike explained that the workshop would provide participating lawyers with the opportunity of identifying and familiarising themselves with national, regional and international instruments and mechanisms that can be deployed to ensure the safety of journalists in Nigeria. ALSO READ: MRA launches project to combat impunity for attacks against Nigerian journalists She said the workshop is also intended to examine the most effective approaches in conducting strategic litigation to challenge laws as well as institutional and administrative practices that impede media freedom, contrary to the Constitution or regional and international instruments to which Nigeria is a party, while also leveraging the protections and remedies that they offer. Ms Nwaodike noted that participants at the workshop will consist of seasoned lawyers from different parts of Nigeria who have volunteered to offer their services free of charge in the defense of journalists and media organizations in Nigeria whose rights are threatened or infringed upon. The United States on Sunday launched a fresh broadside against China after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Beijing did not maintain transparency during the early stage of Covid-19. He also insisted upon a deep-rooted investigation for the origins of Covid-19. These remarks came after a recent investigation jointly by World Health Organizations (WHO) and China showed inconclusive results on when and how the virus spread. It was also claimed that the concerns of the west were not considered while the Chinese government twisted the investigation in their favor. Blinken expressed his thoughts, that even China knows that they did not do well during the initial stage of the virus spread. I think that China is aware that in the early stages of Covid it didnt do what it needed to do, which was to give access to international experts, in real-time to share information, in real-time to provide real transparency, added Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an interview. US to get bottom of Covid-19 The state official agreed when asked if Washington will get to the bottom of the pandemic and he also mentioned that, we need to get to the bottom of this. He further mentioned that to prevent this from happening again we have to get to the root. According to me, we have to get to the bottom of this mainly so that we fully understand what happened in order to have the best shot possible at preventing it from happening again. Thats why we need to get bottom of this, added Blinken. Biden administrations efforts against Beijing According to the New York Times, the comments are a clear indication that the US government is willing to reciprocate doubts against China. After the investigation results that came out that were investigated by the Chinese team and World Health Organization (WHO), a group of international scientists called for a new investigation. Reportedly, scientists have urged a team including biosecurity and biosafety experts to conduct an investigation. The United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, and Israel in a statement mentioned that they support WHOs efforts to get to the root of the pandemic however the data of investigation lacked complete report. Burma Profiles of Some of the Hundreds Wounded at the Hands of Myanmars Regime A collage photo of those wounded by the junta's forces. Despite condemnation by the international community, Myanmars military regime has intensified its violent suppression of anti-regime protests. And while the death toll has now topped 700, hundreds more have been seriously wounded. Regime forces have used live rounds, torture, hand grenades and other explosive ammunition, and automatic weapons during the crackdown. The wounded include bystanders as well as protesters. Random gunfire into residential neighborhoods has hit innocents who thought they would be safe in their own homes. The Irrawaddy has collected some brief profiles among the hundreds of those who have been seriously injured during the crackdowns, raids and random gunfire on the part of the regimes forces. Ko Min Thura, 23 March 3, Yangon Ko Min Thura, who had been working for his parents, was seriously wounded in the eyes by rubber bullets on March 3 when the junta forces conducted a crackdown on anti-regime protests in Yangons North Oakkalapa Township. At least eight protesters were killed and several were wounded. Ko Min Thura lost two close friends killed by the juntas forces during the crackdown. He was shot at his face with rubber bullets when he tried to carry the body of one of his friends out of the line of fire. He has lost sight in his left eye totally. It is still uncertain whether he will lose sight in his right eye. His right cheek and ear are paralyzed, and he can open his mouth only slightly. I have no regret for my losses. But I want at least one of my eyes back as I still have good legs and arms, and I want to try more for my country Ko Min Thura told The Irrawaddy. Saw Thet Nyi, 16 March 14, Yangons Hlaing Tharyar Township Saw Thet Nyi, has a chance to survive, although he has lost one of his kidneys and his gallbladder after being shot in his abdomen by the regimes forces with a live round in Yangons Hlaing Tharyar Township on March 14. He was shot while he was part of a defense team wielding homemade shields and protecting anti-regime protesters. During the shooting that day, the juntas forces gunned down more than 50 people, wounding several dozen. Due to the serious nature of his injuries, his gallbladder and a kidney have been removed. Currently, the boy cant walk well. His spinal column was also injured. He is still in hiding due to the fear of arrest, a family member told The Irrawaddy. Aung Khant Soe, 19 March 14, Yangons Thingangyun Township Aung Khant Soe, a defense team member from the frontlines, was shot in his thigh while trying to protect anti-regime protesters from the gunfire of security forces in Yangons Thingangyun Township on the evening on March 14. The live round that hit his thigh had penetrated his homemade shield during an attack by the juntas forces in which at least eight people were shot dead. Luckily, Aung Khant Soe was sent to hospital in time and the live bullet didnt hit the thigh bone. Now he is recovering from his wound. I was not afraid of gunfire at that time, Aung Khant Soe, a grade 11 student, told The Irrawaddy. He added that he took to the streets because he couldnt accept the injustice. Ko Phyoe, 24 March 10, Yangons South Dagon Ko Phyoe, father of a two-year-old son, lost his left leg after being shot by the Myanmar military regimes forces during a deadly crackdown against a peaceful anti-regime protest in Yangons South Dagon Township on March 10. He was a defense team member and was shot in his left leg while retreating from regime forces. Even though he had received proper medical treatment, it was necessary to amputate his leg from the knee down. I just lost my leg. It is nothing. But I am sorry that our younger sisters and brothers sacrificed their lives in the protest, Ko Phyoe told The Irrawaddy. He said that he will be there to fight for the countrys future when he has recovered from his injuries. Ko Pau Min Lun, 20 March 17, Sagaing Regions Kale Pau Min Lun, the youngest of five siblings of a Chin ethnic family, received serious injures to his left leg in an explosion believed to be caused by a military regime hand grenade during a crackdown in Kale, Sagaing Region on March 17. During the crackdown, at least four anti-regime protesters were reportedly killed and several others were wounded. After being hit by an explosion, Pau Min Tun, a member of defense team for the protesters, was taken away by the regimes forces along with the bodies of two dead protesters, a close friend told The Irrawaddy. Later, he was treated at a military hospital. On March 19, he had to allow the hospital to amputate his left leg from the thigh because of his injuries. He is still under detention at the hospital and he will also have to face charges by Myanmars military when he recovers from his injures, his close friend said. Ko Shan Phyo Aung, 22 March 27, Magway Ko Shan Phyo Aung, a third-year technology student, lost his right hand when he was brutally tortured by the juntas forces during a crackdown against an anti-regime demonstration in Magway on March 27. During the crackdown, the defense team member was caught by the juntas forces after he was wounded in the right palm by an explosive device fired by security forces, according to a news report by Myanmar Now. In addition, his injured right hand was blown off when it was shot again and his left hand was shot with rubber bullets at close range by the juntas troops while he kneeling in front of the troops with his hands up. He lost teeth when he was severely kicked in his face by the regimes forces. His right eye was also injured by gunpowder fired by the troops. Both legs also were injured seriously after being shot with rubber bullets at close range while he was under arrest. At the risk of their own lives, about 15 anti-regime protesters saved the life of Shan Phyo Aung by covering him with their own bodies and pleading with the troops to stop torturing him. During the crackdown, 37 people, including Ko Shan Phyo Aung and several of those who had protected him, were arrested. Ko Shan Phyo Aung, who wants to be engineer, also has been charged by the military regime with committing a riot. Ma Thin Thawtar, one-year-old girl March 27, Yangons Mayangone Township A one-year-old girl, Ma Thin Thawtar, was among the victims during one of the countrys bloodiest days, when more than 110 people including 12 children under the age of 16 were killed by the military regime marking its annual Armed Forces Day on March 27. The child was shot with a rubber bullet in her right eye while she was in their mothers arms at their home. Police and soldiers opened fire indiscriminately during their raid on a residential neighborhood at the Mayangone Township of Yangon Region. She has lost the sight of her right eye. You may also like these stories: AA Chief Does Not Want Myanmars Strikes and Protests in Rakhine State Girl, 7, Shot as Myanmar Regime Forces Attack Protesters Near Indian Border Myanmar Military Artillery Kills Kachin Civilians A 52-year-old Bergen County man has sued prosecutors in two states, claiming detectives raided his home seven years ago and seized more than $111,000 in cash but never charged him with a crime and never returned the money. In a federal lawsuit, Neil Sebso of Fort Lee claims members of the Bergen County Prosecutors Office came to his apartment with a search warrant on April 2, 2014 and seized $111,727 cash. The investigators said during the raid that they were assisting the district attorneys office in Rockland County, New York with an investigation, according to the complaint, filed recently in U.S. District Court of New Jersey. The money was later given to the Rockland County Regional Investigative Resource Centers Organized Crime Unit, the lawsuit says. From there, the cash was moved to a forfeiture fund and paid to various police agencies. To date, the plaintiff was not charged with any offenses related to the property seized, the lawsuit states. In 2018, Sebso filed a lawsuit in Superior Court of New Jersey to get his money back. But the suit was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, meaning the state court did not have the power to rule on the matter. In the federal complaint, Sebso alleges prosecutors in both states violated laws requiring them to charge him with a crime or return the money and for allegedly conspiring to violate his civil rights. We dont have any comment on this, a spokeswoman for the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said Friday. A spokesman for the Rockland County District Attorneys Office did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday. Neither Sebso nor his attorney have returned messages seeking comment. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Police forces launched several rounds of tear gas to clear the crowd gathering outside the Brooklyn Center police department on Sunday night. Tensions rise following police-involved shooting in Brooklyn Following tensions after a shooting involving law enforcement, the Brooklyn Center city has imposed a curfew that will last until 6 AM Monday. As the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated the deadly shooting during a traffic arrest, a large crowd gathered near the scene. Daunte Wright, 20, has been named by family members as the victim. People assembled outside the Brooklyn Center Police Headquarters after police left the shooting scene Sunday evening, and the situation turned violent, as per KARE11. According to crews on the scene, multiple rounds of tear gas were launched by law enforcement in an attempt to clear the crowd. Early Monday morning, Operation Safety Net, a group formed to help with any possible unrest during the Derek Chauvin trial, held a press conference. Commissioner John Harrington of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety discussed the social disturbance that resulted from the shooting at Brooklyn Center during the briefing. South Carolina Shooting: Police Puzzle Why Ex-NFL Pro Philip Adams Killed Dr. Robert Lesslie and Family Hundreds gathered outside the Brooklyn Center Police Headquarters, and several police agencies were dispatched to assist, Harrington said. "Within hours of that, we heard, a secondary party was at the Shingle Creek Mall, and we have evidence of around 20 businesses being broken into during that time," Harrington said. "The crowd at the Brooklyn Center Police Department has largely dispersed at this moment." Colonel Matt Langer of the Minnesota State Patrol said Monday; there would be more law enforcement in the area, including the National Guard, to help with any civil strife. Officials say the unrest spread to Brooklyn Center, where a shot was fired at the Brooklyn Center police department's front door, said the police. While no one was harmed, the glass was broken. According to a press release from Brooklyn Center police, there have already been accounts of "numerous businesses being robbed." 1 Dead, 5 Others Shot In Texas Cabinet Plant Shooting; Suspect In Custody Minnesota National Guard deployed after crowds protest After people protested a man's death in an officer-involved shooting and car crash on Sunday, the Minnesota National Guard was dispatched to Brooklyn Center, CNN via MSN reported. According to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, hundreds of residents marched to the town's police station Sunday night after a man named Daunte Wright was killed in a traffic accident and ensuing car accident. During a traffic stop, police discovered a man had outstanding warrants and attempted to take him into custody, the police explained. He returned to his car and was shot by an officer. Then, he drove several blocks before colliding with another vehicle. In a tweet, Walz said, "Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wright's family as our state mourns another Black man taken by law enforcement." Katie Wright, Wright's mother, told CNN affiliate WCCO that her 20-year-old son called her while being pulled over. Aerial video from CNN affiliate KARE on Sunday shows several police vehicles surrounded by crowds around the Brooklyn Center crash site after the accident. People were seen trying to destroy police cars in the affiliate footage. According to an emergency declaration, a curfew was imposed after Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott declared a city emergency due to "growing civil unrest," according to an emergency declaration. The deadly shooting occurs when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's conviction for George Floyd's death begins its third week in a courtroom about 10 miles away. Floyd was killed in Minneapolis less than 11 months ago after Chauvin kneeled on his neck. Protests spread throughout the United States after footage of his death went viral last May. In a statement posted on the school's website, Superintendent Dr. Carly Baker stated that schools would be closed Monday and that distance learning will be used out of an abundance of caution after the officer-involved shooting. Three Individuals Related to 2-Year-Old Boy Arrested Following Toddler's Death Due to Drug Overdose @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. By Adrian Justins Spending so much time at home over the past year has thrown into sharp focus the need for ample storage, with office and school supplies requiring tidying away as well as all our usual possessions. Technology can help: smart solutions not only provide a neat home for items but can also take the stress out of daily chores such as shopping, dry cleaning and deliveries. This C$3m ($2.38m) three-bedroom Vancouver townhouse has automated heating, cooling, lighting and security systems. Existing storage includes customised kitchen units with LED lighting, but the home lends itself to embracing even more high-tech solutions. Here are five products the new owners might want to consider. PantryChic automated food storage, from $349.95 Keep your kitchen cupboards well stocked with the help of a digital pantry. The PantryChic store and dispense system keeps tabs on levels of dry foods and sends alerts to an app, which can automatically reorder items from online suppliers such as Amazon Fresh and, in the US, Walmart. The other main feature of the system is automated dispensing of ingredients for recipes. The starter pack includes three SmartCanisters and a dispenser unit. Information about the type and quantity of food in the jars is accessed by the Chefling cooking app, which can then recommend recipes using those ingredients. After placing each jar on the dispenser unit, the app will electronically add the precise amount of each ingredient by weight or volume into a mixing bowl. Samsung smart wardrobe, 1,599 The AirDresser cleans, refreshes and removes wrinkles or odours from clothes using steam jets. Its rail can accommodate three garments such as shirts, jackets or jumpers, and three pairs of trousers on specially designed hangers, plus there is an accessories rack for scarves and ties. Designed to slot into a built-in wardrobe, or used as a standalone device, it uses mains power but does not require plumbing as it has a water tank that needs to be filled manually. There are 22 cycles for all manner of fabric including wool, fur, leather and silk. The cycles can be selected and controlled using an app, which also displays a reminder when the wardrobe itself needs cleaning. Haier connected wine cooler, 849 Oenophiles can keep 77 bottles in this Haier wine cooler, which has two zones for storing the alcohol at temperatures between 5C and 20C. The temperature can be monitored and controlled using an app, which also allows wine lovers to identify and catalogue their collection once they have scanned the label of each bottle using their smartphone camera. The app has filters for sorting wines by date, region and grape type, and can also suggest the type of food with which to pair each bottle. Available online from AO, the cooler has tinted glass, touchscreen controls and an anti-vibration compressor to keep its contents in optimum condition. iParcelbox smart delivery box, 219.99 The iParcelbox is designed to remove concerns about missing a delivery. If nobody is home, the courier can use the box, which should be positioned within view of the front door. The courier presses the button on the box, if it is empty, the lid opens and, when closed, a notification is sent to the owners smartphone app. Any subsequent attempts at delivering the same day will trigger further alerts, allowing the owner to unlock the box remotely from the app. Couriers can scan the barcode inside the lid as proof of delivery. Made from weatherproof powder-coated steel, the 60cm x 40cm box requires mains power. Yale home safe, 229 Made from anti-drill, anti-saw, 2.5mm-thick steel with a 6mm-thick door, this motorised safe for valuables is opened using a key code or biometric fingerprint activation; it will recognise up to 100 fingers. The lock is powered by AA batteries and will shut down if three attempts are made to open it using incorrect codes. An external 9V battery can be used to re-power the lock, or it can be opened using an emergency key. Property photography: Christie's International Real Estate Starting today Georgian citizens can apply for legal employment in Israel for a one-year term as part of an agreement signed between Israel and Georgia on April 9, the Georgian Ministry of Health said. The registration is available on https://workabroad.moh.gov.ge/ and will continue throughout the year. It is planned for about 1,000 Georgian citizens to find temporary legal employment in Israel as homecare specialists this year. "The candidate must understand and agree that he/she must leave Israel after the expiration of his work visa (one year). Also they must understand that he/she will not be able to work in Israel in the future," Agenda.ge cited the statement published by the Health Ministry as saying. Georgian citizens will receive at least $1,610 a month in wages if they work 42 hours a week, while if they work 58 hours a week the monthly salary will be about $2,440, says the ministry. Whilst these results are confirmatory of the cuttings data and were expected, it is reassuring to see," said Dave Wall. (LON:88E, ) reported further evidence of oil in the Merlin-1 well, in Alaska. Samples taken from sidewall cores showed fluorescence and cut which are both indicators of oil. They were present in samples taken from several horizons. The samples have now been sent for further analysis. "The sidewall core photos provide further evidence of the presence of oil over multiple horizons in the Merlin-1 well, said Dave Wall, managing director. Whilst these results are confirmatory of the cuttings data and were expected, it is reassuring to see." The company told investors that a schedule of expected results will be released in the coming days. Last week, 88 Energy provided encouraging results from the Merlin well, but equipment failure prevented hydrocarbon samples from being taken. Multiple prospective zones were identified as part of the first run of the wireline programme. The findings are consistent with the shows and logs obtained while drilling. Further work is required to re-map the volumetric potential of these zones. A power outage due to equipment failure meant the company had to pull out of the hole for repairs before obtaining samples, it added. After repairs were completed, the run back in hole encountered several sticky sections, but the sampling tool did not re-establish good communication. A decision was made to move to the next shallowest prospective zone, which had exhibited good oil shows and petrophysical characteristics, but wellbore condition issues prevented a test as the tool became stuck. The tool was freed but the risk of returning to that zone was deemed too high. Not being able to sample these two most prospective zones does not preclude a discovery, 88 Energy noted, but analysis of sidewall cores and potentially further drilling may be required for confirmation. The San Antonio-based organization Bridging the Gap visited Laredo on Tuesday holding the first of what it hopes are many donation events to help the most vulnerable around the community. The organization provided approximately 900 families with a large box of food including meat, yogurt, other dairy products, fruits, vegetables, bread, sweets and potato chips thanks to a program known as Farmers to Families that the Bridging the Gap organization has been working on for the past few months. Bridging the Gap also used the opportunity to network with other organizations, businesses and city officials. The event today was a success, event organizer Lupita Gutierrez said. We were able to bless by providing these food items to about 900 families from all around Laredo. Its the first time that we come to Laredo, and we are planning to come back if things work out. Gutierrezs sister Rosalinda Gutierrez, who lives in Laredo and assisted at the event, was encouraged by the results. I am really surprised at how well and good the event went, she said. Im very glad that my sister and other people understand that there is still much need in Laredo even though the pandemic situation is right now under control. Local leaders were also involved in the event. According to the office of Webb County Commissioner Precinct 1 Jesse Gonzalez, they helped with the distribution of 700 boxes, and more than 200 were provided at Bethany House of Laredo. Over 700 boxes of protein, produce, bread and dairy products were distributed this afternoon at McKendrick Ochoa Library, a release from the office said. Webb County residents were blessed with groceries from a San Antonio Church led by Pastor Jimmy Robles. Commissioner Jesse Gonzalez partnered with the Bridging the Gap organization, Miguel Mike Villarreal, Judge Roberto Bobby Quintana, and Councilman Vidal Rodriguez to bring these necessities to our local community. They all understand that even though we are getting closer to reopening at 100%, COVID-19 is still impacting families in our area and the needs are still there. According to Lupita Gutierrez, their organization is all about living up to its name and bridging the gap. Whether a community is suffering from lack of food or has medical needs, they step in to gather and distribute donations. They regularly host events in San Antonio, and they hope to begin hosting more in Laredo. According to Lupita Gutierrez, the need they saw at the local Bethany House is what inspired them to come. We came to Laredo, because there is an organization here in Laredo known as Bethany House, and I know that they help with food items for the elderly population of the city and those people who are mostly home bound because they cannot move as much, she said. And since we know that such program is suffering right now from a lack of donations and items that they need, we decided to help. Gutierrez said they operate by working with local organizations, churches and ministries, political leaders and businesses to gather what they need. Tuesdays event was organized in the span of just a few days, but Gutierrez said they gathered a significant amount of help for the cause as 15 different organizations and community leaders united. Commissioner Gonzalez literally jumped in the fire as he quickly asked us about what we needed in the span of just a few days, and he wasnt even going to be in town, so he went on a trip and came back to help with this event, Gutierrez said. His team was amazing as they got the location, manpower and transportation, and we did not have to worry about anything. Gonzalez said even though everything was organized in about a day from his end, the collaboration helped in benefiting many people around the community with immense need. This event was organized in less than 24 hours due to the teamwork and dedication of everyone involved, Gonzalez said. It is through networking with organizations such as Bridging the Gap that we are able to continue bringing distributions to benefit our community. Rosalinda Gutierrez said one of the things she enjoyed the most was the reactions from people receiving their boxes. She said children were thrilled about receiving their snacks such as Takis. Everybody was very appreciative of the efforts, and the children were the ones mostly at awe that we also provided them with several sweets and snacks that they could enjoy as well as they too have been struggling, she said. For families that were not able to participate this time around, Lupita Gutierrez said they plan to return. Before Tuesday event, they conducted a meeting at Bethany House and discussed holding similar events at least once a month. Gutierrez said they all agreed that even if the pandemic ends soon that these events will not end. I just hope that everybody continues to check on their elderly loved ones and see if they have anything that they need or food items that they need to cook something, Gutierrez said. I know that we live a fast-paced life, but let us not forget those most unfortunate. Just call them and see how they are doing from time to time. jorge.vela@lmtonline.com NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, and Trilantic North America, a leading, growth-focused middle market private equity firm, today announced that they have agreed to acquire RoadSafe Traffic Systems ("RoadSafe") from ORIX Capital Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, RoadSafe is the nation's largest provider of traffic control and pavement marking services to roadway construction, state transportation, railroad and utility customers in the U.S. RoadSafe also distributes high quality, innovative and durable traffic safety products and personal protective equipment for traffic work zones. The company operates from more than 50 locations with over 1,600 employees, enabling it to service all 48 continental states. RoadSafe is led by CEO Dave Meirick, an industry veteran of over 34 years, who will continue to lead the firm following the transaction. The company has become a market leader and delivered consistent growth by providing exceptional services that solve mission-critical challenges, like maintaining worker safety while upgrading the nation's critical infrastructure and facilitating pavement marking for the next generation of vehicles. Investcorp and Trilantic North America's partnership with RoadSafe will focus on continuing the firm's organic growth through expanding geographically across the U.S. and seeking to complete strategic, value-creating add-on acquisitions. "RoadSafe represents a highly attractive growth opportunity, driven by several macroeconomic tailwinds, including the critical need to upgrade the country's aging infrastructure, the wide-scale rollout of 5G systems and the re-marking of roads to support future new technologies," said Amit Gaind, Managing Director and Head of Industrial Services, Private Equity at Investcorp. "In addition to RoadSafe's exceptional customer service levels, its deep commitment to its employees and safety-first culture set the firm apart in a highly fragmented market. We look forward to leveraging our expertise and resources, alongside our partners at Trilantic North America, to support RoadSafe as it seeks to continue to enhance its competitive position." "Dave and the RoadSafe team have done a tremendous job growing the company into the leading national player in this essential and underinvested segment of the infrastructure market," said Charles Fleischmann, Partner at Trilantic North America. "Private capital will play a crucial role in rebuilding and modernizing U.S. infrastructure and we are thrilled to partner with the RoadSafe and Investcorp teams to strengthen this entrepreneurial business' leadership position in a highly fragmented industry." Dave Meirick, CEO of RoadSafe stated, "We are excited to embark on this next chapter of our business with the support of Investcorp and Trilantic North America. Their resources, expertise and track-record will enable us to continue executing on our growth strategy and better serve our clients. We look forward to the long-term benefits this partnership will unlock for our team, clients and communities." Investcorp has a long history of investing across Industrial Services sectors with notable past investments including American Tire Distributors, Berlin Packaging, FleetPride and Wrench Group. Trilantic North America has spent considerable time investing in distributed, branch-based Industrial Services businesses, most recently investing in Sunbelt-Solomon Solutions, a leading provider of full lifecycle electrical power services, and USI, a top provider of insulation installation, distribution and other services to the residential and commercial construction markets. About Investcorp Investcorp is a global investment manager, specializing in alternative investments across private equity, real estate, credit, absolute return strategies, GP stakes and infrastructure. Since our inception in 1982, we have focused on generating attractive returns for our clients while creating long-term value in our investee companies and for our shareholders as a prudent and responsible investor. We invest a meaningful portion of our own capital in products we offer to our clients, ensuring that our interests are aligned with our stakeholders, including the communities that we operate within, towards driving sustainable value creation. We take pride in partnering with our clients to deliver tailored solutions for their needs, utilizing a disciplined investment process, employing world-class talent and combining the resources of a global institution with an innovative, entrepreneurial approach. Investcorp today has a presence in 12 countries across the US, Europe, GCC and Asia, including India, China and Singapore. As of December 31, 2020, Investcorp Group had US $35 billion in total AUM, including assets managed by third party managers, and employed approximately 430 people from 43 nationalities globally across its offices. For further information, visit www.investcorp.com and follow us @Investcorp on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. About Trilantic North America Trilantic Capital Management L.P. ("Trilantic North America") is a private equity firm focused on control and significant minority investments in North America. Trilantic North America's primary investment focus is in the business services, consumer and energy sectors. Trilantic North America has managed six private equity fund families with aggregate capital commitments of $9.7 billion. Trilantic North America has been recognized by Inc. Magazine's 2019 list of Top 50 Founder-Friendly Private Equity Firms. For more information, visit www.trilanticnorthamerica.com. About RoadSafe Traffic Systems, Inc. RoadSafe Traffic Systems, Inc. is the nation's largest provider of traffic safety and pavement marking services, and innovative safety products to heavy highway, building and specialty contractors, state transportation departments, local governments, special events organizations, U.S. railroads and utility companies. Media Contacts for Investcorp Investcorp Firas El-Amine +973 (17) 515404 [email protected] Prosek Partners Erica Warfield 1 516-993-5943 [email protected] Media Contacts for Trilantic North America: Prosek Partners Mariel Seidman-Gati 646-818-9013 [email protected] SOURCE Investcorp WASHINGTON (AP) Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Brussels for talks with European and NATO allies about Afghanistan, Ukraine and other matters. The State Department says Blinken will have meetings in the Belgian capital on Tuesday and be met there by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for additional consultations on Wednesday. Spokesman Ned Price said Monday that Blinken would use the visit to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the Transatlantic alliance as a critical partnership for achieving our mutual goals. The trip comes ahead of a May 1 deadline set by the Trump administration for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition troops from Afghanistan. That deadline is not expected to be met, according to President Joe Biden and other officials as peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban remain inconclusive. The meetings are also taking place amid a buildup of Russian troops along the Russia-Ukraine border that has concerned Western officials as tensions between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia separatists rise in eastern Ukraine. The Safe2Say Something app was designed to prevent youth violence and keep schools safe by requesting anonymous tips to let authorities know ahead of time about dangerous activities or threats. But so far this year in Bucks County, two people have been charged with using it to cause police to respond to false threats, the county district attorneys office reports. On Friday, a 14-year-old, who used the app to say other people were going to harm themselves or others, was charged with five counts each of terroristic threats, false reports to law enforcement, disorderly conduct and false reports to the program, the district attorneys office said. The teenager wasnt named in a news release, per department policy. The juvenile made several threats from January through March through the app, according to an investigation by the Quakertown Police Department, the news release said. The 14-year-old targeted three people in the false reports, the district attorneys office said. The teens threats of violence in March against Strayer Middle School and Quakertown High School forced the schools to close as police investigated, the district attorneys office said. Because the threats named explosives, police used an explosives detection dog to search the school, the news release said. On March 17, an 18-year-old used the app to warn that someone was going to bomb and shoot up Bucks County Technical School, the district attorneys office said. The school was shut for the probe and the woman was charged March 24, the district attorneys office said. If you are thinking of misusing or abusing the Safe2Say app, let these two arrests serve as your warning, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in the news release. If you abuse or misuse the Safe2Say app for improper reasons, law enforcement is committed to tracking you down and you will be held accountable for your criminal conduct. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro lauded the app while also calling out those who might abuse it. Safe2Say serves as an incredibly powerful tool in helping get students the assistance they need and report potential threats to themselves, their communities and their schools, Shapiro said in the news release. False tips, like those of (the 14-year-old), account for a small fraction of the tips we receive but ultimately make it harder for young people to get the help they need. There are serious consequences to fabricating reports, which pull law enforcement and school personnel to take action. Fake reporting put the entire system at risk. I call on all students to take this platform seriously and protect it so it can continue to save lives. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription. Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Kathmandu, April 12 The Nepal Army is launching a campaign to clean various mountains in the country with a target of collecting 35 tons of waste. Chief of Army Staff Purna Chandra Thapa will hand over a banner of the Clean Mountains campaign to the personnel to be involved in the drive today, officially launching the campaign. The campaign will include 43 climbers and guides. In partnership with various stakeholders, the national military organisation will bring back waste dumped by climbers and trekkers on Everest, Lhotse, Pumori, Ama Dablam, Makalu, and Dhawalagiri. The campaign will conclude on World Environment Day, June 5. The Ministry of Forests and Environment, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, the Nepal Tourism Board, concerned local governments, and some private agencies are also parts of the campaign. It is estimated that the campaign will cost Rs 125 million. The army had launched a similar campaign on Everest two years ago. I think there would be controversy if the schools try to tell kids to get the shot, I think it has to start from the parents it has to start from home with these vaccines, and the reason that Im saying that is because thats where it started when they were little, Dunham said. I think the parents are going to have to initiate it, and if they need some support from the schools, maybe they can reach out to the schools. Canberra, April 12 : Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Monday described News Corporation, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, as the most powerful political force in the country. Turnbull on Monday appeared before the Senate inquiry into media diversity in Australia during which he described the company as a "mafia gang" that uses its influence to pursue its own corporate interests with no accountability, reports Xinhua news agency. "News Corp now is like a political party, but with just one member, or one family of members and that is an absolute threat to our democracy," Turnbull said. "The most powerful political actor in Australia is not the Liberal Party, or the National Party or the Labor Party. It is News Corporation and it is utterly unaccountable. "It's controlled by an American family and their interests are no longer, if they ever were, coextensive with our own." Turnbull served as Prime Minister from 2015 to 2018 when he was deposed as the leader of the governing Liberal Party by its conservative wing. He said on Monday that News Corp was a key player in his removal, accusing the company of campaigning against his climate change policies. "This sounds completely unhinged and it may well be so but there is no doubt that was being undertaken and I had a direct conversation with Rupert about it," Turnbull said. News Corp owns many newspapers across Australia including publications in six capital cities, national broadsheet The Australian and 24-hour TV news channel Sky News Australia. According to an introduction on the website of News Corp Australia, each month, 16 million Australians choose to consume news and information across its products - more than any media group in the contry. Turnbull was the second former Prime Minister to appear before the inquiry after Kevin Rudd said before it on February that every politician in Australia was afraid of Murdoch's influence. "There's a culture of fear across the country," Rudd said. "The truth is as prime minister I was still fearful of the Murdoch media beast. When did I stop being fearful? Probably when I walked out of the building in 2013." LG has made a public pledge to reassure current and future customers on future OS updates following its announcement to withdraw from the mobile industry, for select 2019 and 2020 premium models. With OS updates on Android a known bug-bear for Android smartphone owners, save those of the Google Pixel range which get Google's own Android updates effectively immediately upon release, LG has made an announcement it should have made long before shutting down its mobile business. Naturally, because LG still has stock in stores that it would love to sell, and it still has customers who are using its smartphones, LG has acknowledged concerns around OS updates with its new announcement. After all, existing and future customers want assurance that it's safe to use LG phones, and that the phones will still get support. LG's announcement is that "all premium LG smartphones currently in use will receive up to three iterations of Android operating system updates from the year of purchase." What that actually means for specific models is "the three OS update applies to LG premium phones released in 2019 and later (G series, V series, VELVET2) while certain 2020 models such as LG Stylo and K series will receive two OS updates. LG says this promise "comes on the heels of the announcement last week that LG will be exiting the mobile business by the end of July." LG is also continuing to make smartphones, but not for much longer. The Korean electronics giant says it will "continue to manufacture phones through the second quarter to meet contractual obligations to carriers and partners. "This means customers can still purchase LG mobile phones currently in inventory and service support and security software updates will continue to be provided in accordance with LGs contractual obligations, Manufacturers warranty and the Australian Consumer law." LG also notes that "future updates will depend on Googles distribution schedule as well as other factors such as device performance and compatibility", with the added notes that the "G series and V series will be updated to Android 12", while "Velvet will be updated to Android 13." Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, left, holds talks with Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri in Tehran, Sunday (local time). Courtesy of Prime Minister's Secretariat Korean PM vows cooperation with related nations to resolve issue By Kang Seung-woo Iran has amped up its pressure on Korea to release its money frozen by two Korean banks, with its vice president slamming Seoul in public, Sunday. Diplomatic observers say such acts from Tehran are likely to continue before it renegotiates a nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with the United States which is the root cause for the frozen funds from oil and gas sales. The funds held in the banks have been a hot-button issue between the two countries with Iran lambasting the government here for its years-long failure to release the $7 billion. The Korean administration counter-argues that it cannot accept Iranian demands due to U.S. sanctions re-imposed in 2018. Last July, the Iranian foreign ministry threatened Korea with legal action at the International Court of Justice The open criticism occurred during a press conference between Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri after their talks in the Iranian capital. Chung has been on a three-day trip to the country to discuss ways to settle the issue and other pending bilateral matters. "We call on the Korean government to release Iran's financial resources as soon as possible and to solve the problems of recent years through practical compensatory measures," Jahangiri said. "Unfortunately, in the last three years, due to Korea's compliance with illegal sanctions against the Iranian people, which lack international legitimacy, relations between the two countries have stagnated. The relations between Iran and Korea have decreased while there have been no international sanctions, including the United Nations, against the Iranian nation." The Iranian vice president also said the action of the Korean banks in refusing to transfer the money has seriously damaged bilateral relations and prevented the country from buying drugs and medical equipment amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "This move by the Koreans has deprived the Iranian government of its major foreign exchange resources for the purchase of drugs, medical equipment and other basic needs of the country, and even Korean companies from selling drugs and medical equipment to Iran," Jahangiri said. He added that Korea's freezing of the money has undermined the status of Korea in the eyes of the Iranian people. "As a result of these actions of Korea, the image and position of this country, which has always been positive and friendly to the Iranian people, was severely damaged. Of course, I hope that the Korean prime minister's visit to Iran would improve Korea's image among Iranian people," Jahangiri said. In response, the government says it was in negotiations with the U.S. about the frozen funds, although nothing has happened so far. "Korea will step up cooperation with related nations including Iran (to settle the issue)," Chung said during the meeting. "Today's visit shows Seoul's serious determination to develop bilateral relations," he said. It remains to be seen if Iran's pressure on Korea will pay dividends as the issue fully depends on the U.S. government's stance on the sanctions. Iran seized a Korean oil tanker and its crew members in early January, and it is believed the country did so due to the frozen funds issue although its government said the seizure had nothing to do with this. Last week, Iran released the vessel and remaining crew. Shin Beom-chul, director of the Center for Diplomacy and Security at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said the Iranian government could increase pressure on Korea regarding the issue given that the country is scheduled to hold a presidential election in June, in a move to appeal to local voters. "The Iranian government seems to be angered by Korea's breach of promise to transfer $1 billion from the Iranian funds to Swiss banks," Shin said. The two countries have been consulting over how to release part of the funds through a Swiss humanitarian trade arrangement designed to facilitate the flow of humanitarian goods to Iran. The vice president expressed regret that the transfer of $1 billion to the Swiss banks for the purchase of coronavirus vaccine has not materialized, despite Korean officials' promises, according to the Iranian government website. Reality, that most important concept about everything that exists, has gotten out of kilter, and yet very few people have noticed or are paying attention. The problem goes deep into the heart of things, however, so deep that future generations may look back and wonder why this generation didn't wake up. The reason isn't mysterious, actually. Modern secular society is based on materialism. Materialism is a worldview based on physical objects as the stuff of creation. Worldview is a big concept that most people dont bother to think about. As long as technology keeps progressing on all fronts, materialism seems workable. The only problem is that reality cant be squeezed into a materialist framework. Materialism, it turns out, is just a plausible story, not a viable way to explain the world around us and certainly not the world in here where the mind operates. Just last week physicists at Fermilab in Illinois announced that an obscure elementary particle, the muon, doesnt behave the way it was supposed to. As a result, the standard model by which the universe is explained may totter. How can something infinitesimally tiny rock the cosmos? It didnt. The muon rocked the story about reality weve been telling ourselves. Yet for at least forty years the story has been very shaky despite the public success of modern science. Its fine to celebrate the successes, but reality meanwhile remains inexplicable. Consider the following difficulties the materialist or physicalist worldview faces. First come the difficulties over explaining the physical world out there: No one knows where the Big Bang came from. No one knows how life began. The origin of time, space, matter, and energy remain totally hidden. The two leading theories in physics, General Relativity (which explains how large objects work) and quantum mechanics (which explains how tiny things work) turn out to be seemingly incompatible. Then there are the difficulties over explaining our subjective world in here: The relation of mind and brain is as up in the air as it was at the time of Plato and Aristotle. The nature of consciousness and how it evolved--if it evolved--cannot be agreed upon. The process by which the brain creates a three-dimensional world of sight and sound using only chemical and electrical signals is totally mysterious. To boil things down to their most basic, if you dont know where the universe came from and are equally baffled by where thoughts come from, how reliable is your explanation of reality? Intellectual honesty forces an answer: Not reliable at all. Persuasive stories and unexamined assumptions riddle our current worldview. We pride ourselves on advancing beyond myth and superstition, but we are deeply immersed in the myth of materialism. As much as mainstream science resists any crack in its armor, a host of leading thinkers acknowledges exactly what these problems are. So why doesn't science self-correct and change course? We dont need to point fingers. Science is a massive worldwide enterprise that has created, and keeps creating, the modern world. We owe many good things to it while being haunted by some very bad things, like nuclear weapons and excessive greenhouse gas emissions. Standing back, everyone will concede that ideas drive progress, and ideas spring from a worldview. We owe Chartres Cathedral to the medieval worldview based on faith in God. The worldview was invisible, but we have the physical product to gaze at. The same is true for our story about reality. It is invisible, but its physical products surround us everywhere. The problem is that a worldview cannot create ideas outside its assumptions. The medieval worldview couldnt deal with the Black Death, because it had no conception of bacteria as the cause of bubonic plague. No worldview explains everything, so human prioritize the things that need explaining most urgently. God was the most urgent issue in an age of faith. Science and technology are the most urgent things in an age of materialism. When something new becomes more urgent, worldviews change. Thats where we are now. The four most urgent problems on humanitys plate are overpopulation, pandemic disease, refugeeism, and climate change. You may hope and pray that science and technology will come to the rescue with climate change and pandemics, but the chances are tenuous without a huge change in how we think. That change, which is also necessary to solve refugeeism and overpopulation, must occur where materialism is helpless, a change in self-awareness. We have had the luxury of ignoring self-awareness for a long time, and it has given us a chance to deny responsibility for the problems that no self-aware person would tolerate. A self-aware person wouldnt go to war, stockpile nuclear weapons, harbor racial prejudice, mistreat and abuse women, and foul the environment. The four problems that seem the most urgent, as Ive just mentioned, are further evidence of ignoring self-awareness. Yet ironically, every single person possesses self-awareness. The hitch is our willful ability to set it aside in favor of this ongoing story in which life seems okay as long as we get by with food, water, shelter, work, money, and lots of distractions. Meanwhile, reality doesnt care about our story. Nature is never wrong. It created us and the universe we inhabit. Mysterious as Nature is, something deep in the heart of Nature sustains the human body, for example, in ways that a materialist worldview can never explain. All the accumulated medical knowledge in the world cannot build a functional cell. Yet if a government agency set out to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to create a functional cell, it would mean nothing in the face of our root problem, the lack of self-awareness that refuses to take responsibility for the human condition. I am not spreading gloom. If we save ourselves, self-awareness will deserve the credit, even though the news stories will focus on science. We already possess the solution to every self-created problem, simply by referring to our own consciousness. I can see no other way forward. DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a whole health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 90 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His 90th book and national bestseller, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential (Harmony Books), unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities. For the last thirty years, Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution and his latest book, Total Meditation (Harmony Books) will help to achieve new dimensions of stress-free living and joyful living. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century. www.deepakchopra.com By Deepak ChopraMD One of Britain's leading imams says he believes the 'the tide has turned' on Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in black and Asian communities as he advised the jab does not break the Ramadan fast for Muslims. Qari Asim, senior imam of the Makkah Masjid, in Leeds, and chairman of Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board (Minab), was speaking as he urged households to resist the urge to mix as the month of Ramadan begins. Imam Asim said: 'The vast majority of scholars believe that taking the vaccine in the month of Ramadan will not break the fast.' Qari Asim says he believes the 'the tide has turned' on Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in black and Asian communities He said: 'The message from Muslim religious leadership is that one should not miss the opportunity to take the vaccine when they are invited to do so.' Imam Asim told the PA news agency: 'I firmly believe the vaccine hesitancy has been reduced tremendously. 'The credit goes to the community champions, religious leadership, and NHS workers.' He said: 'I think the tide has turned. More and more people from black and Asian ethnic minorities, including Muslims, are now taking up the vaccine'. The senior imam said there are communications ongoing with the NHS in different parts of the UK to see if there is an opportunity to have vaccination centres in or around mosques open after sunset, so that people can have the the vaccine after breaking the fast. Pharmacist Davinder Manku has her Covid vaccine administered by Syed Anas Gilani at the Black Country Living Museum Imam Asim stressed that despite 'seeing the light at the end of the tunnel', people must wait until restrictions are lifted to come together. He said: 'My advice as chair of Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board is to please continue to follow the government restrictions. 'As the restrictions are being eased, there is obviously a temptation to come together to break the fast because it's a time of rejoice and connecting with our family and friends. 'But my advice to the Muslim community is that we should remember the incredible sacrifices that we've made in the last 12 months and also the lives that have been lost and the lives that have been changed during the pandemic. 'Reflecting on that, we should continue to follow the government guidelines and break the fast with outside households only virtually.' Imam Asim is the senior imam of the Makkah Masjid, in Leeds (pictured) and chairman of Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board The imam outlined how Muslims are now able to attend mosques and said measures are in place to minimise the risk of transmitting Covid-19. Tarawih prayer is usually one of the main features of Ramadan, where hundreds of people go to mosque to pray together at night. The whole of the Koran is usually recited at a mosque by the end of the month. This year, Koran readings will be shortened and social distancing and safety measures will be in place to reduce risk as much as possible, Iman Asim said. Imam Asim said: 'It's a very painful step and an emotionally challenging step to take. 'But protection of life is of the upmost importance and therefore Minab's advice to mosques has been to celebrate Ramadan safely but meaningfully.' Susanna Reid admits the late Prince Philip once scoffed at her because she didn't complete her Duke Of Edinburgh Award. The Duke passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle on Friday aged 99, and Susanna admitted she was struck by his notoriously forthright approach during their one and only meeting. Recalling the incident on Monday's edition of Good Morning Britain, the presenter, 50, revealed they met after she attended an event on behalf of the Duke Of Edinburgh awards, of which Prince Philip was patron. Awkward: Susanna Reid has admits the late Prince Philip once scoffed at her because she didn't complete her Duke Of Edinburgh Award She said: 'I met him once, and he was just incredibly direct. That was the thing. He notoriously did not like small talk and yet to do how many solo engagements? 22,000, 5,000 speeches. He was involved with 800 charities. 'He just did so much, and so obviously he had to small talk with millions of people. It was at a Duke of Edinburgh gold award ceremony, and he said to me in the line-up, "Well, did you do one of these?" 'And I said, "I did, but I failed to finish." And he said, "Ugh, what on earth was wrong with you?" And then moved on to the next person. Farewell: The Duke of Edinburgh passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle on Friday aged 99 'The whole point of the Duke of Edinburgh is that you really try and you put everything into it. What on earth was wrong with me that I couldn't finish!' She added: The thing is, though, he said it in that sort of withering way, but at the same time, you knew it was made with a mischievous glint in his eye. It made you question your whole life! Prince Philip founded the youth oriented awards scheme in 1956, with participants rewarded for completing a series of challenges and self-improvement exercises modeled on German educator Kurt Hahn's Six Declines of Modern Youth. Looking back: Recalling the incident on Good Morning Britain, the presenter revealed they met after she attended an event on behalf of the Duke Of Edinburgh awards Susanna cut short her Good Morning Britain holiday to return to the studio as the show paid tribute to Prince Philip. The presenter was back on the programme presenting alongside Kate Garraway, and she admitted it was an "honour" to be able to celebrate the life of the Duke of Edinburgh. She said: 'Today of course, remembering, honouring and celebrating the life of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. And it's an honour to be here early this morning to be able to do that beside you Kate.' Last month, it was reported Susanna would have "more editorial say" on 'Good Morning Britain' as bosses look to build the show around her following Piers Morgan's exit. A source said: 'Piers sudden departure has, of course, put a rocket up everyone. But what ITV needs now, more than ever, are calm heads and someone to steady the ship. 'Susanna has proven herself a consummate broadcaster for the past ten years - and clearly has the star factor. 'She is smart, feisty and opinionated. She may have been Piers foil for the past five years, but shes so much more than this - and now its very much a case of The Susanna Show. 'ITV have offered her their full backing, and she will have even more editorial say going forwards.' Beloved: Her Majesty announced her husband's death at midday on Friday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace and on public buildings across the UK and Commonwealth The Duke of Edinburgh spent his final days at Windsor Castle with 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 on Friday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace and on public buildings across the UK and Commonwealth, while members of the public hugged and wiped away tears as they laid flowers in his memory - and messages of love and support for the Queen and her family. 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. Prince Philip's funeral will take place on April 17th at St. George's Chapel in Windsor. A Vietnam Airlines aircraft is seen at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi City. The Hochiminh Stock Exchange has put the stock of Vietnam Airlines on the warning list from April 15 PHOTO: LE ANH On the stock exchange, HVN stood at VND33,150 per share at the final session last week, with a matching volume of 710,000 shares. The price remained almost unchanged compared with that before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, the national flag carrier reported revenue of VND40.6 trillion, plunging by 69% year-on-year, due to the impact of the health crisis. The airline incurred a loss of over VND11 trillion. Last year, the total assets of Vietnam Airlines dipped from VND76.5 trillion to VND63 trillion, while its capital dropped at VND6.1 trillion due to the coronavirus pandemic. As for its business operations in 2020, Vietnam Airlines was allocated VND4 trillion at no interest for three years through credit institutions in line with the Governments Resolution 194 on supporting Vietnam Airlines to ride out the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides, the national flag carrier will have to issue shares worth VND8 trillion to its existing stakeholders to raise its charter capital and recover growth. A representative of Vietnam Airlines said that the airline would restart earning profits from 2023 and would not incur losses in 2025 if the virus was brought under control and local and international tourism segments recover. Counterfeit Bill Leads to Arrest of Mayfield Woman By West Kentucky Star Staff MAYFIELD - A Mayfield woman was arrested Friday after attempting to pass counterfeit money.According to Mayfield Police, officers were called to Pocket's on Paris Road to a report of a woman tying to use counterfeit money.Officers made contact with 44-year-old Beverly Kaler and she admitted that she had attempted to use the counterfeit bill.Kaler was arrested and taken to the Graves County Jail, charged with first degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. People receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a FEMA vaccination center at Miami Dade College in Miami on April 5, 2021. (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo) 3 COVID-19 Deaths Reported Among Those Vaccinated in Oregon: Officials Three people have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, after being vaccinated, said Oregon health officials in a statement. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) said that 168 vaccinated individuals in about two dozen Oregon counties received a positive test for the virus at least 14 days after receiving their final dose of the vaccine. Its a reminder that while the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines are all highly effective at preventing severe COVID-19 illness and death, no vaccine is 100 percent effective, and vaccine breakthrough cases will occur, the OHA stated on April 9. A so-called vaccine breakthrough is a case in which an individual receives a positive CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus test result at least two weeks after receiving the vaccine. Oregon health officials said that such cases remain uncommon. The number of vaccine breakthrough cases identified in Oregon (168) represents a very small proportion of the more than 700,000 people in Oregon who have now been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the agency stated. OHA also noted that vaccine breakthrough cases can be prevented through our trusted safety measures, such as masking, physical distancing and avoiding social gatherings. The agency didnt disclose the specific number of vaccine breakthrough instances among people who received the respective Moderna, Pfizer, or J&J shots. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots, while the J&J vaccine requires just one. State and local epidemiologists are continuing to track and investigate vaccine breakthrough cases and are working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to collect information that may provide insight into characteristics associated with vaccine breakthrough, the health authority said in its statement. None of the cases were associated with a COVID-19 variant such as the UK or South African variants, officials said. A study from Tel Aviv University found that a South African variant of the CCP virus affects people vaccinated with the Pfizer shot more than unvaccinated people. The study found that the variant is eight times more prevalent in individuals who were vaccinatedor 5.4 percent against 0.7 percentthan those who werent vaccinated. Clalit Health Services, a top Israeli health care provider, also helped in the study. We found a disproportionately higher rate of the South African variant among people vaccinated with a second dose, compared to the unvaccinated group, said Adi Stern of Tel Aviv University, according to reports. This means that the South African variant is able, to some extent, to break through the vaccines protection. The study looked at 400 people who had received at least one shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and had contracted the COVID-19 variant, and compared them to the same number of people who were infected and unvaccinated. Modernas vaccine is also used in Israel, but it wasnt included in the study. The bravery of a Kilkenny youngster has inspired three local men to transform into superheroes and complete a gruelling physical challenge in her honour. The campaign has been set up by Kilkenny native Mark Duffy in order to raise money for the family of nine- year-old Emily Gerlach Nascimento. Emily is currently in the early stages of an intense two-year treatment plan for childhood cancer at Our Ladys Hospital in Crumlin and is travelling to Dublin up to three times weekly to receive treatment. This Friday (April, starting at 5am, Mark and his friends Jessie and Trevor will run five kilometres every five hours for a total of 55 hours to raise as much funds for the Gerlach Nascimento family. Not only will they be running to raise as much funds as possible for the family but will be doing so in superhero fancy dress to honour Emilys heroic journey. The trio are hoping that others will join them virtually and support the campaign for such an important cause. Trevor Coady, aka Spiderman explained how the idea came about. Emilys Dad Marcos is the caretaker in my kids school at the Kilkenny School Project and when we heard that his little girl was sick we decided to do something and to organise a fundraiser. The three of us all know each other through running so we came up with the idea of running five kilometres every five hours for 55 hours. It will be a novelty event with several well known superheroes making a guest appearance, said Trevor. The superheroes will run a loop starting out in Loughboy and across the Ring Road returned on the Waterford Road in what promises to be an entertaining spectacle. Emily was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia last November. Emily remained in the intensive care unit for seven days during which she underwent several procedures under general anesthetic and had her first round of chemotherapy. Emily to go through weekly lumbar punctures, chemotherapy, and other treatments and any monies raised will go directly into the cost of her treatment and her family's maintenance during this period. When Emily's treatment is complete any surplus of funds will be paid forward to Ronald McDonald House at Crumlin Children's Hospital to help other families facing financial hardships. For more see www.gofundme.com /f/run-for-emily It was supposed to be a unifying weekend for a Republican Party at war with itself over former President Donald Trump's divisive leadership. But Trump himself shattered two days of relative peace in his closing remarks to the GOP's top donors when he insulted the party's Senate leader and his wife. Ahead of the invitation-only speech at Trump's new home inside his Mar-a-Lago resort, the former president's advisers said he would emphasise his commitment to his party and Republican unity. Trump veered sharply from prepared remarks Saturday night and instead slammed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as a stone-cold loser and mocked McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who was Trump's transportation secretary. Trump also said he was disappointed in his vice president, Mike Pence, and used a profanity in assessing McConnell, according to multiple people in attendance who were not authorized to publicly discuss what was said in a private session. He said McConnell had not thanked him properly for putting Chao, who was labor secretary under President George W. Bush, in his Cabinet. McConnell's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. Trump's words left some attendees feeling uncomfortable. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich did not defend Trump as he left Palm Beach on Sunday. We are much better off if we keep focusing on the Democrats. Period, Gingrich said. Saturday's speech was the final address of the Republican National Committee's weekend donor summit in Palm Beach. Most of the RNC's closed-door gathering was held at a luxury hotel a few miles away from Mar-a-Lago; attendees were bused to Trump's club for his remarks. While a significant faction of the Republican Party hopes to move past Trump's divisive leadership, the location of the event and the former president's prominent speaking slot suggests that the GOP, at least for now, is not ready to replace Trump as its undisputed leader and chief fundraiser. Ahead of his latest attack on fellow Republicans, Trump's team reported that his remarks were intended to reinforce his continued leadership role in Republican affairs, a sharp break from past presidents. Saturday's speech will be welcomed words to the Republican donors visiting Mar-a-Lago to hear directly from President Trump, Trump adviser Jason Miller said. Palm Beach is the new political power center, and President Trump is the Republican Party's best messenger. The new tension between Trump and establishment-minded Republican leaders comes as GOP officials are trying to play down an internal feud over his role in the party, his commitment to Republican fundraising and his plans for 2024. Trump is also continuing to insist that the last election was stolen from him, repeating false claims that Joe Biden won the election only because of voter fraud. Such claims ultimately fuelled the January 6 attack on the Capitol. McConnell and Chao have been particularly critical of Trump's role in encouraging the insurrection; Chao resigned her post in protest. Pence, meanwhile, presided over a congressional session that certified Biden's election victory over Trump. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was among 10 House Republicans who joined every Democrat in voting to impeach Trump for inspiring the January 6 attack. Seven Republican senators later voted to convict Trump, even after he had left office. The former president is using the same language that he knows provoked violence on January 6. As a party, we need to be focused on the future, we need to be focused on embracing the Constitution, not embracing insurrection, Cheney told CBS' Face the Nation. Trump and his allies have already promised to fuel primary challenges against Cheney and those Republicans who supported his impeachment. And while the Republican National Committee signalled its commitment to Trump by hosting its spring donor summit at his doorstep, Trump's commitment to the GOP is far from certain. Earlier in the year, he raised the possibility of creating a new political party. Just a month ago, Trump's political action committee sent letters to the RNC and others asking them to immediately cease and desist the unauthorized use of President Donald J. Trump's name, image, and/or likeness in all fundraising, persuasion, and/or issue speech. (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.) PHILIPSBURG:--- Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and upheaval of their school year, Learning Unlimited Preparatory School (LU) and its 2021 senior students have once again excelled and impressed with international college and university acceptances. The school will send virtually 100%of its senior class off to prestigious institutions, re-enforcing LU's dedication to preparing its students for success at the highest levels. The school has secured almost US $2.5 million in combined scholarships, a new milestone for LU. The students have been accepted to institutions across the U.S., Canada, and around the world including McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Bowie State University, The University of Waterloo, Spelman College which is an HBCU (Historically Black College Or University), Florida State University, Emerson College, the University of Toronto, Rider University, George Mason University, Boston University, Loyola University, University of Miami, Fontys School of Business and Communication, Rotterdam University and more. According to the head of the school's College Counseling department Mark Beland, college advising starts from grade 9 through 12. For example, the students engage in an "I'm going to college" project, where they are asked to investigate 8 colleges or universities they would like to attend. Beland said "a lot of knowledge opens your mind", meaning the students gain significant understanding by investigating programs, faculty, dorm rooms everything about a particular college or university. "This way they get an idea and understand what is available out there for them to make more informed decisions," Beland said. By the time LUPS students reach the 12th Grade and during the course of the application period, from September through February of the senior year, each student works with Beland on a myriad of issues such as the implications of early decision/action, crafting of the students extracurricular resume, mock interview sessions, teachers recommendations, and financial aid. LU's students were also credited with having persevered through a complicated COVID-affected year in which they had to adjust to online hybrid classes and in-person education. In general, the school directorate is very proud of the way the students excelled under challenging circumstances. LU's students on an annual basis face SATs, ACTs, SAT II subject tests, AP exams, and extensive online learning and testing. The LU College Counseling program supports each senior throughout the admissions process and helps students identify and gain acceptance to the college or colleges which suit their academic, lifestyle, extracurricular interests, and financial circumstances. Learning Unlimited Preparatory School (LUPS) is an American accredited institution. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The school was founded on the principle of developing each student's potential to the fullest within a safe, positive, and academically challenging environment. Protesters have taken to the streets to demand justice after a 20-year-old Black man was shot dead by police in a Minneapolis suburb - ratcheting up tensions in a city already on a knife-edge amid the trial of an officer charged with the killing of George Floyd. The mother of Daunte Wright told reporters her son was shot by officers from the Brooklyn Center Police Department after he was pulled over in a traffic stop on Sunday afternoon. His mother said the young man had called her on her cell phone when he was pulled over, apparently after police objected to the air fresheners in his vehicle, and got out of his car, which the family had given him just two weeks ago. Local media said Katie Wright told them she had heard someone on the phone saying: Daunte, dont run. Police claimed the young man at that point got back in his car, when one officer fired at him. The 20-year-old was struck, and his vehicle travelled for several more blocks before hitting another car. The young man was pronounced dead at the scene, despite efforts by emergency crews to save him. They just dont care, one protester, who asked to be identified just by his first name, David, told The Independent. If police are going to act like that, they should be fired. Another protester, a woman, said she was not surprised by what had happened, and the police department in Brooklyn Center had a worse reputation than that of the Minneapolis Police Department, which is again in the spotlight this month as one of its former officers, Derek Chavin, is on trial for the alleged murder of George Floyd, last May. Three other ex-officers are also set to go on trial for the killing of the 46-year-old. Cops just keep on killing black people all over the world, said the woman. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting at Orchard Avenue in Brooklyn Center, just ten miles north of Minneapolis, the young mans mother told reporters she had been on the phone to her son, as the incident happened I heard scuffling, and I heard the police officers say, Daunte, dont run, and then the other officer said, Put the phone down and hung it up, Ms Wright said, according to a video clip posted by a journalist with the KARE 11 news network. And a minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered that was the passenger and said that hed been shot, and she put it on the drivers side and my son was laying there lifeless. Floyd family lawyer reveals George Clooney offered advice on Derek Chauvin trial The Star Tribune also reported Ms Wright as saying her son had told her he had been pulled over because of air fresheners hanging from his mirror. All he did was have air fresheners in the car and they told him to get out of the car, she said. He got out of the car, and his girlfriend said they shot him. He got back in the car, and he drove away and crashed and now hes dead on the ground since 1:47pmNobody will tell us anything. Nobody will talk to us. I said please take my son off the ground. Police used tear gas to move people after protesters gathered at Brooklyn Center Police headquarters (AFP via Getty Images) Later, protesters gathered in the streets at the site of the shooting. The protest was almost entirely peaceful, though some people reportedly jumped on police vehicles, causing officers to fire tear gas. At around 10pm, dozens of officers in riot gear created a protective barrier outside the Brooklyn Center Police headquarters, and fired several rounds of tear gas or chemical irritant to disperse the protesters. After the shooting, police issued a statement saying officers stopped an individual shortly before 2pm on Sunday after determining the driver had an outstanding warrant. Police said when they tried to arrest the driver, the driver reentered the vehicle and drove away. One officer discharged their firearm, striking the driver, the statement said. The vehicle then traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle. The incident comes as the city is already tense, as the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, enters its third week. Mr Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers charged over the killing of Mr Floyd are also due to go on trial next. Several police stations in the city appear to have beefed up security ahead of a verdict, and the national guard have been deployed. Reports said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a state agency, was at the scene and investigating the incident. Minnesota governor Tim Walz said on Twitter he was closely monitoring the situation and praying for Daunte Wright's family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement. NSW Labor has endorsed a miner and union official as its candidate for the Upper Hunter byelection as polling reveals the majority of voters in the electorate do not oppose a moratorium on new coal mines. Labor will on Tuesday officially announce that Jeff Drayton, CFMEU mining and energy district vice-president and former coalminer, will contest the critical byelection on May 22. NSW Labor has endorsed coal miner Jeff Drayton as its candidate in the Upper Hunter byelection. Credit:Brock Perks Mr Drayton was Labors only nominee when nominations closed at 12.30pm on Monday, while the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers confirmed nurse and businesswoman Sue Gilroy as its candidate. Coal and the future of mining will be a key issue in the byelection, with the Upper Hunter home to the highest number of coal jobs in the state. Coal contributes $15 billion to the NSW economy. Biden is set to nominate Tucson, Arizona chief of police Chris Magnus, a Trump critic, to lead Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Joe Biden is nominating a Trump critic to lead Customs and Border Protection as the administration secured an agreement with Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to put troops at their border to help stop the heavy stream of migrants fleeing to the U.S. 'We've secured agreements for them to put more troops on their own border. Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala have all agreed to do this. That not only is going to prevent the traffickers, and the smugglers, and cartels that take advantage of the kids on their way here, but also to protect those children,' Domestic Policy Council special assistant for immigration, Tyler Moran, told MSNBC on Monday of the new deals. Moran did not mention anything about a potential deal with El Salvador, which makes up the Northern Triangle along with Guatemala and Honduras. The deal comes after Vice President Kamala Harris was named border czar last month. Harris has received a slew of criticism for not yet visiting the southern border or any of the North Triangle countries or holding any events related to her new role. Since then, the White House has backed off on her position. The White House claims Harris' goal as border czar is to address root causes of why migrants are fleeing Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador en masse. Along with the new agreements, Biden is also looking to fill out his team addressing the border crisis as he plans to nominate chief of police in Tucson, Arizona, Chris Magnus, to lead the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), a White House official said Monday. Biden's administration has struck a deal with Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras for more troops to secure their own borders to stop the massive flow of migrants fleeing those countries to the U.S. Unaccompanied minors part of a caravan heading to the U.S. in March were stopped at checkpoint in Honduras near the border with Guatemala Central American families wait in line to be processed by Border Patrol agents after crossing into the U.s> by way of Mexico Parents stand holding their children in Roma, Texas after arriving in the U.S. from Central America WHO IS CHRIS MAGNUS? Tucson, Arizona police chief Chris Magnus, 60, is a gay, white man who advocates for community policing. Magnus previously was chief of police in Fargo, North Dakota, and Richmond, California. While at his California post, Magnus went viral in 2014 after being pictured in uniform holding a #BlackLivesMatter sign at a BLM rally. Last June, Magnus released a video where a 27-year-old Latino man died in custody. He offered his resignation, but Tucson Mayor Regina Romero expressed confidence and he kept his job. Biden will nominate Magnus to head the Customs and Border Protection Agency in an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. Magnus has been highly critical of the previous administration's hard-line immigration policies. He publicly criticized in a New York Times op/ed in 2017 then-President Trump and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He said their policies hindered police efforts to crack down on crime. 'The harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and Mr. Sessions's reckless policies ignore a basic reality known by most good cops and prosecutors,' Magnus wrote. 'If people are afraid of the police, if they fear they may become separated from their families or harshly interrogated based on their immigration status, they won't report crimes or come forward as witnesses.' In 2020, Magnus also declined the so-called 'Stonegarden' grants from Trump's Homeland Security Department. The grants were given to local police to assist federal government on border enforcement. Magnus objected, however, because the Trump administration refused to allow the funds to be spent on aid for asylum-seeking migrants. Advertisement Magnus is highly critical of Trump's hard line immigration policies. His appointment requires a Senate confirmation. In a 2017 op/ed in The New York Times, Magnus criticized Trump and his then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for their stance on immigration. 'The harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and Mr. Sessions's reckless policies ignore a basic reality known by most good cops and prosecutors,' Magnus wrote at the time. 'If people are afraid of the police, if they fear they may become separated from their families or harshly interrogated based on their immigration status, they won't report crimes or come forward as witnesses.' Magnus also refused last year to accept homeland security grants issued to local police departments for border enforcement because Trump did not allow he funds to be used for humanitarian aid. The administration official also revealed that Biden plans to nominate Ur Jaddou to lead the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In a press release Fox News reported will be sent out Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote: 'I am excited that President Biden has nominated an extraordinary group of individuals for critical leadership positions in the Department of Homeland Security.' 'They are highly-regarded and accomplished professionals with deep experience in their respective fields. Together they will help advance the Department of Homeland Security's mission to ensure the safety and security of the American people.' The vice president held at least one call with the Guatemalan president since she took on the administration's response to the immigration crisis. 'We're addressing the reasons that people are coming from the region,' Moran continued Monday morning to MSNBC. 'This is really important. If you just focus on our border, you're not addressing why people are actually coming to our border. The President has a blueprint and he's working with the vice president on this.' Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the Northern Triangle countries have been migrating through Central American to the U.S.-Mexico border over the last few years. March brought on the highest number yet of illegal crossers into the U.S. Aside from Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, U.S. agencies have asked for help from the Red Cross and NASA to address the growing problem. CBP data shows migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border is vastly higher in 2021 compared to 2020, which saw a decrease. The numbers also show March saw the largest number in recent U.S. history in terms of illegal crossings BIDEN DHS NOMINEES Chris Magnus Tucson, Arizona's police chief will head the Customs and Border Protection Agency Ur Jaddou director of an immigration advocacy group who was Obama's chief counsel at Citizenship and Immigration Services and is being tapped to lead that agency now Jonathan Meyer former Obama official, to return to DHS as general counsel John Tien former National Security Council senior director for Afghanistan and Pakistan will serve as deputy secretary Jen Easterly Morgan Stanleys head of resilience and a former senior official at the NSA is being tapped to lead the DHS cybersecurity branch Robert Silvers a top Obama-era cybersecurity official was picked to be under secretary for policy Advertisement Since taking office, Biden also has not yet visited the border or any Central American countries where immigrants are migrating from. Several lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, have traveled to the southern border and decried the conditions of holding and processing facilities as 'inhumane', 'horrific' and 'barbaric'. Republican House Whip Steve Scalise slammed Biden's border policies as 'child abuse' as he shared images from the border over the weekend including one of a migrant facility that is at 16 times its capacity. 'How could President Biden and Kamala Harris allow this to go on and not even come here and see it for themselves?' the House Minority Whip questioned during a press availability at the border. 'It's a disgrace.' 'We went into a facility in the middle of a pandemic that is designed to hold no more than 250 people. Today, there's more than 4,000 people,' Scalise continued as he was joined by a group of 10 other Republican lawmakers. The southern border has quickly devolved into the biggest obstacle and failure of the Biden administration. Last month, Harris was appointed by Biden as point person for the administration's response to the crisis, specifically to address the root causes in Northern Triangle countries that lead to the mass amount of migrants fleeing to the U.S. In the vice president's 19 days in charge of the growing immigration crisis, she has not once visited the southern border or Central American countries from which migrants are traveling. Scalise slammed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for not yet visiting the southern border amid a growing humanitarian crisis there He shared a video of a facility in Donna, Texas where migrant children are crammed together on the floor of a see-through pen with only Mylar blankets to comfort them Critics have slammed Harris for traveling the country for other reasons, like to promote the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and urge Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine. On Saturday, Scalise shared a video on Twitter exhibiting the massive overcrowding at the migrant processing facility in Donna, Texas. 'I visited the Donna processing facility yesterday,' he wrote, claiming: 'These are the videos Joe Biden & Kamala Harris don't want you to see.' 'This is the devastating result of their disastrous left-wing immigration agenda,' Scalise tweeted. He urged his followers: 'RT so everyone can see what they're trying to hide.' 'This is child abuse.' The images in the video show children crammed together in a see-through pen, with most laying on the floor of the facility with only mylar blankets as comfort. Further complicating the evolving situation, the White House's border coordinator Roberta Jacobson announced after just one month in her post she is resigning at the end of April. This is the moment an out-of-control fire hose knocked down an elderly woman after a sudden surge in water pressure sent it flying out of a firefighter's grip. CCTV captured in Tomsk, in the southern Russian region of Tomsk Oblast, shows the pensioner walking along a pavement towards the firefighter, who is extinguishing a blaze in a rubbish bin. Just moments later, a sudden surge of water explodes from the fire hose and throws the firefighter backwards onto the road. The elderly woman attempts to move away from the hose as it thrashes around on the ground but it trips her up and sends her falling to the ground. The pensioner falls to the ground on Naranovich Street in the city of Tomsk, in the southern Russian region of Tomsk Oblast A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a rubbish bin as the pensioner walks along the pavement The strong jet of water then sprays into her bag and sends her belongings flying onto the road. A firefighter immediately rushes towards the elderly woman to help her to her feet before he is joined by his colleague. As the pair help the pensioner, another member of staff runs towards the fire hose which is eventually turned off. Following the scenes, firefighters helped the pensioner collect her belongings strewn across the street. The woman was not injured in the incident, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations later confirmed. A strong jet of water gushes out of the fire hose and sends the firefighter flying onto the road Next year. The momentum is there! Maybe in 3-4 years. There's always some problem. Not until it's already legal in Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi Somehow, the legislature will criminalize weed for eternity Vote View Results WASHINGTON The Biden administration has secured agreements with Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to increase troops on their borders as the White House works to find ways to stem the flow of migration to the U.S. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the nations all made a commitment to increase border security, with each adding thousands of troops and law enforcement officers. The objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey and make crossing the borders more difficult, Psaki said. She said Mexico would keep 10,000 troops on its borders. Guatemala is adding 1,500 police and military personnel and setting up 12 checkpoints, and Honduras is committing 7,000 officers. The agreements were reached in the past few weeks, she said. THE DATA: Unaccompanied minors at border hits all-time high The agreements come as the Border Patrol encountered more migrants at the southern border in March than it had in two decades with the number of unaccompanied children and families seeking refuge in the U.S. continuing to grow. The precipitous rise in the number of encounters at the border especially the treatment of children and families in migrant facilities has emerged as the first major political quandary of President Joe Bidens term. Republicans call it a crisis of Bidens creation, blaming the uptick on his shift away from some of the Trump administrations strictest immigration policies. The Biden administration has said it is working to rebuild a mess of an immigration system left by the Trump administration while theyre trying to address the root causes of migration from Central American nations plagued by violence, poverty and political corruption. Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala have all agreed to do this, Special Assistant to the President for Immigration for the Domestic Policy Council Tyler Moran said in a TV interview. That not only is going to prevent the traffickers, and the smugglers, and cartels that take advantage of the kids on their way here, but also to protect those children. ben.wermund@chron.com Richmond, Va., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virginia529 and the Virginia Council on Economic Education (VCEE) today announced a special collaboration with Virginia First Lady Pamela Northam in support of the financial literacy program for elementary students in Virginia, Reading Makes Cents. The program has launched a video featuring Mrs. Northam reading aloud from Save It, a book in the popular Moneybunny series by Cinders McLeod. The book, which is one of three book selections in this years Reading Makes Cents challenge, offers an introduction to simple money concepts as a little bunny learns about the power and satisfaction that come with saving money. The video, along with resources, will be posted at Readingmakescents.com, and on VCEE's YouTube and Facebook pages to provide easy access for teachers, students and parents. Every child in Virginia deserves to transition into adulthood with the resources and skills they need to succeed, and financial literacy is key to that success, Northam said. Im thrilled to support families and the mission of the Reading Makes Cents program. Virginia529 created Reading Makes Cents seven years ago in partnership with the Virginia Council on Economic Education (VCEE) to introduce basic financial concepts to K-5 students. The program teaches a multitude of age-appropriate financial literacy and SOL concepts through a selection of engaging books, lesson plans and fun activities provided to Virginia schools. Concepts covered include goods and services, bartering, money, savings, capital resources, natural resources, jobs, opportunity cost and scarcity. Financial literacy impacts almost every aspect of our lives, said Daniel Mortensen, VCEE president and CEO. Reading Makes Cents puts the toolkit in the hands of our parents and school librarians and encourages important conversations in a way that resonates with children. Since its creation, more than 20,000 students have participated in Reading Makes Cents. Virginia529 has donated more than 5,000 free books to elementary schools across Virginia and awarded more than $50,000 worth of Invest529 savings accounts. April is Financial Literacy Month, which highlights the importance of financial education and teaches individuals how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits. It also marks School Library Month, which celebrates the essential role school libraries play in transforming learning. This month is a perfect time to acknowledge the invaluable role educators --- specifically librarians --- have in helping equip children with the skills that pave their way to a healthy financial future, said Mary Morris, Virginia529 CEO. Were grateful for First Lady Northams recognition and support of our efforts to engage students and families in discussions on financial topics at a young age. To participate in this years Reading Makes Cents challenge and be entered for a chance to win a $529 Invest529 account to apply toward higher education costs, visit Readingmakescents.com, complete the online reading log, and submit it by April 30, 2021. About Virginia529 College Savings Plan: Virginia529 makes education more accessible and affordable for families and individuals. With more than $92 billion in assets under management and 2.8 million accounts as of March 30, 2021, Virginia529 is the largest 529 plan available. Two flexible, affordable, tax-advantaged programsInvest529SM and CollegeAmericaand early commitment scholarship program SOAR Virginia --assist students of any age in reaching their higher education goals. For more information on Virginia529s college savings options, visit Virginia529.com or call 1-888-567-0540 to obtain program materials. These include information on Virginia529 programs, investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other important information; read and consider them carefully before investing. All investments are subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. Virginia529 encourages prospective participants to seek the advice of a professional concerning any financial, tax or legal implications related to opening an account. For residents of states other than Virginia: before investing, you should consider whether your or the beneficiarys home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protections from creditors that are only available for investments in that states qualified tuition program. 2021 Virginia College Savings Plan. All Rights Reserved. About the Virginia Council on Economic Education The Virginia Council on Economic Education, a nonprofit organization, provides Virginia K-12 students with the economic knowledge and financial skills needed to thrive in our dynamic economy. By providing quality training and up-to-date resources, the Virginia Council on Economic Education partners with teachers and school divisions to help students develop decision-making skills needed to be informed consumers, productive employees or innovative entrepreneurs, thoughtful investors, and reasoned voters. For more information, visit www.vcee.org. Attachments Police say a 41-year-old from Moody was killed Saturday night in a three-vehicle accident on Interstate 20 near Moody. State troopers say Claudio Mancilla, 41, was fatally injured when the 2006 Chevrolet Colorado he was driving was struck in the rear by a commercial vehicle, which pushed Mancillas vehicle into the rear of another commercial vehicle. Mancilla was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash, which occurred on I-20 at the 148 mile marker, approximately one mile east of Moody. Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate. A Pentecostal minister who pushed his children's nanny and lover into murdering his wife and shooting their neighbor by convincing her it was what God wanted is the subject of a fascinating new true crime series that lifts the lid on the horrific crime - and the events that led up to it. Premiering on Monday, HBO's Pray, Obey, Kill details the shocking murder of Alexandra Fossmo and the attempted murder of her employer Daniel Linde on January 10, 2004, in Knutby, a small Swedish village that is home to a Pentecostal religious sect that some claim is a cult. 'This is one of the most bizarre criminal cases in Sweden in modern time a web of religion, sex, and cruel, callous murder,' a Swedish journalist explains in the trailer for the five-part series, which premieres on Monday. Scroll down for video True crime: HBO's Pray, Obey, Kill explores how Sara Svensson (pictured) was manipulated into murdering Helge Fossmo's wife, Alexandra, in Knutby, Sweden, on January 10, 2004 Homicide: Svensson shot and seriously injured Daniel Linde and fatally shot Alexandra that morning. She confessed to the crimes the next day On that fateful morning, Linde, a 30-year-old IT-Entrepreneur, was shot in his chest and head around 4:40 a.m. and rushed to the hospital accompanied by his neighbor Helge Fossmo, a 32-year-old pastor at a local Pentecostal church. Just two hours later, it was revealed that Linde's employee and Fossmo's wife, Alexandra, had been fatally shot in her bed. Fossmo's 26-year-old nanny Sara Svensson confessed to both shootings the next day, but it was far from an open and shut case. Investigators learned that Fossmo had been having an affair with Svensson, whom he hired to care for his three children from his previous marriage. The pastor's first wife, Helene, was found dead in their bathtub in 1999. Even though she had a hole in her skull and toxic levels of dextropropoxyphene in her blood, her death was ruled an accident. Relationship: Fossmo was having an affair with Svensson, whom he hired to care for this three children from his previous marriage Manipulation: Svensson detailed at her trial how Fossmo convinced her to kill Alexandra. He told her God wanted his wife in heaven At the time, Fossmo was a minister at the Pentecostal church in Knutby and worked closely with rumored cult leader Asa Waldau, who proclaimed she was the 'Bride of Christ.' Just a few months after his first wife's death, he married Waldau's sister Alexandra. While on trial in 2004, Svensson detailed how Fossmo found jobs for her so that he could be closer to her, eventually hiring her to be his children's nanny. He assured her that their affair wasn't a sin because they had a 'heavenly love,' according to the Irish Times. The publication reported that in the summer of 2001, Fossmo claimed to be suffering from a mysterious illness. He believed the devil was attacking his soul and Svensson was the only one who could help him stave off his uncontrollable fits. Svensson started living with Fossmo and sleeping in his bedroom every night while she helped him fight off the devil with sex. His wife, Alexandra, was relegated to the guest room. Guilty: Fossmo sent his lover anonymous text messages urging her to kill Alexandra and Linde. The pastor was also having an affair with Linde's wife, Annette, at the time Trapped: 'My relationship with him was that I was a slave and he was my master. I had no will of my own,' she alleged at her trial 'Each night we were winning a victory for God's will through sexual intercourse,' Svensson told the court. The Pentecostal congregation blamed Svensson for the affair and kept her isolated away from other members of the religious sect. Fossmo convinced her that he was the only one that loved her. 'In the evenings, I was with the minister in the bedroom where we had a sexual relationship,' she said. 'Otherwise, my relationship with him was that I was a slave and he was my master. 'I had no will of my own,' she alleged. 'During almost all of 2003, I was locked away because I was so incorrigible. God had turned his back on me and I sought mercy.' According to the Irish Times, Svensson told the court that Fossmo claimed in late 2003 that God wished for Alexandra to be taken to heaven. The nanny then started receiving anonymous text messages on her cellphone encouraging her to kill Fossmo's wife. Possessed: Svensson tried to attack Alexandra with a hammer in November 2003, but it was never reported. Just a few months later, she walked into Alexandra's room and shot her dead Suspicious: Investigator soon learned that Fossmo was having affairs with both Svensson and Linde's wife, Annette, and he was arrested under suspicion of soliciting the murder Justice: Fossmo was sentenced to life in prison for soliciting the murder of his wife, Alexandra, and the attempted murder of his neighbor Linde 'I had received a text message..."There is a time for killing." If I do this, I have proved that I want to belong to God,' she recalls in the trailer for the series. Investigators later learned that the messages came from Fossmo, who also urged her to kill Linde. The pastor was having an affair with Linde's wife, Annette, at the time. Svensson tried to attack Alexandra with a hammer in November 2003, but it was never reported. Just a few months later, she walked into Alexandra's room and shot her dead while she was sleeping. She then headed next door and shot Linde in the face, but he survived the attack. Fossmo and Linde's wife, Annette, were both arrested under suspicion of instigating the murder and attempted murder of their respective spouses. However, Annette was released two weeks later and never charged with any crimes after she confessed to having an affair with Fossmo. The pastor's involvement in the murder of his second wife led police to reexamine his first wife's death. It was determined that the injury to her head could not have been caused by a fall. Getting help: Svennson (pictured at her trial) was admitted to a psychiatric care facility after her trial per court orders and was released in 2011 Denial: Fossmo (pictured) maintained his innocence for years, but he finally confessed to his crimes in an interview with in August 2006 He was sentenced to life in prison for soliciting the murder of his second wife Alexandra and the attempted murder of his neighbor Linde, but he was never convicted of murdering his first wife. Meanwhile, Svennson was admitted to a psychiatric care facility after her trial per court orders and was released in 2011. Waldau has denied having any knowledge of the murder conspiracy and was not found to be involved, though her religious sect and her cult-like claims to be destined to marry Jesus became a media focus during the trials. Fossmo maintained his innocence for years, but he finally confessed to his crimes in an interview with TV4 in August 2006. He claimed several others were involved in orchestrating the murder, but the case hasn't been reopened. 'It's like a role play in reality, where certain characters can be removed if they are of no use or troublesome,' he explains in the trailer. 'And in that world... I took that threat very seriously.' CAHOKIA MOUNDS Whatever ultimately caused inhabitants to abandon Cahokia, it was not because they cut down too many trees, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis. Archaeologists from Arts & Sciences excavated around earthen mounds and analyzed sediment cores to test a persistent theory about the collapse of Cahokia, the pre-Columbian Native American city in southwestern Illinois that was once home to more than 15,000 people. No one knows for sure why people left Cahokia, though many environmental and social explanations have been proposed. One oft-repeated theory is tied to resource exploitation: specifically, that Native Americans from densely populated Cahokia deforested the area, an environmental misstep that could have resulted in erosion and localized flooding. But such musings about self-inflicted disaster are outdated and theyre not supported by physical evidence of flooding issues, Washington University scientists said. Theres a really common narrative about land use practices that lead to erosion and sedimentation and contribute to all of these environmental consequences, said Caitlin Rankin, an assistant research scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who conducted this work as part of her graduate studies at Washington University. When we actually revisit this, were not seeing evidence of the flooding, Rankin said. The notion of looming ecocide is embedded in a lot of thinking about current and future environmental trajectories, said Tristram R. T.R. Kidder, the Edward S. and Tedi Macias Professor of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University. With a growing population and more mouths to feed, overconsumption of all resources is a real risk. Inevitably, people turn to the past for models of what has happened, said Kidder. If we are to understand what caused changes at sites like Cahokia, and if we are to use these as models for understanding current possibilities, we need to do the hard slogging that critically evaluates different ideas. Kidder leads an ongoing archaeological research program at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Such work allows us to sift through possibilities so we can aim for those variables that do help us to explain what happened in the past and explore if this has a lesson to tell us about the future, he said. Writing in the journal Geoarchaeology, Rankin and colleagues at Bryn Mawr University and Northern Illinois University described their recent excavations around a Mississippian Period (AD 10501400) earthen mound in the Cahokia Creek floodplain. Their new archaeological work, completed while Rankin was at Washington University, shows that the ground surface on which the mound was constructed remained stable until industrial development. The stockade, or palisades, are log walls built for defense. Small portions of the stockades have been reconstructed at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. The presence of a stable ground surface from Mississippian occupation to the mid-1800s does not support the expectations of the so-called wood-overuse hypothesis, the researchers said. This hypothesis first proposed in 1993 suggests that tree clearance in the uplands surrounding Cahokia led to erosion, causing increasingly frequent and unpredictable floods of the local creek drainages in the floodplain where Cahokia was constructed. Rankin was previously honored as a co-recipient of the Geological Society of Americas prestigious Richard Hay Award for this work. Rankin noted that archaeologists have broadly applied narratives of ecocide the idea that societies fail because people overuse or irrevocably damage the natural resources that their people rely on to help to explain the collapse of past civilizations around the world. Although many researchers have moved beyond classic narratives of ecocide made popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, Cahokia is one such major archaeological site where untested hypotheses have persisted. We need to be careful about the assumptions that we build into these narratives, Rankin said. In this case, there was evidence of heavy wood use, she said. But that doesnt factor in the fact that people can reuse materials much as you might recycle. We should not automatically assume that deforestation was happening, or that deforestation caused this event. This research demonstrates conclusively that the over-exploitation hypothesis simply isnt tenable, said Kidder said. This conclusion is important because the hypothesis at Cahokia and elsewhere is sensible on its face. The people who constructed this remarkable site had an effect on their environment, Kidder said. We know they cut down tens of thousands of trees to make the palisades and this isnt a wild estimate, because we can count the number of trees used to build and re-build this feature. Wood depletion could have been an issue. The researchers state that area forests might have been depleted, but even if they were, that didnt cause local flooding. The hypothesis came to be accepted as truth without any testing, Kidder said. Caitlins study is important because she did the hard work and I do mean hard, and I do mean work to test the hypothesis, and in doing so has falsified the claim. Id argue that this is the exciting part; its basic and fundamental science. By eliminating this possibility, it moves us toward other explanations and requires we pursue other avenues of research. The research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society. Veteran Nollywood actor, Jide Kosoko has said he did not intentionally marry four wives. Rather, he said it was the will of God that... Veteran Nollywood actor, Jide Kosoko has said he did not intentionally marry four wives. Rather, he said it was the will of God that made it happen. The movie star said in an interview that he never envisaged being a polygamist, even though he is a product of one. I never envisaged being a polygamist though I am a product of one. My parents didnt support it either. My first wife was a businesswoman. I craved for somebody who was in the same field as me, he said In those days, the best advice you can get is from your better half and that was how the second woman came to be. Along the line, I lost the two to childbirths within 11 months interval. I had seven children at that time, so I didnt plan to remarry or have more children again. The actor noted that after losing his wives, he was persuaded by relatives and his doctor to get married again but he never planned to have more children. But after much persuasion from my doctor and relatives, I decided to have a woman with the agreement of not having more children. But a complete African woman will not agree to that. One thing led to the other and I got two women again. So being a polygamist is not intentional but Gods design which I do not have a right over. President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of condolence to the family, relatives and friends of Mama Shariffa El-Maawy who passed away Sunday morning at her Nairobi home. Mama Shariffa, 89, was the mother of former Public Works Principal Secretary, the late Mariam El-Maawy. In his message of comfort and encouragement, President Kenyatta described the late Mama Shariffa as a devoted and patriotic Kenyan who served the country for decades with utmost commitment and distinction. As a nation, we owe Mama Sharrifa a debt of gratitude for her immense contribution to the development of our countrys education and health sectors. Mama Sharrifa was among the pioneer group of registered midwives in the country and has, over the years, offered her services to Kenyans across the country, especially in the Counties of Lamu, Garisssa and Kwale where she trained and mentored many health workers, the President recalled. The President said Mama Shariffa embraced education at a time when few women in Kenya had the opportunity to pursue their educational interests. Mama Sharrifa was a trailblazer, a strong and determined woman who embraced education at a time when very few Kenyan women had the opportunity to pursue formal education and training, the President eulogised. President Kenyatta prayed to God to give the family of Mama Sharrifa the strength and fortitude to bear the loss of their beloved matriarch With more than 16 states already allowing the sale and consumption of recreational cannabis within their borders, Connecticut has now taken the first tentative steps towards establishing a legal recreational cannabis market. Last week, the states Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would legalize recreational cannabis with a 22 to 16 vote. Backed by Governor Ned Lamont, the legislation would legalize the sale and consumption of adult-use marijuana to individuals aged 21 and over. In his opening remarks, Judiciary Committee Chairman Steven Stafstrom mentioned that Connecticut has already legalized and regulated drugs such as alcohol and tobacco. He stated that it is time for the state to do the same with cannabis which is less addictive and less harmful than many of the drugs the state of Connecticut allows. This comes just a month& Read More >> NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Gage Growth Corp. (d.b.a. Gage Cannabis) are available in the companys newsroom at https://cnw.fm/GAGE About CNW420 CNW420 spotlights the latest developments in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry through the release of two informative articles each business day. Our concise, informative content serves as a gateway for investors interested in the legalized cannabis sector and provides updates on how regulatory developments may impact financial markets. Articles are released each business day at 4:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Eastern our tribute to the time synonymous with cannabis culture. If marijuana and the burgeoning industry surrounding it are on your radar, CNW420 is for you! Check back daily to stay up-to-date on the latest milestones in the fast -changing world of cannabis. To receive instant SMS alerts, text CANNABIS to 21000 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only) For more information please visit https://www.CNW420.com Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer Do you have questions or are you interested in working with CNW420? Ask our Editor CannabisNewsWire420 Denver, Colorado http://www.CNW420.com 303.498.7722 Office Editor@CannabisNewsWire.com CNW420 is part of the InvestorBrandNetwork. (Natural News) On April 7, a group of international scientists and researchers called for a more rigorous investigation into the origins of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). This came after China and the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report last week concluding that the virus most likely came from wildlife instead of a laboratory. The joint study by China and the WHO said the likeliest transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, involved bats and other wildlife. It all but ruled out the possibility that it had leaked from a laboratory. In an open letter, 24 scientists and researchers from Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan suggested steps to complete a more comprehensive investigation. Calling for a full investigation into the origins of the pandemic by the best available means is not intended to point fingers at any one country. Its purpose is to leave no stone unturned in seeking to understand how this catastrophe began, so we can prioritize efforts to address our greatest shortcomings for the benefit of all people and all nations, the group stated in the letter. The group claimed the studys conclusions were based on unpublished Chinese research, while records and biological samples critical to the investigation remain inaccessible. The group also requested a probe involving biosecurity and biosafety experts to study the origins of COVID-19, which was first reported in Wuhan, China in 2019. Jamie Metzl, a senior fellow at Atlantic Council and a signatory in the letter, said the renewed calls for a more thorough investigation reflected the need for greater monitoring of and restrictions on what viruses can be studied in labs around the world. This is not about ganging up on China, he said. Metzl believes the joint study was tainted by politics from the get-go. Their starting point was, lets have as much compromise as is required to get some minimal cooperation from China, Metzl said. Responding to the letter on Thursday, April 8, Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department Deputy Director Zhao Lijian said its purpose was self-evident and that countries like the United States, not China, were guilty of politicizing the inquiry into COVID-19s origins. They insist on politicizing the issue of traceability, damaging and disrupting Chinas cooperation with the WHO, discrediting China and publicly challenging the independence and scientific conclusions of scientists, he said. China-WHO study: Extremely unlikely that the virus escaped from a lab Wuhan is home to several high-security labs, including Chinas foremost zoonotic disease research center the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Rumors that the virus escaped from there have circulated since the start of the pandemic. But the China-WHO study concluded it was most likely that Sars-CoV-2 passed from bats via an intermediate animal host to humans, before sparking an explosive outbreak in Wuhan. It said that, while possible, it is extremely unlikely that the virus escaped from a lab. (Related: Former CDC head believes coronavirus escaped from Wuhan lab.) The investigative team of 34 Chinese and international scientists also said that it remains possible the virus entered Wuhan through frozen food, imported from another area of China or even from overseas. WHO head criticizes China for withholding information Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, criticized China for withholding information on the origins of the pandemic and warned that the investigation into a potential laboratory leak was not extensive enough. In a statement to member states, Ghebreyesus said investigators had reported difficulties in accessing raw data and would benefit from full access to data including biological samples from at least September 2019. He added that all hypotheses for how the virus emerged remain on the table. According to Ghebreyesus, the report is a very important beginning. We have not yet found the source of the virus and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do, he said. Finding the origin of a virus takes time and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again. No single research trip can provide all the answers. Ghebreyesus also called for more studies to understand the earliest human cases traced at the Huanan market in Wuhan. The team has confirmed that there was widespread contamination with Sars-CoV-2 at the Huanan market in Wuhan, but could not determine the source of this contamination, he said. Head of WHO mission says China withheld data due to privacy laws Dr. Peter Ben-Embarek, head of the WHO team of experts that went to China, said that the conclusions reached should not be seen as a static product because they could change as more data becomes available. He added that while some raw data was withheld by China due to privacy laws and time constraints, the country had still provided an an incredible amount of data. Ben-Embarek also insisted that the international team was never pressured to remove critical elements in our report, which was written in collaboration with the Chinese experts. (Related: WHOs investigation into the Wuhan lab was conducted in part by a CCP advisor, Marion Koopmans.) Of course there was political pressure from all sides, also outside China. But I think we were able to create a space for the science, space for the two groups of scientists to work together, he said. U.S., 13 other countries express concerns that international scientists lacked access to complete data On the same day the WHO published its report, the U.S. and 13 other countries issued a joint statement expressing concerns that the report was delayed and that the international scientists lacked access to complete data. It is equally essential that we voice our shared concerns that the international expert study on the source of the Sars-Cov-2 virus was significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples, they said. The statement was signed by the governments of Australia, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, the U.K. and the U.S. Meanwhile, the European Union said that while they find the report a helpful first step, they regret the delays and the limited availability of early samples and related data. Follow Pandemic.news for more news and information related to the coronavirus pandemic. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com TheAseanPost.com Reuters.com Telegraph.co.uk HUGER Residents of this tiny Berkeley County community who have been fighting the expansion of a sand mine for years reached an agreement with a local mining company. The settlement allows Donmar Sand Mines LLC to expand its mine in Huger, but the company has agreed to provide the community with money for a recreational park, while donating 10 acres of land that includes 5 acres of wetlands, and providing a plan for regular communication between the mining operator and the residents. For years, the mining company wasnt listening to the citizens that they were affecting the most, said Huger resident Edward Beaufort-Cutner. Now, I feel like we have a voice and they are listening to us." He called the settlement "a significant accomplishment." "While we wont be able to retain the quality of life that we lost in some areas around the mine, I do think weve got the company to make a major contribution to the community, he added. Under the agreement, Donmar will contribute $15,000 toward restoring and expanding a recreational park in the area, donate 10 acres of land to the town and give the residents a seat at the table to ensure future engagement with the company. Its the best outcome possible considering our current state laws, said Emily Cedzo, a senior program director with the Coastal Conservation League. I think a good compromise was reached to address some priorities and concerns that the community has had for a few years," Cedzo said. "It does a good job of getting some community benefits, while letting the mine expand. In November 2017, Donmar submitted plans to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to expand its current site from 5 acres to more than 30 acres, drawing local objections about the possible environmental impacts of expanding the mine. Berkeley Countys Board of Zoning Appeals denied Donmars request for a special exception to expand its mining operation in January 2018. In September 2019, County Council approved a settlement agreement allowing the mines expansion to move forward. DHEC granted a permit for the mine expansion in October. For years, Beaufort-Cutner made the 25-mile trek to Moncks Corner for the monthly County Council meetings to voice his concerns about the sand mines. While the mining company will be able to expand, Beaufort-Cutner said residents will have more of a say in what happens to their community. We wont have oversight, but we will have a voice and thats important, he said. Sand mining is the practice of using heavy machinery to extract sand and clay materials from the ground. There are more than 500 sand mines operating in South Carolina and most are located in rural and unincorporated areas like Huger. Those small, rural communities disproportionately bear the burden of the demand for sand, Cedzo said. The life of a mine can span many years and nearby residents experience a slow degradation of their quality of life, Cedzo said. They are forced to live with increased noise, truck traffic and dust. Safety concerns also arise from too many trucks on roads that were not built to handle such heavy industrial traffic. There are 21 active sand mining operations in Berkeley County. Calls and emails to Donmar Sand Mines LLC seeking comment were not returned April 12. [April 12, 2021] EVLOMO and OR launch first DC Fast charging station under their joint collaboration in Thailand BANGKOK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Redefining the evolution of EVs in Thailand, EVLOMO and PTT Oil and Retail Business PLC (OR) launched their first DC Fast charging station at PTT Station, in Ban Chang, Rayong which is a part of The Eastern Economic Corridor, Thailand. EVLOMO and OR launch first DC Fast charging station under their joint collaboration in Thailand EVLOMO is committed towards green and sustainable initiatives. In its quest to take rapid strides for sustainable development, EVLOMO continues to embrace emerging technologies in the realm of electric vehicles, EV charging, solar, energy efficiency, and battery storage. EVLOMO will install more than 1,000 new fast chargers to spur EV revolution in Thailand, and target to achieve DC charging availability every 50 Kms on their charging network. EVLOMO is also entering into residential EV charging space by introducing AC chargers and will install a mix of AC and DC Fast chargers at Various Universities, School, Hospitals, Hotels amongst other locations spread all over Thailand. In coing weeks EVLOMO also plans to finalize the launch of Pure EV stations across Thailand. Thai government has set ambitious goal for adoption of EVs in Thailand by 2035. Without adequate EV charging infrastructure, rollout of EVs at such a scale is not possible. EVLOMO if working to fill up the charging infrastructure gap by bringing in world class AC and DC charging technology to Thailand. EVLOMO believes that EVs are for everyone and the idea of plugging in an EV whenever and wherever it is parked is core to EVLOMO's philosophy. Powered by state-of-the-art technology from Tritium, market leader in DC charging whose current customers include Chargepoint, Ionity, Blink Charging, Proterra, Shell, among several more. These superfast DC chargers will be EV owners whose automobiles are compatible with the CCS/ CHAdeMO charging standards. "E-Mobility is an irreversible mega-trend and an imperative for addressing pollution and generating job opportunities in Thailand. Through our EV charging network we intend to develop a holistic e-mobility ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of EVs in Thailand. As part of this resolve, we have also started partnering organizations to set-up a network of e charging stations both for the captive use and for our consumers," said Nicole Wu, CEO of EVLOMO. "Further strengthening our commitment to Thailand, we aim to provide our customers with a robust charging ecosystem to promote the adoption of electric mobility. With a partner like PTT Oil and Retail Business PLC, a renowned major energy and retail industry, we are confident that we will together create unique synergies." To know more about the EVLOMO please visit its website, contact at info@evlomo.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evlomo-and-or-launch-first-dc-fast-charging-station-under-their-joint-collaboration-in-thailand-301266949.html SOURCE EVLOMO Inc [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ANN ARBOR, MI - A quote shared on social media by an Ann Arbor City Council member that attacked journalists and contained a homophobic slur has been condemned by several members of the council and city leadership. Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, shared the now-deleted quote over the weekend in a public Facebook group, in response to an MLive article that was shared about harassment faced by the news media. Hayner shared an excerpt from author Hunter S. Thompsons popular novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, in response to the post, which included the following: The press is a gang of cruel f******. Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch all for f****offs and misfits a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy p***-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but just deep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and m********* like a chimp in a zoo-cage. The quote was described as grotesque and highly objectionable by Council Member Travis Radina, D-3rd Ward, who expressed his disappointment over the homophobic slur online, providing an email he sent to all members of the council in addition to a screenshot of Hayners use of the quote. Radina, the past president of the Jim Toy Community Center and former LGBTQ Liaison to the Ann Arbor mayor, asked that Hayner apologize to LGBTQ residents who are harmed by the amplification and validation of such blatant homophobia and hatred. Setting aside your tirade against the free press, the thoughtlessness and disregard you displayed for our LGBTQ residents in sharing such a quote is extremely concerning and hurtful, Radina wrote. In 2021, LGBTQ residents especially LGBTQ youth in one of the most progressive cities in Michigan should never be subjected to elected officials cavalierly utilizing homophobic slurs to insult their perceived adversaries or to advance a political point of view. It is disappointing. It is harmful. And frankly, it makes me question the sincerity of your supposed support for the LGBTQ community. Hayner defended the sincerity of his support for the LGBTQ community in a response to Radina via email late Sunday, asking why he didnt reach out to Hayner directly, instead of posting about the quote on social media. The Ann Arbor News/MLive obtained a copy of Hayners email. Your belief that the Council and community deserve an explanation or apology is just that, your belief, Hayner wrote. It is not mine. People are free to interpret what I say, in my capacity as a private citizen, however they choose. In the email, Hayner said he didnt delete his comments, but that it was deleted automatically. He defended using the quote from the book, adding that he felt the language was appropriate given the subject matter being discussed in the Facebook post. In the context of the novel, and in its use of language that quote is entirely appropriate, Hayner said. In context of the thread from which it was extracted, even more so. I suggest you take up your concerns over language with the publisher, maybe you can try and get the book banned. Thats all the rage these days in certain circles, isnt it? Hayner could not be reached for further comment for this story. Several members of City Council have since joined Radina in speaking out against Hayners comments, including Council Member Linh Song, D-2nd Ward. (Radina) consistently speaks truth to power in his professional and community work because he believes we can all be better allies for a better community, Song said on social media. Hes right. We should expect this of each other, especially when we sit at the same table. Council members Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward and Julie Grand, D-3rd Ward, also supported Radinas comments on social media. Council members were joined by Mayor Christopher Taylor, who called Hayners comments highly offensive. Taylor said Hayners use of the quotation helps create a permission structure of degradation that hurts members of the LGBTQ community. It hurts individuals of course, but due to his position as councilmember, the use of the slur distances LGBTQ community members from their government and thereby effects real social harm, Taylor wrote. ... The use of this slur, simply put, is deeply wrong and unbecoming of an elected official. Outside of city administration and leadership, Washtenaw County Commissioner Katie Scott also condemned the use of the homophobic language, detailing her own painful experiences earlier in life in dealing with slurs about her sexual orientation. There must be a reckoning, Scott wrote. We have a choice to create a transformative culture here that supports each resident, or we have a choice to engage in perpetuating harmful stereotypes and being part of a regressive culture. By using a quote like this in a public forum, it paves the way for more hatred and homophobia; it legitimizes it. I am here to stand up for the LGBTQ community today. I am here to be visible and say comments like this are absolutely unacceptable. Its time to put away slurs and never, ever again use someones sexual orientation as an insult. READ MORE: Its a hostile work environment. Ann Arbor council meetings regularly run late, turn ugly Drama, censorship and racial slur punctuate last Ann Arbor council meeting of 2020 Ann Arbor city council member defends second floor home addition, says he wont resign A new commercial flight is giving Australians the chance to travel towards Antarctica in search of the Southern Lights. Qantas have teamed up with Chimu Adventures to offer astronomy fanatics the opportunity to chase the Aurora Australis via a scenic tour through the Southern Aurora zone. The first-ever flight kicked off on Sunday night with around 200 travellers onboard as the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner departed from Sydney airport. Qantas have teamed up with Chimu Adventures to offer Australians day trips to see the Southern Lights (pictured) Passengers were taken on a day trip through the region, with the plane zig-zagging through the night sky to reach the best vantage spots to see the green dreamy hues. 'It was incredible. It is honestly beyond any expectations you could have had,' one guest told 7News. As the plane neared the Southern Zone, all lights on board - and even the outside navigation lights - were turned off to give spectators the best opportunity to witness the light show, which is visible to the naked eye. Flights depart from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, or Sydney, with fares starting from $1295 in economy to $7695 for business premium seats, including meals, snacks, and beverages. Expert astronomers are onboard for the ride to provide information to guests as well as a photographer to assist travellers on how to best use their cameras. The excursions, departing from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, are not on a direct path, instead zig-zagging through the sky to give passengers the best vantage spots of the natural phenomenon Around 200 Australians were onboard the inaugural flight (pictured) as it departed Sydney on Sunday night Auroras occur when electrically charged sun particles enter the Earth's atmosphere and collide with gas particles. They can occur at any time of the year. The fascinating phenomenon, which emits colourful rays of light into the earth's atmosphere, is typically observed near the north and south poles. Auroral displays appear in many colours, although pale green and pink tend to be common. Northern auroras - often know as the 'Northern Lights' - are called Aurora Borealis, which means 'dawn of the north'. Southern lights are called Aurora Australis - from the Latin term meaning southern, which incidentally, is how Australia got its name. The brightest auroras last about one to two hours and the best viewing time is from 10pm to 2am. Demonstrators stand on a police vehicle during a protest after police shot and killed a man, Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 11, 2021. (Nick Pfosi/Reuters) Protesters Clash With Police After Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting of 20-Year-Old in Minnesota A 20-year-old motorist with an outstanding arrest warrant was fatally shot by a police officer in Minnesota on Sunday afternoon, prompting a crowd of at least a few hundred people who are in the area during the Derek Chauvin trial to protest outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department Headquarters. The man killed in the incident has been identified by relatives at the scene as Daunte Wright, 20, according to the Star Tribune. Law enforcement officers from the Brooklyn Center Police Department initiated a stop for a traffic violation in the area of the 6300 block of Orchard Ave in Brooklyn Center shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday, before determining that Wright had an outstanding warrant, the Brooklyn Center Police Department said in a release. According to the department, Wright re-entered his vehicle when officers attempted to take him into custody. One officer then discharged their firearm, hitting Wright. Wright and his girlfriend who was in the vehicle then traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle and coming to a stop, police said. Medical personnel at the scene attempted to perform life saving measures, but Wright was pronounced dead shortly afterwards, the department said. After nightfall, a few hundred protesters had gathered outside the suburban police department, which was guarded by hundreds of officers in riot gear, Reuters reported. Protesters were seen throwing trash at police. After police declared an unlawful assembly and issued a dispersal order at 10 p.m., police set off flash bangs and chemical irritants to disperse the crowd. Officers stand guard outside Brooklyn Center Police Department with trash thrown at them by demonstrators at their feet after police allegedly shot and killed a man, who local media report is identified by the victims mother as Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 11, 2021. (Nick Pfosi/Reuters) Earlier, about 100 people, some visibly upset and one carrying a sign demanding Justice for George Floyd, confronted police in riot gear. The incident took place about 10 miles from where George Floyd died in Minneapolis last May. Some vandalized two police vehicles, pelting them with stones and jumping on them. Police fired rubber bullets, hitting at least two in the crowd, with at least one man left bleeding from the head, a Reuters witness said. According to a Twitter post by a Minnesota-based community organizer, protesters were being directed to the Minnesota Freedom Fund for help with bail payments in the case of any arrests during the protests, which devolved into riots Sunday night. Minnesota Freedom Fund describes itself as fighting back against #Minnesotas unjust #bail system and paying #immigrant bonds. Vice President Kamala Harris in October last year vowed to take steps on criminal justice reform that would include establishing a national registry for police officers that break the law, and also ending the cash-bail system. She also posted on Twitter in June to help fundraise for the Minnesota Freedom Fund. An unlawful assembly has been declared, dispersal order has been issued. Theyre ready to make arrests soon, the post read. Bail: @MNFreedomFund. If mace or tear gas is deployed: guide for washing out chemical irritants from eyes with water. DO NOT use milk, he added. People remain after police release tear gas to disperse protesters outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department after police shot and killed a man, Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 11, 2021. (Nick Pfosi/Reuters) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement that he was closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement, he said. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot described the killing of Wright as tragic. We are asking the protesters to continue to be peaceful and that peaceful protesters are not dealt with with force, he said. I understand that officers have left the scene, he added. Police said Wrights girlfriend sustained non-life threatening injuries during the crash, and was transported to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale. The Brooklyn Center Police Department said that an independent investigation is underway following the incident, and will be performed by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It said it believes body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras were activated during the incident. Minnesota National Guard troops arrived around midnight. Elliot announced a city-wide curfew beginning 1 a.m. local time as looting was reported at the Brooklyn Center Walmart and the nearby Shingle Creek Crossing shopping mall. Numerous businesses, including the Foot Locker, T Mobile, and a New York mens clothing store, next to the Walmart were completely destroyed, the Star Tribune reported. The curfew will be in place until 6am on Monday April 12, 2021, the mayor said on Twitter. We want to make sure everyone is safe. Please be safe and please go home. The curfew, which is subject to extension, does not apply to people traveling to and from work, emergency services, law enforcement, people seeking medical care or fleeing danger, the homeless, or the media. Reuters contributed to this report. This article has been updated to include the mayors curfew announcement. Iraq receives 2nd batch of donated COVID-19 vaccines from China Xinhua) 10:59, April 12, 2021 A plane carrying the COVID-19 vaccines from China arrives at the Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 11, 2021. Iraq on Sunday received the second batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help the country combat the pandemic. (Photo by Khalil Dawood/Xinhua) BAGHDAD, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Iraq on Sunday received the second batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help the country combat the pandemic. A handover ceremony held at the Baghdad International Airport was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Zhang Tao, Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi, and several other senior Iraqi health officials. "China and Iraq are good friends and close partners. We have been supporting each other against all the odds in our joint efforts to fight the pandemic, which has further consolidated and deepened the friendly partnership between the two countries and peoples," Zhang said during the ceremony. China "pays close attention to the epidemiological developments in Iraq ... and has donated two batches of vaccines to the Iraqi side in fewer than two months," he added. Describing the coronavirus as "the common enemy of all human beings," the Chinese ambassador highlighted the need for the international community to "unite in close coordination to combat the pandemic, and to work hand in hand to promote a community with common health for the mankind." For his part, al-Tamimi expressed his gratitude for China's assistance to Iraq, noting China has been standing with Iraq since the outbreak of the pandemic and was the first country to send vaccines to Iraq. "China has played a great humanitarian role and has sent aid not only to Iraq but also to many other countries," the Iraqi minister told Xinhua. Earlier, the Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm and Britain's AstraZeneca vaccines to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The donated Chinese vaccines are expected to advance the national immunization plan in Iraq, as the country has recorded unprecedented daily COVID-19 infections in recent days. On March 2, Iraq received the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help combat the pandemic. During the early stage of the pandemic in 2020, China sent several batches of medical aid to Iraq and a team of seven medical experts who spent 50 days in Iraq from March 7 to April 26 to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in the capital Baghdad. Enditem (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) A murder suspect was on the run. The 36-year-old was in a black pickup truck last week, leading authorities on a high-speed chase that stretched across three California counties. While the suspect evaded police for more than an hour, he passed 44-year-old tractor-trailer driver Ahmed Shaaban, who drove more than an hour from his home in San Diego to the Los Angeles area to pick up a load, only to find it had been taken by another driver. About 40 or 50 police cars tailed the man when Mr Shaaban saw him zoom by. A friend Mr Shaaban was speaking to on the phone told him that the man was wanted on a murder charge, Mr Shaaban told The Washington Post in an interview. As Mr Shaaban was searching for a place to park his truck for the night to avoid another long drive home, the suspect made a left turn into his truck. Mr Shaaban said nothing was going through his mind as adrenaline coursed through his body and he slammed the gas pedal of his semi, causing the man to crash into the right side of the truck as he tried to speed through an intersection. Mr Shaabans impulse helped authorities arrest and book Michael Caleb Reed on a felony charge, according to Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department inmate records. An attorney for Mr Reed was not listed. An unidentified female passenger in the truck with Mr Reed was also arrested but has since been released, CBS Los Angeles reported. Mr Shaaban, a father of three, had purchased the truck ruined by the collision just five months ago for $75,000 (54,000). He said hes worried that his insurance might not pay for the damage to his truck because he deliberately crashed it - a decision he says he does not regret and one he attributes to fate. A GoFundMe account has raised more than $51,000 (37,000) to help Mr Shaaban get back in the drivers seat. A trucker for seven years, he drove more than 120 miles from San Diego before the other driver accidentally picked up his load, something he said has never happened to him. I drove all the way there just to get to this guy, Mr Shaaban said. It was very coincidental. Mr Shaaban said that he had some knee pain after the crash but that hes feeling better now. I did the right thing, he said. Earlier in the month, the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Force of the US Marshals Service asked the public on Bakersfield news station KGET to help find Mr Reed for suspected carjacking and felony evading. A special agent warned the public that Mr Reed had past arrests on charges that included rape, burglary, possession of a firearm and driving under the influence. Days later, Mr Reed was named a person of interest in a 28 March homicide, CBS Los Angeles reported. Family members of the victim, Michael Lewis, have been accusing Mr Reed across social media, according to Bakersfield Now. Mr Shaaban told local news outlets that Mr Reed had to be stopped on his chase. I had to end it before he killed someone or hit a car or hit a kid, he said. The Washington Post Thongloun Sisoulith wants the public to call out police abuse, just not on Facebook. Laotians say they are confused after recently elected Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith gave a speech in which he appeared to contradict himself, urging members of the public to call out police abuse, while also demanding that authorities to crack down on social media use seen as undermining social order. In an April 5 speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of the public security force in the capital Vientiane, Thongloun called on security personnel to be role models, build trust, [and] be a force that people can rely on. Police must protect people and must be fair to people. Police should allow people to participate and cooperate in maintaining safety and security, said Thongloun, who on March 22 became the countrys first president without a military background after being appointed general secretary of the ruling Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party in January. People should be encouraged to report the wrongdoings of the police and other authorities especially the wrongdoings that will be dangerous to their community and to the general public. Police should not do anything that will scare people off or that will stop them from reporting, he said. However, in the same speech, Thongloun warned of evil forces seeking to topple the countrys one-party government with speech critical of its leadership on Facebook and other social media platforms and called on authorities to use whatever means necessary to disrupt such efforts. In the era of the advanced technological and modern social media, police must fight firmly and immediately against people who use social media to commit crimes, to destroy our country and to cause any disorder by undermining our unity, creating misunderstanding and creating any antagonistic parties in the country, he said. At the end of his speech, Thongloun reiterated that all security forces must immediately and effectively stand up against all adversary elements that aim to undermine the revolution. Members of the public told RFAs Lao Service that they were confused by the presidents statements, which they said seemed contradictory. A truck driver, who often travels between Khammouane province and Vientiane, said he didnt understand what Thongloun was trying to convey to the people in his speech. On one hand, the president urged us to report the wrongdoing of the authorities to the public and government; but on the other hand, he instructed the police to crack down on social media, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. I was once stopped by a traffic police officer for speeding and the officer demanded a kickback from me then let me go. I took a short video of the officer and posted it on my Facebook page, and then I was summoned to a local police station, ordered to take it down, reeducated and accused of trying to defame the authorities. A Lao traffic police officer takes a break in Vientiane, in a file photo. AFP Afraid of cops A motorcyclist in Borikhamxay province, who also declined to be named, told RFA that many people are afraid of the police in Laos based on prior experience. Even if they were stopped by a traffic police officer who demanded a kickback, most of them wouldnt report the corruption to the authorities or to public, he said. If they did report, they would end up in trouble. Other motorists said that while they might take a photo or video of a police officer engaged in an illegal act, they would never say anything bad about the police on social media, because doing so could land them in prison or forcibly disappeared. We cant say much, a resident of Champassak province said. If you say something bad, youll be accused of trying to break up the Party and government. We cant talk back to or make any argument against the authorities. Bounthone Chanthalavong-Weise, president of the Alliance for Democracy in Laos, a Germany-based rights organization, suggested that Thongloun had misspoken. What he said was incorrect because social media exists to allow the public to report on, publish and exchange information that is often blocked by the government, she said. When contacted by RFA to clarify Thonglouns statement, an official at the Prime Ministers Office said that while netizens can say anything you want on social media, what you say must be supported by proof and facts. Thats the law, he said, without providing further details. Targeted for speaking out Last year, RFA documented several cases in which Laotians were targeted after reporting police wrongdoing. In March 2020, a young man and woman who gave their names as Boey and Keo were arrested in their home village of Xiengda on the outskirts of Vientiane and detained for a week after posting a video they took during a heated exchange with police over whether their land belonged to the state. One of Keos family members said at the time that the two had been reeducated for posting the video before they were released. Sangkhan Chanthavong, who is better known as Thisi, was arrested on Aug. 26 last year in Champasak and detained for one month and three days after posting a video clip accusing the Lao government of nepotism because high-ranking officials regularly stock their departments with family members. In another video, he had criticized the judiciary, including police, prosecutors and judges. On the evening of Oct. 27, 2020, police stopped a 17-year-old boy who had been sent by his mother to buy spices for their small restaurant in Vientiane and demanded 200,000 kip ($21.24) to release his motorcycle. The mother posted a video clip on Facebook scolding the officers for exploitation and three days later was summoned to the police station and forced to apologize. Thongloun is not the first Lao president to issue a seemingly contradictory statement that led to public confusion. Three years ago, during a speech to the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, former president Bounnhang Vorachith lamented what he called dull and unpopular broadcasts by Lao media, calling for more programming with more creativity that is more reflective of the needs of the public. Later, in the same speech, Bounnhang called television, radio, and newspapers tools of the state, adding that all media must serve the Party and government, and adhere to their guidelines and policies. Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. San Francisco, April 12 : Apple will send its chief compliance officer before the US Senate Judiciary Committee to testify during a hearing on app stores and digital competition on April 21, the media reported. Last week, a group of US Senators 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. Apple has now responded, saying it had intended to participate in the app store hearing. "We look forward to sharing our perspective on our App Store," Apple said in a letter. 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 strongly urge Apple to reconsider its position and to provide a witness to testify before the Subcommittee in a timely manner," they had said in the letter. Apple's App Store practices have been under scrutiny by lawmakers over the last year. 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. A CCTV screenshot showing intruders dressed in black, one wielding a sledge-hammer, damaging printing press equipment at the print shop of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times on April 12, 2021.(The Epoch Times) US Lawmakers Condemn Reprehensible Attack on Hong Kong Epoch Times Printing Press U.S. lawmakers on April 12 condemned the latest attack on The Epoch Times printing press in Hong Kong, saying it wouldnt be a surprise if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was behind the incident in an attempt to silence reporting thats critical of the regime. In the early hours on April 12, four men wearing face maskstwo of whom wielded sledgehammersbarged into the printing warehouse and smashed machinery and computers for around two minutes before leaving with a computer. No staff members were injured during the incident. The intruders caused extensive damage, and the newspapers Hong Kong edition has been forced to suspend its operations for the foreseeable future. The attack is the fifth time the site has been vandalized since its establishment in 2006, and came less than 18 months after four masked intruders set fire to the same facility during the height of the pro-democracy protests in the city. Those perpetrators were never caught. The repeated, violent attacks on The Epoch Times shock the conscience, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. Clearly, the Chinese Communist Party and its street thugs cannot abide any media outlet reporting the facts about the Partys depredations. With much of Hong Kongs media exhibiting pro-Beijing leanings in recent years, the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times is one of the few independent media in the city that covers the CCPs abuses in mainland China, Hong Kong, and abroad. At a time when Americas corporate media have adopted the self-righteous slogan speak truth to power, The Epoch Times has the courage to actually do it, and they are paying a high price for sticking to their principles, Nunes said. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) described the CCPs rule as a thugocracy that relies on intimidation, extortion, and violence to suppress freedom and those who strive for truth and self-government by consent. It would be no surprise if the CCP were behind such an attack as they consistently seek to extinguish any light that exposes the dark sea of repression that keeps their illegitimate government afloat, Perry said in an emailed statement. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) described the attack as reprehensible. The freedom of the press in Hong Kong is under attack from the Chinese Communist Party, Banks said in a statement. Press freedom in Hong Kong has gradually eroded since the city was transferred from British to CCP rule in 1997. Once a bastion of press freedom in Asia, the city has fallen to its current ranking at 80th place in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, from 18th in 2002. The slide was a result of pressure from Beijing, according to the nonprofit. Meanwhile, the CCPs imposition of a draconian national security law has sparked fears of a further tightening of press freedom in the city. The law, which took effect last July, punishes what Beijing deems to be acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Since then, dozens of pro-democracy figures, including media mogul Jimmy Lai, have been charged or convicted under the legislation or similar laws. Last month, the Chinese regime introduced sweeping changes to the citys electoral system that drastically reduce democratic representation, while seeking to ensure that patriots loyal to Beijing rule the financial hub. Other lawmakers reacted with a tone of defiance. We will not back down to [the CCPs] intimidation tactics, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said in a statement. This event should not stop publications like the Epoch Times from speaking out against the CCPs actions and humanitarian crimes. Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) said that if the CCP is found to be behind the attack, it should be held accountable, while Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) said in a statement that the attack is another attempt by the regime to silence the voices of truth-tellers in Hong Kong. Im praying for my fellow freedom-lovers living under the CCPs repressive regime, Babin added. May they remain steadfast and courageous in their pursuit of the truth! Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) called the incident extremely concerning. Now more than ever, the United States must stand up for democracy and human rights, and fight against Communist Chinas aggression and quest for global dominance, Scott said in a statement. EMPIRE, MI Dont be alarmed if you notice smoke and fire at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore this month. The National Park Service plans to conduct a prescribed fire in up to four burn units as early as April 19. A prescribed fire is a management tool used to maintain healthy ecosystems, replenish fire dependent ecosystems, reduce available fuels in the event of wildfire, and assist with the management of invasive species. The 2021 treatment units cover just under 2,500 acres within the National Lakeshores Platte River District in Benzie County, between Esch and Peterson Roads and north of M-22. For safety, the White Pine Backcountry Campground and some of the small roads and trails in the park will be closed to visitors during the active burning period. This is the second wide area prescribed fire to be held at Sleeping Bear following one successfully held in 2019 in the same area of the park. According to the NPS, the area of Platte Plains to be burned contains unique, fire-dependent plant communities known as dry northern forest and wooded swale, which is typically dominated by a mix of hardwoods and jack pine or red pine. RELATED: Sleeping Bear Dunes vacation: 50 unforgettable things to see and do Wooded swales are low areas between post-glacial ridges that support forested wetlands and a variety of wildflowers and other herbaceous plants. Both are important to the diversity of the Sleeping Bear Dunes ecosystem, according to the park service. Burns will be conducted only under a specific set of weather and fuel conditions. The actual burn date(s) will depend upon NPS fire staff monitoring weather forecasts and fuel moisture to determine if and when prescription conditions are met. Wind direction and speed will also be monitored prior to ignition to minimize smoke drifting into developed areas and roadways in the region. Conserving these remnants of high quality dry northern forests and wooded swales through prescribed burns will allow National Lakeshore visitors to continue to experience an ecosystem that represents a bygone, wild component of Michigans natural history, the NPS said. In addition, burning under controlled conditions will reduce fuel loads and reduce the risk of uncontrolled wildfire in the future. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) provides funding for these prescribed fires as part of its purpose in protecting and restoring the largest system of fresh surface water in the world the Great Lakes. The Platte Plains prescribed fire supports GLRIs goals of protecting imperiled native plant and animal habitats and controlling invasive plant species around the Great Lakes, NPS staff said. READ MORE: 15 Airbnbs near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Prehistoric human remains found along shoreline at Sleeping Bear Dunes Sleeping Bear Dunes on track for record-setting number of visitors in 2020 The Texas bills were central to a discussion on Saturday afternoon when more than 100 corporate leaders met on Zoom to discuss what, if anything, they should do to shape the debate around voting rights. Several on the call, which was organized by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale professor who regularly gathers executives to discuss politics, spoke forcefully about the need for companies to use their clout to oppose new state legislation that would make it harder to vote. Mia Mends, the chief administrative officer at Sodexo, who is Black and based in Houston, called on the other executives to focus their energies in Texas, and said she was doing the same. One of the things Im doing this week is getting on the phone with many of our leaders to say: We need you to take a stand. We need your company to take a stand, Ms. Mends said in a later interview. And that means not just saying we support voting rights, but to talk concretely about what we need, what wed like to see change in the bill. The Zoom meeting began with statements from Ken Chenault, a former American Express chief, and Ken Frazier, the chief executive of Merck, who said they were asking companies to sign a statement opposing restrictive voting laws, according to several people who attended the meeting. Last month, Mr. Chenault and Mr. Frazier organized 70 fellow Black leaders to sign a letter calling on companies to fight bills that restrict voting rights, like the one that Georgia passed. Later in the Zoom meeting, Chip Bergh, the chief executive of Levi Strauss & Company, called the bills a threat to democracy, and toward the end, Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder, discussed the importance of having corporate leaders affirm that the 2020 election was secure. One of the last speakers was James Murdoch, the former chief executive of 21st Century Fox, who talked about the importance of a healthy democracy. A Russian court has opened the trial of a feminist activist and artist charged with disseminating pornography after she shared artwork depicting female anatomy online. The case is in line with the Kremlin's conservative stance of promoting 'traditional family values' that has been widely seen as controversial and elicited international outrage. Yulia Tsvetkova, 27, from the far-eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, faces up to six years in prison on charges reportedly related to her group on the popular social network VKontakte, where colourful, stylised drawings of vaginas were posted. Tsvetkova is not allowed to give details of accusations against her. Feminist activist and artist Yulia Tsvetkova leaves after a court session in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia, on Monday The first hearing in the Komsomolsk-on-Amur court on Monday comes a year-and-a-half after Tsvetkova was first detained, and eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed constitutional amendments that outlawed same-sex marriage and tasked the government with 'preserving traditional family values'. Tsvetkova's lawyer, Irina Ruchko, told reporters after the hearing that Tsvetkova maintains her innocence and that her defence team intends to prove it in court. Tsvetkova ran a children's theatre and was a vocal advocate of feminism and LGBT rights. She founded an online group, called Vagina Monologues, encouraging followers to fight stigma and taboo surrounding the female body, and posted other people's art in it. Visitors look at the exhibition of Yulia Tsvetkova's paintings in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, April 10. A Russian court on Monday opened the trial of a feminist activist and artist Yulia Tsvetkova, charged with disseminating pornography after she shared artwork depicting female genitalia online Yulia Tsvetkova, 27, an artist and activist from the far-eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, could face a jail term of two to six years for distributing artistic impressions of the female body Amnesty International last week called the case - which is being heard behind closed doors - 'Kafkaesque absurdity' and urged Russian authorities to drop all charges against the activist, who was merely 'freely expressing her views through art'. Tsvetkova's mother, Anna Khodyreva, echoed this sentiment in an interview with the Associated Press and said that the court should dismiss the case. 'Yulia has always been against pornography... Feminists are against pornography because it's exploitation of women's bodies,' she said. Tsvetkova was detained in November 2019 and spent the next four months under house arrest. Her home was raided, as well as her mother's education studio for children. Ms Tsvetkova is facing charges for sharing artwork, including a series of cartoons captioned 'Real women have hair on their bodies and that's normal', 'Real women have body fat and that's normal' and 'Real women have their periods and that's normal' The activist was fined twice for violating Russia's law against disseminating gay 'propaganda' to minors. The court ordered Tsvetkova to pay a fine of 50,000 roubles (470) in December 2019 for running an LGBT-themed online group, and 75,000 roubles (705) more in July 2020 for a drawing in support of LGBT families. The second fine was later decreased to 50,000 roubles. Many public figures have spoken out in her support, including Russian state TV veteran Vladimir Pozner. Ms Tsvetkova is being supported by Amnesty International Activists across Russia protested over her prosecution, artists dedicated performances to her, and an online petition demanding to drop the charges gathered more than 250,000 signatures. The European Union's delegation to Russia said in a tweet last week that the bloc 'is closely following' the case against Tsvetkova and that 'apparently, her persecution is related to her public position as an LGBT activist'. The delegation called on Russian authorities to stop the prosecution of the activist. The past two years have been an ordeal for both Tsvetkova and her mother. As well as the pressure from the authorities, they say they received death threats and were repeatedly harassed by strangers. Ms Khodyreva's education studio for children has lost a vast number of clients. Tsvetkova's children's theatre no longer exists - frequent visits from law enforcement were too distressing for the children, and it was decided to shut it down, Ms Khodyreva said. 'It is terrifying. I'm still looking back at the door even now,' Ms Khodyreva told the AP. 'The police have barged in so many times that ... I'm not ready to have the children involved in this mayhem.' EARLY April 1921. There was an ambush outside our house, in which a Black and Tan was shot dead. The Black and Tans forced their way into our house, searched every inch and left a huge mess. They also left my terrified mother, father and five brothers and sisters. Three weeks later, I was born & my mother often recounted the fact that after my birth I was a very jumpy baby. Nuala Holland (nee Mahon, Charleville Road, Tullamore). Nuala Mahon was referring to the attacks on the RIC in Tullamore in April 1921 that are matter-of-factly referred to by Sean McGuinness of Kilbeggan in his witness statement, now in the Military Archives (online, p. 29 in the pdf), in what he called onslaughts on Tullamore RI.C. patrols at Charleville Road, New Road, Hayes Cross and Barrack Street, all on 1 April 1921 in which policemen and I.R.A. men were wounded and killed. Peadar Bracken in his Brigade Activity Report filed about 1940 noted the activities in Offaly in 1921 and up the truce in July as being: Jan., 1921 Ambush at Belmont. Eight rifles and 900-rds. Captured. 22nd Feb., 1921 Police ambushed near Philipstown; five wounded. 22nd Feb, 1921 Police lorry ambushed at Mount Lucas, Edenderry. 21st March, 1921 Police fired on at Portarlington; one wounded. (6th Period) Blueball planned ambush. 1st April, 1921 Policeman wounded in Tullamore. 18th April, 1921 Philipstown Barracks attacked; one wounded. 23rd April, 1921 Edenderry Barracks attacked. 15th May, 1921 Constable wounded at Edenderry. 17th May, 1921 Two constables killed and two wounded at [Kinnitty], Birr. 3rd June, 1921 Edenderry Barracks attacked. 4th July, 1921 Crossley tender ambushed at Ballycara 6th July, 1921 Military and police ambushed at Raheen, Geashill. 8th July, 1921 Police ambushed near Ballyduff. 8th July, 1921 Skirmish in Mitchells Lane, Tullamore. (7th Period) Banagher planned attack. 11th July, 1921 Policeman wounded at Edenderry. As to the involvement of Matthew Kane the B.A.R. report mentions him as having participated in a second Armed Raid on the Tullamore Post Office on 11 January 1921 with others including: Louie Downes, Patrick Evans, John Killeavy, Michael Galvin, James Hogan, John Connor, Martin Poland, Harry Cavanagh, Patrick Finlay, Mathew Kane, Michael Garry, John Horan, Henry Mahon, John Hughes, Edward Conroy. Kane is again mentioned in connection with the 1 April 1921 attack on R.I.C patrols in Tullamore in which mostly Kilbeggan men participated including Sean McGuinness, James McGuinness, John Crowley, Christy Bastick, William Killoran and Pat Guilfoyle. On that night Lieut Kane was killed and Volunteer Conroy wounded on the I.R.A side and a couple of R.I.C. wounded. There was a sharp exchange of fire between James McGuinness and Michael Galvin (Tullamore) and a patrol of R.I.C men outside the Barrack Gate. There is no mention here of any policemen being killed on the night. Matthew Kane was either killed near Hop Hill, New Road, or as the late Noel Gowrans mother said he may have been taken prisoner, killed in the barracks and his body dumped later that evening. This recollection was cited by Thomas Gowran this week in a comment on our Facebook site on 1 April and mentioned by the late Noel Gowran in conversation. My mother Francesca Clarke was in Kay Dunnes [Patrick Street] and was looking out the window at Matty Kane tied to the back of a truck by the British forces and brought down to Riverside View and executed. Philip McConway in an article in the 2018 Tullamore Annual states that the circumstances of Kanes death are problematic and hampered by conflicting sources. The death notice in the Irish Independent states that he was a lieutenant in the I.R.A and killed in the execution of his duty i.e. in the course of attacks on policemen. The report in the Dead of the Irish Revolution (2020, pp 3689) confirms this. Who was Matthew Kane? Matthew Kane was aged 33 or 34 when he was killed and he was single and a labourer. His family lived in Ruddocks Lane (now Brides Lane) behind the two Italian restaurants in Patrick Street. The family circumstances were like many in Tullamore at the time with bad private housing and the council schemes before WW1 amounting to about 80 houses and demand nearer to 500 to sort the housing crisis early in the last century. John Kane was a widower, aged 61, in 1901 and Matthew was aged 13 and attending school. There were five in the house on census night 1901 comprising two girls aged 21 and 24 and one other boy Patrick, aged 16. All were working save Matthew. The lane had 27 houses described as in the second class and mostly two or three-roomed cottages with no sewerage or running water. Kanes were five in number in a three-roomed house and the family of Joseph Conroy lived next door with seven in three rooms. Was there a connection? By 1911 there were still five in the Kane household, but now in the ages 22 (Matthew) to 71, the widowed father, and a brother. None living in the house were then married and Patrick Kane and his brother John served in the British forces in WW1. John (40) was killed in France in 1916 and was survived by his wife Margaret. Commemoration in 1922 and memorial in 1948 Commemoration of Matthew Kanes death came quickly in February 1922 a month before the British vacated the towns barracks so close to Kanes house and six months after the Truce. The Offaly Independent was burnt out by the British forces in November 1920, but the Midland Tribune was on hand to report on the walk to Mucklagh of Kanes old comrades. All the ex-prisoners and ex-internees were present and walked in procession headed by the pipe band. Fr Smyth of Rahan, a strong Sinn Fein supporter, who had been interned led the prayers. Thousands took part in the ceremony in September 1948 at Mucklagh, 27 years after the death of Lieutenant Kane. The memorial erected is a very fine Celtic Cross, in Ballyduff limestone, and was the work of Mr Alex Wrafter, Monumental Sculptor, Tullamore, and bears an inscription in Irish and English. On one side in engraved the Volunteer badge of Oglaigh na hEireann. The inscription records that the memorial was erected by Lieut. Kanes comrades, of Tullamore Coy. I.R.A. and that he was killed in action against British forces. The parade from Tullamore to the cemetery was of vast proportion and was representative of old I.R.A., F.C.A., G.A.A., and public bodies, while the general public were present in large numbers. Four bands an Army band, Clonaheen, Clonaslee and St. Columbcilles Pipe Bands- took part in the demonstration, organised by members of the Tullamore Old I.R.A. Association. Outside the cemetery there was a Guard of Honour of Mucklagh F.C.A. and Very Rev. T.H. Burbage, P.P., V.F., Mountmellick, performed the unveiling ceremony, attended by another Guard of Honour from Tullamore. Volleys were fired over the grave, Mr. James Clarke, Chairman, Old I.R.A. Mens Association, being in charge of the firing party. The last post was sounded and the proceedings in the cemetery concluded with the laying of wreaths on Lieut. Kanes grave. Wreaths were also placed on the grave of Volunteer Conroy, Tullamore. The Kumbh Mela is composed of and made by diverse groups of people coming from different places for over the period of three months. Beyond the exotica and the acclaimed effi ciency of the mela administration, there are tens of thousands of invisible workers who sweat to make the event function smoothly. The underside of the mela reveals the gross inequality with which amenities are distributed, with tourists and big religious groups on the one side, and the working poor on the other. On 22 January 2013, 8,000 workers employed by the Kumbh Mela administration went on a day-long strike, taking over main mela grounds, roads and offices. For far too many days, the administration had ignored the growing unrest and the rising anger amongst the hundreds of workers employed at the mela, with the inhuman living conditions, work times and wage rates. Some civil rights activists of Allahabad formulated a list of demands such as an increase in wages, regulation of working hours, uniforms for workers, improvement in living conditions, etc, and put it across to the magistrate and consequently, the strike was called off with the promise that these will be met by the end of January. There is a dominant image of the Maha Kumbh which consists of both the continuity of devotion and the exotic. Behind this, however, there are thousands of workers as well as those with small jobs at the mela. This side gets completely overshadowed by the glamour of the mela. It is worth understanding who these workers are and why there is a growing discontent on their part with the mela. 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. Trump blasts Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson for vetoing bill banning 'chemical castration of children' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Former President Donald Trump rebuked Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson for vetoing a bill banning the "chemical castration of children" in his state. "The lightweight RINO Governor of Arkansas, just vetoed a Bill that banned the CHEMICAL CASTRATION OF CHILDREN. 'Bye-bye Asa,' thats the end of him!" Trump said in a statement released Thursday. The 45th president went on to praise his former press secretary, whom he has endorsed for the 2022 gubernatorial race, in his statement: "Fortunately for the great state of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders will do a fantastic job as your next Governor." The Arkansas House voted 75-25 and the Senate 25-8 on Tuesday afternoon to override the governor's veto of House Bill 1570, also known as the "Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act" and its acronym, the SAFE Act. Arkansas is the first state in the nation to ban the prescribing of puberty blockers, hormonal drugs and the surgical body mutilation of minors suffering from gender dysphoria. The medicalization of gender has come under increased scrutiny in recent months, particularly in light of a U.K. court ruling in a judicial review against the Tavistock clinic in London. Last year it was decided that youth younger than 16 lack the maturity to understand the risks to such experimental and irreversible procedures and thus cannot give informed consent under the Gillick competency, the U.K.'s legal standard by which youth can consent to medical procedures. In addition to Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee are considering similar bills. The proposed measures in the cluster of southern states follow an unsuccessful attempt in South Dakota last year to prohibit the use of puberty-suppressing drugs, cross-sex hormones, and elective cosmetic surgeries, such as a double mastectomy (what's known as "top surgery") or orchiectomy ("bottom surgery"), which is the removal of the testicles. In an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson earlier this week, Hutchinson defended his veto of the bill on the grounds of limited government. Why do you think its important for conservatives to make certain that children can block their puberty, be chemically castrated? Why is that a conservative value? Carlson inquired of the Arkansas governor. Hutchinson replied: You have parents involved in very difficult decisions and physicians that are involved in these decisions. When Hutchinson asserted the medical expertise of various groups in favor of administering the experimental drugs, Carlson pressed him to explain further. Hutchinson added: The research that I have seen shows that these troubled youth, these ones that have gender dysphoria, that they also have depression, they have suicidal tendencies. Its a higher suicide rate than others. And they go to their parents, the parents go to doctors and they try to deal with this very difficult issue. Studies have shown that depression or suicidal ideation are not reduced after individuals undergo procedures to change their bodies to look more like the opposite sex. According to a 2003 study conducted in Sweden, those who underwent body mutilation or were prescribed cross-sex hormones had a higher suicide rate than the general population. The study, which followed 191 male-to-female gender reassignments and 133 female-to-male gender reassignments from 19732003, found that suicide attempts and in-patient psychiatric treatment actually increased among those who had a sex change. Other studies have also shown that gender-transition surgery doesn't improve mental health. To read The Christian Post's six-part series on transgender issues, click here. [April 12, 2021] ZOLL Medical Corporation Acquires Respicardia, Inc. ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, today announced that it has acquired Respicardia, Inc., a provider of novel implantable neurostimulators for the treatment of moderate to severe Central Sleep Apnea (CSA). CSA is a serious condition that is often associated with heart failure, coronary artery disease, and certain cardiac arrhythmias. Respicardia's remede System is a revolutionary treatment for CSA, and is the only implantable device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat moderate to severe CSA in adult patients with reduced cardiac function.1 CSA results in shallow or disrupted breathing during sleep, and many patients with CSA also have heart disease, especially heart failure.2 Within this population, patients with CSA are at increased risk for hospitalizations and even death.3,4 "ZOLL and Respicardia both develop innovative therapies for conditions with large unmet clinical needs, and we share a deep commitment to improving patient outcomes," said Jon Rennert, CEO of ZOLL Medical. "With this acquisition, ZOLL will combine its expertise in cardiac and respiratory care with Respicardia's novel remede System to make a meaningful difference in the health and quality of life for many patients." CSA occurs when the brain fails to send appropriate signals to the breathing muscles that stimulate a regular breathing pattern. CSA symptoms include chronic fatigue, excessive daytime sleepiness, cognitive impairment and inability to get restful sleep. CSA is distinct from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which results from a blockage of the upper airway.5 Respicardia's remede System is implanted by a cardiac electrophysiologist during a minimally invasive outpatient procedure. The remede System delivers electrical pulses to one of the phrenic nerves, which send signals to the diaphragm, restoring a more normal breathing pattern during sleep. Respicardia estimates there are more than one million CSA patients in the U.S. alone who could benefit from the remede System, which has been shown to improve sleep, enhance well-being, and reduce daytime sleepiness, enabling better overall health.7 "Respicardia is excited to be joining the ZOLL family," said Peter Sommerness, CEO of Respicardia. "As an innovator of safe and effective therapies that address the unmet needs of respiratory and cardiovascular patients, we see tremendous potential ahead with the support of ZOLL's strong brand and global reach." ZOLL, which has been a significant investor in Respicardia for more than three years, will welcome all Respicardia employees into its global workforce, and will maintain Respicardia's current headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota. About ZOLL Medical Corporation ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and cardiac monitoring, circulation enhancement and CPR feedback, supersaturated oxygen therapy, data management, ventilation, and therapeutic temperature management, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, as well as lay rescuers, improve patient outcomes in critical cardiopulmonary conditions. For more information, visit www.zoll.com. About Asahi Kasei The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber business, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With more than 40,000 employees around the world, the company contributes to sustainable society by providing solutions to the world's challenges through its three business sectors of Material, Homes, and Health Care. Its health care operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic reagents. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.com. Copyright 2021 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. ZOLL is a registered trademark of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Asahi Kasei is a registered trademark of Asahi Kasei Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 1 FDA PMA P160039 2 Bekfani T, Abraham WT. Europace. 2016 Aug;18(8):1123-34. doi: 10.1093/europace/euv435. Epub 2016 May 26. 3 Khayat R et al. Central sleep apnea is a predictor of cardiac readmission in hospitalized patients with systolic heart failure. J Card Fail 2012;18:534-40. 4 Khayat R et al. Sleep disordered breathing and post-discharge mortality in patients with acute heart failure, European Heart Journal 2015;36 1463-1469. 5 Costanzo M.R., Khayat R., Ponikowski P., et al. Mechanisms and clinical consequences of untreated central sleep apnea in heart failure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2015; 65:72-84. 6 Javaheri and Dempsey, Comprehensive Physiology 2013; 3:141-163; Dymedex data on file, 2014 7 Costanzo M, et al. Transvenous neurostimulation for central sleep apnea: a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet. 2016; 388: 974-82. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005202/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Radar Systems Market is accounted for $19.25 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $36.78 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period. Some of the key factors influencing the market growth include Increased use of radars for unmanned vehicles, improved capabilities of radar systems resulting in greater efficiency and increased R&D investments by automotive industry to improve the safety and comfort aspects in vehicles. However, high cost incurred in the development of radar systems is restraining the market growth. Click Here to Get Sample Premium Report @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11465 Radar systems are used for detecting and tracking physical objects using radio waves to determine the range, angle, and velocity of objects. Radars are used in various applications in the civil, commercial, and military domain, which includes detecting ships, aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, weather information, and terrain. Based on technology, the pulsed rada9r segment has significant growth during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the increased usage of pulse radars for efficient and accurate object detection and estimation of its range. By Geography, The Asia-Pacific radar systems market is expected to grow at the considerable market share during the forecast period, due to disputes and unrest in some countries in the region, which has led to the increased procurement of surveillance systems. Countries such as China, India, and Japan have invested significantly in coastal surveillance and weather detection capabilities. You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/11465/Single Some of the key players in global radar systems market are Honeywell International Inc., Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors N.V., Lockheed Martin Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, BAE Systems, Inc., Rockwell Collins, Inc., Leonardo S.p.A., Thales Group, Saab AB, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., Airbus Defense and Space, Inc., Raytheon Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Weibel Scientific A/S. Components Covered: Transmitter Receiver Antenna Other Components Technologies Covered: Continuous Wave (CW) Radar Pulsed Radar Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Radars Covered: Maritime Patrol Radar Synthetic Aperture Radar Ranges Covered: Long Range Radars Short Range Radars Medium Range Radars Frequency Bands Covered: L Band K/Ku/Ka Band C Band Millimetric Band V/UHF Band S Band HF Band X Band W Band Other Frequency Bands Applications Covered: Commercial Defense Other Applications End-user Industries Covered: Automotive Aviation Military & Defense Maritime Applications Regions Covered: North America o US o Canada o Mexico Europe o Germany o UK o Italy o France o Spain o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o Japan o China o India o Australia o New Zealand o South Korea o Rest of Asia Pacific South America o Argentina o Brazil o Chile o Rest of South America Middle East & Africa o Saudi Arabia o UAE o Qatar o South Africa o Rest of Middle East & Africa What our report offers: Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments Strategic recommendations for the new entrants Market forecasts for a minimum of 9 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations) Strategic analysis: Drivers and Constraints, Product/Technology Analysis, Porters five forces analysis, SWOT analysis etc. Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements Request For Report Discounts @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/11465 Free Customization Offerings: All the customers of this report will be entitled to receive one of the following free customization options: Company Profiling o Comprehensive profiling of additional market players (up to 3) o SWOT Analysis of key players (up to 3) Regional Segmentation o Market estimations, Forecasts and CAGR of any prominent country as per the clients interest (Note: Depends of feasibility check) Competitive Benchmarking o Benchmarking of key players based on product portfolio, geographical presence, and strategic alliances Ontario Racing is pleased to announce that Standardbred horsepeople now have the opportunity to access certain purse funds that remain available under the Funding Agreement with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) as a result of the suspension of live racing in the province as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aforementioned funds were already committed to the industry through the Funding Agreement for Live Horse Racing between Ontario Racing and OLG. We are pleased to be able to provide these equine benefit payments, said John Hayes, Chair, Ontario Racing. Horse racing, like so many other industries, continues to be severely impacted by the pandemic. The Ontario Racing team, OLG, and industry representatives, remain dedicated to assisting horsepeople and horses across the province. We are grateful for your ongoing support throughout these challenging times. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario Racing created a task force, as it did during the spring lockdown in 2020, to address the financial impacts to Standardbred horse racing in Ontario. Eligibility Requirements: For horsepeople to be eligible for financial payments for the month of April pursuant to this program, the Standardbred COVID-19 Task Force has determined that horses must meet the criteria outlined below to be eligible to receive an equine benefit payment. Horses Drawn into Race Cancellation Payment - $300 per horse: Horses entered to race Saturday April 3, 2021 and Sunday April 4, 2021 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, Western Fair, and Rideau Carleton will be awarded the standard $300 cancellation fee. These races were previously drawn. April Training Benefit Payment - $1,000 per horse: 1. Any horse stabled in Ontario with a charted line in Ontario in 2021 and is not currently racing or training/stabled outside of Ontario without returning to Ontario prior to April 5 shall receive $1,000 in relief funding. No application required. 2. The following horses that are preparing to race and are currently stabled in Ontario for the month of April may be eligible to apply for $1,000 in relief funding: Unraced in 2021 3- & 4-year-olds Any horse who started in Ontario between September 1 - December 23, 2020 that was stabled in Ontario at the time of the start and remained in Ontario until December 23, 2020 All horses under both criteria must remain in Ontario for the month of April to receive funding and make their first start in Ontario once live racing resumes in Ontario. If a horse qualifies under both criteria, the horse is eligible for only a single $1,000 payment. Application form: The Standardbred Equine Benefit application for this payment can be found here. The deadline to submit your application to Ontario Racing is Friday, April 23, 2021. All mailed applications must be postmarked by Friday, April 23, 2021 in order to be eligible. Please email or mail completed applications to: Attn: Sarrah Young [email protected] Ontario Racing Management 555 Rexdale Boulevard Toronto, ON M9W 5L2 Important Notes: All payments received must be used for the care and maintenance of Standardbred horses Once racing resumes in Ontario, horses who have received benefits under this program MUST make their first start at an Ontario Standardbred racetrack Ontario Racing reserves the right to request additional information to ensure all criteria has been met. Those receiving benefit payments under the program could be subject to an audit by Ontario Racing. Failure to meet the criteria will result in all amounts being repaid to Ontario Racing. All decisions are at the discretion of Ontario Racing and are ABSOLUTE and FINAL Horses are currently under the care of an AGCO licensed trainer at the time the application is submitted (Ontario Racing) In the heart of the Blue Mountains just over three hours' drive west of Sydney are Australia's largest and most spectacular caves. But perhaps the star attraction of the world heritage listed Jenolan Caves is the nearby Blue Lake, which gets its name from its striking colour - an enchanting shade of turquoise blue. The colour is created by a natural phenomenon that occurs when light bounces off limestone deposits underwater in the bedrock. The manmade lake was dammed in 1908 to create hydroelectric energy for houses in the surrounding area, but its builders had no idea it would become such a captivating sight for thousands of visitors each year. Scroll down for video Perhaps the star attraction of the world heritage listed Jenolan Caves is the nearby Blue Lake (pictured) which gets its name from its striking colour - an enchanting shade of turquoise blue The colour is created by a natural phenomenon that occurs when light bounces off limestone deposits underwater in the bedrock Palm trees and a 2.6 kilometre walking track trace the edge of the lake, which doesn't allow swimming but provides the perfect spot for a picnic lunch. The water is said to be the bluest it has been in years, but visitors will have to wait because the river walk is currently closed due to damage from landslides caused by last month's record rainfall. The world-heritage listed caves were closed on March 25 after flooding destroyed the only access road into the tourist hotspot. The site, which forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Blue Mountains reserve, includes 40km of subterranean caverns and passageways which are the most ancient discovered open caves in the world. Palm trees and a 2.6 kilometre walking track trace the edge of the lake, which doesn't allow swimming but provides the perfect spot for a picnic lunch Advisory notices on the visitor website say the lake is still being dredged while the path is being secured from risk of falling rocks. Repair works are expected to finish next week with reopening slated for Sunday, April 18. Before its closure the lake provided the backdrop for countless Instagram photos, with many saying the blue hue is something that 'needs to be seen to be believed'. 'This place is now on my must travel list,' one woman wrote. Before its closure the lake provided the backdrop for countless Instagram photos, with many saying the blue hue is something that 'needs to be seen to be believed' The Jenolan Caves (pictured) include 40km of subterranean caverns and passageways which are the most ancient discovered open caves in the world Another said it was the only place she has ever visited that looked the same in reality as it did on social media. 'When the place is called Blue lake and it actually is blue AF instead of being some click bait BS,' she wrote. Others tagged their friends and said they would drive to the lake as soon as it reopens. But it's not the only attraction drawing holiday-starved Australians to the Blue Mountains, with many also flocking to a 'secret' glow worm cave hidden inside a disused tunnel. The world-heritage listed caves were closed on March 25 after flooding destroyed the only access road into the tourist hotspot. The cave in Lithgow, west of Sydney, can be reached by walking along an off-the-beaten pathway which stretches for 1.4 kilometres before ending at the mouth of the tunnel. Inside, thousands of glow worms twinkle on the roof, an enchanting spectacle that can be seen at any time of the day - even when it's bright. A video of the spectacular scene was uploaded to TikTok by travel bloggers Joe and Cat, who shine a spotlight on Australia's hidden gems on their joint account, Walk My World. Travel-starved Australians are flocking to this 'secret glow worm cave' hidden inside a disused tunnel in the Blue Mountains Thousands of glow worms twinkle on the roof, an enchanting spectacle that can be seen at any time of the day - even when it's bright The clip, captioned 'this is one for your Sydney bucket list!', has been viewed 69,800 times and drawn dozens of delighted responses since it was posted online on March 6. 'Been here before, place is sick and it's FREE!' one man replied. Many expressed surprise that something so fascinating could be found in the famously sleepy town of Lithgow. 'Wait, there's really something interesting to be seen at Lithgow? Really?' one woman wrote. Others said the glow worm cave brought back happy childhood memories. 'I went there as a kid and still remember it,' said one person, while another added: 'Been there years ago, such a great place.' DENVER, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ibotta , the leading rewards platform in the United States, today announced a one-day collaboration with Nature's Own, America's leading bread brand, to celebrate National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day. Today only, Nature's Own is offering Ibotta Savers a free loaf of bread, while supplies last. Nature's Own and Ibotta are also partnering to offer shoppers $0.25 off a package of cheese, giving consumers everything they need to make a classic grilled cheese sandwich without spending a lot of cheddar. "There's really nothing better than a grilled cheese - it will forever be the perfect comfort food," said Bryan Leach, founder and CEO of Ibotta. "Alongside our friends at Nature's Own, we hope Ibotta Savers enjoy the free bread on this cheesy national holiday, and put it to good use making the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches." To redeem the free bread from Nature's Own as well as the corresponding offer for $0.25 off cheese, shoppers can download the free Ibotta app and follow the instructions to add the offers. Once they've made their purchases, Savers simply upload a photo of their receipt to receive cash back directly in their Ibotta account - while supplies last. Savers can also download the Ibotta browser extension, link their retailer loyalty account and redeem the offers for grocery pick-up or delivery. "Nature's Own breads are the perfect start to any grilled cheese. That's why we're teaming up with Ibotta to celebrate National Grilled Cheese Day," said Jessica Wood, Senior Brand Manager for Nature's Own. "Our breads are not only a family favorite but also something you can feel good about serving to your loved ones." About Ibotta, Inc. Headquartered in Denver, CO, Ibotta ("I bought a...") is a free-to-use cash back rewards platform that has delivered nearly $900 million in cumulative cash rewards to its users for making purchases in-store, on mobile apps or via websites. Launched in 2012, Ibotta has more than 40 million downloads, is one of the most frequently used shopping and payments platforms in the United States, and offers cash back on purchases at more than 1,500 leading brands and retail partners. Ibotta was named to the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. for the third year in a row after debuting on the list in 2018, and the company has also been named as a Top Workplace by The Denver Post three consecutive times. About Nature's Own Nature's Own is America's best-selling bread, offering a delicious selection of fresh breads and buns made from nature's best ingredients. Nature's Own products have no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors and never have since their debut in 1977. They also have no trans-fat or cholesterol per serving, contain no high fructose corn syrup, and are low in fat. Nature's Own is owned by Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO), one of the largest producers of fresh packaged bakery foods in the United States. Visit naturesownbread.com and flowersfoods.com . SOURCE Ibotta Related Links http://naturesownbread.com New Delhi, April 13 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested an Assistant Sanitary Inspector and a temporary staff of the MCD Delhi in an alleged bribery case. A CBI spokesperson here said that the agency arrested, Om Pal the Assistant Sanitary Inspector and Jitendra, a temporary staffer of the MCD on Monday. He said that the agency has registered a case against an Assistant Sanitary Inspector, MCD, Kishanganj, City SP Zone, New Delhi. He said that the complainant working as temporary staff of MCD since 1998 has alleged that the MCD officials used to take the ATM cards of temporary staff and pay only part of their salary to them. He also said that the complainant's ATM card was with him and the complainant did not want to give it to MCD officials. The complainant has alleged that he was, therefore, neither deployed for duty since last six months nor paid any salary. The official said that Om Pal was allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 8,000 from deploying him on duty. Accordingly, the first instalment of bribe of Rs 4,000 was allegedly negotiated. "CBI laid a trap and caught Om Pal and Jitendra while demanding and accepting the said bribe amount from the complainant," he said. He said that during the search at the office of the accused, several incriminating documents including blank signed cheques, ATM cards etc. were recovered. The official said that following the searches at the office premises of the MCD employees, the CBI also searched at the residence of other Sanitary Inspector in Ghaziabad and a sum of Rs 38 lakh and other documents were recovered. "The role of said Sanitary Inspector is being looked into," he said, without sharing his name. The arrested accused were produced before a court and Om Pal was sent to two days police custody while the temporary staff to judicial custody. A Kentucky judge on Friday temporarily blocked applying some of the states pandemic-related restrictions to several restaurants and breweries challenging the governors actions. Scott County Circuit Judge Brian Privett said in his narrowly tailored order that the rights of those businesses have been harmed by the restrictions. His order applies only to the handful of businesses challenging the coronavirus-related orders by Gov. Andy Beshear. It does not affect every business in the Commonwealth, or schools, or masks, or any other issue, Privett said. It only states that under the law, these specific businesses rights have and continue to suffer harm and they should be relieved under the current state of the law. Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley pointed to previous rulings siding with the governor. As for Privetts order, she said: While the decision only applies to five businesses, our office already has filed an appeal and awaits a response from the Court of Appeals. Privetts order runs counter to a Franklin County Circuit Court ruling that temporarily blocked Republican-backed laws threatening to invalidate the Democratic governors virus-related orders. Privett said there is every chance the case he heard will join the Franklin County case on appeal ultimately to the Kentucky Supreme Court. Privett ruled in a lawsuit brought by Goodwood Brewing Co., doing business as Louisville Taproom, Frankfort Brewpub and Lexington Brewpub; Trindys; and Kelmarjo Inc., doing business as The Dundee Tavern. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics COVID-19 Legislation Kentucky New 'See Your Space' Interactive Virtual Room by Room Experience Allows Customers to Put Their Plan Into Action PORT WASHINGTON, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 12, 2021 / Global Industrial, a value-added national distributor of industrial products and MRO supplies, and a Systemax Inc. (NYSE:SYX) company, today announced the launch of its Plan, Procure & Execute program to help support the ongoing reopening and recovery of businesses and schools. Fully reopening a business or school building after a pandemic-related closure is no simple task. Global Industrial is here to help its customers put a robust plan in place, procure the products they need, and execute an overall strategy with confidence. With seemingly hundreds of scenarios to consider, products to purchase, and the wellbeing of employees, students, and customers ever-present, customers may be wondering where to even begin. Enter: Plan, Procure, & Execute. Three simple words that hold powerful meaning to navigate new ways of working, learning, and socializing together. Customers need a robust plan in place, products that keep safety and social distancing in mind, and an overall strategy that's executed with confidence. The Plan, Procure & Execute website features Global Industrial's new interactive virtual room by room experience which allows customers to see their space and put a plan into action. Come 'See Your Space' - Office, Classroom, or Common Areas/Lobbies. In addition, it includes 'Take a Deeper Dive' content where customer can explore in depth articles such as the Three Keys to Reopening and 102 Things to Do Before Reopening. Looking for additional guidance - get your Plan, Procure & Execute guide here. "We are excited to support the reopening of businesses across the United States and Canada," said Barry Litwin, Chief Executive Officer of Systemax. "This new program reflects our customer centric focus and aligns with our ACE (Accelerating the Customer Experience) strategy." "Plan, Procure & Execute emphasizes the extensive product offering, knowledge and solutions approach Global Industrial brings to its customers every day," said Klaus Werner, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Systemax. "As signs of the economic reopening and rebound continue to build, we are here to help customers solve problems and drive their success. Our new 'See Your Space' interactive virtual room by room experience is unique and will help customer build the plans, procure the products and execute the strategy they need to reopen and grow their business." About Global Industrial Global Industrial is a subsidiary of Systemax Inc. (NYSE:SYX). With more than 70 years of going the extra mile for its customers, Global Industrial is one of North America's most experienced industrial distributors. The Company offers more than a million industrial and MRO products including its own Global Industrial exclusive brands. With extensive product knowledge and a solutions approach, Global Industrial helps customers solve problems and be more successful. At Global Industrial, we can supply that. About Systemax Inc. Systemax Inc., through its operating subsidiaries, is a value-added distributor of industrial products in North America going to market through a system of branded e-Commerce websites and relationship marketers. The primary brand is Global Industrial. Forward-Looking Statement This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of that term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Additional written or oral forward-looking statements may be made by Systemax Inc, the parent company of Global Industrial, from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission or otherwise. Any such statements that are not historical facts are forward looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based on management's estimates, assumptions and projections and are not guarantees of future performance. Investor/Media Contact: Mike Smargiassi The Plunkett Group 212-739-6740 mike@theplunkettgroup.com SOURCE: Systemax Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/639790/Global-Industrial-Launches-Plan-Procure-Execute-Program-to-Support-the-Reopening-and-Recovery-of-Businesses-and-Schools Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a longtime advocate of democracy in Myanmar, told Politico Monday the Biden administration is "trying to do the right thing" in responding to the Myanmar military coup. What he's saying: "On the domestic front, I have not yet witnessed something that Ive been happy about," McConnell said. "But in this area, I think their instincts are good. I think theyre trying to do the right thing." Between the lines: President Biden has consulted McConnell on the U.S.' response to the takeover in Myanmar, which has led police and military to kill over 700 people since February, Politico reports. The Republican senator, an ally to Myanmar's democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, called on the Biden administration to address the coup at the United Nations Security Council to ensure international attention. Our ability to influence this from halfway around the world is limited, he said. But we do have tools. "The lion share of the burden is on the State Department and the administration," he added. "But in any way that congressional action needs to be a part of this: Count me in." A former top State Department official who used to work with McConnell's staff told Politico McConnell has been "frustrated at times that, on both sides of the aisle, the White House and the State Department hasn't always come up with effective Burma policies." The big picture: The Biden administration has meted out a number of sanctions on Myanmar military officials in response, suspending trade engagement and imposing export controls. But the violence hasn't abated in Myanmar. On Saturday, security forces killed at least 82 pro-democracy protesters, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group. Go deeper: UN envoy says "a bloodbath is imminent" in Myanmar Shanghai (Gasgoo)- XPeng Inc. (XPeng) entered into a cooperation agreement with the government of Wuhan on April 8 to build a new smart EV manufacturing base in Wuhan. Supported by the Wuhan government, XPeng will start the construction of the new Wuhan base that covers an area of over 733,000 square meters and features manufacturing and powertrain plants, as well as R&D facilities. The cooperation agreement highlights the comprehensive support from the Wuhan government and its recognition of XPengs leading role in the smart EV sector, said XPeng. Wuhans strategic location as an auto manufacturing and distribution hub will further enhance our supply chain management, sales and distribution network in the future, said He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of XPeng. Wuhan is one of Chinas six key passenger vehicle manufacturing centers, and boasts a well-developed auto supply chain and ancillary facilities, benefiting from its superior geographic location as China's high-speed rail, expressway and water transportation hub. Our technology know-how will help the city enrich and upgrade its smart EV industrial capability, strengthening its pivotal role as an auto hub for the future, added Mr. He. Headquartered in Guangzhou, XPeng currently has two mass-produced models for sales, namely the G3 and the P7. Its smart EVs are being manufactured at plants in Zhaoqing and Zhengzhou, located in Guangzhou and Henan provinces respectively. For the first quarter of 2021, the startup's quarterly deliveries hit a record high of 13,340 EVs, zooming up 487% from a year earlier. XPeng said the highest-ever quarterly deliveries were credited to its growing brand recognition and brand appeal, expanded product portfolio, and its relentless endeavors in enlarging sales, marketing and supercharging service networks countrywide. Given the circumstantial nature of the case, the defense hopes to effectively create doubt by way of shifting attention away from the defendant and toward another suspect who can't testify or contradict any of their claims. Read more . . . Fox4: Kylr Yust Trial -The defense fights to present Yust's brother as alternate suspect Deets: "Through the day the defense peppered in information about Yusts half-brother, Jessep Carter, and the idea he may be someone to look at instead of Yust. They asked investigators if Carter was looked at as a suspect and even brought up the topic of a gold station wagon. The defense claims this car may be connected to Carter all the way back in 2007, around the time of Kopetskys disappearance". Here's a more skeptical view of the tactics . . . Kylr Yust defense team off to rocky start as it opens case Monday Basics . . . "The jury spent much of the short day outside the courtroom as the state challenged the relevancy and accuracy of much of the witness testimony." Developing . . . 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. NZ Windfarms Limited is pleased to announce it has agreed the terms of its third Variable Volume Fixed Price Agreement (VVFPA) for 100% of its production from 1 January 2022 to 30 September 2022. An existing agreement is already in place for production before 1 January 2022. Commercial terms are confidential. The price achieved is reflective of forward electricity prices on the transaction date. The ASX futures price for the relevant period is adjusted lower to factor in both the nodal prices (the difference in forward electricity price between Otahuhu and Tararua) and intermittent wind generation. This approach is normal and is based on long term experience and past contracts. It also reflects the current elevated ASX futures curve which is a positive increase for revenue. NWFs Chairman, John Southworth, said he was pleased with the level of interest in the VVFPA renewal process with multiple parties submitting bids over varying tenures. Mr Southworth said the New Zealand market has matured with respect to these types of contracts and expects them to become common place going forward and encourages large users of electricity particularly with large carbon footprints to engage. FY2022 EBITDAF Guidance Range The Board notes that revenue (net of hedging) will be materially higher in FY2022 than the current year, However FY2022 EBITDAF guidance range will only be provided to the market once the budget has been approved by the Board. This is expected to be within the next three months and is normal for our business. Please see the link below for details: VVFPA Renewal NZX Announcement Source: NZ Windfarms Limited Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Fletcher Building Limited (NZX: FBU) Share Buyback to Commence on 10 June 2021 4th June 2021 Morning Report 3rd June 2021 Morning Report New Zealand King Salmon Investments Limited (NZX: NZK) Market Update Me Today Limited (NZX: MEE) Confirms $10m Placement to Wholesale Investors 2nd June 2021 Morning Report New Zealand Rural Land Company Limited (NZX: NZL) Rights Issue Documents Infratil Limited (NZX: IFT) Update on Infratil Infrastructure Bond Offer 1st June 2021 Morning Report Synlait Milk Limited (NZX: SML) Update Following Canterbury Flooding You are the owner of this article. The Minister of Works and Housing, Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye has assured the private sector of the Governments commitment to creating an enabling environment for the construction of mass housing in the country for the next four years. The vision of Government for the housing sector is to use an appropriate mix of public and private sector investments to deliver quality, safe, affordable housing solutions that meet the needs and financial capacity of the ordinary Ghanaian, he said. The Minister, who was speaking at the Breakfast Meeting on the Real Estate Sector organised by the Real Estate Times in Accra said, the Government recognises the key role of the private sector and that as a sector Minister, he will lead the process to engage key stakeholders within the housing sector to find ingenious ways of creating the enabling environment, especially for the private sector. According to the Minister, affordable housing has always been on the agenda of the Ministry and considering the growing housing deficit, there is the need for a concerted government policy direction to tackle the current institutional gap that is required to provide mass affordable housing for the people of Ghana. Hon. Asenso-Boakye stated over the years, there hasnt been a clearly defined institutional framework that is responsible for the planning, developing and managing housing in Ghana. For that reason, he added Government will set up a National Housing Authority to lead the supply side of the housing market. The main function of the Authority will be to plan, develop and manage housing development in Ghana. He added that the Government also intends to leverage the Pension Funds to finance Housing delivery in Ghana which he said is one of the surest ways to secure long term and sustainable financing for the housing sector. He explained that the intention is to review the Pension Act to increase its portfolio for financing housing from the current five per cent. Touching on the regulation of the housing industry, the Minister disclosed that Parliament has passed the Real Estate Agency Act, 2020 (Act 1047) to regulate the practice of real estate agency, the conduct of real estate practitioners, commercial transactions including the sale, purchase, rental, and leasing of properties. He noted that the practice of real estate has grown considerably as the property market has become more active with buying, selling, and leasing of property for investment but in recent times, the institutional and regulatory framework for the real estate sub-sector remained fragmented making real estate practice in Ghana not adequately regulated. He was of the view that the expectation of the implementation of the provisions of the Act will go a long way to plug the avenues in which real estate transactions are used to launder money, including the prohibition of the use of cash for real estate transactions which in turn will generate more revenue for Government. The Minister commended the organisers of the event and said the Ministry welcomes events of that nature as it does not only create the opportunity to share experiences and network with industry players but also promotes continuous growth and development of the real estate sector. 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 Hitting out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said Trinamool Congress (TMC) is abusing Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) only because they support Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Speaking at Kalyani Vidhan Sabha constituency, PM Modi said, "Perturbed with fear of losing, Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and her party are crossing all lines. Her people are abusing Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) only because they support Bharatiya Janata Party." "I met a person from Matua community in Bangladesh recently, who said I'm India's first Prime Minister who came to seek Harichand Thakur's blessings in Orakandi. Didi didn't like my Orakandi visit. Didi, the country can see how you have spewed hatred towards Dalits and underprivileged for 10 years," PM Modi added. The Prime Minister said, "Didi promised to make Kalyani a theme city. But she deputed teams of corrupt people and tolabaaz here. Visionaries like Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee and BC Roy wanted to transform Kalyani into a model for modern Bengal but Didi's poor policies have pushed it behind by years." The Prime Minister later said, "Seeing her defeat, Didi has strategised to stop them from voting and facilitate her goons to rig votes." The statement comes after four people were killed in Cooch Behar in an open firing of central forces' personnel amidst the polling of the fourth phase on Saturday. The fifth and sixth phases of the ongoing elections will take place on April 17 and April 22. Counting of votes will take place on May 2. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after he went to police and told them, 'I just murdered my brother' in New York on Saturday. Triquang Au allegedly walked up to officers outside 1 Police Plaza at 3:25pm and told them he had just stabbed his brother to death in their Lower East Side apartment. He was still holding the blood-soaked knife when he made the admission. Wilson Au, 61, was found unconscious but in a seated position with a stab wound to the stomach inside the sibling's New York Housing Authority apartment on St James Place. He was taken from Alfred E. Smith Houses to New York-Presbyterian Downtown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Triquang Au, reportedly only speaks Chinese and approached an Asian NYPD lieutenant to make the confession. A 50-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after he walked up to police and said 'I just murdered my brother' in their apartment in the Alfred E. Smith Houses, in New York on Saturday Triquang Au walked up to police outside 1 Police Plaza at 3:25pm and told them he had just stabbed his brother to death in their Lower East Side apartment The victim's brother, Triquang Au, 50, was arrested. He was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. It wasn't clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the charges. Triquang and Wilson's neighbour Daniel Paniagua told the NY Daily News he saw police swarm the property and attempt to perform CPR on the victim. He said: 'I thought he had a heart attack. There were plenty of cops out here and I'm wondering why there are so many cops if someone had a heart attack... They were doing chest compressions on him.' 'I didn't hear anything. If it happened, it was quiet... I don't hear any noise. The apartment is always quiet.' Detectives from the 5th Precinct are continuing to investigate the case, police said. Australian banks have shut or earmarked the closure of almost 300 branches since the pandemic accelerated consumers switch to online banking. Many branches that initially had temporarily closed during the height of the pandemic will never reopen and some communities have been left with no local bank. Mortlake residents Doug Parker, Kelvin Goodall, Jill Parker and Rosalie Goddard are upset at the closure of their only bank leaving them with an over 40-kilometre journey to the nearest town with an ATM. Credit:Chris Hopkins Since the start of last year, banks have informed the Finance Sector Union of 298 branch closures, with Victoria and NSW the hardest hit, each recording 97 closures. The ANZ has closed or earmarked the closure of the most branches, 131, followed by Westpac, 53, the NAB, 45, and the Commonwealth Bank, 32. "Community events like AWARE help bring information about clinical research and the benefits of participating in it," says AWARE for All - Northeast panelist, Christian Ramirez Martinez, Clinical Research Enrollment Manager at Columbia University Irving Medical Centers All of Us Research Program. CISCRP (Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation), a nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging the public and patients as partners in the clinical research process, announces AWARE for All - Northeast, a virtual event focusing on engaging diverse communities to ensure representation and inclusive clinical research for the future. The program is scheduled for Thursday, April 15th from 4:30PM to 6:00PM EDT. The Northeast event is the first of five regional programs, each offering a user-friendly accessible webinar led by medical professionals, short informational videos to help participants better understand the process and importance of clinical research, facilitated conversations with real patients sharing their experiences with clinical trials, and a five-minute health tip break. Attendees will also have a traditional event booth experience in a digital format, with one-on-one conversations with company representatives, interactive informational collateral, and digital downloads by visiting the Informational Exhibit Center. The AWARE for All events pivoted from live, in-person events to webinar-based programming with the advent of the global pandemic in 2020. While awareness of clinical research has never been higher, there is still a lack of clarity and understanding about clinical trial participation among the general public. The main concern has been mis-trust and mis-education. Bringing education and addressing concerns directly, helps, says AWARE for All - Northeast panelist, Christian Ramirez Martinez, Clinical Research Enrollment Manager at Columbia University Irving Medical Centers All of Us Research Program. Were trying to integrate different levels of education and information to keep patients engaged and increase the level of public health. Community events like AWARE help bring information about clinical research and the benefits of participating in it. For nearly 20 years, CISCRPs mission has been to educate individuals on the positive effects clinical research has on patient outcomes, and weve found reaching out through thoughtful, community-based efforts like AWARE for All even amid the pandemic is where we can make the biggest impact, said Ken Getz, founder and chairman, CISCRP. The AWARE for All -Northeast event features Dr. Carmen Guerra, Associate Professor of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PA who will give an overview presentation on what clinical trials are, the process and the importance of participating. Following Dr. Guerra, a lively panel discussion will feature: Donna MatlachAsthma Trial Participant Colleen ZieglerLung Cancer Trial Participant Christian Ramirez MartinezClinical Research Enrollment Manager, Columbia University/All of Us Cathi ThomasProgram Director of the Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorder Center at BUMC and Coordinator of APDA I&R Center Jamie HoudeEMD Serono Rodney WinleyCSL Behring Supported by local research teams, advocacy groups, and members of the AWARE Industry Consortium (AIC), each regional AWARE for All 2021 event will focus on select medical conditions and therapeutic areas including but not limited to COVID-19, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. The timeline of events is as follows: AWARE for All Northeast (Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Baltimore), Thursday, April 15, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. EDT. AWARE for All Northwest (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Boise, Billings), Thursday, May 20, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. MDT. AWARE for All Midwest (Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis), Thursday, July 22, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. CDT. AWARE for All Southwest (Los Angeles, Dallas/Houston, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas), Thursday, October 21, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. MST. AWARE for All Southeast (Nashville, Charleston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville), Thursday, November 18, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. EST. We want to have opportunities for everyone to have a conversation and identify with clinical researchthat its not specific to one population, says Christian Ramirez Martinez. To learn more about AWARE for All 2021, including community registration information, visit ciscrp.org/events/aware-for-all/aware-for-all-events-2021. Organizations interested in sponsoring the series or exhibiting in the virtual informational exhibit center should contact CISCRP at awareforall@ciscrp.org or 877.633.4376. About CISCRP The Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to engaging the public and patients as partners in the clinical research process. CISCRP provides free education and outreach to the general public and patient communities. Visit http://www.CISCRP.org for more information or to participate in CISCRPs educational initiatives. For additional questions about AWARE for All, contact awareforall@ciscrp.org or call 877-633-4376. ### VANCOUVER, BC, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Delic Holdings Inc. ("DELIC" or the "Company") (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF), a psychedelic wellness-focused company, is pleased to provide the following shareholder update on its operations for the first quarter of 2021. The first quarter of 2021 has been transformative and expansive as DELIC has entered into new sectors of this nascent industry. From early beginnings in media with Reality Sandwich, Meet DELIC, & DELIC Radio, DELIC now has begun to execute its M&A strategy by entering into binding agreements with Ketamine Infusion Center ("KIC"), with their clinics located in California and Arizona, and of Complex Biotech Discovery Ventures ("CBDV") in Vancouver, and more. Acquisition Transactions: Ketamine Infusion Center On February 5th, 2021 DELIC announced the acquisition of KIC, who over the last 3 years have overseen over 4,000 ketamine infusion treatments delivered, all while seeing revenues increase to over USD$1.5mm. The KIC team has been in the clinic and medical space for over 15 years scaling and operating clinics and hospitals across the United States. KIC exclusively administers IV Ketamine infusions, which allows them to master the science behind this unique psychedelic therapy. They utilize a state of art electronic medical record system specifically designed for KIC which allows them to track patient outcomes seamlessly. With this effective monitoring tool they gain full representation of progress when it comes to assessing each individual patient. KIC believes that quality of life should not be accomplished by socioeconomic status, so they work diligently to utilize insurance benefits of patients to provide crucial treatment. With 2 clinics already operating in Arizona and California, DELIC plans to help KIC expand to other states in the near future with a goal of adding 12 to 18 clinics in the next 12 to 18 months. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Complex Biotech Discovery Ventures On February 25th, 2021 DELIC announced its acquisition of CBDV (to be renamed DELIC labs), which is a licensed (granted a "Section 56 exemption" by Health Canada) psilocybin and cannabis research lab focused on extraction, analytical testing, and chemical process development. Founded by award-winning chemist, Dr. Markus Roggen, and UBC Professor, Glenn Sammis, CBDV supports the psycheDELIC industry with high precision chemical analytics and metabolomic identification. CBDV is working to solve the current and future problems of the cannabis and psilocybin industries. CBDV utilizes their talented team and collaborative relationships with partner organizations, industry leaders, and academia. These collaborative efforts enable them to expand knowledge on complex subjects and work on a wide array of chemistry and health and business issues. They are committed to broadening their horizons by ultimately building a stronger foundation of expertise for DELIC, and the sector as a whole. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Homestead Brand On top of the acquisitions of KIC and CBDV, on March 4th 2021 DELIC announced the acquisition of Homestead which is a legacy counterculture distributor of psychedelic media and creator of one of the first self-contained psilocybin mushroom grow kits. The acquisition of Homestead is an exciting one as It shows how DELIC is increasing accessibility to this nascent industry within regulated jurisdictions. Homestead not only sold tens of thousands of mushroom kits globally but also was one of the earliest distributors for High Times Holdings and many other counter culture publications. The Homestead acquisition allows DELIC to increase their product offering on their owned website Reality Sandwich (realitysandwich.com), which most recently hit record average monthly traffic of over 200,000 unique visitors, and over 2.6 million active readers in 2020. Through Homestead's extensive intellectual property and heritage brand, DELIC anticipates to revive the "at home EZ Grow experience" targeted at the Reality Sandwich consumer. Product launch is expected in the later half of Q2 2021, and the new mushroom at home grow kit will have a modern interpretation of the company's history and will include everything a consumer needs to be an at home mycologist - pre-sterilized and as easy as mixing the core ingredients provided. In addition to the mushroom kit being offered, consumers will also be able to purchase other complementary products to the kit to enhance their experiences and to become better mycologists. Launch of Meet DELIC Conference: DELIC will announce our new date for Meet Delic, the premier psychedelic wellness event of the year, in early April. Come and experience what's new in psychedelic wellness, connect with the community and expand your horizons. Happening in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. We can't wait to Meet you. For more information visit MeetDelic.com. Matt Stang, Founder and CEO commented "What's in store for the rest of 2021? DELIC is focused on expanding its M&A strategy well beyond its early acquisition targets. We look to utilize our mental health platform to assist studies and increase the intellectual properties born from CBDV's research, (to be renamed DELIC Labs), and our acquisition of Ketamine Infusion Center's to expand not only across the US, but Canada also, with the goal to expand clinics from 2 current clinics to up to 12 in the next 12 to 18 months. As we push forward on this exciting new path and transformation within the psychedelic space. We strive to become a leader in the health and wellness sector and ultimately help people. I am extending a big thank-you to the continued support received from our shareholders. We're just getting started." About DELIC DELIC Always Expanding. In All Ways. DELIC was formed in 2019 to address the growing interest in psychedelic wellness backed by science. DELIC was the first psychedelic umbrella platform and is currently a trusted source for those interested in psychedelic culture, psychedelic clinics, and more. DELIC's offerings include, Ketamine Infusion Center (under binding acquisition agreement), a limited liability corporation formed under the laws of Arizona and runs two ketamine clinics in Arizona and California, "Reality Sandwich", a free public education platform providing psychedelic guides, news and culture, "Meet Delic", the first ever psychedelic wellness summit, and "The Delic", an e-commerce lifestyle brand. For more information, check out www.deliccorp.com. The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information and Statements This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of DELIC's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein may include, but are not limited to, closing of the Transaction, the growth and business of CBDV, potential earn out payments, anticipated continued growth in the health and wellness sector (and, in particular, related to psychedelics), the continued emergence of psychedelics from stigmas, the ability of the Company to maintain sensible messaging, the ability of the Company to avoid dogmatic practices and binary rhetoric, the ability of DELIC to successfully achieve business objectives, and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, DELIC is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of DELIC to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, DELIC has made certain assumptions. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information and statements are the following: the ability to consummate the Transaction; the ability to satisfy the conditions to closing of the Transaction on the proposed terms and schedule; the potential impact of the announcement or consummation of the acquisition on relationships, including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers, customers and competitors; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes in applicable laws; compliance with extensive government regulation; and the diversion of management time on the Transaction. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although DELIC believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and DELIC does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking information and statements attributable to DELIC or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice. SOURCE Delic Holdings Inc. Dreamstime, HO / TNS Federal prosecutors are asking for a five-year prison sentence for a Houston-area man arrested last year as part of a group violent extremists accused of plotting a nationwide scare targeting journalists of color, activists, Jews, a government official, a black congregation and a Virginia university. John Cameron Denton, of Montgomery, is slated to appear 10 a.m. Tuesday for sentencing in federal court in Virginia. He previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit in interstate and foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to injure the person of another, records show. Back in December of 2020, Uber announced that it would be giving 10 million free or discounted rides to people who needed transportation to their COVID-19 vaccine appointments. Now, the company is taking these efforts a step further with a new Vaccine Access Fund. Launched in partnership with PayPal and Walgreens, the fund will be used to pay for peoples rides to their vaccination appointments. According to the American Public Transportation Association, nearly half of Americans dont have reliable access to public transportation, making it difficult for many to get to a vaccination site. The three companies are donating $11 million to the fund to get it going, but Uber is looking to its customers to help out. Through a new feature supported by PayPal Giving Fund in the Uber or Uber Eats app, anyone can donate.The money in the Vaccine Access Fund will be managed by Local Initiatives Support Corporation, which will work with community nonprofits and other partners to set up rides for people who need them. Thiruvananthapuram, April 12 : Ranjith Ramachandran, an Assistant Professor at IIM Ranchi, is a role model today. His struggle to get a get a good education and the fight to sustain himself to see his dream getting realised is being regarded as an inspiration to the society. Ranjith lived in a dilapidated single room mud hut and worked as a night watchman for survival. His father is a tailor and mother a daily wage earner under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). He did his graduation at St Pious College, Kanhangad in northern most Kerala and worked as a night watchman at the BSNL exchange in Panathur, Kasargod district. He graduated in Economics honours and went on to study a doctoral degree at IIT Madras, one of the premier institutes of the country. Ranjith, who writes himself as Ranjith K. Panathur, said that he was totally desperate after getting into IIT Madras as he knew no other language other than Malayalam. As communication was difficult, he wanted to quit, said Ranjith. However Dr Subhash, his professor at IIT Madras encouraged him to continue, and now Ranjith has got a posting as Assistant Professor in the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ranchi. After his doctoral degree from IIT Madras, Ranjith joined Christ University, Bangalore for two months and he got a posting at IIM Ranchi. In between he was also in the merit list for the selection of professors in Calicut university but could not make it. In a Facebook post, Ranjith wrote extensively on the trauma and the tough life he had faced to meet two ends together and dedicates his success to the poor parents, who had given everything to make him what he is now. His Facebook post turned viral with more than 37,000 likes and Ranjith while speaking to IANS said, "I never thought that my Facebook post would go this viral, I had posted it to be an inspiration for each and everyone who are fighting with their backs to the wall and I wanted to be an inspiration, nothing more." The story of Ranjith, who comes from a remote village in the northernmost part of Kerala, is being appreciated as ahugley inspiring one, and he is being projected as a role model. Kerala Finance Minister and a Doctorate in Economics from the Centre For Development Studies, Dr. Thomas Issac while speaking to IANS said, "Ranjith is an inspiration and from the moment he felt he was defeated, he turned his life and achieved success. He is an inspiration and role model, we have seen the likes of former President Late K.R. Naryananan who had defeated his circumstances with extraordinary will power and attained success." He adds, "Ranjith has used education as a tool to overcome the social and economic backwardness and climbed up the ladder of success and he is an inspiration, enabler and a role model for all the young children who seeks to attain success in life and they must understand that education is a major tool for success and to open newer pastures." Dear Honorable Senator Recourt, Recalling the policy debate on relations with the Caribbean countries and municipalities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with State Secretary Knops on April 6th, 2021. Recalling your suggestion for an appointment of an independent researcher to analyze the aftermath of colonialism. Recalling your belief that the relationship between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the countries within the Kingdom need reform. Recalling the proposal made by your person for a meeting to discuss the tasks, responsibilities, and powers that make cooperation with the Kingdom more fruitful. Recalling your proposal to investigate which obstacles hinder cooperation from the colonial past in the Netherlands and the three countries within the Kingdom. After extensive research, Pro Soualiga has concluded that the debate concerning the Kingdom can be encapsulated in one primary issue: How were the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles removed from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs) without a UN Resolution authorizing their removal? Pro Soualiga Foundation kindly requests you to direct your attention to the following missing statements in Resolution 945X of December 15, 1955: (a) that the former Netherlands Antilles have achieved a full measure of self-governance (b) that the right of self-determination was exercised by the people of the Netherlands Antilles (c) that Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter no longer applies In the resolutions of the other territories that were decolonized during the 1950s, the UN followed a uniform practice of always including those three statements in the relevant resolutions. We urge you to compare the resolutions of Puerto Rico in 1953 (U.N. Resolution 748 VIII), Greenland in 1954 (U.N. Resolution 849 IX), and Alaska and Hawaii in 1959 (U.N. Resolution 1469 XIV) to Resolution 945X. Bear in mind that without a UN resolution which states Chapter XI no longer applies there can exist no valid reason for the exclusion of the former Netherlands Antilles from the list of NSGTs. Bear in mind that Resolution 945X of December 15, 1955, contains no such language, and therefore cannot serve as the basis for removal from the list of NSGTs. If a United Nations Resolution which clearly states that: (a) the former Netherlands Antilles have achieved a full measure of self-governance (b) the right of self-determination was exercised by the people of the Netherlands Antilles (c) Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter no longer applies is not forthcoming, or does not exist, the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles need to be relisted on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories which would then alleviate the vast majority of the decolonization issues that the Kingdom presently encounters. We look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter at your earliest convenience. Thank you, Mr. Renate L. Brison Secretary Pro Soualiga Foundation [April 12, 2021] Blue.cloud Marches Forward Through Q1 2021 with a Year of Rapid Growth Blue.cloud, the cloud-only digital transformation company, today announced strong growth and momentum during FY2020 and continuing through the first quarter of 2021. Several key areas in the company contributed, including existing client relationships, talent acquisition, strategic partnerships, and new Fortune 500 logos. The results were driven in part by an accelerated move to the cloud and heightened demand for the efficiency and cost benefits of a cloud-only approach among enterprises. "The steep gain of interest and adoption for Blue.cloud's cloud-only services has been fueled by the growing number of enterprises with specific requirements for their business-critical applications. As a result, we've become a go-to trusted advisor to the C-suite, working with innovative CTOs, CDOs and CIOs for a wide range of data engineering and analytics services on their digital transformation path," said Kerem Koca, co-Founder and co-CEO of Blue.cloud. Key Business Highlights Some milestones include: Blue.cloud's run rate revenue exceeds $20M as of March 31, 2021, increased from $5.8M on January 31, 2020 and $7.5M on March 31, 2020. 100% growth year-over-year as of March 2021 is expected to continue based on an existing pipeline of multiple Fortune 500 clients (TTM). The company rebranded, renamed and relaunched, with an industry-first "cloud-only" positioning as "Blue.cloud," in January 2021. Blue.cloud sees continued demand from its top verticals of global financial services, healthcare, life sciences, and VC-backed startups. Blue.cloud selected to Snowflake's exclusive Partner Development Program for key emerging partners to quickly advance to Premier status. Team Growth and Expansion Blue.cloud's headcount grew 2x year-over-year, with the addition of 120 new employees in FY2020 across all geographies and functions and is continuing to ramp up its world class team rapidly. Some key leadership positions dded during that time, include: Brian Alvarez, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, joined Blue.cloud in a new, growth-focused leadership position for executing acquisition opportunities, investor partnerships, and growth equity financing activities to drive the company's ongoing expansion within the fast-growing data analytics space. Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, joined Blue.cloud in a new, growth-focused leadership position for executing acquisition opportunities, investor partnerships, and growth equity financing activities to drive the company's ongoing expansion within the fast-growing data analytics space. Lawrence Dillon , Head of Strategy and Practice Leader for Blue.cloud and its new strategic management consulting division, joined the company with more than three decades of creating and executing seamless digital transformations for all types of enterprises and organizations. The management consulting practice provides guidance to clients as they plan and implement digital transformations within their organizations to achieve business value. He brings to Blue.cloud a team of 6 management consultants including two PhDs. , Head of Strategy and Practice Leader for Blue.cloud and its new strategic management consulting division, joined the company with more than three decades of creating and executing seamless digital transformations for all types of enterprises and organizations. The management consulting practice provides guidance to clients as they plan and implement digital transformations within their organizations to achieve business value. He brings to Blue.cloud a team of 6 management consultants including two PhDs. Raghav Beeram, CEO, Blue.cloud India, and Head of Global Delivery, has more than 20 years of consulting and global delivery implementation experience in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia. Raghav, who is expert in large, highly complex onshore and offshore projects, will develop core strategies for Blue.cloud's Fortune 500 customers. Previously, he held senior executive management positions at Enhops, Cigniti Technologies, CSC (News - Alert) , AppLabs, NCS Group and Bluenet. CEO, Blue.cloud India, and Head of Global Delivery, has more than 20 years of consulting and global delivery implementation experience in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia. Raghav, who is expert in large, highly complex onshore and offshore projects, will develop core strategies for Blue.cloud's Fortune 500 customers. Previously, he held senior executive management positions at Enhops, Cigniti Technologies, CSC (News - Alert) , AppLabs, NCS Group and Bluenet. Sanjay Singh, Chief Data Scientist, brings over 20 years of experience heading advanced data science for enterprises to Blue.cloud. Sanjay, who has worked at HSBC, Cognizant (News - Alert) , NutaNXT Technologies, is uniquely experienced in handling large volumes of both structured and unstructured data, building and managing data warehouses and data lakes for BI, and innovating solutions for business problems through advanced analytics and machine learning in finance, BFSI, CPG, healthcare and fintech. Chief Data Scientist, brings over 20 years of experience heading advanced data science for enterprises to Blue.cloud. Sanjay, who has worked at HSBC, Cognizant (News - Alert) , NutaNXT Technologies, is uniquely experienced in handling large volumes of both structured and unstructured data, building and managing data warehouses and data lakes for BI, and innovating solutions for business problems through advanced analytics and machine learning in finance, BFSI, CPG, healthcare and fintech. James Harper, Senior Leader, Data & Analytics, brings more than 20 years as a leader in IT delivery management for onshore and offshore enterprises. He most recently held senior executive leadership positions at Northern Trust and HSBC. Partnerships / Sponsorships Snowflake: Blue.cloud was invited into Snowflake's exclusive Partner Development Program, limited to regionally selected key emerging partners to advance to Premier status within a few months. Blue.cloud was invited into Snowflake's exclusive Partner Development Program, limited to regionally selected key emerging partners to advance to Premier status within a few months. ThoughtSpot: Blue.cloud co-sponsored strategic partner ThoughtSpot's "Beyond Data 2020" conference. Blue.cloud co-sponsored strategic partner ThoughtSpot's "Beyond Data 2020" conference. Starburst: Blue.cloud co-sponsored strategic partner Starburst's "Datanova" conference, which gathered over 3,000 attendees and industry leaders focused on data. "Over the past year, multiple Blue.cloud clients made significant gains in their position on the Fortune 500 ranking. Embracing the cloud, digital transformation, and working to obtain real-time analytics with our suite of services have proven useful," said Praveen Ramineni, co-Founder and co-CEO. "The Fortune 500s that are growing faster than others and staying at the leading edge are working with Blue.cloud." About Blue.cloud Blue.cloud is a cloud-only digital transformation company that specializes in implementing leading cloud technologies and solutions for clients. Blue.cloud provides digital strategy, data engineering and analytics, digital services and cloud operation services to companies ranging from Fortune 500 enterprises to mid-market companies and startups. It has deep technology skills that enable key business processes and works across industries to deliver cloud transformation solutions that impact growth and differentiated customer experience for clients. Blue.cloud is the evolution of Bluenet, which was founded in 2004 in the data and analytics space. The company is headquartered in Tampa Bay, FL. For more information, visit www.blue.cloud. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005576/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ADVERTISEMENT As we emerge from the pandemic, governments have an opportunity to use lessons from the crisis to build the inclusive financial systems they will need to respond to future economic crises. By doing this, they can also position their economies for growth and resiliency in this digital century. In the year since COVID-19 hit, economies across Africa have experienced a dramatic slowdown. Even countries with limited initial incidence of the virus faced severe economic aftershocks. Significant disruption in agricultural markets and labour in sub-Saharan Africa has restricted income and led to rapid food insecurity for many. Making sure emergency financial support could reach people quickly became a priority for many governments, but with lockdowns and social distancing, traditional means of distributing relief were often unavailable. Countries which had invested in making their financial systems more inclusive before the pandemic were able to mitigate the most severe economic shocks to households. The ability of these countries to act wasnt built on radical reinvention, but rather on the effective use of established solutions that drive digitisation, growth, and inclusion. Of course, there is a limit to how much countries can expand financial access amid a crisis, so the time to upgrade financial regulations and infrastructure to drive inclusion is now. As African and global leaders look to implement plans following discussions at the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings last week about steps countries can take to rebuild their economies from the pandemic, they need not reinvent the wheel. Here are three suggestions for how countries can make their economies more resilient to future shocks, including climate change, natural disasters, and the next pandemic. First, countries should craft financial services regulations that provide space for companies and industry to innovate, while safeguarding consumers against risks, including data privacy and cybersecurity. When countries get their financial regulations right, the benefits of financial inclusion can accrue rapidly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries with high levels of payment and ID connectivity could quickly identify and deliver payments to households eligible for emergency funds. Digital payment and ID systems eliminated the need for people to complete paper forms or contend with crowded lines to receive emergency funds For example, mobile money penetration in Ghana tripled between 2014 and 2017, while overall financial account access increased from 41 per cent to 58 per cent. The catalyst for this remarkable growth was the Bank of Ghanas introduction of new electronic money regulations in 2015, which permitted non-banks, such as mobile operators, to own and run mobile money businesses, while simplifying the process for consumers opening entry-level accounts. These reforms demonstrate how central banks can rapidly expand financial access, while maintaining safe and effective systems. But upgrading financial services regulations is only part of the solution. Governments need to increase their ability to identify citizens and transact with them safely and quickly. Investing in inclusive digital payment and identity infrastructure is the second step governments should take to rebuild their financial systems and build more resilient economies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries with high levels of payment and ID connectivity could quickly identify and deliver payments to households eligible for emergency funds. Digital payment and ID systems eliminated the need for people to complete paper forms or contend with crowded lines to receive emergency funds; they could apply online or by SMS and be paid digitally. In Namibia, which has a high ID uptake and enabling e-money regulations, informal workers could apply for assistance via SMS; approved applicants then received an e-wallet token that could be withdrawn at an ATM or used for digital transactions. Within three weeks, the government had distributed cash digitally to over one-third of working-age adults. By contrast, countries with limited payment connectivity and identity systems had less effective options. Some governments had to physically deliver cash, while others relied on social protection measures, such as subsidising the price of food or fuel. Fortunately, governments seeking to upgrade their digital financial systems need not start from scratch. They can make use of new, open-source payment and identity platforms, such as Mojaloop and MOSIP, built on best-in-class privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity frameworks. These innovations are already accelerating digital financial inclusion in several countries. Ethiopia and Guinea are exploring pilots based on the MOSIP platform. A full understanding of the outcomes of rapid response measures undertaken by governments to alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic will take time. It is clear, however, that over the last year, governments have preserved millions of lives and livelihoods through the judicious use of inclusive digital financial infrastructure. A third step governments can take to build more resilient economies is to put women at the front and centre. A growing body of experimental evidence demonstrates that getting money into the hands of women to connect them to the formal financial system, can lead to long-term benefits, including more decision-making power in their households, and greater economic security. Through targeted emergency payment systems, enabled by strong, inclusive digital financial systems, governments have bolstered economic activity and supported women during the pandemic. In Togo, the government set up the NOVISSI cash transfer scheme to support the most vulnerable citizens, whose daily income was disrupted by the pandemic. Through the programme, more than 370,000 women in Togo received financial aid between April and June 2020. A full understanding of the outcomes of rapid response measures undertaken by governments to alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic will take time. It is clear, however, that over the last year, governments have preserved millions of lives and livelihoods through the judicious use of inclusive digital financial infrastructure. As we emerge from the pandemic, governments have an opportunity to use lessons from the crisis to build the inclusive financial systems they will need to respond to future economic crises. By doing this, they can also position their economies for growth and resiliency in this digital century. Rodger Voorhies, is President, Global Growth and Opportunity Division of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The primary goals were prevention of organ dysfunction and death as well as recovery over 30 days PLC ( ) posted disappointing results for phase III trials assessing diabetes drug Farxiga in Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients. The primary goals were prevention of organ dysfunction and death as well as recovery over 30 days. The FTSE 100 company said the candidate did not achieve statistical significance in treating people hospitalised after contracting the virus and at risk of developing serious complications. DARE-19, the name of the Phase III trial, evaluated patients hospitalised with COVID-19 who also had risk factors for developing serious complications Cardiac, renal and metabolic comorbidities have been associated with poor outcomes and death in patients hospitalised with COVID-19, the pharma giant said. "Prior to the DARE-19 Phase III trial, there was little data on the use of SGLT2 inhibitors in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and we have now helped to fill this knowledge gap. We look forward to the efficacy and safety data being presented in the coming weeks, said Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President of BioPharmaceuticals R&D, in a release. Shares were flat at 7,256p on Monday morning. (Newser) The Washington Post has done a deep dive into domestic terrorism incidents in the US over the last six years and found a clear trend: Attacks by far-right groups have far exceeded those by far-left groups. Some highlights from the analysis, based on data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies: Right-wing extremists have been held responsible for 267 plots or attacks, resulting in 91 fatalities, since 2015. Left-wing extremists were blamed for 66 incidents and 19 deaths over the same period. More than a quarter of right-wing incidents were linked to white supremacy. story continues below In 2020, the number of right-wing incidents reached 73, a yearly high. The number of left-wing attacks hit 25, also a record. The burning of a police station in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd is an example of an incident in the latter camp. The stats show 15 anti-immigrant incidents since 2015, with 27 fatalities. That includes the 2019 massacre at a Walmart in El Paso that left 23 people dead. Click to read the full analysis and breakdown of data . (Read more domestic terrorism stories.) Teaching under coronavirus conditions: the distance between students minimizes the risk of infection by droplets with a diameter of more than 50 micrometres. The HEADS App developed by the Max Planck team in Gottingen makes it possible to estimate the risk of infection by aerosol particles with less than 50 micrometres. Credit: Friso Gentsch The risk of being infected with the coronavirus indoors can now be determined more reliably than before using a web app. A team from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Gottingen and the University Medical Center Gottingen uses a refined statistical method in the web app called Human Emission of Aerosol and Droplet Statistics, or HEADS, to calculate the risk of infection via aerosols. The researchers include in their analysis the size distribution of infectious aerosols and the rate at which they settle in a room. As a result, HEADS now gives a realistic risk of infection from aerosols in enclosed spaces that are not too large. The app does not make any statement about the risk of becoming infected by droplets larger than 50 micrometers in diameter when in contact with a virus carrier at a short distance. A new, tighter lockdown may soon be another attempt to reduce the number of COVID 19 cases. However, ways must be found to return to a reasonably normal life even with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Therefore, especially in light of new mutations, it is important to know what the risk of infection is in different situations and how it can be minimized. To better assess the risk of infection indoors, the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and the Institute of Hospital Hygiene and Infectiology (IK&I) at the University Medical Center Gottingen (UMG) have released the free web app HEADS (Human Emission of Aerosol and Droplet Statistics). It can be used to calculate the risk of infection for a certain number of people in indoor spaces that can be as large as 100 square meters, twice the size of a classroom. All users have to enter into the app are a few parameters, such as the size of the room, the number of people present, and whether these people are just breathing, talking loudly, or perhaps singing. The main factor in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens are droplets that virus carriers release with the air they exhale. Droplets typically vary in size from about 100 nanometersabout the diameter of a single virusto about one millimeter. Droplets larger than about 50 micrometers fall quickly to the ground, so the risk of infection from them can be minimized by keeping people at least 1.5 meters apart. Droplets smaller than 50 micrometers in diameterequivalent to the radius of a fine woman's hairdry quickly, become lighter particles, and as such remain airborne longer. The Gottingen team now asked themselves how high the risk of infection from these aerosols is in a closed, well-mixed environment, and developed the HEADS app based on their own research results and findings from other groups. The model behind it is now up-to-date with the latest scientific findings and in particular takes into account the size distribution of the aerosols released with the air we breathe. As the researchers measured on more than 130 test subjects, there are many small aerosols and only a few large ones. The larger the aerosol droplets, the more dangerous they can be Even for aerosol droplets with a diameter of less than 50 micrometers, the larger they are when released, the more harmful they can be. This is because they can contain several viruses, which increases the risk of infection when inhaled. Using a statistical method that takes this fact into account, the HEADS app now enables a particularly reliable estimate of virus exposure in enclosed spaces. "With our holographic and particle tracking measurements, we now know the large aerosols very well," says Mohsen Bagheri, head of a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization. "This allows us to determine the viral load in an indoor environment very well." Compared to many similar apps that exist around the world, the HEADS app therefore determines a higher risk of infection. "We are confident that with the new theory and the new data, our app represents the risk of infection in closed, well-mixed rooms very well," says Eberhard Bodenschatz, director at the Max Planck Institute in Gottingen. "The bad news is that there is a greatly increased risk of infection." Mohsen Bagheri adds, "The good news, however, is that FFP2 masks and medical mouth-nose protection greatly mitigate the risk, especially when they fit tightly to the face." The new app is currently available in German and English, but is expected to be released in other languages as well. Explore further How to stay safe with a new fast-spreading coronavirus variant on the loose More information: Freja Nordsiek et al. Risk assessment for airborne disease transmission by poly-pathogen aerosols, PLOS ONE (2021). Journal information: PLoS ONE Freja Nordsiek et al. Risk assessment for airborne disease transmission by poly-pathogen aerosols,(2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248004 Syracuse, N.Y. -- U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican from Long Island, is meeting with Republicans and Conservative party members in Syracuse tonight, his first campaign stop since announcing plans to challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo next year. Zeldin said hes meeting with Central New York party members this evening at the Palace Theatre in Eastwood. Before the event, which he described as a meet-and-greet rather than a fundraiser, he noted some empty storefronts he saw on the east side of Syracuse. Its depressing to see families hitting their breaking point and leaving, he said. We have to turn things around. Zeldin, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, said he would combat that by cutting spending and lessening insurance and energy costs on businesses. He also said he disagreed with parts of New Yorks newly enacted $212 billion budget, which includes $2.1 billion to help undocumented workers recover from wage losses during the pandemic. Many got hit with a tax increase in Albany last week, he said of the states new higher tax rates on millionaires and some corporations, to pay in part for a multi-billion-dollar fund for people who arent legally in the country. Zeldin is an Army veteran who has represented New Yorks 1st congressional district since 2015. He served two terms in the state Senate before that. Cuomo, a Democrat in his third term, is facing allegations of sexual misconduct from former and current staffers. Hes also faced criticism for some of his decisions during the coronavirus pandemic, especially involving nursing home residents. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and has yet to say whether hell seek a fourth term. Zeldin declined to specify who was at tonights event but said it was a mix of people invited by political party chairs. The states governor race is in 2022. To challenge Cuomo, Zeldin must first secure a political party line or win a primary to get on the general election ballot. 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. Patna, April 12 : As many as 12 employees of Bandhan Bank here on Monday tested positive for coronavirus. A health official at Patna civil surgeon office said that some Bandhan Bank employees of Ashiyana Digha branch have been complaining of mild fever for the last few days. "We have conducted Covid tests on Sunday and 12 of them turned out to be positive. Later, we have sealed the branch and also appealed to the bank manager to sanitise the premises in the presence of health employees," he said. Earlier, 5 employees of Bank of Baroda's Kadam Kuan branch had tested positive for the virus. ADVERTISEMENT Five members of a family kidnapped while returning home to Anambra from a wedding ceremony in Abia State have been released. They were released after paying a ransom totalling N1.3 million. The kidnappers had initially demanded N30 million. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the family, travelling to Onitsha, Anambra State, was attacked around Okigwe in Imo State on Saturday evening. Those kidnapped include the father, Okwudili Okonkwo, his wife, son and two other relatives. But on Saturday night, the kidnappers released the mother and her son, Chidinma Okonkwo, to go and find N30 million for payment as ransom for the release of the three others. The family told PREMIUM TIMES that the kidnappers later reviewed the price down to one million naira on Monday. The ransom, gathered from friends and sympathisers on social media, was paid on Monday evening, after which they were released. Chukwudi Okoknwo, one of the family members, confirmed their release to our correspondent late Monday night. Mr Okonkwo said they were released alongside another victim, whose family rallied to pay N300,000 for his release. There was a fourth man involved. The owner of the silver Camry. They paid N1.3 million total, 300k was for the other mans family. When asked about their whereabouts, he said they are currently on their way to Onitsha. Theyre still on their way. But Ive spoken with them. The spokesperson of the police in Imo state, Orlando Ikeokwu, was yet to respond to PREMIUM TIMES enquiries after he demanded that an SMS be sent. Kidnapping has been on the rise in recent times, compounding Nigerias security challenges particularly with the nations security apparatus appearing overwhelmed. WILMINGTON, N.C., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry is proud to announce the opening of their newest location in Bolivia, located at 2831 Midway Rd SE next to Lowes Foods. The conveniently located office offers a full suite of affordable general dentistry services, including cosmetic and restorative treatment. Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry, based out of the Research Triangle region, is pleased to offer the highest standard of dental care to the Bolivia and Southport communities through the use of state-of-the-art technology and services. Riccobene Associates accepts dental insurance, including United Concordia and most retiree plans; those without insurance will have access to an affordable in-house membership plan at just $28/month, along with patient financing options. "Our priority is to provide gentle, trusted dental care that meets our patients' needs and fits their budgets," said Dr. Michael Riccobene. "We are excited to offer a premier level of dentistry in a convenient location, and my associate Dr. Durant and I look forward to serving the community the dental care they deserve." Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry, founded in 2000 by Dr. Michael Riccobene, focuses on providing affordable, high-quality dental care with a patient-centered atmosphere. For more than 20 years, the company has earned numerous "Favorite Family Dentist" awards throughout Wilmington and the Triangle, including Shorepicks Top Dentist for 2020 and Indy Week's 'Best of the Triangle. Riccobene Associates has been one of the 50 Best Places to Work in the Triangle and was recently recognized as a Fast 50 Company by the Triangle Business Journal. ABOUT RICCOBENE ASSOCIATES FAMILY DENTISTRY: Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry employs over 75+ dentists in a team-oriented environment. Starting from the original location in Selma, NC, Dr. Riccobene has built 30+ high-end practices serving the dental needs in communities across the state of North Carolina. Riccobene Associates' strategy is to continue its rapid growth in North Carolina and into adjacent states through de novo openings and add-on affiliations with high quality providers who share Dr. Riccobene's commitment to patient care. For more information or to request an appointment, please visit the company website, https://www.brushandfloss.com/ Contact: Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry 919.817.2529; Tommy Sikes [email protected] SOURCE Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry Related Links https://brushandfloss.com Two Christian nurses in Punjab, Pakistan have been wrongly accused of blasphemously vandalizing a hospital facility that showed a Quran verse. Pakistani police in Faisalabad City arrested two Christian nurses working at Civil Hospital, where the nurses were accused by a Muslim coworker of desecrating a wall with Quran verses. Nurse Maryam Lal and a third-year student Navish Arooj were taken by the police and formally charged with blasphemy. According to International Christian Concern, Lal was ordered to remove old wall hangings and stickers from a wall in the hospital by a senior nurse by the name of Rukhsana. However, it all appeared to be a ruse by Rukhsana to get other Muslim hospital staff to condemn the Christian nurse as Rukhsana reportedly held a grudge against Lal. Rukhsana also claims that she saw Arooj scratch and remove the stickers with Quran verses on it. Lal was then attacked by Mohammad Waqas, a Muslim staffer at the hospital's pharmacy who wielded a knife at her as she was attending to a patient. Lal incurred several injuries to her arm. Ironically, Waqas was not arrested for inflicting physical harm. The Christian Post reported that a video shared to social media showed how Waqas called Lal vulgar names and rallied other employees to persecute her for tearing down a sticker with a Quran verse on it. False blasphemy charges were leveled at Lal after news about her spread throughout the community. A group of angered Muslims even protested outside Civil Hospital and demanded that the Christian nurse be arrested and hanged for committing blasphemy. The Bishops of Pakistan's National Commission for Justice and Peace quickly came to the defense of the two Christian nurses facing blasphemy charges, ICN reported. Program coordinator Kashif Aslam accused the hospital staff of a "false accusation against Christian women." Aslam insisted that people of Christian faith have "deep sensitivity" about religious freedom and are "also taught to respect other religions." He does not believe that the nurses had indeed desecrated the stickers containing Quran verses. Ministry of Human Rights and Minority Affairs Punjab member Asif Munawar called upon the Pakistani government to ensure that the Christian nurses undergo a "fair investigation," especially with the country's strict blasphemy laws in place, ICC reported. Pakistan's blasphemy laws are often used by some Muslims driven by religious hatred or personal vendetta. Such blasphemy charges often incite "mob lynchings, vigilante murders, and mass protests" in the country. "We call on Pakistani authorities to thoroughly and fairly investigate this false allegation and bring the false accuser to justice. Pakistan's blasphemy laws must no longer be allowed to settle personal scores or incite religious hatred," ICC Regional Manager William Stark declared. "Too often these laws have been a tool in the hands of extremists seeking to stir up religiously motivated violence against minorities." In 2020 alone, there were about 200 individuals who were accused of blasphemy, an all time high that has concerned human rights advocates all over the world. More concerningly, about 54% of all blasphemy accusations target minorities, including 15.5% targeting Christians, who make up only 1.6% of the total population of Pakistan, ICC reported. INDVR said the partnership marks the companys first move into the Canadian cannabis market, as well as its first international expansion INDVR said it will also assist BevCanna with the distribution of certain BevCanna products in the US through INDVR's established channels INDVR Brands Inc ( ) (OTCMKTS:CAAOF) (FRA:3YX) announced it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with BevCanna Enterprises Inc ( ) (QTCQB:BVNNF) (FRA:7BC), in which BevCanna will produce and distribute certain HONU THC-infused edible products to retail locations across Canada. INDVR said the partnership marks the companys first move into the Canadian cannabis market, as well as its first international expansion. "With the THC infused product segment making up a growing percentage of the cannabis consumed in Canada, now is the ideal time to introduce our HONU brand into an edibles market estimated at approximately $1.6 billion annually," INDVR Brands CEO Joshua Mann said in a statement. Mann added: "Our dedication to product quality and consistency is our defining factor in producing some of the most trusted products in Washington and Oregon states, and we are excited to start building the same brand-loyal following across Canada." INDVR noted that BevCanna will assist in accessing manufacturing, sales and distribution for certain INDVR and HONU products in Canada, including the new product lines being integrated through the Strainz acquisition. As well, INDVR will assist BevCanna with the distribution of certain BevCanna products in the US through INDVR's established channels, which includes providing BevCanna with distribution metrics on the various channels available in certain States, dispensaries, and expected sales volumes to help with its product's overall success in the US. INDVR Brands, formerly known as Cannabis One Holdings, is a Colorado-based, Canada-listed company focused on the creation and distribution of unique and exciting brands in the legal US cannabis market. Since August 2020, through new corporate objectives set out by the new board and management team, INDVR said it has become focused on growing its infused product brands and using those brands to expand its distribution reach to over 1,000 dispensaries across Washington, Oregon and Colorado. Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com Azur Airs flight has landed safely at Sochi airport after the crew decided to turn back to the departure airport over possible cabin depressurization, the airport press service told TASS on Sunday. "The landing was safe at 22.24 Moscow time," TASS cited him as saying. Earlier in the day, it was reported that the crew of Azur Airs flight from Sochi to St. Petersburg decided to return to the departure airport after the cabin had possibly depressurized. There were 190 passengers on board the Boeing 737-8 plane. According to the Sochi Airports information board, the Azur Airs flight took off at 20.49 Moscow Time. AKRON, Ohio An Akron man, previously charged with felonious assault in connection with a stabbing that hospitalized a 38-year-old man, has been charged with murder after the victim died Sunday morning, according to police. Willie James, 43, is accused of fatally stabbing the victim who has not been publicly identified, pending family notifications on March 27 near the Haven of Rest homeless shelter on the 200 block of East Market Street in downtown Akron, police reported Monday. Police responded around 6:30 p.m. and found the victim on the ground with an apparent stab wound to his neck, according to a police report. Paramedics brought him to Summa Akron City Hospital, where he died two weeks later. Witnesses described the suspect and officers broadcasted the description over police radio. Officers found James shortly after near Goodkirk and Perkins streets, police said. Investigators believe James stabbed the victim during an argument. Police did not indicate what object was used in the stabbing. James bond on the felonious charge was set at $50,000 on March 29, and he was scheduled for a status hearing on Wednesday, Akron Municipal Court records show. His arraignment on the murder charge is scheduled for Monday. YEREVAN. As of Monday morning, 510 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 203,327 in the country, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Also, 18 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 3,753 cases. One more case of coronavirus patients dying from some other illnesses was recorded in Armenia in the past one day, and the corresponding overall death toll in the country is 953 now. The number of people who have recovered over the past one day is 873, the total respective number so far is 182,836, and the number of people currently being treated is 15,785which is a drop by 382 in one day. And 3,461 COVID-19 tests were conducted in Armenia over the past one day, while 906,177 such tests have been performed to date. LG Electronics is looking to sell its smartphone plants. Source: Glassdoor After announcing to withdraw from the smartphone business, LG Electronics is closing down production plants in Haiphong (Vietnam), Taubate (Brazil), and Qingdao (China) after failing to effect a breakthrough, according to Business Korea. Of these, the Haiphong plant, which is the largest among LG Electronics' smartphone plants with an annual capacity of about 10 million smartphones, equaling about half of LG's total smartphone output, has been announced to find a buyer at the selling price of KRW100 billion ($90 million). Realising the difficulties of finding a local buyer, which is going to manufacture almost 10 million smartphones per year, LG Electronics is considering selling the plant site only, without the production lines. The Taubate and Qingdao plants are facing the same difficulties. They have a total capacity of about 8-9 million smartphones a year. After a rumour about the sale of the Taubate plant caught wind at the end of February, executives and employees at the plant have been staging a strike since March 26 due to concerns over their job security. Last month, LG Electronics attempted to sell its smartphone factories to local conglomerate Vingroup, without success. LG negotiated with Vingroup to sell its smartphone factories in Vietnam and Brazil. However, the recent negotiations failed mainly due to price disagreements, the Korea Times today quoted a senior industry official who understood the deal. Former congressman and presidential candidate Beto ORourke visited Laredo on Saturday to canvass the community through his organization Powered by People. Laredo Canvass is a two-day event planned by ORourke. During his visit Saturday, he spoke to locals about the issues that matter to them. We gathered with other volunteers to go knock on doors and talk to voters of Laredo at their homes and check out how they are doing following the winter storm as a lot of people lost power and water for a while, and then we want to make sure that everything is okay, ORourke said. Also, we want to know what is on peoples minds and what they care about most and what is important to them so that when the next election comes around, whether it is two years, four years or whenever, they know that we are talking to voters now and not only just when there is an election and not just talking to them when we want their vote. Although it has long been speculated that ORourke may be setting his sights to run for governor in Texas in 2022, he said Saturday he has not made a decision yet. I have not made a decision about that, so for the time being Im just going to focus on helping to register voters and also talking to voters and listening to voters, ORourke said. While he is not sure if he will run for office again, he said if he runs and wins then canvassing is something he would like to continue to do. The former congressman said going door to door is vital as it shows the respect people deserve as voters and constituents. ORourke said he chose Laredo for his event instead of a large metropolitan area like Dallas or Houston, or even his own home of El Paso, because he believes Laredo is one of the most important cities for the future of Texas. During Saturdays canvassing, ORourke said he saw there was an array of issues and perspectives the people of Laredo cared about including immigration, guns and the latest bill that might restrict minority voting. He said the bill passed by the Texas Senate that could restrict voting worries him as he already sees veterans who might need assistance to cast their votes. Senator (Judith) Zaffirini was on the committee on that bill, and she was working to stop it as she knows that it would make it harder for Laredo and Webb County, and probably the rest of Texas, to be able to vote, ORourke said. Weve got to stop these bills because they are going to make it harder for some people to vote like those with disabilities and veterans as they will now have to prove their disability if they want to vote by mail. We should trust those veterans to go out and vote as they went ahead and gave their lives for this country. ORourke also discussed the possibility of reopening the borders. People in Laredo want the border to reopen as people want to see their families, they want shoppers to come and spend money in Laredo and they want people with visas to come back and forth as all this is really hurting the economy here if we keep the border closed, ORourke said. Although many other issues were discussed during his door-to-door visits, he was surprised to find out how much Laredoans are worried about the state of the economy, jobs and education in the state. A counselor at a local school told him she is concerned about how there is not enough attention being provided to students while also stating teachers are not getting enough money to make ends meet. She was concerned that there are not enough teachers and counselors in schools, so children were not getting enough individual attention, and then she was also concerned about teacher pay, ORourke said. Volunteers who assisted in going door to door were excited by ORourkes visit and the interest he showed in the concerns of Laredoans. Betos repeated visits to Laredo demonstrate how important our community is to him and his organization, Sergio Mora said. His emphasis on visiting voters where they live has proven to be very effective in motivating people to participate in the democratic process. People appreciate being visited in their homes and being asked their opinion. You gain valuable insight into what their most pressing concerns are and what they expect from their government. I look forward to many more events like this in the months to come. ORourke wants the people Laredo to know that their voices are still being heard even though it is not election season. I want them to know that they are very important to the rest of the state, ORourke said. Thats why I drove 10 hours to be here, to be at their doors and to listen to them and just to find out what it would take for more people in Laredo to get to vote as you know only 50% of registered voters in Webb County voted in 2020. If we want the rest of the state to pay attention to us, a city like Laredo, and like my own town of El Paso, weve got to turn out in greater numbers. So, we are here to organize and get people to volunteer to get to do that and to get behind great Laredo leaders as well. ORourke made it a point for his organization to recruit many people who were fluent in Spanish so he could reach everyone. Although ORourke is very outspoken about his love for his hometown of El Paso, he said he also loves Laredo as he considers the people of the town to be friendly and loving. The culture is similar to his hometown, he appreciates that Laredo is a greener city than El Paso and he loves the food. However, he claimed tacos from El Paso continue to be superior to those of Laredo. Born and raised in El Paso, Ive got to tell you that I love El Paso tacos, but Laredo comes in a close second, ORourke said. The second leg of the Laredo Canvass event is scheduled for Sunday, April 11 starting at 1 p.m. People may still sign up to volunteer by visiting events.poweredxpeople.org. jorge.vela@lmtonline.com A Pakistani court has granted bail to the father of exiled human rights activist Gulalai Ismail, more than two months after he was arrested for supporting a movement that campaigns for the rights of ethnic Pashtuns, his daughter and his lawyer said on April 12. Muhammad Ismail is a professor who, along with his wife, has repeatedly accused the police and intelligence officials of harassment. His daughter, Gulalai, fled to the United States last year to avoid harassment by security agencies. She was later granted asylum in the United States. She has been a supporter of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), which has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of Pakistans estimated 35 million ethnic Pashtuns. Many Pashtuns live near the border of Afghanistan where the military has conducted campaigns it says defeated the Pakistani Taliban. The movement has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed tactics that have killed thousands of Pashtun civilians and forced millions more to abandon their homes since 2003. My father has been granted bail by the High Court today, Ismail wrote on Twitter on April 12. She added: He spent more than two months behind bars. It was a hard time for our family. I thank everyone who supported us during this period and raised their voice against the incarceration of my father. Lawyer Fazal Elahi said he was preparing the papers for Ismail's release from jail. Human rights groups have accused Pakistani authorities of cracking down on PTM members and supporters. Ismail, 33, faces allegations of committing "anti-state activities" in Pakistan stemming from her participation in a rally organized by the PTM in August 2018. Prince William and Prince Harry have joined other members of the royal family in releasing statements honoring their grandfather, Prince Philip, who died at Windsor Castle three days ago, as a man of service and a fun and loving relative. The princes paid tribute on Monday to the Duke of Edinburghs devotion to his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, but also nodded to their private memories of a grandfather they described warmly as sharp-witted, mischievous and affectionate to their children. My grandfathers century of life was defined by service to his country and Commonwealth, to his wife and queen, and to our family, William said in his statement. I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life both through good times and the hardest days. I will never take for granted the special memories my children will always have of their great-grandpa coming to collect them in his carriage and seeing for themselves his infectious sense of adventure as well as his mischievous sense of humor! William said in his statement, adding that he would continue to support the queen in the years ahead. WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden's dog Major will get professional help adjusting to the White House after a pair of biting incidents last month. A handler walks Major, one of President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden's dogs, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP) WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden's dog Major will get professional help adjusting to the White House after a pair of biting incidents last month. Private training for the 3-year-old German shepherd will be conducted "off-site" not at the White House but in the Washington area, Michael LaRosa, a spokesperson for Jill Biden, said Monday in an emailed statement. The training is expected to last a few weeks, he said. The Bidens also have a second German shepherd, 12-year-old Champ, at the White House. But it is the younger canine who has been the source of angst since both dogs were relocated to the White House in January from the Bidens' home in Delaware. Last month, the White House confirmed that Major had nipped someone during a walk. Shortly before that incident, Major caused what the White House said was a minor injury to a Secret Service employee on March 8. Both dogs spent time back in Delaware after the first incident the White House said it was because the first lady would be travelling for a few days and the president had said Major was being trained. On National Pet Day on Sunday, Jill Biden tweeted photos of both dogs captioned, "Love these two!" US police shooting of Black man sparks fresh protests Protesters clashed with police in Minneapolis after an officer shot and killed a Black man during a traffic stop A suburb of Minneapolis was under curfew early Monday after US police fatally shot a young Black man, sparking protests not far from where a former police officer was on trial for the murder of George Floyd. Hundreds of people gathered outside the police station in Brooklyn Center, northwest of Minneapolis, with police later firing teargas and flash bangs to disperse the crowd, according to an AFP videojournalist. By around midnight local time (0500 GMT), the National Guard was on the scene and Brooklyn Center mayor Mike Elliott imposed a curfew from 1 am Monday until 6 am. "We want to make sure everyone is safe," the mayor tweeted. "Please be safe and please go home." The mother of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, told a crowd earlier Sunday evening that he called her to say he had been pulled over by police, local media reported. Katie Wright said she heard officers tell her son to put his phone down, and then one of the officers ended the call. Soon after, her son's girlfriend told her he had been shot. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed to AFP it was "investigating an officer-involved shooting incident" in Brooklyn Center but declined to identify the victim. According to a statement from the Brooklyn Center Police Department, officers pulled over a driver for a traffic violation. When they discovered he had an outstanding warrant, they tried to take him into custody. He got back into his car, and one of the officers fired their weapon, striking the driver, who died at the scene. A female passenger in the car suffered "non-life threatening injuries" and was transported to a local hospital, said the statement, which did not identify the woman. Photos from the protest showed men stomping on the windshield of a police cruiser. Police fired rubber bullets to try to disperse the protesters, according to the Star Tribune. After about an hour, the police presence eased, and the crowd lit candles and wrote messages such as "Justice for Daunte Wright" in chalk on the street. Story continues But clashes broke out again soon after as another group of several hundred protesters gathered outside the Brooklyn Center Police Headquarters and were met with teargas and flash bangs. Speaking at a press conference, John Harrington, the state's commissioner of public safety, reported "rocks and other objects thrown at the police department." He added that officers were sent to the scene and the crowd had mostly dispersed. About 20 businesses were looted at a local mall, he said. Harrington said more National Guard troops would be moved into the area on Monday, to deal with potential unrest. The shooting comes during the ongoing trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is facing charges of manslaughter and murder over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May. Floyd's killing sparked months of protests in the United States against racism and police brutality and attracted international outrage. Mayor Elliott called the shooting "tragic", while Minnesota governor Tim Walz said the state "mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement." str-to/leg/je Manama Internet Exchange (Manama-IX), the Bahrain-based Internet peering service provider, said it has witnessed booming data volumes over the past year. The traffic is primarily driven by bandwidth-hungry applications, Internet usage, gaming, video streaming, content delivery, IoT, big data and AI technology. Over the last 12 months, the Manama-IX platform's traffic has witnessed a 20-fold growth, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with growth rates anticipated to continue well into the future, making it the fastest growing Internet exchange platform in the region since its inception in 2019. To address growing Internet traffic and meet the demand from members of the platform, additional resources and capacities were added to the Manama-IX, thereby allowing more traffic exchange over the platform by Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), Cloud Providers and Gaming Networks, said its top official. "We are delighted that Manama-IX has helped the platforms members to address their Internet traffic demands with lower latencies in a robust ecosystem. Moreover, we are extremely proud of the immense traffic growth that has been attained in Manama-IX since its inception, which is a clear reflection of the successful efforts put into catering to customer needs in the region," remarked Hani Askar, the Acting General Manager of Global Business at Batelco. Members of the Manama-IX platform benefit from improved performance, as Internet traffic is routed in an efficient, fast, secure, stable and cost-effective way, which allows members to offer low latency and an optimised online experience for their end-users, he explained. This positions Manama-IX as the ideal ecosystem, it enables members to easily exchange traffic in a carrier-neutral environment, localising the traffic between the operators and offering more flexibility when managing their interconnections. The benefits and capabilities of Manama-IX serve to attract new members to the platform ultimately, he added. According to him, Manama-IX plays an important role in the seamless operation of the Internet by helping to facilitate Internet services that enable all types of remote communications globally. "We have a clear strategic roadmap to invest in the Manama-IX platform to support our aims to become the leading Internet exchange in the region," he stated. "Our vision behind Manama-IX is to contribute towards the development of Internet services across the region, in line with Bahrains national vision of becoming a leading regional digital hub," he added. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form A COVID-19 outbreak in Cambodia has pushed government officials to temporarily close the Angkor temple complex, the country's most popular tourist destination. The two-week closure is the latest of many safety measures recently put in place since Cambodia began experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases in February. The Apsara Authority, the government agency that oversees the Angkor temple complex, said that temporarily stopping all tourists from visiting the archaeological site was an important step in curbing the spread of the virus, the Associated Press reports. All visitors both local and foreign are prohibited from visiting the temples now through April 20, 2021. Cambodia currently allows international tourists to enter the country, but visitors are required to undergo a mandatory quarantine before freely moving around. According to the Associated Press, the Health Ministry reported late last week that Cambodia had seen 113 new local cases and two deaths, all traced back to a foreign resident who violated quarantine rules in a hotel and went to a nightclub in early February. On Feb. 20, the government announced a planned two-week closure of all public schools, movie theaters, bars, and entertainment venues in the capital, Phnom Penh. Closures were then extended throughout the country for schools, gyms, concert halls, museums, and other gathering places. The use of face masks is now mandatory in Phnom Penh, and at the beginning of this month, a two-week curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. was also put in place in the capital. Four of Cambodia's most densely populated provinces are also enforcing mask mandates. In addition, authorities have implemented stricter, criminal punishments for violations of these safety protocols. With a population of about 17 million, Cambodia has decided to broaden its vaccine campaign, with the goal of inoculating one million people per month starting in April. According to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, Cambodia has recorded a total of 3,028 cases, including 23 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic. Jessica Poitevien is a Travel + Leisure contributor currently based in South Florida, but she's always on the lookout for her next adventure. Besides traveling, she loves baking, talking to strangers, and taking long walks on the beach. Follow her adventures on Instagram. A giant walrus is keeping things local to south Wales as she was spotted in Tenby enjoying the sunshine despite concerns tourists had scared her away. Wally the Walrus was spotted basking in the morning sunshine at its favourite spot in Tenby Harbour, Pembrokeshire, this morning. The Arctic beast, said to be the size of a cow, had returned to the area this weekend after it was feared it had been scared away by crowds who had flocked to the coastal town to catch a glimpse. Back again: Wally the Walrus was spotted on a slipway in Tenby, south Wales, this morning The coastal town has seen a large number of visitors who have travelled to sea the arctic beast Wally, named after the popular children's book which asks readers to spot the title character among crowds, was first spotted in Tenby over the Easter weekend. But animal welfare groups believe he initially fled the coastal town after becoming 'obviously disturbed' by day-tripper visitors vying for a snap. 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. The walrus, which was first seen in Britain in mid March, was last seen in Tenby two days ago '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, Wally has seemingly taken a liking to the area, having been spotted in the harbour on at least four days since the start of the month. Experts believe the animal may have dozed off on a block of ice and drifted across the ocean. The walrus is described as 'about the size of a cow' and was first spotted on rocks in County Kerry on March 15. The RSPCA were called out to check on the creature - which is 'underweight' - at the bottom of a cliff near Broad Haven South beach in Pembrokeshire six days later. The walrus was then spotted in Tenby at the start of the month and has remained there ever since. The walrus is believed to have crossed Irish Sea after being spotted in County Kerry last month The RSPCA have said that it is believed to be the furthest south a walrus has ever been sighted, with some previously being spotted in Scotland. It was confirmed to be the same walrus that was spotted off the coast of Ireland due to the white markings on its flipper. Arctic walruses normally live around the North Pole, northern Russia and Greenland. The nearest population to the UK and Ireland lives in the waters of Greenland and Svalbard. They usually feed off molluscs and experts have said there are plenty of molluscs for Wally to survive on in the areas it has been spotted. Dr Peter Richardson, head of ocean recovery at the Marine Conservation Society, told MailOnline: 'It's very unusual for one of these walruses to be this far south. 'It's a long way from home but it seems like a fit, fat, young walrus which may be capable of making it home. 'They are known to travel vast distances but it's so unusual [for one to be this far south] that it's hard to say how it will be.' The Irish Whale and Dolphin group (IWDG) estimated the walrus to be a young adult but it is not possible to determine the gender as both males and females have tusks. Its tusks are only around 12 inches long, and a fully grown adult's tusks can reach up to 40 inches long. 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! [April 12, 2021] Axiom Consulting Partners to Present Competition-Winning Machine Learning Solution at 36th Annual SIOP Conference Axiom Consulting Partners ("Axiom"), an advisory firm integrating strategy, artificial intelligence (AI) and behavioral science to help clients grow and transform their businesses, has been announced as a winner in the third annual Machine Learning Competition hosted by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). The 2020 and 2021 SIOP competitions were combined due to the COVID-19 pandemic and received entries from more than 200 teams-comprised of 500 professionals from industry and academia-across the entire data science community, including psychologists, computer scientists and engineers from various disciplines. This year's competition focused on how AI and machine learning could be leveraged to solve one of the most common challenges HR departments and hiring managers face today: the ability to make fair and accurate hiring decisions. SIOP competition organizers challenged participating teams to design algorithms that maximized the accuracy of predicting candidate performance and retention while minimizing bias. Axiom's team of psychologists, economists and computer scientists created numerous methods for scoring employee data to engineer a robust modeling dataset and arrive at an optimal solution. The Axiom team will present their approach and solutions alongside three other winning participants at a special session during the 36th Annual SIOP Virtual Conference on Thursday, April 15th. Scoring was based on how well participating teams demonstrated ability to balance accuracy in predicting job success and retention while minimizing bias against protected groups. Each team was tasked with the development of a unique algorithm that leveraged applicant pre-hire assessment data and post-hire performance and turnover data from 50,000 employees of a Fortune 100 company. "I'm really proud of the work our team accomplished in developing fair AI that can be scaled to help solve real-world challenges that society and our clients are grappling with every day," said Dr. Aaron Sorensen, a Partner at Axiom who leads the firm's Business Transformation and Behavioral Science teams. "We have the ability to bring cutting edge data science and behavioral science capabilities from both industry and academia together to solve business problems, which is not only extremely exciting but a sign of the high-impact, high-reward innovation that can happen when analytics is applied to the most foundational parts of an organization." "Our team experimented with various approaches to the modeling system leveraging machine learning and combinatorics. Key contributors to the success of our approach were techniques used for the imputation of missing data and the synthesis of new features," said Ian Burke, a Senior Data Scientist with Axiom. "The algorithm recommended hiring decisions based on the probability of individuals being high performers. To achieve a fair hiring sample, the team substituted out the lowest performers in favor of those who were more likely to be in the protected group." Added Sorensen, "Selecting the right person for the job is a challenge that goes back to the beginning to the field of Industrial Psychology, when the military needed to quickly select officers in wartime. While significant strides have been made in predicting future success on the job, the well-documented disadvantages inflicted on minority groups and disenfranchised communities along the way cannot be ignored. What this competition shows is that there is potential for AI tools to provide strategic guidance and data-backed solutions to institutions and businesses looking to make the best hiring decisions while minimizing bias. That's a big deal!" About Axiom Consulting Partners Axiom Consulting Partners help clients accelerate growth and transform their organization and workforce to improve execution. We leverage expertise in behavioral and data science to establish strategic direction and improve organizations alignment and execution. We measure our value by the impact we create, evidenced in our clients' sustained results. Unique to our solutions, we combine deep analytical capabilities, technology-based tools and practical experience, helping clients to determine priorities and then focusing our work on developing and sustaining excellence in those areas. About SIOP SIOP is the premier membership organization for those practicing and teaching I-O psychology. While an independent organization with its own governance, SIOP also represents Division 14 of the American Psychological Association and is an organizational affiliate of the Association for Psychological Science. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005107/en/ [ Back to the Next Generation Communications Community's Homepage ] remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Ecobank Ghana last week handed over a new and fully equipped computer laboratory to the Christian Methodist Senior High School (CHRIMESCO) in Accra. Estimated at about GHS160,000, the project involved, the provision of tables, chairs, air conditioners, a projector, projector screen, associated accessories and 30 networked computers. Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr Dan Sackey, indicated that; education is one of the three critical focus areas for Ecobanks corporate social responsibility programmes. Additionally, Ecobank is interested in empowering young people who form a growing segment of the Ghanaian population. Mr Sackey emphasized that; the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the world, requiring almost everyone to be tech-savvy and digitally proficient. The importance of acquiring the right skill set within the digital and technological space cannot be overemphasized, as the use of technology has taken centre stage with rapid global adoption. He said ICT is currently a key enabler to efficient work delivery, permitting complex analysis, and creating new ways to share, learn and engage. Indeed, he also pointed out that it is becoming increasingly obvious that ICT will continue to be the basis for economic and social transformation for individuals and communities. He, therefore, advised students and faculty to put the computer laboratory to good use and maintain it to ensure sustainable usage. Receiving the newly commissioned laboratory on behalf of the school, was Mr Kweku Acquah, Headmaster of Christian Methodist School, who affirmed that; the school for some years now has been without a modern ICT laboratory. He said that, with the newly installed laboratory, students would now be able to have access to various e-books, online articles, as well as various educational apps which would enhance teaching and learning. This he believes would assist both students, and teachers build capacity in ICT. He thanked Mr Sackey and the Management of Ecobank while promising that the school authorities will ensure regular maintenance to extend the life span of the facility. Representing the Old Student Association of the school was Air Commodore Jacob Ashrifie, who also thanked Ecobank for the donation. He indicated that the association will be contacting various stakeholders and year-groups to solicit their support to enhance school infrastructure. The Municipal Director of Education for Ga-South, Mr Henry Ayetse was full of praise for Ecobank and urged other corporate institutions to emulate their example. Additionally, he appealed to old students in the country to occasionally visit their alma mater to assess its educational needs in order to provide support to complement the governments efforts. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A medical worker in a booth takes a nasal sample from a man at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, April 12. AP South Korea's health authorities on Monday said there is no causal relation between COVID-19 vaccines and 11 reported deaths after vaccinations, assuring the public of the safety of the vaccines. An investigation was concluded on 11 out of 47 people who died within days of receiving COVID-19 vaccines by AstraZeneca and Pfizer Inc, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. An epidemiological survey on 32 out of 47 reported cases has been concluded so far, the KDCA said. The KDCA said all of the 11 people were over 70 years old with pre-existing diseases, and seven of them had been admitted to long-term care facilities. The authorities concluded that their deaths were highly likely to be connected to their pre-existing conditions, including stroke and dementia. Concerns rise over Seoul mayor's proposed social distancing scheme Seoul pushes for virus restrictions to protect small businesses New virus cases back under 600 on fewer tests; curbs extended amid spring resurgence The authorities also said they will continue to conduct epidemiological surveys on 15 other reported deaths, adding that the safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in clinical trials. The KDCA said of the four reported cases of serious symptoms after vaccinations, only one of them has been proven to be linked to vaccines. The man in his 20s was diagnosed with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) after being administered with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the KDCA said. "He did not have any pre-existing diseases, and the disease rarely occurs," the agency said, adding that the patient has fully recovered. The European drug agency also earlier said it could not rule out a correlation between rare cases of CVST and AstraZeneca vaccines. Since the country started its vaccination program on Feb. 26, a total of 1,157,255 people have been given COVID-19 vaccine shots, including 305 the previous day. AstraZeneca's vaccine has been given to 916,780 people, while 240,475 received that of Pfizer, the KDCA said. Health authorities also resumed administering AstraZeneca vaccines to eligible recipients aged over 30 earlier in the day, days after temporarily putting the program on hold amid growing concerns over its safety. Amman, Jordan: Jordans Prince Hamzah has made his first public appearance since he was placed under house arrest last week, reciting Koranic verses together with King Abdullah II at the graves of their forefathers. The gesture appeared to be an attempted show of unity on a major Jordanian holiday. Abdullah has attempted to signal in recent days that the situation is under control. But the staged event on Sunday left it unclear whether the king and his popular half brother have truly put aside their differences. The conflict had escalated into the most serious public rift in the ruling family in decades, although Hamzah has denied any wrongdoing. Then crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein. Credit:Getty Hamzah joined members of the Jordanian royal family marking the centenary of the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate that preceded the kingdom. The royal palace released a photo and video with Abdullah and Hamzah joining other dignitaries at the grave of their father, the late King Hussein, and the late King Talal, their grandfather. A photo and video showing the family together reciting the opening chapter of the Koran appeared to be aimed at sending a message of unity at a sensitive time for the kingdom. The chapter, known as the Fatiha, is traditionally recited at peoples gravesides. Near-total bans on abortion became law recently in Arkansas and South Carolina, suggesting a dire future for abortion rights if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade a possibility that seems more likely than ever before. But the road ahead will not be shaped by anti-abortion legislators or Supreme Court justices alone. A different path to abortion access has emerged. Over the past year, new virtual clinics have begun delivering medication abortion entirely remotely. Last July, a federal court suspended a Food and Drug Administration rule that requires patients to obtain the first drug in a medication abortion at a health care facility during the pandemic. That drug, mifepristone, is the only one of 20,000 FDA-regulated medications that requires in-person dispensation but can be taken at home. The ruling created an opening for virtual clinics like Choix, Hey Jane and Just the Pill to offer no touch services for people less than 10 weeks pregnant. Patients complete a medical history form online, consult with a clinician over video or telephone, and if eligible, receive two medications from a mail-order pharmacy. An ongoing study one of us is leading at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) demonstrates that the care offered by virtual clinics is safe and effective. The California-based company, Choix, served approximately 140 patients over two months. Patients were overwhelmingly satisfied with the service. It allowed them to have an abortion with privacy and without having to take time off work, find child care or travel long distances. One grateful patient called it a godsend to be able to go through the process while safe at home. In front of the White House on March 09, 2021, in Washington, D.C. The same results bear out for Hey Jane, which provides services in Washington and New York and saw demand double week after week in the first month of operation. "I especially loved the fact that the medication came to my house via mail," said Nicollette Roe, a Hey Jane patient. "I made a plan with my partner about doing it at night, after our daughters were asleep. I had no stress around how to do everything because Hey Jane made it so that the doctor was moments away via the app or by calling. Story continues At the moment, these virtual clinics cannot use mail-order pharmacies to deliver medications to their patients. That's because in January, the Supreme Court reinstated the FDA rule while litigation is ongoing. But virtual clinics illustrate the resilience of abortion care even in the face of a hostile Supreme Court or state laws designed to gut abortion rights. Health care is health care: My patients shouldn't have to fight this hard for an abortion. Will Biden get in the ring? After the Supreme Courts order, networks of advocates and providers figured out how to provide abortion outside of brick-and-mortar operations, regardless of a patients residence. Start-ups have found innovative ways to deliver medication abortion to patients, like Just the Pill's pop-up mobile sites. And nonprofit organizations such as Aid Access and Plan C have helped people receive medications by mail regardless of the state in which they live. Stop unscientific abortion regulation Remote care is all the more important given the number of states that make gaining access to abortion as difficult as possible and the prospect that the Supreme Court will abandon the core holding of Roe v. Wade. But even if Roe remains on the books, Americans in roughly half of the country live in states without meaningful access to abortion care. The expansion of medication abortion will help navigate these abortion deserts, or regions where patients must travel over 100 miles to reach a clinic. Virtual care can overcome the barrier of distance (and its related costs) by reaching patients at their homes and across state borders. Follow the facts: Science prevails in Supreme Court ruling on abortion law that provided no medical benefit This month, in deciding whether to defend restrictions on medication abortion, the FDA will consider the public health evidence that supports extending virtual services. The UCSF study and others like it provide the proof that remote care is safe and effective without the financial, social, logistical and interpersonal constraints of clinic-based services. Over the long run, the FDA should allow studies on telehealth for abortion to proceed, enabling a formal review of the safety of direct-to-patient dispensing without the interference of politics. More immediately, the FDA should suspend the unnecessary and scientifically unsupported regulation of medication abortion. Telehealth may well be the future of more affordable and more accessible abortion care in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The Biden administration must act now to help realize that future. Rachel Rebouche (@RRebouche) is the associate dean for research and James E. Beasley Professor of Law at Temple University School of Law. Ushma Upadhyay (@UshmaU) is an associate professor and researcher with Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health at the University of California, San Francisco, and director of research at the UC Global Health Institute's Center of Expertise on Women's Health, Gender, and Empowerment. You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Online clinics are path to abortion care amid hostile laws and rulings Singapore's Draper Startup has acquired Hatch Ventures Vietnam HATCH!, which offered training, business incubation, and investor matching, was founded in 2012 by US entrepreneur Aaron Everhart. HATCH! organised the HATCH! FAIR from 2012-2017, and coorganised the inaugural TechFest, which is now Vietnams largest annual gathering for innovation and entrepreneurship. Draper Startup House, founded by Vikram Bharati in Singapore in 2018, began as Tribe Theory, a concept for digital nomads to live, work, and cocreate companies. It joined the Draper Ecosystem to form Draper Startup House in 2019. Danang, Vietnam is the newest location, joining its existing locations. Draper Startup House Singapore wholly acquired HATCH! and subsequently will co-own Draper Startup House Vietnam. The cash and equity deal will result in a new Vietnamese entity. Vikram Bharati, CEO of Draper Startup House International (Singapore) said, The acquisition of HATCH! supports Draper Startup House vision to create one million companies by 2030. The systems, network, and brand recognition of HATCH! in Vietnam enables Draper to gain an influential presence in Vietnam, starting in Danang city." Startups gathered at Draper Startup House in Danang Companies joining in Draper Startup House programmes will get access to the 23 global venture capital funds in Draper Venture Network. Aaron Everhart, who will assume the role of CEO for Draper Startup House in Vietnam said, I envisioned HATCH! to help 'made in Vietnam' innovations to compete internationally, and this aligns with the vision and direction of Draper Startup House. Now participants and alum can take advantage of programmes like Draper Startup House Academy for learning, and Draper Startup House Ventures for funding. Industry analysts recognise Vietnams large population of highly skilled technical, scientific, design, and artistic talent. Draper Startup House, according to them, concentrates on venture building with globally diverse teams, resulting in a steady flow of quality investment targets. This acquisition brings entrepreneurs and startups in Vietnam a faster path for global reach. Below is a recap of all the witnesses who testified at Derek Chauvin's trial through April 16, in order of appearance. PROSECUTION 911 dispatcher Jenna Scurry The prosecution's first witness on March 29 was Jenna Scurry, a 911 dispatcher who watched live video of police kneeling on Floyd and testified that she called the officers' supervisor with concerns about their use of force. It was Scurry who sent officers to the Cup Foods at 38th and Chicago Avenue on May 25, 2020, after receiving a call about a man using a counterfeit bill. Scurry told how she had seen surveillance footage of the incident from one of the city's pole mounted cameras and been struck by a 'gut instinct' that 'something wasn't right'. The video, which had not previously been released publicly, showed Chauvin and fellow officers Lane and Kueng perched atop Floyd next to a squad car while officer Thao looked on. Scurry noted that she wasn't watching the stream the entire time because she was fielding other calls. But she said that as she glanced away and back again, she was struck that the officers hadn't moved and asked a colleague if the screen had frozen. 'I first asked if the screens had frozen because it hadn't changed. I thought something might be wrong,' she said. She said that she hadn't wanted to be a 'snitch' but she recognized what appeared to be use of force and stated: 'I took that instinct and I called the sergeant.' Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank played audio from the call, in which Scurry said: 'I don't know if they had to use force or not. They got something out of the back of the squad and all of them sat on this man. So I don't know if they needed to or not but they haven't said anything to me yet.' 'You can call me a snitch if you want to,' she added. She said she made the call to 'voice my concerns' and noted that she had never made one like it to a police sergeant before. Cross examining Scurry, Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson was at pains to underscore gaps in what she saw and the facts that she had no police training, little knowledge of what the calls to which she sent officers actually looked like and pointed out that her attention was not trained on the screen at all times. Bystander Alisha Oyler Alisha Oyler, a cashier at the Speedway gas station opposite Cup Foods who recorded video of Floyd's arrest was the state's second witness. 'Trying not to cuss' and frequently failing to recall events Oyler explained that she had first noticed police 'messing with someone' outside the Dragon Wok restaurant opposite Cup Foods. She said she had watched officers handcuff Floyd and take him across to the now infamous site of squad car 320 in front of the store's entrance and continued to record events on her cell phone as she stepped out to have a cigarette. She said she had done so because the police were 'always messing with people and it's not right'. MMA fighter and bystander Donald Williams Donald Winn Williams II, a mixed martial arts fighter and the prosecution's third witness who had yelled at Chauvin to check for a pulse and accused him of placing Floyd in what he called a 'kill choke', testified first on March 29 before continuing on March 30. Williams became emotional as he spoke about how he called 911 after Floyd was placed in an ambulance because: 'I believed I had just witnessed a murder. I felt the need to call the police on the police.' He began to cry as jurors were played audio of the call, in which he named officer 987 and said: 'He just pretty much killed this guy. He wasn't resisting arrest. He had his knee on his neck. He wasn't resisting arrest or nothing, he was handcuffed.' Williams said he witnessed Chauvin 'shimmying', or adjusting his position on Floyd's neck, in a recognized martial art maneuver designed to double-down on and tighten a choke hold. He told how he watched Chauvin squeeze the life out of Floyd, who he said was in 'tremendous pain' and 'faded away like a fish in a bag'. He said that when he called Chauvin out for using a blood choke the officer looked him straight in the eye and did not stop. Williams also told how Officer Tou Thao put his hands on his chest and pushed him back to the curb when he tried to intervene. At the end of his 911 call Williams was heard shouting at Thao: 'Y'all murderers man, y'all murderers.' On cross-examination, Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson attempted to undercut William's presentation of himself as a controlled and professional observer of events who remained schooled by his training and experience in sports and security. Nelson appeared to be trying to provoke Williams into a display of anger as he repeatedly tried to discredit his claims to having remained calm. 'You started calling [Chauvin] names didn't you?' Nelson asked. 'You called him, 'a tough guy.' You called him 'such a man,' 'bogus.' You called him a 'bum' 13 times. You called him a 'bitch.'' But while Williams agreed to all of these assertions he would not be persuaded to agree to Nelson's characterization of him as 'angry' or threatening. Asked if he had told Officer Tou Thao that he hoped he would shoot himself he said: 'No..I said you will shoot yourself in two years because of what you did.' Bystander Darnella Frazier, 18 Darnella Frazier, who was 17 years old when she recorded the most famous viral video of Floyd's arrest last spring, took the stand on March 30 and told how she felt helpless as she watched him lose consciousness. 'There's been nights I've stayed up apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting, not saving his life,' Darnella, now 18, said. 'But it's not what I should have done - it's what [Chauvin] should have done.' Darnella - who was not shown on camera in court because of her age - asserted that Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck even harder as the growing crowd begged him to stop - and that he didn't remove his knee even when paramedics were searching for a pulse. 'I heard George Floyd saying: "I can't breathe, please get off of me." He cried for his mom and he was in pain,' Darnella said. 'It seemed like he knew it was over for him. He was terrified, he was suffering. This was a cry for help.' When an ambulance arrived, Darnella said paramedics had to tell Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd's neck. Darnella said that she felt 'threatened' by both Chauvin and Thao who she said 'were quick to put their hands on their mace' when a woman who identified herself as a firefighter asked Chauvin to check for a pulse and she and Darnella made to move towards Floyd where he lay. Asked if, at any point, Chauvin had 'got up or let up' she said: 'If anything he actually was kneeling harder. It looked like he was shoving his knee in his neck.' At the close of her testimony Darnella broke down as she told jurors how witnessing and filming Floyd's death affected her life. 'When I look at George Floyd I look at my dad, I look my brothers, I look at my cousins, my uncles because they are all black,' she said. 'I have a black father, black brother, black friends and I look at that and I think how that could have been them.' Bystander Judeah, nine Nine-year-old witness Judeah, took the witness stand on March 29 and described how she and her cousin Darnella, who testified earlier, had gone to Cup Foods for snacks on May 25 when they found Floyd pinned to the ground by Chauvin and two other police officers. The girl, who was not shown on camera due to her age, gave gut-wrenching testimony about how Chauvin refused to remove his knee from Floyd's neck even after paramedics arrived and 'asked him nicely to get off of him'. 'He [Chauvin] still stayed on him [Floyd],' Judeah said. She said the medics eventually 'just had to put him off, get him off of him.' 'I was sad and kind of mad. If felt like he was stopping his breathing and kind of hurting him,' Judeah said of Floyd. Judeah is pictured second from the right in a green shirt in video from Floyd's fatal confrontation with police that was shown in court Bystander Alyssa, 18 The prosecution's fourth witness on March 30 was an 18-year-old named Alyssa, who told how she had walked towards the incident and started recording on her friend's cell phone because she felt 'something was wrong'. Alyssa broke down in tears as she described what of Floyd, saying: 'It's difficult [to talk about] because I felt like there wasn't anything I could doand I felt like I was failing him, failing to do anything.' Alyssa said that Chauvin did not move his knee even on the arrival of paramedics and in fact she saw him put more weight on Floyd's neck as the minutes ticked by. 'He [Chauvin] didn't really take his eyes off him [Floyd] for the most part. At one point I saw him put more and more weight onto him. I saw his back foot lift off the ground and his hands go in his pocket.' 'I saw him move his knee down more, make little movements,' she added. The prosecution played the video recorded by Alyssa, in which she could be heard shouting: 'He's not moving. Check his pulse. Tell me his pulse right now. It's been over a minute [since he moved].' She told the jury: 'I knew that time was running out. He was going to die.' Finally she said, there came a point when 'I kind of knew that he was dead and not breathing, no longer fighting, no longer resisting.' Bystander Kaylynn, 17 Alyssa's friend, 17-year-old Kaylynn, was the last minor to testify on March 30. She said that it was the police officers who were 'hostile' not the crowd recalling how Chauvin was 'digging his knee into George Floyd's neck' and 'grabbed his mace and started shaking it at us' when onlookers shouted at him to check for a pulse. 'I was scared because I didn't know what was going to happen,' she said. Asked directly what she was scared of, she replied: 'I was scared of Chauvin.' Off-duty firefighter Genevieve Hansen Off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and paramedic Genevieve Hansen, 27, caused a stir in the courtroom on March 30 when she was admonished by Judge Cahill for repeatedly interrupting and talking back to Chauvin's attorney Nelson during cross examination. Hansen had wiped away tears as she recalled how she had identified herself as a first responder and begged to help Floyd when she believed he was dying outside the Cup Foods store on May 25, 2020. But soon after her demeanor changed as she was questioned by Nelson, who asked if she would describe bystanders at the scene of Floyd's arrest as upset or angry. Hansen replied: 'I don't know if you've seen anybody be killed, but it's upsetting.' At this point Judge Cahill stepped in and cautioned Hansen for being argumentative, telling her to 'just answer his questions'. Minutes later Cahill sent the jury out for the day before turning to an increasingly combative Hansen and telling her in no uncertain terms: 'You will not argue with the court, you will not argue with counsel.' Under direct examination, Hansen explained how her desperate pleas to be allowed to provide Floyd with life-saving medical assistance were ignored by the officers who pinned him down and blocked by officer Thao. 'I tried calm and reasoning, I pleaded and was desperate. I was desperate to help,' Hansen said. Her calls fell on deaf ears as Chauvin remained unmoved and Officer Thao told her to remain on the curb, at one point saying: 'If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter you would know better than to get involved.' In court Hansen said: 'That's exactly what I should have done. There was no medical assistance on the scene and I could have given [it].' 'The officers were leaning over his body with what appeared to be the majority of their weight on him,' she said. 'He wasn't moving, he was cuffed and three grown men putting all their weight on somebody that's too much. 'Chauvin seemed very comfortable with the majority of his weight balanced on top of Mr Floyd's neck. In my memory he had his hand in his pocket. He wasn't distributing the weight on the car, on the pavement.' Hansen said that she had assessed that Floyd had a 'altered level of consciousness,' that concerned her greatly. She said that his face was 'smooshed' into the pavement and said: 'I was really concerned. I thought his face looked puffy and swollen which would happen if you were putting a grown man's weight [on him]. 'I noticed some fluid coming from what looked like George Floyd's body and a lot of time we see a patient release their bladder when they die - that's where my mind went. He was restrained but he wasn't moving.' Hansen said she recognized that Floyd was unconscious because he was not responding to the 'painful stimulae' of Chauvin's knee on his neck. 'What I needed to know was whether or not he had a pulse anymore,' she said. But she said she was not permitted access to the scene and the officers ignored her offers to talk them through CPR. She said she felt 'helpless.' 'There's a man being killed,' she said, 'and had I had access I would have [helped]. This human was denied that right.' Before she took the stand jury saw video she had recorded on the scene and heard audio of the 911 call she placed immediately after. Her voice trembling with shock and emotion she could be heard telling the operator: 'I literally just watched police officers not take a pulse and not to do anything to save a man and I am a first responder myself and I literally have it on video.' In an uncomfortable cross-examination, Hansen refused to be drawn into an admission that she would be distracted from her job if a threatening crowd were gathered telling her she was 'doing it wrong'. Time after time Nelson attempted to get an admission out of her until she said: 'I think a burning structure where there are buildings and homes and people living on either side is much more concerning than 20 people. 'I'll repeat myself, I know my job, I'm confident in doing my job and there's nothing anybody can do to disturb me.' When he asked if she had grown angry, she said she had been 'desperate' before admitting: 'I got quite angry after Mr Floyd was loaded into the ambulance and there was no point in trying to reason with them anymore because they had just killed somebody.' Cup Foods employee Christopher Martin Cup Foods clerk Christopher Martin testified on March 31 about how his coworker called the cops on Floyd because he believed he used a counterfeit $20 bill on May 25. Looking back, Martin said he wished he'd never raised alarm about the bill because he believes Floyd might still be alive if he hadn't, telling the court: 'This could have been avoided.' Martin told the court that he became suspicious of the bill because it had an unusual 'blue pigment so I assumed it was fake'. 'The policy was if you took a counterfeit bill you had to pay for it out of your pay-check,' Martin explained. 'I took it anyways and was planning to just put it on my tab - until I second guessed myself and eventually told my manager.' The manager then instructed Martin to go outside and bring Floyd back, he said. When Floyd refused, a co-worker called police. One of the responding officers was Chauvin. Martin said that the two things he noticed about Floyd were his 'size' and he appeared to be 'high'. However he said that he did not find Floyd's demeanor to be threatening, saying: 'He seemed very friendly, approachable, talkative, he seemed just to be having an average Memorial Day living his life. But he did seem high.' Martin said he went back to manning the cash register when police arrived but soon after noticed a commotion at the front of Cup Foods and went outside, where he saw Floyd pinned to the ground. 'I saw people yelling and screaming I saw Derek [Chauvin] with his knee on George's neck on the ground,' he said. 'George was motionless, limp and Chauvin seemed veryhe was in a resting state, meaning like he just rested his knee on his neck.' Martin, who lived above the store, said: 'I pulled my phone out first and called my mom and told her not to come downstairs. Then I started recording. 'Later on that night I deleted it because when they picked George up off the ground the ambulance went straight down 38th and the quickest way to get to the hospital is straight down Chicago Avenue.' Martin said he assumed from this that Floyd was already dead and deleted his recording as he didn't want to have to show it to anybody or answer questions about it in the aftermath. Asked how he had felt as he absorbed what he had just witnessed, Martin said 'disbelief and guilt'. Martin, who had earlier told jurors that he had almost not reported the fake bill and only done so after second-guessing himself, said: 'If I would have just not taken the bill this could have been avoided.' Asked if he still worked at Cup Foods, Martin's voice cracked as he said: 'No. I didn't feel safe.' Bystander Christopher Belfrey, 45 Christopher Belfrey testified on March 31 about video he recorded when he drove past Cup Foods and say officers Lane and Kueng approaching Floyd in his car. Belfrey, 45, said he started recording when parked directly behind Floyd's SUV because he was 'startled' to see Lane draw his handgun. He explained that he pulled to the other side of the street, not wanting to 'get in the middle' of whatever was occurring and continued recording. The court watched the footage in which Floyd can be seen, apparently cuffed and compliant, seated against a wall having been removed from his vehicle. According to Belfrey, Lane and Kueng then walked Floyd across to their squad car and put him in it. Belfrey said that he had simply gone home at that point because 'I thought he was detained. I thought it was over.' Bystander Charles McMillian, 61 Charles McMillian, who was the first person to confront police about their treatment of Floyd on the day of his fatal arrest, broke down in tears as the prosecution played footage of cops wrestling with the handcuffed black man. McMillian, 61, said he was driving by the Cup Foods convenience store when he noticed officers struggling with Floyd and pulled over simply because he was 'being nosy'. In footage from Lane's body camera McMillian was heard calling out as cops grappled with Floyd in their squad car. McMillian said he 'tried to make the situation easy,' by telling Floyd: 'You can't win.' Floyd could be heard telling McMillian: 'I'm not trying to win. Don't do me like that, I'm claustrophobic.' As he described how Floyd began to cry out for his mother minutes later while pinned to the ground by the officers, McMillian wept as he revealed that he understood how Floyd felt after losing his own mom. 'I couldn't help but feel helpless. I don't have a mama either, but I understand him. My mom died June 25th,' the witness said through tears. He revealed that he had experience of being handcuffed himself and as Floyd became more agitated, having been apparently calm as he was walked towards officers Lane and Kueng's squad car, McMillian said he tried to help. The court played footage of the events as McMillian described them. One clip of McMillian on the sidewalk was spliced with body camera footage of Floyd in the squad car. 'I'm watching, you know, Mr Floyd,' McMillian said. 'He collapsed onto the back seat and I'm trying to get him to understand when you make a mistake, once they get you in cuffs you got to wait there. Once they get you in cuffs you can't win.' McMillian then described how he continued to try to help Floyd after officers Lane, Kueng and Chauvin had pinned him to the ground. '[Floyd] kept saying: 'I can't breathe. Mama they're killing me, they're killing me.' He started saying: 'My body's shutting down.'' As more of the video was played McMillian's voice could be heard urging Floyd: 'Get up and get into the car. Get up and get into the car man.' Floyd responded: 'I can't.' Later McMillian could be heard telling Chauvin: 'Your knee on his neck, that's wrong man.' Of his own part in the scene, McMillian said: 'I was trying to help him. He appeared to be in and out [of consciousness], with foam around his mouth. I said: 'Man he said he can't breathe,' and they said: 'Well if he keeps talking he can breathe.'' The jury was shown body-cam footage in which McMillian told Chauvin: 'I don't respect what you did.' The officer replied: 'Well that's one person's opinion. We got to control this guy because he's a sizeable guy and looks like he's probably on something.' Minneapolis Police Lt Jeff Rugel Lt Jeff Rugel, who runs the Minneapolis Police Department's Business Technology Unit, testified on March 31 to authenticate officers' body camera footage and other video evidence from the scene. Brief footage from Chauvin's camera was played, revealing his perspective as he approached Floyd for the first time. Chauvin was seen with his hands around Floyd's neck as he and Officer Thomas Lane struggled with to get him into a squad car. After a chaotic, blurred portion of footage, Chauvin's camera fell to the tarmac and there was no more footage from his perspective. In footage recorded by Lane's body camera, Chauvin's camera could be seen lying beneath the squad car. It's unclear exactly how the camera came to be on the ground during the confrontation. Rugel told the jury how that Minneapolis police policy demands that officers wear their cameras at all times and to activate them during any activity or public interaction. Asked if Chauvin wore a body camera and if that was 'the box on the floor [beneath squad car 320]', Rugel said: 'Yes.' George Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross Courteney Ross broke down in tears within minutes of taking the stand on Thursday as she described how she and Floyd first met in 2017 at the Salvation Army's Harbor Light Center, a shelter where he was working as a security guard and she was visiting her son's father. The married mother-of-two said she was touched when Floyd asked to pray with her because she was going through a hard time in her own life - and they kissed in the lobby that same day. Ross - who wore a gold necklace with her late boyfriend's name - began crying even harder when Frank pulled up a photo of Floyd. Then she laughed as she called the photo a 'dad selfie', before telling how hard it was for Floyd to be so far away from his two daughters, who lived in Texas. She described the man who had called out for his mother in his dying moments as 'a mama's boy' who was 'devastated' and 'broken' by her death in May 2018. 'He seemed like a shell of himself like he was broken, he seemed so sad,' she said. 'He didn't have the same kind of bounce that he had.' Ross was then asked to tackle head on the issue of drug abuse with which, she admitted, both she and Floyd struggled. She said that they were both addicted to opioids having been prescribed them for chronic pain - including oxycodone, which he took in pill form, obtaining it through other people's prescriptions to make sure the pills were safe. 'Both Floyd and I, our story it's a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids. We both suffered from chronic pain. Mine was in my neck and his was in his back. 'We both have prescriptions. But after prescriptions that were filled, and we got addicted, and tried really hard to break that addiction many times.' Though he tried to get clean, she said it was something that he struggled with 'every day'. In March 2020, she said, she noticed 'behavioral changes' that made her suspect that Floyd was using again, or more, and that she too fell into heavier use at that time. On cross examination by Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson, Ross revealed that that she and Floyd both purchased opioids from Morries Lester Hall, a friend who was in the passenger seat of Floyd's car on the day he died. Jurors heard that Hall sold controlled substances to both her and Floyd and that she 'did not like Morries at all'. Ross told the court how, in March 2020, just two months before Floyd's death, he purchased pills that she did not recognize as the opioids to which both she and Floyd were addicted. She said the pills, which she believes landed Floyd in the hospital due to an accidental overdose, appeared 'thick' and were not uniform, and that when she took them they did not have the same effect as opioids. 'The pill seemed like it was a really strong stimulant. I couldn't sleep all night. I felt very jittery,' Hall said. Ross also revealed that Floyd had been hospitalized twice in March on one occasion due to a drug overdose that saw him hospitalized for five days. Paramedics Seth Bravinder and Derek Smith Paramedics Seth Bravinder and Derek Smith testified on Thursday as the jury was shown shocking new images of EMTs loading Floyd into an ambulance and attempting to resuscitate him. Bravinder and Smith were asked by the prosecution to explain what was happening in graphic video and stills of Floyd being placed on a stretcher and treated in the ambulance. Some of the images came from video recorded by witnesses on the scene, while others came from the body camera of officer Thomas Lane, who rode with Floyd to the hospital. Asked to describe Floyd's condition, Smith said: 'In lay terms, I thought he was dead,' as the prosecution showed a screengrab of him checking for Floyd's pulse. Video showed Smith gesturing to Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd's neck so they could put his limp body on a stretcher. In images shown during Smith's testimony, Floyd was seen slumped, and with his mouth bloodied as Smith said he did not have an obvious physical injury that would explain his dire condition. Smith told the court that Floyd's pupils were 'large and dilated'. Bravinder was asked during his testimony what a medic would expect to see in the eyes of a patient who had suffered an opioid overdose. 'We look to see if their pupils are really small, constricted, pinpoint,' he said. But when Nelson countered, asking what methamphetamine one of the substances found in Floyd's blood - does to the pupils, Bravinder said: 'It dilates them.' Smith told the court that he detected a flicker of electrical activity in Floyd's heart as they sped to the Hennepin County Medical Center and administered a shock in hopes of restarting a pulse. But, he said, Floyd remained 'in his dead state'. Both Bravinder and Smith testified that they wanted to get Floyd into the ambulance quickly because he was in cardiac arrest. Bravinder added: 'On top of that there was also a crowd of people who were yelling and in my mind we had to get away from that because running a cardiac arrest takes lot of mental power, can be taxing and we want to do that in the optimum environment to be in a controlled space.' Bravinder said he stopped the ambulance en route to the hospital and went into the back to assist his partner when Floyd's cardiac monitor was showing 'asystole' - the medical term for 'flat-lined'. 'It's not a good sign,' Bravinder said. 'Basically just because your heart isn't doing anything at that moment. There's not it's not pumping blood. So it's not it's not a good sign for a good outcome.' Asked if it was important to start resuscitation efforts as soon as a pulse was lost, Bravinder said: 'Yes, as soon as possible.' 'The longer a patient goes without receiving resuscitation the less likely it is that resuscitation will be successful.' Cross-examined by Nelson, Bravinder confirmed he had personally been called out to emergencies involving drug overdoses and that police were called to such cases as a matter of course. Nelson asked: 'Is that because sometimes when people are treated for an overdose and they come round they become aggressive and violent?' Bravinder responded: 'Yes.' Minneapolis Fire Department Captain Jeremy Norton Minneapolis Fire Department Captain Jeremy Norton testified on April 1 about the initial confusion that saw their fire rig arrive at Cup Foods to assist paramedics only to find that the ambulance had pulled off the scene and was treating Floyd a few blocks away. He explained that they had received very little information beyond receiving a call out to Cup Foods which was elevated from code 2 (non-emergent), to code 3, (lights and sirens en route). According to Norton the only information he had was that the patient had sustained 'a mouth injury'. On arrival at the store Norton found 'people upset' and searched for a patient. Norton said: 'I was looking for a patient. The call was confusing because I didn't have a lot of information so was essentially looking on the floor for someone.' The fire rig ultimately joined the ambulance crew at 36th and Park Avenue, two blocks away. By the time he saw Floyd he was, he said: 'Face up on the stretcher. He had an advance airway in an he had the Lucas compression device in place and working.' Norton cleared Lane out of the ambulance and took over attempts to resuscitate Floyd who was, he said, 'to all intents and purposes dead'. Minneapolis Police Department Sergeant David Pleoger David Pleoger, who recently retired as a sergeant with the Minneapolis Police Department and was Chauvin's supervisor, testified on April 1. The jury heard new audio of Chauvin speaking with Pleoger moments after Floyd's death, saying: 'I was just going to call you come out to our scene we had to hold a guy down he was going crazy, wouldn't go in the back of the squad.' Pleoger said that Chauvin did not tell him that he had applied his knee to Floyd's neck or that he had held him down for any length of time. 'I believe he told me he'd become combative he mentioned he'd injured either his nose of his mouth and eventually having struggled with him,' Pleoger recalled. 'He said he'd suffered a medical emergency and an ambulance was called.' As supervising shift sergeant, Pleoger was tasked with investigating any use of force incidents that occurred during his shift 3pm to 1am. Describing the call he'd received from 911 dispatcher Jenna Scurry, Pleoger said: 'She called to say she didn't want to be a snitch but she had seen something while viewing a camera that she thought was concerning.' Pleoger had not received a call from Chauvin at that time and initially told Scurry that what she saw 'might not count'. According to Minneapolis Police Department policy officers are required to report use of force incidents under certain circumstances but not if it is a 'take down', which Pleoger who had not been called by any of the officers on the scene - initially assumed was the case. The jury was shown footage from Pleoger's body camera in which officers Chauvin, Thao, Kueng and Lane could be standing near the site of where they took down Floyd. Pleoger instructed Chauvin to identify and speak with witnesses, to which the officer replied: 'We can try but they're pretty hostile.' Additional video showed Pleoger arriving at the hospital where Floyd was pronounced dead, in which Chauvin appeared to be wringing his hands. Asked if he had an opinion as to when Chauvin's restraint should have ended, Pleoger responded: 'Yes [it should have ended] when Mr Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance.' MPD Sergeant Jon Edwards Sgt. Jon Edwards, who was called to secure the scene in the aftermath, testified that two of the officers involved were still at the site when he arrived and that he was ordered to remove the crime scene tape just hours after his death was confirmed. Edwards said he encountered Lane and Kueng at the scene when he arrived and he instructed them to turn on their body cameras. Edwards said: 'I asked them to chill out because I knew from Sergeant Pleoger that he had a couple of escort sergeants coming down to transport them to interview room 100.' Edwards told jurors that at approximately 10.13pm news came through that Floyd had died and the situation was confirmed as a critical incident. By then homicide was on the scene and Lane and Kueng were transported to City Hall to be interviewed. Edwards testified that he was then ordered to remove the crime scene tape he had earlier put up at about 3.30am. MPD Lt Richard Zimmerman Richard Zimmerman, the head of the Minneapolis Police Department's homicide division, told jurors that Chauvin's use of force in arresting Floyd was 'totally unnecessary' because a handcuffed person doesn't pose a threat and kneeling on someone's neck can 'kill them'. Zimmerman, who responded to the crime scene after Floyd's deadly arrest, testified that he had watched multiple videos showing the moment the officer knelt on the black man's neck after handcuffing him. Having watched the videos, Zimmerman was clear: 'Pulling him down to the ground face down and putting your knee on his neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for.' He added that once Floyd was handcuffed, he saw 'no reason why the officers felt they were in danger and that's what they would have to feel to use that level of force.' Zimmerman told jurors that kneeling on the neck of someone who is handcuffed and in the prone position is 'top-tier, deadly' force and should not be used. 'If your knee is on a person's neck, that can kill him,' he said. Asked by prosecutors whether a handcuffed person was a reduced threat, Zimmerman said: 'Once a person is cuffed, the threat level goes down all the way. They are cuffed, how can they really hurt you. 'You getting injured is way down. You could have some guy try to kick you or something, but you can move out of the way. That person is handcuffed, you know, so the threat level is just not there.' Zimmerman, who is trained every year in the use of force, told jurors he had never been trained to 'kneel on the neck of somebody who's cuffed and in the prone position'. 'Once you secure or handcuff a person you need to get them out of the prone position as soon as possible because it restricts their breathing,' he said, adding that having your hands cuffed behind your back 'stretches the muscles back through your chest and makes it more difficult to breathe'. Dr Bradford Langenfeld Dr Bradford Langenfeld, the medic at the Hennepin County Medical Center who pronounced Floyd dead, told jurors on April 5 that he believed the cause of death last May 25 was asphyxia. He told the court, 'Any amount of time that a patient spends in cardiac arrest without CPR markedly decreases the chances of survival' before explaining that those chances dropped by 10 to 15 percent with each passing minute. There was nothing in the paramedics' reports, he said, to suggest that they were concerned that Floyd had either suffered a heart attack or drug overdose. Dr Langenfeld also told how paramedics had fought to revive Floyd for 30 minutes by the time he arrived in his ward but that despite their efforts he was in cardiac arrest and save for occasional Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) activity in the heart not strong enough to establish a pulse he flat-lined. The medic could not recall whether or not Floyd was still cuffed on arrival but he did remember seeing indentations from the handcuffs on his wrists. Dr Langenfeld said he had considered a host of possible causes for Floyd's cardiac arrest and concluded that hypoxia oxygen deficiency or asphyxia was most likely, he said 'based on the information that I had.' He declared Floyd dead after 30 minutes in the hospital, by which time he had been without a pulse for close to an hour. Speaking softly and soberly he recalled, 'In the absence of any apparent reversable cause, [I felt that] the likelihood of any meaningful outcome was far below 1 percent and we would not be able to resuscitate Mr Floyd, so I then pronounced him dead.' The court also heard from Dr. Bradford Langenfeld Monday, pictured, the medic at the Hennepin County Medical Center who pronounced Floyd dead Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told jurors that Chauvin 'absolutely did not' follow police policy on de-escalation or use of force when he pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. In explosive testimony on April 5, Arradondo said Chauvin's use of force 'absolutely' violated the department's policy and belief in 'the sanctity of life,' and that the pressure he used was contrary to all departmental teachings. He said: 'Once Mr Floyd had stopped resisting and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped. 'Once there was no longer any resistance and clearly when Mr Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed behind their back that in no way shape or form is by policy, part of our training, certainly not part of our ethics or values.' Shown a still image taken from the bystander video Arradondo said: 'When I look at the facial expression of Mr Floyd that does not appear in any way shape or form that that is ight to moderate pressure [as per policy]. 'That action is not de-escalation and when we talk about the framework of our sanctity of life and principals and values that we have that action goes contrary.' Arradondo, Minneapolis's first black police chief, also told the court that he agreed the Chauvin had violated policy by failing to provide any medical aid to the clearly suffering Floyd. He fired Chauvin and three other officers the day after Mr Floyd's death on May 25 last year and in June called it 'murder'. As well as his clear condemnation of the actions he described as violating policy, Arradondo told the court that Floyd's alleged crime - passing a fake $20 bill at Cup Foods store - did not rise to the level of violent crime that demanded use of force or a custodial arrest. Inspector Katie Blackwell Inspector Katie Blackwell, former commander of the Minneapolis police department's training division, took the stand on April 5. She said that she has known Chauvin for close to twenty years having first served as a community officer with him. And she herself appointed Chauvin, who was by far the most senior officer on the scene May 25, to the role of Field Training Officer, responsible for training and mentoring new recruits. But when shown an image of Chauvin, with his knee on Floyd's neck, Blackwell was damning. She said, 'I don't know what kind of improvised position that is.' According to Blackwell officers are taught to use one or two arms, not knees, for neck restraints and to constantly reassess the situation. She also said that 'positional asphyxia' was a concept known to her for as long as she had been an officer roughly the same period of time that Chauvin has served. She echoed testimony already heard by the jury regarding the dangers of keeping a person in the prone position one in which they are not able to adequately breath. For that reason, she said, officers are taught to put suspects on their side, in the side-recovery position or sitting upright 'as soon as is possible.' MPD Inspector Katie Blackwell also gave evidence Monday. She told jurors about the training officers recieve Ker Wang, Crisis Training Coordinator On April 6 the court heard from Sergeant Ker Wang, 49, Crisis Training Coordinator with the MPD and the man who wrote significant portions of that training. He said that he recognized Chauvin's name, not because he knew him personally, but from training. The court heard that Chauvin took part in a 40-hour crisis training course in 2018 though this was not a course in which Wang had personally instructed him. Wang described a 'crisis' as anything that took an individual 'beyond their coping mechanisms' and said that the primary goal of any intervention was to 'de-escalate' and restore the situation to a pre-crisis level. Steve Schleicher asked Wang to talk the jury through the Critical Decision Making Model a graphic of five spheres around a central sphere. Wang, who introduced the model to MPD training in 2018, explained how the outer spheres which contained the topic headings: Information Gathering, Threat/Risk Assessment, Authority to Act, Goals and Actions, Review & Re-Assess linked to the 'key pillars of procedural justice' expressed in the centre 'Voice Neutrality Respect Trust.' The model could be read and enacted in any direction, as officers respond to crisis in a state of flux and constant reassessment. He said that every officer could apply this model, 'like memory' and in doing so 'can slow down time,' in a crisis situation. He said, 'I believe in this model because it works.' When Nelson cross-examined the witness he sought to widen the focus from Chauvin's assessment of and actions towards Floyd to take in the context of the crowd the part that they played in events and the extent to which their understanding of them was limited. He pointed out that an officer had to consider 'the totality of the circumstances,' which 'is more than just how you react to the person being arrested.' Wang agreed with Nelson's statement that this included, 'citizen bystanders, what to do when a citizen bystander starts filming you, how to identify when a citizen constitutes a risk.' The model was, Nelson asserted, 'a very dynamic, ever-changing thing based on the information that comes to the officers in real time.' Much of that may be invisible to the onlookers, he said such as tactical thinking, knowing that medical help is on the way, considering officer safety. Nelson then steered toward a presentation of Chauvin's conduct and appearance as textbook. Referencing training he said, 'An officer should appear confident, they should be able to try to stay calm, they should try speak slowly and softly, they should avoid staring or eye-contact' Wang agreed. They should, he said, in all respects attempt to 'create time and distance.,' acting only when it was 'safe and feasible' to do so. Lieutenant Johnny Mercil Minneapolis Police Department's use of force expert and the man in charge of officer training told jurors on April 6 that Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck is not, and never has been, an MPD trained neck restraint. Asked by prosecutor Steve Schleicher if such a level of restraint would be authorized when a subject is handcuffed Lieutenant Johnny Mercil replied, 'I would say no.' Mercil also told the court that officers were taught to use the minimum amount of force needed to detain someone. Asked about leg neck restraints Mercil explained that, while not taught to officers, they were something that might be shown to young cadets. But they would not look like the restraint carried out by Chauvin on May 25. As Schleicher walked him through the training and concepts in MPD's Use of Force Mercil told the court that officers are not taught to use leg neck restraints and never have been. Mercil was responding to a picture of Chauvin with his knee pressed into Floyd's neck shown to him in court. According to Mercil officers are taught how to deliver conscious and unconscious neck restraints with their arms and only under very limited circumstances when the level of resistance and threat would make such a measure proportional. MPD medical support coordinator Nicole MacKenzie Nicole MacKenzie, Minneapolis police medical support coordinator, testified that it is 'very difficult to focus on a patient if you don't feel safe', arguing a noisy crowd could have made it hard for officers to hear Floyd struggling to breathe. She told jurors on April 6 that treating a person under the eyes of a noisy crowd was 'incredibly difficult.' MacKenzie said: 'It might sound wrong but bystanders do sometimes attack EMS crews so sometimes just getting out of the situation is the best way to diffuse it.' 'It's incredibly difficult [to treat under those circumstances] because you're trying to be heads down on a patient [but] it's very difficult to focus on the patient if you don't feel safe around you.' MacKenzie also said Floyd could have displayed 'super-human strength' due do 'Excited Delirium' brought on by the consumption of the illicit drug speedball. Explaining this potential side-effect of taking the illicit drug MacKenzie said, 'The person might be experiencing elevated body temperature, the heart rate might be extremely elevated and insensitive to pain. Because you don't really have that pain/compliance edge that would normally control somebody's behavior. 'Somebody experiencing this might have what we would call super-human strength, lifting things they wouldn't normally be able to lift, breaking things.' One of other officers at the scene, Thomas Lane, said he was 'worried about excited delirium' and suggesting rolling Floyd on his side. The prosecution established that Chauvin had undergone training in CPR and AED as well as other first aid before MacKenzie told the jury that trained officers must provide medical aid when necessary. It was not enough, she said, for an officer to simply call for an ambulance and wait when in a 'critical situation'. She talked the jury through the basic steps in which officers are trained to establish responsiveness and if no response is forthcoming to check for breathing and a pulse before commencing chest compressions. Asked if it was true to say that if a person can talk they can breathe, MacKenzie said, 'No sir, somebody can be in respiratory distress and still be able to verbalize it.' But under cross-examination MacKenzie agreed that the policies on rendering emergency medical aid were 'somewhat qualified or contingent on what was going on at the scene at the time.' Put simply the scene had to be safe, she accepted, before an officer should turn their attentions to first aid or CPR. Nelson focused again on the scene. Painting the picture of a busy road and volatile, vocal crowd he asked if it would be possible for an officer to confuse the gasps of 'agonal' ineffective 'breathing' with effective breathing and if this mistake would be more likely, 'when there's a lot of noise and commotion.' MacKenzie agreed on both points. Use-of-force expert Jody Stiger Derek Chauvin's use of force was 'excessive', according to Jody Stiger, a Los Angeles police sergeant who gave testimony as the state's use-of-force expert on April 6. Stiger told the court that he has served in some of the most dangerous places and some of the most dangerous beats Skid Row, gangs, narcotics both in uniform and undercover and on LAPD's Use of Force Board, as a peer reviewer of high profile uses of force. Stiger was also a tactics instructor of six years and has travelled nationally in his capacity as an aid to the Inspector General an independent oversight entity in LAPD consulting with police forces across the country to establish consistent standards and training nationwide. He has conducted 2500 use of force reviews including use of deadly force. Stiger told the jury that he had reviewed all of the state's materials body-worn cameras, cell and pole-camera video footage, reports and MPD manuals and training materials. He told the court that he also took into consideration legal standards, the level of the offense and the person's actions. Asked about Floyd's crime attempting to pass a fake $20 bill he said, 'Typically you wouldn't even expect to use any force.' He said officers were initially justified in their use of force because Floyd was 'actively resisting' but said 'once he was placed in the prone position on the ground he slowly ceased his resistance and at that point the ex-officers should have slowed down or backed off their force as well.' Instead, he noted, 'They continued the force that they were utilizing from the time when they put him on the ground.' Stiger told the court that the officers could have continued trying to talk to Floyd and noted that Kueng had already established some sort of rapport. But despite this he said that they had not behaved unreasonably in their efforts to get a struggling Floyd into the back of the squad car. He recalled, 'Mr Floyd was actively resisting moving around clearly, trying to get out. He didn't want to be there and the officers were initially trying to place him in the back seat, grabbing the seat belt and things of that nature and eventually the decision was made to remove him from the vehicle.' He said, 'They were pulling him from the driver side, passenger door the street side pulling on his legs and his arms and once they got him out he kind of went on his knees. 'He was saying he couldn't breathe, saying he was claustrophobic. Numerous times he stated he was afraid, he had had covid and couldn't breathe and he had anxiety and was claustrophobic.' Jody Stiger, 50, who gave testimony as the state's Use of Force expert, said Chauvin's use of force was 'excessive' Senior Special Agent James Reyerson, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension officer James Reyerson, the lead investigator in Derek Chauvin's murder case on April 7 reversed his testimony regarding George Floyd's declaration, 'I ate too many drugs', later clarifying he heard: 'I ain't doing no drugs'. Defense attorney Eric Nelson had played the clip to the court from one of the officer's body-worn cameras at the scene last May 25. Asked if he recalled hearing that Reyerson said no he did not. After the segment was played in court, when asked again if he had heard it he said, 'Yes I did.' But in a stunning about face, when recalled by the prosecution and played a longer portion of the bodycam footage, Reyerson said that he now believed Floyd to be saying, 'I ain't doing no drugs.' Reyerson told the jury both the patrol car Floyd was pulled out of and the car he was in were processed on May 27, two days after Floyd's death, then again in December 2020 when the prosecution requested a search of the Blue Mercedes SUV before the defense asked to see squad 320 in January. It was at that time a half- chewed speedball pill was found bearing Floyd's DNA and saliva. BCA forensic scientist and Lead Crime Scene Investigator McKenzie Anderson BCA forensic scientist and Lead Crime Scene Investigator McKenzie Anderson told the jury on April 7 how she had found a crumpled and open packet of Suboxone a medication given to adults with an opioid addiction in the driver's seat footwell of the Mercedes Floyd had arrived in, as well as an unopened packet on the seat. She also told them about two round white pills found in the center console of the car. Jurors were shown pictures of all of these findings. Anderson and her colleagues had not found the pills or containers on an initial search of the Mercedes on May 27 when she photographed the interior and searched with little sense of what she might be looking for. The car was searched again on the request of the Attorney General's office December 9 when the pills and $20 bills stuffed between the passenger seat and center consol. Anderson told jurors that she 'didn't give any forensic significance' to the small white pill clearly visible on the floor on the passenger side of the vehicle's back seat in the first set of pictures. She explained that she had been looking for blood or something to do with fake bills. The potential significance was immediately spotted by the defense who requested a second search of the car having seen the half-chewed pill in pictures. On a second search Anderson found the white pill as well as several other small irregular shaped white objects that could, she said, have been parts of a pill. There were no visible markings on either the pill or the fragments, all of which, she said had a rough texture and irregular shape. There was one fragment, stuck to the back seat and reddish-brown in color, that, she said, seemed 'consistent with the other pieces,' except for the color difference. Forensic testing found Floyd's DNA in saliva left on the half-chewed pill which was found to be a 'speedball' or compound of methamphetamine and fentanyl when sent to drug chemistry division. Forensic scientist Breahna Giles BCA's Breahna Giles was the forensic scientist tasked with analyzing the glass pipe and pills found in the Mercedes. On April 7 she testified that she found traces of THC the psychoactive component found in marijuana in residue scraped from the pipe and determined the pills, which had pharmaceutical markings, to be a compound of Oxycodone and Acetaminophen. She also tested the tablet and fragments found in the back of squad 320 and found the partial white pill to be methamphetamine as well as identifying methamphetamine in the fragments found. Under cross-examination Giles said that there was the presence of other substances but not enough to make a positive determination of its nature. Asked by Nelson, 'But that was fentanyl?' she said she could neither confirm nor deny its presence. Eleven nanograms of Fentanyl was found in Floyd's bloodstream. BCA's Breahna Giles was the forensic scientist tasked with analyzing the glass pipe and pills found in the Mercedes. She found traces of THC the psychoactive component found in marijuana in residue scraped from the pipe and determined the pills, which had pharmaceutical markings, to be a compound of Oxycodone and Acetamenophin Forensic chemist Susan Neith Forensic chemist Susan Neith was the last witness on April 7. She also tested the pills from both vehicles and told the jury that she found trace levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the pills taken from the back of the squad car. She put the levels of fentanyl at less than 1 percent the amount she said she would expect to find in street fentanyl. But put the levels of methamphetamine at between 1 and 2.9percent which she said was much lower in her experience than that found in street drugs which she would expect to come in at 80 to 90 percent. Forensic chemist Susan Neith was the last witness of the day. She also tested the pills from both vehicles and told the jury that she found trace levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the pills taken from the back of the squad car Pulmonology expert Dr Martin Tobin Dr Martin Tobin, a specialist at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital and Loyola University's medical school in Chicago, testified he believed Floyd's cause of death was due to a lack of oxygen that damaged his brain and caused his heart to stop. During his hours-long testimony on April 8, he said there were several factors that he said made it difficult for Floyd to breathe, beyond Chauvin's knee on his neck: Officers lifting up on his handcuffs, the hard street, lying face down, his turned head and a knee on his back. 'A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died as a result of what he was subjected to,' Dr Tobin said. Tobin, analyzing a graphic presentation of the three officers holding down Floyd for what prosecutors say was almost 9 1/2 minutes, testified that Chauvin's knee was 'virtually on the neck' for more than 90% of the time by his estimate. Chauvin also kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 3.02 minutes after Floyd had 'reached the point where there was not one ounce of oxygen left in the body,' Tobin said. When asked if Dr Tobin, based on his medical expertise, had determined a cause of death for Floyd after viewing videos from the scene, he said: 'Mr Floyd died from a low level of oxygen... The cause of low level of oxygen was shallow breathing. Small breaths that weren't able to carry the air through his lungs. 'He was being squashed between the two sides,' Dr Tobin said as he described the position Floyd was in lying face down on the ground with the officers pinning him down. Dr Tobin told the court that the impact of the pressure of the officers and handcuffs rendered movement so impossible that Floyd's left lung was greatly affected. 'When you breathe you use your diaphragm, next thing you recruit is the big muscles in the neck, when those are wasted up then you're relying on these kinds of muscles to get air into the right side.' Elsewhere in his testimony, Dr Tobin said he'd calculated that Floyd's lung capacity was reduced by 43 percent when Chauvin was pinning him down. Forensic toxicologist Dr Daniel Isenschmid Dr Daniel Isenschmid took the stand on April 8 and told how he found traces of fentanyl and methamphetamine when he tested blood drawn from Floyd at the hospital and urine from his autopsy. He told the court that even though there was a high level of fentanyl in Floyd's bloodstream 11ng ml where a 3ng ml could be lethal individual tolerance had to be taken into account. The toxicology expert suggested Floyd's tolerance have been high as a regular user. He also pointed to the presence of norfentanyl a metabolic of fentanyl. Isenschmid said that he wouldn't expect to see this in a case where death had occurred as a result of fentanyl overdose because the body wouldn't have had a chance to metabolize the drug. He described the level of meth in Floyd's bloodstream 19ng ml - as no more than he would expect to find in the blood of a patient who had consumed a single legally prescribed dose and his amphetamine was below reportable levels. Forensic expert Dr William Smock Dr William Smock took the stand on April 8 and testified that Floyd died from positional asphyxia, which he said was 'a fancy way of saying he died because he had no oxygen left in his body'. 'When the body is deprived of oxygen, in this case from pressure on this chest and back, he gradually succumbed to lower and lower levels of oxygen until he succumbed and he died,' he said. Smock said that he had considered and dismissed other causes including the defense's causes of choice fentanyl overdose and excited delirium. One by one he explained the symptoms of excited delirium including excessive sweat, being unaffected by pain and super-human strength and dismissed them pointing out that Floyd was cold to the touch, complaining of pain from the moment he was on the ground and unable to throw the police officers from his back. Asked by prosecutors how many of the 10 recognized symptoms he observed, Smock answered: 'Zip.' He discarded fentanyl overdose as a possible cause of death because he said, Floyd was not falling into a coma, snoring, or slowing down in breathing. He was, instead, fighting for his life and demonstrating 'air hunger' as he struggled to breathe. He pointed to Floyd's weakening voice as evidence that the life was draining from him and recognized Floyd's dying moments in his altering facial expressions and anoxic seizure when his legs kicked out straight behind him. Smock explained that since Floyd was a chronic drug users the levels of narcotics and their metabolites found in his blood stream really meant very little. 'You don't rely on the level, you look at the patient,' he said. The defense has pointed to the fact that there was no bruising on Floyd's neck and throat post mortem as proof that Chauvin's knee did not dig into him until the life was squeezed out of him. But Smock, who is also a specialist in strangulation, said: 'You can be fatally strangled and died of asphyxia and have no bruising.' Dr William Smock, a forensic medicine expert, told the jury in Derek Chauvin's murder trial on Thursday April 8 that when George Floyd cried out 'I can't breathe' he was exhibiting the desperation of 'air hunger' Forensic pathologist Dr Lindsey Thomas Forensic pathologist Dr Lindsey Thomas, who works as a medical examiner in Reno and Salt Lake City, testified on April 9 that Floyd died as as result of 'low oxygen' or 'asphyxia.' Thomas said that in this case the autopsy itself did not tell her the cause of death in her investigation but the 'unique' amount of documentation in terms of videos and records was vital in establishing 'mechanism' of death. She agreed with Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker's finding that the cause of death was 'cardiopulmonary arrest, complicating law enforcement subdual restraint and neck compression'. Thomas told the court that there are no physical findings in autopsy that show low oxygen but there are sometimes findings consistent with a cause of death that may result in low oxygen. She gave as an example a partial hanging in which a person may have petechiae, tiny burst blood vessels in the eye. She said that she had found such supporting signs in Floyd's autopsy. According to Thomas, 'Mr Floyd had superficial injuries on his face, shoulders and wrists. What that does is it supports what I saw in the videos which is that he's being forcibly restrained and subdued and trying to move into a position by rubbing his face against the ground, pulling against his handcuffs and by pushing with his shoulder. 'And he also had some scrapes on his knuckles on his right hand and again that was from him pushing trying to get into a position where he could breathe.' She explained: 'There are really two parts; cardiopulmonary arrest which doesn't really provide much additional information because essentially we all die when our heart and lungs stop, but as a forensic pathologist I would use it to differentiate from cardiac arrest. This is not a sudden cardiac arrest. 'This is a death where both the heart and lungs stopped working and the point is that it is due to subdual restraint and compression.' Thomas concluded: 'The activities of the law enforcement officers led to Mr Floyd's death.' And by that she meant placing him in the prone position, handcuffing him and kneeling on his back and, specifically, neck. Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker, who performed Floyd's autopsy, took the stand on April 9 and said that he did not find the cause of death to be asphyxia or low oxygen levels and that he did not believe that Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck for 'the majority' of the time. In a massive departure from the prosecution's contention, Baker said: 'In my impression from the video it would appear that Mr Chauvin's knee was primarily on the back, on the side or the area in between Mr Floyd's neck (and back).' Under cross examination, Baker told the court that asphyxia was 'a very common cause' of the deaths that he had seen across 2,900 to 3,000 autopsies but it was not the conclusion that he came to before, or after, having seen the videos of the incident on May 25, 2020. In a startlingly brief direct questioning by Jerry Blackwell, Baker told the court that Floyd died because being pinned down on the ground with his neck compressed was, 'just more than he could take,' given his severe underlying heart disease. Asked if, in his opinion, the positioning of Chauvin's knee would cut off Floyd's oxygen supply, Baker said: 'In my opinion it would not.' In his view, he said: 'It was the stress of that interaction that tipped him over the edge given his underlying heart disease and his toxicological status.' The doctor told the court that he had deliberately avoided all video footage until after he conducted the autopsy because he did not want to introduce any 'bias' that might, 'lead [his] examination down any particular path'. In his conclusion Floyd's death occurred 'in the context' of law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression but he did not give the cause of death as set out by others. Cardiologist Dr Jonathan Rich Dr Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, took the stand on April 12 and said Floyd would still be alive if it weren't for Chauvin's restraint as he asserted that the black man did not have heart disease and his tolerance for fentanyl was so high that the drug played no role in his death. 'In this case Mr George Floyd died from a cardiopulmonary arrest,' Rich told the jury. 'It was caused by low oxygen and those low oxygen levels were produced by the prone restraint and positional asphyxia that he was subjected to.' Rich refuted key arguments from the defense when he said he had considered and discounted Floyd's cause of death as having originated from the heart itself or being the result of an overdose. 'After reviewing all of the facts I can state with a high degree of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a primary cardiac event and he did not die from a drug overdose,' he said. Instead, he said Floyd 'was just unable using all of his muscles, his accessory muscles, he was unable [to breathe] because of the position he was subjected to'. 'The heart thus didn't have enough oxygen either which means the entire body didn't have enough oxygen,' he said. Asked whether he thought Floyd would be alive today were it not for 'Mr Chauvins subdual and restraint of nine minutes and 29 seconds on the ground', Rich said: 'To a high degree of medical certainty, he would have lived.' Rich told the court that, in his view: 'Mr George Floyd's death was absolutely preventable.' He said the first thing that could've been done to prevent Floyd's death would have been to simply not place him in the prone position at all. After that happened, Rich said Floyd should have been moved into the side recovery position when his complaints of not being able to breathe became audibly weaker. While Floyd had high blood pressure which could, Rich said, become a problem over time if not treated, he told the jury: 'Every indicator is that Mr Floyd had an exceptionally strong heart because he could generate pressures at some points upwards of 200.' Rich explained that a problem with some of the patients he sees who are suffering heart failure is that they cannot generate pressures of even 80 as a top number. Normal blood pressure is around 120/80. As doctors Martin Tobin, William Smock and Lindsey Thomas had before him, Rich asserted that the deterioration he observed in Floyd was not the sudden loss of consciousness of a primary cardiac event, but the slow seeping way of one deprived of oxygen for a prolonged period of time. 'In the course of the restraint I was looking to see if his deterioration occurred rapidly,' Rich said. 'A primary cardiac event, the most common arrhythmia is ventricular fibrillation, when that happens the individual will look relatively okay and then they will immediately become unconscious. 'On the other hand if the cause is from something else for example low oxygen levels you will typically see that happening more gradually and slowly. 'I could see his speech starting to become less forceful, his muscle movements becoming weaker until eventually his speech and muscle movements were absent. And then of course he was in a PEA (Pulseless Electrical Activity) cardiopulmonary arrest.' Turning to the autopsy report, Rich said that he had found no evidence of the sort of tell-tale damage to the heart that a heart attack would have left behind. And while he called Floyd's arterial disease 'notable', he said it was not something that surprised him because it is so common. What was most significant, he said, was that Floyd's arteries were only partially blocked, not completely occluded a sign of that a heart attack had occurred. Rich discounted a fentanyl or methamphetamine overdose saying that he felt the latter 'played no substantive role at all'. He said from what he had seen, Floyd's behavior his talkativeness, alertness, ability to walk was the opposite of what a person would witness in an opiate overdose. On cross examination, Nelson tried to take the sting out of Rich's testimony that Floyd would be alive today were it not for Chauvins actions. Flipping the outcome back on Floyd, Nelson asked: 'If Mr Floyd had just got into the seat of the squad car do you think he would have survived?' Rich tip-toed into his answer, denying Nelson the straight yes or no that he sought. 'Had he not been restrained in the way in which he was, I think he would have survived that day. I think he would have gone home had he not been subjected to the prone position that he was,' he said. 'So in other words,' Nelson summed up for the court. 'If he had just gotten into the squad car.' Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's younger brother Floyd's younger brother Philonise Floyd broke down in tears at trial on April 12 as the court was shown pictures of his slain sibling - as a young boy, sleeping in his smiling mothers arms, as a teenager studying, pen in hand and as a young athlete who got a basketball scholarship to South Florida before transferring to Gainesville, Texas, where he played football, and smiling with his seven-year-old daughter Gianna in his arms. Philonise, 39, recalled his oldest brother as a 'leader,' who organized his younger siblings and made sure they had their school uniform each morning and a snack before school. He said that people in their community would go to church just because they saw that Floyd was there. He said that his older brother always wanted to be taller and to be the best, measuring himself as he grew and throwing hundreds of hoops in a bid to be the 'best' at basketball. Philonise recalled playing video games and catch with Floyd growing up before telling the court with a smile that his brother 'couldn't boil water' but would make the best 'banana and mayonnaise and syrup sandwiches'. Toward the end of his brief testimony, he told how broken Floyd was by his mother's death, saying that at the funeral, 'George just sat there at the casket saying: "Mamma" over and over again. 'He was just kissing her. He didn't want to leave the casket.' George Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd testified at Derek Chauvin's murder trial on Monday afternoon (pictured) Use-of-force expert Seth Stoughton The prosecution's final witness, use-of-force expert Seth Stoughton, testified on April 12 that Floyd did not pose a threat during his fatal arrest and said officers should have relented after the handcuffed black man pleaded: 'I can't breathe' 27 times. Stoughton, a former cop turned law professor, was asked to provide his analysis of body camera video of Floyd pinned to the ground by Chauvin and two other officers on May 25 in Minneapolis. In a damning sequence prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked: 'Did Mr Floyd present any threat of escape? Did he present any threat to physical property? Did he present any threat to the physical safety of officers or anyone else?' Again and again Stoughton answered: 'No he did not.' Asked: 'Did he present any sort of threat at all?' Stoughton again said: 'No he did not.' Stoughton concluded: 'No reasonable officers would have believed that was an appropriate, acceptable or reasonable use of force.' Stoughton said it was 'never' necessary or reasonable to place Floyd in a prone position, adding: 'It's clear from the number of officers the fact that he's handcuffed and has been searched he doesn't present any threat of harm, his actions don't suggest he's any threat of escape.' 'Given the range of alternatives available to officers its just not appropriate to prone someone when theyre already compliant,' Stoughton said. Stoughton went on to draw a distinction between 'threat' and 'risk'. He explained: 'Threat is not some abstract notion. It's specific; threat "of" something. Threat exists when the individual has the physical ability, the opportunity and apparent intention to cause whatever harm we're envisaging. 'That's how we identify threat. Risk you can think of as a potential threat. Risk is something officers can use tactics and communications to address. The goal is to prevent risk becoming threat and that threat to turn into whatever the apparent harm intended is.' He added: 'While threat can justify use of force, risk can't.' Stoughton said that he considered a use of force review as 'kind of a balancing of harms. The idea is an officer cannot use more force than the situation justifies. 'The foreseeable effects can't be disproportionate to the perceived threat.' That is exactly what he concluded they had been on May 25, 2020. Stoughton told the court: 'Before he fell silent Mr Floyd said: "I can't breathe" by my count at least 27 times. If somebody is describing that they're in distress then officers have to take that into account.' 'The officers are maintaining Mr Floyd in that prone position but there are some indicators that the foreseeable effects are occurring and that hes experiencing positional asphyxia. 'Not only does he indicate it with the words he's using but [as the restraint continues] his voice is slower and thicker.' According to Stoughton a 'reasonable officer' would 'absolutely' have been aware of Floyd's complaints and in fact Chauvin can be heard acknowledging both them and, later, Officer J Alexander Kueng telling him that he could not find a pulse. Returning to his threat assessment as a vital part of establishing the reasonableness of force used Stoughton said: 'Somebody who does not have a pulse does not present a threat in any way.' Stoughton also dismissed the notion that the crowd posed any credible threat or could be perceived as such by a 'reasonable officer'. He pointed out that the first negative comment from the crowd came more than three minutes into the restraint and he noted Officer Tou Thao's flippant comment: 'This is why you don't do drugs, kids' as an indication that the officers were not truly afraid of trouble. 'That's relevant because if you are concerned about a crowd you don't say things that are likely to exacerbate that situation,' he explained. 'A comment like: "This is why you don't do drugs, kids," is not rapport building.' After Floyd had been removed by paramedics Chauvin returned to his squad car and could be heard in a interaction with a bystander. Paraphrasing what he could recall, Stoughton said that Chauvin attempted to justify his actions by saying, 'something akin to describing Mr Floyd as a pretty big guy, possibly intoxicated possibly on drugs and that officers needed to keep control over him'. According to Stoughton: 'All of those individual statements are true; Mr Floyd was a larger individual and there was ample reason to think he may have been impaired by alcohol or drugs. 'But a reasonable officer in this situation would have perceived that they could have maintained control over him without putting a knee on his neck or keeping him in that position. 'The sanctity of human life is the absolute priority in policing. On cross examination, Nelson pressed Stoughton: 'Does the reasonable officer decide whether they should be put in the squad car or does the suspect decide whether they should be put in the squad car...the suspect does not get to dictate I get to sit on the ground or in the front of the squad car?' Stoughton agreed they did not. Nelson re-iterated Stoughton's view that the use of the prone position was never reasonable suggesting that 'reasonable minds' can disagree. 'On this particular point? No,' Stoughton countered. Stoughton agreed that the use of force is often not very pretty but that that did not necessarily mean that it was unlawful. But he added: 'I don't think that's the case here.' DEFENSE Retired Minneapolis police officer Scott Creighton Retired Minneapolis police officer Scott Creighton was the first witness to take the stand for the defense on Tuesday April 13 as the court watched body-camera footage of Floyd's arrest on May 6, 2019. In a remarkably brief direct examination Nelson asked Creighton what he had observed of Floyd as he approached his vehicle. Creighton told the jury that Floyd was not responsive and that he had to 'physically reach in [to the car] because I wanted to see his hands.' In the video Floyd can be heard saying: 'I don't want to be shot' before Creighton pulled him out of the car. Under cross examination by Erin Eldridge, Creighton observed that the situation had 'escalated really quick' once Floyd refused to show his hands and that he was compelled to pull his gun. He described Floyd as 'incoherent' but able to walk and talk. Nelson had hoped to show the jury that, under similar circumstances, when approached in a car by an officer with his gun drawn, Floyd rapidly ingested drugs and pretended to have a medical emergency. On re-direct Nelson asked if Creighton had heard his partner instructing Floyd to 'spit it out'. Creighton said, he may have done. Retired Minneapolis Police Officer Scott Creighton (pictured) testified about what he witnessed of Floyd during an arrest on May 6, 2019 Retired paramedic Michelle Moseng Retired paramedic Michelle Moseng was the prosecution's second witness on Tuesday April 13 as Nelson drew out the parallels between May 6, 2019 and what he contests took place on May 25, 2020. Moseng was called to Floyd's arrest during which he had required medical care. According to Moseng, Floyd was agitated and upset and told her that he had been taking seven to nine opioids oxy and Percocet every twenty minutes throughout the day and another just before the officer had approached the car. When asked for details of her physical assessment of Floyd she revealed that she recorded a blood pressure of 216 over 160 so high that she recommended he be taken immediately to hospital. Floyd told her, she said, that he had not been taking his blood pressure medication, 'for months'. In an aggressive cross-examination, Eldridge peppered the witness with questions demanding her acknowledgement that Floyds blood oxygen, pulse, respiration, heart rhythm and EKG were all normal. 'And you took him to the hospital and he was monitored for two hours and he was released,' Eldridge said, to which Moseng answered: 'Yes.' Michelle Moseng (pictured) was the paramedic called to administer medical aid during Floyd's arrest on May 6, 2019 George Floyd's friend Shawanda Hill The third witness called by the defense was Shawanda Hill, the woman who was in the car with Floyd and his friend Morries Hall, on May 25, 2020, after having bumped into Floyd in Cup Foods where he offered to give her a ride home. At times hard to hear and irritable, Hill told Nelson that Floyd was 'happy, normal' and 'alert' when she spoke to him in the store. But back in the car after she had been on a call with her daughter Hill said she saw that Floyd had suddenly fallen asleep before Cup Foods clerks came out to confront him about using a counterfeit $20 bill. By then, she said: 'He was already sleeping. When they came to the car and when they came try to wake him up, I tried to wake him up over and over, he kept, he'd wake up, then say something, then nodded back off. He did that a couple of times.' Hill went onto relate how she had struggled to get Floyd to focus when the police arrived, telling him: 'Baby that's the police, open the door, roll down the window.' Hill said Floyd was 'startled' when Officer Thomas Lane pulled his gun, prompting him to grab at the steering wheel and plead: 'Please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me.' Judge Cahill spoke to Hill, who had been named in earlier testimony as a heroin dealer, ahead of the jury being seated after a brief morning break. He explained to her that the attorneys might ask her whether or not she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and that, though he did not think the questions would incriminate her and he had instructed the limit of their scope, she had the right to consult and attorney regarding invoking her Fifth Amendment right. She said she did not need one and that she was 'ready to go'. In his brief cross-examination Assistant Attorney General Frank Matthew established that, despite his sleepiness, Floyd was not short of breath or complaining of chest pains at any point. Minneapolis Park Police Officer Peter Chang The fourth witness for the defense was Minneapolis Park Police Officer Peter Chang, who arrived at Cup Foods after officers Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng had already confronted Floyd. The jury was shown video from Chang's body-camera, which revealed Floyd's friends reactions to his arrest for the first time. Chang described a relatively calm scene on his arrival at Cup Foods where he saw Kueng next to Floyd who was seated on the ground, handcuffed and leaning against the wall outside Dragon Wok restaurant. Chang told the court that he had been 'concerned for the officers' safety' due to the 'very aggressive crowd' that gathered outside Cup Foods on 38th and Chicago as police struggled with and subdued Floyd. As the scene in front of Cup Foods clearly becomes more heated, Chang can be seen pacing to and fro - movement he explained to Nelson as due to checking on his fellow officers safety - and repeatedly telling Hill and Hall to stay put as they agitate to see whats going on. He informs them: 'Right now they're grabbing an ambulance for your buddy. He might have heart himself.' Cautioning both to stay away from the car and the scene, he tells Hill: 'Shawanda you're not helping.' In a very brief cross-examination Frank established that there had never been a 'code 3' or emergent call out to the scene at Cup Foods and undercut Changs concern for his fellow officers by pointing out that he knew there were four officers on scene and that none ever radioed for help. MPD Medical Support Coordinator Nicole MacKenzie Minneapolis Police Department Medical Support Coordinator Nicole MacKenzie made her second appearance on the stand directly before the court broke for lunch on Tuesday. When appearing as a state witness last week, MacKenzie gave her opinion that treating a person under the eyes of a crowd, hostile or otherwise, 'is incredibly difficult'. She also told the court about 'excited delirium', saying that it could give a person, 'super-human' strength. Today Nelson focused on the symptoms of the condition and recent training materials that, he established, of which Chauvin as a veteran would not have had knowledge. In contrast, rookie Lane did and in body-worn camera footage he can be heard expressing concern that Floyd may be suffering from excited delirium. MacKenzie explained that Lane would have received training that included the acronym NOTACRIME of signs and actions cadets were trained to note and take. She talked the jury through each letter. She said that a person may be Naked, exhibit violence towards Objects, by Tough and unstoppable. The onset could be Acute, the person Confused and Resistant as well as Incoherent, the condition could be due to Mental health issues and always required an EMS to be called early as it could lead to a sudden cardiac arrest. In another brief cross Frank established from MacKenzie that as a medical support coordinator it was not her job to diagnose conditions. She agreed she would always defer to a paramedic. Minneapolis Police Department Medical Support Coordinator Nicole MacKenzie made her second appearance on the stand directly before the court broke for lunch on Tuesday Use-of-force expert Barry Brodd Barry Brodd, a former cop and use-of-force expert who specializes in police and civilian defense cases, testified for Chauvin's defense on Tuesday April 13 and said the defendant did not use deadly force against Floyd. In fact, Brodd argued that Chauvin's placing the handcuffed black man in the prone position and kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds did not constitute use of force at all. 'It's a control technique. It doesn't hurt,' Brodd said. 'It's safe for the officer, safe for the suspect and you're using minimal effort to keep them on the ground.' During direct examination by Nelson, Brodd said Chauvin was 'justified' and acting 'with objective reasonableness' in his interactions with Floyd. He told the jury that police officers 'don't have to fight fair', explaining that they can use a level of force that is 'one up' from the level of any resistance. He noted that when dealing with suspects who are under the influence of drugs, officers can 'find themselves in a fight for their life in a heartbeat'. Brodd also leaned in to the defense narrative that Chauvin and his fellow officers felt 'threatened' by the gathering crowd. Brodd's confident testimony took a turn when prosecutor Steve Schleicher stepped up to cross examine him, wasting no time in tackling the assertion that keeping Floyd in the prone position did not constitute a use of force and did not hurt. He asked Brodd if he truly believed that it is unlikely that 'orienting yourself on top of a person on the pavement with both legs [on top of them] is unlikely to produce pain?' Brodd conceded that it could. Schleicher countered that if that position could produce pain, by Brodd's logic, it could also constitute a use of force. Looking at the all-too-familiar image of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck, Brodd was forced to concede: 'Shown in this picture, that could be use of force' - but argued that Floyd had grown increasingly non-compliant. Schleicher then showed a screengrab of Floyd pinned to the ground and asked: 'What part of this is not compliant?' Refusing to deviate from his narrative Brodd insisted: 'I see his arm position. A compliant person would have both their hands in the small of their back and be resting comfortably.' The disbelief clear in his voice, Schleicher asked: 'Did you say resting comfortably?' 'At this time when he's attempting to breathe by shoving his shoulder into the pavement,' Brodd replied. Pathologist Dr David Fowler Dr David Fowler, the former chief medical examiner of Maryland, took the stand on April 14 to share his conclusion that Floyd's death should have never been ruled a homicide because there were too many competing potential causes of death. One of the potential causes Fowler presented was Floyd's exposure to exhaust from the squad car he was pinned next to, which the witness said could have caused some degree of carbon monoxide poisoning. But on cross examination by trial attorney Jerry Blackwell, Fowler was forced to admit that he had no concrete evidence to support the carbon monoxide poisoning theory. Blackwell seized on the fact that Fowler had never set eyes on the squad car or attempted to simulate the conditions to sample possible levels of carbon monoxide in Floyd's vicinity. The prosecutor bluntly challenged: 'For that matter cutting even more to the chase how do you even know the car was on?' Fowler said that it was a question he had specifically asked and that he had observed water dripping from what appears to be a tail pipe. Blackwell pressed: 'You just assumed based on observing something dripping from a tail pipe that the car was on?' 'It's not an assumption,' Fowler bit back. 'It's an evaluation based on an indicator that the car was running.' The carbon monoxide point was one of many on which Fowler contradicted the opinions of medical experts who testified before him. Blackwell drilled down on those contradictions while attempting to chip away at Fowler's credibility, at one point telling him: 'You're not a toxicologist..a pulmonologist.. a cardiologist, a physiologistYou don't treat patients.' Fowler's earliest contradiction across more than five hours of testimony came when he shared his conclusion that Floyd died from a 'sudden cardiac arrhythmia' due to his underlying heart disease during his restraint by police. That conclusion was refuted by Dr Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County chief medical examiner who performed Floyd's autopsy. Among the 'significant contributing conditions' that he listed was the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine, paraganglioma - the adrenalin secreting-tumor that Floyd had - and his exposure to the squad car exhaust. Fowler also said that Floyd had an enlarged heart, which meant he needed more oxygen to function, and that methamphetamine use heightened his risk of cardiac arrhythmia. Later in his lengthy and technical testimony, Fowler cited multiple studies which challenged the notion that the prone position - in which Floyd was held for nine minutes and 29 seconds - is inherently dangerous. He also referenced studies which concluded that it doesn't matter how much a person weighs if they are applying a single knee to another person - and a double knee restraint makes only a modest difference. According to those studies a person transfers just 23 percent of their bodyweight during a double knee restraint. So, Dr Fowler said, Chauvin who he viewed as applying a single knee restraint for most of the restraint would have been applying less than 30 to 35 pounds of weight to Floyd. Asked if any of that weight compromised Floyd's neck structures, Fowler said: 'None of the vital structures.' 'There was absolutely no evidence of any injury to the skin or deeper structures of the back or neck,' he said, citing photos from Floyd's autopsy. In fact, he said the pressure applied to Floyd was less than the amount necessary to even bruise him. PROSECUTION - REBUTTAL Pulmonology expert Dr Martin Tobin The state recalled its star medical witness, pulmonologist Dr Martin Tobin, to the stand for its rebuttal on April 15. Tobin told the jury that the defense expert who testified at length yesterday, Dr David Fowler, was 'simply wrong' in his conclusions that carbon monoxide played any role in Floyd's death. Addressing Fowler's claim that the levels of carbon monoxide in Floyd's blood could have been between 10 and 18 percent, Tobin said: 'I believe it is not reliable.' Tobin started to tell jurors that his view was based on arterial blood gas obtained from Floyd in Hennepin County Medical Center when Nelson objected. Before the witness stepped up, Judge Cahill warned the state that he would declare a mistrial if Tobin sought to introduce any new evidence during his rebuttal to Fowler's testimony. Instead Tobin walked the fine line and explained: '[Floyd] had an arterial blood gas obtained, so that's sticking a needle into the artery and you measure a number of different items like the pressure of oxygen, carbon dioxide, acid, and the oxygen saturation and that is how much of the hemoglobin the protein in the blood that carries the oxygen.' Asked for Floyd's oxygen saturation levels, Tobin told the court: 'It was 98 percent saturated with oxygen when they measured it at Hennepin County Medical Center and that was 9.16pm.' As for what, if anything, that tells about Floyd's carbon monoxide levels, Tobin said: 'If hemoglobin is saturated at 98 percent, all there was for everything else was two percent. 'The maximum amount [of carbon monoxide] was two percent, it could be something else but two percent is within the normal range.' Pressing that point he told the jury: 'You and I have somewhere between zero and three.' He said Fowler's statement that Floyd's carbon monoxide could have increased to between ten and 18 percent was 'simply wrong'. Tobin also cast doubt on Fowler's testimony with respect to the hypopharynx the area of the throat that, he said, would not have been narrowed by Chauvin's knee on his neck. Fowler said he could find no research to support the notion that it would have. Today Tobin said: 'There's at least a dozen maybe 20 studies that show the relationship between how if you lower the size of the lungs you must get a decrease in the hypopharynx.' But he said there was no specific research into how pressure on the neck narrows it because 'we try to do research and studies that might be puzzling'. Tobin explained: 'If you think about sticking your fingers into your neck you know it's going to narrow the hypopharynx. It's common sense.' In a brief cross-examination, Nelson pointed out that Tobin had not produced for the courts review any of the dozens of articles which he cited. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-11 15:34:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HEIHE, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A forest fire brigade in Heihe, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has recently held a fire drill. It aims to prepare the team for many challenging and complex scenarios. Five foreigners among nine new imported Covid-19 patients in Vietnam Five foreign people and four Vietnamese nationals who recently arrived in Vietnam from abroad have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, raising the total number of patients in the country to 2,705, the Ministry of Health reported on Monday evening. Illustrative photo According to the ministry's report, five new foreign patients include three men and two women aged between 23-61 who are from India, Germany, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Moldova. They are now being treated at hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Four Vietnamese patients including three women and a man aged between 21-29 who recently returned from Japan, Angola, South Korea, and Cambodia. They are now being treated at hospitals in Danang and Ho Chi Minh cities, and Bac Ninh, and Kien Giang provinces. With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 2,705, including 910 locally-transmitted cases reported since the new outbreak started in Hai Duong on January 28. As of 6 pm on April 12, a total of 2,445 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 37,000 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. The warning is clear even before the video begins, "GRAPHIC IMAGES - video may be inappropriate for some users." Scenes of alleged cruelty and suffering inflicted on dogs, pigs, monkeys, rabbits and mice by Vivotecnia, a company based in Madrid, have been released in a nine-minute video by the Cruelty Free International organisation. The group claims that the video illustrates systematic violations of European and Spanish laws aimed at protecting animals in the laboratories of Vivotecnia, a biotechnology company dedicated to toxicological and pharmaceutical research. The regional government in the city has suspended the testing operations of the company with immediate effect while investigations are carried out. The animal welfare organisation said that a former employee of Vivotecnia came forward with concerns about the treatment of animals and they were supported with video that was recorded between 2018 and 2020. In a statement the NGO explains that the video shows that deliberate acts of gratuitous cruelty are carried out against animals - in many cases without anaesthesia and with obvious signs of suffering - including hitting, shaking, and verbal abuse." "It's unimaginable that this could be happening in Europe today," says Dr. Katy Taylor, CFI's Chief Scientific Officer. The case shows the dark side of the regulation of animal experimentation. We have uncovered a horrendous mix of suffering and cruelty in the way these animals are being kept, handled and abused in toxicity tests, in addition to numerous violations of Spanish and European law. For its part, the European Association for Animal Research (EARA) has issued a statement in which it says that the use of animals is essential for biomedical research and that it "has played a crucial role" in the development of vaccines against Covid-19. In this context, the statement underlines, in accordance with EU legislation, that safety tests on animals prior to human trials are "a legal requirement", but that "the highest priority should always be given to the welfare of the animals." The association has expressed its concern about the images and requests that the unedited documentation be made public but "acknowledges that what has been shown so far reveals examples of unacceptable animal welfare standards applied to a number of different animal species." The statement points out that Vivotecnia is not a member of EARA but is a signatory of the agreement on the use of animals in scientific research in Spain, promoted by the Federation of Scientific Societies of Spain (COSCE). In a statement to the British newspaper The Guardian, the executive director of Vivotecnia, Andres Konig, categorically denies the accusations. "We work at all times to guarantee the quality of our work, always taking animal welfare into account," he says. The company representative says that the images seen in the recording "do not represent the day-to-day reality" at Vivotecnia during its 21 years of existence. The regional government in Madrid has explained in a statement that the case has been reported to the Seprona animal and nature protection branch of the Guardia Civil. According to official statistics 817,742 animal experiments were carried out in Spain in 2019. More than half of research animal tests are aimed at advancing the fight against major human diseases including cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, Aids and other serious infections, and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's or Alzheimers. The search for missing student Kori Gauthier, 18, has been narrowed down to one stretch of the Mississippi River after search dogs alerted handlers to the same area twice in one day The search for a missing student has been narrowed down to one stretch of the Mississippi River after search dogs alerted handlers to the same area twice in one day. Louisiana State University freshman Kori Gauthier, 18, has been missing since April 6, when her car was found abandoned on a bridge over the river in Baton Rouge after another motorist crashed into it. Rescuers zeroed on the small area of the river on Saturday, but were unable to send in divers because it was considered unsafe. A statement released by LSU on Saturday evening said: 'A K9 cadaver dog with Mercy Search & Rescue alerted twice in the same area on the river, which is 85-90 feet deep with conditions that were unsafe to deploy divers.' Search efforts continued with Mounted Patrol 'searching the levee in both directions from Farr Park, while EBRSO, LDWF, LSUPD and BRPD will continue boat searches, including with the latest available sonar technology' on Sunday, the statement said. 'At this time, based on evidence collected during the investigation thus far, law enforcement officials suspect that no criminal activity or foul play took place'. Search crews and police have been searching the single section of the river, around the Farr Park RV Campground, after sniffer dogs alerted handlers to the spot twice in one day Louisiana State University freshman Kori Gauthier, 18, has been missing since Tuesday 6, April, when her car was found abandoned on the Mississippi bridge on Baton Rouge after another motorist crashed into it Gauthier's father, Levar (left), joined the search for his daughter on Friday and attended a prayer circle to pray for her safe return that night Gauthier's phone and wallet were recovered from her vehicle after the crash on April 7, which was left idling on the side of the road. Devin Jones, who crashed into Gauthier's car, said he checked right after the collision and there was nobody inside the car. Officials are not dealing with her disappearance as suspicious. Search crews and police, including drones, helicopters, and boats, have spent the last two days combing the banks of the Mississippi in the hopes of finding the missing teen. Volunteers on foot, in cars, on ATVs, and on horseback were seen aiding the search for Gauthier into the early hours. The United Cajun Navy also have been drafted to assist the rescue effort. He said he has not eaten since Wednesday and has barely slept over worry for his daughter's safety Her uncle has offered a $10,000 (7,275) award for her anyone who brings her home. Writing on Facebook, he said: 'Everyone I need your help! Please share this picture of my niece Kori Gauthier. She has not been seen since April 6th. 'She is a Freshman at LSU. Her vehicle was involved in an accident(currently in a junk yard) on the Mississippi River bridge at or around 1am on April 7th. 'I've checked every hospital, jail, coroners office you name it. No sign of her. I'll personally pay $10K to anyone that leads her home. I need my niece!!!!' Gauthier's parents said they only realised she had vanished when she did not turn up for work on April 6 and repeated calls went unanswered Gauthier's father, Levar, joined the search for his daughter on Friday and attended a prayer circle to pray for her safe return that night. He told WAFB: 'I haven't eaten since Wednesday at work for lunch, 'I've maybe gotten four hours of sleep in the last couple of days and her mom hadn't gotten that much, I'm sure. I get a cat nap here and there but I mean we won't stop until we know something about my daughter.' Police have been criticised for their slow response to Gauthier's disappearance after they failed to notify the registered owner of her vehicle that it had been involved in a crash. Gauthier's parents said they only realised she had vanished when she did not turn up for work on April 6 and repeated calls went unanswered. Levar said he had received several unusual phone calls from Gauthier's mother who told him Kori was not answering her phone, prompting further unsuccessful efforts to contact her. Search crews and police, including drones, helicopters, and boats, have spent the last two days combing the banks of the Mississippi in the hopes of finding the missing teen. The United Cajun Navy have also been drafted in to help search Police said they were unable to deploy divers in the area identified twice by sniffer dogs, because it was unsafe. But, rescue crews using the latest available sonar technology have been deployed to help the search On Friday, the Baton Rouge police department said in a statement: 'On April 7, 2020 shortly after midnight we responded to the Horace Wilkinson Bridge (also known as the Mississippi River Bridge) regarding a reported accident involving a stalled vehicle. 'Upon arrival the officer observed the stalled vehicle was unoccupied. The officer acted quickly to have the vehicle removed from the roadway to prevent any other crashes. 'The registered owner of the unoccupied vehicle was not contacted, but this investigation remained ongoing.' According to LSU, Kori is five feet, five inches, and weighs around 120 pounds. She has dark brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is encouraged to contact police. Ashley Cain rushed his leukemia-stricken daughter Azaylia to hospital on Sunday evening after she began bleeding profusely. The Ex On The Beach star, 30, took to Instagram to reveal he was forced to take Azaylia, eight months, for an emergency platelet transfusion as her illness has 'eaten away parts that clot the blood' and would cause internal bleeding. He said: 'That's no way for her to go. She's been so happy today so we knew we needed a platelet transfusion and that will preserve us for another day or two days and three days and every day is a blessing'. Ashley, who has Azalyia with girlfriend Safiyya Voraje, 34, has been chronicling Azalyia's health woes on social media since she was diagnosed at just two months and has garnered worldwide support, including from Dwayne Johnson. Pained: Ashley Cain rushed his leukemia-stricken daughter Azaylia to hospital on Sunday evening after she began bleeding profusely Ashley filmed the video in the back of a car, as he detailed what had happened over night and revealed he forced the doctors to do the transfusion. He said: 'On our way back from hospital now, we rushed Azaylia in tonight. On oxygen because she'd been bleeding from the nose because she has tumours on her brain as well as her body... 'Because of her blood cancer it eats away at the parts that clot the blood so the lack of platelets means she can bleed from the inside and that's why her nose is bleeding and that's no way for her to go... 'She's been so happy today so we knew we needed a platelet transfusion and that will preserve us for another day or two days and three days and every day is a blessing. Let's go champ.' Heartache: The Ex On The Beach star, 30, took to Instagram to reveal he was forced to take Azaylia, eight months, for an emergency platelet transfusion as her illness has 'eaten away parts that clot the blood' and would cause internal bleeding Saddening: Ashley filmed the video in the back of a car, as he detailed what had happened over night and revealed he forced the doctors to do the transfusion Sweetheart: Azaylia is seen wearing a bright pink hat and little lion baby-grow as she made her way home from the hospital on Friday Ashley then reached out to parents in similar situations, urging them to educate themselves on what their children are going through. He went on: 'For all parents in this situation just make sure you know your stuff when they've been discharged the doctor will not perform any more procedures so we knew that she needed the platelet transfusion we weren't asking for bloods to be taken because they wont do bloods... 'So we knew that she needed the platelet transfusion and rang up and demanded as we knew she needed the transfusion to help clot her blood and stop her bleeding out... 'By taking charge of your child's care and not leaving it to anyone else you know certain things that preserve your child's life and give them another day or two days because every moment is precious and i want every parent going through this to know that'. 'She's so beautiful': Ashley also marked Azaylia turning eight months old by having moulds made of her feet made on Saturday Pained: Safiyya also detailed the night spent in hospital, as she shared a picture of the tot and penned: 'Last night we took Azaylia to the hospital for an emergency platelet transfusion as the leukaemia caused profused bleeding' Safiyya also detailed the night spent in hospital, as she shared a picture of the tot and penned: 'Last night we took Azaylia to the hospital for an emergency platelet transfusion as the leukaemia caused profused bleeding. 'Azaylia had a 30min transfusion, but this didnt stop the bleeding over night, I put her on her observation machine so I could keep an eye on her oxygen & heart rate levels for reassurance. 'I have the privilege to wake up this morning and watch her open her eyes and play this is precious. Tomorrow isnt promised to anyone, waking up today is the blessing itself'. Her love: Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on Tucking in: She was eating in the video much to her parents' joy The mother-of-one also admitted watching her little one's battle 'feels like torture', sharing in a video on Monday: 'I just wake up in the morning and look at her and feel so blessed. 'Every single morning I'm waking up with her and having her there to hold and to smile and to sing all our Jungle Book theme all day long. 'The amount of times we sing this to her is just mindblowing and I feel so happy that I can just spend today with her and play and just love her as much as I can and tell her how much I love her. It's absolutely heartbreaking, this feels like torture. 'It's so difficult and so hard and the support you guys are all giving us is amazing, it's incredible. This stuff is so hard and so difficult but Im going to make every day as happy, as fun as playful as possible for her.' 'It's so difficult and so hard': The mother-of-one also admitted watching her little one's battle 'feels like torture' Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on. Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body. The media personality and his partner Safiyya 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. He later revealed that Azaylia can no longer fly to Singapore for treatment after discovering the tumours, and vowed to make her final days 'as fun as they can'. Fighter: The Ex On The Beach star, 30, shared a series of images on Saturday showing his 'fearless little lion' wrapped in a pink blanket while travelling in an ambulance 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. 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. 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. No way to go: Doctors told the TV star and his partner Safiyya that chemotherapy would not be enough to cure Azaylia Last week, Ashley 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. 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' 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. '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! ' Police have stepped up their hunt for a missing a 14-year-old boy last seen 20 days ago. Isaac Kufundala disappeared from an address in Birmingham on March 23 and West Midlands Police say he needs to be found 'as soon as possible'. The schoolboy is originally from Coventry and it is believed he may have travelled back to the city. Isaac is described as black, 5ft 1in tall, of medium build and with short black hair. Isaac Kufundala (pictured) disappeared from an address in Birmingham on March 23 and West Midlands Police say he needs to be found 'as soon as possible' The schoolboy (pictured) is originally from Coventry and it is believed he may have travelled back to the city He was last seen wearing a black puffer coat with a hood, a navy blue Nike tracksuit with a white stripe, a white vest top and black Nike trainers. West Midlands Police said: 'If you've seen Isaac or have any idea where he is, please get in touch with us via live chat at www.west-midlands.police.uk 8am to midnight, or call 101 anytime. 'In an emergency dial 999.' Irans President Hassan Rouhani announced on April 8 that there would be a delay in delivery of 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from India. We have done what we should have done. We bought vaccines from India and we paid for it, but then they said, Our Judiciary has gotten in the way, and we cannot give you the vaccines, Rouhani said. He then blamed the United States. U.S. blocked Irans access to 10m doses of coronavirus vaccine, Rouhani said, according to Press TV and other Iranian state-owned media. The claim is false. Irans health ministry said the government had purchased 16.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, some from South Korea and India via the United Nations global COVAX initiative. The World Health Organization initiated the COVAX program in partnership with other U.N. bodies and Gavi, an alliance to help get COVID-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. Under COVAX, Iran received 150,000 doses of Indias Covaxin on March 11, and more than 700,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by South Koreas SK-Bio Institute on April 5. Contrary to Rouhanis claim, New Delhis decision to pause vaccine exports was not targeted at any specific country. On March 25, Gavi announced a delay in delivery of both Serum Institute of India (SII) and AstraZeneca vaccines as the government of India battles a new wave of COVID-19 infections and AstraZeneca vaccine manufacturers faced a supply shortage. India said it temporarily halted its participation in the COVAX program in order to address a domestic shortage of vaccines amid a surge of new COVID-19 infections. This month, India has been facing more than 103,500 daily infections, with 13.5 million people having tested positive for coronavirus and more than 170,000 dead. With this new wave of infections, India has become a pandemic hot spot. Although the countrys vaccination program is among the worlds largest, the 87 million shots India administered so far covered less than 7% of its roughly 1.4 billion people. Iran is also in a tough situation: On April 10, Tehran announced yet another nationwide lockdown due to a resurgence of coronavirus. The health ministry said a fresh wave of infections started following the two weeks in March during which Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year. With more than 2 million confirmed coronavirus infections and 65,000 deaths, Iran is one of the Middle East/Gulf countries hardest hit by the pandemic. Iranian government officials previously have made false claims about the effect of U.S. nuclear sanctions on the countrys ability to purchase emergency medical and basic food supplies. In fact, the sanctions exclude those categories. On April 15, the U.S. will host a COVAX investment opportunity event to help boost funding for the program. Washington has pledged to contribute $2 billion with the aim of accelerating global access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. Russia and China have sold their vaccines to Iran. In January, Tehran approved the use of Russias Sputnik V and ordered 2 million doses. In late March, Iran said it had received 400,000 doses from Russia and would start domestic production of Sputnik V in April. In February, Iran said it had received 250,000 doses of Chinas Sinopharm vaccine. Company joins elite group of 75 honorees named in Greater Washington region DTS, delivering quality management consulting and IT services to public and private sector organizations, announced today that it was named to the 2021 Washington Business Journal Best Places to Work. This year, the Washington Business Journals 15th annual Best Places to Work program was paired down to honor an elite group of 75 Greater Washington companies that scored highest among hundreds of employers that participated in Omaha, Nebraska-based Quantum Workplaces annual employee engagement survey. The Best Places to Work results are quantitative, based on survey responses from employees themselves, rather than a panel of outside judges. The top-rated companies in four size categories small, medium, large and extra-large and are honored by the Business Journal as Best Places to Work. As everyone will agree, the past year has been a challenging one for business, which stresses the importance of leading a company that goes beyond the norm to foster an enjoyable and meaningful work environment for our employees, explained DTS Managing Principal Edward Tuorinsky. Over the past year, we have focused on building a culture of innovation and resilience, while strengthening the companys foundation with several strategic new hires and the formation of cyber business and compliance practices to better support our clients. DTS provides information technology and management consulting services in the areas of program management, strategy, technology, digital transformation, operations, human capital, learning, leadership development, compliance and knowledge management. DTSs Managing Principal Edward Tuorinsky proudly serves on the NVSBC (National Veteran Small Business Coalition) National Board of Directors, the National Small Business Association (NSBA) Leadership Council, the Forbes Business Council and serves as a GovLoop Featured Contributor. DTS is also a member of the Professional Services Council. About DTS To learn more about DTS or the DTS-developed innovative methodologies for program management, consulting and eLearning, contact us at sales@consultDTS.com or (571) 403-1841. Follow us on LinkedIn, @consultDTS and consultdts.com. See Full Image Gallery >> Hyundai is celebrating the launch of its new Busan, Korea, studio with a little walk down memory lane in the form of an exhibition showcasing the company's design heritage. This all-electric restomod 1975 Pony, which was shared on Instagram by its designer, is the star of this show. Per Car and Driver, the Pony is apparently powered by a mystery battery-electric setup. If that's the case, it's likely cobbled together from the guts of a Kona Electric or Ioniq EV (and by that we mean the current one, not one of the forthcoming numbered models in Hyundai's new sub-brand); the latter's 134 horsepower seems about right for a small, three-door hatchback like this one. There's plenty more to see if you browse @yang_gu_rum's profile: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Per Hyundai, the exhibition is titled "Reflections in Motion" and it comprises five main elements: "Heritage Series PONY" (this one) is a reinterpretation of the timeless Hyundai Pony from 1975; "Color & Light" is a visual interplay of colors, lights and time; "Material" is an interactive room-filling sculpture for a human-centered design experience; "Prophecy" is a representation of the power of future EV designs; and "Media Strings (2021)" is a kinetic media art installation by Korean artist Jin-Yo Mok. "Hyundai Motorstudio is a space that allows customers to experience our brand through a variety of arts and cultural activities that reflect our brand identity and vision," said Cornelia Schneider, Vice President and Head of Global Experiential Marketing at Hyundai Motor. "We hope visitors to Hyundai Motorstudio Busan will enjoy exploring the power of design by participating in the process of its making and see how it reinvents our everyday lives." Related Video: : toddler (toad), : Military : : BBS (Sun Apr 11 21:36:56 2021, ) 'White Lives Matter' rallies flop as hardly anyone shows up In semi-private, encrypted chats, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists planned rallies in dozens of cities Sunday to promote their racist movements and spread their ideologies to larger audiences. Hyped by organizers as events that would make the whole world tremble, the rallies ran into a major problem: Hardly anyone showed up. The White Lives Matter rallies, the first major real-world organizing efforts by white supremacists since 2018, were planned on the encrypted app Telegram after many aligned groups were alleged to have taken part in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S Capitol. The poor showing underscores how the countrys unpopular and disorganized extremist movements have been driven underground by increased scrutiny from the media, law enforcement agencies and far-left activists who infiltrate their private online spaces and disrupt their attempts to communicate and organize. Few White Lives Matter marchers showed up Sunday, but anti-racist and anti-fascist groups gathered just the same. In Raleigh, North Carolina, a small crowd of antifa and anti-racist protesters gathered at the park where the White Lives Matter march was planned. They marched around downtown behind a large white sign that read, WE ACCEPT YOUR SURRENDER. The lackluster events were documented by livestreams and photos posted to Twitter. In Philadelphia, activists tweeted photos of a counterprotest picnic with pizza and Tastykake snacks. In New York City, over a dozen counterprotesters stood seemingly unopposed across the street from Trump Tower, where a White Lives Matter rally was expected. Police in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, formed a circle around a lone protester to separate him from a large crowd of counterprotesters. Three protesters assembled around a White Lives Matter banner outside City Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, where a police line separated them from a couple of dozen counterprotesters. Hundreds of counterprotesters, bystanders and media members gathered at a counterprotest at the scheduled start time of a White Lives Matter march at Huntington Beach Pier southeast of Los Angeles. Throughout the afternoon, counterprotesters could be seen on several livestreams chanting Unity and community and Black lives matter. A few single protesters, one of whom wore a full hood and a T-shirt with a white supremacist slogan, were run off by the crowd, who yelled Go home, Nazis! According to fliers for the event which recycled images from old propaganda from the disbanded neo-Nazi organization Vanguard America the marches were meant to take a stand against the media, government and educational institutions that are anti-white. The slogan White Lives Matter has been promoted on fliers and banners by white supremacist groups , including neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan groups, since 2015 as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the Anti- Defamation League. In 2016, White Lives Matter was designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Several White Lives Matter rallies were held that year: Confederate flag-waving protesters gathered outside NAACP headquarters in Houston, and arrests were made in Austin, Texas, when a group of White Lives Matter protesters clashed with counterdemonstrators. Sundays round of racist rallies seemed destined for failure, said Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University in North Carolina who tracks online extremism. The online organizers of the North Carolina rally were uninformed about state law governing protests, including laws that disallowed firearms, Squire said. The organizers were also generally inept at using Telegram, where the event was announced, and unable to identify obvious trolls in their midst. The efforts behind Sundays rallies were haphazard and ill-informed, Squire said. Theyre not sending their best. The White Lives Matter rallies were disrupted in several cities after activists infiltrated their online groups and leaked internal chats to journalists. Those chats were reported to have indicated that the events were being planned by the extremist group the Proud Boys and by self- described fascists and Nazis who framed the rallies as peaceful events unaffiliated with known hate groups to recruit more mainstream members. Organizers in several cities canceled events because of sabotage by antifa activists. Raleighs organizer called off a rally Friday, telling subscribers, It turns out that the 11th is a disaster. Two of the largest Telegram channels dedicated to events in Philadelphia and New York City were shown to be traps created by an anti-fascist activist, who posted a warning Saturday to would-be rallygoers: Given how riddled these chats are with antifascists ... it might be time to rethink whether you really want to trust a bunch of anonymous internet weirdos to show up with you in your city." The ineptitude of organizers notwithstanding, experts say that the U.S. extremist movement is at an inflection point and that would-be participants are discouraged by the increased negative attention and the prosecutions of members in such movements after the Capitol attack. The white supremacist movement faced a similar reckoning in 2017 after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Instead of unifying distinct brands of white supremacist groups, the murder of counterprotester Heather Heyer and the full-throated hate on display from tiki-torch-wielding neo-Nazis invited national condemnation, legal troubles and in-group squabbling that fractured individual organizations and the hate movement overall. After Charlottesville, there were weak attempts to revisit former glory, Squire said, recalling rallies where a handful of white supremacists who had led the alt-right movement were outnumbered by anti-racist counterprotesters. The wind was knocked out of their sails, and the legal cases brought that fall certainly didnt help. Hate hasnt disappeared, but membership in formal extremist groups may have been disincentivized. So far, 369 federal cases have been brought against people accused of involvement in the Capitol siege, according to a database maintained by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. About three dozen of those charged are members and associates of the Proud Boys, the pro-Trump street fighting gang, and the Oath Keepers militia group . Both are accused of coordinating between far-right groups, and they face the most serious federal charges related to Jan. 6, including conspiracy to breach the Capitol. Beyond legal consequences, self-described antifa activists have made it costly to be associated with far-right and racist groups, many of them using online sleuthing to match participants at extremist rallies to their real- life identities and employers. Mainstream online platforms where extremists were once welcomed have also tightened their policies about violent extremist content and groups. Not only have organized larger groups splintered, but so, too, did their social media footprint, said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. Some extremists continued a whack-a-mole migration underground to encrypted, affinity-based platforms, while others exited these movements altogether. The realignment and the lack of cohesive leadership dont lessen the threat from extremist groups, however. The risk now, Levin says, can be found in loners and cells, who act on their own combination of hatreds and idiosyncrasies often cobbled together from a constant all-you-can-eat buffet of stereotyping and conspiracies that still populate online discourse. -- iPhone 1.24.11 -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 2600:387:1:810:] Washington: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday (April 11) issued a warning to China stating it would be a "serious mistake" for anyone to attempt to change Taiwan`s "status quo" amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over the island country`s sovereignty. "What we have seen and what is a real concern to us is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing, directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the straits. And we have a commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, a bipartisan commitment that`s existed for many, many years, to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself and to make sure that we`re sustaining peace and security in the Western Pacific. We stand behind those commitments," Blinken said in an interview with NBC News, according to a transcript provided by the US Department of State. "I can tell you it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force," the top US diplomat added. When pressed on whether Washington's "commitments" included military action, Blinken responded that he would not be discussing "hypotheticals" and instead stated the US would stand by its commitment to allow Taiwan to defend itself. "All I can tell you is we have a serious commitment to Taiwan being able to defend itself. We have a serious commitment to peace and security in the Western Pacific. And in that context, it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change that status quo by force," he said. In what could be called another massive blow to China, the United States last week issued new guidelines that encourage exchanges with Taiwanese counterparts, State Department spokesperson Ned Price. According to South China Morning Post, the guidelines are a move made to bring Washington into compliance with a law signed by former President Donald Trump. The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between the US and China over Taiwan. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday that Washington has been watching China`s aggressive actions against Taiwan very closely and raising concerns about it both publicly and privately."We have been clear publicly and privately expressing our concern, our growing concerns about China`s aggression towards Taiwan. China is taking increasingly coercive action to undercut democracy in Taiwan," Psaki said during the briefing. US lawmakers plan to introduce legislation next week that would put additional sanctions on Chinese officials; build closer US relations with Taiwan and place more checks on Beijing`s military operations and territorial claims, among other measures intended to counter China and the threat it poses on human rights and maritime security. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades. Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan`s independence" means war. Taiwan returned to the forefront of US-China tensions last weekend when Beijing sent more than two dozen warplanes into the self-governing island`s air defense identification zone in a 48-hour period. Live TV Location matters when it comes to finding a bargain. Whether its real estate, hotels or often even restaurants, some places cost less. The same is often true with wine. You often pay a lot more for wines from certain places like Californias Napa Valley or Italys Tuscany region. You also often pay a premium for wines from certain wineries. Just like luxury brand names like a purse from Hermes or a car from Lamborghini, be prepared to shell out a small fortune for wines from Chateau Latour or Petrus in Bordeaux or Domaine Leroy in Burgundy. Fortunately, you can sometimes find bargains from some of the best wineries. You just have to look in places off-the-beaten path. One of those places is Spains Jumilla region. And when comes to some of the best values in this part of southeastern Spain, no one comes close to Bodegas Juan Gil. This family-owned winery makes some of the best wines in Spain. They also produce some incredible bargains primarily in Jumilla and several other wine regions in Spain. This week, I wanted to highlight three, red wines from Bodegas Juan Gil which each cost less than $8 a bottle. Yes, you read that right. Under $8 a bottle. I know weve been trained to think that price equals quality. But these three wines prove you dont have to spend a lot of money for outstanding wine. Hope you enjoy them as much I did. WINES RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK 2019 Honoro Vera Garnacha ($7.99 at Table & Vine in West Springfield) 2018 Honoro Vera Monastrell ($7.99 at Table & Vine) 2019 Honoro Vera Monastrell ($7.99 at Table & Vine) ABOUT BODEGAS JUAN GIL The Gil family has been making wine in Spains Jumilla region since 1916, when Juan Gil Gimenez founded Bodegas Juan Gil. The Gil family continues to produce a wide range of wines primarily in Jumilla but has expanded to other areas in Spain as well. Bodegas Juan Gil is best known for its red wines made primarily with Monastrell grapes. Many of its wines are in the $8 to $15 range, including the three red wines highlighted this week from Bodegas Juan Gil with the Honoro Vera label. The Gil family also makes several higher-priced wines, including two, outstanding red wines (Clio and El Nido) from Jumilla produced by Bodegas El Nido, which is a joint venture between Bodegas Juan Gil and Australian winemaker Chris Ringland. ABOUT JUMILLA This southeastern wine region rarely receives as much attention as more famous, northern Spanish wine growing areas like Rioja, Ribera del Duero or Navarra. However, Jumilla deserves recognition for its outstanding, affordable wines. The vast majority of wines from Jumilla are red wines, however it also produces some white wines as well. And when it comes to red wines from Jumilla, Monastrell is king. Roughly 80 percent of the grapes grown in Jumilla to make wine are Monastrell. WINE TASTING NOTES 2019 Honoro Vera Garnacha Region Calatayud, Spain Grape Garnacha Tasting Notes Located in the Aragon region in northern part of central Spain, Calatayud is another small, lesser-known wine region that deserves more attention. More than half (55 percent) of the wines produced here are made with red Garnacha grapes. This particular Garnacha has a wonderful, luscious, aromatic finish. Bursting with bright fruit flavors (particularly roasted cherries), this flavorful wine was made from grapes grown on old gnarled vines grown in gravely soil located in an arid region, according to the wines label. An absolutely outstanding wine at any price. 2018 Honoro Vera Monastrell Region Jumilla, Spain Grape Monastrell Tasting Notes This intense, austere red wine beautifully illustrates why Monastrell grapes dominate the Jumilla region. Aromatic yet understated, this flinty, red wine is the driest of the three wines recommended this week. Absolutely amazed at how rugged yet refined this wine tastes. Flavors range from dried blackberries to toasted almonds and other, earthy flavors. A close favorite among these three great wines. 2019 Honoro Vera Monastrell Region Jumilla, Spain Grape Monastrell Tasting Notes As I explained in the previous description, all three wines recommended this week prove you dont have to sacrifice quality for price. This equally-outstanding Monastrell from Jumilla tastes like a combination of the other two wines recommended this week slightly fruity yet flinty and austere at the same time. Cherry and blackberry flavors slowly simmer and emerge after each sip. But such flavors are not over the top or overpowering. Theyre simply delightful, delicate and delicious. Cheers! Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republicans weekend section every Thursday. Follow Ken Ross on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. A new study finds that students who plan attacks on schools are often bullied and act in ways that worry others. The same warning signs are found in many adults who carry out shooting attacks. The Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center carried out the study. It examined 100 students responsible for planning 67 attacks from 2006 to 2018 in schools across the U.S. Each of the planned attacks were discovered and prevented. Most of the students researched were angry at other students. Many were suicidal or had depression. Eight wanted to be famous. More than half of the students were impacted by bad childhood experiences. Many experienced drug dependence at home or their parents had mental health problems. Others planned to kill themselves as part of the attack and used drugs and alcohol. The schools targeted were in 33 states. Most were public high schools. Thirty-seven percent were in areas near cities and 14 percent were in cities. The plotters were mostly male. Only five were female. The youngest was 11 and the oldest was 19. Many of the students also showed interest in violence or hate. One-third researched past school shootings. Nine students displayed an interest in the leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler, Nazism or white supremacy. The researchers found that about 94 percent talked about their plans in some way. Seventy-five percent of plots were detected because the plotters talked about the attacks, either in person or online. About 36 percent were thwarted within just two days of their intended attacks. The findings demonstrate there are almost always intervention points available before a student resorts to violence, said Lina Alathari, leader of the center. All of the plots studied were serious planned attacks, and the planners took at least some steps toward committing the attack. The people who discovered the plots and told officials likely saved lives. The reports findings will be given to more than 11,000 schools and community organizations for training, Alathari said. The goal is to use the information so schools can better identify warning signs. But that does not mean expelling students. The study found expelling students doesnt eliminate the risk, said Steven Driscoll, one of the writers of the study. Instead, schools should stop bullying and give mental health support. Some of the students were arrested and faced criminal charges. But the goal of the study, researchers said, was not to identify people to arrest but to identify early warning signs, so that students do not end up getting arrested. Driscoll said that planned violence, like school shootings, is preventable if communities can identify warning signs and intervene. The primary objective is providing a student with help as early as possible, Driscoll said. Im Jonathan Evans. Colleen Long reported this story for The Associated Press. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor. _______________________________________________ Words in This Story bully v. to frighten, hurt, or threaten another person depression n. a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad and hopeless impact v. to have a strong and often bad effect on thwart v.. to prevent from doing something or to stop from happening intend v. to plan or want to do resort v. to do something especially because no other choices appear to be available eliminate v. to remove, get rid of primary adj. most important, first objective n. something that a person is trying to do or reach; a goal or purpose We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page. The Real Apocalypse: Solving the End-Times Bible Prophecy Puzzle: a compelling read into the biblical events that transpired before and during the Tribulation, and the truths about salvation and man. The Real Apocalypse: Solving the End-Times Bible Prophecy Puzzle is the creation of published author Daniel Baker, a financial adviser in Missouri. He has studied and taught Bible prophecy for twenty years as well as published numerous articles on the subject. Baker shares, This book is an anthology of articles that I have written over the past three years. My goal was to organize a book that explained future events foretold in the Bible in a way that was enjoyable and easy to read as well as theologically sound. As the great Christian author A.W. Tozer said, Some books claiming to be exhaustive are only exhausting to read. As we consider the coming events foretold in the Word, the effect is a powerful binder on our perspective. And in a way, it hastens the coming of the Day of the Lord. Our mind-set toward time is affected. Time becomes more compressed. With all the current upheaval and chaos, the world is hurtling toward the system of Antichrist at blinding speed. Now more than ever, hope is required. Youll find it here. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Daniel Bakers new book is an insightful and illuminating tool for readers to better interpret the pages of the Bible. With its unique topical approach, readers will find it more interesting to navigate end-times and unfold what is going to happen in Heaven and Earth. View a synopsis of The Real Apocalypse: Solving the End-Times Bible Prophecy Puzzle on YouTube. Consumers can purchase The Real Apocalypse: Solving the End-Times Bible Prophecy Puzzle at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Real Apocalypse: Solving the End-Times Bible Prophecy Puzzle, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Four people were hospitalized, including two children, after a multi-vehicle crash Sunday evening on Interstate 10 in Jefferson County. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers around 5:45 p.m. responded the three-vehicle crash on the interstate near Taylors Bayou, according to the agency. DPSs inital crash investigation reports that the driver of a 2013 Chevrolet truck rear-ended a 2015 Nissan, which pinned the Nissan under the trailer of an 18-wheeler traveling in front of both cars. The Chevrolets driver, 23-year-old Conner Bray of Mississippi, and a 5-year-old child both were airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston with serious injuries. Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox The Chevrolets remaining two passengers, 23-year-old Hannah Bray and an 11-month-old child, were taken to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont for treatment. Their injuries were reported as non-life-threatening. The driver of the Nissan, 59-year-old Kymblyn Alexander of Westlake, Louisiana, and the 18-wheelers driver, 48-year-old Alberto Lopez of Dilley, were not injured in the crash, troopers said. All eastbound traffic lanes of I-10 were closed for around four hours during the emergency response and investigation but reopened by late Sunday night. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/jd_journalism Christian Democratic Party founder Fred Nile has announced he will retire from politics in November after spending 40 years as a member of the NSW parliament. Reverend Nile will likely be succeeded by Lyle Shelton, the former head of the Australian Christian Lobby, who is best known for his vigorous opposition to marriage equality and support of Christian rugby player Israel Folau. Mr Nile, 86, announced his retirement on Sunday evening, saying it had been the 'privilege of (his) life to represent Christ's values in the parliament on behalf of the citizens of this great state'. Fred Nile (pictured), the founder of the Christian Democratic Party who spent 40 years in the NSW Parliament, has announced he will retire from politics in November Mr Nile is pictured in 1974 with Sydney dominatrix Madame Lash (Gretel Pinniger) while national coordinator of the Festival of Light before founding the Call to Australia party Mr Nile recommended Mr Shelton replace him, and the CDP's state board unanimously agreed. But Mr Shelton still needs to get the party's state council to endorse him to take Mr Nile's vacated upper house seat. 'The need for unashamedly Christian voices in public life has only increased in recent years and I can think of no one better than Mr Shelton to carry this forward,' Mr Nile said. Mr Shelton said he was 'honoured' that Mr Nile and the CDP state board had recommended he lead the party into the future. 'I looked forward to seeking the support of the party's state council,' Mr Shelton said. 'There has never been a greater need for Christian ethics and principles in our parliaments.' Reverend Nile is pictured with his wife Silvana Nero. The couple married in 2013 after his first wife Elaine died in 2001 Mr Nile said it had been the 'privilege of (his) life to represent Christ's values in the parliament on behalf of the citizens of this great state' of NSW Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich was scathing about Mr Nile's choice of successor. 'Letting a politically irrelevant blow-in fill your vacated shoes is a sad legacy to leave after 40 years in parliament,' Mr Greenwich said. 'NSW and our parliament values and celebrates the LGBTI community. Lyle Shelton will feel completely out of place.' Greens MLC Abigail Boyd tweeted the news that Mr Shelton would likely be her parliamentary colleague with the comment: 'Just when we thought the NSW parliament couldn't get any worse.' Labor MP Rose Jackson responded: 'What no!?' Mr Nile was first elected to the NSW Legislative Council in 1981 and has long been the face of the Christian right in the state, promoting traditional family values alongside his wife Elaine, who died in 2001. He opposed homosexuality and for years prayed for rain on the night of Sydney's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. In 2011, he criticised federal Labor's Senator Penny Wong for announcing her partner was pregnant, accusing her of 'promot(ing) their lesbian lifestyle and trying to make it natural where it's unnatural'. Reverend Nile will likely be succeeded by Lyle Shelton (pictured), the former head of the Australian Christian Lobby His retirement announcement lauds him as a 'constant champion' for the 'natural family', 'human rights for the unborn', religious freedom, the dignity of women, measures to combat binge drinking, drug rehabilitation services, and gambling advertising reform. Mr Nile, who remarried in 2013, has promised to remain active in the CDP. Mr Shelton was one of the lead campaigners for the 'no' vote in the 2017 marriage equality plebiscite. This is not his first foray into party politics. He ran for federal parliament as a Queensland candidate with Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives party in 2019. More recently, he worked as an electorate officer with the Queensland LNP in Oodgeroo. Mr Shelton's website describes him as a 'keen participant in Australia's culture wars'. His new role is expected to be formalised by mid-year. T he Mexican government has warned inhabitants of the densely populated central states that a truck carrying highly radioactive material was stolen from the town of Teoloyucan during an armed heist in the early hours of Sunday. National security agencies warned that the stolen equipment a QSA Delta 800 gamma ray projector is extremely dangerous, and could deliver a fatal dose of radiation to anyone who comes into direct contact with it. Teoloyucan, the district in which the incident occurred, is a satellite town in the Estado de Mexico, the region which surrounds Mexico City. The vehicle, a Toyota Hilux, was carrying industrial inspection equipment containing the radioactive elements iridium-192, selenium-75 and ytterbium-169 when it was hijacked. United Nations: With a dangerous political standoff over elections still unresolved in the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging caution over further cuts to the UN peacekeeping mission there, according to a confidential report. Guterres told the Security Council that more cost-cutting could hamstring the 18,000-strong MONUSCO force in its efforts to prevent a collapse of the vast, mineral-rich African country. In a 27-page strategic review of MONUSCO, the UN's largest and most expensive mission, Guterres said the force was streamlining operations after the peacekeeping budget was cut. "I am confident that the changes underway in MONUSCO will yield efficiencies. Yet, member-states should exercise caution in making further cuts to the mission's budget that may compromise its ability to deliver on its core priorities", Guterres wrote. "MONUSCO's ultimate purpose is to prevent the DRC's collapse until it ceases to pose a threat to regional and international stability", he added in the report sent to the council on Friday. Read more: Las Vegas shooting: 58 killed, 515 injured; US denies ISIS connection Under pressure from the United States, the Security Council in March voted to cut 2,000 troops from MONUSCO while a USD 600-million cut to the peacekeeping budget was agreed for this year by all UN member-states. In his report, Guterres said holding elections would open the door to a further drawdown of forces and eventually the mission's exit after 17 years in the country. "Yet, unless the Congolese are able to quickly overcome the current political impasse, the mission may never reach that point", he warned. The elections would pave the way to DR Congo's first democratic transition. In his address to the United Nations last month, President Joseph Kabila said he was "most certainly moving towards credible, transparent and peaceful elections" and that a timetable would be announced "soon." In power since 2001, Kabila officially ended his term in office in December, but he was allowed to remain under the deal reached on December 31 in exchange for guarantees that elections will be held. There is little prospect that a vote will be held this year, however, fueling concerns that tensions will escalate into large-scale violence. The council is scheduled to discuss the volatile situation in the DR Congo next week. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. "I think the primary goal is having students back in classrooms, because that's where students learn best," she said Sunday afternoon, declaring herself "very optimistic" about recent trends in COVID-19 rates and vaccinations. "If all of these things take place, theres no reason we cant go back to being in a five-day-a-week setting." The current four-day schedule for in-person teaching, with all-virtual coursework on Wednesdays, will not be expanded before the current school year ends in June. Mucetti cited the difficulty of carrying out a change of schedule with less than two months before the school years conclusion, including the need to plan lunch service and break times while maintaining 6-foot spacing. (Students in the current hybrid program go to campus four days a week, but only in the mornings or afternoons, reducing the number of people present at one time.) NVUSD announced its drive toward full-time classroom instruction shortly before Napa County on Friday reported a sharp increase in vaccinations, which rose to 9,417 doses for the week compared to 6,724 the week before. The 94 new COVID-19 cases confirmed by the county last week were close to the totals from recent weeks. The nightmare scenario with vaccine passports that many people suspected has come to pass faster than anyone expected on the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Seems the largest island of St. Vincent is experiencing a dangerous volcanic eruption. We all know what those are like in the Caribbean anyone remember the glamorous jet-set haven of Montserrat? Its entire capital of Plymouth is gone now volcano got it. Half the country remains in a volcanic "exclusion zone," based on the continuous volcanic activity with smoke, poisonous gases, rotten egg smells, explosions, lightning, earthquakes, flying rocks, corrosive sandstorms, raining glass threads, and lava, extending from 1995 to 2010. Volcanoes are serious matters in that region, and they can mean complete island obliteration whenever they move to explode. Volcanic eruptions are also unpredictable, and St. Vincent's can blow at any minute. So now we hear how St. Vincent is dealing with this imminent volcanic eruption in which 16,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate. Aircraft can't get in due to volcanic conditions, but cruise ships can and, to their credit, are rushing to help evacuate the island's affected residents, as are fellow Caribbean island nations, such as St. Lucia, Antigua, and Grenada, which are taking evacuees in. Just one hitch, according to a report from the Daily Wire, citing other news sources: The island's Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, then sparked criticism by saying that those boarding cruise ships or seeking temporary refuge on nearby islands must be vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who have not yet been vaccinated numbering in the thousands will not be permitted to leave the island, and will be housed in local hotels in "safe zones," according to the Prime Minister. "Gonsalves said only vaccinated residents who have been checked and identified by Dr. Simone Keizer-Beache, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines chief medical officer, will be allowed to board the ships out of an abundance of caution," reported ABC News. The cruise ships, to their credit, deny that they'd refuse board or rescue to anyone who can't prove he has had a vaccine, but this character hasn't changed his order. He claims that cruise ships full of rescued people might not be able to dock, out of fear of COVID, so just the vaccinated can board. So much for any port in a storm, with a volcano expected to blow any minute. Get a vaccine, or no rescue from a live burning volcano for you. Emergency rescue is now conditional. Only 10,000 of the entire island nation's 100,000 citizens and residents have managed to even get the vaccine. Assuming they are all in the northern part of the island's volcanic zone (they aren't), 6,000 would have to be left behind no rescue for them. Good luck traveling the volcanic roads with zero electrical power to get to this guy's claimed safe zone hotel. It shows the madness that has descended onto the left with its obsession with vaccine purity. Leftists are using vaccinations as a stick now to warn people about whether they can be rescued, and never mind the emergency. And it's not about small stuff like getting into a ball game in this nation's case, it's about whether you can be rescued in a life-or-death situation. Don't have the passport? Don't have the proof? Well, then, nothing for you. Stay with the volcano, because you might have COVID, so the logic goes. It's as if our entire worth as human beings and our right to life itself are now bound up by the left in whether we have been vaccinated from COVID. This response is the proof of the fanaticism of the left on the vaccine matter. St. Vincent's prime minister, affectionately known as "Comrade Ralph," as you may guess, is a long-ruling one-party-state leftist. It's proof positive that COVID is no longer about a survivable illness; it's now an instrument of complete government control. If this isn't an argument about how vaccine passports can and will be used if adopted here, nothing is. Image: Fernanda LeMarie, Cancilleria del Ecuador, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. New Delhi: Maharashtra School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad denied rumours regarding the cancellation of SSC (Class 10) and HSC (Class 12) board exams being circulated on social media. The "fake" tweet claimed that after an emergency meeting, the government has reached a common solution and has decided to cancel the Board exams adding that students can submit assignments instead. Dismissing rumours about the false tweet, the Maharashtra School Education Minister tweeted, "Beware! I've got to know that some morphed images of my twitter handle are being circulated to spread misinformation about exams. Only trust information from official handles and platforms. Please do not fall for any kind of misinformation." Beware! I've got to know that some morphed images of my twitter handle are being circulated to spread misinformation about exams. Only trust information from official handles and platforms. Please do not fall for any kind of misinformation. pic.twitter.com/VOjslleWAN Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) April 11, 2021 On April 9, Gaikwad had said a decision on Class 10 and Class 12 board exams will be taken soon. Earlier, the Maharashtra Education Department had clarified that the HSC, SSC exams are going to be held as per the schedule amid reports of cancellation of exams on social media. The Maharashtra Board Class 10, 12 Exams 2021 is scheduled to commence on April 29 and 23, 2021, respectively. Live TV Upcoming political events in the Bay Area. Events take place online unless otherwise noted: SATURDAY Climate change: Cyndy Comerford, climate program manager at the San Francisco Department of the Environment, discusses how climate change will affect local communities and what the solutions for near- and long-term effects could be. Hosted by the San Francisco Public Library. 10 a.m. More information is here. Gun violence: March For Our Lives San Jose holds a virtual town hall meeting to encourage youth activism in reducing gun violence. 1 p.m. Register here; more information is here. SUNDAY Ecosocialism: A discussion of climate fixes from a socialist feminist perspective, with Samuel Rubin, geographical anthropologist, ecosocialist and member of the Freedom Socialist Party. Hosted by the partys Bay Area chapter. 3 p.m. Register here. MONDAY Fast-food workers: A car caravan to support fast-food workers labor rights and a state bill, AB257, which would establish a state fast-food council to set industry standards on wages, hours and other industry conditions. Hosted by NorCal Fight for 15. 10:45 a.m., 1335 Webster St., San Francisco. More information is here. Pandemic economic recovery: How California government and private efforts will affect the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Participants include Angela Glover Blackwell, founder in residence of PolicyLink; Julian Canete, president and CEO of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce; and Till Von Wachter, economics professor at UCLA. Hosted by KQED. 6 p.m. More information is here. Earth Day: A look at climate initiatives in the state Legislature. Participants include Laura Deehan, state director of Environment California; Girish Balachandran, CEO of Silicon Valley Clean Energy; and members of Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action. 7 p.m. More information is here. TUESDAY John Boehner: Former House speaker discusses his new book, On the House. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here. Swing Left San Francisco: Progressive group holds a 2021-22 election planning session. Participants include Ruth Lopez, acting executive director of Valley Voices, who will discuss the Central Valley, Kings County and Congressional District 21, held by GOP Rep. David Valadao. 6:30 p.m. RSVP here. WEDNESDAY Marlon Peterson: Host of Decarcerated podcast on breaking away from mass incarceration systems of punishment. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 3 p.m. More information is here. Campus policing: A discussion with students and campus administrators on the future of policing at universities, hosted by KQED and CalMatters. 6 p.m. More information is here. Tongo Eisen-Martin: San Franciscos poet laureate hosts an evening of poetry and exposition on the revolutionary potentials of art. Presented by the San Francisco Public Library, City Lights Booksellers and Litquake. 6 p.m. More information is here. THURSDAY Hollywood and Asian Americans: The role that Hollywood has played in spreading anti-Asian American racism, with Hmong American actor and activist Bee Vang. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here. Tom Frieden: Director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under former President Barack Obama discusses the balancing act between personal freedoms and the greater good during the coronavirus pandemic. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 5:30 p.m. More information is here. Hyper-local climate resilience: A look at how climate resiliency plays out in Marin City and tribal land in the Sierra Nevada. Participants include Terrie Harris-Green of Shore Up Marin City and Beth Rose Middleton Manning, chair of the Department of Native American Studies at UC Davis. Hosted by KQED. 6 p.m. More information is here. APRIL 24 World Naked Bike Ride: Clothing-optional bike ride, with an environmental theme in conjunction with Earth Day and the 11th anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. Gather at 11 a.m. at the platform just north of the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. More information is here. Asian American organizing: Perspectives of intergenerational and cross-cultural organizing in the Asian Pacific American community. Participants include Harvey Dong, UC Berkeley professor of Asian American and Asian diaspora studies; Amy Lin, community member at ASPIRE; Loan Thi Dao, author of Generation Rising; Nathaniel Tan, co-director of the Asian Prisoner Support Committee; and Sunita Sohrabji, staff reporter at India West. Hosted by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. 1 p.m. More information is here. APRIL 26 Rep. Ro Khanna: Fremont Democrat holds a town hall meeting. Noon. More information is here. George W. Bush: Former president on his new book, Out of Many, One: Portraits of Americas Immigrants. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here. APRIL 28 Progressive prosecutors: Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner discusses progressive steps toward transforming the criminal justice system. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 3 p.m. More information is here. Environmental justice: A forum on the connections between environmental racism and climate change and what people can do to address the damage of both. Participants include Gopal Dayaneni, co-founder of Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project, and community organizer and environmental justice advocate Carla Maria Perez. Hosted by the California Institute of Integral Studies. 7 p.m. More information is here. APRIL 28-29 Climate change and food security: A two-day program on feeding a growing population during changes in the planets climate, culture, and political landscape. Both programs start at 5:30 p.m. Hosted by the UC Santa Cruz Arts Division, Division of Physical and Biological Sciences and Division of Social Sciences. More information is here. To list an event, please email Chronicle politics editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com The findings pave the way for development of more efficient, next-gen LEDs covering the entire visible spectrum Singapore, 12 April 2021 - Researchers from the Low Energy Electronic Systems (LEES) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, together with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and National University of Singapore (NUS) have found a method to quantify the distribution of compositional fluctuations in the indium gallium nitride (InGaN) quantum wells (QWs) at different indium concentrations. InGaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) have revolutionised the field of solid-state lighting due to their high efficiencies and durability, and low costs. The colour of the LED emission can be changed by varying the indium concentration in the InGaN compound, giving InGaN LEDs the potential to cover the entire visible spectrum. InGaN LEDs with relatively low indium amounts compared to gallium, such as the blue, green, and cyan LEDs, have enjoyed significant commercial success for communication, industry and automotive applications. However, LEDs with higher indium concentrations, such as the red and amber LEDs, suffer from a drop in efficiency with the increasing amount of indium. Currently, red and amber LEDs are made using the aluminium indium gallium phosphide (AlInGaP) material instead of InGaN due to InGaN's poor performance in the red and amber spectrum caused by the efficiency drop. Understanding and overcoming the efficiency drop is the first step towards developing InGaN LEDs covering the whole visible spectrum that would significantly reduce production costs. In a paper titled "Unlocking the origin of compositional fluctuations in InGaN light emitting diodes", recently published in the prestigious journal Physical Review Materials, the team employed a multifaceted method to understand the origin of compositional fluctuations and their potential effect on the efficiency of InGaN LEDs. The accurate determination of compositional fluctuations is critical to understanding their role in reducing efficiency in InGaN LEDs with higher indium compositions. "The [origin of the] efficiency drop experienced in higher indium concentration InGaN LEDs is still unknown to this date," says co-author of the paper, Professor Silvija Gradecak from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at NUS and Principal Investigator at SMART LEES. "It is important to understand this efficiency drop to create solutions that will be able to overcome it. In order to do so, we have designed a method that is able to detect and study the compositional fluctuations in the InGaN QWs to determine its role in the efficiency drop." The researchers developed a multifaceted method to detect indium compositional fluctuations in the InGaN QWs using synergistic investigation that combines complementary computational methods, advanced atomic-scale characterization and autonomous algorithms for image processing. Tara Mishra, lead author of the paper and SMART PhD Fellow said, "This method developed and used in our research is of general applicability and can be adapted to other materials science investigations where compositional fluctuations need to be investigated." "The method that we developed can be widely applied and provide significant value and impact on other materials science studies, where atomistic compositional fluctuations play an important role in material performance," said Dr Pieremanuele Canepa, co-author of the paper and Principal Investigator at SMART LEES and also Assistant Professor from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NUS. "The understanding of the atomic distribution of InGaN at varying indium concentrations is key to developing next-generation full-colour displays using the InGaN LED platform." The research found that the indium atoms are randomly distributed in a relatively low indium content InGaN. On the other hand, partial phase separation is observed in higher indium content InGaN, where random compositional fluctuations are concurrent with pockets of indium-rich regions. The findings advanced the understanding of the atomic microstructure of the InGaN and its potential effect on the performance of LEDs, paving the way for future research to determine the role of compositional fluctuations in the new generation of InGaN LEDs and design strategies to prevent the degradation of these devices. ### The research is carried out by SMART and supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. About Low Energy Electronic Systems (LEES) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) SMART's Low Energy Electronic Systems (LEES) IRG is creating new integrated circuit technologies that result in increased functionality, lower power consumption and higher performance for electronic systems. These integrated circuits of the future will impact applications in wireless communications, power electronics, LED lighting, and displays. LEES has a vertically-integrated research team possessing expertise in materials, devices, and circuits, comprising multiple individuals with professional experience within the semiconductor industry. This ensures that the research is targeted to meet the needs of the semiconductor industry both within Singapore and globally. For more information, please log on to: http://www. circuit-innovation. org About Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) is MIT's Research Enterprise in Singapore, established by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in partnership with the National Research Foundation of Singapore (NRF) since 2007. SMART is the first entity in the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) developed by NRF. SMART serves as an intellectual and innovation hub for research interactions between MIT and Singapore. Cutting-edge research projects in areas of interest to both Singapore and MIT are undertaken at SMART. SMART currently comprises an Innovation Centre and five Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs): Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP), Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Future Urban Mobility (FM) and Low Energy Electronic Systems (LEES). SMART research is funded by the National Research Foundation Singapore under the CREATE programme. For more information, please visit http://smart. mit. edu For media queries, please contact: Glenn Tan SMART@bluetotem.co +65 9658 5749 Two Alabama state senators say they want to divert part of a statewide property tax tied to the legacy of the Confederacy to preserve and promote Black history in the state. Alabama imposed the tax to fund pensions for Confederate soldiers and their widows, and still collects it today, the only tax directly tied to the Confederacy. Most of the revenue is used for other purposes, but one per cent goes to preserve and operate the state's Confederate Memorial Park in rural Mountain Creek. Senators Clyde Chambliss and Bobby Singleton will sponsor a bill this year that would preserve the funding for the park, but require the state to spend an equal one per cent on Black history sites. Senator Clyde Chambliss (left) told The Montgomery Advertiser that he and Senator Bobby Singleton (right) will sponsor a bill this year that will preserve funding for the park, but require that the state spend an equal one per cent on Black history sites Most of the revenue from the tax is used for other purposes, but one per cent goes to preserve and operate the state's Confederate Memorial Park in rural Mountain Creek, Alabama That would be more than $500,000 (363,200) a year for both the park and Black history sites. For example, the owner of a $100,000 (72,650) house who uses Alabama's homestead exemption pays 10 cents (7p) a year for the park's upkeep. 'It is imperative that we remember all of our history and learn from both the good and the bad,' said Chambliss, a Prattville Republican. 'I will continue working with all that want to share my love of history, to protect, enhance and restore symbols that will help us avoid the mistakes of the past and move our state forward in a positive direction.' Singleton, a Greensboro Democrat and African American, did not respond to requests for comment. Money collected from the tax would be diverted to black history sites in Alabama under the bill (pictured, a statue of Rosa Parks is unveiled in Montgomery, Alabama) The history of the Confederate soldiers tax: In 1867 Alabama began granting pensions to Confederate veterans who had lost arms or legs. The State began granting pensions to veterans' widows in 1886. By 1891 the law was amended to grant pensions to indigent veterans or their widows. The Confederate Widows' Pension Fund was then written into Alabama's 1901 Constitution. It funded pensions as well as a home for aging soldiers in Chilton County., which closed in 1939. However, as veterans died the money was rerouted to fund schools and pensions. One per cent of the revenue was sent to the Confederate Memorial Park. Today, the old tax brings in more than $400,000 per year for the park. Advertisement Lawmakers in the past have tried unsuccessfully to remove the park's funding. Some places in Alabama and across the South have removed Confederate monuments in the last year, after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis brought nationwide protests against racial injustice. But, removing monuments more than 50 years old in Alabama remains illegal under a state monument protection law. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that the bill would also establish a process for Confederate memorials and statues that have been removed from public property in Alabama to be moved to the park and displayed. It's unclear how that would work with the current law. The last Confederate veteran died at a home for aging soldiers in 1934, leaving seven widows as residents. The state closed the home in 1939, instead paying welfare to five remaining widows. In 1964, at the site of the home, lawmakers created Confederate Memorial Park as a 'shrine to the honor of Alabama's citizens of the Confederacy.' The park, run by the Alabama Historical Commission, came amid centennial observances of the Civil War, but also amid resistance to the Civil Rights movement by Alabama's segregationist government. Suspected Islamic extremists have attacked and set ablaze the offices of several international aid groups in Nigeria's embattled north-east. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's attack in Damasak, but suspicion fell on a faction of extremists aligned with the Islamic State group. The Norwegian Refugee Council said the attack jeopardised its work and threatened the lives of many aid workers. A representative said the five staff members staying in Damasak escaped unharmed. However, a NRC guesthouse went up in flames, destroying aid supplies and a number of vehicles. The attack renewed fears for the safety of humanitarian workers, who support 8,800 internally displaced people and 76,000 local residents, according to the United Nations. An insurgency aimed at establishing an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has now lasted more than a decade. Militants from Boko Haram and the group known as ISWAP frequently target humanitarian hubs in northeast Nigeria. The attack on Damasak is the fourth on the town and its surrounding area this year and the second attack on humanitarians in the past two months in northeast Nigeria. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) With more than 30 years of cross-functional building experience, including leadership in land acquisition, sales and marketing, development, and operations management, Palmer has led Taylor Morrison into the top ranks of America's largest public homebuilders, following the company's IPO in 2013. This year, the company was named America's Most Trusted Home Builder for the sixth consecutive year by Lifestory Research and was named 2020 Builder of the Year by BUILDER Magazine. Palmer will be honored on Thursday, April 22, from noon to 1 p.m., at a live virtual Economic Club of Phoenix (ECP) ceremony. ECP events are free of charge this spring, and all are invited to attend the premier business speaker series in the Valley. Register at wpcarey.asu.edu/ecp. "It is a pleasure to award Sheryl Palmer this year's Executive of the Year honor," said Amy Ostrom, interim dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business and PetSmart Chair in Services Leadership. "Sheryl has led Taylor Morrison into an incredibly successful company, while also fostering a culture of trust and respect with clients and employees. That commitment to integrity in leadership is exactly what this award celebrates." "It's an honor to be named Executive of the Year by the W. P. Carey School of Business Dean's Council," said Palmer. "While there are many recent successes worthy of celebration at Taylor Morrison, I'm especially proud of our team members for leading us through a truly turbulent year. As a homebuilder during a time when many of us are spending a significant amount of time at home, we take our commitment to treat each home as the most important one we will build very seriously." About W. P. Carey School of Business The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is one of the top-ranked business schools in the United States. The school is internationally regarded for its research productivity and its distinguished faculty members, including a Nobel Prize winner. Students come from more than 100 countries and W. P. Carey is represented by alumni in over 160 countries. Visit wpcarey.asu.edu. For more information, contact: Shay Moser, W. P. Carey School of Business [email protected] 480-965-3963 SOURCE W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University Related Links https://wpcarey.asu.edu Former SAS squadron leader Ben Roberts-Smith, among other soldiers from Australias war in Afghanistan, has been the subject of an exhaustive investigation by a military tribunal. Those findings are now before a special prosecutor. The Australian Federal Police now have three probes under way into the decorated soldier. And Mr Roberts-Smith has submitted himself to the civil courts in a defamation case against The Sydney Morning Herald claiming he has been wronged by our reporting. Out of all these investigative and legal processes, Australians can hope that guided by the principles of the justice system the truth can finally emerge about what went on during Australias longest war. For the sake of the reputation of Australias defence forces and all the many men and women who fought for their country, this reckoning must be made and carried out in a fair and transparent way. Those who may have carried out war crimes must face real consequences. The media has played its role in this. The reporting by the Heralds Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters, in particular, has been brave, careful and forensic. These stories are not, as some have suggested, about intimidating anyone and nor are they a case of tall-poppy syndrome. Every story published in this newspaper and aired on 60 Minutes has had one objective in mind: to find the truth. The Defence Force, the federal government and the Australian people deserve to know. That is what makes Ben Roberts-Smiths apparent attempt to intimidate witnesses into silence and to hide other evidence from investigators police and miliary so serious. In new revelations, aired on Sunday, Mr Roberts-Smith is accused of burying in his backyard USB drives inside a pink, plastic childrens lunchbox. Now brought to light, the drives in question contain appalling images, as well as videos and classified documents. After high school graduation, Do Thuy Linh won two prestigious scholarships to study at Japanese and Dutch universities. Do Thuy Linh In 2013, Linh, as an 11th grader majoring in biology at the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, entered the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair in Arizona and won fourth prize. With the achievement, Linh had the right to enroll in some universities in Vietnam without having to attend entrance exams. She decided to apply to the Hanoi University of Pharmacy, which was her choice, and Hanoi Foreign Trade University, which was her mothers choice. But the former school rejected Linhs application, while the latter accepted. The economics major chose me, Linh recalled. She did well at school with a GPA of 4.0 and won a scholarship. But she did not feel truly happy. She participated in many extracurricular activities, which helped her go out of her safe zone to pursue her dreams. The event that made her take a daring step to return to biotechnology was the 2015 science summer school. She was sure that she had a great passion for biotechnology research. When she became a second-year student, she began applying for scholarships to study abroad. In 2016, Linh left Vietnam for Japan to study at Kyushu University with a MEXT full scholarship granted by the Japanese Government. In August 2020, she left for the Netherlands to study for a masters degree with an Erasmus Mundus scholarship. Linh said Japan was a perfect choice for her university education. After she obtained a bachelors degree, Europe, with a different culture and environment, was where she wanted to live for two years. Pursuing the goal of using basic biology research results for new medical methods for cancer patients, Linh registered in the IMIM (Erasmus+ International Master in Innovative Medicine) course. IMIM is an excellent masters program, taught in English, that focuses on educating transnational biomedical scientists. The first year in the Netherlands helped Linh expand her professional knowledge, while during the second year in Sweden, she had opportunities to spend internships at the worlds leading pharmacy firms. Learning is the way for me to grow, she said. There are four know-hows that, according to Linh, led to her success taking the initiative, managing her time, not being afraid of making mistakes, and balancing and enjoying life. Linh now has many opportunities. She can apply for graduate programs at pharmacy firms such as Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca. And she could also study for a doctorate with a Marie Curie Fellowship or join biomedical startups. Ngan Anh - Phuong Thu Scholarships granted to children of policy beneficiary families in Dong Thap Children of policy beneficiary families in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap received 100 scholarships valued at VND1.5 million each and 100 gift sets, including notebooks, cake, and necessities, from generous donors on Saturday, December 26. The death rate among Mexican migrants in the United States has risen to a new level amid the coronavirus pandemic. But for undocumented migrants, the dilemma does not end on their death because their immigration status is still haunting them even after their last breath, according to The Washington Post. Migrants from Mexico are repatriated to their home country for them to be buried. However, the expenses for the process are another challenge their family will have to face, on top of the difficulty they are facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. READ NEXT: Number of Migrants Apprehended at U.S.-Mexico Border Reaches 15-Year High Mexican Migrants' Death in the U.S. Most of the Mexican migrants who died due to COVID-19 are considered to be undocumented. The Washington Post pointed out that the death rate among the community surged up to 70 percent. Mexican migrants who died because of the coronavirus pandemic are labeled by the United States labor departments as "essential workers." "These were people who, if they didn't work, they didn't get paid," said Mexican Consul Juan Sabines from Orlando. Sabines added that the earning is the driving force of these Mexican migrants to keep working. Unfortunately, they got sick while doing it. Another factor for the death of Mexican migrants is their difficulty in signing up for their COVID immunization, primarily because pharmacies require IDs to make appointments. Others are afraid to go to vaccination sites because it might lead to their deportation. But because most of the dead are considered undocumented, the Mexican diplomats are expected to send back the bodies to their home country. However, because some Mexicans grew tired of waiting for their government to help them, some of them initiated their own efforts to generate help. Others spearheaded fundraisers to collect the $4,000 amount usually needed to repatriate the bodies of their loved ones. Some even smuggled coffins across the borders themselves. Migrants' Death in the Borders However, apart from Mexicans who died in the U.S., migrants from the border are also losing their lives. 2020 was marked to be the deadliest year for the migrants unlawfully crossing into the U.S. Borders via Arizona, according to a report from The Guardian. In the previous year, the Humane Borders have reported about 227 remains of migrants. The Guardian also noted that since 1998, about 7,000 are believed to have died in the U.S.-Mexico Border. Unaccompanied migrant children are also affected in the borders. NPR noted that about at least five children died in custody or after being detained by the federal immigration agents at the border during the surge in 2018 and 2019. A former senior official from the Department of Homeland and Security, David Lapan, noted that the difference in the present is that the current administration is focusing more on the condition and treatment of migrants in the facility. Meanwhile, Mexico received 7,343 requests to send back the bodies of migrants in 2020. A significant increase of 68 percent on the request was evident on the 4,410 requests of repatriation in 2019. READ MORE: U.S. Authorities Release Migrants from Mexico Border Without Paperwork WATCH: Mexico's confirmed Covid-19 deaths surpass 200,000, while experts worry toll is much worse - from FRANCE 24 English [April 12, 2021] Wendy's Franchisee Streamlines Operations, Safeguards Food Inventory With Squadle CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Squadle, a workflow automation company that enables multi-unit operators to simplify complex operations and streamline food safety , today announced that Vesco Group, a Kentucky-based nine-unit Wendys franchisee, has streamlined operations with Squadle Checklists and safeguarded its fresh and frozen inventory with Squadle Remote Temperature Monitoring. Overall, Squadle has allowed the Wendys franchisee to save time and optimize its fresh food inventory. Read the full customer story: https://squadle.com/case-studies/wendys-franchisee-streamlines-operations-safeguards-fresh-food-inventory-with-squadle/ Squadles workflow automation features have allowed employees to wash, rinse, and repeat so that daily tasks can go off without a hitch, said Casey Cleveland, general manager at the Vesco Group. Once we got the hang of it, everything became quick and easy. We never want to go back to pen and paper. Wendys is unique to the QSR industry in that all of their products are fresh not frozen. This delivers a high-quality product to customers, but can also make it harder for employees, as the food only stays fresh for around four to five days. Squadle helped Vesco Group automate food temperature monitoring in all of their restaurants while giving teams the food safety and checklist data they needed quickly and effortlessly. Additional Squadle benefits include: More Time Not only has this made temperature monitoring worry-free, but it has also given time back to employees. Any time they would spend checking and documenting the temperature of inventory can be used on customer service or food prep. Greater Transparency Staff finish documenting tasks in minutes, and managers can quickly check and verify that everything has been done without having to physically be in a store. Data Accuracy Digital reporting ensures that employees are completing their tasks on time, and within quality and safety standards. Greater Compliance Reports and documentation are prepared, accurate, and ready for inspectors. Squadle is a customizable restaurant operations platform that restaurants can use to fully digitize their paper-based manager playbooks, checklists, and compliance forms to ensure higher completion rates, leading to more efficient operations and better customer experiences. For more information on the Squadle Digital Checklists, visit https://squadle.com/products/. About Squadle Squadle is a workflow automation company committed to delivering a flexible, user-friendly platform which enables multi-unit operators, convenience stores, and retailers to simplify complex operations and streamline food safety. By combining its proprietary digital checklists, patented sensor automation, and machine vision technology with its customer first approach, Squadle delivers intuitive, out-of-the-box ready products. Squadle Checklists has stored more than one billion records and completed tasks, while the ZeroTouch technology has measured over 40,000,000 bluetooth temperatures. Squadles customers operate tens of thousands of locations worldwide and include the largest and most respected brands in their industries. Learn more at www.squadle.com . Media Contact: Derek Stangle, Squadle, Inc. media@squadle.com https://www.squadle.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Nha Trang beach (photo: dulich24) Khanh Hoa Representatives from nearly 130 domestic travel firms across the country has made a Famtrip to the south central coastal province of and Khanh Hoa from April 8-11 to explore the provinces tourism products. The provincial Department of Tourism introduced many tourist destinations and products to the firms, including Truong Son craft village, Am Chua relic site, Kong Forest park, Hon Tam tourist site, and Gac Ma commemoration site. Particularly, the department also held a meeting to connect the businesses with local firms to boost their partnerships. Vice director of the department Nguyen Thi Le Thanh said that Khanh Hoa's tourism sector hopes to continue expanding connectivity with travel firms nationwide, especially in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho and Da Nang, thus luring more visitors. She said that the province has planned a culture, art, tourism and sport programme with 114 activities held throughout the year to attract visitors, especially in long holidays. In 2021, Khanh Hoa aims to welcome over 5 million visitors, including 1.5 million foreign tourists, earning 17.5 trillion VND (760 million USD) from tourism services. Shares of hit a new high of Rs 1,480, up 2.7 per cent, on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday after the information technology (IT) major said it will consider a proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the company at its meeting to be held on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. This will be the third buyback of shares by the company. The board of the company will consider a proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the company at its meeting to be held on April 14, in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Buy-back of Securities) Regulations, 2018, the statement said. The IT services giant is also slated to hold a board meeting on April 13 and 14, to approve and take on record the consolidated financial results of the company for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2021. At the end of the December quarter (Q3FY21), had cash and investment of $4.5 billion. The cash and investments continued to be strong despite paying $687 million as half-yearly dividend during this period, the company said in its quarterly report. has announced buybacks twice in the past. In 2017, the company's first buyback had returned shareholders Rs 13,000 crore at Rs 1,150 per share. And in 2019, the company had announced buyback of shares, costing the company Rs 8,260 crore at price not exceeding Rs 800 per share. According to The Times of India, the buyback could be at Rs 10,000 - 12000 crore (around 2 per cent of market cap) at a price of Rs 1,650- 1,670 per share. This, coupled with healthy financial performance, prompts us to remain positive on the stock, ICICI Securities said in a note. The brokerage firm expects Infosys to report a 4.5 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) increase in revenues in constant currency (CC) terms mainly led by traction in cloud migration, the ramp-up of deal wins and Vanguard deal. The company is also witnessing a healthy deal pipeline led by lift & shift deals, acceleration in digital technologies and cost take out deals. With a cross-currency tailwind, we expect dollar revenues to increase 5.3 per cent QoQ. However, we expect margins to decline 132 basis points (bps) QoQ due to wage hikes, higher travel & facility cost partially offset by automation and offshoring. The profit after tax is expected to increase 22 per cent year on year due to low base and savings in travel & facility cost, it said in the results preview. At 09:25 am, Infosys was trading 2 per cent higher at Rs 1,465 as compared to a 2.2 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined around 3.3 million equity shares changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE so far. Freelance Journalist Malika Abeykoon, who was assaulted and arrested by Sri Lankan police on April 7, has been placed on remand until April 12. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Sri Lankan affiliates, the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU) and the Free Media Movement (FMM) demand his immediate release. Abeykoon was arrested while he was covering a health workers protest rally organised by the United Health Workers Union (UHWU) on April 7. Following his arrest, he was brutally assaulted multiple times inside Maradana Police Station. The journalist was not given any reason for his arrest. According to FMM Abeykoon was put before the Maligakanda Magistrate's Court on April 8 with a fabricated medical report signed from a judicial medical officer stating that he had not been assaulted. In response, Abeykoon removed his shirt and showed the judge the bruises and scars he received the night before in the Maradana police station. He also revealed that no medical attention was given to him while he was in police custody. The judge then asked Abeykoon to submit a medical report from the prison hospital and placed him on remand until April 12. Following his arrest, activists protested in front of Maradana police station demanding his immediate release. The protestors accused the government of violating their democratic rights. No protestors were allowed to visit Abeykoon. The FMETU Secretary General Dharmasiri Lankapeli, said: "The FMETU strongly condemns the arrest of photojournalist Malika Abeykoon. He has been arrested and assaulted in police custody, after being remanded in on false charges. The federation calls for an investigation into the illegal activities of the police and the immediate release of journalist Malika Abeykoon." The FMM Convenor Seetha Ranjanee, said: The FMM demands the immediate release of Malika Abeykoon while urging the inspector general of police to conduct a formal and impartial inquiry into the incident and to take strict legal action against the officials responsible. The IFJ said: The arrest and assault on Malika Abeykoon is a symbol of the Sri Lankan governments increased efforts to silence critical voices. We urge the Sri Lanka government to immediately release of Abeykoon and ensure that the police officials responsible for his unjust assault are punished. With the launch of its miniseries The People v. The Klan on Sunday night, CNN has laid down a compelling reminder that one of the most painful chapters in Mobiles history isnt really history. The 1981 lynching of Michael Donald can, in many ways, be ranked under current events. Certainly thats true for many of the people interviewed for the project. The hurt is still there, says Donalds sister Cecelia Perry. The hurt my mom went through. I just visualize her face and I go like, I just cant talk about it today. I thought I was one of those people that could handle most anything, says former Mobile police detective Wilbur Williams, one of the leaders of a flawed investigation. As long as I have my faculties, that picture that morning will be etched in my mind forever. Fair warning: It will be etched in viewers minds too, thanks to footage from the scene that shows Donalds body suspended against a tree, almost as if standing there, in a lot on Herndon Street in Midtown Mobile on the morning of March 21, 1981. The night before, hed been at a family gathering when he stepped out to buy cigarettes and didnt come back. He was waylaid at random by Klansmen out to make a point, brutally beaten and killed, then left hanging in what is generally considered as the last documented lynching in the United States. One of his killers was put to death in Alabamas electric chair, others served prison time. An unprecedented civil verdict bankrupted the United Klans of America. The case has been the subject of works fictional (Ravi Howards Like Trees, Walking) and nonfictional (Laurence Leamers The Lynching). The first episode of The People v. The Klan spends a good deal of time setting the stage and consequently doesnt get very far down the road: As the first of four episodes concludes, the killers havent yet been fingered. Yet it brims with immediacy. Partly thats because it shows so many of the players then and now, with their older, wiser selves shown side by side with archival footage. In addition to Perry and Williams theres Chris Galanos, the district attorney misled by false testimony that resulted in the arrest of innocent men. Theres Sam Jones, the civil leader who later became the citys mayor. Theres Jesse Jackson, whose arrival in Mobile brought national notice to the case. Two key players are missing, brothers Thomas and Michael Figures. Michael Figures, who became a state senator, died in 1996; former federal prosecutor and municipal judge Thomas Figures died in 2015. Among those recounting their roles are Michael Figures widow, Ala. Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, and son, Shomari Figures. The other driver keeping this project fresh is the way it draws a line from Emmett Till through Michael Donald to contemporary cases such as Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Sandra Bland. In all too many ways, the pattern is the same. In Donalds case the white establishment was unwilling to confront the fact that the killing was racially motivated, that it was in fact a Klan lynching in midtown Mobile in the 80s. I think the Mobile Police Department just didnt want to believe that a town like Mobile could still have Klan in it, says Perry. But they did. With the Press-Register and other media willing to give credence to any other possibility, like police theories Donald had been involved in a drug transaction or some other misdeed, black leaders were driven to start their own paper, The New Times. We knew the kind of man he was. We knew the kind of family he had, Jones says of Donald at one point. We knew that the narrative put forth was nothing near the truth, he adds at another. The People v. The Klan promises to put a new focus on the victims mother, Beulah Mae Donald, who died in 1988. In the first episode, that means acknowledging her decision to have the coffin open at his funeral, an early sign of the resolve that would lead to a court victory over the Klan. The casket was open, says Galanos. The sight was horrible. But Mrs. Donald, as did the mother of Emmett Till, wanted the world to see what they had done to her son. Mrs. Beulah had no fear, says Jackson. She wanted to see those who killed her son come to justice. I was impressed with the resilience to fight back. The first two episodes of The People v. The Klan were broadcast Sunday and are now available for viewing on demand via CNNgo and the CNN mobile app. The final two episodes are to air April 18. A Derry woman who suffered abuse at a Catholic Church-run institution and was forced to flee the country with her baby boy has shared her traumatic experience. Speaking publicly for the first time, Jackie Graham has revealed how nuns threatened to send her to a Mother and Baby Home, warning that she would never see the infant again. The 53-year-old, who now lives in London, grew up in an abusive home and was placed in the care of St. Josephs Training School in Middletown, Co. Armagh. The institution was overseen by the Sisters of St. Louis. At the age of 13 Jackie was separated from two sisters, one being her identical twin. Identical twins share an intense bond and the damage inflicted by separating them as teenagers created an emotional disconnect that has sadly never been repaired. Jackie remained at the institution for two years; she refuses to call it a home because that would denote some form of care which she never encountered. Likening it to a prison, she says: I didnt have a childhood. In a home you should be cared for or nurtured in some way and we werent. The only way to keep children there was by obtaining a training school order which was issued by the court for periods of one to three years. Jackie is understood to be the first girl in Northern Ireland to be sent there without such an order and therefore should never have been detained in the first instance. She explains: Thats like someone being held on remand in a prison for two years without ever being sentenced. ABUSE Time at the home was regimented and young girls assigned menial chores. Nuns used a points-based system as punishment; those deemed malcontents were physically abused, points were deducted and pocket money taken away. I remember one time I was on kitchen duty and never washed the grill out from the night before. I got dragged out of bed by the hair, down the stairs, slapped, told to clean the grill and I lost 10 points. Every point you lost would affect your allowance. For every action you would be punished and would be on your hands and knees polishing floors with bees wax. If that wasnt done correctly, youd be criticised in front of everybody. Jackie recalls a lot of abuse including one incident where a girl had a brush broken over her back. She was the first Derry girl to be sent there; others followed. During their stay a nun branded them the Derry hogs. Although there was a school on the grounds of St. Josephs, Jackie says the girls received no education. Cigarettes were handed out as a reward during bingo - which was counted as maths class. Jackie never smoked before entering the institution. You were allowed five cigarettes a day if you smoked. Now Ive got chronic bronchitis, asthma and COPD, she says. BABY Jackie was allowed to return home at the weekend, a decision she never understood after being removed from the family home for her own safety. At 16-years-old Jackie says she was sexually assaulted by a 27-year-old man and fell pregnant. It was reported as rape, she says, but nothing was ever done about it. Despite the attacker being an adult and her a minor, she faced erroneous accusations from people in the community and was labelled a whore. After briefly returning to St. Josephs Jackie realised that she had to escape. The young woman faced a torrent of abuse from nuns and threats that shed never see the baby again. Past experiences at the training school also informed her decision to flee. In one case a pregnant girl was sent away and came back without a child saying she had been told it was a phantom pregnancy. Jackie believes the young girl was lied to: Ive been pregnant five times and I know what a pregnant woman looks like. I knew that girl from Belfast didnt have a false pregnancy. One weekend in 1985 she went back to Derry and never returned to St. Josephs again. Social Services got involved at the time but 17-year-old Jackie was living with her mother again and felt able to look after the child. Under pressure from all sides, she was left with no choice but to get on a boat to England. They werent taking my child and that was as simple as that, says Jackie assertively. LONDON Further challenges lay at the other side of the Irish Sea. A young mother with no home nor prospects of securing a job. She met a group of Irish people and they lived in a Clapham squat for a period. However, Jackies mother travelled over to provide support. Together they managed to convince a Polish woman running a B&B to house them and a young child. For the first two weeks we lived off Weetabix, we had nothing, she recalls. After a two-year wait on the social housing list she got accommodation, as did her mother. She says, weve never looked back since. Against all odds, with a determination to 'break the cycle' and prove all doubters wrong, Jackie went on to raise five healthy, happy children. She worked in a highly skilled job and provided her children with a stable upbringing she unfortunately never had. Over the years Jackie has suffered with anxiety and depression and has trust issues which have impacted on her relationship with her own children. She reflected on the countless women who have emerged from such institutions and turned to drink and drugs in order to cope with the psychological trauma. When the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIAI) was launched the 53-year-old travelled home to give evidence. There was a sense of relief when she along with other victims were vindicated by the HIAI. The process has dragged on for longer than she would have liked but she is hopeful that victims will receive the redress they deserve in the near future. Jackie has grappled with the idea of accepting what she termed blood money but her mother pointed to the emotional turmoil she endured as reason enough. I feel sorry for the girls that are dead now who went through that abuse. Hopefully the children of some of those women will get the compensation they deserve, she concludes. The COVAX Facility has delivered vaccines to over 100 countries since its first delivery to Ghana. COVAX has delivered more than 38 million doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Serum Institute of India (SII) to 61 countries, as per the press release of the World Health Organization. COVAX aims to supply vaccines to all participating countries in the first half of 2021. COVAX delivers 38 million vaccines According to a press release of WHO, more than a hundred countries have received COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX. The COVAX facility has sent these vaccines within the first 42 days of delivering the COVAX vaccines to Ghana on 24 February 2021. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said that COVAX has given the world the best way to ensure the "fastest, most equitable rollout of safe and effective vaccines. He said that nations should work together to prioritise vaccine supply through COVAX. If we are going to realize this great opportunity, countries, producers and the international system must come together to prioritize vaccine supply through COVAX. Our collective future, literally, depends on it. COVAX hoped to deliver vaccines to participating economies despite low availability in March and April. Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi said that the COVID-19 vaccination has already reached one hundred countries. He further said that COVAX aims to deliver the vaccine to all participating countries in the first half of the year. In under four months since the very first mass vaccination outside a clinical setting anywhere in the world, it is tremendously gratifying that the roll-out of COVAX doses has already reached one hundred countries. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director said that there is no time to celebrate as there are various virus variants emerging all over the world. He said that governments should work together to increase supply and also work towards faster vaccination to everyone around the globe. As per the WHO website, COVAX aims to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines in 2021. (Image Credits: The Associated Press) [April 12, 2021] On the way to becoming Europe's leading hydrogen location: Hamburg to present itself at Hannover Messe HAMBURG, Germany, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a one-year break, Hannover Messe is now back: the world's number one industrial fair is taking place digitally from Monday 12 April to Friday 16 April. In keeping with the tagline "Future. Made in Hamburg," Hamburg will be presenting itself in front of an international audience as a leading hydrogen location. In addition, Hamburg will be providing a foretaste of the 2021 ITS World Congress the international platform for intelligent mobility, which is scheduled to take place in Hamburg this October. During the Hannover Messe, Hamburg will be presenting itself as an innovative region and major hydrogen location in the heart of Europe, with innovative solutions and projects along the entire value chain to be showcased as part of the event. And indeed, a recent OECD study has confirmed that Northern-Germany is especially suited to developing a green hyrogen economy: the region boasts not only unique locational advantages for generating renewable energies, but also provides great potential for the sale of hydrogen especially to local industrial companies. Hamburg thus plays an important role in ensuring that Germany will meet its climate protection goals and succeed in mastering the energy transition. Hamburg's Minister for Economic Affairs, Michael Westhagemann, commented: "Decarbonising industry, developing a green hydrogen economy and promoting smart mobility are among Hamburg's top priorities. We look forward to demonstrating this in front of an international audience and engaging with partners from industry as well as representatives of other cities and metropolitan regions." As part of Hannover Messe's digital conference sessions, six live-streamed talks will provide insights into the city's comprehensive expertise in the production of green hydrogen and its application across various sectors of the economy from aviation, port-logistics and shipping to industrial use and the relevant hydrogen infrastructure. Hamburg based global players such as Airbus, Shell, Vattenfall and ArcelorMittal alongside innovative business leaders will be explaining what makes Hamburg Europe's green hydrogen hub. Visit www.hannovermesse.de/exhibitor/his-hamburg-invest-service/S560991 to tune into these livestreams and to catch up on the latest information throughout the week. Contact: Hamburg Marketing GmbH Guido Neumann guido.neumann@marketing.hamburg.de +49(0)40-30051580 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A top cop blocked detectives investigating historical rape allegations levelled at Attorney-General Christian Porter from travelling to South Australia to interview the complainant, documentation reveals. NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Dave Hudson denied permission for travel between the two states due to Covid travel restrictions, according to police documents provided to state parliament, ABC reported. The alleged rape victim first contacted SA Police in November 2019 to begin the process of reporting the alleged sexual assault, which she claimed occurred during an elite debating event when she was 16 years old in Sydney in 1988. The woman did not want to enter a formal statement at the time but indicated she may take the allegations to NSW Police later on, as the alleged rape took place in Sydney. Mr Porter vehemently denies the allegations. Christian Porter was accused of raping a woman back in 1988. He vehemently denies the allegations By 2020, the woman was ready to formally enter her complaint with NSW Police and met with her lawyer and officers at Kings Cross police station on February 27. 'During this meeting [name redacted] was provided with the opportunity to return to Sydney at a later date to complete the statement or have investigators travel to SA to complete the statement,' Detective Senior Constable Samantha Meredith from the Sex Crimes Squad wrote. '[She] advised she would prefer investigators travel to SA so she could have a support person available whilst making her statement.' A request to travel to SA to interview the woman was submitted on March 10, 2020. But it was knocked back three days later despite the accused being a 'a very high profile POI (person of interest) and a detailed statement is required'. In his denial, Deputy Commissioner Hudson cited coronavirus travel restrictions. 'Insufficient detail provided by SCC to justify why this travel cannot be deferred in accordance with Commissioner's direction and Government policy restricting travel to operational necessity,' he wrote. The woman was told on March 15, 2020, that police would not be travelling to SA. NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Dave Hudson denied permission for travel between the two states to interview the alleged rape victim She expressed her wish to make her statement as soon as possible over the phone or on Skype. They spoke again on April 2, 2020, about her request to begin her statement and the detectives explained there were 'various reasons' the statement would not yet be commenced by phone or video call. There was then discussions about SA Police taking the woman's statement on behalf of NSW Police - but the alleged victim reportedly said she was happy to wait. NSW detectives remained in contact with the woman and on June 22 asked via email to speak with her on the phone for a 'victim welfare check and travel status update'. The woman, who had a history of mental illness, said 'she no longer felt able to proceed with the report' on June 23. She died by suicide a day later on June 24 in her Adelaide home. The investigation into the rape allegation against Mr Porter was closed following the woman's death. Sorry! This content is not available in your region MAKHACHKALA, Russia -- The coordinator of a team of Daghestani activists associated with imprisoned Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny went incommunicado in the North Caucasus region on April 12, a day after he announced the inception of the group. Local activists in Daghestan's capital, Makhachkala, on April 12, raised concerns about the whereabouts of Eduard Atayev, whose telephone had been switched off since April 11 when he officially announced Navalnys team in the city. Atayev's assistant, Murad Manapov, told RFE/RL that after Atayev announced that Navalny's team started operating in Makhachkala, he left the city for his native village of Endirei near the regional capital "to have a rest." "I asked him to message me when he gets there, which he did not. I thought then that he just forgot to do so, but in the morning it turned out that his phone was switched off," Manapov said. Manapov said Atayev was expected to join his team in the morning and his "disappearance" is strange. He added that activists were looking for Atayev's relatives in order to turn to police for help to locate him. Hours after Manapov talked to RFE/RL, he also "went missing," according to his associates. September Elections Earlier in February, an initial attempt to set up Navalnys team in Makhachkala failed after its coordinator-to-be, Ruslan Ablyakimov, who arrived in the region from Moscow, was attacked and beaten by unidentified individuals. The coordinator of the network of Navalny's teams across Russia, Leonid Volkov, has said that despite Navalny's incarceration in February the teams will continue their work to derail the ruling United Russia party's stranglehold on power in parliamentary elections in September. Navalny and his supporters have developed a "smart voting" system, which is aimed at undercutting United Russia candidates. Under the system, voters can enter their address into a special app, which will then give them a list of the candidates deemed most likely to defeat their United Russia rivals regardless of their party affiliation. 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 President Vladimir Putin of ordering his assassination, something the Kremlin denies. 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 in late March, raising even more concerns about his overall health. Bridges: What Do We Spend on Public Education? By Rep. Randy Bridges PADUCAH - How many times have you heard that we need to spend more on education? As a legislator, I hear it regularly, but I am often met with silence when I respond by asking if they know how much we spend now. I understand. After all, education is the key to building a life of health, economic success, and happiness. For that matter, having an educated population benefits our state as much or more than it benefits individual students. I thought this might make a good topic for this weeks column and hope you agree.The best way to start this conversation is with a basic snapshot. According to information available on the Kentucky Department of Education website, 647,987 students were enrolled in one of the states 173 public school districts during the 2019-2020 school year. There are 1,477 public schools, where children are taught and receive services delivered by 42,479 teachers, 46,455 classified staff, and 8,995 licensed bus drivers.You can imagine that any mission of this size and scope comes with a hefty price tag, and spending on Kindergarten through 12th grade accounts for more than 42 percent of our current budget. Of course, that $5 billion piece of the pie grows even larger when you include postsecondary, early childhood, and prekindergarten education. The $12 billion budget we approved this session is slightly higher than last years and maintains SEEK funding at the current level of $4,000 per pupil. We also used this budget to invest in many areas of education, including:- $140 million towards the entire cost of full-day kindergarten- $1.05 million for the full SEEK employer match for new mental health professionals- $3 million in additional funds to support School for Deaf and School for Blind- $2.6 million for AP exams- $1 million more for Kentucky Adult Learner Pilot Program- $1 million in general fund monies for the Teacher Scholarship Program, which provides financial aid to Kentucky students pursuing teacher certification at participating Kentucky colleges- $800,000 for Dollys Imagination Library (matched dollars)I want to clarify that the term SEEK represents the foundation of education funding in Kentucky. SEEK stands for the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) formula and was implemented by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1990. Under the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990, local districts are required to levy a minimum of 30 cents per $100 of assessed property through a combination of taxes to participate in the SEEK program. SEEK funds are distributed on a per-pupil basis and the amount generated locally is made equal with a state match to reach a guaranteed base. This formula means local districts with the wealth to generate more revenue receive fewer state dollars, while poorer districts with less capacity to generate revenue receive more from the state. Essentially, when we talk about SEEK, we are referring to the amount each district receives per pupil.Of course, we cannot have a conversation about education without talking about educators. While the Governor proposed an increase in teacher pay, it was not possible to do so without knowing what our economy will look like over the next year when so many Kentuckians remain unemployed or underemployed. For perspective, the average teacher salary in Kentucky is $54,372. This is competitive with neighboring states, but without a doubt an area we need to look to as we work to attract and retain quality educators.The budget we passed last month also includes $1.15 billion for the Kentucky Teachers Retirement System. This is approximately twice the statutorily-required amount and almost a tenth of our entire budget, but every dime is necessary to shore up the fund. In addition to meeting and exceeding our pension obligations, we also made provisions to pay the state portion of the retired teachers health insurance program. Instead of allocating additional funds for retired teachers health insurance, we authorized the program to use overpayments made this year and previous years. According to budget officials, these overpayments more than cover next years costs.In addition to state funding, our schools are also supported by local and federal tax dollars. According to the Kentucky Department of Education, overall education funding for preschool through 12th grade includes more than $969 million in federal education revenue and $2.9 billion in local taxes. This does not take into consideration the $3.13 billion in federal money has been allocated specifically for public education spending in Kentucky by the federal government, nor does it include the $127 million in federal COVID-relief funds that the legislature invested in the School Facilities Construction Commission to replace aging and inadequate school buildings. These federal dollars provide education leaders an opportunity and responsibility to address short-term needs associated with the pandemic and invest in the structural changes that should, over the long term, help Kentucky students reach their potential.I am sharing this information to provide perspective as we continue to look at how we can not only help our children recover from this pandemic, but also reach their full potential. This interim, the Education and Appropriations and Revenue committees will consider which issues we tackle during the 2022 Regular Session. Education funding will be among them but what we do with our money is just as important as how much money we have.Until next session, I will use these legislative updates to share summaries of the legislation we passed this year. I can still be reached through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181 or by email at Randy.Bridges@lrc.ky.gov. If you would like more information about any of these bills or legislative actions, you can also visit legislature.ky.gov. Three adults have been arrested for child abuse after three children under the age of 12 were allegedly locked in an attic for several years while they were beaten with bats, starved and even tortured with a cat. Two boys, aged 11 and 12, and a nine-year-old girl were rescued by police last month after the eldest child managed to escape the home in Minersville, Pennsylvania, where they were being held. The children's father, Todd Richter, 32; his fiance Jennifer Yost, 27; and her mother, Wendy Yost, 51, have all since been charged with child abuse. Police told WFMZ the horrific allegations leveled against the three adults are unlike anything they have seen before and only came to light after the 12-year-old boy escaped and alerted a stranger at a nearby school who called 911. Todd Richter, 32, and his fiance Jennifer Yost, 27, are both charged with child abuse after they allegedly abusing Richter's three children, aged 9 to 12, at their home in Minersville, Pennsylvania The boy had told the stranger that his brother and sister were being held inside the home. Police found the boy's two emaciated siblings covered in cuts and bruises inside the home. Yost's mother, Wendy Yost, 51, has also been charged with abusing the children Authorities said a weeks-long investigation had determined the adults had kept the children locked in the attic for at least two years and deprived them of food and water. The children were beaten regularly with bats, mallets, wine bottles and belts, police say. They were also pushed down the stairs and held underwater in the bathtub. The adults are also accused of using the family's cat to torture them by agitating the animal and then placing it on the children's stomach so it would scratch and claw them. The children also told police they were often given moldy scraps to eat and that they would fill an old peanut butter jar with rain water from a drain outside the window just so they could drink something. When police eventually raided the home, they reported a strong urine odor coming from the attic area where the children said they were kept. They found containers filled with urine and liquid feces inside the attic. Authorities said a weeks-long investigation had determined the adults had kept the children locked in the attic of the home (pictured above) for at least two years and deprived them of food and water Richter, his fiance and her mother have all been charged with endangering the welfare of children, aggravated assault, harassment and a slew of other charges. They have all been denied bail (above leaving court) and are scheduled to face court on Tuesday A bedframe was allegedly wedged against the door of the attic. Police said a fourth child, a three-year-old girl, also lived at the home but she showed no signs of being malnourished or abused. That girl is believed to have lived in a separate bedroom away from the other three children. Minersville Police Chief Michael Combs said the case involving the three children will haunt him. 'We've had certainly cases of child abuse, child sexual exploitation and things like that, but that these children endured this many years of this kind of treatment is beyond anything that I've seen," Combs said. "The only plus to it is that the children are now safe and getting treatment and won't be put back in that environment.' All four children have been placed into protective custody. Richter, his fiance and her mother have all been charged with endangering the welfare of children, aggravated assault, harassment and a slew of other charges. They have all been denied bail and are scheduled to face court on Tuesday. News Around the Republic of Mexico Mexico Regains Status as #1 U.S. Trade Partner The U.S. exported $21 billion in goods to Mexico during February, and imported $27.47 billion from Mexico during the same period. Laredo, Texas - Mexico is again the top trading partner of the United States, with two-way trade totaling $48.47 billion in February, according to data from the In February, the nation's top trade partners were: - Mexico, $48.47 billion - Canada, $47.39 billion - China, $43.44 billion - Japan, $14.5 billion - Germany, $14.1 billion The U.S. exported $21 billion in goods to Mexico during February, and imported $27.47 billion from Mexico during the same period. According to census bureau data analyzed by The top three imports from Mexico were passenger cars ($2.28 billion), motor vehicle parts ($2.07 billion) and commercial vehicles ($2.01 billion). The top trade ports along the U.S.-Mexico border during February were: - Port Laredo, Texas, $17.6 billion. - Ysleta border crossing, Texas, $4.62 billion. - Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, Texas, $4.28 billion. - Otay Mesa port of entry, California, $3.67 billion. - Eagle Pass port of entry, Texas, $2.41 billion. The Ysleta port of entry is near El Paso. Officials recently began diverting some commercial traffic from bridges in El Paso to Ysleta to reduce congestion in the area and to serve as a new route for commercial freight vehicles crossing to and from Mexico. Port Laredo's total trade declined 5.57% compared to the same month one year ago. The port ranked No. 4 among all U.S. ports in February. It had ranked No. 1 for the same month last year. Read the full article on freightwaves.com. - Mexico is again the top trading partner of the United States, with two-way trade totaling $48.47 billion in February, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. China had been the top U.S. trade partner for 10 consecutive months beginning last May.In February, the nation's top trade partners were:- Mexico, $48.47 billion- Canada, $47.39 billion- China, $43.44 billion- Japan, $14.5 billion- Germany, $14.1 billionThe U.S. exported $21 billion in goods to Mexico during February, and imported $27.47 billion from Mexico during the same period.According to census bureau data analyzed by WorldCity Inc., the top three exports in February from the U.S. to Mexico were liquefied natural gas ($3.4 billion), gasoline ($1.58 billion) and motor vehicle parts ($1.08 billion).The top three imports from Mexico were passenger cars ($2.28 billion), motor vehicle parts ($2.07 billion) and commercial vehicles ($2.01 billion).The top trade ports along the U.S.-Mexico border during February were:- Port Laredo, Texas, $17.6 billion.- Ysleta border crossing, Texas, $4.62 billion.- Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, Texas, $4.28 billion.- Otay Mesa port of entry, California, $3.67 billion.- Eagle Pass port of entry, Texas, $2.41 billion.The Ysleta port of entry is near El Paso. Officials recently began diverting some commercial traffic from bridges in El Paso to Ysleta to reduce congestion in the area and to serve as a new route for commercial freight vehicles crossing to and from Mexico.Port Laredo's total trade declined 5.57% compared to the same month one year ago. The port ranked No. 4 among all U.S. ports in February. It had ranked No. 1 for the same month last year. Site Map Print this Page Email Us Top Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi got some fresh air during a rare public outing in Montecito, California on Sunday. The talk show host, 63, and actress, 48, looked loved up during the outing, walking hand-in-hand as they made their way to a romantic dinner al fresco. While Ellen went for a simple, sporty look her wife of nearly 13-years embraced boho chic during the outing. Date night! Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi went out for a rare public date in Montecito, California early Sunday night DeGeneres donned a dark zip-up with black pants and cool leather sneakers, keeping her hair in its signature blonde crop. Besides the comic, Arrested Development star de Rossi strode along in a long white tunic and slouchy grey pants with a patterned duster on top. Brown suede boots and a leather bucket bag completed the beautiful blonde's look along with a trellis-patterned facemask. Though they appeared to be in high spirits it's been a tough past year for the couple, who endured professional scandal and several health emergencies. Stylish: While the chat show host went for a simple, sporty look her wife of nearly 13-years embraced boho chic during the outing Ellen reportedly lost one million viewers following reports of a toxic workplace culture behind the scenes of her daytime show. DeGeneres got off to a strong ratings start last fall in her 18th season season premiere when she addressed the scandal, but has seen a swift decline in the months since. 'I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,' she said in her season premiere. 'I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected. Drop: Ellen reportedly lost one million viewers following reports of a toxic workplace culture behind the scenes of her daytime show 'I know that I'm in a position of privilege and power, and I realize that with that comes responsibility. I take responsibility for what happens at my show.' The couple dealt with a health scare in late March when de Rossi had to have an emergency appendectomy. It was a scary situation for Ellen, who revealed she actually found her love on the ground writhing in pain before rushing her to the hospital. That was the second medical emergency to recently rock the couple, who married in 2008, in the past six months after Ellen battled coronavirus in December. OTTAWA - The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by Google Canada, saying its request would only delay a trial about a patent case filed against the search engine company. Google Canada employees return to the Google office in Toronto on November 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston OTTAWA - The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by Google Canada, saying its request would only delay a trial about a patent case filed against the search engine company. The 3-0 decision written by Justice Yves de Montigny said it would be better to have the central issues go ahead and be considered by the trial judge, rather than be delayed by Google's appeal on a secondary matter. Google Canada and its parent companies are defendants in an action brought to the Federal Court in 2018 by Paid Search Engine Tools LLC, which is seeking compensation for the use of intellectual property that is covered by a Canadian patent. Paid Search Engine Tools, or PSET, claims that it has patent rights to some of the technology used by Google's search engine to manage online advertising. PSET has also pursued similar patent cases against Google, Microsoft and Yahoo in U.S. courts. The Federal Court is expected to conduct the trial by remote video, because of public health restrictions due to the pandemic. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2021. Combination will significantly increase global access to those seeking to live, work, or study in Canada BALTIMORE, April 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Prometric Canada Testing Services ("Prometric") announced today that it has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire Paragon Testing Enterprises ("Paragon"), a subsidiary of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Paragon is Canada's largest provider of high-stakes English language proficiency tests. The company's tests include the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) for Canadian permanent residence and citizenship and the Canadian Academic English Language Test Computer Edition (CAEL CE) for study at post-secondary institutions across Canada. The acquisition will significantly increase global access to the Paragon tests that are currently administered at 60 test centres across Canada and at 15 locations in the United States, China, India, Philippines, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. Paragon's CAEL Online test is currently available in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Japan. Roy Simrell, President and CEO of Prometric Canada's parent company Prometric LLC, said, "The addition of Paragon to the Prometric family represents a significant opportunity to leverage our secure, reliable global assessment solutions including in-centre and online remote capabilities, our innovative technologies, and our global presence to increase accessibility to the CELPIP and CAEL CE examinations for people around the world. Paragon has a well-earned reputation for expertise in test research and construction, as well as customer service excellence. These qualities are aligned with Prometric's own corporate culture, values, and strategic focus. We look forward to achieving high levels of growth in collaboration with the Paragon team." Donald Wehrung, President and CEO of Paragon, said, "We have been delivering tens of thousands of CELPIP and CAEL English proficiency tests annually, representing a leadership position in the Canadian language assessment market. With Prometric's global scale, resources, and experience we believe that we can move faster, reach farther, and aim higher as we compete to expand our English language proficiency tests internationally." J.P. Heale, Managing Director University-Industry Liaison Office at UBC, said, "This agreement further enhances UBC's track record of creating research-based spinoff companies that generate national and global impacts. The acquisition of Paragon will allow Prometric to further its worldwide reputation as the provider of the most secure and reliable testing network. They are the ideal partner to take Paragon to the next level, especially into international testing." About Prometric Canada Testing Services As a global leader in test development, testing delivery, and candidate services, Prometric partners with the world's top credentialing and licensure organizations to design and deliver leading exam programs that help individuals advance their careers and serve their communities. Our integrated, end-to-end solutions provide exam development, management, and distribution that set the industry standard in quality, security, and service excellence. Prometric leverages our proprietary platform, advanced technologies, and vast operational experience to deliver an exceptional user experience on our world-class secure testing network. Today, we are paving the industry's path forward with new solutions and innovation to ensure reliable access to secure assessments anytime, anywhere. For more information, visit https://www.prometric.com or follow us on Twitter at @PrometricGlobal and www.linkedin.com/company/prometric/. About Paragon Testing Enterprises Paragon Testing Enterprises was incorporated in 2009 to commercialize UBC's English language proficiency tests, and it has grown rapidly since it was created. This growth is reflected in the increasing number of tests delivered annually from thousands to tens of thousands, the number of its computer-delivered test centres from two to more than 70 worldwide, the number of full-time and casual employees from 16 to over 300, and the scope of its offices that are now in Vancouver, Toronto, and Singapore. For more information, visit https://www.paragontesting.ca/, follow us on Twitter at @Paragon_Testing, @CELPIPTest, @CAELTest, and https://www.linkedin.com/company/paragon-testing-enterprises-inc/. About UBC The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC's entrepreneurial spirit has embraced innovation and challenged the status quo. UBC encourages its students, staff, and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery, and explore new ways of learning. At UBC, bold thinking is given a place to develop into ideas that can change the world. Media Contacts Tom Warren Michael Holaday Prometric Paragon Testing Enterprises 443.455.8652 236.317.5462 [email protected] [email protected] Related Links https://www.prometric.com SOURCE Prometric Kylie Jenner opted for not one but two workouts on Sunday as she continues to gear up for bikini season. The 23-year-old reality star was quick to show off her gym-honed figure in a yellow bandeau bra and matching leggings prior to meeting up with half-sister Kourtney Kardashian for a sweat session. The makeup mogul frequently takes to Instagram to show off her workouts at her home gym, but switched it up over the weekend with outdoor pilates. Abs: Kylie Jenner, 23, gears up for her second workout of the day in a yellow spandex set as she takes to instagram to show off her gym-honed figure Toned: The makeup mogul has been kicking things up a notch with twice a day workouts ahead of bikini season Kylie ensured all focus was on her incredible body as she filmed herself at the top of her staircase. She paired the yellow set with white socks and white trainers and tied her dark tresses back in a ponytail. The mom of one held a water bottle in hand for added hydration and showed off her cadillac pilates reformer that featured yellow furry leg rests. Outfit of the day: She paired the yellow set with white socks and white trainers and tied her dark tresses back in a ponytail Mirror mirror: She has been known to love a good mirror and her home features many vessels to perfect her look Grind: Kylie opted to workout in the company of half-sister Kourtney for her second sweat session Form: Kylie showed off her cadillac pilates reformer that featured yellow furry leg rests ahead of her workout and continued to show her strength Jenner stepped out for dinner on Saturday night at famed Italian joint Giorgio Baldi, with pals Fai Khadra, and BFF Stassie Karanikolaou. Having a work hard play hard mentality, she enjoyed a bustling weekend of social engagements but was back to the grind ahead of a busy week. Though she and her sisters have been known to get a little trigger happy with the FaceTune app, the famous family does work hard at maintaining their famous figures. Sweat it out: She seemed to put in some extra work after enjoying a night out with friends the previous evening Work hard play hard: Jenner stepped out on Saturday night for dinner at famed Italian joint Giorgio Baldi, with pals Fai Khadra, and BFF Stassie Karanikolaou Sparkling: While at dinner she and her friends couldn't help but take loads of social media content to document the night Back at it: After a laborious afternoon she enjoyed cocktails on Sunday evening with brother Rob Kardashian and longtime pal Harry Hudson Amid sister Khloe Kardashian's recent body drama, Kylie proved she had her back as she posted a photo of their fingers intertwined, writing: 'it's a forever thing.' The Good American founder has been in the midst of a body-related scandal, after an unedited photo of her in a bikini made its rounds online and she scrambled to have it deleted. It was said that an assistant posted it without permission on a private account and the family quickly went into overdrive to remove any traces of it from the internet, and additionally considered taking legal action. Khloe has hit back at critics of her ever-changing face and body over the years, and decided to take matters into her own hands amid the drama, releasing a statement where she spoke about her struggles with body image. Support system: Kylie was quick to show off her unbreakable bond with Khloe amid her recent body drama as she posted a photo of their fingers linked Body drama: The Good American founder has been in the midst of a body-related scandal, after an unedited photo of her in a bikini made its rounds online and she scrambled to have it deleted Statement: She spoke about struggling with body image her whole life and received an outpouring of support The lengthy statement accompanied a live video of her body in the mirror to show her followers it wasn't 'photoshopped.' 'The photo that was posted this week is beautiful. But 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 with the world - you should have every right to ask for it not to be shared,' she wrote. Khloe continued to talk about comparisons drawn between she and her famous siblings, sharing that frequent 'ridicule' and pressure 'to be perfect' has weighed heavy on her. She admitted that she loves a 'good filter, good lighting, and an edit here and there,' when it comes to her images, as she seemed to fess up to utilizing the various tools over the years to portray herself the way she wants to be seen. Subscriber content preview Startup cards can help build credit even in tough times Here's how this new breed of credit cards differs from traditional cards and why they're easier to get, even now. By MELISSA LAMBARENA NerdWallet iStock image Grow Credit offers a card that builds credit as you pay for qualifying monthly subscriptions like Netflix or Hulu. While major credit card issuers tightened lending standards and slashed credit limits amid COVID-19, some financial technology startups took a different tack. . . . login or purchase a To read this story in fullor purchase a subscription. New York, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "e-Prescribing Market Research Report by Component, by Deployment, by End User - United States Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06015013/?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 e-Prescribing 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 e-Prescribing Market. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the e-Prescribing to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Component, the e-Prescribing Market studied across Services and Solution. The Services further studied across Maintenance & Support Services, Network & Implementation Services, and Training & Education Services. The Solution further studied across Integrated Solutions and Standalone Solutions. Based on Deployment, the e-Prescribing Market studied across On-Cloud and On-Premises. Based on End User, the e-Prescribing Market studied across Hospitals, Pharmacies, and Physicians. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the United States e-Prescribing Market including AdvancedMD, Inc., Bizmatics, Inc., CareCloud Corporation, Computer Programs and Systems, Inc., DrFirst, Inc., Express Scripts Holding Company, First Databank, Inc., MDToolbox, Practice Fusion, Inc., and Relayhealth Corporation. 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 e-Prescribing 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 e-Prescribing Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the United States e-Prescribing Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the United States e-Prescribing Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the United States e-Prescribing Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the United States e-Prescribing Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the United States e-Prescribing Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06015013/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ The republican leader of the Scottish Green Party sparked fury today by aiming insulting jibes at Prince Philip during what was meant to be a parliamentary tribute. Patrick Harvie contrasted the national mourning since the Duke's death at the age of 99 on Friday with that shown to 150,000 people who have died in the UK since last Spring. He used his speech in a special Holyrood session called to mark the death of the Queen's consort to faintly praise his life-long environmentally, sniffily saying it came despite his love of 'the bloodsports of the wealthy'. The 48-year-old was the only taint on the session at the Scottish Parliament called to allow politicians to mark the historic occasion. Nicola Sturgeon, who wants Scottish independence, praised Prince Philip for his devotion to the Queen as 'the husband of a powerful woman' today as the home nations commemorated his death. But when his time came to make remarks, Mr Harvie said her offered his party's 'sincere condolences' to 'all those who will miss him', adding: 'In this chamber as in this country we do not all share the same views of the monarchy or the same feelings today. It would be wrong to pretend that we did.' He went on: 'This has been a year of terrible loss, for the world, including up to 150,000 Covid deaths across the UK, most of them announced without ceremony as daily statistics. 'The toll has been heaviest on those with least. But while there is no great leveller in how we live our lives we are today reminded there is no extreme of wealth, privilege or status which can protect us from mortality Patrick Harvie contrasted the national mourning since the Duke's death at the age of 99 on Friday with that shown to 150,000 people who have died in the UK since last Spring. Scotland's First Minister told a specially called session of the Scottish Parliament that he had been 'a thoughtful man, deeply interesting and fiercely intelligent' with whom she had bonded over a love of books. They are pictured in Tweedbank in 2015. Green leader whose party props up Sturgeon Patrick Harvey has been the co-leader of the Greens at Holyrood since 2019, a period in which the party has helped keep Nicola Sturgeon in power and out of trouble. Thanks to the proportional representation system used in Scottish elections there are five Green MSPs, and they form a loose coalition with the SNP that gives Ms Sturgeon the numbers to form a majority Government. It also recently allowed her to survive a vote of no confidence in her leadership over the Alex Salmond sexual harassment affair. The attempt by the Scottish Tories to put pressure on Ms Sturgeon was undone when the Greens refused to back it, effectively putting her in the clear due to parliamentary arithmetic. The Greens are expected to increase their number of MSPs at the next election, although Ms Sturgeon may be able to govern without them. Mr Harvey, 48, has been an MSP for Glasgow since 2003, and was the first openly bisexual MSP. His party is unlikely to see eye-to-eye on many subjects. It campaigns for an elected head of state and also wants to strengthening the ban on hunting in Scotland to close what it says are 'loopholes'. Last month Mr Harvie said the monarchy was 'an outdated, discredited and totally undemocratic institution' amid allegations that Meghan Markle faced racism. 'As we look to the future that Scotland can have as a fairer, greener and independent country, it is clear that asking the people to choose a modern, democratically accountable head of state would be the best step forward,' he said. 'The idea that any family has the right to such status based on hereditary titles and unearned wealth would hold Scotland back, and it's not one that the Scottish Greens will ever support. 'Their shooting and hunting estates can be put to better use serving the local communities and creating more jobs.' Advertisement 'In this respect every human being is indeed equal, death comes to us all and every family feels the pain of loss. 'So regardless of our different views, respect and compassion are due in equal measure to everyone of us at such times.' The late Duke helped found the Worldwide Fund for Nature in 1961 and devoted a large chunk of his life to green causes, something his passed on to his eldest son, the Prince of Wales. But he was also a keen fan of country sports, including shooting and fox hunting. Addressing this in his speech, Mr Harvie said: 'Many have spoken about Prince Philip's environmentalism. Today's environmental movement overwhelmingly places responsibility for the global crisis on the powerful and would not seek to reconcile conservation with the bloodsports of the wealthy. 'Yet it is still the case that a debt is owed to those whose environmentalism did achieve global awareness, even if it was shaped by different values to today's. He continued: 'It is said Prince Philip wished to modernise the monarchy and no doubt in time it will again consider if it can do so: how a royal family can keep pace with the modern democratic society it is supposed to serve and how it must show respect for the diversity of that society in its words and its deeds. 'Others will question whether it can, whether it should retain its place or not. That debate is not for today. Holyrood and the Welsh Assembly today sat for sessions allowing politicians to pay their respects to the Duke, and Westminster will join them this afternoon. Despite her separatist politics Ms Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister, told Holyrood that Philip had been 'a thoughtful man, deeply interesting and fiercely intelligent' with whom she had bonded over a love of books. Putting forward a motion of condolence this morning, Mr Sturgeon said that the monarch and her late husband were 'a true partnership'. 'He faced the additional challenge of being the husband of a powerful woman at a time when that was even more of an exception than it is today,' Ms Sturgeon said. 'That reversal of the more traditional dynamic was highly unusual in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and even now isn't as common as it might be. 'Yet, the Duke of Edinburgh was devoted to supporting the Queen - they were a true partnership.' The First Minister also said the role of consort to the Queen 'cannot be an easy one, particularly for someone who is spirited and energetic by temperament'. In a more personal passage, the First Minister added: 'I was struck by how different he was in private to the way he was sometimes characterised in public. 'He was a thoughtful man, deeply interesting and fiercely intelligent. He was also a serious bookworm, which I am too so talking about the books we were reading was often, for me, a highlight of our conversations.' The Scottish Parliament has sent its 'deepest sympathies' to the Queen following the death of Prince Philip. Scottish Conservative Holyrood leader Ruth Davidson said most people would think of Philip as 'an elderly man' who was ' gruff, witty [and] still able to stand ramrod straight'. But she added he had been a 'dashing young naval officer' who went on to become a 'palace moderniser'. Ms Davidson said: 'He was a man that was born before the discovery of penicillin, before the creation of the United Nations or the invention of the television or the jet engine. 'But a moderniser he was in life, as well as in work. How many men in the 1950s gave up their job for their wife's career?' She also recalled how he had once asked former Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie about her underwear, at an event in Holyrood held to mark Pope Benedict's visit to Scotland. Ms Davidson said: 'Seeing Iain Gray [former Scottish Labour leader] sporting a tie in the papal tartan, the Duke turned to Tory leader Annabel Goldie to ask if she had a pair of knickers made out of this. 'Quite properly, Annabel retorted, 'I couldn't possibly comment, and even if I did I couldn't possibly exhibit them'.' Ms Davidson praised the Duke for a 'life of remarkable public service', saying: 'Anyone who in their life fought in World War Two; set up an organisation to help young people build resilience and change the course of their lives for the better; who helped found the world's largest conservation charity to save endangered species; and who gave of his time to help 800 individual charities and who was still working well into his 90s, deserves to have that life recognised.' Putting forward a motion of condolence this morning, Mr Sturgeon said that the monarch and her late husband were 'a true partnership'. The First Minister (pictured with the royals in 2017) also said the role of consort to the Queen 'cannot be an easy one, particularly for someone who is spirited and energetic by temperament'. And new Labour leader Anas Sarwar told Holyrood: 'On Friday we lost an extraordinary public servant, who dedicated his long life to our country, as well as transforming lives for young people across the world, and promoting the issue of global conservation that we all now recognise is so important. 'On behalf of the entire Scottish Labour Party, I offer my condolences to everyone in mourning here and across the Commonwealth, all his loved ones, the Royal Family, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and in particular Her Majesty the Queen. 'For more than seven decades, Prince Philip was a constant at the Queen's side. 'None of us can even begin to understand the pressure of being monarch, in what has often been described as a lonely job. 'But we know from all that has been said and written how much the Queen cherished the support, counsel, and love of her husband. 'And while their lives might have been very different to ours, as humans we can all empathise with what it means to lose a loved one.' The early return of Parliaments in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff came after a weekend in which all four of Philip's children spoke movingly about the loss of their father. Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, led tributes in the Senedd, saying: 'The Government in this Parliament... I extend our sincerest sympathies at the end of an exceptional life lived.' Marketing models are continuously gearing upwards and onwards to meet where customers gather - online. Entrenched brand trust Consider a commitment towards meaningfully including data privacy as part of the brands overall positioning. The end goal of all customer data collection should be to provide an enhanced customer experience leaving customers willing to trust organisations with their data. Last year, Forbes revealed the results of a global study showing that consumers are four to six times more likely to purchase, protect and champion purpose-driven brands. We believe the reason why a customer buys into a brands story and pledges loyalty is also the same vein that gives life to their motivation to opt in. Marketers should consider packaging solutions with language that would clearly and authentically display this positioning. It is not required to reinvent your privacy policy, but instead use the policy as a guide to the facts to craft your message. Automation beyond technology The more consumers are given the ability to protect and control their data, the more thoughtful brands will have to act in order to abide by an opt-in culture. Yes, it means using technology with built in automated systems to provide control and transparency, but it also goes beyond that. It will stand marketing professionals in good stead to empower themselves with an automated privacy-first response as everyday situations arise. To this end, we recommend that marketing professionals adopt an internal privacy playbook tailored to their organisational or brand requirements. At its core, this playbook is a collection of frameworks, policies and guidelines that empower marketers and their teams to navigate data protection situations with agility in-the-moment'. Productised services built on privacy-by-design principles We recommend marketers adapt privacy-by-design products such as ready-made database products or digital and social media targeting products where the principles of the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPIA) is already built into the offering, for example. Another practical course of action is to revisit contextual advertising. This alternative targeting strategy is making a comeback in a post-cookie world according to recent research in light of privacy regulation worldwide and advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Contextual targeting does not track and target the individual, but rather the environment the user is in. This strategy sees programmatic media buying based on the content on the page or screen through keyword- and topic-based targeting. There are limited conflicts with privacy laws and legislation because brands do not need to know much about the customer. But as digital marketing strategies have managed to dwarf any other form of marketing over the last few years, its growing sophistication has come alongside a broader march equally sophisticated toward a growing demand from customers calling on their right to protect their personal information.This demand for change is something that marketing functions within an organisation cannot ignore. And it is arguably disrupting established digital marketing models. Increasingly, customers will reward brands that make a much-needed mental shift and put the frameworks in place designed to respect and protect the personal information entrusted to the same organisation.Personal information is premium data exchanged with a trusted organisation. The responsibility of acting with transparency and offering control lies with organisations.In recent years, an expansive list of countries , including South Africa, has shifted their focus to ringfence and define the premium value that personal information protection beholds.Through increased awareness and education campaigns general consumers are more aware of what their privacy protections rights are. And they are growing more confident that the choice is indeed theirs. This choice hinges largely on whether or not they perceive the value of adding their personal information into the so-called big data marketing machine. For the general consumer to do so they would need the exchange to be trusted, transparent and clearly defined.We are unequivocally entering an era where an opt in culture reigns, as opposed to the opt out culture we have experienced up, which gives consumers less control over how their data is processed, stored and shared. And thats a positive step in the right direction.But does increasing the awareness of and the demand for data privacy mean that organisations and technology giants, such as Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook, are prevented from connecting to niche and targeted communities when big data analytics become diluted due to tracking opt-outs?And what does it mean for smaller mom-and-pop shops in a post-pandemic climate that have come to depend on monetising tight marketing budgets into profits with often highly targeted digital-only strategies?These marketing strategies have been hugely effective to power profitability until now, even more so for large corporations, but most always at a cost to the customer.Is the rise of the opting in culture eating into the reach of the niche? Will a more mature view of personal information protection eclipse the right target, at the wrong time and place?Analyst and owner of Mobile Dev Memo Eric Benjamin Seufert is of opinion that the way in which tech giants are defining privacy is in itself is a bit of a puzzling concept. He says most technology providers know this as they are defining opt in language.Seufert explains Apples mic drop moment when in June 2020 Apple literally dumped 10,000 puzzle pieces on the floor and walked away . Apple was the first tech giant to define their commitment to handing over the choice to their users to opt into sharing their data on its platform, as opposed to fumbling through complicated opt out processes.This left many of its peers with a higher dependency on data for advertising purposes, among them Facebook, unhappy and fearing this shift will decrease their ability to monetise data effectively.Subsequently, the trend to put control and transparency in the hands of users has mushroomed with more pop-up prompts warning users when an app is tracking their data for advertising purposes, giving users the option to block the app or site from doing so. When a changing culture is driven by consumers, it is hard even for Facebook to try and argue its case for the privacy-invasive status quo to continue its reign.Early in 2020 Google also made a significant change to remove support for third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, which are used to track users across multiple sites to target ads and see how they perform. Google is also expected to follow in Apples footsteps with creating its own mobile advertising identifier on Android devices.Alongside the march toward protecting personal information, organisations have been trying to figure out how to practically communicate with customers and prove to them the value of opting into services, products or content.For instance, to maintain compliance as well as consumer trust, Harvard Business Review says companies will likely thrive in an opt in culture when they invest in automation and analytics tools that are designed to safeguard customer privacy in-line with relevant legislation in that geographic region, such as the PoPIA in South Africa.As a consultant being a facilitator inspired by changing landscapes, I cant help but agree that the opportunities are plentiful. We recommend marketing professionals adapt their way of working to the following strategies to remain relevant and ahead of the curve - all while safeguarding personal information:Pending the commencement of legislation, safeguarding of consumer privacy will likely be an existential moment for organisations. The change managed adaptation of organisations as they meet the needs of an opt in culture is best executed when technology and policy clearly define their commitment to value and protect personal information.Brands who will thrive in the post cookie and tracking world will be those that gain trust of their customers by prioritising the best principles of building online relationships, providing complete transparency and control over what personal information they provide, how it is used and with whom it is shared.Brands will need to formalise this pledge and find inobtrusive ways to earn the trust of their customers and build meaningful relationships in the digital space. Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee says he became 'stressed, anxious' and experienced chest pains after the Capitol riot and has consulted a medical expert who saw the signs of post-traumatic stress. Kildee was in the House gallery on January 6th when Congress met to count the electoral votes and ended up being evacuated along with other House members who were there while a mob ransacked the building and ultimately made it inside the House chamber. 'I went home. I thought I was fine,' he said of the time after police and National Guard forces were finally able to restore order. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) has spoken about his mental and physical response to the Jan. 6th Capitol riot. He took cover with other lawmakers who were in the House gallery as rioters attempted to break into the House chamber while armed officers tried to hold them off But then, in comments he shared in a sit-down interview with NBC, he said signs of the stress began showing up. 'I thought it was a few dozen people, it was hundreds and hundreds of violent people,' he said of the riot, 'and that triggered an emotional and physical reaction. I had a lot of tension in my chest breathing was difficult, I became really irritable. You're feeling stressed, anxious. You're having chest pain,' he said. Eventually, Kildee connected with Dr. Jim Gordon, who founded the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, who told the network he immediately identified the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Gordon has made numerous media appearances, and has worked with people suffering PTSD from war zones and school shootings. 'These are all fight or flight, that's being prolonged, but they're supposed to go away, but they didn't go away,' he said. Kildee says he had an 'emotional and physical reaction' to the riot He spoke to NBC about the impact of the events Kilee met with Dr. Jim Gordon, who founded the Center for Mind-Body Medicine Kildee tweeted about the riot in real-time 'This is not something I ever expected to experience, not something that I anticipated,' said Kildee, who represents Flint and serves as the Democrats' chief deputy whip. 'Most people who experienced trauma dont experience it in real time on every network across the world. They do it privately, quietly, painfully, silently, alone. And so if I can speak to them, thats what I want to do,' he said. He said he has been getting weekly counseling with Dr. Gordon on Saturdays. Kildee tweeted about his experiences in real-time January 6th, and was pictured in the gallery that day. 'I am in the House Chambers. We have been instructed to lie down on the floor and put on our gas masks. Chamber security and Capitol Police have their guns drawn as protesters bang on the front door of the chamber. This is not a protest. This is an attack on America,' he wrote. 'I have been evacuated from the House Chambers and have been escorted to an alternate, safe location,' he wrote in a subsequent tweet. 'This is a dark moment for the history of our country. Praying for an end to the violence and safety for everyone in the Capitol.' In the days after the riot, he called for impeaching President Trump, then tweeted out support for Republican lawmakers, including a pair of Michigan Republicans, who backed impeachment. Kildee's statements about his mental health since the riot comes after ten House Democrats have now joined a lawsuit first filed by Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi accusing former President Donald Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani of stoking the MAGA riot. Each signed onto the suit in their 'personal capacity.' Lawmakers joining the suit included Tennessee Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who spoke about contemplating his own death during the riot. 'Anticipating that he might not emerge from the House Gallery alive, he began to contemplate whether he would want to be buried with his family in Memphis or at the Congressional Cemetery, it says. Cohen states: 'As I sat in my office on January 6th with rioters roaming the hallways, I feared for my life and thought I was going to die. 'This invasion was a direct result of Donald Trump's rhetoric and words. His calls to gather in Washington on January 6th and his message to 'be strong' thwarted the functioning of our Constitution.' Others spoke about physical injuries. Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas was filled with fear during the riot. 'Her heart began racing as she realized she might be trapped in the House Gallery,' it says. Rep. Pramila Jaypal of Washington describes having trouble getting down on the floor when ordered to because of her recent surgery. She was 'exhausted and drained by the throbbing pain in her greatly swollen knee,' she says in the law suit. While skilling, reskilling and upskilling have assumed a greater significance for professionals in the past year, organisations find it a big challenge to justify investing in their employees' skilling, according to a study by corporate e-learning solutions provider Skillsoft India. The study conducted in December 2020 surveyed chief human resource officers, chief learning officer, human resource heads and HR directors of more than 200 companies, including Tata Motors, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Welspun Group among several other listed entities. While 82% of the surveyed businesses said building skills and capabilities required for the future was one of their top learning and development priorities, 63% also said demonstrating Return on Investment (RoI) on those learning interventions was a priority, according to 'Learning Trends India 2020'. Also read: IT skills in top demand! Jobs aplenty for professionals with these expertise "The biggest challenge on learning and development that companies have is in showing to their leadership or management the value of skilling or upskilling they are providing to the employees," Skillsoft India managing director Kamal Dutta told BusinessToday.In. The India wing of the American headquartered company counts TAFE, HCL tech, ITC Infotech among its more than 200 enterprise customers in India. Dutta said the challenge comes from not knowing what to measure though organisations have a lot of data. "Many organisations are not sure which Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure. This has to be defined in order to establish ROI such as improvement in efficiency, productivity, revenue growth etc. Ultimately, businesses have to benefit from the investments made and, therefore, need to establish those parameters that show value." Further, the study showed that 49% of respondents pointed towards a lack of interest among employees as another critical challenge in investing in their skilling. Also read: COVID-19 hit women, youth, lower-skilled workers harder: IMF He attributed this to the nature of the content available, saying that a Netflix-isation of learning tools with richer material, immersive content, customisation, curated options, easier search facility etc, would help employees take to them more easily. Dutta also said Skillsoft saw maximum demand for the technology & development vertical of their learning resources, with most takers opting for courses in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing and data sciences. Press Release 12 April 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people live, work and socialize, accelerating demand for innovation, as retailers, consumer goods, and travel companies shift from reacting to the crisis to reinventing products and services, according to findings o f a new global survey from Accenture (NYSE: ACN). Advertisements After a year of lockdowns, 95% of survey respondents said they made at least one change to their lifestyle that they expect will be permanent. Working from home, changing travel patterns, and a growing desire to shop locally are challenging industries to fundamentally rethink how they cater to the pandemic-adapted consumer. The latest survey of more than 9,650 people in 19 countries supports Accenture's previous findings that many changes in behavior will likely be long-term. "The ripple effects of the pandemic will be felt for some time and serve as a powerful illustration of the need for consumer-facing companies to be agile, resilient, and responsive to change," said Oliver Wright, senior managing director and head of Accenture's global consumer goods industry group. "Born out of disaster and necessity comes opportunity; the pandemic has sparked a new wave of innovation. As companies fundame ntally rethink ways of doing business that deliver growth, many are using advanced analytical capabilities to spot, respond, and target changing consumption trends. For instance, British beer company, Brewdog, responded with agility and creativity throughout the crisis shifting to produce hand sanitizer, creating virtual bars, setting up the Brewdog Drive-Thru, and repurposing physical locations to create co-working space with Desk Dog." COVID-19 has led to compressed transformation, with companies simultaneously transforming multiple parts of the enterprise and reskilling people in what previously would have been longer-term step-by-step programs. Many consumer-facing companies have re-platformed their businesses in the cloud, addressed cost pressures, and continued to build resilience and security, putting the infrastructure in place to enable innovation and position them for future success. Dawn of the"third space" The pandemic fo rced a rapid shift to employees working from home, with many expressing that they want flexibility in how and where they work moving forward. More than three-quarters (79%) of respondents said they would like to occasionally work from a "third space" a location other than their home or place of employment and more than half said they would be willing to pay up to US$100 per month out of their own pockets to work from a cafe, bar, hotel, or retailer with a dedicated space. This highlights a potential opportunity to grow revenue for the hospitality and retail industries. The desire to work from a "third space" is accompanied by a shift in attitudes towards business travel. Half (46%) of respondents said they have no business travel plans post-pandemic, or they intend to cut previous business travel by half. How long this view will hold firm remains to be seen, but the current outlook indicates that the return to travel will resume principally withi n the leisure market, pushing the industry to adapt and become even more efficient to make up for lost income. "The pandemic has forced 'creative pragmatism', especially for travel and hospitality firms grappling to find additional revenue streams during the crisis," said Emily Weiss, managing director and head of Accenture's global travel industry group. "Some hotels turned rooms into pop-up restaurants while others experimented with offering temporary office space to customers seeking a 'third space' to work. While there has been experimentation with innovation in select pockets, companies need to scale these new services and address travelers' renewed focus on health and safety, for example, by using the cloud to help enable fully contactless interactions." Shifts in consumer habits are here to stay Not only do people think some of their work habits and travel plans have likely permanently changed, many also think their shoppi ng habits have evolved for the long haul. The latest research supports Accenture's previously released findings that the dramatic rise in e-commerce is likely to remain or accelerate further. For instance, the proportion of online purchases for products such as food, home decor, fashion, and luxury goods by previously infrequent e-commerce users defined as those who used online channels for less than 25% of purchases prior to the outbreak has increased 343% since the outbreak. Jill Standish, senior managing director and head of Accenture's global retail industry group said, "Leading retailers were quick to adapt to the surge in e-commerce and are using technology to serve customers in new ways. Many adopted disruptive technologies such as augmented reality to recreate the physical store experience and help shoppers better visualize a room of furniture or an outfit, while others repurposed closed stores into local fulfillment centers with pickin g and packing technology. Even in a post-pandemic world, companies will need to satisfy consumers' appetite for online shopping with fast delivery and get more intentional about the investments they will make in their people, supply chains, physical stores, and digital channels to be well-positioned to drive growth." About the research Accenture's COVID-19 Consumer Research is tracking the changing attitudes, behaviors, and habits of consumers worldwide as they adapt to a new reality during the COVID-19 outbreak. The latest waves of this survey were conducted November 28 December 10 2020 and 25 February March 5 12,487 and 9,653 consumers respectively, in 19 countries across five continents: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, UK, USA. A Request For Information (RFI) posted on a website for Federal government contractors gives a glimpse into the degree to which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has embedded itself into the information technology infrastructure of the airline industry. The RFI for Services to Electronically Transmit Airline Data was posted April 5, 2021, by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Responses from potential vendors are due by April 19, 2021. CBP says it is conducting market research to gain a greater understanding of the full range of available options for services for obtaining names and related information of passengers who are arriving and departing the U.S. on commercial airlines. Although the RFI was put out by CBP, which surveils and controls international air travel and cargo transport to and from the US, it appears to contemplate integration with the parallel systems used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for data-driven surveillance and control of domestic US air travel as well. According to the RFI: CBP is evaluating transmission options for air carriers to use in compliance with these requirements. The vendor must have established connectivity with the airline community. The vendor must be able to test and certify with the air carriers, the vendor, CBP and TSA as required. For those unfamiliar with the parallel universe of airline IT and data communications networks, this RFI might best be conceptualized by analogy to the specifications for the equipment revealed by whistleblower Mark Klein that was installed in the facilities of AT&T and other telecommunications companies to provide real-time copies of message data to the National Security Agency (NSA). While the NSA receives metadata about the movements of our messages in the form of telephone calls, email messages, Web browsing, and other Internet traffic, CBP receives metadata about the movements of our physical bodies, whenever we travel by air, in the form of, according to the RFI, Passenger Name Records (PNR), air cargo manifests, advance passenger information (API), passenger manifests, and other airline-related data. The TSA receives a similar but somewhat different dataset of all domestic airline flights in the form of Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD). The RFI requests information from vendors that already have an available global private network primarily used by the aviation industry to enable the aviation industry to send/receive API, PNR, and other information to CBP and other entities. As the NSA did with telecommunications companies, CBP embeds itself in vendors data centers and message switching hubs: The contractor shall provide the following to permit the electronic transmission of airline data to CBPs computer network and host systems: Provide Ethernet Internet Protocol (IP) connections to the contractors private global network. CBP routers are located on vendors premises. Contractor provides physical space at their datacenter(s) to include communications rack to house DHS/CBP co-located equipment that connects to the contractors private global network. Unlike the black boxes installed in AT&T and other telecommunications and Internet switching centers to send mirror copies of messages to the NSA, the CBP/DHS connection to the global airline reservation cloud is bidirectional. The role of the DHS is not limited to passive surveillance, which would require only a unidirectional data feed. DHS exercises positive permission-based prior restraint and control of the issuance of each boarding pass, which requires reliable real-time transmission of Boarding Pass Printing Result (BPRR) permission messages from DHS to airline check-in counters and Web check-in systems worldwide. Currently, each airline has the option of connecting directly to CBP for bi-directional transmission of PNR and API data and receipt of BPPR messages through a virtual private network using CBP-specified protocols and vendors, or connecting to DHS through one of two vendors approved by CBP to act as intermediaries: ARINC or SITA. Its unclear what other companies, aside from the major Computerized Reservation Systems, a/k/a Global Distribution Systems (Sabre, Amadeus, and Travelport) might be in a position to provide the services currently provided to the DHS by ARINC and SITA. Both ARINC and SITA were formed by consortia of airlines as joint ventures to share the cost of building and operating global real-time data communications networks. At the time, neither the the telegraph network nor any other third-party service was sufficiently real-time or reliable or had sufficient global coverage to meet airline operational needs. So, as with other pioneering aspects of airline IT, airlines built their own global real-time data network before any other industry or any general-purpose commercial provider had one. ARINC, founded in 1929 as Aeronautical Radio, Inc., is now part of the the Collins Aerospace division of Rockwell Collins. SITA, founded in 1949 as the Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques, remains primarily airline-owned. Both provide a range of licensed software and software-as-a-service to airlines that prefer to outsource IT functions ranging from data communications to flight crew scheduling. Smaller airlines that cant afford to develop their own IT systems tend to be especially reliant on SITA, but essentially all airlines make use of some services provided by ARINC and/or SITA. One of those services to which the DHS demands access is IATA Type B messaging. Type B messaging (often referred to colloquially in the airline industry as SITA messaging even when provided by ARINC) is offered by both ARINC and SITA, but using the same structured addresses and with an AIRINC-SITA gateway. Customers of either company can send and receive Type B messages without needing to know if they are served by AIRINC or SITA. If you know what to look for, you can often spot 7-letter Type B addresses on business cards and letterhead and in email signature lines of workers in the airline industry. A Type B address consists of a 3-letter IATA airport or city code, a 2-letter designator for a functional component, and the 2-letter IATA code of the airline. LAXSSTG, for example, would be the Los Angeles (LAX) sales office (SS) of Thai Airways International (TG). Type B messages are in plain text and mostly human-readable. But like air traffic control communications, they are composed in a highly structured jargon, and many Type B messages are machine-generated and machine-processed, while remaining backward-compatible with manual processing and delivery methods ranging from email to hand delivery in hardcopy by messenger. Type B messaging is one of the methods specified by IATA for transmitting mirror copies of PNRs from airlines to governments. According to the RFI posted by CBP: Contractor shall support interactive messaging when 7-letter IATA Addressing is used by the Airlines. Contractor shall mitigate the protocol mitigation in order to deliver messages sent to CBP systems, as well as messages originating at CBP and destined for delivery to the Airlines. [Contractor shall] Provide unlimited Type B messaging. Type B messaging is guaranteed, store-and- forward message delivery. Type B messages are an IATA standard. Type B messaging is widely used by airlines, and computer reservation systems and used by CBP to receive Advance Passenger Information, based on the International Air Transport Association (IATA)/Airlines for America (A4A) endorsed standard. It is a Messaging service that allows centrally controlled communications with every participant in the extensive Type B community and a Value added service that provides security, traceability, integrity, and sender and receiver identification on top of connectivity through one connection. Its unclear exactly what use the DHS may be making, or plan to make, of Type B messaging, aside from receipt of PNR, API, and SFPD and sending of BPPR data. We would welcome any tips from readers as to DHS use or planned use of Type B messaging and/or the Type B addresses used by DHS or its components including CBP and the TSA. Well be making a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request for all of the responses to this RFI as soon as the solicitation deadline has passed. Six Royal Air Force Typhoon super-jets will fly to eastern Europe in a bid to deter Russian president Vladimir Putin who has sent troops to the Ukrainian border. Last night UK defence chiefs confirmed the RAF deployment to Romania to police the skies around the Black Sea. The Typhoons will be supported by troops from the RAF's No 1 Expeditionary Logistics Squadron and No 2 Mechanical Transport Squadron. They are deploying from bases in the UK this week. Six Royal Air Force Typhoon super-jets will fly to eastern Europe in a bid to deter Russian president Vladimir Putin who has sent troops to the Ukrainian border (file image) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on his working visit to the eastern Ukrainian conflict zone, April 8 While the Ministry of Defence insists these deployments are routine, they come at a time of heightened fears of conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Last night, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he was still waiting after requesting talks with Putin nearly three weeks ago following the deaths of four of his troops in a Russian mortar attack. His spokesman said: 'We very much hope that this is not a refusal of dialogue.' According to the Ukrainian government, Russia has sent 41,000 troops to the border in eastern Ukraine and 42,000 to Crimea and these numbers 'keep growing'. While the Kremlin has tried to claim it is an exercise, not a threat, Russian state TV yesterday warned Moscow is 'one step away from war'. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the war-hit Donbas region on Friday Ukraine has begun pumping out its own images of military preparations, including troops practicing with an anti-tank launcher More than 14,000 people have been killed since Russia annexed eastern Ukraine in 2014 and efforts to negotiate a peace settlement have failed. Security experts fear Russia may reoccupy eastern Ukraine on the pretence of protecting native Russian speakers there. Nato has voiced concern over the build-up of Russian forces. The Typhoons' deployment is part of an annual Nato air policing mission, Operation Biloxi. Up to 100 British infantry troops are also expected to be sent to Ukraine to take part in joint exercises with its soldiers this summer. The Ministry of Defence said: 'Operation Biloxi is a long-planned deployment of RAF Typhoons to Romania in support of the Nato Southern Air Policing mission to monitor the airspace of our ally.' Ukrainian president visits his troops on the frontline against feared Russian invasion after Putin deployed more than 80k troops just across border - and Kremlin-backed TV warns nation is 'one step away' from war By Henry Martin and AFP Ukraine's president has visited the country's frontline trenches as Russian TV warns that the two countries are 'one step from war'. Russia is now thought to have massed more than 80,000 troops along Ukraine's eastern border, with an arsenal of tanks, artillery, armoured transports and support vehicles - raising fears of an invasion. Ukrainian presidential spokesman Iuliia Mendel said today that 40,000 troops are now stationed in Crimea with another 40,000 near the Donbass region where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting government forces for years. The country's President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the area near Mariupol, insisting on going to the most forward positions while wearing a camouflage flak jacket and helmet, CNN reported. 'If I visit a military base, the guys at the very front will hear about it and think I forgot about them,' Zelensky said during a two-day interview. 'They need to know they have political support.' Clashes have regularly broken out in the east in recent weeks, undermining a ceasefire brokered last year that had raised hopes of ending a conflict that erupted in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. Two Ukrainian soldiers have now been killed in clashes with pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine's war-torn east, its military said today. Zelensky said that a Russian invasion is a real possibility that Ukraine is bracing for. He said: 'They are ready, but we are also ready because we are on our land and our territory.' Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian news anchor who has been called a 'Putin propagandist' in the past, issued the warning during a primetime broadcast in Russia on Sunday. He branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state, saying that Russia may be forced to 'de-Nazify' it by force - a process he said would bring about its 'economic and military collapse'. Meanwhile Michael McFaul, who was America's man in Moscow between 2012 and 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea, warned that Putin could invade Ukraine and bring war to Europe in a 'worst-case scenario'. Ukrainian serviceman at his post on the frontline near the town of Zolote, in the Lugansk region on April 8 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) is pictured above on the frontline Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits positions of armed forces near the frontline with Russian-backed separatists in Donbass region, Ukraine, April 9 Saratov region, Russia, April 12: Russia's President Vladimir Putin and former cosmonaut/State Duma member Valentina Tereshkova plant cedar trees in Space Conquerors Park Russia has continued to move artillery pieces (left), armoured vehicles (right) and troops to its border with Ukraine amid warnings the build-up could spark war in Europe There are now more than 80,000 Russian troops along the border, the Ukrainian president's office has said, with 40,000 in Crimea and 40,000 along the rest of the border Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow, said the build-up - which is being carriedo out in full view of cameras (above ) - is 'definitely' designed to test Joe Biden Videos from Rostov-on-Don, around 100 miles from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, show tanks (left) and support vehicles being moved closer to the border He said the current posturing in eastern Europe could easily spill over into all-out conflict if Russia decides to attack on the pretext of 'liberating' Russian-speakers in the east of the country who it considers citizens. 'If that happened the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian army would respond, I have no doubt that they would, and then you would have a war in Europe between two very formidable armies,' he said. In the meantime, Russia has resorted to attacking Ukrainian President Zelensky over the airwaves with state media painting him as the aggressor. A news report on Russia's Channel One likened Zelensky - a former actor - to Napoleon after digging up images of him playing the part in an old TV drama. The Ukrainian leader was dreaming of 'Napoleonic ambitions' by hoping NATO would come to his aid against Russia, the report said. But it was clear Zelensky was not evaluating himself 'sensibly'. Portraying Napoleon on screen 'is not the same as doing it,' the report added. Another report labelled the ex-TV comedian Zelensky a 'commander-in-chief comic', a 'president of war' who was 'inciting' conflict. Viewers were told that Ukraine with NATO support, rather than Russia, was building up military firepower close to Donetsk and Luhansk, which are controlled by pro-Moscow rebels following a civil war in 2014 that has led to more than 14,000 deaths. 'Never before has there been so much Nato military hardware in Ukraine,' claimed the report. It also highlighted alleged arrivals of US transport planes and Pentagon-leased cargo vessels in strategic Ukrainian port Odessa. These claims could not be immediately corroborated. Videos have also shown tanks, mobile artillery, howitzers, armoured personnel carriers and support vehicles being ferried to the front - many of which are being massed at a camp near the city of Voronezh, around 115 miles from the border. Mendel added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has requested talks with Putin over the troop buildup, but has not yet received a response. Zelenskiy will this week travel to Paris to discuss the rising tensions with European allies. Asked by BBC Radio 4 how concerned world leaders should be by the situation in Ukraine, Mr McFaul responded simply: 'Very.' Ukrainian troops practice with anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers as the government warns of the risk of Russian invasion A Russian 'peacekeeping' vehicle is seen on the move in Transnistria, in Moldova, along Ukraine's western flank While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has threatened 'consequences and costs' if Russia moves into Ukraine, Mr McFaul said his threat does not go far enough. He called on the White House should be explicit in spelling out what its retaliation would be if Russia attacked, in the hopes of changing the calculation Putin makes before giving the order. 'Sanctions almost never change Putin's behaviour post-facto, but they might change his calculations before he decides to make a move,' he said. He added that the G7 should also put out a statement condemning Russia's actions instead of forcing America to take its stand alone. Invited to speculate on why Putin is now making an issue out of a conflict that has been smouldering in eastern Ukraine for the past five years, Mr McFaul pointed to 'tough' things that Biden has said about the Russian president since taking office. Back in March, Biden called Putin 'a killer' while threatening to retaliate against Russian attempts to interfere in the 2020 election. The remark caused fury in Moscow, as Putin's spokesman called it 'unprecedented' and said it is clear that Biden 'does not want to improve relations with us, and we will continue to proceed from this'. Observers have also pointed to pressure mounting on Putin from within Russia as a reason for him to ratchet up simmering tensions. The president is facing slumping popularity in the polls, repeated leaks to the media about his closely-guarded private life, and serious opposition in the form of Alexei Navalny - the now-jailed critic who sparked mass protests back in January. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, of the Center for a New American Security, told Foreign Policy magazine that 'it feels like Putin is drumming up the besieged Russia narrative'. Amid the tensions, Russian media warned on Monday that the country is 'one step away from war' as anchors branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state and played footage of weapons being moved to the border. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (right) has called for talks with Putin (left) to try and resolve the tensions, but says Moscow has not responded so far Joe Biden raised tensions with Moscow by branding Putin a 'killer', with experts saying the troop movements are designed to 'test' the US president Moscow also unveiled a new video of its latest weaponry marking Day of the Air Defence Forces. More footage showed the first recent Russian military massing on Ukraine's western flank, with movements in Transnistria, a no-man's land controlled by Moscow that borders Moldova. Some carried 'peacekeeper' signs, normal for Moscow forces in the breakaway territory. It was not immediately clear where the forces were heading. Troops and equipment have also been on the move in annexed Crimea, along with the Russian regions of Pskov, Ryazan, Rostov-on-Don, and elsewhere. Images also emerged from Ukraine of forces doing drills with the Korsar (Corsar) light portable anti tank missile system. And reports say US military reconnaissance planes P-8A Poseidon and Lockheed EP-3E Orion have been spotted over the Black Sea close to Crimea during the weekend. It comes after Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, warned last week of the threat of a 'second Srebrenica' against Russian speakers in Ukraine - referencing a massacre of Muslims by Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. Deputy head of the presidential administration Dmitry Kozak warned that, if Russia finds reason to intervene in the conflict, then it would be the 'beginning of the end' for Ukraine. Military action would be 'not a shot in the leg, but in the face', he added. Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist movements in Donbass has already ramped up as tensions increase, Kiev says. On Sunday, fighting saw one Ukrainian soldier killed and another wounded by artillery fire. Ukraine says 27 soldiers have now been killed in the region this year, more than half the number who died in all of 2020. Chinas vaccines lack effectiveness, says leading health official WORLD: China is considering the mixing of different COVID-19 vaccines to improve the relatively low efficacy of its existing options, a top health expert has told a conference. ChineseCoronavirusCOVID-19deathhealthVaccine By AFP Monday 12 April 2021, 09:30AM Gao Fu, the head of the Chinas Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Photo: AFP. Authorities have to consider ways to solve the issue that efficacy rates of existing vaccines are not high, Chinese media outlet The Paper reported, citing Gao Fu, the head of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. His comments mark the first time a top Chinese expert has publicly alluded to the relatively low efficacy of the countrys vaccines, as China forges ahead in its mass vaccination campaign and exports its jabs around the world. China has administered around 161 million doses since vaccinations began last year - most people will require two shots - and aims to fully inoculate 40 percent of its 1.4 billion population by June. But many have been slow to sign up for jabs, with life largely back to normal within Chinas borders and domestic outbreaks under control. Gao has previously stressed the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is vaccination, and said in a recent state media interview that China aims to vaccinate 70% to 80% of its population between the end of this year and mid-2022. At the conference in Chengdu on Saturday, Gao added that an option to overcome the efficacy problem is to alternate the use of vaccine doses that tap different technologies. This is an option that health experts outside China are studying as well. Gao said experts should not ignore mRNA vaccines just because there are already several coronavirus jabs in the country, urging for further development, The Paper reported. Currently, none of Chinas jabs conditionally approved for the market are mRNA vaccines, but products that use the technology include those by US pharma giant Pfizer and German start-up BioNTech, as well as by Moderna. China has four conditionally approved vaccines, whose published efficacy rates remain behind rival jabs by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have 95% and 94% rates respectively. Chinas Sinovac previously said trials in Brazil showed around 50% efficacy in preventing infection and 80% efficacy in preventing cases requiring medical intervention. Sinopharms vaccines have efficacy rates of 79.34% and 72.51% respectively, while the overall efficacy for CanSinos stands at 65.28% after 28 days. [April 12, 2021] Itiviti's OEMS named Best Sell-Side Front Office Platform at WatersTechnology Awards 2021 LONDON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Itiviti, a leading trading technology and service provider to financial institutions worldwide, today announced that Itiviti's order and execution management system (OEMS) was named Best Sell-Side Front Office Platform at the WatersTechnology's Sell-Side Technology Awards 2021. Judged by a panel of industry experts from across the market, the highly valued Sell-Side Technology Awards are designed to acknowledge excellence in trading technology. "Itiviti's approach to trading technology innovation made it stand out from the competition this year-it really has taken things to the next level in 2021," said Victor Anderson, Global Content Director of WatersTechnology. "Itiviti's cross-asset OEMS functionality, increased market share and its continued investment in its solutions and people made it the clear winner in this highly competitive category." Itiviti's modular OEMS supports multi-asset class, global trading across both principal and agency trading operations. The recent integration of its cross-asset smart order router and agency platforms enables Itiviti users to leverage a full OEMS workflow, while using the SOR to optimize trading in its ever-changing liquidity platform. The integrated and enhanced OEMS also offers superior position and risk management and cross-asset middle office functionality. Itiviti constantly delivers innovative solutions and key technology initiatives, including cloud transformation of its entire electronic trading platform, which will provide an efficient and secure option for clients to extend their businesses across the globe. And with Imandra's newest AI technology integrated into Itiviti's FIX certification and onboarding solution, Itiviti clients immediately benefit from enhanced automated processes and significantly improved time-to-market. Linda Middleditch, Head of Product Strategy and Engineering of Itiviti, commented: "Thank you to the Sell-Side Technology Awards judging panel for this prestigious award. As a firm, we are unique in terms of our forward-looking approach to investment within the Itiviti Platform. During the recent challenging times, while others have cut back in this area, Itiviti has remained true to its path and continued to invest in innovative solutions that fundamentally improve the way our clients trade. This award is a testament to all our hard working talented Itiviti colleagues that continue to strive to deliver innovation daily to make sure we remain a positive disruptor within the capital markets. Added Middleditch: "Whether it is integrating AI into our technology to accelerate automation, creating seamless cross-product, cross-asset workflows to improve client experience or implementing a cloud transformation to provide greater flexibility for client deployment solutions, Itiviti remains the market leader for clients seeking workflow efficiencies and cost-effective solutions. For further information, please contact: Mireille Adebiyi, Chief Marketing Officer, Itiviti Group, Email: mireille.adebiyi@itiviti.com About Itiviti Itiviti provides nearly 2,000 financial institutions worldwide with flexible, cross-asset trading solutions that cover the full trade lifecycle. Through its commitment to technology innovation, relentless pursuit of workflow efficiency and an entrepreneurial culture, Itiviti is disrupting the industry with highly-scalable solutions that deliver unprecedented cost savings for clients. For more information, please visit www.itiviti.com. Follow Itiviti on social media on Twitter @Itiviti_AB, on Facebook @ItivitiAB, and on LinkedIn. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/itiviti-group-ab/r/itiviti-s-oems-named-best-sell-side-front-office-platform-at-waterstechnology-awards-2021,c3323425 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/13830/3323425/1400010.pdf Release View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/itivitis-oems-named-best-sell-side-front-office-platform-at-waterstechnology-awards-2021-301266569.html SOURCE Itiviti Group AB [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] BEIJING, Apr 12, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Since the reform and opening-up, more than 770 million of China's rural population living below the poverty line have been raised out of poverty, accounting for more than 70% of the global total over the same period by the World Bank's international poverty standard, a white paper on poverty alleviation reads.The white paper was released Tuesday morning by China's State Council Information Office.Against the backdrop of severe global poverty and a widening gap between the rich and the poor in some countries, China has won the battle against extreme poverty and achieved the poverty alleviation goal set on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.This has significantly reduced the world's poor population and contributed greatly to "realizing a better and more prosperous world," as envisioned by the Agenda.- International support and assistanceIn the early years after the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), China used to benefit from the support of the international community.By cooperating with the UN and the World Bank, the country accepted assistance from some developed countries and carried out cooperation projects in financial input, knowledge transfer, and technical assistance while learning from the advanced concepts and methods.Those efforts improved China's institutional innovation and management and laid a foundation for sustainable development in certain areas.- China's role in global poverty managementIn return, China has been providing support and assistance to the world. President Xi Jinping has announced on many major international occasions that China's practical measures for international development cooperation have been implemented on schedule or are progressing in an orderly manner.Firstly, China has supported other developing countries in poverty alleviation since the founding of the country.For instance, China has launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to expand deep and high-level regional cooperation on economic and social development and to help eligible countries better achieve poverty alleviation.According to a World Bank study, the initiative will help 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty in these countries.Over the past 70 years and more, China has provided assistance in various forms to over 160 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe, and international organizations, reduced or exempted the debts of eligible countries, and helped developing countries in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the paper says.Secondly, China has launched international poverty alleviation cooperation projects for the benefit of all. In Africa, China has helped countries build facilities including water conservancy infrastructure, vocational and technical schools, government-subsidized housing, set up demonstration zones for agricultural cooperation, and carried out China-Africa cooperation projects such as China-Africa friendship hospitals and the headquarters of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Thirdly, China has also shared its experience on poverty reduction. It has carried out exchanges and cooperation, including building platforms, organizing training, and conducting think tank exchanges.Together with UN agencies in China, the Chinese government has convened sessions of the Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.With the COVID-19 pandemic still spreading around the world, and poverty, hunger and disease undermining people's pursuit of a better life, China says it stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other countries on poverty reduction and make a greater contribution to building a global community of shared future that is free from poverty and blessed with common prosperity.Media contact:Xiaonan Ma, CGTNPhone: +86-10-85061422Email: cgtn@cgtn.comSource: https://tinyurl.com/wcrsay3vCopyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Now anyone can access and benefit from the short poems he has found to be so therapeutic and the soul-restoring messages he has gleaned from them. Dr. Rosenthal has compiled them in a new book, PoetryRx: How 50 Inspiring Poems Can Heal and Bring Joy to Your Life, complete with helpful takeaways and discussions of the circumstances under which they were written. (The book will be published next month by Gildan Media.) While we herald vaccines as potential saviors from the threat of a devastating virus, Dr. Rosenthal said, Poetry can serve as a vaccine for the soul. In a world that is so marred by loss and deprived of pleasure, he believes poetry can help fill in the gaps, offering a brief retreat from a troubled world and hope for a better future. For Margaret Shryer, a Minnesota great-grandmother, poetry has been like a good friend, a reliable source of inspiration and consolation that has helped her remain sane during the many Covid months mostly confined to her apartment in a senior residence. Poetry generally picks me up, she told me. Theres a nugget of truth in every poem, and I flip through them to find ones that resonate with me and will get me going. I read them aloud. Every time you go back to a poem, you read it with a different set of ears. To people who think they dont like poetry or understand it, I say What about lyrics? That song you love? Thats poetry. Some of the most moving poetry can be found in lyrics. I used to believe that poetry did not speak to me, but I now see how wrong I was. I lived for 44 years with a husband, a lyricist, whose beautifully crafted, heartfelt lyrics touched my every fiber and continue to uplift and inspire me a decade after his death. The special beauty of Dr. Rosenthals book for me is his discussion of what each poem is saying, what the poet was likely feeling and often how the poems helped him personally, as when he left his birth family in South Africa for a rewarding career in the United States. Southwest Airlines CEO and chairman Gary Kelly took in a record $9.2 million in salary, stock awards and other compensation in 2020, a year when the company lost $3.1 billion due to reduced flying during the COVID-19 outbreak. Kelly and other top executives all saw total compensation increases of 5% to 14% in 2020, according to regulatory filings released Friday. The pay hikes came as the airlines leaders promised to take pay cuts and stipulations from three rounds of government payroll support limited pay. Thats because most of the payouts were in stock awards issued in January 2020, two months before the COVID-19 pandemic would create the worst financial crisis in aviation industry history. Because CARES Act restrictions didnt kick in until March 2020, the stock grants for 2020 (awarded in January 2020) are not included in any CARES Act calculation, said Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz in a statement. These grants were made before any awareness of the potential impact of COVID. Southwest was the recipient of more than $6.7 billion in government grants and the airline even threatened at one point to furlough workers if union employees didnt agree to 10% wage cuts. Southwest promised not to furlough any employees after the second round of government stimulus was approved in December and said it wont make any wage or employee cuts in 2021, even though the company is still losing money. Kellys base pay and the base salary for the companys four other named executives did drop in 2020. Kellys base fell to $562,500 in 2020, down from $750,000 the prior year. But he also gained a $300,000 bonus, $7.1 million in stock awards and $1.25 million in other compensation. He and other leaders of the Dallas-based company agreed to take a 10% base pay cut in March and that increased to 20% in April. In November, Kelly agreed to forgo his base salary for the remainder of 2020. The CARES Act restricted airlines that took payroll relief from cutting workers, distributing dividends and buying back stock. It also cut executive compensation based on compensation from the year before. CEOs are still eligible for millions of dollars in compensation, but it was intended to prevent leaders from profiting from employee losses while the government paid more than $53 billion to bail out airlines. Most of those restrictions will show in next years compensation report, Mainz said. Southwests board of directors also drew up new compensation plans to incentivize executives to guide the company out of the pandemic downturn. Kellys compensation for 2020 was mostly based on the 2019 year, a trying year for Southwest after losing its Boeing 737 Max fleet for nine months. But the company still managed a $2.3 billion profit for the year, the 47th straight year of profitability. Profit-sharing also reached a record $667 million, giving the average employee about $11,000 in extra take-home pay in the form of a check sent out in March. Profit-sharing wont exist for rank-and-file employees for 2020 because of multibillion-dollar losses the airline incurred. Analysts dont expect Southwest or other airlines to make a profit until at least the third quarter of this year, lowering the prospects of a profit-sharing payout in 2022 as well. Median employee pay at Southwest didnt fare as well as the executive team. Compensation for the median employee dropped to $66,269 in 2020, down from more than $101,000 the year before. Thats because more than a quarter of the companys employees took voluntary leave for a big chunk of the year during the COVID-19 pandemic at a reduced pay rate. There were also fewer flying hours available for flight attendants and pilots and less overtime for workers on the ground. American Airlines hasnt yet released compensation figures for 2020 for CEO Doug Parker or other executives. That report is expected near the end of April. Kyle Arnold of The Dallas Morning News wrote this story. 2021 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Andrew Laming could be eligible to receive $105,000 - half his base salary - after he was axed from the party when harassment claims were made against him by multiple women Taxpayers could be forced to pay disgraced MP Andrew Laming $105,000 after he was axed from the Liberal party following harassment claims being made against him by multiple women. The Queensland MP, 54, has been disendorsed by the state's Liberal National Party after being accused of - and admitting to - harassing two female constituents. Dr Laming is also under investigation by the electoral commission over more than 30 Facebook pages operated without political authorisation disclosures. As the decision not to endorse Dr Laming is not related to misconduct, he is entitled under parliamentary rules to a 'resettlement allowance' worth six months of his annual salary. In his case, that figure would be $105,625 - half of his base salary of $211,250. He had given up his parliamentary committee positions - for which he was paid an extra amount - after the harassment stories went to air on Nine News in March. Whether the 54-year-old will actually be eligible for the payment though remains unclear. Mr Laming accused Alix Russo (left) of misappropriating funds at a homeless charity, while Sheena Hewlett (right) said she was forced to contact police after claiming Mr Laming hid in the bushes and took photos of her in a public park Dr Laming faced the LNP's Application Review Committee on Monday night after declining to withdraw his nomination for preselection for his safe seat of Bowman, which he has held for 17 years. 'The LNP's state executive has accepted the ARC's recommendation that Dr Laming not proceed as a candidate and has reopened nominations for the seat of Bowman,' a spokesperson told AAP. Earlier this month, Queensland Police confirmed no action would be taken over the accusation a woman complained he took an inappropriate photograph of her while she was bending over. 'Investigators, having considered the interviews and all other information considered as part of the investigation, have determined there is no evidence to indicate a criminal offence,' police said at the time. However, Dr Laming intends to rejoin the federal coalition party room when it next meets in Canberra and will remain in parliament until the next federal election, which must be held by July 2022. He had previously announced he would not recontest his seat but had not formally withdrawn his nomination. The Facebook pages under investigation include Redland Bay Bulletin, which has a similar name to local news site the Redland City Bulletin. Dr Laming is under investigation by the electoral commission over more than 30 Facebook pages operated without political authorisation disclosures The Facebook pages include Redland Bay Bulletin, which has a similar name to local news site the Redland City Bulletin Another is called the Redlands Institute, which describes itself as a forum for balanced discussion of major issues 'We welcome new families, update the issues and keep a close eye on politicians and their promises,' the Facebook page says. Another is called the Redlands Institute, which describes itself as a forum for balanced discussion of major issues. Guardian Australia reported Mr Laming was behind the pages, which attack political opponents with pro-LNP material. An Australian Electoral Commission spokesperson confirmed the Facebook activity would be investigated over the requirement for electoral authorisation designed to allow voters know who is communicating. Consumers Without Bank Accounts Face Ongoing Costs Why Are Some Avoiding Banks? A New Campaign to #GetBanked PNC, Others Offer Affordable Options Understand What Account Works Best for Where You Live, Work (TNS) Roughly 8.8 percent of households in metro Detroit haven't taken what financial experts call the first step toward economic inclusion.They don't have bank accounts. And it's costing them big money to cash checks and borrow money outside the traditional banking system.Need to cash your stimulus check? Call a local party store or check cashing store in metro Detroit and it could cost you around $60 to $100 just to cash a $1,400 stimulus check at some spots.The bigger the check, the more money you're handing over if the fee is based on a percentage of the check's dollar amount. Check cashing fees can be 6 percent or more in some local outlets. A $4,200 stimulus check for a family of three could trigger $252 in fees if the store has a 6 percent fee. Michigan does not have a law that limits or puts a cap on how much a business can charge you to cash a check.The problem doesn't disappear with what could be the final round of stimulus checks.The $1.9-trillion American Rescue Plan calls for sending the Child Tax Credit to families in periodic installments of $300 or $320 from July to December. The rest would be claimed as a credit on the 2021 tax return. Low- and middle-income families could receive $3,600 for children 5 and younger and $3,000 for those ages 6 to 17.The objective is to drastically cut child poverty.If someone doesn't have a bank account, though, they could be looking at check cashing fees. And paying sizable dollars to cash those checks defeats the purpose of that stimulus money, said David Rothstein, senior principal at the Cities for Empowerment Fund, which leads a Bank On initiative to expand affordable banking access."These are public dollars that are supposed to go toward fighting the COVID recession and child poverty," he said.The percentage of unbanked consumers in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn region is far higher than the 5.4 percent of U.S. households and the 5.7 percent of Michigan households that are classified as unbanked in the latest "How America Banks" 2019 survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The next survey will be fielded in June, with a report expected in 2022.The FDIC survey indicated that 13.8 percent of Black households were unbanked in 2019. Among Hispanic households, 12.2 percent were unbanked. That compares with 2.5 percent of White households.The top reasons given for not having a bank account include not having enough money to meet minimum balance requirements, not trusting banks, bank account fees are too high, and bank account fees are too unpredictable.The numbers of unbanked are expected to grow following the COVID-19 pandemic, given the rapid increase in the unemployment rate and the lingering loss of 8 million jobs across the country since the pandemic hit the U.S. more than a year ago.FDIC surveys show that those who are unemployed are four times more likely to fall into the unbanked category. They don't have direct deposit of a regular paycheck to qualify for some banking accounts. They may face financial challenges that trigger a string of unaffordable overdraft fees and a bank or credit union account could risk being closed.Millions of consumers including people of color aren't able to easily cash a check or visit an ATM because they're not customers of regular banks.In a positive twist, some options have opened up for those trying to save money when cashing a stimulus check.Chase Bank, for example, will cash stimulus checks with no fee for non-customers at all Chase branches.Kroger stores are offering free check cashing for government checks, including stimulus checks.But even so, not having access to a bank account where you might be able to pay bills online when offices or stores are closed hurt consumers during pandemic protocols."Both COVID and the recession that immediately followed really did exacerbate the challenges of being unbanked for families," Rothstein said."They were literally shut out of the economy and that was almost overnight."The FDIC has launched a #GetBanked promotion to help 7.1 million U.S. households without a bank account find an affordable option, such as a "checkless checking account" where you can use a debit card instead of writing checks. See www.fdic.gov/getbanked.One reason to "Get Banked," according to the FDIC: "When your money is direct-deposited into an FDIC-insured bank account, you get access to your money sooner than you would with a paper check. You can also save money by not having to pay check-cashing fees."In October, the American Bankers Association called on every bank in the country to consider offering "Bank On-certified accounts" to expand access to banking services and reduce the number of unbanked and underbanked Americans. More than 40 banks offer such accounts today. The minimum opening deposit could be $25 or less.The Bank On accounts charge small fees or no fees, have low monthly maintenance fees and no overdraft fees.A key feature for many financially challenged consumers is the fact that the Bank On accounts make it structurally impossible for you to overdraft and trigger those costly fees.Overdraft fees can be $30 or $35 a pop. And if you have four small checks that bounce at once, you could be looking at $140 in fees being triggered from one mishap."There are a lot of people paying hundreds of dollars in fees," Rothstein said.In Michigan, 10 financial institutions offer a Bank On account to consumers here, including Bank of America, Troy-based Flagstar Bank, Detroit-based First Independence Bank, PNC, KeyBank, Chase and others.PNC announced in late March that it now has two certified Bank On products to offer consumers Foundation Checking and the PNC SmartAccess Prepaid Visa Card.Cathy Niederberger, PNCs director of Community Development Banking, told the Free Press that the products can help many people who are looking for what she calls a controlled environment when it comes to possible fees or overdrafts.The goal is to provide banking options for customers who may not have had access to traditional checking or savings accounts.Some consumers might not be eligible for a traditional banking account because they bounced too many checks in the past or they have too many unpaid bank fees.Or some college-age consumers might want a product where they cannot overdraw from their checking accounts, Niederberger said.In order for Foundation Checking to qualify for its Bank On certification, PNC reduced the monthly fee on that product from $7 to $5 and eliminated the overdraft fee, which was $36.The $5 monthly service charge associated with Foundation Checking is waived for customers aged 62 or older."We call it a second-chance checking account," Niederberger said.The Foundation Checking account includes a money management course that that is available on mobile devices. The account also offers low-balance alerts.PNC Bank said it is the first bank to offer two products that meet the Cities for Financial Empowerment Funds Bank On national certification."Our goal with SmartAccess and Foundation Checking is to help customers enter the banking system and to remain in it," said Bonnie Wikert, head of PNCs Retail Segments and Deposits, in a statement.The SmartAccess Prepaid Visa Card allows direct deposits of your paycheck or government benefits but it does not include a checking account. The prepaid card includes a mobile app, access to online banking, low-balance alerts, no overdraft fees and no fees for cashiers checks. Fee-free cash withdrawals are allowed if the money is taken out at a PNC-operated ATM.The SmartAccess card offers consumers a way to get their tax refund directly deposited onto that card, too.SmartAccess also has a $5-a-month fee and some other fees, such as a $2-a-month fee if you wanted a paper statement sent to you each month. (The monthly fee is waived for primary cardholders who are employed by PNC.)While the SmartAccess card and Foundation Checking are available within most PNC markets, individuals should check with their local branch or servicing center for more information.Consumers should research the online services and fees associated with the different Bank On products, as well as where ATMs are located, whether near their jobs or homes.Again, many options exist atFirst Independence Bank has a Bank On-certified First Choice Checking Account for someone establishing their first checking account or needing a second chance.The First Independence First Choice account does not offer paper checks but instead enables customers to use free online banking, including features for making mobile deposits and paying bills. The account includes a Mastercard/ATM Debit card.There's a $3 monthly maintenance fee. Customers would pay an additional $2 a month if paper statements are requested.Troy-based Flagstar Bank offers a Bank On-certified SimplyOne account with a $5 monthly service fee and no minimum balance. The account can be opened with as little as $1.The checkless-checking account has a free debit card and offers free online banking services. Customers would pay a $1 fee for each money order.Online and mobile access are provided so customers can check balances, view transactions, pay bills and transfer funds between Flagstar accounts. You cannot take a photo of a check to deposit it into this type of account, which is the case with many types of second chance accounts.Deposits can be made in a branch, at an ATM, and via direct deposit."SimplyOne is available to anyone. However, it was designed for people who may have had trouble qualifying for, or managing, a standard checking account," said Susan Bergesen, corporate communications specialist at Flagstar Bank."If someone applies for a checking account and doesnt meet the meet the minimum qualifications for a standard account, and they have no record of fraudulent or forcibly closed accounts, we will offer them a SimplyOne account," she said.Bank of America has an Advantage SafeBalance Banking account, which is a certified Bank On product. It is viewed as a checkless banking option.The Advantage SafeBalance account has a monthly fee of $4.95 but charges no overdraft or non-sufficient fund fees. But there is no monthly maintenance fee for eligible students under 24 years old and members of Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program."It is a very popular account for students and allows for sole ownership for clients 16 and older," said Donald Vecchiarello Jr., senior vice president of media relations at Bank of America.Advantage SafeBalance Banking, which was launched in 2014, has more than 2.5 million clients.No minimum deposit or balance is required. Consumers can pay bills online, via the mobile apps and by using the debit card.The Discover Bank Cashback Debit Checking Account is an online checking account with a debit card and it has no monthly fees.Cashback Debit has no minimum balance requirement. In addition, the Discover card offers 1 percent cashback on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month, such as when you're buying groceries or spending elsewhere. Some transactions, such as a purchase made through PayPal, may not qualify.The applicant must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien or other U.S. person, at least 18 years old, and have a valid tax ID number and U.S. address. Discover may obtain information from consumer reporting agencies to help Discover determine if it will open the account for an applicant.Consumers can sign up from anywhere digitally. The 60,000+ ATM network for no-fee transactions includes the Allpoint and MoneyPass networks.Financial empowerment advocates note that without a bank account, paper checks need to be cashed in person and that can continue to be challenging for many during the pandemic.The ability to avoid outrageous check cashing fees alone makes the idea of getting banked and discovering the right, affordable account for you all that more appealing. A video of a California high school teacher scolding her students in a Zoom class was shared by a parent online. According to a Fox News report, the teacher was berating her students in a loud voice due to the parents' collective push for school reopening and ending the remote learning. It can be remembered that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines for safely reopening schools. The agency emphasized that if a school can abide by their safety protocols or guidelines like implementing layered prevention against COVID-19 and considering the community transmission. READ NEXT: California Doctors Call for Schools Reopening in February California Teacher Recorded The teacher recorded in the Zoom call was identified as Alissa Piro, a San Marcos High School teacher. Alissa Piro seemed to be referencing an ongoing lawsuit from a coalition of parents against California Governor Gavin Newsom and six North Country school districts working to ease COVID-19 restrictions to return to in-person learning. Many parents also wanted their children to return to physical classrooms, but local unions noted that doing so would account for judicial overreach. The video was reportedly filmed by a student's family member and posted to a private Facebook group that pushes to reopen the schools in their district. Reopen California Schools, a movement geared towards the full reopening of schools in the state also posted the video on its Twitter account. Newly released video of a @SanMarcosUSD HS teacher going off on students and their parents over distance learning and other issues. Originally posted to FB. Apparently this is a common occurrence. pic.twitter.com/pjEN80kLNh Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) April 12, 2021 The group noted that teachers berating students over a Zoom call is a "common occurrence." A mother of Piro's student, who filmed the video, reported the incident to the school principal several weeks ago. However, the issue was unaddressed. The principal was identified as Adam Dawson. "These rants were so often my child said," said the parent who shared the video. The parent pointed out that if the school district shrugs off the issue, then "they [school district] are just as responsible." The video stirred different opinions from netizens. A Twitter user described the incident as outrageous but shared the same sympathy, noting that their daughter's teacher also reprimanded the whole class over Zoom. Another user simply asked does Piro was supposed to be teaching when she was scolding her students. What is she supposed to be teaching here? Wallingsworth (@Sarah132132132) April 12, 2021 California Teacher Scolding her Students Apart from Piro's retaliation about school reopening, the California teacher also addressed the issue of parents questioning her as a teacher. "Just dare them to come at me," said Piro challenging the parents of her students who are questioning her skills in distance learning and addressing the needs of her students as an individual. Alissa Piro also emphasized that she is tired of parents educating teachers "how to do their job." "I have never once gone into a doctor's appointment and try to tell my medical health provider how to treat me. You know why? Because I know nothing about that," Piro said in the recorded video. Fox News noted that the mother, who brought the videos to the school principal's attention, described the teacher as a bully. The mother added that she felt awful for not standing up for Piro's students sooner. The mother who recorded the Zoom call of the California teacher said it took her three months before sharing it on social media. She noted that she decided to share it when she saw her behavior "was continuing this term." READ MORE: California Legislature Granted Authoritative Approval on Budget Plan for In-Person Learning WATCH: President of California Federation of Teachers on schools reopening - From ABC News US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday warned an "increasingly aggressive" China not to attempt to change the status quo around Taiwan, saying to do so would be a "serious mistake." "What we've seen, and what is of real concern to us, is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the (Taiwan) Straits," Blinken told NBC's "Meet the Press." He added that the United States has a long-standing commitment to Taiwan "to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself, and to make sure that we're sustaining peace and security in the Western Pacific." Blinken would not be drawn on whether Washington would respond militarily to any Chinese action involving Taiwan. But he added: "All I can tell you is it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force." The United States has been concerned for some time about the buildup of Chinese forces in the region, including aggressive actions in the region's oceans and military overflights in skies near Taiwan. Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, is considered by Beijing a territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. (AFP) BOSTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- See the power of a rock avalanche. It is a reminder of potential energy. In Switzerland monster trucks carry ore down from mountainside quarries, the regenerative braking creating almost enough energy to get the empty truck back up again. In an open-pit mine of the future, monster trucks carrying ore round and up the sides could be battery-electric: the trucks go down empty, but 30 minutes of regenerative braking saves tens of kWh of electricity that would otherwise be needed at a charging station, reducing truck availability. See the IDTechEx report, "Electric Vehicles in Construction, Agriculture and Mining 2020-2030". It includes forestry, a sector that innovates with electric vehicles using supercapacitors providing huge surges of energy to rip trees out of the ground. Could they next capture the energy of the tree falling? See the IDTechEx report, "Supercapacitor Markets, Technology Roadmap, Opportunities 2021-2041". Construction, Agriculture and Mining Electric Vehicles Market is expected to reach $149 billion is 2030 (PRNewsfoto/IDTechEx) The latest forestry example is carrying trees down from the mountains of Canada. Tesla Semi electric trucks are going to power a log-hauling pilot program in Canada that is aspiring to be the first zero-emission log trucking operation. Mosaic Forest Management, a timberlands management company based on Vancouver Island, explains the need to electrify logging operations. The British Columbia forest sector already plays a significant role in addressing climate change. The working forest captures carbon as it grows, and wood products keep that carbon locked up for decades. New trees are planted and the renewable cycle repeats. However, forestry operations generate tailpipe emissions, including from log trucks. Extended braking of a conventional truck is dirty and expensive. Electrifying the fleet is a particularly good approach in British Columbia where over 90% of power in the Province is generated from clean hydroelectric sources. Mosaic says that there is currently no log truck that can handle the conditions in which they work on Vancouver Island where the logs are carried downhill involving excessive braking for long periods of time. Domenico Ianndinardo, Mosaic's vice-president and chief forester, notes that the Tesla Semi pilot program will be a first for the logging industry. "To our knowledge, there's no one in the world hauling logs with fully electric trucks in the mountainous terrain that we have here, so this would be a global first for fully electrified full log haul trucks," he said to CHEK News. If the pilot program proves successful, Mosaic would electrify its fleet of 300 logging trucks as part of its efforts to become carbon neutral by 2035. Ianndinardo noted that electric trucks like the Tesla Semi are actually an excellent fit for the logging industry, especially in Vancouver Island, where much of the timber is located in higher elevations. This means that a significant part of the energy consumed by the trucks when they go up to the mountains could be replenished as they travel back, thanks to regenerative braking. "As they come down the hill loaded, they're able to regenerate energy and put that back into their batteries so in this cycle going up the hill empty and coming down the hill loaded they can generate their own battery supply on a daily basis," the Mosaic Forest Management executive said. Mosaic Forest Management is announcing its partnership with local Vancouver Island service provider, EcoWest Driven, to introduce several Tesla semi-trucks into log hauling. As previously stated, there are currently no commercially available electric log truck solutions appropriate for the terrain on Vancouver Island. For the modest top-up, EcoWest Driven is going to build a charging station with 45 commercial chargers and a service garage at their Angel Road property in Parksville. Although some companies are developing fuel cell alternatives to the Tesla Semi, they have more to go wrong, need expensive hydrogen infrastructure, and have limited capability for extended regenerative braking. Raghu Das, CEO of analysts IDTechEx advises, "The market for downhill trucks for mountainside forestry and mining runs to thousands. Battery electric has no rival here. Indeed, the same idea applies with huge load-haul-dump trucks in Canadian deep mines that sometimes have to take ore downhill returning empty. Canada commissioned the world's first unmanned deep mine last year thanks to electrification. You can even see the same principle in successful trials of descending battery-electric aircraft reversing their propellers to generate electricity and regenerative braking of aircraft on landing. Whether land, sea, or air, battery electric vehicles are winning for a host of reasons like these, their range and payback being improved in many ways not so feasible with alternatives. Snapshot appraisals of today's situation can be misleading. We calculate many routes to battery electric vehicles with 1000 miles range even on the flat." For more see the IDTechEx reports, "Electric Vehicles and Robotics in Mining 2020-2030" and "Electric Vehicles: Land, Sea and Air 2021-2041". For the full portfolio of Electric Vehicle research available from IDTechEx please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research/EV. About IDTechEx IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Subscription and Consultancy products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.IDTechEx.com. Images download: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lrx3o4prxas7xb2/AABjpjYODf6Q3JCiv2wdS3Cka?dl=0 Media Contact: Natalie Moreton Digital Marketing Manager [email protected] +44(0)1223 812300 Social Media Links: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/IDTechEx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idtechex/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IDTechExResearch Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485794/IDTechEx_CAM_EV.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/478371/IDTechEx_Logo.jpg SOURCE IDTechEx The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. The visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to Istanbul is important for the development of a strategic partnership between the two states, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has said. "It is very important that the visit takes place in the context of Russia's aggravation of the situation in Donbas and Crimea. This is another opportunity to make sure we are on the same page with Turkey's strategic partners and to discuss possible Turkey's support in counteracting Russian aggression because Turkey is a steadfast partner and friend of Ukraine, Kuleba said in a commentary to Ukrinform. Speaking about countering Russian aggression, in particular the development of relations between Ukraine and Turkey, the minister stressed that the strategic partnership between the two countries is not directed against other countries. "Russia does not benefit from the strategic partnership between Ukraine and Turkey, so of course they are trying to get involved in it. The strategic partnership between our countries is not directed against anyone. Its goal is the prosperity of our peoples, Ukrainians and Turks," Kuleba said. As reported by Ukrinform, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was on an official visit to Turkey on Saturday, April 10. The ninth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council between Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey took place under the chairmanship of the two presidents. A joint declaration was signed following the meeting. iy More than 500 men and women from 37 countries have made the brave journey to space and new badge will honor and unite this group of spacefaring heroes. A Universal Astronaut Insignia is to be presented astronauts who have flown into space, regardless of nation, and includes passengers of space tourism. There are suborbital and orbital variants with the ascending and descending chevrons crowned with a five-point star to symbolize the round-trip flight, and one has a circle for orbital missions. The insignia pulls inspiration from the one given to Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 after becoming the first human to venture out into space. Scroll down for video There are suborbital and orbital variants with the ascending and descending chevrons crowed with a five-point start to symbolize the round-trip flight, and one has a circle for orbital missions Today marks the 60th anniversary of Gagarin's journey and space agencies and governments around the world are celebrating the International Day of Human Space Flight in his honor. On April 12, 1961 the 27-year-old Gagarin climbed in his Vostok 1 capsule, ready for the 108 minute flight, shouting 'Poyekhali!' - 'Off we go!' - as the rockets fired. Upon his return, Gagarin was awarded a small, military style insignia, depicting a satellite and spacecraft in orbit over Earth. It was given to every Soviet cosmonaut that followed in his path until 1991, Collect Space reports. The insignia pulls inspiration from the one (pictured) given to Yuri Gagarin (pictured) on April 12, 1961 after becoming the first human to venture out into space. Upon his return, Gagarin was awarded a small, military style insignia, depicting a satellite and spacecraft in orbit over Earth single insignia for all astronauts from every nation. The pin was a first awarded to Alan Shepard and Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, the first Americans in space, and were shown with the US Navy's and Air Force's wings The US began a similar award program in December 1961, but never has there been a single insignia for all astronauts from every nation. The pin was a first awarded to Alan Shepard and Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, the first Americans in space, and were shown with the US Navy's and Air Force's wings. The center included a five-point star with three trailing rays passing through a halo. The badge, designed by the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), will be offered to 'anyone who is verified as having flowing into space,' Andy Turnage, executive director of ASE, told Collect Space. This also includes future passengers who pay to fly into space, as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and Axiom Space are in the works of launching space tourism services. 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 first Universal Astronaut Insignia is already in space, attached to the lapel of Soichi Noguchi, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut, who launched to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket last November. The first Universal Astronaut Insignia is already in space, attached to the lapel of Soichi Noguchi (pictured), a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut, who launched to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket last November. 'Now, therefore, it is resolved that all space travelers shall be eligible to display a Universal Astronaut Insignia and receive an individual placement of entry to space upon certification of spaceflight by a recognized launch provider,' Noguchi said in a video of him reciting the ASE's resolution establishing the new pin. Noguchi and other members of the ASE leadership have received their own pins, but the one that he has with him on board the space station has been reserved for a special recipient. 'The pin he has with him in space the first flown pin will be presented to the family of Yuri Gagarin,' said Turnage who notes it is to honor Gagarin who died at the age of in a 1968 jet crash. A Louth man who spent 14 months in prison for IRA membership has had his conviction declared a miscarriage of justice after the Special Criminal court agreed there was a "grave defect" in the administration of justice brought about "by agents of the State". The non-jury court today, Monday, found that Garda Assistant Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan, who gave evidence of his belief that Michael Connolly (47) was an IRA member, had made "an unqualified assertion" during the trial that none of the material he viewed that formed the basis of his belief was in the Book of Evidence against the accused man. The Special Criminal Court described this assertion as "seriously incomplete and misleading". Evidence of the belief of a garda not below the rank of Chief Superintendent that an accused is a member of the IRA is routinely used in membership trials and privilege can be claimed on the material underlying the belief. In order to convict, the court needs to be satisfied that the belief evidence is supported by some other evidence that implicates the accused. Asst Comm O'Sullivan gave evidence suggesting that he had formed his belief relying on the entirety of materials contained in an intelligence file without any knowledge of what was contained in the Book of Evidence. In cross-examination in the original trial, he told Mr Connolly's defence counsel that he had not seen the Book of Evidence but was satisfied from the material that he viewed that none of it was in the Book of Evidence. In a subsequent re-trial of Mr Connolly, the three judges of the Special Criminal Court examined the intelligence file and ordered the disclosure of two relevant extracts. One of these summarised the movements or activities of the applicant on December 16, 2014: the date of the alleged offence. The court found there was no evidence that Asst Comm O'Sullivan made his assertion in the knowledge that it was misleading and there could not be any such evidence, as he had no knowledge of what was in the Book of Evidence. However, the three judge panel said they were satisfied that it was "careless" of the garda officer to make the relevant assertion without "being aware at least of the general nature of the alleged independent supporting evidence disclosed" in the Book of Evidence and because he knew or ought to have known December 16 was a date of relevance to matters contained in the Book of Evidence. Mr Connolly was previously granted leave to seek compensation from the State and last month his lawyers argued that he had suffered a "classic case of miscarriage of justice". In a retrial in 2019, Mr Connolly was acquitted of IRA membership after the non-jury Special Criminal Court found it could not rely on the belief evidence given by Gda Asst Comm O'Sullivan as being independent from the investigation. The court found beyond a reasonable doubt that Asst Comm O'Sullivan honestly and genuinely believed the accused was an IRA member and that the prosecution's evidence tended to implicate the accused in the transportation of two explosive devices. However, the evidence caused the non-jury court to have a reasonable doubt as to whether the garda officer had impermissibly double counted the relevant evidence in arriving at his belief. In June 2018, the Court of Appeal had set aside the applicant's conviction and ordered a retrial, having found that the trial court had failed to properly exercise its discretion in refusing a defence request to examine the intelligence file upon which the belief evidence of the member of An Garda Siochana was based. This was in circumstances where the Court of Appeal accepted that the belief evidence given by the senior garda officer had contributed "in a significant manner" to the guilty verdict and conviction of the applicant. Mr Connolly (47) of Grange Drive in Dundalk, County Louth, had pleaded not (NOT) guilty to membership of an unlawful organisation, styling itself Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the Irish Republican Army, otherwise the IRA on December 16, 2014. It was the prosecutions case that Mr Connolly was observed by Gardai driving in convoy with another man, who was then found with two improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In a judgement returned electronically today (MONDAY), presiding judge Mr Justice Paul Coffey said the requirement that belief evidence be supported by independent evidence that is "wholly extrinsic" to the matters relied upon by the relevant officer in forming their belief had become known as "the rule against double counting". It is an important safeguard which the Special Criminal Court must strictly uphold to counterbalance the use of belief evidence, he pointed out. The judge said the application for a miscarriage of justice by the applicant was grounded on the newly discovered fact that it was reasonably possible that the senior garda officer's belief was based in whole or in part on the very same facts as were being offered by the prosecution for its independent support. Mr Justice Coffey said the non-jury court was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt as to the existence of a body of circumstantial evidence which tended to implicate the applicant in the transportation of two improvised explosive devices for a criminal purpose on December 16, 2014. "This is not a case where the newly discovered fact establishes that the applicant was innocent of the crime alleged," he said. However, Mr Justice Coffey said the Special Criminal Court was satisfied that senior counsel for the applicant, Hugh Hartnett SC, had made out that there had been a "grave defect" in the administration of justice, brought about "by agents of the State". It is clear that the garda officer made "an unqualified assertion" in the trial that none of the material that he "viewed" or that he had "seen" was in the Book of Evidence, said the judge. Mr Justice Coffey said the non-jury court found that the assertion made by the garda officer was "seriously incomplete and misleading" in that it conveyed to the original court of trial that his belief was based only on matters that were "wholly extrinsic" to those contained in the Book of Evidence. The three judges were satisfied that it was "careless" of the garda officer to make the relevant assertion without "being aware at least of the general nature of the alleged independent supporting evidence disclosed" in the Book of Evidence, which the prosecution proposed to rely on, he said. In summary, Mr Justice Coffey said the way in which the senior garda officer gave his evidence "greatly contributed" to the issue of double counting not becoming a live issue in the original trial as it ought to have been. "We are further of the view that if the issue of double counting had been considered in the light of all the evidence that is now available, it is probable that the original court would have considered itself compelled, as did this Court, to acquit the applicant," he concluded. Mr Justice Coffey, sitting with Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain and Judge James Faughnan, said they were satisfied that there was a "grave defect" in the administration of justice in the trial that resulted in the conviction and sentencing of Mr Connolly and approved the certificate for the miscarriage of justice application. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. President Joe Biden speaks in Pittsburgh on March 31, 2021, as he unveils his $2 trillion infrastructure plan. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) Biden Administration Officials Sued by Arizona AG Over Immigration Executive Orders The office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is filing a lawsuit against White House and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials over allegedly harmful immigration orders and is now asking a court to void President Joe Bidens executive actions to halt the construction of the border wall and reverse the Trump administrations Remain in Mexico policy. Brnovich is arguing in court (pdf) that those orders have violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies like the DHS to weigh environmental considerations before taking any significant federal action. The DHS and federal officials didnt provide environmental impact statements or environmental assessments after the agency stopped construction of the U.S.Mexico border wall and started permitting entry to illegal immigrants after ending the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the Remain in Mexico policy, which were started under the Trump administration, according to Brnovichs office. Its the pinnacle of hypocrisy for the Biden Administration to claim it wants to protect our environment, while not enforcing federal statutes that are specifically designed for that purpose, the Republican attorney general said in a statement April 12. Were not going to sit idly by as the Biden Administration ignores real harms to our state resulting from its heavy-handed executive orders. Biden halted construction of the border wall on his first day in office. Days later, he ordered the DHS to stop the policy. Although those immigration policies undeniably have significant effects on the environment, Defendants have not even attempted to comply with NEPA, Brnovich said. A loader grades land near a section of privately-built border wall under construction near Mission, Texas, on Dec. 11, 2019. (John Moore/Getty Images) The office said that thousands of illegal immigrants have settled in Arizona after crossing the U.S.Mexico border, and wouldnt have done so if the wall was still being constructed and the Remain in Mexico policy was still in effect. Migrants, like everyone else, need housing, infrastructure, hospitals, and schools. They drive cars, purchase goods, and use public parks and other facilities. All of these activities have significant environmental impacts, including displacement of undeveloped lands and additional air emissions. But although courts have repeatedly recognized that these impacts must be analyzed under NEPA, DHS has never even attempted to do so, his news release stated. It noted that after construction stopped, machinery has been standing idle in parts of Arizona. The Epoch Times has contacted DHS for comment about the lawsuit. Biden, in halting the construction of the Trump-era wall, described the barrier as wasteful spending. It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security, the text of the order claims. In late March, however, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed reports that its investigating Bidens move to freeze border wall construction and whether it violated the Constitutions provision that only Congress can allocate funds. About $1.4 billion was approved for the walls construction by Congress as part of a $900 billion stimulus package passed late last year. About 450 miles of the border wall was constructed during President Donald Trumps tenure and was a signature campaign promise of Trump during his 2016 bid for the White House. Sarkissian also asked Armenias Constitutional Court to rule on the legality of the package of amendments to several laws giving more powers to a state body that nominates judges and can sanction or fire them. The amendments passed by the parliament late last month would empower the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to intervene in trials by changing judges presiding over them or evaluating their fairness. They would also limit the number of petitions that can be filed by lawyers during court hearings. In addition, citizens would be allowed to file complaints to the SJC against judges dealing with their cases. Pro-government lawmakers said during a parliament debate on the bill that it is meant to strengthen due process of law. Opposition parliamentarians claimed the opposite, saying that the authorities are seeking more leverage against judges not willing to execute their orders. Some judges and legal experts have also expressed concern about the bill, saying that it is at odds with articles of the Armenian constitution which define the SJCs mission. Sarkissian likewise suggested that the bill is unconstitutional when he announced on Monday his decision not to sign it into law and to appeal to the Constitutional Court. In a statement, Sarkissians office said the amendments are contentious in terms of their conformity with constitutional provisions on separation of powers and independence of the Armenian courts. The president made the decision after holding a series of meetings with Justice Minister Rustam Badasian, senior lawmakers, members of the SJC, lawyers and civil society members. Taron Simonian, a senior member of the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK), also questioned the constitutionality of the amendments to the Judicial Code and related laws. In a sense, the Supreme Judicial Council is a court for the courts, Simonian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. But it is not supposed to discuss substantive issues such as conclusions drawn by a judge during the examination of a particular case because the constitution guarantees the independence of the judges. Simonian said judicial independence would also be jeopardized by an amendment that allows the SJC to take disciplinary action against district court judges whose rulings are overturned by the Court of Appeals. But Vladimir Vartanian, the pro-government chairman of the parliament committee on legal affairs and one of the bills authors, continued to defend the measure. He argued that the additional powers would be given not to the government or the parliament but the independent judicial body. Some critics of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian have linked the bill to his administrations alleged efforts to gain control over the SJC and ultimately the judicial branch. The SJC chairman, Ruben Vartazarian, faced a barrage of strong criticism from lawmakers representing Pashinians My Step bloc during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly in early March. They accused Vartazarian of effectively siding with the Armenian opposition and encouraging courts to hand down anti-government rulings. Vartazarian insisted that he never issued any politically motivated orders to courts. In recent months, Armenian judges have refused to allow law-enforcement authorities to arrest dozens of opposition leaders and members as well as other anti-government activists. Virtually all of those individuals are prosecuted in connection with street protests sparked by the Pashinian administrations handling of the autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinian charged in December that the Armenian judiciary has become part of a pseudo-elite trying to topple him after the disastrous war. The parliaments pro-government majority installed two new members of the SJC in January. It denied opposition claims that Pashinian expects them to help increase government influence on courts. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) The government would be ready to reimpose stricter quarantine measures in Metro Manila and other provinces if the need arises, an adviser to the COVID-19 national task force stressed on Monday. Dr. Ted Herbosa told CNN Philippines The Source that the decision to shift the NCR Plus Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna to a more relaxed modified enhanced community quarantine is not fixed. Like in any disaster or chaos, you are ready to actually move back to a stricter ECQ, Herbosa said. Remember, modified ECQ is still an ECQ. Its still an ECQ, we just modify it with lesser restrictions. The NCR Plus will ease to MECQ until April 30, Malacanang announced on Sunday. The provinces of Quirino and Abra, and Santiago City in Isabela were also placed under the same form of lockdown. READ: MECQ guidelines: What we know so far The following areas were meanwhile placed under general community quarantine: Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Batangas, Quezon, Tacloban City, Iligan City, Davao City, and Lanao del Sur. The rest of the country will be under the modified GCQ. Asked about the basis of the decision, Herbosa said the Inter-Agency Task Force made a balancing act and considered data from both angles of the health and economic sectors. When I looked at the minutes of that discussion, I saw the data being presented by our losses in terms of economics, Herbosa noted. But I also saw that the health sector was also gaining in terms of what needed to be done. Herbosa particularly cited the reopening of more isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients in the NCR Plus. He said the government has ramped up healthcare capacity in the bubble, with more than 3,000 additional beds for patients. He added that while theres also room for improvement in the countrys current COVID-19 testing capacity, the government also ramped up this protocol by purchasing antigen tests, which the Health Department said can be used as a stand-alone test in areas with outbreaks. RELATED: First batch of gov't procured antigen test kits arrives in PH Coronavirus infections in the Philippines reached 864,868 on Sunday, with the DOH logging 11,681 new cases. Of the total tally, 146,519 or 16.9% are active cases. Jay Leno has been a mainstay on television for nearly four decades. The stand-up comedians start as a late-night TV host on NBCs The Tonight Show sparked significant controversy in the early 1990s, and the real-life drama even spawned the movie The Late Shift. Leno recently found himself in the negative spotlight again. This time, it came on the heels of a 15-year-long campaign by anti-racist advocates, with the comedian finally apologizing for a significant history of racist jokes that critics say contribute to the ongoing violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Jay Leno | Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Jay Leno first appeared on TV in the 1970s RELATED: Jay Lenos Wildest Guest Set Fire to The Tonight Show Set and Got Fined $3,880: It Was a Joke Gone Bad After honing his stand-up comedy routine in local nightclubs, Leno moved from his native New York to California to try and get a career started in television. One of his earliest TV appearances was a 1976 episode of Good Times, an NBC show that he also wrote for. He wrote for the television show Good Times alongside fellow future late-nighter David Letterman, explains Biography. Leno made his first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1977. [] In 1987, he signed a deal with NBC that made him one of two permanent guest hosts of The Tonight Show, a position he soon claimed solely for himself. Leno officially replaced Johnny Carson as the host of the late-night talk show in the early 90s, beating out Letterman. It was a bitter Hollywood feud that saw Letterman leave NBC to start his own competing show on CBS in the exact same time slot. [Lenos] victory was well-publicized but empty, notes IMDb, which points out that Leno consistently lost in the ratings to Letterman except on special occasions. Despite Lenos iteration of The Tonight Show being increasingly ignored by viewers, the comedian still found ways to trigger controversy and end up in the media headlines. Leno has been the target of a 15-year campaign to stop anti-Asian racism RELATED: Jay Leno Says Goodbye to The Tonight Show: Whats Next? In 2015, Leno sat down with fellow TV host Seth Meyers and complained about liberal, progressive college students. College kids now are so politically correct, he tells Meyers in the interview, which is archived on YouTube. You have no idea what racism is! Leno then made a joke about one of his grandfathers who was Italian, only ate Italian food, and was shocked when people ate outside of their ethnic cuisine. Like he would say, Oh my God! A Chinese guy with a hot dog, look at that!, quipped the comedian. The irony is that Leno has faced criticism for his own jokes about Americans of Asian descent, and accusations that he himself didnt recognize his implicit racism. The majority of Lenos old jokes perpetuated stereotypes about Asian communities consuming dog meat, reports Variety, which explains that Leno has been the focus of a nearly 15-year campaign from the activist group Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) for his anti-Asian jokes. In the spring of 2021, as Asian Americans have been hit by a surge of violent hate crimes, Leno finally apologized for his racist history. Leno recently apologized for his anti-Asian jokes RELATED: Sandra Oh Speaks Out at Stop Asian Hate Rally in Pittsburgh After renewed criticism, Leno issued an apology in March 2021. He explained that traditionally, comedians like him chose to either change their jokes or to tell people, screw em if they cant take a joke. Too many times I sided with the latter even when in my heart I knew it was wrong, says Leno. He adds that he used to think that his anti-Asian jokes were genuinely harmless. I am issuing this apology, explains the talk show host. I do not consider this particular case to be another example of cancel culture but a legitimate wrong that was done on my part. MANAA has been very gracious in accepting my apology. I hope that the Asian American community will be able to accept it as well, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future. Leno walks back his racist history as Asians face increasing violence, including a racist shooting spring in Atlanta, Georgia. The situation in the U.S. is one facet of a global increase in anti-Asian attacks, reports Time. For many, the pandemic has only amplified longstanding and violent racism toward Asian people. The serious and potentially lethal side effects have been pinned to sky high levels of antibodies, yet the exact mechanism that triggers the condition remains unknown. Nevertheless, the study is said to have repercussions for Norway's decision whether to continue inoculation with the AstraZeneca vaccine. A study by the Oslo University Hospital has indicated a connection between AstraZeneca's vaccine against COVID-19 and severe blood clots, low platelet counts and haemorrhaging, which previously led to the vaccine being put on hold in dozens of countries. The study is peer-reviewed and was published Friday in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study also indicated that the vaccine-induced platelet deficiency in blood clots may be more frequent than that found in previous studies examining its safety. Within 10 days of vaccination, the Oslo University Hospital received five, initially healthy, people with very high levels of antibodies against platelets, which is believed to be the direct reason for the strong immune response. Three of these five are now dead, while two have fully recovered, chief physician at the department of blood diseases Pal Andre Holme explained to national broadcaster NRK. Four of the five patients were women aged 32 to 54 years. One week after vaccination, they experienced headaches, abdominal pain and back pain before becoming seriously ill, chief physician Nina Haagenrud Schultz and the main author of the study, explained. The researchers were unable to find any common denominators among the five patients other than the vaccine. Chief physician Ingvild Srvoll at the research group at the University of Northern Norway compared the side effects to a known condition when antibodies are formed against a drug called Heparin. However, these patients had not received heparin. So then we thought that it could be a subgroup of a autoimmune Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, Srvold said. We found a sky-high level of antibodies. These antibodies burst the scale in our laboratory. And when we look in the literature, such antibodies have never been described in the wake of a vaccination before, Srvoll added. Holme described the findings as extremely serious. These are fatal side effects, so it can't get any more serious. However, he didn't voice his opinion on whether the vaccine should best be kept in the Norwegian inoculation programme or avoided. I have great confidence that the National Institute of Public Health and the Norwegian Medicines Agency will make those assessments, Holme said. Steinar Madsen, the medical director at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, called the study very important, adding that it provided a basis for further research and will have an impact when Norway decides whether it will resume vaccination with AstraZeneca or not. This was confirmed by the National Institute of Public Health (FHI) director Camilla Stoltenberg, the sister of the former Norwegian Prime Minister and present-day NATO Secretary General. This study is important, because it uses data found in Norwegian cases of this rare, possible side effect. So it gives a good description, and is a very important study in our foundation, Stoltenberg said. The AstraZeneca vaccine has been deployed against COVID-19 in at least 115 countries. As of now, European regulators have received reports of over 220 cases of the rare blood-clotting problem in the European Economic Area and the UK combined. With about 34 million recipients in those countries this yields a rate of incidence of about one in 100,000. Still, several of those countries have limited the use of the AstraZeneca shot to older people or stopped using it altogether despite assurance from medical watchdogs that its benefits outweigh the potential risks. (SPUTNIK) Mathura : , April 12 (IANS) Devotees will now have to register online from Tuesday before they are allowed to enter the famous Bankey Bihari temple in Vrindavan for 'darshan'. These has been done in view of the huge rush at the temple and the prevailing pandemic conditions. Munish Sharma, the manager of the temple, said: "The step has been taken in the interest of devotees considering the rapid increase in the number of Corona virus cases in the second wave." He said that it was becoming extremely difficult for the temple management to ensure the implementation of Covid-19 norms owing to the heavy rush of devotees at the temple. Now, 2,000 visitors would be allowed inside the temple in a day and the devotees may use an online link for prior registration. A limited number of devotees would be allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum at any given time and nobody would be allowed to stay in for more than two-three minutes. Apart from this, the devotees would be allowed entry and exit only through designated gates. The temple management has also advised devotees not to bring children or elderly people, without specifying the age limits. The Mathura district administration has already imposed a night curfew with immediate effect. District magistrate Navneet Singh Chahal said that the curfew will be in place from 9 pm to 6 am every day, till further orders. People associated with essential services, panchayat elections, large-scale construction work, essential commodities, petrol pumps, CNG stations, goods and luggage carriers will be exempted from the curfew. Also, employees associated with sanitation have been exempted. The wholesale trade in mandis and factories have also been exempted from night curfew, the district magistrate said. Mathura reported 171 Covid-19 cases on Sunday. No Covid-19 death has been reported in the last 24 hours. Protesters gather for a Black Lives Matter rally on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Huntington Beach, CA. Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Last week, residents in Huntington Beach received flyers promoting a "White Lives Matter" rally. On Sunday, hundreds of counter-protesters arrived to confront the rally. Demonstrators clashed with each other and police, prompting an unlawful assembly to be declared. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Police declared an unlawful assembly near the popular pier in Huntington Beach, California, on Sunday after opposing demonstrations took place. Hundreds of people arrived to counter-protest what was promoted as a "White Lives Matter" rally, but the counter-protesters appeared to make up the majority of demonstrators, the local ABC 7 station reported. People in attendance included Black Lives Matter supporters, supporters of former President Donald Trump, and people displaying support for white supremacist groups, the Los Angeles Times reported. At least six people were arrested on charges related to sound ordinances, interfering with police, and weapons violations, the local NBC 4 station reported. Videos shared on social media captured confrontations between both police and protesters and between different protest groups. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Photos also showed signs and shirts with various messages, including "Black Lives Matter" and "All Lives Matter," as well as pro-Trump and anti-Klan displays. An Evangelical Christian Donald Trump supporter carries flags at the site of a "White Lives Matter" rally on April 11, 2021 in Huntington Beach, California. David McNew/Getty Images Last week local residents discovered pamphlets advertising a "White Lives Matter" rally distributed on their doorsteps alongside propaganda for the Ku Klux Klan. One flier featuring the Klan's emblem said "White Lives Do Matter" and "say no to cultural genocide," the Times reported. News of the planned white lives matter rally spread quickly on social media, with other groups making plans to counter-protest the event, including Black Lives Matter Huntington Beach. On Sunday, dozens of counter-protesters arrived at the pier ahead of the rally, which was scheduled for 1 p.m. By 2:30 p.m. police had declared an unlawful assembly. Story continues The planned white lives matter rally was one of several scheduled for Sunday in dozens of cities, NBC's Brandy Zadrozny reported. Despite being touted by organizers as rallies that would make "the whole world tremble," very few people actually showed up, NBC reported. Like Huntington Beach, planned rallies in North Carolina, Philadelphia, and New Mexico also drew counter-protesters. Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com. Read the original article on Insider Shortly after the Election Commission on Monday barred Chief Minister and boss Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours, her party claimed that the poll panel was behaving like a "wing of the BJP" and its decision smacks of authoritarianism. Derek O'Brien, the ruling party's Rajya Sabha MP, said it was a black day for India's democracy. "EC stands for Extremely Compromised. April 12 BLACK DAY in our democracy," O'Brien tweeted. "Always knew we were winning Bengal," he added. Echoing him, another party leader, Kunal Ghosh, said the decision to ban Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours is "atrocious and smacks of authoritarianism". "The EC is behaving like a wing of the BJP. The ban is atrocious and smacks of authoritarianism. The sole aim of the EC is to stop Banerjee from campaigning as the BJP has already sensed defeat. This shameful," he stated. The poll panel's order came after Banerjee's remarks against central forces and her statement which had alleged religious overtones. "Commission hereby condemns such statements potent with serious law and order problems across the state(s) and sternly warns Mamata Banerjee and advises her to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when Model Code of Conduct is in force," the order said. LAKE FOREST, Ill., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tenneco (NYSE: TEN) will report its first quarter 2021 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, May 6, 2021 and host a webcast conference call the same day at 9:30 a.m. ET. The purpose of the call is to discuss the Company's financial results for the first quarter 2021, as well as to provide other information regarding the company's outlook. A live "listen only" webcast and presentation materials will be available on the investor section of the company's website at https://investors.tenneco.com. An archive of the webcast will be available approximately one hour after conclusion of the call for one year. Telephone participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call using the following link: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10154604/e68fe5b068 Callers who pre-register will be given a conference passcode and unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time. Those without internet access or unable to pre-register may dial in, using the passcode "Tenneco Inc." PARTICIPANT DIAL IN (TOLL FREE): 1-833-366-1121 PARTICIPANT INTERNATIONAL DIAL IN: 1-412-902-6733 About Tenneco Tenneco is one of the world's leading designers, manufacturers and marketers of automotive products for original equipment and aftermarket customers, with full year 2020 revenues of $15.4 billion and approximately 73,000 team members working at more than 270 sites worldwide. Through our four business groups, Motorparts, Ride Performance, Clean Air and Powertrain, Tenneco is driving advancements in global mobility by delivering technology solutions for diversified global markets, including light vehicle, commercial truck, off-highway, industrial, motorsport and the aftermarket. Investors and others should note that Tenneco routinely posts important information on its website and considers the Investor section, www.investors.tenneco.com, a channel of distribution. Visit www.tenneco.com to learn more. Investor inquiries: Linae Golla 847-482-5162 [email protected] Rich Kwas 248-849-1340 [email protected] Media inquiries: Bill Dawson 847-482-5807 [email protected] SOURCE Tenneco Inc. Prince Philip had died at age 99, just a few months shy of his 100th birthday. Many family members and fans are paying tribute to the longest reigning consort. Prince Harry, who has returned to the U.K. from his new home in California to attend his grandfathers funeral, has had his own touching tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh. Now, Chris Jackson, a long-time royal photographer, has shared a vintage photograph of the late prince and contrasted it with a recent photo of Prince Harry. Royal fans will be stunned to see just how much the two men look alike. Prince Harry and Prince Philip | Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images How did Prince Philip feel about Megxit? Known for saying exactly what was on his mind, Prince Philip remained close with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex until the end. Royal correspondent Duncan Larcombe told Harpers Bazaar, What Ive observedmainly with Prince William and Prince Harry is the relationship between grandparent and child is a very different one to the relationship between father and son or daughter. Philip is the epitome of stiff upper liphe is never photographed crying or showing emotion publicly. But his relationship with the boys is much warmer. However, Prince Philip disagreed with Megxit. Prince Philip has found it hard to understand exactly what it was that made his grandsons life so unbearable, royal biographer Ingrid Seward wrote in her book Prince Philip Revealed. As far as Philip was concerned, Harry and Meghan had everything going for them: a beautiful home, a healthy son, and a unique opportunity to make a global impact with their charity work. Prince Harry, who is currently in the U.K. at Frogmore Cottage ahead of Saturdays funeral, has written a tribute to grandfather Prince Philip on behalf of him and his family: pic.twitter.com/9jYEMyf7ur Omid Scobie (@scobie) April 12, 2021 Prince Harry just paid tribute to Prince Philip For the first time since March 2020, Prince Harry has arrived in London. In a recent Late Late Show with James Cordon episode, the prince spoke about keeping in touch with his grandparents despite Megxit and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He quipped that Prince Philip never knew how to hang up a video call. Instead, he would simply slam his laptop shut. Now, Prince Harry has paid tribute to his late grandfather on his Archwell Foundation website. He wrote, He will be remembered as the longest-reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince, and a Duke. But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right til the end. I was reminded of this incredible vintage @ParisMatch magazine from 1957 I acquired a few years ago earlier today A bearded and uniformed Prince Philip looking fantastically suave on the cover pic.twitter.com/lUHiO0ZxKX Chris Jackson (@ChrisJack_Getty) April 11, 2021 RELATED: Prince Philip Has Some Intense Thoughts About Prince Harry Giving up His Royal Life, Book Claims Prince Harry looks exactly like a young Prince Philip in this photo Despite any difference they may have had, its clear that Prince Harry and Prince Philip remained close to the very end. Now, longtime royal photographer Chris Jackson has shared a photo of Prince Philip from 1957, that looks exactly like Prince Harry today. I spotted this beautiful 1957 vintage cover of a @parismatch_magazine whilst visiting our wedding venue in France a couple of years ago Who does it remind you of!?, Jackson asked on Instagram. Jackson also included a photo of Prince Harry from his royal tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga in the Autumn of 2018 with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. From the red beards to the white uniforms the men look exactly the same. Now we know where all that red hair comes from. Inland Chinese province ramps up herbal medicine industry Xinhua) 17:03, April 12, 2021 LANZHOU, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Gansu Province has made herbal medicine development a pillar industry to stimulate the local economy. The provincial government has set the goal of realizing 66 billion yuan (about 10 billion U.S. dollars) in the output value of the whole industrial chain of Chinese herbal medicines by 2023, according to a promotional event held over the weekend. As a traditional growing area of Chinese herbal medicines such as Angelica sinensis and Codonopsis pilosula, Gansu has 310,000 hectares of herbal plantation area with the output in 2019 amounting to 1.3 million tonnes and the output value chalking up 44 billion yuan. The city of Dingxi in Gansu is one of the driest and least-developed areas of western China and was declared "uninhabitable" for humans by visiting UN experts in the 1980s. People living here had long been mired in poverty until last year, when the city was among the last batch of impoverished areas in Gansu removed from the poverty list. Drought-resistant farming such as herbal medicine and potato cultivation has contributed greatly to the local economy. Minxian County of Dingxi is known as the "hometown of Angelica sinensis in China," where 50 percent of its cultivated land is used to grow the herbal medicine yielding profits accounting for 60 percent of the net income of farmers in the county. Looking into the future, the provincial government has planned to cultivate the development of the industrial chain of herbal medicines. It hopes to nurture 76 leading enterprises by 2023. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) Manila, April 12 : The Philippines and the US will start their annual joint military exercise dubbed the "Balikatan" on Monday, the army chief in Manila said. This year's exercise is a "scaled-down version" of the previous drills due to the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic, Xinhua news agency reported. Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said this year's drills will only involve 1,700 troops -- 700 from the US and 1,000 from the Southeast Asian nation. "Some portions of the exercises will be virtual, but we also have minimal physical contact. There will also be actual field training exercises but not as big as those done in the previous years," he said. Sobejana said the two-week joint military drills will officially open on Monday at the AFP's main headquarters in the capital. Unlike in previous opening ceremonies, he said Monday's event will be closed to the public and the media as part of the safety precautions due to the pandemic. The rest of the drills will also be closed for coverage. "Balikatan", a Tagalog phrase for "shoulder-to-shoulder", is the most comprehensive among several regular US-Philippines joint military exercises. By SA Commercial Prop News Cape Town is embracing an exciting new trend in international and domestic travel, driving demand for modern, lifestyle property developments in the city centre which offer an array of flexible facilities. The Mother City is embracing an exciting new trend in international and domestic travel, driving demand for modern, lifestyle property developments in the city centre which offer an array of flexible facilities. Earlier this year, the City of Cape Town launched its Digital Nomad Initiative, an exciting new development that aims to attract remote workers from South Africa and abroad. It is no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has severely curtailed travel, yet such is the lure of sought-after global destinations that even amid the crisis, exciting new trends have emerged. One of the most significant developments is the adaptation of the work-from-home concept to exotic locations at home and abroad. According to the travel publication Travel + Leisure, several countries around the world are now making it easier for remote workers to become temporary residents. The appeal of the trend is that it allows employees to enjoy the marvels of a foreign land while still performing their professional duties, and from the host nations perspective, this attracts invaluable tourism capital at a time when it is most needed. It is little surprise that Cape Town, with its breathtaking mountain ranges, idyllic ocean views and a worldclass array of outdoor activities like surfing, mountain climbing, wine tasting, kite surfing, and shark cage diving, was in January named among the Best Cities for Remote Working on travel website Big 7 Travels 50 Best Places for Remote Working in 2021. The Mother City has long been favoured by domestic and international workers, especially younger people seeking an African adventure that caters to a higher sense of wellbeing and stimulates their personal creativity. Companies around the world have recognised that the ability to offer a remote work option is key to their growth and sustainability. Professionals like accountants, lawyers, techsperts and accountants are these days highly self-disciplined and self-sufficient, and businesses accordingly are adapting operations to offer employees opportunities for a healthy work-life balance. In Colorado in the USA, ski lodge owners allow employees to take to the slopes during their lunch hours and on weekends. This provides a great incentive for workers to follow their passion while still carrying out their professional duties. Closer to home, many from Gauteng and other South African provinces are relocating to Cape Town in a trend known as semigration. While semigration to the jewel of the Western Cape is not new, remote work has made it that much more appealing. City of Cape Town municipal bosses and economic agencies have been quick to recognise the massive potential of remote working to tourism, and in the past few months have upped the ante to get the word out to both the international and domestic markets that the metro is open for business. The intention of the City and Cape Town Tourisms Digital Nomad Initiative is to attract remote workers, but to bolster their efforts, they are also lobbying the South African government to introduce a Remote Working Visa. According to the Citys mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management, James Vos, it is essential that the local travel and hospitality sector adapts given the devastation wrought by Covid-19. The remote worker home away from home concept is ideal in this regard. The remote working visa option is sure to gain momentum in South Africa, and has already proved effective in other countries around the world. The US state of Hawaii, for example, has launched a remote work programme that offers free round-trip tickets to Honolulu to the first 50 people accepted, in addition to special discounts on accommodation. In northern Europe, the Republic of Estonia last year became the first in the European Union to offer a Digital Nomad Visa, which allows workers to live and work in the country for up to a year. Germany has also got in on the act. Its freiberufler visa targets freelancers, and while the visa only lasts for three months, it has the potential to be converted into a residency permit. Given the rising trend for remote work, mixed-use developments will become highly-prized commodities, something that is already being reflected in Cape Town property trends. Within the space of only a year, The Harri, a 48-unit apartment block and mixed-use property development in Cape Towns East City Precinct, has sold most of its units. Considering that property sales plummeted by up to 70% a month during last years hard lockdown, it is a remarkable achievement. We kept on selling through lockdown, says Jeff Kleu, co-developer with Steven Lampert, of property development company Sepia and Silk. Vos says South Africas exchange rate goes a long way towards making Cape Town an affordable luxury destination for international workers (without displacing local jobs) for up to 90 days as permitted by South African immigration regulations. Current visa free countries include some of South Africas key source markets such as Germany, UK, France, the US and more. According to Cape Towns Central City Improvement District (CCID), Harrington Street has been at the heart of much of the East Citys miraculous revival in recent years, which previously was a gritty industrial-commercial area. Major developments have included the upgrading of the Cape Town City Hall at a cost of R27-million, The Old Granary at R31-million, the purchase of NICRO head office on Harrington Street by a European company, Groupe SOS, for R30-million, and the opening last year of a R75-million five-star boutique hotel on Church Square. Katey Sagal's 'Rebel' Pilot Is a Mess, But Possesses the Right Ingredients for a Rock-Solid Drama By Dustin Rowles | TV | April 10, 2021 | The Rebel pilot is so packed with exposition and character introductions that it barely has a chance to tell its story, but once it establishes its world and settles into a groove, theres decent potential here for a rock-solid drama for fans of Erin Brockovich and Shonda Rhimes adjacent dramas. Loosely based on the life of Brockovich (shes an exec producer, but its not officially based on her because someone else owns her life rights or something), Katey Sagal plays Annie Rebel Bello, who is not a lawyer (she hates lawyers) but who is loud. Those who have seen the Julia Roberts movie know that Brockovich is an activist/advocate who fights for the voiceless, the downtrodden, and groups of people who can bring multimillion dollar class-action lawsuits, which is where her boss, Cruz (Andy Garcia) comes in. Hes the powerful but reluctant attorney who argues the lawsuits (hes basically the Edward Masry role, portrayed by Albert Finney in the film). Were this a series about Rebel and her boss, the case of the week (about a faulty medical device) might have gotten more play in the pilot, but there are a whole lot of family members to introduce here, each of whom will fill a necessary role for a legal drama of this ilk. Rebel has three kids with three different husbands, so here we go: Rebels first husband is a cop (Matthew Glave) good for making convenient arrests and their son Nate (Kevin Zegers) is a gynecologist, good for medical advice; Rebels second husband, Benji (James Lesure) is a corporate lawyer, and their kid, Cassidy (Lex Scott Davis), is a do-good attorney who is thinking about selling out and working for her Dad; Benjis sister, Lana (Tamala Jones) is also Rebels best friend, who fills the investigator role; and husband number three is Grady (John Corbett), and their adopted daughter Ziggy (Ariela Barer) is fresh out of rehab. For once, however, Corbett doesnt play the ideal partner. In fact, hes a sh*thead, and divorce is a strong possibility. In fact, Rebel is close with all of her exes and her kids, but Grady appears to be the only one in the family on the outside. Its a lot to cram into 42 minutes, but creator and showrunner Krista Vernoff a Shondaland veteran keeps it from getting too bogged down. Theres a delicate balance here between introducing the premise and all the characters while still keeping the episode entertaining, and Vernoff with a heavy assist from Sagal pulls it off. Sagal is the rare actor who can be both brassy and likable, and here I think embodies Erin Brockovich better than did Julia Roberts, who was great in the role (she won an Oscar!), but couldnt completely escape the fact that she was Julia Roberts. Likewise, the series is not going to be able to escape its broadcast network trappings, but thats not necessarily a bad thing for fans of a show like Scandal (in its early seasons), who also appreciate the case-of-the-week comforts of a procedural and a rock-solid cast. The pilot is far from perfect, but it introduces all the ingredients to create a successful, long-running drama once it settles into its weekly format. This Week's 'Manifest' is Hysterically Bad | Carey Mulligan Hosts 'SNL' with Marcus Mumford, Lesbian Period Drama and IBS Medicine Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. Header Image Source: ABC FORT DODGE, Iowa Murder charges have been dismissed against one defendant in a Webster County double homicide. Two counts of second-degree murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felony against Darryll Jones, 23 of Fort Dodge, have been dropped after prosecutors said they no longer believed the charges could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt a trial. Jones was one of five men accused of shooting to death Jamael Cox and Tyrone Cunningham, whose bodies were discovered on June 16, 2020 in Fort Dodge. Murder charges remain in place against: Michael James Wells of Fort Dodge Trial set to begin June 29. Michael Shivers of Eagle Grove Trial scheduled to start on October 29. James Davis Jr. of Fort Dodge Trial to begin on November 16. Jeremiha Hatten of Fort Dodge Trial to start on April 27. Shivers, Davis, and Wells have also been charged with being felons in possession of firearms The partner of a young Slovakian woman critically injured in a horror boat explosion has recalled the chilling moment it all went horribly wrong. Mirka Tothova was celebrating her 30th birthday with ten others on board a boat on Easter Sunday when the vessel exploded into flames on the Hawkesbury River Marina near Brooklyn, north of Sydney. The shop manager from Sydney's eastern suburbs suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body and was one of four rushed to hospital in a critical condition. Ms Tothova remains in the intensive burns unit at Royal North Shore Hospital where she will undergo skin grafts. Her partner of four years Joseph Kwon, 33, was standing on the pontoon pushing the boat off after refuelling when the vessel suddenly exploded. He recalled the horrifying moment of seeing his girlfriend covered in flames. Mirka Tothova (pictured) suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body in the horrific explosion Ale Osr (pictured) remains intensive care eight days after the explosion on Easter Sunday - suffering burns to 60 per cent of her body Mirka Tothova's partner Joseph Kwon was standing on the pontoon when the boat erupted into flames (pictured) 'It's like we were in a terrorist attack, one minute it was calm, the next it was mayhem,' Mr Kwon told the Daily Telegraph. 'Mirka's hair and clothes were on fire, I was patting them out with my hands.' Mr Kwon described his girlfriend as a fighter after she moved to Australia to start a new life. 'She moved here five years ago, so it's hard when she has no family here we've pretty much only got each other,' Mr Kwon said. The couple had been celebrating two birthdays and a farewell with friends Mr Kwon had known since primary school when disaster struck. A two-year-old toddler had been on the deck moments before the boat exploded. 'You never expect something like this to happen,' Mr Kwon told 7news.com.au. 'One moment you're enjoying life, the next it's a horrific scenario.' Friends have rallied around Mirka Tothova (left) and Ale Osr (right) to raise funds for their medical costs as both are non-Australian citizens and can't access Medicare Ale Osr from Mexico also suffered severe burns to 60 per cent of her body after the boat exploded north of Sydney on Easter Sunday Mirka Tothova from Slovakia was celebrating her 30th birthday at the time the boat caught fire at the Hawkesbury River Marina in Brooklyn Friends are desperately trying to raise funds to cover their medical expenses for Ms Tothova and another critically injured woman Ale Osr from Mexico, who suffered severe burns to 60 per cent of her body. GoFundMe pages has been set up to raise funds for both Ms Osr and Ms Tothova as they cannot claim Medicare to fund their growing medical costs. Mr Kwon has acknowledged the public support and plans to spend part of the funds raised for Ms Tothova towards flying her family out to Australia. 'Mirka is currently in the intensive burns unit undergoing skin grafting surgery and multiple other painful treatments,' a friend wrote on the page set up for Ms Tothova. Ms Tothova is currently in intensive care at Royal North Shore Hospital after suffering burns to her hands, arms, legs and torso The boat exploded when the skipper turned on the ignition, the force knocking those on the stern to the ground 'Roughly every three days she needs to have her wounds cleaned to remove the dead tissue so she does not get an infection. This is an extremely painful process which causes extreme fever after every procedure.' 'Mirka is loved by her friends and the local community which she gives so much to, and those that are close to her know how funny she is with her unconventional humour,' the friend added 'Mirka is on a bridging visa with no insurance and at this time we don't know exactly how much the financial burden will be for her long term rehabilitation, loss of income, rent, bills and cost for bringing her family to Australia. Meanwhile, Ms Osr remains in intensive care. Friends revealed Ms Osr requires surgery every second day and needs multiple skin grafts as she faces months of rehabilitation. 'There is no timeframe currently on how long she will be in ICU for, as she is still in a critical condition,' a friend wrote online. 'Ale requires surgery roughly every two days to remove dead skin and tissue, and to clean her wounds. To do this, they need to put her under general anaesthetic as it would be too painful if she were awake. Ale Osr (left) and Mirka Tothova (right) were among four people rushed to hospital in a critical condition Joseph Kwon (right) described his partner Mirka (left) as a fighter This photo of the friends was taken on the boat an hour before the explosion on Easter Sunday 'She will require multiple skin grafts to help heal large areas that have been burnt and extensive surgery and rehabilitation over the next few months.' The friend said Ms Osr was working at a long day care centre at Gladesville 'where the families, children and educators all absolutely love and adore her'. 'Ale is known for her bubbly personality and infectious smile that has the ability to brighten anyone's day,' the friend said. As Ms Osr was in Australia on an international student visa she was not covered by Medicare. 'We are unsure at this time how much her student medical insurance will cover, however we do know that her medical expenses will be significant and may not be entirely covered,' a friends of Ms Osr wrote. 'On top of this, her loss of income, rent, bringing her family to Australia, rehabilitation, and so on, all add extreme financial pressure, something that we would like to support Ale with as much as we can.' Emergency services rushed to the scene where they found a total of eight people injured and the boat engulfed in flames NSW Ambulance inspector David Morris said the explosion was the most catastrophic he had seen. 'It's one of the worst incidents I've seen in my 15-year career in ambulance, and thankfully we had all the other emergency services here to help us out,' Morris told media after the incident. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. President Joe Biden met with a group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers Monday to push for his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal while the White House highlighted the needs that would be addressed by the legislation. In New Jersey, for example, there are 502 deficient bridges and 3,995 miles of highways rated in poor condition, according to a White House fact sheet. More than 20% of trains and other transit vehicles have exceeded their useful life. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., who attended the meeting as chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure railroads subcommittee, said the president emphasized his desire to make a deal with Republicans, even if it means scaling back the size of the package somewhat or finding another way to pay for it other than increasing the corporate income tax. Hes really trying to negotiate with Republicans, Payne, D-10th Dist., said after the meeting. Based on the meting, the president was much more flexible than I was. But Payne said he didnt want to see the size of the package shrink too much. I believe the American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-lifetime generational opportunity, Payne said. As for Biden, hes wiling to look at a bit of smaller package but hes really trying to get folks to understand what this means to the nation. From D.C. to Trenton to your town, the N.J. Politics newsletter brings the news right to your inbox. Sign up with your email here: Senate Budget Committee Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Monday that he was still moving ahead with efforts to allow Democrats to pass the infrastructure bill by majority vote without having to worry about a Senate Republican filibuster. This country faces an enormous crisis, Sanders told reporters at the Capitol, according to pool reports. I think the American people are not staying up nights worrying about the process, they want results. To my mind, weve got to look at all possible approaches and get it done. But the most important thing is get it done. Payne said he used his time at the meeting to push Biden to require the Federal Railroad Administration to establish a program for disadvantaged business enterprises, small businesses owned by women or minorities. And he said he pressed Biden on Gateway, the new train tunnel under the Hudson River to allow the existing tubes to be closed to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. He is focused on supporting the Gateway project and understands how important it is, Payne said. He reminded me he was one of the first people to help get money for that project. How the funding will be parceled out to the states and localities will depend on Congress, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a Zoom conference call with Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council. Some of the money could rely on existing formulas for distributing federal aid and some via grants directed toward specific projects, and some possibly through new programs. We have no shortage of necessary projects, Buttigieg said. And Buttigieg defended the broad range of spending in the bill, not only on roads and bridges but railroads, high-speed internet, buildings, charging stations for electric cars, and lead-free water pipes. The greatest infrastructure investments in American history, from the Erie Canal to the transcontinental railway to the interstate highway system, partly were great because they challenged the country to expand its definition of infrastructure from what prevailed in the past. The plan calls for expanding clean energy sources, such as offshore wind. More than 57,000 New Jerseyans now work in clean energy industries. And there is $45 billion to remove lead pipes from every water system in the country. Payne said he recalled returning from a trip to Flint, Michigan, to discuss the lead crisis there only face a lead contamination in Newarks water as well. We talked about water infrastructure and how important it is to have clean water, Payne said. Thats a point Buttigieg made as well. I would argue that youre not free at all if you cant take for granted that youre going to be able to get a glass of clean, safe drinking water out of the tap that wont poison your family or threaten your childrens future, he said. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant. Start your day with the latest from Trenton, D.C. and your town. Get the N.J. Politics newsletter now. NORTHWOOD, Iowa A guilty plea is entered in a near head-on collision with a Worth County sheriffs deputy. Derek Christensen, 34 of Kensett, has entered a guilty plea to one count of eluding for the August 30, 2020, incident. Authorities say deputies were responding to a domestic abuse call when they saw Christensen heading toward them at a high rate of speed. Court documents state there was nearly a collision at Killdeer and 410th Street, then Christensen drove through a yard and struck a patrol car at Killdeer and 430th Street. His sentencing is scheduled for May 24. English French MONTREAL, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Goodfood Market Corp. (Goodfood or the Company) (TSX: FOOD), a leading online grocery company in Canada, announced today that Greg Christopher will be joining its management team as Executive Vice President of Operations effective today April 12, 2021. We are very excited to welcome Greg as Goodfoods EVP of Operations. He brings with him a wealth of experience, business leadership and entrepreneurship acquired through various roles from great companies such as Nestle. These unique assets will help strengthen the core competency and competitive advantages that Goodfood is building across its operations, said Neil Cuggy, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Gregs achievements over a career spanning four decades will strengthen Goodfoods edge and defensibility across the value chain and his customer-focused operational leadership is a perfect fit with our core value of putting our members at the centre of everything we do, concluded Mr. Cuggy. Greg has nearly 35 years of experience in defining and executing ambitious operational roadmaps while building and leading high performing teams. He most recently was a Principal at Bridgeview Business Consulting, where he provided end-to-end business consulting and advisory roles for executives to drive strategic plans, continuous improvement, digitization, and operations talent assessments. Greg also spent 30 years at Nestle S.A. in various roles culminating in his 7 years as Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Operations and Market Continuous Improvement, before joining Tilray where he was an Executive Vice President, reporting to the CEO and responsible for all aspects of operations. At Goodfood, Greg will be in charge of the day-to-day and growth of operations across all facilities, supply chain and sourcing, continuous improvement, and food safety, and will report to the President and Chief Operating Officer. Goodfood offers a unique, innovative and visionary opportunity to conveniently deliver groceries and meal solutions purchased online to Canadians everywhere. I am looking forward to the exciting journey of building a world-class value chain and operational footprint, and rolling out an impressive plan of automated and tech-enabled centralized production facilities and local fulfilment centres that meet the needs of our rapidly growing customer base, said Greg Christopher. ABOUT GOODFOOD Goodfood (TSX:FOOD) is a leading online grocery company in Canada, delivering fresh meal solutions and grocery items that make it easy for members from across Canada to enjoy delicious meals at home every day. Goodfoods vision is to be in every kitchen every day by enabling members to complete their grocery shopping and meal planning in minutes. Goodfood members have access to a unique selection of online products as well as exclusive pricing made possible by its world class direct-to-consumer infrastructure and technology that eliminate food waste and costly retail overhead. The Companys main production facility and administrative offices are based in Montreal, Quebec, with five additional production facilities located in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. A seventh production facility located in the province of Ontario is currently under construction. As at February 28, 2021, Goodfood had 319,000 active subscribers. www.makegoodfood.ca For further information: Investors and Media Rania Lawandi Interim Chief Financial Officer (855) 515-5191 IR@makegoodfood.ca Roslane Aouameur Senior Director, FP&A and Investor Relations (855) 515-5191 IR@makegoodfood.ca FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to our objectives and the strategies to achieve these objectives, as well as information with respect to our beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. This forward-looking information is identified by the use of terms and phrases such as may, would, should, could, expect, intend, estimate, anticipate, plan, foresee, believe, and continue, as well as the negative of these terms and similar terminology, including references to assumptions, although not all forward-looking information contains these terms and phrases. Forward-looking information is provided for the purposes of assisting the reader in understanding the Company and its business, operations, prospects and risks at a point in time in the context of historical and possible future developments and therefore the reader is cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information is based upon a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those that are disclosed in, or implied by, such forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risk factors which are discussed in greater detail under Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Information Form for the year ended August 31, 2020 available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com: limited operating history, negative operating cash flow, food industry, quality control and health concerns, regulatory compliance, regulation of the industry, public safety issues, product recalls, damage to Goodfoods reputation, transportation disruptions, product liability, ownership and protection of intellectual property, evolving industry, unionization activities, reliance on management, factors which may prevent realization of growth targets, competition, availability and quality of raw materials, environmental and employee health and safety regulations, online security breaches and disruption, reliance on data centers, open source license compliance, future capital requirements, operating risk and insurance coverage, management of growth, limited number of products, conflicts of interest, litigation, catastrophic events, risks associated with payments from customers and third parties, being accused of infringing intellectual property rights of others and, climate change and environmental risks. Although the forward-looking information contained herein is based upon what we believe are reasonable assumptions, readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on this information since actual results may vary from the forward-looking information. Certain assumptions were made in preparing the forward-looking information concerning the availability of capital resources, business performance, market conditions, and customer demand. In addition, information and expectations set forth herein are subject to and could change materially in relation to developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on product demand, labour mobility, supply chain continuity and other elements beyond our control. Consequently, all of the forward-looking information contained herein is qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements, and there can be no guarantee that the results or developments that we anticipate will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences or effects on our business, financial condition or results of operation. Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates, the forward-looking information contained herein is provided as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake to update or amend such forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. The government has set a target of increasing the annual pre-consumer electricity consumption by 90 units in the current fiscal year 2020/21, but it has increased by only seven units in the first seven months. As the government has not come up with an action plan to increase electricity consumption, achieving the target seems far away. The government that is preparing to export electricity to India in the coming rainy season has not given priority to any plans to increase domestic consumption. Experts in the energy sector say the tendency of the government to not bring an integrated action plan to implement the policy has limited the issue of increasing electricity consumption to speeches only. Minimal increment From mid-July to mid-August 2020, the consumption rate was 260 units per consumer. And, the government has aimed to increase this to 350 units by mid-July 2021. However, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), with 24.719 million consumers, has been able to sell only about 4.13 billion units of electricity limiting the consumption to 267 units per consumer in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. At this pace, by the end of this fiscal year (mid-July), electricity consumption per consumer is estimated to reach only 286 units. Nominal efforts Nepal Electricity Authority Though there has been a very low growth in electricity consumption, the NEA is optimistic about increasing electricity consumption. We are setting up 50 charging stations, claims Madan Timalsina, a spokesman for the authority, We are also hopeful that the use of electric stoves will gradually increase. According to him, the rate of electricity consumption had dropped after the shutdown of industries and factories. He says that the consumption rate is gradually increasing now. For this very reason, the electricity tariff for nighttime has been reduced from June 15, 2020. However, that is not enough, opine experts.Increasing power consumption within the country should be the first priority to strengthen the economy. For this, there should not be any kind of delay in bringing an effective integrated action plan, says former managing director of the authority, Kul Man Ghising. Corroborating Ghisings statement, former energy secretary Anup Kumar Upadhyaya also says electricity consumption has not increased as expected due to the lack of an intervention plan to implement the existing policy. As the size of the economy grows, so does the rate of electricity consumption, he says. Keeping this in mind, the local, provincial and federal governments should work out a joint action plan. Although the government had made some announcements in its budget speech for the current fiscal year to encourage electricity consumption, nobody has yet started work to implement the declaration. The declaration was that the use of electric household appliances, including electric stoves, electric vehicles, electric power-consuming industries, and industries consuming more electricity at the time when electricity is saved will be further facilitated. However, this declaration and the actions of the government are quite contradicting. For instance, in the same budget speech, the government has increased customs duty, excise duty, and road tax on electric vehicles, due to which there has been a massive decline in its import in this fiscal year. Also, the budget speech has also increased taxes on induction stoves. Representation image: An electric car Ghising is of the opinion that the profit from selling electricity within the country will be bigger and hence more important than the income from selling electricity outside the country. However, he says that the export of electricity should also start immediately. The NEA is buying electricity from private hydropower projects at Rs 4.80 per unit during the rainy season. Consumers are paying more than Rs 7 per unit on average. Therefore, it is clear that the authority will benefit more from selling electricity within the country than selling it abroad. Nonetheless, no action plan has been made for this. Ways to increase consumption Ghising suggests that electricity should be supplied continuously by improving infrastructures such as transmission lines, distribution lines, and substations. Ensuring that the power supply does not get interrupted and the voltage does not go up and down will increase both the industrial and household consumption. Upadhyaya says concessions should be given to increase the use of electrical appliances including induction cooktops. Encouraging cooking with electric stoves will increase the demand for electricity in the evenings and mornings, he says. For this, electric stoves should be distributed with the participation of local governments as well. Representational image: An electric stove According to Upadhyaya, there is another way to increase electricity consumption in the cottage industry. For this, all the three levels of government can work together to increase the use of electricity and add packaging facilities in the village mills, he says. The Industry Ministry should take such an initiative, he says. Another sector that can increase electricity consumption quickly is agriculture. Terai farms are still irrigated by drawing water from diesel pumps. Irrigation corridors can be constructed by extending distribution lines to large farms in the Terai, which immediately consumes 200 to 300 megawatts of electricity, says Ghising. It not only benefits the farmers but also contributes to the economy by increasing agricultural production. Ghising says that if agricultural cold stores can be set up in villages, electricity consumption will increase to a large extent. Upadhyaya says that all the agencies should work by making an integrated plan as electricity consumption in hotels and resorts will increase if tourism activities can be increased in villages. Likewise, experts also opine that the government should take initiatives to set up data centres for foreign companies related to information technology and smart street lights. India scales new highs in high power computing with speeds of around 45 petraflops Phase III of the National Super Computing Mission (NSM), initiated this year, will take the computing speed available in the country to around 45 Petaflops. This will include three systems of 3 PF each and one system of 20PF as a national facility. Infrastructure planned in NSM Phase I has already been installed and much of Phase II will be getting in place soon, helping to meet the increasing computational demands of academia, researchers, MSMEs, and startups in areas like oil exploration, flood prediction as well as genomics and drug discovery. Computing infrastructure has already been installed in four premier institutions and installation work is in rapid progress in 9 more. Completion in of Phase II of NSM in September 2021 will take the countrys computing power to 16 Petaflops (PF). MoUs have been signed with a total of 14 premier institutions for establishing Supercomputing Infrastructure with assembly and manufacture in India. These include IITs, NITs, National Labs, and IISERs. The National Supercomputing Mission was launched to enhance research capacities and capabilities in the country by connecting them to form a supercomputing grid, with National Knowledge Network (NKN) as the backbone. The NSM is setting up a grid of supercomputing facilities in academic and research institutions across the country. Part of this is being imported from abroad and part built indigenously. The mission is being jointly steered by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) and implemented by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. PARAM Shivay, the first supercomputer assembled indigenously, was installed in IIT (BHU), followed by PARAM Shakti, PARAM Brahma, PARAM Yukti, PARAM Sanganak at IIT-Kharagpur IISER, Pune, JNCASR, Bengaluru and IIT Kanpur, respectively. A new dimention has now been added in Indias march towards leadership position in supercomputing with the convergence of HPC and Artificial Intelligence (AI). A 200 AI PF Artificial Intelligence supercomputing system has been created and installed in C-DAC, which can handle incredibly large-scale AI workloads increasing the speed of computing-related to AI several times. PARAM Siddhi - AI, the high-performance computing-artificial intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer, has achieved global ranking of 62 in TOP 500 most powerful supercomputer systems in the world, released on 16 November 2020. The mission has also created the next generation of supercomputer experts by training more than 4,500 HPC aware manpower and faculties till date. To expand the activities of the HPC training, four NSM nodal centres for training in HPC and AI have been established at IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Goa and IIT Palakkad. These centres have conducted online training programmes in HPC and in AI. Powered by the NSM, Indias network of research institutions, in collaboration with the industry, is scaling up the technology and manufacturing capability to make more and more parts in India. While in Phase I, 30 per cent value addition is done in India that has been scaled up to 40 per cent in Phase II. India has developed an indigenous server (Rudra), which can meet the HPC requirements of all governments and PSUs. The three phases will provide access to high-performance computing (HPC) facilities to around 75 institutions and more than thousands of active researchers, academicians working through Nation Knowledge Network (NKN) - the backbone for supercomputing systems, says a ministry of science and technology release. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 04:08:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Monday reported 23,311 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total infections to 2,093,452. Meanwhile, Iraq received the second batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China on Sunday. The pandemic has so far claimed 64,764 lives in Iran, up by 274 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing. A total of 1,720,084 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 4,440 remain in intensive care units, she noted. Iraq on Sunday received the second batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help the country combat the pandemic. A handover ceremony held at the Baghdad International Airport was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Zhang Tao, Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi, and several other senior Iraqi health officials. The donated Chinese vaccines are expected to advance the national immunization plan in Iraq, as the country has recorded unprecedented daily COVID-19 infections in recent days. The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Monday 7,953 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 932,899. It also reported 44 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,757, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,679 to 820,532. It said that 12,174 people were vaccinated during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 152,962. Israel's Ministry of Health reported 228 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, raising the total infections in the country to 836,128. The death toll from the virus rose by four to 6,304. The total recoveries in Israel rose to 826,481 after 403 newly recovered cases were added. The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel surpassed 5.32 million, or 57 percent of its total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec. 20, 2020. The Qatari health ministry announced 973 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 190,998. Meanwhile, 559 more people recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 170,194, while the fatalities increased by two to 335. The Omani health ministry announced 1,480 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the sultanate to 173,029. Meanwhile, 1,202 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 153,986, while 13 deaths were reported, pushing the death toll from the virus up to 1,789. The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported 1,635 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 248,729. The ministry also announced five more fatalities, taking the death toll to 1,412, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,316 to 232,556. A total of 14,761 coronavirus patients are receiving treatment, including 228 in the intensive care units. Lebanon registered 1,008 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 497,854. Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus increased by 42 to 6,703. Lebanon's caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced that Lebanon's test positivity rate for COVID-19 dropped from 21 percent to 15 percent after the administration of vaccines. Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 502,277 as 175 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours. According to a statement by the Ministry of Health, the death toll rose to 8,909 with nine new fatalities during the last 24 hours. The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 488,632 after 271 new ones were added. The Islamic Hamas movement, which is in control of the Gaza Strip,decided on Monday to tighten the precautionary measures to battle the coronavirus during the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 2,762 new COVID-19 infections and 26 deaths were registered across the Palestinian territories during the last 24 hours. Enditem An employee of Pernod Ricard China, distributors of Jacob's Creek Wines in China, attends a winetasting session at Jacob's Creek Winery in South Australia's Barossa Valley on July 20, 2010. (Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images) Australia Eyes Second WTO Action Against China, This Time for Wine Australias trade minister is considering whether to launch a second action against China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), this time to fight tariffs imposed on wine exports. It follows an ongoing WTO action over barley tariffs that was launched late last year by Australia. One of the things we are very keen to do is to make sure with our trade disputes with China, is that we are using every means we can to deal with them, Trade Minister Dan Tehan told Sky News Sunday Agenda program on Sunday. Obviously, the WTO is one of those mechanisms. We are using that when it comes to barley, and we are under very deep consideration now when it comes to wine, as to whether we will also refer that, he added. Tehan is about to embark on a trip to Europe, which will include a meeting with the WTO director-general in Geneva. He is also due to meet with other leaders to push against trade protectionism. The European Union and the United Kingdom are backing the introduction of carbon tariffs against countries with less stringent environmental laws. Tehans comments on WTO action come just weeks after Beijings Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) pulled the trigger and decided to slap tariffs, worth 116 to 218 percent, on Australian wine exports to China. Australian wine (2nd R) is displayed amongst other wines at a shop in Beijing on December 23, 2020. (Noel Celis/AFP) via Getty Images) In August 2020, MOFCOM launched an investigation into supposed dumping practices by Australian wine companies, claiming they were selling products at below-the-market prices to drown out local producers. This claim was rebuffed by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who pointed out that Australian wines had the second-highest average price in China after New Zealand wine. The tariffs come as one part of a long-running economic coercion campaign against Australian exports to China, which has affected coal, beef, wine, barley, lobster, timber, lamb, and cotton industries, and were imposed following Foreign Minister Marise Paynes calls for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 in April 2020. Meanwhile, Australias ongoing barley dispute with China was elevated to the second phase in March, where a panel will be convened to hear arguments from both parties. Australia is fighting to have tariffs worth around 80 percent removed from exports to China. MOFCOM imposed this tariff following another earlier investigation into dumping by barley exporters. However, there are concerns that WTO action could stall, given the Appellate Body responsible for hearing final appeals has been in limbo since 2019. The Trump administration decided against appointing new members to the Body over a host of issues with the WTO, including judicial overreach by its members, consistent rulings against U.S. tariffs designed to protect American businesses, and slow decision-making. Professor Peter Draper, executive director at the Institute for International Trade at the University of South Australia, previously told The Epoch Times that, I think youd have to go back to what Australias motivations and bringing this case are, and I think the fundamental motivation is to highlight the importance of the rule of law procedures, international rule of law procedures. Where better to do this than in the apex global trade body the WTO? In other words, the signals that China sends in how it responds will be watched by the entire membership. Irelands largest teaching union has called for vigilance as schools prepare to fully reopen today. More than a million students and staff will return to classrooms on Monday as Ireland prepares to ease its coronavirus restrictions for the first time this year. The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) has said there is anxiety among school communities over the return, and has called for an ongoing review of the situation. General secretary Micheal Gillespie said: We have always said that the preference of our members is a return to face-to-face teaching and learning as long as all risk mitigation measures are in place and strictly adhered to. With the full return to school buildings of all year groups today, there is understandable anxiety among all in school communities, particularly given concerns around new strains of the virus. At a national level, the situation must be kept under forensic review, while adherence to the measures that protect the health and safety of students, staff and their families must be the key priority in every school. We have already made clear that we will not tolerate breaches of key safety measures in workplaces. He added: Keeping schools open in a manner that is safe and sustainable is a challenge for all of society and everybody must meet their own responsibilities in this regard. Today also sees the 5km travel limit relaxed to allow people to travel anywhere within their county, or up to 20km if crossing into another county. People from two households will be allowed to meet up outdoors for social and recreational purposes, however, the Government has insisted that private gardens remain off-limits. All schoolchildren are to return to in-class learning, while construction on housing and essential projects will also resume. Further easing of restrictions is expected on April 19 and April 26. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) An Omaha police officer has been charged with felony counts and placed on leave after being accused of using a gun to threaten teens who pounded on doors in the officer's neighborhood late at night. Meadows invader Whos Better made easy work of his six rivals in Sunday afternoon's (April 11) featured event at Harrah's Philadelphia, an $11,600 high-level conditioned pace. The six-year-old Bettors Delight gelding used the entirety of a :27 first quarter mile to clear 33-1 shot Last Gunfighter for control of the terms. Once in front, Whos Better faced nary a challenge, steadily widening his margin and defeating Last Gunfighter by four lengths in 1:51.2. Hereittiz narrowly held off a belated rally from Jacks Shadow to finish third. Dexter Dunn, whose three wins on the 12-race program were matched only by Tim Tetrick, drove 15-time winner Whos Better for owner-trainer Jean Rastetter. He paid $5.20 to win. In the co-featured $11,600 distaff pace, Crazy Cute stole a :57.3 first half before throwing down a :55.3 final half for a one-and-a-half length victory over Eclipse Me N. George Napolitano Jr. drove the five-year-old daughter of Art Major for trainer Gilbert Garcia-Owen and the partnership of Gilbert Garcia-Herrera and Barbara Arnstine. She paid $3.40 to win. Racing returns to Harrah's Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon (April 14), with the first of 14 races due off at 12:25 p.m. (EDT). (Harrah's Philadelphia) For decades, one of the deadliest kinds of pediatric tumors has eluded science's best tools and had even been considered untreatable. But researchers have made progress with an unusual treatment that involves injecting a genetically modified herpes virus into children's brains to infect their tumors, which spurs the immune system to attack. At least a dozen children have undergone this treatment and lived twice as long as other patients have in the past, doctors reported on Saturday at the virtual American Association for Cancer Research conference. Although most of them eventually died of their disease, a few are alive and well several years after treatment -- something virtually unheard of in this situation. 'This is the first step, a critical step,' said study leader Dr Gregory Friedman, a childhood cancer specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). 'The key findings thus far are that the approach is safe and well tolerable, and the preliminary evidence of efficacy is promising.' Jake Kestler (center) who was diagnosed with brain cancer was one of the patients who underwent new trial at the University of Alabama Birmingham testing oncolytic herpes viruses. Pictured: Kestler with his parents, Gallite and Josh, and his sister, Lily, in 2016 The virus is genetically modified to only infect and kill tumor cells, and spurs a strong response from the immune system to help fight the cancer. Pictured: MRI images show a brain tumor before the treatment (on left, light-colored area) and after the treatment (right) Eleven of the 12 patients showed signs that the treatment was working and the median survival was one year, more than double the expected survival rate. Pictured: Jake (center) before his cancer diagnosis The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, focused on children who have been diagnosed with glioma, tumors which begins in the glial cells that surround nerve cells and help them function. Symptoms include headache, memory loss, nausea, vomiting, difficulty with balance and vision problems. Gliomas accounts for between eight and 10 percent of childhood brain tumors. Although treatment can vary based on the size, type and location of the tumor, standard options include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy. However, these tumors often recur and, when that occurs, survival averages just under six months. What's more, the share of children who are alive more than five years after their diagnosis is just 10 percent. WHAT ARE ONCOLYTIC HERPES VIRUSES AND HOW DO THEY TREAT BRAIN TUMORS? Oncolytic herpes viruses are derived from the standard herpes virus that causes sores around the mouth and lips. Scientists genetically modify the virus so that it only infects and kills cancer cells. Through a tiny tube called a catheter, the virus is injected directly into the tumor. It then multiples, which kills the initial tumors cells. The virus can then continue spreading to other tumor cells. In addition, the virus spurs a strong immune system response so the body can recognize the cancer again and also help fight it off. A recent trial at the University of Alabama Birmingham found that survival was just over one year, more than double the expected survival rate. Advertisement In such cases, the immune system has lost the ability to recognize and attack the cancer, so scientists at UAB have been seeking ways to make the tumor a fresh target. They turned to G207, which derived from the herpes virus that causes cold sores - and also spurs a strong immune system response. The treatment, called oncolytic herpes viruses, was first developed in the 1990s by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital. For the new study, a suburban Philadelphia company called Treovir developed a treatment by genetically modifying the virus so it would infect only cancer cells. When injected through tiny tubes inserted in the tumors, the modified herpes virus enters tumor cells and makes multiple copies of itself. The virus then kills the initial cells and then releases new particles to hunt other tumor cells. Additionally, the virus induces the immune system to mount a strong response so it begins to recognize the cancer again. Doctors gave the altered virus to 12 patients between ages seven to 18 whose cancer had worsened after usual treatments. Half of the patients received just the virus and the other half got the virus plus one dose of radiation, which is designed to help the virus spread throughout the tumor. During the trial, 11 of the 12 patients showed signs that that the treatment was working. Median survival was just over one year, which is more than double the expected survival rate of children with high-grade gliomas. As of last June, the cutoff for analyzing these results, 36 percent, or four patients, were still alive at least 18 months after treatment. Tests also showed high levels of specialized immune system cells in their tumors, suggesting the treatment had recruited the help needed from the body to attack the disease. The treatment also increases the number of activated cells immune cells to help fight the cancer. Pictured: The number of cells before the treatment (left, in black) and after the treatment (right, in black) Early results suggest the virus treatment is helping, and doctors are now planning to verify them in a larger study. Pictured: Study leader Dr Gregory Friedman, a childhood cancer specialist, looks through a microscope at a laboratory in Birmingham, Alabama, August 2019 No serious safety issues were seen, though there were several procedure-related complications and mild side effects including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fatigue. One of the children in the trial was Jake Kestler, of Livingston, New Jersey, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2016. Jake (pictured) underwent the treatment at age 12, and lived for a year and four months after, when expected survival was just six months After all other treatments failed, he was enrolled in the clinical trial at age 12. 'It went very well. He lived for a year and four months after that,' his father, Josh Kestler, a financial services executive, told the Associated Press. It was long enough for Jake to celebrate his bar mitzvah, travel with his family to Hawaii and witness the birth of his baby brother. Jake died on April 11, 2019, but 'we have no regrets whatsoever' about trying the treatment, said Kestler, who with his wife has started a foundation, Trail Blazers for Kids, to further research. 'It's a devastating disease for these patients and their families,' said Dr Antoni Ribas, a cancer specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the group holding the conference. He says that while the early results suggest the virus treatment is helping, they need to be verified in a larger study, which doctors are currently planning. Friedman said studies are continuing in adults as well, and plans are in the works for other types of childhood brain tumors. 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. The Gujarat High Court on Sunday, April 11, initiated a suo motu PIL (Public Interest Litigation) over the COVID-19 situation in the state. The court noted that media reports on the pandemic show that Gujarat was heading towards a "health emergency of sorts". Chief Justice Vikram Nath, via an order, instructed the high court registry to register a new suo motu PIL titled "In Re: Uncontrolled upsurge and serious management issues in COVID control." This is the second such PIL registered by Gujarat HC on the COVID-19 situation. The first one was registered last year and is still being heard at recurring intervals. Also Read: Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, 3 other states account for 72% of India's active COVID-19 cases The chief justice informed the registry to put the Gujarat government, its health department as well as the central government parties in the fresh PIL. The PIL will be heard on Monday by the division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Bhargav D Karia at Nath's official residence through online mode. Also Read: Night curfew in Gujarat till April 30 amid surge in COVID-19 cases The chief justice said that "news channels are flooded with the harrowing tales, unfortunate and unimaginable difficulties and unmanageable conditions of the infrastructure." Citing these media reports, he noted that there exists a "shortfall or deficit of not only testing, beds, and ICU, but also the supply of oxygen and basic medicines like Remdesivir, etc." Gujarat on Sunday reported 5,469 new cases of coronavirus, which took its caseload to 3,47,495. (With inputs from PTI.) Police have cracked down on a factory in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. It manufactures mattresses. But instead of cotton, they are using discarded masks to stuff inside the mattresses. As per a report in NDTV, a case has been filed against the owner and a probe has been launched. Police set fire to the piles of masks that they recovered inside the factory. NDTV This happened 400 km from Mumbai. "When the officials visited the premises of the factory in Kusumba village of MIDC, they found a mattress being stuffed with used masks," said Additional Superintendent of Police Chandrakant Gawali. NDTV "A case was registered against the factory owner, Amjad Ahmed Mansoori. The police are now probing the involvement of others in the racket," he added. By Yang Jin and Guo Jin BEIJING, Apr. 12 -- Recently, a 5G signal base station was put into use at the Ganbala radar station in Tibet with the elevation of 5,374 meters, the world's highest manually operated radar station. The ordinary living demands, such as potable water, accommodation, heating and bathing, are exceptionally challenging at the Ganbala radar station due to the chillness and oxygen shortage in such a remote area. What's worse, information blockade makes the life here even tougher for the soldiers. At the end of last year, the military started to coordinate with civilian enterprises to launch 5G base station construction in Ganbala to solve the difficulty of network access for the border defense troops. The stable and high-speed 5G signal enables the soldiers in the deep mountains to keep up with the information society, leaving the monotonous and boring life on the border behind forever. The operation of 5G signal base station has also shortened the distance between soldiers and their families and friends. Radar operator Lin Linghui said that serving in the military on plateau areas means that he could not get together with family members often, but he could now have video chat with his family freely and witness the growth of his child. The launch of 5G signals is a microcosm of the changes in the stations on the plateau. In recent years, the Chinese military has continued to advance various projects to improve the conditions of its border troops, including green vegetables supply all year round, warm and clean barracks, and ready-to-use oxygen inhalers. The implementation of these measures has promoted the improvement of training and on-duty conditions for soldiers stationed in border areas. A few hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation met the Scheduled Cast (SC) Commission in Delhi on Monday, sources have informed Republic Media Network that the SC Commission has now issued a notice to Bengal Chief Secretary. This latest update comes after the saffron party earlier during the day took up the matter of female Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Sujata Mondal during her election campaign called the Scheduled Caste people of the state "beggars". SC Commission Chairman Vijay Sampla on his meeting with BJP leaders Speaking about the meeting which took place between him and the BJP leaders on Monday morning, SC Commission Chairman Vijay Sampla said that a BJP delegation had come to submit a memorandum against the TMC candidate who had insulted the Scheduled Caste community during her campaign. Vijay Sampla had said, "A memorandum has been submitted. Following this, a notice will be sent to West Bengal Chief Secretary, DG, CEC and state Election Commission." Stating that the person who created the Indian constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar, Sampla said that given what the politicians are saying about the Scheduled Caste and other deprived communities these days is highly condemnable. All of this comes after, BJP had moved to the EC against Trinamool Congress candidate Sujata Mondal who was heard calling the Scheduled Caste voters beggars by nature in a video clip. BJP delegation meets ECI; demands strong action against TMC for insulting SC community Earlier on Sunday, the saffron party delegation led by Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had met the EC officials in Delhi and demanded strong action against CM Mamata Banerjee-led TMC for allegedly insulting the SC community in the poll-bound state. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was accompanied by party leaders Dushyant Gautam, Hans Raj Hans, Sunita Duggal, Bhola Singh, and Om Pathak. While speaking about the meeting with the ECI, Naqvi had said that a female TMC leader clearly violated the Model code of conduct and the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and BJP demand strong action against the leader and her party. "We met the Election Commission regarding an important and serious issue which is Trinamool Congress' mentality towards marginalised communities in India. The nation knows about how the TMC has been doing the political exploitation of marginalised communities," said Naqvi. Calling it a violation of the Model code of conduct and representation of the People Act, 1951, the Union Minister said that this shows the thinking of not just the TMC candidate but also the party. He said, "We have requested a strong case against the leader and CM Mamata Banerjee-led TMC party." West Bengal elections Phase-4 of West Bengal elections concluded on Saturday and some of the key constituencies were Bhawanipur, Tollygunge, and Singur. Out of 44 constituencies, nine are in Howrah, 10 in Hooghly, 11 in South 24 Parganas, 5 in Alipurduar, and 9 in Cooch Behar. The first phase of West Bengal elections concluded with a voter turnout of 82 per cent, the second phase concluded with a voter turnout of 80.43 per cent, the third phase concluded with a voter turnout of 83.93 per cent and, the fourth phase concluded with a voter turnout of 78.47 per cent. Bengal's other phases of elections are scheduled on April 17, April 22, April 26, and April 29 with results to be announced on May 2. (Image: PTI, Twitter-@vijaysamplabjp, @ECI) At age five, while accompanying her mother to a local dressmaker, Zampatti reports being mesmerised by the mannequins draped in fabrics, ribbons, satins, silks and laces. Magazine images of Christian Diors revolutionary New Look of 1947 further galvanised her interest in fashion, notably the precise tailoring of his Bar jacket. The Loverina farmgirl lost no time creating her own dress shop in the farmhouse attic, sketching designs and trying them on. Zampatti migrated to Australia with her mother and brothers at age nine, arriving in Fremantle on February 23, 1950 after a four-week voyage on the SS Ugolino Vivaldi. They settled with Domenico in the Wheatbelt town of Bullfinch. Dubbed Mary by her school teacher who deemed Carla not a name known around these parts Zampatti left school at 14 to work at Hicks, the local general store. She learnt her metier on the job dressmaking skills and business basics such as invoicing and chasing payments at work for a designer clothing workshop in Perth, where the family moved after four years in Bullfinch. From a subsequent position at a whitegoods chain, she learnt about public relations and customer service. In 1963, after decamping with four girlfriends to Sydney, she worked as a cashier for Fletcher Jones. Following a chance bus encounter with the head of Nemco Fashion Products, a womens blouse manufacturer, Zampatti snagged a job as his girl Friday. Within weeks, she was elevated to the position of head of product design, making invaluable contacts with key retail buyers for David Jones, Mark Foys and Grace Bros. The Young Designers Look at Spring parade at Grace Bros Broadway store by Carla Zampatti (left) on July 31, 1975. Credit:Fairfax In February 1965, encouraged by her new husband, accountant Leo Schuman another chance encounter on the same 369 bus, who would also persuade Zampatti to revert to the name Carla she quit Nemco to start her own label, tapping into the burgeoning purchasing power of a new, switched-on generation of Australian women like herself who had started to enter the workforce. But while Grace Bros placed the groovy green velvet bellbottom pantsuit from Zampattis first collection in its city store front window, the brash young newcomer, as Zampatti tells it, was a little too modern for David Jones, which would take until 1990 to stock her label. Equally resistant to the winds of change were Sydneys establishment clubs and restaurants, which refused women entry if they were wearing trousers. Zampattis solution: mix-and-match trouser suits that came with a mini tunic, so women could change into the mini and check the pants into the venues cloakroom. Kerri-Anne Kennerley in a Carla Zampatti jumpsuit arrives ahead of the David Jones Autumn Winter 2018 Collections Launch. Credit:Getty Nine months after launching, Zampatti scored her first publicity coup when she was invited to take part in a show sponsored by Bradmill Textiles in front of the still-under-construction Sydney Opera House. Tailoring, including her signature, still best-selling jumpsuits (launched in 1968), quickly became a forte. In 1970, after a bitter divorce from Schuman, who was a partner in the business, Zampatti struck out on her own, founding Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd. By then a single mother with a young child, son Alex, and unable to secure bank funding in her own name, her Perth-based cousin Mick Caratti came to the rescue with a $5000 loan. Inspired by a research trip to St Tropez, Zampatti opened her first boutique in Sydneys Surry Hills in September 1972. Sales boomed at full margin. Susan Peacock, Anna Murdoch and wine heiress Rada Penfold-Russell were among the boutiques first clients. Zampatti became one of the first Australian designers to expand into swimwear, then launched a line of sunglasses with Polaroid and her own perfumes in the 1980s. There were business hiccups in the 1980s: financial pressures from a heavily debt-leveraged property portfolio and a short-lived, lossmaking foray into the United States retail and property markets. But Zampattis business survived. Carla was unique in that she stayed the course, said Fraser McEwing, who founded Australian fashion industry newsmagazine Ragtrader in 1972 at a time when a new wave of designers had emerged in Australia, buoyed by the Youthquake of Swinging Sixties London and the rise of the ready-to-wear designer. Zampattis contemporaries who included Prue Acton, Trent Nathan and Norma Tullo have all long-since shuttered their businesses. She was a better businesswoman, by far, McEwing added. Zampatti was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in 1987 and then a Companion of the Order in 2009. In 2004, the government of Italy appointed her a Commandatore in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Zampattis other accolades include the Centenary Medal and the Australian Fashion Laureate. She was a semi regular at Australian Fashion Week and was offered the events coveted opening and closing shows in 2014 and 2019, respectively. Fashion designer Carla Zampatti in 1998. Credit:Fairfax Zampatti is survived by three children and nine grandchildren. Her son Alex Schuman is the chief executive of Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd. Daughter Bianca Spender helms her own successful fashion line and Zampattis other daughter, Allegra Spender, spent eight years as Zampattis managing director. One of Zampattis best-selling jumpsuits is a wide-legged, sleeveless style in black with a high collar as worn by Jenny Morrison on September 19, 2019, for a stylish entrance at the Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, ahead of Scott Morrisons Washington visit. The name of the style? Everlasting Love. It might just as well be Zampattis epitaph, summing up Australias enduring affection for the brand she built. The daily Covid-19 cases in India breached the 1 lakh mark on April 5th for the first time and has since skyrocketed to a record 1,68,912 fresh cases to become the second worst infected country by coronavirus globally. Representative image And India has its own double mutant coronavirus strain, which is being labelled B.1.617 and here's everything you should know about it: B.1.617: India's double mutant coronavirus variant If you think thats bad, pardon me, Ive got even worrying news. With the second wave threatening to carry even terrible fate, the health officials also detected a new "double mutant variant" of the coronavirus towards March-end delivering a double whammy of sorts. The double mutant variant has now been scientifically named B.1.617, which contains mutations from two separate virus variants, namely E484Q and L452R. It was identified in samples of saliva taken from people in Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab. Representative visual Health experts say the L452R variant was first found in the US, whereas the E484Q variant is indigenous. Some 10,787 samples from 18 Indian states also showed up 771 cases of known variants--736 of the UK, 34 of the South African and one Brazilian. However, officials say there is no evidence to establish it is widespread resulting in a steep increase in Covid-19 cases. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), a group of 10 national laboratories under India's health ministry, identified the double mutant variant after carrying out genomic sequencing on the latest samples--a testing process to map the entire genetic code of the virus. Reuters How dangerous are double mutants Mutations in viruses are common and like others, the novel coronavirus keeps changing in small ways as it passes from one person to another. However, most of these changes are insignificant and don't necessarily change their ability to transmit or cause infections. While both the mutations, traced across separate variants are characteristic for their high infectivity and transmission rates, this is the first time they have merged together, making it many times more infectious and deadly. Reuters Experts believe a double mutant variant is more infectious, and with the astronomical pace with which the second wave is spreading, theres a possibility that the new strain may be to blame after all. We dont know for sure whether the upswing in cases is related to variants, but it is a possibility, and we need to investigate it, Shahid Jameel, a medical expert, told DW. The Health Ministry has also issued a statement saying that the new variant could also increase infection rates and easily surpass immune defences. Theres also another possibility of it reinfecting patients who have already recovered from Covid-19. Getty Images But if the virus can use reinfection to spread, then it would be "penetrating" herd immunity, Dr Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, told BBC. However, the health ministry denies that the rise in cases is linked to the mutations. Though VOCs and a new double mutant variant have been found in India, these have not been detected in numbers sufficient to either establish or direct relationship or explain the rapid increase in cases in some States, the ministry said. Vox Media looks to bolster its podcasting arm with the acquisition of Cafe Studios, a podcast company co-founded by Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. However, Bharara and executive producer and head of content Tamara Sepper will join Vox Media under the new agreement. More from Deadline Cafe Studios podcasts typically revolve around law and policy and how they intersect with technology, politics and business. Bharara hosts the flagship podcast, Stay Tuned With Preet. The company also operates a subscription program that offers members exclusive podcasts, newsletters, articles and live events. The Cafe Studios acquisition marks a trend of expansion deals Vox Media has been striking in the last three years. Vox Media made headlines in late 2019 buying New York Media, publisher of New York Magazine and other digital outlets like the Cut and Vulture. The conglomerate also purchased Epic, a production studio, and the commenting platform Coral. Vox Medias podcasts number more than 200. Among them are Pivot, Decoder and Today, Explained. Their portfolio of news sites include Curbed, Eater, Polygon, Recode, SB Nation, The Verge, Vox.com, among others Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. CAMPAIGNERS have appealed after a High Court judge refused them permission to challenge South Oxfordshires local plan. Bioabundance, a community interest company, launched a legal challenge after the document was adopted by the district council in December. It claims the plan contradicts the Governments climate change targets. However, Mr Justice Dove turned down the request for a judicial review and ordered Bioabundance to pay the councils costs. Now the company has asked for an informal hearing in order to try to overturn the ruling. When a Liberal Democrat and Green coalition took charge of the council in May 2019, it proposed to withdraw the plan, which had been compiled by the previous Conservative regime. However, this was blocked by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, who ordered the council to adopt the document by the end of last year. Although this happened, councillors said they felt they had been forced to approve it and some chose to abstain. District councillor Sue Roberts, who is a director at Bioabundance, said: We were voted in in order to throw out this plan. The Governments houebuilding agenda is not going to benefit the people who already live here; it is simply a money-making exercise. The amount of houses is astronomical. There is land allocated for 32,000 up to 2035 but Office for National Statistics data indicates we will have only 8,000 households to form. Either they build lots of empty houses, or you magically find the need for 24,000 houses and 75,000 people to move to South Oxfordshire. Why would you do that? Every time you build a new house, it releases about 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide just in the construction phase. None of these houses is being built to zero-carbon standards and each house would need to be retrofitted in due course. There has been a catastrophic collapse in nature in our area and we have to restore it. We cant live without it and it is terribly fragile. The only way we can do this is to idenitfy areas where you put nature first when you plan for housing. Only plan for development if there is a need and plan how you will recover nature. Cllr Roberts, who has received more than 14,000 from the community, for the legal fight, said: There is a hell-bent approach to extract the last bits of gold from our land with housing, because thats where all the money is nowadays. Nobody wants the housing, not even the Conservatives who have been forced to accept this agenda because the Government insists on it. The housebuilding lobby is the most powerful lobby in the land. The council recently agreed to compile a new local plan with neighbouring Vale of White Horse district council but this process could take five years and the existing plan would be legally binding until it was replaced. A district council spokesman said it was waiting to hear from the High Court on a hearing date. The Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District cancelled classes Monday in anticipation of a large portion of its staff receiving the second shots of their coronavirus vaccines over the weekend. All schools in the district in Northeastern Massachusetts were closed, as a significant number of staff were set to get their second shots Sunday, according to a tweet from the district. There is a high likelihood we would not have enough staff to run our schools on Monday, the district wrote in its tweet. Reminder: No School Monday, 4/12. All schools in the district will be closed. A significant number of district staff will be receiving their second vaccination on April 11th and there is a high likelihood we would not have enough staff to run our schools on Monday. pic.twitter.com/tSbhEh8iHQ Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District (@hw_schools) April 9, 2021 This isnt the first time a Massachusetts school district called off classes for the day due to a high volume of staff members receiving their vaccines. Athol Royalston Regional School District canceled classes the Monday after 100 staff members received their second shot and were left feeling sick. Minor side effects from the vaccine, including soreness in ones arm as well as fever and flu-like symptoms, are common. Such symptoms are typical of the immune system revving up. Related Content: A lot of people want to know how to select the right health insurance policy. So let me tell you some of the important points that you need to be careful when it comes to selecting the right health insurance policy for your family. Amount Of Cover So theres no standard rule that you should have like you know ten times your monthly income or eight times or five times. I would suggest you decide on the basis of your lifestyle, your income, your expenses, the city what you are staying in, and again the kind of, you know, the treatment you would like in terms of hospitalisation, so on average, I would say you should have a minimum of Rs 10 lakh cover. Image: Shutterstock Private Vs Public The second important point is about whether to buy health insurance from a private company or a public sector company. There are many who believe that if you buy it from a public sector company, you will always get your claims settled. So it doesnt work like this. There are enough good private players also in the market, and again theres no problem going forward with the PSUs also. But always go with the top five companies or top ten companies in that particular sector. Room Rent There are policies that come with room rent capping. Stay away from those policies. For example, a policy with an insurance cover of Rs five lakh might have a room rent cap of one per cent of the sum assured. That makes the room rent allowed per day to be Rs 5,000. If you opt for a room that costs anything above that, youll have to pay the difference out of your pocket. Room rent cost also affects other costs like doctor fees, surgery cost, medicine cost, nursing cost, etc. So opting for a costlier room will procure higher costs. The claim settlement will be proportionally reduced on the basis of the excess amount of room rent that has been utilised. So its not just about the additional room money you might have to pay; other costs could add up too. Image: Shutterstock Co-Pay And Top-Up There are policies where theres a condition of co-pay. In this, the insurance company pays part of your claim settlement, while you also contribute towards that. This could be written as a by-clause somewhere in the policy. Ensure you talk about this before buying a policy, and preferably opt for a policy that offers a hundred per cent claim settlement. Top-up insurance is a cost-effective way of you availing a higher sum insured over and above your basic cover. You can opt for this instead of opting for a higher insurance cover where you have to pay a hefty premium. Personal Policy Many salaried people think that if they have their company offering an employer's policy. But it is ideal to have a separate policy for yourself too. That way, if youre on a sabbatical, or between jobs, you are still covered. Also, if youre above 45 at such a time, and then decide to take your own policy, you will have to keep lots of terms and conditions of the policy in mind. There are different considerations for pre-existing medical conditions which is a major possibility at that age which can lead to you not getting enough coverage under the policy. But if you already have a personal policy that youve taken earlier, you will have better coverage. Also read: Buy Health Insurance For A Healthier, Wealthier And Wiser You! Four and five star hotels in Mumbai may be used as Covid-19 care centres as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) looks to address the shortage of hospital beds in the city. The citys Covid case count dropped to 6,905, lowest so far in April. Hotels, however, are not sure how this would be implemented as they are not designed to function as hospitals. They (hotels) are willing to offer their properties for quarantining patients, who have turned negative and for health care workers. However, converting hotel rooms into hospitals for positive patients poses practical challenges, said a top executive of the Hotel Association of India (HAI). Municipal commissioner I S Chahal on Monday announced that certain four star and five star hotels will be requisitioned to create Covid care centres for positive patients. These would be run by professionals from major hospitals. K B Kachru, vice-president, HAI, and chairman emeritus and principal advisor, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, said while hotels will cooperate with the local authorities, there are practical challenges in turning hotel rooms into Covid care centres. The authorities have to understand that hotels cannot have hospital beds. Our door size is such that it cannot accommodate the hospital beds, said Kachru. They (the local authorities) should be requisitioning hotels for the quarantine facilities when patients turn negative, he added. Spokespersons at Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) and ITC Hotels said they have been offering their properties in Mumbai for quarantining negative cases and health care workers. Dyck has a wealth of experience leading cannabis-related medical research and has deep connections and a high standing throughout the industry, the company said The companys appointments strategy is to leverage the roots of its management team in medical cannabis, while developing offerings and partnerships aimed at the medical and wellness markets ( ) (OTC:AUSAF) (FRA:AC4) has appointed Jason Dyck, director of the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University of Alberta, as its new chief science officer and chairman of its scientific advisory board, the company announced. Dyck has a wealth of experience leading cannabis-related medical research and has deep connections and high standing in the industry, the company said. He previously led the research and science team at Aurora Cannabis Inc (NYSE:ACB) (TSE:ACB) (FRA:21P1) in its formative years, playing a significant role in helping it become the medical cannabis industry leader that it is today, Australis said. The companys appointments strategy is to leverage the roots of its management team in medical cannabis, while developing offerings and partnerships aimed at the medical and wellness markets. Dyck also established and co-directs a province-wide clinical heart failure research program called Alberta HEART that is a translational research program in heart failure. "We believe that Jason's capabilities and connections in medical science and the cannabis industry will prove tremendous assets for the company as we look to develop commercially valuable innovations for the medical, wellness and adult-use markets, COO Duke Fu said in a statement. I look forward to working with Jason as we take AUSA's scientific efforts to the next level." Additionally, a component of Dyck's research at the University of Alberta involves the study of medical cannabis users, and he has established the world's largest known medical cannabis database of more than 160,000 patients linked to comprehensive provincial administrative health data. This type of database is being used to determine how medical cannabis-use influences use of other medications, health insurance claims, acute and ambulatory care episodes, accident claims and other key health outcomes, the company said. "I am very excited about taking on this new responsibility at AUSA, Dyck said. We believe that medical science will play an increasingly important role in the development of the cannabis industry. I look forward to providing AUSA with advice and direction in its scientific efforts towards bringing innovations to market with immediate and significant commercial appeal. In the newly-created chief science officer position, Dyck will lead the Australis scientific efforts regarding medical and wellness applications for cannabis, both THC and CBD, and play a role in identifying and vetting partnership opportunities with medical and science-based innovators. Meanwhile, the scientific advisory boards mandate will be to provide advice, analysis and direction related to the scientific investigation, development and market implementation of cannabis products. Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel Interview: IMF official warns lack of vaccination in low-income economies hurts all Xinhua) 13:20, April 12, 2021 A man receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, on April 9, 2021. (Photo by Khaled/Xinhua) "The other reason that it's so important to have access everywhere including in low-income and emerging economies is that, in the absence of that, the pandemic will just drag on and then there'll be new mutants," said Petya Koeva Brooks, deputy director of the IMF's Research Department. "And that would hurt everybody, including advanced economies," she added. WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- It is important for low-income and emerging economies to have more access to vaccination, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official has said, warning that without widespread vaccination, the pandemic will not end, which would hurt all. There is uncertainty surrounding global economic forecasts, and the chief source of that uncertainty is the path of the pandemic and the vaccination process, Petya Koeva Brooks, deputy director of the IMF's Research Department, told Xinhua in a recent interview. The latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released last week projects that the global economy will grow by 6 percent in 2021, 0.5 percentage point above the January forecast, with the progress of vaccination rollout in some countries and additional fiscal support in large economies, particularly the United States. The IMF's baseline assessment is that advanced economies, as well as some emerging markets, will enjoy wide availability of vaccines in the second half of this year, but it will not happen to the rest of the world only till 2022 or even beyond, Brooks said. In a downside scenario, with delayed vaccination and a more difficult path of the pandemic, the global economy is expected to grow by 4.5 percent, 1.5 percentage points lower than in the baseline projection, according to Brooks. "I think we are hoping, and we are calling for stepped up production of vaccines and exchange of information in that area," she said. A woman receives the COVID-19 vaccine in Rabat, Morocco, on April 8, 2021. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua) The IMF official noted that excess vaccines in advanced economies should be channeled to low-income countries, and policymakers should also make sure that the COVAX facility, an international initiative co-led by the World Health Organization and partners to ensure equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, is fully funded. "The other reason that it's so important to have access everywhere including in low-income and emerging economies is that, in the absence of that, the pandemic will just drag on and then there'll be new mutants," Brooks said. "And that would hurt everybody, including advanced economies," she continued. "So in that sense, it's also in the self-interest of advanced economies to help as much as possible." Aside from the virus, Brooks highlighted other risks to global economic recovery, such as trade and technology tensions. "I think now, more than ever, we think that the global economy would benefit from a more open, stable, transparent, and rules-based international trade system," she said. A boy sits by closed shops at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, April 10, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua) According to the latest WEO report, recoveries are diverging dangerously across and within countries, as economies with slower vaccine rollout, more limited policy support, and more reliance on tourism do less well. Brooks said the main worrying thing is that the progress low-income countries and some emerging markets had made to catch up the income of advanced economies "is at risk of being undone with this crisis," Brooks said. The IMF official noted that part of the reason for the slow recoveries in low-income and some emerging economies lies with the financial support they have been able to provide domestically. The world as a whole has provided fiscal support that accounts for 9 percent of GDP, according to Brooks. In advanced economies, that number is over 16 percent, while in low-income countries, that number is 1.7 percent. "That's an issue," she said. The multilateral institution has so far supported 86 countries with over 110 billion dollars, using a variety of instruments, and it has planned to propose a new Special Drawing Rights allocation of 650 billion dollars to help meet the long-term global need to supplement reserves, according to the IMF website. Photo taken on April 9, 2021 shows a closed shop in Rawalpindi of Pakistan's Punjab province. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal) The WEO report noted that uneven recoveries are also occurring within countries as young and lower-skilled workers remain more heavily affected, and women have suffered more, especially in emerging markets and developing economies. The crisis has also revealed that the social safety nets would need to be enhanced on a more permanent basis to work against poverty observed during the crisis, Brooks told Xinhua. The latest WEO report projected that the Chinese economy will grow by 8.4 percent in 2021, 0.3 percentage point above the January forecast. The upward revision reflects improved external environment with stronger global growth, according to the report. "Another positive factor is that we're seeing more demand for pandemic-related goods than what we had anticipated previously," Brooks said, noting that the pandemic is lasting longer than expected. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) 50 Cent made clear he harbors no ill will toward Diddy after the fellow music stalwart was seen holding hands with his ex Daphne Joy, who he shares a child with. The 45-year-old reacted to an Instagram post about a report of the pair after they were snapped in Miami last week holding hands. The If I Can't rapper wrote: 'Nah me and puff fight over business s***, If he like the girl, he like the girl. I dont give a f***.' The latest: 50 Cent, 45, made clear he harbors no ill will toward Diddy, 51, after the fellow music stalwart was seen holding hands with his ex Daphne Joy, 34, who he shares a child with. The pair was snapped in Miami last week holding hands 50 Cent shares eight-year-old son Sire with model Joy, 34, who he parted ways in 2012. The rap artist, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, is currently in a romance with model Cuban Link, whose real name is Jamira Haines. The Candy Shop artist, who was first linked to Cuban Link in August of 2019, gifted the beauty with a $250,000 Mercedes Maybach truck this past holiday season. In recent years, Diddy has been linked to socialite Lori Harvey and model Tina Louise since his 2018 split from longtime girlfriend Cassie. 50 Cent shares eight-year-old son Sire with Joy, a model who he parted ways in 2012. No hard feelings: The rap vet made clear he was not angry about the budding romance The veteran rapper wore high socks with marijuana leaves and sandals on the outing 50 Cent and Joy have a turbulent past, as in October of 2013, he entered a guilty plea to vandalism charges stemming from a row he had with the model at her Los Angeles home in June of that year. Prosecutors dropped a domestic violence charge in the incident, in which they said that the rapper 'allegedly began destroying the females property,' and injured her after he 'kicked open the bedroom door and kicked her,' CNN reported. 50 Cent was given three years of probation, 30 days of community service, $7,100 in fines, and a year of domestic violence counseling in connection with the incident. By Ko Dong-hwan A man is being investigated on suspicion of damaging parked vehicles and fleeing the scene of an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. The 20-something driver of a black Genesis SUV allegedly crashed into two parked cars in the Gupo area of Busan's Buk District at around 1 a.m. The collision caused the Genesis' rear right tire to burst. Immediately, the driver drove on from the scene, with the rear tire rim shooting sparks as it ground against the asphalt road. A driver inside a Tuscan, one of the two cars hit, witnessed the getaway and reported it to police, which dispatched patrol cars to the area. Police pursued the Genesis for about two kilometers until the SUV was unable to drive any further. The SUV drove 14 kilometers in total with a blown tire. A police officer said the suspect refused to take a Breathalyzer test. He faces multiple charges including violation of the Road Traffic Act. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Antifog Additives market is accounted for $ 300.41 million in 2017 and is expected to reach $ 490.56 million by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period. The rising revenue of the middle-class people in the promising economies and the development of groceries processing are some of the factors propelling market growth. However, the rigorous administration policy and rules associated to the custom of Antifog additives in the food wrapping films, and addiction on the industries manufacturing agricultural and groceries wrapping films which are hampering the growth of the market. Click Here to Get Sample Premium Report @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11453 Anti-fog additives are non-ionic surfactants use to decrease the fog configuration on the plastic sheets. Fog configuration takes place owing to the condensation of vapors on the outside for the reason that the variation between temperature, moisture. The additives assist to diminish the surface tension of the droplets there on the sheets produced by the reduction of the water vapors. Anti-fog additives are able to be added to plastics as of where they can shift away from the inner face of the plastic. Based on application, the food packaging segment of the Antifog additives marketplace is proposed to rise at a higher CAGR throughout the estimate phase in terms of mutually in rate and quantity. Fog configuration in the food packaging films is measured harmful as it not simply reduces the visibility of the foodstuff package but moreover it has an unfavorable cause on visual value and ridge petition of the packaged food. It could also direct to the spoiling of the packaged food product. This harmful outcome of fog configuration is capable of prohibited by means of Antifog food packaging films. There is an improved demand for Antifog food packaging films from the food packaging business in favor of a brand new food packaging application. You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/11453/Single By Geography, Asia Pacific is likely to trace considerable expansion in the anti-fog additives market more the estimated period. On the rise of non-refundable profits in the area all along by the increasing boom in the food and packaging is expected to fuel this growth. Additionally, varying end-user practices and rising approval of higher agricultural practices are more likely to force the demand for anti-fog additives in the region. Some of the key players profiled in the Antifog Additives Market include Evonik Industries Ag, e. i., Dupont De Nemours And Company, A. Schulman, Inc, Croda International Plc., Clariant Ag, Ashland Inc., Akzo Nobel N.V., PolyOne Corporation, Pcc Chemax Inc., Palsgaard, Emery Oleochemicals, Corbion N.V., Ampacet Corporation, and Addcomp Holland. Types Covered: Titanium Dioxide Sorbitan Esters of Fatty Acids Polyoxyethylene Esters of Oleic Acid Polyglycerol Ester Glycerol Ester Gelatin Ethoxylated Sorbitan Ester Ethoxylated Alkylamine Ester Forms Covered: Wet Wipes Spray Solutions Gels Creams Other Forms Applications Covered: Food Packaging Films Agricultural Films Other Applications Regions Covered: North America o US o Canada o Mexico Europe o Germany o UK o Italy o France o Spain o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o Japan o China o India o Australia o New Zealand o South Korea o Rest of Asia Pacific South America o Argentina o Brazil o Chile o Rest of South America Middle East & Africa o Saudi Arabia o UAE o Qatar o South Africa o Rest of Middle East & Africa What our report offers: Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments Market share analysis of the top industry players Strategic recommendations for the new entrants Market forecasts for a minimum of 9 years of all the mentioned segments, sub-segments, and the regional markets Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations) Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements Request For Report Discounts @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/11453 Free Customization Offerings: All the customers of this report will be entitled to receive one of the following free customization options: Company Profiling o Comprehensive profiling of additional market players (up to 3) o SWOT Analysis of key players (up to 3) Regional Segmentation o Market estimations, Forecasts and CAGR of any prominent country as per the clients interest (Note: Depends of feasibility check) Competitive Benchmarking Benchmarking of key players based on product portfolio, geographical presence, and strategic alliances ALBERT LEA, Minn. A restaurant owner locked in a legal battle over COVID-19 restrictions is now apparently a fugitive from the law. Lisa Hanson, owner of The Interchange Wine & Coffee Bistro in Albert Lea, is facing legal sanctions for allegedly opening up her business in violation of Governor Walz coronavirus restrictions. A civil lawsuit has been filed against her by the State of Minnesota and criminal charges have also been filed in Freeborn County. Authorities say two misdemeanor warrants have now been issued for Hanson after she failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing. When President Joe Biden recently declared a $2.3 trillion spending plan, a number of Democrats in Washington grumbled. Their complaints included the price tag was not large enough and that the Washington power grab was not driven enough. Biden's Infrastructure Plan According to Biden, he views his over $2 trillion infrastructure plan as simply a starting point for Congress deals, a draft document of ideals wherein "compromise is inevitable." Even as the White House maintains it is seeking for bipartisan engagement, the focus on Capitol Hill is already being overturned from winning over Republicans to gaming out what will be needed to get cut if Democrats end up passing the massive package through the budget maneuver known as reconciliation. This move would necessitate maintaining the caucus united in support. A crucial period of deals is slated to determine the size and scope of the president's infrastructure package. It will commence this week on Capitol Hill upon lawmakers' return from a two-week recess. According to Biden and Democratic leaders, they are looking to secure Republican support for the package the president revealed in late March, reported The Wall Street Journal. According to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Biden could change some aspects of his infrastructure proposal. He could be open to breaking it up into many smaller packages. Granholm stated, "The president is willing to negotiate what this looks like. He knows that his current plan is going to be changed. That's the nature of compromise, so whether it is in one big package or several packages, he wants to talk to Republicans," reported ABC News. Joe Biden Announces New Gun Control EOs That Are Reportedly Limited Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came into defense on Sunday regarding the Biden administration's broad definition of infrastructure in the American Jobs Plan. He said the president is still aiming for GOP support for the plan while seeking progress on it by Memorial Day. According to Buttigieg, "I very much believe that all of these things are infrastructure because infrastructure is the foundation that allows us go about our lives," reported CNN. Buttigieg also corrected a false claim that he and another White House official touted about Biden's American Jobs Plan. He stated Moody's Analytics actually surmised the proposal would merely create an estimated 2.7 million jobs as opposed to 19 million new jobs they earlier claimed. In response to a question from Chris Wallace from "Fox News Sunday" regarding the false claim, Sec. Buttigieg remarked he should have been more "precise" in identifying that the estimate of 19 million jobs created under Biden's proposal in the next 10 years is only 2.7 million more jobs than Moody's estimates to be developed without the plan. Buttigieg further clarified it is part of a scenario that Moody's says will add 19 million jobs. The cost at $2.3 trillion of what Biden is proposing for his infrastructure plan is four times the expenses of the United States in today's dollars to build the national interstate highway system. Biden will reportedly never be able to spend adequately to satisfy Washington Democrats. Americans Not Required to Carry 'Vaccine Passports,' According to White House @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Photo: (Photo : Pixabay) Suicidal thoughts were increasing before, but the pandemic has significantly impacted mental health in the United States. However, pediatricians are especially worried about one pattern that has emerged in recent months: an increase in the number of teenagers who have had suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide. Between July and October of last year, Boston Children's Hospital saw a 47 percent rise in kids having to be treated for suicidal ideation or attempts, compared to the same time the year before. The Children's Center in Salt Lake City, which provides mental health services to children aged eight and under, said the "lines haven't stopped ringing" with families seeking help. Staff workers at the Riverbend Center for Mental Health, which partners with many school districts in northwest Alabama, saw a 55 percent rise in safety measures for children aged 6 to 13 who were at risk of harming themselves from 2018 to 2019. Even as the number of patients in the Children's Minnesota hospital system decreased during the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people seeking mental health treatment remained constant. READ: How To Decrease Suicide Risk in Teens The upward trend that began last year has continued. For example, on the day this story was released, March 25, Children's Hospital said it had more than 50 children under the age of 17 who were either admitted or waiting for an inpatient bed for reasons related to suicide. A reporter talked with three doctors who are seeing this firsthand: Dr. Patricia Ibeziako, associate chief for clinical care in Boston Children's Hospital's psychiatry department; Dr. Elizabeth Pinsky, an infant, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital; and Dr. Michelle Durham, a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center. According to the psychiatrists, more time and money should be focused on community-level care and access to therapies for children from all backgrounds, income levels, and insurance policies to prevent children from reaching the point that they need treatment. They've been admitted to the hospital because they're suicidal. However, according to the physicians, multiple stressors linked to the pandemic are contributing to the despair that is driving children to emergency rooms and causing them to be admitted. ALSO READ: Feelings Charts Help Teach Emotional Life Skills to Children Highlights from the Interview on the Suicidal Thoughts of Kids during COVID-19 Pandemic For Dr. Patricia Ibeziako, the stresses that we've heard about from patients presenting with suicidality over the past six to eight months are academic difficulties, including falling grades, having trouble concentrating, family stresses, and disagreements, as well as social alienation and reduced social connections. She admitted, however, that school and academic stress have always been popular topics of discussion. Those were the most commonly identified stressor in children and adolescents who have mental health problems and are admitted to the hospital. It's just a matter of much higher patient numbers and pandemic-related effects now. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Pinsky, M.D. considers the young people we meet, including the teenagers we know who are going through the natural and crucial process of separating from their families and forming an independent identity. Athletes, actresses, mates, and community members are some of these personalities. And we've taken those things away from these kids in a way that targets the factors that contribute to their overall wellbeing. We are aware of children who are dedicated to sports. One of the reasons we see such an increase in self-harm is the losses that teens, in particular, are experiencing around identity and who they are in the world. Lastly, Michelle Durham, Ph.D., believes that families have always dealt with food insecurity, housing insecurity, working many jobs, and multigenerational families. Financial difficulties and the question of whether or not they'll be evicted or allowed to keep your home are complex for these families and what made this whole year challenging and triggers self-harm. READ MORE: New Study Reveals Major Cause of Depression Among Children [April 12, 2021] One Day Online Course: Regulations & Operational Compliance for Funds - April 22nd, 2021 - ResearchAndMarkets.com The "Regulations & Operational Compliance for Funds" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This is a unique opportunity to complete this programme remotely via a live virtual class which will be delivered on 22 Apr 2021 by a senior expert with over 20 years of experience. It's a virtual classroom-like experience where you will see the trainer and other participants and be able to take part in discussions and Q&As. You will receive a set of course materials and a certificate on completion. Fund Managers together with their service providers need to ensure that their funds are operated in a compliant manner. However, this is a greater challenge today than ever due to the increasing demands of regulation and the greater complexity of funds. Demands for increased efficiency and robust risk management processes only add to the complexity. This practical one day workshop will equip you with the most up-to-date knowledge about the latest regulation requirements which apply to the operations of authorised funds. You will have a chance to explore the impact of MiFID and the latest developments in UCITS Funds as well as the key regulations in the COLL Sourcebook. You will also learn about the transfer agency and fund accounting, concentrating on high-risk areas where mistakes frequently occur, such as fund pricing and will examine case studies. Finally, you will work through the techniques and examples of "intelligent oversight" which can greatly simplify the identification and resolution of administration. Examples are provided of due diligence questionnaires and oversight reports. What will you learn By the end of this training you will: Understand the implications of Brexit on fund management operations and regulation Have a great understanding of all the major regulations affecting fund management today Learn about UCITS Funds and the latest developments under UCITS V Directive Assess the impact of MiFID 2 Explore the requirements of the key COLL regulations Recognise the FCA regulation and approach to the operation of investment funds Get a thorough understanding of processes required to provide effective fund oversight Learn about the fund governance procedures Understand the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved Explore the development of effective controls for fund accounting Lern how to manage risks and set up appropriate compliance monitoring frameworks including high-risk areas in fund accounting and transfer agency Learn about the challenges of overseeing offshore funds Learn how to structure third party agreements and oversee third parties Understand the aspects of particular concern from the FCA Learn about the FCA's approach towards operational resilience and fund management Explore the rise in the FCA's expectations in relation to Environmental, Social and Governance 'ESG' Main topics covered during this training UCITS Directives and AIFMD Impact of MiFID 2 on fund management Key COLL regulations Main parties involved Fund governance Fund documentation Fund administration - the Transfer Agent and accountant Developing effective control environment for fund accounting FCA Conduct Risk, Operational resilience and ESG - Environmental, Social and Governance Investment & borrowing powers of UCITS vs NURS funds The RDR & share classes Oversight of offshore funds Third party agreements and oversight Risk management and compliance FCA Review of Outsourcing Oversight Key Topics Covered: Introduction Key Fund terminology Impact of Brexit The Key Regulations The FCA handbooks COLL COLL extracts - prospectus, dealing, fund accounting MiFID II The impact on fund managers Retrocessions Dealing commission Product suitability Timescale The main parties Transfer Agent Fund accountant Custodian Depositary Investment manager Auditor Legal adviser Who requires oversight? Fund governance Oversight by the Board TCF Risks Oversight of third parties The importance of challenge Fund governance and UCITS IV Fund documentation The prospectus KIID Investor documentation Report & accounts TER & OCF Fund administration - the Transfer Agent Dealing Settlement The register Box (News - Alert) management What is client money? Where can things go wrong? Fund administration - the Fund Accountant NAV calculation Income & expenses Distributions Share Classes RDR Distribution of income Monitoring for share class divergence Developing effective controls for fund accounting Controls over valuation of individual securities Income and expense accruals Daily fund level checks Periodic checks Investment & Borrowing Powers UCITS vs. NURS Eligible assets Investment restrictions Advertent and inadvertent errors Derivatives heat map Monitoring investment & borrowing powers Offshore funds UK vs Ireland & Luxembourg Issues when overseeing offshore fund ranges and third parties Reporting fund status Taxation in the UK Third-party agreements Service Level Agreements Identification of key SLAs Key Risk Indicators Key Performance Indicators Risk management What are the key risks? The Integrated Risk Assessment Portfolio risk management Risk mitigation Heat maps Oversight of Third Parties Key Issues Three lines of defence Fund oversight teams Visits to the administrator Risk based reviews FCA Review of Outsourcing Oversight TR 13/10 Key concerns of the FCA The Outsourcing Working Group response For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/iobl8j View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005414/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ST. PAUL, Minn. Schools across Minnesota are being alerted after a COVID-19 outbreak is linked to a youth wrestling tournament. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says 15 confirmed coronavirus cases have now been traced to the Northland Youth Wrestling Association 2021 State Wrestling Tournament that was held at the PREMIER Center Complex in Sioux Falls from March 31 to April 3. Health officials wrestlers from schools in a least 52 Minnesota counties competed in the event. Anyone who attended this tournament is being asked to get tested immediately for COVID-19 and to watch for symptoms. We know that Minnesotans desperately want to get back to doing the things we all love, says Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist and medical director for MDH. However, COVID-19 is spreading across Minnesota at a high rate. We ask Minnesotans to please be patient and to continue to use prevention measures, and not to gather in large groups of people, particularly indoors, and please continue to wear masks and physically distance. For those who are eligible, we need folks to get vaccinated; vaccination is how we will overcome this pandemic. MDH says nine counties have confirmed cases associated with this event: Cass, Le Sueur, Lyon, Morrison, Murray, Rice, Todd, Wright and Yellow Medicine. To date, eight schools have confirmed cases associated with the event, including six public schools and two non-public schools. Wrestlers from schools in Dodge, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, and Wabasha counties attended the tournament. Given the widespread geographic nature of this outbreak and the number of potential close contacts, MDH and the Minnesota Department of Education urge all tournament participants, their families, and other spectators to get tested now. Ghana has not been downgraded from a middle income to a low-income status, the International Monetary Funds country representative has told asaaseradio. In a tweet on Monday 12 April, Dr Albert Touna-Mama described reports suggesting that Ghana has be reclassified as a low-income country by the IMF in its April Fiscal Monitor Report as fake news. Per official documents, the generally accepted classification of countries by income level is done by the World Bank. The Bank assigns the worlds economies to four income groups namely low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income countries. The classifications are updated each year on 1 July and are based on GNI per capita in current USD (using the Atlas method exchange rates) of the previous year. Touna-Mama said he does not expect the countrys middle-income status will change anytime soon. It has been for more than a while now and it is not expected to change anytime soon as far as I know, he said in a Whatsapp chat with Asaaseradio.com. Currently, the IMFs fiscal monitor breaks down countries into three groupings namely: Advanced Economies; Emerging Market and Middle-Income Economies; and low-Income Developing Countries. The classification, according to Touna-Mama, is not new and does not have an incidence on the countries access to IMF or World Bank facilities.

Fake news @gwiafe @Joy997FM @factcheck_ghana https://t.co/wL0WDng8xY

Albert Touna-Mama (@ATounaMama) April 12, 2021
Source: twitter/asaaseradio.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 Chandigarh, April 12 : The Haryana government on Monday announced night curfew from 9 p.m. till 5 a.m. with immediate effect to curb the spike in Covid cases. Earlier, neighbouring Punjab, Chandigarh, and Delhi had imposed night curfew too. State Health Minister Anil Vij told the media that the decision was taken in the wake of the sudden spike in cases. The number of active Covid cases in Haryana has doubled in the last 11 days, from 10,300 to over 20,000 on April 11. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas will argue that it has governmental immunity that protects it from the at least 35 lawsuits that have been filed against the operator after Februarys disastrous winter storm which killed dozens of people and created millions of dollars of damages. ERCOT has and will continue to assert that it is entitled to sovereign immunity due to its organization and function as an arm of State government, the organization wrote in a court filing requesting to consolidate several of the lawsuits its battling. Sovereign immunity grants protections for state agencies against lawsuits, with some exceptions. And this isnt the first time ERCOT has made the argument with some success that it should be shielded from lawsuits due to its role acting upon the directives of state agencies and lawmakers. In 2018, an appeals court in Dallas ruled that ERCOT, despite the fact that it is a private nonprofit, has sovereign immunity after Dallas-based utility Panda Power sued the operator over allegations of flawed energy projections. That immunity was challenged at the Texas Supreme Court in March. However, the high court refused to rule on the issue, claiming it lacked jurisdiction because the original case that posed the question was dismissed a hotly contested opinion with four of the nine justices dissenting. A flurry of lawsuits were filed against ERCOT following the late-February winter storm that caused almost 70% of its customers to lose power in subfreezing temperatures. At least 111 people died, mostly due to hypothermia, according to state records. The Houston Chronicle reports the number of dead is nearly 200. The grid operator is asking the Texas Supreme Court to merge the nearly three dozen lawsuits filed against it as a result of the February storm into multidistrict litigation, meaning the cases would be handled in a single court. A spokesperson for ERCOT said in a statement it requested the move to more efficiently resolve common questions of law and fact. Attorneys for ERCOT detailed the lawsuits filed against it over the last couple of months in the request. Two dozen include families accusing the operator of causing the deaths of family members, who they say died from sickness, cold or lack of power for oxygen machines, according to court filings. One of these cases include the death of an 11-year-old boy in Conroe. In some lawsuits, ERCOT is named alongside Texas power companies, such as CenterPoint Energy, NRG Energy, Oncor and CPS Energy which do not have sovereign immunity. Two of the cases are proposed class action lawsuits. ERCOTs insurance provider, Cincinnati Insurance Co., has asked the U.S. district court in Austin to excuse it from covering storm damages or damages from lawsuits, according to the Houston Chronicle. It argues that the damages should not be defined as an accident because ERCOT should have been prepared for the storm. Disclosure: CenterPoint Energy, CPS Energy, NRG Energy and Oncor have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/09/ercot-lawsuit-immunity-winter-storm/. Topics Lawsuits Texas Windstorm A married City executive who was sacked for making a 'sleazy' drunken pass at a junior colleague he told was a '7 out of 10' has failed in his bid to overturn an unfair dismissal. Tom Skinner told Jessica Lennox she was in his 'top three' and asked her what would happen if they were the last people left alive and had to 'repopulate the Earth'. When she complained, the father claimed she had 'misunderstood' and that he actually meant she would be a great number seven in a work rugby team. After Skinner was sacked for gross misconduct he launched an unfair dismissal claim alleging he had been discriminated against because he suffered from anxiety. But his case has been dismissed after an employment tribunal ruled his 'inappropriate behaviour' meant his sacking was justified. Tom Skinner told Jessica Lennox she was in his 'top three' and asked her what would happen if they were the last people left alive and had to 'repopulate the Earth', the tribunal in central London (building pictured) heard The hearing in central London was told Mr Skinner was employed as an associate director at investment management company Smith & Williamson Corporate Services Limited. In October 2018 the company held their annual financial services conference where there was a dinner followed by drinks. The tribunal heard that after the meal a drunken Mr Skinner approached junior colleague, Ms Lennox, and posed a 'hypothetical scenario' to her in which she was approached by a man on a dance floor. He then went on to say he would like to get with 'the prettiest girl' before telling Ms Lennox that he thought she was a '7 out of 10'. When Ms Lennox asked him what he was talking about he was said to have replied that she would be in his 'top three'. Later on in the evening Mr Skinner again approached Ms Lennox, who worked as an office assistant, and asked her what would happen if they were the 'last two people on earth' and had to 'repopulate the earth'. Throughout the evening, the tribunal heard Mr Skinner's behaviour got progressively worse and he later approached another woman, named only as 'Ms J' and made a number of inappropriate comments. He said he used to attend sex parties in his younger years before telling her he helped pay her mortgage. Later on, he approached her at the bar, grabbed her face and told her she had 'marzipan cheeks'. He also went up to another women and tried to give her his phone number but she rejected him saying it was 'a bit sleazy'. Towards the end of the night, the Birmingham University graduate followed 'Ms J' into the toilet on two occasions and refused to leave until another woman walked in. After the conference Mr Skinner was reported to his bosses and an investigation was launched. The tribunal heard that during the interview Mr Skinner denied all of the accusations and attempted to give a different explanation for the '7 out of 10' comment. He claimed that he remembered saying that, if the company had a work rugby team, he would play Ms Lennox at number seven and another colleague, at position ten. He admitted he had drunk a lot and his memory was 'hazy' but denied talking about sex parties and claimed he only 'accidentally' walked into the women's bathroom. He did confess during the investigation to 'missing his old life pre-children' and said it was 'all a bit different from threesomes at uni'. The tribunal heard his version of events was rejected by the company and other members of staff who confirmed what had happened and said Mr Skinner was 'particularly drunk'. At the disciplinary meeting Mr Skinner 'appeared stressed and anxious' and even asked whether police were outside waiting for him. He later claimed he experienced a period of 'extreme mental distress, paranoia, anxiety and psychosis' during the disciplinary process. Mr Skinner was subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct. Employment Judge Natasha Joffe, concluded that Mr Skinner 'had a tendency at times to present the version of events which at a particular moment he felt would be most helpful or to edit facts which would be unhelpful'. Judge Joffe concluded: 'It was within the band of reasonable responses to dismiss [Mr Skinner] for what was found to be a sequence of inappropriate behaviours, some of them with sexual content and much of the behaviour directed towards more junior female employees.' She ruled that the claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination were both unfounded. Latin American countries Peru and Ecuador continued their election amid the COVID-19 crisis their nation is facing. The election of both countries comes as strict public health measures continue to strengthen to their neighboring Latin American countries, according to an Associated Press report. People from Ecuador were divided as they voted for their presidential candidates, which are composed of a businessman and a former leftist. Meanwhile, Peru will have to mount their president from 18 candidates this year. READ NEXT: Ecuador's Third Health Minister to Resign Amid Coronavirus Pandemic Only Served for 19 Days Ecuador and Peru on their Election Ecuador In Ecuador, the presidential candidate will be a faceoff between conservative businessman Guillermo Lasso and Andre Arauz, a follower of former leftist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, according to a report from France24. Lasso finished second in the last two presidential contests as he supports free-market policies and the reconciliation of Ecuador with international organizations. Meanwhile, Arauz is supported by Correa, which has massive support from the Andean nation. Arauz is the one behind the idea of making the rich pay more taxes and backing away from the International Monetary Fund. "We all wish for an Ecuador of opportunities, free and democratic," said Lasso after casting his vote. Lasso also envisioned every Ecuadorian family becoming prosperous. Ecuador has about 17.4 million people, and voting in the country is mandatory. France24 pointed out that the battered economy of the country will block the promises of whoever between Lasso and Arauz wins the post of Ecuador's president. "I don't know how much they can do with such depleted resources," said Carlos de la Torre, the director of the Center for Latin American Studies of the University of Florida. Carlos de la Torre also emphasized that there is a lot of suppressed anger in the nation and that it is a "total disaster." Peru In Peru, there are 18 hopefuls of the Presidential post after a series of turmoil in their government. Series of Presidents in the country have been ousted for corruption allegations, where some were imprisoned, and some were arrested in their mansions. The whole Congress was also unmounted from the post in connection with corruption scandals. The number of candidates vying for presidency follows the country's political chaos in November, wherein three individuals were named presidents in just a week after one was impeached by their Congress, still because of corruption issues. Centrist Yohny Lescano is the one leading the Peruvian polls with the support of 15 percent for the presidency. Lescano was followed by George Forsyth, Rafael Lopez, and Keiko Fujimori. Peru and Ecuador Voters Amid COVID-19 In Ecuador, voters are required to wear masks and maintain a five feet distance from others. They are only allowed to take off their masks during the checking of their identity. Meanwhile, in Peru, there is a schedule of a specific time for people to cast their vote. The measure was done to avoid overcrowding during the voting. Moreover, Peruvian voters will undergo temperature checks and wipe their footwear on sanitizing mats. Both countries required their constituents to bring their pens during the election. According to the World Health Organization, as of April 10, Ecuador has 37,288 active COVID cases while Peru has 27,319. READ MORE: Peru Sterilization Case: Former President Alberto Fujimori to Face Trial WATCH: Ecuador weighs two very different economic visions in election - from Al Jazeera English The spiralling mental state of a wanted gunman and the communication breakdowns within Queensland police were the recurring themes during the first day of the coronial inquest into the deaths of Senior Constable Brett Forte and his killer, Ricky Maddison. It was also revealed by one of Maddisons friends, Andrew Beveridge, that the fatal encounter between Maddison and Forte almost never happened, because Mr Beveridge was going to take his friend to the Gold Coast that day, until he changed his mind at the last minute. Rick Maddison was shot dead by police after a 20-hour siege. Credit:Facebook Senior Constable Forte was fatally shot by Maddison on May 29, 2017, on a dirt track called Wallers Road in Ringwood, near Gatton in the Lockyer Valley. Maddison had ambushed the police officers who were chasing him and unleashing a hail on gunfire with an automatic rifle on Senior Constable Fortes police vehicle. According to information published by the Philippine Navy (PN) on April 12, 2021, the PN has expressed its interest to acquire the newly-decommissioned Cyclone-class patrol vessels of the United States (US) Navy. According to information published by the Philippine Navy (PN) on April 12, 2021, the PN has expressed its interest to acquire the newly-decommissioned Cyclone-class patrol vessels of the United States (US) Navy. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link USS Hurricane, USS Typhoon and USS Chinook, in the Persian Gulf in March 2015. (Picture source: US Navy) "The PN has manifested its interest in the decommissioned Cyclone-class patrol vessels (CCPVs) of the US Navy as a stop-gap to the decommissioned legacy PN ships. As to how many, that depends on the seaworthiness and efficiency of the CCPVs that will be offered, and this will be determined by the PN Joint Visual Inspection Team," PN chief, Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said in a message to the Philippine News Agency Thursday night. Bacordo said he will be happy if the PN acquires at least five of these Cyclone-class patrol vessels which will be a boost to its fleet. At present, the PN has one Cyclone-class patrol vessel in its service, the BRP General Mariano Alvarez (PS-38), formerly the ex-USS Cyclone, which was transferred to the PN in 2004. "We have manifested our interest with JUSMAG (Joint US Military Assistance Group) and US INDOPACOM (Indo-Pacific Command)," he added. The Cyclone-class patrol ships are a class of United States Navy coastal patrol boats. Most of these ships were launched between 1992 and 1994. The primary mission of these ships is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance, an important aspect of littoral operations outlined in the Navy's strategy, "Forward...From the Sea." These ships also provide full mission support for U.S. Navy SEALs and other special operations forces. The Cyclone-class patrol ships are a class of US Navy coastal patrol boats consisting of some 14 ships. These vessels weigh around 328.5 long tons and have a length of 179 feet, a beam of 25 feet, and a draft of 7.5 feet. Their maximum speed is placed at 35 knots and they have a range of between 2,000 to 2,500 nautical miles. Cyclone-class patrol vessels are armed with two 25mm autocannons and several high-powered machine guns. The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has announced his intention to add an additional 16 States to the list of designated states. People arriving into Ireland from these states or transiting through them must complete Mandatory Hotel Quarantine. The decision to add to the list of designated states was approved at a Government meeting this evening. States being added to the designated list will be included as a priority on the booking system for mandatory hotel quarantine early next week, with passengers from these States entering quarantine starting from 04.00 on Thursday, 15 April. Minister 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 Irelands biosecurity, ensuring we have the strongest measures in place in Europe. The additional countries to be added to the list are: Bangladesh, Belgium, France, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Pakistan, Turkey, the USA, Canada, Armenia, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Curacao, Maldives, Ukraine. The Minister also intends to revoke the designation in place for: Albania, Israel and St. Lucia. Anyone currently in mandatory quarantine who has travelled from or through these states must complete their period of quarantine. In addition, all travellers into Ireland from non-designated countries must continue to adhere to Home Quarantine, and in addition to their arrival negative PCR test, from next week they must have booked through the HSE an appointment for a further test at day 5. Minister 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 cant allow Variants of Concern to set us back on the progress we have made. I would like to particularly thank my Ministerial colleagues in the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Transport and Defence, my officials in the Department of Health and across multiple government departments and other agencies in ensuring we can continue to act on public health advice. ENDS A full list of Designated states is available here. NOTES to Editor The Expert Advisory Group on Travel (EAGT) was established on 1 March 2021 to develop a method of risk assessing States and consider all concerns COVID-19 poses for travel. The Group meets every two weeks to recommend amendments to the list of Designated States, taking into account: Countries with outbreak involving known variants of concern Countries with a very high 14-day incidence (500/100,000) Countries with a high 14-day incidence (greater than 2.5 times Irelands 14-dau incidence but <500/100,000) These recommendations are considered by the Chief Medical Officer who in turn makes a recommendation to the Minister for Health. The EAGT has emphasised the ongoing risk presented by variants of concern, variants of interest and the challenge posed by the limited availability of data relating to the locations and spread of VOCs. The group will give ongoing consideration to any other measures they deem required to reduce the risk of imported cases of COVID-19. LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 12, 2021 / The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, reminds investors of a class action lawsuit against Ebang International Holdings Inc. ("Ebang" or "the Company") (NASDAQ:EBON) for violations of 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors who purchased the Company's securities between June 26, 2020 and April 5, 2021, inclusive (the ''Class Period''), are encouraged to contact the firm before June 7, 2021. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at brian@schallfirm.com. The class, in this case, has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member. According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. Ebang directed the proceeds of its public offerings into low yield, long-term bonds and to related parties instead of developing its operations and infrastructure. The Company inflated its declining sales through schemes such as selling defective units. The Company's prior attempts to go public in Hong Kong failed due to allegations of embezzlement and inflating sales figures. The Company's purported cryptocurrency exchange was actually the purchase of an out-of-the-box crypto solution. Based on these facts, the Company's public statements were false and materially misleading throughout the class period. When the market learned the truth about Ebang, investors suffered damages. Story continues Join the case to recover your losses. The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics. CONTACT: The Schall Law Firm Brian Schall, Esq., www.schallfirm.com Office: 310-301-3335 info@schallfirm.com SOURCE: The Schall Law Firm View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/639880/INVESTOR-ACTION-NOTICE-The-Schall-Law-Firm-Reminds-Investors-of-a-Class-Action-Lawsuit-Against-Ebang-International-Holdings-Inc-and-Encourages-Investors-with-Losses-in-Excess-of-100000-to-Contact-the-Firm Circuits QA Engineer San Diego , California , United States Hardware Summary Posted: Apr 10, 2021 Role Number: 200238074 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 start from scratch if needed, bringing forward-thinking ideas to the real world! Your efforts will be groundbreaking, often literally. Join us, and you'll help design the tools that allow us to bring customers experiences they've never before envisioned. We have an extraordinary opportunity for digital design QA Engineers. In this highly visible role, you will be at the heart of a processor design effort, working with the custom digital circuits team and library development, making a critical impact delivering high quality products to market quickly. Key Qualifications We are looking for applicants with 1~2 years of experience in SRAM or Standard Cell Library development, EDA automation or Quality Assurance. Proficient in scripting in Perl, Python and/or TCL. Good understanding of transistor level design, SRAM and/or Standard cell circuits, cell characterization and library validation. Experience with various EDA tools for synthesis, place-route, verilog simulation, spice simulation, formal verification, DRC/LVS, RC extraction and/or library characterization. Familiarity of Verilog syntax, liberty models and variation format. Knowledge of timing, power, noise and IR analysis. 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 ideas, as well as work with a team of hardworking engineers. As a QA Engineer for the digital circuits team, you will perform the following: - Define and develop QA checks to verify EDA views of megacells and standard cell libraries. - Debug and provide quick solutions for digital IP designers and/or users. - Engage with CAD team to implement new automation flows and QA checks. - Work with foundries on library releases, technical support and model enhancement. Education & Experience - BSEE / MSEE is required. Additional Requirements Apple is an Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We also take affirmative action to offer employment and advancement opportunities to all applicants, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Apple will not discriminate or retaliate against applicants who inquire about, disclose, or discuss their compensation or that of other applicants. Cavendish secures first win in three years Manx cyclist Mark Cavendish has secured his first stage win in more than three years. Now 35, he finished ahead of his rivals in a bunch sprint to claim a stage two victory at the Tour of Turkey. Cavendish has struggled with illness and injury in recent years. He's only second on the list of record stage wins at the Tour de France, with 30 in total. Albertas New Curriculum: Ditching the Regressive Theory of Discovery Learning Commentary Alberta is hoping to pilot a new K-6 curriculum soon, and not surprisingly it has upset some parents, the NDP, and the teachers union. There are a lot of entrenched interests standing in the way, but hopefully Albertans will see this curriculum implemented. It is guided by the best evidence about student learning and developing critical thinking skills. The new curriculum rejects the discovery-learning model promoted in Canadian curricula since the 2000s. Discovery learnings roots go back much earlier, to American theorist John Dewey who advanced the idea in the early 1900s. It has remained popular ever since, despite its failings. Several of the western provinces introduced discovery learning into math curricula around 2006. As a result, Albertas students have only become less math proficient. Writing in The Edmonton Journal, David Staples reports, Major international tests started to show a doubling of our innumeracy rate, from about six per cent in 2007 to about 12 per cent in 2019. Similar trends occur wherever discovery math has been introduced. For that reason, Anna Stokke, chair of math and statistics at the University of Winnipeg, has called discovery learning academic child abuse. About a decade ago discovery-learning was repackaged as twenty-first century learning and pushed into British Columbias entire curriculum from top to bottom. Parents were told their children would magically learn to think critically without having to learn nearly as much content as before. By supposedly discovering things for themselves, students would arrive at deeper learning. But since its introduction, B.C. students scores on the international PISA test have dropped. And a major study out of York University in 2019 found only 44 percent of university students surveyed in Ontario would be deemed functionally prepared to do well in their university studies. Alarmingly, an almost equal number of students were deemed as at risk, and 16 percent were classed as dysfunctional. The rhetoric about [high schools] preparing them with the literacy and critical thinking skills is not matched by the reality, the authors concluded. The new Alberta curriculum will require students to know facts and master subject-content. It doesnt prescribe teaching methods, however. Teachers can still use projects, field trips, and other means of conveying content. But the expectation is that students must have a basic grasp of subject matter as a precondition to thinking clearly. If students dont have a basic knowledge of history, geography, science, fine arts, and other subjects, the curriculums guiding framework states, they dont know what they dont know. On the other hand, students with a broad knowledge base built up systematically over time are better equipped to conduct useful research to fill knowledge gaps for a lifetime of learning. Nonetheless, NDP education critic Sarah Hoffman complains, The curriculum is based on forcing young children to memorize long lists of trivia, rather than building their understanding and their learning and fostering critical thinking. Sadly, author and former teacher Daisy Christodoulou would find this objection all too familiar. In her 2014 book Seven Myths About Education (which should be mandatory reading for anyone assessing the new Alberta curriculum), she argues criticism such as Hoffmans creates a false dichotomy between facts and deeper learning. Critics of fact-learning will often pull out a completely random fact and say something like: who needs to know the date of the Battle of Waterloo? Why does it matter? she writes. But it does matter, because learning the dates of 150 historical events from 3000 BC to the present day and learning a couple of key facts about why each event was important will be of immense use, because it will form the fundamental chronological schema that is the basis of all historical understanding. And the research supports Christodoulou. For example, in 2006 educational psychologists Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark examined the effectiveness of discovery learning. Pure discovery learning, they found, overwhelms students, especially new learners, with new information they cant process. In fact, discovery learning disadvantages students from poorer background who often come to school with less background knowledge to begin with than some of their wealthier peers. But if students have committed a lot of facts to long-term memory, they build a schema within which to fit new knowledge. Only on the basis of this stored knowledge can they begin to reason clearly. This is why students need to memorize multiplication tables, know math formulae, historical events, and scientific theories. And a content-rich curriculum also stands a much better chance of closing the achievement gap between learners from different socio-economic backgrounds. It turns out critical thinking is not a generic skill that you can master without knowing much. I find this to be borne out in my university classes. My first-year students have a hard time thinking clearly about Canadian politics because high school hasnt taught them much about our democratic institutions and history. Until they acquire basic knowledge, they cannot engage in very interesting debates or discussions. They have opinions, sometimes quite strongly held. They are good at criticising things, but this isnt critical thinking. They say they want to reform the voting process, for example, but they dont know our prime minister is not directly elected by the people. Often their views are just distorted claims derived from social media or their friends. In the absence of knowing a lot of accurate facts, its not as though students believe nothing. Its worse. They can believe just about anything. Thats not good for the future of our liberal democratic society. Hoffman is wrong. The new curriculum isnt forcing kids to learn random facts for no reason. It brings knowledge back into the curriculum because research shows this is the only way that kids will become truly independent thinkers. To its credit, the Alberta government is finally putting the real interests of students ahead of a commitment to an outdated theory from the 1900s, and it is now heading in a better direction. It is one parents should support. David W. Livingstone, Ph.D., is a professor in the Liberal Studies and Political Studies departments at Vancouver Island University. He has published articles and book reviews on a variety of topics, including Abraham Lincolns statesmanship, Jean-Jacques Rousseaus political philosophy, and Thomas DArcy McGees contribution to Canadian confederation. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. (Alliance News) - BHP Group PLC on Monday noted that Samarco Mineracao SA on Friday last week filed for judicial reorganisation with the commercial courts of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, Brazil. BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda and Vale SA each hold a 50% interest in Samarco. In Brazil, a judicial reorganisation is for avoiding the bankruptcy of companies under financial difficulties by restructuring the business and maintaining its economic operations as a going concern. For Samarco, the filing is considered a "last-resort response" to several legal actions filed by the company's financial creditors in the US and Brazil, which have led to freezing orders against Samarco's accounts. Both BHP and Vale have expressed their support for Samarco's filing. The judicial reorganisation will not affect Samarco's obligation to make its full redress for the 2015 Fundao dam failure, and will allow the Renova Foundation to continue its remediation and compensation programme, under which it was spent around BRL12.2 billion, around USD3 billion, so far. Samarco's operations were suspended following the catastrophic failure of the Fundao tailings dam in November 2015. In the meantime, Samarco, Vale and BHP will continues negotiations over the next few months with Brazilian authorities on the work undertaken by Renova, in order to progress the settlement of the BRL155 billion public civil claim commenced against them. Shares in BHP Group were down 0.9% at AUD46.27 on Monday in Sydney. By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Want to know what it's like to watch a waterspout move inland? A few Panama City beachgoers got a look that may be too close for comfort. A waterspout came ashore Saturday in Panama City, Florida, following a bout of severe weather that moved through the Gulf Coast. The storms brought destructive winds and thunderstorms across the Florida Panhandle, according to weather officials with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee. Waterspout moving inland yesterday at Panama City Beach pic.twitter.com/Fth3NJxDiP James Spann (@spann) April 11, 2021 The severe storms left damage and debris across the area, according to the Panama City Beach Facebook page. The same storm system dropped large, damaging hail in Orange Beach, Alabama, early Saturday. Currently, the weather in Panama City has improved but forecasters are warning of dangerous rip currents through Monday evening. People living with someone who has COVID-19 appear to get powerful protection against infection when they are given Regeneron's antibody cocktail, a new study shows. The findings suggest that beyond preventing the worst outcomes for coronavirus infection when given early enough, the cocktail could also prevent people from getting sick in the first place, the company said Monday. "With more than 60,000 Americans continuing to be diagnosed with COVID-19 every day, the REGEN-COV antibody cocktail may help provide immediate protection to unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus, and we are also working to understand its potential to provide ongoing protection for immunocompromised patients who may not respond well to vaccines," Dr. George Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer at Regeneron, said in a statement. In its statement, Regeneron said it would ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand the drug's emergency authorization usefor high-risk people who already have COVID-19 but are not hospitalizedto allow it to be given for preventive purposes in "appropriate populations." There's "a very substantial number of people" in the United States and globally who could be a good fit to receive these drugs for preventive purposes, Dr. Myron Cohen, a University of North Carolina researcher told The New York Times. He leads monoclonal antibody efforts for the COVID Prevention Network, a U.S. National Institutes of Health-sponsored initiative that helped oversee the Regeneron trial. "Not everyone's going to take a vaccine, no matter what we do, and not everyone's going to respond to a vaccine," Cohen noted. The new data on Regeneron's antibody cocktail comes from a clinical trial that enrolled more than 1,500 people who lived in the same house as someone who had tested positive for the virus within the previous four days. Those who got an injection of Regeneron's drug were 81 percent less likely to get sick with COVID-19 compared to volunteers who got a placebo, the company said. Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital who was not involved in the study, told the Times that the data were "promising" for people who have not been vaccinated. But he noted that the type of patients that would be needed to determine whether the drug should be used preventively for immunocompromised patients were not included in the trial. "I would say we don't yet know that," Gandhi said. Regeneron's cocktail, a combination of two drugs designed to mimic the antibodies generated naturally when the immune system fends off the virus, was given to President Donald Trump after he got sick with COVID-19 last fall. The treatment received emergency authorization last November. Doctors are using it, as well as another antibody cocktail from Eli Lilly, for high-risk COVID-19 patients, to guard against severe disease and hospitalization. But many hospitals and clinics have not made the treatments a priority because they are time-consuming and difficult to administer, mostly because they must be given via intravenously. Regeneron plans to ask the FDA to allow its drug to be given via an injection, as it was in the latest study, which would allow it to be given more quickly and easily. J&J COVID Vaccine Supply to Drop 86% This Week In a setback to a national vaccination campaign that was finally gaining ground, the federal government said last week that Johnson & Johnson will allocate 86 percent fewer doses of its coronavirus vaccine across the United States this week. The company delivered the first batch of its single-dose vaccine at the beginning of March, sending 2.8 million doses across the country before dipping below 400,000 in the following weeks, the Times reported. Last week, about 1.9 million doses were sent across the country, and last week 4.9 million shots went out. This week, that number will drop to 700,000. Federal administrators divide vaccine doses nationwide based on each state's adult population. That means that California will bear the brunt of the reduction: After receiving 572,700 doses of the vaccine last week, it will get only 67,600 doses of the J&J shot this week, the Times reported. In Texas, the allocation will drop to 46,300 from 392,100. Florida, which received 313,200 shots last week, will get 37,000 this week, the newspaper said. The slowdown comes days after federal officials learned that Emergent BioSolutions, a contract manufacturer that has been making both the Johnson & Johnson and the AstraZeneca vaccines in a Baltimore plant, had mixed up ingredients from the two and ruined up to 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. How big a role that problem has played in Johnson & Johnson distribution woes is hard to determine, the Times said. Distribution hasn't been Johnson & Johnson's only problem: North Carolina health officials said last week that they stopped administering Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses at a mass immunization site in Raleigh and at clinics in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill after at least 26 people experienced adverse reactions, including fainting, the Associated Press reported. Four people were taken to hospitals for further examination, and state and federal health officials are reviewing the matter. Kristen Nordlund, spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the AP that it is aware of adverse reactions in some people who received the vaccine shots in Iowa, Colorado, Georgia and North Carolina. Those reactions include dizziness, lightheadedness, feeling faint and rapid breathing. Nordlund said the CDC is working with state and local officials to evaluate the problem and has performed vaccine lot analyses and found no cause for concern. The CDC is not telling health departments to stop vaccinations, the AP noted. As for the nation's overall vaccination effort, the CDC reported Monday that just over 119 million Americans have received at least one dose of a vaccine, including about 72.6 million people who have been fully vaccinated. COVID cases climb in Midwest as British variant takes hold As new coronavirus cases soared across the Upper Midwest last week, a top health official said that a highly infectious variant first discovered in Britain has now become the most common source of infections in this country. "Based on our most recent estimates from CDC surveillance, the B.1.1.7 variant is now the most common lineage circulating in the United States," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House media briefing. There are now nearly 21,000 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in the United States, according to the CDC. Scientists and federal health officials have warned repeatedly that a fourth wave of coronavirus cases could arise in the United States this spring because of the emergence of more contagious variants and the easing of social distancing measures. In the Upper Midwest, Michigan has been slammed: New cases and hospitalizations there have more than doubled in the last two weeks, and the six metro areas in the United States with the greatest number of new cases relative to their population are all in Michigan, the Times reported. Several other states in the Upper Midwest have also reported significant increases in new infections and hospitalizations. In Illinois, the daily average for new cases has jumped about 56 percent in the past two weeks, to about 2,832 a day, the Times reported. Hospitalizations have risen about 28 percent from two weeks ago. Meanwhile, Wisconsin and North Dakota have seen their average case counts jump 50 percent or more in the last two weeks. Nationally, new cases have stalled overall, while hospitalizations have leveled off and deaths remain near an average of about 800 a day, according to the Times. The U.S. coronavirus case count passed 31.2 million on Monday, while the death toll passed 561,500, according to a Times tally. On Monday, the top five states for coronavirus infections were: California with more than 3.7 million cases; Texas with over 2.8 million cases; Florida with more than 2.1 million cases; New York with over 1.9 million cases; and Illinois with nearly 1.3 million cases. Worldwide, more than 136 million cases had been reported by Monday, with over 2.9 million dead from COVID-19. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak More information: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the new coronavirus. Copyright 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Scotten brings 20 years of heathcare sales and leadership experience to Modern Vascular. Prior to joining Modern Vascular, he gained expertise growing and leading high-performance multi-region sales teams in North America, at Sentry Data Systems, Tobii Dynavox, Wright Therapy Products, and Aidant Medical Solutions. He is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri and holds an MBA from Webster University. Leslie Gibbs, Chief Marketing Officer at Modern Vascular is excited about the new position. "Carl is going to be a terrific addition to the team," says Gibbs. "His healthcare experience and leadership will really help us as our footprint continues to grow. I am particularly excited about his experience with wound care as this is a new area we are launching in 2021 to better serve our Peripheral Artery Disease patients." Although Carl Scotten is a lifelong resident of Overland Park, KS and will continue to be based in the area, he will be traveling nationally to all Modern Vascular clinics. Modern Vascular is set to expand with a new clinic in Overland Park in June of this year and is excited to have leadership boots on the ground for this important expansion. The company currently has 13 operating clinics across 6 states and plans to open another 5 in 5 new states by the end of the year. Scotten will oversee the Clinical Liaison team across the full company footprint. About Modern Vascular Modern Vascular is a group of healthcare companies headquartered in Phoenix, AZ. Modern Vascular clinics specialize in the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD) through infrapopliteal, inframalleolar, and pedal endovascular arterial reconstruction. Most patients report reduced pain, rapid wound healing, and a better quality of life post procedure. Modern Vascular procedures are also an important step in avoiding future limb amputation and extending life expectancy in diabetic, cardiovascular, and peripheral artery disease patients. Modern Vascular now operates and manages thirteen clinics across AZ, CO, MS, NM, TX, VA. For more information, visit www.ModernVascular.com . For educational videos on PAD and its treatment, visit our video library. Press Contact: Doug Haslam KNB Communications [email protected] 617-862-9073 SOURCE Modern Vascular Related Links www.ModernVascular.com RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Russia has been trying to get its coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V into Brazilian arms for months, and been repeatedly frustrated by legal, regulatory and possibly even diplomatic obstacles. That began to change as the South American nation played catch-up in the global race to snap up shots. Receiving little help from the U.S., which was struggling to get a handle on its own outbreak, Sputnik V seemed as good as any; Brazil's federal government and a group of nine northeastern states signed two deals with Russia's sovereign wealth fund, RDIF, for a total 47 million doses. The shot is moving toward regulatory approval. The vaccine has now been purchased by at least nine Latin American nations, with Brazil its greatest uphill battle. That growing adoption reflects Russia gaining a greater foothold in the region the U.S. has traditionally viewed as within its sphere of influence and where the American government had boasted of steering Brazil away from Russian vaccines. It's similar to China's success in achieving wide use of its own vaccines in Latin America. That has caused consternation in U.S. diplomatic circles, although it remains to be seen if Russias vaccine outreach will yield deeper partnerships. Tom Shannon, a former undersecretary of state whose long diplomatic career included several stints in the region, told The Associated Press the U.S. has largely missed an opportunity to engage with Latin American governments during the pandemic, with the exception of a recently announced plan by President Joe Bidens administration to provide Mexico surplus shots For the Kremlin, COVID was a godsend, Shannon said of Russias vaccine outreach. This was a chance for them to restart their diplomacy in the hemisphere with a whole new face of public health intervention and they are taking full advantage of it. When you have 300,000 dead, you take the help where you can get it from, he said of Brazil. Story continues Russias presence in Latin America has been limited since the 1990s, and in recent years primarily entailed an alliance with Venezuela for provision of arms and energy projects, as well as Nicaragua for arms and building emergency response capabilities. But Latin America's arms purchases plunged as its commodities boom ended and Venezuela economy melted down. Russian ties were also strong with the government of Argentinas Cristina Fernandez Kirchner from 2007 to 2015 and appear to be reviving. As current vice president, Kirchner spearheaded negotiations to buy Sputnik V even when local scientists initially were skeptical of the early experimental data reported by the Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine. Argentina's embrace of the vaccine helped convince Mexico which had struggled to get vaccines from U.S. companies to sign an agreement for 24 million doses, though they have been slow to arrive. Bolivias previously tight relations with Russia had reversed under President Luis Arces right-wing predecessor, but Arce, who took office in November, agreed to buy millions of doses. After speaking with Putin by phone, he also announced reactivation of a Russian-led project to build a nuclear research and technology center. U.S. vaccine outreach, meantime, has been almost entirely indirect, with a pledge of $4 billion to the World Health Organizations COVAX program to provide shots to low- and middle-income countries. Recently, such shipments have been delayed. The U.S. has snatched up more doses than it will eventually need, and Biden has repeatedly said his focus is vaccinating all Americans before sharing vaccines abroad. The U.S. has had almost three times as many COVID-19 deaths per capita as Russia and, even with one of the world's fastest immunization rollouts, Americans have complained about the pace. By contrast, Russias own vaccination program has lagged because of widespread skepticism of the vaccine a February poll showed only 30% of Russians were willing to get the shot and drug makers being slow to ramp up production. Only recently did Biden's administration agree to provide 2.7 million surplus AstraZeneca doses to Mexico. Brazil has been trying to negotiate the same for itself, according to its foreign ministry. Although I truly think that the U.S. and European countries are the preferred partners in the region, if there is a vacuum, there isnt the slightest doubt that China and Russia will seek a way to take advantage, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the head of the Inter-American Development Bank, told the AP. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2020 annual report said in a section titled Combatting malign influences in the Americas that it had convinced Brazil to not to buy the Russian shot. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said March 16 other countries faced similar coercion, without naming them. The pressure has been unprecedented, tough and devoid of any diplomatic niceties, Peskov said. We are categorically against politicizing the situation with vaccines. Fabiano Mielniczuk, a professor who specializes in Russian international politics at Brazils Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, said suspicion of Russia represents an outdated Cold War mentality, and sees its moves to introduce the shot much more as market-oriented action than as geopolitical action. Despite the assertion in the malign influences section, it's unclear what action the U.S. took. The U.S. embassy denied exerting any pressure regarding vaccines approved by Brazils health regulator, which has not yet signed off on Sputnik V. Brazils government denied even being consulted. Frustrated by the speed and bureaucracy of health regulator Anvisa, the Russians conducted phase 3 trials of its vaccine elsewhere, according to Bahia states Gov. Rui Costa, who had worked closely with the fund. At the time, Brazil still required local phase 3 trials for regulatory approval. In a last-ditch effort, RDIFs director Kirill Dmitriev reached out to former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, according to Alexandre Padilha, a lawmaker and former health minister who joined their subsequent meeting. That led to the nine states' eventual deal for 37 million doses. RDIF declined to comment for this story. The northeastern governments already have various investment partnerships with the Chinese, Padilha said. I think without a doubt this can open doors for northeast governors to establish other partnerships and technology investments with the Russians. Putin meantime heaped flattery on Bolsonaro at a multinational summit in November, saying the Brazilian had expressed the best qualities of masculinity and determination by putting citizens interests before his own health. Bolsonaro posted video of the praise to social media. Courting the rival former and current presidents simultaneously reflects Putins pragmatism, said Mielniczuk, the political science professor. Brazils federal government agreed to buy 10 million doses. Even after Anvisa dropped its demand for local phase 3 trials, the Brazilian lab that would produce Sputnik V locally Uniao Quimica struggled to clear hurdles. RDIFs Dmitriev told Brazilian magazine Veja in mid-March that he felt his vaccine was still facing political bias. But Anvisa said delays were technical, caused by lacking documentation, and on March 23 it held a five-hour meeting with Uniao Quimica and Gamaleya to iron out problems. A week later, Anvisa certified Uniao Quimicas manufacturing practices. On April 6, Bolsonaro spoke with Putin by video call and said afterward that his government was working to resolve "some obstacles to importing the shot. The leaders also discussed broader trade, defense industry cooperation and technology. After the call was first reported, the former director of Brazil's trade and investment promotion agency, Marcio Coimbra, said on Twitter, Now distant from Washington, we may be closer than ever to Moscow. Some documentation is still missing, but Sputnik V is inching closer to approval in Brazil and another soft-power score for Russia. It serves as a wake-up call, said Eric Farnsworth, who has developed and implemented U.S. policy in the region. Were not the only ones that Latin America can interact with and theyre showing it right now, said Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, a New York-based organization promoting business in the region. There is much ground to be recaptured, and the only way to do that would be to overwhelm the region with generosity in combatting the pandemic. ___ Associated Press writer David Biller reported this story in Rio de Janeiro and AP writer Christopher Sherman reported from Mexico City. AP writers Josh Goodman and Gisela Salomon in Miami and Daria Litvinova in Moscow contributed to this report. [April 12, 2021] Oracle Helps Organizations Enhance the Employee Experience with Oracle Journeys AUSTIN, Texas, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle today announced a new platform to deliver a more intuitive, personalized, and streamlined employee experience within Oracle Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM). Oracle Journeys helps organizations create a one-stop shop for employees as they navigate all aspects of work and complete complex tasks. The new capabilities enable HR teams to create, tailor, and deliver step-by-step guidance to walk employees through events as diverse as onboarding, having a baby, returning to the workplace, launching a new product, or growing their career. "With our homes doubling as offices over the past year, we've grown accustomed to the way technology improves our lives as consumers, and employees want that same experience at work," said Chris Leone, senior vice president of development, Oracle Cloud HCM. "As offices reopen, it will be critical to provide consistent and positive experiences both in the office and for remote workers but it doesn't stop there. Organizations need to provide guidance throughout an employee's entire career, from training to finding a mentor, returning to the workplace, and eventually traveling safely. Oracle Journeys will help HR teams provide value beyond traditional HR processes by tailoring unique experiences for their workforce." Oracle Journeys guides employees through tasks and key milestones while delivering quick access to resources they need across HR and the entire organization. It also makes it easy for employees to take action as they move through various events. The new features in Oracle Journeys help HR leaders by enabling them to move beyond standard HR workflows to create personalized, step-by-step guidance for any task be it personal, professional, operational, or administrative. By providing easy access to AI-recommended processes tailored to individual needs, the solution helps employees save time and improve productivity. The latest innovations within Oracle Cloud HCM include: Journeys LaunchPad: Delivers a single destination for employees to explore, launch,and share Journeys tailored to their needs. It can host any Journey applicable to an employee, assigned by their manager, or recommended by AI based on previous actions, events, or career progressions. For example, newly-promoted employees may see a New Manager Journey, those planning to return to the office may get prompted with a Return to Work Safely Journey, or those relocating to a new facility may receive a Relocation Journey and be guided through next steps all directly within their LaunchPad. Employees can access and complete their Journeys on any device including desktop, mobile, chat applications, or Oracle Digital Assistant. Delivers a single destination for employees to explore, launch,and share Journeys tailored to their needs. It can host any Journey applicable to an employee, assigned by their manager, or recommended by AI based on previous actions, events, or career progressions. For example, newly-promoted employees may see a New Manager Journey, those planning to return to the office may get prompted with a Return to Work Safely Journey, or those relocating to a new facility may receive a Relocation Journey and be guided through next steps all directly within their LaunchPad. Employees can access and complete their Journeys on any device including desktop, mobile, chat applications, or Oracle Digital Assistant. Journeys Creator: Allows HR teams and managers to create, modify, and assign Journeys across the enterprise. HR leaders can access a library of pre-built Journey templates, which can be tailored to the unique needs of the organization, workforce, and individual teams. This allows Journeys to be designed to meet specific company requirements, policies, and brand guidelines all within minutes and without the need for IT or any coding. Organizations can also adapt them to include cross-enterprise tasks, and create Journeys like Manage My Expenses or Launch a New Product. Available templates include Onboarding, Return to the Workplace, Parental Leave, Relocation, Illness or Injury, and Return from Leave. Allows HR teams and managers to create, modify, and assign Journeys across the enterprise. HR leaders can access a library of pre-built Journey templates, which can be tailored to the unique needs of the organization, workforce, and individual teams. This allows Journeys to be designed to meet specific company requirements, policies, and brand guidelines all within minutes and without the need for IT or any coding. Organizations can also adapt them to include cross-enterprise tasks, and create Journeys like Manage My Expenses or Launch a New Product. Available templates include Onboarding, Return to the Workplace, Parental Leave, Relocation, Illness or Injury, and Return from Leave. Journeys Booster: Helps integrate HR processes and other business functions such as finance, operations, and facilities management with third-party systems and external applications. This enables end-to-end process completion in a single experience, supported by the process automation capabilities of Oracle Process Cloud, with minimal coding needed. Journeys Booster automates requests and services across HR, IT, and other work systems and can also be expanded via HR Helpdesk when additional support is needed within workflows. Supporting Quotes: "Employee experience is a critical, multi-disciplinary challenge and employee needs vary widely," said Josh Bersin, global HR industry analyst. "Companies desperately need easy-to-use, highly customizable platforms to design, measure, and integrate employees' digital lives. Offerings like Oracle Journeys are becoming the hottest part of the human capital systems market." "The employee experience is easy to take for granted, but it pays dividends when invested in properly. Companies that make deliberate efforts to make tasks quicker and easier with positive experiences for their workforce will reap the benefits of increased satisfaction, engagement, and productivity," said R. "Ray" Wang, principal analyst, Constellation Research. "Customers seek the ability to manage their own journeys in their core HCM systems. This not only helps organizations better manage and grow their workforce during challenging times, but also enables HR to serve as an innovation center for the entire business." "The needs and expectations of employees have changed drastically. Now more than ever, our workforce needs personalized guidance, support, and motivation," said Jacely Voon, chief people officer, People Culture & Corporate Social Responsibility, Fujifilm. "Oracle Cloud HCM provides a single HR platform that allows us to better manage our teams and keep up with their evolving expectations. No matter what further changes we see in the workforce, we will be ready to deliver a positive employee experience for our 14,000+ team members across the region." See here for more information about Oracle Journeys: http://www.oracle.com/human-capital-management/journeys To learn more about Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, please visit: https://www.oracle.com/human-capital-management About Oracle Oracle offers suites of integrated applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com. Trademarks Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oracle-helps-organizations-enhance-the-employee-experience-with-oracle-journeys-301265989.html SOURCE Oracle [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Some art world skeptics say they suspect the Saudis were never serious about including the painting in the French show and had wanted to keep the work under wraps to increase the commercial potential of installing it later at a planned tourism site in the kingdom. Current and former French officials, though, say that the Saudis were eager for their newly acquired trophy to hang at the Louvre, as long as it was placed beside the worlds most famous painting. Dismissing those demands as irrational and unworkable, the French, in turn, refused to make public their own positive assessment of its authenticity unless the Saudis let Salvator Mundi hang on the walls of the Louvre, which the French government oversees. It is soiled in a way because of all this unwarranted speculation. Robert Simon, New York art dealer And the resulting diplomatic stand-off between the French and the Saudis has kept the painting out of sight as the cloud of intrigue around it continues to swell. Frankly, I think all that taradiddle would have evaporated, said Luke Syson, director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, and a curator who oversaw a 2011 Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery in London that included Salvator Mundi. If only the painting were displayed, he explained, people could decide for themselves by experiencing the picture. The Salvator Mundi was sold for more than US$450 million in 2017. Credit:AP Believed to have been painted around 1500, Salvator Mundi was one of two similar works listed in an inventory of the collection of King Charles I of England after his execution in 1649. But the historical record of its ownership ends in the late 18th century. Then, around 2005, a pair of New York art dealers browsing a New Orleans estate sale spotted a badly restored and partially painted-over image that they suspected might be worth a closer look. They acquired it for less than $US10,000 and brought it to a skilled specialist to remove the later paint layers and restore the original. It changed hands few times since then and hung as a Leonardo in the 2011 exhibition at the National Gallery in London. But it was the record-setting bid in 2017 for $US450 million that turned Salvator Mundi into the stuff of front-page headlines, especially after The Times reported that the anonymous buyer was a surrogate for the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Now the controversy has made headlines again with the release of a new French documentary this past week claiming that the Louvre had concluded that Leonardo had merely contributed to Salvator Mundi. Set to air on French television on Tuesday, the documentary features two disguised figures, identified as French government officials, asserting that the crown prince would not loan the painting to the anniversary exhibition because the Louvre refused to attribute the work fully to Leonardo. In a telephone interview, the documentarys director, Antoine Vitkine, said he stood by its claims, saying the president of the Louvre had refused to comment on the museums judgment of Salvator Mundi. The Louvre had insisted that the report on the paintings authenticity did not exist, Viktine said. Visitors queue to enter the Louvre in Paris. Credit:Getty Images Despite their denials, the Louvre curators had secretly prepared a glossy, magazine-style 46-page summary of the conclusions of their forensic examination of the painting. Its existence was first reported in March 2020 by Alison Cole of The Art Newspaper. Scanned copies of the confidential report became prized possessions among prominent Leonardo experts across the world, and The Times obtained multiple copies. Experts at the Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France, an independent culture ministry institute, used fluorescent X-rays, infrared scans and digital cameras aimed through high-powered microscopes to match signature details of the materials and artistic techniques in Salvator Mundi with the Louvres other Leonardo masterpieces. The thin plank of wood on which the Salvator Mundi was painted was the same type of walnut from Lombardy that Leonardo used in other works. The artist had mixed fine-powdered glass in the paint, as Leonardo did in his later years. Loading Traces of hidden painting under the visible layers, details in the locks of Christs hair, and the shade of bright vermilion used in the shadows all pointed to the hand of Leonardo, the report concluded. All these arguments tend to favor the idea of an entirely autographed work, Vincent Delieuvin, one of two curators of the anniversary exhibition, wrote in a lengthy essay describing the examination, noting that the painting had been unfortunately damaged by bad conservation and by old, unquestionably too brutal restorations. Louvre President Jean-Luc Martinez was even more definitive. The results of the historical and scientific study presented in this publication allow us to confirm the attribution of the work to Leonardo da Vinci, he wrote in the preface. (His current term is set to end this month, and French President Emmanuel Macron is overdue to announce whether he will extend Martinezs tenure or appoint a new leader.) The Louvre was so eager to include Salvator Mundi in its anniversary exhibition that the curators planned to use an image of the painting for the front of its catalog, officials said. But the Saudis insistence that Salvator Mundi also be twinned with Mona Lisa was asking too much, the French officials said. Extraordinary security measures surrounding Mona Lisa make the painting exceptionally difficult to move from its place on a special partition in the center of the Salle des Etats, a vast upstairs gallery. Placing a painting next to it would be impossible, the French officials argued. Franck Riester, the French culture minister at the time, tried for weeks to mediate, proposing that, as a compromise, Salvator Mundi could move close to Mona Lisa after a period in the anniversary show, the French officials said. Visitors take in Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa at Louvre Museum in Paris in July 2020. Credit:AP And even after the exhibition opened without Salvator Mundi, in October 2019, French officials kept trying. Prince Bader bin Farhan al-Saud, an old friend of Crown Prince Mohammed who had acted as his surrogate bidder for Salvator Mundi, had later been named Saudi Arabias minister of culture. When he happened to visit Paris, the French culture minister and the Louvre president led him on a private tour of the museum and exhibition to try to persuade him to lend the painting, the French officials said. A spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in Washington declined to comment. A planned section of the catalog detailing the authentication was removed before publication, and the museum ordered that all copies of the report be locked away in storage. Loading Sophie Grange, a Louvre spokesperson, said museum officials would be forbidden to discuss any such document because French rules prohibited disclosing any evaluation or authentication of works not shown in the museum. Corinne Hershkovitch, a leading French art lawyer, said these long-held traditions had been formalised by law in 2013, in a decree establishing the status of heritage conservators. But with the French refusing to talk about the painting and the Saudis refusing to show it, the proliferating questions about the painting have taken a toll, said Robert Simon, a New York art dealer involved in the rediscovery of Salvator Mundi. It is soiled in a way, he said, because of all this unwarranted speculation. A family heirloom Bible that belonged to Chief Peguis has found a new home at the Manitoba Museum. A family heirloom Bible that belonged to Chief Peguis has found a new home at the Manitoba Museum. The tome, together with a second Bible owned by Peguis son, Chief Henry Edward Prince, was donated by Kyle Mason, a seventh-generation descendant of the famed Manitoba Indigenous leader. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The family heirloom Bible was donated by Kyle Mason, a descendant of Chief Peguis. "Theyve been in our family for generations," said the 42-year-old Winnipegger. "We have been their protectors and keepers." Before Kyle was entrusted with the Bibles, they were looked after by his father, Raymond, 74, a residential school survivor. "I dont know why I was chosen to protect them," said Raymond, who received the books in 1965, when he was baptized. "Im darn lucky I didnt lose them considering I moved around a lot," he said, adding: "They meant a lot to me." Raymond, author of the recent book Spirit of the Grassroots People: Seeking Justice for Indigenous Survivors of Canadas Colonial Education System, entrusted the Bibles to his son when he was a teenager. For a long time, Kyle kept them in a nightstand in his home, before putting them in a safe in the basement. Unfortunately, he didnt realize that wasnt the best place to keep such items and they became musty. Three years ago, an anonymous donor offered to pay to have the Bibles restored. Now he is "glad they are safe and secure at the museum, where they can tell the story of our people and their interaction with Christianity for years to come." Seeing the Bibles in the Winnipeg-based museum "gives me great pride," Kyle said, adding he is looking forward to passing them down to his son, Elijah, 7, to protect when he is older. For Kyle, the Bibles tell of the "complicated and tragic history Indigenous peoples, and my family, have had with Christianity." On the one hand, they signify "how many members of the Peguis First Nation have a connection to Christianity, using its teachings to live a good life, and living and working together with the settlers in the past." On the other, they remind of "the horrors of things like the residential school system, and how the Bible was used by Christians against Indigenous peoples," he added. Today both Kyle and his father appreciate the difference between the institutional church and the teachings of Jesus. "Those teachings are still important to us," said Kyle, noting he now follows a mix of Christian and traditional Indigenous teachings. The history of the Bible owned by Chief Peguis is not known, but it is believed he received it sometime after converting to Christianity in 1838. That Bible is being kept in safe storage, while the Bible owned by his son, which dates to 1904, is on display in the museums new Prairies Gallery. Maureen Matthews, curator of cultural anthropology, said the Bibles are "a very important part of First Nations history in Manitoba. We are honoured to have them here." Chief Peguis, who was known as a friend to the first European settlers in the province, signed the Peguis Selkirk Treaty in 1817, the first treaty in Western Canada. His association with Christianity is commemorated in Winnipeg by two stained glass windows at St. Johns Cathedral, considered the birthplace of Anglicanism in Western Canada, and through a statue in Kildonan Park, which shows Peguis clutching a Bible. faith@freepress.mb.ca GALWAY, Ireland, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to growing business demand, Aran Biomedical Teoranta, a leading biomaterials contract manufacturer of proprietary medical devices, today announced the creation of 150 new jobs over 3 years. Additionally, the Company announced its plan to build a new, purpose-built facility in Spiddal, Galway. The investment is supported by the Irish Government, through Udaras na Gaeltachta. The positions have been created to meet increased demand in the company's operations, in both the design services and commercial manufacturing segments of the company's business. New jobs will be created in Production, Engineering, Quality and Supply Chain Management. Separately, the company plans to treble its manufacturing capacity, with the establishment of a new 70,000 sq. ft facility in Galway. This development will be completed on a phase-by-phase basis, with full completion estimated by mid-2025. "We are excited and proud to announce our plans to build a new state of the art, medical devices manufacturing facility in Spiddal and the creation of these new roles." said Peter Mulrooney, CEO, Aran Biomedical. "The past 12 months have been significant for Aran, in that we have expanded our customer base and the number of staff on site to over 120, coupled with the official opening of our dedicated braiding centre in December. We have continued to expand our biomaterial textile processing capabilities, and the new jobs and facility will allow us to meet our customers ever expanding supply needs in the Vascular, General Surgery and Orthopaedic fields. The support we have received from Udaras na Gaeltachta has been pivotal to our success since moving our manufacturing base to Spiddal in 2008." About Aran Biomedical For more information about Aran Biomedical, please visit https://www.aranbiomedical.com/ Careers - https://www.aranbiomedical.com/careers/ Working at Aran Biomedical - https://www.aranbiomedical.com/working-at-aran-biomedical/ Media Contact: Eoghan Groonell Eoghan.groonell@aranbiomedical.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1484675/Aran_Biomedical.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197649/Aran_Biomedical_Logo.jpg Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Remarks on Imminent Decision by Japan to Discharge Nuclear Wastewater into the Sea 2021/04/12 Q: According to reports, the Japanese government will hold a Cabinet meeting on April 13, where a formal decision is to be made to discharge nuclear wastewater harmful to marine environment from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson gave his comment on this last Friday and ROK foreign ministry officials have also urged the Japanese government to ensure information openness and transparency, conduct objective assessment based on environmental benchmarks and to maintain close communication with all stakeholders. I wonder if China has any further comment? A: The Fukushima nuclear accident is one of the most serious in world history. The leak of large amounts of radioactive materials has had profound impact on marine environment, food safety and human health. The disposal of contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant bears on global public interests and the immediate interests of neighboring countries. The issue should naturally be handled in a prudent and appropriate manner with the participation of all parties concerned to forestall further harm to marine environment, food safety and human health. The world is watching with deep concern the upcoming decision by the Japanese side on the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the ocean, raising doubts and expressing opposition. There is also strong opposition in Japan. The Japanese side often calls on other countries to fulfill their international obligations. Now the eye of the world is on Japan. It cannot turn a deaf ear to this. The stakes are high indeed. The Japanese side should act in a responsible manner for global public interests and the interests of its own people. To safeguard international public interests and Chinese people's health and safety, China has expressed grave concern to the Japanese side through the diplomatic channel, urging Japan to handle the issue of wastewater disposal from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in a prudent and responsible manner. THE ambitious plan which aims to revitalise rural areas in the post-Covid era launched by the Government has the potential to be a real game changer. Our Rural Future represents the Government's blueprint for post-Covid recovery and the development of rural Ireland over the next five years. It provides the framework to achieve the vision of transforming the quality of life and opportunity for people living in rural areas and builds on progress achieved through the Action Plan for Rural Development 2017-2019 In a statement formally launching the plan the Government described it as forward-looking and underpinned by the Project Ireland 2040 objective of achieving strengthened rural economies and communities. This policy is built around the centrality of people who make up the communities that support and maintain the fabric of rural Ireland. We want to enhance their resilience and ensure their meaningful participation on issues that impact on their lives. It is built around the places where our rural communities live, where businesses start up and grow, and which are gateways to our heritage, culture and natural environment. We want our towns and villages to be vibrant and lived-in places which capitalise on their local strengths and assets, the statement continued. Certainly it is hard to disagree with these sentiments and it is welcome that the Government is investing significant funding to ensure that these plans come to fruition. Central to the plan is major investment in remote working, a lifestyle change which has become a feature of many of our lives in this era of Covid restrictions on travel and social interaction. This funding includes relocation grants, tax incentives and funding for community groups and local authorities. The plan also has a dedicated towns first policy with investment planned for enterprise spaces, co-working hubs and remote working facilities in towns throughout the country. Every cloud has a silver lining and the switch to remote working during Covid has created a whole range of possibilities for rural Ireland which could not have been envisaged 12 months ago. Instead of being forced to move to cities young people now have a real chance to pursue careers in their home areas. Job opportunities will be available to people no matter where they live thus reinvigorating rural communities which have been in a state of decline for many decades. We have all witnessed the closure of post offices, garda stations, pubs, shops and other amenities in rural towns and villages over the recent past and this plan offers an opportunity to reverse this decline. But it is crucial that the Government follows through on the lofty aims contained in the plan with meaningful policy decisions over the next five years. It must play a leading role by facilitating public sector employees who wish to work from their home areas rather than from city based offices. Of course the plan does face huge challenges and no doubt many Dublin-based businesses and organisations will do everything in their power to promote the concept of city living. The plan's objective is to achieve the sustainable development of rural areas by encouraging local economic growth, arresting decline, and ensuring that rural Ireland continues to be a vibrant and lived-in place. There is no reason why both cities and rural areas cannot thrive and develop economically and socially. But the Government must play the leading role in ensuring that both town and country can thrive in the post-Covid era. Dancehall artists have come out lashing, in a more sustained and visible way to respond to the most recent statement by Prime Minister Andrew Holness about dancehall lyrics and their link to high rates of crime and violence in Jamaica. Mavado, Masicka, Baby Cham, and Mr. Vegas among others have made public statements in recent days. My thought when I first saw reports about the Prime Ministers statement made in Parliament was again!?. Heres some of what Hon. Andrew Holness said: In our music and our culture, in as much as you are free to reflect what is happening in the society, you also have a duty to place it in context He went on to say Dat yuh tek up the AK-47 and tun it inna a man head That is not right. And though you have the protection of the constitution to sing about it, you also have a duty to the children who are listening to you These statements have been interpreted as targeting dancehall, scapegoating, and a trifle hypocritical. At face value, the statements are benign considering Jamaicas longstanding crime problem. They come from a leader who is grappling with inordinate rates of crime and violence in a relatively small population. The statements acknowledge that artists have a role to play in shaping society and that their art can be socially responsible. It is well known that crime and violence in Jamaica which topped the murder rate in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020 are out of hand. Since 1960, murder has been on the rise with spikes in 1980 reaching 889, again in 1997 reaching 1038, and 2009 with 1683 murders. While this figure dipped in 2014 to 1005 it was back up to 1323 murders in 2020 even with an ongoing pandemic based on statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force here. However, there is more to it than that. While one can and must acknowledge that Dancehall artists are firstly artists who have creative licence, some of whom are not mindful of their influence and thus have not signed up to be role models or to take on the job of leading the youth of Jamaica, there is the other more grievous issue which explains the general tone of the reaction from ordinary citizens, not just the articulate minority. The statements were seen as hypocritical in their tone, and if you were observing all along, they were not new statements, and they have always been met with some amount of push back from the dancehall community. In particular, persons have commented on the hypocrisy around election campaigns that utilise dancehalls creative products from the very artists who are never consulted on key social issues or incorporated into strategic planning processes for social engineering, including policing Jamaica, but who by virtue of their artistic works get either blamed or prostituted. Like the classification of Dutty Rastas by citizens and successive administrations born out of disrespect manifesting at the highest level in various human rights violations including cutting of locks, beatings and displacement, the reggae and dancehall artists of Jamaica have suffered from negative perceptions, disrespect and exclusion. They are sometimes seen as the uneducated, lower class, ghetto poor who have nothing to contribute to the society except morally degrading lyrics. Lets call a spade a spade. These are some of the reasons why scholars such as myself have found it important to document indigenous music and the larger culture supporting it. Even as perceptions have been changing there is still further to go. So imagine the clash artists swinging their lyrical guns for a forward in the 2020 general election and then in the next breath blaming dancehall artists and their lyrics. That dub plate election saw some of the very same suspects who could be accused of recording violent lyrics and the seeming double standard to create hype around an election doesnt need a magnifying glass for further clarity. Were they just all unaware that Spice, Dovey Magnum, the 6ixx Boss Squash, Shenseea, and Skillibeng have recordings which are not fit for airplay, some including violent lyrics? Were Members of Parliament including Hon. Andrew Holness simply willing to overlook this fact for a clash forward and not see the inherent double standard? An election is constitutionally due every 5 years in Jamaica. Many of the parliamentarians do not have any relationship with these artists and have no interest in their wellbeing, consulting them on matters around their status as artists, facilitating the success of the creative industry in which their operate or consulting them for community upliftment. There is a strained relationship between artists, ordinary citizens and the government as well as its apparatuses which are seen to foster antagonism, disrespect and suppression. Heres what I shared with the Jamaica Observer last year about the election clash: In the same way that we have been given these creative riches from our deejays associated with dancehall, I want to caution politicians who will forget after the election the very people who have provided these dubs for them. I want to caution them against doing that. We must be able to advance those creative riches we have been seeing on the campaign by the kind of investment that politicians are known to provide for health, fighting crime, building roads, enhancing constituencies, for even making sure people vote for themWe must be able to provide the creative industries in Jamaica with the resources needed so that those industries can be maintained. Just dont be exploiters and culture vultures. Let us make sure that after we use those dubs and increase the popularity of those very artistes that the investment is made to sustain the industry. I say this with all seriousness, because we have been a Jamaica very much interested in using culture to advance our needs, but when it is time for real investment, to put our money where our mouths are, we fall short The creative industries are crucial for advancing economies in the 21st Century. The global creative economy is worth US$trillions and while Jamaicas name is called in every conversation about global music we are not earning value from our music proportionate to our global reputation. Most importantly where Jamaica is concerned, there is no way to speak about the creative economy and leave crime and violence out of the picture. Some may argue this is the case all over the world. While the case of Hip Hop has been raised with the glorification of gangster lifestyles, incarcerations and untimely deaths of its brightest stars, we dont have to look too far for the association in Jamaica. There are dancehall stars who have been incarcerated, are currently incarcerated, have glorified masculinity tied to a life of badness and their influence while not seen as infectious is undoubtedly potent: the influence has to be acknowledged and considered based on Jamaicas spiralling social problems. All serious crimes from murder, shooting, rape and robbery to break-ins are on the rise. Since January 2021 we have seen media houses reporting on the murders which have already surpassed that for the corresponding period last year with 384 murders up to April 3, 2021. Therefore, 2021 is already shaping up to be a deadly year with deaths from a pandemic plus those from the civil war we are waging against ourselves. We are also seeing an increase in abductions, human trafficking and domestic abuse, in particular gender-based violence. Could this only be blamed on the music? No. I take these matters seriously and I am sure the Prime Minister and his parliamentarians do too. However, there is a step further we must go beyond talk or blame. The seriousness of these social pathologies cannot be blamed on the music alone. Baby Cham puts into perspective the role of parenting, illiteracy, poverty, lack of opportunities for youth, and poor leadership as key contributors to the high crime rate, within his now-viral Instagram message here. Violent content he pointed out is available in audiovisual streaming platforms such as Netflix and of course via cable channels. Most importantly, Cham raised the question about whether the PMs comments were made from guilt or a study done. While there have been some investigations, no definitive study has yet been done to ascertain whether there is a correlation between crime in Jamaica and the popular music produced and consumed. Indeed, the artistry in music is a reflection of the social world and can be an influencing factor but it can also be a deterrent. While a lot of funds including from grants and loans are being spent to tackle crime, we might be witnessing a case of diminishing returns on those investments as we fulfil some of the obligations of funders versus a bottom-up approach being pushed by organisations such as the Peace Management Initiative. Any Prime Minister who seeks to blame the music versus properly contextualising the complexity of crime in Jamaica which is mostly being tackled with a top-down approach versus systematic and sustained investment in changing the culture of policing and in particular, community policing, is going to be seen as mischievous and irresponsible. Such a Prime Minister must also be heard acknowledging the work needed around building confidence in police officers and the system which has been marred by accusations around extra-judicial killings, human rights violations, extortion and double standards in respect of abiding by the law. Is it all negative? No. There is a lot of work to be done. Blaming artists and their music is going to be far less effective than engaging them in programmes to uplift Jamaica. Music remains a scapegoat because it is easy to imagine a link based on the lyrical content which reflects the pathological reaches of our civil war against each other. Why do we need to hear about whose marrow has to fly and who will be made into a ghost, some might ask? These are part and parcel of what has become reality in Jamaica, a part we cant sweep under a carpet or dismiss with blame. For Jamaica, with the social problems I have described, reflecting life isnt the only thing we need from the music however. There is a grave need to replace guns with musical instruments and the bad-mind tendencies with love. Who is responsible? We all are. Every single one of us. But we have to stop blaming the music because it is nothing but lazy tongue lashing. Leadership to stem crime and violence requires bold, brilliant yet humble approaches to seek guidance from the very persons being blamed. We know that powerful voices such as Bounty Killer, Mr. Vegas, Agent Sasco, Tanya Stephens, CeCile, Romain Virgo, Buju Banton, and others are using their platforms to vocalise and propose solutions. They are digging into their own pockets knowing fully well that the problems are shared, and solutions must also be shared. Why not engage them? Why wait for example until our youth are incarcerated to have rehabilitation programmes as the music experiment which saw artist Jah Cure produce the mega hit True Reflections documenting his lamentations about prison walls? Statements such as those repeatedly spoken by the Prime Minister or other members of government over the years do not amount to any substantial move to stem the problems. There is need for a revamp of our educational system, especially at the primary and secondary levels. There is need for sustained public education around crime and the role of every citizen in stemming crime. We are now seeing what the challenges of public education look like with the COVID-19 pandemic and that it has to be systematic and sustained. It is the same with crime. Crime is Jamaicas biggest problem because it is a symptom of deep-seated problems around power, respect, love and confidence. There is need for investment in educating every Jamaican. Smart choices away from crime and violence can be conditioned through viable education and job creation. Most importantly, the way to clear the air on the link between violence and the music in Jamaica is to commission a proper study. I have developed an instrument to be administered and there are competent researchers here in Jamaica to execute such a study. The solutions are not difficult, and they most certainly do not involve a top-down approach or statements that seek to blame the very artists who have worked very hard to put Jamaican music on the world map. Once and for all, can we get a workable crime plan centred on building our communities, valuing the human rights of Jamaicas citizens and with our creatives playing their rightful role instead of being blamed? The political will is what we need to build communities. Im tired of seeing people say they have two or more appointments scheduled for themselves at different locations, and that theyre going to pick whatever is more convenient for them and cancel the rest, one member posted on the site. This group is filled with people who cant find appointments. No one should be scheduling themselves for more than one. Plus, this HAS to be causing havoc on scheduling systems. Welcome to Pandemic Problems, an advice column from The Chronicles engagement reporters that seeks to help Bay Area residents solve their pandemic-related conundrums personal, practical or professional. Send your questions and issues to pandemicproblems@sfchronicle.com. Todays question is fielded by The Chronicles Annie Vainshtein. Dear Advice Team: Im a 58-year-old woman with multiple autoimmune conditions, specifically: lupus (SLE), Sjogrens syndrome and ankylosing spondylitis as well as fibromyalgia (which some count as autoimmune and others do not). I am also obese but my overall level of systemic inflammation is normal. Im wondering: (1) What level of protectiveness I can expect once Im able to get vaccinated for COVID-19? (2) Which, if any, of the three vaccines is likely to provide better protection? (3) Would getting tested for antibodies two weeks after my last vaccine injection provide me with meaningful information of the level of protection I may have (and, if so, which antibody tests would experts recommend I get)? More Information About Pandemic Problems Send your questions and issues to pandemicproblems@sfchronicle.com. We cannot respond to all questions, but your submission will be read and considered. Please be as specific as possible, but try to keep it concise. We may edit your submission for space, clarity or spelling and grammar. Keep the people and situations in your letter anonymous by changing the names (including yours) and details. We will remove any identifying information. Emails, letters, tweets or other messages you send become the property of The Chronicle and may be published online and in print. Important: This column cannot address immediate risks to your health and safety. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 to reach a counselor at a locally operated crisis center 24 hours a day for free. Text "Connect" to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor any time for free. Emails or other communications you send become the property of The Chronicle and may be published online and in print. By submitting a question, you agree to The Chronicle's Terms of Use, which are available for review at sfchronicle.com/terms_of_use, and acknowledge its Privacy Notice, which is available for review at sfchronicle.com/privacy_policy. The advice offered in this column is intended for informational purposes only. Use of this column is not intended to replace or substitute for any professional, financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice. If you have specific concerns or a situation in which you require professional, psychological or medical help, you should consult with an appropriately trained and qualified specialist. The opinions or views expressed in this column are not intended to treat or diagnose; nor are they meant to replace the treatment and care that you may be receiving from a licensed professional, physician or mental health professional. This column, its authors, the newspaper and publisher are not responsible for the outcome or results of following any advice in any given situation. You, and only you, are completely responsible for your actions. See More Collapse Thus far, Ive had no luck finding any meaningful data regarding people with autoimmune conditions in general, let alone for specific conditions (except Type 1 diabetes). So, Im really hoping youll reply to my query if nothing else, Id appreciate being pointed toward any resources that might at least help me in locating some data regarding COVID-19 and autoimmune conditions. Dear Reader: Your first question was about protectiveness. All three of the experts with whom I spoke who are rheumatologists and have knowledge of or are working in trials related to the vaccines answered the question with one caveat: Though there are initial papers about vaccine responses among patients with autoimmune diseases, there isnt a lot of data so far, because patients in similar categories to yourself were generally excluded from early trials. Some initial papers so far that looked at responses after the first dose appeared to suggest that some patients with autoimmune diseases, particularly if they are on certain immunosuppressant medications, didnt respond as well as healthy patients, according to Stanford scientist Dr. PJ Utz, a professor of immunology and rheumatology. One recent study from Israel looked at responses after the second dose, and seemed to suggest that its not necessarily the disease that dictates peoples response to the vaccine but more likely the medications they are on, said UCSF rheumatologist Dr. Mehrdad Matloubian. One medication in particular, rituximab, seems to affect antibody responses, Matloubian added. But another caveat is this: Scientists still dont know how much antibody people need to be sufficiently affected, so any amount of protection that you get from the vaccine is better than not getting any at all. No matter whether youre on that medication, experts say you should talk to your rheumatologist, as he or she will be able to make recommendations around certain medications and whether they should be held at the time of your vaccine appointment, should you decide to get one. But rheumatologists still hold that most people will be able to generate an antibody response, and thus should be greatly protected from severe COVID-19, without the risk of serious side effects from the vaccine. To me, the fact that the adverse effects (from the vaccine) are reversible and usually short term argue that that type of risk is relatively minimal to the potentially irreversible harm of acquiring COVID-19, said Dr. Alfred Kim, a professor of rheumatology at Washington University in St. Louis. As for your second question, rheumatologists consider the three vaccines to be the same and would not recommend one over the other. In other words, whichever vaccine is presented to you is the one you should take. I dont think we will have meaningful comparisons in patients with autoimmunity until after the pandemic is over, Utz said, and even then I think the data sets will be small and will not show a meaningful difference between different vaccines. Kim added: No data exist to demonstrate any differences between the Pfizer, Moderna or J&J vaccines in the autoimmune population. As a result, we recommend getting whatever is available. We are examining this now, though, especially as the J&J vaccine availability increases. Now, on to your last question: whether you should get tested for antibodies after your full vaccine cycle is completed. The answer among all rheumatologists interviewed was no, because any results would be clinically inactionable. So, even if the results would show that someone has no antibody response, theres no mechanism right now for anything to change the outcome, like a reboost, Kim said. Utz agreed and added: It will not change how you will be managed. Moreover, even if you dont have good antibody responses, other cells called T cells could be activated that could still provide really good protection. In other words, antibodies arent the only measure of immunity, and as of now, there would be nothing you could do about it besides cause more worry and confusion. In the next few months, scientists will get a better sense of how to use antibody titer data, and many are already looking at additional boosters for the vaccine. Until then, its safe to say, no such checking will be helpful or productive. Annie Vainshtein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annievain Pandemic Problems is written by Chronicle Advice Team members Annie Vainshtein and Kellie Hwang, combining thorough reporting and guidance from Bay Area experts to help get answers and find a way forward. India reported 1,68,912 new COVID-19 cases overnight, data from the Union Health Ministry showed on Monday. The caseload is higher than the 1.52 lakh new infections reported on Saturday. With a rapid rise in cases, India is now the world's second most affected country in terms of coronavirus. The US, with 3.1 crore cases, stands on top, followed by India and Brazil. Around 75,086 were discharged and 904 patients were reported dead in the last 24 hours. With this, the total case tally stands at 1.3 crore. Total recoveries are at 1.2 crore. Active cases stand at 12 lakh and 1.7 lakh people have died in India so far. Under the country's mass vaccination programme, India has inoculated 10.4 crore people so far. The country's active COVID-19 cases breached the 11-lakh mark for the first time on Sunday. Amid an unprecedented burden on health infrastructure in 15 states and Delhi, which is witnessing an upward trajectory, authorities have started reserving more COVID hospitals and taking steps to address any shortage of medical supplies, besides enhancing curbs on the movement of people. The Centre also announced a ban on the export of Remdesivir, used in coronavirus treatment and its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), and asked all domestic manufacturers to display on their website details of their stockists and distributors. The action came after some states reported a shortage of drugs. While the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 10 crore after 85 days, the 'Tika Utsav' or a special 'vaccination festival', a four-day exercise, that started on April 11, will go on till April 14. The massive vaccination push, dubbed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the beginning of another major war against coronavirus, was launched on Sunday in a bid to abate the rapid surge. "Anyone eligible for the vaccine should get the jab, and for this, the society and administration have to make full efforts," PM Modi said while pitching for "zero vaccine waste" and urging people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour. Five states -- Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala -- cumulatively account for 70.82 per cent of India's active COVID-19 cases, where Maharashtra alone accounts for 48.57 per cent, says the Union Health Ministry data. Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal are also displaying an upward graph of daily new cases. Also read: Maharashtra logs highest single-day spike of over 63,000 COVID-19 cases Also read: Gujarat High Court initiates suo motu PIL on COVID 'emergency' in state Also read: 50% SC staff tests COVID-19 positive; judges to hold virtual hearings Also read: Decision on Maharashtra lockdown after April 14, says state health minister Rajesh Tope Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayensuano constituency, Samuel Ayeh-Paye has commended the Roads and Highways Minister, Kwesi Amoako-Atta over his initiative to revamp the road sector. The Minister is said to have promised to pay upfront all arrears the Road Minsitry owes contractors in order to cause them to finish the road projects they are in charge. The Minister's aim is to ensure there are better roads in the country to avoid road accidents. Contributing to a panel discussion on the topic of road accidents on Peace FM's morning programme 'Kokrokoo', Samuel Ayeh-Paye applauded the Minister for his willingness to pay the contractors to complete the road projects as he believed that is the way forward in preventing the numerous accidents on the country's roads. He also believed the behaviour of drivers is a causative factor of road accidents but was also of a strong view that the lack of better roads is a major factor and that the Minister's initiative will go a long way to resolve this challenge. "I applaud you for making this decision. If you are able to effect this decision, it will help us a lot with our road networks," he said. He also called on the Minister to fast-track the implementation of the Road Fund to help fund road projects. 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 Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Research Future (MRFR) Has Announced a New Release on the Contraceptive Pills Market highlights the current and future status of market and regional level analysis with the help of industry trends and market performance. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2019 through 2027. Also, a five-year historic analysis is provided for these Contraceptive Pills Market. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Global Contraceptive pills Market - Competitive Analysis Merck & Co., Inc (US), Pfizer Inc (US), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Israel), Bayer AG (Germany), Allergan plc. (Ireland), Janssen Global Services llc. (US), Mankind Pharma Ltd. (India), Piramal Enterprises Ltd (India), Reckitt Benckiser Plc (UK), Church & Dwight (US), The Female Health Company (US), Mayer Laboratories (US), Cooper Surgical (US) are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Contraceptive Pills Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis. Global Contraceptive pills Market Overview Contraceptive pills are likely to witness considerable demand in the years to come. The observation offered by Market Research Future (MRFR) unfolds that the global contraceptive pills market is expected to enter a phase of maturity in the foreseeable future. According to the report, the market is prognosticated to record a CAGR of 2.2% across the projection period 2016 to 2027 Anti-conception medication pills which are also called as oral contraceptive pills are a kind of female hormonal anti-conception medication technique and are extremely viable at avoiding pregnancy. These pills are small tablets that a patient swallow every day. These birth control pills are been used from ancient times but the save and effective methods are introduce and available from 20th century. Fill Out Details To Receive FREE Sample Here: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2122 Contraceptive drugs are used to prevent the unwanted pregnancy by blocking the normal process of ovulations or by altering the process which support the fertilization of egg. Most pills contain two sorts of manufactured (man-made) female hormones: estrogen and progestin. These are like the estrogen and progesterone regularly made by the ovaries. These pills are called combination oral contraceptives, and there are a wide range of these kinds. Globally the market for contraceptive pills is growing at a low rate but with increasing prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases will upsurge the growth of this market in coming future. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, the global contraceptive pills market is booming and expected to gain eminence over the forecast period. The market is forecasted to demonstrate a spectacular growth by 2022, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a prominent CAGR during the anticipated period (2017 2022). Increasing need of population control and increasing incident of abortion has driven the growth of the market. Governmental initiatives for minimizing unwanted pregnancy, increasing awareness and healthcare expenditure, and increasing in use of contraceptives drugs has provided fuel for the growth of the market. While the side effects of the treatment and strict governmental rules in many countries may hamper the growth of the market. Geographically, North America commands the largest market for the contraceptive drug market. Approximately 3 million women in North America experiences unplanned pregnancy. Beside this 90 % of the women use some of the method of contraception. Thus increasing number of abortion and rate of unplanned pregnancy has driven this market in North America. Major market of North America is contributed by US which is followed by Canada. Increasing awareness and minimizing the healthcare expenses by curbing number of abortion in US encourage contraceptive use among women. North America contraceptives drug market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9 % during forecasted period. The market for contraceptive pills is characterised by the presence of several well-established and small players, the global market of contraceptive pills appears to be highly competitive and fragmented. Major players are increasingly expanding their footprint in the emerging nations, making it putting pressure on the regional players, especially in terms of features such as type, product portfolios, and pricing. The market is witnessing intensified competition which is expected to get more intensified further during the forecast period. The contraceptive pills market appears to be highly competitive owing to the presence of several large and small key players accounting for a substantial market share. Well established players are getting into various product launches in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position. For instance, in 2015, Pfizer Inc. has introduced SAYANA, first injectable contraceptive in UK which can be self-administered. While, in 2015 , Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has launched Beyaz which is a generic contraceptive drug. It is one of the most successful product of the company and in 2016 it has annual sales of approximately $ 133 million in the US. Recently, in March 2017, the company has launched a new product Minastrin in the market. Moreover, the company has launched the generic version of Janssen's birth control pills Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. Into the brand name of Tri-Lo-Sprintec (norgetimate and ethinyl estradiol) tablets. Therefore, the growing partnerships and product launches to expand their presence in various parts of the globe for their competitive products has spurred the growth of the market. Browse Complete Report at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/contraceptive-pills-market-2122 . About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR) ), and Market Research & Consulting Services. ADVERTISEMENT The police in Delta State on Saturday rescued a kidnap victim in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state. The rescued man has been identified as James Emmanuel. The police spokesperson in the state, Edafe Bright, said in Warri on Monday that officers attached to the Eagle Net Special Squad of the Police Command carried out the rescue operation. At about midnight on April 10, the Commander, Eagle Net Special Squad, received a distress call of an attempted robbery/kidnap at Usiefurun Community in Ughelli South LGA. The Commander mobilised operatives of the Eagle Net Special Squad to the area. The hoodlums on sighting the police opened fire. The police retaliated in full force and in the process, the hoodlums abandoned the victim and escaped with injuries, Mr Bright, a deputy superintendent of police, said in a statement. Mr Bright said the man was rescued and his snatched SUV recovered by the police. The police spokesperson said the police were making efforts to arrest the fleeing suspects. In another development, the Command arrested a 50-year-old man over possession of substances suspected to be Indian hemp. The suspect was nabbed on April 8, 2021 at Okandeji Street, Warri South. He was arrested with 552 wraps of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp and 102 wraps of skunk also called SK. The suspect has given useful information and investigation has commenced on possible links or recoveries so as to arrest other partners who might be involved in the illicit drug dealings, Mr Bright stated. (NAN) Lauren Dixon-Paver is a multimedia designer and all-round creative who spends most of her free time doing crafts, watching Drag Race and spending too much time researching TikTok. She's into making craft tutorials for YouTube, researching interesting facts for the quiz page she helps run, and will speak at length about why Josie and the Pussycats is the greatest film of all time whenever she gets the chance. Abigail Visser joins Grey Group as a creative: social and content and has a background in community management. Like the Desmond and the Tutus song, Abi is a Pretoria girl who loves local music and festivals. She has a background in community management, copywriting and creative strategy for some of South Africa's biggest brands, and a passion for replying in gifs. : toddler (toad), : Military : : BBS (Sun Apr 11 13:46:06 2021, ) UK news Despair fuels the flames of young loyalist anger in Northern Ireland Let down by politicians and police, cultural symbols belittled ... unionist teenagers feel marginalised and are taking action 08:30 UTC Sunday, 11 April 2021 For the schoolboy commander who stood on the grassy hill and gave his name only as Bob, the intricacies and compromises of politics, policing, Brexit and the Northern Ireland protocol could all be boiled down to this: his side was losing, and that had to stop. His side were the Protestants, unionists and loyalists, bulwarks of Britishness on the island of Ireland, and they needed to assert themselves, starting with the traffic roundabout at the bottom of ONeill Road in Newtownabbey, outside Belfast. A singed and tattered union jack fluttered from a stick planted in the middle of the intersection, testament to three cars hijacked and set alight there in Northern Irelands week of riots. Bob and his band of teenagers, some clutching rocks and bottles, would defend it from any police officer who dared remove it. The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and other unionist parties were not defending Northern Irelands place in the UK, said Bob. Theyre all ball bags that dont know how to put their foot down. Thats why weve been out here. In a nutshell, that is why petrol bombs have been flying. Working-class loyalists feel forgotten and marginalised and are using mayhem to get attention and leverage. They got the attention. The regions power-sharing executive held an emergency session, the Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis rushed to Belfast, Boris Johnson issued a joint statement with his Irish counterpart, Micheal Martin, and the White House expressed concern. Whether it advanced the loyalist agenda is another matter. The governments and political parties all condemned the violence, which injured 55 police officers, as reckless and unjustifiable. Arlene Foster, the DUP leader and the regions first minister, called it an embarrassment. But Bob and his ilk, clad in dark fleeces, hoods and masks, had their own political calculus. A trade border down the Irish Sea; nationalists flouting pandemic rules at the funeral of a former IRA commander; police and prosecutors not arresting or charging anyone who attended the funeral; in the zero-sum politics of Northern Ireland that meant loyalists were losing. Were part of the UK, but theyre trying to make Northern Ireland into a united Ireland, said Bob, as his lieutenants nodded. Few had travelled south of the border, just 60 miles away, for the Republic of Ireland was hostile, alien territory. Bob, taller and bolder than the others, had done so, to visit Dublin zoo, and that was enough. In their view the other side, colloquially known as themuns, was winning. Police patrols and drug busts in Newtownabbeys housing estates, they said, showed a biased police service beholden to ascendant nationalism. It is part of a loyalist narrative that the rot set in after the 1998 Good Friday agreement. Instead of a settlement, a new dawn, Sinn Fein and its allies used the agreement to chip, chip, chip away at Northern Ireland, removing royal symbols, removing the union jack from Belfast city hall, erecting Irish-language signs. Now, in the centenary year of Northern Irelands creation in 1921, Catholics may soon outnumber Protestants, Sinn Fein is within a whisker of overtaking the DUP as the biggest party and there is chatter about a referendum on Irish unity. What this defeatist view overlooks is that in recent elections the nationalist vote has plateaued, that nationalists have their own list of grievances, and that the fastest growing political force in Northern Ireland is the non-aligned centre which shuns Orange and Green labels. Bob was adamant: loyalists had become second-class citizens. You have police treating Protestants like shit and Catholics like upper-class citizens. The police were born Protestant and should remain Protestant. He displayed his scorn when up the hill tramped three officers, two of them male. Hello ladies. Older loyalists such as John Scott, 61, a retired musician, were not manning barricades but felt the protests served a purpose. Johnson had betrayed unionists over Brexit, just like previous occupants of Downing Street had betrayed the most British bastion of the UK. It may help get politicians off their arses. Every now and again the prime minister, whoever he is, needs a slap up the bake [mouth]. Blunt honesty, perhaps, but there is a murkiness to the riots. Middle-aged men have hovered amid the youthful missile-throwers, raising suspicion that paramilitary elements are directing the violence. They let us know when something will happen, they warn us so we can close in time, said one store owner in Newtownabbey, which has a strong Ulster Defence Association presence. Asked who they were he smiled. I cant say more. Some sense the DUPs hand in the riots, saying the party demanded the chief constables resignation over Bobby Storeys funeral to direct loyalist anger towards the police and away from the DUPs role in creating the Irish Sea border. What were seeing here tonight is the outworking of the crisis in unionism, said Matt Collins, a Belfast city councillor with the People Before Profit party. He spoke on Wednesday night as smoke plumed over the loyalist Shankill Road, where rioters had set a hijacked bus ablaze. Having delivered nothing to their working-class communities they have resorted to sectarianism. A 63-year-old Catholic council worker who gave his name only as Patrick had a blunter critique. Unionists and loyalists were used to getting their way C and now that theyre not getting their way theyre complaining like a spoilt child. Peter Shirlow, a director at the University of Liverpools Institute of Irish Studies and an authority on unionism, said many working-class loyalists viewed compromises inherent in the Good Friday agreement as concessions, surrender, a drip-drip erosion of sovereignty. Theyre constantly told the other side is winning. In fact most of Northern Irelands deprived areas were Catholic and loyalist communities boasted success stories, said Shirlow. When people say loyalists have been abandoned, abandoned by whom? Like any other working-class community they have their own issues. The worst flashpoint last week was in Belfast at the interface of the Lanark Way peace wall, the Orwellian name for barriers that separate neighbourhoods. Young people from the loyalist Shankill Road and youths from the nationalist Springfield Road waged an aerial bombardment of rocks, bottles and petrol bombs. At one point the gate caught fire and was breached, with interlopers briefly milling in enemy territory, hurling taunts as well as missiles. In the fresh light of morning you could still read a faded, smudged message painted on the wall, like a message passed down from another era: There was never a good war or a bad peace. Few in Northern Ireland would consider the Troubles, which cost 3,700 lives, a good war. The problem is those who chafe at an imperfect peace and who forget, or never knew, the alternative. ... we have a small favour to ask. Millions are flocking to the Guardian for open, independent, quality news every day. Readers in all 50 states and in 180 countries around the world now support us financially. As America enters a new chapter, were asking you to make a contribution to help fund our journalism. We believe everyone deserves access to information thats grounded in science and truth, and analysis rooted in authority and integrity. Thats why we made a different choice: to keep our reporting open for all readers, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. This means everyone can be better informed and inspired to take meaningful action. Your funding powers our journalism. Every contribution, however big or small , makes a difference. Make a gift now from as little as $1. Thank you. Make a contribution 64 -- iPhone 1.24.11 -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 2600:8807:5048:] [] [] The trial of a man charged with murdering three people in northern Spain started Monday, with heavily armed police guarding the Provincial Court of the region of Teruel where the case is being heard. Norbert Feher, also known as Igor el Russo, stands accused of killing a livestock owner and two civil guards in the village of Andorra in December 2017. Feher, a Serbian citizen, slipped police surveillance in Italy in April 2017 where he had been convicted of killing police officers and members of the general public. The week long jury trial will take place under tight security, a special glass cabin has been built for the accused. Over the next week, 60 witnesses and experts are scheduled to explain the details of the events that happened in the farmhouse near the tiny village. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Odisha Police on Monday deployed about 1,000 armed policemen in the Pipili Assembly segment in Puri district to ensure peaceful polling in the by-election to be held on April 17. Director-General of Police Abhay visited Pipili and said three companies (1 company comprise three platoons of jawans) of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), 29 platoons (each platoon comprise 30 personnel) of the Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) and one platoon of Swift Action Force (SAF) have been deployed in the area. This apart 60 state police officers have also been engaged in by-poll duty. The DGP said that the constituency has been divided into several security zones to ensure an incident-free poll. Two ASPs and three DSPs will be in charge of each zone to monitor the law and order situation. Official sources said as many as 80 critical booths have been identified in the constituency. The DGP also reviewed the pre-poll violence in Pipili at a meeting attended by Director (Intelligence), RK Sharma, and the ADGP (Law and Order), Yashwant Jethwa. Meanwhile, the Delang police on Monday arrested two persons in connection with the pre-poll violence in which three BJP workers were injured in a clash on Sunday. The ruling BJD alleged that Labour Minister Sushant Singh's vehicle was attacked by BJP workers when he had gone to meet some injured party workers at Delang. A BJD delegation comprising Rajya Sabha MPs Sasmit Patra and Sujit Kumar Monday met the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), SK Lohani and demanded stern action against those involved in the attack on the minister's vehicle and two other party workers. They submitted a memorandum to the CEO. Patra alleged that BJP goons smashed the front and rear windshields of the minister's car on Sunday. Later, they attacked two party workers of whom one is undergoing treatment at the CHC in Delang while the condition of the other worker undergoing treatment at Capital Hospital is critical. Patra also alleged that recently Rs 50 lakh was seized from two BJP leaders in Pipili which they wanted to use to influence voters for the bypoll. In a separate press conference, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the ruling BJD of indulging in violence and attempting to capture Pipili seat by means of criminal activities. He also alleged that the state police has been working at the behest of the ruling party. "The Odisha Police is part of the conspiracy hatched by the ruling party not to conduct free and fair elections in Pipili," Patra said, alleging that instead of arresting criminals facing non-bailable warrants, the police was shielding them. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) A relatively small asteroid is expected to miss Earth by only 12,000 miles today. That might sound like a large distance, but its a very close miss compared to most asteroids. The asteroid has been named 2021GW4, and is estimated by NASA to be about 16 feet in diameter. According to Mike Murray, astronomer at Delta Colleges Planetarium, a 16-foot asteroid would most likely break up into many small pieces. If the asteroid was composed of nickel and iron, it would have a much better chance of reaching ground. While Asteroid 2021GW4 is going to miss Earth, Murray says, If a 16-foot asteroid did hit the ground, it could make a crater 60 feet across. While that sounds big, it would only be felt in the local area of the impact. It would be more like a local explosion. In comparison, the asteroid over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013 was around 55 feet in diameter, and it didnt even make it as a whole piece hitting the ground. NASAs forecasts of asteroid trajectories are very accurate, according to Murray, at least in a 24-hour forecast. So Murray says there is virtually no chance of a mistaken forecast. But Murray is excited about any asteroid with a near miss. He says we learn a lot at these close passes. We get to learn about where it came from by knowing its trajectory. By working its orbit backward, astronomers can figure out where the asteroid came from in our solar system. We learn about its shape by bouncing radio waves, or RADAR, at the asteroid. If we can get enough reflected light from the asteroid, scientists can do a spectral analysis, which would tell us the composition of the surface of the asteroid. I asked Murray if any asteroid currently worries him, and he said no, but with a slight hesitation. The only asteroid that worries Murray now is an asteroid that hasnt been detected yet. There are still probably many asteroids not yet discovered. A good example is the asteroid that hit Russia in 2013. An asteroid named Apophis has recently been thought to be troublesome to Earth. Now the latest NASA forecast shows Apophis will not come close to Earth for at least 100 years. Apophis is about 1,320 feet in diameter. An extinction-size asteroid is estimated at around six miles in diameter, according to Murray. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains it this way: Asteroids are rocky fragments left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Most asteroids orbit the sun in a belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists think there are probably millions of asteroids, ranging widely in size from hundreds of kilometers across to less than one kilometer (a little more than one-half mile) wide. Occasionally, asteroids orbital paths are influenced by the gravitational tug of planets, which cause their paths to alter. Scientists believe stray asteroids or fragments from earlier collisions have slammed into Earth in the past, playing a major role in the evolution of our planet. By Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose nearly 2% on Monday on optimism over the pace of coronavirus vaccinations in the United States and after the Yemen-based Houthi movement said it fired missiles on Saudi oil sites. Crude prices have remained rangebound in the past three weeks, as growing expectations of surging U.S. economic activity are balanced by the slow rate of vaccination in Europe and anticipation of additional supply from Iran in coming months. Brent rose $1.01, or 1.6%, to $63.96 a barrel by 10:49 a.m. EDT (1449 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose $1.10, or 1.9%, to $60.42 a barrel. The United States has fully vaccinated 22% of its population, while the United Kingdom has vaccinated 11% fully, according to the Reuters vaccine tracker https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/vaccination-rollout-and-access. Still, other countries are not faring as well, with France and Germany at around 6% vaccinated. "Oil prices rose today as a result of progress in vaccination campaigns in the U.S., which are helping the country's plan to spend," said Louise Dickson, Rystad Energy's oil analyst. "The upward momentum in other countries is promising, but large discrepancies remain globally." Prices also found some support after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it had fired 17 drones and two ballistic missiles at Saudi targets, including towards Saudi Aramco refineries in Jubail and Jeddah. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation. Saudi Aramco, the state oil firm, did not comment when contacted by Reuters. "While there are still plenty of reasons to be bullish, market players have become more cautious as infections have surged in Europe, India and some emerging markets, while vaccine rollouts have proved slower than anticipated," said oil broker PVM's Stephen Brennock. India now accounts for one in every six daily coronavirus infections worldwide, and cases are also rising in other parts of Asia. Asian oil demand remained weak and some buyers have asked for lower volumes in May, partly because of refinery maintenance and higher prices. The U.S. economy is at an "inflection point" amid expectations that growth and hiring will accelerate in the months ahead, but it faces the risk of reopening too quickly and sparking a resurgence in coronavirus cases, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in an interview on Sunday. (Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New York; additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in Lonodn and Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Evans) (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 Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by former Ros na Run actor, Garrett Phillips, against his conviction for the rape of a young woman in Galway over five years ago. The three-judge court dismissed a plea by lawyers for Phillips that his legal team during his trial in April 2018 should have been allowed to cross-examine the victim about sexual activity with her boyfriend approximately a week before the offence. Phillips (48) a father of two of St Marys Terrace, Taylors Hill, Galway, was convicted by a 11-1 majority verdict of a single charge of raping a 20-year-old woman on the outskirts of Galway city on November 5, 2015 following a four-day trial at the Central Criminal Court. He was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison for the offence. A jury heard evidence that the actor had orally raped his victim after she had fallen asleep in his van after he had offered her a lift home. They had met earlier after she was sitting on a park bench after a night out while he was walking his dog. Phillips, who played the character of Dr Cathal Hennessy in the popular TG4 soap series between 2011 and 2014, had pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed the sexual act was consensual. At a sitting of the Court of Appeal on Monday, Fiona Murphy SC for Phillips, said the trial judge, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon, had erred in law by refusing an application by her clients legal team to cross-examine the complainant about a reference in her statement that she had engaged in an oral sex act with her boyfriend about a week before the offence. Ms Murphy claimed the issue had relevance because of its proximity in time and the similar nature of the sexual act for which Phillips had been convicted. Given strict restrictions on the cross-examination of rape victims about their sexual history and the requirement for advance notice of any such questioning, she acknowledged that the application to be permitted such cross-examination during the original trial which came on the second day of the trial after the complainant had already completed her direct evidence was not ideal. However, Ms Murphy claimed allowing such cross-examination might have led the jury to not being reasonably satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Phillips was guilty. Opposing the appeal, Paul Greene SC, for the DPP, said although there were two incidents of oral sex, one had taken place in the context of a consensual relationship and the issue had no relevance. The DPP also argued that Phillips had suffered no unfairness by not being allowed cross-examine the victim on the matter. Mr Justice George Birmingham, presiding with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, said it appeared that someone had originally considered that the womans reference to a previous sexual act was of no relevance but then decided later that they might as well have a second look at it. Giving the courts judgement, Mr Justice McCarthy said the appellant had not satisfactorily explained the delay in seeking the application to cross-examine the victim during the original trial. Dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice McCarthy said evidence was only admissible if it was relevant. He added: We cant see how the topic in question could have the slightest relevance on the facts in this case. The victim of the crime engaged in sexual activity with her boyfriend. That is all. Following the ruling, Ms Murphy said Phillips would now proceed with his appeal against the severity of his six-year prison term which is due to be heard on April 30. Researchers at Tel Aviv University and Clalit discovered the prevalence of the South African variant among patients who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The Israeli study found that the South African variant has managed to break through the protection offered by two doses of the Pfizer vaccine to some extent. However, it is still unclear how much efficacy is lost. The study compared about 400 people who tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks or more after receiving doses of Pfizer, against the same number of unvaccinated patients, according to an Aljazeera report. The South African variant's prevalence was eight times higher than those unvaccinated. The researchers suggested that the vaccine is less effective against the South African variant as compared to the original strain and the British variant. Tel Aviv University's Adi Stern said that the variant can evade the vaccine's protection to some extent. "Based on patterns in the general population, we would have expected just one case of the South African variant, but we saw eight," Stern was quoted in a CNBC report. He added that more research is needed to conclude how much efficacy has been lost. Pfizer has declined to comment on the suggested results of the Israeli study. Meanwhile, Pfizer said they were doing some lab work to identify whether the vaccine can offer protection against another variant first discovered in Brazil. Moderna earlier disclosed that there was a drop in antibody levels against the South African variant, according to The Guardian report. Moderna added that the efficacy of its vaccine against the South African variant is yet to be known. READ MORE: Mexican Researchers Create a Nose-Only COVID-19 Mask COVID Variants The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky cautioned the public, saying that she is worried the United States is facing "impending doom" with variants rampant as COVID cases are increase daily. "We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I'm scared," Walensky was quoted in a report. Walensky added that the British variant, also known as B.1.1.7, is the most common variant spreading in the United States. The B.1.1.7 is the most contagious COVID variant spreading in the country based on what the scientists found, according to an NBC News report. Walensky added that most cases had been linked to daycare centers and youth sports. She noted that the rise in the COVID cases appeared to be from younger age groups. The CDC predicted in January that the British variant could be the most dominant virus strain in the country by March. The White House said that 108 million people in the U.S. have already received at least one shot, while vaccine eligibility has been moved up to all adult Americans by Apr. 19. White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt called on the public to get the vaccine and practice certain measures, such as social distancing, frequent handwashing, and wearing a mask. READ NEXT: Fauci Warns Against Loosening COVID-19 Restrictions, Mask Mandates WATCH: Pfizer evaluating Covid vaccine boosters in case they're needed for variants - from CNBC Television .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Intel Corp.s Rio Rancho campus is bustling with activity thanks to the chip makers local focus on building new, innovative technologies that support the companys evolving global operations. The company hired another 82 people at its New Mexico plant in 2020, growing its local workforce beyond 1,800 employees, according to the companys annual report to Sandoval County, released Monday morning. That caps a three-year turnaround at the Rio Rancho campus, where the workforce has expanded by 64% after bottoming out at about 1,100 people in 2017. The local site had been steadily shedding jobs since 2013, when it employed about 3,300 people, as major investments in new chip-making technology went to other U.S. sites and Intel plants overseas, rather than New Mexico. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ In Arizona, for example, Intel opened a new $7 billion manufacturing facility last year. And in March, it announced another $20 billion investment there to build two more factories. But in 2018, the New Mexico facility began hiring again, after Intel employees here developed new technologies to help speed data processing power for a range of industry applications. The local breakthroughs started with silicon photonics, whereby Rio Rancho innovators developed new methods to fuse optics technology, or lasers, with traditional silicon-based electronic servers. That next-generation technology uses light to speed data transfer, compared with traditional digital communications that rely on electronics to transfer and process information. That gave Rio Rancho a new company niche in silicon-photonics components, which are now used in Intel transceivers and receivers for data centers. Next, Intel transferred development of a new memory technology to Rio Rancho, allowing the local plant to hire more people to work on it. That technology, called 3D XPoint, is based on a new type of engineering architecture that places data memory and storage much closer to microprocessors inside computers or data centers, allowing information to transfer back and forth at much faster speeds. Finally, Rio Rancho has become the key corporate site for another new technology the Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge, or EMIB. Thats basically a new chip that sits on top of processing, or memory chips, to connect and transfer data between them, said Rio Rancho site Public Affairs Director Erika Edgerly. Those new technologies give Rio Rancho a unique role in Intel efforts to simplify and optimize semiconductor packaging, memory and connectivity. It makes our site critically important to Intels road map forward, Edgerly told the Journal. Intel made $290 million in capital investments last year in its Rio Rancho plant, which has an estimated $1.2 billion annual economic impact in New Mexico. It spent $200 million on products and services from local companies in 2020, and paid $598,000 in property taxes to Sandoval County. And its still hiring. We have over 30 more jobs now posted for the New Mexico site, said Intel spokesperson Linda Qian. The Congress-led Mahajot alliance appears to be in tatters with growing fears over poaching of candidates by the ruling BJP even as the counting of votes is just three weeks away in Assam. Two days after the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) sent its MLAs to Rajasthan over fears of possible horse-trading by the ruling BJP, another Congress ally, Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) has done the same with its poll candidates. While it is not clear where the BPF candidates have been sent, reports claim that 10 of them were taken to neighbouring Bhutan on Saturday and could stay there till results are announced on May 2. Others were reportedly taken to Nepal. Moreover, some of the BPFs elected members of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) have also been sent abroad, it added. Polling for the 126-seat Assam assembly, which was held in three phases concluded on April 1. The main parties contesting for power include the BJP-led mitrajot (an alliance of friends) and the Congress-led 10-party mahajot (grand alliance). BPF, which was part of the BJP-led government in the state, switched to the Congress camp this time and contested from 12 seats, mainly in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Lower Assam. Winning the 12 seats in 2011, the party had three cabinet ministers in the Sarbananda Sonowal government. However, this time, BPF suffered a setback even before polling when its Tamulpur candidate Rangja Khungur Basumatary retired from the contest six days before the third phase of polling and joined the BJP. On April 9, three days after the third phase of polling ended in Assam, the AIUDF which contested 20 seats, took 18 of their candidates to Rajasthan. While the reason stated for the trip was a pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif Dargah, party leaders admitted that the move was prompted by fear of their candidates being influenced by the BJP ahead of counting. Lack of confidence in candidates Reacting to the developments, the BJP snubbed the move by Congress allies as drama and expressed confidence in returning to power with its allies - Asom Gana Parishad and UPPL. BJP spokesperson Subhash Dutta said the move by AIUDF and the BDF shows their own lack of confidence in their candidates. He said Congress partners are resorting to such antics as they are certain of losing. He exuded confidence that the mitrajot would come back to power with a comfortable majority. [April 12, 2021] Kaseya's Latest Innovation Cycle Strengthens IT Complete Platform to Support Ongoing Remote Work and Compliance Requirements NEW YORK and MIAMI, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kaseya , the leading provider of IT and security management solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), has unveiled several new product enhancements and workflow integrations to strengthen the Kaseya IT Complete platform, its comprehensive suite of integrated IT tools designed for the multi-functional IT professional. This past year has seen IT teams stretched thin due to remote work requirements as well as the continued threat of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. At the same time, small businesses are attempting to navigate a new landscape of complicated regulatory compliance obligations. To further support MSPs and SMBs facing these urgent and ever-evolving issues, Kaseya's product innovations focused on advancements to its unparalleled security and compliance suites. From cybersecurity concerns to compliance guidelines, MSPs and SMBs are facing a growing set of complex challenges, said Mike Puglia, Chief Strategy Officer, Kaseya. With budgets stretched and demands on their time increasing, organizations need technologies that are complete, automated and priced right to better allocate their limited resources and address the rapidly evolving IT environment. The newest features and integrations in our IT Complete platform include enhancements that make it even easier to eliminate the valuable time IT professionals waste moving between disparate applications and manual processes. Key Product Enhancements Unified RMM: VSA 9.5.4 features a growing list of capabilities tied to Kaseyas Unified RMM strategy, which holistically tackles the ever-growing ecosystem of connected devices: Virtual Machine Network Discovery: Virtual Machine Network Discovery automates the discovery and mapping all VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V hosts and virtual machines, giving users greater visibility through an expanded network topology map of the entire IT environment. With this greater visibility, users can detect and remediate potential issues more effectively. New Advanced Linux Support: VSA 9.5.4 expands Live Connect functionality for Linux, allowing users to remotely troubleshoot and resolve issues on Linux devices to maintain a high level of system availability. This update allows users to view real-time information on Linux devices from a single dashboard, increasing efficiency and allowing for more streamlined management of all devices in the IT environment. 9.5.4 features a growing list of capabilities tied to Kaseyas Unified RMM strategy, which holistically tackles the ever-growing ecosystem of connected devices: Backup and Disaster Recovery: The newest addition to Unitrends Recovery Series appliances, Gen 9 MAX delivers supercharged computing power for on-site recovery and application hosting. Gen 9 MAX appliances are available through a subscription-based model that allows organizations to protect their data with minimal up-front costs. The newest addition to Unitrends appliances, Gen 9 MAX delivers supercharged computing power for on-site recovery and application hosting. Gen 9 MAX appliances are available through a subscription-based model that allows organizations to protect their data with minimal up-front costs. Enhanced IT Documentation: Network Glue discovery and documentation of Active Directory Security Groups: This feature enables technicians to check Active Directory (AD) user permissions directly in IT Glue without having to navigate to their AD server. MyGlue Help Center Update: Users can now share documents in the MyGlue Help Center with select MyGlue accounts, allowing MSPs to provide common process documents to their clients. Archive Flexible Assets: The latest Archive feature allows users in IT Glue and MyGlue to section off documentation that is no longer needed but should not be deleted within Configurations, Passwords, Documents and Flexible Assets. Password Access Workflow: This new feature in IT Glue and GlueConnect provides users with instant notifications each time a sensitive password is accessed or copied. Compliance: Kaseya Compliance Manager for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) automates the rigorous cybersecurity assessment and documentation process outlined by the Department of Defense, and is now available for the 130 controls that make up Level 3. This addition provides MSPs the ability to help SMBs navigate Levels 1 through 3 of CMMC as well as the NIST 800-171 interim rule. for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) automates the rigorous cybersecurity assessment and documentation process outlined by the Department of Defense, and is now available for the 130 controls that make up Level 3. This addition provides MSPs the ability to help SMBs navigate Levels 1 through 3 of CMMC as well as the NIST 800-171 interim rule. Security: BullPhish ID users now can create customized emails and training kits for simulations that mimic industry-specific phishing attacks. Additionally, a new portal for end-users allows individuals to track the trainings they have completed. Graphus has enhanced its capabilities to include the detection of internal email attacks originating from and targeting users within an organization. The enhancement, which will alert users when there is an abnormality detected in the trusted profile of the internal sender, provides an even greater level of protection from business email compromise. New IT Complete Workflow Integrations VSA and IT Glue: VSA 1-Click and IT Glue : VSA 1-Click provides a streamlined method for technicians to access endpoints using Remote Control, and the integration allows for the use of credentials stored in IT Glue when accessing remote devices. This removes the need for users to copy and paste sensitive log-in information when initiating remote sessions. VSA Agent Status on Network Glue Diagram: Users of Network Glue and Kaseya VSA can now view and filter by agent status on the network diagram to easily see if a VSA agent is online. VSA Connector for Compliance Manager : VSA users are able to collect data and send it to Compliance Manager through the Connector, eliminating the redundancy of having to input the same data in multiple places while ensuring organizations are adequately fulfilling compliance regulations. : VSA users are able to collect data and send it to Compliance Manager through the Connector, eliminating the redundancy of having to input the same data in multiple places while ensuring organizations are adequately fulfilling compliance regulations. BMS Licensing integration with Compliance Manager : This integration updates billing information upon completion of a scan, providing detailed cost tracking to allow MSPs to better understand the ROI for each customer. : This integration updates billing information upon completion of a scan, providing detailed cost tracking to allow MSPs to better understand the ROI for each customer. RocketCyber integrations with VSA, BMS and Passly : RocketCyber is Kaseyas newly-acquired managed SOC (security operations center) solution that provides 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring via a team of expert analysts who detect and respond to threats across endpoints, networks and cloud attack vectors. The VSA integration allows organizations to deploy RocketCyber across their entire infrastructure for continuous cybersecurity monitoring, while the BMS integration allows organizations to stay informed of security incidents through tickets in BMS. The RocketCyber integration with Passly provides single sign-on capabilities and allows RocketCyber to view sign-on data and flag issues that need to be addressed. : RocketCyber is Kaseyas newly-acquired managed SOC (security operations center) solution that provides 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring via a team of expert analysts who detect and respond to threats across endpoints, networks and cloud attack vectors. The VSA integration allows organizations to deploy RocketCyber across their entire infrastructure for continuous cybersecurity monitoring, while the BMS integration allows organizations to stay informed of security incidents through tickets in BMS. The RocketCyber integration with Passly provides single sign-on capabilities and allows RocketCyber to view sign-on data and flag issues that need to be addressed. Custom IT Glue reports in BMS: Users receive full business intelligence reporting capabilities for IT Glue data, allowing organizations to better understand the impact of documentation on service delivery. To learn more about Kaseyas IT Complete platform, which enables MSPs and internal IT teams to realize increased productivity and profitability through its time-saving automation and exceptional value, visit here . About Kaseya Kaseya is the leading provider of IT and security management solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and small to medium sized businesses (SMBs). Through its open platform and customer-centric approach, Kaseya delivers best in breed technologies that allow organizations to efficiently manage, secure, and backup IT. Kaseya IT Complete is the most comprehensive, integrated IT management platform comprised of industry-leading solutions from Kaseya, Unitrends, RapidFire Tools, Spanning Cloud Apps, IT Glue, ID Agent, Graphus and RocketCyber. The platform empowers businesses to: command all of IT centrally; easily manage remote and distributed environments; simplify backup and disaster recovery; safeguard against cybersecurity attacks; effectively manage compliance and network assets; streamline IT documentation, and automate across IT management functions. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Kaseya is privately held with a presence in over 20 countries. To learn more, visit www.kaseya.com . Media Contacts Katy Hoeper, PR Manager Walker Sands katy.hoeper@walkersands.com Kylie Banks, Corporate Communications Manager Kaseya Kylie.banks@kaseya.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. According to the recently-published report by Persistence Market Research, the global market for gene expression analysis will reflect a steady growth during the forecast period, 2017-2022. By the end of 2022, the global gene expression analysis market is predicted to surpass US$ 4,500 Mn valuation, reflecting a robust CAGR in terms of revenues. The study throws a light on various factors influence the dynamics of global gene expression analysis market, and offers insightful projections, the highlights of which are mentioned below. How About Looking Through The Sample Of Gene Expression Analysis Market Report? https://www.persistencemarketresearch.co/samples/17995 Company Profile Agilent Technologies, Inc. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. General Electric Company Illumina, Inc. Luminex Corporation Oxford Gene Technology IP PerkinElmer, Inc QIAGEN NV Roche Holding AG Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc How About Step-By-Step Insights To Gene Expression Analysis Market? Look Through The Methodology Employed! https://www.persistencemarketresearch.co/methodology/17995 Gene Expression Analysis Market: Regional Forecast Through 2022, North America is anticipated to hold a leading position in the global market for gene expression analysis. Most of the companies operating in the expansion of global gene expression analysis market are based in the US. Moreover, North American research institutes contributing to the field of functional genomics continue to support the development of new drugs derived from gene expression analysis studies. Drug discovery is a key application of gene expression analysis, and the US healthcare markets are observed as lucrative grounds for players in the global gene expression analysis market. North Americas gene expression analysis market is pegged to be reach a billion dollar valuation by the end of 2017. The report projects that throughout the forecast period, the gene expression analysis market in North America will reflect a robust CAGR, wherein the US market will be observed as the largest contributor to this growth. Europe is also expected to reflect impressive growth as the gene expression analysis market in this region is poised to create an incremental opportunity of over US$ 200 Mn between 2017 and 2022. The gene expression analysis market in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region is anticipated to record fastest growth. To the contrary, Japans gene expression analysis market is expected to reflect lowest CAGR during the forecast period. Want To Keep A Tab On The Latest Findings In The Gene Expression Analysis Market? Purchase Our Gene Expression Analysis Market Report Now! https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/17995 Widespread Adoption of Northern Blotting Technology On the basis of technology, the report projects that northern blotting will be at the forefront of adoption, and will reflect highest share on global revenues of gene expression analysis market. DNA microarrays and PCR techniques are also projected to gain traction as preferred technologies used for synthesizing functional gene products through gene expression analysis. Advancements in RNA-sequencing, 2-D gel electrophoresis, western blotting, immunoassays, ChIP, mass spectrometry and other technologies are also expected to influence the future prospects of global gene expression analysis market. The report further projects that gene expression analysis will find higher traction in drug discovery & development applications. Towards the end of the forecast period, application of gene expression analysis in drug discovery & development is anticipated to procure over US$ 1,200 Mn in global revenues. Concurrently, the demand for gene expression analysis products with low- to mid- plex capacity will also witness considerable uptake during the forecast period. The report also anticipates that sales of products kits & reagents will reflect a sizeable share on the value of global gene expression analysis market throughout the forecast period. By the end of 2022, kits & reagents will register over one-third share on the global market revenues for gene expression analysis. About Us :- COLONIE Police said Marek Kokoszko shot and killed his wife, Dorota, a respiratory therapist at Ellis Medicine, on Friday in their Boght Road home. He then killed himself. Colonie police released details Monday morning to update the public on the case. Initially, police said they found two people dead from gunshot wounds early Saturday morning at 520 Boght Road. As a registered respiratory therapist, Dorota Kokoszko, 54, was trained to work with people suffering from cardiac and pulmonary issues. Her LinkedIn page says that she received a master's degree in elementary education from the University of Bialystok in Poland in 1990. In the Capital Region, she attended Hudson Valley Community College between 2008 and 2010 to get her associate of science degree in respiratory therapy. In June 2010 she went to work for Ellis. A GoFundMe established to help with funeral expenses said Dorota was "a beloved member of the Ellis Hospital Respiratory Care department," and "also a valued member of the Hudson Valley Respiratory Care Faculty, but most importantly she was a loving mother to her daughter." "She was so helpful, always. It was a pleasure to see her working with us. She always had a smile and laugh that I will never forget," wrote a co-worker who donated to the GoFundMe site. Police said a family member had trouble getting in touch with one of the residents at the address, and asked police to check the home. Police said their investigation determined that Marek, 57, killed his wife with what appears to be a legally owned rifle. There were other firearms found in the home, which also appear to have been owned legally by Marek, who worked independently as a mason. An investigation revealed "recent domestic issues that have been escalating over the past few months," Colonie police said, though the department added officers had not been called to the residence since 2016. In that instance, no charges were filed. "We have not yet determined what may have led to this incident, but there were many factors that likely played a role in the event," Colonie police wrote in a prepared statement, adding "including mental health issues for Marek." Minister for Works and Housing, Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye on Friday, April 9th, paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Construction, Housing and Urban Planning of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, Bruno Nabagne Kone in Abidjan. The visit was aimed at deepening the ties of co-operation between the two countries in the housing sector, especially on the provision of Affordable Housing. He noted that government of Ghana is exploring all appropriate options to ease the burden on Ghanaians in the provision of safe, decent and affordable housing. He reiterated that both countries have deepened their bilateral relations under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Ivorian counterpart, President Alassane Ouattara, resulting in increased cooperation in the sectors of Agriculture, Maritime and Energy. Our cooperation in the cocoa sector has resulted in the agreement of a common base price for our cocoa to cushion farmers in both countries, Hon. Asenso-Boakye said. He added also, that it is imperative that both countries take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) to ensure the effectiveness of their industrialization drive. On his part, Hon. Bruno Nabagne Kone thanked the Ghanaian delegation for the courtesy call, and expressed hope that both countries will capitalize on the close diplomatic ties to share ideas and best practices in the housing and construction industry. As part of the visit, the team toured various affordable housing projects in Ivory Coast. Hon. Asenso-Boakye expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality accorded him and his team during their visit. The Minister was in the company of officials of the Ministry of Works and Housing and the State Housing Company. 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 ALBANY The race is on to vaccinate eligible high schoolers against coronavirus. Albany County officials said Monday that they are due to receive a shipment of over 3,500 Pfizer vaccines this week and will be earmarking a large percentage of them for 16- and 17-year-olds, who became eligible for the shot last week so long as they have a parents permission. Other area vaccine providers are also anticipating Pfizer shipments the only coronavirus vaccine currently authorized for those under 18 and will be hosting in-school vaccination clinics for interested school districts this week. As efforts to vaccinate the younger population ramp up, area health officials are urging parents who may be hesitant about getting their child vaccinated to trust the science. I know I speak here as health commissioner when I say that this vaccine is safe and effective, Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen said Monday. But I will also speak as a mother of three children I will ensure that all three of my children are vaccinated and I do this because I believe in the safety of the vaccine. The local vaccination effort is unfolding as New York state eases reopening restrictions on schools to allow students to sit closer together. Whalen, whose children range in age from 16 to 20, said she herself has received the vaccine and so have many of her family members. So I want to put that out there to parents just so you know that it is something that I feel comfortable vaccinating my own children I encourage this as a way to stop the pandemic, she said. It really is the best way that we can move forward. Over 400 students showed up to a vaccination clinic at Bethlehem High School this weekend. County Executive Dan McCoy said it was the countys first high school vaccination clinic, conducted in partnership with Crestwood Pharmacy of Albany, which supplied the doses. It was a huge success, he said. The county is already in discussions with Albany and North Colonie school districts to conduct similar clinics this week, he said. Exact dates and times will be announced later this week, he said. Whitney Young Health, a federally qualified health center in Albany that runs several in-school health centers, will be hosting an in-school vaccination clinic for Watervliet High School students this Wednesday. This is amazing news for our high school students and their families, said Lori Caplan, superintendent of Watervliet schools. With the recent spike in COVID infections in our region and around the state, I am grateful to our partner Whitney Young Health for scheduling one of the first vaccination clinics for this age group right here in our high school. Caplan encouraged families to sign up children who are eligible. I recommend that any and all students who are eligible take advantage of this opportunity to not only help protect their own health, but also to prevent passing the virus on to their family, their friends, or other loved ones who may have health conditions that put them at greater risk of infection, she said. Pfizer and BioNTech, the German company that partnered with them to make a coronavirus vaccine, are currently seeking permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand eligibility for their vaccine to children as young as 12. The companies say their vaccine was found to be safe and effective on children age 12 to 15 during a clinical trial. Both Pfizer and Moderna have recently launched clinical trials to test their vaccines on children as young as 6 months old. Public health experts say vaccinating children will be key in helping the U.S. reach its goal of herd immunity. On the campaign trail, Joe Biden rarely displayed much interest in the debate over how to regulate Big Tech nor indeed a great deal of knowledge of many of the issues. But just weeks after taking office, he is rapidly shaping up to be a transformative figure for Silicon Valley with a string of proposals which, if fully implemented, could amount to an earthquake for the global tech industry. President Joe Bidens plans could change Silicon Valley forever. Credit:AP In perhaps his administrations boldest economic move to date, last week President Biden unveiled plans for a new global tax regime which would force multinational companies such as Amazon, Apple and Google to pay national levies based on their local sales. The plan, which would set a minimum global corporation tax rate of 21 per cent, could raise an extra $US300 billion ($394 billion) in annual taxes globally and deal a hefty blow to the complex tax avoidance and profit-sharing measures adopted by many of the worlds biggest and most profitable companies. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Personal Protective Equipment Market Growth & Trends The global personal protective equipment market size is expected to reach USD 112.07 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 7.3% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The upgrading of the public healthcare system and infrastructure coupled with investments in new facilities in developing economies is anticipated to drive the product demand over the coming years. The stringent regulations imposed by the U.S. Department of Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the country have a positive impact on product demand from the end-use industries. In addition, the growing employee awareness related to personal safety has a significant influence on the increased penetration of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the country. Constant innovations, in terms of production, such as the development of lighter, comfortable industrial protective equipment using premium-quality fabric, are projected to propel market growth. High demand for PPE, which combines safety with improved aesthetics and technological innovation, is further estimated to augment market growth. Various countries implemented Covid-19 related acts, such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act by the U.S., for protecting public health workers, establishing free testing, providing paid leaves, and important benefits to children and families in 2020 to curb the spread of the virus. Increasing domestic production coupled with restraints on imports and exports of PPE surged the product demand in 2020. Request a free sample copy or view report summary: Personal Protective Equipment Market Report Personal Protective Equipment Market Report Highlights Hand protection PPE accounted for the largest revenue share in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% over the forecast period owing to the rising product demand on account of risks associated with corrosive chemicals, handling warm objects, and heavy-duty equipment Protective footwear accounted for a significant market share and is expected to expand further at a steady CAGR over the forecast period on account of the increasing workplace fatalities The oil & gas industry accounted for a significant share, in terms of revenue, in 2020 and is expected to witness a growth rate of 6.9% over the projected period owing to high accident risk in upstream and midstream activities in the industry Growth in the food & beverage sector across the globe is projected to drive PPE demand over the forecast period Companies are focusing on manufacturing branded and fashionable PPE owing to the increased demand for durable and customized products Access Press Release@ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-personal-protective-equipment-ppe-market Personal Protective Equipment Market Segmentation Grand View Research has segmented the global personal protective equipment market on the basis of product, end-use, and region: PPE Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028) Head, Eye & Face Protection Hearing Protection Protective Clothing Heat & Flame Protection Chemical Defending Cleanroom Clothing Mechanical Protective Clothing Limited General Use Others Respiratory Protection Air-purifying Respirators Supplied Air Respirators Protective Footwear Leather Rubber PVC Polyurethane Others Fall Protection Hand Protection Disposable Gloves By Type General Purpose Chemical Handling Sterile Gloves Surgical Others By Material Natural Rubber Nitrile Neoprene Vinyl Others Durable Gloves Mechanical Gloves Chemical Handling Thermal/Flame Retardant Others Others PPE End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028) Construction Manufacturing Oil & Gas Chemicals Food Pharmaceuticals Healthcare Transportation Mining Others PPE Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028) North America US. Canada Mexico Europe Germany France UK. Italy Spain Russia Asia Pacific China India Japan South Korea Indonesia Australia Thailand Malaysia Central & South America Brazil Argentina Middle East Saudi Arabia UAE Africa South Africa List of Key Players of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market Honeywell International, Inc. Lakeland Industries, Inc. DuPont 3M Ansell Ltd. Avon Rubber plc COFRA S.r.l. Uvex Safety Group Lindstrom Group BartelsRieger Atemschutztechnik GmbH Rock Fall (U.K.) Ltd. Mine Safety Appliances (MSA) Company Radians, Inc. Polison Corp. Gateway Safety, Inc. About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. On March 30, Faustin-Archange Touadera was, again, sworn in as president of the Central African Republic (CAR), having won a second term after a difficult election fraught by insecurity and rising tensions fueled by rebel groups. In his inaugural speech, President Touadera promised to make ending impunity the backbone of his mandate. A few days before, he had also announced the organization, in the near future, of a national dialogue. Terms such as justice, the fight against impunity, and national dialogue, however, are so frequently used in CAR that they risk turning off Central Africans who are still waiting for the concrete, transformative measures that the political transition had promised. Indeed, CAR has had to deal with a continuous cycle of violent conflicts that have weakened the state and its ability to function. These successive conflicts were supposed to have been resolved by various dialogues and forums and attempts to provide justice to victims, mainly through judicial institutions such as the national judicial system, the hybrid Special Criminal Court (SCC), and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and non-judicial bodies such as the upcoming national Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Reconciliation Commission (TJRRC). Forgotten Victims A recent ICTJ-Cordaid study examines the provision of justice in CAR from a victim-centered perspective. It highlights the panoply of justice measures, institutions, and initiatives that were supposed to address Central African victims needs but have not done so for several reasons. The most significant initiatives are those that followed the 2015 Bangui Forum on National Reconciliation, which called for the establishment of the SCC and paved the way for the creation of the TJRRC. Still, justice has so far eluded Central Africans, and a common feeling among victims is that they have been simply forgotten. As victims who participated in the study recounted, they have had little success in accessing justice through the centralized national judicial system. This system is oftentimes dysfunctional and marred by corruption. And while it is very expensive for citizens, it perennially lacks resources and capacity. As a result, most Central Africans resort to traditional justice practices. National courts need more support The SCC, which many victims thought would come to their rescue, created expectations that in turn fed into rising hopes among Central African more broadly that the 2016 elections would end impunity. In reality, victims have deplored the SCCs slow pace. Established in 2015, the court only began operating in 2018, and as of early 2021 it still has not initiated any criminal trial, disheartening victims, some of whom have died while waiting for justice. Many believe that the funds allocated to the SCC could have been better used by and for ordinary courts, despite the judicial systems manifold institutional failings. The Bangassou emblematic case, in which a state court handed down a guilty verdict related to war crimes and crimes against humanity, validated this belief and largely tipped the balance of public opinion in favor of national courts. The TJRRC has similarly gotten off to a slow start. A steering committee was created in 2017 to hold national consultations and, based on the findings, draft the law that would establish the TRRC. These consultations, however, were not organized until 2019. Parliament then only passed the draft law in April 2020, and in December 2020 commissioners were selected and appointed. Still today, the commission is not up and running. Astonishing Lack of Focus on Victims Needs According to victims interviewed in the study, while criminal accountability is an important element of justice, it is far from the only one. Victims have stressed that existing justice measures do not match the reality in which they live. Indeed, victims in Bangui, who themselves have pursued legal action against perpetrators, have joined with victims in areas outside the capital to demand fair justice, which entails meaningful improvements in their overall life circumstances. In the rural town of Alindao, for instance, victims prioritize as a form of justice reparations for the moral, physical, and material damages they have endured as result of the crimes committed against them. This is not surprising in one of the worlds poorest countries, in which approximately half the population suffers from chronic malnutrition. What is astonishing is that the planning and design of justice processes in CAR so far has not focused on these immediate needs. Those in CAR designing transitional justice processes must therefore consider first and foremost the conflicts social impact on victims and victims immediate needs, as well as factors such as political context and security challenges. Reparations First Other countries offer valuable lessons in this regard. In Colombia, for example, the government enacted a reparations policy in 2011, years before the 2016 peace agreement, which would play a critical role in ensuring victims participated in the peace process. In Morocco, while the government did not pursue criminal accountability, it prioritized reparations and established an Equity and Reconciliation Commission. The commissions findings and recommendations would later precipitate constitutional and legislative reforms that helped prevent a recurrence of violations. Given the Central African Republics specific set of challenges, it is crucial to explore and design innovative, victim-centered transitional justice strategies that advance economic development, guarantee non-recurrence, and address socioeconomic issues related to social identity, inequality, education, and poverty. Importantly, justice initiatives must be planned and implemented sequentially as part of a long-term transformative process. When designing reparations programs, victims should be consulted about their immediate needs and what measures they think can improve their life circumstances. The shape of such programs should not be determined by court decisions in criminal proceedings. Ultimately, the success of any transitional justice process depends on whether victims meaningfully participate in them and whether they improve equal access to public services for all Central Africans, especially marginalized communities and minority groups. This remains largely to be done in the Central African Republic. Recommended reading Can the Central African Truth Commission do better than its predecessor? DUBLIN, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Express Delivery Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Destination; Business Type; End-User and Geography" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. APAC Express Delivery Market to Grow at Highest CAGR during Forecast Period The global "express delivery market" the market was valued at US$ 239337.5 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 378233.7 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2020 to 2027. Several vendors present in North America are increasingly focusing on providing distinct types of services, such as packaging, product grading, assortment, online parcel tracking, email alerts, mobile applications, and SMS alerts. Furthermore, the adoption of software-as-a-service (SaaS) is more prevalent in BFSI, logistics and transportation, electronics, retail, and E-commerce sectors of North America than other verticals. The region is moving to adopt advanced technologies to digitalize every vertical industry present in the region, and thus, boosting the adoption of cloud services from SaaS. The constant growth in North America's online food and medicine delivery market is further driving the demand for express delivery. Rising urban population, lack of domestic assistance and busy lifestyles are constantly demanding the express food and medicine delivery option in the region. High living standards of individuals continue to spur the demand for express online food and medicine delivery services in the region. All the factors mentioned above are expected to contribute to market growth during the forecast period. The market is expected to witness a slight decline in growth over the next few years, due to the negative impact of COVID-19. However, it is expected to rise again at a healthy pace after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. In 2019, Europe stood second in the express delivery market with a decent market share, and it is anticipated to witness a decent CAGR from 2020 to 2027. The European region comprises Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Switzerland, and the Rest of Europe. Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium, among others, are considered under the Rest of Europe region. The fashion retail industry in the European region is one of the crucial sectors. In 2019, the region showed promising results for tech investments in Europe as, despite the UK and EU economic slowdowns; European tech continued to break records. Furthermore, economically strong countries, such as the UK, Italy, and Spain, are observing significant development in the implementation of express delivery solutions for the optimization of supply chains across various end-user sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, retail and e-commerce, automobile, and food & beverages, across the region. E-commerce and online retail are key drivers for the surge in demand for express delivery or same-day delivery. The global warehouse and storage market in Europe grows annually by ~2-3% due to the growth in online retail and e-commerce sectors. In the past 3 years, industrial warehousing properties recorded healthy demand from investors due to huge returns of about 8.5% over other assets. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 1.1 Study Scope 1.2 Research Report Guidance 1.3 Market Segmentation 2. Key Takeaways 3. Research Methodology 4. Express Delivery Market Landscape 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 PEST Analysis 4.3 Ecosystem Analysis 4.4 Expert Opinion 5. Express Delivery Market - Key Market Dynamics 5.1 Market Drivers 5.1.1 Rising Adoption of E-Commerce Among Global Population 5.1.2 Increasing Investments by Companies on Same-Day Delivery of Consumer Goods 5.2 Market Restraints 5.2.1 High Price Associated with Express Delivery 5.3 Market Opportunities 5.3.1 Integration of Technology in Express Delivery Operations 5.4 Future Trends 5.4.1 Rising Adoption of Express Delivery to Offer Better Customer Experience 5.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints 6. Express Delivery - Global Market Analysis 6.1 Express Delivery Market Overview 6.2 Express Delivery Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 6.3 Market Positioning - Global Market Players Ranking 7. Express Delivery Market Analysis - By Destination 7.1 Overview 7.2 Express Delivery Market, by Destination (2019 and 2027) 7.3 Domestic 7.4 International 8. Express Delivery Market Analysis - By Business Type 8.1 Overview 8.2 Express Delivery Market, by Business Type (2019 and 2027) 8.3 Business-to-Business 8.4 Business-to-Consumer 9. Express Delivery Market Analysis - By End-User 9.1 Overview 9.2 Express Delivery Market, by End-User (2019 and 2027) 9.3 BFSI 9.4 Automotive 9.5 Pharmaceuticals 9.6 IT and Telecom 9.7 Electronics 9.8 Retail and Ecommerce 10. Express Delivery Market - Geographic Analysis 11. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Express Delivery Market 12. Industry Landscape 12.1 Overview 12.2 Market Initiative 12.3 New Product Development 12.4 Merger and Acquisition 13. Company Profiles Aftership Ltd Aramex International Llc DHL International Gmbh Fedex Corporation Koninklijke Postnl Poste Italiane . . Sf Express (Group) Co. Ltd. Tnt Holdings B.V United Parcel Service Of America, Inc For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/nosppu Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com The 74th British Academy of Films and Television Awards (BAFTA) took place recently and fans were left teary-eyed watching the In Memoriam segment when Indian icons Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor were paid an emotional tribute. The actors passed away in April last year. Emotional fans took to social media and shared screenshots from the presentation ceremony expressing their grief and happiness at the actors being awarded the prestigious awards. A Twitter user named Bhushan tweeted late at night, My heart when seeing Irrfan and Rishi Kapoor is the Memoriam segment #BAFTA, while another one sharing a clip from The Lunchbox added, And *so* saddened to see that wonderful actor Irrfan Khan died this year. He was terrific in The Lunchbox a few years ago. Wonderful actor. Many international fans even showed surprise at the passing away of the actors. The video played at the awards night on Sunday started with a tribute which was for Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Irrfan Khan was mentioned along with a dialogue from his Hollywood film Life of Pi. The actor passed away in Mumbai on April 29 after battling with a neuroendocrine tumour for two years. Bollywood superstar Rishi Kapoor also died a day later battling cancer at the age of 67. BAFTA also posthumously honored a few more celebrities including George Segal, Sean Connery, Yaphet Kotto, Barbara Windsor, Olivia de Havilland, Alan Parker, Max von Sydow, Kirk Douglas, Christopher Plummer, and Chadwick Boseman. Indian fans were also very disheartened about the passing away of actor Chadwick Boseman who was last seen in Da 5 Bloods and 21 Bridges but is more popularly known for his role as the iconic T'Challa in Black Panther. The Hollywood actor was secretly battling colon cancer for four years and had not disclosed this to the public. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below! Click here to read the full article. Richard Rush, who picked up two Oscar nominations, best director and adapted screenplay, for his extraordinary 1980 film The Stunt Man, starring Peter OToole, died April 8 in Los Angeles. He was 91. His wife Claude said he had been suffering from longtime health issues but that he died comfortably at home. She said in a statement, He will be remembered for a string of landmark films in the 1960s and 70s, culminating with his 1980 multi-Oscar-nominated classic, The Stunt Man, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. To those who were privileged to know and love him, he will be even more warmly remembered, and missed, for his integrity, his loyalty, his endless generosity of spirit and his boundless support and mentorship of other filmmakers, writers or indeed anyone who ever dared to, in the words of his Stunt Man hero Eli Cross, tilt at a windmill.' Rush shared his adapted screenplay nomination with Lawrence B. Marcus. (Rush adapted the novel by Paul Brodeur, while Marcus wrote the screenplay.) In addition to the writing and directing nominations for The Stunt Man, OToole was nominated for best actor. Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal wrote: This sensationally original film, directed by Richard Rush, stars Peter OToole as a megamaniacal director, Eli Cross, and Steve Railsback as Cameron, a fugitive turned ad hoc stunt man. The structure is trompe loeil whats reality, whats illusion and the dominant mood is paranoia: Cameron thinks Eli is trying to kill him. The main attraction, though, is Mr. OTooles madly majestic performance. OTooles Eli Cross is rather absurdly shooting a World War I picture at the picturesque Hotel del Coronado south of San Diego when Railsbacks Cameron stumbles onto the scene. He gets sort of involved with the films leading lady, played by Barbara Hershey (or is this just another of Elis feints)? One of several stunning set pieces in The Stunt Man has an audience of tourists watch as the film crew shoots a scene in which German biplanes attack soldiers on the beach; when the smoke clears, the beach is awash with carnage bodies splayed everywhere, many with severed limbs. Could the biplanes have been spraying real bullets? Is director Eli Cross that fanatical about realism? No, its all Hollywood magic and everyone is fine. When The Stunt Man was released in a DVD box set in 2002, included was a video documentary by Rush called The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man.' In a review in the Austin Chronicle, Jason Henderson wrote The Stunt Man earned Rush his place as Francois Truffauts favorite American director, but the studio took one look at the piece and practically refused to release it. (They wanted a simple action movie.) In the companion DVD, the 2001 documentary The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man, Rush, cast and crew tell us why a movie can sell out test markets, gain rave reviews nationwide, receive three Oscar nominations, and still never receive a wide release. Why? Because it looked hard to sell.' Psych-Out (1968) was the film that first brought attention to Rush as a director. Susan Strasberg played a deaf runaway who arrives in San Franciscos Haight-Ashbury hippie district looking for her missing brother, played by Bruce Dern. Dean Stockwell played a disenchanted hippie, while Jack Nicholson portrayed a swinger with an interest in Strasbergs character. Getting Straight (1970) was Rushs first studio film it was produced and released in the U.S. by Columbia Pictures. The film starred Elliott Gould and Candice Bergen, and Rush showed signs of the fine director he would become. Rush next made the 1974 action comedy Freebie and the Bean, starring James Caan and Alan Arkin as police partners. In the AllMovie review, critic Donald Guarisco writes: Behind the camera, Richard Rush keeps the zany events rolling at a carefully modulated pace that gives the actors room to breathe, but also fills the screen with the kind of hardcore slapstick antics rarely seen outside a Tex Avery cartoon. The seemingly maniacal energy Rush brought to this film anticipates some of the delightfully antic moments in The Stunt Man. Born in New York City, Rush was one of the first students at UCLAs film program. After graduating he worked for the U.S. military creating TV programs highlighting the nations involvement in the Korean War. At the time Rush agreed with the involvement of the American military in the region, but his participation in this conflict was a defining event for the director. He then spent several years in the counterculture trenches, working for Roger Corman. Rushs first film, which he wrote and co-scripted, was the 1960 teen exploitation film Too Soon to Love (aka High School Honeymoon), in which a young Jack Nicholson was fifth billed. Next was the startling 1963 melodrama Of Love and Desire, in which 52-year-old Merle Oberon played a woman tortured by her nymphomania, while her brother, played by Curd Jurgens, secretly moons for her. Rush had a fairly high-profile directing assignment in AIPs 1967 outing Thunder Alley, which took Annette Funicello and Fabian away from the beach and plunked them down into the world of stock car rallies. Rush directed two other films that came out in 1967: The Cups of San Sebastian, a comedy shot in Spain and starring Tab Hunter, and Hells Angels on Wheels, starring Nicholson, among others, to cash in on the boom in motorcycle films begun by Roger Cormans Wild Angels. After Psych-Out came The Savage Seven, which the New York Times called a modern Western about motorcyclists, Indians and bad guys. Rush had a third picture come out in 1968: A Man Called Dagger. Years after the critical success of The Stunt Man, Rush co-wrote the screenplay for Roger Spottiswoodes 1990 movie Air America, starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. in the story of the CIAs secret airline during U.S. involvement in Indo-China in the 1960s. His final film was 1994s Color of Night, a thriller which gained notoriety for its sexy scenes featuring Bruce Willis and English actress Jane March. The story concerned a psychologist played by Willis, devastated by the suicide of a patient, who takes over supervision of a therapy group that had been led by a murdered colleague; Willis character is determined to discover which of the assortment of eccentric patients is guilty. Rush is survived by his wife of 48 years, Claude; a son, Anthony and a grandson, Shayne. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. When cops raided a West Brighton mans home two years ago, they found guns, ammunition, cocaine and drug paraphernalia in a safe inside a closet, said prosecutors. According to a criminal complaint, it prompted the defendant, Pedro Rodriguez, to ask the question: How would you know thats in my closet? The answer is moot, now, as Rodriguez has pleaded to a felony gun charge which will send him upstate for 42 months. The events unfolded around 4 p.m. on July 11, 2019, inside Rodriguezs Barker Street home, said the complaint. Armed with a search warrant, officers found to two handguns inside a safe in a rear bedroom closet a .40-caliber Glock and a magazine holding 14 bullets, as well as a .380-caliber Beretta and a magazine containing six rounds, the complaint said. In addition, they seized a scale and five plastic bags and twists containing cocaine residue, said the complaint. Shortly before the bust, officers had spotted Rodriguez, 35, driving a 2004 Honda Accord, even though his license had been suspended or revoked, according to the complaint and police. Rodriguez was indicted on felony charges of criminal weapon possession and criminal firearm possession. He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminally using drug paraphernalia, aggravated unlicensed motor vehicle operation and ammunition possession. Rodriguez pleaded guilty Friday in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree criminal weapon possession to satisfy all charges against him. It was the top count. Besides prison time, the defendant will be sentenced June 4 to 30 months post-release supervision. He remains free on $100,000 bond, online state court records show. The pleas resolved the situation. It was a good disposition for both sides, said defense lawyer Lance Lazzaro, adding his client would serve the minimum prison sentence. Rodriguez has a criminal record. In January 2006, he was convicted in Brooklyn Criminal Court of stolen-property possession, said the complaint. Vedanta Group is in talks with the government on setting up a display fabrication plant, according to sources in the know. For Vedanta, led by non-resident Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, this will be its second attempt to enter the space, following an abortive attempt five years ago when it tried to build a gigantic $10-billion plant in Maharashtra in five phases. For the technology, Vedanta had tied up with LG. If successful, it will be the first display fabrication facility in the country, putting India on the global map with a select few players. A ... As more people get vaccinated and states begin to roll back some of the restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic schools, agencies and workplaces are working on a plan on how to safely return to normal. China's new vehicle market continued to rebound strongly in March 2021, with sales rising by 75% to 2.53 million units from 1.44 million in the same month of last year, based on passenger car and commercial vehicle wholesale data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). At the low point of the COVID pandemic, in February 2020, total vehicle sales in China plunged by 79% year-on-year followed by a 43% drop in March. The country's economy is estimated to have rebounded by close to 18% in the first quarter of 2021 after shrinking by 6.8% a year earlier, with strong domestic and overseas demand driving a sharp rise in industrial output. The World Bank last month said it expects economic growth to exceed 8.0% in 2021. In the first quarter of 2021 the vehicle market was up by almost 76% at 6.484 million units, with passenger vehicle sales rising just over 75% to 5.076 million units and commercial vehicle sales up by over 77% at 1.408 units. Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, jumped by 239% to 226,000 units in March, according to CAAM's data, while first-quarter volumes were up by 352% at 515,000 units after declining by 56% to 114,000 units in the same period of last year. The new vehicle market is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels this year, driven by strong pent-up demand and the introduction of new stimulus measures to encourage vehicle purchases in rural areas while municipal governments are encouraged to reduce restrictions on vehicle sales where possible. Manufacturer performance General Motors said its joint ventures in China sold a total of 780,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2021, a rise of 69% compared with the same period of last year. This includes a 114% rise in Cadillac sales to 57,400 units, while Buick sales increased by 73% to 224,700 units and Chevrolet sales were up by 27% at 64,800 units. The data includes Wuling brand sales, which increased by 102% to 347,100 units and a 5% increase in Baojun sales to 86,200 units. Ford China first quarter sales grew 73.3% to 153,822 vehicles with the rider that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in the country in Q1 2020. Nonetheless, it was the automaker's fourth consecutive quarter of growth in the country and it claimed sales of Ford and Lincoln brand vehicles outpaced the industry in the first quarter. Thematic Reports Are you worried about the pace of innovation in your industry? GlobalData's TMT Themes 2021 Report tells you everything you need to know about disruptive tech themes and which companies are best placed to help you digitally transform your business. Find out more BMW said its sales jumped by over 97% to a record 229,748 units in the first quarter of 2021, including BMW and Mini branded vehicles, while Mercedes-Benz' sales increased by just over 60% to 222,520 units. Geely Auto said its global sales, including Geely and Lynk& Co-branded vehicles, roseby 37% to 100,029 units in March 2021. This includes 10,064 exports, which increased more than twofold according to the company. First-quarter sales increased by 62% to 333,576 units and the group has set a full-year sales target of 1.53 million units. Great Wall Motor said its sales increased by almost 82% to 110,736 units in March and by over 125% to 338,798 units in the first quarter of 2021 including 222,728 Haval-branded models. EDWARDSVILLE A proposed expansion and change to Madison Countys Southwestern Madison County Enterprise Zone has led to sharp disagreement over whether to include residential development. The Madison County Boards Grants Committee last week discussed several proposed changes, including adding territory, extending tax abatement time periods to 10 from four years and including residential development. Enterprise zones offer incentives to developers, primarily in the form of property and sales tax incentives, investment tax credit, machinery and equipment sales tax exemptions and a utility tax exemption. Madison County has four enterprise zones: Riverbend, Gateway, Southwestern and Discovery. The Southwestern Madison County Enterprise Zone extends from just south of Interstate 270 to Gateway Motorsports Park. The committee is considering adding commercial property on Nameoki Road from Pontoon Road to St. Clair Avenue to aid the redevelopment of commercial properties, and about 56 acres in Venice for a new train yard for the Terminal Railroad Association. The possibility of adding residential development in Granite City to the mix, and granting tax abatements for improvements in those areas, generated almost all of the discussion. In general, Illinois counties use enterprise zones to encourage economic development and municipalities use tax increment financing districts. In some cases, those overlap. TIF districts are rarely used for residential development; according to Madison County Community Development Administrator Dave Tanzyus, enterprise zones have never been used for residential development and adding them into the mix would be breaking new ground. Committee Chairman Eric Foster said the idea is to try to attract development and stabilize some of that citys troubled residential areas. Madison County Board Member Bill Meyer, R-Worden, objected. I think youre opening a real can of worms when you go residential, he said. The chief impediment to using either development tool is tax abatements or TIF financing, which pools increases in tax revenues for developers and municipalitys use, is the negative impacts other taxing districts, especially school districts that rely heavily on property tax revenue. Officials said the Granite City School District is willing to agree to the proposal. Right now the school district is receiving next to nothing, Foster said. Madison County Board Member Chris Hankins, D-Pontoon Beach who was not a committee member but sat in on the discussion said it was a unique situation and could serve as a good pilot program because of high poverty rates in Granite City. This area is struggling so much, he said. Houses are going for $20,000 apiece but nobody wants to buy them. Meyer said he was concerned it might lead to the development of a whole subdivision that provides no property taxes for schools for up to a decade. However, Foster said it would most likely be used for larger home improvements rather than new homes. Tanzyus also noted that putting on a new roof will not be enough to trigger (tax) abatements. Board members Erica Harriss, R-Glen Carbon, and Heather Mueller-Jones, R-Maryville, questioned the proposal. This isnt the only place in Madison County that needs help, Mueller-Jones said. Youre going to be having municipalities coming out of the woodwork because people want this. No action was taken, but the issue is expected to come up at the next Grants Committee meeting. The agenda had noted a possible vote, but it was determined participating municipalities must approve the proposals first. Sonu Sood might have been known as a mean villain in reel life but turned to be a hero in real life when he came forward to help the needy in 2020 when the novel coronavirus ruined many lives, especially the migrants. He started this initiative called Ghar Bhejo, with his childhood friend, restaurateur Neeti Goel, last year. Since then, he has been available on Twitter to hear the miseries of common people and tries to help with possible means in the time when the nation is dealing with the pandemic. Sonu has done all he could for his nation and has been now rewarded as he has been roped in as brand ambassador of the Punjab government for its COVID-19 vaccination drive. Talking about the responsibility that he now has, Sonu tells IANS, "I feel really blessed, motivated. A huge amount of responsibility is on my shoulders that I have to spread the message across to everyone. People have to get vaccinated and we make sure that every family gets its share of vaccination. We should be an example for everyone that how fast people get vaccinated in Punjab. I am on it and we will make sure that the message reaches out to everyone and reaches fast. I always feel that when something like this happens, it has to start from Punjab." Happy to share that actor & philanthropist @SonuSood will be the Brand Ambassador of our #Covid19 vaccination drive. I thank him for supporting our campaign to reach out to, and protect, every Punjabi, and appeal to all to get vaccinated at the earliest. pic.twitter.com/1083v6M0FP Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) April 11, 2021 Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh appointed Sood a day after meeting the actor, who called on him at his residence. There is no one more ideally suited to inspire and influence people to take the vaccine. There is a lot of hesitancy among people here in Punjab. Sonus popularity among them, and his exemplary role in helping tens of thousands of migrants reach safely home since the pandemic broke out last year, will help counter their reservations, said the chief minister. He added, When people hear this Punjab da puttar talk about benefits of the vaccine, and how safe and essential it is, they will believe him. Because they trust him. Vaccination against #Covid19 will provide all with required immunity to fight pandemic. We need to ensure that all eligible persons are vaccinated at earliest & that we continue to follow safety protocols. Urge my fellow Punjabis to ensure we triumph against #Covid19. @SonuSood pic.twitter.com/D6I07EHRXJ Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) April 11, 2021 Sonu has been in the news for coming out in support of students who are going to appear in the board exams this year. Sonu shared a video on Instagram and said, On the behalf of students, I want to put in a request. CBSE and board exams are going to be held offline, I do not think the students are ready to sit for the exams amid the prevailing circumstances. He gave examples of countries like Saudi Arabia and Mexico where exams were canceled despite the low number of Covid-19 cases. He has always been on his toes when it comes to helping the needy and his hard work has earned him recognition all across the country and even beyond borders. "While there is sadness that the public will not be able to physically be part of events to commemorate the life of the duke, the royal family asks that anyone wishing to express their condolences do so in the safest way possible and not by visiting Windsor or any other royal palaces to pay their respects,'' the palace spokesman said. "The family's wish is very much that people continue to follow the guidelines to keep themselves and others safe.'' The announcement comes after military teams across the U.K. and on ships at sea fired 41-gun salutes Saturday to mark the death of Philip, honoring the former naval officer and husband of Queen Elizabeth II 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. Regionalism and nationalism in Canada yet another reassessment (Part Five) By Mark Wegierski Stephen Harpers Conservatives won minority governments (a plurality of seats in Parliament) in Ottawa in 2006 and 2008, and a majority government in 2011. Stephen Harper is often considered to be emphatically a Western Canadian. He has also certainly been a person of great political skill who did not lack what are considered the major attributes for the Prime Ministership in Canada (such as being fluently bilingual, and being friendly to Quebec). Although Joe Clark was geographically from Western Canada, most Western Canadians increasingly came to view him as playing the role of a collaborator with the Eastern elites. In Western Canada, the terms Eastern or Easterner or Eastern Canada refer mainly to Ontario and Quebec. Such terms frequently have a pejorative feel. In Ontario, the terms Eastern Canada or from the East, are usually a reference to the Atlantic provinces. They are not considered pejorative. Perhaps Western Canadian alienation will now reach a boiling point again, as it could be seen that in the 2015 federal election, that Stephen Harper has been done in by the hostile, Eastern media and intellectual elites. Western Canada has waited for a very long time for a so-called place at the table in Ottawa, and if there are widespread feelings in the West that Harper has been unfairly savaged, it will indeed be the hour of fury in Western Canada, and especially in Alberta. Once a large portion of the federal Conservative caucus was elected from Ontario seats (which obviously was a precondition for Harper winning a parliamentary majority in 2011), the influence and representation of Western Canada in the Conservative Party it could be argued diminished somewhat. But it was substantially more than under the current Justin Trudeau Liberals. It may also be unfortunate that Harper delivered so little of what so-called small-c conservatives might have expected from a big-C Conservative majority government. Harper continued with policies that were, in many cases, not substantially different from those of the more centrist Liberals. Indeed, were it not for the various penumbra of longstanding, inflamed partisanship, and longstanding historical voting patterns, it could be argued that probably close to eighty percent of Canadians could have supported Harpers rather moderate and centrist policies. The Wildrose Alliance was a more decidedly right-wing party (that existed only at the provincial level in Alberta), that indeed achieved considerable electoral successes. In 2015, the NDP had, amazingly, won a majority government in Alberta. However, the Wildrose Alliance and the provincial Progressive Conservative party merged, forming the United Conservative Party which easily won a majority government in 2019, under the leadership of Jason Kenney. However, a burgeoning Western separatist movement has emerged. The federal Wexit Party based in Alberta and other Western provinces, was renamed the Maverick Party in September 2020. A merger between the Freedom Conservative Party and Wexit Alberta has formed the Wildrose Independence Party in Alberta. And, in Saskatchewan, Wexit Saskatchewan has been renamed as the Buffalo Party. Buffalo was the proposed name of a larger province that would have included Alberta and Saskatchewan, before it was decided that the two smaller provinces would be formed. Buffalo is a rallying cry for the Western separatists and regionalists. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home Kolkata, April 12 : Unsatisfied with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's responses to the two notices of the Election Commission, the poll panel on Monday barred the Trinamool Congress supremo from any kind of campaigning for 24 hours, from 8 pm on Monday to 8 pm on Tuesday. The Commission had sent notices to Banerjee for her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones. In a five-page letter written to the Chief Minister, the Commission said: "The Commission hereby condemns such statements potent with serious law and order problem across the state(s) and sternly warns Mamata Banerjee and advises her to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force. The Commission also imposes a ban of 24 hours on Banerjee from campaigning in any manner". Banerjee was quick to respond and announced a dharna against this "unconstitutional decision". "To protest against this undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission, I will sit on a dharna on Tuesday at Gandhi Murti from 12 noon," she tweeted. On April 7 the EC had served a notice to the CM directing her to submit a written clarification explaining her open demand for votes on communal grounds for her party Trinamool Congress in the ongoing Assembly elections in the state. "I am requesting my minority brothers and sisters with folded hands, don't divide the minority votes after listening to the devil person who had taken money from the BJP. He passes many communal statements and initiates clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims. He is one of the apostles of the BJP, comrade. The comrades of CPM and BJP are roaming around with the money given by the BJP to divide the minority votes," she had said. In her reply she wrote :"I did not seek to influence the voters to cast their vote for her on religious segmentary lines I categorically spoke on the religious harmony lines with the spirit of the MCC." The Commission issued a second show cause notice for her "attempt to berate and vilify the central forces by making false, provocative and intemperate statements". "I know under whose instruction they beat up and how they beat up, It is your duty to save the family of the people. If any of your mothers and sisters suffer a single stroke with a stick attack them... I am telling you. It is the right of the women. And if anyone of our mothers and sisters is denied entry in the voting compartment all of you come out and revolt," she said. Banerjee in her reply again defended herself and said "In my speech I had only called upon the voters to protest (democratically by gherao) if and when somebody (including CAPF) created any obstruction in their right to vote. Gherao is a democratic way of registering protest". The Commission said Banerjee, who happens to be the Chief Minister of the poll-bound state has violated the Model Code of Conduct as well as section 123(3) and (3A) of the Representation of the People's Act 1951 and sections `186, 189 and 505 of Indian Penal Code and made highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with serious potential of breakdown of law and and hereby adversely affecting the poll process. The fifth of the eight-phase Assembly election in Bengal is scheduled to be held on April 17. The results will be declared on May 2. [April 12, 2021] Navy Federal Credit Union recognized on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, 10 years in a row Today Navy Federal Credit Union was named, for the 10th year in a row, one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by Great Place to Work and Fortune. Navy Federal has received this award 11 years total, and remains the only credit union on the list. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005794/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) "We have a strong culture of service at Navy Federal, and we know it starts with how we treat our team members," said Mary McDuffie, president/CEO of Navy Federal. "During this past year, we had to lean on one another more than ever, which only strengthened our culture." In awarding Navy Federal, Fortune noted that: 96% of employees consider the employee benefits offered to be special and unique. 94% of employees feel good about the ways Navy Federal contributes to the community. 91% of employees feel treated as an equal employee, regardless of position level. "We have been very focused on making sure the Navy Federal culture remains vibrant, especially with the majority of team members working from home and facing high levels of stress in their personal lives," said Holly Kortright, chief human resources officer for Navy Federal. "Whether it be pivoting to create virtual wellness programs or allowing our teams flexibility during these challenging times, this award only reinforces the good work done to keep our team members our top priority." In addition to the Fortune 100 selection, Navy Federal is regularly recognized for its quality work environment that allows for continuous learning through training and development and family-like corporate atmosphere. The credit union ranked #16 on the Best Work Places in Financial Services & Insurance list in 2021, #13 on the Best Workplaces for Women list, and #20 on the Best Work Places for Millennials list in 2020. About Navy Federal Credit Union: Established in 1933 with only seven members, Navy Federal now has the distinct honor of serving over 10 million members globally and is the world's largest credit union. As a member-owned and not-for-profit organization, Navy Federal always puts the financial needs of its members first. Membership is open to all branches of the armed forces and their families. Dedicated to its mission of service, Navy Federal employs a workforce of over 22,000 and has a global network of 344 branches. For more information about Navy Federal Credit Union, visit navyfederal.org. Federally insured by NCUA. Equal Opportunity Employer. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005794/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] UPDATE: Authorities said John Dakita Hall and Jameria Jones are in custody. EARLIER: Two women are wanted in connection with shots fired and an attempted kidnapping in Dallas County. Central Alabama Crime Stoppers on Monday said JohnDakita Hall, 35, and Jameria Jones, 22, are charged with two counts of attempted murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, first-degree robbery and attempted kidnapping. It was about 10 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, when Dallas County Sheriffs Office officials said the two women went to the home of another woman. Once there, Hall pulled a gun and fired multiple times at the victim. As members of the residence fled and searched for cover, the rounds struck the victims car and home. Hall then approached the victim, struck her in the head with a firearm and took her cell phone. While the victim was attempting to escape the scene by car, Hall and Jones chased the victim in their car and fired shots. One of the rounds did strike the victims trunk. The victim ran inside a local convenience store to use the phone to call police. Hall entered the store and took the store phone away from the victim while she was making a call. Hall then attempted to force the victim inside the vehicle. The victim was able to resist. Hall and Jones are considered armed and dangers. Authorities are pleading with the two to turn themselves over to police as soon as possible. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Hall and Jones is asked to the Dallas County Sheriffs Office or Crime Stoppers 24-hour tip line at 334-215-STOP (7867). Tips can also be submitted via the P3-tips app or the toll-free number at 1-833-AL1-STOP. Uber is offering sign-up bonuses and other incentives for drivers as it faces record demand for rides and meal delivery. FILE - Travelers, Kerri Ann Salomon, left, and a friend arriving from New York City, look for an Uber ride at Los Angeles InternationalAirport, in this Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, file photo. Uber is trying to lure drivers with sign-up bonuses and other incentives as it faces record demand for rides and meal delivery. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing company said Monday, April 12, 2021, that its bookings reached an all-time monthly high in March. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Uber is offering sign-up bonuses and other incentives for drivers as it faces record demand for rides and meal delivery. The San Francisco ride-hailing company said Monday that total monthly bookings, including food delivery and passenger service, reached an all-time high in March. In a government filing, the company said demand for ride-hailing, which plunged during coronavirus lockdowns last year, has recovered more quickly than expected as daily COVID-19 vaccinations exceed 3 million per day in the U.S. Some people are still avoiding public transportation out of infection fears, potentially boosting demand for services like Uber and Lyft further. Passenger bookings last month reached the highest level since last March, when spiking infection rates began to shut the country down. Bookings last month hit an annual run rate of $30 billion. Last year, Uber's passenger business recorded $26.4 billion in gross bookings. Food delivery, of course, has surged over the past year and in March Uber Eats deliveries hit an all-time high. With more regions opening restaurants to at least partial capacity, that could be a positive sign for Uber as it could signal that some habits acquired during the pandemic may stick. Food delivery jumped 150% from last March to an annualized run rate of $52 billion, the company said. Last week, Uber announced $250 million in sign-up bonuses and other perks to lure more drivers. Many drivers gave up last year when demand dried up, the company said. But demand now exceeds the supply of Uber drivers on call, the company said. In another perk, Uber has partnered with Walgreens to make it easier for drivers to get vaccinated. Driving professionally, however, may still be considered too risky by some. Last month, a woman was arrested on suspicion of pepper-spraying an Uber driver in San Francisco who was coughed at and insulted after he demanded a passenger wear a mask. Drivers may still be holding out to see if Uber will sweeten pay and benefits. Uber was forced to classify its drivers in the United Kingdom as workers last month -- not self-employed -- after a Supreme Court ruling there. The company said Monday it has begun a historical claims settlement for its U.K. drivers. Shares of Uber Technologies Inc. rose nearly 5% to $60.40 Monday. Monday, April 12, 2021 Our blog post from yesterday looked at L. P. Davis who provided information about a possible Clay Shaw - David Ferrie Link. Here is another such witness - equally unbelievable. In 1965, the FBI in Chicago received some information about an assassination attempt on Fidel Castro: A few weeks later there was some additional information: So, what really happened? Well, Mr.. Conte has the whole story: The FBI talked to Milian and Rodriguez when they returned to Chicago: Charles Krop was a good man who worked with Catholic organization helping a variety of people over the years. Did Krop just hear these two guys talking, or fantasizing about getting rid of Castro? Or was Krop thinking that perhaps the FBI would be interested in funding the project? I should add that Rodriguez Quesada was very active in anti-Castro activities in the early 1960s, but had run into some difficulties: Here is another report on Quesada: OK, back to Charles Krop, who comes forward in March 1967 when he calls Garrison's office with some important information: Was Krop trying to be helpful? Did he have some sort of urge to be the center of attention? Or did he realize that the only way to get Garrison's attention was to add Clay Shaw and David Ferrie into the mix? And now claiming he had audio tapes? A few weeks later, Sgt. Duffy, after trying several times, got a hold of Krop to inquire further about the tapes: Garrison's notation refers back to the fag ball in 1962 in which 96 people were arrested (one person must have been a Carlos Rodriguez, which is probably a fairly common name in the Latin community). Not surprisingly, no tapes ever arrived. In September, 1968 Garrison was holding a conference in New Orleans with his investigators and Charles Krop was mentioned. F = Bernard Fensterwald G = Jim Garrison Box = Billl Boxley Gee, what kind of guy did Fensterwald have in mind? In 1969, Charles Krop was involved with the Black Panther Party, no doubt trying to be helpful: In September 1977 Garrison sent the Krop lead to the HSCA. Clearly, he had not worked the lead at all: Charles Krop is now a witness that can link Clay Shaw to David Ferrie. James DiEugenio wrote in The JFK Assassination that "there are at least three other witnesses in Garrison's files who connected Shaw with Ferrie: L. P. Davies Jr. [sic], Charles Krop, and Betty Rubio." (page 180) Well, yes, there are reports like Krop's in Garrison's files. But are they credible? The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office has identified two people found dead of an apparent murder-suicide inside a North Side home last week. Azucena Nelson and Todd Owen Hafer were found at about 4 p.m. on April 6 in the 2000 block of Chittim Trail Drive, investigators said. Nelson, 49, and Hafer, 53, each died from a gunshot wound to the head, investigators said. The medical examiners office listed Nelsons death as a homicide and Hafers death as a suicide. READ ALSO: Man, woman found dead at North Side home Jacob Beltran A 911 caller said Hafer had not been heard from for about two days, nor had he logged in for work, states a San Antonio police report released Monday. An officer responded and was checking the perimeter of the house when he looked through a window and saw two bodies. He then discovered the rear entrance to the home was slightly ajar and went inside. The report states that the inside of the house appeared to be mostly empty from the process of either moving or emptying out its contents. Police said there were cardboard boxes present at the entryway. After securing the house, the officer examined the master bedroom where Hafers body was. The officer saw a black handgun on the ground at Hafers feet with one spent shell casing next to it. Nelsons body was on the bathroom floor, the report states, and a fragment of a bullet was inside the bathtub. Police have said they are not looking for any suspects in the case and it appears to have been an isolated incident. Tauranga residents are being urged to honour sacrifice and service on their lapels with the RSAs annual Poppy Day appeal this Friday. This is the first time the street appeal has been able to run since 2019, due to the lockdown last year. During this years appeal, hardworking RSA volunteers will be exchanging distinctive red poppies for a donation to the Poppy Appeal. The RSA Poppy Appeal is New Zealands longest running charity appeal. First conducted in 1922, the Poppy Appeal was held to fund welfare and support services for veterans of the First World War. In 2021 the locations our veterans have deployed to and served in may have changed but the need to provide welfare and support is just as real, says an RSA spokesperson. Poppy Day was cancelled last year because New Zealand was in Alert Level 4 lockdown. The poppy appeal typically raises between $1 million and $2 million annually. The Government announced in July 2020 a one off grant of $2.53 million to the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association. This enabled the RSA, NZs largest veterans charity, to make welfare grants to assist its over 102,000 members. As well as being able to obtain a red poppy from an RSA volunteer at collection points around the Western Bay of Plenty, a virtual poppy is available online via a Givealittle page. Everyone that donates to this page will be provided with a virtual poppy which can be shared on social media and get a Facebook photo frame to show their support for the appeal on Facebook. Traditionally, the Poppy Appeal was conducted by veterans who collected donations from members of the public in exchange for poppies prior to Anzac Day. The world of 24/7 digital connectivity has given us the ability to take the Poppy Appeal online which means you can donate online now or give to a street collector on Friday, April 16. Donations made to the RSA Poppy Appeal through the Givealittle page will be collected centrally and distributed through the RSA district network. In 2021, the RSA has chosen to highlight the experiences of women and the military. Thats both women in uniform and those women who watch their sons, daughters, husbands or lovers depart and have the daily angst of never knowing if they will return. Many of their stories and experiences can be read on the RSA website. Displaying the poppy shows your support for the welfare of our surviving veterans and your acknowledgement and remembrance of the service of someone who has gone before, says an RSA spokesperson. You can wear it for the living, you can wear it for the dead, you can wear it for both and whether you choose to keep it close in acknowledgement or remembrance of that service, or lay it in tribute on Anzac Day, the act of poppy purchase shows you care. The RSA was founded in 1916 by returning Anzacs to provide support and comfort for service men and women and their families and this legacy continues today with the RSA advocating at the highest levels while providing active support in the heart of our communities. The network of 182 local RSAs, 250 support advisors and over 500 home and hospital visitors, provides financial assistance, friendship, support, and advocacy services to former and current serving personnel and their families. Our mission is to remember and care for all those impacted by service for New Zealand. Every day the RSA movement helps all current and former service personnel and their families get the support they need. All funds raised through the RSA Poppy Appeal go towards their vital support work, which can include financial assistance, friendship, support, and advocacy services to former and current serving personnel and their families. A Poppy has no set price, and the RSA welcome a donation of any amount. Keep an eye out for the RSA Poppy Appeal volunteers on Friday April 16. Some people may have received third stimulus payments from the $1.9 trillion relief package for family members or others who died before Jan. 1, 2021. This might have happened to some widows and widowers who filed a joint return in 2020, the IRS said. But family members of people who died before Jan. 1, 2021, are not eligible to receive the third stimulus payment on behalf of the deceased relative, the IRS said. Thats because the payment is actually an advance on a credit for your 2021 tax return. A surviving spouse should only have received a payment of up to $1,400 if they qualify, plus up to $1,400 for any qualifying dependents, the agency said. The IRS said if a payment was sent to the address of a deceased person, you should return it. If the payment was a paper check, you should write void in the endorsement section of the check and write a letter explaining why you are returning it. Dont staple, use a paper clip or bend the check, the IRS said. The IRS would then reissue you a payment for the correct amount. If youve already cashed the stimulus check or if you received a direct deposit, the IRS said you should send a personal check or money order for the amount to the IRS. Write the check payable to U.S. Treasury and write Third EIP and the persons taxpayer identification number in the memo section. Then send the check, with a letter explaining why its being returned, to the IRS. New Jersey residents should mail it back to: Kansas City Internal Revenue Service, 333 W. Pershing Rd., Kansas City, MO 64108. People outside of New Jersey can find the regional addresses for the agency on the IRS website. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. The first Southwest Airlines flight from Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport in 16 years was a stone's throw to New Orleans. If Monday's inaugural flight was any indication of the Texas-based airline's efficiency, flyers will be delighted: The plane departed Bush a whole five minutes early, according to FlightAware. BACK TO NORMAL? What the CDC says you can do now that you're vaccinated The flight was part of the airline's expansion to the busy international airport north of downtown Houston. Southwest flights from Bush will travel to New Orleans, Dallas, Denver, Nashville and Chicago. Southwest Airlines flew out of Bush up until 2005, when the company decided to base its Houston operations out of Hobby Airport south of town. The airline will still fly out of Hobby but hopes to reach more people with flights out of Bush, too. "People north of (Interstate) 10 will drive down to Hobby because they love our service," Vice President Dave Harvey told the Houston Chronicle. "But there are a lot of customers that we havent been able to win over because theyre not going to make that drive and kind of cut around downtown." With more folks vaccinated, Southwest hopes to see more customers flying their airline. Do you plan on flying Southwest Airlines out of Bush? Let me know on Twitter: @jayrjordan. Lori Harvey was seen stepping out for a solo shopping trip at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills on Sunday afternoon. The social media personality made a fashion statement as she wore an all-black outfit that made her stand out while spending time in the shining California sun. The influencer's outing comes just days after she shared a set of images to her Instagram account that showed her wearing a similar clothing ensemble. Expanding her wardrobe: Lori Harvey was spotted heading to a Saks Fifth Avenue location in Beverly Hills during a solo shopping trip on Sunday Harvey was dressed in a slightly oversized black Balenciaga hoodie while stepping out on her own. She paired her sweater with a comfy pair of joggers that matched her sizable top, as well as a pair of dual-tone sneakers. The 24-year-old's gorgeous hair was tied into several braids that fell onto her shoulders as she spent time by herself. Harvey wore a large black facial covering to keep herself protected from COVID-19 while interacting with other people. Keeping cozy: The daughter of Steve Harvey wore a slightly oversized Balenciaga hoodie and a matching pair of sweats while stepping out The influencer is no stranger to comfortable-yet-fashionable attire, as she frequently shares photos of herself wearing eye-catching clothing ensembles on her Instagram. Earlier this month, the social media personality posted two photos that had been taken inside of what appeared to be a private jet to her account. Harvey was dressed in a light gray heathered hoodie, which she paired with a matching set of baggy sweat pants. The only deviation from her all-athleisure ensemble was a pair of multicolored high-top Nike sneakers, which added a bit of pop to the neutral tones of her clothing. Fresh dressed: Earlier this month, the social media personality posted a set of images to her Instagram account showing her wearing a comfortable clothing ensemble while relaxing on a plane Changing it up: The influencer's multicolored Nike high-top sneakers provided an element of contrast from the neutral tone of her outfit Although she is widely known for her social media presence, the daughter of comedian Steve Harvey has also been the subject of media attention due to her relationship with actor Michael B. Jordan. The two were first spotted traveling together ahead of Thanksgiving last year, and they went on to spend New Year's Eve together in Utah. Harvey took her relationship a step further when she went Instagram official with the 34-year-old actor in early January. That same month, the couple took a romantic getaway to the vacation hotspot of St Barts, where they were seen getting close while soaking up the sun. The social media personality and Jordan have been going strong ever since then. Happy couple: Harvey is also currently in a relationship with Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan, whom she has been seeing since November of last year New Delhi, April 12 : Bharti group-backed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network OneWeb has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Kazakhstan and local players for satellite connectivity in the country. A company statement said that the MoU develops OneWeb's partnership with the Government of Kazakhstan which began in 2020 to support Kazakhstan's ambition to digitise its economy and become a pioneer of the latest satellite communications technologies. "The MoU encompasses several areas of cooperation, including use of OneWeb's lowlatency, high throughput satellite connectivity platform to provide broadband to remote and hard-to-reach rural communities, building a ground station to provide connectivity to Central Asian countries and localisation of the supply chain for OneWeb's Low Earth Orbit satellites," it said. OneWeb has also received its certificate of incorporation for OneWeb Kazakhstan Ltd registered in Astana International Financial Centre. This subsidiary will facilitate the establishment of a Low Earth Orbit Centre of Excellence in the country and enable OneWeb's service delivery across Central Asia. The statement said that OneWeb always partners with local telecom operators who know the market and their customers and seeks to distribute its connectivity services to the private and public sector, including businesses, schools, hospitals and civil services across Eurasia. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Executive Chairman of OneWeb said: "I am delighted to visit Kazakhstan for the first time on this occasion of the 60th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first human spaceflight. Today, we can honour his legacy with a constellation of OneWeb satellites orbiting the Earth to bring connectivity to all locations where it's needed." "The Government of Kazakhstan continues to see the importance of bridging the digital divide and enabling the digitization of its economy using innovative and modern satellite technology. OneWeb has pledged to work together to bring about these opportunities for the country." Demonstrations of OneWeb's connectivity services are planned for June in the country to showcase how OneWeb's constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and user terminals provide high speed, low latency, seamless broadband connectivity. 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! The perspective of synodality "active participation of all the faithful in the mission of the Church". For women "an important role to play in the human formation of future priests". The issue of celibacy "must be addressed on the horizon of vocation". Clericalism "a danger for both priests and the faithful: it identifies the priesthood with power and not with service". Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Vocations, mission, formation of priests, the relationship between ministerial priesthood and common priesthood. These issues, seen from the perspective of synodality, will be addressed in an International Theological Symposium "For a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood" will be held, organized by the Congregation for Bishops, presented today in the Vatican. The meeting, scheduled from 17 to 19 February 2022, in the words of Card. Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, has synodality as his first perspective. I"Synodality basically means the active participation of all the faithful in the mission of the Church, it describes the united march of the baptized towards the Kingdom which is being built on a daily basis in the realities of family, in the workplace, as well as in social and ecclesial life in all its forms. This requires a life of faith and close collaboration between lay people, priests and men and women religious, for the proclamation of the Gospel to the world through the attractive witness of Christian communities". As for the priesthood, it is a question that, Card. Ouellet, needs "pastoral updating", taking into account "ecumenical questions" and those posed by "cultural movements that question the role of women in the Church". These are issues on which there are "tensions" and "divergent pastoral visions", also the result of multiculturalism and migration, without forgetting the ideologies that condition the witness of the baptized and the exercise of the priestly ministry in secularized societies ". As regards women in particular, answering a question from journalists during the presentation, the cardinal said they have "an important role to play in the human formation of future priests", adding that "surprises" in this matter could arise from the Symposium. In the three days of the Symposium, which will be concluded by Pope Francis, celibacy will also be discussed, but, Card. Ouellet answering the questions, it will not be the central question of the Symposium. The issue of celibacy, Michelina Tenace, professor of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University had previously said, "must be addressed on the horizon of vocation". When it comes to celibacy, it is necessary to understand that the real question concerns the vocation is formation: if one is called by God, he also receives the gift to live this call and formation makes these gifts aware and manifest. But formation in seminaries has often turned out to be very scarce precisely on the discernment of vocation and on formation to the life of communion. The question raised is that the priestly function does not require celibacy, but in the Latin tradition it is required because of the prophetic witness of the priesthood of Christ with regard to the eschatological character of the Church. Synodality, Vincent Siret, rector of the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome pointed out, is the necessary path to escape ecclesial clericalism. I say - he specified - ecclesial and non-ecclesiastical because the clerics within the Church are not the only ones to be tempted by this incomplete and false vision. The vocation of all to enter the Kingdom by grace is explicit and unique and prevents any retreat in ecclesial structures. The ministry of priests is not primarily structural or organizational, but essentially mystical, that is, inscribed in the Mystery. Only this ultimate depth of the Mystery in which the journey can only be a journey with and following Christ towards the Father in the Spirit can allow a way to emerge from the many difficulties and risks that one encounters in being blocked in a worldly dimension, a struggle for power or promotion. The discernment of vocations is made "even more urgent", added Professor Tenace, is "the question of abuses", because "the priestly vocation must be exactly the opposite of power: wanting to serve Christ by being a servant in the way of Christ ". In this logic, he added, "clericalization is a danger for both priests and the faithful: it identifies the priesthood with power and not with service, being an 'alter Christus' at the altar as a privilege and not as a responsibility that concerns all the faithful. Clericalism, in her opinion, is derived from a vision of the priest as isolated, above all, and Pope Francis often draws attention to this danger. In this wrong approach there is also the risk of having priests crushed by the idealization of omnipotence or by the demands of the faithful ". In the meantime, the program of conferences scheduled for the days of the Symposium was published today. A few days ago a website was opened that will serve to provide more information to those interested, to facilitate the registration procedures of participants and to solicit financial contributions to support the organization of the event. OSLO, Norway, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement by MPC Container Ships ASA (the "Company", together with its subsidiaries the "Group") on 25 February 2021 in relation to the release of the Group's Q4 and twelve-month 2020 financial results. As a consequence of persistently strong container market dynamics, management has revised its FY 2021 revenue and EBITDA guidance. Subject to certain assumptions, management currently expects revenues in the range of USD 230-260m and EBITDA in the range of USD 120-140m. The above indication is based on ~80% fixed operating days charter coverage for FY 2021, reflecting ~USD 193m in contracted charter revenue. Please also note that the above indication is subject to assessments of the current macroeconomic and charter market environment. Accordingly, this indication involves a number of risks and uncertainties, and the actual future financial performance of the Company may vary significantly from the present outlook. In lieu of the aforementioned strong markets for global container tonnage, the Company today published a container market and operational update. The update is enclosed herewith. Further information and contact: For further information, please contact [email protected]. About MPC Container Ships ASA: MPC Container Ships ASA (ticker code "MPCC") was formed in April 2017. Its main activity is to own and operate a portfolio of container ships serving intra-regional trade lanes. The Company is registered and has its business office in Oslo, Norway. For more information, please see our website: www.mpc-container.com . Forward-looking statements: This announcement includes forward-looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business, the markets in which it operates and its restructuring efforts. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's regulatory filings and periodical reporting. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/mpc-container-ships-asa/r/mpc-container-ships-asa-revises-fy-2021-guidance-and-publishes-container-market-and-operational-upda,c3323166 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Public/17513/3323166/902331eb813efc81.pdf 210412 MPCC - Container Market Operational Update SOURCE MPC Container Ships ASA Gail: And then the country moved on. Bret: With Gaetz, by contrast, all the allegations against him seem entirely in character. Same with Eliot Spitzer or Andrew Cuomo: When the claims against both New York governors emerged, you kinda thought, It figures. Gail: Yeah, and in some cases Im thinking of the very early sex scandals with Rudy Giuliani people yawn and say Everybody already knew that. Bret: I do think theres an ideological, if not exactly partisan, element. With the distinguished exception of The Wall Street Journals Dorothy Rabinowitz, the press showed almost zero interest in Juanita Broaddricks rape charges against Bill Clinton, at least until he was long out of office. Ted Kennedy is still remembered worshipfully by liberals as the Lion of the Senate, even though he was almost certainly guilty of what most of us would consider an appalling sexual assault in the company of Chris Dodd, his Democratic Senate pal, who also retired honorably. Cuomo, obviously, is a Democrat, but he also has a lot of enemies on his left. By contrast, Bob Packwood, the Oregon Republican, got thrown out, deservedly, on his ear. And then of course theres Brett Kavanaugh. Gail: Now a member of the Supreme Court. Which is not exactly a terrible punishment. Bret: Haunted by an accusation that was never corroborated by other witnesses but will almost surely be in the first paragraph of his obituary. Speaking of the court, what do you think of Bidens plan to examine expanding it, and maybe term-limiting judgeships? Gail: Two thoughts about court packing: One is that its a righteous response to the behavior of the Republicans during the Obama administration. Mitch McConnell ignored judicial nominations the president sent him. Just let them stack up in a closet somewhere. Until Donald Trump entered the White House. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Joe Biden has been President of the United States for less than three months, but already, the fears of many conservatives are being realized. On many different fronts, things are going in a very wrong and dangerous direction. The question is: What can we do about it? How do we respond? In no particular order, consider the following. 1) H.R. 1 would dramatically reshape our electoral system so as to cement Democratic rule for decades to come. 2) H.R. 5 would effectively gut religious liberties across the nation. 3) Open borders would bring in a flood of immigrants who will quickly learn to vote Democrat as well, at least for the first generation. 4) Packing the Supreme Court would fundamentally restructure our legal system, thwarting efforts to push back against the radical leftist agenda and effectively codifying Roe v. Wade for good. 5) Attacks on the Second Amendment would further cripple American rights when it comes to gun ownership. 6) Big Tech censorship, bolstered by the COVID-19 crisis and the storming of the Capitol, would silence all resistance. 7) Renewed relations with Iran would destabilize the Middle East. 8) Failure to stand up to China would undo the international balance of power. 9) ??? (this is where you get to add any concerns that I left out) Again, this is why so many of us voted for Trump, despite our misgivings about his leadership style. The alternatives were just too chilling. But this is where I personally believe it is crucial that we rethink our strategy and approach to the current political scene. This is where I believe it is critical that we learn some lessons from our recent mistakes. In short, this is where each of us must find our own roles in the midst of this current national crisis. We either get this right now (when I say we, Im speaking in particular of conservative people of faith), or else. Allow me to explain. In years past, to the extent that Christian conservatives were involved in politics, we looked to organizations like the FRC or the ADF to give us guidance when it was time to vote and to alert us about critical bills before Congress or cases before the Supreme Court. For our part, we would cast our votes every two or four years, contact our elected officials at key times, pray for righteous court decisions, and help support these organizations financially. And that was it. Most of our energies were spent on being the church in our communities. Most of our focus was on loving God and loving our neighbor. Most of our efforts were expended on Gospel work rather than political work. And thats the way it should be. Each part of the Body has a specific function and purpose, and by each of us being faithful to our calling and fulfilling our particular role, there will be health and success. To be sure, we often fell way short of fulfilling our political and cultural responsibilities. And all too often, pastors and Christian leaders did not want to touch these hot-button issues for fear of offending people. Thats one reason were in the mess we are today. The Church failed to engage properly. We were also lukewarm and lackadaisical when it came to spiritual focus and commitment. But in the last four years, I believe we swung to the other extreme. So many of us became consumed with the political scene day and night. So many of us talked about Trump and the swamp and socialism by the hour. We were more consumed with the news than with the Word of God. More focused on the 2016 and 2018 and 2020 elections than on the Great Commission. More interested in voting than in praying. More fixated on debating politics than on praying for revival. And that is how we got off-track. Put another way, rather than letting the political leaders do their thing with us voting accordingly, we all became political pundits. We all became commentators and experts. We all got caught up in the DC mess. In fact, draining the swamp dominated our thinking more than reaching our neighbors with the Gospel of Jesus. (This does not apply to all of us, but it does apply to many of us.) And rather than us majoring on the majors in our own worlds prayer, devotion to God and His Word, holy living, being godly witnesses, seeking personal and corporate renewal, strengthening our marriages, pouring into our kids our consuming focus became political. As John Burton recently wrote, It has been sad to watch Christians adopt an aggressive, flesh-driven political spirit. What looks like brash boldness is actually a manifestation of fear as the blood seeps out of their tender hearts and into their fists. Many have shifted from an emphasis on faith, intercession, worship, revival and awakening to blasting opinions on politics and culture. Yes, we must not avoid confronting the spirit of the age with a sharp anointing, but thats not what we are mostly seeing today. And this brings us to the crux of the matter. In short, if America is to be saved from destruction, each of us must do our part. There must be a holistic push back against the increasingly radical leftist agenda. We must give ourselves to both the spiritual and the practical. We must stand for what is right both culturally and politically. But we cannot swing to extremes, either the extreme of a hyper-spiritual, other-worldly, pie in the sky type of pietism. Or the extreme of a hyper-national, partisan-driven, politics-first mentality. In the past, our lack of political engagement hurt the nation. More recently, our over-involvement hurt the nation again. So, lets get in our proper lanes, lets get our individual assignments, and with the help of the Spirit, lets do what we can to bring about positive change on a daily basis. Then, when its time to vote or contact our elected officials, lets do that as well. But let the politicians fight the political wars and let us fight the cultural and spiritual and practical wars where we live and work every day. After all, you cant impact the vote on H.R. 1 or H.R. 5 by engaging in endless online debate on social media. But you can impact the life of your family or friends or neighbors or coworkers in a multitude of different ways. And, by engaging in serious prayer and fasting, you can impact the fate of the nation. The hour is urgent. The future of America is at stake. But spending our time mocking Biden or criticizing the GOP establishment is not the way to stave off the danger. Lets go back to our spiritual roots, to our real strength, to our ultimate calling. We do have effective, gospel-based weapons. Let us use them effectively without abandoning the political front. Its a matter of priorities. Its a matter of first things first. This is how America can be saved from oblivion. London: Six years ago almost to the day, the Queen and Prince Philip shuffled into the White Drawing Room of Windsor Castle to open a small rectangular box recently arrived from Australia. The event didnt attract anywhere near as much attention as the decision by Tony Abbott three months earlier that had triggered the special delivery. The box contained the Insignia of a Knight of the Order of Australia, which was duly presented following Abbotts surprise move on Australia Day 2015 to award Philip the countrys highest honour. The Queen watches on as Australias then high commissioner to the UK Alexander Downer presents the insignia to Prince Philip. Credit:Getty Abbott said at the time that the Duke of Edinburgh had been a great servant of Australia and noted Malcolm Fraser had also handed the award to Prince Charles in 1981. ARCHIVED - Spain and Algeria commit to working against illegal immigration The Foreign Affairs ministers from both countries sat down together on Monday to discuss the problem and agreed to collaborate to seek solutions. Spain and Algeria have agreed to work together to open orderly, regular channels for businesspeople, students and workers to migrate to Spain in a legal manner, seeking to curb the arrival of irregular immigrants, particularly from the Sahel region of Africa. This last week hundreds of illegal immigrants, mainly from Algeria, arrived in small boats along the Spanish coastline in Andalucia, Murcia and Alicante province, one of which sunk off the coastal town of Mazarron in Murcia on Saturday evening, killing eleven people. During the first visit to Spain since his appointment, the Algerian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sabri Boukadoum, sat down with his Spanish counterpart Aracha Gonzalez Laya on Monday to discuss the matter and plan ways help African citizens migrate legally rather than risking their lives in attempts to enter Spain illegally. Both ministers entirely agree that the two countries must work together to fight the criminal immigration networks that profit from the transport of illegal migrants. They agreed to hold a meeting in Spain during the second half of this year for further discussions about the measures which could be taken. Following the meeting, the Spanish minister reported that Algeria is a strategic partner and that both countries are working in close collaboration on sensitive issues such as migration and the fight against terrorism. She also highlighted Algerias efforts to maintain stability and peace in the Sahel region, especially in Mali. "Were working together to improve the socio-economic conditions and stability of these countries in order to prevent an increase in illegal immigration flows through Algeria to our country," said the Spanish minister. Mr Boukadoum expressed a desire to deepen economic relations between the two countries and pointed out that Algeria has always honoured its commitments with Spain where migration issues are concerned and intends to continue to do so. He stressed the importance of facilitating legal, regular migration channels between the two countries to reduce the numbers of migrants trying to enter the country illegally in search of a better life. Image: Fernando Calvo. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez meeting with Algerian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sabri Boukadoum Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 17:48:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has vaccinated 1 million out of its 16 million population against the COVID-19 so far, Health Ministry's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said here on Monday. Panh Savannarith, a 36-year-old Phnom Penh resident, was the 1,000,000th person to be vaccinated, she said, adding that Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen provided the grant of 5 million riels (1,250 U.S. dollars) to Sovannrith for being the 1,000,000th vaccine recipient. Speaking to reporters after delivering the cash grant to Savannarith, Vandine urged people to go for vaccination when their turns come in order to protect themselves from severe illness and hospitalization. "Vaccine serves as a booster that strengthens our immune response. The vaccine, along with other health guidelines, will save our lives from this highly contagious disease," she said. Meanwhile, the spokeswoman called on people to stay home during the upcoming Khmer New Year on April 14-16 in order to help curb the virus spread. The Southeast Asian nation has so far logged a total of 4,515 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 30 deaths, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Monday. Cambodia launched an anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive on Feb. 10, focusing on high risk and vulnerable groups such as frontline doctors and health workers, civil servants, teachers, armed forces, journalists, garbage collectors and garment factory workers, among others. By the end of March, the kingdom had acquired more than 3.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The country is expected to receive 8 million more doses in phases between April and August, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Saturday, adding that the kingdom is targeting to inoculate at least 10 million of the population. Enditem Patna, April 12 : Four policemen, including a Station House Officer (SHO), have been placed under suspension by the Bihar police for alleged links with the liquor mafia in Nawada district. D.S. Savlaram, the Nawada Superintendent of Police (SP), confirmed the incident. She has taken strong action on the report of the Special Investigation team (SIT) which was formed to probe the spurious liquor case that took 15 lives while four others lost their eyesight since March 29. The deceased persons had consumed spurious liquor on March 29 to celebrate Holi. "Among suspended police officers, Manoj Kumar, the SHO of Kauwakol police station, ASI of Kauwakol and two Sub-Inspectors of the town police station are suspended with immediate effect," Savlaram said. Apart from them, Savlaram also transferred 45 other police officers in Nawada district. The officer said that they were guilty of not performing their duty efficiently. Earlier, the Nawada SP had dismissed Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Devendra Kumar, ASI-2 Sanjay Kumar, Head Constable Ratan Rajak and Constable Mukesh Kumar Singh, who were found guilty during the SIT probe. She had also suspended T.N. Tiwari, SHO of town police station, Sub-Inspector Nagendra Prasad and Chowkidar Vikas Mishra for their alleged links to the liquor mafia or were guilty of callous attitude on duty that allowed the liquor mafia to operate freely in the district. The SIT of Nawada police arrested Suraj Chaudhery alias Karku Chaudhery of Kharidi Bigha village, Pappu Yadav of Gondapur and Anil Chaudhery and Manti Devi of Budhaul village on April 6. The police officer accepted that the deaths occurred in Nawada due to consumption of spurious liquor. Besides Nawada district, two persons in Begusarai and 5 persons in Rohtas district also died after they consumed spurious liquor on Holi. NORTH ADAMS Last fall, Joshua Vallieres liked the timing. He was enrolled in Samantha Petteys Campaigns and Elections course at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts as the presidential election went down to the wire. It was really cool to see history in the making, Vallieres said. He didnt know it, but the coursework was more than academic. He now has taken out papers to run for mayor of North Adams. Vallieres, 21, said in an interview Sunday that he considers his age or lack of electoral experience no barrier to building support to succeed Tom Bernard as the citys mayor, come November even though he still will be enrolled at MCLA. He expects to graduate in 2022. Public office is reserved for anybody, he said. I always wanted to be involved in politics. Vallieres with papers.jpg North Adams Assistant Clerk Cathy Verrier hands election paperwork to Joshua Vallieres. Vallieres, 21, plans to run for mayor in the fall election. Vallieres is a progressive Democrat, an Eagle Scout and a native of North Adams. He said he was moved to run for the top office after learning of problems plaguing the citys fire hydrant system. That was a big wake-up call to the whole city, as far as infrastructure goes. As he works to introduce himself to voters, Vallieres is calling for attention not only to aging infrastructure in North Adams, but to the need to support small businesses. He would like to revive the Western Gateway Heritage State Park, see investment in green energy and make sure the voting process is open. To that end, he would like to see more places made available in the city to cast ballots. Vallieres said he admires the citys recent mayors, calling Bernard a great leader and noting John Barrett IIIs long influence and service. He will be seeking endorsements, but believes its up to him to make his own case. At the end of the day, voters are going to make up their minds, he said. Farther afield, he said he admires the public service of former Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who took office right out of Brown University, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. And then there is the national candidate he was pulling for in November. Joe Biden is doing a decent enough job trying to clean up the mess made by the Trump administration, he said. Its likely that Vallieres would have to survive a preliminary election in September, though the electoral field is not set. He has been attending City Council meetings and building out a campaign website with his ideas and policies. Vallieres said he hopes to rally support, particularly, among young people in the city. North Adams really needs a bold face of leadership who can resonate with young people, he said. Systemic risk facing banks in India is likely to remain high in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19 infections and a high proportion of weak loans. This is even though India's economic recovery and steps by the central bank and the government to cushion the effects of the economic crisis will continue to limit stress on the balance sheets of these banks, says S&P Global Ratings. In a report, the ratings agency says, "We estimate the Indian banking system's weak loans are at 11%-12% of gross loans. We forecast credit losses will decline to 2.2% of total loans in the year ending 31 March 2022, (fiscal 2022) and 1.8% in fiscal 2023, after staying elevated at an average of 2.8% in fiscals 2016-2021. Our expected credit costs for banks in India are in line with those for banks in other emerging countries such as China and Thailand. However, provisioning coverage in China and Thailand is much higher than in India." Indian banks reported non-performing loans (NPLs) likely surged in the last quarter of fiscal 2021. A large portion of the increase will be driven by the Supreme Court's lifting of a ruling that barred banks from classifying any defaults as nonperforming assets. Banks' NPLs would have generally been higher by 60-170 basis points in the absence of the court ruling. According to the ratings agency, the balance sheet weakness in smaller businesses is likely to contribute to incremental NPLs for Indian banks. "Service sectors such as airlines, hotels, malls, multiplexes, restaurants, and retail have seen a significant loss of revenue and profit on account of COVID-19 containment measures. Meanwhile, retail loans, especially unsecured personal loans, and credit card loans, could also contribute to higher NPLs," it says. The Indian government's emergency credit guarantee scheme for new loans to small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) has supported liquidity for these cash-strapped entities. However, S&P says, the solvency of SMEs is unlikely be restored entirely. In March 2021, the government extended the period for availing the credit guarantee scheme to June 2021, and widened its scope. This would reduce stress on banks' balance sheets, it added. S&P says, "We expect good growth prospects for the Indian economy over the next couple of years. The economy has recovered briskly over the past several months. We forecast growth of 11% for fiscal 2022, followed by a 6.1%-6.3% increase for next couple of years." According to the ratings agency, the control of COVID-19 remains a key risk for the economy. "New infections have spiked in recent weeks and the country is in the middle of a second pandemic wave. Some targeted lockdowns have already been implemented and more will likely be needed. The impact of broader lockdowns on the economy could be substantial, depending on their length and scope," it says. S&P says it believes the speed of India's vaccination rollout will be critical in mitigating the risk of future epidemic waves. India has one of the highest doses administered globally, at about 104 million. However, given the country's large population, this is only about seven doses per 100 people, considerably lower than the per capita rate of vaccination among the leading countries in this regard. "In our view, vaccinating a much larger proportion of the population to achieve enduring herd immunity will be vital for India's growth prospects. Meanwhile, the country's strong domestic vaccine production capacity should help alleviate supply constraints over the coming months," S&P says. The ratings agency's projections for Indian banks already factor in some of the weakness that could emerge from the new COVID-19 wave and the resultant lockdowns. Additionally, it says, banks have also been building capital buffers and reserves to deal with the crunch, which should help smoothen the hit from COVID-19-related losses and pave the path for recovery. "Risks facing banks in India could reduce with stabilisation of credit conditions and progress on NPL resolution," the ratings agency says, adding, "Upside risk to our assessment could emerge if credit losses start to show clear signs of declining to our expected long-term average levels. In such a scenario, the credit profiles of some financial institutions in India could improve." "On the other hand, downside risks could emerge if the improving trend in the economy reverses and the slowdown is much more severe or prolonged than our current forecasts, or if we expect a significant increase in banks' NPLs and credit losses," it added. Russias FM in Egypt for talks on ties and Ethiopias dam Russias FM in Egypt for talks on ties and Ethiopias dam View Photo CAIRO (AP) The foreign ministers of Egypt and Russia discussed trade and other ties between the two nations Monday, with Egypts top diplomat urging Moscow to help settle Egypts dispute with Ethiopia over a massive dam project. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Cairo on Sunday for a two-day visit. He met Monday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi before his talks with Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry. In a joint news conference with Shukry, Lavrov said they discussed the implementation of joint mega projects. They included a four-reactor power plant that a Russian firm is building in Egypt and a Russian industrial zone. Russian companies are expected to invest up to $7 billion in building industrial plants in the Suez Canal area. The two ministers said they also discussed regional conflicts in Libya, Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian cause along with political stalemate in Lebanon. They discussed a massive dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile Rivers main tributary, which Egypt and Sudan deem a major threat if it is filled and operated without a legally binding agreement. We also rely on Russia to push parties to refrain from unilateral actions, Shukry said, referring to Ethiopias plans to start a second crucial stage of the dams filling during this years rainy season. Lavrov said Russia was not invited to engage in the talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, but has supported an African Union-led settlement to the yearslong dispute. The Russian minister did not address when Moscow would resume direct flights to Egypts Red Sea resorts. However, he told Egypts state-run Ahram daily in an interview published Monday that he expected the flights would be resumed soon. Flights were suspended when the Islamic State group downed a Russian airliner over Egypts Sinai Peninsula in 2015, killing all 224 people on board. Egypt has since spent millions of dollars to upgrade security at its airports and undergone numerous checks by Russian experts. The suspension of Russian flights dealt a devastating blow to Egypts vital tourism industry, which had already been badly hit by the turmoil following a 2011 uprising. A statement by el-Sissis office said the Egyptian president and Lavrov discussed military and security ties without providing details. El-Sissi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a partnership and strategic cooperation treaty in 2018, a document the Egyptian leader said should open a new chapter in the history of our cooperation. The two leaders have developed a close personal rapport, and have sought to expand bilateral ties, which have strengthened considerably in the past few years. Lavrov left for Tehran where is scheduled to meet with Iranian officials two days after an attack on Irans underground Natanz nuclear facility, according to Russia state-run media. Cairos relations with the U.S. suffered a blow in 2013 when the Obama administration criticized the military overthrow of Egypts first freely elected leader amid mass protests against his rule. In 2017, Egypt and Russia struck deals that allowed Cairo to buy billions of dollars worth of Russian weapons, including fighter jets and assault helicopters. They also signed a dead to have a Russian company build a nuclear reactor after Cairo agreed in principle to borrow $25 billion, or roughly 80% of the reactors cost, from Russia. BY SAMY MAGDY Associated Press However, this status quo might be temporary: The National Cancer Institute predicts that pandemic-related delays in screenings and treatment for breast and colorectal cancers alone could result in almost 10,000 excess deaths in the U.S. over the next 10 years. That would translate to approximately 1,200 more deaths in California from those two types of cancer. Experts say its a conservative estimate because it only accounts for a six-month delay in care, and people are postponing care longer than that. Rather than finding it on a mammogram the patient now comes in because they feel something and were making the diagnosis later on in the course of disease, which unfortunately means a lower likelihood of being cured, said Dr. Richard Bold, physician-in-chief at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. For Alzheimers disease, 1,883 more Californians died last year than in 2019. While its hard to pinpoint exact reasons, experts say it could have been driven by isolation and the abrupt pandemic-related closure of support services that Alzheimers patients rely on. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com HM the Kings Representative for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs, Commander of the Royal Guard, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, spoke virtually with Royal Guard members participating in the expedition to Mount Everest summit at the Base Camp on the Khumbu Icefall. HH Shaikh Nasser was reassured about all matters related to them and lauded their efforts to make a new achievement for Bahrain by climbing Mount Everest. He shared his keenness on supporting the team in achieving their mission. We are fully confident in your high capabilities and your eagerness to exert stronger efforts. There are challenges ahead, but you are well capable of surmounting them, God willing, HH Shaikh Nasser said. A mission awaits you and you are up to it. You have reached halfway and you will be moving to the second half where challenges will be more formidable. However, I am confident that you will do your best in this new stage and that you will double your efforts as required. I wish you the best of luck and success. The Royal Guard members expressed their thanks and appreciation to HH Shaikh Nasser for his continuous follow-up that gives them a great incentive to double efforts and reach their objective. They stressed that HH Shaikh Nassers support is a great motivation to climb Mount Everest. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 11) Another batch of Sinovac vaccines arrived in the country on Sunday. The 500,000 doses bought by the government arrived at Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 5:10 p.m., as confirmed by Philippine Airlines in a tweet. President Rodrigo Duterte was not at the event after the Palace said he would not be attending ceremonial turnovers anymore. This is the second batch of government purchased CoronaVac vaccines, the first one arrived on March 29. Prior to this, two batches of donated vaccines were brought in. According to a timeline from Galvez, a total of 5.5 million vaccines are expected to arrive in April. Apart from Sinovac, vaccines from Gamaleya and COVAX are also expected. On Sunday, Senator Bong Go said an initial 20,000 of Gamaleya's Sputnik V vaccines will arrive this week. Go said the first batch is up for a "pilot logistics run" since there are unique requirements for the first and second doses of the vaccine. President Joe Biden was given three Pinocchios by The Washington Post's fact-checker on Monday after saying Friday that 'the average rapist rapes about six times.' Biden was speaking to reporters during his weekly economic briefing and said he requested funding doubled in support of the Violence Against Women Act, which would go toward getting rid of the rape kit backlog. 'We've been working on this for a long, long time, and we still have a backlog on the rape kit', Biden said. 'And the point is: A significant number of women who have been raped - and the person has not been found or convicted is because they're sitting in jail. The average rapist rapes about six times.' On Friday, President Joe Biden said during an economic briefing that an 'average rapist rapes about six times,' a statement that earned him three Pinocchios from The Washington Post's fact-checker on Monday The statistic is most likely from a 2002 study authored by David Lisak (pictured), which has come under scrutiny for how it was conducted - and how it's helped craft a narrative that most college sexual assaults are from serial offenders 'And so, out there, we're - we want to make sure we go through this backlog and find out, to bring some certitude to - for the woman who is saying, "No, no, it was true. That's the man. He did it." And it changes the whole perspective,' Biden said. The White House didn't tell The Post where Biden's statistic came from, but the fact-checking operation said it most likely came from a 2002 study penned by David Lisak entitled, 'Repeat Rape and Multiple Offending Among Undetected Rapists.' Researchers spoke with 1,882 men between the ages of 18 and 71 who were walking around a college campus between 1991 and 1998. They filled out questionnaires for a small payment. Of those researchers talked to, 120 men self-reported acts that met the legal definitions of rape or attempted rape, though were never prosecuted for those actions. Seventy-six men in the group were identified as 'repeat rapists.' 'These repeat rapists each committed an average of six rapes and/or attempted rapes and an average of 14 interpersonally violent acts,' the report said. Other academics have poked holes in Lisak's research, including that the paper came from pooled data from four studies conducted by others on Lisak's campus. Those studies were not centered on campus sexual assault. Study participants weren't the average college student, but rather commuters who held jobs outside of campus. Still, the study has been used to create the narrative that serial rapists engage in the bulk of campus sexual assault. Making it more confusing, Biden was speaking about the 'average' rapist and not specifically making claims about campus sexual activity when speaking about the backlog of rape kits. The Washington Post's fact-checker gave him a score of three Pinocchios, and not two, because he didn't make the distinction between campus rape and rape generally, the latter of which should be based on a nation-wide sample, which Lisak's study is not. 'Ordinarily, given the academic dispute, we'd consider this a Two-Pinocchio claim,' the write-up said. Four Pinocchios is the worst score, for when a politicians tells a 'whopper.' Three Pinocchios is doled out when a politician makes a claim with a significant factual error, which is in the realm of 'mostly false.' 'Obviously, The Fact Checker cannot litigate the debate between Lisak and his critics. But the White House should be aware of the dispute and be more cautious about validating a statistic that may or may not be correct,' the fact-checker said. 'Otherwise, Biden may be perpetuating misinformation.' BOGOTA, May 23 (Reuters) - Colombian coal mine Cerrejon will halt operations because of two blockades that have prevented from it bringing in supplies of gasoline, it said on Sunday, the latest trouble for the major miner.Cerrejon, jointly owned b... [April 12, 2021] Moelis & Company to Announce First Quarter 2021 Financial Results and Host a Conference Call on April 28, 2021 Moelis & Company (NYSE: MC), a leading global independent investment bank, will release its first quarter 2021 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 28th, 2021. Ken Moelis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Joe Simon, Chief Financial Officer, will also host a related conference call at 5:00pm ET on the same day (April 28th, 2021) to review the financial results. Following the review, there will be a question and answer session. Investors and analysts may participate in the live conference call by dialing 1-877-510-3938 (domestic) or 1-412-902-4137 (international) and referencing the Moelis & Company First Quarter 2021 Earnings Call. Please dial in 15 minutes before the conference call begins. The conference call will also be accessible as a listen-only audio webcast through the Investor Relations section of the Moelis & Company website at www.moelis.com. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the call will be available for one month via telephone starting approximately one hour after the live call ends. The replay can be accessed at 1-877-344-7529 (domestic) or 1-412-317-0088 (international); the conference number is 10153823. About Moelis & Company Moelis & Company is a leading global independent investment bank that provides innovative strategic advice and solutions to a diverse client base, including corporations, governments and financial sponsors. The Firm assists its clients in achieving their strategic goals by offering comprehensive integrated financial advisory services across all major industry sectors. Moelis & Company's experienced professionals advise clients on their most critical decisions, including mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters. The Firm serves its clients from 22 geographic locations in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. For further information, please visit: www.moelis.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @Moelis. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005841/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Great American Insurance Group Great American Insurance Group in Cincinnati, Ohio, has promoted Timothy (Tim) E. Markey to divisional vice president within its Fidelity/Crime Division. Markey joined Great American in 2017 as a divisional assistant vice president. He has assumed roles of increasing responsibility and was named head of Claims for Fidelity/Crime in early 2020. He is responsible for all aspects of the divisions claim handling, subrogation and litigation management, while also assisting with marketing and continuing education initiatives. Markey has more than 25 years of industry experience to the role and has held leadership positions in several fidelity industry professional organizations, including his current appointment as vice chair of the Fidelity Claims Advisory Committee for the Surety and Fidelity Association of America. He is a member of the New Jersey bar. MJ Insurance MJ Insurance, based in Indianapolis, has hired industry veteran Bryan Gross as director of Compliance Regulation. Gross has nearly a decade of practical experience, previously working as an associate attorney in Krieg DeVaults Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group. In this role, Gross practiced law concentrating in the areas of Health & Welfare Employee Benefit Plans. He advised clients on intricate legal matters, including benefit plan administration, employment contracts, severance agreements and entity-wide policies. As director of Compliance Regulation, Gross will institute policies and practices to ensure MJs regulatory and contractual compliance. He will consult with clients on benefits and compliance strategy, and routinely review legislative and regulatory changes that impact the industry. MJ Insurance is a commercial and personal insurance, risk management and employee benefits consulting agency with offices in both Phoenix and Indianapolis. Gaur dies of old age in Vietnam nature reserve A forest ranger on patrol inside the Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve in southern Vietnam, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan. A 700-kilogram gaur was found dead Sunday at the Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve in southern Vietnam. The reserve said the male ox had died of old age. But it is not clear how old it was. On April 9 forest rangers found the animal showing signs of exhaustion, and the reserves management quickly ordered staff to keep an eye on it, media reports said. But two days later they found it dead. An autopsy will be done to identify the cause of death. The management plans to destroy the animal's skin, meat and organs but retain its bones and skull for scientific research. The gaur, or bos gauruswas, the worlds largest bovine, has been in Vietnams Red List since 2006 and protected, and it is illegal to hunt them for commercial purposes. It is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable. In recent years a number of these magnificent animals have died in the reserve due to old age. But a ranger assured that gaurs reproduce prolifically in protected conditions and their numbers are now increasing. Vietnam currently has around 300 gaurs. The animals grow to a height of 1.9 meters and weigh up to one ton. They are characterized by a dark brown or black coat, white stockings and an aggressive nature. The Sinn Fein deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland has acknowledged the significant impact of the royal family in terms of reconciliation. Michelle ONeill also explained why she made a public statement on the Duke of Edinburghs passing at the age of 99 on Friday as the right thing to do as deputy First Minister. First Minister Arlene Foster said she welcomed that Ms ONeill had moved to show respect to the royal family and the nation as a whole. There will be a special sitting of the Stormont Assembly later to allow all MLAs the opportunity to pay tribute to the duke. Ms ONeill said she met Philip once as she accompanied former deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness on his historic attendance at a royal event at Windsor Castle in 2014. Sinn Fein MPs still refuse to take their seats in the House of Commons over the oath of allegiance to the royal family. On Friday, Ms ONeill made a statement of condolence to the royal family while wearing black outside Belfast City Hall. On Monday she said the Queen and the royal family have made significant interventions, including her visit to Dublin. The Sinn Fein vice president also said the Queen and Duke of Edinburghs meeting with Mr McGuinness in Belfast marked a very important step on our journey, acknowledging they had been directly impacted in the Troubles. The IRA killed Philips uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten in 1979. We need to reconcile our people but also reconcile our islands because there has been a challenging relationship over many, many years, she told the BBC. The Queen and Prince Philip and their family were directly impacted by the conflict, like too many families here, and I think that, like every family, it is regrettable that any family has endured any kind of sorrow or pain as a result of bereavement due to the conflict. I do think that you have to take from the example which they themselves set, even though they did endure personal loss, the royal family has set about working towards the advancement of peace and reconciliation, and they demonstrated that with their words and deeds over recent years. 18-month-old Maise Cairns at the gates of Hillsborough Castle during a 41-round gun salute following the announcement of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh (Brian Lawless/PA) Ms ONeill added: Im elected to be the deputy First Minister for all, joint head of government for all people, so therefore I recognise the sense of loss that will be felt by many people across our community, particularly those of unionist tradition or those who have a British identity. I think this is something thats a very difficult time and a challenging time for those people, so I think its really, really important that I stand and dont sit back but come right out to the front to say that I acknowledge that loss, that hurt and that people will be feeling this loss. I just think its really, really important terms of respect for each other, for two different communities between our islands that I would speak in the way in which I have. Ms ONeill said she has not had any negative response to the move. I have certainly heard nothing to the contrary, Im quite sure that therell be people who have their own view on it but, by and large, I would expect that people thought it was just the respectful thing to do. Mrs Foster expressed her own condolences to the royal family, echoing the Duke of Yorks comments that a huge void had been left in that family as well as national life. On behalf of all of the people of Northern Ireland, we send our love and and best wishes to Her Majesty the Queen and to all of the royal family, she said. The DUP leader welcomed Ms ONeills comments. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with Irish President Mary McAleese and her husband Dr Martin McAleese at Dublin Castle (Arthur Edwards/PA) This is such a pivotal moment for us all, she said. I think that Sinn Fein learned from the mistake that they made in 2011, when Her Majesty visited the Republic of Ireland and they decided to boycott that visit. I think they learned from that and in 2012 Her Majesty shook hands with the then deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. I think the royal family and Prince Philip, who had lost so grievously his uncle in 1979, have played a huge role in reconciliation and bringing everybody together in Northern Ireland and indeed across the Commonwealth. Mrs Foster also commended the royal family for being so meticulous in sticking to the coronavirus restrictions. Again were going to say that this weekend when just 30 people will enter the chapel at Windsor to mark the life of a remarkable man, she said. But I know that there will be many across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, the world watching with the royal family, so that they can take part from a distance. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) A historic drought in a massive agricultural region straddling Northern California and southern Oregon could mean steep cuts to the water provided to hundreds of farmers to sustain endangered fish species. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation oversees water allocations in the Klamath Project. It's expected to announce this week how much water farmers will get this season, if any, after delaying the decision a month amid severe drought. The Klamath and Yurok tribes have treaties guaranteeing the protection of their fisheries. They want water for federally listed fish species, the sucker fish and coho salmon. New Delhi, April 12 : The Jallianwala Bagh massacre propelled Mahatma Gandhi to assume centre stage and encouraged him to launch his non-violent movement, says Nonica Datta, an Associate Professor of History at JNU in a new introduction to her late father V.N. Datta's book, "Jallianwala Bagh - a groundbreaking history of the 1919 massacre" that was published on its 50 anniversary in 1969 and has been updated on the 102nd anniversary, April 13, of the horrific slaughter in which, according to the author's research, over 700 unarmed civilians were killed. "It's critical to remember the legacy of Jallianwala Bagh. V.N. Datta argues, 'Jallianwala Bagh changed the idiom of Indian nationalism'. It propelled the Mahatma to assume centre stage. The violence of Jallianwala Bagh encouraged him to launch his non-violent movement; 1919 forged the enduring bond between Gandhi and Nehru. Here began modern India's most critical and longest political partnerships that continue to profoundly influence contemporary Indian politics," Nonica Datta told IANS in an interview. "Ironically, Punjab's leaders were sidelined. For example, Saifuddin Kitchlew is forgotten. Secondly, there wouldn't have been any Bhagat Singh or Udham Singh, had there been no Jallianwala Bagh. And nor the Chittagong Armoury raid of 1930. The massacre led to a revolution in India, a revolution that made India free. This fact has been systematically erased by the dominant narrative of the nationalist struggle. V.N. Datta's classic recovers the crucial turning point which changed the course of India's freedom movement," Datta added. She also points to the role of a Congress "agent provocateur" that her father had unveiled. "He addressed the silences that besiege the history of the tragedy. Here playing detective, Datta argued, for instance, that to understand the carnage, it is necessary to follow the movements of Hans Raj, the chief organiser of the Jallianwala Bagh meeting. A member of the Congress party, Hans Raj was the right-hand man of the Congress stalwart, Saifuddin Kitchlew. At the time of the meeting, he urged the crowd to be seated and declared 'the Government will never fire'. After a while, he waved his handkerchief and Dyer and his Indian troops appeared. When the shooting began, Hans Raj had already left. "He was an agent provocateur, V.N. Datta reveals, and later became a government approver. Thus, V.N. Datta regards the Jallianwala massacre as a conspiracy that was planned by the British in which Hans Raj played a crucial role. The Congress carefully covered up Hans Raj's culpability; Gandhi, in particular, remained conspicuously silent about Hans Raj's major part in the crime. In contrast to Datta's work, the history of the freedom movement in India, dominated as it is by the Congress narrative, has systematically erased this criminal reality. "V.N. Datta has ensured that such whitewashing does not succeed in any objective and critical analysis. Eventually what happened to Hans Raj, Datta was intrigued by this question. His scouring of the records suggests that Hans Raj was 'spirited away to Mesopotamia by the British.' Of course, the people of Amritsar, knowing of his complicity, burnt his house down," Nonica Datta said. "For the 102nd anniversary of the massacre," she said, "It is relevant to bring a new edition for the younger generation which remains unaware of this horrific chapter. This pioneering classic deserves a wider readership, so I decided to write an Introduction for the present edition. I spent a long time in Amritsar recording memories which are still powerful. This book also includes my interview with my father where he shares his candid journey. For me, it was exciting to engage with a classical but radical polymath historian's work via my method of memory." Born in 1926, V.N. Datta's house was close to Jallianwala Bagh, and he had grown up with his older sister Shanti telling him about April 13, when General Dyer ordered his Indian troops to fire into the crowd. "Datta set the record straight about the number of killings in his correspondence with the Duke of Edinburgh which is housed at the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge," Nonica Datta said. V.N. Datta's visits to Jallianwala Bagh as a young boy, where the gunshots were all too freshly visible, his rootedness in the city of Amritsar, and his training as a professional historian, "all this shaped the writing of this book. This history is the outcome of Datta's visceral engagement with the haunting memory of the massacre and the alternative versions that he culled from different archival sources. This is a personal book but it is grounded in solid historical research," Nonica Datta explained. She also regretted that not enough is being done to commemorate the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. "Jallianwala Bagh is now more like a picnic spot for tourists. We don't even have the full list of the names of those who died. Jallianwala Bagh is just a date in the nationalist and official agenda. The prevailing sentiment in Punjab is one of betrayal caused by state neglect. "Jallianwala Bagh is a bleeding wound for the Punjabis, who feel that Britain has to come forward and accept its culpability. That never happened. Indeed, this guilty avoidance of the truth raises the hyper-sensitive question of the UK taking responsibility for its own imperial past and violence, which would facilitate healing and restitution. It opens the larger question of how colonial empires engage with their former colonies and undo their criminal acts of violence, be it Africa, Asia or Latin America. In the current global context, it's time to be free from military and racial violence. Jallianwala Bagh provides this uncomfortable lesson, as V.N. Datta tells us," Nonica Datta concluded. (Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in) Commentary: Rampant gun violence makes U.S. a proven hypocrite on human rights Xinhua) 09:17, April 12, 2021 People attend a vigil to mourn the victims of a mass shooting in Dayton of Ohio, the United States, on Aug. 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) A more underlying reason for the deteriorating gun violence in the United States is that the government makes little effort to address the root causes -- racism, poverty and lack of access to education. WASHINGTON, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A recent string of mass shootings in the United States have once again proved that the country, always proclaiming itself a defender of human rights, is indeed a hypocrite, as deadly gun violence rate keeps ballooning while gun proliferation remains rampant. U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday depicted gun violence in the country as "an epidemic" and "an international embarrassment," highlighting a chronic human rights crisis that has reached epidemic proportions and long blighted the United States. Over the last few weeks, the country witnessed mass shootings occur nearly back-to-back in Orange, California, Boulder, Colorado, the Atlanta area in Georgia and Central Texas. As of April 7, 11,535 Americans were killed by gun violence this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. Last year, the number of gun violence death topped 435,000, including nearly 300 children, more than any other year in at least two decades. Although Washington has largely rejected being held accountable for the ravaging crisis, its failure to protect its citizens from gun violence has been constantly reviewed and bombarded by international human rights bodies including the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The "right to life, liberty and security of person" is codified in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Life" also comes before "liberty and the pursuit of happiness" among the three unalienable rights enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. College student Jennifer Estrada takes part in a rally for gun control and anti-racism, in El Paso of Texas, the United States, on Aug. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) However, for decades, Washington has failed to live up to the legal promises made to its people. The right to bear arms too often trumps the right to life as a result of powerful lobbying by interest groups such as the National Rifle Association, erecting a major barricade to gun control legislation. Multiple complex legal, political and cultural factors lead to the high rate of gun violence in the United States. The most conspicuous one is that guns are unreasonably easy to get in the country. Gun control advocates even lamented that it's "easier to buy a gun than to register to vote" in the United States, which bills itself as a champion of freedom and human rights. As a consequence, gun proliferation has been appalling. With less than 5 percent of the world's population, the United States owns 46 percent of the global civilian-owned guns, according to a report by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey. In 2020, industry data and firearms background checks show that nearly 23 million guns were purchased in the country, up by 65 percent from the previous year, according to U.S. consulting firm Small Arms Analytics. A more underlying reason for the deteriorating gun violence in the United States is that the government makes little effort to address the root causes -- racism, poverty and lack of access to education. Specifically, eight people were shot dead at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area in March, of whom six were Asians, stoking fears over rising hate crimes against Asian-Americans. Meanwhile, the country's public divide on gun control has revealed the cavernous gap between rural and urban Americans. Many of the supporters for gun ownership take hunting and fishing as a way of life in states with large rural populations, while for many in coastal cities, owning guns is unacceptable. Crosses with names of victims are placed near the Walmart center where a massive shooting took place, in El Paso of Texas, the United States, on Aug. 5, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) Unfortunately, gun control legislations are extremely hard to get through the U.S. Congress due to partisan politics and the influence of interests groups. The hot-button issue has for decades been a major point of contention between Democrats and Republicans. The GOP favors gun-owners' rights, arguing that gun laws will not keep people safe, but rather take away the rights of law-abiding citizens. In contrast, Democrats contend that gun laws will make a difference, saving people's lives and preventing firearms from getting into the hands of the wrong people. Last month, the House of Representatives approved a pair of bills aimed at expanding and strengthening background checks for gun buyers. Though widely popular with voters, the measures were expected to face strong GOP opposition in the Senate. Biden, who campaigned on the issue of curtailing gun violence, is expected to proceed with piecemeal regulations through executive orders or tucking them into the massive infrastructure bill that is now taking shape in Washington. Yet gun control advocates maintained that Washington's measures on gun control are far from enough. Without the right to life, it is impossible to enjoy other rights. The U.S. government has clear and urgent obligations to tackle gun violence. Effective gun control is more about whether Washington has adequate political will and moral courage to take all measures necessary to protect people from gun violence. As Biden has said, "Enough prayers. Time for some action." And for real action. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) WARNING: The video above contains content some people may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. ONEONTA, N.Y. Security video has surfaced online of the fatal officer-involved shooting in Oneonta, showing the 12 seconds between police arriving to the scene and the shooting of 23-year-old Tyler Green, as well as the aftermath. Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl verified the video, which was caught on the neighbor's security camera. The video shows the events leading up to the fatal shooting on April 6, when Green was shot by Sgt. Ralph Pajerski after threatening a woman and a child with a knife. The video shows Pajerski and another officer arriving to the scene at 1:14 p.m. When Green saw police, he lunged toward the woman, wielding a knife, saying Ill [expletive] kill her. Pajerski and the second responding officer both drew their weapons, and Pajerski can be heard saying drop it, drop the knife, drop it! Green continued to go after the woman, but tripped and fell forward, grabbing the womans leg and swiping at it with the knife, causing the woman to drop the toddler and fall backward. Pajerski told Green to drop the knife, and can be seen trying to kick it out of his hand while hes on the ground. Then Green lunged forward while on the ground, grabbing the child by the leg while still holding the knife in the other hand. Thats when Pajerski shot Green twice in the chest. Green still had the knife in hand, and could be heard screaming You [expletive] shot me! Pajerski told Green to drop the knife multiple times before he finally did. Pajerski then kicked the knife away from Green, and ordered him to lie on his stomach and put his hands behind his back. Green complied, and Pajerski placed handcuffs on him, as backup arrived to the scene. Green was airlifted to Albany Medical Center, where he later died. Pajerski and the second responding officer were out of work for at least one day. Acting Oneonta police chief, Lt. C.J. Witzenburg says both have returned to administrative duty. Witzenburg released a statement on April 9, saying I am confident based on my training and experience that the Office of Special Investigations will clear up any doubt that this response was appropriate, logical, reasonable and necessary as the law requires. The New York State Attorney Generals Office is investigating the shooting. NEWSChannel 2 has left a message with the AGs office, and is awaiting a call back. According to Green's obituary, he was born in Cooperstown and served in the Army National Guard. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday in Oneonta. South Africa: Dlodlo vows to rid State Security of corruption State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo has reiterated the State Security Agencys determination to fight corruption from within its ranks. Dlodlo made the commitment in a statement in which she also expressed encouragement at the prosecution of staff who allegedly defrauded the Agency. This comes after two State Security Agency officials appeared in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court on various charges of fraud and corruption. This follows a series of internal investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by officials in the agency, said the Ministry of State Security in a statement on Friday. The Minister vowed that all reported transgressions and wrongdoing, even by those not mentioned in the testimonies at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry, were being investigated and would be prosecuted without fail. Earlier, the Minister had announced the appointment of a firm to conduct forensic investigations into these allegations but the firm has since withdrawn from the appointment. She said despite the withdrawal, her office is determined in its mission to cleanse the Agency. I am pleased that we on our own have been able to successfully investigate and report some of these corrupt activities in the agency, she said. A fresh process is underway to procure a service provider to conduct forensic investigations. The process to appoint a new service provider to conduct these forensic investigations will be expedited so that we do not lose the momentum in our collaboration with law enforcement agencies such as the hawks in these investigations, said Dlodlo. The Minister reassured the country that despite what is in the public domain, a great deal of work is underway to repurpose the organisation so that it meets its Constitutional mandate to safeguard the integrity of the Republic. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-04-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Coronavirus-infected Brits can now be prescribed inhalers on the NHS after experts found a commonly used asthma drug can help patients recover faster. Budesonide will be the first treatment specifically for Covid patients to take at home all other medical breakthroughs so far have been for hospital use. Thirty-two per cent of over-50s who tested positive and were given large doses of the steroid recovered within two weeks, trial data showed. This compared to just 22 per cent of people who weren't given the inhaler. Oxford University academics said recovery time was three days shorter, on average. Professor Richard Hobbs, one of the experts running the study, called the discovery a 'significant milestone for this pandemic'. Budesonide inhalers will not immediately become standard care for Covid patients but NHS doctors will be able to prescribe them 'off-label' to over-65s or at risk over-50s, if they want to. Experts say the drug could work with a 'dual effect', stopping swelling in the airways to make it easier to breathe and also damaging the virus so it can't spread as well. Researchers gave the 15 inhaler to 961 people who were over 65 or 50-64 with a long-term health condition. They did not include anyone who takes budesonide normally to treat something else. It was not clear from this study whether budesonide can reduce hospital admissions, deaths or long Covid. A trial of the steroid found that 32 per cent of over-50s who took large doses of it after testing positive had recovered within two weeks. This compared to just 22 per cent of people in the same category who weren't given the inhaler, and the scientists said recovery time was three days shorter on average The study used a version of budesonide sold by AstraZeneca, which also makes Oxford's Covid vaccine, but there are numerous manufactures of the drug including Orion Pharma and Mylan that already supply the NHS Professor Gail Hayward, who worked on the trial and also works as a GP, said: 'This is the first time a treatment has been shown to be beneficial for patients in the community and the majority of patients with Covid are in the community... 'For the first time in this pandemic I now have evidence for a treatment to offer my patients at home. 'If I was trying to think of a treatment for the community it needs to be relatively cheap, easy to use and have few side effects budesonide has all of these.' Budesonide is already prescribed in the UK for people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). When inhaled it is usually given in doses ranging from 100 to 800 micrograms twice a day. The drug was prescribed around 3.8million times on the NHS in 2019. People with Covid in the trial took the maximum dose recommended by UK medical chiefs, inhaling 1,600mcg per day in four 400mcg doses two in the morning and two in the evening. Professor Chris Butler, who was in charge of the study, said: 'We were charged with finding treatments that could be widely available, safe and scalable. 'Theres a wide array of manufacturers of this, it's side-effect free, and it's very easy to use.' The study used a version of budesonide sold by AstraZeneca, which also makes Oxford's Covid vaccine, but there are numerous manufactures of the drug including Orion Pharma and Mylan that already supply the NHS. WHAT IS BUDESONIDE? Budesonide is a drug most commonly taken through an inhaler to treat asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is a corticosteroid, which means it reduces swelling inside the body and helps control immune reactions. In the lungs, swelling can make it difficult to breathe and cause coughing. Budesonide can open up the airways to relieve these symptoms. The drug is cheap and widely used. It costs around 15 for one inhaler. It was prescribed around 3.8million times in England in 2019, according to NHS data. People generally use the inhaler twice a day when they are having active treatment, with doses typically ranging from 100 to 800 micrograms. Budesonide does not generally cause side effects. The NHS says: 'With inhaled budesonide very little medicine gets into the rest of your body, so it's unlikely to give you side effects.' It may cause a sore or dry throat or oral thrush when it is inhaled, but these are not serious and easily treated. It is generally safe to use budesonide during pregnancy. People should check with a doctor or pharmacist before using budesonide if they are taking other long-term medicines, particularly other corticosteroids. Sources: NHS and NICE Advertisement Professor Hayward, said that, with approval from the Department of Health, treatment could be as simple as sending them to patients on prescription if they are suffering from Covid symptoms. This has not yet been granted but doctors will be allowed by NHS chiefs to prescribe inhalers 'off-label' to Covid patients, meaning the drug is used for something it's not officially approved for. Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England's National Medical Director, said: 'We are delighted to see these trial results for a medicine that could help people with Covid-19 recover more quickly at home instead of being admitted to hospital. 'While we await final trial results, GPs may wish to consider prescribing inhaled budesonide where there is a medical benefit to patients following a shared decision conversation.' The trial was the largest Covid clinical study done outside of a hospital anywhere in the world to date. It involved 1,779 people, with 751 given the inhalers when they tested positive and 1,028 people given 'standard NHS care', which usually does not include medication. People reported their own symptoms and described their health, and people using budesonide tended to say they had recovered three days earlier than the other group. And there were more people from the inhaler group who were classed as 'sustained recovery' symptom-free after two weeks and no relapse within a month of starting treatment. Almost a third of people in the budesonide group went into sustained recovery (32 per cent) compared to one in five in the non-inhaler group (22 per cent). Some 8.5 per cent of people using the inhalers were admitted to hospital or died after contracting Covid, compared to 10.3 per cent of people without them. Although experts said there appeared to be a lower risk of hospitalisation or death, they said it was 'not clear' from this study alone because there wasn't enough data. The figures did not separate deaths and hospitalisations. People who did not appear in either the recovery or hospitalisation group within 28 days are assumed to have been sick for longer or to have relapsed after initial recovery. Explaining how budesonide works, Oxford's Professor Mona Bafadhel said that it reduces swelling, known as inflammation, in the airways, which can reduce the breathing difficulties and coughing this is what it is used for in asthma patients. She explained that it can also slow down the virus's reproduction, making the infection progress less slowly so buying the immune system time to fight it. And she added that it reduces the availability of specific receptors called ACE-2 receptors, which act as gateways for the virus to get into the body. Less of these means there are fewer opportunities for more viruses to enter. Professor Bafadhel told a briefing: 'What we know with inhaled budesonide is that it works at the site where SARS-CoV-2 is likely to be causing its biggest effect. 'Corticosteroids are widely known to reduce inflammation and thats known from studies of other viruses... 'In the lab theyve reduced the viral replication of SARS-CoV-2 specifically and we also know inhaled corticosteroids reduce expression of the ACE-2 receptor, and thats an important receptor for SARS-CoV-2. 'The findings are something we should be excited about.' The study will be published online at medRxiv. For the select retail locations that will begin to offer COVID-19 vaccinations on April 14, appointments will start to become available for booking on Tuesday, April 13, as stores receive shipments of vaccine. Vaccines at participating CVS Pharmacy locations in Arkansas will be administered to individuals meeting state criteria, as well as K-12 teachers and staff and childcare workers. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app, and people without online access can contact CVS customer service: (800) 746-7287. Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment will not be provided. "We're proud to play a part in increasing access to the vaccine to as many people as possible to enable reopening efforts in the communities we serve," said Neela Montgomery, President of CVS Pharmacy and Executive Vice President, CVS Health. "Feedback on every aspect of the vaccination process has been incredibly positive, from the digital experience to interacting with our team of health care professionals whose incredible efforts are helping to move us one step closer towards a healthier post-COVID world." There is no cost for the vaccine to patients with insurance or through the federal Health Resources and Services Administration program for uninsured patients. The new CVS Pharmacy locations are in the following Arkansas communities: Bella Vista, Bryant, Conway, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Paragould, Rogers, and Sherwood. As of April 14, subject to supply, CVS Health will be administering vaccines at over 6,000 CVS Pharmacy stores across 49 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., with 70% of the U.S. population within 5 miles of these locations. The pace of vaccinations is expected to accelerate as more supply becomes available through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program and as the CDC's new vaccine eligibility plan is implemented, which will guarantee all U.S. adults to be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine beginning on April 19. CVS Pharmacy has the capacity to administer up to 25 million shots per month. Multimedia assets, including b-roll and still photography from long-term care facility and in-store COVID-19 vaccinations, are available here. More information on steps CVS Health has taken to address the pandemic is available at the company's frequently updated COVID-19 resource center. About CVS Health CVS Health is a different kind of health care company. We are a diversified health services company with nearly 300,000 employees united around a common purpose of helping people on their path to better health. In an increasingly connected and digital world, we are meeting people wherever they are and changing health care to meet their needs. Built on a foundation of unmatched community presence, our diversified model engages one in three Americans each year. From our innovative new services at HealthHUB locations, to transformative programs that help manage chronic conditions, we are making health care more accessible, more affordable, and simply better. Learn more about how we're transforming health at www.cvshealth.com . Media Contact: Stephanie Blank 917.593.2907 [email protected] SOURCE CVS Health [April 12, 2021] Green Dot Bioplastics Celebrates a Decade of Sustainability EMPORIA, Kan., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bioplastic material science company Green Dot Bioplastics, Inc. celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month. Celebrating a decade of sustainability. In 2011, Green Dot Bioplastics launched with a single product - the world's first biodegradable elastomeric rubber, Terratek Flex. Located in the heart of the scenic Kansas Flint Hills, the company's mission to create a new generation of plastic supports a biobased economy. Bilding on the success of Terratek Flex, ten years later Green Dot Bioplastics has expanded to include a full-scale production facility, a development lab, and a robust catalog of sustainable products including biocomposites, biodegradables, elastomers, and natural fiber reinforced polymers. Since disrupting the plastics market with a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based soft plastic, Green Dot Bioplastics quickly built a reputation for cost-competitive, high-performance biobased and compostable resins using the latest science and innovative techniques. Manufacturers and product designers around the world have created everything from surfboards to toys to wearable fashion to 3D printer filament from Green Dot's sustainable resins. Reflecting on a decade of innovation and growth, CEO Mark Remmert said, "I always say the last century belonged to cheap, petroleum-based hydrocarbons, and this century will belong to a vast array of bio based raw materials. It's coming true!" Green Dot Bioplastics enters its second decade with the introduction of two new product categories, launching in 2021. To support the next phase of advancement in bioplastics, the company is expanding capacity and adding new staff members to a team dedicated to closing the gap to a more sustainable future. About Green Dot Bioplastics, Inc. Green Dot Bioplastics, Inc is a bioscience social enterprise headquartered in Emporia, Kansas. A full-service bioplastics company, Green Dot is dedicated to delivering the very best of sustainable materials to our customers. That's the thinking behind our Terratek line of bioplastics, developed to meet the growing demand for biobased and compostable materials with fewer of the drawbacks associated with traditional plastics. Copyright 2021 Green Dot Bioplastics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/green-dot-bioplastics-celebrates-a-decade-of-sustainability-301266667.html SOURCE Green Dot Bioplastics, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Ramadan begins on Tuesday based on the lunar calendar, but if the new moon is not physically seen on the night of the 12th, many orthodox observers wont start fasting until the 14th. Every day for 30 days, Muslims who are able will begin their fast before sunrise with the traditional early morning meal called sehri, and break fast with a sunset meal known as iftar. The fast can last from 10 to 21 hours depending on where you live in the world. In most parts of the United States, its about 15 to 16 hours. (No, not even water) New Delhi, April 12 : The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Monday said that it has arrested four people and seized 30.5 lakh doses of psychotropic drugs, 70,000 codeine based cough syrups (CBCS) and 14.895 kg amphetamine drug. The drug law enforcement agency Deputy Director (Operations) KPS Malhotra said, "The NCB launched a special drive against psychotropic drugs trafficking and the operation which is currently underway has led to a seizure of 30.5 lakhs of psychotropic drugs, 70,000 codeine based cough syrups (CBCS) and 14.895 kg amphetamine drug and arrest of four persons." Malhotra said that raids were conducted in various parts of Delhi, NCR, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He said that this module has a modus operandi of getting the orders through the darknet market host and the same are delivered through the dedicated shippers to create anonymity between the receiver of the order and logistic persons. "Working on the specific input that a trafficking network is involved in exportation of psychotropic drugs from India to various parts of world, a few consignments were seized and the same were backtracked," he said. The NCB officer said during investigation, it was discovered that the shippers are primarily based in Delhi NCR and are using fake identities. "Based on the backtrack investigation, one of the shippers K. Aggarwal, a resident of Agra, was identified and was arrested. He disclosed that he gets his drugs from one of the suppliers in Agra. Based on his interrogation and technical evidence, A. Goyal was arrested from Agra. The arrest of Goyal led to a startling fact that they are getting the psychotropic drugs from a Haridwar based pharmaceutical company, which is involved in legal production and in that garb, is diverting these psychotropic drugs to these traffickers," he said. Malhotra added that a raid was conducted at Haridwar at the premises of the pharmaceutical company and its distribution centre based in Agra. A total of 34 seizures were affected from this syndicate leading to a cumulative figure of 30.5 lakh of psychotropic drugs, 70,000 codeine based cough syrups and 14.895 kg amphetamine, he said. Malhotra said that besides Aggarwal and Goyal, the NCB also arrested Som Dutt, a resident of Narela in Delhi and Manish a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Ballia. The NCB officer said that Aggarwal is a graduate and is engaged in the illicit trade for the last two-three years, while Goyal is a school dropout and used to run a medicine shop while Dutt is pursuing his B.A through distance learning and started providing logistics to the syndicate about two years back. Citing the role of Manish, the officer said he has completed his graduation and used to run a grocery shop. To earn quick money, he started trafficking psychotropic drugs, the officer said. He also said that earlier in an operation, the NCB seized a significant number of psychotropic drugs i.e. 56 lakh psychotropic medicines from Ghaziabad. "In this regard, four accused persons were arrested. The mastermind H. Singh had taken the distribution license in the name of M. Yadav, who was paid a monthly remuneration," Malhotra said. The operations were looked after by H. Singh. They were involved in diversion of the psychotropic drugs from the legal distribution channel towards the illicit channel. The destinations of the psychotropic drugs were Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Malhotra said that the syndicate is inter-connected to various other syndicates also. He said that last year in the darknet vendor case, one Mausam aka Kashmir was arrested, who revealed about his other associates. "The gang members were using darknet to maintain their anonymity. Dutt who has been arrested was earlier associated with Mausam." Malhotra said that Dutt is one of the prominent shippers of the syndicates and used the Indian Postal Services for sending the consignments to the USA and the UK, using fraudulently obtained IDs. "Dutt used to procure psychotropic medicines from one Manish, whose consignments were earlier seized," he added. Malhotra said that a psychotropic drug like Tramadol comes under the category of synthetic opioids and is used in the treatment of moderate to severe pain. COLUMBUS, Ohio Public health is a topic that has inspired little passion -- until the coronavirus pandemic hit Ohio and exposed cracks in the system. Since the pandemic began, state leaders, public health officials and regular Ohioans have learned numerous lessons about responding to a health crisis that spreads to other aspects of society, including the economy and education. But the state could have learned so much more if it would have had the data. Data collection and distribution in Ohio has been a challenge since the beginning of the pandemic, from contact tracing, to user-friendly vaccine information, to real-time information about how minorities are affected to better communication among information technology systems. The data thats supposed to be collected, maintained and analyzed by the states public health officials has simply failed to show a complete picture of the outbreak. Public health experts say not enough money has been spent on public health in Ohio which likely has resulted in an insufficient number of workers to collect dataand to improve Ohios computing power to bring disparate bits of information from across the state together for health workers to analyze and respond to. In normal times, pre-COVID, public health data systems? Not a sexy topic, said Amy Bush Stevens, a vice president at the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. Nobody really cared, so there has been very little investment in data infrastructure and then the workforce, to make that work and make those connections. Gov. Mike DeWine recently lamented to the Washington Post about the problem. Having good data in real time is vitally important because we now have the ability to reach people in real time, through the Internet, through the 24-hour news cycle, he said. But many times our data isnt as good as our ability to get it out, or not as timely as our ability to get it out. The Health Policy Institute of Ohio, a research organization in Columbus that was founded by a group of health care foundations, found that Ohio ranks near the bottom nationally 48th of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. in public health spending per person in 2019, the year with the most recent data. Ohio spends $14 per resident, as opposed to Washington, D.C., which spends $363 a resident. South Dakota ranks at 25th highest, spending $35 a resident. Compound the low spending with aging computer systems, and the problem with the states ability to manage data becomes clearer. At two decades old, Ohios infectious disease reporting database is antiquated. It was due to be replaced around the time the coronavirus arrived. State officials felt that a pandemic wasnt the right time to unveil a new computer system, to which local health departments send information, since workers were so busy. As the pandemic began winding down, DeWine sent budget recommendations to the legislature that include $25 million to streamline data systems across the Ohio Department of Health and among other state agencies to better work with each other, said ODH spokeswoman Alicia Shoults. Programs that have been developed over time may not communicate well with one another, or have built-in integrations, and a more universal, streamlined enterprise approach will allow for easier data flow across the various programs and divisions within the Ohio Department of Health, she said. The department envisions collaborating, for instance, between environmental health at state and local levels and disease surveillance to support future pandemic preparedness, she said. Right now, the coronavirus case and death data put out by some counties is reported differently than what the state reports. Another idea for data integration could include case management in environmental health alongside other child development programs, Shoults said. Whether this means enhancing the current infectious disease reporting system or scrapping it for a new one is part of an analysis that the departments IT officials began in January with other state agencies. The plan is to complete it in May so the department can move quickly once the legislature enacts the budget, which is expected at the end of June. As the analysis continues, public health experts described the following deficiencies in coronavirus data in Ohio. Ohio lacks fast, thorough and centralized contact tracing. In this Aug. 5, 2020 file photo, Maryama Diaw, a contact tracer with New York City's Health + Hospitals, sets up a remote calling system at her home before reaching out to potential patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)AP Photo/John Minchillo, File Local health departments in Ohio are largely responsible for contact tracing, which is the task of reaching out to people who have become infected to identify others they may have come into contact with, with the ultimate goal of preventing the spread of the virus. It can involve testing contacts for the infection, isolating them and treating them if they have the virus -- and tracing their contacts in turn. Data gathered from contact tracing can provide insights into how people contracted the virus. Local health departments fell behind when cases surged, sometimes by days or weeks, according to a review of coronavirus data management by Auditor Keith Fabers office. Furthermore, many local health departments experienced backlogs of following up on positive test results because some laboratories were emailing and faxing COVID-19 test results, which required manual input into the system, Fabers team found. These problems made it challenging for epidemiologists to query coronavirus contact tracing data to make high-level conclusions -- such as whether certain places are hotspots, or if a get-together became a super spreader event. Numerous times in the last year, bars and restaurants have been blamed for COVID-19 spread. Yet because there is such scant statewide contact tracing data, bar owners have challenged the state to show the evidence that their businesses were worse than others. Ohio never utilized mobile device contact tracing apps. Apple and Google developed an exposure notification app for iPhone and Android devices. Several states, including Virginia, Utah and California, use it, and other states -- such as Nevada, Arizona, South Dakota and Wyoming -- used the technology to power their own apps. In states that use it, a person who tests positive can opt to anonymously share that diagnosis through a QR code or number from the states health authority. The app keeps a 14-day log of peoples whereabouts, and will notify other users in the system if theyve been potentially exposed. Ohio has not used a contact tracing app, due to privacy concerns and equity for people who dont have smartphones, said Dan Tierney, DeWines spokesman. In addition, there is the potential for low participation in digital contact tracing, as it requires self-selection such as installing the app enabling the proper items, Tierney said. Contact tracing is really about getting in touch with individuals who have been exposed and providing them with the resources they need and Ohio health departments have been able to continue to do that with expanded contact tracers statewide. The states vaccine signup website rolled out relatively late, and still required people to search for many appointments outside of the system. Ohio is paying at least $3.6 million to Accenture to develop and maintain gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. It went live March 8, even though the first coronavirus vaccines arrived in Ohio on Dec. 14. When DeWine announced Ohio was developing a centralized signup system in February, several states already had centralized signup systems live, including New York, Minnesota and Indiana. By the time Ohios signup went live, most vaccine providers already had developed signup systems and didnt integrate them with the states Get the Shot website. This includes large private-sector vaccine providers, including Walgreens, Walmart, Kroger, Giant Eagle, most hospital systems and even some public-sector providers, such as the Cleveland Department of Public Health. A spokesman for the governor had said that the state had expected Ohioans to use a vaccine signup that was designed by the federal government, but due to a number of issues with that system, it had to develop its own, which took time. Ohio Rep. Allison Russo, a Columbus-area Democrat who works as a health care consultant outside the legislature, found the states Get the Shot website to be lacking, especially because it doesnt have a mapping feature to help people schedule vaccines farther away from home if nearby providers dont have availability. The states Get the Shot website only lets people search within 20 miles of their homes, then they have to type in the names of surrounding towns and search for appointments again. More handy, Russo said, is vaccinateoh.org. A screenshot from the VaccinateOH.org website. Unlike the state's website, there is a mapping feature on this one, developed by volunteers. The site was developed by Cant Stop Columbus, a community-wide movement that seeks to address problems that have arisen due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The site shows providers statewide -- in some cases it even shows if a provider has open appointments -- and it didnt cost taxpayers a dime. The state hasnt collected enough racial and ethnic data to precisely identify disparities and address them in a targeted manner. In this April 2020, file photo, people wait for a distribution of masks and food from the Rev. Al Sharpton in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. In Ohio, in many instances the race and ethnicity of people testing positive, being vaccinated and other data isn't recorded. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File Concerning to Russo the lawmaker whose work has given her insight into care delivery for seniors, vulnerable populations, veterans and military families is the incomplete racial and ethnic data the state has collected on coronavirus patients. Across the country and in Ohio, with the limited data available, disparities have been found among minority groups getting COVID-19 at disproportionately higher rates than whites. Black Ohioans have received disproportionately fewer vaccines than whites. DeWine has tried to close the gaps by making testing available at clinics that serve minority populations. He has steered mobile vaccine clinics to senior housing and other areas where they live. Last year, he created the Governors Minority Health Strike Force to look at disparities and find solutions. But it was criticized as moving too slowly to swoop in and address disparities in real time. We dont do a good job of looking at race and ethnicity in understanding its impact within our communities, Russo said. We dont have good data collection in that space. In the forms for new coronavirus cases, workers can check races and ethnicities that describe the patient, but at times during the pandemic, the information was missing 20% to 40% of the time. There isnt as much racial and ethnic data for cases and vaccines as there is for deaths, said Bush Stevens, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio vice president, who assisted the Minority Health Strike Force in its work. We continue to be concerned about the percent of cases that are unknown, she said. When you compare Ohio to other states, there are other states that have even less disaggregated data than we do I just want to acknowledge that but we think its important to always be improving that. Generally, Ohio doesnt provide race and ethnicity data consistently across state government. For instance, the health departments set of racial and ethnic groups differs from Ohio Medicaids, said Zach Reat, the Health Policy Institutes director of data management and analysis. Theres not that uniformity, which would allow us to look across systems and identify those issues where we really need to be putting our resources, he said. Ohio lacks electronic records that talk to each other across different health care systems. Stephanie Alvarez, an assistant nurse manager in New Jersey, shows her COVID-19 vaccination record card in December (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal) Communication among different health care systems is falling behind in Ohio, at a time when electronic medical records are becoming the norm. John Corlett, president of the Cleveland-based Center for Community Solutions, used an example in his personal life. He got vaccinated at CVS. Meantime, MetroHealth, the hospital system he uses, continues to send him emails telling him hes now eligible for the shot and he needs to schedule an appointment. His primary care physician and others at MetroHealth do not know hes vaccinated. Theres no communication, said Corlett. And the only one who has probably most of these records would be the federal government because theyre paying for almost all of it. The federal or state government needs to start mandating and assisting with such communication, he said. Ohio needs to have a discussion about public health laws and jurisdiction. Ohios 113 public health departments are autonomous. Theyre independent from the local governments that comprise their territory, which lets them make public health policy decisions based on the circumstances of the areas where they serve, according Fabers audit of the Ohio Department Health. The local health departments also are separate from the Ohio Department of Health. The local departments are required to send certain information to ODH about public health trends and reportable diseases. But otherwise, state law limits ODH to a role of coordination instead of authority. This can be a problem when an overwhelmed local health department is investigating cases. ODH is constrained in its ability to intervene with, for instance, contact tracing, the audit said. Fabers office concluded that the state needs to discuss whether this setup is effective. Corlett said that local health departments, through work such as restaurant inspections, infant mortality work and clean air, know their communities well and should be involved in public health policy. The auditor raises an interesting point around looking at how the systems are structured to see whether there could become legislative reform in terms of how they operate and operate with each other, he said. Going forward: Ohio needs benchmarks, accountability and transparency to gauge public health performance. As the state receives more money for public health, due to the American Rescue Plan recently passed by Congress, there needs to be accountability to ensure Ohio is improving in its delivery of public health services, Corlett said. The American Rescue Plan provides almost $93 billion nationwide for public health for the pandemic including money for testing, contract tracing, genome sequencing, data modernization and forecasting. Corlett, a former Ohio Medicaid director, said the public could benefit from information showing how long it takes for a health department to initiate contact tracing when notified that someone has tested positive, for instance. Either the federal or state government needs to start mandating and assisting with such communication, he said. DeWine has said a number of times that he understands why people are frustrated with the lack of data. We have ignored as a people -- Democrats, Republicans -- ignored public health, he said. Weve got to stop ignoring public health. This ought to be a real wake up call for us. Advertisement Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as looting and violent protests raged in a Minneapolis suburb overnight after officers shot dead a 20-year-old black man during a traffic stop less than 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed. The National Guard was called in and a curfew was imposed to quell angry demonstrations over the shooting death of Daunte Wright on Sunday in the Brooklyn Center neighborhood. The unrest came just hours before the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, was set to resume in a courtroom on Monday. Police have released few details about the fatal shooting. They said officers tried to arrest Wright after pulling him and his girlfriend over for a traffic violation at about 2pm on Sunday before realizing he had an outstanding warrant. Officers say that as they tried to arrest him, Wright got back in his car and drove off. An officer fired at the vehicle, striking Wright, but he continued driving for several blocks before hitting another car. Police have not said if Wright was armed or explained yet why they opened fire. Wright's mother says he called her in the moments before to say police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror. It is illegal in Minnesota to have anything hanging from a rear-view mirror. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Scroll down for video Daunte Wright, 20, was shot by a Brooklyn Center police officer on Sunday during a traffic stop. Police said they realized he had an outstanding warrant when they pulled him over for a traffic violation. Wright is pictured with his son, who is one Protestors and City of Brooklyn Center Police Officers clash outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday night The National Guard was called in to calm the chaos and a curfew was imposed to quell angry demonstrations over the shooting death of Daunte Wright on Sunday in the Brooklyn Center neighborhood Protestors rush to help a man who was injured after being shot with a rubber bullet by police during a protest on Sunday night Officers take cover as they clash with protesters after an officer shot and killed a black man in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis on Sunday Men jump on the hood of a police car after a family said a man was shot and killed by law enforcement on Sunday Officers stand guard outside Brooklyn Center Police Department with trash thrown at them by demonstrators Protesters shout 'Don't shoot' while kneeling and raising their arms in front of a line of police officers outside the police station Police say both officers' body cameras were on and recording during the incident. The state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it was investigating the shooting. Wright's mother, Katie Wright, said he called her while he was being pulled over to get insurance information for the vehicle because she recently gave the car to him. She said he told her he had been pulled over because he had air fresheners hanging from his rear-view mirror. Police have only said they pulled Wright over for a traffic violation but have not yet given details. Describing the call, Wright's mother said: 'I said when the police officer comes back to the window, put him on the phone and I will give him the insurance information. 'Then I heard the police officer come to the window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car.' And Wright said 'why'. He said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car.'' 'A minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered, who was the passenger in the car, and said that he'd been shot and she put it on the driver's side, and he was laying there lifeless,' Katie told gathered media on Sunday afternoon. 'I heard scuffling, and I heard police officers say, 'Daunte, don't run,'' she said through tears. The call ended, and she dialed his number again. His girlfriend answered and said he was dead in the driver's seat. Wright's mother huddled with loved ones near the scene of the fatal shooting and pleaded for her son's body to be removed from the street in the hours that followed, the Star Tribune reports. A Brooklyn Center police officer told people at the scene that the victim's body could not be moved until members of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, arrived and investigated. Police officers in riot gear fire tear gas in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Station as people gather to protest after a police officer shot and killed Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota People run as police attempt to disperse the crowd at the Brooklyn Center Police Department A demonstrator is helped by others after being injured by a tear-gas bomb in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Station The National Guard, already deployed to manage the anticipated public response to the George Floyd trial, were sent to Brooklyn Center following the shooting Protesters confront police officers after an officer shot and killed a man in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday Police officers stand in line in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Station where 100 to 200 protesters gathered on Sunday night A man falls to the ground in agony after being shot by a rubber bullet as protesters clashed with police Looters also targeted the Brooklyn Center Walmart and nearby shopping mall as night fell Wright's mother Katie claimed her son, pictured, had called her while being pulled over to get insurance information for the vehicle having recently been given the car as a gift. She suggested her son was pulled over for having an air freshener hanging from rear view mirror Officers pulled over Wright for a traffic violation and determined that he had an outstanding warrant. Wright drove off but was shot. He's pictured with an unidentified baby in an undated photograph As news of Wright's death traveled, about 100 people, some visibly upset and one carrying a sign demanding 'Justice for George Floyd,' confronted police in riot gear. Protests started peacefully, according to eyewitness reports, but soon turned unruly, with demonstrators vandalizing two police vehicles, pelting them with stones and jumping on them. Wright's mother urged for calm, telling protesters: 'All the violence, if it keeps going it's only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason. We need to make sure it's about him and not about smashing police cars, because that's not going to bring my son back.' As the evening went on, more people took to the streets and looting broke out in other parts of the city, including at a Walmart, as tensions boiled over in scenes all-too-familiar from last summer's protest and subsequent riots. Police were seen firing tear gas to disperse angry demonstrators protesting the killing and National Guard troops were on the scene just before midnight local time as looters broke into some 20 businesses. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott announced a city-wide curfew until 6am local time (11:00 GMT), while all school buildings have been closed and local events set for Monday cancelled. 'We want to make sure everyone is safe. Please be safe and please go home,' he tweeted. A woman who was tear gassed while confronting police raises her arms outside Brooklyn Center Police Department Police officers in riot gear fire tear gas in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Station as people gather to protest People hold up their hands as a crowd gathers at the Brooklyn Center Police Department Protesters hold blankets to protect themselves from tear gas in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Station Protestors face off with a line of police officers in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Station A protestor throws a trash bag in front of a line of police officers during a protest on Sunday night Members of the National Guard stand watch as protesters leave the Brooklyn Center Police Station on Sunday following the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright Officers said they pulled over a driver for a traffic violation and determined that the driver had an outstanding warrant, the Brooklyn Center Police Department said in a statement Protestors link arms in a show of strength in Brooklyn Center near Minneapolis Protesters later walked to the Brooklyn Center police headquarters near 67th Avenue North and North Humboldt Avenue and were locked in a standoff with police in riot gear late on Sunday night Police push forward in a line outside the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on Sunday as protests raged over the killing of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop As the crowds started to become more agitated, police fired rubber bullets, hitting at least two people in the crowd, with at least one man left bleeding from the head. After nightfall, 100 to 200 of protesters had gathered outside the suburban police department, which was guarded by hundreds of officers in riot gear. Outside the police building people chanted, 'Black lives they matter here,' and 'Hands up, don't shoot,' Police set off flash bangs and sprayed chemical irritants at the crowd. Protesters yelled angrily at a line of police in riot gear holding long batons in front of them. National Guard troops arrived on the scene just before midnight. Looters also targeted the Brooklyn Center Walmart and nearby shopping mall. John Harrington, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said at a middle-of-the-night news conference that marchers had descended upon the Brooklyn Center Police Department building after the Sunday afternoon shooting. Rocks and other objects were thrown at officers but the protesters had largely dispersed as of 1:15 a.m. Monday, he said. Harrington added that about 20 businesses had been broken into at the city's Shingle Creek shopping center. He said law enforcement agencies were coordinating to tame the unrest, and the National Guard was activated. Authorities work the scene at the site of the shooting before protesters gathered In a statement, Brooklyn Center police said officers had pulled over Wright for a traffic violation, without giving details of the specific alleged violation A crowd control munition is seen on the ground outside Brooklyn Center Police department after protests began over the fatal shooting of a man by police As news spread, people gathered to protest in Brooklyn Center, just outside of Minneapolis, where the shooting occurred Family and friends of Daunte Wright, 20, grieve at 63rd Avenue North and Lee Avenue North hours after they say he was shot and killed by police, in Brooklyn Cente. Wright's mother, Katie Wright, stands in the center A person confronts a police officer near the site where a family said a man was shot and killed by police in Brooklyn Center Sunday's fresh outrage came as Twin Cities officials and law enforcement are already on edge A man receives medical attention after getting shot in the head with a rubber bullet during a protest Mayah Varnado, right, is embraced by Olivia Williams as Varnado was overcome with emotion at 63rd Avenue North and Lee Avenue North, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota A woman confronts police officers standing in line as protesters gather after an officer reportedly shot and killed a black man Friends and family comfort Katie Wright, right, while she speaks briefly to news media near where the family says her son Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and killed by police on Sunday People stand near crime scene tape in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Law enforcement has already been bracing for unrest in the area with tensions running high A man can be seen jumping on the hood of a Brooklyn Center patrol car Family and friends, foreground, of Daunte Wright, 20, mourn Sunday People march in protest Sunday in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The family of Daunte Wright, 20, told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. Protesters clash with police near the site where a family said a man was shot and killed by local law enforcement Protesters are pushed back by law enforcement on in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota According to Brooklyn Center police, officers pulled over a vehicle for a traffic violation shortly before 2pm Protesters confront law enforcement on April 11, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota People stand on a police cruiser as protesters take to the streets after Brooklyn Center police shot and killed Daunte Wright A sheriff's deputy tells a protester to put down a rock near the site of a shooting involving a police officer on Sunday A man sits near a circle around a memorial for Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center A woman who lives near the crash scene, Carolyn Hanson, said she saw law enforcement officers pull a man out of a vehicle and perform CPR. A passenger who got out of the car was also covered in blood, Hanson said. The state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it was investigating the shooting. A police officer was also transported to the hospital after sustaining injuries, according to EMS audio. The Minnesota branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said another independent agency should investigate, and demanded the immediate release of any videos of the shooting. The group said it had 'deep concerns that police here appear to have used dangling air fresheners as an excuse for making a pretextual stop, something police do all too often to target black people.' Gov. Tim Walz just after 10pm tweeted 'I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wright's family as our state mourns another life of a black man taken by law enforcement.' Minneapolis police officers in riot gear leave as protesters gather Minneapolis police officers stand in line as they are confronted by protesters A demonstrator jumps off a police cruiser during a protest after police allegedly shot and killed a man A person raises their hands as police approach near the site where a family said a man was shot and killed by local police A man stands atop a police car after throwing a brick at the windshield near the site of a shooting involving a police officer Men jump on police vehicles near the site of a shooting involving a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota People stand on a police cruiser as protesters take to the streets after a Brooklyn Center police officer shot and killed a black man on Sunday A protester confronts a police officer on Sunday following the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center Sunday's shooting was 'tragic', said Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott. 'We are asking the protesters to continue to be peaceful and that peaceful protesters are not dealt with with force,' he said in a statement. The shooting happened with Minneapolis already on edge and midway through the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyds death. Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer was captured on video kneeling for nine minutes on the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old handcuffed black man last May. The trial enters its third week of testimony on Monday. Floyd's death sparked U.S. and global protests against police brutality and racial injustice. His death sparked protests and violent demonstrations across Minneapolis seriously damaging hundreds of buildings. Brooklyn Center is a city with a population of about 30,000 people located on the northwest border of Minneapolis. Damik Wright, brother of Daunte Wright, who the family said was shot and killed earlier Sunday by police, holds Daunte's son Daunte Jr., over his head to look at police officers assembling with riot gear at 63rd Avenue North and Lee Avenue North A man who got shot in the head with a rubber bullet is photographed during a protest A demonstrator confronts police face to face during a protest Protesters stand on top of a police car after an officer reportedly shot and killed a black man in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis Police officers take cover as they clash with protesters after an officer reportedly shot and killed a black man in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The incident involved a multi-car crash just prior to the officer discharging their weapon Tensions boiled over in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday afternoon and evening People hug as police officers stand armed behind them near the site of a shooting involving a police officer A man raises his fist in the air as he yells at police donning riot gear in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota A protester smokes while standing on the hood of a police car in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota People raise their arms in protest, Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center Police stand near a police cruiser after a rock was thrown at it in protest People attend to a man who was shot by a rubber bullet as protesters clashed with police after a man was shot and killed by police As the nation braces for a possible fourth wave of COVID infections, Gov. Ned Lamont said he isnt concerned that such a surge will hit Connecticut as more people get vaccinated. As cases and hospitalizations climbed last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky warned of a potential fourth wave, due to the loosening of COVID restrictions nationwide and too many Americans letting their guards down. The rise of COVID-19 variants, which have been shown to be more contagious, was part of the concern. The trajectory of the pandemic in the United States looks similar to many other countries in Europe, including Germany, Italy, and France looked like just a few weeks ago, Walensky said in a White House briefing on March 29. And since that time, those countries have experienced a consistent and worrying spike in cases. But Lamont said he maintains confidence that vaccinations in Connecticut are proceeding quickly enough to keep such a wave from rising. He said about 50 percent of Connecticut residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Id like to think well have 60 percent of our people vaccinated in the next week or so, Lamont said Thursday. I think were going to break the back of this thing. Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media As of last week, Connecticut had administered 1.42 million first doses of the vaccine and 883,000 people were fully vaccinated. Local doctors are also cautiously optimistic about the possibility of a new spike in COVID cases. But they said if there is a new surge in COVID, it would technically be the third wave in Connecticut not the fourth. If you look at the country as a whole, it looks like we had three waves, but in Connecticut, it looks like we only had two waves, said Dr. Michael Parry, director of infectious diseases at Stamford Hospital. He said the first wave hit last spring, when COVID-19 first came to Connecticut, and the second was around late fall and early winter. Parry and Dr. Gregory Buller, associate chief medical officer and chairman of the department of medicine at Bridgeport Hospital, said a new COVID spike is possible in Connecticut, but they shared Lamonts optimism that it could be prevented with the speed of vaccinations. With vaccinations, there shouldnt be another significant big number of people getting hospitalized, Buller said. People will be hospitalized, but not in big numbers. If a new wave does hit, its very possible that (it) might be very blunted and not be a major problem, Parry said. Though, he added, being a realist, it wouldnt surprise me if numbers went up again. Dr. Corina Marcu, associate vice president of medical affairs at St. Vincents Medical Center in Bridgeport, said her biggest concern is the COVID variants, and their ability to quickly infect a large number of people. Its becoming a tight race against the variants with the vaccine, Marcu said. I think a lot people are becoming very relaxed (about the virus). I think its a little too relaxed, because the variants are out there. All the experts said the key to preventing a new surge or at lessening its impact is to get vaccinated and continue to take such safety measures as mask-wearing and avoiding large crowds. People want things to be the way they remember, with no masks and more gatherings, said Dr. David Hill, professor of medical sciences and senior director of the global public health program at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. As we ramp up in vaccinations, we need to realize that this pandemic is not over. We are looking to the future, but its not over yet. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 19:52:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ACCRA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The incidents of dead fish and live dolphins that were washed ashore at different places along the coast of Ghana were due to low oxygen concentration in the ocean, marine scientists said in a preliminary report. Researchers at the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences at the University of Ghana, Legon, said in a release late Sunday that the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), which was significantly higher than expected probably due to low oxygen concentration on the ocean bed leading to the incidents. "Results from water quality analyses showed that most parameters required for life in the ocean were within acceptable limits, except COD, which was significantly higher than expected," the statement said. It added that "this oxygen demand would most likely create a condition of stress on living organisms that depend on dissolved oxygen in the water body." "We confirm the identification of the marine mammals found along the coast as the melon-headed whale, a dolphin belonging to the Cetacean order," the scientists added. The Nzema-East Municipal Assembly in the Western region reported last Thursday that about 200 live dolphins were washed ashore. Similarly, about 20 tons of dead fish were washed ashore the coast in the capital in the same period. Enditem Zoe with her baby son William Stacey. (SWNS) The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has exempted a breastfeeding mother from jury service after her request to be excused was originally refused. Zoe Stacey, 36, received a letter on 2 April calling her for jury service, two months after giving birth to her son William, who she is still breastfeeding. The full-time mother-of-two from Fair Oak, Hampshire, immediately went online to apply for exemption but her request was rejected by the Jury Central Summoning Bureau. She was initially offered the opportunity to defer her jury service, provided she gives another 10-day period she could do within the year. Read: Over-40s set for COVID vaccines from this week but many could face longer wait But 10 minutes later, she got an email confirming her court date in May at Winchester Crown Court. After she launched an appeal, the MoJ announced on Monday that Stacey would be excused from jury duty. Watch: Mother's epic response to breastfeeding shamers On hearing news, Stacey told Yahoo News: "Its brilliant but the stress from the last few weeks is rather unnecessary and no one has picked up the phone to me and given me a call." An MoJ spokesperson said also they will update its guidance on jury duty for breastfeeding mothers to make it "clearer" to those who need to apply for a deferral. Stacey earlier said: "I can't believe I have to fight for it. I thought there'd be more common sense and compassion." Theres no consideration," she added. "It feels like a bit of an automated 'computer says no', rather than reading what I put they just rejected them." Stacey, who suffered a number of illnesses after birth, described how tired she already is and how the whole incident had taken an added toll. Both Stacey and her baby son contracted neonatal mastitis a week after his birth in February. They then had to go to hospital for three courses of antibiotics but both suffered thrush from the medication. Story continues William also had tongue-tie a condition which makes it difficult for him to breastfeed. Even just being sleep deprived, I wouldn't want people giving a judgment on me in a trial as its really difficult to give your focus to anything in that first year. She added: What Id really like to push for is like in Scotland where a breastfeeding woman who requests an excusal shouldn't be refused. "They need a policy down here. It seems to depend on who reads your email. It's very hit and miss. In a statement, an MoJ spokesman said: Breastfeeding mothers can defer jury service for one year and subsequently apply for a full exemption. While it is vital juries represent a cross-section of society, we are urgently reviewing our guidance to make it clearer that new mothers should be able to serve at a time that is right for them. The MoJ added that a year-long deferral was granted to Stacey as soon as it became known that she was a new mother. Zoe and Peter Stacey with son Thomas and baby William. (SWNS) A full excusal was then granted after she provided further information on her circumstances. The department added that current crown court practice is to defer jury service for new mothers that are breastfeeding, for up to 12 months, if they apply to do so. People who are granted a deferral can later apply for an excusal but decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, it added. The row comes after Labour MP and shadow solicitor general Ellie Reeves, who has been campaigning on the issue for months, criticised the government for not having a formal procedure in place to prevent mothers on maternity leave from being called to jury service. In a recent letter to justice secretary Robert Buckland, Reeves called for formal provisions to be put in place to fully exempt women from jury service whilst they are on maternity leave. She also raised the case of an expectant mother in her constituency who deferred her jury service as it coincided with her due date. The service was then rearranged to a date within the first six months of her sons life, during which she was exclusively breastfeeding. Read more: Caribbean island faces destruction and devastation after 'huge' new volcano eruption Prince Harry shares tribute to Prince Philip: 'He was a master of the barbecue and legend of banter' In response to the letter, the parliamentary under secretary of state Chris Philp stated: I realise you feel that the current guidelines discriminate against new breastfeeding mothers. The jury is made up of a cross section of society and provisions must be in place to ensure anyone who is eligible, including new mothers, can perform this duty." Reeves responded to say: This tone deaf response from the Ministry of Justice is shameful. A new mums priority is her baby. It is completely unacceptable that the Government have refused to help women on maternity leave defer their jury service. The Government is letting down new mothers and needs to put better protections in place now to stop women on maternity being forced into jury duty. Watch: Buckland: Govt reviewing use of vaccine passports CWC told to double storage capacity, achieve Rs10,000-cr turnover The government proposes a modernisation-cum-expansion programme of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) to double its current storage capacity by the end of 2023 and achieve a turnover of Rs10,000 crore by FY 2024-25. CWC should build modern silos so that 100 per cent stock of food grains could be stored for longer period, union minister of food and public distribution and consumer affairs, railways and commerce and industry Piyush Goyal has said. CWC has been asked to prepare a masterplan for upgradation of its all 423 warehouses, having complete basic public/staff amenities and additional infrastructure to be developed by 2024-25, Goyal said at a review of the modernisation plan of Central Warehouse Corporation. Goyal said that CWC should double its warehouse storage capacity by end of year 2023 and achieve a turnover of Rs10,000 crore by the financial year 2024-25. At present, CWC has a storage capacity of 12.5 million tonnes. Goyal said that the tariff rationalisation and setting of warehouses should be done independently by CWC without any bureaucratic interference. He said that maximum powers of decision making for operations should be delegated to the CWC. He also asked CWC to focus on building of cold chain storage in the country on priority basis. Goyal instructed CWC to do audit for fire safety, earthquakes, burglary and accidents at all its warehouses on a regular basis. Further, Goyal said, CWC should build modern silos for wheat and rice storage all over the country, so that maximum grains could be stored in the country for longer periods. CWC, he said, should build more cold chain facilities for storage onion, potato and tomato in coordination with NAFED. The Minister suggested that CWC should prepare a masterplan for upgradation of its all 423 warehouses. CWC should do the warehouse / storage gap analysis for agricultural produce and accordingly prepare plans with the help of architects and experts, he said. The minister further said that CWC should work in mission mode for taking care of all stakeholders, ie, staff, clients, workers, truck drivers. He said all CWC warehouses must have modern and convenience facilities, like toilets for male, female workers, customers, drivers and divyangs, proper waiting rooms/restroom, worker-shed, drinking water facilities and other basic amenities with neat and clean ambience. An international team today reports the findings of an independent assessment of five commercially-available assays for tumour DNA sequencing - a fast, cheap and less invasive method to diagnose and monitor cancer. The researchers revealed that all assays could reliably detect so-called circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) when it made up 0.5% of the total DNA in blood, a level of sensitivity that allows detection, genetic analysis and monitoring of late-stage and metastatic tumours. Published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the study is a major milestone for the use of ctDNA assays as cancer diagnostics, outlining best-practice guidelines and uncovering key areas of future development. The research was led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, the FDA National Center for Toxicological Research and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. It forms part of the FDA-led Sequencing Quality Control Phase 2 project, which aims to develop standard protocols and quality control metrics for the use of next-generation sequencing in precision medicine, to make it a reality for patients. "In order for ctDNA assays to be of benefit to patients in the clinic, they need to accurately and consistently detect cancer mutations across different labs and samples. Our study is the most comprehensive evaluation of analytical performance among ctDNA assays to date and represents a significant step forward in the field," says first author Dr Ira Deveson from the Garvan Institute. Next-generation sequencing to monitor cancer DNA When cancer cells develop, they accumulate mutations in their DNA, fragments of which enter the bloodstream when cancer cells break down. Thanks to assays employing next-generation sequencing, these ctDNA fragments can now be detected in a patient's blood samples, which could be used to identify and monitor cancer as an alternative to more invasive tissue biopsies. However, while ctDNA assays are already being adopted in precision oncology clinical trials, researchers and clinicians still lack a thorough understanding of how accurate current assays are, and which aspects of the technology still need to be improved. This knowledge helps define what applications ctDNA sequencing is suitable for and is needed before ctDNA sequencing can be implemented widely in clinical practice. In their study, researchers from 12 participating laboratories in Europe, Asia and the United States evaluated the performance of current industry-leading ctDNA assays, from companies Roche Sequencing Solutions, Illumina, Integrated DNA Technologies and Burning Rock Dx and Thermo Fisher Scientific. They tested the assays using synthetic experiments and mock-ctDNA reference samples. Their analysis revealed that all laboratories detected ctDNA mutations above 0.5% relative frequency (consistent with late-stage and metastatic tumours) with high sensitivity, precision and reproducibility using all participating assays. However, the assays detected lower levels of ctDNA (consistent with early-stage cancer or early signs of disease relapse) unreliably and inconsistently between different tests. In their published paper, the researchers outline priorities for the future development of ctDNA assays, which they say will help advance the technology for clinical applications in monitoring tumour progression, response to therapy and cancer relapse. "Our findings indicate that the participating ctDNA assays may be suitable for molecular stratification and profiling tumour evolution in advanced cancer patients. This should help clear a path for more advanced clinical trials of ctDNA assays," says Associate Professor Donald Johann Jr., M.D., from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine departments of Biomedical Informatics and Internal Medicine. "Understanding the current assays' detection limits was a crucial step towards a future where blood tests can be routinely used as a cancer screening tool. This critical study is a thorough analytical evaluation of ctDNA assays, which defined diagnostic limits, assessed reproducibility and identified key experimental variables that impact performance, and which has been called for by government, regulatory and clinical organisations," says Dr Joshua Xu from the U.S. FDA National Center for Toxicological Research. "Our independent performance analysis is a crucial mechanism to drive advances in next-generation sequencing approaches for their use in cancer detection and management. We expect it will help improve the tests' sensitivity and reliability for diagnosing tumours at early stages," says co-senior author Associate Professor Tim Mercer from the Garvan Institute and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland. ### Drs Deveson and Mercer were partially supported by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, Cancer Institute NSW and The Kinghorn Foundation. Robert Lewis Hood of Hixson, Tennessee passed away peacefully in his home on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at the age of 50. He was born on October 29, 1970, the only child of Janet Hood. He graduated from Chattanoogas McCallie School in 1988 and attended Tennessee Tech University. Robert loved computers long before they became popular. He quickly moved from playing computer games to modifying them. It wasnt long before he transitioned to coding. His lifelong love of computers led him to a career in website design. A kind and compassionate spirit, Robert used his wit on and offline. He had a knack of making people smile and a gift of making people feel cared for. Robert, who was known among his friends as Bob or Rev. Bob, loved science fiction books, including author Robert A. Heinlein, an American author who emphasized scientific accuracy in his writings. In recent years, Robert channeled his love of books into editing ebooks by various authors, including science fiction and nonfiction author David Brin among others. Among his friends, Robert was known for being an unapologetic liberal and for his ability to express ideas succinctly and with a touch of humor. He was sharp, quick and gentle, and will be remembered by many as a loyal, caring friend with an easy smile and frequently, a glint of mischief in his eyes. He is survived by his mother, Janet Hood, his uncle, Jim Humberd, and several other loving aunts and cousins. He is preceded in death by his grandparents, Jesse and Ruby Humberd; his aunt, Janice Cross; and his uncle, Jesse Humberd, Jr. Roberts loved ones will hold a celebration of life memorial in his honor on Saturday, April 17, at 11 a.m. at Vandergriff Park, 1414 Gadd Road, Hixson, Tn. 37343. This is going to be a casual gathering for anyone to be able to share their thoughts. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Epilepsy Foundation or the American Heart Association. Arrangements are by Cremation Center of Chattanooga; 1345 Hickory Valley Road; 423-362-5999. An update to England and Wales's contact tracing app has been blocked for breaking the terms of an agreement made with Apple and Google. The BBC reports that "Just a week ago, the Department of Health seemed to think that the update to their contact tracing app would go through without problems. It's hard to understand why. After all, the rules for using the Apple-Google Exposure Notification System were clear - collecting any location data was a no-no. The app team knew that when they switched to it last summer, having discovered that going it alone with their own system was just not practical. But they may have assumed that, because the sharing of locations by users was optional, the tech giants might show some flexibility. Instead, Apple and Google have insisted that rules are rules. What this underlines is that governments around the world have been forced to frame part of their response to the global pandemic according to rules set down by giant unelected corporations. At a time when the power of the tech giants is under the microscope as never before, that will leave many people feeling uncomfortable. The plan had been to ask users to upload logs of venue check-ins - carried out via poster barcode scans - if they tested positive for the virus. This could be used to warn others. The update had been timed to coincide with the relaxation of lockdown rules. But both Apple and Google had explicitly banned such a function from the start. Under the terms that all health authorities signed up to in order to use Apple and Google's privacy-centric contact-tracing tech, they had to agree not to collect any location data via the software. As a result, Apple and Google refused to make the update available for download from their app stores last week, and have instead kept the old version live. For more on this, read the full BBC report. 12th April, India: From last year, the gender gap in India has widened by 22.3%. Working women are repeatedly made to feel guilty about working. They are told they are selfish and their husbands careers are said to be more important", said Apurva Purohit, President, Jagran Prakashan Limited, in her keynote address at the inaugural edition of India Diversity Conclave 2021 presented by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) and executed by Sapphire Connect. Apurva was speaking on the topic, Gender Diversity in Corporate India: Where are we going wrong? on Wednesday. Ludger Felix Ramme, President, CEC European Managers, while delivering the international keynote address the topic, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE: A global roadmap of Diversity & Inclusion" underlined the need to include the LGBTQ+ community in organizations. He said, After being confused about my identity, I came out very late. My board accepted my coming out easily but there are also people who do not accept difference. With discrimination, one cannot show the qualities and performance but by being open, we can be the best version of ourselves. Make your workplace a safe haven for tolerance and acceptance of diversity. You and your company will benefit from it". India Diversity Conclave, the first conclave of India Diversity Forum (IDF), a section 8 company formed to create awareness about diversity and inclusion, was a pan India virtual event with over 40 speakers with two joining in from Berlin and London. It had over 11,000 registrations and over 3,000 delegates listening to Chairmen, Managing Directors, Presidents, Chief Human Resource Officers, and experts on diversity and inclusion. Its various segments included panel discussions, a case study and fireside chats on diversity, inclusion, safe workplaces, infusing innovation in diversity, gender equality, pay parity, engaging men in women empowerment, managing multi-generational workforce, removing stumbling blocks in disability inclusion and cognitive diversity. The Conclave witnessed the support of over 50 companies as diversity champions and AGS Health and Skillsoft as Associate sponsors. View Full Image INAUGURAL PANEL DISCUSSION: DRIVING CHANGE AND BUILDING A SAFE WORKPLACE Animesh Kumar, President - HR & Transformation, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., said, Gender intelligence is probably the most appropriate word that influences the narrative of diversity socially among corporates. It acknowledges the difference and does not support discrimination. It epitomizes the difference in behaviour and the whole nature of behaviour energy. It is believed that there are certain things that come to you because of your nature or gender or your experiences irrespective of your religion or orientation or the regions of the country or the world you belong to or the influences that comes from the family that you belong to. In our business, we serve a billion of viewers worldwide which represents such a diverse cultural nuance and have such different stories and different narratives. We need to go beyond organic and design to improve diversity." He went on to add, In Zee we have three approaches, one is to address the supply-side constraints on how you manage in a smaller industry compared to the other such as technology. Here we need to bring a lot more talent into the system. For this we have institutionalized a process where we focus on hiring more girls at junior level. We have approximately around 65 to 70% female hiring at the management trainee level. Secondly, we have also experimented where we bring people from outside the media industry at the mid management level and therefore improving diversity ratios there. Lastly, we ensure an increase in the internal supply of leadership going from middle management to senior management in the organisation." Ankit Bansal, Founder and CEO of Sapphire Human Solutions, and on the Board of Advisors of IDF said, IDF will work with its members to collectively raise the bar on D&I in India with a strong focus on achieving tangible, quantifiable results that lead to economic and social benefits to our members, industry and nation at large" while Dr Ritu Anand, Chief Leadership and Diversity Officer, Tata Consultancy Services also an Advisor of IDF, opined, When barriers of minds are removed, the economic success follows." View Full Image FIRESIDE CHAT: Why are Diversity and Inclusion important in India Inc. in today's time? Panelist Megha Tata, Managing Director, South Asia, Discovery Communications India, observed, Multiple Leadership positions are led by women where the action is speaking more than words." While Anjali Rao, HR Head and Senior Director Human Resources, Intel India asked: Is it a level playing ground for equality where only 28% of women are there in the workforce of which only 11% are in leadership roles as compared to men?" Advisors of IDF Harshbeena Zaveri, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, NRB Bearings, Sudha Ravi, CCO, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Ltd., Anisha Motwani, Founder- Director, STN Centuries, Independent Director on board of Welspun India and Abbott and Gautam Chainani, President HR, Strategic Initiatives & Workforce, JSW. Adding to this, Rishi Kapoor, Associate Partner & Business Head, Sapphire Connect said, We are glad to have been associated with India Diversity Forum as they embark on their journey to make India more diverse and inclusive. We look forward to organizing much more engagements such as industry workshops, job fairs, etc. under IDF throughout the year and aim to make each one better that the previous. We at Sapphire Connect advocate involvement, innovation, and expand access to leadership opportunities that maximize engagement across various groups through various activities. We intend to provide leadership and commit time and resources to accomplish this objective of building diversity and inclusion in organizations." Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a White House press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 21, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Fauci Defends March 2020 Recommendation Not to Wear Masks Dr. Anthony Fauci on April 11 defended his dismissal early last year of the idea of everyday Americans wearing masks to lower the risk of contracting COVID-19. Fauci in March 2020 said on CBS 60 Minutes that people in the United States should not be walking around wearing a mask, after noting that many people in Asia were. The director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, when confronted with the clip on April 11 during an appearance on MSNBC, said that the White House Coronavirus Task Force was told that there was a clear shortage of masks, and if we went around recommending masks, the health care providers putting themselves in harms way every single day would not have enough. He also said that at the time, there was no evidence that masks outside of the setting of the hospital worked. Number three, we did not know that at least 50 percent of the infections were being spread asymptomatically. Namely, by people that had no symptoms. Thats why at that time weI and othersmade that statement, he said. Fast forward a month or two after. A: It became clear there was no shortage of masks. In fact, cloth masks work. B: We started to see rather substantial data that masks outside of the setting of the hospital work, to prevent infection and to prevent you from infecting someone else. And three: We found out to our horror that 50 percent or more of the infections were transmitted by people who did not know they were infected. In early April 2020, Fauci and other health officials who had urged people not to wear masks began doing the opposite. Fauci has been widely criticized for wide shifts in public health advice during the pandemic. In June of last year, he offered the first explanationthat officials were concerned that there wouldnt be enough masks for health care workers if the general public was also wearing themwithout saying there was a lack of evidence. Fauci has also changed his messaging about the level required to reach herd immunity and other issues. Also on April 11, Fauci claimed its still not okay for people fully vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus to eat indoors at restaurants. Even people who have gotten COVID-19 vaccines still have to be careful and not get involved in crowded situations, particularly indoors where people are not wearing masks, he said. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a physician among Faucis most vocal critics, said that Fauci continues to ignore 100 years of vaccine science. His only real theme is Do what I say, even when it makes no sense, Paul said in a tweet. If youve recovered or been vaccinated go about your life. Eat, drink, work, open the schools. Enough with the petty tyrants! Google Lens, an image recognition technology developed by Google, is coming to Google Photos on the desktop web, as per the latest report. With this, Google Photos will be able to identify text through the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) functionality of Lens on the web. Right now, Google Lens is available in Image Search and Photos on mobile and is integrated across Android. If the user opens an image with text on their desktop, they will be able to see the Copy text from image option featuring the old lens logo and dismiss button. It will appear on the left side of the Share, Edit, Info, and other controls for Google Photos. Simple tapping will launch Google Lens with the same pulsating dots animation all over the image. Soon after, the text on the image will be selected by default, however, there are options to deselect it as well from the top-right corner to just highlight specific passages and copy with a floating button over the image. The report says that only Google Lens capability live in this web version of Photos. A couple of months back, Google also rolled out updates to the Lens app, adding the ability to translate text without an internet connection. The feature will work similarly to offline translation on the Google Translate app. Source Our meetings are famous for our potluck lunches, but today were having prepackaged subs instead, she explained. The whole idea of getting together is to have kind of a show-and-tell and let people share what theyve been doing the past year. There are new members that have joined through Zoom but weve never actually met them in person and Im looking forward to that. China has admitted its Covid vaccines do not work well which could explain why Chile is suffering a resurgence despite having one of the best rollouts in the world. In an extremely rare confession, the head of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, said the jabs 'don't have very high protection rates' against coronavirus symptoms. They are being used in at least 45 countries. He gave no specific details, but a University of Chile study found China's CoronaVac jab was only 3 per cent effective in the 28 days between the first and second doses, rising to 56.5 per cent two weeks after the second dose. Mr Fu has since told state media that his comments were 'completely misunderstood'. Chile has ordered 60million doses of the vaccine, manufactured by Sinovac, and has fully vaccinated more than a fifth of its population with the jab. It may explain why Chile is suffering a severe Covid surge, despite having one of the highest global vaccination rates. Almost 40 per cent of the nation's 19million people have already been jabbed. The development is significant because No10's scientists in the UK had pointed to Chile as a cautionary tale for those looking to end lockdown sooner. Chief medical officer Chris Whitty told a Downing Street press conference last week: 'We want to do things in a steady way because the assumption that just because you vaccinate lots of people, then the problem goes away, I think Chile is quite a good corrective to that.' Britain is using the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs which far outperformed the Chinese vaccines in clinical trials and appear to be just as effective in the real world. Analysis by Public Health England suggests they prevent more than 70 per cent of people becoming infected, and reduce deaths and hospital admissions by more than 90 per cent, after two doses. China's admission may explain why Chile is suffering a severe Covid surge despite having one of the highest global vaccination rates The director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, (pictured) said the vaccines made in China 'don't have very high protection rates' against covid symptoms China has exported hundreds of millions of jabs made by state-owned firms mainly to Asia, Africa and Latin America, but also to Hungary and Turkey. Mr Gao revealed China, which has vaccinated around 160million people, was now considering using different jabs. He said: 'It's now under formal consideration whether we should use different vaccines from different technical lines for the immunisation process.' According to the Associated Press, vaccines made by two state-owned drugs firms, Sinovac and Sinopharm, have been exported to at least 45 countries, mainly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. These vaccines are based on an inactivated virus a similar model to that used by the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab. But they do not target the distinctive 'spike' protein of Covid. Experts say that mixing vaccines, or increasing the number of doses, might boost effectiveness. Researchers in Britain are studying a possible combination of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines. The UAE recently experimented with administering three shots of China's Sinopharm vaccine, instead of two, over reports of low numbers of antibodies. The effectiveness of the Sinovac jab at preventing symptomatic infections after both doses was found to be as low as 50.4 per cent by researchers in Brazil. Trials showed Sinopharm's vaccine was around 79 per cent effective. Experts say mixing vaccines might boost their effectiveness. Researchers in Britain are studying a possible combination of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines By comparison, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been found to be 97 per cent effective. And study by the University of Chile found that efficacy in the 28 days between the first and second dose was only three per cent. Chilean science minister Andres Couve said it was important to focus on the data and the vaccine's effectiveness in reducing illness that required medical treatment or being hospitalized or dying, which it achieved in the Brazilian study in 83.7 per cent and 100 per cent of cases, respectively. He said Chile's health ministry will shortly publish a real world study on the efficacy of both vaccines rolled out in its population and appealed to Chileans to continue to participate in the vaccination programme. Heriberto Garcia, head of Chile's Public Health Institute which approved CoronaVac's emergency roll-out, said people should not pay attention to headlines. 'The University of Chile study and the study the health ministry will release say the same thing: the number of people who fall ill and are hospitalized has decreased,' he told local newspaper La Tercera. 'We are going down the right path.' British scientists told MailOnline as long as a month ago that a weak vaccine could be behind Chile's spiralling cases. Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at Reading University, said: 'If half the population is vaccinated and the vaccine is 50 per cent effective (or less after one dose) then in effect the majority of the population was still susceptible, at least to infection, as the virus took off again.' Yet some experts have still pointed to Chile as a warning that easing restrictions in the UK too soon could lead to another nasty virus surge. Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the Government, told Sky News today: 'From the point of view of the population itself, we're all dying to get out of lockdown. 'From the point of view of the epidemic, I think it's all a little bit more worrying.' He added: 'Chile is a country where the rate of vaccination amongst the population was third highest in the world they were ahead of us in terms of the number of people who have had the vaccine and they're suddenly now into a third wave. 'They now have 7,600 cases a day and the total number of people in Chile now who have Covid is over a million. 'So what has happened in Chile is very, very surprising a high percentage of people have been vaccinated, but here's a variant of the disease coming through the country.' TODAY: Ray has been officially activated, the Jays announced. APRIL 11: The Blue Jays are preparing to activate left-hander Robbie Ray from the injured list in advance of their upcoming series against the Yankees, manager Charlie Montoyo tells reporters (including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). Hell get the start tomorrow evening against New York. Ray re-signed with Toronto over the offseason after the Jays acquired him in a midseason trade with the Diamondbacks. His 2021 regular season debut was delayed a couple weeks by a bruised elbow he suffered during the spring. With Ray making his return to the rotation, the Jays will bump Tanner Roark to the bullpen for now, per Montoyo. In other Toronto injury news, star outfielder George Springer is still not nearing a return from his recent quad injury (via Nicholson-Smith). Springers debut with the Jays was delayed by an oblique strain, and he hurt his quad while rehabbing the original injury. The three-time All-Star has now recovered from the oblique problem, but the leg issue will keep him out of the lineup for a while longer. 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. Norway on April 12 raised alarm over unhindered exploitation of dual-use technology by Pakistan in a bid to aid its nuclear programme. While citing a threat assessment report by the Norwegian security agencies, ANI reported that Pakistans practice of bypassing all international safeguards in gaining the latest nuclear technology on the pretext of using it for education and health is posing the greatest threat to Norway. In an article in moderndiplomacy, Fabien Baussart said that Norway became the latest country to raise alarm over unhindered exploitation of dual-use technology by Pakistan. Norways assessment comes after several other countries publicly acknowledged the nuclear threat posed by Pakistan. The agency informed that back in 2020 the German authorities had also disclosed that Pakistan had sought technology for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in order to retain a serious deterrent potential against arch enemy India. The report provided a detailed account of Pakistans efforts to steal information and material about nuclear weapons. Further, the Czech Republic in its report titled Annual Report of the Security Information Sevice for 2019 also drew global attention towards Pakistan misleading the world in procuring internationally controlled items and technologies to aid its nuclear programme. The report even noted that in 2019, the US Department of Justice indicted five persons associated with a Pakistan based front company for operating a network that exported US-origin goods to Pakistan. Baussart said that the network used to conceal the true destinations of goods in Pakistan by showing front companies as the supposed purchasers and end-users. Goods exported to Pak without licences: US The Norwegian agency said that the US Justice Department statement had disclosed that the goods were ultimately exported to Pakistans Advanced Engineering Research Organisation (AERO) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) without export licences. It said that both AERO and PAEC are on the US Commerce Departments Entity List, which imposes export licenses requirements for organisations whose activities are found to be contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests. Moreover, in the article Baussart wrote that to fulfil its destructive agenda, Pakistan even used the name of its poor public and students. Baussart said that the Pakistan government has repeatedly claimed that it seeks dual-use technologies for the social and economic upliftment of the country by utilising the technology in its health and education sectors. While concluding the article, Baussart wrote that it now remains to be seen whether these disclosures lead to sanctions or new export controls against Pakistan or the country again succeeds in misleading the world by playing victims card. (With inputs from ANI) NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jaguar Growth Partners ("Jaguar"), a privately-held investment management firm specializing in real estate private equity in global growth markets, today announced its acquisition of Sao Paulo-based RB SEC, Brazil's leading real estate securitization platform, from RB Capital. "RB SEC is a pioneer of Brazil's securitization market and we believe it is well positioned to become an even bigger player as the securitization sector consolidates," said Mario De Barros, head of Jaguar's Brazil office. "We anticipate growing demand in Brazil for warehousing and securitizing revenue streams, especially in real estate." RB SEC has issued more than R$44 billion in tradable securities for many of Brazil's largest companies and multinational brands. Nearly 80% of these securities are in real estate, diversified across asset classes. RB SEC warehouses, structures, packages and securitizes receivables, thus transforming relatively illiquid individual assets into liquid securities. The firm also monitors obligations, ratings renewals, covenants and payments. "The expertise of RB Sec's leadership team in managing, structuring and securitizing real estate revenue streams is a powerful complement to our long and successful history of investing in Brazilian commercial, industrial and logistics real estate platforms," said Thomas McDonald, Managing Partner and Head of Americas at Jaguar. In 2018, for example, a Jaguar-managed fund invested in Bresco Investimentos (Bresco), a leading Brazilian industrial real estate property company headquartered in Sao Paulo. Since Jaguar's investment, Bresco has raised R$1 billion, via public offerings, for one of its logistics real estate funds. "We look forward to working closely with Jaguar in an effort to further expand RB SEC's growing footprint in Brazil's securitization market," said Flavia Palacios, CEO of RB SEC. "We're in a very strong position to meet growing demand from companies and investors alike for sophisticated and transparent structuring of these receivables into tradable securities." The RB SEC acquisition was made through Jaguar's second Latin American fund, which focuses on investing opportunistically in real estate-related operating platforms and companies in key markets. Previous Jaguar investments in Latin America include LatAm Logistic Properties, Aliansce Shopping Centers, Vesta, Hoteles City Express, Bresco Investimentos and Colombian Healthcare Properties. About Jaguar Growth Partners Headquartered in New York with affiliated offices in Latin America and Asia, Jaguar is a privately-held investment management firm focused on real estate companies and operating platforms. Founded in 2013, drawing from decades of experience, Jaguar actively collaborates with accomplished local entrepreneurs and leading institutional partners, to optimize both asset and enterprise value in the most compelling regions, countries and business sectors around the globe. In March 2020, Jaguar launched its inaugural fund dedicated to real estate opportunities in Asia with its acquisition of Brilliant (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting ("Brilliant"), a leading Chinese warehouse, distribution and logistics property company. Jaguar currently manages two funds focused on Latin America, supported by investment offices in New York, Sao Paulo and Mexico City and has a presence in Mumbai and Hong Kong. Portfolio companies are located in multiple continents, across multiple property sectors, including logistics and corporate property, retail, hospitality and healthcare. Please see www.jaguargrowth.com for additional information. About RB SEC Since its founding more than 20 years ago, RB SEC has been recognized as a leading pioneer of Brazil's securitization market. The company provides sophisticated and transparent financial solutions for leading Brazilian companies and investors. RB SEC's experienced team specializes in warehousing, structuring, issuing and managing securitizations, with a focus on real estate, agribusiness and financial receivables. The firm currently manages more than R$30 billion via 200 of these securities. Please see www.rbsec.com for additional information. SOURCE Jaguar Growth Partners Related Links http://www.jaguargrowth.com .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... MOSCOW A feminist artist went on trial Monday in Russia on charges of disseminating pornography after she shared artwork online depicting female bodies. Human rights groups linked her prosecution to the Kremlins conservative stance promoting traditional family values. The charges against activist Yulia Tsvetkova, 27, in the far eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur have brought international outrage. She faces up to six years in prison on charges reportedly related to her group on the popular Russian social media network VKontakte, where stylized drawings of vaginas were posted. Tsvetkova is not allowed to disclose details of the criminal case against her. The hearing comes a year and a half after she was first detained and eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed constitutional amendments that outlawed same-sex marriage and tasked the government with preserving traditional family values. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Tsvetkovas lawyer, Irina Ruchko, told reporters after the hearing that she maintains her innocence and the defense intends to prove it in court. Tsvetkova ran a childrens theater and was a vocal advocate of feminism and LGBT rights. She founded an online group called Vagina Monologues that encouraged followers to fight the stigma and taboos surrounding the female body, and posted other peoples art in it. Amnesty International last week called the case, which is being heard behind closed doors, Kafkaesque absurdity and urged Russian authorities to drop all charges. It said Tsvetkova was merely expressing her views through art. Tsvetkovas mother, Anna Khodyreva, echoed this sentiment in an interview with The Associated Press. Yulia has always been against pornography. Feminists are against pornography because its exploitation of womens bodies, she said. Tsvetkova was detained in November 2019 and spent the next four months under house arrest. Her home was raided, along with her mothers education studio for children. The activist was fined twice for violating Russias law against disseminating gay propaganda to minors. The court ordered Tsvetkova to pay a fine of 50,000 rubles ($780) in December 2019 for running an LGBT-themed online group, and 75,000 rubles ($1,060) in July 2020 for a drawing in support of LGBT families. The second fine was later decreased to 50,000 rubles. Many public figures have spoken out in her support, including Russian state TV veteran Vladimir Pozner. Activists across Russia have protested her prosecution, artists dedicated performances to her and an online petition demanding that the charges be dropped gathered over 250,000 signatures. On Saturday, an exhibition of Tsvetkovas paintings opened in St. Petersburg. The snowball of censorship has started to bother the artistic community very much, and we understood that if we dont stand up for Yulia, dont support her, any other person can be next, artist Alexei Gorbushin, who organized and took part in performances in Tsvetkovas support, said at the exhibition. The European Unions delegation to Russia tweeted the bloc is closely following the case against Tsvetkova and that apparently, her persecution is related to her public position as an LGBT activist. The delegation called on Russian authorities to stop the prosecution. In addition to pressure from authorities for the past two years, Khodyreva says she and her daughter have received death threats and were repeatedly harassed by strangers. Khodyrevas education studio for children has lost many clients. Tsvetkovas childrens theater, Merak, no longer exists frequent visits from law enforcement were too distressing for the children so it shut down, Khodyreva said. It is terrifying. Im still looking back at the door even now, Khodyreva told the AP. The police have barged in so many times that Im not ready to have the children involved in this mayhem. Tsvetkovas troubles started when the childrens theater was preparing to show a play about gender stereotypes, titled The Blues and the Pinks, in March 2019 at a theater festival she organized. The festival lost two venues it found, Khodyreva said, and police questioned children involved in the play about whether Tsvetkova, who directed it, talked to them about LGBT issues. The play had nothing to do with LGBT issues the name referred to colors traditionally associated with boys and girls but in the 1990s, blue and pink in Russian were popular colloquialisms for gay men and women. According to Khodyreva, police didnt talk to the childrens parents, many of whom supported her and her daughter, and the contacts with police were traumatic for the theaters young students. We saw how bad the children felt. We saw how the boy who came up with the name for the play cried, thinking it was his fault, Khodyreva said, adding that another boy who worried that hed told police something about her daughter cried. Tsvetkova was repeatedly summoned for interrogations. In March 2019, the activist said she was questioned about a series of her drawings called A Woman is Not a Doll. The cartoonish depictions of naked or semi-clad women bore captions such as Real women have hair on their bodies and thats normal, Real women have body fat and thats normal. Police alleged the images were pornographic, Tsvetkova said in a VKontakte post. Months later, she was detained and charged with disseminating pornography. Russias prominent human rights group Memorial has declared Tsvetkova a political prisoner. The group said her persecution was related to her civic engagement and feminist views she didnt conceal and promoted through absolutely legal means as an activist and a contemporary artist and the narrative of defending traditional values the Kremlin has embraced in a bid to tighten its grip on power. ___ Alexander Permyakov in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Yekaterina Krylova in St. Petersburg contributed to this report. A former North Bay mayor was arrested Saturday amid allegations of child sex abuse. Robert Jacob, who served as the mayor of the town of Sebastopol, is currently in jail in Sonoma County after police were tipped off at the end of last month to alleged sexual assaults involving a minor. The former mayor was charged with five felony counts, including the distribution of child pornography, and a misdemeanor related to sexual assault crimes involving an individual under the age of 16. Jacob is currently being held without bail. According to a statement issued by Sebastopol police, the incidents of alleged sexual abuse took place between December 2019 and March 2021. Sebastopol police chief Kevin Kilgore told SFGATE that one victim who remains unidentified due to their age has come forward, but an investigation remains ongoing. "It's traumatic for our community, it's traumatic for the survivor of the sexual assault, it's traumatic for everyone and it weighs a toll on our community," Kilgore told KGO of the allegations. Jacob served in Sebastopols city council from 2012 to 2016, and was appointed mayor at the end of 2013. Jacob served a year-long mayoral term, later stepping down from city council in 2016 after a family illness. He was profiled in the New York Times following his successful mayoral campaign. He also is a prominent cannabis advocate and executive, previously serving as the former CEO of Sparc, a Bay Area dispensary service. He currently serves as the head of his own consulting firm, per his LinkedIn. Sparc founder and current CEO Erich Pearson condemned Jacob in a Facebook statement Saturday, calling the allegations horrible and unconscionable. He also confirmed to SFGATE that he worked for the company around the same time he served on city council, from July 2012 to March 2016. These abuses of power have no place in our communities nor our society, and have gone on for far too long, he said in the statement. Police are asking for anyone with more information to contact Sebastopol police at 707-829-4400. Cyclone Seroja snapped tree limbs like carrots as Western Australia coastal towns wake to widespread damage April 12,2021 | Source: The New Daily Almost half of the small Western Australian town of Kalbarri has suffered damage after absolutely terrifying tropical cyclone Seroja wreaked havoc on Sunday night. Ive never experienced anything in my life like we experienced last night, resident and caravan park manager Debbie Major told ABC television on Monday. Its only a small town half of it has been flattened. Seroja, which tore across WAs mid-west coast overnight on Sunday, left a trail of destruction, tearing roofs off houses, ripping apart Carnavons historic jetty in its path. [It was] absolutely terrifying. You know, you just think this is it. I would have thought that when we opened that door again that there would be nothing around it except that, Ms Major said. Seroja made landfall south of the town, about 8pm on Sunday, as a category three storm with wind gusts up to 170km/h. Kalbarri, 580 kilometres north of Perth, is home to about 1400 people. Reports of property damage and power outages in Kalbarri and Geraldton began to emerge as residents took shelter by candlelight and rode out the worst of the storm. Fallen trees, damaged homes and wrecked fences could be spotted amid the howling wind and rain, footage on social media showed. Kalbarri resident Ella Curic told ABC Radio the town had been flattened, with the roof torn off the local pub and police station. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Monday the majority of the more than 150 calls for help so far had come from Kalbarri. The whole town has been impacted. Some areas had a greater concentration of damage than others, resident and Kalbarri State Emergency Service chief Steve Cable told ABC television. Some of the older buildings didnt stand up very well but even some of the modern buildings, they just couldnt hold. Large trees with quite substantial limbs just snapped off like carrots. Mr Cable said it was a ferocious 45 minutes as the storm passed over the town. Then, because we were on red alert and its night time, of course, we didnt have any idea until the winds abated. We then, of course, got out and did some night reconnaissance and the enormity of what we faced was very apparent, he said. Theres a lot of widespread damage. A lot of severe damage. Quite a lot of minor damage. Theres debris all over the roads, which is our high priority for us at the moment. And also theres a lot of power lines down. In one positive note, Mr Cable said he had checked with local hospitals and no one has been injured outside of minor scrapes. The fast-moving storm weakened to a category two system as it pushed inland towards Dalwallinu early on Monday. It has since been downgraded to a tropical low and continues to move south-east over the eastern Wheat Belt, southern Goldfields and South East Coastal areas, with wind gusts up to 100km/h. The ex-cyclone is expected to continue to weaken further through Monday before moving offshore from the south coast in the afternoon. In the meantime, emergency crews are assessing the damage in the Midwest Gascoyne, with residents told to remain inside until the all-clear is given. Western Power said more than 31,500 customers had lost power in Kalbarri, Geraldton, Northampton, Dongara, Port Denison and Mullewa. Once the red alert is lifted and its safe, our crews will start assessing damage and responding to hazards, Western Powers asset operations manager Zane Christmas said. Power crews had been preparing for Seroja since Friday but the damage caused by cyclones can make access to roads, properties and power infrastructure difficult, delaying repairs. Our top priority will be to make hazards safe, then commence restoration work as quickly as possible, Mr Christmas said. Premier Mark McGowan on Sunday described the impending cyclone like nothing we have seen before in decades. A red alert remained in place on Monday for coastal areas from Carnarvon to Lancelin, extending to inland areas and towns including Coorow, Carnamah, Dalwallinu, Denham, Jurien Bay, Lancelin, Moora, Paynes Find and Wongan Hills. Communities in the zone include Geraldton, the shires of Carnamah, Coorow, Chapman Valley, Irwin, Mingenew, Morawa, Northampton, Perenjori, Shark Bay and Three Springs. Theme(s): Communities and Organisations. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) A former counselor accused of raping one boy and repeatedly groping another at New Hampshires youth detention center in the 1990s denied the allegations when questioned by police but acknowledged being reprimanded for wrestling with children, a prosecutor said Monday. Frank Davis, 79, of Hopkinton, is one of seven former workers at the Youth Development Center in Manchester who were arrested last week and charged with either sexual assault or being accomplices to the abuse of 11 teens from 1994 to 2005. The center, now called the Sununu Youth Services Center, has been the target of a broad criminal investigation since 2019, along with a lawsuit in which more than 200 men and women allege they were physically or sexually abused as children by 150 staffers from 1963 to 2018. David Meehan, the lawsuit's lead plaintiff, alleges that he contracted gonorrhea at age 15 from being raped by Davis during what he was told was going to be a search for contraband in his room. In addition to rape, Davis is charged with sexually assaulting another teen who described being frequently wrestled to the ground and groped, Assistant Attorney General Timothy Sullivan said. He said Davis was known around the facility as Kung Fu Frank because he often wrestled with teens on mattresses in a room where he displayed martial arts trophies. After Meehan went to police in 2017, a supervisor told investigators that Davis was told to stop wrestling and was transferred to another facility, Sullivan said. Davis confirmed that he had been spoken to, but denied his actions were abusive, Sullivan said. The defendant was interviewed and did acknowledge that at some point he had been talked to about his wrestling with children, specifically the boys, said Sullivan, who urged a judge to order Davis held without bail. But Davis attorney, Justin Shepherd, argued for release without bail, saying saying his client hasnt fled the state despite knowing he was under investigation since 2017. Davis also suffers from multiple medical conditions that would make fleeing all but impossible, he said. Story continues Im not even sure he can walk out the front door on his own two feet, he said. Hes not going anywhere. The judge set bail at $3,000 for Davis and at $10,000 for Gordon Thomas Searles, 65, of Brooksville, Florida, who is accused of coercing a teenage boy into performing a sexual act in exchange for a reduction in punishment sometime between 1995 and 1998. Searles attorney, Joe Fricano, said the accuser had been both a sexual abuse victim and perpetrator before being sent to the youth center and had a history of disciplinary problems there. Searles, who divides his time between Florida and New Hampshire, adamantly denies the allegation and was arrested without incident, Fricano said. He never wants to run because hes innocent, Fricano said. He looks forward to his day in court. Meehan, who is not the alleged victim in Searles criminal case, separately has alleged that when he told Searles he had been raped and beaten by other staff, Searles cut him off and said, Look little fella, that just doesnt happen. The Associated Press does not identify victims of sexual assault unless they choose to identify themselves publicly, as Meehan has done. Australia must develop a new, more centralised model for its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, with general practitioners unable to deliver the preferred Pfizer vaccine to younger Australians, disrupting plans for millions of vaccinations. Doctors say mass vaccination clinics will be needed to inoculate people aged under 50 following the federal governments decision late last week to preference the Pfizer jab which cannot be easily stored at doctors surgeries over AstraZeneca for this age group. The countrys COVID-19 vaccine rollout is set for a major overhaul, with general practitioners unable to give the preferred Pfizer vaccine to younger Australians, disrupting plans for millions of jabs. Credit:AP Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said GPs who had been given the responsibility for the bulk of the vaccine rollout did not typically have the facilities in their clinics to store unopened Pfizer vials for two weeks at the required temperature of about minus 20 degrees. It cant just go in the freezer in the tea room, Dr Khorshid said. And we just dont have those facilities out there in the community. Therefore, even though we are now getting 40 million doses of Pfizer we are going to have to deal with the logistics, which in our view means a more centralised model, where the vaccines are stored centrally and rolled out to bigger clinics where they know theyre going to be used within a short period of time. 3 1 of 3 Paul Buckowski/Albany Times Union Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Paul Buckowski/Albany Times Union Show More Show Less 3 of 3 SARATOGA SPRINGS Stewart's Shops employees now own 40 percent of the company through its employee stock ownership program, the convenience store chain revealed last week after their annual statements. Stewart's, which was founded in 1945 by the Dake family and has nearly 350 locations in upstate New York and Vermont, runs a so-called employee stock ownership plan in which employees are granted stock in the company each year. The new law in Virginia which takes effect on July 1, 2021 will implement caps on probation terms by limiting adult probation sentences to a maximum of one year for misdemeanor offenses and five years for felonies. Prior to passing HB 2038, Virginia was one of only seven states with no such restrictions, resulting in endless extensions to probation terms that kept people unjustly trapped in the criminal justice system. Additionally, HB 2038 will provide much-needed relief to the catastrophic consequences people on probation face as a result of technical violations (non-crimes like missing a meeting with a probation officer, failing to report a traffic ticket to the probation officer, etc. that can result in lengthy incarceration). HB2038 creates a system of graduated sanctions for technical probation violations to prevent people from being re-incarcerated for a first technical probation violation. If there are subsequent technical violations, a term of incarceration can only be imposed if the court finds that there is no other safe and less-restrictive way to deter the conduct. This refocuses Virginia's limited resources on public safety, community stability, and successful reentry, rather than investing in incarceration to punish people on probation for non-criminal conduct. "This legislation is a meaningful step forward toward building better pathways for Virginians stuck in the probation trap, and sets a positive example for what can be done in other states across the country," REFORM CEO Robert Rooks said. "We're thankful for the support behind HB 2038 that will reunite families, prevent unnecessary incarcerations and give life back to thousands of Virginians." The REFORM collaboration in Virginia originated when Justice Forward VA and the bill's author Delegate Don Scott, who is also system impacted, tweeted at REFORM founding partner Meek Mill in December 2020, asking for support on Scott's criminal justice bill. Meek publicly agreed to assist and dispatched the REFORM team to partner with Scott who joined forces with the advocacy groups to collectively drive the bill forward. "When people directly impacted by probation and our broken criminal justice system, like Meek Mill and others at the REFORM Alliance, get behind those of us fighting to make a difference on these issues, we can create substantive and meaningful change," said Delegate Don Scott. HB 2038 signals a new era for Virginia as one of only a handful of states without limitations on supervision, the average length of a probation term has increased by more than 50% since 2000, requiring the nearly 60,000 people on probation in the state to endure lengthy and unjust supervision terms. On any given day in Virginia, 11,239 people are incarcerated because of a probation violation, generating an annual cost to the state of $309 million. HB 2038 finally puts a stop to never ending probation terms and brings much-needed limits to the costly and damaging practice of using incarceration to address technical violations, all while increasing safety and stability in local communities. To harness the growing momentum of REFORM's state-by-state work to transform the flawed probation and parole system, REFORM has launched a revamped website to improve access to opportunities for the growing community of Reformers. The site, which was designed and built by award-winning creative digital agency Wide Eye, features newly designed elements that capture the essence of the work REFORM is committed to as well as real stories of people on probation and parole that have experienced the web of contradictory and ineffective rules. People can sign up to take action with REFORM at https://reformalliance.com/actions/ . About REFORM Alliance: REFORM is committed to transforming probation and parole throughout the United States by changing laws, systems, and culture. The organization is working to replace America's criminal justice system with a restorative approach that is fair, accountable and invested in rehabilitation. Our goal is for people to reenter society with dignity, create meaningful pathways to work and equip them with the tools to succeed all while making families and communities safer and stronger. The nonprofit organization was founded in the wake of the #FreeMeek movement by award-winning recording artist Meek Mill; Philadelphia 76ers partner and Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin; Arnold Ventures co-founder Laura Arnold; entrepreneur and business mogul Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter; Kraft Group CEO and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; Galaxy Digital CEO and founder Michael E. Novogratz; Vista Equity Partners founder, chairman, CEO Robert F. Smith; Brooklyn Nets co-owner and philanthropic investor Clara Wu Tsai; and CNN host and activist Van Jones. Veteran criminal justice advocate Robert Rooks leads the organization as CEO. Contact: Cristin Klein | [email protected] or Berk Communications | [email protected] SOURCE REFORM Alliance Related Links https://reformalliance.com Bellaire resident Manpreet Kaur Singh looks forward to Vaisakhi every year. Its the holiday when she writes notes to friends and family. To celebrate, she heads to the gurdwara, the Sikh house of worship. After the service, she enjoys the programs and dance competitions. Its like one celebration after the other, Singh said. Vaisakhi is a huge deal. But last year, we didnt have anything but streaming. COVID-19 restrictions placed the usual festivities on hold. Vaisakhi, which is April 13 this year, is considered the most important date on the Sikh calendar. It heralds in the new year, celebrates the beginning of the harvest and marks the occasion when the 10th guru, Gobind Singh, created the tenets of the faith. He established the Khalsa, or Sikh community, a code of discipline, the articles of faith to be worn at all times and Amrit, an initiation ceremony similar to baptism. Guru Gobind Singh gave the Khalsa the last names of Singh for male and Kaur for female, eliminating titles that symbolized status, wealth or social hierarchy. He also proclaimed that there would be no further successors of human gurus. Instead, the Sikh scripture itself would become the next living guru and guide. He gave us the codification of the brotherhood, Manpreet Kaur Singh said. He laid out the tenets of Sikhism, the way we practice. She added that the Sikh identity took root during Vaisakhi including the practice of standing up against injustice and oppression and defending equality and freedom for all. The inspiration for Guru Gobind Singhs beliefs came from his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, who made the ultimate sacrifice to benefit others. His birth is also celebrated this month by the Sikh community on April 18. In fact, this year will commemorate the 400th anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadurs birth. Aprils two holidays are intertwined. Theyre tied at the hip, said west Houston resident Bobby Singh, an active member of the Sikh community. You cannot separate one from the other. There wouldnt be a Vaisakhi if it werent for Guru Tegh Bahadur. Giving his life for religious freedom Tegh Bahadur, who became the ninth guru of the Sikh tradition in 1664, is revered for defending religious freedom. He was in his 40s, when a group of Kashmiri Hindus appealed to him, We are being persecuted and forcefully converted. We have no means to protect ourselves, Sugar Land resident Bhupinder Singh explained. He added that under the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, persecution was rising for Sikhs, Hindus and practitioners of other religions in India. At one point, Brahmins in particular were targeted and Hindu temples and schools demolished. Guru Tegh Bahadur traveled to Aurangzeb, at great peril, to speak on behalf of the Hindus, Bhupinder Singh said. The guru was subsequently imprisoned for months and given the choice to either convert or perform a miracle to prove his relationship with God. The guru refused. He said performing miracles is trying to take power from God and trying to be an equal with God, Bhupinder Singh explained. He said, I dont believe in forceful conversions. People should have the freedom of their faith. To scare and punish Guru Tegh Bahadur, the emperor ordered that his followers traveling with him would be tortured to death in front of him. They wanted to weaken his resolve, Bhupinder Singh said. Still, the guru was steadfast in his conviction. Finally, he was beheaded, Bhupinder Singh said. Because of this sacrifice, he is known as Hind ki Chaddar, or protector of the Hindu religion. You will not find another person who gave his life to protect anothers faith, Bhupinder Singh said. It was not even his own faith. You cannot find another example of that. He translated one of Guru Tegh Bahadurs sayings: Do not frighten anyone or be afraid of anybody. Thats a great message, he said. These days, there are mass shootings taking place, just because of race or whatever the case may be. It has become easy to take a weapon to the other. No matter who the other is, we are all children of God. Were all one family. Following his father Guru Gobind Singh was only 9 years old when his father marched off to protect the freedom of others and the fortitude of his fathers convictions made a deep impression on the child. Thats why Sikhs today believe in equality for all across gender, race, socioeconomic status and religion, Bobby Singh explained. Guru Tegh Bahadur laid down his life hundreds of years before these concepts became rallying cries. Its easy to speak on my behalf or my familys behalf or my communitys behalf, but it usually stops right there, Bobby Singh said. For someone to take a stand for others against an oppressive regime and in that part of the world, at that time was revolutionary. Because of the gurus martyrdom, Sikhs made social justice central to the faith, Bobby Singh added. We have to protect the oppressed, and it is not an option, he said. You cannot be an innocent bystander. Every time April rolls around, celebrating both the Gurus birth and Vaisakhi reminds Bobby Singh of how important equality and freedom are to the Sikh tradition. This year, Bobby Singh said that the two occasions seem even more meaningful, in the midst of the Stop AAPI Hate and Black Lives Matter movements. Weve got to stand up with each other and support each other, he said. Thats the message from Guru Tegh Bahadur, and its exactly what we need today. Moving forward in the new year A year has passed since COVID-19 arrived. Manpreet Kaur Singh is now vaccinated and back to the gurdwara in person. Still, its strict, she said. We are sitting 6 feet apart. Masks are mandatory. We dont want to put people in jeopardy. And that means Vaisakhi will still feel less festive. Im sure it will be a much tamer celebration, she said. This is a new year, and I know the end is kind of close, but I dont know when. For instance, keeping her distance can be a challenge when greeting friends at the gurdwara. Its so cultural for us to hug and embrace when we see each other, she said. Thats hard. Everything we do is very measured. Were cautious. The sense of community is missing, and its a big difference. At the same time, Manpreet Kaur Singh said, the solitude that accompanied the pandemic has opened up new opportunities. She signed up for an online theology class at Harvard University to learn more about Sikhism and now feels even more connected to her faith. This year, Vaisakhi will be livestreamed for individuals not yet ready to return to the gurdwara. Plans are in the works for an outdoor celebration after the ceremony, including food, games and competitions for children, said Manpreet Kaur Singhs mother, Hardeep Singh, president of the Sikh Center of the Gulf Coast Area. It will be a little more than regular, but it wont be on the same scale, she added. If theres anything the last year has taught her, its that life is unpredictable. Enjoy and do now, she said. God, in a few days, turned the world around. But I think we will see a light at the end of the tunnel soon. Hardeep Singh is reminded of the Sikh term chardi kala a call to cultivating optimism and joy. We are taught as Sikhs to always be positive, she said. Thats our motto, even when it feels the world is falling apart. You have to have the spirit of, I can do it. Thats ingrained in us. God is always with you. Bobby Singh agreed. This global phenomenon has touched every one of us, he said. Our Vaisakhi celebration will be muted, but a new year is around the corner. Youve got to move forward. Lindsay Peyton is a Houston-based freelance writer. Bhavya Sharma, Ph.D. has been named the winner of the 2021 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award. Tweet this Sharma received her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 2011. She has become a leader in the area of neurochemical detection with various forms of Raman spectroscopy, including surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and spatially offset Raman spectroscopy. Sharma has developed novel Raman spectroscopy methods for neurological detection, including surface-enhanced spatially offset Raman spectroscopy. Additionally, she is developing methods to demonstrate direct detection of molecules for the first time by combining SERS and multivariate analysis. Sharma has published 26 papers and has given more than 40 oral and poster presentations at scientific conferences. She is a reviewer for multiple journals and received an Outstanding Reviewer award for the journal Analyst in 2018. As an active member of the Coblentz Society, Sharma has served on multiple award committees and was also a member of the program committee for the OSA Optical Sensors Conference for 2018 and 2019. Sharma has also been active in organizing sessions at various scientific conferences, including Pittcon, the SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing Symposium, and SciX. Selected by an independent scientific committee, the Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award recognizes the achievements and aspirations of a talented young molecular spectroscopist who has made strides early in his or her career toward the advancement of molecular spectroscopy techniques and applications. The winner must be within 10 years of receiving his or her Ph.D. For information on how to nominate a young scientist for the 2022 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award, click here. About Spectroscopy Spectroscopy is a multimedia platform dedicated to analytical spectroscopy through peer-reviewed articles, tutorials, web seminars, and more. Spectroscopy aims to enhance productivity, efficiency, and the overall value of spectroscopy as a practical analytical technology across a variety of fields. The magazine and its website provide scientists, technicians, and laboratory managers with content to help them improve their practice. Spectroscopy is a brand of MJH Life Sciences, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels. SOURCE Spectroscopy Poll finds majority of experienced motorists have no trust in smart motorways Poll finds majority of experienced motorists have no trust in smart motorways A new web poll on smart motorways from the UKs largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, has revealed that the majority of respondents (85 per cent) want a halt on their construction until the safety case is fully proven. Furthermore, 84 per cent of the 4,500 respondents surveyed had little faith in the current safety systems abilities to detect them if they were to breakdown in a running lane and protect them until help arrived. Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy & Research, said: Our members include many high mileage, experienced and confident motorway users but the results of this survey are clear to see, with the vast majority having very little, or no confidence, in the safety of smart motorways. We would urge the Department for Transport and Highways England to listen to what smart motorway users are saying and to consider our findings, along with other in-depth research, to determine the best approach to developing the smart motorway network. Delaying decisions on smart motorways will only lead to more drivers getting stressed. Alongside more education for drivers, IAM RoadSmart wants to see strong leadership with clear decisions taken soon on whether the programme should be reversed, or provided with the appropriate funding that will speed up delivery of the promised refuges, CCTV and vehicle detection technology. Meanwhile, other hard-hitting results from the IAM RoadSmart study found that 81 per cent of motorists felt less safe travelling on a smart motorway compared to a normal one, and 81 per cent agreed that hard shoulders should be immediately reinstated on smart motorways. More than 80 per cent also wanted safety refuges on smart motorways to be spaced at 500 metres apart or less. Finally, 40 per cent of drivers found no noticeable improvement in their journey time, with only 4 per cent finding a very noticeable improvement compared to 6 per cent who actually found it worse than before. This survey highlights a potentially very serious unintended consequence in that driver reluctance to use smart motorways could create increased traffic on local A and B roads. This would undoubtedly lead to an increased risk of collision and injury with even more delays and driver frustration resulting. Greig concluded. About IAM RoadSmart IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UKs largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has over 82,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmarts courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes. To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit: www.iamroadsmart.com David Siegel, MD, MPH, is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and a Lieutenant Commander in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. He joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) from 2016 to 2018 and remained in DCPC as a medical officer. Dr. Siegel focuses his work and research on pediatric, young adult, prostate, and tobacco-associated cancers and on using cancer registry data to improve disparities in clinical trial enrollment and outcomes. Dr. Siegel attended Washington University in St. Louis for his undergraduate studies and the George Washington University School of Medicine for medical school. He completed a pediatric residency and a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Emory University and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. Some of the articles Dr. Siegel has first-authored include A man who ignored a friends warning not to drive after several hours of drinking and then hit and killed a pedestrian has been jailed for four years. Stephen Papagelou drank three shots, three mixed drinks and a glass of wine with friends in the three hours before he drove through a red light in Chapel Street, South Yarra and hit Henry Ekselman as the 73-year-old crossed the road. Henry Ekselman. Credit:Andrew De La Rue Mr Ekselman, a father of five and grandfather who lived nearby, suffered critical injuries when hit at 8.52pm on November 18, 2018. He died about an hour later in hospital. County Court judge Kevin Doyle on Monday ordered the 29-year-old serve two years before he is eligible for parole. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death. The Philistines in the Bible In the Exodus from Egypt, God promised the Israelites they would take Canaan as their home: I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I willdrive theCanaanites out of your wayI will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River (Exodus 23:27-28, 31). Taking Canaan required outing Canaans native tribes, including the Philistines, who were descendants of Noahs youngest son Ham and had spread across this region next to the Aegean Sea (Genesis 9:18-19; Genesis 10:6, 15-19). Moses sent 12 spies or scouts to survey the Canaan territory ahead of the Hebrews settling the land. The 12 Spies returned after 40 days with a report that terrified the Israelites: We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are very powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. . . We cant attack those people; they are stronger than we are (Numbers, 13:27-28, 31). Anak was one man in of line of giants mentioned in Joshua 15:13. The Israelites balked at entering Canaan after hearing the spies report, and God decreed that they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years as a result of their unwillingness to act further on His promise to them (Numbers 14:26-35). When the Israelites did finally settle in the Promised Land, they warred with the Philistines during the Biblical times of the Old Testament books of Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles. From Abraham to King Hezekiah, conflicts arose as Israel attempted to displace Philistines in the Promised Land. Israelis acted on Gods promise to His people that He would protect them from destruction and let them be victorious in battle, taking over vast areas of territory in the Promised Land (Joshua 13-21). So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there (Joshua 21:43). All of Israels battles with the Philistines were not successful, however. The outcomes of seven major battles between Israel and the Philistines reveal this. The Battle of Aphek in which approximately 34,000 Israeli soldiers were killed. Hebrew elders questioned why God let them suffer so many casualties. The Philistine army soldiers feared the Israelis Ark of the Covenant but captured it during this battle (1 Samuel 4). The Battle of Eben-Ezer in which Israel is victorious (1 Samuel 7:1, 13-14). The Battle of Michmash in which Saul nearly loses his son Jonathan, who is successful against the Philistine army (1 Samuel 14:31-46). David defeats Goliath in the larger context of the Israeli-Philistine conflict (1 Samuel 17). The Battle of Mount Gilboa, in which King Saul falls on his sword and dies after the Philistine army kills his three sons (1 Samuel 31:1-6). Hezekiahs father, King Ahaz, worships false gods (2 Kings 16:1-4), is struck with bad fortune (2 Kings 17:20), and fails in the Battle of Shephelah (1 Samuel 6:19). Philistines return the Ark of the Covenant to Ahaz because it has brought disaster to them (1 Samuel 5:11). King Hezekiah of Judah is obedient to God and defeats the Philistines (2 Kings 18:5-8). Having an enemy in the Philistines did unite Israel under its first kings. As is written about King Saul in 1 Samuel 14:52, All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service. Samson and David had individual encounters with Philistine enemies, and their stories are dramatically recorded in the Bible. How Did Samson Attack the Philistines? Samson, a powerfully built judge of Israel before the time of the kings, lost his strength when the Philistine woman Delilahwho Samson fell in love withled her people in blinding and enslaving Samson. Delilah discovered the source of Samsons strength was his hair, and she cut it off to weaken him. The Philistines then captured Samson and rewarded Delilah with 1100 shekels, which was approximately three years wages (Judges 16:4-5, 15-21). God restored Samson's strength at the end of his life. Samson cried out to God for renewed strength from his lowly position as a slave grinding grain for the Philistines. When the Philistines had Samson entertain them at their temple, Samson, with Gods gift of new strength, knocked down supporting pillars of the building. It collapsed, killing Samson and thousands of Philistines. Samson had prayed, Let me die with the Philistines! (Joshua 16:25-30). How Did David Attack a Philistine Giant? The Old Testament story of David slaying Goliath (I Samuel 17) has become a legend as a case of the little guy defeating an imposing enemy. Before the pairs short duel began, the Israelites and Philistine armies are assembled on opposite hills overlooking a valley. Goliath sets the battle in motion: A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronzeand a bronze javelin was slung on his back (1 Samuel 17:4-7). Goliath challenges any man in the Israeli army to fight him. If the Israelite defeats Goliath, he says, the Philistines will become Israeli subjects. No man in the Israeli army responds to the challenge: On hearing the Philistines words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified (1 Samuel 17:11). David, meanwhile, leaves his flock of sheep to visit his three older brothers in their army encampment. David hears Goliaths challenge, given for the fortieth day in a row, and learns that Sauls reward for defeating Goliath is the hand of his daughter in marriage and tax breaks for the family of the slayer. David is confident in the God of Abraham when he responds to Goliaths challenge: Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? (1 Samuel 17:26). Despite King Sauls reluctance that David, a boy, should fight such a formidable foe, David remains confident he will slay Goliath. David has killed lions and bears that threatened his sheep. The Philistine is like a vicious, wild animal to Davidone he can overcome with Gods help. David tells Saul, The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine (1 Samuel 17:37). David says to Goliath, You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied (1 Samuel 17:45). David knocks out Goliath with his first shot from his slingshot arsenal of five smooth stones. The giant lays lifeless on the ground. The Philistine army flees and is pursued by Israelites, who kill many of them. After defeating Goliath, David cuts off Goliaths head with Goliaths sword and brings the head to Jerusalem, which Israel had not yet conquered and established as Israels capital city. King Saul asks David who he is exactly and finds out David is a son of Jesse, whom Samuel prophesied would rule as king of Israel after Saul (I Samuel 17:51-58). Photo credit: Getty Images/kevron2001 Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access India reported a record daily tally of 1,68,912 COVID-19 infections on Monday, the worlds highest, even as worries intensify over a further spike. India now accounts for one in every six daily infections worldwide. A full opening of Indias economy after last years crippling lockdown, mass religious festivals and political rallies in states holding elections have worsened a second wave of infections. The full-blown COVID attack may see daily case count triple and the death toll can top 2,000 by mid-May, some epidemiologists estimate. The grim spectre unfolding across India points at multiple failures - primarily politics, religion and personal behavior. While pandemic fatigue is another contributor to COVID spike, the gathering of millions at Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, and power-packed election rallies in West Bengal and other poll-bound states, are a potential reason behind proliferating numbers. Supporters of the Chief Minister of the eastern state of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief, Mamata Banerjee, attend an election campaign rally ahead of the forth phase of the state election, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID On April 10, the Election Commission (EC) asked political parties to observe COVID-19 guidelines issued by it last year in all seriousness. It took EC six weeks into the campaign and polling to issue a reminder of poll guidelines issues in 2020. With assembly elections due in four big states this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to the eastern state of West Bengal to address rallies that are drawing thousands of people sans masks. Social distancing is a thing of the past. Speaking at a massive rally in Bardhaman, PM Modi tweeted today, sharing a video of the large gathering of mask-less crowds. Speaking at a massive rally in Bardhaman. https://t.co/PF05LCuYww Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 12, 2021 The pictures and videos of the ballooning unmasked crowds epitomize super spreader characteristics, foretelling what's to follow. Despite the political blame game among states and Centre, none of the poll rallies were COVID appropriate. Question is -- if limits can be enforced for marriages and funerals, and schools and colleges can be shut, why no such limit for rallies? Fears now mount that COVID has reached hinterlands of the country, which was earlier somehow immune to the virus - courtesy, massive gatherings and reverse migration. While infections have grown exponentially in nearly a dozen states, politicians and ministers are still addressing election rallies attended by tens of thousands of mask-less people jostling for space. BJP-ruled Assam's Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was ridiculed on social media on the weekend after saying there was no need for masks in his state and that wearing one hurts businesses like beauty parlours. Assam is going on polls to elect a new government. New Delhi: Google launched the Pixel 2 smartphone, audio speakers, Pixelbook laptop at an event in San Francisco on Wednesday after Samsung launched its Galaxy Note 8 and rival Apple unveiled the new iPhone X and iPhone 8 and 8 Plus earlier in September. Earlier, Tipster Evan Blass aka @evleaks shared images of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL which showed the handsets in their full glory. The leaked images confirmed that the new Pixel 2 XL's biggest feature shall be 18:9 aspect ratio displays. The Pixel 2, on the other hand, will come with a 5-inch full-HD display with an aspect ratio of 16:9 The company could release an update for its voice-activated Home speaker alongside a mini version and possibly one with a screen. Here are the live updates Search what you see: to help you interact with the world around you, Pixel 2 comes with an exclusive preview of Google Lens. #madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/lOMvNwWwBV Google (@Google) October 4, 2017 #Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL launched Pixelbook, the first laptop with the Google Assistant, and Pixelbook Penlaunched Big help meets big sound. Meet Google Home Max. Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/aPIokEP6AH Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 4, 2017 A big tabletop speaker than tunes automatically to your space, works alone or in stereo, makes wonderful sound. Same help, smaller size. Introducing the new Google Home Mini. pic.twitter.com/spyE3sS4UH Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 4, 2017 #Google launches audio speaker #Google CEO Sunder Pichai addresses an audience at the event and he speaks about artificial intelligence ANAMOSA, Iowa (AP) One of two inmates accused of killing two prison workers at the Anamosa State Penitentiary last month has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. Michael Dutcher filed a written plead ahead of Monday's scheduled court appearance, which has been postponed at the request of attorneys for the other inmate accused, Thomas Woodard Jr. Both men are charged with first-degree murder and other counts in the March 23 slayings of nurse Lorena Schulte and correctional officer Robert McFarland. Authorities say the workers were killed during a failed escape attempt by Dutcher and Woodard. Both inmates were serving time for armed robbery convictions at the time of the killings. The organizing drive in Alabama may in the end prove to have been a one-off. It gathered a lot of attention including strange political bedfellow Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in part because the target was Amazon, not the most popular of businesses in the country. But the campaign was a longshot from the get-go another reason it attracted so much attention (we love a good David and Goliath story, until Goliath wins). The Deep South has historically been difficult to organize, and despite persistent stories about sometimes deplorable working conditions in some Amazon facilities, the wages in Bessemer exceed the mandated minimum, and working conditions clearly werent perceived by Bessemer workers to be sufficiently bad to band together and demand changes. While the drive failed in Bessemer, that does not mean similar drives will fall short elsewhere. Im sure union officials will be digesting the organizing plan and the results and figuring out how to do it better next time. But that sidesteps the biggest issue. American unions not only have to persuade American workers that they are relevant, but they have to bring home the truth that they are vital, and that a key step to restoring the American middle class is to restore unions role in gaining for workers a bigger share of the spoils of their own labor. Scott Martelle is an editorial writer with the Los Angeles Times. He spent more than 30 years in newsrooms before moving to opinion writing. He has covered presidential elections, books and publishing, and countless other topics in a career given mostly to general assignment reporting. Martelle is the author of several history books, and previously worked as a journalist in western New York and Detroit, where he honed an interest in labor issues. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 POTTSVILLE The Pine Grove man charged by police with killing his grandmother in January at their residence is not yet competent to stand trial, a Schuylkill County judge decided Tuesday. Kalvin L. Clark, 33, cannot aid his lawyer or understand the charges against him in any of his cases, Judge Jacqueline L. Russell ruled after a 10-minute hearing. "All the proceedings will be at a standstill," Russell told Clark, who is an inmate at the county prison and participated in the hearing by videoconference. "There will be no proceedings ... until there's a change in your medical situation." Assistant Public Defender Lora J. McDonald, Clark's lawyer, said Dr. Larry Rotenberg, a Wyomissing psychiatrist, is preparing a report on Clark that will be more comprehensive. Assistant District Attorney Thomas J. Campion Jr. said District Attorney Michael A. O'Pake wants Clark to be transferred to Norristown State Hospital for improved treatment. The most serious of Clark's cases involves charges of first- and third-degree murder, aggravated assault, strangulation, recklessly endangering another person and simple assault. He is being held without bail. In that case, state police at Schuylkill Haven allege he killed Sharon L. Zimmerman, 74, around 3 p.m. Jan. 24 at their home at 89 N. Tulpehocken St. (Route 125). Police said Clark told them he and Zimmerman had an argument in the house. To try to quiet her, Clark gave his grandmother a "fishhook" in her mouth, pulling her cheek to keep her from yelling, police said. Clark eventually left Zimmerman lying at the foot of the stairs, police said. Irish Water has clarified the extent of the works being carried out near two Portlaoise secondary schools and the potential impact on school traffic. The company said last week that working in partnership with Laois County Council it would be replacing 300 metres of water pipes on Colliers Lane which is one of the main access routes to Scoil Chriost Ri and St Mary's CBS campus. A spokesperson for the utility clarified the impact on Monday, April 12 when the works were scheduled to start as the schools fully reopened after lockdown. "I can confirm that these essential works wont interfere with traffic to the schools as they are taking place on a section of Colliers lane that runs parallel to the main route to the school. Colliers lane has been realigned over the years so the main volume of traffic would not go through our works area. "The only traffic on our route would be to the properties along this section. We will however contact the schools in the area prior to works starting as a matter of courtesy," said the statement. One of the schools issued a notice to parents, pupils and staff on Sunday that work may affect the school commute. Irish Water had previously said that the work is expected to be completed by the end of April in Colliers Lane Sisterdale Distilling Straight Bourbon We chose the Big Thirst Consulting team to take advantage of their deep connections with distributors and retailers, as well as their extensive know-how in navigating the complex world of beverage alcohol. Their seamless approach to helping us with operations has been extremely beneficial. Chad Gail Sisterdale Distilling Co., a new whiskey distillery located in the Texas Hill Country, selected Big Thirst Consulting as its partner to help launch its Straight Bourbon in Texas. Big Thirst Consulting will provide sales enablement, distributor relations, and marketing services to help the distillery establish its presence in bars, restaurants, and retail stores and increase awareness for its new brand. Sisterdale Distilling Co. was founded by longtime friends, Chad Gailey and Peter Watson, with a mission to bring innovation, and a new business approach to the pursuit of creating the most delicious bourbon possible. As a start-up, the partners chose to devote their resources to acquiring premium sourced whiskey rather than in building an expensive new distillery. Along with a veteran Texas distiller, the company ages, precisely blends, and bottles bourbon in its production facilities located on a family ranch in Sisterdale, Texas. Starting a new distillery isnt easy, and we knew we needed to partner with industry experts in order to successfully launch and get our bourbon into the market quickly, said Chad Gaily, co-founder, Sisterdale Distilling Co. We chose the Big Thirst Consulting team to take advantage of their deep connections with distributors and retailers, as well as their extensive know-how in navigating the complex world of beverage alcohol. Their seamless approach to helping us with operations has been extremely beneficial. Within weeks of contacting them, we had a massive jump in sales through our distributor, got placements in several new stores, developed new messaging, and have a solid marketing plan to propel our business growth. Big Thirst Consulting will help Sisterdale Distilling Co. with route-to-market consulting to increase sales by working with the distillerys sales team and its distributor partners. The firm will expand Sisterdale Distillings presence on and off premise statewide with a focus on independent stores, chain retailers, and fine dining establishments. Big Thirst Marketing will increase brand awareness and purchase intent with public relations, digital marketing, director to consumer communications, and e-commerce. We started our business explicitly to help distilleries bring their vision to life, said Mark Shilling, partner, Big Thirst Consulting. Were thrilled to help Sisterdale Distilling Co. get started on the right path and to provide the distribution management, sales guidance, and marketing services they need to get their whiskey on more store shelves and bar backs around the country. Were looking forward to helping them meet their business goals this year and beyond. About Sisterdale Distilling Co. Sisterdale Distilling Co. is dedicated to making one thing: the most delicious, refined bourbon. We painstakingly handcraft every drop of our bourbon and you will taste the difference. Founded by Chad Gailey and Peter Watson Sisterdale Distilling Co. in 2020 on a 1,200-acre family cattle ranch just off Sister Creek in Sisterdale, Texas to make the highest quality, small-batch bourbon. Currently Sisterdale Distilling produces a Straight Bourbon from five different bourbons meticulously selected from a distillery. Stay connected with Sisterdale Distilling Co. on Instagram and Facebook. About Big Thirst Consulting Founded in 2020 Big Thirst Consulting provides complete, integrated business services for distilleries to pave the way to profitable growth. The consultancy, created by spirits industry veterans, Matt McGinnis, and Mark Shilling along with advisory board member, Joseph Castillo, helps distilleries with services including regulatory compliance, distribution, pricing, sales, and marketing to help them grow to the next level, faster, with better margins. Big Thirst Consulting has extensive experience helping start-up and growth phase craft and major brand distilleries streamline operations, increase sales, and manage distributor relations for market growth. The consultancy accesses the power of Big Thirst Marketing, a full-service agency, that fosters relationships between your brand and loyal customers. -- end -- John Dorie met a tragic end during the shocking mid-season six premiere Sunday of Fear The Walking Dead on AMC. Murdered in a way no one could have predicted, the newlywed former cop [Garret Dillahunt] also had a heartbreaking last reunion with his bride. John fled to his riverside cabin on Sunday's episode titled The Door after separating from June [Jenna Elfman] and growing depressed. Mid-season premiere: John Dorie met a tragic end during the shocking mid-season six premiere Sunday of Fear The Walking Dead on AMC He'd had enough of the corrupt post-apocalypse world, and was sickened by the praise he'd received from the Pioneers for 'solving' the murder of its ranger Cameron [Noah Khyle]. John sat at a table drinking liquor and contemplating suicide, spelling out 'Goodbye June' in Scrabble tiles. Frank Capra's 1941 film Meet John Doe played on his TV, the story about an honest man in a rotten world. In the movie, Doe nearly kills himself as a response to societal ills, then thinks better of it. Bad reunion: Murdered in a way no one could have predicted, the newlywed former cop [Garret Dillahunt] also had a heartbreaking last reunion with his bride June [Jenna Elfman] 'I wouldn't do that if I were you, John. It'll do you no good,' a man onscreen said. 'Buried in Potters' Field, and you will have accomplished nothing.' Twice John cocked a gun under his chin and twice he used it to shoot zombies outside. His door was completely off its hinges, so John canoed upriver to find supplies. Apocalyptic blues: John fled to his riverside cabin on Sunday's episode titled The Door after separating from June and growing depressed As he went, he saw zombies on a bridge above him and massing behind a roadblock. John shot eight at a 'bait and beer' store and walked in, shouting that he wanted no trouble. Dakota [Zoe Colletti] emerged from behind a counter, holding a giant ax. Walking dead: A zombie approached John's home down by the river She said she was hiding from her sister, Pioneers leader Virginia [Colby Minifie], and John said he was doing the same. Dakota showed him Morgan Jones [Lennie James] in the next room, and revealed that he'd positioned the zombies on the bridge. 'Hey John,' Morgan said, his chest bloody where he was shot by Virginia at the end of season five. Old friends: Morgan Jones [Lennie James] tried to get John to join up with him 'Getting across the bridge, putting the barricade up, trapping the deadhis wound opened up,' Dakota said. 'I patched it up as best as I could.' John eyeballed Morgan and said, 'I feel like I'm looking at a ghost.' Morgan explained that Virginia had sent rangers after him, Alicia Clark [Alycia Debnam-Carey] and Charlie [Alexa Nisenson], and they'd been separated by zombies. Good shot: The former police officer shot zombies through his doorway Just then ranger Marcus [Justin Smith] entered the store and radioed the Pioneers to tell them John had been there. John marked the man with his gun but failed to take a shot. When Marcus left, the gang grabbed his dropped radio and went to John's cabin. Little sister: Dakota [Zoe Colletti] was trying to get away from her sister Virginia Morgan hoped John would journey with them to a place he'd been building 40 miles north. He intended to use Dakota as bait to get June, Grace [Karen David], Daniel [Ruben Blades] and others out of Virginia's clutches, and needed John for the fight. Dakota found a shard of the knife that killed Cameron, which John saved to track down his killer. Teaming up: John agreed to help Dakota and Morgan without joining them Morgan worried that John was hiding himself from the world like he had when he was a cop. When Virginia radioed, Morgan spoke to Grace who said she was seven months pregnant. Virginia refused to call off her rangers and warned Morgan he'd better keep Dakota safe. Hard line: Virginia refused to call off her rangers and warned Morgan he'd better keep Dakota safe Morgan again asked John for help, and John said, 'I don't care to kill anyone,' adding, 'I just ain't right.' As Morgan and Dakota packed the car, Marcus rode by shooting and lassoed Morgan, dragging him away by his neck. The bullet-ridden car wouldn't start but John shot Marcus and freed Morgan. Roped in: As Morgan and Dakota packed the car, Marcus rode by shooting and lassoed Morgan, dragging him away by his neck, but John rescued him John acknowledged he should have shot Marcus earlier, though Morgan admired his restraint. They spotted a rusted-out truck on John's property and Morgan said he could fix it up. As John salvaged parts of an old car for the truck, he told Dakota that one summer his father abandoned him, moving to a cabin 'up north.' Bad dad: As John salvaged parts of an old car for the truck, he told Dakota that one summer his father abandoned him, moving to a cabin 'up north' 'He did the wrong thing, but for the right reasons,' John added cryptically, as Dakota wondered why the Dories liked punishing themselves. She told him not to worry about the past, that it was normal for people to kill and die now. 'Still, it should mean something,' John noted. 'If it don't mean nothing when you die, it must not have meant much when you're alive either.' Gun gift: Dakota was handed a gun by John as they prepared to breach a herd of zombies John ripped a door from a nearby shed for his cabin, and Dakota wondered if he could leave. He promised to shepherd them past the bridge, but Morgan was concerned about the self-destructive message he'd deduced from John's Scrabble tiles. 'I'm not meant to live in this world,' John said, tired of questioning his own actions. Checked out: 'I'm not meant to live in this world,' John said, tired of questioning his own actions Morgan urged John not to hide. Later in his cabin, John told Morgan he wanted to shoot himself but always lost his nerve, and Morgan said suicide wasn't the way. He handed John a note from a stranger who'd saved him after he was shot. New purpose: Morgan tried to convince John that he still had things left to do 'You don't know me, but I heard your message,' it read. 'You need to do the same. You still have things left to do.' Morgan had realized then that he needed to build a place, and he told John, 'I found my way to keep going. Maybe you could find yours.' John armored the fixed truck with salvaged doors, then had Dakota drive to the roadblock. Young driver: John armored the fixed truck with salvaged doors, then had Dakota drive to the roadblock He and Morgan fought a zombie horde from the truck's flatbed, and John roared into action when a zombie got stuck under the wheel and the alternator needed fixing. Dakota shot a zombie who threatened John, and as they made it through amid the carnage. Morgan handed John a photo he'd found in the truck, of him and his father. Flatbed fight: Morgan fought a zombie horde from the truck's flatbed with John by his side 'I spent more of my life than I care to admit wondering why he never showed up that summer,' John said. 'Now I think I'm starting to get it. I ain't coming with you Morgan.' Morgan radioed Virginia, telling her to meet at John's cabin and crowing, 'Now you can't go back.' 'S*** John, hate me if you like,' he continued. 'But I'll be damned if I'm gonna stand by and let my best friend try and kill himself.' Double crossed: Morgan radioed Virginia, telling her to meet at John's cabin and crowing, 'Now you can't go back' Before they left, John noted that a red car clip was missing and he and Dakota looked for it. He said he'd go wait for Virginia, and even if he died, 'my death'll mean something. As it should.' Dakota spotted the red clip just as a zombie lurched for her, and she quickly stabbed it. Missing clip: Before they left, John noted that a red car clip was missing and he and Dakota looked for it John saw it was the knife that killed Cameron, and understood Virginia had covered for Dakota. Dakota said she hadn't known Virginia would kill Janis [Holly Curran], Cameron's girlfriend; she'd only hoped people would grow suspicious of 'Ginny' after his death. The girl had killed Cameron just because he told Virginia she'd been sneaking out. Murder covered: John saw it was the knife that killed Cameron, and understood Virginia had covered for Dakota 'It's no different than what everyone else is doing to get what they want,' Dakota cried. 'It's what my sister does. It's what all of her rangers do it's just how things are now.' She pointed a gun at John, who disagreed but promised not to hurt her. 'Morgan said I need a reason to live, to keep going,' he shared. 'Maybe that's you. That'd have meaning, right? So just put the gun down. You don't want to shoot me. You don't want to do that to yourself. You don't want to live with that. That's not what I want' Dakota shot him in the chest, saying, 'I'm sorry. It doesn't always have to mean something, John.' Gun drawn: Dakota pointed a gun at John, who disagreed but promised not to hurt her She pushed him hard and he fell over the bridge into the river and down to the bottom. There John spotted the photo of himself and his father, which gave him the strength to swim up. Dakota trained her gun on him as he grabbed a wooden board, and Morgan spotted them. Lethal weapon: Dakota trained her gun on him as he grabbed a wooden board, and Morgan spotted them He too saw her knife and knew she killed Cameron. 'You're going to take me to the place you were building,' Dakota ordered. Morgan held his axe to her throat and Dakota said, 'You're not gonna hurt me. I am the reason you're alive. I saved you at the Gulch.' Life saver: Morgan held his axe to her throat and Dakota said, 'You're not gonna hurt me. I am the reason you're alive. I saved you at the Gulch' She said she'd followed her sister there to watch her die, but found Morgan instead. 'You don't know me!' she yelled. 'But I heard your message. You need to do the same. You still have things left to do.' 'What is that?' Morgan asked. Work left: 'You don't know me!' she yelled at Morgan. 'But I heard your message. You need to do the same. You still have things left to do' 'Kill my sister,' Dakota said flatly. 'You're not breathing 'cause you have some silly little Paradise you have to build. You are breathing because you are the only person left that can end her.' 'That's not what this is about,' Morgan replied. 'It is,' Dakota insisted. 'And it is the only reason you are still here.' Major misunderstanding: 'That's not what this is about,' Morgan replied as Dakota insisted that he must kill Virginia Back at John's cabin, Virginia, June and a ranger looked for John. Morgan radioed Virginia and asked for help, saying John was headed downriver. Elsewhere, Alicia, Charlie and Dwight entered a settlement and saw Althea [Maggie Grace]. Together again: Elsewhere, Alicia, Charlie and Dwight entered a settlement and saw Althea Morgan radioed Dwight to tell him to get ready to fight Virginia, and suggested he ask Sherry [Christine Evangelista] for weapons. At the cabin, a worried June spotted John washing ashore on the river bank. As soon as she looked at him, she knew that he had been bitten. Washed up: At the cabin, a worried June spotted John washing ashore on the river bank He slithered toward her and reached for her hand as June's heart seemed to break. She pulled out a knife and stabbed his head once, then caressed it as he lay in the mud. Fear The Walking Dead will return next week on AMC. Joe Cook Gines holds an anti-KKK sign during a protest against white supremacy in Huntington Beach, Calif., on April 11, 2021. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images) Rumored White Lives Matter Rally in Huntington Beach Turns to BLM Unlawful Assembly The City of Huntington Beach, California, braced for a rumored White Lives Matter (WLM) rally on April 11, though it didnt materialize, for the most part. Instead, it became predominantly a Black Lives Matter (BLM) rally of some 500 peopleaccording to a police estimatewhich had been planned as a counter-protest. Scuffles ensued and the gathering was declared an unlawful assembly, with 11 arrested. Though there was no WLM signage or chants, a small number of extremists made an appearance, including two men shouting racial slurs at the BLM side and others with tattoos including swastikas. One of them slapped a counter-protester. A separate handful of people lined the street with signs promoting All Lives Matter and expressing support for former President Donald Trump. They were accosted by counter-protesters. A person wears a Proud Boys T-shirt as demonstrators face off during a counter-protest organized against a rumored White Lives Matter rally in Huntington Beach, Calif., on April 11, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images) The WLM rally was announced through social media, but the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) said it couldnt identify any specific organizer. Our information came solely from social media, officer Brian Smith told reporters. We attempted to identify an organizer or a leader or even who did the initial post, but we were unable to establish that. Huntington Beach Councilman Tito Ortiz shared a post on Instagram the day before the event saying: WARNING real patriots do not go to the HB Pier this Sunday, April 11. White Lives Matter rally is a trap by the KKK or people pretending to be the KKK to discredit us & HB itself. Flyers had circulated in the city, as well as Newport Beach, in prior weeks that advertised the rally and also promoted a group called the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In response, Huntington Beach City Council passed resolutions against racism. The BLM counter-protest began at approximately 11 a.m. at Main St. and Pacific Coast Highway. Were gathered here today as one people to create a better community, BLM Huntington Beach chapter leader Tory Johnson, 35, said to protesters at around 11:15 a.m. through a megaphone. Within the first hour, two counter-protesters were arrested. By the time HPBD announced an unlawful assembly at 2:36 p.m. due to an unruly crowd, 11 people total had been arrested, Smith told The Epoch Times via email. The arrests were for (1) use of amplified device after warning; (2) resisting or delaying an officer, and unlawful possession of a billy club; (3) felony possession of tear gas and carrying a prohibited item during a public rally (pepper spray); (4) public intoxication; (5) petty theft and pedestrian in the roadway; (6) fighting in public; (7) use of amplified device after warning and outstanding warrants; (8) pedestrian in roadway and resisting or delaying an officer; (9) carrying a prohibited item during a public rally (pepper spray); (10) carrying a prohibited item during a public rally (prohibited pole); and (11) fighting in public. After the order was given, the crowd dispersed, effectively ending the event, Smith said. Police officers arrest a man for noise violation during a protest against white supremacy in Huntington Beach, Calif., on April 11, 2021. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images) Police officers detain an alleged Proud Boy member during a protest against white supremacy in Huntington Beach, Calif., on April 11, 2021. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images) Police officers detain people during a protest against white supremacy in Huntington Beach, Calif., on April 11, 2021. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images) Black Lives Matter supporters gather in Huntington Beach, Calif., on April 11, 2021. (Tomas Morales) The crowds had chanted Nazis go home, No KKK, No Fascist U.S.A, What Do We Want? Unity, as well as a chant directing profanities at police. Dozens of HBPD officers were present, with some on horseback and others holding batons. A number of SWAT agents and Anaheim Police Department officers were also monitoring the streets. A vulture's death in Spain was confirmed to be caused by a newly approved veterinary drug. The event, according to conservationists, could be the tip of an iceberg, and the opioid could wipe out dozens of Europe's vultures while also affecting similar animals such as golden eagles. Banned Drug After it was discovered that diclofenac killed vultures that consumed cattle carcasses treated with the drug, it was outlawed in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Hundreds of millions of vultures are thought to have died due to this, with some birds dwindling by 99.9% in areas of South Asia. Despite this, diclofenac was accepted in Spain and other European countries because producers, drug makers, and regulators claimed that cattle carcasses in Europe were handled differently than in India. Vultures will be unable to consume meat contaminated with diclofenac as a result of this. Disporving Harmful Claims The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' John Mallord said, "The argument has now been proven to be false." "Diclofenac poisoning was reported in a young cinereous vulture in the Boumort National Hunting Reserve in Spain." "The claim has now been proved to be unfounded," said John Mallord of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. "A young cinereous vulture was found with diclofenac poisoning in the Boumort National Hunting Reserve in Spain." Related Article: Wind Energy Company To Breed California Condors, Replace Those Killed by Turbines European Vultures Vultures come in four varieties in Europe: bearded, cinereous, Egyptian, and griffon. According to recent studies, diclofenac is also lethal to eagles belonging to the family Aquila, which includes the golden eagle and the Spanish imperial eagle. There are only around 300 imperial Spanish eagle pairs left in the world. Diclofenac Poisoning Birds "The data discovered in Spain supports what we have been alert of for almost a decade," said Ivan Ramrez of BirdLife International. "Veterinary diclofenac contamination is killing vultures, and this could also be changing population levels. It's ridiculous to keep relying on licensing a medicine that destroys endangered animals while Europe has plenty of other safe and affordable alternatives." Long-billed, slender-billed, and oriental white-rumped vultures were among the vulture populations most influenced by the introduction of diclofenac in the late twentieth century in south Asia. With a population of millions of birds, the white-rumped was once considered the most common large bird of prey. Their numbers had fallen to about 10,000 by 2016. And these catastrophic declines have far-reaching ecological consequences. Vultures were not allowed to eat the flesh of dead cattle in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. According to health experts, the chance of rabies has increased due to the increase in wild dog packs to fill the ecological void. Similarly, crow numbers grew, increasing the risk of diseases spreading from them to poultry and humans. Decline in Population Mallord said, "The vast majority of Europe's vultures are present in Spain." "We were informed that diclofenac posed no risk to them. We now have conclusive proof that this is not the case. Given that there are perfectly fine, healthy alternatives to the medication that could be used on animals, diclofenac's veterinary use in Europe should be banned as soon as possible," he said. Also Read: Vultures Getting Shot, Hanged on Trees Should be Stopped; Experts Suggest These Instead For more animal related news, don't forget to follow Nature World News! Last year, April was surely a dull month in Bollywood. We lost not one but two of our great artistes Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor in April 2020 and left a huge void behind. Last night the British film industry had their annual BAFTA awards which was held at Royal Albert Hall, London. The award ceremony paid tribute to Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor. The award ceremony paid tribute to the actors, writers, directors and several other artistes they lost in 2020. In the short clipping the ceremony even paid homage to Irrfan and Rishi Kapoor. Irrfan has acted in several Hollywood films like Inferno, Jurassic Park, Life of Pi. The actor has left a huge impact in the West with his work. Rishi Kapoor might have acted only in Hindi films, but the artiste of his calibre made a mark worldwide and inspired actors everywhere. No wonder these two great talents were paid special tribute at the grand gala. Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor both succumbed to their respective ailments and left us for their heavenly abode on April 29th and April 30th respectively. This year at the 66th Vimal Elaichi Filmfare Awards, the great Irrfan bagged the Filmfare trophy for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) for Angrezi Medium and also the Black Lady for his great work in Hindi cinema. His son Babil was present at the event to accept the award and he promised that he will continue the legacy. Babil will soon be making his debut in a production by Anushka Sharma. ROME (AP) Italian police say they have recovered a 1st century Roman statue that was stolen from an archaeological site in 2011 and found in a Belgian antiques shop by two off-duty Italian art squad police officers. An Italian businessman who used a Spanish pseudonym has been referred to prosecutors for further investigation into allegations he received and then exported the statue abroad, the Carabinieri art squad said in a statement Monday. The Togatus statue, featuring a headless Roman wearing a draped toga, has a value of 100,000 euro. It was stolen in November 2011 from the Villa Marini Dettina archaeological site on the outskirts of the capital, the statement said. Two members of the art squads archaeological unit were on assignment in Brussels when they took a walk after work in the Sablon neighborhood that is known for its antiques shops. They spotted a marble statue in a shop that they suspected was from Italy, and confirmed their suspicions when they cross-referenced the work with a database of known stolen antiquities, the statement said. Italy for decades has worked to recover looted antiquities that have ended up in private collections, famous museums and commercial antique shops around the world. Iran is blaming Israel for what it says was sabotage on its Natanz nuclear site over the weekend and vowed revenge against the perpetrators. Iran uses the Natanz site for uranium enrichment and had inaugurated new equipment at the facility a day before the incident. The sites power network suffered an incident, Iran said on the next day, Sunday. After initially reporting that it was a power failure, Iran said later on Sunday that the site was a target of sabotage and blamed the bitter rival Israel for it. The Zionists want to take revenge because of our progress in the way to lift sanctions... We will not fall into their trap...We will not allow this act of sabotage to affect the nuclear talks, Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was quoted by state TV as saying on Monday. Israels secret service Mossad was responsible for the successful sabotage of Irans nuclear site, intelligence sources told Israeli media. According to Hebrew outlets that cited the sources, the cyberattack and the subsequent power failure at the Iranian nuclear facility have dealt a severe blow to Irans uranium enrichment program. The incident in Iran and the blame game come just as the world powers and Iran started last week to discuss ways for the Islamic Republic and the United States to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the so-called Iranian nuclear deal. Iran insists that it will only start complying with its obligations under the nuclear deal after the United States removes all the sanctions on the Islamic Republic, Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said at the end of last week when talks were ongoing in Vienna. The United States, under the Biden Administration, is seeking to revive the nuclear deal after the Trump Administration pulled out of the agreement in 2018 and imposed sanctions on Irans oil, shipping, and banking industries. The Biden Administration, however, has set Irans return to compliance with its nuclear activities as a condition before it would consider lifting the sanctions. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: DETROIT Four Michigan companies are included on Fortunes 2021 Best Companies to Work For list. One of the companies, Rocket Companies in Detroit, was ranked No. 5 on the list released on Monday behind only Cisco, Salesforce, Hilton and Wegmans Food Markets Inc. This marks the 18th consecutive year the holding company consisting of tech-driven real estate, mortgage and eCommerce businesses has ranked in the top 30 on the prestigious list. Everything we do is framed by our culture and by our ISMs. Over the past year, we have been guided by the ISM Well Figure it Out as we navigated the challenges introduced by the pandemic while still creating the best possible experience for our team members, said Jay Farner, Rocket Companies CEO and Vice Chairman. When COVID-19 began spreading across the country in the U.S., we rapidly launched measures to promote the health and safety of our team members, clients and communities. Because we took care of our people and made sure they had everything they needed to support our clients, we experienced record growth in 2020 even as the vast majority of us worked from home. Rocket Companies implemented three policies to benefit its employees in 2020 including a paid day off that did not count against team members vacation bank, added calendar flexibility and several scheduled breaks throughout the day. The company also engaged in conversations with team members and community leaders to develop a six-point strategic plan for advancing action on the topics of race, law enforcement engagement, inclusion and more. Rocket Companies has also been active in supporting its hometown of Detroit by working to prevent eviction and homelessness, supporting the distribution of essential resources and developing the software and infrastructure for the City of Detroits COVID-19 testing and later vaccine programs. Rocket Companies transitioned 98 percent of team members to work remotely in early March 2020 and purchased nearly $15 million in equipment over the course of the pandemic to ensure all teams could collaborate in a virtual setting, according to a news release. According to the survey that determined Fortunes ranking, 97 percent of team members said they feel good about the ways the organization contributes to the community. Other companies on the list Stryker Corporation in Kalamazoo, Plante Moran in Livonia and Dow in Midland were also included on the list at No. 88, No. 91, and No. 99, respectively. Its the 23rd consecutive year Plante Moran, a public accounting and business advisory firm, has received the honor. Plante Moran was founded on the belief that the whole person comes to work, Managing Partner Jim Proppe said. Were intentional about providing a culture where people come first and where work-life balance isnt just a catchphrase but is embedded in everything we do. This is how were able to attract the best professionals in the business and help them stay in the workforce during challenging times. This is the first time Dow has made the list. It is one of three manufacturing companies to make the list and is the only materials science company. About 73 percent of U.S. Dow employees said it was a great place to work, according to a news release. Im incredibly proud of this recognition, because it is based on the actions we took and commitments we made, and more importantly reflects what our employees are saying and experiencing in our culture, said Karen S. Carter, Dow chief human resources officer and chief inclusion officer. It is a true testament of the hard work and dedication of all of Team Dow. You can see the complete list here. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-11 23:20:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A medical worker prepares a dose of vaccine in a mobile vaccination vehicle in Haidian District of Beijing, capital of China, April 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China encourages voluntary COVID-19 vaccinations, and works to ensure all people eligible for vaccination have access to it, an official with Chinese health authority said on Sunday. People aged above 18, as active participants in social activities, are the majority of vaccine receivers, said Wu Liangyou, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference. Vaccinations not only protect themselves, but also their family members, especially children and the elderly, Wu added. China has accelerated COVID-19 vaccine rollouts among priority populations, as well as in key regions and cities, said NHC spokesperson Mi Feng at the same press conference, demanding rectification of compulsory COVID-19 vaccination in some places in the country. Meanwhile, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, warned against relaxing self-imposed prevention in spring, especially during the upcoming May Day holiday. Wu Zunyou urged people to strictly follow prevention measures, including wearing masks in public, handwashing, social distancing, and avoiding mass gatherings. China still faces risks of an epidemic rebound due to imported cases, said Wu Zunyou. He cited the example of Ruili city in southwest China's Yunnan Province, where new cluster infections were reported in late March. India reported a record 1,68,912 COVID-19 infections overnight, according to data from the health ministry, overtaking Brazil to become the second-most affected country globally by the coronavirus. India's overall tally reached 13.53 million, surpassing Brazil's 13.45 million cases, according to data compiled by Reuters. The United States led the global tally with 31.2 million cases. Deaths in India stood at 904, taking the total to 1,70,179, data showed. The national COVID-19 recovery rate has fallen below 90 per cent. Delhi to hold meeting on COVID situation Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will review the COVID-19 situation in the national capital in a meeting today. On Sunday, the daily coronavirus cases in Delhi crossed the 10,000-mark for the first time since the pandemic began. The chief minister termed the situation "very serious" and appealed to people not to step out of houses unless it was urgent. Gujarat HC initiates suo motu PIL on COVID-19 'health emergency' in state AFP (Representational Image) In wake of the rising COVID cases in the state, the Gujarat High Court has initiated a suo motu PIL over the coronavirus situation in the state, observing that media reports on the pandemic indicate that the state was heading towards a "health emergency of sorts". Through an oral order, Chief Justice Vikram Nath directed the high court registry to register a fresh suo motu PIL titled "In Re : Uncontrolled upsurge and serious management issues in COVID control". This is the second such PIL registered by the state high court on coronavirus situation. The first PIL was registered last year and it is still being heard at regular intervals. The chief justice said that "news channels are flooded with the harrowing tales, unfortunate and unimaginable difficulties and unmanageable conditions of the infrastructure". Citing these media reports, he noted that there exists a "shortfall or deficit of not only testing, beds and ICU, but also supply of oxygen and basic medicines like Ramdesivir, etc". Maharashtra Covid-19 task force in favour of lockdown A lockdown may be impending in Maharashtra, the Cabinet Minister Aslam Sheikh said after a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with state COVID-19 Task Force representatives amid an increase in coronavirus infections and deaths. AFP Speaking to the media, Sheikh said, "In today's meeting with the state COVID19 Task Force, everyone was of the view to impose lockdown in the state." The Minister said that some of the people in the meeting were of the view that the lockdown must be for two weeks, some were in favour of three weeks but at least 8 days lockdown to be imposed and lockdown is a must. However, an appropriate decision regarding imposing a lockdown in Maharashtra will be taken after April 14, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. "Duration of the lockdown and how to handle its economic fallout was discussed during today's meeting. The task force is of the view that the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state is such that a lockdown is required," the minister said. A Georgia man killed his 'frail' 81-year-old grandmother by striking her in the head with a crock-pot and stabbing her in the chest with a kitchen knife after she kicked him out of the house they shared. Jared Randall Carter, 33, was convicted on Friday of murder and aggravated assault over the horrific 2018 attack. A jury of nine women and three men deliberated for just two and a half hours in Houston Country Superior Court, The Telegraph reports. Witnesses at the trial say the grandmother, 81-year-old Valearia Jean Mann, and her grandson had a 'contentious' relationship. The court heard how a scared Mann once told a friend: 'If something ever happens to me, he did it.' Carter moved from New York City to Georgia in 2017 to live with his grandmother after losing his job as a life-skills instructor for the mentally disabled. Carter was arrested after he asked a neighbor to call 911 on the night of his grandmother's death. He initially told police he walked in on her dead in the living room floor. Prosecutors say Carter assaulted his grandmother with a foot-long chef's knife from her kitchen because she wanted him to move out so her boyfriend from Connecticut could move in. 33-year-old Jared Randall Carter was convicted of murdering his 81-year-old 'frail' grandmother in June 2018 Carter told investigators the night of the murder that being unemployed made him feel 'like a bum' but said that he did not know his grandmother wanted him out of the house. A social worker and detective testified at the trial that Mann said she was afraid of her grandson and that he was emotionally and verbally abusive but did not ask authorities to intervene because she hoped to persuade him to leave the house, The Telegraph reported. Carter took the stand on Friday in his own defense and said him and his grandmother were 'very close' and that he considered her a second mother. When asked on the stand if he killed Mann he said no. Police arrested Jared Randall Carter for the June 2018 murder of his 81-year-old grandmother Prosecutors say Jared Randall Carter smashed a crock-pot on his grandmother's head and stabbed her with a foot-long kitchen knife Prosecutor Alicia Gassett referenced the smashed ceramic Crock-pot used in the assault that Carter cleaned up and put into the trash. 'It shows you how much force this man used on this tiny ... 81-year-old woman,' Gassett said. Gassett told the jury that the 6-foot-6 Carter killed the 100 pound Mann 'in the most heinous and unimaginable way.' Carter faces a minimum of 30 years behind bars and a maximum sentence of life in prison. By Nicholas Pfosi and Jonathan Allen BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as angry protests erupted in a Minneapolis suburb after a 20-year-old Black man was shot dead during a traffic stop. The unrest in Brooklyn Center came hours before the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, was set to resume in a courtroom less than 10 miles (16 km) away on Monday. Outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday night, smoke billowed as a line of police officers fired rubber bullets and chemical agents at protesters, some of whom lobbed rocks, bags of garbage and water bottles at the police. Brooklyn Centers mayor ordered a curfew until 6 a.m. (1100 GMT), and the local school superintendent said the district would move to remote learning on Monday out of an abundance of caution. The man killed by police was identified by relatives and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Daunte Wright, 20. Walz said in a statement that he was monitoring the unrest as "our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement." Late Sunday, a group of about 100 to 200 protesters gathered around the Brooklyn Center police headquarters and threw projectiles at the police department, Commissioner John Harrington of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said in a live-streamed news briefing. The group was later dispersed. Another pocket of protesters broke into about twenty businesses at a regional shopping center, with some businesses looted, according to the police and local media reports. Anti-police protesters have already spent recent days rallying in Minneapolis as the trial of Chauvin, a white former city policeman, enters its third week in a courthouse ringed with barriers and soldiers from the National Guard. Story continues Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter for kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, who was handcuffed during the deadly arrest last May, video of which sparked global protests against police brutality. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said: "We want to make sure everyone is safe. Please be safe and please go home," he said in a tweet addressed to protestors. While the incident is being investigated "we continue to ask that members of our community gathering do so peacefully, amid our calls for transparency and accountability," he added later. 'DAUNTE, DON'T RUN' Wright's mother, Katie Wright, told reporters at the scene that she had received a call from her son on Sunday afternoon telling her that police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror, illegal in Minnesota. She could hear police tell her son to get out the vehicle, she said. "I heard scuffling, and I heard police officers say, 'Daunte, don't run,'" she said through tears. The call ended. When she dialed his number again, his girlfriend answered and said he was dead in the driver's seat. In a statement, Brooklyn Center police said officers pulled over a man for a traffic violation just before 2 p.m., and found he had an outstanding arrest warrant. As police tried to arrest him, he got back in the car. One officer shot the man, who was not identified in the statement. The man drove several blocks before striking another vehicle and dying at the scene. Police say both officers' body cameras were recording during the incident. The state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it was investigating the shooting. The Minnesota branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said another independent agency should investigate, and demanded the immediate release of any videos of the shooting. The group said it had "deep concerns that police here appear to have used dangling air fresheners as an excuse for making a pretextual stop, something police do all too often to target Black people." Near the site of the shooting, protesters yelled angrily at a line of police in riot gear holding long batons. Some protesters vandalized two police vehicles, pelting them with stones and jumping on them. Police fired rubber bullets, hitting at least two in the crowd and leaving at least one man bleeding from the head, a Reuters witness said, before crowds marched to the police department building. (Reporting by Nicholas Pfosi in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Tim Reid in Washington; and Aakriti Bhalla in Bangalore, Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in Minneapolis; Editing by Peter Cooney, Clarence Fernandez, Michael Perry and Giles Elgood) Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey answers a question about the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine in Arizona, while Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ listens, in Phoenix, Ariz., on Dec. 2, 2020. (Ross D. Franklin, Pool/AP Photo, File) Arizona Governor Signs Bill Banning Private Donations for Election Processes Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday signed legislation that prohibits donations for election operations in the state. With public confidence in our elections in peril, its clear our elections must be pristine and above reproachand the sole purview of government, Ducey wrote in a signing letter. The bill passed along party lines in the state Senate and House before it was signed into law on Friday. It comes after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife in September 2020 announced they made a $300 million donation to two nonprofits to promote safe and reliable voting in states and localities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair announced on Sept. 1 last year that the donations would go to two nonprofits that would in turn disburse the money to local and state election offices. These donations will help to provide local and state officials across the country with the resources, training, and infrastructure necessary to ensure that every voter who intends to cast a ballot is able to, and ultimately, to preserve the integrity of our elections, they said in a release. They described the nonprofits as non-partisan. Most of the money ($250 million) went to the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), which specializes in collecting data on candidates and races across the nation and on training poll workers. It was founded by former managers and staff at the New Organizing Institute, a progressive nonprofit that was training Democrat digital organizers. Ducey, a Republican, said Friday that the money the state received last year from organizations with funding from Zuckerbergs foundation was helpful and used with integrity. But he added that election officials should not be forced to rely on private grants for voter outreach, staffing, or other expenses in the future. While he said nothing in the new law should be interpreted as a sign the state is unappreciative, the bill is needed to preserve the integrity of elections and voter confidence. Logan Churchwell, communications and research director at the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a conservative election watchdog, said at the time that giving this amount of money directly to government election officials is legal but unprecedented, opening up uncharted territory. State Democrats attempted to shift blame for election administration underfunding onto Republicans. Its easy to make a boogeyman out of billionaires. I dont like them either. But we put ourselves in this situation, said Sen. Juan Mendez, a Democrat from Tempe, of the Legislatures budgeting decisions. Our elections are so underfunded weve got counties out there asking for money to do voter outreach. Responding to the signing of the bill, Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson said that Ducey stood up for all Arizonans with his historic election integrity law. HB 2569 is another in a series of strong measures Arizona lawmakers have taken to protect election integrity and keep the influence of private money out of Arizonas election system operations, she said. Arizonans deserve an election process free from outside influence and partisan fundingby banning corporate and private funding for election operations, this law will safeguard that system. Ducey pledged to partner with the Legislature to provide elections officials with adequate resources. Petr Svab and The Associated Press contributed to this report. [April 12, 2021] Diebold Nixdorf Wins Red Dot Product Design Award for its Retail Self-Service Solution EASY eXpress Max recognized for its combination of functionality, design and its user-friendly and convenient operation BERLIN, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ -- Diebold Nixdorf (NYSE: DBD), a world leader in driving connected commerce for the retail and banking industries, has been awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021 for its retail self-service solution, EASY eXpress Max. Internationally recognized as the authority for product design quality, The Red Dot Awards, presented by Design Zentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen, are selected by 50 independent designers, design professors and trade journalists. Diebold Nixdorf's system was honored by the expert panel for its exemplary combination of functionality and design and its user-friendly and convenient operation. Diebold Nixdorf's EASY eXpress Max, part of the DN SeriesTM EASY family of self-service solutions, is created for high-engagement environments. The platform-based approach ensures the solution is easily adaptable to changing business needs and consumer demands. he large, interactive touchscreen opens up new opportunities to attract and connect with consumers and is pivotal to delivering the best user experience. The highly engaging, self-service solution meets the needs of modern consumers and offers a modular approach to digital payment methods by providing an interchangeable cash rack and a security scale for greatest flexibility. Dr. Peter Zec, founder and CEO of the Red Dot Award, said: "The winners of the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021 were particularly impressive this year. The design of their products is excellent, in terms of both the aesthetic and the functionality. It's not easy to prevail in such a strong field of competitors and to win over our jury. Consequently, I want to congratulate the laureates very sincerely on their success." Hermann Wimmer, senior vice president, Global Retail, at Diebold Nixdorf said: "We are honored to have been recognized with the Red Dot Award. We developed the DN Series EASY family of self-service solutions to offer customer-oriented systems with future-proof designs." About the Red Dot Design Award: In order to appraise the diversity in the field of design in a professional manner, the Red Dot Design Award breaks down into the three disciplines of Red Dot Award: Product Design, Red Dot Award: Communication Design and Red Dot Award: Design Concept. The Red Dot Award is one of the world's largest design competitions. In 1955, a jury convened for the first time to assess the best designs of the day. In the 1990s, Red Dot CEO Professor Dr. Peter Zec developed the name and brand of the award. Ever since, the sought-after Red Dot award has been the revered international seal of outstanding design quality. Further information available at www.red-dot.de. About Diebold Nixdorf Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD) is a world leader in enabling connected commerce. We automate, digitize and transform the way people bank and shop. As a partner to the majority of the world's top 100 financial institutions and top 25 global retailers, our integrated solutions connect digital and physical channels conveniently, securely and efficiently for millions of consumers each day. The company has a presence in more than 100 countries with approximately 22,000 employees worldwide. Visit www.DieboldNixdorf.com for more information. Twitter: @DieboldNixdorf LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/diebold Facebook: www.facebook.com/DieboldNixdorf YouTube: www.youtube.com/dieboldnixdorf View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/diebold-nixdorf-wins-red-dot-product-design-award-for-its-retail-self-service-solution-301266175.html SOURCE Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Mumbai, April 12 : The docu-film "Searching For Sheela" will release digitally on April 22. The trailer of the film was premiered on Monday. The documentary is about Ma Anand Sheela, who was the aide of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, known as Osho. She pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault in the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack. The docu-drama also sheds light on her new life post serving time for her alleged crimes. "Searching For Sheela will give you a glimpse of my real self, my identity, my life and its evolution over the last 40 years. This film is about my journey of returning to my home in India, a journey I have longed for many years. It captures the rollercoaster of emotions I experienced on this journey very well. I am looking forward to sharing my story with the world," she says. Executive Producer Shakun Batra adds that the film is an observation and not an "investigative piece". "I have always been very intrigued by Sheela's extraordinary life and through this documentary we've shadowed her as she traveled to India after almost 35 years. This is not an investigative piece, just an observation of a person who has had a questionable past and has always lived life on her own terms," says Batra. The filmmaker adds: "We trace her journey as she grapples with society's expectations of an ex-convict and attempts to re-brand the public opinion of herself. 'Searching for Sheela' is a documentary that tries to get a closer look at one of the most sensationalised personalities in India." "Searching For Sheela" will stream on Netflix. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text OPINION: Former Sheriff David Clarke tells Wisconsin Republicans to go big or go home ~ Says Audit Chamber report is alarming ~ The audit conducted by the General Audit Chamber on the effectiveness of government office housing policy should have presented a clear picture of significant financial savings for the government. Instead, Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel said, there is no policy and the government literally told the Audit Chamber that it has little to no information about what it pays in rent. He said the fact that the Audit Chamber did not receive most of the information it requested from the Ministry of General Affairs and the Ministry of Finance shows once again that government does not have the simplest of financial matters in order and the Minister of Finance has failed at his job. He said it is a legal requirement to provide information to the Audit Chamber when it asks. The government, the MP said, admitted to the Audit Chamber that the relevant information is not available. So we are renting buildings all over St. Maarten, and cant produce information about rental costs. How then, is this even regulated and mentioned in the budget? By guessing? The Audit Chamber even concluded that the lack of information from the Ministry of General Affairs and Ministry of Finance greatly influenced their audit, the MP said. It makes you wonder how exactly does government financially plan if it cannot even produce a real picture of expenditures and wastage? Government has instituted what it called cost-saving measures, including cuts to civil servant benefits and income, but does not know if it could have saved thousands if not millions by taking certain actions within government itself. Rent of privately owned properties is one such area, the MP said. He pointed out that the rent for the Vineyard Building alone is Naf 462,000 per month, or roughly Naf 5.5 million per year. Due to lack of information from government to the Audit Chamber, the total amount the government pays in rent is not known. And nobody questions this? Or at least tried to re-negotiate these rental amounts? In the meantime, we have government owned buildings sitting damaged and empty with apparently no funds for repairs, the MP said. If we utilize many of our government facilities better (such as the BTP Building) and expand on some, we would have the finances to tackle the building of the former police academy, the Soremar Building in Cole Bay, the library etc. But once again we dont know what or if government is doing anything other than cutting benefits of personnel, while still hiring more, MP Emmanuel said. He said it is alarming that the Finance Minister at the end of the day, could not produce figures for the Audit Chamber. This also means he could not produce information on who owns the buildings government rents. He could not say if the buildings are owned by civil servants and if this is allowed. He could not say if the rent of the Vineyard Building and the building that currently houses the Prosecutors Office, goes to the same individual. The Audit Chamber basically laid bare that the Finance Minister has no clue what he is doing since there is no policy from which he is working. It is no wonder the Dutch took us for a ride with conditions if this Finance Minister handled negotiations, the MP said. MP Emmanuel said that a lack of an office policy means that government cannot and does not control the cost and the efficiency of any accommodation it rents or wants to rent. Moreover, the audit makes it seems like the rental of properties is more of an ad hoc exercise than a planned and strategic necessity. There is also no evaluation of space usage in the new Government Building or any other building to determine where savings can be realized. Imagine, government could not even verify the correct rent for the Audit Chamber when asked. We have to get to a point where our decisions are made on sound information. But instead, we have a Minister of Finance who produces a kindergarten-like one-page summary of the countrys liquidity situation when asked by Parliament. For some reason this government believes in hiding figures from the public, from Parliament, from the Dutch and do not take needed action based on factual information, the MP said. A 37-year-old man was arrested after stabbing three family members during a dispute at a home in Pleasantville early Saturday, officials said. A person approached Plesantville K9 officer Matthew Laielli in the parking lot of the Pleasantville police department around 5 a.m. to report a disturbance on Abbey Lane. Laielli raced to the house and saw Maynor M. Moreno-Mejia running from the residence, police said. All three victims were still in the house. One was stabbed in the neck and is in critical but stable condition at a local hospital thanks to Laiellis efforts, according to police . A second person was treated for lacerations to his arms and hands while the third had a cut on her upper arm described by police as a defensive wound. Police charged Moreno-Mejia with three counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, obstruction, resisting arrest and a weapons offense. He was brought to the Atlantic County jail. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Photo: (Photo : Cristina Gottardi / Unsplash) Only someone who goes through stillbirth and the loss of a child can ever begin to understand such pains. For this couple who lost their baby 10 years ago, they have continued to visit the grave of their baby. All the while, they cannot help but mourn for the babies with not even a headstone on their grave. The Misfortune of Babies with Unmarked Graves This year marks what should have been the tenth birthday of Jonas Morgan. Every year, his parents would make an intentional effort to honor their Jonas. This year, their hearts go out to around 80 babies buried in the same burial place as their sonbut that such babies do not even have a headstone on their graves, 5NewsOnline reported. People could just walk past their graves without knowing that a baby is buried there. ALSO READ: California Couple Who Lost Two Children in Car Crash Welcomes Baby Boy Beside the Grave of Their Baby Besides their son Jonas' grave lies a baby with an unmarked grave. Upon knowing that a baby lies there, the family decided they want to put a headstone on that grave and so many other graves in that area called "Baby Land," which is located in Rogers Cemetery. The family has seen graves with fresh dirt on the burial plot. They know a baby was buried there. Then the grass grows on top of the grave, and there was nothing to indicate a grave. Brandi said some graves only had a small paper marker that would struggle to keep its place due to harsh weather conditions. ALSO READ: Mom Suffers Stillbirth; Shocked When She Sees Ashes Are "Not Her Baby's" Family Who Lost Child Starts Fundraiser The GoFundMe fundraiser was started by the mother of Baby Jonas, Brandi Morgan. Their family has spoken with the cemetery and a local monument company on how they can help place gravestones on the unmarked graves of babies. The family understands that not all families who experience the loss of a child can afford a headstone. Still, there are also circumstances where the grieving parent may not face the overwhelming emotions of burying their child. Picking out a headstone may be too much for some grieving families. The Morgans are trying to raise 5,000 USD to help purchase the headstones. The monument company is offering them a significant discount as a way of helping out. The cemetery is also helping by providing details of the babies, such as their names, dates of birth, and dates of death. ALSO READ: Mom and Dad Abandon Newborn Baby Because They Feel There Is No Connection Remembering the Babies Families Have Lost Brandi said that their efforts go beyond just placing headstones on the unmarked graves. She noted that bringing about the awareness that now people are talking about what is happening is also one of the things they want to accomplish. To know that the baby existed, there is a family behind every grave, even not knowing what the baby looked like, just so people can see, read, and remember these babies and their families. Families of the babies will also have the option to remove the headstones if they so wish. Should there be money left over of their $5,000 GoFundMe goal, the family plans to use the funds to continue extending help to families who are unable to place a headstone on the grave of a child. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. YEREVAN, APRIL 12, 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 A Minneapolis police officer monitoring a protest. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Insider spoke with a former Minneapolis police officer who quit days before Derek Chauvin's trial. He said he believed rioting would break out at the close of the trial and he feared getting killed. Chauvin's trial over George Floyd's death began March 29, and witnesses have been testifying. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A former Minneapolis police officer who quit the department days before the start of Derek Chauvin's trial said he did so fearing there would be riots in the city no matter the outcome. The officer, a former sergeant, spoke on the condition that he not be named, but his identity is known to Insider. The former officer said he was up for retirement soon and worried about his safety in what he predicts will be "riots and more destruction" when the jury reaches a verdict, which could happen this month. Chauvin's trial in Minneapolis began March 29. "If Minnesota had the death penalty and Chauvin got it, people in Minneapolis are still going to riot," the officer said. "They're still going to burn the city down." "I don't want to get myself hurt or killed," he said. Protesters outside a burning building in Minneapolis on May 28. John Minchillo/AP Chauvin is standing trial in the death of George Floyd, the Black man who died last May after Chauvin knelt on his neck for several minutes during an arrest. Chauvin was immediately fired from the Minneapolis Police Department, along with the three other officers who were present at the arrest. Floyd's death reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted demonstrations both in Minneapolis and around the world. While the protests were largely peaceful, there were incidents of rioting, including multiple nights of violence in Minneapolis. In an indication of the tensions between racial-justice protesters and the Minneapolis police, protests once again broke out in the city and surrounding areas on Sunday night following the news that a 20-year-old Black man had been fatally shot during a traffic stop. Story continues Chauvin faces charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The trial for the other three officers, each charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter, is scheduled to start later this summer. An exodus at the Minneapolis PD The former officer Insider spoke with said he was part of an exodus of officers from the department since Floyd's death. In November, The Washington Post reported Chief Medaria Arradondo of the Minneapolis Police Department as saying that more than 100 officers had left the force since Floyd's death - more than double the number lost in a typical year. The Minneapolis Star Tribune put that number at more than 10% of the entire force. Demonstrators with signs honoring George Floyd at a protest outside Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis on March 28. Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images "The morale in the department is the lowest I've seen it in almost 30 years," the officer said. He said another motivating factor for his exit was how police leaders had handled the fallout from Floyd's death, adding that he believed officers didn't feel supported by the administration. "I've never seen such a weak form of leadership," he said. He specifically took issue with the department's new guiding principle of "do no harm." "People are afraid to do their jobs," he told Insider. "Nobody wants to use force in the department anymore," he added, saying it put officers at risk of getting hurt. "There's no support from our leadership. We're a sinking ship, and I'm not going to be on it." The former officer said Chauvin wasn't following protocol in kneeling on Floyd's neck, but said he believes Floyd died of a drug overdose. At Chauvin's trial on Monday, a cardiologist testified that Floyd did not die of a heart attack or a drug overdose, but from a "cardio pulmonary arrest" caused by the "position that he was subjected to." A Minneapolis city spokesman said he was "unable to discuss any aspects of the trial or case" because of a judicial mandate. The city now handles the police department's press inquiries after the city council voted to remove the department's public-information officer after Floyd's death. Read the original article on Insider She's been working hard filming new political drama Anatomy Of A Scandal. Yet Sienna Miller was spotted taking some time away from the set of the Netflix series to grab a coffee and walk her two dogs in Notting Hill on Monday morning. The actress, 38, cut a casual figure in a pair of gym leggings and a cosy black beanie hat as she headed out on the overcast London walk. Stepping out: Sienna Miller was spotted taking some time out to grab a coffee and walk her two dogs in gym leggings in Notting Hill on Monday morning Sienna donned a soft grey hoodie for her venture out in the unseasonable weather. She strolled through the street with her two pet pooches in a pair of black Adidas trainers that she wore with white tube socks. The blonde beauty kept out the chill in a Dior black padded jacket, with the brand's instantly-recognisable monogram in the lining. Sienna is set to star in Netflix's new political series Anatomy Of A Scandal as the wife of a shamed politician played by Rupert Friend. Winter weather: The actress, 38, cut a casual figure in a pair of gym leggings and a cosy black beanie hat as she headed out on the overcast London walk The plot of the movie follows the trial of the Eton-educated politician after he's accused of sexually assaulting a young political aide. Anatomy Of A Scandal is based on the acclaimed 2018 bestseller by former political journalist Sarah Vaughan. The serious plot revolves around James Whitehouse's rape accusation filed by an aide with whom he'd been having an affair. Canine company: The blonde beauty donned a soft grey hoodie for her venture out in the wintry weather with her two pooches The cast of the six-part series, which Netflix describes as 'an insightful and suspenseful series about sexual consent and privilege', also includes Downton Abbey actress Michelle Dockery as the high-flying prosecutor and Naomi Scott as the aide. Sophie, played by Sienna, is convinced that he is innocent and will do whatever it takes to protect her family in the wake of the scandal. Meanwhile, criminal barrister Kate (Michelle) is equally convinced that James is guilty and is determined to see he pays for his crimes. Chic: Sienna kept off the chill in a cropped black padded jacket with a vintage Dior fabric lining Leading lady! Sienna is set to star in Netflix 's new political series Anatomy Of A Scandal as the wife of a shamed politician played by Rupert Friend It's thought the series could focus on a different political scandal each season in an anthology style, similar to BBC's A Very English Scandal according to Deadline. It is being directed by SJ Clarkson, with David E. Kelley, the man behind the Sky drama The Undoing starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, acting as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Keeping busy, Sienna starred in the drama film Wander Darkly this year, while she appeared as Roger Ailes' wife Beth in the miniseries The Loudest Voice the year before. NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE: OUT) announced today that it will report results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021 after the market closes on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. The earnings announcement will be available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website, www.OUTFRONTmedia.com. The Company will host a conference call to discuss the results on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call number is 800-367-2403 (U.S. callers) and 334-777-6978 (International callers) and the passcode for both is 7892218. Live and replay versions of the conference call will be webcast in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website, www.OUTFRONTmedia.com. About OUTFRONT Media Inc. OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its technology platform, OUTFRONT will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go. Contact: Gregory Lundberg (212) 297-6441 [email protected] SOURCE OUTFRONT Media Inc. Related Links http://www.outfrontmedia.com India hosts first meeting of BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors India on Tuesday hosted a virtual meeting of BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors. The meeting was jointly chaired by union minister for finance and corporate affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman and governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das. Participants included Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the BRICS countries. As 2021 BRICS Chair, Indias approach is focused on strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation based on continuity, consolidation and consensus. This was the first meeting of the BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors under India as chair. The meeting discussed financial cooperation agenda set by India for 2021 - Global Economic Outlook and Response to Covid-19 pandemic, New Development Bank (NDB) Activities, Social Infrastructure Financing and Use of Digital Technologies, Cooperation on Customs related issues, IMF reforms, Fintech for SMEs and Financial Inclusion, BRICS Rapid Information Security channel and BRICS Bond Fund. On the BRICS priorities and agenda for 2021, finance minister Sitharaman informed that the efforts should be made towards delivering outcomes that reflect the needs and aspirations of BRICS in particular and emerging markets and developing economies in general. The finance minister emphasised the importance of BRICS in responding to the Covid-19 crisis through policy support and enhancing international coordination. Sitharaman highlighted that worlds largest vaccine drive by India is under way. India has supplied 64.5 million vaccine doses to 84 countries. Speaking on the importance of social infrastructure and use of digital technologies, the finance minister underscored the merit in engaging with private sector and exploring the innovative financing models. She said the Prime Ministers Health Insurance Scheme using an output-based funding model has triggered a major private investment cycle in health-care infrastructure, enabling significant expansion of healthcare services to vulnerable citizens. The finance minister talked about thematic priorities for New Development Bank for discussion during 2021 and the issues of membership expansion. Sitharaman also called for greater coordination among BRICS member countries on the issues of 16th general review of quotas of IMF. 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. RELATED: Despite COVID-19 protocols, Spurs games are still a slam dunk 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 Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Gas Detection Equipment Market Growth & Trends The global gas detection equipment market size is expected to reach USD 8.38 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2021 to 2028. The market growth can be attributed to the growing awareness among governments regarding the harmful effects of greenhouse gases, coupled with their increased efforts toward protecting the environment. Major industries such as petroleum, oil, and gas, among others are needed to comply with safety and environmental regulations which are also major factors driving the market growth. Many companies are focused on introducing drone-based gas detection equipment, which is expected to create new opportunities for market growth in the coming years. For instance, in February 2019, FLIR Systems, Inc. announced the launch of FLIR MUVE C360, a multi-gas detector built for unmanned aerial systems. FLIR MUVE C360 aims to transform the way emergency teams approach environmental, chemical, and industrial incidents. IR camera-based gas detectors are gaining traction owing to their capability of detecting combustible gases that are not visible to the human eyes. Uncooled IR cameras are widely in demand by various industries, which has resulted in increased efforts by companies worldwide to address this demand. For instance, in February 2019, FLIR Systems, Inc. announced the launch of FLIR GF77 Gas Find IR, an uncooled thermal camera for detecting methane. The COVID-19 pandemic is anticipated to favorably impact market growth in the near future. Hospitals have been using gas detection equipment for monitoring oxygen tanks during the pandemic. During the COVID-19 situation, the U.K. government laid down guidelines highlighting the hazards caused by the increased oxygen level due to the high density of ventilators. This initiative is expected to contribute to market growth. Request a free sample copy or view report summary: Gas Detection Equipment Market Report Gas Detection Equipment Market Report Highlights In terms of product, the fixed gas detector segment is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period. The ability of fixed gas detectors to ensure workforce safety is driving the segment growth In terms of technology, the infrared gas detection technology segment dominated the market in 2020 and is expected to witness growth over the forecast period. Infrared gas detectors are maintenance-free, which is one of the major factors driving the market growth In terms of end-use, the industrial segment dominated the market in 2020. The increasing demand for detectors in the mining industry is driving the segment growth The increasing adoption of gas detection equipment in emerging economies such as India and China is expected to create growth opportunities for the market players in the Asia Pacific region over the forecast period Access Press Release@ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-gas-detection-equipment-market Gas Detection Equipment Market Segmentation Grand View Research has segmented the global gas detection equipment market on the basis of product, technology, end-use, and region: Gas Detection Equipment Product Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Fixed Gas Detector Portable Gas Detector Gas Detection Equipment Technology Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Semiconductor Infrared (IR) Laser-based Detection Catalytic Photoionization Detector (PID) Others Gas Detection Equipment End-use Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Medical Building Automation & Domestic Appliances Environmental Petrochemical Automotive Industrial Others Gas Detection Equipment Regional Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) North America US. Canada Mexico Europe UK. Germany Asia Pacific China Japan India South America Brazil Middle East & Africa List of Key Players in the Gas Detection Equipment Market ABB Airtest Technologies, Inc. FLIR Systems, Inc. Fluke Corporation General Electric Company Honeywell International Inc. Lynred Opgal Siemens Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. SIOUX CITY, Iowa Methamphetamine is sending a Wright County man to federal prison. James Calvert, 44 of Eagle Grove, pleaded guilty in November 2020 to conspiracy to distribute meth and two counts of possession with intent to distribute meth. Federal prosecutors say Calvert worked with other to distribute more than 500 grams of a methamphetamine mixture in the Wright and Webster County areas from January 2019 through March 2020. Law enforcement says it caught Calvert removing about a quarter-pound of meth from a vehicle and court documents state he was seen on home security video obtaining meth for further distribution on at least five occasions. Calvert has now been sentenced to seven years and six months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Wright County Sheriffs Office, Eagle Grove Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations Laboratory. Mumbai, April 12 : Mumbai Indians' all-rounder Hardik Pandya reiterated on Monday that his team-mates were constantly motivating themselves by thinking about a hat-trick of Indian Premier League (IPL) titles after their title triumphs in 2019 and 2020. "I think the team that we are a good enough team to win in all the conditions. We are going for the hat-trick. So, for us there is added motivation. I am sure all the other teams would be all geared up to make sure it does not happen," the Mumbai Indians mainstay said in a video shared by the team on Twitter. Speaking about the eventful period in his life from the day Mumbai Indians won the IPL 13 title in Dubai to getting back into the 1PL 14 bubble, Pandya said, "I really wanted to celebrate but I had to join the Indian team (in Australia for the series Down Under)." All the Australia-bound players from Dubai immediately went into quarantine and were not part of the celebration. "So, I actually celebrated alone in the room in Dubai, but I was on Face Time with (brother) Krunal [Pandya], Ishan [Kishan] and Surya [kumar Yadav]." Pandya said that for him batting was more important in Australia as he was not bowling. "It was very satisfying for me to go there to Australia and perform the way I did because I've always heard from people that Australia is one of the toughest places to tour and play matches. Besides, Australia was at their full strength. The way I played in Australia, I felt that all the hard work, which I did during the lockdown was just coming to light," said Pandya. Talking about the phase when he lost his father, Pandya said, "Our father taught us to live life happily -- I've always seen him joyful, making sure people get happy. So for us, in a way, when he went, we celebrated his life, actually. "After that I felt, it was important to get back into the team environment, so, at least, I could channelise all the strength which I have...during the Test matches (against England), I trained for the white-ball series. We won, what else I can ask for." Pandya said that he is missing the crowds in the current IPL season. "Playing in India is fun but we will miss the crowds. But this is the best we can get. And, we can entertain all the fans and well-wishers through the television." Latest updates on IPL 2021 COOCON CEO Kim Jong-hyun speaks during a press conference held at Conrad Seoul on Yeouido, Monday. / Courtesy of COOCON By Anna J. Park COOCON, the country's top financial big data provider, is set to make its IPO debut on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ later this month, aiming to grow into a major global player of the big data platform business. Founded back in 2006, the business data platform company has solidly positioned itself at the heart of the country's big tech companies and financial giants over the past 15 years, as it collects and provides big data to major clients. Currently, COOCON has over 1,600 companies as its clients, which includes most financial giants and big tech firms of the country, such as KB Kookmin Bank, Naver Financial, Kakao Pay, Toss and Banksalad. The company has established data networking partnership info with 22 major banks in Korea, including Shinhan, Woori, KB Kookmin, Hana, NH Nonghyup, Kakao Bank, K bank, Standard Chartered and Citibank. It has also established partnerships with most brokerage firms, such as NH Investment, Samsung Securities, Shinhan Financial Investment, Kiwoom Securities and Mirae Asset Securities, among others. The company collects financial business data through such partnerships or through its cutting-edge smart data scraping technology. As the firm holds around 250 intellectual property rights regarding big data collection, entry barriers to the big data market are considered high. That's why the firm is expected to enjoy the biggest boon from the government-led MyData business, through which customers will have the right to collect and browse their own financial data in one application. As MyData business operators like Toss, Banksalad and Naver Financial will be all using COOCON's big data to provide services to customers, the firm is set to enjoy stable and lucrative growth. "COOCON's ultimate goal is to position itself as one of the top data business platforms in the world, beyond the Asian market," the firm's CEO Kim Jong-hyun said. COOCON CEO Kim Jong-hyun / Courtesy of COOCON Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, center, talks with Brandy Christian, left, the president of the Port of New Orleans and CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, during an event announcing a $42 million expansion of cold-storage storage and shipping facilities in New Orleans, April 6. Rotunda Rumblings Lessons not learned: Weve learned a lot of lessons during the last year of living through a pandemic. But we could have learned a lot more in Ohio if we had more data. Laura Hancock looked at the gaps in our public health data gathering and distribution -- from contact tracing, to user-friendly vaccine information, to real-time information about how minorities are affected to better communication among information technology systems. Bill watch: Ohio is one of the few states that hasnt moved to change its election rules in recent months. That could change soon. Republican state lawmakers are preparing legislation that would overhaul Ohios rules. As Andrew Tobias reports, State Rep. Bill Seitz said a major aim of the bill will be to codify Secretary of State Frank LaRoses policies into law. The Senate also is working on a version. Expected changes could include a formal limit on ballot drop boxes, changes to early-voting days, new automated voter registration provision for BMV patrons and a new ability to apply for absentee ballots online. Budget watch: Sometime this week, Ohio House Republicans are expected to introduce their substitute version of House Bill 110, the state budget bill that Gov. Mike DeWine introduced in February. As of publication, the House Finance Committee hadnt yet published its meeting agendas, but the committee is scheduled to hold hearings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Office of Budget and Management Director Kim Murnieks and other DeWine administration officials, as well as Legislative Service Commission Director Wendy Zhan, also are scheduled to testify before the Senate Finance Committee in an informal budget hearing on Wednesday. The good doctor: Democrats missed a chance to change up what theyve been doing unsuccessfully for the past decade when former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton announced she wouldnt run for U.S. Senate, Seth Richardson writes. Actons unique background and non-political resume could have reinvigorated the Democratic brand in Ohio, which is at its lowest point in years. Party crasher: Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel was escorted out of the Republican National Committees donor retreat in Palm Beach, Fla. on Friday because he didnt have credentials for the invitation-only event, Axios reports. His rival in the U.S. Senate primary, former Ohio GOP Chairman Jane Timken, attended by invitation because she is a major donor, according to Axios. Mandel still managed to get some face time with top Republican donors while they all were in one place, the report said. Let me be clear: The Ohio health director has signed a modified version of last weeks coronavirus order that clarifies some rules for restaurants, schools and others. Here are the details. Weekend numbers: Ohio added 1,946 coronavirus cases on Friday, and the hospital patient count increased to over 1,200 for the first time since Feb. 27, Rich Exner reports. And in the twice weekly update for deaths, another 86 fatalities attributed to coronavirus were reported. On Saturday, 2,048 new cases were reported. Sundays new case total was 1,855. Changing the rules: With state laws about to take effect requiring the burial/cremation of aborted fetal remains and changing a variety of occupational licensing requirements, DeWine on Friday issued two executive orders making emergency changes to bring executive-branch rules in line with the two new laws. In the past, DeWine has issued similar emergency rule changes -- all of which expire after 120 days -- for other new laws. Reprieves: Also on Friday, DeWine postponed Ohios next three scheduled executions, in keeping with his vow to put the states death penalty on hold until lawmakers pick an alternative method to lethal injection. The governor, who has cited ongoing problems with the state being able to find lethal-injection drugs, pushed back the scheduled executions of Timothy L. Hoffner from Aug. 11 until June 18, 2024, John David Stumpf from Sept. 15 until Aug. 13, 2024, and Lawrence A. Landrum from Dec. 9 until Oct. 15, 2024, according to a release. Case study: Of the more than 300 people charged in the U.S. Capitol riots, the case of Jessica Watkins stands out as much for the person as for the allegations. John Caniglia tells the story of the Champaign County bartender accused of training and coordinating militia members who stormed the Capitol. But Watkins sprint to the rotunda in military gear was hardly one of a longtime, hellbent extremist, those close to her say, Caniglia writes. Digging deep: Documents filed in the federal case of a former therapist for the Cleveland schools reveal the sweeping scope of the investigation into the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Caniglia writes. The investigation and prosecution of the Capitol attack will likely be one of the largest in American history, both in terms of the number of defendants prosecuted and the nature and volume of the evidence, federal prosecutors wrote in a filing in the case of Christine Priola of Willoughby. Handle with care: Six companies have been given contracts to coordinate big changes to Ohios $20 billion Medicaid managed care system. The federal-state program provides health insurance for more than 3 million low-income and disabled Ohioans. Darrel Rowland of the Columbus Dispatch has details. Lobbying Lineup Here are five organizations that lobbied on House Bill 404, a bill from last year that allowed local government bodies to attend meetings electronically. The bill saw the sixth most lobbying registrations of any House bill, according to the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. 1. Ascent Resources 2. County Commissioners Association of Ohio 3. Inter-University Council of Ohio 4. Ohio Rural Development Alliance 5. Ohio Association of Realtors On the Move Veteran Ohio political reporter Laura Bischoff announced she is leaving the Dayton Daily News after 25 years to work for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. She starts her new job April 19. Birthdays Michael McGovern, former managing director for ProgressOhio Charles Foster, Ohios 35th governor (1828-1904) Straight From The Source You know, theres an old saying that there is no Republican road or Democrat bridge theyre all American. So this is the federal governments opportunity to show they can actually function and do things on behalf of the American people. - Ed Mortimer, vice president for transportation and infrastructure for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a story by Henry J. Gomez of NBC News about how President Joe Bidens infrastructure proposal is the latest hope for the long-neglected Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky. 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. "This is an exciting time for Little Caesars, marked by continued growth domestically and internationally, as well as an ongoing focus on tech and innovation that allows us to provide best-in-class service and value," said Scrivano. "Erin's extensive knowledge and experience in employment and franchise law, as well as her ability to successfully manage various departments within Little Caesars will help us build on our incredible momentum." As the Vice President, Business Support Services and General Counsel, Martin led the legal and business support teams, including real estate, construction, U.S. development, training, and communications. Under her leadership, she provided counsel during several key initiatives for Little Caesars, including the chain's new world headquarters expansion in downtown Detroit, and several projects designed to advance the company's interests in the areas of diversity, government relations and corporate growth. Martin also supported the legal needs of several other businesses within the Ilitch Family of Companies, including Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Champion Foods, and the Little Caesars Fundraising Pizza Kit program. "I care deeply about Little Caesars and am honored to take on this new role to help guide the strategic direction of the business and closely support Dave," said Martin. "I look forward to continuing to work alongside my talented colleagues to achieve unprecedented success for the company in areas such as growth, expansion, innovation and service." Martin has more than 20 years of experience in corporate and franchise law. Prior to joining Little Caesars, she was an attorney at Bodman PLC. A Michigan native, Martin earned a B.A. in political science from Michigan State University in 1997, a J.D. from Detroit's Wayne State University Law School, and was admitted to the Michigan bar in 2001. She resides in Grosse Pointe with her family. ABOUT LITTLE CAESARS Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, Little Caesars was founded by Mike and Marian Ilitch in 1959 as a single, family-owned restaurant. Today, Little Caesars is the third largest pizza chain in the world, with stores in each of the 50 U.S. states and 27 countries and territories. Little Caesars recently introduced contactless options for both delivery and carry-out through the Little Caesars app. Pizzas are baked in 475-degree ovens to ensure food safety and never touched after baking. The chain has also reinforced cleanliness and sanitization procedures, increasing the frequency of cleaning commonly touched surfaces including door handles, glass, countertops, Pizza Portal surfaces, phones, and cash registers. Known for its HOT-N-READY pizza and famed Crazy Bread, Little Caesars has been named "Best Value in America" for the past 14 years (based on nationwide survey of national quick service restaurant customers conducted by Sandelman & Associates - 2007-2020 entitled "Highest Rated Chain Value for the Money"). Little Caesars products are made with quality ingredients, like fresh, never frozen, mozzarella and Muenster cheese and sauce made from fresh-packed, vine-ripened California crushed tomatoes. An exceptionally high growth company with 60 years of experience in the $145 billion worldwide pizza industry, Little Caesars is continually looking for franchisee candidates to join our team in markets around the world. In addition to providing the opportunity for entrepreneurial independence in a franchise system, Little Caesars offers strong brand awareness with one of the most recognized and appealing characters in the country, Little Caesar. SOURCE Little Caesars Pizza Related Links http://www.littlecaesars.com Massachusetts will see a major decrease in its supply of Johnson & Johnsons coronavirus vaccine this week, dropping from more than 100,000 doses received last week to fewer than 15,000 now. The Bay State was shipped 103,800 doses of the single-shot vaccine last week but is set to receive only 12,300 doses this week, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The dip in the states vaccine supply comes amid a decline throughout the country. Nationwide allocations of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine were expected to plummet 86% this week, going from more than 4.9 million doses delivered last week to 700,000 this week, CDC data showed. Two weeks ago, the number of doses allocated stood at about 1.9 million. Johnson & Johnson, the worlds largest health care company, expects a relatively low level of weekly dose deliveries until it secures authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration following a blunder at a vaccine-manufacturing facility in February that led millions of the companys vaccines to be ruined, according to the White House. The New York Times reported that workers at the Baltimore, Maryland factory, run by Johnson & Johnson manufacturing partner Emergent BioSolutions, accidentally mixed up some of the ingredients in the vaccine, causing up to 15 million doses to be contaminated. The company is working closely with the FDA to resolve any manufacturing issues at the Emergent facility, Jeff Zients, coordinator of Democratic President Joe Bidens COVID-19 task force, said at a press briefing last week. Johnson & Johnson is installing a new senior leadership team to oversee all aspects of production and manufacturing at the facility, he added. And Johnson & Johnson will have full responsibility for the operation and will leverage the expertise of Merck as well. Zients noted he thinks the company is doing everything they can. Both Pfizer and Moderna are on track to meet their commitment of each delivering a total of 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses by the end of May, according to Zients. A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson told The Wall Street Journal the company is still seeking to meet its goal of delivering 100 million doses of its vaccine by June. With FDA authorization, the company expects to deliver 8 million doses per week across state and federal channels in late April, Zients said. He noted Johnson & Johnson has also reiterated its commitment to provide at or near 100 million vaccine doses by the end of May. As weve talked about, they now have complete responsibility for that whole facility. They have their best people at that plant. Theyre partnering with Merck, who has expertise, he said. Were optimistic that once they have the FDA authorization, that theyll be able to deliver, as theyve told us, at that 8 million-per-week cadence. The decreased supply of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine comes as Massachusetts and the United States more generally continue to see an uptick in COVID-19 cases week after week. As of Sunday morning, there were 68,012 new infections in the U.S., 1,831 of which were in the Bay State. Nearly 22% of the countrys population has been fully vaccinated, according to CDC data. Related Content: Harvey Weinstein was secretly indicted on rape charges by a Los Angeles grand jury several weeks ago. The film producer is already serving a 23-year sentence in New York for rape and sexual assault. Now, he is also facing 11 counts in California, including rape and sexual battery in five incidents between 2004 and 2013, Fox News reported. If Weinstein is convicted, he could face up to 140 years in prison. According to a Page Six report, the indictment remains under seal but is expected to be publicly revealed on Monday during an extradition hearing. It added that an arrest warrant for Harvey Weinstein would also be made public. RELATED ARTICLE: Harvey Weinstein's Victims To Receive $17 Million Payout: Court Harvey Weinstein Guilty On Feb. 24, 2020, Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of a criminal sexual act in first-degree and third-degree rape. The Hollywood mogul is convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping former actress Jessica Mann in 2013, BBC News reported. Judge James Burke ordered Weinstein to be held in custody, and on March last year, he was sentenced to 23 years imprisonment for rape and sexual assault. While serving his 23-year prison sentence, court documents filed in New York showed several sexual offenses committed to four other women dating from 1984 to 2013. Weinstein's attorneys are reportedly expected to ask for a delay of his extradition from New York so that he can be tried in Los Angeles, citing his "poor" health conditions, which would put him at higher risk due to the current pandemic. Harvey Weinstein could be extradited to Los Angeles within 30 days of tomorrow's hearing. In the Los Angeles case, Weinstein reportedly sexually assaulted model-actress Lauren Young in a Beverly Hills hotel in February 2013. Prosecutors alleged that Weinstein also raped an Italian model at another Beverly Hills hotel in February 2013. He also allegedly assaults three more women in Beverly Hills hotels. Harvey Weinstein Appealing On Monday, Harvey Weinstein has filed an appeal regarding his rape and assault convictions in an attempt to have his 23-year prison sentenced revoke. Weinstein's lawyers said that the 69-year-old film producer was denied a fair trial, AFP News reported. His lawyers also claimed that several women whose allegations were not included in the cases must not be allowed to testify as prior bad acts witnesses. "The American criminal justice system was designed to convict defendants based on their conduct -- not their general character," the attorneys said in the report. His lawyers also argued that the jury's impartiality was compromised as one juror had written a book about older men preying on younger women. About 90 women came forward and said that they had experienced sexual misconduct with Weinstein to some extent. These include Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek. Kate Beckinsale also accused Weinstein of offering her alcohol during their first meeting. She was 17 years old at the time, according to a USA Today report. Beckinsale said that she assumed that it would be in a conference room since that what was common. But when she arrived, reception told her to go to his room and was greeted by Weinstein in his bathrobe. Another English actress and model also stepped forward and said that the movie producer attempted to kiss her. Cara Delevingne added that Harvey Weinstein started to brag about the actresses he bedded before when they were alone. READ MORE: Harvey Weinstein: A Timeline of One of Hollywood's Biggest Scandals WATCH: Courtney Love Warns About Harvey Weinstein in 2005 Video - From CBS Los Angeles To boost protection rate, scientists hypothesize the administration of different vaccines to the same patient. A state media campaign has begun to cover fraud. China is the leading exporter of coronavirus vaccines. The risks for Europe. Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Chinese vaccines against Covid-19 have little effects. This rare admission of failure stated Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Office for Disease Control and Prevention on April 10, especially on the subject of the coronavirus pandemic, which according to President Xi Jinping has been successfully addressed. To increase effectiveness, Gao hypothesized the administration of different vaccines to the same patient, to increase the number of doses injected from two to three and to change the interval between one dose and another. So far, China has developed four vaccines. They are all inactivated, therefore obtained from killed microorganisms. Brazilian studies claim that the Chinese Sinovac is effective in 50.4% of cases; Turkish tests recorded a success rate of 91.25%; those of Indonesia by 65.3%. Vaccines produced in the West such as Moderna, Pfzer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca are more than 90% effective. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a vaccine must be more than 50% effective in order to be distributed. After the hype caused by his intervention in Chengdu (Sichuan), Gao tried to correct himself. In an interview with the government (and nationalist) Global Times, the Chinese scientist said that his words were misinterpreted and that "the protection levels of vaccines developed so far around the world are sometimes high and sometimes low. The Chinese press largely ignored Gao's original comments. His statements have attracted criticism from some users of the Weibo social media, who invited him to "shut up". Many foreign experts have criticized the Chinese process for vaccine approval, which is considered to be less transparent than those adopted in the West. Strong concern was expressed above all for the launch of the vaccination campaign before completing the tests, including those of phase 3 on a large scale. Gao's statements pose a problem for all those countries (60 according to Beijing) that have received or bought Chinese vaccines for free. China is teh largest vaccine exporter, despite the fact that they have not yet obtained recognition of validity and efficacy from the WHO. For this reason, they cannot be included in Covax, the global program for vaccinating developing countries. The low efficacy of Sinopharm, Sinovac Biotech and CanSino Biologics vaccines also threatens to jeopardize the immunization campaign in the European Union. Going against the indications of the EU authorities, the Hungary of nationalist Viktor Orban bought and inoculated doses of Chinese medicines against the coronavirus. The West Haven and Shelton/Derby Memorial Day parades will go on this year to honor the nations fallen soldiers, but some area communities are putting parades on hold, opting instead for ceremonies that can be livestreamed. West Havens parade will come with restrictions regarding social distancing and other directives from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Public Health, as well as city Health Director Maureen Lillis, including none of those souvenir carts kids love. I am very excited that Gov. Ned Lamont has authorized parades in Connecticut this year, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi said. For more than a century, our Memorial Day parade has been a patriotic tradition that families in West Haven have looked forward to and participated in to commemorate the unwavering courage and selfless sacrifice of our great American heroes. West Haven has put out the call for veterans, civic groups, fraternal organizations, service clubs and marching bands to participate in the citys parade, which steps off at 10:30 a.m. May 31. The parade in West Haven will take place in accordance with federal and state guidelines, Lillis said. The city will follow all current and future directives by the CDC and the state to ensure the health and safety of both parade participants and spectators, according to a city statement. The parade grand marshals in West Haven are World War II veteran Frank Corso, who served in the Army Air Forces from 1942-45, and Korean War veteran Salvatore Gullo, who served in the Navy from 1948-52. Most municipalities canceled parades last year because of the pandemic. James Chic Tortora, chairman of the Shelton/Derby parade a popular one that draws thousands said the parade will happen May 31, rain or shine and no matter how many marchers they have in the lineup. He expects by then many more will be vaccinated and the virus numbers will be down, Tortora said. Tortora said they have about 40 marching units so far, a slower start than usual, and hes looking for more. There were 80 units in the 2019 parade, he said. Those interested in joining the parade can email him at chicfm126@aol.com. He said some organizations arent participating because of COVID and there may be issues with high school bands because they havent had the ability to practice together this year. The parade will go on with whatever we have were on the move, Tortora said. Our mission is to honor those who gave up their lives for us. In Ansonia and Milford, the parades are canceled again this year. Instead, other quiet events are planned to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country. Milford is opting out of a parade this year, in part, because its parade committee chairman said there is conflicting information from the state, despite Lamont giving parades the green light. The Covid-19 trend is currently going in the wrong direction, Tom Flowers, chairman of Milfords Veterans Ceremonies and Parade Commission, wrote in an email to Milford Mayor Ben Blake. We are limited to 500 people for outdoor municipal events and a traditional parade would far exceed that number, Like many other communities, Milford is holding ceremonies on the most somber of veterans holidays. In Milford, those ceremonies and a concert will be livestreamed, with details to come. In Ansonia, a ceremony will be held the Sunday before Memorial Day at City Hall; in Milford, a concert will be livestreamed at 1 p.m. and ceremony at 2 p.m., with details to follow in coming weeks. Unfortunately with the optic in the pandemic in our area, we cannot ensure safe atmosphere for a parade system, said Rich DiCarlo, Ansonia events coordinator and chairman of the parade. It involves a max assembly of the participants in a small area that would far exceed current restrictions set forth by the state at the setup. This process usually takes couple of hours. Flowers said they considered the issue carefully, but decided against a parade even though the governor approved them, because there is conflicting information, including a limit of 500 people at outdoor events. Weve been on the fence for a while, Flowers said. At this point, he said, theres not enough time to organize a parade, as it takes at least two months. Flowers said in the email to Blake that there were other factors that went into the decision, including that he was told by a school district official that the Foran and Jonathan Law high school marching bands could not commit to participating because of mandated restrictions on band activities, such as for spacing and masking. The Milford Volunteer Ancient Fife and Drum also follows state requirements, he said in the email, and, These groups are integral to any parade we stage. Flowers said Milford Director of Public Health Deepa Joseph agreed a ceremony would be the way to go. In North Haven, First Selectman Michael Freda said a Memorial Day parade will be held May 29, but he envisions a scaled-down version of the usual parade because some people will decline to participate. It is our goal to balance safety and precaution with getting back to a sense of normalcy, while still honoring our veterans who so faithfully served, Freda said. Back in West Haven, rules for the citys parade so far are as follows: No vendors of any kind are allowed along the parade route, which goes up Campbell Avenue from Captain Thomas Boulevard to Center Street. Marchers and participants must wear face masks in accordance with CDC and DPH guidelines. People must maintain social distancing of 6 feet while marching or participating while driving or riding in a car or on a truck, float or trailer. Marching bands must maintain social distancing of 9 feet while playing. The city has the right to refuse a group or an organization from participating at the time of the parade if the rules are not obeyed. Parade organizers said participants must register and list required special accommodations for the parade, which has no rain date. West Haven will provide transportation for veterans who are unable to walk the 1.5-mile parade course, according to the city. Arrangements can be made by calling the mayors office at 203-937-3510. Participant forms can be downloaded from the city website or picked up at City Hall, 355 Main St. They are due by May 3. Forms can also be emailed to parade organizer Kristen Teshoney at kteshoney@westhaven-ct.gov or faxed to 203-937-3705. For information regarding parades in your community, contact City or Town Hall or follow the Register for updates. Advertisement Children as young as five are being trained by community police to fight drug gangs in a crime-ridden Mexican state. Chilling pictures show youngsters preparing to take part in a training demonstration in the village of Ayahualtempa in the southwestern Guerrero State. The demonstration on Saturday was run by the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities (CRAC-PF), a community police force run by local indigenous people. Wearing caps, and neckerchiefs pulled up around their faces, young boys march through the village, army crawl along the ground and hop in and out of pick up trucks. The older boys are armed with rifles, while those under 12 hold sticks and toy guns in place of the real thing. The images are just the latest to show child soldiers in Ayahualtempa after a surge in violence in Guerrero's mountains prompted men to enlist their sons to help defend the village. Children as young as five are being trained by community police to fight drug gangs in a crime-ridden Mexican state Chilling pictures show youngsters preparing to take part in a training demonstration in the village of Ayahualtempa in the southwestern Guerrero State The demonstration on Saturday was run by the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities (CRAC-PF), a community police force run by local indigenous people The older boys are armed with rifles, while those under 12 hold sticks and toy guns in place of the real thing More than two years after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador came to power with a promise to reduce soaring levels of violence, life has only gotten more dangerous for many Mexicans. The country's most violent year on record came in 2019, when more than 34,000 people were murdered nationwide. It's not yet clear whether the pandemic impacted figures for 2020. In June, 2020 was on track to surpass the previous year's figures, with 17,493 homicides during the first six months. The growing violence and absence of effective policing have led some, like those in Ayahualtempa, to take security measures into their own hands. The adult organisers of the group said the children needed to be armed to protect the community from drug gangs. In January, a local gang killed 10 indigenous musicians in a nearby village, burning their bodies. One was only 15 years old. In response to previous images of the young recruits, the head of the Guerrero state human rights office forcefully condemned the group's organisers, saying they were exposing children to danger. 'We categorically reject the involvement of minors in security roles that put their physical safety, their lives and their development at risk,'the office said in a statement. But the prison and youth advocacy group Reinserta Un Mexicano A.C. said the Guerrero state government's position is irresponsible because authorities there 'have been systematically negligent in guaranteeing minimal conditions of welfare for these communities and in defending the rights of children' in the conflict-torn area. Even without recruitment into the community police, children are at risk of being caught up in the violence by being forced to join gangs. Bernardino Sanchez Luna, one of the leaders of the community police, told local media 'they have seen the government has no skill or interest in defending indigenous people from criminal gangs.' Wearing caps, and neckerchiefs pulled up around their faces, young boys march through the village, army crawl along the ground and hop in and out of pick up trucks More than two years after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador came to power with a promise to reduce soaring levels of violence, life has only gotten more dangerous for many Mexicans The images are just the latest to show child soldiers in Ayahualtempa after a surge in violence in Guerrero's mountains prompted men to enlist their sons to help defend the village Gang violence in Guerrero has led thousands to flee their remote communities, becoming internally displaced persons elsewhere in Mexico Luna said the children under 12 are only being trained but those aged between 12 and 15 would be armed and guard the villagers. He also said the children, 66 of whom had been orphaned in the recent violence, needed weapons to prevent them from being kidnapped by gangs. Luna said children in the area only attended primary school as they were too scared to leave their communities to attend secondary school. Gang violence in Guerrero has led thousands to flee their remote communities, becoming internally displaced persons elsewhere in Mexico. Since the 1990s, community police groups like CRAC-PF have mostly policed remote indigenous hamlets where regular police seldom venture. They are legal in Guerrero and recognised by the federal government. Since the 1990s, community police groups like CRAC-PF have mostly policed remote indigenous hamlets where regular police seldom venture. They are legal in Guerrero and recognised by the federal government, though the recruitment of children has been condemned While they are supposed to combat minor crimes like fights and public intoxication with traditional indigenous punishments like temporary arrest or community service in lieu of fines, the groups have been drawn into the rising violence In response to previous images of the young recruits, the head of the Guerrero state human rights office forcefully condemned the group's organisers, saying they were exposing children to danger Even without recruitment into the community police, children are at risk of being caught up in the violence by being forced to join gangs While they are supposed to combat minor crimes like fights and public intoxication with traditional indigenous punishments like temporary arrest or community service in lieu of fines, the groups have been drawn into the rising violence. The vigilantes are fighting the violent Los Ardillos cartel, which has long been entrenched in the area. However some have accused the community police themselves of having ties to a rival cartel known as Los Rojos. Others have also accused the group of using the children as a media stunt. Leaders say anything that brings attention to the situation is beneficial but claim the children's help is needed in defending the village. Bernardino Sanchez Luna, one of the leaders of the community police said the children, 66 of whom had been orphaned in the recent violence, needed weapons to prevent them from being kidnapped by gangs Luna said children in the area only attended primary school as they were too scared to leave their communities to attend secondary school DEHRADUN: Uttrakhand Chief Secretary Om Prakash on Monday (April 12) issued fresh guidelines amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and instructed that only 200 people will be able to attend the wedding ceremony. Fresh instructions were issued as the second wave of coronavirus has hit the country. On April 10, Om Prakash held a meeting with the officials of the state health department and district magistrates (DM) to discuss the COVID-19 situation at the Secretariat. He said since COVID-19 cases are increasing all over the country, the state will have to be proactive in preventing spread of the virus and instructed all the District Magistrates to be thoroughly prepared to cope up with the situation, according to ANI report. The Chief Secretary instructed the officials to ramp up testing in all the districts and ensure 100 per cent testing in containment zones. He added that adherence to social distancing and COVID appropriate behaviour in crowded areas including markets, hotels, restaurants should also be ensured. He further said the most effective way of controlling the rise in cases is spreading maximum public awareness.He instructed the officials to make people aware of the 'Tika Utsav' that is commencing from today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said on Thursday that the period between April 11 to April 14 can be observed as Tika (vaccination) Utsav` for COVID-19 vaccination. The Chief Secretary also directed them to run an extensive information, education, and communication (IEC) campaign on the COVID-19 pandemic across the state, with the main focus on youth. State Tourism Secretary Pankaj Kumar Pandey said that Uttarkashi is doing very well at the national level in the COVID-19 vaccination drive, adding that efforts should be made to increase the inoculation process. He emphasised on more testing and tracing to combat COVID-19.State Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha; Director-General, Medical Health, and Family Welfare, Trupti Bahuguna; Additional Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman; Director-General, Information, Ranveer Singh Chauhan and all the District Magistrates were present at the meeting via video conferencing. Live TV Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry said that India reported 1,45,384 new cases on Saturday.The country reported 794 deaths and 77,567 recoveries yesterday, the ministry had said. Officials are urging Massachusetts residents to take water conservation steps now after announcing much of the Bay State is in a state of drought and noting drying conditions will likely continue. With precipitation, streamflow and groundwater levels below normal, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Kathleen Theoharides declared a Level 2 significant drought last Friday in the southeast region of the state and a Level 1 mild drought in the western, Pioneer Valley, central, northeast and Cape Cod regions. In most regions across the commonwealth, dry conditions have set in again, and it is important that we all take water conservation steps now to lessen its potential impacts on our environment and water supplies, Theoharides said in a statement. The Baker-Polito Administration will continue to work closely with municipalities, local water suppliers and our federal partners to monitor and respond to the ongoing drought conditions. The Level 2 declaration calls for state agencies to more closely coordinate drought assessments, impacts and responses within the government. The Level 1 declaration warrants detailed monitoring of drought conditions, close coordination among state and federal agencies and technical outreach and assistance to affected communities. The declarations stem from a recommendation from the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force, which is composed of state and federal officials as well as other entities. The task force will continue to meet until water levels return to normal in all affected regions, according to the EEA. However, drying conditions are likely to continue due to precipitation totals ranging from 1.5 to 3 inches below normal, a lack of any snow cover and forecasters predicting above-normal temperatures and abnormally low precipitation. The North and South shores are being hit the hardest, officials noted. A drought reflects a period of time with below-normal precipitation. No one knows what will happen over the next few months, so now is the time to take steps to manage our water use as we move into the warmer weather, said Martin Suuberg, commissioners of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). We urge all residents of the Commonwealth to be cognizant of our water resources and encourage you to follow water use requirements implemented by your public water supplier. Last weeks declaration elevated Theoharidess declaration of a Level 1 drought in the western region of Massachusetts in March. All other areas of the state remained in normal conditions. Although the state made great progress responding to the severe drought experienced in the summer and fall of 2020, the dry conditions reported in Western Massachusetts emphasized the need to now conserve water resources and minimize the strain on local supplies, according to Theoharides. Precipitation throughout February was the lowest across the western half of Massachusetts and in far north-central and northeast regions, she noted. In the Pioneer Valley and along the eastern slopes of the Berkshires, precipitation was 75% below normal. State officials ask the public to be mindful of the amount of water they are using, residents are asked to reduce indoor water use, address leaks as soon as possible, and for larger buildings and businesses to conduct water audits to identify areas of leaks and potential water conservation, the EEA said. All these steps will greatly help reduce water use to ensure essential needs such as drinking water and fire protection are being met, habitats have enough water to recover, and to sustain our water supplies and have enough for the environment. Last year, Massachusetts experienced its worst drought in four years, which caused water levels to plummet, wildfires to increase and toxic algae to break out in waterbodies. At the time, environmentalists expressed frustration with Gov. Charlie Baker for an alleged lack of public messaging. Activists and lawmakers alike also claimed outdated state laws centered on water use and conservation werent helping the situation. David F. Boutt, a professor of hydrogeology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and drought expert, explained that the impact of last years statewide environmental crisis would likely remain for at least a year. He added that with the global climate crisis looming on the horizon, extreme weather patterns, like severe droughts mirrored by intense precipitation, will likely increase in the years to come. This means were going to get more evaporation of water into the atmosphere and more precipitation of that water, Boutt told MassLive in a three-part series about the drought. What that means is the dry periods and the wet periods are going to get more intense. Drought conditions in Massachusetts lasted from June until early December 2020. The majority of the state was in a state of drought until late November, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. From late December to early March, the commonwealth then entered a period of where no abnormal dryness was seen. However, dry conditions in Massachusetts began to ramp up again in early March, and as of last Thursday, 75.4% of the state was in a state of abnormal dryness, the Drought Monitor said. Massachusetts isnt the only state in the Northeast currently seeing abnormally dry conditions. Much of New York, Vermont and New Hampshire are in a state of moderate drought, according to the drought monitor. Droughts can affect the environment, our economy, and even public safety. However, each of us can play a role in mitigating those impacts by reducing the amount of water we use both indoors and outside, and by being mindful of the increase risk of brush and wildland fires due to the dry conditions, said Samantha Phillips, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). Especially during this drought period, MEMA reminds the public to exercise caution when charcoal grills, matches, and other open flames during outdoor activities and to call 911 immediately if there is a fire to prevent the fire from spreading. Authorities pointed out that conservation measures will help reduce water use and safeguard water for essential needs, like drinking, fire protection, habitat recovery and other environmental needs. MassDEP will continue to help communities manage water systems and, along with other agencies in the commonwealth, continue to closely monitor drought conditions, share information with the public and help state, federal and local agencies prepare additional responses that may be needed in the future. The Drought Management Task Force will meet again Thursday, May 6. Related Content: A trucker waits his turn to unload a container at the Lianyungang Port Container Terminal in Lianyungang, eastern Chinas Jiangsu Province on March 24, 2021. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) Failed Chinese Navigation System Leads to Chinese Drivers Death A truck driver had committed suicide at a checkpoint after he was fined $305, when the trucks China-made Beidou navigation system (BDS) receiver failed on April 5. His brother, also a truck driver, talked to Chinese media on April 6 about how a driver cant fix the BDS receiver. Nonetheless, the Chinese regime fines truck drivers for all possible reasons, making a drivers life tough and harsh. However, the related reports were removed from the internet on April 8 and Chinese state-owned Xinhua published a standard report. The report, republished by most Chinese media, implied the BDS receiver did not fail. No matter how precise navigation that the system provides, its hard to control peoples greed to pursue profits, Xinhua reported. However, BDS receivers dont help drivers to navigate, as they typically use GPS. A Drivers Death Jin Deqiang, 51, is from northern Chinas Hebei Province. He and his wife had worked very hard to raise their three children and take care of Jins mother, Jin said in his suicide note. On April 5, Jin received a new contract and picked up goods from Fengrun District in Tangshan City, Hebei Province. He started on his trip but was stopped by staff at the first checkpoint. After confirming his truck wasnt overloaded, the staff discovered the BDS receiver didnt connect with the traffic control center. According to Chinese media, the failed connection could be attributed to different causes such as a failed connection between the receiver and the BDS satellite, a malfunctioning receiver, or the BDS satellite failing to connect to the traffic control center. Although the connection failure wasnt Jins fault, he was fined $305. The checkpoint threatened to seize Jins truck if he didnt immediately pay the penalty. After paying the fine, Jin felt helpless and hopeless. He then wrote a note, bought a bottle of pesticide, returned to the checkpoint, and committed suicide by drinking the whole bottle. How can we, truck drivers, know whether the BDS receiver is connected or not? Jin wrote in the suicide note. According to a webpage cache, Jins older brother told state-run Beijing Youth Daily on April 6 that the BDS receiver is a monitor which the regime uses to track where the truck is and whether the truck has run for more than four hours. According to Chinese regime rules, a driver will be punished if he loses six points (one driver is allowed 12 points in one calendar year) and fined $305 if the system monitors the truck operating for over four hours. If we [truck drivers] arent tired [driving for over four hours], the BDS receiver wont make any notification. Its very hard to realize that its failed, Jins brother said. In China, its mandatory to install the regime-provided BDS receivers on all trucks and buses, which cost around $460. The drivers or vehicle owners also must pay a local regime maintenance fee annually, which is from $46 to $107. The regime doesnt allow drivers to do anything with the receiver, which also means drivers dont know how to fix it when the receiver fails. Several drivers dont know how to determine whether the receiver is working or not. If I know how to fix it [the BDS receiver], why am I paying the maintenance fee to you [the regime]? a truck driver criticized in an online video he shot on April 8 in memory of Jin. Why do you [the regime] fine us when the system is down? Workers unload bags with clothes from a truck in front of a wholesale clothing market in Shanghai, China on Aug. 23, 2018. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images) Drivers Complaints Jins suicide note mentioned that he had driven the truck for 10 years but couldnt save any money. Because of the hard work, he suffered from hypertension, hyperlipidemia, high blood sugar, and heart disease. Jins brother said that a truck driver can earn $31 to $61 per day, but they are fined frequently for different reasons. On April 8 Chen Tian (pseudonym), a truck driver from Hebei Province, told the Chinese-language Epoch Times why he was fined by police officers at checkpoints in the past months. In October 2020, a checkpoint in Shandong Province fined me [$122] by claiming that my truck was overloaded by 20 kilograms [44 pounds], Chen said. Chen complained that for a 10 metric ton truck, 44 pounds is less than two-thousandths of its weight. You cant bargain with them [the police officers or checkpoints staff]. They just seize your truck and dont allow you to leave if you dont pay the fines. I was fined [$31] several times because the reflective strips on the body of my truck were dirty, Chen said. It just rained, and I didnt find the chance to stop the truck and clean the strips. Truck driver Li Cheng (pseudonym) told the Chinese-language Epoch Times about similar experiences in a phone interview on April 8. I use plastic cloth to cover my truck trailer. If the cloth has a hole, too big, or too small, the police officer will fine me. They can fine me as much as [$305] each time, Li said. Chinese media quoted officials on March 9, saying the Chinese regime issued fines totaling around $46 billion in 2020. China has 281 million vehicles in total, which means each vehicle was fined over $152 on average. Workers are commuting on the back of a truck on an elevated road in Guangzhou, southern Chinas Guangdong Province on Jan. 10, 2016. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images) The BDS is the navigation system used by the Chinese communist regime to replace and compete with the U.S.-developed Global Positioning System (GPS). After about three decades of development, the current BDS-3 has 30 satellites and can track global positions. According to the CCPs plan, its next-generation navigation systemBDS-4will provide global positioning, navigation, and timing in 2035. Photo: (Photo : Twitter: @Noel__Kelly) AN 8-year-old boy named Jaxson Dempsey is being called a hero after his quick thinking saves his sister from choking using the tips he saw on TV. The Hazleton, Pennsylvania boy, and his 20-month-old younger sister were inside their car as their father was driving for a haircut when he noticed that her sister was choking. The 8-year-old boy immediately jumped into action. READ: [WATCH] Mom Shows How to Check for Choking Hazards In an interview, Jaxson said he was only listening to music when he suddenly heard her sister choking. When he turned on his left to look into his sister, he saw her face turned red and purple. Jaxson then told their dad to pull over, and he started to pat his sister's back. Then the 8-year-old boy dislodged a nugget. Jaxson had one thing that comes to his mind after seeing his sister choking. It was an episode he saw from Nickelodeon entitled "The Substitute." The Substitute is a prank show where-in hidden cameras are put inside the classrooms, and actors come in dressed up as substitute teachers. In the episode, he saw John Cena as the substitute teacher, and he taught the kids how to save someone from choking. ALSO READ: Choking Hazards Of Large-Sized Food For Young Children Choking sister saved by 8-year-old brother Parents sometimes worry too much when their kids spend so much time on the TV. They fear the information kids might get from TV, is it helpful or not for them. But the 8-year-old boy is defiant that screen time comes in handy sometimes. Jaxson reminds us, especially parents, that choking is a very silent enemy, unlike what we often see from shows and movies. Matt, their father, admitted that he wouldn't have noticed her daughter choking if Jaxson wasn't there. Matt said that he didn't hear his daughter choking nor seeing her panicking because she was eating nuggets, and he wouldn't have stopped giving her nuggets. Luckily Jaxson was there. READ MORE: Learn The Shocking First Finger Foods That Can Be Choking Hazards After hearing the incident, John Cena was so impressed that he sent a video message to Jaxson and thanked him for what he did to her sister. "Now I heard a story about you, and it touched my heart. A story that in a time of crisis, you were brave enough to take action. By doing so, you saved your little sister's life. I wanted to commend you because the actions of a true hero are those who do act in a time of crisis." John Cena said. He then added thanking Jaxson and for being an inspiration. Jaxson also mentioned that being a firefighter is his dream when he grows up. His plans fit with the parade of firetrucks given to him in honor of the heroic act then he did. Apart from the parade, Jaxson also received a commendation from the town's mayor. Jaxson mentioned that it made him feel special for saving his sister's life. He even leaves advice for kids; be prepared. Kids should know Heimlich so that when a time comes that their sisters are choking, they know what to do. News featured Denton mayor wants to criminalize disclosure of closed session talks. Experts in the law say that would be unconstitutional. Jeff Woo/DRC file photo Denton City Hall Chris Watts Denton Mayor Gerard Hudspeth has proposed making it a crime for council members to reveal publicly whats discussed in closed meetings. But experts on the Texas Open Meetings Act and federal law say that would be a violation of those council members First Amendment rights. Joseph Larsen These people are not employees, said Joseph Larsen, an attorney who represents the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. The government can direct an employee on what to say and what not to say, but you cannot do that with an elected official. The 5th Circuit [Court of Appeals] has looked at that and rejected that theory altogether. You cant do it. On Tuesday, Hudspeth suggested making disclosure of closed session discussions a crime while responding to council member Deb Armintors request that officials record the audio of every closed session. A non-issue Gerard Hudspeth I think its important for those watching to understand this has been a non-issue, he said. This body not all members here but this body reduced the penalties for exposing information that is disclosed in closed session. If were talking about tightening things up, lets go back to making it punitive to share whats happening in closed session. Armintor was not successful in receiving consensus on recording closed sessions on Tuesday, with only Paul Meltzer showing support. Meanwhile, Hudspeth resurrected this issue from 2015, when Larsen sent a letter to then-Mayor Chris Watts and the Denton City Council cautioning that adopting an ordinance making it a crime for elected officials to talk to the public and the press about issues raised in closed meetings is unconstitutional. Letter to city council Chris Watts Im surprised it happened so quickly again in the same place, Larsen said. You would think there would be some institutional governance, and youve got case law and AG opinions on this. I dont know whats wrong with these people. Do they not understand the democratic process? That ordinance from 2015 was repealed. Watts said this past week he could offer little else on the issue. I dont know the status anymore, he said. That was six years ago. And six years ago, we made a decision based on information we had at the time. I havent kept up on the reiterations of that. Hudspeth said he stands by what he said during the council meeting on Tuesday, when he asserted that the City Council should go back to making it punitive to share whats happening in closed session. Deb Armintor That is something I can get on board with, he said Tuesday. That has real teeth. Now, were talking about misdemeanor charges. Lets make it punitive again to share what happened in closed session. That is a first step. Armintor at the time challenged Hudspeth on the legality of doing that. It is illegal to punish free speech in that way, she said. That is why that [ordinance] was removed. I dont think we should bring that back. Kelley Shannon, the executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, agreed. Kelley Shannon That is a violation of First Amendment free speech rights, she said. We wrote a letter to the Denton City Council to that effect in 2015. I can tell you that you cant prevent people from talking. City council members have free speech rights, and you cant penalize them for saying what they wish to say. Very troubling David Zoltner, a former member of the Denton Ethics Board, was one of several people who asked the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas to intervene in 2015. David Zoltner Our mayor and mayor pro tem should both understand that closed sessions do not create confidential information under the law, Zoltner said. Nor does the law prohibit sharing that information with the press or public. Their comments during that Tuesday meeting were very troubling, in my opinion. Jesse Davis is mayor pro tem and an assistant district attorney for Denton County. During Tuesdays meeting, he said he saw no reason to record closed sessions and later told the Denton Record-Chronicle that revealing information from closed sessions goes beyond First Amendment rights. Not just legal consequences Jesse Davis Attorney general's opinion Its not just legal consequences for the individual but legal consequences for the city, Davis said. Its practical consequences in contract negotiations. Its a pretty narrow read when that [the attorney general] said you cant criminalize the First Amendment right to free speech by elected officials. I think its a mistake to read it real narrowly. He also suggested that when council members reveal matters discussed in closed session, their motives are personal. Denton City Attorney Aaron Leal did not respond to Hudspeths remarks about criminalizing council members who talk about closed-session items publicly during Tuesdays meeting. He later declined an interview request. Instead, the city issued a statement. Like many policy issues, staff has provided the council with information to inform their policy discussion but does not take part in that discussion, states an email from Ryan Adams, director of customer service and public affairs. This is to ensure that the residents and council can remain confident that no matter the policy adopted, city staff [will] faithfully and ethically implement it. Additionally, the city attorney legal opinions and advice are provided only to city officers and employees. As a result, we will not be able to comment on this council policy discussion. Willing to follow the law Meltzer, the lone supporter of Armintors request to record closed sessions, said hes not clear on the legality of criminalizing council members who talk about closed session items publicly. Paul Meltzer Im willing to follow the law if it can be clearly explained, he said. There is, in any event, a role for confidentiality when youre talking about personnel matters, competitive issues and legal strategy or security arrangements. Under the Texas Open Meetings Act, the Denton City Council may enter closed session to discuss personnel matters, ongoing litigation or the possibility of litigation, real estate transactions, economic development project negotiations, and safety and security protocols. People think that if somethings recorded, its possible to put it in a lockbox until we need it for some beneficial purpose, Davis said. if it exists, it is possible that someone can get a judge to rule for them that it should be made available. Texas law only requires city councils to keep minutes of closed sessions and to place on their agendas 72 hours in advance why they may enter closed session. They are not required to record them. Just absurd Its just absurd, Larsen said. I think they should require recording all sessions. They are anti-transparency. During Tuesdays meeting, Leal said that documenting what is said during closed meetings is generally not for public consumption and is done for a specific purpose. Actually doing this is to ensure that you are meeting in closed session under a proper [exception], he said then. I know there are members of the public that may think these recordings can be used for other purposes but that is not what the law requires. Those recordings would be used only during trials in which the plaintiffs claim City Council members violated the Texas Open Meetings Act, Leal said. Texas Open Meetings Act Anybody wanting to challenge the actual closed session whether or not it was properly held that is the kind of litigation that would be in district court, he said. It would be filed to allege that the City Council met in closed session and didnt have proper jurisdiction or their discussion ventured into other areas. Its just to determine if you followed the process. The next Denton City Council meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Quote These people are not employees. The government can direct an employee on what to say and what not to say, but you cannot do that with an elected official. The 5th Circuit [Court of Appeals] has looked at that and rejected that theory altogether. You cant do it. Joseph Larsen Quote I think its important for those watching to understand this has been a non-issue. This body not all members here but this body reduced the penalties for exposing information that is disclosed in closed session. If were talking about tightening things up, lets go back to making it punitive to share whats happening in closed session. Gerard Hudspeth Quote That was six years ago. And six years ago, we made a decision based on information we had at the time. I havent kept up on the reiterations of that. Chris Watts Quote It is illegal to punish free speech in that way. That is why that [ordinance] was removed. I dont think we should bring that back. Deb Armintor Quote That is a violation of Frist Amendment free speech rights. We wrote a letter to the Denton City Council to that effect in 2015. I can tell you that you cant prevent people from talking. City council members have free speech rights and you cant penalize them for saying what they wish to say. Kelley Shannon The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group can play a useful role in the settlement of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. This is what Head of the Committee on International Affairs of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Grigory Karasin told Komersant. I believe they [Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, including Russia, France and the United States] could play a useful role in the settlement of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. It seems that the regular meetings of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs may resume, Karasin said, adding that, for the time being, most of the issues are linked to the humanitarian issues, including the end of exchange of prisoners of war, the return of bodies and refugees and the creation of proper conditions for residency, as well as the demining of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and nearby areas. According to Karasin, a lot will depend on how quickly confidence is established between the parties. Specific steps have already been taken. The President of Russia continues to hold discussions and seek solutions. The commission of Deputy Prime Ministers continues to take action to discuss the issues related to economy, transport and logistics, he said. Image via Getty/Stephen Maturen A police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota fatally shot a 20-year-old Black man during a traffic stop on Sunday. Per a report from regional outlet KARE 11, family has identified the person killed as Daunte Wright. Just before 2 p.m. on Sunday, police are said to have made a traffic stop when they claim to have noticed Wright had an outstanding warrant. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Wrights mother, Katie, told local reporters that her son had called her to obtain insurance information when he was pulled over. Approximately a minute later, according to the mother, her sons girlfriendwho was also in the vehiclecalled her and said Wright had been shot and was laying there lifeless. In a press release shared Sunday night, the Brooklyn Center Police Department claimed they initiated a stop for a traffic violation and then determined the driver of the vehicle had an outstanding warrant. Officers then claim to have tried taking the driver into custody when he re-entered the vehicle. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. At that point, according to police, one officer discharged their firearm and hit the driver. The car then traveled several blocks before hitting another vehicle. Wright is said to have died at the scene after life-saving measures were attempted. Both body-worn cameras and dash cameras from police are believed to have been activated during the traffic stop and shooting. Moving forward, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will conduct an independent investigation into the shooting. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said Sunday night. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement. In a statement shared to Complex on Monday, Mirella Ceja-Orozco and Elizer Darrisco-executive directors of the Minnesota Freedom Fundsaid Wrights death was a tragic reminder of the need for police reform: The killing of Daunte Wright which happened just 10 miles away from where former police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd is a tragic reminder of the desperate need to reform our states racist law enforcement system. It was sadly unsurprising to then watch Brooklyn Center police use excessive force including the firing of tear gas canisters against a crowd that was peacefully assembled and exercising their first amendment to petition their government and protest ongoing police violence. The Minnesota Freedom Fund, which is closely monitoring the Chauvin trial, stands strongly against such excesses of authority and will be actively posting bail for those arrested. Story continues Complex has reached out to reps for the Brooklyn Center Police Department, as well as the Twin Cities-based organization Communities United Against Police Brutality, for comment. This post will be updated accordingly. The fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright has been met with protests. Brooklyn Center, notably, is roughly 15 minutes from Minneapolis, the city where George Floyd was killed during an arrest last year. The murder trial of now-former police officer Derek Chauvin, who held his knee to Floyds neck for more than nine minutes, is currently in progress. Seen is a LocknLock outlet inside Lotte Mall Suji branch in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Courtesy of LocknLock By Park Jae-hyuk The LocknLock union formed earlier this month has emerged as a major stumbling block to Affinity Equity Partners' planned ambitious divestments from the nation's leading food container maker, which will likely take place sometime next year. Affinity took over a 63.56 percent stake in LocknLock for 629.3 billion won ($560 million) in August 2017 from company founder Kim Jun-il and his family. Considering that private equity firms (PEFs) generally pursue exits from their portfolio companies five years after their acquisitions, Affinity has been expected to sell its controlling stake in LocknLock in 2022. The union also claimed rumors were spreading inside the company that the foreign PEF will seek divestment next year, although a LocknLock spokeswoman said nothing has been decided yet. "We want to prevent layoffs before the PEF's planned exit next year," union leader Son Se-ho said in a statement last Thursday. According to the union, the management decided last month to close four of its eight stores in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, recommending dozens of workers there to resign. The remaining stores may not survive either because LocknLock explained the closures were intended for its digitization to boost online sales. The union interpreted the recent restructuring of outlets and workforce reduction as parts of Affinity's efforts to make short-term profits by selling LocknLock for a higher price after raising its valuation. Ever since Affinity and the LocknLock founder signed the takeover deal, it has been said that hundreds of the Korean firm's workers were concerned about possible restructuring by the global PEF sooner or later, although the founder said the deal guaranteed their job security. The management has therefore been asked to stop forcing workers to resign. "While the amount of profits going to the PEF and management have increased, the working conditions have been unchanged or gotten worse," the union leader said. "After the announcement on April 7, many employees have joined the union." The union has complained of wages, saying the employees were unilaterally notified of freezing of salaries in March last year and a 2 percent hike last month. According to the union, the management promised to give an incentive to those who performed well, but only a few received it. Once the dispute between labor and management intensifies, Affinity may face difficulties in finding a new buyer of LocknLock and selling the company for more than its acquisition price. LocknLock has already suffered deteriorating profits over the past few years. The Korean firm posted an operating profit of 51.5 billion won in 2017, and its earnings declined to 36.5 billion won in 2018 and 24.3 billion won in 2019. Although its operating profit last year rose 19 percent year-on-year to 28.9 billion won due to an increase in consumption of kitchenware amid the pandemic, this was still 20 percent lower than its 2018 earnings. Its stock price, which reached 31,700 won in December 2017, has also remained below 20,000 won since 2019. Affinity purchased LocknLock shares for 18,000 won per ordinary share, so it attempted to raise the stock price through a series of share buybacks. However, LocknLock's share price has stood around 15,000 won over the past month. Some retail investors have expressed concerns over a possible decline in LocknLock's stock price, after they realized the company workers formed the union. The investors regarded the union activities and pension funds selling LocknLock shares as unfavorable factors to the stock price. Last Monday, the National Pension Service announced its stake in LocknLock was lowered to 7.39 percent on March 24 from 8.4 percent. The company, however, has been dispelling worries among market insiders about the union. "We think the recent formation of the union was intended to produce a win-win situation for both employers and employees," its spokeswoman said. A primary school IT specialist has been charged for engaging in sexual activities with multiple underage girls and recording the sick acts without their knowledge. Jake Mokdissi, 24, plead guilty to 15 counts of using a service to engage in sexual activity with a child in Melbourne's County Court last Thursday. The ex-school staffer used Snapchat and Omegle to facilitate the lewd sexual acts he asked multiple underage girls from a Craigieburn-based school to perform online. The Lalor resident targeted school girls aged 13-15 to engage in his sick fantasies for three months between November 2019 and January of last year. Jake Mokdissi, 24, used Snapchat and Omegle to record his underage victims performing vile sex acts without their knowledge The IT expert used FlashBack Pro 5 to record his victims, and threatened to leak the footage if the girls refused to perform the lewd acts, the Whittlesea Leader reported. The 24-year-old sent numerous illicit messages to his victims and was unfazed by their age, daring to pleasure himself in front of the young girls. Mokdissi said to one student aged 14 or 15 that it was 'good enough for me' when she shared her true age. The predator also told multiple victims he didn't care they were too young, and told one girl who voiced her fear of being caught not to worry. He threatened to leak the footage he secretly recorded of the girls if they refused to perform the lewd sex acts The IT expert was finally busted when an undercover cop posing as a school girl began communications with Mokdissi. He asked who he believed to be a teenage girl to perform erotic sex acts, offering to pay for her mobile data if she obliged. Police arrested and charged Mokdissi in January last year and seized various devices he had used to communicate with his victims. The County Court heard Mokdissi had completed a Chisholm Tafe qualification before working as an IT specialist at a primary school for six years. Mokdissi plead guilty to multiple charges including 15 counts of using a service to engage in sexual activity with a child, in Melbourne's County Court last Thursday The predator had also volunteered to help with the Craigieburn school's human powered vehicle program. The court heard Mokdissi left his job after he was charged, but remained in contact with his employer who 'reached out' and was 'supportive'. Their communications ceased after he lost his working with children check. The 24-year-old received references of character from his friends and family, with the judge Howard Mason describing him as 'well-liked'. Mokdissi - who had no prior convictions - was remanded for sentencing on April 19 and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. You know, if we win a few elections, were still going to be losing unless we win the hearts and minds of our children. This is the battle. Hitler was right on one thing. He said, whoever has the youth has the future, she said. About 10 weeks before the June 22 Democratic primary that is likely to determine the next mayor, four candidates currently make up the top tier of contenders: Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate and the undisputed poll leader; Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president; Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller; and Maya D. Wiley, a former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio and a former MSNBC analyst. Still, the race appears fluid enough for someone to break out late, with many undecided voters only now beginning to consider their choices. [Read more about the candidates and how they are looking ahead in the race.] Here are three things to know about the contest: The stakes New York faces immense challenges on the road to recovery from the pandemic: thousands of deaths, economic devastation, a rise in shootings, and deep racial and socioeconomic inequalities. The next mayor will also be responsible for a 300,000-person city work force. The open questions It remains to be seen if voters want someone who represents managerial competence, ambitious ideas, enthusiasm for New Yorks comeback or the best mix of all three. For this edition of Cayuga County Craft, I asked our breweries to look back and look ahead: How has COVID-19 changed beer over the past year? And how might legal marijuana change it over the next? All the breweries who responded were quick to describe how the pandemic has disrupted their business. The major change, they said, has been the precipitous drop in traffic in their taprooms due to both New York state guidance and customer discretion. As a result, packaged beer has become a much bigger priority for them than draught beer. More of their product is going in cans than in kegs, if not all of it. So breweries like Aurora Brewing Co. in Ledyard and Prison City Brewing in Auburn can not only sell more beer to go, they can distribute it to stores they couldn't before COVID-19. Samsung Electronics' semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics By Baek Byung-yeul The White House will hold a meeting with global companies, including Samsung Electronics, on Tuesday morning (KST) to discuss the ongoing global semiconductor shortage issue. Given the fact that industry officials and analysts are expecting the Biden administration to demand a reorganization of the chip industry, centered on the U.S., the focus is moving to whether the Korean tech giant will decide to intensify its investments in the U.S. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker and second-largest foundry company, could be asked to increase its investment. Samsung is planning to expand its foundry production lines by possibly injecting $17 billion in Austin, Texas, where its contract-based chip-manufacturing line is located. It is reported that Samsung requested authorities in Texas to grant tax incentives for a period of over 20 years, which would be worth around $805.5 million, for its new $17 billion chip factory. However, the company has yet to confirm this report. Samsung did confirm that it will join the virtual summit along with other big name companies such as Intel, Micron Technology, TSMC, Google, AT&T, General Motors, Ford and NXP, but added, "There will be nothing for us to say about the meeting, as everything related to the White House meeting will be announced through the presidential office." Two Auburn men sped away from a traffic stop on an interstate in Pennsylvania and tossed illegal drugs out the window during a chase last week, Pennsylvania State Police said. According to a news release, Nicholas Neville, 31, and Merritt Fletcher, 30, initially pulled over in their vehicle, a 2021 Toyota Rav4 with Georgia license plates, for a traffic stop Wednesday on Interstate 80. They consented to a search of the vehicle, which was stopped near the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border, but as a state trooper was waiting for backup to arrive, the pair ran back to their vehicle and drove off heading west. During a subsequent chase, according to the news release, "large quantities of suspected illegal controlled substances" were tossed out the window. Troopers later recovered packaging with residue. Additional state police units assisted in the pursuit and unsuccessfully attempted to deploy spike strips to puncture the tires of the vehicle, which Neville was driving, the news release said. The chase ended about 20 miles down the interstate when the presence of a box truck slowed the vehicle and allowed a trooper to catch up and use a pursuit intervention technique. As Neville lost control, the vehicle left the interstate and rolled multiple times. The building was two stories, brick without detail, three small windows over a metal roll-up garage gatean eyesore if there ever was one, crammed between two taller neighbors. The proposed replacement was in gray brick, the creaky gate swapped for a glass-and-metal storefront, the windows making way for a delicate brick screen, to let the light in. Let your own eyes judge: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is what the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission thought: The old brick building, said commissioner and architect Michael Goldblum, is very much reflective of the period of significance of the district. And the new buildings design, while appropriate in scope, needs to be examined and made more location-specific thats not a very tangible direction, but I think its something the applicants can think about. Sorry: The architects would have to try again. Everyone knows theres no arguing about taste. What the past half-century of urban growth in the United States presupposes is: What if there is? The promotion of good design in new buildingsdistinct from the idea of preserving old oneshas become as much a local government objective as making sure every kid has a seat in school. Older American cities and suburbs are blanketed with zoning codes, historic districts, and design commissions that make sure communities that look nice stay looking nice. Advertisement A new wave of housing activists argues that this focus is a farce. In reality, they say, the ostensible interest in cornices, mullions, materials, rooflines, massing, and setbacks on new buildings serves as a convenient excuse for neighborhoods to keep everything the sameexcept for the socioeconomic diversity that once filled their sidewalks. Buildings that do survive the pageant arrive in a diminished state, bearing high rents that testify to their long delay and small stature. Advertisement Time is money, says Diana Lind, the author of Brave New Home, which argues against the single-family-home paradigm that keeps density out of expensive neighborhoods. Its the basic issue for most developers: Housing cost is only partly labor and materials. A lot of it is time and risk. Developers will talk about having an entire year to start building and factoring that into their cost. In other words: Housing is more expensive, and less abundant, in the name of good looks. Not everywhere, but often in the high-opportunity neighborhoods and cities where it would mean the most. Advertisement It is hard to pinpoint what Americas era of highly supervised construction has achieved. This status quo has preserved the shape of older places, but not the kinds of people who once lived there. Instead weve manifested a landscape of historicist McMansions, parking podium towers, isolated commercial buildings dressed up in ornament like children on Halloween, landmarked gas stations and shoe-repair shops, and mishmash structures drafted by committee. This hyperlocal futzing is part of the reason that, in the decade following the Great Recession, we built the fewest new homes per capita of any period since World War II. Advertisement Terrible buildings, and such small portions! Tom Radulovich, the director of the San Franciscobased urbanist nonprofit Livable City, maintains that his town, which has the highest rents in the nation, ought to be able to have abundant housing that is also beautiful. But something isnt working: Something happened in the culture of architecture and design, which went from a system that was unregulated but consistently producing things that are good to one that is heavily regulated but still turns out crappy buildings, he told me. But looking at places where architects have free rein, he added, I dont know that laissez-faire would get you better results. Advertisement Many architects counter that it is the rules themselvessetbacks, lot coverage, drainage, parking, building height, one-family-only, Tudor houses here, Craftsman houses there, paint-it-like-sothat have put us in this position. Terrible buildings, and such small portions! Whats to be done? Several recent confrontations have drawn scrutiny to the aesthetic regime. In D.C.s Georgetown, a biochemistry professor commissioned two Transformers statues to stand outside his home, because they represent human and machine living in harmony. In New York City, a developer has proposed a tower of homes, some affordable, on a Lower Manhattan parking lot. In Connecticut, an apartment building of 94 units, some affordable, would abut the scenic Merritt Parkway. In each case, neighbors are upset. The Connecticut building is pending; the skyscraper has been sent back to the drawing board. The Transformers endure, tenuously, but you cant live in a Transformer. Advertisement Advertisement YIMBY activistsfor Yes in my backyardsay the aesthetes have had their day, guarding the cultural stability of their fiefdoms only in the most superficial sense as mansions devour multifamily buildings and low-income people are exiled to the urban periphery. In Order Without Design, his book about cities and markets, the urban planner Alain Bertaud writes that the decision to build tall or short buildings is not the choice of an architect, developer, or planner, but a natural result of the land values, purely an economic decision depending on the price of land in relation to the price of construction. Requiring shorter buildings, as many places do, is tantamount to requiring expensive homes. (Some say thats the point.) Advertisement The good news is that voters and politicians are increasingly coming around to the idea that single-family residential zoning is a tool of racial and socioeconomic exclusion, a relic that must be dismantled in the name of fairer, taller, and more compact cities. The bad news is that a more difficult question looms: What to do about the way buildings look? Since the preservation coalition was born from the wreckage of urban renewal during the mid20th century, the focus has shifted from protecting the old to policing the new. Its a movement from a kind of politics that presumes change is an inevitable and necessary part of urban life, with exceptions on occasion, to a model of urban politics that presumes change is harmful and unnecessary, and any change must be litigated, or else the city will cease to exist in the state it was in before, observes Jacob Anbinder, a historian writing his Ph.D. dissertation on the postwar politics of urban growth. The result, he says, is a conservative feedback loop: The less change occurs, the more people blame whatever problems they have on the few changes they see. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mostly, you hear the eager, constructive approach of meddle managementdiktats from people who feel compelled to demonstrate the worth of their own positions through constant engagement. The exclusionary version of design policing is common enough. In Connecticut, for example, the nonprofit Open Communities is pressuring the New Haven suburb of Woodbridge to rezone to permit multifamily structures no larger than the towns existing single-family homesnot even to build bigger, just to let more people live there. In response, the town planner has proposed criteria that would govern the design of the new structures, though no such aesthetic ordinance existed before. Then again, many urbanites hold a genuine belief they can make their cities look and function better without stopping progress. In the Philadelphia Inquirer, architecture critic Inga Saffron argues it is natural to care about the appearance of your surroundings: Its not unusual to hear YIMBYs declare that neighborhood character is irrelevant. They insist that any new apartment building is a blow for justice, no matter how grotesque its design. They seem incapable of understanding that its deeply human to care about what our surroundings look like. Context and details matter. Pro-housing activists make a mistake, Saffron says, when they invariably identify their opponents interest in good neighborhood design as bad faith or bigotry. Advertisement In all likelihood, voters, politicians, and courts are going to cling to the idea that aesthetics are fair grounds to contest what happens on a neighbors property. But in a time of extreme housing scarcity and out-of-control rents, is a great-looking building still a luxury we have time to wait for? The most difficult places to build in America are historic districts and their less distinguished cousins, conservation districts. In these neighborhoods, designs must pass muster with a board of volunteers, paid appointees, or city staff. In many cities, this procedure is applied to all new developments of a certain size. I am very skeptical of design review processes on two grounds, says Anika Singh Lemar, a professor at Yale Law School who is working on the Woodbridge, Connecticut, rezoning. One, its hard to regulate. Its hard to say something has to look pretty, so to get to any type of specificity you have to say it looks like stuff around it, which is a boring way to address aesthetics. Advertisement The second, she said, is the question of motivation. Americas failed experiment with public housing is still invoked to stop multifamily development and tall buildings coast to coast (though it was not the height of the buildings at Pruitt-Igoe that contributed to residents sense of alienation). The conflation of form and occupants extends to smaller multifamily buildings too. What was really driving these cities [with conservation districts], from Boise to Nashville to Charlottesville, says Lemar, wasnt about what was ugly, per se. It was concern about density and increasing population. Advertisement To understand the costs of this process, consider Seattle, where the housing researcher Dan Bertolet undertook an exhaustive analysis of design review, which applies to almost all multifamily development in the city. The citys design review board did things like postpone the approval of a 400-unit, transit-oriented development with 168 subsidized homes because they didnt like the color, the presence of a ground-floor day care, the shape of the facade, and the ground-floor residential units. A passive house projectsix stories, 45 units, ultralow energy usewas required to attend a third meeting after the board asked for more bricks, though it eventually approved the building without bricks, 19 months after the builders first applied. The list goes on. Similar standards in the citys historic districts, Bertolet calculated, had cost Seattle more than 1,000 new homes over a period of a few yearsand, because time is money, driven up the cost of the ones that did get built. Advertisement Advertisement Commissioners like the ones in Seattle exist in hundreds of American neighborhoods and cities. To watch them at work is like beholding an architecture-school crit in reverse: This time, its the architects who present their work and the nonarchitects who give the feedback. You often hear commissioners channel the user-friendly language of the city employed by Jane Jacobs, rather than the jargon of the academy. You hear about a sense of place, and the human scale, harmony, context, neighborhood character. Mostly, you hear the eager, constructive approach of meddle managementdiktats from people who feel compelled to demonstrate the worth of their own positions through constant engagement. Advertisement On a purely visual level, the resulting architecture-by-committee averts some monstrosities while watering down other original ideas. The so-called gentrification buildingthe variegated facade, the quietly receding roofline, the massing as a collage of intersecting cubes in four different colors and materialsis often a response to public feedback, which boils down to: Make this building feel smaller. (For that reason, the gentrifier style is just as prominent in new low-income housing.) In 2017, Bertolet suggested Seattle borrow the review structure from Vancouver, Canada, where city staff had the final say after consulting with a citizen panel (though staff reviews in places like San Francisco are hardly faster, more objective, or more transparent). We have a housing crisis, not an aesthetics crisis, Bertolet says now. Giving residents veto power over design will slow homebuilding and make housing more expensive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mother of all design pressure is the zoning code itself, which is supposed to protect residents from environmental hazards like slaughterhouses being built next doorbut has long been used to micromanage construction down to the window glass. Because zoning codes are both restrictive and out of date, they force many builders to seek exemptions, which often trigger design-review-style public meetings. Politicians like obsolete zoning codes, since this negotiation gives them the power to extract concessions from any project that deviates from a sites strictly prescribed use. (In Chicago, aldermanic privilege has proved a little too much to handle and has led many pols to prison. Elsewhere, officials simply take bribes the legal wayas campaign donations.) Advertisement Regardless of how much you trust your local representative, this piecemeal spot-rezoning process is bad for new housing growth, since it introduces so much uncertainty and time into the development process. The understanding that zoning rules are made to be broken, meanwhile, embitters residents who double down on strict zoning. If developers consider the current zoning code a baseline, why wont they do the same in the future? Better zoning laws could avoid these kerfuffles in three ways. First, zoning that actually anticipates what neighborhoods need would give developers and residents a better understanding of whats expected and permitted, building trust and obviating site-by-site stand-offs. Second, reforming the code around issues like parking and setback requirements would cease to precipitate many of the ugly designs residents say they dont like. Third, much of what is sometimes considered an aesthetic preferencemaking sure a project doesnt include a big, blank street wall, or a cavernous garage openingcan be codified rather than negotiated later. Advertisement Advertisement That was the principle behind the form-based code, a concept established in the 1980s by the architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk in their plans for Seaside, Florida. Under a form-based code, zoning is not so much concerned with uses (what sense does it make to separate offices and housing when were all working at home now anyway?) but with appearances. Form-based codes can anticipate the prerogatives of design review from the start, including guidelines for materials, signage, windows, and other details. The system is being used to govern what gets built in places like Miami; Arlington, Virginia; and smaller New Urbanist communities. There are drawbacks. The buildings, obviously, look pretty similar to each other. Its also hard to build a code that vanquishes the back-and-forth. If you could create a by-right process where you didnt have the same argument over and over again, Id be willing to sacrifice diversity in architecture, said Laura Foote, the executive director of YIMBY Action, a housing-growth group. But people just want it both ways. Having a giant code and still having a design charrette where people arguethose things are correlated! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the ironies of this debate is that Americas most beloved (and sadly, most exclusive) neighborhoods were all created without much regulatory supervision. In many cities, cheap and attractive new buildings were made possible by pattern books like the Sears Modern Homes catalog, which not only showed you the design but also shipped you every last beam and bolt, a colossal Ikea set. The company sold more than 70,000 houses in 370 designs. Some were multifamily, such as the Atlanta, a Craftsman fourplex that would have provided entry-level rental units along with a steady income stream for the owner. Bryan, Texas, has four designs on file for its Midtown area, which can be downloaded, remixed, customized, and deployed free of chargepermit included. The idea that you could unlock economies of scale up and down the housing supply chain with simple, replicable designs was co-opted by suburban developers and deployed from Levittown, Long Island, to the exurbs of Phoenix and Houston. Prefab became synonymous with cheap, and not in a good way. Advertisement What if that strategy could also serve infill housing? Much-vaunted modular housing, while it speeds construction, has done little to ease permitting and other reviews. But other ideas are afoot. Several California companies are now competing to mass-produce accessory dwelling units, also known as granny flats or backyard cottages. Los Angeles has staged a design competition for preapproved ADU plans. As Carolina Miranda notes in the Los Angeles Times, the city already has off-the-shelf plans for fixtures such as swimming pools and staircasesand now offers 14 preapproved designs for studios as well as one-bedroom and two-bedroom units that can be installed on most of the citys residential parcels. (Would-be builders still need to negotiate with the architects to use one of thembut at least they wont get stuck explaining why they chose plastic siding.) Advertisement The city of Bryan, Texas, is experimenting with a similar program that aims to jump-start the construction of missing middle housing, the type of small, multifamily infill that once populated urban neighborhoods across the country. Bryan, which sits directly adjacent to College Station and Texas A&M University, is trying a technique called pattern zoning. As of fall 2020, the city has four designs on file for its Midtown area, which can be downloaded, remixed, customized, and deployed free of chargepermit included. Advertisement The designs for the Midtown Pattern Zoning, which won a charter award from the Congress for the New Urbanism, have porches and gables and peaked roofs, board siding, and white trim against darker base coats. They achieve what has been called stealth densitymultifamily buildings that fit the mold of traditional single-family homes. If it is a deviation from context that gets neighbors riled up about new buildings, they will have little recourse to complain here. Advertisement Advertisement Were interested in alternative models for distributing missing middle housing, because nothing were doing seems to be working, said Matthew Hoffman, the Arkansas-based architect who managed the project and designed the preapproved houses. Much as I am frustrated by NIMBYism, its incredible pernicious, but they have a point that most of the stuff thats been delivered just fucking sucks. He is bothered by the notion of neighborhood character being some kind of proto-racist term: Actually, its a really good idea! There are beautiful neighborhoods in this country that are both diverse and beautiful. The idea that its something that happened in the past that we cant do anymore? Thats incredibly sad. Advertisement Even a well-intentioned code, Hoffman said, is full of rocks upon which the ship of good design can be dashed. The easiest path through competing requirements never produces the best building, and thats before neighbors have their say. With these blueprints, Bryan is giving would-be builders a map. We want people in the neighborhood to have the tools to participate in the growth of their neighborhood, literally. All the people who walk around and say, Somebody oughta. The people for whom navigating the code and hiring an architect might be too much. The designs are right here. Bryan developers are still welcome to go the conventional route. All were saying is: If you want an expedited permit and a free design, this is how wed like you to do it. Does it sound like a cookie-cutter design? It is. But its quick and its handsome. You can have your cookie and eat it too. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Yes, Theyre Open is a web series highlighting local bars and restaurants that are open for takeout, delivery, pickup or dining during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Live streams from the featured restaurants are broadcast on the Advance Facebook page every weekday around 3 p.m. On Monday, the Advance/SILive.com visited Genki Sushi at 150 Greaves Lane, which is open for indoor dining, pickup and delivery from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. To place an order or to make a reservation, call 718-966-1155 or visit genkisushisi.com. YES, THEYRE OPEN: Genki Sushi is open for indoor dining, pickup and delivery at 150 Greaves Lane. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Sunday noon to 10 p.m. To place your order or make a reservation, call 718-966-1155 or visit genkisushisi.com. Posted by Staten Island Advance on Monday, April 12, 2021 Staten Island restaurant owners: If you would like your establishment featured for free as part of Yes, Theyre Open, email reporter Victoria Priola at vpriola@siadvance.com. WANT MORE YES, THEYRE OPEN? Check out the listings below or check out all of our previous coverage here. Beso, 11 Schuyler St. Filoncino Cafe, 4569 Amboy Road The Colonnade Diner, 2001 Hylan Blvd. Joyces Tavern, 3823 Richmond Ave. Sagara Food City, 98 Victory Blvd. Twisted Vineyard, 500 Bay St. Rocket Fizz, 2955 Veterans Road W. PHILADELPHIA, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen Global Dynamic Dividend Fund (NYSE: AGD) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund, announced today that it will pay a distribution of US $0.065 per share on April 30, 2021 to all shareholders of record as of April 23, 2021 (ex-dividend date April 22, 2021). In January 2022, a Form 1099-DIV will be sent to shareholders, which will state the amount and composition of distributions and provide information with respect to their appropriate tax treatment for the 2021 calendar year. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution. In the United States, Aberdeen Standard Investments is the marketing name for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: Aberdeen Standard Investments Inc., Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd., Aberdeen Standard Investments Australia Ltd., Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Ltd., Aberdeen Capital Management, LLC, Aberdeen Standard Investments ETFs Advisors LLC and Aberdeen Standard Alternative Funds Limited. Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. The Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value (NAV) of the fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results. If you wish to receive this information electronically, please contact [email protected] aberdeenagd.com SOURCE Aberdeen Global Dynamic Dividend Fund Related Links https://www.aberdeenagd.com Hopefully, President Joe Biden will make nuclear deals with Iran and North Korea. However, it is equally to be hoped that he does not repeat the fatal flaw of the first Iran deal: It imposed a waiting period for the inspection of suspected sites. This would have allowed them to move the materials for making a nuclear weapon--such as enriched uranium -- to a second site during the waiting period for the first site; then when the second site would come under suspicion, it would have a waiting period during which the material could be moved to a third site; and so on. (That is why a future president may cancel the deal again.) Alvin Blake, Chicopee 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, have 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. A paper describing the method is published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence. In the reported study, the team designed and evaluated a machine learning pipeline for estimation of battery capacity fadea metric of battery healthon 179 cells cycled under various conditions. The pipeline estimates battery state of health (SOH) with an associated confidence interval by using two parametric and two non-parametric algorithms. Using segments of charge voltage and current curves, the pipeline engineers 30 features, performs automatic feature selection and calibrates the algorithms. When deployed on cells operated under the fast-charging protocol, the best model achieves a root-mean-squared error of 0.45%. 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. Darius Roman, corresponding author 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. 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 UKs largest smart energy demonstration projects, based on the Orkney Islands in the UK. Resources E-commerce firm will cover the Covid-19 vaccine cost for more than a million people. This includes its India employees, associates and sellers with active listings since last year. It also includes the operations partner network of Delivery Service Partner associates, such as Amazon Flex drivers, I Have Space (IHS) store partners, trucking partners and their eligible dependents. The Covid-19 vaccination is now being available to all above 45 years of age. The company is encouraging all those eligible to get themselves vaccinated for their own safety and that of those around them. The new development is an addition to the $2.5 billion investment Amazon has globally made towards special bonuses and incentives for its teams in the last year and the overall $11.5 billion investment towards Covid-19-related measures. Over the past year, it has been humbling to see the way our teams, sellers and partners have responded to the challenging situation posed by Covid-19 across the country, said Amit Agarwal, senior vice president and country manager, We have seen so much innovation, and most importantly across teams we have seen a strong urge to serve the people of India and keep customers safe. Agarwal said the health and safety of teams and partners continue to be Amazons top priority. We are encouraging eligible individuals to get vaccinated, and will cover the cost of vaccination for our employees, associates, Operations partner network, sellers and their eligible dependents to ensure their continued safety. Since the beginning of the pandemic, has prioritized the health and safety of its teams, partners, sellers and customers. It has introduced extensive safety measures along with other financial support initiatives. This includes comprehensive support mechanisms for employees including cost coverage for Covid-19 treatment, hospital search and coverage of prescribed Covid-19 tests. It also set up Amazon Relief Fund and Partner Support Fund for its operation partner network. The company has also rolled out a number of measures to support its seller ecosystem that include a variety of fee waivers, relaxed policies alongside facilitating Covid-19 health insurance coverage for eligible sellers. Last month, foodtech giant Swiggy said it is committed to vaccinating its delivery partners by covering 100 per cent of the vaccination cost for its entire fleet of active delivery partners against Covid-19. Present in around 500 cities, Swiggy has the countrys largest active delivery fleet with over 200,000 partners. 3 1 of 3 Courtesy of San Antonio Book Festival Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy of Amy Soloman Show More Show Less 3 of 3 This weekend, the annual San Antonio Book Festival transpired online through the ether with dozens of dazzling authors and writers talking shop in the digital halls. I spoke with one of the featuring authors, Amy Solomon, who endeavored a contemporary women-in-comedy anthology called Notes From the Bathroom Line, the first of its kind since the 70s. The book features 150 women in the industry. When shes not editing and promoting a legendary tome, Solomon is moonlighting as an HBO Producer, for critically acclaimed series Barry and Silicon Valley. If you missed Solomons talk on Friday with contributors Tien Tran, Rachel Wenitsky and Cat Cohen of Seek Treatment podcast fame read on for more on the book, the San Antonio literary event, memorable bathroom lines, and the industry. You're an HBO producer what prompted you to start Notes From the Bathroom Line as a side project? I saw that Titters was an inspo, why publish this volume now? So Titters was the first collection of humor by women and it was published in 1976 and then there was never anything like it again, which always drove me crazy. 1976 to 2021 is way too long of a gap! Funny women are my favorite thing in the world and Im so lucky that I get to meet so many through my job, so I thought okay, maybe I should take this on?! And Im so glad I did because I got to showcase so many voices that I love so much. Which broads are your main comedy muses? Okay when I think of the word muse I think of a weird old man doing an oil painting of a young woman but I just googled it and it really just means artistic inspiration and oh my god there are so many, and Im lucky to know a lot of them: Catherine Cohen, Naomi Ekperigin, Tien Tran, Rachel Sennott, Rachel Wenitsky, Karen Chee, just to name a few. Also I dont know Sharon Horgan at all but Im obsessed with her. Have you always been a comedy nerd? Big time. I grew up in Chicago, walking distance from Second City so I was doomed from the start. And my parents and grandparents were all huge comedy fans so they definitely encouraged it. They bought me the box sets of the first few seasons of SNL one Hanukkah and I discovered Gilda Radner and it sealed my fate. Who will enjoy Notes From the Bathroom Line? Everyone!!! It has anything and everything from essays to fiction to poetry to cartoons to sheet music so I really think anyone can find stuff they love in it. If you hate jokes then maybe you wont like it but if thats you then you need to do some self-exploration. What's the most memorable bathroom line you've stood in? I have seen Taylor Swift in concert more times than I should probably admit publicly, and the last time I went, the bathroom line was me and so, so many middle schoolers, and I was like okay Im officially too old for this. Bathroom lines are a time to really look inward. How has the involvement with the SA Book Festival been? The festival may be online, but have you ever been to San Antonio before? If so, what were your impressions? I did a panel with a few of the contributors from my book on Friday night and it was SO fun, we had such a great chat, I never wanted it to end. Ive never been to San Antonio but now feel connected to it due to the fest so I wanna go! Do you have any career advice for young ladies wanting to break into the industry? WRITE THANK YOU NOTES. It sounds silly but I promise, it really sets you apart. Often an email will suffice but if they really helped you out, handwritten goes a long way. Get a fun set of cards and a nice pen and go to town! Camille Sauers is a freelance writer based in San Antonio. Follow her on twitter @camillesaccount. Send her emails to camillefrancissauers@gmail.com School scammer Neil Lennie has again avoided jail after an arrest warrant issued against him was revoked. Lennie had been regarded as one of the most gifted educators in the land before he was exposed as a brazen fraudster. On Monday, a Melbourne magistrate granted a warrant to police to arrest the now 72-year old after he failed to front court on alleged fresh charges. Neil Lennie used his dad's teaching qualifications to earn a career in teaching Mount Scopus had been duped by Lennie back in the 1970s when all one needed was a certificate to teach Lennie would act as principal at Caulfield Grammar School for a period between the 1980s and 1990s Last month, Lennie was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria to a suspended jail term and community corrections order after pleading guilty to four counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception over the life-long scam. Using his dad's teaching qualifications to score his first teaching job, Lennie would enjoy an illustrious career that saw him teach at Victoria's Mount Scopus Memorial College, Haileybury College and Overnewton Anglican Community College. Lennie even spent six years as a headmaster at the prestigious Caulfield Grammar School for a period between the 1980s and 1990s. In reality, he had never completed any studies beyond year 12. No explanation was given as to why Lennie failed to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday morning. He was not represented by a lawyer and did not answer his phone when contacted by a court clerk. It had been alleged Lennie faced more charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception. He had been fortunate to avoid being jailed in March over his years of deception. The warrant was cancelled at 3pm on Monday amid fears the charges were in fact duplicates of the charges he had already been sentenced on. Neil Lennie arrives at the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday Lennie also worked for a stint at Overnewton Anglican Community College (pictured) The matter was adjourned until next week to allow court staff and police to ascertain if the charges are indeed duplicates. Lennie had come undone in 2009 when The Victorian Institute of Teaching, which conducts annual audits of teacher and school records to ensure staff are qualified, exposed him as a fraud. They had discovered discrepancies with Lennie's records when he sought to renew his registration. It was promptly cancelled that year. In 2014, the institute charged him over another role as headmaster at a different school, again without qualification. He was fined $8000 and the following year the institute referred him to police before criminal charges were laid in May 2020. Busted, Lennie admitted his dodgy deeds had netted him $843,567 in wages up until 2000. Though it was worryingly easy for Lennie to make his way to the top of the educational tree, authorities have assured the public such a brazen scheme could never happen today. Back when Lennie first worked in schools all that was required was a teacher registration number. Mount Scopus - Lennie's first target - had not seen his tertiary qualifications and took him at his word that he was a registered teacher. Neil Lennie is chased down the road by reporters after an earlier hearing in Melbourne Neil Lennie faked his way through a teaching career that began in the 1970s Despite the lie, Lennie won praise as actually being a very good teacher, or at least better than he was as a student, or a fraudster. During his hearings in the County Court last month, former colleagues and students sang his praises in letters referred to during his prosecution. Leading infectious diseases expert and inaugural Doherty Institute director, Professor Sharon Lewin AO, said Lennie had taught her physics and described him as one of the most outstanding teachers she'd ever had. 'I often credit Mr Lennie with my enduring love of science, pursuit of academic excellence and self-belief in my own capabilities in science,' she wrote in a letter to the court. 'I remember him very clearly telling me that I was capable of doing anything in life and to shoot for the stars. 'As a young woman in the 1970s, I now understand that this kind of encouragement for women in science was most unusual.' Notwithstanding his lies, Ian Hill QC said Lennie was an outstanding teacher who earned the respect of students and staff. Prosecutor John Dickie said the case was not about whether Lennie had been a good or bad teacher, but about him lying about his qualifications and fraudulently obtaining money meant for legitimate teachers. Lennie had enrolled in various science, maths, arts and business degrees and diplomas, but did not complete them or obtain any relevant qualification. Lennie felt he'd found his calling and was driven by a misguided sense of vocation and Christian ideals instead of greed. The court heard he was sorry for lying and felt he'd been publicly disgraced. He wanted people to know that 'anyone I've harmed feels justice has been done', the court was told. Judge Patricia Riddell sentenced Lennie to three months jail, which was wholly suspended for a year. He was also given a 12 month community corrections order. The Catholic Bishops of Australia release the results of an audit regarding the Church's implementation of safeguarding standards, saying a substantial improvement was reported. By Lisa Zengarini The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) has made substantial progress in safeguarding against abuse. According to the results of an external audit published last week, the ACBC has fully implemented or substantially progressed in the implementation of 97 percent of relevant safeguarding indicators. The audit was conducted by the Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd (ACSL), a new national agency established in December 2020 by the Australian bishops and Catholic Religious, with the responsibility for all areas of safeguarding and professional standards to prevent sexual abuse in the Church. The agency replaced the Catholic Professional Standards Limited (CPSL), which was created by the Australian bishops in 2016 to improve child protection, and has also taken over tasks carried out by other Catholic agencies dealing with sexual abuse in Australia. The aim of this move is to make the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults in the Church more effective and efficient in the country. Proactive approach ACSL published its first findings after selective interviews with Conference staff, interaction with the Conferences leadership and Safeguarding Committee, and a review of policies and procedures. According to Dr Trudy Dantis, director of the National Centre for Pastoral Research and chair of the Bishops Conferences Safeguarding Committee, the audit process helped the organisation strengthen its policies and procedures. The Bishops Conference has relatively little direct contact with children, but there is an important role to play in demonstrating a proactive approach for other Church entities, she said. There are many Catholic groups whose current ministries and activities arent directed towards children and young people. Yet we are still responsible for making sound decisions to limit the possibility of any behaviours that could harm children or other vulnerable people. Areas for growth The two areas where ACSL recommended additional attention related to people attending events and monitoring the online environment. When the Conference sponsors events that see young people gather, they are invariably a collaboration with a diocese or other group, which typically has responsibility for safeguarding and child protection matters, Dr Dantis explained. We will work towards clearer policies for such events, particularly around managing persons of concern who might be seeking to attend Conference-sponsored events. She added that, similarly, the ACBC will assess its policies regarding how staff interact with people online, noting that it is not always clear when those making contact with the Conference electronically are children or young people. Bishops Conference president, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, explained, for his part, that the process is aimed at improving the safety of children and young people through a collaborative approach. There will be times when shortcomings have to be called out, but a commitment to addressing issues when they are identified within and outside the audit framework is what will continue to enhance our processes, he said, thanking the ACSL for their advice in helping support continuous improvement. A serial fabulist with a checkered past has been suggested as the true identity behind 'Individual X,' the hacker who stole Bitcoin worth $4 billion from the online black market Silk Road, only to have the cryptocurrency seized by the federal government. Raymond Ngan, 49, was implicated in the brazen digital heist in court documents filed by Las Vegas entrepreneur Jay Bloom, who is seeking to recover a $2.2 billion civil judgement from the bankrupt Ngan, the Smoking Gun reported. Speculation has swirled since November, when the Justice Department announced it had seized a massive trove of stolen Bitcoin from a person it publicly identified only as 'Individual X'. Individual X agreed to hand over the illicit gains to the federal government, which is currently seeking court approval to auction off the cryptocurrency hoard in a civil forfeiture -- but Bloom hopes to intervene, arguing he deserves a cut of the billions to pay off the judgement he won against Ngan. Raymond Ngan, 49, was implicated as 'Individual X' in court documents. Little is known of his past, save for a $2.2 billion civil judgement entered against him by a Nevada court The twisted tale dates back to 2012, when Silk Road was operating on the dark web as the world's premier black market, with illicit drugs, weapons and even contract murder for sale. Silk Road was seized by the feds in 2013, and founder Ross Ulbricht was convicted on seven criminal counts, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics and money laundering. Ulbricht, who ran Silk Road under the alias 'Dread Pirate Roberts' and was accused of commissioning five murders at a cost of $650,000, was sentenced to serve two life sentences. But questions remained about what had happened to all the money Ulbricht made running the online black market. Investigators estimate that Silk Road took in some 600,000 Bitcoins in sales commissions -- an amount now worth about $36 billion -- but only a fraction of the loot was ever recovered. In November, the DOJ revealed that a hacker in 2012 stole a large quantity of Bitcoin from Ulbricht, who had never revealed the embarrassing security breach to his privacy-obsessed clients at Silk Road. At the time of the theft, Bitcoin traded around $5, making the total value of the heist about $359,000. On Monday, the price of Bitcoin remained above $60,000, valuing the stolen crypto at more than $4 billion. Ross Ulbricht, who ran Silk Road under the alias 'Dread Pirate Roberts', was sentenced to two life sentences. But feds never recovered much of the money he made running the site Ulbricht, seen behind bars, never revealed the embarrassing 2012 security breach that cost him more than 70,000 Bitcoins in Silk Road profits, which were stolen by Individual X Silk Road raked in Bitcoin that would be worth $36 billion today, but much was never found The hacker, Individual X, agreed to hand over the trove of stolen crypto in return for undisclosed concessions from prosecutors -- possibly including a deal to avoid prosecution. As part of the deal, the feds agreed not to reveal his identity -- though court documents do refer to Individual X as 'he' and 'him'. As the DOJ sought court permission to auction off the seized assets, with the money going to the Treasury, Bloom intervened in court filings claiming he was owed a cut of the funds. Though Bloom's filings do not name Nygan explicitly, they make it clear that he believes Individual X is Nygan. In March 2017, Bloom won a record-shattering $2.2 billion summary judgement in Nevada against Nygan, whom he alleged had reneged on deals to provide some $160 million in financing for a business venture. Nygan infuriated the Nevada court with his failure to appear or participate in the case, court records show, and continued to evade court process until he was arrested in June 2018 near Yellowstone National Park in Montana, on a bench warrant from a federal bankruptcy court. Little is know of the mysterious Nygan, who claimed to be a child refugee from a Cambodian concentration camp who attended the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology the age of 14, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Jay Bloom, a Las Vegas entrepreneur, filed court documents with references and information related to the identity of Individual X Bloom, a globe trotting businessman, hopes to intervene in the civil forfeiture, arguing he deserves a cut of the billions to pay off the judgement he won against Ngan At various times, Nygan also claimed to have advanced degrees from Wharton, and said he amassed a fortune of billions managing funds for Middle Eastern foreign governments and helping to found a major Asian retail business. In bankruptcy court, he claimed his only asset was a checking account holding about $500. During Ngan's bankruptcy proceeding, he was jailed twice on contempt charges for failing to turn over documents or appear for depositions. His lawyers also perpetually quit, citing their frustration with a client who refused to communicate with them. Ngan's final lawyer, before withdrawing in January, provided the court with a letter from a Las Vegas doctor who said Ngan 'presented with complaints of alcohol addiction...anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations,' according to the Smoking Gun. The letter also said that lab results showed that Ngan was 'suffering from a chronic viral condition.' Dr. Daniel Royal wrote that these maladies left Ngan unable physically or mentally to be further deposed. Royal recommended Ngan be placed under 30 days of constant observation to ensure that he 'becomes physically sober and mentally stable in that his suicidal ideations have abated.' Nygan could not be reached by DailyMail.com and did not respond to repeated messages from The Smoking Gun. The San Francisco attorney representing Individual X, Adam Gasner, did not immediately respond to a message from DailyMail.com on Monday. 'My client will continue to live a quiet, anonymous life in the comfort of his own home,' Gasner told Litigation Daily in February. 'Privacy and freedom are worth more than money.' China's Alibaba does not expect any material impact from changes to its exclusivity arrangements with merchants, CEO Daniel Zhang said on Monday, after regulators fined the e-commerce giant a record $2.75 billion for abusing its market dominance. Shares in Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd rose as much as 9% in Hong Kong trade as a key source of uncertainty for the company was removed, and on relief the fine and steps ordered were not more onerous. Alibaba has come under intense scrutiny since billionaire founder Jack Ma's public criticism of the Chinese regulatory system in October. The company will introduce measures to lower entry barriers and business costs faced by merchants on its platforms, Zhang told an online conference for media and analysts. Alibaba executives said despite Saturday's record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine and measures ordered by regulators, they remain confident in the government's overall support of the company. "They are affirming our business model," said Alibaba executive vice chairman Joe Tsai. "We feel comfortable that there's nothing wrong with our fundamental business model as a platform company." SHARES BOUNCE Markets reacted positively, with shares jumping by the most since July last year. "Now the penalty is determined, the market's uncertainty about Alibaba will be reduced," Everbright Sun Hung Kai analyst Kenny Ng said. "Alibaba's stock price has lagged behind the overall emerging economy stocks for some time in the past. The implementation of this penalty is expected to allow Alibaba's stock price to regain market attention." Aside from imposing the fine, among the highest ever antitrust penalties globally, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ordered Alibaba to make "thorough rectifications" to strengthen internal compliance and protect consumer rights. "The required corrective measures will likely limit Alibaba's revenue growth as a further expansion in market share will be constrained," said Lina Choi, Senior Vice President at Moody's Investors Service. "Investments to retain merchants and upgrade products and services will also reduce its profit margins." SAMR said it had determined Alibaba, which is also listed in New York, had prevented its merchants from using other online e-commerce platforms since 2015. 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 said. The probe comes as China bolsters SAMR with extra staff and a wider jurisdiction amid a crackdown on technology conglomerates, signalling a new era after years of laissez-faire approach. The agency has taken aim recently at China's large tech giants in particular, mirroring increased scrutiny of the sector in the United States and Europe. EXCLUSIVITY ISSUES Alibaba said it accepted the penalty and "will ensure its compliance with determination". Speaking with analysts on Monday, Tsai said that other than a review of the company's mergers and acquisitions, which the company's peers also face, it does not expect further investigation from the antitrust regulator. "We are pleased we can put this matter behind us," he said. Tsai added the company "doesn't rely on exclusivity" to retain its merchants, adding such exclusivity arrangements in the past only covered a small number of Tmall flagship stores. Alibaba and its peers remain under review for mergers and acquisitions from the market regulator, Tsai told the briefing, adding he was not aware of any other anti-monopoly-related investigations. 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. Also read: 'Stop protecting harassers', demand 500 Google employees in open letter to Sundar Pichai Also read: China regulators slap $2.75 billion fine on Alibaba for anti-monopoly violations Highlights Xiaomi will launch more than one Mi 11 phones in India. Mi 11, Mi 11 Lite expected to arrive on April 23. All smartphones to Snapdragon 888 SoC. Xiaomi had last month announced that it will soon be bringing the Mi 11 series to India soon. Later, it confirmed that the Mi 11 Ultra India launch will happen on April 23. The company has also been teasing the phone since then. That made most smartphone enthusiasts wonder what happened to the 'series' part. Well, Xiaomi India chief Manu Kumar Jain has now confirmed on Twitter that the company will be launching 'many' Qualcomm Snapdragon-8 series smartphones on the mentioned date. This means that we can expect more than one Mi 11 smartphones in India later this month. For those unaware, Xiaomi had started the year by launching the Mi 11 in China. It was the first smartphone to pack a Snapdragon 888 SoC. It has since then added more smartphones to the line-up. These include - Mi 11 Pro, Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11i, and the Mi 11 Lite 5G. Out of these, the Mi 11, Mi 11 Pro, Mi 11 Ultra, and the Mi 11i are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, while the Mi 11 Lite 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 780 chipset. According to Manu's tweet, few of the first three can arrive in India. "Happy to bring #Snapdragon888 on not 1, but many Mi phones," Jain said, indicating that the company will launch multiple Snapdragon 888-powered smartphones. All the smartphones are likely to be priced on the higher side as they will be imported from China. There is a chance that Mi 11 Ultra will cost more than Rs 70,000 in the country. The smartphone features a 6.81-inch sAMOLED display with QHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and 512GB of UFS 3.1 fast storage. The smartphone packs a 5,000mAh battery that supports 67W fast wired as well as wireless charging. Mi 11 Ultra features a triple rear camera setup including a primary 50-megapixel Samsung GN2 sensor with OIS, a secondary 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 periscope telephoto lens with OIS, and a 48-megapixel Sony ultra-wide unit. On the front, there is a 20-megapixel camera. Initial casting has been revealed for the touring production of Hairspray. Brenda Edwards and Norman Pace will appear in the show as Motormouth Maybelle and Wilbur Turnblad respectively, with further casting to be revealed. Opening at Theatre Royal Plymouth (subject to the easing of restrictions) on 24 June 2021, the much-loved musical will head out to theatres across the UK. Featuring music and lyrics by the Academy Award-winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, this production is directed by Paul Kerryson and have choreography by Drew McOnie. The full creative team and cast are still to be announced. Hairspray the Musical is based on the 1988 film by John Waters and starred Divine and Ricki Lake. It tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, a Baltimore schoolgirl in 1962 who is determined to follow her dreams and perform on national TV. After Plymouth, the production will visit the following venues in 2021: Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, Manchester Palace Theatre, Sheffield Lyceum, Ipswich Regent Theatre, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Edinburgh Playhouse, The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, Brighton Theatre Royal, Birmingham Hippodrome, Leicester Curve, Nottingham Theatre Royal, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Bord Gais Energy Theatre Dublin, Grand Opera House Belfast, New Victoria Theatre, Woking, Milton Keynes Theatre and Blackpool Grand Theatre. More dates are to be announced for 2022. The show is not associated with the West End production, set to run at The London Coliseum. Subscriber content preview By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer Amazon workers voted overwhelmingly against forming a union at a warehouse in Alabama, handing the online retail giant a decisive victory and cutting off a path that labor activists had hoped would lead to similar efforts throughout the company and beyond. After months of aggressive campaigning from both sides, 1,798 warehouse workers ultimately rejected the union while 738 voted in favor of it, according to the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process. . . . New Delhi: A Mumbai man fearing to lose the custody of children allegedly stabbed his wife in the face at Mira Road on Tuesday late. The woman suffered injuries severe injuries on her face and neck. She is being treated in a private hospital. The police is yet to lodge the victims statement. The accused has been identified as Imran Khan. He got married to victim, Sonober and they filed for divorce in Thane court almost a year ago. The couple has two kids aging six and nine years. Also read: Delhi Commission for Women announces Rs 25 lakh to minor rape survivor The victims father told the media that they had been to the Naya Nagar market. Imran was following us and he attacked my daughter with knife and managed to escape in the crowd, he added. The victims further has also suffered injuries in the attack. He added Imran had been threatening them of dire consequences if he lost the custody of two kids. A senior police office said that they are waiting for the victim to regain her health so that they can take the statement. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. (Nikkei Asia) The Japanese government has decided to release treated radioactive water accumulated at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea despite opposition from fishermen, a source familiar with the matter said Friday. It will hold a meeting of related ministers as early as Tuesday to formally decide on the plan, a major development following over seven years of discussions on how to discharge the water used to cool down melted fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The release into the sea of the treated water containing radioactive tritium, which is said to pose little risk to human health, is likely to provoke concern among consumers and neighboring countries such as China and South Korea. The government had initially hoped to make a decision on the discharge of the treated water in October last year but later decided it would need more time for discussions amid staunch concern about reputational damage to marine products. But Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday his government will decide in a few days whether to release the water after meeting with Hiroshi Kishi, head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, who conveyed his organizations unwavering opposition to the plan. In February last year, a government panel proposed various options for disposing of the water, including releasing it into the ocean as well as evaporating it. The following month, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, drafted a plan to dilute the water to below the legal limit for concentration of radioactive materials before releasing it in the sea. The government has said it cannot continue postponing a decision on the disposal issue, given that the storage capacity of water tanks at the Fukushima complex is expected to run out as early as fall next year. It asserts that space needs to be secured on the premises, such as for keeping melted fuel debris that will be extracted from the damaged reactors, to move forward the decades-long process of scrapping the complex. The Fukushima Daiichi plant, which suffered core meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, continues to generate massive amounts of radiation-tainted water after it is used to cool melted fuel. The water is treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, to remove most contaminants and stored in tanks on the complex premises. The process, however, cannot remove tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors. The International Atomic Energy Agency has backed the Japanese governments plan to dispose of the water, saying, releasing it into the sea meets global standards of practice in the nuclear industry. The Geneva-based bodys Director General Rafael Grossi, during his visit to the Fukushima complex in February, said this is a common way to release water at nuclear power plants, even when they are not in emergency situations. This article was originally published by Nikkei Asia Contact editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Globals new stock database. 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. Lakes store huge amounts of methane. In a new study, environmental scientists at the University of Basel offer suggestions for how it can be extracted and used as an energy source in the form of methanol. Discussion about the current climate crisis usually focuses on carbon dioxide (CO2). The greenhouse gas methane is less well known, but although it is much rarer in the atmosphere, its global warming potential is 80 to 100 times greater per unit. More than half the methane caused by human activities comes from oil production and agricultural fertilizers. But the gas is also created by the natural decomposition of biomass by microbes, for example in lakes. In their most recent publication, researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland outline the potential and theoretical possibilities for using methane from lakes and other freshwater bodies for sustainable energy production. Methane from lakes and water reservoirs makes up about 20% of global natural methane missions. "That would theoretically be enough to meet the world's energy needs," says Maciej Bartosiewicz, a postdoc in the Department of Environmental Sciences of the University of Basel. Lakes continuously absorb CO2 from the atmosphere through the growth of phytoplankton. Microbes convert the carbon, fixed by photosynthesis, into methane when they process biomass. That way, carbon bound in the methane remains within the natural cycle during combustion. Fossil fuels could be partially replaced by "natural" renewable methane. Methane gas is already burned in gas-fired power plants for electricity production and used as a fuel in the form of liquid methanol. Lakes as huge energy stores The idea described in the article isn't completely new: since 2016, methane in Lake Kivu between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has been extracted from a depth of 260 meters, cleaned and used for energy supply directly via generators. "Methane occurs in high concentrations in large quantities on the lake bed there," explains Bartosiewicz. "The methane concentration is about 100 times higher than in ordinary lakes." Low concentrations made extracting methane from conventional lakes seem too technically difficult until a few years ago. But new microporous membranes made of polymeric materials now allow the gas to be separated from the water much more efficiently. The researchers have made the first concrete proposals in this regard: using a hydrophobic gas-liquid membrane contactor, a methane-containing gas mixture can be separated from water and the methane concentrated. Zeolite minerals are particularly suitable for enrichment, since hydrophobic crystalline substances can adsorb and release gases. Potential positive effects on ecosystems "With our idea, we wanted to start a broad discussion about the potential, feasibility and risks of a technology like this," says Bartosiewicz. "Until now, no studies have addressed the effects of methane removal on lake ecosystem functioning, but no immediate negative effects can be foreseen with our current understanding." However, removing excess carbon could even help curb excessive phytoplankton bloom formation and reduce natural greenhouse gas emissions from lakes. More work is needed before any practical implementation of this initial theoretical idea, says Bartosiewicz. But he's convinced: "This concept could one day make an important contribution to reaching our climate goals." ### South Korea will resume AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine inoculations for those between the ages of 30 and 60 years as its health authorities balanced potential risks of the shots against a widening outbreak. The Asian nation temporarily suspended the use of the vaccine for those below 60 last week after a 20-year-old health care worker was diagnosed with a blood clot shortly after getting an Astra dose. It followed similar blood clot reports elsewhere, prompting dozens of countries to limit Astra use. Those under 30 will be excluded from AstraZeneca vaccine shots, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. It is because we concluded that the benefit from getting vaccinated was not big compared with the risk of rare blood clot. Extending the suspension could have further complicated the countrys vaccine rollout as it is heavily reliant on the Astra vaccine in the first phase of inoculating nursing homes, hospitals and front-line health care workers. About 90% of over 1 million vaccines administered so far have been AstraZenecas, although those made by other companies are expected to be more widely used as South Korea opens up the program to the general public in the summer. The country, with a population of about 50 million, has said it has secured enough doses to inoculate almost 80 million people. Delaying Astra inoculations would have also come at a time when the country is seeing a steady rise in number of daily cases, with health officials warning of a fourth wave of infections. Authorities have urged the public to adhere to social distancing restrictions including a ban on gatherings of more than four people. ___ Youkyung Lee of Bloomberg News wrote this story. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2021 Bloomberg L.P. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC I was wondering whether you could provide me with some advice regarding a pension issue that has arisen at my workplace. I started working for my company last year, but due to a delay in it giving me relevant paperwork, I recently discovered to my shock that my employer had not auto-enrolled me in the company pension scheme and as such had not paid any employer contributions. I had also not made any contributions either, with the associated loss of the 1 per cent pension tax relief. Dilemma: My employer hasn't enrolled me in a pension scheme, and I'm worried to report it in case I lose my job When I challenged my employer on this, pointing out that auto-enrolment was a legal requirement, I was told the company pension scheme was being moved. I was also told my employer contributions have been accrued and after the new scheme was set up they would be invested. I'm pretty sure that the above is illegal. I currently have no idea where my contributions are being kept and zero evidence that they exist at all. Furthermore, I only found out about any of this because I had to challenge my employer on where my contributions were. There had been no communication of any of this information previously. Given that I've already raised this issue, I fear reporting the company to the Pensions Regulator as I'm pretty certain that I'll cop the blame if the company gets in trouble and as a relatively new employee have very few rights at work. If retaliation did follow, even if I did prove unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal I would only be awarded losses but would still be out of a job in the current ongoing recession. Although I was told I would not lose out financially from all of this I feel that given that I have made no personal contributions and have missed out on tax relief that this cannot be true. I look forward to any advice or suggestions you could provide me. SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT HOW TO ASK STEVE YOUR PENSION QUESTION Steve Webb: Find out how to ask the former Pensions Minister a question about your retirement savings in the box below Steve Webb replies: When your employer chooses to employ people, they take on various duties such as the duty to pay at least the national minimum wage, the duty to provide paid holidays and the duty to enrol specified workers into a workplace pension. I do understand that when an employer doesn't fulfil these obligations it is not always easy to force them to do so, especially for anyone who works for a smaller firm and especially when you are worried about the implications of reporting them. Just to clarify your employer's legal duties, provided that you earn 10,000 per year or more, and provided you are aged between 22 and state pension age, they are obliged to enrol you into a workplace pension. They have to choose a provider and make sure that a total of 8 per cent of your 'qualifying earnings' (the slice above 6,240 and up to 50,270) is paid into that pension. Their contribution has to be at least 3 per cent of your qualifying earnings. For the first three months of your employment they are not obliged to put you in a pension, but you do have the right to opt in during that period, and they should notify you of this right. Once that three month period is over, the money should start flowing, and they cannot simply sit on it until they've got themselves sorted out. When they collect contributions from a monthly paypacket, they generally have until the 22nd of the following month to pass it on to the pension provider. If an employer fails to meet these legal duties, you can use the Pensions Regulator's 'whistleblower' service to report them, and you can find details here. However, as you say, if the employer were to get a letter from the regulator about pensions there is a chance that they would guess who had complained, even though the regulator would not reveal this. (Though if other people in your workplace are also missing out on contributions, perhaps you could jointly complain to the management?) If you are not willing to take this risk, another option might be to contact the pension company that your firm is currently using. If they have an account set up for you but contributions are missing, they can be prodded to contact your employer to query why the contributions that they have received are not as expected. If there are other employees at your firm who have workplace pensions with the same provider then it might be slightly less suspicious if the provider were to make a routine inquiry relating to the entire workforce rather than just one employee. Sometimes people make complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman as a way of chasing up missing contributions. The Ombudsman's role is to look into 'maladministration' essentially people not doing their job properly which has led to loss. Enforcing legal duties on your employer is the job of the Pensions Regulator, but if you think the pensions company has been a bit sleepy and if they don't respond positively when you contact them directly, there's a chance that the Ombudsman could get involved. You can find more details here. You are clearly in a difficult and vulnerable position, especially in the current economic climate. But even where firms put people on furlough during the pandemic they were initially given money to make sure that minimum pension contributions continued. This is a reminder that even during a pandemic the Government still takes seriously the need for employers to keep contributing into pensions for their workers. Lucknow: BSP leader and gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari will be presented at Punjabs Mohali court and Lucknow court in Uttar Pradesh on Monday (April 12). Ansari, who is at present in Banda jail will appear in these courts virtually today. In Mohali court, a case of extortion will be heard while in Lucknow, charges are to be decided in a 21-year-old case of assault with the jailor and deputy jailor. UP Police on April 7 brought Ansari, who is the sitting Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA from Mau Vidhan Sabha seat to Banda prison. He had spent over two years in Punjab prison. According to the Police, around 52 cases are registered against Ansari in Uttar Pradesh and other states. Earlier in February, the UP government accused the Punjab government in the Supreme Court, alleging that the latter (Punjab) was colluding with Ansari who is wanted in UP in relation to various criminal cases. Live TV The Biden administration says it had no role in the explosion on Sunday at an Iranian uranium enrichment facility. Iran has blamed Israel and vowed to take revenge. Why it matters: The administration is attempting to negotiate a return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, with a second round of indirect talks set to start on Wednesday. The timing of the incident, along with several recent Israeli strikes on Iranian ships, could make Biden's diplomatic challenge more difficult. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. What they're saying: "We have seen reports of an incident at the Natanz enrichment facility in Iran. The United States had no involvement, and we have nothing to add to speculation about the causes," a senior Biden administration official said. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif blamed Israel for the explosion, which resulted in damage to centrifuges used to enrichment uranium. He said the incident would not affect the nuclear talks, but we will take our revenge against the Zionists. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's atomic energy organization, denied a New York Times report that the explosion caused such severe damage that it will take 9 months to repair. Salehi said uranium enrichment continues and the damaged centrifuges will soon be replaced. Iranian media reported that the intelligence services were investigating the incident, and one arrest had already been made. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met this morning in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking alongside Austin, Netanyahu stressed that Iran was the gravest threat in the region and that Israel would never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Austin stressed the U.S. commitment to Israel's security but did not mention Iran. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. Wipro acquires Australia-based cyber security provider Ampion Wipro Limited, Indias third-largest software, consulting and business process services company, today announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Ampion, an Australia-based provider of cyber security, DevOps and quality engineering services. Ampion was formed through the merger of IT services providers Revolution IT and Shelde, both based in Australia. Revolution IT was an IT services company founded in 2004 and Shelde was a digital IT security company founded in 2010. The merged entity, Ampion is headquartered in Melbourne, with offices in Sydney, Brisbane, and a zone 3 facility in Canberra. The Australian market is undergoing significant disruption through the adoption of cloud, DevOps, analytics and resilience related digital capabilities, across enterprises and public sector entities. Wipro and Ampions combined offerings, powered by engineering transformation, DevOps and security consulting services will bring scale and market agility to respond to the growing demands of customers, Wipro stated in a release. Wipro is following a policy of strategic investments in focus geographies, with proximity to customers, agility, scale and localisation. Wipro said the acquisition of Ampion is an important step in this direction, and strengthens the commitment towards clients and stakeholders in Australia and New Zealand. Wipro has been present in the ANZ market for over two decades with deep client relationships across industry sectors and localised domain and delivery capabilities. Today, Wipro has also been a Top Employer in Australia for two consecutive years. I am excited to welcome Ampion to the Wipro family. Ampion has a successful track record and enjoys immense credibility with leading enterprises in the region, a collaborative work culture, and significant local subject matter expertise. We see Ampion as a complementary force that will help us expand our footprint and accelerate our journey in the Asia Pacific region, said NS Bala, CEO APMEA, Wipro Limited. Our clients, employees and the entire market ecosystem will tremendously benefit from the synergies of Ampion and Wipros combined portfolio of transformation offerings, said Jamie Duffield, CEO, Ampion. We believe that Ampions experience, talent, capabilities and proven client credentials in ANZ, coupled with Wipros global scale, leadership in technology, and a deep understanding of domain and delivery, will make us a truly formidable team. We are pleased to become a part of Wipro and look forward to an exciting journey together. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the quarter ending 30 June 2021 With an expert, local team of more than 500 consulting and technology specialists, Ampion provides cyber security, DevOps and quality engineering services to over 150 clients in Australia comprising of enterprises and public sector entities. Headquartered in Melbourne, Ampion has offices in Sydney, Brisbane and a zone 3 facility in Canberra Polish operator Orange Polska (OPL) has partnered with pension fund management company APG for the deployment of fibre to the home (FTTH) in Poland through a 50-50 joint venture. The co-owned company aims to support the rollout of fibre in Poland, notably in areas where access to very high-speed broadband infrastructure is limited or non-existent. The joint venture is valued at 605 million euros (about $774.3 million). The partnership will operate under the name Swiatowod Inwestycje. It aims by 2025 to build a fibre network reaching some 1.7 million households in less well-served areas. The new fibre company will operate using an open access model providing wholesale access to its fibre network to OPL and other interested operators. However, OPL is expected to be both a major customer and a major supplier for the fibre company, supplying a wide range of services including network construction management and maintenance, lease of elements of the network and other support services. OPL will guarantee network construction within a fixed budget. The transaction that will bring about the new company is expected to close by the end of August 2021. Orange Polska says that what it call this landmark partnership gives it the flexibility to reinforce its fibre rollout while also enabling immediate deleveraging. OPL has also said that further fibre rollout in less well-served areas using this open access model will provide the best conditions for fast customer take-up and will allow it to monetise its fibre investments both in retail and wholesale operations. The hope is that Swiatowod Inwestycje will be Polands leading independent open access FTTH wholesale operator. Similar to the commencement ceremonies held in fall 2020, University of North Georgia (UNG) graduates and their families will gather on the floor of the Convocation Center to celebrate their graduation in an intimate setting. But this time, more families will be allowed in the facility. "In December, we had 13 family groups on the floor at the same time. This May, we will have 90," said Jessica Brown, coordinator of university events. A total of 450 graduates and guests will participate in each mini-ceremony with no more than eight ceremonies each day on Saturday and Sunday for a total of 16. This marks one deviation from the fall 2020 commencement experience. The second deviation is graduates and guests will be seated in chairs on the event floor in advance to wait for the ceremony to begin. Last fall, small, socially distanced groups of graduates and guests stood outside and in the hallway before being ushered into the arena for the brief ceremony. "By having fewer ceremonies with more people than we did in the fall, we are transitioning to what we hope will be a more traditional commencement in December," Brown said. "But we still are limiting the number of people to keep the numbers down, allow for social distancing and assist with crowd management." UNG implemented the smaller ceremonies to follow social distancing guidelines and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The bonus is each graduate is accompanied by four guests throughout the experience, and guests get a front-row view of their graduate's special moment. "Each family will enter a VIP area, which is close to the stage, to see their graduate walk across and accept their diploma," Brown said, explaining the group of five will exit the facility immediately afterward. "This whole ceremony from the beginning to the end is an intimate and personal experience." To participate, graduates must log into UNG Connect before April 17 and select a ceremony and check-in time. Only those who have registered before the April 17 deadline will be eligible to pick a time slot. Available commencement ceremony times are staggered and based on UNG's academic units. Saturday, May 8 College of Health Sciences and Professions; College of Science and Mathematics; and Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis 9-10 a.m. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Noon to 1 p.m. College of Arts and Letters and University College 2-3 p.m. 3:30-4:30 p.m. 5-6 p.m. 7-8 p.m. Sunday, May 9 College of Education 10:30-11:30 a.m. Noon to 1 p.m. 2-3 p.m. Mike Cottrell College of Business 3:30-4:30 p.m. 5-6 p.m. 7-8 p.m. Each graduate will receive a single ticket when their registration is confirmed through UNG Connect. The ticket will allow graduates to enter the Convocation Center with only four guests. A child will count as a single guest. Those who cannot attend the event in person can watch the livestream on the commencement website or UNG's official Facebook page. All graduates and guests will be required to wear masks inside the Convocation Center for health and safety reasons. UNG will provide a face covering for each person. Graduates and guests may check in at the time listed on their ticket. If they arrive ahead of time, UNG asks them to stay in their vehicles until their allotted time. Graduates will receive a reader card to announce their names as they walk across the stage. It must be completed and kept throughout the ceremony. Graduates and guests should park in the Convocation Center Lot (L52) or the South Parking Deck (L51). For more information, visit UNG's 2021 spring commencement information webpage. All graduates and their family members and friends along with UNG faculty and staff are encouraged to post congratulatory photos and short videos on Instagram with the hashtag #UNG21grad. Posts will feed into a landing page linked to the UNG commencement website. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) Studies show that one out of six people in Central Indiana could experience food insecurity in 2021. This is why Walmart and Sams Club are teaming up to support Feeding America Food Banks. In the Wabash Valley, this includes Terre Haute Catholic Charities. Community members can step up to help fight hunger. Its all through the Fight Hunger, Spark Change campaign. You can donate at checkout lines, or donate online on Walmart or Sams Club websites. This is the 8th year of the campaign. A French court has revisited one of the 2018 court cases against Quantic Dream overturned the decision of that unfair dismissal case which, at the time, found that the employee had been forced out of the studio by toxic and predatory behavior. In a ruling shared by GamesIndustry.biz (via IGN) this week, the court has come to the consensus that the allegedly misogynistic, homophobic, and racist culture at Quantic Dream wasn't the reason for the employee's departure, and therefore the unfair dismissal ruling doesn't apply. The earlier case concerned a number of reports published by French media outlets that levied serious misconduct allegations against Quantic Dream co-founders David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumiere, and detailed other instances of toxic and predatory behavior at the studio. Those allegations included mention of an internal collection of 600 photoshopped images, allegedly ranging from homophobic and sexist jokes to altered images of employees along those same lines. Four former Quantic Dream employees cited the information uncovered by that report as the grounds for their unfair dismissal claims. The court sided with the ex-employee in only one of those cases and, as of this latest decision, the court has overturned the 2018 ruling on the grounds that the discovery of those images weren't directly responsible for the employee's departure from Quantic Dream. According to the Court of Appeals, that one employee was only featured in one of the infamous photoshops in that collection of 600, and that the employee in question knew about the image when it was created in 2015, not in 2018 as he argued in the unfair dismissal case, so unfair dismissal no longer applies. As such, that individual is now on the hook to pay Quantic Dream around $12,000. Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream, meanwhile, paints the ruling as a dismissal of those toxic culture allegations as a whole in a statement issued following the ruling. "In January 2018, three articles published in the French press made extremely serious accusations against Quantic Dream, claiming in particular a 'toxic' corporate culture, characterized by 'misogynistic,' 'sexist.' 'homophobic' and 'racist' behaviors, as well as alleged financial malpractice and supposed 'liberties taken with labor laws,'" said the company in a statement. "These accusations, formally denied by the company, its managers, its Staff Representatives, and its employees, and contradicted by the reality of objectively verifiable facts, seriously damaged the honor and reputation of the studio. On April 7, 2021, the Paris Court of Appeals issued a new court decision, which once again very clearly establishes the facts and responsibilities in this case, by dismissing the plaintiffs claims in their entirety." [UPDATE 6 PM ET: This story was updated to add additional context on the court's decision.] NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Free Love Tarot Reading: An Easy Way to a Happier Life and Family, Top-Psychics.Org announces the release of the review "Finding Happiness for the Family Through Love Tarot Reading" Top-Psychics.Org talks about how one can use the art of love tarot reading for happier family life and a better relationship with a partner. Top-Psychics.Org has been releasing objective reviews on matters surrounding the psychic community for years now, shedding much-needed light on subjects that worry today's internet citizens. With the world's overall happiness index falling every day because of the pandemic, many have started turning to metaphysical arts and clairvoyance for relief. Top-Psychics.Org breaks down the top four sites that one can consult for accurate psychic advice and tarot card readings and explores how one can use the art of reading the cards to get a happier connection with the people around ourselves. Click Here to Visit Our Top-Rated Love Tarot Reading Website As cosmopolitan citizens of the world, every day, humans realize that the disconnect developing between themselves is growing farther with every invention and discovery they come up with. The internet has facilitated socialization for many introverts, but it has also driven wedges between many relationships that exist in real life, for instance, that between parent and child, siblings and spouses. Such broken relationships are not mended easily, and one would need reliable advice and guidance from someone that can be trusted to move on and make decisions. People also need clarity and clear headedness while dealing with family drama and relationship disputes, which modern medicine and psychiatry may not guarantee. To get the strength of heart and clarity of mind, our ancestors turned to the psychic arts and cartomancy, ways through which the universe tries to communicate with humans, sending signals to guide them through existence. It is no coincidence that the second humanity stopped paying attention to these signs, it started straying further from the path of goodness. People approach the world of tarot reading and mysticism with a skeptic attitude. Instead, they should try opening their mind towards the surprising accuracy that many readings from the top tarot sites online can change the way life proceeds. Finding The Best Tarot Reading Platform Online Unfortunately, the internet is full of fraudulent sites that cannot be trusted, especially regarding the reputation that the psychic readers' community has to uphold. Top-Psychics.Org has analyzed and assessed the following sites, checking all their claims and evaluating every feature and discount. Here are the top four best accurate tarot card reading sites this year: Kasamba - Perfect for love tarot card readings, these specialists work towards prioritizing customers. With three free minutes free on signing up and 50% off subsequently, if one passes the free talk time, customer satisfaction is pretty much guaranteed. Readings are done via phone calls and live chat. California Psychics - Great with fortune-telling and family matters, this website has psychics that will help predict the future and understand the past. With affordable rates of just a dollar per minute, California Psychics offers new customers promo codes and additional discounts where one can get five minutes for free. California Psychics do readings via video call, phones, and live chat. Keen Psychics - With some of the finest and cheapest tarot card readings on the planet, Keen Psychics gives away ten minutes for just $1.99 for new users so they can have a full, uninterrupted reading session and have a good understanding of how it works before signing up. They do readings via phone, live chat, and video. Psychic Source - Highly specialized cartomancers that dabble in angel card reading aside from tarots. One of the cheapest sites to get one's cards read with just $0.66 per minute. New customers get the first three minutes completely free, giving them plenty of time to see how the site works. Kasamba Kasamba has had over three million visitors to their website, and for a good reason. With over a hundred and fifty tarot card readers available on the clock, Kasamba has become a known name in the psychic community for their transparency and quality of service. If one is looking for a reliable love tarot reading website, Kasamba is the most suggested one. Signing up is made easy with integrations made with Google and Apple, a testament to its reliability. After looking at the large range of tarot readers they have, who all specialize in various areas of expertise, including angel card reading and other forms of cartomancy, customers can take their pick and contact a psychic of their choice. With an online wallet system, any fear of auto-debits and losing money is instantly eradicated. Ask these tarot readers about the future of one's family, how the members' financial status will improve, and where the relationship one has with the spouse is going to lead. Kasamba has become synonymous with good quality love tarot reading, so there is no need to think twice before signing up on the website. Highlights Affordable rates, three free minutes Cross-platform app available Best Match guaranteed with a 24/7 support team. An additional 50% off for first-time users Around 188 tarot card readers available on the website. Click Here For 3 Free Minutes Of Accurate Love Readings With Kasamba California Psychics California Psychics has both experience and expertise on their side - over a successful career of two decades, they have managed to accumulate a formidable number of reliable tarot card readers. Most of them specialize in reading energies connected to love and relationships. Their affordable rates urge many people to sign up even though they are first-timers - they are rarely disappointed, but to uphold their reputation, California Psychics offers a full refund to any disappointed customer who felt like their psychic was underqualified or felt uncomfortable during a session. Signing up on California Psychics is very easy. Making an account takes only one's name, email, and date of birth, after which the user can take a look around the site. Users can get a good idea of how each reader works before paying for their services with good profiles of the clairvoyants detailing every tarot card reader's specialties, strengths, and techniques. There are also transparent and detailed user testimonials that existing customers would have left, giving new users a clue of how the process works and what kind of field a particular reader specializes in. Knowing this, the user can decide what to ask, what questions to resolve, etc. Highlights Free five minutes, promo codes, and more for first-time users. Easy matching technique for indecisive users so that they get matched with a great psychic. Online wallet system Transparent user testimonials that are helpful to new customers. Visit California Psychics Top-Rated Love Tarot Readers Keen Psychics Similar to California Psychics, Keen also prioritizes clients over anything else. At just $1.99 for ten minutes, Keen provides their service at very affordable rates. Ten minutes is plenty of time for even the most confused advice-seeker to clear out their dilemmas or at least to understand how the intricate process of tarot card reading works on a virtual platform. Keen acknowledges the problems that come with the lack of physical presence regarding an intimate process like tarot card reading. But it also understands how many customers have problems related to social anxiety and paranoia, especially in this day and age of data corruption and privacy breaches, which is why they allow clients to keep their audio, video, and identity in secret while attending a tarot reading session. They can feel free to communicate via the text channel provided, through which they can pick out cards and communicate with the seer at their own pleasure. The website has been lauded for its easy to use interface and user experience. Readings are done via phone call as well, for those who are short on time and need to get answers fast. Keen also comes with around the clock customer support - additionally, they offer 24/7 tarot card reading services. As a global brand, they need to come up with solutions to dealing with clients and seers from various time zones across the planet, which is why they coordinate to set the customer up with a seer at any point in time. Highlights Three free minutes on registration Great UX/UI for the website 24/7 tarot card reading available Around the clock customer service. Ten minutes at $1.99 . 10 Minutes for $1.99 with Keen Love Tarot Experts Psychic Source With over three decades of experience, Psychic Source is one of the oldest players in the industry. This has allowed them to perfect their services across eras, adapting with the times to take on today's form. Offering their services at a deceptively low rate of $0.66 per minute, Psychic Source provides the best tarot reading sites for those who are short on cash. It also provides three free minutes on registration. Psychic Source's mission is to redirect humanity's attention towards the psychic arts and the beauty of listening to messages from the universe through practices like tarot card reading. But the state that humanity is in right now is also why they prioritize customer privacy and protection against any potential data breaches. Every interaction made on the website is protected end to end and customers are encouraged not to divulge personal information like addresses. The information that customers enter is not shared even with the clairvoyants on the website. Suppose any customer feels upset or uncomfortable after a session. In that case, the reader is immediately suspended and the customer will get a full refund credited to their account, provided their story checks out after comprehensive investigations. Psychic Source has evolved with the times to make their portal available on all mobile platforms, through which it is easy to consult their psychics and tarot readers. Psychic Source takes their practice and service very seriously, which is why they have risen to become one of the top tarot card reading websites in 2021. Highlights Guaranteed customer privacy Assured confidentiality in all interactions. Cross-platform applications are available on Android and Apple devices. Cheap rates with discounts for new members. Click Here to Visit Psychic Source Top-Rated Love Tarot Readers Finding Happiness for the Family Through Tarot Card Reading Tarot card reading cannot solve material problems like financial instability, unemployment or poor health, but it can facilitate a person's mental strength when they approach such issues. Even though religion has started to become more or less redundant when it comes to dealing with real-life philosophical issues, spirituality and metaphysics stand a class apart - tarot reading can open many doors into understanding one's soul and the direction that one's life is taking in more ways than one. It is not about how much one believes in the act before participating in a tarot card reading session, but how open-minded one is towards receiving cosmic advice and guidance from the universe. One student analyzed over 326 studies to reveal that 79% has shown a positive correlation between spirituality and happiness, especially through card reading practices. More than what skeptics call superstition, believing in the higher power of the universe and leaving things up to fate can ease a lot of tension that comes with big responsibilities like taking care of a family. In many ways, a family cannot connect with each other properly because of a spiritual disconnect. Centuries ago, families always moved as a unit without forsaking their individualities - it was possible to be one person and a part of a larger familial group. But these days, with many a generation of parents inflicting cyclical trauma on their children, it has become hard for families to reconcile, apologize and move on from minor scuffles. Reading one's cards and seeing through the illusions placed on the mind by the heart, we can make our family life happier and eliminate any spiritual blocks that come between family members. Listen to What the Cards Say Matters of the family are usually read through minor Arcana cards, but there are times when tarot card readers bring out the major cards to dissect certain situations in their full complexity. The Ten of Cups, for example, is a sign of a broken relationship. It is important to keep in mind that a relationship here does not mean it has to be romantic. Friends and family are the same, and the universe only reveals what is the ultimate truth - make sure that one has a good understanding of one's own kin before getting the cards read. The broken relationship can be found by introspecting and trying to figure out which person has stopped communicating with the advice-seeker on a daily basis. The tarot card reading process requires a lot of reflection and a journey into one's psyche to reveal what the ego really wants. The Ten of Wands, on the other hand, coming from the minor Arcana, shows that the individual whose cards are being read is carrying too much burden on their shoulders. If many obstacles are standing in front of them and their happiness, the Ten of Wands tells them to let a few burdens go, ease the weights they have put on themselves, and open their minds towards new possibilities. It is highly advised to write down any epiphanies that one may have during such a card reading. Any of the major Arcana cards can give hints about which relationships need immediate attention. If it is the Emperor, it may be a highly successful, emotionally closed off person in one's family who holds power to make or break the family's morale. This may be a matriarch or even a powerful uncle. If a Star has been revealed, there will be good fortune in the family's future, but it would be difficult for them to figure out exactly where the good energy is coming from. The Empress card shows impending luxury - treat the family to a nice vacation if it is affordable and watch how relationships and their complexities unfurl and bonds are mended and made. Tarot Readings can tell more about a family than an actual family meeting. By clearing up one's perceptions and helping one achieve a calm state of mind, tarot readings can help an individual analyze the relationships around them with a cool and collected eye. It also reconnects one with one's inner self, so that signs of anxiety-like social exhaustion or paranoia fade away. This may be just what a strained marriage or a constantly fighting parent and child need desperately - some time to sit down and converse about where things have been going wrong, what one can do about it and how our decisions will affect the family's future. About Top-Psychics.Org Top-Psychics.Org have been delivering reliable and honest content in and around topics pertaining to the psychic readings community for a few years. Their dedication to guiding people towards the assurance and warmth of the world of clairvoyants is considered commendable. With their regular releases of reviewed websites, analyzed and assessed down to every special feature, top psychic have received much praise and respect from those interested in metaphysical practices like tarot card reading, fortune-telling, and cartomancy. https://top-psychics.org/ SOURCE Top Psychics 2 Pakistani Christian nurses charged with blasphemy, could face life in prison Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Police in Pakistans Punjab province arrested two Christian nurses on blasphemy charges after hospital staff accused them of scratching a sticker with a verse from the Quran written on it off a cupboard. One of the nurses was allegedly attacked with a knife by a colleague. The nurses, identified as Maryam Lal and third-year student Navish Arooj who work in Civil Hospital in Punjabs Faisalabad city, were arrested on Friday, according to the United Kingdom-based nonprofit Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement. The police complaint alleges that a Muslim nurse, identified as Rukhsana, witnessed Arooj scratching and removing the sticker on a hospital cupboard and handing it to Lal. According to the Washington, D.C.-based American Center for Law and Justice, a video circulated over social media showed an employee, identified as Mohammad Waqas, calling Lal vulgar names and telling a room full of other employees that she tore down a sticker carrying a Muslim prayer. Then he said that when he found out about it, he confronted the Christian nurse Mariam. He said, I am a Muslim; how can a Muslim sit quietly over blasphemy of his Prophet, the ACLJ report states. Then he proudly told the employees gathered in the room that he attacked Mariam with a knife, but failed when the blade broke, only injuring her arm. An aggressive mob gathered outside the hospital when police came to make the arrest and threatened to kill the two nurses, according to a video posted by Pak Adam TV Ministries. According to ACLJ, charges have been filed under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code outlawing the desecration of the Quran or extract therefrom, which is punishable by life in prison. This is not the first incident of this kind, but in the past, we have seen how people use this law to settle their personal grudges or punish their rivals, said CLAAS-UK Director Nasir Saeed in a statement. I still remember 2009 when a Lahore Muslim factory owner was accused of committing blasphemy for removing an old calendar inscribed with holy Quranic verses from a wall. A factory worker killed him and two other men, and the enraged mob also assaulted management employees and set the factory on fire. Saeed argues that Pakistans blasphemy laws continue to imprison and claim the lives of innocent people. Without government action to reform the blasphemy law, Saeed said that people like Waqas are emboldened to take the law into their own hands. In January, another Christian nurse, 30-year-old Tabitha Nazir Gill, was accused of blasphemy at Sobhraj Maternity Hospital in Karachi city in Sindh province, where she worked for nine years, the U.S.-based persecution advocacy organization International Christian Concern reported at the time. A Muslim co-worker, who was not identified, allegedly made the accusation after a personal dispute over receiving cash tips from hospital patients. According to the ICC report, the hospitals head nurse instructed all medical staff not to receive cash tips from patients. Gill reportedly reminded the co-worker who she saw collect money from a patient about the instruction. The co-worker then accused Gill of committing blasphemy. Hospital staff reportedly beat Gill after tying her up with ropes and locking her in a room before police arrived. The blasphemy law, embedded in Sections 295 and 298 of Pakistan's penal code, is frequently misused for personal revenge. While it permits the death penalty for those convicted of insulting Islam or its Prophet Muhammad, it carries no provision to punish a false accuser or a false witness of blasphemy. Islamic radicals also use the law to target religious minorities Christians, Shias, Ahmadiyyas and Hindus. A Lahore-based group, Centre for Social Justice, recently reported that 200 people were accused of blasphemy in 2020 a record number of cases in one year. In total, the group reports that at least 1,855 people have been charged under Pakistans blasphemy laws since 1987. International advocates have long called on Pakistan to reform its penal code as it is often used to persecute religious minorities. A Pakistani Christian, Shahbaz Bhatti, who served as minister of minority affairs, was assassinated in March 2011 after calling for the blasphemy laws' repeal. Former Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer was also assassinated for his opposition to the countrys blasphemy law. Both men advocated for Christian woman Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. She was acquitted years later by the Pakistan Supreme Court. English Indonesian REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TigerGraph, provider of the leading graph analytics platform, today unveiled the complete agenda for Graph + AI Summit 2021 , the industrys only open conference devoted to democratizing and accelerating analytics, AI and machine learning with graph algorithms. The roster includes confirmed speakers from JPMorgan Chase, Intuit, NewDay, Jaguar Land Rover, Pinterest, Stanford University, Forrester Research, Accenture, Capgemini, KPMG, Intel, Dell, and Xilinx, as well as many innovative startups including John Snow Labs, Fintell, SaH Solutions and Sayari Labs. The virtual conference, set for April 21-23, offers keynotes, speakers, real-world customer case studies and hands-on workshops for data, analytics and AI professionals. The combination of analytics, AI, machine learning and graph is a powerful one that offers many human benefits and forward-looking companies in all industries have taken note, said Dr. Yu Xu, founder and CEO of TigerGraph. Graph + AI Summit is again bringing together industry luminaries, technical experts and business leaders from the worlds largest banks, fintechs, tech giants and manufacturers to share implementation best practices, lessons learned and more. Were pleased to welcome back speakers from Jaguar Land Rover and Intuit, and welcome new participants from an impressive list of todays top innovators driving the adoption of graph. Our goal is to make graph accessible, applicable and understandable for all, as more people grasp how graph-related technologies can improve our lives. Graph + AI Summit returns after a successful Graph + AI 2020; the inaugural event attracted more than 3,000 attendees from 56 countries, and welcomed data scientists, data engineers, architects and business and IT executives from 115 of the Fortune 500 companies. The latest conference will host over 6,000 attendees this year and again focus on accelerating analytics, AI and machine learning with graph algorithms timely technologies that are on the minds of todays business leaders. After 2020 accelerated enterprises shift to the cloud, businesses are realizing graph technologies are key to connecting, analyzing and helping glean insights from data. Graph + AI Summit 2021 includes keynote presentations, executive roundtables, technical breakout sessions, industry tracks (banking, insurance and fintech, healthcare, life sciences and government) and live workshops for advanced analytics and machine learning. Keynote speakers presenting during conference general sessions include: Brad Spiers, executive director at JPMorgan Chase, will share lessons learned from combining machine learning and graph at JPMorgan Chase during the opening day general session. will share lessons learned from combining machine learning and graph at JPMorgan Chase during the opening day general session. Harry Powell, director data and analytics at Jaguar Land Rover, will discuss the next phase of Jaguar Land Rovers graph-powered transformation journey with digital twins. So far, the company has accelerated supply chain planning from three weeks to 45 minutes and driven more than 100 million pounds annually in incremental profits with advanced analytics. will discuss the next phase of Jaguar Land Rovers graph-powered transformation journey with digital twins. So far, the company has accelerated supply chain planning from three weeks to 45 minutes and driven more than 100 million pounds annually in incremental profits with advanced analytics. Noel Yuhanna, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, will discuss the graph and AI industry landscape and share insights from Forrester clients driving business outcomes from graph-based analytics, AI and machine learning. will discuss the graph and AI industry landscape and share insights from Forrester clients driving business outcomes from graph-based analytics, AI and machine learning. Danny Clark, head of fraud strategy at NewDay, will explain how the company identifies and prevents fraudsters from joining their network faster than ever before by using graph and machine learning to check data against known and new fraud syndicates. will explain how the company identifies and prevents fraudsters from joining their network faster than ever before by using graph and machine learning to check data against known and new fraud syndicates. Dr. Jure Leskovec, chief scientist at Pinterest and professor at Stanford University, will outline how graph technology powers AI and whats next in terms of the evolution of graph neural networks for delivering the next-generation AI. Notable roundtables and interactive sessions include: Improving the Treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Using Graph Analytics with AI and Machine Learning : The Technical University of Denmarks Jesper Vang will discuss how combining graph analytics with AI, machine learning and translational bioinformatics creates models that can predict the risk of relapse and toxicity within acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatments. : The Technical University of Denmarks Jesper Vang will discuss how combining graph analytics with AI, machine learning and translational bioinformatics creates models that can predict the risk of relapse and toxicity within acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatments. Increase Market Share and Profitability with Graph-Based Doctor-and-Product 360 : Exact Sciences Sharat Endapally and Experos Scott Heath share a case study and a live demonstration of a Doctor-and-Product 360 application built using TigerGraphs graph database, algorithms and Customer 360 toolkit. : Exact Sciences Sharat Endapally and Experos Scott Heath share a case study and a live demonstration of a Doctor-and-Product 360 application built using TigerGraphs graph database, algorithms and Customer 360 toolkit. COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Smart Lockdown : This session will outline how to devise a solution for contact tracing and smart lockdown using graph technologies a solution that helps track COVID-19 patients, their potential contacts and identifies high-risk public places efficiently and precisely. : This session will outline how to devise a solution for contact tracing and smart lockdown using graph technologies a solution that helps track COVID-19 patients, their potential contacts and identifies high-risk public places efficiently and precisely. Accelerating Digital Transformation with Graph and AI : Forbes Tom Taulli will moderate a panel featuring executives from Intuit, Ippen Digital, Jaguar Land Rover and IBM about the role graph and AI play in a companys journey to be a digital-first organization. : Forbes Tom Taulli will moderate a panel featuring executives from Intuit, Ippen Digital, Jaguar Land Rover and IBM about the role graph and AI play in a companys journey to be a digital-first organization. Accelerating Graph-Based Analytics and Machine Learning with the Next-Generation Hardware : eWeeks Chris Preimesberger moderates a panel with executives from Intel, Dell and Xilinx about how hardware industry leaders are building the future of graph-based analytics and machine learning to deliver higher performance for enterprise workloads. : eWeeks Chris Preimesberger moderates a panel with executives from Intel, Dell and Xilinx about how hardware industry leaders are building the future of graph-based analytics and machine learning to deliver higher performance for enterprise workloads. Using Graph to Boost AI : Uri Lapidot, senior product manager, Intuit, shares best practices from the risk and fraud team to use graph-based technologies to prevent fraud at scale. : Uri Lapidot, senior product manager, Intuit, shares best practices from the risk and fraud team to use graph-based technologies to prevent fraud at scale. Open Data and Graph Analytics for Risk Management and Compliance: Farley Mesko, CEO, Sayari Labs, shares how graph technology can help financial institutions combine their internal data with authoritative open data to increase corporate transparency and comply with key KYC, AML, sanctions and supply chain regulations. Graph + AI Summit sessions will also cover the following topics: The integration of graph algorithms into your analytics and AI projects The future of graph query languages, including GQL and SQL PGQ standards Graph enrichment techniques that leverage NLP for enhanced knowledge retrieval Unsupervised and supervised machine learning with graph Popular graph use cases including fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), recommendations, data lineage, knowledge graph, supply chain, network analysis, patient and doctor 360, disease prediction and prevention Register for one of these live workshops for advanced analytics and machine learning now: Building the Next Generation Customer Experience with Graph and Machine Learning Double the Performance of Your Fraud Detection System with Graph and Machine Learning Zero to Advanced Analytics and Machine Learning in 90 minutes with TigerGraph Cloud View Graph + AI Summits agenda: https://www.tigergraph.com/graphaisummit/#day1 Register and secure your complimentary spot: https://www.tigergraph.com/graphaisummit/ . Helpful Links About TigerGraph TigerGraph is a platform for advanced analytics and machine learning on connected data. Based on the industrys first and only distributed native graph database, TigerGraphs proven technology supports advanced analytics and machine learning applications such as fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), entity resolution, customer 360, recommendations, knowledge graph, cybersecurity, supply chain, IoT, and network analysis. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, California, USA. Start free with tigergraph.com/cloud . Media Contact Cathy Wright Offleash PR for TigerGraph cathy@offleashpr.com 650-678-1905 (Natural News) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the government has put off figuring out what to do with all of the radioactive water at the now-defunct Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant for long enough. The prime minister will decide next week whether to dump the radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean in spite of strong opposition from fishermen in Fukushima. Officials said Sugas hand is being forced because the power plant will soon run out of space for the contaminated water, according to The Japan Times. Dumping radioactive water into the ocean is unavoidable Last January, a government panel accepted a draft proposal for releasing radioactive water stored at the power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The proposal said slowly releasing the water into the ocean was feasible. The water would not pose a health hazard as well. But some fishing groups and local governments opposed the proposal, citing concerns that consumers all around the world would shun seafood caught in the waters off the coast of Fukushima. There are 15 countries still enforcing import restrictions on fish and seafood from Japanese districts affected by the plant disaster. (Related: Fish off the coast of Fukushima show high concentrations of radioactive cesium.) Government officials have been arguing over what to do with the contaminated water at the tsunami-wrecked power plant, which is expected to run out of space as early as fall next year. The plan that many officials are now considering involves purifying the contaminated water as much as possible to dilute the radioactive elements present. Then, the water will be dumped into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, stated that contaminated water from the plant has already been treated with an Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). The plan remains unpopular outside of government halls. But officials assert that the plan is unavoidable given the state of the defunct power plant. On Wednesday, April 7, Suga met with Hiroshi Kishi, head of JF Zengyoren, the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, at his office in Tokyo to discuss the matter. I want to make a decision in a few days, Suga told reporters after the meeting. Meanwhile, Kishi said he told the prime minister that there is no change in the least in his organizations position on the matter. He said Suga told him that the government will decide on what to do based on opinions and proposals from experts. But Kishi warned that there is bound to be reputational damage regardless of how the water will be disposed of because of Japans history of radioactive waters and seafood. He said he wants the government to clarify how it intends to respond to such reputational damage. Possible alternatives While government officials are framing the controversial plan as an unavoidable course of action, others would beg to disagree. Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), says there are other ways to manage the contaminated water that doesnt involve dumping it in the ocean. For instance, the water can be evaporated slowly. Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen contaminating the water stored in the power plant, is naturally present in the atmosphere, explained Makhijani. Therefore, the ecological impact of evaporating the water to release tritium as vapor would be much lower. Another option is to extract the tritium. According to Makhijani, they can isolate tritium and use it for research purposes instead. The water could also be mixed with cement and put in storage for up to 80 years. By then, radioactive elements in the water would have almost totally decayed. Makhijani admitted that these alternatives are more costly than the governments plan. But given that they will allow the government to properly and completely deal with the Fukushima disaster, none of them are really that costly, said Makhijani. He added that before TEPCO is allowed to pollute the Pacific Ocean, it should first show that dumping water in the ocean wont severely disrupt marine ecosystems. Japanese authorities should also think about how their plan, if set in motion, would set a precedent for how future generations would handle similar situations. Visit Fukushima.news to learn more about the adverse environmental effects of Fukushimas radioactive water. Sources include: StrangeSounds.org APNews.com FoodNavigator-Asia.com PRI.org English.KyodoNews.net The famous Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California is now open to the public. People can again take pictures while standing in meter-high blossoms of every imaginable color. Flower Fields was closed for most of 2020 because of coronavirus restrictions. However, falling cases and Californias move to lessen restrictions means the fields can reopen for a few visitors. I am so happy were open again, said manager Fred Clarke. Last year we were nine months in and we had to mow, he said. The fields are 55 kilometers north of San Diego. They grow more than 70 million flowers. Every year when they bloom, people come from around the country to see the great show of color. The Flower Fields are open to visitors until May 9. It is also a working farm that sells flowers. Many will be sent to florists and stores that sell flowers, Clark explained. They create their own variety of ranunculus, a colorful, flowering plant also known as the buttercup. Every year they try to improve the size of the flower and its color. So, every year we believe its getting better and better, he said. Artie Creighton is from Corona, California. He said, It does feel like things are easing a...bit. Its just great to see the beauty and just get out and enjoy a day with my wife." This is one of the first times weve been out in a long time, he added. Im Susan Shand. The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story blossom v. the flower of a fruit tree mow v. to cut (something, such as grass) with a machine or a blade bloom v. to produce flowers florist n. one who designs flower arrangements for sale variety n. a number or collection of different things or people We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page. More than a 100 US business leaders got together on a Zoom call to discuss their response to the controversial new voting restrictions first passed by Georgia and now set to be enacted in several states across the country. Leaders including from companies like Delta, American, United, Starbucks, Target, LinkedIn, Levi Strauss and Boston Consulting Group were present on the call on Saturday, according to the Washington Post, whichfirst reported the call. WaPo revealed that Kenneth Chenault, the former chief executive of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck& Co, led the discussion and asked CEOs to sign a statement opposing what they view as discriminatory legislation on voting. Several avenues were discussed in the call in order to push back against the new bills, including halting funding to politicians who support the legislation and postponing investments in states that approve the measures, the Post reported. The participants could not reach a final decision in the call, however, a statement could soon be expected. At the centre of the debate is a legislation advanced in Texas on 1 April that would bring new voting restrictions in the state, including limits on polling place hours and reducing options for voters to cast ballots. The new statement would be a second reaction from corporates after a letter signed last month by 72 Black business executives made a similar point against the bill passed in Georgia, which was also coordinated by Mr Chenault and Mr Frazier. Critics say the law will make it difficult for poorer voters to cast ballots and comes after Georgias swing to Democrats in the 2020 presidential election based upon the premise of baseless voter fraud charges of Donald Trump. The vocal criticism from corporates also received opposition from several Republicans with Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell warning that firms should stay out of politics. However, according to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale management professor and one of the organisers of the call, who was quoted by WaPo as saying that it shows they [corporate executives] are not intimidated by the flak. They are not going to be cowed. They felt very strongly that these voting restrictions are based on a flawed premise and are dangerous, he said. Bill Shorten compared the dramas surrounding the British Royal Family to an episode of Married At First Sight after Princes William and Harry released separate tributes on the death of their grandfather Prince Philip. Appearing on The Today Show on Tuesday, the former Labor leader likened the issues plaguing the Royals to that of the Nine Network's controversial dating show. 'Prince Philip was a very distinguished person, no question. But to dare to be a bit different here, like this is a British family and they have got their troubles, like families have. I don't want to be a therapist to a foreign family on the other side of the world,' Mr Shorten said. 'They are a lovely family. Good luck to them. They have their problems - some people don't like who their grandsons married. I don't mind. She [Meghan] seems a nice person. But I don't care, dare I say it. It is interesting but so is Married At First Sight.' Appearing on The Today Show on Tuesday, the former Labor Leader compared the recent dramas plaguing the Royals to that of the controversial dating show Married At First Sight Princes William and Harry paid tribute to their grandfather, Prince Philip, who died on April 9 at age 99 Mr Shorten said he 'just wants us to get on' and introduce an Australian head of state. 'It's about time after 250 years of European settlement that we decided not to worry about a foreign family as being the key determinance in our nation's decision making structure,' he said. 'I just think there is more important things to worry about right now, like getting the vaccine roll out sorted and underway.' Mr Shorten's scathing remarks come after William released a new photograph, taken by his wife Kate, of a then two-year-old Prince George with his great-grandfather in one of his beloved carriages on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk in 2015. 'I will never take for granted the special memories my children will always have of their great-grandpa coming to collect them in his carriage and seeing for themselves his infectious sense of adventure as well as his mischievous sense of humour!' William said in a statement via Buckingham Palace. 'My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation. 'Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support the Queen in the years ahead. 'I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.' William said he was grateful to have the Duke of Edinburgh's 'enduring presence' and support during the 'hardest days' of his life - a likely nod to death of his mother Princess Diana - and would always be thankful for the 'kindness he showed' to Kate since they became a couple in 2003. Meanwhile Harry's statement has been seen as a return to his cheeky prince persona of the past, at a time where critics have accused him of following his wife Meghan Markle's 'woke' ways since they married in 2017. Prince William has given this moving tribute to his 'grandpa' Prince Philip, who died on Friday at the age of 99, pledging to continue his work and support the Queen Prince Harry's tribute to his grandpa Prince Philip, who he called a 'legend of banter', was released via the Archewell charity he set up with Meghan, not Buckingham Palace Harry said: 'Meghan, Archie, and I (as well as your future great-granddaughter) will always hold a special place for you in our hearts' - but chose not to share a statement with his brother William (pictured together in 2017) The Duke of Cambridge also released a new photograph, taken by his wife Kate, of a then two-year-old Prince George with his great-grandfather in one of his beloved carriages on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk 'My grandfather was a man of service, honour and great humour. He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm - and also because you never knew what he might say next. He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the monarch, a decorated serviceman, a prince and a duke,' Harry said in a statement. 'You will be sorely missed, but always remembered - by the nation and the world. Meghan, Archie, and I (as well as your future great-granddaughter) will always hold a special place for you in our hearts.' The Duke of Sussex spoke out about the Duke of Edinburgh's death hours after landing at Heathrow without his pregnant wife Meghan Markle ahead of Saturday's funeral on his first visit to Britain since the couple's bombshell Oprah interview. The Duke of Sussex was reportedly seen leaving his California mansion on Saturday night in a black Cadillac Escalade to board an early-hours flight from LA to London. Harry's return to the UK will be the first opportunity to reunite with Prince William and his father Prince Charles, who is said to be 'looking forward' to a reunion with his son. Lockdown has been difficult for everyone, and has seen many lasting changes to all of our lives. Few will have made the sort of wholesale lifestyle changes Roisin Duggan and her twin sister Aislinn have these past 12 months, and the experiences theyve had. After becoming ill and being hospitalised late last year, the two young women have since left the pharmaceutical industry jobs in which they were unhappy. They are now following their dream and their love of creativity, art and nature, to pursue something they have always found to be meaningful. Their work shows scenes from the Irish countryside and old Irish mythology. The tranquility of the artwork belies the turbulent nature of the journey of recovery, and of how difficult it can be to accept that a chosen path was not the right one and the courage to change that. The pair grew up in Owning in South Kilkenny, where they are very much involved in the local community. As teenagers, in school they felt they were being steered in a particular direction. We were kind of told in school that art wasnt really something you could do as a career, Roisin says. Weve always loved it as a hobby and subject in school, and did it up until Leaving Cert and then kind of were told it wasnt the responsible choice to go into art. So we went on to do science in college, and both studied genetics separately in DCU and UCD. "So we both moved to Dublin which was a big change from here where we live very rural, countryside and we love nature and animals and the Irish countryside. It was a very big change of lifestyle. We both did our degrees for four years in Dublin and it was fun for a while, but we arent really city people. So we missed the countryside. They continued to dabble in art while in college. Through social media they offered to do commissions as a kind of business, and also got involved in a local art gallery in Carrick-on-Suir when home during the summer or weekends. They kept that up as a side business while studying. People often requested pet portraits or family portraits, or historical scenes. Our family would have a big interest in Irish history and we have a background there, our dad is very interested in local history, Roisin says. Heritage As children we would have always read Irish myths and legends and its a big part of our inspiration, feeling connected to the Irish countryside, our heritage and all the old stories of magic, the Fianna, fairies and that side of things. We are very into environmental conservation as well, and are big lovers of nature. Though both studying genetics, in Dublin, the twins were in different colleges, and lived separately on opposite sides of the city. During that time in college, they were both very much set on doing science as a career. They did so in the understanding that science is an employable career field. We studied it with an eye to doing it for life. That was kind of where we were at, and doing art on the side, Roisin says. We would come home every second week or third week at the weekend, home to our family, and wed do painting. But it got put on the backburner while we were in college. In their formative teenage years, advice on further education and career choices came from different quarters, including teachers and guidance counsellors. We were both quite good at science, and did well in science subjects, Roisin says. So, they kind of advised us to go into science. Art would have been favourite other than that, but art was written off as not a career, and not something you can go into. Roisin says the pair then faced a decision, and decided that the responsible thing to do was a STEM course at third-level. That was the prevailing school of thought. Go do a STEM course, go to college, get a job. So that was what we aimed to do, and that was what we did, she says. Then last year, lockdown happened during our final year of college, so we both finished our degrees online and graduated. We were home for the summer during lockdown, and then we both like any graduate applied and got jobs early in September and moved back to Dublin. It was exciting starting off, but the more they worked in it, the less they found themselves enjoying it. During lockdown, the social isolation and the pressure of working, trying to put a square peg into a round hole, and we would be much more free spirits than most people in big pharma industry, she says. Things, after a fashion, became more difficult. Lockdown living in Dublin was very different, and working was very different, Roisin says. With college, you have an end goal in sight, but working was kind of indefinitely for the future. It was a very grim outlook, and with no social contact, it was a very tough few months. That was when we both became very unwell. We both developed anorexia over the course of college, by kind of just forcing ourselves to do something that didnt come naturally. It kind of happened as a result of that. Last month, psychiatrists from the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland revealed that services and GPs around Ireland reported a large increase in eating disorders during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly at the end of 2020. We were kind of managing it until this autumn until we started work and lived alone in Dublin again, Roisin says. Work was stressful and this time, wed moved to a new area, there was no sense of community. We missed the countryside but couldnt go home because of travel restrictions. It was a very tough few months and we became very unwell, and ended up in hospital in December after working for that few months and being in lockdown, very isolated. We both just went downhill a lot. One thing that became quickly clear is something that many people will now; mental health services are very under-staffed in Ireland. We had made appointments to see I was aware of anorexia in December of 2019 and had gone about going to the doctor and getting an appointment. There are only two eating disorder wards in the country and they are both in Dublin, says Roisin. I had gone about getting an appointment to see a consultant in one of them, but the waiting list took a year for the appointment. Anorexia, as is often the case, had been a progressive thing for Roisin, first beginning in school. It was always an underlying thing and never took as much an effect on my physical health because I could manage it through college, she says. They say its a coping mechanism for things, and that was my coping mechanism for following a path I didnt want to be following. It was only when working in it became a reality that it really got bad. The lockdown took away all of the social supports and family and friends, and community, and that caused it to get much worse. So I had been kind of struggling for a few years, and its not really talked about in Ireland. I didnt go about getting help, I kind of denied it was happening, and was like no, I can think my way out of this and manage it on my own. And that didnt work. You cant really think your way out of something like that. As things got worse last year, then, Roisin went to the doctor to see what help there was for her. There is very little help available outside of Dublin. The services are very under-staffed and under-funded, she says. She got an appointment in June for December to see a consultant in Dublin. In the meantime, she tried to manage the condition. Because of work and stuff I kind of let it go on, and was like no, I cant take time off work, Roisin says. As a graduate, youre kind of expected to work hard for your first year. And you find its just work, stress, adjusting to being back in Dublin, lockdown. It was a combination of all those things, and it got very bad. She had been holding out for the December appointment but became very underweight and weak physically. I couldnt stand for the whole of my shift and was fainting and getting lightheaded. Very unwell. Managing, really not eating and going to work, you cant really function, and I was really not functioning well. Just tired and cold all the time. The appointment was still a few weeks away and she decided to ring the hospital and ask for anything sooner, a cancellation. She was told to come in for inpatient treatment. A lot of the treatment for the condition is finding out the background cause. Part of this, she feels, was pursuing a career and future she didnt really want to be doing. I do think that was a very big part of it. It was manageable up to lockdown, she says. Roisin cites a study showing there was a 66% increase in hospitalisation due to eating disorders during lockdown. Where people might have got help sooner, during lockdown, however bad it was before, it was much worse. Appointments more spaced out, waiting lists were longer. People didnt go for more routine checkups, they only went for emergencies, and ended up being hospitalised, which is what happened to us, she confirms. They both spent a few weeks in hospital over the winter and Christmas. They left their jobs, and now in recovery, decided to see it as a second chance. A chance to do something else. ART They have now seized that chance through a renewed focus on their shared passion for creating art. They have a good base built up, and as they develop their talents and experience, now want to increase their efforts to make it a career as opposed to a side endeavour. "The beauty of the Irish countryside is our main inspiration, Roisin says. We paint a lot of animals because in the area where we live, people feel very connected to animals. Theres also the legends, stories and mythology side of things. Roisin explains they try to see the countryside as magical and as a child would see it. In the current lockdown, they are at home in the family house in South Kilkenny surrounded by nature. They continue to recover from their illness, and painting is a welcome activity. At the moment, we are both still in outpatient treatment, in contact with the hospital every day and doing Zoom appointments or Zoom sessions. When we are not doing that, we just kind of paint for most of the day, says Roisin. Creativity doesnt always run on a schedule, you cant really do it 9-5. Sometimes, the inspiration hits you at night time so you paint at night, or early in the morning. We try and spend a good bit of time out and about in nature as well. They are now planning to build an outdoor shed to make into a studio. At present they paint in the attic, which also serves as their dads home office. The next move will be to establish a website for the studio in addition to their social media presence. They have a Facebook (aislinnandroisindugganart) and Instagram pages, and have previously exhibited work in the gallery in Carrick, although it is closed due to lockdown at present. They receive requests for a wide variety of commissions family pets, landscapes, hurlers, Irish family trees. Were hoping to get our name out more and expand our audience. If possible, get involved in more exhibitions and art festivals. Expand into Kilkenny City a bit more, because Kilkenny City has a huge art circle, says Roisin, of whats to come next. They also want to promote some awareness of their experience, so that other people dont end up in the same situation that they did. And to promote the awareness you can pursue other paths in Ireland that arent getting a STEM job or pharma and academia. You can do creative things and keep that arts sector alive. Somebody has to do the creative side of things and alternative lifestyles that are very much being beaten out of us in school at the moment." Its refreshing to hear someone with a different perspective . A hoon driver has been filmed performing a burnout at a cemetery to pay tribute to a father-of-six who died in a bizarre motorcycle crash. The red ute was seen sending up a thick column of smoke at Enfield Cemetery, in Adelaide. Nearby spectators cheered on the driver as they tore down the street, skidding onto the other side of the road. The dangerous spectacle was performed to pay respect to John Hadley, 45, who died in a motorcycle crash on March 10. A hoon driver has been filmed performing a burnout at a cemetery to pay tribute to a father-of-six who died in a bizarre motorcycle crash The dangerous spectacle was performed to pay respect to John Hadley, 45, who died in a motorcycle crash on March 10 The father had crashed his motorbike on Whittington Street, in Enfield, before his friends bundled him into a car and drove him away. He was then dumped on a footpath on Mark Court at Ingle Farm, eight kilometres away from the crash site. Paramedics received calls of a man lying unconscious on a footpath and were unable to revive him when they arrived on scene. The father-of-six was laid to rest at the Enfield Cemetery when he was given the unorthodox farewell. Eric Taylor, who was visiting the cemetery at the time of the burnout, labelled it 'frightening'. 'It's a dreadful state of affairs that you come here and you have to put up with hoons basically. It makes it a bit frightening,' he told 7 News. The father had crashed his motorbike on Whittington Street, in Enfield, before his friends bundled him into a car and drove him away 'Little children, if they don't realise what's going on, it could be a tragedy.' The Adelaide Cemeteries Authority has slammed it as, 'disappointing, inappropriate and unacceptable.' A South Australia Police spokesperson said officers are investigating the footage. 'The practice of doing a 'burnout' is not only reckless but also dangerous and it can have devastating consequences,' the spokesperson said. 'Drivers can be issued with on the spot fines and can also lose their licence or have their vehicle impounded.' ( ), a mobile gaming content developer and licensor, said it has been awarded an interactive gaming manufacturer licence by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, marking the group's third US state licence. The licence will allow Gaming Realms to provide its Slingo Originals game content to licenced online casino operators in the state. Pennsylvania has a population of around 13 million people and is the fifth most populous state in the country. "We are delighted to have been granted our licence in Pennsylvania, where iGaming revenues grew by nearly 600% in 2020, said executive chairman Michael Buckley. "We are now licenced in the three largest states for iGaming, and look forward to more states regulating in the future. We have signed a number of multi-state deals and direct integration agreements with some of the largest operators in the US, giving an excellent opportunity to capitalise on the expansion of the exciting US iGaming market." Adam Hills is set to reprise his role on the rebooted version of Spicks and Specks. And the 50-year-old comedian has revealed one of his craziest moments with a celebrity guest ahead of the new season of the show. Speaking to Woman's Day this week, Adam recalled a particularly awkward moment with Status Quo guitarist, Rick Parfitt. Crazy: Spicks and Specks host Adam Hills, 50, has revealed his craziest moment with a celebrity... ahead of the reboot of the classic ABC series 'I remember Rick Parfitt from Status Quo having a wee next to me before a show - at the urinal,' Adam explained. 'I should point out! He turned to me and said: ''This must be where at the big knobs hang out''.' Adam went on to say that one of his favourite guests was Weird Al Yankovic, who he 'idolised.' 'I remember having a wee next to me before a show - at the urinal': Speaking to Woman's Day this week, Adam recalled a particularly awkward moment with Status Quo guitarist, Rick Parfitt Adam recently downplayed the dangers of cancel culture, urging comics to be careful about offending people. He told News Corp last week the furore over cancel culture has been taken too far by people on both sides of the argument. 'There is a group of people who would like to think that cancel culture is more than it is and there is a group of people who like to think they can ban stuff,' he said. Favourite: Adam went on to say that one of his favourite guests was Weird Al Yankovic, who he 'idolised' 'The idea you can't say anything in comedy any more, I'm not entirely sure what is it that you cant say,' he continued. 'If you say it and you lose your audience, then you have probably said the wrong thing.' Adam is now preparing to front a new 10-episode run of Spicks and Specks on the ABC. He will be joined by former team captains Alan Brough and Myf Warhurst in the reboot. Sharing his excitement on Twitter last year, Adam shared the exciting news. 'Some people made banana bread in lockdown, we made a new series of #SpicksAndSpecks. Coming to your Aussie screens in 2021.' Spicks and Specks returns on the ABC on Sunday, 7.40pm India, which sends the largest number of students to the United States, is making a sustained outreach with American universities to build knowledge partnerships. As part of this effort to build knowledge partnerships, India's ambassador to the US Taranjt Singh Sandhu has intensified interactions with US universities. "With over 200,000 Indian students in the US, and most of them in the areas, collaboration in higher education, is an area of exciting possibilities. There are opportunities for student exchanges; online education; university-to-university collaborations. We hope that with its strong focus on India, UNC will take the lead in this area, said Sandhu in his address to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during one such interaction. stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In the last few months, the senior Indian diplomat had interactive sessions with Arizona State University, Howard University, of which Vice President Kamala Harris is an alumna, The University of South Florida and The University of North Carolina, which has launched the Diplomatic Discussions series, with a conversation on the India-US partnership. Last week, the ambassador also spoke to Arizona State University President Dr Michael Crow. Under Crow's leadership, the university has come to be regarded as a model New American University and was considered the most innovative school in the nation by the US News & World Report (2016-2020). Arizona State University has a large number of Indian students. During his interaction with Sandhu, Crow expressed his desire to work together with India to improve online access, enable joint research, and facilitate knowledge partnerships during the pandemic, which can be further extended for the post-pandemic scenario. Sandhu shared his thoughts on collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Institutions to offer Joint Degree, Dual Degree and Twinning Programmes under the National Policy 2020, which will facilitate the ASU working with its Indian counterparts to improve online education access; joint research, including in solar and renewable energy. It will also improve academic collaboration, and faculty exchange in innovations, Artificial Intelligence, biotechnology, healthcare, sustainable development, as well as space exploration. In March 2021, the ambassador spoke at the second International Conference on Science, and Jain philosophy, organised by Florida International University, and Jain Education & Research Foundation, Miami. In February he spoke with Vice-Chancellor of Sewanee University Amb Reuben Brigety. Sandhu spoke to the President of Howard University in February. India and Howard University are also connected through the visionary leader Howard Thurman, who visited India on a pilgrimage' and met Mahatma Gandhi, whose ideas on radical nonviolence influenced and shaped a generation of civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King Jr. Thurman was a dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University from 1932 to 1944. One of the greatest US philosophers of religion and a professor at Howard University, Thurman led a group of three other Black Americans on a mission to India. As the small group prepared for the trip, a European disciple of Gandhi's arrived in the United States: Madeleine Slade, who Gandhi had renamed Mirabehn. Mirabehn was the daughter of a famous British admiral, and, like Charles Andrews, had embraced Indian liberation. Thurman quickly arranged a meeting with Mirabehn and invited her to lecture at Howard University. In 1930, five years before Mirabehn's visit, two students inspired by Gandhi had refused to move to the back of a segregated bus. President of the university, Mordecai Johnson, had long urged his students to follow Gandhi's example. Years later, Mordecai Johnson's lectures would convince a young man named King who thought that non-violence was impractical to go out and purchase half a dozen books on Gandhi. The trip of the four Black Americans to India was called the Pilgrimage of Friendship. When it was announced, India's colonial rulers attempted to block their voyage, fearing that it would make their rule of India more difficult. Arriving in India in September of 1935, the group was met with a pleasant surprise: everywhere they went, Indians were well informed of the struggles of Black America. The communication between Black and Indian intellectuals had led many Indians to become interested in the struggle against racial oppression in the United States. After more than five months in India, and with less than two weeks to stay, Thurman's group finally had an opportunity to meet Gandhi. Gandhi was travelling and invited them to stay at his encampment. He normally waited inside of his tent to receive visitors, but when the Thurmans arrived, he came out and welcomed them with greater warmth than Gandhi's secretary had ever seen before. Gandhi immediately launched into intense questioning about the state of Black America. He wanted to understand all the issues that Black Americans faced and the details of the struggle. Before their discussion ended, Thurman's wife, Sue Bailey Thurman, begged Gandhi to come to America, exclaiming: We have many a problem that cries for a solution, and we need you badly. Gandhi replied, I must make good the message here, before I bring it to you. (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.) Bloody conflict in Tigray, one of Ethiopias semi-autonomous, ethnically defined provinces in the north of the country, is fuelling support for secession from Ethiopias federal state. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched what he called a law-and-order operation against the regional government of Tigray, run by the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), last November, in response to what he claimed was an attack by Tigrays ruling party on an army compound. It followed moves by the federal government to bypass the regional government after Tigray rejected Abiys decision to postpone elections due to the pandemic and went ahead with its own elections in September. Ethiopian refugees line up for water in Qadarif region, easter Sudan, Sunday, November 15, 2020. Thousands of Ethiopians fled the war in Tigray region into Sudan. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali) While Abiy declared at the end of November that he had defeated the TPLF, fighting has continued, with forces from Ethiopias Amhara region in the westwhich have effectively annexed parts of Tigray to Amharaand the Eritrean army in the east fighting alongside federal forces against the TPLF. With more than half of Ethiopias army based in Tigray, a legacy of the 20-year-long war with Eritrea, Abiy could not rely on the militarys support, to the extent that he sacked his army chief, head of intelligence and foreign minister days after the fighting began. Aid workers and diplomats believe that thousands have died in the conflict. Villages have been shelled. More than two thirds of Tigrays health facilities have been destroyed and there has been widespread looting of public and private propertyincluding food stores and oxen for ploughing. More than one million people have been displaced, with around 60,000 fleeing to Sudan. More than two thirds of Tigrayans, 4.5 million people, have been without electricity, communications and other essential services for more than four months and are in need of emergency food supplies. For three months, the federal government blocked all access to Tigray and imposed a news blackout of the conflict, shutting down telephone lines and the Internet. Tigrayans fleeing the conflict, as well as aid agencies, have testified to massacres, the most terrible atrocities and sexual violence. Dominik Stillhart, operations manager at the International Committee of the Red Cross, said, The violence against the civilian population, especially sexual violence seems to be a feature of the conflict. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, warned of blanket denials and finger-pointing as evidence mounts of atrocities committed by all sides, including the Ethiopian National Defence Force, the Eritrean army, the TPLF and its supporters, as well as fighters from Amhara province. The US, European Union (EU) and United Nations have condemned Eritreas presence in Tigray, with Brussels imposing sanctions. The incoming US Biden administration put pressure on the United Arab Emirates to halt its military operations in Yemen, leading to the decommissioning of its drone base in Assab that had been supporting Ethiopian forces against the TPLF. It has called for the withdrawal of Amhara forces from western Tigray, which Amhara lays claim to, a demand Abiy has rejected, dependent as he is on Amhara support both to regain control of Tigray and win the elections set for June. After months of denying ongoing military operations in Tigray, reports of ethnic atrocities committed against civilians and the involvement of Eritreas military in the conflict, Abiy has finally conceded that Eritrean forces did cross into Tigray, claiming that they feared an attack from the TPLF. Members of Ethiopias interim government in Tigray have admitted that Eritrea controls a 100 kilometre strip of Ethiopian territory along the border, although Abiy said Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki had agreed to withdraw his forces from the region as soon as Ethiopias army could control the trenches along the border. To evade responsibility for potential crimes against humanity, he sought to blame Eritrean forces for atrocities committed in Tigray region, thereby antagonizing his ally Afwerki. Should Eritrea withdraw its troops from Tigray, Abiy would be unable to regain control of the region, as thousands of young Tigrayans are reportedly taking up arms. The Tigrayan conflict has been brewing for some time. The TPLF, a nationalist movement founded in 1974, played a key role in defeating the Moscow-aligned government of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. It became the dominant party in the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of several militia groups and parties, under the leadership of Meles Zenawi, a Tigrayan, that imposed an authoritarian regime on Africas second most populous country of 112 million people. As resentment grew against Tigrayan political and economic dominanceTigrayans constitute just six percent of the populationpoliticians whipped up ethnic tensions in opposition to a unified struggle by the impoverished masses against the Ethiopian elites seeking to open the country to foreign investment. While Ethiopia saw more than a decade of rising growth rates, some of the highest in Africa that turned the country into the economic powerhouse of the region, little of this trickled down to the impoverished masses. There were huge protests starting in 2014, precipitated by a central government land grab of historic Oromo lands that were handed over to overseas companiesoften from the Gulf and China, for infrastructure and export-orientated agribusiness. Ethnic protests in Oromia and Amhara, who constitute about 35 percent and 27 percent of the population, saw thousands killed and tens of thousands arrested. The ensuing political crisis forced the resignation in February 2018 of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who took office after Meles death in 2012. He was succeeded by Abiy Ahmed, a former military intelligence officer and an Oromo with close links to Washington. He was welcomed at home and abroad as a reformer, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the 20-year-long war with Eritrea one year later. In November 2019, he disbanded the EPRDF, replacing it with the Prosperity Party (PP), which TPLF refused to join. Abiy released tens of thousands of political prisoners, ended the internet blackout imposed by the previous government, lifted a ban on several political parties, some of which had been designated terrorist groups, paving the way for their leaders to return to Ethiopia. He introduced a raft of measures aimed at reducing the TPLFs dominance, including retiring their military and government officials, instigating corruption charges against some members and announcing plans for the privatisation of swathes of the state-owned economy and liberalisation of the banks. But Abiys promised new dawn was short lived. The military, enraged by the changes, mounted an abortive coup in 2019. Despite Abiys promise to end ethnic discrimination, ethnic violence increased, with 1.7 million internally displaced people living in camps. Viewed as collectively responsible for the crimes of the previous regime, some 100,000 Tigrayans were driven from their homes and were living in camps even before the conflict erupted last year. Land sales continued, under conditions where 80 percent of Ethiopians are dependent on the land for their subsistence and at least 25 percent of the population ekes out an existence on less than $2 a day. Tigray is only one of the festering ethnic conflicts in a country that is a mosaic of ethnicities and languages. The Financial Times recently cited Abiy admitting that Ethiopias federal army was fighting a guerrilla war on at least eight separate fronts as unrest grows across Ethiopia. Abiy also faces an increasingly fraught border dispute with neighbouring Sudan, which in December moved its forces into the long-contested border region of al-Fashaqa, the fertile agricultural triangle farmed by Ethiopians since the mid-1990s, that Khartoum claims as its own, prompting Addis Abba to redeploy troops to the border. The hostilities forced Ethiopias Amhara farmers to flee the region. Abiy is also facing Egyptian and Sudanese opposition to Ethiopias Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and its plans to fill what is Africas largest reservoir on its own schedule that its neighbours fear could jeopardise their water supply in the event of a drought. The Blue Nile, whose source lies in Ethiopia, provides more than 80 percent of the Niles waters. With Ethiopia refusing to negotiate the timetable, there are fears that Egypt and/or Sudan may support the armed insurgencies in Benishangul-Gumuz and Oromia regions. Under such conditions, the TPLF and other insurgent groups would seize the opportunity to resist the federal government in Addis Ababa, precipitating a wider civil war that threatens not just the survival of Abiys government but the stability of the entire region. Caesar Sengupta, vice president and general manager of the Payments and Next Billion Users initiative at Google, is stepping down. The Indian American executive said he was leaving Google to start a "new mission." (LinkedIn photo) For generations of South Texans, the Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo was the cant-miss stop for fine dining south of the border. With New Orleans-tinged specialties, such as shrimp gumbo, frog legs and turtle soup, plus a good selection of Tex-Mex, all chased with classic cocktails like the Ramos Gin Fizz, the Cadillac offered linen tablecloth service impeccably delivered by white-suited waiters. Founded in 1924 as a dirt-floor saloon and gambling house by Mayo Bessan, who was later joined by his son-in-law Porter Garner Jr., the Cadillac was an oasis of gentility that, for more than half a century, attracted celebrities, politicians and ranchers as well as busloads of tourists to los dos Laredos. Wanda Garner Cash, 71, had a front-row seat to all the excitement. As Bessans granddaughter and Garners daughter, she grew up in the Cadillac, eating maraschino cherries and drinking virgin daiquiris while witnessing or hearing stories about the legendary goings on there. Cash tells many of these tales in her recently published Pancho Villas Saddle at the Cadillac Bar (Texas A&M University Press, $19.95). The book includes stories about how the Little Cadillac Bar became the Big Cadillac when construction of the Pan-American Highway forced Bessan to move two blocks away; the flood of 1954, which almost put Bessan and Garner out of business; and how the saddle of the books title was bought on a whim in 1932 for the then-outrageous price of 800 pesos when Bessan traveled to Mexico City. Ramos Gin Fizz Warning: Wanda Garner Cash says these sweet concoctions pack an unsuspecting punch and can be lethal on a hot summer day. Customers at the Cadillac would wander in from the July heat, toss back two or three of these and then wilt on the street. Ingredients 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (sifted) 1 ounce gin 2 ounces cold milk 10 drops orange flower water Juice of one lime White of 1 egg 1 ounce seltzer water ice Instructions: Mix ingredients in order. Shake in a cocktail shaker until you think your arms will surely drop off. Strain. Serve. Mix up more. The orange flower is hard to find, but absolutely essential to the allure of this drink. Find it in specialty liquor stores or order it online. Source: Wanda Garner Cash, "Pancho Villa's Saddle at the Cadillac Bar" See More Collapse Cash also includes plenty of the Cadillacs classic food and drink recipes some she has in her fathers own handwriting so former patrons, and those who wish theyd been, can re-create a little of the bars magic at home. Mayo Bessan died in 1969, and Cashs father Porter ran the Cadillac until 1979, when he gave the business to his employees; they eventually sold out to the buildings owners. The Cadillac stumbled on until 2010, when it closed for good, in large measure a victim of drug-war violence and a precipitous drop in over-the-border tourism. After retiring from a long career as a journalist and the associate director of the University of Texas School of Journalism, Cash is now event director of the Texas Arts & Crafts Fair. She recently talked about the book, the bar and its legacy, how her father once became an unwitting drug mule and more. This interview has been edited for clarity. Q: You grew up in the Cadillac Bar. What was that like? A: It was so much a part of my life that I didnt think about it as anything special. It was what my family did. I had all my birthday parties there, and the waiters took care of us. My sister and I never wanted for bowls of maraschino cherries or alcohol-free daiquiris. When I got to college and it would come up, people would say, Wow, the Cadillac Bar. And I started thinking, OK, maybe it is cool. Q: Why do you think the Cadillac Bar is remembered so fondly, even, it seems, by those who are too young to have ever gone there? A: The food was great, undeniably, and the drinks were strong and inexpensive. But it was the ambiance that made it so popular. There were other good places in Nuevo Laredo at the time, like the Alma Latina and the C.O.D. But what made the Cadillac so consistently popular was the atmosphere my father and grandfather created. They were the ultimate hosts. My dad never forgot a name. It would be years since hed seen you and hed say, Rich, how are you? Hows your wife? And hed call her by her name. People said Porter Garner made them feel like they were the only customer in the room. Women from San Antonio, Houston, Victoria, all over, would charter buses and come to Laredo for the weekend. Theyd stay at La Posada Hotel on the American side, eat at the Cadillac and then go shopping. Q: A lot of famous people came through the Cadillac doors. A: I remember sitting on (comedian) Cantinflas lap when I was little and him feeding me maraschino cherries. He came frequently with his wife, and he would do comedic exhibitions at the bullfights. The bullfights would start at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoons, so theyd come beforehand for lunch. I really didnt know who he was at the time, but it was exciting. When the movie Viva Zapata was filmed in nearby San Ygnacio in 1951, the actors visited the Cadillac for dinner several times, including Anthony Quinn and Marlon Brando, who mumbled his order in terrible Spanish. The waiters, ever polite, always answered Brando in perfect English. I never hung around with him, but Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is a big fan of the Cadillac. He would fly in and go to Martis and then come back to the Cadillac and spend the afternoon drinking. Hes a big collector of Cadillac memorabilia, so when the band was in San Antonio the last time, we went backstage and visited with him. Gave him stuff for his collection. Hes cool. Q: In addition to the drinks, the Cadillac Bar was renowned for its New Orleans-influenced cuisine. How did that come about? A: I like to say my grandfather escaped Prohibition. He was a bartender at the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, and when Prohibition was passed, bartending became a criminal act, so he was suddenly out of a job. In 1924, he found himself in Nuevo Laredo where he lived until he died in 1970. My grandfather was never a cook, so when he opened the Cadillac, he brought in some buddies from south Louisiana who were cooks. They came and ran the kitchen and trained the cooks. Thats how the Cadillac came to have such a strong New Orleans influence, with the sauces and the salads and lots of seafood. The seafood came in by train every day. A lot of it came from the Gulf. The turtle meat, for example, came from Vera Cruz, and people came to the Cadillac because they knew they could get good, fresh seafood. Bowing to local taste, the menu also included Mexican dishes, what wed call Tex-Mex food. The guacamole was delicious, the enchiladas, the envueltos. Q: In an interview you did with your father before he died, he tells an interesting story about the bolillos the restaurant served. A: Well, my dad wanted to serve small bolillos, maybe 4 inches long. So he went to a fellow named Amanza, who was the local baker. But he made only regular-size bolillos, maybe 7 inches long. He said it was too much trouble to make them smaller. So dad said, What if I pay the same price for the small ones as you charge for the big ones? And suddenly it wasnt too much trouble to make the small bolillos! In the late 60s, my father learned he had become an unwitting drug mule when customs agents and other law enforcement authorities appeared at our house in Laredo one afternoon. They said Mexican smugglers had been stashing bricks of marijuana in the undercarriage of his pickup truck while it was parked at the Cadillac. The smugglers knew he would cross the bridge without scrutiny and so, late at night, after my father was back home on the American side, theyd retrieve the dope. The police said they monitored the operation for several weeks until they finally arrested the kingpin. Q: In the book, you write about how the kitchen and waitstaff often stayed at the restaurant for years and years. A: The staff was well taken care of. They made a good salary in addition to tips. There were no health benefits at that time, but if anybody got sick or their family or kids got sick, my dad took care of them. There was very little turnover. Typically, my father would hire somebody as a busboy, then theyd get to be a waiter. Or if they had a talent, they went to the kitchen and chopped limes and onions and then theyd be trained as a cook. For many of the staff, this was their career. Q: The flood of 1954 almost put an end to the Cadillac. What do you remember about that time? A: I was 4 years old, and I remember quite a bit. It didnt rain in Laredo, but it dumped 38 inches on the Hill Country. When that water made its way down the Rio Grande, the city was devastated and so was the Cadillac. The backroom was ruined, because it was wood construction, while the front of the restaurant was cinder block and plaster, so it was better able to withstand the flood waters. I remember the bad smell because the water treatment plants were inundated and there was raw sewage everywhere. We thought wed lost Pancho Villas silver-studded saddle, which had been the centerpiece of the dining room. Fortunately, we found it just around the corner from the bar, wedged against a utility pole. Q: Did they consider closing the business? A: My grandfather did. He was 69 at the time, and he said he just didnt feel like messing with it any more. But my father, who joined the business in 1947, prevailed and said he could handle it. And indeed he did. Q: And he did something pretty progressive for the time. A: Air conditioning! He installed air conditioning. It was pretty revolutionary in 1955. Back then, almost nobody had air conditioning. Q: Your grandfather died in 1969, and your father ran the Cadillac until 1979, when he turned over the business to the employees. Why did he do that? A: My father was tired of dealing with the Mexican government, which was filled with crooked bureaucrats who always wanted the mordida, the bribe. If you didnt pay, they wouldnt renew your license. Then there was the tax bureau. Theyd send an auditor in on the Monday after Thanksgiving and do an audit of the receipts from Thursday through Sunday, which was my fathers biggest weekend of the year. And that was what theyd base his tax bill on the the rest of the year. And they taxed everything. They taxed my grandfather for having a zoo because he kept parrots in the back room. Q: How did you decide that now was the time to write a book about the Cadillac Bar? A: Actually, I started the book in 1999, doing oral histories and interviews with my father and others, gathering information. I was doing it for my parents, and then my father and mother both became ill and died. So I lost all my motivations. But I had all this material, and all these photos, so when I retired from the University of Texas in 2016, I resurrected the manuscript and started working on it again. I reached out to family and friends, started the Friends of the Cadillac Bar Facebook group and started collecting more stories, more anecdotes. Ive been really surprised at all the emails I get and the comments online and on social media from so many people who say things like, I used to go there with my grandparents, or I remember going there with my dad. A lot of people have such fond memories of the Cadillac Bar. rmarini@express-news.net SEOUL, South Korea (AP) A South Korean exhibition company is trying to persuade an acclaimed American graffiti artist not to restore a $440,000 painting after it was accidentally vandalized by a couple who mistook it for participatory art. The artist, John Andrew Perello, also known as JonOne, has expressed a desire for his painting to be restored in a way that wont financially burden the couple, who dont face criminal charges, Jiyoon Son, a manager from Seoul-based Content Creators of Culture, said Friday. While the exhibition was insured for damages, theres no way the insurance company wouldnt allocate at least some of the costs to the couple as long as JonOne wants his piece restored, Son said. We are trying to persuade the artist to consider not restoring his work. We have showed him the reactions from social media, which are favorable to his work but also sympathetic to the couple, Son said. She said it would take several weeks and about 10 million won ($9,000) to restore the painting, which remains on display at a shopping mall in Seoul. The couple told Sons company they thought spectators were meant to participate in JonOnes artwork, Untitled, a huge wall painting that was set up with paint cans and brushes scattered around it. The piece wasnt framed due to its large size. Security camera footage shows the couple adding brush strokes to JonOnes piece last Sunday. The exhibitions organizers alerted police when they found the new brush strokes on the painting, but withdrew their report after identifying the couple, saying they preferred handling the matter internally, according to Seouls Songpa Police Station. For us, the incident was baffling because we clearly stated in the caption that the paint cans and brushes were part of the artwork and also drew clear lines to separate the piece from spectators, Son said. Son said the defaced painting, which was part of an exhibition, will likely be displayed as scheduled until June 13. The paintings size makes it difficult to move, which likely means any restoration work would have to be conducted on site, Son said. Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Newser) Will Smith and director Antoine Fuqua are pulling their movie Emancipation out of Georgia over the states new voting law. The slave drama is the first major movie to leave the state and forego its rich tax incentives over the law, per the Hollywood Reporter. The pair, both producers, say they can't support a state that restricts voter access. The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting," reads their statement. "Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state." Deadline reports that it will likely end up in Louisiana, where many of the events on which the movie is based took place. story continues below Emancipation is based on the life story of Peter, a slave who freed himself and fought in the Union army. A photograph of Peters back, horribly scarred from whipping, was published in 1863, shocking the nation. "It was the first viral image of the brutality of slavery that the world saw," Fuqua previously told Deadline. He and Smith join critics of Georgias law, which includes limits to mail-in voting and criminalizes distributing food and water to voters waiting in line, who say it will make voting more difficult for people of color, per CNBC. While Georgia political leader Stacey Abrams agrees, she has been urging Hollywood not to boycott the state, notes Deadline. (The MLB All-Star Game has moved from Atlanta to Denver, and Delta and Coca-Cola, both major employers in Georgia, have denounced the law. Other companies may follow suit.) People will not be able to choose what vaccine they want, the Government has warned, as around 14,000 doses of the single-jab Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrive this week. It is the fourth vaccine approved for use in Ireland after getting the green light from the European Medicines Agency last month. Given the advantage of a single dose, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is likely to prove very popular, but government sources said offering people a choice was "not practical". Much of the 14,000-strong first batch will be used within communities which are less likely to engage with the health system, and therefore less likely to return for their second dose of other brands of vaccines. This means the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be rolled out to homeless people, the Travelling community, those engaged with drug services, and the Roma community to begin with. However, several ministers say they are aware that the fact that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single dose could lead to frustration among the wider public as it confers the so-called vaccine bonus much quicker. Under the newest set of regulations, two fully-vaccinated people can meet indoors with no masks or social distancing. With the Johnson & Johnson jab, the timeframe for full vaccination would be just two weeks. But, with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the first and second doses must be at least 56 days apart, meaning the minimum timeframe for someone who received that vaccine to be able to avail of the so-called bonus would be 10 weeks. Many people who have already received the vaccine in Ireland have had their second dose scheduled 12 weeks later. However, despite this, Government sources say that there can be no choice offered about which vaccine people receive. One senior minister said that it would not "be practical to give people a choice of vaccine". It would be great in an ideal world, but in the real world, it would slow the programme down, resulting in more infections and a longer lockdown. Another minister said the arrival of the vaccine would "be a huge boost" to the vaccine programme, but said that the difference in time to be fully vaccinated will cause some people to lose out. Another Government source said that the decision about which vaccines a person receives outside of those decisions made by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee would be "luck of the draw". "Certainly this side of the summer and into it, there will be no option for people to choose themselves which vaccine they receive." The arrival comes as restrictions ease across the country. From today: People can travel anywhere within their county or 20km from home, whichever is greater; People from two households can also meet with each other outdoors for social and recreational purposes, but this is not allowed in gardens; Residential construction will also resume, sending around 14,000 builders back to work; Schools will fully reopen, with the last classes who had yet to return making their way back to the classroom Ahead of the easing of restrictions, health minister Stephen Donnelly urged the public to stay the course in fighting the pandemic. "We've seen a reduction in the number of cases reported and pretty much all the indicators are going in the right direction right now," he said. "People are making a huge sacrifice in order for us to stay on course by following the public health guidelines and we've got to stick with it. If we can stick with the measures that are in place, we can avoid another wave." The latest Covid figures from the HSE saw the lowest number of daily case figures reported since mid-December, with 303 new cases reported, along with two new deaths. Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said the numbers show that "there are many reasons for hope as we head into a new week". 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! 29.3 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s Los Angeles/Hancock Park / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : It felt like something fell in my backyard. Lincoln Heights / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short : Sleeping woken up from sleep Sun Valley / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s : I'm on 2nd floor. On my bed watching tv and it felt like it does when I'm outside and a truck drives by. Almost bouncy. 744.3 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt : I did not feel it Van Nuys California / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe : Sounding like an explosion. Weird one. Los Angeles, 90019 / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short Marina del Rey California / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : I felt a brisk quick Shake ...not a jolt Fullerton / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s Torrance / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 90020 / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s North Hollywood, CA / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short Los angeles / Very weak shaking (MMI II) Los angeles / not felt : I felt nothing Rancho Cordova / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s North Hollywood / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / very short Chatsworth, Ca / not felt valley glen / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : yass Los Angeles/Hancock Park / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : It felt like something fell in my backyard. Valley Glen / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short : A quick jolt North Hollywood / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s Sherman oaks / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake : Brief tremor felt while sitting inside Van Nuys / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short Valley Village, CA 91607 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short : 1 sharp loud bolt I heard from both front and back door frames North Hollywood / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short North Hollywood / not felt / single vertical bump / very short : Was short and scary Van Nuys / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short : I live on the second floor. Only heard the windows rattling. North Hollywood ca / not felt N. Hollywood / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / very short Van Nuys California / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe : Sounding like an explosion. Weird one. 91401 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short : just a quick bang that shook heavy furniture North hollywood Ca (1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Single jolt B.C. Attorney General David Eby gestures toward a screen showing bundles of cash an individual brought to a casino, after releasing an independent review of anti-money laundering practices during a news conference in Vancouver on June 27, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck) Former, Current BC Cabinet Ministers to Testify at Money Laundering Inquiry For the first time since it began just over a year ago, the ongoing inquiry into money laundering in British Columbia is adding former and current cabinet ministers to its witness list11 in all. Among current NDP ministers scheduled to testify are Attorney General David Eby, assistant deputy minister responsible for B.C. gambling Sam MacLeod, and deputy minister to the premier Lori Wanamaker, according to the commissions website. Former Liberals include Christy Clark, who was premier from 2011 to 2017, and cabinet ministers Rich Coleman, Mike de Jong, and Kash Heed. The former and current ministers are scheduled to testify during the hearing block that runs from April 19 to 30. The final report of the Cullen Commission was originally scheduled to be released on May 15, but that has been extended to Dec. 15. According to a March 19 statement by the commission, the extension was primarily due to the pandemic necessitating the hearings to be shifted online, as well as delays caused by challenges in gathering documents and the broad scope of the issues being investigated. In his interim report, released publicly last December, Commissioner Austin Cullen criticized federal agencies for being slow to comply with his requests for documents and information, or providing documents that have been redacted to the point that they provide no meaningful information. B.C Premier John Horgan initiated the commission in the wake of multiple reports on money laundering in the province. The reports outlined how hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal cash transactions affected B.C.s real estate, luxury vehicle, and gaming sectors, with some of it laundered through B.C casinos. A 2019 report by former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German revealed how Greater Vancouver serves as a setting for complex criminal alliances. German highlighted how the citys desirability for money laundering has made it a hot spot for Chinese organized crime, in what has been called the Vancouver Model by Australian professor John Langdale. This system avoids conventional means of money transfer through the use of underground networks to settle financial accounts. The successful avoidance of provincial and federal taxes in the sale and export of luxury cars to China alone has resulted in the loss of tens of millions in provincial revenue. The effects of this complex system of money laundering have also been devastating on a societal level. The Cullen Commission has already discussed how money laundering in real estate has distorted markets in such a manner as to contribute to housing unaffordability, making Vancouver housing the least affordable in Canada and among the least affordable internationally. The servicing of drug trafficking organizations through the laundering of illicit proceeds has also exacerbated the fentanyl crisis, which has been especially disastrous for Vancouvers Downtown Eastside area. But dirty money is not only an issue in B.C. A 2017 investigative report by the Toronto Star and CBC-Radio Canada highlights how Mossack Fonseca, the law firm behind the massive Panama Papers leak of 11.5 million documents detailing global tax avoidance and evasion, marketed Canada as a tax haven and has even established shell companies in the country for purposes of tax evasion. A sprawling international tax avoidance industry is increasingly touting Canada as a jurisdiction for hiding wealth, the report said, noting that the practice of using Canadas prudent reputation and solid economy to make suspect transactions seem legitimate is called snow washing. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an independent inter-governmental body whose recommendations for countering money laundering and terrorist financing are recognized as the global standard, in a 2016 report criticized Canada for its non-compliance of five of the FATFs 40 recommendations, including Recommendation 25. Recommendation 25 calls on countries to take measures to prevent the misuse of legal arrangements for money laundering or terrorist financing. In his interim report, Cullen described money laundering as a crime that strikes at the heart of our collective values and corrupts the fabric of a free and democratic society. HCM City concerned about Covid-19 infection risks from Cambodia Authorities in HCM City are worried about the risk of Covid-19 infection from neighbouring countries, particularly Cambodia, due to illegal immigrants. This morning, April 12, the HCM City Covid-19 Prevention and Control Steering Board held an urgent meeting with concerned agencies about the complicated situation of Covid-19 pandemic in Cambodia and the world. At the event, chairman of the municipal peoples committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said that on April 10, Cambodia saw up to 447 new Covid-19 cases and the figure was 800 cases in Thailand. This has posed risks for HCM City as many Chinese people have been found illegally entering Vietnam in order to seek entry to Cambodia. Chairman of the HCM City peoples committee Nguyen Thanh Phong at the meeting Lots of Vietnamese people have also been caught leaving Cambodia to return Vietnam to avoid the pandemic. Phong requested HCM City to tighten control over the entry to detect illegal immigrants. Every ward in the city needs to closely supervise the local population to deal with this. The citys police and army have been assigned to co-operate quarantine illegal immigrants. Over the past two months, HCM City has seen no new Covid-19 community transmission cases. At the meeting, Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the municipal Department of Health, said by April 10, HCM City had provided Covid-9 vaccination for 7,500 medical staff and around 1,000 police officers who have been on duty on Covid-19 prevention and control. In the coming time, the city will get 56,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine for prioritised groups, including 42,000 medical staff and 10,000 airport and customs staff. BERLIN (AP) Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday ordered an Army review of an investigation into a January 2020 militant assault on the Manda Bay military base in Kenya that killed three Americans and wounded three others. In a written statement announcing Austin's decision, his press secretary, John Kirby, did not pinpoint what Austin found lacking in the initial investigation, which was conducted by U.S. Africa Command. By apparent coincidence, Austin plans to meet with Africa Command officials Tuesday in Stuttgart, Germany, as part of a broader tour of Europe to consult with allies and talk to U.S. commanders. He also will meet separately with officials at U.S. European Command, also in Stuttgart. An independent review will provide added insight, perspective, and the ability to assess the totality of this tragic event involving multiple military services and Department of Defense components, Kirby said. Kirby said that after considering the results of Africa Command's investigation, which have not been released publicly, Austin decided to order the Army to pick a four-star general to conduct the review. The Army chose Gen. Paul Funk, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command. Funk is an experienced combat veteran who served six deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the secretarys desire to ensure there is a full examination and consideration of the contributing factors that led to this tragic event and that appropriate action is taken to reduce the risk of future occurrence, Kirby said. The families impacted deserve nothing less. The attack by al-Shabab militants at the Manda Bay base destroyed six aircraft in addition to killing three Americans and wounding three others. The base, in the Kenyan seaside resort, was overrun by 30 to 40 of the al-Qaida-linked insurgents on Jan. 5, 2020, marking al-Shababs first attack against U.S. forces in the East African country. The predawn assault triggered a lengthy firefight and daylong struggle for U.S. and Kenyan forces to search and secure the base. Story continues The base at Manda Bay has been used for years by the U.S. military, but it only became a full-time airfield in 2016, with increased personnel, aircraft and operations. The initial phase of the assault came near dawn, when 20 to 30 al-Shabab militants slipped through the forest and fired rocket-propelled grenades onto the airfield at the base. The opening rounds of grenades quickly killed a soldier in a truck and wounded another, and killed two contractors in an aircraft and wounded one other. About a mile down the road, other militants fired on Camp Simba, a section of the base where U.S. forces are stationed. Marines from Camp Simba initially responded to the attack site and begin to fight back against the militants, who had made it onto the airfield and into buildings. But it took all day for Kenyan and U.S. security forces to finally quash the attack, search the airfield and secure the area. Air Force Col. Chris Karns, spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command, said a great deal of rigor was put into the investigation, resulting in a number of immediate improvements. He said the goal has been to reassure the families and the American public that we did everything possible to understand the situation and take appropriate action. The investigation team made findings and recommendations that fall outside U.S. Africa Command purview and ability to effect, therefore we fully support the additional independent review directed by the Secretary of Defense, Karns said. We are confident in the reports findings and remain committed to ensuring fixes and improvements in Kenya and across the continent. Kenya has been a key base for fighting al-Shabab, which is based in Somalia and is one of the worlds most resilient extremist organizations. Al-Shabab has launched a number of attacks inside Kenya, including against civilian targets on buses, at schools and at shopping malls. Al-Shabab had been the target of a growing number of U.S. airstrikes inside Somalia during President Donald Trumps administration. But Trump late last year ordered the withdrawal of the roughly 700 American forces there, and the bulk of those troops were pulled out of the country by mid-January. According to officials, there are well below 100 U.S. troops in Somalia now. Austin has launched a review of Americas military posture around the world. Moscow: It took four international crews and almost a year before anyone onboard the International Space Station could locate the air leak, untraceable by equipment at hand, which had been driving the cosmonauts insane. One evening last October, Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner in a desperate attempt to find that tiny hole sucking up precious air ripped up a tea bag inside one of the stations segments, sending the tea leaves flying into weightlessness. A day later, he saw the tea leaves cluster around a tiny scratch that had been leaking air all along. A bas-relief of Yuri Gagarin, the first person who flew to space, is cleaned ahead of Cosmonautics Day, which this year marks the 60th anniversary of Gagarins pioneering mission on April 12 1961. Credit:AP Vagners ingenuity won him plaudits back home but the incident at the 22-year-old core segment of the station has laid bare Russias withering space dream as the country is nearing the 60th anniversary of the first human space flight. By the end of February, the Russian space agency reported six scratches on the Zvezda module that were leaking air. Yuri Gagarin took off for his maiden flight 60 years ago on Monday - 12 April, 1961 - in a triumph of Soviet science in its rivalry with the United States. Now Russias landmark space program is facing an existential crisis due to mismanagement and a lack of vision as the United States and China have left Russia far behind in the space race. B'nai B'rith, a Jewish service organization, founded the Anti-Defamation League in 1913 to fight anti-Semitism. However, perhaps because most Jews are Democrats, the organization has drifted from its mission. Now, under the leadership of Jonathan Greenblatt, a former Obama administration official, the ADL is just another arrow in the Democrat party quiver. Therefore, it's no coincidence that the ADL's latest target is the same person as the Democrat party's latest target: Tucker Carlson. Carlson's sin is that he objects to having tens of millions of illegal aliens living in America and millions more flooding into America over the border that Joe Biden has illegally opened. During his show last week, Tucker Carlson was open about the fact that Democrats are seeking to replace existing Americans with a population who will reliably vote for Democrats: The discussion [on CNN between "Tater" Stelter and Greenblatt] centered around a segment on Fox News last week in which Carlson said, "I know that the left and all the little gate-keepers on Twitter become literally hysterical if you use the term 'replacement.' If you suggest that the Democratic Party 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 is true." He added, "This matters on a bunch of different levels, but on a basic level, it is 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 imported new voters, I become disenfranchised as a current voter. Everyone wants to make a racial issue out of it. 'Oh, the white replacement theory.' 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 is an American, guaranteed that birth is one-man and one-vote, and they are diluting it. Why are we putting up with this?" Carlson is correct. If an illegal alien votes in an election, that nullifies a legal vote. The same is true if illegal aliens are suddenly given mass amnesty and instantly receive the right to vote. This is not about race; this is, as I said, about the Democrat party using illegal means to ensure that legal Americans who disagree with their political agenda lose their voice in elections. In the past, what Carlson said would not have been of any concern to the ADL. There is nothing in Carlson's words that implicates anti-Semitism. However, that didn't stop Greenblatt from demanding just as the Democrat party wishes that Carlson be silenced, something he does by conflating Tucker's accurate words about illegal immigration with the words and deeds of a small fringe of open anti-Semites: Tucker Carlson has a history of sanitizing stereotypes and of spreading this kind of poison, but what he did on Thursday night really was indeed, as you put it, a new low. The great replacement theory, as it is known, is this toxic idea that there are a cabal of Jews plotting to overrun the country with immigrants, Muslims, Black people and commit what they call "white genocide." It is literally a staple of white supremacist and extremist ideology. And so, when Tucker Carlson introduces it to his 4.5 million viewers, he's serving as a gateway to one of the most damaging and dangerous conspiracy theories out there. Inevitably, Greenblatt ended up with a claim that Carlson is somehow responsible for Nancy Pelosi's failure to take steps to protect the Capitol when she learned that a small group of provocateurs had been planning for months to use Trump's rally as a reason to storm the Capitol: First and foremost, Tucker has got to go. Again, it is a risk not just to the corporation. It is a risk to our society to be promoting these anti-Semitic and racist myths that literally were used by people on January 6th to try to not just interfere with the election but to murder lawmakers. I think we've really crossed a new threshold when a major news network dismisses this or pretends like it isn't important. This has deadly significance. So number one, Carlson needs to go, and they need to look at their entire primetime lineup and ask does this work. At the end of the day, let's acknowledge, Fox isn't alone in this. They have advertisers. They have affiliates. There are cable companies who carry their signal. If Fox won't act, it may be time for the advertisers to act. It may be time for again the affiliates and the cable companies to act to finally once and for all say that America is simply put no place for hate. Did you catch the lies there? Nobody was trying to murder lawmakers, and only one person was armed. Nor was anybody trying to interfere in an election. They simply wanted an accounting. Greenblatt is a sleazy Democrat party operative who's using a venerable organization as a Trojan horse to smear Tucker Carlson, an honest broker about what Democrats are doing to America. At least, though, it shows that Carlson is over the target when he attacks the administration's lawless conduct. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt speaks to @brianstelter about Tucker Carlson's comments about "replacement" theory during a Fox News show and why his rhetoric is "so dangerous" and problematic. pic.twitter.com/oFbaOh74pz Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) April 11, 2021 Image: Jonathan Greenblatt. Twitter screen grab. Scott Morrison has taken to Facebook to reassure Australians the government's Covid-19 vaccination program is safe and rolling out in a timeframe comparable to other countries. The prime minister launched the video message as the government faced a swathe of criticism over the pace of the rollout and concerns about the safety of the country's mainstay AstraZeneca vaccine. The government abandoned any target time to complete the vaccination program after medical authorities recommended people under 50 get the Pfizer vaccine instead of AstraZeneca because of rare blood clotting concerns. The prime minster made the comments in a Facebook Live stream on Monday evening (pictured) Mr Morrison said targets were not possible as Covid 'writes its own rules'. 'You don't get to set the agenda,' he said. 'You have to be able to respond quickly to when things change and we've had to deal with a lot of changes. 'Rather than set targets that can get knocked about by every to and fro of international supply chains and other disruptions that can occur, we are just getting on with it.' Launching daily vaccination data updates to be published online, he said Australia's rate of 1.2 million to date was comparable to other major countries. 'You will be able to keep track of that program and how we compare to countries overseas,' he said. Government figures show Australia's rollout, compared to 12 other nations, is running behind the UK, US, Singapore, Belgium, Indonesia, Brazil, Italy and Germany. Once frontline health workers and other priority groups were vaccinated, Mr Morrison said there would be 'opportunity later in the year to do things at a more ramped up scale' Once frontline health workers and other priority groups were vaccinated, Mr Morrison said there would be 'opportunity later in the year to do things at a more ramped up scale'. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she had a sense of urgency, as the trajectory of the virus itself could change at any time. 'There will come a point in time when we could be left behind if we don't accelerate what the current plans might be,' she said. Labor health spokesman Mark Butler said it was not possible to have a plan without a target. 'It is simply not a plan,' he said. 'The health of Australians depends upon it and strengthening our economic recovery rests very squarely on the effectiveness on the vaccine rollout.' The government says 40 million doses of the imported Pfizer vaccine should be available by the end of the year, on top of local supply of the AstraZeneca version. The Krachi Youth Association in the Oti Region has added its voice in the call for justice for the gruesome murder of their kinsman, 10-year old Ishmael at Kasoa in the Central Region by two teenagers; Nicholas Kini and Felix Nyarko. The Association sympathizing with the family for their loss has called on the law enforcement agencies and the justice system to conduct proper investigations to bring all perpetrators and accomplices to face the full rigours of the law. In a statement copied to Peacefmonline.com to register its displeasure of the heinous crime for a supposed money ritual by the two teenagers, Krachi Youth Association reminded the nation of morally corrupt television content prevailing nowadays. The relevant state agencies and regulators such as National Media Commission, National Communication Authority, Ministry of Communication and the Information Ministry as well as the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture must as a matter of urgency expedite actions on media content review or introduce a special censorship regime on all of our media space especially on social media platforms and to ban all adverts that seek to influence the public for Fake and Quick money from Mallams, Pastors, Sakawa and ritual pontificators, the statement read. Below Is The Full Statement of the Krachi Youth Association: The Krachi Youth Association, calls for justice for the gruesome murder of their kinsman, Ishmael by two teenagers, Nicholas Kini and Felix Nyarko. These alleged murderers perpetrated their heinous crime for a supposed money ritual. The association express our profound and deepest condolences to the family over this unacceptable act and loss. Information circulating in the media suggested that the two suspected teenagers may have been induced by a money ritual content they watched on television and subsequently influenced by a spiritualist to help them become rich. The association, therefore, calls on the law enforcement agencies and the justice system to conduct proper investigations to bring all perpetrators and accomplices to face the full rigours of the law. Similarly, the association reminds the State of morally corrupt television content on our media space. The relevant state agencies and regulators such as the National Media Commission, National Communication Authority, Ministry of Communication and the Information Ministry and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture must as a matter of urgency expedite actions on media content review or introduce a special censorship regime on all of our media space especially on social media platforms and to ban all adverts that seek to influence the public for Fake and Quick money from mallams, pastors, Sakawa and ritual pontificators. In the estimation of the Association, media regulations must be very stiff to sanction any media hub that violates content acceptability. We also call on the government to provide psychological and financial support to the parents of Ismael in these trying times. Additionally, the ministry of interior, National security ministry through their agencies must strengthen their Security operations in areas classified as national security threat zones to minimize the spate of some bizarre crimes we hear every day of our lives. We also call on all parents and guardians to monitor the movements of their children at all times and ensure they are protected and safe at all times. Once again, the executives and entire Krachi citizens pray for the reposed soul of their son Ismael. May God use his death to correct the wrongs of society as far as money rituals are concerned. Long Live Kaakye Long Live Ghana SIGNED: PRO TEL: 0208270982 Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video With the approval of Novartis Kymriah, Singapore is becoming a popular medical tourism destination within APAC: says GlobalData The inherent heterogeneity of diseases such as cancer is driving the field of personalized (precision) therapies. Within personalized therapies, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T) therapies are gaining traction. With the approval of Novartis Kymriah, Singapore is now all set to deliver the transformative treatment for cancers and takes the lead in medical tourism within Asia-Pacific (APAC), says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. In March 2021, Novartis received approval for Kymriah for adult r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma DLBCL (DLBCL) patients and young adult r/r B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients. Kymriah will be the first CAR-T therapy to be approved in Southeast Asia. Novartis, Gilead and BMS are the top CAR-T therapy companies in APAC. Kymriah was approved in Australia in December 2018, and in Japan in March 2019. Kymriah approval in Singapore is the third approval of a CAR-T therapy this year in APAC. In January, Gileads Yescarta was approved for DLBCL in Japan, In March, BMS Breyanzi was approved for relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphomas (LBCL) and R/R follicular lymphoma in Japan. Bhavani Nelavelly, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: CAR-T therapies are evolving as disruptors in the next generation of cancer treatment. With the approval of Kymriah, Singapore has made history in Southeast Asia with the first commercial approval of CAR-T therapy, which is a significant milestone in precision oncology, offering an effective therapy option for relapsed/refractory DLBCL and ALL patients. Kymriah is a complex personalized therapy which needs collaboration between several stakeholders. However, the medical infrastructure in Singapore ensures effective drug delivery within treatment centers. According to GlobalDatas Pharma Intelligence Center, there are six CAR-T therapies in Phase III stage and above in APAC. Singapore is a popular medical tourism destination within APAC. Other popular countries are Thailand, Malaysia, India and South Korea. Ms Nelavelly continues: The approval of CAR-T therapy in Singapore further makes it first among the popular medical tourism destinations within APAC. Currently the treatment is available in Singapore General Hospital for adult r/r DLBCL and young adult r/r B-cell ALL, while discussions with the National University Hospital are underway to expand the availability of Kymriah for both adult and pediatric patients Ms Nelavelly concludes: The approval of Kymriah will bring new hope to the patients, whose cancer advanced after the previous treatment. However, with high price (price of Kymriah in Japan is US$306,000) and logistics, and less population eligible to receive the treatment, CAR-T therapies will require financial assistance to make them affordable. It was announced last week that Varadis Ltd, a Cork based deep technology radiation detection company, has won a significant contract with the European Space Agency (ESA). The companys novel radiation detection sensors and sub-systems are already well known to the global space exploration industry and have already been used by astronauts in the International Space Station. Varadis technology is also used by several of the largest private and public sector organisations around the world. The technology, Radiation Sensing Field Effect Transistors (RADFETs), is built on 30 years of research at Tyndall National Institute, and accurately measures the absorbed doses of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, protons, and x-rays. Now ESA are expanding the use of this technology on satellites. Welcoming the announcement Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Damien English said, "The success of Irish companies in this highly competitive environment is a testament to the quality of research and development taking place in our third-level institutions and the support infrastructure that enables the commercialisation of this research. I look forward to more Irish companies benefiting from the Governments ongoing investment in ESA this year and achieving similar success to Varadis." Manager of ESA Space Solutions Ireland and Head of New Ventures at Tyndall, Peter Finnegan added, "Varadis is an ESA Business Incubation Centre Ireland supported company that is commercialising ground breaking propriety technology that was developed at Tyndall. Varadis has been supported by Enterprise Ireland, the European Space Agency, UCC Innovation and Tyndall, which underscores our combined commitment to the commercialisation agenda." Source: www.businessworld.ie Late on Friday night, the Supreme Court issued a 54 decision in Tandon v. Newsom, which blocked Californias COVID-related ban on religious gatherings in private homes. Chief Justice John Roberts dissented, as did the three liberal justices, making Tandon yet another COVID decision in which Justice Amy Coney Barretts vote made the difference. Although the conservative majoritys decision was unsigned and ran just four pages long, it radically altered the law of religious liberty. Since 1990s Employment Division v. Smith, the Supreme Court has not interpreted the First Amendments free exercise clause to require religious exemptions to laws that dont discriminate against religion. In Tandon, however, the majority effectively overturned Smith by establishing a new rule, often called the most favored nation theory. Under this doctrine, any secular exemption to a law automatically creates a claim for a religious exemption, vastly expanding the governments obligation to provide religious accommodations to countless regulations. In Tandon, for instance, the Supreme Court held that California had to let people gather indoors for Bible study because it allowed them to gather indoors to get a haircut, eat, or take a bus; if Californians can get pedicures, they must also be permitted to spend hours in close quarters discussing the Bible. And the Supreme Court created this sweeping new rule through its shadow docketthose cases decided with minimal briefing and no oral argument outside the courts normal procedure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, I spoke with University of Texas School of Law professor Steve Vladeck, a renowned critic of the shadow docket, and Lewis and Clark Law School professor Jim Oleske, an expert on religious liberty jurisprudence, about Fridays decision and its departure from all known rules of Supreme Court procedure. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Mark Joseph Stern: Jim, youve said Tandon begins with a whopper. What is it? Jim Oleske: In the very beginning, the court said its prior decisions had made the following points clear. It then laid out the most favored nation theory of religious exemptions. The principal authority cited is the Roman Catholic Diocese v. Cuomo decision from this past fallin which the court did not adopt that theory! Instead, the court said that New York had singled out religion for disfavored treatment, which would be consistent with Smith. It was only in separate opinions that various justices talked about most favored nation theory explicitlythe same justices who were talking about it in dissents over the summer before Justice Amy Coney Barrett had joined the court. Advertisement How does this new theory conflict with Smith? Oleske: Smith says the free exercise clause of the First Amendment protects against the government targeting religious practice for disfavored treatment, but does not grant a right to exemptions from general law. Almost immediately after Smith, there were efforts to read into it a broader most favored nation theory that said: Any time the government grants an exemption to a law, it has an obligation to grant a religious exemption, too, unless the government meets strict scrutiny. But that was not the law of the land until Friday night. Advertisement Steve Vladeck: I think Friday nights ruling drives home exactly why the rise of the shadow docket is so problematic. To be a little nerdy for a second, what the Supreme Court did on Friday was issue an injunction pending appeal. This is an extraordinary form of relief. Unlike when the court issues a staywhere it says, hey, lower courts were putting your decision on holdhere the court is acting directly against the government. Its directly enjoining Gov. Newsom when lower courts have refused to do so. Advertisement As the Supreme Court has said for decades, its authority to issue that form of relief is very limited. Theres a very widely cited in-chambers opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia from 1986 where he says the court is only supposed to issue such relief sparingly, and only in the most critical and exigent circumstances, where the legal rights at issue are indisputably clear. Its the indisputably clear part that makes what Jim said so important. Everyone understands that the court made new law on Friday, that the court changed the scope and meaning and applicability of the free exercise clause. Folks are going to disagree about whether or not this new approach is a good one. My point is, this is not something the court is allowed to do in a shadow docket ruling like this. Its own precedents preclude it from making new law in this context because, by definition, a newly minted right cannot have been indisputably clear. Advertisement Advertisement How does this turbocharged use of the shadow docket hurt the judiciary, in terms of its legitimacy and its ability to function? Vladeck: The justices think that the signals theyre sending through unsigned or very short opinions are somehow so clear as to create precedent that binds lower courts. Thats a preposterous way to run a railroad. The justices are expecting hardworking lower court judges to read between the lines when they themselves cant be bothered to provide explanation. One of the things I found most galling about Friday nights decisions is that it chastises the 9th Circuit for refusing to read the justices minds, for refusing to properly understand the import of four prior unexplained orders. Which, to me, is more than a little bit of chutzpah. Advertisement The larger problem is that theres no scenario where the court can do this in all cases. It is not set up to take every single significant constitutional question at the outset of litigation. It is inevitable that were going to have most favored nation constitutional claims when it comes to the shadow docket. Were going to have some parties and some claims that get preferential procedural treatment from the majority at the expense of others. Look, for example, at how aggressive the Supreme Court has been in pushing back against state COVID restrictions insofar as they affect religious practice, and how deferential theyve been with regard to COVID restrictions as they affect prisoners. It creates the perception that the court is playing favorites with litigants and claims. Advertisement Advertisement What do you say to those who think critics of these COVID decisions are really just hostile to religious liberty? Vladeck: Friday night was the seventh time this term that the Supreme Court has issued an emergency injunction pending appeal. All seven were in COVID free-exercise cases. The first was in November, in Roman Catholic Diocese. Before November, it had been five years since the court had issued an emergency injunction. Those who like these decisions are getting increasingly comfortable with the court flouting and defying its own internal standards and rules for this kind of relief simply because they like the result. In the process, they attack critics for being insufficiently sensitive to religious liberty. And thats a preposterous claim. These rules exist for a reason. If the justices are going to defy them or change them, the very least they can do is tell us that. Advertisement Oleske: I actually think the court should revisit Smith. If the courts going to revisit its free exercise jurisprudence, Im inclined to like that, because Ive argued for it. But the way theyre doing itcreatively reinterpreting Smith in a way that cannot be reconciled with how the court has interpreted Smith in the pastis just inexcusable. Even people who think there is a constitutional right to religious accommodations should be very troubled. Advertisement Advertisement Jim, as a critic of Smith, what do you think of the most favored nation theory thats now the law? Oleske: Im inclined to agree with prior critics that the most favored nation theory is a really bizarre way to protect minority religions against indifference and neglect. Why adopt a rule where protection for minority religions only exists out of the luck of the draw when the government happens to have made an exception to a rule for some secular reason? It doesnt serve the underlying religious liberty value. Advertisement So, on the merits, the theory is problematic. It was also specifically crafted to get around Smith by one of Smiths fiercest critics, Douglas Laycock. And Laycock now argues that instead of using the most favored nation theory, the court should just overrule Smith because of the problems with implementing the theory. So the very person who originated the most favored nation theory, who has been its most vocal champion for three decades, has, in his most recent filing with the Supreme Court, said, no, instead, you should just overturn Smith. What did you think of Justice Elena Kagans dissent, which Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer joined? Oleske: Whats interesting to me is that Justice Kagan doesnt squarely take on the question of whether any version of the most favored nation theory is viable. Justice Kagan may not want to resolve this profound issue through the shadow docket when there is a pending merits case, Fulton v. Philadelphia, asking the Supreme Court to revisit its free exercise doctrine. Maybe thats why shes being somewhat vague. Advertisement Vladeck: I think on the procedural point, the dissent pulls its punches. There is that beautiful but cryptic clause that the majority is disregarding law and facts alike. But Justice Kagan never really drills down on exactly what is procedurally problematic about the case. This is part of a trend where, among the progressives, only Justice Sotomayor has been willing to publicly criticize the conservative majoritys growing use of the shadow docket. Sotomayor has done it multiple times. But there has yet to be a single instance where Kagan or Breyer openly criticize the courts use of the shadow docket, or even sign onto an opinion openly criticizing it. Thats unfortunate; its way too easy for people to be unfairly and unreasonably dismissive of Sotomayor when shes alone on this point. If Kagan and Breyer are saving their fire for an especially egregious case, I would think Friday night was it. KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) People who ignored an initial warning to evacuate the area closest to a volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent raced to get clear Saturday, a day after it erupted with an explosion that shook the ground, spewed ash skyward and blanketed the island in a layer of fine volcanic rock. The eruption Friday of La Soufriere _ its first large one since 1979 _ transformed the islands lush towns and villages into gloomy, gray versions of themselves. A strong sulfur smell was unavoidable Saturday and ash covered everything, creeping into homes, cars and noses, and obscuring the sunshine that makes the island so popular with tourists. Chellise Rogers, who lives in the village of Biabou, which is in an area of St. Vincent thats considered safe, said she could hear continuous rumbling. Its exhilarating and scary at the same time, she said. (Its the) first time I am witnessing a volcano eruption. Scientists warn that the explosions could continue for days or even weeks, and that the worst could be yet to come. 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. About 16,000 people have had to flee their ash-covered communities with as many belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks. However, there have been no reports of anyone being killed or injured by the initial blast or those that followed. Before it blew, the government ordered people to evacuate the most high-risk area around the 4,003-foot (1,220-meter) volcano after scientists warned that magma was moving close to the surface. Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of the 32 islands that make up the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said on local station NBC Radio that people should remain calm, be patient and keep trying to protect themselves from the coronavirus. He said officials were trying to figure out the best way to collect and dispose of the ash, which covered an airport runway near the capital of Kingstown, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south, and fell as far away as Barbados, about 120 miles (190 kilometers) to the east. Its difficult to breathe, the prime minister said, adding that although the volcano was venting less, a big plume of ash remained. What goes up, must come down. Although Gonsalves said it could take up to four months for life to return to normal, hes confident it will. 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. People who didnt heed the initial evacuation order hurried to do so Saturday. At least a few ash-covered evacuees escaped in small boats and headed to other parts of the main island, which makes up 90% of the countrys total land. About 3,200 people took refuge at 78 government-run shelters, and four empty cruise ships stood ready to take other evacuees to nearby islands, with a group of more than 130 already taken to St. Lucia. Those staying at the shelters were tested for COVID-19, with anyone testing positive being taken to an isolation center. Nearby nations, including Antigua and Grenada, also offered to take in evacuees. On Saturday, some people swept outside their homes and taped their doors and windows shut in the hopes of keeping out the ash. Were hearing rumbling from here and witnessed the lightning flashes last night, said Rukersha Jackson, a 22-year-old marketing specialist who lives with her family a little outside the mandatory evacuation zone. That zone covers the northern third of St. Vincent and is on the opposite side than Kingstown, where most of the countrys more than 100,000 people live. The ash has forced the cancellation of several flights, and poor visibility limited evacuations in some areas. Officials warned that St. Lucia to the north and Grenada to the south could get light ash fall, though most of it was expected to head northeast into the Atlantic Ocean. Although the ash can seem scary, it wont harm healthy people in the short term, said Claire Horwell, a professor at Durham University in the United Kingdom who will be analyzing the ash emitted by La Soufriere. She recommended that people wear face masks, long sleeves and pants to avoid irritation. Volcanic ash looks really scary, and it is really terrifying to people who have never been exposed to it before, but for most healthy people, it is more of a nuisance, said Horwell, who is also director of the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network. However, she warned that the ash and gases, particularly sulfur dioxide, could affect asthmatics and others with chronic health conditions. La Soufriere last had a sizable eruption in 1979. An eruption in 1902 killed roughly 1,600 people. The volcano had a minor eruption in December, which led regional experts to fly in to 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 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. Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. About the photo: 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) Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. New Delhi : Chinese smartphone manufacture company Oppo Electronics finally received permission to open single brand based stores in India ahead of Apple, Louis Vuitton, Amazon.com and Acer. Opening their own retail shop will make the way for the company to see directly to consumers which will add to their existing wholesale business. Oppo aims to set its target of building around 550 stores across the worlds third-largest smartphones market. On Tuesday, Foreign Investment Promotion Board approves Oppos request to a notice on the departments website. Officials of Oppo in a statement told, While we cannot divulge the investment in SBRT, to provide better service to our Indian consumers we closely work with our distribution and retail partners, we are aiming at building 550 service centres by the end of 2017 to cover all regions among India. As per latest reports, Oppo is planning to build a manufacturing plant near New Delhi and export smartphones which is made in India to other markets for instance Philippines. However, Indian government requires foreign investors to source 30% of the products locally to operate their own retail stores. Soon, Luxury goods retailer Louis Vuitton also to open its own retail stores in India Every police department in New Jersey will be required to have body cameras by June, a costly endeavor that many towns havent implemented because of the price tag. But there are less expensive ways to launch camera programs before the deadline, according to a group charged with supporting the new state mandate. The Interagency Working Group on Body Worn Cameras a panel created by Gov. Phil Murphy released its recommendations last week for how the state and local agencies can reduce the initial and ongoing costs. With less than two months remaining, the group recommended against a single statewide storage system. It urged departments and the state to aggressively negotiate with vendors for an increased volume discount based on statewide purchasing for the cameras and storage. And it suggested departments purchase cloud-based storage, as opposed to physical storage, which can be more costly. Murphy welcomed the recommendations. Because of their power to promote transparency and accountability, body worn cameras are a vital tool for building trust between our police officers and the diverse communities they serve, he said in a statement. Murphy signed a law in November to require body cameras and lawmakers have since appropriated $58 million in grants to fund the program. The law generally requires all cops wear cameras, although officers working undercover, meeting with confidential informants or at desk jobs are exempt. Camera systems have widespread support, including from the states powerful police unions. Yet previously, fewer than half of the more than 500 police departments in the state had cameras. In a survey of these agencies, they reported that this implementation rate was not due to lack of interest, but rather, cost, the group found. The 14-member group includes representatives of state agencies, law enforcement, and the legal and social justice communities. It highlighted that the price-tag for launching a fully-equipped (body worn camera) program goes beyond the cost of the device itself, according to their report. The program includes costs for storage, licensing and maintenance fees that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars for a mid-sized police department for a three-year contract term. Under the law Murphy signed, all footage should be kept for at least 180 days, but video of police force and arrests should be kept for at least three years. Outside companies storing the footage will be barred from viewing it. In order to keep the costs down as much as possible, the group recommended departments handle their own storage of the body camera footage and to utilize cloud-based storage. Cloud-based storage is, in the long run, the most economical way to store the data from (body worn cameras), the group said. The group also recommended the Department of the Treasury attempt to negotiate larger volume discounts with the five approved vendors based on anticipated statewide purchasing of the equipment. We will carefully review these recommendations as we work to support police departments in the statewide deployment of these important devices, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. Body worn cameras have the support of police as well as the public, because the accountability they provide is mutual everyone behaves better when they know they are on camera. The advisory group also recommended that Grewal issue guidance expanding the types of officers who will be required to use body worn cameras beyond the uniformed patrol officers, including members of tactical teams or members of proactive enforcement teams, sometimes known as crime suppression units. The Working Group acknowledges that an expansion of officers who wear (body worn cameras) by function will also promote transparency, accountability and public trust, by ensuring that all officers who engage in critical law enforcement encounters with civilians such as conducting searches and making arrests are equipped to wear (body worn cameras) as appropriate, the group said in their report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. MEDFORD, Ore. Jackson County has been selected to host a new community coronavirus vaccination center backed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, public health officials announced Monday morning. The Pilot Community Vaccination Center (CVC) will be supported by a mixture of federal, state, and local agencies offering both drive-through and walk-up vaccination options, in addition to mobile delivery. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be offered. This is the first such site in Oregon, and only the second in the Pacific Northwest, according to Governor Kate Brown's office. Jackson County Public Health said that the new clinic will help expand local vaccine administration by 1,000 doses per day. Those doses, instead of drawing from the limited local supply, will come directly from the federal government. Receiving the Pilot Community Vaccination Center and this level of support from our federal and state partners is a welcome relief and help to our community, said John Vial, Director, Jackson County Emergency Operations Center. The impact of dealing with this pandemic while simultaneously responding to our countys largest wildfire disaster has taken a toll on our community and its resources. We are tired and grateful for the help. The Pilot CVC will join Jackson County Public Health's current vaccination site at the Expo, transitioning the local effort into the walk-up location. The effort is intended to aid with vaccinations for rural and agricultural communities, unsheltered populations, and people displaced by September's wildfires. Much of the details on the new site are still being developed, but Jackson County indicated that appointments at the walk-up site will be available by visiting Jackson County's vaccine appointment page, or by calling 2-1-1 for information in English or Spanish. I am so pleased Jackson County was chosen for a FEMA community vaccination center. The site will bolster our current efforts to deliver vaccines quickly and equitably, and to meet communities where they are, said Governor Brown. As the state recovers from last years historic wildfires and continues to manage through the pandemic, my goal is to elevate the needs of the communities hardest hit, especially those that have been historically underserved, and to rebuild those communities stronger and more resilient. The CVC in Jackson County will help us achieve that goal. Results of a new Israeli study found out that the COVID-19 South African variant can "break through" some of the Pfizer vaccine's protection. The mutation of the virus that caused the global pandemic is still the primary concern of different scientists and experts worldwide. It may affect the efficacy of the new vaccines that are hopefully expected to help the pandemic. South African Variant Can Evade Pfizer According to a recently published article on CNBC News, the COVID-19 South African variant can evade some protection of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine, as per the findings of the researchers of Tel Aviv University and Clalit in Israel. The largest healthcare agency stated that nearly 400 patients tested positive for COVID-19 despite getting at least one injection of the vaccine. They compared them to the same number of sick and unvaccinated individuals. AstraZeneca Pauses COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial in Children and Teens Prevalence of the South African Variant The researchers discovered that the prevalence of the South African strain, known as B.1.351, was about eight times higher in people who were administered with two doses of the vaccine than in those who were not vaccinated, according to a published report in ALJAZEERA. The findings, which were released online over the weekend, showed that the B.1.351 strain can "break through" the vaccine's defense than the initial strain, according to the study's authors. Professor Adi Stern, who headed the research, said, "Based on patterns in the general population, we would have expected just one case of the South African variant, but we saw eight. We can say it's less effective, but more research is needed to establish exactly how much." New COVID-19 Variant: Experts Identify Children as the Major Spreaders The U.S. CDC Director Released a Statement Last Month Last month, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky released a grim message to reporters, saying she is concerned that the United States is facing "impending doom" as variants spread and regular pre-COVID-19 events resume, threatening to bring more people to the hospital. She said, "I'm going to pause here, I'm going to lose the script, and I'm going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom. We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I'm scared." Israel's Vaccination Campaign In December, Israel initiated its nationwide vaccine program, prioritizing those above the age of 60, healthcare professionals, and people with comorbid conditions. By February, it had surpassed the rest of the world in vaccines, immunizing millions of its population against the virus, according to a published report in The Times of Israel. Pfizer and the Israeli Ministry of Health signed a cooperation agreement in January to monitor the vaccine's real-world effects. The biggest limitation of the analysis, according to the researchers, was the small sample size. According to the researchers, B.1.351 accounted for just about 1 percent of all COVID-19 cases. B.1.1.7, the form first found in the United Kingdom, is more common. @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has instructed the officials to make mandatory COVID-19 RT-PCR test negative report obtained within 72 hours for passengers coming from other states by rail or air route. Addressing a video conference with the medical representatives, the Chief Minister asked the officials to examine the passengers arriving without a negative report and make arrangements to place them in quarantine, COVID care centre or hospital as per Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). "The increasing number of COVID-19 patients in Chhattisgarh is worrisome. If we meet this challenge in a planned way, then we will surely succeed. For this, passengers on all the borders of Chhattisgarh with Maharashtra should be strictly examined. Along with the airport, arrangements should be made to examine passengers coming to Chhattisgarh on railway stations as well," the Chief Minister said in a statement. He said that arrangements should also be made to keep passengers in quarantine centre and isolation as required. "This time the infection is also spreading in the villages. To prevent this, it is necessary to examine those coming from outside the state. Instructions have been issued by the state government to establish quarantine centres in villages," he added. CMO Chhattisgarh (@ChhattisgarhCMO) April 11, 2021 Baghel further asked the operators of private hospitals to provide the best possible treatment to the COVID-19 patients. Chhattisgarh is ahead of many largely populated states in terms of testing. Every day 40 to 50 thousand tests are being done in the state. The state administering the highest number of vaccines. 13 per cent of the population here has been given the first vaccine to protect against corona, he said. "RT-PCR test facility will be started soon in four more districts in the state. With the increase in the number of sample investigations every day, the investigation report will also be available sooner," the Chief Minister added. He has instructed the Chief Secretary that for smooth supply of Remdesivir injection in the state, senior officers should be sent to Hyderabad and Maharashtra for coordination with companies manufacturing this drug. The Chief Minister discussed this issue with the President of the Drug Association and asked him to increase the supply of Remdesivir Injection from other states. He also discussed with hospital operators, medical experts and representatives of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) about the problems being faced in the treatment of Covid-19, supply of oxygen and essential medicines. Gigi and Bella Hadid got to enjoy some family time on Sunday when they met up with their father Mohamed Hadid for a lunch date in New York City. Gigi, 25, and Bella, 24, left their more eye-catching looks behind in favor of muted all-black ensembles for a low-key afternoon. Also joining the model sisters was Gigi's seven-month-old daughter Khai, who got to have her grandfather push her stroller. Family Reunion: Gigi Hadid, 25, and her sister Bella Hadid, 24, met up with their father Mohamed Hadid, 72, for lunch in New York City on Sunday with Gigi's seven-month-old daughter Khai Despite having only given birth late last year, Gigi was already showcasing her fit figure with her black crop top, which was bunched up over her flat tummy. She kept her look casual with a pair of graphic black sweatpants that she had tucked into her comfortable tan Ugg boots. The 5ft10in beauty added a touch of class to her ensemble with a black overcoat that reached down to her ankles. She completed her look with chunky sunglasses and a ponytail for her long dyed-red hair. Too cool for school: The whole family wore mostly black clothing, with Gigi and Bella complementing each other in black overcoats Bella turned out to be on the same page as her older sister, as she was also dressed in black with baggy jeans contrasted with midnight blue Adidas trainers. She wore a shorter black overcoat then Gigi and accessorized with a pair of large gold hoop earrings, along with a black handbag slung over her shoulder. Mohamed, 72, was also onboard with the dark clothing as he wore a navy blue cardigan, as well as an overcoat that he took off. He had on a black V-neck shirt underneath and wore black jeans with black boots and a charcoal scarf. Time together: Gigi has spent plenty of time with her mother Yolanda Hadid in the months before and after giving birth to Khai, but Mohamed hasn't been seen with her as often Behind the scenes: Gigi shared some behind-the-scenes video from a photoshoot to her Instagram account on Saturday Stunner: She showed off the final look, a striking sheer brown top with a tan leather blazer and matching tan slacks with intriguing cut-outs over her hips Gigi has spent plenty of time with her mother Yolanda Hadid in recent months, particularly in the months leading up to giving birth when she reportedly stayed at the Dutch model's rural Pennsylvania farm, but Mohamed hasn't been spotted quite as often in the company of his granddaughter. Gigi welcomed the little girl in September and shares her with her partner, former One Direction member Zayn Malik. She seems to be getting back into the swing of modeling, as she was seen leaving a photoshoot the day before. The catwalk star shared some behind-the-scenes video from her shoot to her Instagram account on Saturday, including footage of her getting made up and then final look, a striking sheer brown top with a tan leather blazer and matching tan slacks with intriguing cut-outs over her hips. Woman in white: Bella also recently made a high-profile appearance for the Michael Kors fashion show. She wore a cream-colored sequined dress and a lustrous white blazer Red-hot: The model returned for another sizzling look with a scarlet dress and a shining red coat over it Bella also recently made a high-profile runway appearance, though the runway had to be moved outdoors to Manhattan's Broadway. She appeared in a sparkling cream-colored sequined dress and a lustrous white blazer while strutting for the Michael Kors show on Thursday night. The model returned for another sizzling look with a scarlet dress and a shining red coat over it. But she seemed to be having some fun over the weekend when she recovered with some tasty food for a rooftop lunch in the city as she whipped her hair side to side while soundtracking the slow-motion clip to Bill Wither's ebullient Lovely Day. The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to consider extending its temporary rules allowing for senators to participate remotely during the COVID-19 emergency when they return to session next week. The chambers temporary rules that allowed senators to cast votes on legislation in committee meetings and on the Senate floor expired on March 31. Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, said on Monday an extension of those rules to the end of May will be considered next week and she will support that extension. Wards spokeswoman Erica Clayton Wright said, This will give the Senate employees and members the time and opportunity to get vaccinated as we reopen. Wright also indicated that as recently as within the last two weeks at least one Senate employee tested positive for COVID-19. Neither she nor a spokeswoman for the Democratic caucus could provide any further details about that. Like the state House of Representatives, the Senate first put in place a remote participation rule in March 2020 following the first presumed cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. It allowed members to cast votes from a location other than the House or Senate floor either by proxy in the House or with the help of interactive technology in the Senate. Both chambers renewed their remote participation rules when the new legislative session started in January. The Houses temporary rule on remote voting extends to Aug. 1 unless revoked or amended. But with the Senate rules expiration at the end of last month, a memo went out to senators last Tuesday from Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County, advising them they had to be at the Capitol to have their vote count. The memo stated, With the expiration of the emergency rule, physical presence will be required to establish a quorum at all voting committee meetings and session, as well as for the purpose of voting by a member who is not on approved legislative, military or Capitol leave. The day after that memo was issued, Wards spokeswoman said Gov. Tom Wolfs decision to open the Capitol to the public on March 22 signaled to the General Assembly that it was safe to return to do the peoples business. There are important decisions that need to be made on behalf of the commonwealth throughout the next few months, and as elected officials it is important that we lead by example, Wright said. Just as businesses are reopening across the Commonwealth so should we. But a Friday conversation between Ward and Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa of Allegheny County led to the informal agreement to seek an extension of the remote participation rules. Costa declined comment for this story. But two younger members of the Senate Democratic Caucus Sens. Lindsey Williams of Allegheny County and Amanda Cappelletti of Delaware County made it clear Cormans memo was disturbing to them. They found it disappointing that he would want to return to in-person sessions before all senators and staffers were eligible to schedule their COVID-19 vaccination. (On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf and the vaccine task force announced starting on Tuesday, all Pennsylvania adults were eligible to schedule an appointment.) Williams and Cappelletti, a public health professional, are among the senators who have mostly steered clear of the Capitol this year. Both indicated it is because of the refusal of some senators to wear masks on the Senate floor and as of last week, both were still waiting to get shots in their arms. They are hopeful that Costa and Wards informal agreement wins the full Senate approval. In some states, remote participation has become as political as mask wearing. The Arkansas Senate, for one, voted in February to end remote participation after a heated exchange between lawmakers. I will be pleased if we extend the rules regarding remote session until the end of May, Williams said. That gives members and staff more time to get vaccinated and helps keep them safe. I hope that all members will wear masks while inside the Capitol complex. Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy. JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The pandemic that occurred within the last one year had a huge impact on the national economy. The banking sector also experienced a contraction of minus 2.41 percent throughout 2020 due to slowing activity in the real and the corporate sector. President Director of Bank BRI, Sunarso Despite these challenging conditions, PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (IDX:BBRI) ("BRI") was able to maintain a positive performance by continuing to take a role in saving MSMEs and restoring the national economy. This was reflected in BRI lending that grew 3.89 percent with NPLs maintained at the level of 2.99 percent. One of the keys to BRI's success in facing the pressure due to the pandemic is by continuing the digital and culture transformation program that has been launched since 2016. For this achievement, BRI won 7 prestigious national level awards in the past one week. The first two awards are The Best CEO to the President Director of BRI Sunarso and Best of The Best Innovative Company, awarded at the 2021 iNews Maker Awards which was held in Jakarta on Wednesday (7/4). The title of The Best CEO was given to a company leader who is able to inspire and lead change in the company to adapt so that it can survive and even excel in challenging pandemic conditions. Furthermore, BRI received 5 awards at the 10th year BUMN 2021 Award Night on Thursday (8/4) in Jakarta. In this event, BRI won in the category of The Best Corporate, the 1st Best Corporate Governance (GCG), and 1st Best Business & Organizational Transformation. Meanwhile, the President Director of BRI Sunarso was awarded two awards at once, namely as The Best CEO and also as Best CEO Strategic Orientation. The award was given to BRI based on the independent assessment results from a panel of judges who are experts in their fields, including the First State Owned Enterprises Minister and the BUMN Track Expert Council Tanri Abeng, INDEF Senior Economic Observer Enny Sri Hartati, BUMN Track General Leader Ahmed Kurnia, and 2014 -2020 Nielsen Indonesia CEO & Chairman of BUMN Track Consulting Agus Nurudin. Story continues According to Tanri Abeng, who was one of the Jury at the event, the COVID-19 Pandemic has tested the resilience of the Indonesian economy. However, BRI is considered successful in implementing strategic steps so that it can continue to record positive performance amidst a crisis. BRI's strategy that can maintain a balance between economic and social value to create sustainable company performance is also a distinct advantage that not many other companies have. "The company's extraordinary achievements cannot be separated from its leaders who have leadership excellence, and the leadership capabilities of the BRI CEO are not in doubt," added Tanri Abeng. The awards received by BRI do not necessarily make the company complacent and continue the ongoing transformation program. "The awards received have encouraged BRI to continue to provide the best services and products for the community. This also proves that so far BRI has carried out its duties and roles as a BUMN with good, transparent, and reliable management. We ensure that in the future BRI will continue to contribute to the revival of the national economy," said Sunarso. Information about BANK BRI can be accessed through the website www.bri.co.id SOURCE PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BRI) Google has been accused of running an 'insider trading' scheme with its ad systems to give its clients a leg up by using publisher data they'd obtained secretly to help them place winning ad bids. The allegation is part of an antitrust lawsuit filed that was brought by Texas prosecutors and joined by nine other states against the Silicon Valley giant. Papers were filed this week as part of the lawsuit that were filed unredacted then were redacted and sealed by a judge. The papers were seen by The Wall Street Journal before they were redacted. They allege that Google ran a secret program which let them play both sides of the industry. Central to it is an understanding of how Google has unprecedented and unrivaled access to both ad sellers and ad buyers. Online publishers like media outlets use Google technology to sell their ads. The tech is known as the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, or AdX. It gives Google access to information on how much they charge for those ads, how often they are sold , to whom they are sold and, crucially, how much advertisers are willing to pay in auctions for a coveted ad spot, like an advertising stock exchange or market place. Google is being sued by ten states in a lawsuit brought by Texas which alleges it has breached antitrust laws Online advertisers also use Google technology to buy those ads. There are two Google ad-buying tools; DV360 and Google Ads. Every time an ad is bought using them, Google gets a kickback. According to the lawsuit, Google took the information from AdX and used it to guide the businesses using the tools to help them place winning ad bids. Google called it Project Bernanke and it made them $230million in 2013 alone, according to the filing. Publishers are not told about it when they signed up to use AdX. It's unclear why they named the project as they did. Ben Bernanke was the Chair of the Federal Reserve for two terms. The lawsuit also gives more details on a secret deal that Google and Facebook had a secret deal that ensured Facebook would bid in and win a certain number of ad auctions. Google dominates on both sides of the online ad industry. Publishers use Google Ad Exchange (AdX) to place their ads for auction. It gives Google access to their ad-selling data. Businesses also use Google Ads to buy the ads on Google AdX and every time a transaction goes through, Google gets a kickback The deal was known as Jedi Blue. Details of it emerged in the lawsuit in December 2019. At the time, both Google and Facebook said they were doing nothing wrong. The new documents reveal that Google admitted it made 'commercially reasonable efforts' to make sure ads went to Facebook instead of competitors. As part of Jedi Blue, Facebook committed to spending at least $500million in a single year, according to the documents. Top executives at each company had knowledge of it, including Sheryl Sandberg - Facebook's COO - and Philip Schindler, Googles senior vice president and chief business officer. Google, in filings in response to the allegations of the 'insider trading scheme', also insisted it acted above board. It claims the lawsuit does not understand the online advertising industry. '[It] misrepresents many aspects of our ad tech business. We look forward to making our case in court, ' Peter Schottenfels, a Google spokesman, told the Wall Street Journal. (Natural News) A spokesperson for Facebook revealed that the tech giant did not notify the more than 500 million users whose personal data was stolen and distributed online. The spokesperson also said that the tech giant currently has no plans of ever informing them of the privacy breach. The social media firm chose not to notify affected users because it doubted it could identify which users needed to be notified, the spokesman said. The tech company also took into account the fact that users could not fix the issue and that their data was already exposed. Business Insider reported last week that the phone numbers and other personal information of more than 533 million Facebook users were posted on a public database. The users came from 106 countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and India. In a blog post on Tuesday, April 6, Facebook said that malicious actors had scraped the data in 2019 using a vulnerability in the platforms tool for syncing contacts. The California-based firm added it had removed the weakness in the same year after identifying the problem. (Related: More than 500 million users personal data compromised in Facebook privacy breach.) Facebook downplays data breach even if it exposes users to hacking Besides refusing to notify affected users, Facebook also downplayed the data breach by saying that it happened years ago and had since been secured. But the fact that the breach dated back to 2019 should alert regulators: Under some privacy regulations, including the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation, the tech firm should have informed victims of the data scraping. Facebooks 2019 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which was reached after the tech giant was accused of misusing user data, also required the company to report details of a breach involving at least 500 users within 30 days of confirming the incident. Irelands Data Protection Commission, the EUs lead regulator for Facebook, announced on Tuesday, April 6 that it was investigating the data leak to see if the social media giant violated any rules. The commission initially received no proactive communication from the firm but is now in contact with them, Reuters reported. Experts have also said that the issue is still grave regardless of when it happened, largely due to the nature of the stolen information. The leaked data included phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios and, in some cases, email addresses. It did not include passwords, financial records and health information. Rob Shavell, CEO of DeleteMe, a personal data protection tool, told the Guardian that even if passwords and other sensitive information were not exposed, the scraped data is still significant because it included signifiers, such as phone numbers and birthdates, that are seldom changed. Even if the data is old, its never really old because it will always be useful for data brokers, Shavell explained. It helps them correlate related information that is new and dump them into these profiles, which they sell online for as little as 99 cents. The exposed information can also be used in combination with existing user data online to hack accounts, most notably bank and other accounts that require two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication involves texting a confirmation code to a phone number to verify a persons identity. The leaking of phone numbers can also be problematic amid the recent rise of robocalls an automated telephone call that delivers a recorded message, typically for the purpose of telemarketing and scams. Forget about being hacked, its just annoying to be constantly getting spam calls, Shavell said. The data breach, whether they say its old or not, is another way spammers get this information. Users can check if their personal data is included in the leak using legitimate websites such as Have I Been Pwned?. Learn more about the issues surrounding the way Facebook handles users private information at FacebookCollapse.com. Sources include: Reuters.com BusinessInsider.com TheGuardian.com HaveIBeenPwned.com Teams capable of administering 700 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be sent to LaSalle, Tazewell and Woodford counties, and the local health department in Peoria County will receive 1,900 additional doses, according to the governors office. An Illinois National Guard team capable of administering 3,000 doses in a week will be sent to McDonough County, home to Macomb and Western Illinois University. (ANSA) - ROME, APR 12 - The Umbria 2 USL health authority said Monday that its IT systems have been under a hacker attack since Sunday morning . Postal police in the central Italian city of Terni are investigating the attack, in which viruses hit the authority's network and some of its servers. The authority said that the ransomware attack had had a "significant" impact on services. COVID-19-linked activities, however, are continuing normally. (ANSA). When Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora came knocking on resident Vivian DeRiveras door, with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and a cadre of health officials behind him, the Mott Street resident was overjoyed. So happy I seen people, seen real people! she blurted out. I have 12 grandchildren, now 14 great-grandchildren and another great-grandchild due in July. God bless em all. I just miss them so much. I just want to see my kids. I want to see them in person and I cant. DeRivera is homebound and became the first person to get the COVID-19 vaccine in her residence under the City of Trentons new initiative to deliver doses to 1,000 residents who are unable to get to traditional vaccine clinics. She said she had received a note with her Meals on Wheel delivery telling her she was eligible. Under the citys plan, in-home vaccinations will be provided to individuals age 18 or over who are immobile due to underlying medical conditions or transportation limitations. Homebound residents or their relatives can call 609-815-2556 or email amthomas@trentonnj.org to schedule an in-home vaccine appointment. The Trenton Health Team, the Henry J. Austin Medical Center, the Mercer County Board of Social Services, Trenton Housing Authority, Mercer County Meals on Wheels and the Trenton Council of Civic Associations are collaborating on the administration of the program. The mobile unit and 1,600 doses of the vaccine were donated by Mercer County, the mayor said. The entire cost of the program wasnt immediately clear. Monday, April 12, 2021 - Trenton resident Vivian DeRivera right, gets her COVID-19 vaccine administered in her own home by Monique Walker, RN.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Monday, April 12, 2021 - Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, right, poses with resident Vivian DeRivera in her home.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com As we navigate our way out of this pandemic, the last thing we want is for our most vulnerable populations to fall behind, said Gusciora. If you cant come to us, well come to you. We wont emerge from this crisis unless all of our residents have equal access to the vaccine, and we wont rest until that goal is realized. The mayor also addressed the perception that minority populations are reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID-19. We think thats ebbing, he said. We worked directly with 40 churches and their pastors, and they really got out the message... and were educating their congregants. And it was so important we had celebrities like Sarah Dash. (The co-founding member of singing group Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles publicly got vaccinated at the Cure Insurance Arena site two months ago.) We are really pleased with the numbers of minority percentage who have...stepped up to get their vaccine, he said. Were excited about this roll-out that were delivering vaccines to the residents of the city of Trenton. Monday, April 12, 2021 - At South Village Apartments, Virginia Mojica raises her fist to cheers after getting her COVID-19 vaccine.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com The day began earlier when the mobile unit rolled up to the South Village Apartments, located on Lalor Street. A vaccine clinic was set up in the community room and as needed, some residents were visited in their individual apartments. Virginia Mojica was the first resident vaccinated there. When applause broke out after her shot, she raised her left arm - the one that wasnt just vaccinated - and waved it in victory. Cheers also followed the second vaccination, Chris Burzachiello. I feel excellent now that Im vaccinated, he said, while sitting for the mandatory 15-minute post-vaccine observation period. And I just want to say, thank you, to all the people who made it possible. The city already has a list of 400 individuals for the program and is scheduled to visit multiple senior and high-density housing locations over the next few weeks, including South Village, Luther Arms, Kingsbury Towers, Trent Center East, Trent Center West, North 25, and numerous residential properties throughout Trenton. Monday, April 12, 2021 - South Village Apartments resident Chris Burzachiello received the COVID-19 vaccine under the City of Trenton's initiative to bring the vaccine to those who are unable to come to a vaccination site.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Monday, April 12, 2021 - At South Village Apartments, resident Joceyln Blackwell, right, fills out forms waiting to get her COVID-19 vaccine under the city's homebound vaccination program.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Michael Mancuso may be reached at mmancuso@njadvancemedia.com A neighbourhood dispute over selfish parking in one of Sydney's most expensive suburbs has escalated, after an outraged resident posted pictures of the supposedly inconsiderate acts. The social media images showed a Mercedes-Benz and a Lexus, among other cars, either hogging an entire parking bay or leaving too little space on either side for other cars to park. The photos were taken on a residential street in Mosman on Sydney's lower north shore. The social media post hit a chord with residents, who said such selfish parking was the reason they were often unable to find a spot for their cars. Local are angry after photos of luxury cars including a Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and a Volkswagen Golf (pictured) - showed them inconsiderately parked on a suburban street in one of Sydney's most expensive suburbs The vehicles left spaces too small for other cars to park on a street in Mosman on Sydney's lower north shore. Pictured is a Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan 'Was lucky enough to spot 5 amazing pieces of driving in Mosman this afternoon. All in the same area on the same street,' Mosman local Cameron Davis posted on social media. 'Correct me if I'm wrong but a 3 car stretch is for 3 cars, yeah?' The elite suburb is home to some of Australia's wealthiest people, with many bankers, lawyers and business professionals calling it home. The median weekly income for households was $2,522 in 2016 and banking is the most common industry employing residents, Australian Bureau of Statistics Census data showed. 'I get it these drivers are very importantbut so is common sense,' Mr Smith wrote. 'Let's remove our heads from you know where and get it right people.' The social media post had dozens of angry comments by residents, who said they were often unable to find a spot in the dense city suburb because of 'selfish' drivers. Pictured is a Lexus RX Other residents said they often found themselves struggling to find a parking spot because of obnoxious driving. Pictured is a Toyota RAV4 Angry residents said drivers should park right up to the line at the edge of the driveway entrance so as to allow maximum space for others. 'If you are in the front or rear position of the stretch it's your duty to align the bumper with the white line. End of story,' one person commented. 'I personally get out and check because I don't want to be the one that messes up the stretch. Sad but true.' 'This happens in Cremorne Point and we are strapped for spots ... I wish we could do a citizen's arrest type of situation,' someone wrote. Some locals said it was possible the cars had parked in front of motorbikes or bins. Pictured is a Mazda3 'Wait... you're asking quite possibly the most self entitled community in NSW to be, well, not self entitled?' another person sniped. Other locals said it was possible the cars had parked in front of motorbikes or bins. 'I get it, but how do you know there wasn't something like another car in front or behind them that left since you took the photo? Not really evidence of anything is it,' said one person. 'Could [have] been scooter/motorbike/bins parked front or rear earlier?' another commented. ADVERTISEMENT The management of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has announced plans to reinstate the insitutions Students Union. This was made known in a statement by the institutions Dean, Division of Student Affairs, Isiaka Aransi, on Monday. The universitys statement was a reaction to the ultimatum recently issued by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone D (southwest) chapter, to schools that union activities suspended across the region be reinstated or face stiff resistance. But OAU said on Monday that the proposed demonstration by NANS was needless. It has come to the knowledge of the University Management that the National Association of Nigerian students Zone D is planning to stage a protest in respect of resuscitation of Students Union in OAU, Mr Aransi said. The university management wishes to inform all students that prior to the commencement of COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, OAU had taken steps to ensure that Students Union was resuscitated on two different occassions but the processes were truncated due to the activities of some group of students on our university campus. Meanwhile, protest or no protest, the university management has already determined to reinstate the suspended Students Union before the end of this current 2019/2020 academic session. In recognition of the right of freedom of association and assembly as well as the right to ensure that students play their roles actively in decision-making processes as one of the major stakeholders in the university, the management, through the Dean of Student Affairs, took another step in January this year 2021 to present another proposal to the university senate with a view to ensuring that the students union was resuscitated. Accordingly, the University Senate considered the proposal at its virtual meeting in January 2021, and in its wisdom advised that resuscitation of students union being an exclusive preserve of students should not be executed virtually while the students were not on ground in the university. The University management hereby wishes to inform all students (and other stakeholders) that as soon as all students return to campus fully during the Rain Semester of the current academic session, machinery will be put in place to set the ball rolling concerning the resuscitation ofthe students union in OAU. Reacting to the development, the spokesperson of NANS, Kazeem Israel, told PREMIUM TIMES that the statement of OAU management was a testament to why we must never submit the banner of struggle against oppression and victimisation. As we await the official announcement of resumption from the University Senate, we expect it to be followed by a notice of reinstatement of Students Union activities, as anything on the contrary shall be met with stiff resistance. READ ALSO: OAU security assaults student for protesting over fuel hike While acknowledging the solidarity from Great Ife Students Union Fellows (GISUF), we want to reiterate that the April 19th protest will continue as planned until OAU management issues an official notice lifting the illegal ban imposed on the Students Union. Forthwith, we ask our Students Union Presidents and other organs of Zone D to keep up and intensify moblisation until a notice communicating otherwise is issued by the leadership of NANS Zone D. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the management of OAU in 2017 suspended union activities on the argument that it had plunged the school into embarrassment following students incessant protests. Since then, the students lack a body to engage the management on their behalf in the events of concerns over poor delivery of services. Yale Law professor Amy Chua, 58, has been banned from leading a first-year small group - an informal group of students - over allegations of violating an agreement to stop hosting dinner parties for students Yale Law professor Amy Chua, best known for coining the term 'Tiger Mom,' is hitting back after being sidelined from mentoring first-year students over allegations she had continued hosting alcohol-fueled dinner parties at her home in violation of a prior agreement with the school. Chua wrote an open letter to the entire Yale Law School faculty on Thursday, denying the claims laid out in a Yale Daily News article, and contending that she is being punished over false allegations from a small group of students who oppose her 'controversial' opinions. Chua, 58, a married mother-of-two Harvard graduate who has taught at Yale Law since 2001, is known around the world for publishing a book on parenting in 2011 titled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom, in which she touted the 'Chinese way' of rearing her two daughters over the 'Western way,' and talked about denying her daughter Lulu a bathroom break during a piano lesson. Chua also wrote an op-ed before sexual assault allegations emerged against US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, describing him as a 'mentor for young lawyers, particularly women.' Chua's husband, Yale Law professor Jed Rubenfeld (left), has been suspended from teaching over claims of sexual harassment Her eldest daughter, Yale Law graduate Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, clerked for Kavanaugh. Chua and her husband were both previously accused of telling young law students how to dress if clerking for him. Chua was also accused of telling young students that Kavanaugh preferred attractive clerks. He denied the claims. Last year, Chua's husband, fellow Yale Law professor Jed Rubenfeld, was suspended for two years from teaching over allegations of sexual harassment, including unwanted touching and attempted kissing, involving multiple students. He has denied the claims. The latest controversy erupted last week, when Yale's independent student newspaper published a story, revealing that Chua has been suspended from leading a first-year 'small group,' which is an informal learning group comprised of about 15 students that meets outside classroom. According to the article, the decision to strip Chua of her leadership role was made after multiple students have come forward, claiming that the professor had been hosting dinner parties at her home during the pandemic, with her husband present, despite signing a confidential agreement in 2019 that barred her from drinking and having out-of-class interactions with students. Chua published this open letter on Thursday, defending herself against the accusations Pictured: Jed Rubenfield with wife Amy Chua and their Harvard graduate daughter, Lulu In a December 2019 letter, Law School Dean Heather Gerken wrote that alumni have made claims that Chua drank heavily with students, and made inappropriate remarks about both students and professors. One recent Yale Law graduate told the Yale Daily News that she witnessed Chua and Rubenfeld 'deliberate' on the physical appearances and private relationships of students during dinner parties that she attended at their house in Connecticut. 'Having been on the receiving end of that behavior, I know personally that it is not always welcome, and that it is not all in good fun,' the graduate told the student newspaper on condition of anonymity. According to the dean's letter cited by the outlet, as part of the 2019 agreement between Yale Law and Chua, the professor would be sidelined from teaching or leading small groups during the 2020-21 school year, and would not resume teaching until the Law School is 'assured that the kind of misconduct alleged will not occur.' The disciplinary action against Chua also reportedly included an unspecified 'substantial' financial penalty. In her rebuttal letter released on Thursday, Chua railed against purported 'breaches of confidentiality' that resulted in the details of her agreement with the school being leaked for the press, and she also accused the student paper of mischaracterizing her 2019 agreement with Yale Law. Chua stressed that she did not want to lead a small group in the first place, and that the administration had to convince her to take on the assignment. 'Let me also just say that by asking me to teach a Small Group - in fact twisting my arm to do it! - the School was obviously expecting me to socialize with students, so the notion that I was under some kind of ban is hard to understand,' she wrote. The article published by the student paper stated that after a two-year hiatus imposed by the agreement, Chua was named a leader of a 'small group' in late March. But less than a week after the public announcement, several law students met with administrators to voice their concerns over Chua's appointment as a small-group leader. According to the paper, the students claimed that Chua had continued hosting dinner parties for students at her and Rubenfeld's home. They were said to have provided documentation in support of their claims. Three days after the March 26 meeting, the Law School rescinded Chua's appointment, initially prompting at least eight law students to send emails to administrators expressing their support for Chua. On her official website, Chua has so far collected and shared 50 pages of letters from current and former students decrying her suspension. 'It is no exaggeration to say that I owe all my success at this law school to Professor Chua,' one of her supporters wrote, while another stated: 'beyond being an incredible teacher, she is an unparalleled mentor at this school.' Chua vehemently denied the allegations in her letter to faculty members. 'As I wrack my brain to try to imagine what dinner parties with students they could possibly be referring to, I can only think of a few possibilitiesall of which I not only stand by, but am proud of,' she wrote. She went on to cite several instances where she said she had invited students 'in extreme distress' over to her house after they reached out to her for help, having been subjected to death threats amid rising anti-Asian hate crimes, and feeling that the Yale Law administration was not supporting them. 'Because we could not meet in the law school building, we met at my house, and I did my best to support them and console them,' Chua said, adding that her husband was not present during those meetings. She argued: 'I do not believe that I have violated anything in my agreement with Heather [Gerken].' Chua is best known for writing her 2011 parenting memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom, in which she touted the 'Chinese way' of rearing children. Chua and her husband (right) were both previously accused of telling young law students how to dress if clerking for Justice Brett Kavanaugh Chua said she felt like being 'punished and publicly humiliated without anything remotely resembling due process,' and called for an independent investigation into what she described as 'breaches of confidentiality.' She concluded by noting that she is not seeking to be reinstated to the small group roster. In a statement to the student paper, Dean Gerken declined to comment on any specific complaints or investigations, but said that 'faculty misconduct has no place at Yale Law School. It violates our core commitments and undermines all the good that comes from an environment where faculty respect and support students.' She went on: 'the Law School has a set of clearly articulated norms governing student-faculty interactions and is committed to enforcing them.' DALLAS, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc. ("NXRT" or the "Company") (NYSE: NXRT) announced today that the Company is scheduled to host a conference call on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. ET (10:00 am CT), to discuss first quarter financial results. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 800-367-2403 or, for international callers, +1 334-777-6978 and using passcode Conference ID: 5369761. A live audio webcast of the call will be available online at the Company's website, http://nxrt.nexpoint.com. An online replay will be available shortly after the call on the Company's website and continue to be available for 60 days. A replay of the conference call will also be available through Tuesday, May 4, 2021 by dialing 888-203-1112 or, for international callers, +1 719-457-0820 and entering passcode 5369761. The Company plans to issue a press release with first quarter financial results before market open on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. About NXRT NexPoint Residential Trust is a publicly traded REIT, with its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NXRT," primarily focused on acquiring, owning and operating well-located middle-income multifamily properties with "value-add" potential in large cities and suburban submarkets of large cities, primarily in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. NXRT is externally advised by NexPoint Real Estate Advisors, L.P., an affiliate of NexPoint Advisors, L.P., an SEC-registered investment advisor, which has extensive real estate experience. Contact: Jackie Graham Investor Relations [email protected] 833.463.6697 Media Inquiries [email protected] SOURCE NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc. Related Links http://www.nexpointliving.com Byron York begins his article on the present border crisis this way: Anyone paying attention to the news knows the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border is terrible. Anyone who actually visits the border discovers it is worse than that. Byron bases this statement on his visit to the border, during which he accompanied a group of GOP House members. The observations in his report support his conclusion. But why is there a border crisis? Byron persuasively argues that its the product of Joe Bidens missteps: [D]uring his first days in office. . .Biden blew up the foundation of the governments handling of migrants. With a series of executive actions, Biden threw out key policies with nothing ready to replace them. And he did it using rhetoric that invited migrants to rush to the border more than 172,000 in March alone, including nearly 19,000 unaccompanied children. What policies did Biden throw out? First, he did away with President Donald Trumps Remain in Mexico policy, which required asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico, not in the U.S., while their asylum claims were adjudicated. Second, Biden ended Trumps asylum agreements with the Northern Triangle countries, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, to steer would-be asylum-seekers from those nations into safe countries other than the U.S. Third, Biden gutted Trumps use of Title 42, the governments authority to expel most migrants for the purpose of controlling the spread of COVID. Biden did not throw Title 42 away altogether but is by some accounts now letting most would-be migrants stay rather than be turned away because of the pandemic. Biden could counter the surge by reinstating these policies, but he doesnt want to. Hed rather hand the problem over to Kamala Harris, who cant be bothered to visit the border. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who did visit it as part of the group of GOP legislators, summarized things this way: What I saw on this trip was chaos and disorder. What the Biden administration does not want you to know is simply that they have handed over the borders of our country to the cartels and smugglers. Do any Democrats care? Maybe some from districts directly affected by the crisis. Rep. Steve Scalise told Byron that Henry [Cuellar] is getting to a boiling point, and there a couple of others. However, Scalise added that this is something that you cant defend, so [Democrats] can only hope that they can keep everybody quiet. With the help of the mainstream media, the Democrats chances of fulfilling this hope arent bad. Traffic at a standstill on northbound I-405 during the Memorial Day holiday weekend on May 27 in Los Angeles. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) OCTA Grapples With California Policies Aimed at Reducing Carbon Emissions State policies that aim to reduce carbon emissions in California by minimizing driving will impact planned future projects of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), officials say. OCTAs Director of Strategic Planning said at an April 12 meeting that state requirements designed to combat climate change aim to decrease the distance drivers travel and will cause difficulties for county transportation projects that seek to increase capacity. The state is now emphasizing reducing overall demand. What that means is itll be more difficult to implement capacity projects than it has in the past, Brotcke said. In the past, the emphasis has been on reducing [traffic] congestion, and specifically reducing hours of delay. The state has started to focus the transportation discussion on climate change, and the fact that the transportation sector is a large contributor to emissions, with nearly 40 percent of emissions coming from the transportation sector, Brotcke said. They are starting to emphasize transit, bike, and pedestrian travel over highway expansion. Legislation with metrics designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and encouraging other modes of transportationincluding the Governors Executive Order N-19-19 and Senate Bill 743 (SB 743)will require OCTA to shift its focus from reducing congestion to reducing overall driving, Brotcke said. He noted that since the states specific policies are still under development, their impacts on OCTAs projects and funding priorities are not set in stone. OCTA may need to make transit improvements, bike lane improvements, and the like, to essentially reduce VMT, he said, making it more difficult to implement future projects. One of the possible policies would require highways to be converted to allow access for bicycle and pedestrian use, Brotcke said, adding that OCTAs current and future projects that are funding highway expansion will be more difficult in the future, should these policies and plans be finalized. Many of OCTAs current and future funded projects may not be possible in the future should these policies be implemented, he said, citing as an example its Solutions for Congested Corridors project, which emphasizes reducing traffic congestion and destination arrival times. Any projects that might increase VMT but reduce emissions will be problematic from a state perspective, he said. The requirements will create opportunities for state funding in other areas, Brotcke said, including bikeway projects, zero-emission buses, and efficiency improvements through technology. Orange County Supervisor and OCTA Director Lisa Bartlett called the states requirements a little bit nonsensical. When you take a look at the state plan, what theyre proposing is just a real overreach by the state, Bartlett said during the April 12 meeting. There are things in the plan that frankly are really problematic. Bartlett said the funding for these plans could really adversely impact some of the countys future projects. I dont think they understand the true impacts at the local level to us, from a funding perspective, she said, mentioning freeway conversions and developer mandates as particularly challenging. CEO Darrell Johnson cited OCTAs concern with the strategies, and the tactics in which theyre being implemented, but emphasized the desire to maintain local decision-making and complete the projects promised to Orange County voters. [We will] try to strike a balance that balances the state goals with our local needs, so were providing infrastructure and benefit to all users of the system here in Orange County, Johnson said. Joked Director Brian Goodell, Maybe we should just ban cars and have electric bikes on the freewaysthat might be a good solution. [April 12, 2021] AKVIS ArtSuite 19.0: Create Contemporary Artworks with New Glitch Art Effect PERM, Russia, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AKVIS announces the major update of AKVIS ArtSuite, a collection of versatile photo effects and frames. Version 19.0 presents the brand new Glitch Art effect, redesigned user interface, the Favorites group for presets, and other improvements. AKVIS ArtSuite is a collection of visual effects and frames for pictures. The program makes it easy to decorate an album, create a personalized greeting card, prepare engaging images for social media, etc. The program provides a variety of ways of photo manipulations, creating tremendous catching images. ArtSuite 19.0 presents the new Glitch Art effect that creates unique style pictures by adding digital artifacts such as noise and distortions, as well as the play of color. This technique is one of the most popular trends in photography and videography. It helps to obtain a visual effect of great impact. Contemporary life puts forward its requirements for art, using modern techniques and involving creators and viewers in experiments. Art now is more than painting and we are looking for new mehods of expressing creative ideas and new forms of art. The new effect turns photos into something different yet creative. It includes a set of ready-to-apply presets allowing users to try a variety of interpretations of the modern glitch effect. Also, the update offers a new look of the program. The user interface has been redesigned according to modern trends. The interface elements are positioned more conveniently and functionally. The Presets field has been moved higher in the panel for easier access and is located now just below the effects list. The Favorites category has been added to the Presets. The new version extends the list of supported RAW formats and includes bug fixes and stability improvements. Download AKVIS ArtSuite 19.0 and try all features of the software during the 10-day trial period. AKVIS ArtSuite is available as a standalone application and as a plugin filter for compatible image editors: AliveColors by AKVIS, Adobe Photoshop, Corel PaintShop Pro, Affinity Photo, and other popular image processing programs. The software runs on Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 - 32/64-bit; Mac OS X 10.10-10.11 and macOS 10.12-11.0 - 64-bit. The product comes in Home, Home Deluxe, and Business versions, with differing levels of functionality. AKVIS ArtSuite Home sells for $ 39.00. The update is free for users who bought the software in the last 12 months. Users, whose licenses are older and are not valid for the new version, can get ArtSuite 19.0 for only $14.95. For more details about the software, please visit akvis.com. AKVIS (akvis.com) specializes in the development of photo & video processing software. Since the company's launch in 2004, it has released a wide selection of successful products for Windows and Mac. The company always keeps up with the times and updates its products with cutting-edge technologies. About the Program: akvis.com/en/artsuite/index.php Contact: Kat Kharina, AKVIS LLC, 307212@email4pr.com, 83422121661 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/akvis-artsuite-19-0-create-contemporary-artworks-with-new-glitch-art-effect-301266659.html SOURCE AKVIS Lab [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] BEIJING - Chinas top disease control official, in a rare acknowledgement, said current vaccines offer low protection against the coronavirus and mixing them is among strategies being considered to boost their effectiveness. A worker opens a package of coronavirus vaccine made by a Sinopharm subsidiary during a COVID-19 vaccination session for resident foreign journalists at a vaccination center in Beijing, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Chinese medical firm Sinovac said its COVID-19 vaccine is safe in children ages 3-17, based on preliminary data, and it has submitted the data to Chinese drug regulators. State-owned Sinopharm, who has two COVID-19 vaccines, is also investigating the effectiveness of its vaccines in children. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) BEIJING - Chinas top disease control official, in a rare acknowledgement, said current vaccines offer low protection against the coronavirus and mixing them is among strategies being considered to boost their effectiveness. China has distributed hundreds of millions of doses of domestically made vaccines abroad and is relying on them for its own mass immunization campaign. But the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, said at a conference Saturday their efficacy rates needed improving. We will solve the issue that current vaccines don't have very high protection rates, Gao said in a presentation on Chinese COVID-19 vaccines and immunization strategies at a conference in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Its now under consideration whether we should use different vaccines from different technical lines for the immunization process. He also praised the benefits of mRNA vaccines, the technology behind the two vaccines seen as the most effective, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, months after questioning whether the then-unproven method was safe. In a message to The Associated Press, Gao said late Sunday night he was speaking about the effectiveness rates for vaccines in the world, not particularly for China. He did not respond to further questions about which vaccines he was referring to. He directed the AP to an interview he did with the state-owned Global Times, which has published several articles raising doubts about the safety of Pfizers mRNA vaccine. Gao was quoted by the outlet Sunday as saying he was misunderstood and merely talking in general terms about improving vaccine efficacy. Beijing earlier tried to promote doubt about the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which uses genetic code called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to prime the immune system. Health officials at a news conference Sunday didnt respond directly to questions about Gaos comment or about possible changes in official plans. But another CDC official said Chinese developers are working on mRNA-based vaccines. Gao Fu, director of the China Centers for Disease Control, speaks at the National Vaccines and Health conference in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Saturday, April 10, 2021. In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, Gao the country's top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to give them a boost. (Chinatopix Via AP) The mRNA vaccines developed in our country have also entered the clinical trial stage, said the official, Wang Huaqing. He gave no timeline for possible use. Experts say mixing vaccines, or sequential immunization, might boost effectiveness. Researchers in Britain are studying a possible combination of Pfizer-BioNTech and the AstraZeneca vaccine. Gao concluded his presentation Saturday with praise for mRNA vaccines and called for innovation in research. "Everyone should consider the benefits mRNA vaccines can bring for humanity, Gao said. We must follow it carefully and not ignore it just because we already have several types of vaccines already. Gao previously questioned the safety of mRNA vaccines. He was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as saying in December he couldnt rule out negative side effects because they were being used for the first time on healthy people, saying there is a safety concern." Chinese state media and popular health and science blogs also questioned the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, though large-scale trials and the rollout of the vaccines in the U.S. have established its safety. China currently has five vaccines in use in its mass immunization campaign, three inactivated-virus vaccines from Sinovac and Sinopharm, a one-shot vaccine from CanSino, and the last from Gao's team in partnership with Anhui Zhifei Longcom. The effectiveness of the vaccines range from just over 50% to 79%, based on what the companies have said. The shot from Gao's team, was given emergency use approval a month ago, and has not publicly disclosed data yet about its efficacy. Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines, which are primarily being used in developed countries, have both been shown to be about 95% in protecting against COVID-19 in studies. As of April 2, some 34 million people in China have received the full two doses of Chinese vaccines and about 65 million received one, according to Gao. Globally, public health experts have said that any vaccine that is 50% effective would be useful, and many governments have been eager to use Chinese vaccines as rich countries around the world have snapped up shots from Pfizer and Moderna. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said Friday 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 coronavirus pandemic, which was first detected in central China in late 2019, marks the first time the Chinese drug industry has played a role in responding to a global health emergency. Vaccines made by Sinovac, a private company, and Sinopharm, a state-owned firm, have made up the majority of Chinese vaccines distributed to several dozen countries including Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, Hungary, Brazil and Turkey. However, the companies have not publicly published peer-reviewed data on the final stage clinical trial research and been criticized for a lack of transparency. Sinovac's vaccine, for example, raised concerns when it was found to have different efficacy rates from each of the trials it conducted in different countries, ranging from around 50% to over 83%. A Sinovac spokesman, Liu Peicheng, acknowledged varying levels of effectiveness have been found but said that can be due to the age of people in a study, the strain of virus and other factors. Beijing has yet to approve any foreign vaccines for use in mainland China. The Sinovac spokesman, Liu, said studies find protection "may be better if time between vaccinations is longer than the current 14 days but gave no indication that might be made standard practice. Wu reported from Taipei. This story has been corrected to show that Chinese vaccines were donated or exported to several dozen countries, not 22, and that Sinovac is a private company, not state-owned. Popcorn and Inspiration: SlingShot: Segway Inventor Says Death of Clean Water Looms Worldwide, Builds Miracle Purifier Not Rated | 1h 28min | Documentary, Biography, News | 10 July 2015 (USA) Its been said that humanitys current slide towards moral and environmental destruction will soon cause, among other things, the disappearance of potable water. Inventor extraordinaire Dean Kamen (he invented the miracle-of-balance, two-wheeled Segway) also thinks so: In your lifetime, my lifetime, we will see water be a really scarce, valuable commodity, he says. Kamen is obsessed with time. But as brilliant as his mind is, he knows he cant invent a time machine like the one H.G. Wells and Back to the Future imaginedpunch in a date, go there, come back. Therefore, because he cant extend time, hes in a race against it, to invent something that saves people and the planet. Is that perhaps grandiose? Not in the least. Dean Kamen on a Segway in Slingshot. (DEKA Research and Development/White Dwarf Productions) 2015s SlingShot is a highly inspiring documentary about Kamens latest, most important contraption. Its a tale of one mans total dedication to his God-given talent, and his quest to put that talent to compassionate use. Getting to Know Dean It gives one pause to see the work-output of someone obsessively aware that time is slipping away. Kamens house alonea New Hampshire-based wooden wonderis festooned with handmade, highly complex clocks, secret passageways, and a gigantic cast-iron steamboat engine in his living room. Its a kids dream-house come to life. Dean Kamen building a clock in Slingshot. (DEKA Research and Development/White Dwarf Productions) He admits that when he was little, hed imagined someday owning something as outrageous as a glass wall that he could hed flip up in order to jump into his own helicopter and fly away. Now, hes got that actual glass wall installed in his dream house, and pilots his own chopper to his own inventing company. That would be DEKA Research and Development, in Manchester, New Hampshire. Dean Kamen and his private helicopter in Slingshot. (DEKA Research and Development/White Dwarf Productions) Deans parents say he got his outrageous work ethic from his artist father. When young Dean told his dad he felt sorry for him, having to work all the time, his father replied that it wasnt work at all because he was having way too much fun. He told Dean he shouldnt rest until he also found his joy, where work is really play. How It Began Dean was not a popular child; no kids liked him at camp. He once wrote his parents that hed like to come home now and queried as to whether they could also provide him with three secretaries (three) to help him handle all the work he was going to do. He signed off as Your woeful and outcast son, me. Have to go to volleyball now. He was a slow learner. Or as he himself puts it, A sloooooooow learner. Im the slowest, dumbest genius youll ever meet. He had dyslexia and was interminably slow compared to his brother Bart, the medical doctor. He understands the dyslexia as the flip side of his prodigious talentpart and parcel of it. Dean started making home-dialysis machines and realized he also needed to manufacture his own medical-grade water. Whereupon he invented a contraption where you pour any polluted liquid, anything at all, like heavy metal-containing greasy water from an urban pothole, cow-barn drainage, port-a-potty effluent, ocean waterin one side of the black box hes christened the Slingshot and super-purified, perfect, medical-grade watercomes out the other. Immediately potable. As Kamen says, Once we did that, we realized, if we can take everything out of water, why are we only doing it for the small subset of the human race that has kidney failure? Why arent we doing it for everybody? And furthermore, We could empty half of all the beds in all the hospitals in the world just by giving people clean water. What it is The Slingshot is a vapor compression distiller situated between two tanks, connected by hoses. One tank contains bad water, the other good water. Using solar energy, it boils, distills, and vaporizes the bad gunk, turns it into perfect, clear water, and only uses a tiny amount of electricity. It took him 10 years to build it; now its ready for Ghana and other developing countries. One Slingshot purifies 1,000 liters of water a day, which supports, for the same amount of time, the comprehensive hydration, cooking, and hygienic needs of around 100 people. It purifies a million liters in three years. Dean Kamen, with one of the dialysis machines he invented, in Slingshot. (DEKA Research and Development/White Dwarf Productions) The worlds population is quickly approaching 8 billion. According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, close to a billion people lack safe drinking water. With water the most abundant resource on the planet, its beyond ironic that less than 1 percent of Earths freshwater supply is potable. More than 3.5 million people die every year from water-related diseases, and almost 900 million lack access to a safe water supply. Girls scooping water of questionable quality from the Densu River in Ghana, in Slingshot. (DEKA Research and Development/White Dwarf Productions) This is brought home powerfully, early in the film. One million people die in Bangladesh per year because of bad water. We see women looking for water all day, in mud puddles and drainage ditches. Its mentioned that if they find the wrong water, the next day is spent burying babies. Clean Water for Everyone As Kamen says, I only start on projects typically when enough people tell me, youre nuts. Because then you know there must be a problem. Water in the past has been regulated by big, top-down government municipal plants, where huge amounts of water get filtered and then sent out through old pipelines with eroding infrastructure, to rural areas. Kamen says that in the future, everybody will clean their own water. Itll be a point-of-use situation. Thats where Slingshot comes inhence its name. The little guy, David, took on Goliath with a slingshot. Kamen believes that youve got to start somewhereground up. It is literally like turning lead into gold, he says. But I believe its more important, because you cant drink lead or gold. Things Go Better With Coke But theres a problem. Each Slingshot costs a few hundred thousand dollars to build. Hes jokingly labeled metallic components with names like Expensium, Unobtainium, and Unreliabilium. Kamen realized he needed marketing and distribution, and so he decided to partner with companies that could distribute Slingshots globally. But first, some more engineering work was needed to lower production costs$2,000 per machine would be nice. The Coca-Cola Company decided to help Kamen spread Slingshot technology with its so-called Ekocenters, which are sort of little 7-Elevens that sell beverages (like Coke) and snacks but also feature free, clean water. They tested 15 units in Ghana, whereupon Coke and Kamens company pledged to deploy 2,000 Slingshot units in Africa, Asia, and Latin America by the end of 2015. Results What millions of African children are used to is their mothers arduous marches to rivers and boreholes, and classic, long African treks home, balancing gigantic water containers on top of their heads. Not to mention the boiling, the waiting overnight for the biomass to settle, and the abundant use of chlorine tablets. In Slingshot, we get to see some of the initial testing of Kamens masterpiece in rural parts of Ghana. Seeing young children turn on a tap for the first time in their lives, and get clean, running water does the heart good; its miraculous to them. Much of the rest of the world has been fortunate enough to take everything having to do with water for granted. Pakro Methodist School boys getting clean tap water from Slingshot water purifier in Slingshot. (DEKA Research and Development/White Dwarf Productions) Kamen says people in developing regions of the world need the Slingshot as soon as possible. Hes also pretty sure the worlds water pollution problem will quickly spread beyond small villages in developing countries. Californias droughts are no joke. The crisis isnt just over there anymore. Its in our backyard, and if we dont pay attention to this, well soon be in a fairly desperate situation regarding water. SlingShot, the documentary, should have had as wide a distribution as possible in 2015, but it opened at exactly one New York venue. SlingShot Documentary Director: Paul Lazarus Starring: Dean Kamen Running Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes Release Date: July 10, 2015; streaming on Amazon Prime Video 4.5 stars out of 5 Mark Jackson is the senior film critic for The Epoch Times. Mark has 20 years experience as a professional New York actor, a classical theater training, a BA in philosophy, and recently narrated the Epoch Times audiobook, How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World: https://www.thespecterofcommunism.com/en/audiobook/ Rotten Tomatoes page: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/mark-jackson/movies The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the governing NPP, according to the party General Secretary, Mr. John Boadu, would soon meet to take a strong position on developments regarding the partys 2024 flagbearership contest, which he described as completely backward, unproductive and distractive. This follows concerns expressed by the partys rank and file on the matter during the nationwide thank you tour of the National Executives of the party. The grassroots of the party have expressed their disaffection and revulsion at the conduct of some leading members of the party with presidential ambitions, who are said to be engaged in some covert maneuverings towards bringing their ambitions into fruition. They are particularly averse to the actions of some overzealous supporters of these flagbearer hopefuls who are engaged in smear campaign and mudslinging especially on social media platforms against one another. Accordingly, the grassroots urged the leadership of the party to take immediate steps to arrest the situation before it gets out of hand. Reacting to these legitimate concerns of the partys rank and file, during the National Executives engagement sessions with party grassroots in the Savanna Regional Capital, Damango, on Friday, April 9, 2021, as part of their nationwide thank you tour, the NPP Chief Scribe stated among other things that: the partys National Executive Committee (NEC) is scheduled to meet very soon to deliberate on developments regarding the 2024 flagbearership contest, and would most definitely, take a strong position on the matter in order to ensure that every member of the party regardless of their status is called to order. The party is much bigger than the individual ambitions of its leading members. We have not even reached the stage where the party is considering guidelines or rules and regulations for the 2024 flagbearership contest, which is three years away per the party constitution. It is therefore way too early for anybody having ambition to contest in the 2024 flagbearership race to make public such ambitions, because time is just not rife. John Boadu proceeded to remind members of the party that the partys current interest and preoccupation, is to concern itself on how it can help the yet to be fully constituted Akufo-Addo government deliver on its second term mandate to the Ghanaian people, and not matters of who should succeed President Akufo-Addo. We just won the 2020 elections, and the President is still in the process of forming his government with the appointment of Ministers, Deputies, CEOs and governing Boards of the various State Institution, for us to start implementing our campaign promises. Our victory in 2024 will, by all means, be dependent on how this yet to be constituted second-term Akufo Addo led government performs. So, why are we rushing to look for a successor for the President when he hasnt even finished forming his government? We, as leaders of the party, wont allow such backwardness and distractions, John Boadu stressed, receiving thunderous applause from his audience. 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 Microsoft has today announced that it has entered into an agreement to buy Nuance Communications for around $19.7 billion. The deal is designed to bolster Microsofts cloud, AI and healthcare businesses, using Nuances know-how in those fields to improve the software giants own products. In the announcement, Microsoft specifically singles out Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, which Nuance was already involved with, as a key beneficiary of the deal. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella tweeted that AI is technologys most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application. In a statement, the CEO added that Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare point of delivery, and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise AI. As well as AI, Nuance has a storied history in developing voice control, and previously provided the speech-recognition engine for Siri. AI is technologys most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application. Together with @NuanceInc, we will put advanced AI solutions into the hands of professionals to drive better decision-making and create more meaningful connections. https://t.co/ipdP6qZTx9 Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) April 12, 2021 The deal is, naturally, subject to the usual regulatory checks and balances, but is expected to be done by the end of this year. Mark Benjamin, CEO of Nuance, will remain in his role while the unit is folded in to the companys Cloud division. Its not clear what will happen to Nuances customer-facing projects, but it's likely that many of them will be folded in to Microsoft's many-and-varied services. Standing in front of a table of disposable masks and hand sanitizer, Principal Christian Ledesma greeted his students in person for the first time in more than a year. He offered "good mornings" and waves, even sticking his foot out to bump shoes with a student as a socially-distanced welcome to Wellstone International High School in south Minneapolis. "They can't see how much I'm smiling through my mask," he said. "It's exciting to actually have people in the building instead of just hearing their voices over a computer." About 100 students arrived at Wellstone for in-person classes Monday, marking the first time Minneapolis high schoolers were back in school buildings since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic began last spring, when instruction went online. Middle schoolers across Minneapolis will return to in-person instruction next week. The city's elementary schools began reopening in February. Schools must still offer a distance learning option and secondary teachers in Minneapolis will be teaching both in-person and remote students simultaneously four days a week. The fifth weekday is set aside for distance learning, teacher planning and student-teacher meetings. St. Paul will reopen its middle and high schools on Wednesday. The district will offer in-person classes four days a week for a shortened school day, allowing teachers to focus on their in-classroom students for part of the day before shifting to teaching distance learners. In Minneapolis, Ledesma said Monday morning felt like the "second first day of school," but there were noticeable differences inside the building. Desks were spaced at least three feet apart to ensure social distancing and many teachers wore masks and face shields and used plastic shields around their desks. "It looks a little clinical," Ledesma said. "But once we're all together with people that we know, there will be that energy again. It'll soon feel warm and welcoming in those classrooms." Mara Klecker 612-673-4440 The states where the cases are increasing at an alarming rate are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala. 63,294 new Covid-19 infections have been reported by the state of Maharashtra in the past 24-hours while Uttar Pradesh reported 12,748 new infections. India is on a mission to speed up its vaccination drive as the country battles the 2nd wave of Coronavirus. As per the Union Health Ministry, over 1,68,912 new Covid-19 cases have been registered in the past 24-hours, taking the number of active cases to 1,35,27,717. The number of deaths reported in the last 24-hours was 904 which takes the Covid-19 death toll to 1,70,179. Since last week, India has been reporting over 1-Lakh Coronavirus cases every day, todays spike in the cases is the highest until now. The states where the cases are increasing at an alarming rate are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala. 63,294 new Covid-19 infections have been reported by the state of Maharashtra in the past 24-hours while Uttar Pradesh reported 12,748 new infections. The number of samples tested for Coronavirus on Sunday was 11,80,136 and India has administered 10,45,28,565 Covid-19 vaccine doses in the country. As the 2nd wave rages, India has also stepped up its vaccination drive by kicking off the Tike Utsav where the ongoing vaccination drive has been expanded. 1,21,56,529 people in India has also recovered from Covid-19 meetings are being held by top leaders to discuss ways to curb the spread. Also read: Protect Indian scientists: SC to hear ISRO espionage case tomorrow, time for Dr Nambis vindication? Also read: War of words erupts over Bengal violence, Didi calls it genocide while Shah counters with provoked firing Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday appealed to people to raise their voice for Vaccination for all. He wrote in a tweet that the country needed vaccines against coronavirus and he asked people to raise their voice for this. He added that everyone had the right to have a safe life. Speak up for vaccination for all, added Rahul Gandhi. Also read: Canadas UBC cancels journalist event on farmers movement: Pressure from Sikh activists at play? [April 12, 2021] Icon Ventures Expands its Global Footprint to Europe and Canada PALO ALTO, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Icon Ventures, a leading Silicon Valley based venture capital firm specializing in Series B and C investing, today announced a broader global footprint. In addition to its offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco as well as its Asia Business Development team based in Tokyo, Icon has formally launched Icon Venture Capital Europe Ltd. and Icon Tech Recruiting Canada Ltd. Icon's new European activities will be based in Dublin to co-invest with leading venture firms active across Europe. General Partner Michael Mullany, a native of Ireland, is on point for this effort. Mullany joined Icon Ventures in 2014 and has led the firm's investments in Alation, Timescale, Remesh, Paravision, Datrium (acquired by VMware) and Streamlabs (acquired by Logitech). "Europe has established itself as a market with exceptional talent and the innovative products needed to create great companies," commented Mullany. "With the emergence of category leaders like Stripe, Spotify, UiPath and others, we found ourselves increasingly looking to Europe for compelling investment opportunities consistent with our investment model." Mullany has relocated to Dublin and is supported by Icon's U.S. team. Icon Ventures is also announcing its Canadian Engineering Talent Program, based in Toronto, Canada. This program is designed to be a complete turnkey service for Icon portfolio companies to recruit and establish thir operations in Canada while capturing significant cost savings. Armand Obreja, a seasoned recruiter experienced in hiring high-quality engineering talent in Canada, will lead this effort for Icon Ventures. According to Obreja, "The exceptional technical programs within Canadian universities from Toronto to Montreal to Vancouver have spawned a plethora of highly skilled engineering talent that are wonderful fits for most tech start-ups." Obreja has already demonstrated great results from his recruiting efforts for two of Icon's portfolio companies. In support of its new global and domestic activities, Icon is announcing the promotion of Peter Yi from Principal to Partner. Yi joined Icon in 2014 and has proven himself to be a valuable member of the team, with great skills and insights in areas including tech sector research and quality investment due diligence. He also provides important and highly valued operational support for portfolio companies. According to Joe Horowitz, Managing General Partner, "At Icon it has been a core belief that venture capital works best with relatively small, proven, deeply integrated teams. Fortunately, through the digital transformation accelerated by Covid and with today's collaboration tools, we can widen our aperture geographically while still maintaining a tight-knit organization focused on world-class entrepreneurs and extraordinary co-investors. It is a truly exciting time for our firm and for venture capital." About Icon Ventures Icon Ventures believes that great companies start with extraordinary entrepreneurs. Icon Ventures is a best-in-class venture capital firm specializing in Series B and C financings. With over $1.1 billion under management, Icon leads financings alongside the most successful early-stage venture firms in companies that are category winners. To date, Icon Ventures has had 33 successful exits that exceed over $90 billion in exit value. They include Aster Data (Teradata), Bill.com (BILL), FireEye (FEYE), 41st Parameter (Experian), Infinera (INFN), MoPub (Twitter), Opcity (News Corp), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Proofpoint (PFPT) and Teladoc (TDOC). For more information visit iconventures.com and follow @iconventures. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/icon-ventures-expands-its-global-footprint-to-europe-and-canada-301266399.html SOURCE Icon Ventures [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] TORONTO, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today released a new study that explores the impact of the pandemic on the behaviours and attitudes of retail investors. This study is part of the OSC's ongoing efforts to monitor the impact of the pandemic on investors and markets. The COVID-19 pandemic has uniquely affected the financial situation of each retail investor. Most investors are simply trying to endure the hardship and uncertainty of the pandemic, but some see it as an opportunity to increase their participation in the capital markets. "We continue to see the uneven impact that this crisis is having on retail investors," said Tyler Fleming, Director of the Investor Office at the OSC. "Understanding how the pandemic is affecting different segments of the population is essential for supporting retail investors during this difficult time." The study has several findings, including: Being Financially Unprepared: Nearly one in ten reported having faced an unexpected expense of $5,000 or more due to COVID-19. Nearly one in ten reported having faced an unexpected expense of or more due to COVID-19. Shifting Circumstances : 32 per cent of investors reported being in a worse financial situation while sixteen per cent found their financial situation to be improved. : 32 per cent of investors reported being in a worse financial situation while sixteen per cent found their financial situation to be improved. Financial Contributions : 80 per cent of investors have continued saving for important goals such as retirement and their children's education. : 80 per cent of investors have continued saving for important goals such as retirement and their children's education. Uneven impact: 58 per cent of households earning less than $50,000 per year stopped contributing to one or more savings goals. Closely Reviewing Financial Priorities: Seventy-three per cent of investors agree they should save more money for emergencies. Seventy-three per cent of investors agree they should save more money for emergencies. Passive and Active Investors: 52 per cent of investors had not bought or sold any investments during the pandemic. Women and older Canadians were more likely to have not bought any investments. The other half of investors have been active in buying or selling investments. 52 per cent of investors had not bought or sold any investments during the pandemic. Women and older Canadians were more likely to have not bought any investments. The other half of investors have been active in buying or selling investments. Net Buyers : 63 per cent of active investors increased their holdings by buying more investments than they sold. : 63 per cent of active investors increased their holdings by buying more investments than they sold. Selling investments: Those who sold did so to pay for expenses (29 per cent) and to realize profits from increased market prices (17 per cent). to pay for expenses (29 per cent) and to realize profits from increased market prices (17 per cent). Buying investments: Those who bought mainly did so because they make contributions on a regular basis (30 per cent) or because they saw a buying opportunity because assets were undervalued (28 per cent). Those who bought mainly did so because they make contributions on a regular basis (30 per cent) or because they saw a buying opportunity because assets were undervalued (28 per cent). Divided Beliefs about the Future: Thirty-six per cent of investors think that the pandemic will affect their financial situation until the fall of 2021 while 35 per cent think it will affect them for longer. The full survey findings are available online at https://www.osc.ca/en/investors/investor-research-and-reports. The OSC conducted a survey of 2,000 Canadians between September 25 to October 5, 2020 to further its understanding of retail investor experiences during the pandemic. These findings will be used to inform investor protection and education efforts related to the ongoing pandemic and economic recovery. Visit GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca for helpful resources about your finances and investments during the pandemic. The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices, to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets, and to contribute to the stability of the financial system and the reduction of systemic risk. Investors are urged to check the registration of any persons or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC investor materials available at http://www.osc.gov.on.ca. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Visit us at: InvestorOffice.ca investingquestions.ca GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca SOURCE Ontario Securities Commission For further information: For Media Inquiries: [email protected]; For Investor Inquiries: [email protected] Related Links http://www.osc.gov.on.ca [April 12, 2021] Intermap to Webcast Live at VirtualInvestorConferences.com on April 15 DENVER, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Intermap Technologies (TSX: IMP.TO) (OTCQX: ITMSF) ("Intermap" or the "Company"), a global leader in geospatial intelligence solutions, today announced that Patrick A. Blott, Intermap Chairman and CEO, will present live at VirtualInvestorConferences.com on April 15, 2021. DATE: Thursday, April 15, 2021 TIME: 12:00 PM ET LINK: https://bit.ly/30QIrID This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the Company questions in real time. If attendees are unable to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will be made available after the event. It is recommended that investors register in advance and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates. Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com. Intermap is a geospatial solutions company that is well-positioned in several high growth markets, including government, drones, insurance, telecommunications and satellite orthorectification. The Company has patented technology, a proprietary data library and innovative software to meet the demands of the geospatial industry. With a long history of collecting, processing, analyzing and delivering 3D terrain data, from all sources, Intermap answers questions and solves problems with speed, accuracy, recency, and global scale, made simple for non-expert users. The Company is a world leader in producing 3D elevation models, used by governments and businesses to understand their terrain environment. The global geospatial market is approximately $552 billion in size. Having eliminated its corporate debt and rebuilt its pipeline, ntermap is poised to capitalize on the broad, deep and growing demand for geospatial solutions. Recent Company Highlights Increased demand for NEXTView aviation dataset leads to subscription-based strategic agreement with Wingcopter GmbH Supports digital infrastructure with orthorectification as-a-service to orthorectify 200 airports with up to 1-meter accuracy Partners with Anchor Point to support wildfire underwriting with new version of No-HARM wildfire model available in InsitePro Intermap Reader Advisory Certain information provided in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast", "will be", "will consider", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although Intermap believes that these statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Intermap's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to, among other things, cash available to fund operations, availability of capital, revenue fluctuations, nature of government contracts, economic conditions, loss of key customers, retention and availability of executive talent, competing technologies, common share price volatility, loss of proprietary information, software functionality, internet and system infrastructure functionality, information technology security, breakdown of strategic alliances, and international and political considerations, as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed Intermap's Annual Information Form and other securities filings. While the Company makes these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that the Company will derive therefrom. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Intermap or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements made herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities law. About Intermap Technologies Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap (TSX: IMP; OTCQX: ITMSF) is a global leader in geospatial intelligence solutions. The Company's proprietary NEXTMap database and value-added geospatial data management, processing, analytics, fusion and orthorectification software and solutions are utilized across a range of industries that rely on accurate, high-resolution elevation data, including aviation, engineering, environmental planning, government markets, hydrology, insurance, land management, law enforcement and patrol, oil and gas, renewable energy, telecommunications, transportation and utilities. Intermap's commercial applications include location-based intelligence, risk assessment, geographic information systems, global positioning systems and 3D visualization. For more information, please visit www.intermap.com. About Virtual Investor Conferences Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly-traded companies to meet and present directly with investors. A real-time solution for investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences is part of OTC Market Group's suite of investor relations services specifically designed for more efficient Investor Access. Replicating the look and feel of on-site investor conferences, Virtual Investor Conferences combine leading-edge conferencing and investor communications capabilities with a comprehensive global investor audience network. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intermap-to-webcast-live-at-virtualinvestorconferencescom-on-april-15-301266395.html SOURCE VirtualInvestorConferences.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Shivaami Cloud Services; a Google Cloud Premier Partner wins an award for the Most Trusted Brands of 2021 hosted by CNBC TV18 and Team Marksmen. Today I feel delighted to receive the title of Most Trusted Brands of India 2021. This is possible only with the hard work and dedication of our Team Shivaami and our customers who trust us when they need any help in the Google workspace. (formerly An Austrian Empress who lost her first child in infancy, her second in a murder-suicide and her sister to an accidental fire before being assassinated by an Italian anarchist has become the inspiration for a new Netflix series. The Empress will chart the life of the Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria, known as Sissi, who was the Empress of Austria for the latter half of the 19th century after marrying Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary as a teenager. Starring German actress Devrim Lingnau in the main role, the six-part series will delve into the royal's devastating life - from her controlling mother-in-law, the tragic deaths of her loved ones to her murder in 1898, with an anarchist stabbing her in her heart. It will also show how fitness fanatic Sissi was obsessed with her looks, having been dubbed the 'loveliest woman in Europe' at the age of 38. She performed 20 pull-ups every morning, before being laced into corsets to achieve a 19-inch waist and spent her days horse riding or hiking. As well as her veal face-mask, Sisi bathed in goats' milk, reduced stomach bloating by drinking five salted egg whites, and washed her admired locks in eggs and cognac. Against the backdrop of jealousy, intrigue and power struggles behind the scenes of the Habsburg court, the makers of the historical drama, which will air next June, no doubt hope the series will be as successful as The Crown. Netflix has announced a six-part series The Empress, which will document the life of the Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria, who was the Empress of Austria for the latter half of the 19th century Sissi was made the Empress of Austria for the latter half of the 19th century after marrying Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary as a teenager (pictured, with Franz Joseph) Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of Hungary by marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I, was born into the royal Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. Nicknamed Sisi (also Sissi), she enjoyed an informal upbringing before marrying Emperor Franz Joseph I at the age of sixteen. The marriage thrust her into the much more formal Habsburg court life, for which she was unprepared and which she found uncongenial. The Empress who was ' intelligent, passionate and rebellious': Netflix series aims to tell the moving story of Sissi for a contemporary audience With filming set to begin shortly, the series will chart Sissi's life from her teenage years onwards, when she first met Franz. Showrunner Katharina Eyssen said she and her co-writers Bernd Lange and Jana Nandzik are thrilled about the production, saying: 'The Empress offers us the chance to tell the moving story of Empress Elisabeth for a contemporary audience. 'According to a modern image of women. Devrim is not only a highly talented, multi-faceted actress, but for me embodies this very woman: intelligent, passionate, rebellious. 'Philip Froissant, for his part, will make of the role of Franz Joseph something we have not seen before: An ambivalent and fascinating ruler whose conflicts are more topical than ever.' Advertisement Early in the marriage she was at odds with her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, who took over the rearing of Elisabeth's daughters, one of whom, Sophie, died in infancy. Sophie had intended Franz to marry Sissi's elder sister Helene. However, he fell in love with Sissi at first sight after spending time with both the girls. The birth of the heir apparent, Crown Prince Rudolf, improved the Empress' standing at court, but her health suffered under the strain, and she would often visit Hungary for its more relaxed environment. She came to develop a deep kinship with Hungary, and helped to bring about the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary in 1867. The death of her only son and his mistress Mary Vetsera in a murdersuicide at his hunting lodge at Mayerling in 1889 was a blow from which Elisabeth never recovered. She withdrew from court duties and travelled widely, unaccompanied by her family. In 1890, she had a palace built on the Greek Island of Corfu that she visited often. The palace, Achilleion, featuring an elaborate mythological motif, served as a refuge. She was obsessively concerned with maintaining her youthful figure and beauty, which were already legendary during her lifetime. Elisabeth was, at 38, dubbed the 'loveliest woman in Europe.' She was a fitness fanatic and performed 20 pull-ups every morning on gymnastic rings. Afterwards, she'd be laced into corsets to achieve a 19in waist, and spent her days riding to hounds or hiking. As well as her veal face-mask, Sisi bathed in goats' milk, reduced stomach bloating by drinking five salted egg whites, and washed her admired locks in eggs and cognac. Photographs of her in her 40s and 50s show she was still astonishingly beautiful, with enviable flowing locks. The series, which will star German actress Devrim Lingnau (pictured) in the main role, will document her marriage as a teenager to husband Emperor Franz Joseph The series will likely document the challenges Sissi faced in the royal court, from jealousy to her challenges to adapt to her new life (left, and right, actress Devrim) Meanwhile the programme is also likely to document her obsessive beauty routine, which became legendary during her lifetime In 1897, her sister, Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, died in an accidental fire at the 'Bazar de la Charite' in Paris. Meanwhile, while travelling in Geneva in 1898, she was mortally wounded by an Italian anarchist named Luigi Lucheni, who stabbed her in the heart. Lucheni originally planned to kill the Duke of Orleans; but the Pretender to France's throne had left Geneva earlier for the Valais. Failing to find him, the assassin selected Elisabeth when a Geneva newspaper revealed that the elegant woman travelling under the pseudonym of 'Countess of Hohenems was the Empress Elisabeth of Austria. When Franz Joseph received the telegram informing him of Elisabeth's death, his first fear was that she had committed suicide. It was only when a later message arrived, detailing the assassination, that he was relieved of that notion. Photographs of her - in her 40s and 50s - show she remained astonishingly beautiful throughout her life Sissi's life was famously portrayed in a film of the same name in the 50s, with the titular character played by Romy Schneider (above) Sissi's life was famously portrayed in a film of the same name in the 50s, with the titular character played by Romy Schneider. Filming took place at the Habsburgs's seats of Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna and the Kaiserville near Salzburg, with the movies later becoming one of the most successful German-language productions in history. Eva van Leeuwen, Manager Local Originals for Netflix, said: 'We are immensely pleased to be able to retell the story of this dazzling and much-loved figure - with all the complexity that made up the empress - and thus to delight both an audience that will rediscover Sisi as well as the fans of the cult films from the 1950s. 'Hardly any other historical figure possesses so much fascination and charisma - even beyond the borders of Austria and Germany. 'We can't imagine a better team in front of and behind the camera to tell the story of Sisi and Franz and the Habsburg court for Netflix.' Expected launch of the new Netflix Original is spring 2022. BEIJING (AP) Chinas top disease control official, in a rare acknowledgement, said current vaccines offer low protection against the coronavirus and mixing them is among strategies being considered to boost their effectiveness. China has distributed hundreds of millions of doses of domestically made vaccines abroad and is relying on them for its own mass immunization campaign. But the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, said at a conference Saturday their efficacy rates needed improving. We will solve the issue that current vaccines dont have very high protection rates, Gao said in a presentation on Chinese COVID-19 vaccines and immunization strategies at a conference in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Its now under consideration whether we should use different vaccines from different technical lines for the immunization process. He also praised the benefits of mRNA vaccines, the technology behind the two vaccines seen as the most effective, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, months after questioning whether the then-unproven method was safe. In a message to The Associated Press, Gao said late Sunday night he was speaking about the effectiveness rates for vaccines in the world, not particularly for China. He did not respond to further questions about which vaccines he was referring to. He directed the AP to an interview he did with the state-owned Global Times, which has published several articles raising doubts about the safety of Pfizers mRNA vaccine. Gao was quoted by the outlet Sunday as saying he was misunderstood and merely talking in general terms about improving vaccine efficacy. Beijing earlier tried to promote doubt about the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which uses genetic code called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to prime the immune system. Health officials at a news conference Sunday didnt respond directly to questions about Gaos comment or about possible changes in official plans. But another CDC official said Chinese developers are working on mRNA-based vaccines. The mRNA vaccines developed in our country have also entered the clinical trial stage, said the official, Wang Huaqing. He gave no timeline for possible use. Experts say mixing vaccines, or sequential immunization, might boost effectiveness. Researchers in Britain are studying a possible combination of Pfizer-BioNTech and the AstraZeneca vaccine. Gao concluded his presentation Saturday with praise for mRNA vaccines and called for innovation in research. Everyone should consider the benefits mRNA vaccines can bring for humanity, Gao said. We must follow it carefully and not ignore it just because we already have several types of vaccines already. Gao previously questioned the safety of mRNA vaccines. He was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as saying in December he couldnt rule out negative side effects because they were being used for the first time on healthy people, saying there is a safety concern. Chinese state media and popular health and science blogs also questioned the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, though large-scale trials and the rollout of the vaccines in the U.S. have established its safety. China currently has five vaccines in use in its mass immunization campaign, three inactivated-virus vaccines from Sinovac and Sinopharm, a one-shot vaccine from CanSino, and the last from Gaos team in partnership with Anhui Zhifei Longcom. The effectiveness of the vaccines range from just over 50% to 79%, based on what the companies have said. The shot from Gaos team, was given emergency use approval a month ago, and has not publicly disclosed data yet about its efficacy. Pfizer and Modernas vaccines, which are primarily being used in developed countries, have both been shown to be about 95% in protecting against COVID-19 in studies. As of April 2, some 34 million people in China have received the full two doses of Chinese vaccines and about 65 million received one, according to Gao. Globally, public health experts have said that any vaccine that is 50% effective would be useful, and many governments have been eager to use Chinese vaccines as rich countries around the world have snapped up shots from Pfizer and Moderna. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said Friday 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 coronavirus pandemic, which was first detected in central China in late 2019, marks the first time the Chinese drug industry has played a role in responding to a global health emergency. Vaccines made by Sinovac, a private company, and Sinopharm, a state-owned firm, have made up the majority of Chinese vaccines distributed to several dozen countries including Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, Hungary, Brazil and Turkey. However, the companies have not publicly published peer-reviewed data on the final stage clinical trial research and been criticized for a lack of transparency. Sinovacs vaccine, for example, raised concerns when it was found to have different efficacy rates from each of the trials it conducted in different countries, ranging from around 50% to over 83%. A Sinovac spokesman, Liu Peicheng, acknowledged varying levels of effectiveness have been found but said that can be due to the age of people in a study, the strain of virus and other factors. Beijing has yet to approve any foreign vaccines for use in mainland China. The Sinovac spokesman, Liu, said studies find protection may be better if time between vaccinations is longer than the current 14 days but gave no indication that might be made standard practice. ___ Wu reported from Taipei. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Chinese vaccines were donated or exported to several dozen countries, not 22, and that Sinovac is a private company, not state-owned. By JOE McDONALD and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press The National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed), headquartered in the UAE, has unveiled its all-new branding and corporate identity, ushering in an exciting new chapter in the story of one of the countrys most promising companies. On Sunday April 11, the new company brand identity lit up the night sky in Downtown Dubai, during a spectacular lights and graphics show projected against the iconic Burj Khalifa. As the show drew to a conclusion, Tabreeds previous branding dramatically morphed into the all-new identity. This historic development followed Tabreeds Annual General Assembly (AGA), which was held virtually on March 21, confirming Tabreeds stellar performance throughout 2020. The company exceeded all expectations by reporting a 16.5% increase in net income to a record AED550 million ($150 million) and the addition of 221,100 Refrigeration Tons (RT) of capacity growth, resulting in the delivery of more than 1.4 million RT of cooling capacity. One of Tabreeds major success stories during 2020 was the acquisition of the worlds largest district cooling scheme in Downtown Dubai. The assembly also saw the companys shareholders approve a cash dividend of 5.75 fils per share and bonus shares of one share for every existing 45 shares for the financial year ending December 31, 2020. This equates to approximately 11.5 fils for each share at the current share price, representing a 10% increase on 2019s dividend. Despite its many challenges, 2020 had been a remarkable year for Tabreed and it remains well positioned to make significant progress in the near future. Honed and refined over many months by leading industry professionals, Tabreeds new corporate identity, built around essential for progress as a core brand positioning, is more closely aligned with the companys current strategy where business transformation and growth are to the fore. Reflecting Tabreeds core values, the branding is more modern and dynamic, bolder in look and feel, and able to accurately articulate the companys role in society: that of a catalyst for change with progress as its central tenet. Following the unveiling, Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, Tabreeds Chairman, said: Tabreed is a company founded on the unending pursuit of progress and this is abundantly clear with our new corporate identity. It accurately portrays us as dynamic, modern and forward-thinking. Essential for Progress represents what Tabreed is all about as we work together with our stakeholders, collaborators and customers, helping to shape a more sustainable future for communities all around the world. Tabreed provides essential district cooling services to the most prestigious landmarks in the UAE and the wider GCC and, for the past 12 months, has worked alongside Emaar to meet the requirements of Downtown Dubai, including Dubai Opera, Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa itself. Commenting on the event, Tabreeds Chief Executive Officer, Bader Al Lamki, said: Essential for Progress is at the core of what Tabreed is. A company providing a vital service, allowing people and communities to flourish, through the deployment of critical infrastructure, at the heart of the regions economic development. A company that drives progress, by fostering a progressive, diverse, inclusive, people-centred HR culture. A company that drive progress by executing on its ambitious expansion strategy to advance sustainable cooling globally and be an important contributor to the transition towards a greener, more sustainable economy. Unveiling our new brand identity on the Burj Khalifa was a fitting and appropriate springboard and, over the coming months and years, we will be telling our inspirational story to the world. Tabreed is a force for good in communities all around the globe and we look to the future with eager anticipation. We are catalysts for change and champions of sustainable progress, and I am certain our new look will resonate with anyone who sees it. -- Tradearabia News Service NASA has signed a deal to explore the feasibility of flying a US reality show contestant to the International Space Station (ISS), Space Hero Partnerships said in a press release on Monday WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2021) NASA has signed a deal to explore the feasibility of flying a US reality show contestant to the International Space Station (ISS), Space Hero Partnerships said in a press release on Monday. "Space Hero Partnerships has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA for a feasibility study of a proposed Space Hero mission to the International Space Station," the release said. "The Space Hero mission, targeted for 2023, will be provided by Axiom Space and may include a 24/7 immersive and interactive livestream." The signing was made to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering spaceflight, the release said. "The SAA is signed at a significant date in human history, as April 12, 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin. Since then, more than 500 professionals have risked their lives to create a path into space that is now reliable for humanity to explore," the statement read. Space Hero is the world's first-ever global casting show where contestants compete for a trip to the ISS, the release explained. Space Hero would send a civilian on a $55 million, 10-day trip to the ISS. The contest for the trip will begin at the end of 2021 and will be open to anyone over 18 and is fluent in English. The flight is planned for 2023 and Space Hero is planning 15 seasons over the next 30 years, eventually flying beyond the ISS to the Moon and Mars, the release said. Paris, TX (75460) Today Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 77F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. The federal Labor Party has offered subsidies on electric vehicles, cutting import taxes and fringe-benefit taxes on all non-luxury vehicles that cost below $77,500. The Victorian Labor Party, meanwhile, has announced an annual tax of about $300 on EVs. How are these policies, which are directly opposed to each other, not in conflict? It's also been called almost a beat-up, which is defined as "an artificially or disingenuously manufactured outcry, usually in the media". Seems to be a peculiarly Australian word. If one policy makes EVs less expensive and another results in them costing more, how does a statement to that effect become a beat-up? It is just a plain statement of fact. The problem with buying an EV is not the range, it's the price, goes the next argument. Who said so? The statement that claims range could be a problem for non-city dwellers isn't true. There are enough EVs that can be used off-road. Which individual is interested in "balancing the tax load"? Each and every person is interested in how it helps them financially. If someone can summon up the finances to pick up one of these EVs why should they bother about paying a cent more? Politicians have got people nicely conned if they can get them to think this way. The truth is that politicians in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia and more will follow were unprepared for the entry of EVs and are now frantically looking around for a way of raising money to plug the hole. Never mind that excise from petrol sales is never used for maintaining or building roads. Who believes government promises about future spending on things which are for the benefit of the citizenry? Remember Steve Bracks and his wonderful promise to give us a freeway, known as Eastlink, without any tolls? Remember John Howard and his never-ever GST? Recall Julia Gillard and her "no carbon tax" promise? And for good measure, let's not forget Tony "no funding cuts to the ABC, no funding cuts to SBS" Abbott. Politicians will say anything and everything when they are in a bind. Those who swallow such proclamations are naive. Politicians are not bothered about anything except having enough taxpayer funds to spend on their own vanities. Like taking an air force plane to go to Melbourne to watch the Melbourne Cup. The public? What's that? Any member of the public who backs the imposition of more taxes on a citizenry which is already paying through its nose and then some does not even deserve to be heard. The author has been using an EV since August last year, but even if he were not, he would not support the imposition of more taxes on people who are up to their ears in debt. WASHINGTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Three financial associations and a Chicago financial service executive are warning members of Congress, governors and state legislative leaders about a COVID-related practice of prohibiting cash payment for goods and services implemented by some businesses and companies. The practice is fraught with potentially devastating results to an already vulnerable population. In a letter to governmental leaders, top executives from the Secure Cash Transport Association (SCTA), Independent Armored Car Operators Association (IACOA), ATM Industry Association (ATMIA), and Davis Bancorp are asking leaders to support legislation that protects payment choice. According to the letter, "Although 25% of Americans rely on cash to complete daily transactions and over 50 million Americans have little to no access to formal banking channels, efforts to ban and discourage cash are mounting." "Considering the challenging economic environment, issuance of EIP payments, and tightening access to credit for many, banning cash constitutes disenfranchisement based on payment choice and direct discrimination against millions of citizens," the letter further stated. The authors of the letter went on to say that as the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to note official transmission guidance. "The virus spreads primarily from person to person and cash poses the same or less risk than plastic/card payments. There is no scientific basis for new concern about the safety of cash," they said. The letter from the associations follows a letter last month from J.R. Davis, president of Davis Bancorp where he warned, "While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us, it is no secret that it has been particularly devastating for those who have the least. You may not be aware that throughout Chicago and around the country some well-meaning companies and businesses have banned the use of cash and moved to a cashless system for all of their business transactions." "Although this decision may seem reasonable at first glance, it is not safer and is indeed harmful while disproportionally impacting the working poor and people of color," he said. "The real danger of this policy is for those already disproportionately suffering from the virus and that an inability to pay with cash means a reliance on costly third-party digital networks and sacrifice of consumer privacy. Most importantly, it means limited access to basic goods and services needed to survive," Davis concluded. The effort of the financial services executives is timely. In February, seven members of Congress sent a letter to President Biden requesting that his economic team work to protect the rights of consumers to pay for goods and services with cash at retail businesses. About Secure Cash Transportation Association Headquartered in Virginia, the Secure Cash Transportation Association (SCTA) is a non-profit association established to represent the shared interests of professionals in the financial services, cash logistics, and risk management industry throughout North America. Industries represented by the SCTA include insurance providers, vehicle manufacturers, depository institutions, retail corporations, and transportation operators from across the United States. About Independent Armored Car Operators Association Based in Texas, the Independent Armored Car Operators Association (IACOA) was founded to provide an association for privately owned armored car companies seeking to promote high standards of operation. IACOA members collaborate on areas of education, transportation, legislative awareness, and technological advances. Over its history, the organization has grown to include companies throughout the country. About ATM Industry Association The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) is the leading non-profit trade association representing the U.S. ATM industry and principally located in South Dakota. Members include banking institutions, independent ATM deployers, equipment manufacturers, processors, and other payment ecosystem providers committed to high standards of education and operations in the financial services industry. About Davis Bancorp Founded in 1951, Davis Bancorp is a privately held American, protective services and cash-in-transit company. Davis is headquartered in Chicago and responsible for high security logistics and high value operations at thousands of area institutions, including banking centers, commercial retailer stores, governmental facilities, and other client sites throughout the Midwest. SOURCE Davis Bancorp Related Links www.davisbancorp.com Greece plans to accept Ukrainian tourists from May 14 when it opens its borders to a number of countries outside the Schengen area, Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis has said in an interview with Ukrinform. "The reality is that we will be able to accept Ukrainian people coming to our borders and, of course, hopefully, Greeks that want to come to Ukraine. We have mixed marriages, we have people who have ties between the two countries and we want to allow these people to be able to travel," he said. Theocharis added that May 14 "is the date when we can project with confidence that things will go according to plan." According to him, to enter Greece, Ukrainians will need to present a negative PCR test or a vaccination certificate approved by the Ukrainian authorities. "We are waiting for the Ukrainian authorities to give us examples of those certificates so that we can check them at our borders. We are also trying to accept other vaccines [not approved by the European Medicines Agency]," Theocharis said. He also said that Greece was currently considering replacing a PCR test with an antigen test "to bring the cost of travel further down," which could be introduced from May 14. Upon arrival in Greece, Ukrainians and tourists from other countries will be randomly tested for COVID-19 at Greek airports, given the current situation of morbidity in a certain country. The minister added that children under the age of five would be able to enter Greece without a PCR test. "The discussion about the kids has changed since last year because it seems that the kids spread the disease a lot. So the minimum age they have decided on is five years old. A child over the age of five must present a negative test," Theocharis said. At the same time, he stressed that Greece would make the final decision on opening its borders in cooperation with health professionals, taking into account the epidemiological situation in the world. "We miss our friends from Ukraine, and we want to see your friendly faces again. We assure you that we in Greece are waiting for you with open arms, but we also do it in ways that suit both parties," he said. Greece earlier promised to open its borders to tourists on May 14, complying with a set of anti-coronavirus measures. They include, in particular, the confirmation of vaccination or negative tests at entry, a system of random EVA checks at borders and airports, isolation hotels for visitors with COVID-19, the vaccination of representatives of the tourism industry, which will begin after the vaccination of the vulnerable groups of citizens, and strict compliance with treatment protocols. op We are very excited to donate to such a worthy cause, said Craig Crock, the president of Southwest Solutions Group. We believe in the mission of The Underground and are proud that a Southwest Solutions storage unit can help the drop-in center operate more smoothly. Southwest Solutions Group, a Dallas-based company that sells B2B storage and efficiency products, recently presented a $6,000 donation to charitable organization Unbound North Texas. The donation will help the organization purchase a high-density storage unit for The Underground, a drop-in youth center operated by the organization. The Underground is the first youth drop-in center in Tarrant County. Its mission is to provide support and services to youth in need up to age 22. The center provides light meals, showers, laundry facilities, rest areas, and referrals to services. According to The Undergrounds website, Assured of their safety, youth sleep, eat, unwind through recreational activity, and have an opportunity to receive services as our advocates help facilitate their next steps, whether that is returning home, rehab, shelter, or other long-term residential option. The high-density storage unit that Unbound North Texas will purchase will store donated clothing, shoes, toiletries, and more to be made available to those in need. We are very excited to donate to such a worthy cause, said Craig Crock, the president of Southwest Solutions Group. We believe in the mission of The Underground and are proud that a Southwest Solutions storage unit can help the drop-in center operate more smoothly. One of the primary demographics of The Underground is trafficked youth. According to the drop-in centers website, 75% of trafficked youth are exploited for two or more years before being recovered or identified, while 50% of these youth were 14 or under when the exploitation started. To learn more about The Underground, visit https://unboundnorthtexas.org/underground. Visitors can donate to Unbound North Texas by clicking the orange Donate button at the top of the web page. About Southwest Solutions Group Founded in 1969, Southwest Solutions Storage Group is a solution-oriented, business-to-business company that provides innovative efficiency systems to all types of businesses and government agencies. Headquartered in Dallas, the company employs over 100 highly experienced storage professionals, operating out of 16 offices nationwide. Visit https://www.southwestsolutions.com/ or call (866) 447-9409. DUBLIN, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GH Research Ireland Ltd ("GH Research", "the Company" or "We") today announced the closing of a $125 million Series B financing co-led by RA Capital and RTW Investments, LP, U.S.-based biopharmaceutical investment firms, alongside existing investor BVF Partners. Other new investors in the Series B round included Acuta Capital Partners, Boxer Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Deerfield Management Company, Logos Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners and Verition Fund Management. The Company's lead product, GH001, is an innovative drug product for 5-MeO-DMT administration via a proprietary inhalation approach. GH001 has completed a Phase 1 healthy volunteer clinical trial, where administration of GH001 was observed to be well-tolerated, and a dose range and individualized dosing regimen was also defined. GH001 is currently being investigated in an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression. The Company's goal is to administer GH001 in a single-day individualized dosing regimen that enables patients to achieve a rapid and durable remission with convenient administration. The Company plans to advance GH001 into clinical development in additional psychiatric and neurological disorders beyond Treatment-Resistant Depression. The Company also plans to advance GH002, its injectable 5-MeO-DMT product candidate, into clinical development, as well as explore additional drug delivery approaches. Cowen acted as exclusive placement agent for the offering. Dentons Ireland acted as legal advisor. About GH001 GH001 (5-MeO-DMT) is an innovative product candidate for administration via a proprietary inhalation approach. A healthy volunteer trial with GH001 has been completed, where administration of GH001 via inhalation was observed to be well-tolerated. A Phase 1/2 trial with GH001 in patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression is ongoing. About GH Research GH Research Ireland Ltd. is a privately-held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, founded in 2018, developing novel therapies for the management of psychiatric and neurological disorders. The Company's lead product candidate, GH001, has the potential to offer rapid and durable remissions in depression. The Company has several published and unpublished patent applications covering aerosol compositions of matter of 5-MeO-DMT, novel manufacturing methods of 5-MeO-DMT, and novel uses of 5-MeO-DMT in a number of disorders. For more information, see www.ghres.com. GH Research Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, all of which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Any statements contained herein that do not describe historical facts are forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, outcomes, timing and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the costs and uncertainties associated with our research and development efforts; the inherent uncertainties associated with the conduct, timing and results of nonclinical and clinical studies of our product candidates; our ability to obtain, maintain, enforce and defend issued patents; and the adequacy of our capital resources and availability of additional funding. Except as otherwise noted, these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1338155/GH_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE GH Research Ltd Related Links https://www.ghres.com A Spark concert that melds gospel music with orchestral sound and a Casual series concert featuring a virtuoso violinist round out Symphorias April programming. Both concerts will be accessible In remote performances with tickets available at 315-299-5598. World recognized gospel music specialist, Dr. Joan Hillsman will join Principal Pops Conductor Sean OLoughlin April 17 for a performance that includes traditional and contemporary music. On the program are God is Trying to Tell You Something, from the score of The Color Purple; How Majestic is Your Name, and the closing piece, Amazing Grace. After intermission, viewers will see a performance by Joan Hillsmans Music Network. A retired supervisor of music from Washington, D.C. public schools, Hillsman moved to Syracuse in 2009, where she is an advocate for education and has organized the local chapter of the Gospel Workshop of America. OLoughlin will be on stage at Inspiration Hall to conduct, and the concert, like all performances for the rest of this season, will be livestreamed. From familiar gospel favorites to contemporary songs, Gospel Meets the Symphony will be an exciting evening of soulful and spiritual music, OLoughlin said from his California home. Symphoria musicians are excited to share the stage with some of the best performers in the Syracuse gospel community for a fusion of symphony and gospel that will be unforgettable. CASUAL CONCERT Despite the travel restrictions resulting from the pandemic this year, ticketholders for the Casual concert April 25 can join Maestro Lawrence Loh for a musical trip to Paris. April in Paris will feature violinist Hannah White and musicians of Symphoria for a livestream performance at 3 p.m. We are delighted to welcome this brilliant young violinist to perform the Saint-Georges Violin Concerto No. 1 with Symphoria, Loh said. Among her many first place wins in competitions around the world, she was the Sphinx Competition Junior Division First Place winner in 2015, which is how I heard about her. Im confident Hannah will dazzle the audience with her virtuosity, and I look forward to working with her for the first time. The program comprises Mozarts Paris Symphony, No. 31 in D major, and Haydns Symphony No. 82 in C major, called Lours; The Bear, as well as Saint-Georges Violin Concerto in G major. For tickets, visit experiencesymphoria.org or call 315-299-5598. Ticketholders will be sent a one-time link in the week preceding each concert. G7 Ambassadors reaffirm importance of fulfilling terms of IMF SBA, EU MFA at meeting with PM G7 Ambassadors at a meeting with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stressed the importance of fulfilling the conditions of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) 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. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has broken ranks with his network to voice support for former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield's belief that the virus that causes COVID-19 most likely escaped accidentally from a lab in Wuhan. Last month, Redfield opened up in an interview with Gupta for a CNN special, saying he believes an accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology is the 'most likely' origin for the coronavirus pandemic. CNN commentators sneered at Redfield's opinion, with the network in one tweet insisting there was 'a lack of clear evidence' for the lab escape theory, but Gupta backed Redfield up in an interview published on Thursday. 'He's an experienced virologist. He was also head of the CDC at the time this was happening, which means that in addition to everything that we know, he had access to raw data and raw intelligence that was coming out of China,' Gupta told Mediaite's The Interview podcast. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta now says that he finds Dr. Redfield's theory about a lab-escape origin of COVID-19 'informed' and 'the most likely' scenario Redfield, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made headlines last month by saying he believes COVID-19 'escaped' from a virology lab in Wuhan, China 'My point is that it's a much more informed sort of thing for him to be saying than for anybody who may have expertise in virology, because he has a lot more knowledge and information that he has that maybe he can't share, but is informing his opinion,' said Gupta. 'I was not as shocked by what he said as the fact that he said it,' Gupta said. 'There's reason to suspect that this is the origin of the virus.' 'It's a big virology lab right in Wuhan that happened to be studying bat coronaviruses. Just from an Occam's razor standpoint, finding the simplest explanation, it would make sense,' he said, adding, 'We still don't know for certain what the origin is.' China has furiously denied that coronavirus escaped from its lab, instead placing the blame on a 'wet market' in Wuhan, where live animals could have transmitted the virus to humans. In his interview with Mediaite, Gupta pointed out that there was also no solid evidence pointing to the wet market as the origin, and questioned the likelihood of that theory. Redfield made headlines last month with his explosive interview with Gupta, when he said: 'I'm of the point of view that I still think the most likely etiology of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a laboratory... escaped. Other people don't believe that, that's fine. Science will eventually figure it out.' China insists the virus crossed to humans from animals at a wet market, but Redfield believes the most likely origin is accidental escape from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (above) 'It's not unusual for respiratory pathogens that are being worked on in laboratories to infect the laboratory worker,' he said. 'That's not implying any intentionality. It's my opinion, right? But I am a virologist. I have spent my life in virology.' Dr. Anthony Fauci rushed to throw cold water on Redfield's theory, insisting that the virus would have spread more quickly if it had already been exposed to human cells in a lab. But the virus' rate of spread was evidence cited by Redfield to support his opinion. A team of World Health Organization-led investigators late last month released their report claiming that a lab leak was 'extremely unlikely' as a cause of the pandemic, but WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus admitted that China withheld crucial data from the team. The United States, the European Union and other Western countries have all called for China to give 'full access' to independent experts to all data about the original outbreak in late 2019. One of the team's investigators has already said China refused to give raw data on early COVID-19 cases to the WHO-led team, potentially complicating efforts to understand how the global pandemic began. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying insisted that the WHO team had been given full access to the Wuhan lab, and called the country's critics 'unethical.' Redfield was appointed CDC director by President Donald Trump The WHO slammed China for not giving investigators full access to data from the Wuhan lab (seen in February), an allegation China denied and called 'unethical' More than 562,000 Americans have now died of COVID-19 since the pandemic broke out and there have been over 31 million confirmed cases across the country. In January, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the WHO to fully investigate the possibility that the COVID-19 virus accidentally escaped from a Wuhan lab as he revealed new intelligence that he said raised troubling questions. 'Beijing continues today to withhold vital information that scientists need to protect the world from this deadly virus, and the next one,' Pompeo said. Among the new US intel that he cited included a claim that researchers at the lab fell ill in the fall of 2019 with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, that scientists there were working with a bat coronavirus that is 96.2 percent similar genetically to the virus that causes COVID, and that the lab has secret links to the Chinese military. Pompeo also revealed that researchers at the Wuhan lab had been studying a bat coronavirus known as RaTG13 since 'at least 2016'. The RaTG13 strain was identified by the Wuhan lab as its genetically closest sample to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at 96.2 percent similarity. The State Department said that the Wuhan lab obtained RaTG13 in a sample from a cave in Yunnan Province in 2013, after several miners there died of SARS-like illness. Though the Wuhan lab has a published record of conducting 'gain-of-function' research on virus to enhance their lethality or transmissiblility, the State Department says the lab 'has not been transparent or consistent about its record of studying viruses most similar to the COVID-19 virus, including RaTG13.' Pompeo also asserted that despite ostensibly being a civilian institution, the Wuhan lab has worked on 'secret projects with China's military.' 'The WIV has engaged in classified research, including laboratory animal experiments, on behalf of the Chinese military since at least 2017,' Pompeo said. He called on Beijing to allow the WHO investigation team free reign to pursue their inquiry, including access to the Wuhan lab. David Zalubowski, STF / Associated Press A bill that could deter whistleblowers and hinder the reporting of animal cruelty, health, safety, and other violations on factory farms and slaughterhouses is moving swiftly through the Texas Legislature. So-called Ag-Gag laws, similar to HB 1480, gag would-be whistleblowers and undercover activists by punishing them for exposing what goes on in animal agriculture. As currently drafted, certain provisions in HB 1480 are so vague that prosecutors could interpret them to punish whistleblowers who may take records from a facility that document wrongdoing, for example. Criminal laws can be struck down by courts for being too vague, and The Animal Legal Defense Fund has led coalitions across the country to strike down these dangerous laws. Weve been successful time and time again. Courts have already ruled that similar laws in Iowa, Idaho, Kansas and North Carolina are unconstitutional on free-speech grounds. These lawsuits arent cheap for states to defend, and both the costly litigation and subsequent legal fees are paid for with taxpayer dollars. That ag-gag bills continue to be introduced and enacted by state legislatures is a testament to the massive political power of animal agribusiness. NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuveen, the global investment manager of TIAA, today highlights the key shareholder proposal themes that will drive the corporate agenda this year by releasing its 2021 Proxy Season Preview. Building on trends seen in prior years, the increased attention to ESG from shareholders, stakeholders, and regulators sets up 2021 as a year of record support for shareholder proposals, potentially increasing votes against boards that are not keeping pace with ESG transparency and accountability. Nuveen anticipates more willingness from mainstream investors to use their votes to convey a stance on central ESG issues such as climate change and diversity & inclusion. "The rise in popularity of ESG funds and increased focus on how companies are treating stakeholders is a barometer for how deeply invested shareholders are in the impact that companies are having on society, their employees and the environment," said Amy O'Brien, Global Head of Responsible Investing at Nuveen. "Investor expectations for material ESG impact continues to ascend while the market aligns on standardization. There is an inextricable link between stewardship and responsible investing that will only strengthen." Specifically, Nuveen expects heightened attention on the following areas. Climate related proposals will focus on accountability and outcome. While many companies acknowledge climate risk and are making commitments, there is still a need for robust disclosure. Now, investors also expect accountability for their performance toward a low-carbon transition. Another possible reason for the expanded scope of climate-related proposals could be the SEC's recent precedents on no-action requests have limited the ability to get traditional climate proposals to a vote. 2021 could become a watershed year for environmental proposals receiving majority support. Diversity and inclusion proposals will move beyond gender. Diversity and inclusion is now the most common human capital management issue addressed in proxy statements, both when it comes to boards and, more recently, in terms of the broader workforce. What is new for board diversity in 2021 is an increased focus on race/ethnicity. While less than 10% of boards in the Russell 3000- and none in the S&P 500- lack gender diversity, nearly 40% of the Russell 3000 lack apparent racial/ethnic diversity. Racial equity from a supplier, customer and community perspective will also draw attention through proposals requesting accountability in business practices. Companies will be held accountable for their response to COVID-19. Some of the biggest news drivers from 2020 have made their way to 2021 proxy season. Amidst shareholder calls for corporate accountability for paid sick leave and other health and safety policies for employees, and in some cases, for employees to be represented on boards, the essential worker has become a more cohesive and high profile stakeholder group. Political activities and executive compensation will be scrutinized. Shareholder proposals on political activities have been the most-voted proposal of each of the past two years, gaining increasing investor support. Recent political unrest adds to this trend, with investors keen to see whether companies maintain announced changes to policies on direct political contributions. Additionally, shareholder proponents are requesting that ESG factors be integrated into executive compensation design in order to create accountability for executing on ESG commitments. "Proxy voting is shareholders' primary means of communicating views to companies and demonstrating conviction on how an investors' values align with corporate practices. This year's proxy season is representative of the key issues that dominated social media engagement and news headlines in 2020 and through the start of this year," said Peter Reali, Nuveen's Head of Engagement. "Companies who are able to demonstrate that they are making long-term, positive changes related to climate change, diversity, and employee health benefits will prove their long-term sustainability to investors." Nuveen's 2021 Proxy Season Preview is available here. For more information about Nuveen's approach to responsible investing, please visit www.nuveen.com/en-us/thinking/responsible-investing. About Nuveen Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.2 trillion in assets under management as of 31 Dec 2020 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com GPS-1580616PR-E0421X Contact: Sally Lyden Nuveen Media Relations [email protected] 646-662-3490 SOURCE Nuveen Related Links https://www.nuveen.com People participate in a protest to demand an end to anti-Asian violence April 4 in New York City. In New Jersey April 10, Indian American state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal spoke about the historical significance of APPI communities and families again being under attack. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) There's another hip-hop icon who's dominating the headlines after the death of DMX - and that is rapper Black Rob. The 51-year-old "Whoa!" hitmaker paid tribute to DMX while lying in a hospital bed. Black Rob explained he's experiencing "crazy pain." He also talked about how he felt for the rap legend, who passed away on Friday, and Black Rob said he had "big love" for DMX. DJ Self, who shared the video on Instagram, wrote in the caption, "Let's keep our prayers up, Black Rob! Get well, man. Please, people out there, take care of yourself. BR was one of the greats had NY on his back like Whaooo." READ ALSO: Black Rob in the Hospital Health Condition Update: 'Where is Diddy?' Fans Ask Black Rob Hospitalization: What Is His Illness? Fans shared their concern on social media after seeing his frail condition and unexpected hospitalization. As previously mentioned, in DJ Self's video Black Rob said he was experiencing "crazy pain." To add to that, the "Let's Get It" rapper reportedly doesn't know "What's going on, I don't know what the pain is." A day after the video circulated the web, another video of Black Rob went viral. In the clip, he revealed he has been dealing with this health condition for years and has suffered four strokes. He said, "I don't know what to tell you, man. S-t is crazy. The s-t is hard." Black Rob also revealed that he has also experienced homelessness in the past couple of years. "I don't got no house to live in - except maybe an apartment." But he also shared that he got out of the hospital and is "good." "I don't know what the people want to do, what the people going to say. I need some rest, man. Really, man. I need some rest. My side is killing me." This wasn't the first time Black Rob has publicly revealed he's suffering health issues and how it's affecting his life. In 2005, he revealed in an interview, and he admitted he had high blood pressure while suffering strokes on tour. "I got over that and trying to stay on top of this thing..... It's hard." READ ALSO: Kanye West's Life Amid Divorce: What's Going to Happen to Sunday Service Black Rob GoFundMe A good Samaritan, music producer, and rapper Mike Zombie created a GoFundMe page on Saturday for Black Rob. According to its description, the goal said that it would "help him find a home, pay for medical help & stability during these trying times." "We've lost a lot of legends, and we can't afford to lose anymore. This is my way to try and help." The page has a $50,000 goal, and as of writing, it currently raised $10,445. READ MORE: Armie Hammer Out: Hollywood Wants His Dad Michael Hammer Instead - Here's Why See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has described the choice of Ghana as headquarters for Twitters Africa operations as excellent news. Nana Akufo-Addo noted that this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the development of Ghanas hugely important tech sector. According to him, these are exciting times to be in and to do business in Ghana. The President said these in a tweet in reaction to Twitters announcement that it intends establishing its headquarters in Ghana. Making the announcement on its website, Twitter said its mission is to serve the public conversation, and its essential, for the world and for them to increase the number of people who feel comfortable participating in it. To do this, we need to make it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world. Today, in line with our growth strategy, were excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent, the statement said. Twitter said it is looking for specialists to join several teams including product, design, engineering, marketing and communications. Explaining why the company chose Ghana as its destination, Twitter noted as a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the open internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate. Furthermore, Ghanas recent appointment to host the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa. Twitter said when it enters a new market, it works hard to ensure that it is not just investing in the talent that it hires, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. As I indicated to @Jack in our virtual meeting of 7th April 2021, this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the devt of Ghanas hugely important tech sector. 2/3#TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021 The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitters Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Govt and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021 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 KYODO NEWS - Apr 12, 2021 - 23:43 | All, Japan, Coronavirus Japan began vaccinating the elderly against COVID-19 on Monday, while Tokyo as well as Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures imposed tougher restrictions to fight a resurgence of infections. People aged 65 or older, a group of roughly 36 million people, became eligible to receive shots, nearly two months after the country began vaccinating health care workers. A total of 1,139 seniors received COVID-19 shots on the first day of the vaccination drive targeting that particular age group, the government said. The government hopes to deliver the necessary amount of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, the only one approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare so far, to municipalities by late June. "We will work to ensure everyone can get their shots as soon as possible," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters after visiting a vaccination site in Hachioji, western Tokyo. Just over 1.1 million people in Japan have received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, less than 1 percent of its population of about 126 million. The Pfizer vaccine is administered twice, three weeks apart. The rollout has been held back by production delays and the European Union's export controls, which require individual shipments to be authorized, as well as Japan's requirement for clinical trials to be held domestically in order for vaccines to be approved. In a Kyodo News poll conducted over the weekend and Monday, 60.3 percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of vaccinations, compared with 36.5 percent who were not dissatisfied. Suga is rushing to bring the coronavirus under control with a little over three months until the Tokyo Olympics and ahead of a general election by the fall. Infections have been rising again across Japan, with 2,109 new cases confirmed nationwide on Monday. Osaka Prefecture in western Japan reported the highest number of cases at 603, followed by Tokyo at 306, the most for that day of the week since early February, when the capital was under a state of emergency. Hyogo and Aichi prefectures confirmed 159 and 122 new cases, respectively, the same day. The central government has designated prefectures with surging cases as requiring tougher measures to control the spread of the virus, but it has stopped short of declaring a third state of emergency, apparently hoping not to complicate efforts to host the postponed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer. Under the new measures in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa, restaurants and bars in densely populated areas are being asked to close by 8 p.m. and attendance at large events is capped at 5,000. The restrictions, which have been described as a quasi-state of emergency, will last through May 5 for Kyoto and Okinawa, and May 11 for Tokyo, covering the Golden Week holidays. Suga has called on people to refrain from nonessential travel between prefectures during this period, expressing concern over the spread of highly contagious variants of the virus. The torch relay for the Olympics, meanwhile, began in Japan in late March, several days after the end of the second state of emergency. The vaccination rate in Japan, which currently completely depends on imports for its coronavirus vaccine supply, lags far behind Britain and the United States. It is also lower than the global average of 5 percent. With an increasing strain on the medical system amid a resurgence of infections, there is concern that doctors and nurses may not be able to keep up with the vaccination schedule. Japan launched the vaccination program in mid-February, starting with its about 4.8 million health care workers. It is expected that the rollout will rev up from the final week of April, when all of the 1,741 municipalities in Japan will have received one box. Elderly people from villages to cities expressed relief at having received their shots. The elderly, who compose around 29 percent the population, tend to develop more serious symptoms than younger people when infected with the virus. At a clinic in Kitaaiki in the central Japan prefecture of Nagano, 100-year-old Kesaku Takamizawa was the first person in the village to receive a shot. "All the worry that I carried inside my head is gone," he said after showing no adverse reaction following his shot. His daughter-in-law, Yumiko, 67, was vaccinated next. She said that her daughters, who reside in the Tokyo metropolitan area, might now feel more comfortable about coming to see her again. "I hope that (as we have) taken this vaccine, my daughters will be able to visit," she said with a smile. In Hachioji, a city in Tokyo which is currently under a quasi-state of emergency, three doctors and six nurses were at the ready in the city hall for the elderly who made appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. "I thought it would hurt more, but it wasn't the case. I am thankful that I was one of the first," said Yoshitaka Akatsuka, 74. Reservations for the first 1,900 doses offered by Hachioji were filled within 90 minutes, the city said. In Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, the city is prioritizing nursing homes that have high numbers of people necessitating extensive care. It plans to send out doctors to vaccinate around 1,900 people in 30 facilities. A home for victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing in the city is planning to vaccinate around 300 residents within three days. "Those vaccinated seemed relieved. We would like to start considering how to resume family visits which have been suspended due to the pandemic," said Fusayo Tsutsumi, director of the home. Vaccine deliveries to all of Japan's prefectures started last week with distribution of 100 boxes, each enough for giving two shots to 500 people. Each prefecture received two boxes, except for populous Tokyo, Kanagawa and Osaka prefectures which received four. Following the elderly, people with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, and those working at elderly care facilities are slated to be inoculated next, after which vaccinations will eventually be extended to the rest of the population. I know people who have traveled 5, 6, 7, or even 8 hours one way to get their vaccine, Rickmon said. I know not everyone has the privilege of being able to stop what they are doing to drive multiple hours one way there and then back, but if you can drive far/have the ability to, it might make things a lot easier for you. New State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and new Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Photo Duc Thanh The National Assembly (NA) last Monday elected Vietnams new prime minister and new state president. The NA passed a resolution appointing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as the state president, and another resolution on assigning Pham Minh Chinh, Chairman of the Central Organisation Commission, to be the prime minister, both for the 2021-2025 tenure. After the ballot, the new leaders took the oath of office, vowing to be completely faithful to the country, people, and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Phuc, 67, received more than 97 per cent of the votes at a plenary session to become the 11th president since 1945, when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence to establish the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He is also the first prime minister in Vietnam to be elected as state president. In Vietnam, the state president is the countrys top representative in both internal and external affairs; and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Phuc was born in the central province of Quang Nam. Between 1997 and 2006 he was Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, Deputy Inspector-General of the Government Inspectorate, and Chairman of the Government Office. He became deputy prime minister in 2011 and prime minister in 2016. Meanwhile, new Prime Minister Chinh, 63, received 96.25 per cent of the votes to become the eighth prime minister of Vietnam. Born in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, he is a member of the Party Central Committee in the 11th, 12th and 13th tenures, a Politburo member in the 12th and 13th tenures, Secretary of the Party Central Committee in the 12th tenure, Chairman of the Central Organisation Commission, head of the committees sub-committee for internal political protection in the 12th tenure, and an NA deputy in the 14th tenure. The legislative body last week also elected Vo Thi Anh Xuan as the new vice state president, and new deputy prime ministers including Le Minh Khai and Le Van Thanh, besides incumbent deputy prime ministers Vu Duc Dam, Truong Hoa Binh, and Pham Binh Minh. On March 31, professor in economics Vuong Dinh Hue, 64, who is Politburo member and Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee, became the new chairman of the National Assembly and also the chairman of the National Election Council. Other NA new vice chairmen were then also elected, including Nguyen Duc Hai, Nguyen Khac Dinh, and Tran Thanh Man. Incumbent NA Vice Chairman Do Ba Ty will continue in his position until the 15th NA tenure. Building on success In early February, at the 13th Party Central Committees first plenum, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was re-elected as General Secretary of the Party Central Committee in the 13th tenure. The legislature last week also saw the list of the new government cabinet members for the 2021-2025 tenure (see next page). State President Phuc said that Vietnam will continue to make new miracles on the foundation of the nations glorious tradition, turning the country into a prosperous and strong one. He reaffirmed that that in the time to come, Vietnam will face opportunities and challenges at the same time, but he believed that under the leadership of the Party and with the mettle and brainpower of Vietnamese people as well as the strength of the national great unity bloc and support from international friends, Vietnam will overcome all difficulties and successfully fulfil targets set by the 13th National Party Congress. During the 2016-2021 government tenure, the Vietnamese economy grew 6.8 per cent annually on average in the 2016-2019 period. In 2020, the rate reached 2.91 per cent due to impacts of the pandemic. The average economic growth rate in the 2016-2020 was about 5.9 per cent, making Vietnam one of the countries with the highest growth in the region and the wider world, said a report by the Central Party Committee on assessing the results of the implementation of socioeconomic development tasks for 2016-2020 and related tasks for 2021-2025. This report was discussed and adopted at the 13th National Party Congress. During the 2016-2020 period, Vietnams GDP scale continued expanding, at $271.2 billion in 2020, up over 1.4 times from 2015, with per capita GDP of $2,779 which is 1.3 times higher than that in 2015. In the first quarter of 2021, the economy grew 4.48 per cent, and the rate is set to be about 6.5 per cent for the whole year. Advancing development Under the new prime ministers future orientations for the nation announced last week, he underscored the need to build an action plan to translate the resolution adopted at the 13th National Party Congress into reality (see box). Carlyle A. Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said that in order to lead the government and drive the economy forward successfully, the new prime minister will have to rely on his deputy prime ministers for their expertise in central government administration and economic policy. Chinhs immediate priorities have already been determined defeating the coronavirus pandemic and kick-starting Vietnams economic recovery. The governments development plans for the next five and 10 years have already been approved by the 13th congress, Thayer said. Specifically, the Central Party Committee has adopted an average annual GDP growth rate of 6.5-7 per cent for the 2021-2025 period and 7 per cent in the 2021-2030 period; a level of $4,7005,000 in per capita GDP by 2025 and $7,500 by 2030; an average ratio of over 25 per cent for processing and manufacturing industry in GDP during 2021-2025 and 30 per cent in 2030; a ratio of 20 and 30 per cent for digital economy in GDP in 2025 and 2030, respectively; a ratio of 45 and 50 per cent for total factor productivity in economic growth by 2025 and 2030, respectively; and a rate of over 6.5 per cent in the increase of labour productivity during 2021-2030. Vietnam has its sights on becoming a developing nation with modernity-oriented industrial development exceeding the lower middle-income level by 2025; a developing nation with modern industrial development and a higher middle-income level by 2030 on the centenary of the founding of the Party; and a developed nation with a high income level by 2045 when Vietnam will see the centenary of its independence. Hundreds of members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities demonstrated in front of Jersey City City Hall Saturday against the coronavirus-related hate crimes. Rally-goers chanted Stop the Asian Violence! We are not a virus! and carried signs like Stop Asian hate! No place for hate! and Racism is a virus as statewide leaders spoke. Speakers at the #StopAsianHateJC event included state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, state Assemblyman Raj Mukherji and Councilman at Large Rolando Lavarro Jr., who was one of the event organizers. Since the start of the pandemic last March, hate crimes against Asians has risen dramatically as some people have incorrectly blamed Asians here for the coronavirus. Former President Donald Trump has called COVID-19 the China virus while others stoking hatred have called it the kung flu. (Newser) Protesters and police clashed Sunday night in Brooklyn Center, Minn., near Minneapolis, after police fatally shot a Black man that afternoon. Daunte Wright, 20, was stopped around 2pm on an outstanding warrant, the AP reports. Police say they tried to arrest him and he got back in his car and drove away, at which point they fired upon the car and Wright was hit. He drove on for several blocks before crashing into another vehicle, and was pronounced dead at the scene. A female passenger received non-life-threatening injuries in the crash, and a police officer was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries sustained in the incident, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. The state's governor, Tim Walz, says Minnesota "mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement." story continues below Tensions were already high in the area as week three of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin's trial in the death of George Floyd is about to begin. Wright's mom tells CBS Minnesota he called her to tell her he was being pulled over, and she heard officers tell him to get out of the car and someone saying "Daunte, don't run" before a cop ended the call. "All he did was have air fresheners in the car and they told him to get out of the car," she says. "I just want people to know that if you get pulled over, make sure you put your hands up and dont make any sudden moves, and dont have air fresheners in your car because thats why he got pulled over." As protesters gathered, police officers used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs, and accused some of looting and vandalism. The mayor issued a curfew order, National Guard troops were brought in, and schools were switched to distance learning for Monday. (Read more Minnesota stories.) This is your overview of news from Slovakia on Monday, April 12, 2021. This is a free-of-charge service for our readers. If you want to support us, become a subscriber and gain access to more detailed news and interesting feature stories from Slovakia. For a deeper insight into current affairs, do not miss our Last Week in Slovakia, published earlier today: Matovic demonstrates how to dismantle everything in two days Read more President Zuzana Caputova wants to see the deal The discussion concerning the Sputnik V vaccine and the request of the Russian side to return the first batch of 200,000 doses delivered in early March is far from over. Following the criticism of Finance Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) of the institutions testing the vaccine, several politicians and scientists have sided with both the Slovak medicines authority, the State Institute for Drug Control (SUKL) and the Biomedical Research Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAV), expressing their support over the weekend. Part of a strong democracy is strong and independent professional institutions. President Zuzana Caputova This includes chief hygienist Jan Mikas and the experts behind the Veda Pomaha (Science Helps) initiative, who sent an open letter demanding that PM Eduard Heger (OLaNO) apologise on behalf of the entire government for the inappropriate and unacceptable statements of Matovic directed at Slovak scientists and scientific institutions. Juraj Kopacek, scientific director of the SAVs Institute of Virology, has even demanded a public apology from Matovic for his statements. The scientific institutions have been supported by President Zuzana Caputova, who visited both the SUKL and the BMC SAV on April 12. She has asked Health Minister nominee Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO) for the agreement on Sputnik V, which is labelled confidential. Casting doubt on the quality of our scientific institutions is unacceptable, president says Read more Diplomats criticise trip to Budapest Meanwhile, the conflict continued at the diplomatic level. Both former and active diplomats have been critical of Matovics trip to Moscow and Budapest. Although he met with both the Hungarian PM and foreign affairs minister on April 10, no representative of the Slovak embassy was present. Such a practice is not standard, and even violates several rules and principles applied in international law, the diplomats said. They were also critical of Matovics attacks on the diplomatic service and national scientific institutions, and said that this harms the image and reputation of Slovakia abroad. Trip to Budapest harmed Slovakias diplomatic service Read more More children will return to schools next week The reopening of schools will continue next Monday, April 19. The Education Ministry wants eighth- and ninth-graders of primary schools to return to their school desks, apart from those schools situated in the black tier districts. Negative tests are expected to remain a condition, and will be required from both parents and older pupils. Moreover, starting on April 26, the ministry wants to switch to its own regional Covid warning system. This would be particularly beneficial for the districts in light red districts as they will be allowed to open all schools. Slovakia is meanwhile awaiting a greater lifting of measures at the national level. If all the conditions are met (including the number of hospitalised Covid patients staying below 3,000), the country will switch to the dark red tier, meaning that non-essential shops will reopen, among other changes. PM Heger expects that every shop and service unit that does not require people to take off their respirator could open, as he said on April 11 on the Na Telo political talk show. They also want to make rules that are more comprehensible. The pandemic commission is expected to discuss some changes to the Covid automat alert system on Wednesday, April 14. One of the bigger changes concerns the testing strategy, and there are even talks to cancel the requirement to re-take tests every 14 and 21 days, as chief hygienist Mikas said in an interview with the Sme daily. Schools will open for more pupils on April 19 Read more Covid and vaccination related news 106 PCR tests of 1,502 carried out on April 11 came back positive, which represents 7.06 percent. Out of 298,525 antigen tests, 1,482 were positive (or 0.49 percent). of 1,502 carried out on April 11 came back positive, which represents 7.06 percent. Out of 298,525 antigen tests, were positive (or 0.49 percent). The Health Ministry opened vaccine registration for people older than 45 years on April 10 . Altogether 857,402 received the first vaccine shot as of Monday, while 288,989 have received the second jab. . Altogether 857,402 received the first vaccine shot as of Monday, while 288,989 have received the second jab. Slovakia is following new regional map from Monday . There are only two districts in the black tier, while 36 are in the dark red tier, 39 in the red tier, and two in the light red tier. . There are only two districts in the black tier, while 36 are in the dark red tier, 39 in the red tier, and two in the light red tier. The Slovak Chamber of Pharmacists does not recommend the preventive use of medicaments containing acetylsalicylic acid to reduce the risk of blood clots after receiving the Covid vaccine jab. Gallery of the day Kindergartens and grades one-four of primary schools reopened across Slovakia on April 12. Feature story for today Municipalities are searching for various ways to motivate their inhabitants to be more active in sorting their waste, including various bonuses, workshops and campaigns. At the same time, people have become more interested in reducing the waste they produce and learning more about how they can help their environment. The use of modern technologies certainly helps. People sort their waste more. But there is still much to improve Read more In other news The popularity of the ruling OLaNO party seems to be harmed by the recent coalition crisis. In the recent Focus poll, it would gain only the fourth-highest number of votes . . The Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava is the first school from Slovakia to become a partner of Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris , an artist-in-residence building that accommodates artists of all specialties and nationalities. is the first school from Slovakia to become a partner of , an artist-in-residence building that accommodates artists of all specialties and nationalities. Slovakias foreign trade surplus increased to 398.5 million in February 2021, almost four times higher in a year-on-year comparison, and the highest figure in the reference month since 2014. The total exports of goods amounted to 7.2 billion, up by 7.7 percent y-o-y, while the total imports of goods increased by 3.3 percent annually to 6.8 billion. (Statistics Office) in February 2021, almost four times higher in a year-on-year comparison, and the highest figure in the reference month since 2014. The total exports of goods amounted to 7.2 billion, up by 7.7 percent y-o-y, while the total imports of goods increased by 3.3 percent annually to 6.8 billion. (Statistics Office) Slovak industry rose by 1 percent year-on-year in February 2021, while eight out of 15 of its components recorded a year-on-year decrease. However, year-on-year changes in the production volume of individual components of industry range between a decline of 23.4 percent and a growth of 18.4 percent. (Statistics Office) in February 2021, while eight out of 15 of its components recorded a year-on-year decrease. However, year-on-year changes in the production volume of individual components of industry range between a decline of 23.4 percent and a growth of 18.4 percent. (Statistics Office) Altogether 1,250 people in Slovakia went bankrupt in the first quarter of 2021, 65.62 percent less than a year before. Compared with the previous quarter, the number of personal bankruptcies fell by 54.46 percent, according to the CRIF Slovak Credit Bureau company. Weather alert Cooler weather will return to Slovakia in the next hours. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) expects rain and even snow to return, accompanied by strong wind. The institute has issued several warnings for the coming days. Also on Spectator.sk today Volunteering persists in Slovakia, despite the challenges of pandemic Read more Efforts to build new generation of tourist shelters spark enormous interest Read more In the nest of silence: Lednica Castle and Skalka Read more If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. The National Guard has been called out to control rioting in the wake of a police shooting in the northern Minneapolis lower-middle-class suburb of Brooklyn Center (whose Caucasian population is 44.5%, according to Census Bureau estimates). Rioters behaved with a hair-trigger response, with at least one shot fired into the police station and looting reported locally and many miles distant, on Lake Street in Minneapolis, which received the brunt of the riot, looting, and arson damage following the drug overdose death of George Floyd while in police custody. KARE TV 11 reports: A curfew is in place for the city of Brooklyn Center through 6 a.m. Monday after tensions following a shooting involving law enforcement. A large crowd gathered near the scene as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated the fatal shooting of a driver following a traffic stop. (snip) [N]umerous law enforcement agencies were called to assist as hundreds gathered outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Headquarters. "Within hours of that, a secondary group, we heard, was at the Shingle Creek Mall...and we have reports of approximately 20 businesses that were broken into during that period[.]" According to Brooklyn Center Police, whose body cameras reportedly were functioning, 20-year-old Daunte Wright was stopped for a minor traffic infraction (a deodorizer hanging from his rearview mirror) and fled the scene when it was determined that an arrest warrant was out for him. An officer fired at his fleeing vehicle and fatally wounded him, as his vehicle crashed, injuring a female passenger who accompanied him. A state agency that reports to the liberal Democrat Governor Tm Walz, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, is investigating the police shooting. But rioters and looters sprang into action gathering outside police headquarters, where they were tear-gassed, and taking the opportunity to loot elsewhere at least ten miles away, in the city of Minneapolis for the sort of goods coveted by urban youths: UPDATE: Looting has now spread to parts of Minneapolis. This cell phone store on East Lake Street, near Lyndale was hit. The front door apparently smashed by a rock. @KARE11 pic.twitter.com/Ik9jzVaPQz Dave Peterlinz (@DPet_KARE11News) April 12, 2021 The (formerly?) upscale Uptown district in Minneapolis, on West Lake Street, also was reportedly hit with looting. The jurors in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin are not being sequestered and so are almost certainly aware of the riots, making it very difficult for them to deliver any not guilty verdict, given the threat to their personal safety, not to mention the threat of all-out riots and mayhem. While local media have not identified them by name, "profiles" of the jury members, indicating age, race, ethnicity, and the type of work they perform have been published, making identification of them comparatively easy. With this demonstration of the willingness of thugs to attack, it is hard to imagine a fair trial taking place. I would guess that defense counsel will request a mistrial, though I am no expert in such matters. The judge's earlier denial of a change of venue request by the defense now looks even worse. There are courthouses in towns 2300 miles away in Northern Minnesota, where there is a far better chance of a fair trial, should the judge grant a mistrial and a change of venue. But I am not holding my breath. Photo credit: Twitter screen grab. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Four-time Grammy nominee Iggy Azalea stepped out in a green wig to buy an orange beverage in Hollywood on Sunday night. The Australian 30-year-old made sure to protect herself and others from the coronavirus by wearing a black disposable face mask while in the store. As of Monday, there have been 1.22M confirmed COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles leading to 23,493 deaths - according to Johns Hopkins University. Tea time: Four-time Grammy nominee Iggy Azalea stepped out in a green wig to buy an orange beverage in Hollywood on Sunday night Mandatory: The Australian 30-year-old made sure to protect herself and others from the coronavirus by wearing a black disposable face mask while in the store 'I'm vaccinated! Wooo hooo! If you don't know anyone who's done it, you know me bi***!' Iggy - who boasts 43M social media followers - tweeted on Saturday. 'Not anything different from the usual vaccinations or blood draw etc. also I was really shocked at how organized and fast things went. Got there 4.50pm and was vaccinated 15mins later...Feeling totally normal. No side effects currently/yet for all those asking.' Azalea (born Amethyst Kelly) was wearing a black corset top with black, red, and neon biker shorts for her outing. The Dance Like Nobody's Watching rapper finished off her colorful look with green nails and black strappy stilettos. Iggy - who boasts 43M social media followers - tweeted on Saturday: 'I'm vaccinated! Wooo hooo! If you don't know anyone who's done it, you know me bi***!' Athleisure attire: Azalea (born Amethyst Kelly) was wearing a black corset top with black, red, and neon biker shorts for her outing Sporty: The Dance Like Nobody's Watching rapper finished off her colorful look with green nails and black strappy stilettos Three shades: One glance at Iggy's hairpiece from the back revealed blonde and black chunks in the partial updo One glance at Iggy's hairpiece from the back revealed blonde and black chunks in the partial updo. On Monday, Azalea bared her taut tummy in a TikTok video of herself rapidly punching when TyTy's song skipped at Bi*** bi*** bi*** bi*** bi*** bi***. 'Why is this sound so funny to me lmao? I can't stop doing this randomly all day,' the platinum-blonde culture vulture wrote. 'Why is this sound so funny to me lmao?' On Monday, Azalea bared her taut tummy in a TikTok video of herself rapidly punching when TyTy's song skipped at Bi*** bi*** bi*** bi*** bi*** bi*** The platinum-blonde culture vulture wrote: 'I literally walk around randomly punching the air and going bi*** bi*** bi*** for the last 2 days. Why is this so funny to me. Help' 'I literally walk around randomly punching the air and going bi*** bi*** bi*** for the last 2 days. Why is this so funny to me. Help.' Iggy made headlines on April 5 with her previous TikTok, which exposed all of her Instagram DMs where thirsty rappers and celebs offered to pay her $15K 'just to speak' to her. It was all to promote Azalea and Tyga's raunchy music video Sip It, which has amassed 6.6M views on YouTube since premiering April 1. Leaked: Iggy made headlines on April 5 with her previous TikTok, which exposed all of her Instagram DMs where thirsty rappers and celebs offered to pay her $15K 'just to speak' to her 'Rappers in my phone / in my DM / won't leave me alone': It was all to promote Azalea and Tyga's raunchy music video Sip It, which has amassed 6.6M views on YouTube since premiering April 1 'Rappers in my phone / in my DM / won't leave me alone,' the 5ft10in millennial rapped. 'Sip this pu*** like it's Styrofoam.' Iggy is mother to 10-month-old son Onyx Carter from her on/off two-year relationship with Playboi Carti, which ended acrimoniously in May. $3,025 | Upper West Side Daniel Podolsky, 28 Occupation: Mr. Podolsky is a research engineer at the New York Structural Biology Center. The hunt for a home: I spent most of 2020 looking for an apartment. I was searching after work every night and sometimes on my lunch break. As soon as I was done, this whole memory I was like straight to trash. It was an awful experience. Work breaks: I got a new drum set when I moved in here. I have a programming job where I think about math all day so its nice that when I get bored or need a minute I can go play drums. His music: Everything from rock to electronic to jazz to hip-hop. Music you can groove to. Anything with a good rhythm. In the end, he found his new apartment in a traditional way: responding to a Craigslist ad. It was an Upper West Side duplex at the top of an older prewar walk-up building, with two bedrooms, a third room that lacks a door and is off the top-floor bedroom, plus two bathrooms, two terraces and two skylights. Best of all, it was located next to an active construction site, which meant he wouldnt be the noisiest thing in the area. The rent, at $3,025, is much higher than he had been looking to pay, but is also significantly less than the close to $4,000 the landlord had been charging before the pandemic. The construction site likely played a role as well. Mr. Podolsky rationalized that it would be even less than his studio apartment rent if he found a roommate to share the cost. He moved in mid-December. His drums he bought a larger, four-piece set went in the open room that is not quite a third bedroom, So far, there havent been any complaints. Its not been a problem, he said. Even when Ive jammed with other people, no one has knocked. Advertisement Engineers have created a creepy prototype webcam shaped just like the human eye, called the Eyecam. Inspired by animatronics, Eyecam attaches to the front of a computer monitor and looks left and right and even blinks while tracking the face of each individual during a video call. At first glance, it looks scarily realistic, right down to the wrinkles in the skin, the individual hairs that make up the eyebrows and the red vessels over the white of the eye. Eyecam which is comprised of motors surrounded by 3D-printed silicone is open source, meaning you could create your own version at home. Scroll down for video Most webcams are too small to be seen - but it's unlikely you'll have the same problem with Eyecam, which has been created because 'eyes are crucial for communication' Eyecam has been created by Marc Teyssier and his team at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at Saarland University, Germany. Modelled on human physiology, it's is composed of three main parts the skin layer, the (robotic) musculoskeletal system and the eyeball. A small camera is positioned inside the pupil, sensing a high-resolution image. This camera is connected to a Raspberry Pi Zero and is detected by the computer as a conventional plug-and-play webcam. Like a human, Eyecam is always blinking and the eyelids dynamically adapt to movements of the eyeball, according to Teyssier. 'When Eyecam looks up, the top eyelid opens widely while the lower one closes completely,' he says. 'Eyecam can be autonomous and react on its own to external stimuli, such as the presence of users in front of it.' Eyecam is a research project developed and built by Marc Teyssier (pictured holding the device). This research was conducted during his time at Saarland University Human-Computer Interaction Lab At first glance, it looks scarily realistic, right down to the wrinkles in the skin, the individual hairs that make up the eyebrows and the red vessels over the white of the eye Marc Teyssier says on his website : 'Eyecam is a webcam shaped like a human eye. It can see, blink, look around and observe you' Teyssier says on his website that sensing devices are so ubiquitous, up to the point that we become unaware of their presence. Computer webcams have become smaller and smaller in the last 20 years, and most are now a small barely noticeable circle embedded into the top of the device. Other devices that have recording equipment embedded such as security cams for the smart home are now deliberately designed to blend into their surroundings. Eyecam has been designed to do quite the opposite indeed, it would give anyone who came across it something of a shock. 'We are surrounded by sensing devices,' Teyssier says on his website. 'From surveillance camera observing us in the street, Google or Alexa speakers listen to us or webcam in our laptop, constantly looking at us. 'They are becoming invisible, blending into our daily lives, up to a point where we are unaware of their presence and stop questioning how they look, sense and act.' Human eyes are crucial for communication so Eyecam could help users maintain eye contact during their daily video calls. The eye part has been printed with some incredible detail, from the colours in the iris and vessels in the sclera (the white of the eye) Modelled on human physiology, Eyecam is composed of three main parts the skin layer, the (robotic) musculoskeletal system and the eyeball Interested in building one for yourself? Eyecam's open source repository contains all the files needed to reproduce the device, from the 3D-printed hardware parts to the control software 'While webcams share the same purpose as the human eye seeing they are not expressive, not conveying and transmitting affect as the human eyes do,' Teyssier says. 'Through the look, we can perceive happiness, anger, boredom or fatigue. The eyes move around when someone is curious and took straight to maintain focus. 'We are familiar with these interaction cues influencing our social behaviour. Eyecam brings back the affective aspects of the eye in the camera.' Teyssier has authored a research paper on the device with his colleagues, while the open-source repository is available on his website. I see you! Eyecam tracks the face of a person in the vicinity and is compatible with popular video call platforms including Zoom Teyssier and his colleagues write: 'Eyecam comprises an actuated eyeball with a pupil replaced with a camera, actuated eyelids and actuated eyebrows whose combined movements enable human-like behaviours' Like a human, Eyecam is always blinking and the eyelids dynamically adapt to movements of the eyeball. Teyssier says: 'When Eyecam looks up, the top eyelid opens widely while the lower one closes completely. Eyecam can be autonomous and react on its own to external stimuli, such as the presence of users in front of it' Gadchiroli police arrested a who was in hiding after getting injured in an encounter on March 29, the police said. According to the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gadchiroli Ankit Goyal, the injured has been identified as Kishore Kawdo who carries a bounty of 16 lakhs. "The encounter, in which five Naxals were killed, took place at Khobramendha village in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli, and information had been received that many injured naxals were left behind," the SP said. "Working on the information, on April 6, Kishore Kawdo was found at Kathezari village where he was hiding. Kawdo sustained bullet injury during the encounter in the leg and the wound was getting gangrenous," Goyal said. "Kawdo was brought to Gadchiroli for preliminary treatment, and then shifted to Nagpur where he underwent surgery," Goyal said adding that Kawdo's condition is stable and further investigation is on. (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.) Prime Minister said he wont set a new target date for all Australians to receive their first Covid-19 vaccine dose, as health concerns about the Plc shot and European export restrictions delay the rollout. While the government wants to see first doses administered before the end of the year, it is not possible to set such targets given the many uncertainties involved, Morrison said in a Facebook post on Sunday. Still, he said Australias rollout was ahead of some nations including Japan, France and Canada. About 1.2 million people in the nation of 25.8 million have received a first dose. The main opposition Labor party says that falls some 3 million short of the promised timeline, and has criticized the government for not securing more deals with pharmaceutical producers. The government had pledged that all Australians would receive a first dose by October. This is a race, both in health terms and in economic terms, Shadow Health Minister Mark Butler said in a television interview on Sunday. This needs to happen quicker, it needs to happen more effectively, because the strength of our economic recovery is inextricably linked to the speed and effectiveness of this vaccine rollout. The government says it will have access to 170 million doses from deals with AstraZeneca, Pfizer Inc. and Novavax, as well as through the Covax facility. Locally made jabs form the backbone of Australias vaccination effort, and the government has said it is not banking on receiving 3.1 million outstanding doses on order from Europe due to the blocs tightened export rules. Australia last week said it is guiding against giving the vaccine to people under the age of 50 following warnings of a link to a rare type of blood clot by the European Medicines Agency. Australia has recorded fewer than 30,000 cases of Covid-19, after closing its international border to non-residents, introducing hotel quarantine for returned travelers, and through rigorous testing and contact tracing. The border closure has smashed the tourism industry and education sector, which relies heavily on international students, and the economic recovery is being buffeted by snap localized lockdowns when the virus escapes from hotel quarantine into the community. Chinese tech giant Huawei on Monday said it had reached an agreement with HSBC in Hong Kong to secure documents that its senior executive Meng Wanzhou hopes will help her fight extradition to the United States from Canada. Chief financial officer Meng -- whose father is the company's founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei -- has been in a two-year battle against extradition over allegations that Huawei violated US sanctions on Iran. Meng is accused in the US of defrauding HSBC by falsely misrepresenting links between Huawei and a company that sold telecoms equipment to Iran. Her legal team has been trying to access documents from HSBC that they say will help exonerate Meng. A previous attempt to secure the documents at Britain's High Court was dismissed in February. Meng's lawyers turned to the courts in Hong Kong, where London-headquartered HSBC has a major presence and makes most of its profits. "An agreement has been reached with HSBC in relation to the Hong Kong legal proceedings for document production and an order has been approved by the Court," Huawei said in a brief statement on Monday. It did not give any further details on what documents HSBC had agreed to hand over. HSBC did not respond to requests for comment. The two sides had a scheduled court hearing on Monday but the gathering lasted little more than a minute with Huawei's lawyers informing the judge that a deal had been reached, an AFP reporter in court said. Meng is accused in the US of hiding Huawei's relationship with former subsidiary Skycom in Iran from HSBC bank. According to the original Huawei summons, seen by AFP, Meng was seeking HSBC bank documents on compliance, sanctions and risk evaluation as well as records linked to a PowerPoint presentation. She has denied hiding Huawei's relationship with Skycom from HSBC. Her extradition case in Vancouver is expected to end in mid-May, barring appeals. Meng's was arrested on a US warrant during a Vancouver stopover in December 2018, sparking a major diplomatic rift between Canada and China. Story continues Soon after Beijing arrested two Canadian citizens -- former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor -- on national security charges. They disappeared into authoritarian China's opaque legal system and were recently tried in secret for espionage with a verdict yet to be announced. Chinese officials have given conflicting messages on the detentions, denying the move was retaliation but also making it clear that the two Canadians' fates are tied to that of Meng's. Kovrig and Spavor have had almost no contact with the outside world since their detention, and virtual consular visits only resumed in October after a nine-month hiatus that authorities said was due to the coronavirus pandemic. In contrast, Meng remains under house arrest at her Vancouver mansion, has access to lawyers and her extradition hearings are held in open court. yz/jta/jfx Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to General Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Krill Dmitriev at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on April 2, 2021. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Russia Faces Consequences If It Acts Aggressively in Ukraine, USs Blinken Says U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Biden administration is concerned about the buildup of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and warned Moscow of consequences if it acts aggressively and recklessly in Ukraine. Blinken said in an April 11 interview on NBCs Meet the Press that he has real concerns about Russias actions on the borders of Ukraine, where he said Russia has amassed more troops than at any time since 2014, when Moscow annexed Crimea. He added that U.S. allies in Europe all share that concern. While noting that the United States and Russia have a common interest in working together on such strategic priorities as arms control, Blinken said the Biden administration is determined to hold Moscow to account for potential actions in Ukraine. President Bidens been very clear about this. If Russia acts recklessly, or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences, Blinken said. Blinkens remarks follow reports that the United States will send two warships to the Black Sea this week, Turkeys foreign ministry said on April 9, prompting Russia to raise concerns about NATO powers that dont have a coastline in the region of increasing naval activity. 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. Navy ships in the Black Sea. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about U.S. leadership in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic during an event at the State Department in Washington on April 5, 2021. (Alexander Drago/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) 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 the 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, and continue to call on Russia not to conduct provocations and not to increase tensions. The theme of a provocative Moscow was also front and center on April 9, when Blinken spoke to his German and French counterparts about the growing tensions in Ukraine. 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 as well as the need for Russia to immediately cease its military buildup and inflammatory rhetoric, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. Price, in a separate statement about Blinkens call with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, made a similar reference to unilateral Russian provocations. Moscow blames Kyiv for the mounting tensions, however, with Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing Ukraine on April 9 of dangerous provocative actions in Ukraines eastern Donbass region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 8 visited positions along the front line in Donbass, 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. Zelensky on April 6 pushed for Ukraines admission into NATO, drawing an immediate rebuke from Moscow, which said Kyivs approach to the Western military alliance could further inflame the conflict. As tensions have increased in recent weeks, Moscow announced on April 6 that its military was beginning a combat readiness inspection of its forces. 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. Aldi customers around Australia are rushing to stores to purchase boxes of scallop and champagne gratin for a luxurious at-home entree. The gratin is made with cheddar cheese, double cream and Patagonian scallops topped with champagne brut and served in an oven-safe seashell. Eagle-eyed customer Kellie was first to notice the $8.99 buy and highly recommended it to others part of the Aldi Mums Facebook group. The gratin is made with cheddar cheese, double cream and Patagonian scallops topped with champagne brut and served in an oven-safe seashell Eagle-eyed customer Kellie was first to notice the buy and highly recommended it to others part of the Aldi Mums Facebook group Each box is packed with two 200g servings, which is ideal for couples planning a romantic evening at home rather than spending money at a fine dining restaurant. Images Kellie shared of the cooked gratin looked delicious and would be a great alternative to purchasing expensive seafood. Others part of the Facebook community, which has more than 171,000 members nationally, praised Kellie for sharing the insight and seemed eager to try the 'tasty' entree. Each box is packed with two 200g servings, which is ideal for couples planning a romantic evening at home rather than spending money at a fine dining restaurant 'Oh I'm desperate to try these' one woman wrote, another confirmed the seafood gratin tastes 'amazing'. 'We had it at Easter it was delicious,' another said. The extravagant gratin follows the popularity of Aldi's 'must-have' Maitre D' Potato Gratin, available in a variety of flavours. The extravagant gratin follows the popularity of Aldi's 'must-have' Maitre D' Potato Gratin, available in a variety of flavours Priced at a mere $3.69, the miniature frozen potato bites are ideal for family dinners or lunch treats. Hundreds of happy customers praised the product on Facebook with many describing the item as 'delicious' and 'to die for'. The tasty potato bake bites use a traditional French method of 'combining layers of thinly sliced potato, cream and cheese' that slowly melt into one another, creating an ultimate flavoursome taste. Denton, TX (76205) Today Rain showers in the morning with thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. High 77F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Showers in the evening, then cloudy overnight. Low 66F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE New Mexico will fire up a new recreational cannabis industry that holds the promise of both economic bounty and public safety challenges, after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed a bill passed during a special legislative session last month. The governor, who also signed a companion bill that could wipe some cannabis-related possession convictions off thousands of New Mexicans records, described the legalization law as a game-changer. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ During a news conference outside the Roundhouse, she said an initial state Department of Public Safety review has identified roughly 150,000 people who will have their records reviewed for possible expungement. We owe it to our sons and daughters to make right the policy failures of decades past, Lujan Grisham said, saying the war on drugs has been a failure. But the Democratic governor said she will not necessarily be among those partaking once use and possession of small amounts of marijuana is legalized June 29. I have no reason not to when its ready to go, but I have no plans to do so, Lujan Grisham said in response to a question. Under the new law, retail sales of cannabis products will begin no later than April 2022. A new division in the state Regulation and Licensing Department will handle cannabis licensing, and the agency is already preparing for license applications to begin being filed in September. Meanwhile, possession of up to 2 ounces of cannabis or equivalent amounts of cannabis extract will be legalized in late June under the just-approved law, as will personal production of no more than six mature marijuana plants per adult. This years measure, House Bill 2, was passed after previous legalization proposals did not win approval in recent years from the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Backers had expressed optimism this year would be the year for weed breakthrough in New Mexico, but a House-approved cannabis legalization bill stalled on the Senate floor in the final hours of a 60-day legislative session that ended March 20. That prompted Lujan Grisham to call lawmakers back to the Roundhouse for a special session that lasted two days and ended with final approval for both the legalization and expungement measures. I think today New Mexicans can finally exhale, said Emily Kaltenbach of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that has pushed for years for cannabis legalization. Competing bill Although no Republican lawmakers attended Mondays ceremony, the governor and several Democratic legislators noted that parts of a competing legalization bill sponsored by Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, were incorporated into the final version of the measure signed into law. Pirtle later said that some parts of his bill including landlord protections had indeed been added into the Democratic-backed legislation. But he expressed concern about excessive red tape for aspiring small cannabis producers and a provision that could allow consumers to buy larger amounts of cannabis if its kept out of public view, among other issues. I imagine well have a chance to fix it or at least some of the issues I think need to be fixed, Pirtle told the Journal. Meanwhile, state GOP Chairman Steve Pearce said cannabis legalization will lead to increased crime and a spike in marijuana consumption among minors. The governor has a pipe dream of saving the states finances by hoping to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars from marijuana revenues, but its unclear just how much money will end up in state coffers, Pearce said in a Monday statement. Since taking office in 2019, Lujan Grisham has pitched cannabis legalization as a way to diversify New Mexicos economy, create jobs and bolster the state as a tourist destination, especially with neighboring Texas unlikely to legalize marijuana in the near future. The newly approved law is expected to generate $20 million in revenue for the state in the 2023 fiscal year, along with an estimated $10 million for local governments around New Mexico, according to a fiscal analysis. Public safety Some law enforcement officials around New Mexico have voiced worries about public safety issues, including a possible increase in driving under the influence of cannabis once the new law takes effect. In an attempt to address those concerns, lawmakers appropriated $750,000 in a separate special session bill to fund law enforcement preparation efforts. Specifically, those funds could be spent to train law enforcement officers as drug recognition experts and to either develop roadside impairment tests for cannabis or to purchase them, once theyre available. We take that seriously and we know folks will travel here (to consume cannabis), Lujan Grisham said Monday. She also said the states Regulation and Licensing Department will craft rules to address other public safety issues before the new law is fully enacted. Concerns over public safety issues have not stopped several other states from also approving cannabis legalization laws in recent weeks, including Virginia and New York. Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, one of the bills lead sponsors, expressed optimism the trend could put pressure on the federal government to declassify marijuana as an illegal narcotic. Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, described the new law as imperfect but said it could be built on in coming years. Whats important to me is that we have in place a structure, Wirth said. At a glance New Mexicos new cannabis legalization law will allow adults 21 and older to purchase, possess and grow limited amounts of cannabis. Some highlights: * New Mexico will levy a 12% excise tax rate on cannabis sales that will gradually increase in future years. State and local gross receipts taxes will also be levied on sales. * Cannabis products must be sealed in child-resistant packaging.* Employers will be permitted to establish drug-free workplace and can prohibit possession at work or during work hours. * State agency will conduct annual market reviews through 2025 that could be used to impose plant count limits on licensed cannabis producers. Hundreds of demonstrators poured into the streets of Brooklyn Center, Minn., on multiple nights after the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop on April 11. The shooting injected more frustration and anxiety into the Twin Cities region, where Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, was being tried in the death of George Floyd. Mr. Chauvin was later found guilty of murdering Mr. Floyd. Heres what we know about what happened in Brooklyn Center. How the shooting unfolded. According to Chief Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, officers pulled Mr. Wright over on the afternoon of April 11 for a traffic violation related to expired registration tags. Officers then discovered that he had a warrant for his arrest. As the police tried to detain Mr. Wright, he stepped back into his car, prompting a brief struggle with officers, Chief Gannon said. by Vladimir Rozanskij Russian Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov visited India and Pakistan. Moscow tries to offer itself as a mediator between the two Asian giants India and China. Ukraine has close contacts with Pakistan, thanks to its thriving arms market. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Russia and Ukraine are now also competing for international relations in South Asia. On April 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov visited Islamabad after a negotiation session in India. The last official visit of the Russians to the Pakistani capital dates to 9 years ago. Lavrov proposed to give a higher status to relations between the two countries, based on the achievement of a definitive settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan. But immediately after the promises of "strategic trust" with Russia, Pakistan announced the visit of the chief of staff, Qamar Javed Bajwa, to the Ukrainian capital Kiev at the end of April. Russia is forging important relations in South Asia, trying to present itself as a mediator in the growing conflict between the two giants of the continent, India and China. In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Lavrov said that "we are counting on the fact that the two countries, as responsible members of the international community, will be able to find acceptable political-diplomatic ways to quickly overcome their own discords". Similar statements were reiterated by the Russian minister in the final press conference with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, stating that "relations between Moscow and Beijing do not pursue the purpose of creating a military union ... We have common positions with Indian friends, and we want collaboration to be inclusive for the benefit of all, and not against someone ". In India, Lavrov took great care not to name the other enemy, Pakistan, where he went immediately after his visit to Delhi. Relations with Islamabad are expanding in technical-military cooperation, with the implementation of rather extensive joint manoeuvres. Lavrov's previous visit to Pakistan dates back to 2012, and had to overcome the drama of Putin's absence at the meeting of the so-called "Dushanbe quartet" (Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan), justified by the president's "too many commitments", in fact, not to upset the Indians. Since then Putin had no time to visit Pakistan, but met his Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (OCS) summit, which was held in Bishkek in June 2019. Lavrov himself met several Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Kureshi, the last time in September 2020. It was then the Pakistani ambassador to Russia, Shavkat Ali Khan, who proposed the definition of "strategic trust" for relations between the two countries. In this context, the Ukrainian mine exploded, right when the tension with Russia in the Donbass flared up. At the beginning of April, the Ukrainian ambassador to Islamabad Markijan Cucuk met with General Bajwa to "discuss the issues of security in the region and bilateral cooperation", especially in the military field. This means involving the Ukrainian arms industry of the Ukroboronprom group. On the occasion, Cucuk also sent an invitation to visit Kiev, on behalf of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Smyhal '. This will allow Pakistani guests to visit the "Arms and security-2021" exhibition and the "Aviasvit-XXI" air show, with which Ukraine intends to show the world its military strength and technological progress in the sector. General Bajwa's consent to the visit to Kiev therefore brings the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine to an international level. Military collaboration between Ukraine and Pakistan dates back to the 1990s, when Kiev delivered 320 T-80UD tanks to Islamabad, a Soviet legacy that allowed Ukrainians to save their war industry. In general, Ukraine has been pursuing an anti-Russian "Eastern diplomacy" for some time. President Volodymyr Zelenskii recently visited Qatar, and is preparing a trip to Turkey, trying to position himself on all sensitive terrain, from the Middle East to the Caucasus, and now also in South Asia. One of the many disasters of the Obama years was the Iran nuke deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In exchange for one billion seven hundred million dollars (400 million in cold, hard, cash), we got...their promise they will be good. Well, no one expected the Iranians to keep their word, and yes, they have continued to work toward nuclear weapons. But today we've heard of some good news from the Iranian desert. Their nuclear research facility took a hit. According to the New York Times on Sunday: A power failure that appeared to have been caused by a deliberately planned explosion struck Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment site on Sunday, in what Iranian officials called an act of sabotage that they suggested had been carried out by Israel. The blackout injected new uncertainty into diplomatic efforts that began last week to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal repudiated by the Trump administration. Iran did not say precisely what had caused the blackout at the heavily fortified site, which has been a target of previous sabotage, and Israel publicly declined to confirm or deny any responsibility. But American and Israeli intelligence officials said there had been an Israeli role. How bad is to be determined, but we can credibly assume the Israelis did it. Thank God we've got the Israelis. Here's a link to a photo of the Natanz Nuclear Facility, Iran. And here's Iran's reaction: Iran Calls Natanz Atomic Site Blackout 'Nuclear Terrorism' DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran on Sunday described a blackout at its underground Natanz atomic facility an act of "nuclear terrorism," raising regional tensions. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, stopped short of directly blaming anyone for the incident. Details remained few about what happened early Sunday morning at the facility, which initially was described as a blackout caused by the electrical grid feeding the site. Many Israeli media outlets offered the same assessment that a cyberattack darkened Natanz and damaged a facility that is home to sensitive centrifugesIf Israel caused the blackout, it further heightens tensions between the two nations, already engaged in a shadow conflict across the wider Middle East. It also complicates efforts by the U.S., Israel's main security partner, to re-enter the atomic accord aimed at limiting Tehran's program so it can't pursue a nuclear weapon "We still do not know the reason for this electricity outage and have to look into it further," Kamalvandi said[.] ... Asked if it was a "technical defect or sabotage," Kamalvandi declined to comment[.] ... Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant in July that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain[.] We can only hope that the Israelis' work against the Iranian nuclear weapons program is successful. The United States will not oppose it for the foreseeable future. If you want an excellent book on the Israeli's targeted program, read Rise and Kill First. Originally, the Mossad targeted former Nazi officials and Palestinian terrorists. But as the years have gone by, the Nazis and the Palestinians have gone mostly quiet, and now the Israelis have a more pressing enemy. Iran also blamed Israel for the killing of a scientist who began the country's military nuclear program decades earlier. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges at Natanz[.] The recent M.O. of the Mossad is to assassinate the target (e.g., a couple of motorcycles drive up and shoot him, or a bomb is used, etc.), and within a few hours, the operators are no longer in Iran. And by the next day, the co-workers of the now deceased scientist/technician/official get an email with pictures of his body. The message is clear: "you're next if you don't stop." Remember, Israel was founded on two words: "never again." The men and women who work these operations have no issue with killing nuclear scientists working to give the mullahs the means to wipe Israel off the map. It's has been an open secret that Israel developed nuclear weapons by the early 1970s, and an open source says they have as many as 500 warheads (like America, they will neither confirm nor deny). Reportedly, Tel Aviv was close to using them in 1991, when Iraq launched SCUD missiles toward Israel in the first Gulf War. But I find something very disturbing. In a Facebook discussion with a very liberal friend of mine, when I asked about the Iranians developing nuclear weapons, he said, "Who are we to say they can't have them...they have as much right as any other nation." I looked at his post and wondered how much he had to drink this past week. The problem is that his view reflects many on the left. Part is their innate anti-Semitism. And part is the naive belief that the West in general, and the United States in particular, has no standing to criticize any other nation. See the usual canards (slavery, mistreatment of the Indians, etc.). Again, it's an open secret that the only nuclear-armed nation in the Middle East is Israel and has been for a half century. And in spite of multiple attacks on the Jewish homeland, it has not used them. Does anyone with a two-digit I.Q. think that if the mullahs in Tehran had nukes over the last forty years, they would have not used them? As the idiot with the cognitive decline in the White House (actually, Obama and the other real powers behind the throne) rush to restart the Iran nuke deal, and start an Operation Warp Speed for Tehran's weapons program, let us hope Tel Aviv can keep knocking the program down. Israel will not let Iran have nuclear weapons and will use any method it can to peacefully prevent this. Otherwise, the Israelis will choose other methods. Michael A. Thiac is a retired police patrol sergeant and a retired Army intelligence officer. He can also be found on A Cop's Watch. Image: Omid Vahabzadeh, Fars News Agency via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 19:21:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Monday commended the World Health Organization (WHO) for playing a leading role in dealing with the current global pandemic and highly valued the organization's assistance to the kingdom. "Cambodia is a strong advocate of multilateralism and we do appreciate the leading role of the WHO in tackling the current global pandemic," he wrote in a letter to Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific. "We are truly grateful for the valuable assistance provided by your organization to our country during this difficult time of crisis," he added. Hun Sen said while Cambodia was spared from the COVID-19 outbreak last year, the country was not so lucky this year as it is now facing an enormous challenge from the community transmission of the new imported strain, which unfortunately has claimed an increasing number of lives. "In the face of the current grave public health emergency, the Royal Government of Cambodia is compelled to take difficult decisions to lockdown affected areas and impose stringent travel restrictions and other measures to stop the spread of the outbreak," he said. "These measures are necessary to ensure life-saving and the well-being of our people, public health safety, and an early return to normalcy," he added. The prime minister's letter was made after Kasai wrote him a letter on Friday, expressing the WHO's renewed commitment to supporting Cambodia's sustained efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Cambodia has officially registered a total of 4,515 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic with 30 deaths, the Ministry of Health said on Monday, adding that the kingdom logged 277 new cases on Monday. Enditem Non-essential shops threw their doors open on Monday, as delighted Brits descended on stores amid lightened lockdown rules. And leading the way were Stacey Solomon, Emma Louise Connolly, Binky Felstead and Stormzy, all of whom were seen shopping till they dropped to mark the end of the latest restrictions following months of closures. Ever the hard worker, the Primark ambassador, 31, acted as her own best advertisement by heading to the bargain store at 6am while the rapper, 27, was hitting up Louis Vuitton to splash out on some designer clobber. Happy to be back! Stacey Solomon, Emma Louise Connolly, Binky Felstead and Stormzy were seen shopping till they dropped to mark the end of the latest restrictions following months of closures (Stacey's trip to Primark, pictured) Stacey is renowned for her love of interiors and crafts, with her "Fejkas" - artificial plants - and "swingers' grass" - pampas grass - becoming iconic. While the term Fejkas comes from Ikea, she was happy to learn Primark home had broadened its horizons in the artificial plant arena as she shared a number of videos from within the store showing the sections. Sure to abide by ASA restrictions, she declared that she works with Primark but insisted the trip to the store was in no way an advertisement. She penned: 'Went to my favourite place this morning. This is not an ad in any way but I have to say #IWORKWITHPRIMARK. Oh my goodness I've missed you friend. They had so many lovely summer bits and new Fejkas... Happy days! Ever the hard worker, the Primark ambassador, 31, acted as her own best advertisement by heading to the bargain store at 6am while the rapper, 27, was hitting up Louis Vuitton to splash out on some designer clobber Hard work: Stacey is renowned for her love of interiors and crafts, with her "Fejkas" - artificial plants - and "swingers' grass" - pampas grass - becoming iconic Waiting! Stacey was not alone in her excitement of Primark's return as fans of the shop attended in droves and were pictured waiting in the snow Shopping up a storm! Stacey inspired fans to hit the shops 'Went to my favourite place this morning. This is not an ad in anyway but I have to say #IWORKWITHPRIMARK. Oh my goodness I've missed you friend. They had so many lovely summer bits and new Fejkas.' Stacey was not alone in her excitement of Primark's return as fans of the shop attended in droves and were pictured waiting in the snow. Pregnant Binky, who is expecting her second child, headed to Anita's House - a Chelsea-based baby consultancy, in which she was surrounded by various baby items as she prepared for her new arrival. Anita's House is described as: 'In the busy, competitive world in which we all live, we rarely take the time to stop, pause and prepare for our babies. 'My wish is for Anitas House to be a safe and welcoming haven for all new parents; where we feel privileged to hold your hand as you discover a whole new world and where you feel calm, reassured and fully prepared for family life. Oh my! Pregnant Binky, who is expecting her second child, headed to Anita's House - a Chelsea-based baby consultancy, in which she was surrounded by various baby items as she prepared for her new arrival Yay! On her Instagram story she revealed she was stocking up for her baby's nursery and said: 'Not only does she sell these pretty things but also all the essentials and things you need for your hospital bag', before showing some goodies 'Our advice is honest, heartfelt and based on real experience. We are also proudly unbiased because we want to be able to look you in the eye in years to come and know that our advice was the very best for you, your baby and your lifestyle.' On her Instagram story she revealed she was stocking up for her baby's nursery and said: 'Not only does she sell these pretty things but also all the essentials and things you need for your hospital bag', before showing some goodies. Made In Chelsea star Oliver Proudlock's model wife Emma was also splurging as she headed to Oxford Street to pick up some sportswear. Ringing in: Made In Chelsea star Oliver Proudlock's model wife Emma was also splurging as she headed to Oxford Street to pick up some sportswear Using her followers to help make decisions, she shared a number of Puma trainers and asked for advice on what she should select. Stormzy was also seen shopping as he stepped out of a London branch of Louis Vuitton after which he handed a homeless man some money. On Monday, all non-essential shops were allowed to reopen, along with hairdressers, beauty salons, gyms and swimming pools, with no group classes allowed. Starting with legendary Michael Phelps, 23x U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist and Reese's aficionado Michael will be the face of the Reese's brand this summer appearing in a new ad campaign highlighting the newest member of the Reese's family, Reese's Ultimate Lovers Cup. Rounding out the Ultimate Team Reese's will also include two world-record swimming dynamos, and Tokyo 2020 hopefuls, 5x U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Katie Ledecky and 2x U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Caeleb Dressel. "As America's number one chocolate brand, we couldn't settle for anything other than the best and that's exactly why we've partnered with these legendary U.S. Olympians: Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel," said Margo McIlvaine, Brand Manager Reese's. "These three know exactly what it takes to be the ultimate, and we welcome them to the Ultimate Team Reese's." This summer, as part of Reese's support of Team USA and the Olympic Games, the brand unveiled Reese's Ultimate Peanut Butter Lovers Cups. For the first time ever, in its more than 90-year history, the brand released the most extreme, peanut buttery candy version of its iconic Peanut Butter Cups by removing the chocolate! Yes, that's right, no chocolate. The Reese's Ultimate Peanut Butter Lovers Cups are here for a limited time only along with returning fan favorite, Reese's Peanut Butter Lovers Cup. Throughout the summer, the Reese's brand will be using their social media pages and fanbase to support the much-anticipated Olympic Games and Team USA. While Reese's and Team USA fans won't be seeing 23x U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps in the pool this Summer, they can catch him in the latest Reese's commercial featuring our limited-edition Reese's Ultimate Peanut Butter Lovers Cups. Reese's Ultimate Peanut Butter Lovers Cups are being rolled out in standard (1.4oz, SRP $1.09), king size (2.8oz, SRP $1.79) and miniatures (9.3oz, SRP $4.09) at retailers nationwide starting now for a limited time. For more information or to buy Reese's Ultimate Lovers Cups, please visit our website. The Hershey Company and Reese's brand are a proud partner of Team USA. About The Hershey Company The Hershey Company is headquartered in Hershey, Pa., and is an industry-leading snacks company known for bringing goodness to the world through its iconic brands, remarkable people and enduring commitment to help children succeed. Hershey has approximately 17,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 90 brands around the world that drive more than $8 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop, and Pirate's Booty. For more than 125 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on helping children succeed. To learn more visit www.thehersheycompany.com Follow: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook YouTube Instagram SOURCE The Hershey Company Related Links https://www.thehersheycompany.com By John J. Metzler Storm clouds are gathering along Mozambique's northern coast. Islamic State militants launched a coordinated and deadly assault on the town of Palma, nearby a multi-billion dollar natural gas complex being built by France's Total energy. The recent attack underscores escalating violence against civilians and foreign workers and has triggered insecurity leading to considerable population flight from the region. The script seems right out of the classic Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) playbook with brutal ritualistic beheadings and burned villages adding to near theatrical intimidation. Among at least 55 people killed in Palma were local civilians, foreign contractors and government troops. The three-pronged attack by hundreds of jihadi fighters underscored the expanding insurgency as well as the tactical capacity of the terrorists. Yet the question remains whether this latest flare-up in violence in southern Africa is really an extension of similar movements in places such as Nigeria or the sub-Saharan Sahel or more localized terrorism to destabilize the resource-rich region? The target is alluring; since 2011, rich LNG reserves have been discovered off the coast of Cabo Delgado. Major offshore gas fields would prove a financial windfall for the moribund Mozambican economy, hobbled by state socialism and rife with ingrained corruption. Some analysts predict that the country could become a major LNG producer by mid-decade. Currently, Total has pulled back staff from its $20 billion gas-port development after the attack. Total is reassessing its Mozambique operations until security can be assured. While the actual gas hub site at Afungi was not overrun by insurgents, it was dangerously exposed to the attack. The militant Islamic movement, Ansar al-Sunna, has been active throughout Cabo Delgado since 2017; one of the jihadi groups' aims is to impose Sharia Islamic law on the region. The widening insurgency has left more than 2,600 people killed and displaced nearly 700,000. Experts expect these numbers to reach a million people before long. According to the United Nations, prior to the Palma attack which displaced 10,000 civilians, nearly 670,000 people, including an estimated 160,000 women, were internally displaced in Cabo Delgado and Niassa. Furthermore U.N. humanitarian sources state that more than 2.7 million people in Mozambique face food insecurity, at least 840,000 of them being in Cabo Delgado. Mozambique's 30 million people live in a land mass slightly larger than Texas! The southern African territory gained its independence from Portugal in 1975 after a decade-long insurgency in which the Beijing-backed Frelimo fighters seized power. Though Mozambique's government has dispatched thousands of troops to the North, the soldiers are poorly trained and motivated. Given the high value target of Total's gas terminal complex, a serious security capacity is needed. Foreign players have already come into the mix to provide protection; the government contracted a South African firm called Dyck Advisors which kept the recent attack on Palma from becoming a wider catastrophe. Earlier, Mozambique engaged with Russia's state-sanctioned private security "Wagner Group" which has operated in places like Syria and Libya. The Russians did not exactly distinguish themselves in counter-insurgency and have pulled back. Now we quietly learn that a U.S. Special Forces Team has gone to Mozambique to train local units among the country's Marines. The American deployment mirrors similar military training operations in places like Mali. The U.S. has designated the Islamic State-linked insurgents in Cabo Delgado province a "foreign terrorist organization." In parallel, Portugal, Mozambique's former colonial power, will send 60 special-forces soldiers to work in Cabo Delgado. Ironically, Portuguese Commandos battled Frelimo insurgents in the early 1970s in precisely this region which was a key infiltration point from Tanzania. Though the attacks have been growing in recent years there's been a definite uptick in violence recently in Cabo Delgado, a region forming the fault line between largely Christian Mozambique and the Muslim north bordering Tanzania. Islamic State is clearly taking advantage of a power vacuum to insert itself in the far north of the country; militants are being recruited in Tanzania and sent into neighboring Mozambique. While they call themselves Islamic State Central Africa Province; we may be deceived by the name and the branding. The terrorists may be part of the Islamic State "franchise," but the jihadists plan to create a self-declared "caliphate" in Cabo Delgado province. This would have dire consequences for Mozambique as well as a potential spillover effect into Tanzania where there are shared ethnic and religious roots. Beyond the fate of Total's natural gas facility, there are serious security implications for all southern Africa threatening the destabilization of weak states. John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China." EDWARDSVILLE A Granite City man faces multiple felony charges after what police said was a carjacking on April 10. Zachary R. Schuette, 28, of Granite City, was charged April 12 with vehicular hijacking, a Class 1 felony; robbery and offenses relating to motor vehicles, both Class 2 felonies; and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. According to court documents, on April 10 Schuette allegedly used the threat of force to take a 2007 Honda Civic and the victims purse, and while fleeing Granite City police officers, disobeyed several traffic control devices. Bail was set at $250,000. Other felony cases filed Monday, April 12 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include: James G. Montgomery, 56, of Alton, was charged with aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On April 11 Montgomery allegedly intentionally strangled a family or household member. Bail was set at $60,000. Thomas W. Hausman, 41, of Brighton, was charged with aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On April 11 Hausman allegedly intentionally strangled a household or family member. Bail was set at $60,000. April O. Chambers, 49, of St. Ann, Missouri, was charged with unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 3 felony, as well as aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, retail theft under $300 (second subsequent offense) and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, all Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the South Roxana Police Department. On April 9 Chambers, who has a prior conviction for retail theft out of Madison County in 2018, allegedly was found to be in possession of 9 mm Blazer ammunition; attempted to flee a South Roxana police officer while driving a Chrysler 300, reaching speeds greater than 21 miles per hour above the posted speed limit; had taken merchandise valued at less than $300 from the Wood River Walmart, 610 Wesley Drive, Wood River, and was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of morphine. Bail was set at $50,000. James J. Pugh, 33, of Bethalto, was charged with unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 3 felony. On April 7 Pugh, who has a felony conviction for unlawful possession of a controlled substance out of Texas in 2017, allegedly was found to be in possession of .45 caliber and 9 mm ammunition. Bail was set at $20,000. New Delhi, April 12 : Amid rising cases of Covid-19 in the country, the Congress has started a social media campaign for vaccination for all. Claiming that the country is facing shortage of vaccines, the party said that export of the vaccine should be stopped immediately, and the people of India should be vaccinated first. Speaking on the campaign, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: "The country needs corona vaccine, please raise your voice as everybody has a right for secured life." Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said there should be ban on vaccine exports. "Indians should be vaccinated first... that's indispensable... before we take care of the rest of the world. We urge the Centre to first ensure that vaccines are available to all Indians and only then lift the export moratorium on vaccines." Former Home Minister and senior Congress leader P. Chiadmbaram has also attacked the government and said that "one day the government calls the vaccination drive a 'festival' (utsav). Another day, it calls the drive 'the second war'. Which is it? "Remember, the day after the PM had announced the first lockdown, he claimed that the war against Covid will be won in 21 days, as compared to the Mahabharata war that was won in 18 days? What happened to that war?" India reported 1,68,912 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, setting another grim one-day record as the overall tally reached 1,35,27,717 so far. The health ministry data said here on Monday. With this, India has once again taken its spot as the second-worst hit nation in terms of infections after the US. As many as 904 deaths were reported taking the total Covid related deaths in the country to 1,70,179 so far. India is now the fourth-worst Covid affected country worldwide after the number of active cases rose to 12,01,009. A total of 75,086 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recoveries to 1,21,56,529 with a recovery rate of 90.44 per cent. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text LOS ANGELES Kristen Tate camps a lot. The freelance book editor from San Francisco takes car camping trips for two weeks every summer, during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and often on weekends. She knows its tricky to make reservations for campgrounds in California, especially when youre looking for popular sites during the peak summer season. If I want something for a very desirable weekend, I plan ahead, Tate said. I either get that six-month window when (reservations) open, or I just dont worry and wait for a two-week window right before. I start looking then because thats when people start canceling. Tates advice for getting a cancellation before a holiday weekend: Keep your browser open and stay on it. Why is it so hard to get a reservation? California State Parks says that at times, it cant keep up with demand. We have approximately 13,000 campsites available ... and each year, on average, more than 6.5 million visitors camp in our popular state parks. The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted demand even higher. For example, of 10.1 million households that camped in 2020, 21% said they were new to camping, compared with 4% in 2019, according to a new report by KOA, which operates private campgrounds in the U.S. and Canada. For the first quarter of this year, KOA reports that online reservations increased 112% over the same period in 2020, and 100% over the same period in 2019. During the pandemic, many campgrounds opened, then closed and canceled reservations, and then reopened with limited capacity to comply with state public health guidelines. Now, many are set to reopen fully in areas of the state that have advanced to the orange tier (easing COVID-19 rules for businesses and activities). The state also has lifted the travel advisory that asked Californians to stay within 120 miles of home. With its unique governmental commitment and historical expertise, Japan is poised to remain a global leader in hydrogen energy innovation and promotion for the foreseeable future. Whether you are camping in a tent or in an RV, here are tips and resources that can help. Prices at campgrounds vary, depending on whether you visit during a peak or off-peak season. Also, some campgrounds remain closed because of the pandemic or last years wildfires. How do I get started? Tate starts her search with an old-fashioned California state atlas, which feels like a throw-back, given that most campgrounds have websites. But not all. The large-format atlases have all of the campgrounds marked, she said. So a lot of the little, tiny county ones or community ones, theyll be marked on that map. You may not be able to find out much about them online. Once you have a destination and a date in mind, nail down your spot. Camping reservations open six months in advance for most national and state parks, meaning Memorial Day campers snagged their reservations in late November. (Check for cancellations as dates get closer.) National parks: California has nine, more than any other state: Channel Islands, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacles, Redwood, Sequoia and Yosemite. For many park campgrounds, Recreation.gov 1/8(877) 444-6777 3/8 is the online gateway. You can choose a campground and peruse photos and maps of each one, allowing you to pick a site near the creek or deep in the woods. Reservations open six months in advance. California State Parks: The agency uses the ReserveCalifornia.com (800) 444-7275 online system, which opens reservations six months in advance of the date you want to camp. It also offers maps and information about amenities. One wrinkle that causes frustration for many trying to book at this site: People with existing reservations can change their dates. Thats why the campground you select may be sold out even if you log on exactly six months before the date you want to go. Among the toughest state sites to reserve: Crystal Cove between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, which has 24 cottages, and coastal campgrounds from Santa Cruz to Southern California. The agency recommends trying state parks north of Santa Cruz or inland sites. Check the website for camping information, how to make an on-site reservation, when reservations open throughout the year and other FAQs. Booking tip: Carefully read the rules and refund policies. For state parks, you wont get back the $7.99 to make a reservation if you cancel. For Recreation.gov, nonrefundable fees include $8 for online, $9 for call center and $3 for in-person bookings. Also, you can create online alerts that let you know if a campsite you want becomes available. National forests: Angeles, San Bernardino and Los Padres forests to the north and east as well as Cleveland to the south offer some first come, first served campsites. Arrive no later than Thursday for a chance at getting a weekend site in summer. Others may be booked on Recreation.gov. National forests also offer back-country or dispersed camping, which means sites may not have water, bathrooms, fire rings or other amenities. Bring everything you need (and pack it out too). Other public lands: County and regional parks as well as nature preserves have their own reservation systems and can be a good choice. I often find they are more fun because they just arent as crowded, Tate said. For example, you can book a site at Idyllwild Regional Park near Mount San Jacinto through Riverside County Parks for $30 a night (RivCoParks.org, 1/8(800) 234-7275 3/8) or the Mission Creek Preserve in Desert Hot Springs for free (donations welcome) through the Wildlands Conservancy, which owns and manages the site. Private campgrounds: Camp-California.com allows you to research campgrounds at 1,200 private sites and click through to individual ones to make a reservation. For example, I searched for Yosemite and found eight options outside the park at nearby towns such as Groveland and Oakhurst. Create your ultimate campground, said Dyana Kelley, president of CampCalNOW RV Park and Campground Alliance. The filters allow you to pick and choose those things that are important to you and narrow it down. Do you want a campground with Wi-Fi? A pool or water park? A camp store to buy food? Do you want to bring your pet? Pick the type of campground you want based on the amenities you cant live without, Kelley said. Tip: The website allows you to choose a campground and then click to see where you can rent an RV nearby. It could be a time-saver for those who dont want to rent in L.A. Some providers will have the RV ready when you arrive at your campsite. Cant I just show up? Good luck with that. Campgrounds are super-busy in summer, and you may find yourself without anywhere to stay. You can try it; I just wouldnt expect to get a spot, Kelley said. You have to have a Plan B. That Plan B may mean having a second or third choice in case your first is full. Flexibility is key. Tate once arrived late in the afternoon at Joshua Tree National Park and struck out on getting a campsite. Thats when she booked a room with her HotelTonight app. Its such a great backup, she said. OK, you miss out on camping for a night, but you found this gorgeous hotel room for $100. And you can be first in line the next day to try for a campsite. Isnt there an easier way? Yes and no. There are free apps such as The Dyrt (thedyrt.com) and Campendium (campendium.com) that allow you to search campgrounds and offer photos and information on amenities and individual campsites. But they dont show real-time availability or allow you to make a reservation. Hipcamp.com goes in another direction. It offers private camping destinations you may not think to visit, such as a lavender or llama farm. Its a good way to discover places where few are camping. Read up on the site and understand what it does and doesnt offer in terms of bathrooms, showers and other amenities. In a pilot program, Hipcamp is adding real-time availability for state parks to its website, though you still must book at ReserveCalifornia. I dont have camping gear Welcome to the world of glamping, ready-made camping with all the fixings. Campsites can be lavish and pricey, such as Ventana Big Sur Glamping, which shelters you in safari-style tents at a 20-acre redwood canyon, complete with a wood-burning fire pit, potable water, electric lamps, USB charging ports, towels and lanterns (from $240 a night). Or Eco-Camps, which features safari tents in Temecula (from $159 a night) and Goleta, both opening in May. You are barely within the bounds of being called a camper, but so what? Its nice if you have a group of people who are interested in camping but dont have any equipment, or dont like camping but still want to be with you, Tate said. Theyre tent camps, and you really dont have to bring anything with you. A forecast fall in farm business income during 2020-21 has been described as a 'huge blow' to the farming sector as support payments reduce this year. Defra has released the provisional figures for the 2020/2021 Farm Business Income report, which demonstrate the volatility farmers continue to face. The report anticipates a drop in income of 43% for cereals businesses, 35% for crop businesses and 10% for dairy businesses. The extremely wet autumn and winter of 2019 along with the spring drought of 2020 was a key driver in influencing income, Defra explained. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the farming industry is also expected to be a key factor. It comes as BPS payment rates will be reduced this year, without any new schemes to replace this income and a lack of detail about the interim and future schemes. The average farm in England will see direct payment cuts of over 50% by 2024 before new post-Brexit schemes are fully available. Tom Bradshaw, NFU vice president, said farming businesses across the country were 'increasingly concerned about their bottom line'. Volatility is something farmers are well versed in managing but it doesnt make it any easier to deal with, especially while there is so much uncertainty about the future and how farm support schemes will operate," he said. Industry uncertainty was revealed in the union's recent business survey, which showed confidence remains low among farmers for the third year running. One of the key concerns is the phasing out of BPS, with 78% of respondents saying they believe it will have a negative impact on their business. The survey also warns that the rise in input prices and changes to regulation and legislation due to Brexit is a major concern for farming businesses. And nearly half (44%) of farmers have been impacted by the pandemic, with the figure jumping to 73% for horticulture businesses. Mr Bradshaw said it was therefore 'crucial' for the government to support farmers in the move from BPS to new Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMs). He said it should also "provide productivity improving measures, such as grants and investment in R&D, it has promised so we can build resilience, profitability and sustainability across all sectors." The final farm business income results are due to come out in October 2021. "With our 17 inch section drilled to a milestone depth, and avoiding previous subsurface hazards from MJ01, we are positioned to achieve more flexibility on our lateral portion of the MJ02 well," expressed Zion Oil & Gas CEO, Robert Dunn. "With all key service providers on board, we continue to move forward with our ongoing 2021 operational plans." ZION COMPLETES SECOND OF FOUR DRILLING SECTIONS "We are happy to announce that we have reached our true vertical depth for the second stage of drilling," Zion's VP of Operations, Monty Kness, stated. "Reaching a depth far deeper than any previous well with such a large wellbore came with extreme difficulty as the crew fought the natural pressure of the earth to keep the wellbore trajectory on target." Reaching the intermediate target zones with a borehole that can support the larger casing and production tubing to make a viable well is of vital importance to the overall objectives of Zion. At this stage, Zion will finish the logging, casing, and cementing of this section and then continue drilling toward the ultimate target zones. Having reached the halfway point, Zion's operational team will begin to secure well-testing services and investigate the tendering and availability of completion services. NEW LIMITED UNIT PROGRAM Details: Investors may participate starting Monday, April 12, 2021 . . This Unit Program will continue until the earlier to occur of Wednesday, May 12, 2021 , or Zion raises $2.5million in Unit sales under this program and will not be extended. , or Zion raises in Unit sales under this program and will not be extended. The cost of each Unit will be $250.00 for new and existing Direct Stock Purchase Plan investors. for new and existing Direct Stock Purchase Plan investors. Each Unit purchase will provide the investor with $250 of ZNOG common stock (at the day's high-low average) and fifty (50) $0.25 Warrants. of ZNOG common stock (at the day's high-low average) and fifty (50) Warrants. Warrants are exercisable on the 30 th day following the end of Unit Program and remain exercisable for two years ( June 11, 2021 , to June 12, 2023 ). day following the end of Unit Program and remain exercisable for two years ( , to ). If investors sign up for Zion's automatic monthly investments (AMI) in addition to purchasing a Unit during this Unit program, then they will receive 10 $0.25 Warrants. Current subscribers are eligible for these additional warrants if they choose to participate in this unit purchase. (For more details on the automatic monthly investments (AMI), see Zion's Prospectus.) Warrants. Current subscribers are eligible for these additional warrants if they choose to participate in this unit purchase. (For more details on the automatic monthly investments (AMI), see Zion's Prospectus.) This Unit Program is available through Zion's website. Investors may go to https://www.zionoil.com/dspp to purchase electronically online. Zion Oil & Gas, a public company, traded on OTCQX Best Market, explores for oil and gas onshore in Israel on their 99,000-acre Megiddo-Jezreel license area. "The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8 "Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you." Isaiah 12:5-6 FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this communication that are not historical fact, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Zion's operations; Zion's ability to discover and produce oil in commercial quantities; Zion's ability to continue as a going concern; operational risks in ongoing exploration efforts; the timing and completion of the processing, interpretation of the results and plans contingent thereon off the 3-D seismic survey; regulatory approvals needed for the rig's operation; the effect, if any, of the coronavirus pandemic on the timing of the operation of the well, and liquidity for shareholders on OTCQX are forward-looking statements as defined in the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other unpredictable factors, many of which are described in Zion's periodic reports filed with the SEC and are beyond Zion's control. These risks could cause Zion's actual performance to differ materially from the results predicted by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in Item 1A in Zion's Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, and other factors as may periodically be described in Zion's filings with the SEC. Zion can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in these statements will prove to be correct and assumes no responsibility to update these statements. Contact Info: Andrew Summey VP, Marketing and Investor Relations Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (OTCQX: ZNOG) 12655 North Central Expressway, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75243 Telephone: 888-891-9466 Email: [email protected] www.zionoil.com SOURCE Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. Related Links http://www.zionoil.com The police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd and the prosecutor who initially charged the officer both sold their Minnesota homes last year in the aftermath of the notorious incident. Floyd's death sparked racial justice protests around the world and led to protesters gathering outside of the homes of the officer and prosecutor. Derek Chauvin, the policeman fired from the force after kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than 9 minutes, sold his home in the Minneapolis suburbs over the summer. Chauvin was fired shortly after Floyd's death last May. He is currently on trial, charged with manslaughter, second-degree murder, and third-degree murder. After Floyd's last minutes went viral, riot police were called to Chauvin's home to protect against angry protesters. The word "MURDERER" was chalked on his driveway, which was splattered with red paint, according to media reports. The sides of the garage were also vandalized, says real estate broker Jason Jernell. His brokerage represented the buyer of the property. The former police officer and his ex-wife (who filed for divorce days after Chauvin was charged with murder) sold their three-bedroom, two-bathroom, split-,level home for $279,000 in late August. The nearly 1,700-square-foot home on just over a third of an acre in Oakdale, MN, was originally listed for $305,000 in June, according to realtor.com data. The final sale price was about 8.5% less than the initial asking price. The lower sale price is a reflection of the perceived taint on the home, says estate appraiser Orell Anderson, of Strategic Property Analytics. He specializes in distressed properties. "This discount alleviates the stigma of owning the home," says Anderson. It also may help the buyers justify the purchase. "They didn't buy at market rate; they bought at discount because that's what the [owners] deserve." After the price cut, the home did receive multiple offers, says Jernell. It was built in 1986 with an attached garage and is across the street from a park. Chauvin and his ex, former beauty queen Kellie Chauvin, who earned a real estate license, purchased the home for $270,000 in 2017. Their divorce was finalized in February. Protesters also gathered outside of the Chauvins' second home in Windermere, FL, about 20 minutes southwest of Orlando. The home was purchased in 2011 for $210,900, according to realtor.com data. Kellie had asked for both homes in the divorce, but the residence was listed under both her and her ex-husband's name as of last month, according to property records. Derek Chauvin is now out on $1 million bail, living in an undisclosed location. The disgraced officer wasn't the only one who sold a home as a result of the outrage following the tragedy. The prosecutor who charged Chauvin for Floyd's death sold his home as well in December. The South Minneapolis house of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was repeatedly targeted over the summer by protesters fed up with the favorable treatment of police and a lack of action against police killing civilians, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The crowds reportedly swelled to more than 1,000 people. Freeman's office initially charged Chauvin. The Minnesota attorney general then took over the prosecution of the case. Freeman's three-bedroom, three-bathroom home on almost a quarter of an acre went on the market in July for $749,000. However, the century-old, cottage-style house didn't sell until December for $600,000. That's just under 20% less than the asking price and about 4.6% less than the $629,000 he and his wife bought the property for in 2007. "There's a negative attachment toward those houses," says estate appraiser Anderson. "The taint of being affiliated with this tragedy is so significant that buyers are afraid of being linked to it because they bought these houses." The post Why Derek Chauvin, Charged With Killing George Floyd, Sold His Minnesota Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com. The U.S. Secretary of State, along with the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom and the High Representative of the European Union is strongly concerned about recent reports of human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in the Tigray province of Ethiopia. Fighting started in November when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent federal troops into Tigray with the aim to restore the rule of law by ousting the governing Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, following an attack on a federal army base. Since the fighting broke out, many people have fled Tigray and sought refuge in neighboring Sudan. The G7, in a statement, strongly condemn[ed] the killing of civilians, sexual and gender-based violence, indiscriminate shelling and the forced displacement of residents of Tigray and Eritrean refugees. All parties must exercise utmost restraint, ensure the protection of civilians and respect human rights and international law. The U.S. and its partners look forward to the government of Ethiopia implementing its commitment to hold accountable those responsible for such abuses. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have agreed to conduct a joint investigation into the human rights abuses committed by all parties in the Tigray conflict. It is essential that there is an independent, transparent, and impartial investigation into the crimes reported and that those responsible for these human rights abuses are held to account. The U.S. and its G7 partners urge parties to the conflict to provide immediate, unhindered humanitarian access. There is grave concern about worsening food insecurity, with emergency conditions prevailing across extensive areas of central and eastern Tigray. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy recently announced that Eritrean forces would withdraw from Tigray. The U.S. and its partners called for this process to be swift, unconditional, and verifiable. The joint statement further called for an end of violence and the establishment of a clear inclusive political process that is acceptable to all Ethiopians, including those in Tigray, and which leads to credible elections and a wider national reconciliation process. We the G7 members stand ready to support humanitarian efforts and investigations into human rights abuses. KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. Klamath Falls Police arrested a man last week after he allegedly assaulted an ex-girlfriend and fired a handgun into her apartment in two incidents over the course of several days. The agency said that officers first responded to the High Lakes apartments on Shasta Way just before 11 p.m. on April 14 for reports of an assault. At the scene, a woman told officers that she had been "tied up, physically assaulted, and forced outside of her apartment by her ex-boyfriend." Police identified the man as Zachary Brennan. Brennan, a convicted felon, reportedly had a handgun. He'd left the scene in a vehicle, and officers were unable to find him that night. Two days later, officers again responded to the High Lakes apartments after the same woman reported that Brennan had fired several rounds into her apartment. The two people who were inside the apartment at the time escaped injury. Officers again searched the area for Brennan, finding his vehicle abandoned in a nearby alley. They were unable to find the suspect, however. On Wednesday, April 7, investigators from Klamath Falls Police were watching areas where Brennan was "known to associate." Shortly before 3 p.m., Brennan was spotted getting into a car in the 2500-block of Applegate Avenue. KFPD officers and troopers from Oregon State Police pulled the vehicle over on Washburn Way near Crater Lake Parkway, successfully taking Brennan into custody. Brennan faces a laundry list of charges, including two counts of Attempted Murder and Kidnapping in the First Degree. Police said that the case is still under investigation. If you have information that can assist the investigation, contact the Klamath Falls Police Department at 541-883-5336, or call the anonymous tip line at 541-883-5334. PHOENIX, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Make-A-Wish announced today that the organization has received a donation of more than $2.8 million from Subaru of America, Inc. through the 2020 Subaru Share the Love Event. As part of the 13th annual event, from Nov. 19, 2020, to Jan. 4, 2021, Subaru donated $250 for every new Subaru vehicle purchased or leased to customers' choice of four participating national charities and two retailer-specific hometown charities. For the 10th consecutive year, Make-A-Wish America was fortunate to be selected as one of the national charity beneficiaries. In addition, 30 Subaru retailers chose their local Make-A-Wish chapter to be a hometown charity, accounting for more than $750,000 of the donation total. Since 2011, Make-A-Wish has received a total of more than $26 million in donations through the Subaru Share the Love Event. These funds have enabled more than 2,700 life-changing wishes for children battling critical illnesses nationwide. Most recently, 17-year-old Julia, who battled leukemia, had her wish for a car makeover granted thanks to the support from Subaru. Julia's older model Subaru Legacy looked good-as-new after upgrades to the paint job, rear spoiler, rims, upholstery, sound system and more. Julia looks forward to her car turning heads when she drives to college in the fall now that she's in remission. "Hope is essential for all of us, especially for children with critical illnesses whose playdates and practices often take a backseat to treatments and therapies," said Richard K. Davis, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. "Thanks to Subaru and its customers, we can restore hope and bring joy back into the lives of wish kids and their families when they need it most." "We look forward to the Subaru Share the Love Event each year as an opportunity to give back to our local communities and support organizations like Make-A-Wish that change people's lives for the better," said Thomas J. Doll, president and CEO, Subaru of America. "For the 10th consecutive year, we proudly support the Make-A-Wish mission to help children battling critical illnesses build the physical and emotional strength they need through a wish come true." Over the last 13 years, the Subaru Share the Love Event has donated more than $200 million to local and national charities. For the fifth consecutive year, there was not a cap placed on the total donation from Subaru to Make-A-Wish and other Subaru Share the Love Event charitable partners. To learn more about Subaru and the annual Share the Love Event, please visit www.subaru.com/share. To find out how to join Subaru and others in creating hope for children with critical illnesses, visit wish.org. About Make-A-Wish Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the world's leading children's wish-granting organization, operating in every community in the United States and in nearly 50 countries worldwide. Together with generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 30,000 volunteers across the U.S., Make-A-Wish delivers hope and joy to children and their families when they need it most. Make-A-Wish aims to bring the power of wishing to every child with a critical illness because wish experiences can help improve emotional and physical health. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 500,000 wishes worldwide; more than 340,000 wishes in the U.S. and its territories alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org. About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $200 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 63,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. SOURCE Make-A-Wish WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he's sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts about the scope of his proposed package, its tax hikes and Biden's premise that this is an inflection point for the U.S. as a world power. FILE - People sit at the base of a transmission tower in North Arlington, N.J., Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The Biden White House is amplifying the push for its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package with the release of state-by-state breakdowns that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability. Biden is scheduled to meet Monday, April 12, 2021 with Republican and Democratic lawmakers and can deploy the figures to show that his plan would help meet the needs of their constituents. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he's sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts about the scope of his proposed package, its tax hikes and Biden's premise that this is an inflection point for the U.S. as a world power. Biden met Monday afternoon with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and tried to assure them that the Oval Office gathering was not "window dressing." One of the core disputes is over what counts as infrastructure in his $2.3 trillion proposal. "Im prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it," Biden said. "Its going to get down to what we call infrastructure.'" Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi indicated after the meeting that he was willing to negotiate with Biden and called it a "good discussion." But a more fundamental disagreement also emerged about whether the United States is losing its status atop the global economy because of its deteriorating infrastructure. "He says that were a declining superpower, the United States is no longer number one," Wicker said afterward. "I just fundamentally disagree with that." The meeting came as the Bidens team is making a direct argument for lawmakers to put their constituents ahead of their ideologies. The White House released state-by-state breakdowns Monday that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability, among other issues. An appeal to the broader public is unlikely to resonate much with Republican lawmakers who have already blasted the plan. Among the Republicans at the meeting were Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Democrats attending were Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Sen. Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey and David Price of North Carolina. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with lawmakers to discuss the American Jobs Plan in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) In the room, "nobody said we didnt need infrastructure investment," Cantwell, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in an interview. The lawmakers said Biden will seek to drive a consensus by having his team revisit with them and others, as soon as Tuesday. Graves said the president talked about how he was open to discussion and open to negotiation on the size, scope and definition of infrastructure. "Those are all the exact words that I wanted to hear going into the meeting. And so that was really encouraging," Graves, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The Associated Press. "Is this truly going to be a two-way discussion where we talk about better ways to deliver infrastructure, what the appropriate size and scope are, ways of funding, things like that?" The figures in the state summaries paint a decidedly bleak outlook for the world's largest economy after years of repairs being deferred and delayed. They suggest that too much infrastructure is unsafe for vehicles at any speed, while highlighting the costs of extreme weather events that have become more frequent with climate change as well as dead spots for broadband and a dearth of child care options. Drawn from an array of private and public data, the state reports show there are 7,300 miles (11,748 kilometres) of highway in Michigan alone that are in poor condition. Damaged streets in North Carolina impose an average yearly cost of $500 on motorists. Iowa has 4,571 bridges in need of repair. There is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard. Pennsylvania's schools are short $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades. Most states received a letter grade on their infrastructure. West Virginia earned a D. So did Biden's home state of Delaware. Of the states rated, the highest grade went to Georgia and Utah, which each notched a C-plus. The lowest grade, D-minus, went to the territory of Puerto Rico. The administration is banking that the data will confirm the everyday experiences of Americans as they bump over potholes, get trapped in traffic jams and wait for buses that almost never correspond to published schedules. There is already a receptive audience to the sales pitch, and the strategy is that public support can overcome any congressional misgivings. "We dont have a lot of work to do to persuade the American people that U.S. infrastructure needs major improvement," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Fox News Channel's "Fox News Sunday" ahead of the reports' release. "The American people already know it." Republican lawmakers have been quick to reject the infrastructure proposal from Biden. They say just a fraction of the spending goes to traditional infrastructure, as $400 billion would expand Medicaid support for caregivers and substantial portions would fund electric vehicle charging stations and address the racial injustice of highways that were built in ways that destroyed Black neighbourhoods. The reports give some data to back up their argument that more money should be spent on roads and bridges. Biden's plan would modernize 20,000 miles (32,187 kilometres) worth of roadways, but California by itself has 14,220 miles (22,885 kilometres) of highway in poor condition. Republican lawmakers also object to funding the package by increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and increasing the global minimum tax, among other tax changes including stepped-up IRS enforcement being proposed by the Biden administration. "This plan would impose the biggest tax hikes in a generation when workers need an economic recovery. It would gut right-to-work protections for blue-collar workers," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a Monday floor speech. "It would throw hundreds of billions at the far-lefts green fads." Yet the state-by-state reports make clear that many of the people in Mississippi that Wicker represents could benefit from the package, an aspect of the Biden effort to engender the backing of voters across party lines. Mississippi needs $4.8 billion for drinking water and $289 million for schools. Nearly a quarter of households lack an internet subscription, and a similar percentage lives in areas without broadband. Mississippians who use public transportation have to devote an extra 87.7% of their time to commuting. Mississippi's infrastructure received a grade of D-plus. Online: White House's state-by-state infrastructure reports: Fact sheets by state. AP reporters Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking contributed to this report. A convicted terrorist calmly chatted to a Cambridge graduate at a prisoner rehabilitation conference held by Learning Together who were celebrating their 5 year anniversary, before stabbing her in the neck, an inquest heard yesterday. Jihadi Usman Khan was photographed sitting one seat away from Saskia Jones, 23, in the banqueting hall at Fishmongers' Hall in central London in November 2019. Video footage showed Khan enjoying brunch and mingling with delegates in conference rooms which are lined with royal crests and a portrait of the Queen. Staff and guests were unaware that the terrorist was wearing a fake suicide vest under his jacket and had three knives in his bag. During the lunch break, Khan went to the men's toilets and taped an eight-inch kitchen knife to each hand. When he opened the door he saw 25-year-old Jack Merritt another Cambridge University graduate who was helping to run the Learning Together rehabilitation programme and stabbed him 12 times. Police later found Khan's prayer book and a third knife inside a bag in the toilet. He had inscribed the knives with the symbol of Allah. Khan then moved towards the cloakroom where Miss Jones was standing and plunged a knife into her neck. Both victims died of their wounds minutes later. At the time of the attack, Khan was on licence and was wearing an electronic tag. Jihadi Usman Khan was photographed sitting one seat away from Saskia Jones, 23, in the banqueting hall at Fishmongers' Hall in central London in November 2019 Metropolitan Police handout photo, which was shown in court today at the inquest of the terror attack at the Fishmonger's Hall in London on November 29, 2019, of Usman Khan (1) and Saskia Jones (2) sat at a table together at a prisoner rehabilitation event near London Bridge Families of Jack Merritt, 25, (left) and Saskia Jones, 23, (right) the victims of the 2019 Fishmonger's Hall terror attack were today told the harrowing details of how Usman Khan launched his deadly knife attack Khan, 28, (pictured) pretended he was deradicalised before stabbing five people, including Mr Merritt, a course coordinator for the Institute, and Ms Jones, a volunteer Pictured: Michelle Jones (middle), the mother of victim Saskia Jones is seen leaving a memorial service for her daughter at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon on December 20, 2019 Khan was challenged outside the Fishmonger's Hall by members of the public, who had a fire extinguisher and a narwhal tusk, before the arrival of police Ministry of Justice worker Darryn Frost grabs narwhal tusk and races outside the building to confront the attacker Metropolitan Police handout photo, which was shown in court today at the inquest of the terror attack at the Fishmonger's Hall in London on November 29, 2019 of a knife and tape He had been released the previous year after serving eight years for terror offences, including plotting to attack the London Stock Exchange in 2010. Khan later stabbed criminology graduate Stephanie Szczotko in the arm before maiming fellow staff member Isobel Rowbotham. Giving evidence on the first day of the inquest into the attack, Detective Chief Inspector Dan Brown said Khan was then confronted by delegates. How did the Fishmonger's Hall terror attack unfold? Mr Lucraft, who is the Recorder of London, described the background to the deaths at the Learning Together event. He told jurors they would have to answer four questions: who were the deceased, when, where and how they met their deaths. Detective Chief Inspector Dan Brown went on to chronicle the events of November 29 2019 in a series of photographs from the event. He told jurors the attack began at 1.56pm in the men's toilets at Fishmongers' Hall. Khan had armed himself with two knives and left a bag containing a third knife in the toilets, where he also dropped a prayer book. It was there that he attacked Mr Merritt, stabbing him multiple times, causing 12 injuries including a fatal wound to the chest, the court heard. Khan made his way to the cloakroom area, where he gestured to a member of staff 'as if to be quiet', Mr Brown said. Khan then stabbed Ms Jones in the neck, jurors were told. Ms Jones staggered towards the bottom of the stairs and took a few steps before collapsing. Khan went on to attack Stephanie Szczotko and Isobel Rowbotham during the rampage. He was confronted by a number of attendees with an ornamental pike taken from the wall and a narwhal tusk, jurors heard. The attacker then approached a member of staff, held a knife to his chest and asked him to open the door, which he did, the court was told. Meanwhile, the court heard, there were screams and lots of confusion as people left by another exit. Khan was confronted on London Bridge by John Crilly, Steven Gallant and Darryn Frost at around 2.01pm, some five minutes after the attack began, jurors were told. Detailing the moment Khan was gunned down by officers, DCI Brown said he was shot and tasered after they saw what looked like an improvised explosive device taped to his torso. City of London armed police arrived at the scene at 2.02pm following a 999 call made at 1.58pm. He was formally pronounced dead at 3.07pm but the real time of death is likely much earlier, jurors heard. The inquest is expected to last for several weeks and be followed by a separate jury inquest into the death of Khan. Advertisement They gathered weapons from the walls of Fishmongers' Hall including an ornamental pike, narwhal tusks and a fire extinguisher. Kitchen porter Lukasz Koczocik was stabbed in the arm during the attempt to subdue Khan, who then forced security guard Chris Jeffs to let him out of the locked front door by threatening him with a knife. Astonishing CCTV footage played to the inquest showed Khan, with his knives raised, charging at Steven Gallant, a convicted murderer who was on day release at the time. Mr Gallant retreated behind the front door before re-emerging with a large narwhal tusk to attack Khan with. The terrorist was also chased by convicted killer John Crilly, who was armed with a fire extinguisher, and civil servant Darryn Frost, who used a second narwhal tusk. As Khan ran towards members of the public on London Bridge, the trio pinned him down. Armed police arrived about six minutes after the attack began. Believing Khan's suicide vest to be real, officers shot him twice. Police later discovered he had made the fake bomb vest using a black belt, a battery charger and Xbox parts. The inquest, which is being held in London's Guildhall building, is expected to last for up to six weeks. The inquest had earlier heard how the heroes of the incident had chased Khan into the street brandishing a narwhal tusk, fire extinguisher and ceremonial pike. CCTV shown to a jury at the start of a nine-week inquest shows civil servant Darryn Frost wielding a narwhal tusk in pursuit of the killer. Khan was then chased out of the venue and onto London Bridge by attendees brandishing a narwhal tusk, a fire extinguisher and and ceremonial pike, and pinned down by civil servant Darryn Frost as civilians escaped. Steve Gallant was captured on footage 'squaring off' with Khan, 28, while John Crilly sprayed him with a fire extinguisher, jurors heard. Once they reached London Bridge, members of the public tried to seize the two blades taped to Khan's gloves as police vaulted over barriers while shouting 'bomb'. Mr Frost pinned the killer down until civilians had left the vicinity, a jury heard. A marksman then shot dead Khan, a convicted terrorist who had been released from jail halfway through a 16-year sentence. Jurors were shown footage from a number of angles, including a bird's eye view from the helicopter deployed to the scene, CCTV and police bodycam. They were told how Khan was filmed by security cameras enjoying a chat with victim Ms Jones moments before stabbing five people. MI5, police and Mr Merritt's employer Learning Together, which organised the event, will face questions on whether they missed chances to stop the attack. Khan's death will be the subject of a separate inquest. The inquest today heard how Frost wielded a narwhal tusk as he followed Mr Gallant and Mr Crilly, two reformed offenders, out of Fishmonger's Hall in pursuit of the killer. Khan 'writhed around' after officers shot at him but carried on moving his hands around his puffer jacket, the inquest heard. A 'critical shot' was authorised after he began 'moving his arms above his head with the jacket now over his head,' jurors heard. Metropolitan Police handout photo, which was shown in court today at the inquest of the terror attack at the Fishmonger's Hall in London on November 29, 2019, of a knife and tape Metropolitan Police handout photo, which was shown in court today at the inquest of the terror attack at the Fishmonger's Hall in London on November 29, 2019, of a IED Metropolitan Police handout photo, which was shown in court today at the inquest of the terror attack at the Fishmonger's Hall in London on November 29, 2019, of a decorative pike Pictured: Fishmonger's Hall terror attack victim Jack Merritt is seen with his girlfriend Leanne O-Brien The victims' devastated friends and family heard how Khan inflicted 12 wounds on Mr Merritt with his knives before attacking Ms Jones and stabbing her in the neck. Chilling CCTV captured Khan 'talking animatedly' at Ms Jones at brunch in the moments before he launched the attack was played to jurors. '[At 11.56pm] he appears to be talking to Saskia Jones,' Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquest, said. 'We see him talking quite animatedly.' DCI Brown replied: 'Yes, we don't know what the content of that conversation was.' Khan scratched a symbol meaning 'Allah' into the blades he used to kill the victims, the inquest heard. The terrorist had made a 'crude' bid to etch the Arabic symbol just above the handle of three eight-inch knives he took to the venue, jurors heard. They were found after officers shot Khan shortly after 2.02pm when they saw him wearing what they thought was a bomb on London Bridge. DCI Brown said today that Khan was believed to have strapped the hoax suicide vest on the train to London Euston. He took three trips to a toilet cubicle throughout the journey, including one on the train which lasted seven minutes. Forensic investigators later discovered he had made the fake bomb vest using a black 'soccer slimming' belt, a battery charger and parts of an X-box. Detailing the moment Khan was gunned down by officers, DCI Brown said he was shot and tasered after they saw what looked like an improvised explosive device taped to his torso. City of London armed police arrived at the scene at 2.02pm following a 999 call made at 1.58pm. He was formally pronounced dead at 3.07pm but the real time of death is likely much earlier, jurors heard. 'There was one individual, Mr Frost, still holding onto Mr Khan. He was asked to move out of the way. At that point one of the officers discharged their firearm and one a taser,' DCI Brown said. 'Did their shots connect?' Mr Hough asked. 'Yes,' the officer replied. 'At this point Usman Khan was injured but alive?' Mr Hough said. 'That's correct, he was very much alive... 'In light of the fact that he was wearing an IED, officers withdrew. Khan was still lying on the floor but was moving about,' DCI Brown said. 'Was there an uneasy standoff effectively?' the QC asked. 'Jack fit perfectly into my life': Victim's girlfriend pays heart-wrenching tribute Heart-wrenching pen portraits and statements from victims' grief-stricken loved ones were read to the hearing today. Mr Merritt's devastated girlfriend Leanne said they had been 'inseparable' as a couple and remembered their first date. Leanne said: 'As many of you will know as soon as Jack and I met we were pretty much inseparable. 'In true Jack style, our first date was Masterchef with three large pizzas because two might just not have been enough. Pictured: Leanne O'Brien, Jack Merritt's girlfriend, seen on the day of his funeral 'Jack fit perfectly into my life, and was my biggest support, a number one fan, he always got me through the really tough times when I really didn't believe I could myself. He made me feel it was possible to achieve anything and everything. 'I'll miss the skip in your step and your huge famous Jack Merritt smile that somehow produce those creases and dimples all over your face. 'I'll miss you asking me every day if you still look hench and the ridiculous conversations we had about you wanting to be 100kg.' Advertisement 'Yes, Khan sat up at one point was moving round and clearly presented... a threat from the IED,' the officer replied. 'Further shots were fired at 2.10pm and it was 2.12pm when he no longer showed any signs of life.' Mr Merritt was taken by emergency services to a rendezvous at the junction between Cannon Street and King William Street at 2.23pm, jurors heard. They battled to save his life but despite their best efforts he was pronounced dead at 2.33pm. Ms Jones' condition 'deteriorated very, very quickly' as she received assistance from other attendees and officers, the inquest heard. She received CPR and emergency treatment from London Ambulance Service but was pronounced dead at 2.25pm, the officer said. '[Her condition deteriorated very, very quickly to the point where she was given CPR by officers and attendees,' DCI Brown said. 'What efforts were made to safe her over that time that followed?' Mr Hough asked. 'They were significant efforts,' DCI Brown said. 'Unfortunately and tragically they were unable to save life and she was pronounced dead at 2.45pm.' The victims' devastated friends and relatives read out tributes at today's hearing, with Mr Merritt's tearful mother describing her son as 'a force for good in the world.' Speaking in the Old Library at the Guildhall, Mr Merritt's mother Anne Merritt wept as she read out moving tributes to her son. She told jurors: 'Jack Merritt was a good person. Jack was a force for good in the world, someone who made other people's lives better for knowing him. 'We are hugely proud of who Jack was and what he stood for. His death was a tragedy but his life was a triumph.' Mr Merritt's brother Joe revealed that he never admitted to his sibling how much he had admired his sense of style. Joe said: 'Jack was never afraid to express himself to do something different from those around him. Our parents raised us around music and art dragging us to numerous festivals, galleries and exhibitions which rubbed off on me and Jack in our own ways. 'It encouraged us to express ourselves as individuals and never be afraid to be different form a young age. This was very apparent and manifested itself through Jack's many phases, his grunge rock phase, his indie phase or my favourite, the Eminem phase, paired with this distinctive bleached hair. 'I always looked up to Jack because of this. He was a very cool brother to have and I loved everything he owned.' Attendees at the hearing were asked to take lateral flow tests, wore surgical face masks, and sat in socially distanced seats throughout the hearing as part of a strict protocol to maintain Covid-secure conditions as the 11-person jury was sworn in. Opening the inquest, Coroner Judge Mark Lucraft warned jurors there would be some 'graphic' details about the tragedy. The judge said: '[Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones] both died on 29 November 2019. 'This hearing concerns their deaths that occurred following an attack by Usman Khan at Fishmonger's Hall in the City of London that day. the role of the coroner is to investigate violent or unexplained deaths. 'If we go back to 2019... In that year, there were some 530,857 deaths registered in England and Wales. Of those deaths some 210,900 were reported to a coroner. 'Many of the inquest hearings that took place would have taken an hour two hours or at most a day to resolve. Very few span days or even weeks.' He highlighted that on November 29, 2019, a number of people had attended an event at Fishmongers Hall. Mr Merritt and Ms Jones were two of those attending that event. The event had been organised by Learning Together. Chilling CCTV, which has not yet been released to the public, capturing Khan 'talking animatedly' at Ms Jones (right) at brunch in the moments before he launched the attack was played to jurors. Also pictured: Jack Merritt (left) Pictured: Forensic investigators search for fingerprints in a cordoned off section of London Bridge following the Fishmonger's Hall terror attack in 2019 Leanne O'Brien (pictured second from left) said in her statement: 'Jack fit perfectly into my life, and was my biggest support, a number one fan, he always got me through the really tough times when I really didn't believe I could myself' He said: 'Learning Together is a national organisation founded in 2019 dedicated to the rehabilitation of prisoners. 'It is associated with the University of Cambridge and runs courses in a number of prisons. 'The event was attended by a variety of people associated with the organisation including supporters of the organisation, current and former prisoners.' He also said that Saskia had been a former Cambridge criminology student who sometimes attended Learning Together and that Jack had been a former Cambridge postgraduate who was employed by the university as part of the Learning Together programme. Describing the terror attack, he said: 'As you will hear Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were attacked by one of the other attendees, a former terrorism offender. 'Both Jack and Saskia received stab wounds that proved to be fatal. 'Two others attendees, Isobel Rowbotham and Stephanie Szczotko, were attacked and survived the attacks on them. Others were less seriously hurt. 'A number of those present set upon a decorative pike, narwhal tusks and a fire extinguisher. 'Khan confronted a maintenance engineer and threatened him, forcing him to use his fob to allow Khan out of the building. 'Once he was out of Fishmonger's Hall and on London Bridge Khan was attacked by other attendees of the event, and by members of the public, forcing him to the floor and kicking the knives he was holding from his grip. 'Armed police officers were soon on the scene and directed members of the public away. Khan was wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest. 'He was shot and tasered. As his death was a result of action of police officers his death will be subject to be a further, separate inquest. Despite all the efforts that were made sadly both Jack and Saskia died. 'Some [evidence] will inevitably be quite graphic but care has been taken not to show the most graphic footage.' Mr Merritt (left) and Ms Jones (right) were both graduates from Cambridge University and a rehabilitation event held by Learning Together, a scheme run by the Cambridge Institute of Criminology on November 29, 2019. Merritt was a course coordinator for the Institute and Ms Jones was a volunteer at the event Mr Merritt's mother Anne (pictured, on December 20, 2019) today said of her son: 'We are hugely proud of who Jack was and what he stood for. 'His death was a tragedy but his life was a triumph' During the hearing today, statements and pen portraits were read aloud on behalf of the victims' loved ones. Jurors heard that Mr Merritt had worked at The Punter Pub in Cambridge for a short time where his boss believed he was 'destined to do great things' and remembered him for his 'swagger.' Sarah, the landlady of The Punter, said: 'Jack dressed like his favourite pint of Guinness - pristine white t-shirt, pressed black jeans and black doc martens. 'For sure Jack Merritt was destined to do great things. But his swagger was so far from superficial - this young man was bloody clever, had full ownership of a sound moral compass and the intellectual might to challenge the norm.' One of Jack's primary school teachers, named Joanna, said: 'You think as a teacher you will love all the children you teach, but you don't. 'You think you will remember them all and you don't. But I love Jack and I remembered. 'When I heard news of his death the first thing I did was send a message to my colleagues saying please, please tell me that's not our lovely Jack.' Mr Merritt's friend Harley also wrote, describing him as a 'completely brilliant boy' who 'could have done anything'. Friends from Manchester University, where Mr Merritt studied at undergraduate level and achieved a First, said: 'It was clear that Jack was intelligent, but when we started to study miscarriages of justice in further detail, it became clear how strongly Jack felt about criminal justice.' Mr Merritt's friends at Cambridge remembered him as 'devilishly handsome' and 'selfless,' committed to helping those most in need. Laura Lewis from Cambridge University said: 'Jack was proud. Jack was absorbingly intelligent and fiercely loyal. 'Oh, and if you hadn't realised by now, he was also devilishly handsome. 'But Jack was also angry, frustrated, selfless and stubborn. He was angry because he saw our society failing those most in need. Pictured: Floral tributes which were left on December 2, 2019, at the site of the terror attack in which Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were killed 'He was frustrated because all of the political elites have forgotten what it is to be fair. He was selfless in his dedication to make things right in every second of his life.' Learning Together students and mentors said: 'The world has lost one of its true visionaries and he'll be greatly missed. 'We are certainly the richer for having him in our lives.' A statement attributed to the Longford Trust, another scheme working with ex-prisoners, said: 'Jack spoke the truth capturing the essence of why we all owe to those who are in prison to find a way back into society, to provide hope. 'Over drinks with Jack on a hot summer evening in Brixton prison we enjoyed his company, pint in hand, wearing shorts and kicking back with international academics and former prisoners alike. 'Jack lived his beliefs. He walked the walk.' Henry Pitchers QC said Ms Jones' family had decided against doing a full portrait for her as it 'would fly in the face' of her private nature. He said Ms Jones would wish for the inquest to focus on the facts and evidence, with 'emphasis to be on a thorough investigation as to how she came to lose her life'. He said: 'It would be her hope that no other family is devastated and heartbroken again in similar circumstances.' He said it was important to the family that her legacy was not solely based on her work with Learning Together. Mr Pitchers said: 'She should be defined as someone who battled to improve the lives of others in several spheres and was driven to make real changes in the world.' He described her research in the field of sexual violence with rape crisis. He said: 'Her passion in this area enabled her to finally find her career path with the hope of becoming a detective in victim support within the police force. 'The positive impact Saskia had on so many people in challenging situations provided a valley of light for them to seek hope and a way forward.' 'The grief and loss that the family and friends of Saskia continue to endure is personal to them, and it's their wish that it remain so,' Pitchers said. Lawyers representing the victims' families have previously said a key issue will be whether the atrocity could have been avoided. Security services, police and Mr Merritt's employers are to face questions on whether they missed chances to stop the 28-year-old. Khan, who was out on licence and wearing an electronic tag at the time of attack, had previously been convicted of plotting a terror strike on London's Stock Exchange. He was released early from his sentence in December 2018. The families of both victims had previously separately sought legal action against the Government for alleged failings over Khan's early release. The inquest continues tomorrow morning with evidence from attendees of the event. Researchers at Keck School of Medicine of USC conduct first-ever study of Abl1 gene's role in neural stem cell biology and the implications for cognitive decline In a new study published in Cell Stem Cell, a team led by USC Stem Cell scientist Michael Bonaguidi, PhD, demonstrates that neural stem cells - the stem cells of the nervous system - age rapidly. "There is chronological aging, and there is biological aging, and they are not the same thing," said Bonaguidi, an Assistant Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Gerontology and Biomedical Engineering at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "We're interested in the biological aging of neural stem cells, which are particularly vulnerable to the ravages of time. This has implications for the normal cognitive decline that most of us experience as we grow older, as well as for dementia, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and brain injury." In the study, first author Albina Ibrayeva, a PhD candidate in the Bonaguidi Lab in the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, joined her colleagues in looking at the brains of young, middle-aged and old mice. By tracing individual neural stem cells, or NSCs, over the course of several months, they identified "short-term NSCs" that quickly differentiate into more specialized neurons, and "long-term NSCs" that continually divide and replicate themselves to maintain an ongoing reserve of stem cells with the ability to generate many different cell types in the brain. This key population of long-term NSCs divided less often and failed to maintain their numbers as the mice aged. The scientists next examined thousands of genes in the long-term NSCs, which were dividing less often and had slipped into an inactive state known as quiescence. The gene activity of the quiescent NSCs varied greatly in young versus middle-aged animals. As expected, there were changes in genes that control how long-term NSCs divide, as well as generate new neurons and other brain cells. Remarkably, there were many important changes in gene activity related to biological aging at younger ages than anticipated. These pro-aging genes make it more difficult for cells to repair damage to their DNA, regulate their genetic activity, control inflammation and handle other stresses. Among the pro-aging genes, the scientists were most intrigued by Abl1, which formed the hub of a network of interrelated genes. "We were interested in the gene Abl1, because no one has ever studied its role in neural stem cell biology--whether in development or in aging," said Ibrayeva. Using an existing, FDA-approved chemotherapy drug called Imatinib, scientists could easily inhibit the activity of the gene Abl1. The scientists gave older mice doses of Imatinib for six days. After the drug blocked the activity of the gene Abl1, the NSCs began to divide more and proliferate in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory. "We've succeeded in getting neural stem cells to divide more without depleting, and that's step one," said Bonaguidi. "Step two will be to induce these stem cells to make more neurons. Step three will be to demonstrate that these additional neurons actually improve learning and memory. Much work remains to be done, but this study marks exciting progress towards our goal of identifying prescription drugs that could rejuvenate our brains as we grow older." ### Additional co-authors include: Maxwell Bay, Elbert Pu, Lei Peng, Naibo Zhang, Daniel Aaron, Congrui Lin, Galen Resler, and Axel Hidalgo from USC; David Jorg and Benjamin D. Simons from the University of Cambridge; and Heechul Jun and Mi-Hyeon Jang from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Seventy percent of the research was supported by federal funding from the National Institutes of Health (R00NS080913, R56AG064077, R01AG0585560, and T32HD060549-08), and the remainder was supported by non-federal funding from the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation, the L.K. Whittier Foundation, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the Children's Hospital Los Angeles TSRI pilot program, a Royal Society E P Abraham Professorship (RP\R1\180165), the Wellcome Trust (098357/Z/12/Z), the American Federation for Aging Research Scholarship for Research in Biology of Aging and the USC Provost's Research Enhancement Fellowship. About Keck School of Medicine Founded in 1885, the Keck School of Medicine of USC is one of the nation's leading medical institutions, known for innovative patient care, scientific discovery, education, and community service. Medical and graduate students work closely with world-renowned faculty and receive hands-on training in one of the nation's most diverse communities. They participate in cutting-edge research as they develop into tomorrow's health leaders. With more than 900 resident physicians across 50 specialty and subspecialty programs, the Keck School is the largest educator of physicians practicing in Southern California. - By GF Value The stock of B&M European Value Retail SA (OTCPK:BMRRY, 30-year Financials) appears to be modestly undervalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. 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Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great way to understand the financial strength of a company. B&M European Value Retail SA has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.21, which is in the middle range of the companies in the industry of Retail - Defensive. The overall financial strength of B&M European Value Retail SA is 5 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of B&M European Value Retail SA is fair. This is the debt and cash of B&M European Value Retail SA over the past years: Story continues B&M European Value Retail SA Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Undervalued It poses less risk to invest in profitable companies, especially those that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. A company with high profit margins is also typically a safer investment than one with low profit margins. B&M European Value Retail SA has been profitable 6 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $5.4 billion and earnings of $1.345 a share. Its operating margin is 10.60%, which ranks better than 91% of the companies in the industry of Retail - Defensive. Overall, GuruFocus ranks the profitability of B&M European Value Retail SA at 7 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of B&M European Value Retail SA over the past years: B&M European Value Retail SA Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Undervalued Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long term performance of a company's stock. The faster a company is growing, the more likely it is to be creating value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth rate of B&M European Value Retail SA is 16.2%, which ranks better than 86% of the companies in the industry of Retail - Defensive. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is 34.1%, which ranks better than 84% of the companies in the industry of Retail - Defensive. Another method of determining the profitability of a company is to compare its return on invested capital to the weighted average cost of capital. Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. When the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it implies the company is creating value for shareholders. For the past 12 months, B&M European Value Retail SA's return on invested capital is 12.43, and its cost of capital is 4.88. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of B&M European Value Retail SA is shown below: B&M European Value Retail SA Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Undervalued Overall, B&M European Value Retail SA (OTCPK:BMRRY, 30-year Financials) stock is believed to be modestly undervalued. The company's financial condition is fair and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks better than 84% of the companies in the industry of Retail - Defensive. To learn more about B&M European Value Retail SA stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here. To find out the high quality companies that may deliever above average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. The Council of Common Interest (CCI) on Monday approved the results of 2017 national population census with majority votes and decided to hold the new census by end of 2021 ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :The Council of Common Interest (CCI) on Monday approved the results of 2017 national population census with majority votes and decided to hold the new census by end of 2021. The meeting of the CCI was held here presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan and was attended by the Chief Ministers of all the provinces. Later giving details of the meeting in a press conference here, Minster for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said the Chief Ministers of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan voted in favor of the approval while the Sindh Chief Minister voted against the approval. However, he said that keeping in view the reservations showed by some stakeholders including Sindh government over the results of the census, the CCI had decided to start the process of 7th national population census by October this year. "What we had to do was that either to approve or to reject the results, and as the decision of rejection would mean a great loss to the provinces, the CCI has approved with majority vote and decided not to wait for 10 years to hold the next census," Asad Umar added. He said the framework for new census would be prepared within six to eight weeks and then the approval for new census would be sought from the CCI. "About four months after the approval, the process of new census would start by end September or start of October this year." The minister informed that the census was a process that spans over a period of 18 months so it would be completed by start of 2023. "The general election are expected to be held in October 2023 so the next general elections would be held on the basis of new census' results, he added. Asad Umar said the cost of the new census was estimated at around Rs 23 billion that would be divided in two fiscal years-FY2022 and FY2023. DALLAS, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Some associate April with rain showers, others with dreaded tax season. With 15 states and counting allowing Mary Jane to legally blow within their borders, many are also now associating it with one infamous holiday: 4/20. However you celebrate this holiday, the festivities will likely lead to an extreme case of the munchies. That's why this year Hotels.com is picking up your room service tab. You've got the munchies? We've got the money we call it munchie money! Hotels.com is footing the room service bill for your 4/20 munchies. With more and more travelers looking for fun ways to celebrate, Hotels.com wants to make this 4/20 extra special. 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"The perks included as part of this Munchie Money deal are truly the culmination of all the best aspects of being a Hotels.com rewards member," said Jennifer Dohm, Head of PR and Communications, North America. "From late checkout to a bonus night stay, only Hotels.com allows you to get rewarded just for reserving a stay. Getting your massive room service spread covered doesn't hurt either!" No stay booked yet? Well, get on it! Treat yourself to a getaway at one of our favorite 4/20-friendly stays and send over that confirmation to be entered to win. For official terms and conditions, see here. *This package does not offer any cannabis products and any traveler who redeems must adhere to local laws and hotel policies around consumption and purchase. All non-smoking rules must be adhered to in the room. **Room service to be delivered in the form of a $200 VISA gift card. About Hotels.com (or Hotels.com) Hotels.com is the most rewarding way to book a place to stay. We really love travel and we know you do too. That's why we make it really easy to book with us. With hundreds of thousands of places to stay around the world and 90 local websites in 41 languages, Hotels.com has it all. So, whether you're looking for value in Vegas, treehouses in Thailand or villas with views, it's all just a click away. And with our "Reward-winning" loyalty program you earn free* nights while you sleepwhat could be better? Booking just got smarter too. With over 25 million real guest reviews and an app so easy to use that it's been downloaded 70 million times, you can be sure to find the perfect place for you. *Exclusions apply. Reward night worth average price of previous 10. Taxes/fees payable on each Reward Night redeemed. A $5 fee is charged on each Reward Night redeemed, unless redeemed on the app. See T&Cs https://www.hotels.com/customer_care/terms_conditions.html?pos=HCOM_US&locale=en_US 2020 Hotels.com, LP, an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Hotels.com and the Hotels.com logo are trademarks of Hotels.com, LP. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. CST# 2083949-50 SOURCE Hotels.com Update: LG Wing will go on sale again on Flipkart today, April 15th at 12 noon at a discounted rate of Rs. 29,999. Earlier: A few days back, LG announced its decision to shut down the mobile phone business owing to continuous losses. As a result, LG Wing, a dual-display, swivel-smartphone which was launched at Rs. 69,990 in India will be available Rs. 29,999 during Flipkart Flagship Fest sale, with a massive price cut of Rs. 40,000. The sale starts on April 12th and ends on the 15th, but the LG phone will be available from tomorrow, April 13th. Notably, Flipkart has listed a 1-year warranty and five-year service for LG Wing. This move from LG comes as an attempt to exhaust its inventory and stockpile properly before closing its mobile phone section. Previously, LG offered a similar discount for its LG G8X last year to clear the stock. If you are interested, here are the specifications LG WING specifications 6.8-inch (2440 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 20.5: 9 aspect ratio P-OLED display, 3.9-inch (1240 x 1080 pixels) 1.15:1 G-OLED second screen Octa Core (1 x 2.4GHz + 1 x 2.2GHz + 6 x 1.8GHz Kryo 475 CPUs) Snapdragon 765G 7nm EUV Mobile Platform with Adreno 620 GPU 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, expandable memory up to 2TB with microSD Android 10 64MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, OIS, 13MP 117 ultra-wide lens with f/1.9 aperture, 12MP 120 ultra-wide Gimbal mode Camera with f/2.2 aperture 32MP pop-up front-facing camera with f/1.9 aperture In-display fingerprint sensor USB Type-C audio Dimensions: 169.5 x 74.5 x 10.9 mm; Weight: 260g MIL-STD 810G Compliance, Water and Dust Resistance (IP54) 5G SA/ NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C 4000mAh (Typical) battery with Quick Charge 4.0+ 25W fast charging, 10w wireless charging A few days back, the company also confirmed that it will provide 3 generations of Android OS updates for its premium models released in 2019 and later and 3 generations of OS updates for other models released in 2020. The LG Wing comes in two colors Aurora Gray and Illusion Sky colours. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and a former Ekiti governor, Ayo Fayose, have agreed to accept whoever emerges as the South-west PDP Chairperson. They both stated this in their opening speeches as the PDP South-west Congress went underway on Monday in Osogbo. A former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Taofeek Arapaja, and the immediate past chair of the party in the zone, Eddy Olafeso, are the chairmanship candidates. While Mr Makinde is supporting Mr Arapaja for the position, Mr Fayose is backing Mr Olafeso. This had caused sharp disagreement between Messrs Makinde and Fayose, the situation which made the party to shift the venue and date of the congress from Ibadan to Osogbo. In his remarks, Mr Makinde described the congress as a family affair and also an attempt to reposition the PDP in the South-west. The governor said that whatever the outcome of the election, he would take it as a family affair. This election is a family affair and also an attempt to reposition the PDP in the Southwest and the outcome will have implication for our party at the national level. We dont want to defeat ourselves but rather we want to defeat the opposition. At the end of the election, there will be no victor nor vanquished. As the only PDP governor in the southwest, I will work with anyone who emerges as the chairman in the zone and I will work with the team to reposition our party, Mr Makinde said. On his part, Mr Fayose said the issue of the congress was circumstantial, adding that Makinde is our leader. He also said he would accept the outcome of the election, but appealed to his supporters and those of Mr Makinde to sheath their swords. The issue of this congress is circumstantial. Makinde is our leader in the Southwest. Our supporters should stop putting division between us. Seyi and I are one. Nobody has offended me and if I have offended anyone, please forgive me. If Arapaja wins, I will be the first to greet him in Ibadan because nothing lasts forever, Mr Fayose said Earlier, Benson Abounu, who represented Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue as Chair of the Electoral Panel, said the congress was a family affair. He said the electoral committee had deliberated on how to conduct a peaceful and smooth congress. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Abounu said the panel would be transparent, just, fair and would allow the right things to be done. The congress is a PDP issue. No-one is an enemy of another. Anyone who is our enemy must be from another party. We intend to take over all the geopolitical zones and also to take over power in 2023. We can only achieve this when we are united. Let everyone sheath his or her sword and regard the other as family, MrnAbounu added. He thereafter dissolved all the acting zonal executives and the voting began at exactly 4:46p.m. (NAN) WASHINGTON The Biden administration has struck an agreement with a trio of Central American nations to temporarily surge security forces to their borders in an effort to reduce the tide of immigration to the U.S. border. The agreement comes as the U.S. saw a record number of unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border in March, and the largest number of Border Patrol encounters overall with migrants on the southern border just under 170,000 since March 2001. According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Mexico will maintain a deployment of about 10,000 troops, while Guatemala has surged 1,500 police and military personnel to its southern border and Honduras deployed 7,000 police and military to its border to disperse a large contingent of migrants there. Guatemala will also set up 12 checkpoints along the migratory route through the country. A White House official said Guatemala and Honduras were deploying troops temporarily in response to a large caravan of migrants that was being organized at the end of March. The Mexican government announced an increase in security and its troop deployment in March. Psaki said that the objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey, and make crossing the borders more difficult. She added that the agreement was the product of a series of bilateral discussions between U.S. officials and the governments of the Central American nations. While Vice President Kamala Harris has been tasked with leading diplomatic efforts to tamp down on the increase in migration at the U.S. border, Psaki declined to share details on her involvement with the discussions and said only that the discussions happened at several levels." She noted that Roberta Jacobson, who will depart her role as the administration's southwest border coordinator at the end of the month, was involved in talks. The increase in migrants at the border is becoming one of the major challenges confronting Biden in the early months of his first term. Numbers grew sharply during Trumps final year in office but further accelerated under Biden, who quickly ended many of his predecessors policies, including one that made asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for court hearings in the U.S. Mexicans represented the largest proportion of people encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol, and nearly all were single adults. Arrivals of people from Honduras and Guatemala were second and third, respectively, and more than half of the people from those countries were families or children traveling alone. ___ Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report. This article was written by ALEXANDRA JAFFE from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. The Duke of Sussex signed off a touching tribute to his grandfather with the Latin phrase Per Mare Per Terram a motto of the Royal Marines. Harry described the Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99 last week, as a man of service, honour and great humour in a statement issued on Monday. The Duke of Sussex, who has arrived in England from the US ahead of Saturdays funeral, and Philip have both held the ceremonial title of Captain General of the Royal Marines. The Duke of Edinburgh held the title of Captain General of the Royal Marines for 64 years (Andrew Matthews/PA) Meaning By Sea, By Land, the motto symbolises the Royal Marines dual role of fighting both on-board ships and ashore, and is believed to have been used for the first time in 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. The Duke of Edinburgh had the title for 64 years before it was passed on to Harry in 2017, who held the position for three years although it was on hold for one year after he quit royal duties. Such was his passion for the military that, had he not become the Queens husband, some believe Philip would have been First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy. Philip joined the Navy after leaving school and in May 1939 enrolled at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, where he rose rapidly through the ranks. His flourishing naval career came to an end in 1951 when he stepped down from his active role in the forces to fulfil his duty as the Queens consort when she acceded to the throne the following year. The Duke of Sussex was stripped of his title as Captain General of the Royal Marines after stepping down as a working royal (Finnbarr Webster/PA) Former soldier Harry, who served on the front line in Afghanistan, was stripped of his honorary military roles, including Captain General of the Royal Marines, by the Queen in February after he and the Duchess of Sussex confirmed so-called Megxit was permanent. At the time, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said the couple remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and believed they could still represent the organisations regardless of official role. Harry quit as a senior working royal last year for a new life in the US with Meghan. In his tribute to Philip, he said: He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the monarch, a decorated serviceman, a prince and a duke. But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right till the end. Harry is quarantining ahead of Saturdays funeral at his former home of Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, after arriving in the UK over the weekend without his pregnant wife who was advised not to travel. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:08:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Yang Shilong, Hu Yousong WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Westerners require a better appreciation of China's governance system, one that has evolved from its own history and helped increase the country's stature in the world, a well-known U.S. scholar has said. "I just hope that that kind of reporting gets more traction in America, so that there is a more realistic appreciation of what President Xi Jinping means to China, his way of increasing China's stature," Sarwar Kashmeri, adjunct professor of political science at Norwich University, told Xinhua in a recent interview. According to a Harvard Kennedy School survey released in July last year on the Chinese public's satisfaction with their government, the Chinese central government received a level of satisfaction of 93.1 percent in 2016, up from 86.1 percent in 2003. "Because even I, who try to pay close attention to what's happening in China, was a bit surprised at how forthright this report was. We really should appreciate and listen to what they're saying," said Kashmeri, also a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association. Kashmeri, who hosted Polaris-Live, a series of talks with experts worldwide on U.S.-China ties, said that several of his interviewees referenced the survey published in July 2020. China's governance system "has strengths because there's continuity," Kashmeri said, adding, "having made a strategic plan, the leader is able to execute it, and think ahead." In fact, each country's governance system is derived from various historical facts, and people should "look at it, understand it and understand where it comes from," said Kashmeri. "China's system has evolved from its own history," and all of us should "accept the fact that it is going to be different from countries that have had a different history," he said. Calling the Communist Party of China a "successful ruling party for China," Kashmeri noted the party has lifted over 800 million people out of poverty and led the country to become the world's second largest economy. Enditem Sixty years ago, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. He rode in a capsule. Forty years ago, two NASA astronauts launched inside a winged vehicle the shuttles first flight. And on Friday, Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut traveled together. In a capsule. Shuttle anniversary: 40 years after its pioneering launch, NASA's space shuttle leaves a 'mixed legacy.' Was it worth it? Humans have been traveling into space for 60 years, and once again capsules seem to be the preferred mode of transportation. The shuttle launched large components of the International Space Station and helped assemble the orbiting outpost. When the Hubble Space Telescope sent back blurry photos, which were caused by a manufacturing error prior to launch, the shuttle allowed astronauts to repair the telescope. That program would have been a complete disaster had the shuttle not been available, said George W.S. Abbey, a former director of NASAs Johnson Space Center and senior fellow in space policy at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy. Today, NASA is developing the Orion capsule to return astronauts to the moon. Its Commercial Crew program, where NASA has partnered with SpaceX and Boeing to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, is also using capsules (they were simpler and quicker to develop). And Fridays launch was on Russias Soyuz capsule. These capsules are undoubtedly more advanced. They dont resemble Gagarin and the Soviet Unions first flight, where prior to landing he ejected from the capsule and landed by parachute. But the astronauts will still land in the ocean or on land with the help of parachutes and airbags. NASA has no immediate plans to develop a winged spacecraft that can launch people alongside large cargo, can be used as workstation for repairing items in space and can return malfunctioning satellites to Earth. This suggest those capabilities are no longer priorities. The fact that we have not tried to recapture those capabilities suggest that theyre in the category of nice to have but not essential, said John Logsdon, a retired professor and founder of George Washington Universitys Space Policy Institute. There are plans to build new space stations, and these plans are being made without the shuttles capabilities. Uncrewed rockets, such as the United Launch Alliance Delta IV and the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, can launch large components into space. Logsdon said a core module can be launched into space, and then a crewed spacecraft could dock with that. The crew could live in that module and, as other modules are launched into microgravity, use spacewalks, robotic arms and automated docking technologies (like how spacecraft currently dock with the International Space Station) to build the station. Advances in technology are enabling in-space manufacturing, so components of future space stations could be built in microgravity. Theres also new technology emerging for refueling and repositioning satellites. Why the Commercial Crew program is flying capsules: 'The beginning of a new era:' NASA astronauts prepare to fly in a capsule once again At first, the shuttle repaired satellites and occasionally returned them to Earth. But after the Challenger accident in 1986, NASA began phasing out commercial and military missions. With the exception of the Hubble Space Telescope, the repair capability never caught on, said Jason Davis, editorial director at the Planetary Society, a nonprofit that seeks to get more people engaged with space. The capability might cost more than its worth. Later this year, NASA plans to launch the James Webb Space Telescope. Billions of dollars have been spent on this telescope. If it launches into space and has an issue similar to Hubble, there will be no way to fix it. You cannot, right now, do something like repair a giant space telescope with any of the capabilities we currently have, Davis said. Theres no fixing it. Thats one reason why Abbey, the former director of NASAs Johnson Space Center, believes NASA should invest in another winged spacecraft. He wished NASA would improve upon the shuttles design and build another winged vehicle. Today were building three capsules, he said. I dont know why were flying three. None of them have great capabilities. The ability to construct large structures in Earths orbit and to repair and service space telescopes could be useful. Plus, landing on a runway avoids the need to work around limiting ocean conditions. I think were on the wrong course right now, Abbey said. We need to have a shuttle-like vehicle, and we could build a better one than we had. A safer one. Two space shuttle accidents, Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, killed 14 people. Winged vehicles havent totally disappeared. Sierra Nevada Corp. is developing the Dream Chaser spaceplane to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. One day, it hopes to fly people. Steve Lindsey, a former space shuttle commander and the senior vice president of strategy at Sierra Nevada, previously told the Houston Chronicle that the Dream Chasers ability to land on airport runways gives it global reach. And the force of gravity during this landing is gentler than in a capsule that lands in the ocean or on airbags in the desert. Some experiments, such as growing protein crystals, are delicate and sent into space specifically for its lesser gravity. A local spaceplane: Houston startup designing spaceplane that could fly from LA to Tokyo in 1 hour Virgin Galactic is likewise planning to use a winged vehicle for suborbital space tourism. It has launched its pilots and an employee into weightlessness, but it has not yet flown paying customers. Former NASA astronaut Bob Crippen, who flew on that first space shuttle flight 40 years ago, said he would prefer landing on a runway. He never flew in a capsule. But as a pilot, the runway is more familiar and simpler. Its a whole lot easier than having to get the Navy go out and pick you up, Crippen said. Norfolk church projects receive part of 5m funds Norfolk church projects receive part of 5m funds Two Norfolk churches and a Christian conference centre have received part of almost 5m worth of government grants to be given out to arts and heritage groups across Norfolk. Amongst those to benefit in Norfolk from the Culture Recovery Fund are Letton Hall Trust (44,100), The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Great Yarmouth (47,100) and The Cathedral of St John the Baptist Trust (95,700) Letton Hall, a Christian conference centre in Breckland that usually welcomes hundreds of people from churches and youth groups every year, was forced to close for 15 months during the pandemic and, at times, the future of the centre looked uncertain. Assistant Centre manager Tim Blanche said: "This grant will secure the positions of our staff over the next few months as we move back toward normal operations for the Hall. After so much uncertainty during the last year, it is fantastic to be able to plan with some confidence. This has only been made possible by donations and grants such as this. It is great to have it recognised that not only are we caring for a listed building but also that facilities like Letton are a great resource for churches, youth groups and charities and that collectively our sector is important in the life of our nation." Rev Simon Ward Team Rector, Great Yarmouth Team Ministry, welcomed the grant and said: The church family are delighted with this news from the Government Culture Recovery Fund. It will allow us to complete some of the routine jobs we have not been able to complete and help our funds to recover some of the lost income. We love to see the doors of the Minster open wide for all people and we look forward to welcoming faces old and new in the coming year. One of the blessings of amazing, historic buildings is that they draw people in and give them a space to wonder and encounter God. Churchwarden, Paul Spychal said: Our prayers have been answered. We are now in a position to better serve Christ and our local community in Great Yarmouth and welcome more people through our doors. The Catholic Cathedral of John the Baptist in Norwich has been awarded 95,700 to help the Cathedral recover from the effects of the pandemic and restart tower tours, room hire and musical events. Thousands of organisations across the UK will receive cash from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) Culture Recovery Fund to help them survive and recover from the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This includes 43 groups in Norfolk and six more in Waveney, totalling 4,750,008 in grants. The cash forms the second round of funding from the Culture Recovery Fund, adding to the 3.2m boost for the region's arts announced last October. Pictured above is Letton Hall Christian conference centre in Mid Norfolk. Keith Morris, 12/04/2021 An 11-year-old boy was shot dead by a nine-year-old after they found a gun in their car when they were left alone in a Walmart parking lot in Dallas. The boys were left unsupervised by a 32-year-old woman when she went shopping on Sunday afternoon, police say. They did not reveal the woman's relationship to the children. Authorities say the nine-year-old boy found the handgun in the car and used it to shoot the 11-year-old. The boy was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police say a 9-year-old boy found a gun in a car and fatally shot an 11-year-old boy in a Walmart parking lot Sunday afternoon Police arrived to the Dallas Walmart parking lot shortly after the shooting and the 11-year-old was transpoted to a local hospital where he died Dallas Police have not made an arrest in this case and said investigations are ongoing The two boys were not related, ABC 8 reports. Police have not released the identities of the children or the 32-year-old woman. No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing. A spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department said: 'When officers arrived at the location, they found an 11-year-old male with a gunshot wound. 'The complainant was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced deceased. The witness, a 32-year-old female had parked her vehicle at the location and left the complainant and the 9-year-old male suspect alone in her vehicle while she went shopping. 'Initial reports are that the suspect found a handgun in the vehicle and shot the complaint. The investigation is ongoing.' The boys found a gun in their car when they were left alone in a Walmart parking lot In a 2020 report on gun violence, the Children's Defense Fund claimed that gun violence was the second leading cause of death for children and teens ages 1-19. According to the report, in 2017, 3,410 children and teens were killed with guns in Americathe highest number since 1998. The study also found that since 1963, 186,239 children and teens have been killed with guns in the United States, 'four times the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action in the Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq wars combined.' Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! she can be heard saying. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel. After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away and the officer is heard saying, Holy shit! I shot him. Brooklyn Centre Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting deeply tragic and said the officer should be fired. Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole, he said. Elliott later announced the city council had voted to give his office command authority over the police department. This will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership, he wrote on Twitter. He also said the city manager had been fired, and that the deputy city manager would take over his duties. The reason behind the firing was not immediately clear, but the city manager controls the police department, according to the citys charter. Now-former city manager Curt Boganey, speaking earlier to reporters, said the officer who shot Wright would get due process after the shooting. Brooklyn Centre is a modest suburb just north of Minneapolis that has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70 per cent of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are black, Asian or Latino. Members of the National Guard stand watch as protesters leave the Brooklyn Centre Police station on Sunday. Credit:AP Organisers from the Movement for Black Lives, a national coalition of more than 150 black-led political and advocacy groups, pointed to Wrights killing as yet another reason why cities must take up proposals for defunding an irreparably broken, racist system. The fact that police killed him just miles from where they murdered George Floyd last year is a slap in the face to an entire community, said Karissa Lewis, the coalitions national field director. The bodycam footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells him hes being arrested on a warrant. Thats when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting. Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle. Gannon said he believed the officer had intended to use her Taser, but instead fired one bullet at Wright. From what I viewed and the officers reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr Wright. Protesters confronts with police in front of the Brooklyn Centre Police station on Sunday. Credit:AP Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office said in a statement. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting, identified the officer as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who has been placed on administrative leave. Gannon would not say whether she would be fired. I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning, the chief said. Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. Wrights mother, Katie Wright, said her son called her as he was getting pulled over. Friends and family comfort Katie Wright, right, near the scene of her sons fatal shooting. Credit:Star Tribune/AP During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot. His brother, Dallas Bryant, told about a hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil that Wright sounded scared during the phone call, and questioned how the officer could mistake a gun for a Taser. You know the difference between plastic and metal. We all know it, he said. Demonstrators began to gather shortly after the shooting on Sunday (Monday AEST), with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the citys police headquarters, throwing rocks and other objects. About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping centre, authorities said. Images of looters entering and exiting a local retail store were broadcast on MSNBC. US President Joe Biden called Wrights death tragic and called for peace. Protesters jump on police vehicles near the site of a shooting involving a police officer in the city of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Credit:AP There is absolutely no justification, none, for looting, Biden said. No justification for violence. Speaking before the unrest Katie Wright urged protesters to stay peaceful and focused on the loss of her son. A retired police inspector has avoided jail despite beating, kicking and punching his girlfriend during a furious drunken row - and then telling her not to get blood on his white sheets. Former Met Police officer Paul Bonning, 54, was ordered to pay 2,000 to his former lover for the attack but she said: 'It makes my blood boil. I do feel angry about it - he gets to walk away from it.' Bonning attacked his partner after an evening of drinking before hitting her in the head with a knife. He then went to bed, telling his victim not to come up as she would get blood on his sheets. Former Met Police officer Paul Bonning, 54, escaped jail time after beating, kicking and punching his partner during a furious row - and then telling her not to get blood on his white sheets Prosecutor Ian Wright said the pair had been out for a Sunday in July 2018 Bonning before returning to his home. The former inspector downed beer, wine, gin, and whisky before 'suddenly losing his temper following a comment she made about taking another woman back to his home. She described how he 'lost it' and was 'frothing at the mouth' before dragging her off the sofa and repeatedly kicking and punching her to the body. Mr Wright said Bonning brought a knife from the kitchen to brandished it at her - then struck her on the back of the head. Bonning told her she needed to go to hospital but he then went to bed, telling her not to join him as he did not want blood on on his white sheets. Medics questioned her and saw the extent of the bruising on her body they suspected there had been a domestic violence incident and contacted police. The former inspector downed beer, wine, gin, and whisky before 'suddenly losing his temper following a comment she made about taking another woman back to his home Swansea Crown Court heard the woman suffered a 10cm cut on her head. The woman told officers that Bonning had said he 'knew people high up in the police force' and was worried nobody would believe her. In a victim impact statement she said that the assault had left her questioning everything she once believed in. The court heard she had hit 'rock bottom, feeling isolated from family and friends and too ashamed to reach out to them.' Her self esteem has suffered, she is no longer able to leave the house alone and questions whether she will be able to trust anyone again. In mitigation, Dean Pulling, said that his client was of previously exemplary character and was 'in a dark place' at the time of the assault. In a victim impact statement read to Swansea Crown Court the woman said that the assault had left her questioning everything she once believed in. Pictured: The injuries she sustained in the attack Medics questioned her and saw the extent of the bruising on her body they suspected there had been a domestic violence incident and contacted police Bonning, of Pembroke, West Wales, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months. Judge Mr Recorder Ifan Wyn Lloyd Jones ordered Bonning to pay his victim 2,000 compensation and to pay 720 costs. He must also attend a Building Better Relationships course and a 20 day rehabilitation activity. After the hearing, the woman has slammed the sentence as a joke - and urged other women in similar situations to speak out and leave the relationship. She said: 'It makes my blood boil. I do feel angry about it. He gets to walk away from it. 'He has admitted what he has done and just been told "never do it to anyone else for 18 months". It's like a reward for him. 'I can understand why victims never come forward and it keeps happening. It's been years and for what? He still gets to walk around smug. 'It's been hell of a journey but whatever the outcome, at least I have closure now and can move on with my life.' Despite her disappointment at the sentence the woman urged anyone else in a similar situation to speak out and get out of the relationship. 'It does take a lot of guts and a lot of support to speak out. 'But I would say "if you are hit once don't let yourself get hit twice or three times". This is how it goes on and gets worse. 'It is so hard. I have always been such a strong person but I have had everything sucked out of me. Everybody else could see it but I didn't. 'It starts grinding you down and sucking everything out of you. You think it's normal after a time. 'I would say report it and get support. Don't sit back and blame yourself. Talk to someone, talk to your best mate, and get out of it.' We found ourselves at an inflection point within our industry. Where most agencies fall into a full-service trap, we made the decision to specialize in what were already best at. Today marks the end of Junto, the digital marketing agency known for its content marketing and web development services. Since officially launching in November 2016, Junto has taken the agency world by storm. Theyve bootstrapped their way to being a seven-figure business in under four years through their emphasis on building a remote team powered by freelancers. Today, Junto becomes Inter to take that growth to the next level. Inter will serve as the parent company for specialized growth solutions: Intergrowth: a service that helps companies to scale their online presence through long-form, SEO-centric content marketing. Interweb: a service focused on data-driven WordPress website development. Interdev: a white-label service that empowers agencies to build comprehensive WordPress websites for their clients. Inters agency services will maintain the same level of quality. However, this rebrand comes with specialization in those agency services. In the words of David Freund, one of the Partners at Inter, We found ourselves at an inflection point within our industry. Where most agencies fall into a full-service trap, we made the decision to specialize in what were already best at. Inter also announced the launch of the Growth Hub: a content approval software that gives active clients real-time insights into the status of their deliverables. The software provides clients with the ability to: See the status of each deliverable Receive real-time email notifications when deliverables are ready for client feedback Approve/leave feedback for deliverables that are ready for review See finalized deliverables since the beginning of the relationship in one centralized location. With this rebrand, Inter shifts to a solutions provider that helps companies to scale through much more than their original agency services. Inter is also developing several software applications for growing businesses such as: Real-time reporting dashboards designed to help companies to monitor their metrics Website monitoring software that brings businesses peace of mind that their website is running smoothly And much more. You can learn more about Inter and their growth solutions by visiting their website: https://intercompany.co/. She's starring in the upcoming thriller The Woman In The Window, based on the popular mystery novel of the same name. But Amy Adams was focused on more pressing concerns when she made a stop at her local Target to pick up some supplies. The 46-year-old Oscar nominee was all about comfort thanks to her thick cream-colored cardigan for her casual outing. Shopping trip: Amy Adams, 46, was spotted in a comfy casual cardigan and relaxed-fit jeans as she visited her local Target in Los Angeles Amy wore a gray V-neck T-shirt with the sweater and also had on a set of high-waisted relaxed-fit jeans. Despite being cool enough for the cardigan, she stepped out in a pair of white strappy sandals. The Master actress accessorized with a brown handbag cradled in her arms, and she blocked out the sun with a pair of military-style square aviator sunglasses. She kept her trademark red hair tied back in a low-slung ponytail as she slathered on some hand sanitizer for help keep the novel coronavirus at bay. Stylish: She wore a cool pair of military-style square aviator sunglasses and used some hand sanitizer to keep the novel coronavirus at bay Amy's next major project, The Woman In The Window, is set to premiere on May 14. The film was caught up in Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox and has had a long road to screens after Disney ordered rewrites and reshoots following test screenings in 2019. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the renamed 20th Century Studios sold the film's distribution rights to Netflix to bypass theaters. Amy stars in the mysterythriller as a woman who suffers from agoraphobia and can't leave her New York City apartment in the wake of a devastating trauma. Coming soon: Amy's next project, The Woman In The Window, will premiere in May on Netflix. She stars in the mystery as a woman suffering from agoraphobia who can't leave her NYC apartment after a devastating trauma New friend: Her seclusion is briefly interrupted when she meets Jane Russell (Julianne Moore) and invites her into her apartment Her seclusion is briefly interrupted when she meets Jane Russell (Julianne Moore) and invites her into her apartment. But later she looks out her window to Jane's apartment across the street and sees her being murdered in her own home. Atlanta's Brian Tyree Henry plays the detective investigation her allegations, but Jane's husband (Gary Oldman) informs her his wife isn't dead before revealing a woman also named Jane, but played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Amy's character takes the investigation into her own hands, despite not being able to leave her apartment and her fears that she may have hallucinated the murder due to her prescription drug abuse. Sinister: But after she thinks she sees Jane murdered in her apartment across the street, a detective (Brian Tyree Henry) and Jane's husband (Gary Oldman) pay her a visit Switcheroo: They claim that a woman played by Jennifer Jason Leigh is actually Jane Russell Twisted reality: Amy's character takes the investigation into her own hands, despite fearing that she may have hallucinated the murder due to her prescription drug abuse The Woman In The Window is the second recent Netflix release for Amy following her work in the critically reviled Hillbilly Elegy. The film, which is based on the similarly derided memoir of the same name by J. D. Vance, managed to earn an Oscar nomination for Glenn Close's supporting performance, though the Man Of Steel actress wasn't honored. She also recently appeared in Zack Snyder's final cut of Justice League, which premiered in a new four-hour cut on HBO Max. By Ritah Kemigisa The Acting Director of Sharia who doubles as the Deputy Mufti of Uganda Muslim Supreme council, Sheikh Muhammed Ali Waiswa has confirmed that the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Tuesday April 13th. Waiswa on Sunday evening said that since the crescent moon was not sighted on Sunday evening, Ramadan will automatically start on Tuesday. He has meanwhile said that due to covid-19 pandemic, there will be no Taraweeh prayers at the national mosque unless the President comes out to relax the curfew hours. He has now called upon the Muslim community to have the prayers from home as they await a decision from government. The fasting period will be unlike the others due to the pandemic with the faithful asked to carry their own water for ablution ( water for washing hands, feet, arms and legs) since toilets are prohibited during this period for fear of spreading the pandemic. The Muslims have also been encouraged to carry their own prayer mats and avoid touching surfaces and strictly wear masks while at the mosque. The start of Ramadan is set by both lunar calculations and physical sightings that determine when one month ends and another begins. Ramadan fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening. It is also a time of prayers and alms giving. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Muslim-majority countries have imposed restrictions on worshippers including night-time curfews, and called for prayers to be performed at home. Associated Press SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) Fikret Grabovica wants to see at least some remorse from wartime Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic when U.N. judges deliver their final verdict for genocide and other war crimes committed during Bosnias 1990s ethnic carnage. Grabovica's 11-year-old daughter, Irma, was among the 10,000 civilians killed in the relentless shelling and sniping that Serb troops under Mladic inflicted on the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The chiefs of remote Pacific villages that worship Prince Philip offered a message of comfort to Queen Elizabeth II Monday, saying his soul would live on. But the worshippers of Yakel village on the Vanuatu island of Tanna said they did not yet know who would become their new spiritual leader. For decades, inhabitants of two villages in the hinterland of the lush volcanic island of Tanna in Vanuatu -- Yaohnanen and Yakel -- have venerated Philip, who died at Windsor Castle last week at the age of 99. Yakel village chief Albi said it was unclear how Philip's death would impact the religious movement, as his spirit was believed to be adrift and seeking a new home. While many outsiders assumed Philip's eldest son Charles or grandsons William and Harry would succeed him in the villagers' devotions, Albi said nothing was certain. "The spirit of Prince Philip has left his body, but it lives on -- it is too soon to say where it will reside," he told AFP. Other elders argued that Charles' succession was guaranteed in 2018, when he was given the chiefly title Mal Menaringmanu during a visit to Port Vila. Beneath a British flag flying at half-mast, the chiefs met Monday at Yaohnanen to thrash out the issues his death has raised. The chiefs said they were sending a confidential message to the royal family following Philip's passing. The leaders spoke in turn during painstaking discussions on the future direction of their customary belief system, with a resolution likely to be days away. - Pale-skinned spirit - The Prince Philip Movement is believed to have started in the late 1970s following a state visit by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1974 to Vanuatu, then known as the New Hebrides. British officials investigating the phenomenon concluded it stemmed from an age-old legend of a returning son who had pale skin. Upon learning that Greek-born Philip was not originally from Britain, France or the United States, they may have decided that he must, therefore, be from Tanna. Story continues Worshippers believed he had set off from Tanna to marry the most powerful woman in the world and would one day return bringing bounty. Anthropologists say the movement is a way for villagers on the island to find a spiritual connection to the outside world. Despite his reputation for politically incorrect gaffes, Philip was reportedly respectful towards the islanders' beliefs. British journalist Matthew Baylis lived among the Philip worshippers for a short time and in his 2013 book said that the prince sent signed photographs to Tanna after receiving gifts from the villagers. In other villages on Tanna, locals are part of the so-called John Frum Movement, a similar cult which stems from the appearance of a pale-skinned stranger in the 1930s. Adherents to the movement, which encourages the return to traditional customs of dancing and kava-drinking, believe that a hero, "John Frum" will one day return, bringing with him the riches seen in the hands of American GIs during World War II -- including radios and cars. str-ns/dm/jfx From June 11 to 13 the Canadian Grand Prix is supposed to be held, but due to the strict coronavirus measures it seems that the GP will not be held this year either. The mayor of Montreal however makes a last appeal to the government. In 2019, the Grand Prix of Canada was held for the last time at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit. Indeed, in 2020 the GP in Canada was cancelled due to the coronavirus, and it could easily happen again for 2021. Due to the strict measures that remain in place in Canada, June seems to come too soon. No Grand Prix in Canada? However, this is not what the mayor of Montreal, Valerie Plante, had hoped for. She makes opposite La Presse a final appeal towards the government. ''For us, the arrival of Formula 1 is very important. We want to show all our partners that we consider this event very important. We want to organise it on the planned day. There are still a lot of details to sort out, but I really hope that our government partners will help us to make this event possible.'' For Formula 1 itself there seems little to worry if Canada is unable to host the race. After last year a lot of new circuits have been visited. Imola and Portimao have already been found willing to fill the gaps of China and Vietnam, and Turkey seems an excellent candidate to take over Canada's spot in June. Read more Timetable of the Emila Romagna Grand Prix: This is when the action starts in Imola Youn Yuh-jung receives Supporting Actress BAFTA award for "Minari" during the 74th British Academy Film Awards in London, April 11. Handout via Reuters South Korean screen veteran Youn Yuh-jung has won best supporting actress for her role in the immigration film "Minari" at this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards. At the ceremony of the BAFTA Film Awards held at London's Royal Albert Hall on Sunday (British time), Youn took home the award for best supporting actress. She beat Maria Bakalova for "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," Niamh Algar for "Calm with Horses," Kosar Ali for "Rocks" and Ashley Madekwe for "County Lines." Youn took a role of the livewire grandmother Soonja in "Minari," written and directed by Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung, which tells the story of a Korean immigrant family settling in rural Arkansas. "Thank you so much for this award. Every award is meaningful, but this one, especially being recognized by British people, known as snobbish people, and they approve me as a good actor," she said in an online acceptance speech. "I'm very happy. Thank you so much." California is expanding vaccine eligibility to all residents 16 and over beginning April 15, and hundreds of thousands of people will be scrambling to find appointments. You may have heard finding an appointment can be tricky. While health care providers, pharmacies and counties are continually opening appointments daily, they go fast. To help you book an appointment if you're newly eligible, we asked readers to share their experiences with securing slots to provide tips for others navigating a system that is confusing and overwhelming. In their stories, we noticed a few trends. One is that some people just get lucky and happen to be at the right place at the right time or log onto a vaccine site when an onslaught of appointments suddenly becomes available. An even bigger trend we noticed is that finding an appointment online can take time, days even hours. Many readers told us the website VaccinateCA, run by a group of volunteers who call hospitals and pharmacies for vaccine availability, is a great resource for finding appointments. Another great resource: the Bay Area Vaccine Bot at @CovidVaccineBA on Twitter that posts real-time updates on vaccine availability. Below we share anecdotes on how readers found appointments. Responses have been condensed and edited for clarity in some cases. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images Here's how SFGATE readers found vaccine appointments "On Wednesday, March 17, my former colleague of Livermore texted me that there were vaccine appointments available at the CVS located in Hanford. I quickly went onto the CVS website, saw that most locations were totally full, except Hanford. When I navigated through the CVS website, not only did I find many open appointments, I was able to schedule the same time as my friend on March 21. CVS also automatically scheduled the 2nd appointments exactly three weeks from the first appointment. During our 2nd visit on April 11, they noticed many appointments still open. "Both round trips, Montara to Hanford via Livermore yielded 952 miles. We both felt lucky to have been able to obtain these appointments and grateful to the nurses and staff at the CVS located at 574 W. Lacey Blvd., Hanford." Alan Joss, Montara --- "I noticed in the paper that Contra Costa County was opening vaccine sign-ups to anyone over 50 that lived or worked in the county. I work at the old Ford Factory on Harbour Way South. The day of the announcement, I went to the county website to sign up, but was not able to do so since I did not fall in any of the eligible categories. It appears the website was updated to allow for over 50 sign-ups the next day. That was Tuesday, March 24. On Thursday night, March 26, I received a text with a link to the sign-up website. I chose a few locations near my workplace and scheduled an appointment at one of them. I received the first shot by Pfizer on April 1st. While waiting during the observation period, I received a text with my second appointment, scheduled for April 26th." David Taylor --- "I just started looking yesterday [4/1] as I had assumed our doctor at UCSF would let us know when our turn would come up. But I was told by a friend it was every man (or woman) for himself during this pandemic so mother-in-law told me to go to VaccinateCA, which I did. It showed a list of places where to go, but they were fully booked. However, I kept scrolling down the site and San Francisco State University came up and they had appointments for the vaccine for my husband (55) and me (59). Honestly, I felt kind of guilty because I keep hearing that people are having trouble getting appointments and we got in right away." Mallory Graf --- "I received my second COVID vaccine shot on January 11 by being a participant in the AstraZeneca trial being conducted at SF General Hospital. I was at the hospital on a follow-up appointment after cataract surgery and happened to see a sign. I'm 77, diabetic, high blood pressure, a prime suspect." Mike Kemper --- "About 10:30 a.m. this morning (not 2 a.m., not 3:17 a.m., but in the middle of the freakin' morning), I optimistically searched for 'COVID vaccine santa clara county' using 'the search engine whose name we dare not speak,' and managed to score appointments for my wife and me (we're just now just now eligible) that are get this at the same place, close to our home, and at 'back-to-back' convenient time slots. If we actually are vaccinated without a hiccup, we'll go straightway to buy lottery tickets." Tony S., San Jose --- "I guess its pure luck. I am 50-plus and live in Contra Costa County, Walnut Creek to be exact. I went to the MyTurn website at 6:30 p.m. on April 2 and scored the 4:20 p.m. appointment on Sunday, April 4, at the Oakland BART Coliseum site. By the way, give minutes later those appointment slots were completely gone. There is really no special skill involved, just keep trying at different times, I had tried it at 1 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m. during lunch break at work, between watching episodes on Netflix. The process is no different from looking for work (something Id done a lot last year), you have to be persistent and not get discouraged." Tom Lim --- "Please inform your readers that scheduling an appointment at MyTurn.CA.gov can be a bit tricky. When I looked for an appointment I scrolled all the way to September and nothing was available. Then I scrolled back to April and the information had downloaded. It seems the pages need time to load. I was then able to schedule two appointments for the next day." Sylvia Hays --- Courtesy of Alan Joss "After constantly refreshing what seemed like all the vaccine sites to no avail, by luck yesterday evening I saw a timely tweet by @CovidVaccineBA that the Oakland Coliseum had appointments for the Johnson & Johnson shot. I jumped on that and booked my appointment for this Sunday through MyTurn.CA.gov." Denise Iwamoto --- "I guess I got really lucky. I'm 73 and live in Richmond. In early January, I signed up for notification on Contra Costa County's COVID website. In mid-January, I received an email that because I was over 65, I could make an appointment through My Chart. I made an appointment for Jan. 28 at Richmond's City Auditorium. About a week before my scheduled appointment, the county backtracked to 75-plus but honored appointments already made. I got my first shot on Jan. 28 (Pfizer) and then got my second shot on Feb. 19. The county was very organized and getting an appointment online was easy. Meanwhile, Sutter Health, of which I am a member, was either not taking appointments or canceling 95,000 existing appointments. It's now reported that Contra Costa County has surplus vaccine. Go figure!" Karen Kempler --- I'm retired and live in Healdsburg. I'm 64 with no severe underlying health conditions so I didn't qualify until April 1 when the state opened up vaccinations to people 50 and over. I sent on my Kaiser Permanente account and tried to book an appointment. No luck anywhere close to home. The closest Kaiser location with availability was in South Sacramento, an over two-hour drive one way. Kaiser also requires you to return to the same location for the second dose. Being a retired I.T. guy, I sat in my easy chair with my laptop for several hours refreshing the screen hoping for a cancellation. I found one in Santa Rosa for three weeks from now. I went on Nextdoor and posted my experience. I tried the MyTurn web portal. It's a complete joke. Using my ZIP code, it came up with two vaccination sites with openings. Both were in Lake County and both required Lake County residency. One of my neighbors on Nextdoor posted there were spots available at a certain link. It's right here in town at Healdsburg High School administered by Alliance. I secured an appointment for this coming Tuesday. As of right now, there are still appointments available. It's word of mouth and lots of luck to secure a vaccination appointment." Dana Hom --- "I am under 65 and received a phone call six weeks ago from the Veterans Affairs to schedule my COVID vaccine. They were running ahead of schedule I guess, or maybe I was phoned because I am a sole caregiver for an elderly parent and I have pre-existing conditions. I was not looking to book an appointment as I was not 65 or older, so their call caught me by surprise. At any rate, they offered an appointment for two days later. " A. Farley --- "It took me half a day to find an appointment. I started at 4 a.m. and found one at 1 p.m. There were no appointments available in San Francisco. All I did was refresh, check, refresh, check. I used VaccineFinder, MyTurn, Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid, medical health centers, UCSF and Kaiser and hit the jackpot with Sutter Health. It was so frustrating, but I felt an urgency. I knew it would become harder when they opened up to everyone. I had to drive to Great America Parkway, but it was worth it. Sutter was very organized and quick. There was even parking." Tracy Silva --- "A neighbor that's a yoga teacher-caterer told me he just walked up to S.F. General and got in line. After realizing that I was eligible, I walked over and talked to a nurse. 'If you come early there's a line, but around 11 a.m. it thins out,' the nurse told me. Sure enough, the next day at 11 a.m., there was no line and I was in and out in under a half-hour. There are many places that take walk-ups (here's a link to some in San Francisco) and it's a lot easier than clicking refresh or logging on at 3 a.m. to find an appointment. Sometimes the easiest solution isn't the most obvious one clicking around for hours allows you to book an appointment from your couch, but just showing up guarantees you a spot in the line. Many seniors don't have the internet so this is great for them." Andrew Lawrence --- "We got an appointment for my wife, age 64, from Kaiser via their website on Wednesday night about 9:30 p.m. Closest location was 30 miles and first time was eight days hence. I'm 71 and had already been poked; the drive was 45 miles each way, two times. By the way, I photocopied by vaccination card, reducing it to 80%, and then laminated the copy and cut it down to the exact size of my driver's license to carry in my wallet. Keep the original with other important papers. I've asked a few people if they wanted to see my Fauci Card. Nobody's been interested. I show them anyway." Tom Ruppel, Dixon --- "I am a USMC veteran OIF/OEF, and I am conservator for my little brother who has Down syndrome. I am fortunate to have many resources including the Veterans Affairs to help me in my search for scheduling a COVID-19 vaccination appointment. But like most in the Bay Area, I have also been calling every number, emailing every address provided to me from over seven different agencies, some of these including federal. And I also have been stonewalled every time. Anyway to make a long story short, after almost two weeks straight of calling everyone and emails, I finally just took a chance, contacted our basic health care provider Kaiser and went on their website at KP.org. Yesterday at around 16:30 hours, I called the 800-number provided and was put on hold. I stayed on hold for exactly 57 minutes and 43 seconds. I know this because I had reached my level of patience and had my fiance record me saying I would only wait on hold for another few minutes, making it exactly one hour on hold time. Then I would hang up. But just as soon as I was about to give up, I was greeted by an agent and she was able to schedule me and my brother for vaccination shots. But the catch was they were nowhere close to home, and also sort of an inconvenience with most social family holiday gatherings because our appointments are scheduled for this Sunday, on Easter, all the way in Stockton." Matt Katovich "Matrix" star Carrie-Anne Moss opened up about ageism and life in Hollywood for an actress after 40 during a frank discussion with author and filmmaker Justine Bateman. Moss, 53, who returns to her universe-saving role as Trinity in "The Matrix 4" (due out Dec. 21), revealed that she was offered the role of a grandmother for a different project the day after her 40th birthday. "I had heard that at 40 everything changed," said Moss in the wide-ranging talk at New York's 92nd Street Y on April 1, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I didn't believe in that because I don't believe in just jumping on a thought system that I don't really align with. But literally the day after my 40th birthday, I was reading a script that had come to me and I was talking to my manager about it. She was like, 'Oh, no, no, no, it's not that role (you're reading for), it's the grandmother.'" "I may be exaggerating a bit, but it happened overnight," Moss added. "I went from being a girl to the mother to beyond the mother." The actress said it was a tough transition to mentally process in part because male actors don't experience ageism in the same manner. 'The Matrix': Five ways Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will still blow your mind "Matrix" star Carrie-Anne Moss has some issues with Hollywood casting. 5 books not to miss: Karen Tumultys Triumph of Nancy Reagan, Elizabeth McCracken stories "It's a stereotypical story, working with men that are so much older and aging," Moss said. "And people are enjoying the aging of them. While I'm much younger than they are." The discussion centered around "Family Ties" star Bateman's new book, "Face: One Square Foot of Skin," which examines the aggressive ways that Hollywood and society react to the aging of women's faces. During their talk, Moss said the natural aging process could be "kind of brutal" for screen actors. Story continues "You don't feel like you've aged much and suddenly you're seeing yourself onscreen," she said. "I would look at these French and European actresses and they just had something about them that felt so confident in their own skin. I couldn't wait to be that. I strive for that. It's not easy being in this business. There's a lot of external pressure." How to feel beautiful and embrace aging: Katie Couric poses without makeup Moss praised Bateman for writing "Face," the follow-up to her 2018 book examining Hollywood, "Fame: The Hijacking of Reality." Bateman, 55, said she was driven to discuss the unfair expectations placed on women as they grow older. "I find it psychotic that we have leapfrogged any conversations that we should be cutting up our faces," Bateman said discussing plastic surgery. "It's become normalized. Time out, time out!" This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss: Turned 40, offered grandma role next day Etawah : , April 12 (IANS) Three persons were killed and eight others injured when a truck ran over them on the national highway in Etawah on Monday morning. According to Medical Superintendent, Dr. Piyush, the deceased persons were on their way to Jhansi from New Delhi by car for participating in the Panchayat polls. The passengers of the car were sitting on the side of the road after their car tyre was punctured near a roadside eatery. Suddenly a truck came at high speed and ran over them. The driver apparently lost control over the vehicle. The doctor said the injured have been admitted to the hospital where their treatment is underway. There are two children among the injured persons who have been referred to Sefai, the doctor added. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed his condolences and asked the district officials to provide all help to the injured persons. Wealthy people in Japan are turning to private jets in greater numbers as they seek to eschew crowded airports amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The push means that ANA Holdings Inc.s private jet charter business is expecting sales of 1 billion yen ($9 million) in the 2022 fiscal year, Jun Katagiri, the chief executive officer of ANA Business Jet Inc., said last week. ANA Business Jet is owned jointly by ANA and trading company Sojitz Corp. Inquiries for private charters are running at about 20 a month, up 30% on pre-pandemic levels, according to Katagiri. This will be a new option for transportation, he said, declining to disclose past years sales. Compared to Europe or the U.S., Japan is a small market for private jet operators, in part because domestic transport is so quick and efficient, and the nation is relatively small in size. But there has been a rise in business people wishing to come to Japan from other countries who are flying private, as well as Japanese stuck overseas wanting to come home and who havent been able to secure regular flights due to Covid. In 2019, the number of wealthy households in Japan reached 1.3 million, the highest since 2005, with net financial assets hitting 333 trillion yen, according to the Nomura Research Institute. Their ranks are increasing due to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abes ultra-easy monetary policy. It costs about 39 million yen for a round trip from Tokyo to New York on a jet with 13 seats, and 30 million yen to fly to Los Angeles and back. Hiring a private plane for a round trip to Beijing from Japans capital will set you back 15 milllion yen. Agra, April 12 : In a shocking incident, two eunuchs allegedly chopped off the penis of a 24-year-old man in Agra. The victim's sister registered a complaint at Delhi Gate police station, following which a case was registered and an investigation was initiated. According to delayed reports, the victim used to go with the two eunuchs - identified as Guddi and Rajji - to dance at wedding functions. He went with them last week and was found injured two days later, on Saturday. The man informed his sister that Guddi and Rajji had cut off his genitals. His sister then lodged a police complaint against the accused persons. SHO Ashish Kumar Singh of Delhi Gate police station said that the accused have been booked under Sections 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code, and investigations are underway. The police have picked up several people for interrogation but no arrest has been recorded so far. The victim was shifted to a hospital for treatment. A complicated tax swap that would eliminate a popular deduction in exchange for lowering income tax rates passed its first step when it won ap BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. - The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the citys police chief said Monday, as police clashed with protesters for the second night in a row. Police stand near a police cruiser after a rock was thrown at it in protest, Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The family of Daunte Wright, 20, told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family said Wright was later pronounced dead. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. - The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the citys police chief said Monday, as police clashed with protesters for the second night in a row. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as "an accidental discharge." It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant. The shooting sparked protests and unrest in a metropolitan area already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyds death. "Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!" the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released at a news conference. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel. After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and the officer is heard saying, "Holy (expletive)! I shot him." Crowds began gathering outside the the Brooklyn Center police station late Monday afternoon, with hundreds there by nightfall despite the governors dusk-to-dawn curfew. A drum beat incessantly, and the crowd broke into frequent chants of "Daunte Wright!" Some shouted obscenities at officers. Authorities respond to a scene in front of the Brooklyn Center Police station on Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The family of Daunte Wright, 20, told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family said Wright was later pronounced dead. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) About 90 minutes after the curfew deadline, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some away. Some protesters picked up smoke canisters and threw them back toward police. Others shot fireworks toward police lines. A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds. "Move back!" the police chanted. "Hands up! Don't shoot!" the crowd chanted back. By 10 p.m., only a few dozen protesters remained. Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after the Sunday night violence. The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting "deeply tragic" and said the officer should be fired. "We cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people," he said. "Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole." Police respond to the scene near the site where a family said a man was shot and killed by local law enforcement, Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) Elliott later announced that the city council had voted to give his office "command authority" over the police department. This "will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership," he wrote on Twitter. He also said the city manager had been fired, and that the deputy city manager would take over his duties. The reason behind the firing was not immediately clear, but the city manager controls the police department, according to the citys charter. Now-former City Manager Curt Boganey, speaking earlier to reporters, said the officer who shot Wright would get "due process" after the shooting. "All employees working for the city of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline," he said. Brooklyn Center is a modest suburb just north of Minneapolis that has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Latino. Elliott, the city's first Black mayor, immigrated from Liberia as a child. A worker cleans up debris outside a broken-into store on Monday, April 12, 2021, following a night of unrest in Brooklyn Center, Minn, a Minneapolis suburb, after the shooting death by police of a Black man after a traffic stop Sunday. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) Organizers from the Movement for Black Lives, a national coalition of more than 150 Black-led political and advocacy groups, pointed to Wrights killing as yet another reason why cities must take up proposals for defunding an "irreparably broken, racist system." "The fact that police killed him just miles from where they murdered George Floyd last year is a slap in the face to an entire community," said Karissa Lewis, the coalitions national field director. The body camera footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells him hes being arrested on a warrant. Thats when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting. Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle. It "is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet," Gannon said. "This appears to me from what I viewed and the officers reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright." Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office said in a statement. A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Wright's mother, Katie Wright, said that passenger was her sons girlfriend. Protesters confronted police over the shooting death of Daunte Wright at a rally at the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minn., Monday, April 12, 20121. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP) The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting, identified the officer as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who has been placed on administrative leave. Gannon would not say whether she would be fired. "I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning," the chief said. Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. Wrights mother said her son called her as he was getting pulled over. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying "Daunte, dont run" before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot. His brother, Dallas Bryant, told about a hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil Monday evening that Wright sounded scared during the phone call, and questioned how the officer could accidentally reach for a gun instead of a Taser. "You know the difference between plastic and metal. We all know it," he said. President Joe Biden urged calm after watching the body camera footage. "We do know that the anger, pain and trauma amidst the Black community is real," Biden said from the Oval Office. But that "does not justify violence and looting." Demonstrators began to gather shortly after the shooting, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the city's police headquarters, throwing rocks and other objects. About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping centre, authorities said. At least a half-dozen businesses were boarding up their windows along Minneapolis Lake Street, the scene of some of the most intense violence after Floyds death. National Guard vehicles were deployed to a few major intersections. Several professional sports teams in Minneapolis called off games because of safety concerns. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyds death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. The judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defence attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Aaron Morrison in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Jonathan Lemire in Washington contributed to this report. Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. He is known as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. And Oscar winner Matt Damon, 50, proved it yet again on Sunday when he was seen giving an airport employee a bear hug. The Good Will Hunting star embraced the fan after landing via private jet in Sydney with his A-list pal, Chris Hemsworth. Mr Nice Guy! Hollywood star Matt Damon, 50, (pictured) gave an airport employee a bear hug as he disembarked from a private plane with Chris Hemsworth in Sydney on Sunday Matt was beaming as he politely chatted with the airport employee while pal Chris disembarked the private jet along with their kids. The staff member looked giddy after his interaction with the megastar. Bring it in! Matt eagerly embraced the man on the tarmac Meanwhile, Chris barreled down the stairs soon after Matt. The Thor actor looked like he was all business ahead of resuming filming for the new instalment of Thor. Matt kept it casual wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of black pants for the flight, along with a trucker cap. Good natured: Matt was beaming as he politely chatted with the airport employee while pal Chris disembarked the private jet along with their kids New pal: Matt smiled and laughed as he spoke with the airport worker, who was wearing orange hi-vis Casual cool: Matt kept it casual wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of black pants for the flight along with a trucker cap He carried his belongings in a casual backpack which he wore over his shoulders. Meanwhile, Chris took the opportunity to show off his bulging biceps on the jet. He wore a sleeveless workout top along with a pair of black shorts. He finished his look with runners and a green cap. Day wear: He carried his belonging in a casual backpack which he wore over his shoulders The two Hollywood actors got into a black SUV after disembarking the plane. Earlier this month, Matt enjoyed a well-deserved holiday to surf haven Noosa alongside his family and friends - including Chris' younger brother, Liam, 31. According to the Courier Mail, the group was also made up of Matt's wife Luciana and their children, and close pals Luke and April Munro - who described the trip as 'magical'. Muscles: Meanwhile, Chris took the opportunity to show off his bulging biceps on the jet wearing a sleeveless top for the flight Noosa is a regular haunt for both the Hemsworth brothers and Matt, who have all been spotted spending time at Double Island Point and Rainbow Beach in the area years prior. Chris and Matt first holidayed at the tourist hotspot together in 2018, while the siblings enjoyed a trip there last July alongside Chris' wife Elsa Pataky and their children; India, Sasha and Tristan. The star took a photo with an elated ice delivery driver Rob Gough on the day, who described Matt as a 'top bloke'. Shape: Chris proved he was ready for the hectic filming schedule of Thor with his pumped-up chest and arms 'What a privilege it was to meet and share waves with these guys,' he said. April shared a photo of Liam in his surfing gear, captioned: 'Just never gets old for these two!' She also shared a stunning image of the entire group around a campfire, captioned: 'A magical night on the water, by the fire, under the moon.' Impressive: The muscular Hollywood star looked impressive as he disembarked the jet Big guy! The actor proved he is fit as ever as he walked down the stairs It's possible that film star Chris couldn't attend the getaway due to his hectic film schedule. Matt had made a brief cameo in Thor: Ragnarok, where he played Thor's brother Loki in a short skit. In the 2017 film, the play was called 'The Tragedy Of Loki' and featured four celebrity cameos - Matt Damon as Loki, Luke as Thor, Sam Neill as Odin, and Cate Blanchett as Thor's evil sister Hela. Dad duties: Matt appeared to head back into the aircraft to collect his children's things at one point Fast movers! The two Hollywood actors got into a black SUV after disembarking from the plane The latest installment of Thor is being filmed in Australia after receiving a $24.1million location incentive grant from the Federal Government. Directed by Taika Waititi, the film is expected to bring more than $178million to the local economy, create 2,500 jobs and enlist services from about 1,650 businesses. Thor: Love and Thunder is due for cinematic release in May 2022. A Virginia police officer involved in a controversial traffic stop in December where officers drew their guns at a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, has been fired. Windsor Police Officer Joe Gutierrez has been 'terminated from his employment' following an internal investigation that showed he failed to follow department policy. Body cam footage shows Army Lt. Caron Nazario, who is black and Latino, and dressed in uniform during the December stop at a gas station December. Nazario was pepper sprayed and beaten across his legs during the stop. Gutierrez's dismissal was revealed in a press release from the Town of Windsor on Sunday night . The cop who was with Gutierrez on the December stop, Officer Daniel Crocker, appears to still be on the force. The city didn't comment. Windsor police officer Joe Gutierrez, left, has been fired from the force as of Sunday night Windsor police officers Joe Gutierrez (left) and Daniel Crocker (right) were both involved in the traffic stop. Gutierrez was fired from his position on Sunday night Gutierrez firing came hours after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam tweeted that the traffic stop involving Army lieutenant Caron Nazario was 'disturbing and angered him' 'The pursuit and ultimate stop resulted in the use of pepper spray against Lt. Nazario by Officer Gutierrez. As a result of this use of force, Department policy requires an internal investigation to determine the appropriateness of such actions. The investigation of this event began immediately,' the statement began. 'At the conclusion of this investigation, it was determined that Windsor Police Department policy was not followed. This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment,' the release details. 'The Town of Windsor has remained transparent about this event since the initial stop, and has openly provided documents and related video to attorneys for Lt. Nazario. The Town will continue to provide information related to this event in its commitment to openness. The Town has also requested an investigation of this event by the Virginia State Police, and joins with elected officials who have called for a full and complete review of the actions of these officers,' the statement reads. 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 U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant Caron Nazario reacts as he holds up his hands after being sprayed with a chemical agent by Windsor police officer Joe Gutierrez during a violent traffic stop Gutierrez can be seen pepper spraying Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Gutierrez pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times as officers yelled for him to get out of the car. Nazario's dog, which was inside a crate in the back of the SUV, started choking as a result of the pepper spray U.S. Army second lieutenant Caron Nazario filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the two Windsor police officers involved in the stop, accusing them of drawing their guns, pointing them at him and using a slang term to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground. The two sides in the case dispute what happened, but Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker wrote in a report that he believed Nazario was 'eluding police' and he considered it a 'high-risk traffic stop.' Nazario had claimed that wasnt trying to elude the officer, but was trying to stop in a well-lit area. His partner in the stop, Windsor Police Officer Joe Gutierrez was relieved of his posting on Sunday night. Nazario, who is Latino and black, was in uniform and driving his new SUV with a temporary paper tag displayed on the back window on December 5, when he was told to pull over on U.S. Highway 460 in Windsor, Virginia, a town of about 2,600 residents and about 70 miles southeast of Richmond. 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 two officers struck him multiple times, the lawsuit says and as seen in the footage Medics also arrived to see to Nazario, who reported that his eyes were burning Caron Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated by the traffic stop in the town of Windsor in December When a police cruiser signaled for him to stop, a lawsuit against the two officers says Nazario put on his blinkers, slowed down and looked for a lighted place to stop. Nazario stopped at a nearby gas station, less than two minutes after being signaled to pull over. During the stop, which was captured on police body cameras and Nazario's cell phone, Nazario told police that he was afraid to get out of the vehicle. An officer responded, 'Yeah you should be,' the suit says. An officer also stated that Nazario was "fixing to ride the lightning," in an apparent reference to execution by electrocution. During the arrest, the suit says Nazario had his hands up, offered no resistance, but was pepper sprayed and violently knocked to the ground and detained. Ultimately the police chief responded to the scene and Nazario was released without charges, the suit says. After the altercation, the suit says that officer Gutierrez said he understood why Nazario looked for a lighted place to pull over, and said: "I get it, the media spewing race relations between law enforcement and minorities. I get it." The firing of Officer Gutierrez was detailed in a press release on Sunday night Over the weekend, Virginia's governor called for an independent investigation into the traffic stop in which the two officers were captured on video pepper-spraying and pointing their guns at Nazaio before striking his knees. Governor Ralph Northam called the December 2020 encounter 'disturbing' in a tweet on Sunday, adding that he directed Virginia State Police to review what happened. 'The incident in Windsor is disturbing and angered me - and I am directing the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation,' Northam said. 'Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure Virginians are safe during interactions with police, the enforcement of laws is fair and equitable, and people are held accountable,' Northam said in his statement calling for a review of the actions. The incident captured on video comes at a time of heightened awareness over police arrests of minorities and racial justice, in the wake of the ongoing televised trial of former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody last May. Luo Yude, secretary of the CPC Luohu Committee, inspected the Luohu District People's Procuratorate on April 6, calling for more transparency in case hearing. The procuratorate should gradually expand its hearing scope, strengthen transparency, and subject itself voluntarily to supervision, said Luo. Learning that a one-stop service center had been set up to protect juvenile victims of unlawful infringements, Luo described it as a trailblazer in Luohu's work of juvenile protection. At the 12309 service center, Luo urged the procuratorate to speed up informatization and build the center into a new focal point of procuratorate work that was efficient, open and transparent and delivered convenient and quality services to the people. At the end of the inspection, Luo stressed that major problems hindering law enforcement and judicial justice should be solved systematically. "We should improve our work through addressing issues with which people are most dissatisfied and continuously improve their sense of gain, happiness and safety." He also called for the procuratorate staff to learn from role models in the field and contribute to the building of an all-inclusive Luohu. 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. HILO, Hawaii, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Andrzej Kudelka MD, FACP, FACE, is being recognized by Continental Who's Who for a Lifetime Achievement in Oncology for his professional excellence in the medical field and his unwavering dedication as a traveling doctor for Hilo Medical Center. Dr. Andrzej Kudelka, a board-certified oncologist, has been in medical practice for over four decades, specializing in gynecology, melanoma, sarcoma, advanced thyroid, cancer, and breast medicine, to name a few. He most recently moved to Hawaii and joined the Hilo Medical Center team as an attending and traveling doctor. Prior to his current role, he gained valuable experience as a vital member of the Melanoma Management Team at Stony Brook Cancer Center, which he joined in 2006. Dr. Kudelka remains a faculty member within the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. An expert in his field, Dr. Kudelka has researched the areas of gynecology and breast cancer. In light of his academic achievements, Dr. Kudelka graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from City College of CUNY in 1974. He was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. Furthering his studies, Dr. Kudelka attended Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, where he studied Applied Mathematics, followed by Columbia University, where he studied Biology. Dr. Kudelka's medical career began after obtaining his medical degree in 1982 at the Medical Academy of Gdansk in Poland. In the same year, he was elected as a member of the Electoral College of the Medical Academy of Gdansk for the Academy's President, Vice President, and Deans' first free elections. Dedicated to his medical training, Dr. Kudelka's completed an internal medicine residency at Coney Island Hospital and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center. Lastly, he completed a hematology/oncology fellowship at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. With a commitment to excellence, Dr. Kudelka is board-certified in internal medicine, medical oncology & hospice, and palliative medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Throughout his extensive career, Dr. Kudelka excelled in the academic sector. He has served as an associate professor and associate internist at The University of Texas / M. D. Anderson Cancer Center within the following: Department of Gynecologic Medical Oncology, the Department of Breast Medical Oncology, the Department of Clinical Investigation, the Department of Medical Oncology, and the Department of Clinical Immunology and Biological Therapy. Furthermore, he served on various medical committees, including the Stony Brook Cancer Center Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and the Quality and Patient Safety Committee at Stony Brook University. Remaining abreast of the latest advancements in his field, Dr. Kudelka maintained active memberships with several professional organizations, including the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, The Society for Melanoma Research, the Connective Tissue Oncology Society, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the International Gynecologic Cancer Society. Additionally, he is a distinguished Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Endocrinology. As a testament to his professional excellence, Dr. Kudelka is the recipient of many awards and accolades. He was named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor and a Top Doctor by Newsday. To learn more, please visit https://www.hilomedicalcenter.org/. You can learn more about Dr. Kudelka's research at: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=+Andrzej+Kudelka&btnG= Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected] SOURCE Continental Who's Who Related Links http://www.continentalwhoswho.com New Delhi: Vice Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi has been appointed as new Pakistan Chief of Naval Staff and has been elevated to the rank of Admiral. He will assume charge of the office after the retirement of current Navy Chief Admiral Zaka-ullah on October 6. President Mamnoon Hussain approved the appointment of Abbasion the advice of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, as per the statement by the Prime Minister's House. Read more: MEA summons Pak Deputy High Commissioner over killing of children In Pakistan, all services chiefs are appointed by the president at the recommendation of the prime minister who has final say in such appointments. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. BANGALORE, India, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Battery Separators Market is Segmented by Type (Polymer, Ceramics, Others), by Application (LiB Battery, Lead-Acid Battery, Others). The report covers global opportunity analysis and industry forecast from 2021 to 2026. It is published on Valuates Reports in the Power Supplies Category. The global Battery Separator market was valued at USD 7214.4 Million in 2019 and it is expected to reach USD 16810 Million by the end of 2026, growing at a CAGR of 12.7% during the forecast period 2021-2026. Major factors driving the growth of battery separator market size are: Rising vehicle electrification, growth in sales of smart electronic devices, and improvement in Li-ion batteries. Policies introduced by various governments to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles and reduce carbon emissions. Growing adoption of battery backed energy storage systems. View Report Details Before Purchasing: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-1B432/battery-separators TRENDS INFLUENCING THE BATTERY SEPARATOR MARKET SIZE Increasing adoption of EV is expected to increase the growth of battery separator market size. The adoption of EV is facilitated by environmental concerns and increased GHG emissions. Furthermore, various governments are introducing policies to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles. All these factors are expected to drive market growth. Improvement in lithium-ion batteries, along with advances in battery technology, is expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities for the battery separator market size. Request a Sample Copy of the Report For Growth & Trends Analysis on Battery Separators Market: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Othe-1B432/Battery_Separators_Market BATTERY SEPARATOR MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS On the basis of product type, Polymer represents the largest share of the worldwide Battery Separator market, with 82% share. Polymer separators typically increase the resistance of the electrolyte by a factor of four to five. In the applications, the LiB Battery segment is estimated to be the largest end-use industry segment of the market, with an 88% share of the global market. Growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and grid storage as it offers high-energy density solutions and lightweight are expected to propel the LiB battery segment growth. China holds the major share in the market, with a share of 45%. The increasing demand for consumer electronics and electric vehicles is expected to contribute to the regional market's development. Inquire for Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Othe-1B432/Battery_Separators_Market BATTERY SEPARATOR MARKET SEGMENTS Battery Separators Market by Type Polymer Ceramics Others Battery Separators Market by Application LiB Battery Lead-Acid Battery Others Top Players in the Battery Separators Industry Celgard Microporous Dreamweaver Entek Evonik SK Innovation Toray Asahi Kasei UBE Industries Sumitomo Chem Mitsubishi Chemical Teijin Nippon Shokubai W-SCOPE Semcorp Senior Technology Material Jinhui Hi-Tech Zhongke Science & Technology Cangzhou Mingzhu Sinoma Science & Technology ZIMT Tianfeng Material DG Membrane Tech (SOJO Group) Newmi-Tech Hongtu LIBS Tech Gellec Zhenghua Separator Huiqiang New Energy Others Buy Now for Single User + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Othe-1B432&lic=single-user Buy Now for Enterprise License + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Othe-1B432&lic=enterprise-license SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. 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SIMILAR REPORTS : - The Lithium-Ion Battery Separator market size was valued at USD 8084.2 Million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 17130 Million by 2027, at a CAGR of 11.3% during the 2021-2027. - The Battery Separator Films market size was valued at USD 3130 Million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 5505 Million by 2027, at a CAGR of 8.4% during the 2021-2027 - Lead Acid Battery Separator Market Report contains segmentation by Type (Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Others), Application (Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Industrial, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Power Battery Separator Market Report contains segmentation by Type (Bilayer Power Battery Separator, Trilayer Power Battery Separator), Application (BEV, HEV, Aerospace and Defense, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - AGM Battery Separator Market Report contains segmentation by Type (100% Glass, Reinforced With Synthetic Fiber), Application (Automotive Start-Stop, Grid/Renewable Energy Storage, Motive Power, UPS & Telecom, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Al2O3 Coated Separator Market Report contains segmentation by Type (7+2m, 9+2m, 9+3m, Others), Application (Lithium Battery, Other) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Lead-acid battery market size was valued at USD 39.7 Billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 59.7 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.24% from 2019 to 2026. - Solid State Battery Market size is projected to reach USD 13680 Million by 2026, from USD 1172.4 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 50.6% during the forecast period 2021-2026. - Lithium-ion battery market size was valued at USD 36.7 Billion in 2019 and is projected to hit USD 129.3 Billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 18.0% from 2020 to 2027. - Graphene battery market size was valued at USD 48.8 Million in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 398.6 Million by 2027, to register a CAGR of 31.2% during the forecast period. 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The Report contains segmentation by Type ( Lead-acid Batteries, Lithium-based Batteries, Nickel-based Batteries, Others), By Application (Telecom & Data Communication, Industrial Equipment, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)/Backup, Grid-Level Energy Storage, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - The Electric Commercial Vehicle market size is projected to reach USD 178560 million by 2027, from USD 101270 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 8.3% during 2021-2027. - The Electric Scooter and Motorcycle Market size was valued at US$ 5560.9 million in 2020 and is projected to reach US$ 7618.5 million by 2027, at a CAGR of 4.6% during 2021-2027 To see the full list of related reports on the Battery Separators ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. 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Each sample we share contains detail research methodology employed to generate the report, Please also reach to our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources CONTACT US: Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll-Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp : +91 9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Follow on Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Follow on Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Follow on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports SOURCE Valuates Reports BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the citys police chief said Monday. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as an accidental discharge. It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant. The shooting sparked violent protests in a metropolitan area already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyds death. Police respond to the scene near the site where a family said a man was shot and killed by local law enforcement, Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) Police respond to the scene near the site where a family said a man was shot and killed by local law enforcement, Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released at a news conference. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel. After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him. President Joe Biden urged calm on Monday, following a night where officers in riot gear clashed with demonstrators. The president said he watched the body camera footage. We do know that the anger pain and trauma amidst the black community is real, Biden said from the Oval Office. But, he added, that does not justify violence and looting. Gannon said at a news conference that the officer made a mistake, and he released the body camera footage less than 24 hours after the shooting. The footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells Wright he's being arrested on a warrant. That's when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting. Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle. As I watch the video and listen to the officers command, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet," Gannon said. "This appears to me from what I viewed and the officers reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright. A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Katie Wright said that passenger was her sons girlfriend. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was investigating. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said any decision on charges against the officer will be made by the Washington County attorney under an agreement adopted last year by several county prosecutors aimed at avoiding conflicts of interest. Freeman has been frequently criticized by activists in Minneapolis over his charging decisions involving deadly use of force by police. Gannon would not name the officer or provide any other details about her, including her race, other than describing her as "very senior. He would not say whether she would be fired following the investigation. I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning," the chief said. Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. In that case, a statement of probable cause said police got a call about a man waving a gun who was later identified as Wright. Wright's mother, Katie Wright, said her son called her as he was getting pulled over. All he did was have air fresheners in the car, and they told him to get out of the car, Wright said. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting deeply tragic. Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole," he said. Wright's family hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the Floyd family in its $27 million settlement with the city of Minneapolis. This level of lethal force was entirely preventable and inhumane, Crump said in a statement. What will it take for law enforcement to stop killing people of color? Speaking before the unrest Sunday night, Wrights mother urged protesters in Brooklyn Center, a city of about 30,000 people on the northwest border of Minneapolis, to stay peaceful and focused on the loss of her son. Biden referred to her comments on Monday, saying "we should listen to Dauntes mom calling for peace and calm. The president said he had not yet called the family but that his prayers were with them. Shortly after the shooting, demonstrators began to gather, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where rocks and other objects were thrown at officers, authorities said. About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping center, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said at a news conference. National Guard troops and law enforcement officers continued to guard the front of the police department on Monday morning. Police were erecting a concrete barrier as Minnesota State Patrol officers joined the line in front of the precinct. Several people and reporters watched from across the street as traffic returned to normal on the street where protesters were met with tear gas the night before. One man yelled at the officers using a megaphone as others flew Black Lives Matter flags. More National Guard members and state law enforcement personnel were to be deployed around the Twin Cities and in Brooklyn Center in addition to teams already in place for Chauvins trial at the Hennepin County courthouse in Minneapolis, Harrington said. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyds death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. The judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defense attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict. Burma Myanmar Military Artillery Kills Kachin Civilians Kachin Independence Army fighters. / CJ Three civilians have died in fierce fighting between Myanmars military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Momauk Township, Kachin State. The victims were an 83-year-old woman, a 23-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman from three different villages. They clashed intensely throughout the night from 11pm yesterday until this morning. Artillery shells fell into villages and the villagers died. Houses and monasteries were hit. Three people died. Two houses were blown up and windows were shattered elsewhere, said a Myothit villager. Artillery shells were fired by Myanmars military after KIA troops raided a police outpost and a military outpost on Sunday night, according to residents. Two people were killed immediately by the artillery fire and the 21-year-old bled to death on Monday morning. Villagers said the fighting was still taking place on Monday at noon. Colonel Naw Bu, the KIAs information officer, said: The KIA occupied a police outpost at Tarpein Bridge. We also raided a military outpost which was building a communications tower. Junta troops provided artillery support for the outposts under attack. Artillery shells landed on villages. I heard civilians were hit but I dont know the details. The KIA only confiscated ammunition from the two outposts and did not try to permanently occupy them, said Col. Naw Bu. Clashes are also taking place near Alaw Hill in Momauk, where KIAs Battalion 30 is stationed. The battalion seized the hill near the Chinese border from Myanmars military on March 25. The military has been attempting to retake the hill for three days, said Col. Naw Bu. They have attacked with jet fighters four times this morning. They are still firing. It is far from villages and there are no civilians there. They are fighting fiercely. We are trying to maintain our control of the hill, said Col. Naw Bu. Villagers have asked both sides to avoid their homes. A villager said: We have nowhere to run. There is open space outside the village. We can only hide in bomb shelters when they attack. If a bomb directly hits a shelter, we will die. This is our destiny. The fighters were overhead until this afternoon. We wish they would avoid civilian targets. Fresh clashes broke out in Kachin State on March 11 between Myanmars military and the KIA after two years without major violence. The two sides were in the process of negotiating a ceasefire before the Feb. 1 coup. The Kachin armed group asked the militarys Northern Command not to harm peaceful Kachin protesters opposing the military regime. Tensions grew after two civilians were shot dead in a crackdown by the security forces on anti-regime protesters in the Kachin capital, Myitkyina, on March 8. Three days after the Myitkyina killings, the KIA raided a military outpost in the jade-mining hub, Hpakant, and since then carried out a series of attacks on police and military outposts in Waingmaw, Bhamo, Namtu, Hpakant, Mogaung and Shwegu townships. The military has also attacked KIA camps with artillery and bombed KIA battalions 11 and 14 on March 29. You may also like these stories: Myanmars Informal Financial Service Providers Take Advantage of Post-Coup Banking Crisis Death Toll in Myanmar Regimes Latest Massacre Rises as Details Emerge Three Karen Villagers Killed in Myanmar Military Airstrike British Pound Talking Points: GBP continues to trade on its back foot following a really strong outing in Q1. EUR/GBP put in a big bullish engulf formation last week, illustrating that GBP weakness. The analysis contained in article relies on price action and chart formations . To learn more about price action or chart patterns, check out our DailyFX Education section. Advertisement Last week was a rough start to Q2 for the British Pound. Sterling gave up value to all of the US Dollar, the Japanese Yen and even the Euro; and this comes after what most would classify as a strong outing for the GBP in Q1 of this year. To illustrate just how jarring this move was in terms of the prior trend, Im looking at the EUR/GBP weekly chart below. Last week showed a bullish engulfing candlestick and a stark change-of-pace. The bullish engulf is often followed as a continuation pattern, so in this case market participants may be looking for the Euro to continue to outpace the British currency. On the EUR/GBP chart below, Ive identified a possible resistance area ahead, plotted around the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the 2020 major move. To learn more about bullish engulfing patterns, join us in DailyFX Education EUR/GBP Weekly Price Chart Chart prepared by James Stanley; EURGBP on Tradingview GBP/USD Bounce from Fibo Support Following Channel Break Through the first two and a half months of this year, GBP/USD was one of the more attractive USD-setups, largely owed to the consistent trend channel that had set in since last October. Price action continued to scale-up with higher-highs and higher-lows through January and into February, eventually setting a fresh two-year-high. And in late-Feb/early-March, prices began pulling back, but in late-March sellers went on the prowl and finally pushed price action below that bullish trend channel. Sellers remained in control until a confluent spot of support came into play in late-March, and that same zone came into the equation again last week when sellers re-engaged to elicit a re-test. This is a big spot as theres the 76.4% retracement of the 2018-2020 major move along with the 38.2% retracement of the September-February move. This confluent zone was resistance-turned-support in January and its back again to help currently carve out the lows. Below this zone, the 3460-3500 area on the chart holds some attraction for the next possible support zone should sellers push for a breach of current support. To learn more about Fibonacci, check out DailyFX Education GBP/USD Daily Price Chart Chart prepared by James Stanley; GBPUSD on Tradingview GBP/JPY: Wedge Break Goes Ballistic Last year saw GBP/JPY build in a symmetrical triangle pattern. It was pretty much two different themes as a top was set in December of 2019 that saw the bottom fall out in Q1 of last year. The final three quarters were bulls clawing back those prior losses but, again, much of this took place within the confines of a symmetrical triangle pattern. Such formations will often lead in to breakouts, and thats precisely whats happened so far in 2021 trade. To learn more about the symmetrical triangle pattern, check out DailyFX Education GBP/JPY Weekly Price Chart Chart prepared by James Stanley; GBPJPY on Tradingview The big driver in Q1 of this year was the reflation trade, and this meant big losses for the Japanese Yen. That, combined with GBP strength that was evident in both GBP/USD and EUR/GBP looked at above, and GBP/JPY put in a big move in the first couple months of this year, well over 1,000 pips peak-to-trough. More recently, however, that topside trend has started to shake, and price action has built-in a channel over the past couple of months with the 150 psychological level playing a key role in the channels creation, as the formation began to build as 150 began to show as resistance. At this point, this puts a ton of emphasis on the 150 psychological level and if buyers cant hold price action above, attention moves towards deeper supports below the channel around 148.69 and 147.04. GBP/JPY Eight-Hour Price Chart Chart prepared by James Stanley; GBPJPY on Tradingview --- Written by James Stanley, Strategist for DailyFX.com Contact and follow James on Twitter: @JStanleyFX [April 12, 2021] Protiviti Named to the Fortune '100 Best Companies to Work For' List Again MENLO PARK, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global consulting firm Protiviti has been named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the seventh consecutive year. To create the list, Great Place to Work surveyed more than half a million employees in the U.S. on issues including how trustworthy, caring and fair the company is in times of crises; employees' physical, emotional and financial health; and the company's broader community impact. Companies were also asked to provide details of the programs they created in 2020 to support their people and communities in response to the pandemic, with their answers comprising forty percent of their overall score. Thanks to the resilient mindset of our people, we continued to support and deliver innovative solutions to our clients. "Following a year of tremendous challenge for everyone, we're especially proud to be recognized once again as a great workplace for all," said Protiviti President and CEO Joseph Tarantino. "Thanks to the resilient mindset of our people, we've continued to support and deliver innovative solutions to our clients, even in a time of global crisis." "At the start of the pandemic, we were able to quickly implement a range of programs and benefits, such as additional time off for COVID-19 related reasons and more flexible work arrangements, to ensure that we stayed unified and supportive of each other," said Scott Redfearn, executive vice president, global human resources, Protiviti. "The strong roots of our inclusive and collaborative culture and our mutual trust in each other proved a strong foundation for the firm during an otherwise turbulent time for many organizations." Protiviti has been named consistently to the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list since 2014, in addition to earning many other best workplace accolades. Employees are offered meaningful rewards and benefits, including gender-neutral paid parental leave, sabbaticals, backup childcare, on- and off-the job training, tuition reimbursement and a robust mentoring program. In addition, Protiviti's global diversity, equity and inclusion initiative strives to foster is an organization where everyone can thrive. "Congratulations to the 100 Best Companies to Work For. These companies have stood out for heroic efforts to care for their employees, their customers and our society, in a difficult year," said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. "Remarkably, our research found that employee experience scores rose at these workplaces overall last year a testament to the resilience of their inclusive, high-trust cultures." About Protiviti Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Protiviti and its independent and locally owned Member Firms provide clients with consulting and managed solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, analytics, governance, risk and internal audit through its network of more than 85 offices in over 25 countries. Named to the 2021 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, Protiviti has served more than 60 percent of Fortune 1000 and 35 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies. The firm also works with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index. Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services. Editor's note: Protiviti photos available upon request View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/protiviti-named-to-the-fortune-100-best-companies-to-work-for-list-again-301266947.html SOURCE Protiviti [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Belarus' Foreign Ministry Vladimir Makei has concluded from remarks made by the head of the Ukrainian delegation in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Leonid Kravchuk, that Kyiv does not want to comply with the Minsk agreements to settle the armed conflict in Donbas. "This sort of bacchanalia around this statement [made by Kravchuk about relocating the TCG talks from Minsk] suggests that some Ukrainian politicians are reluctant to comply with the agreements that were reached in Minsk," Makei said on Belarus 1 television channel on Saturday. To Belarus it does not matter where these meetings will take place, he said. "They can be held even in Antarctica, the main thing is to achieve a specific result, which is to stop the hostilities in eastern Ukraine," Makei said. Kravchuk's suggestion that the TCG meet in a neutral country such as Poland is ridiculous, he said. "I don't know where Mr. Kravchuk is originally from, but this joke-phrase of his is worthy of the feather pen of late Mikhail Zhvanetsky who was from Odesa. You won't find a more 'neutral' country than Poland in the whole world," Makei said. He recalled that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that Minsk had been invited to mediate the talks. "And we did not impose ourselves on this process, in which we found ourselves involved at the request of Ukraine, and Germany, and Russia, and France. We absolutely honestly fulfilled the obligations we were asked about: to provide for TCG work (the organizational, protocol and technical aspects). We received no complaints. There were thanks from Ukraine, from Russia and from the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]. There are specific documents on this score. "We weren't seeking a peacemaker's laurels. We were asked to assist with settling the crisis in eastern Ukraine and we honestly tried to fulfill this request. If they don't want to continue working, they can look for another place. That is not the point, these are all certain tricks. The point is, all sides must be sincerely interested in swiftly settling the crisis in the east of Ukraine, not attempts to circumvent the Minsk agreements, among other things," Makei said. Kravchuk had said that once the coronavirus pandemic was over the Donbas negotiation could be moved from Minsk to Poland. Alabamas business leaders are more optimistic about the states economy than at any time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with several planning to increase hiring. The University of Alabamas Center for Business and Economic Research is out with its Alabama Business Confidence Index, a survey of business executives around the state. It shows the index at 64.3, up more than eight points from the survey in the years first quarter. An index of more than 50 indicates a positive forecast compared to the previous quarter, and the higher the number, the more confident the forecast. The index combines statewide and national forecasts, sales, profits, hiring and capital expenditures. Susannah Robichaux, a socioeconomic analyst for the center, said the outlook suggests Alabamas business leaders are shaking off the pandemic. When there is a higher ABCI, it signals that business leaders are feeling optimistic about the coming quarter, which is absolutely informing their own decisions about their businesses, Robichaux said. The survey indicates business leaders expect to see an increase in sales, profits, hiring and expenditures in the second quarter. Firms of all sizes reported especially strong confidence in growth compared to last quarter. Small firms with fewer than 20 employees had the most confidence. Business leaders also feel strongly they will increase hiring in the second quarter compared to the first. Only 6.5% of respondents expected to decrease hiring, and the healthcare and social assistance industry is the only one of nine industry categories that expects to possibly decrease in hiring. Among the states metro areas, Tuscaloosa led in confidence with an index of 65.6, followed by Birmingham-Hoover at 65.5, Mobile at 64.6, and Huntsville and Montgomery each at 63.8. Formula 1 is trying out sprint races during three Grand Prix this season to see if this is an idea for the future. Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali is looking forward to the races with great enthusiasm. The sprint races in Canada, Italy and Brazil will see drivers compete at a shorter distance than Sunday's race. The sprint races should provide extra excitement for fans in the stands and viewers at home during the Grand Prix weekends, although not everyone is positive about the idea. High expectations of sprint races Domenicali expects a lot from the plan, he tells Auto, Motor und Sport. "When we came out with the announcement that we wanted to try out a sprint qualifier, the organizers who qualified for the test immediately had a lot more demand for tickets. And the TV stations were enthusiastic." "This format has many advantages," he continues. "The less time for free practice, the more action on the track. Nobody waits for better conditions in the garage anymore. This has already been demonstrated in Bahrain. With free practice and qualifying the organiser can give the fans a better Friday. With the second free practice in preparation for the race and sprint qualifying in the afternoon a better Saturday." (Natural News) The U.S. will start a study focusing on the allergic reactions triggered by mRNA Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. The trial, conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will examine if people with a history of allergies have a higher chance of experiencing reactions beyond the injection site. It will also look at the biological mechanism behind the allergic reactions the vaccines purportedly trigger. NIAID announced the study on April 7, remarking that the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna will be its focus. The institutes director Dr. Anthony Fauci said the information obtained during the study 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. The public understandably has been concerned about reports of rare, severe allergic reactions to the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, the infectious disease expert remarked. But he reiterated that for most people, the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination far outweigh the risks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the mRNA vaccine manufactured by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for emergency use in December 2020. A week later, it approved the COVID-19 vaccine candidate by Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical firm Moderna. Over 168 million vaccine doses have been injected into the arms of Americans as of April 6, with a huge majority being either from Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna. NIAIDs trial will enroll 3,400 adult participants aged 18 to 69 years old. About 60 percent of the volunteers must either have a history of severe allergic reactions or be diagnosed with a mast cell disorder. The remaining 40 percent must not have any of these. Furthermore, approximately two-thirds of trial participants will be female as a majority of anaphylactic reactions after vaccination has occurred among women. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either a vaccine or a placebo followed by an actual jab. Every volunteer will ultimately get two doses of a vaccine. If allergic reactions occur in participants during the study, researchers will then examine if these are more frequent in participants with a history of these reactions vis-a-vis other volunteers. They will also look at the biological mechanism behind these allergic reactions and any possible factors that predict people most at risk from these reactions such as genetic patterns. The federal health institute added that the studys results are expected by late summer of this year. Given the number of people who suffered allergic reactions to the jabs, NIAIDs response appears to be belated Fauci and other health experts did not mention the upcoming clinical trial during an April 7 virtual press conference. Reporters who were present also did not bring up the matter. Furthermore, NIAID did not immediately respond to an inquiry as to why scrutiny of post-vaccination allergic reactions will only be done just now. (Related: Modernas and Pfizers vaccines share the same problem: Theyre unsafe for people with allergies.) Meanwhile, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both remarked that cases of anaphylaxis after getting the COVID-19 jab were rare. Nevertheless, guidance released by the CDC said facilities administering COVID-19 vaccines should have at least three doses of epinephrine available at all times. The public health agency added that vaccinated individuals should be observed for at least 15 minutes, while those with a history of anaphylaxis or allergic reactions to vaccines should be observed for 30 minutes. Some cases of adverse reactions triggered by either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine have been publicized. These mostly involved health care workers, who were the first ones to receive the jabs. Back in December 2020, two health workers with the U.K.s National Health Service experienced an allergic reaction after getting the Pfizer/BioNTech jab. Both health care workers who experienced anaphylaxis carried auto-injector pens for their allergies. (Related: UK regulator warns public to avoid COVID-19 shots if they already struggle with allergies.) Meanwhile, an American doctor who received the Moderna vaccine experienced life-threatening anaphylaxis minutes after his inoculation. Dr. Hossen Sadrzadeh of the Boston Medical Center needed medical intervention after getting the Moderna COVID-19 jab. He suffered from an increased heart rate, numbness of the tongue and throat and a sudden drop in blood pressure. Despite having an auto-injector pen for his allergies, this was insufficient to stop the allergic reaction. Sadrzadeh was admitted to the emergency room on Christmas Eve, where doctors immediately administered Benadryl and steroids. His condition improved on Christmas Day and he was subsequently discharged. Nevertheless, Sadrzadeh recommended that people with allergies get vaccinated in a hospital setting despite his life-threatening allergic reaction. Visit VaccineInjuryNews.com to read more news about allergic reactions caused by mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com NIH.gov FDA.gov 1 FDA.gov 2 WSJ.com RT.com The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has announced a new joint housing finance construction scheme, in collaboration with Eskan Bank, to facilitate the purchase of land and the subsequent construction of homes across the kingdom. The NBB move comes as part of its efforts to provide optimal housing financing solutions for Bahraini citizens across the kingdom. The offer comes months after the launch of the joint housing purchase scheme which solidifies NBBs growing partnership with the Ministry of Housing and Eskan Bank. Under this new scheme, NBB customers will be able to purchase land through the bank's mortgage finance and subsequently build it through a social housing financing plan provided by the Eskan Bank. This new housing solution provided by both banks, is an added feature to the existing joint housing programme designed to provide facilitated housing solutions to Bahraini customers looking to build their dream homes, it stated. Chief Executive (Retail Banking) Subah Abdullatif Al Zayani said: "NBB is delighted to continue this endeavour in conjunction with the Ministry of Housing and Eskan Bank. Through this partnership, we aim to provide a wider range of opportunities to Bahraini beneficiaries looking for complementing housing financing solutions at NBB." "This is also part of our initiative to provide the citizens of Bahrain with flexible housing solutions, allowing them to begin construction on their dream homes anywhere across the kingdom," he stated. "We hope to release a number of similar initiatives and solutions in the future, to provide all our customers with a diverse range of services to build a brighter future for them as new homeowners," he added. According to NBB, the initiative will extend housing solutions to all of its customers who wish to purchase land and construct their new homes. In line with NBBs brand promise of being closer to its customers, the offering will make it more accessible for future homeowners to select the housing solution they want with ease and comfort, remarked Al Zayani. As it continues its partnership with Eskan Bank, NBB aims to provide additional products to drive positive societal initiatives within the Kingdom to support Bahrains overall economy in line with the Kingdoms Vision 2030, he added. Executive Director of Banking and Deputy General Manager Ahmed Tayara said: "The initiative to provide mortgage financing from NBB represents a great addition to the banks efforts, giving its beneficiaries of financing services greater purchasing power to complete the process of building their dream homes." "This step reflects the scale of cooperation between Eskan Bank and the NBB and the importance of continuing our extended cooperation with private banks to provide all possible requirements and achieve more successes in serving the Bahraini citizens," he added.-TradeArabia News Service WASHINGTON White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that the Biden administration was looking for ways to conduct outreach to white conservative communities where coronavirus vaccine hesitancy runs high. Such outreach, Psaki said, could include partnerships with NASCAR, the car racing franchise, and CMT, the country music television station. Were looking for a range of creative ways to get directly connected to white conservative communities, Psaki said during a briefing with members of the press. She noted that cast members from Deadliest Catch, a reality television show about deep-sea fishing, had recently participated in a public service announcement about mask wearing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently made $3 billion available to community groups and health organizations around the country to increase acceptance and uptake of vaccines, a recognition that complex factors have led to low vaccination rates in parts of the country. The goal, Psaki said, was to meet people where they are. White House press secretary Jen Psaki at a press briefing on Monday. (Patrick Semansky/AP) Initially, there had been concerns about vaccine hesitancy among communities of color, particularly Black Americans, who may be mistrustful of a medical establishment that has a long history of institutional racism and neglect. But efforts to gain trust from Black communities appear to have been successful, even as disparities in who is actually being vaccinated persist. According to recent findings from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 65 percent of people whove had at least one vaccine dose were white, while only 8 percent were Black (many people do not report their race when receiving a vaccination, making these findings incomplete). Nearly half of white evangelicals have said they do not want the coronavirus vaccine, and about half of Republican men feel the same way. That presents the Biden administration with an acute challenge, since conservative whites tended to support President Donald Trump in last years presidential election and have remained suspicious of President Biden. Story continues Trump received the coronavirus vaccine sometime in January, although he did not do so publicly. He was the only living former president to not participate in a public service announcement encouraging people to get vaccinated. Last month, however, he told Fox News that his supporters should get inoculated against the coronavirus. I would recommend it, and I would recommend it to a lot of people that dont want to get it, and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly, the former president said. But again, we have our freedoms and we have to live by that, and I agree with that also. But its a great vaccine. Its a safe vaccine and its something that works. President Biden talks to a person receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Alexandria, Va., on April 6. (Evan Vucci/AP) The White House has looked for other ways to influence white conservatives. We wont always be the best messengers, Psaki acknowledged on Monday. The challenge will be to find messengers willing to work with the Biden administration who are at the same time trusted by conservatives. The White House did not answer a subsequent Yahoo News email query regarding potential partnerships with NASCAR or CMT, both of which are popular with conservatives. Last summer, the Trump administration tried to enlist celebrities to tout its coronavirus response but had trouble finding willing participants. It eventually settled on the actor Dennis Quaid and other, more obscure stars before scrapping the plan amid questions of impropriety. The Biden administration has deployed National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, who is outspoken about his own Christian faith. Last month he appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network to argue in favor of vaccination. We humans, as Gods children, have been given the tools of science to come up with our own way, to work through Gods grace, to provide an opportunity to relieve pain and suffering. I think thats what vaccines are and have been all along, Collins said in his CBN appearance. Some evangelical leaders, such as the missionary Franklin Graham, have also encouraged Christian holdouts to get vaccinated. Jesus does tell the story of a man that was beaten and robbed and left for dead on the side of a road, and religious leaders walked past him and did not have compassion, they didnt get involved. But a Samaritan had compassion, Graham told CBS News earlier this month. And he immediately bandaged he put oil and wine on his wounds and took him to an inn, and paid to have him cared for. Now, the oil and wine were the medicines of that day. ... The vaccine is, to me, I believe, is saving life, and thats what Jesus Christ would want us to do, to help save life. Its just a tool to help save life. ____ Read more from Yahoo News: Model Devon Windsor shared two new photos of her baby bump to Instagram over the weekend. In the images, her baby bump was on full display as she posed in a black and off white bikini with a sheer black coverup from her own swimwear collection. In another post, the cover girl shared that she is 18 weeks along. Starting to show: Windsor's baby bump was on full display as she posed in a black and off white bikini with a sheer black coverup from her own swimwear collection. The stunning model held her hand to her head as she smiled slightly down at the camera while cruising on a boat. She pulled her hair back into a wispy bun and accessorized with black Bottega Veneta sunglasses and simple beaded necklaces and bracelets. In another photo in the same post, the swimwear designer leaned back with her hand on her hip, closed her eyes beneath her sunglasses and turned to show off her shapely legs. Windsor captioned the snaps: 'Baby on board.' Hot mama: The stunning model wore black Bottega Veneta sunglasses as she leaned back with her hand on her hip and turned to show off her shapely legs while cruising on a boat Windsor announced she was pregnant with her first child on mid March. The model took to Instagram to share two black and white snaps of her blossoming baby bump and ultrasound scan, alongside her husband Johnny Barbara. Devon wrote in the caption: 'Mom & Dad. I'm pregnant!! Johnny and I are so excited to finally share the news with you guys!' 'I have dreamt of being a mama my whole life. We are so grateful for this little angel in my belly, and are so excited for this new chapter in our lives! 'Sending extra love and light to the mamas out there who are trying to conceive. I am hopeful your miracles are around the corner!' Countdown: The mother-to-be revealed that she had hit her 18 week pregnancy milestone by posting a cute video in which she danced to Ryn Weaver's song 'Pierre' and improvised her own lyrics about going into the doctor for a check up. One photo showed Johnny tenderly kissing Devon's cheek while she held up the ultrasound scan to the camera. The model wore her jeans partially unbuttoned and lifted her shirt up so as to display her baby bump. In the other snap, Johnny kissed Devon's stomach as the model beamed down at him. American beauty Devon got her start as a model when she was just 14 and moved to Europe after graduating from school to further her career. A career changing moment for Windsor was walking for Prada in September 2013. During fittings, her hair was dyed platinum blonde and this became her signature look. Loved-up: The 5ft 11in beauty wed Johnny - co-owner of fashion label Alexis - at St Bartholomew's Anglican Church on the Caribbean island of St Barths on November 16 2019 The 5ft 11in beauty wed Johnny - co-owner of fashion label Alexis - at St Bartholomew's Anglican Church on the Caribbean island of St Barths on November 16 2019. Announcing the engagement by sharing the image of the beach proposal in June 2018 she wrote on Instagram: 'When you think you're flying into a photoshoot and then you look down and see this... 'This was the best day of my life and I cannot wait to marry the best person in the whole universe 'I'm the luckiest woman in the world!' Devon also showed off her impressive diamond engagement ring - which took over a month to design- in an Instagram story post. She wrote: 'I'll never finish falling in love with you...... ladies and gents, my fiance!!!!' Georgia Fowler, Shanina Shaik, Olivia Culpo and Cara Santana were among the celebrities who attended the lavish nuptials in an extravaganza that lasted for three days, according to Harper's Bazaar . Staff at the Russian prison where Alexei Navalny is being held are threatening to force-feed him during his ongoing hunger strike. Navalny's allies said the Kremlin critic had lost 15kg since arriving at the facility last month. The 44-year-old opposition leader announced a hunger strike at the end of March to protest what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to provide proper treatment for his acute back and leg pain. The prison said Navalny was offered proper treatment but refused it, insisting he wanted to be treated by a doctor of his choice from outside the facility. The request was denied. Navalny, whom the West says has been wrongly jailed and should be freed, was moved to a prison clinic earlier this month after complaining of a high temperature and a bad cough. Staff at the Russian prison where Alexei Navalny (pictured) is being held are threatening to force feed him amid an ongoing hunger strike. Navalny's allies said the Kremlin critic had lost 15kg since arriving at the facility last month [File photo] On Monday, his Twitter account, which is updated by supporters with news from his lawyers who regularly visit him, said he had been discharged from the prison's medical facility. 'Given the severity of the hunger strike, the (prison) administration is threatening on a daily basis to start force-feeding,' the account said. There was no immediate comment from the state prison service and the regional prison service did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. Navalny's weight has fallen to 77kg, a drop of 15kg since he arrived at the prison facility 62 miles (100km) east of Moscow, his allies said. Navalny had already lost 8kg in the facility before his hunger strike, his supporters said on April 1, blaming the weight loss on guards deliberately depriving him of sleep. Prison authorities have denied that, and previously said he was in a 'satisfactory' condition and had been provided with all necessary treatment he needed. Navalny's allies want an outside doctor of his choice to be permitted to check his condition. Navalny, 44, is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for violating his parole in a 2014 fraud case at the IK-2 corrective penal colony 100 km (60 miles) east of Moscow [File photo] His Twitter account said on Monday that a doctor had still not been allowed in to see him. It added that his pulse was averaging 106 beats per minute, a reading that is higher than normal, and his blood pressure was at 94/76. Navalny returned to Russia in January after recovering from what German doctors say was nerve agent poisoning. Russia has said it has yet to see evidence of poisoning. He was jailed in February for violating the probation conditions of a suspended sentence in a 2014 fraud case by travelling to Germany for treatment. Navalny has said the 2014 charges were politically motivated. Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government is considering postponing the MP Board Exams 2021 till June amid the rising COVID 19 cases in the state, it is likely that the all schools for classes 1 to 8 will remain shut till June 15, 2021. A proposal to conduct the 10th and 12th board examinations in June has been sent to the CM office, local media sources claimed. As of now, there is no official clarification on the postponement of the MP Board Exams 2021. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government will release the official notification on the matter of conducting the Board exams soon. The MPBSE board exams for classes 10, 12 is scheduled to commence from April 30 and May 1, 2021, respectively. In one of the recent press conferences, School Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar admitted that the the present situation is alarming and that it would not be easy to conduct the MP Board Exams 2021. Meanwhile, all the state-owned government schools and hostels have been ordered to remain shut till further notice. WASHINGTON (JTA) A number of pro-Israel groups, Israeli officials and Republicans in Congress are stepping up their scrutiny of the Biden administrations plans to resume funding for the Palestinian Authority and other groups aiding Palestinians. In the past two weeks, the Biden administration has rolled out pledges to deliver $75 million in assistance to Palestinian areas; $40 million for security assistance to the Palestinian Authority; $150 million to the U.N.s Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA; and $15 million for COVID assistance. Also pledged is $10 million that goes to Palestinian-Israeli people-to-people programs. U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have said the spending will comply with congressional restrictions, and comply with laws banning (with a few exceptions) direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority as long as it pays subsidies to the families of Palestinians who have killed Israelis or Palestinians a longstanding PA policy. ADVERTISEMENT Thats not enough to assuage skeptics, who cite a government watchdog report released last week that said that, from 2015 to 2019, U.S. aid officials did not sufficiently verify whether money meant to reach only nongovernmental organizations in fact ended up with terrorists. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spearheaded a letter to Biden on Thursday from 18 Republican senators urging the Biden administration to pause the disbursement of assistance to the West Bank and Gaza Strip subject to further congressional scrutiny. Cruz and the other senators want the Biden administration to assure Congress that necessary aid being provided to the Palestinians, including as envisioned b Congress and described in the Taylor Force Act, is tightly targeted to ensure that it benefits the Palestinian people and not the PA or Hamas. The Taylor Force Act, named for an American victim of a terrorist attack, is a law that conditions aid to Palestinians over whether the Palestinian Authority suspends funding for killers of Israelis and Americans. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, his counterpart in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Wednesday pledged to scrutinize every proposed program to ensure the administrations actions are in lockstep with the Taylor Force Act. The Jerusalem Post reported that Risch and McCaul have used their positions on their respective committees to delay the disbursement of the funds. President Donald Trump suspended most aid to the Palestinians in 2018, in part because the Palestinians snubbed his moves to initiate Middle East peace and in part because of the payments that go to killers of Israelis and Americans. Biden campaigned on resuming funding to the Palestinians, saying it was critical for humanitarian reasons and to restore American credibility in the region. UNRWA remains in desperate need of fundamental reform, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee tweeted Wednesday. Its waste, fraud, resistance to reform & internal turmoil make it among the most inefficient UN agencies. Moreover UNRWAs misguided definition of refugees directly contributes to prolonging the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a statement unusual for a diplomat, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan denounced the resumption of funding to UNRWA or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees absent reforms in the agency. The Orthodox Union also sent a letter to Blinken questioning the resumption of assistance to the West Bank and Gaza. The Zionist Organization of America has additionally objected to the new funding. Liberal pro-Israel groups, including J Street and Americans for Peace Now, have praised the resumption of assistance, as have Democrats who are known for their closeness to the pro-Israel community, including Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. Deutch, who is Jewish, chairs the Middle East subcommittee in the House. Despite my serious concerns about transparency and accountability at UNRWA, withholding assistance that provides healthcare & education to children during a global pandemic risks further deteriorating an already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza made worse by Hamas, Deutch said on Twitter. The womens Zionist organization Hadassah, the Anti-Defamation League and an array of other Jewish groups are rallying senators to sign a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, urging him to reform UNRWAs schools, which they say peddle anti-Semitic slanders in textbooks. Lets block ads! (Why?) PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the Legislature will have until Sept. 27 to complete the redistricting process, giving lawmakers more time to draw political boundaries following a delay in crucial census data. The unanimous decision by the justices will give legislative leaders nearly three extra months to do their work. Redistricting, the process where lawmakers redraw legislative and congressional districts, occurs every 10 years following the census. Districts must be equal in population to each other. Although there's a set number of state legislative districts, due to Oregon's population growth in the last decade it is likely that the state will receive an additional seat in the United States House of Representatives. A Florida woman was sentenced to 30 days in prison after she deliberately coughed on a cancer patient's face amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The interaction was caught in footage last year. Debra Jo Hunter, 53, pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanor assault in the incident at the St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville last Jun. 25. After being charged with misdemeanor assault last year, Hunter was booked into the Duval County Jail but was released on the same day after posting bond, News4Jax reported. Aside from her 30-day sentence, Hunter is also required to serve six months probation and undergo mental health evaluation and anger management, according to the communications director for the state attorney's office David Chapman. Debra Jo Hunter was also mandated to cover the costs of the victim's COVID-19 test, according to an Associated Press report. READ NEXT: Coughing Woman Who Made a Joke About Having COVID-19, Now Infected The Incident Involving the Florida Woman Investigators said the victim, Heather Sprague, had started recording Hunter's heated argument with the store's employees as she tried to return an item that she did not bring. Debra Jo Hunter saw her and made a rude gesture before walking up. She threatened Sprague that she would cough on her before doing so, according to an arrest document. Sprague was being treated for a brain tumor. She told the judge that she spent several days anxiously searching for a place where she and her family could be tested after the incident. Hunter's husband told the judge that their family had faced numerous hardships before the incident. This includes losing everything they had in a house fire. "It was like air being inflated into a balloon, and it finally got to the point where she couldn't handle any more air," Hunter's husband said in a report as she defends his wife. Debra Jo Hunter received backlash about the incident, citing harassing texts, emails, and letters, as well as social media posts targeting her and her family, according to a People report. Hunter wrote that she received messages, such as ill wishes of her getting a COVID and her family. "We no longer take family bike rides around the neighborhood. We no longer wave at neighbors passing by," the Florida woman said in a report. Debra Jo Hunter noted that her letter was not a call for mercy or empathy, saying that the ordeal has incredibly humbled her. Duval County court judge James Ruth said she was struck by the fact that Hunter's testimony focused less on how she harmed the victim and how her actions affected her own life. Ruth said they have yet to see any expression of her regret about the effect it had on the victim, in this case, according to The Guardian report. Sprague told the judge that she was worried about her health and the safety of her children. She was also concerned about how she could isolate and protect them in a household of 12 if she had been deliberately infected. Sprague said she believed that Hunter should be held accountable for her actions, adding that's why she chose to report the incident. Sprague filed a police report after she began feeling ill after the incident with Hunter. READ MORE: Man Coughs on and Spits at a Police Officer Claiming to have COVID-19, Now Prosecuted on Terrorism Charge WATCH: Nassau Woman Who Coughed in Face of Cancer Patient Gets 30 Days in Jail - From News4Jax Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko will pay a visit to Azerbaijan on 13 April, according to the press service of the Belarusian leader. The two-day visit has an intensive agenda. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev are scheduled to have two meetings. One of them will take place right after Aleksandr Lukashenko's arrival in Baku. In the informal setting the heads of state will discuss major avenues of Belarus-Azerbaijan cooperation and strategic issues of bilateral interaction. Official negotiations are scheduled for Wednesday. The presidents will meet in the narrow and extended formats with the participation of the delegations. Special attention will be drawn to the expansion of the trade and economic interaction and the intensification of cooperation. The sides will discuss industrial cooperation, current and promising projects in the manufacturing sector and food supplies, processing of agricultural products. The sides will also focus on cooperation in healthcare, science and technology, education and tourism. The heads of state will discuss topical issues on the international agenda. After the talks the sides are expected to sign bilateral documents. 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 Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 01:02:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LAGOS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A UN official based in Nigeria has condemned a reported attack on civilians and several aid facilities at the weekend in Damasak town of Borno state, a state that has been troubled by the resurgence of Boko Haram for over a decade. According to reports by local media, Boko Haram militants have attacked at the weekend several global humanitarian facilities in Damasak including the one being run by the UN, leading to several civilian and soldiers deaths. In a statement sent to Xinhua on Monday, Edward Kallon, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, said he was outraged to hear about the attacks and the setting ablaze of facilities belonging to aid organizations. "I am deeply concerned about recurrent reports of violent attacks by non-state armed groups putting the lives of civilians under risks," he said. According to the coordinator, a violent attack in Damasak town was reported with three international aid partners' facilities which were directly targeted, set ablaze and sustained damage on Saturday night and through Sunday morning. "I continue to be concerned about the safety and security of civilians and humanitarian workers," he said, adding he strongly condemns the attack, as "humanitarian aid operations and facilities are the lifelines for people affected by violence and conflict in northeast Nigeria who are dependent on assistance to survive". He said civilians and aid workers, their facilities and assets should never be a target. The Nigerian army said in a statement on Monday troops supported by the Air Component of Operation Lafiya Dole (OPLD) thwarted on Saturday Boko Haram terrorist incursion into Damasak, headquarters of Mobbar local government area of Borno. However, the statement did not mention Boko Haram's attack on aid facilities in the town. The army said the troops engaged the terrorists with superior firepower both from the air and on the ground which compelled them to withdraw in disarray. Enditem Its not a good look when a state agency acts like a stubborn child with its fingers in its ears. Itd be almost comical, if there werent such a wrenching tragedy behind it. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has joined those calling on state transportation officials to adopt recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board in the wake of the 2018 Schoharie limousine crash, which killed 20 people. The NTSB found the state Department of Transportation and Department of Motor Vehicles shared some responsibility for the crash and recommended DOT do more follow-up to ensure noncompliant vehicles were repaired as ordered a problem also noted in a 2014 comptrollers audit. But DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez asserted the NTSB audit is completely unrelated to the circumstances of the Schoharie case. Why? Because the audit had found DOT did inadequate follow-up on interstate commercial vehicles, and the limousine operated only in-state. Thats a distinction without a difference and a dodge. Better follow-up procedures will make the roads safer. Why try to sidestep that? Weve seen this feint before from the Cuomo administration, and the underlying message is: We are never wrong. At least, well never admit it. In this case, it is deeply, deeply dangerous. DOT says its already implemented recommendations from the audit. But why, then, would Mr. DiNapoli be calling for action? New Yorkers need assurances regulators will learn from their mistakes, and wont be too defensive, or stubborn, or afraid of consequences, to fix what needs fixing. A stomach-turning response What kind of human being is so cold-blooded, so self-absorbed, so indifferent to the anguish of others that he can look at the mass slaughter of children and think: But what about ME? Heres who: Wayne LaPierre, leader of the National Rifle Association. After the 2012 massacre of elementary school students in Newtown, Conn., and the 2018 slayings of students and staff at a Parkland, Fla., high school, Mr. LaPierre said he sought refuge on a borrowed yacht in the Bahamas because public outrage over the shootings made him fear for his life. And this was the one place that I hope could feel safe, where I remember getting there going, Thank God Im safe, nobody can get me here, he said, in a deposition in the NRA bankruptcy trial. The blind terror of 6-year-olds hunted down by a gunman. Their parents, plunged into a chasm of grief. A nation in heartbreak. A gun-rights fanatic, retreating to a yacht because its too dangerous out there. Mr. LaPierres words lay bare the warped and rotted ethics of the organization he leads, and its aims. A good step on PFAS U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was in Hoosick Falls last week to announce legislation that would make it easier for courts to order medical monitoring for people whove been exposed to PFAS, and make polluters pay for it. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances industrial toxins that have fouled drinking water in Hoosick Falls and elsewhere have been linked to cancers, thyroid problems and liver disease. These diseases can take years to develop, so they need to be caught early on. Why should victims of pollution have to pay for those checkups? This bill would be a measure of environmental justice for those who have to live with the fear of what exposure might bring. ROME, APR 12 - Some 2.2 million does of COVID-19 vaccines are set to arrive in Italy this week, health sources said Monday. Pfizer is set to boost its supplies by 1.5 million doses by Wednesday, they said. Then, another 400,000 doses of the Modern vaccine will arrive. Tomottow, Tuesday, some 360,000 shots will be stored in the defence ministry hub at Pratica di Mare outside Rome. Of these, 184,800 will be the first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and the other 172,200 will be AstraZeneca. (ANSA). MINNEAPOLIS As former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvins defense presents its case this week against charges that he murdered George Floyd, a question looms over his trial: Will Chauvin testify in his own defense? Under the U.S. Constitution, defendants have a right to refrain from testifying without penalty, but some local attorneys said there are compelling reasons for Chauvin to get on the witness stand. Youve got to remember that this is a case that really centers on Chauvins state of mind, and the best person to tell us about that would be Chauvin, so you might really be forced to put him on in this case, said veteran defense attorney Joe Friedberg. The issue is likely to arise soon as prosecutors cap off two weeks of testimony in their case early in the week. Chauvins attorney, Eric Nelson, is expected to begin calling witnesses for a few days of testimony before jurors begin deliberations. Nelson has not said whether his client will testify. Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other former officers who were at the scene of Floyds May 25 arrest J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are scheduled to be tried Aug. 23 on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four defendants, who were fired, are out on bond. Other attorneys and legal scholars said theres little Chauvin can say to overcome a bystanders graphic video showing him kneeling on Floyds neck for more than nine minutes as he pleaded for his life and repeatedly said he couldnt breathe. Pleas for mercy from several horrified bystanders, including children and an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter, were also captured in the video. Chauvin doesnt come across as a character that you want to root for because of the video, said Joseph Daly, emeritus professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. [Prosecutors will] take him through every single second of that video and have him testify. In cross-examination hell just get beat up. Itll be horrible for him. The risk is so immense for him to testify. In a recent interview, Floyds brother, Philonise Floyd, and sister-in-law, Keeta Floyd, said they want to hear from Chauvin. " He wont be able to handle whats thrown at him, because how can you explain that you had your knee on a mans neck for nine minutes? How can you explain that? Theres no way to explain. You cant, Philonise Floyd said. So it will be a good thing [if he testifies], but I know thats not going to happen. Prosecutors have argued that Chauvin used excessive force and an unsanctioned maneuver when he knelt on Floyd. Testimony from several Minneapolis police leaders, including Chief Medaria Arradondo and Lt. Richard Zimmerman, the departments head of homicide, supported the states claims. Nelson has argued that Floyd likely died of a drug overdose complicated by preexisting health issues, including heart disease. Nelson told jurors Floyd was resisting arrest so forcibly that it rocked a parked police squad back and forth, and that Chauvin followed his training amid a threatening crowd. Defense attorney Mike Padden said Chauvin needs to testify to explain the reasoning behind his actions and to apologize, which could help negate the depraved mind element needed to convict him on third-degree murder. I dont think he has any choice but to testify, said Padden, who believes a conviction is more likely on third-degree murder than second-degree murder. Itll be a mistake if he doesnt. The jury needs to hear from him, thats the bottom line. Friedberg said Chauvins testimony could also further the defenses argument that he placed his knee on Floyds shoulder. Nelson has introduced the concept of camera perspective bias and played clips of police bodycam videos that showed Chauvins knee on Floyds shoulder. The state has countered that with images of the knee on the neck. When the defendant takes the stand and denies the things that make up the crime, thats got to make the jury pause , Friedberg said. If the jury gets into an argument about where the knee is, thats a good thing for the defense. All three officers who have been previously tried in Minnesota for killing a civilian on the job Jeronimo Yanez, Mohamed Noor and Brian Krook testified at their trials. But unlike in Chauvins case, all three officers said they acted because of a perceived threat to their life or the lives of others. Two of the civilians in the previous cases also possessed guns. While Nelson has previously said in court filings that Floyd posed a potential threat, the issue has played a minimal role so far at trial. The amount of time Chauvin knelt on Floyd is also a key difference. Through their attorneys or in direct testimony, Yanez and Noor said they were forced to make a split-second decision to use deadly force, a phrase and defense that resonates with jurors, who often give police the benefit of the doubt, attorneys said. Yanez and Krook were acquitted. Noor was convicted. Chauvin cant help his case by testifying, said defense attorneys A.L. Brown and Andrew Gordon. Testifying would also open the door for prosecutors to probe his background and past policing depending on his answers. Hes not incredibly sympathetic, so he doesnt offer much by way of story line, Brown said. Its even worse for Chauvin because hes got the chief of police saying: This guys not with us. We didnt teach him to do that. Gordon predicted that Chauvin would not testify given how infrequently he appeared as a character in Nelsons opening statement two weeks ago. Nelson first mentioned Chauvin about halfway through his 24-minute opening statement, and kept references to him brief and specific to his actions at the scene. There was no deeper dive into Chauvins 19-year career with Minneapolis police or his role as a trainer for new officers. There was no mention of details about Chauvins background and life. Most defense attorneys will tell you that you have to spend some time in your opening statement humanizing your client, Gordon said. You need them to be a person for the jurors. Ultimately, though, they likely made a strategic move to not dwell on it, since they have a baked-in advantage: Chauvin is a cop, and the uniform and badge does a lot of the humanizing for them. While the topic of testifying was surely discussed between Chauvin and Nelson long before trial began five weeks ago with jury selection, the final call often occurs at the end of the defenses case, attorneys said. Defendants can testify at any point once their attorneys begin calling witnesses; they typically take the stand at the end of their case. Attorneys consider a number of factors in determining whether a defendant should testify: what they add to the evidence, how well they handle difficult questions and how believable they are. So much of this is a gut check for us, said defense attorney Michael Brandt. We will have someone come in and do a whole mock examination and mock cross-examination so the client, should they choose to testify, will be prepared. Rodney Floyd leads family members, including Philonise and Keeta Floyd, to the Hennepin County Government Center on Wednesday, April 7, 2021, in Minneapolis. (Mark Vancleave/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS)TNS Nelson has represented clients in high-profile cases who testified at trial: A tearful Amy Senser testified in 2012 about the night she fatally struck Anousone Phanthavong with her car and left the scene. Senser, the wife of former Minnesota Viking Joe Senser, was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide. In 2015, then 20-year-old Levi Acre-Kendall testified in a Wisconsin courtroom about the night he fatally stabbed Peter Kelly in self-defense when Kelly dragged him out of a car following verbal jabs between their groups of friends. Acre-Kendall was acquitted of all counts. I wish I could take it all back, a soft-spoken Acre-Kendall testified as he broke down in tears. Im so sorry. Acre-Kendall remained calm in the face of aggressive cross-examination from the prosecutor. Nelson credited Acre-Kendalls testimony with turning the case in the defenses favor. His testimony, in general, was honest, Nelson said at the time. It was sincere. It was heartfelt. All else aside, a defendants likability plays a major role in putting them on the stand, said Brandt and Friedberg. Remember now, Friedberg said, [Chauvin would be] taking the stand as the most hated man in America. ___ Chao Xiong of the Star Tribune wrote this story. (c)2021 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) at www.startribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Virtual caregiver support group. We created this group to provide a safe place for caregivers to share their feelings and experiences and to get practical tips and advice to make their lives better. Reaffirming its commitment to its participants and their families, CenterLight Health System and the Friends of CenterLight Foundation announced the launch of a virtual support group to help address the unique challenges faced by the caregivers of its program participants. CenterLight Health System operates Teamcare, New Yorks largest program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE). According to a 2020 study on caregiver health by the AARP, nearly 4 in 10 caregivers consider their caregiving situation to be highly stressful (36 percent rating stress 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale). Additionally, caregivers who use social media more often report feeling alone, suggesting that in-person social interaction outside of the caregivercare recipient relationship may be important to prevent social isolation. Caring for an older loved one with complex medical conditions or cognitive decline can be exhausting, isolating and lonely, says CenterLight Chief Executive Officer, Tara Buonocore-Rut. These challenges have been magnified by the ongoing pandemic. We created this group to provide a safe place for caregivers to share their feelings and experiences and to get practical tips and advice to make their lives better. Facilitated by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, groups will meet for a series of five sessions. The first group met on Tuesday, April 6 from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. and end on Tuesday, May 4. While the sessions will begin with a discussion of a given topic, the group will offer the flexibility to explore other topics, according to the needs of the participants, explains facilitator Laura Himmelstein, LCSW, CHTP. My priority will always be to serve the needs of the group during that session. Based on the groups feedback, we may explore such topics as caregiver burnout, isolation, coping skills, managing difficult behaviors, loneliness, depression, self-care, family dynamics and conflict resolution. A Commitment to Older Adults and Caregivers Visit http://www.centerlightteamcare.org/caregivers to learn more about how Teamcare can help ease the burden of caregiving by helping families care for their loved ones healthcare needs via a multidisciplinary, team-based approach. If you are the caregiver of a CenterLight participant, we want you to know that were here for you, says Buonocore-Rut. Youre not alone. About CenterLight TeamCare CenterLight TeamCare, a program of CenterLight Health System, operates 14 locations throughout New York City, Westchester and Nassau/Suffolk Counties and empowers older adults to continue to live independently, at home and in their communities. Providing culturally sensitive care to thousands of New Yorkers daily, CenterLight staff speaks 26+ languages and dialects, including Arabic, Albanian, Chinese, Creole, English, Korean, Hindi, Punjabi, Russian and Spanish. CenterLight TeamCare develops individualized care plans, which are carried out by a dedicated interdisciplinary team (IDT) of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, recreational therapists and other professionals working in concert to provide care as unique as the richly diverse participants enrolled in the plan. Learn more at http://www.centerlightteamcare.org. About Friends of CenterLight The Friends of CenterLight Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to improving the lives of CenterLight participants by helping them to maintain their health, well-being and autonomy in environments that honor their individual needs, values and preferences. Learn more at http://www.centerlight.org/foundation. The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, the citys police chief said Monday. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting as an accidental discharge. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was investigating. Taser! Taser! Taser! the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released at a news conference. After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him. Daunte Wright, 20, died Sunday in a metropolitan area that was already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyds death. Gannon said at a news conference that the officer made a mistake, and he released the body camera footage less than 24 hours after the shooting. The footage showed three officers around a stopped car. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a struggle ensues. Gannon would not name the officer but described her as very senior. He would not say whether she would be fired following the investigation. I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning, the chief said. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting deeply tragic. Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole, he said. Speaking before the unrest, Wrights mother, Katie Wright, urged protesters to stay peaceful and focused on the loss of her son. All the violence, if it keeps going, its only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason, she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center, a city of about 30,000 people on the northwest border of Minneapolis. We need to make sure its about him and not about smashing police cars, because thats not going to bring my son back. Protesters who gathered near the scene waved flags and signs reading Black Lives Matter. Others walked peacefully with their hands held up. On one street, someone wrote in multi-colored chalk: Justice for Daunte Wright. Katie Wright said her son called her as he was getting pulled over. All he did was have air fresheners in the car, and they told him to get out of the car, Wright said. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot. Authorities said the car was pulled over for having expired registration and after determining the driver had an outstanding warrant, police said they tried to arrest him. Then the driver reentered the vehicle, and an officer fired, striking him, police said. The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle. A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Katie Wright said that passenger was her sons girlfriend. Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. In that case, a statement of probable cause said police got a call about a man waving a gun who was later identified as Wright. Shortly after the shooting, demonstrators began to gather, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where rocks and other objects were thrown at officers, authorities said. The protesters had largely dispersed by 1:15 a.m. Monday. President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, and the White House has been in touch with the governor, mayor and local law enforcement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. We were incredibly saddened to hear about the loss of life at the hands of law enforcement in Minnesota yesterday, she said. National Guard troops and law enforcement officers continued to guard the front of the police department on Monday morning. Police were erecting a concrete barrier as Minnesota State Patrol officers joined the line in front of the precinct. Several people and reporters watched from across the street as traffic returned to normal on the street where protesters were met with tear gas the night before. One man yelled at the officers using a megaphone as others flew Black Lives Matter flags. About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping center, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said at a news conference. The National Guard was activated, and Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott announced a curfew that expired shortly before daybreak. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyds death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. he judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defense attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict. More National Guard members and state law enforcement personnel were to be deployed around the Twin Cities and in Brooklyn Center in addition to teams already in place for Chauvins trial at the Hennepin County courthouse in Minneapolis, Harrington said. Meanwhile, all Brooklyn Center students were to attend online classes Monday because school buildings were closed, Superintendent Carly Baker said. -- The Associated Press The Russian Orthodox Church has warned against DIY exorcisms after a series of deaths and injuries. Bishop Hilarion, a senior official, said the church is drawing up a set of regulations on how to properly expel demons. He said the documents will provide a 'unifying' set of rules for the religious rites when it is made public, according to The Times. Patriarch Kirill (pictured), the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said only 'spiritually strong' priests should carry out exorcisms The rules will make it clear that exorcisms should be left to priests At least two Russians who were believed to be possessed by spirits were killed by family members in 2019. A boy, nine, was whipped and gagged by his father who was trying to 'cast out a demon' from his body. The father from Yekaterinburg, along with the leader of a local Christian sect, were charged with the boy's killing. They allegedly spent two days trying to resurrect the boy before they tried to dispose of his body in a park. The same year, a middle aged man was suffocated by his own mother after he displayed interest in the occult. Meanwhile in 2011, a woman, 26, died in Voronezh after her parents forced her to drink five litres of holy water to make her fall out love with her husband who they believed was the devil. One of the most famous exorcists in Russia is the rebel monk Sergei Romanov (pictured in court) She tried to resist and was beaten to death. Her parents were committed to an asylum. The church was also prompt to act following a viral video last year of a couple trying to exorcise their screaming 10-year-old son with garlic and holy water. Patriarch Kirill, the head of the church, said only 'spiritually strong' priests should carry out exorcisms. Exorcisms become more popular in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. One of the most famous adherents was the rebel monk Sergei Romanov who performed exorcisms in Russia. He was arrested last year for 'inciting suicide' after he and his followers seized the Sredneuralsk monastery outside Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. The cult leader has also denounced Patriarch Kirill and other top clerics as 'heretics' who must be 'thrown out'. The former police officer was previously convicted of murder, robbery and assault and served 13 years in prison. Apolice shooting in a Minneapolis suburb Sunday night sparked overnight protests and demonstrations, resulting in officers using teargas to disperse the crowds. The family of Daunte Wright said the 20-year-old was shot by police, got back into his car, drove away, then crashed several blocks away, according to the Associated Press. Demonstrators in Brooklyn Center, on the northwest border of Minneapolis, broke into stores and attacked police officers after the incident, as the third week of the George Floyd trial begins Monday. Brooklyn Center police said in a statement that officers stopped a motorist shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday. They tried to arrest the driver after determining the driver had an outstanding warrant, The driver reentered the vehicle and an officer fired at the vehicle, striking the driver, police said. The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle, the wire service also reports. Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin is on trial on murder and manslaughter charges in connection with May 25, 2020, death of Floyd, who died while police custody after an arrest. (Bloomberg) -- After China imposed a record antitrust fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the e-commerce giant did an unusual thing: It thanked regulators. Alibaba would not have achieved our growth without sound government regulation and service, and the critical oversight, tolerance and support from all of our constituencies have been crucial to our development, the company said in an open letter. For this, we are full of gratitude and respect. Its a sign of how odd Chinas crackdown on the power of big tech has been compared with the rest of the world. Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook would likely not express such public gratitude if the U.S. government were to hit Facebook Inc. or Apple Inc. with record antitrust fines. Almost everything about Chinas regulatory push is out of the ordinary. Beijing regulators wrapped up their landmark probe in just four months, compared with the years that such investigations take in the U.S. or Europe. They sent a clear message to the countrys largest corporations and their leaders that anti-competitive behavior will have consequences. For Alibaba, the $2.8 billion fine was less severe than many feared and helps lift a cloud of uncertainty hanging over founder Jack Mas internet empire. The 18.2 billion yuan penalty was based on just 4% of the internet giants 2019 domestic revenue, regulators said. While thats triple the previous high of almost $1 billion that U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. handed over in 2015, its far less than the maximum 10% allowed under Chinese law. Alibabas shares rose more than 8% Monday in Hong Kong. Were happy to get the matter behind us, Joseph Tsai, co-founder and vice chairman, said on an investor call on Monday. These regulatory actions are undertaken to ensure fair competition. The fine came with a plethora of rectifications that Alibaba will have to put in place -- such as curtailing the practice of forcing merchants to choose between Alibaba or a competing platform -- many of which the company had already pledged to establish. But Tsai said regulators wont impose radical changes to its e-commerce strategy. Instead, he and other executives pledged to open up Alibabas marketplaces more, lower costs for merchants while spending billions of yuan to help its clients handle e-commerce. Story continues Tsai said the company is unaware of any other antitrust investigations into the company, except for a previously discussed probe into acquisitions and investments by Alibaba and other tech giants. The required corrective measures will likely limit Alibabas revenue growth as a further expansion in market share will be constrained, Lina Choi, a senior vice president at Moodys Investors Service, said in a note. Investments to retain merchants and upgrade products and services will also reduce its profit margins. Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang on Saturday declared his company now ready to move on from its ordeal, while Chinas Communist Party mouthpiece Peoples Daily issued assurances that Beijing wasnt trying to stifle the sector. The Hangzhou-based firm has escaped possible outcomes such as a forced breakup or divestment of assets. The penalty will not shake up its business model, either, said Jet Deng, an antitrust lawyer at the Beijing office of law firm Dentons. Beijing remains intent on reining in its internet and fintech giants, a broad campaign thats wiped more than $250 billion off Alibabas valuation since October. The e-commerce giants speedy capitulation underscores its vulnerability to further regulatory action -- a far cry from just six years ago, when Alibaba openly contested one agencys censure over counterfeit goods on Taobao and eventually forced the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to backtrack on its allegations. On Monday, shares in Alibabas fellow internet giants from social media titan Tencent Holdings Ltd. to food delivery leader Meituan and JD.com Inc. fell on fears they could draw similar scrutiny. Its exactly what the market is thinking right now: Tencent and Meituan are next in line if the same standards are to be applied, but even the worst wont be so bad, said Zhuang Jiapeng, a fund manager at Shenzhen JM Capital Co. Beyond antitrust, government agencies are said to be scrutinizing other parts of Mas empire, including Ant Group Co.s consumer-lending businesses and Alibabas extensive media holdings. And the shock of the crackdown will continue to resonate with peers from Tencent and Baidu Inc. to Meituan, forcing them to tread far more carefully on business expansions and acquisitions for some time to come. What Bloomberg Intelligence Says Chinas record fine on Alibaba may lift the regulatory overhang that has weighed on the company since the start of an anti-monopoly probe in late December. The 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) fine, to penalize the anti-competitive practice of merchant exclusivity, is equivalent to 4% of Alibabas 2019 domestic sales. Still, the company may have to be conservative with acquisitions and its broader business practices. -- Vey-Sern Ling and Tiffany Tam, analysts Click here for the full research. The investigation into Alibaba was one of the opening salvos in a campaign seemingly designed to curb the power of Chinas internet leaders, which kicked off after Ma infamously rebuked pawn shop Chinese lenders, regulators who dont get the internet, and the old men of the global banking community. Those comments set in motion an unprecedented regulatory offensive, including scuttling Ants $35 billion initial public offering. It remains unclear whether the watchdog or other agencies might demand further action. Regulators are said, for instance, to be concerned about Alibabas ability to sway public discourse and want the company to sell some of its media assets, including the South China Morning Post, Hong Kongs leading English-language newspaper. Read more: China Presses Alibaba to Sell Media Assets, Including SCMP Chinas top financial regulators now see Tencent as the next target for increased supervision, Bloomberg News has reported. And the central bank is said to be leading discussions around establishing a joint venture with local technology giants to oversee the lucrative data they collect from hundreds of millions of consumers, which would be a significant escalation in regulators attempts to tighten their grip over the countrys internet sector. The high fine puts the regulator in the media spotlight and sends a strong signal to the tech sector that such types of exclusionary conduct will no longer be tolerated, said Angela Zhang, author of Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism and director of the Centre for Chinese Law at the University of Hong Kong. Its a stone that kills two birds. For now, it appears investors are just glad it wasnt worse. In its statement, the State Administration for Market Regulation concluded Alibaba had used data and algorithms to maintain and strengthen its own market power and obtain improper competitive advantage. Its 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 firm 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 need to submit reports on self-regulation to the authority for three consecutive years. The company will have to make adjustments but can now start over, Zhang wrote in a memo to Alibabas employees Saturday. We believe market concerns over the anti-monopoly investigation on BABA are addressed by SAMRs recent decision and penalties, Jefferies analysts wrote in a research note entitled A New Starting Point. Indeed, The Peoples Daily said in its commentary Saturday that the punishment was intended merely to prevent the disorderly expansion of capital. It doesnt mean denying the significant role of platform economy in overall economic and social development, and doesnt signal a shift of attitude in terms of the countrys support to the platform economy, the newspaper said. Regulations are for better development, and reining in is also a kind of love. (Updates with shares and commentary from the fifth paragraph) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2021 Bloomberg L.P. MONTREAL - MTY Food Group Inc. says Stanley Ma, the company's founder, president and chairman, is selling up to 880,000 of his shares in company. MONTREAL - MTY Food Group Inc. says Stanley Ma, the company's founder, president and chairman, is selling up to 880,000 of his shares in company. The restaurant franchisor and operator says the sale represents a 3.56 per cent stake in the company. The Groupe MTY offices are seen Thursday, January 23, 2020 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz It says the sale is for personal reasons, estate planning purposes and in support of Ma's philanthropic endeavours. If all 880,000 shares are sold, Ma will still hold, directly or indirectly, four million MTY shares for a 16.21 per cent stake in the company. He will continue to be the largest shareholder of MTY and will remain president and chairman of the board. MTY is the company behind more than 80 brands, including food court staples like Thai Express and Tiki-Ming. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2021. Companies in this story: (TSX:MTY) The state budget is done, but the 2021 legislative session is hardly over. The remaining nine weeks could even be more contentious than recent months. Gov. Andrew Cuomo still faces multiple investigations related to alleged sexual misconduct, his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes and a litany of other scandals. Democratic lawmakers may or may not actually impeach the three-term governor, but relations between the governor and the Democratic legislative supermajorities that can override his vetoes will remain strained for some time. While the budget highlighted how this dynamic can work to legislators advantages, controversial provisions like relief for undocumented people showed how simmering tensions between moderate Democrats and their left-leaning colleagues can blow up at any time. Single-payer health care is one hot-button issue that could ignite some inner-party strife. Past fights over limiting cash bail suggest parole reform will also test Democratic loyalty. And then there's the billion dollar question surrounding whether progressives can sell their colleagues on a proposal to tax the heck out of fossil fuel polluters to fund the state response to climate change. Whether the issue is big or small, the bottom line is Democratic lawmakers have to bridge some significant differences to get things done in the months ahead. Three outstanding proposals illustrate this. Climate and Community Investment Act State lawmakers and the governor struck a deal two years ago on a landmark law called the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which mandates an 85% reduction in state carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. That effort is going to be expensive, which is why some environmentalists are pushing legislation to raise billions of dollars to support the implementation. The Climate and Community Investment Act proposal has the backing of a broad coalition of progressive environmental groups and lawmakers. Supporters say it could raise $15 billion per year by instituting a fee on greenhouse gases and other pollution. That money would then be invested in communities of color that were particularly affected by the longtime use of fossil fuels. Like the recent effort to legalize recreational marijuana, a lot comes down to where exactly this money goes. Solar panels are an obvious way to reinvest a tax on polluters, but the legislative language of the Climate and Community Investment Act features an expansive idea of what counts as infrastructure related to combating climate change and its myriad effects. Expanding child care services, for example, is included in the legislation. A bill has only been introduced into the state Senate so far this year and it remains to be seen whether proponents of the legislation can mobilize the support of big environmental groups and key moderate Democrats like state Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Todd Kaminsky. He has not signed onto the legislation as a co-sponsor, but he will co-chair an April 13 hearing on the legislation. New York Health Act Nothing splits Democrats (remember the 2020 presidential primary?) like the idea of setting up a single-payer health care system. That is not likely to happen nationwide anytime soon, but could theoretically at the state level. This year marks the first time there have been enough co-sponsors of the New York Health Act, which has passed the Assembly in past years, to get it through the state Senate. However, the details of using federal money are complicated. The huge price tag of instituting single-payer at the state level will also make moderate lawmakers skittish. A likely gubernatorial veto does not make it any easier to overhaul the state health insurance system this year, but progressives say they are going to make a big push for the proposal this spring. Parole reform The recent passage of new limits on solitary confinement makes it appear that progressive lawmakers and activists have the political initiative for parole reform. Key lawmakers like state Sen. Liz Krueger are backing two bills this year. The first proposal would make it easier for incarcerated people over age 55 to get parole if they have already served 15 or more years of their sentences. A second bill would change the standards by which the state Board of Parole decides releases. Currently, they can say that someone is not fit for release by considering the seriousness of an original crime, no matter how much time has elapsed since it was committed or how much rehabilitation the person has had. The legislation would change that by requiring the board to presume someone is ready for release as long as they serve the minimum time on their sentence and there is not a clear reason to keep them incarcerated. Ideas like these are opposed by powerful unions representing corrections officers and police, which could make swing district Democrats think twice before supporting them if they are worried about how the GOP might use it in the next election cycle. Democrats experience with limiting cash bail shows how tricky the politics of changing the criminal justice system can be. Reforms originally passed in the 2019 budget were partially rolled back the next year to allow more categories of criminal defendants to be subject to cash bail. It is a good example of how political realities complicate what are otherwise popular ideas among Democrats. New Delhi, April 12 : Action has been a perennial favourite genre among lovers of mainstream cinema, especially in the Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam film industries. Larger-than-life heroism of southern superstars is now in for period twist. Many top actors are exploring the idea of reorganising the action genre through retro themes pertaining to historicals, mythologicals, or crime drama set in the seventies, eighties or nineties. While the action brings in its quota of masala, the grandeur of period cinematography adds to the impact, giving fans something more to observe and engage in. Here is a list of highly-anticipated upcoming films from the South, which promise action in a different era: Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea This Mohanlal starrer is set for theatrical release on May 13. The National Award-winning film is set in the 16th century and tells the story of a naval commander. The film was scheduled to release worldwide across 5,000 theatres in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. RRR "Bahubali" maker SS Rajamouli's upcoming ambitious film stars NTR Jr and Ram Charan with Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn. The film is set in 1920s, and is a fictional account of two freedom fighters who fight against the British and Nizam of Hyderabad. The film, said to be one of the costliest ever made in India, is scheduled to release on October 13. Narappa The film is a Telugu remake of the National Award-winning Tamil film "Asuran", which is based on the 1968 Kilvenmani massacre in Tamil Nadu. "Narappa" features superstar Venkatesh and is under production. The film is directed by Addala. KGF: Chapter 2 Kannada superstar Yash returns with the sequel to his 2018 blockbuster, " K.G.F: Chapter 1". This Kannada film is a period crime drama set against the backdrop of the Kolar gold fields and Yash returns as Rocky Bhai, the flamboyant retro don who makes style statements in bell bottoms, sun glasses and polka dot shirts. The story is set between 1950s to 1980s. -- Syndicated from IANS INCREASED UNDERGROUND STOPE GRADE FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE QUARTER AND IMPROVED CASH POSITION (In US Dollars unless otherwise stated) TORONTO, April 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Superior Gold Inc. ("Superior Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV: SGI) announces detailed production results for the first quarter of 2021 for the Company's 100%-owned Plutonic Gold Operations, located in Western Australia. First Quarter Highlights Production of 17,603 ounces, an 11% increase over the prior quarter, with sales of 17,538 ounces Stope grade increased by a further 13% to 3.5 g/t gold representing an improvement for a third consecutive quarter and in-line with the Company's near-term goal of continuing to target higher grade, higher margin ounces Process recovery increased to 86%, in part due to the finalization of re-commissioning of the gravity circuit in the prior quarter and increase in oxide stockpile ore The third underground drill, which is dedicated to exploring for new mining fronts, intersected 21.8 g/t gold over 8.3 metres at the Baltic Gap Mining Front 1 and 13.7 g/t gold over 8.8 metres at the Western Mining Front 2 at the Baltic Gap Mining Front and at the Western Mining Front Improved cash position, exiting the quarter with a strong financial position of $17.9 million in cash and cash equivalents in cash and cash equivalents Repayment of Auramet gold loan nearing completion with the $2.0 million remaining outstanding at the end of the first quarter to be fully repaid by June 30, 2021 remaining outstanding at the end of the first quarter to be fully repaid by Recorded zero incidences of COVID-19 infection for a fifth consecutive quarter Tamara Brown, Interim CEO of Superior Gold stated: "We are delighted to report a third consecutive quarter of improving production at our Plutonic Gold Operations. Importantly, we improved our cash position relative to year end 2020 as a result of first quarter production of 17,603 ounces, which represented an 11% quarter-over-quarter and 8% year-over-year increase. The strategic projects and operational initiatives that we put in place last year have resulted in a steady improvement in our stope grade which has also increased for a third consecutive quarter and represents a 47% improvement relative to the second quarter of 2020 when we initiated a number of changes at the Company (Figure 1). We continue to advance the strategic projects necessary to reposition Plutonic for sustainable, long term success. This includes opening new underground mining fronts plus the re-commencement of open pit mining mid-year, resulting in an expected improvement in our grade profile moving forward. In addition, an improved understanding of the mineralization at Plutonic and specifically the northwest trending faults that control the concentration of higher-grade gold mineralization, has led to many of our recent exploration successes (at the Baltic Gap and Western Mining Front) and identification of higher-grade stopes on the operational front. 1 Refer to the Company's news release on March 29, 2021 for additional information. 2 Refer to the Company's news release on March 1, 2021 for additional information. Ultimately, these investments and an improved understanding of mineralization at Plutonic will ensure that a fully optimized underground operation, combined with the addition of new sources of open pit feed and the repayment of our gold loan by mid-2021, is expected to result in an improvement in our overall financial performance over the course of 2021 and beyond." The Company expects to release its complete financial and operating results for the first quarter in May 2021. First Quarter Production Details Preliminary production details are summarized in the table below. Operating Parameters1 Three Months Ended December 31, 2020 Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 Stope material mined (Tonnes) 139,159 137,191 Stope grade mined (g/t Au) 3.12 3.54 Development material mined (Tonnes) 56,952 49,771 Development grade mined (g/t Au) 1.75 1.30 Surface material milled (Tonnes)2 167,501 154,089 Surface material grade (g/t Au)2 0.34 0.41 Total material milled (Tonnes) 365,520 355,678 Grade milled (g/t Au) 1.61 1.78 Gold recovery (%) 84 86 Gold Produced (ounces) 15,838 17,603 Gold Sold (ounces) 15,855 17,538 Cash and Cash Equivalents ($ million) 17.3 17.9 1 Numbers may not add due to rounding. 2 Surface material milled in Q1 2021 is primarily the processing of low-grade stockpile. Open Pit Production Commencing in Mid-2021 As part of the Company's strategy to expand production and fully utilize the existing infrastructure at the Plutonic Gold Operations, work continued during the first quarter of 2021 on optimizing several potential open pit sources and finalizing resources and scheduling. These open pits are comprised of the Plutonic East, Perch and Salmon pits on the Plutonic Mine property, along with the Hermes and Hermes South open pits to the southwest. As planned, the Company expects to begin mining the Plutonic East open pit in mid-2021, with grade control drilling having been completed during the first quarter. The Company aims to utilize the production from these open pits plus the Main Pit push-back, along with operational improvements from the underground, to return the Plutonic Gold Operations to a state of significant free cash flow generation. Expanding into New Mining Fronts During the first quarter of 2021, the Company released two exploration updates containing important high-grade drill results from its underground drill program as part of its strategy to identify new mining fronts to allow for improved mining grades and productivity and reduced reliance on remnant mining. The Company announced results from the Western Mining Front, northwest of the Baltic zone, which were highlighted by 13.7 g/t gold over 8.8 metres (UDD23656) and 52.7 g/t gold over 1.0 metres (UDD23653)3. These intercepts are outside of existing Mineral Resources but are within only 50 metres of existing infrastructure and can therefore be accessed with minimal capital. Encouragingly, it is worth noting that all of the drill holes completed to target depth hit significant intercepts. Towards the end of the first quarter, the Company announced results from the Baltic Gap, which were highlighted by 21.8 g/t gold over 8.3 metres and 13.4 g/t gold over 5.0 metres (UDD23880) and 20.7 g/t gold over 2.1 metres (UDD23820)4. The results represent the identification of a potential new mining front with mineralization extending up to 165 metres outside of the current Mineral Resource envelope. Similar to the results released last year, which were highlighted by 40.4 g/t gold over 6.5 metres (UDD22310)5, these latest intercepts are outside of existing Mineral Resources, but are within only 50 metres of existing underground infrastructure. 3 Refer to the Company's news release on March 1, 2021 for additional information. 4 Refer to the Company's news release on March 29, 2021 for additional information. 5 Refer to the Company's news release on June 24, 2020 for additional information. Strategic Review Update The Company wishes to provide an update on its strategic review process to explore and evaluate a broad range of potential alternatives to maximize shareholder value, which was originally announced in July 2020. Since the bought deal offering in October 2020 - which the Company used to purchase a 2% royalty on the Plutonic Gold Operations, revitalize its underground mining fleet and add a third drill rig dedicated to exploration - the Company has advanced projects to assess opportunities to consolidate the Plutonic-Marymia gold belt and surrounding regions and further advance the strategic review process in Australia. The Company is also well advanced with its search for a permanent CEO. While the process is ongoing, there is nothing requiring disclosure at the present time. There can be no assurance that the strategic review process will result in any transaction. The Company does not intend to comment further unless the Board of Directors of the Company has approved a specific course of action or the Company has determined further disclosure is appropriate. Qualified Person Scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Keith Boyle, P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer of the Company, who is a "qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Boyle is not independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101. About Superior Gold Superior Gold is a Canadian based gold producer that owns 100% of the Plutonic Gold Operations located in Western Australia. The Plutonic Gold Operations include the Plutonic underground gold mine and central mill, numerous open pit projects including the Plutonic Main Pit push-back project, the Hermes open pit projects and an interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Superior Gold is focused on expanding production at the Plutonic Gold Operations and building an intermediate gold producer with superior returns for shareholders. Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward-looking information includes information with respect to guidance as to projections, outlook, guidance, forecasts, estimates, and other statements regarding future or estimated financial and operational performance, gold production and sales, revenues and cash flows, and capital costs (sustaining and non-sustaining), including projected cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs) as well as statements with respect to the mine-plan, exploration, drilling, operating and organizational matters and activities relating to the Plutonic Gold Operations and the Company generally, including its liquidity and capital requirements and financial results. Such Forward-looking information also includes information related to the Company's previously announced strategic review process, the potential outcome of such process and the intended maximization of shareholder value that the Company believes may result from such process. By identifying such information in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Annual Information Form of the Company for a discussion of other risks including outbreaks or threats of outbreaks of viruses, other infectious diseases or other similar health threats, such as the novel coronavirus outbreak, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company by causing operational and supply chain delays and disruptions, labour shortages, shutdowns, the inability to sell gold, capital markets volatility or other unknown but potentially significant impacts. The Company cannot accurately predict what effects these conditions will have on the Plutonic Gold Operations or the financial results of the Company, including uncertainties relating to travel restrictions to the Plutonic Gold Operations or otherwise and business closures that have been or may be imposed by governments. If an outbreak or threat of an outbreak of a virus or other infectious disease or other public health emergency occurs, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company cautions that 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 information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information as no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, and if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive therefrom. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange not its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Superior Gold Related Links https://www.superior-gold.com/ New Delhi, April 12 : A government expert panel has given its nod to emergency use authorisation of Russian-made Covid vaccine, Sputnik-V, in India, Union Health Ministry sources said. After the Drug Controller General of India gives assent to the Subject Expert Committee's approval, the sources told IANS, India will have a third Covid vaccine after AstraZeneca-Oxford University developed-Serum Institute of India-manufactured Covishield and Bharat Biotech-developed and manufactured Covaxin. Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) Dr N.K. Arora, talking to IANS, said: "Though, I am yet to receive any official information about its approval, but it would be good news for India if it is approved." Explaining features of this vaccine, Arora said: "Sputnik is a two dose vaccine. The composition of the first dose will be different from the second dose and there should be at least a three to four weeks gap between the first dose and the second. The published data suggest that it has 91 per cent efficacy. Some more clarity on it will also come soon." The development has come at a time when India is witnessing an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases and vaccines have been much in demand. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text BLUE BELL, Pa., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced that Dwayne L. Allen has joined the company as chief technology officer (CTO) and senior vice president, Solution Innovation and Architecture, reporting to Chair and Chief Executive Officer Peter Altabef. His appointment is effective today. In this role, Allen will drive identification of innovative technologies in cloud, end-user experience and enterprise computing to benefit Unisys clients and their customers. Allen will also oversee integration of those technologies into solutions that Unisys' global business units provide. "Delivering increasingly innovative solutions is a key imperative for Unisys," said Altabef. "Dwayne is ideal for that role. He has an admirable record of success in leading digital transformation and has deep experience in multiple industries relevant to Unisys' business. I am confident that he will quickly drive faster, more efficient development of digital solutions that yield next-level business outcomes for our clients." Allen joins Unisys from Microsoft, where he was a global digital strategist working with the company's major clients in multiple industries on reimagining their business models, driving outcomes through digital innovation and revolutionizing their customers' experience. Prior to his tenure at Microsoft, Allen was chief information officer at Masonite International, a global manufacturer of building products. In that role, he led an IT organization supporting multiple business segments, global sales offices, a global engineering center, 60 plants and 40 warehouses in multiple countries. Previously, he was divisional CIO of the Components business segment for Cummins, a global engine and power manufacturing company, leading an IT organization for the five businesses within the segment, comprising 12,000 employees in 75 locations in 13 countries. He also had functional IT responsibility for India. Allen has also held senior IT positions at Fifth Third Bank and Wells Fargo. He began his career at global hospitality company Marriott International. A member of the George Washington University Leadership Advisory Council and a U.S.-Japan Leadership Fellow, Allen earned an MBA degree from George Washington University and a B.A. degree in communications from the University of Virginia. He has also completed the Yale University leadership program. "I have learned from experience that value-added innovative solutions excite existing clients and bring in new ones," Allen said. "I believe in being bold, assertive and innovative in crafting solutions and taking them to market. I know that, as a company, Unisys shares that view. I look forward to working with talented colleagues on solutions that deliver transformative outcomes for our clients' businesses." About Unisys Unisys is a global IT services company that delivers successful outcomes for the most demanding businesses and governments. Unisys offerings include digital workplace services, cloud and infrastructure services and software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing. Unisys integrates security into all of its solutions. For more information on how Unisys delivers for its clients across the government, financial services and commercial markets, visit www.unisys.com. Follow Unisys on Twitter and LinkedIn. RELEASE NO.: 0412/9824 Unisys and other Unisys products and services mentioned herein, as well as their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Unisys Corporation. Any other brand or product referenced herein is acknowledged to be a trademark or registered trademark of its respective holder. UIS-C SOURCE Unisys Corporation Related Links http://www.unisys.com Its the ultimate team award and this recognition is a sincere testament to our team of exceptionally talented, hardworking employees who have accomplished so much over the past year, said Joe Diamond, CEO of All Campus. All Campus, which partners with leading, traditional higher education institutions to grow online enrollment and maximize market share, today announced that it was ranked No. 1 on Crains Chicago Business 2021 Best Places to Work list for medium sized employers and No. 14 overall. This is the 4th year in a row All Campus has been named to the list, and its first in the mid-sized company category as the organization continues to grow at record rates, increasing headcount by more than 20% over the past year. Its an honor to be chosen as the top mid-sized company to work for in Chicago. Its the ultimate team award and this recognition is a sincere testament to our team of exceptionally talented, hardworking employees who have accomplished so much over the past year, said Joe Diamond, CEO of All Campus. Our employees loving what they do at All Campus is absolutely central to our success, because it's felt in a meaningful way by the students they help and our university partners. We listen closely and invest in our employees needs because we believe a strong culture of support creates a better place to work and helps us recruit and retain the best people. Over the past year, All Campus has expanded its work-life benefits to align with employee needs amid a tumultuous year of change within and outside of the workplace. All Campus provided staff with bonus PTO to alleviate burnout and ensure they would have ample time off in case of illness. The company also introduced additional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming and training, and launched four employee resource groups: Rainbow Campus (LGBTQIA+), Unity in We (BIPOC), Strength in She (women) and Neurodiversity and Disability. All Campus also expanded its support and offerings for its working parents, a critical area of focus for the organization. The company adjusted its PTO policy to allow employees to take time off in shorter increments, providing more flexibility during the day to support their childrens virtual learning environments. The company also gave parents the option to use their professional and educational development credits on their children instead, allowing parents to tap into this credit to purchase technology or educational supplies, pay for a tutor or subsidize any additional childcare needs. Showing kindness, perseverance and speaking up are three of our company values that have proven to be essential to our employees and our success, said Heather Shulick, EVP of HR at All Campus. By listening to our employees, exercising empathy, making adjustments when necessary and showing resilience along the way during a difficult year, weve been able to make All Campus one of the best places to work in Chicago even without our physical office space. Im so proud of this team, and look forward to continuing to grow while maintaining the culture that makes All Campus so special. Crains Chicagos Best Places to Work ranking evaluates Chicago-area companies based on confidential employee reviews and an independent assessment of policies and practices. For more information and the full 2021 list, please visit: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/best-places-work/best-places-work-2021. To learn more about All Campus, please visit: http://www.allcampus.com. About All Campus All Campus creates value for leading universities by expanding their reach and cultivating relationships with students who seek to advance their lives through education. It offers comprehensive, tailored online program management (OPM) services, powered by industry-leading technology all with the universitys unique identity and brand top of mind. It has built its reputation on delivering measurable results, being an honest broker, and providing high levels of service to its two primary constituencies: prospective and enrolled students, and university administrators. All Campus deep research, powerful insights and understanding of current job market and employer needs helps its partners tailor their offerings to optimize student outcomes and return on investment. The companys flexible payment and service options include bundled or unbundled offerings and fee-for-service management or a customized low and sustainable revenue share plan. The country is relying on a further 20 million doses of Pfizer to rescue the program. A Janssen ANZ spokeswoman said the company would not comment on contractual negotiations, but it had taken a consistent approach to advance purchase agreements. The availability of our vaccine candidate is subject to successful development, regulatory approval as well as the existence of an efficient, effective no-fault compensation system and robust liability protection, she said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Last week, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation updated its advice on COVID-19 vaccines, saying Pfizer was the preferred shot for people aged under 50 after a rare clotting disorder was linked to some patients following their first dose of AstraZeneca. The government has ordered a further 20 million Pfizer doses in response, requiring an overhaul of the countrys vaccination program. That also means the country may not be vaccinated by the end of the year, the Prime Minister conceded on Sunday. As of Sunday evening, nearly 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered. Mr Morrison said the program has continued to ramp up. In the first six weeks over that period of time weve gone from around 30,000 a week to over 300,000 a week, and that number continues to go on, he said in a Facebook video on Monday afternoon. Mr Morrison said the focus of phase 1 of the rollout is on ensuring the vulnerable and elderly, as well as critical frontline workers, were all vaccinated ahead of the worst of winter. Loading We hope to be able to move into the balance of the population as we get into the second half of the year, he said. Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said it was too early to say how much of an impact the switch to Pfizer for under 50s has had on the rollout. We will be looking closely and carefully at what influence that AstraZeneca announcement will make in relation to those numbers through the week, he said on Monday afternoon. There is certainly a lot of people still wanting to get that vaccine. When asked about potential plans for a no-fault compensation scheme, a federal Department of Health spokesperson said the government had already entered into indemnity arrangements with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, and provides support to underpin medical indemnity arrangements for health professionals. The Department of Health has been discussing with insurers and the medical profession whether additional indemnity protection may be required for the COVID-19 vaccination program. Those discussions are ongoing, the spokesperson said. But Medicines Australia chief executive Liz de Somer said those indemnity schemes probably dont take into account a mass population and large vaccine program like this, while no-fault schemes were essentially for patients. A no fault compensation scheme provides compensation to the patients without them having to prove through a legal process that someone is at fault, she said. Where there is no negligence ... Then a patient does not have to sue their doctor, prescriber or pharmacist nurse or the manufacturer in order to receive compensation for that injury. Loading Australia was far behind the rest of the world when it came to having such a scheme, Chief executive of Public Health Australia Terry Slevin said. Theres 25 jurisdictions around the world that have a no-fault vaccine injury compensation scheme, Australia should be one of them, he said. Mr Slevin said it was about justice, particularly if the government was asking the community to do the right thing and get vaccinated in order to help protect the country. Such a program will add to peoples confidence not only in the COVID vaccine rollout process, but all vaccine programs. Associate Professor Nick Wood, a clinical vaccine specialist at The Childrens Hospital at Westmead and University of Sydney, said Australia was overdue for a vaccine injury compensation scheme. We should have had one before even COVID, he said, adding Australia already collected the data on vaccine injuries so it would simply be a matter of finding funding for a scheme. Weve got all the architecture there to implement a system, he said. Opposition health spokesman Mark Butler said the government needed to be clear on what the new targets were for the vaccine rollout. Loading Police investigating a fatal shooting in Sheffield over the weekend have released a picture of the victim as two people arrested earlier today remain in custody. Police were called at 9.40pm on Saturday evening to reports that a man later identified as Khurm Javed had been shot in Clough Road. The 30-year-old father of two was pronounced dead at the scene and a post-mortem examination carried out today found he died of a gunshot wound. Police released a picture of Sheffield murder victim Khurm Javed, 30, as enquiries continue A second man, aged 31, suffered injuries to his foot and is now recovering after being discharged from hospital. Two men aged 21 and 23 were arrested as part of the inquiry. They have both been detained on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody. Specially trained officers are with Mr Javed's family while investigations continue. Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Michael Hakin said: 'Our investigation is continuing at pace and my team and I remain keen to hear from anyone who witnessed this incident to come forward. A 30-year-old man later identified as Khurm Javed was declared dead at the scene on Clough Road, Sheffield, on Saturday 'It's believed a confrontation between two parties took place, prior to the fatal shot being fired. 'I am urging anyone who witnessed this, or knows what happened, to speak to us. If you hold dash-cam footage and were driving through the area at the time, please check your camera as you may have captured something important. Crime Scene Investigation teams at the cordon close to Bramall Lane, Sheffield, on Saturday night 'Our uniformed officers remain in the area and will do so over the coming days. They are there for your reassurance and for you to speak to if you have any questions or information.' Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident number 984 of 10 April. Dashcam footage can be sent to enquiries@southyorks.pnn.police.uk with the incident number in the subject line. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers via Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling their UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111. AND WE'RE BACK!!! To start the mid-morning we share hottie Luna pr0n star inspiration which reminds us that "adult" content continues its mainstream appeal and branding success as we share pop culture, community news and top headlines. Kansas City COVID Vaxx Cont'd 3 vaccine clinics in Kansas City, MO, this week KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- The Kansas City Health Department is hosting COVID-19 vaccine clinics at three separate sites this week, with same-day appointments available. Each of the clinics is in a different area of the city, and takes place Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. KC Good Doggie Rewarded KCK dog gets lots of pets and treats after alerting neighbors to owner's medical emergency Good dog! What a good boy!Kansas City, Kansas police said a pup got lots of praise and treats, and his owner is recovering after a scary incident Sunday night. Police said a man was walking near North 10th Street and Laurel Avenue with his dog Sunday night when the man began experiencing a medical emergency. Kansas City Fights Plastic Bags New shop takes 'green' approach to selling groceries KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- A new shop opening Monday in Kansas City takes a green new approach to selling groceries. Pantry Goods Market at 910 W. 39th St. offers a variety of locally sourced good and products, none of which will come with single use plastics. Pr0n Cleanup Success Pornhub removed more than 600K videos in 2020 for policy violations Pornhub released its first-ever transparency report this weekend, with tons of information about the company's moderation tactics throughout 2020. Those efforts have paid off in spades: approximately 653,465 pieces of content were identified as potentially harmful and removed from the platform last year. This includes content depicting minors, animal harm, hate speech, and non-consensual content. Republicans Overpowered On EPIC Infrastructure Spending Biden aims to redefine word 'bipartisan' as Dems work to push spending bill without any GOP votes President Biden vowed to bridge the partisan political divide but, struggling to garner Republican support for major bills, his administration appears to be changing the narrative by redefinining what "bipartisan" means. First, Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package passed without a single GOP vote, and now his massive infrastructure package is facing strong Republican opposition in Washington. WHO Seyz COVID Coming Back? WHO says Covid pandemic is growing 'exponentially' at more than 4.4 million new cases a week The World Health Organization said Monday the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic is now "growing exponentially" at more than 4.4 million new Covid-19 cases a week over the last two months. Arrest Aftermath One of the Virginia police officers who pepper-sprayed an Army officer during a traffic stop has been fired One of the police officers accused of using excessive force in a Virginia traffic stop has been fired following an investigation, the town manager said late Sunday. Royal Example Prince Philip was a 'model' royal husband who 'supported his wife in everything' as a consort, author says EXCLUSIVE: For Leslie Carroll, it's easy to understand why seeing Prince Philip on stage was one of the best nights of her life. It was October 2005 and the royal author was attending a black-tie gala dinner at London's Guildhall as part of a week-long celebration honoring the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar - known as the legendary British naval victory against a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson. Prez Doggie Training The Bidens' younger dog, Major, to undergo additional training after biting incidents WASHINGTON - The Biden family's younger dog, Major, will undergo additional training to help him adjust to life in the White House after two biting incidents in recent weeks, a spokesman for first lady Jill Biden said Monday. Patience Encouraged Amid Yet Another Rebuilding Season A reminder to baseball fans: it's a marathon, not a sprint Last year's season had all the fire and fury of an extended postseason, in addition to its extended postseason. To only play 60 games is to make every game important, with very little delineation between teams. Consider: 15 of the 30 MLB teams-half!-won between 25 and 32 games in 2020. Interior Remodel What Do the Chiefs Need to Add on the Offensive Line? The offensive line in Kansas City is about to look drastically different than it has in recent years, as the Chiefs will have two new tackles, moving on from both of their longtime starting tackles, two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Eric Fisher and two-time All-Pro right tackle Mitch Schwartz, and their whole interior looks different as well, adding 2019 All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney, 2014 All-Pro right guard Kyle Long and Rams' starting center Austin Blythe. Local Chill This Week Your Storm Track 5 Daily Forecast Winds of change to being this new workweek in KC. Wind will be breezy at times today and a little cooler feel coming out of the northwest. It will be a very nice day, but cooler than yesterday with highs near 60 and partly cloudy skies. Lil Tecca - Show Me Up is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. The push to inoculate more Colorado Springs and other residents and show proof in order to travel, attend large events and even work at some jobs could alienate those who choose to not get the COVID vaccinate. New Delhi: After concerns about the Oxford-AstraZeneca Corona vaccine causing blood clots in many countries of the world, there is a growing concern in India whether people here may also face such complaints after taking the vaccine. Serum Institute has made this vaccine in the country. In the ongoing immunization campaign in India, people are being given two corona vaccines, one of which is Covishield developed by the Serum Institute. AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria has now told about the possibility of blood clots in India after taking Covishield. Doctor Guleria says that this is quite rare. He said that such cases were unusual and estimated that of about 1 million vaccinations, no such incident has been reported in the country so far. Dr. Guleria, while interacting with the media, said, "It has quite a rare side effect, which was earlier considered to be a coincidence. It is still very rare and is not seen. Although one or two such in India so far The matter is said to have come to the fore". Philippines health officials have on Thursday temporarily banned the introduction of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under the age of 60, with Spain also deciding to limit the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to only elderly people in the war against the Coronavirus. The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, and Iceland temporarily suspended the use of the vaccine after reports of cases of blood clots. The use of the vaccine was also banned in Austria and Italy. Also Read: Flipkart enters into a strategic tie-up with Adani Group to boost supply, logistics infra Palash Sen tests covid positive after taking first dose of vaccine Vivek Oberoi gets corona vaccine, shares video Aid groups say Myanmars efforts to contain the novel coronavirus have been crumbling since a Feb. 1 coup that has plunged parts of the country into chaos, raising fears of a third wave of infections. The military takeover has set off daily and increasingly violent confrontations with protesters across the country. A local rights group claims soldiers and police have rounded up thousands of people and killed more than 700, dozens of children among them, in a bid to quell resistance. A so-called civil disobedience movement has also seen thousands of public and private sector workers go on strike, bringing much regular daily life and business to a grinding halt. That includes the public health care system, threadbare even before the coup from decades of underfunding. Sources told VOA that thousands of doctors and nurses have walked off the job to join the strikes. Local news outlet Frontier Myanmar put the number of striking healthcare workers at over 60,000, citing a source at the Ministry of Health and Sports. A perfect storm In an April 1 statement, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the turmoil poses a significant threat to efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. In the coming months we could be facing a perfect storm in Myanmar where another wave of COVID-19 infections collides with a deepening humanitarian crisis spreading across the entire country, the statement quoted the federations Asia Pacific director, Alexander Matheou, as saying. The U.N.s acting resident country coordinator, Andrew Kirkwood, told reporters in a virtual press conference last month that Myanmars health system has practically collapsed and that nearly all COVID-19 testing and treatment has halted. The head of the Health Ministrys emerging infectious diseases unit, Khin Khin Gyi, rejected forecasts of an impending collapse while speaking with VOA last week. However, she confirmed that daily testing rates have plummeted, from as many as 25,000 a day before the coup to 2,000 at best now. The number of confirmed new cases of COVID-19 has taken a similar dive. The day before the coup, Myanmar had logged just over 140,000 total cases and 3,131 deaths. The country was on the downward slope of a second wave of infections, its worst since the pandemic began, but still registering hundreds of new cases a day. Suddenly, from Feb. 5 to 6, confirmed new cases nosedived from 200 a day to zero, and they have averaged a few dozen a day since then. Khin Khin Gyi conceded that the latest numbers reflect the drop in testing due to a lack of staff. We cannot test much, thats why the case seems to be very much lower than the previous months, she said. We can find only [the] tip of the iceberg, but we cannot find the submerged portion of the ice, she added. Paralyzed A source with an aid group in Myanmars health care sector told VOA that government hospitals and clinics have been hemorrhaging staff because of the strikes since the coup, reducing the facilities to skeleton crews or none, forcing some to close. Weve seen that in several places, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. The [civil disobedience movement] has paralyzed the public system, and of course as COVID-19 was a public [sector] response, it has paralyzed all the COVID systems, he added. The source said even the meager testing data available no longer comes out with key details including where positive cases were caught and whether the patients received treatment. He shared the IFRCs fears of a new wave of infections, just when the country was least prepared to handle it. Of course, we are concerned because the junta cannot abolish COVID like its abolishing a lot of laws, he said. You can close your eyes, but the disease will keep on spreading. The country director of an international charity that had been cooperating with the ousted government on its pandemic response, also speaking anonymously, said Myanmars modest private health care system had taken on some of the burden from the public sector but was no substitute. Many of the public hospitals have basically been shut down or taken over by the military, he told VOA. So, what youve got is just this kind of menagerie of private clinics or newly cropped-up health facilities to try and deal with [patients], whether its shootings from the coup or others who may have other issues. He said the unrest and understaffing made contact tracing all but unthinkable and close to impossible to roll out any coordinated, organized vaccination campaign. Fear and loathing Myanmar administered its first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, to a nurse at Yangon General Hospital, on Jan. 27, a few days before the coup. The Health Ministrys Khin Khin Gyi said public hospitals have given out some 1.4 million shots since, mostly to government staff, and that daily numbers were on the rise as some of the staff who joined the strikes trickle back to work. Before the coup, the government had set itself the goal of vaccinating 40% of its 54 million people by the end of 2021. Khin Khin Gyi said the target was tentative and had no idea if the new regime would meet it. Fear and boycotts stand in the way. Frontier Myanmar reported that most of the health care staff on strike are refusing to get their second shots until the junta retreats, and out of concern that they will be forced back to work if they show up for the vaccine. The charity country director said rampant reports of arbitrary arrests and random shootings by police and soldiers on patrol have most of his own staff simply too afraid to leave their homes, whether for a handout of rice or a free vaccination. And with a widely reviled military turning back the clock on years of hard-earned progress toward democracy, he added, the risk of catching COVID-19 now seems, to most, the far lesser of two evils. People, honestly, theyre really not concerned about another outbreak, he said. Theyre more concerned about trying to get this junta out of power. The likelihood that theres an outbreak going on right now is probably pretty high, its just going to be close to impossible to get any kind of accurate figures. Sanaa, April 12 : Health authority in Yemeni Houthi-controlled Sanaa urged residents to wear masks to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yemen has seen a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases for the last few weeks as its daily caseload has risen by nearly fivefold compared to the past winter, reaching around 100 cases per day, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. The war-ravaged country, with only half of its health facilities functioning, severely lacks the ability to fence off the threat of the deadly virus. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson says he would consider running for President of the United States if he felt he had enough support. The pro wrestler turned Hollywood star confirmed his interest in transitioning into politics in an interview for Sunday Today with Willie Geist. 'I do have that goal to unite our country and I also feel that if this is what the people want, then I will do that,' Johnson, 48, said in a teaser clip aired on Monday's Today. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson says he would consider running for President of the United States if he felt he had enough support, in an interview for Sunday Today With Willie Geist The actor didn't specify which political party he would represent of when he might launch a presidential bid. Last week, an online public opinion poll released by consumer trends company Piplsay found that 46% of Americans would consider voting for Johnson. Alongside a screenshot of the article, The Rock wrote on Instagram on Saturday that he was 'humbled' by the poll finding. Johnson, 48, explained: 'I do have that goal to unite our country and I also feel that if this is what the people want, then I will do that' (pictured in December 2019) Last week, the pro wrestler turned Hollywood star said he was 'humbled' at an online poll finding that 46% of Americans would vote for him for president 'I dont think 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,' he said. 'But if it ever happens itd be my honor to serve you, the people.' Johnson, whose credits include the rebooted Jumanji movie franchise and the upcoming Disney Jungle Cruise movie, is the latest celebrity to consider a political career. Kanye West infamously embarked on a short-lived presidential run last year against incumbent and Apprentice star Donald Trump. Meanwhile, actor Matthew McConaughey and transgender icon and reality star Caitlyn Jenner are reported to be weighing potential runs for governor in Texas and California respectively. Good morning, North State. Here's what you need to know to start your day on Monday, April 12. Comanche Creek campers in Chico will not be evicted due to federal judge's temporary restraining order A federal judge has ordered all homeless evictions to temporarily stop in Chico. The order said the city of Chico cannot issue or enforce 72-hour evictions for anyone sleeping on public property. The judge also demanded the city not to destroy anyone's belongings even if the value is less than $100. On Thursday, several campers at Comanche Creek were given 72 hours to pack up their belongings and move. Police arrest armed suspect in Chico Chico Police said officers arrested Dominic Lamont Wood in the area of Forest Ave. and E 20 St. early Saturday morning. Police said officers found methamphetamine and a loaded handgun on Wood. The serial number on the gun was filed away. Wood is now charged for being armed with drugs along with several other possession charges. He is booked in Butte County Jail. Burn ban in place across parts of Northern California Dry, windy conditions are bringing fire danger and a burn ban across parts of Northern California Monday. Included in the ban: Butte, Glenn, and Shasta counties. Fire officials said this suspension will last for the next few days as both temperatures and winds pick up. Train and vehicle crash results in major injuries in Richvale area One person is dead, and another is seriously injured after a truck and train collided in Richvale. The crash happened near Highway 162 Sunday evening. CHP and Cal Fire responded and were on scene for several hours after the crash to investigate, clear the scene and direct traffic. Action News Now is working to learn the names of those involved. Nearly 23 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered The California Public Health Department said nearly 23 million doses of the vaccine have been administered throughout the state. Nearly nine million people are fully vaccinated, which is about 22% of the population. However, 105 new COVID-19 deaths were reported. In three more days, on April 15, anyone 16 and over can get their covid vaccine. Minnesota National Guard deployed after protests over the police killing of a man during a traffic stop Protestors clashed with police in Minneapolis overnight after officers shot and killed a driver during a traffic stop. Roughly 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed during an arrest last May. The department said that man had an outstanding warrant and tried to run from officers. Officers in riot gear used flashbangs and chemical irritants to disperse the crowd. Derek Chauvin's defense is using these 3 arguments to try to get an acquittal in George Floyd's death The third week of the Derek Chauvin trial begins. So far, 35 witnesses have been called to testify on the death of George Floyd. Multiple Minneapolis Police Officers have testified alongside expert medical witnesses. Many concluded that Floyd died because of Derek Chauvins actions. The defense is expected to begin its case this week. " " NASA Flight Engineer Jessica U. Meir took her alto sax out for a jam session on the International Space Station before she returned to Earth in April 2020. NASA Johnson Space Center When you're an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS), every part of your daily routine automatically becomes interesting, whether it's going to the bathroom or just watching TV. That same logic applies to one of mankind's oldest passions: music. Retired Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut and ISS veteran Chris Hadfield has said that when you break into song in the Final Frontier, it can sound "a little bit nasal." "It's a little weird because you're congested, your sinuses never drain properly," he told Great Britain's 5 News in a 2013 interview. Not that he let that stop him. Hadfield caused a musical sensation in 2013 by covering David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on the ISS. Collaborating with his Earth-bound son, Hatfield put together a music video, filming the entire performance. The late Bowie himself described it as "possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created." You can't do "Space Oddity" justice without instrumentation. Fortunately, Hatfield had a Larrivee acoustic guitar at his disposal. The instrument had been a fixture on the Space Station since 2001, when NASA sent it there. " " The band AstroHawaii came together on the ISS. Seen here performing (clockwise from left) is Drew Feustel, Oleg Artemyev, Ricky Arnold, Anton Shkaplerov and Scott Tingle. NASA Johnson Space Center Advertisement 2001: A Space Overture To give you some context, the first ISS segment was launched into orbit Nov. 20, 1998. For almost as long as there's been an International Space Station, there have been astronauts playing music onboard. There was historical precedent. Gemini astronauts Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford famously played "Jingle Bells" in space Dec. 15, 1965, using some bells and a harmonica they'd taken along for the trip. Musical instruments have, from the very beginning, served as ISS morale-boosters as well. Before NASA's Carl Walz made his debut on the station in 2001, he said it'd be nice to take a keyboard up there. He got his wish, but certain adjustments had to be made. Whenever Walz played his keys, he kept himself grounded with foot restraints. Also, he'd wind a bungee cord around his legs to hold the instrument in place. " " Mikhail V. Tyurin (left) is seen jamming on guitar with Carl Walz on keyboard in the Zvezda module during the STS-108 mission in 2002. NASA Johnson Space Center Advertisement Floating With Flautists Fellow ISS alum Cady Coleman arrived on the vessel for a 2011 mission with a penny whistle and three flutes in tow. One was temporarily lost when an alarm sounded, forcing Coleman to release the instrument midsong. (Don't worry, she had an easy time finding it later.) "I very much like to play music with other people and I didn't happen to get assigned to a crew where anybody else really played music," Coleman told MIT in 2014. However, she got to join Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson for a "Space-Earth Duet" during the spring of 2011. Each musician played a segment of Bach's "Bourree in E Minor." Anderson recorded his performance in Russia; Coleman filmed hers in low-Earth orbit. Footage from both was later combined and posted online. Besides the instruments we've already mentioned, ISS astronauts have made music with saxophones, bagpipes and even a didgeridoo during their flights. " " Cady Coleman took four flutes with her to the International Space Station. NASA Johnson Space Center Advertisement Cleaning Up the Act Of course, safety is a top priority at NASA and aboard the International Space Station. Beneficial as they are from a mental health perspective, instruments can't be allowed to put a crew's well-being at risk. "We test some of them by putting a piece of the material into a closed chamber and heating it to as much as 120 degrees [49 degrees Celsius] for three days," NASA space station manager Mike Pedley said in a 2003 interview. Such tests can reveal a lot about potential safety hazards. One component that has to be examined is the alcohol instrument manufacturers often use as a cleaning solvent. "Something like benzene... is relatively toxic, and it would only take a small amount to make the hardware unacceptable," Pedley noted. That's why the guitar Hatfield played was built with nonflammable material and lacked benzene altogether. Now we're just guessing here, but since nobody likes floating debris in their workspace, Pete Townshend-style guitar smashing is probably a big no-no on the ISS. Save that stuff for Earth. NOW THAT'S INTERESTING Houston, Texas, is the home of Max Q, an all-astronaut band that's been rocking out since 1987. And here you thought your city had a pretty cool music scene. HARTFORD, Conn., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Connecticut Green Bank is proud to announce its 2021 Green Liberty Bond issuance, which is anticipated to be available to retail and institutional investors on or about April 21, 2021. Green Liberty Bonds are lower-dollar denomination bonds (offered in $1,000 increments), making it easier for individual investors to consider an investment. The bond proceeds will be independently certified as financing infrastructure projects with climate and environmental benefits that will help strengthen our state's green energy economy and create much needed jobs. This is the Green Bank's second Green Liberty Bond release, and builds upon the success of the July 2020 issuance, which raised $16,795,000 from retail and institutional investors in Connecticut and across the country. Retail demand was so strong that the supply of bonds could not meet the interest of those seeking to invest. "We were very pleased by the response to our 2020 issuance of Green Liberty Bonds. In the midst of a global pandemic with so much uncertainty, the support of this new sub-category of green bonds that helps confront climate change was overwhelming," said Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank. "We hope even more retail investors in Connecticut and nationwide are able to invest in green infrastructure with us this year." Retail investors' orders will be given first priority. Investors must have an account with one of the brokerage firms participating in the bond sale, or with another firm that can place an order through a brokerage firm participating in the bond sale. Interested retail investors who do not have a brokerage account should contact lead bond underwriter Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc. or co-underwriter Ramirez & Co., Inc. to begin the process of opening a new account. Visit https://www.ctgreenbank.com/how-to-buy-green-liberty-bonds for their contact information. To help inform residents about the Green Bank's mission and programs, including the 2021 Green Liberty Bond, the Green Bank will host a webinar on Thursday, April 15 from 7 8 pm. (register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5920454914183848720). The Preliminary Official Statement, notifications and bond information can be found at www.greenlibertybonds.com. Modeled after the World War II Series-E bonds, which were purchased by more than 80 million Americans, Green Liberty Bonds are an opportunity for investors to take on the shared challenge of climate change and green infrastructure investment through the purchase of bonds. In November 2020, the Green Liberty Bond was honored by The Bond Buyer as the winner of Deal of the Year in the Innovative Financing category. Like the previous issuance, these Green Liberty Bonds are expected to be labeled "Certified Climate Bonds" by the Climate Bonds Initiative, and compliance of the bond's issuance with the Climate Bonds Standards will be verified by Kestrel Verifiers. About the Connecticut Green Bank The Connecticut Green Bank was established by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2011 as the nation's first green bank, and has since supported the creation of more than 23,000 green energy jobs in the state, while reducing the energy cost burden on over 55,000 families, businesses, and nonprofits. The Green Bank's mission is to confront climate change and provide all of society a healthier, more prosperous future by increasing and accelerating the flow of private capital into markets that energize the green economy. This is accomplished by leveraging limited public resources to scale-up and mobilize private capital investment into Connecticut. In 2017, the Connecticut Green Bank received the Innovations in American Government Award from the Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and innovation for their "Sparking the Green Bank Movement" entry. For more information about the Connecticut Green Bank, please visit www.ctgreenbank.com Disclaimer This press release does not constitute a recommendation or an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument, including the 2021 Green Liberty Bonds, or to adopt any investment strategy. Any offer or solicitation with respect to the 2021 Green Liberty Bonds will be made solely by means of the Preliminary Official Statement and Official Statement, which will describe the actual terms and conditions of the 2021 Green Liberty Bonds. The information provided is subject in all respects to the information presented in the complete Preliminary Official Statement prepared in connection with the issuance of Green Liberty Bonds. Any investment decisions regarding any of the Green Liberty Bonds should only be made after a careful review of the complete Preliminary Official Statement. For More Information, Contact: Rudy Sturk ( [email protected]) SOURCE Connecticut Green Bank A multibillion-dollar project to tap virgin oil fields in east Africa is expected to get the green light this weekend, highlighting an uncomfortable truth about the energy industry. Even as Total, the supermajor behind the new project straddling Uganda and Tanzania, makes genuine efforts to begin the transition to low-carbon energy, the industry is nowhere close to ending its appetite for oil. If you accept that petroleum demand may have already peaked -- and thats still a controversial opinion -- the world is expected to burn hundreds of billions of barrels of oil in the coming decades. That gives plenty of incentive for giants like Total or Royal Dutch Shell Plc, plus the hundreds of smaller explorers that remain in business, to keep searching the worlds frontiers for the next place to sink their drill bits. BP is the only oil major to have gone so far as to call an end to the era of oil demand growth. The London-based company said last year that consumption may never return to levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic. The rest of the industry still expects at least another decade or so of demand growth before the global need for oil maxes out. And even BPs less bullish outlook shows a world where a lot more petroleum will be used. In the BP scenario where we achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and oil demand falls rapidly, the world will still have an appetite for 660 billion barrels of oil over the period, according to the companys estimates. Thats not too far below the 880 billion barrels consumed during the prior 30 years. Thats partly because most companies expect greenhouse gases to be eliminated not by the world forsaking fossil fuels, but by using technology to capture their emissions, or planting trees to re-absorb them. In BPs business as usual scenario, where theres limited progress in agreeing new measures to reduce carbon emissions but oil demand still sees little or no further growth, another 1.1 trillion barrels will have been used by 2050. The sheer size of the demand that oil companies are anticipating in a lower-carbon future explains why Total is ready to spend $5.1 billion to drill along the remote shore of Lake Albert in Uganda and build a 897-mile heated pipeline to transport the waxy crude for export at the port of Tanga in Tanzania. The more than 1 billion barrels that the project will tap are only a small drop in the ocean of what oil companies believe they can still sell in the future. Three Georgia police officers were shot and wounded as they pursued two cousins from Alabama in a high-speed chase that ended early Monday with one cousin shot and killed and the other in custody, authorities said. A Georgia State Patrol trooper clocked a Nissan Sentra going 111 mph (179 kph) on Interstate 20 and initiated a traffic stop around 3:30 a.m., Georgia State Patrol Capt. Brandon Dawson said. The driver initially stopped but took off again as the trooper approached the back of the car. The trooper pursued the car and bumped it to try to stop it but the driver of the car regained control, Dawson said. When the trooper tried to bump the Sentra again, a passenger used a rifle to fire at the patrol car and hit it, taking it out of action, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation news release. The driver of the Sentra continued to flee, going through the city of Carrollton, where local police officers joined the chase. At some point, a passenger leaned out and fired a shot into a police vehicle, hitting Carrollton Police Sgt. Rob Holloway, Carrollton Police Chief Joel Richards said. The officer lost control of his vehicle and hit a utility pole. Other officers stopped to help him. The driver of the Sentra continued on at a high rate of speed and Villa Rica police officers pursued the car down a side road, Villa Rica Police Chief Michael Mansour said. The Sentra then crashed near an elementary school in Villa Rica and two men ran from the vehicle, the GBI release says. As officers searched for the two men, shots were fired at them around 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., the GBI said. Villa Rica Police officer Chase Gordy returned fire and was shot twice, the GBI said. Carroll County Sheriffs Deputy Jay Repetto was also shot in the arm, Sheriff Terry Langley said. One of the men from the Sentra was shot and killed by officers at the scene and the other was taken into custody after a negotiation and was being held in the Carroll County jail, Langley said. It could have been a lot worse, and were thankful and we pray for the speedy recovery of those officers, Langley said. Holloway and Gordy were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, while Repetto was treated at Atlanta Medical Center and released, the GBI said. The two men in the Sentra were cousins from Birmingham, Alabama, the GBI said. The man taken into custody was identified as 22-year-old Aaron Jajuan Shelton. He is charged with three counts of aggravated battery and five counts of aggravated assault. His cousin, 28-year-old Pier Alexander Shelton, was killed at the scene. The GBI did not immediately say which cousin was driving the car. The law enforcement agencies involved asked the GBI to do an independent investigation. Aaron Shelton pleaded guilty in January 2019 to attempted murder and robbery in connection with a March 6, 2018 shooting in Birmingham. Authorities say in that case he was trying to take an undetermined amount of cash from another man. As part of the same plea, he pleaded guilty to drug possession which stemmed from a November 2017 arrest by Jefferson County sheriffs deputies He was in possession of Alprazolam and/or GHB. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison with three years to serve. Pier Shelton has prior arrests here for unlawful possession of marijuana and having a pistol in a vehicle. Both were dismissed. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor attempted to elude in 2018 and received a 12-month suspended sentence. He also pleaded guilty to promoting prison contraband for trying to obtain marijuana while in the Tarrant City Jail. He received a 12-month suspended sentence in that case as well. AL.com journalist Carol Robinson contributed to this report. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III will be the keynote speaker at Florida A&M Universitys in person commencement ceremony this month, according to the university. Austin, a Mobile native, will join three other speakers at FAMUs first in-person commencement ceremony since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The ceremony, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on April 24, will feature students from the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, according to a news release. He will also officiate at the commissioning ceremony for FAMUs largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) graduating class in decades, according to the release. Florida A&M University is honored to have Secretary Austin address our graduates. His life and career have been an inspiration to us all, President Larry Robinson said in the release. Austin became the first Black person to lead the Pentagon as secretary of defense back in December, after being selected for the position by President Biden. He was born in Mobile in 1953 and rose through the ranks to command troops in combat in Panama and Operation Iraqi Freedom, among others, after he began his U.S. Army career in 1975. Austin also holds a masters in counselor education from Auburn University, according to the release. Williamstown Finance Committee Reviews Town's Capital Plan WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Finance Committee last week concluded its review of the town's fiscal 2022 spending plan and made plans to vote its recommendations next week. The last major item up for discussion was the capital spending plan for FY22, which represents about 6 percent of town hall spending, or $650,000. That represents a $90,800 increase from the current fiscal year, but as Town Manager Jason Hoch reminded the Fin Common on Wednesday, $650,000 is closer to what the town had been investing in infrastructure before it dialed back that budget last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest single item in the capital plan is $203,000 for erosion control along the banks of the Hoosic River near Syndicate Road. "We've seen significant erosion along that bank, and it gets perilously close to a 12-inch sewer line we have and the main sewer line interceptor that carries along the river from North Adams," Hoch said. "We're coordinating with [the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection] and the [Army Corps of Engineers] now on a long-term mitigation plan. The Corps will likely address the actual work at some point because the original design and rebuild was theirs. "But we're in a situation where we need to do something faster than waiting for the various bureaucracies to get their long-term plan in motion." Hoch's budget also calls for the replacement of two large vehicles used by the Department of Public Works: a single-axle dump truck valued at $178,000 and a dump truck with plow and sander that costs $83,000. Hoch also proposes this year to purchase a second sidewalk plow, an investment originally slated for FY21 that got pushed off because of the pandemic. "Right now, we have one sidewalk plow," Hoch said. "It doesn't give us a lot of backup, and given more sidewalks, more active use of those, it was something we thought was good to put in place last year. So we're going to do it again this year." Hoch proposes to pay the $156,000 for a new sidewalk plow from the town's stabilization fund. That fund stands at about $1.4 million, and Hoch projects it to be around $1 million after FY22, largely because of a previously announced plan to fund a street light replacement project from stabilization and "pay it back" with savings from the more efficient, cheaper to maintain, town-owned fixtures. "The way I budgeted for the cost of the street lights, it gives us the option to reimburse that over the next few years with savings," Hoch said. "That's a decision for the next town manager. Right now, it makes sense to loan ourselves that money." The Fin Comm on Wednesday also reviewed the warrant articles for Community Preservation Act grants recommended by the Community Preservation Committee. Melissa Cragg, who fills the Fin Comm's seat on the CPC , explained each of the applications to her colleagues, reporting that the one request that generated some dissent on the committee was a request for $56,000 to support and Agricultural Preservation Restriction on 18 acres owned and farmed by the Galusha family. Hoch and Cragg explained that while the town is being asked to contribute more than the 10 percent local match required by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the ask from CPA funds is less than the $66,000 non-cash contribution from the Galushas, who are receiving less than market value for the property under the APR. The bulk of the APR is bulk of the project's funding, to the tune of $327,450. Cragg reported that some of the objection among CPC members, who voted 5-3 to recommend the application, centered on concern about making more land in town off limits to future development. The APR program is designed to preserve prime agricultural land for farming. The Fin Comm is expected to make its advisory vote on the APR project and two other CPA grant requests when it meets on April 14. It also will vote its recommendation on a new proposal to establish a $3,500 stipend for members of the Select Board. Current board member Jeffrey Thomas proposed the idea, which would go into effect for any members elected after this May's annual town election if it is approved by annual town meeting voters in June. "This topic is about inclusion," Thomas said in introducing the idea to his board last month. "I'm proposing it for one reason and one reason only: to broaden the range of community members who can consider serving on this board. "For example, a stipend might make it easier for people with children to serve because it would cover the cost of child care [for evening meetings]. It might make it easier for someone with a lower income because they wouldn't need that second job to make ends meet." Thomas, who next month is resigning from his position with one year left on a three-year term, argues that other towns in Berkshire County provide a stipend to members of their Select Boards, and such a move in Williamstown could increase the candidate pool for the elected position. "For as long as I've served on this board, I've worked in different ways to increase representation on boards and committees," Thomas said. In other business on Wednesday, the Fin Comm heard a report from the auditor who reviewed the town's books for fiscal 2020. As it has for many years running, the town received a clean report from the certified public accountant. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iran blamed Israel on Monday for an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges sabotage that imperils ongoing talks over Tehrans tattered nuclear deal and brings a shadow war between the two countries into the light. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli media widely reported that the country had orchestrated a devastating cyberattack that caused a blackout at the nuclear facility. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the countrys secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency. While the nature of the attack and the extent of the damage at Natanz remains unclear, a former Iranian official said the assault set off a fire while a spokesman mentioned a possible minor explosion. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The attack also further strains relations between the U.S., which under President Joe Biden is now negotiating in Vienna to re-enter the nuclear accord, and Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to stop the deal at all costs. Netanyahu met Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose arrival in Israel coincided with the first word of the attack. The two spoke briefly to journalists but took no questions. My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel, Netanyahu said. And Israel will continue to defend itself against Irans aggression and terrorism. At an earlier news conference at Israels Nevatim air base, Austin declined to say whether the Natanz attack could impede the Biden administrations efforts to re-engage with Iran in its nuclear program. Those efforts will continue, Austin said. The previous American administration under Donald Trump had pulled out of the nuclear deal with world powers, leading Iran to begin abandoning the limits on its atomic program set by the accord. But German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern that it could affect the talks. All of what we are hearing from Tehran is not a positive contribution to this, Maas told reporters. In a statement, the White House said it was aware of the Natanz attack and that the U.S. was not involved in any manner, without elaborating. Details remained scarce about what happened early Sunday at the facility. The event was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls but later Iranian officials began referring to it as an attack. A former chief of Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the attack had set off a fire at the site and called for improvements in security. In a tweet, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei said that the second assault at Natanz in a year signaled the seriousness of the infiltration phenomenon. Rezaei did not say where he got his information. The facility seemed to be in such disarray that, following the attack, a prominent nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi walking above ground at the site fell 7 meters (23 feet) through an open ventilation shaft covered by aluminum debris, breaking both his legs and hurting his head. A possible minor explosion had scattered debris, Kamalvandi said, without elaborating. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh acknowledged that IR-1 centrifuges, the first-generation workhorse of Irans uranium enrichment, had been damaged in the attack, but did not elaborate. State television has yet to show images from the site, which saw new advanced centrifuges turned on there Saturday. The answer for Natanz is to take revenge against Israel, Khatibzadeh said. Israel will receive its answer through its own path. He did not elaborate. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, meanwhile, warned Natanz would be reconstructed with more advanced machines. That would allow Iran to more quickly enrich uranium, complicating the nuclear talks. The Zionists wanted to take revenge against the Iranian people for their success on the path of lifting sanctions, Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Zarif as saying. But we do not allow (it), and we will take revenge for this action against the Zionists. He said late Monday on Twitter he had sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council asking it to hold Israel accountable. Deliberate targeting of a safeguarded nuclear facilityw/ high risk of indiscriminate release of radioactive materialis nuclear terrorism & a war crime, he tweeted. Iran delivered a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations body that monitors Tehrans atomic program, urging it to condemn the attack, state TV reported Monday. The IAEA earlier said it was aware of media reports about the blackout at Natanz and had spoken with Iranian officials about it. The agency did not elaborate. Officials launched an effort Monday to provide emergency power to Natanz, said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Irans civilian nuclear program. He said the sabotage had not stopped enrichment there, without elaborating. Natanz has been targeted by sabotage in the past. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges there during an earlier period of Western fears about Tehrans program. In July, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for that, as well as the November killing of a scientist who began the countrys military nuclear program decades earlier. Israel also has launched a series of airstrikes in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian forces and their equipment. Israel also is suspected in an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen. Multiple Israeli media outlets reported Sunday that an Israeli cyberattack caused the blackout, but it remains unclear what actually happened there. Public broadcaster Kan said the Mossad was behind the attack. Channel 12 TV cited experts as estimating the attack shut down entire sections of the facility. While the reports offered no sourcing for their information, Israeli media maintains a close relationship with the countrys military and intelligence agencies. In recent weeks, Netanyahu repeatedly has described Iran as the major threat to his country as he struggles to hold onto power after multiple elections and while facing corruption charges. Stopping the nuclear deal has been a repeated theme of his comments. ___ Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Robert Burns and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem; Matthew Lee in Washington, and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report. President Joe Biden released a sudden tweet on Monday defending Kamala Harris amid mounting criticism over her failure to visit the border and after GOP Senator John Cornyn questioned who was in charge in the White House. 'When I served as Vice President, I asked to be the last person with the President before big decisions were made and @VP is providing the same counsel to me,' Biden wrote. 'Shes the last voice in the room and never fails to speak the truth as we work to build our nation back better.' He included a picture of the pair in discussion inside the Oval Office. President Joe Biden tweeted Monday about his vice president, Kamala Harris, saying she 'never fails to speak the truth' and provides counsel to him. Biden's tweet came without explanation after Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas asked whether he was 'really in charge' Biden has long told the story of securing a commitment from Barack Obama that he got to be the last person in the room for major decisions, and by most accounts he became a top advisor to the president. His tweet came after Biden designated Harris as his point person at the border the kind of difficult assignment he took on for Obama while helping steer the stimulus package. The high-profile task came as a flood of unaccompanied minors continues to seek entry and the nation struggles to provide proper housing. Harris faced immediate questions about when she plans to visit the border as a demonstration of the effort. She has yet to do so. The administration has continued to face questions about how it will deal with the crisis, after March statistics showed border agents encountered 172,000 migrants at the border - including 19,000 unaccompanied minors. In the three weeks since Kamala Harris was named 'border czar', she hasn't visited or held a press conference Harris has frequently been at Biden's side during media events, where Biden delivers the main administration message President Joe Biden (R) and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, on March 19, 2021 to tour the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Former President Donald Trump repeatedly sought to cast Biden, 78, as having lost a step, repeatedly slapping the label 'sleepy Joe' on him, although in remarks at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend he reportedly mocked him as 'saintly Joe.' Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn on Monday tweeted out a Politico story on the Biden media strategy which has leaned heavily on formal public events and brief question-and-answer periods. 'The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional,' Cornyn wrote. 'The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters.' Then he wrote in another tweet: 'Invites the question: is he really in charge?' White House press secretary Jen Psaki blasted that comment when asked about it at Monday's press briefing. 'I can confirm that the president of the United States does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories, he spends his time working on behalf of the American people,' she said. The White House has not yet said when Harris will visit the border, although she has traveled to her home state of California and held events in Illinois. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki snapped last week when a reporter asked about her decision to visit a minority owned bakery and whether she was quietly backing off while the administration pursued enforcement at the border. 'And so, while she was there, like many Americans, she got a snack. I think shes allowed to do that,' Psaki snapped. That hasn't kept media outlets including DailyMail.com from noting Harris' travel schedule, which also included a trip to her home state of California. 'Where is Kamala? (hint: still not at the border),' wrote former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, a potential presidential candidate. Harris on Sunday tweeted out an image of herself in flight aboard Air Force Two. It showed her seating in a monogramed chair that said 'vice president of the United States.' 'Brighter days are ahead,' she wrote, without explanation. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Propulsion Systems market accounted for $261.00 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $543.80 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period. Growing space expeditions, increasing applications in various defense weapons and increasing need for long-range missiles are some of the key driving factors for the market growth. However, stringent airspace regulations may hinder market growth. Click Here to Get Sample Premium Report @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11443 A propulsion system is referred to a system of machines that produces thrust to push an object forward. Propulsion systems work on Newtons third law, i.e. for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Different propulsion systems generate different thrusts, but all thrusts will have some connection with Newtons third law. On airplanes, thrust is usually generated through some application of Newtons third law of action and reaction. Based on Application, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles segment held considerable market share during the forecast period due to the rising demand for UAV usage in diverse applications. UAVs are mounted with different types of engines in accordance with the required power to perform different operations. By geography, North America is expected to grow at a faster rate due to the rising number of military modernization programs in this region. Some of the key players profiled in the Propulsion Systems include 3W International GmbH, Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. , Financial Highlights, General Electric Co., GKN Aerospace, Honeywell International Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Orbital ATK, Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC., Safran S.A, The Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation. You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/11443/Single Types Covered: Transcatheter Heart Valves Tissue Heart Valves Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Mini and Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Mechanical Heart Valves High-Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Electric Propulsion Engines Non-Air Breathing Engines Air-Breathing Engines Applications Covered: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Spacecraft Missiles Aircraft Railway Marine Electric Regions Covered: North America o US o Canada o Mexico Europe o Germany o UK o Italy o France o Spain o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o Japan o China o India o Australia o New Zealand o South Korea o Rest of Asia Pacific South America o Argentina o Brazil o Chile o Rest of South America Middle East & Africa o Saudi Arabia o UAE o Qatar o South Africa o Rest of Middle East & Africa What our report offers: Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments Market share analysis of the top industry players Strategic recommendations for the new entrants Market forecasts for a minimum of 9 years of all the mentioned segments, sub-segments, and the regional markets Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations) Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements Request For Report Discounts @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/11443 Free Customization Offerings: All the customers of this report will be entitled to receive one of the following free customization options: Company Profiling o Comprehensive profiling of additional market players (up to 3) o SWOT Analysis of key players (up to 3) Regional Segmentation o Market estimations, Forecasts and CAGR of any prominent country as per the clients interest (Note: Depends on feasibility check) Competitive Benchmarking o Benchmarking of key players based on product portfolio, geographical presence, and strategic alliances President Joe Biden holds the first Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on April 1, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) Biden to Meet With Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers About Infrastructure Proposal President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set Monday to convene with a bipartisan group of Congress members and discuss the administrations infrastructure proposal. The meeting will take place in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, according to the official White House schedule. The president and vice president will discuss the need for a bold, once-in-a-generation investment in America to put millions of people to work, the White House said. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) will meet with Biden and Harris, along with Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.), David Price (D-N.C.), Don Young (R-Alaska), and Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.). Biden recently unveiled a $2.2 trillion infrastructure plan but Republicans largely oppose it because it includes items they argue have little to do with infrastructure, such as funding in-home care for elderly Americans, though theyve signaled they want to negotiate a smaller package. Only about six percent of the presidents proposal actually goes to what everyday Americans would describe as infrastructure. If Democrats are interested in roads, bridges, highways, and perhaps broadband, there is a deal to be had there, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the GOP Senate whip, said on Fox News Sunday. Wicker noted that a group of Republicans tried reaching a compromise with Biden on the latest COVID-19 relief package, presenting a $600 billion counter-proposal. In the end, Democrats included little of what Republicans wanted in the $1.9 trillion bill, and passed it with zero GOP votes. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington on Jan. 26, 2021. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool/Getty Images) The president should have come back with a counteroffer, and if he will do that with the Republicans that are meeting with him in the White House tomorrow, I think we can get somewhere and have a much bigger infrastructure package than we were able to do under the last administration, Wicker said on ABCs This Week. Pete Buttigieg, Bidens treasury secretary, said that items included in the bill like child care and elder care are popular among Republican voters, according to polls, and encouraged GOP lawmakers to ease their opposition to including such items in the package. I think the president will have an open mind and be interested to hear other ideas on every dimension of the package. But as he said, doing nothing is not an option. And we also cant wait too long, Buttigieg said on Fox News Sunday. Im going to keep burning up those phone lines, talking to Republicans, listening to Republicans, and trying to get somewhere we can all agree on, he added on CNNs State of the Union. The administration hopes Congress makes major progress on the package by Memorial Day and passes the bill by July 4. Narrowing the bill to only include traditional infrastructure funding such as bridges was also dismissed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said on CBSs Face the Nation that she feels infrastructure includes education and housing investment. Overwhelmingly, this bill is about infrastructure in the traditional sense of the word. We also think that infrastructuretheres a need for workforce development in order to have the workforce fully participate in how we go forward and child care so that women can be involved in that as well. So its physical infrastructure. Its also human infrastructure that is involved, she said. People sit at the base of a transmission tower in North Arlington, N.J., on April 6, 2021. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo) Bidens plan includes $621 billion for building and repairing roads and bridges, public transit, airports, and railways. Another $100 billion would expand high-speed Internet access, with similar chunks devoted to strengthening the electric grid, building and improving public schools, replacing lead pipes and other work to ensure safe drinking water, and workforce development programs. Other pieces of the plan are: using $213 billion to build, preserve, and retrofit more than 2 million homes and commercial buildings; allocating $400 billion toward expanding access to quality, affordable home- or community-based care for aging relatives and people with disabilities; and investing $50 billion in the National Science Foundation. Tax increases are how the president proposes paying for the package, including raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent. Democrats can turn to budget reconciliation to again cut out the need to garner Republican votes but Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has said hes against using the method after the partisan passage of the COVID-19 package. Manchin has also opposed raising the corporate tax rate so high, pushing for a 25 percent rate instead. Without reconciliation, Democrats need to reach 60 votes in the Senate. The upper chamber currently has 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats or nominal independents who caucus with the party. "CAU Professor Patterson invited some of history's greatest Jazz musicians to teach and inspire us." Tweet this A graduate of Clark College now Clark Atlanta University Dr. Patterson joined his alma mater as a professor in 1968 and founded The Clark Atlanta Jazz Orchestra. The orchestra was formally added to the curriculum in 1976 to preserve and promote "African diaspora history/culture" jazz in its purest state. Under Dr. Patterson, the group has performed nationally and internationally with some of the biggest names in jazz Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, James Moody, and Mary Lou Williams, to name a few. They've performed in international jazz festivals in Switzerland and The Netherlands. "Prof. Patterson invited some of history's greatest jazz musicians to teach and inspire us," said Class of '91 alumnus Sherman Irby. Irby, who went on to become the lead saxophonist with The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and collaborated with jazz greats Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove, added, "the years I spent at CAU taught me that hard work brings great results. This was the foundation that I needed to prepare me for the world." Coming from humble beginnings in Kingston, Ga., Dr. Patterson earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Clark College and then enlisted in the U.S. Army. While serving, Patterson directed the Drum and Bugle Corps at Fort Jackson, S.C. and performed with the Seventh Army Band throughout Europe. After completing his service, Patterson earned his Master's of Music degree from the University of Michigan and completed his postgraduate studies at Clark Atlanta University and The University of Wisconsin. In 2018, Patterson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Atlanta's Morris Brown College. Dr. Patterson's career as a performer, conductor, educator, and community leader spans decades, and his work has inspired countless students and music lovers from across the world. Some of his career accomplishments and highlights include: Performer with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra and Band of Atlanta . . Founder of the Fletcher Henderson/Wayman Carver Jazz Festival at Clark Atlanta University . . Guest conductor for the Atlanta University Center-wide Orchestra. Participant in the Congressional Black Caucus as a panelist and moderator, per an invitation by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. Director of the HBCU All-Star Big Band in the University of Notre Dame's Annual Collegiate Jazz Festival. Annual Collegiate Jazz Festival. Board member and 2020 Chairman of the Scholarship Committee of the Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship Fund chapter in Atlanta . . Founder and C.E.O of the James Hardy Patterson Foundation, Inc. Lifetime voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy Awards). Patterson's story is part of the living Black American tapestry that continues to be woven. During Jazz Appreciation Month, CAU will also honor other Clark Atlanta University Alumni, faculty, staff, and students who have made outstanding contributions to jazz music in a social media campaign. To check out the Jazz Appreciation Month campaign follow CAU's Instagram page @cau1988. About Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University was formed with the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College, both of which hold unique places in the annals of African-American history. Atlanta University, established in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, was the nation's first institution to award graduate degrees to African-Americans. Clark College, established four years later in 1869, was the nation's first four-year liberal arts college to serve a primarily African-American student population. Today, with nearly 4,000 students, CAU is the largest of the four institutions (CAU, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Morehouse School of Medicine) that comprise the Atlanta University Center Consortium. It is also the largest of the 37-member UNCF institutions. SOURCE Clark Atlanta University Related Links www.cau.edu The Mid-Michigan Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) invites the public to a special presentation. The group is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all meeting attendees and will be holding all meetings virtually until further notice. Deborah Grubbe, president of AIChE will present "Ethical Practice - A Perennial Business Challenge," from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 13. Grubbe will speak to the maintaining of proper ethics in all phases of chemical engineering practice, and will review data from a survey of AIChE members. She will share some similarities between a few well known ethical lapses and will address trends in ethics performance in education and in business. Lastly, she will offer some perspectives on what actions you can consider if you find yourself in an ethical dilemma. Lucknow, April 12 : UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued strict guidelines to control Covid spread in the state. The chief minister, while addressing the meeting of Team 11 on Monday, said that he will neither impose lockdown nor let people die in misery. "It is the officials' responsibility to ensure that there is no shortage of hospital beds for the patients in the state," he said. The chief minister suggested taking over of private hospitals and labs to manage the Covid situation in UP. Emphasizing on testing, tracing and treatment, he said, "If needed, take over the private hospitals and medical colleges to overcome the shortcomings." He further said, "Our priority has to be the implementation of an effective strategy to stop the spread of Covid. We will have to fight the pandemic vigorously with full preparation, as there is no scope for any sort of negligence in this fight." Praising his own government's Covid management last year, Yogi Adityanath said, "Similar to last year, we will have to fight this war with great strength. For the same, we will have to increase the beds in L2 (with oxygen facility) and L3 (with ventilators) hospitals in sufficient quantity." Expressing displeasure over the low recovery rate in the private hospitals and labs charging more than the prescribed rates, he said, "Nobody will be allowed to take advantage of the helplessness of the victims. It has to stop immediately. In case of providing incorrect or misleading information, harsh action will be taken." Yogi Adityanath has also instructed the officials to dedicate half of the 108-ambulance service for Covid patients and the remaining half for non-Covid cases. He has set the response time for these ambulances at 15 minutes. He has laid emphasis on making the Integrated Command and Control Centre the focal point of the battle against the pandemic and monitoring its activity one by one. The chief minister further directed the officials to ensure that there is no delay in the test report of the Covid patients. He suggested to take help from private labs if needed, or completely take them over and pay them the required amount, but in no circumstances, the test report should be delayed. He also pitched for the expansion of lab and testing capabilities and directed officials to increase the RT-PCR test capacity by 70 per cent. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size As soon as she saw the panic in her general practitioners face, Udita Mittal knew her daughter was in serious trouble. Two-year-old Shayari was limp and unresponsive. Her skin had turned blue and her small chest was moving rapidly as she struggled to breathe. I dont know what she has but if she has meningococcal I would have to give her penicillin right now, are you happy for me to do that? the doctor asked. It was the second time Ms Mittal had taken Shayari to the doctor in less than a week after she started complaining of neck pain and developed a fever. The first time, she had taken her to Perth Childrens Hospital on April 28, 2020, after several days of bed rest and Panadol didnt bring her temperature down. Doctors at the bespoke childrens hospital had said the temperature was the result of a viral fever which would likely subside in a few days and the neck ache was likely caused by Shayari sleeping in a funny position. They had taken a urine sample which revealed unusual protein levels and blood but had sent them home with instructions to take Shayari to the GP when she felt better. Shayari Pal almost died of sepsis after her parents concerns were dismissed by hospital staff. Credit:Marta Pascual Juanola Ms Mittal had begged them to do a blood test to rule out anything serious but doctors refused, arguing it wasnt the hospitals protocol to carry out blood tests for every child with an unexplained fever for fewer than three days. Two days later, Shayaris health was slipping. Her upper body was stiff and she struggled with recurrent fevers. Thats when Ms Mittal decided to take her to the GP, who wasted no time in calling an ambulance. Advertisement Ms Mittal remembers the ride to Fiona Stanley Hospital on April 30 last year vividly. She kept asking the paramedics for her daughters temperature readings and whether shed be seen by a doctor straight away or they would need to wait. Shayaris temperature was 41 degrees and she was shaking. In the condition she is in, the doctors will be waiting outside the hospital to see her, the paramedic told her. A blood test as soon as Shayari arrived at the hospital revealed she had sepsis, caused by a bacterial infection stemming from an abscess between her skull and spine. The painkillers had masked her pain and the infection that almost cost her life. I just think its disappointing that we have to repeatedly make noise to be heard and if you arent making that noise then you just get overlooked. Udita Mittal If her GP hadnt given her a penicillin shot when he did, Shayari would have likely died on her way to the hospital. She was rushed to PCH the next morning, where she underwent emergency surgery to remove the abscess, but showing no signs of improvement two days later, her parents pushed for an MRI, which confirmed the infection had spread to her skull and vertebrae a condition known as osteomyelitis. She was on antibiotics for six weeks and had to wear a head and neck brace 24 hours a day for three months to prevent her brittle bones from breaking. Advertisement The revelations of Shayaris close call at PCH come a week after seven-year-old Aishwarya Aswath died within hours of arriving at the facility, after numerous requests by her parents to receive medical help were ignored. After hearing the news of Aishwaryas death, Ms Mittals memories of her own terrifying ordeal came flooding back. Shayaris pain, her stiff upper body, her blue lips when she couldnt breathe properly. Loading It still haunts me to this day that I didnt question the doctor straight away. I asked for the blood test and they just said they wouldnt do one, she said. It was completely avoidable. I just think its disappointing that we have to repeatedly make noise to be heard and if you arent making that noise then you just get overlooked. Ms Mittal expressed her disappointment by lodging a complaint to PCH about the staffs refusal to carry out a blood test when she asked on their first visit. We almost lost our daughter due to this blood test not being performed, the complaint read. Advertisement Ms Mittal wrote that doctors at FSH had told her they almost lost Shayari the night she was rushed into surgery. In her complaint, Ms Mittal requested a review of the testing procedure for a child who presented at ED with a fever and a written response on what would be done to address her complaint. It seems very irresponsible to send a parent home with an inconclusive urine test and no blood test, which would have resulted in a diagnosis or at least further investigation, the complaint read. After an initial acknowledgment of the complaint, Ms Mittal received an apology on June 12, 2020, from Child and Adolescent Health Service medical co-director at PCH Sue Peter acknowledging the staffs failings. On behalf of all staff involved in Shayaris care, please accept my sincere apologies that the emergency department failed to identify the cause of your childs illness at such a crucial time, the letter read. I hope Shayari is well since her discharge and has made a full recovery. Ms Peter said the head of ED had investigated Ms Mittals concerns, reviewed the medical record, and discussed the issues with staff involved. Advertisement Ms Peter acknowledged that fever without a clear cause was one of the most common reasons children attend a paediatric ED. Following Shayaris readmission, the department has started review processes and guidelines to ensure that all patients who are diagnosed with a retropharyngeal abscess are identified, the letter read. A meeting has been arranged to discuss your daughters case and to communicate the lessons learnt to medical and nursing emergency department staff. Education regarding considering retropharyngeal abscess as a serious cause of neck pain and fever in children will be ongoing. Rex Drury before he was discharged from Perth Childrens Hospital. A similar story Ms Mittal is not alone. Since Aishwaryas death was made public, dozens of people have contacted WAtoday with similar stories of long waits at the ED and dangerous misdiagnoses. Advertisement [April 12, 2021] Bitcoin Association announces Bitcoin SV DevCon 2021 for May 15-16 ZUG, Switzerland, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitcoin Association, the Switzerland-based global industry organisation that works to advance business with the Bitcoin SV blockchain, today announces that Bitcoin SV DevCon 2021 a two-day virtual conference centred on developing applications and services for the Bitcoin SV network will be held over the weekend of May 15-16 in partnership with WeAreDevelopers and nChain. The weekend-long virtual event is free to attend and will feature leaders from across the Bitcoin SV ecosystem teaching sessions that have been designed to educate and upskill developers interested in working with the Bitcoin SV blockchain and data network. The DevCon sessions will cover a variety of topics that will provide both a foundational knowledge of the Bitcoin network and its programming language Bitcoin Script, as well as practical guidance for building powerful applications on the Bitcoin blockchain, including the use of the latest third-party tools and software development kits. Developers will also learn techniques to build applications that leverage the unique features of the Bitcoin SV blockchain, including its massive scaling power, ability to process high volumes of both data and payment transactions, as well as its nanopayment capabilities. Bitcoin SV DevCon 2021 follows on from the success of the inaugural Bitcoin SV DevCons in 2020, with an English-language edition hosted July 18-19, 2020 and a Chinese-language version on August 29-30, 2020. Thetwo events in 2020 welcomed a combined 11,000 unique guests from more than 80 countries, the majority of whom were new to blockchain development. Bitcoin Association will once again work with leading external partners to deliver this iteration of Bitcoin SV DevCon, with the event set to be powered by WeAreDevelopers, a leading online community platform for developers with a track record of producing best-in-class educational resources and events, as well as nChain, the global leader in research and development of enterprise-grade blockchain solutions. To register to attend Bitcoin SV DevCon 2021 on May 15-16, visit wearedevelopers.com/event/bsv-devcon-2021. A full agenda, including speaker line-up, is available at bsvdevcon.net Speaking on today's announcement, Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen, said: "Following the success of our inaugural Bitcoin SV DevCon events in 2020, I'm delighted to announce that next month over the weekend of May 15-16, Bitcoin Association will be hosting Bitcoin SV DevCon 2021 - once again completely virtually. Last year's events demonstrated the great interest from all corners of the globe in learning how to develop enterprise-grade blockchain applications interest that we expect to build on with this year's editions - as we help more developers to understand the power of the only blockchain with the ability to scale unbounded and provide a truly open platform for innovation and development, Bitcoin SV." Also commenting, Steve Shadders, CTO of nChain and Technical Director of the Bitcoin SV Infrastructure Team, said: "Bitcoin SV DevCon was one of my true highlights of 2020, with thousands of developers from all over the world joining in to learn, share and collaborate about building with Bitcoin SV. As we see more and more professional opportunities opening up for developers in the blockchain space including quickly growing demand for Bitcoin engineers - I expect an even bigger and better event this time around." About Bitcoin Association Bitcoin Association is the Switzerland-based global industry organization that works to advance business on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. It brings together essential components of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others working alongside them, as well as in a representative capacity, to drive further use of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and uptake of the BSV digital currency. The Association works to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while facilitating innovation using all aspects of Bitcoin technology. More than a digital currency and blockchain, Bitcoin is also a network protocol; just like Internet protocol, it is the foundational rule set for an entire data network. The Association supports use of the original Bitcoin protocol to operate the world's single blockchain on Bitcoin SV. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1218683/Bitcoin_Association_Logo.jpg View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bitcoin-association-announces-bitcoin-sv-devcon-2021-for-may-15-16-301266635.html SOURCE Bitcoin Association [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Daughter Kira, 18, a freshman at Valparaiso University, left a few items at home over Easter weekend that they had to bring to her. They were able to get the first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Sunday, a day ahead of when vaccine eligibility in Illinois, except in Chicago, opens to everyone age 16 and older. They can get their second dose when they come back to Valparaiso in four weeks to pick Kira up at the end of the school year, too. Appointment 11 April 2021 Jeroen brings with him over a decade of experience in Swiss Hospitality School Management. He has held various positions across ten countries with diverse backgrounds over the years, from Lecturer to Executive Director for the Swiss Education Group. His extensive understanding of the field of hospitality talent development, stems from his achievement of two Masters Degrees - one in Education and another in International Hospitality Management. The EAHM is globally renowned as one of the top 10 hospitality schools, recognised for its exemplary study programmes, with a special focus placed on Business Management degrees. Its vision is to nurture local and international talent, and support the further growth of the industry in the region. Jeroen will continue to successfully spearhead its efforts to this end, alongside the support of the exceptional existing team, to raise a new generation of hospitality professionals. Commentary: Keep alert against sinister political manipulations on COVID-19 origin tracing research Xinhua) 14:13, April 12, 2021 BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Some Western media have published two open letters recently denying the conclusion of the World Health Organization (WHO) experts on COVID-19 origin tracing research, dealing another baseless attack on China. Smearing China-WHO cooperation and spreading ill-motivated assumptions, the letters are full of fallacies, which are in essence political manipulations with a sinister intention and should be alerted against. Mainly drafted by people without medical or other scientific backgrounds like Jamie Metzl, a former member of the White House National Security Council, both letters despicably call the joint study of WHO and China an "investigation" with a presumption of guilt. On March 30, after a field study in China's central city of Wuhan by a group of international experts, the WHO issued a report saying animals probably transmitted the novel coronavirus to human beings in two scenarios, yet the tracing of the virus's origin remains underway. Through their scientific research on the virus's origin, Chinese and WHO experts have expanded humanity's knowledge in this regard. However, just because the results practically denied the unfounded speculation that the pandemic was caused by a leak from a lab in Wuhan, making the pedlars of conspiracy theories disappointed, the latest so-called open letter challenged the scientists' integrity by disregarding the fact that the members of the international expert group participating in the field study were widely representative and scientifically independent. The timing of the two letters, with the first published before the release of the WHO report and the second after, was hardly a coincidence. Actually, such manipulations are just another clumsy ploy of those habitual China-bashers, who have been stubborn in seizing any chance to attack Beijing. When the global health crisis caught the world off guard, they were so eager to blame Beijing that they totally ignored the WHO warning and thus missed the window to control the pandemic. When China started to cooperate with WHO on tracing the virus's origin, they still addicted themselves to criticizing China with groundless allegations. Shamefully, acts like distorting facts, shifting blames, defying scientific results and smearing China's cooperation with WHO and other countries have distracted the global fight and disrupted international cooperation against the coronavirus. China's contribution to the anti-pandemic fight is undeniable. Take the virus origin tracing effort as an example. Despite difficulties in epidemic prevention and control at home, Beijing invited WHO experts to come to China twice for the endeavor. Peter K. Ben Embarek, a food safety and zoonosis expert with the WHO and leader of the international team of experts to Wuhan, has openly said that all members of the team, including 17 foreign experts and 17 Chinese scientists, were able to reach consensus on all the issues about their conclusions in the WHO report. Given the complexity and importance of the issue of coronavirus origin tracing, it is unacceptable and dangerous to tolerate the political manipulations of some pseudo scientists. To some extent, such acts are as deadly as the virus as they damage the two most needed elements in the arduous anti-pandemic fight -- global solidarity and scientific spirit. As the effort in origin tracing of the virus still needs more countries' contribution, the world should be wary of such sinister political manipulations. Otherwise, the nearly 3 million people lost to COVID-19 would have died in vain. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) [April 12, 2021] First Student Receives Microsoft Azure Certification from INTERalliance, Microsoft Partnership CINCINNATI, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati is thrilled to announce that the first high school student from INTERalliance and Microsofts partnership in Azure fundamentals has passed the Azure Certification exam and received his professional certificate along with several local teachers. Xanders graduation of the course, which teaches essential Azure skills, marks the success of the inaugural certification partnership. More participants expected to graduate in the coming year. A current junior at Warren County Career Center, Xander says he got involved in the partnership after his networking teacher recommended the program. Overall, the course was fairly simple and just explained the various Azure products available to be used for businesses, Xander says. The certification is fairly unique since not many others show proficiency in cloud computing, so I hope it will help me get into college and get an IT related job in the future. Heather Ackels, INTERalliances Executive Director, agrees. This program is really exciting for us because it allows our students to receive industry applicable training that they can then use to enter the workforce, says Heather. INTERalliance is committed to helping our students find the spark of inspiration to pursue a future in technology and this program does just that. We're very thankful that Microsoft chose to invest in INTERalliance to make this opportunity possible for great students like Xander!" INTERalliance partnership is a new effort to train regional high school students, teachers, and adult learners in Azure fundamentals. Azure is a cloud-computing platform developed by Microsoft. According to its official site , the BBC, Bosch, and the American Cancer Society all use Azure. The skill is in high demand nationally and globally?as of April 2020, there were more than 26,000 jobs requiring Microsoft Azure skills, and 53% o jobs requiring Microsoft Azure skills had a salary of $141,000 or greater (Glassdoor.com, April 2020). Similarly, there were more than 290,000 open jobs requiring or preferring Microsoft skills and certifications in the US and globally (Indeed.com, April 2020). The initial program partners included the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati and Microsoft, but have now expanded to include MAX Technical Training, the University of Cincinnati, and Apprenti Cincinnati. By working together to deliver critical IT training, these Cincinnati innovators hope to give high school students and adult learners a seamless transition from education to career - through higher education, registered apprenticeship programs or direct employment. Because of an emphasis on accessibility, the program is completely free for participants (though some restrictions may apply). Interested teachers, students, and adult learners are invited to apply. In an effort to diversify the IT industry, underrepresented applicants, including minority groups and applicants demonstrating financial need, are prioritized. Anyone interested in participating should email central.office@interalliance.org . About The INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati Based in Cincinnati, INTERalliance is a student-run non-profit whose mission is to inspire and assist young talent to pursue an IT career in Greater Cincinnati. Member companies of the INTERalliance include The Kroger Co., Procter & Gamble, Great American Insurance, FIS, GE, Vora Technologies, Fifth Third Bank, Western & Southern Financial Group, among many others. For more information about INTERalliance School Chapters, or to learn how to start your own, please contact INTERalliance at central.office@interalliance.org or visit www.interalliance.org . About Apprenti Cincinnati Apprenti Cincinnati is a non-traditional solution to drive more tech talent in and to the Cincinnati region. The program is working with companies large and small to fill open positions with tech-interested individuals, regardless of educational or professional background. For more information, visit https://www.cincinnatichamber.com/membership/your-partner/apprenti-cincinnati-your-partner or email apprenticincinnati@cincinnatichamber.com ORGANIZATION CONTACT: Heather Ackels Executive Director, INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati P: (513) 415-7707 | E: heather.ackels@interalliance.org [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Claude Monet | The Pont de lEurope, Gare Saint-Lazare By:Liu Xutong | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-04-09 18:11 MuseeMarmottanMonet, Academiedesbeaux-arts,Paris Over the course of the 19th century, Paris set about building seven train stations to foster the development of a rail networkin France. In western Paris, the Gare Saint-Lazare, serving the Normandy coast, was enlarged between 1841 and 1852. These new buildings(which were in part the result of metal-basedarchitecture)and the locomotives they housed, soon became the supreme symbol of modernity. In 1877, Monet devoted a series of paintings to them. The one conserved at the Marmottan Monet Museum depicts the neighborhood around the Gare Saint-Lazare, specifically the buildings along Rue de Rome and the Pont de lEurope, an overpass built in 1863 that is no longer standing today. Monet placed his easel at the level of the railway tracks and below the overpass. The diagonal formed by the overpass both structures the composition and confers a prominent place in this cityscape on the building that gives the painting its name. The engine, the railwayman, and the signal are reduced to mere details. To recreate the atmosphere of the site, Monet prefers to describe the elusive ballet of the plumes of vapor and smoke in the sky issuing from the steam engines. Families from Central America walk toward the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on rafts in Penitas, Texas, on March 26, 2021. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) White House Says Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala to Boost Troops Along Borders The White House has reached a deal with Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras to potentially stem the flow of illegal immigration into the United States, Biden administration officials said on April 12. Tyler Moran, special assistant to the president for immigration for the Domestic Policy Council, said on MSNBC that the administration secured agreements that would place more troops on their respective borders. Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala have all agreed to do this, Moran said. That not only is going to prevent the traffickers and the smugglers and cartels that take advantage of the kids on their way here, but also to protect those children. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on April 12, in confirming Morans statement, that there was a commitment from the governments of those three countries. Mexico made the decision to maintain 10,000 troops at its Southern border resulting in twice as many daily migrant interdictions, she said. Guatemala surged 1,500 police and military personnel to its Southern border with Honduras and agreed to set up 12 checkpoints along the migratory route. Honduras surged 7,000 police and military to disperse a large contingent of migrants. The announcement comes as numerous illegal immigrants have attempted to cross the U.S.Mexico border in recent months. In March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered more than 171,000 illegal immigrants, including a significant number of unaccompanied children, according to data provided by the agency. Authorities encountered 18,890 unaccompanied children in March, well above previous highs of 11,475 in May 2019 and 10,620 in June 2014 reported by the Border Patrol, which began publishing numbers in 2009. More than 4,000 parents and childrenmostly unaccompanied childrenhave been crammed into a CBP tent complex designed for 250 in Donna, Texas. More than 600 children were packed into a room built for 32 last week, separated by plastic walls. U.S. Border Patrol agents stand before the Rio Grande river that separates the United States and Mexico, in the U.S. border city of Roma, Texas, on March 27, 2021. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images) Meanwhile, in some sectors such as Texass Rio Grande Valley, the Border Patrol stopped issuing court notices to many migrant families in March to save time, instead ordering that they report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office within 60 days. Were addressing the reasons that people are coming from the region. This is really important. If you just focus on our border, youre not addressing why people are actually coming to our border. The president has a blueprint and hes working with the vice president on this, Moran said. In late March, President Joe Biden said he would have Vice President Kamala Harris manage the border crisis. Days later, the White House said Harris would lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle, referring to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. It isnt clear if Harris brokered the deal with Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. Were sending back the vast majority of the families that are coming, Biden said during a March 25 press conference in defending his administrations efforts. Were trying to work out now, with Mexico, their willingness to take more of those families back. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Dont believe us? Look no further than the past few weeks, when Americans with bank accounts started receiving their latest round of economic impact payments via direct deposit. However, just as they had to with the CARES Act, millions of unbanked and underbanked Americans will wait longer for many, months longer to receive a paper check in the mail because they simply do not have access to a bank account. Even once their money arrives, many may have had to pay up to 5% to a currency exchange to cash their checks. Russias security services raided the home of investigative journalist Roman Anin and took him in for questioning last week for what his lawyer says is connected to a past investigation Anin has published on the powerful chief executive of Russias oil giant Rosneft, Igor Sechin. The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia searched the home of Anin on Friday, took him in for questioning at which Anin refused to answer questions, and later released him. Anin, editor-in-chief of independent investigative media outlet iStories, wrote back in 2016 an investigative piece in Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, claiming that Igor Sechin, Rosnefts chief executive and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was connected with one of the most luxurious yachts in the world, St. Princess Olga. Sechin sued Novaya Gazeta for defamation and won the lawsuit in 2016. The case was re-opened last month on the grounds of privacy violations, and Anin is listed as a witness. Anins lawyer, Anna Stavitskaya, told the outlet New Prospect in an interview after Anins questioning on Friday that the Federal Security Service doesnt lead the re-opened case but it is involved in it, perhaps everyone sees why FSBthe case is connected with Sechin, she said. The European Union and investigative reporters associations expressed concern with the Russian questioning of Roman Anin. On the face of it, this appears to be a dark day for freedom of the media in Russia. We stand fully behind Anins fearless exposure of figures from the criminal and political underworld, said Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The EU is concerned about the recent raid and the actions against Anin, Peter Stano, Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement. It is the duty of media to report on issues of public interest. State authorities should ensure that journalists are able to carry out their legitimate work and not hinder or intimidate them, Stano said. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Police are urging anyone with information to contact police after a racist neo-Nazi banner and graffiti were found in Brisbanes south. Detectives from the Counter-Terrorism Investigation Group last week executed search warrants after racist and neo-Nazi graffiti was spray-painted in a Calamvale park in February. Police allege that between 6pm on February 3 and 6am on February 4, the footpath at the Calamvale District Park was spray-painted and a racist banner was attached between two trees. Items of interest were seized by police during three searches on Brisbanes southside on Friday, however no charges were laid. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) For Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, it is "un-Christian" to ask how he was able to immediately secure a hospital bed, while other COVID-19 patients are grappling to find medical facilities to get treated. In his briefing on Monday, Roque refused to expound how he was quickly admitted to the Philippine General Hospital over the weekend after disclosing that he contracted the virus for the second time. When CNN Philippines asked Roque how he managed to get a bed while many infected patients had to wait for days to get admitted, he responded: "With all due respect, I think that is an un-Christian question." "Ang aking assurance lang, sa administrasyon ni Pangulong Duterte, lahat ng merong pangangailangang medikal ay mabibigyan ng tulong," he said. [Translation: My only assurance is that under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, everyone who has medical needs will be assisted.] Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal -- collectively known as NCR Plus -- are now under a modified enhanced community quarantine until the end of the month, after government officials claimed that they are already ramping up the country's bed capacity to accommodate more COVID-19 patients. READ: Metro Manila, six provinces to shift to MECQ During the two-week enhanced community quarantine, some doctors' groups lamented situations in hospitals amid rising COVID-19 cases long lines in emergency rooms, overworked medical staff, medical resources running out, and dying patients who could not get immediate treatment. READ: Doctors' group laments 'doomsday' situation in Metro Manila hospitals On March 15, Roque first announced that he contracted the virus. However, he refused to disclose his test result to the public. On March 25, he said he is already COVID-19 free. It was not clear when he tested positive again. 3 1 of 3 H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3 BROOKFIELD Thanks to an online livestream, residents can now watch the districts newest school take shape. As Candlewood Lake Elementary School is built over the next year and a half, viewers can log on to the website created for the project to see whats going on in real-time. On Monday, several yellow diggers worked diligently against the backdrop of a vast gray sky and piles of earth. Michigan doctors and public health leaders are urging parents to get their children caught up on routine vaccinations to avoid vaccine-preventable outbreaks on top of the present COVID-19 pandemic. The briefing hosted by the I Vaccinate campaign reported vaccination rates for children 19 months to 3 years are below 70% in 42 of Michigans 83 counties in a Monday briefing. According to I Vaccinates release, 70% is the minimum vaccination rate desired for community protection. However, some counties vaccination rates drop even lower for children in this age group. The areas with the lowest routine vaccination rates for children 19 months to 3 years are Oscoda County (45.2%), City of Detroit (49%), Gladwin County (55.9%), Iron County (58.3%), Lake County (59.2%), Clare County (59.3%), Otsego County (59.9%), Mackinac County (60.7%), Cass County (61%) and Houghton County (61.3%). As coronavirus vaccinations increase and the state opens up, children who are not vaccinated wont be protected against preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, pertussis, chickenpox and more. This can put others medically unable to be vaccinated at risk as well. As people start traveling and moving, we will see an increased exposure to vaccine preventable diseases and my fear is that were going to have another pandemic take the place of what were experiencing now with COVID, said Bob Swanson, Immunization Division Director for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. An infographic created by the I Vaccinate campaign showing routine vaccination rates in children 19 months to 3 years. Routine vaccinations dropped due to widespread shutdowns that reduced access to primary care offices, but doctors are taking necessary precautions to ensure visits are safe, said Dr. Herbert Smitherman, professor of internal medicine at Wayne State University and president and CEO of Health Centers Detroit Foundation, Inc. Although many providers have transitioned to telemedicine, vaccinations require an in-person visit. Smitherman said medical practices are ensuring employees wear masks, social distance, wash hands and repeatedly sanitize rooms for patient use. Dr. Joseph Fakhoury urges parents to follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommended vaccination schedule, as it is the only schedule that has been carefully tested, studied and reviewed. Delaying or skipping vaccinations on this schedule could leave a child exposed to preventable disease. This can result into more frequent visits to your doctors office, more stress for you as a parent, as well as anticipation of extra shots or increased costs to you, Fakhoury said. Fakhoury also said to look for vaccine information from credible sources, such as ones own family physician. It is normal to have questions, its normal to be scared, its normal to wonder if this is the right thing for your child, Fakhoury said. That makes you a good parent. Your doctors, myself included, want to talk to you and we want to make sure that we spend the right amount of time addressing those concerns. If any Michigan parent is concerned about in-person medical visits, they should call their childs doctor to learn more about their specific office protocols, said Dr. Rachel Young, family medicine physician and clinic director of the McLaren Family Medicine Residency Clinic in Lansing. So please do reach out to your family physician or your pediatrician about what their measures and protocols are if you have further concerns, and make sure that you are scheduling your well child checks or even a vaccine catch up visit as soon as possible, Young said. Press release Paris, 12 April 2021 Orange partners with APG for the deployment of an additional 1.7m FTTH plugs in Poland through a 50-50 joint venture valued at 605 million euros Orange Polska announced today the creation of a FiberCo co-owned (50-50) with APG. This joint venture aims to support the rollout of fiber in Poland, in areas where access to very high-speed broadband infrastructure is limited or inexistent. The FiberCo integrates 2.4 million lines, including 1.7 million households that will be deployed over the next five years. This transaction values the joint venture at 2,748 million PLN (605 million euros) following a competitive process aimed at seeking out a long-term partner. As a result, Orange Polska will receive 1,374 million PLN (303 million euros) from APG, of which 65% will be transferred on closing and the rest between 2022 and 2026 as the deployment plan advances. This project will allow Orange Polska to pursue its ambitious fiber-optic rollout strategy by sharing investment costs. > Click here for further details . This announcement follows other Orange Group announcements including the creation of Orange Concessions in January 2021 and the outline of the European Towerco Totem in February 2021. As such, Orange continues to deploy its infrastructure strategy as set-out in its Engage 2025 plan. Commenting on the partnership in Poland, Mari-Noelle Jego-Laveissiere, Deputy CEO of Orange in charge of European Operations (outside France), said: This partnership with APG is excellent news for Orange Polska. APG is a global leader in infrastructure management and will provide us with the financial backing necessary to achieve our ambitious five-year fiber roll-out program in Poland. Together we will be able to bring fiber to an additional 1.7 million homes mainly in areas that still lack reliable internet access across the country. This ambition will be backed with a tried-and-tested business model that aims to maximize available revenues by opening-up wholesale access to third-party operators. This is a clear win-win for everybody that will also contribute to social and economic development in the country. Ramon Fernandez, Delegate CEO of Orange in charge of Finance, Performance and Development, commented: I am delighted that Orange, as Europes leading player in the FTTH fiber market and one of the largest mobile network operators, has successfully brought to fruition its three major infrastructure projects, delivering on the commitment made in our Engage 2025 strategic plan. These projects clearly underline the value of our network assets, which have been shown to be so crucial during the ongoing pandemic. By creating these independent structures, we are strengthening our leadership and fostering sustainable value creation through an optimized infrastructure management and improved customer service. Oranges other infrastructure projects include: Orange Concessions: Orange announced the creation of its French FiberCo in January 2021 bringing together 4.5 million fiber plugs in rural France. Click here for further details . . Totem: Oranges wholly-owned European TowerCo bringing together passive-infrastructure assets in its mobile networks in France and Spain. Click here for further details . About Orange Orange is one of the worlds leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.3 billion euros in 2020 and 142,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2020, including 82,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 259 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2020, including 214 million mobile customers and 22 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new "Engage 2025" strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions. Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN). For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com , www.orange-business.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited. Press contacts: +33 1 44 44 93 93 Tom Wright; tom.wright@orange.com ; +33 6 78 91 35 11 Attachment Pre-death dreams and visions help fill the void that may otherwise be created by the doubt and fear that death evokes.(LightField Studios/Shuttertock) As Death Approaches, Visions of Lost Loved Ones Offer Comfort One doctor's research reveals the peace the dying gain from dreams and visions of the previously deceased One of the most devastating elements of the pandemic has been the inability to personally care for loved ones who have fallen ill. Again and again, grieving relatives have testified to how much more devastating their loved ones death was because they were unable to hold their family members handto provide a familiar and comforting presence in their final days and hours. Some had to say their final goodbyes through smartphone screens held by a medical provider. Others resorted to using walkie-talkies or waving through windows. How does one come to terms with the overwhelming grief and guilt over the thought of a loved one dying alone? I dont have an answer to this question. But the work of hospice Dr. Christopher Kerrwith whom I co-authored the book Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Lifes Endmight offer some consolation. Unexpected Visitors At the start of his career, Kerr was taskedlike any and all physicianswith attending to the physical care of his patients. But he soon noticed a phenomenon that seasoned nurses were already accustomed to. As patients approached death, many had dreams and visions of deceased loved ones who came back to comfort them in their final days. Doctors are typically trained to interpret these occurrences as drug-induced or delusional hallucinations that might warrant more medication or downright sedation. But after seeing the peace and comfort these end-of-life experiences seemed to bring his patients, Kerr decided to pause and listen. One day, in 2005, a dying patient named Mary had one such vision: She began moving her arms as if rocking a baby, cooing at her child who had died in infancy decades prior. To Kerr, this didnt seem like cognitive decline. What if, he wondered, patients own perceptions at lifes end mattered to their well-being in ways that shouldnt concern just nurses, chaplains, and social workers? What would medical care look like if all physicians stopped and listened, too? The Project Begins At the sight of dying patients reaching and calling out to their loved onesmany of whom they hadnt seen, touched, or heard for decadeshe began collecting and recording testimonies given directly by those who were dying. Over the course of 10 years, he and his research team recorded the end-of-life experiences of 1,400 patients and families. What he discovered astounded him. More than 80 percent of his patientsno matter what walk of life, background, or age group they came fromhad end-of-life experiences that seemed to entail more than just strange dreams. These were vivid, meaningful, and transformative. And they always increased in frequency near death. They included visions of long-lost mothers, fathers, and relatives, as well as dead pets come back to comfort their former owners. They were about relationships resurrected, love revived, and forgiveness achieved. They often brought reassurance, support, peace, and acceptance. Becoming a Dream Weaver I first heard of Kerrs research in a barn. I was busy mucking my horses stall. The stables were on Kerrs property, so we often discussed his work on the dreams and visions of his dying patients. He told me about his TEDx Talk on the topic, as well as the book project he was working on. I couldnt help but be moved by the work of this doctor and scientist. When he disclosed that he wasnt getting far with the writing, I offered to help. He hesitated at first. I was an English professor who was an expert in taking apart the stories others wrote, not in writing them myself. His agent was concerned that I wouldnt be able to write in ways that were accessible to the publicsomething academics arent exactly known for. I persisted, and the rest is history. It was this collaboration that turned me into a writer. I was tasked with instilling more humanity into the remarkable medical intervention this scientific research represented, to put a human face on the statistical data that had already been published in medical journals. The moving stories of Kerrs encounters with his patients and their families confirmed how, in the words of the French Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne, he who should teach men to die would at the same time teach them to live. One such story of visions of comfort is that of Robert, who was losing Barbara, his wife of 60 years. He was assailed by conflicting feelings of guilt, despair, and faith. One day, he inexplicably saw her reaching for the baby son they had lost decades ago, in a brief span of lucid dreaming. Robert was struck by his wifes calm demeanor and blissful smile. It was a moment of pure wholeness, one that transformed their experience of the dying process. Barbara was living her passing as a time of love regained, and seeing her comforted brought Robert some peace in the midst of his irredeemable loss. For the elderly couples Kerr cared for, being separated by death after decades of togetherness was simply unfathomable. The story of Joan and her recurring dreams and visions provide an example. These experiences helped mend the deep wound left by her husbands passing months earlier. She would call out to him at night and point to his presence during the day, including in moments of full and articulate lucidity. For her daughter Lisa, these occurrences grounded her in the knowledge that her parents bond was unbreakable. Her mothers pre-death dreams and visions assisted Lisa in her own journey toward acceptancea key element of processing loss. When children are dying, its often their beloved, deceased pets that make appearances. Thirteen-year-old Jessica, dying of a malignant form of bone-based cancer, started having visions of her former dog, Shadow. His presence reassured her. I will be fine, she told Kerr on one of his last visits. For Jessicas mom, Kristen, these visionsand Jessicas resulting tranquilityhelped initiate the process she had been resisting: that of letting go. Isolated But Not Alone The health care system is difficult to change. Nevertheless, Kerr still hopes to help patients and their loved ones reclaim the dying process from a clinical approach to one that is appreciated as a rich and unique human experience. Pre-death dreams and visions help fill the void that may otherwise be created by the doubt and fear that death evokes. They help the dying reunite with those they have loved and lost, those who secured them, affirmed them, and brought them peace. These dreams and visions heal old wounds, restore dignity, and reclaim love. Knowing about this paradoxical reality helps the bereaved cope with grief as well. As hospitals and nursing homes continue to remain closed to visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, it may help to know that the dying rarely speak of being alone. They speak of being loved and put back together. There is no substitute for being able to hold our loved ones in their last moments, but there may be solace in knowing that they were being held. Carine Mardorossian is a professor of English at the University at Buffalo. This article was first published on The Conversation. A LIMERICK man who is accused of hijacking a car on a busy motorway is expected to apply for bail later this week. Francis Casey, aged 28, who has an address at Clonlong Halting Site, Southill, appeared before a special court sitting in Kilmallock last week. He faces a number of charges including that he unlawfully seized a Ford S-Max car on the northbound carriageway of the M7 near Portlaoise on Easter Sunday. That offence - under the provisions of the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976 - is alleged to have occurred at a location between junction 17 and Junction 16 on the motorway. Mr Casey is also accused of making threats to cause criminal damage at O'Malley Park Southill on Easter Sunday and with stealing 42 worth of diesel from a service station in Portlaoise. It is alleged the defendant, who was arrested in the Tallaght area of Dublin, had asked another man for a lift from Limerick to Portlaoise earlier on Easter Sunday. Gardai have indicated they will be opposing any application for bail and a bail hearing was due to be heard before Judge Patricia Harney at Limerick District Court on Friday. However, when the case was called, the judge was told a sick cert had been issued by the authorities and that Mr Casey was not present in court. No further details were outlined during the procedural hearing and solicitor Darach McCarthy asked that the matter be listed again tomorrow. Investigations into the incident are ongoing and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Story Highlights 56% in U.S. think government doing too little to protect environment Majorities expect Biden will do good job on environment and energy policy Expectations for Biden exceed Trump, fall short of Obama WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Early in Joe Biden's tenure as president, a slightly diminished 56% majority of Americans think the U.S. government is doing too little to protect the environment. This marks a five-percentage-point decline from one year ago and coincides with a nine-point increase in those saying the government is doing too much (15%). Meanwhile, an essentially unchanged 29% say the government's actions are about right. Line graph. Americans' views of whether the U.S. government is doing too much, too little or about the right amount to protect the environment since 1992. Currently, 56% say the government is doing too little, 29% say it is about the right amount, and 15% think it is too much. Compared with one year ago, this marks a five-percentage-point decline in those saying it is too little and a nine-point increase in those saying it is too much. Since 1992, when Gallup first measured opinions on this question, majorities of Americans have often said the government is doing too little to protect the environment. But that view has tended to be more prevalent under recent Republican presidents -- George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump -- when large majorities said so. In contrast, the figure averaged 49% under Barack Obama. Nevertheless, throughout the trend, Americans have been consistently more likely to say the government's efforts are about right than to say it is doing too much to protect the environment. Partisans' Views Have Shifted With New President The latest data from Gallup's annual Environment poll conducted March 1-15 finds the changes in Americans' views in the past year are largely driven by partisans' shifting opinions since Biden became president. In his brief time in office, Biden has taken a number of concrete steps to reverse some of Trump's environmental policies, including rejoining the Paris climate agreement and rescinding the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. He also ordered federal agencies to review more than 100 of the Trump administration's policies that rolled back many of the Obama administration's environmental regulations. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have subsequently become slightly more likely to say the government's actions to protect the environment are about right, rising from 9% last year to 19% this year. Fewer Democrats now say the government is doing too little than a year ago, 89% to 80%. Since 2000, majorities of Democrats, ranging from 60% to 89%, have believed the government is not doing enough to protect the environment. This spanned both Republican and Democratic administrations but has tended to be higher when Republicans were in office. Given that Biden has only been in office for a short time, Democrats' views are likely to change in the next few years. Line graph. Democrats' views of whether the U.S. government is doing too much, too little or about the right amount in terms of protecting the environment since 2000. Currently, 80% say the government is doing too little, 19% say it is about the right amount, and 1% think it is too much. Compared with one year ago, this marks a nine-percentage-point decline in those saying it is too little and a 10-point increase in those saying it is about the right amount. At the same time, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, who became much more likely under Trump's leadership to say the government's efforts on environmental protection were about right, feel differently now. The percentage of Republicans who think the government is doing about the right amount to protect the environment has fallen 18 points to 40%, while the percentage saying the government is doing too much has risen 22 points to 32%. Meanwhile, the 27% of Republicans who think the government is doing too little has not changed much. The 32% "too much" reading has returned to the same record-high level it was at throughout much of Obama's presidency. Generally, Republicans have been more likely to think environmental policy is about right when a Republican occupies the White House and more likely to say it is too much when a Democrat is president. Line graph. Republicans' views of whether the U.S. government is doing too much, too little or about the right amount in terms of protecting the environment since 2000. Currently, 40% say it is about the right amount, 32% think it is too much, and 27% say the government is doing too little. Compared with one year ago, this marks a 22-point increase in the percentage of those saying it is too much, an 18-percentage-point decline in those saying it is about the right amount and a four-point decline in the percentage saying it is too little. Americans' Expectations of First-Term Presidents' Environmental Action Since 2001, when George W. Bush was president, Gallup has tracked Americans' expectations of the job each new president would do protecting the environment and improving U.S. energy policy. Sixty-five percent of Americans think Biden will do a good job handling the environment, which is not as high as the reading for Obama (79%) but much higher than those for Republican presidents Bush (51%) and Trump (36%). Meanwhile, more U.S. adults believe that Biden (56%) will do a good job handling energy policy than thought the same of Trump (46%). Expectations of Biden are roughly on par with those of Bush (58%) but below those of Obama (72%). Democrats' beliefs that Biden will do a good job handling the environment (92%) and energy policy (90%) are similar to the readings for Obama. Yet, Republicans' confidence in Biden is lower than it was for Obama, which accounts for Obama's higher readings overall. Americans' Expectations of First-Term Presidents' Performance on Environment % of Americans who said each would do a good job handling the issues Protecting nation's environment Improving nation's energy policy % % U.S. adults Joe Biden (2021) 65 56 Donald Trump (2017) 36 46 Barack Obama (2009) 79 72 George W. Bush (2001) 51 58 Democrats/Democratic-leaning Joe Biden (2021) 92 90 Donald Trump (2017) 11 18 Barack Obama (2009) 95 93 George W. Bush (2001) 33 40 Republicans/Republican-leaning Joe Biden (2021) 34 17 Donald Trump (2017) 66 80 Barack Obama (2009) 64 46 George W. Bush (2001) 71 80 All readings are from March GALLUP, Mar. 1-15, 2021 Bottom Line Although a majority of Americans continue to think the government is not doing enough to protect the environment, fewer do so than one year ago, and more now say it is doing too much. Both Republicans and Democrats are less likely now than they were last year to say the government is doing too little, but Republicans have shifted to saying it is doing too much, while more Democrats think government efforts are about right. In his first months in office, Biden has made significant progress implementing his vision for environmental protection by rolling back several of Trump's environmental policies. While this is reflected in a decline in Democrats' view that too little is being done to protect the environment, they remain less satisfied than they were under Obama. This is likely owed to the fact that it is early in Biden's presidency. By next year, Biden could see more Democrats holding this view. In the meantime, a majority of Americans, including nine in 10 Democrats, are optimistic that Biden will do a good job protecting the environment. Fewer, though still a majority, think he will improve the nation's energy policy, which is a top-of-mind issue to many Americans following the massive power crisis in Texas in February. While he has thus far used executive actions to carry out his environmental agenda, Biden cannot singlehandedly enact everything on his environmental agenda. He will need congressional support for some of it, and with a closely divided Senate, that may prove challenging. View complete question responses and trends (PDF download). Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. FAIRFAX, Va., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CuriobyFifthandMain.com, a curated collection of ethically-sourced every day delights, recently launched. Based in Northern Virginia, the online store sells luxury, textured, non-toxic, peel + stick wallpaper. Founded by Heather Shaw Menis, a luxury goods publicist along with her husband who works in the printing industry, Curio by Fifth & Main was born after the couple started making their own wallpaper and found it to be more user-friendly and more aesthetically pleasing than any other wall coverings they had tried. Wallflowers in Light by F&M Wall Coverings, Exclusive to CuriobyFifthandMain.com is printed with non-toxic ink on textured, peel and stick paper. Profiles in Greige by F&M Wall Coverings, Exclusive to CuriobyFifthandMain.com is printed with non-toxic ink on textured, peel and stick paper. Curio by Fifth & Main's wide array of mindfully-curated products are filtered through Menis's discerning eye and include decor, gifts, accessories, and wellness products. Among the delightful offerings: fair-trade, non-toxic linens, hand-dipped candles, health boosting elixirs, silk initial scarves and ingenious greeting cards. Dubbed F&M Wall Coverings, the chic pattern selection grows steadily and also offers custom designs. The wallpapers are printed on stucco-textured, peel + stick paper that goes on easily and does not damage walls when removed. Added in March 2021, F&M Wall Coverings x Cheery Designs is a collection of playful but cool, kid-friendly prints designed by Elyssa Dorf of Cheery Designs. "Because we print the wallpaper to order ourselves, we can customize any print, match backgrounds to popular paint colors, print a customer's own design or help them find something truly unique," said Menis. Curio by Fifth & Main has also partnered with interior designer Jill Switzer to offer expert interior design consultations and room mock-ups for customers by the hour. About the Founder The idea for Curio by Fifth & Main percolated for years in the mind of founder, Heather Shaw Menis. Years working as a marketing executive for Saks Fifth Avenue sparked an intense yearning to support local makers, shops and service providers. In 2014, Menis started Fifth & Main PR as a means to give voice to those small businesses. Fifth & Main PR has worked with a plethora of creatives whose offerings are often far superior to mass marketed alternatives. With this venture, Menis spotlight those makers and new finds, carefully curating little luxuries. About F&M Wall Coverings Every wall presents endless opportunity. Whether a subtle pattern for layering or bold story-telling art, F&M Wall Coverings can be customized for each individual's unique aesthetic. Printed on textured, removable wallpaper, customers can elevate the look of any room without fear of damaging walls (and without messy paste). F&M Wall Coverings are printed with synthetic latex inks which contain no Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs), are non-flammable, non-combustible and are nickel-free (deemed safe for nurseries, hospitals, anyone with asthma, etc.). About Curio by Fifth & Main Curio by Fifth & Main carefully curates products that preserve artisanal practices and offers the little luxuries you didn't know you needed. Shipping is free with purchases over $100 and one day local delivery is available in Northern Virginia. Media Contact: Heather Menis [email protected] 202-468-4349 SOURCE Curio by Fifth & Main Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 22:19:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close YAOUNDE, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon on Monday launched the vaccination campaign against COVID-19, a day after receiving its first batch of vaccines donated by China. The campaign started at the Specialized Covid-19 Care Centre in the capital Yaounde, with the country's Minister of Public Health Malachie Manaouda being the first to take the vaccine. "I feel good. There is no problem," Manaouda said shortly after he received the first shot with the presence of many local officials and health professionals. "The vaccine is safe," he added. The vaccination campaign will prioritise health workers in the first round of the campaign, the minister said. The vaccines should be "available all over the national territory by latest tomorrow," he added. The first batch of China's Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Cameroon Sunday evening as the country is struggling with a new surge of COVID-19 infections. It is the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines arriving from outside the central African country, where the pandemic broke out in March last year. Enditem Hercai is the Turkish story of an impossible love born of vengeance between two families with thousands of years of history. Miran is seeking revenge for his parents death so he plans to marry, and destroy, Reyyan, the daughter from the family responsible for that death. Unexpectedly he falls in love with Reyyan. Will this change the plan? SynProNize co-founder Nitin Michael said: SynProNize is extremely pleased to leverage our strong industry networks to both source and license premium dramas such as the fantastic series we are bringing into Pakistan. TVOne gets to offer its discerning viewers a stellar production, which has enjoyed great success in Turkey and elsewhere. Its audiences are sure to enjoy the program. ATVs Muge Akar, Content Sales Deputy Manager, stated ATV is thrilled that SynProNize has shared our beloved series Hercai with Pakistan audiences at TVOne. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Hasnaa and Nitin for future collaborations. We believe Hercai will be a milestone in terms of Turkish drama sales to Pakistan. As non-essential shops and outdoor hospitality in England reopen after three months in lockdown, new figures show that almost two-thirds of small businesses expect performance to improve this quarter but one in seven expects to lay off some or all of their staff. The Federation of Small Businesses branded the expected redundancies worrying and called on the government for steps to shore up employment and protect against a job market shock as the furlough scheme begins to be wound down in July and ends in September. Meanwhile, the TUC warned that Britain risks seeing coronavirus cases spiral out of control unless workplaces are kept Covid-secure as the economy reopens. Step two of Boris Johnsons roadmap out of lockdown on 12 April will see the reopening of non-essential shops as well as hairdressers, nail salons, libraries, community centres, zoos, theme parks, drive-in cinemas and self-contained accommodation such as campsites and holiday cottages. Pubs and restaurants will be allowed to offer outdoor table service, and indoor leisure facilities such as gyms will also reopen for use by people on their own or in household groups. Reflecting the partial return to normality, the FSBs quarterly Small Business Index recorded its strongest level of business confidence since 2014. In a survey of almost 1,700 small business owners, some 58 per cent expected performance to improve over the coming three months, while fewer than one in three (31 per cent) believed it will worsen. A majority (53 per cent) said they were hoping to grow their firms over the next 12 months. But one in seven (14 per cent) of small firms with staff said they are likely to make some or all of them redundant in the April-June quarter. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue to pay 80 per cent of wages for furloughed staff up to 2,500 a month until the end of June, with the sum contributed by the state falling to 70 per cent in July and 60 per cent in August before halting altogether at the end of September. FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said: Its worrying to see such a sizeable proportion of employers fearing redundancies over the coming months. Initiatives like Kickstart, as well as incentives to take on apprentices and trainees, need to be delivered efficiently over the coming months to protect against a job market shock and support the young people that have disproportionately borne the brunt of rising unemployment. Policymakers also need to look at measures to encourage hiring activity. Bringing down the non-wage costs of employment, starting with employer national insurance contributions, which essentially serve as a jobs tax, would certainly help. Mr Cherry said it was fantastic that so many businesses were able to reopen in England as the third coronavirus lockdown eases further. The certainty provided by the governments roadmap is filling many small business owners with renewed confidence, he said. We live in hope that the virus stays in retreat so the remaining indicative dates for unlocking can be met, enabling our vital night-time economies, offices and travel and tourism businesses to get back to it as well. TUC general secretary Frances OGrady said: As we reopen the economy, we must not drop our guard on workplace safety. If workplaces arent Covid-secure, coronavirus cases could spiral out of control again. Ministers must tell the Health and Safety Executive to crack down on bad bosses who play fast and loose with workers safety. Its a national scandal that not a single employer has been prosecuted and fined for putting workers or the public at risk. Vaccinations cant be a substitute for comprehensive health and safety measures to make workplaces safe. And the government needs to wake up to the fact that a lack of decent sick pay undermines [a] safe return to work. Ministers must raise statutory sick pay to the level of the Real Living Wage, and make sure everyone can get it. A government spokesperson said: Throughout the pandemic, we have protected peoples jobs and livelihoods through an unprecedented 350 billion support package for businesses. This includes paying the wages of over 11 million people through the furlough scheme, which has been extended until the end of September. From U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05): Community healthcenter funding Congresswoman Hayes secured $11,014,625 in funding for community health centers in Connecticuts Fifth Congressional District through the American Rescue Plan. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Health Resources and Services Administration awarded funding to four community health centers in Danbury, Plainville, Torrington and Waterbury as a part of the legislation, with awards beginning in April. CT-05 based federal community health centers receiving funds: Connecticut Institute for Communities, Danbury: $3,047,125. Wheeler Clinic, Plainville: $2,309,000. Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington, Torrington: $1,357,125. Staywell Health Care, Waterbury: $4,301,375. Community health centers serve an essential role in our local health care system. These centers provide life-saving primary care for our most vulnerable families and individuals, said Hayes. The importance of these centers is even more obvious during the pandemic. I am pleased that funding from the American Rescue Plan will help CHCs in our state sustain their critical missions and keep our neighbors healthy during unprecedented times. Health centers will be able to use the funds to support and expand COVID-19 vaccination, testing, and treatment for vulnerable populations; deliver needed preventive and primary health care services to those at higher risk for COVID-19; and expand health centers operational capacity during the pandemic and beyond, including modifying and improving physical infrastructure and adding mobile units. Sabrina Trocchi, PhD, MPA, President/CEO of the Wheeler Clinic said, "Wheeler is on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to testing and vaccinations, we're providing equitable access to primary care, behavioral health, and addiction services, all of which are needed more than ever because of the isolation and disruption of the past year. This award recognizes the critical work that Wheeler and Connecticut's health centers do every day, caring for our most vulnerable communities. Total awards for the state of Connecticut total $74,136,125 to support 16 health centers. AmericanRescue Plan Congresswoman Hayes released a statement on how the American Rescue Plan will help towns and cities in Connecticuts Fifth Congressional District. The bill, signed into law by President Biden, will provide approximately $2.9 billion in aid to the state of Connecticut and roughly $185 million in aid to towns and cities in the district. Another $232 million will go towards local education agencies. COVID-19 has put an unprecedented strain on Connecticuts budget. This devastates our state governments ability to effectively leverage social and public programs to respond to this crisis and also hurts public workers who risk being laid off after serving on the front lines throughout this crisis, said Hayes. In a normal year, Connecticut is considered a donor state to the federal government, meaning we give more than we get back. Through our tax revenue, we regularly support our country even when it is not in dire need. Now, the state needs help from the federal government. The American Rescue Plan will deliver over $4.3 billion to state and municipal governments to ensure we continue to lead the nation on COVID-19 response and economic recovery. The American Rescue Plan takes bold action to protect critical jobs in towns and cities across Connecticut. The bill will fund public services and essential professions, including firefighters, police officers, teachers and public workers. The bill also authorizes funding for the safe reopening of schools, the smooth running of businesses and reliable public health measures. Connecticut should receive approximately $2.9 billion in state relief aid and $1.36 billion in local government funding. Cities and towns in CT-05 should receive more than $185 million in baseline relief aid. Drilling will be concentrated on four targets near the Posse Gold project on the property, which hosts proven and probable reserve of 902,000 ounces Amarillo is advancing two gold projects located near infrastructure in mining-friendly states in Brazil Amarillo Gold Corporation ( ) ( ), the Brazil-focused gold company, said it plans to drill up to 8,500 metres at its Mara Rosa property in the State of Goias. Drilling will be concentrated on four targets near the Posse Gold project on the property, which hosts proven and probable reserve of 902,000 ounces, according to a 2020 feasibility study. Toronto-based Amarillo said that it decided on the drill plan after its 2020 exploration program defined gold mineralization up to 1.5 kilometres in strike length around 3.5 kilometres northeast of Posse Gold. Amarillos work in 2020 generated numerous high-quality drill targets within an 8-kilometre radius of Posse, several of which will be drilled for the first time this year, Mike Mutchler, Amarillos CEO said in a statement. According to Mutchler, the company will focus on defining new zones of mineralization, initially emphasizing the Pastinho target. Last year, gold soil surveys, surface trenchwork, auger drilling, and limited diamond core drilling at Pastinho defined gold mineralization up to 1.5 kilometres in strike length. A recently completed induced polarization survey has defined chargeability anomalies that have aided in drill target selection. Other targets include Estrela, Speti, and Filo and Sorongo. Diamond drilling will comprise 6,500 metres of the 8,500 total, with the remainder being reverse circulation drilling. Mutchler also addressed the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in Brazil, saying that Amarillos thoughts and prayers are with the people of Brazil. Mining and exploration remain a crucial function for the Brazilian economy and we are working closely with officials in Mara Rosa city to ensure that our employees, contractors, and neighbours are kept safe by following proper COVID protocols coupled with a rigorous testing program. Amarillo is advancing two gold projects located near infrastructure in mining-friendly states in Brazil. In addition to Posse Gold, Amarillo is also exploring the early-stage Lavras do Sul project in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas People who trust television and Facebook to provide them with accurate news about the coronavirus pandemic are less knowledgeable about COVID-19, according to a new study, which assessed people's knowledge of the virus in the earliest stages of the pandemic. The study, published today in the peer-reviewed journal Current Medical Research & Opinion, surveyed 5,948 adults in Pennsylvania between March 25-31, 2020, and found that those who rely on social media and tv for news are less likely to get the facts right about the coronavirus. In fact, adults that used Facebook as an additional source of news in any way were less likely to answer COVID-19 questions correctly than those who did not. "The rise of social media has changed the way people around the world keep up with current events, with studies showing that up to 66% of Americans rely on social media for news," says Dr Robert P. Lennon, associate professor of family and community medicine at Penn State College of Medicine, one of the authors of the paper. "This is worrying, as misinformation and misunderstanding about COVID-19 and how it spreads is likely to have fuelled the pandemic, whose death toll now surpasses 2.5 million worldwide." In early March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak had become alarming enough that Lennon and other Penn State University researchers rapidly developed a survey to explore public knowledge, perceptions, and preferred information sources regarding COVID-19. Within hours of been told that they had been awarded funding, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and two days later the President declared a National Emergency. The survey was rapidly disseminated to 5,948 adults in Pennsylvania, offering insight into the public use of information in the midst of a national emergency. The respondents answered questions about where they got their news about coronavirus from, and which news sources they trusted most. They were then given 15 statements about COVID-19 and asked if they thought the statements were true or false, and how confident they were in their answer. The questions covered knowledge across several domains - transmission, severity, treatment - and asked questions felt to be of easy, moderate and hard difficulty in each. As media coverage on COVID-19 escalated, developing knowledge questions became increasingly difficult - a nearly impossible question on Monday was by Thursday so easy it couldn't be used. The results showed that the most trusted news sources were government websites (42.8%), followed by television (27.2%), and health system communications (9.3%). There was a clear relationship between where people got their news from, and their knowledge of coronavirus. For example, participants who said that their most trusted source of information was government health websites were more likely to correctly answer COVID- 19 questions than other groups, while individuals whose most trusted source was television news were less likely to correctly answer COVID-19 questions than other groups. Respondents who selected "Facebook" as either their single most trusted source or as an additional information source were less likely to answer knowledge questions correctly. The findings highlight the importance of considering where people get their news from when it comes to designing public health interventions. Guidance such as 'stay at home', 'wash your hands', 'wear a mask' and 'socially distance' are only effective if understood. "Effective communication is a critical element of successfully managing a pandemic response, as for the disease spread to be contained, the public must comply with public health recommendations," says Lennon. "The first step in compliance is an understanding of those recommendations, so it is vital that health communicators consider how the public get their information and monitor these venues to correct misinformation when it appears." ### TORONTO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This week, the Italian-Canadian community across the GTA celebrates the 50th year of their beloved cultural hub Villa Charities Inc. (VCI). Since 1971, VCI has been instrumental in connecting lives through intergenerational experiences and services that honour and celebrate all things Italian. The organization began as the Italian Canadian Benevolent Corporation (ICBC) with a mission to raise funds for and develop, administer and coordinate projects in the health, social, cultural and educational fields, which would establish the concept of community for Italian-Canadians and their families. After fifty years, Villa Charities continues to provide cultural and educational programs for all ages while supporting culturally sensitive long-term care and independent living apartments for seniors across the GTA. In so doing, Villa Charities recognizes the significance of and honours the many Italian immigrants who helped build the city of Toronto and surrounding metropolitan areas. As we reflect over the past 50 years, we acknowledge the remarkable vision and passion of our Founders, and remain extremely thankful for the legacy that they created, which offers us unlimited opportunities to serve our community, said Santo Veltri, Board Chair, Villa Charities Inc. While Villa Charities began from the desire to provide residential care for the elderly Italians in our community, the organization has since transformed and grown, adapting to the needs of the changing community around us, while still remaining true to the core values instilled by the Founders. On April 15, 2021, VCI invites the city to join us in the celebration as we commemorate this milestone achievement through virtual initiatives and programming that honour the past, celebrate the present, and look towards future growth and opportunities. The last 12 months have brought many challenges in our lives. While programming and celebrations will be largely virtual, we are committed to engaging our GTA community through festivities that commemorate 50 years of Villa Charities, said Dr. Gina Valle, Chair of the 50th Anniversary Committee. Our strong and vibrant Italian and Italian-Canadian communities are proud to celebrate the achievements of the organization they helped build so many years ago. It is heartwarming to see the strides that VCI has made. We hope everyone will join us in the celebration. Following virtual anniversary celebrations, Villa Charities plans to continue supporting the Italian-Canadian community as it evolves, through its mission and vision: MISSION Enriching lives through experiences and services that honour Italian culture and heritage. VISION Inspiring people to explore the Italian in all of us. Villa Charities is marking this memorable occasion through a number of initiatives: Logo and Brand Campaign | A commemorative 50 th anniversary logo and creative ad campaign kicked off the anniversary year in January and will run to the end of the year, to promote and celebrate this milestone. A commemorative 50 anniversary logo and creative ad campaign kicked off the anniversary year in January and will run to the end of the year, to promote and celebrate this milestone. Commemorative Videos | TLN Media Group has produced a series of commemorative interstitials featuring interviews with members of the Villa Charities family, including Founders, Board members and stakeholders. These videos will be shared through Villa Charities platforms and will air on TLN and Mediaset Italia TV channels throughout April to tell the Villa Charities story. CN Tower Themed Night Lighting | On April 15, 2021, the CN Tower will be lit in the Italian flag colours (green, white and red) in celebration of Villa Charities 50 th anniversary, signifying the organizations importance as a pillar for the GTAs Italian-Canadian community. The themed lighting for Villa Charities will occur on the half hour of each hour, following a standard eight-minute light show, from sunset to midnight. A photo sharing contest will run on VCIs social media, for a chance to win a $100 Eataly gift card. The lighting can also be viewed on the CN Towers EarthCam feed. On April 15, 2021, the CN Tower will be lit in the Italian flag colours (green, white and red) in celebration of Villa Charities 50 anniversary, signifying the organizations importance as a pillar for the GTAs Italian-Canadian community. The themed lighting for Villa Charities will occur on the half hour of each hour, following a standard eight-minute light show, from sunset to midnight. A photo sharing contest will run on VCIs social media, for a chance to win a $100 Eataly gift card. The lighting can also be viewed on the CN Towers EarthCam feed. TORONTO Sign Commemorative Lighting | The TORONTO sign at Nathan Phillips Square will be lit in the Italian flag colours on April 15, 2021. A social media contest allows users to post a photo of the sign on that day for a chance to win a $100 Eataly gift card. Current COVID-19 protocols should be followed for anyone who wishes to participate. The TORONTO sign at Nathan Phillips Square will be lit in the Italian flag colours on April 15, 2021. A social media contest allows users to post a photo of the sign on that day for a chance to win a $100 Eataly gift card. Current COVID-19 protocols should be followed for anyone who wishes to participate. Celebratory Message Campaign | As part of the anniversary celebrations, key community leaders, luminaries and renowned Italian personalities were invited to record a brief congratulatory message acknowledging the organizations milestone. The videos are being shared on social media and will be included in a compilation video. As part of the anniversary celebrations, key community leaders, luminaries and renowned Italian personalities were invited to record a brief congratulatory message acknowledging the organizations milestone. The videos are being shared on social media and will be included in a compilation video. Social Media Campaigns | Social media channels will offer fun and interactive content including throwback campaigns, Top 50 playlists, monthly giveaways and more. Social media channels will offer fun and interactive content including throwback campaigns, Top 50 playlists, monthly giveaways and more. Redesigned Website | A redesigned website for Villa Charities will provide an enhanced user experience and deliver experiential resources for patrons interested in cultural programs and experiences. In addition, cultural programming will be curated across various mediums and will encourage safe and responsible participation during this time of COVID. Further details will be announced at a later date. As it embarks on its journey to its Centennial, the Villa Charities campus will continue to serve as a destination not only for the multigenerational Italian-Canadian community, but also for the vibrant, broader multicultural community seeking to explore and experience Italian culture and heritage. At the same time, VCI will continue to expand its partnerships and affiliations with Italian and non-Italian organizations that are aligned with their mission, vision and values. Our story represents half a century of Italian-Canadian generations coming together to honour culture and celebrate heritage, concludes Marco DeVuono, Acting President and CEO, Villa Charities Inc. We are confident that with the continued involvement and support of our community, Villa Charities will thrive for another 50 years. It is our enduring wish that we will inspire many generations to explore the Italian in all of us. Villa Charities invites the community to join the 50th anniversary celebrations by sharing how the organization has impacted their lives using #VCI50. Supporters are encouraged to follow Villa Charities on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Instagram: @Villa_Charities / Twitter: @Villa_Charities / Facebook: @VillaCharities LinkedIn: @VillaCharitiesInc. For additional images and captions, click here. About Villa Charities Inc. Villa Charities Inc. (VCI) is proudly celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1971. A registered charity, Villa Charities enriches lives through experiences and services that honour Italian culture and heritage. For 50 years across the GTA, the organization has provided cultural and educational programs and supported culturally sensitive long-term care and independent living apartments for seniors. VCI fulfills their mandate through a broad range of activities, services and facilities, both directly and in conjunction with its affiliates and independent organizations. Affiliates include Columbus Centre and Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery; Villa Charities Foundation; Villa Colombo Homes for the Aged Inc. in Toronto; Villa Colombo Seniors Centre (Vaughan) Inc. Di Poce Centre; and Italian Canadian Benevolent Seniors Apartments Corporation/Casa Abruzzo Benevolent Corporation with apartments for independent seniors (Caboto Terrace, Casa Del Zotto and Casa Abruzzo). Each of these organizations is an integral part of the Villa Charities family with separate legal status and its own governance Board. For more information visit villacharities.com. For further information, please contact: Jessica Patriquin MAVERICK 416-640-5525 Ext. 230 jessicap@wearemaverick.com Kathleen Sloan, CM Director, Marketing and Communications Villa Charities Inc. 416-789-7011 Ext. 309 ksloan@villacharities.com Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/173a59e4-f16e-41a1-bf70-dc5095f4f274 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/981c857b-3684-43d9-97ed-6ad6bf79a917 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1b65789b-f952-46eb-ab6f-223ee92c4f88 Reacting to the allegation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that Central forces were working on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's instructions during the state Assembly polls, the Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force Kuldiep Singh on Monday clarified that all the were working as per Election Commission's directions. Speaking to the media, Kuldiep Singh said, "I'll not comment on what is being said by political parties. I can guarantee that all and people of their state, who are under EC's responsibility, are working as per EC's directions." After four people were killed in Sitalkuchi during the fourth phase of the Assembly elections on April 10, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had blamed Union Home Minister Amit Shah, calling him the main 'conspirator'. Speaking at a press conference in Siliguri, Banerjee had said: "When BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) knows they are going to lose, and they will lose, that is why it's assimilating all state governments to spread violence in Bengal." "Home Minister Amit Shah is completely responsible for today's incident and he himself is the conspirator. I don't blame central forces as they were working under the Home Minister's order," she had alleged. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday while addressing a rally in West Bengal's Bardhaman district ahead of the fifth phase of polls, asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not to disrespect the Central forces guarding people at polling booths by levelling baseless allegations. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 14:39:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, April 12 (Xinhua) -- At least 65 people were killed in direct clashes and terrorist attacks in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, an independent war monitoring group said on Monday. "Over the past 24 hours, our team has documented 65 deaths, including six civilians, 12 Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) members, and 47 Taliban militants," the Reduction in Violence (RiV) said on its Twitter account. The group said 35 people, including 18 Taliban militants, 12 security forces and five civilians, were also injured during the cited period. The deaths and injuries took place following 12 security incidents in six provinces of the conflict-torn's 34 provinces. Enditem What constitutes a good business? The answer to this question is going to drive the fundamentals of businesses in the future. A survey by Mahindra Group uncovered perceptions and understandings of the term 'good business', especially from the perspective of consumers, investors, and employees, particularly during these paradigms shifting COVID times. The 'Mahindra Good Business Study' revealing people's changing definition of what a 'good business' means, involved over 2,000 respondents across 10 Tier- 1 and Tier-2 cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, aiming to fathom how their understanding of a 'good business' shapes their expectations and decision-making as potential consumers, investors, and employees. "Our study provides unique insights into 'Good Business' across cities. While some cities emphasise development and growth, others are focused on sustainability and the environment. We at Mahindra believe that these varied interpretations of 'Good Business' are harmonious with each other. The spirit underlying 'Good Business' is to ensure that every stakeholder, irrespective of age, gender or region, benefits," said Ruzbeh Irani, President, Group Human Resources. Also Read: 4x growth in all companies! This venture fund doesn't chase unicorns Study findings Mumbai respondents (63%), according to the study's findings, surpassed those from Delhi (29%) as they associated the term 'good business' with traditional business metrics such as 'profitability,' 'growth' and 'market leadership'. Meanwhile, 51% of the Delhi respondents believe that 'good business' begins and ends with financial metrics; this number increased in Mumbai, with (96%) of the respondents believing the same. A majority of the Mumbai (86%) and Delhi respondents (60%) also agreed that good business is about contributing to the community. From an employment perspective, nearly a quarter of Mumbai's respondents chose factors such as 'reduction in emissions,' 'environmental impact,' 'community,' and 'CSR' contributions as the top criterion of 'good business'. Also, nearly half of the respondents in Delhi (48%) considered 'profitability,' 'growth' and financial performance' the top criterion for 'good business.' A quarter of the respondents from Mumbai (25%) consider 'contribution to the community' metrics like climate change agenda, good community, and CSR contributions as the top criterion for a 'good business'. Additionally, 64% of the Delhi respondents would also reject a job offer if they did not consider the business to be a 'good' one. A quarter of the respondents from Delhi (25%) consider 'contribution to the community' metrics like climate change agenda, good community, and CSR contributions as the top criterion for a 'good business'. Meanwhile, 30% of respondents from Mumbai give more importance to a good HR policy, equal opportunity and diversity at workplace. Also Read: India will come out of Covid-19 crisis with flying colours: Deloitte CEO From an investment perspective, some differences emerged on the idea of investing in a 'good business.' While financial returns remained essential for Delhi, it was no longer enough for Mumbai respondents. 83% of respondents from Delhi considered traditional business criteria (such as products, service, and profits) when looking to invest in a 'good business' compared to 59% of respondents from Mumbai. Meanwhile, 67% of respondents claimed they would never invest their own money in a company that they did not believe was a genuinely 'good business.' 41% of Mumbai respondents considered unconventional criteria (such as climate change and ethics) when looking to invest in a 'good business', whereas 68% claimed they would never invest their own money in a company that they did not believe was a genuinely 'good business.' Furthermore, 34% of respondents from the city believed that the top barrier preventing a business from becoming truly 'good' is a lack of government involvement or support. Also Read: Covid returns: Will stock market crash again in 2021? From a consumer's perspective, the study revealed that all the cities were increasingly demonstrating that their idea of a 'good business' meant that the product and price alone might no longer be sufficient to secure a sale. More than three-fourth respondents from Mumbai (76%) considered it 'fundamental' for a company to be 'good' in their opinion before purchasing a product or service compared to 37% from Delhi. 18% of respondents from Mumbai considered brand contributions to society before making a purchase as compared to 11% from Delhi. 25% of respondents in Delhi said they consider a brand's reputation before making a purchase ahead of market leadership. More than a quarter (38%) of respondents from the national capital principally considered 'competitive pricing' and 'market leadership' before purchasing a product. Meanwhile, 24% of respondents from Mumbai consider the quality of a product (features, functionality, and environmental impact) before making a purchase. Nearly double (32%) of respondents from the city principally consider 'competitive pricing' and 'market leadership' before purchasing a product. Badaun : , April 12 (IANS) A 28-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping and then killing a five-year-old girl in a village here. Badaun senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sankalp Sharma told reporters, "The accused was heavily drunk when we arrested him. The circumstantial evidence suggests that he has committed the crime. He is, however, not in a position to answer our questions." The accused has been booked under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and appropriate sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The incident took place on Sunday evening when the girl's parents were harvesting wheat and the girl was playing nearby. The accused abducted the girl and raped her and then killed her. When the parents started looking for the girl, they found her body in the field. A heavy police force has been deployed in the village to prevent any untoward incident. When Bradley Freeman Jr.s mom saw a photo of Wesley Walker, the Muppet that hes been bringing to life for Sesame Street, she said, That looks like you. I was like, thats kind of the point, said Freeman, 22, who grew up bouncing between San Antonio and Brownsville. Thats exactly who Wes is intended to be. If I had seen Wesley as a kid, I would have been his biggest fan. Wesley is one of two Black Muppets introduced in March on the online platforms run by the Sesame Workshop, which produces the venerated childrens program. The characters 5-year-old Wes and his dad Elijah are newcomers to Sesame Street. They are front-and-center in a series of videos designed to help parents and other caregivers discuss race with little ones. In one, the Walkers run into Elmo during a walk in the park and get into a conversation with the inquisitive red Muppet about skin (and fur) color. In another, Wes sings I Am Somebody (Giant) with Elmo, Rosita and Abby Cadabby. The videos can be found on the Sesame Street in Communities channel on YouTube and on the website sesamestreetincommunities.org. They also can be found on the shows social media platforms. They are part of The ABCs of Racial Literacy, a new initiative for the show. In addition to the videos featuring Elijah and Wes, there are bilingual tip sheets and directions for activities, as well as the Standing up to Racism town hall produced by CNN and the Sesame Workshop last summer. There also are videos in which families from a variety of backgrounds share their own experiences. Billy Calzada /Staff Photographer On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio artists send custom Gratitude Grams to thank healthcare workers The focus on racial literacy was prompted by events over the past year, including the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, said Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of U.S. social impact at Sesame Workshop. We felt, at the very beginning, how do we start to introduce the discussion of race, the physicality of race, Betancourt said. This is a wonderful way to do it. Children are very curious, and they ask all kinds of questions, like the way that Elmo asks why Wes and Elijahs skin is brown, and he is given the explanation that melanin creates our different skin colors. At the same time, Elijah and Wes highlight that regardless of skin color, we all belong to the human race. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, she said. Sesame Workshop is hearing from adults thanking them for the tools to have much-needed discussions as well as for creating characters who look like them. On Instagram, a Black man posted a photo of himself beside an image of the mustachioed dad Elijah, writing that he had never expected to see a Muppet that looked like him on the show, much less one who looked the way that he had as a child. Seeing posts like that is a reminder to Freeman of how much his character means to people. He also is conscious of the importance of the anti-racism mission at the core of the videos in which he has appeared. He has to be careful, though, not to dwell too much on that. The weight of it is something I cant think about too often because if I do that, Im going to feel way too much pressure, he said. I have to trust the character and the performers around me and whatever notes they give me so that I do justice to Wes and do justice to Sesame Street as an institution. Happily, Freeman really likes Wes. Hes everything I wanted to be as a kid really outgoing, good when it comes to communicating. Hes always finding ways to help his friends, he said. Hes the greatest kid a person could ask for. And Im lucky enough to get to portray him. A lifelong fan of the Muppets, Freeman decided he wanted to become a puppeteer after watching a behind-the-scenes feature on a DVD of Kermits Swamp Years when he was about 9. He set up a makeshift studio in his bedroom with a camera and a TV so he could watch himself working with puppets. He also carefully watched every bit of Muppet material he could find, including The Muppet Show, Bear in the Big Blue House and Elmopalooza. On ExpressNews.com: NPR host Sam Sanders says making Its Been a Minute in SA made it better I had this realization this morning that now Im creating content for other peoples childhoods with the people who created content for mine, said Freeman, who remembers having at least one Elmo-themed birthday party as a child. Its surreal. Now I work with Elmo. His first step down this path came a few years ago, when he took a workshop with Sesame Street puppeteers, including Martin P. Robinson, who brings to life such characters as Telly and Snuffleupagus. They kept in touch, and last year, Freeman asked if he could send Robinson a demo reel in hopes of getting some feedback. Billy Calzada /Staff Photographer Robinson said yes, and after taking a look, he told Freeman he should expect to hear from the shows producers. I wasnt fishing for work, Freeman said. I was legitimately asking him how I could improve. Almost before he knew it, he was auditioning for the show, moving through a process that included being sent a Muppet from Jim Hensons Creature Shop, the company founded by the legendary creator of the Muppets, so he could use it to show off his skills via Zoom. I kept thinking, when I dont get this, this is going to be a fantastic story to tell, he said. Auditioning alone was enough for now, he thought, right up until he was Christmas shopping and got an email from the producers letting him know that the part of Wes was his if he wanted it. I read it seven or eight different times to make sure that, one, they were emailing the right person, and that, two, they were offering this part, he said. I started hyperventilating in the middle of Target. Freeman still lives in San Antonio. He flies to New York to film his scenes and to live a dream hes had all his life in one of the most famous fictional neighborhoods in the world. Not that most folks know that, thanks to the nature of his particular kind of fame. Everyone who works at Sesame Street has sort of like a Clark Kent deal we have the glasses on and nobody knows who we are, but the moment we put on the puppet, its like putting on that cape, he said. You become one of the most famous characters in the world, but nobody knows who you are. Its really cool. dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN Kelly Osbourne was blessed with a life of privilege and chose to give back to the less fortunate on Sunday while working at a food drive in Los Angeles. The 36-year-old TV personality was seen volunteering at the Islamic Center for Southern California at an event hosted by the LA County Sheriff's Department. Joined by some friends and Chief Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Kelly was seen handing out face masks, water, and food, as she made herself of service to those in need. At your service: Kelly Osbourne, 36, proves to have a heart of gold as she volunteers at a food drive put on by the LA County Sheriff's Department The former Fashion Police host followed event protocol as she wore a face mask and a bright orange utility vest while giving out provisions. She looked ready to get her hands dirty as she slipped on a pair of patchworked overalls over a white T-shirt, with simple black Converse The daughter of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne tied her lilac tresses back in a top knot and sported her usual cat eye glasses, while handing out necessities to both people and a line of cars. Kelly took to her stories to advertise the drive as she wished her followers a happy Sunday. 'To anybody who is in LA and your family is in need of food or supplies, come down to the Islamic Center and we are here waiting to give you whatever it is you need.' Giving back: The TV host was there to give back to those in need knowing times have been increasingly tough on families amid the COVID-19 pandemic Lending a hand: Though the event was hosted at the Islamic Center of Southern California, the event was open to all patrons in need regardless of faith Though the event was hosted at the Islamic Center of Southern California, the event was open to all patrons in need regardless of faith. She later spoke at the event as she resposted a brief speech to her Instagram stories. 'I just want to say that being a part of something like this is so fulfilling to me, and I thank every single one of you for taking the time to come and give back to the community,' she said. Kelly recently lost over 90-pounds with help from a gastric sleeve procedure and eating clean, saying she had to get her 'head right' before even embarking on the surgery. She had previously revealed she had issues with food on account of being an 'emotional eater,' and had to reprogram that relationship with help from therapy. Community initiative: 'To anybody who is in LA and your family is in need of food or supplies, come down to the Islamic Center and we are here waiting to give you whatever it is you need,' she told her Instagram followers Event: LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva was seen at the event as he spoke briefly about the day Her newest business venture comes in the form of a podcast with entrepreneur Jeff Beacher who hosted the live theatre series Beacher's Madhouse and it will debut on May 4 under the name: The Kelly Osbourne and Jeff Beacher Show. Beacher's Madhouse was a notorious celeb-favorite immersive experience with wild characters like oompa loompas and other trippy funhouse elements. The night club enjoyed residences at the Hollywood Roosevelt, The Hard Rock Hotel and MGM in Las Vegas, and Kelly and Beacher intend to talk about some notorious nights on their podcast. Speaking to Page Six about the venture Osbourne revealed the podcast will also touch on both hosts' weight loss (Beacher lost over 240 pounds) as well as her journey to sobriety. Podcast: Her newest business venture comes in the form of a podcast with entrepreneur Jeff Beacher who hosted the live theatre series Beacher's Madhouse Motley crew: Beacher's Madhouse was a celeb-favorite immersive theatre style nightclub at The Hollywood Roosevelt and a few Vegas locations 'We are not perfect. And there's only one way to make things right, and that is to learn, to educate and to learn from your mistakes from the past, share what you have learned with others. And that's something that's so important,' she told the column. Kelly also teased that the show will have guests including her family, though it is unclear if mom Sharon will touch on the racial-fueled drama which caused her to exit her long standing talk show The Talk. Sharon incurred flack from co-hosts and national viewers when she appeared to defend Piers Morgan over racially-tinged comments he made about Meghan Markle while on air. Afterwards CBS launched an internal investigation and the show went on an emergency hiatus, at which point other comments she was reported to have made over the years that were racist in nature emerged. Her exit was announced in late March and is set to return with live programming for the first time in weeks on April 12. TURIN, APR 12 - An 83-year-old pensioner who killed his 79-year-old wife and mentally handicapped 51-tyear-old son as well as two neighbours who owned their flat near Turin Saturday night is in serious but stable condition in hospital after shooting himelf in the face, hospital sources said in Turin Monday. The bullet did not hit vital organs, sources at the Giovanni Bosco Hospital said. The man, Renzo Tarabella, killed his wife Maria Grazia Valovatto and their son Wilson with his gun before murdering neighbours Osvaldo Dighera, 74, and his wife Liliana Heidempergher, 70. The neighbours owned his flat on the fifth floor of a condominium in Corso Italia at Rivarolo Canavese near Turin. Tarabella had what doctors called a "delicate" three-hour operation on his head wounds on Sunday. He is now intubated and doctors have not said how long it will take him to recover. (ANSA). The Governors Official Program is comprised of a wide range of constitutional and legal duties and ceremonial and community engagements. Each year, the Governor hosts thousands of visitors to Government House to take part in investiture and award ceremonies, Open Days, receptions and meetings, and travels widely throughout Queensland to support the activities of Patron groups. View a chronological record of the Governors daily program below. On Friday, in the morning, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC was interviewed, via telephone, by Resonate Broadcasting journalist, Ms Shirley Way. In the afternoon, His Excellency departed Government House for official travel to Kingaroy and Nanango. Following, at South Burnett Regional Chambers, Kingaroy, His Excellency received a briefing from South Burnett Regional Council representatives. Following, at Kingaroy Town Hall, Kingaroy, His Excellency hosted an afternoon reception in support of the Kingaroy Community, and addressed guests. MP of the European Solidarity faction Petro Poroshenko believes that if Ukrainian authorities do not take advantage of the favorable moment to obtain the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP), then this must be done on the people's initiative. "If the government is hesitant to act in this direction, then we need to deploy a people's initiative and the people of Ukraine will force the Ukrainian government. By demonstrating determination to all NATO member states, we can achieve the desired result," Poroshenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday. According to him, now is a favorable moment for Ukraine to obtain the MAP and this moment should be used. "And at the very first NATO summit - and it will definitely take place this year, it is possible that in Brussels, in June this year - we need to raise the question, and today is a very favorable moment for this, for the country to be presented with an Action Plan for NATO membership," Poroshenko said. SHENZHEN, China, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nam Tai Property Inc. ("Nam Tai" or the "Company") (NYSE Symbol: NTP) today issued the following statement in response to the reports issued by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS") and Glass Lewis regarding the election of directors to Nam Tai's Board of Directors at the Company's upcoming Special Meeting on April 26, 2021. ISS, Glass Lewis Both Determine a Change in Board Control is Not Warranted We are pleased that ISS and Glass Lewis recognize the risks associated with IsZo gaining control of the Board. ISS notes that the dissident's plan lacks sufficient detail to support its critiques of the Company's performance. Additionally, the dissident's case regarding concerns over share price undervaluation is lacking. ISS specifically stated, "The dissident has not provided sufficient evidence to support its claim that the company's stock underperformed under the control of Kaisa and that the company's capital allocation strategy was inadequate. Nor has the dissident made a thorough critique of the company's operating performance." Glass Lewis raised similar concerns in their report, "In addition, we believe the board's critique of the full IsZo slate as lacking sufficient industry and local market experience to effectively oversee NTP is valid, as are the board's criticisms of the dissident's plan as being generally vague or reliant upon existing management's experience and plan." ISS: Dissident's $40 Price Estimate has Insufficient Disclosure of Methodology With regard to IsZo's unsubstantiated claim of an estimated value of $40, ISS stated: "An estimate of USD 40 per share was mentioned several times without sufficient disclosure regarding the estimation methodology." The Company's recently completed third-party valuations of its properties by Savills Real Estate Valuation (Guangzhou) Limited ("Savills") and Jones Lang LaSalle ("JLL") resulted in an asset value of approximately RMB 5.7 billion ($880 million), which equates to a net asset value of approximately $18 per share, including balance sheet adjustments. ISS acknowledged that the approximate 30% discount that Nam Tai trades to its Net Asset Value (NAV) is "not unheard of in this sector." IsZo has targeted Nam Tai based on an unrealistic and unsupported projection for the value of Nam Tai's share price, which is in stark contrast with independent expert opinions. It is clear there is no magic replacement for local experience and relationships. The current Nam Tai Board and management team have delivered on their promises to restore Nam Tai to profitability, and we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by unrealistic projections to get us off track now. Increased Liquidity Risk with Nomination of Dissident Directors We strongly disagree with ISS's recommendation for three dissident nominees. ISS' basis appears to be largely rooted in the adverse judgment issued by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the High Court of Justice in the British Virgin Islands ("Court") ruling. We believe ISS misunderstands the recent judgement of the Court and fails to take in account Nam Tai's position, as set out in its application to appeal that the judgement contained a number of significant errors, such as the failure to account for important evidence, in particular the existence of the liquidity crisis facing Nam Tai. Nam Tai was notified by its lending banks that the Company's operations and management control were subject to substantial uncertainties triggered by actions that had been recently taken by IsZo. The purpose of the private placement was to raise capital to meet funding requirements due to the accelerated repayment demands made by its banks. Although the ISS and Glass Lewis reports reference the bank demand letters and ensuing liquidity crisis in the chronology of events, the reports are silent on what alternative course of action Nam Tai's management had other than issuing a private placement to raise capital to meet the repayment demands. The reports make no mention how the appointment of dissident directors will help relieve the liquidity crisis. The highest priority for Nam Tai management and the Board is to resolve outstanding liquidity matters and resume normal operations. The existing management is highly confident in its ability to re-establish its banking relationships after the Company's board nominees are re-elected. The recommendation for two dissident nominees by Glass Lewis in its report is also strongly disagreed by the Company for similar reasons. Strategic Relationship with Kaisa Recognized by ISS and Glass Lewis "In fairness, it should be noted that NTP only started to transform from an electronics manufacturer into a real estate developer in 2014 and that Kaisa's investment in NTP resulted from the former chairman's search for an exit for himself and a strategic partner for NTP," ISS noted. "We also believe that a portion of the current directors' institutional knowledge and relationships, particularly with the Company's financial institutions and local partners, remains vital to the future operation and success of the Company," Glass Lewis stated. Further, IsZo's slate puts at risk the Company's strategic partnership with Kaisa, a top 24 national developer and a top 3 developer in Shenzhen with more than 20 years of local real estate experience. Leveraging its significant expertise in the local market, Kaisa brings to the Company a number of significant and strategic advantages, including local real estate expertise, expedited industrial development projects, and enhanced access to bank financings, suppliers, and local authorities. Kaisa's partnership and investment in the Company has greatly increased market confidence in Nam Tai, including from customers and suppliers which are critical to the continued success of the Company. Maintaining the Kaisa relationship is undeniably the key to resolving the liquidity crisis. In addition, there is also no evidence of IsZo's capability to put forward a management team with expertise in the PRC real estate sector. As acknowledged by ISS, IsZo's plan lacks details, citing specifically that "no alternative management team has been identified." Nam Tai's Directors Would Restore Access to Financing and Unlock Growth With regard to recommending against Dr. Wing Yan (William) Lo, Professor Si Zong Wu, and Professor Aiping Lyu, and the latter two of them by ISS and Glass Lewis, respectively, we believe that the two proxy advisory firms have reached the wrong conclusion. The imminent threat to shareholder value is the potential for a forced liquidation of Nam Tai's assets to meet the banks' accelerated repayment demands. We are highly confident that our board directors are the right individuals to continue working with the management team to restore access to financing and unlock the significant growth potential in the path ahead. The Company looks forward to continuing in its mission to become a leading technology park developer and operator committed to long-term and sustainable growth. Dr. Wing Yan (William) Lo Dr. Lo brings over 34 years of technology and consumer experience to our Board, as well as extensive real estate Board experience. He has served as a director of Jing Rui Holdings since 2013 and at CSI Properties since 2014. In addition, Dr. Lo has extensive knowledge of the Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets, and his background in TMT is critical to Nam Tai in our mission to become a leading technology park developer. Professor Si Zong Wu Professor Wu is a professor of economics, business management and marketing at Tongji University Professor with over 40 years of experience as a teacher and researcher. He has also served as the Secretary of the Party Committee. His understanding of macroeconomics, insight into business cycles and knowledge of the regulations, has proved invaluable to management. He currently serves as a director and general managers for Guanzong Investment Management Co., independent director of Shanghai Shimao Co., Top Spring International Holdings, Anhui Higasket Plastics Co. and director of Chitina Holding Ltd. Professor Aiping Lyu Professor Lyu brings over 22 years of experience in research and pharmaceuticals in Mainland China and Hong Kong. He also currently serves as a member of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission of the People's Republic of China. Professor Lyu has served as an independent non-executive director of Kaisa Health Group Holdings Limited (SEHK: 876) since March 2018 and has been the Chair Professor and Dean of School of Chinese Medicine of Hong Kong Baptist University since February 2012. His extensive experience in academia provides fresh insights and ideas to our leadership, as well as critical relationships throughout our markets of operation which is home to several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. We remind our shareholders that their vote is extremely important, no matter how many or how few shares they own. Nam Tai urges shareholders to vote AGAINST Resolutions 1 through 12 on the WHITE Proxy Card so that our independent, highly qualified and experienced board directors may continue their work with our management team in driving growth and creating long-term value for shareholders. If you have any questions or require any assistance with voting your shares, please contact our proxy solicitor at the number listed below: Innisfree M&A Incorporated Shareholders may call toll free: (877) 825-8777Banks and Brokers may call: (212) 750-5833 Forward-looking Statement and Factors that Could Cause our Share Price to Decline Certain statements included in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "might", "can", "could", "will", "would", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "intend", "plan", "seek", or "timetable". These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business and the industry in which we operate. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations about future events. There are several factors, many beyond our control, which could cause results to differ materially from our expectation. These risk factors are described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F and in our Current Reports filed on Form 6-K from time to time and are incorporated herein by reference. Any of these factors could, by itself, or together with one or more other factors, adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. There may also be other factors currently unknown to us, or have not been described by us, that could cause our results to differ from our expectations. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements apply only as of the date of this announcement; as such, they should not be unduly relied upon as circumstances change. Except as required by law, we are not obligated, and we undertake no obligation, to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that might reflect events or circumstance occurring after the date of this press release or those that might reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. ABOUT NAM TAI PROPERTY INC. We are a real estate developer and operator, mainly conducting business in Mainland China. Our main land resources are located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area") and Wuxi, China, of which the three plots in Shenzhen will be developed into Nam Tai Inno Park, Nam Tai Technology Center and Nam Tai Inno Valley. We plan to build these technology parks into landmark parks in the region and provide high-quality industrial offices, industrial service spaces and supporting dormitories to the tenants. Based on the experience of developing and operating technology parks and an industrial relationship network accumulated over the past 40 years, we have also exported the operation model of technology parks to other industrial properties. Through an asset-light model, we have leased industrial properties for repositioning and business invitation. We will also expand the commercial and residential property business in China as an auxiliary development strategy of the Company. As the growth prospects of China maintain, we shall seize development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area and other first- and second-tier cities in China, and continue to strengthen and expand the business of industrial real estate, and commercial and residential properties. Nam Tai Property Inc. is a corporation registered in the British Virgin Islands and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: "NTP"). Please refer to our corporate website (https://www.namtai.com/) or the SEC website (www.sec.gov) for our press releases and financial statements. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nam-tai-property-comments-on-iss-and-glass-lewis-reports-301266795.html SOURCE Nam Tai Property Inc. The Bui Power Authority (BPA) has switched 22.25 megawatts (MW) of solar power onto the national grid. Engineers at the BPA, after getting the green light from the power transmitter, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), successfully turned on the switches at exactly 1.45 p.m. last Friday for its 127 inverters, which store power harvested from the sun through solar photovoltaic panels, to feed the national grid. So far, the only renewable power on the national grid is from hydro (water). This is the first time we are harnessing power from the sun and putting it onto the energy grid to be used everywhere, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BPA) Mr Fred Oware, told the Daily Graphic. The switch was done under GRIDCos guidance, which examined the facilities and gave the green light for the switching to be done. The generator and the power transmitter would use the first phase to study the output and make adjustments before the rest of the 50MW would be added to the national grid, Mr Oware explained. The BPA, with its generation assets in the middle belt, last month completed the construction of a 50MW solar system, Ghanas largest solar farm and first phase of a 250MW project expected to be completed by the end of next year. The solar project is being constructed in phases of 50MW. Strategic Although the use of solar energy in the country picked up some time in the 2000s when the German government supported the Energy Commission to promote the household use of solar power installed on rooftops, this is the first time solar is entering the grid for national use, a feat which is also the first in West Africa and about the third in Africa. The achievement by the BPA is also significant in many ways. First, between February and July, water levels in the countrys hydroelectric reservoirs Akosombo, Kpong and Bui are generally low, but there is plenty of sunshine. When water levels go down in the midst of plenty sunshine, it makes a lot of sense to harvest the sun. So this very significant step will compensate for less energy from hydro sources and help stabilise the national grid, Mr Oware pointed out. Again, apart from the BPA, almost all the countrys non-hydro power generation assets are centred in the south, between the coast of Tema and Takoradi, and transmitting power over a long distance to the northern part of the country results in some system losses. Mr Oware said the construction of solar systems to increase generation at the Bui enclave in the Banda District in the Bono Region was in the interest of the entire national grid, as it would have access to more power generated in the middle belt for distribution around and to the northern part of the country. Future Aside from the 250MW project centred at Bui alone, which started in 2017 under a Bui Hydro-Solar Hybrid (HSH) scheme, the CEO of the BPA said there were plans to develop other solar plants in the northern part of the country, with six sites already identified. They included Bawku, Yendi, Zebila and Tumu, he said, adding that plans were far advanced to start the Yendi project. The BPA, which set out to implement the turnkey hydro dam project, the Bui Hydro Power, in May 2007, was given the mandate to develop solar energy as part of the generation mix. The hydro-solar project is to augment the target to have 10 per cent renewable energy, which translates to about 5,000MW, in the national grid by 2030. This will include new projects, besides the traditional hydro power sources the country already has. Mr Oware was of the belief that the move by the BPA for solar energy from now onwards would contribute significantly to achieve the 10 per cent target. Background The countrys first large-scale solar farm was the 2.5MW Navrongo Solar Power Plant in the Upper East Region. There is also a 20MW solar farm by BMC near Winneba. Additionally, there is the 17MW solar plant in the Nadowli Kaleo District in the Upper West Region. It is made up of the 13MW Kaleo solar power plant and the 4MW Lawra solar plant. Although the power will be evacuated by GRIDCo onto the national grid, it will be localised for parts of the Upper East Region. 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 Hayim Zeif, a Baltimore City middle school counselor, got vaccinated for the safety of his students. Hayim Zeif, a Baltimore City middle school counselor, recently received the COVID-19 vaccine to return to serving children at his school. "When one has the opportunity to do anything, to be able to take care of ourselves in other words, to take care of our health you are required to do that," he said. Share Your Experience Why did you decide to get the COVID-19 vaccine? Why should others get it? These are questions on the minds of many now that vaccines are available to help end the coronavirus pandemic. At the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), personnel from UMB, the University of Maryland Medical Center, and Faculty Physicians, Inc. are being vaccinated at the SMC Campus Center. Over the next few months, we will be highlighting members of the community and their vaccination experience. Share your experience getting vaccinated by tagging us @umbaltimore and using #UMBVaccinesWork on Twitter or Instagram. Include why you got the vaccine. You can also submit your photos and comments about your vaccine experience, by clicking here. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 06:42:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A plane carrying the COVID-19 vaccines from China arrives at the Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 11, 2021. Iraq on Sunday received the second batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help the country combat the pandemic. (Photo by Khalil Dawood/Xinhua) BAGHDAD, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Iraq on Sunday received the second batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help the country combat the pandemic. A handover ceremony held at the Baghdad International Airport was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Zhang Tao, Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi, and several other senior Iraqi health officials. "China and Iraq are good friends and close partners. We have been supporting each other against all the odds in our joint efforts to fight the pandemic, which has further consolidated and deepened the friendly partnership between the two countries and peoples," Zhang said during the ceremony. China "pays close attention to the epidemiological developments in Iraq ... and has donated two batches of vaccines to the Iraqi side in fewer than two months," he added. Describing the coronavirus as "the common enemy of all human beings," the Chinese ambassador highlighted the need for the international community to "unite in close coordination to combat the pandemic, and to work hand in hand to promote a community with common health for the mankind." For his part, al-Tamimi expressed his gratitude for China's assistance to Iraq, noting China has been standing with Iraq since the outbreak of the pandemic and was the first country to send vaccines to Iraq. "China has played a great humanitarian role and has sent aid not only to Iraq but also to many other countries," the Iraqi minister told Xinhua. Earlier, the Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm and Britain's AstraZeneca vaccines to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The donated Chinese vaccines are expected to advance the national immunization plan in Iraq, as the country has recorded unprecedented daily COVID-19 infections in recent days. On March 2, Iraq received the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help combat the pandemic. During the early stage of the pandemic in 2020, China sent several batches of medical aid to Iraq and a team of seven medical experts who spent 50 days in Iraq from March 7 to April 26 to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in the capital Baghdad. Enditem 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 Netflix on Monday finally released the much-awaited trailer of Searching For Sheela, which is an upcoming documentary about Ma Anand Sheela- who was the controversial one-time aide to spiritual leader Osho. A chapter in their story was previously also showcased in the Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country. In a statement released by Netflix, they said, "With the focus entirely on Sheela and her personality, the film explores her journey through India, her big homecoming, while reminiscing about her early life and looking forward to whats next... Does Sheela seek redemption or remain completely unaffected? Was Sheela a criminal or a woman in love? Is Sheela good or bad, black or white?" Check out the trailer of the documentary here- The 2-minute trailer gives a glimpse of Ma Anand Sheela and how her life changed after she was accused of fraud and murder. The documentary showcases her talking about her journey, returning to India after three decades and how her life has been viewed by the world from Oshos point of view, who also called her a murderer. She also claimed that Osho was in love with her and also she mentioned that she has seen bigger scandals than showbiz people. Check out what people have to say about it- Waiting for this one!. Anindo Banerjee (@anindobanerjee1) April 12, 2021 The reason I subscribed for Netflix few years ago . Vijay Sriram Iyengar (@Sriram_sv) April 12, 2021 Bring it on King K (@RajAndRolls) April 12, 2021 Please Release Netflix Originals Series and Films dub in Tamil and Telugu #Wewantnetflixseriesintamilandtelugu Sanjay. K (@SanjayK97005362) April 12, 2021 Executive producer Shakun Batra said in a statement, "I have always been very intrigued by Sheelas extraordinary life and through this documentary, weve shadowed her as she traveled to India after almost 35 years. This is not an investigative piece, just an observation of a person who has had a questionable past and has always lived life on her terms." He added, "We trace her journey as she grapples with societys expectations of an ex-convict and attempts to re-brand the public opinion of herself. Searching for Sheela is a documentary that tries to get a closer look at one of the most sensationalized personalities in India..." Will you watch this one? Let us know in the comments section below! The on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking uniform retirement age for of High Courts and the top court. A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian asked the petitioner to approach the Union Government or the Law Commission of India with a representation. Petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, an advocate and BJP leader, argued that the different age of retirements for of high courts and the apex court is irrational. The bench then said, "we are dismissing it. You can make a representation." Upadhyay then sought permission to withdraw the petition which was allowed. The PIL stated that if there is uniformity in retirement age, the of the High Court will discharge judicial work more independently and without any expectation to move to the Also, to minimise the apprehension of subordination between the and High Courts, it is appropriate to equate the retirement age of High Court Judge''s with Supreme Court judges, it said. Contending that its irrational to have different retirement age for judges of constitutional courts, the plea filed by Upadhyay said increasing the retirement age and making it uniform i.e 65 years will not only strengthen the rule of law, but also secure the fundamental right of speedy justice, guaranteed under Article 21. At present, the retirement age for the Supreme Court judges is 65 years whereas for the High Court judges, it is 62 years. Uniformity in the retirement age of Judges will create a pool of experienced judges in High Courts, which will be extremely useful for deciding the cases of extreme importance or which require deep and thorough knowledge for interpretation of the Constitution, the plea filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey said. Uniformity in the retirement age is not only necessary to reduce pendency of cases but also essential to attract and retain the best legal talent in the bench, the plea 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.) IMD predicted that many districts could see temperatures drop. The next two days will see more of rainfall in the city and other parts of the state. (Photo: DC) Hyderabad: Light rainfall on Monday has exposed the poor state of the city nalas. A few minutes rain saw water-flow being severely hit at many points across the city. Water stagnation or flooding was heavy at Ranigunj, causing serious inconvenience to commuters travelling between Patny Centre and Ranigunj. An hour-long traffic jam was reported at Ranigunj during the day. Corporation authorities alerted disaster response force (DRF) teams. They came in and cleared several bottlenecks at Ranigunj, Panjagutta, Somajiguda, Banjara Hills and Alwal. With IMD predicting rainfall for three more days, civic authorities will have a hard task ahead amid the nala de-silting works at about 350 locations. A GHMC official said the corporation staff has been put on higher alert at 55 locations. "The light spell and cloudy weather have already created panic. Amid the ongoing nala desilting works, the city is bound to submerge at several locations,'' he said. IMD predicted that many districts could see temperatures drop. The next two days will see more of rainfall in the city and other parts of the state. The districts that could experience light to moderate rain in the next four days are Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Adilabad, Asifabad, Nirmal, Jagtial, Peddapalli, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Sangareddy, Medak, Vikarabad, Narayanpet, Mahbubnagar and Wanaparthy. Some areas may also experience hailstorms. Moderate to heavy rainfall is likely in some parts of Kerala, Karnataka, and Telangana by April 15, as per the IMD prediction. ALBANY State University of New York campuses will be directly provided with allocations of COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate students, faculty and staff against the virus, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday. Cuomo made the announcement at an event at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island. Although state officials, a county executive and leadership from the college were present, no members of the press were allowed to attend. Cuomo has not answered in-person questions from the media in months as he faces multiple scandals alleging personal and professional misconduct. College students had been told early on that (COVID-19) doesnt affect young people as seriously," Cuomo said in a conference call with reporters later in the afternoon. "They talk vaccine hesitancy, (but) I think with young people its more complacency." There is expected to be 21,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine available to SUNY and another 14,000 available to private colleges. SUNY and the City University of New York will "model the program," Cuomo said: The schools can vaccinate students on-campus directly, and the shots will eventually be made available to all campuses in the state even outside those universities. Eligibility opened up last week to all New Yorkers 16 or older, so those people could also schedule an appointment at a mass-vaccination site, pharmacy or other provider. Cuomo emphasized that it's important for young people to get vaccinated both for their own health but also for that of others. Even if someone contracts COVID-19 and is asymptomatic, they could spread the virus to others who get more seriously sick, he said. The new policy was the result of a request made jointly at the end of March by SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras and the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities, said Drew Bogner, CICU's interim president. We realized the clock was ticking and comes the first part of May we knew students were going to go where they were going to go," Bogner said, alluding to the end of the spring semester when students will scatter for the summer. It's unclear what the size of future allotments will be due to the production problems faced by Johnson & Johnson, Bogner said; the roughly 15,000 doses allocated to independent colleges and universities in the state were distributed last week and are already in student's arms. Emily Morgese, CICU's vice president of communications, said about 36 colleges and universities statewide are currently set up to administer vaccines, and some smaller schools are partnering with others to do so. Most of our colleges have set up comprehensive testing operations over the last year, so they have a lot of the infrastructure in place to do something like this," Morgese said. Also on the topic of colleges, Cuomo said that the state will allow schools to host graduation ceremonies starting May 1. The rules basically mirror the precautions for people to attend sporting events, with either vaccinations or negative tests required, as well as restrictions on capacities for venues. The state's recommendation remains virtual or drive-in graduations, Cuomo said, as those options are safer, but they wanted to provide the option for in-person events. A recent report by XDA confirms Google Chrome Incognito mode is getting a dark theme natively. Google Chrome got dark mode support back in 2019 with version 74. Now, with the native dark theme support for Google Chrome Incognito mode, it will ignore the current system light mode and continue to work in dark mode forever. Previously, the dark mode experience was not that great. Apparently, the dark theme did not get applied to the app menu, and other UI elements in the Incognito mode even if the system-wide dark theme was turned On. Advertisement Luckily, with a new flag for Google Chrome, users will get rid of this experience and browse the web anonymously in dark mode. However, do note that this feature is available for Google Chrome Canary 91. You have to manually enable this flag in order to experience always dark mode in incognito mode on Google Chrome. For the normal tab, there are several customization options that Chrome offers, like changing the backgrounds and color themes to choose from in the New tab Customize menu. Advertisement But all these are not available for the incognito mode. And it was also missing the dark theme. Fast forward to now, Google is addressing this issue. Google Chrome incognito mode dark theme is available as a flag As already mentioned, the dark theme for incognito mode is available for Google Chrome Canary version 91 as a flag. If you use Canary, then you can enable it by typing chrome://flags in the address bar. Then you need to search for Incognito mode. Finally, enable the Allow widgets to inherit the native theme from its parent widget flag. Advertisement Simply restart the browser and switch over to incognito mode. You will see that everything is changed to a dark theme, irrespective of your system theme. Do note that all the web contents will continue to show up in its normal color. This addition also means that we will soon see the Google Chrome incognito mode dark theme on the stable channel pretty soon. Although this is not a major feature and would slip under the radar for most of the users, it is nice to see that Google is making such efforts to fine-tune granular features. Advertisement Native dark mode support for incognito mode is meant to provide you with a streamlined experience. If you have not received the update yet, then you should go ahead and download the latest Google Chrome release by clicking here. Press Release April 12, 2021 De Lima tells youth: Exert concerted effort against the Anti-Terror Law Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has urged the youth to work together to push for the declaration of the unconstitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Law which opened a floodgate for abuses because of its vagueness. In her message for the Group of Achievers, Brave and Active Youth's (GABAY) webinar dubbed "Understanding the New Law: Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020" last April 9, De Lima said the Anti-Terror Act must not be allowed to continue to exist in a country where the Filipinos' forefathers have fought and died for democracy. "You are the future of this country on whose shoulders bear the weight of the consequences of the decisions made by a government that thrived on failure, abuse and oppression," she said. "Because of this, it is a challenge for you to have a better understanding of this law so that it cannot be used against you, so that you may help educate others, so that we can work together to clamor for the immediate declaration of its unconstitutionality," she added. Duterte signed into law the Anti-Terrorism bill last July 3, 2020. Now Republic Act No. 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, the law gives more surveillance powers to government forces. The said law, which replaces the Human Security Act of 2007, uses an overbroad definition of terrorism that can subject suspects, even those apprehended without a warrant, to weeks of detention prior to an appearance before a judge. De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, pointed out that there is no place for the Anti-Terror Act in a democratic society where freedom of speech and expression should be perpetually protected and shielded from all efforts to silence the public. "Walang puwang dapat ang isang batas na sa sobrang labnaw ay mas magagamit pa ito laban sa tao kaysa para sa tao. Kaya imbes na protektahan ang tao, magiging armas pa ito laban sa tao at kasangkapan para sa karahasan," she said. "Democracy demands dissent. Ang nagsasalita, ang uma-aray at lumalaban ay hindi terorista. Ngunit sa ilalim ng batas na ito, pinapatawan ng napakalawak na kapangyarihan ang gobyerno upang busalan ang taumbayan," she added. The lady Senator from Bicol further lamented that the Anti-Terror Law "produces a chilling effect that can only be cured by striking it down." "A law that seeks to protect the nation must lessen our fears, not add to it. Mas higit ang nailuwal na takot ng batas na ito kaysa sa pakiramdam ng kaligtasan na dapat taglay ng ating mga batas," said she. "Sa sobrang lawak nito, kahit sino ay maaaring tatakang terorista bagamat ginagamit lamang nila ang boses at kalayaang magsalita na ginagarantiya ng ating Konstitusyon," she added. In rejecting the Anti-Terrorism Act, De Lima cited her plight under the Duterte regime saying that the injustices and persecution that she is experiencing are a clear manifestation of the great lengths those in power can go to harass and prosecute political opponents and to silence legitimate dissent. "Kaya ito ay isang hamon sa ating lahat, na hindi payagan pang patuloy na mag-hari ang mga ito. We all dream of a safer, freer and more peaceful world. But what is the point of dreaming without concrete action," said she. Womens legal centres have renewed their call for an extra $25 million a year in federal funding, saying they cannot keep up with the flood of mostly domestic violence victims seeking specialist help. Womens Legal Services Australia (WLSA) says ongoing cases have increased by 70 per cent in the past year. There has also been a 40 per cent increase in demand for drop-in services, and centres are having to turn away 14 per cent more women, leading thousands to miss out on the help they need. A spokesman for Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said funding proposals would be considered as part of the budget process. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Its a tsunami. Its a national crisis of violence against women and children, Central Australian Womens Legal Service managing principal solicitor Janet Taylor said. WLSA said an annual $25 million boost in funding would help services around Australia hire 120 more lawyers, social workers and financial counsellors. The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 19:08:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam attends a press conference in Hong Kong, south China, April 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai) HONG KONG, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday announced plans of easing social distancing measures such as extending dining hours in restaurants under the condition that staff and customers are vaccinated. Lam said at a press conference that the fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong which emerged late in November last year has been under control. Over the past 14 days, the seven-day moving average of confirmed cases was two and that of untraceable cases was 0.7. In the past four months, the entry of COVID-19 variants has been successfully blocked from entering the community. Lam said that the existing social distancing measures due to expire on Thursday will be extended for another 14 days to observe whether the pandemic will rebound after the Easter holiday. Lam said that the restrictions will be relaxed in stages depending on the vaccination situation. Restaurants are allowed to extend dine-in services to midnight with the cap on diners per table raised from four to six provided that staff members have received their first dose of vaccine. The restrictions will be further relaxed to 12 people to be seated at each table under the condition that both the staff members and customers have taken two doses of vaccines, she said. Lam said, in late April, the "Return2hk" travel scheme which allows Hong Kong residents returning from neighboring Guangdong Province or the Macao Special Administrative Region to be exempted from a 14-day quarantine will be expanded to other mainland provinces. In mid-May, non-Hong Kong residents will be allowed to enter Hong Kong from the mainland without compulsory quarantine, she added. Furthermore, Hong Kong will lift the restrictions on people boarding flights from Britain to Hong Kong in early May, but these people will still have to be quarantined for 21 days upon arrival, Lam said. Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 13 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking its total tally to 11,594. Among the newly reported cases, 11 were imported cases and two were epidemiologically linked with local cases, according to the CHP. Hong Kong launched a COVID-19 vaccination drive on Feb. 26. About 578,900 people have received their first dose of vaccine, and over 250,000 have received their second dose so far. Enditem After two weeks of testimony and 35 witnesses, Minnesota prosecutors are nearing the end of their case against former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. A doctor and members of Floyd's family are still expected to testify for the prosecution before they give the defense an opportunity to call witnesses, which could come early this week. Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Defense attorney Eric Nelson has not explicitly laid out who will testify, but the witnesses are likely to further the broad themes of his case to acquit Chauvin. In opening statements and cross-examinations, Nelson has focused on three main arguments: the 'other causes' theory, the 'force is unattractive' theory and the 'hostile crowd' theory. Here's a closer look at those arguments and how witness testimony has alternately fit and contradicted them so far. The 'other causes' theory What is it? The defense's primary argument is that Floyd's death was not due to Chauvin's actions but happened for other medical reasons. The defense has emphasized Floyd's drug use, his initial resistance to officers and his preexisting heart problems. 'The evidence will show that Mr. Floyd died of a cardiac arrhythmia that occurred as a result of hypertension, his coronary disease, the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and the adrenaline flowing through his body, all of which acted to further compromise an already compromised heart,' Nelson said in opening statements. Why does it matter? To get a conviction on any of the three charges, prosecutors have to prove Chauvin's actions were a 'substantial cause' of Floyd's death. The defense is hoping to undermine that causal link. What is the evidence? The defense's argument is largely based on testimony from the doctor who performed the autopsy as well as testimony about Floyd's drug use. Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker, who performed Floyd's autopsy last May, testified Friday that Floyd's death was a 'homicide.' He identified the cause of death as cardiopulmonary arrest -- Floyd's heart and lungs stopped. That occurred during 'law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.' Still, he said Floyd had other 'significant conditions' that played a role in his death, including hypertensive heart disease and his use of fentanyl and methamphetamine. He said some of Floyd's blood vessels were severely narrowed, and he did not find evidence at autopsy to support a finding of asphyxia. Baker acknowledged that the level of fentanyl in Floyd's blood, about 11 nanograms per milliliter, was more than in some overdose cases he has seen. The defense has also sought to highlight other drug evidence in the case. Several white pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in Floyd's vehicle, and a smaller pill with Floyd's saliva on it was found in the back of the police squad car, three forensic scientists testified. The defense said in opening statements it planned to solicit testimony from two passengers in the vehicle with Floyd who would describe his reaction to taking drugs. One of those passengers, Morries Hall, has said he plans to plead the Fifth if called to testify. What do prosecutors say? Despite noting these health issues, Dr. Baker stood by his top-line finding that the death was a homicide due to police actions. '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 said. In addition, the prosecution preemptively rebutted parts of Baker's testimony with several doctors who explained that signs of asphyxia would not be evident in an autopsy. Dr. Martin Tobin, a renowned pulmonary critical care doctor; Dr. Lindsey Thomas, a forensic pathologist; and Dr. Bill Smock, the police surgeon for the Louisville Metro Police Department each testified Floyd died of axphyxia due to low oxygen because of Chauvin's restraint. Based on their review of the video, autopsy and other documents, they rejected theories that Floyd died of a drug overdose or due to his other health issues. 'A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died,' Tobin said. Prosecutors have also acknowledged Floyd struggled with opioid addiction and suggested he may have built up a tolerance to higher doses of the drug. The 'force is unattractive' theory What is it? This theory argues that police use of force can look horrifying on bystander video, but that it's a necessary part of the job for police officers. 'You will learn that Derek Chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do over the course of his 19-year career,' Nelson said in opening statements. 'The use of force is not attractive, but it is a necessary component of policing.' Why does it matter? Prosecutors have argued he used 'excessive and unreasonable force' and engaged in 'eminently dangerous' behavior when he put his knees on a handcuffed Floyd's neck and back, pinning him to the street in a prone position for over 9 minutes. What is the evidence? The defense has portrayed Chauvin's kneeling on Floyd as a control move that is approved by the police. Lt. Johnny Mercil, a Minneapolis Police use-of-force training instructor, said Chauvin's position might be considered 'using body weight to control,' a tactic in which officers place a knee on a prone suspect's shoulder blades in order to handcuff them. Some still images of police body-camera footage show Chauvin with his knee on Floyd's shoulders, he testified. 'However, I will add that we tell officers to stay away from the neck when possible, and if you're going to use body weight to pin, to put it on their shoulder and be mindful of position,' he said. Mercil said that the position is transitory and is meant to end once the suspect is under control. It's not clear if Chauvin himself will testify, but he defended his actions as a necessary restraint last May moments after Floyd's limp body was taken away in an ambulance. 'We had to control this guy because he's a sizable guy,' Chauvin told a bystander, according to audio captured on his own body camera. 'It looks like he's probably on something.' He offered a similar defense to his police supervisor in a phone call not long afterward. 'We just had to hold a guy down,' Chauvin said. 'He was going crazy. He wouldn't ... he wouldn't go in the back of the squad--' The audio then cut out. In the rest of the phone call, Chauvin said he and fellow officers had tried to put Floyd in the car, that he became combative, and then after a struggle, that he had a medical emergency, Sgt. David Pleoger testified. What do prosecutors say? A series of police supervisors and training coordinators have sharply criticized Chauvin's restraint of Floyd. They said his actions were violations of the policies around de-escalation, objectively reasonable use of force and the requirement to render aid. Foremost among the critics was Chief Medaria Arradondo. 'That in no way shape or form is anything that is by policy. It is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values,' Arradondo said. In addition, Chauvin's direct supervisor said his use of force should have ended earlier, and the department's top homicide detective testified that Chauvin's actions were 'uncalled for' and 'totally unnecessary.' The 'hostile crowd' theory What is it? A third defense theory is that bystanders who frantically called for Chauvin to get off Floyd were potential threats and distracted him from caring for Floyd. Chauvin may not have done exactly as trained, this theory goes, but the crowd's hostility offers a non-criminal explanation why. 'They are screaming at them, causing the officers to divert their attention from the care of Mr. Floyd to the threat that was growing in front of them,' Nelson said in opening statements. Why does it matter? Chauvin's mindset and intent is key to each of the charges in the case. The second-degree murder charge says Chauvin intentionally assaulted Floyd, which caused his death. The third-degree murder charge says Chauvin perpetrated an 'eminently dangerous' act evincing a 'depraved mind.' And the second-degree manslaughter charge says Chauvin's 'culpable negligence' caused Floyd's death. What is the evidence? In contentious cross-examinations, Nelson pushed several bystanders to admit they were 'angry' and that the crowd became threatening as Chauvin kneeled on Floyd. He repeatedly quoted some of their expletive-laden comments, including MMA fighter Donald Williams II calling Chauvin a 'bum' and a 'tough guy.' Both Williams and off-duty Minneapolis firefighter Genevieve Hansen directly rejected Nelson's theory. Hansen said she was desperate, distressed and upset but not angry. Williams, too, pushed back. 'I grew professional. I stayed in my body. You can't paint me out to be angry,' he said. In separate testimony, Nicole Mackenzie, a Minneapolis Police medical support coordinator and CPR instructor, said that a hostile crowd could make it difficult to focus on a patient. 'If you don't feel safe around you, if you don't have enough resources, it's very difficult to focus on the one thing in front of you,' she said. The defense plans to call her back to the stand during their testimony this week. What do prosecutors say? The bystanders testified that nobody threatened the officers and that they raised their voices only because Floyd appeared to be in an increasingly dire condition. Prosecutors also sought testimony from three high school girls, a 9-year-old girl and a 61-year-old man to show the group was not a threatening bunch. Several bystanders said they felt threatened by the officers, especially when Chauvin and former officer Tou Thao put their hands on their mace. 'They were really hostile,' one 17-year-old high schooler said. Simply filming an arrest or name-calling officers does not constitute a threat, several policing experts testified. Further, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant and use-of-force expert for the prosecution testified that he doesn't believe Chauvin was distracted. 'In the body-worn video you can hear Mr. Floyd displaying his discomfort and pain, and you can also hear the defendant responding to him,' Sgt. Jody Stiger said. Marion Lamar Simpson has worked in social services related areas for over thirty years and has received various awards, including 2004 Outstanding Georgia Citizen Award and Turner Broadcasting Stations Super 17 Award for his commitment to the youth of Atlanta. In 1985, he began a task force to study the causes and effects of homelessness among young people and in 1986, he was named visionary founder and original incorporator serving as executive director for the Young Adult Guidance Center Inc. He has completed his new book A Calling to Fulfill: Reflections of a Missionary: an inspiring true story of faith and service. The author writes, I personally wanted to make a difference in the future lives of young people, especially young people who knew they needed help and even those who didnt know they needed help. I believed in my heart that my desire to help young people had been with me since my childhood. I felt that it was a calling from God because God made my dream clearer to me and allowed the dream to become reality. Published by Page Publishing, Marion Lamar Simpsons moving story is perfect for readers particularly interested in the areas of social science, social work, and social services. Readers who wish to experience this engrossing work can purchase A Calling to Fulfill: Reflections of a Missionary at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. War of words is expected to intensify in Bengal as campaigning for the next phase of polling is in full swing. BJP is accusing TMC of inciting people against the central forces and doing appeasement politics while TMC is accusing the EC of favouring BJP. Didi also said that the CISF people were not trained in crowd controlling. Calling it a genocide, Mamata Banerjee launched an attack on the Election Commission and said that the EC should rename the Model Code of Conduct as Modi Code of Conduct. In an attempt to refute Didis allegations, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused her of politicising the deaths and provoking the violent clash that led to 4 deaths in Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district during phase 4 polling in Bengal. Referring to the 72-hour ban at politicians entering Cooch Behar, Mamata said that the ban barred her from meeting the families of the people who died and it also allowed the evidence to be destroyed. She went on to say that the 4 people who died were shot in the neck and chest and not on lower body parts. Denying her allegations, Shah said that it was Mamatas gherao CRPF call that led to the violent clash and eventually, 4 deaths. Shah also pointed that 5 people died on the polling day in Bengal but Didi only consoled the deaths of four people as the 5th person who died didnt belong to her vote bank. War of words is expected to intensify in Bengal as campaigning for the next phase of polling is in full swing. BJP is accusing TMC of inciting people against the central forces and doing appeasement politics while TMC is accusing the EC of favouring BJP. Didi also said that the CISF people were not trained in crowd controlling. Also read: Protect Indian scientists: SC to hear ISRO espionage case tomorrow, time for Dr Nambis vindication? Also read: Covid India SOS: Over 1.70 L cases reported in 24 hours; 10 CR vaccine doses administered on Day 1 of Tika Utsav Violence broke out during 4th phase polling in Bengals Cooch Behar today as a CISF personnel open-fired after being attacked by the locals. As per the police, locals tried to snatch the rifle of the CISF personnel, 4 people have been killed in the incident. The police also informed of a voter being killed by unidentified men outside a polling booth in Cooch Behar. Also read: Canadas UBC cancels journalist event on farmers movement: Pressure from Sikh activists at play? Prince Harry. Peter Nicholls-WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry has returned to the UK to attend the funeral of Prince Philip, his grandfather. The private gathering is set for Saturday, but new arrivals to the UK must isolate for 10 days. Isolating people can attend funerals in the UK, but Harry must test negative for the coronavirus. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Two loopholes in the UK's COVID-19 regulations mean Prince Harry can legally attend the funeral of Prince Philip, his grandfather. A family funeral for the Duke of Edinburgh, who died Friday at the age of 99, is scheduled to be held in a chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday. Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday that Harry would be attending the funeral. He arrived in the UK from Los Angeles on Sunday. The UK government has stringent coronavirus-related requirements for entry into the UK, but Harry can attend the funeral thanks to two loopholes. Normally, new arrivals to the UK from all countries, including the US, must spend 10 days in isolation, but the government's "Test to Release" plan permits people to leave isolation early if they obtain a private coronavirus test and test negative. Prince Harry and Prince Philip. Getty/Phil Walter Furthermore, the attendance of funerals is listed among the government's isolation exceptions in England. "You can leave your place of self-isolation in limited circumstances, including on compassionate grounds," the rules say. "This includes attending a funeral of a household member, a close family member or a friend." Harry's wife, Meghan Markle, who is pregnant, intended to fly to the UK to attend Philip's funeral but did not get medical clearance to travel, a representative for the couple told Insider's Darcy Schild. Only 30 people are allowed to attend Prince Phillip's funeral, in line with government guidance. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not attend the funeral so a family member could take his place. Read the original article on Insider Ex-B1A4 Baro and actor Jo Dong Hyuk are confirmed to star in the new horror film "Fearsome." In a recent report, the production team of "Fearsome" shared that the cast members of the new film finished the script reading with vibrant energy and were able to build a good teamwork. Jo Dong Hyuk and Cha Sun Woo (Baro) to Work Together in New Exciting Film "Fearsome" "The Last Empress" actor Jo Dong Hyuk, who showed his strong charisma in his previous projects "Bad Guys" and "Rugal," will be returning on the silver screen with a new character. He is expected to play as Seung Yeon, a person who personally tips off the creepy incident in Chuncheon. Since he is also the narrator of the story, the viewers should look forward to what kind of twist he can bring to his character. Meanwhile, former B1A4 member and now actor Cha Sun Woo, better known as Baro, will be joining Jo Dong Hyuk in the movie. He will be portraying the role of a passionate guitarist named Jae Hyuk. He is a shy and cautious artist but enjoys performing on stage more than anything else. One of the production staff shared that Baro showed his enthusiasm for the upcoming film by memorizing all his lines before the start of the shooting. Horror Film "Fearsome" is Based on True Events "Fearsome" is said to be based on a true story that happened to a band that went on a trip going to Chuncheon. After confirming all the cast lineup, the whole production officially started filming last April 10. Joining Baro and Jo Dong Hyuk is Lim Young Joo, to play the role of Jun Hee, an energetic and cheerful character who will brighten the atmosphere of the film. Jang Suk Hyun will also be part of the cast and is expected to portray the character of Sung Woon. Han Chae Kyung will be the one to play the role of a ghost who mesmerizes everyone with her beautiful voice. Meanwhile, this will mark Baro and Jo Dong Hyuk's first project together. They are more than excited to work and establish a strong bond during shooting. Stay tuned for more updates about the upcoming horror film! Once the film is finished, it is scheduled to air in theaters in the third quarter of 2021. Are you excited to watch this new horror film starring Baro and "Rugal" actor Jo Dong Hyuk? Share your thoughts with us in the comments! 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 The outback town of Coober Pedy is considering giving away 40 abandoned properties for free if the prospective new owners are prepared to develop the real estate. The famed opal mining centre will have 17 above-ground houses, four underground homess, and 19 vacant land lots up for grabs in June after repossessing the property from owners who did not pay many years worth of council rates. While regular sales would be considered, the council said a nominal fee of $1 could be accepted in some circumstances. Coober Pedy town in South Australia (pictured) will auction 40 deserted properties in June 17 above-ground houses, four dugouts, and 19 vacant land lots up for grabs after owners refused to make payments for decades (pictured: Coober Pedy town) The owners of the 40 properties collectively owe $280,000 in repayments, which represents 17 per cent of the annual rates revenue 'Properties are not worth a lot in Coober Pedy and often, people just stop paying their rates because their rates are a (large) proportion of what the property is worth,' administrator Tim Jackson told The Advertiser. Mr Jackson said 'people just walk away', with some refusing to pay council rates for more than a decade - leaving the council no other choice but to sell the properties. Despite owners being aware their properties will be put up for sale, Mr Jackson said 'it was unlikely in these cases' that any will start making payments or arrange settlements. A two-day auction was scheduled for June. The owners collectively owe the council $280,000 in repayments from their abandoned properties (pictured: tourists at Coober Pedy) Some home owners 'walk away' and refuse to pay council rates, leaving the council no other choice but to sell the properties (pictured: Coober Pedy) Coober Pedy council left with 'no choice' but to sell properties after owners collectively owe $280,000 Coober Pedy then has the option to offer them for a measly $1, to residents or social housing providers. Council chief executive Dean Miller said 16 other owners had either paid or entered payment plans since the council notified them about pending bills. 'The ones we have left are people who haven't even bothered to contact us this is where we're really left with no choice,' he said. Whyalla Council, 230km from Adelaide, is also considering potential sales against 37 property owners who collectively owe $528,000. Whyalla's corporate director Kathy Jarrett, said owners were given every opportunity to make payments, including a relief package during the height of the pandemic. 'Even those who have become this far in arrears can still avoid the sale of their property if they engage with (the) council and are seen to be making genuine attempts to begin making repayments,' she said. Plants in Maharashtra are producing 1,200 metric tonnes of oxygen per day and the entire stock is being used for medical purposes in view of the rising COVID-19 cases, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Monday. He also said the central government should provide Maharashtra with 1.60 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses per month. Talking to reporters in adjoining Jalna district, Tope said the state government has decided to set up plants in hospitals which can separate and purify oxygen from the atmosphere and provide it to patients. Tope said neighbouring states are not willing to supply liquid oxygen to Maharashtra, which is reeling under a second wave of COVID-19 and has seen a rapid rise in demand for oxygen needed to treat critical patients. He said, "Oxygen generating plants in Maharashtra are producing 1,200 metric tonnes of oxygen everyday and we are using it fully for medical purposes." Now monitoring and proper distribution of oxygen cylinders will be done by government officials, Tope said. "Oxygen transported in tankers will be filled in cylinders under supervision of officials of district administration and the Food and Drugs Administration," he said. "The government plans to establish liquid oxygen tanks at hospitals which have 50-100 beds. This will reduce human efforts to fill cylinders," Tope said. The minister said oxygen in the environment can be collected and purified at facilities attached to hospitals and provided to needy patients. "A 6 by 5 feet high-tech machine can purify oxygen from the air and supply it to a large number of patients. We are thinking of procuring these machines," he said. Oxygen, collected from the atmosphere and purified by deploying a special technique, is used by a lot of industries in the country. Medical-grade oxygen is used for treatment of critical COVID-19 patients and in other cases of respiratory diseases. Tope said the Centre should provide Maharashtra, the state worst-hit by the pandemic, with 1.60 crore vaccine doses per month. "Maharashtra is the first state to cross 1-crore vaccination mark. Our health infrastructure is ready for big vaccination and our opposition leaders should help the state in the drive," Tope said. ServiceNow announced last week the expansion of its Dublin office where it will create at least 300 new jobs over the next three years as part of the companys Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) growth plans. ServiceNow offers cloud-based platform and solutions deliver digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity for employees and the enterprise. The new roles will primarily be engineering and digital sales focused, with select hiring across marketing, finance, legal and other corporate functions. Opened in 2018, ServiceNows Dublin Intellectual Property (IP) & Development centre initially created 30 jobs, primarily across cloud operations, as well as other engineering and legal roles. With an already strong employee base in Dublin, this expansion will quadruple the Dublin headcount to over 400. ServiceNow say the expansion is fuelled by its strength in the industry as the platform company for digital business and the creator of modern enterprise workflow that create great employee and customer experiences and unlock productivity. Welcoming the news last week, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said, "I am delighted to welcome the announcement of 300 new high-quality jobs by ServiceNow. This is a huge vote of confidence by an innovative company in Irelands tech ecosystem and talent base. The Governments mission in the coming months and years is to get people back to work and rebuild our economy, while at the same time ensuring Ireland remains well placed to thrive in the new green and digital economy of the future, with high quality, sustainable jobs." Vice President of ServiceNow, Mark Cockerill added, "We continue to see strength in our EMEA business and our hiring plans reflect our commitment to meeting the increasing demand in our business and being the digital transformation partner to our customers. Dublin is quickly becoming a central hub for global technology talent, and were looking forward to bringing more great people into our business as we continue to grow." Source: www.businessworld.ie Malcolm Turnbull, possibly making a subliminal point about revenge and how it is best served cold, sat himself in front of a cool blue curtain in calming botanical print... and set the room on fire. As if screwing up a collection of Rupert Murdochs newspapers and wielding a flaming Zippo, Turnbull put Murdochs News Corp to the flame. Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull appears via videolink at a Senate committee. There is a market for crazy, he said, referring to News Corp outlets and the damage he said they and other right-wing outfits had done to American democracy, culminating in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6. And that recognition of the lucrative market for crazy, by extension, had become Murdochs business model in Australia. The live streaming of Gujarat High Court's suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) expressing concern about the COVID situation in the state has been viewed by more than 94,000 people so far. During the hearing, about 9,000 people were watching the court proceedings, making this a pathbreaking development in bringing the judicial process closer to people and letting them follow a life-and-death issue that affects them. Chief justice Vikram Nath expressed dissatisfaction with how the state government had handled the COVID situation and directed the Gujarat government to submit a detailed affidavit by 14th April based on today's hearing. Earlier, the chief justice had asked the chief secretary and principal secretary to join the online hearing. The public response and the Gujarat High Courts decision to allow the hearings to be viewed by the public is a new milestone in Indias judicial process and has gladdened activists and lawyers who have been pushing for live streaming and legal transcriptions to create a better record of court proceedings. Specialised legal journals, such as Barandbench.com and livelaw.com who do an excellent job of live tweeting all important court hearings had already opened the doors to more transparency. The Gujarat government action is the next step forward in this process. Many legal experts believe, that this transparency will have big benefits for litigants and also hasten the decisions in the long run. Taking a serious note of the worsening coronavirus situation, especially regarding the healthcare system and infrastructure, the Gujarat HC had observed on Sunday that the state was heading towards a health emergency. Taking suo motu cognizance, the HC had filed a fresh PIL regarding the situation making the state and Central governments respondents. During the hearing on Monday, chief justice Nath said, "People are dying even after getting both doses of the vaccine. It is good, but it is not fool-proof. You cannot admit all COVID positive patients in hospitals, because there are no beds. I have been told that patients have been refused admission even if the hospital has beds. Even smaller districts in Gujarat are having high number of cases. Government should take care that all basic amenities including testing are provided to tackle the spread." The bench of chief justice Nath and justice Bhargav D Karia also observed that without the help of people, we cannot fight this pandemic. Justice Karia says, "Last time, the isolation of positive patients was being done vigorously, now no efforts are being made. There seems to be a breach between the government and the people. Unless the chain is broken, this will never come to an end. Earlier, people were afraid of moving outdoors, now they have become careless." "We are not happy with certain policies of the government," chief justice Nath says, adding, "No doubt it is doing its best, but some things need to be corrected." The bench posed a salvo of questions to the attorney general on various fronts due to which the present uncontrolled situation arose. "Initially, when the pandemic struck last year, people were advised to home quarantine and also get treated at home. Now why have you changed it and insist on hospitalisation? Why are you insisting that Remdesivir should only be available at hospitals and not for home patients quarantined who require the injections? Why is it not being available at all the hospitals? Why is it not available for anyone who needs it? Controlling these injections by supply from one outsourced agency is not at all in public interest," the bench asked. As the Court asked the government what steps were taken to ensure the reduction of staff in various offices, the advocate general said that only the paan shop owners association had come forward and voluntarily had decided to shut down for the weekends. "Then they are acting with more wisdom and responsibility," the Court observed. The Court also stressed that fighting this pandemic was impossible without the cooperation of people, but "the people had lost trust in administration." "We are not happy with many of the policies of the government and there are some things which need to be corrected. At least people should feel that government is doing something. At present there is a total deficit in trust of people in the administration. That trust should be restored," the bench maintained. The Court also suggested reducing the number of people allowed in marriage functions to 50 from 100. Justice Karia also suggested that just like during the election process, booth-level micro-level planning be done and a booth-level official should be assigned accountability over a particular booth's Covid situation. The bench also questioned the role of the Central government. "When the centre feels that a state is not doing well, why can't it intervene," the bench asked additional solicitor general Devang Vyas, who represented the Union government. The live streaming of the hearing on YouTube was viewed by more than 94,000 people from across the country. Advocate Jamshed Mistry, who has been urging for live streaming of court proceedings and legal transcriptions of the proceedings, feels that it is for the first time that people are able to participate in the judicial process on an issue that affects the people. "This is important since the chief justice of Gujarat HC had taken up this issue on a suo motu basis and had taken the unusual step of asking the chief secretary and principal secretary to join online. Also unlike what has been happening so far, 9000 people were able to log in simultaneously," Advocate Mistry says. The Supreme Court appointed e-committee has put out a vision document which includes transcription and live streaming for courts in India. Therefore, it was wonderful to see the Gujarat high court opting for live streaming of the PIL. During today's hearing, the bench also lashed out at the state government over the use of Remdesivir as well as the long time taken for test reports in Gujarat. While imploring the state to ramp up testing, chief justice Nath observed that it takes a common man three days to get a test done, and results come five days later. "For people like you and me, we can speed things up, but a common man cannot," he told advocate general (AG) Kamal Trivedi, who represented the state government. The AG contended that testing can be done at 97 centres across the state of which 43 are government facilities and the government will add 40 more centres soon. "Door to door surveys and more than 3000 mobile vans have also been pressed into service to conduct testing," he says. Responding on the shortage of Remdesivir in Gujarat, the AG informed the bench that this was not a drug for corona and it is being prescribed by doctors since it reduces hospitalisation period for a COVID patient. Stressing that Remdesivir is for emergency use only, the attorney general told the bench that people are hoarding Remdesivir in the anxiety that they may need it. "We request them not to do that. It causes liver and kidney damage, so we do not recommend its use at home. Doctors are indiscriminately prescribing it," the AG says. Earlier, the HC had advised the Gujarat government to impose a three-four day lock-down, and take appropriate measures to check COVID-19 cases. "But it has been five days since. Newspapers and channels are flooded with harrowing tales, unfortunate and unimaginable difficulties, unmanageable conditions of infrastructure, the shortfall and deficit of not only testing facilities, but availability of beds, intensive care units (ICUs), supply of oxygen and basic medicines like Remdesivir," chief justice Vikram Nath had said in his order on Sunday. "A perusal of some news would indicate that the state is heading towards a health emergency of sorts. Accordingly, I direct the HC registry to register this as a suo motu fresh PIL titled 'Uncontrolled upsurge and serious management issues in COVID control' by impleading the Gujarat government through the chief secretary, the principal secretary, health and family welfare department, and the central government through the department of home and the health ministry," he ordered. The chief justice also ordered a copy of his order to be forwarded to AG Trivedi, government pleader Manisha Luv Kumar, and additional solicitor general Vyas. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled on 15th April. Gujarat on Sunday saw a new high of 5,469 cases, taking its tally to 347,000, while the death toll rose to 4,800 with 54 fresh fatalities. In April so far, the state has added 39,797 cases at an average of 3,618 daily, while in March, it had seen 37,809 cases, with an average of 1,220 per day. Iran marks national Nuclear Day, signaling defiance of the United States By Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall Iran marked the National Day of Nuclear Technology on April 10, 2021. To commemorate, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization announced 133 new atomic energy projects presented to President Hassan Rouhani and online. The achievements were in quantum mechanics, heavy water, enrichment, and laser technology. President Hassan Rouhani also viewed new cascades of IR-6 centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility. The production capacity of these centrifuges is 10 times more than IR1 centrifuges, and the next generation of centrifuges that are under research and construction have 50 times the production capacity of the countrys first centrifuges, Rouhani boasted. Iranian Delegation Negotiates in Vienna Simultaneously National Nuclear Technology Day is held annually in Iran, but this year it coincided with a meeting in Vienna between Iran and the Joint Committee on the Nuclear Agreement (its 18th meeting), which was intended to return the United States to the nuclear agreement (JCPOA). U.S. representatives, headed by Robert Malley, the administrations special envoy for Iranian affairs, were in Vienna and ostensibly had no direct contact with the Iranian delegation headed by Abbas Araghchi, Irans Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the Iranian delegation. According to Araghchi, the United States did not have Irans permission to attend the discussions. Araghchi reiterated Irans position calling for the lifting of all sanctions at once and rejected U.S. statements that this Iranian demand indicates a lack of seriousness. He declared, The lack of seriousness rests on the American side since it left the nuclear agreement and imposed sanctions and therefore must remove them at once. He continued, The U.S. must lift anti-Iran sanctions, [and only] then Tehran would resume compliance with [the] JCPOA, and Iran will also want to verify the sanctions-lifting. Irans Supreme Leaders website uploaded an illustrative checklist of the sanctions needed to be lifted as part of a documentary regarding Irans stance and U.S. behavior in implementing the agreement. The checklist includes: Verification of cancellation of oil sanctions, Is the oil sold? Was the purchase officially made? Did the oil shipments reach the buyer easily? Has the Iranian oil market returned to normal conditions? Araghchi insisted that Irans negotiating position was based on a complete and verifiable end to all sanctions. Without the lifting of all sanctions subject to verification, no other way exists. Araghchi reiterated that the lifting process has to be conducted in one go: We do not believe in step-by-step or gradual revocation of sanctions. First we have to verify the revocation of sanctions and only then we carry out our obligations. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman rejected the U.S. proposal for negotiating a gradual and mutual outline, stressing that the talks were technical and were intended to ensure that the United States would fully return to compliance and effectively lift the sanctions in a verifiable fashion. At the end of the discussions, the Iranian diplomat said it was agreed that they would continue within the framework of two parallel expert committees, the first focusing on lifting the sanctions that the United States reinstated and imposed on Iran after it abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018. The second committee will focus on the nuclear response measures (violations) taken by Iran regarding the non-compliance of the United States and other countries to the nuclear agreement. At the end of the discussions, the committees will report to the Joint Committee on the Nuclear Agreement. In contrast to the pessimism projected by the Iranian foreign ministry and its attacks on the negotiating positions presented by the United States, the Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei presented a more optimistic position. Rabiei praised the realistic and promising positions presented by Robert Malley, the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, that reinforce Irans position on the need for the lifting of sanctions and could serve as a starting point for progress towards an arrangement and to correct the broken path that led diplomacy to a dead end, he claimed. We welcome these statements and are eagerly waiting to see how this constructive approach will actually be implemented. The Iranian media quoted a Malley tweet and an interview with the American National Public Radio as strengthening Irans position. Rouhani to Iranian Critics of the Agreement We Did Not Sell Out Irans Nuclear Program During a cabinet meeting ahead of the National Day of Nuclear Technology, Iranian President Rouhani challenged his critics to apologize to his government and the Iranian people, accusing them of spreading lies among the Iranian people over the years.Of course, no one bought it.However, they thought we sold out Irans nuclear energy sector when we signed the nuclear deal.The lies were finally exposed. He also called on the critics to credit his government for lifting the arms embargo on Iran in October 2020 and the downing of a U.S. drone in June 2019. Rouhani stressed the failure of the American maximum pressure policy and the Iranian peoples steadfastness during the sanctions. If it were not for peoples resistance and the endurance of hardships by them, we would have had different conditions today. Despite all the pressure, the enemy could not break our economy, and today they explicitly say that their actions have failed and that they have no choice but to negotiate, said Rouhani. Rouhani acknowledged that the Strategic Measures to Lift Sanctions Law enacted by the parliament (majlis) after the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, which his government opposed initially for fear of harming the nuclear agreement, had an impact when it came to exposing Irans nuclear capabilities. The law called on the government to raise the enrichment level to 20 percent, but no one believed we would be able to do so.The Atomic Energy Organization carried out the tasks set out by the parliament in the plan to revive the JCPOA even beyond the parliaments law, which proved that what was said about the destruction of the countrys nuclear capabilities was not true. Rouhani emphasized, I can strongly claim that our nuclear power has never been as capable as it is today since the beginning of the countrys nuclear activities. He added, There is no doubt about the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear activities. In light of the joint committee talks in Vienna, Rouhani said, We are witnessing a new chapter in the resuscitation of the nuclear agreement.Everyone has come to the conclusion that another solution is different and there is no better way than its full implementation.This is another achievement of Iran. He added that honesty and seriousness on the part of the United States could pave the way for the success of talks between Iran and the P4+1 (France, Britain, Russia, and China + Germany). Continued Pressure on the United States The Iranian pressure in the indirect negotiations with the United States was on display on Irans Nuclear Technology Day presenting the projects and achievements in sensitive areas (enrichment, lasers, and heavy water); emphasizing the heavy sacrifices in human lives of scientists to achieve Irans nuclear goals; and continuing to violate nuclear restrictions blatantly. Iran continues to present its systematic positions regarding the need to lift all sanctions at once, reinforced by the vulnerable spots exposed by senior American officials such as Malley, who push for a return to the nuclear agreement even at the price of American concessions. On the other hand, there is also growing pressure in the United States not to return to the nuclear agreement at any price, highlighting the issue of American hostages and missing persons in Iran. It is possible that Iran will make a gesture on this issue to increase the pressure on the United States, but it is not expected to allow any discussion on missile issues, its activities in the region, and human rights violations in its territory. Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, made it clear again in a recent tweet: This is especially so when the confrontation between Iran and Israel on the maritime front is escalating (after sabotage to the Revolutionary Guard Navy ship in the Red Sea), which may lead to an escalation in other sectors, as well. In this context, Iranian media have quoted extensively reports in the Western media that Israel is behind the sabotage of the Iranian Saviz cargo ship used by IRGC Navy in the Red Sea and to other Iranian ships in recent months. Noting that the attack against the Saviz took place during nuclear talks in Vienna, the Tehran Times concluded, Israel seems to be busy working to prevent the U.S. from returning to its commitments under the JCPOA. So if the U.S. is willing to revive the nuclear deal, then it needs to pay more attention to Israeli machinations. IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall, an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East, is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and at Acumen Risk Advisors. Home Over 50% of the Supreme Court (SC) staff tested positive for coronavirus after test results of as many as 44 of 97 of them came back as positive. Following the spiraling COVID-19 crisis in the apex court, the SC judges will now appear for hearings from their homes via video conferencing. The entire court premises comprising courtrooms are being sanitised and the benches will sit an hour late from the scheduled time on Monday as judges held a meeting over the situation. Benches, scheduled to sit at 10.30 am, will sit at 11.30 am, whereas those slated to sit at 1 am, will sit at 12 pm, Additional Registrar, DEU, said. Also Read: Face mask mandatory even while driving alone, rules Delhi HC Several benches led by CJI (Chief Justice of India) S A Bodbe and justices UU Lalit, Ashok Bhushan, K M Joseph, and R. Subhash Reddy will now assemble an hour late in the courtrooms. Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the SC has said that they are collating numbers about the COVID spread as contact tracing is being carried out. Delhi on Sunday, April 11, registered the highest one-day spike in coronavirus cases till date. A total of 10,774 new cases were reported, with the total case tally surging to 7,25,197 in the national capital. With 48 fresh fatalities, the death toll in Delhi went up to 11,283, whilst 6.79 lakh COVID-19 patients have recovered so far. Meanwhile, India registered a record 168,912 coronavirus cases overnight, data from the Union Health Ministry showed on Monday, surpassing Brazil to become the second-most affected nation globally by COVID-19. India's total caseload touched 13.53 million, overtaking Brazil's 13.45 million, Reuters reported. The United States (US) led the global tally with 31.2 million COVID-19 cases. PSD (Social Democratic Party) will submit a new simple motion of censure against the Minister of Health, Vlad Voiculescu, according to a statement made by the head of this party, Marcel Ciolacu. "We have discussed today, at the National Political Bureau, the outrageous unfolding of events at the Foisor Hospital [where the patients were taken out of the hospital during the freezing nighttime on Friday night in a chaotic manner to be moved in other hospital, as the Foisor Hospital became a COVID-19 support hospital]. Today we have decided to submit a new simple motion against the Minister of Health," Ciolacu told a press conference. Latest news Monday: Protests erupt after death of Daunte Wright, 20-year-old Black man shot by police during traffic stop The family of a 20-year-old Minnesota man says he was shot by police Sunday before reentering his car and crashing the vehicle several blocks away, further inflaming tensions over the use of police violence across the nation. Relatives of Daunte Wright told a crowd gathered in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, about 10 miles north of Minneapolis, that Wright drove for a short distance after he was shot and died at the scene following a traffic stop, according to The Star Tribune. He called me at about 1:40, said he was getting pulled over by the police, said a woman, who identifies herself as Wright's mother, according to a Facebook Live video. He said they pulled him over because he had air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror. Citing Wright's mother, The New York Times reported that Wright was in a vehicle his family had just given him two weeks ago, and was driving with his girlfriend. The death sparked protests into the early hours of Monday morning as Minneapolis was already on edge and midway through the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. A large crowd gathered Sunday night at the Brooklyn Center Police Department, as armored police officers formed a riot line. Video posted to Twitter showed them firing gas and a chemical agent at the protestors. The protest at the Police Department had been largely peaceful up until that point. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. No reports of damage, injuries or arrests were immediately available. Before that on Sunday evening, about 100 people had gathered near the scene where Wright died, reported the Star-Tribune. Protesters pushed past police tape, confronting officers donning riot gear and breaking the windshields of two police cars. Police fired non-lethal rounds to try to disperse the crowd, said the newspaper. But as police presence fell later in the evening, the crowd calmly gathered to light candles and write messages like "Justice for Daunte Wright" in chalk near the scene. Story continues The officer shooting in Brooklyn Center today is tragic. We are asking the protesters to continue to be peaceful and that peaceful protesters are not dealt with with force, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said on Twitter. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement, Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement posted late Sunday night on Twitter. According to a statement from Brooklyn Center Police, officers stopped an individual shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday after determining the driver had an outstanding warrant. Police said when they tried to arrest the driver, the driver reentered the vehicle and drove away. An officer fired at the vehicle, striking the driver. Police said the vehicle traveled several blocks before hitting another vehicle. Police also said Brooklyn Center officers wear body-worn cameras and they also believe dash cameras were activated during the incident. The shooting happened with Minneapolis already on edge and midway through the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyds death. Floyd's death sparked nearly a month of protests for police reform where he died in Minneapolis and across the country. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brooklyn Center shooting: Police shot Daunte Wright after traffic stop Delois Brown was sitting on her on porch in Boston last Saturday, enjoying the sunshine with family and friends, when a random act of violence took her life. The 73-old woman, a grandmother, was shot shortly before 6 p.m. as gunfire erupted around 19 Olney St. in Dorchester. When police arrived, they found Brown wounded. EMS took her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the Boston Police Department said. Browns family members are now asking the public for donations to help cover any funeral expenses. As of Monday morning, their GoFundMe page had raised more than $8,000 of its $15,000 goal. Thank you, Ma Brown, the GoFundMe organizer, Shirley Brown, wrote on the page, titled, Loving Mother. In the wake of the killing of the Dorchester woman, Boston Mayor Kim Janey took to Twitter to share her outrage about the shooting, noting all Boston residents should be able to live free from violence on their streets. It is outrageous that a grandmother, or any individual, cannot sit on their porch on a beautiful spring day without the fear of being shot to death, she wrote. This scene is all too familiar. While we offer the grieving family & loved ones our condolences, they deserve much more than that. This was my 1st scene as Mayor, but like the residents on that street, it is something that I have experienced far too many times. All Boston residents should be able to live free from violence on their streets and we will do all we can to bring about peace. #safetyhealingjustice Kim Janey (@Kim_Janey) April 11, 2021 The Boston Police Department is reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting and is asking anyone with information related to its investigation to call homicide detectives at (617) 343-4470. Community members who wish to help police anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463). The department said it will stringently guard the identities of those who wish to assist anonymously. Resident who need emotional support or to simply talk with someone about distressing events in the city can call the Boston Neighborhood Trauma Team (NTT), which provides free, private support 24/7, at (617) 431-0125. Related Content: NEW YORK and MUNICH, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Celonis, the global leader in Execution Management, today launched a new set of execution apps and platform enhancements geared to eliminate billions of dollars in corporate inefficiencies. This Celonis launch addresses the primary barriers to removing process waste in core business functions. The new platform innovations help companies mine process data that proliferates across multiple systems, apps, devices, and machines. The Celonis Execution Apps then immediately begin to apply intelligence to this data, and embed it into core business operations. "Ninety-nine percent of success in business is good execution, which is all about your processes," said Alex Rinke, co-CEO and co-founder of Celonis. "After years of working to improve processes, we have figured out how to use all of the process data to drive intelligent execution in real time. Companies that infuse data in every single action are able to eliminate billions of dollars in corporate inefficiencies, provide a better customer experience, and consume fewer resources. They are unstoppable." Companies worldwide are reporting material results using Celonis: Splunk optimized revenue and contract decisions for deals worth $250 million in total contract value (TCV) and helped boost top-line revenue on new deals using Celonis. in total contract value (TCV) and helped boost top-line revenue on new deals using Celonis. One of the world's largest, US-based medical device companies saw its free cash flow improve by $1.3 billion , as compared to the prior year, by leveraging lean techniques and technologies, including the Celonis system. , as compared to the prior year, by leveraging lean techniques and technologies, including the Celonis system. One of the world's top 20 banks reported that it partnered with Celonis to help with its process engineering target of delivering over 60 million euros in cost efficiencies by 2022, from only 40 processes. in cost efficiencies by 2022, from only 40 processes. A Fortune 1000 manufacturer of industrial machinery reported that they partnered with Celonis to apply process mining to identify and eliminate waste, which drove up their margins significantly, including $11 million in savings in 2020 and a target of $14 million in 2021. Celonis recently released the 2021 State of Business Execution Benchmark Report which validated the financial benefits of applying data and intelligence to business execution. The benchmark reported that data-driven execution can free up as much as $567 million in working capital and $105 million in cost savings for the average $5 billion dollar revenue company. Mobilize Your Process Data With the Celonis Execution Management Platform The Celonis Execution Management Platform powers all facets of business execution including real-time data ingestion, process and task mining, planning and simulation, visual and daily management, and action flows. Celonis added major new capabilities across its execution management platform to address the growing demand from customers to mobilize more data, apply more intelligence, and drive more automated actions. Highlights include: Greater access to process data: Expand data ingestion to new real-time and streaming data sources from Snowflake, Coupa, and Salesforce Platform Events; bring in data from any API-based system with the new low-code extractor. Expand data ingestion to new real-time and streaming data sources from Snowflake, Coupa, and Salesforce Platform Events; bring in data from any API-based system with the new low-code extractor. Deeper process intelligence: Plan and predict how changes in process paths impact business metrics with the new machine learning based process simulator. Intelligently identify, flag, and eliminate duplicate invoices with new AI-enabled Optical Character Recognition technology by Rossum. Plan and predict how changes in process paths impact business metrics with the new machine learning based process simulator. Intelligently identify, flag, and eliminate duplicate invoices with new AI-enabled Optical Character Recognition technology by Rossum. Expanded automation and action flows: Gain virtually unlimited automation coverage with more than 1,000 pre-built Integromat automations and 10,000 execution actions. Remove all barriers to execution with leading cloud platforms like Workday, Docusign and Coupa as well as connections to on-prem systems. Capture Your Dollars With the Celonis Execution Apps Celonis Execution Apps empower business users to apply data and intelligence to how they sell, ship, collect, buy and pay -- without having to swap out or change the underlying transaction systems. The new Celonis Execution Apps round out the apps suite, which address all core business functions, including: Celonis Order Management helps companies overcome order and supply chain complexities to deliver on-time while reducing costs. The app proactively corrects order errors and guides them using machine learning predictions about delivery likelihood. Modules include on-time delivery orchestration and touchless order processing. helps companies overcome order and supply chain complexities to deliver on-time while reducing costs. The app proactively corrects order errors and guides them using machine learning predictions about delivery likelihood. Modules include on-time delivery orchestration and touchless order processing. Celonis Inventory Management removes the unnecessary extra steps required to optimize inventory. Modules include automated master data correction, real-time inventory monitoring and management, outcome-based material prioritization, and forecast optimization. removes the unnecessary extra steps required to optimize inventory. Modules include automated master data correction, real-time inventory monitoring and management, outcome-based material prioritization, and forecast optimization. Celonis Procurement Management helps eliminate procurement errors and roadblocks, by buying at the right price and terms, reducing total spend, and hitting optimal PO automation rates. Modules include automated tactical buying, intelligent supplier governance, and purchase requisition optimization. "The Celonis Procurement Execution App is helping us to become a data-driven procurement organization, a central hub for insights and enabling us to fulfill our vision to be the co-pilot for the entire organization," said Alejandro Basterrechea, Head of Procurement Excellence at Zalando SE. For RATIONAL AG, a global appliance manufacturer, the Order Management Execution App has become a core part of its day-to-day operations. "It offers everything we need for our daily work and we don't need to sign into our transaction systems anymore," said Martina Biegler, Director of Global Customer Operations at RATIONAL. "The Celonis Execution Management System is a great accelerator for our digital transformation." All of these Celonis product updates and releases will be showcased at the Celosphere 2021 conference - hosted online from April 13-15. This year's event is expected to draw more than 15,000 process mining enthusiasts and execution management experts. More details on the full Celonis Execution Management Platform and Execution Apps are available here . About Celonis Celonis believes that every company can unlock its full execution capacity. Powered by its market-leading process mining core, the Celonis Execution Management System provides a set of applications, and developer studio and platform capabilities for business executives and users to eliminate billions in corporate inefficiencies. Celonis has thousands of customers, including ABB, AstraZeneca, Bosch, Coca-Cola, Citibank, Danaher Corporation, Dell, GSK, John Deere, L'Oreal, Siemens, Uber, Vodafone and Whirlpool. Celonis is headquartered in Munich, Germany and New York City, USA and has 15 offices worldwide. SOURCE Celonis Related Links https://www.celonis.com SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global WholeHealth Partners Corp (OTC: GWHP) is pleased to advise that the Company has entered into an At-The-Market Subscription Agreement (ATM) with EMC2. The ATM provides the Company with up to $100 million of standby equity capital with the expiry of the ATM being July 2023. Under the ATM, the Company retains full control of all aspects of the subscription process: having sole discretion as to whether or not to utilize the ATM, the maximum number of shares to be issued, the minimum issue price of shares and the timing of each subscription (if any). There are no requirements on the Company to utilize the ATM. EMC2 and the ATM does not place any restrictions at any time on the Company raising capital through other methods. If the Company does decide to utilize the ATM, it is able to set an issue price floor with the final issue price being calculated as the greater of that floor price set by the Company and up to a 5% discount to a Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) over a period of the Company's choosing (again at the sole discretion of the Company). The company has over 8 million shares available for the ATM, and Global is planning on using the shares through the ATM at the most opportune monument. Global is planning on using the funds for growth and expansion. Mr. Strongo states, "Global continues to do research on all new strains of the COVID-19 virus to make sure the tests we offer are a useful and reliable diagnostic test. Mr. Strongo states that, "Global is continuing to do research on new types of tests, to keep Global on the cutting edge of science." GWHP develops, manufactures, and markets in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests for OTC, or consumer-use as well as professional rapid diagnostic point-of-care (POC) test kits for hospitals, physicians' offices, and medical clinics in the US and abroad. Notably, GWHP offers a CE Mark for its high quality, rapid antibody test for COVID-19 and an EUA filing with the FDA is pending approval. In the interim, the Company has the capacity to deliver hundreds of thousands of tests, ramping up to 1 million per day. Currently, the Company has 56 products FDA approved and many are Approved for OTC use, and 9 POC products approved by the FDA. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/12/11/2143930/0/en/The-global-COVID-19-diagnostics-market-by-revenue-is-expected-to-register-a-negative-CAGR-of-9-during-the-period-2021-2026.html Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such statements may be preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) market acceptance of our existing and new products, (ii) negative clinical trial results or lengthy product delays in key markets, (iii) an inability to secure regulatory approvals for the sale of our products, (iv) intense competition in the medical device industry from much larger, multinational companies, (v) product liability claims, (vi) product malfunctions, (vii) our limited manufacturing capabilities and reliance on subcontractors for assistance, (viii) insufficient or inadequate reimbursement by governmental and other third party payers for our products, (ix) our efforts to successfully obtain and maintain intellectual property protection covering our products, which may not be successful, (x) legislative or regulatory reform of the healthcare system in both the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions, (xi) our reliance on single suppliers for certain product components, (xii) the fact that we will need to raise additional capital to meet our business requirements in the future and that such capital raising may be costly, dilutive or difficult to obtain and (xiii) the fact that we conduct business in multiple foreign jurisdictions, exposing us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, logistical and communications challenges, burdens and costs of compliance with foreign laws and political and economic instability in each jurisdiction. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov . The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE Global WholeHealth Partners Corp Related Links https://gwhpcorp.com [April 12, 2021] FourKites Introduces the Carrier Connect Guarantee CHICAGO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today FourKites , the industry pioneer and leader in supply chain visibility , has announced a new Carrier Connect Guarantee. The new service level agreement helps customers accelerate time to value of their supply chain visibility implementations by rapidly and securely onboarding carriers. FourKites new Carrier Connect Guarantee, which ensures connectivity to 90% of a customers full-truckload carrier network within 30 days of project kickoff, gives supply chain leaders the confidence to implement new technologies and ensure rapid time to value. With a history of industry-firsts, FourKites launched its automated carrier onboarding solution, Partner Hub , in early 2020, the first self-service GPS onboarding solution that allows shippers, brokers and 3PLs to connect automatically and securely to their carrier base. FourKites CarrierLink , a mobile app designed to help drivers improve tracking quality and optimize the deivery process, is now the fastest-growing supply chain visibility app for drivers, with over 400,000 downloads in 129 countries, and support in 18 languages. FourKites has the largest carrier network of asset and non-asset companies, said Jason Eversole, Vice President of Carrier Operations at FourKites. As the need for supply chain visibility continues to increase, many shippers want rapid, reliable connectivity to carriers. We are committed to continuing to deliver solutions that make that connection as rapid, seamless and secure as possible, and the Carrier Connect Guarantee is just the latest example of that commitment. Recent supply chain disruptions, including COVID-19, the Suez Canal blockage and extreme weather patterns in the US, have put extreme pressure on the worlds supply chains, making visibility solutions like FourKites an increasingly indispensable technology. With a network that reaches almost half of the Fortune 500, we support some of the biggest and most complex enterprise shippers in the world, said Glenn Koepke, FourKites Senior Vice President of Customer Success. Our mission is to help our customers succeed on our platform and see immediate value. Were pleased to offer this latest enhancement to help our shippers start seeing ROI truly from Day 1. Maximizing carrier connectivity helps organizations lower operating costs, improve on-time performance and create better customer relationships. The FourKites network boasts: 500+ of the worlds biggest brands across all industries The FourKites network touches 50% of the Fortune 500 including giants such as Walmart Canada, The Dow Chemical Company, Eastman, Meijer, PetSmart, The Michaels Companies, Land OLakes, Coca-Cola, AB InBev, Constellation Brands and 3M More than 2 million shipments tracked daily, with over 120% YoY growth 6.4 million connected facilities, with 70% YoY growth 140% YoY increase in tracking ocean and rail shipments 450,000 connected carriers in 176 countries across road, rail, ocean, air and courier About FourKites FourKites is the #1 supply chain visibility platform in the world, extending visibility beyond transportation into yards, warehouses, stores and beyond. Tracking more than 2 million shipments daily across road, rail, ocean, air, parcel and courier, and reaching 176 countries, FourKites combines real-time data and powerful machine learning to help companies digitize their end-to-end supply chains. More than 500 of the worlds most recognized brands including half of the Fortune 500, 9 of the top-10 CPG and 18 of the top-20 food and beverage companies trust FourKites to transform their business and create more agile, efficient and sustainable supply chains. To learn more about FourKites, visit https://www.fourkites.com. Media Contact: Marianna Vyridi Big Valley Marketing for FourKites (650) 468-3263 mvyridi@bigvalley.co [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Dognappers who broke into a charity's dog kennels in the middle of the night are believed to have stolen the 'wrong' dog after they took an 11-year-old Springer Spaniel in place of an award-winning youngster. The thieves, who smashed into Hardiwick Boarding Kennels in Caverswall, North Staffordshire, in the early hours of Sunday took the senior dog named Tilly, who is in poor health. John Powell, 73, who is a trustee of the Cocker and English Springer Spaniel Rescue charity, told Stoke-on-Trent Live that he believes the thieves were there to steal a much younger dog named Molly. The thieves, who smashed into Hardiwick Boarding Kennels in Caverswall, North Staffordshire, in the early hours of Sunday took the senior dog named Tilly (pictured), who is in poor health He told how the thieves had 'broken down the door' to get to Tilly, who had only been at the kennels for a week and requires daily medication for her many kidney problems. Mr Powell told the publication: 'I think [the thieves] were after Molly but she had already been rehomed last week. Her picture had been on social media as she had come joint first in an Easter competition. 'Tilly is a much older dog with health problems but I guess in the night they couldn't tell.' Thieves had 'broken down the door' to get to Tilly (pictured), who had only been at the kennels for a week and requires daily medication for her many kidney problems The 11-year-old Springer had been taken in by the charity last week by dog wardens in Stoke-on-Trent Hours later Mr Powell received a call from a private number, with a man with a 'thick Irish accent' asking him to come to an address in Telford, which turned out to be an Asda superstore on arrival. Once there he was not able to find the man. Mr Powell believes the man who rang had been part of the group who took Tilly. The 11-year-old Springer had been taken in by the charity last week by dog wardens in Stoke-on-Trent. A scan of her microchip revealed that her owner was very ill in hospital. If Tilly is found Mr Powell hopes to rehome her himself and said that the dog had nine rotten teeth out on Friday and needs to be cared for. If Tilly is found Mr Powell hopes to rehome her himself and said that the dog had nine rotten teeth out on Friday and needs to be cared for He added: 'I just hope we get her back to us safely. She's a lovely dog with a wonderful temperament and I'm sure she must be very scared wherever she is.' The search for Tilly continues tonight, with Staffordshire Police now involved. MailOnline has contacted Staffordshire Police for comment. Anyone with information is asked to call Staffordshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 133 of April 11 or West Mercia Police on 101 quoting incident number 361 of April 11. SARATOGA SPRINGS Stewart's Shops employees now own 40 percent of the company through its employee stock ownership program, the convenience store chain revealed last week after their annual statements. Stewart's, which was founded in 1945 by the Dake family and has nearly 350 locations in upstate New York and Vermont, runs a so-called employee stock ownership plan in which employees are granted stock in the company each year. Minister of Health Vlad Voiculescu proved "enough and to spare" that he is not the "right" man to lead the most important field in the current unprecedented medical crisis caused by the pandemic of COVID-19, that he causes "only confusion", he does not comply with the rules mandatory for others and "argues with everyone", and consequently he must "urgently" leave office, the PSD deputies say in the motion lodged on Monday. "The Minister of Health is an example of non-compliance with public health measures, proving irresponsibility, lack of ownership and fuelling the distrust of the population in the health system. In a nutshell, Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu does not know, cannot and should not remain in office! He has fully proved that he is not at all the right man to lead the most important field - that of Health - in this unprecedented medical crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. He doesn't know what's going on in the ministry, he doesn't understand the field he runs, he is arguing with everyone, he is deepening public distrust, he causes only confusion and he's not following the rules mandatory for others. Vlad Voiculescu has come to represent a public danger to the life, not only to the health, of Romanians. And, therefore, he must urgently leave," the signatories of the motion "For Romanians to live, Vlad Voiculescu must leave", agerpres.ro confirms. In the Social Democrats' opinion, the lack of public health measures has led to the loss of control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania, "reaching its peak with the dramatic situation at the Foisor Hospital, which has shown that "the life and safety of patients does not matter at all to the Minister of Health". The PSD blames Vlad Voiculescu for "disastrous" management, given that Romania has a "dramatic" stocktaking report with one million people infected with SARS-CoV-2, 25,000 dead, and the capacity to hospitalise in ICUs is exceeded and the population is revolting on the "aberrant" and "contradictory" measures regarding the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Social Democrats reproach Voiculescu for his "untimely evacuation of the Foisor Hospital, "serious failure" in terms of increasing the number of ICU beds and reorganizing the system of providing medical assistance to COVID-19 patients. "Although he knew well that it was badly needed - he had all the necessary data/forecasts - Minister Vlad Voiculescu proved incapable of increasing the response capacity of the Romanian medical system. Moreover, he kept the modular hospitals dedicated to COVID (Pipera, Bacau and Letcani) in a state of nonfunctioning and maintained the separation of hospitals in COVID and non-COVID, although all of Europe has long renounced this division," the motion explains. The signatories also reproach the Minister of Health the "inability" to carry out a testing program that ensures the correct information on the evolution of the pandemic, the non-involvement in the testing process of family doctors, the reduced use of rapid tests. "Romania is the only country in the EU where the number of reported cases decreases, while hospitals and ICU wards for COVID-19 patients become insufficient," the PSD said. According to the Social Democrats, other evidence of Vlad Voiculescu's "disastrous management" is: "encouraging illegal access to the information platform of the National Electronic Vaccination Register by an 'honorary' adviser to the Minister of Health and the disclosure of unauthorized information; attempt to block vaccination against COVID-19 by not paying/delaying the payment of medical personnel involved in vaccination; the scandal related to the minister's order concerning the funerals of the dead by COVID, thrown naked, like animals, in plastic bags, sealed, without church services, without humanity and dignity; attempt to subordinate politically INSP [the National Institute of Public Health], through abuse of office, which has generated the issuance of ministerial orders that change the conditions for the position of director general and the way in which the competition committee is set up to impose a personal adviser to Vlad Voiculescu". According to the PSD, there is no "coherent" plan on access to treatment and surgery of patients with other pathologies, many of them chronic. Social Democrats also recall in the motion that there is still no official report on the fire at the Matei Bals Epidemiological Institute. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 01:16:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Qin Jian (L), Chinese Ambassador to Somalia, and Somalia's Minister of Health and Human Services Fawziya Abikar Nur sign handover certificates of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, April 11, 2021. Somalia on Sunday received 200,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine donated by China to boost the war against COVID-19 pandemic in the Horn of African State. (Chinese Embassy in Somalia/Handout via Xinhua) MOGADISHU, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Somalia on Sunday received 200,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine donated by China to boost the war against COVID-19 pandemic in the Horn of African State. Fawziya Abikar Nur, Minister of Health and Human Services, lauded China's support at a critical moment when the country was fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that 100, 000 people will benefit from the vaccine. "We received 200, 000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China today. It would be very useful in fighting the coronavirus. We thank China for its support to the Somali Government and people and it always stands side by side with Somalia and provides assistance," she added. The health minister said the vaccine will be distributed to all Federal Member States of the Somali government. Qin Jian, Chinese Ambassador to Somalia, said that China is the first country to provide vaccine assistance to Somalia, adding Beijing would continue supporting Somalia as part of promoting the long-friendship between the two nations. "China has fulfilled its solemn commitment to make COVID-19 vaccine as a global public product with practical actions, promoted the fair distribution of global vaccines and made China's contribution to the realization of vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries," said Qin. He said that China will continue to make joint efforts with the Somali side to make positive contributions to peace, reconstruction, development and improvement and improvement of people's livelihood in Somalia. Somalia rolled out its mass vaccination on March 16, having received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the international COVAX vaccine initiative. The ministry of health said it's giving priority to the frontline health workers, essential service providers and the elderly. The country has so far confirmed 11,978 cases, 5,058 recoveries and 576 deaths as of April 8. Enditem HARTFORD, Conn., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul plans to use its ecofriendly adaptive reuse program to transform the former Capitol Archives & Record Storage building in Hartford into a contemporary self-storage facility at 618 Capitol Ave. U-Haul Storage of Capitol Ave. will encompass a four-story building with 87,387 square feet of space. The property, acquired on March 25, sits on nearly three-quarters of an acre. Once the building is repurposed and renovated, it will offer a range of self-storage rooms with high-tech security features at affordable price points. Climate-controlled units will be available. Renovations are expected to be completed this summer. "This will be a modernized, clean and convenient location for our customers," stated Will Cintas, U-Haul Company of Central Connecticut president. "We're eager to work with Hartford city officials to provide a needed product to our community. Our customers have been demanding more storage options here. We take pride in Hartford, and we look forward to expanding our sustainable footprint by reusing a building that has been part of this community since the 1930s." U-Haul Storage of Capitol Ave. will be operated by the existing U-Haul Moving & Storage at Capitol Ave. facility located at 755 Capital Ave., just across Interstate 84. Contact U-Haul Moving & Storage at Capitol Ave. at (860) 527-5251 or stop by to see the progress at the new property. Hours of operation are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL. "By acquiring this property, we're able to expand and offer all of our services in the center of the city," Cintas added. "We hope to set the standard for other businesses who are willing to follow our lead and invest in the future of Hartford." Cintas plans to hire at least 10 additional Team Members to staff the two facilities. U-Haul will look to hire locally to support job growth within the Hartford community. U-Haul, honored as a "Best for Vets 2020" leading veteran-friendly employer by The Military Times, actively recruits veterans and gives them preference in the hiring process. Find U-Haul careers at uhauljobs.com. Acquisition of the property was driven by U-Haul Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse of existing buildings reduces the amount of energy and resources required for new-building materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings. As an essential service provider, U-Haul continues to serve communities during the COVID-19 recovery while offering contactless business programs and enhanced cleaning protocols, including added steps for sanitizing equipment between customer transactions. U-Haul products are used daily by First Responders; delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people's homes; small businesses trying to remain afloat; college students; and many other dependent groups, in addition to the do-it-yourself household mover. Please visit uhaul.com/announcement for more information on how U-Haul is keeping customers and Team Members safe. About U-Haul Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 176,000 trucks, 127,000 trailers and 41,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 774,000 rentable storage units and 66.7 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. Contact: Andrea Batchelor Jeff Lockridge E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 602-263-6981 Website: uhaul.com SOURCE U-Haul Related Links www.uhaul.com Today A mainly sunny sky. High 108F. SSW winds at less than 5 mph, increasing to 10 to 20 mph. Tonight Clear skies. Low around 70F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow Sunny skies. High near 105F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. MOGADISHU, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Somalia on Sunday received 200,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine donated by China to boost the war against COVID-19 pandemic in the Horn of African State. Fawziya Abikar Nur, Minister of Health and Human Services, lauded China's support at a critical moment when the country was fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that 100, 000 people will benefit from the vaccine. "We received 200, 000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China today. It would be very useful in fighting the coronavirus. We thank China for its support to the Somali Government and people and it always stands side by side with Somalia and provides assistance," she added. The health minister said the vaccine will be distributed to all Federal Member States of the Somali government. Qin Jian, Chinese Ambassador to Somalia, said that China is the first country to provide vaccine assistance to Somalia, adding Beijing would continue supporting Somalia as part of promoting the long-friendship between the two nations. "China has fulfilled its solemn commitment to make COVID-19 vaccine as a global public product with practical actions, promoted the fair distribution of global vaccines and made China's contribution to the realization of vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries," said Qin. He said that China will continue to make joint efforts with the Somali side to make positive contributions to peace, reconstruction, development and improvement and improvement of people's livelihood in Somalia. Somalia rolled out its mass vaccination on March 16, having received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the international COVAX vaccine initiative. The ministry of health said it's giving priority to the frontline health workers, essential service providers and the elderly. The country has so far confirmed 11,978 cases, 5,058 recoveries and 576 deaths as of April 8. [ Editor: WPY ] Laboratorios Farmaceuticos Rovi has announced that it will manufacture the main active ingredient of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in Granada. The company will carry out a new investment in its facilities in Andalucia that will allow more than 100 million doses per year to roll off the production line. As well as manufacturing the active ingredient, Rovi will also will also formulate and pack the vaccines prior to distribution for administration to patients. In a statement the company said, "We are very happy with the collaboration with Moderna, whose vaccine against Covid-19 is one of the best positioned in the race to solve this health crisis." "We are extremely excited that Rovi is participating in the manufacture of the active ingredient in the vaccine, since greater integration in the production process will allow us to support Moderna in its large-scale supply more widely," said Juan Lopez-Belmonte Encina. "Our proven experience and capabilities as a manufacturer of injectables for third parties of high technological value have allowed us to reinforce the current agreement with Moderna," he added, before going on to thank the Ministry of Health and the Spanish Medicines Agency for their support throughout the process, which "has being fundamental". The president of the Junta de Andalucia, Juanma Moreno, celebrated the news on his Twitter account saying: Magnificent news that the main active ingredient of one of the vaccines against Covid-19 is manufactured by Rovi in Granada. Its another example of Andalucia's talent and ability to take care of everyone's health. People in Chad have been voting in a presidential election that is expected to give one of Africa's longest-serving leaders a sixth term. President Idriss Deby, who seized power in a military coup in 1990, has been accused of stifling dissent in the lead-up to the vote. Most prominent opposition leaders withdrew from the race, alleging attacks by the security forces. They urged supporters to boycott the election and to protest. What happened on election day? The authorities appeared to have braced themselves for violence. Soldiers were out on the streets in force across the capital N'Djamena on Sunday morning and the previous day municipal workers collected car tyres that protesters could set on fire, reports Reuters news agency. Elite troops from the Republican Guard were deployed to the central polling station where President Deby himself voted, AFP news agency says. President Deby was the first to cast his ballot at that central polling station. "I'm calling on all Chadians to come out and vote for the candidate of their choice who will have to tackle the major challenges facing our country over the next six years," he said to journalists after voting. How bad was the violence before the election? Human Rights Watch has described a ruthless crackdown on key opponents and protesters. It says recent anti-government demonstrations have been met with brutal force. Every Saturday for several months opposition campaigners have defied a ban on protests and the authorities have violently broken up even relatively small gatherings. Police and troops have surrounded party headquarters and the homes of their leaders. In February security forces attempted to arrest opposition candidate Yaya Dillo and left five members of his family dead, according to his party, although the government says three people were killed. The weekly anti-government protest marches were demanding a peaceful transfer of power. Who is running in the election? President Idriss Deby is considered the main contender. He has been in power for three decades and is running for a sixth term and has promised peace and security. Six people are running against him including his former Prime Minister, Albert Pahimi Padacke, and the official leader of the opposition, Felix Nialbe Romadoumngar. This election also marks the first time a woman has run for president in Chad. Lydie Beassemda is a former agriculture minister and has pitched her campaign on breaking down ethnic rivalries and improving women's rights. 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 Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos Getty Brent Huot received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in early March. Despite being below the age of eligibility, and healthy, he had an in: he was signed up as a driver for DoorDash, the gig-work food delivery app. In reality, Huot hadnt delivered a single order. And he didnt plan on starting. I just went on the app, created a profile, said Huot, a 20-year-old Syracuse University student who got his vaccine in New York State. [It] took a few hours to confirm me, then I was in and good to go and use that as a reason to get vaccinated. Huot isnt alone, either. While young people are just this week becoming eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in some states, those eager to get the vaccine early have for some time now found a relatively simple loophole to jump the line: food-delivery apps. Are You a Pfizer or Moderna? Inside the Absurd Vaccine Coolness War Several states in the U.S. opened vaccine eligibility to delivery drivers early in the rollout, including them under the umbrella of essential workers. While that has given a swath of at-risk, active drivers a chance at immunity, it also opened the door for those who saw posing as workers on rideshare and food-delivery apps like UberEats, Doordash, and Postmates as a quick way to get a shot. Those who spoke to The Daily Beast described the process as relatively painless. Following a quick sign-up and approval process, the new drivers said they were able to register under their states guidelines, or at least a local interpretation of them. The process was so easy for Huot that he didnt just do it for himself. He said he went on to help over 80 other students at colleges across New York state get vaccinated early through his DoorDash method, promoting the loophole on his social media account. Huot ended up getting his second dose this past Sundaytwo days before most New York college students would become eligible for their first. A spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health did not respond to multiple requests for comment except to say the state opened vaccine eligibility to all residents over the age of 16 on April 6. Story continues Americans maneuvering to the front of the vaccine line has raised ethical questions, even as the vaccine rollout expands. After all, if more vaccinations mean fewer cases, whats wrong with taking an appointment that could otherwise go to waste? But critics say taking a last-second appointment before vaccine doses expire at a local pharmacy is far different from posing as an essential worker. Its grossly unethical, said Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law and director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. Its not just cutting in front of a line. Theyre cutting in front of people who have a clear and more urgent need for the vaccine. And ultimately it could even cause a death. Joel Ceja, 27, thought differently as he looked over appointments on Californias vaccination website in early March, when only about 20 percent of the states population had received the first dose. Having just registered as a driver for DoorDash, he said, he waited several hours to see if other people would fill the open appointments before taking one. Both Huot and Ceja said they chose DoorDash because of its quick sign-up process, though users on social media have described using Postmates and UberEats as well. In a statement to The Daily Beast, a DoorDash spokesperson said it should take new drivers one to two weeks before their account is fully activated, but that signing up requires only a few minutes. Postmates did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, an Uber spokesperson said the company has launched state and local vaccine eligibility guides for drivers and is providing access to an in-app essential worker card for those who are eligible and need documentation to receive the vaccine. I told myself, it looks like theres a lot of appointments, so if people want these appointments theyll take them, Ceja, who got his vaccine in Los Angeles, said. I figured one person vaccinated is still one person vaccinated. Huot focused on getting college students vaccinated because young Americans have been driving the spread of COVID-19, and he believes getting more shots in students arms will reduce the viruss total spread. Gostin said that isnt a decision for young people to make, and that if college students want to avoid the virus, they should wear masks and practice social distancing, not take a quick out. Its also unfair to everyone else who plays by the rules, Gostin said. Ceja, like Huot, felt that he was doing what was rightprotecting himself while filling an appointment that might otherwise not have been taken. He said he made a single delivery to be safe before getting the vaccine and has continued to drive on occasion since. He couldnt say the same for all of the friends he said followed his example. Sami Gallegos, a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health, said app-based delivery drivers werent meant to be included in the states rollout to begin with. Californias guidelines for essential workers in the food and agriculture sector, though, broadly list delivery drivers supporting restaurants and grocery stores as eligible. Our vaccination rollout is focused on reducing barriers for eligible individuals to receive a vaccine, Gallegos said in a statement to The Daily Beast. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, however, said that the county had interpreted the states guidelines to apply to app-based delivery drivers. Eric Wasserman, a University of Oregon student from California and actual, active DoorDash driver, said his driver status allowed him to get a vaccine in Californias Marin County, as well. Wasserman had been a DoorDash driver for some time and got the vaccine to protect himself and his family, but said he had friends who signed up for the app only to get the vaccine. The Marin County Department of Health and Human Services did not reply to a request for comment. I showed proof of prior deliveries and that was it, Wasserman wrote in a message to The Daily Beast. Someone could literally have made 2 deliveries and qualified. Ceja, too, said some of his friends had to prove they had made deliveries before receiving the vaccine, something he said he never had to do. Gallegos added that individual vaccine clinics in California determine what documentation they require to administer doses. And according to Gostin, the size and scope of the rollout has made it difficult for states to consistently enforce the same eligibility criteria across the board. But signing up as a driver and making no or few deliveries just to qualify for the vaccine is unethical no matter where you are, Gostin said. He added that this particular form of line-jumping falls into a legal gray area, and the companies behind food-delivery apps should share the responsibility of policing it. That doesnt mean people who have gotten away with line-jumping have been discreet about it. Posts about signing up as a driver to get the vaccine have circulated on social media for the last few months, along with encouragement for others to do the same. This loophole, like others, may become obsolete on April 16the target date President Biden has set for opening vaccinations to all American adults. Many states have set earlier target dates in mid- or late April. But so far, gig-work apps have provided an ethically questionable alternative for young people who dont want to wait it out. As Ceja put it, The opportunity presented itself to me, and I took it. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Spain's former king Juan Carlos paid 4.4 million euros in back taxes in February, in a second attempt to regularise his murky finances. But according to online newspaper El Confidencial, he made that payment with individual loans of up to 250,000 euros from friends and associates, rather than from his own fortune. Spain's former head of state has effectively crowd-funded his back tax, and now owes the money to his mates, not the Spanish authorities. To use another analogy, it's as if he's transferred the debt from one massive credit card to several smaller cards - and ones that won't send the bailiffs around to collect repayments. Four million euros is a huge sum of money to you and me, but it's about a quid for the planet's ninth richest royal, who's reputed to possess a personal fortune of around $2 billion. Even so, Juan Carlos is said to have approached more than fifty wealthy friends last autumn asking for financial support, around twenty of whom eventually pitched in to help with the February settlement. It remains unclear whether this was to provide a sum that Juan Carlos couldn't pay himself - meaning that estimates of his personal wealth are wildly off the mark, or that he wasn't planning to ever make back payments - or whether it was an arrangement that was advantageous in some other way for the former King and/or his creditors. The payment they funded was related to eight million euros' worth of private flights, taken between 2006 and 2018, both during and after his reign (Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014). They were paid for at the time by a distant cousin of the former king named Alvaro de Orleans, who used funds from Zagatka, a foundation registered in Liechtenstein - which just happens to be one of the world's top tax havens. De Orleans' testimony in the ongoing investigation, given to Madrid-based prosecutors via videolink from Monaco last month, portrayed a royal enjoying the good life with funds distributed through offshore entities. The revelation of the loans compounds the reputational blow dealt to Juan Carlos by his cousin's evidence and casts doubt on the legitimacy of the February payment itself. It will also heighten curiosity, both judicial and public, about the state of the ex-monarch's finances, and cause Spain's royal family further embarrassment. A group of regional parties are demanding that the Spanish government make public all the details of February's settlement, including the terms on which it was made, what expenditure it was meant to cover and where exactly the four million euros came from. They're right to do so, because as it stands, the Juan Carlos affair - which already features allegations of money laundering, death threats and espionage - becomes more dodgy and opaque by the week. Hammerson, the owner of Birmingham's Bullring, has confirmed that it is in talks to sell its seven UK retail parks to Canadian private equity firm Brookfield as it tries to shore up its finances. The portfolio comprises retail parks in Falkirk, Didcot, Middlesbrough, St Helens, Telford, Merthyr Tydfil and Rugby, with a valuation of around 350million expected. The commercial landlord has been struggling under a 2.2billion debt pile after seeing rental income from stores located in its shopping centres tumble due to the pandemic. Retail parks sale: Hammerson said it was in discussions but a sale may not be agreed in the end The potential sale comes despite retail parks performing better than its shopping centres, with Hammerson collecting 64 per cent of its rent due at retail parks compared with just 36 per cent at UK shopping centres. Retail parks, with large supermarket stores and other big retailers which have been often allowed to continue trading thanks to click-and-collect, are a good source of income for Hammerson. But the company needs to pay down debt and selling assets is a quick way to do that. Today, it said it has secured gross proceeds of around 73million so far in 2021 through disposals. It added that it is continuing to do so in an effort to 'further strengthen the balance sheet'. In a short trading update in response to weekend reports Hammerson confirmed the discussions, but said there was no certainty that a deal would take place. 'The company will provide a further update in due course, if appropriate,' it added. It comes after Hammerson recently cut the valuations of its shopping centres by almost 2billion after suffering the biggest drop in rental income in its history. As retailers struggled to pay rent during lockdowns as stores remained closed, Hammerson saw net rental income across its shopping centres in the UK, Ireland and France nearly halve to 158million last year. That caused a huge writedown in its property portfolio to 6.3billion at the end of 2020, from 8.3billion a year earlier, that in turn saw the company swing to a 1.7billion loss last year. Hammerson has been trying to shore up its finances over the past year by selling off its premiums outlets business, VIA Outlets, and through a deeply discounted rights issue, both of which saw it raise some 804million. These have helped the company reduce its debt pile by 609million to 2.2billion. Last month, it revealed it has sold off another two jointly owned assets in France in a move that will raise over 50million. Hammerson shares fell 2.4 per cent to 36.49p in morning trading on Monday. Former state Rep. Charles Booker announced Monday that he is launching an exploratory committee for the 2022 U.S. Senate race as he attempts to build support for his progressive vision for Kentucky. Kentuckians deserve a senator who will fight as hard for us as we fight for each other, and thats why Im formally announcing an exploratory committee for U.S. Senate, Booker said in a press release. We can, we will, and we must build a future that works for all of us instead of just for a wealthy few. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. An exploratory committee is a step shy of officially announcing his candidacy. Also known as testing the waters, it allows Booker to poll, travel the state, make phone calls and, most importantly, fundraise without officially declaring himself as a candidate. In an interview with the Lexington Herald-Leader Monday, Booker said he was launching the exploratory committee as a way to listen to Kentuckians. He said by exploring the race, he brings more Kentucky voices into the fold. The only way the change will happens is with the people you know so I think taking it to the people and saying lets build this path forward together, Booker said. It is not a sign of indecision, its a sign of commitment. Booker, who ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and came three percentage points shy after surging late in the race, has long indicated that he had his eyes on the U.S. Senate race. In an interview on KET last month, he told host Renee Shaw that he was seriously considering the race. Should he get the nomination, Booker would be running as a progressive in a deeply conservative state that voted to re-elect former President Donald Trump by 26 percentage points. Kelsey Cooper, a spokeswoman for Paul, pointed to a recent Trump endorsement in response to Bookers announcement. Kentuckians know there is no greater champion for the values they hold dear than Dr. Rand Paul, and like President Trump stated in his recent endorsement, Dr. Paul has a proven record of fighting the liberal Washington agenda, Cooper said. Kentuckians dont want to defund the police, to ban the lawful ownership of guns, or Nancy Pelosis Green New Deal. Story continues Booker said hes speaking to the same issues that caused people in Kentucky to vote for Trump a general feeling that they are ignored and that the system is broken. He argued it isnt about the often hot-button traditional issues in elections but a matter of making sure people can put a meal on the table. It wont be a flip, Booker said. Itll be an obvious decision to say wait a minute. We are all in this thing together we fight the same battles, why shouldnt we fight together? Why shouldnt we join together? In the last few months of his 2020 campaign, Booker gained national prominence after protests over racial inequality thrust him into the spotlight and he picked up support against the Democratic frontrunner Amy McGrath. While he fell short of winning the primary, he emerged with a strong base of support and a national profile. When asked what he felt like he learned from losing the close primary, Booker said it reaffirmed that there were people throughout the state who believed in him and his vision and that his biggest problems were a lack of time, money and attention. For the most part, it was a matter of introducing a new story against a lot of money, that a lot of folks werent expecting and didnt know whats possible, Booker said. The big difference now is that people are expecting more. Still, Booker will face the challenge of keeping his momentum in a state where many question whether a Democrat can win statewide. A Democrat has not won a U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky this century and Paul won his last election by nearly 15 percentage points. While it remains to be seen whether there will be a competitive primary for the Democratic nomination, Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison lent his support to Booker on Twitter and wished him good luck Monday. Booker endorsed Harrison in his run for U.S. Senate in South Carolina, where he lost by around 10 percentage points. Will Charles Booker be Amy McGrath all over again in Kentuckys 2022 Senate race? ADVERTISEMENT The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa (ASR Africa) initiative has announced the appointment of consummate International Development and M&E expert, Ubon Udoh, as its pioneer Managing Director/Chief Executive effective immediately. The ASR Africa Initiative, which is the brainchild of industrialist and Philanthropist, Abdul Samad Rabiu, was recently set up with an annual pledge of $100 million dedicated to Health, Education and Social Development issues within the African continent with Nigeria to benefit $50million yearly and the rest of Africa, $50miilion dollars in what is the largest private philanthropic giving of its kind by an individual in Africa. Speaking on the appointment, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of ASR Africa, who is also the Founder/Chairman of the African conglomerate, BUA Group, said Mr Ubons appointment signaled the seriousness with which the initiative intends to carry out its mandate with a focus on systems, programme development and deployment, monitoring and evaluation as well as sustainability. We are pleased to have Ubon Udoh lead the team at the ASR Africa initiative which has been set up to help bridge the development gap in these key areas of health, education and social development within Africa. A well respected and proven expert in building systems and processes and managing donor funds and grants, with an exceptional record of tangible results and value for money. Ubon has added immense value to every institution he has been a part of, and we believe he is a perfect fit for the goals and aspirations of ASRi. He brings with him many years of experience as well as the expertise needed to drive the ASR Africa Mandate whilst also engendering sustainable partnerships for development across the African continent. ASR Africa is confident that he will bring these to bear in developing a sustainable programme for the initiatives annual $100million Africa Fund for Social Research & Development. Profile With over 20 years of international development and project management experience, Ubon Udoh has a strong Monitoring & Evaluation background, and an operational track record of programme coordination and results management of international donor funds and loans from Multilateral development banks. Prior to joining the ASR Africa Initiative, he was the Head of Monitoring & Evaluation at the North East Development Commission North East Recovery and Stability Programme which included responsibility for over 1 billion dollars in loans and grants (World Bank, AfDB, Islamic Development Bank) across various projects dedicated to the recovery of North East Nigerian states from the ravages of the Boko Haram Insurgency, and multilateral interventions with national coverage for COVID 19 response. Over the course of his career, Mr Ubon has provided expertise and support in several capacities with multiple agencies like The World Bank (North East Nigeria Multisectoral Crisis Recovery Project), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), African Development Bank (Nigeria Inclusive Basic Services Development Programme), GIZ, UN Women Peace and Security Programme, Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI), North East Development Commission, North East Recovery and Stability Programme (NERSP) and several state Governments in Nigeria. Mr Ubon Udoh was responsible of the overall coordination of M&E of the World Bank supported Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project NERSP at the Presidential Committee on North East Initiative a role he joined from being an M&E consultant to the UN Women in Peace & Security Programme (WSP-UNSCR 1325). Prior to this, Mr Ubon had worked at the German Agency for Technical Cooperation & Development (later GIZ) where he held several roles in the GTZ/FGN Multisectoral Women Empowerment Projects in NE Nigeria and the GIZ/FGN Gender & Good Governance Projects in Plateau and Borno States, Nigeria in project development, strategy, and coordinating Monitoring and Evaluation. Mr Ubon has also supported the coordination of interventions in the lake Chad region with the countries of Chad, Niger, and Cameroon as part of the World bank PROLAC intervention. An Alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University with experience cutting across multiple sectors like Capacity Development; Water, Sanitation & Health; Infrastructure; Peacebuilding & Social cohesion; IDP Management & Durable Solutions; Education, Health & Governance, Ubon has completed a diverse spread of gender mainstreaming, management, monitoring and conflict prevention courses. He is a past winner of the prestigious President Nana Akufo Ado Presidential Award of Excellence from the Kofi Anan International Peacekeeping and Training Institute. The Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative for Africa is the brainchild of philanthropist and the Founder/Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, that was established in March 2021 with an annual fund of 100million dollars dedicated to solving development issues in the areas of Health, Education and Social Development on the African Continent. asrafrica.org ROME - Libyan premier, Abdelhamid Dbeibah, will be on Monday afternoon in Turkey, accompanied by a government delegation of 14 ministers and army chief of staff, Mohammed Al-Haddad, to meet with Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the presidential palace in Ankara. Meetings will kick off with private talks between the two leaders, followed by a first meeting of the Council of strategic cooperation between the two countries and by a ceremony to sign bilateral accords, accompanied by a joint press conference. The talks will focus on agreements already signed between the two countries, including the demarcation of maritime borders in the Mediterranean, the strengthening of strategic and economic cooperation, partnerships in the service sector, the return of Turkish companies in Libya to resume activities that were interrupted due to the conflict. The nature of the delegation, de facto including the entire Libyan government, according to observers, reflects the crucial role undertaken by Ankara in defending Tripoli from the siege of Cyrenaica general Khalifa Haftar, mainly supported by Russia, the UAE and Egypt. After the signature of the ceasefire last October, the international community - along with the current Libyan unity government - officially require the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country, in particular those connected to the two countries that are most influential from a military standpoint, Turkey and Russia. (Natural News) David Chipman, His Fraudulency Joe Bidens nominee to head the ATF, has spread wild-eyed, Blue Anon conspiracy theories about the 1993 Waco siege. (Article by John Nolte republished from Breitbart.com) During a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) last year, Chipman, a former ATF special agent and current senior policy adviser at [Gabrielle] Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence organization, told this outrageous and provable lie: At Waco, cult members used 2 .50 caliber Barretts to shoot down two Texas Air National Guard helicopters. Point, it is true we are fortunate they are not used in crime more often. The victims of drug lords in Mexico are not so lucky. America plays a role in fueling the violence south of the border. That is some first-class, Blue Anon bullshit right there. Heres the photo proving its Chipman and not some imposter. While defending themselves against an outrageous, unnecessary, and deadly government raid on their compound, there are reports the Branch Davidians did fire at helicopters, but no one was injured and none of the choppers were shot down. The only big question surrounding guns and helicopters was if the helicopters fired on the Branch Davidians something the government has denied, but not credibly. So it is simply a lie to claim the Branch Davidians shot down helicopters with .50 caliber Barretts. After people in the AMA thread pointed out his lie, Chipman never went back to address it. He just dropped his lie and moved right along because thats what dishonest, gun-grabbing conspiracy theorists do. Whats more, according to this official report, no .50 caliber weapons were recovered at the Waco compound after former Attorney General Janet Reno stupidly ordered the raid that would result in totally unnecessary deaths of some 82 people, including 25 children and two pregnant women. Additionally, this report makes it clear no choppers were shot down: The subcommittees reviewed videotape of the raid shot by agents in the helicopters as well as videotape of the exterior of the helicopters involved in the raid after the helicopters withdrew from the scene. Withdrew from the scene is just a tad different from being shot down. It wont surprise anyone that Chipman is in favor of a ban on assault weapons, even though there is no such thing, and is obviously willing to spread lies to convince people to back that ban. After all, is there a bigger liar in the world than his potential new boss, Joe Biden? Listen, a lot of people on both sides blundered at Waco. No question. But the bottom line is this The federal government knew there were women and children inside and still launched a botched raid based on a lot of unfounded rumors like Chipmans helicopter lie which resulted in the agents involved failing to see those inside the compound as fellow human beings. The fake media, the Clinton White House, some (not all) senior law enforcement officials, and the corporate media launched a public campaign to dehumanize the Branch Davidians, to toxify a large group of people, most of whom were guilty of nothing more than embracing a faith that turned them into outsiders There are countless ways Waco could have been handled better. Why in the world the government didnt just wait for Branch Davidian leader David Koresh to go into town and arrest him there is the most baffling. Instead, the government launched a big, sexy, made-for-TV siege a PR move to rebuild reputations after the governments breathtaking debacle at Ruby Ridge, a debacle created over a shotgun with a too-short barrel that never would have existed without a blatant act of government entrapment. Chipman knows hes lying, but the dehumanization propaganda campaign against gun owners is all part of the fascist governments plan to disarm us. Read more at: Breitbart.com For two decades, Irma Chavez has lived in legal limbo. An Arkansas businesswoman with four American-born children, she remains a provisional resident of this country and must renew her status every 18 months. Now shes trusting the Biden administration to make her life more certain and secure. We really hope everything is going to change in our favor now, Chavez told the Associated Press. We are good people. We work. We do our taxes. We pay our taxes. Immigrants like Chavez contribute every day to the nations economy and culture. Theyve earned the peace of mind that would come with a permanent solution to their fragile position. But they are true orphans in Americas complex and contentious immigration system, and fulfilling their hopes will be difficult. Chavez and more than 400,000 other immigrants from 10 different countries live here under a program called Temporary Protected Status (TPS), created in 1990 to provide a safe haven for victims of natural or political upheavals in their home countries. About 250,000 are, like Chavez, natives of El Salvador, with Honduras and Haiti providing most of the remaining refugees. The Biden administration recently expanded the program significantly, adding eligibility for about 325,000 Venezuelans and 1,600 people of Myanmar. Thats a good start, but it doesnt solve the core problem: After more than 30 years, the T in TPS still stands for temporary. The beneficiaries have jobs and homes here. They belong to American families and communities. But they have no guarantees for the future. Attempts to create those guarantees have become ensnarled in the larger political battle over immigration policy, aggravated by the Republican campaign to blame the Biden administration for the upsurge of migrants reaching the southern border. And law-abiding, hardworking folks like Irma Chavez are caught in the crossfire. To underline how precarious their status is, President Donald Trump tried to cancel almost the entire TPS program through an executive order. His mean-spirited mission was thwarted by a blast of federal lawsuits and ultimately by last falls election but for TPS beneficiaries, the threat was very real. And they would have faced two terrible choices: return to their ravaged homelands, or live here in the shadows, undocumented and unprotected. As sociologist Cecilia Menjivar of UCLA told ProPublica: It amounts to a social death in many ways. The rest of us would have lost something, too, if Trump had succeeded. According to the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at the University of Southern California, TPS holders contribute more than $4.6 billion in taxes and more than $35.2 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product. They also contribute to the economic security and political stability of their home countries, developments that are vital to stemming the influx of future immigrant waves. Remittances from foreign workers contribute nearly $6 billion a year to the economy of El Salvador alone, subsidizing almost one-quarter of all households. Irma Chavez is a good example. She helped her sister, Iris Franco, rebuild her home after a flood destroyed it. Moreover, writes the AP, Chavez sends money to help cover their mothers diabetes medication and food, which is out of reach for their mother, who earns $6 a day in the family bread business. It changed our life, because we knew that we had my sister in that place, and so in whatever she could, she has helped us, Franco said. She has always paid attention to us. Under the law, Biden has a few options to help the TPS community. He can expand the program to other countries, as he did with Venezuela and Myanmar, and he can stretch the eligibility requirements to cover more refugees from countries like Haiti. But to erase the temporary from TPS, he needs legislation. A bill did pass the House last month that would create a pathway to citizenship for the TPS stakeholders. The same bill would also make citizenship possible for Dreamers, young people brought to the U.S. as children. And a companion measure would regularize the status of farm workers vital to the nations agricultural industry. But since Democrats hold only 50 Senate seats, they would need 10 Republican votes to break a filibuster and pass any of these measures. And as the political climate on Capitol Hill continues to freeze over, prospects for bipartisan cooperation grow dimmer. Meanwhile, political orphans like Irma Chavez get forgotten, and the threats of the Trump years left their mark. I learned a lot from that, she said that were not safe in this country unless we are citizens. (Roberts is a writer for United Feature Syndicate) Concerns raised over roadwork impact on retail Its feared roadworks in and around the capital could discourage shoppers from heading into the high street. A number of infrastructure projects are currently being carried out which are affecting traffic going in and out of Douglas town centre. Many retailers have been heavily impacted by coronavirus restrictions and efforts are now turning to ensuring they get the support they need to survive. Douglas Council Leader David Christian discussed the issue with Local Democracy Reporter Chris Cave: Media Christian Roadworks [April 12, 2021] Avantor to Acquire Ritter GmbH and its Affiliates; Expands Proprietary Offering for Diagnostic and Drug Discovery Workflows RADNOR, Pa. and SCHWABMUNCHEN, Germany, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR), a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technologies & applied materials industries, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Ritter GmbH and its affiliates in an all-cash transaction with an upfront equity purchase price of approximately 890 million subject to final adjustments at closing and additional payments based on achieving future business performance milestones. Headquartered in Schwabmunchen, Germany, Ritter is the fastest growing manufacturer of high-quality robotic and liquid handling consumables, including conductive tips engineered to exacting standards. These mission-critical consumables are used in a variety of molecular screening and diagnostic applications, including real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), non-molecular assays such as immunoassays, emerging high-throughput in vitro diagnostics (IVD) technologies including next generation sequencing, and as part of drug discovery and clinical trial testing in pharma and biotech applications. Collectively, these applications represent a nearly $7 billion addressable market with attractive long-term growth potential. Ritter's high-precision manufacturing footprint includes 40,000 square meters of specialized production space and 6,000 square meters of ISO Class 8 cleanrooms that provides significant capacity for continued growth. Much of Ritter's current business is focused on serving diagnostic system providers and liquid handling OEMs. The geographic and commercial reach of Avantor's leading global channel and deep customer access will significantly enhance its revenue potential and provide broader aftermarket opportunities. "The acquisition of Ritter marks the next step in the ongoing transformation of Avantor," said Michael Stubblefield, President and CEO of Avantor. "The combination will significantly expand our proprietary offering to the biopharma and healthcare end markets and significantly enhance Avantor's offerings for critical lab automation workflows. Our combined businesses also share similar characteristics including a highly recurring, specification-driven revenue profile and a consumable-driven portfolio of products produced to exacting standards that enhances our unique customer value proposition." "This proposed transaction helps both parties, as well as existing and new customers," said Johannes von Stauffenberg, CEO of Ritter. "Avantor's broad portfolio is used by thousands of scientists and laboratories in virtually every stage of the most important research, development and production activities. We are excited about combining our high-precision products and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities with Avantor's global reach and strong passion for achieving scientific breakthroughs." This transaction leverages Avantor's proven track record of M&A success with transactions that range in size from small tuck-ins to large, transformational acquisitions. Since 2011, the company has successfully completed 40 transactions, deployed more than $8 billion in capital and generated well over $350 million in EBITDA synergies. "We look forward to adding Ritter's highly skilled team members in Germany and Slovenia to the Avantor family," Mr. Stubblefield added. "Similar to Avantor, Ritter serves highly regulated, specification-driven applications and relies on a collaboration-based innovation model to serve its customers. Both companies share a strong culture of innovation and excellence, as well as a clear commtment to sustainability." Financials and Closing Details The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share (EPS) upon closure and is anticipated to enhance Avantor's revenue growth and margin profile. Avantor expects to finance the all-cash transaction with available cash on hand and use of incremental term loans. The Company expects that its adjusted net leverage ratio at closing will approximate 4.1x net debt to pro forma LTM adjusted EBITDA, with rapid deleveraging thereafter. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021, and is subject to customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. Advisors Jefferies LLC and Centerview Partners LLC are acting as financial advisors to Avantor, and Schilling, Zutt & Anschutz is serving as legal counsel. Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE and Carlsquare GmbH are acting as financial advisors to Ritter, and Gleiss Lutz is serving as legal counsel. Fully committed financing of the acquisition has been provided by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA, which exclude certain acquisition-related costs, including charges for the sale of inventories revalued at the date of acquisition and significant transaction costs; restructuring and other costs/income; and amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets. Adjusted EPS also excludes certain other gains and losses that are either isolated or cannot be expected to occur again with any regularity or predictability, tax provisions/benefits related to the previous items, benefits from tax credit carryforwards, the impact of significant tax audits or events and the results of discontinued operations. We exclude the above items because they are outside of our normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods. We believe that the use of non-GAAP measures helps investors as an additional way to analyze the underlying trends in our business consistently across the periods presented. These measurements are used by our management for the same reasons. A quantitative reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS to the corresponding GAAP information is not provided because the GAAP measures that are excluded are difficult to predict and are primarily dependent on future uncertainties. Items with future uncertainties include the timing and cost of future restructuring activities, charges related to the early retirement of debt, changes in tax rates and other non-recurring items. Conference Call Avantor will host a conference call to discuss the transaction on Monday, April 12, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. EDT. To participate by phone, please dial (866) 211-4132 (domestic) or (647) 689-6615 (international) and use the conference code 8694890. We encourage participants to join 15-20 minutes early to complete the registration process. A live webcast of the call can be accessed on the Investors section of our website, www.avantorsciences.com. The transaction press release and slides will also be posted to the website. A replay of the call will be available on the Investors section of the website under "Events & presentations" through May 12, 2021. About Avantor Avantor, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. Our portfolio is used in virtually every stage of the most important research, development and production activities in the industries we serve. Our global footprint enables us to serve more than 225,000 customer locations and gives us extensive access to research laboratories and scientists in more than 180 countries. We set science in motion to create a better world. For more information, please visit www.avantorsciences.com. Forward-looking statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements discuss our current expectations and projections relating to our announced transaction with Ritter as well as our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "likely," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "project," "projection," "seek," "can," "could," "may," "should," "would," "will," the negatives thereof and other words and terms of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions; they are not guarantees of performance. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Although we believe that our assumptions made in connection with the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that the assumptions and expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could contribute to these risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, the factors described in "Risk Factors" in our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and available in the "Investors" section of Avantor's website, ir.avantorsciences.com, under the heading "SEC Filings," and in any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents Avantor files with the SEC. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. In addition, all forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise other than as required under the federal securities laws. Media Contact Allison Hosak Senior Vice President, Global Communications and Brand Avantor +1 908-329-7281 Allison.Hosak@Avantorsciences.com Investor Relations Contact Tommy J. Thomas, CPA Vice President, Investor Relations Avantor +1 781-375-8051 Tommy.Thomas@Avantorsciences.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/avantor-to-acquire-ritter-gmbh-and-its-affiliates-expands-proprietary-offering-for-diagnostic-and-drug-discovery-workflows-301266599.html SOURCE Avantor and Financial News [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. New York, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Air Pollution Control System Market Research Report by Type, by Application - United States Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06014924/?utm_source=GNW Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. 1. The United States Air Pollution Control System Market is expected to grow from USD 7,919.79 Million in 2020 to USD 11,283.71 Million by the end of 2025. 2. The United States Air Pollution Control System Market is expected to grow from EUR 6,944.22 Million in 2020 to EUR 9,893.77 Million by the end of 2025. 3. The United States Air Pollution Control System Market is expected to grow from GBP 6,173.43 Million in 2020 to GBP 8,795.58 Million by the end of 2025. 4. The United States Air Pollution Control System Market is expected to grow from JPY 845,242.55 Million in 2020 to JPY 1,204,257.86 Million by the end of 2025. 5. The United States Air Pollution Control System Market is expected to grow from AUD 11,500.59 Million in 2020 to AUD 16,385.44 Million by the end of 2025. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Air Pollution Control System to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: "The Mercury Control Technology is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period" Based on Type, the Air Pollution Control System Market studied across CO2 Capture, Electrostatic Precipitator, Mercury Control Technology, Particulate Control Systems, Pulse-Jet Baghouse, Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) System, Spray Dryer, and Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization System. The Particulate Control Systems commanded the largest size in the Air Pollution Control System Market in 2020. On the other hand, the Mercury Control Technology is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. "The Chemical Industry is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period" Based on Application, the Air Pollution Control System Market studied across Cement Industry, Chemical Industry, Commercial Power Generation, and Iron & Steel Industry. The Commercial Power Generation commanded the largest size in the Air Pollution Control System Market in 2020. On the other hand, the Chemical Industry is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. 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 Air Pollution Control System 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 Air Pollution Control System Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the United States Air Pollution Control System Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the United States Air Pollution Control System Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the United States Air Pollution Control System Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the United States Air Pollution Control System Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the United States Air Pollution Control System Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06014924/?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. __________________________ Although actor Abhishek Bachchan has proved his mettle as an actor in multiple films, one does feel that he does not get his due, many a time. Now, the Guru actor has confessed that he was on the verge of giving up on his Bollywood career at one point in time. "To fail on a public platform is very difficult. There was no social media back then, but I read via the media that some were abusing me while some said that I do not know acting. At one point in time, I felt it was my mistake that I came into the industry as whatsoever I was trying, it was not working. I went to my dad and said maybe I am not made for this industry," Bachchan revealed to an RJ during an interview. "I never brought you up to be quitter. Every morning you have to wake up and fight for your place under the sun. As an actor, you are improving with every film," the legendary Amitabh Bachchan told him. The actor further advised his talented son to keep working and take up every role coming his way. Bachchan was recently seen in The Big Bull which is loosely based on the Harshad Mehta Scam which was also brought to screen by Hansal Mehta's Scam 1992. The Government has launched an independent review into Greensill Capital, the collapsed financial firm for which David Cameron lobbied ministers. Questions had been mounting over the former prime ministers efforts to secure access for the finance company, which collapsed in March, putting thousands of UK steelmaking jobs at risk. The PA news agency looks at how the controversy unfolded and what happens next. What is the Greensill row about? Labour has led calls for an inquiry after it emerged that Mr Cameron had privately lobbied ministers, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, to win access to an emergency coronavirus loan scheme for his employer, Lex Greensill. Allegations also surfaced that Mr Greensill, an Australian financier, was given privileged access to Whitehall departments when Mr Cameron was in No 10. Chancellor Rishi Sunak (Stefan Rousseau/PA) What was David Camerons involvement? Mr Cameron sent a number of texts to Mr Sunaks private phone asking for support for Greensill, which later collapsed into administration, through the Governments Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF). It was later reported that Mr Cameron had arranged a private drink between Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Mr Greensill to discuss a payment scheme later rolled out in the NHS. The former Conservative leader also emailed a senior Downing Street adviser, pressing for a rethink on Mr Greensills application for access to emergency funding. Are jobs on the line? Greensill was the main financial backer of Liberty Steel and its collapse has left the firm, which employs around 5,000 workers at a number of sites across the UK, facing an uncertain future. What has Mr Cameron said about the row? Breaking his weeks of silence in a statement on Sunday evening, Mr Cameron insisted that, in his representations to Government, he did not break any codes of conduct or lobbying rules. But he did acknowledge that he should have communicated with the Government through only the most formal of channels, rather than texts to Mr Sunak, and said he accepts there are important lessons to be learnt. Mr Cameron said many of the allegations made in recent weeks are not correct as he challenged what he called a false impression that Mr Greensill was a key member of his team while prime minister. Hasnt a watchdog already looked into this? Last month, the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists cleared Mr Cameron of breaking lobbying rules, because, as an employee of Greensill, he was not required to declare himself on the register. What will the independent review involve? The review, commissioned by the Cabinet Office on behalf of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will examine how Government contracts were secured by the company and the actions of former premier Mr Cameron. Who is leading the review? Nigel Boardman, who is a non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and chairman of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. The lawyer has previously conducted a review of Cabinet Office procurement processes, according to Downing Street. And what has Labour said about it? The Opposition, which has repeatedly called for an investigation into the scandal, said the review risks kicking the issue into the long grass. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rachel Reeves said: This has all the hallmarks of another cover-up by the Conservatives. We need answers on Greensill now that means key players in this cronyism scandal like David Cameron, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock appearing openly in front of Parliament as soon as possible to answer questions. Labour will seek to maintain pressure on the Government over the row on Tuesday, when a minister will be forced to respond to an urgent question from shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds on the issue. Leading Saudi ICT Infrastructure company Tawal said it has secured the ISO 22301:2019 Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) in recognition of its commitment to comply with international BCMS standards. The ISO certification confirms that Tawals Risk Management, Disaster Recovery, and Operations adhere to international standards and that the company operates a highly efficient, well-regulated document management system to protect against critical incidents. ISO 22301 is an internationally recognized standard that provides a framework to plan, implement, operate, maintain and continually improve BCMS. The ISO certification has been developed to help organizations protect against and recover when disruptive incidents arise. It also demonstrates and assures Tawals stakeholders that the company adheres to good practice in BCM. Chief Operations Officer Engineer Saeed Alshehri said: "Tawal is pleased to be recognized for its efforts and comprehensive BCM system. Achieving the ISO certification at this stage of our industry experience proves Tawal's strict and thorough compliance to the highest international standards." "We are well equipped with a strong team supported by the top management, and together we were able to complete the process in a shorter than average timeframe which reflects Tawals commitment to a thorough, solid, and secure BCM system," he added. Engineer Alshehri said: "With the systems in place, we are confident we can handle any disruption. Incidents can take many forms ranging from large scale natural disasters to technology-related accidents and environmental incidents." "Most incidents are small but can have a significant impact, so it is essential to have a robust business continuity management system in place in order to react quickly, efficiently and effectively," he noted. Tawal offers state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure solutions to supply a growing industry. It is well-positioned to lead the next hi-tech transformation by offering the ideal answer to customers searching for a reliable and cost-efficient ICT infrastructure that would ensure optimal operation for their business. Currently, a key player in the Saudi telecommunications infrastructure industry, the company aspires to extend its coverage across the region.-TradeArabia News Service From effortless luxury to an effortless customer experience Contentsquare, the only complete experience analytics platform, is partnering with French fashion brand Zadig&Voltaire to help the luxury brand execute a customer-centric website redesign. With around 75% of its digital traffic coming from smartphones (+7% more than the average share of traffic in the fashion sector), the brand is already leading the way when it comes to mobile journey optimization. The team at Zadig&Voltaire will leverage Contentsquare's customer behavior insights to make impactful merchandising decisions as well as improve the checkout funnel. The brand's catwalk looks are famous for blending laidback and luxury styles, and the product discovery journey also aims to deliver an effortless and intuitive premium fashion experience. Contensquare's granular insights provide the team with an acute understanding of how customers are progressing through the site, pinpointing any area of frustration and other obstacles along the path to conversion. The team will also feed Contentsquare customer intelligence into its personalization program in order to inform, shape and deliver customized brand experiences at scale. "A solution like Contentsquare allows us to be confident in our experimentation, since we are able to access real-time understanding of how site changes enhance or hinder the customer journey," said Jonathan ATTALI, Chief Digital Officer at Zadig&Voltaire. "We also rely on Contentsquare insights to optimize the inspirational content that is the bedrock of our merchandising strategy. Our digital ROI is directly tied to our understanding of customers, and that's why we chose Contentsquare as our analytics solution." "It's always exciting to partner with a beloved brand that has such a distinct identity, and Zadig&Voltaire are really leading the way when it comes to digital luxury fashion," said Niki Hall, Chief Marketing Officer at Contentsquare. "We look forward to helping the team at Zadig&Voltaire maximize the eCommerce opportunity through their site redesign, and leverage their unique brand story to drive conversion." ENDS About Contentsquare Contentsquare empowers brands to build better digital experiences. Our experience analytics platform tracks and visualizes billions of digital behaviors, delivering intelligent recommendations that everyone can use to grow revenue, increase loyalty and fuel innovation. Founded in Paris in 2012, Contentsquare has since opened offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Munich, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Singapore. Today, it helps more than 700 enterprises in 26 countries deliver better digital experiences for their customers. Visit contentsquare.com to find out more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005807/en/ Contacts: UK PR Contacts Rachel Nulty Charlie Apsey Wildfire contentsquare@wildfirepr.com +44 (0) 208 408 8000 Mumbai, April 12 : Moving ahead in its probe into the allegations of corruption and misuse of office, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh for questioning on April 14. "We have asked Deshmukh to record his statement on April 14 at our office here," a CBI official related to probe told IANS. This is for the first time that the CBI has summoned Deshmukh for questioning after it registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) on April 6 into allegations of corruption and misuse of office on the orders of the Bombay High Court. The CBI action comes a day after it recorded the statements of his two PAs, Palande and Kundan, on Sunday. Earlier, in the day, the CBI also recorded the statement of ACP Sanjay Patil for the second time in connection with its probe. Deshmukh had stepped down from his post on last Monday after the Bombay HC ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the charges levelled against him by former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh. Two teams of the CBI led by Superintendent of Police level officers are already in Mumbai to probe the allegations of corruption and misuse of office by Deshmukh. The CBI has also recorded the statement of Param Bir Singh, who dropped a letter bomb on March 20, accusing Deshmukh of asking suspended and arrested Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze and other Mumbai Police personnel to extort Rs 100 crore monthly from bars, hotels and restaurants. The CBI has also recorded the statement of petitioner Jayshri Patil and DCP Raju Bhujbal. (Alliance News) - Ireland's vaccine taskforce on Monday recommended the AstraZeneca PLC coronavirus jab be limited to those aged over 60, following European reviews of evidence linking the shot to rare blood clotting events. The National Immunisation Advisory CommitteeA said the AstraZeneca vaccine "is not recommended for those aged under 60 years" after the European Medicines Agency noted "unusual clotting events" as "very rare side effects". source: AFP Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Jordan's King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II on Sunday attended a ceremony in Amman in remembrance of martyrs' sacrifices to the nation, as the Kingdom celebrates the centennial anniversary of the foundation of the Jordanian state. Abdullah laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier and marched at Martyr's Square bestowing the Order of the State Centennial on the nation's martyrs' memorial. The first government in Jordan was sworn in on April 11, 1921, marking the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan under the leadership of Emir Abdullah I at the time. The British protectorate eventually became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan after declaring its independence from Britain in 1946. (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) Officials now estimate that 1 million immigrants will arrive on our southern border this year. This is no surprise; the U.S. immigration system has been broken for decades. Congress continues to fail in passing comprehensive immigration reform and due to this failure, the last two presidents have been forced to resort to executive actions. Most, if not all, major immigration policy changes in the past five years have come through the pen of the president. Former President Donald Trump authorized 220 executive actions without the negotiation or compromise that Congress is bound to manage. It resulted in an immediate and radical change to Americas immigration policy. Since President Joe Biden has been in office, he too has enacted executive orders 38 as of Thursday reversing many of Trumps executive orders. These inconsistent executive actions by our presidents have left Americans polarized, insecure and confused. The term comprehensive immigration reform is often used as to encompass the entirety of our immigration laws. However, this reform should be seen as many separate and distinct issues that can be addressed individually to achieve the change Americans desire. Topics that need attention include immigration quotas, catch-and-release rules, the border wall, DACA, amnesty, refugees, guest worker visas and student visas. These issues compose our immigration system, and Congress has failed to address them meaningfully. Addressing a joint meeting of Congress, Pope Francis said America is the land of the free and the home of the brave and that Congress has a responsibility to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. His remarks were met with bipartisan support and applause. Biden has removed most of Trumps executive orders, which has motivated immigrants and refugees to rush to our border. However, these actions have consequences. Thousands of unaccompanied minors, drugs, human trafficking and human exploitation have created the humanitarian crisis we currently face, and the DHS is not equipped or financed to deal with the massive influx of people, particularly children at our southern border. Issues like these persist from president to president, leaving Congress as the common denominator in the immigration reform failure equation. Congress needs to roll up its sleeves and work together. Common ground is possible. Policy does not have to be a zero-sum game. Congress can support immigration by allowing implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, establishing worldwide immigration quotas, supporting resettlement agencies for those approved and establishing work programs. At the same time, it can maintain border security by reinforcing consulates and embassies in foreign countries, giving citizens of foreign countries incentives to remain in their home country as they apply for citizenship and encouraging corporate presence in foreign countries to reduce foreign economic turmoil. Measures like these can lift the burden off the Department of Homeland Security and immigration courts while providing an avenue for legal immigration that benefits the United States as well as the refugees and immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship. It is time for Congress to put an end to the chaos that surrounds our immigration system by passing comprehensive immigration reform that will protect the security of our southern border, expand cooperation with the immigrants country of origin and offer compassionately just treatment to all immigrants. As Pope Francis said in his closing remarks to Congress: If we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. Javier Oliva is an attorney and senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. New Delhi, April 12 : The Supreme Court slapped a cost of Rs 50,000 on former Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Chairman Syed Waseem Rizvi seeking removal of certain verses from Quran on the ground that they allegedly promote hatred and terror. A bench headed by Justice R. F. Nariman at the outset queried Rizvi's counsel -- is he really serious about the matter and keen on pressing the petition. The counsel replied in affirmative and began his arguments. After hearing the counsel for a few minutes, the bench said, "This is an absolutely frivolous writ petition." The top court dismissed the petition with a cost of Rs 50,000, which will be paid to legal service authorities. Rizvi's counsel argued that teaching in the holy book is not protected under Article 25 or 30 of the Constitution and cited issues with the interpretation of the verses. The counsel urged the top court to issue guidelines on the issue, so that students, studying in the madrasas under government, should not be indoctrinated. The counsel submitted that his client had written to the Central government on these issues. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text San Diego County will pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a mentally ill man who died after deputies tried to forcefully remove him from a jail holding cell, a newspaper reported. The Union-Tribune said its the largest settlement yet for an in-custody fatality in the San Diego County jail system. Paul Silva, 39, was jailed in February 2018 after his mother called police because he had stopped taking medication for schizophrenia and was experiencing a psychotic episode. Silva was in a holding cell for 36 hours, according to the familys lawsuit. When Silva did not comply with orders to cuff up, place his hands through the cell door so he could be handcuffed, a team tried to extract Silva. Paul was Tased between four to nine times while six other members of the Tactical Team held him down with a body shield and pressed down on his torso, the lawsuit said. Silva died a month later at a hospital. The family sued after the District Attorneys Office found no crime had been committed by deputies. County officials didnt respond to the Union-Tribunes requests for comment on the settlement. The agreement comes as the Sheriffs Department is confronting a dozen other lawsuits over inmate deaths and injuries, the newspaper said. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California Haiti - Insecurity : The Church victim of kidnapping Yesterday Sunday no less than 4 Haitians Catholic priests, 1 French priest, as well as a Haitian nun and a Frenchwere kidnapped in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets. According to the first information it would be the men of the gang "400 mawozo" who would have committed these acts, when the group was on the way for the installation ceremony of a priest at the immaculate church of Galette Chambon (Ganthier), according to Father Loudger Mazile, spokesperson for the CEH. According to the information available, the hostage takers claim a million US dollars in exchange for their release. "This is too much. The time has come for these inhuman acts to stop," Monsignor Pierre-Andre Dumas, Bishop of Miragoane reacted this Sunday, "The Church prays and stands in solidarity with all the victims of this odious act," he added. The Haitian Conference of Religious (CHR) expresses its deep sorrow, but also its anger at the infrahuman situation in which we have been floundering for more than a decade. "Not a day goes without weeping and gnashing of teeth and yet the so-called officials of this country, while clinging to power, are increasingly helpless and, equally non-existent if we consider the responsibility of a power established according to the norms which govern a nation. Is enough." Here are the names of those kidnapped : Five (5) Priests, including 4 from the Society of Priests of Saint Jacques : Father Evens Joseph, PSJ, Father Michel Briand (French nationality), PSJ, Father Jean Nicaisse Milien, PSJ FatherJoel Thomas, PSJ Father Hugues Baptiste, priest of the Archdiocese of Cap-Haitien Two (2) nuns : Sister Anne Marie Dorcelus, PSST - Aunt of Father Arnel Joseph, PSJ Sister Agnes Bordeau (French nationality), Sister of Providence of Pommeraye Three (3) members of the Family of Father Arnel Joseph, PSJ : Mrs. Oxane Dorcelus, her mother Miss Lovely Joseph, her sister Mr Welder Joly, his godfather HL/ HaitiLibre If business owners had known the pandemic was coming, what would they have done to prepare? Meganne Wecker offers a glimpse. As the president and chief creative officer of Skyline Furniture, and co-founder of sister company Cloth & Company, Wecker works with an import business operating out of China, Vietnam and Cambodia. At Las Vegas Market in February 2020, she began to hear about Chinese factories facing coronavirus-related issues and making adjustments to protect their employees health and maintain production flow. We learned a lot watching them go through it before usit was sort of a peek into the future, Wecker tells host Dennis Scully on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast. It was very fortunate that they were such amazing partners to share a lot of the things that worked for them and a lot of the things that didnt, and I think it really helped us navigate through our early days of shutting down, and then again when we had to get back up and running. Anticipating where things were heading, Skyline and Cloth & Company began implementing social distancing tactics modeled after those adopted in factories and workplaces in China. They also bought raw materials from overseas in greater quantities and began to plan for a 6-feet-apart workflow in their factories, along with the use of masks and hand sanitizernot yet staples of everyday life at that time. Its not the first time the 75-year-old family-owned company has been ahead of the industry curve. In this episode, Wecker touches on Skylines willingness to engage with emerging technology and new business practicesalong with how it has benefited from the resulting payoff. This episode was sponsored by Serena & Lily and Artistic Tile. Below, check out a few takeaways and listen to the episode. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. E-commerce early adopters In the early days of the dot-com era, Wecker was 22 years old and fresh out of college. Her father, then president of Skyline, gave her the go-ahead to design a line that could be sold online, and she settled on furnishings fit for someone like her, moving into their first adult apartment. Turns out, thats also who was shopping online at the time, she says. So it was sort of the right place at the right time, and we really became hyperfocused on the e-commerce channel. The move wasnt a huge departure from the companys existing business operationsthey were still packaging custom-made orders and sending them straight to consumers, just through a new channel. My dad has always let me play in different areas and given me that opportunity, says Wecker. I think he was also very intrigued by what e-commerce was going to do. It was a successful bet on all of our parts. Digital fabric pioneers When the digital fabric printer first arrived in Skylines factories in 2016, Wecker says it was only the second purchased by a company in the U.S. and the first owned by a furniture manufacturer. Needless to say, figuring out how to utilize it was a process of trial and error. Everyone did look at it a little bit like an alien had landed here, she says. We spent two years learning and trying to figure out how to make this work for our business. In the end, it was time well spent. The benefits for product development were hugethe company could now create a fabric collection in one day, leaving behind a process that previously took 60 to 90 days. The technology even led to the 2016 founding of Cloth & Company, where Wecker has the freedom to play with new design strategies to create unique collections. Contemplating virtual product content The next frontier for e-commerce, according to Wecker, is collapsing the distance between online shoppers and digital representations of the product. As close as you can get people to the product through the screen is important, she says. You really want customers to understand what theyre buying upfront and feel confident in the purchase that theyre going to make, especially if theyre new to buying big-ticket items online. There are a number of ways to do this, and Weckers team is still playing around with what works bestfrom 3D visualizations to virtual and augmented reality experiences. The ultimate goal is to help customers get more comfortable with e-commerce. Friends of two backpackers left clinging to life after suffering severe burns when the boat they were travelling on exploded into a ball of flames near Sydney are desperately trying to raise funds to cover their medical expenses. Ale Osr from Mexico and Mirka Totka from Slovakia were on the boat on Easter Sunday as it caught fire when the skipper turned on the ignition shortly after refuelling at the Hawkesbury River Marina in Brooklyn, north of Sydney. Mirka, described by friends as a beautiful and energetic young woman, was celebrating her 30th birthday at the time after coming to Australia to start a new life. Eleven people were on or near the boat when it exploded, with the injured running back to the marina where bystanders turned the area into a makeshift triage, filling containers with water and grabbing hoses to soothe burns. Both girls were rushed to hospital in a critical condition, along with four others, with Ale suffering severe burns to about 60 per cent of her body and Mirka receiving burns to 40 per cent of her body. Ale Osr from Mexico suffered severe burns to 60 per cent of her body after a boat she was on exploded north of Sydney on Easter Sunday Mirka Totka from Slovakia was celebrating her 30th birthday at the time the boat caught fire at the Hawkesbury River Marina in Brooklyn Mirka is currently in intensive care at Royal North Shore Hospital after suffering burns to her hands, arms, legs and torso A friend of Ale's revealed online she requires surgery every second day and needs multiple skin grafts as she faces months of rehabilitation. 'There is no timeframe currently on how long she will be in ICU for, as she is still in a critical condition,' the friend wrote. 'Ale requires surgery roughly every two days to remove dead skin and tissue, and to clean her wounds. To do this, they need to put her under general anaesthetic as it would be too painful if she were awake. 'She will require multiple skin grafts to help heal large areas that have been burnt and extensive surgery and rehabilitation over the next few months.' The friend said Ale was working at a long day care centre at Gladesville 'where the families, children and educators all absolutely love and adore her'. 'Ale is known for her bubbly personality and infectious smile that has the ability to brighten anyone's day,' the friend said. Emergency services rushed to the scene where they found a total of eight people injured and the boat engulfed in flames The boat exploded when the skipper turned on the ignition, the force knocking those on the stern to the ground In a separate online post, a friend of Mirka's said she suffered burns mainly to her hands, arms, legs and torso. 'Mirka is currently in the intensive burns unit undergoing skin grafting surgery and multiple other painful treatments,' the friend wrote. 'Roughly every three days she needs to have her wounds cleaned to remove the dead tissue so she does not get an infection. This is an extremely painful process which causes extreme fever after every procedure.' Mirka works as a manager at an organic retail store, which is an industry that she has always wanted to work in, the friend said. 'Mirka is loved by her friends and the local community which she gives so much to, and those that are close to her know how funny she is with her unconventional humour,' the friend said. As Ale was in Australia on an international student visa she was not covered by Medicare, while Mirka was on a bridging visa with no insurance, friends revealed. GoFundMe pages has been set-up to raise funds for both Ale and Mirka. 'We are unsure at this time how much her student medical insurance will cover, however we do know that her medical expenses will be significant and may not be entirely covered,' a friends of Ale's wrote. Friends of Ale are rising funds for her medical expenses as she was in Australia on an international student visa Mirka was on a bridging visa after coming to Australia from Slovakia to start a new life, friends said 'On top of this, her loss of income, rent, bringing her family to Australia, rehabilitation, and so on, all add extreme financial pressure, something that we would like to support Ale with as much as we can.' A friend of Mirka's wrote: 'Mirka is on a bridging visa with no insurance and at this time we don't know exactly how much the financial burden will be for her long term rehabilitation, loss of income, rent, bills and cost for bringing her family to Australia. 'We do know that the financial pressure will be significant. Mirka has no family in Australia and it's times like this where we appeal for your and the community's support so good people like Mirka have a small fighting chance to get through a traumatic experience like this.' NSW Ambulance inspector David Morris said the explosion was the most catastrophic he had seen. 'It's one of the worst incidents I've seen in my 15-year career in ambulance, and thankfully we had all the other emergency services here to help us out,' Morris told media after the incident. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Ukraine's president has visited the country's frontline trenches as Russian TV warns that the two countries are 'one step from war'. Russia is now thought to have massed more than 80,000 troops along Ukraine's eastern border, with an arsenal of tanks, artillery, armoured transports and support vehicles - raising fears of an invasion. Ukrainian presidential spokesman Iuliia Mendel said today that 40,000 troops are now stationed in Crimea with another 40,000 near the Donbass region where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting government forces for years. The country's President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the area near Mariupol, insisting on going to the most forward positions while wearing a camouflage flak jacket and helmet, CNN reported. 'If I visit a military base, the guys at the very front will hear about it and think I forgot about them,' Zelensky said during a two-day interview. 'They need to know they have political support.' Clashes have regularly broken out in the east in recent weeks, undermining a ceasefire brokered last year that had raised hopes of ending a conflict that erupted in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. Two Ukrainian soldiers have now been killed in clashes with pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine's war-torn east, its military said today. Zelensky said that a Russian invasion is a real possibility that Ukraine is bracing for. He said: 'They are ready, but we are also ready because we are on our land and our territory.' Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian news anchor who has been called a 'Putin propagandist' in the past, issued the warning during a primetime broadcast in Russia on Sunday. He branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state, saying that Russia may be forced to 'de-Nazify' it by force - a process he said would bring about its 'economic and military collapse'. Meanwhile Michael McFaul, who was America's man in Moscow between 2012 and 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea, warned that Putin could invade Ukraine and bring war to Europe in a 'worst-case scenario'. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on his working visit to the eastern Ukrainian conflict zone, April 8 Ukrainian serviceman at his post on the frontline near the town of Zolote, in the Lugansk region on April 8 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) is pictured above on the frontline Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits positions of armed forces near the frontline with Russian-backed separatists in Donbass region, Ukraine, April 9 Saratov region, Russia, April 12: Russia's President Vladimir Putin and former cosmonaut/State Duma member Valentina Tereshkova plant cedar trees in Space Conquerors Park Russia has continued to move artillery pieces (left), armoured vehicles (right) and troops to its border with Ukraine amid warnings the build-up could spark war in Europe There are now more than 80,000 Russian troops along the border, the Ukrainian president's office has said, with 40,000 in Crimea and 40,000 along the rest of the border Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow, said the build-up - which is being carriedo out in full view of cameras (above ) - is 'definitely' designed to test Joe Biden Videos from Rostov-on-Don, around 100 miles from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, show tanks (left) and support vehicles being moved closer to the border He said the current posturing in eastern Europe could easily spill over into all-out conflict if Russia decides to attack on the pretext of 'liberating' Russian-speakers in the east of the country who it considers citizens. 'If that happened the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian army would respond, I have no doubt that they would, and then you would have a war in Europe between two very formidable armies,' he said. In the meantime, Russia has resorted to attacking Ukrainian President Zelensky over the airwaves with state media painting him as the aggressor. A news report on Russia's Channel One likened Zelensky - a former actor - to Napoleon after digging up images of him playing the part in an old TV drama. The Ukrainian leader was dreaming of 'Napoleonic ambitions' by hoping NATO would come to his aid against Russia, the report said. But it was clear Zelensky was not evaluating himself 'sensibly'. Portraying Napoleon on screen 'is not the same as doing it,' the report added. Another report labelled the ex-TV comedian Zelensky a 'commander-in-chief comic', a 'president of war' who was 'inciting' conflict. Viewers were told that Ukraine with NATO support, rather than Russia, was building up military firepower close to Donetsk and Luhansk, which are controlled by pro-Moscow rebels following a civil war in 2014 that has led to more than 14,000 deaths. 'Never before has there been so much Nato military hardware in Ukraine,' claimed the report. It also highlighted alleged arrivals of US transport planes and Pentagon-leased cargo vessels in strategic Ukrainian port Odessa. These claims could not be immediately corroborated. Videos have also shown tanks, mobile artillery, howitzers, armoured personnel carriers and support vehicles being ferried to the front - many of which are being massed at a camp near the city of Voronezh, around 115 miles from the border. Mendel added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has requested talks with Putin over the troop buildup, but has not yet received a response. Zelenskiy will this week travel to Paris to discuss the rising tensions with European allies. Asked by BBC Radio 4 how concerned world leaders should be by the situation in Ukraine, Mr McFaul responded simply: 'Very.' Ukraine has begun pumping out its own images of military preparations, including troops practicing with an anti-tank launcher Ukrainian troops practice with anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers as the government warns of the risk of Russian invasion A Russian 'peacekeeping' vehicle is seen on the move in Transnistria, in Moldova, along Ukraine's western flank While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has threatened 'consequences and costs' if Russia moves into Ukraine, Mr McFaul said his threat does not go far enough. He called on the White House should be explicit in spelling out what its retaliation would be if Russia attacked, in the hopes of changing the calculation Putin makes before giving the order. 'Sanctions almost never change Putin's behaviour post-facto, but they might change his calculations before he decides to make a move,' he said. He added that the G7 should also put out a statement condemning Russia's actions instead of forcing America to take its stand alone. Invited to speculate on why Putin is now making an issue out of a conflict that has been smouldering in eastern Ukraine for the past five years, Mr McFaul pointed to 'tough' things that Biden has said about the Russian president since taking office. Back in March, Biden called Putin 'a killer' while threatening to retaliate against Russian attempts to interfere in the 2020 election. The remark caused fury in Moscow, as Putin's spokesman called it 'unprecedented' and said it is clear that Biden 'does not want to improve relations with us, and we will continue to proceed from this'. Observers have also pointed to pressure mounting on Putin from within Russia as a reason for him to ratchet up simmering tensions. The president is facing slumping popularity in the polls, repeated leaks to the media about his closely-guarded private life, and serious opposition in the form of Alexei Navalny - the now-jailed critic who sparked mass protests back in January. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, of the Center for a New American Security, told Foreign Policy magazine that 'it feels like Putin is drumming up the besieged Russia narrative'. Amid the tensions, Russian media warned on Monday that the country is 'one step away from war' as anchors branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state and played footage of weapons being moved to the border. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (right) has called for talks with Putin (left) to try and resolve the tensions, but says Moscow has not responded so far Joe Biden raised tensions with Moscow by branding Putin a 'killer', with experts saying the troop movements are designed to 'test' the US president Moscow also unveiled a new video of its latest weaponry marking Day of the Air Defence Forces. More footage showed the first recent Russian military massing on Ukraine's western flank, with movements in Transnistria, a no-man's land controlled by Moscow that borders Moldova. Some carried 'peacekeeper' signs, normal for Moscow forces in the breakaway territory. It was not immediately clear where the forces were heading. Troops and equipment have also been on the move in annexed Crimea, along with the Russian regions of Pskov, Ryazan, Rostov-on-Don, and elsewhere. Images also emerged from Ukraine of forces doing drills with the Korsar (Corsar) light portable anti tank missile system. And reports say US military reconnaissance planes P-8A Poseidon and Lockheed EP-3E Orion have been spotted over the Black Sea close to Crimea during the weekend. It comes after Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, warned last week of the threat of a 'second Srebrenica' against Russian speakers in Ukraine - referencing a massacre of Muslims by Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. Deputy head of the presidential administration Dmitry Kozak warned that, if Russia finds reason to intervene in the conflict, then it would be the 'beginning of the end' for Ukraine. Military action would be 'not a shot in the leg, but in the face', he added. Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist movements in Donbass has already ramped up as tensions increase, Kiev says. On Sunday, fighting saw one Ukrainian soldier killed and another wounded by artillery fire. Ukraine says 27 soldiers have now been killed in the region this year, more than half the number who died in all of 2020. PRESTON, Minn. One sentence is handed down while one trial is still spending in a Fillmore County drug bust. Ted John Lord, 61 of Canton, and Angela Chamberlain, 44 of Neillsville, Wisconsin, were arrested after the Southeastern Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team raided a building in the 10000 block of County Road 113 in the village of Prosper on July 2, 2020. Authorities say 10 grams of methamphetamine and a trace amount of cocaine was found. Lord pleaded guilty to storing meth paraphernalia in the presence of a child and was sentenced Monday to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine or do community work service. Chamberlain has pleaded not guilty to third-degree drug possession, two counts of fifth-degree drug possession, and storing meth paraphernalia in the presence of a child. Her trial is set to start on May 18. Gov. Charlie Baker toured the vaccination process at the Family Health Center of Worcester on Monday, but when he spoke from the bowels of the facility, he was unable to confidently predict upcoming quantities of the COVID-19 vaccine the state would receive. While Baker boasted about the states expectation to eclipse 2 million fully vaccinated residents by the end of the week, the governor continued to stress uncertainty when it comes to the supply of the vaccine. Doses of Moderna and Pfizer have become more consistent, however, quantities of Johnson & Johnson continue to fluctuate. What we would like, speaking for Massachusetts, and Ive talked with other governors as well, the thing we really like is the same sort of predictability and visibility in the J&J vaccine that we had into Moderna and Pfizer, Baker said. Massachusetts was shipped 103,800 doses of the single-shot vaccine last week but is set to receive only 12,300 doses this week, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number is expected to drop to about 4,000 the follow week. Baker said he wasnt sure how many doses the state would receive three weeks from now. Baker said the stark decrease is due to millions of doses being contaminated in Baltimore last week. Despite the hiccup, Baker said the state remains for the most part on schedule for where it planned to be regarding vaccine rollout. On April 19, all residents in Massachusetts 16 years and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Baker felt confident that the states website, which has struggled at times to keep up with the demand when new groups become eligible, could meet the demand. Im not worried about the website, Baker said. Thats not fair. Im always worried about the website. Weve been assured it wont be a problem. Theyve run some pretty heavy stress tests on it. But I think its likely how long people are going to wait to get vaccinated is going to 100% be a function of supply. Baker provided the COVID update on the 15th anniversary of the passage of the Massachusetts Health Connector. He said the historic anniversary has ensured Massachusetts is one of the healthiest states in the country with the highest percentage of residents with health care coverage. The law made Massachusetts a national leader in ensuring access to health insurance, Baker said. Baker highlighted that Massachusetts is one of the top states in the country when it comes to vaccine rollout. Baker said the Bay State ranks as the top state in terms of first doses and total doses administered among states with at least 5 million people. Still, he said, the state has the infrastructure to dole out even more shots if the supply was available. The federal distribution of vaccines at nationwide pharmacies has continued to ramp up, Baker said. He reminded folks the vaccines will be distributed beyond mass vaccination clinics and at locations like the community health center from where he spoke on Monday. I do believe that if the supply is there by the time we get to Memorial Day, a significant number of people in Massachusetts will have been vaccinated, Baker said. Related Content: Kenyas elephant population has increased at an annual rate of approximately 2.8 percent over the last three decades, and there has been a 96 percent decline in poaching, Kenyas Wildlife Research and Training Institute said in a report African elephant Species New Listing to Endangered and Critically Endangered in IUCN Red list. While more than 386 elephants were lost to poaching in 2013, this figure significantly shrank to just 11 elephants poached in 2020, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) on Sunday said. It further stated that the rise in the endangered elephants population was attributed to the Kenyan governments rigorous anti-poaching and anti-trophy trafficking initiatives to stop the ivory trade in collaboration with international partners. KWS responded to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report that was released in March in which the African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) alleged that at least two species, Forest and Savannah elephants, have suffered a critical decline in population due to poaching. It continued, poaching remains a primary threat to the conservation of the species. Kenya, in response to the IUCNs resisting of the endangered and critically endangered elephant species, said that while Kenya acknowledges that poaching was the major cause of the decline in the past, increasing human population and the subsequent change in land tenure and land-use systems have led to the constriction of elephant range, loss of dispersal areas and corridors, resulting to heightened interaction between elephants and people, mostly resulting to conflict. Classification of the African Elephant species and the new listing to the endangered and critically endangered in the @IUCNRedList #WildlifeKe pic.twitter.com/YPXYZ5pFjB KWS (@kwskenya) April 11, 2021 However, KWS reiterated that the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) and loss of elephant corridors and dispersal areas are the main challenges facing elephant conservation and management in Kenya. It then asked AfESG to make necessary corrections on the information released and highlight the countrys efforts to mitigate poaching threats on Kenyas elephant population. It reminded, that poaching wildlife or smuggling wildlife trophies in Kenya has legal consequences with penalties and jail. KWS said that in the future, IUCN must consult the range States when critical information is being released for public consumption. Female elephants like Rosewood and Cedar from the Hardwoods tend to rest and even sleep while standing up so they are able to ward off any potential predators. Being a mother is a full time job especially to young calves like Cedars seen here asleep on the ground. Jack Ward pic.twitter.com/yN16KX5NYx Save the Elephants (@ste_kenya) April 9, 2021 Ivory demands fuelling 'catastrophic declines' According to the UN, the international demand for ivory has been fuelling catastrophic declines in the elephant populations in Kenya. For over several decades poaching and hunting posed threats to Kenyas estimated 33,000 elephants scattered throughout the country across officially protected areas, private ranches, and county council territories. Poaching was mainly conducted by armed bandits from Somalia and was prevalent in pastoral areas outside officially protected wildlife areas. Kenya established Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in 1989 for conserving and managing Kenyas wildlife. In recent years, however, there has been a shift in the areas targeted by poachers and the weapons used, with snaring and poisoning of elephants in place of firearms, a UN report said. The concealment techniques were used by the poachers to traffic wildlife products and engage in the illegal wildlife trade that shrank the African elephant populations in past years. (Image Credit: twitter/@STE_Kenya) Leaf and Bud Provisioning Center, considered the largest in Detroit, will celebrate its Grand Opening on 4/20. Originally a distribution hub for a former grocery store chain, now instead of shelving soups and sauces, Leaf and Bud, the areas only cannabis provisioning center will be stocking its own brand of premium cannabis flower. Leaf and Bud Provisioning Center, located on Detroits Avenue of Fashion (Livernois), will be opening its doors to provide cannabis remedies to medical marijuana patients on April 20, 2021. It has been an incredible journey to bring Leaf and Bud to the Detroit community, said Mark Savaya, proprietor of Leaf and Bud Provisioning Center. Located at 14470 Livernois Ave, Detroit, the provisioning center is the only operating center in the area around University of Detroit Mercy, south of the Lodge (M10) and north of I-96 and the Davidson Freeway. The bright green building, visible from Livernois, was originally a distribution hub for the former Farmer Jack grocery store chain. Now, instead of shelving soups and sauces, the areas only cannabis provisioning center will be stocking its own brand of premium cannabis flower, as well as products from other Michigan cannabis companies. There is a definite need for great cannabis in the area, said Savaya. While many operating provisioning centers are located on 8 Mile, we decided to set up our cannabis complex in a district that doesnt have a lot of access to cannabis. I am investing in the entire community, bringing in jobs and services, not just cannabis. Leaf and Bud Provisioning Center is the largest cannabis provisioning center in Detroit and is unique in its interior design, said Savaya. There will be live music, food trucks and specials for the Grand Opening. The festivities will begin around 10 a.m. and last all day, said Savaya. Future Grow Solutions, with the efficient CropTower growing system, provides the product for the Leaf and Bud brand, grown and processed onsite by experienced professionals using only premium nutrients and little to no fungicides or pesticides. We handcraft our own batches of edibles, concentrates, topicals, oils and additional products, while also offering premier products from some of the biggest names in the bud business. Leaf and Bud Provisioning Center is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for people with a valid Michigan medical marijuana card. For more information, call 833-LeafBud, or visit http://www.leafandbud.com. For more information, or to take a tour of Leaf and Bud or Future Grow Solutions, contact Gretchen A. Monette, gmonette@allseasonscommunications.com. ### Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, were kidnapped Sunday in Haiti, said the spokesman of the Bishop's Conference for the island nation, which has been rocked by unrest. Five priests and two nuns were abducted in the morning in Croix-des-Bouquets, a commune east of the capital, Port-au-Prince, Father Loudger Mazile told AFP. They were "on their way to the installation of a new parish priest," he added. The kidnappers had demanded a $1 million ransom for the group, which includes one French priest and one French nun, he added. Haitian authorities suspect an armed gang called "400 Mawozo," which is active in kidnappings, is behind the abduction, according to a police source. The French embassy in Haiti did not respond to AFP's request for comment. Kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months in Port-au-Prince and other provinces, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the Caribbean nation. "This is too much. The time has come for these inhuman acts to stop," Bishop Pierre-Andre Dumas of the Haitian commune Miragoane told AFP. "The church prays and stands in solidarity with all the victims of this heinous act," he said. In March, the Haitian government declared a month-long state of emergency to restore state authority in gang-controlled areas, including in the capital. The measure was motivated by the actions of armed gangs who "kidnap people for ransom, openly declaring it, steal and loot public and private property, and openly confront the public security forces," according to the presidential decree. Local automotive manufacturers will be hosting a virtual job fair this week! It will be on Tuesday from 10-11:30 a.m. You can register here. Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, Toyota Motor, YKTA, and Bocar are expected to participate. Some of the jobs pay $17/hour starting wage, entry level. This is the 4th virtual event that's been held in the last three months. Lumos will provide clinical, technical and business advisory to help the startups scale Lumos Accelerator has announced the addition of Onward Assist and ErlySign to its speed scaling programme. The startups were selected after a careful evaluation of their technological strengths and business capabilities. Lumos will provide clinical, technical and business advisory to help the startups scale and will offer infrastructure credits to help defray certain operating expenses. Lumos is a speed scaling ecosystem that helps early-stage healthcare startups grow through timely and powerful business and technical advisory services. They have partnered with premier healthcare organizations to provide valuable mentoring, advisory and business development services to enable startups to hit impressive growth trajectories. The existing repertoire of companies under Lumos are Kronikare, AyuRythm, Alixir, and Raybaby continue to grow with the numerous speed scaling capabilities offered by Lumos. Hyderabad based Onward Assist is an advanced cancer prognostics platform that helps Oncologists take better treatment decisions and improve outcomes. The company provides computer vision and ML-based automated diagnostic tools and treatment decision support tools used by Histopathologists, Radiologists, and Oncologists. On the other hand, Nagpur based ErlySign develops non-invasive, early test kits for detecting oral cancer using saliva. ErlySigns solution is an easy, accurate, affordable, and painless way for early detection of Oral Cancer. Chennai, April 12 : Requesting the Tamil Nadu government for relaxation or waiver of statutory payments, the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) also urged the former to have Covid-19 restriction norms for hotel meetings and banquets commensurate to the venue size. In a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami, the FHRAI requested relaxation/waiver of statutory payments such as electricity charges, property taxes, excise license fee, among others owing to Covid-19 impact on the hotel industry. The Association also urged Palaniswami to have the restrictions on the meeting/gathering norms for hotels/banquets/open venues commensurate to the venue size. The Association said it defies logic that with aircraft being allowed to fly with 200 passengers without social distancing, why can't hotels and restaurants operate in this country by properly following the safety and hygiene protocols. The policy of imposing blanket ban/selective restriction on hospitality establishments should be abolished and even in extreme circumstances, need/situation-based restrictions should be implemented, the FHRAI said. Citing the Covid-19 second wave and the Tamil Nadu government mulling night curfew to control the spread of the pandemic, the FHRAI said owing to the prevailing restrictions and work-from-home arrangements, restaurants have no significant business during the day time and the imposition of night curfew is tantamount to closure of business for the sector. The FHRAI also appealed to the state government to allow the guests attending marriages to use invitation cards in the place of curfew passes. The industry body also wanted the government to recognise the services of hospitality workers as frontline corona warriors and recommend them for priority vaccination. "We know Canadians are looking for more choice in what they eat - and that there is growing interest in plant-based options," says Matt Wright, General Manager, Burger King Canada. "We're excited to build on the momentum behind our Impossible Whopper - which started in the U.S. and continued with our Ontario launch last month. We can't wait to bring the amazing taste of this burger to Canadians from coast-to-coast." The Impossible Whopper launched in the United States in 2019, and in Ontario in March, but is available as of today - April 12 - in all participating Burger King restaurants across Canada. "Our mission is to sell ImpossibleTM products everywhere that conventional animal meat is sold today, and as the second largest fast food burger chain in the world, Burger King will help us play a huge role in achieving that mission," says Dennis Woodside, President of Impossible Foods. "The Impossible Whopper has been successful in Ontario so far and we're thrilled to expand its availability to the rest of Canada." According to the Restaurants Brands for Good 2020 Year in Review report from the parent company of Burger King, guests who chose the Impossible Whopper in 2020 avoided the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of driving about 520 million miles in an average passenger vehicle. About BURGER KING: Founded in 1954, the Burger King brand is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world. The original Home of The Whopper, the Burger King system operates more than 18,600 locations in more than 100 countries. Almost 100 percent of Burger King restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. To learn more about the Burger King brand, please visit the Burger King brand website at www.bk.com or follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . About Impossible Foods: Based in California's Silicon Valley, Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy products from plants with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. The privately held company was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Stanford University and a former Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Investors include Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors, Temasek, Sailing Capital, and Open Philanthropy Project. For more information, please visit impossiblefoods.com or follow us on Twitter , Facebook or Instagram . Press kit: www.impossiblefoods.com/media SOURCE Burger King For further information: Burger King Media Contact: Ali Azzopardi, [email protected], 416-606-5060; Impossible Foods Media Contact: Esther Cohn, [email protected] New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Partys Janaraksha Yatra has reached Pinarayi, native village of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, sans Amit Shah on Thursday. BJP Kerala state president Kummanam Rajasekharan told the media that Shah could not participate in the party march as he had to attend a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The rally on its third day was between Mambaram and Thalassery via Pinarayi. BJP claims that Janaraksha Yatra is being organised by the party to create awareness among people of Kerala against red terror. Also read: Amit Shah launches Gaurav Yatra in poll-bound Gujarat, blames Congress for injustice to state Shah earlier had said that the rally is being organised to protest the political murders being carried out by the CPI (M) in Kerala. Hundreds of party workers led by the state unit chief participated in the rally. According to reports shops remained closed when the yatra reached Pinarayi. Rajashekharan said Shah's presence in the yatra was not required to offer resistance to CPI(M) workers of Pinarayi village. Also read: BJP inciting violence against CPI(M) cadres, alleges Brinda Karat The BJP party workers also paid a visit to the house of slain RSS worker Remith at Pinarayi. Last year Remith was hacked to death allegedly by CPI (M) party workers. Kerala party chief told the media that Shah is scheduled to re-join the yatra on Thursday. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. I have said several times that I dont know whether the Democrats stole the 2020 election, but I do know that they tried hard to steal it. Their efforts included relaxation of voting standards, especially relating to mail-in voting, wherever they had Democratic Secretaries of State. Typically these changes to voting procedures, not enacted by state legislatureslikely in violation of the Constitutioninvolved waiving a statutory requirement of witness signatures to verify the identity of the person who mailed in the ballot, or otherwise made it more difficult to check the validity of mailed ballots. Often, as in Minnesota, such changes were made via collusive litigation supposedly adverse to a Democratic Secretary of State, but actually in corrupt cooperation with that individual who would promptly settle the Democrats case by agreeing to do whatever the activist plaintiffs wanted. This was done to make voter fraud, which favors Democrats, easier and more widespread. The Trump campaign filed lawsuits in several jurisdictions, arguing that last-minute changes to voting procedures by Democratic Secretaries of State loyal to the Biden campaign were illegal. Those cases are now wending their way through the courts. In Michigan, Trump won a victory at the trial court level last month, when a state court judge held that the Secretarys guidance on counting of unverified mail-in ballots was issued in violation of Michigans Administrative Procedure Act. In other words, the Secretary of State needed to follow the statutorialy-required legal process, not just issue an order to help her party by encouraging cheating. This is key language from the opinion: Examining the Signature Verification and Voter Notification Standards through that lens, the Court agrees with plaintiffs that the same constitutes a rule that should have been promulgated pursuant to the APAs procedures. The standards are generally applicable to all absent voter ballot applications and absent voter ballots, and it contains a mandatory statement from defendant, this states chief election officer, see MCL 168.21, declaring that all local clerks must perform their signature verification duties in accordance with the instructions. (Emphasis added). In addition, clerks must presume that signatures are valid. That this presumption is mandatory convinces the Court that it is not merely guidance, but instead is a generally applied standard that implements this states signature-matching laws. See MCL 24.207 (defining rule) This decision might be reversed on appeal, if Democrats hold the majority in the Michigan Supreme Court, but its logic appears sound. The Democrats engaged in a great deal of last-minute chicanery to lower electoral standards last year. They did do by hook or by crook, wherever they had loyal Secretaries of State willing to violate state law to erase protections against voter fraud. Why did they do this? I think it was because they knew voter fraud would help elect Joe Biden. Does anyone have an alternative explanation? I should add that the Democrats assertion that numerous courts have rejected the Trump administrations claims of voter fraud is fatuous. There is no court in which the necessary discovery on the factual issue of voter fraud has been conducted, let alone a court in which such claims have been rejected. That process, if it occurs in any court, will take at least a year and a half to complete, probably longer. Some of Trumps cases have been dismissed on standing or mootness groundsit is too late, in other words, Joe Biden has been inauguratedbut no court has allowed fact-finding, followed by a ruling that Trumps claims of voter fraud were factually incorrect, or that Joe Biden carried a particular state, notwithstanding significant illegal votes in his favor. Maybe ongoing litigation will shed light on these factual questions in the years to come. Maybe not. What we can say for certain is that election integrity is important to a large majority of Americans. In my own allegedly-blue state of Minnesota, 69% of registered voters said in the Thinking Minnesota Poll that they want voter ID. My guess is that the national percentage is even higher. We have two parties in America: one that wants free, fair and honest elections, with only legal voters casting ballots, and doing so only once, and one that wants ballot harvesting, unverified mail-in voting, unattended drop boxes into which anyone can drop any number of ballots of unknown provenance, and so on. It isnt hard to see which party has confidence in the power of its ideas to gain the support of most Americans, as long as only actual, living and legal voters cast ballots, and they only vote once. The integrity of our elections will be one of Americas most important issues in the years to come. In Japan honoring sakura, cherry blossoms, is perennial in spring. For the occasion, the Japan Society has organized a virtual celebration with a Zoom class about sakura-themed sake cocktails, including Cherry Blossom Fizz, Sakura Highball and Ichigo Cocktail (ichigo means strawberry). Participants will receive the link in advance, with recipes, lists of ingredients and equipment, and recommended food pairings. The cocktails will be demonstrated by Chris Johnson, a sake expert, and Warren Hode, a mixologist. Sake Cocktails: Sakura Celebration, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, $20 for members, those over 65, and students; $25 for others; japansociety.org. Follow NYT Food on Twitter and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Get regular updates from NYT Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice. Two New York cops were reportedly suspended after they were photographed drinking on a train on the way to a slain colleague's funeral and later identified by controversial facial recognition software. Deputy Commissioner Joseph Reznick, the head of the NYPD's Internal Affairs unit, is said to have ordered officers to use the Clearview AI app to pick out a detective and a sergeant caught drinking on their way to a memorial service for Detective Brian Simonsen in February 2019. The New York Post reported the two officers were photographed traveling on the Long Island Railroad to Simonsen's funeral, and were suspended from duties for drinking in uniform. The use of facial recognition software against one of their own officers is included in a 235-page trove of internal NYPD documents obtained by the Legal Aid Society, a non-profit organization. It shows the NYPD had in-person meetings and received customer support directly from Clearview AI's founder Hoan Ton-That, as he tried to woo the force with a free trial of the software. The NYPD has since said it stopped using Clearview AI over security concerns. Two NYPD officers, a detective and a sergeant, were identified using facial recognition software and later suspended for drinking on their way to a slain colleague's funeral Joseph Reznick, the head of the NYPD's internal affairs bureau, ordered the use of Clearwater AI facial recognition software to track down the two officers snapped drinking on a train The officers had been traveling to the funeral service for Detective Brian Simonsen, who was killed while attending a robbery in Queens on what should have been his day off In an email released by the NYPD as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, a detective from the Internal Affairs Bureau Alfredo Torres writes to Deputy Inspector Michael King of the Joint Terrorism Task Force with the photograph of the men aboard the train. 'As per commissioner Reznick can you please identify the Members of service in the photo,' Torres wrote. The images attached to the email show what appears to be photos surreptitiously shot by another cop. Their faces are blanked out. Simonsen was hailed as a hero after being killed by friendly fire while responding to a robbery in Queens. He'd been at work even though it was his day off. The Clearview AI software works by checking a photo against a database of billions of images it has scraped from websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Venmo. The New York Post reported that as a result of the use of the recognition software, the two officers were suspended. The case in internal emails obtained via a Freedom of Information lawsuit over the NYPD's use of the Clearview app. The Clearview App was at one time being used by more than 600 law enforcement agencies. The NYPD said it ceased using the app in 2019 over security concerns Jonathan McCoy of the Legal Aid Society's digital forensics unit told the paper the public would never have known the extent of the NYPD's use of the software without their lawsuit. A spokeswoman for the NYPD told the Post this use of facial recognition apps to identify its own officers was not prohibited 'simply because Clearview AI did not exist at the time our Facial Recognition Practices were established'. The NYPD was offered a free three-month trial program of the Clearview AI app in 2018 in the hope the country's largest police force would take up a contract with the company. In 2020, the New York Times revealed Clearview was the creation of Hoan Ton-That, a young Australian 'techie', and was being used by 600 law enforcement agencies. It also had backing from Peter Thiel, a prominent venture capitalist, an early investor in Facebook and one-time supporter of Donald Trump. The NYPD says it stopped using Clearview AI in March 2019 over security concerns. However, the documents obtained by the Legal Aid Society appear to show a close, friendly relationship between NYPD officers and Clearview's founder, Ton-That. Dozens of officers signed up to use the app even though they weren't part of the official trial. The newly-released documents also show officers continued using the app until February 2020. GOP congressman enters NY gubernatorial race amid 'long line' of Cuomo scandals, 'lies' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin has announced that he'll be entering the 2022 New York gubernatorial race following what he decried as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "cover-ups, abuse and self-dealing. Zeldin made the announcement Thursday morning on Twitter, where he accused Cuomo of being at the helm of New Yorks downfall due to the "deadly nursing home order and cover-up," as well as a long line of scandal, lies and harassment." To save NY, #CuomosGottaGo!, Zeldin tweeted. Ill bring the kind of relentless, fighting spirit towards helping to save our state that Cuomo reserves for multi-million dollar self-congratulatory book deals, cover-ups, abuse & self-dealing. Zeldin, who was first elected to Congress in 2015, lamented the one-party rule in New York, which he said has contributed to many of its residents' problems. New York, he said, has long been a "beacon of hope, progress and patriotism" throughout United States history: "From Washington leading the Continental Army from Manhattan, to Lincolns Cooper Union speech, & the rebuilding of NYC after 9/11." But now, he added, residents are fleeing the state due to lost jobs, high taxes and rising crime. Cuomo has abused the power & trust granted to him & it's time for him to immediately exit stage left, Zeldin continued. I'm ready to go all in on this mission and bring New York back from the brink and return it to glory. In March, New York Republican lawmakers said they'd be filing an impeachment resolution against Cuomo due to his mishandling and cover-up of COVID-19 nursing home deaths and sexual misconduct allegations. Top Democrats in the legislature also called on the three-term governor to resign and questioned his ability to continue to lead. And in February, over a dozen Democratic state senators urged the Senate to remove Cuomos emergency powers. A report released in January by New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that Cuomo underreported nursing home deaths by as much as 50%. After the report was published, officials disclosed nearly 4,000 additional deaths among nursing home residents. During a press briefing, Cuomo derided the report on nursing home deaths as nothing more than a political attack. Where this starts is frankly a political attack from the prior federal administration, Cuomo said at the time. New York has one the highest COVID-19-linked death rates per 100,000 residents in the country. Along with suffering the high death toll, the state's widespread lockdown regulations in response to COVID-19 also led to nearly 1.9 million New Yorkers losing their jobs from March to April 2020. New York City was among the hardest-hit areas due to ongoing government-mandated business closures that have led to high unemployment rates, the shuttering of small businesses that won't be reopening and the depleted tourism industry. Zeldin added that many New Yorkers feel this is the last stand to save the state and losing is not an option. We have two choices, Zeldin said in a campaign video on his website. We can raise the white flag and surrender to mediocrity, corruption, coverups, more job losses and even higher taxes. We might as well just turn the lights off. Or we can roll up our sleeves and get to work to save our state. Thats what Im going to do as New Yorks next governor. Lets do it together and show the world the real New York. Zeldin, an attorney and lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, is a native of Long Island. He is the only Jewish Republican in the 117th Congress. He lives in Shirley, New York, with his wife and their twin daughters. The fourth-term congressman is an ally of former President Donald Trump and was appointed to serve on Trumps impeachment defense team during his first impeachment trial. Zeldin isn't the only prominent Republican entering the 2022 gubernatorial race, however. Andrew Giuliani, who served as a special assistant in the Trump administration and is the son of former New York City mayor and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, told the Washington Examiner that he also plans to run for governor in 2022. Outside of anybody named Trump, I think I have the best chance to win and take the state back, and I think there's an opportunity in 2022 with a wounded Democratic candidate. Whether it's going to be Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo, whether it's going to be a radical [Attorney General] Letitia James, whether it's going to be a no-name lieutenant governor, I think there's a very, very real chance to win, Giuliani said. Multiple former female staffers have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, bullying and inappropriate behavior, which is another reason why many have called for his resignation. Cuomo has denied the allegations and has refused to resign. The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana. ROME, APR 12 - The Italian finance police on Monday arrested Gianluigi Zorzi, a financial broker under investigation by the Vatican judicial authorities over a controversial property deal regarding a building on Sloane Avenue in London, sources said on Monday. Zorzi is accused of making illegal profits of 15 million euros on the deal, the sources said. Rome prosecutors also banned three people from exercising the profession of accountants in relation to the case, the source said. They are accused of issuing fake invoices. (ANSA). Manila, April 12 : The Philippines will ease lockdown restrictions in Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces from Monday onwards despite a surge in new coronavirus cases, a government spokesman said. The spokesman, Harry Roque, on Sunday said President Rodrigo Duterte approved to relax restrictions in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal until April 30, reports Xinhua news agency. The new set of lockdown rules will be announced on Monday, said Roque. The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 11,681 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 864,868. The death toll climbed to 14,945 after 201 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. Roque said the government will further improve the country's health care system including decongesting of hospitals. The government will also build more step-down facilities for recovering patients, he added. The government placed Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces under a two-week strict lockdown from March 29 "to limit the spread of the variants" and contain the surging virus transmission. Since the reimposition of stricter restrictions, the DOH reported over 10,000 average cases every day. Health authorities blamed the fast-spreading "variants of concern" as one of the drivers of transmission and the people's failure to comply with health protocols such as wearing face-coverings and avoiding gatherings. The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 10 million people since the outbreak in January 2020. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Advertisement Pentagon scientists working inside a secretive unit set up at the height of the Cold War have created a hydrogel sensor to be inserted under the skin, which has the ability to detect infections such as COVID-19, and a revolutionary filter that can remove the virus from the blood when attached to a dialysis machine. The team at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have been working for years on preventing and ending pandemics. They assess the issues and come up with ingenious solutions, which at times appear more from a science fiction novel than a working laboratory. One of their recent inventions, they told 60 Minutes on Sunday night, was a sensor which detects any infection in an individual before it can become an outbreak. Retired Colonel Matt Hepburn, an army infectious disease physician leading DARPA's response to the pandemic, showed the 60 Minutes team a tissue-like gel, engineered to continuously test your blood. The green gel, seen in a lab, contains a sensor which detects when the body is infected The idea came after the USS Theodore Roosevelt (pictured) saw 1,271 COVID infections 'You put it underneath your skin and what that tells you is that there are chemical reactions going on inside the body, and that signal means you are going to have symptoms tomorrow,' he explained. He said they were inspired by the struggle to stem the virus' spread onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, where 1,271 crew members tested positive for the coronavirus. 'It's like a "check engine" light,' said Hepburn. 'Sailors would get the signal, then self-administer a blood draw and test themselves on site. 'We can have that information in three to five minutes. 'As you truncate that time, as you diagnose and treat, what you do is you stop the infection in its tracks.' Troops are likely to be highly skeptical of the new invention. In February, The New York Times reported that a third of troops have refused to take the vaccine, sighting concerns that the vaccine contains a microchip devised to monitor recipients, that it will permanently disable the bodys immune system or that it is some form of government control. The DARPA headquarters are pictured in Arlington, Virginia Hepburn shows off a filter attached to a dialysis machine and removes the virus from blood Another invention of Hepburn's team is a filter, which is placed on a dialysis machine and removes the virus from the blood. The experimental four-day treatment was given to "Patient 16", a military spouse, who was in the ICU with organ failure and septic shock. 'You pass it through, and it takes the virus out, and puts the blood back in,' said Hepburn. Within days, Patient 16 made a full recovery. The FDA has authorized the filter for emergency use, and it has been used to treat nearly 300 critically ill patients. Another Pentagon agency, the Joint Pathology Institute, studies tissue samples from soldiers and sailors infected with pathogens all over the world. Scientists have tissue samples from people who were infected with the Spanish Flu The Spanish Flu killed 50 million people from 1918-20 They have in their laboratories tissue from patients infected with the Spanish Flu 100 years ago, and in 2005 a team from Mount Sinai hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) managed to recreate the virus. They also found survivors, and have manufactured antibodies to the lethal virus. A member of the team, Dr James Crowe, has found a way to find antibodies in a vial of blood in record time - reducing the time frame from the usual six to 24 months down to 78 days. The technology he developed was used to help make antibodies against COVID-19. They are currently working on ways to speed up the actual growing of antibodies - a process that at present takes three weeks for 7,500 doses. 'We would start from a blood sample from a survivor, and be done with all of this and be giving you an injection of the cure within the 60 days,' he said. Another scientist, Dr Kayvon Modjarrad, is currently trying to create a vaccine against all coronaviruses. 'This is not science fiction, this is science fact,' he told the show. 'We have the tools, we have the technology, to do this all right now.' He said the aim was to be able to inoculate people against deadly viruses that have not even been identified. 'Killer viruses that we haven't seen or even imagined, we'll be protected against,' he said. NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Amynta Group, a leading insurance services provider of property & casualty and warranty protection products and services, announced that Wayne Connelly has been named President of Amynta Specialty Equipment Insurance Services (SEIS) in Canada. SEIS provides insurance and protection products for heavy equipment serving the agricultural and construction markets. Connelly will be responsible for leading the business in Canada, focused on driving growth across the Canadian market through expanded product offerings and delivering a superior customer experience. Connelly will be based in Calgary, Alberta. "We are excited to welcome Wayne to SEIS. Wayne is a highly respected leader in the Canadian insurance market and brings tremendous depth and experience that will be invaluable as we expand our offerings and develop new opportunities in Canada. Wayne will help drive innovation and long-term success as we continue to strengthen and invest in the growth of our Canadian business," said Dave Kocourek, President of Amynta Specialty Equipment Insurance Services. "SEIS has a strong franchise in the agriculture and construction equipment market, with significant opportunities to expand in the Canadian market. I am looking forward to working with the entire SEIS team to accelerate the growth of the Canadian business," said Wayne Connelly. Connelly brings over 25 years of insurance industry experience, bringing unique expertise and relationships in serving the agricultural market. Connelly joins Amynta from ONE Insurance Group in Manitoba, Canada, where he served as President & CEO. Prior to that, Connelly served as President and held various leadership roles at Federated Insurance of Canada, a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings. About Amynta Amynta Group is a premier insurance services company with more than $3.5 billion in managed premium and 2,000 associates across North America, Europe, and Australia. An independent, customer-centered and underwriting-focused company, Amynta serves leading carriers, wholesalers, retail agencies, auto dealers, OEMs, and consumer product retailers with innovative insurance and warranty protection solutions. Amynta operates through three segments: Managing General Agencies; Warranty, including automotive, consumer and specialty equipment; and Specialty Risk Services. For more information, please visit amyntagroup.com. Media Contact: Brenna Tetley Phone: +1.646.887.9498 Email: [email protected] SOURCE The Amynta Group Related Links www.amyntagroup.com An ex-business partner and I were recently reminiscing about an encounter we had with then Senator Biden at MBNAs new corporate offices in downtown Wilmington in 1996. (MBNA was then the worlds largest independent credit card issuer.) Biden was running for re-election, so he was glad-handing anyone within reach, and we were, unfortunately, in the line of fire having just left a meeting and walking through the lobby. Flashing a toothy grin, dripping with condescension and insincerity, he grabbed my hand and said, Good to meet you, hope youll vote for me in November. Like your tie. Fighting the urge to go and wash my hands and thinking of his disastrous 1987 presidential campaign and history of political sleaze, I said to my partner, after Biden had pressed his flesh, Damn, I hope that oily bastard is never elected President. The chance meeting at the MBNA building was appropriate as Biden was not only a Senator from Delaware but was so blatantly acting as MBNAs chief lobbyist that he was often referred to as The Senator from MBNA. In 1996, MBNA hired Joes son, Hunter, fresh out of law school, having never worked in finance or banking, as a senior vice president making $100,000.00 per year ($168,00.00 in 2021 dollars) plus a substantial signing bonus. It was after this run-in with Joe Biden that I began to pay more attention to his fabulist tendencies, lack of character and compulsive lying. While his cognitive decline is an ancillary factor in what the American people see today, the reality is that he has always been someone who will do or say anything to advance his personal aspirations. Which has always been more than just mundane financial or material accumulation. Biden has long harbored the dream of being praised in the history books as the next Franklin Roosevelt, the demigod in the pantheon of Democrat party icons. His impatience to achieve that goal had him seriously considering a presidential run in 1980 when he was 37. His first bid for the presidency was in 1987 at 44. Joe Biden is not an ideologue but a self-obsessed blowhard who is currently promoting extreme leftist ideology only because those policies are now de rigueur in the radicalized left-wing Democrat party and advancing them is the key to the esteem he craves. By stark comparison, during various stages in his 35-year Senate career he was a racist and segregationist, a zealot for tough on crime legislation, a hawk promoting military intervention in a variety of international conflicts and an avowed defender of crony capitalism. Since he became President, many Americans and journalists in the alternative media have been taken aback by Bidens penchant to outright lie repeatedly in the course of any speech, pronouncement or press briefing. Throughout his political career, in virtually every speech or answer to a question he has not only trafficked in political obfuscations but repeatedly told overt lies about his life history, legislative matters and his political opponents. He fits the definition of a compulsive liar: A compulsive liar is defined as someone who lies out of habit. Lying is their normal and reflexive way of responding to questions. Compulsive liars bend the truth about everything, large and small. For a compulsive liar, telling the truth is very awkward and uncomfortable while lying feels right as they oftentimes have a need to embellish and exaggerate. There is little doubt that Joe Biden is suffering from mild cognitive decline brought about by the aging process, but that should not be viewed as an excuse for his character traits, in particular self-obsession and compulsive lying. In reality, these types of character traits are not developed as a person grows older. Instead, lifelong traits become more pronounced and exaggerated in old age. Thus, he is not an absent-minded grandfatherly and politically moderate occupant of the White House but the most dishonest, deceitful and mendacious person in a position of power in American history and, along with his influencers in the radicalized Democrat party, an empirical threat to the future of the country. Determined to rid the nation of Donald Trump, the ruling elites inflicted Joe Biden upon the nation by egregiously and perhaps illegally manipulating election laws and obfuscating and oftentimes burying unflattering and negative stories about him and his family. Biden was an ideal choice for the elites as he is, in many ways, a reflection of who they are. However, this choice also revealed their obliviousness in dismissing the depth of Bidens narcissism and habitual duplicity. Professor Ted McAllister of Pepperdine University described the current generation of American elites or the Ruling Class as follows: The deepest fact of our time is that America has a bad elite, a mendacious one whose skills, values, goals, tastes and types of knowledge are hostile to our nations inherited cultures and plural people. The new elite that has emerged in the last generation or two has no interest in preserving anything but perhaps their own power. They lack historical knowledge and vision, which they supplant by, or exchange for, the powers of transformation and change. Intoxicated by the power possible with emerging technologies, inspired by visions that only a deracinated globalist perspective could make attractive, this elite thinks of creative destruction as applied to culture. The ruling elites in their headfirst dash to transform the culture have aligned themselves with the radical left whose sole objective is to centralize all governmental and economic power in a hybrid socialist federal government with themselves, and not the current ruling class, in permanent control. Yet, the elites cannot see the forest for the trees. Their naivete and egotism mirrors Bidens self-obsession as the elites believe they can ultimately compromise with the militant left to their advantage and Biden mindlessly acquiesces to the left in order to satisfy his lifelong aspirations. This confluence of cowardice has placed the radical Left at the apex of the governing pyramid despite just 15% of Democrat voters (and 7% of all voters) identifying as very liberal. The three-headed monster of radical leftism, a duplicitous Joe Biden and a credulous ruling elite has unleashed upon the nation the onslaught of identity politics and cancel culture, unconstrained illegal immigration, unfettered money creation and spending, manipulated and unfair elections, racial demagoguery and the near-permanent abrogation of freedoms under the guise of fighting a pandemic. It is imperative that the American people become more involved in the nations governance by actively participating in a patriotic resistance against the tyranny of a central government dominated by the left. In a multi-ethnic nation of 330 million that spans a continent, the primary solution to this descent into potential anarchy lies in forcing an awakening by and a transformation of the elites and related institutions, thus recapturing the culture. As that is the key to permanently defeating the militant left. This will require political turmoil. The people must force and endure dramatic, painful, institutional battles outside of the federal government: in universities, non-profits, media, arts, and the array of institutions that constitute the sinews of a self-ruling people. Meanwhile, the American people, and in particular the nations elites, must reject the false characterization of Joe Biden and recognize the mendacious man he is and the self-obsession that motivates him. Thus, making it imperative that he and his administration be thwarted at every turn by state governors and legislatures, the Congress and the Courts. Caricature by Donkety Hotey CC BY 2.0 license To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Nancy Price, President and CEO of Shango Missouri says, Were all about building strong relationships with our patients and the entire Joplin community, and making a positive impact on the place we call home and the people who are our neighbors. Shango is ready to show Joplin and the State of Missouri how medical cannabis is done. The award-winning, multi-state cannabis brand will open its first Missouri medical dispensary at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 20, the international cannabis holiday known as 420. All customers will receive a special 25 percent discount on all medical cannabis products through Sunday, April 25. Seniors, Active Military and Veterans will get a 10 percent discount every day. This is a huge opportunity for Shango to show Joplin and Missouri how we do business and how we treat our customers, says Shango Worldwide Founder/CEO Brandon Rexroad. Were looking forward to making Shango Joplin one of the best medical cannabis dispensaries in the State. Rexroad added that Shango plans to open two more dispensary locations in Springfield, MO, and a medical cannabis manufacturing facility in Stockton, MO later this year. Shango is one of the largest cannabis license holders in the United States and has earned numerous national and international accolades for cannabis excellence, community partnership and corporate philanthropy. Nancy Price, President and CEO of Shango Missouri says, Were all about building strong relationships with our patients and the entire Joplin community, and making a positive impact on the place we call home and the people who are our neighbors. We want to make an important and ongoing contribution to economic and social life of this city. Shango Joplin is located at 2401 E. 32nd St., Suite 8, in the Professional Center. Regular dispensary hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Phone number is (417) 385-1515. For more information, visit the Joplin location page at http://www.goshango.com. About Shango Shango is an established vertically integrated cannabis brand offering a full range of award-winning products, including flower, extracts and cannabis-infused edibles. The company has operations in Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, California, Michigan and Missouri. The Shango brand has multiple full-service recreational and medical cannabis dispensaries in Las Vegas, Nevada; Portland, Oregon; Moreno Valley, California; and Lapeer, Bay City and Hazel Park, Michigan. Shango Michigan also is building two extraction facilities, a commercial kitchen and an indoor cultivation facility. The company will soon open dispensaries in Springfield, Missouri. Shango also operates a state-of-the-art cannabis distribution operation in Southern California. A recognized leader in the cannabis industry, Shango sets the standards for product quality, consistency and business conduct. Global Health & Pharma named Shango the Best Multi-State Medical Cannabis Dispensary in the U.S. in its 2020 Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Awards. Macias Gini & O'Connell named Shango to its 2021 Cannabis 50 list, recognizing companies that are reshaping and inspiring the continued growth of the cannabis and hemp industries. Shango is committed to cannabis education and is a fierce advocate of the safe and responsible use of cannabis products. For more information, visit http://www.goshango.com. (Newser) Guy Frank walked out of a Saks Fifth Avenue with two shirts he hadn't paid for in September 2000. On Friday, he walked out of a New Orleans prison a free man, having served 20 years for the crime. WDSU reports an arm of the Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO) spotted the now-67-year-old's case, determined it was an unjust sentence, and lobbied the Orleans Parish District Attorney for his release. Frank was charged with one count of theft of goods valued at less than $500, which was a felony at the time. He pleaded guilty to what was his 4th felony, and the DA's office asked that he be considered a multiple offender, because he had been convicted of theft multiple times before. (The Washington Post cites 2002 documents that said he had been arrested 36 times since 1975, though the IPNO says the thefts were always "small amounts.") Judge Sharon Hunter handed him a sentence of 23 years without parole. story continues below A GoFundMe campaign for Frank notes that he "lost his mother, two of his brothers, his wife, and his son while incarcerated, as well as years of his life that he could have spent with them" and has raised $67,000 thus far to support him as he moves forward. He says he plans to become an assistant deacon so that he might help others make good choices. In an Instagram post, the IPNO had this to say: "Mr. Franks case gets to the heart of what is wrong with Louisiana's multiple offender law. He received this egregious sentence despite the fact that he was never a threat to anyone, and had never done more than steal in small amounts. His case shows how poor Black people are disproportionately affected by these extreme sentences. It is hard to imagine a White person with resources receiving this sentence for this crime." (Read more New Orleans stories.) Valero Refining-Meraux has agreed to pay $47,357 in fines to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to settle allegations that it did not follow federally mandated safety procedures during an April 10, 2020 incident that resulted in a fire and minor injuries to two workers, as well as the release of several flammable gases. Valero officials reported last year that as much as 5,500 pounds of sulphur dioxide was released during the accident at the refinery at 2235 Jacob Drive in Meraux. On that day, an operator discovered that a pressure safety valve at the plant was not seated properly, according to the EPA consent agreement signed by Valero on March 31. Workers believed they could get the valve reseated by closing another valve upstream, but an operator instead closed a valve that was downstream, which increased pressure on the line, causing one of the valves to rupture, the agreement said. The EPA said the valve operator failed to implement Valeros safety system bypass procedure, resulting in the accident and in violation of the law. 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 Valero also entered into a separate settlement agreement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality on Feb. 21 that required it to pay a $11,223 fine to settle allegations identified in a 2017 inspection and a 2019 review of company files. The DEQ found that the company: Violated limits on the release of pollutants into the Mississippi River, Failed to follow proper testing procedures in monitoring pollutant releases Failed to file proper records for pollutant release tests Failed to test for nitrogen and phosphorus at some wastewater disposal outfalls Discharged oily fluids into the river without permission Improperly discarded some records of tests of wastewater acidity. Also included in the settlement were six violations of stormwater sampling regulations dating back to 2014, and three incidents where small amounts of oil or gasoline were spilled in the river in 2016 and 2018. Valero officials did not respond to a request for comment on the fines or the incidents they involved. At All-party Meet, Oppn Lauds UP CM Yogi Adityanath's Efforts To Combat COVID-19 In State Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday convened an all-party meeting to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the state which reported 48 more fatalities, raising the death toll due to the pandemic to 9,085. Addressing the meeting, CM Yogi said that in order to tackle the present situation, all the parties have to come together and contribute to the states fight against the pandemic. He also said that while in February the districts were reporting fewer cases, and the government was hopeful of reducing the numbers further, the new virus strain has spread quickly, leading to a surge. Suhail Ansari of the Congress also praised the government for successfully controlling the first wave. We all expect the government and the officials to control the current wave with the same success as was done during the first phase, he was quoted by the government as saying. Read full story here 'Won't Let Haryana CM Enter Badauli Village': Rakesh Tikait Issues Threat To CM Khattar Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said that the Samyukta Kisan Morcha will not allow Harayana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to enter Badauli village for an event on April 14. While speaking to the media at the Singhu border, the BKU leader alleged that the Harayana Chief Minister is planning to come to "disrupt the amity" in the area in the garb of unveiling a statue of BR Ambedkar. BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said, "We are not against Baba Saheb's statue, we are against Manohar Lal Khattar. Samyukta Kisan Morcha has decided that as long as our protest is on we are against the Haryna CM Khattar and the Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala." Read full story here MP Cops Thrash Kin Of COVID-19 Patient After Attack On Healthcare Workers Two policemen have been suspended in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh after brutally beating up people on Sunday. This happened after a brawl between healthcare workers and the relatives of a COVID-19 patient, a police official informed. A video that went viral on social media where cops are seen thrashing a COVID-19 patient and his family after they allegedly attacked a team of Health Department workers who had come to take him to hospital, said the Superintendent of Police (SP), Vivek Singh. Read full story here Odisha-based Budding Astronauts Ready With Rover To Represent India At NASA Challenge 2021 A team of 10-students belonging to Cuttacks Novonmesh Prasar Student Astronomy Team (NaPSAT) has designed a rover that will be shown at NASA Human Rover Exploration Challenge 2021. The group of students aged between 14 to 19 will be representing India at NASAs exploration challenge. They had received their selection letter on November 6 last year.According to the team, the rover has been designed for the Moon mission where the first woman and the next man will be sent. Odisha: Cuttack-based Navonmesh Prasar Student Astronomy Team (NaPSAT), comprising of 10 school students, designs a rover to exhibit it at Nasa Human Rover Exploration Challenge 2021. pic.twitter.com/KmPZBMd2Du ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2021 Read full story here 62 Private Mumbai Hospitals To Resume Covid-19 Inoculation From April 12 Amid Shortage Row After a massive shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in Mumbai which led slowed down the inoculation, the vaccination drive has resumed at 62 of the 71 designated private hospitals in the city from Monday, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Iqbal Singh Chahal informed on Sunday. The vaccination centres in the 71 private hospitals stopped functioning on Saturday and Sunday due to the shortage of vaccine jabs. Read full story here ADVERTISEMENT The Kwara State Government has announced that the 10 schools involved in a recent hijab controversy in the state would resume their third term academic session on Monday, April 12. A statement by Kemi Adeosun, Permanent Secretary, Kwara Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, on Sunday, said the decision was to enable students in the schools to make up for lost time. Other schools in the state will resume on April 26. The 10 Kwara schools involved in the controversy were shut down by the state government on February 19 for safety reasons. This is to inform parents/guardians and teachers that the 2020/2021 Third Term Academic Session for the 10 schools affected in the recent hijab debate starts on Monday, April 12. This is part of the governments efforts to bring the students in these schools up to speed in whatever they may have missed when their schools were shut. This is especially necessary for students preparing for external examinations. The resumption date for other schools not affected by the brief closure of schools is Monday 26th, 2021, as had earlier been communicated, Mrs Adeosun said. According to the permanent secretary, all teachers and staff of the affected schools should resume duty and commence classes immediately. She, however, noted that the Monitoring and Inspection team of the Kwara State Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development would be going round to ascertain compliance. The affected schools are C&S College Sabo-Oke, St. Anthonys Secondary school, Offa Road, ECWA School, Oja Iya, Surulere Baptist Secondary School and Bishop Smith Secondary School, Agba Dam. Others are CAC Secondary School Asa Dam road, St. Barnabas Secondary School Sabo-Oke, St. John School Maraba, St. Williams Secondary School Taiwo Isale, and St. James Secondary School Maraba. (NAN) OAKLAND, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over half a million employees in the U.S. have weighed in to determine the 2021 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. Based on confidential employee surveys gathered during the pandemic, workplaces that put employee health first - both physical and psychological - enjoyed record jumps in employee experience scores. Great Place to Work - the global authority on company culture - determines the list each year through rigorous analysis of data from their proprietary Trust Index employee experience survey. Employees at Camden Property Trust, number 8 on the 2021 100 Best Companies to Work For list Seventy-one percent of companies on this year's list saw an increase in their Trust Index scores from last year, increasing on average by 3%. "These companies stood out for heroic efforts to care for their employees, their customers and our society in a difficult year," said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. "Remarkably, our research found that employee experience scores rose at these workplaces overall - a testament to the resilience of their inclusive, high-trust cultures." Companies whose employee trust scores rose during the pandemic are characterized by widespread faith in colleagues and their leaders. Seventy-two percent of employees at winning companies have confidence in executive teams. Companies went beyond with unique benefits and compensation Some key distinguishing features of this year's list were generous community giving efforts, and leaders showing exceptional care and a clear vision for the future. This year, employee benefits and compensation also went above and beyond, including extra PTO, backup childcare, and hazard pay for frontline workers. Employee experience reached record highs in industries hit hardest by COVID-19 Many companies on the list are in industries squeezed severely by the pandemic. For example, Texas Health Resources, a non-profit health system headquartered in Arlington, Texas, is number 7 on the list and global hotel chain, Hilton, took position number 3. Companies such as Texas Health stood out for how they connected their employees to a sense of purpose. Texas Health, a hospital at the frontlines of the health care catastrophe, had 87% of employees saying it's a great place to work during the pandemic. Barclay Berdan, CEO of Texas Health was moved when he saw how the people he leads went above and beyond during a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. "It's not really just a job. For many, if not most, it's a calling," said Barclay. "I get choked up almost every day." Corporate social responsibility separated the 100 Best from other companies Another key feature of this year's list is the generous donations of time, company resources and funds to social justice and pandemic relief efforts. Camden Property Trust, which owns and manages 165 apartment communities across the country, set up a rent deferral program for their tenants to apply for grants of up to $2,000. "We just figured we needed to do something and do something in a big way," said CEO and president, Ric Campo. The number 8 Best company, Camden put $10.4 million into the fundincluding $1 million directly from Ric's and executive vice chairman of the board, D. Keith Oden's pockets. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the mutual insurance company Nationwide - number 25 on the list - committed $1 million to social justice organizations. They also contributed $1 million to the National Fair Housing Alliance. Employees place higher value on two-way communication and leadership integrity In survey questions that probed employees' perceptions of management, the top 100 companies saw a 5 to 6-point increase on measures of two-way communication, integrity and competence - key leadership qualities crucial for leading through a crisis. Nationwide also enjoyed an astonishing climb in employee scores. In addition to its financial contributions to address the needs of 2020, Nationwide stepped up by holding a "unity day" for employee conversations about racial injustice and instituting a program to bring in civil rights speakers. Amid these efforts, survey scores for Black employees rose 9%, such that 92% of Black employees now say it's a great place to work. For comparison, at the average U.S. workplace, just 49% of employees across all demographic groups say theirs is a great place to work. Nationwide's Black employee scores on the question of whether "my work has special meaning" rose a remarkable 16 points, to 90%. How Great Place to Work determines the 100 Best Companies to Work For Great Place to Work surveyed employees on issues including how trustworthy, caring and fair the company is in times of crises; employees' physical, emotional and financial health; and the company's community impact. Particular attention was paid to how employees' experiences varied depending on their job role, gender, race/ethnicity, payroll status, and other characteristics to ensure that the company is creating a great workplace For All. This year, 60% of each company's score is based on confidential employee feedback. The remaining 40% is based on the programs each company said they created to support their people and communities in response to the pandemic. This methodology represents a change in response to the unique circumstances of 2020. What are the top 10 best companies to work for? 1. Cisco 2. Salesforce 3. Hilton 4. Wegmans Food Markets Inc. 5. Rocket Companies 6. UKG 7. Texas Health Resources 8. Camden Property Trust 9. Capital One Financial Corporation 10. American Express About the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For Great Place to Work selected the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For by gathering and analyzing confidential survey responses from more than half a million employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organizations across the country. Company rankings are derived from over 60 employee experience questions within the Great Place to Work Trust Index survey. Read the full methodology. Apply to get on this list next year. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make strategic people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All. Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Contact: Kim Peters, 415-844-2574 [email protected] Related Images employees-at-camden-property-trust.jpg Employees at Camden Property Trust, number 8 on the 2021 100 Best Companies to Work For list SOURCE Great Place to Work Uganda fishermen warned against use of pancakes to catch fish April 12,2021 | Source: The Independent The Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) in Kasese, Uganda, has warned fishermen on Lake George against using pancakes to catch fish. This follows reports of fishermen who have adopted pancakes (kabalagala) as a new method to make their catch. The fishermen reportedly throw the pans into areas where they have cast their nets to attract fish. However, FPU commander Lt. Col. Dick Kirya Kaija says the oils affect the digestive system of the fish and are not recommended to be fed on aquatic life. He says when fish consume the oil they are likely to die while those taken out of the water easily go bad. Kaija adds that suspects could be convicted on account of using unconventional fishing methods. Kaija says they are now embarking on awareness campaigns against illegal fishing and reactivating the legal systems to apprehend the culprits. He adds that they are in operations to stop the harmful methods of catching premature fish. Geoffrey Saidi a fisherman says the absence of fish and the required net size has forced them to find alternative methods to make a catch. Saidi says that there some cases where fish suspected to have been fed on pancakes have suffocated or died. 2021 The Independent Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods. /NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES./ TORONTO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX: SRHI) - SRHI Inc. ("SRHI" or the "Company" - formerly Sprott Resource Holdings Inc.) today announced that it is withdrawing the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) from the Technical Report entitled Minera Tres Valles Copper Project, Salamanca, Coquimbo Region, Chile NI 43-101 Technical Report dated effective October 4, 2018 (the Technical Report) of the Companys Minera Tres Valles (MTV) Copper Project in Chile. The Company prepared this Technical Report to (i) advance the development of its two largest deposits (Papomono Masivo and Don Gabriel Mantos) of the nine identified mineral deposits, (ii) provide a detailed evaluation of the salt leach technology which is fundamental to the economic development of the sulfide deposits on the property, and (iii) provide a long-term view of the development of the entire property through a PEA level analysis of the production of all of the identified deposits on the property. The FS, both PFSs, the Resource Estimate and PEA were all conducted during 2018. The Technical Report published by the Company in December 2018 included the following: Development of Mineral Resource estimates (the Resource Estimates) for the Don Gabriel and Papomono deposits using the definitions in CIM Definition Standards (May 10, 2014); Present the results of a study for the implementation of chloride leaching (Salt Leach) done at a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) level; Present the results of a Feasibility Study (FS) for the expansion of the Don Gabriel Mantos open pit; Present the results of a PFS for the underground exploitation of the Papomono Masivo mining zone, and Present the results of a PEA on an alternative development option for the total of all nine identified mineral deposits of Papomono and Don Gabriel. Notwithstanding the PEA study, the Companys intention was to bring the Papomono Masivo and Don Gabriel Mantos into production first, based upon these more detailed engineering and evaluations. The Feasibility level analysis of the Don Gabriel Mantos, as well as the Pre-Feasibility level analysis of the Papomono Masivo inclined block caving project and the Salt Leach project formed the basis of investment and construction decisions which have moved these projects forward. The Don Gabriel Mantos surface deposit is currently in production, the Salt Leach project was commissioned in 2019 and brought into operation in 2020 and the Papomono Masivo inclined block caving project is currently under construction and approximately 30% complete. The evaluation and projections for mining the deposits of Papomono Masivo and Don Gabriel Mantos were presented at a conceptual level for the PEA evaluation but benefitted from more detailed engineering and review under their respective PFS and FS. The other seven deposits in the PEA are considered potentially viable and are considered by the Company to be a conceptual analysis of how all nine deposits could be developed into one integrated mine plan referred to as the PEA Case in the Technical Report. Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has advised the Company that each of the FS, PFSs and the PEA, on their own, are valid and acceptable studies under NI-43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI-43-101). However, staff of the OSC have concerns with the presentation of these studies in the same Technical Report because they each include development plans in respect of some of the same mineralized material. In the opinion of staff of the OSC, concurrent, mutually exclusive mine development plans cannot be disclosed together as they each cannot simultaneously be implemented or, in other words, the plans are inconsistent with each other. This incompatibility of presenting two alternative development options does not invalidate the PEA study. In order to address the concerns raised by staff of the OSC, the Company is formally withdrawing the PEA portions of the Technical Report (Sections 1.24, 25.17, 24 and 26.2) and the disclosure in its Annual Information Form that is derived from those sections of the Technical Report. The Company has undertaken to the OSC to file a revised technical report that does not include the PEA on or before May 27, 2021. Investors should not rely on any information contained in the Technical Report related to the PEA as the FS and PFS is intended to stand-alone and be independent of the PEA information. The references to the development and production at a PFS and FS level of the Papomono Masivo and Don Gabriel Mantos deposits continue to be valid. About SRHI Inc. SRHI is a publicly-listed company based in Toronto and its principal operating business is its 70% equity interest in the producing copper mine MTV in Salamanca, Chile. For more information about SRHI, please visit www.srhi.ca . Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this news release, contain forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as the "Forward-Looking Statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify Forward-Looking Statements. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, this news release contains Forward-Looking Statements pertaining to: the future filing of its Technical Report and the potential viability of the Companys other seven deposits. Although SRHI believes that the Forward-Looking Statements are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future results, performance or achievements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such Forward-Looking Statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the Forward-Looking Statements and information as the Company cannot give any assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since Forward Looking Statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Statements should assumptions underlying the Forward-Looking Statements prove incorrect or should one or more risks or other factors materialize. Other risk factors that could affect the Company's operations or financial results are included in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 3, 2021 and may be accessed through the SEDAR website ( www.sedar.com ). The Forward-Looking Statements speak only as of the date hereof, unless otherwise specifically noted, and SRHI does not assume any obligation to publicly update any Forward-Looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable Canadian securities laws. For further information: Michael Staresinic President and Chief Financial Officer T: (416) 943-7107 E: mstaresinic@srhi.ca Renmark Financial Communications Inc. Joshua Lavers: jlavers@renmarkfinancial.com T: (416) 644-2020 or (212) 812-7680 www.renmarkfinancial.com Source: SRHI Inc. EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021 Stopping Kerrys Zero Carbon, Bidens War: Its the Same Fight April 11 , 2021 (EIRNS)President Bidens climate ambassador John Kerry will take his pitch for zero carbon to China this week, after a visit to India last week which would thankfully have to be called a failure. Indias Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh said Kerry could have his general global carbon reduction goal but India would not let any specific zero carbon demand be applied to India or any other developing country; those nations need development and industrialization. As politely as they may have put it to him, Kerry knew he didnt get what Biden or Prince Charles and the central bankers wanted, and India has made itself one flagbearer for a worldwide anti-Malthusian resistance. Kerry is selling Malthusian poison, telling nations that the United States, U.K. (sponsoring the COP26 climate summit in November) and the IMF and World Bank and big central banks want them to remove carbon and carbon dioxide-forming processes from their economies by a date certain. This is insanity, dooming industry, electric power, and any agriculture beyond dirt farming. Life is a carbon dioxide-forming and -consuming process! This is nothing other than a dream of the oligarchical 1% to get rid of huge numbers of the 99%. Now Kerry will peddle his poison in an intended meeting with his Chinese special envoy for climate change Xie Zhenhuaif the visit isnt called off due to extreme tensions over Taiwan. He is trying to pitch cooperation on climate change as a pressure valve in Bidens general confrontation posture against China; and get China to attend Bidens planned climate summit on April 22-23, at which a huge failure is much to be hoped for and organized for. We must cooperate with China on climate, Kerry told India Today on April 9. The Foreign Ministry said only that China is looking at it referring to the summit invitation. But Malthusianism is no offer to moderate a war confrontation; it is the same thing as the war confrontation, which is now at an intense, pre-war crisis point in Europe where Bidens administration is trying to provoke Ukraine into a war with Russia with the threat of world war all over it. Kerry has not, so far. If the United States and NATO nations lock themselves into a Malthusian Green New Deal policy which is deadly destructive to their own economies, they will mark any major power which resists such deindustrialization and economic regression as an increasingly dangerous adversary to be brought down. Just so was Britain determined to bring down Germany by drawing it into World War I. Notice that Kerry hasnt even got Russia on his itinerary. Biden sent Putin a pro-forma invite to the April 22-23 Malthusians summit, but is trying to force Russia and Ukraine into a conflict where NATO, he thinks, will prevail. But it also works the other way. If Russia, India, China become seen as poles of a global anti-Malthusian resistance to the suicidal Green New Deal; if American resistance is being organized as it is, by The LaRouche Organization; then the refusal of any of these major nations to go along with Kerrys poison will become a major reason for elected officials in the United States and Europe to resist unilateral economic suicide. Support for confrontation with Russia and China will decline if they refuse the Green New Deal, war become less likely despite the Biden Administration, and real economic recovery will be possible by international cooperation. The LaRouche Organizations mass pamphlet exposing The Great Leap Backward, soon to go to a second printing, is the electric spark for that global anti-Malthusian resistance in the United States. Expo 2020 Dubai has demonstrated that it is ready to fully open its doors to the world later this year, after safely and successfully welcoming more than 100,000 visitors to experience Terra The Sustainability Pavilion. Running from 22 January until 10 April, the limited-time showcase was an opportunity for the UAE community to preview one of Expo 2020s signature visitor experiences, providing a glimpse of what is to come when the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region welcomes visitors from around the world from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, reported Emirates news agency Wam. Marjan Faraidooni, Chief Experience Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai said: "As we continue to navigate this period of unprecedented change, we are delighted to have offered the UAE community the chance to preview the Sustainability Pavilion, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to bringing the world together and finding answers to our most pressing challenges. "Supported by our world-class partners, we have showcased our readiness to safely welcome the world and host a global event that not only excites and inspires, but also serves as a unique opportunity for humanity to come together in a spirit of optimism, hope and shared purpose." Terras emotive visitor experience uncovers the hidden harmful impacts of our personal choices and seeks to empower all who visit to become agents of change, consider how their behaviour impacts the environment and break the cycle of consumerism. During the preview, a number of health and safety best practices from social distancing and capacity controls to on-site rapid testing for staff and vendors were incorporated across the site, aligned closely with the worlds leading medical authorities and scientific advice, to ensure the well-being of all involved. According to Expo 2020s Pavilions Premiere Satisfaction Survey, guests ranked on-site health and safety precautions above eight on a scale of one to nine, highlighting Expos readiness to safely host the world when it opens its doors on 1 October. Visitors were similarly impressed with the service and cleanliness of Expo Rider, a dedicated, free of charge, public bus service that ferried visitors between Dubai Mall and Expo 2020 every 30 minutes. Following their visit to Terra, more than 90 per cent of those surveyed also said they were inspired to change their behaviour, from saving water to making a conscious effort to use less plastic. Throughout the three-month showcase, supported by Expos Official Partners and International Participants, Expo perfected a range of event-time systems and approaches to enhance and safeguard the visitor experience. Washington, April 12 : A policeman from the US state of Virginia who pepper sprayed an Army officer at a traffic stop last year has been fired, an official statement confirmed. The incident, that took place at a gas station in Windsor on December 5, 2020, was caught on camera. It showed police officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker, while pointing a gun, ask Caron Nazario, a second lieutenant in the Army, to pull over. They then asked Nazario to get out, to which he replied: "I've not committed any crime... "I'm honestly afraid to get out." In the video, Nazario repeatedly asks why he was pulled over, after which Gutierrez is seen pepper-spraying the Army officer multiple times. Nazario is then handcuffed while police search his car. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Windsor Police Department said: "The pursuit and ultimate stop resulted in the use of pepper spray against Lt. Nazario by Officer Gutierrez. "As a result of this use of force, Department policy requires an internal investigation to determine the appropriateness of such actions. The investigation of this event began immediately. "At the conclusion of this investigation, it was determined that Windsor Police Department policy was not followed. This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. "Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment." Earlier this month, Nazario filed a lawsuit arguing that the officers violated his constitutional rights during the incident, reports The Hill news website. In Sunday's statement, the Windsor Police Department said it has "openly provided documents and related video to attorneys for Lt. Nazario". Chandigarh: The Manohar Lal Khattar-led government in Haryana imposed night curfew in the state with immediate effect from on Monday (April 11, 2021) amid a surge in coronavirus cases. "Night curfew between 9 pm and 5 am will be imposed from tonight and will remain in force till further orders," Haryana Home and Health Minister Anil Vij told PTI. Further, he said that the decision has been taken view of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the state recently. On Sunday, Haryana had reported 16 COVID-19 fatalities taking the death toll to 3,268. The total coronavirus case count rose to 3,16,881 with a record spike of 3,440 cases on Sunday, according to a health department bulletin. Protests erupted in major Pakistani cities after authorities arrested the leader of a radical Islamist party who has spearheaded anti-French rallies in the South Asian nation. Police said Saad Rizvi, the head of the Tehrik-e Labaik Pakistan (TLP) party, was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore on April 12 to maintain law and order. The TLP has demanded that the government expel the French ambassador over France's defense of the right to publish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Rizvi's arrest swiftly attracted condemnation from his supporters who gathered near the party's main office in Lahore for a protest. Clashes soon erupted between Rizvi's supporters and police, who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd. TLP supporters also rallied on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad and protesters also blocked some roads in the southern port city of Karachi. The protests have raised fears of violence amid a surge in cases of coronavirus in Pakistan. In November 2020, thousands of TLP supporters clashed with police and captured a major intersection leading into Islamabad, blocking access into the city. The Islamist group ended the blockade after the government promised to discuss the expulsion of the French ambassador. Anti-France protests erupted in several Muslim countries after French President Emmanuel Macron defended the right to publish cartoons, including those deemed offensive by some Muslims, in October 2020. Macron's comments came after a school teacher was killed by an Islamist for showing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, originally published in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, during a lesson on freedom of expression last month. Any depiction of Muhammad is forbidden in Islam and is deemed offensive by Muslims. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said the rising tides of Islamophobia in Europe and ridicule of Prophet Muhammad bred extremism among Muslim youths. With reporting by AFP and AP A man who tested positive for COVID-19 while off the Pilbara coast has been transported to a negative pressure room at Royal Perth Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition. The man in his 50s, a crew member on board the Aquagenie, became unwell and was tested on April 8. He was evacuated to Karratha Health Campus by ambulance on April 11. WA Health Minister Roger Cook. Credit:Getty images The Philippines national was flown to Jandakot Airport by the Royal Flying Doctor Service on Monday evening and put in a negative pressure room designed to treat COVID-19 patients. The Aquagenie, a bulk carrier sailing under the flag of Liberia, left Manila in the Philippines on March 20 with 24 crew members on board and is believed to have stopped at various Chinese ports. Page Content Even though the current numbers of active cases are now relatively low on St. Maarten, CPS has concluded, based on genotyping results, that the British variant of Covid-19 is now circulating on St. Maarten. At least 24 people have been detected with the British variant. While some of these cases can be linked to travel from Aruba and Curacao, most were residents without a travel history. This indicates that that there is already local transmission of the British variant among the community of St. Maarten. Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire are experiencing an explosive rise in Covid-19 infections. In a matter of weeks, the number of active cases in Curacao went from just a handful to more than five thousand due to this more contagious British variant. The result is that Curacao now has code black, with an overfull hospital and one of the highest infection rate rates in the world. It is not unlikely that a similar scenario could happen on St. Maarten within the near future since the British variant is now circulating on our island. Our current vaccination numbers (which are similar to those of Bonaire) are not yet sufficient to prevent a third wave. It is very important for people to stay vigilant. Please keep your social distance, wear your mask and wash your hands. These three measures are the cornerstone of public health prevention. Please continue to adhere to and comply with the rules. It is extremely important that if you experience symptoms or you have been in contact with a known case, stay home and please call 914 or your GP. You can get tested free of charge and without an appointment at Point Blanche between 08:30 am - 11:00 am, Monday to Friday starting tomorrow. Free testing is also available on the weekends, but you will need to make an appointment via 914. We would like to remind the public that CPS does not provide pre-travel testing. In anticipation of the news of the British variant, the VMT decided to immediately scale up the vaccination rate, to make sure that as many persons as possible are protected against this third wave. On Monday, April 12th, the Belair Community Center will scale up from 6 to 8 vaccination lines, which should make it possible to vaccinate a total number of 1000 persons every day collectively between the two vaccination locations. The situation on the ABC islands has already increased the daily registration numbers on St. Maarten. Where the average daily registrations since the start of the campaign have been around 250 per day, these numbers went up last week with an average of 350-400 persons registering daily. The VMT links this increase directly to the current situation on our sister islands as many people have friends and family living here. More and more people now realize how serious the situation is, and that a similar situation could also happen here. And even though this increased registration rate is a good start, the VMT would like to warn that we still have a long way to go. Currently, we have about 13.000 registrations, while 34.000 fully vaccinated persons (70% of the population) are needed to create herd immunity. The Pfizer vaccine is effective against the UK variant, but to really have an impact on national transmission, more people need to be vaccinated. To put this in context, we have vaccinated 19% of the population. Bonaire has vaccinated 18% - and yet Bonaire is in the midst of a major outbreak, which indicates that our vaccine coverage is still too low to prevent an outbreak of the UK variant. Vaccination is now open to all those 18yrs and over, so please register to get your vaccine. Registration is free and vaccination is free. An outbreak, as seen on the ABC islands usually starts slow, but once it's increasing it is very difficult to stop. Therefore, immediate action is required now, while we still have a grip on the situation. Registration can be done online via the online registration form which is available in English, Spanish, and Creole, and can be found via this link: https://forms.sintmaartengov.org/form.aspx?v=OGtn05kNmb. Paper-based COVID Vaccine Registration Forms can be picked up at several locations, including Collective Prevention Services (CPS) at the Vineyard Office Park Building, the Division of Labor Affairs at the Simpson Bay Public Service Center in Simpson Bay, doctors offices, the Government Administration Building, and select pharmacies. Both Cole Bay & Dutch Quarter Community Helpdesk's are currently equipped to provide information and can assist in registration on the spot. They are open from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Monday to Friday and don't forget to bring a form of identification. Organizations who wish to inform their staff about the Covid-19 vaccine and vaccination program via an information session can send an email to bvdmeijden@whiteyellowcross.org. Lastly, if you have a friend, parent, neighbour, or relative that may need assistance with registration, transportation, or emotional support, please support them. If you need help with the registration process, your appointment, or wish for more information about the vaccination campaign, you can also call CPS at 914 or email: vaccination@sintmaartengov.org ST. MAARTEN, PROTECTED TOGETHER. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal He was a self-professed soldier in the notorious Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico prison gang. She worked as a corrections officer at the Rio Arriba County Detention Center, where he was a prisoner. The two became lovers. Whether they were partners in crime is still in dispute. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The SNM gang member, Jody Rufino Martinez, 41, is facing a life sentence after his conviction last month in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on charges of racketeering and committing a murder in 2008 to further the criminal enterprise of the SNM gang. Santana Bustamante, meanwhile, is still employed at the Rio Arriba County jail after she was investigated by state and federal authorities for allegedly aiding and abetting a felon in possession of a firearm. Specifically, she was accused in a search warrant affidavit of providing Martinez with a .40-caliber Glock that investigators believe was used in a 2018 shooting of one of his rivals or allowed him to use it. That gun was never found. Records also show Bustamante, 29, was investigated for allegedly helping inmates at her jail retaliate against the victim of that shooting in January 2019 after he recovered. She has denied any wrongdoing. The investigation involved the FBI, the 1st Judicial District Attorneys Office and the state Attorney Generals Office. In November 2019, Bustamante received a target letter from the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Mexico notifying her she could be charged with aiding and abetting a felon in possession of a firearm. But Bustamante has not been charged. She has no arrests or convictions. She couldnt be reached for comment last week. Jail guards testimony During Martinezs federal racketeering trial last month, federal prosecutors called Bustamante as a witness. She testified that her supervisors at the jail know about the allegations against her, which she said are false. The fact she still has her corrections job is proof she did nothing wrong, she testified. But the relationship itself concerned law enforcement investigators. The significance is he had been in jail and thats a problem. Jail staff and inmates cant have physical relations. It is a violation of federal law, lead FBI case agent Bryan Acee testified during the trial.Guards and inmates having relations is like cops and crooks having relations. The investigation had a public corruption nexus because of the relationship. This also furthers that investigation because it can make the gang stronger. The federal Prison Elimination Act criminalizes any sexual relationship between officials and inmates because inmates cannot legally give consent. Bustamante was linked to Martinez as federal authorities began to investigate the SNMs criminal activities in northern New Mexico in 2019, federal search warrant affidavits show. A federal search warrant affidavit filed last year says that Martinez has at least 44 prior arrests in New Mexico and felony convictions for second-degree murder, aggravated battery, battery upon a peace officer and robbery. Martinez, of Truchas, has described himself as a soldier in the 41-year-old SNM gang, which operates inside and outside prison walls. The FBI began looking into the gang as a criminal enterprise in 2015, when SNM leaders plotted to kill top state Corrections Department officials. The FBI investigation in 2019 focused partly on an unsolved drug-related murder in Chimayo in 2008, in which Martinezs name surfaced as one of the killers. Investigators also wanted to know more about the October 2018 shooting of Donald Salazar at a residence in northern New Mexico allegedly in retaliation for Salazar beating up Martinez while the two were previously held at the Rio Arriba jail in Tierra Amarilla. Salazar was shot in his groin and recovered, and Martinez was charged in state court with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Investigators believe Bustamante provided or permitted Martinez to use her .40-caliber Glock in the shooting. The FBI determined that Bustamante waited in a truck outside the residence while Martinez went inside and shot Salazar. She told investigators she heard no gunshots and didnt know anything about Martinez using her firearm. By January 2019, Salazar had landed back in the Rio Arriba jail where Bustamante worked. There, he was assaulted by inmates, one of whom told the FBI that Bustamante set up the beating. Salazar told authorities he believed she instigated the attack by circulating a Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office report in the jail saying that Salazar was cooperating with law enforcement in the aggravated assault case against Martinez. She has denied furnishing paperwork or using her position as a jail employee to spur inmates to retaliate against Salazar. Illicit relationship In responding to a public records request, the 1st Judicial District Attorneys Office in Santa Fe released some reports documenting the multi-agency investigation. Those records and federal search warrant affidavits show that investigators in 2019 found intimate photos of Bustamante and Martinez on her cellphone. Her Facebook page also showed the couple, in separate photos, under the heading, In a relationship Rufino Martinez. That post was dated May 2018 just weeks after Martinez was jailed at the Rio Arriba facility on a probation violation. He was held there for about five months. Mary Ann Garcia, who works at the Rio Arriba jail, testified during Martinezs federal trial that fraternizing (with inmates) is against policy. Getting real, real friendly, bringing in stuff, playing favorites (isnt allowed). They are under our care, and that could create a security risk, she said. FBI agent Nancy Stemo wrote in a search warrant affidavit in October 2019, I am aware the RACDC (Rio Arriba County Detention Center) administration was notified of the suspected romantic relationship between Bustamante and Martinez and potential drug trafficking as early as Sept. 2018. Stemo wrote that jail employees told the FBI that Bustamante entered Martinezs cell alone on numerous occasions and provided him with outside food and that they spent time alone outside the view of surveillance cameras. Moreover, a confidential informer said Martinez bragged Bustamante was able to run people and find out where they were living and if they had snitched on anyone, Stemos affidavit said. Larry DeYapp, Rio Arriba County Detention Center administrator, indicated he did not have enough information to terminate Bustamante, Stemo stated in the affidavit. There had been informal complaints by employees, but no formal complaints. And Bustamante told her supervisors that the romantic relationship began after Martinez was released in September 2018. In an interview with the Journal last year, DeYapp said of the allegations, It was investigated. There was no direct proof. Searching for weapon On Oct. 25, 2019, a team of FBI and AG investigators executed search warrants on the residence Bustamante had shared with Martinez, her car and her fathers home. They were looking for evidence of their romantic involvement and the .40-caliber Glock firearm that witnesses said she carried in her purse. Although .40 caliber ammunition was recovered, the gun was not. The morning of the search, state and FBI investigators stopped Bustamante before she could get to her house. She refused to answer questions about the firearm being sought, the SNM gang or other aspects of the FBI investigation, said one agents report. Bustamante did say she no longer was dating Martinez and hoped to get into law enforcement and was in the testing process. After the search, Bustamante filed a police report saying that her .40-caliber pistol had been stolen. The target letter she received a month later was introduced as evidence by Martinezs defense during his trial. The letter said the U.S. attorney was willing to consider a pre-indictment disposition of those charges, and if federal authorities didnt hear from her, they could present her case to a grand jury, Martinez attorney Carter Harrison said during the trial. Harrison said the government had made several overtures to Bustamante to cooperate in the investigation of Martinez. A federal court jury convicted Martinez of racketeering in the murder of David Romero in 2008 and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He faces a life sentence. While on the witness stand last month, Bustamante was asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Castellano whether she wanted to get Martinez in trouble. Id like to invoke my Fifth Amendment right (against self-incrimination), she replied. She testified that she mailed news articles to Martinez in jail about the FBI investigation because she wanted to show him all the negativity that people see in me just for dating him. Castellano asked Bustamante about a letter seized as evidence that was in Martinezs handwriting, telling Bustamante he loved her. All I want to do is make you happy, Martinez wrote. Do you still have feelings for him? the prosecutor asked. Hes a good friend, she replied. Do you still love him? Castellano asked. I dont know, she replied. Ive been through a lot with him. The surge in cases amid the second wave of Covid-19 has hit the with several of its staff testing positive for the viral infection. According to sources familiar with the development, 44 people have tested positive for Covid-19 so far in last one week. A top court official, however, dismissed some media reports suggesting that nearly 50 per cent of staffers have tested positive. However, the top court's functioning has not been affected in any way. The source added that there nearly 3,000 staffers in the top court. On Monday, benches did not assemble in courtrooms to take up cases, but instead conducted virtual hearing from their home-office. The court proceedings began an hour later from the scheduled time. Senior officials have confirmed that there is no panic in the top court and everything is progressing in business as usual. "Judicial work has not been affected by these cases," said a source in the top court familiar with the developments. Usually, some judges have been coming to the apex court premises to conduct hearings, but few have been taking up cases from their residences so far. The top court has also come out with two separate notifications in this regard. One of the notifications said on Monday, the top court benches, which used to assemble at 10.30 a.m. and 11 a.m., would assemble one hour late. A sanitation drive would be carried out on the entire court premises, including courtrooms, and the judges will take up matter virtually from their residences. According to the other notification, physical mentioning of cases for urgent hearing by advocates have been suspended from Monday until further orders. Around 10 lakh new cases have been reported over the past week, as India faces exponential rise in Covid positive cases. Today was the sixth consecutive day it reported over a lakh daily cases with 1,68,912 new infections -- the highest daily surge so far. According to the Health Ministry, 904 people have succumbed to the viral infection in past 24 hours. Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin will embark from Galveston on April 14 in search of sunken treasure that holds the key to protecting Texas from storms and rising seas: sand. About 80% of Texas' Gulf shoreline is critically eroded, and the state is running out of easily accessible sand to rebuild and protect the shore, as the Texas General Land Office (GLO) has done for decades through its Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA) Program. "That's where we come in," said John Goff, a coastal geophysicist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), whose group will help CEPRA locate the sand needed to restore and reinforce the state's beleaguered beaches and build a formal sand inventory for Texas. The Texas General Land Office's beach restoration projects have, for years, protected coastal communities, industries and ecosystems -- quite literally -- from the rising tide. For instance, when Hurricane Laura made landfall on Aug. 27, 2020, waves surged over coastal barrier islands and stripped away Texas beaches and dunes. A rare exception was a 3-mile stretch of shoreline at the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County, where dune ridges weathered some damage but largely stood fast against the storm. Their resilience was the result of a restoration project in 2017 that equipped the small portion of shoreline with sand. When Goff and a team of UTIG scientists depart Galveston aboard the research vessel Tommy Munro, they will be searching for sunken sand deposits in sand-filled remnants of rivers that flowed into the Gulf of Mexico when sea levels were much lower than they are today. Those ancient rivers and estuaries hold seams of easy to reach sand-ore, vital for the GLO's coastal planning efforts. To both CEPRA and the UTIG scientists, the seams are also vital clues in deciphering what happened to the ancient coastline when sea levels began to rise. "From a scientific standpoint, we're looking back in time 8,000 years to understand how the shoreline and this whole estuarine system responded," Goff said. Ongoing sea level rise is a problem because it worsens coastal erosion and allows tropical storms to do more damage. During the 2020 tropical storm season, storm systems lingered in the Gulf of Mexico for days, causing extraordinarily high tides that ate away at the shoreline of the entire Texas coast. That much erosion damages infrastructure relied on by tourism, fishing, ports and industry, including evacuation routes. It also means higher insurance costs for local communities. All in all, sea level rise is bad news for the state's economy and the 6.5 million Texans who live along the coast. Extending the McFaddin model of restoring dune systems -- not just beach berms -- is a huge undertaking, but one that is necessary, and achievable, for building resilience against sea level rise, said Kelly Brooks, a CEPRA project manager who led the McFaddin project. "Spreading sand on beaches may buy us 10, maybe 15 years depending on storms," Brooks said. "But if we construct dune ridges and place more robust beach berm templates, then we can actually build something that is going to provide the shoreline with a buffer against high tides and sea level rise." To help locate the millions of cubic yards of sand the engineers need to restore and reinforce the state's beaches, Goff and his team will create a high-resolution seismic map of the ancient Trinity River Valley and examine core samples from within the sand deposits. This will help the researchers estimate the volume and quality of the sand and predict the location of other offshore deposits. The team will follow up with similar surveys of the sunken Sabine and Brazos river valleys, providing the state with a much needed inventory of its offshore sand resources and the scientists with the clearest picture yet of what happened thousands of years ago when the ancient coast was lost to the rising tide. ### The UTIG project to survey the offshore ancient river valley systems is funded by the Texas GLO's Division of Coastal Resources' CEPRA Program and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. UTIG is a unit of UT's Jackson School of Geosciences. Lady Gaga at the 2019 Met Gala. Reuters The Met Gala is returning this September, The New York Times reports. After being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the gala's theme will be American fashion. The fall gala will be followed by another event with the same theme in May 2022. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. The Met Gala is making a comeback with a two-part event this September and next May, The New York Times reported. While the event is traditionally held on the first Monday of May, the next gala is returning with a splash, as it will be split into two parts. The first half of the exhibition will open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in September after New York Fashion Week, with the second half of the event falling in May 2022, according to Times fashion director and chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman. The Met Gala has been called the "Super Bowl of fashion." Kevin Tachman/MG19/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue Last year's event was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Andrew Bolton told the Times this year's gala would be a "celebration of the American fashion community, which suffered so much during the pandemic." It will coincide with two exhibits at the Met Museum, with the first being "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion," which Friedman wrote will emphasize contemporary designs more than any Costume Institute exhibit in the past, "thus putting the institution's stamp of approval on a fresh generation of names." The second exhibit, "In America: An Anthology of Fashion," will illustrate through style "300 years of historic narratives, both personal and political," according to Friedman. The Met Gala has a history dating back to 1948, when it began as a "midnight supper" where guests paid an admission price of $50 to benefit the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Anna Wintour at the 2019 Met Gala. Getty/Theo Wargo In 1995, Anna Wintour - editor-in-chief of Vogue and, since 2020, global chief content officer for Conde Nast - became a co-chair of the event and has overseen the gala every year since. Story continues The event has been dubbed the "Party of the Year," the "Super Bowl of fashion," and the "Oscars of the East Coast." In recent years, Met Gala themes have included "Camp: Notes on Fashion" in 2019, "Heavenly Bodies and the Catholic Imagination" in 2018, and "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: The Art of the In-Between" in 2017. This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates. Read the original article on Insider Dhofar University, represented by the College of Commerce and Business Administration, signed an academic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brunel University London to enhance its endeavour to consolidate academic links with prestigious international universities. The MoU included many aspects of academic cooperation between the two universities, such as academic, research and developmental collaborations and exchanges of students, faculty and researchers. This will enhance the skills, knowledge and scientific capabilities of faculty and students and will be beneficial for the labour market, said a press release issued by the university. The MoU was signed by Professor Hassan bin Said Kashoob, Vice-Chancellor of Dhofar University, and Prof Trevor Hoey Vice-Provost International and Academic Partnerships of Brunel University, an Oman Observer report said. The MoU was approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, wishing continued success for the university. -- Tradearabia News Service Kenyan agency banking startup Tanda is expanding its operations regionally after securing funding from early-stage African tech investor Havaic, Zedcrest Capital, DFS Lab, Victor Asemota and three other investors. Credit: Tanda Tanda enables thousands of agents across kenya to offer essential financial services at their shops and earn more. Here's what two of our agents in Kayole, Nairobi had to say. pic.twitter.com/4XScAZqzbk Tanda (@JoinTanda) May 5, 2020 Expansion to Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda #EcommerceDay2021: Scaling township grocery delivery with Jessica Boonstra Jessica Boonstra chats to Bizcommunity about starting and scaling Yebo Fresh, and the misconceptions that cloud SA's lucrative township retail economy... Tanda has also secured key strategic partnerships with Mastercard and Interswitch which will further accelerate its growth. The companys expansion comes on the back of successfully pioneering and proving the viability of the interoperable agent and merchant model in Kenya, a model that has only been validated in West Africa prior to Tanda.Founded in 2018, Tanda enables shops in Kenya to be access points for financial services including banking, insurance, and utility payments. Tanda has enabled banks, telcos and a variety of digital service providers to serve their customers through a nationwide network of commission-based agents, with distribution costs that are a fraction of traditional channels.The independent agent network operator says it aims to make informal banking an accessible and lucrative growth channel for its agents and service providers.Today, Tandas platform and network supports 58 banks and saccos, four telecoms, 18 billers, 12,000 merchants and agents and has served over 300,000 unique customers, all of which have processed millions of transactions to date. Tanda has now set its sights on growing its Kenyan footprint to 100,000 agents and merchants and an expansion to Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda within the next 24 months.Geoffrey Mulei, CEO of Tanda, says, Our team will continue to run aggressive agent and customer acquisition drives across the region, while securing more strategic partnerships in these new markets to further support Tandas growth and strategy as we pursue our goal of digitising payments across Africa. Tanda is excited to be at the forefront of the rapid shift towards innovative digital-first solutions, especially in markets that are ripe for disruption.Commenting on Havaics decision to invest in Tanda, Rob Heath, partner at Havaic says, Tanda is solving one part of the very deep and complex problem of financial inclusion that is not only Kenyan, but a problem across all emerging and undeveloped markets. Havaic believes that the wider Tanda team has the right mix of skills, technical expertise, geographic market knowledge and real-world experience to understand the challenges facing those left behind in the financial ecosystem.Heath adds that Tandas founding team have a successful history of building agency networks from the ground up and a background in managing family micro-retail operations. This knowledge was shown not in flashy presentations and buzz words, but with real growth on the ground and solid corporate partnerships where other early-stage businesses would normally struggle to get a meeting. DUBLIN, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Robotic Surgery Market: Insights & Forecast with Potential Impact of COVID-19 (2020-2024)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global robotic surgery market is forecasted to reach US$6.84 billion in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 14.79% for the period spanning 2020-2024. The factors such as rising cancer patients, increasing geriatric population, growing personal healthcare expenditures, shortage of surgeons, improving consumer confidence, accelerating personal disposable income, favorable reimbursement policies and rising incidence of chronic and infectious diseases are expected to drive the market. However, the growth of the industry would be challenged by the Risks of robotic surgery and laparoscope control. Few notable trends include the adoption of micro- and nano- robots in urology surgical procedures, focus on the development of low-cost robotic surgical systems and escalating MedTech research and development expenditures. In 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has created an unfavorable impact on the market as many government authorities have ordered hospitals to attend critical cases only. On the basis of product type, the global robotic surgery industry is broadly bifurcated into instruments & accessories, services and systems. By applications, the global robotic surgery industry could be divided into general surgery, gynaecology, urology and orthopaedics. The fastest-growing regional market is the U.S. due to rise in awareness among the population regarding robotic surgeries, increase in med-tech R&D expenditures, the surge in ageing population, rising colorectal & pancreatic surgeries, shortage of physicians, increasing number of approvals granted by the FDA to surgical robotic companies for R&D and growing launch of advanced medical systems. Scope of the report: The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the global robotic surgery market. The major regional markets i.e. the U.S. has been analysed. The market dynamics such as growth drivers, market trends and challenges are analysed in-depth. The competitive landscape of the market, along with the company profiles of leading players i.e. Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Medtronic Plc, Johnson & Johnson (Auris Health, Inc.), TransEnterix, Inc., Stryker Corporation and Siemens AG (Siemens Healthineers AG) are also presented in detail. Key Topics Covered: 1. Market Overview 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Workflow in Robotic Surgical Procedure 1.3 Applications of Robotic Surgery 1.4 da Vinci Surgical System 1.5 Components of da Vinci Surgical System 1.6 Types of da Vinci Models 2. Impact of COVID-19 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Decline in Global GDP Growth 2.3 Change in Organic Traffic 2.4 Disruption of Supply Chain 2.5 Growth in Spending on Healthcare 3. Global Robotic Surgery Market Analysis 3.1 Global Robotic Surgery Market Value 3.2 Global Robotic Surgery Market Value Forecast 3.3 Global Robotic Surgery Market Value by Segments 3.4 Global Robotic Surgery Systems Installed Base 3.5 Global Robotic Surgery Systems Installed Base Forecast 3.6 Global Robotic Surgery Systems Installed Base Forecast by Region 3.7 Global Robotic Surgery Procedures 3.8 Global Robotic Surgery Procedures Forecast 3.9 Global Robotic Surgery Procedures by Category 3.10 Global Robotic Surgery Procedures by Region 4. Regional Robotic Surgery Market Analysis 4.1 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Market Value 4.2 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Market Value Forecast 4.3 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Market Value by Segments 4.3.1 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Instruments & Accessories Market Value 4.3.2 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Instruments & Accessories Market Value Forecast 4.3.3 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Systems Market Value 4.3.4 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Systems Market Value Forecast 4.3.5 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Services Market Value 4.3.6 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Services Market Value Forecast 4.4 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Procedures 4.5 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Procedures Forecast 4.6 The U.S. Robotic Surgery Procedures by Category 4.6.1 The U.S. General Robotic Surgery Procedures 4.6.2 The U.S. General Robotic Surgery Procedures Forecast 4.6.3 The U.S. Gynecology Robotic Surgery Procedures 4.6.4 The U.S. Gynecology Robotic Surgery Procedures Forecast 4.6.5 The U.S. Gynecology Robotic Surgery Procedures by Category 4.6.6 The U.S. Urology Robotic Surgery Procedures 4.6.7 The U.S. Urology Robotic Surgery Procedures Forecast 4.6.8 The U.S. Urology Robotic Surgery Procedures by Category 5. Market Dynamics 5.1 Growth Drivers 5.1.1 Rising Cancer Patients 5.1.2 Increasing Geriatric Population 5.1.3 Growing Personal HealthCare Expenditures 5.1.4 Shortage of Surgeons 5.1.5 Improving Consumer Confidence 5.1.6 Accelerating Personal Disposable Income 5.1.7 Favorable Reimbursement Policies 5.1.8 Rising Incidence of Chronic and Infectious Diseases 5.2 Key Trends and Developments 5.2.1 Adoption of Micro and Nano Robots in Urology Surgical Procedures 5.2.2 Focus on the Development of Low-Cost Robotic Surgical Systems 5.2.3 Escalating MedTech Research and Development Expenditures 5.3 Challenges 5.3.1 Risks of Robotic Surgery 5.3.2 Laparoscope Control 6. Competitive Landscape 6.1 Global Market 6.1.1 Key Players - Market Share Comparison 6.1.2 Key Players - Revenue Comparison 6.1.3 Key Players - Market Cap Comparison 6.1.4 Key Players - Research and Development Expenditures Comparison 7. Company Profiles 7.1 Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 7.2 Medtronic Plc 7.3 Johnson & Johnson (Auris Health, Inc.) 7.4 TransEnterix, Inc 7.5 Stryker Corporation 7.6 Siemens AG (Siemens Healthineers AG) For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/40hnp1 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Ai Ling Lee, 61, an unlicensed insurance agent living Hacienda Heights, was convicted of nine felony counts of grand theft after reportedly stealing nearly half-a-million dollars of her small business clients insurance premium payments. An investigation by the California Department of Insurance reportedly found Lee, as owner-operator of Jubilee Insurance Services, acted as an insurance agent to steal $450,000 in premium payments even though she was not properly licensed by the CDI. She allegedly accepted premium payments from her clients to place liability, property or workers compensation insurance coverage, but either failed to place coverage or allowed the coverage to lapse for nonpayment leaving nine restaurants, construction companies and biochemical companies at risk of uninsured losses. Lee reportedly altered declaration pages for several clients. The premium payments collected by Lee were either not remitted to insurance carriers or only partially paid. Lee also allegedly forged clients signatures on finance agreements in order to finance some of the insurance premiums without her clients knowledge or consent. Lee was convicted and sentenced to serve two years of probation and to pay $414,910 in restitution to her victims. The case was prosecuted by the White Collar Crime Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office. The CDI issued a cease and desist order against Lee on Aug. 7 and revoked her business license on Dec. 1, 2018. Topics California Agencies Fraud Scott Distler: Finding a way out of 'the cave' Stating that people lose their jobs when a lockdown is imposed, senior BJP leader on Monday alleged the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is not serious about providing any financial aid to the vulnerable sections. Taking a dig at the state government amid talks that an extended lockdown is imminent in Maharashtra in view of a steep rise in COVID-19 cases, Fadnavis said there is a "lockshahi" in the state now instead of 'lokshahi' (democracy). The Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly was addressing a rally for the upcoming bypoll to Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly constituency in Solapur district. The BJP has fielded Samadhan Autade against Bhagirath Bhalke, son of late MLA Bharat Bhalke, of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the April 17 contest. "When this government came into power, it was called as Maha Vikas Aghadi but now it has become a 'Maha Vasooli (extortion) Aghadi'. The way they have started the vasooli from police, farmers and the common man, it shows that all the three ruling parties (Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) have only one agenda and that is to collect money from wherever itis possible," he alleged. Fadnavis was referring to the allegations of corruption raised by former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh against then home minister Anil Deshmukh, an NCP stalwart. The former chief minister also said the highest number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities are being reported from Maharashtra. "In the last ten days, 50 to 55 per cent of the total deaths in the country were reported from Maharashtra. Similarly, 60 per cent of the total cases in the country were also reported from Maharashtra," he said. Fadnavis said, "I can understand locking and unlocking (to contain the spread of coronavirus) is important but when a lockdown is imposed, people lose their jobs. Unfortunately, the state government is not at all conscious about providing financial help to the (vulnerable) people". He said governments in Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have helped the common man and farmers. "It is the responsibility of the state government to help the people in distress but this (MVA) government, instead of helping people, is recovering power bills from them like the 'Jizya' tax that used to be imposed in the Mughals era," Fadnavis said. He said the state government has stopped disconnecting power connections of people (who have failed to clear their dues) due to this byelection. "But you will see that the government will resume snapping power connections after the bypoll is conducted on April 17," he claimed. Fadnavis said West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the communists and the Congress will receive a big jolt on May 2 when results of the assembly polls held in five states will be out. Speaking at another campaign rally, Fadanvis said, "People may think what difference a bypoll will make to change the state government. Leave it to me when to change this government. We will change that, but for now, this bypoll is important as the people of this constituency have got the opportunity to show the government its place". A new study by IIT Bombay has revealed that several banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), have been imposing excessive service charges on zero-balance or basic savings bank deposit accounts (BSBDA). In fact, SBI alone collected almost Rs300 crore over the past five years from these zero-balance or basic accounts. The study observed that the SBIs decision to levy a charge of Rs17.70 for every debit transaction beyond four by the BSBDA account-holders cannot be considered as 'reasonable.' It is usually the poorer people and students who are fleeced and this continues even now in a year-long COVID situation when things have been rough and the poorer sections have borne the worst brunt of lock-downs and restrictions. The study points out that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI)'s casual attitude in supervising its own regulations encouraged banks to apply unreasonable charges beyond four debits a month. While on the eone hand, digital banking and financial inclusion are being promoted and highly talked about, it is unfortunate to see that RBI has allowed such blatant victimisation of these very BSBDA customers (for whom financial inclusion is being widely promoted), despite being morally and legally obliged to protect them. The study by IIT Bombay professor Ashish Das highlighted that the imposition of service charges resulted in undue collections of over Rs300 crore from among nearly 12 million BSBDA holders of SBI during 2015-2020. In fact, in the two-year period between 2018-19 and 2019-20, SBI collected Rs72 crore and Rs158 crore, respectively, as charges from these poor account-holders. Indias second-largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank, which has 3.9 million BSBD accounts, collected Rs9.9 crore during the five-year period 2015-2020. The study noted There had been systematic breach in the RBI regulations on BSBDAs by few banks, most notably by the SBI that hosts the maximum number of BSBDAs, when it charged at a rate of Rs17.70 for every debit transaction (even via digital means) beyond four a month. In 2012-2013, under the garb of financial inclusion drive of the country, RBI had introduced the BSBD accounts and, subsequently, in August 2014, the Union government introduced Pradhan Mantri JanDhan Yojana (PMJDY). The PMJDY swept the county in facilitating the opening of BSBD accounts by unbanked, under-banked members of households and among the poorer sections of society. The beauty of such accounts was that it envisaged BSBD account-holders of not being charged for the basic banking services that gets offered by banks. Levying of charges on BSBDA is guided by September 2013 RBI guidelines. As per the direction, these account-holders are allowed more than four withdrawals in a month, at the banks discretion provided the bank does not charge for the same. This means, banks are required to provide a minimum of four free debit transactions per month and for BSBDA the banks were encouraged to provide additional services so long as they are provided free. If the bank allows the BSBDA holder to carry out more than four debit transactions per month as per its discretion, all those additional debit transactions necessarily have to be provided free of charge. As per the regulation, any withdrawals from a BSBDA, after the mandated first four free withdrawals, cannot be considered a withdrawal from a BSBDA unless all such withdrawals that the bank allows are also provided free. But, inspite of this direction, SBI (along with several other banks) has been charging the BSBDA-holders for every debit transaction beyond four transactions a month and the charges are as high as Rs17.70 even for digital transactions like National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payment Interface (UPI) UPI, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) -UPI and debit cards for merchant payments. While defining the features of a BSBDA, the regulatory requirements made it amply clear that in addition to mandatory free banking services (that included four withdrawals per month), as long as the savings deposit account is a BSBDA, banks cannot impose any charge even for value-added banking services that a bank may like to offer at their discretion, the study said. RBI considers a withdrawal, beyond four a month, as a value-added service (VAS). We assess the dereliction in SBIs duty towards the PMJDY when the BSBDA users were unduly (and against the extant regulations) forced to part with such high charges for their day-to-day (non-cash) digital debit transactions that the bank allowed in a BSBDA, the report added. On the one hand, the country strongly promoted digital means of payments, while on the other hand, SBI discouraged these very people, to transact digitally for their day-to-day expenditures, by charging an exploitative Rs17.70 per digital transaction. This dwarfed the spirit of financial inclusion, the study gravely points out. The study adds Although not by intent but in practice RBI has allowed victimisation of these BSBDA customers despite being duty-bound to protect them. Two of its specialised departments the Consumer Education and Protection Department and the Financial Inclusion and Development Department allowed this to continue over years even though RBI regulations for ensuring reasonableness of service charges were in place. Although RBI was approached first when SBI charged for every UPI and BHIM-UPI and Rupay digital payments, it remained silent. It was only when the government was subsequently approached, that it came forward to instruct the banks on 30 August 2020, to retrospectively (since 1 January 2020) return the money to the depositors or face penal consequences. However, despite this small relief, RBI still needs to ensure compliance with its own regulations when SBI still considers itself compliant while charging as high as Rs17.70 for every digital debit transaction, through means other than UPI/BHIM-UPI and Rupay-digital, carried out since January 2020. The research study has checked on the trend of BSBD accounts opened and the flips in the regulation that have led not only to chaos among banks but also the banks dereliction in deviation from extant regulations. The study has focused on one public sector bank to show the impact of such deviations onto over 12 crore BSBD/PMJDY account users of SBI, when the bank charged exorbitant fees for day-to-day non-cash transactions through digital means. Moneylife has been writing about how SBI has been penalising the poor and deducting charges even from zero balance accounts of poor students , whose scholarship amount is less than what the bank mandates as minimum average balance (MAB). NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Late Thursday, April 8, 2021, the Honorable Robert D. Drain issued a decision awarding Katten's client, communications and software company Windstream Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries ("Windstream"), the largest compensatory sanction award ever issued by a bankruptcy court for violation of the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the "Court") awarded Windstream over $19 million in compensatory sanctions for multiple violations of the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay by Charter Communications Inc. and Charter Communications Operating, LLC (together, "Charter"), one of Windstream's main competitors. The Court held that Charter had engaged in a false advertising campaign that was designed to capitalize on Windstream's bankruptcy in an effort to take Windstream customers and damage Windstream's brand, reputation and business. In April 2019, Windstream filed a seven-count complaint against Charter, which sought, among other things, damages for violating the Lanham Act and contempt sanctions for violating the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay. At the very outset of the litigation, Katten strategically moved for and obtained a Temporary Restraining Order to promptly stop Charter's advertising campaign. After a further hearing conducted by the Court, Katten obtained a Preliminary Injunction to enjoin Charter's advertising campaign. The Preliminary Injunction included a rare provision requiring Charter to pay for "corrective advertising" to be sent to Windstream customers in an effort to undo some of the damage caused by Charter's false advertising. After extensive discovery, the Court granted partial summary judgment to Windstream on all counts and set Count VI (violation of the automatic stay) and Count VII (equitable subordination) for a bench trial. Trial was held during the last week of April and first week of May 2020, in one of the first virtual trials of the then-new coronavirus pandemic. The Court's 45-page opinion constituted its decision on that trial. In his decision, Judge Drain found that the evidence introduced at trial proved that Charter's mailings were designed to appear as if they were coming from Windstream and that the mailings were "literally false and intentionally misleading." Specifically, Judge Drain found that Charter's mailings were intended to mislead Windstream customers into thinking that Windstream was going out of business because of its Chapter 11 filing and that Windstream customers needed to switch service to Charter. Judge Drain found that Charter's exercise of control over Windstream's customers and its goodwill violated the automatic stay. Judge Drain further found that Charter was liable for four separate categories of damages: "(1) lost profits from customers who switched to Charter as a result of the campaign, (2) the cost of corrective advertising to maintain customers, (3) the cost of a promotional campaign to recover market share. . ., and (4) the fees and expenses of outside counsel and [Windstream's] expert witness. . . ." Windstream's expert witness testified that the company lost some 1,400 customers and as much as $5.1 million in profits because of Charter's false advertising. In addition, Windstream expended nearly $900,000 in corrective advertising, as well as more than $4 million in promotional costs to try to redress the harm to Windstream's goodwill caused by the false advertising. The Court also awarded Windstream its attorneys' fees and litigation costs relating to prosecution of the litigation. In total, the Court awarded sanctions of $19,184,658.30, which we understand to be the largest compensatory sanction ever awarded by a bankruptcy court for violation of the automatic stay. "The automatic stay is one of the most fundamental provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and we are gratified by Judge Drain's willingness to enforce it by stopping Charter's violations and compensating Windstream for the costs caused by those violations," said Katten Intellectual Property Partner Terence Ross. Katten Insolvency and Restructuring Partner Shaya Rochester added, "We are extremely pleased with the decision and happy that Windstream will be compensated for certain losses it incurred as a result of Charter's stay violation." In addition, Judge Drain decided that Charter's wrongful conduct was sufficient to justify the equitable subordination of Charter's proofs of claim (in the aggregate amount of $16,974,706) against certain of the Windstream Debtors, meaning that such claims will not be paid unless and until all general unsecured claims in Class 6A of Windstream's Chapter 11 Plan have been paid in full. As a practical matter, this means that Charter will receive no recovery on account of its proofs of claim because general unsecured claims in Class 6A received less than a 1 percent recovery under Windstream's Chapter 11 Plan. The Katten litigation team representing Windstream was led by Terence P. Ross, Shaya Rochester, Michael R. Justus, Tami Kameda Sims and Eric T. Werlinger. Steven J. Reisman, Chair of Katten's New York Insolvency and Restructuring Practice, is the principal attorney for Windstream at Katten and represents Windstream in matters unrelated to the litigation against Charter. A copy of the Court's April 8, 2021 decision and copies of the pleadings filed in Windstream's adversary proceeding against Charter can be accessed free of charge on the case website at kccllc.net. Katten is a full-service law firm with nearly 700 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm's core areas of practice include corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, private credit and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals. For more information, visit katten.com . SOURCE Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP Related Links http://katten.com When New York City businesses sent their employees home in March of 2020, Mark Mullett and Ashley Mills, who had launched their company, Obe Fitness, just two years earlier, did so as well -- despite their shock. With their studio nestled in Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood emptied, the founders surveyed the space and sat down together at the audio-video control station to process what had just happened. Even though Obe is a virtual fitness platform, with thousands of high-energy, instant-play workout classes for $27 a month, its offerings hinge on more than a dozen live-broadcast classes every day, which required many on-premise staff. Suddenly, operating a studio with live broadcasting just wasn't feasible. "I remember us writing this email to our members with literally tears in our eyes, having built this business, just saying, 'We want to be here for you, we will be back as soon as we can,' " Mills said on Inc.'s What I Know podcast. Mills and Mullett met the challenge with creativity. After a few days of trying to get home-video and broadcasting equipment to some instructors, they landed on a new strategy. A handful of Obe's employees could easily bike or walk to work safely -- and they found their lean operation could run with only a couple of tech and video personnel, well-spaced, in their lofty office, along with a single instructor. By the third week of March, the company had been granted "essential service" status and resumed operations. It maintained its regular classes and dipped into some new ones. "We created some content in a very safe way to satiate the audience, which was meditation content and kids' content, seniors' content. Verticals that we were not in that we had thought about being in," Mills says. Obe's audience of subscribers exploded, growing 80 percent a month from March to May. By summer of 2020, however, the challenges weren't coming from operations. They were external, as both small, boutique fitness brands and more established fitness institutions went online, offering streaming classes for members. Runners were heading outside, and outdoor classes resumed in some areas -- not to mention every yoga studio down the block launched a podcast or video class. Growth continued, but at a much slower pace. "As we look to the future, what we do best we will continue to do," says Mullett. "And we'll also continue to adapt as we leave our homes." For Obe, the post-pandemic future will include more partnerships with film studios, brands, and products. It means being a solution for travelers, and for those who prefer a more social workout. Outdoor classes and studio classes are possibilities, he says. Building a community, both online and off, is a non-negotiable part of Obe's vision. There are, of course, open questions, including: Will Obe become its own social media for its fitness-class enthusiasts? Will it open its own studios? Use existing studio spaces for member meet-ups? Will growth continue? Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says Rupert Murdochs News Corp poses a real threat to Australian democracy, claiming it has surpassed the Coalition or Labor as the most powerful political force in the country. Mr Turnbull, who has blamed News Corp as a key player in his removal as prime minister in 2018, was unsparing in his criticism of the Murdoch empire in his evidence to a Senate inquiry into media diversity on Monday. Committee chair Senator Sarah Hanson-Young holds up a front page of the Daily Telegraph as she puts a question to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull during a hearing on media diversity. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Giving evidence by video link, Mr Turnbull said the Murdoch media business had evolved into a powerful political force that, unlike political parties, was unaccountable to the Australian public. This is the fundamental problem that were facing: the most powerful political actor in Australia is not the Liberal Party or the National Party or the Labor Party. It is News Corp. And its utterly unaccountable, Mr Turnbull said. Its controlled by an American family and their interests are no longer, if they ever were, coextensive with our own. 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. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) President Rodrigo Duterte said he was willing to give up his slot to receive a COVID-19 vaccine to someone else. At his weekly address on Monday, he said his age was one of the reasons why he didn't think the vaccine would do much for him. "Ako, ok na ako... Ako, magwe-waive ako, magwe-waive ako because 70 above... ano pang makuha mo magsige ka, dream? Dream of what? Living until kingdom come? Ako mag-waive ako, kung sino 'yung may gusto sa slot ko, ibigay ko," he said. [Translation: I'm okay...I will waive it because at 70 above, what else can you do, dream? Dream of what? Living until kingdom come? I will waive my slot and whoever wants it can take it.] The President turned 76 on March 28. He added he has always been fatalistic and can accept it when his time is up. "Whether it's COVID or a bala, or whatever, disgrasya. Wala ako masyadong ano diyan sa illusions about life and death. If anyone wants to have it, they can have it. We are not in the priority anyway," he added. [Translation: Whether it's COVID or a bullet, or whatever, an accident. I have no illusions about life and death. If anyone wants to have it, they can have it. We are not in the priority anyway.] Duterte said those who must be prioritized are those who still have a long life ahead of them. READ: Gov't lists down essential workers eligible for vaccine priority Most senior citizens are retired, he said, and are no longer as productive. However, he said the exception are those elected into office. "Ako, after this...nothing to look forward to. Maybe spend a little time with the family and then, time to go," Duterte said. READ: FDA approves use of Sinovac vaccine on senior citizens Ali, 12, pours coffee for his mother Jameela (left) and aunt Huda (right) at home in Amman, Jordan. UNHCR/Lilly Carlisle AMMAN, Jordan Jameela has faced many struggles since fleeing bombs and fighting in her home city of Homs in 2013. After her husband was killed in Syria, she has had to bring up their four young children alone as a refugee in Jordan while struggling to pay rent and cover their basic expenses. As a result, the peace and spiritual healing she found during the Holy Month of Ramadan was always something to look forward to, even if the large family gatherings and abundance of food that marked their nightly Iftar meals back in Syria were a distant memory. But in recent years, even the more modest celebrations they enjoyed in Jordan have become increasingly muted affairs. Jameela relied on cash assistance from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to cover the familys expenses. But with the number of families in desperate need of such support outstripping the available funds, three years ago her assistance was stopped. "We had some tough months." Then last year came the COVID-19 pandemic, and the introduction of a strict lockdown across the Kingdom to contain the spread of the virus. Both factors combined to make last years Ramadan a particular struggle for Jameela and her children Ola, 14, Ali, 12, Aisha, 10, and Ahmed, 8. It was harder than any other Ramadan, Jameela said. We faced a lot of challengesThere was a lot of needs we couldnt meet, not only when it comes to food. My kids got very bored. They couldnt even play outdoors with the neighbours like any other year. They were fasting the whole day, and then after Iftar they cant even go out and play. Added to this were concerns over her childrens education as, with schools closed due to the pandemic, Jameela struggled to keep pace with their learning needs having herself only completed grade six. Then there were the ever-present financial worries that had plagued Jameela ever since her cash assistance was cut off. We had some tough months. Sometimes I wasnt able to cover the full amount of the rent, and when this happened, I used to get scared of being evicted by the owner of the house, Jameela explained. Jameela, a mother of four, lost her husband in the conflict in Syria and was forced to flee to Jordan UNHCR Jameela's youngest son Ahmed, 8, in the doorway of their apartment in Amman, Jordan. UNHCR Ali, 12, prays at home ahead of the start of the holy month of Ramadan. UNHCR/Mohammad Hawari Aisha, 10, and Ahmed, 8, walk home with their aunt Huda before the recent closure of schools due to COVID-19. UNHCR/Lilly Carlisle To cover the shortfall, she was forced to borrow money and accumulate debt, and use funds that had been meant to cover school expenses such as books and equipment for her children. It was a massive relief, therefore, when Jameela received an SMS at the start of this year informing her that her cash assistance was being restored after the three-year hiatus. UNHCRs cash assistance programmes have received a welcome boost from the annual Ramadan fundraising campaign, which in recent years has allowed many more people to receive desperately-needed financial assistance. In Jordan, approximately 33,000 refugee families receive cash assistance from UNHCR every month, which is partly funded through such donations. Since its global launch three years ago, the annual campaign has raised more than US$106 million. This has enabled UNHCR to provide lifesaving support to 3 million vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people in 13 countries through the distribution of cash assistance and goods, allowing them to address basic needs including shelter, food, education, healthcare and debt repayments. Last years campaign was the most successful ever, raising over US$46.5 million. This was largely due to funds received through UNHCRs Refugee Zakat Fund, which was launched in 2019, harnessing the power of Zakat and Sadaqah to transform the lives of refugees and internally displaced people. The theme of this years campaign is Every Second Counts, reflecting how quickly conflict and violence can upend the lives of people, forcing them to flee their homes, and how a moment of generosity can ease the burden on struggling families. Donations received will also help meet the mounting needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite ongoing curfews and the negative socio-economic effect of the pandemic on both refugees and Jordanians, for Jameela, the resumption of her cash assistance has lifted a heavy financial and psychological burden. As the Holy Month approaches, this Ramadan she is looking forward to cooking good food and focusing on the future. I hope this Ramadan will be better than the last one All I wish is that God leaves me in good health and safety, and for my children to have a beautiful future. Zakat and Sadqah donations to people in urgent need can be given now via zakat.unhcr.org and UNHCRs newly launched Zakat mobile application GiveZakat. Health Ministry calls for action to eliminate health inequities The Ministry of Health in New Zealand is joining the World Health Organization (WHO) as it calls for action to eliminate health inequities. For more than 50 years World Health Day (April 7) has been used to create awareness around priority areas of concern for the World Health Organization. This years campaign is focused on building a fairer, healthier world for everyone. It acknowledges the world is still an unequal one and highlights the principle: the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition. In New Zealand, we also acknowledge that people have differences in health that are not only avoidable but unfair and unjust, says Ministry of Health Deputy Director-General Maori Health John Whaanga. Health inequities are preventable and achieving equity within the New Zealand health system is a priority", he added. She debuted her relationship with her new boyfriend Matt Poole late last year. And on Monday, Tammy Hembrow cosied up to her beau as they enjoyed a romantic date night. The 26-year-old shared a series of photos to Instagram, while spending quality time with her man. It's getting serious! Tammy Hembrow shared a passionate kiss with her boyfriend Matt Poole during a romantic date night on Monday In one picture, Tammy leant in close to Matt as the couple shared a passionate kiss. In another photo, the Instagram model wrapped her arms around her man as he lifted her with his muscular arms. Tammy and her surfer beau went public with their romance in September during a trip to the Whitsundays. Loved-up: The 26-year-old shared a series of photos to Instagram, while spending quality time with her man That month, Matt also made his debut on his girlfriend's YouTube channel, admitting in a Q&A video that he'd been the first to say 'I love you'. 'I did. I am obsessed,' Matt said, before Tammy explained how he had confessed his feelings after they'd 'had a little fight' on holiday. 'We had a little fight over nothing, and then when he was trying to make up with me and apologise, he told me he loved me,' she said with a smile. Going strong: Tammy and her surfer beau went public with their romance in September during a trip to the Whitsundays Matt also seems to be getting on wonderfully with Tammy's children, Wolf and Saskia whom she shares with her ex-partner Reece Hawkins. He runs a popular restaurant on the Gold Coast called Maman Bar and Kitchen. Meanwhile, Tammy's ex Reece Hawkins and his wife London Goheen, welcomed a baby boy named Stone last month. Two intruders dressed in black holding hammers caught on CCTV at the print shop that prints the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times on April 12, 2021. (The Epoch Times) Hong Kong Epoch Times Forced to Suspend Printing After Violent Attack Lawmaker condemns attack's 'direct assault on Hong Kongs free press' The Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times is temporarily suspending distribution to repair damaged equipment after an attack on April 12the fifth attack on the printing plant since it was established in 2006. In the early hours of April 12 local time, four masked intruders barged their way into the warehouse, wielding two sledgehammers and a knife hidden inside a plastic bag. The four men smashed printing press equipment and tossed construction debris on the equipment before fleeing in a white van. Among the items damaged were multiple computers and the printing presss central control panel. The men warned a print shop employee to go away, with one saying, Dont force me to do anything. They also stole a computer as they left. Police officers arrived shortly afterward and told Epoch Times employees that the departments crime unit would investigate. The Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times has decried the attack as a crime against Hong Kongs liberties and the rule of law. These thugs are not just targeting The Epoch Times Hong Kong, but also the independent media outlets in Hong Kong, the outlet said in a statement. Its a malicious attack on basic societal norms such as press freedom. Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) described the break-in as a direct assault on Hong Kongs free press. The Chinese Communist Party cannot continue to intimidate and infringe on freedom of the press in Hong Kong, she told The Epoch Times. If it is true that the CCP was behind these attacks, they must be held accountable. PEN America, a New York-based nonprofit that advocates for press freedom, said the armed attack represents an alarming escalation of the threats to press freedom in the territory. Coming amidst arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of critics of the Chinese government, these lawless attacks seem to fit the paradigm of an all-out effort to suppress dissent, the group said in a statement to The Epoch Times. Construction debris on top of printing press equipment at the print shop that prints the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times in Hong Kong, China, on April 12, 2021. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times) The Hong Kong printing plant has suffered a slew of attacks over the past 15 years, and previous police investigations have yielded few results. In November 2019, masked assailants, including two wielding expandable batons, carried buckets of flammable liquid into the printing warehouse. They proceeded to pour the liquid onto the printing machines and paper rolls and lit them on fire. The damage from the arson was estimated at more than $40,000. In May 2013, three men dressed in black attempted to break into the factory without success. Some parts of the metal door were bent from the effort. In October 2012, vandals damaged the lock on the printing shops door with an electric drill. And in February 2006two weeks after the printing site was establishedfour men broke into the building and damaged the newly purchased equipment, which cost more than HK$1 million ($128,660). Damaged computer. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times) While the perpetrators have not been identified, patterns of attacks on independent media have in the past met with indifference from law enforcement, suggesting that they may be condoned or even ordered by authorities, PEN America said. If Hong Kong hopes to hold on to its reputation as an outpost for openness and the rule of law, it must bring these criminals to justice and respect the role and rights of a free press. The Hong Kong Journalists Association and the Hong Kong Web Media Association also condemned the attack and urged the government to look into it. Herbert Chow, a Hong Kong businessman, said the attack on April 12 calls for more support for The Epoch Times Hong Kong edition. We must show these media that are dedicated to speaking the truth that Hongkongers are 100 percent standing behind you, he said. Athens, April 12 : Greek Vice-Minister of Tourism Sofia Zacharaki announced on Monday that holidaymakers from European Union (EU) nations will be able to travel Athens without having to quarantine from May 14 onwards. However, there will be preconditions, dpa news agency quoted the Minister as saying. "Holidaymakers will either have to be vaccinated or show a (negative) PCR coronavirus test," she told the Greek news channel Skai. Afterwards, they will be free to take their holidays in Greece, Zacharaki added. This regulation will also apply to some non-EU states, among them Serbia and the UK, the Deputy Minister added. Athens had already abolished the quarantine obligation for visitors from Israel on a bilateral level at the end of March. Israeli holidaymakers must show an official confirmation in English that they have been vaccinated. In addition, 14 days must have passed since the second vaccination. Visitors from Israel must also show a negative PCR coronavirus test, which must not be more than 72 hours old. Since the beginning of the year, the Greek government has been pushing for the development of an EU-wide vaccination passport. This is to save the Greek tourism sector, which normally accounts for almost a fifth of Greece's economic output. "We hope that this EU vaccination passport will be in place by June," Zacharaki added. As Iran suffers a host of mysterious mishaps, Israelis are at arms over press leaks of sensitive military information. Are Israeli officials too eager to brag about their battlefield success, or are Americans, in an effort to appease the ayatollahs Advertisement On the whole, Prince Philip was reasonably circumspect when talking about his children and their relationships except in the case of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. He spoke with real affection of their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, but he made no secret of the fact that he regarded Sarah, Duchess of York, as simply beyond the pale. One day in the summer of 1992, while she was staying at Balmoral with the Queen and Prince Philip, photo-graphs had appeared in a daily newspaper of Sarah topless and having her toes sucked by a lover in the South of France. The Duke of Edinburgh decided that, as far as he was concerned, enough was enough. He did not want or need to have anything more to do with her. The Duke of Edinburgh regarded Sarah, Duchess of York, as simply beyond the pale For the remainder of Sarahs stay at Balmoral, his actions spoke louder than words. It was ridiculous, she told me. As soon as I came in through one door, hed be falling over the corgis to get out of the other. It was very funny. Except, of course, it wasnt. After Sarahs separation from Prince Andrew, the Queen continued to have tea with her from time to time. But Prince Philip was resolute: he had no desire to see her again. This Sarah knew and it pained her. Of course I want to see him, she told me after her divorce. I am the mother of his granddaughters, after all. I raised this with Prince Philip, but he just shrugged and said: But the children come and stay. When I asked him why he wouldnt see Sarah, he said: I am not vindictive. Then, looking at me directly, he added emphatically: I am not vindictive, but I dont see the point. That Andrew and Sarah appeared to remain friends after their separation and that they shared a home even after their divorce seemed to him truly bizarre. I dont pretend to understand it, he said. Sarah, however, kept trying to mend bridges. For Philips 80th birthday, she sent him a handsome dinner service. (It was supposed to have 12 settings, but it arrived with 13: the sample had been included with the set. With Sarah, somehow, something always goes wrong). He sent her a nice thank you note and signed it, With love from Pa. Prince Philip regarded reticence as a virtue and self-control as a quality to be admired In truth, Philip and Sarah could hardly have been more different. Sarah reckons that bottling up your feelings is positively harmful. When her daughters were younger, she told me: I say to my girls, Go on, tell me. Are you angry with me? Have I annoyed you? We sit down and talk . . . Or Ill make them stand in the middle of Sunninghill Park and scream which is what I do. Sarah suddenly went, Aargh! for me. I make them scream. They say, Mummy, we cant. I say, Why not? Whos going to hear? Scream. The prospect of encountering his former daughter-in-law screaming in the middle of Sunninghill Park could have been one of the reasons the Duke of Edinburgh decided to give her a wide berth after her separation from Prince Andrew. He regarded reticence as a virtue and self-control as a quality to be admired. In 2011, in the week of his 90th birthday, the Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S. aired Finding Sarah, a six-part TV series in which the former Duchess of York shared her tears and her heartache with a TV psychiatrist and the viewing millions. Philip did not tune in. He told me he was in favour of self-awareness, but against the endless introspection that seems to be so prevalent these days. I came across a sentence by the writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch and showed it to him because I thought hed like it: Happiness is a matter of ones most ordinary everyday mode of consciousness being busy and lively and unconcerned with self. Thats it exactly, he said. You can put that in your book. For the last decade of his life, Prince Philip was happy not to have to lose any sleep over his assorted daughters-in-law. Diana was dead. Camilla he accepted. Sophie he could rely on. And Sarah Ferguson he did not think about at all. I think Sarah still obsesses about you, I said. He snorted derisively. You clearly love her daughters, I persisted. Is their mother completely beyond the pale? Her behaviour was a bit odd, he said. YEREVAN. The return of Armenian captives to the homeland is one of the priority issues for the Russian leadership and the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin told reporters about this Monday. According to him, hard work is being done in this regard. "There is some progress, captives have been returned many times, and this work continues," the diplomat added. The ambassador expressed confidence that the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), Rustam Muradov, continues to work in this regard. As for Baku's statement that the issue of captives has been resolved, Kopirkin said it is difficult for him to comment on this statement by the Azerbaijani side. Responding to the clarifying question on the respective position of the Russian side, the diplomat stressed that the work continues and he cannot say anything more. To note, there is no progress since the return of 63 Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan. Despite calls from the international community, Baku refuses to return some 200 Armenian captives. Buschauer and Hrisco were said to be having marital troubles at the time of her death in February 2000. When officer Bryant Haniszewski responded to Buschauers 911 call, he found Hrisco on the floor next to the tub. Buschauer said he pulled his wife from the tub after discovering her there, but Haniszewski said Buschauers clothes werent wet and items around the tub were undisturbed. A number of 57,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive on Tuesday at the "Cantacuzino" National Institute for Medical-Military Development Research. According to a press release of the National Committee for the Coordination of Activities on Vaccination against COVID-19 (CNCAV), the transport is provided by the manufacturing company, and the vaccine doses will be brought to Bucharest by land. "The doses will be stored at the National Storage Center, and in the next period will be distributed in the existing regional centers at national level. The National Storage Center for vaccines against COVID-19 within the Cantacuzino Institute is fully authorized and approved by the Authority National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Romania (ANMDMR), the national authority that has competence in the field of medicine for human use," says CNCAV.As many as 1,320,400 doses produced by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have been received in Romania so far, and as of February 15, 402,534 people have been immunized with this type of vaccine. In this March 31, 2021, file photo, Chief Financial Officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, returns to British Columbia Supreme Court after a break from her extradition hearing, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Chinese telecommunications equipment firm Huawei said Monday that it has reached an agreement with HSBC in Hong Kong to obtain documents that its chief financial office Meng Wanzhou hopes will help prevent her extradition to the U.S. AP-Yonhap Chinese telecommunications equipment firm Huawei said Monday that it has reached an agreement with HSBC in Hong Kong to obtain documents that its chief financial office Meng Wanzhou hopes will help prevent her extradition to the U.S. Meng, who was detained in Canada in 2018 at the behest of U.S. authorities, has been fighting a legal battle over the last two years as the U.S. seeks to extradite her over allegations of bank fraud and violations of sanctions against Iran. The U.S. accuses Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company called Skycom to sell equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. It says Meng committed fraud by misleading HSBC about the company's business dealings in Iran. An earlier request by Meng's legal team for documents from HSBC was rejected by a court in Britain. In a court hearing Monday, Hong Kong High Court judge Linda Chan approved the document-sharing agreement between Huawei and HSBC. ''An agreement has been reached with HSBC in relation to the Hong Kong legal proceedings for document production and an order has been approved by the court,'' Huawei said in a statement on Monday. It is not clear which documents Huawei has obtained or what the scope of the agreement covers. Meng's team have sought internal compliance documents pertaining to Huawei and Skycom. During extradition proceedings in Canada, Meng's lawyers have argued that the U.S. has no jurisdiction to bring the case. Final hearings of Meng's extradition battle are expected to conclude in May in Vancouver, although appeals could prolong the process. (AP) (Newser) Iran on Monday blamed Israel for a sabotage attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged the centrifuges it uses to enrich uranium there, warning that it would avenge the assault, per the AP. The comments by Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh represent the first official accusation leveled against Israel for the assault Sunday that cut power across the facility. Israel has not directly claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicion fell immediately on it as Israeli media widely reported that a devastating cyberattack orchestrated by Israel caused the blackout. If Israel was responsible, it would further heighten tensions between the two nations, already engaged in a shadow conflict across the wider Middle East. story continues below Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met Sunday with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, has vowed to do everything in his power to stop efforts to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. At a news conference at Israels Nevatim air base Monday, Austin declined to say whether the Natanz incident is likely to impede the Biden administrations efforts to re-engage with Iran on its nuclear program. Those efforts will continue. he said. Details remained scarce about what happened Sunday. Khatibzadeh acknowledged that IR-1 centrifuges, the first-generation workhorse of Irans uranium enrichment, had been damaged in the attack, but did not elaborate. State television has yet to show images from the facility. "The answer for Natanz is to take revenge against Israel, Khatibzadeh said. Israel will receive its answer through its own path. (Read more Iran stories.) Attack on Irans Natanz plant muddies US, Iran nuke talks View Photo WASHINGTON (AP) The attack on Irans Natanz nuclear facility is casting a major shadow over Tuesdays resumption of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran over resurrection of the international accord limiting Irans nuclear program. Neither Iran nor the U.S. say the incident will crater the negotiations. But the attack and the destruction of a significant amount of Irans uranium enrichment capability add uncertainty to the discussions in Vienna. The attack gives both sides reason to harden their positions, yet each has incentives to keep the talks on track. Iran wants Washington to lift sanctions that have contributed to damaging its economy, including measures not related to its nuclear program. It insists that the sanctions be lifted before it returns to compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement that then-President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of in 2018. For the Biden administration, the talks are a high-stakes gamble that it can salvage what the Obama administration considered one of its prime foreign policy achievements and slow Irans programs, even as critics claim the accord had given Iran a pathway to a nuclear weapon instead of closing it off. Iran has blamed Israel for the destruction at an important underground facility, and Israeli media has been filled with claims from unnamed officials claiming responsibility. The Biden administration, meanwhile, has taken a hands-off approach, neither praising nor condemning the attack. The White House said the U.S. had no involvement and had nothing to add to speculation about the causes. The attack adds a fresh complication to discussions in Vienna and also to President Joe Bidens efforts to smooth ties with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed a close relationship with Trump, who abandoned the Iran agreement and began a campaign of maximum pressure on Iran by imposing harsh sanctions. The U.S. has said it is prepared to lift or ease sanctions that are inconsistent with the nuclear deal along with sanctions that are inconsistent with the benefits that Iran expected to get from agreeing to the accord. The deal had removed nuclear sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its atomic program, although critics noted that many of those restrictions are time-limited and will expire before 2030. Those same critics, including many in Congress, have expressed concerns that non-nuclear sanctions such as those imposed for terrorism, ballistic missile activity and human rights abuses may be on the table in the negotiations. The administration has not specifically commented on that but has said it will not offer Iran sweeteners unrelated to the agreement. Israeli officials have raised concerns, too, about what they fear would be a precipitous U.S. return to the deal, and news of the attack broke as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was visiting Israel. Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be in Brussels later this week for talks with European and NATO allies likely to touch on Iran. As Austin and Blinken prepared to meet their counterparts in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern that the attack could affect the talks. All of what we are hearing from Tehran is not a positive contribution to this, Maas told reporters. The destruction of advanced centrifuges at Natanz came at a critical time in the Vienna talks that are intended to resurrect the nuclear deal. Trumps withdrawal and his reintroduction of sanctions, along with Irans decisions to break its own commitments to the agreement, have left it in significant jeopardy. The weekend attack on Natanz, one of Irans main nuclear facilities, came amid a break in the Vienna talks. Key to the deal were restrictions on Irans uranium enrichment. Activities at the heavily fortified Natanz facility, which is built into a mountain, were among those most constrained. Natanz has been targeted by sabotage in the past. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges there during an earlier period of Western fears about Tehrans program. Last July, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for that, as well as the November killing of a scientist who began the countrys military nuclear program decades ago. Israel also has launched a series of airstrikes in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian forces and their equipment. And Israel is suspected in an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen. By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer New Delhi: Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has appointed woman guards for the first time after student protested against eve teasing in the varsity campus last month. The varsity has appointed seven women as security guards. The university will appoint 28 more women for the the security of female students within the campus. Seven women have been appointed and 28 more to be hired, said Royana Singh, first woman chief proctor of BHU. The chief proctor further informed that the newly-appointed women security guards have undergone motivational and security training at the Uttar Pradesh Ex-Servicemen Welfare Board. Also read: BHU mulls relaxation of hostel curfew hours for female students; to be at par with male timings The women security guards have been deployed at BHU by Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, said Singh. The woman security guard squad was formed by the BHU on the suggestion of district magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS. The return of the prisoners of war captured during the recent Nagorno Karabakh war is among the priorities of the Russian leadership and the Russian peacekeeping contingent, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin told reporters, adding that the work on this direction continues. The issue of the return of prisoners of war is one of the priorities of the Russian side. Consistent work is underway on this path. You know that prisoners of war have been returned more than once. I am sure that Mr. Muradov will continue the work on this direction, the Ambassador said, meaning the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh Rustam Muradov. The Ambassador didnt comment on the statement of the Azerbaijani side according to which all Armenian prisoners of war have been returned. As far as I know, the work on this direction continues, and it is among the priorities of the Russian side. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan New Delhi: Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected Zakia Jafri's plea challenging lower court order upholding SIT's clean chit to then CM Narendra Modi and others for larger conspiracy in 2002 riots. HC allows Jafri to approach higher forums for further investigation in the case. Jafri, wife of slain former MP Ehsan Jafri, and activist Teesta Setalvads NGO Citizen for Justice and Peace had moved the criminal review petition against a magistrates order upholding the clean chit given by the SIT to Modi and others regarding the allegations of a larger criminal conspiracy behind the riots. The petition demanded that Modi and 59 others including senior police officers and bureaucratsbe made accused for allegedly being part of a conspiracy which facilitated the riots. It also sought the high courts direction for fresh investigation into the matter. Ehsan Jafri, a Congress leader, was among 68 people who were killed at the Gulberg Society here when a mob attacked it on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident which set off riots in the state. With PTI inputs For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Prince Harry has arrived in the United Kingdom ahead of his grandfather Prince Philips imminent funeral. The news coverage since the 99-year-olds death on Friday has been so intense the BBC had to remove its online complaints form after a deluge of feedback over its extensive programming. In contrast, just 30 royal family members will be allowed to attend the Duke of Edinburghs funeral at the historic St Georges Chapel later in the week under COVID-19 rules. Today on Please Explain, national editor Tory Maguire and Europe correspondent Bevan Shields discuss how Britain is combining national mourning with a COVID-19 lockdown. A day after a Bihar cop was lynched by a mob during a raid in West Bengal, his elderly mother collapsed and died after seeing the body. He hailed from the village of Jankinagar in Purnea district, as per a report in TNN. SHO Ashwini Kumar of Kishanganj police station was thrashed to death in Pantapada village within Goalpokhar police station limits in West Bengal on April 10. He had gone there for a raid in connection with a motorcycle theft case. His body was brought home. On seeing him, his mother Urmila Devi collapsed and died as per The Indian Express. iStock The final rites of the mother-son do were performed at their ancestral village on Sunday. Seven Kishangan policemen, who were part of the team that went to West Bengal for the raid, have been placed under suspension for alleged dereliction of duty as they left Kumar behind and fled when the mob attacked them during the raid. iStock Kishangang superintendent of police (SP) Kumar Ashish had earlier said that the SHO was killed due to lack of assistance from West Bengal Police owing to election engagements. As per CrPC provisions, a police team can conduct raids in the jurisdiction of another police station Had they helped us, our officer would have been saved, the report quoted the Kishangang SP as saying. So far, the West Bengal Police has arrested five suspects in connection with the Bihar Police officers lynching. Three suspects were arrested on Saturday, while two others were taken into custody on Sunday. Just over one per cent of Australian diplomats are proficient in Mandarin or Cantonese, three times lower than the general population, heightening concern that the public service is seriously lacking expertise on China. New research shows that Chinese Australians are opting not to join the Australian Public Service, or choosing to resign early in their career, because of issues with recruitment, retention and the difficulty presented by security checks. One public servant said the federal government would never hire someone with my name to work on national security, while Chinese Australians complained that they were perceived to have a conflict of interest in working on China policy. Yun Jiang warns the lack of Chinese language skills within the Australian public service could lead to significant misunderstandings. Liberal MP Dave Sharma and former intelligence chief Allan Gyngell have previously called on the Australian government to boost its number of Chinese speakers and to look at its security vetting process, saying the lack of representation was a great waste of talent as relations between Canberra and Beijing deteriorate. Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of reports on the lasting impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. military. Military efforts to halt the spread of the COVID-19 have now been cited in at least two investigations into fatal accidents, and leaders in Washington say they're concerned about the pandemic's long-term effects on safety and readiness. The global pandemic has wreaked havoc on military training over the last year. From temporarily halting the influx of new recruits at boot camp to canceling large-scale international exercises once troops arrived in-country, all the military services have had to grapple with constantly changing circumstances during the world's biggest health crisis in a generation. The military was quick to put restrictions into place to help limit the spread of COVID-19, which has infected nearly 180,000 troops and killed 24. But now, some of those restrictions, including pre-deployment quarantine periods and the curbing of in-person training requirements, have been cited as factors leading to a pair of separate accidents that killed 10 troops. Read Next: CNO: Fatal AAV Accident Revealed Gaps Between Navy, Marine Corps That Need Attention One airman was killed in a vehicle rollover in Kuwait in September after the Air Force lifted an in-person tactical vehicle course requirement for deploying Security Forces personnel, an investigation into his death found. Eight Marines and one sailor were killed two months earlier when their amphibious assault vehicle filled with water and sank near California. Pandemic restrictions affected the Marine AAV platoon's ability to train with their vehicles, officials found. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle say they are worried the military is only beginning to see how the pandemic has negatively affected training, readiness and, ultimately, safety. "Over the past year, nearly 200 Navy ships have suffered outbreaks, which in some cases disrupted training and operations," Rep. Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a February hearing. "Across the services, hundreds of training exercises have been canceled, curtailed or altered; this is especially problematic for our service members overseas who rely on international exercises to maintain proficiency." Rim of the Pacific, or RimPac, the biggest international maritime exercise, was significantly scaled back last year due to the pandemic. About 25,000 military personnel from 30 countries were supposed to attend. Instead about 5,000 troops from 10 countries took part -- and the whole exercise took place at sea. And when 1,000 Marines arrived in Norway earlier this year for a big Arctic training exercise, the training was called off over concerns of spiking COVID-19 numbers there. Smaller-scale exercises were curtailed, too, especially early in the pandemic. The Navy temporarily modified Battle Stations, its culminating training event at the end of boot camp and Officer Candidates School meant to mimic a ship emergency, to meet social-distancing and other pandemic safety requirements. Changes included shifting the location and limiting the number of personnel participating, said Lt. Cmdr. Phil Chitty, a Naval Service Training Command spokesman. The event for both enlisted trainees and officer candidates has now largely returned to normal, he said. Anything that harms proficiency, even if unintentional, can have serious effects, Rep. John Garamendi, a California Democrat and chairman of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, told Military.com last week. That was evident in the AAV accident, he said, when personnel and equipment weren't ready for a dangerous real-world mission. "I am very concerned," Garamendi said about the pandemic's effect on military training. "... There may very well be some very serious problems that might manifest in a terrible accident." Troops have also been tasked with a host of domestic missions during the pandemic. That has included sending hospital ships and medical personnel to cities in crisis and helping with vaccine rollouts. Kathleen McInnis, a national security expert and nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, said there are likely trade-offs when the military is asked to do missions outside its traditional roles. "Are we degrading the military's ability to do the core mission of fighting and winning the nation's wars?" she asked. "Do we detract from readiness?" Senior military leaders told Rogers, Garamendi and other House members in February that even when military units saw big training exercises canceled or scaled back, they adjusted with smaller events to help maintain combat readiness. "Of course, there is some quality lost in those larger formation training and exercises," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, vice director for operations on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. "But I would say the overall sea-ratings or readiness ratings for all of the services and combatant commands have stayed within historic norms largely because of the adaptive and aggressive action by the services and the combatant commands." But Garamendi said he's not convinced that's the case. The Air Force vehicle rollover and Marine AAV accident, he said, raise flags about training requirements being curbed or overlooked during the pandemic. The congressman said the House plans to call the Marine Corps' top general to testify about safety shortfalls next month. Hearings with other service leaders could follow, he added. -- Oriana Pawlyk contributed to this report. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Related: Lack of Training a Factor in ATV Rollover That Killed 26-Year-Old Airman in Kuwait Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), in collaboration with Leave No Trace Ireland, recently launched an outdoor recreational guide for angling in Kilkenny and nationwide based on the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace. The guide is also a useful checklist for anyone enjoying the outdoors with the principles being key reminders of how to reduce the effects we have on the natural world. The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace are: 1. Plan Ahead and Prepare 2. Be Considerate of Others 3. Respect Farm Animals and Wildlife 4. Travel and Camp on Durable Ground 5. Leave What You Find 6. Dispose of Waste Properly 7. Minimise the Effects of Fire Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland said: "320,000 Irish people enjoy fishing in Ireland and this guide will help them with their role in protecting the environment. "The angling community have a role in protecting the environment they fish in and to help nurture it for future generations to enjoy our fisheries resource." Maura Kiely, CEO of Leave No Trace Ireland said: "We are delighted to team up with Inland Fisheries Ireland to launch this outdoor recreation guide for angling. Anglers are caretakers over the environment they fish in and they understand the need for healthy aquatic systems for fish populations to thrive." The guide is available on the Leave No Trace Ireland website here. For more information on angling in Ireland visit www.fishinginireland.info. Checkout No resources available in your cart Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-11 23:59:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIGA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Tests on nine dead minks at a fur farm in Latvia have revealed the COVID-19 infection, according to the Baltic country's veterinarian authority. The Food and Veterinary Service said late Saturday that the COVID-19 outbreak at the farm was discovered as part of a monitoring that is being conducted to detect possible cases on fur animals and prevent further transmissions. All animals that die at Latvia's fur farms are routinely tested for COVID-19. There has been no information about possible culling though. The veterinary service said that the situation at the Baltic Devon mink farm, which has around 60,000 minks, is under control. Its territory has been fenced off and any movement of animal products to and from the farm has been halted. An epidemiological investigation has also been started into the outbreak at the farm, which belongs to a Dutch-registered company. According to the veterinarian authority, there are around 130,000 animals at the nine fur farms registered in Latvia. Enditem PENTICTON, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 12, 2021 / EastWest Bioscience Inc. (TSX.V:EAST) ("EastWest" or the "Company") and 2747524 Ontario Inc. o/a Cylix Data Group ("Cylix Data") are pleased to announce they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement (the "Combination Agreement") dated March 24, 2021, to complete a business combination by way of a transaction that will constitute a reverse takeover of a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, being 1264136 B.C. Ltd. ("SpinCo"), by Cylix Data (the "Transaction"). The Transaction is conditional on, and will be effected after, EastWest effects a strategic reorganization, whereby the Company intends to spin out its interest in SpinCo to the Company's shareholders by way of a statutory plan of arrangement (the "Spin-Out") pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). It is the intention of the parties that the resulting issuer from the Transaction (the "Resulting Issuer") will carry on the current business of Cylix Data. SpinCo and Cylix Data are not related and act at arm's length. Description of Cylix Data and its Business Cylix Data provides a single source of data to reduce risks and uncertainty in making quality decisions. Consisting of data obtained from various primary and third-party sources, the Cylix Data platform aggregates and stores a vast series of data tables interconnected through proprietary algorithms to produce a customer profile and business risk score. Cylix Data's online portal enables customers to generate fully customizable reports consisting of one or more of: Company Contact Information Ownership Information Affiliated Concerns Payment Trends Aging Accounts Receivable Information Bank Reports with Historical Data Trade References with Historical Data Legal Items of Record & Collection Claims Additionally, an automated and customizable API allows for third party integrations and individualized data extraction based on customer requirements. The Spin-Out Under the terms of the Spin-Out, current shareholders of EastWest will receive one (1) common share of SpinCo (a "SpinCo Share") for every 120 common shares of EastWest. In addition, the Company will be retaining 500,000 SpinCo Shares (the "Retained Shares") as an asset on its balance sheet, along with 1,666,667 common share purchase warrants, each exercisable at a price of $1.90 per SpinCo Share for a period of two (2) years following the Closing (as defined below). The Spin-Out will be subject to the approval of the Company's shareholders, which EastWest will be holding a shareholder meeting in the near future. The Spin-Out also requires the approval of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Further details of the Spin-Out will be announced as they are finalized. Further press release disclosure would include the issuance of the order as well as financial information related to the arrangement and further disclosure on the initial management of SpinCo. Shareholders are cautioned that there is no certainty that the Spin-Out will be completed on the terms currently proposed or at all. "We are pleased to provide further value to shareholders in the form of shares of Cylix Data," says Rodney Gelineau, EastWest's CEO, "and to be adding additional assets to our balance sheet in form of Cylix Data shares, which the company can dispose of at a later date." The Combination Agreement Under the terms of the Combination Agreement, it is anticipated that the Transaction will be effected pursuant to a three-cornered amalgamation among Cylix Data, SpinCo and a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpinCo. Closing of the Transaction is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2021. Pursuant to the terms of the Combination Agreement, SpinCo will effect a stock split or consolidation (the "Adjustment") of its issued and outstanding common shares ("SpinCo Shares") prior to completion of the Transaction (the "Closing"), that results in the shareholders of SpinCo, as constituted immediately prior to the Closing, holding 1,666,667 shares. which is inclusive of the Retained Shares. The SpinCo Shares upon completion of the Adjustment are referred to herein as the "Adjusted SpinCo Shares". In accordance with the terms of the Combination Agreement, it is expected that the holders of the issued and outstanding common shares in the capital of Cylix Data (the "Cylix Data Shares") will be issued one (1) Adjusted SpinCo Share in exchange for each Cylix Data Share (the "Exchange Ratio") held immediately prior to the Closing. The Combination Agreement includes a number of conditions to the Closing, including but not limited to, the conditional approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"), a reconstitution of SpinCo's board of directors and management such that they are comprised of Cylix Data's nominees, a change in SpinCo's name to a name requested by Cylix Data (the "Name Change"), requisite shareholder approvals including the approval of the shareholders of Cylix Data and SpinCo, the completion of the Adjustment, the completion of the Spin-Out, approvals of all regulatory bodies having jurisdiction in connection with the Transaction, the completion of the Cylix Data Financing (as defined below), that SpinCo will have no outstanding liabilities, and other closing conditions customary to transactions of the nature of the Transaction. SpinCo intends to call an annual general and special meeting of its shareholders (the "Meeting") in due course, and its shareholders will be asked to approve the following matters, among others, at the Meeting: the reconstitution of SpinCo's board of directors, the Name Change, the Adjustment, and the Transaction or a component thereof (as may be required by the CSE). There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Upon closing of the Transaction, it is anticipated that the Resulting Issuer will pay finder's fees to 997322 Ontario Inc. and Summit Bancorp Inc. comprised of, respectively, $250,000 in cash and 250,000 units ("Finder Units"), each comprised of one Adjusted SpinCo Share and one warrant exercisable for the purchase of one Adjusted SpinCo Share at an exercise price of $1.50 for a period of three years, and 100,000 Finder Units. 99732 Ontario Inc. is the current controlling shareholder of Cylix Data, and Summit Bancorp Inc. is a corporation controlled by Paul Haber, who is anticipated to be the Chief Financial Officer of the Resulting Issuer. SpinCo is a private company that will, following the completion of the Spin-Out, become a "reporting issuer" under the securities laws of the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Cylix Data Financing Cylix Data will complete a brokered private placement offering (the "Cylix Data Financing") of subscription receipts ("Subscription Receipts") to be led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. (the "Agent") at a price of $1.25 per Subscription Receipt, for gross proceeds of up to $10,000,000. Pursuant to their terms, upon the conditions to conversion being met, each Subscription Receipt will be converted into one unit of Cylix Data (a "Cylix Data Unit"), with each unit being comprised of one Cylix Data Share and one common share purchase warrant of Cylix Data (a "Cylix Data Warrant") exercisable for the purchase of one Cylix Data Share at a price of $1.90 per share for a period of two years following the Closing. The Cylix Data Shares and Cylix Data Warrants will be exchanged at the Exchange Ratio for Adjusted SpinCo Shares and warrants exercisable for the purchase of Adjusted SpinCo Shares. Cylix Data will pay the Agent a cash commission equal to 7% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Cylix Data Financing issue Agent compensation warrants equal to 7% of the Subscription Receipts sold (with each Agent compensation warrant exercisable into Cylix Data Units at a price of $1.25 per warrant for 24 months following the date the escrow release conditions are satisfied), and pay a corporate finance fee equal to 5% of the Subscription Receipts sold. The cash commission shall be reduced to 5% in respect of Cylix Data Units sold to purchasers sourced by Cylix Data. The net proceeds of the Cylix Data Financing, together with 50% of the cash commission payable to the Agent (the "Escrowed Funds"), will be placed in escrow pending completion of the Transaction and the satisfaction of the escrow release conditions of the Subscription Receipts. Upon completion thereof and the release of the net proceeds, it is currently contemplated that the net proceeds will be used for used for sales, marketing and general working capital. The escrow release conditions are as follows and must be satisfied within 120 days following the closing date of the Cylix Data Financing: written confirmation from each of Cylix Data and SpinCo that all conditions to the completion of the Transaction have been satisfied or waived, other than the release of the Escrowed Funds; the Adjusted SpinCo Shares being approved for listing on CSE; the receipt of all regulatory, shareholder and third-party approvals, if any, required in connection with the Transaction; Cylix Data, SpinCo and the Resulting Issuer shall not be in breach or default of any of its covenants or obligations under (A) a subscription receipt agreement (the "Subscription Receipt Agreement") to be entered into on the closing date of the Cylix Data Financing, among Cylix Data, SpinCo, the Agent and a licensed Canadian trust company or other escrow agent (the "Subscription Receipt Agent"); and (B) an agency agreement (the "Agency Agreement") to be entered into on the closing date of the Cylix Data Financing, among Cylix Data, SpinCo and the Agent, except (in the case of the Agency Agreement only) for those breaches or defaults that have been waived by the Agent and all conditions set out in the Agency Agreement shall have been fulfilled, which shall all be confirmed to be true in a certificate of a senior officer of the Resulting Issuer; and the delivery of an release notice to the Subscription Receipt Agent in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Receipt Agreement. Listing Statement and Non-Offering Prospectus In connection with the Transaction and pursuant to the requirements of the CSE, SpinCo and Cylix Data intend to file a listing statement on SpinCo's issuer profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), which will be created following the completion of the Spin-Out, and file a non-offering prospectus with the Ontario Securities Commission, and which will contain details regarding the Transaction, Cylix Data and SpinCo. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the listing statement and non-offering prospectus, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Further Information EastWest, SpinCo and Cylix Data will provide further details in respect of the Transaction in due course by way of press release. EastWest and SpinCo will make available all information including financial information as required by applicable regulatory authorities and will provide, in a press release to be disseminated at a later date, the required disclosure. Investors are cautioned that any information released or received with respect to the Transaction in this news release may not be complete and should not be relied upon. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. About EastWest Bioscience Inc. EastWest Bioscience is a vertically integrated wellness company with a multitude of business units and assets that allow for seed-to-sale supply chain management. We source our raw material, process, manufacture, test, brand, market, and distribute our products to our customers in Canada, the United States, and beyond. The Company owns and operates retail and manufacturing subsidiaries. The Company's retail subsidiary is the award winning, Canadian, natural health retail franchise - the Sangster's Health Centre's - with over 40 years of legacy in the health and wellness industry. Sangster's goal is to provide natural choices through quality products and educated advice for a healthy lifestyle. Sangster's Health Centres occupies a unique position in the industry, the stores provide vast knowledge and safe natural remedies for the prevention and treatment of disease and ailments. Sangster's introduction and development of over 202 exclusively labeled products (vitamins, mineral, herbs, proteins, natural body care and organic foods) catapulted Sangster's name and product into a large number of Canadian households. From a solid base in Saskatchewan, Sangster's has become a national brand name with franchise stores located across Canada. Orchard Vale Naturals is the Company's manufacturing arm that is certified with a Health Canada Site License and has GMP Certified NHP Manufacturing capabilities. Orchard Vale Naturals specialize in custom blends and production runs of all sizes, small to large, for top-quality products with quick turnaround times. Orchard Vale Naturals operate out of the 34,000 sq Health Canada licensed facility in Penticton, British Columbia that is owned by EastWest Bioscience and is the Head Office for all of its Canadian operations. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF EASTWEST BIOSCIENCE INC. "Rodney Gelineau" Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Director For Further Information: EastWest Bioscience Inc. / 1264136 B.C. LTD. Rodney Gelineau, CEO & Director Telephone: 1-800-409-1930 Email: investors@eastwestscience.com 2747524 Ontario Inc. o/a Cylix Data Group Ezio D'Onofrio, CEO & Director Telephone: 905-747-2108 Email: info@cylixdata.com This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities to be issued in connection with the Transaction have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to disinterested shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or listing application to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of EastWest or SpinCo should be considered highly speculative. 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 Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Company completing the proposed Transaction, completion of the Cylix Data Financing, completion of the Spin-Out, the listing of the Adjusted SpinCo Shares on the CSE, and associated transactions, including statements regarding the terms and conditions of the Transaction and the Cylix Data Financing, the business plans and objectives of Cylix Data and the Resulting Issuer upon completion of the Transaction and approvals of regulatory bodies. Although EastWest, SpinCo and Cylix Data believe in light of the experience of its directors and officers, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate and that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because EastWest, SpinCo and Cylix Data can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Any such forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans" and similar expressions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risk that a closing condition to the Transaction is not satisfied or is not satisfied on a timely basis, including, without limitation, the Company's failure to complete the Spin-Out, the failure to list the Adjusted SpinCo Shares on the CSE, the parties' ability to satisfy closing conditions and receive necessary approvals and the inability of Cylix to complete the Cylix Data Financing or upon the current terms. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that the Transaction will occur or that, if the Transaction does occur, it will be completed on the terms described above. EastWest, SpinCo and Cylix Data assume no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by applicable law. SOURCE: EastWest Bioscience Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/639984/Cylix-Data-And-Eastwest-Announce-Reverse-Takeover-Transaction-Of-1264136-BC-Ltd-By-Cylix-Data-And-Brokered-Financing-Led-By-Canaccord Americans are divided in their views on the killing of George Floyd. But the biggest division isnt along racial lines. Its between Republicans and everyone else. This week, in an Economist/YouGov poll, 64 percent of Americans said police were not justified in the amount of force they used in Floyds arrest, but only 41 percent of Republicans agreed. Most Americans said former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin should be convicted of murder, but only 31 percent of Republicans agreed. On both questions, Republicans differed sharply, by margins of about 20 percentage points, from independent voters and from white Americans as a whole. People who dont like integration, or who dont acknowledge discrimination, have consolidated in the Republican Party. And theyre losing touch with the rest of America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Democrats, predictably, are to the left of the national average on these questions. But in todays most pressing racial matters, independents tend to side with Democrats, leaving Republicans in the minority. Americans as a whole agree, by a ratio of 2-to-1, that Black people and white people dont receive equal treatment from the police. But Republicans, by almost the same ratio, disagree. Most Americans say that the deaths of Black Americans in recent well-publicized police encounters represent a broader problem, but more than 70 percent of Republicans insist that these are just isolated incidents. Most Americans agree that the rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 would have been treated more harshly if they had been Black, but few Republicans agree. In fact, Republicans are just as likely to claim that the police would have treated Black rioters less harshly. Advertisement In one recent survey, 40 percent of Americans said racism in our society was a big problem. Only 14 percent of Republicans endorsed that view. In another poll, 30 percent of Republicans said racial inequality was not a problem at all. Only 14 percent of Americans took that position. Two-thirds of Americans say the U.S. is doing only a fair or poor job of providing equality and justice for all groups, but most Republicans say the U.S. is doing an excellent or good job. Republicans are far more likely to say that conservatives face a great deal of discrimination than to say that Black people do. On all of these questions, Republicans are wildly out of step not just with Democrats, but with political independents and with white Americans as a whole. Advertisement Advertisement In much of white America, Floyds death provoked reflection about racial inequality. But those discussions dont seem to have permeated the GOP. In a Politico/Morning Consult survey taken a month ago, most voters said Black Lives Matter protests over the last year had brought about meaningful conversations about race relations. Only 25 percent of Republicans agreed. And theres a sharp discrepancy between the experiences of people of coloras reported in polls by those peopleand Republican perceptions of those experiences. In this weeks Economist survey, 82 percent of Blacks and 70 percent of Hispanics said relations between minorities and police were bad. But 63 percent of Republicans said relations between minorities and police were good. Advertisement Republicans often claim that their hostility to Black Lives Matter, which has an unfavorable rating of roughly 80 percent in the GOP, is about the movements left-wing ideas. But in a poll taken in January, a plurality of Republicans also spurned the idea that Martin Luther Kings birthday should be a federal holiday. (Only 24 percent of Americans shared that view.) And when Republicans were asked, hypothetically, about a company endorsing civil rights in a Super Bowl ad, they were more likely to view the company less favorably than to view it more favorably. Advertisement Racial discomfort and indifference to racism run deep in the GOP. In a CBS News poll taken in January, among Americans who expressed a positive or negative view of the changing racial diversity in the U.S., more than two-thirds said it was a good thing. But among Republicans who expressed a positive or negative view, most said it was bad. (Half the Republican sample said it was neither.) Another survey found the same discrepancy. In a third poll, taken in March, most voters said the president definitely has a responsibility to condemn bigotry and discrimination that happens in this country. But only a third of Republicans agreed. Advertisement The partisan gap extends to views of Asian Americans. In January, voters overwhelmingly endorsed President Joe Bidens executive order denouncing discrimination and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, but Republicans were closely divided on it. Two weeks ago, a Navigator survey noted that over the past year, there have been nearly 3,800 reported hate incidents targeting Asian Americans. The questionnaire added that six Asian women had just been shot to death in Atlanta. Given these prompts, most voters said increased violence against Asian Americans was a very serious problem. But only 29 percent of Republicans gave the same answer. In the same survey, 60 percent of voters supported the idea of opening investigations into incidents, like the yelling of racial slurs, that cant legally be categorized as hate crimes. But a plurality of Republicans opposed that idea. Advertisement In all of these polls, Republicans stand far apart, not just from Democrats but from independents and from white respondents as a whole. And the pattern extends far beyond the Chauvin trial. Compared with white voters and independents, Republicans are far more hostile to reparations, far less receptive to racial concerns about Georgias new election law, far less likely to support reinforcement of the Voting Rights Act, and far less willing to prioritize COVID vaccination of racial groups who have experienced high rates of illness. Even a presidential task force to work on addressing racial inequality in the criminal justice system is too much for them. In a Morning Consult poll taken in January, voters endorsed that idea by about 40 percentage points. So did white voters. But a plurality of Republicans rejected the idea. Segregation is pernicious. It corrupts everyone, not just by exacerbating inequalities of opportunity and outcome, but also by separating us into communities, classes, and factions that dont connect with one another. Most Americans dont share the racial attitudes that prevail in todays GOP, and thats a good thing. But the prevalence of those views within the Republican Party, and the partys imperviousness to the national reckoning thats going on around it, should worry us all. [April 12, 2021] DOE, Israel's Ministry of Energy, and Israel Innovation Authority Announce the U.S.-Israel Energy Center Winner for the Energy Cyber Sector TEL AVIV, Israel, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Israel's Ministry of Energy and the Israel Innovation Authority announced the winner to receive up to $6 million under the U.S.-Israel Energy Center competitive funding opportunity in the area of cyber security for energy infrastructure. The total value of the investment with cost-shared arrangements could reach up to $12M for a period of three years. This award follows the selection on March 2020 of three consortia, comprised of U.S. and Israeli organizations for the topics of fossil energy, energy storage, and energy-water nexus sectors. The three selected programs were launched in August-September 2020. The total value of these four programs with cost-shared arrangements could reach $67.2 million. The U.S.-Israel Energy Center (full name: The U.S.-Israel Center of Excellence in Energy, Engineering and Water Technology) was initially authorized by the U.S. Congress in the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 and funded by the Israel Government in 2016. The total expected government funding for the Energy Center is $40M, for 5 years. The goal of the Energy Center is to promote energy security and economic development through R&D of innovative energy technologies, while facilitating cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli companies, research institutes and universities. The Energy Center is managed by the BIRD Foundation. Dr. Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs (Acting) at the U.S. Department of Energy, said: "Cybersecurity for energy infrastructure is key to the success of our efforts to deploy new innovative technologies to combat the climate crisis, promote energy justice, and create new clean energy jobs. It is vital that what we do ensures the security and reliability of critical energy inrastructure, as well as protecting DOE's assets. I am pleased that this international consortium between the U.S. and our friends in Israel will develop new tools to address the cybersecurity threats we will face as we invest in our people, our supply chains, and our capacity to meet our clean energy goals." Mr. Udi Adiri, Director General at the Israel Ministry of Energy, said: "The continuing collaboration in the energy sector between the US and Israel raised considerable interest, and has the potential to bring about significant technological progress. The Ministry of Energy is strongly involved in protecting the water and energy sector from cyber-attacks, and believes that R&D investment is just as important. The chosen project is one of 6 excellent candidates with tens of potential partners, who wanted to participate in this joint endeavor. It is of high technical excellence, and has strong commercial potential. I wish us all for its success." Dr. Ami Appelbaum, Chairman, Israel Innovation Authority and Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, said: "In an age where technological innovations are multiplying exponentially, the risks of cyber-attacks also increase significantly, especially in critical facilities such as energy infrastructure. We are pleased to see the high level of engagement in both countries, and we wish much success to the winning consortium of academia and companies as we look forward to the amazing changes they will bring about for the security of the energy sector and the population worldwide." The selected consortium, led by Arizona State University (U.S. Leader) and Ben-Gurion University (Israeli Leader), will perform research and development entitled: "Comprehensive Cybersecurity Technology for Critical Power Infrastructure AI Based Centralized Defense and Edge Resilience." The consortium includes the following partners: U.S. Partners: Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Nexant, DelekUS Holdings, Duquesne Light Company, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, The MITRE Corporation, Arizona Public Service. Israeli Partners: OTORIO, Rad Data Communication, SIGA OT Solutions, Arava Power. For more information about the U.S.-Israel Energy Center, please click HERE. Energy Center Contacts: Israel: Ms. Tal Fischelovitch, talf@birdf.com U.S.: Ms. Shiri Freund Koren, shirik@birdf.com Contacts: U.S.: Ms. Andrea Yonah Director of BD, East Coast and Midwest andreay@birdf.com +1-609-356-0305 Israel: Mr. Tal Kelem Director of BD tal@birdf.com +972-3-6988304 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/doe-israels-ministry-of-energy-and-israel-innovation-authority-announce-the-us-israel-energy-center-winner-for-the-energy-cyber-sector-301266559.html SOURCE The BIRD Foundation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Subscriber content preview JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Alaska officials have filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of toxic, man-made forever chemicals that have been detected in some of the state's groundwater. The lawsuit filed Wednesday names large chemical-making corporations such as 3M, DuPont and others for the production of two, toxic compounds that were commonly contained in firefighting foams used at airports to prevent fuel fires. . . . Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. ADVERTISEMENT President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday welcomed the beginning of Muslims holy month of Ramadan, which marks the commencement of 30 days of fasting. In a message to the nation to mark the occasion, President Buhari prayed to Allah to accept our sacrifices and increase the unity, solidarity, peace and prosperity of the nation. He urged Muslims in the country to exercise patience and tolerance and reject voices that seek to divide the nation. He also urged all citizens to show compassion to the millions of the less endowed and remember those that have been displaced by conflict in their charity and prayers in this important period. Garba Shehu Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) April 12, 2021 Paris and Berlin have urged Moscow to show more flexibility within the Minsk process, but they certainly understand who is failing to implement the Minsk agreements in reality, the Kremlin said. When asked whether French and German colleagues understand who is not actually implementing the Minsk accords, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said: "Yes, they largely do. [...]. And, naturally, as we increasingly hear statements on various levels that the Minsk Package of Measures is almost nothing but a useless rudiment, it probably also leaves Paris and Berlin, not us only, perplexed." The leaders of Germany and France, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron 'have certain differences', and their views are sometimes different from Russia's, Peskov admitted. "They wish that we showed more flexibility as a Minsk process participant," Peskov said in an interview with Pavel Zarubin, the author and host of the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin television show on Rossiya 1 (VGTRK). "But in general, there is the understanding that there is a document which currently has no alternative and which must be implemented. This document is unambiguous. All is written in black and white there. Both the essence and the sequence of steps, everything is signed there," Peskov said. The Congress has decided to intensify its campaign in the next four phases of elections in West Bengal, which the party thinks are its strongholds as they have considerable minority presence. The districts going to polls in next phases include Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur and other parts of north Bengal, where Congress registered good vote share in the last assembly elections. Murshidabad and Malda are the party strongholds due to family influence of late Rail Minister Abdul Ghani Khan Choudhury, however, the family has now been divided between the TMC and the Congress. Congress observer in the state B.K. Hariprasad, speaking from Bagdogra, West Bengal, said, "our focus in the area is to get our votes back to the party fold and the last four phases are crucial for the party." The Congress leadership has now pitched in the state to attract the voters in the high octane battle between the BJP and the Trinamool. Congress Secretary Incharge of West Bengal, B.P. Singh speaking from Siliguri, said, "our alliance with the Left and the ISF (Indian Secular Front) is strong and Rahul Gandhiji will campaign for the party on Wednesday at Goalpokhra and Naxalbari". Wary of the division of votes between TMC and the Left-Congress alliance, the party is tactically placing itself in the contest, so that it remains in the fight and the party leaders maintain that the Congress-Left alliance is doing well in the rural areas. However, the Congress-Left alliance could not match the BJP's high voltage campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party was more focused in the assembly elections of Assam and Kerala with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigning in the states. While the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are in direct contest in Bengal, the Left is trying to win back its rural support, and the Congress is trying to retain its last tally of 44, in 2016 elections. The Congress' vote share had declined to 4 per cent in the 2019 general elections, but it still remains an important factor in some districts such as Purulia, Malda and Murshidabad. Sources also said that the Congress leaders refrain from sharing the dias with the Left till elections in Kerala got over as Rahul Gandhi has been attacking them in the southern state where the two are in direct fight against each other. --IANS miz/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.) "Vincenzo" Episode 16 took the online world by storm as the wrathful Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong Ki) barges in the enemies' turf, showing no mercy. Babel Group's CEO Jang Han Seok (2PM's Taecyeon) succeeded in provoking the mafioso, and now, a much more cutthroat war is about to unfold. We only have 4 episodes left, but the best is yet to come. Read on how the darkest incident occurred in Vincenzo's life. Vincenzo Proves His Innocence Caught in a trap, Vincenzo Cassano wanted to clear his name after he was framed of murdering Oh Jeong Bae. He managed to flee with the help of Mr. Tak. Luckily, Byebye Balloon's owner Park Seok Do (Kim Young Woong) found one of the men behind the Oh Jeong Bae's murder and beat him up. And together with Hong Cha Young (Jeon Yeo Bin), Mr. Tak (Choi Duk Moon), Park Seok Do, and Jeon Soo Nam (Lee Dal) were able to bring the real culprits in front of the police station and smoothly cleared Vincenzo's name. no but can we talk about the bye bye balloon duo and mr. tak literally fighting the real k!IIers that framed vincenzo for HIM??? and him being first taken aback, then grinning & neatly folding the balloon guy's jacket on his arms?? #Vincenzo #VincenzoEp16 pic.twitter.com/3UIRwhKDVZ s (@purpIetales) April 11, 2021 Meanwhile, inside the Wusang office, Choi Myung Hee (Kim Yeo Jin) found out that Vincenzo escaped again from their trap. The cops, instead, searched for Park Do Hun (Jung Yeon Woo), the one who they asked to take the fall after failing to catch Vincenzo. The continuous killings are now starting to bother Mr. Han and warned Choi Myung Hee to start cleaning up the mess. He doesn't want to ruin his law firm's image futher and urged Myung Hee to stop fulfilling the wishes of the Babel Group's psychopath CEO. Vincenzo's First Family Photo Hong Cha Young, Vincenzo, and Oh Gyeong Ja went on a short trip. The first thing they did was to fulfill Oh Gyeong Ja's wish of having a picture taken. The lady lawyer used this as an opportunity to have Vincenzo and his mother take a photo together. Genuine emotions were shown by the two, and naturally projected a mother and son relationship. The three went for a walk but Hong Cha Young made an excuse to give Oh Gyeong Ja and Vincenzo some time to spend together. Oh Gyeong Ja confessed that there was not a single day she didn't miss her child. She said her son was her everything, and looked for him for years but failed. Upon hearing these words from his mother, Vincenzo couldn't help but burst into tears. As the conversation deepened, tears filled both the eyes of Oh Gyeong Ja and Vincenzo. When they finally returned to the hospital, Hong Cha Young and Vincenzo recieved a warm, grateful hug from Oh Gyeong Ja. The mafia lawyer got emotional again, because this is the first time in forever he was able to feel his mother's embrace. Geumga Plaza is in Danger Geumga Plaza tenants went for drinks and celebrated Lee Cheol Wook (Yang Kyung Won) and Jang Yeon Jin's (So Ye Hwa) new milestone in their married life. However, amid their happy faces and exchanged laughters, Jang Han Seok sent someone to cause a gas leak inside the complex. Fortunately, a group of firemen came and that was when the Geumga Plaza residents found out they were in a life-death situation. Vincenzo followed the firemen checking what caused the leak. When they found a watch, Vincenzo immediately grabbed and rushed to throw it out of the window. When the timer burned on a spacious pavement, it signaled that the whole building would've exploded, and they would've all lost their lives. Vincenzo and his squad were curious, though, who reported the incident. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Vincenzo' Episode 15: Inzaghi Returns the Favor to Song Joong Ki Choi Myung Hee and Jang Han Seok finally found where Vincenzo's mother is confined. Then, the Babel's CEO paid a visit to Oh Gyeong Ja in the hospital and spent some time talking to her. At the Jipuragi office, after seeing their family photo, Vincenzo decided to visit his mother and bought her favorite snack, bungeoppang. He told Hong Cha Young, via a phone call, that he would finally tell her he's her long-lost son. Sadly, he was too late. His mother was killed. This awakened the monstrous side of the former mafia lawyer, which he had been suppressing from the start upon his retirement. He checked the CCTV footage and looked for the murderer. Hong Cha Young arrived and saw the sorrow and rage through Vincenzo's eyes. Before he left, the lady lawyer told him to make the culprit pay for what he did. Vincenzo Transforms into a Wrathful Mafioso Vincenzo went to the killer's house and beat him up. His eyes were filled with rage and pain as he battered the culprit. The consigliere tortured him until he spilled the one who ordered him to kill his mother. At his home, Jang Han Seok and his allies celebrated their victory of killing Vincenzo's mother. But in the middle of their conversation, Choi Myung Hee threw Jang Han Seo (Kwak Dong Yeon) and Mr. Han under the bus. Amid their heated discussion, Choi Myung Hee heard someone walking through the door. They were all shocked after the man who killed Vincenzo's mother, covered in blood, barged in and was asking for their help. Vincenzo then came into view - he pulled the trigger of his gun and shot the man's head in front of Jang Han Seok and his allies. the impact of this scene in the entire series is insane. although vincenzo is really a ruthless mafia in italy, this is a major turning point of his character as a mafia in korea. this is literally a jaw dropping scene. dont mess with him. #Vincenzo #VincenzoEp16 pic.twitter.com/kwfM0Id5CY zee base (@zygmaund) April 11, 2021 Blood splattered on Myung Hee's face, and everyone was showered by shivers as they are now facing the wrathful mafioso, Vincenzo Cassano. Meanwhile, "Vincenzo" episode 17 and episode 18 will be aired on April 24 and 25, respectively. The production team decided to give the drama a one-week hiatus to ensure its quality. The good news is that tvN will release a special "Vincenzo" episode on April 17! What can you say about "Vincenzo" episode 16? Share your thoughts with us in the comments! 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 Orient Cement's INR21bn project cleared to begin 12 April 2021 Indias environment ministry has reportedly cleared Orient Cements INR21bn (US$280.27m) expansion plan for its Telangana plant, according to the India National Press. In 2017 the company announced its plans to expand its Devapur plant in Telangana and Chittapur unit in Karnataka for an estimated capital expenditure of INR36bn. However, the plans were stalled and were with the environment ministry for the last two years as an expert panel sought several clarifications. Published under DETROIT, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huron Capital Partners LLC ("Huron Capital"), a leading lower middle-market private equity platform, announced today that its full-service insurance brokerage platform, High Street Insurance Partners ("HSIP"), has acquired Hartzell Insurance Associates ("Hartzell Insurance"), NYAB Insurance ("NYAB"), and Perry & Carroll Insurance ("Perry & Carroll"). HSIP, formed in August 2018 by Huron Capital to build a full-service insurance brokerage business, has now completed 24 acquisitions since its formation and continues to pursue add-on acquisitions in the insurance agency market. "We are thrilled with the addition of these three longstanding companies in the Northeast markets, which strengthens our geographic footprint and enhances our specialty market strategy," said HSIP CEO Scott Wick. "We share similar beliefs and values with each of these companies and their dedication to providing superior levels of service in their communities and niche customer groups." Hatfield, Pennsylvania-based insurance broker Hartzell Insurance has been providing businesses with business, personal and group health insurance for nearly three decades. "Our philosophy is simple; through our customer service expertise, we will be able to keep your employees happy and focused on their work while relieving them of the worries of dealing directly with the insurance company," said Hartzell Insurance Agency President Scott Hartzell. "We are dedicated to working with companies both large and small, and we are confident that this partnership with HSIP will provide us with opportunities to expand our status as a regional leader." Founded in 2012, Long Island-based NYAB is an insurance brokerage that specializes in personal and commercial insurance with a focus on New York City's transportation industry. "Our brokers and customer service representatives boast over 50 years of combined and diversified experience that complements our innovative approach to evaluating risk," said NYAB Agency President Charlie LaSala. "Our capabilities will be enhanced through the support gained by joining HSIP, as we broaden our expertise and scale to the benefit of all of our customers." Perry & Carroll, Inc. is one of the oldest independent insurance agencies, serving the southern tier of New York and northern tier of Pennsylvania for over 160 years. In addition to the acquisition, the company also announced the retirement of President Jim Rogers, who has been with the agency for 37 years. Other management team members will continue to lead the agency from the full-service office in downtown Elmira. "It was important for Perry & Carroll to retain our identity as a community focused agency one that Jim has long worked to establish, and we cannot thank him enough for his dedication to our company," said Scott Proudfoot, Perry & Carroll President and Treasurer. "Our collaboration with High Street Insurance Partners provides greater resources to meet the needs of our customers. We are very excited about this next step in our agency's continued success." HSIP is one of 15 Huron Capital ExecFactor initiatives, which combine a CEO's industry expertise with Huron Capital's extensive investment experience and committed capital. "The momentum of HSIP in early 2021 is unrelenting, and we couldn't be happier with the additions the team continues to identify and make to its growing roster," said Huron Capital Principal Brian Rassel. "This growth in geography, expertise, and specializations are beneficial to not only HSIP's ongoing strategic growth plan, but also for the employees and customers." About Huron Capital Founded in Detroit in 1999, Huron Capital is an operationally focused private equity platform with a long history of growing lower middle-market companies through our proprietary ExecFactor buy-and-build investment model. We prefer complex situations where we can help companies reach their full potential by combining our operational approach, substantial capital base, and transaction experience with seasoned operating executives. An early pioneer of the buy-and-build approach, Huron Capital has successfully established six private equity funds aggregating nearly $2.0 billion in committed capital and invested in over 200 companies, and our portfolio companies have employed over 11,000 people throughout North America. The Huron Capital buy-and-build investment model includes equity recapitalizations, family succession transactions, market-entry strategies, corporate carve-outs, and management buyouts of companies having revenues up to $200 million. Huron Capital targets both control and non-control equity stakes in fundamentally-sound companies that can benefit from the Firm's operational approach to creating value. Huron Capital focuses on niche segments within the business services, consumer products & services and specialty industrials sectors. For more information, please visit: www.huroncapital.com. About High Street Insurance Partners High Street Insurance Partners (HSIP) is a full-service independent insurance brokerage firm. Founded in 2018, the Traverse City, Michigan-based company provides a broad array of business insurance & risk management; employee benefits & human capital management; financial & retirement services; and personal insurance solutions delivered through community-focused agencies. HSIP employs over 500 insurance coverage specialists & consultants in offices based in Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Oregon & Pennsylvania. Additional information can be found at www.highstreetpartners.com. Certain information herein may contain forward-looking statements which are provided to assist the reader in understanding the beliefs and opinions with respect to future opportunities as perceived by Huron Capital and others quoted herein. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance in future periods to differ materially from any projections or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The issuer of these statements undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or estimates or opinions should change except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Contact: Brent Snavely, Director Lambert & Co. (313) 309-9516 [email protected] SOURCE Huron Capital Partners LLC Related Links http://www.huroncapital.com CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and AVENTURA, Fla., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing allogeneic off-the-shelf gene-edited Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-NK cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and NK cell engager multifunctional antibodies, announced today that it has filed two provisional composition of matter patent applications for its FLEX-NK platform, consisting of NKp46-based NK cell engager multifunctional antibodies targeting GPC3 for the treatment of solid tumors, including Hepatocellular carcinoma, and CD38 for the treatment of hematological malignancies, including Multiple Myeloma. Cytovia is the first company to offer optionality to clinicians to use NK engagers either to activate the patients own innate cells or in combination with Universal off-the-shelf iPSC-derived NK cells. We are excited about the potential of our NK engagers and believe that they will offer a safe and effective outpatient alternative for those not responding to first-line cancer therapies, said Dr. Daniel Teper, CEO of Cytovia Therapeutics. Cytovia is committed to building a strong intellectual property portfolio to support further development of our first-in-class NK engager candidates, with clinical trials starting in the first half 2022. Cytovia had signed an exclusive worldwide license in 2020 with Yissum, the Technology Transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for its NKp46 antibodies which activate Natural Killer cells. Yissum filed an international patent application (PCT) for the Nkp46 antibody on April 5th, 2021. NKp46 is uniquely expressed in NK cells including solid tumor infiltrating NK cells. Targeting NKp46 has been shown to activate NK cytotoxic activity, regulate the tumor micro-environment, and prevent metastasis (as published in Immunity). Cytovia has a worldwide exclusive license of anti-NKp46 antibodies developed by Professor Mandelboim at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. CYT 303 is a FLEX-NK tetravalent bispecific trifunctional antibody targeting GPC3, a glycoprotein highly expressed on solid tumors, including Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but not on adult healthy cells. CYT303 is being developed to treat solid tumors expressing GPC3, including HCC. CYT 338 is a FLEX-NK tetravalent bispecific trifunctional antibody targeting CD38. The anti-CD38 antibody has been shown to kill CD38-expressing myeloma cells while preserving immune cells in a bispecific T-cell engager setting (as published in Haematologica). CYT338 is being developed to treat hematologic malignancies, including Multiple Myeloma. About FLEX-NK FLEX-NK is a novel tetravalent bispecific trifunctional antibody platform designed to induce targeted killing of tumor cells by redirecting NK cells. FLEX-NK antibodies bind to both NKp46 on NK cells and a tumor specific antigen on cancer cells. The FLEX tetravalent platform is highly potent and behaves like an IgG antibody with high affinity/ avidity, long half-life, and low immunogenicity. The platform has excellent manufacturability and been validated preclinically with in vitro and in vivo data published in J. Immunology. The FLEX platform was originally developed under the leadership of Dr. Kadouche, a scientific co-founder of Cytovia. Dr. Kadouche is developing additional novel multi-functional formats with intellectual property assigned to Cytovia. About Cytovia Therapeutics Cytovia Therapeutics aims to accelerate patient access to transformational cell therapies and immunotherapies, addressing several of the most challenging unmet medical needs in cancer. Cytovia focuses on Natural Killer (NK) cell biology and applies precision engineering to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to develop the safest, most effective, most broadly-available off-the-shelf Natural Killer cell therapy as a first line of defense against cancer. Cytovias proprietary multi-specific antibody platform has been customized to engage and activate NK Cells at the tumor site. Both platforms offer optionality to clinicians and can also be used synergistically. Cytovias R&D laboratories and GMP manufacturing facility are augmented by scientific partnerships with Cellectis, CytoImmune, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, INSERM, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, STC Biologics, and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). For further information, please contact: Cytovia Investor Relations contact: Anna Baran-Djokovic VP of Investor Relations 646-355-1787 anna@cytoviatx.com Cytovia Media contact: Chris Maggos LifeSci Advisors +41 79 367 6254 chris@lifesciadvisors.com As part of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) protocols for the 3Q project, Golder Associates will estimate the projects carbon footprint Argentinean National University of San Martin has also been engaged to implement sustainable mining protocols for the 3Q operation ( ) (OTCQX:NTTHF) (FRA:NE2) said it has hired Golder Associates Ltd, as well as the Argentinean National University of San Martin (UNSAM), to assist with the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) program as part of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) in preparation for the future construction and operation of Neo Lithiums 3Q Lithium Project in Argentina. As part of the ESG protocols for the 3Q project, Golder will estimate the projects carbon footprint and benchmark the carbon intensity and other key ESG metrics against similar projects. "We have been working since the very beginning of the project following the highest standards. We now bring Golder to work cooperatively with UNSAM and our team to upgrade the standards to be applied even further to future construction and production of the 3Q Project," Neo Lithium CEO Waldo Perez said in a statement. Perez added: "We take very seriously our compromise with all of our stakeholders and future generations, which in large part includes all aspects of ESG." UNSAM, meanwhile, has been engaged to implement sustainable mining protocols for the 3Q operation, including completing the protocols and organizing the implementation of the ESG system, as well as preparing a comprehensive regional diagnosis of relevant social issues that will allow the development of a longer-term strategy during the life of mine of the 3Q Project. The process is expected to be finalized during 2021 as part of the DFS work. Neo Lithium noted that it started the process of preparation, training, and implementation of an ESG system through the e3 Plus framework for its 3Q Project since the early stages of exploration in 2016, which included hiring multiple international consultants. It added that it has continued to operate and enhance these processes. Neo Lithiums flagship Tres Quebradas project in Argentina, also known as the '3Q' project, lies in the southern end of what is known as the Lithium Triangle, covering 35,000 hectares. 3Q is one of the top three highest-grade lithium projects in the world and is the seventh-largest brine project on the planet with significant exploration potential. The project has proven and probable reserves of 1.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate (LCE) with 790 milligrams per litre (mg/l) of lithium and a report last year highlighted its strong economics and 35-year mine life. In terms of resources, at the overall deposit area, using a 400 mg/l cut-off, the 3Q project has over four million tonnes of LCE in the higher confidence measured and indicated (M&I) category. Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com By Yi Woo-won Korea was annexed by imperial Japan in August 1910, professedly by a treaty which was just a cover for Japanese political machinations and armed intimidation. Next, the Korean king was forced to abdicate and the Korean Empire was totally abolished in the same month, causing the 518-year history of the Joseon Kingdom to come to an end. Japan virtually obliterated Korea as a nation. The humiliating incident in history took place during the reign of Japanese Emperor Hirohito who acceded to the throne in 1926 at the age of 25. Japan's colonial rule continued for the next 35 years. Japan's aggressive military expansionism proceeded in the initial years of Hirohito's empire, starting with the invasion of China in the 1930s followed by incursions into other parts of Asia. I still remember vividly two political slogans that the Japanese chanted, carrying placards saying: "Naisenittai" (Koreans and Japanese are one flesh) and "Taitowa kyoeiken" (Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity). Japan attempted to assimilate Koreans into the Japanese Empire to reinforce its military might. Furthermore, Japan's misjudgment eventually instigated it to launch a surprise attack by "kamikaze" (divine wind) fighter bombers on the U.S. 7th fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941. The sneaky, unprovoked assault, which destroyed many battleships and airplanes with heavy casualties, brought the U.S. into World War II, declaring war on Japan The war in the Pacific was one of the toughest and bloodiest wars in history. But after four years of conflict, a turning point finally came for American forces. American bombers dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, and Japan realized it could not win the war. Again, Emperor Hirohito was the one who stopped the war by telling his loyal subjects of Japan's surrender over the radio on Aug. 15, 1945. Auspiciously, Korea was liberated at last from Japanese colonial rule. On that day of the historic surrender announcement by the emperor, I was 15 and attending middle school. If I had been just a few years older, I would have been drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army, fighting somewhere in the Pacific possibly my fateful journey of no return. I can still picture graphically the image of myself at that time, wearing a laundry-worn, faded green school uniform, a combat cap and knee-girdles like a little soldier, but looking pale and thin from malnutrition. Since the news came out of the blue, I was unsure whether I should be happy or unhappy. Technically, I was a Japanese citizen, because my name had been changed into a Japanese one and we recited the "Oath of Imperial Subjects" in schools or offices each morning, pledging to be loyal to the emperor. Also, we had to attend a Japanese Shinto shrine every morning, rain or shine, to worship Shinto Kami (deity) and pray for divine support to win the war. Besides, teaching or publishing anything in Korean and about Korea was strictly prohibited by law. What surprised me most of all was the realization that the emperor wasn't a living god as we had been taught at school. He was just another human being like any one of us. He was rather a fainthearted and cowardly old man when I heard his voice surrendering on the radio. When I heard that the war was over, I was glad, above all else, that I didn't have to go to work at the military construction site near the airfield. I had to get up at five each morning to catch the smelly cargo-train that took us near the site. I took with me two rice-balls spiced only with salt for breakfast and a shovel or pick to work with. Lunch was provided there for us, but it was not rice. It was reddish grain of some sort I had never eaten before; worse still, it tasted rotten or moldy. But I was just too hungry to mind the quality of the food. I only wished they would give me enough to eat. The good rice produced domestically was requisitioned for military provisions. Korean people received rations of barley, corn and other grains of low quality that came from countries in Southeast Asia that Japan had recently occupied. There were many people who died of hunger in those days due to the dire shortage of reserved provisions. When I visited my parents' home in Seongju during one summer vacation, their meals were watery porridge cooked with rotten corn, some potatoes and lots of vegetables. There was no rice in it. In addition, we were forced to donate all metallic objects we had at home to replenish their serious material shortage in making ammunition. Consequently, before long, every Korean household was practically stripped of the age-old, traditional brass tableware and other metallic utensils that were put into blast furnaces to make munitions. Also, when I was in elementary school, we were often summoned to pick up scrap metal in the street or go to the mountains to collect resin from pine trees. Apart from material contributions, Japan demanded physical labor from Koreans. It was estimated that about 2 million Koreans were engaged in forced labor in Korea, Japan and abroad between 1939 and 1945, working in subhuman conditions in mines and munitions factories. Most atrociously, they rounded up hundreds of thousands of Korean women, some as young as 13 or 14 in elementary schools, to recruit them for the "teishintai" corps for sex-slavery to heighten the fighting spirit for their savage, unwarrantable war a war that was of no significance whatsoever for Korea or the Korean people. The author ( yiwoowon1988@gmail.com ) lives in Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province. She argued that the behavior of the governor and his staff sent a signal to others in Albany. If they see the person at the highest level get away with it, and they align themselves with that person, then theyll get away with it too, Ms. Biaggi said. Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Mr. Cuomo, said that Ms. Biaggi had chronically misrepresented her role during her brief time in the governors office, that the governor did not substantively interact with her, and that the majority of the senior staff never knew who she was. In interviews for this article, several women described unwanted advances, touching and attempts at kisses by lawmakers or state officials, sometimes during meetings or at bars after hours. Sexualized comments are especially prevalent, and instances of mistreatment remain unreported or unpunished. Several women expressed fear they would face career-ending ostracism or even retaliation in the close-knit state capital if they spoke out, and most spoke for this article on the condition of anonymity to protect themselves from repercussions. Those interviewed said there were also subtler daily indignities: sexual innuendo and the expectation, still, that women wear skirts and heels. Female advocates who were in Birkenstocks and pants are less likely to get a legislator to talk to them than a lobbyist in heels and a skirt, said one female lobbyist, who said legislators would often pause a conversation to comment on her legs. Some women said they had adopted personal rules to cope: no meetings after 7 p.m. No staying in Albany for longer than a day. Several female lobbyists said they would not meet with certain legislators alone, even in their offices. There are also more formal measures: Interns in the State Assembly are banned from any event with alcohol, or from even riding in a car alone with an Assembly member; tough new state laws on sexual harassment went into effect in 2019; and the Legislature held its first hearing on the issue in decades that year. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has led tributes at Holyrood to the Duke of Edinburgh following his extraordinary life. Ms Sturgeon described Philip, who died on Friday, as being a thoughtful man, deeply interesting and fiercely intelligent. She added that he was also a serious bookworm, saying that discussions with him about books were often for me a real highlight of our conversations. The First Minister spoke out as Holyrood was recalled for the sixth time in its history to pay tribute to the Duke with a special motion of condolence. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. Political parties in Scotland suspended campaigning after his death and, on Monday, MSPs stood for a minutes silence before party leaders paid their own tributes to him. Serving in the Second World War he endured difficulties and faced dangers that generations since can barely comprehend, Ms Sturgeon said. She added that after marrying the then Princess Elizabeth he faced the additional challenge of being the husband of a powerful woman, at a time when that was even more of an exception than it is today. Ms Sturgeon, who met the couple during annual stays at Balmoral as First Minister, added: That reversal of the more traditional dynamic was highly unusual in the 1940s, 50s and 60s and even now isnt as common as it might be. Yet the Duke of Edinburgh was devoted to supporting the Queen, they were a true partnership. Speaking about his ties with Scotland, she said: He was educated in Moray, taught to sail by a Scottish trawler skipper, and was based at Rosyth for two years during the war. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh at Holyrood. (Jane Barlow/PA) Ms Sturgeon added: It is right that our parliament pays tribute to him today. In doing so we mourn his passing and we extend our deepest sympathy to Her Majesty the Queen and his family. We reflect on his distinguished wartime record, his love and support for the Queen and his decades of public service to Scotland, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Above all we celebrate and we honour an extraordinary life. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh came to Holyrood a number of times on official business (Michael Boyd/PA) Scottish Conservative Holyrood leader, Ruth Davidson, said most people would think of Philip as an elderly man who was gruff, witty [and] still able to stand ramrod straight. But she added he had been a dashing young naval officer who went on to become a palace moderniser. Ms Davidson said: He was a man that was born before the discovery of penicillin, before the creation of the United Nations or the invention of the television or the jet engine. But a moderniser he was in life, as well as in work. How many men in the 1950s gave up their job for their wifes career? She also recalled how he had once asked former Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie about her underwear, at an event in Holyrood held to mark Pope Benedicts visit to Scotland. Ms Davidson said: Seeing Iain Gray [former Scottish Labour leader] sporting a tie in the papal tartan, the Duke turned to Tory leader Annabel Goldie to ask if she had a pair of knickers made out of this. Quite properly, Annabel retorted, I couldnt possibly comment, and even if I did I couldnt possibly exhibit them. Ms Davidson praised the Duke for a life of remarkable public service, saying: Anyone who in their life fought in World War Two; set up an organisation to help young people build resilience and change the course of their lives for the better; who helped found the worlds largest conservation charity to save endangered species; and who gave of his time to help 800 individual charities and who was still working well into his 90s, deserves to have that life recognised. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he had never met Philip, whom he described as being an extraordinary public servant, who dedicated his long life to our country. He praised him for transforming lives for young people across the world, and promoting the issue of global conservation that we all now recognise is so important. Meanwhile, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Willie Rennie, said he did not agree with the characterisation of some that the Duke of Edinburgh was an offensive man, adding: For so many, he has been part of a family that has provided comfort and stability in what can be a turbulent and intimidating world. Scottish Green Party co-leader, Patrick Harvie, a republican, said his party had reflected carefully on whether to take part in the motion of condolence. Speaking at Holyrood, he said it would be wrong to imply by our absence any kind of personal disrespect to those who have lost someone important to them. Mr Harvie added: This has been a year of terrible loss for the world, including up to 150,000 Covid deaths across the UK, most of them announced without ceremony as daily statistics. New Delhi, April 12 : Samsung is all set to launch Galaxy M42, its first mid-segment 5G smartphone in India, later this month that will be priced between Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000, industry sources said on Monday. Galaxy M42 will be the first 'M' series smartphone with 5G connectivity. Industry sources told IANS Galaxy M42 is tipped to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor and is likely to launch in 6GB and 8GB RAM variants. Galaxy M42 will also get 'Knox Security', the first for a Galaxy 'M' smartphone. Samsung Knox offers multi-layered security to smartphones and defends the most sensitive information from malware and malicious threats. Galaxy M42 5G will be available on Amazon.in and Samsung.com, besides select retail channels. Samsung has launched a number of 5G smartphones in India this year in the premium segment. Samsung's most premium foldable smartphone Galaxy Z Fold2 comes with 5G connectivity in India. All three variants of Galaxy S21 launched in India support 5G connectivity. Samsung also launched the 5G variant of Galaxy S20 Fan Edition in India recently. Galaxy M42 is seen as Samsung's big foray in the mid-segment category, where Samsung has a large market share in India. Samsung is a global leader in 5G smartphones and analysts expect the company to increase its focus on creating a strong 5G device ecosystem in India in the coming months. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text SACRAMENTO A few weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a campaign to keep himself in office, his recall defense team says it has raised $3.1 million nearly half of it from a dozen wealthy individuals and groups that have written the governor checks for $5,000 or more. Unlike in a traditional campaign, the governor can raise unlimited funds to fight a recall. Donors are not limited to the normal $32,400 maximum. Newsom is taking advantage of the exception. His top givers include the California Democratic Party, the couple who own Fiji Water, and a tech executive who ran in the 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis as a parody candidate with the Butt Monkey Beer Party all of whom have donated at least $100,000. Newsoms advisers point to the fact that overall, his committee had received more than 100,000 contributions as of April 1. Of the $3.1 million it raised, the average contribution was $32. Democrats are energized to defeat the partisan Republican power grab, and it shows in these numbers, Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in an email. Stop the Republican Recall (the governors campaign) has averaged 5,388 online donations per day from Californians. Organizers of the recall say they arent surprised that Democratic groups and wealthy donors are writing five- and six-figure checks to help Newsom. Hes going to leverage every millionaire and billionaire hes ever met in his entire life to save his political career, said Randy Economy, a spokesperson for the recall. All he knows is to go ahead and use special interests to fund his campaigns. The pro-recall campaign is hardly hurting financially. Two committees supporting the recall say they have raised $4.3 million combined, largely over the last five months. The recall has also received cash infusions from mega-donors, with more than half its money coming from contributors who gave $5,000 or more. Money is pouring in for both sides as the recall is on the verge of qualifying for the ballot. Elections officials have until late April to determine if organizers submitted enough valid signatures, though both sides expect the recall to qualify. Newsom didnt launch his campaign until March 15, after months of largely staying silent about the recall. Here are the five largest sources bankrolling his effort: California Democratic Party Amount: $612,555, much of it in the form of in-kind services such as digital support and contact-list building. What we know: Newsom must keep his Democratic base unified to survive a recall, and its clear the state party has his back. On the day Newsom launched his campaign, the party came up with a $350,000 infusion, including $250,000 cash and $100,000 of in-kind support. The Republican National Committee, wealthy (Donald) Trump donors and right-wing extremists have joined forces to disrupt Californias road to recovery, party chair Rusty Hicks said at the time. Lynda and Stewart Resnick Amount: $250,000 What we know: The couple live in Los Angeles and own an agricultural and bottled water empire. Their holding firm, The Wonderful Co., includes brands such as Wonderful Pistachios, Fiji Water, the online flower delivery site Teleflora and Pom Wonderful, a pomegranate juice. They own large swaths of farmland where they also grow almonds and citrus fruits. Their net worth is estimated at $7.1 billion, according to Forbes. The Resnicks have long been prolific Democratic contributors and have given more than $4 million in state and federal races. Lynda Resnick has also contributed $32,400 to Newsoms 2022 campaign committee. The Resnicks did not respond to a request for comment. Professional Engineers in California Government Amount: $250,000 What we know: The union represents 13,000 engineers and other related professionals employed by the state. Its members are responsible for designing and inspecting state infrastructure and technology. While the union is one of the smaller ones representing state employees, its large check in support of Newsom is likely a harbinger of more labor money to come. The union did not respond to a request for comment. File photo 2003 Kelly and Carla Kimball Amount: $100,000 What we know: Kelly Kimball is no stranger to recall theatrics. In 2003, he and a business partner ran for governor as parody candidates on the Butt Monkey Beer Party platform to protest the recall of then-Gov. Davis. Kimball finished in 105th place, with 582 votes. He is now the founder and chair of Vitu, a tech company that provides software for vehicle registration and title services. The company works with the state Department of Motor Vehicles to provide a host of digital services such as online registration renewals. He and his wife live in Malibu and have contributed more than $500,000 to Democratic and Republican candidates and committees in California over the past decade. Kelly Kimball did not respond to requests for comment. LGBT Caucus Leadership Fund Amount: $25,000 What we know: The fund is run by state legislators who have publicly defended Newsom in recent weeks as a longtime LGBTQ ally, dating to his groundbreaking decision nearly 20 years ago as San Francisco mayor to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He stood with us and now we stand with him, said state Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. No other candidate for governor could possibly compare to him on civil rights. Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner An application from sex crimes detectives to travel to South Australia to obtain a statement from Christian Porters accuser was denied by NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson. The revelation is contained in 69 pages of documents produced to the NSW Legislative Council on Friday afternoon after a motion for an order of papers by Greens MP David Shoebridge. According to one of the reports inside, the complainant first approached South Australia Police in November 2019 alleging she was raped by Mr Porter in Sydney in January 1988. Mr Porter strenuously denies the allegations. By February 2020, the woman was prepared to provide a statement. NSW Police were notified and the woman met with detectives on short notice in Sydney on February 27, 2020. 8 Christians kidnapped from Nigerian church bus released: 'Glory be to Jesus' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Eight members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God who were abducted by gunmen last month while traveling on a bus to a church program in the Kaduna state of northwest Nigeria have been freed. Today I got the exciting news that our brethren who were in captivity of kidnappers have all been released and taken to the hospital for check-up and tests, RCCG General Overseer Pastor Enoch Adeboye announced on Twitter. Glory be to Jesus. We pray for lasting peace in all troubled regions of the country in Jesus name. On March 26, the Christians were traveling to prepare for the churchs Lets Go a Fishing Easter program in the Kafanchan area when gunmen removed them from their bus and took them away in a vehicle, a church spokesperson told The Punch after the abduction. A user reportedly posted a picture on Facebook of the victims empty church bus and reported that all passengers were kidnapped along Kachia Road. The church bus features a banner that states, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Region 30, Trinity Sanctuary, Kaduna. Vanguard daily newspaper reported at the time that the abductors demanded a ransom payment from the church. It is unknown whether a ransom was paid for their release, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reports. It is also unclear who abducted the church members. According to ICC, the Kaduna state government had recently given a statement forbidding citizens to negotiate with bandits on the governments behalf. The position of the Kaduna State Government remains the same: the Government will not negotiate with or pay ransoms to bandits, The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan said in a statement. The abduction of the eight Christians was the latest in a series of mass abductions committed in Nigeria. In February, gunmen kidnapped about 279 girls between the ages of 11 and 17 from Government Girls Science School in the Jangebe area of Zamfara state. They were released days later. One of the girls who was released reported that a ransom had been paid for their release. I am elated. We thank God. We thank God, Habib Abdullahi, whose three daughters were kidnapped, was quoted as saying at the time. On Dec. 11, gunmen captured hundreds of boarding school students from Kankara Government Science Secondary School in Katsina state. Boko Haram, one of the worlds deadliest Islamic terror groups based in northeast Nigeria, claimed responsibility. The terrorists released a six-minute ransom video featuring Boko Haram's black-and-white flag. The footage showed a large crowd of boys surrounded by gunmen. Later that month, security forces rescued 344 of the kidnapped students. In 2014, 276 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted from a school in Chibok. The abduction gained international attention and sparked the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. About 112 of the Chibok schoolgirls remain missing. Nigeria ranks as the ninth-worst country globally for Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs 2021 World Watch List. In addition to the rise of Islamic extremist violence in the northeast and the rise of attacks by Fulani radicals in the Middle Belt, kidnapping for ransom has become lucrative for criminal outfits in Nigeria. The U.S. State Department recognizes Nigeria as a "country of particular concern" for engaging in or tolerating egregious religious liberty violations. [This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.] ALPHARETTA, Ga. Hi-Rez Studios announced an industry-leading remote work policy today, allowing creative game industry professionals to work wherever they feel most productive. The new Creativity Unchained program allows and encourages over 80 percent of Hi-Rez Studios employees to work remotely in a collaborative, creative environment. Employees can work from most locations in the USA or UK, with work being done to expand the program across Europe. The Creativity Unchained program formalizes proprietary work processes developed at Hi-Rez Studios during the pandemic, which led to a surge in both employee satisfaction and company revenues. The pandemic has taught us new ways to work that we believe are superior to our previous way of operation, said Stewart Chisam, CEO of Hi-Rez Studios. This is a talent-based business, and we want to meet the best talent where they are as we build a culture of freedom and responsibility for our creative staff so we can achieve victory, together. The program extends to both high-performing, existing Hi-Rez Studios employees and new job openings. Most jobs will allow fully flexible work options, letting most employees decide their work location and mix of office to remote hours. Hi-Rez Studios will retain the main US office in Alpharetta, Ga. and a UK office in Brighton, England for employees who prefer to work in an office setting. Both offices will be retrofitted for the Creativity Unchained work approach, optimizing for maximum employee and team flexibility. The company is rethinking its approach to meetings and culture building with an office footprint that better accommodates in-person programs and social events even for remote employees. We want to offer employees a great balance between work and life, while also offering the best opportunities to create great games with amazing people, sharing their creative work with tens of millions of players across the globe, Chisam said. Our games are global, and we should be as well. Hi-Rez Studios is the Atlanta-based multi-platform video-game publisher and developer of SMITE, Paladins, Realm Royale and Rogue Company, with 435 employees across the globe. Well over 100 million people have played Hi-Rez games on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. Hi-Rez Studios operates five game development studios in the US and UK: Titan Forge Games, Evil Mojo Games, Red Beard Games, First Watch Games and Alacrity Arthouse. Hi-Rez Studios has more than 50 positions available in a wide range of roles. To see available job opportunities, visit https://www.hirezstudios.com/careers/. About Hi-Rez Studios Hi-Rez Studios is the Atlanta-based multi-platform video-game publisher and developer of SMITE, Paladins, Realm Royale and Rogue Company, with 435 employees across the globe. Well over 100 million people have played Hi-Rez games on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. Hi-Rez Studios operates five game development studios in the US and UK: Titan Forge Games, Evil Mojo Games, Red Beard Games, First Watch Games and Alacrity Arthouse. European Union leaders no longer meet around a common oval summit table to broker their famed compromises. Instead, each of the 27 watches the other heads of state or government with suspicion via a video screen that shows a mosaic of faraway capitals. This is what COVID-19 has wrought. Lofty hopes that the crisis would encourage a new and tighter bloc to face a common challenge have given way to the reality of division: The pandemic has set member nation against member nation, and many capitals against the EU itself, as symbolized by the disjointed, virtual meetings the leaders now hold. Leaders fight over everything from virus passports to push tourism to the conditions for receiving pandemic aid. Perhaps worse, some attack the very structures the EU built to deal with the pandemic. Last month, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz decried how vaccine-buying in the bloc had become a bazaar, alleging poorer countries struck out while the rich thrived. "Internal political cohesion and respect for European values continue to be challenged in different corners of the Union," the European Policy Center said in a study one year after the pandemic swept from China and engulfed Europe. In some places, there have been demands for political accountability. In the Czech Republic on Wednesday, Prime Minster Andrej Babis fired his health minister, the third to be sacked during the pandemic in one of Europes hardest-hit countries. Last week, Slovakias government resigned over a secret deal to buy Russias Sputnik V vaccine, and in Italy, Premier Giuseppe Conte was forced to resign over his handling of the economic fallout of the pandemic. But overall, political upheaval across the EU has been muted, considering that half a million people have died in the pandemic. At the EU level, there has been no serious call for the ouster of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen the bloc's chief executive, despite her acknowledgment that serious mistakes were made. It is clear that the EU has not risen to the occasion so far and it's not clear if it can. The European Policy Center noted that there is no immediate end in sight to the health crisis, not to mention the inevitable structural economic challenges. The EU and its countries, of course, fell victim to some events beyond their control, as other nations around the globe did. Good arguments can be made that part of the the bloc's problems are due to delayed deliveries from Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca But some of the crisis was plainly self-inflicted. The typical complaint is that there is no united EU health structure to tackle the pandemic and that largely health is still a national domain. But for years, the bloc has had a common drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency And since last summer, the EU decided to pool vaccine purchases and spread them equitably among the 27 nations, big and small, richer and poorer. But while some non-EU nations were speeding ahead with emergency use authorizations, the EMA moved more slowly, at least in part because it followed a process that was largely similar to the standard licensing procedure that would be granted to any new vaccine. The agency's first vaccine greenlight came some three weeks after one was OK'd in the United Kingdom the first country to authorize a rigorously tested COVID-19 shot. The bloc never caught up. On Friday, the U.K., for example, had given 46.85% of their citizens at least one dose, compared to 14.18% in the EU. The EU also made the mistake of overly equating securing vaccines with getting shots in the arms and underestimating the difficulties involved in mass producing and distributing such a delicate product. While EU negotiators were focusing on liability clauses in a contract, other nations were thinking about logistics and pushing for speed and volume. And while nations like the United States were sealing their borders to vaccine exports, the EU took the high moral ground and kept exports flowing to the extent that over the first quarter of the year almost as many doses left the bloc for third countries as were delivered to the clamoring EU member states. On top of missteps with the vaccine rollout, the EU will be slow to disburse money from its 750 billion-euro ($890 billion) rescue package, which will share debt and give out grants to poorer members in an unprecedented way. But bickering among leaders over some clauses and intricate rules have made it anything but a speedy process. What's worse, the German constitutional court could still torpedo or further delay the whole initiative. The nature of the crisis may be different from past ones, but familiar obstacles arose: onerous bureaucracy, unnecessary delays as legalistic and technical disputes overshadowed the bigger picture, and bickering politicians putting self-interest before the common good. This past week was a case in point. The EMA reiterated its advice for all member nations to stand together this time to keep on using the AstraZeneca jabs for all adults despite a possible link to extremely rare cases of blood clotting. Instead, hours after the announcement, Belgium went against that recommendation, barring AstraZeneca for citizens 55 and under, and others issued or kept similar restrictions. If government leaders dont trust the science, trust in vaccination is gone. If we dont rely on (the EMA), ANY common EU approach is doomed, said leading EU parliamentarian Guy Verhofstadt, normally the staunchest of EU backers. It is noteworthy that the EU nations insisted on delaying their vaccination drives in December specifically because they wanted to wait for the EMA's decision. But many have repeatedly ignored the EMA advice in the months since, setting more restrictions on vaccine use than the agency has called for. This extreme hesitancy by many countries in addition to often seesawing advice has become a hallmark of a vaccination rollout gone wrong. It has exacerbated the supply and issues of trust the bloc has faced. With barely half of the doses that the EU had contracted for the first quarter delivered 105 million instead of 195 million the video summit last month saw EU nations squabbling over shots and a distribution system that a few thought unfair. Now there are expectations the EU can turn it around. It is hoping for 360 million shots this quarter that would keep the promise alive to vaccinate 70% of adults by the end of summer in the bloc of 450 million inhabitants. In France, President Emmanuel Macron gave a glimmer of hope to millions when he said that a return to a semblance of normal life could perhaps come by mid-May when people could "reclaim our art de vivre embodied by our restaurants and our cafes that we love so much. By then, EU leaders might even mingle in person again at summits that go through the night. 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. Discussion Some racial/ethnic groups, including Hispanic, AI/AN, and Black persons, received ED care for COVID-19 at disproportionately higher rates compared with White persons, with higher disparity observed among persons aged <75 years. These findings are consistent with those of previous studies showing disproportionate COVID-19 incidence, hospitalization, and mortality among these racial/ethnic groups (14). Disparities in ED visits for COVID-19 among Hispanic, AI/AN, and Black persons were observed across nearly all age groups, with higher rates in adults aged 1874 years and the lowest rates among adults aged 75 years. Whereas the disparity was lower in this age group, Hispanic and AI/AN persons aged 75 years still visited the ED more often than, and Black persons 75 years visited the ED as often as, their White counterparts did. The racial/ethnic groups that sought ED care for COVID-19 at disproportionately higher rates have also experienced long-standing, systemic inequities that affect their health (6). These inequities include limited access to quality health care, lower general health status and access to quality education, and disproportionate representation in essential jobs with less flexibility to work from home or take medical leave (7). Racism and discrimination shape these factors that influence health risks; racism, rather than a persons race or ethnicity, is a key driver of these health inequities (8). These types of inequities can increase risks for infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and delay medical care, increasing the risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes and the need for emergency care. Effectively protecting and promoting the health of all persons relies on having data to assess and address health disparities. Continued use of NSSP data for ongoing surveillance of COVID-19related outcomes can serve as an early signal of health disparities experienced by certain racial/ethnic groups. ED data are available in near real-time, and the ability to stratify these data by race/ethnicity provides one of the fastest ways to identify severe outcomes in population subgroups. However, additional efforts to both improve accuracy and completeness of race/ethnicity data and to collect data on social factors that affect health risks should continue. Facility, provider, and public health efforts to improve collection and reporting of these data could aid in rapidly identifying areas of public health concern and understanding of the underlying causes of disparities. The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, COVID-19 ED visit data from the 13 assessed states might differ from such data in other states, which could limit the generalizability of these results. Second, White persons represent a larger percentage of the population in the 13-state subset (66%) compared with the national population distribution (61%), so some racial/ethnic groups have less representation, which limits the numbers of observations available and the subsequent inferences that can be made. Third, COVID-19 ED visit classifications rely on diagnostic codes, which might be used inconsistently across facilities, resulting in misclassification of diagnosis. Fourth, persons seek care in EDs for a variety of reasons, including more severe disease or lack of other health care options, and the reasons that someone sought care in an ED rather than another source are not recorded in NSSP data. Fifth, in NSSP, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NH/PI) and Asian are separate categories. However, these groups were combined in the population estimates used, so these groups were combined into A/PI for this analysis, likely masking previously reported COVID-19 disparities among NH/PI persons (3). Race/ethnicityspecific estimates for non-Hispanic persons of multiple and other races were not calculated because population denominators were unavailable. Finally, the race and ethnicity fields were categorized based on terms and codes in each visit record. ED visits using nonstandard race or ethnicity descriptors, or missing race/ethnicity data were not included in this analysis. The findings from this investigation highlight that Hispanic, AI/AN, and Black persons sought ED care for COVID-19 at higher rates than did White persons. It is important to prioritize prevention resources, management of underlying health conditions, safe school and work conditions, flexible leave policies, and enhanced access to and acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 vaccination services to reach disproportionately affected racial/ethnic groups and reduce the need for emergency care for COVID-19. Efforts such as these are critical to address the drivers of racial/ethnic disparities. ED visits from NSSP are an important data source that can be used for near real-time detection of a variety of health conditions, including COVID-19. Race and ethnicity information in these data allows investigators to better identify areas of inequity in their communities and respond by ensuring equitably accessible preventive services, including COVID-19 vaccination, designed to reach the most affected communities. India is set to soon have a third Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V from Russia. The expert panel reviewing Dr Reddys Laboratories (DRLs) application for approval to the Russian vaccine candidates has recommended that approval be given to this human adenovirus (flu virus)-based vaccine. Now, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) will consider this recommendation and decide whether to grant Sputnik V approval for restricted emergency use in India. The other two vaccines Covishield by Serum Institute and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech that were recommended for grant of approval by the subject expert committee (SEC) were approved by the DCGI within days. Sputnik V has been registered in 59 countries globally with a total population of over 1.5 billion people. The efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6 per cent. Sputnik V will be manufactured in India by several companies including Hetero, Gland Pharma, Stelis Pharma, Virchow Group, etc, and a total production capacity of over 900 mn has been lined up. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) plans to export the bulk of this capacity and, according to DRL, RDIFs Indian partner, about 250 mn doses would be for India. According to sources, more players like Pune-based Serum Institute and Shilpa Medicare are also likely manufacturing partners; talks are on. The total capacity for making Sputnik V in India can thus cross one billion doses annually, much ahead of the other vaccine candidates. Sputnik V requires a minus 18-20 degree Celsius cold chain to remain stable. Work is on to come up with a lyophilised (or freeze dried) version of the vaccine; it will enable the vaccine to remain stable in 2-8 degree Celsius. As Russian Covid19 vaccine Sputnik V nears entry into the Indian market, now one of the largest drug firms in the country, Mankind Pharmaceuticals is likely to partner with the RDIF for distributing the vaccine in India. Sources further indicated that Sputnik V might be priced at Rs 500 per dose when it is commercially available in the private market in India. The Indian government and RDIF, however, will negotiate on prices at which the government will procure the vaccine for the national Covid-19 immunisation drive. The next-generation display destined to be a highlight of Apple Inc.s upcoming top-tier iPad Pro is facing production issues that could lead to short initial supplies of the new device, according to people familiar with the matter. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant plans to showcase a new MiniLED display technology in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro set to be announced as early as the second half of April. But the firms overseas suppliers are dealing with poor manufacturing yields, the people who asked not to be named discussing sensitive matters said. At least one of the MiniLED makers has had to recently pause production as a result, one person added. Apple still intends to announce updated iPad Pro tablets in two sizes as early as this month, other people familiar with its product road map said. The MiniLED screen, which will improve contrast ratios and deliver a brighter picture, will be exclusive to the pricier 12.9-inch model. The production hiccup could mean that the larger iPad Pro will ship later and be available in constrained quantities to begin with, the people said. Bloomberg News reported last month that Apple was gearing up to debut new iPad Pros in April. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment. Taiwan-based suppliers Ennostar Inc., General Interface Solution Holding Ltd. and Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology Corp. are among the key providers of MiniLED technology. The new iPad Pro models will be Apples first major hardware launch of 2021 and will add to a product line that has performed particularly well as people increasingly work and study from home. Beyond the new display, Apple plans to add a much faster processor on par with the custom M1 chip in its latest Macs, a faster USB-C port thats compatible with a wider range of accessories and monitors and improved cameras. The iPad generated $8.4 billion in revenue for Apple during the holiday quarter of 2020, the most since 2014. As students and workers begin gradually returning to schools and offices, Apple will be betting on the upgraded iPad models to maintain interest in its tablet line. Photo: The Canadian Press Google Canada employees return to the Google office in Toronto. The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by Google Canada, saying its request would only delay a trial about a patent case filed against the search engine company. The 3-0 decision written by Justice Yves de Montigny said it would be better to have the central issues go ahead and be considered by the trial judge, rather than be delayed by Google's appeal on a secondary matter. Google Canada and its parent companies are defendants in an action brought to the Federal Court in 2018 by Paid Search Engine Tools LLC, which is seeking compensation for the use of intellectual property that is covered by a Canadian patent. Paid Search Engine Tools, or PSET, claims that it has patent rights to some of the technology used by Google's search engine to manage online advertising. PSET has also pursued similar patent cases against Google, Microsoft and Yahoo in U.S. courts. The Federal Court is expected to conduct the trial by remote video, because of public health restrictions due to the pandemic. She's a doting mother to her three-year-old son Jack, whom she shares with fiance Jason Statham. And Rosie Huntington-Whiteley took a trip down memory lane as she shared her 'favourite' unseen images from her pregnancy for an Instagram Q&A on Sunday. The model, 33, looked every inch the yummy mummy as she cradled her baby bump in a patterned bikini during a trip to the Maldives for one photo, and cupped her stomach in white lingerie for another picture. Nostalgic: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley took a trip down memory lane as she shared her 'favourite' unseen images from her pregnancy for an Instagram Q&A on Sunday The parent-of-one also uploaded a behind-the-scenes snap of herself wearing a prosthetic bump while shooting scenes for 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. Sharing a rare glimpse into her personal life, the businesswoman also posted a shot of Jack's nursery room and treated fans to a look at renovations in her London home. The media personality went on to gush about her actor fiance, 53, branding him an 'amazing hands-on daddy' and a 'supportive, pretty funny and protective partner'. 'I have lots but I just found this one!' The model, 33, looked every inch the yummy mummy as she cradled her baby bump in white lingerie for one picture Step back in time: The parent-of-one also uploaded a behind-the-scenes snap of herself wearing a prosthetic bump while shooting scenes for 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road Sharing a rare glimpse into her personal life, the businesswoman also posted a shot of her three-year-old son Jack's nursery room and treated fans to a look at renovations in her home Smitten: The media personality went on to gush about her fiance Jason Statham, branding him an 'amazing hands-on daddy' and a 'supportive, pretty funny and protective partner' The catwalk queen showcased her toned abs in sportsgear as she engaged in a couples' exercise session with the screen star. Alongside a glamorous picture of the couple, the blonde beauty insisted the thespian isn't concerned about their height difference. In another post, the Transformers star cosied up to Jason's mini-me as she revealed she loves when he says 'I love you mama'. Working it: The catwalk queen showcased her toned abs in sportsgear as she engaged in a couples' exercise session with the screen star, 53 'It's been 11 years so I'm pretty sure he feels good about it!' Alongside a glam picture of the couple, the blonde beauty insisted the thespian isn't concerned about their height difference Long-term: Rosie and Jason have been together for over a decade and got engaged in January 2016 Adorable: In another post, the Transformers star cosied up to Jason's mini-me as she revealed she loves when he says 'I love you mama' Tender moments: The M&S star went on to put up a picture of Jack during a family holiday to Turkey, and also teased he may make an appearance in the next Fast and Furious movie Stateside life: The fashion star confirmed she still lives in Los Angeles by posting an image of her child The M&S star went on to put up a picture of Jack during a family holiday to Turkey, and also teased he may make an appearance in the next Fast and Furious movie. Rosie and Jason are said to have recently splashed out on a 7.5million property in Chelsea, The Sun reported. A source told the publication: 'In the midst of a pandemic, both Jason and Rosie just want to be closer to home, closer to their families and UK friends. 'After months of house-hunting, they finally found their dream pad - and couldn't be happier.' Dhaka: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday (April 12), a year after she was released from jail temporarily amid the pandemic, according to media reports. The 75-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief's samples were sent to the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, for testing on Saturday, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted Public Relations Officer, Health Ministry, Maidul Islam Prodhan as saying. "It came back as positive today [Sunday], which has been updated on the database of the Directorate of Health Services," he told Dhaka Tribune. The newspaper reported that one of Zia's relatives, who had met her last week, had later tested positive for the coronavirus. "That is why madam's [Zia] family took steps for her COVID-19 test, though she has no major symptoms," a source close to the family told the Dhaka Tribune. However, BNP leaders failed to confirm Zia's diagnosis. Speaking to The Daily Star, Sayrul Kabir Khan, member of BNP press wing, said, "After talking to Khaleda Zia's physician Dr Mamun, I came to know that it was a regular health check-up. We have no information about the positive COVID-19 test report." Zia has served thrice as the premier of Bangladesh since 1991. Her party suffered a miserable defeat in the 2018 elections bagging only six seats in the 300-seat parliament. Her conviction on "moral turpitude" charges de-barred her from contesting the polls. Zia is serving a 17-year prison term in two graft cases since February 8, 2018. She was sent to jail by a local court on charges of embezzling foreign donations meant for an orphanage, named after her slain husband and president Ziaur Rehman, during her premiership between 2001 and 2006. Rehman, a military ruler-turned-politician, was the founder of the BNP. She was convicted in another corruption case later the same year, though her party claims both cases are politically motivated. In March 2020, Zia was released from jail for six months on condition that she would stay at home, amid the coronavirus outbreak. Last month, the Bangladesh government extended the suspension of the sentence for a second time by six months. The coronavirus has claimed 9,661 lives, along with 678,937 confirmed cases, in Bangladesh so far. Live TV TUNIS - The holy Islamic month of Ramadan begins on Tuesday in Tunisia, the Mufti of the Republic Othman Battikh has announced, based on scientific data provided by the National institute of meteorology since it was not possible to observe the waxing moon from the capital. April 13 will thus correspond to the first day of Ramadan in 1442 of the Hijiri when Mohammed left the Mecca to travel to Medina, in September 622 AD. The Tunisian ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that mosques will remain open, including for Friday prayers, for the entire period of Ramadan, except from 10 pm until 5 in the morning, due to the curfew imposed for health reason amid the pandemic. For the same reason, the ministry called on worshippers to carry out their ablutions at home to respect preventive and personal protective measures, urging the elderly to stay home. Tunisia is in the midst of the third wave of infections, registering an increase in cases over the past few weeks that is driving the healthcare system to the brink. The country's vaccination campaign is continuing with over 130,000 people who received the first dose of the vaccine. New Delhi, April 12 : Chinese behemoth BBK Group's smartphone brand iQOO on Monday announced that it has partnered with Amazon India for it's upcoming smartphone series in the country. The iQOO 7 series will have two devices in the line-up -- iQOO 7 Legend and iQOO 7 -- and will be available exclusively on Amazon.in. "We have been working on iQOO 7 series from past one year and trying to understand the needs of Indian consumers," Gagan Arora, Director-Marketing - iQOO, told IANS. "iQOO 7 series will come with many industry first innovations with a focus on performance, gaming, camera and design," Arora added. The iQOO 7 Legend will be powered by the latest Snapdragon 888 series chipset, providing unmatched gaming experience and enhanced photography capabilities. In January, the company launched iQOO 7 with Snapdragon 888 processor and triple rear cameras in China. It comes in three colour options -- light blue, black and a white BMW M-sport co-branded version. The 8GB+128GB storage variant was launched for 3,798 yuan (Rs 43,490 approx) while the 12GB+256GB variant for 4,198 yuan (Rs 48,153 approx). The smartphone, launched in China, features a 6.62-inches Full HD+ AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080X2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate. "We are extremely humbled to be the partner of choice for iQOO and are excited to bring the iQOO 7 series for our customers on Amazon.in," Nishant Sardana, Director - Mobile Phones & Televisions, Amazon India, told IANS. The company said that iQOO 7 series has been manufactured at Vivo's Greater Noida facility.A Also to offer hassle free after sales service experience to it's valued customers, iQOO will use select vivo service centers for all after sale services ensuring additional peace of mind, the company said. Location: United States of America Milwaukee (South 2nd Street) Location: Mayfield Heights - Ohio Location: Boston - Massachusetts Job Description Reporting to Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, the Business Leader of Corporate Development will lead M&A activities and venture equity investments in support of Rockwell Automation's Software& Control segment and additional businesses by active engagement with business leaders and other resources in definition, identification, and negotiation of targeted opportunities to accelerate the execution of business growth strategy. Essential Responsibilities: As a member of corporate development organization, works closely with Rockwell Automation's Software and Control segment and leadership of other business teams as well as key stakeholders across the enterprise in development of inorganic solutions in support of business growth and technology innovation and development. Supports the development and then leads the execution of business strategy for inorganic activities including M&A and venture equity investments. Leads M&A target and funnel activities - establishing profiles of potential investment areas of interest and targets, prospecting to maintain sufficient funnel, pursuit of targets including presentations to owners and investors. Cooperates closely and supports M&A Operations team to execute an effective diligence, integration planning and deal closing activities. Provides regular updates and presentations in various company forums and to key executives. Basic Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Business field Ability to travel globally and domestically 20-25% 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: 8+ years of business experience including 3-5 years of software/technology M&A experience gained in Corporate Development, Private Equity or Investment Banking with a strong track record of leading successfully completed deals. MBA in Finance or Business strongly preferred. Deep understanding of industrial market space, software products, solutions, and gaps in supported areas, ability to evaluate market inorganic opportunities for potential strategic fit and to develop execution strategy using all available resources. Technical proficiency in supported areas like Software, Control and Automation, ability to evaluate market inorganic opportunities for potential fit, and to develop the path forward strategy using all available resources. Collaborative, problem-solving mindset with ability to earn trust, to influence and motivate without authority, and to manage conflicting priorities in a non-confrontational manner. Comfortable to proactively manage multiple projects simultaneously with multiple business partners in a fast-paced and dynamic environment. Excellent networking and communication skills, both interpersonal and written, persuasiveness, and attention to details. Unquestionable work ethic, integrity and judgment required to operate in high-impact, ever-changing, and sometimes ambiguous situations. Experience of working with startups and accelerators is a plus #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). Iran blames Israel for sabotage at Natanz nuclear site View Photo DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran blamed Israel on Monday for an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges sabotage that imperils ongoing talks over Tehrans tattered nuclear deal and brings a shadow war between the two countries into the light. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli media widely reported that the country had orchestrated a devastating cyberattack that caused a blackout at the nuclear facility. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the countrys secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency. While the nature of the attack and the extent of the damage at Natanz remains unclear, a former Iranian official said the assault set off a fire while a spokesman mentioned a possible minor explosion. The attack also further strains relations between the U.S., which under President Joe Biden is now negotiating in Vienna to re-enter the nuclear accord, and Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to stop the deal at all costs. Netanyahu met Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose arrival in Israel coincided with the first word of the attack. The two spoke briefly to journalists but took no questions. My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel, Netanyahu said. And Israel will continue to defend itself against Irans aggression and terrorism. At an earlier news conference at Israels Nevatim air base, Austin declined to say whether the Natanz attack could impede the Biden administrations efforts to re-engage with Iran in its nuclear program. Those efforts will continue, Austin said. The previous American administration under Donald Trump had pulled out of the nuclear deal with world powers, leading Iran to begin abandoning the limits on its atomic program set by the accord. But German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern that it could affect the talks. All of what we are hearing from Tehran is not a positive contribution to this, Maas told reporters. In a statement, the White House said it was aware of the Natanz attack and that the U.S. was not involved in any manner, without elaborating. Details remained scarce about what happened early Sunday at the facility. The event was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls but later Iranian officials began referring to it as an attack. A former chief of Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the attack had set off a fire at the site and called for improvements in security. In a tweet, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei said that the second assault at Natanz in a year signaled the seriousness of the infiltration phenomenon. Rezaei did not say where he got his information. The facility seemed to be in such disarray that, following the attack, a prominent nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi walking above ground at the site fell 7 meters (23 feet) through an open ventilation shaft covered by aluminum debris, breaking both his legs and hurting his head. A possible minor explosion had scattered debris, Kamalvandi said, without elaborating. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh acknowledged that IR-1 centrifuges, the first-generation workhorse of Irans uranium enrichment, had been damaged in the attack, but did not elaborate. State television has yet to show images from the site, which saw new advanced centrifuges turned on there Saturday. The answer for Natanz is to take revenge against Israel, Khatibzadeh said. Israel will receive its answer through its own path. He did not elaborate. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, meanwhile, warned Natanz would be reconstructed with more advanced machines. That would allow Iran to more quickly enrich uranium, complicating the nuclear talks. The Zionists wanted to take revenge against the Iranian people for their success on the path of lifting sanctions, Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Zarif as saying. But we do not allow (it), and we will take revenge for this action against the Zionists. He said late Monday on Twitter he had sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council asking it to hold Israel accountable. Deliberate targeting of a safeguarded nuclear facilityw/ high risk of indiscriminate release of radioactive materialis nuclear terrorism & a war crime, he tweeted. Iran delivered a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations body that monitors Tehrans atomic program, urging it to condemn the attack, state TV reported Monday. The IAEA earlier said it was aware of media reports about the blackout at Natanz and had spoken with Iranian officials about it. The agency did not elaborate. Officials launched an effort Monday to provide emergency power to Natanz, said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Irans civilian nuclear program. He said the sabotage had not stopped enrichment there, without elaborating. Natanz has been targeted by sabotage in the past. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges there during an earlier period of Western fears about Tehrans program. In July, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for that, as well as the November killing of a scientist who began the countrys military nuclear program decades earlier. Israel also has launched a series of airstrikes in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian forces and their equipment. Israel also is suspected in an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen. Multiple Israeli media outlets reported Sunday that an Israeli cyberattack caused the blackout, but it remains unclear what actually happened there. Public broadcaster Kan said the Mossad was behind the attack. Channel 12 TV cited experts as estimating the attack shut down entire sections of the facility. While the reports offered no sourcing for their information, Israeli media maintains a close relationship with the countrys military and intelligence agencies. In recent weeks, Netanyahu repeatedly has described Iran as the major threat to his country as he struggles to hold onto power after multiple elections and while facing corruption charges. Stopping the nuclear deal has been a repeated theme of his comments. ___ Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Robert Burns and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem; Matthew Lee in Washington, and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report. By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press Liam 'Gatsby' Blackwell's new love interest appeared to miss the memo on Sunday evening as she slipped on her glad rags for a romantic night out - at a fried chicken shop. Gatsby treated Dani Imbert to a dubious dinner date at a Brentwood branch of Favorite Chicken and Ribs as the pair filmed scenes for the latest series of The Only Way Is Essex. But his unconventional choice of restaurant appeared to work its deep fried magic on the TOWIE newcomer, who accepted a kiss on the lips from Gatsby after arriving in an inappropriate red evening gown. Kentucky fried kissing: Liam Gatsby and new love interest Dani Imbert shared a kiss while dining out at a Brentwood branch of Favorite Chicken and Ribs for an episode of TOWIE With reserved seating clearly not on the menu, the pair took a window seat as they sipped on wine while waiting for their meal. Evidently keen to impress model Dani, Gatsby rolled out the red carpet - quite literally - as she arrived in the back of a black cab. The Essex girl - who works for Jessica Stone Ltd on clothing retail site ASOS was reuniting with Gatsby having previously met the reality TV star on a blind date. Awkward: Dani appeared to miss the memo by wearing a wholly inappropriate red evening gown for her trip to the local fast food restaurant New romance has been something of a recurring theme of late, with Demi Sims' current girlfriend Francesca Farago also making her TOWIE debut in April. Fans were introduced to Francesca as she shared a kiss with the TOWIE regular during an appearance at a local cocktail bar. The Canadian model later noted that Demi's sisters Frankie and Chloe Sims were alarmed by how quickly their romance had developed. Every expense spared: Evidently keen to impress model Dani, Gatsby rolled out the red carpet - quite literally - as she arrived in the back of a black cab Don't mind me: Gatsby cut a dubious figure as he idled outside the chicken shop with his roll of red carpet Nice view: With reserved seating clearly not on the menu, the pair took a window seat as they sipped on wine while waiting for their meal Frankie and their close friend Amy Childs had previously warned her against rushing things with her new love, who she has been publicly dating since January. Demi was asked if she thought she was going 'a bit quick' with Francesca, but she said she likes 'taking things quick' in her relationships. Speaking with her sister Chloe and friends Harry Derbidge and Amy at a bar, Harry claimed: 'The only thing I'm worried about is Demi getting married before me, she's on a roller-coaster.' The Only Way Is Essex airs Sunday at 9pm on ITVBe. The White House's state-by-state breakdown of infrastructure issues is listed below: ALASKA: GRADE C- . ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Alaska there are 141 bridges and over 570 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.5% in Alaska and on average, each driver pays $402 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Alaska has experienced 2 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $1 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Alaskas drinking water infrastructure will require $987 million in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 37,000 renters in Alaska are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 24.5% of Alaskans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 68.8% of Alaskans live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 12% of Alaska households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Alaska, there is an estimated $121 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 61% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Alaska and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for about 3% of total output in Alaska, employing 13,000 workers, or 4.0% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Alaska, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 5,628 Alaskans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Alaska is home to over 69,000 veterans, 13.8% of whom are women and 29.7% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss the infrastructure package on April 12 ALABAMA: Grade - C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Alabama there are 620 bridges and over 2,950 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 8.9% in Alabama and on average, each driver pays $434 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Alabamians who take public transportation spend an extra 66.2% of their time commuting and non-White households are 4.5 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 25% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Alabama has experienced 38 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $20 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Alabamas drinking water infrastructure will require $11.3 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 260,000 renters in Alabama are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 16.8% of Alabamians live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 55.4% of Alabamians live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 18.4% of Alabama households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Alabama, there is an estimated $299 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 60% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Alabama and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 17% of total output in Alabama, employing 271,000 workers, or 13% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Alabama, an average low-income family spends 10-12% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 43,828 Alabamians working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Alabama is home to over 370,000 veterans, 10.6% of whom are women and 43.5% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. ARKANSAS: Grade -None given . ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Arkansas there are 663 bridges and over 6,700 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 3% in Arkansas and on average, each driver pays $671 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Arkansans who take public transportation spend an extra 31.7% of their time commuting and non-White households are 3.8 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 27% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Arkansas has experienced 32 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $10 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Arkansas drinking water infrastructure will require $7.4 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 168,000 renters in Arkansas are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 27% of Arkansans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 54% of Arkansans live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 20% of Arkansas households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Arkansas, there is an estimated $350 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 35% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Arkansas and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 15% of total output in Arkansas, employing 164,000 workers, or 12.8% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Arkansas, an average low-income family spends 10-12% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 20,377 Arkansans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Arkansas is home to over 222,000 veterans, 8% of whom are women and 46% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. ARIZONA: Grade - C ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Arizona there are 132 bridges and over 3,100 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 11% in Arizona and on average, each driver pays $614 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Arizonans who take public transportation spend an extra 90% of their time commuting and non-White households are 2 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 4% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Arizona has experienced 13 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $10 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Arizonas drinking water infrastructure will require $9.1 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 410,000 renters in Arizona are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 14% of Arizonans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 45% of Arizonans live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 13% of Arizona households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Arizona, 48% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Arizona and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 8.6% of total output in Arizona, employing 177,000 workers, or 6% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Arizona, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 62,106 Arizonans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Arizona is home to over 500,000 veterans, 9% of whom are women and 51% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. CALIFORNIA: Grade - C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In California, there are 1,536 bridges and over 14,220 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 14.6% in California and on average, each driver pays $799 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Californians who take public transportation spend an extra 66.6% of their time work commuting and non-White households are 1.6 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 16% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, California experienced 16 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $50-1000 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Californias drinking water infrastructure will require $51 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 3,127,000 renters in California are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 5.5% of Californians live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 59.2% of Californians live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 10% of California households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In California, there is an estimated $3.22 billion gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 60% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across California and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 10% of total output in California, employing 1,338,000 workers, or 7.7% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In California, an average low-income family spends 4-6% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 536,919 Californians working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: California is home to over 1,681,730 veterans, 8.5% of whom are women and 50.5% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. COLORADO: Grade - C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Colorado there are 481 bridges and over 3,600 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 9.3% in Colorado and on average, each driver pays $651 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Coloradans who take public transportation spend an extra 74.6% of their time commuting and non-White households are 1.8 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 12% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Colorado has experienced 30 extreme weather events, costing the state up to 50 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Colorados drinking water infrastructure will require $10.2 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 379,000 renters in Colorado are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 12.1% of Coloradans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 38.1% of Coloradans live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 9% of Colorado households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Colorado, there is an estimated $640 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 51% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Colorado and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 6% of total output in Colorado, employing 149,000 workers, or 5.4% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Colorado, an average low-income family spends 4-6% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 62,420 Coloradans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Colorado is home to over 403,000 veterans, 11.2% of whom are women and 42% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. CONNECTICUT: Grade C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Connecticut there are 248 bridges and over 2,100 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 10.9% in Connecticut and on average, each driver pays $711 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Connecticut residents who take public transportation spend an extra 130.4% of their time commuting and non-White households are 2.1 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 19% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Connecticut has experienced 15 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $5 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Connecticuts drinking water infrastructure will require $4 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 237,000 renters in Connecticut are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30%of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: Almost 18% of residents in Connecticut live in areas where, by one definition, there is only one internet provider with broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds and nearly 12% do not have an internet subscription. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Connecticut, there is an estimated $689 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 44% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Connecticut and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 11% of total output in Connecticut, employing 161,000 workers, or 9.5% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers, including providing incentives for manufacturers to invest in innovative energy projects. HOME ENERGY: In Connecticut, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 42,455 people in Connecticut working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Connecticut is home to over 184,000 veterans, 7.4% of whom are women and 56.8% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. WASHINGTON D.C.: Grade C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In the District of Columbia there are 8 bridges and over 402 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 2% in the District of Columbia and on average, each driver pays $1,100 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: D.C residents who take public transportation spend an extra 25.2% of their time commuting and non-White households are 0.7 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 5% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: The District of Columbia has experienced extreme weather events, costing the city millions in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, The District of Columbias drinking water infrastructure will require $1.75 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 79,000 renters in the District of Columbia are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: Even where infrastructure is available, for many District residents, reliable broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. Nearly 13% of District households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In the District of Columbia, 27% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across the District and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers employ 1,000 residents in the District and account for $300 million in total output. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In the District of Columbia, many low-income families are forced to make tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 15,383 District residents working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: The District of Columbia is home to close to 28,000 veterans, 14% of whom are women and 41% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. DELAWARE: Grade - D ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Delaware there are 19 bridges and over 250 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 5% in Delaware and on average, each driver pays $456 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Delaware residents who take public transportation spend an extra 87% of their time commuting and non-White households are 3.7 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 10% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Delaware has experienced 10 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $2 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Delawares drinking water infrastructure will require $806 million in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. : In Delaware there are 19 bridges and over 250 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 5% in Delaware and on average, each driver pays $456 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 50,000 renters in Delaware are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: Almost 60% of residents in Connecticut live in areas where, by one definition, there is only one internet provider with broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds and 11% do not have an internet subscription. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Delaware, there is an estimated $102 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 25% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Delaware and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 6% of total output in Delaware, employing 28,000 workers, or 5.9% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers, including providing incentives for manufacturers to invest in innovative energy projects. HOME ENERGY: In Delaware, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 13,943 Delaware residents working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Delaware is home to over 71,000 veterans, 9.7% of whom are women and 51% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. FLORIDA: Grade - C ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Florida there are 408 bridges and over 3,564 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 11.6% in Florida and on average, each driver pays $425 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Floridians who take public transportation spend an extra 77.9% of their time commuting and non-White households are 3.5 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 16% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Florida has experienced 22 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $100 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Floridas drinking water infrastructure will require $21.9 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 1,445,000 renters in Florida are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 6% of Floridians live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 51.1% of Floridians live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 13% of Florida households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Florida, 38% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Florida and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 5% of total output in Florida, employing 382,000 workers, or 4.2% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Florida, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 166,032 Floridians working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Florida is home to over 1.5 million veterans, 9.5% of whom are women and 53% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. GEORGIA: Georgia - C+ ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Georgia there are 374 bridges and over 2,260 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 10.8% in Georgia and on average, each driver pays $375 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Georgians who take public transportation spend an extra 74.1% of their time commuting and non-White households are 3.9 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 7% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The America Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Georgia has experienced 46 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $20 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Georgias drinking water infrastructure will require $12.5 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. From 2010 to 2020, Georgia has experienced 46 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $20 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 654,000 renters in Georgia are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 10% of Georgians live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 38.8% of Georgians live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 15% of Georgia households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Georgia, 44% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Georgia and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 10% of total output in Georgia, employing 411,000 workers, or 8.9% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Georgia, an average low-income family spends 10-12% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 83,806 Georgians working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Georgia is home to over 697,127 veterans, 12.7% of whom are women and 38% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. HAWAII : Grade - D+ ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Hawaii there are 84 bridges and over 664 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 9.7% in Hawaii and on average, each driver pays $818 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Hawaiians who take public transportation spend an extra 77.2% of their time commuting and non-White households are 2.2 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 20% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, the United States has experienced 145 extreme weather events, costing the nation an estimated $921 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Hawaiis drinking water infrastructure will require $1.2 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 98,000 renters in Hawaii are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 44% of Hawaiians live in areas where, by one definition, there is only one broadband internet provider that provides minimally acceptable speeds. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 12% of Hawaii households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Hawaii, there is an estimated $88 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 68% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Hawaii and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than $187 billion of total output in Hawaii, employing 14,000 workers, or 2% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Hawaii, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 13,927 Hawaiians working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Hawaii is home to over 112,304 veterans, 10.6% of whom are women and 44.6% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. IOWA: Grade - C ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Iowa there are 4,571 bridges and over 403 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 6.6% in Iowa and on average, each driver pays $336 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Iowans who take public transportation spend an extra 30.4% of their time commuting and non-White households are 3.9 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 38% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Iowa has experienced 32 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $50 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Iowas drinking water infrastructure will require $7.9 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 146,000 renters in Iowa are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 13.4% of Iowans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 61% of Iowans live in areas where there is only one such provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 16% of Iowa households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan would invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Iowa, there is an estimated $499 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 23% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Iowa and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 18.7% of total output in Iowa, employing 228,000 workers, or 14.3% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Iowa, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 32,057 Iowans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Iowa is home to over 206,430 veterans, 7.3% of whom are women and 52.9% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. IDAHO: Grade- C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Idaho there are 286 bridges and over 1,102 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 11.2% in Idaho and on average, each driver pays $394 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Idahoans who take public transportation spend an extra 150.2% of their time commuting and non-White households are 1.3 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 33% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Idaho has experienced 11 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $2 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Idahos drinking water infrastructure will require $1.3 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 84,000 renters in Idaho are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 24% of Idahoans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 64% of Idahoans live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 11.6% of Idaho households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Idaho, there is an estimated $301 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 49% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Idaho and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 12% of total output in Idaho, employing 70,000 workers, or 9.3% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Idaho, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 13,181 Idahoans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Idaho is home to over 122,067 veterans, 8.7% of whom are women and 47.1% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. ILLINOIS : Grade - C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Illinois there are 2,374 bridges and over 6,218 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.3% in Illinois and on average, each driver pays $609 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Illinoisans who take public transportation spend an extra 68.3% of their time commuting and non-White households are 1.9 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 21% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Illinois has experienced 48 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $50 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Illinoiss drinking water infrastructure will require $20.9 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 765,000 renters in Illinois are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President propose investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 7% of Illinoisans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 62% of Illinoisans live in areas where there is only one such provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 14% of Illinois households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan would invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Illinois, there is an estimated $862 gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements 58% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Illinois and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 12.5% of total output in Illinois, employing 592,000 workers, or 9.6% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Illinois, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 125,364 Illinoisans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Illinois is home to over 628,254 veterans, 7.9% of whom are women and 52% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. INDIANA: Grade - C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Indiana there are 1,111 bridges and over 5,478 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 4.4% in Indiana and on average, each driver pays $638 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Hoosiers who take public transportation spend an extra 88.7% of their time commuting and non-White households are 4.5 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 38% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Indiana has experienced 34 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $10 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Indianas drinking water infrastructure will require $7.5 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 358,000 renters in Indiana are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 12.4% of Hoosiers live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 48.4% of Hoosiers live in areas where there is only one such provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 16% of Indiana households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan would invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Indiana, there is an estimated $518 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 55% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Indiana and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 27.8% of total output in Indiana, employing 541,000 workers, or 17.1% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Indiana, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 86,892 Hoosiers working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Indiana is home to over 409,836 veterans, 7.6% of whom are women and 46% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. KANSAS: Grade - C ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Kansas there are 1,321 bridges and over 1,995 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 6.6% in Kansas and on average, each driver pays $509 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Kansans who take public transportation spend an extra 65.7% of their time commuting and non-White households are 3.0 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 12% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Kansas has experienced 42 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $20 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Kansass drinking water infrastructure will require $5.3 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 163,000 renters in Kansas are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 14.3% of Kansans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 51% of Kansans live in areas where there is only one such provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 15% of Kansas households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan would invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Kansas, there is an estimated $257 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 44% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Kansas and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 16.3% of total output in Kansas, employing 167,000 workers, or 11.7% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Kansas, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 24,909 Kansans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Kansas is home to over 191,186 veterans, 9.2% of whom are women and 45.6% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. KENTUCKY: Grade - C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Kentucky there are 1,033 bridges and over 1,322 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 6.3% in Kentucky and on average, each driver pays $444 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Kentuckians who take public transportation spend an extra 60.1% of their time commuting and non-White households are 6.2 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 15% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Kentucky has experienced 26 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $10 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Kentuckys drinking water infrastructure will require $8.2 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 128,000 renters in Kentucky are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 12% of Kentuckians live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 50% of Kentuckians live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 17% of Kentucky households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Kentucky, there is an estimated $453 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 50% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Kentucky and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 18% of total output in Kentucky, employing 255,000 workers, or 614% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers, including providing incentives for manufacturers to invest in innovative energy projects in coal communities. HOME ENERGY: In Kentucky, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 38,266 Kentuckians working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Kentucky is home to over 295,000 veterans, 8.2% of whom are women and 45.8% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. LOUISIANA: Grade - D+ ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Louisiana there are 1,634 bridges and over 3,411 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 9.3% in Louisiana and on average, each driver pays $667 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Pla will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Louisianans who take public transportation spend an extra 62.1% of their time commuting and non-White households are 4.3 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 25% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Louisiana has experienced 30 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $50 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Louisianas drinking water infrastructure will require $7.3 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 307,000 renters in Louisiana are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 14% of Louisianans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 60% of Louisianans live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 19% of Louisiana households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Louisiana, there is an estimated $553 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 42% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Louisiana and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 18% of total output in Louisiana, employing 255,000 workers, or 13% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Louisiana, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 10,078 Louisianans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Louisiana is home to over 140,000 veterans, 7.2% of whom are women and 51% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. MASSACHUSETTS: Grade - C- ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Massachusetts there are 472 bridges and over 1,194 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 10.9% in Massachusetts and on average, each driver pays $620 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Bay Staters who take public transportation spend an extra 52.9% of their time commuting and non-White households are 2 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 23% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Massachusetts has experienced 14 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $5 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Massachusettss drinking water infrastructure will require $12.2 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 478,000 renters in Massachusetts are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 2.5% of Bay Staters live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 45.6% of Bay Staters live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 11.1% of Massachusetts households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Massachusetts, there is an estimated $1.39 billion gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 53% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Massachusetts and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 9.4% of total output in Massachusetts, employing 243,000 workers, or 6.6% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Massachusetts, an average low-income family spends 6-8%of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 122,477 Bay Staters working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Massachusetts is home to over 323,200 veterans, 6.9% of whom are women and 57.4% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. MARYLAND: Grade - C . ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Maryland there are 273 bridges and over 2,201 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 5.1% in Maryland and on average, each driver pays $637 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Marylanders who take public transportation spend an extra 66.3% of their time commuting and non-White households are 2.7 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 23% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Maryland has experienced 31 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $10 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Marylands drinking water infrastructure will require $9.3 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 353,000 renters in Maryland are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 3.8% of Marylanders live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 34.5% of Marylanders live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 10.9% of Maryland households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Maryland, there is an estimated $615 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 51% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Maryland and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 5.89% of total output in Maryland, employing 108,000 workers, or 3.92% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Maryland, an average low-income family spends 6-8%of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 84,549 Marylanders working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Maryland is home to over 389,600 veterans, 13.3% of whom are women and 42.2% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. MAINE: Grade - C ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Maine there are 315 bridges and over 1,438 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 1.9% in Maine and on average, each driver pays $543 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Mainers who take public transportation spend an extra 85.8% of their time commuting and non-White households are 2.2 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 49% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Maine has experienced 3 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $100 million in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Maines drinking water infrastructure will require $1.3 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 68,000 renters in Maine are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 8% of Mainers live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 85.3% of Mainers live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 15% of Maine households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Maine, there is an estimated $304 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 22% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Maine and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 10% of total output in Maine, employing 53,000 workers, or 8.4% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Maine, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 12,798 Mainers working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Maine is home to over 114,000 veterans, 8% of whom are women and 50.7% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans. MICHIGAN: Grade - D+ ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Michigan there are 1,219 bridges and over 7,300 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 4.6% in Michigan and on average, each driver pays $644 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Michiganders who take public transportation spend an extra 67.7% of their time commuting and non-White households are 5.6 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 17% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment. In Michigan there are 1,219 bridges and over 7,300 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 4.6% in Michigan and on average, each driver pays $644 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Michigan has experienced 19 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $5 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities recovery from disaster. DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Michigans drinking water infrastructure will require $13 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 514,000 renters in Michigan are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis. BROADBAND: 8.9% of Michiganders live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 51.4% of Michiganders live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 14.1% of Michigan households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America. CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The Presidents plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs. CHILD CARE: In Michigan, there is an estimated $1.29 billion gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 44% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nations schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Michigan and the country. MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 19% of total output in Michigan, employing 631,000 workers, or 14.2% of the states workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers. HOME ENERGY: In Michigan, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: As of 2019, there were 125,365 Michiganders working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing. VETERANS HEALTH: Michigan is home to over 589,326 veterans, 7.3% of whom are women and 53.4% of whom are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to Jurors selected in 1994 double murder case against businessman Bykov RAPSI, Eugeny Varlamov 12:50 12/04/2021 MOSCOW, April 12 (RAPSI) The Sverdlovsky District Court in Russias Krasnoyarsk has drawn a jury panel in a case against businessman Anatoly Bykov charged with masterminding double homicide in 1994, RAPSI has learnt in the press service of the regional Prosecutors Office. Bykov is in detention now. The next court hearing is scheduled for April 22. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, in the first half of 1994, Alexander Naumov, a 23-year old member of a criminal group headed by Bykov, had a conflict with the gang leader because of unjust, according to him, dividing of the joint criminal income. Later, Bykovs car was exploded. The businessman suspected Naumov and his friend Kirill Voytenko of the blast organization and decided to kill them. He ordered his acquaintance Vladimir Tatarenkov to organize the murder; the latter in turn involved his gang members in the crime. On July 24, 1994, Naumov and Voytenko were shot dead, investigators claimed. One of the killers Sergey Bakurov was sentenced to life. Another one is on a wanted list. Tatarenkov was sentenced to 13 years in prison, the Investigative Committees statement read. Bykov pled not guilty. However, investigators claim that many witnesses confirmed that Bykov had business relations with Naumov and a conflict after which the latter was afraid of his life and began wearing body armour. Moreover, he is prosecuted of leading a criminal community and organization of one more murder. According to investigators, in the summer of 2004, Bykov ordered his acquaintance to kill a 42-year resident of Krasnoyarsk, the founder of an industrial waste utilization firm, for an award of $50,000. On January 18, 2005, the killer shot the victim dead. Tinsel Town newbie Shreya Chaudhry has been constantly swaying the hearts of the audience, post her incredible performance in Bandish Bandits. The actor has been grabbing eyeballs, all thanks to her fitness regimes and her magnificent fashion choices which keep one at the edge of their seats waiting for more. Having been showered with projects and collaborations, the diva for sure knows how to ace it all be it acting, modelling or working on different campaigns altogether. Shreya Chaudhry was recently seen collaborating with none other than Scam 1992 star Pratik Gandhi. The duo was seen sharing some fun and sweet moments which would definitely surprise everyone. Their incredible chemistry is surely a watch and we hope we see them sharing a screen in future. On the work front, we have seen Shreya delivering an astonishing performance in Bandish Bandits, she was also recently seen sharing screens with Ranveer Brar and Neha Dhupia in an advertisement. Shreya is also in talks with makers for different projects as well which she will soon unravel. We are sure Shreya will blow the minds of everyone with her next! President Zuzana Caputova will ask for an agreement on the purchase of Sputnik V. President Zuzana Caputova met with the representatives of the State Institute for Drug Control on April 12. (Source: SITA) Font size: A - | A + President Zuzana Caputova has expressed her support for the Slovak scientists and scientific institutions that have tested the Sputnik V vaccine. She was also critical of the recent statements of Finance Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) against the State Institute for Drug Control (SUKL) and the Biomedical Research Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAV) responsible for testing the vaccine, calling them inadequate and wrong. Such attacks only harm the trust of people in them, she added. Finance Minister Matovic should apologise, head of the Institute of Virology claims Read more Part of a strong democracy is strong and independent professional institutions, she said after her April 12 visit to the SUKL and the BMC SAV. In the meantime, the president has asked Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee) to let her see the contract so she knows more about the details. Trust in Slovak institutions Caputova reiterated that she does not want Sputnik V and its use in the vaccination process to be used to divide Slovakia. She said that all the tests carried out so far have confirmed the benefits of the vaccine. This is why we should trust Slovak scientific institutions. I support the Slovak scientific institutions and respect their work, the president continued, adding that she has been in close contact with many scientists involved in the fight against the pandemic during the past year. Sputnik V was checked by a lab after ex-minister Krajcis request Read more Commenting on the tests that should be carried out in Hungary, Caputova said that she still does not know very much and that she will be asking about it at meetings with Lengvarsky and PM Eduard Heger (OLaNO). If the tests will be the same as the ones carried out by the SUKL and the BMC SAV, she is ready to ask why they are being performed in the Hungarian labs and what benefit it would bring. Critical of personal attacks The president was also critical of personal attacks and threats to people representing scientific institutions. SUKL head Zuzana Batova has lately received several such threats, particularly after being openly criticised by Matovic. The threats were published by her husband, former advisor to ex-president Andrej Kiska, Rado Bato, on both Twitter and Facebook. The threats are now being investigated by the General Prosecutors Office, the Omediach.com website reported. 12. Apr 2021 at 18:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff While it's normal to have a fever, soreness or other side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, local experts say a connected fatality isn't an outcome people should worry about. Despite misinformation shared on social media that sources a federal vaccine safety database, there is no proof of any patients having died as a result of taking a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. A tracking system at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gathers reports of deaths after COVID-19 vaccination, but there is no evidence to suggest the vaccine was the cause. "We havent seen a single vaccine-related death. Not a single one," said Dr. Danielle Scheurer, chief quality officer at the Medical University of South Carolina. Scheurer added the chances of having long-term side effects from COVID-19 or dying from the disease are much greater. Hesitancy to take one of the vaccines authorized for distribution in the United States is still widespread; 15 percent of respondents to a recent U.S. Census Bureau survey said they hadn't gotten a vaccine and don't plan to. The survey takers' top-cited reason for their hesitancy was concern for possible side effects. Anyone patient or provider can report what is known as an "adverse event" to the system, formally called the "Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System." Reportable reactions include everything from severe allergic reactions to fevers to death. As of April 5, the VAERS system logged 2,794 reports of death among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Robert Oliverio, a chief medical officer at Roper St. Francis Healthcare, said the number of deaths that shows up in VAERS is "nonsense" when considered as a statistic. He said there is no time limit to when someone can make a report to VAERS following the vaccination, meaning they could have died days or weeks later. "It doesn't give you any idea of what caused the deaths," he said, given that millions of Americans have gotten shots, and by random chance, some will die not long after their appointment. Oliverio said it is 1,500 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than it is to have any kind of severe reaction to one of the vaccines authorized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. He said the greatest risk for a severe reaction is with anaphylaxis, and statistically it is still more likely to be struck by lightning. The CDC investigates each report of a death. Dr. Brannon Traxler, interim public health director for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, said because of the way incidents are reported to VAERS there is plenty of bias present in its data. She said just because a death shows up in the VAERS system does not mean the vaccine was the cause of death. "It's unknown whether there is any relationship there," Traxler said. For example, about 2 million vaccines were distributed in the U.S. by mid-January, and 196 deaths were reported to the VAERS system by that time. Two-thirds were long-term care facility residents. CDC experts followed up on each incident, calculated how many deaths they would usually expect to see if the vaccine wasn't being given, and found the number of deaths reported was in line with what would be expected given normal conditions. Statewide numbers Sign up for our new health newsletter The best of health, hospital and science coverage in South Carolina, delivered to your inbox weekly. Email Sign Up! New cases reported: 453 confirmed, 300 probable. Total cases in S.C.: 471,855 confirmed, 91,572 probable. Percent positive: 4 percent. New deaths reported: 0 confirmed, 0 probable. Total deaths in S.C.: 8,165 confirmed, 1,111 probable. Percent of ICU beds filled: 68 percent. How does S.C. rank in vaccines administered per 100,000 people? 41st as of April 11, according to the CDC. Hardest-hit areas In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Greenville County (75), Charleston County (44) and Berkeley County (31) saw the highest totals. What about the tri-county? Charleston County had 44 new cases on April 12, while Berkeley had 31 and Dorchester had 16. Hospitalizations Of the 511 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of April 11, 126 were in the ICU and 65 were using ventilators. What do experts say? A local chain of primary care offices is hosting COVID-19 vaccine events where Pfizer doses will be available by appointment only. Liberty Doctors will be at the Chabad of Charleston Center for Jewish Life on Mathis Ferry Road in Mount Pleasant on April 15. On April 17, Liberty Doctors will host a drive-thru clinic in West Ashley. Anyone 16 and older who is interested can schedule an appointment at www.libertydoctors.com/clinics. TechBehemoths - announces its global launch to help IT companies and clients find each other. TechBehemoths connects easier, quicker and more efficient real projects with IT companies on one hand, and real IT companies with clients, on the other. Being a perfect match for both parties. The global IT market has experienced a huge boost in the past few years, especially in 2020-21, during the remote work in pandemic, with thousands of new companies being launched every month across the world; as well as new technologies, and a growing number of youngsters interested in embracing this field. However, the biggest struggle of IT companies still remains the possibility of improving their visibility on the web, and the need for companies to reach their target audience - the clients. On the existing resources and platforms that provide such services, companies experience a rather unpleasant effort in registering their profiles and becoming visible, not to mention the poor user experience and high dropout rates. Because our company was receiving more client inquiries than we could absorb with our existing team, we started to search for some reliable outsourcing companies. The existing platforms that are doing that turned out to be rather hard to use. It was not intuitive at all to find the right companies for us. The same for companies, the registration process there was rather hectic, not clear and once you are done with the process your company will always be somewhere on the last pages (if you dont pay for a higher position). Also, some filter criteria could be useful so that a company can be displayed among the first. That was unfortunately not possible on those websites. - Marcel Sobieski, Founder of Mobiteam GmbH. And now, to face these challenges TechBehemoths comes as a new, modernized, and professional solution where IT companies all over the world can either claim or register their profile, increase their visibility by filling in more information about them, and also find new business opportunities, clients, and projects - all for free. At the starting point, TechBehemoths lists more than 50,000 IT companies across the globe that provide 510+ services in the IT and related fields. The website is focused on providing exact data and improved user experience using modern technologies and easy access navigation. Mircea Sirbu, CTO at TechBehemoths highlights that, We did our best to help users find any information within 3 clicks. As a young startup for IT companies, TechBehemoths development team promises to surprise the audience with new monthly updates that will give business owners more direct control over their activity and insights data. At this first stage, our team developed the most vital functions. Elements such as personal dashboard are still in development and will be launched in April 2021. - Gicu Caus, Head of Backend at TechBehemoths has mentioned. So far, on TechBehemoths users can: Discover 500+ IT services Discover 50,000 companies that provide these services Find exact company details such as location, number of employees, portfolio, reviews Review and rate companies Claim listed companies Learn companies service specialities See companies portfolios Contact companies Visit their website Learn insightful information about IT industries in different countries, cities, and even regions. TechBehemoths makes the process of connecting companies, and real clients easier and also improves the overall visibility of all IT companies listed. But more importantly, TechBehemoths Head of Marketing, Dan Irascu claims that ...this is one of the most advanced business tools in the tech and IT industries existing nowadays in finding the most appropriate IT Company for a particular project. TechBehemoths is owned, created, and managed by Mobiteam GmbH - a leading German web agency with more than 8 years of experience with tens of thousands clients worldwide, including 3 startup exits to US and UK companies. When plotted on a graph, the curve of Bhutan's COVID-19 vaccination drive shoots upwards from the very first day, crossing Israel, United States, Bahrain and other countries known for vaccinating people rapidly. Those countries took months to reach where they are, painstakingly strengthening their vaccination campaigns in the face of rising cases. But the story of Bhutan's vaccination campaign is nearly finished just 16 days after it began. The tiny Himalayan kingdom wedged between India and China has vaccinated nearly 93 per cent of its adult population since March 27. Overall, the country has vaccinated 62 per cent of its 800,000 people. The rapid rollout of the vaccine puts the tiny nation just behind Seychelles, which has given jabs to 66 per cent of its population of nearly 100,000 people. Its small population helped move fast, but its success has also been attributed to its dedicated citizen volunteers, known as desuups, and established cold chain storage used during earlier vaccination drives. received its first 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from neighbouring India in January, but the shots were distributed beginning in late March to coincide with auspicious dates in Buddhist astrology. The first dose was administered by and given to a woman born in the Year of the Monkey, accompanied by chants of Buddhist prayers. Let this small step of mine today help us all prevail through this illness, the recipient, 30-year-old Ninda Dema, was quoted by the country's Kuensel newspaper as saying. Dr. Pandup Tshering, secretary to the Ministry of Health, said jabs were still being provided to those who could not get vaccinated during the campaign period and that the country had enough doses to cover its entire population. has recorded 910 infections with the and one COVID-19 death so far. It has a mandatory 21-day quarantine for all people arriving in the country. All schools and educational institutions are open and are monitored for compliance with COVID-19 protocols, Tshering said. Bhutan is the last remaining Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. But the country has transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a democratic, constitutional monarchy. (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's borders will stay shut while Covid remains a 'dangerous situation' overseas, Scott Morrison has warned. The prime minster made the comments in a Facebook Live stream on Monday evening, more than a year since the international border was slammed shut on March 20, 2020, to protect Aussies from the growing pandemic. 'It's not safe right now to open up our international borders. Around the world, COVID-19 is still rife,' he said. 'We are still seeing increases in daily cases, particularly in the developing world... but around the world, it is still a very dangerous situation because of Covid.' Australians have been banned from flying abroad for nearly 13 months, but domestic restrictions are now non-existent with a few exceptions (pictured, passengers from Melbourne arriving in Sydney on February 4) Australia has not recorded any new cases of community transmission within the last week. He said the government will move 'quickly' to vaccinate the nation's most vulnerable population and vowed to 'keep those borders closed for as long as we have to, but only as long as we have to'. Mr Morrison's comments followed new report Deloitte Access Economics' quarterly business outlook last week that predicted that international borders would likely not open until 2024. Deloitte economist Chris Richardson anticipated there will be some sort of quarantine remaining for incoming travellers for some time. 'That keeps international travel - both inbound and outbound - pretty weak in 2022, and it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024,' he said. The prime minster made the comments in a Facebook Live stream on Monday evening (pictured) Late last week health authorities recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people above 50 due to the risk of blood clotting. It was the vaccine the Australian government was relying heavily on to reopen the borders, but it has since secured an additional 20 million Pfizer vaccine doses that will be shipped from abroad later in the year. On Friday, 88,500 new vaccine doses were administered, bringing the total number inoculated to 1.16 million - well short of the four million Mr Morrison originally promised by the end of March. Mr Morrison dumped the target on Sunday due to 'uncertainties' surrounding vaccine imports. When speaking about heavily criticised vaccine rollout in his live steam on Monday, Mr Morrison said 'a lot of people have had a lot to say about it'. Scott Morrison admitted borders will be closed while the risk of Covid overseas remains high (pictured, Melbourne International Airport on April 8) He was insistent that Australians should be thankful that the country is not riddled with Covid, providing more time for people to get the jab. 'Now, I've been asked a bit about what our targets are. One of the things about Covid is it writes its own rules.' 'You don't get to set the agenda, you have to be able to respond quickly to when things change. Weve just had one recently regarding the medical advice on AstraZeneca.' Fresh figures show that Australia is trailing behind a number of coronavirus-riddled nations thanks to its botched vaccine rollout. It is in second-last place out of all the countries analysed and sits on par with Botswana and below even Ecuador, according to a ranking by the Our World in Data website. Since March 20, 2020, Aussies have been banned from flying abroad and those returning must go into hotel quarantine (pictured, international travellers arriving at the Intercontinental Hotel on April 8) Australia also ranks 76th out of 156 countries on a scale by the Financial Times, which places it below nations such as India - which recorded 168,000 new cases in on Monday - Indonesia and Covid-hit Brazil. Only 4.5 people for every 100 have been jabbed in Australia, which pales in comparison to nations such as Israel which has given 100 per cent of its population at least one dose. Rwanda, which is still recovering from genocide at the hands of extremists in the 1990s, only just trails behind Australia with a vaccination rate of 2.8 people per 100. Australia sits in a group with countries including Bangladesh, Bolivia and Palestinian territories, with nations such as Cambodia, Mauritius, Colombia, Nepal, Jordan and Guyana. They were the only couple who failed to consummate their relationship on this year's season of Married At First Sight. And Beck Zemek has now sensationally blamed her 'husband' Jake Edwards for the lack of intimacy in their relationship. The business manager, 27, told Hit Hobart's Jimmy and Nath on Monday she went to great lengths to seduce Jake, 33, but he just wasn't interested. Shots fired! Married At First Sight's Beck Zemek, 27, has sensationally blamed her 'husband' Jake Edwards, 33, for the lack of intimacy in their relationship 'I would walk around naked and invite him to the shower. And he would reject me, and go for a walk or have to take a random phone call,' she said. When asked how she felt about being rejected, Beck replied: 'I'm a strong person, and I call this stuff out, so I think it was really confronting when it happened.' 'However, I just wanted honesty. As long as there's an answer for it and we're on the same page, it's fine,' she added. Beck went on to suggest that Jake's actions were a 'confidence thing'. Art of seduction: 'I would walk around naked and invite him to the shower. And he would reject me, and go for a walk or have to take a random phone call,' she told Hit Hobart on Monday Failure to launch: Beck and Jake (right) were the only couple who failed to consummate their relationship on this year's season of Married At First Sight However, while Beck sees herself as blameless, Jake has previously claimed it was in fact his 'wife' who made no effort to show affection during their relationship. Last week, while on a date with Beck on a yacht, the charity CEO asked her: 'My cards are on the table. You know that I like you, you know that I'm into you. What I need now is that... is what you feel for me?' A long, awkward pause ensued, before Jake changed the topic. 'I think the biggest challenge you and I are gonna face is the logistic challenge, with the Melbourne to Perth thing,' he added. On the contrary: While Beck sees herself as blameless, Jake has previously claimed it was in fact his 'wife' who made no effort to show affection during their relationship The pause didn't go unnoticed by viewers, with many remarking on Twitter that Beck's non-response was a resounding 'no'. Jake once again confronted Beck about her feelings during Sunday night's dinner party, asking whether she thought they'd still be together in three months. Beck simply replied 'no', before explaining that she was a 'realist'. When Jake asked whether she even liked him at all, she responded coldly: 'You like me more than I like you.' The closure of the Damen exit was still in effect as of about 7:30 a.m., while the rest of the westbound expressway was reopened. Another, unrelated crash with injuries on the inbound Eisenhower near Paulina Street also closed lanes Monday morning. During a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz, visiting Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was committed to boosting the Jewish state's security and "continuing our close consultations on threats posed by Iran". Austin's two-day visit marks the first by a official since President Joe Biden's inauguration in January. Following a meeting between the two diplomats on Sunday, Austin thanked Gantz for the "important discussions on the regional threat environment and ways to deepen US- defenxe cooperation". "I'm committed to continuing our close consultations on threats posed by and to strengthening Israel's security," he added. In response, Gantz said: "We will continue to work with the to ensure that any agreement with safeguards the vital interests of the community and protects "Secretary Austin and I agreed to continue a close dialogue on the urgent security challenges in the region. " sees the US as a full partner on all operational fronts - the first of which is Iran "Grateful to share vision and goals with our strategic partner and friend and know that we will work together to make sure that any Iranian nuclear agreement protects the vital security interests of the community and of Israel." Austin is also expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Defence Secretary is not expected to visit the Palestinian Territories, although Biden has signalled that he wants to rebuild ties with the Palestinians. The previous administration of Donald Trump made several major diplomatic moves which were welcomed by Israel but denigrated by the Palestinians, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and weakening support for a two-state solution. Austin is expected in Germany on Tuesday, and in Brussels after that. --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.) BYD's Full Market Electric Vehicle Solutions SHENZHEN, CHINA, Apr 11, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - On April 8th, BYD ushered in a new milestone, as its Bahia SkyRail vehicle rolled off the production line in Shenzhen. The Bahia SkyRail, located in the city of Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil, is the world's first SkyRail line to be partially built above the sea.The ceremony was held at BYD's global headquarters in Shenzhen. Rui Costa, Governor of Bahia; Joao Leao, Vice Governor of Bahia; and Mrs. Shao Yingjun, Minister for Commercial Affairs of the Chinese Embassy, witnessed the ceremony online.Satisfied with the performance of the new model, Governor Rui Costa insisted that the VLT do Suburbio symbolizes an important international partnership for the modernization of urban transport. "After placing Bahia as the second metro extension in Brazil, we now take a large step towards modernization with this modern vehicle that will replace a train that no longer met operating conditions," commented Rui Costa.Joao Leao, Vice Governor of Bahia, also highly recognized BYD's integral role in the project, expressing sincere gratitude to BYD.Stella Li, Executive Vice President of BYD Company Limited & President of BYD Motors Inc., said, "Today's vehicles are specially tailored to the unique geographical and cultural environment of Salvador, the smooth and comfortable ride, humanized and intelligent design will bring passengers a more pleasant and convenient green travel experience. Brazil has embraced BYD's green, zero-emission transport offerings across the board, including pure electric buses, trucks, taxis and the SkyRail, making the country the leading model for eco-friendly transport in Latin America. In the future, BYD will continue to work hard with its leading new energy technology and high-quality rail transit offerings to help cities around the world build low-carbon transportation and achieve sustainable development!"The Bahia SkyRail has been specially customized to meet local regulations and needs, as the world's first SkyRail line built for an overseas market. The vehicle adopts a streamlined design, which reduces wind resistance while enhancing the overall aesthetics. Meanwhile, large, barrier-free doors enable passengers of all kinds to easily enter and exit, regardless of whether they are walking, in a wheelchair or pushing a baby stroller. The vehicles feature a walk-through train design to provide excellent accessibility, and the large windows on both sides offer expansive views for an enjoyable transit experience, while the air suspension system ensures that the vehicle runs quietly and smoothly.Additionally, SkyRail is equipped with a fully automatic operation system with cutting-edge train control technology and an intelligent customer service system, which realizes a high degree of train automation. It enables more precise operations control, resulting in higher reliability, safety, operational efficiency, and punctuality. Meanwhile, on-board PIS, CCTV, emergency intercom, and other systems serve passengers in real-time, ensuring a safe and convenient riding experience. The vehicles can also be flexibly grouped according to actual capacity needs.The Bahia SkyRail Line has 25 stations covering a total length of 23.3km. It will be connected with Bahia's existing subway to form a comprehensive public transportation network.Due to various factors such as local topography, community structure, demolition costs, and passenger volume, the Bahia SkyRail was customized to adhere to several extremely stringent technical standards, all of which it met.SkyRail is a straddle-type monorail system developed by a dedicated 1,000-strong R&D team following five years of research and development worth 5 billion RMB, which aims to solve traffic congestion in cities. With a minimum turning radius of only 45 meters and able to climb gradients of 10%, SkyRail is well adapted to Salvador's difficult terrain. What's more, advanced autonomous driving technology together with a striking and futuristic appearance allows the SkyRail to seamlessly fit into modern urban environments.SkyRail's unique technologies have overcome many of the difficulties of construction and operation in Bahia. For example, the elevated tracks don't occupy valuable road surface, meaning the space below them still can be rebuilt into pedestrianized areas, and their elevated position keeps them free from flooding, which has been a problem for the city's existing rail network. Thanks to the integrated line monitoring system and the intelligent operations system, SkyRail can immediately identify risks, solve problems, and reduce manual workloads. Besides offering comfortable, low-carbon and efficient public transport for residents, the expectation is that SkyRail will also help attract new businesses and visitors to the area, aiding the government's efforts to boost local tourism.The SkyRail has already created a noticeable buzz among local citizens. As early as February 13, 2019, on the day of signing the contract, a large number of citizens held up a banner at the gate of the government of Bahia, which read "very welcome VLT, thank you, governor", and yelled, "let's make it a reality together." Tyler Li, Country Manager of BYD Brazil, also said that when the SkyRail project team went to the local to inspect the progress of the project after half a year, the public recognized them at a glance and said hello cordially.On January 3, 2020, the state government approved the full preliminary design of the Bahia SkyRail. Bahia Governor Rui Costa said at the time, "SkyRail technology is very advanced, and China's rail technology has far surpassed that of other countries. I believe in Chinese technology."Representing China's strategic focus on fostering "new infrastructure", BYD's rail transit solutions are being warmly received as it strikes up new partnerships, bringing Chinese technology to the world. In Brazil, BYD has already forged cooperation with two cities, among them Sao Paulo, for which the formal contract to build the metro network's Line 17 was signed on April 27, 2020. BYD is also actively engaged in and negotiating other rail transit projects in more than 20 countries and cities spanning the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Africa, some of which are already under construction.About BYDBYD Company Ltd. is one of China's largest privately-owned enterprises. Since its inception in 1995, the company quickly developed solid expertise in rechargeable batteries and became a relentless advocate of sustainable development, successfully expanding its renewable energy solutions globally with operations in over 50 countries and regions. Its creation of a Zero Emissions Energy Ecosystem - comprising affordable solar power generation, reliable energy storage, and cutting-edge electrified transportation - has made it an industry leader in the energy and transportation sectors. BYD is listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. More information on the company can be found at http://www.byd.com.Media Contact:> In Asia-Pacific: Mia Gumia.gu@byd.com; tel: +86-755-8988-8888-69666> In North America: Frank Girardotfrank.girardot@byd.com; tel: +1 213 245 6503> In Latin America: Mariana Osoriomariana.osorio@byd.com; tel: +56 9 8588 0333> In Brazil: Adalberto Malufadalberto.maluf@byd.com; tel: +19 3514 2554> In Europe: Penny Pengpenny.peng@byd.com; tel: +31-102070888Source: BYD Co. Ltd.Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. South Africa: R160m paid to arts sector beneficiaries A total of 979 beneficiaries of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Package (PESP) programme, which is administered by the National Arts Council (NAC), have been paid R160 million. In a media statement on Monday, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa said the second tranche payments, will be made after the reporting stage, as stated in the beneficiaries contractual agreements. The PESP programme is designed to act as an aggressive injection of income into the economy that enables ambitious proposals that create opportunities for employment and collaboration. It is aimed at assisting practitioners and their projects as well as companies that incurred losses (actual and planned/existing, new and those that were at concept stage) during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Furthermore, there was a total of 30 contracts being submitted to finance for payment processing in the week starting today. There are other contracts that have been either not returned by beneficiaries or contracts with outstanding queries and/or beneficiaries who have opted to not continue with their projects, the Minister said. With regards to the 3rd Phase Relief Fund, out of the 2 315 applicants that were approved by adjudicators for payment, 939 have been verified by the finance unit and submitted to Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) for payment. To date, 285 have been paid an amount of R2 850 000. It is crucial to note that this status continues to change daily as more and more individual applications are adjudicated, processed by finance and paid. Once the individual applications have all been processed, the focus will then shift to applications from organisations. However, the department opted to prioritise the applications from individuals as this is more critical during these trying times, the Minister said. Forensic investigation Last month, the Minister announced that he had ordered a forensic investigation into the mismanagement of the R300 million for the PESP programme by the NAC. As announced on 29 March 2021, the department has since engaged and brought on board the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and finalised the Terms of Reference (ToRs). This means that the department is now ready to send out the call for quotations to secure an independent and legible service provider to undertake this important task of forensic investigation, as of today, 12 April 2021, the Minister said. He noted the order issued by the courts on 9 April 2021, ordering the artists occupying the NAC offices to vacate the premises of the NAC. We plead with the occupants to respect the court and judicial processes and leave the NAC offices, as matters pertaining to the PESP are being dealt with. On several occasions, we have met with them but they have not allowed the NAC to continue to do its critical work. While we deeply sympathise with the plight of the sector, we would like to remind the artists occupying the NAC offices that their continued sit-in at these premises is an impediment to the finalisation of the PESP administration and disbursement process. It is also an obstruction to other important responsibilities of the NAC, Mthethwa said. He said the department is applying maximum effort to ensure that it eases the plight of COVD-19 on the sector. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-04-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent fired an enormous amount of ash and hot gas early Monday just days after the nation's prime minister said cruise ships would only evacuate people who are vaccinated. Experts called it a 'huge explosion' that generated pyroclastic flows down the volcano's south and southwest flanks. 'It's destroying everything in its path,' Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies' Seismic Research Center, told The Associated Press. 'Anybody who would have not heeded the evacuation, they need to get out immediately.' Roughly 16,000 people who live in communities close to the volcano had been evacuated under government orders on Thursday, but an unknown number have remained behind and refused to move. At least four empty cruise ships floated nearby, waiting to take evacuees to other islands who have agreed to temporarily receive them, including Antigua and Grenada. But Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said people have to be vaccinated before they board the ships. 'The chief medical officer would be identifying the persons already vaccinated so that we can get them on the ship,' he said. Scroll down for video The La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent (pictured) fired an enormous amount of ash and hot gas early Monday just days after the nation's prime minister said that cruise ships would only evacuate people who are vaccinated At least four empty cruise ships waited to take evacuees to other islands who have agreed to temporarily receive them, including Antigua and Grenada. But Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves (pictured getting into a vehicle) said people have to be vaccinated before they board the ships Gonsalves (pictured) said that the 'chief medical officer would be identifying the persons already vaccinated so that we can get them on the ship' 'If people are willing to welcome you at a time of COVID-19, they will wish you to have the highest level of protection possible,' Gonsalves said. Gonsalves said he expects his administration might call off the cruise ships since the vast majority of people seem to be staying in St Vincent for now. There were no immediate reports of injuries or death, but government officials were scrambling to respond to the latest eruption, which was even bigger than the first eruption that occurred Friday morning.. Richard Robertson, with the seismic research center, told local station NBC Radio that the volcano's old and new dome have been destroyed and that a new crater has been created. He said that the pyroclastic flows would have razed everything in their way. Barbados' south coast was hit by the falling ash early Sunday as a result of the eruption of La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent The UWI Seismic Research Centre shared this image that shows a view from the Belmont Observatory in St Vincent Homes in Chateaubelair, St Vincent (left) are seen covered in ash after the eruption. A resident of Chateaubelair (right) is seen walking through the ash with an umbrella The UWI Seismic Research Centre shows a road and vegetation covered in ash after the eruption Fresh pyroclastic flow and heavy ashfall is seen on the Leeward coast (pictured) The Caribbean Agency for Disaster Emergency Management (CDEMA) shared this image that shows houses and streets covered with ashes after the activity of the La Soufriere volcano, on the north side of Windward 'Anything that was there, man, animal, anything...they are gone,' he said. 'And it's a terrible thing to say it.' Joseph said the latest explosion is equivalent to the one that occurred in 1902 and killed some 1,600. The volcano last erupted in 1979. Ash from the ongoing explosions has fallen on Barbados and other nearby islands. One government minister who toured the islands northeast region on Sunday said he saw an estimated two or three dozen people still remaining in the community of Sandy Bay alone, prompting Gonsalves to urge people to leave. 'It is over time for you to leave,' he said. 'It is dangerous.' The ongoing volcanic activity has threatened water and food supplies, with the government forced to drill for fresh water and distribute it via trucks. Ash plume is seen in the sky as the La Soufriere volcano erupts in St Vincent Plumes of ash rise from the La Soufriere volcano as it erupts on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent, as seen from Chateaubelair The Coastguard in St Vincent was seen rescuing residents during rescue missions throughout the weekend The local Coastguard complete yet another rescue mission in St Vincent. The evacuees disembarked at Coastguard base at Calliaqua and will be on their way to various evacuation centers in the safe areas 'We cannot put tarpaulin over a river,' said Garth Saunders, minister of the islands water and sewer authority, referring to the impossibility of trying to protect current water sources from ongoing falling ash. He told NBC Radio that officials also are trying to set up water distribution points. Meanwhile, Gonsalves said government officials are meeting Monday afternoon to talk about difficulties with food supplies. Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel told the radio station that the damage was extensive in the islands northeast region, which he toured on Sunday. Forests and farms were wiped out, with coconut, breadfruit, mango and soursop trees destroyed, as well as plantain and banana crops. 'What I saw was indeed terrible,' he said. Cots, tents, water tanks and other basic supplies were flooding into St Vincent as nearby nations rushed to help those affected by the eruptions. He told NBC Radio on Sunday that his government will do everything possible to help those forced to abandon their homes in ash-filled communities. 'It's a huge operation that is facing us,' he said. 'It's going to be costly, but I dont want us to penny pinch...this is going to be a long haul.' Ash covers palm trees and a church a day after the La Soufriere volcano erupted after decades of inactivity A woman and a girl walk wearing protective head coverings walk on a street covered with volcanic ash a day after the La Soufriere volcano erupted Gonsalves said it could take four months for life to go back to normal in St Vincent, part of an island chain of that includes the Grenadines. The majority of the 100,000 inhabitants live in St Vincent. The pandemic also is complicating response efforts. At least 14 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since the eruptions began on Friday, and all those going to shelters are being tested. Those who test positive are taken to isolation centers. More than 3,700 people are in 84 government shelters. The eastern Caribbean has 19 live volcanoes, 17 of those located on 11 islands. The remaining two are located underwater near Grenada, including one called Kick 'Em Jenny that has been active in recent years. The most active volcano of all is Soufriere Hills in Montserrat, which has erupted continuously since 1995, destroying the capital of Plymouth and killing at least 19 people in 1997. Interview: Chinese model of engagement with African countries genuine -- Ugandan party official Xinhua) 09:33, April 12, 2021 KAMPALA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- "At the moment, you can drive from one corner of Uganda to another border on tarmac, mainly built by Chinese companies," said Richard Todwong, deputy secretary general of Uganda's ruling National Resistance Movement party. The Belt and Road Initiative is embraced by economies because it connects people, and that is the beauty of it, Todwong told Xinhua in an interview recently. The leadership of Communist Party of China (CPC) has foresightedness in dealing relations with Africa and the third world countries, the senior official said, noting that the Chinese model of engagement with African countries is tangible, durable and genuine. "In most of the economies of Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, we have seen the Chinese doing infrastructural projects. They're building dams. They're building roads. They're extending powers to the rural areas," said Todwong. "The Chinese came and built for us quite a number of dams, which has enabled us to power our economy," he said. The party official commended China's upholding of the socialism with Chinese characteristics. "We cannot go into a global village when you're forgetting your culture," he noted. Todwong took part in a three-month training on governance in Peking University in 2019. He was impressed by the measures that China had taken in governing the country. African leaders could learn governance philosophy of the CPC, as the party is committed to a people-centered philosophy of development, which is key to any kind of government as well as to any person in leadership at whatever level, said the Ugandan party official. The Chinese communists "understand (the) poverty very well, ... and so once you know the root cause of that particular poverty, it's easy to address," said Todwong. Todwong also stressed the importance of the strong leadership of the CPC. "China is developing rapidly with the population, they have fought poverty, they fought all these things that we talked about in other countries, because the leadership has remained very firm." (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu) 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 March 5, 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 installments 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: 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 Up to half the homes in the WA coastal town of Kalbarri have been damaged by Tropical Cyclone Seroja which made landfall as a category three system on Sunday night. The states Mid West around 600 kilometres north of Perth - bore the brunt of the system, which developed further south than a typical cyclone in an area where properties are not built to withstand destructive winds. Its trail of destruction has destroyed homes, downed power lines and trees and left more than 20,000 houses without power. Kalbarri local Diane Benjer said her neighbour, who spent the night sheltering in his bathtub, had called to tell her her house was destroyed. FRANKFORT, MI A popular destination along Lake Michigan is using technology to improve beach safety. Frankfort announced plans to install SwimSmart Warning Systems, an emerging tech which uses cellular phone networks and weather data to regularly update lights installed at the beach entrance and at the pier. Signs will explain the different lights and beach conditions. The northern Michigan city received a $12,000 grant from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians as part of the project, 9&10 News reported. The weather can turn at any moment, Frankfort Superintendent Joshua Mills told the Associated Press. It can create a safe environment to an unsafe environment in an instant. We just want to better educate our community and our guests and our visitors. At least 12 people have been swept off the Frankfort pier since 2018, including three who died, according to local police. Our local base has a really good knowledge and awareness of the dangers associated with Lake Michigan, Mills continued. Our guests and visitors we just got to do a better job educating them. The lights will be installed in May, according to 9&10 News. A recent fall in cases has seen Laois drop out of the three counties with the worst incidence of Covid-19 in Ireland and been leapfrogged by Dublin and Kildare according to the latest figures from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). After a weekend of not publishing the county breakdown, NPHET reports that there were 12 new confirmed cases in Laois on Sunday, April 11. The figures published on April 12 show that the daily average is now nine a day 9 a day over five days. The incidence has fallen back to 201.9 per 100,000 population due to 171 cases in the past two weeks. Laois continues to be ahead of the national incidence of 131.9 per 100 k. Offaly continues to have the highest incidence in the country followed by Kildare and Dublin. SEE COUNTY BY COUNTY FIGURES AT END OF STORY. Nationally, the HPSC has been notified of no additional deaths related to COVID-19. There has been a total of 4,785 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Sunday, April 11, the HPSC has been notified of 394 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has now been a total of 241,330 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 179 are men / 214 are women 75% are under 45 years of age The median age is 33 years old NPHET highlighted counties as follows: 175 in Dublin, 34 in Kildare, 21 in Galway, 21 in Mayo, 20 in Limerick and the remaining 123 cases are spread across 18 other counties. The 7-day incidence is now 60.5 per 100,000 nationally while the 5-day moving average is 404 a day. As of 8 am Monday, April 12 there were 227 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, of which 50 are in ICUs. There were 22 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. As of April 10, 1,058,394 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland: 745,363 people have received their first dose 313,031 people have received their second dose The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community including daily data on Irelands COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Alibaba Group was fined 18.23 billion yuan or about $2.79 billion by Chinese regulators as a result of an anti-monopoly investigation. The fine amounts to about 4% of the company's 2019 domestic revenue. China's State Administration for Market Regulation said Alibaba abused its dominant market position for several years. The tech giant restricted competition by stopping some sellers using other platforms. Billionaire Jack Ma's Alibaba reportedly accepted the penalty imposed by the country's anti-monopoly regulator. The tech giant reportedly said that it was not aware of any further anti-monopoly investigations by Chinese regulators, though it indicated that Alibaba and its competitors would remain under review in China over mergers and acquisitions. In December 2020, China's central bank ordered Ant Group to rectify its operations and comply with regulatory requirements. Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial and Alipay, is an affiliate company of Alibaba Group. In November 2020, Ant's planned $37 billion initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which was supposed to be the world's largest IPO, was suspended, citing that the company might not meet listing qualifications or disclosure requirement. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 02:27:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A woman walks past an ambulance at the Royal London Hospital in London, Britain, April 9, 2021. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) Experts have warned that European countries could risk a repeat of the disaster if the lockdowns were lifted too soon or the public fail to stick to rules. LONDON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Parts of Europe on Monday edged further toward normalcy as the situation improved in their countries despite concerns over the third wave of coronavirus. Experts have warned that European countries could risk a repeat of the disaster if the lockdowns were lifted too soon or the public fail to stick to rules. UK: A MAJOR STEP TOWARDS FREEDOM In England, all shops are reopening from Monday along with hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services. Restaurants and pubs are allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors. Meanwhile, gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers can all open. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the latest progress as "a major step forward in our roadmap to freedom." "I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember 'hands, face, space and fresh air' to suppress COVID as we push on with our vaccination program," he said in a statement. Britain appears currently to be in a strong position, as reaffirmed by the government, with almost 40 million combined first and second vaccine doses now administered. However, British scientists have warned that the government is risking a third wave of COVID-19 by easing the lockdown too soon as some parts of Britain still have higher rates of infection. "We need to tackle that issue urgently or the virus will come back again," Leeds University medical school Associate Professor Stephen Griffin told the Observer newspaper. "It's worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them," said Griffin. Also on Monday, Ireland started to ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions as scheduled. As a result, people are allowed to travel freely within the county where they live or within 20 kilometers from their home, with outdoor gatherings permitted for no more than two households, in-classroom education for all primary and secondary school students resumed, and all residential construction projects reopened. People wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Nice, southern France, April 10, 2021. (Photo by Serge Haouzi/Xinhua) A PRECARIOUS EUROPE The situation may be more precarious in other parts of Europe, especially on the European continent. Major countries like France, Germany and Italy have tightened restrictions to fight a resurge of coronavirus as the vaccination rates in these countries remain relatively low. In Germany, for instance, 13,245 new infection cases and 99 new deaths were reported within the past day, according to the latest data from the country's disease control agency Robert Koch Institute (RKI). German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday: "The third wave (of the pandemic) is perhaps the toughest one for us." She stressed the need to strengthen vaccination and testing to "break the third wave." A week after France entered its third lockdown, the number of new COVID-19 cases "remains very high," Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Sunday. "We can expect that after a period of stabilization comes the fall. But for that, we must keep going." On Sunday, the cumulative number of coronavirus infections in France surged by 34,895 and another 176 people have died, data from health authorities showed. However, countries including Greece, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia and the Czech Republic are moving to ease their lockdowns. The 11-day period of strict lockdown in Slovenia ended on Monday as the country entered the red tier of coronavirus restrictions under an overhauled traffic light system. The night curfew is gone after nearly six months and schools are once again open along with most service businesses. Photo taken on April 8, 2021 shows a view of the closed Roman Forum in Rome, Italy. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting) Slovenian Health Minister Janez Poklukar has said that while the lockdown is being relaxed, the country is well in the third wave of the epidemic, whose extent is difficult to fully predict. Meanwhile, shops in Serbia started to reopen from Monday, in addition to the already opening of restaurants providing service outdoors. In Greece, high school students returned to classrooms nationwide on Monday after five months of remote learning, although the nationwide lockdown, which started on Nov. 7, 2020, is still in force. With the self-testing and the acceleration of the vaccination program, the country aims to start lifting the final restrictions in May, officials have said. The Finnish government has published a plan for possible easing of current restrictions, which will be implemented as the country's anti-coronavirus efforts pay off. Under the plan, the total closure of restaurants in high infection areas, including the capital Helsinki, will end in April. Primary schools and secondary schools will also return to classroom teaching in April. In the Czech Republic, the state of emergency ended on Sunday, which means the start of movement between districts and the end to the current night curfew on Monday. Meanwhile, lower graders of primary schools started returning to schools while selected shops and services were allowed to reopen. In Latvia, as the state of emergency ended on Wednesday, retailers were rushing to reopen their stores to shoppers. Customers wait to get in retail shops at Ermou street in Athens, Greece, April 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) In Malta, childcare centers, kindergartens and primary schools reopened on Monday, to be followed by middle schools and secondary schools later this week. Sarah Cassar, 37, a Maltese teacher and a mother of three, voiced "mixed feelings" about the return of her children to the classroom, even though she was happy to see her kids going back to school and interact with other children. "I am rather worried about the possibility of getting infected in class. ... I am also concerned about the rate of transmission within households. According to the health authorities, that is where the new cases are spreading most. We need more discipline," she told Xinhua. "I really hope we get this pandemic under control and everyone can start living their lives again," she added. 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 coronavirus vaccines. A woman gets her COVID-19 vaccine at the hall at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology in Paola, Malta, March 11, 2021. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) Australia's longest-running TV drama Neighbours has recently been rocked by a string of racism allegations from former cast members. And actor Sachin Joab has now come forward with his own on-set experience. Joab, who played Ajay Kapoor from 2011 to 2013, told the Herald Sun he was horrified to learn his Australian-born character Ajay Kapoor was being written off the show and 'sent back to India'. 'Our characters were not from India': Former Neighbours star Sachin Joab (pictured) says he was left horrified after being told his Australian-born character was being 'sent back to India' and written off the show On the show, Ajay and his daughter Rani (Coco-Jacinta Cherin), left Ramsay Street and travelled to India after the death of his wife Priya (Menik Gooneratne). 'I don't think I'll unfortunately ever forget... [being told]: "We're sending Ajay and Rani back to India,"' Joab said on Monday. He added: 'It was a double-hit for me because not only was I confused at finding out that we, as the only remaining actors of colour on the show are being written out, but... our characters were not from India. Our characters were both born and raised in Australia.' Family: In the show, Ajay (left) and his daughter Rani (Coco-Jacinta Cherin, right) left Ramsay Street and travelled to India following the death of his wife Priya (Menik Gooneratne, centre) Disappointing: Joab said the news came as a 'double-hit' because not only were the 'only remaining actors of colour' being written off, but their characters also weren't from India Joab's comments are the latest in a series of explosive claims about racism that have been levelled against Neighbours in recent weeks. Aboriginal actor Meyne Wyatt, who was a regular on Neighbours from 2014 to 2016, claimed on Instagram he'd experienced discrimination on set. 'It involved the c-word and I called that s**t out and it didn't happen around me again,' Wyatt claimed. 'I have no doubt things were being said behind my back': Aboriginal actor Meyne Wyatt (pictured), who was a regular on Neighbours from 2014 to 2016, claimed on Instagram he'd experienced discrimination on set '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.' He continued: '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.' Guest star Shareena Clanton alleged on Instagram last week that producers fostered a toxic workplace environment and 'culturally unsafe space' for actors of colour. Speaking out: Guest star Shareena Clanton alleged on Instagram last week that producers fostered a toxic workplace environment and 'culturally unsafe space' for actors of colour 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. Clanton, whose guest appearance on the soap is set to air this week, 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. Anger: Clanton 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 '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. Claims: While she didn't name specific staff members, Clanton (pictured) listed several 'racist' and problematic incidents she apparently witnessed during filming '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. Awkward: Clanton's guest role on Neighbours will air this week, despite her speaking out against the show on social media '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. Remarks: Among several complaints, Clanton accused a staff member of making crude remarks and claimed she heard the N-word used on set twice '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, fellow former Neighbours star Sharon Johal added her voice to the outcry, sharing an Instagram post revealing her mental health had 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. Coming soon: Clanton's guest appearance on Neighbours is set to air this week '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.' Comment: On Saturday, ex-Neighbours star Sharon Johal (pictured) added her voice to the outcry, sharing an Instagram post saying her mental health had been affected by the backlash In a statement, Chris Oliver-Taylor, the CEO of Neighbours' production company Fremantle Asia Pacific, 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 added. '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'. An additional 6,000-7,000 metres of drilling is planned for 19,000 metres in total, targeting mineralisation and resource extensions at the Calibre and Magnum gold-copper deposits. Rio Tinto has now met the expenditure requirement to increase its JV interest to 65%. ( ) welcomes a A$10.7 million expansion of the 2021 exploration budget to A$24.5 million at the Citadel Gold-Copper Joint Venture Project with Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Limited (ASX:RIO). The JV partners have agreed to the expansion of work with an additional 6,000-7,000 metres of drilling planned for 19,000 metres in total, targeting mineralisation and resource extensions at the Calibre and Magnum gold-copper deposits. This follows Rio Tinto increasing its interest to 65% from 51% as a result of sole funding in excess of A$25 million in exploration expenditure on the Citadel JV Project to date. Strong belief in potential Antipas managing director Roger Mason said: The recent increase in the Citadel JVs 2021 budget is a testament to the joint ventures strong belief in the potential of this project. The 2021 program will be the largest yet and we look forward to continuing to advance the high potential Calibre and Magnum resources as well as test numerous greenfield targets. Expanded program Rio Tinto has started the expanded program with two reverse circulation drill rigs testing gold-copper targets at Rimfire prospect before moving to the Boxer target and a diamond rig testing resource extensions at Calibre. A second diamond drill rig is scheduled to arrive late April while a GAIP geophysical survey is expected to begin in mid-April. Area of focus The expanded program will focus on the Magnum Dome area, which hosts the Calibre and Magnum gold-copper-silver mineral resources and Corker deposit, and the Rimfire area together with select regional targets including the Boxer GAIP target. It will also incorporate: Undertaking preliminary metallurgical test-work at Calibre; Appraisal work in respect of early-stage project development options at the Calibre deposit; Ongoing processing and interpretation of GAIP and drill hole data, including final 2020 program data, together with Calibre deposit and Magnum Dome modelling to identify further priority target areas and support a potential mineral resource update; and Calibre camp infrastructure installation and expansion. Consistent with previous years, the Citadel JV 2021 exploration program and budget will be subject to ongoing review based on results, field conditions, contractor availability and pricing and other relevant matters. Future expenditure March 31 is the date that Rio Tinto acquired its additional 14% interest and Antipa now has 20 business days to elect whether to contribute to all further JV expenditure. If this is determined Antipa and Rio Tinto will then contribute to JV expenditure in proportion to their respective interests a 35/65% basis. The Citadel JV Project comprises a +1,300 square kilometres tenement package in the prospective Paterson Province in northern Western Australia. Adjacent to Winu It is 80 kilometres north of s ( )s Telfer gold-copper-silver mine and processing facility and 5 kilometres east of Rio Tintos Winu copper-gold-silver deposit and development project. Citadel hosts a global mineral resource of 63.8 million tonnes at 0.8 g/t gold and 0.2% copper for 1.6 million ounces of gold and 127,000 tonnes of copper with a resource update expected to be completed during the current quarter. On July 28, 2020, a maiden JORC 2012 inferred resource of 503 million tonnes at 0.35% copper, 0.27 g/t gold and 2.15 g/t silver for 4.4 million ounces of gold, 1.8 million tonnes of copper and 35 million ounces of silver was announced by Rio Tinto for Winu. LANSING, Mich. (AP) The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that Michigan should close things down to help address surging coronavirus infections, days after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer instead urged people to voluntarily restrict certain activities. Dr. Rochelle Walensky made the statement while explaining that the effect of vaccinations is delayed. The governor has urged the federal government to send additional doses to the state, but the administration of President Joe Biden has stuck with allocating to states proportionally by population. So when you have an acute situation, extraordinary number of cases like we have in Michigan, the answer is not necessarily to give vaccine, Walensky said. The answer to that is to really close things down, to go back to our basics, to back to where we were last spring, last summer ... to flatten the curve, to decrease contact with one another, to test ... to contact trace. The Democratic governor last spring issued a monthslong stay-at-home order and lifted it in June while keeping in place various restrictions. In November, amid a second wave of cases, her administration tightened limits before loosening them in recent months. Earlier Monday, Whitmer again said the ongoing third surge in Michigan is different because of vaccines and, unlike a year ago, it is known that masks are effective and the state has adequate testing and personal protective equipment. We each have enough information to do our part, she said. Thats what were calling on people to do to do your part. Advertisement A Texas church pastor has given DailyMail.com an astonishing insight into the flood of migrants now pouring into the United States over the Rio Grande from Mexico. Luis Silva revealed he has personally seen more than 100,000 enter the country over just one small section of the river, which is down a sandy track from the small border community of Roma. Every night he stands on the riverbank offering water and other humanitarian aid to upwards of 400 people taken across in flimsy inflatable rafts by the smugglers, called coyotes. But while he battles to help those who land confused and desperate, he blames one man for the situation. Father Luis said: 'This is Joe Biden's making. It is not an emergency, it is a crisis we have here now. The problem is Uncle Joe. 'This has escalated enormously since the beginning of February and it's getting worse.' Pastor Luis Silva (pictured) tells DailyMail.com he has personally seen more than 100,000 migrants enter the country over just one small section of the Rio Grande river in Roma, Texas In Roma, Texas, there is an official crossing point to Mexico on a bridge over the Rio Grande. Mexicans cannot currently cross it to the U.S. Father Luis spoke out as DailyMail.com witnessed another night of mass crossings at the relatively narrow section of the Rio Grande. A coyote is seen ringing in migrants on a raft Every night Father Luis stands on the riverbank offering water and other humanitarian aid to upwards of 400 people taken across in flimsy inflatable rafts by the smugglers, called coyotes, pictured bringing in migrants At 8.15pm, the first dinghy of the night made its way across the swirling water. It took less than a few minutes to reach the other bank, where a Texas State Trooper was waiting for it. A coyote is pictured bringing in migrants Father Luis said he asks migrants why they are now coming in larger numbers. He said: 'They tell me it is down to feeling welcomed by the current president' In Roma, there is an official crossing point to Mexico on a bridge over the Rio Grande. Mexicans cannot currently cross it to the US. Father Luis said: 'Biden has said that the official border crossing here is closed to Mexico. 'But in reality, the border is not closed. It is open and it is open by crossing the river on a raft. You have the whole world coming in here.' He spoke out as DailyMail.com witnessed another night of mass crossings at the relatively narrow section of the Rio Grande. At one point, a Texas State Trooper on duty to gather up the migrants, angrily confronted one of the coyotes after the boat unloaded. He waded into the water, grabbed the dinghy and the pair tussled for a second - before the trooper pulled out his knife and stabbed the vessel, which collapsed. The cursing coyote was left to swim back to the Mexican bank, hauling the deflated boat behind him. Father Luis was in his usual position, helping those who come ashore. He said: 'Just last night there were 400 people coming over at this point. The night before it was around 200. We will have to see what tonight brings. He added: 'Every night I come and provide them with water. It had got to the state now where I ask immigration officers if they have any idea how many will arrive, so I can bring enough.' Father Luis said : 'Every night I come and provide them with water. It had got to the state now where I ask immigration officers if they have any idea how many will arrive, so I can bring enough' He waded into the water, grabbed the dinghy and the pair tussled for a second - before the trooper pulled out his knife and stabbed the vessel, which collapsed Most of those currently making the journey are from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. But incredibly, some from Iran, the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan and Yemen have also been smuggled across, said Father Luis Everywhere on the river bank, colored wristbands litter the ground along with small children's shoes, toys and discarded life vests Cartels demand up to $9,000 to smuggle an unaccompanied child across the border. Adults can pay as much as $6,000. But they can get up to three attempts for the money. Everywhere on the river bank, colored wristbands litter the ground along with small children's shoes, toys and discarded life vests. Father Luis said: 'The smuggling operation runs like a theme park with those wristbands. 'The bands are given to the migrants by the people smugglers to prove they have paid for their passage across the river. It's like a permission to ride. 'The cartels give them three or sometimes four chances to come over for their fee. If they don't get over first time, they get another shot for their money. If the US authorities throw you back to Mexico, you still have more chances to get in. It's not one ride and that's it.' He added: 'The bands are all different colors and they correspond to the different sections of the river where they cross. 'Those sections belong to certain gangs on the Mexican side. It is highly organized, nothing is random. It's like an orange band for one part, red for another. The different colors will also land in slightly different parts of the river on the US side.' Most of those currently making the journey are from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. But incredibly, some from Iran, the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan and Yemen have also been smuggled across, said Father Luis. He added: 'I returned home late one night and a woman was on my door step. She told me in English she was from Iran. I called the police and she gave them an Iranian passport as ID. She had crossed the Rio Grande that night. Father Luis said he asks migrants why they are now coming in larger numbers. He said: 'They tell me it is down to feeling welcomed by the current president. 'I say, well there is a legal front door you could try to come in by. But you are jumping through the window and that's why the American people are upset.' Women and other children followed up to a holding area beside the river. Fifteen minutes later another boat appeared in the twilight, this one crammed with at least 12 people, most of them young children Father Luis estimates the flotilla of dinghies crossing each night contain at least 70 per cent children As the evening light faded, we saw groups of people gathering together in the wooded area on the Mexican side. Suddenly a light would go on to help them navigate the pathway to their loading positions. Just as quickly it would be extinguished Father Luis says, 'But it is no exaggeration to say that since early 2019, I have helped more than 100,000 migrants who have come over the Rio Grande just at Roma. It sounds and incredible figure, but that's what I've calculated' Father Luis estimates the flotilla of dinghies crossing each night contain at least 70 per cent children. As the evening light faded, we saw groups of people gathering together in the wooded area on the Mexican side. Suddenly a light would go on to help them navigate the pathway to their loading positions. Just as quickly it would be extinguished. At 8.15pm, the first dinghy of the night made its way across the swirling water. It took less than a few minutes to reach the other bank, where a Texas State Trooper was waiting for it. Halfway along the track from the river to the main road, Customs and Border Protection vehicles were parked up as the first stage of the processing procedure for those who would step off the boat. As the dinghy approached the US side, a man at the front clutching a young boy prepared to get off and scramble up the bank. Alberto Ramos, 39, from Guatemala carried his two-year-old son for his first steps in the United States. He told DailyMail.com: 'I came to America because this is the country that is giving migrant children security. 'Where I come from, gangs are killing children. I had to find a safe place for my son and I pray that I have found it.' Women and other children followed up to a holding area beside the river. Fifteen minutes later another boat appeared in the twilight, this one crammed with at least 12 people, most of them young children. 'This is Joe Biden's making. It is not an emergency, it is a crisis we have here now. The problem is Uncle Joe,' he says. 'This has escalated enormously since the beginning of February and it's getting worse' As they stumbled off and were directed by the state trooper, one woman yelled in Spanish: 'Where are you taking us, where are you taking us?' Just two state troopers were dealing with the arrivals directly on the riverbank. But while there has been criticism of officials being too welcoming, this night the mood appeared different. After the boat knifing, other coyotes were reluctant to land their human cargo if one of the troopers was nearby. Some heavily-laden boats approached within just a few feet of the shore then headed back to the Mexican side. At one point a trooper shouted to one coyote: 'Come on, get the kids in.' The smuggler appeared indecisive. The trooper yelled again 'get them in'. Almost brushing the bank, the boat veered away as the smuggler turned his flimsy oar and set off back for the Mexican side. By now a large group of migrants, mainly women and children clutching meagre belongings, were corralled together in the darkness at a holding location on the riverbank. They were compliant and docile. The group was eventually led up the track in to start processing. At the main improvised Customs and Border Protection location at the top of the track, officers awaited their latest batch of human cargo. One said: 'This is relentless. Frankly, we could do with a quiet night'. Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin has announced that he'll be entering the 2022 New York gubernatorial race following what he decried as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "cover-ups, abuse and self-dealing. Zeldin made the announcement Thursday morning on Twitter, where he accused Cuomo of being at the helm of New Yorks downfall due to the "deadly nursing home order and cover-up," as well as a long line of scandal, lies and harassment." To save NY, #CuomosGottaGo!, Zeldin tweeted. Ill bring the kind of relentless, fighting spirit towards helping to save our state that Cuomo reserves for multi-million dollar self-congratulatory book deals, cover-ups, abuse & self-dealing. Zeldin, who was first elected to Congress in 2015, lamented the one-party rule in New York, which he said has contributed to many of its residents' problems. Source:The Christian Post VAUGHAN, ON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE: GFL) (TSX: GFL) ("GFL" or the "Company") today announced that certain entities affiliated with BC Partners Advisors L.P., Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, GIC Private Limited and HPS Investment Partners, LLC (collectively, the "Selling Shareholders"), have entered into an agreement with BMO Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets and Scotiabank (collectively, the "Underwriters"), pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase on a bought deal basis an aggregate of 17,500,000 subordinate voting shares (the "Shares") held by the Selling Shareholders at an offering price of US$33.95 per Share (the "Offering Price") for total gross proceeds to the Selling Shareholders of US$594,125,000 (the "Offering"). GFL will not receive any proceeds from the Offering. The Underwriters have also been granted an over-allotment option (the "Over-Allotment Option") to purchase up to an additional 2,625,000 Shares from the Selling Shareholders at the Offering Price for additional gross proceeds of US$89,118,750 if the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full. The Over-Allotment Option can be exercised at any time, in whole or in part, for a period of 30 days from the closing date of the Offering, which is expected to occur on or about April 23, 2021 and is subject to certain customary closing conditions. The Shares issued pursuant to the Offering and Over-Allotment Option will be offered in all provinces and territories of Canada by way of a prospectus supplement (the "Prospectus Supplement") to a short form base shelf prospectus (the "Final Base Shelf Prospectus"). The Company has filed a registration statement on Form F-10 (the "Form F-10"), and will file the Prospectus Supplement, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in accordance with the multi-jurisdictional disclosure system established between Canada and the United States ("MJDS"). The Company has filed a preliminary short form base shelf prospectus (the "Preliminary Base Shelf Prospectus") and is filing today a concurrent preliminary prospectus supplement with Canadian Securities Commissions and with the SEC in accordance with the MJDS in order to qualify the Shares to be issued pursuant to the Offering and Over-Allotment Option described above. Such Preliminary Base Shelf Prospectus, which remains subject to the review of the Canadian Securities Commissions will qualify the distribution by way of prospectus in Canada of up to US$2 billion of subordinate voting shares, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, share purchase contracts, subscription receipts, units or any combination thereof, during the 25-month period during which the Final Base Shelf Prospectus will be effective. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any province, state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such province, state or jurisdiction. Prospective investors should read the Final Base Shelf Prospectus, Prospectus Supplement and the documents incorporated by reference therein before investing in the Shares. When available, these documents may be accessed for free on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. GFL has filed the Form F-10 (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the Offering to which this news release relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus supplement relating to the Offering, the prospectus in the Form F-10 and other documents GFL has filed with the SEC. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, you may request the prospectus supplement and prospectus: in Canada from BMO Capital Markets, Attention: Brampton Distribution Centre C/O The Data Group of Companies, 9195 Torbram Road, Brampton, Ontario, L6S 6H2, or by telephone at 1-905-791-3151 Ext 4312 or by email at [email protected] and in the United States from BMO Capital Markets Corp., Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 3 Times Square, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10036, or by telephone at 1-800-414-3627 or by email at [email protected]; in Canada from RBC Dominion Securities Inc., 180 Wellington Street West, 8th Floor, Toronto, ON M5J 0C2, Attention: Distribution Centre, or by telephone at 1-416-842-5349 or by email at [email protected] and in the United States from RBC Capital Markets, LLC, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10281-8098, Attention: Equity Syndicate, or by telephone at 877-822-4089 or by email at [email protected]; or in Canada from Scotia Capital Inc., Attention: Equity Capital Markets, Scotia Plaza, 64th Floor, 40 King Street West, M5H 3Y2, Toronto, Ontario, or by telephone at 1-416-863-7704 or by email at [email protected] and in the United States from Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 250 Vesey Street, 24th Floor, New York, New York, 10281, or by telephone at 1-212-225-6853 or by email at [email protected]. About GFL GFL, headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario, is the fourth largest diversified environmental services company in North America, providing a comprehensive line of non-hazardous solid waste management, infrastructure & soil remediation and liquid waste management services through its platform of facilities throughout Canada and in 27 states in the United States. Across its organization, GFL has a workforce of more than 15,000 employees. Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements relating to the proposed Offering, terms of the Offering and the expected closing date of the Offering. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects", "believes", "could" or "potential" or variations of such words. Forward-looking statements are based on our opinions, estimates and assumptions in light of our experience, track record and perception of historical trends, current conditions, growth opportunities and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we currently believe are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. Completion of the proposed Offering is subject to numerous factors, many of which are beyond GFL's control, including but not limited to, the failure of customary closing conditions and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time, including, without limitation, risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of GFL's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and in our other public filings filed with Canadian Securities Commissions and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. There can be no assurance that the underlying opinions, estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Accordingly, we caution investors not to rely on the forward-looking information contained in this news release when making an investment decision in our securities. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents our expectations as of the date of this news release (or as the date they are otherwise stated to be made), and are subject to change after such date. However, we disclaim any intention or obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable U.S. or Canadian securities laws. SOURCE GFL Environmental Inc. The state government had announced that 371 villages will be submerged due to the project and CCLA has given permission for providing R&R package to 164 villages. (DC Image)) KAKINADA: All those who have been displaced from 192 villages because of Polavaram Project are living in fear amid insecurity. They are all worried that the villages would be submerged in June or July because of cyclones and floods. They appealed to the Union and state governments to provide a relief and resettlement package to them, before the completion of Polavaram Project. According to them, nearly 3.5 lakh people, from Schedule Tribe and Scheduled Caste, are facing a threat of their livelihood. According to sources, the government completed 70 per cent of Polavaram project works by the end of December but only four percent of the R & R package was implemented. The Chief Minister aimed at completing the project by the year-end. As per the 2017 statistics, 5,08,874 persons have been displaced and the number may increase. The state government had announced that 371 villages will be submerged due to the project and CCLA has given permission for providing R&R package to 164 villages. However, only 15 villages have been given partial R&R packages. Indian Association of Lawyers state executive member Inapurapu Suryanaryana said that the Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) found fault with the project as there is no MoU between Centre and the state government on construction of Polavaram project and advised the state government to reach a truce with the Union Government for the sake of the project. To avoid submergence problems, the Centre advised state governments of Odisha and Chhattisgarh to construct protection walls at eight and four places, respectively. But, either has obliged. He said that the Union Government has also not taken any steps to have cases filed in the Supreme Court to be withdrawn by Odisha and Chhattisgarh. SC, ST vigilance and monitoring committee district member Ayithabathula Rameswara Rao demanded the government to halt Polavaram project works till the completion of R&R package works to 371 villages. He said that the ST Commission recommendations have not been implemented by the governments so far. Adivasi maha sabha district secretary Karam Venkateswara Rao said that tribal people should be given fertile lands as compensation. The government should provide livelihood to people who will lose their forest products. He demanded the government should make a fresh integrated survey on the number of displaced persons and families under the project under New Land Acquisition Amendment Act, as the socio economic survey was last done in 2005 and there were no environmental clearance for the project till 2009. A series of planned White Lives Matter rallies across the US flopped spectacularly on Sunday, with sparse turnout and counter protests outnumbering them as police broke up scuffles and made arrests during clashes between members of the two groups. In Huntington Beach, California, more than 200 counter protesters, including those from the Black Lives Matter movement, gathered in the city before the scheduled White Lives Matter rally in the morning. Police declared an unlawful assembly in the area of Fifth Street and Walnut Avenue shortly in the afternoon after the situation heated up and members of the two groups clashed, reported the Los Angeles Times. At least 12 people from the counter-demonstrations were taken into custody for various reasons as the crowd turned violent, reported Abc7. In Fort Worth, Texas, three rallies of White Lives Matter were uneventful and outnumbered. The people from the rally and counter-protesters got involved in heated arguments and some broke the signs brought by the White Lives Matter organisers. (warning: strong language) Similar White Lives Matter events planned in Raleigh and Asheville in North Carolina, and Columbus in Ohio also fizzled out, with counter protesters documenting them in their live streams and photos on Twitter. Visuals showed people from the White Lives Matter rallies carrying American flags and signs supporting former President Donald Trump as counter-protesters raised slogans of "Nazis go home!" The White Lives Matter rallies were planned to be held nationwide on 11 April, marking it as the national day of White Lives Matter after many aligned groups scheduled these events on Telegram application. But the internal chats ended up being leaked to journalists and the police. A protester with blood from a cut lip after fighting with other protesters is seen during a White Lives Matter protest in Huntington Beach (REUTERS) In Albuquerque, New Mexico, police formed a circle around a single protester to separate him from the large crowd of counter protesters. Over a dozen of counter protesters gathered unopposed near the Trump Tower where the original protests were scheduled. The planned events by White Lives Matter protesters, many of them white supremacists, were to combat what they call a threat to white people from multiculturalism and anti-white bias in media. They come even as the Huntington Beach City Council voted on 5 April to condemn violence and rise in hate crime against Asian Americans while denouncing white supremacy. Prior to the rallies, Huntington Beach interim police chief Julian Harvey shared a statement on Facebook, saying they are aware of the planned events and are taking measures for safety. We hope events such as this will serve as an opportunity for unity rather than a platform to spread hate, bigotry and division. The City of Huntington Beach proudly stands by the values of diversity, equity and inclusion, he said. C.T Group and RSM Vietnam have signed an agreement to combine their internal strength and core values C.T Group, known as a youthful and dynamic company operating in various industries such as tourism, construction, finance, real estate, and retail, counts the latter pair as its most successful businesses. As a long-standing partner of RSM and thanks to its fast-paced growth, C.T Group has contributed to the development of Vietnam in recent decades as well as Vietnams increasing integration into the global economy. To support stronger growth, RSM Vietnam and C.T Group have signed an MoU for a comprehensive alliance. I believe that the comprehensive cooperation between C.T Group and RSM Vietnam will help propel the sustainable growth of the two sides in the future. C.T Group and RSM Vietnam will achieve synergy by effectively combining internal strengths and core values of the two companies, said Le Khanh Lam, chairman of RSM Vietnam. RSM Vietnam aims to become a reliable partner for any fast-growing company that are scaling up operation across the country and integrating deeply into the globalisation process. It supports clients to achieve success in realising their business strategy by providing the high-quality auditing, tax, and consulting services. RSM Vietnam has more than 400 professional staff serving mid- to large-sized public-listed, multinational, and private companies in various industries. Thus, it expects to create more added value for its clients business activities. RSM is the sixth-largest global network of professional firms providing audit, tax, and consulting services. The Vietnamese arm of the company was founded by a group of the certified public auditors and the accredited consultants who had worked in auditing and consulting since the very first days of this industry in Vietnam. With these advantages, RSM Vietnam has possessed the valuable manpower resources to confidently provide its professional services requiring full understanding of the Vietnams business climate and with the international quality standards. RSM Vietnam has a vision to be the great business partner by way of bringing creative added value solutions to the clients success in local and global environment. The company also endeavours to provide its clients with professional services following international quality standards adapted to Vietnam business environment. ROME - Iran has accused Israel of being behind the attack yesterday on the nuclear power plant of Natanz, hinting that centrifuges were damaged and promising "revenge" at "the right time". "With this action the Zionist regime has certainly tried to take revenge on the Iranian people for the patience and wisdom they have shown (while waiting) for (US) sanctions to be revoked", said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Said Khatibzadeh, at a press conference in Tehran. Employees work in a restaurant open for to-go or delivery orders only in this file photo taken in Burbank, Calif., on Nov. 23, 2020. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) California City Surrounds Business With Chain-Link Fence for Defying CCP Virus Health Orders Authorities in a California city have erected a fence around a restaurant after the owners repeatedly defied COVID-19 safety protocols, prompting protests near the eatery, according to multiple reports. The business, Tinhorn Flats Saloon & Grill on Magnolia Boulevard in the Southern Californian city of Burbank, was surrounded by a chain-link fence on Saturday to prevent the owners from reopening the restaurant, the Los Angeles Times reported. A judge ruled on April 9 the owners cannot reopen the restaurant without new permits. According to photos circulating on social media, crowds of demonstrators both in opposition to and in support of city officials closing down the business gathered near the fenced-in eatery. We will be out there to maintain peace and order, Burbank Police Department Lt. Derek Green said. The groups have been peaceful for the most part. But people who live around the small-business district have been impacted by the commotion. Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram Een bericht gedeeld door Tinhorn Flats Saloon & Grill (@tinhornflatsburbank) On April 6, the son of the restaurant owner was arrested after he was spotted by local police removing sandbags the city placed to prevent anyone from entering the eatery. Lucas Lepejian, 20, was released again that same day. It was the third time Lepejian was detained and he is scheduled to appear in court at a later date, police said. It is not yet determined if any charges will be filed against him. Burbank officials have levied a fine of about $50,000 against the restaurant owners since the start of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic for repeatedly violating the citys safety protocols and continuing to run the eatery while dining was banned by the county. Lepejian refuses to pay the fine of about $50,000, asking city officials for evidence of him endangering the public. This has never been about safety or the public. Its never been about that. This whole thing is about fear and control, Lepejian said, adding that $40,000 to $50,000 in fines is just tyranny and communism thats occurring. Since the start of the CCP virus pandemic, more than 30,000 restaurants in Los Angeles have been closed to in-person dining. The shutdown included two rounds of months-long outdoor dining banscausing frustration to many restaurant owners. People wearing masks walk past a closed restaurant amid the CCP virus pandemic and the Stay-At-Home regulation underway in Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 8, 2020. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images) According to Yelp, California was reported as the state with the highest number of business closures early into the CCP virus pandemic. About 30,000 businesses closed in the state from March 1 to July 10about half of the closures temporary, and the rest permanent. Los Angeles County was reported as the city with the highest number of closures in the nation, at about 11,000, half of them permanent. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP virus, which is commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus that originated in China. According to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus University Resource Center, Los Angeles County has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States. As of Monday, the county has had more than 1.2 million positive cases and 23,390 deaths. From NTD News The Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh said Beijing was neither creating a debt trap for Cambodia nor seeking a military presence in the country, in its response to a recent media article. The embassy issued a statement, released Sunday on Facebook, refuting opinions expressed in a piece aired on U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asias Khmer Service on April 8 claiming Chinas credit activities are entrapping Cambodia into colonization. The embassy said accusations that China was intentionally attempting to saddle Cambodia with high levels of debt where it would then be beholden to the Asian superpower were pure slander. Most of all, China has always been respecting Cambodias decision on how to use the loans, and never used the debts to pressure Cambodia in any way, the statement reads. The U.S. and some observers have expressed skepticism about Cambodias growing relations with China, including fast-growing economic ties and the possibility that the Southeast Asian nation would allow a Chinese military presence at a Preah Sihanouk navy facility a claim vociferously denied by Cambodia. The embassy said speculation around China having access to the Ream Naval Base was nothing more than gauging a gentlemans kindness with ones own mean measure. Cambodias foreign debt stood at $8.8 billion by the end of 2020 with China accounting for $3.9 billion, or 44 percent, of that debt, according to Cambodias Finance Ministry. China is Cambodias largest source of infrastructure investment and has become the countrys chief patron on the economic and political front. More than $3 billion in concessional loans have been provided by China for the construction of around 3,000 kilometers of roads and eight bridges in Cambodia, according to comments from Cambodian Transportation Minister Sun Chanthol in December. Sophal Ear, an associate professor at the U.S.-based Occidental College, said the statement revealed that China was apprehensive about their investments in Cambodia being characterized as a debt trap. He said it was apparent that Cambodia was getting increasingly reliant on Chinas economic largesse. The African proverb applies: when a man walks with his hand in another man's pocket, he must walk where the other man walks, he said in an email. Global discussions about countries facing potential debt traps with China have intensified following Chinese President Xi Jinpings signature Belt and Road Initiative, which has invested billions of dollars in ambitious infrastructure projects across the world. Analysts usually point to two examples of this debt trap: Chinas takeover of Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and the state-run Electricite du Laos in neighboring Laos. In December 2017, Sri Lanka handed over its commercial port of Hambantota to a Chinese state firm on a 99-year concession deal after struggling to repay its debts to the state-owned enterprise. Laos, facing a pandemic-triggered economic crisis and credit default in 2020, gave up a majority share of its state-run energy firm, Electricite du Laos, to Chinas state-owned China Southern Power Grid. The landlocked country, whose credit score was downgraded by Fitch Ratings in September 2020, had $12.6 billion in foreign debt, of which China held $5.9 billion, according to Nikkei Asia Reviews January publication. Em Sovannara, a political commentator, said Cambodia was in a firmer economic position in recent years, with increases in revenue collections, that would help it to negotiate better terms and competitive debt packages with development partners and other countries, including China. But in case Cambodia fails to make a repayment, it could end up like Laos and Sri Lanka, Em Sovannara said. He said China should improve the quality and transparency of its assistance to Cambodia because the Cambodian people had limited trust in Chinas top-down and benefitting officials over people approach.